Latest / Meadows Baptist Church Podcast / Victory in the Valley - 8/9/26 - Meadows Baptist Church - Pastor Charlie Branch

Transcript

Victory in the Valley - 8/9/26 - Meadows Baptist Church - Pastor Charlie Branch · Meadows Baptist Church Podcast

• 0:02
  Welcome to the [music] podcast of
• 0:04
  Meadows Baptist Church of Walnut Cove,
• 0:06
  North Carolina.
• 0:08
  We're so glad [music] you joined us
• 0:09
  today.
• 0:10
  If you enjoy today's message, be sure to
• 0:13
  subscribe, [music] follow, and share
• 0:15
  with your friends.
• 0:16
  Now, let's join Pastor Charlie [music]
• 0:18
  Branch
• 0:19
  with a word from God.
• 0:26
  >> Amen. I appreciate the good singing this
• 0:28
  morning. I'd like you to turn with me to
• 0:30
  the book of 1 Kings chapter number 20.
• 0:33
  When you find your place, if you would
• 0:34
  stand it on the reverence of the reading
• 0:36
  of God's word, if you're able. And I
• 0:38
  appreciate you being here and I thank
• 0:40
  the Lord for allowing us to be
• 0:43
  in the house of God today. I want to say
• 0:45
  this,
• 0:46
  let him not in here.
• 0:47
  >> Amen.
• 0:50
  >> If I was where I belonged this morning,
• 0:52
  that's where I'd be.
• 0:54
  Amen. But I'm thankful, amen. Bible says
• 0:57
  if any man be in Christ, he's a new
• 0:59
  preacher, amen. And I'm thankful that
• 1:02
  he's able to make all things new. And he
• 1:04
  is truly good this morning and I bless
• 1:06
  his name. 1 Kings chapter 20, let's
• 1:09
  begin reading in verse number
• 1:11
  Let's begin reading verse number 22.
• 1:14
  Verse number 22,
• 1:16
  1 Kings chapter 20.
• 1:19
  The Bible says, "And the prophet came to
• 1:21
  the king of Israel
• 1:22
  and said unto him, go strengthen thyself
• 1:25
  and mark and see what thou doest. For at
• 1:28
  the return of the year, the king of
• 1:29
  Syria will come up against thee." And
• 1:31
  the servants of the king of Syria said
• 1:33
  unto him, "Their gods are gods of the
• 1:35
  hills. Therefore, they were stronger
• 1:38
  than we.
• 1:39
  Let us fight against them in the plain
• 1:41
  and surely we shall be stronger than
• 1:43
  they.
• 1:44
  And do this thing. Take the kings away,
• 1:47
  every man out of his place and put
• 1:49
  captains in their rooms and number thee
• 1:52
  an army like the army that thou has
• 1:54
  lost, horse for horse and
• 1:57
  chariot for chariot and we will fight
• 1:59
  against them in the plain and surely we
• 2:01
  shall be stronger than they. And he
• 2:04
  hearkened unto their voice and did so.
• 2:06
  And it came to pass at the return of the
• 2:08
  year that Ben-hadad numbered the Syrians
• 2:11
  went up to Aphek
• 2:13
  to fight against Israel.
• 2:15
  And the children of Israel were numbered
• 2:16
  and were all present and went against
• 2:18
  them. And the children of Israel pitched
• 2:20
  before them like two little flocks of
• 2:22
  kids, but the Syrians filled the
• 2:25
  country.
• 2:26
  And there came a man of God and spake
• 2:29
  unto the king of Israel and said,
• 2:31
  Thus saith the Lord,
• 2:33
  because the Syrians have said, The Lord
• 2:35
  is the God of the hills, but he is not
• 2:37
  God of the valleys, therefore will I
• 2:39
  deliver all this great multitude into
• 2:41
  thine hand
• 2:43
  and ye shall know
• 2:45
  that I
• 2:46
  am the Lord.
• 2:48
  Now Father, I come before you this
• 2:50
  morning one more time
• 2:52
  this side of eternity
• 2:54
  Lord to ask humbly for your help.
• 2:56
  God, I cannot preach this morning if you
• 2:58
  do not enable me.
• 3:00
  And Lord, I thank thee that you've given
• 3:02
  me the opportunity, the privilege, but
• 3:03
  Lord, you've given me the calling to
• 3:06
  give the gospel.
• 3:07
  And I thank you, Father, for this place
• 3:09
  and for these people and for this pulpit
• 3:12
  you've allowed me to stand behind and I
• 3:13
  thank you for every time you filled me.
• 3:16
  But God, this is another time I need
• 3:18
  your filling.
• 3:19
  I need it more than I've ever needed it
• 3:21
  before.
• 3:22
  And God, I ask Lord, you'd clothe me in
• 3:23
  your calling. I pray you'd rid me the
• 3:25
  flesh, sin and self, I pray you'd put
• 3:27
  far behind me. And God, I ask this
• 3:29
  morning you'd bind the forces of hell,
• 3:32
  the power of Satan to hinder this
• 3:33
  service.
• 3:34
  Lord, we cry out to you and ask for your
• 3:36
  divine help. God, we ask Lord this
• 3:38
  morning you would be pleased with our
• 3:39
  worship. God, I pray you'd allow us to
• 3:41
  lift up our hands in the sanctuary and
• 3:43
  bless the Lord. God, I pray today we
• 3:45
  would rejoice God that you are not just
• 3:47
  God on the mountain,
• 3:49
  but Lord, you're God in the valley as
• 3:50
  well.
• 3:51
  And Lord, I ask you God that you would
• 3:53
  help us today. You know what we stand in
• 3:55
  need of, save the center near his tail,
• 3:56
  reclaim the backslidden, for that one
• 3:58
  that's struggling today. I pray they
• 4:00
  would find comfort and rest in the word
• 4:02
  of God. And Lord, I I thank you for what
• 4:04
  you do, but I praise you most of all for
• 4:06
  who you are. And Lord, it's because of
• 4:08
  who you are we ask it in Jesus' name,
• 4:10
  for his sake we pray. Amen. You can be
• 4:13
  seated. Thank you
• 4:14
  for standing.
• 4:16
  The Bible says in chapter number 20 of 1
• 4:18
  Kings in verse number 20 28, the Bible
• 4:22
  says, "Because the Syrians have said,
• 4:24
  the Lord is the God of is God of the
• 4:26
  hills, but he is not God of the valleys.
• 4:28
  Therefore, I will I deliver all this
• 4:30
  great multitude into thine hand, and you
• 4:33
  shall know that I am the Lord."
• 4:35
  I want to preach on this thought for a
• 4:36
  little while this morning with the help
• 4:38
  of the Lord on victory
• 4:40
  in the valley.
• 4:41
  Victory
• 4:43
  in the valley. Now, I don't know where
• 4:45
  you are at this morning, and as every
• 4:47
  service, I many times preface my sermon
• 4:50
  with that statement, and the reality is
• 4:52
  that I never have and never will know
• 4:55
  this every situation that is present in
• 4:57
  the house of God this morning, but I do
• 4:59
  know this this morning that we're all
• 5:00
  human.
• 5:02
  Amen.
• 5:03
  We're all human, and humans are prone to
• 5:05
  failure, we're prone to folly, we're
• 5:07
  prone to fear. But I'll say this this
• 5:09
  morning, God is still the same. Amen,
• 5:11
  and I bless his name this morning that
• 5:14
  he has not changed. And this text this
• 5:16
  morning, we dealt with the first 21
• 5:18
  verses in Sunday school this morning and
• 5:21
  talked about this man Ahab. And we
• 5:23
  noticed in verse number 22 that there is
• 5:26
  a prophet that comes and gives Ahab a
• 5:28
  message. This prophet has spoken Ahab
• 5:31
  prior to this text in verse number 13,
• 5:34
  but he has another message. You see,
• 5:36
  Ahab has just come off of a victory in
• 5:39
  battle in this text. And I want to say
• 5:41
  this, there's never a more vulnerable
• 5:43
  time in your life when you are on the
• 5:45
  other side of a victory. I want to say
• 5:48
  this many times when we are down in
• 5:50
  defeat and we are in doubt and despair.
