WEBVTT 00:00:00.170 --> 00:00:05.049 I want you to follow me to the book of Judges, 00:00:05.049 --> 00:00:09.529 chapter 3. I'm going to read a few verses there, 00:00:09.609 --> 00:00:15.689 if I may. And it says this way, Judges 3, beginning 00:00:15.689 --> 00:00:18.309 in verse 12. It says, And the children of Israel 00:00:18.309 --> 00:00:22.629 began again, did evil in the sight of the Lord. 00:00:22.730 --> 00:00:27.050 And so the Lord strengthened Eglon, king of Moab, 00:00:27.250 --> 00:00:32.979 against Israel. because they had done evil in 00:00:32.979 --> 00:00:37.640 the sight of the Lord. Verse 13, Then he gathered 00:00:37.640 --> 00:00:42.840 to himself the people of Ammon, and Amalek went 00:00:42.840 --> 00:00:46.320 and defeated Israel and took possession of the 00:00:46.320 --> 00:00:52.039 city of Palms. So the children of Israel served 00:00:52.039 --> 00:01:00.060 Eglon, king of Moab, 18 years. But when the children 00:01:00.060 --> 00:01:03.259 of Israel cried out to the Lord, and the Lord 00:01:03.259 --> 00:01:08.719 raised up a deliverer for them, Ehud, the son 00:01:08.719 --> 00:01:12.819 of Gerah, the Benjamite, a left -handed man, 00:01:13.060 --> 00:01:17.359 by him the children of Israel sent tribute to 00:01:17.359 --> 00:01:22.540 Eglon, king of Moab. Now Ehud made himself a 00:01:22.540 --> 00:01:27.340 dagger. It was double -edged and a cubit in length. 00:01:28.239 --> 00:01:32.420 and fastened it under his clothes on his right 00:01:32.420 --> 00:01:37.840 thigh. So he brought the tribute to Eglon, king 00:01:37.840 --> 00:01:48.959 of Moab. Now Eglon was a very fat man. So I thought 00:01:48.959 --> 00:01:51.480 I would entitle this message today, if you want 00:01:51.480 --> 00:01:56.040 to put my title up there, The Tale of a Fat Man. 00:01:57.709 --> 00:02:02.989 The tale of the fat man. Amen. And I'll get to 00:02:02.989 --> 00:02:05.549 it in a bit, but let that sit in for a little 00:02:05.549 --> 00:02:10.530 bit. You may take your places. Thank you. This 00:02:10.530 --> 00:02:16.210 is an interesting story in Israel's history that 00:02:16.210 --> 00:02:23.349 has typologies of two related people with different 00:02:23.349 --> 00:02:29.509 destinies and promises. In the time of judges, 00:02:29.550 --> 00:02:33.650 because of Israel's evil doings, and this had 00:02:33.650 --> 00:02:36.409 happened from time to time, and God would always 00:02:36.409 --> 00:02:41.509 intervene. God permitted Eglon, who was king 00:02:41.509 --> 00:02:46.370 of the Moabites, to conquer Israel. It was almost 00:02:46.370 --> 00:02:49.830 as if the Lord says, I'm going to deal with you, 00:02:49.909 --> 00:02:55.949 Israel. And after Israel was defeated, They were 00:02:55.949 --> 00:02:59.870 permitted to live in the city of Palms, which 00:02:59.870 --> 00:03:04.750 in that time was ancient Jericho, but were controlled 00:03:04.750 --> 00:03:11.770 by Moab and were required to give tribute to 00:03:11.770 --> 00:03:19.330 Moab. A tribute that was basically the first 00:03:19.330 --> 00:03:24.310 fruits and offerings of the wealth of Israel. 00:03:26.199 --> 00:03:33.120 Moab was a descendant of Lot, who was Abraham's 00:03:33.120 --> 00:03:36.379 nephew. Remember the story of Lot and Abraham. 00:03:37.919 --> 00:03:46.740 When Lot ended up in Sodom and Gomorrah, and 00:03:46.740 --> 00:03:50.500 the angels of the Lord came passing by Abraham, 00:03:50.740 --> 00:03:55.020 if you remember, Abraham had to intercede. It 00:03:55.020 --> 00:03:59.699 was an intercessory prayer for Sodom, but he 00:03:59.699 --> 00:04:02.659 was thinking about Lot because Lot lived there. 00:04:03.180 --> 00:04:05.960 If you remember the story, long story short, 00:04:06.139 --> 00:04:12.180 Lot left Sodom and his wife and his two daughters, 00:04:12.219 --> 00:04:16.420 and they escaped, but the wife looked back and 00:04:16.420 --> 00:04:22.540 became a pillar of salt. But Lot and his two 00:04:22.540 --> 00:04:31.160 daughters In Genesis 19, 36 and 38, to 38, it 00:04:31.160 --> 00:04:35.319 says, Thus both the daughters of Lot were with 00:04:35.319 --> 00:04:42.500 child by their father. The firstborn bore a son 00:04:42.500 --> 00:04:47.319 and called his name Moab. He is the father of 00:04:47.319 --> 00:04:51.240 the Moabites to this day. And the younger... 00:04:51.629 --> 00:04:55.370 She also bore a son and called his name Ben -Ami. 00:04:55.790 --> 00:05:00.649 He is the father of the people of Ammon to this 00:05:00.649 --> 00:05:07.829 day. So Moab was physically related to the descendants 00:05:07.829 --> 00:05:13.250 of Abraham, God's people, Israel. Yet they had 00:05:13.250 --> 00:05:17.970 no spiritual connection or access to God's promises. 00:05:19.050 --> 00:05:23.430 and therefore was in fact an enemy to Abraham 00:05:23.430 --> 00:05:28.589 and his descendants and his seed. This message 00:05:28.589 --> 00:05:31.790 today is going to be of a typology and a comparison 00:05:31.790 --> 00:05:37.230 of the flesh and the spirit. Somebody say flesh 00:05:37.230 --> 00:05:42.829 and spirit. They are related, yet are in constant 00:05:42.829 --> 00:05:46.629 battle with each other. They don't get along. 00:05:47.660 --> 00:05:53.540 They were distant relatives in this time. As 00:05:53.540 --> 00:05:57.439 the Moabites and the descendants of Abraham, 00:05:57.639 --> 00:06:01.439 they were related. But they had two different 00:06:01.439 --> 00:06:06.959 destinies. So one represented the flesh and the 00:06:06.959 --> 00:06:11.540 other represented the spirit. In John 3 and 6 00:06:11.540 --> 00:06:16.279 it says, that which is born of the flesh is flesh. 00:06:17.149 --> 00:06:20.470 Can't change that. And that which is born of 00:06:20.470 --> 00:06:24.110 the Spirit is Spirit. And we can't change that 00:06:24.110 --> 00:06:27.850 either. We can't mesh them together and insist 00:06:27.850 --> 00:06:30.490 that they be one because they are constantly 00:06:30.490 --> 00:06:36.250 separate. And this is why in Galatians 5 .17 00:06:36.250 --> 00:06:41.290 it tells us, for the flesh desires what is contrary 00:06:41.290 --> 00:06:45.600 to the Spirit. And the spirit, what is contrary 00:06:45.600 --> 00:06:49.519 to the flesh. In other words, if they both had 00:06:49.519 --> 00:06:52.480 their own legs and feet, they'd be walking in 00:06:52.480 --> 00:06:56.660 different directions. They are in conflict with 00:06:56.660 --> 00:06:59.720 each other so that you are not to do whatever 00:06:59.720 --> 00:07:03.519 you want. In other words, the Apostle Paul said 00:07:03.519 --> 00:07:05.579 it correctly. He says, the things that I want 00:07:05.579 --> 00:07:09.420 to do, I don't. And the things that I don't want 00:07:09.420 --> 00:07:12.459 to do, I do. And that is an explanation of how 00:07:12.459 --> 00:07:17.740 the battle is continuously in one place, in one 00:07:17.740 --> 00:07:21.920 abode. Spiritually speaking, this story between 00:07:21.920 --> 00:07:26.500 Israel and Moab is significant and applicable 00:07:26.500 --> 00:07:30.800 to us today because of how they are related. 00:07:31.709 --> 00:07:35.730 yet with different promises and different destinies. 