WEBVTT 00:00:01.520 --> 00:00:04.459 We're going to be looking at Judges chapter 4 00:00:04.459 --> 00:00:10.300 tonight. And, or I mean, I'm sorry, 1 Samuel. 00:00:13.160 --> 00:00:20.000 1 Samuel chapter 4. And actually 4 through 7 00:00:20.000 --> 00:00:27.120 is what we're going to read. Yeah. I hear you 00:00:27.120 --> 00:00:37.780 there. of introduction. This is a kind of a story 00:00:37.780 --> 00:00:41.520 within the story, but it's not accidental or 00:00:41.520 --> 00:00:46.000 incidental to the bigger story. So this is the 00:00:46.000 --> 00:00:49.920 story of the ark. What is it? The ark of the 00:00:49.920 --> 00:00:58.700 covenant of God with the cherubim. Let's see. 00:01:00.969 --> 00:01:03.469 Which the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord of 00:01:03.469 --> 00:01:06.489 Hosts was dwelt between the cherubims from 4 00:01:06.489 --> 00:01:10.010 -4. That's the full name. We just call it the 00:01:10.010 --> 00:01:14.189 Ark of the Covenant. It's the story of that. 00:01:14.390 --> 00:01:20.510 And it is the first of two stories that have 00:01:20.510 --> 00:01:26.409 to do with Israel usurping the reign of God as 00:01:26.409 --> 00:01:31.769 their king. The second one is in the... Is it 00:01:31.769 --> 00:01:34.989 the 8th chapter or the 7th chapter where Israel 00:01:34.989 --> 00:01:39.230 wants to select a king like the nations all around? 00:01:39.650 --> 00:01:46.189 So the author deals with this particular attempt 00:01:46.189 --> 00:01:50.469 to usurp God's authority. And then he deals with 00:01:50.469 --> 00:01:57.170 the next one later on. But as we read this, we're 00:01:57.170 --> 00:01:58.730 going to take most of our lessons tonight, I 00:01:58.730 --> 00:02:03.150 think, from chapter 4. I don't know how much 00:02:03.150 --> 00:02:07.010 time we're going to spend on 5 and 6 after tonight. 00:02:07.349 --> 00:02:11.250 So that's why we're going to read them all. So 00:02:11.250 --> 00:02:15.090 1 Samuel chapter 4. And the word of Samuel came 00:02:15.090 --> 00:02:18.370 to all Israel. Now Israel went out against the 00:02:18.370 --> 00:02:21.310 Philistines to battle and pitched beside Ebenezer. 00:02:21.430 --> 00:02:24.610 And the Philistines pitched in Aphek. And the 00:02:24.610 --> 00:02:27.530 Philistines put themselves in array against Israel. 00:02:27.590 --> 00:02:31.020 And when... They joined battle. Israel was smitten 00:02:31.020 --> 00:02:33.539 before the Philistines, and they slew of the 00:02:33.539 --> 00:02:36.599 army in the field about four thousand men. And 00:02:36.599 --> 00:02:38.539 when the people were come into the camp, the 00:02:38.539 --> 00:02:41.080 elders of Israel said, Wherefore hath the Lord 00:02:41.080 --> 00:02:44.000 smitten us today before the Philistines? Let 00:02:44.000 --> 00:02:46.159 us fetch the ark of the covenant of the Lord 00:02:46.159 --> 00:02:49.460 out of Shiloh unto us, that, when it cometh among 00:02:49.460 --> 00:02:51.879 us, it may save us out of the hand of our enemies. 00:02:52.569 --> 00:02:54.729 So the people sent to Shiloh that they might 00:02:54.729 --> 00:02:56.889 bring from thence the ark of the covenant of 00:02:56.889 --> 00:02:59.069 the Lord of hosts, which dwelled between the 00:02:59.069 --> 00:03:02.370 cherubims, and the two sons of Eli, Hophni and 00:03:02.370 --> 00:03:04.710 Phinehas, were there with the ark of the covenant 00:03:04.710 --> 00:03:07.689 of God. Now when the ark of the covenant of the 00:03:07.689 --> 00:03:10.430 Lord came into the camp, all Israel shouted with 00:03:10.430 --> 00:03:12.729 a great shout, so that the earth rang again. 00:03:13.169 --> 00:03:15.610 And the Philistines heard the noise of the shout. 00:03:15.729 --> 00:03:18.949 They said, What meaneth the noise of this great 00:03:18.949 --> 00:03:22.449 shout in the camp of the Hebrews? And they understood 00:03:22.449 --> 00:03:24.870 that the ark of the Lord was come into the camp. 00:03:25.069 --> 00:03:27.349 And the Philistines were afraid, for they said, 00:03:27.430 --> 00:03:30.110 God has come into the camp. And they said, Woe 00:03:30.110 --> 00:03:32.689 unto us, for there hath not been such a thing 00:03:32.689 --> 00:03:36.229 heretofore. Woe unto us, who shall deliver us 00:03:36.229 --> 00:03:39.189 out of the hand of these mighty gods? These are 00:03:39.189 --> 00:03:41.449 the gods that smote the Egyptians with all the 00:03:41.449 --> 00:03:44.710 plagues in the wilderness. Be strong, and quit 00:03:44.710 --> 00:03:47.550 yourselves like men, O ye Philistines, that ye 00:03:47.550 --> 00:03:49.930 be not servants unto the Hebrews, as they have 00:03:49.930 --> 00:03:53.159 been to you. Quit yourselves like men and fight. 00:03:53.659 --> 00:03:56.520 And the Philistines fought, and Israel was smitten, 00:03:56.580 --> 00:03:59.219 and they fled away, and they fled every man into 00:03:59.219 --> 00:04:01.840 his tent. And there was a very great slaughter, 00:04:02.120 --> 00:04:04.520 for there fell of Israel thirty thousand footmen. 00:04:04.900 --> 00:04:07.659 And the ark of God was taken, and the two sons 00:04:07.659 --> 00:04:10.800 of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were slain. And 00:04:10.800 --> 00:04:12.939 there ran a man of Benjamin out of the army. 00:04:13.500 --> 00:04:16.079 and came to Shiloh the same day with his clothes 00:04:16.079 --> 00:04:18.939 rent and with earth upon his head. And when he 00:04:18.939 --> 00:04:22.680 came low, Eli sat upon a seat by the wayside 00:04:22.680 --> 00:04:25.379 watching, for his heart trembled for the ark 00:04:25.379 --> 00:04:28.480 of God. And when the man came into the city and 00:04:28.480 --> 00:04:31.500 told it, all the city cried out. And when Eli 00:04:31.500 --> 00:04:33.560 heard the noise of the crying, he said, What 00:04:33.560 --> 00:04:36.360 meaneth the noise of this tumult? And the man 00:04:36.360 --> 00:04:40.170 came hastily and told Eli. Now Eli was ninety 00:04:40.170 --> 00:04:42.329 -eight years old, and his eyes were dim that 00:04:42.329 --> 00:04:45.149 he could not see. And the man said unto Eli, 00:04:45.449 --> 00:04:47.930 I am he that came out of the army, and I fled 00:04:47.930 --> 00:04:52.629 today out of the army. And he said, What is done 00:04:52.629 --> 00:04:55.589 there, my son? And the messenger answered and 00:04:55.589 --> 00:04:58.310 said, Israel is fled before the Philistines, 00:04:58.410 --> 00:05:01.069 and there hath been also a great slaughter among 00:05:01.069 --> 00:05:04.149 the people. And thy two sons also, Hophni and 00:05:04.149 --> 00:05:06.870 Phinehas, are dead, and the ark of God is taken. 00:05:07.560 --> 00:05:10.120 And it came to pass, when he made mention of 00:05:10.120 --> 00:05:14.639 the ark of God, that he fell from off the seat 00:05:14.639 --> 00:05:17.199 backward by the side of the gate, and his neck 00:05:17.199 --> 00:05:20.319 break, and he died. For he was an old man and 00:05:20.319 --> 00:05:23.399 heavy, and he had judged Israel forty years. 00:05:23.740 --> 00:05:26.459 And his daughter -in -law, Phineas' wife, was 00:05:26.459 --> 00:05:29.500 with child, near to be delivered. And when she 00:05:29.500 --> 00:05:31.899 heard the tidings that the ark of God was taken, 00:05:32.139 --> 00:05:34.540 and that her father -in -law and her husband 00:05:34.540 --> 00:05:38.879 were dead, She bowed herself and travailed, for 00:05:38.879 --> 00:05:41.740 her pains came upon her. And about the time of 00:05:41.740 --> 00:05:44.100 her death, the women that stood by her said unto 00:05:44.100 --> 00:05:47.079 her, Fear not, for thou hast born a son. But 00:05:47.079 --> 00:05:49.639 she answered not, neither did she regard it. 00:05:49.899 --> 00:05:52.699 And she named the child Ichabod, saying, The 00:05:52.699 --> 00:05:55.360 glory is departed from Israel, because the ark 00:05:55.360 --> 00:05:58.439 of God was taken, and because of her father -in 00:05:58.439 --> 00:06:01.560 -law and her husband. And she said, The glory 00:06:01.560 --> 00:06:04.160 is departed from Israel, for the ark of God is 00:06:04.160 --> 00:06:07.209 taken. And the Philistines took the ark of God 00:06:07.209 --> 00:06:10.149 and brought it from Ebenezer unto Ashdod. When 00:06:10.149 --> 00:06:12.370 the Philistines took the ark of God, they brought 00:06:12.370 --> 00:06:15.089 it into the house of Dagon and set it by Dagon. 