Participants: Kameron DeVasher
Series Code: 11GYC
Program Code: 11GYC000008
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00:12 Once again, good evening, GYC. Good evening.
00:15 It's so quick how you revert back to just shyness. 00:18 I'm so sorry about that. Good evening, GYC. 00:20 Good evening. Fantastic. 00:22 It was a blessing today, amen? 00:24 Amen. Fantastic. 00:26 Um, last evening, 00:27 we had the opportunity to talk together. 00:29 We talked about the great purpose of our life, 00:32 the life that we've been given here. 00:33 This life for probation, 00:34 this temporary life that we have, 00:37 has one underlying theme, one central objective. 00:41 And that is the restoration 00:43 in the human soul of the image of God. 00:46 And one of the many passages we looked at 00:49 was First John Chapter 3, 00:51 and I'd like you to go there tonight 00:52 or at least bring it to recollection from last night. 00:55 We read how behold, 00:57 now we are the children of God. 01:01 And it has not yet been revealed what we shall be. 01:06 But we know that when He is revealed, 01:10 we shall be like Him for, what reason? 01:13 What was the reason given 01:14 why we know we'll be like Him when He returns? 01:16 For we shall see Him, how? As He is. 01:21 Now look at the following verse. 01:24 And everyone who has this hope in Him, does what? 01:29 Purifies Himself, how? 01:32 Just as He is pure. 01:33 Notice that the hope of seeing Jesus as He is, 01:38 compels us to purify ourselves as He is. 01:43 Of course it's that as we noticed last night 01:45 that harmonitus-- harmonizes beautifully 01:48 with the words of Jesus 01:50 in Matthew Chapter 5 and verse 8 01:51 when He said, "Blessed are the pure in heart, 01:54 for they shall see God." 01:57 This is the promise that we've been given. 01:59 That's the high ideal of the Christian Walk 02:02 to become like Christ so that we not merely 02:05 live to the second coming 02:06 but live through the second coming. 02:09 God has more in mind than simply getting us into heaven, 02:12 but He actually wants to fit us into His kingdom. 02:15 Can someone say amen? Amen. 02:17 Our messages, these final two evenings of GYC 02:20 will tackle what I believe is the biblical truth 02:23 of just what the purity of character 02:26 looks like in real life. 02:28 If you noticed last night, it was a bit academic. 02:30 We laid the ground work. 02:31 I just wanted you to see a new framework, 02:33 a new vision for what salvation looks like. 02:36 Not just getting in, but fitting in. 02:37 Not just living to, but living through. 02:39 You understand that. 02:40 But tonight, we're gonna begin to unwrap that 02:43 over the next two nights. 02:44 And please don't think that at the end of tonight 02:46 is the entirety of the lesson, 02:48 because it continues tomorrow evening. 02:50 Does that make sense? 02:52 So we wanna unwrap this a little bit 02:54 and see the truth of God's words. 02:56 So as we begin His study of His word, 02:58 let's begin with a word of prayer. 02:59 Please bow your heads. 03:00 Dear Heavenly Father, Lord, I thank you for GYC. 03:06 But not just for the institution, 03:07 not just for the movement, not for the program, 03:09 but, Lord, I thank you for the people 03:11 that you have brought to GYC 03:12 here in person and on the television. 03:15 Lord, you understand our need. 03:18 You understand our need 03:19 better than we understand our need. 03:20 We don't even see our need. 03:21 And, Lord, we need the eye salve 03:22 that you can offer. 03:24 Please, Lord, help us to not only see our problem, 03:27 but through our grace 03:28 and by the power of your Holy Spirit 03:30 help us to see our solution is available in Jesus Christ. 03:34 We pray in His name, amen. 03:37 Please go to Judges Chapter 3. 03:40 Judges Chapter 3, we're gonna be spending 03:41 a significant amount of time in Judges Chapter 3. 03:45 Starting with verse 12, 03:46 our message tonight is entitled 03:49 "Killing the Fat King." I like that title. 03:53 It's right on the nose. 03:55 "Killing the Fat King," 03:57 Judges Chapter 3 starting with verse 12. 04:00 The first few verses give us some context 04:02 of what we're talking about. 04:04 Of course, you know the time of Judges 04:05 was after the deliverance of Israel, 04:07 of course, from Egyptian bondage. 04:08 But before, there was a monarchy in place, 04:11 there was the time of the Judges 04:12 and Genesis Chapter-- 04:14 I mean, Judges Chapter 3 and verse 12 04:16 gives us one, the beginning of a story 04:18 of one segment of that time period, 04:21 one segment of their experience. 04:24 Starting with verse 12, we read these words, 04:26 "and the children of Israel again 04:29 did evil in the sight of the Lord, 04:32 so the Lord strengthened Eglon, 04:34 king of Moab against Israel, 04:37 because they had done evil in the sight of the Lord. 04:41 Then He gathered to Himself the people of Ammon, 04:44 of Amalek, went and defeated Israel, 04:48 and took possession of the city of Palms.0 04:52 So the children of Israel served Eglon, 04:55 king of Moab 18 years." 04:59 This is the context of our story this evening 05:01 and I want to kind of flesh this out a little bit. 05:04 Who are these people who are now ruling over God's people? 05:08 The Moabites, the Ammonites, the Amalekites, so Amalekites. 05:11 I don't know the right way to say it. 05:12 But I'm gonna go with some of those. 05:14 Don't be thrown off if I mix it up. 05:15 But you understand in the text. 05:17 These are the three powers who are united against Israel. 05:22 The Moabites and the Ammonites have an infamous history. 05:24 They have the unique-- well, just infamy. 05:29 They were the descendants of the incestuous relationship, 05:32 the union between Lot and his two daughters. 05:37 Later in their history was the Moabites 05:39 who hired Balaam to put a curse on Israel. 05:43 And as we know the Lord 05:45 interceded to defend His people 05:46 as long as they were faithfully being His people 05:49 and thwarted their efforts. 05:52 Generation after generation, 05:53 they became more and more hardened to the Lord 05:55 and their hatred against Israel deepened. 05:58 Now it was the Moabite King Eglon 06:01 holding God's people under his, 06:03 as the Bible's gonna tell us, fat thumb. 06:07 Finally, also aligned with the Moabite king, 06:10 were the Amalekites. 06:13 They had the unique infamy of being the first people 06:16 to mount a military campaign against the nation of Israel 06:19 after their deliverance from the land of bondage in Egypt. 06:23 And of course, we know about this 06:24 first military engagement. 