WEBVTT

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We've now reached some of the darkest times in

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Israel's history. The last two weeks we have

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looked at particularly dark, dreadful, horrible

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encounters where God's people have hurt themselves,

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really walked away from the Lord. And we looked

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at last week and I mentioned how Really, we need

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to remember that everything that's about to happen

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happens not amongst a people that are like God's

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covenant people, called to be God's people and

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focused on God, but a people that are going home

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from whatever they're doing to worship their

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false gods that have taken concubines, that have

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idols in their house, that worship all over the

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place in the high places instead of where God

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has called them to worship. Thankfully, that

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means that there is no reason why we have to

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fall into the traps that we're about to see today.

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And yet, I will caution you that in many cases

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the church has. You may even see some of what

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we're about to read today in our own midst. And

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I think if that is the case, we need to repent

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of that and instead trust in the Lord. So grab

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your Bibles and go with me, if you would, maybe

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a little who to holler amen as we go to Judges

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chapter 20. Amen. Thank you so much. This is

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God's word. What we read today and we are going

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to read 28 verses is part of the larger story.

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And then if you will listen to what God has to

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say, you will for sure be affected. God's word

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does not not affect people. It always affects

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people. OK, so Judges chapter 20, beginning in

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verse one. We ended with last week. Consider

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it. Make a plan and speak up. The Levite was

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calling them to act upon the horrible. action

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that he was telling them that the benjamites

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had done where they killed his concubine we know

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that there were more details than that we looked

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at them last week but the bottom line is asking

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them to act and now they're going to act verse

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chapter 20 verse 1 then all the sons of israel

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from dan to beersheba including the land of gilead

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came out and the congregation assembled as one

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person to the lord at mizpah so they're all there

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represented not everybody but all there many

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representing all the tribes pretty much are represented

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And the leaders of all the people and all the

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tribes of Israel took their stand in the assembly

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of the people of God, 400 ,000 foot soldiers

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who drew the sword. Now the sons of Benjamin

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heard that the sons of Israel had gone up to

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Mizpah. Now remember, the wickedness that happened,

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the thing they're about to discuss that they're

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concerned about, happened amongst the Benjamites,

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right? So the sons of Benjamin now are, uh -oh,

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they're talking about what happened. And the

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sons of Israel said, Tell us, how did this wickedness

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take place? So they're asking the Benjamites

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to answer for how what the Levite says happened.

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How did that happen? So the Levite, the husband

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of the woman who was murdered, answered and said,

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I came with my concubine to spend the night at

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Gibeah, which belongs to Benjamin. But the citizens

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of Gibeah rose up against me and surrounded the

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house at night, threatening me. He leaves out

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the detail about what they actually tried to,

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would like to have done to him. He says, they

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intended to kill me. That may or may not actually

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be true. We know they intended to have relations

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with him, but whether they would have killed

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him afterwards is unknown. Instead, they raped

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my concubine so that she died. And I took hold

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of my concubine and I cut her in pieces and sent

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her throughout the land of Israel's inheritance,

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for they have committed an outrageous sin and

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a vile act in Israel. Behold, all you sons of

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Israel, give your response and advice here. Then

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all the people rose up as one person, saying,

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Not one of us will go to his tent, nor will any

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of us go home. But now this is the thing which

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we will do to Gibeah. We will go up against it

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by lot, and we will take ten men out of a hundred

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throughout the tribes of Israel, and a hundred

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out of a thousand, and a thousand out of ten

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thousand, to supply provisions for the people,

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so that when they come to Gibeah of Benjamin,

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they may punish them for all the vile sin that

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they have committed in Israel. So stop there

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for one second, make sure we understand what's

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happening. So out of this, this huge army is

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going to go up against Gibeah where the evil

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thing happened. And one tenth of it is going

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to be responsible for supplying all the goods

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so that they can do that. Somebody's got to feed

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the soldiers, right? Day two, people start getting

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hungry. So they have a plan. One tenth of them

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will provide for all the other 90 % so they can

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go up against Gibeah and produce justice or their

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version of justice. Okay. Verse 11 says, So all

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the men of Israel were gathered against the city,

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united as one man. So that four thousand man

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army is going to go against this one city. It's

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way more than enough to destroy it, raise it

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to the ground, whatever. Not sure that's their

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plan just now. They want to see justice done,

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supposedly. So they don't necessarily have to

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destroy the city to make that happen. They want

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to deal with the people who committed that grievous

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crime. That's what they're trying to do. Notice

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also that they did make an oath. And they said

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that no one would go home until this problem

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is dealt with. So when you make that kind of

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a promise before God, now you're kind of stuck,

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right? You're kind of committed into it. So they're

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pretty heavily committed to this. Or otherwise,

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in theory, they would answer to God. Mind you,

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at the same time as they did that, they're also

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into idolatrous worship, syncretism, sinning

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against God in so many different ways. And so

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maybe breaking the oath wouldn't necessarily

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mean anything to them. But they made the oath

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as a larger group of people all together. The

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tribes of Israel sent men through the entire

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tribe of Benjamin, saying, What is this wickedness

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that has taken place amongst you? So they're

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asking everybody. They're getting to the bottom

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of it. Now then, turn over the men, the worthless

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men who are in Gibeah, so that we may put them

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to death and remove this wickedness from Israel.

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So this actually doesn't sound too horrible.

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They have the manpower. They're standing on right

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ground. And they're saying, turn over the criminals,

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right? Let's deal justice. But the sons of Benjamin

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would not listen to the voice of their brothers,

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the sons of Israel. Instead, the sons of Benjamin

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gathered from the cities to Gibeah to go out

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to battle against the sons of Israel. So the

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one tribe, Benjamin, is now gathering up their

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soldiers to go and fight against all the others.

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From the cities on that day, the sons of Benjamin

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were counted 26 ,000 men who drew the sword.

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Besides the inhabitants of Gibeah, who were counted

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700 choice men. Out of all these people, 700

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choice men, so not specifically the 700 from

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Gibeah, but across the 26 ,700. Out of all these

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people, 700 choice men were left -handed. Each

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one could sling a stone at a hare and not miss.

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which is to say they were very dangerous, right?

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Verse 17. Then the men of Israel, besides Benjamin,

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were counted 400 ,000 men who drew the sword.

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All of these were men of war. So we've got one

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side 26 ,700, the other side 400 ,000. Verse

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18. Now the sons of Israel set out, went up to

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Bethel and inquired of God and said, who shall

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go up first for us to battle against the sons

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of Benjamin? Then the Lord said, Judah shall

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go up first. So I want you to see the question.

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We're not going to drill down on it too heavily,

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but look at the question. They asked God, who

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shall go up first to fight? Did you notice anywhere

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in the story whether they asked God whether or

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not they should fight? Whether or not they should

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gather together 400 ,000 strong? So that didn't

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happen. So they're now already sort of in the

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midst of doing this. They've already gathered.

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They've already made their threats. They've made

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their oaths, etc. And now they ask God, who should

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go up first? And God says, Judah shall go up

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first. So the sons of Israel got up in the morning

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and camped against Gibeah. The men of Israel

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went to battle against Benjamin, and the men

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of Israel lined up for battle against them at

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Gibeah. Then the sons of Benjamin came out of

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Gibeah and struck to the ground on that day 22

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,000 men of Israel. I want to be real clear,

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so you get this picture in your head. That means

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that outside Gibeah, there was nowhere that you

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could stand that was sure footing. that you were

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not either standing between bodies or literally

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standing on bodies. The math of it is they were

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standing on dead bodies. From now on in the story,

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as they're fighting, they might pile the bodies

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up overnight so that they could have places to

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stand to fight the next day and the piles will

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get higher and higher. Okay? 22 ,000 men. And

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by the way, it was 22 ,000 men killed by the

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men of Gibeah and the Benjamites. So they are

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winning. against this massively superior force

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currently their wing. But the people, the men

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of Israel, showed themselves courageous and lined

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up for battle again in the place where they had

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lined themselves up on the first day. And the

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sons of Israel went up and wept before the Lord

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until evening and inquired of the Lord, saying,

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Shall we again advance for battle against the

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sons of my brother Benjamin? So basically, they

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lost 22 ,000 guys. Now they're going to ask God

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if they should fight. And the Lord said, Go up

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against them. So the sons of Israel came against

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the sons of Benjamin on the second day. And Benjamin

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went out against them from Gibeah the second

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day and struck to the ground again 18 ,000 men

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of the sons of Israel. All of these drew the

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sword. So now they've killed 40 ,000 men from

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Israel. Remember, they were 26 ,700 strong themselves

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to start. And they've surely had losses, although

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we're not tracking what those are, really. Right?

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But they've now killed 40 ,000 men, bodies from

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all the tribes of Israel, strewn across the ground

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for miles in every direction from this relatively

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small town that could only field 700 soldiers.

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Okay? Then all the sons of Israel, all the people

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went up and came to Bethel. Now Bethel is right

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by Shiloh, and this is kind of like where the...

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Tabernacle was in that day. And they wept and

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remained there before the Lord, and they fasted

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that day until evening. And they offered burnt

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offerings and peace offerings before the Lord.

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And the sons of Israel inquired of the Lord,

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for the Ark of the Covenant was there in those

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days. So they bowed down before the Ark of the

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Covenant, begging God, asking God, what do we

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do now? What do we do now? 40 ,000 men. The countryside

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is covered in the bodies of our brothers. What

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do we do? 28. And Phinehas, the son of Eleazar,

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Aaron's son, stood before it to minister in those

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days, saying, Shall I yet again go out to battle

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against the sons of my brother Benjamin, or shall

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I stop? And the Lord said, Go up, for tomorrow

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I will hand them over to you. So after they lost

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40 ,000 men, they begged God, Shall we go up

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again? And God says, yes, go up for tomorrow.

