You're altogether lovely,
00:00:28.15\00:00:32.10
Altogether worthy
00:00:32.13\00:00:35.58
Altogether wonderful to me
00:00:35.61\00:00:41.67
Time measured out my days
00:01:07.52\00:01:11.53
Life carried me along
00:01:14.56\00:01:19.29
In my soul I
yearned to follow God
00:01:22.40\00:01:28.40
But knew I'd never be so strong
00:01:29.90\00:01:35.58
I looked hard at this world
00:01:35.61\00:01:39.65
To learn how
heaven could be gained
00:01:39.68\00:01:45.56
Just to end where I began
00:01:47.52\00:01:51.72
Where human
effort is all in vain
00:01:51.75\00:01:57.36
Were it not for grace
00:02:01.87\00:02:08.46
I can tell you where I'd be
00:02:08.49\00:02:14.66
Wandering down some
pointless road to nowhere
00:02:14.69\00:02:21.34
With my salvation up to me
00:02:21.37\00:02:27.28
I know how that would go
00:02:27.31\00:02:32.83
The battles I would face
00:02:32.86\00:02:38.69
Forever running
but losing the race
00:02:38.72\00:02:45.69
Were it not for grace
00:02:45.72\00:02:50.27
So here is all my praise
00:02:55.60\00:03:01.67
Expressed with all my heart
00:03:02.67\00:03:08.70
Offered to the
Friend who took my place
00:03:09.70\00:03:16.13
And ran a course
I could not start
00:03:16.16\00:03:21.51
And when He saw in full
00:03:21.54\00:03:25.31
Just how much His would cost
00:03:25.34\00:03:31.58
He still went the final
mile between me and heaven
00:03:32.58\00:03:39.38
So I would not be lost
00:03:39.41\00:03:45.79
Were it not for grace
00:03:46.79\00:03:53.42
I can tell you where I'd be
00:03:53.45\00:03:59.47
Wandering down some
pointless road to nowhere
00:03:59.50\00:04:06.25
With my salvation up to me
00:04:06.28\00:04:11.56
I know how that would go
00:04:11.59\00:04:17.30
The battles I would face
00:04:17.33\00:04:23.20
Forever running
but losing the race
00:04:23.23\00:04:29.44
Were it not for grace
00:04:29.47\00:04:33.91
Wandering down of
pointless road to nowhere
00:04:35.15\00:04:41.74
With my salvation up to me
00:04:41.77\00:04:46.90
I know how that would go
00:04:46.93\00:04:51.99
The battles I would face
00:04:52.02\00:04:57.72
Forever running
but losing the race
00:04:57.75\00:05:04.56
Were it not for grace
00:05:04.59\00:05:08.97
Forever running
but losing the race
00:05:12.75\00:05:19.22
Were it not for grace
00:05:20.87\00:05:26.59
Oh, Father, where would we be
00:05:34.81\00:05:36.59
were it not for just
what Jonathan just sang?
00:05:40.68\00:05:42.96
Were it not for Your grace?
00:05:42.99\00:05:45.99
Forever running
00:05:46.02\00:05:50.38
and never winning the race.
00:05:50.41\00:05:53.65
Dear God, as we near
the end of a journey,
00:05:53.68\00:06:00.38
again this subject,
00:06:00.41\00:06:06.58
today's teaching will touch us
00:06:06.61\00:06:08.11
where it hurts,
where it really hurts.
00:06:08.14\00:06:13.09
And so Father, please
00:06:13.12\00:06:14.65
don't let the
preacher get in the way
00:06:20.88\00:06:26.86
of what You need to say.
00:06:26.89\00:06:28.60
I've added all of our minds,
00:06:28.63\00:06:30.62
I and all of us will
be listening for You,
00:06:30.65\00:06:34.84
speak please a
strong word for us.
00:06:34.87\00:06:40.05
We pray in Jesus name, amen.
00:06:40.08\00:06:44.78
I can understand
why the first mother
00:06:47.80\00:06:52.10
would name her
brand new baby boy, Saul.
00:06:52.13\00:06:56.73
I mean, please, after all
the name means asked of God
00:06:56.76\00:07:00.98
and when you've been
asking God for a baby
00:07:01.01\00:07:03.65
and that baby finally comes
00:07:03.68\00:07:06.12
we'd better name
with more appropriate.
00:07:06.15\00:07:08.85
But for the life of me,
00:07:08.88\00:07:09.93
I cannot understand
why the second mother
00:07:09.96\00:07:14.89
would have named her
baby boy Saul as well?
00:07:14.92\00:07:20.39
Not after that tragic
meltdown that sacred history
00:07:20.42\00:07:24.60
has so painstakingly
preserved of the first Saul.
00:07:24.63\00:07:30.97
The story is so tragic
that it ends with suicide.
00:07:31.00\00:07:36.26
I mean what mother is
going to name her baby
00:07:36.29\00:07:38.14
after a good King turned bad
00:07:38.17\00:07:42.17
and that bad, to boot.
00:07:42.20\00:07:47.17
In order to understand
the tale of second Saul,
00:07:47.20\00:07:49.92
we need to know the
story of the first Saul.
00:07:49.95\00:07:56.26
And so we move close
to a climax, not quite,
00:07:56.29\00:07:59.52
don't you dare miss next week.
00:07:59.55\00:08:01.37
No God humbler, that's
the pinnacle, next week.
00:08:01.40\00:08:05.04
We move close to it.
00:08:05.07\00:08:06.38
In our series, "Not I but
Christ, Tales of Humility",
00:08:06.41\00:08:13.16
todays teaching
entitled, "A Tale of Two Sauls."
00:08:13.19\00:08:19.45
Once up on a time there
was a God and a prophet,
00:08:19.48\00:08:23.58
who together
were leading a nation.
00:08:23.61\00:08:27.19
But wouldn't you know
as it so often happens
00:08:27.22\00:08:29.39
the people they were
leading looked at the nation,
00:08:29.42\00:08:32.16
the world around them and said,
00:08:32.19\00:08:33.59
we got to be just like they are,
00:08:33.62\00:08:36.30
we got to have a king.
00:08:36.33\00:08:38.90
The God and the
prophet were deeply hurt.
00:08:38.93\00:08:44.87
But the people are clamoring
for a king, the God says,
00:08:44.90\00:08:49.79
let's give them a king and
let's give them a good one.
00:08:49.82\00:08:54.66
And so that God scoured the land
00:08:54.69\00:08:58.43
until he found the perfect king.
00:08:58.46\00:09:02.48
Open your Bible with me please,
to the first Book of Samuel,
00:09:02.51\00:09:06.51
first Book of Samuel,
00:09:06.54\00:09:07.63
there in the heart
of the Old Testament.
00:09:07.66\00:09:08.69
If you didn't bring a Bible,
00:09:08.72\00:09:10.13
grab the pew Bible
right in front of you,
00:09:10.16\00:09:11.51
its page 193 in the pew Bible.
00:09:11.54\00:09:14.24
The "Tale of Two
Sauls," 1 Samuel.
00:09:14.27\00:09:19.33
And when you find 1 Samuel
get over to chapter 9 please.
00:09:19.36\00:09:23.95
I'm in the New
King James Version.
00:09:23.98\00:09:25.38
Those of you
watching on the television,
00:09:25.41\00:09:26.81
listening on the internet,
right now, grab a Bible,
00:09:26.84\00:09:30.42
doesn't matter the translation,
00:09:30.45\00:09:32.19
the word in the screen will
be out of the New King James
00:09:32.22\00:09:36.55
and that's okay.
00:09:36.58\00:09:38.25
First Samuel Chapter
9, looking for a King.
00:09:38.28\00:09:42.38
Look what we found? Watch this.
00:09:42.41\00:09:44.50
First Samuel Chapter 9:1
"There was a man of Benjamin"
00:09:44.53\00:09:47.79
that would be the
tribe of Benjamin,
00:09:47.82\00:09:49.28
"whose name was Kish
he was the son of Abiel,
00:09:49.31\00:09:51.76
he was the son of Zeror,
he was the son of Bechorath,
00:09:51.79\00:09:55.00
he was the son of Aphiah,
00:09:55.03\00:09:56.35
a Benjamite, a
mighty man of power."
00:09:56.38\00:09:59.12
Papa was.
00:09:59.15\00:10:00.41
"And he had," look at verse two,
00:10:00.44\00:10:02.05
"And he had a
choice and handsome son
00:10:02.08\00:10:04.70
whose name was Saul."
00:10:04.73\00:10:06.94
Asked of God.
00:10:06.97\00:10:11.18
"There was not a
more handsome person
00:10:11.21\00:10:12.76
than he among the
children of Israel.
00:10:12.79\00:10:14.31
From his shoulders upward
00:10:14.34\00:10:16.21
he was taller than
any of the people."
00:10:16.24\00:10:18.45
Hey, how can you beat
that ladies and gentlemen,
00:10:18.48\00:10:20.13
tall, dark and handsome?
00:10:20.16\00:10:21.37
God is on a
winning streak already.
00:10:21.40\00:10:25.08
But he's not only
tall, dark and handsome,
00:10:25.11\00:10:27.94
he's humble, as
humble as they come.
00:10:27.97\00:10:30.89
Drop down to verse 17.
00:10:30.92\00:10:32.48
So God informs His
friend and prophet,
00:10:32.51\00:10:35.47
Samuel, verse 17,
00:10:35.50\00:10:37.58
"So when Samuel saw
Saul, the Lord said to him,"
00:10:37.61\00:10:41.92
that's my man "There he is,
the man of whom I spoke to you.
00:10:41.95\00:10:46.10
This is the one who
shall reign over My people."
00:10:46.13\00:10:50.35
Samuel responds, Chapter 10:1,
00:10:50.38\00:10:52.78
"Then Samuel took a flask of oil
00:10:52.81\00:10:54.88
and poured it on Sauls head,
and kissed him and said to him,
00:10:54.91\00:11:01.38
'Is it not because
the Lord has anointed you
00:11:01.41\00:11:04.11
commander over
His inheritance?'"
00:11:04.14\00:11:09.43
King has been chosen.
00:11:09.46\00:11:11.06
Nobody knows and so God
will go through an election.
00:11:11.09\00:11:16.14
I got a question for you.
00:11:16.17\00:11:17.91
Wouldn't it be great if
00:11:17.94\00:11:18.98
in the United States of America,
00:11:19.01\00:11:20.87
we would conduct an
election just like this?
00:11:20.90\00:11:23.33
You think of all the acrimony
and money we would save.
00:11:23.36\00:11:26.80
Here's how they did
the elections back then.
00:11:26.83\00:11:28.88
God says, bring all the children
00:11:28.91\00:11:30.66
of Israel to
Mizpah, so they all come.