06:25 This is the one where the Lord told Moses 06:27 to go up on the hill and hold the staff 06:28 over his head and as long as the staff was up, 06:30 Israel would have victory. 06:32 You remember the story, and again the Lord intervened 06:34 to save His people, 06:35 as long as they were being faithfully His people, 06:37 the Lord intervened and fought their battles for them. 06:40 So here we have three foreign powers 06:42 who have a pretty sour history with Israel. 06:45 But now apparently, according to the text, 06:46 Israel has done evil 06:48 in the sight of the Lord. So it's okay. 06:51 You've chosen the king you want to have. 06:55 And it must have seemed almost absolute that these 06:57 bitter enemies of Israel 07:00 were holding power over God's people. 07:05 Instead of conquering, 07:07 they were continually conquered 07:10 by foreign power, Pagan power. 07:13 It must have been a very discouraging time 07:15 for the nation of Israel. 07:17 Let's go to verse 15. 07:19 "But when the children of Israel cried out to the Lord, 07:26 the Lord raised up a deliverer for them, 07:28 Ehud the son of Gera, the Benjamite, 07:32 a left-handed man, 07:34 by him the children of Israel 07:36 sent tribute to Eglon king of Moab." 07:40 Now as for the identity of this Ehud character, 07:43 the central character in this story, 07:45 the deliverer of Israel. 07:47 We actually know very little about him from scripture, 07:49 in fact, that's the only verse 07:50 that gives us any background on this man. 07:52 One verse in all of the scripture. 07:54 And if you type in his name again in the CD-ROM 07:56 or the app in the Ellen White writings, 07:57 you'll come up with one reference 07:59 and it's in a list. 08:01 It doesn't even give any details at all. 08:03 Everything we know about him 08:04 is found in Judges Chapter 3 and verse 15. 08:06 So let's see what we can find out about this guy. 08:08 He was left handed. 08:10 He was from the Tribe of Benjamin, 08:13 and he had the unenviable job of transporting the tribute. 08:16 What's another, what's a common popular word, 08:18 what's the modern word for tribute? 08:21 Tax, right? 08:23 The tax of Israel to Eglon, king of the Moabites. 08:27 Left-handed, Benjamite tax collector. 08:31 This is what the Bible records about him. 08:34 Let's break these down, left handedness 08:35 in scripture is not necessarily 08:37 something to be--how many here are afflicted with left-- 08:42 we can be-we're people tonight, just let's talk. 08:45 How many of there are there? 08:48 We should have prayer. 08:50 This--I understand where you-- 08:52 we live in a difficult world, you and I. 08:55 I'm one of you, right? 08:57 People look at you funny. 08:58 They wanna know if you've turned the paper 09:00 upside down, right? 09:03 Spiral note books, three ring binders, 09:07 this world is not our home, right? 09:11 But as difficult as the persecution 09:13 and oppression that we faced, 09:15 think about what it must have been in Bible times. 09:17 And maybe it's just my paranoia 09:19 that I looked for left handedness 09:20 or right handedness. 09:21 But if you notice, right hand is always good, 09:23 left hand is always bad, without exception, 09:26 except for perhaps tonight. 09:29 The left hand was the hand of cursing, 09:33 insult, even death. 09:35 But the right hand was the hand of strength. 09:37 It was the hand of blessing. 09:38 He's gonna-- He's gonna hold you up 09:40 with his mighty right-ugh. 09:44 In the judgment, those represented 09:45 on God's left side, die. 09:48 On the right side, they live. 09:52 It's not the best thing in scripture to be left handed. 09:57 But he was from the Tribe of Benjamin, right? 09:59 Let's break that down a little bit. 10:00 Benjamin was the youngest son of Jacob. 10:04 Benjamin was the smallest tribe in Israel. 10:09 Ruben was the first born, right? 10:12 You know, the tribe of kings was destined to be Judah 10:14 and Levi would be the priest, 10:16 but Benjamin--up until the time of this story, 10:19 the most famous Benjamite was Benjamin. 10:22 Okay, they would-- you don't come from-- 10:24 I'm from Benjamin-- I whatever. 10:27 Little, left-handed Benjamite, 10:31 but at least he's got a good job. 10:34 What's his job? 10:36 He's a tax collector. 10:37 How does the Bible-- 10:39 how do they like tax collectors in scripture? 10:43 Not a big fan of tax collectors. 10:47 They were notoriously-- remember the nation of Israel 10:50 was supposed to be God's chosen people. 10:51 You will be the conquerors. 10:52 You will be the blessing to all the world. 10:54 Yet their history is repeatedly a succession 10:56 of being conquered and oppressed, 10:58 conquered and oppressed in--inside of this nation 11:02 who's supposed to be God's sovereign own. 11:03 You have this guy who works for the other guy 11:06 who takes Israel's hard earned money, 11:08 goes around with a box, and the coins, 11:09 or however they did it collecting tax, 11:11 collecting tax, collecting tax, 11:12 and taking it to his Highness. 11:17 Left-handed, Benjamite, tax collector. 11:21 My guess is, sanctified imagination, 11:25 he was not held in the highest of esteem, 11:28 this Ehud, amongst his Israelite friends. 11:32 Left-handed, Benjamite, tax collector. 11:38 Now we're not anywhere near the application 11:40 portion of our story, 11:41 but I'm guessing there is a possibility, 11:44 there are some Ehud feeling 11:46 people in the congregation tonight. 11:49 You might actually have a genuine 11:51 disability of some sort. 11:53 And you feel like you can't really be used for God. 11:56 Or you come from a small place, 11:58 a smallest school in the conference, 12:00 or maybe the smallest of all schools, the home school? 12:02 And you feel not in place 12:04 in these big crowds are overwhelming. 12:05 You don't feel you have much to contribute. 12:07 You might have or maybe you work in unenviable job. 12:10 Nobody looks to you with respect. 12:11 And you think what-- what can I offer the Lord? 12:15 That's why Ehud's in the Bible. 12:17 You're gonna see something powerful in Ehud tonight. 12:19 We'll just keep reading. 12:20 Judges Chapter 3, now verse 16. 12:23 "Now Ehud made himself a dagger. 12:26 It was a double edged and half a cubit in length, 12:31 and fastened it under his clothes 12:34 on his right thigh." 12:37 So he brought the tribute-- now let's think about this. 12:42 What's he gonna do with this thing? 12:43 Well, we're skipping ahead. 12:46 He straps it on his right thigh 12:47 so you can imagine him, 12:49 little left handed Benjamite, 12:52 nobody likes him guy 12:54 and as he goes around collecting the taxes, 12:56 collecting the taxes, collecting the taxes, 12:58 I'm sure people don't like him 12:59 and they don't like what his job is 13:01 and he just hears a lot of bellyaching, 13:03 complaining all day long and he has to go 13:04 in front of this-- with the Bible again. 