WEBVTT 00:00:02.719 --> 00:00:05.099 A couple housekeeping things. We have prizes 00:00:05.099 --> 00:00:07.500 across the front, so when you earn tickets, you'll 00:00:07.500 --> 00:00:09.919 be able to put a ticket on whatever prize. We 00:00:09.919 --> 00:00:12.580 will do two stunts. We will do trivia at the 00:00:12.580 --> 00:00:14.699 end, time permitting. So we're going to fly through 00:00:14.699 --> 00:00:17.239 this and try to make room for all that. I know 00:00:17.239 --> 00:00:19.379 Zayden's a huge fan of Bible trivia now. We've 00:00:19.379 --> 00:00:25.440 converted him. Bible trivia loving kid. Okay, 00:00:25.559 --> 00:00:27.820 so the Bible often speaks of the arm of the Lord. 00:00:28.280 --> 00:00:31.019 We looked at the eyes, the ears, and the hand 00:00:31.019 --> 00:00:34.659 of God, but this is anthropomorphic language. 00:00:34.939 --> 00:00:37.820 So it means God's arm is not literally like our 00:00:37.820 --> 00:00:39.979 arm. He doesn't have a physical hand like we 00:00:39.979 --> 00:00:42.560 do necessarily. But there's a lot to be learned 00:00:42.560 --> 00:00:47.380 about God through the descriptions of his arm 00:00:47.380 --> 00:00:49.520 in Scripture. So that's what we're going to look 00:00:49.520 --> 00:00:52.520 at. While the hand of God often is talking about 00:00:52.520 --> 00:00:56.340 his activity or his provision, The arm of God 00:00:56.340 --> 00:01:00.200 emphasizes God's strength displayed in mighty 00:01:00.200 --> 00:01:02.679 acts. So we're going to see some of that as we 00:01:02.679 --> 00:01:05.219 go through. It means he is powerful to do what 00:01:05.219 --> 00:01:08.439 he has done and what he is doing. A warrior's 00:01:08.439 --> 00:01:11.480 arm represented his power in battle. Kings measure 00:01:11.480 --> 00:01:15.200 strength by the might of their armies. But scripture 00:01:15.200 --> 00:01:17.700 repeatedly reminds us that God's arm is stronger 00:01:17.700 --> 00:01:20.599 than every nation, every enemy, every king, every 00:01:20.599 --> 00:01:24.739 force of darkness. So a couple of things in the 00:01:24.739 --> 00:01:28.099 overview. Number one, God possesses unlimited 00:01:28.099 --> 00:01:30.879 strength. So if you're putting it in there, you 00:01:30.879 --> 00:01:33.019 can put it right there on that first block. Number 00:01:33.019 --> 00:01:36.680 one, God possesses unlimited strength. Very simply 00:01:36.680 --> 00:01:41.879 put, God is big, old, and strong. Right? I mean, 00:01:41.900 --> 00:01:44.260 those are general words that we use. God's been 00:01:44.260 --> 00:01:47.659 around literally forever. He is bigger than the 00:01:47.659 --> 00:01:49.900 universe that he created, bigger than we can 00:01:49.900 --> 00:01:52.799 conceive. And he has no limit to his strength. 00:01:53.480 --> 00:01:58.680 Next, God accomplishes salvation. God gets it 00:01:58.680 --> 00:02:03.359 done. God gets people saved. God accomplishes 00:02:03.359 --> 00:02:07.379 salvation. God brings forth victory to his people. 00:02:07.920 --> 00:02:10.340 God has shown that time and time again that he 00:02:10.340 --> 00:02:12.840 can do that. He can make you win. Not necessarily 00:02:12.840 --> 00:02:16.080 every game or every sporting event. That's not 00:02:16.080 --> 00:02:18.580 what that means. But he brings real victory. 00:02:19.400 --> 00:02:21.939 So when I was younger, I played board games. 00:02:22.000 --> 00:02:23.520 For example, I would get frustrated when I would 00:02:23.520 --> 00:02:25.580 lose. And then I found out that I was winning 00:02:25.580 --> 00:02:27.699 by playing and losing. And then I stopped getting 00:02:27.699 --> 00:02:30.020 frustrated. And that's what they realize. Sometimes 00:02:30.020 --> 00:02:33.280 you're overcoming difficulties by not actually 00:02:33.280 --> 00:02:35.939 winning on the scoreboard or not actually winning 00:02:35.939 --> 00:02:38.639 financially or whatever. But God brings victory 00:02:38.639 --> 00:02:41.840 to his people. And then last one is God rules 00:02:41.840 --> 00:02:45.819 over all creation. So the smallest dust mite 00:02:45.819 --> 00:02:51.000 is under the rule of God. The largest planet, 00:02:51.219 --> 00:02:55.960 sun, galaxy, everything. God rules over all creation. 00:02:57.319 --> 00:03:00.780 So God's outstretched arm, which is a term that's 00:03:00.780 --> 00:03:03.319 used in Scripture some, becomes one of the greatest 00:03:03.319 --> 00:03:07.080 pictures of his redeeming power. Okay, so I want 00:03:07.080 --> 00:03:08.460 you to think for a moment, a little illustration 00:03:08.460 --> 00:03:10.180 of what we're going to talk about. During a flood, 00:03:10.400 --> 00:03:13.639 a lot of times, like, people who are on the sidelines 00:03:13.639 --> 00:03:15.319 and the streets are flooded or whatever, they'll 00:03:15.319 --> 00:03:17.780 grab arm to arm. and they'll go out and try to 00:03:17.780 --> 00:03:20.080 rescue somebody that's washing by in the flood. 00:03:20.159 --> 00:03:22.340 They'll stand there, five, six people lined up, 00:03:22.379 --> 00:03:24.379 and the people are getting washed by in the flood, 00:03:24.439 --> 00:03:25.960 and they'll try to grab anybody that's coming 00:03:25.960 --> 00:03:30.020 by and fish them out, right? One rescuer stretches 00:03:30.020 --> 00:03:33.939 out his arm towards someone who cannot save themselves. 00:03:34.219 --> 00:03:36.580 It's the last person in the line, so to speak. 00:03:36.580 --> 00:03:40.020 And he reaches out, and that person, they snag 00:03:40.020 --> 00:03:42.639 that person, hopefully, and pull them in. So 00:03:42.639 --> 00:03:46.159 the drowning person contributes very little. 00:03:48.139 --> 00:03:51.539 Way back in the day when I was snorkeling in 00:03:51.539 --> 00:03:54.639 Aruba, when we went down there for Sherry's management 00:03:54.639 --> 00:03:57.580 conference, they said, if you're drowning, don't 00:03:57.580 --> 00:04:00.439 do this. Help me, help me. Because people are 00:04:00.439 --> 00:04:02.240 waving to the boat all the time. They're waving 00:04:02.240 --> 00:04:03.539 to their family and friends on the boat and said, 00:04:03.560 --> 00:04:05.639 don't do that. If you start to drown, do this. 00:04:06.139 --> 00:04:08.539 Yes, we understand you cannot swim with both 00:04:08.539 --> 00:04:10.460 hands up in the air and you'll go underwater 00:04:10.460 --> 00:04:11.740 and then you can swim a little bit, get back 00:04:11.740 --> 00:04:14.620 up and do this again, whatever. If you need help. 00:04:15.400 --> 00:04:17.860 stop trying to help yourself. Stop trying to 00:04:17.860 --> 00:04:19.100 hold yourself up in the water with one hand. 00:04:20.699 --> 00:04:26.019 And so the person being rescued might just take 00:04:26.019 --> 00:04:28.199 hold of the arm that is reaching out to them. 00:04:28.259 --> 00:04:29.699 That might be all they do. They might not even 00:04:29.699 --> 00:04:31.620 do that. Somebody might grab onto them, right? 00:04:32.800 --> 00:04:35.620 The strength that does the saving does not belong 00:04:35.620 --> 00:04:38.839 to the victim. So there's a lot of Christianity 00:04:38.839 --> 00:04:42.329 out there that tries to say, that you have to 00:04:42.329 --> 00:04:45.149 do certain things in order to be able to be saved. 00:04:45.610 --> 00:04:48.149 And anything that you have to do, let me be very 00:04:48.149 --> 00:04:50.750 clear about this, even if it's pray a prayer, 00:04:51.009 --> 00:04:57.430 go forward in service, read your Bible, love 00:04:57.430 --> 00:05:00.649 others, anything like that that they tell you 00:05:00.649 --> 00:05:03.089 you have to do to be saved in the first place 00:05:03.089 --> 00:05:07.689 is wrong. All the strength of saving is in God, 00:05:07.790 --> 00:05:11.269 not in the person being saved. So, likewise, 00:05:11.470 --> 00:05:14.430 every believer has been rescued by God's mighty 00:05:14.430 --> 00:05:17.410 arm, and salvation is not the result of our strength, 00:05:17.490 --> 00:05:21.750 but of his strength. Okay? Alright, so now we're 00:05:21.750 --> 00:05:25.730 on number one. The arm of God delivers his people. 