00:11:30.69\00:11:33.05
Samuel says, all
right give me a hat.
00:11:33.08\00:11:35.01
So they'd give him a hat.
00:11:35.04\00:11:36.30
I mean, it would be
like today, give me a hat.
00:11:36.33\00:11:38.03
All right,
let's put all 50 names
00:11:38.06\00:11:40.13
of our states in the hat.
00:11:40.16\00:11:41.22
Good draw it. Alabama,
fine, dump the rest out.
00:11:41.25\00:11:45.65
Put all the cities and
towns in Alabama in that hat.
00:11:45.68\00:11:48.03
You filled the hat up
with the cities and towns.
00:11:48.06\00:11:49.41
Draw a name.
00:11:49.44\00:11:50.47
Dothan, good, dump the rest out.
00:11:50.50\00:11:52.86
Now put every family,
00:11:52.89\00:11:54.06
who lives in
Dothan, in that hat.
00:11:54.09\00:11:56.19
Put all the names in, draw.
00:11:56.22\00:11:58.19
Smith, good. Throw the rest out.
00:11:58.22\00:12:00.63
Now, put every Smith
in this town, in that hat
00:12:00.66\00:12:03.44
and the fingers
pull out the name,
00:12:03.47\00:12:06.28
ladies and gentlemen, the new
President of the United States.
00:12:06.31\00:12:10.27
Wouldn't that be great?
00:12:10.30\00:12:12.02
Now, we could do
this thing just like that
00:12:12.05\00:12:14.00
and God would
make this selection
00:12:14.03\00:12:15.43
because that's
exactly what happened.
00:12:15.46\00:12:17.18
That's how God made the choice.
00:12:17.21\00:12:20.31
Now, watch this,
drop a little farther down
00:12:20.34\00:12:22.32
in 1 Samuel 10, this is verse--
00:12:22.35\00:12:27.89
as soon as they
announce the name, all right.
00:12:27.92\00:12:29.36
Verse 22, so that people
said, hey, watch this, verse 22.
00:12:29.39\00:12:33.54
"They inquired
of the Lord further,
00:12:33.57\00:12:34.82
'Has the man come here
yet?'" Is he here in this crowd?
00:12:34.85\00:12:37.96
And God says,
00:12:37.99\00:12:41.76
he's over there, look,
he's hiding in the luggage.
00:12:41.79\00:12:45.89
Sure enough, that's
exactly where he was.
00:12:45.92\00:12:48.07
"And the Lord answered,
00:12:48.10\00:12:49.13
'There he is, hidden
among the equipment.'"
00:12:49.16\00:12:50.40
"So" verse 23, "they
ran" over to the suitcases.
00:12:50.43\00:12:53.64
Saul's trying to
hide behind the suitcases
00:12:53.67\00:12:55.99
"and brought him from there,
00:12:56.02\00:12:57.69
and when he
stood among the people,
00:12:57.72\00:13:00.66
he was taller
than any of the people
00:13:00.69\00:13:02.55
from his shoulders upward.
00:13:02.58\00:13:04.07
And Samuel said
to all the people,
00:13:04.10\00:13:05.43
'Do you see him
whom the Lord has chosen
00:13:05.46\00:13:08.01
that there is no one like
him among all the people?'
00:13:08.04\00:13:11.90
And all the
people shouted and said,
00:13:11.93\00:13:14.40
'Long live the
king!'" Long live the king.
00:13:14.43\00:13:17.80
They got their king at last,
and a good one, by the way.
00:13:17.83\00:13:20.82
A humble king.
00:13:20.85\00:13:23.13
I went through this story,
the first part of Saul's life.
00:13:23.16\00:13:25.53
And I said, Okay, I'm
gonna collect humility markers.
00:13:25.56\00:13:28.23
I've found five
humility markers.
00:13:28.26\00:13:31.06
Marker number one,
when Samuel meets Saul
00:13:31.09\00:13:33.49
for the first time he says,
00:13:33.52\00:13:34.61
man, you're the one
we've been looking for.
00:13:34.64\00:13:36.42
And Saul says, no way,
00:13:36.45\00:13:37.89
I'm the least of
the least of the least
00:13:37.92\00:13:39.88
in the entire tribe,
you're not looking for me.
00:13:39.91\00:13:41.79
Humility marker number one.
00:13:41.82\00:13:43.29
Humility marker number
two, when Saul comes home
00:13:43.32\00:13:46.16
from having that
secret visit with Samuel,
00:13:46.19\00:13:48.72
his uncle says, hey I
heard you were with a prophet,
00:13:48.75\00:13:50.27
what did he tell you?
00:13:50.30\00:13:51.34
And Saul says, nothing,
00:13:51.37\00:13:52.95
we were just
looking for some donkeys.
00:13:52.98\00:13:54.88
Humility marker number two.
00:13:54.91\00:13:56.05
Humility marker
number three, he's hiding.
00:13:56.08\00:13:58.15
He's been anointed, he's
still hiding, can't be me.
00:13:58.18\00:14:01.47
Humility marker number four,
00:14:01.50\00:14:02.65
as soon as they
announce his kingship,
00:14:02.68\00:14:04.30
there are some, there
are some hoods in the crowd
00:14:04.33\00:14:08.07
and they say, we will
not have this man rule--
00:14:08.10\00:14:09.71
rein over us.
00:14:09.74\00:14:11.52
And the Bible says,
soldiers, held this peace, hey.
00:14:11.55\00:14:13.74
You don't have to
make everybody happy.
00:14:13.77\00:14:15.74
Humility marker number
five, they go in a battle,
00:14:15.77\00:14:17.83
it's a signal victory for
God and now the people say,
00:14:17.86\00:14:20.22
you want us to kill
those guys, those red necks?
00:14:20.25\00:14:24.84
And the Bible says,
pause in as Saul says,
00:14:24.87\00:14:26.99
no way, no way, no
way, just let them go.
00:14:27.02\00:14:29.11
Five humility
markers, would to God
00:14:29.14\00:14:33.24
that the story of King Saul
end right there, he would gone--
00:14:33.27\00:14:36.23
he would go down in
history as the greatest,
00:14:36.26\00:14:38.27
the first and the
greatest king of Israel.
00:14:38.30\00:14:41.44
Because then we would know
the truth that humble leaders
00:14:41.47\00:14:44.60
are Gods most
successful leaders.
00:14:44.63\00:14:47.22
Humble people.
00:14:47.25\00:14:48.32
By the way, that
truth has now been
00:14:48.35\00:14:49.68
discovered
empirically by research
00:14:49.71\00:14:52.08
came out in that
classic book of Jim Collins,
00:14:52.11\00:14:54.47
"Good to Great,"
where they studied
00:14:54.50\00:14:56.89
that top corporations
in the United States,
00:14:56.92\00:14:59.19
to find out, what makes,
00:14:59.22\00:15:00.71
what Jim Collins
calls, a level five leader?
00:15:00.74\00:15:04.45
There are level three leaders.
00:15:04.48\00:15:05.58
All kinds of
level three leaders.
00:15:05.61\00:15:07.32
There are some
good level four leaders,
00:15:07.35\00:15:09.25
but level five
you are, you are the--
00:15:09.28\00:15:12.76
You are at the top.
00:15:12.79\00:15:15.07
What are level
five leaders like,
00:15:15.10\00:15:17.18
in politics, in
business and institutions?
00:15:17.21\00:15:21.59
Let me read to you Jim Collins,
00:15:21.62\00:15:22.71
in fact this is
in your study guide,
00:15:22.74\00:15:23.77
you'll need to fill it in.
00:15:23.80\00:15:24.83
Here's a level five leader
00:15:24.86\00:15:25.91
"Level five leaders are a study"
00:15:25.94\00:15:27.85
get this "in duality, modest"
00:15:27.88\00:15:31.72
write that in
"modest and willful"
00:15:31.75\00:15:35.17
they're not namby-pambies
"humble and fearless."
00:15:35.20\00:15:39.13
They're not
cowards, but they are humble.
00:15:39.16\00:15:42.00
"To quickly grasp this concept,
00:15:42.03\00:15:43.50
think of the United States
President Abraham Lincoln"
00:15:43.53\00:15:46.10
he writes "one of the
few Level 5 presidents
00:15:46.13\00:15:48.37
in United States
history, who never let his ego
00:15:48.40\00:15:51.39
get in the way of
his primary ambition
00:15:51.42\00:15:53.50
for the larger cause of
an enduring great nation."
00:15:53.53\00:15:56.28
Isn't that something, guys?
00:15:56.31\00:15:57.56
Ladies and
gentlemen, isn't that amazing?
00:15:57.59\00:15:59.95
The number one leaders,
00:15:59.98\00:16:01.15
the most successful
leaders in America today,
00:16:01.18\00:16:03.38
are men and
women who are humble.
00:16:03.41\00:16:05.63
In fact, when the
researchers were bringing back
00:16:05.66\00:16:07.40
the results to Collins,
00:16:07.43\00:16:08.61
I'll put this on
the screen for you,
00:16:08.64\00:16:09.68
"Those who worked with
00:16:09.71\00:16:10.80
or wrote about the
good-to-great leaders"
00:16:10.83\00:16:12.30
these level 5 leaders,
00:16:12.33\00:16:13.37
"continually used
words like quiet, humble,
00:16:13.40\00:16:17.38
modest, reserved, shy,
gracious, mild-mannered,
00:16:17.41\00:16:22.23
understated, did not
believe his own clippings,
00:16:22.26\00:16:25.66
and so forth."
00:16:25.69\00:16:28.26
You know what,
you and I right now
00:16:28.29\00:16:29.41
are thinking of the leaders
we know, who fit the bill.
00:16:29.44\00:16:32.15
Level 5 leaders,
who are humble leaders.
00:16:32.18\00:16:36.51
Reminds me, these
words written a century ago
00:16:36.54\00:16:38.29
that they're in
your study guide,
00:16:38.32\00:16:39.63
"If men and women
desired to be honored by God,
00:16:39.66\00:16:43.40
let them be" write it
in, "let them be humble.
00:16:43.43\00:16:47.59
Those who carry
forward God's work
00:16:47.62\00:16:49.40
should be distinguished
00:16:49.43\00:16:50.46
from all others
by their humility."
00:16:50.49\00:16:55.67
Would to God
that King Saul has it,
00:16:55.70\00:16:59.40
had held the road, a
highway that he was on.
00:16:59.43\00:17:04.77
It's sad that his
tale begins to unravel
00:17:04.80\00:17:06.75
with almost breathtaking speed.
00:17:06.78\00:17:10.33
Symptomatic, it
was downwards spiral.
