WEBVTT 00:00:09.559 --> 00:00:12.660 We are so glad you're here. Whether you're listening 00:00:12.660 --> 00:00:15.439 on your morning commute. at the gym, or relaxing 00:00:15.439 --> 00:00:18.079 with a cup of coffee. Thanks for spending part 00:00:18.079 --> 00:00:20.960 of your day with us. If today's message encourages 00:00:20.960 --> 00:00:23.559 you and you'd like to get connected with everything 00:00:23.559 --> 00:00:26.539 happening at Hub City Vineyard, head over to 00:00:26.539 --> 00:00:30.699 htv .church slash connect. We'd love to meet 00:00:30.699 --> 00:00:33.439 you and help you find your place here. Want to 00:00:33.439 --> 00:00:35.840 know what's coming up? discover ways to serve, 00:00:36.000 --> 00:00:38.939 or stay in the loop on upcoming events, check 00:00:38.939 --> 00:00:43.179 out hcv .church slash what's up for everything 00:00:43.179 --> 00:00:47.020 happening around HCV. Now turn it up, lean in, 00:00:47.140 --> 00:00:49.200 and get ready for what God has for you today. 00:00:49.280 --> 00:00:52.280 We hope this message encourages you, challenges 00:00:52.280 --> 00:00:54.619 you, and reminds you that you are deeply loved. 00:00:54.880 --> 00:01:04.000 Now, let's hear the message. Well, this is awkward. 00:01:06.019 --> 00:01:10.120 Hey, everyone. How are you? I'm Stephen. I'm 00:01:10.120 --> 00:01:14.480 the youth pastor here. This is Nevaeh. If I die, 00:01:14.560 --> 00:01:20.920 she'll take over. Hopefully. Okay, good. Now, 00:01:20.959 --> 00:01:23.359 I'm going to shut up. She's going to pray. Because 00:01:23.359 --> 00:01:28.620 better a strong, independent woman pray us in. 00:01:28.879 --> 00:01:31.700 Because behind every strong man is an even stronger 00:01:31.700 --> 00:01:34.760 woman. Am I right? So she's going to pray for 00:01:34.760 --> 00:01:37.120 us, and we're going to lock in, and we're going 00:01:37.120 --> 00:01:38.819 to see what the Lord has for us. Sound good? 00:01:39.700 --> 00:01:45.079 Okay. Holy Spirit, come. Thank you for this Sunday 00:01:45.079 --> 00:01:47.939 and everybody that was able to make it. We pray 00:01:47.939 --> 00:01:50.840 for Stephen as he gives the message. Lord, just 00:01:50.840 --> 00:01:56.019 speak through him to... like for everyone to 00:01:56.019 --> 00:01:59.299 receive it and open our hearts so we can listen 00:01:59.299 --> 00:02:01.659 and receive what he has to say this morning. 00:02:01.780 --> 00:02:07.180 In the name of Jesus, we pray. Amen. Amen. Thank 00:02:07.180 --> 00:02:10.000 you, Nevaeh. Thank you, Nevaeh. How is everybody 00:02:10.000 --> 00:02:15.039 doing? Hot seat. Hot seat part two. This is the 00:02:15.039 --> 00:02:22.030 hot seat. It's autumn colored. This series is 00:02:22.030 --> 00:02:24.110 based off of the hot seat. The person in the 00:02:24.110 --> 00:02:27.229 hot seat has to answer a question that somebody 00:02:27.229 --> 00:02:30.430 from our community of faith had given. About 00:02:30.430 --> 00:02:32.409 a month ago, we sent out a piece of paper and 00:02:32.409 --> 00:02:35.750 we said, hey, if God was right in front of you, 00:02:35.789 --> 00:02:40.750 standing right there, what would you ask him? 00:02:42.569 --> 00:02:48.610 What would you ask God? Would you ask him if 00:02:48.610 --> 00:02:51.650 your loved ones are in heaven? Would you ask 00:02:51.650 --> 00:02:55.050 them if your dog's in heaven? Would you ask them 00:02:55.050 --> 00:02:59.629 if you're doing enough? Would you ask them if 00:02:59.629 --> 00:03:04.430 this person is the one I should marry? What are 00:03:04.430 --> 00:03:07.750 you asking them? And then each of our pastor 00:03:07.750 --> 00:03:10.930 team this month is going to be assigned one of 00:03:10.930 --> 00:03:12.189 those questions and we're going to answer it. 00:03:12.830 --> 00:03:17.110 I was delighted when I got my question. A lot 00:03:17.110 --> 00:03:19.750 of people don't know this, but before I was the... 00:03:20.929 --> 00:03:26.610 handsome youth pastor that I am today. I was 00:03:26.610 --> 00:03:30.710 a special education teacher for a local middle 00:03:30.710 --> 00:03:33.229 school. I taught Summit, if you don't know what 00:03:33.229 --> 00:03:36.550 that is. It's kids who think emotional differences. 00:03:37.990 --> 00:03:43.050 A lot of chairs thrown in my classroom. And my 00:03:43.050 --> 00:03:45.909 degree is in special education K through 12. 00:03:47.389 --> 00:03:51.150 So I was... whenever the question that was given 00:03:51.150 --> 00:03:56.229 to me was, how does God view my disability? How 00:03:56.229 --> 00:04:00.250 does God view my disability? I'll be honest, 00:04:00.310 --> 00:04:02.530 when I first got this question, I was like, bro, 00:04:02.590 --> 00:04:06.710 that's such an easy question. God views your 00:04:06.710 --> 00:04:10.430 disability the same way he views my sin. He looks 00:04:10.430 --> 00:04:12.949 past it and he sees you for you and he says you're 00:04:12.949 --> 00:04:19.220 a child of God and you're loved. Well, have a 00:04:19.220 --> 00:04:22.740 good weekend, everyone. I think that's good enough. 00:04:24.639 --> 00:04:26.399 But no, I think what I really wanted to talk 00:04:26.399 --> 00:04:28.319 about wasn't the question, because I think I 00:04:28.319 --> 00:04:31.199 just answered it. The answer, spoiler alert, 00:04:31.199 --> 00:04:33.860 is God views your disability as something you 00:04:33.860 --> 00:04:37.680 have, not something you are. That's the answer. 00:04:38.959 --> 00:04:41.540 But we're asking the question now. I have a counter 00:04:41.540 --> 00:04:48.389 question. You had one question, my friend. One 00:04:48.389 --> 00:04:53.930 question. And you asked about your disability. 00:04:55.529 --> 00:05:00.069 You had one question. Finances. How do I get 00:05:00.069 --> 00:05:06.610 a Lamborghini? How do I forgive my mom? How do 00:05:06.610 --> 00:05:09.069 I stop watching this or stop drinking this or 00:05:09.069 --> 00:05:11.290 stop doing this? How do I know I'm going to get 00:05:11.290 --> 00:05:15.550 into heaven? God, are you even real, bro? And 00:05:15.550 --> 00:05:17.509 you're asking about your disability. And see, 00:05:17.550 --> 00:05:19.509 I would say that's how culture taught us to view 00:05:19.509 --> 00:05:22.870 you. You see, 100 years ago, we were ashamed 00:05:22.870 --> 00:05:25.589 of people with disabilities. Put them on an island. 00:05:26.410 --> 00:05:30.910 Hide them away in a facility, bro. They're cursed 00:05:30.910 --> 00:05:35.870 by God. And our culture nowadays does a much 00:05:35.870 --> 00:05:38.449 better job at supporting people with disabilities, 00:05:38.670 --> 00:05:40.850 but we've been so focused on the disability, 00:05:41.069 --> 00:05:45.750 we don't see the person. You see, I have jumper 00:05:45.750 --> 00:05:49.310 cables in my car. I carry them around on me in 00:05:49.310 --> 00:05:51.470 case somebody need them. But people don't refer 00:05:51.470 --> 00:05:55.529 to me as the jumper cable guy. It's just something 00:05:55.529 --> 00:05:59.350 I got on me. The disability is just something 00:05:59.350 --> 00:06:02.649 you got on you. It ain't Bob in the wheelchair. 00:06:03.850 --> 00:06:06.490 That's what people refer to you. Oh, it's Bob. 00:06:06.569 --> 00:06:10.589 It's Bob in the wheelchair. I'll never forget. 