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. 00:00:31.680 --> 00:00:32.460 Thanks for listening. 00:00:45.220 --> 00:00:46.820 How about those puppets, right? 00:00:50.020 --> 00:00:54.400 My mind is always blown by what we clap for, you know, it's just fantastic. 00:00:54.400 --> 00:00:59.260 So, hey, but we appreciate you guys letting us think outside of the box and be a part 00:00:59.260 --> 00:01:02.440 of that, and I know that our team that did that had a blast. 00:01:02.560 --> 00:01:06.560 So, I'm not going to tell you who's in the videos, but as you figure it out through their 00:01:06.560 --> 00:01:12.600 voices, I want to make sure that you give Joel Van Ham a thumbs up and encourage him and Alexis 00:01:12.600 --> 00:01:13.740 as they work through these. 00:01:13.820 --> 00:01:17.980 But, hey, just love the fact of what we're doing and what God's given us the opportunity 00:01:17.980 --> 00:01:18.980 to do. 00:01:18.980 --> 00:01:25.500 If you've got your Bible, open up to Judges chapter 3 as we continue on in our series that 00:01:25.500 --> 00:01:26.640 we started last week. 00:01:27.340 --> 00:01:32.620 And so, last week we looked at Judges 1 and Judges 2, and Judges 1 and Judges 2 is a preview, 00:01:33.040 --> 00:01:38.260 but it's a preview not in just telling you what had happened amongst Israel, but it's also 00:01:38.260 --> 00:01:43.280 going to give us a kind of theme of what it's going to be like throughout the book of Judges. 00:01:43.280 --> 00:01:47.520 And so, I want you to picture Judges 1 and Judges 2 from last week, it's like you're going 00:01:47.520 --> 00:01:48.100 to the movies. 00:01:48.760 --> 00:01:52.980 And so, you're sitting down, right, you've got your popcorn, you've got your drink, and 00:01:52.980 --> 00:01:56.540 the advertisements go away, and now the previews come on. 00:01:56.900 --> 00:02:01.380 And right, so the previews kind of give you some details about what is going to happen in 00:02:01.380 --> 00:02:05.240 the other movies that you're not yet to sit down and to watch. 00:02:05.420 --> 00:02:08.080 And that's what Judges 1 and Judges 2 were all about. 00:02:08.080 --> 00:02:13.760 And so, we got to see this baseline of rebellion that exists within God's people. 00:02:14.320 --> 00:02:20.100 And so, now what we're going to look at from Judges 3 on are the judges that God sends to 00:02:20.100 --> 00:02:26.180 both to redeem, to point in the right direction, to save, and to remind His people of who He 00:02:26.180 --> 00:02:27.800 is and who He's called them to be. 00:02:28.060 --> 00:02:31.840 And this is kind of the same, but a little bit different than what God's people are used 00:02:31.840 --> 00:02:32.260 to, right? 00:02:32.260 --> 00:02:38.100 God sent them Moses, God sent them Joshua, but then instead of there being one individual 00:02:38.100 --> 00:02:43.320 that will mark a season of time or a book of the Bible, it's going to be this group known 00:02:43.320 --> 00:02:44.720 as the Judges. 00:02:44.980 --> 00:02:47.480 And we're going to read about some crazy stories. 00:02:47.580 --> 00:02:51.420 We're going to see some really amazing things that happen and that take place. 00:02:51.700 --> 00:02:56.620 And as we read through them, every single week, there's pieces that I want us to begin 00:02:56.620 --> 00:02:57.340 to think through. 00:02:57.340 --> 00:03:02.740 You know, oftentimes when we read the Old Testament, we kind of view the Old Testament 00:03:02.740 --> 00:03:04.860 as the list of stories, right? 00:03:04.920 --> 00:03:10.580 It's what we most commonly find in like children's storybook Bibles, and we think of the things 00:03:10.580 --> 00:03:11.660 that happened with that. 00:03:11.940 --> 00:03:16.240 And then when we get to the New Testament, we're like, all right, cool, now we're at Jesus. 00:03:16.660 --> 00:03:17.960 Now we get the Gospels. 00:03:18.100 --> 00:03:23.040 Now we really see the things that we're to take in and to use and to apply our life. 00:03:23.040 --> 00:03:28.000 But the truth is with Scripture is that's the truth from the Old Testament all the way 00:03:28.000 --> 00:03:28.780 through the New Testament. 00:03:29.200 --> 00:03:33.340 That as we look at these, we don't want to view them as stories, but we want to see the 00:03:33.340 --> 00:03:35.160 Gospel that comes out in them. 00:03:35.320 --> 00:03:41.000 Even though chronologically, since this happened before Jesus, there's so much truth of God 00:03:41.000 --> 00:03:46.540 as He points us to the Gospel, as He points us to Christ, and the power and the work of the 00:03:46.540 --> 00:03:47.420 Gospel in this. 00:03:47.420 --> 00:03:53.740 So as we read about these Judges, as we see all that is taking place, don't separate your 00:03:53.740 --> 00:03:58.780 mind, don't separate your heart from the Gospel narrative that is unfolding through the book 00:03:58.780 --> 00:03:59.340 of Judges. 00:03:59.580 --> 00:04:02.240 So each and every week, that's what I want to point out. 00:04:02.340 --> 00:04:03.760 That's what we're going to be looking at. 00:04:03.860 --> 00:04:08.960 It's not simply understanding Old Testament stories, Old Testament culture, Old Testament 00:04:08.960 --> 00:04:15.560 law, but understanding the truth about who Jesus is, understanding how the Gospel impacts 00:04:15.560 --> 00:04:17.280 our life and how we can apply it. 00:04:17.560 --> 00:04:21.900 And so let's start reading in Judges chapter 3, verse 7. 00:04:22.900 --> 00:04:23.440 It says, 00:04:23.440 --> 00:04:27.960 And the people of Israel did what was evil in the sight of the Lord. 00:04:28.700 --> 00:04:33.480 They forgot the Lord their God and served the Baals and the Asheroth. 00:04:34.260 --> 00:04:41.080 Therefore, the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel, and He sold them into the land 00:04:41.080 --> 00:04:44.420 of Cushan Rishatham, king of Mesopotamia. 00:04:44.420 --> 00:04:49.080 And the people of Israel served Cushan Rishatham. 