00:17:10.36\00:17:14.92
Chapter 14, just turn
a couple of pages over.
00:17:14.95\00:17:17.92
There are two
verses by the historian,
00:17:17.95\00:17:19.82
intentionally juxtaposed.
00:17:19.85\00:17:21.61
These two verses
are placed side by side.
00:17:21.64\00:17:23.97
Look at this, downward
spiral, here's the evidence.
00:17:24.00\00:17:27.64
This is Chapter 14 verse 23.
00:17:27.67\00:17:31.06
Saul's boy Jonathan
and his armor bearer
00:17:31.09\00:17:33.36
have just taken down an
entire Philistines' garrison,
00:17:33.39\00:17:36.02
a clearly is a divine victory.
00:17:36.05\00:17:37.52
There's no way two
boys could bring down
00:17:37.55\00:17:39.39
an entire enemy
fort, but they did.
00:17:39.42\00:17:42.16
And so, now the
historian writes verse 23
00:17:42.19\00:17:44.15
"So the Lord" the
Lord, please get that,
00:17:44.18\00:17:47.01
"The Lord saved Israel that day,
00:17:47.04\00:17:49.92
and the battle
shifted to Beth Aven."
00:17:49.95\00:17:52.44
Now he purposely
puts right up beside it,
00:17:52.47\00:17:55.14
verse 24 "And the men of Israel
were distressed that day."
00:17:55.17\00:17:59.88
What's bugging you guys?
00:17:59.91\00:18:01.72
Oh, here it is.
00:18:01.75\00:18:03.50
They were distressed "
that day, for Saul The king
00:18:03.53\00:18:06.69
had placed the
people under oath, saying,
00:18:06.72\00:18:09.15
'Cursed is the man who
eats any food until evening.'"
00:18:09.18\00:18:13.39
That was a stupid,
00:18:13.42\00:18:17.27
imperial command.
00:18:17.30\00:18:20.76
I mean, you got to eat to fight.
00:18:20.79\00:18:24.33
Whose honor is
Saul, so eager to defend?
00:18:24.36\00:18:27.53
Watch this, "Cursed is
the man who eats any food
00:18:27.56\00:18:29.90
until evening before I have
taken vengeance on my enemies."
00:18:29.93\00:18:35.98
Hey, hey wait,
time-out, time-out.
00:18:36.01\00:18:39.37
Saul, what do you mean, you?
00:18:39.40\00:18:41.22
We just found
out, God is the one
00:18:41.25\00:18:42.65
who has achieved
a signal victory.
00:18:42.68\00:18:44.57
This isn't about you,
00:18:44.60\00:18:45.63
this isn't about your vengeance.
00:18:45.66\00:18:49.22
The spiral has already begun.
00:18:49.25\00:18:51.29
In fact, the Bible commentary,
00:18:51.32\00:18:54.06
the author of
the Bible commentary,
00:18:54.09\00:18:55.24
who ever was authoring
this particular section,
00:18:55.27\00:18:58.10
I'll put the words
on the screen for you,
00:18:58.13\00:18:59.54
they're in your
study guide as well,
00:18:59.57\00:19:01.17
makes this a, this
adroit observation.
00:19:01.20\00:19:03.98
"Saul's humility has
forever taken flight,
00:19:04.01\00:19:07.49
it seemed, and in its place
there appeared a false zeal,
00:19:07.52\00:19:12.06
a secret pride and
an abuse of authority
00:19:12.09\00:19:14.47
that was to
mature through the years
00:19:14.50\00:19:16.35
till he took his own life."
00:19:16.38\00:19:17.84
This is, this is so sad.
00:19:17.87\00:19:19.42
"Like Judas, Saul
ran well for a season."
00:19:19.45\00:19:23.98
He started off strong.
00:19:24.01\00:19:25.99
"Had he died before
calling Israel to Gilgal,
00:19:26.02\00:19:28.43
he would have been regarded
00:19:28.46\00:19:29.49
as worthy of the highest place
in the kingly roll of honor.
00:19:29.52\00:19:32.38
Now, he had
betrayed his sacred trust,
00:19:32.41\00:19:34.68
yet was
permitted to live on that
00:19:34.71\00:19:36.19
all might see the fruitage
of selfishness and perversity."
00:19:36.22\00:19:39.36
The moral spiral, from humility
to pride plunges downward.
00:19:39.39\00:19:43.51
And we use an
expression don't we?
00:19:43.54\00:19:45.25
We talk about,
pride turning the head.
00:19:45.28\00:19:47.92
Don't we use that
phrase? Pride turns the head.
00:19:47.95\00:19:50.99
Watch how the head gets turned.
00:19:51.02\00:19:52.54
Chapter 15 now, how
sad, Chapter 15 verse 10.
00:19:52.57\00:19:56.66
"Now the word of the
Lord came to Samuel,"
00:19:56.69\00:19:59.64
what do you have
to say to me God?
00:19:59.67\00:20:01.02
Oh, I got a word
for you, Samuel verse 11
00:20:01.05\00:20:02.90
"I greatly regret that I
have set up Saul as king,
00:20:02.93\00:20:07.05
for he has turned
back from following Me,"
00:20:07.08\00:20:10.63
his head was
turned-- has become turned
00:20:10.66\00:20:14.10
"he has turned
back from following Me,
00:20:14.13\00:20:15.38
and has not
performed My commandments."
00:20:15.47\00:20:17.45
The next morning,
Samuel finds Saul,
00:20:17.48\00:20:19.67
look at these words verse 17.
00:20:19.70\00:20:21.07
"So Samuel said to Saul,
00:20:21.10\00:20:22.86
'When you were
little in your own eyes'"
00:20:22.89\00:20:26.02
boy, do you
remember when at one time,
00:20:26.05\00:20:29.23
you were little
in your own eyes.
00:20:29.26\00:20:32.00
Something has befallen you.
00:20:32.03\00:20:34.79
"'When you were
little in your own eyes,
00:20:34.82\00:20:37.01
were you not head of
the tribes of Israel?
00:20:37.04\00:20:38.88
And did not the Lord
anoint you king over Israel?'"
00:20:38.91\00:20:42.78
Last verse of
that tragic chapter,
00:20:42.81\00:20:45.32
last verse, verse 35,
00:20:45.35\00:20:46.64
"And Samuel went
no more to see Saul
00:20:46.68\00:20:49.47
until the day of Samuels death.
00:20:49.50\00:20:51.55
Nevertheless
Samuel mourned for Saul,
00:20:51.58\00:20:54.14
and the Lord regretted
00:20:54.17\00:20:55.64
that He had made
Saul king over Israel."
00:20:55.67\00:20:58.41
You have a heartbroken God,
00:20:58.44\00:20:59.82
you have a heartbroken
prophet, because we just lost.
00:20:59.85\00:21:04.19
He started with so much promise.
00:21:04.22\00:21:08.23
He was chosen because he
was little in his own eyes.
00:21:08.26\00:21:11.23
What happened?
00:21:11.26\00:21:12.29
Soon he became, all
there was, in his own eyes.
00:21:12.32\00:21:16.14
Tragic demise of humility,
00:21:16.17\00:21:18.59
the crash and
burn into destructive,
00:21:18.62\00:21:21.78
self-destructive pride.
00:21:21.82\00:21:23.32
So getting back
to where we started.
00:21:23.35\00:21:25.39
One word, wonder.
00:21:25.42\00:21:26.85
I mean, come on mom,
you got a whole dictionary,
00:21:26.88\00:21:30.10
Bible dictionary full of names,
00:21:30.13\00:21:31.23
if you want to name
that little boy something.
00:21:31.26\00:21:32.68
But why would you
pick the name Saul,
00:21:32.71\00:21:34.99
after a story like this?
00:21:35.02\00:21:37.27
But that mother did.
00:21:37.30\00:21:39.21
That Hebrew mother did.
00:21:39.24\00:21:40.71
When that little
baby boy was born,
00:21:40.74\00:21:42.19
she and her husband,
00:21:42.22\00:21:43.25
from the tribe of
Benjamin, they said,
00:21:43.28\00:21:44.88
this boy was gonna be named
after the first king of Israel.
00:21:44.91\00:21:46.92
They had ambitions.
00:21:46.95\00:21:48.71
Nothing wrong parents,
00:21:48.74\00:21:49.88
with having ambitions
for that child of yours.
00:21:49.91\00:21:52.19
They had big ambitions.
00:21:52.22\00:21:53.30
This boy is gonna be
like the first king of Israel.
00:21:53.33\00:21:55.83
Obviously, they're
thinking of the positive side.
00:21:55.86\00:21:58.99
But wouldn't she know it,
00:21:59.02\00:22:00.05
because the boy
is born in Tarsus,
00:22:00.08\00:22:03.19
which is a Roman
colony in Asia Minor,
00:22:03.22\00:22:05.79
like all the other
boys in the neighborhood,
00:22:05.82\00:22:08.51
he had a
Greco-Roman name, as well.
00:22:08.54\00:22:10.68
It allow the house
in Hebrew, he's Saul.
00:22:10.71\00:22:13.76
But around the neighborhood,
he's Palos, is in the Greek.
00:22:13.79\00:22:16.34
He's Palos, little one.
We'll call him little one.
00:22:16.37\00:22:20.85
He might have been short
his whole life, for all we know.
00:22:20.88\00:22:23.77
Shorty, that was
his nickname stuck?
00:22:23.80\00:22:28.45
Shorty grew up to--
like a lot of boys do,
00:22:28.48\00:22:31.18
he wanted to be
just like his dad.
00:22:31.21\00:22:34.19
I want to be a
Pharisee, when I grow up.
00:22:34.22\00:22:36.47
His father was a
Pharisee, Paul tells us that.
00:22:36.50\00:22:38.43
His father was a
Pharisee and so shorty said,
00:22:38.46\00:22:40.85
I'm gonna be just like dad.
00:22:40.88\00:22:43.13
And mom and dad saw
the proclivity in that boy
00:22:43.16\00:22:45.21
and said, you're going
off to boarding school,
00:22:45.24\00:22:46.53
we're gonna send
you to Jerusalem.
00:22:46.56\00:22:48.00
And so he went to
Jerusalem and he sat at the,
00:22:48.03\00:22:50.37
he sat at the knees of one
of the brilliant sacred jurors
00:22:50.40\00:22:52.81
and scholars of the day,
a rabbi by name Gamaliel.
00:22:52.84\00:22:56.04
Oh, boy, Saul was a proud boy.
00:22:56.07\00:22:59.74
Proud that he was of
the tribe of Benjamin.
00:22:59.77\00:23:02.71
Proud that, that was the tribe
that offered the first king.