00:06:15.750 --> 00:06:18.990 And when they of Ashdod arose early on the morrow, 00:06:19.009 --> 00:06:21.490 behold, Dagon was fallen upon his face to the 00:06:21.490 --> 00:06:24.250 earth before the ark of the Lord. And they took 00:06:24.250 --> 00:06:27.389 Dagon and set him in his place again. And when 00:06:27.389 --> 00:06:30.209 they arose early on the morrow morning, behold, 00:06:30.430 --> 00:06:32.810 Dagon was fallen upon his face to the ground 00:06:32.810 --> 00:06:35.990 before the ark of the Lord. And the head of Dagon 00:06:35.990 --> 00:06:38.449 and both the palms of his hands were cut off 00:06:38.449 --> 00:06:42.750 upon the threshold. Only the stump of Dagon was 00:06:42.750 --> 00:06:45.490 left to him. Therefore, neither the priests of 00:06:45.490 --> 00:06:48.790 Dagon nor any that come into Dagon's house tread 00:06:48.790 --> 00:06:52.110 on the threshold of Dagon and Ashdod unto this 00:06:52.110 --> 00:06:54.930 day. But the hand of the Lord was heavy upon 00:06:54.930 --> 00:06:57.449 them of Ashdod, and he destroyed them and smoked 00:06:57.449 --> 00:07:00.709 them with emeralds, even Ashdod and the coast 00:07:00.709 --> 00:07:03.610 thereof. And when the men of Ashdod saw that 00:07:03.610 --> 00:07:06.449 it was so, they said, The ark of the God of Israel 00:07:06.449 --> 00:07:09.149 shall not abide with us, for his hand is store 00:07:09.149 --> 00:07:13.069 upon us, and upon Dagon our God. They sent therefore 00:07:13.069 --> 00:07:15.290 and gathered all the lords of the Philistines 00:07:15.290 --> 00:07:17.870 unto them, and said, What shall we do with the 00:07:17.870 --> 00:07:20.009 ark of the God of Israel? And they answered, 00:07:20.189 --> 00:07:22.970 Let the ark of the God of Israel be carried about 00:07:22.970 --> 00:07:26.050 unto Gath. And they carried the ark of God of 00:07:26.050 --> 00:07:29.199 Israel about thither. And it was so that after 00:07:29.199 --> 00:07:31.339 they had carried it about, the hand of the Lord 00:07:31.339 --> 00:07:33.980 was against the city with a very great destruction. 00:07:34.620 --> 00:07:37.079 And he smoked the men of the city, both small 00:07:37.079 --> 00:07:40.459 and great. They had emeralds in their secret 00:07:40.459 --> 00:07:43.660 parts. Therefore they sent the ark of God to 00:07:43.660 --> 00:07:46.279 Ekron. And it came to pass as the ark of God 00:07:46.279 --> 00:07:49.120 came to Ekron that the Ekronites cried out saying, 00:07:49.360 --> 00:07:52.240 They have brought about the ark of the God of 00:07:52.240 --> 00:07:55.560 Israel to us to slay us and our people. So they 00:07:55.560 --> 00:07:57.680 sent and gathered together all the lords of the 00:07:57.680 --> 00:08:00.939 Philistines and said, Send away the ark of the 00:08:00.939 --> 00:08:03.500 God of Israel and let it go again to its own 00:08:03.500 --> 00:08:06.980 place, that it slay us not, and our people, for 00:08:06.980 --> 00:08:09.120 there was a deadly destruction throughout all 00:08:09.120 --> 00:08:12.079 the city. The hand of God was very heavy there. 00:08:12.860 --> 00:08:15.699 And the men that died not were smitten with emeralds, 00:08:15.740 --> 00:08:18.709 and the cry of the city went up to heaven. And 00:08:18.709 --> 00:08:20.410 the ark of the Lord was in the country of the 00:08:20.410 --> 00:08:22.829 Philistines seven months. And the Philistines 00:08:22.829 --> 00:08:25.029 called for the priests and for the diviners, 00:08:25.129 --> 00:08:28.050 saying, What shall we do to the ark of the Lord? 00:08:28.189 --> 00:08:30.670 Tell us wherewith we shall send it to his place. 00:08:31.189 --> 00:08:33.889 And they said, If ye send away the ark of God 00:08:33.889 --> 00:08:37.169 of Israel, send it not empty, but in any wise 00:08:37.169 --> 00:08:42.409 return him a trespass offering. Then ye shall 00:08:42.409 --> 00:08:45.610 be healed, and it shall be known to you why his 00:08:45.610 --> 00:08:57.179 hand is not removed from you. Then they said, 00:08:57.379 --> 00:08:59.940 What shall be the trespass offering which we 00:08:59.940 --> 00:09:04.080 shall return to him? They answered, Five golden 00:09:04.080 --> 00:09:06.779 emeralds and five golden mice, according to the 00:09:06.779 --> 00:09:09.440 number of the lords of the Philistines. For one 00:09:09.440 --> 00:09:13.220 plague was on you all and on your lords. Wherefore 00:09:13.220 --> 00:09:15.919 ye shall make images of your emeralds and images 00:09:15.919 --> 00:09:18.100 of your mice that mar the land, and ye shall 00:09:18.100 --> 00:09:21.419 give glory unto the God of Israel. Peradventure 00:09:21.419 --> 00:09:24.320 he will lighten his hand from off you. and from 00:09:24.320 --> 00:09:28.039 off your gods, and from off your land. Wherefore 00:09:28.039 --> 00:09:30.360 then did ye harden your hearts, as the Egyptians 00:09:30.360 --> 00:09:32.559 and Pharaoh hardened their hearts, when he had 00:09:32.559 --> 00:09:35.080 wrought wonderfully among them? Did they not 00:09:35.080 --> 00:09:37.980 let the people go, and they departed? Now therefore 00:09:37.980 --> 00:09:44.279 make a new cart, and take two milk cows, on which 00:09:44.279 --> 00:09:47.279 there hath come no yoke, and tie the kind to 00:09:47.279 --> 00:09:49.500 the cart, and bring their calves home from them. 00:09:49.909 --> 00:09:51.990 and take the ark of the Lord, and lay it upon 00:09:51.990 --> 00:09:54.590 the cart, and put the jewels of gold, which he 00:09:54.590 --> 00:09:57.529 returned him for a trespass offering, in a coffer 00:09:57.529 --> 00:10:00.529 by the side thereof, and send it away, that it 00:10:00.529 --> 00:10:03.730 may go. And see if it goeth up by the way of 00:10:03.730 --> 00:10:06.850 his own coast to Beth Shemesh, then he hath done 00:10:06.850 --> 00:10:10.250 us this great evil. But if not, then we shall 00:10:10.250 --> 00:10:12.970 know that it is not his hand that smote us, it 00:10:12.970 --> 00:10:15.610 was a chance that happened upon us. And the men 00:10:15.610 --> 00:10:19.000 did so, and took two milk cows, and tied them 00:10:19.000 --> 00:10:21.019 to the cart, and shut up their calves at home. 00:10:21.419 --> 00:10:23.879 And they laid the ark of the Lord upon the cart, 00:10:23.980 --> 00:10:27.139 and the coffer with the mice of gold, and images 00:10:27.139 --> 00:10:30.659 of their emeralds. And the kind took the straight 00:10:30.659 --> 00:10:33.700 way to the way of Beth Shemesh, and went along 00:10:33.700 --> 00:10:36.460 the highway, lowing as they went, and turned 00:10:36.460 --> 00:10:39.139 not aside to the right hand or to the left, and 00:10:39.139 --> 00:10:42.460 the Lord to the Philistines went after them unto 00:10:42.460 --> 00:10:45.649 the border of Beth Shemesh. And they of Beth 00:10:45.649 --> 00:10:48.070 Shemesh were reaping their wheat harvest in the 00:10:48.070 --> 00:10:51.049 valley. And they lifted up their eyes and saw 00:10:51.049 --> 00:10:54.049 the ark and rejoiced to see it. And the cart 00:10:54.049 --> 00:10:56.610 came into the field of Joshua of Beth Shemite 00:10:56.610 --> 00:10:58.990 and stood there, where there was a great stone. 00:10:59.190 --> 00:11:02.230 And they claimed the wood of the cart and offered 00:11:02.230 --> 00:11:05.289 the kind of burnt offering unto the Lord. And 00:11:05.289 --> 00:11:07.769 the Levites took down the ark of the Lord and 00:11:07.769 --> 00:11:10.190 the coffer that was with it, wherein the jewels 00:11:10.190 --> 00:11:12.629 of gold were, and put them on the great stone. 