00:04:49.480 --> 00:04:56.220 So what we see here is a reminder of what we read last week, that the people of Israel, 00:04:56.420 --> 00:04:57.380 they're doing evil. 00:04:57.620 --> 00:05:01.460 And they're doing evil in the eyes of the Lord. 00:05:01.900 --> 00:05:05.420 But what God does is He doesn't just tell us that they're doing evil. 00:05:05.820 --> 00:05:08.100 God defines evil in this. 00:05:08.540 --> 00:05:13.320 And it's very important that we see and begin to understand, okay, what is evil? 00:05:13.800 --> 00:05:18.660 Like, we look out into our culture, there are behaviors, there are characteristics, there are 00:05:18.660 --> 00:05:21.480 people who we can define as doing evil. 00:05:21.800 --> 00:05:25.740 And that can look different based off of your perspective or my perspective. 00:05:26.100 --> 00:05:32.860 But God looks in this in Judges and He establishes, this is what it means that my people have done 00:05:32.860 --> 00:05:34.860 evil in my sight. 00:05:34.860 --> 00:05:42.000 In verse 7, it says, they forgot the Lord and they served the Baals and the Asheroth. 00:05:42.320 --> 00:05:48.620 You know, the theme that is going to continue on in the evil that Israel partakes in is first, 00:05:48.700 --> 00:05:51.780 it's the evil or the sin of forgetting God. 00:05:52.140 --> 00:05:54.400 And we talked a little bit about this last week. 00:05:54.760 --> 00:06:01.860 That doesn't mean that they had completely forgot something, like I've forgotten, my kids 00:06:01.860 --> 00:06:07.440 are doing the online school, right, on Wednesdays and Thursdays in the virtual, and they're starting 00:06:07.440 --> 00:06:08.560 pre-algebra. 00:06:09.020 --> 00:06:13.720 And so if they have questions about their pre-algebra, there's certain things that they come 00:06:13.720 --> 00:06:16.380 to me and I say, oh, I remember how to do that. 00:06:16.680 --> 00:06:20.960 And then there are other things that they come to me and I'm like, hey, I do not remember how 00:06:20.960 --> 00:06:24.360 to do that, but there's this wonderful thing called Google, right, that we can check out 00:06:24.360 --> 00:06:26.200 and figure out how we're to do this, right? 00:06:26.300 --> 00:06:30.040 Which I also find out, parents, like you can enter in the equation and get the answer. 00:06:30.180 --> 00:06:30.640 I'm just saying. 00:06:30.900 --> 00:06:32.820 So make you look way smarter than you really are. 00:06:32.920 --> 00:06:34.680 Kids, you didn't hear that at all, all right? 00:06:34.820 --> 00:06:35.620 Got to show your work. 00:06:36.380 --> 00:06:40.400 And so it's not like they forgot that, like all of a sudden one day they woke up and go, 00:06:40.500 --> 00:06:40.660 huh? 00:06:41.220 --> 00:06:42.560 No, I don't remember that. 00:06:42.960 --> 00:06:50.820 When it says that they forgot the Lord their God, what that meant was to know God as the 00:06:50.820 --> 00:06:57.480 depth of intimacy and to know his heart and to know his person of who he is, to know and 00:06:57.480 --> 00:06:59.580 desire for his mind and his will. 00:07:00.260 --> 00:07:05.160 And then out of response of that in knowing them is to obey them. 00:07:05.840 --> 00:07:09.060 And so husbands and wives, I want you to think about that a little bit, right? 00:07:09.280 --> 00:07:14.200 It's like in the course of your marriage, the more that you know each other, the more 00:07:14.200 --> 00:07:19.960 that you intimately know their mind and their heart and everything about who they are, right? 00:07:20.060 --> 00:07:25.520 It doesn't become a list of rules of, I need to obey my wife, but it does begin to resonate 00:07:25.520 --> 00:07:30.020 within the heart of, no, no, no, I want to do the things that obey her because I want to 00:07:30.020 --> 00:07:31.740 please her, right? 00:07:32.000 --> 00:07:34.880 And that's what we see the Israelites have moved away from. 00:07:35.240 --> 00:07:37.520 They knew, but they didn't obey. 00:07:38.180 --> 00:07:40.600 They hadn't forgotten what God had done at the Red Sea. 00:07:40.740 --> 00:07:43.000 They hadn't forgotten what God had done at Jericho. 00:07:43.160 --> 00:07:49.240 They hadn't forgotten about any of these, but there ceased to be a lack of intimacy with God. 00:07:49.940 --> 00:07:51.660 So they forgot him, so they didn't obey him. 00:07:52.260 --> 00:07:57.180 But they also fell in what was evil as to a sin of false gods. 00:07:57.900 --> 00:08:00.860 So again, they knew, but they didn't serve. 00:08:01.500 --> 00:08:04.260 Again, they knew, but they didn't surrender. 00:08:04.660 --> 00:08:09.140 So they had taken, they had looked at the culture, they had looked at everything that had surrounded 00:08:09.140 --> 00:08:14.240 them, and they said, then these are the things that are more important than him. 00:08:15.200 --> 00:08:20.820 And so instead of pursuing my life after who he is and after what he has done, now I'll pursue 00:08:20.820 --> 00:08:24.620 my life for these things and what they can do for me. 00:08:25.480 --> 00:08:33.700 And so as we read through Judges and as we hear time and time again, and we will, that they did 00:08:33.700 --> 00:08:37.820 what was evil in the sight of the Lord, these are the patterns that they fall into. 00:08:38.380 --> 00:08:40.040 So what does God do here? 00:08:40.520 --> 00:08:47.960 What does God do in Judges 3 as they forget who he is, as they fall into the sin of forgetting 00:08:47.960 --> 00:08:53.840 him, the sin of false God, God sells them into slavery. 00:08:54.400 --> 00:08:57.420 Now that's a harsh thing for us to think about. 00:08:57.820 --> 00:09:05.580 We think of the cruelty of slavery, historically speaking, taking a man or woman or child and 00:09:05.580 --> 00:09:10.760 saying, you have no worth other than being an object which I will possess. 00:09:11.980 --> 00:09:13.920 But this is what God does to his people. 