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Psalm 144 - David Brags About Yahweh · Tabernacle Talk - A Bible Study Podcast with Pastor Bryon Self

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Welcome to Tabernacle talk Tabernacle talk is a Bible study
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podcast brought. From Tabernacle Baptist.
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Church in Essex, MD. I'm your host Brian Self.
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We hope this podcast encourages you to know Christ grow in His
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Word. And show his love to others.
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Let's dive right in. Welcome back to Tabernacle Talk.
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Today we are in Psalm 144, Psalm 144, and the inscription for
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this Psalm reads of David, not a Psalm of David, it just says of
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David. Let's read through.
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This passage. There's some.
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Really, really great. Word pictures in this particular
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Psalm and so I'm excited to dive into those together Psalm 144
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and verse one blessed be Yahweh my rock who trains my hands for
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battle and my. Fingers for warfare.
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He is my. Faithful love and my fortress,
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my stronghold and my deliverer. He is my shield and I take
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refuge in him. He subdues my people under me.
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Yahweh. What is a human that you?
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Care for him. A son of man that you think of
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him a human is. Like a breath.
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His days. Are like a passing shadow Yahweh
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part your. Heavens and come down, touch the
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mountains and they will smoke. Flash your lightning and scatter
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the foe. Shoot down your arrows.
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And route them, reach down from on high, rescue me from deep
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water and set me. Free from the grasp of
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foreigners, whose mouths speak lies, whose right hands are
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deceptive. God, I will sing a new.
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Song to you. I will play on a 10 stringed
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harp. For you the.
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One who gives? Victory to kings, who frees his
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servant David from the. Deadly sword set me.
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Free and rescue me from foreigners.
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Whose mouths speak? Lies whose right?
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Hands are deceptive. Then our sons.
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Will be like plants nurtured in their youth, our daughters like.
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Horror pillars. That are carved in the palace
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style. Our storehouses will be full,
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supplying all kinds of produce. Our flocks will increase by
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thousands and 10s of thousands in our open fields.
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Our cattle will be well fed. There will be no breach in the
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walls, no. Going into captivity.
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And no cry of laments in our public squares.
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Happy are the people with such blessings.
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Happy are the people whose God is Yahweh.
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All right, let's look at these today.
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And one thing I do want to take a note of in verses 8:00 and
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11:00, there's a mention of foreigners here.
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And just so we're super, super clear, when Scripture is
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speaking about foreigners, it is talking about those outside of
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the land of Israel. Those without God.
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Seeking to attack and harm. God's.
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People Israel and. The the parallel.
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To today. Would be those.
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Seeking to harm the Church of Jesus Christ, that is, those
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that want to attack God's people, those that want to harm
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them. There would be.
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This same desire of. Lord, would you?
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Protect from this evil. Now there can certainly be a.
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'Cause. There can, certainly.
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Be a case also made as well. For when there are invading
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forces. Or as here.
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Possibly invading spies. That would also.
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Be something that. You would ask for God's.
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Deliverance from but just given of the current climate of the
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world. I thought it would be.
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Wise to know what that is and what that is not speaking about.
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You can even think David's great grandmother was a foreigner.
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We we read through the book of Ruth probably.
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Year and a half ago. At this point.
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And so David here is not saying, man, I just hate all of the
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foreigners. That's not the statement that's
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being made. There is a very particular type
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of person, a godless person with intent to do harm, that David.
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Is praying against. All right, verse verses number
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one and two this is. As David starts off.
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He is so thankful for who? God is.
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And so he praises him, he he blesses him, speaks well about
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God. He says Blessed be Yahweh my.
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Rock. God is that steady One who is
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there for us in all the different moments of life here a
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rock. Is as opposed.
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To sand it is a safe place that can be stood upon.
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That you don't have to worry about.
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Your feet giving out from under you.
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It is a defensible position that.
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You are further up. Then all of those that would be
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attacking you and David says the if.
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You will the edge that I. Have in my life the edge.
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That I have. In battle against those that are
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seeking to do harm. To my nation.
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Is that I'm standing. On the Lord he doesn't.
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Go on and. On about his.
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Great military might, he goes on and on.
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About his great God, the. Next part of verse #1 Blessed.
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Be Yahweh my rock. He says who trains?
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My hands for battle and my fingers for.
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Warfare. Of maybe most of the people in
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Scripture, David could certainly feel like.
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He he was a really great. Warrior and so he could talk
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about his greatness, but here he doesn't do that.
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He doesn't say, you know, blessed be Yahweh my rock, and
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blessed be. You know David who?
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Kills his 10s of thousands, even as he would have heard songs at
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different points in his life talking about his own military
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greatness and said David says no.
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If I have any skill in battle. If I have any skill in warfare.