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You will have victory. Now we stop there with

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our text for the day. But there's a couple of

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things that I want you to see. So first of all,

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before we get into the actual application of

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it, I want you to realize that there are some

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battles that God literally calls us to. Things

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that you're actually supposed to stand up for

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that matter. Some things that we should say,

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I'm not going to be part of that. I'm not going

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to participate. You're on your own if you're

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going to do that. But I entreat you, please don't.

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It does not honor the Lord. There are moments

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when compromise is not faithfulness. But you

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can't say, okay, well, I'll come halfway with

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you. We'll do this. We'll do it my way. Or we'll

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avoid going too deep into this. We'll do a little

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bit of it. You can't do that. There are moments

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when somebody has to say, no, this is wrong.

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But there is another danger. And I submit to

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you that it probably more often occurs. Sometimes

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while we are standing up or fighting against

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evil, We can become so sure and convinced that

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we are right that we stop checking ourselves.

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We stop asking, as I fight this battle, as I

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stand up for what's right here, am I right? Not,

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am I right to fight? We already covered that.

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It's the right thing to do. But am I right as

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a person? Am I right by God? And the Israelites

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went up against Benjamin, as we see in this text,

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a perfect example, not right by God, and suffered

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day after day tens of thousands of losses. And

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so that ought to be a precedent for us to realize

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that you need to check yourself. Without getting

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too deeply onto that, we need to realize that

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the real problem here in this text is not that

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everybody's wrong, even though that appears to

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be the case. So the Israelites, when they're

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sinning against God, they're worshiping idols,

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they're not right. The Benjamites are protecting

00:13:33.850 --> 00:13:36.909
the guys who would have raped this man all night

00:13:36.909 --> 00:13:40.590
long and eventually did rape his concubine all

00:13:40.590 --> 00:13:43.370
night long and killed her, and they're protecting

00:13:43.370 --> 00:13:47.210
them. Nobody's right. There's nobody in the story,

00:13:47.330 --> 00:13:50.610
in the two sides of the battle, that are right

00:13:50.610 --> 00:13:54.110
by God. But I submit to you, that's not actually

00:13:54.110 --> 00:13:56.230
the problem. The problem is not that they're

00:13:56.230 --> 00:13:58.210
both wrong. That might be why they suffer so

00:13:58.210 --> 00:14:00.970
heavily, right? Because they suffer the losses.

00:14:01.610 --> 00:14:04.690
because they are in the wrong place. But the

00:14:04.690 --> 00:14:08.570
real problem is that they think they're right

00:14:08.570 --> 00:14:12.090
because they see that the other side is wrong.

00:14:13.470 --> 00:14:15.649
So when the Israelites come out against Gibeah,

00:14:15.730 --> 00:14:19.409
was there an atrocity? Yes, there was. Did that

00:14:19.409 --> 00:14:21.789
wickedness need to be removed from Israel? Yes,

00:14:21.809 --> 00:14:24.970
it did. And that's why they came out, allegedly.

00:14:25.730 --> 00:14:30.100
But I submit to you that similar atrocities were

00:14:30.100 --> 00:14:33.259
occurring all over the 11 tribes. That there

00:14:33.259 --> 00:14:35.320
were men there who were out to battle who had

00:14:35.320 --> 00:14:37.860
concubines, wives with no rights, at home that

00:14:37.860 --> 00:14:40.059
they were keeping. There were men who had come

00:14:40.059 --> 00:14:41.960
out there to battle who were falsely worshiping

00:14:41.960 --> 00:14:45.919
God. They were in evil. They were wicked to the

00:14:45.919 --> 00:14:50.419
core. But, you know, Gibeah is so bad because

00:14:50.419 --> 00:14:53.039
they did something wrong that we can unite and

00:14:53.039 --> 00:14:56.360
go and destroy them. That's the real problem.

00:14:56.779 --> 00:15:00.429
That they could find justification, to go and

00:15:00.429 --> 00:15:03.409
destroy them because they're wrong while themselves

00:15:03.409 --> 00:15:05.629
also being wrong. And you could reverse the other

00:15:05.629 --> 00:15:08.169
side of it. You could say Gibeah. Gibeah was

00:15:08.169 --> 00:15:11.509
right. Should they allow brothers in the kingdom

00:15:11.509 --> 00:15:13.950
of God, covenant brothers, to be destroyed? No,

00:15:14.029 --> 00:15:18.009
they should not allow the Gibeahites. How do

00:15:18.009 --> 00:15:19.409
you say that? The people from Gibeah. Let's just

00:15:19.409 --> 00:15:21.809
say that, right? Those people to be destroyed,

00:15:22.070 --> 00:15:24.990
they should defend them, especially because they

00:15:24.990 --> 00:15:26.549
have some really good warriors there who would

00:15:26.549 --> 00:15:28.929
fall on... Like my brother from Gibeah, I'm not

00:15:28.929 --> 00:15:31.490
going to let him die. He fought alongside me

00:15:31.490 --> 00:15:33.769
at the battle of so -and -so. And I stand up

00:15:33.769 --> 00:15:35.370
for him no matter what. I don't care if he did

00:15:35.370 --> 00:15:37.590
rape that woman all night long. Nobody's going

00:15:37.590 --> 00:15:39.889
to touch him. Him and I stood together in battle

00:15:39.889 --> 00:15:42.909
or whatever. So somehow or other, they justified

00:15:42.909 --> 00:15:45.250
defending these people who had committed this

00:15:45.250 --> 00:15:50.929
wicked crime because the people that were coming

00:15:50.929 --> 00:15:53.190
were coming against Israelites. They're saying,

00:15:53.230 --> 00:15:56.330
not against my family. Is my family wrong in

00:15:56.330 --> 00:15:58.230
this? Yeah, they're wrong, but I'll not let you

00:15:58.230 --> 00:16:02.370
touch my family. Because they were all part of

00:16:02.370 --> 00:16:03.950
a larger family, and those who were coming were

00:16:03.950 --> 00:16:06.330
also family. They were just family from a little

00:16:06.330 --> 00:16:09.830
further away. And so we wind up with a huge battle

00:16:09.830 --> 00:16:12.610
between two sides who essentially both think

00:16:12.610 --> 00:16:15.970
they're right, and they justify, they could know

00:16:15.970 --> 00:16:18.990
that they're not right with God, but they justify

00:16:18.990 --> 00:16:22.210
the battle and the action because the other side

00:16:22.210 --> 00:16:28.320
appears to be wrong. So then there's two applications

00:16:28.320 --> 00:16:30.240
out of this text. And the first one is I want

00:16:30.240 --> 00:16:32.600
to show you and I'm going to show it to you kind

00:16:32.600 --> 00:16:34.460
of a little tongue in cheek because it's how

00:16:34.460 --> 00:16:37.820
to do it, but don't ever do it. OK, so I'm going

00:16:37.820 --> 00:16:39.539
to show you how to do it, but don't ever do it.

00:16:39.720 --> 00:16:42.279
The process of spiritually becoming the judge,

00:16:42.419 --> 00:16:45.139
jury and executioner. Now on the surface, you're

00:16:45.139 --> 00:16:46.440
like, I don't ever want to do that. I don't want

00:16:46.440 --> 00:16:47.879
to be the spiritual judge. I don't want to be

00:16:47.879 --> 00:16:49.960
the spiritual jury. I don't want to be the spiritual

00:16:49.960 --> 00:16:53.159
executioner. Right. But in reality, in life,

00:16:53.200 --> 00:16:55.370
sometimes we're doing it. And so you need to

00:16:55.370 --> 00:16:57.490
sort it out and figure out, am I doing it? If

00:16:57.490 --> 00:16:59.570
it is, you repent and turn away from it. In Judges

00:16:59.570 --> 00:17:02.750
20, we see Israel gathering together. They come

00:17:02.750 --> 00:17:04.950
together as one people. They hear what has happened.

00:17:05.089 --> 00:17:06.990
They ask, essentially, how did this evil happen?

00:17:07.349 --> 00:17:10.670
They get motivated. They ask then for Benjamin

00:17:10.670 --> 00:17:13.750
to deal with the problem, and they don't. Then

00:17:13.750 --> 00:17:15.750
later, they'll ask for Benjamin to actually give

00:17:15.750 --> 00:17:17.170
them the men so they can deal with the problem.

00:17:18.080 --> 00:17:27.680
Judges 20, verse 13 says, That's what they asked

00:17:27.680 --> 00:17:29.859
for. Sounds reasonable, sounds righteous, sounds

00:17:29.859 --> 00:17:36.740
like justice. Benjamin says no. That begins then

00:17:36.740 --> 00:17:39.880
our first application. How to become the spiritual

00:17:39.880 --> 00:17:42.440
judge, juror, and executioner. There's a process.

00:17:43.180 --> 00:17:45.619
And it usually doesn't begin with murder or anything

00:17:45.619 --> 00:17:47.519
like that. It begins with self -righteousness.

00:17:47.539 --> 00:17:52.200
You think of yourself as right. So step one to

00:17:52.200 --> 00:17:54.720
becoming the spiritual judge, jury, and executioner

00:17:54.720 --> 00:17:58.440
is this. Sound right rather than worrying about

00:17:58.440 --> 00:18:01.640
being right. So we're in church on Sunday and

00:18:01.640 --> 00:18:04.880
we use words like baptism, sanctification, preaching.

00:18:05.519 --> 00:18:09.180
We quote verses from the Bible. We talk about...

00:18:09.930 --> 00:18:12.470
Good things that we do. Maybe we speak out an

00:18:12.470 --> 00:18:14.569
inspirational moment. We preach a sermon, whatever.

00:18:15.890 --> 00:18:21.009
But our lives, not right. We sound right, but

00:18:21.009 --> 00:18:24.190
then we're not right. So step one is to sound

00:18:24.190 --> 00:18:26.670
right because that's how you get people to rally.

00:18:26.910 --> 00:18:28.750
That's how you get people to agree with you.

00:18:28.809 --> 00:18:34.589
Yeah, he sounds right. That makes sense. We elevate

00:18:34.589 --> 00:18:42.480
our behavior by our intentions. And then we let

00:18:42.480 --> 00:18:44.359
our intentions kind of like sit in the background.

