WEBVTT 00:00:01.360 --> 00:00:03.660 I will review it because I think there's quite 00:00:03.660 --> 00:00:06.679 a few people that weren't here. I don't believe 00:00:06.679 --> 00:00:11.919 it's an unfamiliar passage of the Bible for us. 00:00:12.000 --> 00:00:15.699 The Israelites take the Ark of the Covenant out. 00:00:16.519 --> 00:00:18.899 Well, first they get defeated by the Philistines. 00:00:18.940 --> 00:00:21.820 I can't figure out why God would allow that to 00:00:21.820 --> 00:00:24.399 happen. They take the Ark out then in front of 00:00:24.399 --> 00:00:28.070 the army. and they get defeated again. The Ark 00:00:28.070 --> 00:00:30.370 is captured by the Philistines. They take it 00:00:30.370 --> 00:00:33.469 to their various cities. I think there's three 00:00:33.469 --> 00:00:36.670 listed there. In every city where it goes, a 00:00:36.670 --> 00:00:41.090 plague of tumors breaks out in the cities. Thousands 00:00:41.090 --> 00:00:44.829 of people die. They set the Ark before Dagon. 00:00:44.890 --> 00:00:48.670 Dagon falls over. They do it again. He falls 00:00:48.670 --> 00:00:51.950 over and falls to pieces. They finally send the 00:00:51.950 --> 00:00:57.929 Ark on a cart led by two milk cows who had just 00:00:57.929 --> 00:01:01.329 given birth. And the milk cows, and they take 00:01:01.329 --> 00:01:04.629 the calves and they hide them away. The cows 00:01:04.629 --> 00:01:09.090 then travel away from their calves back into 00:01:09.090 --> 00:01:24.769 Israel where the ark stops in Beth Shemesh. Then 00:01:24.769 --> 00:01:28.849 in Beth Shemesh, a bunch of people die as well 00:01:28.849 --> 00:01:34.150 before they send it on to Kirjath -Jerub. Now, 00:01:34.150 --> 00:01:39.109 what we said last week was that the Israelites 00:01:39.109 --> 00:01:43.689 were using manipulation against God when they 00:01:43.689 --> 00:01:46.870 sent that ark out in front of them. Their thinking 00:01:46.870 --> 00:01:51.090 was, we'll put God's name first and foremost 00:01:51.090 --> 00:01:54.769 in the front of this battle. And God then will 00:01:54.769 --> 00:01:59.670 feel the pressure of his name. He'll be jealous 00:01:59.670 --> 00:02:03.549 to achieve victory in order that the Philistines 00:02:03.549 --> 00:02:09.610 don't think poorly of him. And we see that their 00:02:09.610 --> 00:02:13.449 manipulation ended in their own disaster. And 00:02:13.449 --> 00:02:16.669 we made certain applications, I think, in the 00:02:16.669 --> 00:02:22.689 church. We talked about manipulation in... in 00:02:22.689 --> 00:02:25.689 relationships and in conversations but I wasn't 00:02:25.689 --> 00:02:30.909 satisfied that we had exhausted or talked enough 00:02:30.909 --> 00:02:35.610 about how we personally as Christians use manipulation 00:02:35.610 --> 00:02:39.569 or can use manipulation in our relationship with 00:02:39.569 --> 00:02:42.889 God. Then I asked my dad what he thought and 00:02:42.889 --> 00:02:45.770 I didn't ask if he thought I had spent enough 00:02:45.770 --> 00:02:48.509 time but he said he wasn't sure that we had spent 00:02:48.509 --> 00:02:50.169 enough time there so that was enough for me. 00:02:53.280 --> 00:02:57.500 I want to explore this because it's easy for 00:02:57.500 --> 00:03:00.379 us to make an application in lots of different 00:03:00.379 --> 00:03:03.620 places and for lots of different people. It's 00:03:03.620 --> 00:03:07.000 much more difficult to examine ourselves and 00:03:07.000 --> 00:03:11.080 to see the application there in a personal way. 00:03:11.879 --> 00:03:18.509 So, broadly speaking, Anytime, how can Christians 00:03:18.509 --> 00:03:21.729 individually use manipulation against God? And 00:03:21.729 --> 00:03:25.189 broadly, we would just say, anytime we begin 00:03:25.189 --> 00:03:28.909 to think that our own actions will pressure God 00:03:28.909 --> 00:03:34.509 to grant our requests. Now, that's broadly. And 00:03:34.509 --> 00:03:37.050 so we won't be satisfied to stop there either. 00:03:37.110 --> 00:03:42.090 We can all just kind of throw that off to the 00:03:42.090 --> 00:03:45.770 side. So I'm asking you, I have seven. Seven 00:03:45.770 --> 00:03:49.389 things on my list. I'm willing to hear more, 00:03:49.490 --> 00:03:52.090 and I'm sure we can add more to them, but we'll 00:03:52.090 --> 00:03:54.550 for sure find these seven. I'll give you the 00:03:54.550 --> 00:03:58.289 first one, and maybe that will spark your imagination 00:03:58.289 --> 00:04:02.870 or your thinking in the right direction. So the 00:04:02.870 --> 00:04:06.069 first one would be, if I pray for something long 00:04:06.069 --> 00:04:09.990 enough, I'll get what I want from God. So I'll 00:04:09.990 --> 00:04:12.490 keep praying this in order to try to secure the 00:04:12.490 --> 00:04:18.379 thing that I want. Now that's not even prayer 00:04:18.379 --> 00:04:23.300 in a biblical definition. How else can we use 00:04:23.300 --> 00:04:45.689 manipulation against God? If I do something good, 00:04:45.970 --> 00:04:52.370 I'll get something in return. Okay. I have that 00:04:52.370 --> 00:04:55.269 in three even more specific things. You said 00:04:55.269 --> 00:04:56.949 give, so that's one of them. We're going to check 00:04:56.949 --> 00:05:00.350 that off of my list. I think you did say give 00:05:00.350 --> 