00:09:14.980 --> 00:09:19.780 And when we begin to try to wrap our mind around that, right, that's a difficult part for us 00:09:19.780 --> 00:09:21.380 to understand with God. 00:09:21.380 --> 00:09:29.700 Then God's anger was kindled against Israel and he sold them into the hands of the oppressors. 00:09:30.440 --> 00:09:40.100 So the question for us who have a hard time wrapping our mind around that is why would God do that? 00:09:40.720 --> 00:09:49.660 Why would a God who is supposed to love his people, why would he sell them into slavery? 00:09:50.700 --> 00:09:56.800 And what we're going to see, what we're going to understand time and time again is that God 00:09:56.800 --> 00:09:59.540 is working to a greater good as he calls their hearts back. 00:10:00.120 --> 00:10:06.000 And what God is doing in the heart of his people, what God is doing in this nation that he has chosen 00:10:06.000 --> 00:10:10.980 for himself, is God is going to bring revival from suffering. 00:10:11.640 --> 00:10:14.580 Now that's a hard part for us to really think about. 00:10:15.320 --> 00:10:16.680 Revival from suffering. 00:10:17.180 --> 00:10:23.720 Now I grew up, I don't know if very many of you did, but I grew up in a church and once a year, 00:10:23.980 --> 00:10:25.540 right, we had revival. 00:10:25.680 --> 00:10:28.080 Maybe some of you that are watching at home, maybe you had that. 00:10:28.320 --> 00:10:31.160 Quick, quick question, quick poll for those of you who are joining us today. 00:10:31.160 --> 00:10:35.620 How many of you grew up at a church, right, that had revivals? 00:10:35.720 --> 00:10:36.440 Go ahead and raise your hand. 00:10:36.500 --> 00:10:36.640 Yeah. 00:10:36.980 --> 00:10:38.300 So we had revivals growing up. 00:10:38.780 --> 00:10:41.880 And revivals, I can remember they were kind of surrounded by two things. 00:10:42.140 --> 00:10:46.780 Our church, Calvary Baptist Church, we typically ate together every night for revival. 00:10:46.920 --> 00:10:50.220 So everybody could get out of school, get out of work, and then we'd come to church, and 00:10:50.220 --> 00:10:53.660 then we'd eat, and then we would go in and have a worship service together. 00:10:53.800 --> 00:10:58.960 And it started on Sunday for us, and it ended on Friday. 00:10:59.300 --> 00:11:04.820 So Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, we had church every single night as 00:11:04.820 --> 00:11:06.960 we came for revival. 00:11:07.300 --> 00:11:13.940 And what we would have within there, it was a time for us to be reminded of who God is, 00:11:13.980 --> 00:11:17.860 of what God had done, and it was a calling back to Him. 00:11:18.280 --> 00:11:23.740 It was a time where we would begin to get our priorities in order. 00:11:24.220 --> 00:11:29.360 It was a time to refocus and to eliminate the things that had distracted us. 00:11:29.660 --> 00:11:35.860 And it was a moment and an opportunity as the revivalist, right, the outside pastor came in 00:11:35.860 --> 00:11:36.840 and preached for us. 00:11:36.980 --> 00:11:39.200 And that's what revival looked like. 00:11:39.640 --> 00:11:42.960 But God's going to do a different type of revival for His people. 00:11:43.280 --> 00:11:50.660 And the means by which He's going to bring revival for them is going to begin in suffering. 00:11:51.160 --> 00:11:57.620 And so as we begin to wrap our minds around that, we have to begin to understand that God 00:11:57.620 --> 00:12:08.220 graciously, right, God lovingly allows in your life and in mine moments, times, or maybe 00:12:08.220 --> 00:12:20.680 even seasons of suffering for a reason, to point us to Him and to navigate our hearts into a posture 00:12:20.680 --> 00:12:23.200 and position of obedience. 00:12:24.400 --> 00:12:27.980 And so God looks at His people who are in rebellion from Him. 00:12:28.380 --> 00:12:30.680 They're pursuing all that they want. 00:12:31.380 --> 00:12:37.300 And God goes, fine, if that's what you want to pursue, then have at it. 00:12:38.140 --> 00:12:39.840 You see, they were already enslaved. 00:12:40.680 --> 00:12:42.340 They were enslaved to the culture. 00:12:42.620 --> 00:12:44.300 They were enslaved to the false gods. 00:12:44.560 --> 00:12:46.780 They were enslaved to the disobedience. 00:12:47.120 --> 00:12:51.060 Physically, I'm sorry, spiritually speaking, that's where their hearts were. 00:12:51.320 --> 00:12:55.040 And so God says, if that's spiritually where you're going to be, or if that's physically where 00:12:55.040 --> 00:12:58.940 you're going to be, then that's spiritually where you're going to be as well. 00:12:58.940 --> 00:13:03.820 And so God turns them over to what their hearts were already pursuing. 00:13:05.040 --> 00:13:06.780 And He allows this to happen. 00:13:07.900 --> 00:13:12.000 And so God's people enter into a season of pain. 00:13:12.700 --> 00:13:16.160 God's people enter into a season of difficulty. 00:13:16.560 --> 00:13:22.020 They enter into a season of slavery, of suffering. 00:13:22.660 --> 00:13:26.880 And what's going to come out of this is going to be a revival. 00:13:26.880 --> 00:13:28.560 Let's keep reading verse 9. 00:13:29.760 --> 00:13:36.440 But when the people of Israel cried out to the Lord, the Lord raised up a deliverer for 00:13:36.440 --> 00:13:39.000 the people of Israel who saved them. 00:13:39.780 --> 00:13:43.540 Othniel, son of Canaz, Caleb's younger brother. 00:13:44.500 --> 00:13:48.900 And the spirit of the Lord was upon him, and he judged Israel. 00:13:48.900 --> 00:14:07.280 So what we see is God hears them, and then God delivers them. 00:14:07.620 --> 00:14:09.840 And He delivers them through the judge. 00:14:10.460 --> 00:14:16.780 So not only do we see that revival comes through suffering, but we begin to understand that revival 00:14:16.780 --> 00:14:18.240 comes from repentance. 