1 00:00:00,800 --> 00:00:06,640 Our sermon title this morning is The Road Ahead. 2 00:00:08,119 --> 00:00:13,680 We are coming to the end of 2025 and that's often a time when 3 00:00:13,680 --> 00:00:20,120 people reflect and think back how did the year go from where 4 00:00:20,120 --> 00:00:26,240 we were to where we are and where we are anticipating to be. 5 00:00:26,880 --> 00:00:31,920 Maybe at the end of 2026 there are things in our lives we'd 6 00:00:31,920 --> 00:00:34,720 rather forget because they didn't go so well. 7 00:00:35,440 --> 00:00:39,480 Maybe embarrassing things that happened to us or maybe bad 8 00:00:39,480 --> 00:00:43,080 decisions we made that we shouldn't have made or decisions 9 00:00:43,080 --> 00:00:48,240 we regret having not made. The question, the bigger 10 00:00:48,240 --> 00:00:51,920 question this morning I want to ask us is this has last year 11 00:00:52,520 --> 00:00:58,480 prepared us for the road ahead. Someone once said that the rear 12 00:00:58,480 --> 00:01:03,240 view mirror in a car is smaller than the windshield for a 13 00:01:03,240 --> 00:01:05,920 reason. You're not supposed to spend a 14 00:01:05,920 --> 00:01:08,720 whole lot of time looking back into the rear view mirror and 15 00:01:08,720 --> 00:01:11,320 looking back. We're supposed to look ahead and 16 00:01:11,320 --> 00:01:14,280 what's ahead of us. Yes, there are times when we 17 00:01:14,280 --> 00:01:17,840 need to just look back and see what happened in the past. 18 00:01:18,240 --> 00:01:22,520 Just as we when we drive down the road, we sometimes stop at 19 00:01:22,520 --> 00:01:26,640 an en route or stop at a rest area and then we just pull off 20 00:01:26,640 --> 00:01:30,200 and then just to refresh, to reset, to refocus and to look at 21 00:01:30,200 --> 00:01:32,040 the map. And now we have GPS. 22 00:01:32,040 --> 00:01:34,440 Back in the days we had maps and OK, where have we come, how far 23 00:01:34,440 --> 00:01:36,960 have we come, where are we now, where are we going and how will 24 00:01:36,960 --> 00:01:42,880 we get there and so on. We need to do that sometimes in 25 00:01:42,880 --> 00:01:46,240 the calendar of life. We take a rest every seven days, 26 00:01:46,240 --> 00:01:50,320 or at least we're supposed to. I mean 7th day day of rest, as 27 00:01:50,320 --> 00:01:52,680 the Bible says, we take Sunday as our day of rest, but still 28 00:01:52,680 --> 00:01:57,440 the same principle. We stop to rejuvenate, plan 29 00:01:57,440 --> 00:02:00,240 ahead, look at how the past week has been and so on. 30 00:02:02,120 --> 00:02:04,880 And we do have a map and a road map for the book of for our 31 00:02:04,880 --> 00:02:09,199 lives, the the book of life, the book of truth, the Bible. 32 00:02:09,960 --> 00:02:12,680 It tells us what came before. It tells us where we're at now. 33 00:02:12,680 --> 00:02:15,440 It tells us what will come. Yet not of course, the details 34 00:02:15,440 --> 00:02:17,200 in our events in live in our lives. 35 00:02:17,200 --> 00:02:19,760 But generally speaking, it's a road map of life. 36 00:02:20,640 --> 00:02:23,760 And let's just face it, the road map of life is not easy. 37 00:02:23,760 --> 00:02:28,200 It's tough, it's tough terrain. And sometimes it feels like 38 00:02:28,480 --> 00:02:31,320 there is no Rd. We're just going overland now. 39 00:02:31,960 --> 00:02:37,200 There's no direction last night and I went to this event in 40 00:02:37,200 --> 00:02:39,720 Windsor, I forget the name of it again, but there's some 41 00:02:39,720 --> 00:02:41,880 candlelight, something in the church and they have this, all 42 00:02:41,880 --> 00:02:43,720 this, this beautiful music. We don't listen there. 43 00:02:44,200 --> 00:02:48,600 Went early, went shopping and from the place where we were 44 00:02:48,600 --> 00:02:51,480 shopping to this church where this was at, we just went 45 00:02:51,560 --> 00:02:53,320 through some different roads, some different streets. 46 00:02:53,320 --> 00:02:56,160 We normally don't travel. And it felt like either we need 47 00:02:56,160 --> 00:02:59,120 to get a car that's off road or they need to fix the roads. 