WEBVTT 00:00:01.419 --> 00:00:04.440 Sharing good news of great joy to all people. 00:00:04.900 --> 00:00:11.439 Elation Church. Let's talk about names. What's 00:00:11.439 --> 00:00:15.460 in a name? Well, first of all, names give us 00:00:15.460 --> 00:00:21.300 identity. Everybody say identity. Names signify 00:00:21.300 --> 00:00:27.780 identity. Now, here's my name. This is my name. 00:00:28.809 --> 00:00:32.750 You might say, how is this your name? Well, my 00:00:32.750 --> 00:00:35.609 mom and dad did not name me before we left the 00:00:35.609 --> 00:00:40.329 hospital. And when I wanted to play junior high 00:00:40.329 --> 00:00:43.250 football in the state of South Carolina, I had 00:00:43.250 --> 00:00:47.289 to come up with a state birth certificate. And 00:00:47.289 --> 00:00:49.710 when we ordered my state birth certificate, it 00:00:49.710 --> 00:00:54.429 came in as no name Forrest. I was already in 00:00:54.429 --> 00:00:58.929 junior high. But that's my name. To this day, 00:00:59.030 --> 00:01:02.770 my birth certificate has an asterisk on it that 00:01:02.770 --> 00:01:04.870 lets everybody know that my name's been changed 00:01:04.870 --> 00:01:09.409 from my birth name. So technically, in the state 00:01:09.409 --> 00:01:12.730 of South Carolina, my name is No Name Forrest. 00:01:13.269 --> 00:01:16.790 You can't even make this stuff up, right? So 00:01:16.790 --> 00:01:18.890 I didn't get to play like the first two or three 00:01:18.890 --> 00:01:21.750 weeks of my junior high football career, which 00:01:21.750 --> 00:01:25.170 didn't last very long. I didn't get to play the 00:01:25.170 --> 00:01:27.329 first several weeks because I had to get my real 00:01:27.329 --> 00:01:30.489 name on my birth certificate. And my real name 00:01:30.489 --> 00:01:34.790 is Jeffrey Dean Forrest. Most people call me 00:01:34.790 --> 00:01:36.969 Dean. I've always gone by my middle name instead 00:01:36.969 --> 00:01:40.930 of my first name. But these are my names. This 00:01:40.930 --> 00:01:45.450 is who I am. This is my identity. If you talk 00:01:45.450 --> 00:01:47.370 to people, you say, you know Dean over there 00:01:47.370 --> 00:01:50.329 at a relation church. That separates me from 00:01:50.329 --> 00:01:52.069 everybody else in the room because I don't know 00:01:52.069 --> 00:01:54.049 if we have another dean visiting today, but I 00:01:54.049 --> 00:01:58.549 think I'm the only dean. Here's an identity name 00:01:58.549 --> 00:02:01.930 that I am very happy to have, and that is that 00:02:01.930 --> 00:02:07.909 I'm a Christian. It's not added on to who I used 00:02:07.909 --> 00:02:13.509 to be. It's who I am, okay? So that's my identity. 00:02:14.650 --> 00:02:19.020 I'm Jeffrey Dean Forrest. I'm Christian. That's 00:02:19.020 --> 00:02:22.240 who I am. I am a Christ follower. When they first 00:02:22.240 --> 00:02:26.639 used this word Christian, it was meant to be 00:02:26.639 --> 00:02:30.000 derogatory. I don't know if you know this or 00:02:30.000 --> 00:02:33.460 not from history, but people would say, oh, those 00:02:33.460 --> 00:02:35.780 are just those little Jesuses running around. 00:02:35.939 --> 00:02:38.060 They're trying to act like Jesus, Christians, 00:02:38.460 --> 00:02:44.180 little Christs. But the followers of Christ came 00:02:44.180 --> 00:02:46.259 to the point where they said, we'll take that. 00:02:48.430 --> 00:02:51.909 If I look like Jesus walking around, then I'll 00:02:51.909 --> 00:02:56.409 take that name, right? I'll take that name. So 00:02:56.409 --> 00:02:59.030 names signify identity. Everybody say identity. 00:03:00.490 --> 00:03:03.610 But they also signify relationship. You see, 00:03:03.629 --> 00:03:06.770 I've got a lot of names. You probably have a 00:03:06.770 --> 00:03:09.830 lot of names too. But I have some relationship 00:03:09.830 --> 00:03:14.069 names. Now, my mom always called me baby because 00:03:14.069 --> 00:03:17.319 I was the youngest of four. And every time she 00:03:17.319 --> 00:03:19.860 would introduce me, even when I was in my 50s, 00:03:19.860 --> 00:03:23.300 she would say, this is my baby. And sometimes 00:03:23.300 --> 00:03:25.520 she would say, Dean, and sometimes she wouldn't. 00:03:25.800 --> 00:03:28.979 She would just call me baby. My dad didn't call 00:03:28.979 --> 00:03:33.419 me baby. He called me son. When we got married, 00:03:33.479 --> 00:03:35.620 when Gannon and I got married, I became a husband. 00:03:36.300 --> 00:03:40.000 It's one of my relationship names. But she doesn't 00:03:40.000 --> 00:03:44.219 say, oh, husband, would you like to go shopping 00:03:44.219 --> 00:03:48.439 today? She doesn't say that. She calls me honey 00:03:48.439 --> 00:03:54.560 most of the time, unless I've been bad. I don't 00:03:54.560 --> 00:03:56.159 even know what she calls me. She don't call me 00:03:56.159 --> 00:03:58.039 anything when I've been being bad. She just starts 00:03:58.039 --> 00:04:01.800 talking to me. Don't look at me like I've never 00:04:01.800 --> 00:04:06.400 been bad, because I know that's not true. I even 00:04:06.400 --> 00:04:08.539 said the wrong month for our anniversary last 00:04:08.539 --> 00:04:12.819 week. But she still called me honey, which was 00:04:12.819 --> 00:04:15.460 a good thing. She still called me. He still called 00:04:15.460 --> 00:04:18.879 me honey. And when Jeffrey was born, I became 00:04:18.879 --> 00:04:21.500 a father, but Jeffrey, since we don't live in 00:04:21.500 --> 00:04:24.500 Great Britain, he doesn't say, oh, father, I 00:04:24.500 --> 00:04:29.339 need $20. That's not what he says. He has called 00:04:29.339 --> 00:04:32.839 me dad. He started out calling me daddy. Then 00:04:32.839 --> 00:04:36.899 as he got older, we changed that to dad. So that's 00:04:36.899 --> 00:04:42.689 one of my names. So as... I keep telling you 00:04:42.689 --> 00:04:45.350 my names. I mean, I could throw in that I'm an 00:04:45.350 --> 00:04:48.410 uncle. That's one of my names. I'm a nephew. 00:04:49.589 --> 00:04:59.930 I'm a granddad to a grandpuppy labradoodle. Got 00:04:59.930 --> 00:05:02.769 a lot of names. And as you hear these names, 00:05:02.829 --> 00:05:04.829 if you don't know me, you're learning some things 00:05:04.829 --> 00:05:11.180 about me, right? So names signify identity. They 00:05:11.180 --> 00:05:15.699 signify relationship. They also signify activity. 00:05:17.060 --> 00:05:21.560 What a person does. Here's some of my activity 00:05:21.560 --> 00:05:27.060 names. I've been a student more than most people. 00:05:28.040 --> 00:05:32.019 I was a cook. My junior year in high school, 00:05:32.060 --> 00:05:35.600 over the summer, I was a cook at Quincy's Steakhouse. 00:05:37.040 --> 00:05:39.079 They're out of business now, but it's not my 00:05:39.079 --> 00:05:41.449 fault. they were still in business when i left 00:05:41.449 --> 00:05:48.610 i was a salesman working for first of all moore's 00:05:48.610 --> 00:05:53.949 lumberyard i was a salesman at let's see custom 00:05:53.949 --> 00:05:58.410 recording and sound i was a salesman at my uncle's 00:05:58.410 --> 00:06:03.250 nissan dealership i was a salesman at a recording 00:06:03.250 --> 00:06:08.170 studio i've also been a sound man people have 00:06:08.170 --> 00:06:10.649 actually paid me money to run sound for things 00:06:10.649 --> 00:06:14.990 i was a custodian at disney for a little while 00:06:14.990 --> 00:06:18.170 when we got here not only was i a custodian i 00:06:18.170 --> 00:06:22.509 was a trainer i was a coordinator i was a janitor 00:06:22.509 --> 00:06:25.389 my wife and i had a contract for after we got 00:06:25.389 --> 00:06:28.750 done with our real jobs we would go clean offices 00:06:28.750 --> 00:06:33.870 before we went home so i was a janitor i was 00:06:33.870 --> 00:06:37.009 a screen printer Had my own screen printing equipment, 00:06:37.329 --> 00:06:40.470 my own screen printing business, doing T -shirts 00:06:40.470 --> 00:06:44.790 mostly. I was an A &R director for Mark V Records. 