00:11:13.259 --> 00:11:16.360 And the men of Beth Shemesh offered burnt offerings 00:11:16.360 --> 00:11:21.700 and sacrifices the same day unto the Lord. And 00:11:21.700 --> 00:11:23.860 when the five lords of the Philistines had seen 00:11:23.860 --> 00:11:28.019 it, they returned to Ekron the same day. And 00:11:28.019 --> 00:11:30.279 these are the golden emeralds which the Philistines 00:11:30.279 --> 00:11:32.919 returned for a trespass offering unto the Lord. 00:11:33.059 --> 00:11:37.779 One for Ashdod, one for Gaza, one for Ashkelon, 00:11:37.940 --> 00:11:41.580 one for Gath, one for Ekron. And the golden mice, 00:11:41.639 --> 00:11:43.519 according to the number of all the cities of 00:11:43.519 --> 00:11:45.799 the Philistines, belonging to the five lords, 00:11:45.960 --> 00:11:48.720 both of fenced cities and of country villages, 00:11:48.840 --> 00:11:52.720 even unto the great stone of Abel, whereon they 00:11:52.720 --> 00:11:55.799 sat down the ark of the Lord, which stone remaineth 00:11:55.799 --> 00:11:58.279 unto this day in the field of Joshua the Beth 00:11:58.279 --> 00:12:01.179 Shemite. And he smote the men of Beth Shemesh, 00:12:01.259 --> 00:12:03.600 because they had looked into the ark of the Lord. 00:12:03.899 --> 00:12:06.879 Even he smote of the people fifty thousand, and 00:12:06.879 --> 00:12:10.090 threescore, and ten men. And the people lamented, 00:12:10.090 --> 00:12:12.389 because the Lord had smitten many of the people 00:12:12.389 --> 00:12:15.490 with a great slaughter. And the men of Beth Shemeth 00:12:15.490 --> 00:12:18.289 said, Who is able to stand before this holy Lord 00:12:18.289 --> 00:12:21.870 God, and to whom shall he go up from us? And 00:12:21.870 --> 00:12:24.590 they sent messengers to the inhabitants of Kirjath 00:12:24.590 --> 00:12:27.450 -Jerim, saying, The Philistines have brought 00:12:27.450 --> 00:12:30.289 again the ark of the Lord. Come ye down, and 00:12:30.289 --> 00:12:33.370 fetch it up to you. And the men of Kirjath -Jerim 00:12:33.370 --> 00:12:36.090 came, and fetched up the ark of the Lord, and 00:12:36.090 --> 00:12:48.500 brought it into the house of Abinadab. That's 00:12:48.500 --> 00:12:51.320 the story then of the Ark of the Lord. Hopefully 00:12:51.320 --> 00:12:54.860 you're at least somewhat familiar with the story. 00:12:55.159 --> 00:12:58.240 I'm sure we're familiar with the Dagon falling 00:12:58.240 --> 00:13:00.340 down before the Ark of the Lord. We talked about 00:13:00.340 --> 00:13:08.440 that a little bit when we looked at Judges. It's 00:13:08.440 --> 00:13:11.779 odd, kind of, because what? We've been building 00:13:11.779 --> 00:13:15.940 up and anticipating the life of Samuel. And then 00:13:15.940 --> 00:13:20.000 right here, right when all of Israel knows that 00:13:20.000 --> 00:13:23.500 Samuel is a prophet, that he received the word 00:13:23.500 --> 00:13:26.740 from the Lord, then we switch gears and we hear 00:13:26.740 --> 00:13:30.080 about the ark of the Lord. Does anybody have 00:13:30.080 --> 00:13:35.179 any idea why that would be? What are we intended 00:13:35.179 --> 00:13:38.950 to see from this story? What's the biggest picture? 00:13:42.730 --> 00:13:45.370 I would say the leaving of the presence of the 00:13:45.370 --> 00:13:47.830 Lord. The leaving of the presence of the Lord. 00:13:47.870 --> 00:13:50.970 That's definitely one lesson here in the story. 00:13:53.929 --> 00:13:58.809 Well, in the context of the Bible, who is the 00:13:58.809 --> 00:14:09.039 main character? In the context of all the individual 00:14:09.039 --> 00:14:11.139 books of the Bible, who is the main character? 00:14:13.539 --> 00:14:18.379 God. And even here in this, even in the story 00:14:18.379 --> 00:14:20.980 of Ruth, who's the main character in the story 00:14:20.980 --> 00:14:26.019 of Ruth? Is it Ruth? No, it's God. And so even 00:14:26.019 --> 00:14:30.139 here, then, we are reminded that Samuel is not 00:14:30.139 --> 00:14:34.080 center stage in his own story. But at the center 00:14:34.080 --> 00:14:36.240 of the stage, at the center of the story, is 00:14:36.240 --> 00:14:39.519 God. Now Samuel occupies whatever off -center 00:14:39.519 --> 00:14:41.279 stage. I don't know, I'm not an actor, so I don't 00:14:41.279 --> 00:14:43.879 know what that is. But the center of the stage, 00:14:44.080 --> 00:14:47.460 the spotlight, is always on God. And so what 00:14:47.460 --> 00:14:49.519 is God telling us about himself in the story? 00:15:07.660 --> 00:15:11.279 Okay. That's true. Yeah, I think we can phrase 00:15:11.279 --> 00:15:14.899 it that way. How would we phrase it specifically? 00:15:19.200 --> 00:15:21.340 Israel came out to meet the Philistines, right? 00:15:21.460 --> 00:15:22.600 And they were going to defeat them in battle. 00:15:23.220 --> 00:15:26.419 That's the first chapter, right? The second chapter, 00:15:26.440 --> 00:15:29.730 that is what? God doesn't even go out to meet 00:15:29.730 --> 00:15:31.789 them in battle. They just carry God through their 00:15:31.789 --> 00:15:38.690 land and what happens? They're defeated. They 00:15:38.690 --> 00:15:41.690 die one after the other. So not only will God 00:15:41.690 --> 00:15:47.769 not share his glory with another, but what? God 00:15:47.769 --> 00:15:53.750 doesn't need men. God doesn't need beings. God 00:15:53.750 --> 00:15:56.809 alone can accomplish his purpose. He chooses. 00:15:57.529 --> 00:16:02.049 to use means. He chooses to use men, not because 00:16:02.049 --> 00:16:05.149 he's weak and not because he has to, but because 00:16:05.149 --> 00:16:08.450 he has chosen to do that, to glorify himself. 00:16:09.049 --> 00:16:12.149 But without the aid of men, God is able to travel 00:16:12.149 --> 00:16:16.389 through the entire Philistine nation and slew 00:16:16.389 --> 00:16:20.289 thousands of men, wreak havoc upon their cities, 00:16:20.450 --> 00:16:23.090 and declare to them and manifest to them that 00:16:23.090 --> 00:16:26.230 I am God Almighty. And I will do and go where 00:16:26.230 --> 00:16:29.509 I please and no one will stand in my way. Now 00:16:29.509 --> 00:16:34.230 that is a lesson for us. God doesn't need you 00:16:34.230 --> 00:16:37.950 and he doesn't need me to do his work. He has 00:16:37.950 --> 00:16:41.029 chosen and called us and instructed us to do 00:16:41.029 --> 00:16:45.190 that. And we ought to be eager to do that. It 00:16:45.190 --> 00:16:47.590 is a great privilege and an honor to be able 00:16:47.590 --> 00:16:52.429 to glorify God in that way. is not limited in 00:16:52.429 --> 00:16:55.129 what he can do by whether or not a man or a woman 00:16:55.129 --> 00:17:00.289 or a person will or can do what he's called them 00:17:00.289 --> 00:17:05.170 to do. I always think of lots of stories, especially 00:17:05.170 --> 00:17:08.849 in the Middle East, where people are given visions 00:17:08.849 --> 00:17:12.690 of Jesus and are called by God to believe in 00:17:12.690 --> 00:17:14.930 Jesus. They don't have a whole bunch of people 00:17:14.930 --> 00:17:17.150 out there working. I've heard those types of 00:17:17.150 --> 00:17:20.000 stories even here in the States. And one of the 00:17:20.000 --> 00:17:24.019 things that I always have to question is why. 00:17:25.660 --> 00:17:29.299 Why was it that God had to use a vision to speak 00:17:29.299 --> 00:17:33.099 to this person? And the answer is maybe, and 00:17:33.099 --> 00:17:36.279 at least I have to consider maybe, somebody didn't 00:17:36.279 --> 00:17:39.079 go when God called them. But God wasn't going 00:17:39.079 --> 00:17:41.380 to allow this one to pass from this life to the 00:17:41.380 --> 00:17:45.319 next, and so he intervened and went there. God 00:17:45.319 --> 00:17:48.740 chooses to use us. And he calls us to be his 00:17:48.740 --> 00:17:52.099 ambassadors. He calls us to declare his gospel 00:17:52.099 --> 00:17:54.559 out in the world. He calls us to do all kinds 00:17:54.559 --> 00:17:56.880 of things here in the church. We all have responsibilities. 00:17:58.059 --> 00:18:00.180 Whether we like those responsibilities, whether 00:18:00.180 --> 00:18:03.000 we shirk those responsibilities, has no effect 00:18:03.000 --> 00:18:06.079 on whether or not God has given us certain responsibilities. 00:18:07.059 --> 00:18:09.740 And if we don't do those responsibilities, if 00:18:09.740 --> 00:18:12.119 we don't do what God has called us to do, God 00:18:12.119 --> 00:18:14.900 will still accomplish his purpose, though he 00:18:14.900 --> 00:18:19.210 will do it in ways, that are unpleasant, at least 00:18:19.210 --> 00:18:24.170 for us. This was unpleasant for the Israelites. 