WEBVTT 00:00:05.040 --> 00:00:07.740 All right, wonderful. Take your Bibles. Turn 00:00:07.740 --> 00:00:10.380 with me to the book of Deuteronomy chapter number 00:00:10.380 --> 00:00:13.160 33, Deuteronomy chapter number 33. Thank you 00:00:13.160 --> 00:00:16.059 for being here today. Thank you for bringing 00:00:16.059 --> 00:00:18.160 your Bibles, not only bringing your Bibles, but 00:00:18.160 --> 00:00:21.399 bringing your heart and your ears and being ready 00:00:21.399 --> 00:00:23.940 to hear from on high, hear from the word of God. 00:00:24.359 --> 00:00:26.879 God's book, The Word of God, is an amazing book. 00:00:26.940 --> 00:00:29.899 It's quick, it's powerful, sharper than any two 00:00:29.899 --> 00:00:32.200 -edged sword. We've been in the book of Deuteronomy 00:00:32.200 --> 00:00:35.000 for quite some time. And we're about to finish 00:00:35.000 --> 00:00:37.600 up. This is the second to last message. You know, 00:00:37.619 --> 00:00:39.880 next week we're gonna finish up the book of Deuteronomy. 00:00:40.280 --> 00:00:42.759 And we see this, the book of Deuteronomy, the 00:00:42.759 --> 00:00:45.780 second giving of the law. And Moses is gathering 00:00:45.780 --> 00:00:48.259 around the children of Israel. They're about 00:00:48.259 --> 00:00:51.299 to head into the promised land, about to cross 00:00:51.299 --> 00:00:54.320 over that Jordan River and go into that land 00:00:54.320 --> 00:00:56.820 flowing with milk and honey. He's giving them 00:00:56.820 --> 00:01:00.000 some instructions. And we get to this point here 00:01:00.000 --> 00:01:05.439 in chapter 33, and Moses, gives a blessing to 00:01:05.439 --> 00:01:10.239 the 12 tribes of Israel. He begins to show that 00:01:10.239 --> 00:01:13.879 God wants to bless the children of Israel. He 00:01:13.879 --> 00:01:17.079 wants to give them favor, and he instructs them, 00:01:17.140 --> 00:01:20.120 and it's an absolutely amazing truth. We're gonna 00:01:20.120 --> 00:01:22.900 look into that. He eventually gets to verse 24 00:01:22.900 --> 00:01:26.760 and 25, and he mentions the blessings to Asher. 00:01:26.939 --> 00:01:29.659 I like Asher, there's my little buddy Asher right 00:01:29.659 --> 00:01:31.959 there, Asher Denari. He came up to me during 00:01:31.959 --> 00:01:34.939 handshaking and he said, Pastor, would you preach 00:01:34.939 --> 00:01:37.340 from the book of, or not Deuteronomy, Ecclesiastes 00:01:37.340 --> 00:01:40.000 next? I don't know, we'll see Asher, but I like 00:01:40.000 --> 00:01:41.579 you Asher, you're like my little buddy right 00:01:41.579 --> 00:01:45.060 there. But the blessing to Asher, and you're 00:01:45.060 --> 00:01:47.980 gonna notice that we're gonna read that it mentions 00:01:47.980 --> 00:01:52.500 something. It says, as thy days, as thy days, 00:01:53.060 --> 00:01:56.519 so shall thy strength be. And that's a famous, 00:01:56.519 --> 00:02:00.719 famous saying in the Bible. As thy days, so shall 00:02:00.719 --> 00:02:03.019 thy strength be. Now, I pictured in my study 00:02:03.019 --> 00:02:05.680 that you would actually say that with me. As 00:02:05.680 --> 00:02:10.080 thy days, so shall thy strength be. OK. I was 00:02:10.080 --> 00:02:13.479 hoping that more than 100 of you said that. I 00:02:13.479 --> 00:02:17.240 think we got about 100 here. As thy days, so 00:02:17.240 --> 00:02:19.580 shall thy strength be. I'll give you an example 00:02:19.580 --> 00:02:23.539 before we read it. I was tired the other day. 00:02:23.560 --> 00:02:27.120 It was Friday night. We got home and been a long 00:02:27.120 --> 00:02:30.939 day, sat there on my couch, and my Amos, he's 00:02:30.939 --> 00:02:34.280 six years old now, he's full of energy, and they 00:02:34.280 --> 00:02:36.699 had been out in the front yard playing soccer. 00:02:36.979 --> 00:02:39.599 We have these little soccer goals, and little 00:02:39.599 --> 00:02:41.400 Amos had been playing with his brothers, and 00:02:41.400 --> 00:02:43.800 he's like, Dad, I scored, Dad, I did this, Dad, 00:02:43.919 --> 00:02:45.560 I kicked the ball, Dad, and then all of a sudden, 00:02:45.740 --> 00:02:46.879 after a while, I'm like, yeah, yeah, yeah, and 00:02:46.879 --> 00:02:48.919 he says, Dad, you wanna play soccer with me? 00:02:49.639 --> 00:02:53.900 And the inside of me said, absolutely not. but 00:02:53.900 --> 00:02:57.620 the outside of me said he's six years old, he 00:02:57.620 --> 00:03:00.139 would like his dad to go play with him, so he 00:03:00.139 --> 00:03:02.520 went out in the front yard to play soccer. Now 00:03:02.520 --> 00:03:08.699 my team was me, Nehemiah, and Amos versus Samuel, 00:03:09.360 --> 00:03:13.210 and not only Samuel, but Anna Joy. Now we started 00:03:13.210 --> 00:03:15.710 to play, and the first thing I do, I got in front 00:03:15.710 --> 00:03:18.370 of Samuel, Samuel's dribbling the ball, you know, 00:03:18.490 --> 00:03:20.270 dribbling the ball, and I'm like a do -do -do 00:03:20.270 --> 00:03:22.169 -do, and then he went around me, and he kicked 00:03:22.169 --> 00:03:25.650 it, went in on the goal, and my son Samuel scored 00:03:25.650 --> 00:03:27.729 on me. Then he looks at me and he says, good 00:03:27.729 --> 00:03:33.169 job, daddy. And it sort of irritated me. And 00:03:33.169 --> 00:03:36.099 then we kept playing a little bit. And my aunt 00:03:36.099 --> 00:03:38.819 Joy, I've got the ball and I'm trying to dribble 00:03:38.819 --> 00:03:41.000 it down there. And she goes with her leg and 00:03:41.000 --> 00:03:44.539 she goes, whoo, and kicks me. And I went flopped 00:03:44.539 --> 00:03:47.919 right on my face. Then she's smiling at me, would 00:03:47.919 --> 00:03:53.219 you like help up? No, girl. And so by the end 00:03:53.219 --> 00:03:57.639 of it, my ankle hurts, my shins hurt, my pride 00:03:57.639 --> 00:04:01.719 hurts, and I woke up the next morning. And all 00:04:01.719 --> 00:04:04.139 of a sudden, you wake up, you sleep, and I woke 00:04:04.139 --> 00:04:07.219 up, and I'm hobbling. I'm like, oh. And I begin 00:04:07.219 --> 00:04:10.639 to think, I've got things to do today. How am 00:04:10.639 --> 00:04:13.740 I going to make it? I don't have the strength. 00:04:14.379 --> 00:04:17.980 Now, this is the tip of the iceberg here, but 00:04:17.980 --> 00:04:21.759 there's days that God has a plan for you, but 00:04:21.759 --> 00:04:24.360 you feel like, I don't have the strength to make 00:04:24.360 --> 00:04:27.759 it. It can be physically, it can be spiritually. 00:04:28.160 --> 00:04:31.779 It can be with, I can't put up with this in my 00:04:31.779 --> 00:04:37.319 life, but as thy days, so shall thy strength 00:04:37.319 --> 00:04:39.519 be. Let's do this, let's stand for the reading 00:04:39.519 --> 00:04:42.680 of God's word. And we're gonna read verses 24 00:04:42.680 --> 00:04:46.920 and 25 together. And all together in unison starting 00:04:46.920 --> 00:04:51.279 in verse number 24. Are you ready? End of Asher 00:04:51.279 --> 00:04:55.279 he said, let Asher be blessed with children. 