00:07:35.870 --> 00:07:40.769 1 Corinthians 15 and 50 says, I declare to you, 00:07:40.810 --> 00:07:44.589 brothers and sisters, that flesh and blood cannot 00:07:44.589 --> 00:07:49.389 inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable 00:07:49.389 --> 00:07:54.350 inherit the imperishable. So you see, the flesh 00:07:54.350 --> 00:07:58.899 knows its destiny. The flesh is aware that it's 00:07:58.899 --> 00:08:01.699 not going to be able to run the streets of gold. 00:08:02.360 --> 00:08:05.040 Praise God. That's why it wants to run here, 00:08:05.160 --> 00:08:08.319 but always in the opposite direction of the will 00:08:08.319 --> 00:08:12.720 of God. So there's going to be constant, you 00:08:12.720 --> 00:08:14.600 know, there's not going to, you know, I remember 00:08:14.600 --> 00:08:17.439 somebody, and I'll tell you what, I would have 00:08:17.439 --> 00:08:21.120 never done this. But there was a couple of brothers 00:08:21.120 --> 00:08:24.060 from our church years ago when the Raiders were 00:08:24.060 --> 00:08:27.019 going to play the Super Bowl in Los Angeles area. 00:08:27.740 --> 00:08:31.899 They only had one ticket. But they both went. 00:08:32.919 --> 00:08:35.500 I said, where do you want to go? There's only 00:08:35.500 --> 00:08:39.659 one ticket. They both went. They stayed in the 00:08:39.659 --> 00:08:42.059 same hotel, ate the same food, restaurants and 00:08:42.059 --> 00:08:45.529 everything. But only one went to the game. And 00:08:45.529 --> 00:08:48.110 the other one had to stay behind outside, wandering 00:08:48.110 --> 00:08:50.769 around, hands in the pocket. If I didn't have 00:08:50.769 --> 00:08:55.690 a ticket, I would not have gone. But he went. 00:08:55.809 --> 00:08:58.509 I don't know. And it kind of reminds me of the 00:08:58.509 --> 00:09:01.450 flesh, you know, because the flesh doesn't have 00:09:01.450 --> 00:09:06.190 a ticket. But the Spirit does. I don't know if 00:09:06.190 --> 00:09:08.309 somebody would go. And I'm going to tell you, 00:09:08.330 --> 00:09:11.830 the flesh is not going to want to go if it ain't 00:09:11.830 --> 00:09:15.879 got a ticket. The flesh is constantly in war 00:09:15.879 --> 00:09:18.639 with the spirit. Let's go here. No, I don't want 00:09:18.639 --> 00:09:23.080 to go there. It's too spiritual. Oh, my God. 00:09:23.159 --> 00:09:25.059 Look what they're doing over there. Let's go 00:09:25.059 --> 00:09:28.139 over there. No, no, that's carnal. They're in 00:09:28.139 --> 00:09:30.940 constant battle. For the sake of this message, 00:09:31.200 --> 00:09:35.759 Ehud, if you can put the next slide up. Ehud, 00:09:35.779 --> 00:09:42.629 the judge, means spirit. The Benjamite. who was 00:09:42.629 --> 00:09:46.769 a judge over Israel at the time. He is a typology 00:09:46.769 --> 00:09:51.610 of the spirit. But Eglon, the Moabite, the fat 00:09:51.610 --> 00:09:56.450 man, is a typology of the flesh. So here we have 00:09:56.450 --> 00:10:02.889 spirit and we have flesh. It's interesting that 00:10:02.889 --> 00:10:08.669 the name of the Moabite king, Eglon, is derived 00:10:08.669 --> 00:10:13.409 from the root word meaning circle. Now, if you 00:10:13.409 --> 00:10:15.370 look at Begalon, you'll find out that his name 00:10:15.370 --> 00:10:19.950 means circle. And from this, we can see the vicious 00:10:19.950 --> 00:10:25.870 and endless cycle of repetition. This is why 00:10:25.870 --> 00:10:29.850 it is most difficult to discipline the flesh. 00:10:30.759 --> 00:10:34.159 Because it rejects anything that is contrary 00:10:34.159 --> 00:10:39.320 to its vicious cycle of regression, going back 00:10:39.320 --> 00:10:44.139 to its old habits and humanistic instincts and 00:10:44.139 --> 00:10:48.240 ideas. You know, you don't have to discipline 00:10:48.240 --> 00:10:51.720 the spirit. You have to discipline the flesh. 00:10:52.080 --> 00:10:55.299 Praise God. Somebody slap your hand and say, 00:10:55.340 --> 00:11:01.730 stop it. Your flesh is your problem. It's not, 00:11:01.870 --> 00:11:05.649 you know, it's not the community. It's not the 00:11:05.649 --> 00:11:08.269 president of the United States. It's not this. 00:11:08.289 --> 00:11:12.149 It's not that. The problem is our own flesh. 00:11:12.870 --> 00:11:15.789 Praise the Lord. We're not warring against anybody. 00:11:15.850 --> 00:11:17.970 I didn't get in a fight with my neighbor this 00:11:17.970 --> 00:11:20.889 morning. I did not get in a fight with him. I 00:11:20.889 --> 00:11:23.590 got in a fight with my flesh because my flesh 00:11:23.590 --> 00:11:31.320 says it's too early. You need more rest. But, 00:11:31.320 --> 00:11:35.200 you know, the flesh is the flesh. And it's going 00:11:35.200 --> 00:11:37.539 to be a vicious cycle of returning. No matter 00:11:37.539 --> 00:11:41.320 how much you train the flesh, it always regresses 00:11:41.320 --> 00:11:45.460 back to its origin, which is dust. The flesh 00:11:45.460 --> 00:11:47.799 is the flesh. You're not going to change that. 00:11:47.860 --> 00:11:50.320 Why? Because the flesh is not going to go through 00:11:50.320 --> 00:11:53.440 those pearly gates. I'm sorry. Tell your flesh 00:11:53.440 --> 00:11:59.710 you ain't going with me. Get it straight. I got 00:11:59.710 --> 00:12:05.309 one ticket. So this is why Scripture encourages 00:12:05.309 --> 00:12:11.929 us to mortify the flesh every single day. Mortify 00:12:11.929 --> 00:12:16.090 it. To put to death the sinful and corrupt nature 00:12:16.090 --> 00:12:19.330 of the flesh through the power of the Holy Ghost. 00:12:20.129 --> 00:12:25.690 So Ehud, the left -handed Benjamite judge, was 00:12:25.690 --> 00:12:30.950 from the smallest of Israel's tribes. And it's 00:12:30.950 --> 00:12:36.509 not so much the size of the man, it's the fight 00:12:36.509 --> 00:12:41.009 in the man. Praise God, somebody. It's not the 00:12:41.009 --> 00:12:44.590 size of the person, it's the fight that's within 00:12:44.590 --> 00:12:49.490 the person. Don't underestimate. What God can 00:12:49.490 --> 00:12:54.250 do with a rooty little boy named David to take 00:12:54.250 --> 00:12:58.049 down a humongous giant. Because if God be for 00:12:58.049 --> 00:13:01.649 us, who can be against us? Praise God, somebody. 00:13:01.730 --> 00:13:05.129 Hallelujah. So you see, God doesn't need big 00:13:05.129 --> 00:13:08.669 stuff to do big things. He can do big things 00:13:08.669 --> 00:13:12.870 with little things. Thank God for that or we 00:13:12.870 --> 00:13:17.139 would not be here today. Ehud. The left -handed 00:13:17.139 --> 00:13:20.759 Benjamite judge was from the smallest of all 00:13:20.759 --> 00:13:23.139 the tribes. I mean, there were bigger tribes 00:13:23.139 --> 00:13:26.159 and bigger things. They had bigger cities and 00:13:26.159 --> 00:13:32.419 whatnot. But Benjamin, which means the tribe 00:13:32.419 --> 00:13:37.139 of Benjamin, means this. Son of my right hand. 00:13:38.500 --> 00:13:42.299 That's what Benjamin means. Son of my right hand. 00:13:43.039 --> 00:13:47.740 Ironically. This is what's interesting. The tribe 00:13:47.740 --> 00:13:52.620 of Benjamin was known for their left -handed 00:13:52.620 --> 00:13:58.279 slingshot shooters. How ironic is that? They 00:13:58.279 --> 00:14:03.419 were called the lefties. So here they are, the 00:14:03.419 --> 00:14:08.159 son of the right hand of God, and yet they're 00:14:08.159 --> 00:14:12.419 left -handed. It doesn't make sense to me. It's 00:14:12.419 --> 00:14:16.519 because, you see, God will allow the enemy to 00:14:16.519 --> 00:14:19.899 see us as if though we're nothing and we're not 00:14:19.899 --> 00:14:23.779 lining up with God's name and God's purposes 00:14:23.779 --> 00:14:26.820 and the talents that the world has. I'm going 00:14:26.820 --> 00:14:29.340 to tell you something. I would rather be alongside 00:14:29.340 --> 00:14:33.679 somebody that has no gifts, no talents, but is 00:14:33.679 --> 00:14:36.559 full of the power of the Holy Ghost than with 00:14:36.559 --> 00:14:38.899 somebody that's got everything going for them. 00:14:40.559 --> 00:14:44.879 Praise the Lord, somebody. And it's okay to be 00:14:44.879 --> 00:14:49.379 a lefty. I mean, my grandson's a lefty. When 00:14:49.379 --> 00:14:51.139 all the other Rodriguez's are right -handed. 00:14:53.460 --> 00:14:59.059 Ehud was also a man that was restricted in his 00:14:59.059 --> 00:15:03.360 right hand. He had a withered or handicapped 00:15:03.360 --> 00:15:07.480 right hand. To top it all off, his hand was withered. 