WEBVTT

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Because He lives, I can face tomorrow. Because

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He lives, all fear is gone. Because I'm no church,

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and life is worth it. Because He lives. The Resurrection

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Life Sunday Sermon is brought to you by Resurrection

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Life Church in Apex, Holly Springs, North Carolina.

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a congregation of the Presbyterian Church in

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America. Resurrection Life Church is pastored

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by Dr. Mark Kinesh and meets in the new Felton

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Grove High School. Pastor Mark is currently teaching

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from the Book of Judges in a series called Straight

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Lines, Crooked Sticks, a study of a collection

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of Old Testament characters who play a role in

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God's redemptive plan. This week, our crooked

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stick is... Ehud. I encourage you to turn to

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your Bibles to Judges chapter 3. Judges chapter

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3. And in Judges chapter 3, we have a very colorful

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story of Ehud. And I'm going to just, we're just

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going to read it, folks. And I'm just going to

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just warn you now. This is, I remember hearing

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this story as a kid for the first time and going,

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wait, what now? This is in the Bible, but we

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are committed to preaching the full canon of

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God, which includes these stories. And this is

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also an entertaining story. It's also a little

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humorous at times here and there, and we're going

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to get into some of the details as to why. But

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please join with me as I read for you Judges

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3, verses 12 to 30. It says this, and the people

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of Israel again did what was evil in the sight

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of the Lord, and the Lord strengthened Eglon,

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the king of Moab, against Israel. So for those

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of you who were last week, you heard a sermon

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on Othniel, and Othniel was like the prototype

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and archetype judge. He could do no wrong except

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for the fact that he died, and then things spiraled

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out of control again after he died. And so this

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is what happens. People go back to doing evil

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in the sight of the Lord. So the Lord strengthens

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Eglon, the king of Moab, against Israel because

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they had done what was evil on the side of the

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Lord. He gathered to himself the Ammonites and

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Amalekites and went and defeated Israel. And

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they took possession of the city of Palms, which

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is Jericho. And the people of Israel served Eglon,

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the king of Moab, 18 years. Then the people of

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Israel cried out to the Lord, and the Lord raised

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up for them a deliverer, Ehud, the son of Gerah,

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the Benjaminite, a left -handed man. The people

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of Israel sent tribute by him to Eglon, the king

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of Moab. And Ehud made for himself a sword with

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two edges, a cubit in length, and he bound it

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on his right thigh under his clothes. And he

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presented the tribute to Eglon, king of Moab.

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Now Eglon was a very fat man. And when Ehud had

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finished presenting the tribute, he sent away

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the people who carried the tribute. But he himself

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turned back to the idols near Gilgal and said,

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I have a secret message for you, O king. And

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he commanded, the king said, silence. And all

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his attendants went from his presence. And Ehud

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came to him as he was sitting alone in the cool

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of the roof chamber. And Ehud said, I have a

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message from God for you. And he rose from his

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seat and he had reached with his left hand, took

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the sword from his right thigh and thrust it

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into his belly. And the hilt also went after

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the blade and the fat closed over the blade for

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he did not pull the sword out of the belly and

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the dung came out. Then Ehud went out from into

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the porch and closed the doors of the roof chamber

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behind him and locked them. When he had gone,

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the servants came, and when they saw that the

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doors of the roof chamber were locked, they thought,

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surely he is relieving himself in the closet

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of the cool chamber. And they waited till they

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were embarrassed, but when he still did not open

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the doors of the roof chamber, they took the

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key and opened them, and there laid their Lord

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dead on the floor. Ehud escaped while they delayed,

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and he passed beyond the elders and escaped to

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Sierra. When he arrived, he sounded the trumpet.

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In the hill country of Ephraim, then the people

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of Israel went down with him from the hill country,

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and he was their leader. And he said to them,

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follow me, for the Lord has given your enemies,

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the Moabites, into your hand. So they went down

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after him and seized the fords of the Jordan

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against the Moabites and did not allow anyone

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to pass over. And they killed at that time about

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10 ,000 of the Moabites, all strong, able -bodied

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men. Not a man escaped. So Moab was subdued that

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day under the hand of Israel and the land had

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rested for 80 years. And so brothers and sisters

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in Jesus Christ, we're going to continue our

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sermon series, straight line, crooked sticks,

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seeing these very interesting Old Testament characters.

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Othniel is the prototype and the archetype. Ehud

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is really close. The only difference with him

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is he's left -handed. So there's something a

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little bit strange about him, a little bit different.

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We're going to get into that. But I remember,

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again, hearing this story for the very first

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time and being left -handed. You know, who's

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all left -handed here? Any lefties among us?

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Yes, I see you. I see you. Okay. This is for

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us. This passage is for us. I remember listening

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to this passage again, thinking as a kid, I'm

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a lefty. This speaks to me. And then I don't.

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The application is a little spotty, okay, as

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a kid with what he eventually does. But he's

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also a Benjaminite, which is interesting because

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my mom's maiden name was Benjamins. And so I'm

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like, yeah, he's a lefty and he's a Benjamin.

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This is so cool. He's like family. He's like

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family. So Ehud is a very interesting guy. And

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we're going to dive into a little bit more of

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what he's all about. And we're going to be doing

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so with these three main points here. I'll get

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back to that map in a second. Four points, excuse

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me. Context. We're going to deal with some of

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the secrets in this passage. There's a lot of,

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there's clearly deception in this passage, but

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we're going to get into some of the details there

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and some of the secrets that are hidden and embedded

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in this passage. Then we're going to deal with

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Ehud, specifically looking at him as a model

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disciple. And then we're going to focus on Jesus,

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who is the living tribute. And then we're going

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to deal with the challenge for us, okay? A call

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to discipleship. A call to discipleship is what

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we will conclude with today. So let's first deal

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with a little bit more context. mentioned to

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you that I was going to go back to this map.

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So this map here, you'll see Ehud's name. He's

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the second last name there if we go north to

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south. And he is situated in Jericho, the city

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of Palms. And so that's very close to the border

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there. And Moab is on the other side of the border,

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east of the border there. And so Moab comes in

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because Israelites are messing up. They're messing

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up big time, doing evil in the eyes of the Lord.