00:04:55.579 --> 00:04:59.300 Let him be acceptable to his brethren, and let 00:04:59.300 --> 00:05:03.779 him dip his foot in oil. Thy shoes shall be iron 00:05:03.779 --> 00:05:08.100 and brass, and as thy days, so shall thy strength 00:05:08.100 --> 00:05:11.379 be. Say that phrase with me again. As thy days, 00:05:11.759 --> 00:05:14.600 so shall thy strength be. Before we go any further, 00:05:14.740 --> 00:05:16.360 let's bow our heads, bow our hearts, go to the 00:05:16.360 --> 00:05:18.600 Lord in prayer. Dear Father in heaven, we love 00:05:18.600 --> 00:05:22.360 you. And this is a great day, a great day to 00:05:22.360 --> 00:05:25.120 be in your house among your people. And Lord, 00:05:25.420 --> 00:05:29.759 we desperately need you today. And I have no 00:05:29.759 --> 00:05:32.199 doubt there are many here today that have had 00:05:32.199 --> 00:05:35.220 a difficult week, Lord, and they feel like they 00:05:35.220 --> 00:05:37.100 have strength. They don't have any strength, 00:05:37.100 --> 00:05:39.920 Lord, and they need help to make it. And I believe 00:05:39.920 --> 00:05:42.779 you gave us this chapter to help us understand 00:05:42.779 --> 00:05:45.339 how that we can have strength, how we can make 00:05:45.339 --> 00:05:47.779 it another day. And I pray that you help us to 00:05:47.779 --> 00:05:49.500 pay attention, open our hearts and our minds. 00:05:49.560 --> 00:05:51.660 And then also, Lord, as we get through this, 00:05:51.779 --> 00:05:54.720 if there is a soul here today, that's never trusted 00:05:54.720 --> 00:05:56.279 you as their savior. I pray that this would be 00:05:56.279 --> 00:06:00.339 the day of salvation for them. We love you. We 00:06:00.339 --> 00:06:03.980 need you, Lord. In Jesus' name, amen. You may 00:06:03.980 --> 00:06:06.579 be seated. Go back with me, chapter 33, verse 00:06:06.579 --> 00:06:09.139 number one. We're gonna start with this, and 00:06:09.139 --> 00:06:11.579 look at verse number one with me. Chapter 33, 00:06:11.620 --> 00:06:16.339 verse one. And this is the what? Blessing. Okay, 00:06:16.339 --> 00:06:19.000 I'll start that again. And this is the? Blessing. 00:06:19.060 --> 00:06:22.899 You got that. Wherewith Moses, the man of God, 00:06:23.000 --> 00:06:26.529 what? blessed the children of Israel before his 00:06:26.529 --> 00:06:30.610 death. And this is the blessing, that word bless. 00:06:30.790 --> 00:06:34.589 And we start this chapter with the word blessing 00:06:34.589 --> 00:06:37.509 and blessed right there. And we begin to think 00:06:37.509 --> 00:06:42.250 about the word blessing. Not long ago, I heard 00:06:42.250 --> 00:06:48.069 the former attorney general of Virginia, Jason 00:06:48.069 --> 00:06:52.470 Miaras. and he gave a speech, and probably some 00:06:52.470 --> 00:06:54.310 would say he's gonna be the future governor of 00:06:54.310 --> 00:06:56.069 Virginia. I would say probably that's gonna be 00:06:56.069 --> 00:06:58.870 the case right there. But an amazing, amazing 00:06:58.870 --> 00:07:02.610 man, and at the very end of his speech, he all 00:07:02.610 --> 00:07:05.629 of a sudden quoted Numbers, chapter number six, 00:07:05.709 --> 00:07:08.170 verses 24 through 26, and this is what he said 00:07:08.170 --> 00:07:10.709 at the very end of his speech. He says, the Lord 00:07:10.709 --> 00:07:15.430 bless thee and keep thee. The Lord make his face 00:07:15.430 --> 00:07:18.589 to shine upon thee. and be gracious unto thee. 00:07:18.870 --> 00:07:22.269 The Lord lift up his countenance upon thee and 00:07:22.269 --> 00:07:25.189 give thee peace." And it was an interesting way 00:07:25.189 --> 00:07:27.209 to close. What was he saying? The Lord bless 00:07:27.209 --> 00:07:29.550 thee. Here's what he was saying. He said, hey, 00:07:29.689 --> 00:07:32.230 I believe to the people that I'm speaking with, 00:07:32.509 --> 00:07:35.610 you would like God's favor. You would like to 00:07:35.610 --> 00:07:38.310 live a life where God blesses you. You would 00:07:38.310 --> 00:07:41.569 like to live a life where God gives you grace. 00:07:41.689 --> 00:07:44.170 You would like to live a life where God shines 00:07:44.170 --> 00:07:46.750 his face upon you and helps you and guides you. 00:07:46.810 --> 00:07:50.410 By the way, that's true. You and I, we would 00:07:50.410 --> 00:07:53.750 like to live a life where we're blessed by God. 00:07:53.829 --> 00:07:56.889 We have the favor of God. We have God's help 00:07:56.889 --> 00:07:58.769 in a certain situation. Now, in that speech, 00:07:58.870 --> 00:08:00.589 I thought about it. Wow, that's a great way to 00:08:00.589 --> 00:08:03.899 close. But I thought probably about 95 % of the 00:08:03.899 --> 00:08:06.220 people that were there had no idea what he was 00:08:06.220 --> 00:08:10.240 saying. The Lord bless thee. The Lord bless thee. 00:08:10.459 --> 00:08:12.079 This is what Moses is saying to the children 00:08:12.079 --> 00:08:15.100 of Israel. The Lord bless you. Hey, it's important. 00:08:15.180 --> 00:08:18.579 God desires for you. God wants to show you his 00:08:18.579 --> 00:08:21.259 favor. God is reminding and God was reminding 00:08:21.259 --> 00:08:25.680 his people through Moses that you can be blessed 00:08:25.680 --> 00:08:29.240 by God. Okay. I'm gonna say it again, I'm just 00:08:29.240 --> 00:08:32.899 gonna slow it down. You, that means me, okay, 00:08:33.340 --> 00:08:38.779 we can have God's favor. We can be blessed by 00:08:38.779 --> 00:08:41.679 God. Now, before we go any further, it's very, 00:08:41.679 --> 00:08:43.620 very important, all the way from this side of 00:08:43.620 --> 00:08:45.279 the auditorium to this side of the auditorium, 00:08:45.600 --> 00:08:48.240 I'm assuming, and I do believe that you would 00:08:48.240 --> 00:08:50.000 agree with me, I would like to be blessed by 00:08:50.000 --> 00:08:51.120 God. How many of you would say I'd like to be 00:08:51.120 --> 00:08:53.600 blessed by God? Okay, everybody but Brother Nick. 00:08:53.720 --> 00:08:55.620 Brother Nick, thank you, brother. I need your 00:08:55.620 --> 00:08:57.279 help right there. I don't ask your help very 00:08:57.279 --> 00:08:59.159 often, but I need your help. Now I think we got 00:08:59.159 --> 00:09:01.639 100 % of us we'd like to be blessed by God, and 00:09:01.639 --> 00:09:03.100 that's what he's asking for. Now look at this. 00:09:03.460 --> 00:09:06.419 Look at the chapter and look at this in verse 00:09:06.419 --> 00:09:09.399 number six. Okay, verse number six. This is the 00:09:09.399 --> 00:09:14.019 blessing. Let Reuben live and not die. And it 00:09:14.019 --> 00:09:16.340 mentions Reuben. He's talking about being a blessing. 00:09:16.480 --> 00:09:18.059 That's one of the children of Israel, the tribes 00:09:18.059 --> 00:09:21.429 of Israel. Verse seven. And this is the blessing 00:09:21.429 --> 00:09:26.850 of who? Judah. Verse number eight. And of Levi, 00:09:27.149 --> 00:09:28.750 he said, and it gives the blessing. Verse number 00:09:28.750 --> 00:09:33.289 12. And of Benjamin, and of who? Benjamin, he 00:09:33.289 --> 00:09:36.870 said. Verse 12. And of who? Benjamin. Okay, we 00:09:36.870 --> 00:09:40.330 were there. Verse 12. And of who? Okay, now here's 00:09:40.330 --> 00:09:41.950 your job. Sometimes, I don't ask very often. 