00:05:04.110 money to somebody, right? Yeah. Okay. So I have 00:05:04.110 --> 00:05:07.110 both give money to the church and I have give 00:05:07.110 --> 00:05:11.769 money to the needy. And then I have keep some 00:05:11.769 --> 00:05:15.589 perceived set of laws. So I construct this idea 00:05:15.589 --> 00:05:19.129 in my head of what I should be doing, and I do 00:05:19.129 --> 00:05:21.170 those things, and I think that if I do those 00:05:21.170 --> 00:05:24.910 things, then God surely will give me what I want. 00:05:26.129 --> 00:05:44.420 So that's four of the seven. What else? If it's 00:05:44.420 --> 00:05:47.660 God's will, he'll take care of me in this way. 00:05:47.839 --> 00:05:51.680 I like that. Okay, so that would be presumption 00:05:51.680 --> 00:05:54.180 and manipulation, wouldn't it? It's like saying, 00:05:54.259 --> 00:05:56.360 well, God has promised this and it doesn't, so 00:05:56.360 --> 00:05:59.439 he's bound then to, he said he would give me 00:05:59.439 --> 00:06:02.519 food and clothes on my back. He also told me 00:06:02.519 --> 00:06:05.120 that I should work hard, but I can just ignore 00:06:05.120 --> 00:06:07.720 the work hard part and sit back and do nothing 00:06:07.720 --> 00:06:11.100 and then try to manipulate God as I wither away 00:06:11.100 --> 00:06:16.029 to nothing. naked on my front lawn. That would 00:06:16.029 --> 00:06:19.490 be an attempt to say, God, you better give me 00:06:19.490 --> 00:06:21.449 something or else your name is at stake here 00:06:21.449 --> 00:06:29.290 in a terrible way. I didn't have that on my list. 00:06:29.410 --> 00:06:32.629 That was the one application we made last week, 00:06:32.689 --> 00:06:35.889 so I didn't put that on my list, but it certainly 00:06:35.889 --> 00:06:41.920 is on the list. Well, we said we might do certain 00:06:41.920 --> 00:06:44.360 things to try to obligate God to give us what 00:06:44.360 --> 00:06:48.220 we want. What if we say, I'm going to stop. I'm 00:06:48.220 --> 00:06:51.100 going to stop doing this sinful habit that I've 00:06:51.100 --> 00:06:54.800 allowed develop in my life, and then surely God 00:06:54.800 --> 00:07:00.560 will give me what I want. Or what about this 00:07:00.560 --> 00:07:04.680 one? I'm going to go to the meetings of the church, 00:07:04.819 --> 00:07:11.139 and then God will give me what I want. or I'm 00:07:11.139 --> 00:07:14.240 going to have my personal devotional time. And 00:07:14.240 --> 00:07:17.240 that way, God will have to give me what I want. 00:07:18.720 --> 00:07:21.740 And maybe the desperate, ultimate manipulation 00:07:21.740 --> 00:07:24.480 would be, I'm going to do all this stuff because 00:07:24.480 --> 00:07:28.660 I really want this thing that bad. Now, it doesn't 00:07:28.660 --> 00:07:32.259 have anything to do with what the thing is. The 00:07:32.259 --> 00:07:36.930 thing might be, I want to be... I want to be 00:07:36.930 --> 00:07:40.069 married. The thing might be, I want to be more, 00:07:40.209 --> 00:07:42.889 I want to have a bigger role in the church. I 00:07:42.889 --> 00:07:47.069 might be, I want to be an evangelist and go out 00:07:47.069 --> 00:07:49.970 into the world and do all these things. Declare 00:07:49.970 --> 00:07:54.189 the name of God to the lost and dying world. 00:07:54.329 --> 00:07:56.310 But, you know, the opportunity just isn't there. 00:07:57.170 --> 00:08:01.730 That's what I want. So the desire may be all 00:08:01.730 --> 00:08:07.939 kinds of, I want my kids to be converted. So 00:08:07.939 --> 00:08:10.579 we're not saying that the desire is I want to 00:08:10.579 --> 00:08:15.620 have more money. What we're saying is that the 00:08:15.620 --> 00:08:18.600 attempt to manipulate God into giving you what 00:08:18.600 --> 00:08:22.420 you want in any kind of way by putting pressure 00:08:22.420 --> 00:08:28.079 on him is manipulation. Anybody else want to 00:08:28.079 --> 00:08:46.679 add anything else to the list there? sick. Like, 00:08:46.740 --> 00:08:48.899 oh, you're going to heal them. I'm claiming that 00:08:48.899 --> 00:08:51.419 you're going to heal them in your name. It's 00:08:51.419 --> 00:08:53.740 like you're trying to put the pressure on God 00:08:53.740 --> 00:08:56.620 to do this thing because you're saying in Jesus' 00:08:56.759 --> 00:08:59.460 name. Right. Like, I don't know where that fits 00:08:59.460 --> 00:09:05.059 into the lesson's thing, but it's strange. It's 00:09:05.059 --> 00:09:11.139 during the act of prayer. Right. But I've heard 00:09:11.139 --> 00:09:15.889 it done often before. Sure. Yeah, I mean that's 00:09:15.889 --> 00:09:18.549 essentially what the Israelites did. They treated 00:09:18.549 --> 00:09:21.309 the Ark of the Covenant of God as if it were 00:09:21.309 --> 00:09:23.250 some kind of lucky charm that was going to bring 00:09:23.250 --> 00:09:26.429 them luck and victory. And they used it in an 00:09:26.429 --> 00:09:31.830 attempt to use manipulation against God. So essentially 00:09:31.830 --> 00:09:34.830 that's what you're saying. I'm going to do this 00:09:34.830 --> 00:09:37.490 prayer, I'm going to claim this power for God, 00:09:37.610 --> 00:09:39.129 and I'm going to put his name on it, and then 00:09:39.129 --> 00:09:41.090 if the person isn't healed, well then it's God's 00:09:41.090 --> 00:09:44.970 fault. But certainly God won't want him. himself 00:09:44.970 --> 00:09:49.909 to be at fault. He'll heal this person. Alright, 00:09:50.009 --> 00:09:53.370 what's the remedy against that type of manipulation? 