00:14:19.020 --> 00:14:24.060 That God's people, the Bible says, they cried out to Him. 00:14:24.560 --> 00:14:28.400 All right, we're going to ask for a moment of us being vulnerable here in the room. 00:14:28.400 --> 00:14:32.860 And if you're watching online, hopefully you're watching with someone, maybe you can be vulnerable 00:14:32.860 --> 00:14:34.320 there for just a second. 00:14:34.740 --> 00:14:41.700 How many of you can remember the last time that you had a really good cry? 00:14:41.820 --> 00:14:42.260 Raise your hand. 00:14:42.300 --> 00:14:43.300 You remember the last time. 00:14:43.420 --> 00:14:45.320 Now I'm going to define a good cry, all right? 00:14:45.480 --> 00:14:46.400 Now, I appreciate that. 00:14:46.400 --> 00:14:48.740 I see some guys raising their hands with me, right? 00:14:49.320 --> 00:14:50.540 More ladies than not. 00:14:50.600 --> 00:14:52.520 So guys, we're going to work through this together, okay? 00:14:52.920 --> 00:14:53.220 All right. 00:14:53.400 --> 00:14:55.300 Here's what I mean by a really good cry. 00:14:55.800 --> 00:14:58.500 I mean ugly cry, right? 00:14:58.540 --> 00:15:02.860 Like not a tear that comes down, but like where you make the face like, ooh, right? 00:15:04.140 --> 00:15:08.960 I'm talking about where you're crying so hard that your belly, if you got one like mine, 00:15:09.020 --> 00:15:10.600 it just kind of jiggles like Santa Claus, right? 00:15:10.860 --> 00:15:12.040 Like you got that going on. 00:15:12.220 --> 00:15:16.360 I'm talking like big tears, snot bubble cry. 00:15:16.940 --> 00:15:22.400 When we hear that they cried out to God, this is the picture of what was there. 00:15:23.120 --> 00:15:28.160 For me, I remember one of the times, which I've had many of these moments, but I remember 00:15:28.160 --> 00:15:31.520 one of the times that I had this level of crying. 00:15:32.440 --> 00:15:37.100 Aaron and I, we were living in Sumter at the time and talk about some things that kids, 00:15:37.160 --> 00:15:42.320 I don't know if y'all are aware of, but before, like we couldn't just turn on the TV and stream 00:15:42.320 --> 00:15:43.060 movies, right? 00:15:43.240 --> 00:15:44.920 In fact, check this out. 00:15:45.120 --> 00:15:47.480 At our house, we didn't even have the internet, right? 00:15:47.500 --> 00:15:49.180 I know that is unbelievable. 00:15:49.680 --> 00:15:51.060 We had a phone called a Razor. 00:15:51.180 --> 00:15:52.180 We didn't have the internet. 00:15:52.560 --> 00:15:58.500 And so what we would do is we would go down to a movie store and we'd have to rent movies. 00:15:58.500 --> 00:16:02.940 Now, we were a little bit more modern, so we had DVDs at this time, but we would go get 00:16:02.940 --> 00:16:03.440 a DVD. 00:16:03.960 --> 00:16:07.000 And on one side of the movie store, there was the discount movies. 00:16:07.180 --> 00:16:10.900 And I always liked to go to the discount movies because they were 99 cents, right? 00:16:10.960 --> 00:16:13.380 And you could usually keep them for a little bit longer. 00:16:13.760 --> 00:16:14.820 Well, I go down. 00:16:14.960 --> 00:16:17.500 Aaron is pregnant with Emma and Grayson. 00:16:18.120 --> 00:16:21.920 So she sends me to the store to rent a movie. 00:16:22.060 --> 00:16:28.400 And I go to the discount section and I look and there's this movie called Father of the Bride. 00:16:28.740 --> 00:16:31.460 It was the Steve Martin version of Father of the Bride. 00:16:31.540 --> 00:16:32.560 And it was 99 cents. 00:16:32.820 --> 00:16:33.760 So I rented that. 00:16:33.880 --> 00:16:38.700 My wife, who's on bed rest at the time, like I know that she will absolutely love this movie. 00:16:39.000 --> 00:16:45.280 So we come home, we got our little 19-inch tube TV with the DVD player built into it sitting 00:16:45.280 --> 00:16:46.920 there on the top of our dresser. 00:16:46.920 --> 00:16:53.420 And I put that movie in and we began to watch this family romantic comedy, I guess, of this 00:16:53.420 --> 00:16:54.600 movie called Father of the Bride. 00:16:54.960 --> 00:16:58.720 And toward the end, I started to get a little emotional, right? 00:16:58.900 --> 00:17:00.620 It was the wedding scene. 00:17:00.740 --> 00:17:06.520 And Steve Martin, the father of the bride, is having this moment where he is going to walk 00:17:06.520 --> 00:17:12.420 his little girl down the aisle and give her away to some guy, right? 00:17:14.200 --> 00:17:15.300 And Aaron says, 00:17:16.620 --> 00:17:17.580 Are you okay? 00:17:22.140 --> 00:17:22.540 No? 00:17:24.580 --> 00:17:25.500 What's wrong? 00:17:26.980 --> 00:17:34.800 Just thinking about this movie and I've got a little girl that's on the way and one of these 00:17:34.800 --> 00:17:36.960 days I'm going to have to do that too. 00:17:37.220 --> 00:17:38.340 And I had to get up and walk out. 00:17:38.440 --> 00:17:39.580 Like I couldn't handle it anymore. 00:17:40.900 --> 00:17:41.940 And here's what happened. 00:17:42.740 --> 00:17:44.720 In that moment, right? 00:17:45.400 --> 00:17:48.560 I think we were about two months away from Emma and Grayson being born. 00:17:49.640 --> 00:17:52.180 In that moment, I'll never forget this. 00:17:53.540 --> 00:17:55.580 In that moment, my reality changed. 00:17:56.620 --> 00:17:58.980 And I fell in love with a little girl that I'd never met. 00:18:00.640 --> 00:18:02.160 You know, I was excited to be a dad. 00:18:03.020 --> 00:18:05.040 I was excited to get a son and a daughter. 00:18:06.240 --> 00:18:13.000 But in that moment, as I sat there, reality became real. 00:18:14.060 --> 00:18:14.200 Okay? 00:18:15.120 --> 00:18:17.180 Reality became real. 00:18:17.940 --> 00:18:25.460 That one of these days, I'm going to be that dad standing in the back of a church and my daughter's 00:18:25.460 --> 00:18:31.200 going to come out in her dress and I've got to walk her down the aisle and give her away. 00:18:32.580 --> 00:18:35.440 And reality became real. 00:18:38.580 --> 00:18:39.920 When you cry out to God. 00:18:39.920 --> 00:18:43.700 When you cry out to God, your reality becomes real. 00:18:44.740 --> 00:18:45.240 Right? 