00:06:10.649 --> 00:06:12.810 We did this like... sensitivity training and 00:06:12.810 --> 00:06:14.189 happy just rolled your eyes when i said this 00:06:14.189 --> 00:06:17.129 but we did this sensitivity training at school 00:06:17.129 --> 00:06:19.050 when they threw up this picture and it was a 00:06:19.050 --> 00:06:21.769 young black man in in a wheelchair holding a 00:06:21.769 --> 00:06:24.290 diploma and he just graduated from hcc and the 00:06:24.290 --> 00:06:27.529 school was like behind him because you know where 00:06:27.529 --> 00:06:30.490 you graduate you you uh go to like the gym area 00:06:30.490 --> 00:06:34.329 you know and then but anyways they flipped the 00:06:34.329 --> 00:06:36.670 picture and they had a show for about three seconds 00:06:36.670 --> 00:06:38.829 one mistake two minutes three minutes and then 00:06:38.829 --> 00:06:41.180 turn it off And then we're supposed to discuss 00:06:41.180 --> 00:06:43.199 in groups. Describe the picture to someone in 00:06:43.199 --> 00:06:45.379 simple terms. Most people said, hey, that's the 00:06:45.379 --> 00:06:50.480 kid in the wheelchair. They showed a picture 00:06:50.480 --> 00:06:54.620 of another young black man at front of HCC holding 00:06:54.620 --> 00:06:57.100 the same diploma. Showed up the picture. They 00:06:57.100 --> 00:06:58.699 said, describe the picture. Oh, that's the kid 00:06:58.699 --> 00:07:02.720 that graduated from HCC. See, culture has taught 00:07:02.720 --> 00:07:06.980 us to view the disability. and has taught us 00:07:06.980 --> 00:07:09.040 that our sole interaction with that person is 00:07:09.040 --> 00:07:13.120 to accommodate. We look at the disability, we 00:07:13.120 --> 00:07:15.980 spot out the disability, but we don't go past 00:07:15.980 --> 00:07:22.620 the disability. Our love for people is based 00:07:22.620 --> 00:07:26.660 on the disability, not of the person that they 00:07:26.660 --> 00:07:34.509 are. Would you agree with me? I mean... We have 00:07:34.509 --> 00:07:40.930 groups for disabled people. Where's the groups 00:07:40.930 --> 00:07:43.810 that just have normal people? We're all normal. 00:07:44.129 --> 00:07:48.550 See, I'd say we're all disabled. Won't that preach? 00:07:49.370 --> 00:07:53.589 We're all disabled. Here, the Cambridge Dictionary 00:07:53.589 --> 00:07:57.310 definition of disabled is having an illness, 00:07:57.470 --> 00:07:59.790 injury, or condition that makes it difficult 00:07:59.790 --> 00:08:02.899 to do some things that other people do. Some 00:08:02.899 --> 00:08:07.639 people know when to stop after two drinks. Some 00:08:07.639 --> 00:08:10.279 people know how to go a week without watching 00:08:10.279 --> 00:08:16.339 that thing. Some people know how to self -regulate 00:08:16.339 --> 00:08:22.259 without smoking. Some people fill in the blank. 00:08:22.660 --> 00:08:26.079 We're all different in some ways. So if you thought 00:08:26.079 --> 00:08:27.660 you got a free pass on this message, you're beat. 00:08:29.620 --> 00:08:33.620 Because we're all a little disabled. We all have 00:08:33.620 --> 00:08:35.860 abilities and disabilities. We all have things 00:08:35.860 --> 00:08:38.399 we struggle with, whether it's a disabled or 00:08:38.399 --> 00:08:41.519 a disorder. We're all struggling, man. Am I right? 00:08:44.820 --> 00:08:48.139 But is your identity the disability? Is your 00:08:48.139 --> 00:08:50.519 identity in the disorder? You introduce yourself, 00:08:50.600 --> 00:08:55.639 hey, what's up? I'm bipolar depressed. Thanks 00:08:55.639 --> 00:08:58.899 for the warning, yo. Do you introduce yourself 00:08:58.899 --> 00:09:05.519 as the autistic guy? What do you introduce yourself 00:09:05.519 --> 00:09:08.360 as? What is your identity? When you look in the 00:09:08.360 --> 00:09:12.980 mirror, do you see your disability? Or do you 00:09:12.980 --> 00:09:17.399 see a person? See, if you go throughout the Bible, 00:09:17.580 --> 00:09:21.559 there's very hints and whispers at how God views 00:09:21.559 --> 00:09:24.600 people with disabilities. And I want to go into 00:09:24.600 --> 00:09:26.759 one of my favorite stories from the Bible, and 00:09:26.759 --> 00:09:30.139 I really want to pick it apart and show you how 00:09:30.139 --> 00:09:33.919 God... views individuals with disabilities and 00:09:33.919 --> 00:09:37.100 how God challenges individuals to view themselves. 00:09:37.899 --> 00:09:41.600 Make sense? So in the forefront of your mind, 00:09:41.679 --> 00:09:44.039 I want you to start thinking, what is fighting 00:09:44.039 --> 00:09:48.019 for your identity? Whenever you introduce yourself, 00:09:48.159 --> 00:09:50.320 if I said, write a sentence right now saying, 00:09:50.399 --> 00:09:57.879 I am what goes before child of God. That's what 00:09:57.879 --> 00:10:03.059 we're talking about today. Make sense? So I'm 00:10:03.059 --> 00:10:05.940 in Judges 3. If you got a Bible, go to Judges 00:10:05.940 --> 00:10:08.940 3. If not, it'll be on the Sky Bible. I'm going 00:10:08.940 --> 00:10:11.659 to be going crazy back and forth, so shout out 00:10:11.659 --> 00:10:14.120 Miss Katie and the camera team for trying to 00:10:14.120 --> 00:10:17.659 keep up with me. If you're currently watching 00:10:17.659 --> 00:10:23.379 at HHC, what's up? Judges 3. Judges! Guilty, 00:10:23.460 --> 00:10:26.539 not guilty. That's not what we're talking about. 00:10:26.659 --> 00:10:29.580 Judges are military leaders. They're assassins. 00:10:29.659 --> 00:10:34.769 They're the Navy SEALs. And God chose them to 00:10:34.769 --> 00:10:40.169 step up and take over Israel. Because at the 00:10:40.169 --> 00:10:41.970 time, we see the Israelites turned away from 00:10:41.970 --> 00:10:43.690 God. God said, all right, Ben, if that's what 00:10:43.690 --> 00:10:45.629 you want to do, go ahead. I ain't going to punish 00:10:45.629 --> 00:10:47.129 you. I'm just going to let you face your own 00:10:47.129 --> 00:10:49.789 consequences. People come in and enslave the 00:10:49.789 --> 00:10:51.350 Israelites again in their own promised land. 00:10:51.990 --> 00:10:54.929 And then they say, God, I'm sorry. And then God 00:10:54.929 --> 00:10:57.970 gives them a judge to step up and recapture Israel. 00:10:58.639 --> 00:11:00.539 That is the book that we're reading. This is 00:11:00.539 --> 00:11:03.179 happening in the 14th century BCE, also known 00:11:03.179 --> 00:11:05.360 as the Late Bronze Period. If you know what that 00:11:05.360 --> 00:11:07.600 is, you need to touch grass and stop reading 00:11:07.600 --> 00:11:22.440 so much books. Judges 3, verse 12. We know that 00:11:22.440 --> 00:11:24.200 the judge that we're reading about is one of 00:11:24.200 --> 00:11:27.669 the most honorable judges because it is a literary 00:11:27.669 --> 00:11:30.809 design of the book of Judges that there's a small 00:11:30.809 --> 00:11:35.570 downslope of the integrity of each judge, ending 00:11:35.570 --> 00:11:38.610 with the last judge of Samson. You see, starting 00:11:38.610 --> 00:11:41.450 with the first judge, going all the way down, 00:11:41.590 --> 00:11:44.190 we see that their heart and their character and 00:11:44.190 --> 00:11:47.309 their faith is slowly going away from God. We 00:11:47.309 --> 00:11:49.330 see in the later book, there's a judge who sacrifices 00:11:49.330 --> 00:11:53.009 people, saying that it's for God. And God's looking 00:11:53.009 --> 00:11:56.600 at him like, bro, is you stupid? I don't believe 00:11:56.600 --> 00:12:01.960 in child sacrifice