WEBVTT

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So we are in the middle of, we've got a while

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yet, we're in the middle of our spiritual discipline

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focus on fasting. And I've heard a lot of stories,

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and I appreciate that you've shared some of those

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with me, and I think we can share them some more

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in the next Inspirational Moment time, but there

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are two particular pieces about fasting that

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I wanted to address. One, because I think it's

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something that is just kind of missed. And the

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other, because I think it's something really

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important if you're going to undertake this task,

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which a number of people have. OK, so let's just

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think briefly for a moment about the last time

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you were in a waiting room, a doctor's office,

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dentist's office, somewhere where they had you

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waiting, maybe outside a counselor's office,

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principal's office or whatever. Within about

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10 seconds, we start thinking about, I wonder

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what's going on on my phone. Has somebody text

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me? Maybe I can look at. Social media right now,

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we've got nothing else going on. That's because

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in the world that we live in, silence has become

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uncomfortable. It seems like there's always something.

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We feel busy. We feel like we have a lot to do.

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And so when we feel like we're doing nothing,

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whether it be shame or guilt or just because

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we want to try, right, just don't want to give

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up on the things that we need to do, we feel

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like we have to reach for something. Fasting

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is one of the few practices that asks us, to

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sit in that gap between where we have something

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to do and where we're doing nothing. Sit in that

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gap there on purpose. So you are doing something.

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It's a spiritual discipline to draw closer to

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God. You are actively doing that. But at the

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same time, you are choosing not to do something,

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whatever that something is. It might be social

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media. It might be food. It might be all food.

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It could be as drastic as all food and water.

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It could be some form of recreation. Whatever

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it is that you think is, or creating an awe on

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your life that is outside what God would desire

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for you. You fast from it for a time, you get

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it under control. We've talked about some of

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the other purposes of fasting. Let's say, for

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example, a woman starts a fast at 2 o 'clock.

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I'm sorry, she starts a fast in the morning,

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and then at 2 o 'clock, her hand starts to drift

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toward the office snack door. Or she finds herself

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driving the car, and she's going a long distance,

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and she knows she has snacks in the glove box,

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down there, whatever. She's not actually hungry,

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right? She's got a tense email or a problem or

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she had an argument with somebody or something

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and food is what she reaches for when she's stressed.

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That's going to happen to anybody, right? The

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fast doesn't create the reflex to reach for the

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thing to fill the gap. The fast is what gives

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you the tool then to control the gap. The real

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work of fasting then is not about... food, for

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example, it's about noticing what we run to when

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we get bored, when we're trying to fill in that

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gap. And you know what's supposed to fill in

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the gap. Well, it's God. It's your relationship

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with Jesus Christ. It might be a word, it might

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be prayer, meditation, a spiritual discipline

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that you're working on, journaling, something

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like that. And so when you try to fill that gap

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with something else, rather than the thing that

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God has given you to fill it with, You have a

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problem. Fasting is designed to deal with that

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problem. Matthew 4, verses 2 and 4, it says,

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After 40 days stopped food, Jesus is tempted

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to turn stones into bread. Satan actually says

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to him, What are you doing? What are you going

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hungry for? Turn these stones into bread. You

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can eat. And Jesus says back to him, Man shall

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not live on bread alone, but on every word that

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comes from the mouth of God. The words that come

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from the mouth of God can sustain you under every

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circumstance. There will come a time in which

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you can't eat anymore. You'll be on your deathbed,

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not have a stomach tube, might have just got

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hit by a car, God forbid, or took a bullet, God

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forbid, right? There comes a time in which you

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can't eat anymore. And in that moment in time,

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when that gap exists, beyond food, for example,

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that's what we're using as an example, beyond

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food, what you need in that moment is God. You

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need Jesus Christ as Savior. You need God as

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presence in your life and to take you home. That's

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what you need in that moment. So the next time

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you think you need food more than God, that's

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what fasting is for. The next time you think

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you need recreation more than God, that's part

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of what fasting is for. Whatever it might be,

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let us realize there are going to be moments

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in life where we need God above all else, and

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that fasting helps us to realize. One more thing,

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breaking a fast. So you've heard of breakfast,

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I imagine. Most of you probably had it in some

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way. The term breakfast comes from breaking a

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fast, because when you're sleeping at night,

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Surprise, you're not eating while you're sleeping,

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right? You're asleep or you're bedded down for

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the night. So you're not actually taking in food.

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And so then when you get up in the morning and

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you have your breakfast, you're breaking your

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fast tonight. That's where it comes from. So

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breaking a fast, then we need to think about

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how do we do that? Let's say you decided to fast

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for 24 hours from without food. By the end of

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that, you might be feeling like, I really wish

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I could have a sandwich. I want some pancakes

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or whatever it might be. It's something that

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you might desire. I was just talking to my wife

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last week. I've been fasting for a while. I'm

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a Daniel pastor. Fruits and vegetables only.

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And some spices and condiments. And that's it.

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And I told her, I really want fish and chips.

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I love fish and chips. That's one of my favorite

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meals. Not my favorite, but it's one of my favorite

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meals. And I said, as soon as I get done with

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my fast, I'm going to have some fish and chips.

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And then later that day, the Lord said to me,

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don't you eat too much fish and chips. And here's

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the thing. When you come off of a fast, You might

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want to gorge yourself. I haven't eaten in 24

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hours. I'm so hungry. It's killing me. But the

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reality is it's not really like that, right?

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After you eat enough to sustain yourself, you're

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not really starving to death with you at that

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period of time. Obviously, there are nutrients

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involved, and you need to take care of yourself.

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I'm not saying be unhealthy. But my point is

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you don't want to see right after your fast ends

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the piece that you built for that day or weeks

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or months, depending on how you were fasting.

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You don't want to see that suddenly erased. Just

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like that. So let's say you're fasting from streaming

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TV. And then immediately after you're fasting

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from that, you go grab the remote, and you've

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got to catch up on all your shows. And you stream

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like 10 hours on TV and catch up on all your

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shows. All the peace that you gained in that

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week or month or whatever it was, and you let

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that all fall away, it's all gone. Right? Because

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you had to get back to it. I had to. I put God

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first for a little while, but I can only do that

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for so long. I've got to get back to my stuff.

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Does that sound like biblical fasting? Not based

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on what we just said about biblical fasting,

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right? So how we end our fast reveals whether

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we actually learned to do without the thing that

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we were doing without for a period of time. Or

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did you just kind of grit your teeth until the

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clock ran out? Did you just hold your breath

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as long as you possibly could by not eating or

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by not watching or by not involving yourself

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with those things? A healthy fast does not end

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with lunging back at the old habits. So if it's

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food, for example, the fast immediately after

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the meal should be a healthy meal, the kind of

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meal that your body needs. Don't run out to IHOP

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and grab yourself a giant stack of pancakes and

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bacon because you did such a good job fasting

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for a day. Instead, get yourself healthy food

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in reasonable portions. And then if you want

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to have pancakes later, you could probably actually

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have them without getting sick. But if you fast

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for a day or two and then jump on something like

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pancakes right after, you'll probably get sick.

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Because your body will not be used to taking

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in that amount of sugar and carbs. So I suggest

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that fasting is meant to be paced. It's meant

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to be disciplined. That's why I call it spiritual

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discipline. And then easing back into that thing,

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if you're going to at all. You could be fasting

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for something that you want to get rid of. And

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at the end of it, you might be saying, I'm never

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going back to that thing. God has made me able

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to be free from it. I'll never go back to it.

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Because now I realize it was a controlling part

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of my life. And you might do that. But if it's

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a thing you're going to go back to, do it in

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a paced and gentle and disciplined way, not to

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excess. And then realize that fasting was never

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the goal. Dependence on God is the goal. The

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wind isn't finishing the fast. Don't say, I'm

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going to fast for 24 hours and then fight through

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it and get to the end of 24 hours and go, yeah,

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yeah, look at me. That is no victory whatsoever.

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In fact, it should be that at any time that you

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struggle throughout your fast, you're turning

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to the Lord for strength. And then when you get

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to the end of the fast, it should be. Yay, God.

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Because every time I needed help, he helped me.

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Right? When it isn't finishing the fast, it's

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what you did when the craving in the middle of

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the fast hits you. And breaking the fast well,

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then, is the last rep. It's the one more. You're

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curling and you feel like you can't go anymore.

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It's the one more rep. It's the one more task,

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the one more job that needs to be done. Break

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it well. Don't sprint back to what you gave up.

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Carry the same open hand. for the rest of your

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life. Let's say you fasted for one day, one complete

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day without food. At the end of that, you ease

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back in. From then on, you now have a testimony

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that says, well, if I ever had to do that. I'll

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give you an example. I went to go have blood

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work the first time when they thought I had bone

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marrow cancer. And I had to have blood work done,

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and I was getting in fairly frequently. They

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were checking me out, trying to figure out if

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I had bone marrow cancer. And she said, I know

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it's tough. You've got to fast every time you

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have to do bone marrow cancer. You can't eat

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from like 9 p .m. the night before. I go, we

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get the blood test done at like 9 a .m. You have

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like 12 hours of fasting, whatever. I'm like,

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I mean, two or three hours before bed, a couple

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hours in the morning? That's nothing. She's like,

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well, so many people complain. It's so hard to

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not eat after 9 and not eat until they come get

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their test done. I'm like, they must not be Christians.

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Or they must not be living with the Lord if they

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are. Because it is hard for you to fast for six

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hours before you go to bed when you get up in

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the morning from food. You are addicted to food.

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That is not that much. You get out of bed in

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the morning, you didn't feel hungry, right? At

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first, it takes a minute. And then your stomach

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kind of kicks in. So that first three hours shouldn't

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be a struggle. Bottom line is, carry the same

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open hands for the rest of your life. Celebrate

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the victories that you have in fasting, in Bible

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reading. I know people say, I finally finished

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reading the whole Bible from beginning to end.

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And God helped me discipline myself. That's a

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lot. It takes 40 hours of straight reading, which

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nobody can do that, right? So it takes 40 hours

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spread out over time to read the whole Bible

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from beginning to end. But it's only 40 hours.

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So if you've never read the whole Bible from

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beginning to end, let's say you have like, or

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you think, you estimate yourself to have a poor

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reading level. So I read half as fast as you

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do. So you need 80 hours. And if you haven't

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done that in the last five years, you haven't

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spent 80 hours reading your Bible in the last

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five years, you haven't finished reading the

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whole Bible from beginning to end, 80 hours in

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five years? Really? You can do it. And then when

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you've done it, Look at what God has done. Give

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God his glory. So in fasting, it's number one,

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don't reach for something to fill the gap right

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away. Let the strain drive you back to God. Always

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go back to the Lord. And then number two, break

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the fast in a godly, God -honored way. Deacon

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Tony, would you lead us in prayer at this time?

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We're going to translate you from the eyes of

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offerings and a little more worship before we

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go to the Lord. I'm super excited because the

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Lord, I wrote the whole sermon, and the Lord

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wrote the whole sermon, and me today is super.

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So you can tell probably already since you've

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walked through, and I'm stoked for what God is

00:11:30.019 --> 00:11:32.720
doing. So, Deacon Tony, would you lead us? We're

00:11:32.720 --> 00:12:01.360
praying along with him. there are slides after

00:12:01.360 --> 00:12:04.200
this slide, I'm just going to point at you each

00:12:04.200 --> 00:12:06.419
time to switch to the next slide, okay? That's

00:12:06.419 --> 00:12:08.940
the plan. We didn't rehearse it or nothing, so

00:12:08.940 --> 00:12:26.279
let's see how it goes. Today's sermon title is

00:12:26.279 --> 00:12:29.200
Syncretism Precipitates, and if I had a hazard

00:12:29.200 --> 00:12:31.659
or guess... We may not even know exactly what

00:12:31.659 --> 00:12:33.820
those words mean because they're weird words.

00:12:34.000 --> 00:12:35.639
They're not words that people even talk like

00:12:35.639 --> 00:12:38.480
that, really. So syncretism is when you combine

00:12:38.480 --> 00:12:41.519
in your worship, when you worship multiple things,

00:12:41.620 --> 00:12:43.759
and one of those things is the primary thing,

00:12:43.799 --> 00:12:46.399
which in our case would be God, I hope. And you

00:12:46.399 --> 00:12:49.019
worship God, but you also start worshiping some

00:12:49.019 --> 00:12:52.000
other things. So this is what the Israelites

00:12:52.000 --> 00:12:54.220
have done in the story in the book of Judges.

00:12:54.460 --> 00:12:57.690
You'll recall we read last week that... The Israelites

00:12:57.690 --> 00:13:01.549
consulted God and that God answered them. And

00:13:01.549 --> 00:13:03.649
so that can happen when a person is practicing

00:13:03.649 --> 00:13:06.490
syncretism. It can be that they consult God and

00:13:06.490 --> 00:13:09.690
say, OK, God, what about this? And then God gives

00:13:09.690 --> 00:13:12.509
them the answer and says, yes, no, go, don't

00:13:12.509 --> 00:13:16.389
go, whatever. While still they have other gods,

00:13:16.529 --> 00:13:18.529
other things that they are paying attention to.