00:05:26.410 --> 00:05:29.750 Okay? And the reference is Deuteronomy 5 .15. 00:05:30.610 --> 00:05:32.930 There's some extra ones back there. Tommy, you 00:05:32.930 --> 00:05:38.149 got an extra one? Deuteronomy 5 .15 is the reference. 00:05:38.750 --> 00:05:41.290 And it basically says the Lord your God brought 00:05:41.290 --> 00:05:43.910 you out. And that ends with with a mighty hand 00:05:43.910 --> 00:05:46.550 and an outstretched arm. But we know that God 00:05:46.550 --> 00:05:50.370 didn't really have a physical hand or an outstretched 00:05:50.370 --> 00:05:52.550 arm. Right. So there's something there to be 00:05:52.550 --> 00:05:56.470 learned. OK, so the explanation then is Israel 00:05:56.470 --> 00:05:59.509 all the whole time, even when they were sitting 00:05:59.509 --> 00:06:01.750 against God, they never forgot the Exodus. Right. 00:06:01.810 --> 00:06:04.269 It's always been in their history. In fact, an 00:06:04.269 --> 00:06:06.819 Israelite man. who was living in Micah's day 00:06:06.819 --> 00:06:08.319 in the book of Judges, like what we were talking 00:06:08.319 --> 00:06:13.639 about, that person was still able to trace their 00:06:13.639 --> 00:06:26.920 lineage all the way back to Moses. At least one 00:06:26.920 --> 00:06:29.199 more person coming in. We'll be full size eventually. 00:06:29.879 --> 00:06:35.740 Okay. So notice the pairing here, a mighty hand 00:06:35.740 --> 00:06:38.180 and an outstretched arm. The hand accomplishes, 00:06:38.180 --> 00:06:42.199 the arm supplies overwhelming strength. God's 00:06:42.199 --> 00:06:45.560 arm defeated Egypt, humbled Pharaoh, liberated 00:06:45.560 --> 00:06:49.939 his covenant people, parted the Red Sea, etc., 00:06:49.939 --> 00:06:54.420 etc., right? So any of that might go under the 00:06:54.420 --> 00:06:57.660 key points there. Anything that caught your eye? 00:06:58.670 --> 00:07:01.910 Mighty hand, an outstretched arm, the hand accomplishes, 00:07:01.910 --> 00:07:04.449 the arm supplies overwhelming strength, God's 00:07:04.449 --> 00:07:07.709 arm defeated Egypt. And then under application, 00:07:08.149 --> 00:07:12.389 God is able to rescue us from situations beyond 00:07:12.389 --> 00:07:15.269 human ability. Notice how that also goes along 00:07:15.269 --> 00:07:17.269 with his hand, right? That verse paired the hand 00:07:17.269 --> 00:07:20.790 and the arm. So God is able to rescue you beyond 00:07:20.790 --> 00:07:24.550 your, not just beyond your ability, but beyond 00:07:24.550 --> 00:07:27.949 any human ability. Right. So we talked about 00:07:27.949 --> 00:07:30.350 how with God's hand that there was a salvation 00:07:30.350 --> 00:07:32.189 that God provided that would deal with a problem 00:07:32.189 --> 00:07:34.589 that we didn't know how to deal with. But now 00:07:34.589 --> 00:07:36.209 we're not just talking about that. We're talking 00:07:36.209 --> 00:07:38.470 about a problem that basically cannot be dealt 00:07:38.470 --> 00:07:40.990 with. So in other words, you could go to the 00:07:40.990 --> 00:07:42.870 doctor. The doctor tells you there's no help 00:07:42.870 --> 00:07:46.370 for you. Right. No monomedicine, no nothing. 00:07:46.550 --> 00:07:48.910 You go home. You're going to die within a month. 00:07:49.290 --> 00:07:52.370 God is able to do something about that. He has 00:07:52.370 --> 00:07:54.649 the power to do what nobody else can do, and 00:07:54.649 --> 00:07:58.170 that's in his outstretched arm. Then we're on 00:07:58.170 --> 00:08:00.569 number two. For those who came in, we're going 00:08:00.569 --> 00:08:02.449 to wait until we get full size, and then we'll 00:08:02.449 --> 00:08:12.529 go back to get those first points. So we're on 00:08:12.529 --> 00:08:15.050 number two. The arm of God brings salvation. 00:08:16.550 --> 00:08:22.000 Isaiah 52 .10. The Lord has bared his holy arm 00:08:22.000 --> 00:08:24.500 in the sight of all the nations that all the 00:08:24.500 --> 00:08:26.620 ends of the earth may see the salvation of our 00:08:26.620 --> 00:08:30.920 God. Remember that the Israelites always knew 00:08:30.920 --> 00:08:33.039 that salvation that would eventually be provided 00:08:33.039 --> 00:08:35.059 was for everybody, not just for the Israelites. 00:08:35.360 --> 00:08:37.039 It was not just for those living in the promised 00:08:37.039 --> 00:08:39.259 land, right? Even though they were supposed to 00:08:39.259 --> 00:08:41.840 go in and massacre people, chase people out if 00:08:41.840 --> 00:08:43.740 they didn't go, they massacred them, right? But 00:08:43.740 --> 00:08:45.639 most people would flee, but if they didn't flee, 00:08:45.779 --> 00:08:47.340 they would be massacred. Even though they were 00:08:47.340 --> 00:08:48.740 supposed to do that while they were taking the 00:08:48.740 --> 00:08:50.940 promised land, they knew that the salvation that 00:08:50.940 --> 00:08:53.299 God would eventually provide would be for everybody. 00:08:54.360 --> 00:09:00.759 Then under the explanation there, to bear the 00:09:00.759 --> 00:09:03.500 arm, quote unquote, bear the arm, that phrase, 00:09:03.639 --> 00:09:07.679 bear the arm, meant preparing for strenuous work 00:09:07.679 --> 00:09:12.639 or battle. So God would bear his holy arm meant 00:09:12.639 --> 00:09:15.879 that he was going to do the hard work of saving 00:09:15.879 --> 00:09:18.990 anybody that he chooses to save. Whatever that 00:09:18.990 --> 00:09:21.929 looks like. Isaiah pictures God rolling back 00:09:21.929 --> 00:09:23.909 his sleeves, so to speak. And we have a song 00:09:23.909 --> 00:09:29.450 about that, right? It's an old one. Really old 00:09:29.450 --> 00:09:33.490 one. Rolling up his sleeves, so to speak. And 00:09:33.490 --> 00:09:35.490 it says when he's rolling up his sleeves, he 00:09:35.490 --> 00:09:36.789 ain't just putting on the wrist. I think it's 00:09:36.789 --> 00:09:39.909 that lyric. So to speak. God was revealing his 00:09:39.909 --> 00:09:41.909 saving power before the nations. Remember that 00:09:41.909 --> 00:09:44.649 Jesus' death, burial, and resurrection is a known 00:09:44.649 --> 00:09:47.620 event. There are people who still deny it. But 00:09:47.620 --> 00:09:49.200 there are historians who are not Christians, 00:09:49.259 --> 00:09:50.500 had nothing to do with the church, nothing to 00:09:50.500 --> 00:09:52.360 do with God, whatever, that admitted that Jesus 00:09:52.360 --> 00:09:54.799 lived, that he died, and was later seen alive. 00:09:55.559 --> 00:09:57.960 People that hated Jesus, they would not want 00:09:57.960 --> 00:10:00.879 that to be true. They call it adverse witness. 00:10:01.240 --> 00:10:03.220 People that did not want it to be true still 00:10:03.220 --> 00:10:05.080 had to accept it because it happened in their 00:10:05.080 --> 00:10:08.559 day. So ultimately, this prophecy points beyond 00:10:08.559 --> 00:10:12.279 Israel to Jesus Christ. God's greatest display 00:10:12.279 --> 00:10:14.759 of strength was not destroying enemies, but saving 00:10:14.759 --> 00:10:20.429 sinners. So can God abolish nations? Yes, and 00:10:20.429 --> 00:10:23.389 he's done so, and he can do that. But his desire 00:10:23.389 --> 00:10:26.769 would be to save sinners out of the very nations 00:10:26.769 --> 00:10:30.070 that he intends to abolish. So he doesn't want 00:10:30.070 --> 00:10:32.610 to just let people go to hell. If God destroys 00:10:32.610 --> 00:10:36.350 Iraq or Iran, just boom, gone, everything is 00:10:36.350 --> 00:10:38.049 destroyed, then there would be a lot of people 00:10:38.049 --> 00:10:40.269 there who by the time they would have died might 00:10:40.269 --> 00:10:41.769 have accepted Christ and would go straight to 00:10:41.769 --> 00:10:44.830 hell. So you don't want that. We don't want that. 00:10:45.599 --> 00:10:47.899 God's greatest display of strength was not destroying 00:10:47.899 --> 00:10:49.940 enemies, but saving sinners. That brings us to 00:10:49.940 --> 00:10:52.139 application on number two. I know we're moving 00:10:52.139 --> 00:10:54.159 kind of quickly, but these are things we kind 00:10:54.159 --> 00:10:56.879 of already know. So pick out of it anything that 00:10:56.879 --> 00:10:59.559 really strikes you. The greatest miracle of God's 00:10:59.559 --> 00:11:02.779 arm is redemption through Christ. So remember, 00:11:02.860 --> 00:11:06.259 we're talking about God's arm. The greatest miracle 00:11:06.259 --> 00:11:08.820 of God's arm, the greatest point to God's power, 00:11:09.039 --> 00:11:15.480 is what happened with Jesus. Then we go on to 00:11:15.480 --> 00:11:18.840 kind of just an illustration for this point. 