00:18:44.859 --> 00:18:49.400
But God looks at our intentions, meaning God

00:18:49.400 --> 00:18:53.940
judges our heart. So we say, I'm going to go

00:18:53.940 --> 00:18:56.700
and I'm going to give peace of my mind. I'm going

00:18:56.700 --> 00:18:59.579
to tell her. Or I'm going to get her kicked out

00:18:59.579 --> 00:19:02.640
of the church. That's what we start thinking.

00:19:03.279 --> 00:19:06.299
But our actual heart, our motivations behind

00:19:06.299 --> 00:19:09.900
that, that's all wrong. But God is not. If you

00:19:09.900 --> 00:19:11.559
say she did something wrong, he did something

00:19:11.559 --> 00:19:14.460
wrong, and now you're cutting them out or you're

00:19:14.460 --> 00:19:15.839
saying you've got to go on your own. I'm not

00:19:15.839 --> 00:19:17.039
going to help you. I don't want nothing to do

00:19:17.039 --> 00:19:19.000
with you anymore. You're pushing them away from

00:19:19.000 --> 00:19:21.660
you. And you're doing that out of a wrong heart.

00:19:22.019 --> 00:19:24.660
God sees the wrong heart. It doesn't matter if

00:19:24.660 --> 00:19:26.940
the reason, like the person was actually in sin,

00:19:27.039 --> 00:19:29.440
they did wickedness, whatever. They might be.

00:19:29.519 --> 00:19:30.880
You might say, I'm not going to be part of the

00:19:30.880 --> 00:19:33.180
wickedness that you're part of. But God is looking

00:19:33.180 --> 00:19:36.970
at your heart. And then you can say, well. Yeah,

00:19:37.069 --> 00:19:39.650
I did. I did cut them off or I did say that mean

00:19:39.650 --> 00:19:41.529
thing or whatever, but I didn't mean to hurt

00:19:41.529 --> 00:19:43.269
them. I was just trying to show them that they

00:19:43.269 --> 00:19:46.509
were wrong. Or you could say to somebody else

00:19:46.509 --> 00:19:49.150
who sees you being mean or vicious, why are you

00:19:49.150 --> 00:19:51.549
being like that? And you're like, well, you don't

00:19:51.549 --> 00:19:53.990
understand what happened. You know how bad they

00:19:53.990 --> 00:19:56.789
hurt my feelings, right? Or they came after my

00:19:56.789 --> 00:19:59.609
kid or they came after my friend or they came

00:19:59.609 --> 00:20:02.349
after my buddy, right? Or they came after me.

00:20:04.009 --> 00:20:06.670
And you can express that you have good reasons

00:20:06.670 --> 00:20:09.509
for why you're doing what you're doing. But God

00:20:09.509 --> 00:20:12.690
is looking at your heart. Being able to explain

00:20:12.690 --> 00:20:15.250
yourself because the other person is wrong does

00:20:15.250 --> 00:20:19.869
not make you righteous. Which is why when somebody

00:20:19.869 --> 00:20:22.450
does something wrong to you, there is literally

00:20:22.450 --> 00:20:24.450
no excuse to do something wrong back to them.

00:20:25.769 --> 00:20:27.609
Because if you're doing something wrong, it's

00:20:27.609 --> 00:20:30.130
still wrong. Once it comes out of you, your heart

00:20:30.130 --> 00:20:35.859
is in a messed up place. Being able to explain

00:20:35.859 --> 00:20:38.220
yourself does not necessarily make you righteous.

00:20:38.819 --> 00:20:43.519
Step one then would be to profess or to speak

00:20:43.519 --> 00:20:45.759
like you're right while not actually being right

00:20:45.759 --> 00:20:48.859
in yourself. Step two then is to do what the

00:20:48.859 --> 00:20:52.140
world knows is wrong while still claiming a connection

00:20:52.140 --> 00:20:55.839
to God. So, yeah, I'm doing this. Let's use the

00:20:55.839 --> 00:20:58.279
story for an example. Israel is wicked. They

00:20:58.279 --> 00:21:00.339
are idolatrous. They're synchronistic, which

00:21:00.339 --> 00:21:02.819
means they're adding other religions to... following

00:21:02.819 --> 00:21:04.599
God at best. And a lot of them were just cutting

00:21:04.599 --> 00:21:07.200
God out completely. They were taking concubines

00:21:07.200 --> 00:21:10.720
and condoning sin all over the place. But then

00:21:10.720 --> 00:21:14.359
when another evil looks bad enough, they all

00:21:14.359 --> 00:21:17.420
get together to point fingers, draw weapons,

00:21:17.539 --> 00:21:23.339
and start to kill people, right? These people

00:21:23.339 --> 00:21:27.160
still knew the name of Jehovah. They still knew

00:21:27.160 --> 00:21:29.079
who God was. He was the God who parted the river.

00:21:29.140 --> 00:21:30.359
He was the God who parted the sea. He was the

00:21:30.359 --> 00:21:32.039
God who sent the plagues. He was the God who

00:21:32.039 --> 00:21:33.880
gave the Ten Commandments. He was the God who

00:21:33.880 --> 00:21:37.480
struck down those who dishonored him. He's that

00:21:37.480 --> 00:21:39.420
God. And yet they claim the name of Jehovah,

00:21:39.559 --> 00:21:42.819
but they're living in daily wickedness. But then

00:21:42.819 --> 00:21:45.539
they unify to go and cut down Benjamin when Benjamin

00:21:45.539 --> 00:21:48.440
will not provide the bad guys so they can cut

00:21:48.440 --> 00:21:52.480
them down. It's a sobering warning that as a

00:21:52.480 --> 00:21:54.680
Christian, you can say, I am a follower of Jesus.

00:21:55.920 --> 00:21:58.180
But then you can be living in wickedness at the

00:21:58.180 --> 00:22:02.759
same time. I love Jesus as my Lord. A Lord is

00:22:02.759 --> 00:22:04.079
a person who tells you what to do when you do

00:22:04.079 --> 00:22:06.440
it. That's what a Lord is. If you say Jesus is

00:22:06.440 --> 00:22:08.940
your Lord and Jesus tells you to do something

00:22:08.940 --> 00:22:15.000
and you don't do it, that is a lie. And lies

00:22:15.000 --> 00:22:19.599
don't save people. And so that's what happens

00:22:19.599 --> 00:22:23.660
in Christianity when we think we are right and

00:22:23.660 --> 00:22:27.700
then... We call on the name of Jesus and we keep

00:22:27.700 --> 00:22:29.279
doing the things that we want to do or fulfilling

00:22:29.279 --> 00:22:32.920
our own desires. It's possible to have the right

00:22:32.920 --> 00:22:35.519
vocabulary, to say the right things about Jesus

00:22:35.519 --> 00:22:38.180
and actually have wrong behavior in your life.

00:22:38.859 --> 00:22:42.740
It's possible to say, I love God while refusing

00:22:42.740 --> 00:22:49.079
to obey God. Jesus said this in Matthew 7. He

00:22:49.079 --> 00:22:51.240
said, not everyone who saith unto me, Lord, Lord,

00:22:51.420 --> 00:22:54.430
will enter the kingdom of heaven. So he already

00:22:54.430 --> 00:22:57.109
knew in his day, in the midst of him being crucified,

00:22:57.410 --> 00:22:59.829
buried, resurrected, feeding the 5 ,000, feeding

00:22:59.829 --> 00:23:02.109
the 4 ,000, walking on water, calming storms,

00:23:02.369 --> 00:23:04.849
bringing Lazarus back to life. While all of that

00:23:04.849 --> 00:23:06.549
was going on, there were people who were saying,

00:23:06.630 --> 00:23:10.609
Lord, Lord, but they didn't actually have a Lord

00:23:10.609 --> 00:23:14.430
in Jesus. Calling ourselves God's people does

00:23:14.430 --> 00:23:19.049
not make everything we do work. It doesn't make

00:23:19.049 --> 00:23:20.690
everything we do righteous, and it doesn't make

00:23:20.690 --> 00:23:26.160
everything we do God's way. Then all of a sudden,

00:23:26.240 --> 00:23:29.859
you find a group of evildoers who can be differentiated

00:23:29.859 --> 00:23:32.920
from you. So we've got three steps so far. The

00:23:32.920 --> 00:23:34.920
first one was sound right rather than be right.

00:23:35.000 --> 00:23:37.920
The second one was speak it, speak the words,

00:23:37.980 --> 00:23:42.740
and you start doing what the world knows is wrong.

00:23:42.819 --> 00:23:44.339
So Christians are doing what the world knows

00:23:44.339 --> 00:23:46.700
is wrong, but you still speak the words and claim

00:23:46.700 --> 00:23:49.000
the connection to God. And then the third one

00:23:49.000 --> 00:23:52.119
is... You find somebody that you can, a group

00:23:52.119 --> 00:23:53.700
that somebody can hammer against. We got some

00:23:53.700 --> 00:23:55.440
really big groups like that in the world right

00:23:55.440 --> 00:23:57.279
now. And there are pastors who will be in the

00:23:57.279 --> 00:23:58.759
pulpit this morning. They'll preach against a

00:23:58.759 --> 00:24:02.200
certain political agenda. And their churches

00:24:02.200 --> 00:24:04.980
are growing. Because people want to hear that.

