Latest / Calvary Church with Ed Taylor Podcast / #10146 - Taking Revenge Only Makes Things Worse - Genesis 34

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#10146 - Taking Revenge Only Makes Things Worse - Genesis 34 · Calvary Church with Ed Taylor Podcast

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Welcome to the study of God's word with pastor and author.
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Ed, Taylor recorded live at Calvary Church in Aurora,
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Colorado to learn more about the many resources available,
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through abounding Grace Media or to tune into our live stream
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Services. Visit us online at Calvary, Co
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dot church or download our free Calvary Church app.
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Now, here's Pastor Ed to take us into our study.
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Hey man, take your Bibles and open them to Genesis chapter 34.
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As we start a new chapter in the title of our Bible study is
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taking Revenge, only makes things worse.
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And I wonder how many just the title of the message is a word
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from the Lord for you. Taking revenge is only going to
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make things worse as we study through the life of David many
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times in his life, he would take things into his own hands, and
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he only made things worse and definitely.
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Revenge will make things worse. And that simply is a truth from
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God's word. But there is a joy in
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reconciliation. We saw that between Jacob and
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his brother. Esau, finally brought back
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together by Grace only to separate again.
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But as they came back together, Jacob didn't have to worry about
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this threat of murder from his brother.
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It got worked out. God has given to us the ministry
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of reconciliation. God's heart is to bring people
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together. Bring people to him to each
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other. You can jot it down in 2nd,
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Corinthians chapter 5 and verse 17.
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He says, therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation
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old things have passed away, behold?
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All things have become new. Now, all things are of God who
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has reconciled us to himself through Jesus Christ and has
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Given us the ministry of reconciliation.
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That is that God was in Christ. Reconciling the world to
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himself, not imputing their trespasses to them and has
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committed to us the word of reconciliation reconciliation.
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First starts between man and God through.
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Jesus Christ and through that reconciliation.
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Then men and women are brought together or brought back
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together, reconciliation and forgiveness are two important.
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Important truths. That it that you learn and you
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grasp if you want help on the area of forgiveness and
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Reconciliation on either side of the stage, there are pamphlets
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that we have that we make available to you on these very
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subjects. You don't want to be held back
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by unforgiveness and it's true. You might be listening to your
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eye but had they don't want to be reconciled.
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It's true. Some people simply don't want to
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be reconciled. Unfortunately, it's not merely
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some it actually is many, don't want it.
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That's not for us to be overly concerned with who doesn't want
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reconciliation. But rather it's for us to pay
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attention to obeying. God, and moving forward.
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Remember, what Jesus said? I was reminded when I was
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jotting this down, in John 21. Jesus said, if I will that he
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remain till I come, what is that to you?
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You follow? Follow me.
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And that's where our strength should be as we jump into
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chapter, 34 were reminded that sin does have its consequences.
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Except for the graciousness of God, you will not be able to
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avoid the consequences of sin. Sometimes the consequences can
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be very twisted and wrapped up with layers of difficulty and
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long-lasting. Tragedy hits, Jacob home.
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Jacobs home in this chapter and the response is devastating.
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This is a difficult and horrible chapter in the Bible.
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It's filled with rape rage murder.
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There's an absent father even though he's there physically,
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there are rage-filled Sons. There is a hurt damaged woman
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and even though Jay Boys, they're physically emotionally.
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He was very distant, one of the sad sorrowful testimonies of
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Jacob's. Life was his lack of parenting.
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Not only that but he doesn't express love to Leah.
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And spent most of his time and affection on Rachel.
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It's just a messed-up family yet.
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God still uses Jacob, we always ask the question and it's
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repeat. Repeat it over and over again
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but why? We've been conditioned.
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If you do good only good comes and you do bad.
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Bad comes but the opposite is true.
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Sometimes you do good and you experience.
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Great pain. And you do bad and you don't
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seem to experience the fullness of consequences that other
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people do. And there's a word for Why God
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uses Jacob. But the real question isn't why
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God uses? Jacob, the real question is, why
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does God use you and me? With the highlight and the
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spotlight on Jacob. I think we have to also use the
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Bible as it describes to us as a mirror.
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And we asked why would God use us?
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What is it about us? What is it exactly about you and
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about me? That makes us so special that
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puts us in a different category. That we are in a different place
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than Jacob. Oh sure.
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Maybe we have loyalty in one person in marriage or perhaps
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yes were a little more progressed as parents or on and
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on the list goes as we compare ourselves to Jacob but you see
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our comparison is not to Jacob or comparison is to Jesus And as
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we look to Jesus, we see, oh Lord, there's so much room for
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us to be conformed into your image.
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There's so much room for us to grow in your grace.
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There's so much for us to grow in our love for you.
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Why did God use Jacob? Because he's gracious and he's
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compassionate and he's merciful James chapter 5 and verse 11.
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It says, don't you know that the Lord is very compassionate and
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merciful We learn in the Bible, it always tells us the truth
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about men and women. It doesn't gloss over the
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difficulties in a person that God has chosen to use even God's
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Heroes if you want to use that word, the highlighted men and
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women that have gone before us even God's heroes are not
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perfect. The truth that God loves his
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children, is evident the truth. That God is patient in his work
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in you and me, and then us is evident change, sanctification
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being conformed into the image of Christ takes time, And might
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I add that the fruit of the spirit is long-suffering and
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that when you and I are walking in the spirit, we also can be
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patient with the work that God is doing in us.