00:09:53.909 --> 00:09:56.149 How are we going to guard ourselves against that 00:09:56.149 --> 00:09:58.789 and make sure that we are as far away from that 00:09:58.789 --> 00:10:17.029 as we possibly can be? Never want anything. Can 00:10:17.029 --> 00:10:20.549 you change your desires? How or what do you mean 00:10:20.549 --> 00:10:24.289 by that? I don't know. Desire what God wants. 00:10:24.649 --> 00:10:28.169 Okay. So that's definitely on the list. That's 00:10:28.169 --> 00:10:33.289 a remedy. I should always attempt to align my 00:10:33.289 --> 00:10:38.009 desire with God's will first and patiently await 00:10:38.009 --> 00:10:41.450 his answer. Lord, this is what I want. We don't 00:10:41.450 --> 00:10:43.669 have to deny what we want. We don't have to deny 00:10:43.669 --> 00:10:46.370 our desire, unless it's a sinful desire, of course. 00:10:46.610 --> 00:10:49.049 But it may be a very good thing. We want our 00:10:49.049 --> 00:10:51.330 children to be converted. That's not a bad thing. 00:10:51.350 --> 00:10:55.570 That's a good thing. We should. But I'm submitting 00:10:55.570 --> 00:10:59.230 myself to your will. I want to wait for your 00:10:59.230 --> 00:11:02.470 answer. I'm not going to use manipulation to 00:11:02.470 --> 00:11:04.649 try to get it now. And I'm not going to say, 00:11:04.789 --> 00:11:09.919 you must do this or else. I am aligning my will 00:11:09.919 --> 00:11:12.559 with yours and I am content with your will. Now, 00:11:12.580 --> 00:11:15.419 the only way we can do that is what has to come 00:11:15.419 --> 00:11:22.100 before that. We've got to know something. So 00:11:22.100 --> 00:11:24.860 everything in the Christian life begins here. 00:11:25.500 --> 00:11:28.860 It begins with what we know. It begins with what 00:11:28.860 --> 00:11:32.320 has been revealed to us in the word of God. So 00:11:32.320 --> 00:11:34.100 what do we have to know if we're going to guard 00:11:34.100 --> 00:11:39.019 against this? I'll just give you an example. 00:11:39.159 --> 00:11:42.220 If I don't know that God loves me, if I don't 00:11:42.220 --> 00:11:44.940 know that God desires my will, if I adopt the 00:11:44.940 --> 00:11:47.840 world's view of God and think that God is some 00:11:47.840 --> 00:11:55.919 vengeful, raging, almighty being who gets great 00:11:55.919 --> 00:11:59.179 pleasure from causing problems in my life, then 00:11:59.179 --> 00:12:02.379 I may not be willing to align my will with his. 00:12:03.539 --> 00:12:07.909 Right? I may say I don't want anything to do 00:12:07.909 --> 00:12:09.889 with that, but what does the Christian know? 00:12:13.789 --> 00:12:18.190 Specifics. What do I know about God that's going 00:12:18.190 --> 00:12:36.230 to remove manipulation in my thinking? Okay. 00:12:37.370 --> 00:12:41.309 So are we settled in that conviction? Do we know 00:12:41.309 --> 00:12:44.149 that at the forefront of our minds when it comes 00:12:44.149 --> 00:12:50.529 to our desires? God wants only good things for 00:12:50.529 --> 00:12:54.309 me. And if this thing that I desire has not been 00:12:54.309 --> 00:12:57.610 granted by God, then it must not be good for 00:12:57.610 --> 00:13:01.559 me to have it, at least at this time. That's 00:13:01.559 --> 00:13:03.980 not a denial of what we want and I'm not saying 00:13:03.980 --> 00:13:06.200 that if it doesn't come immediately that we cast 00:13:06.200 --> 00:13:10.100 it off and say well that's it. But for now I 00:13:10.100 --> 00:13:12.919 will be content because I know that God loves 00:13:12.919 --> 00:13:16.480 me and he wants only good things for me. What 00:13:16.480 --> 00:13:22.419 else do we have to know? Well if you're not sure 00:13:22.419 --> 00:13:24.580 that God is wiser than you or knows more than 00:13:24.580 --> 00:13:28.259 you then maybe you think that you can Impart 00:13:28.259 --> 00:13:30.340 some wisdom to him and then he'll give you what 00:13:30.340 --> 00:13:33.779 you want. Don't you know that I really need this 00:13:33.779 --> 00:13:38.399 God? So we've got to know that God knows more 00:13:38.399 --> 00:13:44.000 than I do. And God's wisdom is beyond my total 00:13:44.000 --> 00:13:48.879 comprehension. He knows the big picture. He has 00:13:48.879 --> 00:13:52.960 a plan that is going to be way better than anything 00:13:52.960 --> 00:13:56.320 I could plan or I could imagine. Do we know that? 00:13:57.259 --> 00:14:00.419 That's a guard against manipulative thinking. 