00:23:02.74\00:23:05.54
Proud that he was gonna be
a Pharisee just like his dad.
00:23:05.57\00:23:07.96
Proud that he kept a law of
God with punctilious accuracy.
00:23:07.99\00:23:12.72
Proud that he
00:23:12.75\00:23:17.28
will live the life
00:23:17.31\00:23:20.67
of moral flawlessness, proud.
00:23:20.70\00:23:23.31
So you can
understand, he hated to lose,
00:23:23.34\00:23:26.83
when you're
proud, you hate losing.
00:23:26.86\00:23:29.76
But one day he went to church,
00:23:29.79\00:23:32.39
and it looks like
he had lost big time.
00:23:32.42\00:23:35.12
I'm gonna show you
this. Go to the Book of Acts.
00:23:35.15\00:23:39.40
Surprising
encounter one day in church,
00:23:39.43\00:23:42.09
and I'll tell you what,
we're setup for Paul Harvey's
00:23:42.12\00:23:44.86
"The Rest of the
Story" with this line
00:23:44.89\00:23:46.51
that lot of
people just race over,
00:23:46.54\00:23:48.35
they don't get
what's happening here.
00:23:48.38\00:23:49.58
I want you to slow down a bit
00:23:49.61\00:23:50.95
and look at Acts
Chapter 6, watch this.
00:23:50.98\00:23:53.02
This is
fascinating. Acts Chapter 6.
00:23:53.05\00:23:56.92
In your pew Bible
that'd be page 737.
00:23:56.95\00:24:03.56
Because Saul shows
up in church one day,
00:24:03.59\00:24:05.62
the synagogue, watch this.
00:24:05.65\00:24:08.45
He shows up in the synagogue
00:24:08.48\00:24:10.04
and there is another
young man in church that day.
00:24:10.07\00:24:13.36
He's also, he's also a
Jew, but he's a proselytized,
00:24:13.39\00:24:17.82
he's a Greek who's been
want the Judaism and get this,
00:24:17.85\00:24:22.07
he's not only a Jew,
00:24:22.10\00:24:24.09
but he's now a disciple of
this dead Jesus of Nazareth.
00:24:24.12\00:24:27.68
And he gets up in the synagogue,
00:24:27.71\00:24:30.35
maybe he was set
up, we don't know
00:24:30.38\00:24:32.36
but they've fallen in
to a ferocious debate.
00:24:32.39\00:24:35.65
And the young rabbi, scholar
from Tarsus, takes him on.
00:24:35.68\00:24:40.40
He said, Dwight, you
reading this in to the story,
00:24:40.43\00:24:42.07
look at this, verse 8, Acts 6:8,
00:24:42.10\00:24:46.15
"And Stephen, full
of faith and power,
00:24:46.18\00:24:48.98
did great wonders and
signs among the people."
00:24:49.01\00:24:50.79
Now hold on, verse 9,
"Then there arose some
00:24:50.82\00:24:53.01
from what is called the
Synagogue of the Freedmen"
00:24:53.04\00:24:57.29
people who are
"Cyrenians, Alexandrians,
00:24:57.32\00:25:00.82
and those from Cilicia."
00:25:00.85\00:25:02.70
Cilicia is the Asian
province that has Tarsus,
00:25:02.73\00:25:06.52
so there's some people
from Cilicia "and Asia,"
00:25:06.55\00:25:10.18
and they began to
"disputing with Stephen."
00:25:10.21\00:25:12.06
They're having a public debate.
00:25:12.09\00:25:13.64
"And they were not
able to resist the wisdom
00:25:13.67\00:25:16.19
and the Spirit
by which he spoke."
00:25:16.22\00:25:17.99
He outwitted them,
he out scripture them,
00:25:18.02\00:25:20.16
he out maneuvered them.
00:25:20.19\00:25:21.23
Every single time, this
young follower of this Jesus,
00:25:21.26\00:25:24.55
called the
Christ, wins the debate,
00:25:24.58\00:25:27.28
to perhaps the titter
of the synagogue audience.
00:25:27.31\00:25:30.67
And when you're
proud and you love to win
00:25:30.70\00:25:33.39
and you fail in
public, you have the last say
00:25:33.42\00:25:37.84
and notice what happens
after Stephen wins the debate.
00:25:37.87\00:25:41.00
"They were not able
to resist him", verse 10.
00:25:41.03\00:25:42.72
"And then they
secretly after the debate
00:25:42.75\00:25:45.81
induced men to say,
00:25:45.84\00:25:47.92
'We have heard him
speak blasphemous words
00:25:47.95\00:25:50.38
against Moses and God.'"
00:25:50.41\00:25:53.27
setting up the first
marker of the Christian faith.
00:25:53.30\00:25:59.60
Because the Ecclesiastical
trials convened in chapter 7,
00:25:59.63\00:26:03.98
its over, its over
before it even started,
00:26:04.01\00:26:05.86
Stephen gives
and eloquent defense,
00:26:05.89\00:26:07.41
but he ceased
the end, it's over.
00:26:07.44\00:26:09.07
Now watch this, they
drag him out of the trough,
00:26:09.10\00:26:11.32
outside the walls,
they summarily stone him,
00:26:11.35\00:26:14.01
but notice this
other young adults posture.
00:26:14.04\00:26:19.12
Chapter 7, near
the end, verse 58,
00:26:19.15\00:26:21.50
"And they cast Stephen out
of the city and stoned him.
00:26:21.53\00:26:24.53
And the witnesses
laid down their clothes
00:26:24.56\00:26:27.25
at the feet of a
young man named Saul."
00:26:27.28\00:26:30.67
He never picked up a stone,
00:26:30.70\00:26:33.07
but his heart was
saying it's what you get.
00:26:33.10\00:26:39.17
Stood there and
watched the death
00:26:39.20\00:26:42.00
of another young scholar.
00:26:42.03\00:26:43.72
Chapter 8:1,
00:26:43.75\00:26:44.83
"Now Saul was
consenting to Stephen's death.
00:26:44.86\00:26:47.22
At that time a great persecution
00:26:47.25\00:26:48.93
arose against the
church which was at Jerusalem,
00:26:48.96\00:26:50.94
and they were all scattered
00:26:50.97\00:26:52.01
throughout the
regions of Judea and Samaria,
00:26:52.04\00:26:53.60
except the apostles."
00:26:53.63\00:26:54.66
Verse 3, "And ask for Saul,
he made havoc of the church,
00:26:54.69\00:26:58.28
he entering every house,
and dragging off men and women,
00:26:58.31\00:27:00.31
committing them to prison."
00:27:00.34\00:27:01.43
Kill them, kill them, kill them,
00:27:01.46\00:27:02.58
kill them, kill them.
00:27:02.61\00:27:05.07
Man, I hate to lose,
00:27:05.10\00:27:09.02
when I'm proud, I win.
00:27:09.05\00:27:14.45
He thinks, he's so passionate
to rid this hated sect
00:27:14.48\00:27:19.10
from the face of the earth
00:27:19.13\00:27:20.19
that when he finds out
that some are fled northward
00:27:20.22\00:27:22.10
to the ancient city of Damascus,
00:27:22.13\00:27:23.93
the young rabbi and
scholar assembles his own posse
00:27:23.96\00:27:27.28
and leads them to Damascus.
00:27:27.31\00:27:28.76
And just outside the
city gates, on his way,
00:27:28.79\00:27:33.95
the messiah of Israel
00:27:33.98\00:27:36.66
personally meets the young man.
00:27:36.69\00:27:41.83
You know the story.
00:27:41.86\00:27:43.82
I love reading it
every time, Acts 9:3,
00:27:43.85\00:27:47.54
"And as Saul
journeyed he came near Damascus,
00:27:47.57\00:27:50.54
and suddenly a light
shone around him from heaven.
00:27:50.57\00:27:54.88
Then he fell to the ground,
00:27:54.91\00:27:55.94
and heard a voice saying to him,
00:27:55.97\00:27:57.40
'Saul, Saul,
00:27:57.43\00:28:00.16
why are you persecuting Me?'
00:28:04.28\00:28:06.50
And he said,
'Who are You, Lord?'
00:28:06.53\00:28:09.02
Then the Lord said, 'I am Jesus,
00:28:09.05\00:28:10.65
whom you are persecuting.
00:28:10.68\00:28:12.12
It is hard for you to
kick against the goads.'"
00:28:12.15\00:28:14.27
Isn't it?
00:28:14.30\00:28:15.47
"So he, trembling and
astonished, said, 'Lord,
00:28:15.50\00:28:18.55
what do You want me to do?'
00:28:18.58\00:28:20.08
Then the Lord said to him,"
00:28:20.11\00:28:21.16
you get up off
of those feet you,
00:28:21.19\00:28:22.40
"Arise and go into the city,
00:28:22.43\00:28:23.93
and you will be told
what you" to do next.
00:28:23.96\00:28:26.38
Good bye, gone.
00:28:26.41\00:28:28.76
For three days, in a home
inside the walls of Damascus,
00:28:28.79\00:28:33.65
three days and
nights, without water or food,
00:28:33.68\00:28:37.92
the young scholar and
rabbi brewed over the meaning
00:28:37.95\00:28:42.57
of what happened
on that Damascus road.
00:28:42.60\00:28:45.89
Three days later,
there's a knock at the door.
00:28:45.92\00:28:47.88
I love this part too.
00:28:47.91\00:28:49.51
Because it was a tough visit
for that young pastor to make,
00:28:49.54\00:28:52.89
but he made it.
00:28:52.92\00:28:55.24
Verse 17, "And
Ananias went his way"
00:28:55.27\00:28:57.05
after God had told him,
00:28:57.08\00:28:58.84
you get the man who
has come to kill you.
00:28:58.87\00:29:00.86
"And Ananias went his
way and entered the house
00:29:00.89\00:29:02.44
and he laid his
hands on him Saul said,
00:29:02.47\00:29:03.96
'Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus,
00:29:03.99\00:29:05.30
who appeared to you
on the road as you came,
00:29:05.33\00:29:07.14
has sent me that you
may receive your sight
00:29:07.17\00:29:08.80
and be filled
with the Holy Spirit.'"
00:29:08.83\00:29:10.12
And "Immediately
there fell from his eyes"
00:29:10.15\00:29:12.95
Saul's eyes
"something like scales,"
00:29:12.98\00:29:14.93
just running down his cheeks
00:29:14.96\00:29:16.55
"and he received
his sight at once,
00:29:16.58\00:29:18.89
and he arose and was baptized.
00:29:18.92\00:29:20.29
So when he had received
food, he was strengthened.
00:29:20.32\00:29:22.65
Then Saul spent some days
00:29:22.68\00:29:24.40
with the disciples at Damascus."