48 00:03:00,160 --> 00:03:03,080 It was just very bumpy and I wasn't sure, like, will this car 49 00:03:03,080 --> 00:03:06,240 last? Will this car even hold on the 50 00:03:06,240 --> 00:03:08,600 road of life? We often don't get much of A say 51 00:03:09,080 --> 00:03:13,160 where we want to travel. It's just dealt to us and it's 52 00:03:13,160 --> 00:03:17,120 very uncertain. None of us know how the road of 53 00:03:17,120 --> 00:03:19,440 life itself will unfold ahead of us. 54 00:03:19,800 --> 00:03:22,960 We know the end destiny where Jesus is taking us. 55 00:03:23,800 --> 00:03:28,720 But the twists and turns, the mountains and valleys that we 56 00:03:28,720 --> 00:03:31,720 have to have to navigate, we don't know about those. 57 00:03:33,520 --> 00:03:36,240 This last week, as I was preparing for this morning, one 58 00:03:36,240 --> 00:03:40,040 of the stories that went through my mind about the journey of 59 00:03:40,040 --> 00:03:43,720 life that kind of fits this metaphor is the story of the 60 00:03:43,720 --> 00:03:48,400 apostle Peter. He was this guy who was very 61 00:03:48,400 --> 00:03:51,960 confident, sure of himself, overly confident at times. 62 00:03:53,000 --> 00:03:55,160 And one day they are out in the lake. 63 00:03:55,200 --> 00:03:57,760 It's at night, they've, they've left shore and Jesus in the 64 00:03:57,760 --> 00:04:00,040 mountains praying and they're, they're rowing and they're, 65 00:04:00,040 --> 00:04:01,640 they're sailing. What they're all doing, I'm not 66 00:04:01,640 --> 00:04:04,200 sure. But that got stormy and the Sea 67 00:04:04,200 --> 00:04:08,680 of Galilee can get very stormy and it wasn't going so good And 68 00:04:08,680 --> 00:04:11,720 they were afraid. And for veteran fishermen to be 69 00:04:11,720 --> 00:04:14,600 afraid on the water, take some, some tough weather, some 70 00:04:14,600 --> 00:04:16,800 difficult weather. Anyway, they're sailing and and 71 00:04:16,800 --> 00:04:19,800 they're, they're rowing and it's in the night and all of a sudden 72 00:04:19,800 --> 00:04:22,640 they see in whatever light there was, there's this dark, there's 73 00:04:22,640 --> 00:04:24,680 this figure in the distance. There's this distance, there's 74 00:04:24,680 --> 00:04:26,000 this figure. Was it was this figure 75 00:04:26,000 --> 00:04:27,440 illuminated or not? Bible doesn't tell us. 76 00:04:27,440 --> 00:04:29,840 They see there's a ghost that cry in terror. 77 00:04:30,000 --> 00:04:32,280 Not only was the weather bad, now there's a ghost coming. 78 00:04:33,200 --> 00:04:36,760 Difficult, terrifying. Well, then this being talks 79 00:04:36,760 --> 00:04:37,880 back. It's, it's, it's me. 80 00:04:37,880 --> 00:04:41,000 Don't worry. It's I, I Jesus talking the 81 00:04:41,000 --> 00:04:43,640 relief. OK, Jesus here, everything's 82 00:04:43,640 --> 00:04:44,840 good and good. Now everything's good. 83 00:04:44,840 --> 00:04:47,160 Now when Jesus here, OK, now everything's good. 84 00:04:48,280 --> 00:04:51,120 Just the roller coaster, the, the valley of the, of the, the 85 00:04:51,120 --> 00:04:53,600 weather and the the storm and then the ghost. 86 00:04:53,880 --> 00:04:55,360 And then it's Jesus. Oh, now we're up here. 87 00:04:55,360 --> 00:04:56,440 Now we're good. Now we're good. 88 00:04:56,880 --> 00:04:59,280 And Peter, as he often did, says, Lord, if it's you, tell me 89 00:04:59,280 --> 00:05:02,880 to come to you in the water. Jesus come and he steps out of 90 00:05:02,880 --> 00:05:04,920 the boat onto the water and the waves and all that, and he 91 00:05:04,920 --> 00:05:07,800 starts walking on the water and he's really high right now. 92 00:05:08,000 --> 00:05:10,360 He's walking on water, something he's never done before. 93 00:05:10,360 --> 00:05:12,880 And it's so like he, I'm sure he felt good. 94 00:05:13,800 --> 00:05:15,560 He's walking on water toward Jesus. 