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And what's interesting as we get started in this

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passage is that it's the Lord who strengthens

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Eglon. It's an interesting movement in the text

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where Ehud doesn't know as much information as

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we do at this point. In fact, all of Israel at

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this point, they're just living in slavery, 18

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years. And so we have the secret of the divine

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sleight of hand. The Lord strengthens, but then

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he also raises up, okay? So the Lord raises up

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a leader. They go through these 18 years of discipline

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and Lord raises up a leader because people cry

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out again. They cry out in repentance. So we

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have a secret here, this divine sleight of hand.

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And we also have the secret behind names. Now

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last week, I had to repeat the name four times,

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Kushan Rushathayim, King of Mesopotamia, four

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times. So for those of you who were following

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along last week, you're like, man, poor Mark,

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he's got to say this name one, two, three, four

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times. Same this week. We got four times we have

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Eglon's mentioned, his name's mentioned. And

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with the first guy, Rushun Roshethayim, we talked

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about how his name means king double wicked.

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Okay, so we have king double wicked. Eglon, Eglon's

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name means bull calf. Bull calf or small cow.

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Important information as we go through this passage.

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We also have a secret behind the Savior's name,

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Ehud. Ehud, son of Gerah, the Benjaminite, a

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left -handed man. Now when you say left -handed

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in Hebrew, in the original text here, it literally

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means a man bound or impotent in his right hand.

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So it's by definition, he's not like normal.

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He's not your regular. Like when you're snowboarding,

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Right -handed people, when they go down the hill,

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those right -handed people, they're regular people.

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Those who are left -handed usually are in what

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position? Who are my snowboarders among us? What

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position are you? Goofy. That's what we're called,

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right? So you got what's regular and what's goofy.

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Ehud's a little goofy. A man bound. But he also

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is from the Benjaminite clan. And does anyone

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here know what Benjaminite or Benjamin means?

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Son of my right hand. Fascinating. So you have

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this Ehud character who's a lefty whose name

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means son of my right hand. So the Lord's going

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to use this man. Lefties have disadvantages.

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I remember picking up a guitar for the first

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time and I put it backwards like this. And my

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mom's like, what are you doing? I'm like, I'm

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picking up a guitar and I want to learn how to

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play guitar. She's like, no, no, no, you need

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to flip it over. And I'm like, oh. And on one

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hand, I'm really grateful for it. On the other

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hand, I'm like, could I have been just that much

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more of a guitar player if I learned how to play

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the right way? In sports, oftentimes lefties

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can have like a disadvantage. I already talked

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about snowboarding. I remember as a kid, I was

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told by my neighbor, Mr. Walgaroski, he was an

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elderly man. I remember he was talking about

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how He would one time talk about how there were

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ringings in his field and he thought aliens landed.

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And then shortly after that, he told me, do you

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know that lefties being left -handed is from

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the devil? I was like, I do now. So a little

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bit odd, right? A little bit goofy. But there

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are advantages of being left -handed. In basketball,

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if you're trying to block a shot by a guy who's

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a lefty, all of a sudden it's a little awkward.

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Like I am actually weird because I shoot with

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my right, but my son Mark, he shoots with his

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left and he'll throw up guys who are trying to

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defend him. There's also an advantage in volleyball.

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If you're an offside hitter, lefties are usually

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played offside. So if you're facing the net,

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lefties are usually on the right and it throws

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off those who are blocking because you're hitting

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this way, not this way. There's an advantage

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there. In baseball, there's a bit of an advantage

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too when you're hitting the ball. It's made for

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right -handed, this sport. But in the lefty,

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there's certain advantages. One of them is you

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hit the ball, you're closer to first. So there's

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certain advantages. And Ehud uses his advantages

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as a lefty by creating this double -edged sword.

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And it's not quite a cubit. It's not the classical

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word for cubit. It would be a little shorter

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than a cubit. And it would be something that

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could slide right along his right thigh. A double

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-edged sword. while he's playing this double

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agent. So those are some of the secrets. There's

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other things we could talk about, but those are

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some big ones here. What does Ehud now do? We

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have this background, this context, and some

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of the things going around behind the scenes.

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How do we see Ehud now be the model disciple?

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And what I want to argue is that Ehud is someone

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who actually shows us a lot about how to deal

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with idolatry. When we say, when we read in verse

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15, the people of Israel sent tribute by him

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to Eglon, the king of Moab. We have these people,

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we have these God's people who are in slavery,

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who put together tribute. And most of the scholars

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that I read, most likely it's like an abundance

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of food. They're bringing an abundance of food

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as a tribute. And that word for tribute is where

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we get the word offering. And it's oftentimes

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used in the Bible as like something that you

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would offer to the Lord. I love what Gregory

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Mobley writes. He explains a problem, the problem

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behind paying tribute to the king. Not only was

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it repulsive to do this to a foreign king, not

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only was it sacrificial for these slaves to come

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up with the amount of money to to offer this

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tribute, he writes, but for the Israelites, it

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was also blasphemous. Since Yahweh alone was

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their sovereign and the tribute in its priestly

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sense of offering belonged only to Yahweh. You

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also have undertones here of sacrificial preparation.

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Sacrificial preparation. We have this tribute,

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which is oftentimes referred to as a process

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of offering over to the Lord. But wait, we also

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have this sense of the fattening of the bull

00:14:33.909 --> 00:14:38.509
calf. There's a preparation here of fattening

00:14:38.509 --> 00:14:42.470
up the sacrifice. Barry Webb writes this, Eglon

00:14:42.470 --> 00:14:46.409
has turned himself into a large, slow -moving

00:14:46.409 --> 00:14:51.460
target and a helpless, sacrificial animal. Eglon

00:14:51.460 --> 00:14:58.240
is the bull calf. Eglon becomes the tribute.