00:15:07.700 --> 00:15:11.899 His hand was useless. Praise God. And they call 00:15:11.899 --> 00:15:16.899 it a dead hand. Praise the Lord. Wow. So here 00:15:16.899 --> 00:15:20.679 he is. Praise God. He's a right hand of God. 00:15:21.539 --> 00:15:23.820 Praise God. But he's left -handed and his right 00:15:23.820 --> 00:15:26.600 hand is even withered to make it worse. Even 00:15:26.600 --> 00:15:29.659 if he wanted to throw a rock, a stone with his 00:15:29.659 --> 00:15:33.620 right hand, he could not. Praise the Lord. So 00:15:33.620 --> 00:15:37.759 Ehud was hindered. In the right hand. Yet his 00:15:37.759 --> 00:15:42.720 tribal meaning was son of my right hand. Wow. 00:15:42.899 --> 00:15:47.460 You know, it's almost as if God sets us up for 00:15:47.460 --> 00:15:50.360 failure. You know what I'm saying? It's almost 00:15:50.360 --> 00:15:53.259 as if the Lord says, you know, I'm going to take 00:15:53.259 --> 00:15:59.440 your money away. But Lord, I work real far. I'm 00:15:59.440 --> 00:16:02.539 going to take your car away. I'm going to do 00:16:02.539 --> 00:16:04.460 all this. I'm going to take this away, take that 00:16:04.460 --> 00:16:08.480 away. But see, what the Lord is doing many times 00:16:08.480 --> 00:16:12.759 in our lives, he's setting us up for a great 00:16:12.759 --> 00:16:16.059 outpouring of the Spirit in your life. He's setting 00:16:16.059 --> 00:16:18.639 you up for something great. When you lose something, 00:16:19.000 --> 00:16:21.440 you've got to say, God's up to something good. 00:16:22.080 --> 00:16:24.500 If you get a flat tire on the freeway, you've 00:16:24.500 --> 00:16:27.279 got to say, God's up to something good. When 00:16:27.279 --> 00:16:30.360 somebody betrays you, you've got to say, God 00:16:30.360 --> 00:16:33.679 is up to something good. Because the things that 00:16:33.679 --> 00:16:36.899 God takes away, it's because he sent you up for 00:16:36.899 --> 00:16:40.879 something great. Praise the Lord, somebody. Amen. 00:16:42.139 --> 00:16:45.679 Imagine a man such as Ehud with this withered, 00:16:45.679 --> 00:16:50.950 unusable hand as a threat to anybody. He would 00:16:50.950 --> 00:16:55.370 have not been seen as a strong warrior. In fact, 00:16:55.370 --> 00:17:00.470 if you saw him, you might even be inspired to 00:17:00.470 --> 00:17:04.829 have pity towards him. You know, I've had people 00:17:04.829 --> 00:17:07.170 do that to me. They'd say, well, who are you? 00:17:07.210 --> 00:17:10.410 And, you know, and how many members do you have? 00:17:10.549 --> 00:17:12.589 And I says, hey, it's not in the numbers, man. 00:17:13.089 --> 00:17:17.809 God's not into numbers. Praise God. God's into 00:17:17.809 --> 00:17:22.230 the power. He can put power in a little slingshot 00:17:22.230 --> 00:17:25.950 and take down a giant. Man, I'm telling you, 00:17:25.970 --> 00:17:29.109 I'm excited. Because you know why? Because the 00:17:29.109 --> 00:17:34.069 less we are to the eyes of the human man, to 00:17:34.069 --> 00:17:37.589 the eyes of the world, how we're perceived in 00:17:37.589 --> 00:17:41.730 the world, the greater we are in God. Because 00:17:41.730 --> 00:17:46.309 God is going to do something miraculous in your 00:17:46.309 --> 00:17:51.109 life. I'm talking to somebody here today. It 00:17:51.109 --> 00:17:54.710 might seem to you today that the Lord has taken 00:17:54.710 --> 00:17:58.269 this and he's removed that. Why am I here? What's 00:17:58.269 --> 00:18:01.430 going on in my life? I'm telling you, don't you 00:18:01.430 --> 00:18:06.029 worry about what God is doing. Just stay submissive 00:18:06.029 --> 00:18:09.529 to the will of God and watch God do something 00:18:09.529 --> 00:18:16.160 miraculous in your life. Whatever the case. He 00:18:16.160 --> 00:18:18.819 certainly wouldn't have been someone you would 00:18:18.819 --> 00:18:22.740 expect to lead Israel, amen. And somebody might 00:18:22.740 --> 00:18:27.740 blame him for losing to the Amorites. They might 00:18:27.740 --> 00:18:30.480 say, well, no wonder the Moabites beat us and 00:18:30.480 --> 00:18:32.900 the Amorites, which was the other brother, you 00:18:32.900 --> 00:18:36.079 know, and the other family to the Moabites. And, 00:18:36.079 --> 00:18:39.759 you know, it's just like they're... There's all 00:18:39.759 --> 00:18:44.059 these odds, and how can we win if our leader 00:18:44.059 --> 00:18:47.859 is handicapped? He's got a withered hand. He's 00:18:47.859 --> 00:18:50.359 left -handed. We're supposed to be this, and 00:18:50.359 --> 00:18:52.519 his name means that, and whatever. But listen 00:18:52.519 --> 00:18:57.559 to this. When we look at the meanings of the 00:18:57.559 --> 00:19:02.380 names of people in Scripture, it's very instructive 00:19:02.380 --> 00:19:06.079 to us. We learn something. But listen to this. 00:19:06.160 --> 00:19:10.759 As a Benjamite. Ehud was the son of the right 00:19:10.759 --> 00:19:16.319 hand of God, which signifies power. But his own 00:19:16.319 --> 00:19:21.960 personal name, Ehud, means I will give praise. 00:19:23.279 --> 00:19:27.160 Check it out. I will give praise. That's what 00:19:27.160 --> 00:19:32.420 the name Ehud means. Wow, so praise God. Here 00:19:32.420 --> 00:19:36.539 we got somebody that, you know, he's not a warrior. 00:19:37.210 --> 00:19:40.730 He's definitely not somebody that is going to 00:19:40.730 --> 00:19:43.710 walk in with a big spear and a big sword and 00:19:43.710 --> 00:19:47.710 all that. But he's going to walk in with his 00:19:47.710 --> 00:19:53.630 gift. And his gift is praise. Have you ever praised 00:19:53.630 --> 00:19:57.210 your way out of anything? Huh? Have you ever 00:19:57.210 --> 00:19:59.950 praised your way out of something and said, it's 00:19:59.950 --> 00:20:02.509 not looking good right now, but I'm going to 00:20:02.509 --> 00:20:05.779 sing that song. I'm just going to begin to sing 00:20:05.779 --> 00:20:08.000 that song. I'm going to tell you something. Everybody's 00:20:08.000 --> 00:20:11.559 got their little song, you know, and you have 00:20:11.559 --> 00:20:14.079 that little skip in your walk when you begin 00:20:14.079 --> 00:20:16.380 to sing that song. And it doesn't matter how 00:20:16.380 --> 00:20:19.920 bad things look and how the world is caving in 00:20:19.920 --> 00:20:23.059 on you. And you might think that God forgot about 00:20:23.059 --> 00:20:26.480 you and that, you know, you may have sinned somewhere 00:20:26.480 --> 00:20:29.859 and things are going all the odds and everything 00:20:29.859 --> 00:20:33.319 is against you. But if you have a song such as, 00:20:33.710 --> 00:20:37.869 do, I got a little song that I pull out. I say, 00:20:37.970 --> 00:20:42.710 can't nobody do me like Jesus. Hey, that's my 00:20:42.710 --> 00:20:46.089 song, brother. Don't you steal my song. So that's 00:20:46.089 --> 00:20:48.509 my song. I sing that when I'm going through something 00:20:48.509 --> 00:20:51.549 and I say, hey, you know what? Not looking good 00:20:51.549 --> 00:20:54.529 right now. Can't nobody. And then I start going 00:20:54.529 --> 00:20:57.710 like this, man. Can't nobody do me like Jesus. 00:20:58.029 --> 00:21:01.750 Can't nobody. Wow. I get excited. Why? Because 00:21:01.750 --> 00:21:05.069 I begin to praise God within myself. And I say, 00:21:05.150 --> 00:21:09.529 I can get out of this. I can get through this 00:21:09.529 --> 00:21:15.210 with my praise. I heard that. I really enjoyed 00:21:15.210 --> 00:21:18.329 the opening song today about praise. My goodness, 00:21:18.509 --> 00:21:20.869 that is praise. I'm going to tell you something. 00:21:20.970 --> 00:21:25.529 It works. Praise works when we believe it and 00:21:25.529 --> 00:21:29.289 we act upon it. Praise God. As for the fat man, 00:21:29.430 --> 00:21:32.269 let's talk about the fat man for a minute. As 00:21:32.269 --> 00:21:36.789 for the fat man, he said, what does this signify? 00:21:37.630 --> 00:21:46.259 Simply said, he was an obese. A giant, meaning, 00:21:46.519 --> 00:21:50.960 you know, he was over seven feet tall, probably 00:21:50.960 --> 00:21:55.539 like 600 pounds. I'm going to tell you something. 00:21:55.640 --> 00:22:01.539 For the Bible to call somebody a huge, big, very 00:22:01.539 --> 00:22:06.400 fat man, he's not going to be my weight. I'm 00:22:06.400 --> 00:22:10.279 not going to tell you what my weight is. He's 00:22:10.279 --> 00:22:13.200 going to be big. I mean, he's going to be real 00:22:13.200 --> 00:22:18.019 big. And I estimate and I vision him being about 00:22:18.019 --> 00:22:23.619 600 or plus pounds, you know, 7 '5", 7 '8", big 00:22:23.619 --> 00:22:29.220 guy. Just, man, buffed up, big, big guy. This 00:22:29.220 --> 00:22:31.940 is what the Bible refers to. Because when Scripture 00:22:31.940 --> 00:22:33.779 refers to somebody like that, you better know 00:22:33.779 --> 00:22:37.740 it's big, man. Because the Bible does not exaggerate. 