00:06:45.910 --> 00:06:49.069 It means Artisan Repertoire. I don't even know 00:06:49.069 --> 00:06:51.389 why. I don't even know what that means, and I 00:06:51.389 --> 00:06:56.370 was one. One day they walked into my office and 00:06:56.370 --> 00:06:59.350 they gave me a business card with Vice President 00:06:59.350 --> 00:07:02.730 of Heart Look Records. We had three record labels. 00:07:03.180 --> 00:07:06.040 Mark 5, heart, look, and evidence. They came 00:07:06.040 --> 00:07:08.300 in and gave me a vice president business card. 00:07:08.860 --> 00:07:11.620 So I've been the vice president of a record company. 00:07:12.620 --> 00:07:15.259 I didn't get a raise. I just got business cards. 00:07:16.699 --> 00:07:19.920 I've been the music director of state and national 00:07:19.920 --> 00:07:24.500 organizations. I've been an event planner all 00:07:24.500 --> 00:07:28.660 over the United States. Even when I didn't live 00:07:28.660 --> 00:07:30.779 here, I planned events in Florida. I planned 00:07:30.779 --> 00:07:37.639 events in Alabama. in Georgia, in Texas, in Louisiana, 00:07:38.019 --> 00:07:44.240 in Arizona, in Indiana. There's probably some 00:07:44.240 --> 00:07:49.399 more. In Tennessee. Where? South Carolina. That's 00:07:49.399 --> 00:07:53.259 where I was from. So I planned events, rented 00:07:53.259 --> 00:07:56.120 event space all over the place and planned events. 00:07:56.740 --> 00:08:02.449 I was a crusade director. We did like 31 crusades, 00:08:02.449 --> 00:08:05.290 area -wide crusades. I was only the director 00:08:05.290 --> 00:08:07.589 of a couple of those. J .T.'s dad was the director 00:08:07.589 --> 00:08:11.189 of the rest of them. I've been the president 00:08:11.189 --> 00:08:16.189 of state and national organizations, president 00:08:16.189 --> 00:08:19.629 of a nonprofit corporation, been a worship leader 00:08:19.629 --> 00:08:22.589 at events that I didn't preach. Me and my family 00:08:22.589 --> 00:08:25.610 just went in and led the worship for the events. 00:08:25.649 --> 00:08:28.420 I've been the worship leader. My claim to fame 00:08:28.420 --> 00:08:30.800 is one day that was in the Ryman Auditorium in 00:08:30.800 --> 00:08:34.960 Nashville. Did I hear somebody say ooh? Is that 00:08:34.960 --> 00:08:36.759 just because I said I didn't get any oohs last 00:08:36.759 --> 00:08:40.059 week? All right. I heard somebody make a noise. 00:08:43.340 --> 00:08:46.379 Ooh, ooh. It's supposed to be like ooh. Everybody 00:08:46.379 --> 00:08:49.580 try it. One, two, three. Ooh. No, it was nothing. 00:08:49.740 --> 00:08:52.299 That and $12 to get you a cup of coffee at Starbucks. 00:08:52.539 --> 00:08:55.000 All right. I've been a conference director. We 00:08:55.000 --> 00:08:57.519 started a conference that ran for 21 years for 00:08:57.519 --> 00:09:03.879 teenagers in Myrtle Beach over New Year's. Like 00:09:03.879 --> 00:09:06.340 1 ,800 people a year would come to that conference. 00:09:07.039 --> 00:09:09.679 I was an evangelist on the road for 20 years. 00:09:09.799 --> 00:09:12.320 I was a chaplain in Myrtle Beach for nine years. 00:09:14.320 --> 00:09:16.620 I'm a preacher. Some people call me preacher. 00:09:16.740 --> 00:09:19.980 Some people call me pastor. So I've got a lot 00:09:19.980 --> 00:09:23.590 of names. But especially now, for those of you 00:09:23.590 --> 00:09:26.370 who don't know me, you know that you pretty much 00:09:26.370 --> 00:09:28.350 know most of my life and the things that I've 00:09:28.350 --> 00:09:31.409 done, right? You find out about what I have done 00:09:31.409 --> 00:09:36.809 and what I am hopefully equipped to do. If I 00:09:36.809 --> 00:09:38.649 had to do it again, I still remember how to do 00:09:38.649 --> 00:09:44.929 those things. So names tell a lot. And this is 00:09:44.929 --> 00:09:47.590 not a message just about Dean. I mean, I've given 00:09:47.590 --> 00:09:50.710 you well over 30 names. I'm still one person. 00:09:52.750 --> 00:09:55.309 I've talked about my identity, my relationships, 00:09:55.409 --> 00:09:59.549 and my activity. But this isn't about me. This 00:09:59.549 --> 00:10:05.129 is about God. The Bible says in Psalm 910, this 00:10:05.129 --> 00:10:08.610 is our foundation verse for the series. It says 00:10:08.610 --> 00:10:11.029 this, and those who know your name, everybody 00:10:11.029 --> 00:10:15.570 say God, those who know your name will put their 00:10:15.570 --> 00:10:20.549 trust in you. For you, Lord, have not forsaken. 00:10:21.399 --> 00:10:26.600 Those who seek you. Let's break it down. When 00:10:26.600 --> 00:10:29.759 we know who God is. See, if we don't know who 00:10:29.759 --> 00:10:32.100 God is, we can't really put our trust in Him. 00:10:33.240 --> 00:10:37.039 That word trust can also be defined confidence 00:10:37.039 --> 00:10:44.120 in English. So when we know who He is, that's 00:10:44.120 --> 00:10:46.659 when we can put our trust and our confidence 00:10:46.659 --> 00:10:53.000 in Him. One name that we use for God is Savior. 00:10:54.399 --> 00:10:59.639 Right? If you don't know that He's Savior, then 00:10:59.639 --> 00:11:01.600 you can't put your trust and your confidence 00:11:01.600 --> 00:11:06.360 in Him to be your Savior. Right? Does this make 00:11:06.360 --> 00:11:09.139 sense? By your faces, I don't know if this makes 00:11:09.139 --> 00:11:13.700 sense or not. So if I preach too long today, 00:11:13.799 --> 00:11:15.879 it's because your expressions were saying that 00:11:15.879 --> 00:11:20.350 you didn't understand what I was saying. So it's 00:11:20.350 --> 00:11:27.129 your fault, not mine. Those who know your name 00:11:27.129 --> 00:11:29.610 will put their trust, their confidence in you. 00:11:30.590 --> 00:11:32.730 And here's why we can put our trust and confidence 00:11:32.730 --> 00:11:35.929 in Him. Because He's not going to forsake us. 00:11:36.850 --> 00:11:42.509 When we seek Him based on who He is, He's not 00:11:42.509 --> 00:11:47.169 going to turn His back on us or forsake us. Over 00:11:47.169 --> 00:11:49.389 and over in the Bible it says, I will not leave 00:11:49.389 --> 00:11:53.129 you or forsake you. God's not going to turn His 00:11:53.129 --> 00:11:58.009 back on you. Now if you seek Him to be something 00:11:58.009 --> 00:12:01.289 that He hasn't said He was going to be, you might 00:12:01.289 --> 00:12:04.669 not experience that because you're seeking Him 00:12:04.669 --> 00:12:07.549 in a way that that's not what He wants to do. 00:12:10.230 --> 00:12:16.690 Hello? It has to be based on who He is. and what 00:12:16.690 --> 00:12:20.669 He does and what He wants to do. So through His 00:12:20.669 --> 00:12:24.470 names, we can find out these things about God. 00:12:25.830 --> 00:12:28.129 Now, we looked at the very first week. I hope 00:12:28.129 --> 00:12:29.870 I don't get in trouble because by the time we 00:12:29.870 --> 00:12:31.830 get to week 13, I might not be able to remember 00:12:31.830 --> 00:12:35.429 all these names. But we started out in week one 00:12:35.429 --> 00:12:38.950 by looking at Elohim in the beginning, God, Elohim. 