13:06 In a minute, he's gonna call on this fat king 13:08 and lay this hard earned money of Israel. 13:10 He probably doesn't like himself so much. 13:14 But one day he decided to make himself a sword. 13:21 And I can imagine him in his little tent garage, you know, 13:24 with a stone sharpening the other stone, 13:27 and maybe it was wood, 13:28 and he was whittling away at it 13:29 or whatever you do to make a two edge sword 13:33 and he fits the strap over his leg 13:35 and you can imagine him at home like... 13:40 Practicing to make it smooth. 13:41 I'll put it over here, I'll put-- 13:43 and the day he decided to actually use the thing, 13:46 must have been a very surreal day for him. 13:49 Tax for the king, tax for the king, 13:51 but he's got this sword all day long 13:53 strapped to his thigh. 13:55 He's gonna do something. 13:57 Let's continue our story. Goes on. 14:03 "So he brought the tribute to Eglon, king of Moab." 14:08 Look what the Bible puts in parenthesis. 14:11 "Now Eglon was a very fat man." 14:18 I mean, Ehud doesn't have much said about him 14:20 but this guy has even less and it's not good. 14:25 This is all the information 14:26 you need to know about this guy. 14:27 He was just big, right? 14:30 And you can imagine this like just everybody dislikes him. 14:34 He sits on this big throne 14:35 and I would imagine he has to have 14:36 a crew of people to feed him and stuff 14:38 and he sits on this wide throne 14:40 and big, big fat man. 14:42 And it must have been just, 14:45 you know, Israel had health message, right? 14:49 And this guy is the antithesis of a genuine Israelite. 14:53 And he takes Israel's hard earned money in that box 14:56 and his job was to take it to Eglon personally 14:58 and lay it at his fat feet. 15:02 And it must have just disgusted him 15:03 every time like, Lord, why are we doing this? 15:06 Eighteen years. Jabba the Hut-ooking. 15:17 If you don't know of that reference 15:18 don't learn it. It's okay. 15:19 But for those of you who do, 15:20 it puts a picture, right? Okay. 15:24 And Ehud puts down, walks out, 15:29 18 years. Puts it down. 15:31 Here's your money. 15:34 But one day, Ehud grabbed a sword. 15:39 And he had a plan. Didn't consult anybody. 15:42 He just said, "Today I'm killing the fat king." 15:50 And all day long, he's got the sword on his thigh. 15:54 Today, he's gonna die. 15:57 We keep reading the story. 16:00 Verse 17, "so he brought the tribute 16:01 to King Eglon of Moab, now Eglon was a very fat man." 16:04 Verse 18, "and when he had 16:07 finished presenting the tribute, 16:09 he sent away the people who had carried the tribute." 16:13 So apparently his job was not to physically transport. 16:15 He was the administrator of this crew. 16:18 And he's like, "Guys, why don't you go on 16:19 ahead this time? 16:20 I'll catch up with you in a minute." 16:23 He's setting the stage to kill the fat king. 16:27 "Guys, why don't you go on ahead?" 16:29 He planned this out. 16:31 "But he himself," notice what it says, "Turned back." 16:35 It's like he was going with them, you guys go ahead. 16:38 And you almost get the sense that-- 16:41 and then he kind of uh, I can't do it. 16:44 And he turns back. But watch what happens. 16:49 "But he himself turned back from the stone images 16:52 that were at Gilgal, and said, 16:55 'I have a secret message for you, O king.'" 16:59 So he's walking on, he sees these images, 17:02 these idols, and these things that just disgust him. 17:08 And he said tonight's the night. 17:10 Today's the day. I'm killing the fat king. 17:12 And he musters his courage and he turns around 17:14 and he says "King, 17:17 before I go, 17:23 I have a secret message for you." 17:26 Why's it secret? 17:28 Because he wants him alone, right? 17:30 Watch what he does. 17:33 "He said, 'Keep silence.' 17:35 And all who attended him went out from him." 17:37 So now he's, "everyone leave." 17:39 I don't know why I do that voice, but it helps, 17:41 you know, "everyone leave." 17:47 You get the stage is now set? Eglon. 17:52 Ehud. "King, I have a message." 17:56 His people are gone. His people are gone. 17:59 He's gonna kill the fat king. 18:03 "So Ehud came to him. 18:05 Now he was sitting upstairs in a cool private chamber. 18:09 Then Ehud said, "I have a message." 18:12 What're the next two words? 18:14 "From God for you." 18:20 Must have interested him 18:21 'cause he actually arose from his seat. 18:23 I'm guessing as a very rare feat. 18:29 He leans in. The stage is set. 18:33 Ehud, Eglon. 18:40 Verse 21, "then Ehud reached with his left hand, 18:44 took the dagger from his right thigh", 18:48 and what does he do? "Thrust it into his belly." 18:52 You can imagine he's like 18:53 he's stealing his nerves, he's stealing nerves. 18:54 "I'm gonna do it, I'm gonna do it." 18:59 It's not like he took it out like, 19:00 "look it, look it, look it." Uh-uh. 19:03 Once he started taking that sword out, 19:05 he wasn't done till he's done. 19:07 Is that clear? 19:08 Takes it out, ugh, 19:13 right into his belly. 19:16 Verse 22, it's in the scriptures. 19:22 I'm really not trying to milk it. 19:23 It's literally word for word, okay? 19:26 "Even the hilt went in after the blade. 19:31 And the fat closed over the blade, 19:35 for it did not draw the dagger out of his belly, 19:39 and his entrails came out." Can you imagine? 19:43 I'm guessing he expected some resistance, right? 19:47 He goes with all of his might, ugh, 19:50 and the sword just keeps going. 19:54 And I'm guessing there was a moment 19:58 when both of their eyes locked, right? 20:04 And his hand is disappearing, right. 20:07 And he's like, "oh, no, no, no, no, no." 20:10 He pulls it out, and apparently closes over, 20:12 maybe you look at, you couldn't even tell 20:13 it's been defeated. 20:14 But the enemy is defeated even if it doesn't seem that way. 20:18 Is that clear? 20:28 I love Ehud's response. 20:29 Look at verse 23. 20:31 "Then Ehud went out through the porch, 20:33 shut the doors of the upper room behind him 20:36 and locked them." 20:38 "You can keep the sword, I'm gonna... 20:44 Just finishin' up-- Goodnight, guys. 20:45 How're you doing? Wow, okay." 20:51 Just walks away. 20:58 Let's dig into the story a little bit. 21:01 For 18 years, 21:03 the Israelites had been claiming to be God's people, 21:05 yet kept paying tax to that fat king. 21:11 You can imagine, how much they must've complained 21:13 and bellyached that this Pagan ruler, 21:15 and his loathsome taxes he inflicts on them 21:17 were just constantly over the head and, 21:20 no doubt, poor Ehud had been subjected 21:21 to so much of this griping 21:23 and moaning that by the time 21:24 we pickup his story here in Judges 3, 21:26 he had, had enough. 