00:13:18.889 --> 00:13:21.679
And so sometimes people will. I don't want to

00:13:21.679 --> 00:13:23.460
get off on this tangent because it is the sort

00:13:23.460 --> 00:13:25.360
of the sermon that God rewrote to be this sermon.

00:13:25.500 --> 00:13:28.100
But sometimes people will do that. They will

00:13:28.100 --> 00:13:31.419
use that feeling, that leadership of God to then

00:13:31.419 --> 00:13:34.039
excuse other bad behaviors and say, well, I'm

00:13:34.039 --> 00:13:35.919
worshiping these other things as well as God.

00:13:36.000 --> 00:13:38.019
And because God would answer them still, they

00:13:38.019 --> 00:13:39.779
say, well, I'm good because I can worship these

00:13:39.779 --> 00:13:41.799
other things. I'm still right in my relationship

00:13:41.799 --> 00:13:45.120
with God, which is not the case. We've never

00:13:45.120 --> 00:13:47.379
meant to be. God alone deserves our worship.

00:13:47.690 --> 00:13:49.950
The word worship is the declaration of his worth,

00:13:50.009 --> 00:13:52.409
and there is no one and nothing that is worth

00:13:52.409 --> 00:13:56.110
what God is worth. So God alone deserves our

00:13:56.110 --> 00:13:58.330
worship. Also notice in the Ten Commandments,

00:13:58.330 --> 00:14:00.529
for example, when God says, Thou shalt have no

00:14:00.529 --> 00:14:02.450
other god before me, which is how it's written

00:14:02.450 --> 00:14:04.909
in the King James, and then it slightly changes

00:14:04.909 --> 00:14:07.210
to other translations, but it always brings the

00:14:07.210 --> 00:14:09.309
same thing, and that is that we are not allowed

00:14:09.309 --> 00:14:12.210
to have any other gods, essentially. It's the

00:14:12.210 --> 00:14:14.309
King James language, before me, like you would

00:14:14.309 --> 00:14:17.539
come before the queen or before the king. to

00:14:17.539 --> 00:14:19.879
be in the presence of. It's not to put, like

00:14:19.879 --> 00:14:22.340
we say, well, God is my chief God. God is still

00:14:22.340 --> 00:14:24.460
most important, most powerful. He's the only

00:14:24.460 --> 00:14:26.759
one I really give all my worship to. But I have

00:14:26.759 --> 00:14:28.539
all of these other little petty gods and things

00:14:28.539 --> 00:14:30.679
that I declare that are of equal worth in certain

00:14:30.679 --> 00:14:33.139
ways. At certain times, I really need that feeling,

00:14:33.340 --> 00:14:36.460
that flavor, that feeling of recreation or sport

00:14:36.460 --> 00:14:38.659
or whatever, and that's what I need. And so God

00:14:38.659 --> 00:14:41.100
is still number one, but I have these other things

00:14:41.100 --> 00:14:43.559
that are important too. But the King James makes

00:14:43.559 --> 00:14:45.559
it very clear we have no other things in the

00:14:45.559 --> 00:14:49.049
presence of God. or let no other gods come before

00:14:49.049 --> 00:14:52.230
me. So there should be nothing in your life that

00:14:52.230 --> 00:14:56.889
you obey, pursue, or declare the worth of, not

00:14:56.889 --> 00:14:59.710
just that there should be God as the supreme,

00:14:59.870 --> 00:15:02.210
but there should be nothing else. If there is

00:15:02.210 --> 00:15:04.429
something good in your life, it's there, it's

00:15:04.429 --> 00:15:06.070
meant to be there, it's there because God gave

00:15:06.070 --> 00:15:08.429
it to you, and God deserves the glory. So God

00:15:08.429 --> 00:15:10.230
deserves the glory for everything that you participate

00:15:10.230 --> 00:15:13.049
in. And if you cannot give God the glory for

00:15:13.049 --> 00:15:15.110
what you are participating in, then you should

00:15:15.110 --> 00:15:18.389
not be participating in it. That would be syncretism.

00:15:18.730 --> 00:15:21.610
The second piece in there is precipitate. So

00:15:21.610 --> 00:15:23.309
this is kind of a scientific word. You've probably

00:15:23.309 --> 00:15:25.710
actually heard it used, the chance of precipitation.

00:15:26.330 --> 00:15:28.610
So for something to precipitate is for something

00:15:28.610 --> 00:15:31.389
to fall, usually gathering or gaining mass, and

00:15:31.389 --> 00:15:34.230
then falling out of something else. So rain precipitates

00:15:34.230 --> 00:15:39.529
from the sky. And so when we say syncretism precipitates,

00:15:39.529 --> 00:15:43.269
what we're saying is if you have... God in your

00:15:43.269 --> 00:15:45.409
life and you have other things that you are declaring

00:15:45.409 --> 00:15:47.669
as of worth or value. Let me be clear, they can

00:15:47.669 --> 00:15:49.769
be good things. Family is a really good example

00:15:49.769 --> 00:15:52.350
for this. A lot of people declare family of great

00:15:52.350 --> 00:15:55.029
value and worth and it is, when submitted under

00:15:55.029 --> 00:15:57.809
God, it is one of the best things in life. When

00:15:57.809 --> 00:15:59.809
not submitted under God but held as a God itself

00:15:59.809 --> 00:16:02.409
and you think, well, I have to do this for my

00:16:02.409 --> 00:16:04.590
spouse or this for my son or my daughter or my

00:16:04.590 --> 00:16:07.090
wife and it precludes me from doing what it is

00:16:07.090 --> 00:16:09.669
that God has told me to do, that is nothing but

00:16:09.669 --> 00:16:12.080
syncretism. Family has become a god in your life,

00:16:12.200 --> 00:16:15.080
even though family is a good thing. So it can

00:16:15.080 --> 00:16:17.220
be good things, it can be bad things. When we

00:16:17.220 --> 00:16:19.100
say syncretism precipitates, what we're saying

00:16:19.100 --> 00:16:21.700
is when it exists in your life under the right

00:16:21.700 --> 00:16:24.700
circumstances, syncretism will settle out. It

00:16:24.700 --> 00:16:28.039
will take mass. It will become a solid. It will

00:16:28.039 --> 00:16:31.259
become a thing that you recognize is now there,

00:16:31.440 --> 00:16:35.659
invading everything else. So syncretism precipitates

00:16:35.659 --> 00:16:37.899
means it gathers together, gathers mass, and

00:16:37.899 --> 00:16:41.970
drops out and becomes clear. God tells us in

00:16:41.970 --> 00:16:45.289
Scripture that we are to obey him, not merely

00:16:45.289 --> 00:16:48.409
to achieve victories for ourselves or for him.

00:16:49.049 --> 00:16:51.970
Even when the cause is right, we have to use

00:16:51.970 --> 00:16:55.350
God's prescribed methods, refuse personal benefit,

00:16:55.570 --> 00:16:58.750
and remain dependent upon him. Now we're going

00:16:58.750 --> 00:17:01.570
to read from the book of Judges in chapter 20,

00:17:01.710 --> 00:17:04.769
and we're picking up right where we left off.

00:17:04.829 --> 00:17:06.769
Now I surprised you with that so that we wouldn't

00:17:06.769 --> 00:17:09.309
hoot and holler on purpose. We usually say amen

00:17:09.309 --> 00:17:11.660
or hoot and holler. Okay, I'm beginning to read

00:17:11.660 --> 00:17:16.240
in verse 29. That's where we stopped last week.

00:17:16.400 --> 00:17:19.339
He said, he told the Israelites, go up for tomorrow.

00:17:19.539 --> 00:17:23.400
I will hand them over to you. Verse 29. So Israel

00:17:23.400 --> 00:17:26.980
set men in ambush around Gibeah. So they use

00:17:26.980 --> 00:17:30.160
a good tactic in being obedient to God. They're

00:17:30.160 --> 00:17:32.859
using a good tactic to ambush the men of Gibeah.

00:17:33.220 --> 00:17:35.400
And the sons of Israel went up against the sons

00:17:35.400 --> 00:17:38.180
of Benjamin on the third day and lined up against

00:17:38.180 --> 00:17:41.630
Gibeah as at other times. So in other words,

00:17:41.730 --> 00:17:44.470
the people are gathering on both sides of the

00:17:44.470 --> 00:17:46.769
battle as they have done, as we've been reading

00:17:46.769 --> 00:17:49.109
about. When the sons of Benjamin went out against

00:17:49.109 --> 00:17:51.509
the people, they were lured away from the city

00:17:51.509 --> 00:17:54.029
and they began to strike and kill some of the

00:17:54.029 --> 00:17:57.490
people as at other times on the roads, one of

00:17:57.490 --> 00:17:59.990
which goes up to Bethel and the other to Gibeah

00:17:59.990 --> 00:18:04.109
and in the field about 30 men of Israel. So basically

00:18:04.109 --> 00:18:06.470
there were some folks out in the field and when

00:18:06.470 --> 00:18:09.099
they come out to defend Gibeah, When the Benjamites

00:18:09.099 --> 00:18:12.960
come out to fight, they kill some Israelites.

00:18:13.779 --> 00:18:17.359
There are 30 men who die here. This is a significant

00:18:17.359 --> 00:18:19.519
loss. Not as significant as what they've lost

00:18:19.519 --> 00:18:21.240
over 40 ,000 men in the last couple of days.

00:18:21.539 --> 00:18:24.200
But these men fall down. Their bodies fall down

00:18:24.200 --> 00:18:25.940
amongst all those tens of thousands of others

00:18:25.940 --> 00:18:30.299
dead. Okay? Verse 32. And the sons of Benjamin

00:18:30.299 --> 00:18:34.039
said, they are defeated before us like the first

00:18:34.039 --> 00:18:36.140
time. Oh, it's working again, they said, basically.

00:18:36.539 --> 00:18:39.769
But the sons of Israel said, Let's flee so that

00:18:39.769 --> 00:18:42.349
we may draw them away from the city to the roads.

00:18:42.910 --> 00:18:44.950
So in other words, they're trying to draw out

00:18:44.950 --> 00:18:48.250
the enemy, create an ambush situation, right?

00:18:48.329 --> 00:18:51.809
That's their plan. And the Benjamites are falling

00:18:51.809 --> 00:18:54.069
for it, hook, line, and sinker. Then all of the

00:18:54.069 --> 00:18:56.390
men of Israel rose from their place and lined

00:18:56.390 --> 00:18:59.950
up at Baal Tamar. And the men of Israel, in ambush,

00:19:00.049 --> 00:19:03.710
charged from their place, from Merageba, when...

00:19:03.900 --> 00:19:06.420
10 ,000 choice men from all Israel came against

00:19:06.420 --> 00:19:08.960
Gibeah. The battle became fierce. But Benjamin

00:19:08.960 --> 00:19:13.240
did not know what that disaster was close to

00:19:13.240 --> 00:19:15.119
them. They didn't figure out, even then. Because

00:19:15.119 --> 00:19:16.799
there was a lot of people there before. And they

00:19:16.799 --> 00:19:18.980
killed tens of thousands yesterday and the day

00:19:18.980 --> 00:19:21.279
before. So even now, they figure they can do

00:19:21.279 --> 00:19:23.500
this. They can take it. They can handle it. Right?

00:19:24.200 --> 00:19:26.759
And the Lord struck Benjamin before Israel, so

00:19:26.759 --> 00:19:30.900
that the sons of Israel destroyed 25 ,100 men

00:19:30.900 --> 00:19:33.079
of Benjamin that day, all who draw the sword.

00:19:33.200 --> 00:19:34.660
Now those of us who have been studying this passage

00:19:34.660 --> 00:19:37.339
know that that leaves 600 men who didn't die.

00:19:38.460 --> 00:19:40.759
Of all the Benjamites who came out to fight,

00:19:40.819 --> 00:19:43.940
there are only 600 who have survived that. Now

00:19:43.940 --> 00:19:46.279
that's a summary, right? And we're going to get

00:19:46.279 --> 00:19:48.519
a little bit more here. So the sons of Benjamin

00:19:48.519 --> 00:19:53.549
saw that they were defeated. When the men of

00:19:53.549 --> 00:19:55.509
Israel gave ground to Benjamin because they relied

00:19:55.509 --> 00:19:57.809
on the men in ambush whom they had set against

00:19:57.809 --> 00:20:00.289
Gibeah, the men in ambush hurried and rushed

00:20:00.289 --> 00:20:03.190
against Gibeah. The men in ambush also deployed

00:20:03.190 --> 00:20:05.369
and struck all the city with the edge of the

00:20:05.369 --> 00:20:09.750
sword. Notice, they kill all the warriors, but

00:20:09.750 --> 00:20:12.049
not all the warriors only. Now they come against

00:20:12.049 --> 00:20:16.849
the city. They're killing the women. They're

00:20:16.849 --> 00:20:19.890
killing the children. They're killing the animals.

00:20:20.589 --> 00:20:23.359
Right? They are killing everyone. Did God say

00:20:23.359 --> 00:20:26.259
anything about killing anyone inside the city?

