1 00:00:14,099 --> 00:00:17,339 Welcome to the Lansdale Life Church podcast. 2 00:00:18,359 --> 00:00:24,100 If you're seeking a closer relationship with Jesus Christ, this podcast is for you. 3 00:00:24,900 --> 00:00:27,079 Thank you for joining us today. 4 00:00:34,820 --> 00:00:38,500 All right, so we are in Judges chapter 2. 5 00:00:39,939 --> 00:00:42,920 It's a really cool passage I'm excited about. 6 00:00:43,560 --> 00:00:46,659 The title of the sermon is, And the Cycle Begins. 7 00:00:47,640 --> 00:00:53,799 So we're going to see a pretty consistent cycle over and over and over again. 8 00:00:54,100 --> 00:00:59,240 In Judges, and honestly, even through Kings and all the other books of the Old Testament where 9 00:00:59,240 --> 00:01:04,819 Israel is doing good while they have a good leader, and then the the judge passes away, 10 00:01:05,060 --> 00:01:09,579 and then they go right back to their sin, then they're oppressed by the people because God's 11 00:01:09,579 --> 00:01:13,959 blessing has been lifted since they're breaking the covenant, and then they're oppressed by the 12 00:01:13,959 --> 00:01:19,040 other nations, and then they cry out to the Lord, and God comes in, saves them, gives them a judge 13 00:01:19,040 --> 00:01:22,900 to free them and rule over them, and then they're walking with God until the judge dies, 14 00:01:22,900 --> 00:01:25,459 and they do the same exact thing over and over and over again. 15 00:01:25,780 --> 00:01:29,700 So this is a cycle that is not a good one. 16 00:01:30,420 --> 00:01:35,739 And just before we even start, I've heard people say things like this before, 17 00:01:35,920 --> 00:01:39,019 and you know, it kind of bothers me, but they'll say things like, 18 00:01:39,180 --> 00:01:41,180 aren't we all the same, like that? 19 00:01:41,299 --> 00:01:43,000 Aren't we just like them, like we've done? 20 00:01:43,379 --> 00:01:47,040 And in ways, yes, like, you know, we're not perfect. 21 00:01:47,299 --> 00:01:49,299 We do sometimes go back to sin. 22 00:01:49,299 --> 00:01:53,920 We might sometimes fall into a habit of sin or, you know, ways of thinking, 23 00:01:53,920 --> 00:02:00,260 but the Christian life should not be marked by constant returning to sinful ways over and 24 00:02:00,260 --> 00:02:04,799 over again, needing somebody to save you because we already have the Savior, right? 25 00:02:04,939 --> 00:02:09,520 We already have Jesus, who's better than a judge, who has saved us from sin, 26 00:02:09,620 --> 00:02:12,900 has set us free from it, has filled us with his Holy Spirit. 27 00:02:12,939 --> 00:02:17,780 So now we actually have the grace, the empowerment to overcome and have victory in him. 28 00:02:17,780 --> 00:02:21,379 So yes, obviously there's weakness in us. 29 00:02:21,580 --> 00:02:23,479 Like we have a sinful nature, but at the same time, 30 00:02:23,639 --> 00:02:26,879 like we should not be reading this and patting ourselves on the back, 31 00:02:26,919 --> 00:02:29,500 thinking like, oh, it's okay if I keep doing it because they did. 32 00:02:29,680 --> 00:02:31,759 Like, this is a warning right here, this passage. 33 00:02:32,219 --> 00:02:33,259 Don't do what they did. 34 00:02:34,419 --> 00:02:37,699 So yeah, that's where we should not be marked by a similar pattern. 35 00:02:37,879 --> 00:02:40,460 So let's just pray and then we can get into it. 36 00:02:41,379 --> 00:02:44,319 Lord Jesus, just thank you so much for your word. 37 00:02:44,819 --> 00:02:47,319 And I thank you, God, for this church. 38 00:02:47,879 --> 00:02:51,039 And honestly, every time I come here on a Wednesday night and I see this place, 39 00:02:51,159 --> 00:02:54,419 I'm just thankful for even this building, Lord, it's a beautiful place. 40 00:02:55,759 --> 00:02:59,659 And the few hundred years, almost 200 years or so that people have been 41 00:02:59,659 --> 00:03:02,379 gathering in here and praying, it's almost like you can feel it. 42 00:03:03,379 --> 00:03:08,219 Just all the faithful saints who've gone before us and have worshiped in here. 43 00:03:08,259 --> 00:03:09,639 And I just thank you for this place, God. 44 00:03:10,020 --> 00:03:10,860 I thank you for this church. 45 00:03:11,000 --> 00:03:12,240 I thank you for the people in this room. 46 00:03:12,240 --> 00:03:16,219 And most of all, just thank you for you and what you've done for us, Lord, 47 00:03:16,319 --> 00:03:21,479 and how you're so close to us, Lord, at all times, even when we're not aware of it. 48 00:03:21,580 --> 00:03:23,860 I thank you, Lord, for your mercy and your grace. 49 00:03:24,280 --> 00:03:27,879 And I thank you that you will speak to us through this passage. 50 00:03:28,240 --> 00:03:29,360 In Jesus' name, amen. 51 00:03:30,599 --> 00:03:34,460 All right, so let's start right at the beginning of chapter two. 52 00:03:35,539 --> 00:03:39,659 Then the angel of the Lord came up from Gilgal to Bakim and said, 53 00:03:39,659 --> 00:03:45,020 I led you up from Egypt and brought you to the land of which I swore to your fathers. 54 00:03:45,360 --> 00:03:48,259 And I said, I will never break my covenant with you. 55 00:03:49,219 --> 00:03:52,120 And you shall make no covenant with the inhabitants of this land. 56 00:03:52,500 --> 00:03:56,060 You shall tear down their altars, but you have not obeyed my voice. 57 00:03:56,500 --> 00:03:57,819 Why have you done this? 58 00:03:58,500 --> 00:04:01,460 Therefore, I said also, I will not dry them out before you, 59 00:04:01,580 --> 00:04:06,319 but they shall be thorns in your side and their Gods shall be a snare to you. 60 00:04:06,319 --> 00:04:10,800 So it was when the angel of the Lord spoke these words to all the children of Israel 61 00:04:10,800 --> 00:04:13,740 that the people lifted up their voices and wept. 62 00:04:14,039 --> 00:04:18,660 Then they called the name of that place, Bakim, and they sacrificed there to the Lord. 63 00:04:19,259 --> 00:04:21,199 And when Joshua had dismissed the people, 64 00:04:21,360 --> 00:04:25,500 the children of Israel went each to his own inheritance to possess the land. 65 00:04:26,519 --> 00:04:31,360 So the first thing I want to point out is that most people, 66 00:04:31,579 --> 00:04:33,579 most scholars believe that this is a Christophany, 67 00:04:33,579 --> 00:04:37,480 which I'll explain why in a moment. 68 00:04:37,740 --> 00:04:41,740 But Christophany is basically the pre-incarnate appearance of Jesus. 69 00:04:42,019 --> 00:04:46,339 So before Jesus came, born of Mary, he was still existed, right? 70 00:04:46,699 --> 00:04:48,420 We see that in John, in the beginning was the Word, 71 00:04:48,480 --> 00:04:50,120 and the Word was God, the Word is with God. 72 00:04:50,399 --> 00:04:52,939 Jesus didn't suddenly get born, and now he's here. 73 00:04:53,540 --> 00:04:54,379 He's eternal. 74 00:04:54,660 --> 00:04:55,839 He's part of the Godhead. 75 00:04:56,000 --> 00:04:56,600 He is God. 76 00:04:57,079 --> 00:05:00,819 So before he was born, he wasn't just sitting on the sidelines waiting. 77 00:05:01,720 --> 00:05:02,759 He's God. 78 00:05:02,759 --> 00:05:03,620 He's doing things. 79 00:05:03,740 --> 00:05:04,819 He's active, and he's moving. 80 00:05:05,639 --> 00:05:08,079 So it's believed to be, this is a Christophany, 81 00:05:08,180 --> 00:05:13,959 because one, that the angel of the Lord here claims deity, claims being God. 82 00:05:14,100 --> 00:05:15,199 You can see right here, 83 00:05:16,199 --> 00:05:19,800 I led you up from Egypt and brought you to the land in which I swore to your fathers. 