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We speak a lot about the patients that we may have with
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those in our lives and certainly we need patience and
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long-suffering with one another. But for some you need patience
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and long-suffering for yourself for what God is doing in your
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life that he is at work. You may only see how far you
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have to go. But one thing that's helpful is
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to see how far you've come look at where you're at today, loving
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the Lord and serving him with your life concerned about the
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issues in your life concern, about your thoughts, and your
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actions turning your heart. Like the Bible says back to the
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home, back to the kids, back to your marriage, looking at your
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singleness and Purity, wanting to serve God, be patient with
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yourself, be gracious with yourself.
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Take the steps forward. I know you might be scared that
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if you're gracious and patient with yourself, you might give
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some kind of approval to send. That's not the fruit of the
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spirit giving approval to send or saying.
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Well, you know, God is not finished with me yet, so I'll
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continue to sin. So that Grace May abound, that's
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not the fruit of the spirit, that's your flesh, your flesh.
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Approves of sin, your flesh, approves of your bad attitude,
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your flesh makes excuses, your flesh overlooks, but the food Of
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the spirit is patient and humble.
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It's filled with love and joy, and peace, and patience, and
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kindness. Have you ever noticed that while
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you're living in the flesh? You have no peace.
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You have no peace. You're just you're a disrupted
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believer. You're troubled in spirit, you
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weren't designed to live in a rebellious Place against God,
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you were designed to cooperate or cooperations, a nicer word
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for obey and surrender. That's what you were born for,
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that's God's will for our lives. Let let us learn today.
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From Jacob, that although God is gracious, he didn't have to go
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this way. Neither do you.
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And by the way, as we jump into the chapter today, if you read
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ahead, you may have noticed that in chapter 34, the name of the
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Lord isn't mentioned once. Which also reminds me that
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neither is the wisdom of God in this chapter.
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Everybody's doing their own things.
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Remember, we studied judges so many years ago.
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I know many of you weren't with us but we studied judges.
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And the big issue in the day of the judges was that everybody
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did that which was right in their own eyes chapter. 34 is a
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small picture of the same thing. Everybody doing what is right in
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their own eyes against the wisdom of God.
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Notice with me in verse 1, no. Now Dinah the daughter of Leah
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whom she had borne to Jacob, went out to see the daughters of
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the land. and when shechem the son of hamor, the hivite, the
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prince of the country saw her, he took her and lay with her and
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violated her His soul was strongly attracted to Dinah the
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daughter of Jacob and he loved the young woman and spoke kindly
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to the young woman. So shechem spoke to his father
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hamor saying, get me this young woman as a wife.
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Jacob and his family has moved to the city and Dinah wants to
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see the city as she goes out to view it.
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She's raped by shechem the son of hamor and I want you to
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notice contextually. What happens here.
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It says in verse two that he saw her and he took her and he
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violated her today, we may call this date rape as he remains
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within her relationship. Dinah was violated grossly.
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I believe she was a target of shechem.
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The pagans of Canaan. This comes back later on in the
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history of Israel. But the Pagan life of the
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Canaanites, they had different standards of Life.
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They lived by a different code of conduct, they lived of Their
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Own. Idolatrous ways.
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They were unrestrained and separated from God.
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What? Today we would say this is the
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world. The world lives today with a
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different standard of life. It is moving it constantly
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moves, depending on who's an authority depending on whose
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voices are the loudest. It's constantly moving.
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You could say in as some do that, they're always moving the
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goalposts. You might understand the way the
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world is going in and they shift and then they shift, and then
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they shift the world in which we live.
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Today is unrestrained separate from God.
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And here's the dangerous thing about the culture and about the
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world in which we live, it's very attractive.
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And very alluring. Especially to our kids.
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It's important. You understand that?
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Our young people need to be raised in a way to understand
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the world, in which we live. It's very hard.
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For a kid that's been sheltered, the whole life, to be thrust
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into the world. They need to be equipped and
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prepared. And use parents ago.
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Well, how do I do that? What begins by praying?
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Asking God for wisdom. Understanding the world in which
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we live and preparing our kids at age appropriate levels.
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The Bible word for that is parents.
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Grandparents, you have a responsibility to disciple your
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children. To train them in the ways of the
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Lord. To pray with them to help give
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context to what they see and what they hear.
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How we need to pray for our kids, fill them with the word.
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And listen, this is the key. Model for them.
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What it looks like for a Believer to live in this world.
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The model is so important. The example, I'm telling you
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right now for someone needs to hear this, this idea that has
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been passed on to us over the years where it's okay for a
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parent to tell their kid do as I say, but not, don't do as I do
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is going to destroy your kids. It doesn't work.
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You don't need to take your chances IQ, go up, you know,
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Pastor. I'll take my chances, don't
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you're dealing with kids, you these kids belong to the Lord,
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their a Heritage unto the Lord, the Bible says They've been
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entrusted to you. I don't today we have
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governmental leaders as all. There are kids, they're not the
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government's kids, they're your kids, you've been respond,
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you've been given responsibility for them you and I we will be
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given and Sten an account for how we've raised our children
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here, let me show you go bow or to Deuteronomy chapter 6 and
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allow the word of the Lord to permeate your heart.
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Today, don't beat yourself up. Don't kick yourself, don't
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regret just pick up the pieces and start today.
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No matter what age, your kids are where they are in the home.
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Young old just pick up the pieces.