00:09:42.070 --> 00:09:44.009 I don't ask very often. But there's some times 00:09:44.009 --> 00:09:46.470 I need like your help because those hard names, 00:09:46.610 --> 00:09:48.950 I chose them as far as the reading place that 00:09:48.950 --> 00:09:51.029 you have to read those names. Otherwise the sermon 00:09:51.029 --> 00:09:53.529 gets really long, okay? Because it just shows, 00:09:53.649 --> 00:09:55.570 we're together here. Verse 12 again, look at 00:09:55.570 --> 00:09:59.269 this. And of. That is perfect. Look at verse 00:09:59.269 --> 00:10:03.970 13. And of. That's perfect. Look at verse 17 00:10:03.970 --> 00:10:10.029 toward the end. It says the 10 ,000s of. Ephraim, 00:10:10.210 --> 00:10:12.549 very good, and then it says, and they are the 00:10:12.549 --> 00:10:16.470 thousands of Manasseh, and then verse 18, and 00:10:16.470 --> 00:10:21.049 of, that's good, he said, rejoice, Sebulon, in 00:10:21.049 --> 00:10:25.049 thy going out, and Issachar, in thy tents, verse 00:10:25.049 --> 00:10:28.789 20, look at this, and of Gad, he said, verse 00:10:28.789 --> 00:10:34.529 22, and of, Dan, very good, verse 23, and of, 00:10:35.500 --> 00:10:38.500 Naphtali okay, we're listen last one verse 24. 00:10:38.500 --> 00:10:42.480 It says and of Okay, now I'm gonna catch you 00:10:42.480 --> 00:10:46.200 up if you read this latest great These are the 00:10:46.200 --> 00:10:49.440 blessings and it goes over the 12 tribes of the 00:10:49.440 --> 00:10:52.399 children of Israel Basically there and it says 00:10:52.399 --> 00:10:55.000 most saying I want you to be blessed I want you 00:10:55.000 --> 00:10:58.460 to have God's favor and in this specific way 00:10:58.460 --> 00:11:01.659 This is the way I believe God wants to bless 00:11:01.659 --> 00:11:05.639 you now a side note Not really a lot to do a 00:11:05.639 --> 00:11:10.799 sermon, but the Bible This book is an amazing 00:11:10.799 --> 00:11:15.179 book You know in preaching we just hit the the 00:11:15.179 --> 00:11:17.419 tip of the iceberg sometimes It's interesting 00:11:17.419 --> 00:11:21.399 when you begin to read the 12 tribes. It actually 00:11:21.399 --> 00:11:25.419 leaves out one And I'll give you a hint. It's 00:11:25.419 --> 00:11:28.759 simian. And then it begins to show you two others. 00:11:29.080 --> 00:11:31.580 And you look at that. The two others, I think 00:11:31.580 --> 00:11:35.320 it's Ephraim and Manasseh. And we get those mixed 00:11:35.320 --> 00:11:37.159 up sometimes. But all of a sudden, if you study, 00:11:37.279 --> 00:11:40.909 why did it leave off simian? Why did it put those 00:11:40.909 --> 00:11:43.110 two in there? And I just want to say sometimes 00:11:43.110 --> 00:11:46.470 in the Bible you begin to dig and you find gold 00:11:46.470 --> 00:11:49.230 and there's truths all over the Bible that help 00:11:49.230 --> 00:11:51.649 you and encourage you. And I want to encourage 00:11:51.649 --> 00:11:54.629 you to read the Bible, to study the Bible on 00:11:54.629 --> 00:11:56.889 Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. It's a glorious 00:11:56.889 --> 00:11:59.250 book. It's a wonderful book. It's God's holy 00:11:59.250 --> 00:12:01.990 precious word. Say amen. Okay, good, good, good. 00:12:02.149 --> 00:12:04.070 That's your job, homework to study that. Now 00:12:04.070 --> 00:12:06.450 go back with me and look with me. We're getting 00:12:06.450 --> 00:12:10.509 to Asher in verse number 24. I'm gonna quote 00:12:10.509 --> 00:12:12.710 a verse before I read verse 21. Just remember, 00:12:12.830 --> 00:12:15.230 we wanna be blessed and there's a Bible verse 00:12:15.230 --> 00:12:18.350 in Proverbs, the blessing of the Lord, it maketh 00:12:18.350 --> 00:12:22.190 rich and he addeth no sorrow with it. We wanna 00:12:22.190 --> 00:12:24.090 be blessed by God, we want God's favor. Now look 00:12:24.090 --> 00:12:27.009 at the blessing of Asher, verse 24. End of Asher, 00:12:27.149 --> 00:12:31.789 end of who? He said, let Asher be blessed with 00:12:31.789 --> 00:12:33.730 children. Okay, so I'm gonna just talk about 00:12:33.730 --> 00:12:35.330 the blessing. He's saying, here's the way God 00:12:35.330 --> 00:12:38.710 can show his favor upon the tribe of Asher. He 00:12:38.710 --> 00:12:40.730 says, first of all, let Asher be blessed with 00:12:40.730 --> 00:12:42.529 children. Let Asher be blessed. Think about it. 00:12:43.370 --> 00:12:48.769 Children are a blessing. Okay, no, that was good. 00:12:48.870 --> 00:12:51.610 I just wanna say children are a blessing. And 00:12:51.610 --> 00:12:56.529 we live in a society that minimizes the Christian 00:12:56.529 --> 00:13:01.690 home. It minimizes a husband and wife. It minimizes 00:13:01.690 --> 00:13:04.750 a husband and wife having children. And almost 00:13:04.750 --> 00:13:07.549 look at it like if you have children, boy, you're 00:13:07.549 --> 00:13:09.210 under bondage. You're shackled with children. 00:13:09.429 --> 00:13:11.669 No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. Children, 00:13:11.990 --> 00:13:14.669 they're a blessing from the Almighty God. And 00:13:14.669 --> 00:13:17.509 if God allows you to have children, have a Christian 00:13:17.509 --> 00:13:19.970 home, you are blessed. And that's what it's saying 00:13:19.970 --> 00:13:23.490 right there. Children are a blessing. Look at 00:13:23.490 --> 00:13:26.000 this, if you will, this next portion. and of 00:13:26.000 --> 00:13:28.179 Asher, let Asher be blessed with children. Then 00:13:28.179 --> 00:13:31.980 it says, let him, this is verse 24, let him be 00:13:31.980 --> 00:13:36.179 acceptable, acceptable, say that word with me, 00:13:36.659 --> 00:13:40.899 acceptable to his, okay, let him be acceptable. 00:13:41.220 --> 00:13:44.139 Part of the blessing is to be acceptable. What 00:13:44.139 --> 00:13:46.299 is he saying? Let him get along with the people. 00:13:46.980 --> 00:13:50.440 Let Asher get along with people. Getting along 00:13:50.440 --> 00:13:53.039 with people is a blessing. You ever been around 00:13:53.039 --> 00:13:55.120 somebody that's hard to get along with? I mean, 00:13:55.179 --> 00:13:58.740 you can try so hard and they just like live their 00:13:58.740 --> 00:14:01.539 life. Jaron, I don't know why you looked at your 00:14:01.539 --> 00:14:03.259 wife and I don't know why she looked at you, 00:14:03.639 --> 00:14:05.600 but there's something going on here, okay? There's 00:14:05.600 --> 00:14:07.299 something going on, Brother Jaron, right here. 00:14:07.679 --> 00:14:10.639 But sometimes people are hard to get along with, 00:14:10.960 --> 00:14:13.200 and that's the way they live. But it's saying, 00:14:13.580 --> 00:14:15.559 it's good. Think about a church. In a church, 00:14:15.559 --> 00:14:18.940 somehow, we're blessed if we can learn to get 00:14:18.940 --> 00:14:22.360 along with each other. We're a church of imperfect 00:14:22.360 --> 00:14:25.419 people serving a perfect God, and it's important, 00:14:25.559 --> 00:14:28.419 we're blessed to learn to get along with people. 