1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:12,440 Welcome to the Potter's House Salmon Arm podcast. We are a Bible-Believing Church located 2 00:00:12,440 --> 00:00:16,680 in beautiful British Columbia, Canada. We are proudly part of the Christian Fellowship 3 00:00:16,680 --> 00:00:21,920 Ministries with 3,000 churches around the world. We are a church focused on world evangelism, 4 00:00:21,920 --> 00:00:27,300 discipleship and church planting. Here we will share recent sermons from P.H.S.A. Church 5 00:00:27,300 --> 00:00:31,760 and other sermons from throughout our fellowship. I am Pastor David Bickford and I will be your 6 00:00:31,760 --> 00:00:36,420 host for this podcast. I thank you for listening today and we hope these messages are a blessing 7 00:00:36,420 --> 00:00:47,920 to you and bring you closer to God. Hello and welcome back to the Potter's House 8 00:00:47,920 --> 00:00:52,680 Salmon Arm podcast. My name is David Bickford. I'm the pastor here at the Potter's House 9 00:00:52,680 --> 00:01:00,320 Salmon Arm and today's message that I've put together is called The Enemy, My Enemy. We're 10 00:01:00,320 --> 00:01:05,800 going to talk about powers, principalities and pride. It's pretty interesting because 11 00:01:05,800 --> 00:01:12,600 I had recently just written that it's not on the podcast yet, a similar sermon to this, 12 00:01:12,600 --> 00:01:19,520 but this one I originally preached back in January. Let's get into it. The text that 13 00:01:19,520 --> 00:01:25,080 we're going to use as our jumping off point today is going to be Matthew 16 verses 1 through 14 00:01:25,080 --> 00:01:32,240 12. If you have your Bible and you're following along, you can turn there. This is an interesting 15 00:01:32,240 --> 00:01:37,560 subject that we want to look at today because I think it touches on the month that we're 16 00:01:37,560 --> 00:01:45,440 living in, the time that we're living in, the year, everything, and just the reality 17 00:01:45,440 --> 00:01:52,440 of the society that we have allowed to be created in the Western world, whether that 18 00:01:52,440 --> 00:01:57,840 be all of Europe or United States or Canada, you name it. There are some very interesting 19 00:01:57,840 --> 00:02:03,440 things to look at here. When I was putting this message together, I remember on my Instagram 20 00:02:03,440 --> 00:02:11,480 feed and online, Paul Harvey's If I Were the Devil post or story was going back through 21 00:02:11,480 --> 00:02:19,720 on all my feeds. That was what started the idea of this message. With that though, because 22 00:02:19,720 --> 00:02:27,800 today is Father's Day as well, I just want to first say that we love all the good fathers 23 00:02:27,800 --> 00:02:34,560 out there that are listening and the ones that really take the responsibilities of men 24 00:02:34,560 --> 00:02:40,520 and as fathers seriously. We can't do it without great fathers and mothers that are in our 25 00:02:40,520 --> 00:02:49,920 lives and whether that be fathers and mothers that are biologically related or through adoption 26 00:02:49,920 --> 00:02:55,120 because ultimately our Father in heaven, we can call him our Father in heaven because 27 00:02:55,120 --> 00:03:00,880 we are adopted, we are grafted in into the kingdom of God through our Lord Jesus Christ. 28 00:03:00,880 --> 00:03:05,480 That is ultimately where we want to give all of our praise and glory and honor to is our 29 00:03:05,480 --> 00:03:12,360 Father in heaven. If you didn't have a great father on earth, you still have a devoted 30 00:03:12,360 --> 00:03:18,200 loving Father in heaven. With that, let's go ahead and jump in with this message from 31 00:03:18,200 --> 00:03:23,880 Paul Harvey, If I Were the Devil. This was written in 1965. It was actually broadcasted 32 00:03:23,880 --> 00:03:31,200 back then. This is a very old interview or story that Paul Harvey put together. I think 33 00:03:31,200 --> 00:03:37,720 you'll agree as I read this how important it is because it is very prophetic to the 34 00:03:37,720 --> 00:03:44,000 time that we're living in today. So it goes, many years ago, a courageous and devoted American 35 00:03:44,000 --> 00:03:50,560 broadcast message, broadcast message to his listeners that served as the harbinger for 36 00:03:50,560 --> 00:03:56,460 where the nation was heading, societally and culturally. In his broadcast, he revealed 37 