like the Moabites do. Anyways, 00:12:02.139 --> 00:12:05.600 I'm going to shut up. Judges 3, verse 12. Again, 00:12:05.639 --> 00:12:07.500 the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord. 00:12:08.320 --> 00:12:10.960 Don't forget, this is God's word. This is 4 ,000 00:12:10.960 --> 00:12:14.899 years old. If I can prove to you God's viewpoint 00:12:14.899 --> 00:12:20.039 on your disability through this, I think you 00:12:20.039 --> 00:12:23.039 have to listen. Because I'm just a guy, bro. 00:12:23.059 --> 00:12:27.210 I'm just a guy. Let's dive in. Again, the Israelites 00:12:27.210 --> 00:12:29.129 did evil in the eyes of the Lord. Because of 00:12:29.129 --> 00:12:33.190 this, the Lord gave Eglon, Eglon, king of Moab, 00:12:33.190 --> 00:12:36.470 power over Israel. They took over. Eglon, in 00:12:36.470 --> 00:12:40.250 the original language, means cow -like. That'll 00:12:40.250 --> 00:12:44.570 make sense later. Put that in your cap. 13, getting 00:12:44.570 --> 00:12:46.509 the Ammonites and the Amalekites to join him. 00:12:47.590 --> 00:12:50.509 He brought the whole gang with him. Eglon came 00:12:50.509 --> 00:12:52.710 and attacked Israel. They took possession of 00:12:52.710 --> 00:12:54.940 the city of Palms. The city of Palms is the city 00:12:54.940 --> 00:12:57.820 of Jericho. This is the city that the Israelites 00:12:57.820 --> 00:13:00.440 just fought for 100 years ago. That the promised 00:13:00.440 --> 00:13:02.960 land of God is now taken over by the Moabites. 00:13:05.659 --> 00:13:09.039 The Israelites were subject to Eglon for 18 years. 00:13:10.240 --> 00:13:13.240 Again, the Israelites cried out to the Lord and 00:13:13.240 --> 00:13:17.600 he gave them a deliverer. Miss Katie, can you 00:13:17.600 --> 00:13:21.519 keep that right there? Whenever I picture a deliverer, 00:13:24.429 --> 00:13:26.649 Picture some terrorist group just took over Chicago. 00:13:28.529 --> 00:13:31.409 Whenever I picture a military leader, whenever 00:13:31.409 --> 00:13:38.029 I picture a judge, a deliverer, I picture someone 00:13:38.029 --> 00:13:41.769 that looks like John Cena. I picture someone 00:13:41.769 --> 00:13:45.549 that got shooting skills like the American sniper. 00:13:47.129 --> 00:13:50.250 I picture someone that could take out a whole 00:13:50.250 --> 00:13:55.570 team and be fine. I'm talking Call of Duty. But 00:13:55.570 --> 00:14:00.149 here's the interaction we get. It's not Ehud, 00:14:00.289 --> 00:14:04.250 the decorated war vet. It's not Ehud, the trained 00:14:04.250 --> 00:14:09.850 soldier. It's not Ehud. It's Ehud, the left -handed 00:14:09.850 --> 00:14:15.610 man. Ehud, the left -handed man. Miss Katie, 00:14:15.690 --> 00:14:19.350 can you show us that? It's Ehud, the left -handed 00:14:19.350 --> 00:14:27.409 man. The son of Gerad. Benjaminite. The Moabites 00:14:27.409 --> 00:14:31.950 were historically Egyptianized, which means that 00:14:31.950 --> 00:14:35.870 the ancient Egyptian culture at the time heavily 00:14:35.870 --> 00:14:38.190 influenced them through trade routes and different 00:14:38.190 --> 00:14:42.710 things. The Egyptians, the ancient Egyptians, 00:14:42.789 --> 00:14:45.570 believed that people that were left -handed were 00:14:45.570 --> 00:14:49.269 cursed by God. If you're left -handed, that'll 00:14:49.269 --> 00:14:52.789 preach. If you've ever used a spiral notebook 00:14:52.789 --> 00:14:55.370 and you're left -handed, It feels like a curse. 00:14:57.009 --> 00:14:59.350 But the ancient Egyptians believed that you're 00:14:59.350 --> 00:15:02.570 cursed by God if you're left -handed. They would 00:15:02.570 --> 00:15:06.870 often depict in their images their subjects and 00:15:06.870 --> 00:15:08.909 their enemies holding things in their left hand 00:15:08.909 --> 00:15:11.789 to show that they were inferior compared to the 00:15:11.789 --> 00:15:17.389 Egyptians. Isn't that crazy? Culturally, the 00:15:17.389 --> 00:15:23.980 ancient culture viewed Ehud as disabled. So any 00:15:23.980 --> 00:15:26.059 feelings that you have about not fitting in a 00:15:26.059 --> 00:15:28.759 community, any ideas that you have about identifying 00:15:28.759 --> 00:15:36.480 yourself as a disability, Ehud feels that. Ehud 00:15:36.480 --> 00:15:39.159 is the first person in the Bible that's referred 00:15:39.159 --> 00:15:44.320 to as left -handed. Isn't that interesting? The 00:15:44.320 --> 00:15:47.179 first person, Ehud, a left -handed man. There's 00:15:47.179 --> 00:15:49.399 three times in Scripture where the Bible explicitly 00:15:49.399 --> 00:15:52.039 says they're left -handed. This is the first 00:15:52.039 --> 00:15:55.970 time. Ehud, a left -handed man, the original 00:15:55.970 --> 00:15:58.169 translation says he was restricted in his right 00:15:58.169 --> 00:16:01.070 hand. So we don't know for sure if he was left 00:16:01.070 --> 00:16:03.190 -handed or if he actually was crippled in his 00:16:03.190 --> 00:16:06.070 right hand. We don't know this. But either way, 00:16:06.090 --> 00:16:10.509 we know he was viewed as disabled. The people 00:16:10.509 --> 00:16:13.250 that took over Israel at the time viewed him 00:16:13.250 --> 00:16:17.649 as cursed by God, as disabled. He would have 00:16:17.649 --> 00:16:20.049 been looked at using his left hand, and they 00:16:20.049 --> 00:16:28.740 would have said, oh. That's Ehud, the left hand. 00:16:28.879 --> 00:16:30.940 And I would argue his own people even thought 00:16:30.940 --> 00:16:33.539 that because the tribe of Benjamin translates 00:16:33.539 --> 00:16:37.759 into the tribe of the right hand. So we have 00:16:37.759 --> 00:16:39.940 Ehud, the left -handed man, who's from the tribe 00:16:39.940 --> 00:16:43.340 of the right hand, meaning the right hand of 00:16:43.340 --> 00:16:46.100 God, which Chris talked about last week. The 00:16:46.100 --> 00:16:48.159 right side of God is the side that has power. 00:16:48.809 --> 00:16:51.789 The side that has favor. The side that has love 00:16:51.789 --> 00:16:58.129 and the ability to change the world. That's the 00:16:58.129 --> 00:17:02.210 tribe he's born in, bro. But he's left -handed. 00:17:08.210 --> 00:17:13.109 Can we agree? However the story of Ehud unfolds, 00:17:13.109 --> 00:17:19.309 we can use it. to change our perspective on our 00:17:19.309 --> 00:17:21.809 own abilities and disabilities. Can we agree 00:17:21.809 --> 00:17:26.170 with that? So we see right here a man growing 00:17:26.170 --> 00:17:33.829 up, 18 years, enslaved by the Moabites. Let's 00:17:33.829 --> 00:17:38.109 keep reading. Judges 3, 15 through 16. So the 00:17:38.109 --> 00:17:41.369 Israelites sent him, sent Ehud, with tribute 00:17:41.369 --> 00:17:45.329 to Eglon. A gift. It was a Trojan horse, if you 00:17:45.329 --> 00:17:49.609 will. Ehud is an assassin. He's an assassin. 00:17:49.930 --> 00:17:52.029 Have you ever played Assassin's Creed? This is 00:17:52.029 --> 00:17:55.630 who we're talking about. The Israelites sent 00:17:55.630 --> 00:17:58.849 Ehud with tribute to Eglon. Now, Ehud had made 00:17:58.849 --> 00:18:01.470 a double -edged sword about a cubit long, which 00:18:01.470 --> 00:18:03.049 he strapped to his right thigh under his clothing. 00:18:03.589 --> 00:18:06.150 See, it doesn't say this here, but notice how 00:18:06.150 --> 00:18:09.390 it says the Israelites sent him. They had a meeting. 