21:28 "I can only take this so long. 21:32 And I'm the leader in this hypocrisy." 21:43 Day after day, you can imagine what the people were saying. 21:47 "Oh, it's that little left-handed Benjamite 21:48 tax collector. Give him his coins. 21:51 You know, you should really do something. 21:53 You get to see him every-- why don't you kill that guy? 21:56 Anyway, here's our coins." Next house. 22:00 "Boy, if we had a king over such as 22:01 all the other nations have, he would fix this, 22:04 anyway here's the tax." Next house. 22:08 "I hate that guy, you-and the Moabites-- 22:11 you know the history with them. 22:12 Somebody should really do something but-- 22:14 anyway, here's my tax." 22:19 It always seems like we're waiting for someone else 22:22 to kill the fat king for us. 22:26 And finally Ehud's like, 22:29 "I mean, I guess I'm just gonna do it." 22:36 We are no longer political Israel 22:39 with a citizenship derived from a common national bond. 22:43 But we are spiritual Israel, 22:45 with citizenship derived from the common bond of faith 22:48 in Jesus Christ. 22:51 Philippians 3, as we looked at last night 22:52 makes it plain that unlike these who set their minds 22:54 on earthly things, our citizenship 22:57 is where? In heaven. 23:00 Though at one time, 23:02 the people of God were both a spiritual 23:03 and a political organization. 23:05 Today, we're no longer under a theocratic form of government 23:07 where God is the head of the church and the state. 23:10 They should be separated. 23:11 We believe in separation of church and state. Amen? 23:14 Thus we are no longer expected to be literal Ehuds 23:17 and bear arms in the defense of a particular nation, 23:20 or to physically execute the judgment of the God 23:22 on the wicked. 23:23 The Lord will take care of that in His time. 23:25 Is that clear? So I want to be absolutely crystal clear. 23:28 When I call spiritual Israelites 23:29 to kill the fat king, 23:31 I am not calling you to go and list in the army 23:34 or to raise up a Seventh-day Adventist militia 23:39 to war against any earthly kingdom, 23:41 even those who threaten our religious liberties. 23:45 As Christians, we are to be Christ like. 23:48 We laid that framework last night. 23:50 We're not to defend ourselves militarily 23:52 or violently even when our most precious 23:54 interests are at stake. 23:56 In John Chapter 18 verse 36, 23:58 Jesus Himself declared unambiguously, 24:00 that His people are to be peace makers at all times. 24:04 When in His trial before Pilate, He exclaimed, 24:07 "My kingdom is not of his world. 24:11 If My kingdom were of this world, 24:14 My servants would fight. 24:17 So that I should not be libber to the Jews, 24:19 but now my kingdom is not from here." 24:24 So I want to make it clear. 24:25 I'm not saying like, boy, we should go kill 24:27 those evil people. No. 24:30 But, however, just because the church is not called to be 24:34 a military power on the world scene, 24:36 does not mean that our citizenship 24:37 in God's kingdom is without conflict. 24:42 No, indeed, we have a struggle 24:44 but as Paul repeatedly declares 24:45 with militaristic imagery. 24:46 He borrows military language 24:48 to describe the fight that we fight. 24:50 Our war is the fight of faith. 24:54 Ephesians Chapter 6 verses 10 through12. 24:56 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power. 25:00 Notice the military language, put on the full, what? 25:04 Armor of God. 25:06 So that you can take your stand 25:07 against the devil's schemes. 25:09 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood 25:11 but against the rulers, against the authorities, 25:14 against the powers of this dark world 25:15 and against the spiritual forces of evil 25:17 in the heavenly realms. 25:20 There's still a fat king and some of us 25:22 are right now tonight still under his thumb, paying tax. 25:28 1 Timothy Chapter 6, verses 11 to 12. 25:32 "But, you man of God, flee from all this 25:34 and pursue righteousness, godliness, 25:37 faith, love, endurance, and gentleness. 25:40 Fight the good fight of" what? Faith. 25:46 Take hold of the eternal life 25:48 to which you were called 25:49 when you made your good confession 25:50 in the presence of many witnesses. 25:52 2 Timothy, speaking of himself, 25:54 Chapter 4, starting with verse 6, 25:56 He says, "I have fought the good fight. 25:58 I have kept the" what? The faith. 26:03 My friends, the fat king with whom we struggle, 26:05 is the devil himself and his power over us is sin. 26:11 In various places the Bible calls him, 26:13 the ruler of this world, 26:15 the prince of the power of the air, 26:17 the ancient serpent who leads the whole world 26:19 astray and even goes so far as to call him 26:21 the god of this world. 26:25 It is this power that the Lord warned Cain 26:28 just before he murdered his brother 26:30 in Genesis Chapter 4 verse 7, when he said, 26:32 "sin is crouching at your door. 26:34 It desires to have you but you must rule over it." 26:40 Instead of sin ruling over you, 26:42 you're supposed to rule over sin. 26:44 Is that clear? 26:50 So if Satan, in this story, is our Eglon 26:55 and his power us is sin, 26:58 how are we to be victorious like Ehud? 27:03 If the power we're fighting against is spiritual, 27:06 would it not only stand to reason 27:07 that the weapon that we've been given is also spiritual? 27:12 Just like Ehud, we've been entrusted 27:13 with a sword designed 27:14 explicitly for defeating the enemy of souls. 27:19 We're given multiple assurances 27:21 that the weapon that we can wield 27:22 in our battle against Satan. 27:23 Paul calls it the sword of the spirit, 27:26 which is the word of God. 27:32 Later in Hebrews, he goes on to explain 27:34 how the word of God is living and active, 27:36 sharper than any, what? 27:38 Double-edged sword. 27:41 In fact, he goes on, sharper than any double-edged sword. 27:43 It penetrates even to the dividing of soul 27:45 and spirit, joints and marrow. 27:47 It judges the thoughts and attitudes of the hearts. 27:55 Time and again we are instructed 27:56 that the word of God is the only instrument 27:59 that can break the power of the devil and set free, 28:02 truly free, 28:06 even the weakest of his assumed subjects. 28:10 When assailed by the temptations 28:13 of Satan in the wilderness, 28:14 Jesus relied continually and exclusively 28:18 on "it is", what? Written. 