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It is because God is. Moving and working through me to
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protect and to save His people for your life and for your.
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Job for. Your school, work, whatever you
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know kind of life situation God has you in right now.
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Do you realize? That any good thing about?
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You has come because God is moving and living and working
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through you that if you you don't have a good singing voice
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that it is. God, the, if you will, the
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original singer is. The one that is working in and
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through you. And so we don't have anything
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that we can be. Proud about that we.
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Should say like, Oh yeah, I'm, I'm pretty.
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Great, you know. Hopefully at some point or
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another Tabernacle talk. Or my sermons or something has.
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Been an encouragement to you if you're randomly listening to
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Psalm 140. 4 on a Tuesday or whatever day you're listening to
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this. Then I assume at some point
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maybe these have been a blessing to you.
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But my heartfelt desire is that I would always remember that no
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good thing coming out of my life is as a result of how great
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Brian is. It's not as a result of, you
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know, all the work that I've put in.
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No Every iota of my life, every minute of my.
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Life I have. Lived in.
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The gift? Of God's like.
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Goodness to me of His grace. Being poured.
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Out undeserved, lavishly. And so I need to be thankful to
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God. Are you thankful to God for
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equipping you to be? Able to do.
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Everything that you are doing. In your life.
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David goes on in verse 2 and says he.
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God is my faithful love. And my fortress, like God's, the
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one I'm sticking around. There's this, I said.
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It's that covenant love. And so because we are.
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Together we are. Joined by promise man I love God
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he is my fortress. Here there's is a place of
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refuge. We I don't know, sometimes when
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growing up I would think about a fortress as primarily like an
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attack point. So I huge fan.
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Of like the. Lord of the Rings, and so as I.
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Thought about. Fortresses, you know, this is
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drastic place that is amazing to look at, but fortresses during
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this time was you want to get somewhere that's safe away from
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the enemy that the enemy can't break into you go to the.
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Fortress. And so God is.
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Our fortress, I think. Of the proverbs.
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I was just singing a song the other day.
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I can't remember if it's one of the old like Miranatha music
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things or if it was something that my dad had written.
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He's he's written just a couple. Of I'll say little ditties.
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Through the years, but it goes the name of the Lord is a strong
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tower. The righteous run into it and
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they are safe. And I love that God's name,
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God's authority, is a. Safe place.
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That we can run to over and over again and we find.
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Refuge from. The enemy Within.
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Our God. He says he is my stronghold and
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my. Deliverer.
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God is the rescuer and certainly for the children of Israel as
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they thought about their history as.
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They thought about. Egypt and the 10 plagues.
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As they thought about the judges, as they.
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Thought even about Saul's. Kind of early.
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Life and the way that God used him to win some victories over
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the people that were oppressing them.
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And then now during the reign of David.
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Yes, God. Is this deliverer?
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Throughout. Generations over and.
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Over and over again and. He can deliver.
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You and I. Today he says he is my.
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Shield and I take refuge in him. He says he subdues my people
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under me. He goes.
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I can't really rule over Israel. But God is the one that is
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ruling. And I think about this, you
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know, even in my kind of role as a pastor, I have.
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No innate. Ability on my own to pastor
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people from all different. Walks of life.
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From different ethnicities and different backgrounds and
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different, you know, denominational affiliations
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through the years and all that. I just have no idea.
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How to deal with? All the various.
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Things but God. Is the one who really is the
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chief shepherd, as we're told in first Peter 5.
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And so I'm just an under shepherd, one that would try and
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mimic what Jesus says so. Jesus has his.
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Word. So I want to be faithful to say
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His word. Jesus loves.
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I want to try to be. Faithful to love and I
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recognize. If I pastor God's people, if
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there's. Any like submission and
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obedience and and joy to be. Able to follow.
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Me in the ministry then. Pardon me, I just.
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Got a text over in the corner and it made me lose my train of
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thought if there's going to be any of like my leadership in
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Tabernacle. Baptist Church it's.
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Going to come because God is the one.
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That is working and. God is the one that is leading
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people to follow and so I need to always be remembering.
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God, you are great. You're important.
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You're wonderful you. Rescue you deliver you subdue.
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I just need to be faithful to worship.
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You and to obey you. Verses 3 and 4 Yahweh.
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What is a human? You care for him, a son of man
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that you think of him. A human is like a breath.
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His days are like. A passing shadow.
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Here he goes. God like you are incredible.
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You are so far above my character.
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You are so far above my understanding.
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And so God. Why would you care about us?
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Why would you? Consider why would you spend
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time. Thinking about.
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Me and then in. Verses 5 through. 8 David uses
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some of the pictures that would be painted in the.
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Stories. Of the Canaanite peoples and
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the. Peoples around Israel like as
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they thought about their quote UN quote gods.