00:24:05.140 --> 00:24:07.660
They want to hear me stand up here and bash a

00:24:07.660 --> 00:24:10.440
certain thing that people don't agree with. Whatever

00:24:10.440 --> 00:24:12.859
it might be. And it doesn't even have to be in

00:24:12.859 --> 00:24:16.559
the Bible. Right? We can do that. In fact, I

00:24:16.559 --> 00:24:19.079
once had a woman accost me after service on a

00:24:19.079 --> 00:24:21.119
Sunday and said, next Sunday, you need to preach

00:24:21.119 --> 00:24:24.200
against smoking, smoking cigarettes. You need

00:24:24.200 --> 00:24:26.220
to preach against smoking cigarettes. And I said,

00:24:26.259 --> 00:24:28.220
well, first of all, why would I do that like

00:24:28.220 --> 00:24:30.619
ever? And she said, well, because a lot of people

00:24:30.619 --> 00:24:32.440
are dying from it. People are getting sick from

00:24:32.440 --> 00:24:33.680
it. People are getting addicted from it. It's

00:24:33.680 --> 00:24:36.299
a bad thing. It's an evil. And you need to preach.

00:24:36.400 --> 00:24:38.880
Your next sermon needs to be preaching against

00:24:38.880 --> 00:24:43.259
smoking. And I said, I'm sorry. I can tell you

00:24:43.259 --> 00:24:45.180
right now that ain't going to happen. I said,

00:24:45.200 --> 00:24:47.059
I might preach what the Bible says, you know,

00:24:47.059 --> 00:24:48.799
your body's a temple, that kind of thing. But

00:24:48.799 --> 00:24:50.700
the odds are I probably won't mention smoking

00:24:50.700 --> 00:24:52.700
at all because that's not even a very good example.

00:24:52.839 --> 00:24:54.480
That's taking those verses out of context. Now,

00:24:54.539 --> 00:24:56.859
should you smoke? Probably not. Could it be a

00:24:56.859 --> 00:24:59.279
sin? Almost certainly. But the Bible doesn't

00:24:59.279 --> 00:25:01.339
address it directly ever. And I'm not going to

00:25:01.339 --> 00:25:02.779
preach a sermon against it because the Bible

00:25:02.779 --> 00:25:10.640
never addresses it directly. Exactly. So we're

00:25:10.640 --> 00:25:13.240
going to let Jesus teach people those kinds of

00:25:13.240 --> 00:25:16.660
things, not me. That's not my job. And she wasn't

00:25:16.660 --> 00:25:19.059
very happy with me. And our relationship did

00:25:19.059 --> 00:25:21.500
go south from there. And then she eventually

00:25:21.500 --> 00:25:26.119
left the church. But the bottom line is, you

00:25:26.119 --> 00:25:28.859
can find a group of people to hammer. And then

00:25:28.859 --> 00:25:31.079
as you hammer them, other people who want to

00:25:31.079 --> 00:25:33.200
feel like they are in the right will jump on

00:25:33.200 --> 00:25:35.160
board with you and hammer them. Just like these

00:25:35.160 --> 00:25:36.880
guys were going after Gibeah. Just like these

00:25:36.880 --> 00:25:39.140
guys were going after Benjamin. And suddenly

00:25:39.140 --> 00:25:41.339
everybody has an enemy. And if we can have a

00:25:41.339 --> 00:25:44.000
common enemy, there was one couple a long time

00:25:44.000 --> 00:25:46.559
ago. that I was doing marriage counseling with,

00:25:46.720 --> 00:25:49.519
and marriage Bible study, I don't do counseling,

00:25:49.660 --> 00:25:51.200
I was doing marriage Bible study with them, and

00:25:51.200 --> 00:25:52.839
about two -thirds of the way through marriage

00:25:52.839 --> 00:25:54.299
Bible study, I realized they really weren't,

00:25:54.299 --> 00:25:55.779
you know, they weren't really on board, they

00:25:55.779 --> 00:25:58.359
really weren't doing the text, which we just,

00:25:58.400 --> 00:25:59.960
all we do is read the Bible, and what does it

00:25:59.960 --> 00:26:01.480
say, what does it mean, that kind of thing, and

00:26:01.480 --> 00:26:03.339
they really weren't with me. And then it blew

00:26:03.339 --> 00:26:05.759
up, and I found out that I had offended her.

00:26:07.220 --> 00:26:09.339
And I found out that similarly, at the same time,

00:26:09.359 --> 00:26:14.019
I had offended him. And they both decided, overnight,

00:26:14.059 --> 00:26:17.059
just like that, that they hated me. Just like

00:26:17.059 --> 00:26:18.960
that. One day we're working together, we're trying

00:26:18.960 --> 00:26:20.579
to figure out what the Bible says, and overnight

00:26:20.579 --> 00:26:22.740
they decided that they hated me. And guess what

00:26:22.740 --> 00:26:28.880
happened? No. Their marriage became fine. They

00:26:28.880 --> 00:26:30.240
no longer had any trouble in their marriage.

00:26:30.400 --> 00:26:36.900
Because now they had an enemy. They decided together

00:26:36.900 --> 00:26:40.980
that they became unified in attacking me. And

00:26:40.980 --> 00:26:43.660
they were fine. I said, I'm praying about that.

00:26:43.660 --> 00:26:45.539
I asked the Lord, what on earth? He said, you

00:26:45.539 --> 00:26:48.420
know what? You did it. You succeeded. You brought

00:26:48.420 --> 00:26:50.420
about peace in their marriage. All they needed

00:26:50.420 --> 00:26:53.299
was a common enemy. Think about the Pharisees,

00:26:53.299 --> 00:26:56.500
the Sadducees, Herod, Pilate, all of them. They

00:26:56.500 --> 00:26:58.720
were in constant political bickering all the

00:26:58.720 --> 00:27:01.000
time. And the first time they ever had peace

00:27:01.000 --> 00:27:07.890
was when they crucified Jesus. You don't need

00:27:07.890 --> 00:27:11.150
a common enemy. What you need is a relationship

00:27:11.150 --> 00:27:14.730
with the God of the universe. And he'll get you

00:27:14.730 --> 00:27:18.069
right. If you need a common enemy to go after,

00:27:18.349 --> 00:27:21.569
then you're probably more on the road to becoming

00:27:21.569 --> 00:27:23.769
a spiritual judge, jury, and executioner than

00:27:23.769 --> 00:27:26.210
you are a follower of the Lord Jesus Christ.

00:27:26.430 --> 00:27:29.450
Jesus did not come to condemn, and nor should

00:27:29.450 --> 00:27:40.529
we. needs to ask, who is my enemy? Because sometimes

00:27:40.529 --> 00:27:43.049
the person that's facing you, sometimes a person

00:27:43.049 --> 00:27:45.210
who disagrees with you, sometimes a person who

00:27:45.210 --> 00:27:49.150
corrects you, they're not your enemy. Faithful

00:27:49.150 --> 00:27:52.250
are the wounds of a friend, scripture says. A

00:27:52.250 --> 00:27:54.029
faithful friend might hurt your feelings. They

00:27:54.029 --> 00:27:55.369
might tell you something that you don't really

00:27:55.369 --> 00:27:58.329
want to hear. They may say something that's hard

00:27:58.329 --> 00:28:02.750
to adjust to. But that very wound might then

00:28:02.750 --> 00:28:06.470
become an evidence of their love for you. The

00:28:06.470 --> 00:28:08.950
person will take the time to correct you when

00:28:08.950 --> 00:28:11.190
you're screwing up. There's somebody you should

00:28:11.190 --> 00:28:13.529
probably trust, not trust like you trust the

00:28:13.529 --> 00:28:15.089
Lord. Don't trust any humans like that, right?

00:28:15.190 --> 00:28:17.430
Because we all have our weaknesses. But if they're

00:28:17.430 --> 00:28:19.390
willing to talk to you and get you back on the

00:28:19.390 --> 00:28:22.630
right course, then they are of value to you in

00:28:22.630 --> 00:28:27.950
your life. The next step then is to consult God

00:28:27.950 --> 00:28:30.890
midstream to authorize what you have already

00:28:30.890 --> 00:28:32.569
decided to do. You notice that's what they did.

00:28:32.920 --> 00:28:35.299
They finally inquire to the Lord after they already

00:28:35.299 --> 00:28:38.480
were moving against Gibeah. And you can do that

00:28:38.480 --> 00:28:41.099
too. You can decide, I'm going to go, I'm going

00:28:41.099 --> 00:28:43.039
to attack this person, or I'm going to go on

00:28:43.039 --> 00:28:44.799
this course of action, ignoring this person,

00:28:44.839 --> 00:28:47.859
what they have to say, and then you can, along

00:28:47.859 --> 00:28:50.240
the way, ask God. And here's the funny thing,

00:28:50.299 --> 00:28:52.339
as we see in this text, God may say, go ahead

00:28:52.339 --> 00:28:56.019
and go. You got it in yourself already, a plan

00:28:56.019 --> 00:28:57.740
to do it, you're going to do it, go ahead and

00:28:57.740 --> 00:29:01.079
go. And I'm saying it like that way on purpose,

00:29:01.240 --> 00:29:04.930
because they win. back out and they lost 22 ,000

00:29:04.930 --> 00:29:07.349
men. And every one of those 22 ,000 men wished

00:29:07.349 --> 00:29:10.210
they had not gone to battle that day. And all

00:29:10.210 --> 00:29:13.029
their wives and all their children, probably

00:29:13.029 --> 00:29:15.230
even their concubines, and all their servants,

00:29:15.430 --> 00:29:19.130
every one of them, and all their would -be descendants

00:29:19.130 --> 00:29:23.329
for generations to come. And God said, go. And

00:29:23.329 --> 00:29:25.609
they went and they all died. 22 ,000 of them

00:29:25.609 --> 00:29:28.329
died. And sometimes God may let you do that.

