WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:22.260 Hi, and welcome to the Willow Ridge Church weekly podcast. 00:00:22.780 --> 00:00:25.880 This is where you can find audio for our current and past sermons. 00:00:26.100 --> 00:00:30.420 We hope that you enjoy this week's installment, and be sure to check back next week to hear 00:00:30.420 --> 00:00:31.260 the latest message. 00:00:31.700 --> 00:00:32.460 Thanks for listening. 00:00:45.860 --> 00:00:48.500 Me and Pastor Dave had a good time filming that this week. 00:00:49.500 --> 00:00:53.880 Take a couple shots to get that, some really good camera work to slim us down a little bit. 00:00:54.240 --> 00:00:57.540 You know, with these videos that we've got coming out, they're going to help us walk through 00:00:57.540 --> 00:00:58.280 the book of Judges. 00:00:58.360 --> 00:00:59.920 That one was good, but I do want to say this. 00:01:00.000 --> 00:01:06.060 We're not going to show our hand too much, but next week, all right, we really upped the 00:01:06.060 --> 00:01:06.720 game, all right? 00:01:06.760 --> 00:01:10.540 Like, next week is taking these videos to a whole nother level, so make sure that you don't 00:01:10.540 --> 00:01:11.760 miss out on that. 00:01:12.100 --> 00:01:18.240 Well, in typical bow fashion, as we begin a study in the book of Judges, if you could open 00:01:18.240 --> 00:01:20.640 up to Joshua chapter 23, right? 00:01:21.060 --> 00:01:24.060 We're going to read one passage here, and then we're going to jump there. 00:01:24.520 --> 00:01:29.600 And as you turn to Joshua 23, I want to say something, and Berger, man, I really appreciate 00:01:29.600 --> 00:01:31.280 you praying this part in there. 00:01:32.440 --> 00:01:38.620 Typically, there's a tendency with us when we read Scripture, in the Old Testament particularly, 00:01:38.860 --> 00:01:39.040 okay? 00:01:39.220 --> 00:01:43.340 The Old Testament is filled with some really neat stories, stories that oftentimes they 00:01:43.340 --> 00:01:44.740 take us back to our childhood, right? 00:01:44.760 --> 00:01:49.940 And we go back to the old school flannel board and sock puppet narratives of learning these 00:01:49.940 --> 00:01:50.360 stories. 00:01:50.740 --> 00:01:55.400 And if we're not careful, even as adults, what we do is when we read through the Old Testament, 00:01:55.820 --> 00:01:58.680 we begin to view them like stories, okay? 00:01:58.960 --> 00:02:02.560 And they're stories with moral and ethical teachings. 00:02:03.000 --> 00:02:07.380 But what I want us to see, and this is what we're really going to look at this week, is the 00:02:07.380 --> 00:02:09.780 gospel that is told through the Old Testament. 00:02:09.880 --> 00:02:11.540 It's the same gospel told through the New Testament. 00:02:11.540 --> 00:02:17.360 And that we see this redemptive spirit and nature of God and what God's doing as He saves 00:02:17.360 --> 00:02:21.660 the people for Himself, and it continues to move forward in the redemptive work that He 00:02:21.660 --> 00:02:24.920 has that plays out through creation. 00:02:25.380 --> 00:02:30.940 So as we're reading through Judges, please make sure that we're reading the stories, we're 00:02:30.940 --> 00:02:35.600 grasping the stories, but that we're paying attention to the gospel narrative that's there. 00:02:35.960 --> 00:02:40.820 Also, and you'll see this today, we're not going to be able to hit every word and every 00:02:40.820 --> 00:02:43.380 verse in Judges as we go through the book, okay? 00:02:43.620 --> 00:02:47.440 And so we're going to take sections, we're going to take chunks as we go through, which 00:02:47.440 --> 00:02:49.280 is why it's so important for you. 00:02:49.280 --> 00:02:53.700 If you haven't yet, get your Right Now Media account, we would love for you to walk through 00:02:53.700 --> 00:02:54.560 Judges with us. 00:02:54.960 --> 00:02:56.140 There's the study by J.D. 00:02:56.200 --> 00:02:59.300 Greer that's on there that allows you to do just that. 00:02:59.560 --> 00:03:04.680 So like, for example, today we're covering Judges 1-1 through Judges 3-6. 00:03:04.840 --> 00:03:09.300 Now we're not reading all that, but I want you to take the time to go through and read 00:03:09.300 --> 00:03:14.860 and be on that journey with us and see what God teaches you as we go through the book of 00:03:14.860 --> 00:03:16.120 Judges together, all right? 00:03:16.120 --> 00:03:22.700 So in Judges, what we're going to find are God's people are in a very important transition 00:03:22.700 --> 00:03:23.660 in their life. 00:03:24.100 --> 00:03:30.840 Historically speaking even, you find Israel has making it to another transition in their 00:03:30.840 --> 00:03:34.340 life, in the kingdom of God, of what God is doing with them. 00:03:34.760 --> 00:03:38.680 Now for Israel, they should be used to transitions, okay? 00:03:38.860 --> 00:03:43.660 You can go back and you can look through Exodus and you can see as Moses is called their leader 00:03:43.660 --> 00:03:47.920 who leads them in the transition out of slavery, leads them into the wilderness and all the 00:03:47.920 --> 00:03:49.900 things that happen and take place there. 00:03:50.280 --> 00:03:56.180 And then Israel hits another very important transition and it's the transition from Moses 00:03:56.180 --> 00:03:57.500 to Joshua. 00:03:57.760 --> 00:04:03.620 Moses, the fearless leader who led them greatly to the promised land but wasn't going to lead 00:04:03.620 --> 00:04:05.440 them into the promised land. 00:04:05.560 --> 00:04:11.920 And so as Moses died, Joshua becomes the leader and we see this transition that happens and 00:04:11.920 --> 00:04:15.420 takes place and that's what the book of Joshua is about. 00:04:15.920 --> 00:04:20.000 And what you read, if you were to take the time and read through Joshua, you will find that 00:04:20.000 --> 00:04:26.740 God fulfills the covenant of bringing the people to the promised land but it's not empty space. 00:04:27.280 --> 00:04:28.440 There's people in there. 00:04:28.600 --> 00:04:29.880 There's other nations. 00:04:30.120 --> 00:04:31.760 There's other people who were there. 00:04:31.760 --> 00:04:39.720 So in Joshua, you see God doing a miraculous work time and time again as this group of Israelites 00:04:39.720 --> 00:04:45.860 who aren't the fierce army that others were, go to battle and they win. 00:04:46.240 --> 00:04:52.280 And what you find is what the theme through Joshua that you see is God's faithfulness, right? 00:04:52.360 --> 00:04:59.920 The deck is stacked against them but God is faithful and it's the call that as we see God be faithful 00:04:59.920 --> 00:05:02.220 that God's people are called to be faithful. 00:05:02.740 --> 00:05:09.520 And I want to read verses, in chapter 23, verses 5 through 8 and Joshua gives this charge to 00:05:09.520 --> 00:05:15.520 Israel's leaders and you see this word's different places in Joshua but we want to read this one. 00:05:16.140 --> 00:05:19.540 Starting in verse 5 of chapter 3, Joshua says, 00:05:19.540 --> 00:05:25.200 The Lord your God will push them back before you and drive them out of your sight and you 00:05:25.200 --> 00:05:28.460 shall possess their land just as the Lord your God promised you. 00:05:29.020 --> 00:05:34.540 Therefore, be very strong to keep and to do all that is written in the book of the law of 00:05:34.540 --> 00:05:41.740 Moses, turning aside from neither to the right hand nor the left that you may not mix with 00:05:41.740 --> 00:05:47.980 these nations remaining among you or make mention of the names of their gods or swear by them 00:05:47.980 --> 00:05:50.520 or serve them or bow down to them. 00:05:50.520 --> 00:05:56.320 But you shall cling to the Lord your God just as you have done to this day. 00:05:56.440 --> 00:06:02.660 So what we see in Joshua, which will continue on into the very beginning of Judges, is this is what 00:06:02.660 --> 00:06:03.860 God's going to do. 00:06:04.180 --> 00:06:06.020 This is what God has done. 00:06:06.380 --> 00:06:07.840 This is what God is doing. 00:06:08.180 --> 00:06:10.500 And so we respond to that, right? 