00:29:24.43\00:29:25.55
And I love verse 20,
00:29:25.58\00:29:26.64
"Immediately he
preached the Christ"
00:29:26.67\00:29:29.67
the messiah "in the synagogues,
that He is the Son of God."
00:29:29.70\00:29:33.35
For three long days and nights,
00:29:33.38\00:29:36.15
the proud Pharisee
is being disassembled,
00:29:36.18\00:29:40.51
layer by layer, until
he's nothing at the end
00:29:40.54\00:29:43.89
but a humble follower
of this Jesus in Nazareth.
00:29:43.92\00:29:48.47
As you just
struggle with the same sin?
00:29:48.50\00:29:52.64
Those of us that
struggle with the same sin,
00:29:52.67\00:29:54.77
isn't it good to know?
00:29:54.80\00:29:56.72
God can work
quickly if we're willing.
00:29:56.75\00:30:03.58
And so it was, this man
00:30:03.61\00:30:07.29
becomes the most
intrepid missionary
00:30:07.32\00:30:08.96
in the history of Christianity.
00:30:08.99\00:30:10.58
He finally becomes--
can you believe this,
00:30:10.61\00:30:12.51
the greatest
follower of Jesus Christ,
00:30:12.54\00:30:15.60
ever to have
lived on this planet,
00:30:15.63\00:30:18.45
bar none, the end.
00:30:18.48\00:30:20.61
The story's over.
00:30:20.64\00:30:22.92
Except for one
obscure piece of the biography
00:30:22.95\00:30:27.25
that we must share together.
00:30:27.28\00:30:29.56
This little piece holds perhaps
00:30:29.59\00:30:31.64
the greatest
secret of all to humility,
00:30:31.67\00:30:34.63
which is why we've
saved it until today.
00:30:34.66\00:30:38.26
A newly converted Paul
00:30:38.29\00:30:40.01
eventually
disappears for several years.
00:30:40.04\00:30:42.53
We don't know for sure
00:30:42.56\00:30:43.97
but when we take
scrapes of the New Testament,
00:30:44.00\00:30:45.80
little bits and
pieces, from the record,
00:30:45.83\00:30:47.30
it becomes clear that eventually
00:30:47.33\00:30:48.94
he heads back to Cilicia
00:30:48.97\00:30:50.72
and he's in his
home town of Tarsus.
00:30:50.75\00:30:52.64
While in Tarsus,
the God who called him
00:30:52.67\00:30:55.83
on the Damascus
road comes to him
00:30:55.86\00:30:57.39
and personally ushers him
00:30:57.42\00:31:00.23
into supernatural
visions and revelations.
00:31:00.26\00:31:05.40
And then suddenly, a
few years later he reappears
00:31:05.43\00:31:07.92
and we can track
him till his beheaded.
00:31:07.95\00:31:13.07
That divine entrustment,
while he was obscurely hidden
00:31:13.10\00:31:15.84
from human view as
it were precipitated,
00:31:15.87\00:31:18.68
what turns out to be
00:31:18.71\00:31:19.78
the great principle of humility.
00:31:19.81\00:31:21.93
And I want to
end in this passage.
00:31:21.96\00:31:23.38
Find 2 Corinthians Chapter
12, please, we'll end it here.
00:31:23.41\00:31:28.27
2 Corinthians Chapter 12,
00:31:28.30\00:31:30.82
now I need to set you
up for 2 Corinthians 12,
00:31:30.85\00:31:32.62
what's happened
in here is that Paul
00:31:32.65\00:31:34.54
has become accused by
some people in Corinth
00:31:34.57\00:31:38.29
where he's writing this letters,
00:31:38.32\00:31:39.39
its a second letter at Corinth.
00:31:39.42\00:31:41.05
He's being accused and really
not being a real deal apostle.
00:31:41.08\00:31:43.99
You're not a real deal,
you're not the real McCoy,
00:31:44.02\00:31:47.54
there's
something wrong about you.
00:31:47.57\00:31:49.07
Your background,
something, I don't know.
00:31:49.10\00:31:51.27
But beginning in
chapter 10 he sets out
00:31:51.30\00:31:54.54
to reestablish for
the Church in Corinth
00:31:54.58\00:31:56.79
his credentials
as a genuine apostle.
00:31:56.82\00:31:59.53
If he had simply kept silent,
00:31:59.56\00:32:01.48
he would've
played in to that lie,
00:32:01.51\00:32:04.02
and he would've done
this service to his master.
00:32:04.05\00:32:05.83
He has to speak up now.
00:32:05.86\00:32:07.27
And so through chapter 11,
00:32:07.30\00:32:09.09
he is
establishing his credentials
00:32:09.12\00:32:11.13
and then he says,
I got one more piece,
00:32:11.16\00:32:13.19
one more piece
to tell you about,
00:32:13.22\00:32:14.86
chapter 12, here we
go, Chapter 12 verse 1,
00:32:14.89\00:32:17.23
"It is doubtless not
profitable for me to boast."
00:32:17.26\00:32:20.02
I'm not here bragging guys,
but I need to tell you this,
00:32:20.05\00:32:22.62
"I will come to visions
and revelations of the Lord.
00:32:22.65\00:32:28.10
I know a man in
Christ who fourteen years ago
00:32:28.13\00:32:32.58
whether in the
body I do not know,
00:32:32.61\00:32:34.21
or whether out of
the body I do not know,
00:32:34.24\00:32:36.37
God knows I know such a one
00:32:36.40\00:32:38.50
who was caught up
to the third heaven."
00:32:38.53\00:32:40.17
Hold it right there.
00:32:40.20\00:32:41.23
You know what
the third heaven is?
00:32:41.26\00:32:42.29
First heaven is atmosphere,
second heaven the stars,
00:32:42.32\00:32:44.36
third heaven is where God lives.
00:32:44.39\00:32:46.25
Paul says, I knew a man once.
00:32:46.28\00:32:48.97
You know what he's doing?
00:32:49.00\00:32:50.03
You know what
he's doing, don't you?
00:32:50.06\00:32:51.10
It's a literary device.
00:32:51.13\00:32:52.29
It's the very same
device, humble John ceases,
00:32:52.32\00:32:56.59
when he writes the life story
of Jesus in the Gospel of John,
00:32:56.62\00:32:59.20
inserts himself five
times into that story,
00:32:59.23\00:33:02.01
but never ever utter his name.
00:33:02.04\00:33:04.42
Remember that?
00:33:04.45\00:33:05.49
The first part in this series,
00:33:05.52\00:33:06.70
the disciple that Jesus kept
on loving, you remember that?
00:33:06.73\00:33:10.16
That's a device, it's me,
00:33:10.19\00:33:12.03
but I'm not gonna ever
use my name in the story,
00:33:12.06\00:33:13.88
I'm not worth it.
00:33:13.91\00:33:15.27
Paul does the same thing.
00:33:15.30\00:33:16.36
He said, I know a man once,
he's talking about himself.
00:33:16.39\00:33:19.59
I knew a man once, 14 years ago.
00:33:19.62\00:33:21.94
He could have just said,
00:33:21.97\00:33:23.00
hey, let me tell you
about the visions I've had.
00:33:23.03\00:33:24.54
No, no, no, no, no.
00:33:24.57\00:33:25.63
We're dealing with the
very humbled and humble man.
00:33:25.66\00:33:29.38
I knew a man, he went
up to the third heaven.
00:33:29.41\00:33:32.24
Now, verse 3 says,
00:33:32.27\00:33:33.33
"I know such a man
whether in the body
00:33:33.36\00:33:35.05
or out of the
body I do not know,
00:33:35.08\00:33:36.51
God knows" he
repeats himself, verse 4,
00:33:36.54\00:33:38.35
"how he was
caught up into Paradise"
00:33:38.38\00:33:39.96
he got into heaven somehow,
00:33:39.99\00:33:41.50
"and he heard" while up
there, "inexpressible words,
00:33:41.53\00:33:45.46
which it is not
lawful for a man to utter."
00:33:45.49\00:33:48.13
I cannot even tell
you what this man heard.
00:33:48.16\00:33:50.83
Someday we'll find
out, we'll find out.
00:33:53.65\00:33:56.55
Verse 5, "Of such
a one I will boast"
00:33:56.58\00:33:59.71
I'm gonna boast about this guy.
00:33:59.74\00:34:01.09
I'm not gonna boast
about me, understand,
00:34:01.12\00:34:02.75
I'm gonna boast about this guy.
00:34:02.78\00:34:04.61
Isn't that something?
00:34:04.64\00:34:05.67
"Of such a one I will boast
yet of myself I will not boast,
00:34:05.70\00:34:08.62
except in my infirmities.
00:34:08.65\00:34:10.12
For though I
might desire to boast,
00:34:10.15\00:34:11.69
I will not be a fool,"
00:34:11.72\00:34:13.81
let me tell you
something, some of you,
00:34:13.84\00:34:15.18
perhaps we'll
find this verse handy,
00:34:15.21\00:34:16.73
Proverbs 27:2, listen to this,
00:34:16.76\00:34:19.06
"Let another man praise
you, and not your own lips,
00:34:19.09\00:34:21.98
let a stranger,
and not your own lips."
00:34:22.01\00:34:24.09
I'll tell you, once in a while,
00:34:24.12\00:34:25.15
I bump into a person who's
just praising himself or herself
00:34:25.18\00:34:27.54
and I'm thinking to myself,
00:34:27.57\00:34:28.72
what is the problem here?
00:34:28.75\00:34:30.89
What is it, you're so insecure
that you've to praise yourself?
00:34:30.92\00:34:33.98
If you did something
great, the word will be out.
00:34:34.01\00:34:36.09
If it wasn't that great,
that's why you're telling me.
00:34:36.12\00:34:40.30
Don't ever praise yourself.
00:34:40.33\00:34:41.69
Let me just give you
that little bit of advice
00:34:41.72\00:34:42.96
from the apostle Paul.
00:34:42.99\00:34:45.36
I know a man
once, I still man once.
00:34:45.39\00:34:48.66
Oh, oh, by the
way, that's the disciple
00:34:48.69\00:34:50.05
that Jesus kept on loving.
00:34:50.08\00:34:51.48
I know what's the guy's name is,
00:34:51.51\00:34:52.55
but he's the disciple
Jesus just kept on loving.
00:34:52.58\00:34:54.29
Never praise yourself.
00:34:54.32\00:34:56.98
If it's worth
praising somebody else
00:34:57.01\00:34:58.23
will step up for you, trust me.
00:34:58.26\00:35:00.31
Otherwise, just leave it alone,
00:35:00.34\00:35:02.23
God knows and
that's all accounts anyway.