00:20:26.359 --> 00:20:28.319
He did not. He said, I will give them into your

00:20:28.319 --> 00:20:30.680
hands, meaning the army that they were fighting

00:20:30.680 --> 00:20:32.519
against. But now, they've gone into the city

00:20:32.519 --> 00:20:33.940
and began to strike all the city with the edge

00:20:33.940 --> 00:20:36.819
of the sword. Now, the agreed sign between the

00:20:36.819 --> 00:20:38.279
men of Israel and the men in ambush was that

00:20:38.279 --> 00:20:40.579
they would make a great cloud of smoke rise from

00:20:40.579 --> 00:20:43.519
the city. The men of Israel turned in the battle,

00:20:43.599 --> 00:20:45.920
and Benjamin began to strike and kill about 30

00:20:45.920 --> 00:20:47.839
men of Israel, for they said, undoubtedly, they

00:20:47.839 --> 00:20:49.259
are defeated before us, and this is breaking

00:20:49.259 --> 00:20:51.430
down the battle again. as in the first battle.

00:20:51.549 --> 00:20:53.470
But when the cloud began to rise from the city

00:20:53.470 --> 00:20:55.710
in a column of smoke, Benjamin looked behind

00:20:55.710 --> 00:20:57.589
them. Behold, the entire city was going up in

00:20:57.589 --> 00:20:59.970
smoke to heaven. Then the men of Israel turned,

00:21:00.190 --> 00:21:02.170
and the men of Benjamin were terrified, for they

00:21:02.170 --> 00:21:04.089
saw the disaster was closed upon them. That's

00:21:04.089 --> 00:21:06.289
a re -summary of what we just read. Therefore

00:21:06.289 --> 00:21:08.589
they turned their backs before the men of Israel

00:21:08.589 --> 00:21:11.269
to flee in the direction of the wilderness. But

00:21:11.269 --> 00:21:13.589
the battle overtook them, while those who attacked

00:21:13.589 --> 00:21:17.250
from the cities were annihilating them in the

00:21:17.250 --> 00:21:20.859
midst of them. They surrounded Benjamin. pursued

00:21:20.859 --> 00:21:23.940
them without rest trampled them down opposite

00:21:23.940 --> 00:21:27.160
gibeah toward the east so eighteen thousand men

00:21:27.160 --> 00:21:29.559
of benjamin fell all of these were valiant men

00:21:29.559 --> 00:21:31.980
the rest turned and fled toward the wilderness

00:21:31.980 --> 00:21:34.539
and the rock of ramon but they caught five thousand

00:21:34.539 --> 00:21:36.400
of them in the roads and overtook them at gedam

00:21:36.400 --> 00:21:40.220
and killed two thousand of them there so all

00:21:40.220 --> 00:21:42.279
these of benjamin who fell that day were the

00:21:42.279 --> 00:21:44.940
full twenty -five thousand men who drew the sword

00:21:44.940 --> 00:21:47.660
all of these were valiant men But six hundred

00:21:47.660 --> 00:21:50.319
men turned and fled toward the wilderness to

00:21:50.319 --> 00:21:52.940
the rock of Ramon, and they remained at the rock

00:21:52.940 --> 00:21:55.680
of Ramon for four months, so they escaped up

00:21:55.680 --> 00:21:57.440
into the hills and the wilderness of the rock.

00:21:58.079 --> 00:22:00.339
The men of Israel then turned back against the

00:22:00.339 --> 00:22:02.380
son of Benjamin, and they struck them with the

00:22:02.380 --> 00:22:05.599
edge of the sword, both the entire city with

00:22:05.599 --> 00:22:08.759
the cattle, and all that they found, wait for

00:22:08.759 --> 00:22:13.440
it, they also set on fire all the cities which

00:22:13.440 --> 00:22:17.119
they found. This does not stop with winning the

00:22:17.119 --> 00:22:20.980
battle. They exceed or go beyond the commands

00:22:20.980 --> 00:22:23.279
of the Lord, what it is that God has told them

00:22:23.279 --> 00:22:26.539
to do, to bring victory. Where it started with

00:22:26.539 --> 00:22:30.220
Benjamin providing safety for a few really kind

00:22:30.220 --> 00:22:34.619
of rotten souls, it now results in almost the

00:22:34.619 --> 00:22:40.259
total eradication of a tribe of Israel. The truth

00:22:40.259 --> 00:22:43.319
is Israel is fighting a legitimate battle against

00:22:43.319 --> 00:22:46.740
sin. Benjamin is defending wickedness that should

00:22:46.740 --> 00:22:49.900
have been confronted, but they are right in defending

00:22:49.900 --> 00:22:53.640
their brethren to a degree. But the nation has

00:22:53.640 --> 00:22:58.160
failed to remain wholly loyal to God. Both groups

00:22:58.160 --> 00:23:03.359
have submitted themselves to syncretism and idolatry.

00:23:04.880 --> 00:23:07.579
I want you to understand, and we covered this

00:23:07.579 --> 00:23:09.960
last week a little bit, a right cause does not

00:23:09.960 --> 00:23:14.660
justify everything that you might do. to make

00:23:14.660 --> 00:23:17.460
it come true, to defend it, to stand up for it.

00:23:17.980 --> 00:23:21.460
A God -authored victory does not belong to us.

00:23:21.839 --> 00:23:25.180
So when you take it in your hands then and start

00:23:25.180 --> 00:23:27.220
to think about how much further can I take this?

00:23:27.660 --> 00:23:30.799
How much more can I do with this? How much more

00:23:30.799 --> 00:23:34.339
damage can I deal to the enemy because I've now

00:23:34.339 --> 00:23:37.680
had this victory in the Lord? You've made a huge

00:23:37.680 --> 00:23:43.099
error. Success can become spiritually dangerous.

00:23:43.900 --> 00:23:48.559
when it shifts our dependence from God to whatever

00:23:48.559 --> 00:23:52.200
it is we have succeeded with. The first thing

00:23:52.200 --> 00:23:54.220
I want you to see in this text, then, is that,

00:23:54.259 --> 00:23:56.319
and this may not come as a big surprise to you,

00:23:56.380 --> 00:23:59.980
we have a tendency to do wrong. There is, in

00:23:59.980 --> 00:24:02.059
the flesh and in the person of a human being,

00:24:02.180 --> 00:24:05.039
even a saved human being, a tendency to do wrong.

00:24:06.079 --> 00:24:08.299
We want a certain goal, we want a certain thing,

00:24:08.519 --> 00:24:11.380
we're addicted to a certain flavor. Or we like

00:24:11.380 --> 00:24:15.339
to look on a certain thing with our eyes. Sunsets

00:24:15.339 --> 00:24:21.539
are beautiful. Men are handsome. Maybe we like

00:24:21.539 --> 00:24:25.559
to look on women and men with our eyes. Initially,

00:24:25.599 --> 00:24:27.279
that's not really a problem because they are

00:24:27.279 --> 00:24:29.319
creations of God and we recognize the beauty

00:24:29.319 --> 00:24:33.339
or the handsomeness. But it's the beginning of

00:24:33.339 --> 00:24:35.460
a road that takes us to a place where we cannot

00:24:35.460 --> 00:24:41.769
go. We have a tendency to do wrong. Outside Christ,

00:24:41.950 --> 00:24:45.730
most of us probably sampled certain abusive substances.

00:24:48.309 --> 00:24:51.990
I had tried a number of drugs and alcohol, which

00:24:51.990 --> 00:24:57.950
is also a drug, before I got saved. We taste

00:24:57.950 --> 00:25:01.609
things. We have a tendency to do that. If somebody

00:25:01.609 --> 00:25:03.650
comes against us and they behave in a bad way,

00:25:03.769 --> 00:25:08.130
we behave in a bad way back. Maybe the Holy Spirit

00:25:08.130 --> 00:25:10.190
leads you as a Christian not to do that, but...

00:25:10.269 --> 00:25:13.410
We do have a tendency to do that, don't we? Cut

00:25:13.410 --> 00:25:18.450
off in traffic, we behave frustrated. We debate

00:25:18.450 --> 00:25:20.049
with ourselves for a second whether there's something

00:25:20.049 --> 00:25:23.690
we can do to make that person realize that they

00:25:23.690 --> 00:25:26.109
have thought about us. We have a tendency to

00:25:26.109 --> 00:25:30.930
do wrong. And that tendency grows whenever we

00:25:30.930 --> 00:25:34.289
overlook sin. Whenever we make sin out to be

00:25:34.289 --> 00:25:36.789
a small thing, like it's okay for it to be in

00:25:36.789 --> 00:25:39.960
our lives. It starts to grow, that tendency.

00:25:42.779 --> 00:25:45.779
Benjamin originally overlooked the sin at Gibeah.

00:25:47.099 --> 00:25:49.539
Eventually they were defending the sin, and the

00:25:49.539 --> 00:25:51.720
truth is they defended it all the way to their

00:25:51.720 --> 00:25:55.500
very death. What we tolerate, we eventually accommodate.

00:25:56.839 --> 00:26:00.559
That means we make room for it. And be aware

00:26:00.559 --> 00:26:02.380
that when you are tolerating something, there's

00:26:02.380 --> 00:26:04.319
three regions, and I won't get off on this tangent

00:26:04.319 --> 00:26:06.200
either, but there are three regions in which

00:26:06.200 --> 00:26:08.940
you do that. One is in yourself. I want to ask

00:26:08.940 --> 00:26:10.559
you, what kind of thoughts are you going to tolerate

00:26:10.559 --> 00:26:13.640
within yourself? What kind of desires are you

00:26:13.640 --> 00:26:16.259
going to tolerate within yourself? You say, well,

00:26:16.279 --> 00:26:18.079
inside me, I better get to work because I got

00:26:18.079 --> 00:26:20.920
some things. I have a tendency. I have a tendency

00:26:20.920 --> 00:26:22.680
to be quiet when I should speak up. I have a

00:26:22.680 --> 00:26:24.279
tendency to speak up when I should be quiet.

00:26:24.480 --> 00:26:26.640
I have a tendency to use certain words that I

00:26:26.640 --> 00:26:29.559
should not use or to indulge in certain pleasures

00:26:29.559 --> 00:26:31.799
that I should not. Even though I know those things

00:26:31.799 --> 00:26:34.400
are not necessarily sin, I see how that tendency

00:26:34.400 --> 00:26:37.609
in me could be a problem in myself. Worse than

00:26:37.609 --> 00:26:40.410
that, you have a position to deal with it in

00:26:40.410 --> 00:26:42.210
your reach. That is to say, if you're a parent,

00:26:42.309 --> 00:26:44.670
you have to deal with it in your children. And

00:26:44.670 --> 00:26:48.349
in your reach, in your close friends and in the

00:26:48.349 --> 00:26:51.950
church. So that's in your reach. You can turn

00:26:51.950 --> 00:26:54.970
the TV off. You know where the remote is located.

00:26:55.549 --> 00:26:57.450
You can put the remote far away from you so that

00:26:57.450 --> 00:27:00.490
you don't turn the TV on. You can put your phone

00:27:00.490 --> 00:27:02.230
in your vehicle instead of in your pocket so

00:27:02.230 --> 00:27:03.730
you don't grab it up and start looking at stuff

00:27:03.730 --> 00:27:06.380
that you don't need to be looking at. There are

00:27:06.380 --> 00:27:08.759
lots of ways that you can control what's within

00:27:08.759 --> 00:27:10.799
your reach. And then it goes even further than

00:27:10.799 --> 00:27:13.299
that because you have influence. You can speak

00:27:13.299 --> 00:27:15.059
with your mouth the things that people need to

00:27:15.059 --> 00:27:18.119
hear. You can speak about what people should

00:27:18.119 --> 00:27:20.539
do and shouldn't do. Now, you can't make them

00:27:20.539 --> 00:27:22.460
do it. We can't even do that with our children

00:27:22.460 --> 00:27:24.539
necessarily, right? Or sometimes we have a hard

00:27:24.539 --> 00:27:26.700
time doing it inside ourselves. Without God's

00:27:26.700 --> 00:27:30.160
help, we couldn't. But you can influence the

00:27:30.160 --> 00:27:32.420
world around you. You can speak up against the

00:27:32.420 --> 00:27:34.559
idolatry that's becoming common, the syncretism

00:27:34.559 --> 00:27:36.900
that's blending itself with Christianity, which

00:27:36.900 --> 00:27:40.900
means that's no Christianity at all. So you have

00:27:40.900 --> 00:27:43.259
inside yourself and your reach and your influence,

00:27:43.559 --> 00:27:46.420
and we go back to asking the question, have you

00:27:46.420 --> 00:27:50.420
overlooked sin in any of those places? What we

00:27:50.420 --> 00:27:53.880
accommodate, we eventually defend. What we make

00:27:53.880 --> 00:27:55.799
room for in our lives, we eventually defend.

00:27:58.489 --> 00:28:02.809
James 1, 1 -4, I'm sorry, 14 -15 says that desire

00:28:02.809 --> 00:28:06.390
gives birth to sin. Sin, when fully grown, brings

00:28:06.390 --> 00:28:08.849
about death. I'm asking you, do you have desires?