00:14:59.259 --> 00:15:03.820
Because that's how Ehud understood it. Ehud presents

00:15:03.820 --> 00:15:07.639
the tribute, but he's so different than all the

00:15:07.639 --> 00:15:10.779
other people that he's with. Because what does

00:15:10.779 --> 00:15:16.000
he do? Verse 19 is very, very cryptic. I'm not

00:15:16.000 --> 00:15:19.240
quite sure exactly what it's saying here. But

00:15:19.240 --> 00:15:21.950
it says, but he, that is Ehud, himself turned

00:15:21.950 --> 00:15:24.269
back at the idols near Gilgal. Well, what does

00:15:24.269 --> 00:15:29.230
that mean? So Ehud presents the tribute, all

00:15:29.350 --> 00:15:33.769
this food to Eglon with his fellow Israelites

00:15:33.769 --> 00:15:37.009
there under slavery. But then it appears as though

00:15:37.009 --> 00:15:40.090
they leave. And so it's like Ehud is doing like

00:15:40.090 --> 00:15:42.210
a reconnaissance mission, trying to figure out

00:15:42.210 --> 00:15:44.850
the lay of the land, the lay of the room, where

00:15:44.850 --> 00:15:47.610
he could escape, all right? And so he's, because

00:15:47.610 --> 00:15:49.690
he has that sword strapped. So he's ready. He's

00:15:49.690 --> 00:15:51.169
ready to go. He just has to figure things out.

00:15:51.269 --> 00:15:53.490
And so in real kind of cryptic quick language,

00:15:53.649 --> 00:15:56.210
he leaves with this group. But then he turns

00:15:56.210 --> 00:16:01.059
back at Gilgal where the idols are. Him alone.

00:16:01.279 --> 00:16:04.450
Everyone else just keeps walking. In submission,

00:16:04.710 --> 00:16:09.610
they're walking in a, like with a depressive

00:16:09.610 --> 00:16:16.419
state. But Ehud, Ehud turns away. Where the idols

00:16:16.419 --> 00:16:21.379
are. And so we see Ehud turning away from the

00:16:21.379 --> 00:16:26.659
idols to go back and face the enemy. You have

00:16:26.659 --> 00:16:30.500
all these, I call these tributaries. These fellow

00:16:30.500 --> 00:16:34.470
brothers who are bringing this tribute. Who keep

00:16:34.470 --> 00:16:38.929
walking. But Ehud turns. And Ehud turns back

00:16:38.929 --> 00:16:42.919
in discipleship. Because he's got a mission.

00:16:43.460 --> 00:16:46.399
He's got a mission. Where he's going to go back.

00:16:46.889 --> 00:16:50.370
into the lion's den to defeat the fattened calf.

00:16:51.190 --> 00:16:54.700
And so what does he do? He goes and he says to

00:16:54.700 --> 00:16:56.440
the king, suddenly he's back in the king's presence,

00:16:56.620 --> 00:16:58.659
I have a secret message for you. There's that

00:16:58.659 --> 00:17:01.240
word secret, I love that. I have a secret. And

00:17:01.240 --> 00:17:04.160
then Ehud yells out, silence. The NIV translates

00:17:04.160 --> 00:17:08.539
it as leave me. That was the intent. So everybody

00:17:08.539 --> 00:17:11.579
leaves and it's just Ehud and it's just Eglon

00:17:11.579 --> 00:17:16.029
in this room. How gullible and foolish is Eglon

00:17:16.029 --> 00:17:18.569
at this point? It's clear that the Lord is no

00:17:18.569 --> 00:17:22.680
longer strengthening him. It's very clear now

00:17:22.680 --> 00:17:26.650
that the Lord is raising up a deliverer. And

00:17:26.650 --> 00:17:28.690
Ehud says again, I have a message from the Lord.

00:17:28.769 --> 00:17:31.450
And so what does Eglon do? He gets up. He stands

00:17:31.450 --> 00:17:34.920
up. He stands up as if he's preparing himself

00:17:34.920 --> 00:17:39.710
for sacrifice. And so Ehud is facing this man,

00:17:39.789 --> 00:17:44.430
the fattened calf, and suddenly... Ehud becomes

00:17:44.430 --> 00:17:50.809
the left -handed assassin priest. And we get

00:17:50.809 --> 00:17:53.430
in verses 21 and 22, the climax of the passage.

00:17:53.690 --> 00:17:56.450
And Ehud reached with his left hand, took the

00:17:56.450 --> 00:17:58.609
sword from his right thigh, and thrust it into

00:17:58.609 --> 00:18:01.069
the belly. And the hilt also went in after the

00:18:01.069 --> 00:18:03.549
blade, and the fat closed over the blade, for

00:18:03.549 --> 00:18:05.470
he did not pull the sword out of his belly, and

00:18:05.470 --> 00:18:07.750
the dung came out. Again, I remember hearing

00:18:07.750 --> 00:18:10.630
this story as a kid. My jaw just dropped. Like,

00:18:10.670 --> 00:18:15.490
what now? This is not a kid's story. His belly

00:18:15.490 --> 00:18:19.289
swallows up Ehud's dagger. There's like, the

00:18:19.289 --> 00:18:21.930
kind of language here is sort of like his belly

00:18:21.930 --> 00:18:25.460
was still hungry. His belly was wanting to eat

00:18:25.460 --> 00:18:28.710
it to death. And so the double -edged sword goes

00:18:28.710 --> 00:18:31.430
from the hip of the protagonist into the belly

00:18:31.430 --> 00:18:35.099
of the antagonist. And then you get this shocking

00:18:35.099 --> 00:18:41.450
detail of King Eglon lying on the floor in his

00:18:41.450 --> 00:18:44.799
waist. I remember hearing a story once from Heather

00:18:44.799 --> 00:18:46.720
who was a nurse in the emergency department.

00:18:47.279 --> 00:18:50.380
And there was someone that came in who was very

00:18:50.380 --> 00:18:55.009
obese. And they had to clean this person. And

00:18:55.009 --> 00:18:57.250
in the room they were like, something smells

00:18:57.250 --> 00:19:01.900
really, really bad. And one person lifted up

00:19:01.900 --> 00:19:05.450
a fold of flap of fat and found a sandwich there.