95 00:05:16,360 --> 00:05:19,600 But then his mind flips. Oh, there's that huge wave 96 00:05:19,600 --> 00:05:22,240 rolling coming toward him. He looks, sees this wave in the 97 00:05:22,240 --> 00:05:24,640 storm, the fear, and then he starts sinking down. 98 00:05:24,640 --> 00:05:28,360 He goes again. Do our lives resemble that some 99 00:05:28,360 --> 00:05:32,080 days on cloud nine, hide, nothing can touch us. 100 00:05:32,080 --> 00:05:35,800 We're good, we're good, and then boom, we're down just like that. 101 00:05:36,400 --> 00:05:37,400 Well, Jesus grabs him by the hand. 102 00:05:37,400 --> 00:05:39,960 What's your problem? Don't you have any faith? 103 00:05:41,640 --> 00:05:48,280 And he gets rebuked. I too get caught up at times 104 00:05:48,280 --> 00:05:50,480 with all that's going wrong in the world, to get depressed and 105 00:05:50,480 --> 00:05:53,440 discouraged and down and then something good happens all all 106 00:05:53,440 --> 00:05:54,600 up again. Now we're all good again. 107 00:05:54,600 --> 00:05:58,800 And is that the way to live? Should we live that way? 108 00:05:59,240 --> 00:06:01,240 I think we should live even keeled. 109 00:06:01,600 --> 00:06:03,840 Jesus did. Now, I'm not judging us for not 110 00:06:03,840 --> 00:06:06,480 always accomplishing this. Don't get me wrong, I do. 111 00:06:06,520 --> 00:06:08,200 We're human, all right, We're human. 112 00:06:08,560 --> 00:06:10,440 But where does God want to take us? 113 00:06:11,120 --> 00:06:14,120 This roller coaster where we're high on cloud 9 in one day and 114 00:06:14,120 --> 00:06:15,640 discouraged and frustrated the next? 115 00:06:15,920 --> 00:06:23,960 No, He doesn't want that for us. God wants us to be even keeled 116 00:06:23,960 --> 00:06:29,560 and balanced. You know that there's a, there's 117 00:06:29,560 --> 00:06:33,760 a huge problem that we as humans have of becoming distracted. 118 00:06:33,880 --> 00:06:40,800 And Peter got distracted and that boat on the water, there's 119 00:06:40,800 --> 00:06:43,000 a law in our country against driving distracted. 120 00:06:43,000 --> 00:06:44,840 You know that, right? When you drive and you do funny 121 00:06:44,840 --> 00:06:47,560 stuff with a car on the road, pieces behind you, he pulls you 122 00:06:47,560 --> 00:06:48,920 over. And if nothing, he's gonna need 123 00:06:48,920 --> 00:06:52,240 a ticket for distracted driving. And it can get pricey. 124 00:06:52,240 --> 00:06:54,280 Now, if you have an accident while you're driving distracted, 125 00:06:54,280 --> 00:06:59,360 that can get really pricey. What would we do if God would 126 00:06:59,360 --> 00:07:02,360 handle penalties for distracted living? 127 00:07:04,920 --> 00:07:08,960 How many decisions don't we make because, oh, I got distracted, I 128 00:07:08,960 --> 00:07:11,320 got carried away. I wasn't thinking. 129 00:07:12,680 --> 00:07:16,280 Somebody once wrote years ago that most accidents happen 130 00:07:16,280 --> 00:07:17,680 because of an empty train of thought. 131 00:07:19,520 --> 00:07:22,760 Next Sunday is January 4th and we're going to begin a new 132 00:07:22,760 --> 00:07:24,440 sermon series in the book of Judges. 133 00:07:24,440 --> 00:07:27,680 I won't talk about that this morning, but just to say, if you 134 00:07:27,680 --> 00:07:31,960 want to read the book of Judges this week, what a distracted 135 00:07:31,960 --> 00:07:36,040 lifestyle those people had from one thing to another to another. 136 00:07:36,040 --> 00:07:39,240 And they were so distracted repeatedly God disciplined them, 137 00:07:39,240 --> 00:07:42,320 punished them, and up and up and down, up and down repeatedly. 138 00:07:42,480 --> 00:07:45,960 Book of Judges is a very much of A roller coaster book, but 139 00:07:45,960 --> 00:07:49,120 that's our culture too. This morning I want don't want 140 00:07:49,120 --> 00:07:51,960 to go into Judges nor even talk more about Peter, but I want to 141 00:07:51,960 --> 00:07:53,880 pick up a story. In the Old Testament, in the 142 00:07:53,880 --> 00:07:56,640 book of first Samuel of the people of Israel. 