00:14:02.539 --> 00:14:06.240 What about myself? What do I have to know about 00:14:06.240 --> 00:14:12.500 myself and about God? Who knows me? Who's the 00:14:12.500 --> 00:14:18.179 best knower of Dave Dickman? Maybe my wife. Oh, 00:14:18.220 --> 00:14:23.419 she's in the nursery. God is the one who knows 00:14:23.419 --> 00:14:27.580 Dave Dickman better than anyone else. He knows 00:14:27.580 --> 00:14:32.379 Dave Dickman better than I know myself. If we 00:14:32.379 --> 00:14:36.019 don't know that, then we may think that what 00:14:36.019 --> 00:14:40.039 we want, it has some legitimacy. But it doesn't. 00:14:40.039 --> 00:14:42.940 Because God knows what I need more than I do. 00:14:45.279 --> 00:14:47.379 And then finally, this is the last one on my 00:14:47.379 --> 00:14:51.620 list. His purpose for me is better than the fulfillment 00:14:51.620 --> 00:14:56.519 of this desire. Whatever God's purpose is for 00:14:56.519 --> 00:15:00.139 me is better than if I have this thing. Whatever 00:15:00.139 --> 00:15:04.279 it is. It's better for me to sit content and 00:15:04.279 --> 00:15:07.940 to fulfill God's purpose in me and through me 00:15:07.940 --> 00:15:12.179 than it is to realize the thing that I want. 00:15:13.600 --> 00:15:17.440 Or to take hold of the thing or have the thing 00:15:17.440 --> 00:15:19.980 that I want granted to me. To be given to me. 00:15:21.419 --> 00:15:24.559 Now that's just fundamental to the Christian 00:15:24.559 --> 00:15:28.039 life. If you don't know those things and you 00:15:28.039 --> 00:15:31.000 don't remind yourself of those things, then you'll 00:15:31.000 --> 00:15:34.039 never be willing to align your will with the 00:15:34.039 --> 00:15:39.440 Father's. Alright, so that's two things. You've 00:15:39.440 --> 00:15:42.279 got to know something. You've got to then be 00:15:42.279 --> 00:15:46.580 willing to and want to align your desire to God's 00:15:46.580 --> 00:15:58.139 will. How can we check our desire? Yeah, how 00:15:58.139 --> 00:16:00.019 do we examine our desire? What are we looking 00:16:00.019 --> 00:16:04.620 for in this desire that I have? I want this thing. 00:16:04.679 --> 00:16:07.960 How am I going to check and see if I am leaning 00:16:07.960 --> 00:16:11.360 towards manipulation to get it or if I am settled 00:16:11.360 --> 00:16:17.000 in God and faith waiting for it? Okay, we're 00:16:17.000 --> 00:16:23.080 going to look at motive. So, a godly desire will 00:16:23.080 --> 00:16:27.100 be predominantly humble, right? That's the stature 00:16:27.100 --> 00:16:29.740 that we're taking before God. I'm humbled because 00:16:29.740 --> 00:16:32.019 you know more than me. You have a better plan 00:16:32.019 --> 00:16:34.480 than me. You want good things for me. You know 00:16:34.480 --> 00:16:38.919 me better than myself. And it will long for God 00:16:38.919 --> 00:16:42.600 to glorify himself even at the expense of that 00:16:42.600 --> 00:16:48.460 desire. Jesus said, what? Not my will, but your 00:16:48.460 --> 00:16:51.120 will be done. And he taught us to pray. How? 00:16:53.059 --> 00:16:58.820 Thy will be done. Now, if you're thinking and 00:16:58.820 --> 00:17:01.340 if you're an examination of this thing that you 00:17:01.340 --> 00:17:05.660 want, if you can't say that I am humble before 00:17:05.660 --> 00:17:10.039 God and I am longing to have God glorify himself 00:17:10.039 --> 00:17:14.700 in whatever way he sees best, then you need to 00:17:14.700 --> 00:17:17.079 get your, it's still where I'm not saying that 00:17:17.079 --> 00:17:19.339 that means the desire is wrong. I'm saying that 00:17:19.339 --> 00:17:22.880 you're in a wrong place. You've got to correct 00:17:22.880 --> 00:17:26.380 your thinking then and get humble. and get before 00:17:26.380 --> 00:17:30.339 God. Because if you're not, then you're going 00:17:30.339 --> 00:17:34.680 to be closer and closer and closer to attempting 00:17:34.680 --> 00:17:42.160 to bend God's will to yours. Anybody else want 00:17:42.160 --> 00:17:47.839 to mention anything there? I think along with 00:17:47.839 --> 00:17:52.680 motive, to me anyway, is the idea that is it 00:17:52.680 --> 00:18:02.670 going to draw me nearer to God? Yeah, I guess 00:18:02.670 --> 00:18:05.750 in examining the desire, we first should start 00:18:05.750 --> 00:18:08.769 by what is the thing that I want. I guess I'm 00:18:08.769 --> 00:18:13.549 assuming that most Christians don't want sinful 00:18:13.549 --> 00:18:17.990 things. They want good things. So, but obviously 00:18:17.990 --> 00:18:21.289 that would be the place to start. Is this thing 00:18:21.289 --> 00:18:24.309 that I'm desiring, is that... Is that a good 00:18:24.309 --> 00:18:26.690 thing? Is that a God -honoring thing? That's 00:18:26.690 --> 00:18:29.970 the way we pray, I think, right? Hopefully. Lord, 00:18:30.049 --> 00:18:32.930 I want this thing. It seems like it would bring 00:18:32.930 --> 00:18:36.390 great glory to your name. If you did this thing, 00:18:36.529 --> 00:18:40.250 people would wonder at the almighty God, the 00:18:40.250 --> 00:18:44.309 gracious and merciful God who is love. Do this 00:18:44.309 --> 00:18:49.809 for that reason. Now, that's not manipulation 00:18:49.809 --> 00:18:53.750 if it comes from our hearts. That's what Nathan's 00:18:53.750 --> 00:18:59.009 talking about. Okay, now we listed all those 00:18:59.009 --> 00:19:03.990 things. What's the, I think all of them, I think 00:19:03.990 --> 00:19:07.750 all of them are good things. Who's ever going 00:19:07.750 --> 00:19:12.609 to say you shouldn't repent from doing sin? Who's 00:19:12.609 --> 00:19:14.869 going to say you shouldn't turn to God? Who's 00:19:14.869 --> 00:19:16.670 going to say you shouldn't submit yourself to 00:19:16.670 --> 00:19:22.839 his will? Nobody. Who's going to say you shouldn't 00:19:22.839 --> 00:19:25.579 pray and ask God for things? Isn't that what 00:19:25.579 --> 00:19:30.799 Jesus tells us to do that, doesn't he? So then, 00:19:30.859 --> 00:19:36.720 I have these seven things here. I didn't include 00:19:36.720 --> 00:19:40.779 Brian's eighth point. But how are we going to 00:19:40.779 --> 00:19:46.450 know if we're praying properly? Well, we're going, 00:19:46.589 --> 00:19:48.829 and this is, okay, we'll give the short answer 00:19:48.829 --> 00:19:50.569 here. We gave the broad answer before. We'll 00:19:50.569 --> 00:19:53.849 give the short answer here. What is pleasing 00:19:53.849 --> 00:20:00.049 to the Lord? Only what is done in love towards 00:20:00.049 --> 00:20:05.470 God. Now, that's the short answer. God's not 00:20:05.470 --> 00:20:08.690 pleased by anybody doing anything under obligation. 