• 5:53
  Many times we are not in danger for
• 5:55
  reality is that many times the greatest
• 5:57
  harm we can be to ourselves is defeated,
• 5:59
  but the worst place we can be in is in a
• 6:02
  place of victory and riding on that
• 6:05
  victory and not aware of the
• 6:07
  circumstances that would surround us.
• 6:09
  And I want to say this this morning, I
• 6:11
  hope that you'll do some self-inventory
• 6:13
  and locate yourself this morning and and
• 6:16
  and find out where you're at with the
• 6:17
  Lord. But I I noticed that there is a
• 6:20
  witness in verse 22, the Bible says,
• 6:22
  "And the prophet came." And so, we know
• 6:25
  the prophet there signifies that this is
• 6:27
  a witness from the Lord. He is an
• 6:29
  ambassador from God and God has given
• 6:31
  him a word in this text. And not only we
• 6:34
  notice the witness, but we notice the
• 6:36
  warning. In verse 22, he came to the
• 6:38
  king of Israel and said unto him, "Go
• 6:40
  strengthen thyself and mark and see what
• 6:43
  thou doest." And so, he is telling him,
• 6:45
  "All right, look, you need to do some
• 6:46
  self-inventory. You need to examine your
• 6:49
  life." Look, he has just wrought victory
• 6:51
  in verse number 21 by the hand of the
• 6:53
  Lord God has given him victory. And in
• 6:56
  verse 22, the prophet says, "You need to
• 6:58
  go and figure out. You need to go and
• 7:00
  examine yourself what you're doing." And
• 7:02
  let me say this to you this morning,
• 7:04
  sometimes victory comes in our lives so
• 7:06
  that we might examine ourselves. And I
• 7:09
  want to say in every case, really most
• 7:11
  of the time victory comes in spite of us
• 7:13
  and who we are this morning. Many times
• 7:16
  the God has God has to work around us
• 7:18
  and work beyond us cuz in reality, we
• 7:20
  just hinder ourselves most of the time.
• 7:22
  Amen. But I notice here this warning
• 7:25
  that's given. He said, "Go strengthen
• 7:27
  thyself and mark and see what thou
• 7:29
  doest." And notice this warning leans to
• 7:31
  the word that is to come. Look what he
• 7:33
  says, "For at the return of the year,
• 7:35
  the king of Syria will come up against
• 7:38
  thee." And so, this is simply signifying
• 7:40
  that in a year's time, there were
• 7:42
  certain times of the year that kings
• 7:44
  would go forth to battle. We know we
• 7:46
  often talk about the book of Samuel
• 7:48
  there in chapter number 11. The Bible
• 7:50
  says that when David was at home at the
• 7:52
  time when kings go forth to battle. And
• 7:54
  that simply signifies that due to the
• 7:56
  weather, either the extreme heat or the
• 7:58
  extreme cold, they would only battle in
• 8:00
  certain times of the year. And so the
• 8:02
  Bible tells us here the man of God, the
• 8:04
  prophet says, "Look, in a year, in the
• 8:07
  next time when kings are going to
• 8:09
  battle, they are going to return and
• 8:11
  come up against thee." And I want to say
• 8:13
  this to you this morning. If you've been
• 8:15
  given victory, you need to realize that
• 8:17
  victory on this side is only temporary.
• 8:20
  Amen. Every day of your life you need to
• 8:23
  seek God and you need to have victory in
• 8:25
  your heart over your flesh, over the
• 8:27
  devil, and over this world. You will not
• 8:30
  have that in your life if you're not
• 8:31
  faithful to seek for it. And I notice
• 8:33
  that the man of God has given him this
• 8:36
  warning. And then we notice here in the
• 8:38
  text that out of this they begin to
• 8:40
  prepare. And I want to give you a few
• 8:42
  things this morning. We We notice that
• 8:44
  the Syrians are beginning to prepare for
• 8:47
  battle in verse number 23. And I want to
• 8:49
  give you a few things by way of
• 8:50
  introduction. We'll give you the message
• 8:52
  this morning. The Bible says, "And the
• 8:54
  servants of the king of Syria said unto
• 8:56
  him, Their gods are gods of the hills.
• 8:59
  Therefore they were stronger than we,
• 9:01
  but let us fight against them in the
• 9:02
  plain, and surely we shall be stronger
• 9:05
  than they." And I noticed in this text
• 9:08
  that God is seeing all this. He see
• 9:10
  these words that the Syrians are saying
• 9:12
  here in this text. These are not words
• 9:14
  that are being broadcast to the children
• 9:16
  of Israel, but this is the plan of the
• 9:18
  enemy against the children of God. And
• 9:21
  let me say this to you this morning,
• 9:22
  child of God. Many times, and most of
• 9:24
  the time, you cannot recognize the plan
• 9:26
  of the enemy until you are face to face
• 9:29
  with the battle. Amen. And the enemy is
• 9:31
  is working behind the scenes, doing all
• 9:34
  that he can to destroy you. But aren't
• 9:36
  you thankful this morning the things
• 9:38
  that you don't know about, the things
• 9:39
  that the enemy's got in store for you to
• 9:41
  come? God knows what's around the
• 9:43
  corner. You say, "What do you mean?"
• 9:45
  Well, the Bible said in verse 28 that
• 9:47
  the man of God came and spake to the
• 9:49
  king of Israel and said, "Thus saith the
• 9:51
  Lord, because the Syrians have said"
• 9:53
  Notice that. You see, those Syrians did
• 9:55
  not say that to the Israelites, but God
• 9:58
  heard those Syrians and heard what they
• 10:00
  were saying. Amen. And you know what he
• 10:02
  did? He went to the man of God and he
• 10:03
  said, "Hey, the enemy's saying that I'm
• 10:05
  not a god of the valleys, that I'm just
• 10:07
  a god of the hills. But, I've got
• 10:09
  something I want you to tell my people.
• 10:10
  Amen. Oh, aren't you thankful for the
• 10:12
  times in your life when God sent a word
• 10:15
  by the preacher man that said even you
• 10:17
  didn't even know what was on the
• 10:18
  forefront. You didn't even know what you
• 10:20
  was beginning to face, but God did.
• 10:22
  Amen. And he knew exactly what the enemy
• 10:25
  was saying. And because of that, he
• 10:27
  sends a word by the preacher and says,
• 10:29
  "All right, you're going to have to
• 10:30
  listen to me so you can have victory.
• 10:32
  Amen." And I want to say this this
• 10:34
  morning, I'm thankful that God is a god
• 10:36
  of the hills. David said it this way, "I
• 10:38
  will look unto the hills from whence
• 10:40
  cometh my help. My help cometh from the
• 10:42
  Lord." But, I want to say this, just as
• 10:44
  much as he's a god of the hills and the
• 10:46
  god of heaven and the god of the
• 10:48
  mountains. Amen. He is the god of the
• 10:50
  valley. Amen. He is the god of the low
• 10:52
  places. And there's some of you here
• 10:54
  this morning that no doubt in my mind
• 10:56
  have been in a low place for some time.
• 10:58
  Oh, but friend, let me remind you one
• 11:00
  more time, just as he's god on the
• 11:02
  mountain top, HE IS STILL GOD IN THE
• 11:05
  VALLEY. HE'S STILL GOD JUST AS HE IS ON
• 11:07
  THE MOUNTAIN top able to provide for
• 11:09
  your needs. The valley does not aid
• 11:11
  hinder HIS ABILITY TO PROVIDE FOR YOU.
• 11:14
  AMEN.
• 11:15
  I want to say this, God is still god in
• 11:18
  the valley in spite of what the enemy
• 11:19
  says.
• 11:21
  You say, "What do you mean?"
• 11:22
  Well, the Syrians said their gods are
• 11:25
  gods of the hills.
• 11:26
  You know what? The world tries to
• 11:28
  determine who our god is.
