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1 Samuel 5-6 Bible Study - Pastor Daniel Batarseh · Bible Study with Pr. Daniel Batarseh | Verse by Verse Series | Maranatha Bible Church - Chicago

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  if you have your Bibles first, Samuel chapter 5, As we continue
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  in the book of 1st Samuel, today we're actually going to be
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  covering two chapters in this book, chapter 5 and chapter 6.
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  The reason being is that there is a wonderful flow between the
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  chapters that think is worthy to honor.
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  In one Bible study. Let's play one more time.
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  Would you join me in that? Heavenly Father, we ask Lord
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  that you would assist us. We pray for a liberty to
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  communicate these truths that would provide a joy.
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  And a sense of awe in our hearts Lord.
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  We pray that this meeting would not be void of your power or
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  your presence. We ask Lord that somehow in
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  miraculous fashion, you would Captivate Us with the wisdom
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  found in these verses, with the glory that we see in who you are
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  and that it would demand our affections and our obedience
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  more importantly. Lord, we pray for the person in
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  here. Is so dry their spiritual
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  journey up to this point for many months has just been a
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  desert. No life, no excitement, no
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  ambition, no prayers, no seeking of you in private Lord.
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  Would you graciously use this Bible study to revive our hearts
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  again? For those that do not know you
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  as their personal Lord and Savior, but I've put their trust
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  and their personal, interpretation of who you are,
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  or Lord a tradition. They've held on to for years.
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  Would you Lord show them the true message of Salvation and
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  bring him to saving knowledge in Christ Lord?
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  We admit right from the beginning?
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  Apart from your help, we are helpless, nothing of worthy
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  results. Would come about apart from you
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  helping us. So we call upon you in faith in
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  this moment. In Jesus name, we pray Amen.
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  Over the past few Bible studies. You and I have especially in
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  judges, we have been centering around one character after
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  another and we glean from their lives in order to fuel, our
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  personal Holiness, in our growth in godliness.
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  But in the next two chapters here, our Focus will not so much
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  Beyond Samuel or any human main character for that matter.
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  It will actually now come and gravitate towards a piece of
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  furniture. Namely the Ark of the Covenant.
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  This book turns away from any person and now brings us into
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  this Narrative of a unique item that God ordained for his people
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  to build and how this chess piece called The Ark will.
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  Actually teach us many things. If you remember the ark is
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  relatively small, again, chest piece was not God but God chose
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  to manifest his Holiness through that.
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  And the instruction for his people to hold that in to build
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  this into honor, it was an expression and great part of
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  God's desire to dwell with men and tangible fashion.
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  To manifest himself to communicate his will through
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  that, at least for a good portion of the old Covenant.
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  And so that people would know that God really wants to be in
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  our midst, but God now is not just going to show himself
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  strong to his own people. He's now going to do so with his
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  own enemies, the Philistines. Because if you were with us last
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  week, we know that the Philistines have captured this
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  Arc, and for the first time in Israel's history, The Ark was be
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  on the premises of its honored place.
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  And so we read here, in verse 1 of chapter 5, when the
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  Philistines captured, the Ark of God, they brought it from
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  Ebenezer to ashdod, then, the Philistines took the Ark of God
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  and brought it into the house of Dagon, and set it up beside
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  Dagon. And when the people of ashdod
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  Rose early the next day, behold, Trying to say look what happened
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  Dagon had fallen face downward on the ground before the Ark of
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  the Lord. So they took Dagon and put him
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  back in his place. But when they Rose early on the
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  next morning, behold Dagon had fallen face downward on the
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  ground before the Ark of the Lord and the head of Dagon and
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  both his hands were lying. Cut off on the threshold.
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  Only the trunk of Dagon was left to him.
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  So what happens is? The Philistines and wanting to
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  boast in their might and in the might of their gods, namely
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  Dagon. Took the Ark of the Covenant
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  away from the Israelites and wanted to make a declaration.
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  A declaration, not just that they have triumphed over the
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  people of Israel, but they have actually conquered the god of
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  Israel. And what better way to do that
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  than to take this symbol this emblem and to bring it into the
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  house of their God and to set them beside they got to say This
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  is what Dagon has accomplished for us.
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  And now the Ark of the Covenant has to become a trophy among the
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  pagans And this was their plan. Who knows what they were going
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  to do from this point on. But what we do know is that God
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  had his own plan, in this moment that would surely shock the
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  Philistines and Prevail over their ideas.
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  There are few lessons from these verses lesson.
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  Number one, this is a picture of God receiving Glory from his
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  enemies, whether his enemies want to give him glory or not.
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  You don't chapter 4, we saw that, God was being manipulated,
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  or at least it was attempt an attempt to be manipulated by his
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  own people. And here we see the enemies, not
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  God's people, but the enemy of God, trying to override his
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  sovereignty. And if you try to manipulate God
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  and if you try to override his sovereignty, you'll fail both
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  ways and that's what we see here.
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  The glory of God departed from Israel.
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  That's what it says in chapter 4, but it did not depart
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  completely. It was about to show off now and
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  the enemy's camp. He's brought into this place and
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  the Philistines thought like many people today that they have
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  the authority and the Liberty. To manage the concept of God.
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  Or to Define him and to limit him as they wish.
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  She did picked up this Arc, like, it was nothing.
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  Like it was just like one of their gods that they can pick up
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  and lay down, and polish and clean.
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  And many people think that the god of the Bible is the same
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  way. He's just a abstract idea, he's
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  some historical concept, he's some myth, and we can play
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  around with him and manage him to our own liking.
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  Or like the Philistines many people today, take the god of
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  the Bible and place some beside other expressions of DT or
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  systems of belief and say he's no different.
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  He's just a different manifestation of the same thing,
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  the same idea. But what happens when these
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  leaders the next day wake up and they come into the house of
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  Dagon. Well, it's a picture of what
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  will come down the pike. It's a picture of what will
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  happen at the end of the road. Dagon, his lying face before the
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  ark worshiping Yahweh. worshipping, the true and
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  living, God, despite the blasphemy, despite the arrogance
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  of those today who assume that this world came from nothing,
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  instead of coming from the words of God, Despite people fighting
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  against the exclusivity of Jesus Christ and his gospel message.
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  Everything that stands against God, will one day fall and
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  worship him. And what's amazing is that they
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  come into this room, they look upon this site and they're
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  shocked but to them, it was just coincidence.
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  To them. It was just well maybe a gust of
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  wind came in or maybe somebody walked in and knock them over so
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  they bring him right back up and I find it.
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  So amusing what God is doing by revealing this truth?
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  Here is the Philistines. Helping their God stand.
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  And you have the Ark of the Covenant that is about to show
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  in this moment that he is in. No need of Human Assistance or
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  intervention. He doesn't need your help or
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  mine. I want to tell you something
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  tonight. Whether you and I want to
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  glorify, God will not determine whether he will be glorified, he
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  will be glorified. The only thing that you and I
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  have in part with that is that we can join in that undefeated
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  mission. And experience the wonders of
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  being an instrument in the hands of a merciful god.