00:18:45.920 --> 00:18:51.160 Whether it's because of the depth of the sin that you're in, your reality becomes real. 00:18:51.920 --> 00:18:58.540 Whether it's because you're experiencing his grace for the first time, your reality becomes real. 00:18:59.400 --> 00:19:06.840 Whether it's because for the first time in your life, you've always felt unloved and rejected and not valued. 00:19:07.740 --> 00:19:14.180 And you understand that he loves you and accepts you and values you above all of creation. 00:19:14.980 --> 00:19:15.300 Right? 00:19:15.880 --> 00:19:17.320 Your reality becomes real. 00:19:18.080 --> 00:19:25.500 And that's when revival begins to happen for God's people. 00:19:25.500 --> 00:19:29.560 In that moment, they see their brokenness. 00:19:29.920 --> 00:19:30.900 They see their sin. 00:19:31.360 --> 00:19:33.020 They see God's faithfulness. 00:19:33.900 --> 00:19:38.300 And they begin to cry out to God. 00:19:39.060 --> 00:19:42.400 They would never have done it if not for the suffering. 00:19:43.660 --> 00:19:52.440 But God in his grace brought them into captivity so that they could have a reality moment and cry out to him. 00:19:53.380 --> 00:20:00.700 We also see, though, that not only does revival come through suffering, not only does revival come through repentance, 00:20:01.160 --> 00:20:02.820 but that revival comes from the Spirit. 00:20:03.680 --> 00:20:04.460 It comes from the Spirit. 00:20:05.540 --> 00:20:06.940 Oathnil brought freedom. 00:20:07.520 --> 00:20:08.160 It's important. 00:20:08.660 --> 00:20:14.140 Because the Spirit of God was with him. 00:20:15.260 --> 00:20:15.960 That's how. 00:20:16.780 --> 00:20:18.300 Because it's the work of God. 00:20:18.920 --> 00:20:21.420 It's not a structure or a scheme of man. 00:20:22.380 --> 00:20:25.460 It's not freedom that is found in what we can create. 00:20:25.860 --> 00:20:31.900 But it was found because the Spirit of God rested on him. 00:20:33.300 --> 00:20:34.980 And so we see God's people set free. 00:20:36.140 --> 00:20:36.920 And in verse 11, 00:20:37.820 --> 00:20:40.540 So the land had rest for 40 years. 00:20:41.420 --> 00:20:44.120 Then Oathnil, son of Canaz, died. 00:20:44.920 --> 00:20:49.320 And so we see this spiritual and practical peace that happens. 00:20:49.840 --> 00:20:51.560 That God hears their cries. 00:20:51.680 --> 00:20:53.020 That God sends his Spirit. 00:20:53.300 --> 00:20:54.740 That God saves his people. 00:20:54.740 --> 00:20:57.740 But that his people obeyed. 00:20:58.480 --> 00:21:00.240 That his people listened. 00:21:00.780 --> 00:21:02.540 That his people repented. 00:21:02.800 --> 00:21:08.520 It's the beautiful aspect of what happens in the practical nature of the aspects of our life. 00:21:08.760 --> 00:21:11.880 And the spiritual nature and connection of God. 00:21:12.600 --> 00:21:13.960 So you think they get it right. 00:21:14.700 --> 00:21:15.740 They've understood. 00:21:16.320 --> 00:21:17.860 They're never going to do this again. 00:21:18.200 --> 00:21:22.480 They're going to make sure generation after generation after generation obeys the Lord. 00:21:23.400 --> 00:21:25.620 But then let's keep reading in verse 12. 00:21:26.760 --> 00:21:31.200 And the people of Israel again did what was evil in the sight of the Lord. 00:21:31.200 --> 00:21:36.980 And the Lord strengthened Eglon, the king of Moab, against Israel. 00:21:37.340 --> 00:21:40.140 For they had done what was evil in the sight of the Lord. 00:21:40.660 --> 00:21:45.760 He gathered to himself the Ammonites and the Malachites and went and defeated Israel. 00:21:46.500 --> 00:21:49.200 And they took possession of the city of Palms. 00:21:49.780 --> 00:21:54.800 And the people of Israel served Eglon, the king of Moab, 18 years. 00:21:55.420 --> 00:21:57.840 Then the people of Israel cried out to the Lord. 00:21:57.840 --> 00:22:07.460 And the Lord raised up for them a deliverer, Ehud, the son of Gera, the Benjamite, the left-handed man. 00:22:07.880 --> 00:22:07.980 All right. 00:22:07.980 --> 00:22:10.640 How many left-handed people do we have in the room? 00:22:10.700 --> 00:22:11.060 I'm not. 00:22:11.220 --> 00:22:12.220 We got a handful. 00:22:12.500 --> 00:22:12.680 All right. 00:22:12.880 --> 00:22:15.780 I know I've got some good friends that are left-handed. 00:22:15.980 --> 00:22:21.320 And if you ask any of these left-handed people that are here, is it easy being left-handed, right? 00:22:21.420 --> 00:22:22.500 The answer is no. 00:22:22.920 --> 00:22:24.780 We live in a right-handed world. 00:22:24.780 --> 00:22:28.900 Everything is geared toward and pointed toward right-handed people. 00:22:29.040 --> 00:22:31.440 I was arguing with a guy one time about that. 00:22:31.480 --> 00:22:32.120 And I said, no, no, no. 00:22:32.200 --> 00:22:33.440 I don't think you're right. 00:22:33.520 --> 00:22:34.880 I think it's equal. 00:22:35.000 --> 00:22:35.660 I think it's fair. 00:22:35.800 --> 00:22:39.900 Like, how is the world more difficult for left-handed people than right-handed people? 00:22:40.020 --> 00:22:43.040 And he simply said, go to Walmart and buy a notebook. 00:22:43.260 --> 00:22:44.320 And it clicked with me, right? 00:22:44.640 --> 00:22:47.140 Like, you've got a right on things there. 00:22:47.300 --> 00:22:49.140 We're moving left to right in this. 00:22:49.140 --> 00:22:58.060 Well, in this time, as difficult as it is for many of us today, being left-handed was difficult then as well. 00:22:58.400 --> 00:23:05.500 And so God is going to call, God is going to appoint a judge, and this is very important, that he is left-handed. 00:23:06.080 --> 00:23:13.400 You see, for him in the culture, being left-handed was considered a weakness, right? 00:23:13.400 --> 00:23:22.660 Like, he would have been viewed as being less than, that he was not capable of doing things because he was left-hand dominant. 00:23:23.020 --> 00:23:23.960 Now, that's crazy, right? 