00:03:56,460 --> 00:04:03,800 what he would do if he were the devil to destroy our culture and undermine our collective societal 38 00:04:03,800 --> 00:04:12,480 standards and social norms. That man was Paul Harvey known to the world and his message 39 00:04:12,480 --> 00:04:20,000 not only has proven to be prophetic, but serves as a warning to Americans and Canadians today 40 00:04:20,000 --> 00:04:25,760 of to where our society continues to trend. So he says, if I were the devil, a warning 41 00:04:25,760 --> 00:04:30,120 to America from Paul Harvey, if I were the devil, if I were the prince of darkness, I'd 42 00:04:30,120 --> 00:04:35,920 want to engulf the whole world in darkness. And I'd have a third of its real estate and 43 00:04:35,920 --> 00:04:40,800 four fifths of its population, but I wouldn't be happy until I'd seize the ripest apple 44 00:04:40,800 --> 00:04:48,000 on the tree. These. So I'd set about however necessary to take over the United States. 45 00:04:48,000 --> 00:04:52,580 I'd subvert the churches first. I'd begin with a campaign of whispers with the wisdom 46 00:04:52,580 --> 00:04:57,840 of a serpent. I would whisper to you as I whispered to Eve, do as you please to the 47 00:04:57,840 --> 00:05:03,640 young. I would whisper the Bible is a myth. I would convince them that man created God 48 00:05:03,640 --> 00:05:10,040 instead of the other way around. I would confide that what's bad is good and what good, what's 49 00:05:10,040 --> 00:05:15,560 good is square. And the old, I would teach to pray after me, our father, which are in 50 00:05:15,560 --> 00:05:22,340 Washington and then I'd get organized. I'd educate authors and how to make lured literature 51 00:05:22,340 --> 00:05:28,520 exciting so that anything else would appear dull and uninteresting. I threatened TV with 52 00:05:28,520 --> 00:05:33,720 dirtier movies and vice versa. I'd peddle narcotics to whom I could. I'd sell alcohol 53 00:05:33,720 --> 00:05:39,480 to ladies and gentlemen of distinction. I tranquilize the rest with pills. If I were 54 00:05:39,480 --> 00:05:44,920 the devil, I'd soon have families at war with themselves, churches at war with themselves 55 00:05:44,920 --> 00:05:51,440 and nations at war with themselves until each in its turn was consumed. And with promises 56 00:05:51,440 --> 00:05:57,360 of higher ratings, I'd have mesmerizing media fanning the flames. If I were the devil, I 57 00:05:57,360 --> 00:06:02,680 would encourage the schools to refine young young intellects, but neglect to discipline 58 00:06:02,680 --> 00:06:09,720 emotions. Just let those run wild until before you knew it. You'd have you'd have to have 59 00:06:09,720 --> 00:06:15,400 a drug sniffing dog and metal detectors at every schoolhouse door. Within a decade, I'd 60 00:06:15,400 --> 00:06:20,780 have prisons overflowing. I'd have judges promoting pornography. Soon I could evict 61 00:06:20,780 --> 00:06:26,440 God from the courthouse, then from the schoolhouse, and then from the House of Congress. And in 62 00:06:26,440 --> 00:06:36,640 his own churches, I would substitute psychology for religion and defy science. And deify science, 63 00:06:36,640 --> 00:06:43,520 sorry. I would lure priests and pastors into misusing boys and girls and church money. 64 00:06:43,520 --> 00:06:48,720 If I were the devil, I'd make the symbols of Easter an egg and the symbol of Christmas 65 00:06:48,720 --> 00:06:53,720 a bottle. If I were the devil, I'd take from those who have and give to those who want 66 00:06:53,720 --> 00:07:02,600 until I had killed the incentive of the ambitious. And what to do, I bet, I could get the whole 67 00:07:02,600 --> 00:07:08,760 states to promote. And what do you bet, sorry again, what do you bet I could get the whole 68 00:07:08,760 --> 00:07:15,320 states to promote gambling as the way to get rich? I would caution against extremes and 69 00:07:15,320 --> 00:07:20,600 hard work and patriotism and moral conduct. I would convince the young and young that 70 00:07:20,600 --> 00:07:26,560 marriage is old fashioned and that swinging is more fun. And what you see on TV is the 71 00:07:26,560 --> 00:07:31,440 way to be. And thus I could undress you in public and I could lure you into bed with 72 00:07:31,440 --> 00:07:37,600 diseases for which there is no cure. In other words, if I were the devil, I'd just keep 73 00:07:37,600 --> 00:07:44,080 right