00:19:06.529 --> 00:19:09.430
And that's what was causing the stench. Can you

00:19:09.430 --> 00:19:15.099
imagine? This is the kind of situation. where

00:19:15.099 --> 00:19:19.920
the stench is coming from his own waste, which

00:19:19.920 --> 00:19:21.819
causes the servants to go, we can't go in there.

00:19:22.500 --> 00:19:24.619
The king's taking care of his business. We don't

00:19:24.619 --> 00:19:27.880
want to mess up. And gives Ehud all the time

00:19:27.880 --> 00:19:32.750
to lock the doors, walk out, and get away. Brilliant.

00:19:32.789 --> 00:19:37.539
Incredible. What a story. And then what does

00:19:37.539 --> 00:19:41.880
it say in verse 26? Ehud escaped while they delayed

00:19:41.880 --> 00:19:45.240
and passed beyond the idols and escaped to Sierra.

00:19:46.059 --> 00:19:47.920
Why does it include this detail about idols?

00:19:48.740 --> 00:19:51.640
So interesting. He turns away from the idols,

00:19:51.759 --> 00:19:53.819
he kills the fattened calf, and then he walks

00:19:53.819 --> 00:19:57.920
past the idols like a boss. Model of discipleship.

00:19:57.980 --> 00:20:00.640
And we're going to get back to how to model that

00:20:00.640 --> 00:20:03.740
in a bit. First, we're going to focus on this

00:20:03.740 --> 00:20:07.480
next part of our story. Because all of this is

00:20:07.480 --> 00:20:12.279
pointing us to Jesus as the resurrection, as

00:20:12.500 --> 00:20:16.980
the sacrifice, as the one who is destroyed. the

00:20:16.980 --> 00:20:20.779
enemy, which is Satan, his legion of demons,

00:20:20.980 --> 00:20:27.069
death, and our own sin. Much, much more grotesque

00:20:27.069 --> 00:20:32.069
than Eglon in his waist. We know in Genesis 3

00:20:32.069 --> 00:20:36.670
.15, this promise that there's this person coming

00:20:36.670 --> 00:20:39.490
and he shall what? He shall bruise his head and

00:20:39.490 --> 00:20:42.990
you shall bruise, you will crush his head. He

00:20:42.990 --> 00:20:44.789
will strike your heel, but you're gonna, there's

00:20:44.789 --> 00:20:47.089
someone coming that's gonna crush the serpent's

00:20:47.089 --> 00:20:51.609
head. Crush him. Complete dominance like he had

00:20:51.609 --> 00:20:55.809
over Eglon in that moment. Last week we compared

00:20:55.809 --> 00:20:58.950
Othniel and that story. We reviewed the gospel

00:20:58.950 --> 00:21:02.930
there. And we focused on Romans. This week I

00:21:02.930 --> 00:21:05.650
want to focus on Revelation. And how Revelation

00:21:05.650 --> 00:21:09.910
shows us how Jesus is the conqueror over sin

00:21:09.910 --> 00:21:11.970
and death and Satan and his legion of demons.

00:21:12.230 --> 00:21:15.589
It says in Revelation 1, 5 -6, it says this.

00:21:16.519 --> 00:21:18.920
To him who loves us and has freed us from our

00:21:18.920 --> 00:21:22.940
sins by his blood and made us a kingdom, priests

00:21:22.940 --> 00:21:26.430
to his God and Father, to him be glory and dominion

00:21:26.430 --> 00:21:31.759
forever and ever. He loves us and has freed us

00:21:31.759 --> 00:21:40.109
from what? Our sin. By what? His blood. To make

00:21:40.109 --> 00:21:44.650
us a kingdom. One who has the power to deal with

00:21:44.650 --> 00:21:48.880
the spiritual darkness out there. Satan is uglier

00:21:48.880 --> 00:21:51.259
than Eglon, our sin is uglier than Eglon, and

00:21:51.259 --> 00:21:54.720
death is uglier than Eglon. And yet, none of

00:21:54.720 --> 00:21:57.759
our enemies were powerful enough to keep Jesus

00:21:57.759 --> 00:22:02.529
in the grave. Revelation 5, 5 -10 says this,

00:22:02.609 --> 00:22:04.250
And one of the elders said to me, Weep no more.

00:22:04.470 --> 00:22:07.549
Behold, the lion of the tribe of Judah, the root

00:22:07.549 --> 00:22:10.009
of David, has conquered, so that he can open

00:22:10.009 --> 00:22:13.430
the scroll and its seven seals. And between the

00:22:13.430 --> 00:22:16.609
throne And the four living creatures and among

00:22:16.609 --> 00:22:20.190
the elders, I saw a lamb standing as though it

00:22:20.190 --> 00:22:24.410
had been slain. And they sang a new song saying,

00:22:24.609 --> 00:22:29.089
worthy are you to take the scroll and to open

00:22:29.089 --> 00:22:31.690
its seal for you were slain. And by your blood,

00:22:31.690 --> 00:22:35.009
you ransomed people for God from every tribe

00:22:35.009 --> 00:22:37.349
and language and people and nation. And you have

00:22:37.349 --> 00:22:40.670
made them a kingdom of priests to our God and

00:22:40.670 --> 00:22:45.099
they shall reign on earth. This is the kind of

00:22:45.099 --> 00:22:49.759
holistic redemption that we have in Jesus Christ.

00:22:49.940 --> 00:22:52.880
That Ehud foreshadows in his work of completely

00:22:52.880 --> 00:22:56.980
destroying the enemy. It's not even close. I

00:22:56.980 --> 00:23:01.180
love Revelation 19, 15 -16. It's a picture of

00:23:01.180 --> 00:23:06.069
Jesus. From his mouth comes a sword, a sharp

00:23:06.069 --> 00:23:09.420
sword. with which to strike down the nations

00:23:09.420 --> 00:23:12.839
and he will rule them with a rod of iron. He

00:23:12.839 --> 00:23:15.099
will tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath

00:23:15.099 --> 00:23:17.859
of God the Almighty on his robe and on his thigh

00:23:17.859 --> 00:23:21.019
he has a name written on it, King of Kings and

00:23:21.019 --> 00:23:26.339
Lord of Lords. This is our king who so overwhelmingly

00:23:26.339 --> 00:23:32.569
defeats the enemy, who took on death that we

00:23:32.569 --> 00:23:36.750
deserved and rose again on the third day. And

00:23:36.750 --> 00:23:38.529
seated at the right hand of God the Father Almighty.