00:14:28.639 --> 00:14:31.500 It says in the New Testament, it says, I exhort 00:14:31.500 --> 00:14:34.860 therefore that first of all, supplications, prayers, 00:14:35.159 --> 00:14:37.440 intercession, and giving of thanks be made for 00:14:37.440 --> 00:14:41.440 all men, for kings and for all that are in authority, 00:14:41.799 --> 00:14:44.820 that we might lead a quiet. and peaceable life, 00:14:45.039 --> 00:14:47.240 quiet and peaceable life, in all godliness and 00:14:47.240 --> 00:14:49.679 honesty, for this is good and acceptable unto 00:14:49.679 --> 00:14:52.820 God. And when it says that, it's good to get 00:14:52.820 --> 00:14:54.399 along, you're blessed to be able to get along 00:14:54.399 --> 00:14:56.600 with it. And I want to encourage some of you 00:14:56.600 --> 00:14:59.220 people, maybe you struggle at getting along with 00:14:59.220 --> 00:15:03.279 people, you're messing up. Learn to get along 00:15:03.279 --> 00:15:06.700 with people. Somebody say amen, learn to get 00:15:06.700 --> 00:15:09.149 along with people. Brothers, wrong. There's hope 00:15:09.149 --> 00:15:11.590 for you, okay? Praise the Lord. She pointed at 00:15:11.590 --> 00:15:13.009 you that you were the problem. We understand 00:15:13.009 --> 00:15:15.470 that. Okay, good, good, good, good. Look at this 00:15:15.470 --> 00:15:19.190 next, in verse 24. And if Asher, he said, let 00:15:19.190 --> 00:15:21.889 Asher be blessed with children. Let him be acceptable 00:15:21.889 --> 00:15:24.889 to his brethren. And then it says this. And let 00:15:24.889 --> 00:15:29.850 him dip his foot in what? Okay, let him dip his 00:15:29.850 --> 00:15:35.289 foot in oil. Oil is a picture of prosperity. 00:15:35.639 --> 00:15:38.080 It means you're not just getting by. You know, 00:15:38.080 --> 00:15:40.460 there's times when you just can barely get by. 00:15:40.799 --> 00:15:43.379 You're scraping through, you know, you're gonna 00:15:43.379 --> 00:15:45.779 eat. We went to a store the other day and they 00:15:45.779 --> 00:15:48.899 had a thing of beans for sale. And I showed those 00:15:48.899 --> 00:15:52.320 to my Amos and he's like. But you understand, 00:15:52.679 --> 00:15:54.419 beans can be a blessing. If you're hungry, food 00:15:54.419 --> 00:15:56.940 is good to eat. But this blessing is saying you're 00:15:56.940 --> 00:15:59.519 not just getting food to eat, you're able to 00:15:59.519 --> 00:16:03.679 dip your foot or your toe in oil. An example 00:16:03.679 --> 00:16:06.320 of that, an example of that, what I think of 00:16:06.320 --> 00:16:10.879 this week, I got to take my family to McDonald's. 00:16:11.059 --> 00:16:14.200 Thank you very much. And I'm not just getting 00:16:14.200 --> 00:16:17.539 by. Me and my family, we got to go to McDonald's 00:16:17.539 --> 00:16:20.259 and I got a big arch to the glory of God the 00:16:20.259 --> 00:16:22.799 Father. In other words, we had the ability, the 00:16:22.799 --> 00:16:24.899 prosperity enough, where God's blessed enough, 00:16:24.940 --> 00:16:28.480 where we're able to not just get by, we were 00:16:28.480 --> 00:16:30.799 able to eat McDonald's. Now look at this next 00:16:30.799 --> 00:16:33.059 one, if you will. Verse number 25, look at verse 00:16:33.059 --> 00:16:37.440 25. Thy shoes, okay, how many of you are wearing 00:16:37.440 --> 00:16:38.740 shoes today? How many of you are wearing shoes 00:16:38.740 --> 00:16:41.100 today? Praise the Lord, most of you, okay, that's 00:16:41.100 --> 00:16:45.740 good. Thy shoes, having shoes is a blessing. 00:16:46.519 --> 00:16:55.279 Thy shoes shall be iron and brass. Iron and brass, 00:16:55.440 --> 00:16:57.940 okay, imagine this, your shoes, imagine this. 00:17:07.190 --> 00:17:10.890 Shoes, when I was in middle school, I used to 00:17:10.890 --> 00:17:13.069 wear ankle weights because I had a dream one 00:17:13.069 --> 00:17:15.109 time that I was going to wear those ankle weights 00:17:15.109 --> 00:17:16.970 and I was gonna be able to get up and dunk the 00:17:16.970 --> 00:17:18.349 basketball right there and I remember wearing 00:17:18.349 --> 00:17:22.279 those. But imagine shoes of iron. shoes of brass. 00:17:22.420 --> 00:17:25.740 How is that a blessing? And really when you begin 00:17:25.740 --> 00:17:27.720 to think about it, it's not that complicated. 00:17:28.079 --> 00:17:30.319 Shoes of iron, shoes shall be iron of brass. 00:17:30.680 --> 00:17:33.480 You know, you realize the road we walk on is 00:17:33.480 --> 00:17:37.619 not always easy. Sometimes we go on a rough road 00:17:37.619 --> 00:17:40.960 and you don't want your shoes to wear out basically 00:17:40.960 --> 00:17:43.769 is what it's saying. You'd like shoes to last 00:17:43.769 --> 00:17:47.089 even in difficult terrain. And this is sort of, 00:17:47.150 --> 00:17:49.210 as you're getting to this, and this is a very 00:17:49.210 --> 00:17:51.910 important part of the sermon, life is not always 00:17:51.910 --> 00:17:56.089 easy. The road is not always straight. Sometimes 00:17:56.089 --> 00:17:58.609 your road goes through the valley of the shadow 00:17:58.609 --> 00:18:02.049 of death. Sometimes life has twists and turns, 00:18:02.250 --> 00:18:04.509 and you need shoes that are gonna last. And God 00:18:04.509 --> 00:18:07.769 can give you shoes that last in your days, in 00:18:07.769 --> 00:18:09.789 your difficulties, in your struggles right there. 00:18:10.029 --> 00:18:11.930 And this is important, shoes that don't wear 00:18:11.930 --> 00:18:15.329 out on a rough road. What a blessing. Now, here's 00:18:15.329 --> 00:18:18.009 where we get closer to the sermon. Closer to 00:18:18.009 --> 00:18:21.069 the sermon. Look at verse number 25. Okay, now, 00:18:21.150 --> 00:18:28.140 whoa. Very important. Okay before we get to this 00:18:28.140 --> 00:18:30.420 point remember. I want to live a life that's 00:18:30.420 --> 00:18:31.920 blessed Okay, I want to live a life though. How 00:18:31.920 --> 00:18:34.339 many want to live a life is blessed Okay, the 00:18:34.339 --> 00:18:37.019 blessing God's favor God's fair gaze showing 00:18:37.019 --> 00:18:39.940 this is what God desires for you Then we get 00:18:39.940 --> 00:18:43.140 to this one as thy days. Look at this as thy 00:18:43.140 --> 00:18:46.619 day Say that phrase with me as thy days. Okay 00:18:46.619 --> 00:18:51.960 as thy days our life Your life is made up of 00:18:51.960 --> 00:18:54.900 different days Sometimes your day is ordinary 00:18:55.049 --> 00:18:58.210 Sometimes your days are heavy. Sometimes you 00:18:58.210 --> 00:19:00.829 live a day where you have joy. Sometimes you 00:19:00.829 --> 00:19:03.309 get up and some of you live a life where you 00:19:03.309 --> 00:19:06.089 live painful days, physically filled with pain. 00:19:06.250 --> 00:19:09.049 Sometimes not just physically painful, but you 00:19:09.049 --> 00:19:11.829 have emotional pain. Some days bring blessing. 