00:20:09.680 --> 00:20:12.880 God doesn't ever call any of us to be coercive 00:20:12.880 --> 00:20:15.480 towards someone else to get them to do something. 00:20:15.680 --> 00:20:19.319 And God is not that way to us, coerce us or force 00:20:19.319 --> 00:20:24.059 us. What he wants is what? A heart full of love 00:20:24.059 --> 00:20:27.960 that wants to please him. But how is that defined? 00:20:28.759 --> 00:20:33.339 How do you know if you're loving God? Well, how 00:20:33.339 --> 00:20:38.250 are you praying? God would say, if you love me, 00:20:38.369 --> 00:20:43.990 then pray in this way. Seek my will. Submit your 00:20:43.990 --> 00:20:48.690 request to me under the knowledge and the assurance 00:20:48.690 --> 00:20:53.430 that my will is best. Is that how you're submitting 00:20:53.430 --> 00:20:55.589 your request to God? That's pleasing to God. 00:20:56.349 --> 00:20:59.309 That comes from a heart of love. I love you. 00:21:01.680 --> 00:21:04.660 I'm only asking for this thing if it's good for 00:21:04.660 --> 00:21:08.819 me and it redounds to your glory. Repentance. 00:21:09.920 --> 00:21:31.730 Yep. Well, there's no such thing as prayer that 00:21:31.730 --> 00:21:36.650 doesn't believe. Right? James says, don't ask 00:21:36.650 --> 00:21:41.529 wavering. What you're describing would just be 00:21:41.529 --> 00:21:48.390 some kind of mindless babble. Right? Why would 00:21:48.390 --> 00:21:50.150 you ask if you don't believe God would do it? 00:21:53.470 --> 00:21:58.470 Usually when people say, In Jesus' name, that 00:21:58.470 --> 00:22:01.529 is shorthand version of saying, according to 00:22:01.529 --> 00:22:04.089 your will. Because God acts according to his 00:22:04.089 --> 00:22:07.390 character. His name is his character. And what 00:22:07.390 --> 00:22:10.609 we're saying is, because you are all these things, 00:22:10.690 --> 00:22:13.950 I'm praying in Jesus' name because I'm not trying 00:22:13.950 --> 00:22:17.109 to manipulate you. I just want you to act according 00:22:17.109 --> 00:22:30.740 to your character. Dave? Yes, ma 'am. Yeah, that 00:22:30.740 --> 00:22:34.240 word. How can anybody do that to God when God 00:22:34.240 --> 00:22:36.940 is who he is? Well, I don't think that manipulation 00:22:36.940 --> 00:22:43.240 necessarily has to have an effect. So I can use 00:22:43.240 --> 00:22:45.559 manipulation against you. That doesn't necessarily 00:22:45.559 --> 00:22:48.740 mean that you're going to do whatever I'm trying 00:22:48.740 --> 00:22:51.779 to do. But that doesn't mean that I haven't used 00:22:51.779 --> 00:22:55.119 manipulation against you. I think I've said attempt 00:22:55.119 --> 00:22:58.519 to manipulate God. So I understand that to be... 00:22:59.220 --> 00:23:01.880 I'm attempting to get you to do what I want you 00:23:01.880 --> 00:23:10.640 to do. But you're, yeah, no, I mean, God stands, 00:23:11.140 --> 00:23:14.180 what's that? It's not successful. Yes. I know 00:23:14.180 --> 00:23:17.099 what you're saying. I understand it. And I know 00:23:17.099 --> 00:23:18.980 what you're saying, but you just keep repeating 00:23:18.980 --> 00:23:24.380 the not. And I'm thinking, how can we manipulate 00:23:24.380 --> 00:23:30.509 him for who he is? I mean, he is Lord. Right, 00:23:34.410 --> 00:23:39.150 we attempt to. We do the manipulation. It comes 00:23:39.150 --> 00:23:41.849 to God and it falls on its face. And God stands 00:23:41.849 --> 00:23:45.250 firm in its purpose. Just like he did with the 00:23:45.250 --> 00:23:48.970 Israelites when they took the ark out there. 00:23:49.009 --> 00:23:51.230 He stood firm because it wasn't his plan. It 00:23:51.230 --> 00:23:54.529 didn't matter what they did. And God would rather... 00:23:56.039 --> 00:23:58.819 Stand in his purpose and allow his people to 00:23:58.819 --> 00:24:05.779 be embarrassed and humbled. Then change his plan 00:24:05.779 --> 00:24:07.799 or do whatever it is he's trying to get him to 00:24:07.799 --> 00:24:15.759 do. Okay, then repentance. We talked about repentance 00:24:15.759 --> 00:24:20.000 in an attempt to manipulate God. But repentance 00:24:20.000 --> 00:24:24.960 motivated by a desire to glorify him. Thankful. 