143 00:07:56,880 --> 00:08:01,520 They did not look at the road ahead and what they were. 144 00:08:01,520 --> 00:08:03,920 They were traveling but not the road they're supposed to be on. 145 00:08:04,080 --> 00:08:06,800 And it took them down a very dark season of life. 146 00:08:07,760 --> 00:08:11,240 They got distracted, turned away from God and brought them a huge 147 00:08:11,680 --> 00:08:13,880 amount of suffering and years of suffering. 148 00:08:14,520 --> 00:08:15,960 They were not walking with God anymore. 149 00:08:16,040 --> 00:08:18,800 They had followed their own thinking, the culture of their 150 00:08:18,800 --> 00:08:21,680 time. The story is found in First 151 00:08:21,680 --> 00:08:24,840 Samuel chapter 4 and Chapter 7. And again, I won't read all 152 00:08:24,840 --> 00:08:26,800 those passages. Don't worry, that's much. 153 00:08:26,800 --> 00:08:29,320 There would be too much reading. I'll pick out some select 154 00:08:29,320 --> 00:08:34,440 passages there. What it begins with in chapter 2 155 00:08:34,440 --> 00:08:38,200 is the decline of the spiritual leadership in First Samuel. 156 00:08:39,679 --> 00:08:41,240 They still had the worship services. 157 00:08:41,240 --> 00:08:44,280 And if you know of the Old Testament maps of Judah, I mean 158 00:08:44,280 --> 00:08:48,160 of Israel and Palestine, there's a place kind of north of 159 00:08:48,160 --> 00:08:51,480 Jerusalem called Shiloh. And in that place, there's this 160 00:08:51,480 --> 00:08:53,960 place they worship God. The tent of meeting is there 161 00:08:53,960 --> 00:08:58,160 and, and it's, they have maybe built some additional facilities 162 00:08:58,160 --> 00:09:01,280 there, but there's the gates there and they, and there's, 163 00:09:01,440 --> 00:09:04,680 there's a worship going on, repeat ongoing worship. 164 00:09:04,680 --> 00:09:06,560 That's the normal routine for the people of Israel. 165 00:09:06,760 --> 00:09:11,600 They go to Shiloh to worship and the leading priest at the time, 166 00:09:11,600 --> 00:09:14,120 his name was Eli. He was the leader. 167 00:09:14,280 --> 00:09:17,080 He was the spiritual leader of the people of Israel. 168 00:09:17,600 --> 00:09:19,960 And he had two sons named Hoffman Phenahas. 169 00:09:20,320 --> 00:09:25,120 They were also priests, but they were living very immoral lives. 170 00:09:25,120 --> 00:09:27,400 It actually tells us in First Samuel that they were actually 171 00:09:27,400 --> 00:09:30,040 sleeping with the women who came to serve at the at the House of 172 00:09:30,040 --> 00:09:32,680 God there. And Eli knew about it. 173 00:09:32,680 --> 00:09:33,960 He just told don't do that, boys. 174 00:09:33,960 --> 00:09:35,880 And that's all he did. He didn't deal with it at all. 175 00:09:37,040 --> 00:09:40,360 God sent a messenger and to warn Eli. 176 00:09:40,760 --> 00:09:44,360 We have that story in first Samuel 22 verse 22 to 36 and 177 00:09:44,360 --> 00:09:48,600 won't read that, but sent a messenger to warn him and he 178 00:09:48,600 --> 00:09:51,400 didn't listen, just kept right on going. 179 00:09:52,800 --> 00:09:57,400 The young boy named Samuel was serving there as well and God 180 00:09:57,400 --> 00:10:00,360 spoke to him and gave him a message of judgment on the House 181 00:10:00,360 --> 00:10:03,240 of Eli. Nothing changed. 182 00:10:03,400 --> 00:10:05,480 They just kept right on doing what they'd always been doing, 183 00:10:06,440 --> 00:10:08,000 that people had walked away from God. 184 00:10:09,480 --> 00:10:13,080 Then in chapter 4 we have a story of the nation of Israel, 185 00:10:13,080 --> 00:10:15,440 how the Philistines attacked or they attacked the Philistines. 186 00:10:15,440 --> 00:10:19,280 I don't know who attacked who, but war happened between Israel 187 00:10:19,280 --> 00:10:21,880 and the Philistines. And then in the course of the 188 00:10:21,880 --> 00:10:28,040 battle, they're losing. Let's read First Samuel chapter 189 00:10:28,040 --> 00:10:30,320 4, verse 2. You have in your devices there 190 00:10:30,320 --> 00:10:33,760 or in your Bibles or your phones says then the Philistines put 191 00:10:33,760 --> 00:10:35,120 themselves in battery against Israel. 