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  So they think it's coincidence, right?
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  So the next day they come and long behold.
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  Here's Dagon again on his face, but this time there's something
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  different Perhaps they got has fallen so hard this time that
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  strategically his head and His Hands fly off of the statue and
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  they land at the threshold of the door.
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  And so as they enter, and they realize that there's dagon's
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  head has there his hands and there is his body lying before
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  the Ark of God. And now you would think okay
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  this isn't coincidence anymore. There's something very very
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  important that's being said here and here's what's being said.
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  If the head symbolizes anything, it represents wisdom And of
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  hands describe anything. It describes power. and what we
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  see here is that in the presence of Yahweh, the wisdom and the
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  power and might of Dagon are vain feudal, empty, Unmatched.
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  No comparison. You can almost say that God
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  flicked Dagon over like he was paper mache And you would hope
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  that the people would get the message, but we're going to find
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  out that they don't. But I see another lesson here.
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  Here's another lesson that you can pull out of these verses God
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  in the old. Covenant, chose to abide in this
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  box called the Ark of the Covenant and to dwell within the
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  most holy place within the Tabernacle.
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  This was his doing, this was his choosing.
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  This is how he did in the old Covenant, the New Covenant.
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  There's something much more spectacular in the New Covenant
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  God chooses because of the blood of Jesus Christ to move
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  geographical locations. Not from one address to another
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  but from the idea of coming to one place now, abiding in the
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  hearts of those who are Washed by the blood of the Lamb you and
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  I now are the Abiding Place of God you and I now carry the
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  presence of God you and I host the hope of glory which is
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  Christ Jesus now although the location has changed.
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  The effects of God's presence. Haven't what do I mean?
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  Because what I see here is what happens in the hearts of those
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  who have truly repented and believed on the Lord Jesus
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  Christ. Like the idol Dagon.
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  There is no ability for any Idol in your heart to stand when the
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  presence of God Moves In. When God really moves into your
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  life and says, I want to live in you when you say yes to him.
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  Whatever was in there that you worshipped before that you were
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  bound to before Must Fall. Will be destroyed will not be
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  able to stand the might and the power of the grace of God
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  manifest, through the power of the holy spirit is that not
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  salvation. See we preach the cross of Jesus
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  Christ and we should but you know what, people Don't Preach
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  much today. That's a code death with Christ.
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  That as much as we believe on him, who was hung on the cross
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  part of the Gospel, is that you climb on the cross with him.
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  Not so that you can be saved. But as a response to your
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  salvation, you die to yourself. I die to myself.
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  And that's what Paul says in Romans 6:6.
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  He says, we know that our old self was crucified with him, in
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  order that what that the body of sin might be brought to nothing
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  like Dagon. That when you really taste the
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  Salvation, you know what will happen anything that lived in
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  you before will not be able to match the power, the provision
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  or the pleasure that God gives. And you are set free.
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  And because you are under grace and not under the law, sin has
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  no authority over you anymore. And here's the thing, if you
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  want God to move in, then you have to be willing to let Idols
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  crumble. And that's what you would hope
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  that these men would do. You would think that after
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  something like this? The Philistines were look at
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  each other and say not only is he a god of a different region.
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  He's the God of all gods, he's the only true and living God.
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  But you know what? We're about to learn here, the
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  resilient refusal to embrace truth Because look what happens
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  here in verse 5 as a response to Dagon falling and His Hands
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  being released and cut off with the head.
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  This is why the priest of Dagon and all who enter the house of
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  Dagon do not tread on the threshold of Dagon in ashdod to
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  this day. Instead of being broken, instead
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  of being repentant, instead of realizing God is choosing to
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  show himself true. Another tradition is created.
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  Think about it. This is the tradition because
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  the hands and the head were at the bottom of the doorway.
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  From that moment on the Philistines decided that
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  whenever they enter into the house of Dagon, they would not
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  step foot on the threshold. They would leap over it.
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  They would leap over it. so this is this is what happens here,
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  they only hold on tighter to their false god, They only dig
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  their heels deeper into their belief system.
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  They were not humbled, they were not moved and this may shock us
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  but it is no different than the reaction of many people today.
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  As they hear the gospel, Because no matter how much their hearts
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  are exposed to truth, like the Philistines, they are unwilling
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  to Forfeit and let go what they've known for so long.
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  Their idols. There are very few are willing
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  to submit to the truth, no matter what the cost is, but
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  there are many instead who suppress the truth in order to
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  hold on to what they really want.
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  Jesus, provided an incredible insight to why most people
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  reject him. It's not this great mystery and
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  it's not because his truth isn't convincing enough.
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  Do you want to know, listen to the words of the master himself
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  in John 3:19 for this is the Judgment.
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  The light has come into the world and people loved the
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  darkness rather than the light because their Works were evil.
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  So behind all the philosophical Persuasions and behind all the
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  academic arguments, and behind all the personal problems and
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  doubts, some are sincere and true.
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  But majority, that's all cover up for one root cause I love my
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  sin. I love Darkness.
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  And this tells us something powerful about the gospel.
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  When you come to the light, you have to forfeit your Darkness.
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  You can't keep both and people know that, they know that
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  instinctively, they know that in their hearts.
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  If I really Embrace this, Jesus, there are things that I have to
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  turn away from. And Jesus says, the reason why
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  so many reject me, the light as good as I am as holy as, I'm as
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  wholesome as I am, is because they love Darkness.
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  They love Darkness, don't be fooled by sophisticated
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  philosophers today. Or your liberal teacher at your
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  University, that wants to try to disprove theology in the word of
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  God. The real reason why they want to
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  argue till they're blue in the face and shame you in public is
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  because they love Darkness. And they don't want to let go of
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  it. And the Philistines are doing
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  the saved here. There are people.
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  There are the unsaved who are so in love with their sin.
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  That they're willing to hold onto error.
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  Until their dying breath. because they know what truth
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  does truth sets, you free it delivers, you calls you out from
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  among those who are perishing So, what happens?
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  Well, they create a new tradition.
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  And they didn't see it. We see it.
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  Let's help Dagon up. Here's this.
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  God who's just moving and power without anybody having to lift
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  him or move him? This is incredible.
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  But still, they want to hold on Today Gone.
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  And we read in verse 6, what happens as a result of that.
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  The hand of the Lord was Heavy against the people that asked
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  Todd and he terrified and Afflicted them with tumors.
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  Some translations say hemorrhoids.
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  Both ashdod and its territory. And when the men of ashdod saw,
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  how things were, they said the Ark of the god of Israel must
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  not remain with us. For his hand is hard against us
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  and against de ganar, God. Now, they're realizing that this
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  has to do with this Ark and God was merciful.
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  God was extremely merciful and showing that he is much more
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  Superior Today. Gone by allowing him to fall on
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  his face and to break his teeth and his hands, but that wasn't
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  enough. So God goes beyond that.
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  See you and I might read this and think this is this is cruel.
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  This is a little excessive but I see Mercy written all over this.
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  Because what is God doing? He's getting the attention of
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  the Philistines. They didn't get it the first
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  time they didn't get it when he tried to destroy their Idol.