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Deuteronomy chapter 6, foundational for us.
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As parents verse 4, Deuteronomy chapter 6 hear o Israel.
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The Lord. Our God.
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The Lord is one. You shall love the Lord.
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Your God with all your heart, with all your soul.
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And with all your might, how do you raise the Next Generation?
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You love the Lord with all your heart, soul and mind.
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You allow him to permeate your life.
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And verse 6, these words, which I command you today shall be in
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your heart. And after they're in your heart
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you've assimilated them then you are to teach them diligently to
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your children and shalt talk of them when you sit in your house
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and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down and when
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you rise up you shall bind them. As a sign on your hand, they
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shall be as frontlets between your eyes, you shall write them
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on the doorposts of your house and on your Gates.
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It's your responsibility parents and God will enable you and he
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will help you. Very frequently in very often.
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I'll have someone email me and go you know, Pastor you should
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teach a message on this and you should teach a message on that.
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And you know what my answer is? You should study it and you
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teach the message, it's your home, it's your family, open up,
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your Bible and study it by a concordance.
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Go to Blue Letter, Bible dot org, and start studying and
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looking things up, you don't need me to teach the Bible
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study, you teach it and you're like, oh Pastor, you're the
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pastor. What do we pay you for?
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You don't pay me. The Lord provides for the needs
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of my home. It's like he provides for the
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needs of your home and I'll teach the Bible and I'll be in
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prayer. But you think I like this is
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like karaoke. I could take requests of what
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I'm going to teach what I'm not going to teach if it's so heavy
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on your heart, the Lord will enable you to learn it for your
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family. You know.
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Don't don't stop the desire for biblical knowledge.
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Don't worry, I will never email you again.
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You can email me again and I'll tell you here.
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Look it up and study for yourself.
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Hunger and thirst for righteousness.
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But if you think and this is what this is where I'm going.
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If you think that all the problems you're facing will be
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solved by one Bible, study that you personally requested you're
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in a different world. You're it.
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Just if if there's resistance of the Holy Spirit there's a good
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chance. They're going to resist me too.
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And it's rebuilding of relationship with what God wants
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to do as whether it's parents, whether it is kids and it's
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certainly I'm in prayer. What I believe the Lord would
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have for us as a church. What the Lord would have for us
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as a team? What the Lord would have for us
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as Leaders with the Lord would have for us and my family with
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my wife with my own children but the Lord has entrusted you to be
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the primary Disciples of your kids and the world.
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Wants your kids. The world wants our children and
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the solution is not to run to the mountains and carve out a
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cave and hide them in the cave. It's to disciple them to prepare
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them just like you do to live in this sense sick world.
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And to guard and protect them and to help them with
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perspective. Don't be an absent, mom.
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Don't be an absent dad. Be engaged with your kids.
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Learn if they resist you one way, learn another way. like if
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they're pushing back and omamo Dad, then pray for another way.
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Pray for a way into their hearts that they will trust you if
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they've lost trust in, you ask for their forgiveness.
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If you failed them up to this point just ask him for
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forgiveness. Say you know what?
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Things are going to be different from this day forward, look him
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in the eye and tell them, God has given me a revelation from
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the word. Let me read it to you and show
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them that the authority in that home is the word of God.
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It's not the wishy-washy genus of us as people because we can
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be, it's the word of God and you can open up Deuteronomy say, you
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know, I haven't been doing this, but you can hold me accountable
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to this. If I forget to read or I'm off
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doing something or I'm on my phone, you have permission to
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come and knock it out of my hands.
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Imagine telling your kids that and you go but it had they'll do
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it 30 times a day, right? That's the whole point.
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My kids are always on the phone. Why?
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What's good chance you are? Look What the Lord is calling us
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to. To pay attention to our kids.
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He'll lead you and he will guide you.
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But do so with character and integrity, Do so with a humility
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in a Brokenness. Do so in such a way where I want
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my kids to hear me, I just don't want to be heard, there's a big
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difference. I don't want my voice permeating
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through the house, yelling screaming demanding.
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I want my voice to be heard. I want my kids to seek out my
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voice when they have a question. I want them to be able to trust
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me, and I've raised my kids into adulthood already and I'm
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telling you, I made a lot of mistakes.
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There's no doubt. You can ask my kids but you
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don't have permission to ask them.
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All the mistakes and they might remember some.
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And I remember when some that they don't remember.
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But you know, God's gracious and he got us through, we were able
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to make it through. We were able to get over the
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difficulties and hardships and the mistakes that I made or
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raising my voice or being more important to say something than
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to be heard. And there's a loving care.
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There's something happens. When you pray with your kids.
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Where you just hear their little hearts.
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It will my kids 30 while he's got a little bit bigger heart,
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but it's cool to hear him pray because they're your kids.
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God has given them to you. And here, Jacobs daughter, she's
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hurt and violated. And as you'll see, it's Jacob
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isn't responsible for this particular sin in the world,
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he's not responsible for it. But he's greatly hurt by it and
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in chapter 34, it doesn't change him.
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That's what's sad. Do you know the Bible describes
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the world in Philippians. Chapter 2 is crooked and
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perverse. It's a crooked and perverse
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generation that we're in. John would say in 1st, John
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Chapter 2, do not love the world or the things in the world.
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If anyone loves the world, the love of the father is not in him
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for all that's in the world. The lust of the flesh.
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The lust of the eyes and the pride of life is not of the
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father, but is of the world and the world is passing away in the
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lust of it, but he who does the will of God abides forever.