00:06:10.720 --> 00:06:14.220 And this is why we're gathering for worship today, right? 00:06:14.260 --> 00:06:20.760 Like this is the purpose of the gathering of believers, that God has graciously done this 00:06:20.760 --> 00:06:24.520 for us, given us salvation, given us hope, given us life. 00:06:24.720 --> 00:06:28.760 And so you and I, we don't just look at that and say, well, we really appreciate that and 00:06:28.760 --> 00:06:31.740 we continue on with our day-to-day life, but we respond. 00:06:31.740 --> 00:06:36.960 And so because God is faithful, right, we respond in faith. 00:06:37.560 --> 00:06:42.180 And so Joshua kind of gives this understanding of this is what this looks like to respond 00:06:42.180 --> 00:06:42.640 this way. 00:06:42.900 --> 00:06:44.440 He says you've got to obey the law, right? 00:06:44.480 --> 00:06:45.260 Obey God. 00:06:45.860 --> 00:06:52.420 He says you've got to make sure that there's not this intermingling or mixing of people when 00:06:52.420 --> 00:06:54.820 we go in to conquer them, all right? 00:06:54.960 --> 00:06:59.280 And this isn't for a nationalistic purpose, right? 00:06:59.300 --> 00:07:01.520 This isn't for a racial purpose, right? 00:07:01.560 --> 00:07:04.020 This is all for a spiritual purpose, right? 00:07:04.060 --> 00:07:09.080 Because he says, look, if we begin to mix with these other people who are not part of God's 00:07:09.080 --> 00:07:13.360 people and they do not know God, we will take on their own gods and we will bow down before 00:07:13.360 --> 00:07:17.360 and we will serve their gods and we need to keep that separated. 00:07:17.840 --> 00:07:21.580 But then he also says very specifically, we need to cling to God. 00:07:21.680 --> 00:07:23.640 And I love that word, cling to God. 00:07:23.880 --> 00:07:28.140 And what it's walking through and what Joshua is reminding them is that there's going to 00:07:28.140 --> 00:07:35.440 become points in times where you look around and things begin to seem hopeless or the exact 00:07:35.440 --> 00:07:36.440 opposite of that. 00:07:36.780 --> 00:07:41.100 You begin to look around and you begin to think, now we're pretty good, right? 00:07:41.200 --> 00:07:48.760 On either extreme, your tendency will become in your success or in your desperation, oftentimes 00:07:48.760 --> 00:07:51.860 to let go of God and to not trust him. 00:07:51.860 --> 00:07:54.740 And so Joshua says, no, no, no, we got to cling. 00:07:55.300 --> 00:07:58.080 We got to cling to him. 00:07:58.680 --> 00:08:04.840 And so the reminder of this great leader as the end of the book of his life is recorded, 00:08:05.480 --> 00:08:06.760 he says, look, obey God. 00:08:07.960 --> 00:08:12.280 Worship him only and trust him in all circumstances. 00:08:12.540 --> 00:08:14.800 What faithful life begins to look like. 00:08:15.340 --> 00:08:19.340 So now we go to another transition and go ahead and flip over to Judges 1. 00:08:19.680 --> 00:08:25.540 And this is the transition from Joshua as he passes to another group of leaders that God 00:08:25.540 --> 00:08:28.220 is going to send, that God is going to anoint the judges. 00:08:28.700 --> 00:08:33.940 And so this is what the book will be about that we saw in that song of there's going to 00:08:33.940 --> 00:08:35.080 be a transition now. 00:08:35.220 --> 00:08:38.500 And so God is going to appoint judges to lead his people. 00:08:38.820 --> 00:08:43.900 And what we're going to do today and looking at the first two and a half chapters of Judges 00:08:43.900 --> 00:08:48.880 is we're going to see some themes that the writer's going to put in there that are going to come 00:08:48.880 --> 00:08:52.560 out week and week again as we study all the way through. 00:08:52.940 --> 00:08:56.020 We're going to see that there are going to be battles with sin. 00:08:56.160 --> 00:08:59.780 We're going to see that there's battles of obedience, that there's battles of faith, 00:09:00.020 --> 00:09:04.320 but that through it all, right, what we're going to find within God's people, right, 00:09:04.360 --> 00:09:09.160 in spite of them not being faithful, in spite of them being faithful, 00:09:09.720 --> 00:09:13.340 God will always continue to be faithful. 00:09:14.140 --> 00:09:18.980 And so a theme of God's people that we want to see and kind of go ahead and establish is 00:09:18.980 --> 00:09:21.060 this concept of half-hearted faith. 00:09:21.480 --> 00:09:26.580 That within God's people, there's this sense of half-hearted faith. 00:09:26.660 --> 00:09:27.420 And here's what I mean. 00:09:28.120 --> 00:09:33.560 God's people are going to go through a time in Judges where in spite of all that God has done, 00:09:34.300 --> 00:09:40.180 in spite of the depth of God's faithfulness, in spite of what he has shown them that he is, 00:09:40.180 --> 00:09:46.000 that they are going to live in a type of faith that says, well, what have you done for me lately? 00:09:46.520 --> 00:09:46.680 Right? 00:09:46.900 --> 00:09:48.000 Like, I know that's what you did. 00:09:48.700 --> 00:09:50.100 I know that may be what you're doing. 00:09:50.600 --> 00:09:55.900 But in a very selfish of what are you doing for me now? 00:09:56.360 --> 00:10:00.800 So in the book of Judges, when we open up, God's people are in the promised land, 00:10:00.960 --> 00:10:03.560 and you see through in Joshua victory after victory. 00:10:03.860 --> 00:10:05.540 You see conquering after conquering. 00:10:05.820 --> 00:10:09.060 But what you also find is that even though they have inherited, 00:10:09.260 --> 00:10:10.840 even though they are in the promised land, 00:10:11.060 --> 00:10:15.780 there are still people in the promised land that they need to press out. 00:10:16.600 --> 00:10:18.360 There's still battles to be fought. 00:10:18.660 --> 00:10:20.620 There's still wars to be won. 00:10:21.040 --> 00:10:25.860 And that it is a continuation of what is happening and what is taking place. 00:10:25.860 --> 00:10:29.840 But that a lot of the same thing of what God has called them to is still there. 00:10:29.940 --> 00:10:32.400 So let's look at Judges 1, starting in verse 1. 00:10:32.400 --> 00:10:38.420 After the death of Joshua, the people of Israel inquired of the Lord, 00:10:39.160 --> 00:10:46.020 who shall go up first for us against the Canaanites to fight against them? 00:10:46.140 --> 00:10:52.520 So we see this depth of obedience of understanding, Lord, we've got to fight the Canaanites. 00:10:52.820 --> 00:10:56.640 And so if we're going to do that, who are you going to send, right? 00:10:56.900 --> 00:11:03.380 Who is going to be not only our Moses, who's going to be not only our Joshua, but who do we have now for this? 00:11:03.380 --> 00:11:06.580 And so it says the Lord said in verse 2, 00:11:06.580 --> 00:11:08.960 Judah shall go up. 00:11:09.680 --> 00:11:12.180 Behold, I have given the land into his hand. 00:11:12.700 --> 00:11:14.920 And Judah said to Simeon, his brother, 00:11:15.300 --> 00:11:20.500 come up with me into the territory allotted to me that we may fight against the Canaanites. 00:11:20.680 --> 00:11:25.220 And likewise, we'll go with you into the territory allotted to you. 00:11:25.380 --> 00:11:26.820 So Simeon went with him. 00:11:27.520 --> 00:11:34.060 Then Judah went up, and the Lord gave the Canaanites and the Perizzites into their hand. 00:11:34.060 --> 00:11:39.340 And they defeated 10,000 of them at Bezek. 00:11:39.880 --> 00:11:41.820 And so we see this is what happens. 00:11:42.420 --> 00:11:44.900 God says, hey, here's what you need to do. 00:11:45.180 --> 00:11:45.880 Judah, go. 00:11:46.600 --> 00:11:49.280 Judah, go and lead the charge. 00:11:49.520 --> 00:11:51.400 And in verse 2, I love these words. 00:11:51.700 --> 00:11:54.160 God says, man, I've already given it to you. 00:11:54.240 --> 00:11:55.520 It's already in your hand. 00:11:56.100 --> 00:11:58.800 You just have to go. 00:11:59.420 --> 00:12:00.920 And so they go and they fight. 