84 00:05:20,019 --> 00:05:22,279 And I said, I will never break my covenant with you. 85 00:05:22,699 --> 00:05:25,079 We don't see normal angels speaking like this. 86 00:05:26,500 --> 00:05:28,480 Other passages where you see the angel of the Lord, 87 00:05:28,660 --> 00:05:30,120 lots of times people fall down and worship. 88 00:05:30,120 --> 00:05:33,300 Any time you see a normal angel and people worship, 89 00:05:33,459 --> 00:05:34,240 they say, stand up. 90 00:05:34,279 --> 00:05:34,899 I'm just a messenger. 91 00:05:35,100 --> 00:05:35,819 You don't worship me. 92 00:05:36,160 --> 00:05:40,660 But the angel of the Lord allows them to worship him because he is God. 93 00:05:41,519 --> 00:05:48,759 So this is a very deep, serious moment in the life of the Israelites. 94 00:05:50,560 --> 00:05:53,860 Whenever you see a Christophany, you want to just slow down 95 00:05:53,860 --> 00:05:56,379 and read it and really pay attention to things. 96 00:05:56,579 --> 00:05:59,519 And that's what I want to do here tonight. 97 00:06:03,080 --> 00:06:07,300 So the angel of the Lord, Jesus, it says in verse one, 98 00:06:07,439 --> 00:06:10,199 and the angel of the Lord came up from Gilgal to Baqim. 99 00:06:12,000 --> 00:06:14,459 So it's kind of interesting when you think about it. 100 00:06:14,560 --> 00:06:16,180 Like how do they know where he came from? 101 00:06:16,560 --> 00:06:18,579 Why do they know where he came from? 102 00:06:19,019 --> 00:06:22,139 I guess they must have seen him coming up like the road walking. 103 00:06:22,339 --> 00:06:25,879 Like I would have thought the appearance of God would just be shining out of heaven massive bang. 104 00:06:26,379 --> 00:06:29,720 But here they see him coming and they know where he came from. 105 00:06:30,120 --> 00:06:31,759 And I think it's very intentional. 106 00:06:32,800 --> 00:06:35,740 Everything with the Word of God is intentional and everything points to Jesus 107 00:06:35,740 --> 00:06:37,819 and everything has significance. 108 00:06:38,759 --> 00:06:40,500 So what is significant about Gilgal? 109 00:06:41,100 --> 00:06:45,699 I want to turn to Joshua 4, which is where Gilgal is first mentioned. 110 00:06:46,779 --> 00:06:48,220 So we could turn there together. 111 00:06:54,879 --> 00:06:55,600 All right. 112 00:06:57,060 --> 00:06:58,860 Let's jump to verse 19. 113 00:06:58,860 --> 00:07:03,259 So the Israelites are coming into the Promised Land for the first time. 114 00:07:03,560 --> 00:07:05,360 Everybody remember this passage? 115 00:07:05,740 --> 00:07:07,920 This was probably two months ago, three months ago. 116 00:07:08,300 --> 00:07:11,040 So they're coming over into Israel for the very first time. 117 00:07:11,680 --> 00:07:12,439 And verse 19. 118 00:07:13,139 --> 00:07:17,300 Now the people came up from Jordan on the 10th day of the first month 119 00:07:17,300 --> 00:07:20,920 and they camped in Gilgal on the east border of Jericho. 120 00:07:22,040 --> 00:07:26,660 And those 12 stones, which they took up out of the Jordan, Joshua set up in Gilgal. 121 00:07:27,300 --> 00:07:29,339 And he spoke to the children of Israel and said, 122 00:07:29,600 --> 00:07:32,939 When your children ask their fathers in times to come, saying, 123 00:07:33,100 --> 00:07:33,860 What are these stones? 124 00:07:34,319 --> 00:07:36,439 Then you shall let your children know, saying, 125 00:07:36,459 --> 00:07:38,980 Israel crossed over the Jordan on dry land. 126 00:07:38,980 --> 00:07:39,740 It was a miracle. 127 00:07:39,959 --> 00:07:41,459 He's saying, Remember this miracle. 128 00:07:41,939 --> 00:07:44,839 For the Lord your God dried up the waters of the Jordan before you 129 00:07:44,839 --> 00:07:48,720 until you had crossed over, as the Lord your God did to the Red Sea, 130 00:07:49,019 --> 00:07:51,939 which he dried up before us until we had crossed over. 131 00:07:52,279 --> 00:07:56,180 And all the peoples of the earth may know the hand of the Lord 132 00:07:56,180 --> 00:08:00,079 that is mighty, that you may fear the Lord your God forever. 133 00:08:00,620 --> 00:08:02,740 So he's coming up from this place, 134 00:08:03,300 --> 00:08:08,879 where these 12 stones are set up as a monument, declaring the power of God 135 00:08:08,879 --> 00:08:13,779 and also his provision and that he was there with his people 136 00:08:13,779 --> 00:08:17,600 and all that he had done, reminding them of who they belong to. 137 00:08:18,160 --> 00:08:20,939 And in addition to that, in the next chapter in 5, 138 00:08:21,379 --> 00:08:26,000 they are circumcised and have a rededication of their covenant to God. 139 00:08:26,000 --> 00:08:29,759 So there's a miracle, there's a monument to remember what he's done. 140 00:08:29,939 --> 00:08:35,100 There's a rededication to the Lord and they celebrate the Passover for the first time. 141 00:08:35,600 --> 00:08:37,740 And then let's look at verse 9 in chapter 5. 142 00:08:39,700 --> 00:08:40,960 Then the Lord said to Joshua, 143 00:08:41,299 --> 00:08:45,379 This day I have rolled away the reproach of Egypt from you. 144 00:08:45,559 --> 00:08:49,379 Therefore the name of that place is called Gilgal to this day. 145 00:08:49,620 --> 00:08:54,919 Now the children of Israel camped in Gilgal and kept the Passover in Gilgal. 146 00:08:55,479 --> 00:09:00,440 So this is a super significant place for the people of Israel and for God 147 00:09:00,440 --> 00:09:02,320 because of all that happened there, 148 00:09:02,399 --> 00:09:05,179 the very first time they stepped into the Promised Land, Gilgal, 149 00:09:05,580 --> 00:09:07,500 the miracle that happened in Gilgal, 150 00:09:07,840 --> 00:09:11,539 the covenant with God was rededicated in Gilgal. 151 00:09:12,059 --> 00:09:15,279 And on top of it, it's named Rolling Away 152 00:09:16,240 --> 00:09:21,879 because God took away the sin and the shame and reproach of slavery 153 00:09:21,879 --> 00:09:23,960 and all that they had been through. 154 00:09:24,680 --> 00:09:25,539 In that place. 155 00:09:25,580 --> 00:09:27,480 So they were essentially clean. 156 00:09:27,919 --> 00:09:29,960 They were like, you know, fresh slate. 157 00:09:30,399 --> 00:09:31,360 And this all happened there. 158 00:09:31,659 --> 00:09:35,840 And one thing I'm just blown away by is that word rolled away 159 00:09:37,900 --> 00:09:42,159 is the first time it's ever used speaks of rolling away a large stone. 160 00:09:42,419 --> 00:09:43,759 And that's in Genesis. 161 00:09:44,580 --> 00:09:48,539 And what else was rolled away to remove sin and slavery 162 00:09:48,539 --> 00:09:51,019 and also the shame of our past? 163 00:09:51,399 --> 00:09:53,480 It's the stone in front of the tomb. 164 00:09:53,480 --> 00:09:57,240 That Jesus rolled away and that heavy weight that was on us was rolled off. 165 00:09:57,899 --> 00:09:59,480 And here this place is named Gilgal 166 00:09:59,480 --> 00:10:02,399 because that heavy weight was rolled off of them. 167 00:10:03,139 --> 00:10:03,659 Isn't that amazing? 168 00:10:04,440 --> 00:10:06,379 So here is Jesus. 169 00:10:07,399 --> 00:10:13,159 He's in Gilgal and his people are sinning and walking away already. 