00:24:25.400 --> 00:24:28.720 For all that he has done for you. That's how 00:24:28.720 --> 00:24:31.480 we love God. That is the definition of love. 00:24:32.200 --> 00:24:34.579 You say that you love God. Then you don't live 00:24:34.579 --> 00:24:39.700 in sin. That's just Bible. Time spent with him. 00:24:40.299 --> 00:24:44.599 Motivated to know him better. That's love. You 00:24:44.599 --> 00:24:47.079 say you love God. But you never have a conversation 00:24:47.079 --> 00:24:49.299 with him. You never read the book that's written 00:24:49.299 --> 00:24:51.900 about him. You don't want to know anything more 00:24:51.900 --> 00:24:56.039 about him. And yet you claim that you love God. 00:24:56.119 --> 00:24:59.140 Well, the very definition of love includes this 00:24:59.140 --> 00:25:02.720 relationship with the Lord. Seeking His face, 00:25:02.920 --> 00:25:05.539 wanting to be with Him, wanting to learn who 00:25:05.539 --> 00:25:11.240 He is, wanting to glory in who He is. Gathering 00:25:11.240 --> 00:25:14.500 with His people, motivated by a desire to worship. 00:25:14.599 --> 00:25:21.069 That's love. Well, Come to the meetings because 00:25:21.069 --> 00:25:23.349 we want God to do something for us. We come there 00:25:23.349 --> 00:25:27.150 burdened by a desire to worship him with his 00:25:27.150 --> 00:25:33.450 people. Because we love him. That's love. Giving. 00:25:33.470 --> 00:25:39.589 Giving is a good thing. But giving motivated 00:25:39.589 --> 00:25:46.460 by thankfulness and cheerful. That's love. You 00:25:46.460 --> 00:25:48.759 say you love God, but you don't support His work? 00:25:48.920 --> 00:25:54.519 You don't give to the church? Are you not thankful 00:25:54.519 --> 00:25:58.680 for all that He's done for you? He sent His only 00:25:58.680 --> 00:26:01.319 Son into the world to die on a cross and take 00:26:01.319 --> 00:26:05.579 your sin upon Him and give you and give me His 00:26:05.579 --> 00:26:09.039 righteousness. The very definition of love includes 00:26:09.039 --> 00:26:12.680 this whole idea that I would give anything for 00:26:12.680 --> 00:26:19.700 that Savior of mine. What more can I give? That's 00:26:19.700 --> 00:26:22.500 the Christian's heart. Am I sure this is all 00:26:22.500 --> 00:26:28.140 I can give? The Christian's not, how can I fit 00:26:28.140 --> 00:26:31.319 this into my budget? The question is, how can 00:26:31.319 --> 00:26:35.079 I change my budget so I can give more? I want 00:26:35.079 --> 00:26:38.579 to do more. How can I rearrange my lifestyle 00:26:38.579 --> 00:26:40.900 so I can be a better help in people's lives? 00:26:43.180 --> 00:26:46.960 That's the Christian's heart. Not what minimal 00:26:46.960 --> 00:26:50.720 effort I can put towards God's people. Not what 00:26:50.720 --> 00:26:53.759 minimal effort I can put towards the needy. But 00:26:53.759 --> 00:26:56.720 how can I get my life to a place where I can 00:26:56.720 --> 00:27:00.319 have more of my time dedicated to the people 00:27:00.319 --> 00:27:06.900 around me who need it. That's love. That's love 00:27:06.900 --> 00:27:15.039 for God. We talked about conforming ourselves 00:27:15.039 --> 00:27:19.759 to some list that we've made up, list of laws. 00:27:20.599 --> 00:27:24.380 But nobody here would say that it's wrong to 00:27:24.380 --> 00:27:27.339 say, I want to be transformed. We spent three 00:27:27.339 --> 00:27:30.180 or four weeks talking about transformation. I 00:27:30.180 --> 00:27:34.460 want to live more like I see Jesus living in 00:27:34.460 --> 00:27:39.180 the Bible. And why? Because it's a wonderful, 00:27:39.200 --> 00:27:43.140 beautiful picture that I see there. Here's this 00:27:43.140 --> 00:27:45.980 man walking around relating properly everywhere 00:27:45.980 --> 00:27:49.440 he goes to sinners, to his disciples, to the 00:27:49.440 --> 00:27:52.619 authorities over him. Most importantly, to God 00:27:52.619 --> 00:27:56.339 above, his Father. Now that's who I want to be. 00:27:56.859 --> 00:28:01.259 I want my life to conform to that. Why? Because 00:28:01.259 --> 00:28:04.119 I'm so thankful and grateful for what he's done. 00:28:04.460 --> 00:28:06.680 I don't want to do anything or have anything 00:28:06.680 --> 00:28:09.380 in my life that would cause anybody to say, I 00:28:09.380 --> 00:28:11.059 don't want anything to do with that God that 00:28:11.059 --> 00:28:15.140 you claim. I want people rather to look at me 00:28:15.140 --> 00:28:17.660 and say, I don't know what God you're worshiping, 00:28:17.680 --> 00:28:22.660 but I want that God. I want a God that transforms 00:28:22.660 --> 00:28:28.539 lives in that way. That's love. If you don't 00:28:28.539 --> 00:28:31.220 have any desire to live the way that Jesus did, 00:28:31.339 --> 00:28:33.480 if you don't have any desire for people to know 00:28:33.480 --> 00:28:36.839 that you love Jesus, how can you say that you 00:28:36.839 --> 00:28:43.359 love God? That's just Bible. Now, If you have 00:28:43.359 --> 00:28:46.200 a desire for all of those things, now you've 00:28:46.200 --> 00:28:49.599 got a list that you can pray back to God all 00:28:49.599 --> 00:28:55.000 the time. Because all those things are straight 00:28:55.000 --> 00:28:58.759 out of His Bible. Straight out of His Word. They're 00:28:58.759 --> 00:29:02.779 what He instructs for you to do in order that 00:29:02.779 --> 00:29:05.880 you would know Him better. In order that you 00:29:05.880 --> 00:29:12.140 would share the joy of His Son. Alright. That's 00:29:12.140 --> 00:29:16.079 what I have to say about personal manipulation. 