00:18:10.890 --> 00:18:15.880 I picture about ten dudes. in some basement somewhere, 00:18:16.180 --> 00:18:21.000 talking about how are we going to kill this king, 00:18:21.160 --> 00:18:26.039 man? You got any plans? They ain't have guns 00:18:26.039 --> 00:18:28.440 or snipers then. How are we going to get into 00:18:28.440 --> 00:18:30.200 Jericho, one of the most heavily guarded and 00:18:30.200 --> 00:18:31.980 defended cities in the history of the world? 00:18:32.019 --> 00:18:36.039 How are we going to get in there? What's the 00:18:36.039 --> 00:18:38.380 plan, guys? And I think here's how the meeting 00:18:38.380 --> 00:18:40.079 went, right? Okay, this is going to be awkward, 00:18:40.160 --> 00:18:43.740 but I'm moving the chair. I think this is how 00:18:43.740 --> 00:18:47.220 the meeting went. I think all the dudes are sitting 00:18:47.220 --> 00:18:50.539 there. They're like, hmm, what are we going to 00:18:50.539 --> 00:18:54.059 do, guys? This king, bro, he's killing us. The 00:18:54.059 --> 00:18:57.200 Moabites are taking our children and sacrificing 00:18:57.200 --> 00:18:59.720 them because they want crops. Can you imagine 00:18:59.720 --> 00:19:03.099 that? Like, we need to get rid of these guys, 00:19:03.180 --> 00:19:05.900 bro. It's going to suck. And then I see there's 00:19:05.900 --> 00:19:07.740 one guy there. He just got to praying. He says, 00:19:07.839 --> 00:19:13.380 Ehud! Ehud, you're left -handed! And I see everybody 00:19:13.380 --> 00:19:17.259 in the room. Look at them. Ehud, you're left 00:19:17.259 --> 00:19:20.839 -handed. This is Layla who's going to pretend 00:19:20.839 --> 00:19:25.299 to be Ehud. So this is Ehud. It is not historically 00:19:25.299 --> 00:19:29.359 known if Ehud wore a zebra print robe. But there 00:19:29.359 --> 00:19:32.380 were zebras in the place where they lived. So 00:19:32.380 --> 00:19:34.539 it is historically accurate. You are welcome 00:19:34.539 --> 00:19:37.460 for that. He's like, no, no, Ehud, Ehud, you're 00:19:37.460 --> 00:19:39.039 left -handed. He's like, oh, thanks, bro, for 00:19:39.039 --> 00:19:41.339 calling out my disability. And he's like, no, 00:19:41.339 --> 00:19:44.119 no, no. And I see Ehud like sit back in his chair 00:19:44.119 --> 00:19:47.019 like, yeah, I'm left -handed. Thank you. Thank 00:19:47.019 --> 00:19:49.039 you for the reminder. I was like, no, no, no, 00:19:49.039 --> 00:19:51.079 no. Ehud, I don't think I understand. You're 00:19:51.079 --> 00:19:54.400 left -handed. The Moabites follow Egyptian philosophy. 00:19:54.880 --> 00:19:56.700 So they believe that left -handed people like 00:19:56.700 --> 00:20:00.420 you are cursed by God. Well, thank you. But no, 00:20:00.500 --> 00:20:04.680 hear me out. In the tradition, we carry our swords 00:20:04.680 --> 00:20:07.359 on the left side. We carry our swords on the 00:20:07.359 --> 00:20:09.880 left side because the average right -handed person. 00:20:10.429 --> 00:20:13.589 pulls the dagger from that side to fight. Because 00:20:13.589 --> 00:20:16.349 you can't pull it from this side. If you do that, 00:20:16.369 --> 00:20:17.869 you're going to stab yourself. Ehud, you're left 00:20:17.869 --> 00:20:21.089 -handed. What if we put the dagger on your right 00:20:21.089 --> 00:20:25.890 side? In your good hand, you can now pull out 00:20:25.890 --> 00:20:36.029 the blade. Ehud. Thank you, Leila. Ehud, I think 00:20:36.029 --> 00:20:42.180 you're the judge. Ehud, you're the only one out 00:20:42.180 --> 00:20:45.460 of us that could possibly do this mission. We 00:20:45.460 --> 00:20:48.819 couldn't sneak in blades, but you're the only 00:20:48.819 --> 00:20:50.279 one that could sneak in the blade because they 00:20:50.279 --> 00:20:57.119 won't check your left thigh. Ehud, I'm sorry 00:20:57.119 --> 00:21:02.000 for always viewing you as less than. I'm sorry, 00:21:02.099 --> 00:21:07.180 but we need your help now. You're the only one. 00:21:08.359 --> 00:21:10.740 that can do this and draw the knife fast enough 00:21:10.740 --> 00:21:18.440 to kill. Thank you, Lou. And that's how it goes. 00:21:19.700 --> 00:21:23.599 They're like, Ehud, you're the only one. Ehud, 00:21:23.619 --> 00:21:27.579 you're not cursed, you're chosen. Ehud, what 00:21:27.579 --> 00:21:31.220 if your disability is unique? What if your disability 00:21:31.220 --> 00:21:33.740 isn't a disability? What if it's for you to do 00:21:33.740 --> 00:21:37.049 something that none of us can do? Maybe you're 00:21:37.049 --> 00:21:39.869 different not because you're cursed. Maybe you're 00:21:39.869 --> 00:21:45.130 different because you're chosen. And I can see 00:21:45.130 --> 00:21:50.009 Ehud, I don't think so. I've been raised to hide 00:21:50.009 --> 00:21:52.470 my left -handedness. I can see Ehud, how many 00:21:52.470 --> 00:21:55.529 nights did he spend putting weights on his left 00:21:55.529 --> 00:21:58.210 hand, trying to teach himself to use the other? 00:21:59.369 --> 00:22:01.970 How many times did he attempt to do things with 00:22:01.970 --> 00:22:03.950 his right hand and teach him so that he wouldn't 00:22:03.950 --> 00:22:07.349 be viewed as less than anymore? How many nights 00:22:07.349 --> 00:22:10.029 have you spent working on your speech patterns 00:22:10.029 --> 00:22:14.049 because you don't want to be embarrassed? How 00:22:14.049 --> 00:22:15.809 many nights have you fallen on the floor because 00:22:15.809 --> 00:22:20.910 your left leg won't work? Ehud's trying to hide 00:22:20.910 --> 00:22:23.750 his disability, and I think one of the old guys, 00:22:23.910 --> 00:22:27.390 the old guys in the meeting were probably a lot 00:22:27.390 --> 00:22:31.829 like Mr. Rick Vance. He was like, Ehud, Ehud, 00:22:31.829 --> 00:22:35.950 Ehud, don't you remember Moses? This was like 00:22:35.950 --> 00:22:37.849 100 years ago. Moses, you know? You know the 00:22:37.849 --> 00:22:40.430 guy with the staff and he said, and the water 00:22:40.430 --> 00:22:43.789 went like that? Moses, Moses, Moses. Moses had 00:22:43.789 --> 00:22:47.569 a speech impediment. Moses had a disability. 00:22:47.670 --> 00:22:52.990 He would have an IEP for this. Moses struggled 00:22:52.990 --> 00:22:55.009 with speaking and God says, you're going to be 00:22:55.009 --> 00:22:56.970 the mouthpiece, the prophet of God. And Moses 00:22:56.970 --> 00:23:02.720 said, I can't do that, God. I can see the guy 00:23:02.720 --> 00:23:04.279 explaining to Ehud. I can see Rick explaining 00:23:04.279 --> 00:23:07.339 to Ehud. Ehud, listen. Listen to what God said 00:23:07.339 --> 00:23:13.880 about it. He said, Moses said to the Lord, pardon 00:23:13.880 --> 00:23:18.180 me. God, I can't do this. I know you're calling 00:23:18.180 --> 00:23:21.380 me to something bigger, but I can't do it. I'm 00:23:21.380 --> 00:23:25.680 slow. And then in verse 11 we see, but the Lord 00:23:25.680 --> 00:23:29.460 said to him, who gave human beings their mouths? 00:23:30.759 --> 00:23:35.700 Who makes them deaf or mute? Who gives them sight 00:23:35.700 --> 00:23:43.279 or makes them blind? Is it not I, the Lord? Ehud, 00:23:43.299 --> 00:23:46.960 you're not left -handed because God made a mistake. 00:23:48.099 --> 00:23:50.359 Ehud, you're not left -handed because something 00:23:50.359 --> 00:23:52.859 happened to you in the womb. Ehud, you're not 00:23:52.859 --> 00:23:56.480 disabled because your genes are messed up. Ehud, 00:23:56.480 --> 00:24:00.740 you're left -handed because God made you that 00:24:00.740 --> 00:24:09.460 way. You see, in Psalm 139, verses 13 through 00:24:09.460 --> 00:24:12.180 14, we see, for you created my inmost being. 