170 00:10:13,320 --> 00:10:14,960 And they haven't even been there that long. 171 00:10:15,440 --> 00:10:17,879 And he's in Gilgal probably, I don't know. 172 00:10:18,100 --> 00:10:21,299 I could assume he looked at those 12 stones and thought about it. 173 00:10:21,299 --> 00:10:23,919 Oh, man, like how far they have already fallen. 174 00:10:24,200 --> 00:10:27,240 Like maybe he walked over to where they had their first Passover 175 00:10:27,240 --> 00:10:31,120 and thought about the amazing time that was seeing the Israelites 176 00:10:31,120 --> 00:10:34,399 just worshiping him and actually being dedicated to him. 177 00:10:35,200 --> 00:10:38,480 And then he walks from that place to where they are now to Bakim, 178 00:10:38,620 --> 00:10:42,580 which means weeping because they're now weeping aware of how far they had fallen. 179 00:10:45,260 --> 00:10:49,820 And here they see him coming from that place. 180 00:10:49,820 --> 00:10:52,379 Not only like, you know, what he must have been thinking, 181 00:10:52,700 --> 00:10:55,960 seeing this place of dedication and now where they're at, 182 00:10:56,200 --> 00:10:57,039 but think about it. 183 00:10:57,139 --> 00:11:01,840 It's like if somebody like, you know, God sees us in our entirety. 184 00:11:01,960 --> 00:11:03,419 He knows our good and our bad. 185 00:11:03,840 --> 00:11:05,980 And you know, when it's kind of a rude awakening, 186 00:11:05,980 --> 00:11:08,279 where you're like, you just were maybe doing something, 187 00:11:08,399 --> 00:11:09,620 thinking something, whatever it is. 188 00:11:09,700 --> 00:11:13,100 And you're like, oh, he can read me like a book, like, Lord, forgive me. 189 00:11:13,600 --> 00:11:16,320 But imagine like him coming from the place 190 00:11:16,320 --> 00:11:19,860 where maybe you made so many promises that you didn't live up to. 191 00:11:20,259 --> 00:11:22,639 This isn't a form of guilt that he's trying to do, 192 00:11:22,639 --> 00:11:24,120 but it's trying to remind them. 193 00:11:24,419 --> 00:11:26,159 Like, remember the zeal you had. 194 00:11:26,279 --> 00:11:28,159 Remember where you've come from. 195 00:11:28,240 --> 00:11:30,820 Remember the beginning of this journey. 196 00:11:31,360 --> 00:11:33,039 And that's the first point I want to make, 197 00:11:33,139 --> 00:11:37,440 is that it is important to remember the early days of your faith. 198 00:11:38,360 --> 00:11:39,460 It really, really is. 199 00:11:39,679 --> 00:11:44,000 Like the early days when everything's so fresh and everything's so new, 200 00:11:45,100 --> 00:11:46,899 it's important to not forget that. 201 00:11:47,299 --> 00:11:48,740 Because if you go through this life, 202 00:11:49,279 --> 00:11:52,139 and you're just like, forget what you've come from. 203 00:11:52,720 --> 00:11:54,159 Forget about the experiences with God. 204 00:11:54,519 --> 00:11:57,539 Forget about all the things that he's called you to. 205 00:11:57,639 --> 00:12:02,840 And you just get kind of dumbed down and doled up by this life. 206 00:12:03,139 --> 00:12:06,000 It's like, you just start going on autopilot. 207 00:12:06,139 --> 00:12:08,019 And you just forget, like, why am I even here? 208 00:12:08,639 --> 00:12:10,460 But remember the early days. 209 00:12:10,659 --> 00:12:13,720 And if you come to the Lord and you talk to him and pray to him, 210 00:12:13,720 --> 00:12:16,460 and ask for that zeal again, I mean, he does it. 211 00:12:16,659 --> 00:12:19,159 He brings you back to that first love. 212 00:12:19,259 --> 00:12:21,019 And I think about that in Revelation 2. 213 00:12:22,500 --> 00:12:24,700 Jesus says to the church of Ephesus, 214 00:12:25,139 --> 00:12:29,480 this one thing I hold against you is that you have forsaken the love you had at first. 215 00:12:30,159 --> 00:12:31,720 Consider how far you have fallen, 216 00:12:31,980 --> 00:12:35,159 and repent and do the things you did at first. 217 00:12:36,779 --> 00:12:38,179 Remember where you came from. 218 00:12:38,340 --> 00:12:41,500 If you're in a place like they were, where you're stuck in sin, 219 00:12:41,500 --> 00:12:46,000 and you know you're not living up to what you feel called to, 220 00:12:46,399 --> 00:12:48,360 you're not living up to what God has called you to, 221 00:12:48,659 --> 00:12:51,299 just remember the early days and the work will begin. 222 00:12:52,279 --> 00:12:56,240 And for me, my early days are direct soul. 223 00:12:56,399 --> 00:12:58,980 You know, I was a Christian since I was very young. 224 00:12:59,539 --> 00:13:03,679 But when I went to college, things really shifted for me. 225 00:13:04,340 --> 00:13:07,279 I went to Christian high school and middle school and all, 226 00:13:07,360 --> 00:13:07,860 and it was great. 227 00:13:08,019 --> 00:13:10,580 And I had a real faith in God. 228 00:13:10,580 --> 00:13:13,659 But it's different when you get out into the world for real, you know? 229 00:13:14,120 --> 00:13:20,179 And I went to direct soul and like immediately was confronted with things 230 00:13:20,179 --> 00:13:24,320 that I hadn't seen before or been asked to do before and all this stuff. 231 00:13:25,080 --> 00:13:29,639 And I remember like I struggled with the immediate like thing of like, 232 00:13:29,639 --> 00:13:31,779 how am I going to say no to this or no to that? 233 00:13:31,779 --> 00:13:34,679 Or like, I'm actually going to be doing this because I'm a Christian, you know? 234 00:13:34,960 --> 00:13:37,679 I just didn't want to be rejected and like feel stupid. 235 00:13:37,919 --> 00:13:40,159 And then I just decided like, you know what, who cares? 236 00:13:40,159 --> 00:13:44,139 I'm just going to be truthful and like honest and I'm going to be a light. 237 00:13:44,799 --> 00:13:46,360 And that really changed everything for me. 238 00:13:46,440 --> 00:13:48,340 Like I didn't care anymore about what people thought. 239 00:13:48,759 --> 00:13:54,639 And those were the early days of just freedom and honestly, like so much courage in the Lord. 240 00:13:55,659 --> 00:13:59,559 And that's at direct souls where my love and my desire for God really grew. 241 00:13:59,899 --> 00:14:04,539 And, you know, we were doing amazing things like we're doing worship in the middle of campus 242 00:14:04,539 --> 00:14:06,179 in this big grassy area at night. 243 00:14:06,299 --> 00:14:09,240 People are walking by and like coming up and like, what is going on? 244 00:14:09,240 --> 00:14:12,279 There's like, I don't know, maybe a hundred people there just worshiping God 245 00:14:12,279 --> 00:14:14,879 only like a nine o'clock night on Thursday. 246 00:14:15,980 --> 00:14:19,659 And then even some of my friends who were atheists didn't even believe in God. 247 00:14:19,700 --> 00:14:21,080 They got saved, born again. 248 00:14:21,240 --> 00:14:23,919 Now it's 15 years later and they're still walking with the Lord. 249 00:14:24,340 --> 00:14:28,620 And so it's important for me to remember those early days and like whatever your 250 00:14:28,620 --> 00:14:32,059 gilgal is like that place where you first came to the Lord. 251 00:14:32,159 --> 00:14:32,899 Don't forget it. 252 00:14:33,039 --> 00:14:38,399 It's an amazing, sweet moment that is has honestly formed you into who you are. 253 00:14:38,399 --> 00:14:42,700 And you need to remember those days because they're important. 