192 00:10:35,120 --> 00:10:36,560 So here we have it. It's actually Philistines 193 00:10:36,560 --> 00:10:38,240 against Israel. And when they joined the battle, 194 00:10:38,240 --> 00:10:41,240 Israel was defeated before the Philistines and killed. 195 00:10:41,240 --> 00:10:45,240 They killed about 4000 men of the army in the field. 196 00:10:45,320 --> 00:10:48,320 So the war is not going well. Verse 3. 197 00:10:48,320 --> 00:10:50,840 And when the people had come into the camp, the elders of 198 00:10:50,840 --> 00:10:53,600 Israel said, why has the Lord defeated us today before the 199 00:10:53,600 --> 00:10:56,600 Philistines? And here's where things go badly 200 00:10:56,600 --> 00:10:59,480 wrong. Let us bring the Ark of the 201 00:10:59,480 --> 00:11:03,120 Covenant of the Lord from Shiloh to us, that when it is the 202 00:11:03,120 --> 00:11:06,240 keyword here, it comes among us. It may save us from the hand of 203 00:11:06,240 --> 00:11:08,560 our enemies. So the people sent to Shiloh 204 00:11:09,280 --> 00:11:11,480 that they might bring from there the Ark of the Covenant of the 205 00:11:11,480 --> 00:11:14,040 Lord of Hosts who dwells between the Caribbean. 206 00:11:15,040 --> 00:11:17,640 Very descriptive here. And the two sons of Eli Hoffman 207 00:11:17,640 --> 00:11:22,280 and Phenohas were there with the Ark of the Covenant of God. 208 00:11:22,840 --> 00:11:29,000 Words fail to describe the spiritual arrogance, pride and 209 00:11:29,000 --> 00:11:32,000 blindness and foolishness of these people. 210 00:11:34,760 --> 00:11:37,840 They had an outward appearance of loyalty to God, but it was 211 00:11:37,840 --> 00:11:40,680 just a show. For years already they've been 212 00:11:40,680 --> 00:11:43,360 doing their own thing. They've been charting their own 213 00:11:43,360 --> 00:11:47,320 path. Now they wanted it. 214 00:11:47,680 --> 00:11:52,280 The ark of God. It was a box of, of wood encased 215 00:11:52,280 --> 00:11:55,360 with gold or overlaid with gold with two Angel Caribbean above 216 00:11:55,360 --> 00:11:56,680 there. And it was called the mercy 217 00:11:56,680 --> 00:11:58,200 seat. And the God's presence dwelt 218 00:11:58,200 --> 00:12:01,640 there, had some rods that on the sides of it guys could put on 219 00:12:01,640 --> 00:12:03,840 their shoulders and carry it. And that's how the priest would 220 00:12:03,840 --> 00:12:06,400 carry the ark. And so they decide, you know 221 00:12:06,400 --> 00:12:08,840 what, this battle is going bad. We're going to bring the ark of 222 00:12:08,840 --> 00:12:12,600 God here and we're going to win. That's how they're going to 223 00:12:12,600 --> 00:12:18,000 chart their path forward. They literally believe that if 224 00:12:18,080 --> 00:12:20,320 the ark of God comes here, it will save us. 225 00:12:20,720 --> 00:12:24,760 This, this box was just the box. It was God's representation in 226 00:12:24,760 --> 00:12:28,440 the in the community. True, it was a holy, sacred box, 227 00:12:29,480 --> 00:12:31,560 but this was not done with God's will. 228 00:12:33,440 --> 00:12:36,560 We'll bring the ark of God into battle and then it will help us 229 00:12:36,560 --> 00:12:41,080 win. Is that not like modern times? 230 00:12:41,080 --> 00:12:43,240 I'll go to church more often then life will be good. 231 00:12:43,280 --> 00:12:44,640 I'm going to give more money to the church. 232 00:12:44,640 --> 00:12:46,760 Life will be good. I'm going to stop maybe abusing 233 00:12:46,760 --> 00:12:50,480 my wife or my children or my husband or my my family or I'll 234 00:12:50,480 --> 00:12:51,680 start. I'll stop. 235 00:12:51,680 --> 00:12:55,000 I'll start being honest then. No, that's not where we begin. 236 00:12:55,880 --> 00:12:58,320 We begin with this word called repentance. 