00:23:39.650 --> 00:23:43.849
And he calls out like Ehud called out. Follow

00:23:43.849 --> 00:23:49.380
me. Follow me. I love verse 28. He's standing

00:23:49.380 --> 00:23:53.250
at this highest point in Ephraim. He says, follow

00:23:53.250 --> 00:23:55.769
me. After me. For the Lord has given your enemies,

00:23:56.049 --> 00:23:59.599
the Moabites, into your hands. Such a wonderful

00:23:59.599 --> 00:24:01.640
statement of victory. And you notice that word

00:24:01.640 --> 00:24:05.150
hand comes up again. By my left hand I destroyed

00:24:05.150 --> 00:24:08.680
the enemy. And now the Lord has given. this country

00:24:08.680 --> 00:24:12.460
into our hands. And they weren't just any kind

00:24:12.460 --> 00:24:15.660
of men. They were 10 ,000 able -bodied soldiers.

00:24:16.829 --> 00:24:21.319
Not even a problem. Not a problem at all. God

00:24:21.319 --> 00:24:24.890
gave them the strength to defeat the enemy. And

00:24:24.890 --> 00:24:28.069
Jesus says to us, I have destroyed the enemy.

00:24:28.930 --> 00:24:34.569
I was the slaughtered lamb. Come, follow me.

00:24:36.509 --> 00:24:43.279
And that brings us to then the call for us. The

00:24:43.279 --> 00:24:47.539
challenge is a call to discipleship. And we're

00:24:47.539 --> 00:24:49.700
gonna focus on two aspects of this. If it's true

00:24:49.700 --> 00:24:52.910
what I just said about Jesus, that that demands

00:24:52.910 --> 00:24:56.410
a response on our part, does it not? Two things

00:24:56.410 --> 00:24:58.049
we're gonna focus on. Bring your tribute to the

00:24:58.049 --> 00:25:02.089
Lord and follow with courage. Bring your tribute

00:25:02.089 --> 00:25:05.589
to the Lord. I love the sacrificial language,

00:25:05.710 --> 00:25:09.140
the undertones there. and how Ehud, you know,

00:25:09.140 --> 00:25:11.339
deceptively brings a tribute, but he had a whole

00:25:11.339 --> 00:25:13.019
different kind of tribute. He had the king as

00:25:13.019 --> 00:25:17.450
the tribute to destroy. But for us, you know,

00:25:17.450 --> 00:25:21.829
when I think about Ehud and how he was able to

00:25:21.829 --> 00:25:29.220
also turn, destroy, and leave, that passageway,

00:25:29.279 --> 00:25:33.400
that journey, excuse me, is something that I

00:25:33.400 --> 00:25:36.859
feel like is a great model of discipleship. That

00:25:36.859 --> 00:25:38.880
we're called to repentance, turn around, go the

00:25:38.880 --> 00:25:42.140
other way. That in Christ we're able to die and

00:25:42.140 --> 00:25:46.640
rise with Jesus. For what purpose? To walk in

00:25:46.640 --> 00:25:49.859
newness of life past all those things that enslaved

00:25:49.859 --> 00:25:54.190
us before. This past week I was at a training

00:25:54.190 --> 00:25:58.650
and part of that training included some information

00:25:58.650 --> 00:26:02.130
that really can be attributed to a number of...

00:26:02.609 --> 00:26:04.809
pastors and theologians of the years. This one

00:26:04.809 --> 00:26:08.670
I think was more popularized by Tim Keller. Although

00:26:08.670 --> 00:26:10.769
I don't remember them. I think they made reference

00:26:10.769 --> 00:26:15.690
to him here. But they talk about the difference

00:26:15.690 --> 00:26:23.470
between surface idols and source idols. And here's

00:26:23.470 --> 00:26:28.130
a list of surface idols. They're like the fruit

00:26:28.130 --> 00:26:30.990
of something else that's going on deeper in our

00:26:30.990 --> 00:26:35.440
hearts. And as we're going through the next few

00:26:35.440 --> 00:26:37.720
slides here, I want you to think through what

00:26:37.720 --> 00:26:40.980
does it mean to turn, to die and rise with Christ,

00:26:41.200 --> 00:26:44.420
and then also then to leave, to not be shackled

00:26:44.420 --> 00:26:48.000
again. And so some of you may look at this list

00:26:48.000 --> 00:26:50.019
and be like, I don't know if that belongs on

00:26:50.019 --> 00:26:52.730
there. If there's anyone that you think does

00:26:52.730 --> 00:26:54.990
not belong on there, then that's probably the

00:26:54.990 --> 00:26:56.269
one that you're probably going to want to take

00:26:56.269 --> 00:26:59.000
a look at. Because oftentimes we can get defensive

00:26:59.000 --> 00:27:02.470
of the things that we serve. And so as we go

00:27:02.470 --> 00:27:05.779
through this list, As we think through the different

00:27:05.779 --> 00:27:08.619
titles here, career, intelligence, addiction,

00:27:08.900 --> 00:27:11.579
image, money, appearance, relationships, possessions,

00:27:11.779 --> 00:27:15.119
pleasure, sex, success, fame, family, identity.

00:27:15.339 --> 00:27:17.940
Some of these are, most of them are good things.

00:27:18.240 --> 00:27:20.160
They're idols when they become ultimate things.