254 00:14:43,019 --> 00:14:46,580 And it will bring back the zeal for the Lord if you ever lose it 255 00:14:47,199 --> 00:14:51,360 because those were really precious times that the Lord used in your life. 256 00:14:52,679 --> 00:14:54,539 Let's read verse 13. 257 00:14:57,899 --> 00:14:59,879 Oh, I'm back in Joshua still. 258 00:15:01,460 --> 00:15:02,679 So verse 7, I mean. 259 00:15:03,719 --> 00:15:09,080 So the people served the Lord all the days of Joshua and all the days of the elders who outlived 260 00:15:09,080 --> 00:15:13,740 Joshua, who had seen all the great works of the Lord, which he had done for Israel. 261 00:15:14,379 --> 00:15:19,259 Now Joshua, the son of Nun, the servant of the Lord, died when he was 110 years old, 262 00:15:19,559 --> 00:15:21,480 probably on Arnold's diet right there. 263 00:15:22,600 --> 00:15:26,799 And they buried him within the border of his inheritance at Timnath Hares, 264 00:15:27,200 --> 00:15:30,340 in the mountains of Ephraim on the north side of Mount Gash. 265 00:15:30,340 --> 00:15:33,759 And when all the generation had been gathered to their fathers, 266 00:15:34,039 --> 00:15:39,279 another generation arose after them who did not know the Lord nor the work 267 00:15:39,279 --> 00:15:40,879 which he had done for Israel. 268 00:15:43,740 --> 00:15:47,379 So after that moment that we just read before this, 269 00:15:47,659 --> 00:15:49,559 they wept, they turned to the Lord and they're like, 270 00:15:49,580 --> 00:15:51,940 I'm going to go and do what I'm called to do. 271 00:15:52,320 --> 00:15:55,419 But there's obviously something that was missed, a crucial step. 272 00:15:56,579 --> 00:15:58,519 And if you remember in Joshua, it says, 273 00:15:58,779 --> 00:16:01,000 when your children see these stones, tell them. 274 00:16:01,700 --> 00:16:03,039 Tell them what God has done. 275 00:16:03,580 --> 00:16:07,360 And there must have not been many trips to Gilgal after that day, right? 276 00:16:07,519 --> 00:16:12,120 There must have not been many trips to remind their children 277 00:16:12,120 --> 00:16:15,500 and the next generation of all that God had done for them. 278 00:16:16,179 --> 00:16:18,620 And that's why we always see through the whole testament, 279 00:16:18,879 --> 00:16:21,740 always the saying, hey, like the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, 280 00:16:21,820 --> 00:16:22,980 the God who brought you out of Egypt. 281 00:16:23,080 --> 00:16:24,279 Remember, remember what he's done. 282 00:16:24,279 --> 00:16:25,659 Remember what he's done for you. 283 00:16:26,059 --> 00:16:28,659 Because if you forget, if you don't remember, 284 00:16:29,059 --> 00:16:32,360 you'll forget and you'll start to believe some other things that aren't true. 285 00:16:32,840 --> 00:16:36,379 So they missed a crucial step of reminding their children. 286 00:16:36,639 --> 00:16:39,419 The next generation rose up and forgot. 287 00:16:39,840 --> 00:16:42,700 They didn't know who the Lord was or what he had done. 288 00:16:43,320 --> 00:16:45,460 So we need to remind the next generation, 289 00:16:45,620 --> 00:16:47,240 whether it's your kids, your grandkids, 290 00:16:47,860 --> 00:16:50,919 those who are newer to the faith, people right around you, 291 00:16:50,960 --> 00:16:53,480 just tell them what God has done for you. 292 00:16:53,480 --> 00:16:59,820 I found the best thing to do is to just talk about it like it's normal. 293 00:17:00,179 --> 00:17:01,779 You don't have to go into great detail 294 00:17:01,779 --> 00:17:04,980 and say things that people won't understand that aren't Christians, 295 00:17:05,180 --> 00:17:09,299 but just talk about as if they know God, how good God is. 296 00:17:09,400 --> 00:17:11,880 Oh man, the Lord really has been so good to me. 297 00:17:12,519 --> 00:17:14,220 I'm so blessed with my family. 298 00:17:14,339 --> 00:17:15,660 I'm so blessed with this job. 299 00:17:15,859 --> 00:17:20,039 Just talk about him more frequently and remind people. 300 00:17:20,559 --> 00:17:22,960 And you remind yourself, but remind those around you. 301 00:17:22,960 --> 00:17:25,099 So the next generation doesn't forget. 302 00:17:25,279 --> 00:17:29,180 So the next generation doesn't walk into the same sins of before, 303 00:17:29,279 --> 00:17:32,619 but they can actually walk in this new life that they can have in Jesus. 304 00:17:37,140 --> 00:17:38,440 Let's look at verse 11. 305 00:17:40,859 --> 00:17:43,660 Then the children of Israel did evil on the side of the Lord 306 00:17:43,660 --> 00:17:44,539 and serve the bales. 307 00:17:44,920 --> 00:17:47,220 And they forsook the Lord, God of their fathers, 308 00:17:47,400 --> 00:17:49,599 who had brought them out of the land of Egypt. 309 00:17:49,859 --> 00:17:52,220 And they followed other Gods from among the Gods 310 00:17:52,220 --> 00:17:53,779 of the people who were all around them, 311 00:17:53,839 --> 00:17:56,140 and they bowed down to them, and they provoked the Lord to anger. 312 00:17:56,940 --> 00:17:59,480 They forsook the Lord and served Baal and the Asheroths. 313 00:18:00,319 --> 00:18:02,619 And Baal is the God of wealth. 314 00:18:03,059 --> 00:18:05,380 It was an agricultural God, so money. 315 00:18:06,000 --> 00:18:09,119 And then the Asheroths was the God of sex and love. 316 00:18:09,599 --> 00:18:13,539 So those things still exist today, just without those names. 317 00:18:13,759 --> 00:18:17,500 Money, sex, and love is what most people are going after in this world, 318 00:18:18,059 --> 00:18:19,640 and they give up a lot for it. 319 00:18:20,400 --> 00:18:23,160 And the anger of the Lord was hot against Israel, 320 00:18:23,339 --> 00:18:26,319 so he delivered them into the hands of the plunderers who despoiled them, 321 00:18:26,420 --> 00:18:29,279 and he sold them into the hands of their enemies all around, 322 00:18:29,519 --> 00:18:32,559 so that they could no longer stand before their enemies. 323 00:18:32,980 --> 00:18:36,960 And wherever they went out, the hand of the Lord was against them for calamity, 324 00:18:37,279 --> 00:18:40,200 as the Lord had said and as the Lord had sworn to them, 325 00:18:40,279 --> 00:18:41,460 and they were greatly distressed. 326 00:18:42,119 --> 00:18:45,640 Nevertheless, the Lord raised up judges who delivered them 327 00:18:45,640 --> 00:18:47,619 out of the hand of those who plundered them. 328 00:18:47,619 --> 00:18:49,640 Yet they would not listen to their judges, 329 00:18:50,039 --> 00:18:52,839 but they played the harlot with other Gods and bowed down to them, 330 00:18:52,880 --> 00:18:55,940 and they turned quickly from the way in which their fathers walked 331 00:18:55,940 --> 00:18:59,279 in obeying the commandments of the Lord, and they did not do so. 332 00:19:00,000 --> 00:19:01,980 And when the Lord had raised up judges for them, 333 00:19:02,019 --> 00:19:05,779 the Lord was with the judge and delivered them out of the hand of their enemies, 334 00:19:05,920 --> 00:19:09,039 all the days of the judge, for the Lord was moved to pity 335 00:19:09,039 --> 00:19:13,119 by their groaning because of those who oppressed them and harassed them. 336 00:19:13,440 --> 00:19:15,259 And it came to pass when the judge was dead 337 00:19:15,259 --> 00:19:18,000 that they reverted and behaved more corruptly than their fathers, 338 00:19:18,420 --> 00:19:21,380 by following other Gods to serve them and bow down to them. 339 00:19:21,680 --> 00:19:25,180 They did not cease from their own doing, nor from their stubborn way. 340 00:19:25,660 --> 00:19:28,160 Then the anger of the Lord was hot against Israel, 341 00:19:28,299 --> 00:19:30,940 and he said, Because this nation has transgressed my covenant, 342 00:19:31,119 --> 00:19:34,359 which I commanded their fathers, and has not heeded my voice, 343 00:19:34,700 --> 00:19:38,099 I also will no longer drive out before them any of the nations 344 00:19:38,099 --> 00:19:41,759 which Joshua left when he died, so that through them, 345 00:19:41,759 --> 00:19:45,720 the nations, I may test Israel whether they will keep the ways 346 00:19:45,720 --> 00:19:49,400 of the Lord to walk in them as their fathers kept them or not. 347 00:19:49,819 --> 00:19:53,480 Therefore, the Lord left the nations without driving them out immediately, 348 00:19:53,799 --> 00:19:56,220 nor did he deliver them into the hand of Joshua. 