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David goes no no, like God is the true one that all of these.
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Lesser, you know, lower. Case Gods they wish.
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That they could be like. Yahweh, the God of Israel, he
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says in verse 5. Yahweh part your.
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Heavens and come. Down this is if you will open up
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the skies and come on down to humanity, he says.
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Touch the mountains. And they will smoke.
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You can think about Sinai that smoked and lightning.
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Even as Moses. Was up there and the children
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of. Israel were.
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Deeply afraid of this presence of God on the mountain, or, as
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we read in it's Hebrews 12, our God.
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Is a consuming. Fire.
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And so here this God is one that when he returns as King of Kings
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and Lord of Lords, and we are told that he will descend back
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onto the Mount of Olives, that just as he left, he's coming
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back to the same spot. And what a day that will be when
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the Lord returns and when He returns with 10 thousands of
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his. Angels and AS.
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He returns with all of the redeemed.
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What an incredible day that that will be.
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It will be a day. Of judgment it will be.
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A day of fear for. Everyone that has snubbed their
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nose at God, everyone that has rejected Christ, they will fear
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in that day. Justly.
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Because he is coming to to execute.
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Justice. On all mankind, but on that day,
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what a joy for the people of God, those that have bent the
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need of King Jesus. Willingly, joyfully hailing.
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Him as Savior and Lord. It will.
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Be a. Tremendous day.
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Verse #6 Flash your lightning and.
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Scatter the foe. You can think.
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About the story of Deborah and I cannot remember.
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The guy's name in that. Story Barrick.
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Deborah and Barrick. As they're.
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Having to go up against this gigantic.
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Army, but God. From heaven rains down like
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hailstorm. And he has.
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Lightning that is there and so it.
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Throws. This army with.
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Lots of Chariots. And lots of horses into.
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Disarray. And so here, David, I'm.
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Certain thinking. About the the stories of
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yesteryear, he was God. You have scattered the enemies
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once before and God I believe that you are able to do it again
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to shoot your arrows and route them.
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Here lightning bolts are kind of are kind of pictured.
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Like a arrow. That is being shot from a bow,
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he says in verse 7. Reach down from on high.
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Rescue me from deep water. And set me free from the grasp
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of foreigners whose mouths speak lies, whose right hands are
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deceptive. Here the deep.
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Water. This is the.
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Picture of. If you will.
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It's very common in the Hebrew. Bible to talk.
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About things this way, the nations.
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Of the world. That are anti God are often
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pictured like. The chaos.
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Waters that want to bring everything.
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To death. And destruction and devastation.
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And so he says. God, it's like.
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I'm in. Deep water with these people
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that want to drown me that want to.
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Drown our nation. And so, God, would you reach
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down and rescue me? Would you save?
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Me from. These evil doers.
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He says in verse #9 God, I will sing a new song to you.
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I will play on a 10 stringed harp.
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For you the. One who gives victory to kings,
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who frees his servant David from the deadly sword.
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God's rescue. Of you and me.
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It means that he deserves new songs.
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It means that he deserves to be praised with everything that
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exists. He deserves to be praised with
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our mouths. He deserves to be praised with
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our minds. He deserves to be praised on
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whatever instrument mankind can invent.
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And so. This is.
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One of the I think 6:00 or so verses that we read in Psalms
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that would encourage us. That.
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As God continues to work in the lives.
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Of his people he is. Deserving of new songs and new
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praises. I'm thankful for old songs.
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I'm thankful for songs even that have come out in the last, you
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know, 28 years as I've been alive.
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But I also know. I will be singing some songs in
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20 and 30 years that have not been written yet, and I know
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that because my God is consistently being good and
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doing new things and applying truths from His Word to the
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hearts of people in new and fresh ways.
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So. That they can't help but write.
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Down in song or burst out in singing.
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About what? God.
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Has done and so let's never be. Opposed to.
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Singing new songs. This is something that God tells
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us in His Word, that as He. Works.
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We sing new songs to him. Verse 11 he says set me.
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Free and rescue. Me from foreigners whose mouths
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speak. Lies whose?
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Right hands are deceptive and you can read.
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I believe it's Second Samuel chapter 10.
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It's the. Chapter right before.
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Everything goes down with Bathsheba.
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But in chapter. 10 David had had a long time ally in the region,
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and he had passed and his son had now ascended to the throne.
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And so David had sent some men to say, like, man, I'm so sorry
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for your. For the loss of your.
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Father, he was a great friend, but like you know, we, we want
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to continue good relations between our nation and yours and
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instead of being grateful for that the new king of that
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country. Shaved like.
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Half the beards of the men that had come, which was incredibly
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consulting at that time. If you had, you know, a big
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beard, it was a sign of, oh, this person has.