00:18:25.250 --> 00:18:27.430 Now, they started off, right? They asked a good 00:18:27.430 --> 00:18:30.650 thing. They went out to battle. Well, first we're 00:18:30.650 --> 00:18:33.309 told that what? Samuel had the word of the Lord. 00:18:33.450 --> 00:18:35.410 He had his word that he was their prophet. Did 00:18:35.410 --> 00:18:37.990 they go to the prophet and say, what should we 00:18:37.990 --> 00:18:42.769 do here? They didn't, did they? They just went 00:18:42.769 --> 00:18:46.079 out. And then when they were defeated, they asked 00:18:46.079 --> 00:18:49.700 the right question. What did they ask? Why did 00:18:49.700 --> 00:18:53.420 this happen? Now we know the answer because we've 00:18:53.420 --> 00:18:55.319 just read the story. So you tell me, why did 00:18:55.319 --> 00:19:01.740 it happen? The sin of Hophni and Phinehas. Okay, 00:19:01.839 --> 00:19:04.299 so God had declared that Hophni and Phinehas 00:19:04.299 --> 00:19:07.460 were going to die on the same day. And this battle 00:19:07.460 --> 00:19:10.259 accomplishes God's purpose in that. It proves 00:19:10.259 --> 00:19:21.599 that God's word is true. What else? Oh, and that's 00:19:21.599 --> 00:19:25.099 why they were defeated. So what's the lesson? 00:19:28.640 --> 00:19:35.079 Okay, so God insists that we not only do things 00:19:35.079 --> 00:19:38.099 his way, but we do it according, or we do not 00:19:38.099 --> 00:19:40.140 only what he tells us, but we do it in his way. 00:19:40.759 --> 00:19:43.720 God's way for all of Israel was for them to come 00:19:43.720 --> 00:19:45.480 to him and ask. Remember that's what he told 00:19:45.480 --> 00:19:48.410 them at the beginning of... Of judges. They said 00:19:48.410 --> 00:19:50.190 what should we do. And who should go first. And 00:19:50.190 --> 00:19:53.710 God said Judah will go first. Go up. And every 00:19:53.710 --> 00:19:55.930 time that they asked God. He had an answer for 00:19:55.930 --> 00:19:57.730 them. Whether it was Moses in the wilderness. 00:19:58.410 --> 00:20:00.809 Whether it was the patriarchs back in Genesis. 00:20:01.309 --> 00:20:03.910 Whether it was Joshua. And all through the book 00:20:03.910 --> 00:20:07.130 of Judges. And now here in Samuel. But they didn't 00:20:07.130 --> 00:20:09.210 consult God. They didn't care what God had to 00:20:09.210 --> 00:20:12.630 say. They just went. Why were the Philistines 00:20:12.630 --> 00:20:25.960 raised up? Okay, God was going to use them to 00:20:25.960 --> 00:20:30.400 judge Israel. So that's why they defeated Israel 00:20:30.400 --> 00:20:35.000 then in judgment from God. And then why was the 00:20:35.000 --> 00:20:38.019 other reason that God raised up the Philistines? 00:20:38.339 --> 00:20:43.240 We've already said it. To demonstrate his independence 00:20:43.240 --> 00:20:45.839 from man, to demonstrate that he didn't need 00:20:45.839 --> 00:20:48.740 men in order to accomplish his good and his perfect 00:20:48.740 --> 00:20:51.799 purposes. In this case, judgment upon Israel, 00:20:51.859 --> 00:20:55.950 the removal of his presence, And the continuing 00:20:55.950 --> 00:21:05.329 defeat of the Philistines. What do you got? Why 00:21:05.329 --> 00:21:07.470 did they bring the ark out there? What does that 00:21:07.470 --> 00:21:10.710 tell us about the way that we relate to God? 00:21:14.509 --> 00:21:23.809 What do we call that in our day? Okay, there's 00:21:23.809 --> 00:21:40.750 definitely presumption in it. No, it was definitely 00:21:40.750 --> 00:21:48.740 not a good thing. Okay, God had told them to 00:21:48.740 --> 00:21:51.240 carry the ark when they traveled around Jericho, 00:21:51.319 --> 00:21:53.440 right? Carry the ark in front and follow behind 00:21:53.440 --> 00:21:57.039 it. And then I feel like in this story it was 00:21:57.039 --> 00:22:01.619 more of a talonsman or like kind of a good luck 00:22:01.619 --> 00:22:05.400 charm in a way for them at this point. It really 00:22:05.400 --> 00:22:09.140 wasn't. They really didn't seek God in the right 00:22:09.140 --> 00:22:12.359 manner nor was his presence there. So it was 00:22:12.359 --> 00:22:14.559 just kind of a good luck charm to them. Like, 00:22:14.599 --> 00:22:16.910 oh, the ark's here. We're definitely going to 00:22:16.910 --> 00:22:20.289 prevail. But why did they assume they would prevail? 00:22:22.490 --> 00:22:25.430 Because in the past, when the ark of the Lord 00:22:25.430 --> 00:22:33.130 was in the different places, they did. Right? 00:22:33.269 --> 00:22:37.490 Well, I think they, yeah, I mean, God had instructed 00:22:37.490 --> 00:22:41.410 them before to do that. So what were they trying 00:22:41.410 --> 00:22:43.410 to accomplish here? Why did they take it out 00:22:43.410 --> 00:22:47.420 there with them? Okay, and so they were going 00:22:47.420 --> 00:22:50.680 to, why did they think they would win? Was it 00:22:50.680 --> 00:22:54.900 because they thought it was a magic box? Or what 00:22:54.900 --> 00:22:57.640 were they claiming was at stake when they carried 00:22:57.640 --> 00:23:01.720 that ark out there? God's glory. God's name. 00:23:03.160 --> 00:23:06.059 They were saying to all of it, let's take this 00:23:06.059 --> 00:23:09.460 ark out there because if God is out here in the 00:23:09.460 --> 00:23:12.720 front of the army, we can't lose. Why? Because 00:23:12.720 --> 00:23:17.250 we're going to Tie God's very name. To this battle. 00:23:17.490 --> 00:23:21.309 By setting this ark out here. Now what's that 00:23:21.309 --> 00:23:36.950 called? An M word. M A N. Manipulation. They 00:23:36.950 --> 00:23:43.009 were manipulating God. God won't give us his 00:23:43.009 --> 00:23:46.680 word. God won't tell us to go. We don't know 00:23:46.680 --> 00:23:48.660 why we haven't go. We're going to manipulate 00:23:48.660 --> 00:23:52.880 God. We're going to force him to do what we want, 00:23:52.940 --> 00:23:55.720 because if he doesn't, then his name is going 00:23:55.720 --> 00:24:00.240 to be cast in a bad light. Now that's what was 00:24:00.240 --> 00:24:03.799 at the heart of it. And manipulation is always 00:24:03.799 --> 00:24:06.859 wicked, whether it's from one person to another, 00:24:07.079 --> 00:24:10.640 or certainly in the case of God, where... The 00:24:10.640 --> 00:24:12.900 Israelites were attempting to manipulate God 00:24:12.900 --> 00:24:15.819 to do and to get what they wanted, which was 00:24:15.819 --> 00:24:21.279 victory over the Philistines. Samuel never told 00:24:21.279 --> 00:24:31.480 them to go out. They did not consult him. That's 00:24:31.480 --> 00:24:34.579 right. They didn't consult Eli. Eli was obviously 00:24:34.579 --> 00:24:36.599 not happy that they were taking the ark out there. 00:24:36.700 --> 00:24:39.269 It seems obvious. Although he didn't do anything 00:24:39.269 --> 00:24:41.190 to stop it, but maybe he did and the word is 00:24:41.190 --> 00:24:45.049 not told. Are there two different meanings when 00:24:45.049 --> 00:24:50.549 it's saying the ark of God and then the ark of 00:24:50.549 --> 00:24:57.670 the Lord? No. It's referred to as all... Why 00:24:57.670 --> 00:25:01.130 would it? I'm just curious. Well, the full name 00:25:01.130 --> 00:25:03.690 is there in verse 4 that I read at the very beginning. 00:25:03.750 --> 00:25:05.930 The ark of the covenant of the Lord of hosts 00:25:05.930 --> 00:25:22.970 which dwelleth... Between the cherubs. I don't 00:25:22.970 --> 00:25:30.710 have. I don't think it's significant. But it 00:25:30.710 --> 00:25:32.710 could be. And I would be willing to hear from 00:25:32.710 --> 00:25:39.140 somebody. That thought it was. I guess I'm kind 00:25:39.140 --> 00:25:44.680 of interested in the, you said that they were 00:25:44.680 --> 00:25:47.019 supposed to consult God before they went up, 00:25:47.140 --> 00:25:49.599 and you talk about the judge at the beginning, 00:25:49.859 --> 00:25:54.180 but if the command was for them to eradicate 00:25:54.180 --> 00:25:58.920 those, you know, all these man -minds that grew 00:25:58.920 --> 00:26:02.940 up on the land, then why would it have been necessary 00:26:02.940 --> 00:26:05.299 for them to consult God to do what he told them 00:26:05.299 --> 00:26:06.720 to do? Like, I feel like we've talked in the 00:26:06.720 --> 00:26:19.500 past about that. You don't need to, Well, just 00:26:19.500 --> 00:26:23.960 because God gave them a general command to subdue 00:26:23.960 --> 00:26:26.220 the land doesn't mean that he doesn't want to 00:26:26.220 --> 00:26:28.539 be consulted in the particulars of how that's 00:26:28.539 --> 00:26:31.359 going to be carried out. And all throughout Judges 00:26:31.359 --> 00:26:33.539 and all throughout their history, they had always 00:26:33.539 --> 00:26:36.579 consulted God. Is this the time? How do we do 00:26:36.579 --> 00:26:39.799 it? You remember all the weird battle tactics 00:26:39.799 --> 00:26:43.539 back in Judges. That was God that was behind 00:26:43.539 --> 00:26:46.660 all that stuff, giving instruction to the generals. 