00:12:39.470 --> 00:12:43.429 And then we saw where He told Abraham. Moses 00:12:43.429 --> 00:12:47.799 said, I'm sorry. Moses said, who should I say 00:12:47.799 --> 00:12:49.980 sent me? And he said, you tell them I am that 00:12:49.980 --> 00:12:53.980 I am sent you. And my eternal name that my people 00:12:53.980 --> 00:12:56.220 should know is Yahweh. Everybody say Yahweh. 00:12:57.000 --> 00:12:59.100 So in week number one, we looked at Elohim and 00:12:59.100 --> 00:13:03.200 Yahweh. Then we looked at the two most impacting 00:13:03.200 --> 00:13:07.559 names of God. We looked at Yahweh Shalom. Everybody 00:13:07.559 --> 00:13:13.659 say Shalom. God is our peace. And see, if you 00:13:13.659 --> 00:13:16.120 don't know that He is peace, then it might be 00:13:16.120 --> 00:13:21.220 hard for you to receive His peace. Then we looked 00:13:21.220 --> 00:13:27.500 at Yahweh's Sidkenu. We found out that He is 00:13:27.500 --> 00:13:31.159 our right. Our righteousness is not based on 00:13:31.159 --> 00:13:34.019 our ability to perform. Our righteousness is 00:13:34.019 --> 00:13:37.399 based on what Jesus did on the cross. And He's 00:13:37.399 --> 00:13:39.679 clothed us, we look at it, He's clothed us in 00:13:39.679 --> 00:13:43.529 the garments of salvation. and draped us in a 00:13:43.529 --> 00:13:47.049 robe of righteousness. I'm the righteousness 00:13:47.049 --> 00:13:51.090 of God in Christ Jesus. And if we don't know 00:13:51.090 --> 00:13:55.230 that He is our righteousness, then we might try 00:13:55.230 --> 00:13:58.450 to work up our own righteousness to be right 00:13:58.450 --> 00:14:03.509 with God. Works righteousness. Let me go ahead 00:14:03.509 --> 00:14:06.570 and help you. No one's ever been righteous based 00:14:06.570 --> 00:14:10.419 on their works. Only Jesus. That's why we're 00:14:10.419 --> 00:14:13.179 clothed in His righteousness when we're in Christ. 00:14:14.240 --> 00:14:16.460 I can't preach those other weeks. We've got to 00:14:16.460 --> 00:14:22.340 get to today. So today we're going to focus on 00:14:22.340 --> 00:14:26.799 one of the names of God that's found over 235 00:14:26.799 --> 00:14:29.779 times in the Bible. I found one list that was 00:14:29.779 --> 00:14:32.340 235, and then I found another list that's 270. 00:14:34.399 --> 00:14:36.700 If that name is in the Bible that many times, 00:14:36.740 --> 00:14:40.379 we should know what it means, right? And the 00:14:40.379 --> 00:14:44.299 name that we're looking at today is Yahweh Sabaoth. 00:14:46.299 --> 00:14:53.000 Sabaoth. Everybody say Yahweh Sabaoth. That's 00:14:53.000 --> 00:14:56.460 God's name. That's God's name. Most of the time 00:14:56.460 --> 00:15:00.700 when we hear the translation into English, we 00:15:00.700 --> 00:15:05.679 see that he is the Lord of hosts. The Lord of 00:15:05.679 --> 00:15:10.720 hosts. What does that mean? It's easy for us 00:15:10.720 --> 00:15:13.299 to see this line and say, well, okay, I know 00:15:13.299 --> 00:15:15.960 what that name is, but do we actually have a 00:15:15.960 --> 00:15:22.220 working understanding of what Lord of hosts means? 00:15:23.679 --> 00:15:26.539 So, we're going to break it down. Digging into 00:15:26.539 --> 00:15:29.379 the Hebrew word, we're going to break it down. 00:15:30.440 --> 00:15:32.639 And to put it in our modern day understanding, 00:15:33.059 --> 00:15:39.230 this is who God is. He is, I am. The commander 00:15:39.230 --> 00:15:44.250 -in -chief over a great mass of people are servants 00:15:44.250 --> 00:15:51.769 who are organized for war or for battle. Does 00:15:51.769 --> 00:15:54.110 that give you a little wider understanding on 00:15:54.110 --> 00:15:56.970 Lord of Hosts? We understand what the commander 00:15:56.970 --> 00:16:00.889 -in -chief is, right? Commander -in -chief. And 00:16:00.889 --> 00:16:09.059 he's over. God is over a great mass. And in Hebrew, 00:16:09.240 --> 00:16:13.039 this word is a great mass of people. But we also 00:16:13.039 --> 00:16:16.500 understand that he is the commander -in -chief 00:16:16.500 --> 00:16:24.500 over a great mass of angelic beings who are organized 00:16:24.500 --> 00:16:28.940 for war. You know what? We're in spiritual warfare. 00:16:29.460 --> 00:16:32.820 Whether you realize it or not, as a follower 00:16:32.820 --> 00:16:36.250 of Christ, the more... You are concentrated on 00:16:36.250 --> 00:16:40.029 being a Christ follower and living for His kingdom 00:16:40.029 --> 00:16:43.309 and representing His kingdom. The more you do 00:16:43.309 --> 00:16:47.789 that, the more warfare you're going to experience. 00:16:49.929 --> 00:16:52.429 Because we have a spiritual enemy who is against 00:16:52.429 --> 00:16:57.110 us. I mean, we have a spiritual enemy that does 00:16:57.110 --> 00:17:02.830 not want over 100 ,000 people to be in a relationship 00:17:02.830 --> 00:17:06.619 with Christ. Relationship with God through Jesus. 00:17:06.980 --> 00:17:10.400 He doesn't want the 100 ,000 people up and down 00:17:10.400 --> 00:17:14.259 27 to be part of a faith family. He does not 00:17:14.259 --> 00:17:18.680 want that to happen. He does not want a move 00:17:18.680 --> 00:17:23.220 of God to break out in this area that impacts 00:17:23.220 --> 00:17:28.819 the rest of the world. He doesn't want that. 00:17:30.559 --> 00:17:33.880 Do you think God wants that? I think God wants 00:17:33.880 --> 00:17:38.450 that. But our enemy doesn't want that. Here's 00:17:38.450 --> 00:17:44.630 the good news. God's on our side. He's the commander 00:17:44.630 --> 00:17:50.329 -in -chief of our great mass. Thousands upon 00:17:50.329 --> 00:17:54.990 thousands upon ten thousands of angelic hosts. 00:17:56.970 --> 00:18:00.430 So we don't have to be afraid in our battle. 00:18:03.819 --> 00:18:07.160 I want to give you an example of this. I'm pulling 00:18:07.160 --> 00:18:14.200 out of 2 Kings 6, verses 8 -22. I want you to 00:18:14.200 --> 00:18:18.460 see what this looks like. When the king of Aram 00:18:18.460 --> 00:18:20.680 was at war with Israel, he would confer with 00:18:20.680 --> 00:18:25.059 his officers and say, we will mobilize our forces 00:18:25.059 --> 00:18:32.609 at such and such a place. Now this is... the 00:18:32.609 --> 00:18:37.369 king that's against God's people, Israel. But 00:18:37.369 --> 00:18:41.430 immediately, I mean, he's in his war room, he's 00:18:41.430 --> 00:18:44.049 talking to his leaders, he's saying, let's go 00:18:44.049 --> 00:18:48.210 attack them in this place, on this day, at this 00:18:48.210 --> 00:18:52.349 time. Let's go attack them. But immediately, 00:18:52.450 --> 00:18:56.690 when he would say that to his advisors, Elisha, 00:18:56.690 --> 00:19:02.430 the prophet, the man of God, would warn the king 00:19:02.430 --> 00:19:09.809 of Israel. Do not go near that place. For the 00:19:09.809 --> 00:19:15.190 Arameans are planning to mobilize their troops 00:19:15.190 --> 00:19:23.109 there. Don't go. So the king of Israel would 00:19:23.109 --> 00:19:26.490 send word to the place indicated by the man of 00:19:26.490 --> 00:19:31.309 God. Okay. Our enemy's going to come and our 00:19:31.309 --> 00:19:33.410 enemy's going to try to attack us at this time, 00:19:33.470 --> 00:19:38.809 but, you know, I don't know how they did it, 00:19:38.829 --> 00:19:40.670 but they were ready when the enemy came. They 00:19:40.670 --> 00:19:42.529 were ready or either they left and the enemy 00:19:42.529 --> 00:19:43.849 got there and said, where are the people at? 00:19:44.789 --> 00:19:50.410 We're supposed to attack. Now, the enemy planned 00:19:50.410 --> 00:19:57.039 some surprise attacks. And just like in our spiritual 00:19:57.039 --> 00:20:00.579 warfare, the enemy sometimes plans surprise attacks. 