00:28:08.970 --> 00:28:11.289
You know you do. Are you going to let those desires

00:28:11.289 --> 00:28:14.250
then become sin? And then when they become sin,

00:28:14.369 --> 00:28:16.890
are you going to make room for them? Are you

00:28:16.890 --> 00:28:19.329
going to accommodate them? Maybe cover them up

00:28:19.329 --> 00:28:21.829
so nobody knows? Maybe keep them to a minimum.

00:28:21.849 --> 00:28:26.359
I only do that for a few seconds a day. I only

00:28:26.359 --> 00:28:28.640
have those thoughts when someone provokes me.

00:28:28.799 --> 00:28:30.440
Do you accommodate those things? Do you have

00:28:30.440 --> 00:28:32.299
reasons and excuses why it's okay for you to

00:28:32.299 --> 00:28:35.900
have that behavior? And then, once you've done

00:28:35.900 --> 00:28:38.839
that, you understand that sin, once fully grown,

00:28:38.920 --> 00:28:40.619
will bring about death. It will have a breaking

00:28:40.619 --> 00:28:42.779
relationship with God. Proverbs 28 .13 says,

00:28:42.920 --> 00:28:46.680
Whoever conceals their sins does not prosper,

00:28:46.859 --> 00:28:49.000
but the one who confesses and renounces them

00:28:49.000 --> 00:28:52.099
finds mercy. Notice that to confess something

00:28:52.099 --> 00:28:55.079
is to be open about it, to admit it, right? Publicly.

00:28:55.470 --> 00:28:57.750
To confess it. To renounce it is to say, I'm

00:28:57.750 --> 00:28:59.910
going to be done with it. It doesn't say anything

00:28:59.910 --> 00:29:03.089
about having to be done with it. It's to move

00:29:03.089 --> 00:29:04.890
in the direction of being done with it. So you

00:29:04.890 --> 00:29:06.490
have a sin and you've been covering it up. You

00:29:06.490 --> 00:29:08.630
publicly renounce it. Confess it and renounce

00:29:08.630 --> 00:29:09.710
it. Say, I've been struggling with this. I'm

00:29:09.710 --> 00:29:13.569
having a hard time. I get into that. I'm accommodating

00:29:13.569 --> 00:29:15.630
that. I'm covering that up in my life while I

00:29:15.630 --> 00:29:17.849
continue to try to work for the Lord. And when

00:29:17.849 --> 00:29:24.170
you do that, you find mercy. God's got mercy

00:29:24.170 --> 00:29:26.589
for people who don't want to sin, people who

00:29:26.589 --> 00:29:29.210
are fighting back against it. I'm not sure God

00:29:29.210 --> 00:29:31.609
has any mercy for people who just continue in

00:29:31.609 --> 00:29:33.730
wickedness and don't care one hoot that he even

00:29:33.730 --> 00:29:39.170
exists. Lastly, 1 Corinthians 10, I probably

00:29:39.170 --> 00:29:40.890
could have had a bunch more on this list. It

00:29:40.890 --> 00:29:44.029
says, let anyone who thinks that he stands watch

00:29:44.029 --> 00:29:47.029
out lest he fall. It's just, oh, I got this.

00:29:47.769 --> 00:29:49.690
Everything that's in my life is relatively small.

00:29:49.769 --> 00:29:51.190
I've pretty well progressed where I'm living

00:29:51.190 --> 00:29:52.490
for the Lord. I don't really have anything I

00:29:52.490 --> 00:29:54.589
would call a sin. You might want to look a little

00:29:54.589 --> 00:29:57.490
deeper because you have a human tendency. You

00:29:57.490 --> 00:30:00.289
have a tendency to do wrong and that tendency

00:30:00.289 --> 00:30:03.869
will grow whenever you overlook sin in your life,

00:30:04.089 --> 00:30:07.410
in yourself, in your reach, and in your areas

00:30:07.410 --> 00:30:11.009
of influence. So I'm going to use the illustration.

00:30:11.529 --> 00:30:16.509
So you know what this is? It's a... Bottle of

00:30:16.509 --> 00:30:23.549
water. One gallon. 128 ounces. This happens to

00:30:23.549 --> 00:30:25.690
be distilled water, which means it's pretty much

00:30:25.690 --> 00:30:27.950
just water. And then there's a deal with that

00:30:27.950 --> 00:30:30.250
air up there at the top. It's a gallon. It's

00:30:30.250 --> 00:30:32.210
a whole gallon. You ever have one of these in

00:30:32.210 --> 00:30:34.369
your car? A gallon of water? I have one of these

00:30:34.369 --> 00:30:36.369
in my car. A long time ago, I went to the church,

00:30:36.369 --> 00:30:38.529
man. We had a little trouble with the radiator.

00:30:38.690 --> 00:30:39.970
I'm like, who's going to keep a gallon of water

00:30:39.970 --> 00:30:41.849
in there? No, I'll never be running to the creek

00:30:41.849 --> 00:30:44.400
with a rag again, you know, or whatever. Plus,

00:30:44.539 --> 00:30:46.539
I have a hard time staying hydrated, so a gallon

00:30:46.539 --> 00:30:48.319
of water in my car, especially distilled water,

00:30:48.380 --> 00:30:50.259
I can drink at any time. It won't go bad. Now,

00:30:50.279 --> 00:30:51.839
once you start drinking, you might get some bacteria

00:30:51.839 --> 00:30:54.119
in it from your mouth or whatever, so it's probably

00:30:54.119 --> 00:30:55.660
not good for a real long time once you start

00:30:55.660 --> 00:30:58.640
drinking. I put this in my car for about 10 years,

00:30:58.720 --> 00:31:03.240
and it'd be fine, right? A gallon of water. Give

00:31:03.240 --> 00:31:05.819
me that first slide. Let me tell you what really

00:31:05.819 --> 00:31:08.339
happens when you dump a gallon of water into

00:31:08.339 --> 00:31:10.299
the room. Now, the room that we're talking about

00:31:10.299 --> 00:31:18.349
is the size of your car. The size of your car

00:31:18.349 --> 00:31:23.089
calculated in square area. And then when you

00:31:23.089 --> 00:31:24.809
put a gallon of water in your car, you say, well,

00:31:24.829 --> 00:31:26.690
I got a gallon in the seat, or I got a gallon

00:31:26.690 --> 00:31:28.769
in the trunk, or I got a gallon in the foot area,

00:31:28.950 --> 00:31:36.390
right? So air will hold 1 ,300, I'm sorry, a

00:31:36.390 --> 00:31:40.730
gallon of water equals 1 ,336 .8 grams per meter

00:31:40.730 --> 00:31:43.470
cubed. That's how much a gallon of water is,

00:31:43.609 --> 00:31:48.420
okay? And if this gallon of water, then, were

00:31:48.420 --> 00:31:52.440
suspended in your car, this gallon of water was

00:31:52.440 --> 00:31:57.000
suspended in the air in your car, 98 .7 % of

00:31:57.000 --> 00:31:58.440
this gallon, that's like all the way up to the

00:31:58.440 --> 00:32:05.339
very top, would not fix it. 1 .3 % of the water

00:32:05.339 --> 00:32:07.839
that's in this gallon could be suspended in the

00:32:07.839 --> 00:32:10.000
air in your car. That's if there was no water

00:32:10.000 --> 00:32:12.180
in the air in your car to start with, which is

00:32:12.180 --> 00:32:15.769
never to fix. Okay? So if it was completely airy,

00:32:15.789 --> 00:32:19.910
0 % humidity in your car, then you could suspend

00:32:19.910 --> 00:32:24.490
only 1 .3 % of this gallon in air. But beyond

00:32:24.490 --> 00:32:28.589
that, the water begins to precipitate out. So

00:32:28.589 --> 00:32:31.230
what it does is first it creates a fog, and you

00:32:31.230 --> 00:32:34.230
see it as steam or fog, which blocks your visibility.

00:32:35.309 --> 00:32:37.750
You can't see through steam or fog with your

00:32:37.750 --> 00:32:40.589
eyes, right, because it refracts light. Then

00:32:40.589 --> 00:32:43.819
it will gather. and run down like beads on the

00:32:43.819 --> 00:32:47.460
wall. But because we're talking about 98 % of

00:32:47.460 --> 00:32:50.099
the water, almost 99 % of the water that's in

00:32:50.099 --> 00:32:53.740
this jug to do that, it will puddle on your floor.

00:32:54.059 --> 00:32:57.380
That's how bad it is. It will puddle on your

00:32:57.380 --> 00:33:02.299
floor. I estimated that car at 100 cubic feet,

00:33:02.460 --> 00:33:04.900
and that's high. Most cars are nowhere near that.

00:33:04.900 --> 00:33:07.680
They're probably 70, right? And so right there,

00:33:07.720 --> 00:33:10.980
that tells you if I use 12 or... which would

00:33:10.980 --> 00:33:12.759
make my illustration that more potent, right?

00:33:13.000 --> 00:33:14.839
Then it would probably be the water that fit

00:33:14.839 --> 00:33:17.420
in the cap. And all the rest of the water would

00:33:17.420 --> 00:33:19.980
gather on the walls and run down in puddles on

00:33:19.980 --> 00:33:22.140
the floor and create a fog so dense that you

00:33:22.140 --> 00:33:29.279
couldn't see through it in your car. Can the

00:33:29.279 --> 00:33:33.519
air in that room actually hold all of the water

00:33:33.519 --> 00:33:37.339
in a gallon as an individual vapor? The answer

00:33:37.339 --> 00:33:43.039
is no. Fully vaporized, it becomes a flood of

00:33:43.039 --> 00:33:45.220
water down the walls and the windshield and piling

00:33:45.220 --> 00:33:50.200
up on the floor because it cannot hold it. Give

00:33:50.200 --> 00:33:55.259
me the next slide. So this is the dispersion

00:33:55.259 --> 00:33:57.119
mass. You don't need to know it, but I did the

00:33:57.119 --> 00:33:59.640
research. There's the water mass. There's the

00:33:59.640 --> 00:34:02.079
space volume. There's the total dispersed density.

00:34:02.990 --> 00:34:05.369
If it all turned to vapor, the room's air would

00:34:05.369 --> 00:34:08.889
carry 1 ,336 .8 grams of water per cubic meter.

00:34:09.050 --> 00:34:12.190
But air has a hard ceiling on how much it can

00:34:12.190 --> 00:34:16.170
hold. Next slide. So this is the temperature

00:34:16.170 --> 00:34:18.889
of the air. So if it was 68 degrees in the car,

00:34:19.130 --> 00:34:21.650
it would hold 17 .3 gallons per meter cubed.

00:34:22.130 --> 00:34:25.809
If it was much warmer, 86, it would hold 30 .4.

00:34:27.090 --> 00:34:29.670
There's the dispersed water. There's the air,

00:34:29.750 --> 00:34:31.889
that little box there at 30 degrees Celsius.

00:34:31.949 --> 00:34:34.730
So if it's almost 90 degrees in your car, that

00:34:34.730 --> 00:34:36.949
little blue box is the amount of water that would

00:34:36.949 --> 00:34:38.590
suspend in the air. All the rest of it would

00:34:38.590 --> 00:34:40.789
come on the walls and roll down into the foot

00:34:40.789 --> 00:34:44.030
wells, right? Or if it was 68 degrees in your

00:34:44.030 --> 00:34:46.150
car, that tiny little blue box is the amount

00:34:46.150 --> 00:34:47.429
that would suspend in the air. Give me the next

00:34:47.429 --> 00:34:52.269
slide. Okay. That means to say that 44, that

00:34:52.269 --> 00:34:55.030
one gallon of water would be over 44 times the

00:34:55.030 --> 00:34:58.019
capacity of what your air can hold. fold in your

00:34:58.019 --> 00:35:02.360
car at 68 degrees or 77 times the capacity at

00:35:02.360 --> 00:35:05.719
86 degrees, relative humidity is 100%, would

00:35:05.719 --> 00:35:08.639
be reached instantly. Like that. And it would

00:35:08.639 --> 00:35:11.039
go, if somebody took a magic wand, like, boom,

00:35:11.099 --> 00:35:14.039
water vapor. Your whole car would be filled with

00:35:14.039 --> 00:35:17.340
a cloud and water running down, washing your

00:35:17.340 --> 00:35:19.760
windows, soaking your seats. Everything in the

00:35:19.760 --> 00:35:22.300
car would be suddenly drenched in water because

00:35:22.300 --> 00:35:24.460
that tiny little bit of water could be suspended

00:35:24.460 --> 00:35:26.079
in the air and everything else would be precipitating

00:35:26.079 --> 00:35:32.409
out. 1 .3 % stays airborne. 98 % turns into dense,

00:35:32.409 --> 00:35:36.210
visible fog and fine droplets. And the remainder

00:35:36.210 --> 00:35:40.409
of it, that 98%, would begin to become liquid

00:35:40.409 --> 00:35:44.050
water pooling on the floor and walls. Again.