• 11:30
  But, you know what? They've been trying
• 11:31
  to put God in a box for some 6,000 years
• 11:33
  now and they've just found that ain't
• 11:35
  never never any of that work. Amen. I
• 11:37
  want to say this, their saying was bad
• 11:39
  doctrine. Notice this. Their gods are
• 11:41
  gods of the hills. You say, "How is that
• 11:43
  bad doctrine?" Well, you see the
• 11:44
  plurality there. Their gods. You see
• 11:47
  everybody else's gods to them was just
• 11:49
  like theirs. Amen. Multiple, amen, and
• 11:51
  helpless all at the same time. Their
• 11:53
  gods have eyes but they see not. They
• 11:56
  have ears but they hear not. They have
• 11:58
  lips but they speak not. Hands but they
• 12:00
  reach not. I'm saying, friend, they had
• 12:02
  no ability to help themselves. And what
• 12:04
  we realize in this text here is that
• 12:06
  their saying is their doctrine is bad.
• 12:08
  Let me say this, the world wants to spit
• 12:10
  on our God and even much of the
• 12:12
  so-called church world wants to spit on
• 12:14
  our God in this day and time and say my
• 12:16
  God's not like that. Well, let me say
• 12:18
  this, YOUR GOD MAY NOT be but mine is.
• 12:20
  Amen. I want to say he's still holy and
• 12:23
  he's still righteous. And in spite of
• 12:25
  every bad doctrine that's put out on the
• 12:27
  face of so-called Christendom IN THIS
• 12:29
  DAY AND TIME, GOD IS STILL THE GOD OF
• 12:31
  THE KING JAMES BIBLE. AMEN. AND IT'S
• 12:34
  STILL RIGHT TO PREACH what that book
• 12:35
  says. And the world can say what they
• 12:37
  WANT TO. THE WORLD CAN DO WHAT they want
• 12:39
  to and call themselves Christian. But
• 12:41
  I'm going to tell you one of these DAYS
• 12:43
  THAT ALL THAT'S GOING TO COME TO THE
• 12:44
  SURFACE just like draws. It's going to
• 12:46
  be revealed. Amen. The third DOCTRINE
• 12:48
  THEY'RE SAYING THEY SAID A WHOLE LOT BUT
• 12:50
  NONE OF IT WAS TRUE. AMEN.
• 12:53
  You say, "Preacher, are those PEOPLE
• 12:55
  REALLY MY ENEMY?" THE BIBLE says you're
• 12:57
  to mark them that preach any other
• 12:58
  doctrine than what we preach to you.
• 13:03
  Notice this. You see their saying
• 13:06
  revealed their doctrine that it was bad
• 13:07
  but it also revealed their decision.
• 13:10
  You know what, we going to go fight
• 13:11
  against the people of God again.
• 13:13
  I want to say this, the devil, he's been
• 13:15
  fighting against the people of God for
• 13:16
  years and years. And you know what, he
• 13:18
  might win a few battles here and there
• 13:19
  but he's going to lose the war.
• 13:21
  And he can wage war against us but the
• 13:23
  Bible tells me that no weapon that is
• 13:25
  formed against thee shall prosper, amen.
• 13:28
  And his bad decision is the fact that
• 13:30
  he's never going to give in. He's never
• 13:32
  going to give up until one of these days
• 13:34
  God's just going to reach down and grab
• 13:35
  him by the neck and cast him into the
• 13:37
  pit, amen. And he'll never more be
• 13:39
  removed from that thing. I'm saying it's
• 13:42
  a bad decision for the world to come
• 13:44
  against the child of God. And you just
• 13:46
  know and mark her down this morning, the
• 13:48
  world's going to have a whole lot to say
• 13:49
  about how we live. The world's going to
• 13:51
  have A WHOLE LOT TO say about the way we
• 13:54
  live and what we preach AND WHAT WE
• 13:55
  BELIEVE, AMEN. BUT YOU LET THEM TALK,
• 13:57
  AMEN, BECAUSE AT THE end of the day
• 13:59
  we're not FIGHTING THE BATTLE, GOD IS,
• 14:01
  AMEN. And let me say this TO YOU THIS
• 14:03
  MORNING, GOD IS GOD ON THE MOUNTAIN, GOD
• 14:06
  IS GOD IN THE VALLEY IN SPITE OF WHAT
• 14:09
  THE ENEMY SAYS.
• 14:11
  Hey friend, don't you let the enemy tell
• 14:13
  you there's no hope for you this
• 14:14
  morning. DON'T YOU LET THE ENEMY TELL
• 14:16
  you that you'll never be right again.
• 14:18
  Don't you let THE ENEMY TELL YOU THAT
• 14:20
  THERE'S NEVER any forgiveness, there's
• 14:21
  never any help for your aid, never any
• 14:24
  help for your illness. There's not any
• 14:25
  hope for your ailments this morning. I'M
• 14:28
  SAYING FRIEND, YOU BELIEVE GOD in spite
• 14:30
  of what the enemy says.
• 14:32
  I want to say this, God is still God in
• 14:34
  spite of what the enemy says. I notice
• 14:36
  second of all, God is still God in spite
• 14:38
  of the enemy's strategy.
• 14:41
  You say, "What do you mean, preacher?"
• 14:42
  Well, notice the text.
• 14:43
  They decided they're going to go and
• 14:45
  fight against them in the plain. The
• 14:46
  Bible said, "And surely we shall be
• 14:48
  stronger than they." Notice verse 24.
• 14:50
  First of all, you see their strategy is
• 14:52
  misleading.
• 14:53
  He said that and do this thing, take the
• 14:55
  kings away, every man out of his place,
• 14:58
  and put captains in their rooms. You
• 15:01
  see, just a few verses prior the Bible
• 15:03
  says that those princes of Israel came
• 15:05
  against the Syrians that year prior. In
• 15:07
  verse number 16, they went out at noon,
• 15:10
  the princes did, Ben-Hadad was drinking
• 15:12
  himself drunk in the pavilions, he and
• 15:14
  the kings, the 32 kings that helped him,
• 15:16
  and the young men of the princes of the
• 15:18
  provinces went out first, and Ben-Hadad
• 15:20
  sent out and they told him saying,
• 15:21
  "There are men come out of Samaria and
• 15:23
  he said whether they be come out for
• 15:25
  peace take them alive or whether they be
• 15:27
  come out for war take them alive. So
• 15:29
  these young men of the prince of the
• 15:30
  province came out of the city and the
• 15:32
  army which followed them and they slew
• 15:34
  everyone his man and the Syrians fled
• 15:37
  and Israel pursued them and Ben Hadad
• 15:39
  the king of Syria escaped on an horse
• 15:41
  with a horseman. You say what does that
• 15:43
  mean? Well, it means that all of those
• 15:44
  kings, those 32 were setting in the
• 15:46
  pavilion drinking themselves drunk with
• 15:49
  Ben Hadad. And these princes of Israel
• 15:51
  began to run in there and they began to
• 15:53
  destroy them and they said all right,
• 15:54
  well, when they come back this time,
• 15:56
  we're going to have a captain of the
• 15:57
  army sitting in those kings' chairs. So
• 15:59
  when they come in along to slay the
• 16:01
  kings, we're going to destroy them when
• 16:03
  they come in. And let me say this, the
• 16:05
  devil's tactics are always changing.
• 16:09
  If he can't get you one way, he'll get
• 16:11
  you another.
• 16:13
  He'll get you by misleading.
• 16:15
  I noticed this, not only the strategy is
• 16:17
  misleading, but the strategy is
• 16:19
  multiplication. Notice verse 25. And
• 16:22
  number thee an army like the army that
• 16:23
  thou hast lost, horse for horse and
• 16:25
  chariot for chariot and we will fight
• 16:27
  against them in the plain and surely we
• 16:29
  shall be stronger than they. You see
• 16:31
  here he's telling them all right, you
• 16:32
  get the army that you had and you double
• 16:35
  it. You make it larger in size, horse
• 16:37
  for horse, chariot for chariot, you get
• 16:39
  as many as you had and double it and
• 16:41
  we're going to go up against them and
• 16:42
  fight against them. And let me say this,
• 16:44
  when longer you resist temptation, the
• 16:47
  harder that temptation's going to
• 16:48
  become. You're going to have to stand up
• 16:50
  and be strong, but I noticed we need to
• 16:52
  believe God in spite of the strategy,
• 16:54
  though it's misleading, though he's
• 16:56
  multiplying against us. And I want to
• 16:58
  say this, we need to believe God in
• 16:59
  spite of the enemy's strategy, in spite
• 17:02
  of the manipulation that they put us
• 17:03
  into.