00:22:38.329 --> 00:22:42.930 Simply says he was an obese of a giant as a result 00:22:42.930 --> 00:22:51.710 of living how? Slothfulness. Ease of comfort. 00:22:52.549 --> 00:22:57.930 He sat on his big throne. He was a king of the 00:22:57.930 --> 00:23:04.630 Moabites. He was not only obese, but he was a 00:23:04.630 --> 00:23:13.230 giant of a king. And this is what his persona 00:23:13.230 --> 00:23:16.690 was. This is who he was. He presented himself 00:23:16.690 --> 00:23:22.309 to be this kind of a powerful. He showed external 00:23:22.309 --> 00:23:27.109 power. He was something that we can look at and 00:23:27.109 --> 00:23:29.670 say, oh, my God. I remember when I, you know, 00:23:29.670 --> 00:23:31.890 for those of you that play sports or played sports, 00:23:32.009 --> 00:23:37.109 I played a lot of sports. And I had a, I played. 00:23:37.720 --> 00:23:40.640 Well, many times I played defense, and we had 00:23:40.640 --> 00:23:45.180 this guy in our team. His name was Stone. This 00:23:45.180 --> 00:23:49.920 guy, I'm not kidding, he was about 7 '2". Huge 00:23:49.920 --> 00:23:53.140 guy. I mean, I came up, I went to his waist, 00:23:53.220 --> 00:23:59.000 man, back then. He was so big. He couldn't run. 00:24:00.759 --> 00:24:03.039 He barely made it out to the field. In fact, 00:24:03.220 --> 00:24:05.440 they didn't have a uniform for him. It was too 00:24:05.440 --> 00:24:08.960 big. So they had to go to one of the universities 00:24:08.960 --> 00:24:12.599 to get him a pair of pants. Then they put this 00:24:12.599 --> 00:24:17.799 huge jersey on him, and he can barely get out 00:24:17.799 --> 00:24:19.920 to the field. He'd walk out there like this, 00:24:19.940 --> 00:24:24.220 man. He didn't learn no plays. He didn't know 00:24:24.220 --> 00:24:27.980 nothing. Because you know what his job was? The 00:24:27.980 --> 00:24:32.779 coach says, Stone, all I want you to do is get 00:24:32.779 --> 00:24:39.869 up and fall forward. That's it. Just stand up 00:24:39.869 --> 00:24:44.210 and fall forward. You're going to cause a train 00:24:44.210 --> 00:24:47.750 wreck, man. No matter how you fall, you're going 00:24:47.750 --> 00:24:50.150 to cause a train wreck. People are going to fall, 00:24:50.289 --> 00:24:52.589 trip, or I don't know. You're going to be a mountain 00:24:52.589 --> 00:24:55.869 for them to hurdle you. That was his only job. 00:24:56.299 --> 00:24:59.200 Man, you see, he don't have to do much. I imagine 00:24:59.200 --> 00:25:02.779 this. His name was not Stone, but I imagine this. 00:25:03.460 --> 00:25:08.279 Eglon, the king, he was so big. He was enormous 00:25:08.279 --> 00:25:12.079 that everything had to go around him, couldn't 00:25:12.079 --> 00:25:15.900 go through him. It had to go around him. He was 00:25:15.900 --> 00:25:19.920 that kind of a king. But the Israelites, listen 00:25:19.920 --> 00:25:24.019 to this, had to pay tribute to him by way of 00:25:24.019 --> 00:25:27.599 paying him. After he conquered them, listen, 00:25:27.720 --> 00:25:35.180 the Israelites were permitted to live in their 00:25:35.180 --> 00:25:40.200 own city. They were allowed to live in the city 00:25:40.200 --> 00:25:46.339 of Palms, Jericho. The ancient Jericho was called 00:25:46.339 --> 00:25:50.220 the city of Palms. And they were able to stay 00:25:50.220 --> 00:25:56.339 in their homes, stay in their houses. Hey, stay 00:25:56.339 --> 00:26:01.799 in their neighborhoods. But everybody was bound. 00:26:02.460 --> 00:26:08.299 They were slaves in their own turf. They were 00:26:08.299 --> 00:26:13.059 slaves to this big king. And they were not able 00:26:13.059 --> 00:26:18.519 to just live life nonchalantly. Everything they 00:26:18.519 --> 00:26:25.039 did, they had to do it for the king, the Moabite. 00:26:25.400 --> 00:26:29.180 They had to do it for him. Every seed they planted, 00:26:29.480 --> 00:26:34.460 they knew that a good portion of that was going 00:26:34.460 --> 00:26:38.119 to the king. It doesn't matter what we did, it 00:26:38.119 --> 00:26:40.900 was going to go to the king. We were working 00:26:40.900 --> 00:26:45.259 for him. They were enslaved to him. They had 00:26:45.259 --> 00:26:51.200 to pay tribute to him, taxes, and all of this 00:26:51.200 --> 00:26:56.200 went to what is called the king's table. The 00:26:56.200 --> 00:27:00.319 king's table was his delight. Obviously, he didn't 00:27:00.319 --> 00:27:04.460 get to be this great big person by just eating 00:27:04.460 --> 00:27:09.180 salads. Man, he got to be this big person because 00:27:09.180 --> 00:27:13.650 he ate everything they put before him. He feasted 00:27:13.650 --> 00:27:17.009 every day. He feasted on it. What they brought 00:27:17.009 --> 00:27:19.170 him, he took and gave it to me. Give me another 00:27:19.170 --> 00:27:24.950 turkey leg. Wow. You know, everything that the 00:27:24.950 --> 00:27:29.029 first of the best that Israel, that the Benjamites 00:27:29.029 --> 00:27:32.609 could gather and grow and harvest or raise or 00:27:32.609 --> 00:27:36.089 otherwise, the best had to go to the king because 00:27:36.089 --> 00:27:41.069 he deserved it according to him. Spiritually 00:27:41.069 --> 00:27:46.319 speaking, This fat man is a typology of a strong 00:27:46.319 --> 00:27:52.740 man, such as the flesh that can hold God's people 00:27:52.740 --> 00:27:57.720 hostage and deprive them from their godly purpose 00:27:57.720 --> 00:28:02.700 and their potential in God and can control them 00:28:02.700 --> 00:28:08.559 even to disobey God. Now I'm shifting gears. 00:28:08.700 --> 00:28:14.539 The fat man, the obese king, now the flesh. We 00:28:14.539 --> 00:28:18.539 war against the flesh every day. But the flesh 00:28:18.539 --> 00:28:23.779 is demanding. The flesh demands from us. The 00:28:23.779 --> 00:28:27.279 flesh wants and wants and is ever wanting, is 00:28:27.279 --> 00:28:31.460 never satisfied, never content. You give him 00:28:31.460 --> 00:28:34.440 a little, he wants more. When you give and you 00:28:34.440 --> 00:28:38.660 feed the flesh, the flesh has a bottomless pit 00:28:38.660 --> 00:28:43.440 and it'll keep taking and taking and taking from 00:28:43.440 --> 00:28:51.649 your spirit. And this is the way that Eglon, 00:28:51.649 --> 00:28:56.069 specialized. This is why his name meant circle. 00:28:57.829 --> 00:29:01.589 And which keeps the captives going in circles. 00:29:02.890 --> 00:29:06.970 If you remember Samson, when he was captivated 00:29:06.970 --> 00:29:11.769 and he gave up the secret of his heart, where 00:29:11.769 --> 00:29:15.950 did he end up? He was just tilling corn going 00:29:15.950 --> 00:29:23.069 in circles. In the Old Testament, it talks about 00:29:23.069 --> 00:29:28.750 the heifer, which was Judah, that was always 00:29:28.750 --> 00:29:33.950 going in circles, doing the same thing, repetitious, 00:29:34.109 --> 00:29:36.569 repetitious, the same thing. That's a typology 00:29:36.569 --> 00:29:41.650 of the flesh. The flesh doesn't want discipline. 00:29:41.910 --> 00:29:46.009 And I'm talking spiritually speaking. This is 00:29:46.009 --> 00:29:48.849 a serious and a vicious cycle that has consumed 00:29:48.849 --> 00:29:53.809 precious time. Energy, resources to no avail. 00:29:54.170 --> 00:29:58.349 The flesh is demanding. Our flesh is constantly 00:29:58.349 --> 00:30:02.390 wanting and never being satisfied. I want more. 00:30:02.549 --> 00:30:06.069 I deserve more. Take me here. Take me there. 00:30:06.250 --> 00:30:09.730 Bless me here. Give me here. I want the best. 00:30:09.769 --> 00:30:12.930 I don't want cheap shoes. I want expensive shoes. 00:30:13.250 --> 00:30:17.049 I want the best Michael Jordans. I want the best 00:30:17.049 --> 00:30:21.400 of this and that because I deserve it. Your spirit 00:30:21.400 --> 00:30:25.440 is being depleting and it's going down and getting 00:30:25.440 --> 00:30:29.660 skinny in the inside and your flesh is getting 00:30:29.660 --> 00:30:35.160 fat. Oh, you ain't hearing me yet. I'm going 00:30:35.160 --> 00:30:39.180 to get an amen eventually, I know. No progression. 00:30:39.940 --> 00:30:46.660 A cycle of repetition with a sense of hope that 00:30:46.660 --> 00:30:53.190 leads to nowhere. It's a carnal deception. The 00:30:53.190 --> 00:31:00.809 fat man held Israel under his rule for 18 years. 