00:19:12.009 --> 00:19:14.950 Some days are days of battle. Some days feel 00:19:14.950 --> 00:19:17.470 too big and sometimes we feel like we don't even 00:19:17.470 --> 00:19:20.309 have the strength to make it for a day. Brother 00:19:20.309 --> 00:19:23.000 Randy? I was thinking about you yesterday, you 00:19:23.000 --> 00:19:25.799 went up and got your daughter Hannah for church, 00:19:25.900 --> 00:19:27.900 or for church for your graduation, for your other 00:19:27.900 --> 00:19:30.240 daughter right there, and as you're coming back, 00:19:30.599 --> 00:19:34.940 you texted me and you said, pastor, we're on 00:19:34.940 --> 00:19:37.299 the highway, we're coming back, and you know, 00:19:37.380 --> 00:19:38.960 you've been there where your GPS says you're 00:19:38.960 --> 00:19:41.640 gonna get back at like 3 .30, and then all of 00:19:41.640 --> 00:19:43.980 a sudden you're stuck on the middle of the highway, 00:19:44.059 --> 00:19:45.900 it's raining, and all of a sudden it goes from 00:19:45.900 --> 00:19:49.400 3 .30 to 4 .30. And from 4 .30, your GPS all 00:19:49.400 --> 00:19:52.359 of a sudden says 5 .30. And you're there in the 00:19:52.359 --> 00:19:54.880 storm. All of a sudden, you said the lightning, 00:19:54.980 --> 00:19:57.000 one of the biggest lightnings, almost hit you 00:19:57.000 --> 00:19:59.299 right there. And boom, shook the car right there. 00:19:59.680 --> 00:20:01.660 And next thing you know, it goes from 4 o 'clock 00:20:01.660 --> 00:20:03.779 to 5 o 'clock to 7 o 'clock. You got home at 00:20:03.779 --> 00:20:06.599 8 o 'clock last night. It's a long day. And being 00:20:06.599 --> 00:20:09.039 on the highway, sometimes there's days where 00:20:09.039 --> 00:20:11.920 things don't go your way. Thy days, thy days, 00:20:11.980 --> 00:20:16.279 thy days. No! How can a man face days he has 00:20:16.279 --> 00:20:17.880 never lived before? By the way, you don't know 00:20:17.880 --> 00:20:20.240 what's in your future. Sometimes right around 00:20:20.240 --> 00:20:22.940 the corner is something that's gonna happen that 00:20:22.940 --> 00:20:25.359 you didn't expect. It can be death. It can be 00:20:25.359 --> 00:20:27.480 financial trouble. It can be somebody treating 00:20:27.480 --> 00:20:30.039 you wrong. It can be a thousand things. How did 00:20:30.039 --> 00:20:33.480 this happen? How am I gonna handle this? Okay, 00:20:33.480 --> 00:20:34.940 I feel like I'm yelling you. I'm not meaning 00:20:34.940 --> 00:20:37.140 to yell at you. But I think when I yell at you, 00:20:37.339 --> 00:20:38.859 you like pay attention a little bit more. Okay, 00:20:38.859 --> 00:20:42.599 that's good. So how can you handle those days, 00:20:42.619 --> 00:20:45.299 those days, those days? How can a man or a woman 00:20:45.299 --> 00:20:48.099 face days that he's not lived before? Then it 00:20:48.099 --> 00:20:50.759 says those words, look at this. And I like it, 00:20:50.759 --> 00:20:54.920 it says, as thy days, so shall thy strength be, 00:20:54.960 --> 00:20:59.380 thy strength. God, God wants you and God wants 00:20:59.380 --> 00:21:03.480 me to live with strength. He wants us to give 00:21:03.480 --> 00:21:06.170 us the ability to make it another day. He wants 00:21:06.170 --> 00:21:08.029 us to be able to handle those days we're in their 00:21:08.029 --> 00:21:10.869 valley. God wants us to handle those days we're 00:21:10.869 --> 00:21:13.650 on the mountaintop. God wants us to be able to 00:21:13.650 --> 00:21:15.869 handle the days when somebody treats us wrong. 00:21:16.210 --> 00:21:18.269 God wants us to handle the days when the sermon 00:21:18.269 --> 00:21:21.309 goes long. He wants you to be able to handle 00:21:21.309 --> 00:21:23.289 that. God wants you to be able to handle those 00:21:23.289 --> 00:21:25.250 days. He wants you to have strength and that's 00:21:25.250 --> 00:21:27.650 what he's saying right there, as thy days. By 00:21:27.650 --> 00:21:30.690 the way, to help you illustrate a while back, 00:21:31.930 --> 00:21:35.369 it'd been busy. And I was just thinking about 00:21:35.369 --> 00:21:38.289 it. I was like, praise God through whom all blessings 00:21:38.289 --> 00:21:43.089 flow. I have a night at home with my family. 00:21:43.730 --> 00:21:46.410 I don't have to go anywhere. We're gonna eat. 00:21:46.890 --> 00:21:50.029 It's gonna be great. And I was relieved. I was 00:21:50.029 --> 00:21:53.289 like, praise God, praise the Lord. Then all of 00:21:53.289 --> 00:21:56.349 a sudden, my wife said, do you remember? And 00:21:56.349 --> 00:21:58.109 she mentioned that we had to go somewhere. There 00:21:58.109 --> 00:22:00.319 was an appointment. And all of a sudden, you 00:22:00.319 --> 00:22:04.299 ever had that sinking feeling like, oh no. And 00:22:04.299 --> 00:22:05.759 all of a sudden, I knew that where I had to go, 00:22:05.920 --> 00:22:09.779 I had to minister to people, I had to encourage 00:22:09.779 --> 00:22:13.740 people, and I felt drained like I had no strength. 00:22:13.880 --> 00:22:16.339 Have you ever been there? And I don't mean I'm 00:22:16.339 --> 00:22:18.359 not complaining, but sometimes it wasn't what 00:22:18.359 --> 00:22:21.339 I expected. My heart sunk at that moment right 00:22:21.339 --> 00:22:23.599 there. Honestly, I didn't want to go to that 00:22:23.599 --> 00:22:25.839 appointment right there, but I had to go. That 00:22:25.839 --> 00:22:28.759 was God's will for my life. But I felt drained, 00:22:28.940 --> 00:22:31.579 drained physically, drained spiritually right 00:22:31.579 --> 00:22:34.240 there. I had no strength. So think about this. 00:22:34.359 --> 00:22:36.799 How can I have the strength? How can I have the 00:22:36.799 --> 00:22:39.599 strength to go and minister? And that's a question 00:22:39.599 --> 00:22:42.740 for you. How can you have the strength in those 00:22:42.740 --> 00:22:45.980 days? Now, here's the sermon. Okay, because it 00:22:45.980 --> 00:22:48.819 answers it. And this is awesome. Look at verse 00:22:48.819 --> 00:22:55.440 number 26. Look at 26. There is none like unto 00:22:55.440 --> 00:23:00.140 the God of Jeshurun. Ho, ho, ho, ho, ho. There 00:23:00.140 --> 00:23:03.339 is none like unto the God of Jeshurun. Okay, 00:23:03.400 --> 00:23:05.839 I'm gonna say it again. There is none like unto 00:23:05.839 --> 00:23:08.380 the God of Jeshurun. It almost rhymes a little 00:23:08.380 --> 00:23:11.400 bit. There is none like unto the God of Jeshurun. 