00:26:46.700 --> 00:26:56.039 This is how it's to happen. So the text is pretty 00:26:56.039 --> 00:27:00.059 clear that when it says that in the first verse, 00:27:00.119 --> 00:27:03.599 the word of Samuel came to all Israel. All Israel 00:27:03.599 --> 00:27:07.279 knew. that Samuel was the spokesperson for God. 00:27:07.619 --> 00:27:10.759 That what Samuel said could be understood as 00:27:10.759 --> 00:27:14.259 the word of God to them. So it wasn't a question 00:27:14.259 --> 00:27:17.880 that they didn't know, or they didn't, it was 00:27:17.880 --> 00:27:21.920 that they didn't care. That's essentially it. 00:27:22.099 --> 00:27:27.539 Remember, the story is that they don't want to 00:27:27.539 --> 00:27:29.400 have a king, right? They don't want to have God 00:27:29.400 --> 00:27:33.130 as their king. It's interesting that the... The 00:27:33.130 --> 00:27:35.710 plural is used by the Philistines, the gods of 00:27:35.710 --> 00:27:40.089 Israel. What does that tell us? Is that just 00:27:40.089 --> 00:27:43.230 a misunderstanding by the Philistines? They didn't 00:27:43.230 --> 00:27:46.130 understand that Israel really was a monotheistic 00:27:46.130 --> 00:27:52.109 nation that only had one God? No, it's just an 00:27:52.109 --> 00:27:55.109 observation of the obvious truth that there isn't 00:27:55.109 --> 00:27:59.589 one God in Israel. They worship the God of the 00:27:59.589 --> 00:28:02.710 covenant. The Ark of the Covenant, they worship 00:28:02.710 --> 00:28:06.549 Baal, they worship Astaroth. They have all these 00:28:06.549 --> 00:28:13.329 gods. So that really is at the heart of why they 00:28:13.329 --> 00:28:16.349 didn't consult God, because God wasn't their 00:28:16.349 --> 00:28:20.150 king. He wasn't their only God. He was one of 00:28:20.150 --> 00:28:22.930 many that they consulted and that they talked 00:28:22.930 --> 00:28:25.970 to. And that was what, in chapter 7, that's what 00:28:25.970 --> 00:28:28.450 Samuel tells them to do, right? Turn back to 00:28:28.450 --> 00:28:32.759 the Lord. So they don't turn to the Lord. They 00:28:32.759 --> 00:28:44.019 don't much care what the Lord has to say. Are 00:28:44.019 --> 00:28:46.819 we all clear on what manipulation is? I'm surprised 00:28:46.819 --> 00:28:48.920 nobody else wanted to talk about that. Is that... 00:28:48.920 --> 00:28:58.420 I mean, I think it's... It's... It's always, 00:28:58.539 --> 00:29:01.039 to me at least, it feels like it's always right 00:29:01.039 --> 00:29:05.099 there. So essentially they weren't testing to 00:29:05.099 --> 00:29:12.339 see if God would hold up his name? No, they were 00:29:12.339 --> 00:29:30.259 saying, okay. Okay. Let's think of it just in 00:29:30.259 --> 00:29:37.140 human terms. I need something from you. Maybe 00:29:37.140 --> 00:29:41.000 I need a loan of money, whatever it is. I go 00:29:41.000 --> 00:29:44.640 through all this planning. I make all these commitments. 00:29:45.500 --> 00:29:47.619 And then I come to you after I've already made 00:29:47.619 --> 00:29:49.519 all these commitments, all these plans, and everything 00:29:49.519 --> 00:29:52.700 is done. And I say, I've made all these commitments 00:29:52.700 --> 00:29:54.920 and plans. I don't have any money. I need you 00:29:54.920 --> 00:29:59.259 to give me a loan. Now, why did I do that? Why 00:29:59.259 --> 00:30:06.619 did I come to you first? Okay, and so rather 00:30:06.619 --> 00:30:09.220 than come to you first and say, hey, I want to 00:30:09.220 --> 00:30:11.660 make these plans, I want to do this thing, will 00:30:11.660 --> 00:30:14.240 you loan me the money? What I do is I put the 00:30:14.240 --> 00:30:17.799 pressure on you. If you don't do this, then you're 00:30:17.799 --> 00:30:20.519 really not going to be a good friend to me. You're 00:30:20.519 --> 00:30:22.640 really not going to, and everybody's going to 00:30:22.640 --> 00:30:25.279 know that you're not a very good friend. So whatever 00:30:25.279 --> 00:30:27.859 manipulation is involved, you always feel pressure. 00:30:29.799 --> 00:30:31.400 That's what they were doing. They were putting 00:30:31.400 --> 00:30:34.619 the pressure on God. Now how, I mean, that is 00:30:34.619 --> 00:30:39.579 just, it's exceeding wicked. It's something way 00:30:39.579 --> 00:30:42.279 beyond that. To think that they were going to 00:30:42.279 --> 00:30:45.779 put God in a pickle. They were going to make 00:30:45.779 --> 00:30:48.619 him feel the heat because they wanted to get 00:30:48.619 --> 00:30:54.220 something out of the situation. People do that 00:30:54.220 --> 00:30:57.279 to us all the time. Hopefully we don't do that 00:30:57.279 --> 00:31:00.400 to them. Hopefully we're very careful with how 00:31:00.400 --> 00:31:07.779 we relate to people and with how we try to lay 00:31:07.779 --> 00:31:11.180 forth an argument of what we believe. We don't 00:31:11.180 --> 00:31:14.619 do it by hiding facts or telling half -truths. 00:31:14.839 --> 00:31:18.299 That's why advertising is always manipulative. 00:31:19.299 --> 00:31:21.180 They're going to tell you all the good things. 00:31:22.000 --> 00:31:24.779 Even with prescription drugs. I mean, they spend 00:31:24.779 --> 00:31:26.299 the whole commercial and they tell you all the 00:31:26.299 --> 00:31:28.759 great things. And then what? They flash in tiny 00:31:28.759 --> 00:31:31.380 little letters on the screen and here's all the 00:31:31.380 --> 00:31:35.299 side effects. And you get the brochure and the 00:31:35.299 --> 00:31:38.000 side effects are longer than the good things. 00:31:38.079 --> 00:31:41.700 Now, why? Why is that? Because they're afraid 00:31:41.700 --> 00:31:43.660 that if they just tell you the whole truth and 00:31:43.660 --> 00:31:45.480 nothing but the truth, that you're going to say, 00:31:45.539 --> 00:31:49.880 yeah, I don't think I want to risk that. I think 00:31:49.880 --> 00:31:53.059 I'll just try something else, maybe a natural 00:31:53.059 --> 00:31:57.700 remedy or whatever. But in our everyday dealings 00:31:57.700 --> 00:32:02.279 with people, we, if we're not careful, will be 00:32:02.279 --> 00:32:06.079 manipulating. And it doesn't matter if the person 00:32:06.079 --> 00:32:09.119 is swayed by the manipulation or not. The manipulation 00:32:09.119 --> 00:32:15.839 has occurred. And it's dishonest, and it is... 00:32:17.779 --> 00:32:20.960 It's bad. Have you ever had somebody tell you 00:32:20.960 --> 00:32:24.400 they're an expert at something? Why would they 00:32:24.400 --> 00:32:29.099 tell you that? Well, I'm an expert, so of course 00:32:29.099 --> 00:32:32.359 you will have to agree with my opinion. What's 00:32:32.359 --> 00:32:35.640 the point? It's to manipulate you. It's to get 00:32:35.640 --> 00:32:38.200 you to say, oh, well, then I must agree with 00:32:38.200 --> 00:32:40.599 this person. Now, we can do that without even 00:32:40.599 --> 00:32:45.859 thinking about it. But that's not what does God 00:32:45.859 --> 00:32:49.960 call us to be. What is it that will set you free? 00:32:51.059 --> 00:32:55.460 The truth. The whole truth and nothing but the 00:32:55.460 --> 00:32:58.180 truth. Now in our dealings with other people, 00:32:58.220 --> 00:33:01.599 in our dealings one -on -one, what are we interested 00:33:01.599 --> 00:33:07.140 in? The truth. Let's establish the facts. You 00:33:07.140 --> 00:33:11.160 and I can agree on the facts. We may not agree 00:33:11.160 --> 00:33:15.299 with what is required of us after we have agreed 00:33:15.299 --> 00:33:18.319 on the facts. But we can agree that here are 00:33:18.319 --> 00:33:20.700 the facts. And then we can have a discussion. 