00:35:45.889 --> 00:35:50.429
Slide. The takeaway. Air can only hold so much

00:35:50.429 --> 00:35:54.070
water vapor before it's saturated. Push far past

00:35:54.070 --> 00:35:56.570
the ceiling. As with a gallon of water in a small,

00:35:56.570 --> 00:35:58.889
selected room, And physics settles the difference

00:35:58.889 --> 00:36:02.130
immediately. Instant fog. Liquid water left behind

00:36:02.130 --> 00:36:08.670
on every surface. This is not a gallon of water

00:36:08.670 --> 00:36:11.610
in your car sped in the air. This is a cloud

00:36:11.610 --> 00:36:18.030
in a shower. That's your car. That's precipitation.

00:36:23.309 --> 00:36:26.929
What am I calling small when I talk about sin?

00:36:28.139 --> 00:36:31.139
If you could call it small, would it be like

00:36:31.139 --> 00:36:36.619
the drops in the cap versus the full gallon?

00:36:37.840 --> 00:36:40.199
Would it be a little white lie or not showing

00:36:40.199 --> 00:36:43.360
up on time or not getting enough sleep on a Saturday

00:36:43.360 --> 00:36:46.360
night to use prayer for worship or deciding not

00:36:46.360 --> 00:36:49.820
to sing one verse of one worship song when the

00:36:49.820 --> 00:36:54.340
Lord God is leading you to worship him? One song

00:36:54.340 --> 00:36:58.469
during worship because you just got a text? because

00:36:58.469 --> 00:37:00.710
your mind drifted to what you're making for lunch?

00:37:02.710 --> 00:37:10.030
1 .3%. 1 .3%, I think it was. Yeah. That's very

00:37:10.030 --> 00:37:12.789
small. So here's what you do. Here's what you

00:37:12.789 --> 00:37:15.730
do. I know what you do. Don't ever try to suspend

00:37:15.730 --> 00:37:18.730
a gallon of water in the air in your car. Solves

00:37:18.730 --> 00:37:21.570
everything, right? Keep it instead in a plastic

00:37:21.570 --> 00:37:23.989
jug, like down under the seat or in the trunk,

00:37:24.070 --> 00:37:26.150
and everything will be fine. I'll never have

00:37:26.150 --> 00:37:29.400
a cloud. in my car, because I will never try

00:37:29.400 --> 00:37:31.519
to suspend that kind of amount of water. I'll

00:37:31.519 --> 00:37:34.440
always keep it in a plastic jug. That's what

00:37:34.440 --> 00:37:38.079
we're doing with that sinful stuff that's in

00:37:38.079 --> 00:37:40.280
our life. We're trying to compartmentalize it

00:37:40.280 --> 00:37:42.900
and say, well, keep it in a plastic jug, not

00:37:42.900 --> 00:37:48.340
suspended in my life. But let me ask you, what

00:37:48.340 --> 00:37:50.840
are you tolerating because confronting it would

00:37:50.840 --> 00:37:54.539
become uncomfortable? What if you stopped fighting?

00:37:55.190 --> 00:37:57.269
Because you've become accustomed to that thing.

00:37:59.630 --> 00:38:06.489
Are you compartmentalizing? And how big could

00:38:06.489 --> 00:38:09.630
that thing actually become if you keep feeding

00:38:09.630 --> 00:38:12.530
it? Will it actually spread throughout your whole

00:38:12.530 --> 00:38:15.789
life? Do you realize that if you go home tonight

00:38:15.789 --> 00:38:19.190
and in some intentional way, no matter how small,

00:38:19.449 --> 00:38:22.969
sin against God, that from the moment of your

00:38:22.969 --> 00:38:26.239
sin, The moment that you do that, your life will

00:38:26.239 --> 00:38:30.000
never be the same. That's how important it is.

00:38:30.420 --> 00:38:32.179
That's what we're talking about. We're talking

00:38:32.179 --> 00:38:35.179
about any intentional sin affecting our lives

00:38:35.179 --> 00:38:37.480
for the rest of our lives. Now, can Jesus cleanse

00:38:37.480 --> 00:38:39.400
it? Yes, he can. Can he erase the effect? It

00:38:39.400 --> 00:38:40.820
says if you're faithful and just and confess

00:38:40.820 --> 00:38:43.019
it to him, that he is faithful and just himself

00:38:43.019 --> 00:38:49.079
to forgive that sin. and cleanse you of all unrighteousness.

00:38:49.099 --> 00:38:51.119
Why do you need to be cleansed of all unrighteousness?

00:38:51.440 --> 00:38:53.699
Because all unrighteousness, no matter how small,

00:38:53.980 --> 00:38:57.219
has a tendency to expand. We have a tendency

00:38:57.219 --> 00:38:59.139
to do wrong. You know you have a tendency to

00:38:59.139 --> 00:39:01.039
do wrong. I have a tendency to do wrong. And

00:39:01.039 --> 00:39:05.539
it will expand and fill the space and then precipitate

00:39:05.539 --> 00:39:08.019
as a solid that you're going to have to deal

00:39:08.019 --> 00:39:13.090
with. Ask yourself. This thing that I'm sort

00:39:13.090 --> 00:39:14.869
of overlooking in my life, this thing that my

00:39:14.869 --> 00:39:16.449
spouse does, this thing that I do, things that

00:39:16.449 --> 00:39:18.530
my kid do, and I'm kind of like, well, I love

00:39:18.530 --> 00:39:21.610
them, and they are doing a pretty good job. Is

00:39:21.610 --> 00:39:24.469
it hurting them? Is it hurting you? Are you being

00:39:24.469 --> 00:39:29.989
hurt? Is it hurting the kingdom of God? And what

00:39:29.989 --> 00:39:33.489
could this become if you continue to feed it?

00:39:35.949 --> 00:39:38.570
The second point to see in there then, so the

00:39:38.570 --> 00:39:41.210
first one was that we have a tendency to do wrong.

00:39:41.690 --> 00:39:44.030
And that tendency grows when we overlook sin.

00:39:44.329 --> 00:39:46.610
Even if you, like, compartmentalize it and keep

00:39:46.610 --> 00:39:48.889
it away so it's not on the main screen, it's

00:39:48.889 --> 00:39:53.530
still true. A success we see in the text breeds

00:39:53.530 --> 00:39:55.949
overconfidence. They would not have wiped the

00:39:55.949 --> 00:40:00.070
Benjamites out that day. Except that they lost

00:40:00.070 --> 00:40:02.929
over 40 ,000 soldiers the day before, and then

00:40:02.929 --> 00:40:05.210
God told them to go out again, and God gave them

00:40:05.210 --> 00:40:07.789
the victory. And so sometimes you're doing really

00:40:07.789 --> 00:40:11.019
well. Things are going pretty good. And you start

00:40:11.019 --> 00:40:13.280
to become overconfident. You start to make decisions

00:40:13.280 --> 00:40:15.019
about like, you know, I don't really need to

00:40:15.019 --> 00:40:18.659
worship God all that hard. So in the book of

00:40:18.659 --> 00:40:21.360
Psalms, there's two out of a bunch. There's two

00:40:21.360 --> 00:40:23.739
specific words that are used for worshiping God.

00:40:23.800 --> 00:40:27.320
One, we raise our hands and salute to God. There's

00:40:27.320 --> 00:40:29.239
a word that says praise the Lord, and it's this

00:40:29.239 --> 00:40:31.739
kind of praise. And it's a command. It's not

00:40:31.739 --> 00:40:33.380
like maybe you should think about it sometime.

00:40:33.659 --> 00:40:35.639
It's a command. And sometimes, there are times

00:40:35.639 --> 00:40:37.260
when you should raise your hands like this and

00:40:37.260 --> 00:40:43.070
praise the Lord. your hands like this because

00:40:43.070 --> 00:40:44.610
there is a biblical command. Raise your hands

00:40:44.610 --> 00:40:46.489
like this to recognize who God is and surrender.

00:40:46.989 --> 00:40:49.230
It's to glorify God because he alone deserves

00:40:49.230 --> 00:40:51.289
that kind of glory. Now, I'm going to say this

00:40:51.289 --> 00:40:54.110
to you very, just straight up right now. If you've

00:40:54.110 --> 00:40:55.469
ever raised your hands like this on a roller

00:40:55.469 --> 00:40:59.070
coaster, you've ever raised your hands like this

00:40:59.070 --> 00:41:01.050
because somebody scored a crazy foot down and

00:41:01.050 --> 00:41:05.369
got a 56, right? And you've never raised your

00:41:05.369 --> 00:41:09.869
hands in worship like this, my friends, have

00:41:09.869 --> 00:41:13.059
a secret to life. Because you have a command

00:41:13.059 --> 00:41:16.780
to worship God like this, and you've never worshipped

00:41:16.780 --> 00:41:18.920
God like this, but you'll raise your hand to

00:41:18.920 --> 00:41:21.739
worship sports like this, or recreation like

00:41:21.739 --> 00:41:26.579
this. That's what we're talking about. And then

00:41:26.579 --> 00:41:28.159
there's a command in the Psalms that says, raise

00:41:28.159 --> 00:41:31.179
your hand like this to worship God. And that

00:41:31.179 --> 00:41:35.119
means, I need help. Fill me up. This is a beckoning.

00:41:35.179 --> 00:41:36.840
Let God come up and help me. There's a command

00:41:36.840 --> 00:41:39.719
that says, raise, worship God like that. And

00:41:39.719 --> 00:41:42.880
if you don't do this, To worship God? Sometimes,

00:41:43.079 --> 00:41:45.199
if you say to God, I need something, and guess

00:41:45.199 --> 00:41:47.639
what God does? He shows up. And there's a command

00:41:47.639 --> 00:41:49.639
to worship God like that. And if you've never

00:41:49.639 --> 00:41:51.900
raised your hands like this to worship God, then

00:41:51.900 --> 00:41:53.840
you've never finished asking God for whatever

00:41:53.840 --> 00:41:55.880
you say. Like, I'm asking God for healing, and

00:41:55.880 --> 00:41:57.780
you've never raised your hands to ask God for

00:41:57.780 --> 00:41:59.360
healing like this. Then you're not asking God

00:41:59.360 --> 00:42:01.579
for healing. You're just sending God side slant

00:42:01.579 --> 00:42:03.519
jokes about you think you want to be healed.

00:42:03.940 --> 00:42:05.739
When are you going to wait for God to do your

00:42:05.739 --> 00:42:07.519
life? When are you going to say to God, God,

00:42:07.699 --> 00:42:09.900
I... I owe you so much. Everything you ever gave

00:42:09.900 --> 00:42:13.760
me, here's my beckoning to you. And if you raise

00:42:13.760 --> 00:42:15.500
your hand like this to catch your small child

00:42:15.500 --> 00:42:18.360
jumping off the playground, if you throw your

00:42:18.360 --> 00:42:20.320
hands up like this in disgust because you can't

00:42:20.320 --> 00:42:23.559
believe what somebody just did, that's bad. I

00:42:23.559 --> 00:42:25.139
sort of died out. Our society people don't do

00:42:25.139 --> 00:42:26.460
that very much anymore, so maybe you've never

00:42:26.460 --> 00:42:29.400
done that. But if you just go, oh! Right? You've

00:42:29.400 --> 00:42:32.280
never done that? But not this? You, my friend,

00:42:32.300 --> 00:42:36.179
have superstition in your life. Because your

00:42:36.179 --> 00:42:38.059
own sense of frustration is more important to

00:42:38.059 --> 00:42:44.900
you than whether God shows up and doesn't. Success

00:42:44.900 --> 00:42:48.539
breeds overconfidence, and overconfidence makes

00:42:48.539 --> 00:42:50.840
dependence on God more difficult. We have people

00:42:50.840 --> 00:42:52.579
in this room, we have people in this room who

00:42:52.579 --> 00:42:54.320
are very, very intelligent. I'll be honest, pretty

00:42:54.320 --> 00:42:56.380
much everybody in this room, very smart people.

00:42:56.880 --> 00:42:59.360
People are not coming to Christ because it's

00:42:59.360 --> 00:43:01.300
not reasonable, intelligent, or logical. People

00:43:01.300 --> 00:43:03.380
are coming to Christ because it is the only thing

00:43:03.380 --> 00:43:06.670
that actually makes sense. For six months of

00:43:06.670 --> 00:43:10.010
my life, I tried every stupid lie that the enemy

00:43:10.010 --> 00:43:12.949
could come up with. I beat my personal brow.