00:20:02.299 --> 00:20:07.180 This is why it is important to walk in the Spirit, 00:20:07.400 --> 00:20:11.059 to live in the Spirit, to be led by the Holy 00:20:11.059 --> 00:20:16.420 Spirit. If you're in Christ, God lives in you. 00:20:18.059 --> 00:20:21.819 God lives in you. You're the temple of the Holy 00:20:21.819 --> 00:20:26.500 Spirit. He has moved on the inside of you. He 00:20:26.500 --> 00:20:29.720 knows what's going on around you. As a matter 00:20:29.720 --> 00:20:31.240 of fact, He knows everything about everything. 00:20:34.039 --> 00:20:36.420 So why don't we consult Him more often since 00:20:36.420 --> 00:20:41.519 He knows everything about everything? But the 00:20:41.519 --> 00:20:46.380 enemy plans surprise attacks. But if we are being 00:20:46.380 --> 00:20:51.539 led by the Holy Spirit, He can... give us information 00:20:51.539 --> 00:20:54.559 about where an attack may be coming, that we 00:20:54.559 --> 00:20:57.559 can be prepared. We can be spiritually prepared, 00:20:57.880 --> 00:21:05.680 prayerfully prepared. Hello? Some of you are 00:21:05.680 --> 00:21:12.240 looking at me funny. In this story, as our example, 00:21:12.420 --> 00:21:17.200 these attacks were preempted by prophetic preparation. 00:21:18.599 --> 00:21:20.480 Don't get me to say that five times real fast. 00:21:21.259 --> 00:21:24.980 It's almost like she sells, she sells. These 00:21:24.980 --> 00:21:28.660 attacks were preempted by prophetic preparation. 00:21:31.740 --> 00:21:35.619 God spoke to the prophet. The prophet spoke to 00:21:35.619 --> 00:21:40.980 the king. And they were prepared. I believe some 00:21:40.980 --> 00:21:43.799 of the attacks that come against us, if we were 00:21:43.799 --> 00:21:46.819 spirit -led, And walking with God, I believe 00:21:46.819 --> 00:21:48.440 we would be prepared for some of them before 00:21:48.440 --> 00:21:52.200 they got there. I believe that we would pray 00:21:52.200 --> 00:21:55.500 and put on the armor of God and be ready when 00:21:55.500 --> 00:21:58.299 that attack came instead of it catching us off 00:21:58.299 --> 00:22:09.039 guard. Verse 10. Time and again, Elisha warned 00:22:09.039 --> 00:22:12.980 the king so that he would be on alert there where 00:22:12.980 --> 00:22:16.180 they were planning their attack. The king of 00:22:16.180 --> 00:22:20.819 Aram became very upset over this. He called his 00:22:20.819 --> 00:22:24.539 officers together and demanded, which one of 00:22:24.539 --> 00:22:28.700 you is a traitor? Who's been informing the king 00:22:28.700 --> 00:22:35.440 of Israel of my plans? We've got a mole. It's 00:22:35.440 --> 00:22:38.559 not us, my lord and king. One of the officers 00:22:38.559 --> 00:22:44.940 replied, Elisha, the prophet in Israel. Listen 00:22:44.940 --> 00:22:47.859 to this. Tells the king of Israel even the words 00:22:47.859 --> 00:22:56.039 you speak in the privacy of your bedroom. Glad 00:22:56.039 --> 00:22:58.859 some of you smiled. Here's what the king said. 00:22:58.960 --> 00:23:02.339 Go and find out where he is. The king commanded. 00:23:03.119 --> 00:23:07.440 So I can send troops to seize him. And the report 00:23:07.440 --> 00:23:11.460 came back. Elisha is at Dothan. So one night 00:23:11.460 --> 00:23:14.920 the king of Aram. sent a great army with many 00:23:14.920 --> 00:23:20.759 chariots and horses to surround the city. Here 00:23:20.759 --> 00:23:24.200 we see that the enemy moved from attacking a 00:23:24.200 --> 00:23:27.200 nation, the people of Israel. Now all of a sudden 00:23:27.200 --> 00:23:31.599 the army, the enemy is attacking an individual. 00:23:31.680 --> 00:23:40.579 They're going after an individual. It's good. 00:23:42.029 --> 00:23:44.769 When the servant of the man of God got up early 00:23:44.769 --> 00:23:50.829 the next morning, this is Elisha's servant. When 00:23:50.829 --> 00:23:52.890 he got up early the next morning and went outside, 00:23:53.009 --> 00:23:57.349 there were troops, horses, and chariots everywhere. 00:23:58.930 --> 00:24:04.150 They were surrounded. So he runs back in the 00:24:04.150 --> 00:24:07.309 house and says, Oh, sir, what will we do now? 00:24:08.490 --> 00:24:15.279 The young man cried to Elisha. Do any of us ever 00:24:15.279 --> 00:24:21.420 get in this place where we see trouble and all 00:24:21.420 --> 00:24:23.220 of a sudden we start saying, oh no, what are 00:24:23.220 --> 00:24:26.920 we going to do now? I call that getting in a 00:24:26.920 --> 00:24:30.019 loop. What am I going to do? What am I going 00:24:30.019 --> 00:24:36.140 to do? What am I going to do? How many of you 00:24:36.140 --> 00:24:38.039 know we're not going to find victory in a loop? 00:24:40.940 --> 00:24:47.319 Three of you. What am I going to do? What am 00:24:47.319 --> 00:24:50.880 I going to do now? Here's this trouble. Here's 00:24:50.880 --> 00:24:54.279 this thing. It's against me. It's going to take 00:24:54.279 --> 00:24:56.740 me out. It's going to take me down. What am I 00:24:56.740 --> 00:24:58.140 going to do now? What am I going to do? What 00:24:58.140 --> 00:25:03.720 am I going to do? What am I going to do? Elisha, 00:25:03.720 --> 00:25:10.480 what are we going to do now? Servant was overcome 00:25:10.480 --> 00:25:14.819 with fear. And when he's overcome with fear, 00:25:14.940 --> 00:25:21.599 he can only see the problem. And we're not just 00:25:21.599 --> 00:25:23.180 talking about a story in the Old Testament, we're 00:25:23.180 --> 00:25:24.819 talking about our daily lives, if you haven't 00:25:24.819 --> 00:25:29.079 figured that out yet. When we're overcome with 00:25:29.079 --> 00:25:32.880 fear, we'll make some terrible decisions. Hello? 00:25:34.519 --> 00:25:36.920 When we're overcome with fear, what we're doing 00:25:36.920 --> 00:25:39.559 is we're focusing on the problem instead of focusing 00:25:39.559 --> 00:25:42.650 on the solution. We've got our eyes fixed on 00:25:42.650 --> 00:25:48.369 the problem instead of having our eyes fixed 00:25:48.369 --> 00:25:55.029 on the one who can solve the problem. Here's 00:25:55.029 --> 00:25:59.890 what Elisha said. Don't be afraid. Don't be afraid, 00:26:00.009 --> 00:26:03.470 Elisha told him. And listen to what Elisha said. 00:26:03.970 --> 00:26:06.430 For there are more on our side than on theirs. 00:26:07.809 --> 00:26:09.970 I could see this servant looking around saying, 00:26:10.009 --> 00:26:16.779 well, There's me and there's you. There's me 00:26:16.779 --> 00:26:20.720 and there's you. And I just walked outside and 00:26:20.720 --> 00:26:26.000 there's hundreds of soldiers and chariots and 00:26:26.000 --> 00:26:30.799 horses. Hey, Elisha, what in the world are you 00:26:30.799 --> 00:26:34.799 talking about? They're more on our side than 00:26:34.799 --> 00:26:39.789 on theirs? What are you talking about? Then Elisha 00:26:39.789 --> 00:26:47.710 prayed, O Lord, open his eyes and let him see. 00:26:51.789 --> 00:27:10.269 Let him see. Let him see what I know. See, the 00:27:10.269 --> 00:27:13.049 real problem was the servant's perception of 00:27:13.049 --> 00:27:16.990 his present condition. That was the real problem. 