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Shechem takes advantage and violates and hurts Dinah so
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deeply and then demands. Better.
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Dad take her as his wife, verse 5.
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Jacob heard that he had defiled Diana his daughter.
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Now, his sons were with his Livestock in the field.
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So, Jacob held his peace until they came.
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Then Hamer, this father of shechem went out to Jacob to
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speak with him and the sons of Jacob came in from the feel when
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they heard it and the men were grieved and very angry because
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he had done a disgraceful thing in Israel by lying with Jacobs
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daughter. A thing which ought not to be
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done but hey more spoke with them saying the soul of My son
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shechem Longs for your daughter. Please give to her to him as
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your wife or as a wife and make marriages with us.
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Give your daughters to us and take our daughters to
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yourselves. So you shall dwell with us and
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the land shall be before you dwell in trade in and acquire
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possessions for yourselves in it.
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Jacob hears about it and doesn't do anything.
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Hey more comes and notice there's no apology the world
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doesn't apologize for its sin. It glorifies it and celebrates
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it, there's no apology, there's no confession of wrongdoing,
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there's no sympathy, no empathy, no compassion.
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No suggestion, that's shechem will pay for such a violation.
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Why? Because hey, more really doesn't
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care. He's only looking to the Future
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insensitive to the sin Church. You have to understand
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something. The world doesn't care about
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Sin. They are insensitive to
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something. You are hypersensitive to that,
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you pay. Now pay attention to why?
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Because you are a new creation in Christ old things have passed
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away. You have the Holy Spirit of God
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dwelling in you that has made. You sensitive to sin in yourself
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and in others, but don't be shocked. when the world doesn't
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care about Sin, it is a different set of Standards.
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That's why the Bible tells us that when you are in spiritual
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warfare, that you're the weapons of your Warfare are not carnal,
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or a better way of saying that they're not human.
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I wonder how many times we try to fight a spiritual battle with
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our mouths. The Bible says, you know what
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the battle the battle you're waging isn't going to be one
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with words, argumentations complaining, and all sorts of
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things. The weapons of our Warfare are
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Mighty in God for the breaking down of strongholds and every
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High thing, that exalts itself against the knowledge of God.
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If we would talk to God instead of talking about other things, I
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believe God would change things much more rapid than what we're
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currently expecting. That God would give us remember,
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judgment begins in the house of the Lord.
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Not in the world. Judgment begins with us, who
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have a relationship with God. Just like with you, we're
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talking about kids and, you know, you don't go around
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disciplining other people's kids, you better not You
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discipline your own kids? That's who you're responsible
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for, you can't walk around and be disciplined in other people's
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kids. They're not your kids.
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You can talk to their parents about it and talk to the
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grandparents about it but you aren't going to be able to do
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it. They're not your kids.
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So you don't overlook the sins of your kids and go looking for
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everyone else's your responsibilities at home.
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You live by this practice already you may not even realize
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it when there's judgment. It begins in your house, not my
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house, my house, I'm overseeing Your house, you oversee.
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And so much of our discipleship today in our training and our
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teaching is to help you oversee your house.
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As we oversee our houses, then the house of God will be in much
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better order. Did you know that even the
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Elders of the church? I was reading First Timothy 3
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recently and even the Elders of the church, the Bible says that
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they need to rule their own house.
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Well, because otherwise, how will they know how to rule the
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church and the word rules lead and oversee, how would they?
26:24
They can't even run their own house while?
26:25
How are they going to be able to serve in the church?
26:27
And I'll tell you right now, they won't they won't be able to
26:31
serve in the church. Well, I have met a lot of men
26:34
over the years though, that would rather oversee your house,
26:37
then their house. And they don't make it.
26:41
They can only live without facade for so long.
26:44
Believe me, every everybody that's entrusted.
26:48
The ministry here sits in my office or is on the phone with
26:50
me and I will ask them this question.
26:52
I will go through first Timothy 3 with them and I'll read it to
26:55
them and I will ask this question, does anything on this
26:58
list disqualify you today? And of course, anybody that's
27:02
here, that's serving on those. They would have said no in my
27:06
office, if it's true then they'll be very fruitful and
27:10
that just be stepping into your life.
27:12
Ministering to you. Things are well at home.
27:14
Not perfect. Things are well at home.
27:17
Their things are well to church, but over time, if they should
27:22
have said, yes. Things that are hidden are
27:26
always revealed. And why would we want to take
27:29
our chances? Why don't we?
27:31
Like it's so much easier just to surrender to the Lord than to
27:35
continue to rebel against him. And here and hamor, he doesn't
27:40
care. He doesn't care at all.
27:42
He can only see the future. The brothers, come in, and
27:45
notice in verse 7, they're ticked off their sisters been
27:49
hurt. They are very angry.
27:51
It says Furious Israel's been defiled.
27:55
It's shameful. Here's hey, Mars solution.
27:58
Let's intermarry. That's the solution.
28:01
Join us. Let's join together.
28:03
This horrible horrific thing has happened with your daughter but
28:07
here's the solution. Ellucian.
28:08
Let's marry. Let's give our daughters and
28:10
sons to each other and you'll enjoy the land.
28:13
And I'll enjoy the land and my son will be happy.
28:16
You remember? We studied now up to verse 13 or
28:19
chapter, 34 Abraham was told not to do this.