237 00:12:58,320 --> 00:13:00,840 We'll get there. The word repentance was not even 238 00:13:00,840 --> 00:13:09,840 on the radar with these people. You see, when God is viewed as a 239 00:13:09,840 --> 00:13:13,400 means to an end, disaster is near. 240 00:13:15,080 --> 00:13:17,680 In the case of people of Israel, not only were they bringing the 241 00:13:17,680 --> 00:13:22,600 ark of God into the battle, the these two immoral perverts, 242 00:13:23,040 --> 00:13:25,600 Hoffman and Phenohas were there carrying it. 243 00:13:27,200 --> 00:13:29,880 How con, how far apart can this get? 244 00:13:34,600 --> 00:13:36,480 We need to learn from these stories. 245 00:13:37,200 --> 00:13:40,800 It's a day in in our country. I will say this from the pulpit, 246 00:13:40,800 --> 00:13:45,440 not because I wanted to to stir something, but there's so much 247 00:13:45,440 --> 00:13:48,720 going on about Bill C9. Should it scare us? 248 00:13:50,720 --> 00:13:53,480 I'm not going to speak for for I for either side here. 249 00:13:53,480 --> 00:13:55,800 I'm just going to say that it's a bad bill in my opinion. 250 00:13:55,800 --> 00:13:59,080 I'll say it from the pulpit. When people are told what they 251 00:13:59,080 --> 00:14:01,080 can and cannot read from the Bible, it's dangerous. 252 00:14:01,120 --> 00:14:03,720 Shouldn't be, but what brought it about? 253 00:14:05,800 --> 00:14:07,720 I'm not saying we shouldn't respond, we should, and many are 254 00:14:07,720 --> 00:14:09,440 and I'm happy that some do respond. 255 00:14:09,640 --> 00:14:12,960 But there's something that needs to happen before we need to 1st 256 00:14:12,960 --> 00:14:16,800 get right with God. Let's live out Jesus's love in 257 00:14:16,800 --> 00:14:19,400 our communities, His truth and honesty and integrity and 258 00:14:19,400 --> 00:14:21,280 confronts and call it out and all those things. 259 00:14:21,520 --> 00:14:24,560 But from what foundation? From what point of reference? 260 00:14:26,440 --> 00:14:29,440 You see, so many people have an outward veneer of Christianity, 261 00:14:29,440 --> 00:14:31,920 but it's not there. It just looks like it, but it's 262 00:14:31,920 --> 00:14:35,680 not real and somehow think that with enough church going, enough 263 00:14:35,680 --> 00:14:37,920 letter writing, enough protesting, then we'll get our 264 00:14:37,920 --> 00:14:41,480 way. No, we have to start somewhere 265 00:14:41,480 --> 00:14:43,400 else. We have to align our hearts 266 00:14:43,400 --> 00:14:46,240 first. It's easy to say we want to walk 267 00:14:46,240 --> 00:14:49,040 with God when in reality we just want His blessings on what we 268 00:14:49,040 --> 00:14:53,240 already decided to do. Reading again First Samuel 269 00:14:53,240 --> 00:14:58,400 chapter 4 and was in five and on we read what happened when the 270 00:14:58,400 --> 00:15:01,640 ark got into the battlefield. They shouted with victory. 271 00:15:01,640 --> 00:15:03,640 Oh, we got we're winning. We're winning now. 272 00:15:03,640 --> 00:15:05,840 We got this battle. We got this under control now. 273 00:15:06,200 --> 00:15:09,320 And the, and the Philistines, they hear the shouting in the 274 00:15:09,320 --> 00:15:12,440 Philistines. They know this what's going on? 275 00:15:12,440 --> 00:15:15,560 OK, they're shouting because they got the ark of their God in 276 00:15:15,560 --> 00:15:17,360 the battle. And they're terrified because 277 00:15:17,360 --> 00:15:20,520 they heard the stories of, of Israel in in the past, what God, 278 00:15:20,520 --> 00:15:22,800 their God did. And they say Philistines fight 279 00:15:22,800 --> 00:15:25,440 because the gods have come into the camp and nobody can stand 280 00:15:25,440 --> 00:15:29,560 against these gods. The Israelites, they, they 281 00:15:29,560 --> 00:15:33,120 fully, completely, totally trust that bringing this ark would 282 00:15:33,120 --> 00:15:36,840 solve their problem. And they, Philistines fought and 283 00:15:36,840 --> 00:15:40,680 they won the war. Israel lost 30,000 men that day. 284 00:15:40,920 --> 00:15:43,280 Hafen Fina has died too. They were killed. 