00:23:11.420 --> 00:23:13.710 I wanna make sure I'm quoting that right. There 00:23:13.710 --> 00:23:16.109 is none like unto the God of Jeshurun. I was 00:23:16.109 --> 00:23:18.630 hoping somebody would say it with me. There is 00:23:18.630 --> 00:23:21.230 none like the God of Jesh... Oh, I didn't say 00:23:21.230 --> 00:23:23.670 it right. Okay, I'm gonna read it. There is none 00:23:23.670 --> 00:23:25.769 like unto the God of Jeshurun. Let's sing it 00:23:25.769 --> 00:23:27.970 with me a little bit. There is none like unto 00:23:27.970 --> 00:23:31.329 the God of Jeshurun. That's the answer. There 00:23:31.329 --> 00:23:34.710 is. How can I have strength? Well, if you're 00:23:34.710 --> 00:23:37.549 not careful, you're looking to the wrong place 00:23:37.549 --> 00:23:40.130 for the strength. You're looking inwardly at 00:23:40.130 --> 00:23:43.430 yourself. And you're not the answer. The answer 00:23:43.430 --> 00:23:47.730 is the God of Jeshurun. Now, Jeshurun, you don't 00:23:47.730 --> 00:23:49.890 want to get this messed up. Jeshurun was just 00:23:49.890 --> 00:23:53.750 a special, you might say, pet name for the nation 00:23:53.750 --> 00:23:58.109 of Israel. It'd be very similar to my son Joseph. 00:23:58.809 --> 00:24:01.289 A long time ago, one of the kids called him Yophis. 00:24:01.569 --> 00:24:04.430 Yophis? You know Yophis? And so I began to call 00:24:04.430 --> 00:24:07.970 Joseph Yophis, and just like, there is none like 00:24:07.970 --> 00:24:11.329 unto the God of Jeshurun. There is none like 00:24:11.329 --> 00:24:14.450 unto the God of Yophis. Yophis, how you doing 00:24:14.450 --> 00:24:17.150 back there? And it's just saying right there, 00:24:17.329 --> 00:24:21.589 the answer, the answer is the God of Jeshurun. 00:24:21.630 --> 00:24:24.089 He is the God of Jeshurun. He is the King of 00:24:24.089 --> 00:24:27.329 Kings. He's the Lord of Lords. He's the Alpha, 00:24:27.450 --> 00:24:30.910 the Omega, the first and the last. He's the eternal 00:24:30.910 --> 00:24:34.710 God. He's excellent in glory. He is mighty in 00:24:34.710 --> 00:24:37.589 power. He is faithful in his mercy and his grace. 00:24:37.789 --> 00:24:41.269 He loves you and he loves me. He's a refuge to 00:24:41.269 --> 00:24:43.950 his people. He's a shelter in the time of storm. 00:24:44.210 --> 00:24:46.799 He's a God. that cares for you will help you. 00:24:46.940 --> 00:24:49.900 He's the great God. He is the God of Jeshurun. 00:24:50.019 --> 00:24:54.539 He is my God and He is your God. The answer to 00:24:54.539 --> 00:24:56.900 the problem, the answer to the weakness, the 00:24:56.900 --> 00:24:58.740 answer to the difficulties, the answer to the 00:24:58.740 --> 00:25:03.259 days is the great God of Jeshurun. It's an awesome 00:25:03.259 --> 00:25:06.440 truth. Like I'm telling you, this is an awesome 00:25:06.440 --> 00:25:11.329 truth that we need to. Remember, you know, how 00:25:11.329 --> 00:25:13.190 can I have strength? Well, the God of Jeshurun 00:25:13.190 --> 00:25:14.769 will give you strength. Look at verse number 00:25:14.769 --> 00:25:18.329 26 again. Look at this. Wow. There is none like 00:25:18.329 --> 00:25:22.910 unto the God of Jeshurun who writeth upon the 00:25:22.910 --> 00:25:26.269 heaven in thy help. Now to summarize that very, 00:25:26.269 --> 00:25:29.009 very soon, he's not very far away. You just need 00:25:29.009 --> 00:25:32.710 to look up to the great God you had for help. 00:25:32.789 --> 00:25:36.490 Very similar to Psalms chapter number 121 where 00:25:36.490 --> 00:25:39.029 it says, I will lift up mine eyes into the hills. 00:25:39.309 --> 00:25:43.289 from whence cometh my help, my help cometh from 00:25:43.289 --> 00:25:46.750 the Lord which made heaven and earth. Look up 00:25:46.750 --> 00:25:49.769 to the great God you have for help. He's close 00:25:49.769 --> 00:25:52.829 to you. He's not very far off. He's not hidden 00:25:52.829 --> 00:25:55.690 away someplace in a far away land where you have 00:25:55.690 --> 00:25:58.690 to climb this huge mountain to get to. He's right 00:25:58.690 --> 00:26:01.230 there. You can stop and you can pray to him. 00:26:01.369 --> 00:26:04.670 You can go to the great God that you have. That's 00:26:04.670 --> 00:26:07.230 good news for me. And by the way, it's good used 00:26:07.230 --> 00:26:09.369 for you. Not only that, but look at this. By 00:26:09.369 --> 00:26:11.289 the way, oh, oh, oh, I'll give you an example 00:26:11.289 --> 00:26:13.950 of this. I don't want to pass this up because 00:26:13.950 --> 00:26:17.650 God can help you. This morning, as my habit is, 00:26:18.309 --> 00:26:23.049 I get up and I read a proverb of the day. For 00:26:23.049 --> 00:26:27.730 example, today, May 24, I get up and I read Proverbs 00:26:27.730 --> 00:26:31.210 chapter 24. Tomorrow, I'll get up. It'll be the 00:26:31.210 --> 00:26:33.990 25th. I'll read Proverbs chapter 25. Proverbs 00:26:33.990 --> 00:26:36.970 the book of wisdom. I need wisdom and what I 00:26:36.970 --> 00:26:40.109 did this morning with the Proverbs before I read 00:26:40.109 --> 00:26:43.490 I said God Give me something that will help me 00:26:43.490 --> 00:26:47.009 today from Proverbs acid so I'm reading that 00:26:47.009 --> 00:26:49.390 I'm reading Proverbs and I came to the verse. 00:26:49.450 --> 00:26:53.750 It's a well -known known verse a just man falleth 00:26:53.750 --> 00:26:58.769 seven times and rises up again Okay, just man 00:26:58.769 --> 00:27:01.950 falls seven times and rises up again The second 00:27:01.950 --> 00:27:04.869 part's not quoted as much. It says, but the wicked 00:27:04.869 --> 00:27:08.250 shall fall into mischief. And I thought about, 00:27:08.630 --> 00:27:13.190 how can a just man fall seven times? How can 00:27:13.190 --> 00:27:17.690 he rise up? OK? Imagine a just man falls. Oh! 00:27:18.789 --> 00:27:23.309 OK. And all of a sudden, just man, am I going 00:27:23.309 --> 00:27:26.289 to get up in my strength and my power? Am I the 00:27:26.289 --> 00:27:35.339 answer to get up? I don't know. It's like the 00:27:35.339 --> 00:27:37.940 Lord is holding out his hand and the Lord picks 00:27:37.940 --> 00:27:42.119 you up. And the answer to getting up is not you. 00:27:42.619 --> 00:27:45.180 It's grabbing that hand of God and God pulling 00:27:45.180 --> 00:27:49.220 you up. But here's where the problem is. It says 00:27:49.220 --> 00:27:52.660 the wicked shall fall into mischief. It's like 00:27:52.660 --> 00:27:55.000 the wicked, when they're down here, they've fallen. 00:27:55.059 --> 00:27:57.000 They've fallen right there. And all of a sudden 00:27:57.000 --> 00:27:58.920 they say, God's holding out his hand there. I 00:27:58.920 --> 00:28:03.190 say, nah, I can't do it. I can't make it. I'm 00:28:03.190 --> 00:28:05.990 not even going to try. So the wicked, they keep 00:28:05.990 --> 00:28:08.430 on going down. It's not because they don't have 00:28:08.430 --> 00:28:10.150 help. It's not because they don't have a God, 00:28:10.509 --> 00:28:13.410 the great God of Jeshurah right there. He's right 00:28:13.410 --> 00:28:15.549 there. He's available. He's holding out his hand, 00:28:15.769 --> 00:28:17.509 but you got to reach hold of his hand and you 00:28:17.509 --> 00:28:21.009 got to allow him to help you get back up. This 00:28:21.009 --> 00:28:23.210 is a great truth because I believe without a 00:28:23.210 --> 00:28:26.210 doubt, some here this morning, you've fallen. 00:28:26.410 --> 00:28:29.329 You've fallen into sin. and you're wallowing. 