00:35:02.26\00:35:06.63
"For though I
might desire to boast,
00:35:06.66\00:35:07.95
I will not be a fool
for I will speak the truth.
00:35:07.98\00:35:09.88
But I refrain, lest
anyone should think of me above
00:35:09.91\00:35:13.08
what he sees me to
be or hears from me."
00:35:13.11\00:35:15.26
I'm not gonna elevate
myself, now here comes,
00:35:15.29\00:35:17.40
hold on to your pew
right now, here we go,
00:35:17.43\00:35:19.55
verse 7, "And lest I
should be exalted above measure
00:35:19.58\00:35:23.19
by the abundance of the"
visions "these revelations,
00:35:23.22\00:35:26.37
a thorn of the
flesh was given to me."
00:35:26.40\00:35:28.62
Now let me tell
you about that word,
00:35:28.65\00:35:29.72
the Greek word for thorn,
00:35:29.75\00:35:30.78
it's not the
crown of thorns thorn
00:35:30.81\00:35:32.58
that Jesus had on His head.
00:35:32.61\00:35:33.86
It's another word
that means a wedge of wood
00:35:33.89\00:35:36.82
that is jammed into human flesh.
00:35:36.85\00:35:38.86
Let me ask you a question.
00:35:38.89\00:35:39.95
Have you ever gotten a
splinter underneath your nail?
00:35:39.98\00:35:43.95
Have you? Isn't that
about the worst of the worst?
00:35:43.98\00:35:46.56
I mean, it starts to bleeding,
00:35:46.59\00:35:47.65
you finally get
the bleeding stopped
00:35:47.68\00:35:48.71
and you can see that dark line,
there's something in there.
00:35:48.74\00:35:50.85
But I can't get
in to get it out.
00:35:50.88\00:35:53.67
Paul says, I
was given a splinter
00:35:53.70\00:35:55.60
that went
straight into my flesh.
00:35:55.63\00:35:58.25
Not into my heart,
00:35:58.28\00:35:59.31
not into my
mind, it's in my flesh.
00:35:59.34\00:36:04.48
Scholars and
students of the Bible say,
00:36:04.51\00:36:06.06
well, I wonder what this
is, this thorn in the flesh.
00:36:06.09\00:36:09.67
They begin to
pull pieces together
00:36:09.70\00:36:11.05
and they remember that Paul,
00:36:11.08\00:36:12.59
when he was writing
to the Galatians said,
00:36:12.62\00:36:14.11
oh, I'm so
grateful for you people.
00:36:14.14\00:36:16.07
You are willing to
tear your eyes out,
00:36:16.10\00:36:17.97
to give your eyes to me.
00:36:18.00\00:36:19.62
And then-- and then in fact,
00:36:19.65\00:36:21.14
all the way through
Paul's epistles he keeps using,
00:36:21.17\00:36:24.60
he keeps using what
they call an amanuensis,
00:36:24.63\00:36:27.68
which is a scribe.
00:36:27.71\00:36:28.77
He keeps to having
other people write for him
00:36:28.80\00:36:30.29
and then there's
that letter where he says,
00:36:30.32\00:36:32.35
I just took the pen myself
00:36:32.38\00:36:33.86
and in real big
letters you have me.
00:36:33.89\00:36:37.26
And students of the
Bible say, it must be his eyes,
00:36:37.29\00:36:41.43
it must be something in the eyes
00:36:41.46\00:36:44.00
that publicly embarrassing,
00:36:44.03\00:36:46.52
something that is
an awful inconvenience,
00:36:46.55\00:36:49.22
something that
humbles him wherever he goes.
00:36:49.25\00:36:51.19
He's always having to be
dependent on other people.
00:36:51.22\00:36:53.96
He have, must be something here.
00:36:53.99\00:36:56.93
A thorn in the
flesh was given to me.
00:36:56.96\00:37:00.81
And notice what he calls
it "a messenger of Satan"
00:37:00.84\00:37:05.64
the Greek word for messenger
is aggelos, it means angel.
00:37:05.67\00:37:08.30
A demon was sent to me, a demon.
00:37:08.33\00:37:11.33
And by the way, its demon
of Satan, it's not from God.
00:37:11.36\00:37:13.55
This isn't an angel from
God, poking him, poking him.
00:37:13.58\00:37:15.92
No, this is a demon straight
00:37:15.95\00:37:17.84
out of the kingdom
of darkness as it were.
00:37:17.87\00:37:20.71
God never causes evil.
00:37:20.74\00:37:21.91
God never is the
author, of what is evil.
00:37:21.94\00:37:25.23
A demon of Satan
has been tracking me
00:37:25.26\00:37:28.04
in this thorn in the flesh.
00:37:28.07\00:37:31.67
"A messenger of
Satan to buffet me,"
00:37:31.70\00:37:34.37
the very word used
in Jesus, arrest there,
00:37:34.40\00:37:39.01
in that mock trial,
late early Friday morning,
00:37:39.04\00:37:41.63
when they struck him,
struck him with their fists,
00:37:41.66\00:37:45.07
same Greek word.
00:37:45.10\00:37:46.70
This demon has been
beaten me into a pulp.
00:37:46.73\00:37:51.97
Why?
00:37:52.00\00:37:53.59
"Lest I be
exalted above measure."
00:37:53.62\00:37:55.66
Would you write it down
in your study guide please?
00:37:55.69\00:37:57.93
"I.e.,"
00:37:57.96\00:38:01.90
so that I might be kept humble,
00:38:01.93\00:38:06.69
"to keep me humble."
00:38:06.72\00:38:07.91
There's a thorn in the flesh.
00:38:07.94\00:38:12.19
Verse 8, "Concerning this thing
00:38:12.22\00:38:13.60
I pleaded with
the Lord three times,"
00:38:13.63\00:38:16.52
just like Jesus in Gethsemane,
00:38:16.55\00:38:17.88
begging, begging
God to take it away.
00:38:17.91\00:38:21.79
"That it might
depart from me" I begged.
00:38:21.82\00:38:23.83
Verse 9, and you
know what "He said to me,"
00:38:23.86\00:38:25.60
Here we go, this
is that classic line
00:38:25.63\00:38:27.65
that beloved line
remembered through out history,
00:38:27.68\00:38:30.05
"'My grace is sufficient
for you, for My strength
00:38:30.08\00:38:33.80
is made perfect in weakness.'
00:38:33.83\00:38:37.05
Therefore" Paul
exclaims, "most gladly
00:38:37.08\00:38:39.60
I will rather
boast in my infirmities,
00:38:39.63\00:38:41.54
that the power of
Christ may rest upon me.
00:38:41.57\00:38:43.71
Therefore I take pleasure
in infirmities, in reproaches,
00:38:43.74\00:38:47.12
in needs, in persecutions,
00:38:47.15\00:38:48.84
in distresses,
for Christ's sake.
00:38:48.87\00:38:50.54
For when I am
weak, then I am strong."
00:38:50.57\00:38:54.17
Did you get that?
00:38:54.20\00:38:55.24
"When I am weak,
00:38:55.27\00:38:58.54
then I'm strong."
00:38:58.57\00:39:04.47
Regarding the Apostle Paul,
00:39:06.60\00:39:09.48
I found great comfort in
comparing my puny little,
00:39:09.51\00:39:14.13
puny little life,
00:39:14.16\00:39:17.09
begins to grand
devotion of this noble,
00:39:17.12\00:39:20.98
serving of the most high God.
00:39:21.01\00:39:22.39
I find comfort in
discovering that what I struggle
00:39:22.42\00:39:26.20
with night and day,
he struggled with, too.
00:39:26.23\00:39:30.61
This is from that little classic
00:39:30.64\00:39:31.67
"Ministry of Healing,"
fill it in your study guide.
00:39:31.70\00:39:33.65
"The life of the apostle
Paul was a constant" constant
00:39:33.68\00:39:37.94
"conflict with self."
00:39:37.97\00:39:41.01
Isn't that amazing?
"Constant conflict with self.
00:39:41.04\00:39:47.36
His will and his desires
00:39:47.39\00:39:49.12
every day conflicted
with duty and the will of God.
00:39:49.15\00:39:52.15
Instead of
following inclination,
00:39:52.18\00:39:53.61
he did God's will,
00:39:53.64\00:39:54.79
however
crucifying to his nature."
00:39:54.82\00:39:57.62
Hey, you know, that line
has becamekind of a part of
00:39:57.65\00:39:59.55
the title of this mini
series, Not I but Christ.
00:39:59.58\00:40:03.05
Those words are directly
out of the King James Version.
00:40:03.08\00:40:06.75
The great confession
of the Paul's humility,
00:40:06.78\00:40:08.92
Galatians 2:20,
00:40:08.95\00:40:10.51
"I am crucified with Christ,
nevertheless I live, yet not I,
00:40:10.54\00:40:14.69
but Christ liveth in me,
and the life which I now live
00:40:14.72\00:40:19.68
by faith in the Son of God,
00:40:19.71\00:40:21.08
who loved me and
gave Himself for me."
00:40:21.11\00:40:23.75
Not I but Christ,
we sing the words.
00:40:23.78\00:40:26.47
They are straight out of
the confession of this man
00:40:26.50\00:40:28.37
who has been
buffeted by a demon of hell
00:40:28.40\00:40:30.46
and hell pin down
his entire ministry,
00:40:30.49\00:40:34.08
pin down by that
thorn in the flesh.
00:40:34.11\00:40:40.89
And because this greatest
of Christian battles self,
00:40:40.92\00:40:43.40
like you and I do,
God allowed, now listen,
00:40:43.43\00:40:45.61
God allowed into Paul's
life, even as He does with us.
00:40:45.64\00:40:51.49
He allowed that
which Paul very much wished
00:40:51.52\00:40:55.10
were not in his life.
00:40:55.13\00:40:57.33
Ladies and gentlemen, welcome
00:40:57.36\00:40:59.02
to the hard path of humility.
00:40:59.05\00:41:04.89
cIts suffering, suffering.
00:41:04.92\00:41:11.06
You know, we talk
with the life of Moses
00:41:12.43\00:41:14.43
in this little mini
series, about how important
00:41:14.46\00:41:16.80
it is for humility
to embrace our failures.
00:41:16.83\00:41:20.52
But you know, the
thing about failure is,
00:41:20.55\00:41:22.13
if did the failure,
I know who to blame.
00:41:22.16\00:41:24.23
I'll embrace it, I'll
admit I really screwed up.
00:41:24.26\00:41:26.68
I deserve to be humiliated
in front of everybody,
00:41:26.71\00:41:29.77
that's my fault.