00:12:01.480 --> 00:12:03.280 And if you read through, continuing on, 00:12:03.280 --> 00:12:05.920 in chapter 1, you'll see the battles that they face. 00:12:06.000 --> 00:12:07.700 You'll see that in many of them, they're outnumbered, 00:12:07.800 --> 00:12:10.140 that there's a different strategy that's there that should win. 00:12:10.360 --> 00:12:11.440 But God's people fight. 00:12:11.800 --> 00:12:13.100 God leads through them. 00:12:13.460 --> 00:12:14.980 And victory is there. 00:12:15.380 --> 00:12:17.920 And God blesses them. 00:12:18.800 --> 00:12:20.120 But jump down to verse 19. 00:12:20.980 --> 00:12:24.160 We're going to see that there begins to be a break in the pattern. 00:12:24.720 --> 00:12:26.320 Of what we find beginning there. 00:12:27.280 --> 00:12:29.080 And it said in verse 19 of chapter 1, 00:12:30.080 --> 00:12:34.200 And the Lord was with Judah, and he took possession of the hill country, 00:12:34.840 --> 00:12:39.060 but he could not drive out the inhabitants of the plain, 00:12:39.520 --> 00:12:42.340 because they had chariots of iron. 00:12:43.180 --> 00:12:48.720 Starting in verse 19, what we'll begin to see is God's people begin to fail. 00:12:49.640 --> 00:12:52.580 We begin to see what should be battles that come to victory, 00:12:52.860 --> 00:12:55.000 or battles that come to partial victory. 00:12:55.360 --> 00:12:57.640 We see battles where they're able to accomplish things, 00:12:57.740 --> 00:13:00.520 or we see flat-out failings. 00:13:00.740 --> 00:13:03.420 And these aren't failings by God. 00:13:03.880 --> 00:13:06.220 They're failings by his people. 00:13:06.840 --> 00:13:08.300 And what we'll find as we read through, 00:13:08.400 --> 00:13:13.120 because this section kind of gives us a brief overview of what the whole book will be about, 00:13:13.400 --> 00:13:16.480 we will find it's because of their half-hearted faith. 00:13:16.820 --> 00:13:18.540 Because of their half-hearted obedience. 00:13:19.060 --> 00:13:23.120 Because in them, they do not do what God has called them to do. 00:13:23.340 --> 00:13:24.400 Look down at verse 28. 00:13:25.340 --> 00:13:25.720 It says, 00:13:25.880 --> 00:13:30.300 When Israel grew strong, they put the Canaanites into forced labor, 00:13:30.960 --> 00:13:35.160 but did not drive them completely out. 00:13:36.000 --> 00:13:39.640 Partial obedience to what God has called them to do. 00:13:40.260 --> 00:13:42.440 Did God say, take them into captivity? 00:13:43.240 --> 00:13:45.220 Did God say, take them into forced labor? 00:13:45.700 --> 00:13:46.140 No. 00:13:46.780 --> 00:13:48.200 God said, drive them out. 00:13:48.480 --> 00:13:53.120 But the logic of the man began to overrule the wisdom and sovereignty of God 00:13:53.120 --> 00:13:55.720 in the mind of the Israelites. 00:13:56.780 --> 00:13:59.900 And so they say, but if we're going to be the people that do this, 00:13:59.960 --> 00:14:00.900 this is what we need to do. 00:14:01.700 --> 00:14:03.740 Well, other nations are doing this, 00:14:03.800 --> 00:14:06.480 so this must be what the plan is for us as well. 00:14:06.980 --> 00:14:10.220 So God, we know that you told us to go here and to do this, 00:14:10.320 --> 00:14:12.820 but our strategy, our logic, 00:14:13.000 --> 00:14:15.740 says that I'm going to begin to do things my way. 00:14:15.920 --> 00:14:20.580 And what we find is that half-hearted faith becomes partial faith, 00:14:20.700 --> 00:14:23.460 which really just manifests itself into disobedience. 00:14:24.220 --> 00:14:25.940 That we're given glimpses of, 00:14:26.200 --> 00:14:28.220 well, these are the things that I do for you, 00:14:28.340 --> 00:14:29.760 that you've called me to do, 00:14:29.860 --> 00:14:31.700 but in the fulfillment of it all, 00:14:32.120 --> 00:14:34.620 that we're going to see that they fall far away. 00:14:35.220 --> 00:14:36.980 Look at Judges 2, starting in verse 1. 00:14:39.020 --> 00:14:40.440 See the heart of God in this. 00:14:40.500 --> 00:14:44.540 Now the angel of the Lord went up from Gilgal to Bosham, 00:14:45.120 --> 00:14:46.000 and he said, 00:14:46.100 --> 00:14:47.900 I brought you up from Egypt 00:14:47.900 --> 00:14:49.820 and brought you into the land 00:14:49.820 --> 00:14:52.520 that I swore to give to your fathers. 00:14:53.060 --> 00:14:55.820 I said, I will never break my covenant with you, 00:14:55.960 --> 00:14:57.520 and you shall make no covenant 00:14:57.520 --> 00:14:59.040 with the inhabitants of this land. 00:14:59.500 --> 00:15:01.420 You shall break down their altars, 00:15:01.580 --> 00:15:04.140 but you have not obeyed my voice. 00:15:04.560 --> 00:15:06.560 What is this you have done? 00:15:07.280 --> 00:15:08.500 So now I say, 00:15:09.140 --> 00:15:11.420 I will not drive them out before you, 00:15:11.780 --> 00:15:15.180 but they shall become thorns in your sides, 00:15:15.380 --> 00:15:18.740 and their gods shall be a snare to you. 00:15:19.400 --> 00:15:20.600 God comes to him and says, 00:15:21.100 --> 00:15:22.380 I get in your strategy. 00:15:23.060 --> 00:15:25.180 I get in all the things that you've done, 00:15:25.740 --> 00:15:27.920 but here's what I need to communicate to you. 00:15:28.560 --> 00:15:30.960 Because of your disobedience, 00:15:31.560 --> 00:15:34.260 sin is going to begin to well up 00:15:34.260 --> 00:15:35.840 and create in your life. 00:15:36.200 --> 00:15:37.740 That it's going to hinder, 00:15:38.260 --> 00:15:40.140 it's going to entrap you, 00:15:40.340 --> 00:15:42.340 and it is going to kill you 00:15:42.340 --> 00:15:44.300 because you did not listen to me. 00:15:45.220 --> 00:15:47.540 I love the words that God uses 00:15:47.540 --> 00:15:48.960 to describe this in Judges 2. 00:15:49.220 --> 00:15:51.260 He says, when you allow this sin, 00:15:51.360 --> 00:15:52.860 when you allow this disobedience 00:15:52.860 --> 00:15:54.120 to come into your life, 00:15:54.180 --> 00:15:55.500 there's two things that you're going to have to battle. 00:15:55.720 --> 00:15:57.700 You're going to have to battle thorns and snares. 00:15:58.520 --> 00:16:00.500 You're going to have to battle thorns and snares. 00:16:00.940 --> 00:16:03.120 So I want to talk about what a thorn is 00:16:03.120 --> 00:16:04.280 and what a snare is 00:16:04.280 --> 00:16:09.120 and tie that into how we can view sin through a thorn 00:16:09.120 --> 00:16:11.560 and how we can view sin through a snare. 00:16:12.200 --> 00:16:14.480 So a thorn, we all know what a thorn is, right? 00:16:14.540 --> 00:16:17.020 You see a thorn on a rose or on a vine. 00:16:17.280 --> 00:16:18.700 And when you look at a thorn, 00:16:19.160 --> 00:16:20.700 you see the first thing you notice 00:16:20.700 --> 00:16:22.680 is how small it is, 00:16:22.980 --> 00:16:24.400 but how sharp it is. 00:16:24.940 --> 00:16:25.780 And a thorn, 00:16:26.180 --> 00:16:27.860 you know when you grab it, 00:16:28.000 --> 00:16:29.240 it hurts, right? 00:16:29.240 --> 00:16:32.080 But sometimes we grab and we let go 00:16:32.080 --> 00:16:33.700 and so the thorn is no longer there. 00:16:33.980 --> 00:16:35.980 But God says that these thorns though 00:16:35.980 --> 00:16:38.500 are going to be like a thorn in your side. 00:16:38.940 --> 00:16:41.420 Not a thorn that pricks the side, 00:16:41.500 --> 00:16:43.060 but a thorn that's in the side. 00:16:43.660 --> 00:16:46.460 And so if you really want to talk about thorns in the south, 00:16:46.680 --> 00:16:47.980 stop thinking about a rose bush 00:16:47.980 --> 00:16:50.060 and start thinking about sand spurs, right? 00:16:50.840 --> 00:16:52.160 We've all been there before. 00:16:52.320 --> 00:16:53.040 We were little kids. 00:16:53.100 --> 00:16:54.340 We see our kids now 00:16:54.340 --> 00:16:55.680 and they got their shoes off 00:16:55.680 --> 00:16:56.780 and they're running through the field 00:16:56.780 --> 00:16:57.480 and all of a sudden, 00:16:57.640 --> 00:17:00.740 oh, you know exactly what happened in that moment. 00:17:01.260 --> 00:17:02.800 That something's so small, 00:17:02.920 --> 00:17:04.380 but once it gets embedded, 00:17:04.580 --> 00:17:07.360 it completely immobilizes you. 00:17:08.180 --> 00:17:09.040 And for sin, 00:17:09.560 --> 00:17:11.560 there's thorns that we face. 00:17:12.020 --> 00:17:13.180 They look small. 