00:33:20.880 --> 00:33:24.299 I believe that the implication of these facts 00:33:24.299 --> 00:33:28.019 is this. I believe that because of these facts, 00:33:28.259 --> 00:33:32.119 we should do this. But if I just come to you 00:33:32.119 --> 00:33:36.559 and I say, well, I'm an expert. Of course you'll 00:33:36.559 --> 00:33:40.880 believe and do what I want. That's not the truth, 00:33:40.980 --> 00:33:44.099 is it? That's not the way that God deals with 00:33:44.099 --> 00:33:45.799 you, and that's not the way that God deals with 00:33:45.799 --> 00:33:54.220 me. He lays forth the truth. He tells us exactly 00:33:54.220 --> 00:33:57.519 who we are. He tells us exactly who he is. And 00:33:57.519 --> 00:33:59.559 then not only that, but he applies that truth 00:33:59.559 --> 00:34:02.099 for us. Because you are this, then you ought 00:34:02.099 --> 00:34:04.660 to do this. Now how do we see this played out, 00:34:04.700 --> 00:34:06.680 this manipulation of God? How do we see it played 00:34:06.680 --> 00:34:35.000 out in our day in the church? Well, that would 00:34:35.000 --> 00:34:38.460 be, I mean, we've all heard of a revival meeting, 00:34:38.599 --> 00:34:41.639 right? Yeah. Okay, so I think that's kind of 00:34:41.639 --> 00:34:43.139 what you're talking about. We're going to announce 00:34:43.139 --> 00:34:46.500 it. We're going to have a revival. We're going 00:34:46.500 --> 00:34:48.480 to announce ahead of time that God is going to 00:34:48.480 --> 00:34:50.780 work in some kind of saving way, in some kind 00:34:50.780 --> 00:34:52.980 of miraculous way among these people here. And 00:34:52.980 --> 00:34:55.639 then we have the meeting. So what are we doing? 00:34:56.739 --> 00:34:58.820 If we engage in that kind of thing, what are 00:34:58.820 --> 00:35:01.719 we saying? Well, if God doesn't save some people, 00:35:02.139 --> 00:35:04.440 then we've claimed the name of God, we've claimed 00:35:04.440 --> 00:35:07.320 that we've heard from God, and we've had these 00:35:07.320 --> 00:35:09.539 meetings, and nobody is going to, certainly God 00:35:09.539 --> 00:35:11.900 is not going to allow that to happen. He's not 00:35:11.900 --> 00:35:15.360 going to allow his name to be soiled by not doing 00:35:15.360 --> 00:35:22.400 what we said he was going to do. What else? Seed 00:35:22.400 --> 00:35:27.920 faith. Seed faith. We're going to manipulate 00:35:27.920 --> 00:35:32.809 God. In our DNA, just in the way that we think 00:35:32.809 --> 00:35:39.389 about God. What about, I think this is, you want 00:35:39.389 --> 00:35:44.090 to give us a definition of seed faith? Okay. 00:35:48.130 --> 00:35:52.010 Now you can take that here. Well, God has made 00:35:52.010 --> 00:35:54.510 certain promises to me. I'm his child. What? 00:35:54.750 --> 00:35:56.590 He's promised he's going to put clay. He's told 00:35:56.590 --> 00:35:58.699 me not to even worry about tomorrow. Don't worry 00:35:58.699 --> 00:36:00.679 about the clothes that you need to wear or the 00:36:00.679 --> 00:36:05.039 food that you need to eat. Right? God has taken 00:36:05.039 --> 00:36:07.780 upon himself that obligation, right? He said, 00:36:07.800 --> 00:36:11.000 I'm going to provide what you need in these physical 00:36:11.000 --> 00:36:15.960 areas of your life. And so we say, well, since 00:36:15.960 --> 00:36:19.480 God has promised that, then I'm going to go ahead 00:36:19.480 --> 00:36:22.300 and do this. Maybe I'm going to be risky with 00:36:22.300 --> 00:36:24.340 my money and make some risky investments or whatever. 00:36:26.000 --> 00:36:30.800 But God is obligated to take care of me. So I'm 00:36:30.800 --> 00:36:33.079 going to manipulate God then, which will allow 00:36:33.079 --> 00:36:35.860 me to do what I want to do, and I'm still not 00:36:35.860 --> 00:36:39.840 having to risk anything really, even the physical 00:36:39.840 --> 00:36:42.900 well -being of my person. That's an attempt, 00:36:43.119 --> 00:36:46.679 that is a manipulation of God. Now God, the consequences 00:36:46.679 --> 00:36:53.139 of that are what? Difficult for you. The chasing 00:36:53.139 --> 00:36:55.829 hand of the Lord will come upon you. You will 00:36:55.829 --> 00:36:59.389 reap what you sow. But that is a manipulation 00:36:59.389 --> 00:37:02.530 of God. That's totally different than faith. 00:37:05.389 --> 00:37:08.809 Completely different than faith. Faith says what? 00:37:09.610 --> 00:37:12.070 What has God called me to do in this particular 00:37:12.070 --> 00:37:14.710 circumstance? And if God has called me to this, 00:37:14.829 --> 00:37:16.949 then I will trust him to do what he's promised. 00:37:19.289 --> 00:37:22.070 So I'll be generous with my money and I'll give. 00:37:23.050 --> 00:37:26.480 I'll do whatever. And if I lose my job tomorrow 00:37:26.480 --> 00:37:28.719 and I have no more money, I'll trust God to provide 00:37:28.719 --> 00:37:35.119 for me what I need. That's faith. What about 00:37:35.119 --> 00:37:38.059 in the church? What? The church gathers together. 00:37:39.239 --> 00:37:41.300 God's told us to gather together. But he's also 00:37:41.300 --> 00:37:43.900 told us how to gather together. He's also told 00:37:43.900 --> 00:37:47.840 us how to conduct a meeting. He's told us what 00:37:47.840 --> 00:37:51.239 should happen in the meeting. It's an attempt 00:37:51.239 --> 00:37:54.230 to manipulate God when we... say, well, this 00:37:54.230 --> 00:37:55.829 part we're not going to do, but we are going 00:37:55.829 --> 00:37:58.070 to gather together. We're not going to have anything 00:37:58.070 --> 00:38:01.309 to do with this prayer meeting thing. The church 00:38:01.309 --> 00:38:03.110 doesn't really need to pray. We don't need to 00:38:03.110 --> 00:38:06.250 make that a priority. We'll just manipulate God 00:38:06.250 --> 00:38:13.250 to meet with us when we come together. Or, how 00:38:13.250 --> 00:38:16.550 about this? God's name is on the church. God 00:38:16.550 --> 00:38:19.469 has told us how business ought to be conducted 00:38:19.469 --> 00:38:21.610 in the church. Who's in charge, in other words, 00:38:21.630 --> 00:38:23.510 the polity of the church. He's given us clear 00:38:23.510 --> 00:38:28.550 instructions there. But how many churches have 00:38:28.550 --> 00:38:31.070 a board that consists of a president, a vice 00:38:31.070 --> 00:38:34.530 president, a treasurer, and a secretary? And 00:38:34.530 --> 00:38:39.130 we will give to them the responsibility to lead 00:38:39.130 --> 00:38:41.329 and to direct and to make decisions in the church. 00:38:42.110 --> 00:38:44.710 without ever any consideration of whether or 00:38:44.710 --> 00:38:48.389 not they're elders. We'll just take that authority, 00:38:48.510 --> 00:38:51.230 but we will manipulate God to meet with us because 00:38:51.230 --> 00:38:53.110 we've got his people together here, but we're 00:38:53.110 --> 00:38:56.010 not going to do things his way. That is a manipulation 00:38:56.010 --> 00:39:00.090 of God. That's saying, bless us, be faithful 00:39:00.090 --> 00:39:02.409 to your church in spite of the fact that we are 00:39:02.409 --> 00:39:08.489 not going to do things your way. Anybody want 00:39:08.489 --> 00:39:19.199 to disagree with me? But I have to throw something 00:39:19.199 --> 00:39:22.000 out there. Okay. Does manipulation have to be 00:39:22.000 --> 00:39:25.260 intentional? Because it seems like it kind of 00:39:25.260 --> 00:39:26.679 matters a little bit. Like, you know, you've 00:39:26.679 --> 00:39:30.599 got a random big church where they have the Lord 00:39:30.599 --> 00:39:35.840 and whatever, and that's not good. People who 00:39:35.840 --> 00:39:38.440 talk to me know that I kind of make a big deal 00:39:38.440 --> 00:39:43.300 about modern church polity. But, like, that's 00:39:43.300 --> 00:39:45.800 not to say there's no Christians there at all. 00:39:46.449 --> 00:39:51.449 Maybe the people making decisions are just clueless. 00:39:52.269 --> 00:39:55.829 The question then would be, why are they clueless? 