00:11:19.299 --> 00:11:22.559 A firefighter enters a burning building while 00:11:22.559 --> 00:11:26.879 everyone else is running out. At 9 -11, there 00:11:26.879 --> 00:11:30.039 were firefighters, policemen, rescue responders 00:11:30.039 --> 00:11:32.539 that charged into that building, even though 00:11:32.539 --> 00:11:37.360 it was filling with poison, it was on fire on 00:11:37.360 --> 00:11:40.940 the upper floors already, it potentially could 00:11:40.940 --> 00:11:42.820 crash down. Everybody knew that was a possibility. 00:11:43.639 --> 00:11:46.320 Or it was very dangerous. There were a ton of 00:11:46.320 --> 00:11:49.320 people running in. So the firefighter's courage 00:11:49.320 --> 00:11:53.179 is demonstrated not merely by strength, but by 00:11:53.179 --> 00:11:56.679 whom he chooses to save. If he just runs in there, 00:11:56.820 --> 00:11:59.820 that's courage, right? But if he pulls someone 00:11:59.820 --> 00:12:04.200 out, think of how strong that makes him. He's 00:12:04.200 --> 00:12:06.399 actually physically pulled them out of the fire. 00:12:06.460 --> 00:12:08.080 He's brought them back from death. He's given 00:12:08.080 --> 00:12:11.179 them life over death, essentially. And God reveals 00:12:11.179 --> 00:12:13.179 his greatest strength not by crushing humanity, 00:12:13.460 --> 00:12:17.200 but by sending his son to redeem humanity. So 00:12:17.200 --> 00:12:18.899 when you think about your enemies, instead of 00:12:18.899 --> 00:12:20.960 thinking about, man, I hate that person. Man, 00:12:21.080 --> 00:12:22.879 I wish that person would get justice or anything 00:12:22.879 --> 00:12:24.659 like that. Or even like, because a lot of times 00:12:24.659 --> 00:12:26.860 we don't even have those thoughts, but stuff 00:12:26.860 --> 00:12:28.639 still comes out our mouth that makes it seem 00:12:28.639 --> 00:12:32.679 that way. They're so bad. I hate that. Not I 00:12:32.679 --> 00:12:34.899 hate that person, but the tone is that you hate 00:12:34.899 --> 00:12:37.019 them, right? Because you're defending yourself. 00:12:37.600 --> 00:12:39.720 Because they're attacking you or whatever. Remember 00:12:39.720 --> 00:12:43.580 that God's goal is to save that person. And you're 00:12:43.580 --> 00:12:46.139 not going to save that person by you being mean 00:12:46.139 --> 00:12:47.860 back to them when they're being mean to you. 00:12:47.919 --> 00:12:49.879 Or you think they're being mean to you. Right? 00:12:50.899 --> 00:12:53.480 Okay. Number three. And then we'll do a stunt. 00:12:54.519 --> 00:12:56.559 Number three, then we'll do a recap of that first 00:12:56.559 --> 00:12:58.799 section. Then we'll do a stunt. Okay. God's arm 00:12:58.799 --> 00:13:03.000 is never too weak. Jeremiah 32, 17 is the reference. 00:13:03.259 --> 00:13:04.860 We'll put that on that line right there. Jeremiah 00:13:04.860 --> 00:13:10.360 32, 17. Which says, Ah, Lord God, behold, you 00:13:10.360 --> 00:13:12.840 have made the heavens and the earth by your great 00:13:12.840 --> 00:13:18.360 power and by your great power and by your outstretched 00:13:18.360 --> 00:13:23.659 arm. Nothing is too difficult for you. If you 00:13:23.659 --> 00:13:25.860 can't get it through the fact that Jesus was 00:13:25.860 --> 00:13:27.759 crucified and brought back to life, you can't 00:13:27.759 --> 00:13:30.000 get it through all the miracles that Jesus did. 00:13:30.159 --> 00:13:32.059 You can't get it through all the transformed 00:13:32.059 --> 00:13:35.600 souls who have had an incredible experience of 00:13:35.600 --> 00:13:37.970 being born again. and totally changed. I have 00:13:37.970 --> 00:13:39.649 had one of those experiences, right? I hope many 00:13:39.649 --> 00:13:42.389 of you have. If you can't get it by that, just 00:13:42.389 --> 00:13:44.090 realize that at the very beginning when there 00:13:44.090 --> 00:13:48.649 was nothing, God created everything out of nothing. 00:13:49.450 --> 00:13:52.450 And the same God who can create everything out 00:13:52.450 --> 00:13:54.850 of nothing is not limited in what he can do. 00:13:54.929 --> 00:13:57.570 Let's say you need something and you beg God 00:13:57.570 --> 00:14:01.909 for it. God is able to give it or able to eliminate 00:14:01.909 --> 00:14:05.700 the need, right? Or able to turn the course so 00:14:05.700 --> 00:14:08.000 something completely different happens. Bottom 00:14:08.000 --> 00:14:10.659 line is God is not limited in his great power. 00:14:11.620 --> 00:14:14.419 And he has done all the creation by his great 00:14:14.419 --> 00:14:17.899 power and outstretched arm. The explanation then 00:14:17.899 --> 00:14:20.220 is Jeremiah connects creation with God's arm. 00:14:20.919 --> 00:14:23.580 So all those other references to God's arm in 00:14:23.580 --> 00:14:25.200 scripture are connected back to the creation. 00:14:25.360 --> 00:14:28.259 No limit to the power. The God who created galaxies 00:14:28.259 --> 00:14:31.240 has not exhausted his power. It's like, oh, he 00:14:31.240 --> 00:14:33.730 did it, but he ran out after that, right? Like 00:14:33.730 --> 00:14:37.629 his tank is empty. God's winded. He'll kick back 00:14:37.629 --> 00:14:39.330 in eventually, but right now he's taking a break. 00:14:39.490 --> 00:14:42.009 None of that is true. God is not limited. He's 00:14:42.009 --> 00:14:43.610 an internal being. He does not change states. 00:14:44.070 --> 00:14:47.769 And so he's completely capable. Nothing surprises 00:14:47.769 --> 00:14:51.149 God. That could go on a line for sure. Nothing 00:14:51.149 --> 00:14:55.289 overwhelms God. Nothing is beyond his ability. 00:14:56.250 --> 00:14:59.090 We had a sermon two Sundays ago on Sunday. We 00:14:59.090 --> 00:15:00.950 talked about whittling away at the sovereignty 00:15:00.950 --> 00:15:04.039 of God. and how you could make it so God's not 00:15:04.039 --> 00:15:06.700 really in charge, but you really do need God 00:15:06.700 --> 00:15:08.419 to be in charge, because then when you can't 00:15:08.419 --> 00:15:10.299 do it, you can rely on God to do it, so it's 00:15:10.299 --> 00:15:12.399 good to have him in charge. When we say whittling 00:15:12.399 --> 00:15:13.799 away at the sovereignty of God, it doesn't mean 00:15:13.799 --> 00:15:16.340 you can actually reduce the sovereignty of God. 00:15:16.519 --> 00:15:18.500 He's still sovereign. He's in charge of everything. 00:15:18.620 --> 00:15:20.879 You can't actually change that. What happens 00:15:20.879 --> 00:15:22.659 is you change it in your mind's eye, you change 00:15:22.659 --> 00:15:25.340 it in the way you're acting in your life, and 00:15:25.340 --> 00:15:27.580 now pretty soon you're fighting against God because 00:15:27.580 --> 00:15:30.600 you think God's not in charge. That's what happens 00:15:30.600 --> 00:15:32.519 with kids and parents sometimes. Kids get away 00:15:32.519 --> 00:15:35.379 with a little bit, and then they think, well, 00:15:35.379 --> 00:15:36.879 I can get away with a little bit more. I can 00:15:36.879 --> 00:15:38.320 get away with a little bit more. I can get away 00:15:38.320 --> 00:15:39.620 with a little bit more. And what they don't realize 00:15:39.620 --> 00:15:41.279 is everything they're getting away with is hurting 00:15:41.279 --> 00:15:43.820 them, even if they do manage to get away with 00:15:43.820 --> 00:15:45.799 it. And parents love you enough to sometimes 00:15:45.799 --> 00:15:47.960 let you get away with it when they shouldn't, 00:15:47.960 --> 00:15:52.419 and then everybody's in trouble, right? So nothing 00:15:52.419 --> 00:15:55.220 overwhelms God, and nothing is beyond God's ability. 