• 17:05
  Notice this. We will fight against them
• 17:07
  in the plain, verse 25. And surely we
• 17:10
  shall be stronger than they. And he
• 17:12
  hearkened unto their voice and did so.
• 17:14
  You see the army of Syria in this text.
• 17:17
  They had over 125,000
• 17:19
  men.
• 17:20
  You say, "How is that?" Well, you notice
• 17:22
  later on in the chapter and we'll see in
• 17:24
  just a little bit that Israel slays
• 17:26
  100,000 footmen in verse 29 and verse
• 17:29
  30. There are 20 and 7,000 men that die
• 17:32
  in verse number 30 of the Syrians. I'm
• 17:35
  saying, friend, this army was huge.
• 17:38
  Israel only has 7,000.
• 17:41
  And so, you know what? Israel won the
• 17:42
  last time because they were in the
• 17:44
  hills. And you know what the hills
• 17:45
  provides? It provides some help in the
• 17:47
  battle, don't it?
• 17:48
  I like to think about American history.
• 17:51
  I think about those colonists that come
• 17:52
  over and they won that Revolutionary War
• 17:54
  because they knew how to fight. British,
• 17:56
  when they come over here, they'd all get
• 17:58
  in lines and they'd just shoot them down
• 17:59
  like dominoes.
• 18:01
  But we think about those men that were
• 18:02
  on this side, those colonists, they
• 18:04
  would hide behind the trees and the
• 18:05
  rocks and they would strategize their
• 18:07
  fighting. But you see, the enemy
• 18:09
  decided, "Look, we can't beat them in
• 18:11
  their own ground.
• 18:12
  Where They're going to have to come to
• 18:13
  our ground."
• 18:15
  Here's what'll happen in your life.
• 18:17
  You'll end up somewhere you don't
• 18:18
  belong.
• 18:20
  And you know what he'll do? He'll do his
• 18:22
  best to destroy you by manipulating you.
• 18:25
  You see, they wanted to get them in a
• 18:26
  plane where their horses and chariots
• 18:28
  could ride freely. Those mountains,
• 18:30
  those chariots were no good in the
• 18:32
  mountains around the trees and rivers
• 18:33
  and creeks and streams and all of that
• 18:35
  and the rocks. And so, they wanted to
• 18:37
  get them out in the open, out in the
• 18:39
  plain. Let me say this to you this
• 18:40
  morning, child of God, the devil wants
• 18:42
  to single you out out in the open, out
• 18:44
  in the wide open plain and throw his
• 18:46
  entire army against you. But I want to
• 18:48
  say this this morning, you just remember
• 18:50
  the God of those mountains where we're
• 18:52
  fit to serve and where we're fit to
• 18:54
  fight. When you get isolated, he's still
• 18:56
  the same God. Amen. He's still the same
• 18:59
  God when the devil MANIPULATES YOU. HE'S
• 19:01
  STILL THE SAME GOD WHEN THE ENEMY
• 19:02
  MULTIPLIES AGAINST YOU. HE'S STILL the
• 19:05
  same God in spite of every tactic THE
• 19:07
  ENEMY HAS. GOD CAN and will give
• 19:10
  victory. Amen. And we ought to believe
• 19:12
  him in spite of what the enemy says and
• 19:15
  in spite of the enemy's strategy. And
• 19:17
  we're to believe him in spite of the
• 19:18
  enemy's size. Hey friend, you just need
• 19:20
  to know this morning you're no match for
• 19:22
  the devil just like Israel is no match
• 19:24
  for these Syrians. But aren't you
• 19:26
  thankful what we lack in size, we make
• 19:28
  up for in strength in the person of God.
• 19:30
  I'm saying their size, the appearance.
• 19:32
  Notice verse 27, the children of Israel
• 19:35
  pitched before them. Notice it like two
• 19:36
  little flocks of kids.
• 19:39
  Looked like two little flocks of sheep
• 19:41
  before these Syrians.
• 19:44
  You know what? There's some of you think
• 19:46
  you're real big and bad.
• 19:47
  But you know what? Before the devil, you
• 19:49
  just look like a little sheep.
• 19:51
  A little helpless lamb. You say,
• 19:54
  "Preacher, I I'm a brawny individual.
• 19:56
  I'LL TAKE CARE OF MYSELF." WELL, you'll
• 19:57
  find out when the devil gets a hold of
• 19:59
  you that you won't make it as far as you
• 20:01
  thought you would, amen. I'm saying the
• 20:03
  appearance, it was like two little
• 20:04
  flocks of kids and the Syrians notice
• 20:07
  their advantage. The Syrians filled the
• 20:10
  country.
• 20:11
  I want to say this, it don't look good
• 20:13
  in our country, does it?
• 20:15
  We're outnumbered.
• 20:18
  But I want to say this, it don't matter
• 20:19
  how many of them there is, they'll never
• 20:21
  out-measure our God.
• 20:24
  I want to give you these three things
• 20:25
  and I'll be done this morning. I'm
• 20:26
  talking about victory in the valley.
• 20:29
  You see, we've got to believe God in
• 20:31
  spite of the saying of the enemy. We got
• 20:32
  to believe God in spite of the strategy
• 20:34
  of the enemy. We got to believe God in
• 20:35
  spite of the size of the enemy. And you
• 20:38
  say, "Why, preacher, why would I believe
• 20:40
  God? Why why would I believe God in
• 20:42
  spite of everything being against me?
• 20:44
  PREACHER, I DON'T FEEL LIKE there's a
• 20:45
  word good enough to satisfy me with the
• 20:48
  battle that I'm in."
• 20:49
  All right, well, let me give you three
• 20:50
  things this morning and let's see how
• 20:52
  you feel about it after we get done with
• 20:53
  this.
• 20:54
  Notice this, verse 28. And there came a
• 20:57
  man of God and spake unto the king of
• 20:59
  Israel and said, "Thus saith the Lord."
• 21:01
  God's still got something to say.
• 21:04
  Amen, friend. He's still talking in this
• 21:06
  day and time and you ought to rejoice
• 21:08
  for that.
• 21:09
  You say preacher, what do you mean?
• 21:10
  Well, there's been plenty of generations
• 21:12
  passed where God just shut up the
• 21:13
  heavens.
• 21:14
  You say how is that? Well, there was 400
• 21:16
  silent years between Malachi and Matthew
• 21:18
  where he didn't speak a thing, didn't
• 21:20
  reveal a thing and those men and women
• 21:22
  walked in darkness. I'm saying friend,
• 21:24
  we are walking in the light of the grace
• 21:26
  and glory of God in this day and time
• 21:28
  and we ought to bless his name for it
• 21:30
  that he's still got a word for us.
• 21:31
  Listen to this. Thus saith the Lord,
• 21:33
  because the Syrians have said, "The Lord
• 21:36
  is God of the hills, but he is not God
• 21:38
  of the valleys."
• 21:40
  I want to say this. All right, I want to
• 21:42
  say number one, you need to believe God
• 21:44
  in the valley.
• 21:45
  Because God
• 21:47
  is not limited to any place.
• 21:50
  You say what do you mean? Well, the
• 21:51
  Syrians said, "He's God of the hills,
• 21:55
  he's not God of the valleys.
• 21:57
  You see those God THAT GOD'S OF THE
• 21:59
  ISRAELITES, HE ONLY WORKS WHEN they're
• 22:01
  in their place.
• 22:03
  He only works when we come He only works
• 22:05
  when we come against their land. But if
• 22:07
  we get them in our territory,
• 22:09
  we'll take them out.
• 22:11
  We'll knock THEM DOWN. WE'LL TAKE CARE
• 22:13
  OF THEM JUST SHORT AND EASY AND GOD
• 22:14
  SAYS, "All right,
• 22:16
  I've got a word
• 22:18
  to say to that crowd."
• 22:19
  You say preacher, what are you saying?
• 22:20
  I'M SAYING ISRAEL DON'T even know the
• 22:22
  plan of the Syrians and God comes to
• 22:25
  them and says, "Hey look, this is what
• 22:27
  the enemy has said."
• 22:29
  Notice it again in the text.