on doing what he's doing. And then he always does a sign off Paul Harvey, good day. 74 00:07:44,080 --> 00:07:49,160 Now let's go back through this real quick before we jump into our text. There's a couple 75 00:07:49,160 --> 00:07:57,760 things jumped out to me as I read this today. You know, first off, you know, we talk about, 76 00:07:57,760 --> 00:08:02,020 you know, the way that the world is trending today, right? We talk about subverting the 77 00:08:02,020 --> 00:08:08,160 churches first with a campaign of whispers. How often are you seeing churches now cast 78 00:08:08,160 --> 00:08:16,920 out the word of God in favor of the word of today? How often are they taking wholesale 79 00:08:16,920 --> 00:08:22,400 chapters of the Bible and saying, you're not reading that in context, even though it was 80 00:08:22,400 --> 00:08:29,280 continuously read in context for centuries, but now the context has changed because it 81 00:08:29,280 --> 00:08:36,040 doesn't fit the message of today. How dangerous of an idea is this? Because then they also 82 00:08:36,040 --> 00:08:42,280 want to talk about how we can change the definitions that are in the Bible, but at the same time, 83 00:08:42,280 --> 00:08:48,380 the Bible itself is made up. So there really is nothing to change because it's all a myth. 84 00:08:48,380 --> 00:08:52,440 These are interesting thoughts at war with each other, but this is really the wet, you 85 00:08:52,440 --> 00:08:59,880 know, the wet, the devil would want us to do. The idea of more lured literature, more 86 00:08:59,880 --> 00:09:05,960 exciting images through TV and movies so that everything is boring. The Bible is boring. 87 00:09:05,960 --> 00:09:11,680 Church is boring. Nobody can sit through a sermon anymore because it's just too boring. 88 00:09:11,680 --> 00:09:17,320 We have to make rock concerts out of every church meeting because otherwise nobody's 89 00:09:17,320 --> 00:09:21,500 going to come and hear the word of God be preached. Well, I tell you that if you're 90 00:09:21,500 --> 00:09:26,160 not preaching a sharp word of God, then of course people aren't going to sit and listen 91 00:09:26,160 --> 00:09:31,840 to it. Of course people aren't going to listen to it because that would mean that it's going 92 00:09:31,840 --> 00:09:37,960 to have be convicting to their soul or it's not convicting to their soul. So if it's boring, 93 00:09:37,960 --> 00:09:47,400 if it's bland, well then it's clearly lacking the Holy Spirit. But what else do we get from 94 00:09:47,400 --> 00:09:52,880 this message? We talk about, we talk about, you know, the judges promoting pornography 95 00:09:52,880 --> 00:09:57,520 and evicting God from the courthouse, the schoolhouse and the house of Congress. These 96 00:09:57,520 --> 00:10:02,720 things have already happened. Now, when you talk about trying to remove pornography from 97 00:10:02,720 --> 00:10:09,680 schools, they tell you that you're just as bad as the Nazi book burners when the reality 98 00:10:09,680 --> 00:10:15,080 is you're just trying to get back to protecting children from what was considered a very short 99 00:10:15,080 --> 00:10:24,800 time ago, blatant pornography. These ideas that Paul Harvey used because he saw the creeping 100 00:10:24,800 --> 00:10:32,440 nature of the devil and at work in society back then. Again, this was written in 1965. 101 00:10:32,440 --> 00:10:40,280 But today, all the most of this has already come to fruition. It's a very scary idea to 102 00:10:40,280 --> 00:10:46,640 see someone who had what appears to be the mind of God for a nation and to see how accurate 103 00:10:46,640 --> 00:10:56,080 this message was. But let's look at our text. Our text is again Matthew 16 verses 1 through 104 00:10:56,080 --> 00:11:00,480 12. It's about the Pharisees and the Sadducees and how they were demanding signs of Jesus. 105 00:11:00,480 --> 00:11:06,320 And the Pharisees and Sadducees came and to test him and they asked him to show them a 106 00:11:06,320 --> 00:11:11,640 sign from heaven. He answered them, when is it evening you say? It will be fair weather 107 00:11:11,640 --> 00:11:16,360 for the sky is red and in the morning it will be stormy today for the sky is red and threatening. 