00:39:55.909 --> 00:39:59.590 Is that just because they don't have any way 00:39:59.590 --> 00:40:04.230 to get a clue? Or have they said, I'm not interested 00:40:04.230 --> 00:40:09.530 in getting a clue? Well, I'm not going to speak 00:40:09.530 --> 00:40:12.170 for anybody, so I can't tell you what anyone 00:40:12.170 --> 00:40:14.809 else is thinking for sure. Well, I'm not asking 00:40:14.809 --> 00:40:16.489 what they're thinking. What I'm saying is, is 00:40:16.489 --> 00:40:19.530 it possible that a person says, I want to do 00:40:19.530 --> 00:40:22.590 things right? Well, there's lots of people that 00:40:22.590 --> 00:40:25.989 want to do things right, who go to what we all 00:40:25.989 --> 00:40:28.389 say are wrong conclusions, like all Presbyterians, 00:40:28.429 --> 00:40:31.469 right? They all want to do things right. Well, 00:40:31.530 --> 00:40:34.030 they consult the Word of God, and they come to 00:40:34.030 --> 00:40:36.469 certain conclusions. We disagree with the conclusions 00:40:36.469 --> 00:40:38.530 that they've come to. But they don't believe 00:40:38.530 --> 00:40:41.050 that any of the conclusions they've come to are... 00:40:42.570 --> 00:40:45.570 the word of God. They believe God has commanded 00:40:45.570 --> 00:40:49.869 them to conduct their polity in this way. Okay, 00:40:49.929 --> 00:40:51.670 so that's totally different than somebody that 00:40:51.670 --> 00:40:54.730 says, well, I don't have a clue. Okay, well, 00:40:54.849 --> 00:40:57.929 I guess I should have phrased myself better. 00:40:58.349 --> 00:41:02.269 Then take the person who has studied the Bible 00:41:02.269 --> 00:41:04.369 and they think the Presbyterian church polity 00:41:04.369 --> 00:41:07.630 is the way to do it. Even though I think that's 00:41:07.630 --> 00:41:11.670 frankly kind of ridiculous. Would that still 00:41:11.670 --> 00:41:15.389 qualify as manipulation? No. Because they're 00:41:15.389 --> 00:41:17.789 attempting not to manipulate God, but they're 00:41:17.789 --> 00:41:23.269 attempting to submit to God. Yeah. Again, I'm 00:41:23.269 --> 00:41:25.989 not sure where you get the conclusion from the 00:41:25.989 --> 00:41:30.289 Bible that a big Baptist church with four is 00:41:30.289 --> 00:41:34.989 the way to do it. If that's possible, then I 00:41:34.989 --> 00:41:36.809 guess that wouldn't be manipulation either if 00:41:36.809 --> 00:41:39.750 you consulted the Bible and tried to figure out 00:41:39.750 --> 00:41:46.010 the best way to do stuff. I know. I'm not being 00:41:46.010 --> 00:41:48.110 dismissive of your question. It's a good question. 00:41:48.329 --> 00:41:52.349 To me, what your question started with, does 00:41:52.349 --> 00:41:54.989 manipulation have to be a conscious effort on 00:41:54.989 --> 00:42:01.239 purpose? And my answer to that is no. I don't 00:42:01.239 --> 00:42:07.099 think it has to be. It can just be a habit. So, 00:42:07.280 --> 00:42:10.119 you know, if I am in the habit of manipulating 00:42:10.119 --> 00:42:13.139 people everywhere I go to get my way, I don't 00:42:13.139 --> 00:42:15.280 even realize I'm manipulating them after a while. 00:42:16.440 --> 00:42:24.639 But I do think in the case that you're siding 00:42:24.639 --> 00:42:27.119 with disagreements over doctrine or the Bible, 00:42:27.239 --> 00:42:29.920 then it's a question of what's the motive. Is 00:42:29.920 --> 00:42:32.679 this person actively attempting to glorify God 00:42:32.679 --> 00:42:34.699 in everything that they've done? And are they 00:42:34.699 --> 00:42:37.579 doing it in a way that is informed by the word? 00:42:37.940 --> 00:42:40.739 And are they taking the posture before God that 00:42:40.739 --> 00:42:44.739 I am submitting to your will in this way? Okay. 00:42:46.820 --> 00:43:02.130 Anything you want to say on that? Goes right 00:43:02.130 --> 00:43:04.389 along with this argument or with this discussion 00:43:04.389 --> 00:43:06.690 is the discussion of the glory of God that's 00:43:06.690 --> 00:43:16.869 left Israel. What does that mean? Well, in the 00:43:16.869 --> 00:43:18.989 strictest literalist sense from the word, what 00:43:18.989 --> 00:43:21.789 it meant that the ark was the presence of God 00:43:21.789 --> 00:43:24.590 and it was gone into Philistine territory. It 00:43:24.590 --> 00:43:28.670 was no longer in Hebrew or Jewish controlled 00:43:28.670 --> 00:43:34.699 territory. So in that way, it had departed. In 00:43:34.699 --> 00:43:38.280 our day, though, we don't have, obviously, the 00:43:38.280 --> 00:43:40.179 Ark of the Covenant of the Lord where the presence 00:43:40.179 --> 00:43:43.800 of God is. What we do have, though, is God within 00:43:43.800 --> 00:43:46.900 us. We have the experience of walking with God. 00:43:47.380 --> 00:43:53.820 Can that be interrupted? Yes. Okay, and how is 00:43:53.820 --> 00:44:01.840 that interrupted? Sin. Okay. What's the solution? 00:44:06.440 --> 00:44:12.000 What's that? To repent of sin, which means what? 00:44:14.300 --> 00:44:17.360 To be sorry for what you've done before the Lord 00:44:17.360 --> 00:44:21.860 and to turn away from the sin and what? Towards 00:44:21.860 --> 00:44:28.090 God's way. So our experience of God, our experience 00:44:28.090 --> 00:44:31.489 of the presence of God will be interrupted by 00:44:31.489 --> 00:44:34.710 sin. It can be interrupted, what, by known sin. 00:44:35.730 --> 00:44:38.730 I know that God has told me to do this, or I 00:44:38.730 --> 00:44:41.590 know that God has told me not to do this. But 00:44:41.590 --> 00:44:44.710 I'm going to either do this or not do this, contrary 00:44:44.710 --> 00:44:48.130 to God's instruction. When I get to that point, 00:44:48.250 --> 00:44:51.150 that's a very, I can't expect to experience the 00:44:51.150 --> 00:44:53.289 love of God should have brought in my heart so 00:44:53.289 --> 00:44:57.960 long as I am. Going against his direct instruction 00:44:57.960 --> 00:45:04.280 for my life. Right? We all in agreement there? 00:45:04.719 --> 00:45:08.340 When you say interrupted, you're not saying that 00:45:08.340 --> 00:45:10.960 the Holy Spirit can depart from you, correct? 00:45:12.800 --> 00:45:15.219 No, that's why I said the experience from God. 00:45:15.739 --> 00:45:19.840 The experience of the presence of God. It's interrupted. 00:45:21.019 --> 00:45:23.380 How would that manifest itself in our lives? 00:45:24.199 --> 00:45:29.760 Surely we've all had that experience. Emptiness. 00:45:30.440 --> 00:45:36.000 Emptiness. Doubt. Conclusion. About. Your salvation. 00:45:36.480 --> 00:45:46.159 Okay. You're doing the right thing. That's a 00:45:46.159 --> 00:45:51.440 big deal. The joy just gets sapped out of you. 00:45:55.820 --> 00:46:02.500 But not only known sin, unknown sin. I've been 00:46:02.500 --> 00:46:05.920 in this habit. I'm clueless, as Jake says. I've 00:46:05.920 --> 00:46:08.519 read the Bible eight times, but I've missed this. 00:46:09.260 --> 00:46:11.880 I've probably missed it because I'm biased, because 00:46:11.880 --> 00:46:14.139 I want to continue to do the thing that I'm doing, 00:46:14.199 --> 00:46:18.519 but I haven't realized that it's a sin. That's 00:46:18.519 --> 00:46:26.860 unknown. And God lets us know. And so then what 00:46:26.860 --> 00:46:31.000 happens? When we're joyless, when we're questioning, 00:46:31.159 --> 00:46:33.559 what do we do? Why, right? We ask the question, 00:46:33.739 --> 00:46:37.780 why is this the case? I can find all kinds of 00:46:37.780 --> 00:46:40.159 scripture that tells me about the joyful Christian 00:46:40.159 --> 00:46:43.440 life. It tells me about what it's like to walk 00:46:43.440 --> 00:46:47.619 side by side with my Lord and my Savior. To know 00:46:47.619 --> 00:46:51.099 what it is to be certain and to just feel the 00:46:51.099 --> 00:46:53.679 love of God in my heart. Why is this calling 00:46:53.679 --> 00:46:56.900 for me? That's the right question to ask, right? 00:46:57.320 --> 00:47:00.639 And in the case of the known sin, the answer 00:47:00.639 --> 00:47:03.000 should be obvious, shouldn't it? And the answer 00:47:03.000 --> 00:47:05.780 is just like what Jake said. I've got to repent 00:47:05.780 --> 00:47:08.900 of this thing. This thing is sapping all the 00:47:08.900 --> 00:47:13.260 joy out of my life. I've got to deal with it. 00:47:13.300 --> 00:47:16.360 As hard as it is, as difficult as it is, as hard 00:47:16.360 --> 00:47:19.659 as it is for me to look at myself as this, that's 00:47:19.659 --> 00:47:24.159 where I am. And I'm not willing to... keep on 00:47:24.159 --> 00:47:26.980 on that trajectory in my life. I've got to repent. 