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  So maybe they'll get it when he inflicts their bodies. and so he
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  does just that and so they begin to feel pain and discomfort and
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  there's death and a plague now breaks out And if you think that
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  this is the Old Testament, God realize that the Lord near the
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  end will turn up the heat right before his return, the Earth
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  will know something of his wrath, but in that wrath, there
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  is so much Mercy. If you've read the book of
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  Revelation, you know what I'm talking about.
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  Because I one point God begins to in his final set of
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  judgments. So unleash, such power and might
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  that there is no doubt in any corner of the earth that this is
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  God's doing But you want to see how other people respond and
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  Revelations. 16:9, they being the population of the Earth were
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  scorched by the fierce heat, from what the sun, the sun would
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  literally Scorch people's skin. And you think this is too much,
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  but listen to the mercy of God and they cursed, the name of God
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  who had power over these plagues.
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  They did not repent and give him glory.
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  They did not repent or give him glory.
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  What was God? Trying to get out of them?
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  Repent. What was he trying to get out of
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  them? Give me my glory.
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  Turn to me. What's better?
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  Just a few moments of pain on Earth are an eternal separation
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  from God. When you understand that
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  equation, you understand that this is Mercy trying to get your
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  attention and he's doing it with the Philistines.
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  And we think that this is going to do it.
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  So what do they do verse 8? So they sent and gathered
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  together, all the Lords of the Philistines and said, what shall
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  we do with the Ark of the god of Israel?
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  The answered, let the Ark of the god of Israel be brought around
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  to gath. They say, let's move it to
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  another city of ours. Let's change addresses.
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  So they brought the Ark of God of Israel there, but after they
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  had brought it around the hand of the Lord was against the
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  city, causing a very great panic and he Afflicted the men of the
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  city both young and old so that tumors broke out on them.
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  So you think, okay, what are they going to do?
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  Verse 10, so they sent the Ark of God to ekron another
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  Philistine City. But as soon as the Ark of God,
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  came to ekron the people of ekron cried out, they have
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  brought around to us the Ark of the god of Israel to kill us in
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  our people. So they're just passing it from
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  one city to the other and you thinking, what what are you
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  thinking? At what point are you just going
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  to fall in surrender? See, let's just worship this
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  God, he is the true and living God, or maybe get rid of them,
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  like they're going to do in a moment.
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  No, they're holding on. Why are they holding on?
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  I believe it's because they want to try to grip to the sense of
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  victory that they had over the Israelites and the god of
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  Israel, as long as possible. The Pride was getting in the
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  way. How long can we keep the Ark of
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  God so that we can show to our people and the nation's that we
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  have, the true and living God, and God was toying with them?
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  He was flinging them around like nothing and they still said, no
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  maybe this is just coincidence. Maybe this is, maybe this is
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  just bad timing and so they hold on and they try to move it to a
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  different place and try to shake this thing off and it's not
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  happening. Their own stubbornness was the
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  reason for their suffering. Their own Pride was the barrier
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  to their own freedom. And I tell you today, that
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  people respond to the gospel in the same fashion.
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  They just don't want to let go. They just will do everything
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  they can before they give up and give God glory.
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  Jesus, when he was on the earth experience that reaction.
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  The ultimate Tabernacle of God, the presence of God, in Flesh on
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  Earth, greater than the Arc, Greater than anything else.
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  And in John, 12:42, we are told nevertheless many even of the
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  authorities. We're talking about religious
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  leaders, Pharisees believed him, But for the fear of the
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  Pharisees, they did not confess it.
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  They didn't confess it. Why?
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  So that they would not be put out of a silly synagogue.
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  And we are told here for they loved the glory that comes from
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  man rather than the glory that comes from God.
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  So they believe they understood. This was the Messiah that has
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  been prophesied by the prophets written about in the Psalms, but
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  they would not confess it with their lips because some of them
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  didn't want to lose their membership at the synagogue.
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  And John goes deeper, they love the glory that comes from man,
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  rather than the praise that will come from God.
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  And many today will be damned for the same reason.
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  They will be fear, fear of losing something like the
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  Philistines. They didn't want to lose their
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  sense of Victory, and praise and Authority.
• 24:37
  And autonomy. They wanted to hold on and they
• 24:40
  were going to pay a price for it and people will pay a price for
• 24:42
  it today. And we see here that it's only
• 24:46
  going to get worse. And verse 11, they sent their
• 24:51
  foreign gathered together all the Lords of the Philistines and
• 24:53
  said, send away the Ark of God of Israel, and let it return to
• 24:56
  its own place. That I mean, I kill us and our
• 24:59
  people for their was a deathly, Panic throughout the whole city.
• 25:03
  Here's a pandemic in their midst and they have now come to the
• 25:06
  point where they said enough is enough.
• 25:10
  Send them back to where he came from.
• 25:12
  We ultimately reject. T' God.
• 25:17
  Based upon what Revelation when they understood the Holiness of
• 25:21
  God, listen to this. When they understood that, they
• 25:23
  couldn't handle this Godlike, how they can handle their other
• 25:27
  Idols, when they realize that this, God demands to be Lord
• 25:30
  over them. And that he sets the standards
• 25:33
  of how we relate to him. They said no thanks we didn't
• 25:37
  know that this was part of the package.
• 25:39
  We thought that he was just like Dagon we can lift them up.
• 25:41
  We can carry him. If this is who this God is, we
• 25:46
  want nothing to do with him. And I tell you today, that many
• 25:50
  people, when they come to the revelation of the wholeness of
• 25:53
  Jesus Christ, come to the same conclusion.
• 25:55
  Unfortunately, there's a version of Jesus, that appeases.
• 25:59
  The flesh that makes us feel comfortable makes us feel like
• 26:02
  we are in control, but the moment we hear the true Jesus
• 26:06
  and that he wants total control, that's where the people coming
• 26:09
  forward to, the message of the Gospel fins out.
• 26:14
  And we see here that they said, we want nothing.
• 26:16
  Absolutely nothing to do with this God of this is who he truly
• 26:19
  is. Then we regret bringing him to
• 26:21
  us in the first place. So they try to send them back.
• 26:27
  And that's where we come to this chapter.
• 26:30
  In chapter 6, The Ark of the Lord in verse one was in the
• 26:33
  country of the Philistines seven months.
• 26:36
  This was going on for seven months.
• 26:39
  I mean, I I would think after three weeks, you would think
• 26:44
  this is not coincidence. Let's move forward with our
• 26:46
  lives. No.
• 26:47
  They were determined. They were determined.
• 26:53
  So what do they do? And the Philistines call to the
• 26:56
  call for the priest and the diviners and said, what shall we
• 26:58
  do with the Ark of the Lord, tell us what we shall send to
• 27:02
  its place. They said if you send away the
• 27:04
  Ark of God of Israel, do not send it empty, but by all means
• 27:08
  return him a guilt offering, then you will be healed, and it
• 27:12
  will be known to you why his hand does not turn away from
• 27:14
  you. And they said, what is the guilt
• 27:16
  offering that we shall return to them?