28:24 By giving us this example of faith in God's word, 28:27 we are promised that if we resist the devil, 28:29 he will flee, not he might. 28:33 He should, I hope. 28:35 He will flee. Goes on. 28:41 Even in the story of Ehud, 28:43 we concern that this deliverer of Israel 28:45 did not consider his physical sword, 28:47 the instrument of their liberation, 28:48 but rather in his interview with Eglon, 28:50 he refers to his weapon as a message, 28:52 specifically a message from the Lord. 28:56 He didn't say like, "I'm the little guy who can!" 29:02 He understood if this is gonna happen, 29:03 it's not gonna be in my power, 29:05 but it's gonna be by His Spirit. 29:08 If someone's gonna kill the fat king, 29:10 it can't be me. I don't have it in me. 29:14 But the Lord can strengthen me in my weakness, 29:17 I can be strong. 29:21 Just like Ehud. 29:23 Our sword is a message from the Lord, the word of God. 29:26 And friends through the power of His word, 29:27 we can have victory in Jesus. 29:31 It's fascinating, in John Chapter 16 verse 8, 29:34 the promise of the Holy Spirit, 29:35 is that He will convict the world of sin 29:37 and righteousness and judgment. 29:39 He convicts of sin, yet at the same time, 29:41 the weapon to defeat sin is the sword of the spirit 29:45 which is the word of God. Isn't it fascinating? 29:46 That the Holy Spirit's role in perfecting our character 29:49 and developing that Christ likeness 29:51 that we're supposed to have is to make us aware of sin 29:54 and also to give us the victory over sin. 29:57 A powerful thought. 30:00 1 Corinthians Chapter 10, 30:01 look at what the word of God tells us. 30:05 1 Corinthians Chapter 10 verse 13, 30:07 no temptation has seized you, except what is common to man. 30:10 And God is, what's the word? 30:14 I feel so sorry for the timidity 30:16 that has just shattered your existence. 30:19 The torpor in which you must live your lives. 30:21 I'm so sorry, but apparently God's word says that, 30:24 God is, what? Faithful. 30:27 It's okay to say it out loud. 30:29 We should let the devil know we know that. Amen. 30:34 God is faithful. 30:36 It didn't say that you are faithful 30:38 'cause we're not. But God is. 30:42 God is faithful. 30:43 He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. 30:48 But when you are tempted, notice when you are tempted. 30:52 Isn't that-well, if you happen to be living a life 30:54 and if temptation happens to me, no, no, no, no. 30:57 When. It's a guarantee. 30:59 When you are tempted. 31:01 Don't think that now I'm abiding in Christ, 31:03 floating on cloud 9, 31:05 no, no, no, Satan can reach that cloud. 31:09 When you are tempted. 31:11 He will also provide a way out 31:13 so that you can stand up under it. 31:16 You get the idea that sin is the suppressive heavy burden 31:19 and without the power of the Holy Spirit 31:21 in your life, it would crush you. 31:25 But he says, but through my spirit, 31:27 you can stand up, under that thing. 31:36 James Chapter 4 verse 7, submit yourselves then to God. 31:39 Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 31:44 Romans Chapter 8. 31:45 I love this Chapter, go to it in scripture. 31:46 Romans Chapter 8, starting with verse 31, 31:48 powerful words. 31:49 You can imagine that 31:50 Paul has tried to address this issue over and over. 31:52 And he is the one who laid out our case 31:54 the other evening that, 31:55 that the character development 31:56 is the key to victory in the Christian life. 31:58 And he wants people to be victorious, 32:02 and to give and encourage 32:03 that he writes with his pastoral fervor, 32:04 look at--starting verse 31 there. 32:08 What then shall we say to these things, 32:09 if God is for us, who can be against us? 32:13 It's almost like he's standing on the gates of the wall 32:15 and saying, who's out there? 32:18 Is there anyone here, who can beat my God? 32:23 Who is it? 32:29 If God is for us, who can be against us? 32:32 He who did not spare his own son 32:34 but delivered him up for us all. 32:36 If He is willing to go that far to save you, 32:41 how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things? 32:47 Who shall bring the good charge against God's elect? 32:49 It is God who justifies. You don't justify yourself. 32:53 You abide in Him. 32:54 And He fights your battles for you. 33:00 Verse 34, who is he that condemns? 33:02 It is Christ who died 33:03 and furthermore has also risen, 33:05 who is even at the right hand of God, 33:06 who also makes intercession for us. 33:09 Who shall separate us from the love of God? 33:14 Love of Christ--and he starts to list them off. 33:16 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? 33:18 Shall-- and He starts thinking, 33:19 maybe you're wrestling with this? 33:20 Maybe you're wrestling with this? 33:21 But I'm telling you, none of these work. 33:23 Shall tribulation, or distress, 33:25 or persecution, or famine, 33:26 or nakedness, or peril, or sword? 33:29 He says, as it is written, 33:30 for your sake, we are killed all day long. 33:33 We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. 33:35 Without the power of God, we're doomed. 33:37 But He says in the next verse, yet in all these things, 33:41 we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 33:46 And He gets just on a roll. 33:47 He says, for I am persuaded, I'm convinced, 33:50 I'm convicted that neither death, 33:54 nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, 33:57 nor powers, nor things present, 33:58 nor things to come, nor height, nor depth 34:00 nor any other creative thing, 34:01 shall be able to separate us from the love of God, 34:03 which is in Christ Jesus, our Lord. 34:06 He says I'm convinced, I'm convicted. 34:08 I believe it and you need to know it too. 34:17 The more I read stories of God's miraculous deliveries 34:20 of His people, the more I become convinced 34:23 that we fall to the devil's schemes, 34:24 not because we lack a weapon, 34:27 or even a guarantee of victory. 34:31 But because we lack the spiritual daring 34:33 to pick up the sword of truth 34:34 and run it through the old man of sin. 34:39 Paul, Hebrews Chapter 12 and verse 4, 34:41 states the problem with these words. 34:46 In your struggle against sin, 34:49 you have not yet resisted 34:51 to the point of shedding your blood. 34:55 I bet the Israelites 34:57 that Ehud ran into every day by day in his job, 35:01 they would think they're at war against Eglon, 35:04 yet none of them were actually fighting. 35:07 They didn't like him. He disgusted them. 35:10 But what did they keep doing? 