285 00:15:43,720 --> 00:15:46,000 And the ark, the special Ark of God was taken by the 286 00:15:46,000 --> 00:15:47,720 Philistines. They lost the war. 287 00:15:49,040 --> 00:15:52,320 Well, the news went back home to Shiloh, where Eli, the old 288 00:15:52,320 --> 00:15:54,200 priest is sitting beside the road. 289 00:15:54,200 --> 00:15:55,640 He's old and blind. By that time. 290 00:15:55,640 --> 00:15:58,280 He's 98 years old. And he. 291 00:15:58,280 --> 00:16:01,280 How'd the battle go? Well, battle went badly. 292 00:16:01,680 --> 00:16:05,480 We lost Hothman Phenom as your sons are dead and the Ark of God 293 00:16:05,480 --> 00:16:08,480 has been taken. What a disaster. 294 00:16:08,480 --> 00:16:11,800 What a catastrophe. God had said they would. 295 00:16:11,800 --> 00:16:16,040 They would be judged. And Eli hears the news, folds 296 00:16:16,040 --> 00:16:19,440 backwards off his chair, breaks his neck and he dies. 297 00:16:19,440 --> 00:16:25,800 And that was the end of him and his sons huge loss of life. 298 00:16:26,360 --> 00:16:29,200 And now they were subject to the Philistines. 299 00:16:29,480 --> 00:16:34,280 The Ark was gone, they lost the war and new dark age settled on 300 00:16:34,280 --> 00:16:39,200 the land. Eli is a man had lost his way as 301 00:16:39,200 --> 00:16:40,800 a leader. He had not paid attention to the 302 00:16:40,800 --> 00:16:43,000 road ahead. His passiveness had caused much 303 00:16:43,000 --> 00:16:45,920 wickedness to flourish in the nation, and the end result was a 304 00:16:45,920 --> 00:16:52,400 huge loss of life in dark times. But truthfully, this was only 305 00:16:52,400 --> 00:16:55,200 the fruit of what they've been doing for years already. 306 00:16:56,720 --> 00:16:59,760 Now they're harvesting the fruit that seeded its own. 307 00:17:00,680 --> 00:17:03,480 Does this not somehow ring a bell for our times? 308 00:17:05,400 --> 00:17:08,520 In the book of Samuel, in the first while after the war, the 309 00:17:08,520 --> 00:17:11,760 Philistines rejoiced at their victory, but God was not pleased 310 00:17:11,760 --> 00:17:17,680 that they'd taken his ark. And they set it up in the in the 311 00:17:17,680 --> 00:17:22,520 temple of their idol, Dagon. And then God topples that that 312 00:17:22,599 --> 00:17:24,920 idol over. And in the morning they see 313 00:17:24,920 --> 00:17:28,560 their idols been toppled. And well, they realized this ark 314 00:17:28,560 --> 00:17:29,960 has got more power than they thought. 315 00:17:29,960 --> 00:17:33,040 And so they send it to someone else, to some other town and 316 00:17:33,040 --> 00:17:35,200 people get sick and one thing after another goes wrong. 317 00:17:35,200 --> 00:17:37,360 And after a number of months they say, well, it's not good 318 00:17:37,360 --> 00:17:39,440 for us to have the ark of the God of Israel, We'll send it 319 00:17:39,440 --> 00:17:42,480 back. So they take it, team of oxen 320 00:17:42,480 --> 00:17:47,880 and and put a cart behind it, behind the oxen and the ark on 321 00:17:47,880 --> 00:17:50,120 top of the cart and see what they will do in the ox wander 322 00:17:50,120 --> 00:17:51,920 off to the land of Israel and bring the ark back. 323 00:17:53,280 --> 00:17:56,920 Well, the ark gets back and things should have gone better 324 00:17:56,920 --> 00:17:58,920 right now the ark is coming back. 325 00:17:58,920 --> 00:18:01,320 Now the ark is coming back. Things go, go, go good from now 326 00:18:01,320 --> 00:18:03,480 on, right? And the people are surprised the 327 00:18:03,480 --> 00:18:06,400 ark is coming back. So men from the tribe of Levi 328 00:18:06,400 --> 00:18:08,360 are called and they take the ark off the cart. 329 00:18:08,920 --> 00:18:12,960 But then in chapter 6, verse 19, it tells us that God struck the 330 00:18:12,960 --> 00:18:15,480 men of that community down. There was a lot of people that 331 00:18:15,480 --> 00:18:19,240 were there to guess, to see this thing and to to celebrate and 332 00:18:19,240 --> 00:18:22,280 whatnot. It says in verse 1950 thousand 333 00:18:22,280 --> 00:18:26,680 men, 5050 thousand and 70 men were struck down and killed 334 00:18:26,680 --> 00:18:28,640 because of what they looked into the ark. 335 00:18:29,640 --> 00:18:33,080 It's a it's a terrible story. It says in the people of Israel 336 00:18:33,080 --> 00:18:35,480 lamented because so many of their people have been killed. 