00:27:21.250 --> 00:27:25.839
And then we have these source idols that basically

00:27:25.839 --> 00:27:29.869
can be summarized down to three. And these are

00:27:29.869 --> 00:27:33.890
all based on Garden of Eden reaction, what happened

00:27:33.890 --> 00:27:37.150
to Adam and Eve when they realized that they

00:27:37.150 --> 00:27:40.349
had sinned. The things that they wanted to get

00:27:40.349 --> 00:27:43.049
back to, the things that they lost, the things

00:27:43.049 --> 00:27:45.390
that they're striving to get back to, that only

00:27:45.390 --> 00:27:48.769
Christ can fulfill. And it boils down to approval,

00:27:48.990 --> 00:27:52.480
security, and comfort. Wanting the approval of

00:27:52.480 --> 00:27:59.930
others, seeking security so you feel safe. Or

00:27:59.930 --> 00:28:01.589
getting a position where you're comfortable,

00:28:01.829 --> 00:28:05.089
you're okay. And you could plop any one of those

00:28:05.089 --> 00:28:09.140
surface idols into these source idols. Where

00:28:09.140 --> 00:28:11.059
if you do really good in your career, that could

00:28:11.059 --> 00:28:14.609
be, perhaps for you, an approval thing. Could

00:28:14.609 --> 00:28:17.089
make your mom or your dad really proud and you

00:28:17.089 --> 00:28:20.329
would feel approved if you only did that. Or

00:28:20.329 --> 00:28:24.269
if you're only that smart. Some of it is a security

00:28:24.269 --> 00:28:29.509
thing. How do I feel safe? How do I feel safe

00:28:29.509 --> 00:28:32.450
on the inside and how do I control that through

00:28:32.450 --> 00:28:36.400
how I live? And then finding comfort, finding

00:28:36.400 --> 00:28:40.819
pleasure in all kinds of different aspects of

00:28:40.819 --> 00:28:45.200
life that won't fully fulfill. And what this

00:28:45.200 --> 00:28:48.599
graph does for us, and I was thinking through

00:28:48.599 --> 00:28:50.579
this this past week and think what we need to

00:28:50.579 --> 00:28:55.859
do is this whole tree needs to be cut down. Sorry,

00:28:55.940 --> 00:28:58.240
my neighbor this past week just had a bunch of

00:28:58.240 --> 00:29:02.720
trees cut down. So the ground underneath us was

00:29:02.720 --> 00:29:06.460
shaking regularly with trees that are coming

00:29:06.460 --> 00:29:09.380
down or logs that are being placed on the ground.

00:29:10.559 --> 00:29:13.019
Amazing kind of work that they did. And it's

00:29:13.019 --> 00:29:15.519
just so incredible how swift these guys can be.

00:29:16.230 --> 00:29:18.289
They just take a chainsaw, boom, they got this

00:29:18.289 --> 00:29:20.890
crane holding the tree and just and takes it

00:29:20.890 --> 00:29:22.529
over the house and plops it on the road and they

00:29:22.529 --> 00:29:25.269
take it away and goes into a chopper and just

00:29:25.269 --> 00:29:27.990
chops the whole thing off. It's that kind of

00:29:27.990 --> 00:29:30.779
efficiency. That we need to think about when

00:29:30.779 --> 00:29:34.609
we get rid of our idols. Because not only do

00:29:34.609 --> 00:29:37.190
they cut the tree down, they also try to go down

00:29:37.190 --> 00:29:39.269
to the root. So here's kind of this grinder,

00:29:39.369 --> 00:29:41.390
right? They're trying to ground down the root

00:29:41.390 --> 00:29:46.509
so that it will eventually just completely die

00:29:46.509 --> 00:29:48.650
on the inside without anything popping up at

00:29:48.650 --> 00:29:52.170
the top. Nothing else can come up. Because if

00:29:52.170 --> 00:29:54.630
we go back, if we go back to this picture here,

00:29:54.789 --> 00:29:56.730
you cut off a branch, what's going to happen?

00:29:57.690 --> 00:30:01.150
What's going to happen? Say it really loud. It's

00:30:01.150 --> 00:30:03.549
going to grow back, right? That space is going

00:30:03.549 --> 00:30:06.559
to get filled. You get to the root, that's going

00:30:06.559 --> 00:30:08.380
to change things. The source changes things.

00:30:08.579 --> 00:30:11.440
And so that goes now, let's get back to what

00:30:11.440 --> 00:30:12.859
we're talking about this morning when it comes

00:30:12.859 --> 00:30:15.259
to now, what it means to have total security

00:30:15.259 --> 00:30:21.039
and comfort and acceptance, approval in Jesus.

00:30:22.730 --> 00:30:24.690
Hodderberg Catechism says my comfort in life

00:30:24.690 --> 00:30:29.319
and in death is Jesus. It's not in anything else

00:30:29.319 --> 00:30:33.819
that's out there. It's Jesus. To find your safety

00:30:33.819 --> 00:30:37.220
in what Jesus has done for you and not what you

00:30:37.220 --> 00:30:40.940
seek to control. And that it's Jesus who accepts

00:30:40.940 --> 00:30:44.660
you, receives you fully, unconditionally because

00:30:44.660 --> 00:30:47.619
of his grace. Because of what he has done for

00:30:47.619 --> 00:30:51.690
you. And so there's this whole new kind of reality

00:30:51.690 --> 00:30:54.849
we need to be living in so that we're not even

00:30:54.849 --> 00:30:57.569
dealing with this thing over here. We're not

00:30:57.569 --> 00:31:01.400
dealing with this source and this... And the

00:31:01.400 --> 00:31:03.279
fruit, we're dealing with something entirely

00:31:03.279 --> 00:31:06.640
different that's rooted in the cross. Jesus is

00:31:06.640 --> 00:31:09.400
our comfort. He's our security. He has approved

00:31:09.400 --> 00:31:13.599
you. He's destroyed the enemy. And now it's time

00:31:13.599 --> 00:31:17.410
to turn. Some of you may be in the journey where

00:31:17.410 --> 00:31:19.529
you're dealing with the surface idols and you're

00:31:19.529 --> 00:31:22.950
having to turn like a Gilgal earlier in the passage.

00:31:23.940 --> 00:31:26.019
And you need to go through this process of dying

00:31:26.019 --> 00:31:28.460
and rising with Jesus before you're able to leave.

00:31:28.599 --> 00:31:30.750
Some of you have to deal with these. And oftentimes

00:31:30.750 --> 00:31:32.950
all of us have some issue we need to deal with.