• 27:18
  And they said, five golden tumors and five golden mice.
• 27:22
  So, now we know of This chapter there was mice.
• 27:24
  Involved with this plague. Doesn't make it any less
• 27:27
  Pleasant. Five, golden mice.
• 27:30
  According to the number of the Lords of the Philistines for the
• 27:32
  same plague was on all of you and on your Lords.
• 27:36
  So you must make images of your tumors and images of your mice.
• 27:40
  That ravaged, the land and give glory to the god of Israel.
• 27:44
  Perhaps he will lighten his hand from off of you and your gods
• 27:48
  and your land. So, they had enough sense to
• 27:54
  realize, after seven months of going from town to town to Town
• 28:00
  Gate. This is, this is the god of
• 28:01
  Israel. Now, what do we do with this?
• 28:03
  We're sending him back, but we want to show some kind of
• 28:06
  remorse and some kind of Honor. So they receive some Council,
• 28:09
  make some golden mice and tumors and make sure that you, you send
• 28:12
  it back with the Ark of God, to the people of Israel.
• 28:15
  And they said, that sounds like a good idea.
• 28:18
  Here's the thing. What's the reason for it?
• 28:20
  It's a strange type of offering but the motivation is actually
• 28:24
  right. Verse 5.
• 28:30
  And give glory to the god of Israel.
• 28:35
  Like we learned last last week, we're going to learn some things
• 28:38
  about the Philistines concerning how we relate to God, give glory
• 28:42
  to the god of Israel from that. What do you believe in part?
• 28:46
  Giving glory to God, means I would like to hear your answers.
• 28:53
  Give glory to the god of Israel. We live for the glory of God.
• 29:00
  And what they're saying here is in part, true of what it means
• 29:02
  to glorify God, any ideas? Yes, absolutely.
• 29:09
  Love them with all five of our senses.
• 29:10
  Absolutely obedience and giving him praise.
• 29:15
  Yes, you got it. Anything else?
• 29:21
  Putting him first in our lives. Yes.
• 29:25
  Humble yourself before God. Yes.
• 29:35
  And now, yes, all those answers were true and gorgeous is honing
• 29:38
  into what's being done here, giving glory to God.
• 29:42
  In this aspect is attributed to him the authorship of all that,
• 29:47
  we witness behold and experience.
• 29:50
  What they're doing here is declaring to God, we realize
• 29:53
  that you are the one who is Sovereign over all the Affairs
• 29:57
  that we underwent, you're the god of the mice.
• 30:03
  You're the god over the plagues. You're the god, that allowed
• 30:07
  these judgments, you are all powerful and all Sovereign.
• 30:09
  That's what they're doing here, and that's what it means to
• 30:12
  glorify God. You give him the authorship and
• 30:17
  you realize that he is the one who is behind everything. and
• 30:21
  Paul says after he told us in Romans one that God had
• 30:25
  manifested his Divine attributes, his invisible
• 30:30
  attributes, his divine nature, through what tell me through
• 30:33
  what Creation. So that no man is without excuse
• 30:40
  creation itself, testifies to the reality of God and the
• 30:43
  general Revelation. And then he says, this in the
• 30:45
  next verse he says in Romans 1:21 But there are those who did
• 30:51
  not honor him. Based on that understanding,
• 30:56
  they did not glorify God or give thanks to him.
• 31:02
  But they, what attributed to the silly concept that we came from
• 31:05
  goo and that your ancestors Are Hairy Beast and all these crazy
• 31:12
  ideas. What is what is behind that?
• 31:14
  Is that a discovery know? It's a theory by the way.
• 31:17
  You're putting your faith in a theory and the spirit behind it
• 31:21
  is what Paul says. They refuse to glorify God and
• 31:25
  give thanks to him. Notice a train of thought Paul
• 31:28
  says that creation testifies, to the knowledge of God, and right
• 31:32
  after he says, still people refuse to give God glory in that
• 31:36
  aspect and refused to give thanks to him.
• 31:41
  So, the opposite understanding of that is glorifying God as to
• 31:44
  say you are the one behind it all.
• 31:48
  You are the mind. You are the love.
• 31:50
  You are the power that has allowed these things to come
• 31:53
  into existence. And the Philistines are
• 31:57
  glorifying God and this aspect they're saying you are the true
• 32:01
  God. And they're doing it through
• 32:04
  mice and tumors, but it's going to work.
• 32:07
  Now look at this, in verse 6. Why should you this is the this
• 32:11
  is the council that they're receiving from their leaders.
• 32:13
  Why should you harden your hearts as the Egyptians and
• 32:18
  Pharaoh hardened their hearts after he had doubt severely with
• 32:22
  them. Did they not send the people
• 32:24
  away and they departed? Interesting.
• 32:29
  That tells me that when I read through Exodus and what God had
• 32:31
  done through delivering his people, it made international
• 32:34
  news. All the nations heard about it.
• 32:38
  And they had an accurate understanding of it and let's go
• 32:41
  beyond that. The holy spirit is providing
• 32:43
  insight about who really was responsible for Pharaoh's.
• 32:47
  Rejection of God. It says that pharaoh and what?
• 32:54
  Why should you harden your hearts as the Egyptians and
• 32:56
  Pharaoh hardened? Their hearts.
• 32:59
  That is a wonderful verse to bring some clarity on a very
• 33:02
  controversial character in The Bible by the name of pharaoh.
• 33:06
  Because the understanding of pharaoh is that he hardened his
• 33:10
  heart and he was responsible for the Judgment that came upon him
• 33:14
  and his people. So here's my question.
• 33:17
  How do you deal with a verse like this?
• 33:19
  When you compare it to What God Says in Exodus 73 and let me
• 33:22
  read it to you but I will harden.
• 33:25
  Pharaoh's heart. and though I multiply my signs and wonders,
• 33:30
  in the land of Egypt, who's going to harden, According to
• 33:34
  Exodus who is it? God God says, I will do it, I
• 33:38
  come to First Samuel 66 and I hear and I see that it was feral
• 33:42
  where the Philistines wrong. This is interesting, right?
• 33:52
  So the Philistines were our minions.
• 33:57
  And God is calvinist. I guess, right?
• 34:02
  Just to ease the tension in the room.
• 34:05
  It's still there, but it's okay. Let me ask it this way.
• 34:14
  When was the first time Pharaoh hardened his heart and The
• 34:17
  Exodus narrative. That will bring a lot of
• 34:20
  clarity. Does anybody know?
• 34:31
  So let me ask it this way. When was the first time, Exodus
• 34:34
  tells us explicitly that God hardened Pharaoh's heart.
• 34:43
  Close. But there's a specific location.
• 34:46
  It's under a specific plague does anybody know Would you like
• 34:50
  to know good go to Exodus chapter 9 and you'll see it
• 34:54
  right there. Where the first time we are
• 34:57
  explicitly told that the Lord hardened Pharaoh's heart.
• 35:09
  Exodus 9. Verse 12.