00:28:29.490 --> 00:28:32.069 You say, I can't make it another day. I can't 00:28:32.069 --> 00:28:35.349 do this Christianity thing. And you're right. 00:28:36.410 --> 00:28:40.809 You can't. But God can. I can do all things through 00:28:40.809 --> 00:28:43.430 Christ, which strengthens me, and he'll pick 00:28:43.430 --> 00:28:46.109 you up, and he'll help you. He's a great God. 00:28:46.289 --> 00:28:49.170 He's an excellent God. Look at verse 26. In the 00:28:49.170 --> 00:28:52.809 latter part, it says, and in his excellency. 00:28:53.470 --> 00:28:55.869 See the latter part of verse 26, and in his what? 00:28:56.789 --> 00:29:01.230 That word, excellency. God is above all, greater 00:29:01.230 --> 00:29:04.250 than all, glorious beyond all. There is no need 00:29:04.250 --> 00:29:07.609 too great for him. He didn't get a C plus in 00:29:07.609 --> 00:29:10.950 school. He got beyond an A plus. In other words, 00:29:11.049 --> 00:29:14.970 our God is an excellent God. He does things excellent. 00:29:15.470 --> 00:29:18.250 He does things perfect. He's a God that's in 00:29:18.250 --> 00:29:21.009 control. Look at this, verse 27 is absolutely 00:29:21.009 --> 00:29:25.309 amazing. It says, the eternal God is thy refuge, 00:29:25.369 --> 00:29:28.890 the eternal God. Hey, Brother Mike, my buddy, 00:29:29.470 --> 00:29:32.829 my pal, my friend. I work with you, Brother Mike, 00:29:33.269 --> 00:29:36.390 but our God is an eternal God. He does not wear 00:29:36.390 --> 00:29:41.009 out. He does not change. He doesn't weaken. And 00:29:41.009 --> 00:29:44.009 Brother Mike, he does not fail. Our God never 00:29:44.009 --> 00:29:47.470 fails. Brother Mike and I, sometimes we come 00:29:47.470 --> 00:29:50.730 to disagreements. And if you ever work, he works 00:29:50.730 --> 00:29:53.009 here at the church. He's a good man, does a good 00:29:53.009 --> 00:29:54.750 job here at the church in so many different ways. 00:29:55.119 --> 00:29:57.339 But there's one thing that brings tension to 00:29:57.339 --> 00:30:01.880 me and Brother Mike. It's the clocks. And Brother 00:30:01.880 --> 00:30:03.940 Mike, you know as we walk around, it seems like 00:30:03.940 --> 00:30:06.339 we have clocks around the church that the battery 00:30:06.339 --> 00:30:09.400 weakens and the battery goes out. And I'm always 00:30:09.400 --> 00:30:13.640 seeing a clock that's not running. You know what 00:30:13.640 --> 00:30:17.619 they need? Eternal batteries. Eternal batteries. 00:30:18.039 --> 00:30:20.519 Batteries that last. I think we buy the cheap 00:30:20.519 --> 00:30:22.079 batteries. Here's what I want you to do, church, 00:30:22.160 --> 00:30:23.960 to help out Brother Mike. I want you to get a 00:30:23.960 --> 00:30:26.059 couple AA batteries, put them in your pocket 00:30:26.059 --> 00:30:28.059 when you go to Sunday school, check the clock, 00:30:28.160 --> 00:30:30.500 change the battery for Brother Mike, never let 00:30:30.500 --> 00:30:33.599 him worry about it again, or number two, invent 00:30:33.599 --> 00:30:37.119 an eternal battery to the glory of God the Father. 00:30:38.420 --> 00:30:42.200 Here's the point, amen, he said. Thank you, Brother 00:30:42.200 --> 00:30:44.400 Mike, I agree with you right there. But think 00:30:44.400 --> 00:30:49.349 about the eternal God. Our God, You can go to 00:30:49.349 --> 00:30:51.109 God at any time. Let me move on. Look at this. 00:30:51.210 --> 00:30:53.690 Verse number 27. Not only is he the eternal God 00:30:53.690 --> 00:30:56.490 of our refuge, underneath are the everlasting 00:30:56.490 --> 00:30:59.569 arms. He's a God that'll pick you up. He's like 00:30:59.569 --> 00:31:01.130 a God that'll pick you up. When you're down, 00:31:01.130 --> 00:31:05.109 he'll pick you up. My kids, Anna, Joy, and them, 00:31:05.210 --> 00:31:07.710 I'll be sitting on the couch, tired, and it'll 00:31:07.710 --> 00:31:09.329 be time to get up. And I'll be like, oh, I can't 00:31:09.329 --> 00:31:11.430 get up. And I'll pretend I can't get up. So the 00:31:11.430 --> 00:31:14.250 kids run around. They grab me by the arm. And 00:31:14.250 --> 00:31:17.049 they begin to pull me up. And then I begin to. 00:31:17.200 --> 00:31:19.980 Fall over like that and they'll get underneath 00:31:19.980 --> 00:31:23.980 me and hold me up now this last week my Nehemiah 00:31:23.980 --> 00:31:26.819 He's nine years of age. He got under me and he 00:31:26.819 --> 00:31:29.319 was an Anna Joy went to the other side But only 00:31:29.319 --> 00:31:31.799 one hold me up was Nehemiah and I saw fear in 00:31:31.799 --> 00:31:38.200 his eyes Me his big big daddy was about to squash 00:31:38.200 --> 00:31:42.680 all of him and But you know our God has the ability 00:31:42.680 --> 00:31:46.180 to pick you up. He's strong enough to pick you 00:31:46.180 --> 00:31:50.680 up at your lowest estate. Our God is a good God. 00:31:50.980 --> 00:31:53.839 He is a conquering God. And you look at that 00:31:53.839 --> 00:31:56.660 in verse 27. He shall thrust out the enemy. He's 00:31:56.660 --> 00:32:02.140 a saving God. Look at verse 29. Happy art thou, 00:32:02.440 --> 00:32:08.819 O Israel, who is like unto thee? O people saved 00:32:08.819 --> 00:32:16.819 by the Lord. O people saved by the Lord. Oh people 00:32:16.819 --> 00:32:23.460 saved by the Lord. Wow. Wow. These blessings 00:32:23.460 --> 00:32:27.140 are not possible if you're not a child of God. 00:32:27.980 --> 00:32:30.440 I'm gonna say it again. These blessings are going 00:32:30.440 --> 00:32:34.160 to somebody, the children of God, but not only 00:32:34.160 --> 00:32:36.500 children of God, but children who accept those 00:32:36.500 --> 00:32:39.339 blessings, who live in a certain way to get those 00:32:39.339 --> 00:32:42.299 blessings. But the first start, oh, oh, I don't 00:32:42.299 --> 00:32:45.099 wanna misquote it, the way it's worded there. 00:32:45.230 --> 00:32:49.069 O people saved by the Lord. You know, the way 00:32:49.069 --> 00:32:51.809 we're saved by the Lord is New Testament truth 00:32:51.809 --> 00:32:55.190 is through Jesus Christ. The Bible says we're 00:32:55.190 --> 00:32:59.029 sinners, sinners. The price for our sin is the 00:32:59.029 --> 00:33:00.990 wage of sin is death. The price for our sin would 00:33:00.990 --> 00:33:04.690 be hell. But Jesus came born of a virgin, lived 00:33:04.690 --> 00:33:07.470 a perfect life, and Jesus died on the cross for 00:33:07.470 --> 00:33:10.210 our sins, and then he rose again, proving he's 00:33:10.210 --> 00:33:12.980 God. That's the gospel. And he offers to say 00:33:12.980 --> 00:33:15.640 the gift of God is eternal life. He offers to 00:33:15.640 --> 00:33:18.019 pay for all of your sins and give you the gift 00:33:18.019 --> 00:33:21.279 of eternal life. All's we have to do is accept 00:33:21.279 --> 00:33:24.640 that gift. Here's the problem people do. Well, 00:33:25.660 --> 00:33:28.500 I can't be good. By the way, you can't be good 00:33:28.500 --> 00:33:30.960 enough. Some people say, I'll work for it. You'll 00:33:30.960 --> 00:33:32.599 never be good