108 00:11:16,360 --> 00:11:20,960 You know how to interpret the appearance of the sky, but you cannot interpret the signs 109 00:11:20,960 --> 00:11:26,960 of the times. An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given 110 00:11:26,960 --> 00:11:32,880 to it except the sign of Jonah. So he left them and departed. The leaven of the Pharisees 111 00:11:32,880 --> 00:11:36,480 and Sadducees, when the disciples reached the other side, they had forgotten to bring 112 00:11:36,480 --> 00:11:40,800 any bread. And Jesus said to them, watch and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and 113 00:11:40,800 --> 00:11:46,680 Sadducees. And they began discussing it among themselves saying, we brought no bread. But 114 00:11:46,680 --> 00:11:52,440 Jesus aware of this said, oh, you of little faith, why are you discussing this among yourselves? 115 00:11:52,440 --> 00:11:58,160 The fact that you have no bread. Do you not yet perceive? Do you not remember the five 116 00:11:58,160 --> 00:12:03,680 loaves for the 5,000 and how many baskets you gathered? Or the seven loaves for the 117 00:12:03,680 --> 00:12:08,560 4,000 and how many baskets you gathered? How is it that you fail to understand that I did 118 00:12:08,560 --> 00:12:13,560 not speak about bread, beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees. Then they 119 00:12:13,560 --> 00:12:17,680 understood that he did not tell them to beware of the leaven of bread, but of the teaching 120 00:12:17,680 --> 00:12:24,040 of the Pharisees and Sadducees. So in today's society, it's constant where there's, there's 121 00:12:24,040 --> 00:12:29,920 this constant push of trying to place us at odds with each other or tie us together in 122 00:12:29,920 --> 00:12:35,880 unnatural forms of unity. They built this not upon the rock of Christ, but upon a different 123 00:12:35,880 --> 00:12:40,600 rock, a broken and fallen foundation that is only designed to destroy those who seek 124 00:12:40,600 --> 00:12:45,880 refuge within his pillars. It's interesting to me to look at this world and see that there 125 00:12:45,880 --> 00:12:53,080 are still the same camps as there was during the times of Jesus. You have the word that 126 00:12:53,080 --> 00:12:58,240 was represented during the time of Jesus by the Rome and Greek Hellenistic culture that 127 00:12:58,240 --> 00:13:03,080 ruled much of the known world. Then you had a different camp within Judaism, the Sadducees 128 00:13:03,080 --> 00:13:08,040 and Pharisees, these two players made up the two rival camps that could agree on nothing 129 00:13:08,040 --> 00:13:14,960 more than the disunity they had between themselves. We can see echoes of this within the two groups 130 00:13:14,960 --> 00:13:19,880 of our political systems today, as well as with much of the infighting that is ever present 131 00:13:19,880 --> 00:13:25,040 within the church body today. You can see echoes of these same spirits in many facets 132 00:13:25,040 --> 00:13:29,720 of society and other religions throughout the world. What can we take away from this 133 00:13:29,720 --> 00:13:35,320 and how can we apply our scripture to this and the world today? The most important thing 134 00:13:35,320 --> 00:13:41,420 we can do is to focus in on our goal. Is our goal to beat our enemy? Is it to achieve dominance 135 00:13:41,420 --> 00:13:48,000 over those who disagree with us? Or is it to get people saved, to remain saved ourself 136 00:13:48,000 --> 00:13:53,640 and to see as much of the world converted as we can while we're still here on earth? 137 00:13:53,640 --> 00:13:58,800 I believe that it is the latter and that we need to keep our joy and praise God for the 138 00:13:58,800 --> 00:14:03,960 time that we have, to cling to Him and joy and remember what He did for us on the cross 139 00:14:03,960 --> 00:14:09,360 at Calvary. It brings me to my first point, which is powers and principalities. We don't 140 00:14:09,360 --> 00:14:13,400 fight against men, but rather the spirit of the world, the fallen elements of the world 141 00:14:13,400 --> 00:14:18,200 corrupted by sin and death. In Ephesians 6-12 it says, for we do not wrestle against flesh 142 00:14:18,200 --> 00:14:22,640 and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers 143 00:14:22,640 --> 00:14:28,560 over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil and the heavenly places. In 144 00:14:28,560 --> 00:14:33,360 our text from Matthew we see Pharisees and Sadducees with one definite article in the 145 00:14:33,360 --> 00:14:38,560 Greek text. Such a construction implies that they acted together and that is remarkable 146 00:14:38,560 --> 00:14:44,480 since they were political and theological enemies. 