00:29:17.119 --> 00:29:19.539 Anybody else want to add anything or say anything 00:29:19.539 --> 00:30:03.049 or ask a question? Okay, a couple of quick lessons 00:30:03.049 --> 00:30:06.309 then before we get done with these three chapters 00:30:06.309 --> 00:30:11.730 here. This is a picture for us. It's that Ark 00:30:11.730 --> 00:30:16.700 travels through the Philistine cities. and then 00:30:16.700 --> 00:30:20.619 they finally put the ark on a cart and send it 00:30:20.619 --> 00:30:24.079 back. This is a picture for us, not dissimilar 00:30:24.079 --> 00:30:25.779 to the picture that we see of the Egyptians, 00:30:25.819 --> 00:30:28.940 who witnessed the word of God through Moses. 00:30:29.180 --> 00:30:32.380 They witnessed the power of God in all the plagues. 00:30:32.460 --> 00:30:37.339 The Philistines have that, at least they have 00:30:37.339 --> 00:30:42.740 revelation from God. They see their own God destroyed. 00:30:43.000 --> 00:30:48.410 Now, can you imagine that? This is a proclaimed 00:30:48.410 --> 00:30:52.109 deity that you stand up there and the ark of 00:30:52.109 --> 00:30:54.430 God comes before it and falls over twice. That's 00:30:54.430 --> 00:30:57.910 power. Now maybe you could blame it on a strong 00:30:57.910 --> 00:30:59.750 wind or something the first time. The second 00:30:59.750 --> 00:31:02.990 time there's no excuse that's going to account 00:31:02.990 --> 00:31:06.690 for the fact that Dagon is down left to a stump 00:31:06.690 --> 00:31:09.250 and his arms and his legs are shattered in pieces 00:31:09.250 --> 00:31:13.670 around him. They saw that. Everywhere this ark 00:31:13.670 --> 00:31:18.289 goes, people break out in tumors. They saw that. 00:31:18.329 --> 00:31:22.130 They experienced it. It can't be coincidence. 00:31:22.269 --> 00:31:24.109 Maybe the first time you'd say, well, it was 00:31:24.109 --> 00:31:26.250 just a coincidence. The plague broke out when 00:31:26.250 --> 00:31:28.990 the ark was here. But then we sent it to the 00:31:28.990 --> 00:31:31.730 next city over, and the same thing happened. 00:31:31.849 --> 00:31:35.049 Now, again, that's a gone. That's God speaking. 00:31:35.950 --> 00:31:39.549 And they witnessed that, and they heard it. Thousands 00:31:39.549 --> 00:31:44.359 of people died. Then they put the ark and they 00:31:44.359 --> 00:31:48.579 put it with these two mama cows. And they put 00:31:48.579 --> 00:31:51.539 the baby cows over here. And which way do the 00:31:51.539 --> 00:31:53.799 cows go? Now normally, Bryson, which way do the 00:31:53.799 --> 00:32:01.299 cows go? Right back to the babies. But in this 00:32:01.299 --> 00:32:05.940 case, they go in the opposite direction. Now 00:32:05.940 --> 00:32:09.269 God can give... worship and praise from rocks 00:32:09.269 --> 00:32:11.769 and stones and he can have his word come forth 00:32:11.769 --> 00:32:15.190 from a donkey. In this case, he declares who 00:32:15.190 --> 00:32:17.410 he is and he declares his word through these 00:32:17.410 --> 00:32:23.769 milk cows. To the Philistines, I am God Almighty. 00:32:24.029 --> 00:32:28.430 I rule nature. I bring destruction. No one can 00:32:28.430 --> 00:32:31.450 blaspheme my name. No one can put me in front 00:32:31.450 --> 00:32:35.049 of the God Dagon and think that I will be beholding 00:32:35.049 --> 00:32:41.250 to him. It's loud and it's clear. If you've ever 00:32:41.250 --> 00:32:43.410 wondered what Paul meant when he said, you're 00:32:43.410 --> 00:32:47.109 dead in your trespasses and sins. You're without 00:32:47.109 --> 00:32:50.750 hope or with no hope and without God in the world. 00:32:50.829 --> 00:32:52.809 This is a picture of that. What did they do? 00:32:54.930 --> 00:32:58.990 We would like to think that if we saw half of 00:32:58.990 --> 00:33:02.450 that wonder, we would be on our feet, on our 00:33:02.450 --> 00:33:06.589 face before God. In our sins, we would think, 00:33:06.589 --> 00:33:10.390 well, that would have woke me up. But the truth 00:33:10.390 --> 00:33:14.529 is that sin's grip on a man's heart apart from 00:33:14.529 --> 00:33:18.509 God is so strong that none of those things have 00:33:18.509 --> 00:33:20.329 an effect at all. What happened? They just went 00:33:20.329 --> 00:33:25.089 home. No good, the ark is there in Beth Shemesh. 00:33:25.170 --> 00:33:28.549 Let's get out of here. We don't need to account 00:33:28.549 --> 00:33:31.109 for who God is. We don't need to think about 00:33:31.109 --> 00:33:33.569 it. We don't need to consider the message that 00:33:33.569 --> 00:33:35.549 we've heard here. We'll just go back to our homes. 00:33:36.849 --> 00:33:39.430 Now that's the very definition of without hope. 00:33:40.410 --> 00:33:43.829 God speaking from the heavens. God working wonders 00:33:43.829 --> 00:33:46.430 among you. And you turn around and you go back 00:33:46.430 --> 00:33:52.589 home. Now again, that's easy for us to say, well, 00:33:52.710 --> 00:33:56.819 those bad Philistines. But the question for us 00:33:56.819 --> 00:33:59.779 is, what do we do with the instruction that God, 00:33:59.819 --> 00:34:02.039 the revelation that God gives us? He doesn't 00:34:02.039 --> 00:34:06.940 give us revelation in milk cows. He's given us 00:34:06.940 --> 00:34:09.860 a much clearer revelation in His Word and in 00:34:09.860 --> 00:34:13.780 His Son. And what do we do with that? What do 00:34:13.780 --> 00:34:17.739 we do when we hear the instruction of God? When 00:34:17.739 --> 00:34:20.639 we read it, when we hear it, do