00:43:13.090 --> 00:43:15.190
I looked up on the internet, such as it was at

00:43:15.190 --> 00:43:17.750
that time. It was a while ago now. I was looking

00:43:17.750 --> 00:43:20.030
stuff up on the internet for how could I defeat

00:43:20.030 --> 00:43:22.690
what the pastor was saying on Sunday. And I did

00:43:22.690 --> 00:43:24.989
that for six months. And what I found was that

00:43:24.989 --> 00:43:27.570
there aren't any. There isn't any. The only way

00:43:27.570 --> 00:43:29.690
that you can defeat what the Word of God says

00:43:29.690 --> 00:43:33.730
is to believe a lie. So after six months, I'm

00:43:33.730 --> 00:43:36.119
like, I got nothing left. I have got to give

00:43:36.119 --> 00:43:38.719
this over to God. I have to. And then the first

00:43:38.719 --> 00:43:40.179
Sunday I did, because I made an excuse about

00:43:40.179 --> 00:43:42.320
talking to my wife, I felt horrible. I'd be like,

00:43:42.400 --> 00:43:45.039
oh no, what if he doesn't ask again? And then

00:43:45.039 --> 00:43:46.679
the next Sunday I didn't for the same reason,

00:43:46.699 --> 00:43:48.420
because I never talked to my wife. But I thought,

00:43:48.440 --> 00:43:50.340
he's not going to ask me again. I've blown my

00:43:50.340 --> 00:43:52.360
two chances ever. He's got a second chance. That

00:43:52.360 --> 00:43:54.760
was my second chance. I'm done now, right? Why

00:43:54.760 --> 00:43:57.099
do they say second chances anyway? It's kind

00:43:57.099 --> 00:43:59.340
of estimating. Well, maybe there's a third chance.

00:43:59.380 --> 00:44:01.820
Again, church, God called me again. And I gave

00:44:01.820 --> 00:44:05.139
my life to the Lord. After six months of trying

00:44:05.139 --> 00:44:07.400
to diffuse the truth with every lie that you

00:44:07.400 --> 00:44:10.039
can imagine, most of them I can still do now.

00:44:10.059 --> 00:44:11.860
You give me one and I'll beat it for you. Because

00:44:11.860 --> 00:44:13.840
I already did. I've been there before I ever

00:44:13.840 --> 00:44:16.460
gave my life to the Lord. I lived that deception.

00:44:17.940 --> 00:44:20.500
Overconfidence makes dependence on God more difficult.

00:44:20.719 --> 00:44:23.619
So you're smart. And you're having victories

00:44:23.619 --> 00:44:26.000
because you're smart. You're hardworking and

00:44:26.000 --> 00:44:27.420
you're having victories because you're hardworking.

00:44:27.820 --> 00:44:29.960
A victory that you have because you're smart

00:44:29.960 --> 00:44:34.820
or hardworking. is not even real. There are no

00:44:34.820 --> 00:44:37.659
victories for being smart, and there are no victories

00:44:37.659 --> 00:44:40.219
for being hardworking. Because who gave you the

00:44:40.219 --> 00:44:42.659
smarts in the first place? Who made you hardworking

00:44:42.659 --> 00:44:44.539
in the first place? Oh, it was you, right? You

00:44:44.539 --> 00:44:46.320
were born in sin with a tendency to sin, but

00:44:46.320 --> 00:44:48.559
one day you just decided willfully on your own

00:44:48.559 --> 00:44:50.440
that you were going to be a diligent, smart person,

00:44:50.679 --> 00:44:53.179
and nothing would hold you back from that moment

00:44:53.179 --> 00:44:54.900
in time. No one could tempt you. No one could

00:44:54.900 --> 00:44:56.300
get you into anything that you shouldn't do.

00:44:57.500 --> 00:45:02.349
Come on. Is that reasonable? We're talking about

00:45:02.349 --> 00:45:06.289
God doing something incredible, and we will allow

00:45:06.289 --> 00:45:09.090
language to creep in like, I did it because I'm

00:45:09.090 --> 00:45:14.110
smart. Overconfidence makes dependence on God

00:45:14.110 --> 00:45:16.409
more difficult. They killed 30 people on the

00:45:16.409 --> 00:45:19.050
road. Listen to me. Do you not think that Satan,

00:45:19.230 --> 00:45:22.630
right, who's kind of at the hierarchy of that

00:45:22.630 --> 00:45:25.409
evil schemology that's trying to bring you down,

00:45:25.469 --> 00:45:26.530
trying to bring me down, trying to bring all

00:45:26.530 --> 00:45:28.070
humans and keep them away from God, do you not

00:45:28.070 --> 00:45:30.050
think that he's not willing to take some losses

00:45:30.050 --> 00:45:35.849
to get you? You could defeat a hundred. In Matthew

00:45:35.849 --> 00:45:39.369
7, when Jesus is talking about, they said, we

00:45:39.369 --> 00:45:43.369
cast out demons in your name. We cast out demons

00:45:43.369 --> 00:45:46.230
in your name. And he doesn't tell them, no, they

00:45:46.230 --> 00:45:48.869
didn't. But then he says, get away from me, I

00:45:48.869 --> 00:45:52.210
never need you. Do you think that the devil would

00:45:52.210 --> 00:45:54.769
not allow a hundred or a thousand or ten thousand

00:45:54.769 --> 00:45:59.510
or a million demons to fall at your word in order

00:45:59.510 --> 00:46:02.489
to get you to fall into hell? He sure would.

00:46:02.889 --> 00:46:04.929
And those 30 men that died on that road that

00:46:04.929 --> 00:46:06.570
day, that gave them confidence to think, oh,

00:46:06.570 --> 00:46:08.489
we're going to win again today like we did yesterday

00:46:08.489 --> 00:46:10.929
and the day before. And if you keep your thinking,

00:46:11.110 --> 00:46:13.710
I'm going to win today like I did yesterday and

00:46:13.710 --> 00:46:15.570
the day before by virtue of the fact that I won

00:46:15.570 --> 00:46:19.090
the day before, you've bought hook, line, and

00:46:19.090 --> 00:46:21.989
sinker, the enemy's manipulation, to make you

00:46:21.989 --> 00:46:25.130
think that you are winning for some reason because

00:46:25.130 --> 00:46:30.070
of you. That's not how it works. They said, we

00:46:30.070 --> 00:46:33.489
are defeating them as before. Proverbs 16, 18

00:46:33.489 --> 00:46:37.289
says, pride goes before destruction and a haughty

00:46:37.289 --> 00:46:41.309
spirit before a fall. 1 Corinthians 10, 12, those

00:46:41.309 --> 00:46:43.489
who think they stand must be aware of falling.

00:46:43.909 --> 00:46:47.130
John 15, 5, I am the vine, you are the branches.

00:46:47.190 --> 00:46:49.610
If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear

00:46:49.610 --> 00:46:53.630
much fruit. And then this, could it be any more

00:46:53.630 --> 00:47:02.320
clear? Apart from me, you can do. Nothing. That's

00:47:02.320 --> 00:47:07.179
pretty clear. 2 Corinthians 3 .5 Such confidence

00:47:07.179 --> 00:47:09.480
we have, Paul says about him and the other apostles.

00:47:09.880 --> 00:47:12.320
Such confidence we have through Christ toward

00:47:12.320 --> 00:47:15.539
God. Not that we are adequate in ourselves to

00:47:15.539 --> 00:47:18.599
consider anything as coming from ourselves, but

00:47:18.599 --> 00:47:22.880
our adequacy is in God. Back to the illustration

00:47:22.880 --> 00:47:26.420
for a moment. So, maybe you never carried a gallon

00:47:26.420 --> 00:47:28.760
of water in your car. And right now, you can't

00:47:28.760 --> 00:47:30.119
connect the picture and I'll make the space in

00:47:30.119 --> 00:47:32.059
the car. So let's blow it up for a second. Let's

00:47:32.059 --> 00:47:36.280
make this object less than one, shall we? We

00:47:36.280 --> 00:47:39.320
need more water. We want to create a cloud in

00:47:39.320 --> 00:47:43.099
this room. And we want water running down the

00:47:43.099 --> 00:47:46.179
walls of this room. And we want puddles forming

00:47:46.179 --> 00:47:49.280
on the floor of this room. So how much water

00:47:49.280 --> 00:47:52.079
would it take for the water to expand to the

00:47:52.079 --> 00:47:54.340
point at which it's running down the walls, forming

00:47:54.340 --> 00:47:56.119
a cloud so you can't see it, and forming puddles

00:47:56.119 --> 00:47:57.690
on the floor of this room? Well, fortunately,

00:47:57.889 --> 00:48:01.809
I bought some extra water today. I got another

00:48:01.809 --> 00:48:06.210
one. And we can go on. Keep stacking them. Except,

00:48:06.309 --> 00:48:12.510
guess what? It's actually... Put this one back

00:48:12.510 --> 00:48:29.320
down. That's a cloud in this room. The air would

00:48:29.320 --> 00:48:32.179
be oversaturated, form a fog so dense that you

00:48:32.179 --> 00:48:35.079
could not see, water running down the walls and

00:48:35.079 --> 00:48:37.719
puddles forming on the floor. This much water

00:48:37.719 --> 00:48:40.619
expanded into this room, the air of this room.

00:48:41.039 --> 00:48:45.320
That's it. Remember that it was 77 times too

00:48:45.320 --> 00:48:49.460
much for the car. 77 times. You can't put 77

00:48:49.460 --> 00:48:53.360
times your car in this room. You understand?

00:48:56.570 --> 00:49:01.409
Syncretism precipitates. It settles out. Nebuchadnezzar

00:49:01.409 --> 00:49:05.909
was a king of Babylon, and he said, Is this not

00:49:05.909 --> 00:49:09.969
the Babylon, the great that I have built? He

00:49:09.969 --> 00:49:12.289
took God's provision and claimed personal glory,

00:49:12.550 --> 00:49:17.789
and God humbled him. Success should produce gratitude,

00:49:17.889 --> 00:49:21.130
not independence. Victory should produce worship.

00:49:21.559 --> 00:49:24.039
not self -confidence. Blessing should produce

00:49:24.039 --> 00:49:27.340
greater dependence, not less prayer. Experience

00:49:27.340 --> 00:49:33.400
should never replace obedience. That brings us

00:49:33.400 --> 00:49:37.260
to the third point in this sermon then. Fighting

00:49:37.260 --> 00:49:42.420
for God, capital F -O -R, fighting for God, does

00:49:42.420 --> 00:49:48.619
not mean we fight for God our way. You are not

00:49:48.619 --> 00:49:52.269
God. and you do not determine the tactics. I

00:49:52.269 --> 00:49:54.530
am not God, and I do not determine the tactics.

00:49:54.869 --> 00:49:57.289
There are things that are acceptable to do when

00:49:57.289 --> 00:49:59.989
fighting for God. There are distances that are

00:49:59.989 --> 00:50:02.849
acceptable to go. There are ways that you can

00:50:02.849 --> 00:50:04.909
overcome the things that come against you when

00:50:04.909 --> 00:50:07.889
you are fighting on God's behalf or as part of

00:50:07.889 --> 00:50:10.269
God's kingdom. And then there are ways that are

00:50:10.269 --> 00:50:13.630
not acceptable. God gave Israel victory, but

00:50:13.630 --> 00:50:16.170
Israel's victory did not give Israel unlimited

00:50:16.170 --> 00:50:20.599
authority. They killed everybody in town and

00:50:20.599 --> 00:50:23.400
then started burning all the towns around, not

00:50:23.400 --> 00:50:25.500
just the warriors that came out to fight. Only

00:50:25.500 --> 00:50:28.300
600 warriors escaped alive. There were already

00:50:28.300 --> 00:50:31.019
40 ,000 bodies on the ground in this region.

00:50:31.639 --> 00:50:35.679
Now there are 70 ,000 bodies almost on the ground

00:50:35.679 --> 00:50:39.159
in this region. Can you imagine? I can't imagine

00:50:39.159 --> 00:50:42.619
it. It's baffling. That would mean if you left

00:50:42.619 --> 00:50:45.659
the door of the church building and walked to

00:50:45.659 --> 00:50:48.179
Island Variety. you could never for a moment

00:50:48.179 --> 00:50:50.980
step on grass because you would be stepping on

00:50:50.980 --> 00:50:56.519
a dead body every step of the way. And that wasn't

00:50:56.519 --> 00:50:58.820
enough for them. There wasn't dead bodies littering

00:50:58.820 --> 00:51:01.239
all the streets of all the cities. And so they

00:51:01.239 --> 00:51:03.400
went in there and killed everybody and wiped

00:51:03.400 --> 00:51:05.340
out the entire tribe of Benjamin. And we'll see

00:51:05.340 --> 00:51:07.679
that it was very successful because in the text

00:51:07.679 --> 00:51:09.119
that we're going to read next week, we'll see

00:51:09.119 --> 00:51:11.139
that they're going like, oh no, we've wiped out

00:51:11.139 --> 00:51:13.500
the entire tribe of Benjamin. How can it be that

00:51:13.500 --> 00:51:16.840
one of the 12 tribes has ceased to exist? ceased

00:51:16.840 --> 00:51:24.559
to exist. God gave Israel victory. But Israel's

00:51:24.559 --> 00:51:26.860
victory did not give Israel unlimited authority.