00:15:56.440 --> 00:15:58.759 The God who stretched out the heavens can certainly, 00:15:59.490 --> 00:16:04.710 sustain his people. And then under the application, 00:16:05.009 --> 00:16:09.129 your greatest problem is still small compared 00:16:09.129 --> 00:16:11.830 to God's power. So if you think about what's 00:16:11.830 --> 00:16:13.470 the worst thing that's happening in your life, 00:16:13.529 --> 00:16:16.870 whatever that is, that is a small thing compared 00:16:16.870 --> 00:16:19.669 to the total resources that God can bring to 00:16:19.669 --> 00:16:22.909 bear. We're going to go back and recap the introduction 00:16:22.909 --> 00:16:26.240 real quick for those who didn't get it. All right, 00:16:26.240 --> 00:16:29.220 so on that four lines at the top, the four truths 00:16:29.220 --> 00:16:32.480 the arm of God communicates. First one was God 00:16:32.480 --> 00:16:37.480 possesses unlimited strength. The second one 00:16:37.480 --> 00:16:41.220 was God accomplishes salvation. The third one 00:16:41.220 --> 00:16:45.279 was God brings victory to his people. And the 00:16:45.279 --> 00:16:49.120 last one was God rules over creation. So it's 00:16:49.120 --> 00:16:52.659 God possesses unlimited strength. God accomplishes 00:16:52.659 --> 00:16:56.679 salvation. God brings victory to his people and 00:16:56.679 --> 00:16:59.220 God rules over all creation. Those are the four. 00:16:59.559 --> 00:17:04.079 The first reference under number one was Deuteronomy 00:17:04.079 --> 00:17:10.140 5 .15. We got most people now, I think. And that 00:17:10.140 --> 00:17:11.859 verse, of course, was the Lord your God brought 00:17:11.859 --> 00:17:14.839 you out and then toward the end with a mighty 00:17:14.839 --> 00:17:17.539 hand and an outstretched arm. That verse pairs 00:17:17.539 --> 00:17:20.059 God's hand and his arm together, a mighty hand 00:17:20.059 --> 00:17:22.900 and an outstretched arm. The hand accomplishes. 00:17:23.180 --> 00:17:27.140 The arm supplies overwhelming strength. Okay, 00:17:27.240 --> 00:17:30.380 did everybody get caught up then? I think that 00:17:30.380 --> 00:17:32.099 was almost everybody. If there's anything else 00:17:32.099 --> 00:17:34.799 you need to fill in, we can do it after. Okay, 00:17:34.940 --> 00:17:38.740 I'm going to do a stunt. I'm going to step across 00:17:38.740 --> 00:17:40.819 the front. If you participate in the stunt, you 00:17:40.819 --> 00:17:42.799 gain one ticket. If you succeed at the stunt, 00:17:42.960 --> 00:17:45.980 you gain three tickets. I don't know what the 00:17:45.980 --> 00:17:47.859 stunt is until I draw a random card and make 00:17:47.859 --> 00:17:53.670 sure we have the necessary parts. Let's see. 00:17:54.650 --> 00:17:56.390 We do not have the necessary parts for that one. 00:17:56.390 --> 00:17:59.130 Sorry. That's a fun one. I'll get the parts for 00:17:59.130 --> 00:18:04.390 next time. Okay. We can try it. All right. So 00:18:04.390 --> 00:18:06.890 it just involves a ping pong ball. Who's trying? 00:18:06.990 --> 00:18:11.230 I can do ten people at a time. Come on. Take 00:18:11.230 --> 00:18:14.210 one ball. There is one ball. Take one ball and 00:18:14.210 --> 00:18:23.289 set it on. I still got more in the box. There 00:18:23.289 --> 00:18:26.029 is going to be a hard one for you, but at least 00:18:26.029 --> 00:18:28.069 you can take a good ride. That's your ball, ain't 00:18:28.069 --> 00:18:30.089 it? Right. All right. That's your ball, too. 00:18:30.890 --> 00:18:36.529 All right. Everybody got a ball? You got one 00:18:36.529 --> 00:18:40.230 extra. I'm not going to try it. All right. So 00:18:40.230 --> 00:18:43.829 the challenge is called Hacky Sack. All right. 00:18:44.049 --> 00:18:46.869 So what you do is you must bounce the ball off 00:18:46.869 --> 00:18:49.789 one foot. and then it has to hit the other foot 00:18:49.789 --> 00:18:52.509 before it hits the ground, and both feet have 00:18:52.509 --> 00:18:54.029 to be off the ground when they hit the ball. 00:18:54.170 --> 00:18:56.309 So you hit it once, and then you hit it with 00:18:56.309 --> 00:18:57.970 the other foot. Don't follow that example very 00:18:57.970 --> 00:19:02.029 much. Okay, get the basic idea? So you have to 00:19:02.029 --> 00:19:05.799 kick it up with one foot. And then hit it with 00:19:05.799 --> 00:19:07.039 the other foot before it hits the ground. I actually 00:19:07.039 --> 00:19:10.500 did it. Look at me. I'm awesome. It's like hacky 00:19:10.500 --> 00:19:13.599 sack. Don't start yet. You have 60 seconds. If 00:19:13.599 --> 00:19:15.660 you fail in 60 seconds, you fail. You have 60 00:19:15.660 --> 00:19:19.660 seconds to try. Just one time. Both feet have 00:19:19.660 --> 00:19:21.880 to be off the ground. You kick it with one foot 00:19:21.880 --> 00:19:23.519 and then kick it with the other foot before it 00:19:23.519 --> 00:19:27.980 hits the ground. Don't start yet. You can spread 00:19:27.980 --> 00:19:30.960 out if you need to. Y 'all are watching them 00:19:30.960 --> 00:19:33.369 to make sure they're not... lying. If they say 00:19:33.369 --> 00:19:37.430 they got it, then you're their witnesses. Right? 00:19:38.789 --> 00:19:40.829 One foot, then the other foot. Both feet have 00:19:40.829 --> 00:19:42.210 to be off the ground when you kick the ball. 00:19:42.269 --> 00:19:44.309 That's all you got to do. You have 60 seconds 00:19:44.309 --> 00:19:47.589 to try. If you fail, just try again for 60 seconds. 00:19:47.710 --> 00:19:54.170 Ready? Go. One foot, then the other. Very good. 00:19:55.400 --> 00:20:01.980 I didn't lose your ball already. Thank you. No. 00:20:02.940 --> 00:20:09.400 Keep trying. Still got 40 seconds. Still got 00:20:09.400 --> 00:20:28.599 40 seconds. 30 to 8. No. No. No. No. 20 seconds. 00:20:29.059 --> 00:20:32.000 I figured out the truth. Don't lift your feet 00:20:32.000 --> 00:20:34.960 up so high. The higher you lift your feet, the 00:20:34.960 --> 00:20:49.359 harder it gets. Nope, got 9 seconds. 3, 2, 1. 00:20:54.769 --> 00:20:58.150 It's just your ball. You're up to the side. It's 00:20:58.150 --> 00:21:05.450 up to you. I'm sorry. I'm over here. I'm over 00:21:05.450 --> 00:21:09.329 here. I'm over here. I'm over here. I'm over 00:21:09.329 --> 00:21:30.380 here. I'm over here. I'm over here. All right. 00:21:30.440 --> 00:21:34.299 Thank you for participating. It's entertaining 00:21:34.299 --> 00:21:42.960 to everybody else. All right. Back in the day 00:21:42.960 --> 00:21:44.420 when they first started doing that hacky sack 00:21:44.420 --> 00:21:46.559 thing, I would watch them stand around in a circle 00:21:46.559 --> 00:21:48.099 and they would all kick the hacky sack and keep 00:21:48.099 --> 00:21:51.730 it up like 20 times in a row. I totally don't 00:21:51.730 --> 00:21:53.650 get that. I don't know how they do that. It's 00:21:53.650 --> 00:21:55.910 amazing. I guess the more you practice, the better 00:21:55.910 --> 00:22:02.430 you get. Okay, we're on number four. God's arm 00:22:02.430 --> 00:22:06.589 shepherds his people. Again, most of these I 00:22:06.589 --> 00:22:08.329 think you kind of get. We're just understanding 00:22:08.329 --> 00:22:10.690 that there is a connection there and then trying 00:22:10.690 --> 00:22:14.009 to draw inferences from the connection. So the 00:22:14.009 --> 00:22:20.450 reference is Isaiah 40, verse 11. And it says, 00:22:20.650 --> 00:22:23.369 like a shepherd, he will tend his flock. And 00:22:23.369 --> 00:22:26.250 it ends with, he will gather the lambs with his 00:22:26.250 --> 00:22:31.089 arm. This is one of scripture's most tender pictures. 00:22:31.609 --> 00:22:35.630 The same arm that defeats nation gently carries 00:22:35.630 --> 00:22:40.170 lambs. God's strength is never harsh toward his 00:22:40.170 --> 00:22:43.289 enemies. I'm sorry, toward his children. God's 00:22:43.289 --> 00:22:45.009 strength is never harsh toward his children. 