28:25
Abraham taught, his son, Isaac. Don't you do this.
28:29
Isaac has taught his son? Jacob.
28:31
Don't you do this, don't marry outside of the family, they've
28:36
even made Great Links not to have their sons.
28:39
Marry someone outside of Israel. And they say, you'll inherit the
28:45
land, that was the offer. The world always has this
28:49
deceptive offer to you. Your most at risk When You're
28:54
vulnerable. Some life events, some traumatic
28:58
event you're very vulnerable. What does hey more offered him,
29:01
you can have the land. What?
29:07
Hey Mark. Does he know what he's talking
29:08
about? You want to know why?
29:12
The land already belongs to Jacob God's promised it to him.
29:15
He already owns it. What hey, more doesn't know yet
29:18
is he's going to be displaced. God has already given him the
29:22
land and I think how often the world offers are some officers,
29:26
some fake, some deceptive fake of something that God has given
29:32
to you already and is greater God, the world says here is
29:36
happiness. Here's happiness.
29:38
Just do this, and it's tempting. It's, it's sinful.
29:42
It is compromising here. Just do this and you'll have
29:45
happiness. You have a penis.
29:46
You have happiness. When God has given you Joy, why
29:51
would you give away your joy for fake temporary, Central,
29:54
happiness? Look, the promises of God
30:01
understand this with the promises of God.
30:04
We never want to compromise. To get them.
30:08
We want to wait Abraham's already.
30:10
Made this mistake with Ishmael with the promises of God.
30:15
We never want to compromise to get them or acquire them.
30:19
We want to wait, you don't need to look to some Twisted scheme.
30:24
Where's the world's manipulations?
30:27
Waiting on the Lord, will renew your strength.
30:30
The world might offer you love. God has promised.
30:33
You love in Jeremiah 31. The world might offer to provide
30:37
for you some rays or something. God's already promised to
30:41
provide for you to Deuteronomy chapter 32 the world offers to
30:46
hold you up and sustain you and get you through God's already
30:49
promised that in Psalm 55. And on top of that, all of the
30:54
Practical things. Jesus taught us to seek ye first
30:57
the kingdom of God and all these things will be added unto you.
31:02
Matthew 6:33. The world can only offer cheap
31:07
substitutions, you don't have to wheel and deal.
31:10
You don't have to fret and worry, scheme and plan, or
31:13
manipulate the situation, just trust in the Lord, with all your
31:16
heart, and lean not on your own understanding, acknowledge Him
31:20
in all your ways, and what he will direct your paths.
31:25
In First Peter 5, it says, therefore humble yourselves were
31:27
six under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you, in
31:31
due time. That's the difficulty, isn't it?
31:35
The timing of God, Our timing. Is often not God's timing.
31:42
And we refuse to wait, and to trust, and to obey, and to
31:47
abide. So that, as we abide in Christ,
31:50
he abides in us, and as we abide in his word, his word abides in
31:55
US. Notice with me in verse 11,
31:59
shechem. Suck him.
32:02
Should just be quiet, he should just shut up, but his voice is
32:08
elevated in a world that doesn't care.
32:12
Shucks them's, violators evil evil, people's voice in our
32:17
world. Today gets all the attention.
32:21
Shechem speaks up. And said to her, father, how
32:25
dare you speak to her, father, shechem, but notice, Let Me Find
32:29
favor in your eyes that the next verse surjective said, you know
32:33
what, get out of my plate may get out of my face, but he
32:36
doesn't let me find favor in your eyes, whatever you say to
32:38
me, I will give ask me ever so much Dowry and gifts and I'll
32:43
give according to what you say to me, but give me the young
32:46
woman as a wife. And dad doesn't say anything but
32:50
the sun's jump in and answer, shechem and hamor his father,
32:53
but they spoke deceitfully. This is where Revenge comes in
32:59
because he had defiled Dinah. Their sister and they said to
33:04
him, we cannot do this thing to give our sister to one who is
33:07
uncircumcised for, that would be a reproach to us but on this
33:10
condition Will consent to you. If you will become as we are, if
33:14
every male of you is circumsized, then we will give
33:17
our daughters to you and we will take your daughters to us and we
33:20
will dwell with you. And we will become one people,
33:23
but if you will not heed us and be circumcised.
33:27
Then we will take our daughter and be gone and their words,
33:30
pleased hamor and shechem. Hey more sun and the young man
33:34
did not delay to do the thing because he delighted in Jacobs
33:37
daughter he was more honorable than all the household of his
33:42
father. So the rapist is viewed as the
33:45
most honorable one. Even today, the Bible predicted
33:51
Bible spoke of a time where people would call good evil and
33:56
evil, good. Certainly.
33:58
We have that in our own culture today, but we see this.
34:01
This is a part of the human sinful condition.
34:05
And while hey, more was the most honorable you can see from the
34:09
perspective of just how wicked and evil, the Canaanites really
34:12
were the hivites. That ights of the land, in the
34:16
land of Canaan, We noticed, Jacob sons in verse 13 of
34:21
learned well from their dad as they speak deceitfully.
34:24
Where do you think they learn that from?
34:26
But their dad and Laban, they grew up with it.
34:30
They have a plan to take care of this family. and you see, they
34:38
Truly did want Dinah. he was greedy, shechem was and
34:44
covetous. Greed and covetousness will make
34:49
a good man bad and it will make a bad man worse.
34:55
You can pay attention in the Bible, how many times
34:58
covetousness we're warned against it, the sin of coveting?