349 00:19:59,619 --> 00:20:01,799 So we see they got what they wanted. 350 00:20:02,900 --> 00:20:06,319 They wanted the nations of the world and what they had. 351 00:20:07,259 --> 00:20:09,920 And the Lord said, If you want them here, you can have them. 352 00:20:09,920 --> 00:20:12,200 And this is what they're going to do to you. 353 00:20:12,500 --> 00:20:14,940 They're going to honestly just oppress you, 354 00:20:15,619 --> 00:20:19,359 and steal from you, and put you into slavery. 355 00:20:20,279 --> 00:20:23,900 And isn't that such a picture of what happens with sin in general? 356 00:20:25,059 --> 00:20:27,619 God is not going to force himself onto you. 357 00:20:27,819 --> 00:20:29,380 God is not going to force himself onto the world. 358 00:20:29,859 --> 00:20:32,299 He laid his life down for the world, 359 00:20:32,960 --> 00:20:37,420 and he's proclaiming who he is to the world in many ways, 360 00:20:37,779 --> 00:20:39,220 and including through his church. 361 00:20:39,220 --> 00:20:42,680 But he's not going to force you to follow him. 362 00:20:42,980 --> 00:20:44,980 And if you don't want to follow him, then he says, 363 00:20:45,160 --> 00:20:47,059 Okay, here, you can have what you want. 364 00:20:48,000 --> 00:20:51,680 And what we want in the end, the sinful side of things, is not good. 365 00:20:51,940 --> 00:20:55,779 It just leads to this, the oppression of the enemy. 366 00:20:56,980 --> 00:21:02,700 But I love the little couple of verses in here 367 00:21:02,700 --> 00:21:05,059 that still point to the character of God. 368 00:21:07,519 --> 00:21:11,140 Number one, that if this is your story, 369 00:21:11,240 --> 00:21:13,079 or if it's a story of someone you know, 370 00:21:13,400 --> 00:21:15,220 they just keep going back to their old ways, 371 00:21:15,380 --> 00:21:16,559 and then say, Oh, I don't want to. 372 00:21:16,660 --> 00:21:17,440 I want to follow the Lord. 373 00:21:17,779 --> 00:21:18,400 Never mind, I'm good. 374 00:21:18,880 --> 00:21:19,880 There's still mercy. 375 00:21:20,339 --> 00:21:23,019 Like, mercy is needed by everyone. 376 00:21:23,279 --> 00:21:24,359 God is still merciful. 377 00:21:24,539 --> 00:21:26,779 We saw that in verse 18. 378 00:21:27,019 --> 00:21:29,180 For the Lord was moved to pity by their groaning. 379 00:21:29,779 --> 00:21:33,740 The groaning of people that didn't want anything to do with him, 380 00:21:34,619 --> 00:21:37,700 who immediately after the judge died would just be like, 381 00:21:37,720 --> 00:21:39,200 we want to go back to our own ways. 382 00:21:39,500 --> 00:21:40,940 And he still has pity on them. 383 00:21:41,519 --> 00:21:44,619 Like, how much more does he have mercy and pity and grace 384 00:21:44,619 --> 00:21:48,220 for someone who is his, who is a Christian? 385 00:21:48,519 --> 00:21:51,640 Like, if you sin, he's not, like, gonna do what he does here 386 00:21:51,640 --> 00:21:52,660 because it's a new covenant. 387 00:21:53,339 --> 00:21:53,420 Yeah. 388 00:22:04,639 --> 00:22:06,539 Yeah, so much patience. 389 00:22:07,299 --> 00:22:08,759 Yeah, that's so true. 390 00:22:09,500 --> 00:22:12,160 And like, that is something that should blow us away. 391 00:22:12,319 --> 00:22:14,119 People that actually hated him, 392 00:22:14,900 --> 00:22:17,019 when they were in distress, he was like, 393 00:22:17,099 --> 00:22:18,480 Oh, I got to help them. 394 00:22:18,619 --> 00:22:19,640 I have to help them. 395 00:22:19,960 --> 00:22:21,559 And he sends someone to deliver them. 396 00:22:22,119 --> 00:22:23,460 What a picture of Jesus, though. 397 00:22:23,700 --> 00:22:26,119 He came to the world, and the world did not know him. 398 00:22:26,220 --> 00:22:29,180 He came to his own, and they despite, they hated him, it says. 399 00:22:30,160 --> 00:22:31,779 And yet he still died for them. 400 00:22:32,240 --> 00:22:33,480 That is the love of God. 401 00:22:35,440 --> 00:22:36,319 There's mercy. 402 00:22:36,480 --> 00:22:37,819 There is mercy for you. 403 00:22:38,359 --> 00:22:41,759 I love, if you look up the word mercy in the Bible, 404 00:22:42,079 --> 00:22:44,440 like on Google or Blue Letter Bible, whatever you use, 405 00:22:44,480 --> 00:22:45,779 I don't even know how many times it appears. 406 00:22:45,960 --> 00:22:47,720 It's probably like over a thousand, 407 00:22:47,819 --> 00:22:49,440 especially in the Psalms and Proverbs. 408 00:22:50,539 --> 00:22:55,420 Because it's so obvious how desperately humankind needs mercy. 409 00:22:56,180 --> 00:22:58,720 Like, if we didn't need it, it wouldn't have been said 410 00:22:58,720 --> 00:23:00,119 so many times in the Word. 411 00:23:00,279 --> 00:23:02,000 We constantly need mercy. 412 00:23:02,119 --> 00:23:02,559 Here's one. 413 00:23:02,559 --> 00:23:06,079 For the Lord is good, his mercy is everlasting, 414 00:23:06,660 --> 00:23:08,960 and his truth endures to all generations. 415 00:23:10,200 --> 00:23:12,140 We constantly need his mercy. 416 00:23:12,819 --> 00:23:14,000 I love Psalm 103. 417 00:23:14,180 --> 00:23:17,920 A friend of mine shared it a few years ago to me 418 00:23:17,920 --> 00:23:19,359 when I was like beating myself up. 419 00:23:20,279 --> 00:23:22,819 And he was said, Psalm 103, 420 00:23:23,180 --> 00:23:26,660 for he knows our frame, he is mindful that we are dust. 421 00:23:27,319 --> 00:23:31,519 And I was like, man, like he knows that we're all weak. 422 00:23:31,519 --> 00:23:34,059 He knows that he made us out of the dust, 423 00:23:34,639 --> 00:23:36,400 that we're not strong. 424 00:23:36,619 --> 00:23:37,700 We actually aren't strong. 425 00:23:37,880 --> 00:23:40,079 In him we are, but on our own, we're just dust. 426 00:23:40,440 --> 00:23:41,160 He's mindful. 427 00:23:41,380 --> 00:23:44,440 He's aware of our weakness, and he gives us his strength. 428 00:23:44,720 --> 00:23:47,180 So his mercy is unmerited. 429 00:23:47,279 --> 00:23:51,519 His mercy is everlasting, and his mercy is like so close. 430 00:23:51,640 --> 00:23:53,299 I don't know if you guys know that Switchfoot song, 431 00:23:53,980 --> 00:23:57,160 but maybe, yeah, beautiful letdown I think it is, 432 00:23:57,240 --> 00:23:59,400 but maybe forgiveness is right where you fell. 433 00:23:59,960 --> 00:24:04,299 Like the forgiveness of God is right there the moment you fall. 434 00:24:04,380 --> 00:24:06,940 All you have to do is grab onto his hand and get picked up. 435 00:24:08,779 --> 00:24:10,960 So his mercy is always there. 