00:24:12.299 --> 00:24:14.440 It's King David saying this. You created me. 00:24:15.059 --> 00:24:18.039 God, you knit me together in my mother's womb. 00:24:20.920 --> 00:24:25.119 God, don't make mistakes. He's perfect, bro. 00:24:28.109 --> 00:24:34.589 If he knit you in the womb, hear me out. You're 00:24:34.589 --> 00:24:40.529 not a mistake, but you're a masterpiece. Man, 00:24:40.529 --> 00:24:43.769 sometimes I hate going to museums, man. Everything 00:24:43.769 --> 00:24:46.710 looked the same. Like, oh, look, there's a boat. 00:24:47.730 --> 00:24:51.869 There's another boat. There's another boat. Oh, 00:24:51.890 --> 00:24:55.029 it's George Washington on a boat. Oh, it's a 00:24:55.029 --> 00:24:58.789 boat. Like, nah. That's why I love Vincent Van 00:24:58.789 --> 00:25:02.390 Gogh, man. It's different. It's unique. There's 00:25:02.390 --> 00:25:05.049 something about it that just, it's just different. 00:25:07.910 --> 00:25:09.609 I feel like that's how the kingdom of heaven 00:25:09.609 --> 00:25:13.910 is going to be like. I feel like we ain't going 00:25:13.910 --> 00:25:16.369 to pull up to heaven and everybody look the same 00:25:16.369 --> 00:25:20.269 and everybody walking the same. I think, I think 00:25:20.269 --> 00:25:21.369 we're going to go to heaven and be like, yo, 00:25:21.369 --> 00:25:24.109 look at how beautiful that is. That man can't 00:25:24.109 --> 00:25:27.109 even move his legs, man. What are you? God used 00:25:27.109 --> 00:25:31.150 him in a crazy way. I'll never forget. I was 00:25:31.150 --> 00:25:32.829 doing an internship at Marshall Street School. 00:25:33.289 --> 00:25:34.910 I was doing an internship at Marshall Street 00:25:34.910 --> 00:25:41.829 School. And I had went in there, and in the one 00:25:41.829 --> 00:25:44.109 classroom, there was a young man, and he was 00:25:44.109 --> 00:25:46.710 completely paralyzed from head to toe. Completely. 00:25:47.289 --> 00:25:49.410 The only thing that he could move was his left 00:25:49.410 --> 00:25:52.029 index finger. That's it. Just his left index 00:25:52.029 --> 00:25:55.000 finger. And I remember I was talking with the 00:25:55.000 --> 00:25:56.819 teachers and the nurses and they were walking 00:25:56.819 --> 00:26:00.099 me through how over the years, years, mind you, 00:26:00.140 --> 00:26:02.660 they had taught this young man how to communicate 00:26:02.660 --> 00:26:07.039 with only his left index finger. Move it yes 00:26:07.039 --> 00:26:10.920 for yes, don't move it for no. Isn't that crazy? 00:26:11.740 --> 00:26:15.079 Imagine that being your life, bro. And here I 00:26:15.079 --> 00:26:17.900 am, a grown man in the school bathroom crying 00:26:17.900 --> 00:26:21.819 like a little girl. Because God hit me in the 00:26:21.819 --> 00:26:23.359 moment. He said, Stephen, you complain about 00:26:23.359 --> 00:26:27.279 walking up steps, bro. This kid wishes he could 00:26:27.279 --> 00:26:31.559 walk up steps. Stephen, you get frustrated at 00:26:31.559 --> 00:26:35.519 your wife when you try to mansplain things. And 00:26:35.519 --> 00:26:39.220 she's just not getting it, bro. But this kid 00:26:39.220 --> 00:26:42.740 wishes he could have conversations, man. And 00:26:42.740 --> 00:26:46.059 that hit me. Like, I know it's cheesy, but he 00:26:46.059 --> 00:26:47.920 was the one teaching me. I wasn't teaching him. 00:26:51.369 --> 00:26:54.750 And I say, like, how much of an influence did 00:26:54.750 --> 00:26:56.369 that young man have on me? And he would have 00:26:56.369 --> 00:27:01.230 never known. I was impressed. I was stricken 00:27:01.230 --> 00:27:04.269 by the character of that young man. Here I am, 00:27:04.309 --> 00:27:07.930 a grown man, with this young man. And this young 00:27:07.930 --> 00:27:13.089 man is taking what he got. It's not much, but 00:27:13.089 --> 00:27:16.630 he's taking what he got and he's using it. That 00:27:16.630 --> 00:27:19.349 challenged me. What do I have that I don't use? 00:27:24.430 --> 00:27:29.210 So let's keep reading. Judges 3, 17. Are you 00:27:29.210 --> 00:27:34.049 all still here? Judges 3, 17. And if you see 00:27:34.049 --> 00:27:35.369 on your main points, if you see I'm skipping 00:27:35.369 --> 00:27:37.150 some stuff, it's because I do that. You're welcome. 00:27:40.250 --> 00:27:43.670 Ehud's visibility is not a mistake. It's not 00:27:43.670 --> 00:27:47.190 a mistake. God doesn't make mistakes. God is 00:27:47.190 --> 00:27:49.890 not ashamed of Ehud's visibility. If he was, 00:27:49.890 --> 00:27:58.460 he wouldn't have mentioned it in the Bible. Ehud, 00:27:58.460 --> 00:28:00.940 Ehud, Ehud. He's the only one that could sneak 00:28:00.940 --> 00:28:06.339 a dagger into there. Does he succeed? So he presented 00:28:06.339 --> 00:28:09.359 the tribute to Eglon, the king, who was a very 00:28:09.359 --> 00:28:12.140 fat man in verse 17. See, that's why God's funny, 00:28:12.180 --> 00:28:16.779 bro. Eglon literally means cow -like. Bro, this 00:28:16.779 --> 00:28:21.539 man was big, bro. He was big. Like, Zephan can't 00:28:21.539 --> 00:28:28.029 help this man. 18. After Ehud had presented the 00:28:28.029 --> 00:28:30.829 tribute, a gift, he sent on their way those who 00:28:30.829 --> 00:28:32.970 carried it. Hey, thanks, my brothers, but I got 00:28:32.970 --> 00:28:37.769 the rest of this, man. 19. But on reaching the 00:28:37.769 --> 00:28:40.170 stone images, they used to be altars for the 00:28:40.170 --> 00:28:43.509 Lord, but now they probably use the same altars 00:28:43.509 --> 00:28:49.049 to sacrifice their kids. As he passes them, he 00:28:49.049 --> 00:28:51.910 stops and he goes back to the king Eglon. He 00:28:51.910 --> 00:28:53.569 says, Your Majesty, I have a secret message for 00:28:53.569 --> 00:28:56.819 you. The king said to his attendants, leave us, 00:28:56.940 --> 00:29:00.700 and they all left. Ehud then approached him while 00:29:00.700 --> 00:29:02.259 he was sitting alone in the upper room of his 00:29:02.259 --> 00:29:05.880 palace and said, I have a message from God for 00:29:05.880 --> 00:29:09.339 you. As the king rose from his seat, this is 00:29:09.339 --> 00:29:12.119 the fun part, Ehud reached with his left hand 00:29:12.119 --> 00:29:15.819 the same hand that has taught him that he's disabled. 00:29:16.519 --> 00:29:18.880 He's now the only one who's enabled. He grabs 00:29:18.880 --> 00:29:21.160 the dagger from his right thigh, pulls it out, 00:29:21.220 --> 00:29:24.779 and he stabs it so far into the fat king. That 00:29:24.779 --> 00:29:28.519 the fat covers over the edge of the blade. He's 00:29:28.519 --> 00:29:34.059 a big boy. He died. It literally says in the 00:29:34.059 --> 00:29:38.819 scripture, his bowels discharged. Ehud pulls 00:29:38.819 --> 00:29:42.240 his hand away. He leaves the blade in there and 00:29:42.240 --> 00:29:46.339 the fat closes over it completely. That's in 00:29:46.339 --> 00:29:56.900 the Bible, bro. Isn't that cool? It's just crazy. 