00:17:13.780 --> 00:17:15.480 They seem insignificant. 00:17:16.080 --> 00:17:18.760 But when a thorn gets in you, 00:17:19.360 --> 00:17:24.000 it makes the strongest of an individual weak. 00:17:24.720 --> 00:17:28.160 He can't do anything that is affected with that 00:17:28.160 --> 00:17:29.240 because of what is there 00:17:29.240 --> 00:17:33.860 until the thorn itself is removed. 00:17:34.520 --> 00:17:36.540 And so what we're going to see in Israel, 00:17:36.680 --> 00:17:38.800 what I hope we notice within ourselves 00:17:38.800 --> 00:17:40.120 as we go through this 00:17:40.120 --> 00:17:41.260 is there's so many times 00:17:41.260 --> 00:17:43.720 we compromise obedience to God, 00:17:44.520 --> 00:17:45.880 not in the big stuff, 00:17:46.080 --> 00:17:48.360 but in the thorns. 00:17:49.680 --> 00:17:51.500 Not in the things that are obvious, 00:17:52.160 --> 00:17:53.900 but in the thorns that we think, 00:17:54.020 --> 00:17:55.840 oh, I'm tough enough for that. 00:17:56.480 --> 00:17:57.460 I can battle through. 00:17:58.380 --> 00:17:59.760 But God says the thorns 00:17:59.760 --> 00:18:01.420 are what's going to hold you back 00:18:01.420 --> 00:18:03.820 and I'm going to let you go through and suffer. 00:18:04.860 --> 00:18:06.520 But then also there's the snares. 00:18:07.360 --> 00:18:08.200 There's the snares. 00:18:08.620 --> 00:18:10.340 I don't know if you've ever used a trap 00:18:10.340 --> 00:18:11.420 or tried to trap anything, 00:18:11.700 --> 00:18:14.320 but here's what a snare is effective 00:18:14.320 --> 00:18:18.340 when the snare blends into its surrounding. 00:18:19.460 --> 00:18:21.180 A snare isn't effective. 00:18:21.440 --> 00:18:24.360 If I set a snare right up here on the ground 00:18:24.360 --> 00:18:25.280 right here in front of me 00:18:25.280 --> 00:18:27.320 and put big flashing lights 00:18:27.320 --> 00:18:29.680 and painted it bright neon green 00:18:29.680 --> 00:18:31.720 and said to everyone in the room, 00:18:31.920 --> 00:18:32.740 hey, be careful, 00:18:32.880 --> 00:18:34.160 there's a snare right here. 00:18:34.400 --> 00:18:35.160 Well, at that point, 00:18:35.220 --> 00:18:36.060 if it gets you, man, 00:18:36.100 --> 00:18:37.280 that's just on you, right? 00:18:37.660 --> 00:18:39.700 But imagine if the snare, 00:18:39.700 --> 00:18:41.100 we didn't tell you about it. 00:18:41.560 --> 00:18:43.580 Imagine if the snare was blended in 00:18:43.580 --> 00:18:45.220 to the fabric of the seat 00:18:45.220 --> 00:18:47.180 and that that seat looked just like 00:18:47.180 --> 00:18:49.480 every other seat in the auditorium. 00:18:49.740 --> 00:18:50.660 And then all of a sudden, 00:18:50.780 --> 00:18:52.200 it is in your surrounding. 00:18:52.420 --> 00:18:53.480 You're unaware of it 00:18:53.480 --> 00:18:55.500 and it comes up and it traps you. 00:18:55.680 --> 00:18:56.940 And in your mind, 00:18:57.160 --> 00:18:59.240 you never saw it coming. 00:19:00.340 --> 00:19:01.800 Well, for our snares of sin, 00:19:02.660 --> 00:19:03.820 they're simply the sins 00:19:03.820 --> 00:19:04.980 that we've become blind to. 00:19:05.780 --> 00:19:07.020 That over time, 00:19:07.160 --> 00:19:09.300 that the thorns of sin 00:19:09.300 --> 00:19:10.880 begin to infiltrate our heart 00:19:10.880 --> 00:19:11.940 and our lives, 00:19:12.160 --> 00:19:13.860 that we become numb to them 00:19:13.860 --> 00:19:16.460 and the consequences of them, though, 00:19:17.260 --> 00:19:18.020 become deadly. 00:19:18.700 --> 00:19:20.200 And these are the things 00:19:20.200 --> 00:19:22.060 we're going to see with Israel, 00:19:22.400 --> 00:19:24.260 the thorns and the snares 00:19:24.260 --> 00:19:25.320 that they battle through. 00:19:26.520 --> 00:19:27.880 And when we see these 00:19:27.880 --> 00:19:29.900 in their life, 00:19:30.900 --> 00:19:31.980 they're going to have to make a decision. 00:19:32.940 --> 00:19:34.000 And it's going to be the decision 00:19:34.000 --> 00:19:34.980 that you and I make 00:19:34.980 --> 00:19:36.480 when we see these thorns 00:19:36.480 --> 00:19:38.180 and these snares as well. 00:19:38.680 --> 00:19:39.700 I was reading a pastor 00:19:39.700 --> 00:19:40.540 who was talking about 00:19:40.540 --> 00:19:42.540 this passage of Scripture specifically. 00:19:43.080 --> 00:19:43.840 And he said, 00:19:43.980 --> 00:19:45.040 when it comes to sin, 00:19:45.440 --> 00:19:46.520 that you and I, 00:19:46.620 --> 00:19:47.680 we're going to give two reasons. 00:19:48.420 --> 00:19:50.160 When it comes to battling a sin 00:19:50.160 --> 00:19:51.180 in our life, 00:19:51.260 --> 00:19:52.880 we're going to make one of two choices, 00:19:52.880 --> 00:19:53.780 more than likely, 00:19:53.980 --> 00:19:54.960 when they begin to creep 00:19:54.960 --> 00:19:56.500 more and more into our life. 00:19:56.820 --> 00:19:58.100 It's either the choice of, 00:19:58.300 --> 00:19:58.720 I can't, 00:19:59.380 --> 00:20:00.120 or the choice of, 00:20:00.200 --> 00:20:00.640 I won't. 00:20:01.480 --> 00:20:02.060 I won't. 00:20:02.680 --> 00:20:05.180 When sin is pointed out to us, 00:20:05.260 --> 00:20:06.800 when disobedience begins 00:20:06.800 --> 00:20:08.400 to ring true in our life, 00:20:08.460 --> 00:20:09.940 just like it is for Israel, 00:20:10.240 --> 00:20:10.840 you and I, 00:20:10.960 --> 00:20:11.760 we're going to probably say, 00:20:11.900 --> 00:20:12.600 well, God, right now, 00:20:12.700 --> 00:20:13.520 I can't. 00:20:14.780 --> 00:20:15.500 God, right now, 00:20:15.640 --> 00:20:16.820 I know this is here, 00:20:17.000 --> 00:20:19.160 but I just can't address it. 00:20:19.720 --> 00:20:20.980 I can't deal with it. 00:20:21.160 --> 00:20:22.560 I can't work through this. 00:20:22.560 --> 00:20:24.400 I've got so many other things 00:20:24.400 --> 00:20:25.440 that are going on. 00:20:25.520 --> 00:20:26.560 I've got so much pressure 00:20:26.560 --> 00:20:27.580 of what's there. 00:20:27.800 --> 00:20:28.560 It's the culture 00:20:28.560 --> 00:20:30.340 and it's the positioning of life. 00:20:30.580 --> 00:20:31.980 God, I can't deal 00:20:31.980 --> 00:20:33.240 with this right now 00:20:33.240 --> 00:20:35.380 when the truth is, 00:20:36.040 --> 00:20:37.300 it's not that I can't. 00:20:38.040 --> 00:20:38.800 It's that I won't. 00:20:39.600 --> 00:20:40.760 I won't deal with it. 00:20:41.440 --> 00:20:43.100 And it is mind-blowing 00:20:43.100 --> 00:20:44.120 to me 00:20:44.120 --> 00:20:45.560 when I think about 00:20:45.560 --> 00:20:46.700 how you and I, 00:20:46.780 --> 00:20:48.560 how we respond to sin. 00:20:49.280 --> 00:20:50.800 It's not that I can't 00:20:50.800 --> 00:20:51.780 pull the sand spur 00:20:51.780 --> 00:20:52.720 out of my foot 00:20:52.720 --> 00:20:54.360 so that I can continue 00:20:54.360 --> 00:20:55.020 to walk. 00:20:55.640 --> 00:20:56.580 It's that I won't. 00:20:57.320 --> 00:20:58.600 It's not that I can't 00:20:58.600 --> 00:20:59.920 avoid the snare 00:20:59.920 --> 00:21:01.260 that is there. 00:21:02.140 --> 00:21:03.260 It's that I won't. 00:21:04.060 --> 00:21:05.500 And we're going to see this 00:21:05.500 --> 00:21:07.480 within Israel. 00:21:07.800 --> 00:21:08.900 And here's the culture 00:21:08.900 --> 00:21:10.040 that it begins to create. 00:21:10.180 --> 00:21:11.040 Look down at verse 10. 00:21:11.040 --> 00:21:14.240 All that generation also 00:21:14.240 --> 00:21:15.500 were gathered 00:21:15.500 --> 00:21:16.340 to their fathers 00:21:16.340 --> 00:21:18.020 and there arose 00:21:18.020 --> 00:21:19.360 another generation 00:21:19.360 --> 00:21:20.300 after them 00:21:20.300 --> 00:21:21.900 who did not know 00:21:21.900 --> 00:21:22.560 the Lord 00:21:22.560 --> 00:21:24.340 nor yet the work 00:21:24.340 --> 00:21:25.620 which he had done 00:21:25.620 --> 00:21:26.660 for Israel. 00:21:27.620 --> 00:21:29.420 This verse in Judges 10 00:21:29.420 --> 00:21:30.920 is a warning of culture. 