00:29:28.369 --> 00:29:29.730
If you've decided to do what you're going to

00:29:29.730 --> 00:29:32.150
do anyway, regardless of whether or not God authorizes

00:29:32.150 --> 00:29:33.809
it, then God's going to say to you, all right,

00:29:33.809 --> 00:29:38.190
go ahead. Knowing that after you suffer some

00:29:38.190 --> 00:29:39.710
more, eventually you're going to turn back to

00:29:39.710 --> 00:29:42.569
God and say, okay, God, now what? And that's

00:29:42.569 --> 00:29:44.509
what God is waiting for. God is waiting for you

00:29:44.509 --> 00:29:47.470
to actually ask him, now what? And finally they

00:29:47.470 --> 00:29:51.250
do. They ask God whether to continue. And finally

00:29:51.250 --> 00:29:55.549
he says, yep, now you see what I've decided to

00:29:55.549 --> 00:30:01.069
do. We have to learn the difference between consulting

00:30:01.069 --> 00:30:04.549
God midstream of what we are already doing and

00:30:04.549 --> 00:30:06.529
seeing whether or not he's going to authorize

00:30:06.529 --> 00:30:09.549
it and asking God in advance whether we should

00:30:09.549 --> 00:30:12.670
do something. And the latter is permissible in

00:30:12.670 --> 00:30:15.430
the kingdom of God. And the former may be permissible,

00:30:15.529 --> 00:30:19.390
but it certainly is not profitable. Trust the

00:30:19.390 --> 00:30:21.710
Lord with all your heart. Lean not on your own

00:30:21.710 --> 00:30:23.690
understanding. In all your ways, acknowledge

00:30:23.690 --> 00:30:28.519
him. Be not wise in thine own eyes. Get out of

00:30:28.519 --> 00:30:30.359
bed tomorrow morning and say, Lord, I don't know

00:30:30.359 --> 00:30:32.059
what the heck I'm doing here. Because that's

00:30:32.059 --> 00:30:34.440
the reality, isn't it? I'm just following you

00:30:34.440 --> 00:30:36.779
the best I know how. Leave me wherever you want

00:30:36.779 --> 00:30:39.440
me to go. And I'll not do it in my own strength.

00:30:39.700 --> 00:30:41.960
I'll do it in yours. And then I'll give you glory

00:30:41.960 --> 00:30:48.039
for it. Everybody pays in this story for the

00:30:48.039 --> 00:30:50.240
pride of the people who refuse to humble themselves.

00:30:50.599 --> 00:30:53.019
Who refuse to go to God and say, God, should

00:30:53.019 --> 00:30:57.109
we go up or not? But they're on both sides of

00:30:57.109 --> 00:31:00.289
the battle. They're on both sides of the battle.

00:31:02.769 --> 00:31:06.230
Once you've found that group of evildoers differentiated

00:31:06.230 --> 00:31:08.509
from you, you can feel fully authorized. You

00:31:08.509 --> 00:31:10.490
can complain against them. You can unite against

00:31:10.490 --> 00:31:13.210
them. And then you'll be perfectly fine. You

00:31:13.210 --> 00:31:15.230
may not be right by God, but you'll be fine for

00:31:15.230 --> 00:31:18.250
months or years even. You might be sitting here

00:31:18.250 --> 00:31:20.910
today because you think Christianity is so much

00:31:20.910 --> 00:31:23.809
better than those idiots over there at the mosque.

00:31:25.740 --> 00:31:29.099
Or at the temple. Or in their living rooms this

00:31:29.099 --> 00:31:32.380
morning streaming more TV. Now if that's your

00:31:32.380 --> 00:31:39.579
position, that's not right. Let Jesus sort that.

00:31:40.819 --> 00:31:45.420
Follow the Lord. Then, there is another action

00:31:45.420 --> 00:31:50.200
plan that is clearly laid out in this text. There's

00:31:50.200 --> 00:31:51.799
another action plan that's clearly laid out in

00:31:51.799 --> 00:31:54.440
this text. And you can go just the other way.

00:31:55.529 --> 00:32:00.730
Right. And the people of Gibeah, they decide

00:32:00.730 --> 00:32:03.990
essentially to stand up for something that they

00:32:03.990 --> 00:32:06.109
believe in. And in standing up for something

00:32:06.109 --> 00:32:09.250
that they believe in, they dismiss justice. They

00:32:09.250 --> 00:32:13.730
dismiss mercy. They dismiss humility. When in

00:32:13.730 --> 00:32:16.329
reality, we need all three. They come out and

00:32:16.329 --> 00:32:18.869
man, they do a good job of it, don't they? Those

00:32:18.869 --> 00:32:24.509
26 ,000 men that kill. 40 plus thousand of the

00:32:24.509 --> 00:32:28.289
Israelites before they quit fighting. And all

00:32:28.289 --> 00:32:31.430
day long, both of those days, they were thinking

00:32:31.430 --> 00:32:35.009
to themselves, see, see, we're right. It doesn't

00:32:35.009 --> 00:32:38.210
matter how many of you there are. While they

00:32:38.210 --> 00:32:41.750
were defending the wicked. And you could be doing

00:32:41.750 --> 00:32:43.650
that same thing, sitting where you're sitting

00:32:43.650 --> 00:32:46.150
right now. There's wickedness in your life. There's

00:32:46.150 --> 00:32:47.750
something that you're doing that's not right.

00:32:47.970 --> 00:32:50.089
And all the while I'm preaching, you're saying

00:32:50.089 --> 00:32:53.730
to yourself, Ah, it's okay. Nobody knows about

00:32:53.730 --> 00:32:57.410
that. Or it's no big deal. It doesn't stop me

00:32:57.410 --> 00:32:59.369
from being faithful to God. Jesus came to die

00:32:59.369 --> 00:33:01.609
for all my sins, not just my sins of the past

00:33:01.609 --> 00:33:04.150
or the future, but my present sins too. And you're

00:33:04.150 --> 00:33:07.589
justifying not faithfully following the Lord.

00:33:08.309 --> 00:33:10.289
And if someone would start to call you on it,

00:33:10.309 --> 00:33:12.529
you might get your craw up a little bit. You

00:33:12.529 --> 00:33:15.519
might defend yourself. Just realize that when

00:33:15.519 --> 00:33:16.940
you do that, you might be defending yourself

00:33:16.940 --> 00:33:19.079
against the God of the universe. We were once

00:33:19.079 --> 00:33:21.259
objects of wrath, and we have no desire to be

00:33:21.259 --> 00:33:27.819
that now. So we can come to the point then where,

00:33:27.880 --> 00:33:30.779
just like they did, we turn the weapons at our

00:33:30.779 --> 00:33:34.359
disposal against an enemy who was never meant

00:33:34.359 --> 00:33:36.819
to be the enemy. Either somebody who was doing

00:33:36.819 --> 00:33:39.089
something wrong. And you start to judge them

00:33:39.089 --> 00:33:40.890
and you start to attack them. You say things

00:33:40.890 --> 00:33:42.430
that makes you feel better about the things that

00:33:42.430 --> 00:33:43.950
in your life that you're doing that are wrong.

00:33:44.170 --> 00:33:46.329
You're not coming humbly. You're not trying to

00:33:46.329 --> 00:33:48.289
constructively help them. You're not coming alongside

00:33:48.289 --> 00:33:50.710
them. You're not caring about them. Maybe you're

00:33:50.710 --> 00:33:53.109
not praying for them. By the way, the surest

00:33:53.109 --> 00:33:54.509
way to make sure there's a little mercy in your

00:33:54.509 --> 00:33:56.730
relationships is to pray first for the person.

00:33:56.950 --> 00:33:59.329
Pray for their genuine needs. And that'll help

00:33:59.329 --> 00:34:01.470
you find a little compassion when you do go to

00:34:01.470 --> 00:34:04.150
talk to them. Or you might be on the other side

00:34:04.150 --> 00:34:06.190
of it and say, yeah, I'm doing the wrong thing.

00:34:06.599 --> 00:34:08.559
and they don't like what I'm doing, and I don't

00:34:08.559 --> 00:34:10.039
want them to think of me. You get mad because

00:34:10.039 --> 00:34:11.480
they think of you a certain way, or they say

00:34:11.480 --> 00:34:13.820
a certain thing, or maybe they correct you, begin

00:34:13.820 --> 00:34:15.159
to get you going in the right direction, and

00:34:15.159 --> 00:34:17.800
you defend your wickedness. And the same thing

00:34:17.800 --> 00:34:19.360
can happen during a sermon. It happens during

00:34:19.360 --> 00:34:22.400
a Bible study, right? Sometimes it happens when

00:34:22.400 --> 00:34:25.119
we're praying. God is convicting you and bringing

00:34:25.119 --> 00:34:26.559
something out that you're doing, and you're saying

00:34:26.559 --> 00:34:29.500
back to God, no, God, that's no big deal. Yeah,

00:34:29.579 --> 00:34:31.519
I'm trying to fix that. And by the way, yeah,

00:34:31.599 --> 00:34:39.200
I'm trying to fix that is not an excuse. So,

00:34:39.200 --> 00:34:42.639
that brings us then to action plans, neither

00:34:42.639 --> 00:34:45.780
of which we want to be a part of. But notice

00:34:45.780 --> 00:34:48.920
then God says, in the middle of the text at a

00:34:48.920 --> 00:34:52.139
certain point, it's too late for reluctance now.

00:34:53.400 --> 00:34:57.599
There is another detail in Judges 20, after the

00:34:57.599 --> 00:35:00.059
first battle, after 22 ,000 men, then another

00:35:00.059 --> 00:35:04.320
18 ,000, and only after they fall down before

00:35:04.320 --> 00:35:16.179
God, they weep. That's good. But think about

00:35:16.179 --> 00:35:18.260
how much better it would have been if humility

00:35:18.260 --> 00:35:22.480
had arrived before they went to battle. 40 ,000

00:35:22.480 --> 00:35:26.739
men. There is a kind of humility that comes before

00:35:26.739 --> 00:35:30.500
consequences. You need to hear this. I needed

00:35:30.500 --> 00:35:33.980
to hear this. There is a kind of humility that

00:35:33.980 --> 00:35:37.260
comes after consequences. which do you have?