147 00:14:44,480 --> 00:14:49,580 In Acts 23 6-10 it says, Now when Paul perceived that one part were Sadducees and the other 148 00:14:49,580 --> 00:14:55,040 Pharisees, he cried out in the council, Brothers, I am a Pharisee, a son of a Pharisee. It is 149 00:14:55,040 --> 00:15:00,040 with respect to the hope and the resurrection of the dead that I am on trial. And when he 150 00:15:00,040 --> 00:15:04,760 had said this, a dissension arose between the Pharisees and the Sadducees, and the assembly 151 00:15:04,760 --> 00:15:10,040 was divided. For the Sadducees said that there is no resurrection, nor angel, nor spirit, 152 00:15:10,040 --> 00:15:14,560 but the Pharisees acknowledged them all. Then a great clamor arose, and some of the 153 00:15:14,560 --> 00:15:19,360 scribes of the Pharisees' party stood up and contended sharply, We find nothing wrong 154 00:15:19,360 --> 00:15:24,240 in this man. What if a spirit or an angel spoke to him? And when the dissension became 155 00:15:24,240 --> 00:15:29,120 violent, the tribune, afraid that Paul would be torn to pieces by them, commanded the soldiers 156 00:15:29,120 --> 00:15:36,080 to go down and take him away from among them by force and bring him into the barracks. 157 00:15:36,080 --> 00:15:42,680 However, common opponents sometimes transformed enemies and allies, as we see in Luke 23 12 158 00:15:42,680 --> 00:15:48,960 when it shows us when Herod and Pilate bonded over the mocking of Jesus, or in Psalms 2 159 00:15:48,960 --> 00:15:54,520 13. The kings of the earth set themselves and rulers take counsel together against the 160 00:15:54,520 --> 00:16:01,320 Lord and against his anointed. Representatives of both parties constituted the Sanhedrin, 161 00:16:01,320 --> 00:16:06,180 the highest Jewish governing body in Israel. This delegation evidently from Jerusalem represented 162 00:16:06,180 --> 00:16:11,440 the most official group of religious leaders that Matthew reported coming to Jesus thus 163 00:16:11,440 --> 00:16:17,160 far. What was the common theme that bound these enemies together? It was the presence 164 00:16:17,160 --> 00:16:23,480 of Jesus that had put all of their power at risk. They were bound to their positions and 165 00:16:23,480 --> 00:16:29,160 there was no room for a gospel that was at odds with the status quo. We see in verses 166 00:16:29,160 --> 00:16:35,920 1-4 of our text that they demand signs and wonders. We also see this in the account from 167 00:16:35,920 --> 00:16:42,960 the Gospel of Mark in Mark 8 11-12. It says, The Pharisees came and began to argue with 168 00:16:42,960 --> 00:16:47,680 him, seeking from a Messiah from the heaven to test him. And he sighed deeply in the Spirit 169 00:16:47,680 --> 00:16:52,200 and said, Why does this generation seek a sign? Truly I say to you, no sign will be 170 00:16:52,200 --> 00:16:57,100 given to this generation. Jesus replied to his critics that they did not need a special 171 00:16:57,100 --> 00:17:02,000 sign since many things pointed to him being the Messiah. They could read the sky well 172 00:17:02,000 --> 00:17:06,760 enough to predict what the weather would be. However, they could not read what was happening 173 00:17:06,760 --> 00:17:11,200 in their midst well enough to know that their Messiah had appeared. The proof that they 174 00:17:11,200 --> 00:17:16,920 could not discern the signs of the times was that they asked for a sign. And this brings 175 00:17:16,920 --> 00:17:22,840 me my second point, which is pride, ego, and hubris. Our society is bound to the belief 176 00:17:22,840 --> 00:17:30,160 of our oneness. This is a huge new age movement in progress right now that that is, and that's 177 00:17:30,160 --> 00:17:37,080 that is everything plus Jesus or Jesus plus everything else. This idea, this lie is a 178 00:17:37,080 --> 00:17:44,360 fallacy that people allow themselves to believe. Christ himself says this, and we can read 179 00:17:44,360 --> 00:17:49,520 in the gospel of John that there is no room for other gospels, other powers, other saviors. 