00:29:59.960 --> 00:30:03.599 It's crazy to me that we don't know how old Ehud 00:30:03.599 --> 00:30:06.259 is, but we could probably guess he's either 15 00:30:06.259 --> 00:30:16.740 to maybe 40 -some. It's crazy to me how all those 00:30:16.740 --> 00:30:21.019 years of struggling with his identity led up 00:30:21.019 --> 00:30:32.200 to two minutes. Isn't that crazy? It's just crazy 00:30:32.200 --> 00:30:38.000 to me. If we keep reading, Ehud went out to the 00:30:38.000 --> 00:30:40.759 porch and he shut the doors and he locked them. 00:30:41.339 --> 00:30:45.839 The upper room is Old Testament code for the 00:30:45.839 --> 00:30:50.200 bathroom. So Ehud had such a secret message that 00:30:50.200 --> 00:30:52.339 him and Eglon met in the bathroom. And you know, 00:30:52.920 --> 00:30:55.599 That's why God's so funny, man. That's why he's 00:30:55.599 --> 00:31:00.819 so funny. It mentions how the bowels discharged. 00:31:01.740 --> 00:31:03.940 If you don't know what that means, he pooped 00:31:03.940 --> 00:31:12.700 himself. You know what I'm saying? God made sure 00:31:12.700 --> 00:31:17.140 this happened in the bathroom. No, no, no. Trust, 00:31:17.240 --> 00:31:21.839 trust, trust. Because then the guards would smell. 00:31:24.149 --> 00:31:28.990 And assume the king was using the bathroom. Just 00:31:28.990 --> 00:31:31.609 think about that, though. Isn't that crazy? God 00:31:31.609 --> 00:31:33.750 made sure this happened in the king's bathroom. 00:31:34.710 --> 00:31:36.170 That's why he mentions the bowels discharged, 00:31:36.369 --> 00:31:39.349 not because God's gross. Because God's trying 00:31:39.349 --> 00:31:41.809 to prove a detail. He's trying to show Ehud, 00:31:41.849 --> 00:31:44.069 Ehud, I got you. I'll put you in the right place 00:31:44.069 --> 00:31:47.569 at the right time. I'm going to tell you when 00:31:47.569 --> 00:31:51.470 you use your gifts. Man, they think you're cursed. 00:31:52.430 --> 00:31:56.769 They'll see. Man, they think you're nothing but 00:31:56.769 --> 00:32:01.410 disabled. They'll see. Ehud, you'll see there's 00:32:01.410 --> 00:32:03.109 something special about you, man. Because you 00:32:03.109 --> 00:32:07.269 ain't disabled, you're enabled. Someone in here, 00:32:07.329 --> 00:32:10.769 if you're struggling with the identity, you'll 00:32:10.769 --> 00:32:13.009 never be anything. You'll never live on your 00:32:13.009 --> 00:32:15.950 own. You'll never have a successful wife and 00:32:15.950 --> 00:32:19.509 life and marriage or husband or whatever. You'll 00:32:19.509 --> 00:32:21.890 never have it. Because everything you've done. 00:32:24.650 --> 00:32:27.390 I think Ehud changes that perspective for us. 00:32:28.470 --> 00:32:31.190 You see, this is interesting. This is interesting. 00:32:32.509 --> 00:32:36.390 Most, almost all of the beginning of the Judges. 00:32:36.529 --> 00:32:39.390 So all the Judges. It starts with this one phrase. 00:32:39.730 --> 00:32:42.069 And then the Spirit of the Lord came upon him. 00:32:43.170 --> 00:32:46.069 Then the Spirit of the Lord came upon him. And 00:32:46.069 --> 00:32:48.079 we see that there is this. One judge, for example, 00:32:48.079 --> 00:32:50.240 the spirit of the Lord came upon him and gave 00:32:50.240 --> 00:32:52.819 him super strength. And then he takes the bone 00:32:52.819 --> 00:32:57.799 of a donkey and he kills 400 people. I could 00:32:57.799 --> 00:33:05.279 do that easy. He takes the spirit of the Lord. 00:33:05.279 --> 00:33:08.559 He does supernatural things. But it never says 00:33:08.559 --> 00:33:13.259 that about Ehud. Isn't that interesting? Every 00:33:13.259 --> 00:33:16.450 judge it says. The Spirit of the Lord came upon 00:33:16.450 --> 00:33:20.849 them, except for the judge that would have been 00:33:20.849 --> 00:33:27.069 considered disabled. I would argue it's not because 00:33:27.069 --> 00:33:29.910 God wasn't upon them or came upon them. I would 00:33:29.910 --> 00:33:33.170 argue it's because God's been. God's been there. 00:33:34.349 --> 00:33:36.890 God's been there, working with them, guiding 00:33:36.890 --> 00:33:39.630 them. The same people that 100 years ago, culture 00:33:39.630 --> 00:33:42.930 would say, we're hiding them. That's God's focus, 00:33:43.049 --> 00:33:48.009 baby. Man, if you feel left out by community, 00:33:48.150 --> 00:33:57.609 oh, you're in in the kingdom of heaven. If you 00:33:57.609 --> 00:34:00.390 feel like a failure according to the world's 00:34:00.390 --> 00:34:06.730 standards, God must think you're special. The 00:34:06.730 --> 00:34:10.769 world hates what God loves. If the world has 00:34:10.769 --> 00:34:13.190 told you you're nothing but a disabled person, 00:34:13.269 --> 00:34:16.789 you're nothing but a... Person that, you're no 00:34:16.789 --> 00:34:18.650 greater than your divorce. You're no greater 00:34:18.650 --> 00:34:21.190 than the postpartum. You're no greater than that. 00:34:22.429 --> 00:34:30.710 Well, God says I'm loved. God says I have a purpose. 00:34:30.849 --> 00:34:33.670 God says everything that I've been through has 00:34:33.670 --> 00:34:36.670 the perspective, has changed my perspective so 00:34:36.670 --> 00:34:44.389 that I can love people differently. Let's keep 00:34:44.389 --> 00:34:48.570 reading. Judges 3, verse 23. So see, Ehud went 00:34:48.570 --> 00:34:50.469 out to the porch. He shut the doors of the upper 00:34:50.469 --> 00:34:52.570 room behind him and locked them. After he had 00:34:52.570 --> 00:34:54.750 gone, the servants came and found the doors locked. 00:34:54.969 --> 00:34:56.590 See, this is where they thought he was in the 00:34:56.590 --> 00:34:59.289 bathroom. They said, oh, he must be relieving 00:34:59.289 --> 00:35:07.610 himself. Yeah, he was. They waited to the point 00:35:07.610 --> 00:35:09.570 of embarrassment. But when he did not open the 00:35:09.570 --> 00:35:11.190 doors of the room, they took the key and unlocked 00:35:11.190 --> 00:35:15.219 them. There they saw the Lord. Their Lord fallen 00:35:15.219 --> 00:35:18.019 to the floor dead. While they waited, Ehud got 00:35:18.019 --> 00:35:20.800 away. He passed by the stone images and escaped 00:35:20.800 --> 00:35:25.119 to the Serrera. Translates to the wooded region. 00:35:25.260 --> 00:35:34.360 This man's escaped to West Virginia, bro. I don't 00:35:34.360 --> 00:35:36.739 know about you Marylanders, man, but if you want 00:35:36.739 --> 00:35:45.719 a gun, you go to West Virginia. Am I right? So 00:35:45.719 --> 00:35:49.739 stupid. 27, when he arrived there, he blew a 00:35:49.739 --> 00:35:56.340 trumpet in the hill country of Ephraim. And the 00:35:56.340 --> 00:35:59.000 Israelites went down from the hills and they 00:35:59.000 --> 00:36:00.760 led them. And then the Israelites go and they 00:36:00.760 --> 00:36:03.380 gang up together and they kill the Moabites and 00:36:03.380 --> 00:36:05.239 they take over their country back. They're like, 00:36:05.260 --> 00:36:09.320 let's go. And they're victorious. Remember what 00:36:09.320 --> 00:36:12.539 I said about God being funny? God doesn't do 00:36:12.539 --> 00:36:15.179 nothing by accident, bro. He does everything 00:36:15.179 --> 00:36:18.260 for a purpose. Just think about this, man. Everything 00:36:18.260 --> 00:36:20.079 you've ever done in your life has led up to this 00:36:20.079 --> 00:36:24.260 moment. Just think about that. Just think about 00:36:24.260 --> 00:36:28.260 that. If my grandma would have never lost a baby 00:36:28.260 --> 00:36:30.019 in a car accident, they would have never had 00:36:30.019 --> 00:36:34.820 my dad. And I wouldn't be here. Isn't that crazy 00:36:34.820 --> 00:36:38.119 to