35:16 Day in, I" hate that guy, here pay him. 35:21 He's the worst, all right, one last time. 35:27 Somebody should really do something, 35:28 but, I just, yeah, look, just for this one." 18 years. 35:41 We call ourselves the church militants 35:43 and sing battle anthems like Onward Christian soldiers, 35:46 but how many of us are personally in the fight? 35:51 Instead of fighting the fight of faith 35:52 and with the sword of truth 35:53 running through every temptation, 35:57 we begrudgingly relent to just one last time 36:00 being his loyal subjects. And in our lives, 36:03 keep paying tax to the fat king of sin. 36:08 We hate the devil enough to complain about him, 36:12 but not really enough to actually fight him. 36:17 By the way, this is not a rebuke to anyone, 36:20 outside of myself. 36:26 I'm embarrassed, ashamed to the point of literal tears, 36:34 when I look over the record of my life, 36:36 my professedly Godly life, 36:38 my Christian life, my Pastor, whatever. 36:42 When I claim to be God's 36:43 but I keep paying tax to another king. 36:51 How often we pray for deliverance 36:53 and hope that someone will do it. 36:57 While we keep paying tax. 37:03 Sometimes taxes, you know, 37:04 that's the thing about taxes. 37:06 If they said like there's gonna be a 12-dollar gas tax, 37:08 everybody's like, "that's ridiculous." 37:10 If they're like, "there's a two cent gas tax" 37:11 they're, "all right, one last time." 37:14 You know what I'm saying? 37:19 Satan didn't come in and be like, 37:20 "I want you to go to kill your parent." 37:22 No. That's not how he works, right? 37:26 He's like, "it's just a little thing. 37:27 Is this really worth fighting for? 37:29 We've been getting along so well. 37:32 Just one last time." 37:39 Poor stewardship, some of us are literally 37:44 robbing our Heavenly Father 37:45 and using what is rightfully His for our own game. 37:49 Thereby aiding and abetting the enemy of souls. 37:53 You're paying tax to the fat king. 37:57 Some of you might be singing turn your eyes upon Jesus, 38:02 but in your mind you are turning to images 38:05 that are nothing more than a tax to the old man of sin. 38:12 Jesus was pretty blunt 38:13 about this militaristic imagery too, right? 38:15 If your eye causes you to sin, put a band-aid over it...right? 38:22 Wink a lot? 38:26 What's He say? 38:28 Pluck it out. Just kill it. 38:34 If your hand causes you to sin, 38:37 easy solution, cut it off. Well, it's radical. 38:40 Yeah, I know, I'm not clowning around. 38:41 I'm not trying to compromise or mediate a stalemate. 38:43 I want you to kill him. 38:47 Well, that's radical. 38:49 I tell you what, I'll come up with a plan 38:50 and I'll get--I'll wean myself off like a patch. 38:56 Keep paying tax if you want, 38:57 but through My power we can just kill him today. 39:00 Is that cool? 39:03 Gossip, by the way, 39:04 I'm just gonna make a list now and when conviction hits you, 39:06 you don't have to say it aloud. 39:07 Don't raise your hand but, okay? 39:10 Let's just be honest. 39:11 All of us, regardless of our age, 39:13 are prone to this particular sin, 39:15 whether it's in person or on the phone 39:17 or on a favorite social network site, 39:19 clickety clack, clickety clack, or you know 39:25 tippity type, tippity type, tippity type. 39:33 We love to chat about or peek into the lives of others 39:36 and then make commentary on them. 39:42 Many young people in the church, 39:43 maybe not even the young people 39:44 so much anymore or more likely they think of their phone 39:47 when I say the word text than the word of God. 39:55 I'll keep, I'm just gonna, we'll just, okay. 39:59 Now that I've called you out on this, 40:00 I know that some of you might be so upset at me 40:01 that you're like, "Oh yeah? 40:02 I'm gonna text about you right now..." 40:06 Okay, I don't care if it's GYC, 40:07 I'll put it on Facebook right now, 40:08 say it again. I'll do it. 40:16 And by the way don't, don't even get me started 40:18 how sin dulls your sense of irony, right? 40:22 When someone talks about you behind your back, 40:24 what do you do? You go to your friend, 40:26 "I cannot believe how much they gossip." 40:31 Right? No sense of irony. 40:36 "Did you see how much they paid in tax? 40:37 Oh, yeah, here tax man, here, go ahead." 40:40 Don't even cross your mind. 40:42 They're mean to you, so what do you do? 40:43 I'll be mean back. 40:45 They think they can be mean? I'll show 'em mean. 40:47 I'll out-sin them any day. Like what? 40:52 How is this Godly living? 40:54 You know? I mean, we could go on. 40:56 I mean, we could make a whole list, 40:57 Sabbath breaking, academic dishonesty, 41:02 young people at GYC, 41:05 foul language, 41:10 and I include the veggie swears too, okay? 41:14 Right? Or the alphabets, where it's like it's okay, 41:16 I only said one letter, right. 41:19 Come on, we can do better, can't we? 41:23 I mean, we can't, but perhaps God living through us 41:25 might be able to conquer that if we give him a shot. 41:28 Or is the problem we actually kinda like it? 41:34 Back to the notes, 41:36 poor health habits, 41:39 in spite of or just to spite the Adventist health message. 41:44 "You crazy, dude, I'm gonna eat something..." 41:50 Dishonoring your parents, 41:51 treating prophecy with contempt, 41:56 settling for mediocrity at home or work or at school, 42:00 when the Lord asks for excellence in all things, 42:02 you've got an A plus potential 42:04 that the Lord God has put in you 42:05 and you come home with Cs. 42:09 You're paying tax. 42:12 How about this one? Laziness? 42:16 Doing whatever your hand finds to do, later. 42:22 All right? "I am totally gonna knock 42:25 that out of the park... tomorrow." Right? 42:32 You can go on and on and on. 42:33 Let me tell you, like any political uprising, 42:37 where people are held in oppression 42:38 by a tyrannical power, 42:40 the way to break the yoke of spiritual bondage 42:42 and declare your freedom 42:43 as subjects of a new King and citizens of a new kingdom 42:47 is an old fashioned tax revolt. 42:53 We need amongst the membership 42:54 of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, 42:55 a spiritual uprising. 42:58 A rebellion against the old man of sin. 43:02 If you really wanna change your life, 43:03 if you wanna change your church, 43:04 change your school and finish this work 43:08 that God has given us to do on the earth, 43:10 defect from the kingdom of Satan 43:13 and stop paying tax. I mean, think about it, 43:18 if you want to grind a system to a halt, 43:20 stop funding it. 43:24 Picketing and protesting won't get a government's 43:26 attention nearly as fast as withholding your taxes will. 43:31 Right? Would you like a personal emissary 43:33 from the Government to come to your door? 43:35 Just stop paying tax. They'll visit you real quick. 