00:41:29.80\00:41:31.37
But when something comes
to me from outside of me,
00:41:31.40\00:41:34.28
over which I have zero control,
and it pulls me and it pins me
00:41:34.31\00:41:38.43
and it thrust itself
into me, I'm telling you guys,
00:41:38.46\00:41:41.39
where do I turn?
I have no relief.
00:41:41.42\00:41:45.18
I can't embrace that.
00:41:45.21\00:41:49.18
The shining
principle that the hard
00:41:49.21\00:41:51.68
pathway of humility
is through suffering,
00:41:51.71\00:41:56.77
but I need to insert
this caviar very quickly,
00:41:56.80\00:41:59.72
I cannot walk
into your hospital room
00:41:59.75\00:42:01.70
and there's some of
you watching right now
00:42:01.73\00:42:03.12
or listening in a hospital room.
00:42:03.15\00:42:05.49
I cannot walk
into your hospital room
00:42:05.52\00:42:07.79
and declare to you
that you're suffering
00:42:07.82\00:42:09.73
from the-- by the hand of God
00:42:09.76\00:42:11.55
because you have a problem
with pride and this is Gods'
00:42:11.58\00:42:14.43
way of getting
it out of your life.
00:42:14.46\00:42:15.92
Number one, that
would be ludicrous.
00:42:15.95\00:42:17.44
How do I know, what
you're going through
00:42:17.47\00:42:19.89
and why you're going through it?
00:42:19.92\00:42:21.35
Number two, it's not form
God, it's always from Satan.
00:42:21.38\00:42:24.05
Evil always is from Satan.
00:42:24.08\00:42:25.83
Jesus said, an
enemy has done this.
00:42:25.86\00:42:28.28
I cannot walk
into your hospital room
00:42:28.31\00:42:30.15
and say, oh, looks
like every sick person
00:42:30.18\00:42:32.14
I know is struggling with pride.
00:42:32.17\00:42:33.63
That would be so bad.
00:42:33.66\00:42:36.54
But you know
what? In the same breath
00:42:36.57\00:42:38.51
I need to tell you, I can
walk into my own sick room
00:42:38.54\00:42:44.25
and declare just as Paul did.
00:42:44.28\00:42:48.11
I'm going through this
because God,in His love me,
00:42:48.14\00:42:54.58
is drawing me closer
to His love and humility.
00:42:54.61\00:43:00.12
I must be going through
this for a reason, right now.
00:43:00.15\00:43:05.96
I can do that to me.
00:43:05.99\00:43:07.69
No where in Paul's
epistles does he ever say, ah,
00:43:07.72\00:43:10.76
you know the reason
why you're suffering,
00:43:10.79\00:43:12.40
the reason you're suffering
00:43:12.43\00:43:13.47
is because you got
a problem with pride.
00:43:13.50\00:43:14.62
God will humble you,
just endure it never.
00:43:14.65\00:43:17.55
But he says, so utterly clearly,
00:43:17.58\00:43:20.90
I have this thorn in my
flesh and I'm suffering because
00:43:20.93\00:43:25.45
I have a problem with pride
00:43:25.48\00:43:27.38
and God is keeping me humble.
00:43:27.41\00:43:29.93
Therefore, I will
embrace what humbles me.
00:43:29.96\00:43:33.62
That's what's happening here.
00:43:33.65\00:43:36.58
Suffering is the
hard path way to humility.
00:43:36.61\00:43:43.17
I want to close
with three quotations
00:43:43.20\00:43:44.75
that make the
case and I'll sit down.
00:43:44.78\00:43:46.84
Three quotations, watch this.
00:43:46.87\00:43:50.05
And by the way, I
need to ask you just before
00:43:50.08\00:43:51.88
I share these last three.
00:43:51.91\00:43:52.94
Are you following this?
00:43:52.97\00:43:55.03
Are you understanding
what we're talking about here?
00:43:55.06\00:43:58.00
This is crucial.
00:43:58.03\00:43:59.58
Does it make sense to you?
00:43:59.61\00:44:01.07
Because right now the
bolt is gonna tighten,
00:44:01.10\00:44:03.47
it's gonna screw
down even harder,
00:44:03.50\00:44:05.48
but you need to understand
00:44:05.51\00:44:06.90
what's going on.
00:44:06.93\00:44:07.96
I want to share
with you a quotation
00:44:07.99\00:44:09.02
from a writer named
Derek Kidner, a friend of mine
00:44:09.05\00:44:12.13
gave me a two volume set
00:44:12.16\00:44:14.32
of Commentaries
for the book of Psalms.
00:44:14.35\00:44:17.70
Read them both through,
just a marvelous commentary.
00:44:17.73\00:44:20.45
Derek Kidner, in commenting
on David's illness in Psalm 38,
00:44:20.48\00:44:25.14
makes the point that boy
jumped off the page to me
00:44:25.17\00:44:27.80
and I'm passing it on to you.
00:44:27.83\00:44:28.95
It's there in your study guide.
00:44:28.98\00:44:31.24
David groaning before
God because of his illness,
00:44:31.28\00:44:33.12
now read it there, "The wording
in Psalm 38 leaves no doubt
00:44:33.15\00:44:37.83
that this
sickness was a punishment."
00:44:37.86\00:44:41.49
Now here comes a key
line, hang on to this.
00:44:41.52\00:44:43.89
It would be as wrong to
think that this is never so,
00:44:43.92\00:44:47.65
as that it is always so."
00:44:47.68\00:44:50.72
We can't make the conclusion,
00:44:50.75\00:44:51.78
nobody ever suffers
as a consequence of God
00:44:51.81\00:44:54.17
doing something in his life.
00:44:54.20\00:44:55.23
We can't make that.
00:44:55.26\00:44:56.29
Nor can we make the conclusion,
everybody who's suffering,
00:44:56.32\00:44:59.43
God is dealing
something really big.
00:44:59.46\00:45:01.48
We can't make either extreme.
00:45:01.51\00:45:04.15
And in fact, then he
lists two verses, John 5:14.
00:45:04.18\00:45:07.24
You remember Jesus
raising a paralytic by the pool
00:45:07.27\00:45:09.20
of Bethesdaon
the Sabbath day once.
00:45:09.23\00:45:10.90
And when He bumps into the
man again in the synagogue you.
00:45:10.93\00:45:13.11
He says, hey, listen,
you better stop sinning
00:45:13.14\00:45:14.60
or something worse
is gonna come up on you.
00:45:14.63\00:45:16.16
What's He saying?
You got what you got
00:45:16.19\00:45:17.91
because of your sin, very clear.
00:45:17.94\00:45:19.93
But in John 9:3 Jesus
says, did the blind man sin
00:45:19.96\00:45:23.51
that he's born
blind? Did his parents sin?
00:45:23.54\00:45:25.05
No, nobody sinned.
00:45:25.08\00:45:26.19
Sin's not an issue.
00:45:26.22\00:45:27.44
So Jesus, very clearly,
steps between those extremes
00:45:27.47\00:45:31.05
and that's what
Kidner is noticing here.
00:45:31.08\00:45:33.60
Now read on,
"Whether David's suffering
00:45:33.63\00:45:36.08
was the natural out
come of his own sin,
00:45:36.11\00:45:39.10
as are the
diseases of lust and excess,
00:45:39.13\00:45:41.57
there is no sure way of telling.
00:45:41.60\00:45:43.17
What is clear is that the
illness opened David's eyes
00:45:43.20\00:45:46.49
to his spiritual
plight by humbling him."
00:45:46.52\00:45:50.73
He got to use that
illness, to humble David.
00:45:50.77\00:45:54.99
Kidner is joining with
the apostle Paul in declaring
00:45:55.02\00:46:01.45
that physical afflictions
can indeed humble us.
00:46:01.48\00:46:06.48
I want to share the quotation
number two, Gregory Boyd,
00:46:06.51\00:46:10.15
the most brilliant theodicy
00:46:10.18\00:46:11.72
I've ever read as written
00:46:11.75\00:46:15.79
the title is, It's God to Blame.
00:46:15.82\00:46:17.92
Gregory Boyd makes
a similar conclusion
00:46:17.95\00:46:22.06
and I want you to read this.
00:46:22.09\00:46:23.15
This is something.
00:46:23.18\00:46:24.54
"It was Satan" quoting Boyd now,
00:46:24.57\00:46:27.01
"It was Satan, not God,
00:46:27.04\00:46:28.57
who originally gave
Paul his thorn in the flesh.
00:46:28.60\00:46:30.95
But even though Jesus
uniformly expressed God's will
00:46:30.98\00:46:33.98
as being against sickness
and disease, in this case"
00:46:34.01\00:46:36.50
those are Boyd's
italics, "in this case Jesus saw
00:46:36.53\00:46:39.60
that with Paul it
was more beneficial
00:46:39.63\00:46:41.72
to leave the
infirmity in place."
00:46:41.75\00:46:44.06
Now hold on, "Indeed,
Paul suggests that in this case
00:46:44.09\00:46:47.46
Satan was specifically
allowed to torment him" Paul
00:46:47.49\00:46:51.09
"for this very reason."
00:46:51.12\00:46:52.15
Now notice, "It wasn't God's
ideal to have Paul afflicted,
00:46:52.18\00:46:57.43
but given Paul's
struggle with pride
00:46:57.46\00:47:00.23
allowing him to be afflicted
with closer to God's ideal
00:47:00.26\00:47:04.25
than removing it."
00:47:04.28\00:47:06.77
Isn't that something?
00:47:06.80\00:47:08.34
You've to take that
home brewed on that one.
00:47:08.37\00:47:10.47
Isn't that
something? Brewed on that one.
00:47:10.50\00:47:16.63
Of course I could
take this away from you,
00:47:16.66\00:47:17.85
My ideal is that
you be in health.
00:47:17.88\00:47:19.92
But actually letting you go
through this gets you closer
00:47:19.95\00:47:22.44
to My ideal,
spiritually for you.
00:47:22.47\00:47:24.70
So I'm not taking
it away, you suffer.
00:47:24.73\00:47:27.76
Isn't that amazing?
00:47:27.79\00:47:29.34
And just like Derek
Kidner and Gregory Boyd,
00:47:29.37\00:47:33.13
along comes a writer,preceding
both of them named Ellen White.
00:47:33.16\00:47:37.23
And she makes
the identical point,
00:47:37.26\00:47:39.34
those brilliant
theologians have made to us.
00:47:39.37\00:47:42.02
She describes an
intense period to suffering
00:47:42.05\00:47:44.26
and I want to end
with this quotation.
00:47:44.29\00:47:45.75
It's there in your study guide.
00:47:45.78\00:47:47.71
"Through all my
sickness the last eight months,"
00:47:47.74\00:47:49.96
some of you know
what it's like to endure
00:47:49.99\00:47:52.28
prolonged pain and suffer,
00:47:52.31\00:47:54.80
I know, we've talked.