00:23:24.320 --> 00:23:34.780 But also, when we read through this, we understand that Ehud, that it wasn't just simply his natural bent to use his left hand because his right hand was fine, 00:23:34.780 --> 00:23:42.460 but actually that his right hand was almost withered and incapable of doing things. 00:23:42.460 --> 00:23:47.740 And so Ehud, not only was he left-handed, but he would have had a disability. 00:23:48.440 --> 00:23:54.720 Now, in this time, not only would he have been looked down on because he was left-hand dominant, 00:23:54.840 --> 00:24:00.660 not only would he be considered a weakness and not capable of doing what right-handed people were capable of doing, 00:24:00.980 --> 00:24:08.360 now there's a spiritual peace that's cast onto him, right, that God is punishing him because he has a disability 00:24:08.360 --> 00:24:12.140 for either the sins of his parents or his sins. 00:24:12.400 --> 00:24:20.300 So we get this guy that is now going to be the leader, and he's in culture and time for them, 00:24:21.180 --> 00:24:24.800 just not a very impressive leader, not who you would have picked out. 00:24:25.260 --> 00:24:27.180 Let's keep reading in verse 15. 00:24:28.260 --> 00:24:32.820 The people of Israel sent tribute by him to Eglon, the king of Moab. 00:24:33.800 --> 00:24:37.520 And Ehud made for himself a sword with two edges, a cubit in length, 00:24:37.940 --> 00:24:40.760 and he bound it on his right thigh under his clothes. 00:24:41.480 --> 00:24:44.420 And he presented the tribute to Eglon, king of Moab. 00:24:44.680 --> 00:24:46.980 Now, Eglon was a very fat man. 00:24:46.980 --> 00:24:53.060 And when Ehud had finished presenting the tribute, he sent away the people who carried the tribute, 00:24:53.680 --> 00:24:58.240 but he himself turned back at the idols near Gilgal and said, 00:24:58.600 --> 00:25:00.680 I have a secret message for you, O king. 00:25:01.300 --> 00:25:08.120 And he commanded silence, and all his attendants went out from his presence. 00:25:08.780 --> 00:25:15.040 So Ehud, being a left-handed man, he knows that he has to attack and fight the king. 00:25:15.740 --> 00:25:21.320 And so what he does is he gets a sword, and he puts the sword on his left hip. 00:25:21.500 --> 00:25:24.780 Now, here's the depth of them not believing what this man can do. 00:25:25.260 --> 00:25:32.560 In order to be in the presence of the king, they had to search you to make sure you didn't have any weapons. 00:25:33.020 --> 00:25:38.080 But if you think about it, if you've ever had to or seen someone draw a sword, right, 00:25:38.360 --> 00:25:43.560 a right-handed person will reach to the left to pull their sword out. 00:25:43.560 --> 00:25:48.800 But left-handed people would have to reach to their right to pull their sword out. 00:25:48.920 --> 00:25:50.520 But left-handed people were weak. 00:25:51.320 --> 00:25:53.160 Left-handed people weren't capable of doing anything. 00:25:53.700 --> 00:25:59.840 So when you came before the king, they only patted down the right side. 00:26:01.120 --> 00:26:03.560 And so Ehud was able to come in. 00:26:04.320 --> 00:26:06.860 He was not seen as a threat. 00:26:07.480 --> 00:26:12.800 Even to the point when Ehud announces to the king, hey, I've got something to tell you. 00:26:13.620 --> 00:26:17.160 The king sends his guards away. 00:26:18.600 --> 00:26:20.140 And so let's start reading verse 20. 00:26:21.640 --> 00:26:26.440 And Ehud came to him as he was sitting alone in this cool roof chamber. 00:26:27.400 --> 00:26:31.240 And Ehud said, I have a message from God for you. 00:26:31.800 --> 00:26:40.380 And he arose from his seat, and Ehud reached with his left hand, took the sword from his right thigh, and thrust it into his belly. 00:26:41.040 --> 00:26:48.580 And the hilt also went in after the blade, and the fat closed over the blade, for he did not pull the sword out of his belly. 00:26:48.880 --> 00:26:50.640 And the dung came out. 00:26:51.200 --> 00:26:58.340 Then Ehud went out onto the porch, and closed the doors of the roof chamber behind him, and locked them. 00:26:58.980 --> 00:27:01.080 When he had gone, the servants came. 00:27:01.180 --> 00:27:04.980 And when they saw that the doors on the roof chamber were locked, they thought, 00:27:05.320 --> 00:27:09.220 Surely he is relieving himself in the closet of the cool chamber. 00:27:09.780 --> 00:27:12.420 And they waited till they were embarrassed. 00:27:12.880 --> 00:27:18.660 But when he still did not open the doors of the roof chamber, they took the key and opened them. 00:27:19.200 --> 00:27:22.440 And there laid their lord dead on the floor. 00:27:23.340 --> 00:27:29.760 Ehud escaped while they delayed, and he passed beyond the idols and escaped to Sirah. 00:27:30.620 --> 00:27:35.720 When he arrived, he sounded the trumpet in the hill country of Ephraim. 00:27:36.160 --> 00:27:40.680 Then the people of Israel went down with him from the hill country, and he was their leader. 00:27:40.680 --> 00:27:48.420 And he said to them, Follow after me, for the Lord has given your enemies, the Moabites, into your hand. 00:27:48.780 --> 00:27:55.880 So they went down after him and seized the fords of the Jordan against the Moabites, and did not allow anyone to pass over. 00:27:56.220 --> 00:28:02.440 And they killed at that time about 10,000 of the Moabites, all strong, able-bodied men. 00:28:02.700 --> 00:28:04.340 Not a man escaped. 00:28:04.760 --> 00:28:12.580 So Moab was subdued that day under the hand of Israel, and the land had rest for 80 years. 00:28:13.480 --> 00:28:14.240 So here's Ehud. 00:28:14.980 --> 00:28:16.340 Thought less of. 00:28:16.960 --> 00:28:18.600 Not capable of doing. 00:28:19.400 --> 00:28:24.020 Unable to perform what everyone would think would need to be done. 00:28:24.620 --> 00:28:25.700 And let's be honest. 00:28:26.180 --> 00:28:34.980 When you would look out over all of those that God could have selected, that God could have chosen, Ehud was the unlikely choice. 