we just cast 00:34:20.639 --> 00:34:24.630 it off? Well, that's for some people. Or are 00:34:24.630 --> 00:34:28.789 we the people, of course, I'm fine there. We 00:34:28.789 --> 00:34:30.550 don't even bother to think about ourselves or 00:34:30.550 --> 00:34:33.130 examine ourselves in light of the instruction 00:34:33.130 --> 00:34:37.650 that we've heard. So let's not cast too many 00:34:37.650 --> 00:34:40.989 stones at the Philistines until we first examine 00:34:40.989 --> 00:34:44.389 how it is that we receive the instruction from 00:34:44.389 --> 00:34:50.650 God for you and for me. That's the first short 00:34:50.650 --> 00:34:52.690 lesson. The second one is, what was the Israelites' 00:34:52.869 --> 00:34:56.809 sin? And this is kind of a hard verse. In verse 00:34:56.809 --> 00:35:00.630 19 of chapter 6, He smote the men of Beth Shemesh 00:35:00.630 --> 00:35:03.489 because they had looked into the ark of the Lord. 00:35:03.889 --> 00:35:06.809 Even he smote of the people 50 ,000 and three 00:35:06.809 --> 00:35:10.510 score and ten men. That's 50 ,070 men. And the 00:35:10.510 --> 00:35:12.869 people lamented because the Lord had smitten 00:35:12.869 --> 00:35:15.570 many of the people with a great slaughter. And 00:35:15.570 --> 00:35:17.869 then verse 20, And the men of Beth Shemesh said, 00:35:18.599 --> 00:35:21.280 Who is able to stand before this holy Lord God, 00:35:21.460 --> 00:35:27.099 and to whom shall he go up from us? Now, I don't 00:35:27.099 --> 00:35:29.840 know exactly what was going on there. If they 00:35:29.840 --> 00:35:33.559 just were gazing at the ark, maybe like it was 00:35:33.559 --> 00:35:37.980 a spectacle. I don't know if they actually opened 00:35:37.980 --> 00:35:42.659 it up and looked inside. But I do know that whatever 00:35:42.659 --> 00:35:45.059 was going on there, they hadn't accounted for 00:35:45.059 --> 00:35:47.809 who God is. for his holiness, because that's 00:35:47.809 --> 00:35:52.170 what they say. Who is able to stand before this 00:35:52.170 --> 00:35:56.230 holy God? Now God had given them very specific 00:35:56.230 --> 00:35:58.650 instructions about how the ark was to be handled. 00:35:59.469 --> 00:36:02.130 They didn't have anything to do with that. Certainly 00:36:02.130 --> 00:36:04.250 they had heard the stories of the tumors of the 00:36:04.250 --> 00:36:07.010 dead people everywhere the ark went. Certainly 00:36:07.010 --> 00:36:10.769 they wondered when they saw these milk cows full 00:36:10.769 --> 00:36:13.250 of milk, so they knew that they had calves somewhere, 00:36:13.309 --> 00:36:17.030 but they were walking away towards them. But 00:36:17.030 --> 00:36:19.670 they didn't halt at all. So what can we say about 00:36:19.670 --> 00:36:22.849 them? They weren't much different than when they 00:36:22.849 --> 00:36:24.869 had taken the ark out in front. They were still 00:36:24.869 --> 00:36:30.610 the same people. The ark is a novelty. The ark 00:36:30.610 --> 00:36:33.349 is a representation of who God is just dismissed. 00:36:34.449 --> 00:36:38.170 They didn't take it seriously at all. They weren't 00:36:38.170 --> 00:36:41.090 submitted to the will of God for them. They weren't 00:36:41.090 --> 00:36:43.969 in awe at his holiness. They weren't in wonder 00:36:43.969 --> 00:36:46.619 at his power. And they certainly weren't humbled 00:36:46.619 --> 00:36:50.139 by their own sin and by their own lack of reverence 00:36:50.139 --> 00:36:52.219 for the ark when they lost it in the first place. 00:36:58.619 --> 00:37:03.900 Alright. Let's not be those people. You know, 00:37:03.940 --> 00:37:12.340 our God is a consuming fire. Our God tells us, 00:37:12.360 --> 00:37:15.090 press on. Because only those people that press 00:37:15.090 --> 00:37:17.329 on will make it to glory. There's no giving up. 00:37:17.670 --> 00:37:21.349 There's no turning back. Christians don't do 00:37:21.349 --> 00:37:26.230 that. Christians attempt to please their God 00:37:26.230 --> 00:37:32.150 in the ways that we said and many more. Humbly 00:37:32.150 --> 00:37:35.409 before their God, submitted to His will. If God 00:37:35.409 --> 00:37:38.530 says put that ark on this kind of a cart and 00:37:38.530 --> 00:37:40.630 cover it up and go get these people to carry 00:37:40.630 --> 00:37:43.909 it, then what? Then that's what we're going to 00:37:43.909 --> 00:37:47.309 do. And in my life and in your life, hopefully 00:37:47.309 --> 00:37:50.269 that's our attitude. If God has called me to 00:37:50.269 --> 00:37:53.190 this and set this way before me, then I will 00:37:53.190 --> 00:37:57.070 walk in that way without question. Because I 00:37:57.070 --> 00:37:59.489 know that God loves me and I know that his way 00:37:59.489 --> 00:38:02.389 is good for me. And so I'll be content then to 00:38:02.389 --> 00:38:05.369 go in his way. In the way that he tells me to 00:38:05.369 --> 00:38:08.449 go. And the whole time I will be in reverent 00:38:08.449 --> 00:38:12.869 awe and fear of a God who is almighty. who still 00:38:12.869 --> 00:38:16.250 takes an interest in little pipsqueaky Dave Dickman. 00:38:18.150 --> 00:38:21.150 That's a wonderful thought for you and for me. 00:38:23.010 --> 00:38:27.610 All right. That's what I've got in my head and 00:38:27.610 --> 00:38:30.230 in my lists. Any questions or comments?