43:40 You wanna take the time? 43:41 Complain and protest, right? They're like, "Aw, cute. 43:44 As long as he pays tax, talk all you want, 43:46 freedom of speech, love it." 43:52 Um, and again let's be clear, 43:53 we absolutely must pay our taxes to the government. 43:58 This isn't that speech, okay? 44:01 I'm never gonna make that one, 44:02 it's not my position. The Bible is quite clear 44:04 we're supposed to be good citizens of earth 44:05 while we're still here, but our true citizenship, 44:08 are we on the same page? Can you say, amen? 44:09 Amen. All right. 44:11 And by the way that works with church Government too. 44:14 "Oh, my local Pastor, 44:16 I'll tell you what I'm gonna do. 44:17 I'm gonna stop pay-" 44:20 The tithe is not holy 44:21 unto the pastor or holy unto the conference. 44:23 It's holy unto the Lord. Amen. 44:30 A whole nother sermon, just not time for it. 44:34 Let me tell you something. 44:36 What is needed most desperately 44:37 at this critical hour our Seventh-day Adventist 44:39 for whom the Bible is not just a book of beliefs 44:41 to which we passively agree. 44:43 I'm good on State of the Dead, 44:44 Second Coming, Spirit of prophecy, 44:45 sanctuary, Sabbath. 44:49 The Lord is in need of Seventh-Day Adventists 44:51 who are willing to take hold of the word of God 44:53 as a living and active double edge sword 44:56 and not by might, nor by power, 44:58 but by His Spirit run it through the Fat man of sin. 45:04 The Seventh-day Adventist Church 45:05 doesn't need more pastors, 45:08 doesn't need more administrators, 45:09 more policies, more programs, or even more money, 45:14 nearly as much as we need Ehuds. 45:19 We need you. 45:26 You know what's really cool about the story of Ehud? 45:27 It doesn't just stop with the death. 45:29 Go to verse 24. Right. 45:34 Judges Chapter 3, look at how the story concludes. 45:40 I love how the story concludes. 45:44 Says here, 45:50 When he had gone out, 45:51 Eglon's servants came to look, and to their surprise, 45:53 the doors of the upper room were locked. 45:54 So they said, he is probably 45:55 attending to his needs in the cool chamber. 45:57 So they waited till they were embarrassed, 45:59 and still did not open the doors of the upper room. 46:00 Therefore, they took the key and opened them. 46:02 And there was their master, fallen dead on the floor. 46:05 Notice he didn't paper cut him, right? 46:08 He killed him. Verse 26, but Ehud had escaped 46:13 while they delayed, 46:14 and passed beyond the stone images 46:15 and escaped to Seirath. 46:18 And it happened, when he arrived, 46:19 that he blew the trumpet in the mountains of Ephraim. 46:21 Little left-handed Benjamite, tax collector, 46:25 now he stands like the Old Testament Zacchaeus, 46:28 but he's all strong and tall now. 46:29 He blows the trumpet in Zion and said good news, 46:32 the fat king is dead and there's victory for you too. 46:37 Look what it says here. 46:40 "And it happened, when he arrived, 46:41 he blew the trumpet in the mountains of Ephraim, 46:43 and the children of Israel went down 46:44 with him from the mountains, and he led them." 46:49 God can take left-handed Benjamite, 46:51 tax collector, nobody feeling people 46:53 and turn them to leaders 46:54 if they're just willing to stand up and fight. 47:01 "Then He said to them, 'follow me'." Why? 47:05 "'For the Lord has delivered your enemies 47:09 the Moabites into your hand.' 47:13 So they went down after him, 47:15 seized the forts of the Jordan leading to Moab, 47:17 and did not allow anyone to cross over. 47:20 And at that time they killed about 10,000 men of Moab, 47:22 and all the stout men of valor, 47:23 not a man escaped." 47:25 And notice how it ends in verse 30. 47:28 "So Moab was subdued that day under the hand of Israel. 47:31 And the land had rest for eighty years." 47:41 I'm guessing there are some people here tonight 47:44 who are tired of negotiating with the devil 47:48 and just want some rest 47:50 and they are delivered to Jesus Christ. 47:54 I'm tired of this little incremental, 47:57 insignificant-seeming 47:58 but they know on the back of their minds 48:02 that they are paying tax. 48:09 Jesus repeatedly says 48:10 what His goal for this kingdom is, 48:12 sin no more. He didn't say sin less. 48:17 He didn't say some or only on the weekends, 48:21 or only on occasions 48:22 or only when you're with your friends 48:23 or only when you think it's small. 48:26 Go and sin no more. 48:28 That's His goal for the universe, 48:30 sin no more, He wants no second rebellion. 48:32 He doesn't wanna have to deal with this again. 48:33 He wants to be done, 48:34 and He wants people who want to be done. 48:38 Go and sin no more. 48:42 Now I'm not saying it's instantaneous. 48:44 It might take a few blows, right? 48:49 But the Lord has promised victory 48:51 and growth over time. 48:55 Notice what it says here. If I've already mentioned, 48:59 if--I know what it's like to practice 49:03 one thing and preach another. 49:06 I understand the hypocrisy, the feeling of it, it stinks. 49:11 When you're standing before the tax collector 49:13 and you know shouldn't, ugh... 49:20 But you know what's beautiful about the Lord? 49:21 He not only promises power for victory, 49:24 He also pardon-- gives us pardon 49:27 if we should fall. 49:35 1 John Chapter 2 verse 1 49:36 My little children, these things I write to you, 49:38 so that you may not sin. 49:40 And if--remember temptation was a when 49:43 but sin giving into temptation is an if. 49:48 But if anyone sins, even people of GYC, 49:55 even Godly people, even good people, 49:57 even people who are trying to develop 49:58 the character of Christ through His strength, 50:00 even you, if anyone sins, 50:04 we have an advocate with the Father, 50:07 Jesus Christ, the righteous. 50:09 The same one who gives you power 50:11 is the one who gives you pardon, if you should fall. 50:16 Hebrews Chapter 4 verses 15 and 16, 50:18 for we do not have a high priest 50:19 who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, 50:22 but we have one who has been tempted in every way, 50:24 just as we are-- yet was without sin. 50:29 Let us then, because of His sinlessness, 50:31 not our own inherent works, not our own efforts, 50:34 not our own abilities to overcome, 50:35 but because of Christ's victory. 50:38 Let us then approach 50:40 the throne of grace with confidence. 