00:31:01.809 --> 00:31:04.690 He didn't take them away from their own homeland. 00:31:04.990 --> 00:31:12.589 He defeated them in their own, own land and allowed 00:31:12.589 --> 00:31:18.130 them to live in their own land yet as captives. 00:31:19.500 --> 00:31:22.940 Have you ever felt in your spirit that your spirit 00:31:22.940 --> 00:31:27.640 tells you, oh, I want to do this for God. I wish 00:31:27.640 --> 00:31:30.700 I could just do this for God. I really feel that 00:31:30.700 --> 00:31:34.099 that's my purpose and that's my call. And I want 00:31:34.099 --> 00:31:36.259 to do this. And it's like your spirit within 00:31:36.259 --> 00:31:39.099 you is fighting, it's warning, and it wants to 00:31:39.099 --> 00:31:42.500 come out and do something for God. But your flesh 00:31:42.500 --> 00:31:46.519 keeps it subjected. And your flesh says you're 00:31:46.519 --> 00:31:52.160 not going to do it. Me first. You got to feed 00:31:52.160 --> 00:31:57.740 me first. You got to give to me first. And if 00:31:57.740 --> 00:32:00.180 there's anything left over, then we'll go to 00:32:00.180 --> 00:32:03.839 church or we'll do this or we'll do that. We'll 00:32:03.839 --> 00:32:07.359 sing a song, maybe. But I don't need to sing 00:32:07.359 --> 00:32:09.920 a song because my mouth doesn't want to. Well, 00:32:09.940 --> 00:32:15.599 I got news for your mouth. You better open your 00:32:15.599 --> 00:32:18.480 mouth. Or you're going to be opening it for an 00:32:18.480 --> 00:32:21.920 eternity in hell. Oh, come on. That didn't cost 00:32:21.920 --> 00:32:27.079 you. I'll sit down and show you Bible. You think 00:32:27.079 --> 00:32:29.319 you can just not praise God when you come to 00:32:29.319 --> 00:32:31.779 the Lord? Or anywhere. I'm going to tell you 00:32:31.779 --> 00:32:37.299 something. I had a grandma. She was my prayer 00:32:37.299 --> 00:32:40.819 partner for many years. We prayed together, man. 00:32:40.859 --> 00:32:43.640 We rebuked devils together. We prayed people 00:32:43.640 --> 00:32:46.680 through the Holy Ghost together. When I needed 00:32:46.680 --> 00:32:48.920 somebody to go with me to pray for a demon -possessed 00:32:48.920 --> 00:32:53.039 person, I'd pick her up. I didn't pick up a minister. 00:32:53.180 --> 00:32:55.099 I didn't pick up the assistant pastor. I picked 00:32:55.099 --> 00:32:58.559 my grandmother up because she was a prayer warrior. 00:32:58.799 --> 00:33:03.539 You knew my grandmother, Julia Velarde. She was 00:33:03.539 --> 00:33:05.900 a prayer warrior, man. I'm going to tell you 00:33:05.900 --> 00:33:11.200 something. She had hip surgery. They replaced 00:33:11.200 --> 00:33:14.819 her hip, and she had this or that. She was in 00:33:14.819 --> 00:33:18.730 her. Hitting 90 years old or a little above 90 00:33:18.730 --> 00:33:23.430 in there. And she used to run the aisles with 00:33:23.430 --> 00:33:33.029 her new hip. If you have the Holy Ghost, you're 00:33:33.029 --> 00:33:34.849 going to jump out of your seat and you're going 00:33:34.849 --> 00:33:37.609 to say praise be to God. Because the Holy Ghost 00:33:37.609 --> 00:33:40.849 is something that moves the flesh inside of us. 00:33:40.930 --> 00:33:45.819 And it says, I want to worship God. I want to 00:33:45.819 --> 00:33:48.759 be like her when I'm in my 90s, praise God, or 00:33:48.759 --> 00:33:50.960 100. Somebody told me the other day that their 00:33:50.960 --> 00:33:54.059 grandpa lived to be 114. I'm on my way, I told 00:33:54.059 --> 00:33:58.019 them. 114, praise God, I'm right behind you. 00:33:58.180 --> 00:33:59.740 Praise the Lord. Now, I'm going to tell you something. 00:33:59.920 --> 00:34:03.559 If God permits me to be 114, I'm going to worship 00:34:03.559 --> 00:34:10.159 God in spirit and in truth even then. Hello, 00:34:10.300 --> 00:34:15.389 somebody. He didn't take them away from their 00:34:15.389 --> 00:34:17.550 homeland. He allowed them to stay there while 00:34:17.550 --> 00:34:22.349 yet as captives. This is true misery. Let me 00:34:22.349 --> 00:34:27.489 tell you something. True misery is to live in 00:34:27.489 --> 00:34:31.190 your own house and not have access to nothing 00:34:31.190 --> 00:34:40.360 without asking permission. Hello? I want you 00:34:40.360 --> 00:34:42.239 to know, no, no, no, you stay right there. We're 00:34:42.239 --> 00:34:45.380 going to watch this horror movie right now. I 00:34:45.380 --> 00:34:47.280 don't want to watch that horror movie. We're 00:34:47.280 --> 00:34:51.219 going to watch it. We're not going to go on to 00:34:51.219 --> 00:34:54.360 it. We're going to be late, in fact. No, but 00:34:54.360 --> 00:34:56.260 I want to be there. Oh, my God, it's the Holy 00:34:56.260 --> 00:35:01.300 Ghost. No, be quiet. I'm in charge. The flesh, 00:35:01.559 --> 00:35:06.619 the fat man, talking, tries to overcome you with 00:35:06.619 --> 00:35:10.929 fear. To make you think that you're subject to 00:35:10.929 --> 00:35:14.130 the flesh. But I'm here to tell somebody here 00:35:14.130 --> 00:35:18.489 that somebody by the name of Jesus went to Calvary 00:35:18.489 --> 00:35:22.489 to defeat the flesh. He came to the world and 00:35:22.489 --> 00:35:26.090 the world received him not. But he went to Calvary 00:35:26.090 --> 00:35:34.559 and he defeated the flesh. This is how the flesh 00:35:34.559 --> 00:35:37.280 wars against the spirit. The spirit resides in 00:35:37.280 --> 00:35:41.039 the fleshly house. Yet the flesh attempts to 00:35:41.039 --> 00:35:44.719 control the spirit and deprive it of its potential 00:35:44.719 --> 00:35:50.960 in God. This evil king Eglon set up shop in the 00:35:50.960 --> 00:35:55.840 heart of Israel. Territory where he could inflict. 00:35:56.730 --> 00:36:01.110 constant pain on God's people. This fat man will 00:36:01.110 --> 00:36:04.909 push his weight around, if you please, and set 00:36:04.909 --> 00:36:09.510 up camp in the living room or in the middle of 00:36:09.510 --> 00:36:13.369 your heart and attempt to tell you things that 00:36:13.369 --> 00:36:16.949 are contrary to the will of God. If you begin 00:36:16.949 --> 00:36:20.449 and continue to listen to your flesh, you will 00:36:20.449 --> 00:36:25.230 certainly end up where the flesh will end up. 00:36:27.119 --> 00:36:31.599 He will lounge in your space. He will take over 00:36:31.599 --> 00:36:36.460 your living room. Praise God. He'll break things 00:36:36.460 --> 00:36:41.139 up. I remember an old evangelist. He was an evangelist, 00:36:41.179 --> 00:36:45.219 but he was staying at a pastor's house. And the 00:36:45.219 --> 00:36:51.760 pastor, and this boy was a big boy. And he stayed 00:36:51.760 --> 00:36:54.639 with him. And one time they told me, man, we 00:36:54.639 --> 00:36:57.159 don't know what to do, man. We can't keep up 00:36:57.159 --> 00:37:01.380 with his appetite. He eats, eats, eats, eats, 00:37:01.579 --> 00:37:06.000 and he just sits, sits, sits, sits. Half our 00:37:06.000 --> 00:37:09.059 furniture is broken because he broke it. He sat 00:37:09.059 --> 00:37:16.320 on it. I said, brother, you got a problem. What 00:37:16.320 --> 00:37:18.500 you have to do is empty out the refrigerator, 00:37:18.860 --> 00:37:23.219 get all the food out of the house, and tell him 00:37:23.219 --> 00:37:26.630 we ain't got no more. He'll go find another home. 00:37:28.670 --> 00:37:31.190 But you keep feeding it, you're going to keep 00:37:31.190 --> 00:37:36.429 growing. Plan to buy more furniture. Oh, my God, 00:37:36.449 --> 00:37:38.469 can I do that? Do it, brother. Come on. If it 00:37:38.469 --> 00:37:41.650 was me, whoa. I would have done it a long time 00:37:41.650 --> 00:37:45.150 ago. There's some things that, you know, just 00:37:45.150 --> 00:37:48.250 eat you alive, man. They'll just, like, consume. 00:37:49.539 --> 00:37:52.500 And that's what the flesh does to us. The spirit 00:37:52.500 --> 00:37:55.239 within you. You have the spirit of God. It's 00:37:55.239 --> 00:37:58.179 wanting to do so much for God. I want to do it. 00:37:58.219 --> 00:38:00.219 I want to do it. We're going to go on a fast. 00:38:00.320 --> 00:38:02.739 Praise God. We're going to go on a fast. And 00:38:02.739 --> 00:38:06.820 tomorrow, oh my God, we were invited to the birthday 00:38:06.820 --> 00:38:13.940 party. Tomorrow's a picnic day. See, that old 00:38:13.940 --> 00:38:18.019 flesh sets you up for the kill, man. The flesh. 