00:21:31.660 --> 00:21:32.600 When we embrace 00:21:32.600 --> 00:21:33.260 the thorns 00:21:33.260 --> 00:21:34.120 and the snares, 00:21:34.600 --> 00:21:35.460 when we say, 00:21:35.620 --> 00:21:36.380 no, I can't, 00:21:36.900 --> 00:21:37.800 when we embrace 00:21:37.800 --> 00:21:38.700 the I won't 00:21:38.700 --> 00:21:39.640 within there, 00:21:39.780 --> 00:21:40.800 what we find 00:21:40.800 --> 00:21:41.640 and what we see 00:21:41.640 --> 00:21:43.660 is that one generation 00:21:43.660 --> 00:21:44.360 removed, 00:21:44.620 --> 00:21:45.720 at the most two 00:21:45.720 --> 00:21:47.920 from the enslavement 00:21:47.920 --> 00:21:48.520 in Egypt 00:21:48.520 --> 00:21:49.320 to the crossing 00:21:49.320 --> 00:21:50.160 of the Red Sea 00:21:50.160 --> 00:21:51.140 to the fall 00:21:51.140 --> 00:21:52.460 of Jericho, 00:21:52.560 --> 00:21:53.500 what we find 00:21:53.500 --> 00:21:53.900 in here, 00:21:54.020 --> 00:21:54.500 it says, 00:21:54.800 --> 00:21:56.420 and another generation 00:21:56.420 --> 00:21:57.440 after them 00:21:57.440 --> 00:21:58.900 who did not know 00:21:58.900 --> 00:21:59.580 the Lord. 00:22:00.400 --> 00:22:01.240 They didn't know him. 00:22:02.120 --> 00:22:02.880 Just imagine. 00:22:03.960 --> 00:22:06.820 The water piled up 00:22:06.820 --> 00:22:07.460 into walls 00:22:07.460 --> 00:22:08.380 and the ground 00:22:08.380 --> 00:22:09.240 became dry 00:22:09.240 --> 00:22:11.180 and they walked across 00:22:11.180 --> 00:22:13.440 with their wagons included 00:22:13.440 --> 00:22:16.000 and when the Egyptians 00:22:16.000 --> 00:22:17.060 came after them, 00:22:17.760 --> 00:22:18.880 it enclosed on them. 00:22:19.740 --> 00:22:20.760 But they didn't know 00:22:20.760 --> 00:22:21.220 to the Lord. 00:22:22.580 --> 00:22:23.420 That they marched 00:22:23.420 --> 00:22:24.620 around a city 00:22:24.620 --> 00:22:26.140 and as they began 00:22:26.140 --> 00:22:26.680 to declare 00:22:26.680 --> 00:22:27.700 what God called them 00:22:27.700 --> 00:22:27.920 to, 00:22:28.220 --> 00:22:29.540 the walls came down 00:22:29.540 --> 00:22:31.500 but they didn't know. 00:22:32.500 --> 00:22:33.380 So did they forget? 00:22:34.600 --> 00:22:35.720 No, they didn't forget. 00:22:36.660 --> 00:22:37.260 They didn't forget 00:22:37.260 --> 00:22:37.860 the Red Sea, 00:22:37.960 --> 00:22:38.480 they didn't forget 00:22:38.480 --> 00:22:38.900 Jericho, 00:22:39.020 --> 00:22:39.480 they didn't forget 00:22:39.480 --> 00:22:41.800 all of the faithfulness 00:22:41.800 --> 00:22:42.460 of God. 00:22:43.060 --> 00:22:44.060 It says that they 00:22:44.060 --> 00:22:46.620 didn't know God. 00:22:47.220 --> 00:22:48.600 When you look at this word 00:22:48.600 --> 00:22:49.580 know and understand 00:22:49.580 --> 00:22:50.260 what it means, 00:22:50.360 --> 00:22:51.380 it means to know 00:22:51.380 --> 00:22:52.180 at a depth 00:22:52.180 --> 00:22:53.420 that you're moved 00:22:53.420 --> 00:22:54.380 by something. 00:22:55.040 --> 00:22:56.100 To know something 00:22:56.100 --> 00:22:57.120 so intimately 00:22:57.120 --> 00:22:58.840 that you're moved 00:22:58.840 --> 00:22:59.720 by it. 00:23:00.640 --> 00:23:01.440 When I was 00:23:01.440 --> 00:23:03.280 much, much younger, 00:23:03.380 --> 00:23:04.020 I don't remember 00:23:04.020 --> 00:23:05.480 exactly what year it was 00:23:05.480 --> 00:23:06.080 but the movie 00:23:06.080 --> 00:23:07.320 Saving Private Ryan 00:23:07.320 --> 00:23:07.820 came out. 00:23:08.740 --> 00:23:09.500 I've shared this story 00:23:09.500 --> 00:23:11.020 before so forgive me 00:23:11.020 --> 00:23:11.660 if you've heard it 00:23:11.660 --> 00:23:12.460 multiple times 00:23:12.460 --> 00:23:13.800 but it's the closest thing 00:23:13.800 --> 00:23:15.060 I can get to understanding 00:23:15.060 --> 00:23:16.280 this in my own mind 00:23:16.280 --> 00:23:16.900 of what it means 00:23:16.900 --> 00:23:17.700 to know something. 00:23:18.540 --> 00:23:19.260 My grandfather 00:23:19.260 --> 00:23:20.500 who passed away 00:23:20.500 --> 00:23:21.720 several years later 00:23:21.720 --> 00:23:24.080 was one of my best friends 00:23:24.080 --> 00:23:24.820 and one of the most 00:23:24.820 --> 00:23:25.820 godly influences 00:23:25.820 --> 00:23:26.780 in my life. 00:23:27.440 --> 00:23:28.200 Had served 00:23:28.200 --> 00:23:29.740 during World War II 00:23:29.740 --> 00:23:31.080 was a part 00:23:31.080 --> 00:23:32.340 of the D-Day invasion. 00:23:32.560 --> 00:23:33.200 He was part 00:23:33.200 --> 00:23:33.960 of the bridge 00:23:33.960 --> 00:23:34.560 at Remagen 00:23:34.560 --> 00:23:35.620 in the Battle of the Bulge. 00:23:35.680 --> 00:23:36.100 I got to write 00:23:36.100 --> 00:23:36.900 my senior paper 00:23:36.900 --> 00:23:37.840 at USC Aiken 00:23:37.840 --> 00:23:38.940 about his journey 00:23:38.940 --> 00:23:39.540 that he took. 00:23:40.440 --> 00:23:41.780 And my grandfather, 00:23:42.040 --> 00:23:43.300 we liked to talk. 00:23:43.600 --> 00:23:44.920 We did two things together. 00:23:45.060 --> 00:23:46.680 We watched NASCAR together 00:23:46.680 --> 00:23:49.540 and we talked war together. 00:23:49.720 --> 00:23:50.420 That's what we did. 00:23:51.600 --> 00:23:52.780 And he would tell me 00:23:52.780 --> 00:23:54.220 about all of his experiences. 00:23:55.220 --> 00:23:55.480 He would tell me 00:23:55.480 --> 00:23:56.340 about the different things 00:23:56.340 --> 00:23:57.260 that he had gone through 00:23:57.260 --> 00:23:57.860 and the battles 00:23:57.860 --> 00:23:58.360 that he would face 00:23:58.360 --> 00:23:59.560 and I would sit there 00:23:59.560 --> 00:24:01.080 as a kid 00:24:01.080 --> 00:24:02.380 and just take in 00:24:02.380 --> 00:24:03.380 the stories 00:24:03.380 --> 00:24:04.860 that he would tell me. 00:24:05.520 --> 00:24:06.460 And I'd hear the passion 00:24:06.460 --> 00:24:07.320 within his voice. 00:24:08.120 --> 00:24:08.780 And so he called me 00:24:08.780 --> 00:24:09.200 one day 00:24:09.200 --> 00:24:09.680 and he said, 00:24:09.760 --> 00:24:09.900 hey, 00:24:10.200 --> 00:24:11.060 can you and I 00:24:11.060 --> 00:24:12.200 go see a movie together? 00:24:12.800 --> 00:24:13.080 Now, 00:24:13.200 --> 00:24:14.120 my mind was blown 00:24:14.120 --> 00:24:15.000 because I'd never known 00:24:15.000 --> 00:24:15.660 my grandfather 00:24:15.660 --> 00:24:16.780 to ever see a movie 00:24:16.780 --> 00:24:17.860 in his entire life, 00:24:17.860 --> 00:24:18.080 right? 00:24:18.160 --> 00:24:18.780 Like literally, 00:24:18.780 --> 00:24:20.540 he watched C-SPAN 00:24:20.540 --> 00:24:21.920 and NASCAR. 00:24:22.100 --> 00:24:22.880 That was it, 00:24:22.920 --> 00:24:23.160 right? 00:24:23.800 --> 00:24:24.160 Yeah, 00:24:24.300 --> 00:24:25.140 you want to go see a movie? 00:24:25.260 --> 00:24:25.620 Absolutely. 00:24:25.940 --> 00:24:27.180 What movie do you want to go see? 00:24:27.940 --> 00:24:28.280 And he said, 00:24:28.300 --> 00:24:29.140 I heard there's a movie 00:24:29.140 --> 00:24:30.040 about World War II 00:24:30.040 --> 00:24:31.340 called Saving Private Ryan. 00:24:31.480 --> 00:24:33.200 Could you go watch it with me? 00:24:33.900 --> 00:24:34.120 I said, 00:24:34.200 --> 00:24:34.720 absolutely. 00:24:35.580 --> 00:24:36.380 I'd heard about it. 00:24:36.400 --> 00:24:37.920 I'd heard how realistic it was. 00:24:38.460 --> 00:24:38.980 I'd heard about 00:24:38.980 --> 00:24:40.480 how powerful the story was. 00:24:40.580 --> 00:24:41.360 And it was a movie 00:24:41.360 --> 00:24:42.080 that I look forward 00:24:42.080 --> 00:24:43.400 to seeing regardless, 00:24:43.560 --> 00:24:44.340 but now my granddad 00:24:44.340 --> 00:24:45.440 wants to go do that with me, 00:24:45.480 --> 00:24:46.120 so that means I get 00:24:46.120 --> 00:24:46.780 into the movie free, 00:24:46.960 --> 00:24:47.160 right? 00:24:47.540 --> 00:24:47.860 Absolutely. 00:24:49.800 --> 00:24:50.700 And so we went over 00:24:50.700 --> 00:24:51.600 to Evans, Georgia 00:24:51.600 --> 00:24:53.120 to the big movie theater 00:24:53.120 --> 00:24:53.900 that was there. 00:24:54.680 --> 00:24:55.720 We got in our seats 00:24:55.720 --> 00:24:56.720 and we had our popcorn 00:24:56.720 --> 00:24:58.380 and we began 00:24:58.380 --> 00:24:59.140 to watch the movie. 