think about? Everything that's ever happened 00:36:38.119 --> 00:36:41.420 led up to this moment. And what are we talking 00:36:41.420 --> 00:36:46.929 about? How much God loves you, man. When he arrived 00:36:46.929 --> 00:36:48.190 there, he blew the trumpet in the hill country 00:36:48.190 --> 00:36:51.190 of Ephraim. Ephraim, the hill country, was named 00:36:51.190 --> 00:36:54.789 after Ephraim, the son of Joseph. If you're a 00:36:54.789 --> 00:36:56.530 Bible nerd, you know Joseph was the coat of many 00:36:56.530 --> 00:36:58.789 colors. He was the one that was sold into slavery 00:36:58.789 --> 00:37:01.730 by his brothers. And then he goes on to take 00:37:01.730 --> 00:37:04.210 over Egypt and he becomes the man. Again, we 00:37:04.210 --> 00:37:06.550 see in Egypt here, taking another part in the 00:37:06.550 --> 00:37:11.329 story. Joseph has sons. The one son's name is 00:37:11.329 --> 00:37:16.730 Manasseh. The one is Ephraim. If you're curious, 00:37:16.789 --> 00:37:21.269 I'm reading this from Genesis 48. This is way 00:37:21.269 --> 00:37:26.449 before Ehud. Joseph took both of them. He took 00:37:26.449 --> 00:37:30.869 Ephraim and he took Manasseh. In this culture, 00:37:31.030 --> 00:37:36.769 if you had... Sorry. In this culture, if you 00:37:36.769 --> 00:37:40.880 had sons... The oldest one would always, always 00:37:40.880 --> 00:37:43.860 get the blessing. They would get the inheritance. 00:37:43.980 --> 00:37:45.699 They would get the blessing. That's just how 00:37:45.699 --> 00:37:48.679 it was. Every Israelite culture, that's how it 00:37:48.679 --> 00:37:53.039 was. So, of course, Joseph is bringing to Jacob. 00:37:53.360 --> 00:37:57.820 Jacob is Joseph's dad. So this is the grandfather 00:37:57.820 --> 00:38:01.619 to Jacob and saying, can you bless my boys? So 00:38:01.619 --> 00:38:05.179 if I'm Jacob, I'd be old and decrepit and blind. 00:38:06.219 --> 00:38:08.900 Like a hundred years at this point. Again, he's 00:38:08.900 --> 00:38:11.800 blind. That's God using another person's disability. 00:38:13.519 --> 00:38:19.980 And Ephraim, the youngest son, is sat right here 00:38:19.980 --> 00:38:26.880 to Israel's left. Manasseh is sat right here 00:38:26.880 --> 00:38:33.420 to Israel's right. The right side. The side of 00:38:33.420 --> 00:38:38.599 power. Blessing. Traditionally, what would happen 00:38:38.599 --> 00:38:43.099 is Israel would lay his hand upon the right side, 00:38:43.159 --> 00:38:46.380 Manasseh, the oldest son. And then he'd lay his 00:38:46.380 --> 00:38:51.460 left hand upon Ephraim, the youngest son. And 00:38:51.460 --> 00:38:54.019 the big blessing would go to the oldest son. 00:38:54.840 --> 00:38:58.260 But Jacob does something interesting here. He 00:38:58.260 --> 00:39:02.840 takes his right hand and he puts it in. And then 00:39:02.840 --> 00:39:06.849 he takes it out. You know, that's so stupid. 00:39:07.369 --> 00:39:09.449 You got to pay attention, bro. You never know 00:39:09.449 --> 00:39:15.769 when it's coming. He takes the right hand. And 00:39:15.769 --> 00:39:20.269 he puts it on Ephraim's head. He takes his left 00:39:20.269 --> 00:39:25.610 hand. And he puts it on Manasseh's head. It's 00:39:25.610 --> 00:39:33.789 not supposed to be that way. And we see. Joseph 00:39:33.789 --> 00:39:38.110 gets frustrated. Dad, I know you're old, bro, 00:39:38.230 --> 00:39:42.070 but is you that blind for real? You know Manasseh's 00:39:42.070 --> 00:39:46.789 my oldest kid. And then we see that Joseph's 00:39:46.789 --> 00:39:50.190 like, what are you doing? And then we see that 00:39:50.190 --> 00:39:55.329 Jacob is like, I know what I'm doing. I'm blessing 00:39:55.329 --> 00:40:00.010 Ephraim with my right, and I'm blessing Manasseh 00:40:00.010 --> 00:40:05.440 with my left. You see? God doesn't care about 00:40:05.440 --> 00:40:10.380 your cultural norms. I know that he's supposed 00:40:10.380 --> 00:40:16.760 to get the blessing, but I decide what happens. 00:40:17.340 --> 00:40:20.039 You see, if you view something as the social 00:40:20.039 --> 00:40:26.219 norm, God's probably the opposite. So God says, 00:40:26.280 --> 00:40:30.500 normally I change the norm. You see, it's the 00:40:30.500 --> 00:40:32.820 left -handed one. It's the one that's seen as, 00:40:33.159 --> 00:40:36.539 as not good enough or less than. It's the one 00:40:36.539 --> 00:40:38.800 that people look at and say they're not going 00:40:38.800 --> 00:40:41.420 to receive the blessing that everyone else will. 00:40:43.500 --> 00:40:45.440 Those are the ones that I'm blessing with my 00:40:45.440 --> 00:40:50.840 right hand. We see here Ehud is blowing the trumpet 00:40:50.840 --> 00:40:54.320 from where? The place that's named after Ephraim. 00:40:55.059 --> 00:41:01.079 Told you God was funny. He's showing that the 00:41:01.079 --> 00:41:07.679 promise That Jacob had made to Ephraim. That 00:41:07.679 --> 00:41:11.219 the unseen will be seen. Those that are viewed 00:41:11.219 --> 00:41:15.639 as disabled will be enabled. It's coming true 00:41:15.639 --> 00:41:20.500 in the story of Ehud. It's not that Ehud is disabled 00:41:20.500 --> 00:41:23.639 and he just goes and finds ways to accommodate 00:41:23.639 --> 00:41:28.719 his disability and he lives with it. No. He asks 00:41:28.719 --> 00:41:34.170 himself, God, why? And he doesn't. If you view 00:41:34.170 --> 00:41:41.690 yourself as your disability. I would argue. You 00:41:41.690 --> 00:41:48.889 haven't surrendered it to God. Maybe. Just maybe. 00:41:50.150 --> 00:41:52.449 The postpartum depression will see you can help 00:41:52.449 --> 00:41:59.369 other people. Hear me out. Maybe. Just maybe. 00:42:02.070 --> 00:42:07.309 Just. Maybe. The person in the wheelchair is 00:42:07.309 --> 00:42:11.230 supposed to encourage and have a special perspective 00:42:11.230 --> 00:42:15.929 on life that none of us would understand. Just 00:42:15.929 --> 00:42:19.610 maybe. I don't forget I was in an IEP meeting 00:42:19.610 --> 00:42:22.210 and this poor mom, she genuinely believed that 00:42:22.210 --> 00:42:25.510 if she just kept praying, her child's Down syndrome 00:42:25.510 --> 00:42:31.510 would go away. And I just remember how wrecked 00:42:31.510 --> 00:42:34.280 her faith must have been. How many nights you 00:42:34.280 --> 00:42:40.039 prayed? No, he's still the same. Still the same. 00:42:42.679 --> 00:42:44.940 What if your disability isn't an attack from 00:42:44.940 --> 00:42:52.179 Satan? What if it's not a burden? What if it's 00:42:52.179 --> 00:42:55.739 a part of you? It's not your identity. It's not 00:42:55.739 --> 00:43:00.019 who you are. It's something I have. You see what 00:43:00.019 --> 00:43:05.269 I'm saying? Isn't that... Interesting? That's 00:43:05.269 --> 00:43:08.469 my challenge. How does God view my disability? 