00:38:18.559 --> 00:38:21.639 But I'm going to tell you something. If you pay 00:38:21.639 --> 00:38:24.780 attention to your flesh, it's not going to go 00:38:24.780 --> 00:38:29.760 well. The uncircumcised Moabite descended upon, 00:38:30.019 --> 00:38:37.059 he stole, stole what belonged to God. Ehud, the 00:38:37.059 --> 00:38:40.760 Benjamite, which means praise, he was bound, 00:38:40.860 --> 00:38:43.840 he was deprived and uncertain of his own future. 00:38:44.510 --> 00:38:47.809 But the fat king was a constant reminder to Israel 00:38:47.809 --> 00:38:51.190 that they were under the yoke of bondage. You're 00:38:51.190 --> 00:38:53.429 not going to get away, man. You're not going 00:38:53.429 --> 00:38:55.429 to get too far. You think you have a calling, 00:38:55.489 --> 00:38:57.690 a ministry, a purpose, a song in your heart? 00:38:57.730 --> 00:38:59.170 You ain't going to do nothing, man. You're going 00:38:59.170 --> 00:39:04.949 to stay quiet. There's a fat man feasting on 00:39:04.949 --> 00:39:08.530 the sacrifices of praise that belong to God and 00:39:08.530 --> 00:39:14.800 God alone. It's difficult to reach. You're God 00:39:14.800 --> 00:39:21.579 -given potential when that flesh devours the 00:39:21.579 --> 00:39:25.679 potential sacrifices that belong to God. Who 00:39:25.679 --> 00:39:30.199 is this fat king that has intimidated and convinced 00:39:30.199 --> 00:39:33.900 many Christians to believe that they will never 00:39:33.900 --> 00:39:38.920 amount to anything in God's kingdom? Who is this 00:39:38.920 --> 00:39:43.679 fat? that controls your every endeavor and causes 00:39:43.679 --> 00:39:46.420 you to believe that you can't step out in faith? 00:39:47.420 --> 00:39:51.679 Who is this fat man that devours your every dream 00:39:51.679 --> 00:39:55.300 and has deprived you from your spiritual gifts 00:39:55.300 --> 00:39:59.940 and your ministry and your calling? Who is this 00:39:59.940 --> 00:40:04.280 fat man that demands tribute? that belongs to 00:40:04.280 --> 00:40:08.960 God and consumes your giving for his very own 00:40:08.960 --> 00:40:15.400 fleshly desires, who makes you pay tribute to 00:40:15.400 --> 00:40:20.840 the flesh and robs God from what belongs to him, 00:40:21.000 --> 00:40:27.000 such as your time, your resources, your tithing, 00:40:27.079 --> 00:40:32.980 your giving, and so much more, because you, deserve 00:40:32.980 --> 00:40:36.980 it. He will convince you that it's okay to treat 00:40:36.980 --> 00:40:42.000 yourself, but rob God of what belongs to him. 00:40:43.340 --> 00:40:49.559 Ehud, the Benjamite judge who was disabled, left 00:40:49.559 --> 00:40:53.239 -handed, began to praise his way to a courageous 00:40:53.239 --> 00:40:57.980 endeavor that would ultimately change his world 00:40:57.980 --> 00:41:02.769 and the future forever for the Benjamites. The 00:41:02.769 --> 00:41:07.010 right hand, which theologically meant power, 00:41:07.369 --> 00:41:12.889 Ehud began praising God in the midst of trouble 00:41:12.889 --> 00:41:18.050 in a very powerful way. As he praised God, he 00:41:18.050 --> 00:41:22.329 began to forge a dagger as the weapon that would 00:41:22.329 --> 00:41:27.230 eventually take down the fat man known as the 00:41:27.230 --> 00:41:32.199 flesh. Maybe you felt inadequate. Or not gifted 00:41:32.199 --> 00:41:36.139 enough to be used of God. Maybe you've let inner 00:41:36.139 --> 00:41:39.920 voices tell you it's not possible after all. 00:41:40.239 --> 00:41:42.840 Or maybe you've been convinced that you're not 00:41:42.840 --> 00:41:45.820 worthy of it because you've made some mistakes. 00:41:46.179 --> 00:41:49.500 It doesn't matter what your inabilities are or 00:41:49.500 --> 00:41:53.440 how many times you have failed. How many times 00:41:53.440 --> 00:41:56.360 you've fallen. Or how many times you've given 00:41:56.360 --> 00:42:02.010 up in the past. Your reputation maybe has even 00:42:02.010 --> 00:42:07.090 been tarnished. You can still get up. Don't surrender. 00:42:07.809 --> 00:42:12.269 Don't give it up. Greater is he that is in you. 00:42:14.550 --> 00:42:21.510 Shout your praise and forge a weapon of victory. 00:42:23.090 --> 00:42:27.489 You can still get up. You can still forge that 00:42:27.489 --> 00:42:34.309 weapon. That fat king saw Ehud as a man with 00:42:34.309 --> 00:42:41.809 a dried up hand. Dried up or not, Ehud was still 00:42:41.809 --> 00:42:46.869 a Benjamite. He was still son of the right hand. 00:42:47.809 --> 00:42:52.269 Sometimes we allow our handicaps or perceived 00:42:52.269 --> 00:42:56.070 inabilities to discourage us from reaching our 00:42:56.070 --> 00:42:59.860 God -given potentials. But we need to deny ourselves, 00:43:00.400 --> 00:43:05.139 deny our flesh, and begin to do what God has 00:43:05.139 --> 00:43:09.440 entrusted us to do. In the eyes of the fat king, 00:43:09.699 --> 00:43:14.880 Ibn Eglon, Ehud had nothing going for him. The 00:43:14.880 --> 00:43:18.579 fat man never saw Ehud as a threat. He said, 00:43:18.599 --> 00:43:21.219 what that little kid, he's not going to do nothing. 00:43:21.280 --> 00:43:25.610 He's got a withered right hand. Just as your 00:43:25.610 --> 00:43:29.610 flesh will tell you, you cannot do this. You're 00:43:29.610 --> 00:43:31.829 not going to get anywhere when you begin to praise. 00:43:32.150 --> 00:43:34.329 You're not going to get anywhere when you begin 00:43:34.329 --> 00:43:37.469 to give your time, your energy, your gifts, your 00:43:37.469 --> 00:43:42.389 resources. But it's time to prove the flesh wrong. 00:43:43.630 --> 00:43:49.210 And Ehud had a praise that wouldn't quit. I wonder 00:43:49.210 --> 00:43:51.429 if somebody here today has got a praise that 00:43:51.429 --> 00:43:55.840 won't quit. I wonder if you can say to your situation 00:43:55.840 --> 00:43:59.619 today, oh, you maybe tripped me a little bit. 00:43:59.840 --> 00:44:03.619 You maybe got in my way. You got it over me this 00:44:03.619 --> 00:44:06.159 one time. But I'm going to tell you something. 00:44:06.440 --> 00:44:10.119 I got a praise inside of me. And I'm going to 00:44:10.119 --> 00:44:13.639 begin to forge a dagger inside of my spirit. 00:44:14.280 --> 00:44:18.900 And I'm going to bring my flesh into subjection. 00:44:21.679 --> 00:44:27.409 Let go. God be true, and every man a liar, including 00:44:27.409 --> 00:44:34.849 our flesh. And Eglon was in his summer parlor 00:44:34.849 --> 00:44:39.530 waiting for a year's tribute from the tribe of 00:44:39.530 --> 00:44:42.449 Benjamin. Oh, I wonder what they're going to 00:44:42.449 --> 00:44:46.170 bring me this time. He was just sitting in his 00:44:46.170 --> 00:44:51.440 parlor with people fanning him. He had a king's 00:44:51.440 --> 00:44:55.199 table set up. I wonder what the Benjamites are 00:44:55.199 --> 00:44:59.619 going to bring me today. The fat king demanded 00:44:59.619 --> 00:45:04.159 the first fruits. First fruits is your tithe. 00:45:04.260 --> 00:45:09.099 Hello. If anybody demands it, it's your flesh. 00:45:09.380 --> 00:45:12.860 But your spirit is saying different. You got 00:45:12.860 --> 00:45:15.500 to listen to the spirit. First fruits belong 00:45:15.500 --> 00:45:18.920 to God, not to the flesh. The flesh tells you 00:45:18.920 --> 00:45:21.880 to withhold from God, but don't listen to the 00:45:21.880 --> 00:45:26.320 flesh. You give to God what belongs to God, and 00:45:26.320 --> 00:45:30.480 don't let your flesh rob God. Somebody say, don't 00:45:30.480 --> 00:45:36.219 rob God. Amen. We don't give to man. We give 00:45:36.219 --> 00:45:40.420 to God. Robbers will not enter into eternal life. 00:45:40.500 --> 00:45:44.780 That's another Bible study. You give your tithe 00:45:44.780 --> 00:45:49.230 where you're spiritually covered. And that's 00:45:49.230 --> 00:45:53.590 Bible. You give your tithe. You give your time. 00:45:53.909 --> 00:45:57.150 You give your resources. The gifts you have, 00:45:57.369 --> 00:46:02.070 you give them to God. Serve God. I'm just going 00:46:02.070 --> 00:46:04.630 to jump. I know my time is up. It's only 2 .15. 