00:25:00.720 --> 00:25:01.280 And you know 00:25:01.280 --> 00:25:02.520 how the movie opens? 00:25:03.300 --> 00:25:04.200 It opens on that 00:25:04.200 --> 00:25:05.280 D-Day invasion. 00:25:06.780 --> 00:25:07.560 And Ron Howard 00:25:07.560 --> 00:25:08.220 and what they were able 00:25:08.220 --> 00:25:09.340 to do with that movie 00:25:09.340 --> 00:25:10.500 with the bullets 00:25:10.500 --> 00:25:11.500 that were coming through, 00:25:11.600 --> 00:25:11.740 right? 00:25:11.780 --> 00:25:13.420 I remember being 00:25:13.420 --> 00:25:15.440 in the movie theater 00:25:15.440 --> 00:25:17.120 and hearing the 00:25:17.120 --> 00:25:20.020 pew, pew, pew 00:25:20.020 --> 00:25:23.040 speakers around me. 00:25:24.440 --> 00:25:25.680 I remember seeing 00:25:25.680 --> 00:25:26.500 and hearing 00:25:26.500 --> 00:25:29.200 the sounds of the waves 00:25:29.200 --> 00:25:31.960 crashing against the shore 00:25:31.960 --> 00:25:33.640 and the tides 00:25:33.640 --> 00:25:34.820 pushing on the boats. 00:25:36.200 --> 00:25:37.180 I remember hearing 00:25:37.180 --> 00:25:37.780 the desperation 00:25:37.780 --> 00:25:38.700 of the soldiers 00:25:38.700 --> 00:25:39.800 as they made their way, 00:25:39.900 --> 00:25:40.040 right? 00:25:40.080 --> 00:25:40.660 You know the story, 00:25:40.920 --> 00:25:42.020 the water's too deep 00:25:42.020 --> 00:25:42.640 but they're making 00:25:42.640 --> 00:25:44.120 their way onto the beach, 00:25:44.900 --> 00:25:45.620 most of whom 00:25:45.620 --> 00:25:46.400 didn't make it. 00:25:48.000 --> 00:25:48.840 I remember what 00:25:48.840 --> 00:25:50.160 the water looked like. 00:25:51.000 --> 00:25:52.420 We were stained red 00:25:52.420 --> 00:25:53.360 because of the soldiers 00:25:53.360 --> 00:25:54.900 who had fallen 00:25:54.900 --> 00:25:56.900 and who had passed. 00:25:58.480 --> 00:25:59.760 And I'm sitting there 00:25:59.760 --> 00:26:01.580 and I'm watching 00:26:01.580 --> 00:26:02.860 a story unfold 00:26:02.860 --> 00:26:05.160 and I look over 00:26:05.160 --> 00:26:06.680 beside me 00:26:06.680 --> 00:26:08.840 and there's my grandfather 00:26:08.840 --> 00:26:11.220 and his face 00:26:11.220 --> 00:26:12.240 is covered with tears 00:26:12.240 --> 00:26:16.600 because when he heard 00:26:16.600 --> 00:26:17.700 the bullets in the movie, 00:26:18.400 --> 00:26:20.360 he went back to when 00:26:20.360 --> 00:26:20.960 he had heard them 00:26:20.960 --> 00:26:21.640 in real life. 00:26:22.640 --> 00:26:23.640 When he saw 00:26:23.640 --> 00:26:24.980 the salt water 00:26:24.980 --> 00:26:25.880 hit the soldiers 00:26:25.880 --> 00:26:28.200 and burn their eyes 00:26:28.200 --> 00:26:29.880 and fill their mouths, 00:26:30.000 --> 00:26:31.080 he could feel the burning 00:26:31.080 --> 00:26:31.960 in his eyes 00:26:31.960 --> 00:26:33.080 and he could taste 00:26:33.080 --> 00:26:34.200 the salt of the water then. 00:26:34.860 --> 00:26:36.200 When he saw soldiers 00:26:36.200 --> 00:26:37.540 dragging other soldiers, 00:26:37.900 --> 00:26:39.840 he knew of that weight 00:26:39.840 --> 00:26:40.660 that was there 00:26:40.660 --> 00:26:42.320 and he began to know 00:26:42.320 --> 00:26:43.740 what that felt like. 00:26:44.240 --> 00:26:45.220 That he began through 00:26:45.220 --> 00:26:46.140 in his journey 00:26:46.140 --> 00:26:47.980 as he watched that movie, 00:26:48.200 --> 00:26:49.180 there was a depth 00:26:49.180 --> 00:26:49.900 of intimacy 00:26:49.900 --> 00:26:50.980 of what had happened 00:26:50.980 --> 00:26:52.060 and what had taken place 00:26:52.060 --> 00:26:53.820 that years upon years later 00:26:53.820 --> 00:26:54.680 as he was then 00:26:54.680 --> 00:26:56.080 an old man 00:26:56.080 --> 00:26:58.040 but he knew 00:26:58.040 --> 00:26:59.720 what had happened 00:26:59.720 --> 00:27:00.820 there. 00:27:01.800 --> 00:27:02.220 You see, 00:27:02.340 --> 00:27:03.240 in God's people's 00:27:03.240 --> 00:27:04.680 faithfulness to him, 00:27:05.020 --> 00:27:05.860 they had missed 00:27:05.860 --> 00:27:07.020 the depth 00:27:07.020 --> 00:27:08.320 of the intimacy 00:27:08.320 --> 00:27:09.480 of what's there. 00:27:10.540 --> 00:27:11.880 It had become stories 00:27:11.880 --> 00:27:14.020 instead of the power 00:27:14.020 --> 00:27:15.980 changing work 00:27:15.980 --> 00:27:16.880 of God 00:27:16.880 --> 00:27:18.320 in his faithfulness. 00:27:19.520 --> 00:27:20.360 It's in verse 11, 00:27:21.480 --> 00:27:22.440 as they had forgotten. 00:27:23.580 --> 00:27:23.920 It says, 00:27:24.020 --> 00:27:24.400 and the people 00:27:24.400 --> 00:27:25.000 of Israel 00:27:25.000 --> 00:27:26.900 did what was evil 00:27:26.900 --> 00:27:27.400 in the sight 00:27:27.400 --> 00:27:27.980 of the Lord 00:27:27.980 --> 00:27:29.680 and served the Baals. 00:27:30.680 --> 00:27:31.740 And they abandoned 00:27:31.740 --> 00:27:32.560 the Lord, 00:27:32.720 --> 00:27:33.900 the God of their fathers 00:27:33.900 --> 00:27:35.000 who had brought them 00:27:35.000 --> 00:27:35.680 out of the land 00:27:35.680 --> 00:27:36.260 of Egypt. 00:27:36.600 --> 00:27:37.440 They went after 00:27:37.440 --> 00:27:38.240 other gods 00:27:38.240 --> 00:27:38.840 from among 00:27:38.840 --> 00:27:40.240 the gods 00:27:40.240 --> 00:27:40.900 of the peoples 00:27:40.900 --> 00:27:42.220 who were around them 00:27:42.220 --> 00:27:42.920 and bowed down 00:27:42.920 --> 00:27:43.360 to them 00:27:43.360 --> 00:27:44.620 and they provoked 00:27:44.620 --> 00:27:45.620 the Lord to anger. 00:27:46.060 --> 00:27:46.760 They abandoned 00:27:46.760 --> 00:27:47.340 the Lord 00:27:47.340 --> 00:27:47.920 and served 00:27:47.920 --> 00:27:48.580 the Baals 00:27:48.580 --> 00:27:49.760 and the Ashtrofs. 00:27:50.020 --> 00:27:50.900 And so the anger 00:27:50.900 --> 00:27:51.880 of the Lord 00:27:51.880 --> 00:27:52.720 was kindled 00:27:52.720 --> 00:27:53.740 against Israel 00:27:53.740 --> 00:27:54.980 and he gave them 00:27:54.980 --> 00:27:56.660 over to plunderers 00:27:56.660 --> 00:27:57.540 who plundered them 00:27:57.540 --> 00:27:58.780 and he sold them 00:27:58.780 --> 00:27:59.720 into the hand 00:27:59.720 --> 00:28:00.400 of their surrounding 00:28:00.400 --> 00:28:00.980 enemies 00:28:00.980 --> 00:28:01.880 so that they could 00:28:01.880 --> 00:28:02.620 no longer 00:28:02.620 --> 00:28:03.200 withstand 00:28:03.200 --> 00:28:04.220 their enemies. 00:28:05.000 --> 00:28:06.320 And what we see here 00:28:06.320 --> 00:28:07.480 is the warning 00:28:07.480 --> 00:28:08.360 from the command 00:28:08.360 --> 00:28:09.140 of what Joshua 00:28:09.140 --> 00:28:09.920 had told them 00:28:09.920 --> 00:28:10.880 in Joshua 23 00:28:10.880 --> 00:28:11.920 is that this is 00:28:11.920 --> 00:28:12.800 where we find 00:28:12.800 --> 00:28:13.960 God's people 00:28:13.960 --> 00:28:14.940 when they began 00:28:14.940 --> 00:28:15.780 to walk 00:28:15.780 --> 00:28:16.620 in half-hearted 00:28:16.620 --> 00:28:17.060 faith 00:28:17.060 --> 00:28:17.780 when they begin 00:28:17.780 --> 00:28:18.380 to walk 00:28:18.380 --> 00:28:19.540 in partial obedience 00:28:19.540 --> 00:28:20.380 that becomes 00:28:20.380 --> 00:28:21.660 downright disobedience 00:28:21.660 --> 00:28:22.080 to him 00:28:22.080 --> 00:28:23.160 and what happens 00:28:23.160 --> 00:28:24.120 they move 00:28:24.120 --> 00:28:24.700 from being 00:28:24.700 --> 00:28:25.700 the conquerors 00:28:25.700 --> 00:28:26.460 and now 00:28:26.460 --> 00:28:27.500 they are the conquered. 00:28:28.780 --> 00:28:29.500 Now they're 00:28:29.500 --> 00:28:29.880 no longer 00:28:29.880 --> 00:28:30.440 the one 00:28:30.440 --> 00:28:31.280 in the victory 00:28:31.280 --> 00:28:32.880 and whose fault 00:28:32.880 --> 00:28:33.480 is it? 00:28:34.480 --> 00:28:35.040 It's theirs. 