00:47:27.099 --> 00:47:28.920 I've got to turn back to God. In the case of 00:47:28.920 --> 00:47:33.239 the unknown sin, you may have to get what? You 00:47:33.239 --> 00:47:36.019 may have to go to, hopefully, a bosom friend 00:47:36.019 --> 00:47:40.480 and brother, sister, and say, what? This joy 00:47:40.480 --> 00:47:44.800 is sapped out of my life. I've checked, and I 00:47:44.800 --> 00:47:48.780 can't see any known sin in my life. I don't think 00:47:48.780 --> 00:47:51.440 that I am purposely rebelling against God in 00:47:51.440 --> 00:47:54.170 any kind of way. Is there something that you 00:47:54.170 --> 00:47:57.349 see in me? Is there something that is a red flag 00:47:57.349 --> 00:48:01.789 about me to you? And hopefully your friend, even 00:48:01.789 --> 00:48:03.750 though it will hurt, will tell you the truth. 00:48:04.610 --> 00:48:07.889 Not manipulate you, but just tell you the truth. 00:48:08.409 --> 00:48:13.929 This is what I see. This is what I would suggest. 00:48:14.170 --> 00:48:21.909 Seek the Lord in this area. It's also possible 00:48:22.760 --> 00:48:26.860 What's the last way that our experience of God 00:48:26.860 --> 00:48:37.739 is interrupted? Well, that would be sin. That 00:48:37.739 --> 00:48:48.860 would be a known sin. No. I would say it's when 00:48:48.860 --> 00:48:52.190 God... Brings us into a difficult circumstance. 00:48:53.289 --> 00:48:58.489 A trial in our life. And we. Get overwhelmed 00:48:58.489 --> 00:49:01.570 by that trial. And we lose sight of God. What's 00:49:01.570 --> 00:49:06.510 God teaching us in that? He's there. But we haven't 00:49:06.510 --> 00:49:08.869 made the time. And we haven't fixed our faith 00:49:08.869 --> 00:49:12.690 on him. In that difficult circumstance. Difficult 00:49:12.690 --> 00:49:16.010 things to do. Maybe our life is busy. Maybe the 00:49:16.010 --> 00:49:19.539 pressures of providing for a family. Or. The 00:49:19.539 --> 00:49:21.679 pressures of this, that, or the other thing in 00:49:21.679 --> 00:49:24.420 our lives. Legitimate. And they're real. I'm 00:49:24.420 --> 00:49:26.219 not dismissing them. I'm not saying they don't 00:49:26.219 --> 00:49:30.559 exist. But they crowd us out. And we don't say 00:49:30.559 --> 00:49:32.599 I'm not going to spend time with God. We don't 00:49:32.599 --> 00:49:34.900 say I'm not going to account for God in this 00:49:34.900 --> 00:49:39.159 particular stresses in my life. But the stresses 00:49:39.159 --> 00:49:41.599 and the pressures just overwhelm us to the point 00:49:41.599 --> 00:49:45.059 where God seems far away. And what's the solution 00:49:45.059 --> 00:49:50.679 then in that circumstance? Own the difficulty 00:49:50.679 --> 00:49:54.119 and look to him to give you the strength that 00:49:54.119 --> 00:50:02.619 you need to be faithful amid the trial. The presence 00:50:02.619 --> 00:50:05.880 of God left Israel. Is there any hope in that 00:50:05.880 --> 00:50:12.039 circumstance for them? No. There's no hope for 00:50:12.039 --> 00:50:15.219 us when the experience of God in our lives is 00:50:15.219 --> 00:50:20.099 gone. The only thing to do is to cast yourself 00:50:20.099 --> 00:50:24.239 upon the Lord in that circumstance and say, show 00:50:24.239 --> 00:50:28.300 me your way. Get me back on the right track. 00:50:28.380 --> 00:50:32.440 I want to do what you want me to do. Restore 00:50:32.440 --> 00:50:54.400 unto me the joy of your salvation. Well, you're 00:50:54.400 --> 00:50:58.780 asking if a devil or a demon can oppress a Christian 00:50:58.780 --> 00:51:37.780 in what way? What's the solution if that's the 00:51:37.780 --> 00:51:40.099 case? So you're saying that here's a Christian. 00:51:41.000 --> 00:51:43.219 He's doing what the Lord's called him to do. 00:51:43.300 --> 00:51:45.239 He's doing things the way the Lord called him 00:51:45.239 --> 00:51:50.280 to do. He's in his daily activity of repentance. 00:51:51.219 --> 00:51:55.119 And he is in the word. He's doing everything 00:51:55.119 --> 00:51:58.940 he's supposed to do. And then the devil comes 00:51:58.940 --> 00:52:01.559 to him and whispers in his ear some accusation. 00:52:04.429 --> 00:52:08.369 And you're asking them if he will give in to 00:52:08.369 --> 00:52:12.250 that in that circumstance. What's the devil going 00:52:12.250 --> 00:52:25.650 to accuse him of? I would say that the person 00:52:25.650 --> 00:52:28.269 that is well grounded in the scripture and is 00:52:28.269 --> 00:52:31.949 well grounded in a life of repentance, a life 00:52:31.949 --> 00:52:35.039 of faith, If the devil comes to you and says, 00:52:35.179 --> 00:52:37.139 you're not good enough, what's your response 00:52:37.139 --> 00:52:43.940 going to be? It's not about me, is it? I'll agree 00:52:43.940 --> 00:52:46.719 with you on that. That's what the Christian would 00:52:46.719 --> 00:52:51.559 say. I agree. I'm not good enough. It's not based 00:52:51.559 --> 00:52:54.079 on my goodness. It's not based on my good works. 00:52:54.159 --> 00:52:56.320 My relationship with the Lord is based on his 00:52:56.320 --> 00:53:02.730 work for me. What happens is we give way to sin. 00:53:03.829 --> 00:53:06.489 We rebel against God and we give an opportunity 00:53:06.489 --> 00:53:10.530 to the devil. We give power to sin. That's what 00:53:10.530 --> 00:53:13.769 happens. I'm going to give myself over to this 00:53:13.769 --> 00:53:16.449 thing because I'm refusing to submit to the Lord. 00:53:16.510 --> 00:53:19.590 I don't want to. I want to go do things my way. 00:53:19.809 --> 00:53:22.730 I don't care what the Lord has to say. And we 00:53:22.730 --> 00:53:25.090 give opportunity to sin. And then the devil comes 00:53:25.090 --> 00:53:29.179 in and he says, you're right. You shouldn't feel 00:53:29.179 --> 00:53:33.539 this way. You're right. Why is it? Well, how 00:53:33.539 --> 00:53:35.860 could this possibly be wrong? Doesn't it feel 00:53:35.860 --> 00:53:39.840 right? Maybe the devil manipulates other people 00:53:39.840 --> 00:53:47.639 around you to feed right into your sin. But the 00:53:47.639 --> 00:53:52.260 well -grounded Christian walking close to his 00:53:52.260 --> 00:53:56.179 Lord in faith, living a life of repentance is 00:53:56.800 --> 00:54:00.699 I don't believe is going to have an opportunity 00:54:00.699 --> 00:54:03.820 for the devil to come in and interrupt his relationship 00:54:03.820 --> 00:54:11.400 with the Lord. There's no opportunity for the 00:54:11.400 --> 00:54:15.360 devil in that circumstance. The devil takes the 00:54:15.360 --> 00:54:18.360 opportunity that we give to him. So yeah, if 00:54:18.360 --> 00:54:22.800 you're not a man of prayer, if you're not a man 00:54:22.800 --> 00:54:25.300 of the word, if you're not a man of repentance, 00:54:26.170 --> 00:54:30.030 If you're not a man of anything else that God 00:54:30.030 --> 00:54:32.070 has called you to be, what you're doing is giving 00:54:32.070 --> 00:54:34.329 opportunity to the devil to come into your life 00:54:34.329 --> 00:54:37.989 and to just make the power that you've given 00:54:37.989 --> 00:54:41.769 sin in your life a total wreck. He will cause 00:54:41.769 --> 00:54:45.929 you to exponentially give yourself over to sin. 00:54:45.989 --> 00:54:50.949 I do believe that. But he's not the source of 00:54:50.949 --> 00:54:54.489 it at the very beginning. That has to do with 00:54:54.489 --> 00:54:57.389 where you are with the Lord and how you deal 00:54:57.389 --> 00:55:00.510 with sin in your life and how seriously you take 00:55:00.510 --> 00:55:14.389 the word of God in your life. I mean, if a devil 00:55:14.389 --> 00:55:16.550 comes to you and starts to whisper in your ear, 00:55:16.710 --> 00:55:21.519 you run to the Lord. You run to him. You don't 00:55:21.519 --> 00:55:22.960 give them opportunity. You don't try to talk 00:55:22.960 --> 00:55:25.119 to them. You don't have a reasonable conversation 00:55:25.119 --> 00:55:28.619 with it. You just run to the Lord. I'm cast upon 00:55:28.619 --> 00:55:32.719 you. Can you remove this influence from me? Because 00:55:32.719 --> 00:55:35.119 I only want to be influenced by you and by your 00:55:35.119 --> 00:55:38.320 Holy Spirit. Minister your word to me as I read 00:55:38.320 --> 00:55:42.400 it. Minister your love to me as I pray. Give 00:55:42.400 --> 00:55:44.639 me strength to walk in faith in the things you've 00:55:44.639 --> 00:55:45.239 given me to do.