00:28:35.720 --> 00:28:36.280 Disability. 00:28:37.180 --> 00:28:38.920 Not able to lead well. 00:28:39.440 --> 00:28:44.620 Never been a person of someone to fear or to even respect. 00:28:44.860 --> 00:28:53.500 He was looked at so little that when the king of the oppressing country had him in his presence, he said, Nah, guards, you just go away. 00:28:53.720 --> 00:28:54.460 I got this. 00:28:54.520 --> 00:28:57.560 He can't do anything to me. 00:28:58.380 --> 00:28:59.620 The unlikely choice. 00:29:00.620 --> 00:29:02.080 So could there have been a better choice? 00:29:03.100 --> 00:29:03.580 Absolutely. 00:29:03.740 --> 00:29:04.760 Look at verse 31. 00:29:04.760 --> 00:29:16.820 And after him was Shamgar, the son of Anath, who killed 600 of the Philistines with an ox goad, and he also saved Israel. 00:29:16.820 --> 00:29:33.620 So sometime later, there's this guy named Shamgar, who was such a skilled warrior, was such skilled at battle, that when it came time to fight the Philistines, he alone defeated, killed 600 of them with a farming tool. 00:29:34.160 --> 00:29:43.300 It was a rod that was about eight feet high, and at the very end had a small hook with a point on it, and that he was able to do that. 00:29:43.660 --> 00:29:47.080 So why didn't God choose someone like that? 00:29:47.320 --> 00:29:49.840 Why did God choose Ehud? 00:29:49.840 --> 00:30:03.880 And I think the point all through for us as we look at the narrative of coming through the gospel of what God is calling you and I to surrender our lives to is not always going to be found in the likely. 00:30:04.160 --> 00:30:06.720 But it's going to be found in the unlikely. 00:30:06.720 --> 00:30:16.700 Because when we look at and we understand who Jesus was and who Jesus is, Jesus was unlikely. 00:30:17.720 --> 00:30:24.820 When we think about the time in which he was born, can you imagine the story of the narrative that he would share? 00:30:25.760 --> 00:30:32.520 The people in his community that would see him and understand and know where he came from. 00:30:33.020 --> 00:30:34.300 Oh, oh, pay no attention. 00:30:34.580 --> 00:30:35.620 Don't hang out with that kid. 00:30:35.740 --> 00:30:36.700 That's Jesus. 00:30:37.700 --> 00:30:37.880 Right? 00:30:37.880 --> 00:30:47.060 His mom claims that his dad is God, virgin, when he was born. 00:30:48.620 --> 00:30:52.180 He was adopted by a simple carpenter. 00:30:52.940 --> 00:30:58.860 Not a mayor, not a king, not a person of influence. 00:31:01.360 --> 00:31:06.260 He was from a poor, uneducated city. 00:31:07.940 --> 00:31:11.440 Jesus would have come from the part of town that you stayed away from. 00:31:12.140 --> 00:31:16.480 The people that he would have associated with at that time is who we would often tell our kids, 00:31:16.720 --> 00:31:19.940 I don't know if you should be over there with them. 00:31:19.940 --> 00:31:25.020 When people use the phrase, oftentimes, hey, don't get around those people. 00:31:25.320 --> 00:31:25.540 All right? 00:31:25.660 --> 00:31:27.540 That's where Jesus came from. 00:31:31.340 --> 00:31:33.420 But this is what scripture points us to. 00:31:34.540 --> 00:31:36.480 Isaiah 53, starting in verse 2. 00:31:37.840 --> 00:31:42.940 For he grew up before him like a young plant and like a root out of dry ground. 00:31:43.760 --> 00:31:50.360 He had no form or majesty that we should look at him and no beauty that we should desire him. 00:31:51.060 --> 00:31:57.160 He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. 00:31:57.580 --> 00:32:04.320 And as one from whom men hide their faces, he was despised and we esteemed him not. 00:32:05.000 --> 00:32:07.600 If we were living in the time of Christ, right? 00:32:08.080 --> 00:32:10.900 And there would have been a group of people that were there. 00:32:11.620 --> 00:32:16.240 And if you're the person that sits back and you like to people watch, right? 00:32:16.260 --> 00:32:21.540 It's not hard to notice the person in the crowd that exudes confidence. 00:32:22.480 --> 00:32:28.860 It's not hard to look at the person in the crowd who people are just naturally drawn to. 00:32:29.860 --> 00:32:33.760 Scripture tells us that wasn't Jesus. 00:32:35.580 --> 00:32:37.320 Scripture even tells us, right? 00:32:37.440 --> 00:32:41.140 Like you didn't look at him and see beauty that flowed from him. 00:32:41.280 --> 00:32:44.860 You didn't look at him and see leadership that was there. 00:32:45.160 --> 00:32:48.460 In fact, he was so common in his appearance. 00:32:48.460 --> 00:32:54.660 He was so common in his leadership that he would have been despised and rejected. 00:32:55.460 --> 00:32:58.860 Oh, he is not capable of doing any of these things. 00:32:59.860 --> 00:33:04.460 And then Jesus, the unlikely, begins to surround himself. 00:33:05.680 --> 00:33:07.080 And let's get something clear. 00:33:07.820 --> 00:33:13.620 Jesus surrounds himself with the losers and the failures of society. 00:33:15.200 --> 00:33:18.820 Jesus surrounds himself with that crowd. 00:33:19.980 --> 00:33:20.640 He says, no, no, no. 00:33:21.160 --> 00:33:24.900 Come and walk with me. 00:33:26.520 --> 00:33:29.740 The outcasts that no one wanted. 00:33:31.740 --> 00:33:43.320 Philippians 2 says that in this, in this unlikely Savior, he emptied himself by taking the form of a servant. 00:33:44.240 --> 00:33:49.460 Being born in the likeness of men and being found in human form. 00:33:49.980 --> 00:33:53.720 He humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death. 00:33:54.420 --> 00:33:57.740 Even death on a cross. 00:33:58.840 --> 00:34:03.800 You see, Jesus didn't come as the king coming to take over. 00:34:04.580 --> 00:34:05.440 Not yet. 00:34:06.800 --> 00:34:13.900 Jesus didn't come as the warrior to break the chains and set the captives free. 00:34:14.760 --> 00:34:15.540 Not yet. 00:34:17.040 --> 00:34:23.200 Jesus didn't come as the intellectual looking to blow the minds of the religious elite. 