35:04
Paul himself, would say that he was Covetous but he didn't even
35:08
know it how bad it was until he saw it in the scriptures.
35:12
So I don't even know, I was Covetous until I read him like,
35:14
oh, that's me. Is it was revealed by the Holy
35:17
Spirit to him today, greed and covetousness Rule the Day, the
35:22
thought of gaining more, having more, taking more Burns within
35:28
the hearts of many today, it drives, so many sinful
35:32
decisions. People are willing to do almost
35:35
anything to get more. To write over people and sell
35:39
out people and take advantage of people.
35:43
They will steal and deceive and lie, and cheat neglect.
35:47
Their families ruin their names, and the list continues, but the
35:52
Bible stands. Clear in Exodus chapter 20,
35:54
verse 17, you shall not covet your neighbor's house.
35:58
You shall not covet your neighbor's wife or male servant
36:03
or his female servant nor his ox or his donkey or anything that's
36:06
in your Our neighbors and today we go haha.
36:09
My neighbor doesn't have an AUX or a donkey as a car.
36:14
Has a nice backyard. Things that you look over the
36:17
fence and you go, man, I want that.
36:20
I don't just want it from the store.
36:23
I want the one that he got. And then covetousness, it's not
36:29
fair. Lord, it's not.
36:31
Right? Lord look at me.
36:34
Psalm 10 verse 3, The Wicked boasts of his heart's desires.
36:38
He blesses, the greedy and renounces.
36:42
The Lord greed is blessed in our culture, by the wicked.
36:49
In Luke, 12 verse 15. I want you to see this one.
36:52
Would you turn over and Luke with me?
36:54
Because you may not have known this is in the scriptures, but
36:57
listen to the teachings of Jesus and his ministry in, Luke
37:01
chapter, 12, and verse 15. Luke chapter. 12, in verse 15.
37:14
He says take heed that's warning and beware of what does your
37:21
Bible say? Say it out loud.
37:23
Take heed and beware of covetousness.
37:27
Why for one's life does not consist in the abundance of the
37:32
things he possesses? Take heed.
37:39
Beware, the complete opposite of the system that we live in the
37:44
complete opposite of every commercial.
37:46
You see every advertisement, you see that feeds that part That's
37:53
inside of us. in the world culture that we're living today,
37:59
life is measured by the abundance of things you have By
38:04
the amount of money that you make by how comfortable life can
38:08
be. Possessions can become very
38:13
dangerous things and the beginning.
38:15
They seem to bring pleasure. They seemed like all, we have
38:20
such a great catch, I finally got it but over time they catch
38:23
us. We need to learn in whatever God
38:26
has allowed us to have to possess our possessions, not
38:30
allowing our possessions to possess us.
38:34
It's a warning from Jesus himself.
38:37
This rampant sentence Society is a common sin, in the Church of
38:40
Jesus Christ in our own lives, small or great.
38:46
I mean, you think about it, you're that when's the last time
38:48
you described yourself as greedy But you did Express greed, you
38:52
did want something you did. I mean the whole, this whole
38:55
false teaching of the Prosperity Gospel, and may the Lord bring
39:01
judgment upon the false teachers that teach this nonsense, but it
39:05
would never ever in a million years be successful, if people
39:11
weren't greedy You would just dismissing you.
39:15
This is, I have everything I need in the war.
39:18
Why would I want another million dollars are three?
39:20
And of course, it will. If I had a million dollars, I'd
39:22
do great things for the Lord, but you got 100 bucks and you
39:25
don't do great things from the Lord.
39:26
Why do you think something's going to change when you have a
39:28
million or two million? If you haven't learned to be
39:31
faithful with a dollar, what makes you think God is going to
39:35
say? Well, here's here's, here's a
39:37
couple million from the liar on TV, the see what you do with it
39:40
greed fuels, so much false teaching.
39:45
If the church would rise up and just like stop listening to
39:48
that, stop watching that stop funding that they'd have to find
39:53
some other way. Maybe the Lord would shut it
39:56
down. And what's Difficult about what
40:00
I just said is that many people that have that have kind of
40:02
Follow that stuff, they're just going to be so mad at me.
40:05
I'm not greedy. Well then what do you what fuels
40:08
you to follow? Such a false teacher?
40:11
Well, what is it then? Like somebody looking in the
40:14
camera and why won't do it now? Because somebody will use it
40:16
against me, but looking in the camera and say, hey if you give
40:20
me $100, you'll have a million dollars back or whatever.
40:23
It's like why would you do that? On top of that, it nobody gets
40:29
that kind of money like nobody that it doesn't work, only for
40:34
the guy begging you for it and manipulating you for it greed
40:38
and covetousness is more. It's one of those sins in the
40:41
church that gets approved and nobody talks about but it
40:45
disintegrates you from the inside out.
40:49
Because you start living like the world.
40:52
Tell the world live. Jesus said, beware beware of
40:55
this. Beware of the sin of
40:59
covetousness because it can make you flip on your possessions and
41:04
it can make you instead of being happy for someone that they have
41:08
something you don't have your unhappy for someone until you
41:12
get what they have. That's what covetousness has you
41:16
won't be happy until someone has less than you.
41:20
And yet the Lord, he speaks to us to be thinking of those that
41:23
have less than us. So we might bless them and
41:25
encourage them and help them in the name of Jesus Christ, in a
41:29
world that has taken advantage of them.