00:22:45.150 --> 00:22:48.890 So realize that same arm. that can destroy, wipe 00:22:48.890 --> 00:22:50.890 out whole nations, wipe out armies, has done 00:22:50.890 --> 00:22:55.990 so, right? God will tenderly pick you up and 00:22:55.990 --> 00:22:58.250 carry you. He'll wrap you up. He'll protect you. 00:22:58.309 --> 00:23:01.609 He'll provide for you with that same power. It's 00:23:01.609 --> 00:23:03.289 not a power that's like, so we think of like 00:23:03.289 --> 00:23:06.750 a big sword crunch, right? It's not a power like 00:23:06.750 --> 00:23:08.029 that because what else can you do with a big 00:23:08.029 --> 00:23:10.029 sword? You can pry something like with a lever. 00:23:10.089 --> 00:23:11.910 You can break something. That's pretty much the 00:23:11.910 --> 00:23:13.930 limit of it. Use it as a really big paperweight. 00:23:14.359 --> 00:23:17.000 Right. But you can't make anybody warm or comfortable. 00:23:17.240 --> 00:23:20.799 You can't heal any wounds with it. Right. But 00:23:20.799 --> 00:23:25.480 God's arm is not just for battle. His strength 00:23:25.480 --> 00:23:28.039 is never harsh toward his children. His power 00:23:28.039 --> 00:23:31.359 serves his compassion. So does he have unlimited 00:23:31.359 --> 00:23:34.519 power? Yes. Does he have unlimited compassion? 00:23:34.940 --> 00:23:39.960 Yes. And the two are perfectly welded. Not sometimes 00:23:39.960 --> 00:23:42.039 God is compassionate. Other times God is powerful. 00:23:42.700 --> 00:23:44.880 He has unlimited power and unlimited compassion 00:23:44.880 --> 00:23:48.779 all the time at the same time. He carries those 00:23:48.779 --> 00:23:52.920 too weak to walk. Many of those things can go 00:23:52.920 --> 00:23:58.180 in those lines on the summary there. And then 00:23:58.180 --> 00:24:01.180 the application, God's strength is always joined 00:24:01.180 --> 00:24:14.509 to his tenderness. Number five, God's arm brings 00:24:14.509 --> 00:24:20.349 victory. Psalm 98 .1 is the reference. His right 00:24:20.349 --> 00:24:23.089 hand and his holy arm have gained the victory 00:24:23.089 --> 00:24:27.089 for him. Notice again, there is the hand and 00:24:27.089 --> 00:24:29.769 the arm. Still pictures two different things, 00:24:29.970 --> 00:24:34.549 but working in perfect unison. Victory belongs 00:24:34.549 --> 00:24:38.890 to God. Israel's military success never depended 00:24:38.890 --> 00:24:42.730 upon numbers alone. Likewise, Christ's victory 00:24:42.730 --> 00:24:47.150 over sin, death, and Satan is entirely God's 00:24:47.150 --> 00:24:52.869 accomplishment. No shared efforts. And then the 00:24:52.869 --> 00:24:55.190 application is our confidence rests in God's 00:24:55.190 --> 00:24:58.049 victories rather than our abilities. So in other 00:24:58.049 --> 00:25:00.630 words, the next time that you're facing a sin 00:25:00.630 --> 00:25:03.589 and you go to our temptation that leads to sin, 00:25:03.589 --> 00:25:05.109 sin leads to a breaking relationship between 00:25:05.109 --> 00:25:06.970 you and God, and you're thinking, I don't know 00:25:06.970 --> 00:25:11.019 if I can do it. That shows a flaw in your thinking. 00:25:11.519 --> 00:25:13.819 It is not a question of whether or not you can 00:25:13.819 --> 00:25:16.960 do it. When you think about your spouse, I don't 00:25:16.960 --> 00:25:19.440 know if they'll make a bad decision here or not. 00:25:19.660 --> 00:25:21.299 I don't know if they'll give in to temptation 00:25:21.299 --> 00:25:24.019 or I can't trust him or her to go there because 00:25:24.019 --> 00:25:26.460 I don't know what will happen. It's not about 00:25:26.460 --> 00:25:29.259 what you think they will do. It's about trusting 00:25:29.259 --> 00:25:33.680 God. God has the power for the victory. And as 00:25:33.680 --> 00:25:35.859 long as they trust God, he will make it a victory. 00:25:35.960 --> 00:25:37.859 And if they don't trust God and it feels like 00:25:37.859 --> 00:25:40.579 it's not a victory for a time, ultimately they 00:25:40.579 --> 00:25:42.279 have to repent, turn back to the Lord, and the 00:25:42.279 --> 00:25:44.579 end victory is still the same, determined by 00:25:44.579 --> 00:25:49.720 God's power, not by a person's choices. The application 00:25:49.720 --> 00:25:55.099 then is our confidence rests in God's victories 00:25:55.099 --> 00:25:58.440 rather than our own abilities. So we kind of 00:25:58.440 --> 00:26:01.480 know that. But notice that it is because of the 00:26:01.480 --> 00:26:03.880 teaching overall of Scripture of the power of 00:26:03.880 --> 00:26:07.160 God, the might that is in his arm, that we know 00:26:07.160 --> 00:26:10.559 that. That's why we know. We'll do one more and 00:26:10.559 --> 00:26:13.920 then we'll do our second stop. Number six. Moving 00:26:13.920 --> 00:26:18.839 right along. God's arm rules the universe. Isaiah 00:26:18.839 --> 00:26:23.420 40, 10. Isaiah 40, verse 10. Behold, the Lord 00:26:23.420 --> 00:26:26.819 God will come with might, with his arm ruling 00:26:26.819 --> 00:26:36.289 for him. God's arm represents his sovereign authority. 00:26:37.710 --> 00:26:42.309 Kings rule through armies. God rules through 00:26:42.309 --> 00:26:46.789 his own power. No one votes to have God be ruler 00:26:46.789 --> 00:26:48.690 over their life. That's why it does not work 00:26:48.690 --> 00:26:51.450 to say, if you just pray, you'll be saved. Because 00:26:51.450 --> 00:26:54.069 that person who's praying, they're asking God, 00:26:54.230 --> 00:26:55.589 but you don't know what's going on in their heart. 00:26:55.950 --> 00:26:57.769 You don't know whether they understand the words. 00:26:58.559 --> 00:27:04.140 Right? We receive salvation as a free gift. So 00:27:04.140 --> 00:27:05.980 you might be better off saying, if you'll receive 00:27:05.980 --> 00:27:08.319 it, if you'll accept what God is willing to do, 00:27:08.339 --> 00:27:12.279 if you'll trust in him, it's a tough thing. But 00:27:12.279 --> 00:27:15.619 to say that even then, to say that their trust 00:27:15.619 --> 00:27:18.380 is what saves them, that doesn't quite do it 00:27:18.380 --> 00:27:22.559 either. No earthly government can resist God's 00:27:22.559 --> 00:27:25.900 eternal kingdom. No matter who stands against 00:27:25.900 --> 00:27:29.190 him, Last night, our devotional at home, our 00:27:29.190 --> 00:27:33.950 devotional was on Jezebel, who was King Ahab's 00:27:33.950 --> 00:27:41.650 wife, and she was bad. It was her goal, her mission, 00:27:41.730 --> 00:27:44.849 her vision to eradicate the worship of God in 00:27:44.849 --> 00:27:50.009 Israel to the point that they soaked in tar priests 00:27:50.009 --> 00:27:53.289 and hung them on posts and hung them alongside 00:27:53.289 --> 00:27:56.299 the street and set them on fire. to light the 00:27:56.299 --> 00:27:59.460 street on the way to the palace. And she hunted 00:27:59.460 --> 00:28:01.279 every priest down and tried to kill them. Now, 00:28:01.299 --> 00:28:04.640 God retained priests for himself and did not 00:28:04.640 --> 00:28:07.059 allow her to kill them all. But at one point 00:28:07.059 --> 00:28:08.799 in time, Elijah thought he was the last, but 00:28:08.799 --> 00:28:13.079 he wasn't. No earthly government, and people 00:28:13.079 --> 00:28:15.440 have tried to eradicate Christianity time and 00:28:15.440 --> 00:28:18.400 time again. It's not going to happen. God's rule 00:28:18.400 --> 00:28:22.759 is perfect. His justice is certain. His reign 00:28:22.759 --> 00:28:24.910 is everlasting. Any one of those things could 00:28:24.910 --> 00:28:27.970 go on those lines. His rule is perfect. His justice 00:28:27.970 --> 00:28:32.390 is certain. His reign is everlasting. And then 00:28:32.390 --> 00:28:34.990 the application would be, when the world seems 00:28:34.990 --> 00:28:38.230 out of control, remember that God's arm still 00:28:38.230 --> 00:28:59.210 rules. This is our last stunt for the night. 