00:51:28.599 --> 00:51:31.860
And when God gives you victory, that in itself

00:51:31.860 --> 00:51:34.840
does not give you unlimited authority. There's

00:51:34.840 --> 00:51:37.440
no, I told you so. There's no gloating in the

00:51:37.440 --> 00:51:39.579
kingdom of God. Because by the time you're right

00:51:39.579 --> 00:51:41.219
and somebody has to correct their actions, your

00:51:41.219 --> 00:51:43.800
heart should be broken. Because God's heart's

00:51:43.800 --> 00:51:47.320
broken. By the time you manage to pull off Matthew

00:51:47.320 --> 00:51:49.219
18 accountability right before the business meeting,

00:51:49.320 --> 00:51:53.500
you're glorifying God to praise Him that we've

00:51:53.500 --> 00:51:56.820
turned a sinner from their wicked way. There's

00:51:56.820 --> 00:52:04.420
no glory in it for us. It's all about Him. God's

00:52:04.420 --> 00:52:07.659
cause must be pursued by God's commands and God's

00:52:07.659 --> 00:52:10.820
methods. We cannot expand God's commission and

00:52:10.820 --> 00:52:13.619
do more than what He has told us to do. We can

00:52:13.619 --> 00:52:16.019
say, look, Go make disciples of all the nations.

00:52:16.579 --> 00:52:18.579
And anybody who won't listen, and you're sure

00:52:18.579 --> 00:52:24.420
they won't listen, just kill them. No. No. Bad

00:52:24.420 --> 00:52:27.199
mouth them. That way people will be like, I don't

00:52:27.199 --> 00:52:29.280
want to be them. So they'll be more likely to

00:52:29.280 --> 00:52:30.820
listen to the gospel and just talk bad about

00:52:30.820 --> 00:52:32.480
all the bad people in the world doing bad stuff

00:52:32.480 --> 00:52:34.039
and say all kinds of nasty, slanderous things

00:52:34.039 --> 00:52:35.400
about them. Because they really are wicked and

00:52:35.400 --> 00:52:37.360
bad anyway. So they deserve what they get. So

00:52:37.360 --> 00:52:38.880
we'll do that. We'll talk all kind of nasty about

00:52:38.880 --> 00:52:40.639
them. And now we're like, there's somebody on

00:52:40.639 --> 00:52:41.559
the edge. We're like, well, I don't want them

00:52:41.559 --> 00:52:43.099
talking nasty about me, so I'll listen to what

00:52:43.099 --> 00:52:45.420
they have to say about Jesus. No, that's outside

00:52:45.420 --> 00:52:48.019
the commission. The commission is just go ye

00:52:48.019 --> 00:52:50.000
therefore and make disciples. That's it. Teaching

00:52:50.000 --> 00:52:52.019
them all things that I have taught you. That's

00:52:52.019 --> 00:52:54.960
the commission. Baptize them and they will. That's

00:52:54.960 --> 00:52:57.820
the commission. We don't go outside that. We

00:52:57.820 --> 00:53:00.019
cannot expand the commission. As soon as we do

00:53:00.019 --> 00:53:02.900
that, we would be absolutely and utterly wrong.

00:53:04.159 --> 00:53:06.860
Participating in secretism, not a faith walk.

00:53:08.719 --> 00:53:10.460
The right cause does not make the wrong method

00:53:10.460 --> 00:53:14.900
right. In 1 Samuel 15, Saul, the people had been

00:53:14.900 --> 00:53:17.320
ordered to destroy all the people and all their

00:53:17.320 --> 00:53:19.639
animals and everything, and Saul kept some stuff.

00:53:19.760 --> 00:53:20.980
And then when Samuel came and confronted him,

00:53:20.980 --> 00:53:22.719
he said, but we just kept this stuff to sacrifice

00:53:22.719 --> 00:53:24.719
it to God. That's all. We just wanted him to

00:53:24.719 --> 00:53:27.460
have the best. And Samuel said to him, listen,

00:53:27.679 --> 00:53:31.760
listen. It is to obey, not better than sacrifice.

00:53:33.400 --> 00:53:39.090
And Saul had no answer. an application to our

00:53:39.090 --> 00:53:41.050
Christian life, to the life of the church and

00:53:41.050 --> 00:53:44.429
the kingdom of God today. God has not called

00:53:44.429 --> 00:53:47.969
us to build our personal kingdom. If you would

00:53:47.969 --> 00:53:49.809
change your life and do something that God wanted

00:53:49.809 --> 00:53:51.170
you to do or not do something that God didn't

00:53:51.170 --> 00:53:52.909
want you to do in order to avoid God's wrath,

00:53:53.190 --> 00:53:57.989
it will benefit you nothing. Those people who

00:53:57.989 --> 00:54:01.349
cry out to God to be saved because they don't

00:54:01.349 --> 00:54:05.489
want to go to hell and then haven't truly turned

00:54:05.489 --> 00:54:06.869
their hearts over to Him receiving something

00:54:06.869 --> 00:54:09.429
like that. It means nothing. They still go to

00:54:09.429 --> 00:54:12.389
hell. You can talk them into saying the right

00:54:12.389 --> 00:54:15.030
words. People who pray a prayer, God, I need

00:54:15.030 --> 00:54:17.409
you right now. My rent is due and I have no money.

00:54:17.449 --> 00:54:21.170
Please save me. A miracle happens and they get

00:54:21.170 --> 00:54:23.530
the money and they don't accept Jesus Christ

00:54:23.530 --> 00:54:25.949
as Lord and Savior. They get to live in their

00:54:25.949 --> 00:54:27.429
apartment for no money. They're still going to

00:54:27.429 --> 00:54:34.489
hell. Not my word. The Bible. God's word. Enrich

00:54:34.489 --> 00:54:38.989
yourselves through ministry success? No. Don't

00:54:38.989 --> 00:54:40.489
think about how I can do a little better, how

00:54:40.489 --> 00:54:41.550
I can get a little further ahead. Think about

00:54:41.550 --> 00:54:44.170
how you can get more. How you can do more. How

00:54:44.170 --> 00:54:47.130
you can be more for the Lord in the kingdom.

00:54:47.610 --> 00:54:50.909
Turn spiritual victory into worldly status? No.

00:54:52.909 --> 00:54:55.570
I'll stand on TV, on WLMB and tell them I am

00:54:55.570 --> 00:54:59.289
nothing. I stand before you every week and tell

00:54:59.289 --> 00:55:02.250
you I am nothing. I wrote an entire sermon. It's

00:55:02.250 --> 00:55:04.730
actually two pages longer than this one. And

00:55:04.730 --> 00:55:08.179
then last night, at midnight, God said, no, that's

00:55:08.179 --> 00:55:09.760
not the sermon. I'm like, oh, come on, God, I

00:55:09.760 --> 00:55:11.760
got to get some sleep. I always tell them they

00:55:11.760 --> 00:55:13.300
got to go to bed at a decent time on Saturday

00:55:13.300 --> 00:55:17.420
night. It's Sunday morning now. God said, you're

00:55:17.420 --> 00:55:18.719
going to write the sermon I tell you to write.

00:55:19.619 --> 00:55:25.760
And so you get this sermon. We are called to

00:55:25.760 --> 00:55:28.900
make disciples, Matthew 28. Love God and love

00:55:28.900 --> 00:55:31.840
people, Matthew 22. Serve rather than be served,

00:55:32.059 --> 00:55:36.000
Mark 10. Walk humbly with God, Micah 6. Do good.

00:55:36.280 --> 00:55:40.699
Without seeking applause, Matthew 6. One more

00:55:40.699 --> 00:55:43.900
point. That was three, I know. So he's keeping

00:55:43.900 --> 00:55:48.119
me on a high clock, giving me more. Choose spiritual

00:55:48.119 --> 00:55:51.900
disciplines over the trapping of success. So

00:55:51.900 --> 00:55:54.820
we talk about doing risky things for God. And

00:55:54.820 --> 00:55:56.659
it's true, you should be willing to do risky.

00:55:56.659 --> 00:55:59.300
If God says go, go. If God says step in there,

00:55:59.340 --> 00:56:03.820
step in there. If God says suffer, suffer. We

00:56:03.820 --> 00:56:09.949
talk about doing risky things for God. But it's

00:56:09.949 --> 00:56:12.590
not about more money, more entertainment, more

00:56:12.590 --> 00:56:14.949
comfort, more recognition, more possessions,

00:56:15.030 --> 00:56:17.789
or more influence. And if whatever you choose

00:56:17.789 --> 00:56:21.530
to do for God also gives you those things, then

00:56:21.530 --> 00:56:23.829
you better do something with those things that

00:56:23.829 --> 00:56:27.710
honors God. Otherwise, you're in trouble. None

00:56:27.710 --> 00:56:29.230
of those things are automatically sinful. But

00:56:29.230 --> 00:56:30.849
let's say tomorrow you do something for God,

00:56:30.989 --> 00:56:32.750
and He responds miraculously, and now you have

00:56:32.750 --> 00:56:36.340
more comfort. It's time to kick back in the lawn

00:56:36.340 --> 00:56:38.980
chair, get me some Arnold Palmer and some ice,

00:56:39.099 --> 00:56:42.860
and go, woo, God is good. That's how that works.

00:56:43.099 --> 00:56:45.280
God gives you more comfort. You use that comfort

00:56:45.280 --> 00:56:48.099
for his glory. You find a way to fill that time.

00:56:48.280 --> 00:56:50.480
At the very least, if you're in the lawn chair,

00:56:50.639 --> 00:56:52.860
the Bible better be in your hands. At the very

00:56:52.860 --> 00:56:54.440
least, you better be having a conversation with

00:56:54.440 --> 00:56:58.579
the Lord. Those are the least things. Those things

00:56:58.579 --> 00:57:00.599
are all. more money, entertainment, comfort,

00:57:00.739 --> 00:57:03.039
recognition, possessions, influence, etc., etc.,

00:57:03.039 --> 00:57:09.239
those things become terribly dangerous when they

00:57:09.239 --> 00:57:12.400
replace prayer, Scripture, worship, giving, serving,

00:57:12.659 --> 00:57:16.619
fellowship, repentance, discipleship, etc. Scripture

00:57:16.619 --> 00:57:19.019
says in Matthew 6, Don't store up treasures on

00:57:19.019 --> 00:57:21.139
earth, store treasures in heaven. 1 Timothy 6

00:57:21.139 --> 00:57:24.300
says, Don't put hope in wealth, but... Be rich

00:57:24.300 --> 00:57:27.260
in good works. Romans 12 says, don't be conformed

00:57:27.260 --> 00:57:29.179
to this age, but be transformed by the renewing

00:57:29.179 --> 00:57:31.500
of your mind. And Galatians 5 says, if we live

00:57:31.500 --> 00:57:33.460
by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.

00:57:34.039 --> 00:57:36.780
When God gives you more, don't simply consume

00:57:36.780 --> 00:57:44.579
more. When God wants you to do a few more minutes

00:57:44.579 --> 00:57:47.059
or a few more hours, don't find ways to fill

00:57:47.059 --> 00:57:49.099
those minutes or hours with something that you've

00:57:49.099 --> 00:57:51.360
been wanting to do. You ask God what he wants

00:57:51.360 --> 00:57:56.179
you to do with that time. We learned last week,

00:57:56.300 --> 00:57:58.480
even being right can become an obstacle to becoming

00:57:58.480 --> 00:58:01.699
Christ -like. It's one of the subtler dangers

00:58:01.699 --> 00:58:05.119
in this passage. We said Israel was right about

00:58:05.119 --> 00:58:08.139
Gibeah's wickedness. We said Benjamin was wrong

00:58:08.139 --> 00:58:09.940
to defend the wicked people, but at the same

00:58:09.940 --> 00:58:11.940
time right to defend their brothers in general.

00:58:12.619 --> 00:58:15.420
But being right did not automatically make everything

00:58:15.420 --> 00:58:17.920
Israel did afterwards spiritually right. And

00:58:17.920 --> 00:58:19.880
you know the massacring women and children, killing

00:58:19.880 --> 00:58:22.579
babies in their cribs, and slicing people's...

00:58:22.920 --> 00:58:29.199
Cows, throats, that's not right. It was never

00:58:29.199 --> 00:58:32.980
going to be right. But let's remember that the

00:58:32.980 --> 00:58:36.960
two sides of the story both had syncretism. They

00:58:36.960 --> 00:58:38.579
both were not only worshiping God, they were

00:58:38.579 --> 00:58:40.000
still receiving direction from God, at least

00:58:40.000 --> 00:58:41.559
in the case of the Israelites, but they were

00:58:41.559 --> 00:58:43.679
not only worshiping God, they were also worshiping

00:58:43.679 --> 00:58:46.639
other things. And now we come to the moment of

00:58:46.639 --> 00:58:51.360
precipitation. When the syncretism comes out.

00:58:52.360 --> 00:58:54.960
What's that moment look like for you? Look at

00:58:54.960 --> 00:58:57.739
when somebody's cussing you out. Somebody's not

00:58:57.739 --> 00:59:00.420
doing what you think they should do. Not enough

00:59:00.420 --> 00:59:02.739
to get the syncopism in your life to precipitate

00:59:02.739 --> 00:59:06.199
out. So you can't see straight. It's puddling

00:59:06.199 --> 00:59:08.039
up on the floor because you're becoming sloppy.