00:31:33.950 --> 00:31:37.549
Others of us want to get over that, but need

00:31:37.549 --> 00:31:40.559
to dig deeper. And so we need to dig deeper.

00:31:40.619 --> 00:31:42.799
We need to understand what does it mean to experience

00:31:42.799 --> 00:31:44.940
security, comfort, and acceptance so that these

00:31:44.940 --> 00:31:47.279
idols don't have any kind of control or grasp

00:31:47.279 --> 00:31:49.220
on us. And we can walk right past them like a

00:31:49.220 --> 00:31:52.150
boss. We can walk right past them like a boss,

00:31:52.190 --> 00:31:54.130
go to Hilltop and proclaim, Jesus is Lord, he

00:31:54.130 --> 00:31:57.059
is my deliverer, come follow me. There's a call

00:31:57.059 --> 00:32:00.470
to evangelism here, I think. To rally the troops.

00:32:00.910 --> 00:32:02.910
Let's bring us together. And that brings us to

00:32:02.910 --> 00:32:04.890
our second response. Follow Jesus with courage.

00:32:05.049 --> 00:32:11.349
I love how Ehud is just so courageous and brave.

00:32:12.299 --> 00:32:16.259
What an example for us. He does it alone. His

00:32:16.259 --> 00:32:18.019
fellow Israelites are bringing the tribute. They

00:32:18.019 --> 00:32:20.160
don't do anything. His fellow Israelites walk

00:32:20.160 --> 00:32:22.880
past idols. They keep going in their misery.

00:32:23.099 --> 00:32:27.420
And what does Ehud do? He changes things. He

00:32:27.420 --> 00:32:29.180
changes things because the Lord raised up a leader.

00:32:30.289 --> 00:32:32.349
Jesus is our leader and we are called to follow

00:32:32.349 --> 00:32:37.579
him. The battle remains and we're in it. And

00:32:37.579 --> 00:32:41.349
the call today is go to the highest place. Some

00:32:41.349 --> 00:32:43.230
of you are in jobs where you're in a position

00:32:43.230 --> 00:32:45.950
of influence. Some of you are at school where

00:32:45.950 --> 00:32:49.130
you have peers, you have peer pressure. What

00:32:49.130 --> 00:32:52.480
does it look like to be a follower of Jesus in

00:32:52.480 --> 00:32:56.970
those moments where it's hard? A call to discipleship

00:32:56.970 --> 00:33:01.000
is a call to confidence. courage. Ehud is not

00:33:01.000 --> 00:33:03.859
only just a foreshadowing of Christ, it's also

00:33:03.859 --> 00:33:06.710
a foreshadowing of discipleship. And there's

00:33:06.710 --> 00:33:08.829
something powerful about his courage that I think

00:33:08.829 --> 00:33:11.210
inspires us because ultimately it's the Holy

00:33:11.210 --> 00:33:15.980
Spirit who's raising up leaders in us. So for

00:33:15.980 --> 00:33:19.039
us, you know, wherever you are locally in your

00:33:19.039 --> 00:33:23.730
home, in your job, in your neighborhoods, I think

00:33:23.730 --> 00:33:26.730
even about like this area here around us here

00:33:26.730 --> 00:33:30.130
at Felton Grove High School. There's a battle

00:33:30.130 --> 00:33:34.359
here. There's a battle here. Some places it's

00:33:34.359 --> 00:33:37.950
obvious, some places it's not so obvious. I was

00:33:37.950 --> 00:33:39.809
reminded this past week that every time we step

00:33:39.809 --> 00:33:45.609
into this room, we're reminded starkly that there's

00:33:45.609 --> 00:33:49.390
room for others. And so our call to discipleship

00:33:49.390 --> 00:33:53.410
is also a call to invite others. The Lord raises

00:33:53.410 --> 00:33:56.970
leaders for a purpose and it's a call to courage

00:33:56.970 --> 00:34:00.140
for us. In a few minutes, we're gonna witness

00:34:01.190 --> 00:34:04.309
a new leader among us. And he's going to take

00:34:04.309 --> 00:34:06.390
some vows. He's going to be committing to us

00:34:06.390 --> 00:34:11.329
pretty significant things about what it means

00:34:11.329 --> 00:34:16.079
to lead and what he's vowing to you. That's a

00:34:16.079 --> 00:34:19.659
courageous thing to do. We're also going to respond