00:27:18.329 --> 00:27:21.309 Because he was just going by sight. He was going 00:27:21.309 --> 00:27:25.109 by his physical sight, what he saw, instead of 00:27:25.109 --> 00:27:29.009 going by a spiritual sight or a spiritual vision 00:27:29.009 --> 00:27:35.009 of the truth. And Elisha was going on a spiritual 00:27:35.009 --> 00:27:39.079 vision of the truth. While the servant was just 00:27:39.079 --> 00:27:45.519 going on his physical site. If you come to church 00:27:45.519 --> 00:27:48.220 here often, you hear us sing and talk about, 00:27:48.319 --> 00:27:51.519 we're going to walk by faith and not by sight. 00:27:54.880 --> 00:27:57.940 We're going to walk by faith and not by sight. 00:28:02.480 --> 00:28:04.660 Some of you might say, well, you haven't seen 00:28:04.660 --> 00:28:09.819 what I've seen. Well, you haven't heard what 00:28:09.819 --> 00:28:11.859 I've heard and you haven't heard what I know. 00:28:15.880 --> 00:28:23.640 And Elisha said, let him see it. Servant was 00:28:23.640 --> 00:28:26.640 moved by what he saw. Elisha was established 00:28:26.640 --> 00:28:34.019 in what he knew. Verse 16. The Lord opened the 00:28:34.019 --> 00:28:38.740 young man's eyes. And when he looked up, he saw 00:28:38.740 --> 00:28:43.500 that the hillside around Elisha was filled with 00:28:43.500 --> 00:28:55.420 horses and chariots of fire. Paul Harvey used 00:28:55.420 --> 00:28:59.839 to say, now here's the rest of the story. The 00:28:59.839 --> 00:29:02.500 rest of the story. Some of you don't even know 00:29:02.500 --> 00:29:09.369 who that is. As the Aramean army advanced towards 00:29:09.369 --> 00:29:16.410 him, because they're coming in. They had them 00:29:16.410 --> 00:29:19.349 surrounded. Now they see them outside and they're 00:29:19.349 --> 00:29:23.849 coming in. They're on a mission to take Elisha. 00:29:24.349 --> 00:29:30.190 And Elisha prayed, Oh Lord, please make them 00:29:30.190 --> 00:29:36.579 blind. Make them blind. So the Lord struck them 00:29:36.579 --> 00:29:42.400 with blindness as Elisha had asked. So all these 00:29:42.400 --> 00:29:45.539 soldiers are coming in and then all of a sudden 00:29:45.539 --> 00:29:54.240 it just goes black. They can't see a thing. Then 00:29:54.240 --> 00:29:58.900 Elisha went out and told them, you guys have 00:29:58.900 --> 00:30:02.500 come the wrong way. This isn't the right city. 00:30:03.720 --> 00:30:07.599 Follow me and I will take you to the man that 00:30:07.599 --> 00:30:11.660 you're looking for. And he led them to the city 00:30:11.660 --> 00:30:16.319 of Samaria. As soon as they had entered Samaria, 00:30:16.460 --> 00:30:22.079 Elisha prayed, Oh Lord, open their eyes and let 00:30:22.079 --> 00:30:25.740 them see. So the Lord opened their eyes and they 00:30:25.740 --> 00:30:29.119 discovered that they were in the middle of Samaria. 00:30:30.059 --> 00:30:32.940 When the king of Israel saw them, he shouted 00:30:32.940 --> 00:30:36.140 to Elisha, My father, should I kill them? Should 00:30:36.140 --> 00:30:40.119 I kill them? Because the enemy's here. Should 00:30:40.119 --> 00:30:45.160 I take them out? Of course not, Elijah replied. 00:30:46.259 --> 00:30:48.880 Do we kill prisoners of war? I mean, they were 00:30:48.880 --> 00:30:53.000 already captured right there. Give them food 00:30:53.000 --> 00:30:55.599 and drink and send them home again to their master, 00:30:55.740 --> 00:31:01.140 to the king. Just send them back. I want him 00:31:01.140 --> 00:31:05.500 to hear this story. I mean, that's what he's 00:31:05.500 --> 00:31:09.400 saying, right? Treat them nice. Give them some 00:31:09.400 --> 00:31:11.420 food. Give them something to drink. Send them 00:31:11.420 --> 00:31:21.700 back. Let the king of Aram hear this. Here's 00:31:21.700 --> 00:31:26.819 a question. Are we moved by what we see? Do we 00:31:26.819 --> 00:31:29.920 live our lives by what we see? Is that what moves 00:31:29.920 --> 00:31:34.119 us? Is that what takes control over us? Always 00:31:34.119 --> 00:31:38.819 just what we see with our natural eyes? Are we 00:31:38.819 --> 00:31:41.839 so wrapped up in this natural world that all 00:31:41.839 --> 00:31:44.279 we see is what's going on in the natural world? 00:31:47.099 --> 00:31:56.880 Or are we established in what we know? You can 00:31:56.880 --> 00:32:01.799 be established in what you know. But it's going 00:32:01.799 --> 00:32:03.740 to take more than just showing up at church on 00:32:03.740 --> 00:32:08.460 Sunday morning to be established and grounded 00:32:08.460 --> 00:32:14.680 and rooted in what you know. When troubles arise, 00:32:14.940 --> 00:32:22.200 and Jesus said, in this world there will be tribulation, 00:32:22.200 --> 00:32:24.539 and when you translate that word from the Greek, 00:32:25.000 --> 00:32:27.019 It means trouble and pressure. In this world, 00:32:27.180 --> 00:32:29.319 there's going to be trouble. There's going to 00:32:29.319 --> 00:32:33.039 be pressure. Has anybody experienced any trouble 00:32:33.039 --> 00:32:39.680 or pressure this past week? Any? Well, Jesus 00:32:39.680 --> 00:32:43.920 told you. I like to put it this way. Thank you, 00:32:43.920 --> 00:32:49.460 Jesus, for such an encouraging word. But he didn't 00:32:49.460 --> 00:32:52.859 stop there. He said, in this world, you're going 00:32:52.859 --> 00:32:55.380 to have... Pressure, you're going to have trouble. 00:32:57.180 --> 00:33:01.279 But then he says this, but be of good cheer. 00:33:03.799 --> 00:33:05.119 You're going to have pressure, you're going to 00:33:05.119 --> 00:33:08.839 have trouble. But Jesus says, cheer up, buttercup. 00:33:10.640 --> 00:33:15.619 Be of good cheer. Right in the middle of your 00:33:15.619 --> 00:33:23.230 pressure and trouble, cheer up. How can you do 00:33:23.230 --> 00:33:28.789 that? How can you cheer up in the middle of your 00:33:28.789 --> 00:33:30.730 pressure and in the middle of your trouble? How 00:33:30.730 --> 00:33:38.109 can you cheer up? Because you know something. 00:33:41.390 --> 00:33:45.650 You know that God's a good God. You know because 00:33:45.650 --> 00:33:48.529 you can look back and see how He has brought 00:33:48.529 --> 00:33:52.009 you through before. Has God ever brought anybody 00:33:52.009 --> 00:33:54.190 through before in something that they were facing, 00:33:54.210 --> 00:33:56.230 in some trouble that they were facing? Has God 00:33:56.230 --> 00:34:05.410 been faithful? Has God been good? So I can cheer 00:34:05.410 --> 00:34:09.389 up. Because even though I'm facing trouble, even 00:34:09.389 --> 00:34:12.409 though I'm facing some pressure, you know what? 00:34:13.289 --> 00:34:15.489 I can go ahead and get happy because God's a 00:34:15.489 --> 00:34:18.130 good God. And that He's going to see me through 00:34:18.130 --> 00:34:21.889 again. Listen, it's just like this story that 00:34:21.889 --> 00:34:28.989 we just looked at. Elijah got a report that he's 00:34:28.989 --> 00:34:32.590 surrounded by an army of horses and chariots 00:34:32.590 --> 00:34:40.250 and soldiers. What did he do? It's no problem. 