00:35:38.920 --> 00:35:40.559
Do you have the kind of humility that says, God

00:35:40.559 --> 00:35:42.119
is in charge, and I want to do what God wants

00:35:42.119 --> 00:35:43.840
me to do, and I want to be right by God, I want

00:35:43.840 --> 00:35:45.980
to serve God, let God live in me, let God reign

00:35:45.980 --> 00:35:48.840
in my life, before you start to do things that

00:35:48.840 --> 00:35:52.019
don't honor God? Or do you wait until after you've

00:35:52.019 --> 00:35:53.880
done things that don't honor God, and God corrects

00:35:53.880 --> 00:35:55.480
you, and now you're humble? And you're like,

00:35:55.519 --> 00:35:57.840
oh, Lord, I knew all along that I need only you.

00:35:57.880 --> 00:36:00.840
Only you can sustain me, Lord. Praise you. Only

00:36:00.840 --> 00:36:04.340
you are God. I'm not God. But your actions hours

00:36:04.340 --> 00:36:07.360
before or days before were saying you are equally

00:36:07.360 --> 00:36:10.380
God. Because you were not coming humbly to the

00:36:10.380 --> 00:36:13.719
Lord before you set about on your course. Both

00:36:13.719 --> 00:36:15.980
types of humility like that are better than pride.

00:36:16.199 --> 00:36:18.599
It's better to be humble after you get chastised

00:36:18.599 --> 00:36:22.519
than it is to be prideful. It's better to be

00:36:22.519 --> 00:36:28.460
humble before you get chastised. It's best. One

00:36:28.460 --> 00:36:33.699
of those types of humility costs far less. You

00:36:33.699 --> 00:36:35.840
can learn humility from scripture like this one

00:36:35.840 --> 00:36:38.119
and others, or you can learn it from disaster.

00:36:39.460 --> 00:36:42.380
You can accept correction from God, or you can

00:36:42.380 --> 00:36:44.539
wait until your decisions produce consequences

00:36:44.539 --> 00:36:50.579
that you cannot undo. 40 ,000 men died, and they

00:36:50.579 --> 00:36:58.199
walked on the first 22 ,000 all day long while

00:36:58.199 --> 00:37:02.690
they fought again. wickedness in their hearts,

00:37:02.789 --> 00:37:09.550
not humble before God. You can bend your knee

00:37:09.550 --> 00:37:13.590
voluntarily, or eventually life may force you

00:37:13.590 --> 00:37:19.010
to your knees. The wise person chooses the first

00:37:19.010 --> 00:37:23.369
way, humility before destruction. The reality

00:37:23.369 --> 00:37:27.630
is that civil wars kill kingdom citizens. Israel

00:37:27.630 --> 00:37:30.070
was... not fighting to fulfill the boundaries

00:37:30.070 --> 00:37:31.449
of their kingdom. Realize this is the book of

00:37:31.449 --> 00:37:35.670
Judges. They're still supposed to be conquering

00:37:35.670 --> 00:37:38.469
the surrounding enemies, not taking them as wives.

00:37:39.429 --> 00:37:41.670
They're still supposed to be moving the borders

00:37:41.670 --> 00:37:43.869
back and finding the full land that God has given

00:37:43.869 --> 00:37:48.670
them. They have a 400 ,000 man army that instead

00:37:48.670 --> 00:37:54.250
is pitted completely to destroy one city. for

00:37:54.250 --> 00:37:56.469
one sinful act while they themselves are indulged

00:37:56.469 --> 00:37:59.710
in sinful acts so often. That same army could

00:37:59.710 --> 00:38:03.010
have expanded the territory to where it was supposed

00:38:03.010 --> 00:38:05.389
to get. They weren't conquering new territory

00:38:05.389 --> 00:38:07.210
even though God had commanded them to do that.

00:38:07.349 --> 00:38:10.190
They weren't fighting an invading army even though

00:38:10.190 --> 00:38:11.809
they have fought those time and again. By the

00:38:11.809 --> 00:38:13.929
way, throughout the book of Judges at this point,

00:38:13.989 --> 00:38:15.789
how many times has Israel been warred against?

00:38:15.929 --> 00:38:17.429
How many times have they been abused? How many

00:38:17.429 --> 00:38:19.429
times have their crops been stolen? And in all

00:38:19.429 --> 00:38:21.309
that time, how many times did they sum up an

00:38:21.309 --> 00:38:27.550
army of 400 ,000 men? Only a couple. And it took

00:38:27.550 --> 00:38:34.889
a powerful judge to do it. They are not advancing

00:38:34.889 --> 00:38:36.949
the kingdom in this fight. They are fighting

00:38:36.949 --> 00:38:40.869
themselves. Civil wars kill kingdom citizens.

00:38:41.329 --> 00:38:45.110
That principle is still true today. Every church

00:38:45.110 --> 00:38:48.110
conflict over anything at all, it doesn't matter

00:38:48.110 --> 00:38:51.750
what it is, never ever produces righteousness.

00:38:52.780 --> 00:38:55.079
When five or six people get their craw up about

00:38:55.079 --> 00:38:57.019
the pastor won't preach a sermon on smoking,

00:38:57.260 --> 00:39:00.619
or the pastor talks too long on Sunday, or the

00:39:00.619 --> 00:39:02.719
room color isn't right, or the carpeting, or

00:39:02.719 --> 00:39:05.019
the instruments, or the music is too loud, or

00:39:05.019 --> 00:39:07.199
it doesn't matter what it is, and people get

00:39:07.199 --> 00:39:08.800
together and they decide that they're upset,

00:39:08.940 --> 00:39:14.179
they get a poster child of a problem, those disagreements

00:39:14.179 --> 00:39:20.800
never bring about justice or righteousness. In

00:39:20.800 --> 00:39:24.360
fact, Every disagreement does not need an enemy.

00:39:24.820 --> 00:39:28.880
Every correction does not need a war. Sometimes

00:39:28.880 --> 00:39:31.639
the greatest victory is not defeating the person

00:39:31.639 --> 00:39:33.780
who disagrees with you. Sometimes the greatest

00:39:33.780 --> 00:39:36.280
victory is keeping the relationship with the

00:39:36.280 --> 00:39:39.900
person who disagrees with you. If you and I sat

00:39:39.900 --> 00:39:41.760
down, everybody in this room, every one of us,

00:39:41.800 --> 00:39:43.380
if we sat down and talked for a couple hours

00:39:43.380 --> 00:39:46.159
looking for something to disagree over, we'll

00:39:46.159 --> 00:39:49.760
find it. I guarantee it. Because I'm an opinionated

00:39:49.760 --> 00:39:51.360
person and I'm looking around this room and I

00:39:51.360 --> 00:39:55.119
see opinionated people. 100%. We would all find

00:39:55.119 --> 00:39:56.860
something if we sat down and worked it. You sit

00:39:56.860 --> 00:39:58.920
down with your wife and say, okay, let's talk

00:39:58.920 --> 00:40:00.519
about it. Let's find something to disagree with.

00:40:01.420 --> 00:40:04.340
You will find something that you think and he

00:40:04.340 --> 00:40:08.179
or she disagrees. And then you've got to either

00:40:08.179 --> 00:40:10.179
come to a conclusion where the two of you can

00:40:10.179 --> 00:40:11.940
work it out and figure out where your actual

00:40:11.940 --> 00:40:13.820
position is or one of you has to give up their

00:40:13.820 --> 00:40:16.099
preferences or you have to agree to disagree,

00:40:16.260 --> 00:40:21.219
which is not biblical. Every family argument

00:40:21.219 --> 00:40:23.719
does not produce justice. Every disagreement

00:40:23.719 --> 00:40:25.940
does not need an enemy. And every correction

00:40:25.940 --> 00:40:30.059
does not need a war. Get off your soapbox unless

00:40:30.059 --> 00:40:34.380
you are talking about Jesus and God's word. In

00:40:34.380 --> 00:40:37.840
fact, Proverbs 15 .1 says, A soft answer turns

00:40:37.840 --> 00:40:41.059
away wrath. James said it this way in chapter

00:40:41.059 --> 00:40:44.019
3, The fruit of righteousness is sown in peace

00:40:44.019 --> 00:40:47.889
of them that make peace. There are people who

00:40:47.889 --> 00:40:50.769
know how to win arguments. Some of you will debate

00:40:50.769 --> 00:40:56.710
me under the table. But God calls us to become

00:40:56.710 --> 00:41:00.969
people who know how to make peace. Blessed are

00:41:00.969 --> 00:41:07.389
the peacemakers. And that brings us then to a

00:41:07.389 --> 00:41:13.329
conclusion. What they didn't have was a king.

00:41:13.949 --> 00:41:16.059
I'm not talking about a human king. They had

00:41:16.059 --> 00:41:19.440
God as king, and then they gave that up. They

00:41:19.440 --> 00:41:22.800
quit having God as king. We are called to one

00:41:22.800 --> 00:41:27.500
king, one standard, one way. Judges is ultimately

00:41:27.500 --> 00:41:30.119
a book about what happens when Israel does not

00:41:30.119 --> 00:41:32.900
have righteous leadership. We have righteous

00:41:32.900 --> 00:41:36.019
leadership. We have Jesus Christ, the Son of

00:41:36.019 --> 00:41:38.840
God. We have God the Father, God the Son, God

00:41:38.840 --> 00:41:41.119
the Holy Spirit. Literally, we have the definition

00:41:41.119 --> 00:41:45.269
of righteous leadership. Again and again, the

00:41:45.269 --> 00:41:47.469
big problem of Judges comes out. In those days,

00:41:47.530 --> 00:41:50.150
there was no king in Israel. Every man did what

00:41:50.150 --> 00:41:53.530
was right in his own eyes. Except there was a

00:41:53.530 --> 00:41:56.230
king. It was God. And the reason there was no

00:41:56.230 --> 00:41:58.449
king that was God was because every man was doing

00:41:58.449 --> 00:41:59.949
what was right in his own eyes. It's not like

00:41:59.949 --> 00:42:02.510
God stopped being king, and then they started

00:42:02.510 --> 00:42:04.550
doing what was right in their own eyes. God was

00:42:04.550 --> 00:42:06.969
king, and they stepped away from him. They stopped

00:42:06.969 --> 00:42:10.170
following God, stopped letting God be king. And

00:42:10.170 --> 00:42:11.570
they began to do what was right in their own

00:42:11.570 --> 00:42:14.449
eyes. And it has led them to this point, the

00:42:14.449 --> 00:42:18.449
worst probably point in the history of God's

00:42:18.449 --> 00:42:20.269
people in the promised land, where they're not

00:42:20.269 --> 00:42:21.989
being killed by enemies. That was terrible in

00:42:21.989 --> 00:42:24.250
the Philistines. That's terrible. When all the

00:42:24.250 --> 00:42:25.750
other tribes gathered together and formed an

00:42:25.750 --> 00:42:28.989
army, there was camels as far as the horizon.