00:28:36.280 --> 00:28:37.920 They abandoned 00:28:37.920 --> 00:28:38.920 the Lord 00:28:38.920 --> 00:28:40.840 but God 00:28:40.840 --> 00:28:42.680 but God 00:28:42.680 --> 00:28:44.020 had never 00:28:44.020 --> 00:28:45.580 broken 00:28:45.580 --> 00:28:47.260 his covenant 00:28:47.260 --> 00:28:49.060 and this is 00:28:49.060 --> 00:28:49.460 what we're going 00:28:49.460 --> 00:28:49.860 to see 00:28:49.860 --> 00:28:51.340 and this is 00:28:51.340 --> 00:28:51.720 the hope 00:28:51.720 --> 00:28:52.440 that we have 00:28:52.440 --> 00:28:53.840 that you 00:28:53.840 --> 00:28:54.420 and I 00:28:54.420 --> 00:28:56.680 have so often 00:28:56.680 --> 00:28:58.440 not conquered 00:28:58.440 --> 00:28:59.180 what was there 00:28:59.180 --> 00:28:59.860 but settled 00:28:59.860 --> 00:29:01.300 that you 00:29:01.300 --> 00:29:01.780 and I 00:29:01.780 --> 00:29:02.680 find ourselves 00:29:02.680 --> 00:29:03.140 in these 00:29:03.140 --> 00:29:04.320 same patterns 00:29:04.320 --> 00:29:05.620 in disobedience 00:29:05.620 --> 00:29:07.180 and if we 00:29:07.180 --> 00:29:08.080 aren't careful 00:29:08.080 --> 00:29:09.340 we look at 00:29:09.340 --> 00:29:09.780 the end 00:29:09.780 --> 00:29:10.660 verse 14 00:29:10.660 --> 00:29:11.520 and we walk 00:29:11.520 --> 00:29:11.900 away 00:29:11.900 --> 00:29:12.220 and say 00:29:12.220 --> 00:29:12.740 this is what 00:29:12.740 --> 00:29:13.180 judges 00:29:13.180 --> 00:29:13.720 is going 00:29:13.720 --> 00:29:14.320 to be about 00:29:14.320 --> 00:29:15.220 the failings 00:29:15.220 --> 00:29:15.720 of God's 00:29:15.720 --> 00:29:16.000 people 00:29:16.000 --> 00:29:17.480 but then 00:29:17.480 --> 00:29:18.260 we miss it 00:29:18.260 --> 00:29:19.480 so look down 00:29:19.480 --> 00:29:20.260 at verse 16 00:29:20.260 --> 00:29:22.260 it says 00:29:22.260 --> 00:29:23.160 then the Lord 00:29:23.160 --> 00:29:24.960 raised up 00:29:24.960 --> 00:29:25.520 judges 00:29:25.520 --> 00:29:27.340 who delivered 00:29:27.340 --> 00:29:27.780 them 00:29:27.780 --> 00:29:28.920 from the hands 00:29:28.920 --> 00:29:29.840 of those 00:29:29.840 --> 00:29:30.380 who plundered 00:29:30.380 --> 00:29:30.740 them 00:29:30.740 --> 00:29:32.060 yet they did 00:29:32.060 --> 00:29:32.580 not listen 00:29:32.580 --> 00:29:33.260 to their judges 00:29:33.260 --> 00:29:33.680 for they 00:29:33.680 --> 00:29:34.920 played the harlot 00:29:34.920 --> 00:29:36.080 after other gods 00:29:36.080 --> 00:29:36.960 and bowed 00:29:36.960 --> 00:29:37.620 themselves 00:29:37.620 --> 00:29:38.380 down to them 00:29:38.380 --> 00:29:39.560 they turned 00:29:39.560 --> 00:29:40.480 aside quickly 00:29:40.480 --> 00:29:41.460 from the way 00:29:41.460 --> 00:29:41.820 in which 00:29:41.820 --> 00:29:42.380 their fathers 00:29:42.380 --> 00:29:43.020 had walked 00:29:43.020 --> 00:29:43.620 in obeying 00:29:43.620 --> 00:29:44.140 the commandments 00:29:44.140 --> 00:29:44.860 of their Lord 00:29:44.860 --> 00:29:45.720 they did not 00:29:45.720 --> 00:29:46.620 do as their 00:29:46.620 --> 00:29:47.060 fathers 00:29:47.060 --> 00:29:48.400 when the Lord 00:29:48.400 --> 00:29:49.360 raised up judges 00:29:49.360 --> 00:29:50.040 for them 00:29:50.040 --> 00:29:50.900 the Lord 00:29:50.900 --> 00:29:52.000 was with 00:29:52.000 --> 00:29:52.740 the judge 00:29:52.740 --> 00:29:53.540 and delivered 00:29:53.540 --> 00:29:54.540 them from 00:29:54.540 --> 00:29:55.140 the hand 00:29:55.140 --> 00:29:56.040 of their enemies 00:29:56.040 --> 00:29:57.460 all the days 00:29:57.460 --> 00:29:58.260 of the judge 00:29:58.260 --> 00:29:59.220 for the Lord 00:29:59.220 --> 00:30:00.200 was moved 00:30:00.200 --> 00:30:00.960 to pity 00:30:00.960 --> 00:30:02.800 by their groaning 00:30:02.800 --> 00:30:04.560 because of those 00:30:04.560 --> 00:30:05.760 who oppressed 00:30:05.760 --> 00:30:06.560 and who 00:30:06.560 --> 00:30:07.300 afflicted 00:30:07.300 --> 00:30:07.940 them 00:30:07.940 --> 00:30:08.920 you see 00:30:08.920 --> 00:30:09.540 the heart 00:30:09.540 --> 00:30:10.500 the reason 00:30:10.500 --> 00:30:11.080 why we can't 00:30:11.080 --> 00:30:11.500 just lock 00:30:11.500 --> 00:30:11.900 in on the 00:30:11.900 --> 00:30:12.420 story 00:30:12.420 --> 00:30:13.300 is because 00:30:13.300 --> 00:30:13.960 we miss 00:30:13.960 --> 00:30:14.460 the work 00:30:14.460 --> 00:30:14.760 of what 00:30:14.760 --> 00:30:15.160 God is 00:30:15.160 --> 00:30:15.560 doing 00:30:15.560 --> 00:30:16.440 and what 00:30:16.440 --> 00:30:16.900 we see 00:30:16.900 --> 00:30:17.320 is this 00:30:17.320 --> 00:30:17.980 that you 00:30:17.980 --> 00:30:18.540 and I 00:30:18.540 --> 00:30:19.000 we're a lot 00:30:19.000 --> 00:30:19.660 like Israel 00:30:19.660 --> 00:30:21.160 you and I 00:30:21.160 --> 00:30:21.820 live in a 00:30:21.820 --> 00:30:22.340 world that 00:30:22.340 --> 00:30:22.900 is a lot 00:30:22.900 --> 00:30:23.500 like in the 00:30:23.500 --> 00:30:24.100 world of 00:30:24.100 --> 00:30:24.640 the promised 00:30:24.640 --> 00:30:25.040 land 00:30:25.040 --> 00:30:26.200 where we 00:30:26.200 --> 00:30:26.880 compromise 00:30:26.880 --> 00:30:28.100 we give 00:30:28.100 --> 00:30:28.540 in to the 00:30:28.540 --> 00:30:28.980 thorns 00:30:28.980 --> 00:30:29.820 we're caught 00:30:29.820 --> 00:30:30.860 by the snares 00:30:30.860 --> 00:30:31.380 that there's 00:30:31.380 --> 00:30:31.940 the battles 00:30:31.940 --> 00:30:32.460 that's still 00:30:32.460 --> 00:30:32.780 there 00:30:32.780 --> 00:30:33.220 and that 00:30:33.220 --> 00:30:33.860 begin to 00:30:33.860 --> 00:30:34.320 rage 00:30:34.320 --> 00:30:35.000 and you 00:30:35.000 --> 00:30:35.720 and I 00:30:35.720 --> 00:30:36.300 in our 00:30:36.300 --> 00:30:37.020 half-hearted 00:30:37.020 --> 00:30:37.660 obedience 00:30:37.660 --> 00:30:38.540 we take 00:30:38.540 --> 00:30:39.060 on the 00:30:39.060 --> 00:30:39.440 wandering 00:30:39.440 --> 00:30:40.020 heart 00:30:40.020 --> 00:30:41.320 but what 00:30:41.320 --> 00:30:41.740 we find 00:30:41.740 --> 00:30:42.280 in that 00:30:42.280 --> 00:30:43.400 is where 00:30:43.400 --> 00:30:43.680 we see 00:30:43.680 --> 00:30:44.000 the God 00:30:44.000 --> 00:30:44.520 who saves 00:30:44.520 --> 00:30:45.960 we see 00:30:45.960 --> 00:30:46.340 the God 00:30:46.340 --> 00:30:47.100 who saves 00:30:47.100 --> 00:30:48.520 time and 00:30:48.520 --> 00:30:49.220 time again 00:30:49.220 --> 00:30:50.260 we see 00:30:50.260 --> 00:30:50.720 the God 00:30:50.720 --> 00:30:51.140 who says 00:30:51.140 --> 00:30:51.620 I'm gonna 00:30:51.620 --> 00:30:52.140 send 00:30:52.140 --> 00:30:52.640 and I'm 00:30:52.640 --> 00:30:53.280 gonna send 00:30:53.280 --> 00:30:53.760 and I'm 00:30:53.760 --> 00:30:54.360 gonna send 00:30:54.360 --> 00:30:54.940 and in 00:30:54.940 --> 00:30:55.340 sending 00:30:55.340 --> 00:30:55.860 I'm gonna 00:30:55.860 --> 00:30:56.220 redeem 00:30:56.220 --> 00:30:56.680 people 00:30:56.680 --> 00:30:57.460 and when 00:30:57.460 --> 00:30:58.020 you continue 00:30:58.020 --> 00:30:58.560 on 00:30:58.560 --> 00:30:59.020 and you 00:30:59.020 --> 00:30:59.780 read through 00:30:59.780 --> 00:31:00.500 the Old 00:31:00.500 --> 00:31:00.900 Testament 00:31:00.900 --> 00:31:01.540 you see 00:31:01.540 --> 00:31:01.980 the story 00:31:01.980 --> 00:31:02.520 of God 00:31:02.520 --> 00:31:03.140 who says 00:31:03.140 --> 00:31:03.900 no no 00:31:03.900 --> 00:31:04.340 you're 00:31:04.340 --> 00:31:04.840 enslaved 00:31:04.840 --> 00:31:05.140 and I'm 00:31:05.140 --> 00:31:05.400 gonna send 00:31:05.400 --> 00:31:05.980 Moses 00:31:05.980 --> 00:31:06.800 and then 00:31:06.800 --> 00:31:07.400 you get 00:31:07.400 --> 00:31:07.700 to the 00:31:07.700 --> 00:31:08.280 promised land 00:31:08.280 --> 00:31:08.580 but you 00:31:08.580 --> 00:31:09.020 can't get 00:31:09.020 --> 00:31:09.220 there 00:31:09.220 --> 00:31:09.600 so I'm 00:31:09.600 --> 00:31:09.820 gonna send 00:31:09.820 --> 00:31:10.500 Joshua 00:31:10.500 --> 00:31:11.180 and then 00:31:11.180 --> 00:31:11.720 Joshua 00:31:11.720 --> 00:31:11.960 is gonna 00:31:11.960 --> 00:31:12.320 die 00:31:12.320 --> 00:31:12.860 so what 00:31:12.860 --> 00:31:12.960 you're 00:31:12.960 --> 00:31:13.220 gonna need 00:31:13.220 --> 00:31:13.420 is you're 00:31:13.420 --> 00:31:13.600 gonna need 00:31:13.600 --> 00:31:14.160 judges 00:31:14.160 --> 00:31:14.840 and then 00:31:14.840 --> 00:31:15.780 God's 