436 00:24:12,440 --> 00:24:13,940 Then in verse 16 says, 437 00:24:14,240 --> 00:24:16,900 Nevertheless, the Lord has raised up judges who delivered them. 438 00:24:17,579 --> 00:24:19,319 God always gives you a way out. 439 00:24:19,880 --> 00:24:22,740 If you are in a pattern that is not healthy, 440 00:24:23,000 --> 00:24:26,160 a pattern of sin or turning back to your old ways, 441 00:24:26,940 --> 00:24:29,059 God always gives you a way out every single time. 442 00:24:29,059 --> 00:24:30,759 It says in 1 Corinthians 10, 443 00:24:31,160 --> 00:24:34,740 No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to man. 444 00:24:34,900 --> 00:24:36,579 So number one, that should make you feel better. 445 00:24:37,000 --> 00:24:40,420 There's no new sin, no new temptation in the world. 446 00:24:40,839 --> 00:24:45,279 Someone else has come against the same desires and thoughts before you. 447 00:24:45,640 --> 00:24:48,359 Nothing is new, but God is faithful. 448 00:24:48,640 --> 00:24:51,279 He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear, 449 00:24:51,440 --> 00:24:54,559 but when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out 450 00:24:54,559 --> 00:24:55,940 so that you can endure it. 451 00:24:55,940 --> 00:25:00,460 He's saying it's all common, don't beat yourself up about it, 452 00:25:00,579 --> 00:25:01,700 but I've given you a way out. 453 00:25:01,859 --> 00:25:06,099 Never say that you can't because God has given you a way out through him. 454 00:25:06,539 --> 00:25:07,359 He is the judge. 455 00:25:07,559 --> 00:25:10,319 He is the one who came and has given us victory. 456 00:25:11,779 --> 00:25:15,200 And then finally, he's merciful. 457 00:25:15,400 --> 00:25:18,279 He gives you a way out, but he also uses our bad choices 458 00:25:18,279 --> 00:25:19,839 and what we want that isn't good. 459 00:25:19,960 --> 00:25:22,740 He uses it to discipline us, correct us, 460 00:25:22,740 --> 00:25:24,759 and ultimately do something far better. 461 00:25:25,400 --> 00:25:27,380 So Hebrews 12, I'm going to read this. 462 00:25:28,000 --> 00:25:28,640 I love it. 463 00:25:28,740 --> 00:25:30,319 It talks about the discipline of God. 464 00:25:31,400 --> 00:25:33,599 My son, do not make light of the Lord's discipline 465 00:25:33,599 --> 00:25:35,619 and do not lose heart when he rebukes you 466 00:25:35,619 --> 00:25:37,660 because the Lord disciplines the one he loves. 467 00:25:38,160 --> 00:25:40,319 He chastens everyone he accepts as his son. 468 00:25:40,960 --> 00:25:42,440 Endure hardship as discipline. 469 00:25:42,880 --> 00:25:44,740 God is treating you as his children. 470 00:25:45,200 --> 00:25:48,119 For what children are not disciplined by their father? 471 00:25:48,680 --> 00:25:51,559 If you are not disciplined and everyone does undergo discipline, 472 00:25:51,880 --> 00:25:53,480 then you are not legitimate, 473 00:25:53,480 --> 00:25:55,660 not true sons and daughters at all. 474 00:25:56,279 --> 00:25:59,079 Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us 475 00:25:59,079 --> 00:26:00,660 and we respected them for it. 476 00:26:00,920 --> 00:26:04,460 How much more should we submit to the father of spirits and live? 477 00:26:04,859 --> 00:26:07,460 They disciplined us for a little while as they thought best, 478 00:26:07,559 --> 00:26:09,579 but God disciplines us for our good. 479 00:26:09,940 --> 00:26:12,660 In order that way, we may share in his holiness. 480 00:26:13,259 --> 00:26:16,299 No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. 481 00:26:17,000 --> 00:26:19,559 Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness 482 00:26:19,559 --> 00:26:22,940 and peace for those who have been trained by it. 483 00:26:23,500 --> 00:26:28,019 So we see these nations in the land that he was said, 484 00:26:28,220 --> 00:26:30,119 if you want them here, I'm going to leave them here. 485 00:26:30,160 --> 00:26:31,180 I won't drive them out, 486 00:26:31,639 --> 00:26:34,660 but I'm going to use them to drive you back to me. 487 00:26:35,039 --> 00:26:39,000 If you want to go into idolatry, do it. 488 00:26:39,319 --> 00:26:40,460 They're going to oppress you, 489 00:26:40,599 --> 00:26:42,880 and then you're going to cry out and I'll be right there. 490 00:26:43,119 --> 00:26:45,220 But you see his hand in it all. 491 00:26:45,460 --> 00:26:46,740 His hand was there for good. 492 00:26:47,480 --> 00:26:49,619 If he made their lives so easy 493 00:26:49,619 --> 00:26:52,480 and there was no opposition, 494 00:26:53,380 --> 00:26:57,059 right, if there's always only blessing in an earthly sense, 495 00:26:57,140 --> 00:26:58,359 they got everything they wanted. 496 00:26:58,799 --> 00:26:59,740 There was never a drought. 497 00:27:00,119 --> 00:27:02,039 They never had someone trying to make war, 498 00:27:02,259 --> 00:27:04,660 and they were in deep sin. 499 00:27:05,220 --> 00:27:06,680 They would just die, 500 00:27:07,279 --> 00:27:09,640 and they would have no hope in the afterlife. 501 00:27:10,420 --> 00:27:12,039 But God said, 502 00:27:12,920 --> 00:27:14,400 these people that you didn't drive out, 503 00:27:14,700 --> 00:27:16,480 I'm going to use them so that you would repent, 504 00:27:16,980 --> 00:27:18,339 so that you would turn back to me 505 00:27:18,339 --> 00:27:20,619 so that you can have hope beyond this life, 506 00:27:20,819 --> 00:27:22,640 beyond the good things that you want for this life, 507 00:27:22,819 --> 00:27:26,799 and actually have hope for eternal life in the age to come. 508 00:27:27,339 --> 00:27:29,940 So God uses everything for good, 509 00:27:30,380 --> 00:27:32,960 and I have a few more lighthearted scenarios 510 00:27:32,960 --> 00:27:34,839 of God's correction in my life. 511 00:27:37,519 --> 00:27:39,480 When I was in Nashville, I had a business. 512 00:27:39,819 --> 00:27:40,920 It was a party rental business, 513 00:27:40,980 --> 00:27:43,259 and I prayed before I started it, 514 00:27:43,259 --> 00:27:46,279 and I really felt peace from God that I should do it. 515 00:27:46,799 --> 00:27:47,579 So did it. 516 00:27:47,799 --> 00:27:48,940 The business went great. 517 00:27:49,119 --> 00:27:50,740 We actually sold it for a good profit 518 00:27:50,740 --> 00:27:52,240 before we moved back up to Pennsylvania. 519 00:27:53,220 --> 00:27:55,099 But after one good success, 520 00:27:55,720 --> 00:27:56,559 it's easy to think, 521 00:27:56,599 --> 00:27:58,359 oh, yeah, I had something to do with it. 522 00:27:59,539 --> 00:28:00,799 So I was like, 523 00:28:00,859 --> 00:28:03,720 oh, anything that I'm going to try will probably work. 524 00:28:03,960 --> 00:28:05,960 I mean, I didn't have that much of an ego, 525 00:28:06,119 --> 00:28:06,720 but I'm thinking, 526 00:28:06,819 --> 00:28:08,680 if I have a good idea, I think it'll work. 527 00:28:09,339 --> 00:28:10,819 So I tried to start another business. 528 00:28:11,759 --> 00:28:13,640 Had to do with box truck, 529 00:28:14,359 --> 00:28:15,960 freight for Amazon and stuff. 530 00:28:16,980 --> 00:28:19,000 And so I bought a box truck, 531 00:28:19,200 --> 00:28:20,640 and it was very expensive, 532 00:28:21,099 --> 00:28:22,799 and then I was going to use it for two businesses. 533 00:28:23,240 --> 00:28:25,440 But that got kind of weird legally with insurance, 534 00:28:26,059 --> 00:28:27,500 and then it ended up happening. 