00:42:29.530 --> 00:42:33.710
That was terrible. But when it's Israelites killing

00:42:33.710 --> 00:42:35.989
Israelites, that's terrible. When it was the

00:42:35.989 --> 00:42:38.050
United States Civil War, it's said to be the

00:42:38.050 --> 00:42:43.280
most. Damaging war in the history of America.

00:42:43.840 --> 00:42:45.920
Because everybody that died was an American.

00:42:46.679 --> 00:42:49.940
And some history buffs will escalate that number

00:42:49.940 --> 00:42:52.079
far beyond the actual track number, which is

00:42:52.079 --> 00:42:55.199
like 600 ,000. And they think in reality it was

00:42:55.199 --> 00:42:58.219
maybe millions who died in the Civil War. And

00:42:58.219 --> 00:43:00.159
it was Americans killing an American. And everybody

00:43:00.159 --> 00:43:04.699
that died pretty much was an American. This is

00:43:04.699 --> 00:43:09.139
what happens. When people do what's right in

00:43:09.139 --> 00:43:12.780
their own eyes, rather than doing what God calls

00:43:12.780 --> 00:43:16.000
us to. Benjamin did what seemed right to Benjamin.

00:43:16.159 --> 00:43:19.119
Israel did what seemed right to Israel. Everybody

00:43:19.119 --> 00:43:21.300
had a justification. Everybody had a grievance.

00:43:21.320 --> 00:43:24.239
Everybody had a reason. But the goal is not for

00:43:24.239 --> 00:43:26.340
everybody to become better at defending their

00:43:26.340 --> 00:43:28.820
own version of righteousness. To say, well, I'm

00:43:28.820 --> 00:43:30.900
going to learn what the Bible says so I can be

00:43:30.900 --> 00:43:32.559
right. And then people will think I'm right.

00:43:32.699 --> 00:43:36.300
You should just leave off the last part. Learn

00:43:36.300 --> 00:43:37.940
what the Bible says so that God can make you

00:43:37.940 --> 00:43:39.699
right. Don't worry about whether other people

00:43:39.699 --> 00:43:41.500
think you're right or not. There's only one advantage

00:43:41.500 --> 00:43:42.780
in that. If people think you're right, they might

00:43:42.780 --> 00:43:44.519
be a little more likely to listen to you about

00:43:44.519 --> 00:43:46.619
Jesus. That would be advantageous. They might

00:43:46.619 --> 00:43:48.300
be a little more likely to glorify your Father

00:43:48.300 --> 00:43:50.880
when Jesus comes again. That would be advantageous.

00:43:50.880 --> 00:43:52.659
But the truth is, all you've got to do is speak

00:43:52.659 --> 00:43:55.340
for Jesus and let them decide whether or not

00:43:55.340 --> 00:43:59.750
they're going to listen. The goal is to come

00:43:59.750 --> 00:44:02.070
under God's standard of righteousness. We need

00:44:02.070 --> 00:44:04.269
authority in the right places. We need accountability

00:44:04.269 --> 00:44:07.269
practiced by all. If someone you know is in sin,

00:44:07.429 --> 00:44:09.449
you go to them in kindness and speak with them

00:44:09.449 --> 00:44:14.110
about it. Go to them in peace. I get it. It's

00:44:14.110 --> 00:44:15.510
going to put you out of your comfort zone. You

00:44:15.510 --> 00:44:17.030
might be frustrated. You might be upset. You

00:44:17.030 --> 00:44:18.989
might want to go in strained because you feel

00:44:18.989 --> 00:44:20.670
like, oh, I feel terrible that I have to have

00:44:20.670 --> 00:44:23.780
this conversation. But the problem is, that's

00:44:23.780 --> 00:44:25.480
you being reluctant. You're only feeling that

00:44:25.480 --> 00:44:27.000
way because it's you being reluctant to do what

00:44:27.000 --> 00:44:30.340
God commanded you to do, which was go and show

00:44:30.340 --> 00:44:33.079
them their sins so that they can repent. So it

00:44:33.079 --> 00:44:34.420
has nothing to do with their sin, but you'll

00:44:34.420 --> 00:44:36.880
go, feel it all consternated, all upset, all

00:44:36.880 --> 00:44:39.980
frustrated, right? And you'll get mad all over

00:44:39.980 --> 00:44:42.460
them, sloppy. Say it wrong because you're frustrated

00:44:42.460 --> 00:44:44.840
because you have to do what it is that God called

00:44:44.840 --> 00:44:46.960
you to do. Whose problem is that anyway? We need

00:44:46.960 --> 00:44:49.389
humility. We need repentance. We need truth.

00:44:49.449 --> 00:44:51.989
We need mercy. And ultimately, we need one king.

00:44:52.369 --> 00:44:55.989
Not me, not you, not our group, not our feelings.

00:44:56.389 --> 00:45:00.250
One king, Jesus Christ. There is one king and

00:45:00.250 --> 00:45:02.710
one standard of righteousness. There is one way

00:45:02.710 --> 00:45:05.190
we receive that righteousness. Not by you doing

00:45:05.190 --> 00:45:07.030
better today than you did yesterday. That's not

00:45:07.030 --> 00:45:09.989
how that works. Not by proving that we are better

00:45:09.989 --> 00:45:11.710
than somebody else. That's not how that works.

00:45:11.909 --> 00:45:14.150
We receive the righteousness through faith in

00:45:14.150 --> 00:45:17.070
Jesus Christ. Even the righteousness, the Bible

00:45:17.070 --> 00:45:21.070
says in Romans 3, of God, which is by faith of

00:45:21.070 --> 00:45:24.949
Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that

00:45:24.949 --> 00:45:28.449
believe. That changes the way we fight. Because

00:45:28.449 --> 00:45:30.469
when I know that my righteousness was received

00:45:30.469 --> 00:45:32.650
from Jesus, then I don't have to manufacture

00:45:32.650 --> 00:45:35.030
righteousness by defeating you or anyone else.

00:45:36.710 --> 00:45:39.010
Let me say it this way. If you're spending any

00:45:39.010 --> 00:45:41.409
portion of your time thinking about whether or

00:45:41.409 --> 00:45:44.860
not somebody else is wrong, you're missing. Your

00:45:44.860 --> 00:45:48.820
purpose in life, which is to become right yourself,

00:45:49.079 --> 00:45:53.860
to walk with Jesus. You don't have time. Now,

00:45:53.880 --> 00:45:56.219
should we also be concerned about other people?

00:45:56.300 --> 00:46:00.099
We need warriors. We do. We need to take the

00:46:00.099 --> 00:46:02.179
gospel. We need to take right living to other

00:46:02.179 --> 00:46:04.699
people. We need to show up in the midst of people's

00:46:04.699 --> 00:46:06.820
trials and lead them to a life that is Jesus

00:46:06.820 --> 00:46:10.710
Christ and help them. Maybe bring food. Bring

00:46:10.710 --> 00:46:13.329
support like from the police or from somebody.

00:46:13.349 --> 00:46:14.929
Get them out of a difficult situation, whatever.

00:46:15.170 --> 00:46:19.510
We need warriors. But we need humble warriors.

00:46:22.090 --> 00:46:25.750
We need people willing to stand. But we need

00:46:25.750 --> 00:46:29.570
people willing to kneel first. We need people

00:46:29.570 --> 00:46:33.969
willing to advance. But we only want the advancement

00:46:33.969 --> 00:46:37.190
in the direction that God has commanded. We need

00:46:37.190 --> 00:46:40.909
people willing to confront sin. But we also need

00:46:40.909 --> 00:46:45.170
people willing to repent of their own sin. We

00:46:45.170 --> 00:46:49.889
need people willing to fight. But we need people

00:46:49.889 --> 00:46:54.489
who know what is worth fighting for. And we need

00:46:54.489 --> 00:46:58.070
people who don't just want to win. We need people

00:46:58.070 --> 00:47:00.590
who want to help somebody else find the way home.

00:47:03.489 --> 00:47:06.050
God has given each one of us the heart of a lion.

00:47:07.259 --> 00:47:09.840
In getting saved, your regenerated heart became

00:47:09.840 --> 00:47:14.059
the heart of a lion. And with that heart of a

00:47:14.059 --> 00:47:17.119
lion, you can conquer every little sin, everything

00:47:17.119 --> 00:47:19.860
that ever held you back, your flesh, your crazy

00:47:19.860 --> 00:47:22.159
mind that goes all over the place sometimes or

00:47:22.159 --> 00:47:23.880
seeks after things that aren't good for you.

00:47:24.119 --> 00:47:28.559
Your heart can reign over it all. Your heart

00:47:28.559 --> 00:47:30.320
has the heart of a lion, the kind of heart that

00:47:30.320 --> 00:47:35.550
can create universes. They can destroy difficulties.

00:47:35.829 --> 00:47:37.929
They can move mountains. You have the heart of

00:47:37.929 --> 00:47:42.329
a lion. And so you want to fight. But you're

00:47:42.329 --> 00:47:46.190
called to humility to the God of the universe

00:47:46.190 --> 00:47:49.590
first. The next time you think about saying something

00:47:49.590 --> 00:47:52.130
that sounds a little bit mean, don't say to yourself,

00:47:52.309 --> 00:47:53.789
well, it may sound a little bit mean, but I've

00:47:53.789 --> 00:47:57.250
got, you know, there's a reason for that. Just

00:47:57.250 --> 00:48:01.289
realize it's just mean. It just actually is mean.