• 22:31
  And there came a man of God and spake
• 22:32
  unto the king of Israel and said, "Thus
• 22:34
  saith the Lord, because the Syrians have
• 22:36
  said He don't even know that they've
• 22:38
  said this. He said, "Because the Syrians
• 22:40
  have said the Lord is God of the hills,
• 22:43
  but he is not God of the valleys." He
• 22:45
  says, "Therefore will I deliver all this
• 22:46
  great multitude into thine hand." You
• 22:48
  see, he wants this king to know, "Hey
• 22:50
  man, I'm not limited to any place."
• 22:53
  Let me say this. I don't know what place
• 22:54
  you're in.
• 22:56
  You say preacher, what do you mean?
• 22:57
  Well, I thought about it when I was
• 22:58
  studying it. I thought about, you know,
• 23:00
  Daniel found him while he was in the den
• 23:01
  of lions. The Hebrew children found him
• 23:04
  while they were in the fire. Paul found
• 23:06
  him in the middle of the raging sea.
• 23:08
  Peter found him in the middle of that
• 23:09
  sea when he saw him walking on the
• 23:11
  water. Joseph found him at Potiphar's
• 23:13
  house. HE FOUND HIM IN THE PIT. He found
• 23:15
  him IN THE PRISON. HE FOUND HIM AT THE
• 23:17
  PALACE. I'M SAYING, FRIEND, IT DON'T
• 23:19
  MATTER WHERE YOU FIND YOURSELF. DAVID
• 23:21
  SAID, "IF I FLY UP TO THE heavens as an
• 23:23
  eagle OR I MAKE MY BED IN HELL." HE
• 23:25
  SAID, "BEHOLD, THOU ART THERE." I'M
• 23:27
  SAYING, FRIEND, I DON'T KNOW WHERE
• 23:28
  YOU'RE AT THIS MOMENT. OH, BUT I CAN
• 23:31
  BLESS THE NAME OF GOD ABOVE THAT
• 23:32
  WHEREVER YOU'RE AT, THERE'S NOT A PLACE
• 23:34
  THAT HE'S NOT BEEN. THERE'S NOT A PLACE
• 23:37
  THAT HE NOT IS PRESENTLY. AMEN. I'M
• 23:39
  SAYING, FRIEND, HE'S RIGHT THERE WITH
• 23:41
  YOU IN THE MIDDLE OF IT. IT DON'T MATTER
• 23:43
  IF YOU'RE ON THE MOUNTAIN OR YOU'RE IN
• 23:45
  THE VALLEY. I'M SAYING, FRIEND, HE WILL
• 23:47
  BE THERE WITH YOU THROUGH THE MIDDLE OF
• 23:50
  IT. AMEN.
• 23:54
  Cuz he's not limited
• 23:56
  to any place.
• 23:58
  You say, "Preacher, what does that
• 24:00
  mean?" Well, I'll say this.
• 24:02
  If he was limited to any place, the
• 24:03
  gospel wouldn't be whosoever will.
• 24:06
  If there was some place he couldn't go,
• 24:09
  the gospel wouldn't say whosoever will,
• 24:11
  let them come.
• 24:12
  The Bible wouldn't say whosoever shall
• 24:14
  call upon the name of the Lord shall be
• 24:16
  saved. I'm saying, friend, if God was
• 24:18
  saving people that were religious, I'd
• 24:20
  have been left out. If God was saving
• 24:22
  people that were righteous, I'd have
• 24:24
  been left out. If God was saving people,
• 24:26
  amen, that were pretty and prompt and
• 24:28
  proper, amen, I'm saying I'D HAVE BEEN
• 24:30
  LEFT OUT. I'M SAYING, FRIEND, YOU OUGHT
• 24:33
  TO THANK GOD THAT HE REACHED DOWN TO
• 24:35
  WHERE YOU WAS AT. AMEN. HE'S NOT LIMITED
• 24:37
  TO ANY PLACE. OH, THANK GOD, HE'S NOT
• 24:40
  LIMITED TO ANY PERSON. HE'LL SAVE FROM
• 24:42
  THE UTTERMOST TO THE GUTTERMOST. IT
• 24:44
  DON'T MATTER HOW FAR YOU GONE. IT DON'T
• 24:46
  MATTER HOW LONG YOU'VE BEEN THERE. HEY,
• 24:48
  FRIEND, ALL THAT MATTERS IS HE WAS THERE
• 24:51
  WITH YOU. AND THANK GOD, HE'LL BE THERE
• 24:53
  WHEN YOU GET BACK. AMEN.
• 24:55
  OH, HE'S NOT LIMITED TO any place. The
• 24:58
  Syrians were wrong and the devil WILL
• 25:00
  TELL YOU HEY, THE DEVIL WILL SAY TO YOU
• 25:02
  GOD'S NOWHERE AROUND. GOD'S NOWHERE TO
• 25:04
  BE FOUND. OH FRIEND, YOU MAY NOT FEEL
• 25:06
  HIM, BUT YOU JUST KNOW ON THE AUTHORITY
• 25:08
  OF THAT BIBLE, HE'S THERE. HE'S WITH
• 25:11
  YOU. HE'S RIGHT BESIDE YOU. AMEN.
• 25:15
  Because he's not limited
• 25:17
  to a place.
• 25:19
  You say how is that preacher?
• 25:22
  Well,
• 25:24
  God in his wholeness,
• 25:26
  he could not leave heaven to reach
• 25:27
  sinners.
• 25:29
  But you know what? He sent his son
• 25:32
  to reach sinners.
• 25:34
  From the lowest
• 25:36
  to the highest sinner.
• 25:38
  There's not a one. Jesus said all of
• 25:40
  them
• 25:41
  that the father have given to me shall
• 25:43
  come to me.
• 25:44
  And he that cometh to me, I will in no
• 25:46
  wise cast out.
• 25:47
  He is not limited to any place.
• 25:51
  I want to say this second of all this
• 25:52
  morning.
• 25:54
  We can rejoice in the fact that God
• 25:56
  is a God of the mountain, but he is
• 25:58
  still a God of the valley because he's
• 26:00
  not limited to a place. But I'll say
• 26:01
  this second of all, we can rejoice that
• 26:03
  he's God in the valley
• 26:05
  because he's not lost his power.
• 26:10
  I want to say this.
• 26:12
  I don't ever want to lose the all
• 26:16
  of the power and presence of God.
• 26:19
  Say what do you mean? Well,
• 26:21
  the reality of my life and yours this
• 26:23
  morning is that none of us would be here
• 26:26
  if it hadn't been for the fact that he'd
• 26:27
  manifested his power unto us. You see,
• 26:31
  God tells this king in the text, he says
• 26:33
  therefore will I deliver all this great
• 26:35
  multitude into thine hand. You see, the
• 26:38
  Syrians thought that when he come off of
• 26:40
  that mountain, his power would
• 26:41
  dissipate. But you see, their God was
• 26:44
  not like their his God was
• 26:46
  the king's God was not like their gods.
• 26:49
  And I want to say this this morning, the
• 26:50
  world can say what they want to. That
• 26:53
  our God's dead. And I want to say this,
• 26:55
  they've said they've been saying it for
• 26:56
  years and they'll continue to say it as
• 26:59
  long as eternity rolls. It don't matter
• 27:00
  how much science proves that Jesus
• 27:02
  really did live, and Jesus really did
• 27:04
  die, and Jesus really did get up the
• 27:06
  third day, there's still going to be
• 27:08
  people that speak against the existence
• 27:09
  of God. There's still going to be people
• 27:11
  that speak against the existence of a
• 27:13
  divine creator. But I want to say this,
• 27:15
  it does not matter what they say, his
• 27:17
  power has not changed one iota. He is
• 27:20
  still able to save, amen. He is still
• 27:22
  able to create and destroy, amen. And in
• 27:25
  just the same way that he created the
• 27:27
  worlds and all that in them is, one of
• 27:29
  these days he's going to take it like a
• 27:30
  bed sheet and wrap it all up and it's
• 27:32
  going to be over with. IT'S NOT GOING TO
• 27:34
  BE A RENOVATION, BUT HE'S going to set
• 27:36
  an end to the things of this world. I'm
• 27:38
  saying, friend, he has not lost his
• 27:41
  power. Whatever God's done in the past,
• 27:43
  he can still do in the present. Is
• 27:45
  anybody in the building this morning?