00:29:00.910 --> 00:29:10.809 Let me see if I have what we need in here. Oops. 00:29:11.490 --> 00:29:13.069 Let's say that we do not have what we need for 00:29:13.069 --> 00:29:21.430 that one. It's a little unfair. It wants you 00:29:21.430 --> 00:29:23.150 to juggle three balls, and I think I'm the only 00:29:23.150 --> 00:29:27.329 person in the room that can do it. You can juggle 00:29:27.329 --> 00:29:31.750 three? All right. You can do two with one hand? 00:29:32.069 --> 00:29:35.349 Only kind of. You know what they call it if you 00:29:35.349 --> 00:29:39.789 only kind of juggle? Dropping. Dropping. That's 00:29:39.789 --> 00:29:58.339 what they call it. Okay, here we got one. Alright, 00:29:58.440 --> 00:30:01.099 this is an easy one. It's ping pong balls again. 00:30:02.500 --> 00:30:08.799 It's called Harlem Globetrotters. Everybody needs 00:30:08.799 --> 00:30:34.940 a ball. One ball each. Anybody got one? Okay, 00:30:35.259 --> 00:30:37.420 so the stunt is called Harlem Globetrotters. 00:30:37.480 --> 00:30:42.319 You have 60 seconds. You must bounce the ball 00:30:42.319 --> 00:30:44.380 between your legs and catch it with the other 00:30:44.380 --> 00:30:49.619 hand. Like that? Okay. You must do so three times 00:30:49.619 --> 00:30:53.240 successfully inside 60 seconds. If you drop it, 00:30:53.319 --> 00:30:56.839 you start over at zero. Don't start yet. Wait 00:30:56.839 --> 00:30:58.900 for the clock. So you bounce it off the floor 00:30:58.900 --> 00:31:01.200 between your legs like that. Catch it over here. 00:31:01.579 --> 00:31:03.259 Then you can go back the other way or you can 00:31:03.259 --> 00:31:04.859 go to the same hand if you want. Don't do it 00:31:04.859 --> 00:31:06.960 yet. Don't do it yet. No practicing. No practicing. 00:31:07.799 --> 00:31:12.059 Okay. You got 60 seconds. If you fail one time, 00:31:12.059 --> 00:31:13.579 like if you try to bounce it and it falls, you 00:31:13.579 --> 00:31:15.930 have to start over at zero. You have to do three 00:31:15.930 --> 00:31:19.430 in a row. Okay? Three in a row. Three in a row. 00:31:19.490 --> 00:31:23.490 Don't forget to count. Don't do that. Whatever 00:31:23.490 --> 00:31:27.130 that was, it wasn't good. Ready? Spread out a 00:31:27.130 --> 00:31:29.990 little bit. Give yourself some room. Spread out 00:31:29.990 --> 00:31:36.690 a little bit. And go. If you fail, you start 00:31:36.690 --> 00:31:49.299 at zero. That's zero. Back to zero. Okay, that's 00:31:49.299 --> 00:31:52.160 three. Got it already. You're starting it out 00:31:52.160 --> 00:31:57.640 tonight. Can you stop doing good? What a great 00:31:57.640 --> 00:32:03.559 brother. Can you stop doing good? Alright, come 00:32:03.559 --> 00:32:10.539 get your tickets if you did it. One, two, three. 00:32:12.019 --> 00:32:17.250 One, two. My tactic is always not super high. 00:32:19.630 --> 00:32:32.529 In the box. Hey. What? Go. You're good. You got 00:32:32.529 --> 00:32:35.769 time. Not much. There it is. Time's up. I got 00:32:35.769 --> 00:33:13.450 it. Okay, we've got number seven. We've got the 00:33:13.450 --> 00:33:15.930 recap and then Bible trivia. We're doing good 00:33:15.930 --> 00:33:24.470 on time. Okay. The reference is Deuteronomy 33, 00:33:24.769 --> 00:33:29.509 27. Deuteronomy, the book of Deuteronomy, 33, 00:33:29.750 --> 00:33:32.009 27. The book of Deuteronomy is called Deuteronomy, 00:33:32.029 --> 00:33:34.190 by the way, because it is the final two speeches 00:33:34.190 --> 00:33:38.170 of Moses combined. So he was going to lead the 00:33:38.170 --> 00:33:41.430 Israelites to go on under Joshua and do what 00:33:41.430 --> 00:33:44.740 it was they needed to do. And he gave two major 00:33:44.740 --> 00:33:46.279 speeches to tell them everything they needed 00:33:46.279 --> 00:33:48.420 to know. So for future reference, that's why 00:33:48.420 --> 00:33:51.180 it's called Deuteronomy. The eternal God is a 00:33:51.180 --> 00:33:54.160 dwelling place, and underneath are the everlasting 00:33:54.160 --> 00:33:58.440 arms. Moses ends his blessing with one of the 00:33:58.440 --> 00:34:02.160 most comforting promises in Scripture. God's 00:34:02.160 --> 00:34:05.000 arms never tire. They never weaken. They never 00:34:05.000 --> 00:34:09.000 let go. We have a song like that. Never let go. 00:34:11.170 --> 00:34:15.309 Even when believers stumble, that believer does 00:34:15.309 --> 00:34:17.670 not fall beyond the reach of God's everlasting 00:34:17.670 --> 00:34:20.889 arms. God is not going to say, oh, forget you. 00:34:21.730 --> 00:34:23.469 If you have accepted Jesus Christ, your Lord 00:34:23.469 --> 00:34:25.150 and Savior, he's still going to be there, still 00:34:25.150 --> 00:34:28.949 going to be working. Might be working against 00:34:28.949 --> 00:34:30.710 you if you're working against yourself, because 00:34:30.710 --> 00:34:32.329 he's always working for you. If you're working 00:34:32.329 --> 00:34:33.750 against yourself, then that means you're working 00:34:33.750 --> 00:34:36.789 against him. Say that again. God's always working 00:34:36.789 --> 00:34:39.170 for you. But when you're working against yourself, 00:34:39.800 --> 00:34:41.199 That means you're going to be working against 00:34:41.199 --> 00:34:45.380 God because God is working for you. And then 00:34:45.380 --> 00:34:48.219 the application is every believer lives securely 00:34:48.219 --> 00:34:55.380 supported by God's eternal strength. Huh. She 00:34:55.380 --> 00:35:00.079 said. She's got a beautiful voice, Vanessa. I 00:35:00.079 --> 00:35:03.400 think you might be in trouble. Good kind of trouble, 00:35:03.480 --> 00:35:07.179 though. Okay. So we're on the theological summer. 00:35:07.530 --> 00:35:10.130 theological summary part, that box right there. 00:35:10.730 --> 00:35:13.429 Okay? And you're just going to put the words 00:35:13.429 --> 00:35:16.889 in the lines. The arm of God teaches his, big 00:35:16.889 --> 00:35:23.389 word, omnipotence. Omni, O -M -N -I, potence. 00:35:23.409 --> 00:35:27.489 P -O -T -E -N -C -E. Which basically says nothing 00:35:27.489 --> 00:35:32.690 is impossible for him. Right? God's arm teaches 00:35:32.690 --> 00:35:38.760 us his salvation. He alone rescues sinners. Salvation. 00:35:39.199 --> 00:35:43.579 S -A -L -V -A -T -I -O -N. Salvation. With an 00:35:43.579 --> 00:35:50.260 I. His victory. He defeats every enemy. His compassion. 00:35:51.119 --> 00:35:54.699 His strength protects the weak. That one really 00:35:54.699 --> 00:35:56.739 spoke to me when I first wrote this Bible study, 00:35:56.800 --> 00:35:59.920 by the way, because I forget that myself. The 00:35:59.920 --> 00:36:02.019 Bible says that we need to remember the severity 00:36:02.019 --> 00:36:07.010 of God. And I do. I mean, I... I try to. And 00:36:07.010 --> 00:36:10.449 then sometimes I forget his gentleness, you know, 00:36:10.449 --> 00:36:13.449 his compassion, his tenderness toward me and 00:36:13.449 --> 00:36:15.170 toward others who are not necessarily going the 00:36:15.170 --> 00:36:19.789 right way. Okay. His sovereignty. Another big 00:36:19.789 --> 00:36:28.690 word. S -O -V -E -R -E -I -G -N -T -Y. Sovereignty. 00:36:28.809 --> 00:36:37.349 S -O -V -E -R -E -I -G -N -T -Y. Which is to 00:36:37.349 --> 00:36:40.329 say that God rules over every nation. And I would 00:36:40.329 --> 00:36:44.170 say that means he rules over everything. His 00:36:44.170 --> 00:36:51.730 faithfulness. His power never diminishes. Faithfulness. 00:36:52.650 --> 00:36:58.590 Faith. F -A -I -T -H -F -U -L -N -E -S -S. Faithfulness. 00:36:59.750 --> 00:37:01.730 Not going to wear out. Not going to run down. 00:37:02.170 --> 00:37:12.030 Not going to give up. His security, his everlasting 00:37:12.030 --> 00:37:16.329 arms sustain his people forever. Now there's 00:37:16.329 --> 00:37:18.929 some practical applications of this then, and 00:37:18.929 --> 00:37:21.489 they go in that very bottom box. First one is, 00:37:21.630 --> 00:37:25.829 trust God's strength when your strength is exhausted. 