50:42 Even if you have sinned-especially, 50:45 if you have sinned, don't hide from God, 50:48 but go into His presence, not on your own merits, 50:51 you know, Nadab and Abihu style, 50:55 but covered in the blood of Jesus, 50:56 you can come confidently 50:58 before the throne of grace even if you fall. 51:04 Let us then approach 51:05 the throne of grace with confidence, 51:07 so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us 51:10 in our time of need. 51:13 Of course, 1 John Chapter 1 and verse 9, 51:15 if we confess our sins, 51:16 He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins 51:20 and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 51:26 As Seventh-day Adventists, we have been commissioned 51:28 to be the heralds of Christ's soon return. 51:31 All that we do in this life, 51:32 especially at this time in earth's history 51:34 should be done with one eye locked on the eastern sky. 51:38 Someday soon, the ruler 51:40 we live under the dominion in this world 51:44 will be swallowed up 51:46 when the true King comes to lead us 51:49 out of captivity into His glorious victory. 51:54 We are told unequivocally 51:55 in 2 Peter Chapter 3 verses 10 to 12, 51:57 but the day of the Lord will come, 51:59 not might, might should or it will come, like a thief. 52:03 The heavens will disappear with a roar, 52:04 the elements will be destroyed by fire, 52:06 and the earth and everything in it will be laid bare. 52:10 Since everything will be destroyed in this way, 52:13 what kind of people ought you to be? 52:20 You ought to live holy and Godly lives 52:21 as you look forward to the day of God 52:24 and hasten its coming. 52:29 Friends, let's be faithful. 52:32 Let's refuse to submit to the taxing 52:36 temptations of Satan anymore. 52:39 Let's be people who boldly declare 52:41 our independence from the ruler of this world 52:43 and pledge allegiance to the true king of heaven. 52:47 Let's be a people who, in our daily lives, 52:49 pick up that sword of truth and not by might, 52:53 not by power, but by My Spirit, 52:58 have victory in Jesus. 53:03 I want to ask you again tonight, 53:04 even if you disagree, 53:05 did it at least make sense? Can you raise your hand? 53:09 Praise God for clarity, Praise the Lord. 53:11 Thank you. If this is a principle 53:16 that you would like to see more instilled in your life. 53:18 There are some things, 53:19 you see smorgasbord of stuff, 53:20 you're like, you know what I'm done, 53:22 I want victory in Jesus. 53:23 Will you stand with me tonight? 53:25 Like Lord, this is what I want. 53:27 I want a victorious life. 53:28 I don't want just like moderation. 53:30 I want to live on that higher level. 53:32 I don't want to just to see it. 53:33 I want to start experiencing citizenship 53:35 in God's kingdom right here tonight. 53:40 And I Praise the Lord for that commitment. 53:43 But I want to make a special call tonight. 53:47 I'm guessing that there are some people 53:49 who feel like Ehuds 53:50 and have lived some hypocrisy for a while. 53:55 I'm not asking to declare what your problem is. 53:57 Or what your issue is. 53:58 But there are some sins here that we know, 54:00 we like and we shouldn't. 54:04 You might have been withheld 54:05 from coming down the other night 54:06 or maybe other commitments 54:07 that you should be making in life, 54:09 because you know that there's this one thing 54:10 that's blocking you-- your walk with Christ 54:12 and you know that, 54:13 when the tax collector comes around, 54:15 you're too willing and you're like Lord, 54:19 I don't even want to give it up. 54:21 I like...but, Lord, I don't want to like it anymore. 54:28 You said You're gonna give me the desires of my heart. 54:29 Lord, help me to desire the right things. 54:35 There's this one thing that I've been struggling 54:36 with I just cannot break because I don't like it. 54:40 I like feeding the beast, 54:41 but, Lord, change my mind, change my heart, 54:44 transform me into the image of Your son 54:46 who hates sin, help me to hate it. 54:49 Help me to look at that thing I used to love in disgust now. 54:53 Lord, if you want, if it's up to You, 54:57 Lord, can you make me more Christ like 55:01 and that zealotry for righteousness 55:04 and enmity against sin? 55:07 If there's a particular thing 55:08 that you're struggling with and you want specific prayer, 55:10 special prayer and you feel that this issue, 55:14 whatever it is, whatever the list 55:15 or maybe you got your own list, 55:16 whatever the particular thing 55:17 is that you want victory in your life 55:19 and you've never experienced it 55:20 before because you know the reason you haven't. 55:22 You haven't really fought. 55:25 You say, Lord, I want to start fighting tonight, 55:30 not by my strength, not in my merit, 55:32 not in my own efforts, 55:33 but, Lord, I believe that You are faithful 55:36 because Your word says so. 55:37 Not because I feel it, 55:38 because it declares it and it is written. 55:42 And I take Your word to the bank. 55:47 There's someone who is wrestling tonight, 55:49 says, "Lord, tonight I wanna 55:50 start living that victorious life, 55:52 help me to craft the sword. 55:55 How many teach me how to be practical about it. 55:57 How do I wear it? 55:58 How do I set my alarm clock for it? 55:59 How do I make plans for it? 56:01 Lord, help me to have a strategy to kill the fat king. 56:05 If you want that help and you'd like special prayer, 56:07 would you come down front as we sing our closing song? 56:10 There's something in your life, 56:11 say Lord, I'm done with it. I wanna stop it tonight. 56:15 At least, I want to learn how to stop it. 56:16 I want You to give me ways to stop it. 56:17 I want You to train me in the art of sword making. 56:20 I want You to teach me how to, Lord, 56:23 show me the way. 56:25 I hunger for that higher place, 56:27 I want the Spirit of the living God 56:29 to fall afresh on me. Come down front, friends. 56:35 You understand this is a specific appeal. 56:37 I praise the Lord for the numbers. 56:38 That's not what we're looking for. 56:39 I want quality more than quantity, amen? 56:41 But if there is a struggle, 56:44 and you know this is the hindrance. 56:48 This is your opportunity. Come down front. 56:52 There's not only power, my friends, 56:54 there's also pardon, 56:55 if you sin. No condemnation, 56:59 just come to the throne in confidence 57:02 that He's been there, He understands your weakness 57:06 and He is strong when you are weak. 57:10 Praise the Lord. 57:16 As the people are coming, 57:17 we're gonna sing this song together. 57:20 Let this be our prayer tonight. 57:23 'Spirit of the living God fall afresh on me.' 57:27 Sing it like you mean it. 57:43 Spirit of the living God, fall afresh on me 57:57 Spirit of the living God, fall afresh on me |
Revised 2014-12-17