• 27:47
  I'M SAYING, FRIEND, WHATEVER YOU NEED,
• 27:49
  he's able to give it to you this
• 27:51
  morning. WHEREVER YOU'RE AT, HE'S ABLE
• 27:53
  TO BRING IT TO WHERE YOU ARE. I'M
• 27:54
  SAYING, FRIEND, I DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU
• 27:56
  NEED. MAYBE YOU NEED TO BE SAVED. LET ME
• 27:58
  SAY THIS TO YOU THIS MORNING, HE'S STILL
• 28:00
  ABLE TO SAVE. ALL AND EVERY SINNER THAT
• 28:03
  WOULD CALL UPON HIM BY FAITH, HE'S ABLE
• 28:06
  TO SAVE TO THE UTTERMOST. AND ALL YOU
• 28:08
  HAVE TO do is ask.
• 28:14
  I'm talking about victory in the valley.
• 28:15
  Why can we have victory in the valley?
• 28:17
  Because God's not limited to a place.
• 28:20
  We can have victory in the valley
• 28:21
  because he's not lost his power.
• 28:24
  But I think this one helps me as much as
• 28:25
  anything.
• 28:27
  We can have victory in the valley
• 28:28
  because God has not left his people.
• 28:33
  You say, "What do you mean?" Well,
• 28:33
  notice the verse.
• 28:36
  The Lord is God of the hills, but he's
• 28:37
  not God of the valleys. Therefore, I
• 28:39
  deliver all the straight multitude in
• 28:41
  the vine hand. Notice this.
• 28:44
  And ye shall know
• 28:46
  that I'm the Lord.
• 28:49
  I told our Sunday school class this this
• 28:51
  morning.
• 28:52
  I said Ahab was the most wicked king
• 28:55
  that ever lived in the history of
• 28:56
  Israel.
• 28:58
  But you know what? He was still king of
• 28:59
  Israel.
• 29:01
  And you know what? Israel was still
• 29:02
  God's people.
• 29:03
  Let me say this to you in this day and
• 29:05
  time, Israel is still God's people.
• 29:08
  And regardless of what
• 29:11
  the so-called right-wing news media says
• 29:15
  that Israel, the nation, is not the
• 29:16
  Israel of God.
• 29:18
  They'll find out one of these days when
• 29:19
  they stand at the judgment, they'll wish
• 29:21
  that they have they had recognized
• 29:24
  that nation as God's people.
• 29:26
  But I want to say this, this rising
• 29:29
  opinion of Israel in our land is showing
• 29:32
  us the destruction of what would be
• 29:35
  our world as it is. You say, "What do
• 29:37
  you mean?" Well, the Bible says that all
• 29:39
  nations will turn on little Israel.
• 29:43
  And you know what? America was the only
• 29:45
  nation that stood with her.
• 29:47
  But it's quickly happening on both sides
• 29:49
  of the curtain.
• 29:50
  On both wings of the bird this morning,
• 29:53
  they're turning on Israel.
• 29:55
  You say, "What do you mean?" Well, I'm
• 29:56
  saying this morning that Israel's God's
• 29:58
  people, and I want you to get this,
• 29:59
  okay? Ahab was the most wicked king
• 30:02
  that's ever been, but the Bible says in
• 30:04
  this text
• 30:05
  he says, "I'm going to deliver this
• 30:07
  multitude into thy hand."
• 30:09
  And he said, "Ye shall know
• 30:11
  that I am the Lord."
• 30:13
  Ahab didn't ask for this.
• 30:16
  He didn't ask for deliverance. He didn't
• 30:18
  pray for it cuz matter of fact, if he'd
• 30:19
  prayed, it wouldn't have got out of his
• 30:20
  mouth and made it upward, it would have
• 30:22
  went straight to the ground.
• 30:24
  He was wicked.
• 30:26
  I mean, I I mean, incomparably wicked to
• 30:29
  anybody that was before or after him,
• 30:31
  the Bible says.
• 30:32
  And the Bible tells us that God looks at
• 30:34
  him and says,
• 30:36
  "I'm going to deliver this company into
• 30:38
  your hand
• 30:40
  so that you will know
• 30:42
  that I am the Lord. You say, "What's so
• 30:43
  special about that?" Well, he's done
• 30:45
  delivered the Syrians into his hand one
• 30:47
  time already in this chapter.
• 30:49
  But, you know what? They have still
• 30:50
  living wickedly.
• 30:52
  You know what amazes me?
• 30:54
  It amazes me at the people that call
• 30:56
  themselves Christians
• 30:58
  in this day and time
• 30:59
  that go on and live wickedly. And God
• 31:02
  continues to to bless
• 31:05
  and to allow things into their life. You
• 31:07
  say, "Preacher, God's not going to bless
• 31:09
  me when I'm in wickedness." No, you're
• 31:10
  not you're you're right you're right
• 31:11
  about that. Here's the thing about it.
• 31:13
  People still make money.
• 31:15
  People still enjoy their hobbies. People
• 31:17
  still do all the things people do and it
• 31:19
  looks like if as if everything's fine.
• 31:21
  And you know what? God allows it.
• 31:23
  And here's the thing, all right? God is
• 31:26
  doing that. He's going to allow victory
• 31:28
  because he's the Lord and he's going to
• 31:31
  get glory unto himself in whatever
• 31:33
  fashion that comes. But, I want to say
• 31:35
  this to you this morning. The church in
• 31:37
  this day and time is a pitiful
• 31:38
  representation of what the church is
• 31:40
  called to be.
• 31:42
  All right?
• 31:43
  You say, "What do you mean?" Well, you
• 31:44
  go back to the book of Acts and you find
• 31:46
  about that early church. You study
• 31:48
  through those Pauline epistles and
• 31:49
  you'll find what the commission of the
• 31:51
  church is supposed to be.
• 31:53
  What a pitiful representation of that we
• 31:55
  are.
• 31:56
  I'm saying, friend, the truth is we're
• 31:58
  getting victory in spite of how we're
• 32:00
  living.
• 32:03
  We are We are seeing the blessings of
• 32:05
  God in spite of our failure to
• 32:07
  evangelize this country.
• 32:10
  You say, "Preacher, what does that say?"
• 32:11
  Well, it says that God has honored his
• 32:13
  people.
• 32:15
  And if you're saved by the grace of God
• 32:17
  this morning, you know what? Regardless
• 32:18
  of how you live your life, you'll enter
• 32:19
  into heaven one of these days.
• 32:23
  But, you know what the difference is?
• 32:26
  You'll enter in there shamed.
• 32:28
  Because at one moment in eternity one
• 32:30
  moment in eternity, you'll realize all
• 32:32
  that you should have done.
• 32:34
  But, then after you think about all that
• 32:36
  you could have done, you going to come
• 32:37
  to one conclusion.
• 32:39
  God never left me.
• 32:45
  We ought to shout the roof off this
• 32:46
  place.
• 32:48
  In spite of everything that you are and
• 32:51
  are not,
• 32:52
  in spite of everything that I am and am
• 32:54
  not, in spite of every failure that I'll
• 32:57
  have from now until he comes and gets
• 32:59
  me, I'm still his child.
• 33:05
  And he will not leave his children.
• 33:08
  Israel failed him and ultimately one of
• 33:10
  these days there will be judgment for
• 33:12
  them. We talked about that on last
• 33:14
  Sunday.
• 33:15
  But I want to say this this morning, God
• 33:17
  has not left his people.
• 33:19
  And I noticed in this text they wrote
• 33:21
  they worked victory in verse 29.
• 33:23
  And they pitched one over against the
• 33:24
  other 7 days and so it was that in the
• 33:26
  seventh day the battle was joined. And
• 33:29
  the children of Israel slew the Syrians
• 33:30
  and 100,000 footmen in one day.
• 33:33
  But the rest fled to Aphek and in the
• 33:35
  city there a wall fell upon 20 and 7,000
• 33:37
  of the men that were left. And Ben-hadad
• 33:40
  fled and came into the city into an
• 33:43
  inner chamber.
• 33:44
  And the Bible tells us here in the text
• 33:46
  that Ahab is going to spare this man. We
• 33:49
  may preach on that tonight.
• 33:51
  But I noticed these principles in this
• 33:53
  text. God brought victory in spite of
• 33:56
  Ahab in this text. He delivered his
• 33:58
  people in spite of Ahab's leadership.