enough. You have no strength to 00:33:32.599 --> 00:33:35.059 do it. The answer's never been you. For salvation, 00:33:35.440 --> 00:33:39.940 it's God. God is the way. Jesus said, I am the 00:33:39.940 --> 00:33:42.740 way. The only way to heaven is Jesus. It's not 00:33:42.740 --> 00:33:45.819 being baptized. It's not being good. It's not 00:33:45.819 --> 00:33:47.599 you keeping the commandments. It's not you being 00:33:47.599 --> 00:33:49.539 faithful to church. Those are good things. But 00:33:49.539 --> 00:33:53.160 the way to heaven is Jesus. It's God. And that's 00:33:53.160 --> 00:33:55.680 the point right there. You're saved by it. And 00:33:55.680 --> 00:33:57.619 it says the way it's worded right there. Oh, 00:33:57.759 --> 00:33:59.640 people saved by the Lord. If you're here today 00:33:59.640 --> 00:34:01.740 or you're watching online, you've never accepted 00:34:01.740 --> 00:34:04.599 that gift of eternal life. Hey. The Bible says, 00:34:04.839 --> 00:34:06.319 for whosoever shall call upon the name of the 00:34:06.319 --> 00:34:10.739 Lord shall be saved. Accept the gift of eternal 00:34:10.739 --> 00:34:13.320 life. Accept Jesus Christ your savior. The last 00:34:13.320 --> 00:34:15.239 point right there, the beginning of the verse 00:34:15.239 --> 00:34:20.760 says this. Happy art thou, O Israel. Say that 00:34:20.760 --> 00:34:24.800 again with me. Happy art thou, O Israel. Now, 00:34:24.940 --> 00:34:27.780 the end part right there is happy. When you're 00:34:27.780 --> 00:34:30.559 blessed by God, you realize that you're not the 00:34:30.559 --> 00:34:33.579 answer where God is. And you go in your days, 00:34:33.679 --> 00:34:37.820 your days, good days, struggling days, difficult 00:34:37.820 --> 00:34:41.780 days, somebody treating you wrong days, mountaintop 00:34:41.780 --> 00:34:45.079 days, valley days, death days, difficult days, 00:34:45.340 --> 00:34:47.480 painful days. All of a sudden you realize you 00:34:47.480 --> 00:34:49.619 can have strength through God. All of a sudden 00:34:49.619 --> 00:34:53.659 it leads you to be happy, be joyful. You find 00:34:53.659 --> 00:34:55.320 that in Galatians talking about the fruit of 00:34:55.320 --> 00:34:57.239 the spirit is love, joy, peace, long suffering. 00:34:57.599 --> 00:35:01.030 Now here's part of what I'm asking you. If you 00:35:01.030 --> 00:35:03.969 looked at your life, you examined your life, 00:35:04.610 --> 00:35:09.150 you examined your last seven days, would people 00:35:09.150 --> 00:35:14.090 look at you and say, oh happy people, oh joyful 00:35:14.090 --> 00:35:19.409 people, oh person filled with love, joy, peace? 00:35:20.130 --> 00:35:22.250 And we're talking about when you live a life 00:35:22.250 --> 00:35:26.510 in God's strength, doing God's will, it leads 00:35:26.510 --> 00:35:31.909 to something that money cannot buy. O happy people, 00:35:32.289 --> 00:35:36.949 happy art thou O Israel. God wants you to be 00:35:36.949 --> 00:35:40.489 blessed. God wants you to have those iron shoes. 00:35:40.969 --> 00:35:43.590 He wants you to have that oil. He wants you to 00:35:43.590 --> 00:35:46.130 have strength for your days. How are you gonna 00:35:46.130 --> 00:35:49.969 face your days? And the decision is yours. Are 00:35:49.969 --> 00:35:52.909 you gonna face those days ahead of you in your 00:35:52.909 --> 00:35:57.210 strength? It ain't gonna work. You can't do it. 00:35:57.360 --> 00:35:59.739 Or you can choose today and realize that's what 00:35:59.739 --> 00:36:03.019 it's talking about. I'm gonna live with the God 00:36:03.019 --> 00:36:07.119 of Jeshurah as my strength. I'm gonna have God 00:36:07.119 --> 00:36:10.900 be my help. He's an eternal God, a holy God, 00:36:10.980 --> 00:36:14.599 a powerful God. He can be my help in a time of 00:36:14.599 --> 00:36:18.739 need. Oh, we're done, we're done. I haven't thrown 00:36:18.739 --> 00:36:23.300 my glasses in a while, but we're done. And we're 00:36:23.300 --> 00:36:25.940 gonna pray. But two things, if you're here and 00:36:25.940 --> 00:36:28.539 you've never trusted Jesus Christ as your savior, 00:36:28.960 --> 00:36:31.320 I'm gonna work my way down right there. I want 00:36:31.320 --> 00:36:33.079 you to come forward and say, pastor, I wanna 00:36:33.079 --> 00:36:34.860 know for sure that when I die, I go to heaven. 00:36:35.420 --> 00:36:36.860 And somebody will take God's holy word, show 00:36:36.860 --> 00:36:38.579 you the Bible way to heaven, it'll change your 00:36:38.579 --> 00:36:40.760 life. But number two, there's gonna be people 00:36:40.760 --> 00:36:42.719 that pray up here. There's gonna be people that 00:36:42.719 --> 00:36:44.719 pray in their seats right there. But I want you 00:36:44.719 --> 00:36:47.699 to, in your prayer, say, God, there are days 00:36:47.699 --> 00:36:51.719 of difficulty. There's a day of struggle. There's 00:36:51.719 --> 00:36:54.960 a day of pain. But whatever my days, I'm going 00:36:54.960 --> 00:36:59.400 to look to you, God, my God, for strength. You 00:36:59.400 --> 00:37:01.400 understand that prayer? I want everybody here 00:37:01.400 --> 00:37:03.840 to pray that. But look, talk to God. That's what 00:37:03.840 --> 00:37:06.079 prayer is. God, I don't know the days ahead. 00:37:06.139 --> 00:37:08.440 There are gonna be difficult days. There's gonna 00:37:08.440 --> 00:37:10.119 be days where there's struggle. There's valley 00:37:10.119 --> 00:37:12.239 days. There's mountain days. But whatever day 00:37:12.239 --> 00:37:15.400 you give me ahead, I'm gonna look to you, God, 00:37:15.619 --> 00:37:18.760 God of Jeshurah, my God, for strength. I wanna 00:37:18.760 --> 00:37:20.000 ask you a question. How many of you would pray 00:37:20.000 --> 00:37:22.380 that? How many of you would do that? I pray that 00:37:22.380 --> 00:37:24.539 we do that. Let's do this, let's stand if you 00:37:24.539 --> 00:37:27.139 will. Stand if you will, I'm gonna bow my head 00:37:27.139 --> 00:37:28.719 and we're gonna start in prayer. Dear Father 00:37:28.719 --> 00:37:36.579 in heaven, we love you. And I know even right 00:37:36.579 --> 00:37:39.500 now there are some folks who've struggled with 00:37:39.500 --> 00:37:42.460 some difficulties, even this week, some dark 00:37:42.460 --> 00:37:47.760 days, some days even where sin ruled their lives. 00:37:48.280 --> 00:37:50.739 And I pray that you help them. to realize that 00:37:50.739 --> 00:37:52.579 they have never been the answer, but you, God, 00:37:53.380 --> 00:37:55.440 are. And I pray that even right now they begin 00:37:55.440 --> 00:37:59.840 to pray, even confess some of their sins, but 00:37:59.840 --> 00:38:03.280 then also go to you for help. Also, Lord, if 00:38:03.280 --> 00:38:04.860 there's somebody here not saved, I pray that 00:38:04.860 --> 00:38:07.199 they would come this morning and trust you as 00:38:07.199 --> 00:38:09.840 their savior. Please bless the invitation. In 00:38:09.840 --> 00:38:13.559 Jesus' name, amen. Come as the piano and the 00:38:13.559 --> 00:38:13.960 organ play.