00:34:43.969 --> 00:34:49.500 Because God's on my side. There's more with me 00:34:49.500 --> 00:34:54.599 than there is against me. He didn't have to see 00:34:54.599 --> 00:34:57.219 that with his natural eyes, but that poor old 00:34:57.219 --> 00:35:03.719 servant, he needed to see it. So he prayed that 00:35:03.719 --> 00:35:09.860 God would open up his eyes and then he saw. I 00:35:09.860 --> 00:35:12.059 bet that knocked him right out of the loop that 00:35:12.059 --> 00:35:14.460 he was in. What are we going to do? What are 00:35:14.460 --> 00:35:15.960 we going to do? What are we going to do? We're 00:35:15.960 --> 00:35:23.630 surrounded. This is it. We're going down. Nope. 00:35:25.289 --> 00:35:35.590 Because I know something. I've shared this illustration 00:35:35.590 --> 00:35:37.730 before, but how many of you like college football? 00:35:39.050 --> 00:35:41.889 I love college football. I don't get to watch 00:35:41.889 --> 00:35:44.969 much pro ball, but I love college football. It's 00:35:44.969 --> 00:35:51.300 my favorite sport. And, you know, if something's 00:35:51.300 --> 00:35:54.380 on ESPN or whatever, they always have it available 00:35:54.380 --> 00:35:58.980 after the game to watch it. So sometimes I'm 00:35:58.980 --> 00:36:04.179 not available to watch my favorite team. So I 00:36:04.179 --> 00:36:10.900 can go after the game and watch the game. I want 00:36:10.900 --> 00:36:14.599 to tell you something. I can't just, like, not 00:36:14.599 --> 00:36:18.739 know the score. You know, it's like I've got 00:36:18.739 --> 00:36:20.619 to know the score when the game happens, and 00:36:20.619 --> 00:36:23.659 my phone rings it in automatically on my favorite 00:36:23.659 --> 00:36:25.880 teams and tells me what the score is every quarter 00:36:25.880 --> 00:36:29.500 and things like that. So here's the deal. If 00:36:29.500 --> 00:36:34.340 my team wins against a team that, you know, I 00:36:34.340 --> 00:36:36.280 mean, if they're just playing somebody, sorry, 00:36:36.460 --> 00:36:38.320 I don't even care to watch it. But if they're 00:36:38.320 --> 00:36:41.400 playing somebody that I'm like, hmm, this would 00:36:41.400 --> 00:36:42.739 have been a good game if I could have watched 00:36:42.739 --> 00:36:51.119 it. If my team wins. I'll watch the game. And 00:36:51.119 --> 00:36:54.039 when I watch a replay of a game, listen, when 00:36:54.039 --> 00:36:56.320 I watch a replay of a game when I already know 00:36:56.320 --> 00:37:02.599 who won, I watch it a lot different. Now, if 00:37:02.599 --> 00:37:05.639 you're anywhere near me when I'm serious about 00:37:05.639 --> 00:37:09.639 a football game, you'll know that I get a little 00:37:09.639 --> 00:37:14.880 boisterous. I like to act like I'm the coach. 00:37:18.000 --> 00:37:21.940 Does anybody like that? Anybody do that? I mean, 00:37:21.960 --> 00:37:26.619 I'll say, like to the quarterback, why didn't 00:37:26.619 --> 00:37:30.059 you throw it away instead of taking a sack? I 00:37:30.059 --> 00:37:33.079 mean, I'll be loud. I'll start hollering, throw 00:37:33.079 --> 00:37:35.420 the ball away. I mean, before the guy tackles 00:37:35.420 --> 00:37:37.280 him, when I'm watching the game, I'm like, throw 00:37:37.280 --> 00:37:40.219 it away, throw it away, and he'll get sacked. 00:37:41.820 --> 00:37:45.199 I should be the quarterback. He wasn't listening 00:37:45.199 --> 00:37:54.780 to me. When an interception happens, did you 00:37:54.780 --> 00:37:56.960 not see? I mean, I could see it on the TV. You 00:37:56.960 --> 00:37:59.300 were there. You should be able to see to not 00:37:59.300 --> 00:38:06.360 throw the ball right there. I mean, I get loud, 00:38:06.579 --> 00:38:09.019 not just negative, even positive. When my team 00:38:09.019 --> 00:38:12.440 does something, you know, like, yeah, we got 00:38:12.440 --> 00:38:15.239 the interception. I used to be a defensive back. 00:38:15.300 --> 00:38:18.679 Now I look like a... but I used to be little. 00:38:20.900 --> 00:38:25.619 So watch those defensive backs. You know? But 00:38:25.619 --> 00:38:28.820 when it's a replay, and I know that my team won, 00:38:28.960 --> 00:38:35.599 I don't get near as excited. Especially towards 00:38:35.599 --> 00:38:39.619 the negative things. You know why? Because we 00:38:39.619 --> 00:38:46.090 won. We won. I can calmly watch that football 00:38:46.090 --> 00:38:49.489 game. Yeah, he threw an interception. Yeah, he 00:38:49.489 --> 00:38:56.050 got sacked. But that's okay. Because we won. 00:38:57.250 --> 00:39:00.110 Especially if we're playing Clemson. Especially. 00:39:01.030 --> 00:39:18.250 We won. I want you to get this so bad. When you 00:39:18.250 --> 00:39:26.650 face pressure and trouble, can you get a hold 00:39:26.650 --> 00:39:31.909 of the fact that you've won? Even before it comes? 00:39:34.989 --> 00:39:37.309 Jesus said, in this world you will have tribulation. 00:39:37.389 --> 00:39:39.369 You'll have pressure. You'll have trouble. But 00:39:39.369 --> 00:39:41.829 be of good cheer. Here's why. Because I have 00:39:41.829 --> 00:39:45.250 overcome the world is what he says. And I'm in 00:39:45.250 --> 00:39:49.469 Christ and he has already won. So I already know 00:39:49.469 --> 00:40:03.150 the end. I win because he wins. Hallelujah. That's 00:40:03.150 --> 00:40:05.800 my amen button. There's people in the church 00:40:05.800 --> 00:40:07.659 saying amen. They gave that to me for my birthday. 00:40:08.260 --> 00:40:10.179 I'll let you press it after church if you want 00:40:10.179 --> 00:40:15.920 to. Here's the deal, 2 Corinthians 5 -7. We walk 00:40:15.920 --> 00:40:19.539 by faith and not by sight. We need to walk by 00:40:19.539 --> 00:40:21.960 what we know, that God's a good God, that we've 00:40:21.960 --> 00:40:26.260 already won. No matter what we're facing today, 00:40:26.500 --> 00:40:28.579 we've already won. He's going to bring us through. 00:40:29.380 --> 00:40:33.630 We walk by faith and not by sight. 2 Corinthians 00:40:33.630 --> 00:40:37.710 4, 8, 9. This is encouraging too. We're pressed 00:40:37.710 --> 00:40:41.889 on every side by troubles, but we're not crushed. 00:40:42.530 --> 00:40:45.829 We're perplexed. Sometimes we get in that place. 00:40:45.949 --> 00:40:47.969 What are we going to do? That's perplexed, right? 00:40:49.130 --> 00:40:53.690 But not driven to despair. We are hunted down, 00:40:53.889 --> 00:40:59.469 but never, never, never, never abandoned by God. 00:41:00.630 --> 00:41:03.909 I mean, this is Paul talking. He had a group 00:41:03.909 --> 00:41:05.369 of people that said they weren't even going to 00:41:05.369 --> 00:41:11.230 eat again until they killed him. Has anybody 00:41:11.230 --> 00:41:13.630 not eaten this week because they had to kill 00:41:13.630 --> 00:41:21.090 you before they ate? We get knocked down, but 00:41:21.090 --> 00:41:27.369 we're not destroyed. Our present troubles are 00:41:27.369 --> 00:41:33.860 small and won't last very long. Yet they produce 00:41:33.860 --> 00:41:37.780 for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and 00:41:37.780 --> 00:41:44.639 will last forever. So we don't look at the troubles 00:41:44.639 --> 00:41:50.360 we can see now. Rather, we fix our gaze on things 00:41:50.360 --> 00:41:56.940 that cannot be seen. Everybody say God. Everybody 00:41:56.940 --> 00:42:00.639 say Yahweh's Sabbath oath. Everybody say the 00:42:00.639 --> 00:42:05.150 promises of God. We fix our gaze on things that 00:42:05.150 --> 00:42:08.329 cannot be seen, for the things we see now will 00:42:08.329 --> 00:42:12.250 soon be gone. But the things we cannot see will 00:42:12.250 --> 00:42:16.010 last forever. Here's what we need to know. Battles 00:42:16.010 --> 00:42:17.869 are temporary. We're all going to face battles. 