00:46:04.750 --> 00:46:09.849 Don't worry. Liars are going to hell too. Okay. 00:46:11.269 --> 00:46:14.590 I'll be careful there. Judges 3 .18. I'm about 00:46:14.590 --> 00:46:17.500 to close. The musician can come up. Just so it 00:46:17.500 --> 00:46:23.780 looks real. Call the musician over here. Amen. 00:46:23.840 --> 00:46:25.940 Let's go to Judges 3 .18. There it is. Let's 00:46:25.940 --> 00:46:28.440 read it here. It says, and when he had finished 00:46:28.440 --> 00:46:32.079 presenting the tribute, he sent away the people. 00:46:32.400 --> 00:46:35.920 We're talking about Ehud here. He went to the 00:46:35.920 --> 00:46:39.940 fat king, the Moabite, and he had to give him 00:46:39.940 --> 00:46:42.059 his yearly tribute. And he took it. No problem. 00:46:42.239 --> 00:46:46.789 He took it. Took the tribute. But then when he 00:46:46.789 --> 00:46:49.050 had given the tribute and they were spreading 00:46:49.050 --> 00:46:53.909 it out on the king's table, he asked for the 00:46:53.909 --> 00:46:56.670 people to be sent away who had carried the tribute. 00:46:56.909 --> 00:46:59.429 They sent them away, his helpers and all of that. 00:47:00.250 --> 00:47:03.010 Verse 19, but he himself turned back from the 00:47:03.010 --> 00:47:07.190 stone images that were at Gilgal and said, I 00:47:07.190 --> 00:47:12.869 have a secret message for you, O king. He said, 00:47:12.989 --> 00:47:17.590 keep silence. And all who attended him went out 00:47:17.590 --> 00:47:21.110 of the room. So everybody left Ehud and King 00:47:21.110 --> 00:47:27.050 Eglon by themselves. So Ehud came to him. Now 00:47:27.050 --> 00:47:30.849 he was sitting upstairs in his cool private chamber. 00:47:31.070 --> 00:47:34.849 We're talking about King Eglon, you know. He 00:47:34.849 --> 00:47:37.750 was up in his chamber and he's saying, you know, 00:47:37.769 --> 00:47:40.750 boy, I'm going to feast today. I saw some of 00:47:40.750 --> 00:47:44.070 those good things they brought. Then Ehud said, 00:47:44.730 --> 00:47:51.570 I have a message from God for you. So he arose 00:47:51.570 --> 00:47:56.329 from his seat, talking about Eglon. He got up. 00:47:57.110 --> 00:48:03.750 Then Ehud reached with his left hand and took 00:48:03.750 --> 00:48:10.570 the dagger from his right thigh. Now look, I'm 00:48:10.570 --> 00:48:14.500 not a gunslinger. But I know that if I'm going 00:48:14.500 --> 00:48:17.820 to pull something out quick, I'm going to put 00:48:17.820 --> 00:48:21.219 it close to my hand right here where I can draw 00:48:21.219 --> 00:48:24.500 the gun or whatever, you know. But he put it, 00:48:24.539 --> 00:48:28.960 okay, he's got a withering hand. And he's left 00:48:28.960 --> 00:48:31.699 -handed, you know, best he could. But he put 00:48:31.699 --> 00:48:37.599 the dagger over here. You know why? He could 00:48:37.599 --> 00:48:44.000 throw off the king. What's he going to do? They 00:48:44.000 --> 00:48:47.420 didn't have one of those, you know, security 00:48:47.420 --> 00:48:50.960 checks like they do at airports nowadays. He 00:48:50.960 --> 00:48:54.519 got in, and he had a knife over here, dagger. 00:48:55.239 --> 00:48:57.840 It was a small little dagger, just a little guy. 00:48:58.730 --> 00:49:01.869 It's a dagger. It wasn't a big sword like Goliath's 00:49:01.869 --> 00:49:03.690 sword. No, man. It was a little dagger, man. 00:49:03.929 --> 00:49:06.269 And you can study that. There's different kinds 00:49:06.269 --> 00:49:08.750 and so forth. It's interesting. But he had it 00:49:08.750 --> 00:49:11.730 strapped over here on his right side, yet he 00:49:11.730 --> 00:49:15.929 had his left hand free. He said, I have a message 00:49:15.929 --> 00:49:19.369 from God for you. So he arose from his seat. 00:49:19.750 --> 00:49:23.849 Then Ehud reached with his left hand, took the 00:49:23.849 --> 00:49:28.380 dagger from his right thigh. and then he thrust 00:49:28.380 --> 00:49:34.059 it into the belly of the giant. Check it out. 00:49:35.480 --> 00:49:41.639 Even the hilt, meaning the handle, went in after 00:49:41.639 --> 00:49:46.159 the blade, and the fat closed over the blade, 00:49:46.300 --> 00:49:50.719 for he did not draw it out. He left it in there. 00:49:51.360 --> 00:49:55.239 in his belly, and his insoles came out. I know 00:49:55.239 --> 00:49:59.960 that's gross, but it's in your Bible. And immediately, 00:50:00.059 --> 00:50:09.280 the fat man fell over to his death. No one expected 00:50:09.280 --> 00:50:16.860 this left -handed, crippled Benjamite to be any 00:50:16.860 --> 00:50:22.789 threat to the king. Put up my last slide. God 00:50:22.789 --> 00:50:33.590 still uses what's left. A left -handed man, he 00:50:33.590 --> 00:50:37.210 uses what's left. He don't need a whole lot. 00:50:38.469 --> 00:50:44.510 He'll use what you got. And he'll defeat the 00:50:44.510 --> 00:50:51.159 flesh. He'll defeat the flesh. God has a way 00:50:51.159 --> 00:50:57.659 of using weak things to confound the wise. Does 00:50:57.659 --> 00:51:04.239 anybody have a word for the fat man today? Stand 00:51:04.239 --> 00:51:06.239 with me. We're going to read this last script 00:51:06.239 --> 00:51:14.380 which says, And those who are Christ's have crucified 00:51:14.380 --> 00:51:21.269 the flesh with its passions and desires. If we 00:51:21.269 --> 00:51:28.070 live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. 00:51:29.630 --> 00:51:39.070 Let us crucify the fat man. I know this is not 00:51:39.070 --> 00:51:43.289 your aisle -running, chandelier -swinging message, 00:51:43.409 --> 00:51:47.429 but I believe this is of the Lord and this is... 00:51:47.949 --> 00:51:53.030 What the Lord told me to bring today, I had myself 00:51:53.030 --> 00:51:58.570 in mind because I needed to hear this. I want 00:51:58.570 --> 00:52:04.730 to bring my flesh into subjection. I want this 00:52:04.730 --> 00:52:10.489 flesh to know that it's not in charge. You can 00:52:10.489 --> 00:52:15.969 give your flesh a wonderful time. Yes, no problem. 00:52:16.550 --> 00:52:24.869 Rest. Good dinner. Good night's sleep. But don't 00:52:24.869 --> 00:52:29.710 do it at the expense of your spirit. Let your 00:52:29.710 --> 00:52:34.429 spirit be in charge. Let your spirit be in control. 00:52:36.110 --> 00:52:39.989 Let your spirit decide what's going to happen 00:52:39.989 --> 00:52:45.130 and what's not going to happen. I have been in 00:52:45.130 --> 00:52:51.440 many times in my life. Where my flesh is heavy. 00:52:52.820 --> 00:53:00.000 Heavy. It's a burden. It doesn't want to move. 00:53:01.159 --> 00:53:04.619 But my spirit in me is telling me different. 00:53:06.219 --> 00:53:12.000 My spirit is telling me, let's do it. Let's give 00:53:12.000 --> 00:53:20.079 it. Let's do this. And my flesh says, I can't. 00:53:20.079 --> 00:53:24.480 I don't know how. Who am I? I ran from the Lord. 00:53:24.579 --> 00:53:31.320 I ran from ministry. I ran. But the Lord caught 00:53:31.320 --> 00:53:43.579 up with me. Thank God he did because I love being 00:53:43.579 --> 00:53:52.199 in the will of God. I appreciate my wife and 00:53:52.199 --> 00:53:57.800 the ministry that we've had and still have. When 00:53:57.800 --> 00:54:00.539 the Lord showed me in a dream that I was going 00:54:00.539 --> 00:54:02.559 to be pastoring somewhere, and I didn't know 00:54:02.559 --> 00:54:04.099 where, but I just knew that it was not going 00:54:04.099 --> 00:54:07.980 to be anywhere close by, I got up that morning 00:54:07.980 --> 00:54:12.280 very troubled, very troubled, because I knew 00:54:12.280 --> 00:54:18.690 it was of God. And I... waited for my wife to 00:54:18.690 --> 00:54:20.909 get her a cup of coffee and I got mine and we 00:54:20.909 --> 00:54:24.210 sat in the living room looking out the window 00:54:24.210 --> 00:54:29.130 and just, then I felt I needed to ask her this. 00:54:30.349 --> 00:54:39.190 It says, if the Lord called us to pastor somewhere, 00:54:39.550 --> 00:54:43.989 would you go with me? Would you follow that? 00:54:45.769 --> 00:54:51.690 And she says, well, how far? And I says, well, 00:54:51.849 --> 00:54:57.730 I don't know. I don't know right now. She says, 00:54:57.789 --> 00:55:03.829 it's okay. I'm committed to follow you wherever 00:55:03.829 --> 00:55:10.929 the Lord takes you. She says, the only thing 00:55:10.929 --> 00:55:15.670 that I ask, don't sell my home. And says, I won't 00:55:15.670 --> 00:55:19.889 ever sell your home. And she says, I'm willing 00:55:19.889 --> 00:55:25.429 to go. I'll be right with you. And I greatly 00:55:25.429 --> 00:55:27.670 appreciate that coming from my wife because, 00:55:27.809 --> 00:55:31.969 you know, that's important. That's important. 