180 00:17:49,520 --> 00:17:54,600 These new age religions are not rooted anything more than self worship. At the core of all 181 00:17:54,600 --> 00:18:00,760 of it is that you can find salvation from within yourself. The wicked simplicity of 182 00:18:00,760 --> 00:18:04,720 this false faith is that you can claim the science of today as your foundation, or you 183 00:18:04,720 --> 00:18:10,040 can disregard it altogether. There is space for every conspiracy theory or none at all. 184 00:18:10,040 --> 00:18:14,600 The relative truth is at the discretion of each individual because in the end it is the 185 00:18:14,600 --> 00:18:20,720 self that is God in these circles of thought. We should not battle against the pride, ego, 186 00:18:20,720 --> 00:18:26,560 and the hubris of those who claim secret knowledge or mystical understanding. We should treat 187 00:18:26,560 --> 00:18:31,740 them just as Jesus treated the Pharisees and Sadducees. 188 00:18:31,740 --> 00:18:36,240 In verse four of our text, Jesus refused to give his critics the signs they wanted. The 189 00:18:36,240 --> 00:18:43,800 only sign they would get will be the sign of Jonah and when Jesus rose from the dead. 190 00:18:43,800 --> 00:18:49,400 The only sign to Nineveh was Jonah's solemn warning of near judgment and his call to repentance, 191 00:18:49,400 --> 00:18:57,800 and the only sign now, or rather unto this generation, was no sign. Miracles will give 192 00:18:57,800 --> 00:19:03,240 confirmation where there is faith, but not where there is willful unbelief. Though the 193 00:19:03,240 --> 00:19:07,200 Pharisees and Sadducees differed on several points of theology, they held certain beliefs 194 00:19:07,200 --> 00:19:12,560 in common. Specifically, the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees that Jesus warned 195 00:19:12,560 --> 00:19:19,520 his disciples about was the skepticism towards divine revelation, and they failed to accept 196 00:19:19,520 --> 00:19:25,080 the Messiah because of this. These critics tried to fit in, or to fit the King and his 197 00:19:25,080 --> 00:19:30,480 kingdom into their preconceptions and their preference, rather than accepting him as the 198 00:19:30,480 --> 00:19:35,480 Old Testament presented him. They wanted a military general. They wanted somebody who 199 00:19:35,480 --> 00:19:42,800 was in power immediately. They wanted a political leader. So when we see people clamoring and 200 00:19:42,800 --> 00:19:48,120 fawning over political leaders, this is the same thing that these people wanted. They 201 00:19:48,120 --> 00:19:53,480 wanted a political revolution that would keep them in power and elevate their stature in 202 00:19:53,480 --> 00:19:59,160 the world. So we as Protestant Christians hold to the five solas, or statements. By 203 00:19:59,160 --> 00:20:06,160 grace alone, sola gratia, through faith alone, sola fide, and Christ alone, solus Christus, 204 00:20:06,160 --> 00:20:13,140 according to the scripture alone, sola scriptura, and for God's glory alone, solo dio gloria. 205 00:20:13,140 --> 00:20:18,120 This is the foundation of our theology and should always be a way to measure the outside 206 00:20:18,120 --> 00:20:22,840 world. When the powers and principalities wage war against the Church, they often try 207 00:20:22,840 --> 00:20:29,520 to pull us into their chosen battlefields. We see this in our text that Jesus would leave 208 00:20:29,520 --> 00:20:35,120 the Pharisees and Sadducees behind to argue amongst themselves. Then he would go out and 209 00:20:35,120 --> 00:20:41,120 he would minister elsewhere. We cannot give in to this pride, ego, and hubris. We have 210 00:20:41,120 --> 00:20:46,600 to leave those who want to argue behind and persevere for the sake of the gospel. 211 00:20:46,600 --> 00:20:52,480 This brings me to my close, which is the choice to run. Our choice has to be to run the race 212 00:20:52,480 --> 00:20:58,880 of faith. In 2 Timothy 4, 6-7 it says, for I am already being poured out as a drink offering, 213 00:20:58,880 --> 00:21:04,320 and at the time of my departure has come, I have fought the good fight, I have finished 214 00:21:04,320 --> 00:21:09,980 the race, I have kept the faith. So as we bring this message to a close, I want to share 215 00:21:09,980 --> 00:21:16,880 this lighthearted story that I came across. This is the tale of a dog that liked to run. 216 00:21:16,880 --> 00:21:21,360 So the title of this message is Every Dog Has Her Day, Hound Takes Seventh Place in 217 00:21:21,360 --> 00:21:27,720 Alabama Half Marathon. So this article is pretty old. It's about seven years old. So 218 00:21:27,720 --> 00:21:34,360 the dog is Lou Devine, a young hound dog finished a race that featured 165 humans even after 219 00:21:34,360 --> 00:21:39,760 she took a break to investigate the dead rabbits. This is a funny old story. It goes like this. 220 00:21:39,760 --> 00:21:46,600 A runner in a half marathon must have thought they had gone barking mad when an Alabama 221 00:21:46,600 --> 00:21:55,200 dog got further than expected and finished in the top 10, which is a possum performance. 