00:34:19.659 --> 00:34:24.170
and we're going to have to say some things back

00:34:24.170 --> 00:34:26.409
and it's going to be like this conversation where

00:34:26.409 --> 00:34:29.429
we're going to be solidifying each other because

00:34:29.679 --> 00:34:34.179
we need it. We need it moving forward. So that's

00:34:34.179 --> 00:34:36.539
how Scott's going to be putting this sermon into

00:34:36.539 --> 00:34:39.909
practice right at the get -go. What is it for

00:34:39.909 --> 00:34:44.719
you? Like, what are the things in your life that

00:34:44.719 --> 00:34:48.269
you need, that the Lord is calling you to grow

00:34:48.269 --> 00:34:52.440
in as a leader? In your courage, with all the

00:34:52.440 --> 00:34:55.280
different influences that are in your life. We

00:34:55.280 --> 00:34:59.199
can't go to all the places you can. And where

00:34:59.199 --> 00:35:03.000
you go, there you are, the ambassador of Jesus

00:35:03.000 --> 00:35:08.170
Christ. As we wrap up, the book of Revelation

00:35:08.170 --> 00:35:11.969
was intended to be a book of encouragement and

00:35:11.969 --> 00:35:14.369
comfort. You read it, and it's like a little

00:35:14.369 --> 00:35:16.389
spooky at times. Like, what is happening? There's

00:35:16.389 --> 00:35:18.530
all these monsters, there's crazy things that

00:35:18.530 --> 00:35:21.750
are happening. And so it can be scary, especially

00:35:21.750 --> 00:35:23.369
for some of the kids here reading it. Like, what

00:35:23.369 --> 00:35:25.369
is going on here? I'd just rather avoid that

00:35:25.369 --> 00:35:28.269
book. But I think if you go into reading that

00:35:28.269 --> 00:35:31.570
book with this premise in mind, that it's intended

00:35:31.570 --> 00:35:35.019
to give the early church comfort. that Jesus

00:35:35.019 --> 00:35:39.170
wins, he can destroy, he will destroy, he has

00:35:39.170 --> 00:35:42.809
conquered all of our enemies, and he calls us

00:35:42.809 --> 00:35:45.239
to discipleship. It's right there in that whole

00:35:45.239 --> 00:35:49.610
book. Another verse of encouragement is a very

00:35:49.610 --> 00:35:51.829
verse that we started our worship service off

00:35:51.829 --> 00:35:55.369
in Isaiah 41 .10, and this is my dad's favorite

00:35:55.369 --> 00:35:58.449
verse, and it came to my mind several times this

00:35:58.449 --> 00:36:02.139
past week as I was preaching on Ehud. But I hope

00:36:02.139 --> 00:36:04.000
it's an encouragement to you because I don't

00:36:04.000 --> 00:36:06.539
want a call to courage and a call to discipleship

00:36:06.539 --> 00:36:10.570
to be a guilt trip. I want it to be a comfort

00:36:10.570 --> 00:36:13.280
trip. I want it to be something that you feel

00:36:13.280 --> 00:36:17.949
encouraged to do, not guilted to do. And so here

00:36:17.949 --> 00:36:20.210
are these words of comfort from Isaiah 41 verse

00:36:20.210 --> 00:36:29.070
10. Fear not, fear not, for I am with you. Be

00:36:29.070 --> 00:36:35.090
not dismayed, for I am your God. will strengthen

00:36:35.090 --> 00:36:40.570
you. I will help you. I will uphold you with

00:36:40.570 --> 00:36:46.860
my righteous right hand. 80 years of peace is

00:36:46.860 --> 00:36:51.019
the longest amount of peace that we read in the

00:36:51.019 --> 00:36:53.639
book of Judges. That's what Ehud gave, 80 years

00:36:53.639 --> 00:36:58.639
of peace. Jesus gives us an eternity of it. Let's

00:36:58.639 --> 00:37:01.550
come to God in prayer. Gracious Heavenly Father,

00:37:01.670 --> 00:37:03.909
we thank you for this book, or this chapter.

00:37:04.409 --> 00:37:07.150
We thank you for the story of Ehud. Lord, there

00:37:07.150 --> 00:37:10.349
are so many different ways we could have taken

00:37:10.349 --> 00:37:13.010
this passage. Many, many sermons have been preached

00:37:13.010 --> 00:37:19.710
on it. And it's a colorful one. It's also a very

00:37:19.710 --> 00:37:21.909
challenging one. And so we pray, Lord, that through

00:37:21.909 --> 00:37:24.190
all the secrets and the deception that we read

00:37:24.190 --> 00:37:27.389
about, we see clarity. We see a revelation. We

00:37:27.389 --> 00:37:29.409
see something that's ultimately fulfilled in

00:37:29.409 --> 00:37:32.269
Jesus Christ. as clear as day, where the Holy

00:37:32.269 --> 00:37:34.769
Spirit is shining the spotlight on who Christ

00:37:34.769 --> 00:37:37.829
is and his work for us and him defeating Satan,

00:37:38.010 --> 00:37:42.679
his legions of demons, death and our sin. We

00:37:42.679 --> 00:37:44.539
thank you for the victory that we have in Jesus

00:37:44.539 --> 00:37:47.219
and we pray that as you call us to discipleship,

00:37:47.260 --> 00:37:50.380
we will have the kind of courage modeled by Ehud.

00:37:50.420 --> 00:37:55.179
Why? Because you raised him up. You did it. And

00:37:55.179 --> 00:37:57.920
you could do the same through us. We pray that

00:37:57.920 --> 00:38:01.409
we will leave this place not with a burden, but

00:38:01.409 --> 00:38:05.780
in freedom with raised voices from the hilltops.

00:38:06.809 --> 00:38:09.809
We pray, Lord, that we will find comfort, approval,

00:38:10.219 --> 00:38:14.900
and security in Jesus alone as we do so. We pray

00:38:14.900 --> 00:38:17.840
that we will die to these surface idols and ultimately

00:38:17.840 --> 00:38:24.550
die to the source ones. And we pray all of this.

00:38:25.090 --> 00:38:28.059
We pray all of this because we know you can do

00:38:28.059 --> 00:38:31.719
it. And we know that we have the power of the

00:38:31.719 --> 00:38:34.320
Holy Spirit in a unique way and in a better way

00:38:34.320 --> 00:38:37.679
that Eve would never have. And so give us strength,

00:38:37.900 --> 00:38:40.760
Lord, as you raise us up. We pray in Christ's

00:38:40.760 --> 00:38:47.199
name alone. You have been listening to the Resurrection

00:38:47.199 --> 00:38:50.159
Life Sunday Sermon from Resurrection Life Church

00:38:50.159 --> 00:38:54.119
in Apex, North Carolina. Resurrection Life is

00:38:54.119 --> 00:38:57.019
now meeting at our new location in Felton Grove

00:38:57.019 --> 00:39:01.400
High School off Stevenson Road, Apex, just outside

00:39:01.400 --> 00:39:04.800
Holly Springs. Resurrection Life is pastored

00:39:04.800 --> 00:39:08.210
by Dr. Mark Konech. Join us this Sunday morning

00:39:08.210 --> 00:39:11.510
at 10 a .m. for worship in the New Felton Grove

00:39:11.510 --> 00:39:14.510
High School Auditorium. And if you found this

00:39:14.510 --> 00:39:17.550
podcast to be a blessing to you, share it with

00:39:17.550 --> 00:39:20.909
a friend. And be sure to subscribe on Spotify,

00:39:21.269 --> 00:39:24.949
Apple, or GoodFunds so you don't miss next week's

00:39:24.949 --> 00:40:34.699
Resurrection Life Sunday Service. is worth living

00:40:35.019 --> 00:40:38.579
just because he lives