• 35:17
  But the Lord hardened, the heart of pharaoh, and he did not
• 35:21
  listen to them as the Lord had spoken to Moses.
• 35:24
  And that is under, what, what plague number the sixth plague.
• 35:28
  A lot has happened before God officially and explicitly
• 35:34
  Harden, Pharaoh's heart, because you see versus like what we see
• 35:38
  in chapter 8. Look at 8:15.
• 35:44
  But when Pharaoh saw that, there is a respite, he hardened his
• 35:48
  heart and would not listen to them.
• 35:51
  As the Lord had said you come down to verse 32 of the same
• 35:55
  chapter, what do you read? But Pharaoh hardened, his heart.
• 35:59
  This time also and he did not let the people go. and then,
• 36:05
  when you come to 9:12, God says you want to keep hardening your
• 36:11
  heart? I'll help you do it.
• 36:15
  And he seals him in that condition.
• 36:18
  So then what do we do with Exodus 7?
• 36:20
  Well, he said he would do it. He said he would do it and he
• 36:25
  did an exodus 9. So, he tells Moses in his
• 36:30
  understanding of the future, I'm going to harden his heart.
• 36:32
  It's going to happen. But what will you read prior to
• 36:35
  this moment of it actually being executed is Pharaoh hardened,
• 36:39
  his heart and Pharaoh, hardened, his heart again and Pharaoh
• 36:42
  hardened, his heart again and there is a Biblical truth that
• 36:45
  when a man continues to harden his heart, God will help him do
• 36:48
  it. And that's why the Philistines
• 36:51
  understood. Hey, we don't want to do that.
• 36:53
  We don't want to harden ourselves and become like them.
• 36:58
  Because the understanding of judicial hardening is that you
• 37:00
  do not know the line before. God comes and supernaturally,
• 37:04
  solidifies you in that place. So don't entertain it even once.
• 37:09
  That's why there's an urgency with a gospel today is the day
• 37:12
  of salvation. If you hear the gospel Now
• 37:15
  respond, when you share the gospel, yes, there is an element
• 37:18
  where you want to be patient with people, but there should
• 37:20
  also be an urgency. There should be an urgency.
• 37:24
  Now you can't grab people by the neck and drag them to church,
• 37:27
  but you With a voice and Trembling Lips and teary.
• 37:30
  Eyes say, you need to make a decision quick.
• 37:34
  I mean if you need to explore and compare and study sure but
• 37:37
  do it quickly the hold off on your salvation.
• 37:41
  Don't resist God. The Philistines understood that
• 37:45
  they understood the seriousness of God's work when it comes to
• 37:48
  them, giving a chance to either respond to him or reject him.
• 37:53
  So let me come back to 1st Samuel.
• 37:58
  And what happens? Well, it's amazing.
• 38:00
  What happens it actually makes you giggle.
• 38:04
  To some degree. They come up with an idea.
• 38:07
  And their idea is this well, we'll send them back with this
• 38:11
  gift. And these gifts, But verse 7
• 38:14
  says now then take and prepare a new cart and to milk cows on
• 38:19
  which there has never come a yoke and Yoke, the cows to the
• 38:24
  cart, but take their calves home away from them and take the Ark
• 38:29
  of the Lord and place it on the cart and put in a box at its
• 38:32
  side, the figures of gold, which were returning to him as a guilt
• 38:36
  offering. Then send it off and let it go
• 38:39
  its way and watch. If it goes on its way to its own
• 38:43
  land to Beth Shemesh. Now they have the specific
• 38:45
  location that it is he who has done this great harm but if not,
• 38:51
  hold on. But if not what But if not, then
• 38:56
  we shall know that it is not his hand that struck us.
• 38:58
  Are you kidding me? It has happened to us by
• 39:02
  coincidence. Like they are so desperate to
• 39:07
  hold onto the ark. They are so ferociously devoted
• 39:12
  to their own sense of Pride. That even up to this point,
• 39:16
  they're like there's like a point one percent chance that
• 39:19
  this is just really bad timing and that we're actually Superior
• 39:22
  over Israel. It's amazing.
• 39:25
  The determination to hold on to yourself and not fall at
• 39:30
  Christ's feet. That's why salvation in itself
• 39:34
  is a miracle. So this was a strategy.
• 39:37
  All right, get to milk cows. That just had babies that have
• 39:43
  never ever driven a cart. And what we're going to do is
• 39:46
  that we're going to put a yoke on both of these milk.
• 39:48
  Cows were going to leave their babies at home.
• 39:52
  And we're going to give them no driver.
• 39:56
  No driver, never driven a car before fresh babies that came
• 40:00
  out of their bellies. and if it heads towards beth-shemesh, The
• 40:06
  hand of God is on this, if they remove the, the yolk and they
• 40:10
  turn or they turn towards their calves, then this this is not a
• 40:13
  real deal. So they put this ridiculous test
• 40:17
  before God to see, is this really God or not?
• 40:23
  And something amazing happens. Verse 12, they come up with this
• 40:29
  test and we see here and the cows when straight in the
• 40:35
  direction of beth-shemesh along one Highway lowing as they went,
• 40:40
  they turn neither to the right nor to the left and the Lords of
• 40:43
  the Philistines went after them as far as the board of Beth
• 40:47
  Shemesh. So I can just picture it to milk
• 40:52
  cows, a yoke. All these leaders are
• 40:54
  surrounding it thinking like they're so desperate for this to
• 40:58
  work in their favor. They put the ark, they put the
• 41:01
  little box with a tumors in mice in it.
• 41:05
  And they said, okay, cows go to Beth Shemesh and they step back.
• 41:13
  And they begin to walk. And they're getting on the main
• 41:19
  road. And they're headed towards
• 41:22
  Israel. And they're thinking maybe they
• 41:25
  smell something, maybe they're trying to find something for
• 41:27
  their calves and they're getting nervous and they're pulling
• 41:30
  their callers. And then they hear something
• 41:33
  they hear a lowing, they hear them crying.
• 41:38
  And then it came to a point that they start following this cart
• 41:42
  and it dawned on them, we are witnessing a miracle.
• 41:47
  Why would this be a miracle for many reasons?
• 41:49
  But give me one. God himself is bringing himself
• 41:59
  back to Israel shore. But you know what's so
• 42:03
  interesting here? What would be the natural
• 42:06
  tendency of these cows? What would be their their
• 42:10
  Instinct as a result of this? To go back to their babies.
• 42:17
  To go back to their children, to offer them, the affection, and
• 42:21
  the care that they need, and their vulnerable state.
• 42:26
  And we see that being manifested how they were lowing.
• 42:30
  As they went, there is a deep cry, they wanted to go back and
• 42:36
  be with their babies. But, what's happening?
• 42:42
  There is another force that is overpowering.
• 42:45
  Even their natural tendencies, and it's pulling them in a
• 42:49
  different direction to such a degree that they don't look to
• 42:52
  the left, they don't look to the right.
• 42:57
  The faces of these cows Were Like Flint.
• 43:01
  Towards where God wanted them to go.