222 00:21:55,200 --> 00:21:59,560 Lou Devine, a two and a half year old hound dog, snuck out of her owner's yard in Elkmont, 223 00:21:59,560 --> 00:22:06,040 Alabama on 16th of January and wandered to the starting area of the town's inaugural 224 00:22:06,040 --> 00:22:12,680 half marathon, the Trackless Train Track. Along with 165 runners, Lou Devine then ran 225 00:22:12,680 --> 00:22:18,400 the half marathon, finishing in one hour, 32 minutes and 56 seconds at seventh place, 226 00:22:18,400 --> 00:22:22,480 unofficially speaking. Despite wandering off during the portion of the race to mingle 227 00:22:22,480 --> 00:22:27,840 with cheerleaders on the trail and to examine a rabbit's carcass, her owner, April Hamlin, 228 00:22:27,840 --> 00:22:32,440 did not realize Lou Devine had even left the yard until friends who were volunteering at 229 00:22:32,440 --> 00:22:37,920 the race texted her photos of her dog. Hamlin, a guidance counselor at Elkmont High School 230 00:22:37,920 --> 00:22:42,440 told Runner's World that Lou Devine enjoys exploring Elkmont to the point where people 231 00:22:42,440 --> 00:22:47,000 in town recognize her, but she was surprised when Lou Devine finished the race. 232 00:22:47,000 --> 00:22:52,200 She's laid back and friendly, so I can't believe she ran the whole half marathon, because she's 233 00:22:52,200 --> 00:22:55,200 actually really lazy, Hamlin said. 234 00:22:55,200 --> 00:22:59,480 Lou Devine received a medal for her athletic feat. Our ace director, Gret Armstrong, said 235 00:22:59,480 --> 00:23:04,200 people were not aware that Lou Devine had run the entire race until the end. Everyone 236 00:23:04,200 --> 00:23:11,080 was actually quite surprised, she told The Guardian. We saw her at the start, but the 237 00:23:11,080 --> 00:23:15,720 way the course is laid out, we didn't see runners until the finish line. Tim Horvath, 238 00:23:15,720 --> 00:23:20,000 who came in sixth place, ran most of the race with Lou Devine and told volunteers at the 239 00:23:20,000 --> 00:23:28,000 end of the race that the dog had run for more than an hour and needed water. Horvath, 49, 240 00:23:28,000 --> 00:23:31,560 and a resident of Huntsville, Alabama, told the Runner's World that Lou Devine came up 241 00:23:31,560 --> 00:23:36,320 to him in a parking lot before the race. She came bouncing up and I petted her on her head, 242 00:23:36,320 --> 00:23:41,520 but I saw her collar, so I just figured she was somebody's dog, he said. 243 00:23:41,520 --> 00:23:45,880 Elkmont was a small town where everyone knows everybody, so it didn't strike me as unusual. 244 00:23:45,880 --> 00:23:51,000 Lou Devine's little stunt prompted the race organizers to change the name for the 2017 245 00:23:51,000 --> 00:23:56,000 half marathon to Elkmont's Hound Dog half marathon. They wanted to play on a theme during 246 00:23:56,000 --> 00:24:00,180 the race, perhaps by playing songs by Elvis Presley during the race and having a separate 247 00:24:00,180 --> 00:24:06,040 shorter run for leashed dogs. We're a small town made of 400 people, and now that this 248 00:24:06,040 --> 00:24:11,360 has worldwide recognition, it makes sense to tie it back to Lou Devine, Armstrong said. 249 00:24:11,360 --> 00:24:15,520 So the reason why I bring up this silly story, because I like this story because it reminds 250 00:24:15,520 --> 00:24:20,700 me of the simplicity of life. A dog goes out for her morning constitution, the dog quickly 251 00:24:20,700 --> 00:24:25,760 gets distracted, as dogs will do, but then finds herself within a group of happy and 252 00:24:25,760 --> 00:24:31,920 excited runners. The dog isn't going to overanalyze the situation, but rather just decides to 253 00:24:31,920 --> 00:24:38,600 run the race. Now I know we're not dogs and that life isn't always as easy as this story, 254 00:24:38,600 --> 00:24:43,560 but I do believe that we