00:47:54.83\00:47:58.83
"Through all my
sickness the last eight months,
00:47:59.00\00:48:00.80
I have had during
my sleepless hours
00:48:00.83\00:48:03.51
the most precious
contemplations of the love
00:48:03.54\00:48:06.02
of God for to man and woman,
00:48:06.05\00:48:07.56
expressed in the
wonderful sacrifice
00:48:07.59\00:48:10.17
made to save us from ruin."
00:48:10.20\00:48:12.29
Now notice this, "Looking
upon the cross," I love this,
00:48:12.32\00:48:16.33
"Looking upon the
cross at the humiliations
00:48:16.36\00:48:19.70
and sufferings
endured in bearing our sins,
00:48:19.73\00:48:24.13
that His righteousness
might be imputed to us,"
00:48:24.16\00:48:26.99
looking upon the cross,
00:48:27.02\00:48:28.37
softens the
heart, do you know why?
00:48:28.40\00:48:30.12
Because suddenly I'm reminded,
00:48:30.15\00:48:32.09
somebody else has been through
this insanity ahead of me
00:48:32.12\00:48:35.48
and has been humiliated,
00:48:35.51\00:48:37.07
stripped naked on
that centre cross.
00:48:37.10\00:48:39.92
Humiliated, begging God,
take it away, take it away.
00:48:39.95\00:48:44.38
And God says, nope, your
pathway is going straight
00:48:44.41\00:48:49.78
through the cross.
00:48:49.81\00:48:51.41
Looking upon the
cross softens the heart.
00:48:51.44\00:48:55.31
Man, I'm not
alone, thank you, Jesus.
00:48:55.34\00:48:58.26
Somebody has gone heading me.
00:48:58.29\00:49:00.41
"Softens the heart and
fills the soul with His love."
00:49:00.44\00:49:03.76
Now the clincher here comes,
00:49:03.79\00:49:06.59
"When pain has seemed
to be almost unbearable,"
00:49:06.62\00:49:10.09
and some of you
listening right now,
00:49:10.12\00:49:11.46
some of you
watching on television,
00:49:11.49\00:49:12.82
some of you who
are in this sanctuary
00:49:12.85\00:49:15.11
know exactly what that means
00:49:15.14\00:49:16.55
when pain has
almost becoming unbearable.
00:49:16.58\00:49:20.61
"I have looked to Jesus
and I've prayed most earnestly,
00:49:20.64\00:49:25.44
and He has been
beside me, and the darkness
00:49:25.47\00:49:28.40
has passed away and
all has seemed light."
00:49:28.43\00:49:30.89
And here it is, "I
believe now that my sickness
00:49:30.92\00:49:35.03
in this strange country
is a part of God's plan."
00:49:35.06\00:49:41.61
After eight months of suffering,
00:49:41.64\00:49:44.99
I've come to the conclusion,
00:49:45.02\00:49:48.67
God wants me here.
00:49:48.70\00:49:51.54
Ladies and
gentlemen, it is the hard truth
00:49:51.57\00:49:58.27
about humility and its pathway.
00:49:58.30\00:50:02.34
It goes straight
through suffering.
00:50:02.37\00:50:06.44
I told you, when
we were talking to God
00:50:06.47\00:50:08.67
at the beginning of this,
this is gonna touch us all
00:50:08.70\00:50:11.79
where it hurts the most.
00:50:11.82\00:50:15.46
I cannot say to you that
what you're enduring right now
00:50:15.49\00:50:19.06
is sent of God, I
would be a fool to.
00:50:19.09\00:50:24.60
But I can say of me,
00:50:24.63\00:50:27.30
every cross of suffering
00:50:27.33\00:50:33.19
has been allowed into my
life to deal with my pride
00:50:33.22\00:50:39.88
and to leave me up the
high pathway to humility,
00:50:39.91\00:50:45.02
for when I am weak, only then,
00:50:45.05\00:50:50.76
when I'm weak, then I'm strong.
00:50:50.79\00:50:56.54
I believe now that my
sickness is part of God's plan.
00:50:56.57\00:51:02.89
The hard pathway
because there's nothing worse
00:51:02.92\00:51:05.93
than appearing
before others as weak.
00:51:05.96\00:51:09.71
You're nothing harder than that.
00:51:09.74\00:51:11.83
And high,
highway, it's the highway,
00:51:11.87\00:51:16.78
because it's the way
of Christ and the cross,
00:51:16.81\00:51:18.59
it's the only highway
00:51:18.62\00:51:22.04
to heaven, the only one.
00:51:22.07\00:51:27.98
I want to read you some words.
00:51:28.01\00:51:33.02
I want you to just close
your eyes right now, please.
00:51:33.05\00:51:37.13
Contemplate these words,
00:51:37.16\00:51:40.47
written by
Katharina Von Schlegel.
00:51:40.50\00:51:44.04
"Be still, my soul,
the Lord is on thy side.
00:51:44.07\00:51:50.08
Bear patiently the
cross of grief and pain,
00:51:50.11\00:51:54.01
leave to thy God
to order and provide,
00:51:54.04\00:51:59.07
in every change He
faithful will remain.
00:51:59.10\00:52:01.68
Be still, my soul, thy
best, thy heavenly friend
00:52:01.71\00:52:08.46
through thorny ways leads
00:52:08.49\00:52:12.63
to a joyful end."
00:52:12.66\00:52:16.30
I want you to pray that prayer
00:52:16.33\00:52:19.32
to the God who's
inside your soul right now.
00:52:19.35\00:52:21.76
I want to sing only this
first stanza of hymn 461.
00:52:21.79\00:52:25.29
I'd like you to
find that hymnal.
00:52:25.32\00:52:28.48
Sing these words to
yourself, sing to your heart.
00:52:28.51\00:52:32.68
This confession is so beautiful.
00:52:32.71\00:52:35.67
We're gonna sing
this first stanza.
00:52:35.70\00:52:39.68
With fervor and then Ministry
of music, would you please
00:52:39.71\00:52:43.80
lead us into a
very quiet repetition
00:52:43.83\00:52:46.05
of the first stanza? Very quiet,
00:52:46.08\00:52:48.78
as we conclude this service.
00:52:48.81\00:52:49.89
Let's stand together, shall we?
00:52:49.92\00:52:51.09
Let's stand and sing
00:52:51.12\00:52:52.15
this beautiful confession.
00:52:52.18\00:52:54.46
Be still, my soul,
the Lord is on thy side
00:53:15.17\00:53:21.90
Bear patiently the
cross of grief or pain
00:53:26.09\00:53:32.49
Leave to thy God
to order and provide
00:53:36.86\00:53:40.34
In every change He
faithful will remain
00:53:48.74\00:53:53.17
Be still, my soul, thy
best, thy heavenly friend
00:54:00.83\00:54:05.85
Through thorny ways
leads to a joyful end
00:54:13.97\00:54:18.25
Be still, my soul,
the Lord is on thy side
00:54:32.67\00:54:37.98
Bear patiently the
cross of grief or pain
00:54:46.40\00:54:52.97
Leave to thy God
to order and provide
00:54:59.64\00:55:05.55
In every change He
faithful will remain
00:55:13.84\00:55:19.11
Be still, my soul, thy
best, thy heavenly friend
00:55:28.00\00:55:34.95
Through thorny ways
leads to a joyful end
00:55:42.12\00:55:48.03
O Father, we
can sing these words
00:55:58.76\00:56:03.63
only because it is
Christ, our Lord who whispers
00:56:03.66\00:56:10.49
My grace would be
sufficient for you.
00:56:10.52\00:56:15.20
So wherever this pathway goes,
00:56:15.23\00:56:18.78
wherever Your gentle
hand will yet lead us,
00:56:18.81\00:56:24.76
may we know with Paul
00:56:24.79\00:56:30.16
that it is true,
00:56:30.19\00:56:32.12
when we are weak at
last, we will be strong.
00:56:32.15\00:56:38.75
Grant us that weakness,
00:56:38.78\00:56:42.31
so that we might possess
00:56:42.34\00:56:45.17
that strength for the glory
00:56:45.20\00:56:49.36
of the God who
has gone before us.
00:56:49.39\00:56:53.41
In Jesus name, amen.
00:56:53.44\00:56:59.28
I wanted to take one
more moment here at the end
00:57:00.48\00:57:02.38
of the telecast to
let you know how grateful
00:57:02.41\00:57:04.35
I'm for your journey with us,
00:57:04.38\00:57:06.90
with our New
Perceptions ministry.
00:57:06.93\00:57:08.86
You may think
that New Perceptions
00:57:08.89\00:57:09.99
is only about
television but I need to tell
00:57:10.02\00:57:12.51
you we do have a website,
00:57:12.54\00:57:14.09
which is more than
just the study guide.
00:57:14.12\00:57:16.29
I know we go to the
study guide every week
00:57:16.32\00:57:17.92
but if you go to our
website let me put the address
00:57:17.95\00:57:19.69
on the screen
again, www.pmchurch.tv,
00:57:19.72\00:57:24.75
you will find at
that website a blog.
00:57:24.78\00:57:27.19
Every Wednesday I
sit down on my laptop
00:57:27.22\00:57:28.70
and write up a blog
something as commenting
00:57:28.73\00:57:30.56
on world
events, something local,
00:57:30.59\00:57:32.38
something
national, you get the blog.
00:57:32.41\00:57:34.56
You want to archive
previous teachings from here
00:57:34.59\00:57:37.43
in the Pioneer pulpit you
go to that annotated archive
00:57:37.46\00:57:40.96
you can pick out a
message it will be sent to you.
00:57:40.99\00:57:43.48
You want to get
into the podcast business
00:57:43.51\00:57:46.59
I'm not real hi-techie on
this but if you click podcast
00:57:46.62\00:57:50.34
you will be able
to connect instantly
00:57:50.37\00:57:51.64
with every new teaching
00:57:51.67\00:57:52.76
that comes from
the Pioneer pulpit.
00:57:52.79\00:57:54.18
The point is we're trying
to connect with a generation
00:57:54.21\00:57:56.60
on the move, on the go.
00:57:56.63\00:57:58.78
Thanks for being a part of it.
00:57:58.81\00:57:59.94
Thanks for your
prayer partnership.
00:57:59.97\00:58:01.22
We've got to
connect with this generation
00:58:01.25\00:58:03.63
at this time in earth's history
00:58:03.66\00:58:05.59
and I'm grateful you and
I are sharing the mission.
00:58:05.62\00:58:08.12
God bless you, until next time.
00:58:08.15\00:58:10.64