• 43:06
  Earlier, you heard and you received a picture of what
• 43:09
  happens when the presence of God enters into the same room where
• 43:14
  an idol thinks he can stand. As a picture of, when God moves
• 43:19
  into your heart, the power and authority, and even pleasure of
• 43:23
  sin. Crumbles, you're about to see
• 43:27
  another lesson about what the presence of God does and here's
• 43:32
  what it does. It provides a supernatural
• 43:35
  strength that keeps you on the path of obedience.
• 43:39
  Even to the point where you can overcome your natural
• 43:42
  tendencies, In 1st Samuel for you saw, the people is, you're
• 43:49
  trying to manipulate the Ark of God.
• 43:50
  And first, Samuel 5, you saw the Philistines trying to miss treat
• 43:54
  the Ark of God. And in first Samuel 6, you were
• 43:57
  seeing two cows. Submit to the presence of God.
• 44:05
  Two cows. Milk cows are proving a greater
• 44:11
  example of how to respond to God than humans.
• 44:18
  And this is what happens when God moves into your heart.
• 44:23
  There is much in our life that we live against in the natural
• 44:29
  sense. There are many things that are
• 44:32
  flipped when God abides in a person's heart.
• 44:38
  For example, you forgive the unforgivable, don't you?
• 44:47
  You say no to what the world easily says yes to.
• 44:52
  Instead of taking Vengeance on your behalf or on the behalf of
• 44:55
  others, you let God do it, right?
• 45:00
  If you want to be great, you become a servant and you refuse
• 45:03
  to be a master and Lord yourself over others.
• 45:08
  And these cows felt the tension. There is the natural pull.
• 45:12
  The maternal instinct to be with their children, but something
• 45:15
  greater overtook that You and I cannot do what Christ calls us
• 45:22
  to do. Unless we are involved with the
• 45:23
  Holy Spirit. And the more you want to live in
• 45:28
  this paradoxical Christian conviction, the more of the
• 45:32
  power of God you need in your life.
• 45:35
  There is no way that these cows apart from God's presence.
• 45:38
  Would have moved forward miles on end to complete the thing
• 45:42
  that they first started. But with God's help it is
• 45:46
  possible and that's the point. Christianity is a supernatural
• 45:50
  religion as one person put it. There is no other religion in
• 45:54
  the world that teaches that their God lives inside of them.
• 46:00
  but your Bible teaches that, Your Bible teaches that your God
• 46:05
  takes up residence within you. And me now, can we sing that and
• 46:10
  preach that and believe that and not see the effects of that?
• 46:16
  No. We should be walking miracles.
• 46:21
  We should be walking Miracles what we fall.
• 46:24
  Sometimes. Sure because there's another
• 46:25
  principle. It's not automatic these cows.
• 46:28
  Don't have what you and I have a conscience.
• 46:33
  To a certain degree. We have to choose, we have to
• 46:36
  feed that new man that lives inside of us that can be
• 46:40
  weakened over time because of our negligence, but that can be
• 46:42
  strengthened, as we pay attention to it.
• 46:46
  So you look at the Book of Jonah.
• 46:48
  What do you see you see the same picture.
• 46:49
  God commands a whale to swallow up the prophet.
• 46:52
  He obeys God commands a storm, the storm obeys, God commands a
• 46:55
  plan to come up, it obeys a warm to eat the plant, it obeys.
• 47:00
  God, commands a prophet to preach repentance.
• 47:01
  No. No, no.
• 47:06
  The caterpillar will say yes, to God.
• 47:07
  The winds will say, yes to go. The ways will obey the whale.
• 47:11
  Yes, sir, man. No.
• 47:17
  We need something greater than just emotional stirring and even
• 47:23
  a will we need God's help and God's power. and he's willing to
• 47:28
  do just that when a person hungers and thirsts for
• 47:30
  righteousness, You know, what's so sad about this that these
• 47:35
  cows to cows? Are providing a greater example
• 47:40
  of how to respond to God's Authority.
• 47:42
  Then the two sons of Eli. The two sons of Eli waltzed into
• 47:48
  the presence of God, took up the ark and went into the
• 47:50
  battlefield and the cows are taking that same Arc and bring
• 47:56
  it back to its rightful place. And what happens when they
• 48:02
  arrive, we'll verse 13. We see here in other people
• 48:08
  have, beth-shemesh were reaping their wheat harvest in the
• 48:12
  valley. And when they lifted up their
• 48:14
  eyes and saw the ark, they rejoiced to see it, it's been
• 48:19
  seven months. Seven months, not knowing when
• 48:23
  the ark was going to come back, if it was going to come back and
• 48:25
  offer a sudden there, it is, in the Horizon to milk cows lowing,
• 48:29
  and lowing and lowing. You know what?
• 48:32
  I love about the cows lowing. It's still testifies to the
• 48:34
  attention of the flesh. It's still testifies.
• 48:38
  That there's a war between the spirit and the flesh.
• 48:41
  So sometimes your flesh, even though the spirit of God dwells
• 48:44
  in, you will cry. Give me attention.
• 48:47
  Give me sin. Give me lust, give me blood.
• 48:53
  The lowing and lowing and lowing.
• 48:57
  And they look and I wonder if the sun hit that Arc and it's
• 49:02
  golden frame and they rejoiced to see it, it's back here it is.
• 49:10
  And I'd like to think that these cows received an honor that
• 49:14
  hophni and Phineas forfeited. They were instruments used by
• 49:19
  God to carry something that would bless others.
• 49:24
  Instead hafidh and Phineas represented the same God, but
• 49:27
  this honor men but much grief to the nation of Israel.
• 49:31
  Here's my point. You and I have the opportunity
• 49:35
  to carry the hope of glory and such a tangible.
• 49:40
  And obvious way that when those who are around us come into
• 49:43
  contact with us, they can rejoice in God and greater
• 49:46
  fashion. I would like that in my life.
• 49:51
  And I would encourage you like these to milk cows yoke with
• 49:54
  somebody that has the same ambition in life.
• 49:58
  Yoke yourself to someone like these cows that are not driven
• 50:01
  by man, but are driven by the invisible hand of God.
• 50:06
  And you will be a blessing in your marriage and your
• 50:08
  friendships. And your local church. find that
• 50:13
  people that are driven by God, led by his spirit that hate the
• 50:20
  things of the Flesh. And even when there's days where
• 50:22
  they low and cry because of Temptation, they still move
• 50:26
  forward, and don't look to the left or the right.
• 50:29
  These cows blessed people not because they were cows because
• 50:34
  of what They Carried. You can be a blessing no matter
• 50:39
  who you are. It doesn't matter how you look.
• 50:41
  Doesn't matter your hair, how it looks your skin condition, your
• 50:45
  height, your weight. It's who you carry.
• 50:51
  It's who you carry. Church history, teaches that the
• 50:55
  Apostle Paul was not an attractive person.
• 50:59
  And I can imagine how just read what the man went through
• 51:02
  shipwrecks and whippings and stonings.