00:34:23.480 --> 00:34:23.880 Not yet. 00:34:25.080 --> 00:34:27.100 But Scripture tells us that he came. 00:34:27.820 --> 00:34:31.120 Not as a king, not as a warrior, not as an intellectual. 00:34:31.760 --> 00:34:38.360 But that he came as a servant, and more specifically, a suffering servant. 00:34:39.620 --> 00:34:41.080 From the least likely. 00:34:42.220 --> 00:34:43.240 From the foolish. 00:34:44.700 --> 00:34:45.540 From the no. 00:34:45.660 --> 00:34:46.860 No, not us. 00:34:49.540 --> 00:34:51.400 Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 1. 00:34:52.860 --> 00:34:56.800 He said, but God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise. 00:34:57.720 --> 00:35:00.580 God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong. 00:35:01.820 --> 00:35:09.020 God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are. 00:35:09.840 --> 00:35:13.480 So that no human being might boast in the presence of God. 00:35:14.320 --> 00:35:23.560 And because of him, you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption. 00:35:24.000 --> 00:35:30.080 So that, as it is written, let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord. 00:35:32.180 --> 00:35:35.260 You know, Ehud, he came as the unlikely. 00:35:36.420 --> 00:35:40.660 He came as the one that, nah, he can, no need to worry about him. 00:35:41.640 --> 00:35:43.860 He came as the one that we wouldn't want to follow. 00:35:43.860 --> 00:35:46.980 He came as the one that there would be questions around him. 00:35:47.260 --> 00:35:52.060 But God chose him, and in that, he set his people free. 00:35:53.320 --> 00:35:56.040 And it points us to something else. 00:35:56.980 --> 00:35:58.640 You see, God's people chose the likely. 00:35:59.420 --> 00:36:02.260 They chose the earthly king and the earthly kingdom. 00:36:02.740 --> 00:36:07.940 They chose the earthly gods, and they chose the earthly rules and the earthly standards. 00:36:08.240 --> 00:36:11.100 They chose the likely time and time again. 00:36:11.100 --> 00:36:14.260 This is what you should do, and this is who you should be. 00:36:14.260 --> 00:36:25.600 But in this, what we see is God tells us to stop chasing the likely and instead to surrender to the unlikely. 00:36:26.400 --> 00:36:27.860 To surrender to Jesus. 00:36:29.080 --> 00:36:34.080 You know, when we surrender to him, it doesn't look like what the world points us to. 00:36:34.740 --> 00:36:38.720 When we surrender to him, it's not what's going to make sense to everyone. 00:36:38.720 --> 00:36:47.580 But when we surrender to him, it's what God has called us to do and who God has called us to be. 00:36:48.120 --> 00:36:49.020 Would you pray with me? 00:36:53.880 --> 00:36:55.320 Lord, we come to you. 00:36:55.320 --> 00:36:58.180 Lord, we thank you for these judges. 00:36:59.880 --> 00:37:07.480 We thank you that time and time again, what we see, Lord, is you working in their life for a purpose and a reason. 00:37:07.840 --> 00:37:24.340 Lord, we thank you, Lord, to bring you to set your people free, to bring them back to you, to call them to a depth of love and obedience because of who you are. 00:37:25.000 --> 00:37:42.160 Lord, we thank you, Lord, that even though everything, every religion points to something different, Lord, a relationship with you is a little bit with the unlikely. 00:37:43.540 --> 00:37:55.620 So, Lord, I pray for us today that wherever we find ourselves physically, whether we find ourselves at our home or here in the auditorium, 00:37:57.460 --> 00:38:01.360 that spiritually speaking, if we find ourselves on the mountaintop or in the valley, 00:38:02.820 --> 00:38:09.540 that eternity speaking, if we find ourselves positioned in your hand, or, Lord, far from you. 00:38:11.560 --> 00:38:20.460 Lord, you're a God who loves us, God who cares for us, God who calls us. 00:38:22.200 --> 00:38:24.340 That is not found in our works. 00:38:25.460 --> 00:38:27.440 It's not found in what we can do. 00:38:29.120 --> 00:38:31.340 It's found in Jesus and Jesus alone. 00:38:32.660 --> 00:38:37.040 That every head bowed, every eye closed. 00:38:40.540 --> 00:38:49.920 Most people thought that the cross was the defeat of Jesus, the victory of sin. 00:38:53.180 --> 00:38:55.360 But it was just a part of the narrative. 00:38:57.040 --> 00:39:04.000 Because the victory would not be found in the people who mourned the loss of Jesus. 00:39:05.180 --> 00:39:10.860 But the victory would be found in that three days later, the tomb would be empty. 00:39:12.320 --> 00:39:14.080 And in that we find freedom. 00:39:14.080 --> 00:39:23.680 Now, God doesn't have to send a Moses to save you, a Joshua to save you, a judge to save you. 00:39:23.740 --> 00:39:26.400 But he sends Jesus to save you. 00:39:28.560 --> 00:39:33.820 And maybe today, your whole life, you've chased after the likely. 00:39:33.820 --> 00:39:40.900 The likely God, the likely religion, the likely culture. 00:39:41.740 --> 00:39:49.340 Maybe God today is calling on your heart to have a break, to cry out from him, from the likely, 00:39:49.700 --> 00:39:52.400 and instead to surrender to the unlikely. 00:39:54.560 --> 00:40:03.280 The adopted son, a carpenter, born of a virgin, to die for the sins of the world. 00:40:04.520 --> 00:40:09.280 But just as he was raised in newness of life, so too can we. 00:40:11.040 --> 00:40:12.300 Jesus, we love you. 00:40:13.160 --> 00:40:14.120 We praise you. 00:40:14.840 --> 00:40:15.620 It's your name we pray. 00:40:16.180 --> 00:40:16.500 Amen. 00:40:33.440 --> 00:40:36.580 Thanks again for listening to the Willow Ridge Church Weekly Podcast. 00:40:37.100 --> 00:40:39.400 We hope that you enjoyed listening to this week's message. 00:40:39.880 --> 00:40:43.440 If you'd like to learn more about who we are or explore additional resources, 00:40:44.000 --> 00:40:48.460 visit us online at www.willowridgechurch.com 00:40:48.460 --> 00:40:52.020 or by searching for Willow Ridge Church on Facebook and Instagram.