41:33
You can see how this gets. So this unquenchable thirst for
41:38
getting more can get so deep inside of us, people thirsting
41:43
for money, or thirsting for power, or thirsting for
41:45
position, but it's a thirst that will destroy a person.
41:49
It'll drown you in sinful desires.
41:53
Well, notice, what happened in verse, 20 hamor, and shechem is
41:57
son, came to the gate of the city and spoke to the men
41:59
saying, these men are at peace with us.
42:02
Therefore, let Um dwell in the land and trade in it for indeed,
42:04
the land is large enough for them.
42:06
For indeed, the land is large enough for them.
42:08
Let us take their daughters to us as wives and let us give them
42:12
our daughters verse 22, only on this condition.
42:15
Will the men consented. Well with us to be one people.
42:18
If every male Among Us is circumsized, as they are
42:21
circumcised, will not their Livestock in their property and
42:25
every animal of there's be ours. Now he you get somebody talking
42:30
long enough and you'll know exactly what he's thinking.
42:33
Just hey, more one does he want? Peace?
42:35
Does he want cooperation? Does he want to live together?
42:38
No he wants all their stuff who's the more greedy one.
42:42
Hey more. And he's got a plan.
42:45
Notice he says only let us consent to them and they will
42:49
dwell with us. It's not going to cost us
42:51
anything except circumcision, boys.
42:54
You can do it. It's like like what are they
42:57
thinking, notice verse 24, and all who went out of the gate of
43:02
his City heated, hamor and shechem his son.
43:05
Every male was circumcised doll who went out of the gate of the
43:08
city. Now, it came to pass on the
43:10
third day when they were in pain.
43:12
I bet they were but sin brings pain.
43:16
This world is bringing to account their sinful desires,
43:20
two of the sons of Jacob Simeon and Levi.
43:23
Donna's Brothers, each took the sword and came boldly upon the
43:26
city and killed all the males. If you like to write in your
43:30
Bibles, this is Vengeance. This is the culmination of
43:34
Vengeance. What is the culmination of
43:35
Vengeance murder? Murder.
43:39
Remember what Jesus said, lest you excuse yourself from this
43:42
sin? Jesus said that, if you even
43:45
hate your brother, you've murdered them in your hearts.
43:51
So, yeah, we look at here and go out.
43:52
Never device something like this, I would never do anything
43:54
this. I would never get a buddy with a
43:56
sword and kill a whole group of men.
44:01
And that's true. But in your heart, it's
44:06
certainly something. That happens as Vengeance, takes
44:11
root and make things worse. They killed it says in verse 26,
44:16
hamor and shechem. It wasn't remembered.
44:20
It was Vengeance, wasn't just taking out shechem Hit record.
44:25
They took everyone out all the men.
44:27
And his dad. With the edge of the sword, they
44:31
took Dinah from chekhov's house and went out.
44:35
You see, shechem took, possession of Dinah and she
44:38
didn't belong to him. Put her in the house, stuck her
44:41
in the house and who knows what? Difficult sinful environment.
44:47
That was but she was released and rescued.
44:50
Some would come to the Bible as the world does.
44:52
And say, well, see it worked. They got her out, they rescued
44:55
her. but you would be you would be falling into the
45:01
philosophical, falsehood of The end justifies, the means Which
45:06
is what we have learned. Since we were kids growing up in
45:09
school situational ethics, where there's no absolute, right or
45:14
wrong. But that's not what the Bible
45:18
teaches. if your ethics in God or correct their work in any
45:24
situation, You don't need to worry, describe whatever
45:27
situation you want. It's interesting, is the world
45:30
tries to undermine the absolute truth of the scriptures.
45:34
If they give you two situations, the two situations are always
45:37
designed to take you away from absolute truth because they
45:41
prick, the emotions they prick, the issues of directly related
45:45
to what would mean Dinah's in the house.
45:46
You should just, you should kill all them in.
45:48
Isn't it worth it? No, killing all the men.
45:51
It's not worth it. We need to get her out of the
45:53
house, but we don't need to kill men to do it.
45:57
This is not a war scene. Whether different principles for
46:02
war or these are not police officers that have to use force
46:05
in some respects to rescue. Someone in danger, these are
46:09
families. And while there's physical
46:12
murder and death and Vengeance here, the spiritual side of this
46:15
happens in families, all the time, destroying people and
46:19
destroying reputations and greed and covetousness and Vengeance
46:23
and separation. To me, it's amazing chapter 34
46:27
follows the reconciliation between Jacob and Esau
46:30
reconciliation in the enemy right away attacks by hurting
46:34
this precious girl and stirring up, the anger and Vengeance.
46:38
That was already in and the deceit that was already in.
46:41
And these boys. and they don't learn their lesson as we see
46:46
what they do their own brother later on in Genesis, and the
46:53
question we have to ask is we step back is Jacob, where are
46:57
you? Where's Jacob?
47:02
And you say, but Eddie shows up in the next verse.
47:04
Well, what where was he for the last 15 verses?
47:08
Where is he now? You could say well he they
47:10
deceived Jacob. Okay, that's possible.
47:13
I mean, we don't know, he's just gone.
47:15
He's not there. There had to be.
47:20
Some noticeable observational. Demonstration that hamor and
47:31
shechem and all the boys are getting circumcised.
47:35
I mean, maybe you're like 50, 60 80 on the Jacobs.
47:41
Like what's going on? He could have checked in but
47:43
he's absent. He finally.