need to learn to simply serve God and allow God to bring us 255 00:24:43,560 --> 00:24:49,520 joy in our lives. The world does seem out of control, but it isn't. God is in control 256 00:24:49,520 --> 00:24:55,240 and Christ has already won the battle. We are here as the rescue party looking for survivors, 257 00:24:55,240 --> 00:25:00,520 those who will heed the call of salvation. So as we close, I do not want us to get wrapped 258 00:25:00,520 --> 00:25:06,440 up in all the debates of our time, but rather to simply hone in and focus on the gospel 259 00:25:06,440 --> 00:25:12,160 of Jesus Christ. If someone wants to argue, don't let it upset or confuse you. Take a 260 00:25:12,160 --> 00:25:17,800 note from Jesus and move on. Spread the word far and wide, but do not allow this fallen 261 00:25:17,800 --> 00:25:23,120 world to trouble you. Put your faith in God and serve him with joy. So with that, if I 262 00:25:23,120 --> 00:25:27,440 could have every head bowed, every eye closed, as I'm done with this message, but I want 263 00:25:27,440 --> 00:25:33,600 to give the invitation. So obviously for driving, be safe. We've been doing this long enough. 264 00:25:33,600 --> 00:25:40,760 I could probably stop saying that now. If this message impacted you, if you've been 265 00:25:40,760 --> 00:25:45,560 thrown to the wind with all the craziness that's in the world, it's time to come to 266 00:25:45,560 --> 00:25:50,720 Christ. If this message convicted you in any way and you know you're not right with Jesus, 267 00:25:50,720 --> 00:25:54,800 I want you to signify that with an uplifted hand. Maybe you've never given your life to 268 00:25:54,800 --> 00:25:59,560 him. Maybe you have and you've walked away. Now's your chance. I can't see your hand, 269 00:25:59,560 --> 00:26:05,000 but Jesus Christ could see your hand. If you did, if you rose your hand and you meant it, 270 00:26:05,000 --> 00:26:10,240 I want you to repeat this after me. Dear Lord God, I know I'm a sinner. I will repent and 271 00:26:10,240 --> 00:26:17,000 turn from my sin and I accept you. I accept you Jesus as my Lord and savior. I thank you 272 00:26:17,000 --> 00:26:22,720 for salvation through grace in Jesus name. Amen. It's a simple prayer. It's a simple 273 00:26:22,720 --> 00:26:28,840 message that we need to focus in on Christ. If you prayed that and you meant it, then 274 00:26:28,840 --> 00:26:32,840 your name is written in the Lamb's Book of Life and you are set free. And now you're 275 00:26:32,840 --> 00:26:36,580 on a different path. You're on a path towards sanctification, which just means growing closer 276 00:26:36,580 --> 00:26:42,840 to Christ. You need to start praying, reading your, get a Bible, read it and read it. Start 277 00:26:42,840 --> 00:26:49,240 in the gospel of John. You can get an app for free. And then you need to find a church. 278 00:26:49,240 --> 00:26:52,700 If you live in salmon arm, please come out. We're just, we're trying to build a work for 279 00:26:52,700 --> 00:26:59,360 God here that will be able to reach the multitudes. If you're not here in salmon arm, we have 280 00:26:59,360 --> 00:27:04,680 3,500 churches globally. We have a huge network of churches doing the same thing, preaching 281 00:27:04,680 --> 00:27:12,640 the gospel of Jesus Christ with the purpose to see people save. We're a living and vibrant 282 00:27:12,640 --> 00:27:19,520 group of believers. We put our money where our mouth is. We put our time where our mouth 283 00:27:19,520 --> 00:27:27,000 is, to serve Jesus Christ. So I just want to thank you for listening to this message. 284 00:27:27,000 --> 00:27:32,200 If you've gotten this far, I'd appreciate if you'd like and share this podcast so they 285 00:27:32,200 --> 00:27:38,120 can get out and subscribe so that it can get out as far and wide as possible. And I just 286 00:27:38,120 --> 00:27:41,040 want to thank you again. And I'm just going to quickly pray, dear Lord God, I pray that 287 00:27:41,040 --> 00:27:46,440 you bless those that have listened to this. I pray that you'd help them to commit themselves 288 00:27:46,440 --> 00:27:52,240 to you even more. And I pray for traveling mercies as they go in the rest of their week. 289 00:27:52,240 --> 00:27:57,480 And I just pray blessing upon them in Jesus name we pray. Amen. Thanks again. Can't wait 290 00:27:57,480 --> 00:28:17,160 for you to come back next time.