00:37:26.849 --> 00:37:30.210 I just recently had a morning where I was just 00:37:30.210 --> 00:37:36.170 really feeling spiritually beat up. Not sure 00:37:36.170 --> 00:37:39.050 what my next steps were going to be. And Sherry 00:37:39.050 --> 00:37:43.170 came and gave me a hug and prayed for me. And 00:37:43.170 --> 00:37:45.409 by the time she was done praying, I knew what 00:37:45.409 --> 00:37:46.610 my next steps were going to be. I was just going 00:37:46.610 --> 00:37:49.409 to keep doing what God wanted me to do. And then 00:37:49.409 --> 00:37:51.369 it took about halfway through the day and it 00:37:51.369 --> 00:37:55.630 was all gone. So trust God's strength when yours 00:37:55.630 --> 00:37:59.150 is exhausted. Remember that salvation is God's 00:37:59.150 --> 00:38:02.530 work, not ours. Huge when you're witnessing. 00:38:03.599 --> 00:38:05.820 We feel like we're compelled. We want to make 00:38:05.820 --> 00:38:08.900 them do something. You want them to say certain 00:38:08.900 --> 00:38:11.519 words. The words they say, the things they do, 00:38:11.599 --> 00:38:14.079 none of that matters. If they say they're getting 00:38:14.079 --> 00:38:17.360 saved, it almost doesn't matter at all. I'll 00:38:17.360 --> 00:38:19.800 never forget back in the day when the ICE event 00:38:19.800 --> 00:38:21.400 happened and they were filling out the paperwork 00:38:21.400 --> 00:38:23.940 afterwards about how many people got saved. And 00:38:23.940 --> 00:38:26.000 it felt to me like they were falsifying the paperwork. 00:38:26.900 --> 00:38:28.619 Like, why would you do that? They were saying, 00:38:28.699 --> 00:38:30.719 well, they said this and they said that and they 00:38:30.719 --> 00:38:32.280 asked for this and they asked for that and they 00:38:32.280 --> 00:38:36.900 prayed. And they promised. And like, I don't 00:38:36.900 --> 00:38:38.900 think any of the things that you're saying add 00:38:38.900 --> 00:38:44.199 up to they got saved. You know? And so we got 00:38:44.199 --> 00:38:46.940 to be careful. Realize that salvation is God's 00:38:46.940 --> 00:38:51.000 work, not ours. Rest in his power during difficult 00:38:51.000 --> 00:38:55.480 circumstances. That kind of ties right into trusting 00:38:55.480 --> 00:38:57.679 God's strength when yours is exhausted. But a 00:38:57.679 --> 00:38:59.199 lot of times your strength is not exhausted. 00:38:59.280 --> 00:39:01.980 You need to start trusting first before you run 00:39:01.980 --> 00:39:03.789 out of strength. Because then what if in the 00:39:03.789 --> 00:39:04.969 middle of it, God says, all you have to do is 00:39:04.969 --> 00:39:06.429 this one little thing and it'll take care of 00:39:06.429 --> 00:39:08.170 it. You got nothing left because you've spent 00:39:08.170 --> 00:39:09.829 all your strength before you ever went to him 00:39:09.829 --> 00:39:13.210 to ask. And God says, well, just get up. And 00:39:13.210 --> 00:39:14.590 you're like, but I can't get up. I did everything 00:39:14.590 --> 00:39:16.329 I was supposed to do and now I'm all wiped out 00:39:16.329 --> 00:39:18.110 and I can't get up. God's like, you just get 00:39:18.110 --> 00:39:21.590 up. And then now you have to rely on his strength 00:39:21.590 --> 00:39:24.349 even for the getting up, which he'll do. But 00:39:24.349 --> 00:39:27.530 if he wants you to do something simple and he 00:39:27.530 --> 00:39:30.710 asks you to do it, he expects you to do it. Four. 00:39:31.289 --> 00:39:35.889 Find comfort in his gentle care. Live confidently 00:39:35.889 --> 00:39:39.949 because his victory is certain. Now, again, you 00:39:39.949 --> 00:39:41.789 probably could have wrote those. Most of you 00:39:41.789 --> 00:39:43.469 probably could have wrote those. These are not 00:39:43.469 --> 00:39:46.289 things that we don't know. But now, because we 00:39:46.289 --> 00:39:48.329 looked at the arm of God, we know why we know 00:39:48.329 --> 00:39:51.110 them. Because God's arm is always at work, and 00:39:51.110 --> 00:39:52.909 you can kind of feel it even when you haven't 00:39:52.909 --> 00:39:57.980 read it. So, a closing illustration. In a lot 00:39:57.980 --> 00:40:00.679 of old churches and cathedral buildings, especially 00:40:00.679 --> 00:40:03.860 across Europe, there are paintings of Atlas. 00:40:04.539 --> 00:40:07.639 Anybody remember him? He's that mythical giant 00:40:07.639 --> 00:40:11.059 comes from what, Greek, right? And he's supposedly 00:40:11.059 --> 00:40:14.440 holding the world on his shoulders. The image 00:40:14.440 --> 00:40:18.360 of Atlas suggests incredible strength as he's 00:40:18.360 --> 00:40:21.219 literally holding up the world. Yeah, that's 00:40:21.219 --> 00:40:24.559 only a legend. The Bible offers a far greater 00:40:24.559 --> 00:40:27.420 reality. God does not strain beneath the weight 00:40:27.420 --> 00:40:31.760 of the universe. I preached a block party over 00:40:31.760 --> 00:40:33.820 on New Heights, and I had the video, and we used 00:40:33.820 --> 00:40:36.780 an excerpt from it to make a promotions video 00:40:36.780 --> 00:40:39.500 for the missions later. It was about 15 years 00:40:39.500 --> 00:40:41.840 ago. And in that, as I was preaching, I said, 00:40:41.880 --> 00:40:43.639 God could take the whole universe, not just the 00:40:43.639 --> 00:40:45.179 earth, but the whole universe, and put it in 00:40:45.179 --> 00:40:47.199 his hand with a tiny drop of dish soap like this, 00:40:47.260 --> 00:40:49.699 and go, he can clean the whole universe if he 00:40:49.699 --> 00:40:52.289 wanted to. And as I was preaching, I felt the 00:40:52.289 --> 00:40:54.630 Holy Spirit say, that's a pretty good illustration. 00:40:55.110 --> 00:40:58.389 Because if we think about the moon, it's big, 00:40:58.690 --> 00:41:00.230 right? You see in the night sky, it's big. You 00:41:00.230 --> 00:41:02.269 think about the sun, it's kind of small, right? 00:41:02.530 --> 00:41:05.170 It's barely bigger than the moon, but it's 96 00:41:05.170 --> 00:41:09.530 million miles away. It's actually like thousands 00:41:09.530 --> 00:41:11.949 or, Art might be able to tell us exactly, but 00:41:11.949 --> 00:41:15.230 like a million times bigger than the earth, right? 00:41:15.309 --> 00:41:19.130 And God is... A million times, a billion times, 00:41:19.210 --> 00:41:23.730 and an infinitely bigger being than all the star 00:41:23.730 --> 00:41:26.369 systems and all the stars and everything that 00:41:26.369 --> 00:41:30.989 exists combined. And we think that puts it in 00:41:30.989 --> 00:41:35.489 perspective. It's a far greater reality. More 00:41:35.489 --> 00:41:38.210 astonishing than that, then, is that the same 00:41:38.210 --> 00:41:41.030 mighty God who sustains the stars, who made it 00:41:41.030 --> 00:41:43.570 all and sustains it all, carries us when we need 00:41:43.570 --> 00:41:47.360 it. That's huge. The arm that parted the Red 00:41:47.360 --> 00:41:49.039 Sea conquered death through the resurrection 00:41:49.039 --> 00:41:52.639 of Christ and will one day establish his eternal 00:41:52.639 --> 00:41:57.239 kingdom in the very arm that carries every believer 00:41:57.239 --> 00:42:01.440 through life's greatest trials. For the unbeliever, 00:42:01.460 --> 00:42:05.059 this lesson is a call to trust in the only one 00:42:05.059 --> 00:42:06.639 powerful enough to do what we're talking about. 