• 51:05
  I mean the guy got stoned so badly that the people at Stone
• 51:08
  and thought he was dead. Then he gets up and dust himself
• 51:11
  off and he goes right back in. You're telling me this guy was
• 51:14
  stoned and whipped and beaten and Shriveled up by the Sea and
• 51:19
  he was attractive. but when he walked into a city demons cried
• 51:25
  out, Who cares? What kind of Blazer you wear?
• 51:31
  Who cares? What kind of clothes you wear
• 51:32
  it? Don't you covet that?
• 51:35
  Don't you covet that I love what one preacher said that his
• 51:38
  greatest ambition in life was to be on the 10 most wanted list in
• 51:42
  hell. Jesus, we know.
• 51:47
  And who do we know Paul we know who are you guys?
• 51:51
  And a demon's? Beat them up and they ran out of
• 51:54
  the house? Naked.
• 51:57
  You and I can tap into something in God, where people are blessed
• 52:00
  by our presence, by our words of our actions, by our gifts.
• 52:04
  That can only come when were in relationship with God and we
• 52:06
  allow them to dominate our hearts and Minds.
• 52:10
  So they come and then they sacrifice these cows, but then
• 52:13
  something happens very quickly in verse 19.
• 52:17
  And he struck being God, some of the men of Beth Shemesh because
• 52:20
  they looked upon the Ark of the Lord.
• 52:22
  He struck 70 men of them, and the people mourn, because the
• 52:25
  Lord had struck the people with a great blow.
• 52:30
  I mean, you had a Revival that lasted like a few minutes.
• 52:35
  Because the people didn't learn after 7 months.
• 52:38
  Have to treat the presence of God.
• 52:41
  And God came back after seven months and he says, we're not
• 52:43
  going to do this again. And he brought a severe plague
• 52:48
  instantly because the people of Israel should have known better
• 52:51
  since they had the word of God, but notice how they respond in
• 52:54
  verse 20. The men have Beth Shemesh said,
• 52:57
  who is able to stand before the Lord this holy God and to whom,
• 53:02
  shall he go up away from us. So they sent Messengers to the
• 53:06
  inhabitants of kiriath. Jeremie saying the Philistines
• 53:10
  returned, the Ark of the Lord, come down and take it up to you.
• 53:14
  They're doing the very same thing that the Philistines did.
• 53:18
  Once there was a revelation of the Holiness of God, the tone
• 53:22
  here denotes that they're actually pinning.
• 53:24
  The blame of this great blow against God.
• 53:29
  So, he Slaughters an amount of Israelites, and this is what
• 53:33
  they do. Instead of being broken, instead
• 53:36
  of being repentant and contract in art, they said, who's going
• 53:39
  to stand before this. God, he's so holy, let's get rid
• 53:42
  of him. Just like the Philistines.
• 53:47
  Let's get rid of him. And that is one of two reactions
• 53:52
  to the Holiness of God. You either run away with him or
• 53:57
  from him with such a desperation, you will plunge
• 54:01
  yourself into greater darkness and wickedness or you will fall
• 54:06
  at his feet and worshiped him and surrender to him and men.
• 54:12
  Do what these men are doing here they do, they will come to this
• 54:17
  book and they will, with arrogance point to certain
• 54:21
  aspects of God's dealings, especially in the Old Testament.
• 54:25
  and they will say, what is this? God think he is.
• 54:32
  How can he do such things and they will even look at the
• 54:34
  commands of God. Say, these are excessive and
• 54:36
  these are even unrealistic. And you have many people even in
• 54:41
  the church today that interpret the god of the Old Testament
• 54:44
  such fashion and God over all And so, the Holiness of God
• 54:49
  becomes an aspect of criticism, instead of an element that
• 54:53
  causes us to worship. And Paul clarifies very, very,
• 54:58
  very obviously. And Romans 7, when he speaks
• 55:01
  about the law, he's talking about the Old Testament law.
• 55:03
  You know what Paul says in Romans 7:12.
• 55:05
  So the law is Holy, it's holy, and the Commandment is holy and
• 55:10
  righteous and finished at the, you know, well, there it is.
• 55:14
  And good. It's good.
• 55:18
  It's not excessive. It's not unrealistic.
• 55:25
  No, the finger cannot be pointed at God's law, whether old or New
• 55:29
  Covenant, the finger should be pointed at our lack of obedience
• 55:34
  and our willingness to submit, you know, why we get offended,
• 55:36
  how God does things in the Old Testament?
• 55:38
  It dawned on me today. It dawned on me today and it's
• 55:42
  one main reason because we don't understand how holy is.
• 55:46
  It's as simple as that. Because we equate God to us,
• 55:52
  like, this is, how many people even Christians.
• 55:54
  This is how many Christians think God is, just like a little
• 55:56
  holier than I am. Like, I'm here and God is here.
• 56:04
  Let me ask you this. How hold are you in comparison
• 56:06
  to Isaiah the prophet figure? That one out.
• 56:10
  Once you do, go to Isaiah 6 and see his reaction to the presence
• 56:14
  of God. We don't understand how Puri is.
• 56:19
  Without blemish without spots. So, brilliant and Majestic and
• 56:24
  purity. That it will cause a profit.
• 56:29
  To dig his head in the ground. And be broken.
• 56:34
  And the thing that he had the right to Bow, send my lips,
• 56:37
  these are unclean lips. The very thing that he preached
• 56:40
  with came and was rendered as nothing in the presence of a
• 56:44
  holy God. So what happens.
• 56:49
  Here's what happens. Mankind has proven that until
• 56:54
  today. Blaming God's holiness instead
• 56:58
  of looking at our own sinfulness.
• 57:02
  But God's holiness is not the only thing that is good.
• 57:05
  God's Mercy is equally good and here's what happens instead of
• 57:10
  judging all of us instead of casting us into an utter and
• 57:16
  outer Darkness for all eternity. God in his mercy and love enters
• 57:20
  into the world. And stands on our behalf and
• 57:25
  fulfills what? No, man could fulfill his own
• 57:26
  power and strength so that we can stand before his holiness.
• 57:32
  And that's why the Bible gives us language.
• 57:35
  Hiding yourself in Christ being hid in Christ.
• 57:40
  So the question here, who can stand before the Lord, this holy
• 57:43
  God is no one. Except for those who are in
• 57:47
  Christ, best the answer. And I thank God for that.
• 57:54
  Because not only does he allow me to stand in his presence.
• 57:58
  Like these milk cows, he gives me the power.
• 58:02
  And the Delight to walk in his ways.
• 58:06
  The power and the Delight to walk in his ways.
• 58:10
  It's amazing what God can do when he conquers a heart
• 58:13
  completely. I can tell you this.
• 58:18
  Somebody said this and it's an old thought.
• 58:22
  Meaning, it's an old message that I heard that bless me to
• 58:24
  this day and it rings in my ears.
• 58:26
  Sometimes he said, I don't ask Christians where people
• 58:30
  generally, if they believe in Jesus anymore, I stopped asking
• 58:34
  that question. and I start asking this question, this
• 58:38
  Christ live in you And when you ask that question, you're going
• 58:44
  to get different answers this Christ live in you.