00:59:10.940 --> 00:59:13.059
We all want to correct all the wrong theology

00:59:13.059 --> 00:59:16.860
that's in the world. But we have a tendency to

00:59:16.860 --> 00:59:19.380
do that while ignoring our own heart. And I'm

00:59:19.380 --> 00:59:21.079
saying that God is telling us not to do that.

00:59:23.659 --> 00:59:28.559
God isn't merely trying to make us right. That's

00:59:28.559 --> 00:59:31.000
not his goal. That's far too small. You're one

00:59:31.000 --> 00:59:35.739
human being. If God could make you right, that

00:59:35.739 --> 00:59:37.480
would be nothing in the grand scheme of things.

00:59:38.000 --> 00:59:41.280
It's a miracle that you need. But if he makes

00:59:41.280 --> 00:59:43.500
you right, that would be nothing. There are billions

00:59:43.500 --> 00:59:46.599
of people on the earth. And if God made every

00:59:46.599 --> 00:59:48.679
person right that's alive right now, that would

00:59:48.679 --> 00:59:51.550
be far too small of a goal. If whole societies

00:59:51.550 --> 00:59:54.530
came online and started living right, that would

00:59:54.530 --> 00:59:58.610
be far too small of a goal. What God is actually

00:59:58.610 --> 01:00:00.710
trying to do is make Christ -like human beings.

01:00:03.269 --> 01:00:09.469
Take risks for God, sure. Not for yourself, sure.

01:00:10.250 --> 01:00:12.750
The question is not simply, am I willing to take

01:00:12.750 --> 01:00:15.130
a risk? The better question is, am I willing

01:00:15.130 --> 01:00:20.269
to take that risk because, specifically, and

01:00:20.269 --> 01:00:24.309
only because God called me to do it. Taking risks

01:00:24.309 --> 01:00:26.710
for God means these things. It means obeying

01:00:26.710 --> 01:00:29.309
his commands rather than inventing your own mission.

01:00:29.730 --> 01:00:33.150
It means using his methods rather than justifying

01:00:33.150 --> 01:00:36.969
your own methods because the goal is spiritual,

01:00:36.989 --> 01:00:43.170
not situational. It means refusing to turn God's

01:00:43.170 --> 01:00:46.210
victory into your own personal benefit. It means

01:00:46.210 --> 01:00:49.150
choosing obedience over comfort. Choosing spiritual

01:00:49.150 --> 01:00:53.090
disciplines over worldly trappings. When there's

01:00:53.090 --> 01:00:57.550
time and space in your life, that time and space

01:00:57.550 --> 01:01:00.750
is going to testify about what's most important

01:01:00.750 --> 01:01:04.309
to you. And if you go, I've been wanting to get

01:01:04.309 --> 01:01:06.570
out to the movies. I've been wanting to go bowling.

01:01:06.690 --> 01:01:08.889
I've been just waiting to get on the golf course.

01:01:09.650 --> 01:01:13.190
If that's what happens as soon as some time develops

01:01:13.190 --> 01:01:15.210
in your life, then you have to ask yourself,

01:01:15.389 --> 01:01:17.829
what about your Bible? What about prayer and

01:01:17.829 --> 01:01:19.110
meditation? What about the things that God has

01:01:19.110 --> 01:01:22.989
actually given us to do? We're to choose loving

01:01:22.989 --> 01:01:26.130
next steps over self -congratulating celebrations.

01:01:27.469 --> 01:01:30.409
Choosing faithfulness when nobody applauds. Choosing

01:01:30.409 --> 01:01:34.449
dependence when success makes independence tempting.

01:01:35.409 --> 01:01:38.030
So we say, okay, I did good. Now I've got more

01:01:38.030 --> 01:01:42.070
space and now there's more temptation. No. Sometimes

01:01:42.070 --> 01:01:44.289
the risks that God asks us to take aren't very

01:01:44.289 --> 01:01:46.480
spectacular, really. Like it might be forgiving

01:01:46.480 --> 01:01:49.440
somebody. Like literally that is the bread and

01:01:49.440 --> 01:01:51.380
butter of the kingdom of God. Our job is to forgive

01:01:51.380 --> 01:01:53.519
people for their sins against God and their sins

01:01:53.519 --> 01:01:55.280
against us. It's our bread and butter. And it

01:01:55.280 --> 01:01:56.539
doesn't seem like it's even a big deal. You just

01:01:56.539 --> 01:01:59.800
say, look, I realize that you were wrong. I forgive

01:01:59.800 --> 01:02:02.179
you. I forgive you for myself and I declare you

01:02:02.179 --> 01:02:04.800
forgiven by God. And people just don't seem to

01:02:04.800 --> 01:02:06.760
get around to that. It seems kind of risky. They

01:02:06.760 --> 01:02:08.619
might get mad at me if I say I forgave them.

01:02:08.659 --> 01:02:10.500
They don't want to be forgiven. That kind of

01:02:10.500 --> 01:02:12.679
thing. But we just don't seem to get around to

01:02:12.679 --> 01:02:17.119
it. Having the difficult conversation. You know,

01:02:17.119 --> 01:02:19.519
gently, without yelling or screaming or throwing

01:02:19.519 --> 01:02:21.920
things. Having a difficult conversation. Giving

01:02:21.920 --> 01:02:24.320
generously. Saying no to something that feeds

01:02:24.320 --> 01:02:27.239
our flesh. Turning off the entertainment and

01:02:27.239 --> 01:02:30.579
opening the Bible. Praying when we would rather

01:02:30.579 --> 01:02:33.860
complain. Serving when nobody notices. Taking

01:02:33.860 --> 01:02:35.840
the next step of obedience when we don't know

01:02:35.840 --> 01:02:38.500
the outcome. And the deepest work is internal.

01:02:39.420 --> 01:02:42.400
We become so concerned about doing something

01:02:42.400 --> 01:02:44.780
great for God that we overlook what God wants

01:02:44.780 --> 01:02:47.800
us to do. That's syncretism. God wants to do

01:02:47.800 --> 01:02:50.579
something in you. He's not looking at the results

01:02:50.579 --> 01:02:53.719
that you can achieve. The results that he's trying

01:02:53.719 --> 01:02:56.340
to achieve go far beyond your results. God wants

01:02:56.340 --> 01:02:58.400
to regenerate your heart, sanctify the believer,

01:02:58.619 --> 01:03:01.000
produce the fruit of the Spirit, transform our

01:03:01.000 --> 01:03:04.079
desires. That tendency that we talked about,

01:03:04.139 --> 01:03:08.960
God wants to make a new tendency in you. And

01:03:08.960 --> 01:03:10.519
he wants to make Christ visible through your

01:03:10.519 --> 01:03:13.280
character. Last verse of the day, Jennifer Galatians

01:03:13.280 --> 01:03:17.760
2 .20. have been crucified with Christ. And it

01:03:17.760 --> 01:03:21.019
is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in

01:03:21.019 --> 01:03:23.639
me. And the life which I now live in the flesh,

01:03:23.880 --> 01:03:26.900
I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me

01:03:26.900 --> 01:03:29.900
and gave himself up for me. So here's what you

01:03:29.900 --> 01:03:32.760
do. In light of all this, boil it down to this.

01:03:34.059 --> 01:03:38.559
Ask yourself, not just, how can I do something

01:03:38.559 --> 01:03:43.719
great for God? That question is too small. God,

01:03:43.760 --> 01:03:46.500
what do you want me to do so that my next choice

01:03:46.500 --> 01:03:49.500
naturally, I'm going to be specific about these

01:03:49.500 --> 01:03:53.400
words, naturally, logically, reasonably, and

01:03:53.400 --> 01:03:57.820
inherently comes from you? Naturally means when

01:03:57.820 --> 01:04:00.780
your body says, I need more God. So what I'm

01:04:00.780 --> 01:04:02.860
going to do now is going to be something that

01:04:02.860 --> 01:04:07.579
is for God. Logically is when your mind says,

01:04:07.719 --> 01:04:11.110
this makes the most sense. What can I do now

01:04:11.110 --> 01:04:13.650
so that the next step and the next step and the

01:04:13.650 --> 01:04:17.869
next step are going to be from God? Reasonably

01:04:17.869 --> 01:04:19.710
means you're going to puzzle it out, ask the

01:04:19.710 --> 01:04:22.090
questions. Well, if I do this, this will happen.

01:04:22.110 --> 01:04:24.630
If I do this, this will happen. Okay, what I

01:04:24.630 --> 01:04:26.869
really want is the result where the next thing

01:04:26.869 --> 01:04:30.769
I choose to do, I do it for God. So this is the

01:04:30.769 --> 01:04:32.989
logical step to get there. This is reasonable.

01:04:33.429 --> 01:04:36.769
And inherently, you should find yourself doing

01:04:36.769 --> 01:04:39.550
the things that God wants you to do. without

01:04:39.550 --> 01:04:43.570
understanding why. Stop worrying about the why.

01:04:43.989 --> 01:04:46.750
If God says do it, and you're sure it's God,

01:04:46.929 --> 01:04:49.449
then just do it. And that includes reading your

01:04:49.449 --> 01:04:52.130
Bible and praying and all those things. Because

01:04:52.130 --> 01:04:55.389
the goal isn't merely to win God's battles for

01:04:55.389 --> 01:04:58.230
him. It's to become the kind of person who can

01:04:58.230 --> 01:05:01.190
be trusted with God's victories. You ever wonder

01:05:01.190 --> 01:05:03.389
why sometimes we don't experience victory in

01:05:03.389 --> 01:05:06.050
Christ? Maybe it's because the little victories

01:05:06.050 --> 01:05:08.539
that God has given us? We're using them for some

01:05:08.539 --> 01:05:11.260
other purpose other than his glory and his will

01:05:11.260 --> 01:05:15.840
and our relationship with him. If you keep your

01:05:15.840 --> 01:05:18.480
little sins in a bottle so that you're safe,

01:05:18.659 --> 01:05:21.559
then when your life blows them up and they're

01:05:21.559 --> 01:05:24.099
all over the place and you're trying to dodge

01:05:24.099 --> 01:05:26.099
that cloud of fog and can't even see straight

01:05:26.099 --> 01:05:27.780
to do and people hear that God wants you to be,

01:05:27.960 --> 01:05:30.119
you're stepping in puddles and it's running down

01:05:30.119 --> 01:05:32.239
the walls because you realize you've made this

01:05:32.239 --> 01:05:37.440
situation. That's too late. That's not too late

01:05:37.440 --> 01:05:39.480
to repent and turn back to God, but it's too

01:05:39.480 --> 01:05:42.480
late to avoid the effect of syncretism because

01:05:42.480 --> 01:05:45.780
it will already be going on right there. So don't

01:05:45.780 --> 01:05:48.780
overlook sin. Don't overestimate your strength.

01:05:49.000 --> 01:05:52.420
Don't expand God's assignment. Don't turn God's

01:05:52.420 --> 01:05:54.940
victory into your glory. And don't be afraid

01:05:54.940 --> 01:05:58.800
to take risks when obedience requires it. But

01:05:58.800 --> 01:06:01.000
when you step forward, you step forward because

01:06:01.000 --> 01:06:03.659
God calls you. Not because you think it's a good

01:06:03.659 --> 01:06:05.769
idea. Not because you're afraid that people will

01:06:05.769 --> 01:06:07.409
figure out that you have hidden sins that you're

01:06:07.409 --> 01:06:10.489
not dealing with. Just step forward because God

01:06:10.489 --> 01:06:14.650
called you. I'm going to sing the final hymn

01:06:14.650 --> 01:06:18.050
of worship. It's our opportunity to praise the

01:06:18.050 --> 01:06:19.630
Lord. The Lord has spoken in your heart, in your

01:06:19.630 --> 01:06:25.670
heart. And right now you just tell God, I'll

01:06:25.670 --> 01:06:29.230
take you out. I get it. I'm with you. I hear

01:06:29.230 --> 01:06:31.579
what you're saying. I'm willing. And then if

01:06:31.579 --> 01:06:33.159
the Lord comes to you, and you come and share

01:06:33.159 --> 01:06:35.559
that with us while we're singing this song, and

01:06:35.559 --> 01:06:37.699
you say it out publicly, don't deny what you're

01:06:37.699 --> 01:06:40.579
feeling. He said, deny it for now, deny it for

01:06:40.579 --> 01:06:42.159
my Father in Heaven. That's not what we want.

01:06:42.480 --> 01:06:47.880
Don't deny it. And as you realize there's things

01:06:47.880 --> 01:06:51.639
in your compartmentalizing, you're even keeping

01:06:51.639 --> 01:06:53.900
them in a plastic bottle in the trunk of your

01:06:53.900 --> 01:06:58.059
mind, or in your back pocket. Repent of those

01:06:58.059 --> 01:07:01.239
things. No more sin. Because at some point in

01:07:01.239 --> 01:07:03.420
time, they'll blow up. And they'll be all over.

01:07:03.699 --> 01:07:05.940
And it'll be messy. And there'll be nothing you

01:07:05.940 --> 01:07:07.340
can do about it. You want to go to C -Street.

01:07:10.360 --> 01:07:15.119
We ought to have nothing to do with it.