00:42:07.300 --> 00:42:10.639 For us, for the believers in the room, I hope 00:42:10.639 --> 00:42:11.780 we're all believers in the room. I don't know. 00:42:11.880 --> 00:42:15.929 I hope you are. God is an unending source of 00:42:15.929 --> 00:42:18.750 confidence. If you'd be confident because you 00:42:18.750 --> 00:42:21.030 received a check in the mail, because you see 00:42:21.030 --> 00:42:22.829 praise, encouragement, somebody told you you're 00:42:22.829 --> 00:42:24.969 doing the right thing. If you'd be confident 00:42:24.969 --> 00:42:27.550 because somebody smiled at you and you're talking 00:42:27.550 --> 00:42:29.650 to them, or because your doctor gave you a good 00:42:29.650 --> 00:42:32.289 report. If any of those things would boost your 00:42:32.289 --> 00:42:34.570 confidence, the fact that the God of the universe 00:42:34.570 --> 00:42:36.650 is on your side with this kind of power, that 00:42:36.650 --> 00:42:40.150 should boost your confidence. The Lord has bared 00:42:40.150 --> 00:42:43.139 his holy arm. that all the ends of the earth 00:42:43.139 --> 00:42:45.179 may see the salvation of our God. That's Isaiah 00:42:45.179 --> 00:42:48.039 52 .10. And his mighty arm is still reaching, 00:42:48.179 --> 00:42:50.719 still rescuing, still carrying, and still reigning 00:42:50.719 --> 00:42:55.199 today. Okay? All right. So that concludes the 00:42:55.199 --> 00:42:56.719 arm of God. Now, just so you know where we're 00:42:56.719 --> 00:43:00.099 at, okay, we have three more anthropomorphic 00:43:00.099 --> 00:43:03.739 terms for God that we'll handle in the next three 00:43:03.739 --> 00:43:07.380 weeks. Somewhere in there, or by the fourth week 00:43:07.380 --> 00:43:10.400 at the latest, Our structure in here will change 00:43:10.400 --> 00:43:13.199 a little bit on Tuesday night. So we'll start, 00:43:13.320 --> 00:43:16.079 and we'll have worship, and it'll be a little 00:43:16.079 --> 00:43:18.699 different. But we'll still be doing the fun stuff, 00:43:18.860 --> 00:43:20.619 especially when we have the kids with us and 00:43:20.619 --> 00:43:24.940 like that, and keeping it energetic because coming 00:43:24.940 --> 00:43:27.880 to church should be fun. It also should be a 00:43:27.880 --> 00:43:29.280 great deal of learning. And those who think that, 00:43:29.300 --> 00:43:31.860 like, we just can learn. We don't need to do 00:43:31.860 --> 00:43:37.300 anything fun. I think God's fun. You have to 00:43:37.300 --> 00:43:39.400 talk to him about that. All right. If you want 00:43:39.400 --> 00:43:41.199 to do Bible trivia, you can stand up where you 00:43:41.199 --> 00:43:45.320 are. Questions will come in random order. Some 00:43:45.320 --> 00:43:49.400 are easy. Some are hard. I just got off the page. 00:43:49.420 --> 00:43:58.039 I got to get back. You get one ticket. Okay. 00:43:58.099 --> 00:43:59.960 Just two housekeeping things before we start 00:43:59.960 --> 00:44:02.460 this in case I forget. After we do Bible trivia, 00:44:02.699 --> 00:44:05.199 if you have completed your worksheet for today, 00:44:05.840 --> 00:44:07.699 I'm going to give everybody a ticket that completed 00:44:07.699 --> 00:44:09.800 their worksheet today. So you'll get one extra 00:44:09.800 --> 00:44:12.099 ticket for that. Also, at the end of the night 00:44:12.099 --> 00:44:14.400 today, I'm going to draw a name from this box. 00:44:14.599 --> 00:44:17.599 So in this box are the tickets that were earned 00:44:17.599 --> 00:44:20.159 for the last roughly three months since we started 00:44:20.159 --> 00:44:25.019 doing this. Okay? And after we do all the prizes 00:44:25.019 --> 00:44:27.039 tonight, the tickets from tonight will also go 00:44:27.039 --> 00:44:29.139 in here. And then I'm going to shake it all up, 00:44:29.159 --> 00:44:30.599 and I'm going to draw one name and give away 00:44:30.599 --> 00:44:33.739 a $10 Meijer gift card. Just for fun. It's all 00:44:33.739 --> 00:44:37.480 for me. Okay? All right, here we go. Let's see. 00:44:37.619 --> 00:44:39.139 Where are we going to start? Me, me, mine, mine. 00:44:39.179 --> 00:44:41.000 We'll start over here. River, you're first. You 00:44:41.000 --> 00:44:46.380 ready? No pressure. No pressure. It's kind of 00:44:46.380 --> 00:44:47.920 a tough question. It's the first tough question. 00:44:48.000 --> 00:44:50.579 It's random. What are you going to do? What was 00:44:50.579 --> 00:44:54.400 the occupation of Luke, the author of the Gospel 00:44:54.400 --> 00:44:59.460 of Luke? What was his occupation, like job? Do 00:44:59.460 --> 00:45:01.300 you know? If not, you can sit down and keep your 00:45:01.300 --> 00:45:11.449 one ticket. One wants. Okay. Natalie, what was 00:45:11.449 --> 00:45:15.769 the occupation of Luke? Doctor is correct. Okay, 00:45:15.789 --> 00:45:20.869 very good. All right. Mike, you're up. Who was 00:45:20.869 --> 00:45:23.969 the king of Salem and priest of God Most High 00:45:23.969 --> 00:45:29.289 who blessed Abraham? Another hard one. Okay, 00:45:29.369 --> 00:45:32.809 sitting down. Haley, who was the king of Salem? 00:45:33.389 --> 00:45:35.969 and priest of God Most High who blessed Abraham. 00:45:36.590 --> 00:45:41.570 She's down. Chris, she stuck you with it. Who 00:45:41.570 --> 00:45:44.530 was the king of Salem and priest of God Most 00:45:44.530 --> 00:45:51.090 High who blessed Abraham? Okay. All right. Anybody 00:45:51.090 --> 00:45:53.590 want to take a stab at it? Does anybody know 00:45:53.590 --> 00:45:58.119 it? Melchizedek. Melchizedek is the name. And 00:45:58.119 --> 00:45:59.840 the New Testament says that Jesus is a priest 00:45:59.840 --> 00:46:04.460 in the order of Melchizedek. Okay? All right. 00:46:06.539 --> 00:46:10.039 Moving on. Who do we got? Jaden. What is the 00:46:10.039 --> 00:46:13.860 shortest book in the Old Testament? Be careful. 00:46:14.400 --> 00:46:18.320 The shortest book in the Old Testament. That 00:46:18.320 --> 00:46:19.900 is another hard one. I've got three hard ones 00:46:19.900 --> 00:46:21.980 in a row. I didn't write them. They're random. 00:46:22.420 --> 00:46:27.400 He's down. She's down. Jason? If you guess, you 00:46:27.400 --> 00:46:28.820 lose your ticket. Okay. Anyone want to take a 00:46:28.820 --> 00:46:30.500 stab at it? Shortest book in the Old Testament? 00:46:31.760 --> 00:46:36.199 Anyone want to take a stab at it? Nope. 1 Kings 00:46:36.199 --> 00:46:40.380 is long. Nope. Obadiah. Obadiah is the shortest 00:46:40.380 --> 00:46:47.500 book in the Old Testament. Okay. Caleb. Who fell 00:46:47.500 --> 00:46:50.659 asleep and fell out of a window during Paul's 00:46:50.659 --> 00:46:57.809 preaching? Another hard one. We'll get some easy 00:46:57.809 --> 00:47:04.130 ones eventually. I see an easy one coming. You 00:47:04.130 --> 00:47:05.530 should be able to ask your brother and he should 00:47:05.530 --> 00:47:07.170 know because he falls asleep sometimes during 00:47:07.170 --> 00:47:13.690 the preaching. I'm just kidding. It is not. Caleb 00:47:13.690 --> 00:47:21.429 couldn't get it. Tommy? Have a seat. Aaron? Sorry. 00:47:22.110 --> 00:47:27.940 You're the third one. Anybody got it? Eutychus. 00:47:27.940 --> 00:47:32.920 You'll never forget it again. Eutychus. So Paul 00:47:32.920 --> 00:47:34.860 preached really late into the night. He was sitting 00:47:34.860 --> 00:47:36.820 in the window. He fell out of the window, broke 00:47:36.820 --> 00:47:39.800 his neck and died. Paul went downstairs, laid 00:47:39.800 --> 00:47:42.539 on top of him, begged God to heal him, brought 00:47:42.539 --> 00:47:44.619 him back to life. They went back in, including 00:47:44.619 --> 00:47:46.480 Eutychus, and preached the rest of the night. 00:47:48.780 --> 00:47:50.760 And he would never fall asleep in the sermon 00:47:50.760 --> 00:47:54.480 again. Yeah, probably not. Okay. All right. You 00:47:54.480 --> 00:47:57.449 already did one, right? No, okay, Zayden. What 00:47:57.449 --> 00:47:59.809 was the name of the island where John received 00:47:59.809 --> 00:48:03.230 revelation? The island name. We had this one 00:48:03.230 --> 00:48:04.570 last week, but you weren't in here, were you? 00:48:05.469 --> 00:48:10.909 Oh, I'm so sorry. It's a tough one. If you've 00:48:10.909 --> 00:48:12.449 not heard it recently. You probably know it. 00:48:12.449 --> 00:48:17.090 As soon as I say it, you'll go, oh, yeah. He's 00:48:17.090 --> 00:48:21.969 down. Arden, the name of the island. Uh -oh, 00:48:21.989 --> 00:48:24.159 that's a problem. That means if it's two islands 00:48:24.159 --> 00:48:25.900 that usually mix up, they have a 50 -50 chance. 00:48:26.860 --> 00:48:30.780 What was the name of the island? Patmos. Patmos 00:48:30.780 --> 00:48:35.579 is correct. Okay, Abby. Who was the judge that 00:48:35.579 --> 00:48:42.139 defeated the Midianites with 300 men? They used 00:48:42.139 --> 00:48:46.159 trumpets and torches and broke pitchers. 300 00:48:46.159 --> 00:48:49.380 men. Remember his name? Don't remember? Have 00:48:49.380 --> 00:48:49.579 a seat.