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Aged he has. A wisdom he has maturity and you
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can see that by how long his beard is.
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It's an indication of how long he has lived on Earth, and so
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to. Cut off half the beard.
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Would be a great insult. Is to say.
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Basically, this guy has no wisdom and he looks dumb and so
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therefore he must be dumb. So it's a great insult and a
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great affront. And then if I, I.
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Recall correctly, he also cut off the like back half of their.
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Tunics. So that their rears.
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Could be seen. Which again is.
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Very insulting, you know, kind of humorous to the people that
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would see it and so. There, David, has these people
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here, these. Foreigners that instead of.
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Faithful, you know. Covenant love between.
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These peoples, even as David. Had showed kindness, now there
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was. Insult and rejection.
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And so David says, God, would you free me?
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Would you set me free from the grasp of these people?
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Verse #12 He says then what will happen when God saves us and
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delivers us. He says then our sons will be
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like plants nurtured in their youth, that you don't have young
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men that are cut down at 13 or 19 or 24 through having to fight
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in warfare when God delivers and there is safety.
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There is REST. Your young men grow up and
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they're not cut down in their youth, They are nurtured in
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their youth. He says our daughters.
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Like corner pillars. That are carved.
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In the palace style. If you will.
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That you were. Your daughters are able to grow
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up. They are not cut down in their
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youth. If you will, they're not cut
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down pre. Puberty here the carved in the
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palace style it's. Corner.
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Pillars. Here there is nobility.
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You would look. At these pillars and you go,
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wow, that's that's a nice looking pillar.
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And David says that our daughters will not be.
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Murdered or cut? Down by these invading.
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Forces, but instead. They're able to reach full.
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Maturity in their life and verse #13.
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Our storehouses will be. Full supplying all.
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Kinds of produce. Instead of what would very often
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happen. That they would have a.
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Harvest and invading. Forces like the Amalekites or
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the Midianites or Philistines or whatever would come through and
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steal a bunch of the crops. And you can read about that even
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in the story of Gideon. And the opposite of this is when
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God has delivered us. Our storehouses are full of
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produce because they have not been stolen, he says.
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Our flocks will increase by thousands and 10s of thousands
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in our open fields. Our cattle will be well fed.
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There's grass. Sufficient to eat, he says.
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There will be no breach in the walls that you don't have
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people. That are through.
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You know, I don't know all the methods.
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That people would use to breakthrough.
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City walls during that time period.
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But he's saying there's not invading armies.
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He says no, going into captivity, even as we think
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about Israel's history and how they went into captivity and the
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great grief that there was there when.
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God does his. Work, and certainly we can think
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ultimately of when. Christ returns.
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This will be. Ultimately true, there will be
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no more going into captivity for the children of Israel and said
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they will be reconciled to their God.
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Forever, just as we are. Says and no cry of lament in our
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public squares. There's no more.
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If you will in the. Words of Revelation 21 or 22.
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That there is. No more sorrow and weeping.
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God Himself wipes away our tears.
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Because there is no more evil on.
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Planet earth verse 15 happy are the people with.
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Such blessings Happy. Are the people whose God is
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Yahweh? Now as I have stated before,
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when scripture says this, happy. Are the people whose God is?
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Yahweh, this is not saying, you know, someone adopts a
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particular mantra as a nation, whether it's the US or the
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Philippines or you know, the the nation right now by the name of
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Israel over in the Middle East or you know.
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Perhaps South Africa? Or something.
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It's not if you just put something in your documents that
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says. That you are a.
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Christian nation or a Jesus following nation?
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That doesn't actually change anyone's hearts.
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The people whose God is the. Lord are.
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Those that have. Actually personally placed their
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faith in Jesus. And.
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We enjoy a certainty and we enjoy blessings in our life that
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the US. As a whole.
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Does not have. We have a.
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Blessing as the. People of God.
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To which no one else can lay claim to, because we are those
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that know and follow and. Worship the Lord Yahweh.
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Jesus. And because we have.
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Him as our. God, that is how we have access.
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To the blessings and the promises and the presence.
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Of our God. It's.
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Not through having you know in God we trust on our coins lots.
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Of people have. Coins or dollars that say in God
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we trust whose hearts are far far from God.
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So the goal is not have a. Christian Nation.
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In documentation, the goal is be that holy nation that Jesus has
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made from all tribes and all peoples and all languages, and
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we are the nation whose God is the Lord, the people of God, the
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Church of Jesus. Christ.
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Well, thank you for tuning in today.
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I hope that that would be an encouragement to you.
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Looking forward to next episode. Psalm 145 is a great Psalm and.
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Really, really looking forward to it.
24:17
Thanks for tuning. In See you next episode.