• 34:01
  And I rest in the fact that God's going
• 34:03
  to deliver his church in spite of the
• 34:04
  president.
• 34:06
  God's going to take care of his people
• 34:08
  in spite of the governments of men.
• 34:10
  But I thought about this.
• 34:12
  You know, I I have some factors that
• 34:14
  come into my mind out of this text is
• 34:16
  this. Number one, you can't handle the
• 34:17
  valley alone.
• 34:20
  You say preacher, but
• 34:22
  nobody else really knows or nobody else
• 34:24
  really understands. Well, you see you're
• 34:25
  missing one in that.
• 34:28
  God does.
• 34:31
  You say how could he understand?" Well,
• 34:32
  he made you.
• 34:35
  He knew what was going to happen to you.
• 34:37
  He knows where you're at. He knows where
• 34:39
  you will be 10 years, 20 years, 30 years
• 34:42
  from now.
• 34:44
  You say, "Preacher, what do you mean I
• 34:45
  cannot handle the valley alone?" Well,
• 34:47
  you turn to the book of Judges chapter 1
• 34:48
  verse number 19. You'll find that when
• 34:50
  Israel's coming into the land of Canaan,
• 34:53
  they are fighting against the the
• 34:55
  nations that are present in Canaan. And
• 34:57
  the Bible says that the Lord was with
• 34:58
  Judah Judges 1 verse number 19. And it
• 35:01
  says in the last part of that verse that
• 35:03
  they drove them out, but it says they
• 35:05
  come down to a group that was in the
• 35:06
  valley and they could not drive them
• 35:08
  out.
• 35:09
  You know what every valley in your life
• 35:11
  that most valleys in your life, pretty
• 35:12
  much all valleys in your life, you're
• 35:14
  not going to be able to get through them
• 35:15
  on your own.
• 35:18
  They couldn't get rid of those
• 35:19
  inhabitants in the valley by themselves.
• 35:22
  You're not going to be able to make it
• 35:23
  through the valley alone. But I thought
• 35:26
  about this.
• 35:27
  You see, there's help for your valley.
• 35:31
  You say, "What is that help?" I think it
• 35:33
  comes in one thing. Verse number 28.
• 35:36
  God said, "Therefore will I deliver all
• 35:38
  this great multitude into thine hand and
• 35:40
  ye shall know." What's What's he going
• 35:42
  to know? He said, "You're going to know
• 35:43
  that I'm the Lord." Let me ask you
• 35:45
  something. Who was the greatest
• 35:46
  Christian that ever lived?
• 35:48
  It's the Apostle Paul, wasn't it?
• 35:50
  And you know what encouraged him on his
• 35:52
  journey? What was What was Paul
• 35:53
  continually seeking for?
• 35:55
  He said, "That I may know
• 35:58
  him."
• 36:00
  You know what the greatest privilege of
• 36:01
  your life and mine is?
• 36:04
  Knowing him.
• 36:05
  You know how you're going to make it
• 36:06
  through the valley?
• 36:08
  It's knowing him.
• 36:10
  You say, "What do you mean?" I'm talking
• 36:11
  about it's a relationship. I'm not
• 36:13
  saying that you that you just know who
• 36:15
  he is or you know about him. I'm saying
• 36:17
  you have a relationship with him.
• 36:20
  God is stretching out his hand to a
• 36:22
  NATION WHO HAS REJECTED HIM AND HE SAID,
• 36:24
  "I'M GOING TO DO THIS FOR YOU THAT YOU
• 36:26
  MAY KNOW ME. I'M SAYING, FRIEND, GOD
• 36:28
  SAVED YOU SO THAT YOU COULD KNOW HIM.
• 36:31
  PAUL SAYS, I SERVE HIM THAT I MIGHT KNOW
• 36:33
  HIM. PAUL SAYS, I SUFFER THAT I MIGHT
• 36:36
  KNOW HIM. THE REASON WE LIVE IS THE
• 36:39
  KNOWLEDGE OF WHO HE IS, CUZ THAT'S THE
• 36:41
  ONLY WAY WE CAN LIVE THIS MORNING. The
• 36:44
  problem THAT YOU HAVE CANNOT BE FIXED on
• 36:47
  your own. THE ONLY WAY THAT YOU'LL FIND
• 36:49
  HELP IS IN THE KNOWLEDGE OF HIM THIS
• 36:51
  MORNING. I'm saying there's hope for
• 36:53
  your valley. You say, PREACHER, WHAT IF
• 36:55
  I NEVER COME OUT? WELL, YOU CAN HAVE HIM
• 36:57
  THERE WITH YOU. YOU MIGHT TRY THE LOW
• 37:00
  LANDS FOR THE REST OF YOUR LIFE UNTIL
• 37:02
  YOU LEAVE THIS WORLD. BUT ONE OF THESE
• 37:04
  DAYS WE'RE GOING TO A PLACE, OH
• 37:06
  HALLELUJAH, WHERE THERE NEVER WILL BE
• 37:08
  ANOTHER VALLEY. YOU SAY, HOW IS THAT?
• 37:11
  WELL, I THOUGHT ABOUT THE FACT THAT YOU
• 37:12
  CAN'T HANDLE the valley alone, AND THERE
• 37:14
  IS HELP for a valley. LET ME SAY THIS,
• 37:17
  ONE DAY WE WILL WALK THE LAST VALLEY.
• 37:19
  OH, HALLELUJAH THIS MORNING. OH, FRIEND,
• 37:22
  JOEL CHAPTER NUMBER three talks about
• 37:24
  multitudes,
• 37:26
  multitudes in the VALLEY OF DECISION.
• 37:28
  AND YOU KNOW WHAT THAT IS? GOD HAS
• 37:29
  GATHERED THE GENTILE NATIONS OF THE
• 37:31
  WORLD TO THAT PLACE, AND HE'S GOING TO
• 37:33
  JUDGE THEM THERE. AND YOU KNOW WHAT'S
• 37:35
  GOING TO HAPPEN? THE CHILDREN OF GOD,
• 37:36
  THE BIBLE SAID IN VERSE 16 OF JOEL 3,
• 37:39
  THAT THE THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL ARE
• 37:41
  GOING TO WALK OUT OF THAT VALLEY, AND
• 37:43
  THE LORD WILL BE THEIR HELP. I'M SAYING,
• 37:45
  FRIEND, WHEN THAT LAST BATTLE IS FOUGHT,
• 37:47
  THERE'LL NEVER BE ANOTHER VALLEY.
• 37:49
  THERE'LL NEVER BE ANOTHER LOW PLACE.
• 37:51
  THERE'LL NEVER BE A PLACE OF STRUGGLE.
• 37:53
  I'M SAYING WE'RE HEADED TO A PLACE WHERE
• 37:55
  THERE'LL NEVER BE ANOTHER VALLEY. AMEN.
• 37:59
  AND I DON'T KNOW ABOUT YOU, but I'm
• 38:00
  looking forward to that. I'm a sick and
• 38:03
  tired OF WALKING THESE LOW PLACES, BUT
• 38:05
  LET ME TELL YOU THIS THIS MORNING, I
• 38:07
  KNOW WITHOUT A SHADOW OF A DOUBT THAT IF
• 38:09
  I JUST LOOK UP, FRIEND, I CAN LOOK PAST
• 38:11
  EVEN THE MOUNTAIN PEAKS THAT I'VE BEEN
• 38:13
  ON BEFORE, AND I CAN SEE HIGHER BY THE
• 38:16
  EYE OF FAITH THAN THOSE MOUNTAINS. I CAN
• 38:18
  LOOK UP TO THE SKY, AND I CAN SEE MY
• 38:21
  SAVIOR. I CAN SEE HIM STANDING THERE. I
• 38:24
  CAN HAVE A RELATIONSHIP WITH HIM. YOU
• 38:26
  SAY FRIEND, WHAT DO YOU YOU SAY
• 38:27
  PREACHER, WHAT DO YOU MEAN? I'M SAYING
• 38:29
  STEPHEN WAS IN THE LOWEST VALLEY OF HIS
• 38:31
  LIFE WHEN THEY WERE STONING HIM. BUT IN
• 38:34
  THE MOMENTS OF HIS DEATH, WHAT DOES THE
• 38:36
  BIBLE SAY? HE LOOKED STEADFASTLY TOWARD
• 38:38
  HEAVEN AND SAID I SEE THE SON OF MAN.