00:31:15.780 --> 00:31:16.380 gonna send 00:31:16.380 --> 00:31:17.060 the kings 00:31:17.060 --> 00:31:17.560 and then 00:31:17.560 --> 00:31:17.860 God's 00:31:17.860 --> 00:31:18.200 gonna send 00:31:18.200 --> 00:31:18.820 the prophets 00:31:18.820 --> 00:31:19.420 and then 00:31:19.420 --> 00:31:20.000 all the way 00:31:20.000 --> 00:31:20.540 into the 00:31:20.540 --> 00:31:21.240 New Testament 00:31:21.240 --> 00:31:22.160 where God 00:31:22.160 --> 00:31:22.460 sends 00:31:22.460 --> 00:31:23.100 John the 00:31:23.100 --> 00:31:23.400 Baptist 00:31:23.400 --> 00:31:24.020 proclaim 00:31:24.020 --> 00:31:24.940 something 00:31:24.940 --> 00:31:25.740 very important 00:31:25.740 --> 00:31:27.380 a peace 00:31:27.380 --> 00:31:27.740 that God's 00:31:27.740 --> 00:31:28.040 people have 00:31:28.040 --> 00:31:28.380 been waiting 00:31:28.380 --> 00:31:28.740 for 00:31:28.740 --> 00:31:30.320 and a peace 00:31:30.320 --> 00:31:30.900 that we 00:31:30.900 --> 00:31:32.260 cling to 00:31:32.260 --> 00:31:32.880 today 00:31:32.880 --> 00:31:34.500 God says 00:31:34.500 --> 00:31:35.140 no 00:31:35.140 --> 00:31:36.840 I'm gonna 00:31:36.840 --> 00:31:37.340 send one 00:31:37.340 --> 00:31:37.660 more 00:31:37.660 --> 00:31:39.540 one more 00:31:39.540 --> 00:31:40.880 and this 00:31:40.880 --> 00:31:41.320 is it 00:31:41.320 --> 00:31:42.940 because 00:31:42.940 --> 00:31:44.280 he 00:31:44.280 --> 00:31:45.820 is going 00:31:45.820 --> 00:31:46.780 to fully 00:31:46.780 --> 00:31:48.000 deliver 00:31:48.000 --> 00:31:49.140 his people 00:31:49.140 --> 00:31:50.920 and so 00:31:50.920 --> 00:31:51.320 he sends 00:31:51.320 --> 00:31:51.780 Jesus 00:31:51.780 --> 00:31:53.640 the story 00:31:53.640 --> 00:31:54.360 of the hope 00:31:54.360 --> 00:31:55.120 of the gospel 00:31:55.120 --> 00:31:56.640 you see 00:31:56.640 --> 00:31:57.440 God's people 00:31:57.440 --> 00:31:58.140 and judges 00:31:58.140 --> 00:31:59.920 deserved 00:31:59.920 --> 00:32:01.260 to be 00:32:01.260 --> 00:32:02.060 where they 00:32:02.060 --> 00:32:02.520 were 00:32:02.520 --> 00:32:03.940 and so 00:32:03.940 --> 00:32:04.260 he sent 00:32:04.260 --> 00:32:04.360 him 00:32:04.360 --> 00:32:04.880 a judge 00:32:04.880 --> 00:32:06.320 and another 00:32:06.320 --> 00:32:06.800 judge 00:32:06.800 --> 00:32:07.920 and another 00:32:07.920 --> 00:32:08.360 judge 00:32:08.360 --> 00:32:09.560 to deliver 00:32:09.560 --> 00:32:09.840 him 00:32:09.840 --> 00:32:10.980 and to 00:32:10.980 --> 00:32:11.320 point 00:32:11.320 --> 00:32:12.020 them to 00:32:12.020 --> 00:32:13.580 the perfect 00:32:13.580 --> 00:32:14.960 judge 00:32:14.960 --> 00:32:16.520 the Messiah 00:32:16.520 --> 00:32:17.820 who would 00:32:17.820 --> 00:32:18.300 come to 00:32:18.300 --> 00:32:18.640 save 00:32:18.640 --> 00:32:19.680 all of 00:32:19.680 --> 00:32:20.160 creation 00:32:20.160 --> 00:32:21.360 would you 00:32:21.360 --> 00:32:21.660 pray with 00:32:21.660 --> 00:32:22.140 me 00:32:22.140 --> 00:32:26.060 Lord I 00:32:26.060 --> 00:32:26.380 thank you 00:32:26.380 --> 00:32:26.760 for this 00:32:26.760 --> 00:32:27.140 book 00:32:27.140 --> 00:32:29.820 Lord I 00:32:29.820 --> 00:32:30.080 thank you 00:32:30.080 --> 00:32:30.360 that in 00:32:30.360 --> 00:32:30.860 Israel 00:32:30.860 --> 00:32:32.640 what we 00:32:32.640 --> 00:32:33.320 find is 00:32:33.320 --> 00:32:33.900 the heart 00:32:33.900 --> 00:32:35.000 that wants 00:32:35.000 --> 00:32:35.640 to wander 00:32:35.640 --> 00:32:37.200 the heart 00:32:37.200 --> 00:32:37.680 that wants 00:32:37.680 --> 00:32:38.460 to rebel 00:32:38.460 --> 00:32:39.460 the heart 00:32:39.460 --> 00:32:39.900 that wants 00:32:39.900 --> 00:32:40.340 to pretty 00:32:40.340 --> 00:32:40.840 up some 00:32:40.840 --> 00:32:41.220 things 00:32:41.220 --> 00:32:42.340 but continue 00:32:42.340 --> 00:32:42.880 to give 00:32:42.880 --> 00:32:43.760 in to the 00:32:43.760 --> 00:32:44.740 thorns 00:32:44.740 --> 00:32:45.500 and snares 00:32:45.500 --> 00:32:45.760 that are 00:32:45.760 --> 00:32:46.380 there 00:32:46.380 --> 00:32:48.740 Lord I 00:32:48.740 --> 00:32:49.260 thank you 00:32:49.260 --> 00:32:50.600 that in 00:32:50.600 --> 00:32:50.980 that 00:32:50.980 --> 00:32:52.540 Lord your 00:32:52.540 --> 00:32:53.020 word is 00:32:53.020 --> 00:32:53.720 very clear 00:32:53.720 --> 00:32:55.240 Lord they 00:32:55.240 --> 00:32:55.620 went through 00:32:55.620 --> 00:32:56.220 difficulties 00:32:56.220 --> 00:32:56.860 they faced 00:32:56.860 --> 00:32:57.460 punishments 00:32:57.460 --> 00:32:57.980 they had all 00:32:57.980 --> 00:32:58.380 of these 00:32:58.380 --> 00:32:59.140 things that 00:32:59.140 --> 00:32:59.660 happened 00:32:59.660 --> 00:33:00.740 to them 00:33:00.740 --> 00:33:02.440 but Lord 00:33:02.440 --> 00:33:02.880 what you 00:33:02.880 --> 00:33:03.220 did 00:33:03.220 --> 00:33:04.360 in your 00:33:04.360 --> 00:33:04.800 kindness 00:33:04.800 --> 00:33:05.740 and in 00:33:05.740 --> 00:33:05.900 your 00:33:05.900 --> 00:33:06.520 compassion 00:33:06.520 --> 00:33:07.820 is you 00:33:07.820 --> 00:33:08.820 delivered 00:33:08.820 --> 00:33:09.660 them 00:33:09.660 --> 00:33:11.140 Lord as 00:33:11.140 --> 00:33:11.680 we're gathered 00:33:11.680 --> 00:33:12.260 in here 00:33:12.260 --> 00:33:12.560 in this 00:33:12.560 --> 00:33:13.160 place this 00:33:13.160 --> 00:33:13.520 morning 00:33:13.520 --> 00:33:14.080 or we're 00:33:14.080 --> 00:33:14.700 sitting 00:33:14.700 --> 00:33:15.080 at our 00:33:15.080 --> 00:33:15.500 homes 00:33:15.500 --> 00:33:16.020 watching 00:33:16.020 --> 00:33:16.740 online 00:33:16.740 --> 00:33:18.840 Lord we're 00:33:18.840 --> 00:33:19.800 either hearts 00:33:19.800 --> 00:33:20.620 that are 00:33:20.620 --> 00:33:21.200 enslaved 00:33:21.200 --> 00:33:21.680 and need 00:33:21.680 --> 00:33:21.940 to be 00:33:21.940 --> 00:33:22.600 set free 00:33:22.600 --> 00:33:24.080 or for 00:33:24.080 --> 00:33:24.580 so many 00:33:24.580 --> 00:33:25.180 of us 00:33:25.180 --> 00:33:26.180 right now 00:33:26.180 --> 00:33:26.580 we're just 00:33:26.580 --> 00:33:26.860 in a 00:33:26.860 --> 00:33:27.180 heart 00:33:27.180 --> 00:33:27.520 that has 00:33:27.520 --> 00:33:28.060 wandered 00:33:28.060 --> 00:33:29.700 Lord and I 00:33:29.700 --> 00:33:30.440 pray that as 00:33:30.440 --> 00:33:30.840 we go 00:33:30.840 --> 00:33:31.440 through this 00:33:31.440 --> 00:33:31.920 that Lord 00:33:31.920 --> 00:33:32.540 right now 00:33:32.540 --> 00:33:32.900 that you 00:33:32.900 --> 00:33:34.220 remind us 00:33:34.220 --> 00:33:35.280 that you 00:33:35.280 --> 00:33:35.860 are a 00:33:35.860 --> 00:33:36.480 God 00:33:36.480 --> 00:33:37.260 you are 00:33:37.260 --> 00:33:38.160 the God 00:33:38.160 --> 00:33:39.060 who saves 00:33:39.060 --> 00:33:40.080 and it is 00:33:40.080 --> 00:33:40.880 found in 00:33:40.880 --> 00:33:41.320 you 00:33:41.320 --> 00:33:42.320 and in 00:33:42.320 --> 00:33:42.880 you alone 00:33:42.880 --> 00:33:44.860 and that 00:33:44.860 --> 00:33:45.040 our 00:33:45.040 --> 00:33:45.780 salvation 00:33:45.780 --> 00:33:47.320 that our 00:33:47.320 --> 00:33:47.880 redemption 00:33:47.880 --> 00:33:49.360 doesn't 00:33:49.360 --> 00:33:49.960 just come 00:33:49.960 --> 00:33:50.400 from our 00:33:50.400 --> 00:33:50.840 earthly 00:33:50.840 --> 00:33:52.040 circumstances 00:33:52.040 --> 00:33:54.540 but it 00:33:54.540 --> 00:33:55.300 comes 00:33:55.300 --> 00:33:56.420 for our 00:33:56.420 --> 00:33:57.120 eternity 00:33:57.120 --> 00:33:59.740 Lord 00:33:59.740 --> 00:34:00.220 Israel 00:34:00.220 --> 00:34:00.760 deserved 00:34:00.760 --> 00:34:02.140 to face 00:34:02.140 --> 00:34:02.960 the wrath 00:34:02.960 --> 00:34:04.020 that 00:34:04.020 --> 00:34:04.560 Sodom 00:34:04.560 --> 00:34:05.100 faced 00:34:05.100 --> 00:34:06.920 they 00:34:06.920 --> 00:34:07.340 deserve 00:34:07.340 --> 00:34:07.640 the 00:34:07.640 --> 00:34:08.140 discipline 00:34:08.140 --> 00:34:08.460 that 00:34:08.460 --> 00:34:08.920 Gomorrah 00:34:08.920 --> 00:34:09.520 faced 00:34:09.520 --> 00:34:11.060 Lord 00:34:11.060 --> 00:34:11.400 and so