535 00:28:27,960 --> 00:28:29,319 So my wife was like, 536 00:28:29,400 --> 00:28:31,000 I don't know if this business is a good idea. 537 00:28:31,119 --> 00:28:33,160 Maybe you should wait a while and pray about it. 538 00:28:33,200 --> 00:28:34,619 I'm like, no, it's going to be great. 539 00:28:34,660 --> 00:28:35,619 I'm just going to go for it. 540 00:28:36,079 --> 00:28:37,460 So I didn't pray much about it. 541 00:28:37,759 --> 00:28:39,180 Didn't have my wife's blessing. 542 00:28:39,839 --> 00:28:40,799 Did the business anyway. 543 00:28:41,599 --> 00:28:43,819 We didn't even get one shipment out the door. 544 00:28:43,819 --> 00:28:48,380 All the things that I had lined up fell through. 545 00:28:49,039 --> 00:28:51,740 And then that box truck got in an accident 546 00:28:51,740 --> 00:28:54,359 with my party rental business. 547 00:28:55,059 --> 00:28:56,519 And so I didn't know what to do with the insurance. 548 00:28:56,660 --> 00:28:58,839 So I had to pay out a pocket to fix the box truck, 549 00:28:58,839 --> 00:29:00,220 which was thousands of dollars. 550 00:29:00,819 --> 00:29:02,000 And in the end, I'm like, 551 00:29:03,119 --> 00:29:04,500 I had a moment with the Lord. 552 00:29:04,599 --> 00:29:07,119 I'm like, I don't think I really listened to you about this. 553 00:29:07,420 --> 00:29:09,119 And I think I had some pride in it 554 00:29:09,119 --> 00:29:10,680 that I could just do it on my own. 555 00:29:10,680 --> 00:29:13,720 And here I am learning a lesson. 556 00:29:14,000 --> 00:29:15,539 But it's a lesson for my good. 557 00:29:15,960 --> 00:29:17,759 It's not like he made all that happen. 558 00:29:17,819 --> 00:29:20,140 He didn't make my coworker drive a box truck 559 00:29:20,140 --> 00:29:21,579 under a nine foot bridge. 560 00:29:22,000 --> 00:29:22,740 That's what happened. 561 00:29:24,079 --> 00:29:25,700 He did that without thinking. 562 00:29:26,640 --> 00:29:31,000 But God uses it to teach me something much more important 563 00:29:31,000 --> 00:29:34,559 that might save me from some really bad decisions 564 00:29:34,559 --> 00:29:36,519 worse than a box truck in the coming years. 565 00:29:37,079 --> 00:29:40,099 So God does use bad things to teach us lessons. 566 00:29:42,539 --> 00:29:45,700 Another one, I don't know if this is really correction, 567 00:29:45,920 --> 00:29:48,839 but you know the soccer league that we have, 568 00:29:49,039 --> 00:29:49,759 everyone's getting hurt. 569 00:29:50,000 --> 00:29:50,839 I was one of them. 570 00:29:52,319 --> 00:29:53,720 And so it was so funny 571 00:29:53,720 --> 00:29:55,839 because before I played the first night, 572 00:29:55,920 --> 00:29:57,180 played a game, it went well. 573 00:29:57,539 --> 00:30:00,880 And I was saying to Mike after the game, the first game, 574 00:30:00,980 --> 00:30:02,259 I was like, how's everybody getting hurt? 575 00:30:02,480 --> 00:30:03,019 Like, come on. 576 00:30:03,740 --> 00:30:05,819 And then he's like, yeah, I don't know. 577 00:30:06,359 --> 00:30:08,380 And then the second game was going to start. 578 00:30:08,660 --> 00:30:10,420 And I was there with Maria and the kids. 579 00:30:10,899 --> 00:30:12,759 And I felt like I should go home 580 00:30:12,759 --> 00:30:14,299 because it's bedtime routine. 581 00:30:14,339 --> 00:30:15,480 I should probably be there for her. 582 00:30:15,480 --> 00:30:16,819 And she kind of wanted me to go home too. 583 00:30:17,420 --> 00:30:18,019 But then I'm like, oh, 584 00:30:18,059 --> 00:30:20,099 but I really want to play in this second game. 585 00:30:20,220 --> 00:30:21,019 So I was a bit selfish. 586 00:30:21,240 --> 00:30:23,819 I'm like, oh, can I just stay 587 00:30:23,819 --> 00:30:24,720 and then I'll get a ride home? 588 00:30:24,799 --> 00:30:25,799 And she's like, okay, fine. 589 00:30:25,900 --> 00:30:26,279 It's okay. 590 00:30:26,980 --> 00:30:27,460 I stay. 591 00:30:29,119 --> 00:30:30,460 And in the first half, 592 00:30:30,839 --> 00:30:33,539 I just landed really weird on my leg. 593 00:30:33,859 --> 00:30:35,500 And I thought I tore my quad. 594 00:30:35,680 --> 00:30:37,119 And it just slammed up. 595 00:30:37,720 --> 00:30:39,359 And afterwards, I literally, 596 00:30:39,359 --> 00:30:41,420 I'm not saying that this was like 597 00:30:41,420 --> 00:30:42,380 God's correction or anything. 598 00:30:42,700 --> 00:30:44,960 But I will say afterwards, I'm like, 599 00:30:45,079 --> 00:30:46,619 I knew I should have gone home. 600 00:30:46,759 --> 00:30:47,900 I just knew it, you know? 601 00:30:48,200 --> 00:30:48,900 And Maria was like, 602 00:30:48,920 --> 00:30:49,660 you should have come home. 603 00:30:49,799 --> 00:30:50,519 This wouldn't have happened. 604 00:30:51,579 --> 00:30:53,460 But I'm just saying in a layhard way, 605 00:30:53,579 --> 00:30:56,579 I think we all can think of scenarios in the past 606 00:30:56,579 --> 00:30:59,900 where maybe we did what we wanted to do 607 00:30:59,900 --> 00:31:02,279 and we didn't really ask God about it 608 00:31:02,279 --> 00:31:04,119 or we knew He didn't want us to do it. 609 00:31:04,160 --> 00:31:05,799 And then it didn't pan out well. 610 00:31:06,359 --> 00:31:08,180 But what does that do for us? 611 00:31:08,180 --> 00:31:09,359 Like something way better 612 00:31:09,359 --> 00:31:10,779 than if everything went great. 613 00:31:11,400 --> 00:31:14,220 That business, if I just did what I wanted to do 614 00:31:14,220 --> 00:31:15,440 and it worked out great, 615 00:31:15,660 --> 00:31:17,960 I would keep making that same mistake 616 00:31:17,960 --> 00:31:19,819 because I'm thinking it's blessed. 617 00:31:20,240 --> 00:31:21,700 When in reality, it's not blessed. 618 00:31:21,799 --> 00:31:22,660 It's just making money. 619 00:31:23,460 --> 00:31:25,019 And then where would I be in a few years? 620 00:31:25,660 --> 00:31:28,680 I could be weighing over my head 621 00:31:28,680 --> 00:31:30,259 and then going bankrupt 622 00:31:30,259 --> 00:31:32,299 because I made one really bad mistake. 623 00:31:33,099 --> 00:31:35,759 So all in all, God uses even our bad choices 624 00:31:35,759 --> 00:31:38,119 and the broken world around us, 625 00:31:38,180 --> 00:31:41,740 He uses it for our good to do a work in us 626 00:31:41,740 --> 00:31:43,200 and He uses it for our correction 627 00:31:43,200 --> 00:31:45,839 just like He did with the Israelites. 628 00:31:47,820 --> 00:31:51,359 So the final thing I want to share too 629 00:31:51,359 --> 00:31:53,700 is around just something logistical. 630 00:31:54,119 --> 00:31:56,400 If you or someone you know is stuck 631 00:31:57,420 --> 00:31:59,079 in this kind of pattern 632 00:31:59,079 --> 00:32:01,140 that we see with Israel's unfaithfulness 633 00:32:01,140 --> 00:32:03,900 of kind of like they just can't break 634 00:32:03,900 --> 00:32:06,140 this pattern and this cycle. 635 00:32:07,240 --> 00:32:08,859 The first thing to do 636 00:32:08,859 --> 00:32:10,720 is obviously number one, repent. 637 00:32:11,059 --> 00:32:12,259 Like repent to God 638 00:32:12,259 --> 00:32:13,660 which means change directions. 639 00:32:13,960 --> 00:32:15,160 It doesn't mean beat yourself up 640 00:32:15,160 --> 00:32:16,740 and feel really, really bad. 641 00:32:16,880 --> 00:32:18,920 There is remorse that comes along with repentance. 642 00:32:19,599 --> 00:32:21,279 But repentance is changing direction. 