00:55:34.210 --> 00:55:39.510 We had to deny ourselves. We denied ourselves. 00:55:39.730 --> 00:55:45.099 We sacrificed. But we knew we were in the will 00:55:45.099 --> 00:55:48.119 of God. We knew it. And this has happened to 00:55:48.119 --> 00:55:53.179 us several times. Great tasks, great assignments, 00:55:53.480 --> 00:55:58.880 important assignments. Took years from our lives, 00:55:58.940 --> 00:56:06.420 but we were willing to serve. And we still are. 00:56:08.380 --> 00:56:13.019 When you can overcome your flesh, God's going 00:56:13.019 --> 00:56:16.440 to take you to places that you never could even 00:56:16.440 --> 00:56:22.179 imagine in your mind. You will have experiences 00:56:22.179 --> 00:56:27.679 that you would not have had otherwise. God is 00:56:27.679 --> 00:56:36.139 good to you, good to me. But it's how we bring 00:56:36.139 --> 00:56:39.699 our flesh into subjection and do what the Holy 00:56:39.699 --> 00:56:47.679 Ghost tells us to do. And you will be the most 00:56:47.679 --> 00:56:58.320 content, happy person, joyful in the Lord. You 00:56:58.320 --> 00:57:01.980 don't have to wrestle what's already been defeated. 00:57:03.800 --> 00:57:06.340 Somebody says, well, the flesh. Well, it's because 00:57:06.340 --> 00:57:10.610 you haven't defeated the flesh. You keep the 00:57:10.610 --> 00:57:14.710 flesh alive. That's why you're having so much 00:57:14.710 --> 00:57:18.090 trouble. And I know it's always going to be with 00:57:18.090 --> 00:57:23.110 us. Seems like every day I tell my wife, this 00:57:23.110 --> 00:57:24.690 hurts. And they should tell her, this is hurting 00:57:24.690 --> 00:57:26.750 me now. This didn't hurt me before. Oh, now it's 00:57:26.750 --> 00:57:29.929 gone, but this hurts. I said, wow, that's our 00:57:29.929 --> 00:57:35.050 bodies. But you know what? Our spirit has never 00:57:35.050 --> 00:57:41.500 said we hurt. Our spirit is always, wow, let's 00:57:41.500 --> 00:57:48.219 do this. We can do this. I want to open up this 00:57:48.219 --> 00:57:55.199 altar. And I'm not, I wasn't planning to do it, 00:57:55.219 --> 00:57:57.239 but I'm just going to do it. I want to be led 00:57:57.239 --> 00:58:03.619 of the spirit. And I want for someone to come 00:58:03.619 --> 00:58:08.940 here that is ready. Either to continue like you 00:58:08.940 --> 00:58:13.119 have been, defeating the flesh. Or maybe you 00:58:13.119 --> 00:58:15.980 have a great challenge and you want God to just 00:58:15.980 --> 00:58:21.159 push you through it. To get the victory in the 00:58:21.159 --> 00:58:24.920 spirit. I'm going to invite, the altar is open. 00:58:24.960 --> 00:58:31.260 Please, somebody come. Hallelujah. I feel a need 00:58:31.260 --> 00:58:34.659 to pray for someone here today. If you come. 00:58:44.679 --> 00:58:50.539 Know that God is able. God wants to do something 00:58:50.539 --> 00:58:57.079 for somebody here today. We want to pray for 00:58:57.079 --> 00:59:04.119 God to give you the victory. If you got a notice, 00:59:04.280 --> 00:59:08.559 Brother David, from employment, I'm going to 00:59:08.559 --> 00:59:12.260 tell you something. The devil is a liar. God's 00:59:12.260 --> 00:59:14.860 going to give you the victory. Doesn't matter 00:59:14.860 --> 00:59:19.340 what it is. It can be economical, a relationship, 00:59:19.679 --> 00:59:30.239 health, financial, whatever. God can give you 00:59:30.239 --> 00:59:34.260 a breakthrough today. God can give you a breakthrough 00:59:34.260 --> 00:59:37.960 today. We want to pray together here. I'm including 00:59:37.960 --> 00:59:40.500 myself in this because I need a breakthrough. 00:59:40.639 --> 00:59:44.469 I'm telling you. I got a mountain on my shoulders 00:59:44.469 --> 00:59:50.849 right now. And I need God to help me. I need 00:59:50.849 --> 00:59:54.730 God to help me through this. I need God's strength. 00:59:56.170 --> 01:00:02.090 I need God's strength. I need him to guide me, 01:00:02.150 --> 01:00:07.610 order my steps every day that I can get through 01:00:07.610 --> 01:00:17.019 this. I can make it. As a person in my assignment, 01:00:17.059 --> 01:00:23.019 in our organization, I'm troubled. We're troubled. 01:00:23.860 --> 01:00:29.579 We need God's help. We need God's help. The devil 01:00:29.579 --> 01:00:35.199 is a liar. The devil is a liar. Trying to destroy 01:00:35.199 --> 01:00:40.719 God's work. But we got the victory. He said, 01:00:40.739 --> 01:00:45.780 we've got the victory. See, I don't just carry 01:00:45.780 --> 01:00:49.699 my things. I carry corporate things upon my life. 01:00:50.480 --> 01:00:52.400 Things that have to do with our corporation. 01:00:54.500 --> 01:00:56.579 I know I'm not supposed to make them personal, 01:00:56.739 --> 01:01:03.559 but they get heavy. They get heavy, man. I need 01:01:03.559 --> 01:01:07.760 God's help right now. My spirit is wrestling 01:01:07.760 --> 01:01:10.380 against me saying, no, no, no. And I'm saying, 01:01:10.480 --> 01:01:14.199 yes, yes, yes. We're going to do this for God. 01:01:17.639 --> 01:01:20.860 Let's lift up our hands to where you are. Lift 01:01:20.860 --> 01:01:26.860 up your hands. Nothing is impossible for God. 01:01:26.920 --> 01:01:32.059 Nothing. I can do all things through Christ that 01:01:32.059 --> 01:01:39.360 strengthens me. I can do all things. Nothing 01:01:39.360 --> 01:01:49.739 will be withheld from you. Nothing. There's greatness 01:01:49.739 --> 01:01:55.840 awaiting you. Greatness awaiting us. But the 01:01:55.840 --> 01:01:58.599 flesh sometimes gets in the way. What is it? 01:01:58.940 --> 01:02:04.639 Doubt. Doubt comes from the flesh. Doubt's telling 01:02:04.639 --> 01:02:07.099 you, no, no, don't worry about it. It's going 01:02:07.099 --> 01:02:10.440 to be all right. No, no, no, you're a liar. Get 01:02:10.440 --> 01:02:14.969 that behind me. Get down behind me. Let God be 01:02:14.969 --> 01:02:17.230 true. Let's work through this in the spirit. 01:02:18.329 --> 01:02:21.889 Let's get the victory once and for all. No, I'm 01:02:21.889 --> 01:02:25.710 going to hang on to my flesh. Well, okay. That's 01:02:25.710 --> 01:02:29.909 a decision we make sometimes. But let's not make 01:02:29.909 --> 01:02:36.730 that one today. Let's surrender. Let's subject 01:02:36.730 --> 01:02:41.039 our flesh and say, to God be the glory. There's 01:02:41.039 --> 01:02:44.340 great things ahead. The only way we're going 01:02:44.340 --> 01:02:47.119 to accomplish this is if we feed the Spirit. 01:02:48.139 --> 01:02:52.420 Feed the Spirit. Feed your Spirit through prayer. 01:02:52.739 --> 01:02:56.400 Feed your Spirit through the Word. Feed your 01:02:56.400 --> 01:03:01.059 Spirit through obedience. Feed your Spirit so 01:03:01.059 --> 01:03:05.360 your Spirit will become strong and overcome. 01:03:06.380 --> 01:03:11.199 Father, in the name of Jesus. I come before you, 01:03:11.239 --> 01:03:15.599 Lord, all my brothers and sisters in this entire 01:03:15.599 --> 01:03:20.440 sanctuary. Everybody knows, Lord, and you know 01:03:20.440 --> 01:03:25.059 everybody's heart. We're praying right now, Lord, 01:03:25.119 --> 01:03:32.679 together, united, for victory for somebody. Somebody 01:03:32.679 --> 01:03:36.219 needs a breakthrough, Lord. You know the heart. 01:03:37.360 --> 01:03:41.239 You know the desires of the hearts. You know 01:03:41.239 --> 01:03:45.239 the troubles that we're in. You know, Lord, the 01:03:45.239 --> 01:03:50.239 way we think. You know, God, hallelujah, that 01:03:50.239 --> 01:03:54.699 we need help here or there. Lord, we're feeding 01:03:54.699 --> 01:03:57.340 the Spirit right now. We want to have a victory. 01:03:58.559 --> 01:04:03.059 We want to get through this. In the name of Jesus, 01:04:03.440 --> 01:04:05.559 to God be the glory.