00:43:08.750 --> 00:43:10.449 Well, he views it as something you have. He views 00:43:10.449 --> 00:43:13.230 it as a tool. He views it as a difference. Just 00:43:13.230 --> 00:43:15.250 like in the museum, he views it as something 00:43:15.250 --> 00:43:18.510 that is different and beautiful. I want to look 00:43:18.510 --> 00:43:21.289 at it. Oh, don't you know the name Ehud means 00:43:21.289 --> 00:43:25.949 to praise? Because there's nothing greater than 00:43:25.949 --> 00:43:29.150 the praise that comes from a person that identifies 00:43:29.150 --> 00:43:31.949 as disabled being enabled to do what God said 00:43:31.949 --> 00:43:38.110 to do. There's no greater praise than that. Man, 00:43:38.110 --> 00:43:40.030 I'm telling you, if you struggle with anger issues, 00:43:40.409 --> 00:43:43.670 you're in the middle of a conversation, you take 00:43:43.670 --> 00:43:45.070 a deep breath and you control what you're going 00:43:45.070 --> 00:43:51.050 to say, God is going to be happy. You see what 00:43:51.050 --> 00:43:55.400 I'm saying? Man, I'm telling you, every single 00:43:55.400 --> 00:43:59.539 time you want to go back to the bottle, every 00:43:59.539 --> 00:44:01.599 single time you want to go back to the drugs, 00:44:01.639 --> 00:44:12.139 and you don't, God is proud of you. Anyways, 00:44:12.340 --> 00:44:14.059 I'm going to shut up. I hope that made sense. 00:44:16.699 --> 00:44:24.599 But I hope that made sense. I have notes and 00:44:24.599 --> 00:44:26.219 I have main points, but I don't follow them. 00:44:27.880 --> 00:44:31.380 That's a bad habit of mine. Last story that I'll 00:44:31.380 --> 00:44:33.420 say real quick, and then I'm going to have Sebi 00:44:33.420 --> 00:44:35.860 come out to pray. But don't come out yet, Sebi. 00:44:37.460 --> 00:44:41.880 This is good, trust. This is good, trust. For 00:44:41.880 --> 00:44:46.000 the five years whenever I taught mainly young 00:44:46.000 --> 00:44:48.579 men with emotional disabilities, man, some of 00:44:48.579 --> 00:44:52.239 the stories I could tell you are crazy. I could 00:44:52.239 --> 00:44:54.679 tell you the fights that I broke up. I could 00:44:54.679 --> 00:44:58.820 tell you the kid that brought a BB gun painted 00:44:58.820 --> 00:45:00.559 black to school to try to pretend to shoot up 00:45:00.559 --> 00:45:02.539 the place. I could tell you the chairs that were 00:45:02.539 --> 00:45:05.539 thrown. I could tell you the times I thought 00:45:05.539 --> 00:45:08.960 it was crazy, man. I could tell you the words 00:45:08.960 --> 00:45:10.599 that I've been called, the words that I've seen 00:45:10.599 --> 00:45:13.059 them call other people. I could tell you, if 00:45:13.059 --> 00:45:21.570 you want to feel useless, teach. Can I get an 00:45:21.570 --> 00:45:28.389 amen? And I remember there was this one thing. 00:45:28.449 --> 00:45:31.050 And this kid, he had an iPad. And he threw it 00:45:31.050 --> 00:45:34.130 on the ground because we asked him for it. And 00:45:34.130 --> 00:45:38.190 he was like, you get it, dog. Fetch. Just the 00:45:38.190 --> 00:45:42.889 meanest things, man. The meanest things. Obviously, 00:45:42.989 --> 00:45:46.269 I left work frustrated, angry. Why would he say 00:45:46.269 --> 00:45:48.170 something like that, man? This whole year, I 00:45:48.170 --> 00:45:50.030 put my blood, sweat, and tears into this classroom. 00:45:52.170 --> 00:45:54.269 And then the next morning I was praying. And 00:45:54.269 --> 00:45:56.090 honestly, I was hoping he didn't show up to school 00:45:56.090 --> 00:46:02.829 that day. I was feeling some type of way. I was 00:46:02.829 --> 00:46:04.150 thinking to myself, am I going to treat him differently? 00:46:04.750 --> 00:46:07.170 Am I going to ignore him? What am I going to 00:46:07.170 --> 00:46:10.369 do? And I felt God challenged me in that time 00:46:10.369 --> 00:46:13.130 of prayer. He said, how did I treat you after 00:46:13.130 --> 00:46:19.230 you sinned? I didn't ignore you. I didn't say 00:46:19.230 --> 00:46:22.019 you're not good enough. I didn't try to transfer 00:46:22.019 --> 00:46:26.599 you out of my class. I came back the next morning. 00:46:27.579 --> 00:46:30.059 My mercies were new for you. I love you. I'm 00:46:30.059 --> 00:46:34.820 with you. I forgive you. I'm not interacting 00:46:34.820 --> 00:46:37.039 with you as the young man that called me a dog. 00:46:37.179 --> 00:46:39.099 I'm interacting with you as the young man that's 00:46:39.099 --> 00:46:42.099 a child of God. So if you're in here and you're 00:46:42.099 --> 00:46:45.360 like, man, God can never use me. Man, God sees 00:46:45.360 --> 00:46:48.119 me as broken. Man, God sees me as dirty. Man, 00:46:48.199 --> 00:46:50.159 God sees me as disabled. I want you to know. 00:46:50.539 --> 00:46:56.039 that God used you as a child of God. Every morning, 00:46:56.139 --> 00:47:02.239 even right after you sin, bro, go to God. He's 00:47:02.239 --> 00:47:04.420 there and he's loving you. You went walking into 00:47:04.420 --> 00:47:07.519 the school building with God? Mm -mm. Turn out 00:47:07.519 --> 00:47:11.659 the other way. He says, come here. I know what 00:47:11.659 --> 00:47:14.840 you did. I don't forget. But I forgive and I 00:47:14.840 --> 00:47:18.659 love you. All right. I'm going to really shut 00:47:18.659 --> 00:47:23.480 up now. Sebi, can you come out here? This is 00:47:23.480 --> 00:47:25.059 Sebi. He's one of our high schoolers. She's awesome. 00:47:27.119 --> 00:47:32.139 Yeah. Sebi's cool. And he wanted to end out the 00:47:32.139 --> 00:47:35.500 night or the morning, whatever it is. Oh, yeah, 00:47:35.539 --> 00:47:37.679 man. It's 2 p .m. right now. No, it's not 2 p 00:47:37.679 --> 00:47:42.119 .m. He wanted to end out the night praying and 00:47:42.119 --> 00:47:44.239 doing the salvation prayer. So I'm going to shut 00:47:44.239 --> 00:47:48.039 up, step back, and let Sebi cook. Good morning, 00:47:48.079 --> 00:47:54.460 everyone. May you stand with me, please. And 00:47:54.460 --> 00:47:57.880 before I start this prayer, I just want to say 00:47:57.880 --> 00:48:00.380 to everybody in this crowd that God is so good 00:48:00.380 --> 00:48:02.599 here this morning. Whatever you're struggling 00:48:02.599 --> 00:48:04.739 with, whatever disability you may be struggling 00:48:04.739 --> 00:48:07.380 with, whether it's mental or physical, Jesus 00:48:07.380 --> 00:48:11.360 is with you. If you feel unseen, God sees you. 00:48:13.119 --> 00:48:15.539 He's with you. He's with every single one of 00:48:15.539 --> 00:48:17.320 us here this morning. And especially when you 00:48:17.320 --> 00:48:19.260 leave this building or when you go back to work 00:48:19.260 --> 00:48:21.119 on Monday or we have school starting up soon 00:48:21.119 --> 00:48:23.760 and that just anxiety just creeps in or that 00:48:23.760 --> 00:48:26.579 stress may creep into you, I just pray that God 00:48:26.579 --> 00:48:30.639 just helps you because he's with you and you're 00:48:30.639 --> 00:48:33.900 never unseen in the eyes of the Lord. So just 00:48:33.900 --> 00:48:35.639 close your eyes and bow your heads with me and 00:48:35.639 --> 00:48:40.300 repeat after me. Jesus, I'm broken. I'm full 00:48:40.300 --> 00:48:48.329 of doubt, shame, regret, sin. Change me. I believe 00:48:48.329 --> 00:48:52.409 you're God's son. I believe you're alive today. 00:48:54.030 --> 00:48:58.170 I believe you have died for me. Make me new. 00:48:58.889 --> 00:49:02.210 Set me free. Fill me with your spirit, Lord. 00:49:03.250 --> 00:49:06.969 And allow me to serve others. In Jesus' name, 00:49:07.130 --> 00:49:17.599 amen. All right. Well, that's it. If you have 00:49:17.599 --> 00:49:19.719 a thyroid problem, a knee problem, or a back 00:49:19.719 --> 00:49:24.519 problem, come get prayer. Sound good? Another 00:49:24.519 --> 00:49:26.539 word of knowledge. If you're struggling with 00:49:26.539 --> 00:49:29.920 postpartum depression, come up and get prayer. 00:49:30.500 --> 00:49:31.159 Love y 'all.