00:48:01.369 --> 00:48:03.030
It doesn't just sound a little bit mean. It actually

00:48:03.030 --> 00:48:06.269
is mean. And you're called to gentleness and

00:48:06.269 --> 00:48:09.590
kindness and goodness and self -control, which

00:48:09.590 --> 00:48:11.369
are all fruits of the Spirit. You can't produce

00:48:11.369 --> 00:48:13.550
them, but by embracing God through the spiritual

00:48:13.550 --> 00:48:15.369
disciplines and His Word and spending time with

00:48:15.369 --> 00:48:20.230
Him, those things grow in you. The next time

00:48:20.230 --> 00:48:22.230
you see somebody who's doing something wrong

00:48:22.230 --> 00:48:26.210
and you feel compelled to correct it, a little

00:48:26.210 --> 00:48:27.670
bitterness in your voice might do the trick.

00:48:28.190 --> 00:48:30.989
They'll slam a pot or a pan or a door, right?

00:48:31.590 --> 00:48:34.889
Or turn your back on them. Or give them what

00:48:34.889 --> 00:48:38.590
for? You should have realized those are all weapons.

00:48:39.769 --> 00:48:44.090
And they are given to you for your use, but they

00:48:44.090 --> 00:48:46.969
are not meant to be turned inward. You know who

00:48:46.969 --> 00:48:49.949
needs you to kick his butt super bad, like every

00:48:49.949 --> 00:48:54.510
day? Satan. You know who needs you to step on

00:48:54.510 --> 00:48:57.650
his throat, to crush his skull? Every demon,

00:48:57.710 --> 00:49:03.849
evil spirit that ever rose, fell, would be a

00:49:03.849 --> 00:49:07.190
better verb there, right? That ever came to walk

00:49:07.190 --> 00:49:11.329
the earth. And your heart of a lion, that's what

00:49:11.329 --> 00:49:14.389
it's for. Don't you turn the weapons that God

00:49:14.389 --> 00:49:17.409
has given you against your loved ones, against

00:49:17.409 --> 00:49:22.010
the church. Don't be divided. Wrath of man never

00:49:22.010 --> 00:49:28.070
brings about righteousness. Come in love. And

00:49:28.070 --> 00:49:33.190
bring peace. Jesus said, my peace I give you.

00:49:33.889 --> 00:49:41.489
Not as the world gives, but forever. In this

00:49:41.489 --> 00:49:44.849
world, you will have trouble. But fear not, for

00:49:44.849 --> 00:49:47.010
I have overcome the world. I'm going to close

00:49:47.010 --> 00:49:50.590
with an illustration and I'm done. The United

00:49:50.590 --> 00:49:52.389
States of America Civil War, I mentioned it earlier

00:49:52.389 --> 00:49:55.559
on. The president... During the Civil War and

00:49:55.559 --> 00:49:59.820
immediately after for a short time. No, I got

00:49:59.820 --> 00:50:01.699
that backwards. The president at the beginning

00:50:01.699 --> 00:50:04.559
and throughout the Civil War was Abraham Lincoln.

00:50:05.000 --> 00:50:06.880
I'm not a historian, but I'm going to quote him

00:50:06.880 --> 00:50:13.139
anyway. In 1865, Abraham Lincoln gave an inaugural

00:50:13.139 --> 00:50:16.340
address. And he was addressing the fact that

00:50:16.340 --> 00:50:18.559
the United States of America was fighting against

00:50:18.559 --> 00:50:21.289
the United States of America. And in the end

00:50:21.289 --> 00:50:23.369
of his inaugural address, he used this phrase.

00:50:23.429 --> 00:50:27.710
He said that they would fight the fight, that

00:50:27.710 --> 00:50:29.989
they will win the war, that they will reunite

00:50:29.989 --> 00:50:32.489
the nation. And I'm paraphrasing that part. But

00:50:32.489 --> 00:50:35.429
then he said this. He said, with malice toward

00:50:35.429 --> 00:50:44.650
none, with charity for all. And that is how you

00:50:44.650 --> 00:50:50.079
and I need to learn to fight. Because the goal

00:50:50.079 --> 00:50:55.420
is not victory over what someone is doing or

00:50:55.420 --> 00:50:57.480
what you don't like or what's bothering you.

00:50:57.559 --> 00:51:02.280
The goal is peace. Peace that passes understanding.

00:51:02.960 --> 00:51:06.760
Peace that leads to an eternity with God in heaven

00:51:06.760 --> 00:51:13.340
forever. Before you fight the fight, make sure

00:51:13.340 --> 00:51:18.329
that you're fighting the right way. And don't

00:51:18.329 --> 00:51:21.750
turn the weapons that you have, whatever you

00:51:21.750 --> 00:51:25.469
have at your disposal, against those who you

00:51:25.469 --> 00:51:29.070
should be loving. A legitimate cause does not

00:51:29.070 --> 00:51:32.530
guarantee a righteous response. Instead, humbly

00:51:32.530 --> 00:51:37.309
come before the Lord. Is this my fight? How will

00:51:37.309 --> 00:51:41.329
I fight it? How far am I meant to go? And then

00:51:41.329 --> 00:51:45.130
do what he tells you. I ask the praise team to

00:51:45.130 --> 00:51:48.349
come forward. And lead us in exposing him. But

00:51:48.349 --> 00:51:50.570
as we are singing today, maybe the Lord is impressed

00:51:50.570 --> 00:51:53.309
upon you. Maybe you've been. It's the very thing.

00:51:54.289 --> 00:51:56.110
You've turned your weapons against your loved

00:51:56.110 --> 00:51:58.710
ones or against the church, these people that

00:51:58.710 --> 00:52:00.730
you know, and you realize that's not meant to

00:52:00.730 --> 00:52:03.309
be those weapons. We're defending you. We're

00:52:03.309 --> 00:52:04.750
defending the church. We're defending the kingdom.

00:52:05.329 --> 00:52:07.630
We're attacking the enemy that actually is the

00:52:07.630 --> 00:52:13.070
enemy, which is not a community, ever. Repent.

00:52:14.589 --> 00:52:16.570
repent and humbly come before your God and just

00:52:16.570 --> 00:52:21.030
say, okay, God, from now on, when I see something

00:52:21.030 --> 00:52:23.829
that needs to be dealt with, I want to deal with

00:52:23.829 --> 00:52:27.050
it in you, by your strength, by your methods,

00:52:27.150 --> 00:52:32.130
and that's the only way. Maybe God has come to

00:52:32.130 --> 00:52:33.769
you and said you have some sin, something that's

00:52:33.769 --> 00:52:35.550
in your heart. It's wickedness. And you've kept

00:52:35.550 --> 00:52:38.030
it. You've held on to it. You even defended it

00:52:38.030 --> 00:52:40.090
to him over the years. Maybe you've begged him

00:52:40.090 --> 00:52:42.530
to forgive it over and over and over again. And

00:52:42.530 --> 00:52:45.130
God is now saying, repent. repent of that thing

00:52:45.130 --> 00:52:48.250
and be done with it. Repent and turn to me. Repent

00:52:48.250 --> 00:52:50.190
doesn't just mean turn from a sin. It means turn

00:52:50.190 --> 00:52:53.730
to God. Think differently now. Now I'm turned

00:52:53.730 --> 00:52:55.650
to God. Because if you turn from one sin, you're

00:52:55.650 --> 00:52:57.489
likely to just turn to another one. But if you

00:52:57.489 --> 00:53:01.110
turn from sin and turn to God, then that's different.

00:53:01.630 --> 00:53:02.969
So you know what that thing is and you've been

00:53:02.969 --> 00:53:06.650
defending it, stop it. Say no more to that. I'm

00:53:06.650 --> 00:53:09.250
done defending it. I'm going to submit it to

00:53:09.250 --> 00:53:12.099
the Lord and let him deal with it. Or maybe the

00:53:12.099 --> 00:53:13.699
Lord's calling you to start a ministry or go

00:53:13.699 --> 00:53:16.699
talk to somebody specific about Jesus or whatever

00:53:16.699 --> 00:53:19.719
it might be. He's saying, whom will I send? And

00:53:19.719 --> 00:53:23.019
you say, okay, Lord, you can send me. I don't

00:53:23.019 --> 00:53:24.380
know what that's going to look like, but you

00:53:24.380 --> 00:53:26.780
can send me. And you let him know that today.

00:53:27.900 --> 00:53:30.139
Maybe you need this to be your church home. Maybe

00:53:30.139 --> 00:53:32.179
you need to be baptized. Maybe you need to be

00:53:32.179 --> 00:53:35.760
and serve whatever. You make your decision publicly

00:53:35.760 --> 00:53:40.599
so that God can support you, so that God can

00:53:40.599 --> 00:53:43.719
come out and Pour on the resources. And you and

00:53:43.719 --> 00:53:47.340
everyone else in the world. As we sing this song,

00:53:47.420 --> 00:53:48.639
the Lord is speaking to you and wants you to

00:53:48.639 --> 00:53:50.380
respond. And you come forward, share with me.

00:53:50.460 --> 00:53:52.300
Otherwise, you just sing and give God the glory.

00:53:52.659 --> 00:54:14.880
Right? Stand and sing with me. But that thy blood

00:54:14.880 --> 00:54:21.619
was shed for me. That'll get it done. That was

00:54:21.619 --> 00:54:35.880
enough. Come to me, O Lamb of God, I come. You're

00:54:35.880 --> 00:54:37.679
here today and you're giving your life to Jesus

00:54:37.679 --> 00:54:40.230
Christ for the first time right now. In your

00:54:40.230 --> 00:54:42.849
heart, you still got pride? You say, yes, Lord.

00:54:43.130 --> 00:54:44.849
And then you come to me, and we'll pray together

00:54:44.849 --> 00:54:45.389
right now.