00:42:18.030 --> 00:42:19.650 We're all going to have some struggle at times. 00:42:20.150 --> 00:42:22.170 Battles are temporary, but victory is eternal. 00:42:23.250 --> 00:42:25.250 Troubles will last for a moment. We're all going 00:42:25.250 --> 00:42:26.869 to have pressure. We're all going to have trouble. 00:42:26.949 --> 00:42:29.909 Jesus said we were. But the glory of overcoming 00:42:29.909 --> 00:42:32.809 is everlasting. How many of you have gone through 00:42:32.809 --> 00:42:34.809 some trouble? You know, I just stayed in the 00:42:34.809 --> 00:42:36.469 trouble, but you've gone through the trouble, 00:42:36.570 --> 00:42:40.369 and then now you see that God was good, and God 00:42:40.369 --> 00:42:43.530 cared, and God brought you through, and now, 00:42:43.710 --> 00:42:46.369 you know what? You can just talk about how good 00:42:46.369 --> 00:42:51.869 God is. That's everlasting. That trouble that 00:42:51.869 --> 00:42:55.289 lasted for a moment, you know, it's over now. 00:42:56.409 --> 00:43:01.130 It's over now. But the glory of overcoming is 00:43:01.130 --> 00:43:04.730 everlasting. Victory is eternal. Romans 8, 31. 00:43:04.969 --> 00:43:08.289 If God is for us, who can ever be against us? 00:43:09.010 --> 00:43:11.070 I want you to think about this story with the 00:43:11.070 --> 00:43:13.849 army surrounding it. And it's like, oh no, oh 00:43:13.849 --> 00:43:14.989 no, what are we going to do? What are we going 00:43:14.989 --> 00:43:16.730 to do? Think of that pressure. Think about that 00:43:16.730 --> 00:43:19.030 struggle. Think about that trouble. But if God 00:43:19.030 --> 00:43:25.320 is for us, who can be against us? Listen to this, 00:43:25.340 --> 00:43:28.940 Romans 8, 35 through 37. Can anything ever separate 00:43:28.940 --> 00:43:34.559 you from Christ's love? Is there anything that 00:43:34.559 --> 00:43:37.239 can ever separate you from God's love for you? 00:43:37.900 --> 00:43:44.860 No. Listen, does it mean God no longer loves 00:43:44.860 --> 00:43:49.360 us? If we have trouble or calamity, does it mean 00:43:49.360 --> 00:43:52.659 that God doesn't love us anymore? When we're 00:43:52.659 --> 00:43:55.760 persecuted? Does it mean that God doesn't love 00:43:55.760 --> 00:43:58.260 us anymore if we're hungry or destitute or in 00:43:58.260 --> 00:44:00.239 danger? Does it mean that God doesn't love us? 00:44:01.320 --> 00:44:03.239 Even if we're threatened with death, does it 00:44:03.239 --> 00:44:08.039 mean that God doesn't love us? Verse 36. Well, 00:44:08.340 --> 00:44:14.699 as the Scriptures say, for your sake, God, we're 00:44:14.699 --> 00:44:18.519 killed every day. We're being slaughtered like 00:44:18.519 --> 00:44:23.519 sheep. Don't teach a Bible study on that verse. 00:44:32.619 --> 00:44:37.920 It's funny, people get stuck without seeing what 00:44:37.920 --> 00:44:40.659 the Bible really says. They get stuck on some 00:44:40.659 --> 00:44:45.599 kind of example, and they miss what it says. 00:44:48.039 --> 00:44:50.019 Did you hear what we just said right before we 00:44:50.019 --> 00:44:53.139 got to this verse? No matter what we face, it 00:44:53.139 --> 00:44:54.880 doesn't mean that God doesn't love us when we're 00:44:54.880 --> 00:44:57.059 going through pressure and when we're going through 00:44:57.059 --> 00:44:59.519 trials and all the things. It doesn't mean that 00:44:59.519 --> 00:45:03.079 God don't love us. But some people, when they're 00:45:03.079 --> 00:45:06.780 there, they say, well, you know, here's a Bible 00:45:06.780 --> 00:45:12.019 verse. It says, God, you know, we just get killed 00:45:12.019 --> 00:45:16.199 every day. We just get slaughtered like sheep, 00:45:16.280 --> 00:45:19.460 but God, you know, just help us be slaughtered 00:45:19.460 --> 00:45:33.619 well. What's verse 37 say? No! Don't say that. 00:45:36.820 --> 00:45:41.840 It's a Bible, but don't quote that one. Don't 00:45:41.840 --> 00:45:47.719 put that one on your refrigerator. Being killed 00:45:47.719 --> 00:45:50.360 every day and slaughtered like sheep. Praise 00:45:50.360 --> 00:45:58.460 God, it's going to be a great day. Some people 00:45:58.460 --> 00:46:04.420 do that. Don't do that. No, despite all these 00:46:04.420 --> 00:46:09.039 things. I mean, Paul went through a lot, but 00:46:09.039 --> 00:46:10.940 he says, despite all those things I went through, 00:46:11.079 --> 00:46:16.000 overwhelming victory is ours. Through Christ 00:46:16.000 --> 00:46:25.760 who loved us. Overwhelming victory. Overwhelming 00:46:25.760 --> 00:46:36.619 victory. Overwhelming victory. But here's where 00:46:36.619 --> 00:46:39.360 most people miss it. They come to church and 00:46:39.360 --> 00:46:41.280 they hear sermons like this and then they say, 00:46:41.420 --> 00:46:45.960 well, I see that it says that, but that's not 00:46:45.960 --> 00:46:57.239 my experience. It's not my experience. Whose 00:46:57.239 --> 00:47:01.500 report are you going to believe? We sang that 00:47:01.500 --> 00:47:04.559 song last week and this week. Whose report are 00:47:04.559 --> 00:47:08.239 you going to believe? Are you going to believe 00:47:08.239 --> 00:47:11.440 the report of your eyes? Are you going to believe 00:47:11.440 --> 00:47:14.579 the report of the Lord, what He says about what 00:47:14.579 --> 00:47:17.019 you're going through? In this world, you're going 00:47:17.019 --> 00:47:20.000 to have trouble and pressure. But cheer up, because 00:47:20.000 --> 00:47:24.059 I've overcome the world. And you're in me. Despite 00:47:24.059 --> 00:47:26.019 all these things, all those terrible things I 00:47:26.019 --> 00:47:28.480 just read, overwhelming victory is yours through 00:47:28.480 --> 00:47:34.079 Christ who loves you. That's the promise. So 00:47:34.079 --> 00:47:37.179 in the middle, see, here's what we've got to 00:47:37.179 --> 00:47:40.559 do. First of all, you've got to hear that. Somebody 00:47:40.559 --> 00:47:44.320 say, I heard it. Now you've got to believe it. 00:47:46.659 --> 00:47:49.659 You've got to be confident that that's what the 00:47:49.659 --> 00:47:54.360 Bible says. Somebody say, I believe it. Now see, 00:47:54.400 --> 00:47:55.679 if you don't believe it, you're never going to 00:47:55.679 --> 00:47:59.059 experience it. You've got to hear it. You've 00:47:59.059 --> 00:48:04.519 got to believe it. Then, instead of saying, what 00:48:04.519 --> 00:48:06.300 am I going to do? What am I going to do? What 00:48:06.300 --> 00:48:10.679 am I going to do? You need to say, overwhelming 00:48:10.679 --> 00:48:14.199 victory is mine. In this thing that I'm facing 00:48:14.199 --> 00:48:17.099 today, yeah, it looks bad, and the people around 00:48:17.099 --> 00:48:19.219 me think it looks bad, but I know something. 