643 00:32:21,740 --> 00:32:22,859 So instead of going this way, 644 00:32:22,920 --> 00:32:23,640 the way you've been going, 645 00:32:23,740 --> 00:32:24,960 it means you turn to Jesus 646 00:32:24,960 --> 00:32:25,759 and you follow Him. 647 00:32:26,539 --> 00:32:27,579 Tell somebody about it. 648 00:32:27,660 --> 00:32:29,480 If it's a secret and nobody knows about it, 649 00:32:29,579 --> 00:32:30,339 you got to tell someone 650 00:32:30,339 --> 00:32:31,799 because things that are in the darkness 651 00:32:31,799 --> 00:32:32,819 need to come to the light 652 00:32:32,819 --> 00:32:34,359 and then you have accountability. 653 00:32:35,920 --> 00:32:37,440 Another thing I would say too 654 00:32:38,219 --> 00:32:41,000 is we saw at the beginning of this passage, 655 00:32:41,359 --> 00:32:42,880 Jesus the angel of the Lord says, 656 00:32:43,920 --> 00:32:45,779 I told you to tear down the altars 657 00:32:45,779 --> 00:32:47,079 but you've not obeyed my voice. 658 00:32:48,039 --> 00:32:50,500 They kept the altar set up to these idols. 659 00:32:50,940 --> 00:32:52,259 That made it super easy 660 00:32:52,259 --> 00:32:53,920 to just start worshiping these idols. 661 00:32:54,599 --> 00:32:55,700 Had they torn it down, 662 00:32:56,200 --> 00:32:57,099 it would have been hard 663 00:32:57,099 --> 00:32:58,359 because they wouldn't know what to do 664 00:32:58,359 --> 00:32:59,160 to worship these Gods. 665 00:32:59,299 --> 00:32:59,920 There's nothing there. 666 00:33:00,039 --> 00:33:00,500 There's rocks. 667 00:33:01,059 --> 00:33:02,500 Like it's just a mountaintop. 668 00:33:02,500 --> 00:33:04,220 They wouldn't even know how to do idolatry. 669 00:33:04,920 --> 00:33:07,099 So one, tear down the altar in your heart. 670 00:33:07,420 --> 00:33:08,279 Like you repent. 671 00:33:08,819 --> 00:33:10,500 You don't want to have that desire anymore. 672 00:33:10,920 --> 00:33:11,759 But the next thing is 673 00:33:11,759 --> 00:33:13,200 physically tear down the altar. 674 00:33:13,359 --> 00:33:16,339 What things in your life are in your life 675 00:33:16,339 --> 00:33:18,000 that are making it very easy 676 00:33:18,000 --> 00:33:19,660 to do the thing you don't want to do anymore? 677 00:33:20,339 --> 00:33:23,000 Maybe it's just an example. 678 00:33:23,180 --> 00:33:25,039 Maybe it's like excess drinking. 679 00:33:25,359 --> 00:33:27,480 Well, it's okay to have some here and there 680 00:33:27,480 --> 00:33:29,000 but then don't keep in your house 681 00:33:29,000 --> 00:33:29,759 if that's a problem. 682 00:33:29,940 --> 00:33:30,619 Just get it out. 683 00:33:30,619 --> 00:33:31,420 You know? 684 00:33:31,539 --> 00:33:33,480 So it's like doing logistical things 685 00:33:34,060 --> 00:33:36,099 like physically tearing down the rocks 686 00:33:36,099 --> 00:33:36,700 from this altar 687 00:33:36,700 --> 00:33:38,359 so it doesn't make it super easy 688 00:33:38,359 --> 00:33:39,619 to go back to it, right? 689 00:33:40,119 --> 00:33:41,420 So that's just something 690 00:33:41,420 --> 00:33:43,619 I just want to encourage us with 691 00:33:43,619 --> 00:33:44,720 and something I've done 692 00:33:44,720 --> 00:33:46,200 plenty of times in my own life. 693 00:33:47,359 --> 00:33:49,059 So I'm going to pray here in a minute 694 00:33:49,059 --> 00:33:52,359 but the topics for our small groups 695 00:33:52,359 --> 00:33:54,259 I just want to set up 696 00:33:54,259 --> 00:33:56,680 would be one, what's your gilgal? 697 00:33:56,960 --> 00:33:58,000 So like what are the early days 698 00:33:58,000 --> 00:33:58,940 of your faith? 699 00:33:59,220 --> 00:34:00,140 You can talk about it 700 00:34:00,140 --> 00:34:02,000 maybe some things that the Lord did in your life 701 00:34:03,519 --> 00:34:05,580 and then next would be 702 00:34:10,059 --> 00:34:11,679 I think that's actually probably 703 00:34:11,679 --> 00:34:12,780 going to take up a lot of time. 704 00:34:14,039 --> 00:34:14,980 We could talk about that 705 00:34:15,500 --> 00:34:16,920 and then maybe just, you know, 706 00:34:17,360 --> 00:34:18,820 what have people done? 707 00:34:19,099 --> 00:34:20,539 You know, we're supposed to remind those around us. 708 00:34:20,619 --> 00:34:22,119 Maybe is there someone around you 709 00:34:22,119 --> 00:34:24,019 that you've felt the Lord draw you to 710 00:34:24,019 --> 00:34:25,760 that you need to like tell them about the Lord? 711 00:34:26,139 --> 00:34:26,880 I just had one. 712 00:34:27,119 --> 00:34:27,960 It was my boss. 713 00:34:29,599 --> 00:34:31,440 I have worked for a year 714 00:34:32,239 --> 00:34:33,840 and I really wanted to share the gospel with her. 715 00:34:33,920 --> 00:34:34,860 I thought I had all this time 716 00:34:34,860 --> 00:34:36,320 and then she took another job 717 00:34:36,320 --> 00:34:37,960 and I had one month 718 00:34:37,960 --> 00:34:38,920 and I'm like, okay, 719 00:34:38,980 --> 00:34:40,659 we got to get this gear rolling. 720 00:34:40,880 --> 00:34:42,239 Like, you know, she knew I was a Christian 721 00:34:42,239 --> 00:34:43,460 but like, how am I going to do this? 722 00:34:45,019 --> 00:34:46,340 So then sure enough 723 00:34:46,719 --> 00:34:48,139 I kind of began the process 724 00:34:48,139 --> 00:34:49,920 and on our last conversation 725 00:34:49,920 --> 00:34:51,440 a day before she left 726 00:34:51,440 --> 00:34:52,840 I was able to share the gospel with her 727 00:34:52,840 --> 00:34:54,340 and pray with her and it was awesome 728 00:34:54,340 --> 00:34:56,360 and she didn't give her life to the Lord right then 729 00:34:56,360 --> 00:35:00,659 but I could tell God really was moving in her heart 730 00:35:00,659 --> 00:35:02,820 and so like are there some people around you 731 00:35:02,820 --> 00:35:04,940 that maybe you've been putting it off too long 732 00:35:04,940 --> 00:35:06,739 and you just know you need to tell them 733 00:35:06,739 --> 00:35:08,639 about what God has done in your life. 734 00:35:09,340 --> 00:35:10,119 So let's pray. 735 00:35:11,340 --> 00:35:12,599 Heavenly Father, just thank you so much 736 00:35:12,599 --> 00:35:14,260 for your word again 737 00:35:14,260 --> 00:35:15,840 and I thank you for all these people here, God. 738 00:35:16,000 --> 00:35:17,280 I pray that you'd bless them, Lord. 739 00:35:18,079 --> 00:35:20,460 I pray that you'd bless our conversations. 740 00:35:20,860 --> 00:35:23,119 I pray that they would just feel your peace 741 00:35:23,119 --> 00:35:25,280 and your love, God, and your mercy. 742 00:35:25,840 --> 00:35:28,260 We so desperately need you all the time, God. 743 00:35:28,519 --> 00:35:31,519 We're not ever supposed to be self-sufficient, Lord. 744 00:35:31,699 --> 00:35:34,139 We're supposed to be God-dependent, Lord. 745 00:35:34,239 --> 00:35:36,019 So I just pray that we would learn to rely 746 00:35:36,019 --> 00:35:38,119 and depend on you more and more every day 747 00:35:38,119 --> 00:35:39,599 and be filled by your spirit. 748 00:35:40,099 --> 00:35:40,860 In Jesus' name, amen. 749 00:35:45,699 --> 00:35:48,639 Thanks for joining us at Lansdale Life Church 750 00:35:48,639 --> 00:35:51,159 as we praise God and discuss His word. 751 00:35:51,820 --> 00:35:53,099 Don't forget to join us 752 00:35:53,099 --> 00:35:54,920 for Worship Live Sunday mornings 753 00:35:54,920 --> 00:35:57,320 at 10 a.m. Eastern on YouTube. 754 00:35:58,300 --> 00:36:00,420 Be blessed and have a great day!