• 58:49
  Everybody believes in Jesus, milk cows.
• 58:53
  Believe in Jesus. But not everybody can
• 58:57
  confidently answer. But the same whip of.
• 59:04
  Confidence. Christ lives in me.
• 59:08
  Do you know how Christ lives in you?
• 59:10
  It's very simple. Just examine your desires.
• 59:15
  Examine your desires, see before Christ, you felt this
• 59:18
  overwhelming, pull to do with the flesh, says to do.
• 59:22
  But when Christ comes in, you discover something about
• 59:24
  yourself, you know, what it is. There's a wrestling match now.
• 59:30
  The Flesh and the spirit the Flesh and the spirit, many
• 59:35
  people come up and say, I don't know if I'm truly saved,
• 59:36
  brother. Why?
• 59:37
  Because this happened in my life, I fell into this and I'm
• 59:40
  overwhelmed by the grief. Do you want to sin or not?
• 59:43
  I don't want to send. That's why I'm confessing it.
• 59:45
  Do you want to continue in this way or not?
• 59:47
  I don't want to. Do you love your sin?
• 59:48
  I hate my sin and I almost hate myself because of my sin.
• 59:56
  You're in a good place. You're in a good place.
• 1:00:01
  Because you know, the tension between the spirit and the
• 1:00:04
  flesh. Now all you need to do is feed
• 1:00:07
  the new man and you will know a greater strength.
• 1:00:12
  I never thought that I would read this Bible and find
• 1:00:15
  inspiration from milk cows. But that's the beauty of Bible
• 1:00:20
  study. Next time, if somebody asks you
• 1:00:23
  who are your favorite characters in the Old Testament, you have
• 1:00:25
  another one to consider. I look at these milk, cows, and
• 1:00:31
  I'm inspired because here's what I'm inspired by today.
• 1:00:36
  My birthday just passed and I thought to myself.
• 1:00:40
  Wow, time flies. I'm not going to tell you how
• 1:00:44
  old I am. But I'll tell you this, it's
• 1:00:46
  been 10 years walking with the Lord 10 years.
• 1:00:54
  And it felt like, too. Really even moving around and
• 1:00:59
  different opportunities and studying here.
• 1:01:00
  And they're really felt like 2 or 3 years.
• 1:01:05
  I was having a conversation with somebody and they brought the
• 1:01:07
  point up that when you get older it only feels faster.
• 1:01:15
  And he gave the example that somebody that he heard from
• 1:01:17
  somebody, that when you get older it's like your age becomes
• 1:01:21
  a greater speed limit. So when you're in your 30s, it
• 1:01:25
  feels like you're going 30 miles an hour in life.
• 1:01:27
  When you're in your 40s, it feels like 40 my when you're in
• 1:01:29
  your 50s, it feels like 50. I'm like don't scare me.
• 1:01:33
  I'm already trying to put the brakes on at this point.
• 1:01:36
  We were sitting across from each other and we he's at a different
• 1:01:39
  point in life and I'm at a different point in life in terms
• 1:01:42
  of age, but we came to the same conclusion.
• 1:01:45
  Not much time is left. And I look at these milk cows,
• 1:01:49
  and they finished. They became a burnt offering at
• 1:01:53
  the end. They never got to see their
• 1:01:55
  babies again. Read verse 14 of chapter 6, they
• 1:01:59
  never were able to go back to their desperate and vulnerable
• 1:02:02
  babies but they became a pleasing Aroma to God.
• 1:02:09
  That's what I want my life to be.
• 1:02:11
  I want to finish well. Started 10 years ago, wonderful,
• 1:02:15
  it's one thing to start. It's another thing to finish and
• 1:02:18
  I hope that's your desire as well.
• 1:02:19
  And here is the promise. Let the presence of God dominate
• 1:02:23
  your heart. Let's ask him for that.
• 1:02:46
  I'd like to offer you two points of application in your prayers
• 1:02:50
  tonight. The first one Lord, the same way
• 1:02:53
  you made Dagon fall to his face. And he was rendered powerless.
• 1:03:00
  Lord destroy every Idol in my heart tonight.
• 1:03:06
  In the same way that you directed those milk cows into
• 1:03:08
  your will to the point where they overcome the tugs and the
• 1:03:12
  pulls of their own flesh. Lord bind me to your will.
• 1:03:19
  Arrest me with your Authority. Captivate my heart not just in
• 1:03:26
  the beginning, but all the way till the end Help me.
• 1:03:30
  Not look to the left. Help me not look to the right.
• 1:03:35
  Thank you that on the way there will be times of lowing.
• 1:03:39
  But Lord, no matter how I feel. I want to obey your will just
• 1:03:45
  ask God for a fresh touch, a fresh empowerment of the spirit.
• 1:03:51
  Let not milk cows. Bear greater testimony of
• 1:03:54
  obedience than us in 2021. Father, we ask you in.
• 1:03:59
  Jesus name, thank you for your incredible word.
• 1:04:04
  Thank you. How you speak?
• 1:04:05
  Lord, thank you for the inspiration.
• 1:04:08
  Lord, we ask tonight. that every person in here, Would be slaves
• 1:04:15
  to Christ. and Lord thank you that in first John five, you
• 1:04:21
  tell us that are your commands are not burdensome and the only
• 1:04:27
  way your commands can feel light as when we have a greater power
• 1:04:31
  in US, thank you for the power of the Holy Spirit.
• 1:04:35
  We ask Lord that. If we have grieved him of, we
• 1:04:39
  have failed to fellowship with him.
• 1:04:43
  That that would be revived tonight.
• 1:04:50
  That would be revived tonight. we want to finish well, Lord
• 1:04:59
  there is someone here who have walked with you for two years,
• 1:05:01
  five years, ten years, 20 years, 30 years, Thank you.
• 1:05:07
  Lord. That you've kept us this long
• 1:05:10
  but Lord, we have the Finish Line in mind.
• 1:05:14
  And with all the Temptations and all the cries of this flesh and
• 1:05:18
  all the allurements of this world.
• 1:05:19
  Lord, we recognize that. It must be your Divine help that
• 1:05:24
  keeps us on the path. So, Lord, we confess our
• 1:05:28
  neediness to you tonight. Thank you that through the
• 1:05:31
  blood. You do not dwell in the most.
• 1:05:34
  Holy place in Jerusalem. Anywhere you made your home in
• 1:05:37
  US. And so, Lord Phyllis afresh.
• 1:05:43
  We are encouraged by Your Word tonight.
• 1:05:46
  We are blessed by your wisdom. We adore you for your goodness.
• 1:05:51
  Lord, if you're willing to help milk cows, how much more your
• 1:05:55
  children? We rest in that truth tonight in
• 1:05:59
  Jesus name we pray. Amen.
• 1:05:43
  We are encouraged by Your Word tonight.
• 1:05:46
  We are blessed by your wisdom. We adore you for your goodness.
• 1:05:51
  Lord, if you're willing to help milk cows, how much more your
• 1:05:55
  children? We rest in that truth tonight in
• 1:05:59
  Jesus name we pray. Amen.