00:48:20.179 --> 00:48:23.139 I'm established in what I know, and I've got 00:48:23.139 --> 00:48:25.739 a good God, and overwhelming victory is mine. 00:48:26.280 --> 00:48:28.980 I may not see it in the next five minutes. I 00:48:28.980 --> 00:48:32.099 might not see it tomorrow. I might not see it 00:48:32.099 --> 00:48:35.800 next week. But I'm going to see it because God's 00:48:35.800 --> 00:48:40.119 a good God. That's what it looks like when you're 00:48:40.119 --> 00:48:45.420 established in the truth. Overwhelming victory 00:48:45.420 --> 00:48:54.780 is mine through Christ. He loves me. As we look 00:48:54.780 --> 00:48:57.219 at those verses and all the things that he was 00:48:57.219 --> 00:48:59.739 going through, and then we look at that, oh, 00:48:59.980 --> 00:49:03.539 you know, we're just slaughtered like sheep and 00:49:03.539 --> 00:49:07.300 killed every day. What we're finding out in this 00:49:07.300 --> 00:49:12.840 text is the gospel breaks despair. The gospel, 00:49:12.940 --> 00:49:18.119 the good news, the good God, the gospel breaks 00:49:18.119 --> 00:49:22.510 condemnation. The gospel breaks... The gospel 00:49:22.510 --> 00:49:30.329 fills people with peace and joy and hope. But 00:49:30.329 --> 00:49:33.809 you've got to take it. You've got to hear it. 00:49:34.309 --> 00:49:37.170 You've got to have confidence. Hey, you've got 00:49:37.170 --> 00:49:40.309 to have confidence that God is your God and He 00:49:40.309 --> 00:49:43.170 is Yahweh's Sabbath oath and He's fighting for 00:49:43.170 --> 00:49:47.679 you. How many situations in the Bible... It's 00:49:47.679 --> 00:49:49.460 like, oh no, we're surrounded, we're overcome. 00:49:49.699 --> 00:49:55.119 And God even said, hey, just be still and see 00:49:55.119 --> 00:50:00.980 my deliverance. Do you think that God cared about 00:50:00.980 --> 00:50:05.420 these people more than He cares about you? See, 00:50:05.480 --> 00:50:08.280 if you do, then you're going to struggle with 00:50:08.280 --> 00:50:13.159 what I'm talking about. Do you believe God loved? 00:50:15.319 --> 00:50:17.460 Elisha and his servant more than he loves you? 00:50:18.480 --> 00:50:28.900 No. 1 John 4, 4. Greater is he who's in me than 00:50:28.900 --> 00:50:34.579 he who's in the world. This is the way we need 00:50:34.579 --> 00:50:42.539 to talk. This is the way we need to live. Instead 00:50:42.539 --> 00:50:44.380 of saying, oh no, this is going to take me out 00:50:44.380 --> 00:50:47.900 and take me down. We say, no, greater is he that's 00:50:47.900 --> 00:50:50.340 in me than he that's in the world. God lives 00:50:50.340 --> 00:50:57.719 on the inside of me. When we are established 00:50:57.719 --> 00:51:02.199 in what we know, when we become established in 00:51:02.199 --> 00:51:05.340 what we know, then we won't be moved by what 00:51:05.340 --> 00:51:14.610 we see. Let's say this together. I'm not moved 00:51:14.610 --> 00:51:19.389 by what I see. I'm established in the truth. 00:51:21.110 --> 00:51:29.949 My God is Yahweh Sabaoth. My God is for me. He's 00:51:29.949 --> 00:51:35.949 fighting for me. I'm a victor. I'm not a victim. 00:51:36.789 --> 00:51:42.940 I'm a victor. Overwhelming victory. is mine in 00:51:42.940 --> 00:51:52.599 Christ, through Christ. Just because we find 00:51:52.599 --> 00:51:57.340 out God is the God of angel armies, just because 00:51:57.340 --> 00:51:59.460 you know that information doesn't mean that it's 00:51:59.460 --> 00:52:03.559 applied to your life. You have to hear it. You 00:52:03.559 --> 00:52:06.659 have to believe it. You need to put your words 00:52:06.659 --> 00:52:08.960 in agreement with it. And then you need to take 00:52:08.960 --> 00:52:13.250 hold of it. You say things like this, and then 00:52:13.250 --> 00:52:16.949 you say, Fear? Nope. I sense that you're trying 00:52:16.949 --> 00:52:19.110 to take me down. I fear that you're trying to 00:52:19.110 --> 00:52:21.429 overcome me and overwhelm me. But you're not 00:52:21.429 --> 00:52:24.750 going to do it today. Because I know who my God 00:52:24.750 --> 00:52:29.570 is. And I know that He's good. And I know that 00:52:29.570 --> 00:52:32.650 He is for me and not against me. And I reject 00:52:32.650 --> 00:52:35.489 this fear that's trying to take over me in Jesus' 00:52:35.670 --> 00:52:39.329 name. I reject it because my God is Yahweh Sabaoth. 00:52:41.320 --> 00:52:43.780 And as you do that, you're going to feel yourself 00:52:43.780 --> 00:52:52.400 rise. And you need to stay in faith. Stay in 00:52:52.400 --> 00:52:53.659 faith. Look at the person beside you and say, 00:52:53.719 --> 00:52:56.500 stay in faith. Hold on. Tell them to hold on. 00:52:56.719 --> 00:53:02.500 We've got to hold on to who God is. And then 00:53:02.500 --> 00:53:12.980 we're going to see who God is. It's easy for 00:53:12.980 --> 00:53:16.900 us to see receiving something by faith when we 00:53:16.900 --> 00:53:20.119 talk about salvation. It's easy for us to see. 00:53:20.840 --> 00:53:22.940 Because we've got to hear about God's love for 00:53:22.940 --> 00:53:26.400 us, hear that Jesus died on the cross for us, 00:53:26.480 --> 00:53:30.300 that He loves us and He wants to give us His 00:53:30.300 --> 00:53:35.019 gift of eternal life. I mean, we hear that, and 00:53:35.019 --> 00:53:36.920 then we come to the point where we believe that. 00:53:36.980 --> 00:53:39.400 How many of you have believed that? You believe 00:53:39.400 --> 00:53:41.500 that God loves you, that Jesus died for you on 00:53:41.500 --> 00:53:47.480 the cross. You believe it. And then we confess 00:53:47.480 --> 00:53:53.420 our sin to Him. Ask Him to wash us clean. We 00:53:53.420 --> 00:53:55.639 take on His robe of righteousness. We talked 00:53:55.639 --> 00:54:02.380 about that. That's faith. Is to take hold of 00:54:02.380 --> 00:54:06.360 that. And if you've taken hold, of salvation 00:54:06.360 --> 00:54:08.900 by faith, then you're here today and you're confident. 00:54:09.440 --> 00:54:15.880 I'm a child of God. Right? I'm a child of God. 00:54:17.659 --> 00:54:25.480 Same way. Same way you receive Yahweh's Sabbath 00:54:25.480 --> 00:54:32.860 oath. He's commander -in -chief of the armies 00:54:32.860 --> 00:54:37.380 of heaven. And He's for me. And no matter what 00:54:37.380 --> 00:54:40.579 I'm facing, I know God's for me and He's fighting 00:54:40.579 --> 00:54:43.599 for me. And He saw me through before and He's 00:54:43.599 --> 00:54:50.019 going to see me through again. Then in the middle 00:54:50.019 --> 00:54:53.980 of what you're facing, you won't be overcome 00:54:53.980 --> 00:55:02.519 with fear and despair and worry because you know 00:55:02.519 --> 00:55:10.909 something. Hello. My name is Yahweh Sabaoth. 00:55:13.369 --> 00:55:15.469 Let's pray together. God, thank You for today. 00:55:16.510 --> 00:55:20.789 Thank You for Your Word and Your truth. God, 00:55:20.869 --> 00:55:22.849 I pray that we could take hold of this today. 00:55:25.570 --> 00:55:28.650 Really take hold of it and apply it to our lives 00:55:28.650 --> 00:55:34.050 in such a way that we're never the same because... 00:55:35.559 --> 00:55:37.659 We know that you love us. We know that you're 00:55:37.659 --> 00:55:39.679 for us. We know that you're going to see us through. 00:55:43.380 --> 00:55:48.519 God, thank you. Thank you for being so good. 00:55:49.719 --> 00:55:55.440 Thank you for loving us, caring for us. In Jesus' 00:55:55.539 --> 00:56:00.219 name, amen. This online worship experience was 00:56:00.219 --> 00:56:02.619 brought to you by the friends and partners of 00:56:02.619 --> 00:56:03.440 Eulation Church.