47:45
And it says in verse 27 that the sons of Jacob Came Upon the
47:48
slain then they plundered the city.
47:51
Jacob knows that because of their sister and been defiled,
47:54
they took the Sheep, the ox, and the donkeys, everything in the
47:56
city, all their wealth, their little ones their wives, they
47:59
took captive They plundered even all that was in the houses.
48:04
And they're living just as bad as the world or worse.
48:10
That's what happens when you walk in the flesh and not in the
48:13
spirit, especially related to personal pain.
48:16
So I God says, I 4i because the tendency is if you lost an eye
48:21
you'd want to take out too. And there is Justice in the
48:26
scriptures and there is righteousness in the scriptures
48:31
and there is defense in the scriptures.
48:38
And in Romans chapter 12 and verse 19, it says, beloved do
48:42
not avenge yourselves but rather give place to wrath for it is
48:46
written. Vengeance is mine, saith the
48:49
Lord. Vengeance is mine.
48:56
Jacob shows up in verse 30, Jesus, sent in, and Levi, you
49:00
have troubled Me by making me obnoxious among the inhabitants
49:03
of the land among the Canaanites, the perizzites.
49:08
And since I'm few in number, they'll gather themselves
49:11
together against me and kill me. I shall be destroyed my
49:14
household and I, but they said, should he treat our sister like
49:19
a harlot? He reappears.
49:22
And what does he say? Look what you guys have done to
49:26
me. Look what's going to happen to
49:30
me. He's horrified and couldn't
49:35
believe he gives a strong rebuke that centered really on himself
49:39
seeing that his testimony is ruined among the people and they
49:43
endangered the peace and surrounding Nations and now
49:46
their fractured even deeper in this family.
49:50
If we learn anything in this chapter, it's this Revenge only
49:54
makes things worse. We must trust in the Lord
49:59
committing our painful situations to him.
50:04
Hebrews 10:30, we know him. Who said vengeance is mine?
50:10
I will repay says the Lord. And again the Lord will judge
50:15
Jehovah will judge his people. Father, I pray that the heart of
50:20
Vengeance that might be among us today would be assuaged by the
50:25
piece and the comfort of your Holy Spirit.
50:28
I pray today God that as we have these thoughts of covetousness,
50:33
and greed, and revenge that, so little spoken about or admitted
50:46
You would just do deep work in our hearts Lord.
50:50
I know there are crevices in my own heart.
50:52
That would love to take vengeance.
50:57
I just confess them to you, God. As if.
51:02
I can stand in the place of holy righteous God to oversee my
51:06
life, the way. I think.
51:13
That I might have a fresh faith God to trust you.
51:17
To wait upon you to commit my life, to you Moment by moment
51:23
and day by day. Then I might cast aside my greed
51:29
or my covetousness. In areas of my life that
51:33
certainly instead of being happy for someone, it discourages me.
51:38
I pray God that you would remove that more and more so much.
51:41
You've done my done that work in my heart but God it's a so much
51:45
more needs to be done and I yield to your spirit today That
51:50
I might be more usable not less that our testimony, we be
51:55
greater not diminished by Vengeance and deceit.
52:01
But rather will walk in the light.
52:03
As you walk in the night, we we walk in the light as you are in
52:07
the light, we have fellowship with one another and the blood
52:10
of Jesus Christ cleanses us from all sin.
52:13
And I pray for the hurts here even as one of our brothers
52:17
mentioned today that perhaps this whole topic of being hurt
52:22
and defiled and even raped would touch some hearts tonight.
52:25
Lord, I pray comfort for those that have been hurt such a way.
52:30
it's evil and wicked and wrong and may you continue to minister
52:35
healing to those that have been violated and hurt and taken
52:40
advantage of that you would be able to give comfort as only you
52:44
can when the words of a man or a woman don't bring comfort and
52:49
the thought of the of that situation doesn't bring Comfort
52:53
God, it's more than we could bear.
52:56
And so we ask God that you would Minister to that through your
53:00
spirit today and I wonder who's listening God that doesn't have
53:03
a relationship with you. And this hard situation has
53:09
hardened, their hearts. God, would you bring a softness
53:17
and draw them to yourself with your cords of love?
53:22
So that there be less barriers. Through forgiveness.
53:29
Releasing. God, I just pray by your spirit,
53:33
the authority of your word that you would remove bitterness
53:37
today from Among Us. That you just rip it out of our
53:41
hearts. God.
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You would take away the justifying thoughts that we have
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that we might continue in such a way.
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Where your word says that bitterness.
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It just takes root in us and defiles those all around us or
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we don't want to be defiling and dirtying those that are close to
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us or but rather we want to walk with you healed and set, free
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bring healing tonight, bring a set free, your men and women
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that love you even those that need to turn to you for the
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first time. That we might walk in Victory
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and freedom tonight, not Vengeance and greed and
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covetousness. And I pray these things God in
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the authority of your word. And in the authority of your
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name. Amen.
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We pray that you've been encouraged by this Bible.
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Study delivered live from the sanctuary of Calvary Church for
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prayer. Call us at 877, 30 Grace.
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That's eight 77304, 2:53 to listen to this message in its
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entirety or to join us for our live stream Services.
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Visit us online at Calvary. Co Church or download our free
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Calvary Church app be blessed as you worship Jesus this week.
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Church or download our free Calvary Church app be blessed as
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you worship Jesus this week.