• 38:40
  HE'S STANDING AT THE RIGHT HAND OF THE
• 38:42
  FATHER. OH FRIEND, LIFT YOUR EYES UNDER
• 38:45
  JESUS. HE IS ABLE TO GET YOU OUT OF THE
• 38:48
  VALLEY. AMEN.
• 38:52
  I'm saying there's victory
• 38:55
  for your valley.
• 38:58
  You say preacher,
• 39:00
  what if he don't get me out of the
• 39:01
  valley?
• 39:03
  Well, there's another man that was in a
• 39:05
  valley.
• 39:07
  The Bible says that John blood John the
• 39:09
  beloved
• 39:10
  was an exile
• 39:12
  on the Isle of Patmos, but you know
• 39:14
  what? Although he was in the valley, the
• 39:15
  Bible says Revelation chapter 1, I was
• 39:17
  in the spirit
• 39:19
  on the Lord's day.
• 39:21
  And the Bible says John said I was
• 39:23
  called a
• 39:24
  Though he was on earth
• 39:26
  in the valley,
• 39:28
  in his heart,
• 39:31
  he was in heaven.
• 39:33
  Far beyond the tallest mountain peak, he
• 39:35
  was in the presence of God.
• 39:37
  You know how you going to have victory
• 39:38
  in the valley?
• 39:40
  You going to have to allow your flesh to
• 39:41
  be there,
• 39:43
  but your spirit needs to be somewhere
• 39:44
  else.
• 39:46
  The Bible says that we're seated in
• 39:48
  heavenly places
• 39:50
  in Christ Jesus. Every head bowed and
• 39:51
  every eye closed this morning, I want to
• 39:53
  ask you this question.
• 39:57
  I can assure you this morning there's
• 39:58
  victory
• 40:00
  for your valley.
• 40:03
  Some of you are bearing things that
• 40:06
  you shouldn't have to bear.
• 40:09
  Some of you are carrying weights that
• 40:10
  you shouldn't have to be carrying.
• 40:13
  Some of you are in a valley this
• 40:14
  morning.
• 40:16
  Let me say this to you this morning.
• 40:19
  In spite of what the enemy says,
• 40:22
  in spite of the strategy that he has
• 40:24
  against you,
• 40:26
  and in spite of the size, I don't know
• 40:27
  what you're up against this morning.
• 40:30
  I can tell you this that the God on the
• 40:31
  mountain,
• 40:33
  he is still God
• 40:35
  in the valley.
• 40:37
  And the same victory
• 40:39
  that you had on the mountain, you can
• 40:41
  have
• 40:42
  in the valley. I want to ask you this
• 40:43
  this morning. You say, "Preacher,
• 40:46
  I don't know what that victory is you're
• 40:48
  talking about." Well,
• 40:50
  so here's the thing about it. Victory
• 40:53
  was won at Calvary.
• 40:56
  And that mountain where Jesus was
• 40:57
  crucified is the place where you get
• 40:59
  saved.
• 41:01
  You see that mountain where he was
• 41:02
  crucified was the valley for him.
• 41:06
  The Bible says in Hebrews chapter number
• 41:08
  12 that
• 41:10
  he endured the cross, despising the
• 41:12
  shame for the joy that was set before
• 41:13
  him.
• 41:15
  You see that valley for Jesus
• 41:18
  is our first mountain.
• 41:20
  And when you come to the cross, you
• 41:22
  kneel at the cross, Christ will meet you
• 41:24
  there.
• 41:25
  And from that moment on, you know what?
• 41:27
  You are set on a new path.
• 41:30
  And through your life, you'll have
• 41:31
  valleys, you'll have mountains.
• 41:34
  But I can assure you of this, one day
• 41:36
  you'll see your last valley.
• 41:39
  And I got to ask you this morning, what
• 41:41
  part of that journey are you in?
• 41:45
  Have you been saved? Do you know the
• 41:46
  Lord? You say, "Preacher,
• 41:49
  would you pray for me? I'm not saved
• 41:50
  this morning."
• 41:52
  Anybody here be honest this morning and
• 41:54
  say, "Preacher, I'm not saved." You slip
• 41:56
  your hand up, I'll pray for you.
• 41:59
  Let me ask you this morning.
• 42:01
  Say, "Preacher, I'm saved, but
• 42:04
  Preacher, I am in the valley.
• 42:07
  Would you pray for me?"
• 42:10
  Be honest this morning between you and
• 42:11
  God.
• 42:13
  God knows your heart this morning. God
• 42:15
  sees those hands.
• 42:19
  I want to say this this morning, there's
• 42:20
  victory
• 42:22
  for your valley.
• 42:27
  You see Israel
• 42:30
  God blessed them in spite
• 42:33
  of the battle they were in.
• 42:36
  And I can assure you this morning
• 42:39
  that God
• 42:41
  can bless you in spite of the enemy
• 42:43
  around you.
• 42:46
  He can help you this morning. You can
• 42:48
  have victory.
• 42:50
  You can have victory. Father,
• 42:52
  Lord, these altars are open this
• 42:54
  morning. Some have already come and
• 42:55
  prayed.
• 42:56
  Lord, I just pray you'd have your way
• 42:58
  this morning.
• 43:01
  Lord, I my own heart this morning
• 43:04
  has struggles, has burdens, Lord, and
• 43:05
  I've done my best to lay those at your
• 43:07
  feet.
• 43:12
  Cuz Lord, I know that there's
• 43:14
  victory to be had because the victory
• 43:18
  has been won.
• 43:21
  Lord, you took the ultimate valley at
• 43:23
  Calvary.
• 43:25
  You went to that lowest of low places
• 43:28
  and suffered my shame and agony there
• 43:31
  so that I could be saved and you could
• 43:33
  lift me up
• 43:35
  and set my feet on higher ground.
• 43:38
  Lord, I pray this morning, God, that you
• 43:40
  would help us all to remember, Lord,
• 43:42
  that we have been lifted out.
• 43:44
  And God, that we should live differently
• 43:46
  because we have.
• 43:48
  Lord, I pray for those that are in a
• 43:49
  valley this morning. God, I know that
• 43:52
  many are having different struggles,
• 43:54
  Lord. Some struggle with family. Some
• 43:57
  struggle with health. God, we pray,
• 43:59
  Lord, that you would help them to know,
• 44:00
  God, to just believe you.
• 44:04
  Lord, sometimes the means on this side,
• 44:07
  we just get to the end of those.
• 44:10
  We don't have an answer. We don't We
• 44:11
  don't see the end.
• 44:13
  But God, we know that you know all
• 44:15
  things.
• 44:16
  And Lord, we can trust you with our
• 44:18
  valley.
• 44:19
  And God, I pray you give us victory
• 44:22
  over in spite of the enemy.
• 44:24
  I pray God that you would help us to
• 44:25
  resist temptation,
• 44:28
  to draw near unto thee,
• 44:30
  to be right with you in these days, God,
• 44:32
  cuz we know you're soon coming. I pray
• 44:34
  for that one who's here lost today. I
• 44:36
  pray you'd save them before it's
• 44:36
  eternally too late.
• 44:39
  And Lord, we ask all this in Jesus name.
• 44:42
  For his sake, we pray.
• 44:44
  Amen.
• 44:45
  >> Thank you for joining our service today.
• 44:48
  We'd love it [music] if you'd join us in
• 44:49
  person the next time you are able at
• 44:52
  Meadows Baptist Church.
• 44:54
  Our physical address is 2988
• 44:57
  Stewart [music] Road in Walnut Cove,
• 44:59
  North Carolina.
• 45:00
  Our service times are Sunday school at
• 45:03
  10:00 a.m., Sunday morning worship
• 45:05
  >> [music]
• 45:05
  >> at 11:00 a.m., Sunday evening worship at
• 45:07
  6:00 p.m., and Wednesday evening Bible
• 45:10
  study at 7:00 p.m.
• 45:12
  For more information, [music]
• 45:13
  visit us at meadowsbc.com.
• 45:16
  Thanks again for tuning in.