337 00:18:36,480 --> 00:18:40,960 But now they're at the point where things are starting to 338 00:18:40,960 --> 00:18:44,360 shift a little bit and things are starting to change. 339 00:18:44,360 --> 00:18:47,560 So let's read first Samuel chapter 6, verse 20 to 21. 340 00:18:48,800 --> 00:18:53,240 And the men of Beth Shamash said, who is able to stand 341 00:18:53,240 --> 00:18:58,560 before this holy Lord God? And to whom shall it go up from 342 00:18:58,560 --> 00:19:00,400 us? So they sent messages to the 343 00:19:00,400 --> 00:19:03,360 inhabitants of Kirchiran saying, the Philistines have brought 344 00:19:03,360 --> 00:19:05,960 back the ark of the Lord. Come down and take it up with 345 00:19:05,960 --> 00:19:11,280 you. The problem was not that the art 346 00:19:11,280 --> 00:19:14,760 of God was in their community. The problem was that they 347 00:19:14,760 --> 00:19:18,760 disobeyed God. You know, there's, there's 348 00:19:18,760 --> 00:19:22,040 something here. It's almost like people have 349 00:19:22,040 --> 00:19:24,080 this mindset. OK, let's create distance. 350 00:19:24,720 --> 00:19:30,040 Let's create distance instead of repenting and aligning with God. 351 00:19:30,040 --> 00:19:33,040 They well, it's who can stand? Who's stand before this? 352 00:19:33,080 --> 00:19:37,040 Let's let's create distance. No, distance is not the answer. 353 00:19:37,040 --> 00:19:40,680 Repentance is. Is this an age-old problem? 354 00:19:41,000 --> 00:19:45,200 Remember what Adam and Eve did in the Garden of Eden as soon as 355 00:19:45,200 --> 00:19:49,440 they sinned what they want, Let's hide as if that solves a 356 00:19:49,440 --> 00:19:52,520 problem. Let's get away from God. 357 00:19:53,800 --> 00:19:57,440 He's going to be after us. You can't get away from God. 358 00:19:58,640 --> 00:20:01,680 So instead of focusing on connecting with God, how can we 359 00:20:01,680 --> 00:20:04,200 get right with God? Let's create distance. 360 00:20:07,240 --> 00:20:09,200 They understood God's holy. That was good. 361 00:20:10,480 --> 00:20:12,640 But let's not get too close. It's dangerous. 362 00:20:14,400 --> 00:20:17,040 But things were starting to happen and things were starting 363 00:20:17,040 --> 00:20:18,680 to go. They were going to get better. 364 00:20:18,960 --> 00:20:21,760 Verse Chapter 7, verse 1 is where it really gets going. 365 00:20:21,760 --> 00:20:24,800 It says then the men of Kirjath Jiram came and took the ark of 366 00:20:24,800 --> 00:20:27,720 the Lord, brought it into the House of Abinadab on the hill, 367 00:20:27,720 --> 00:20:30,320 and consecrated Eliezer his son to keep the ark of the Lord. 368 00:20:30,560 --> 00:20:34,000 So it was that the ark remained in Kirjath Jiram for a long 369 00:20:34,000 --> 00:20:38,840 time. It was there 20 years and all 370 00:20:38,840 --> 00:20:42,720 the House of Israel lamented after the Lord. 371 00:20:43,800 --> 00:20:48,640 You see people sin may take a second, but the journey back can 372 00:20:48,640 --> 00:20:52,920 take a long time. Usually that's the way it works. 373 00:20:53,640 --> 00:20:56,360 You can get ourselves into a mess, into a pickle we don't 374 00:20:56,360 --> 00:20:59,000 know our way out of and the healing is a long time. 375 00:20:59,200 --> 00:21:01,640 Jump off a building and break your leg takes a few seconds. 376 00:21:02,360 --> 00:21:08,200 Healing that leg months, but time was working for them. 377 00:21:09,800 --> 00:21:12,800 But there's one thing that has to do before revival can come. 378 00:21:12,800 --> 00:21:14,360 There has to be an awareness of sin. 379 00:21:14,360 --> 00:21:17,120 And oftentimes this is a slow journey. 380 00:21:19,240 --> 00:21:21,400 People don't want to, first of all, admit they've done wrong. 381 00:21:22,360 --> 00:21:25,480 Over time, the changes, OK, well, maybe we're not as good as 382 00:21:25,480 --> 00:21:28,080 we thought. Eventually, OK, I wasn't good. 383 00:21:28,080 --> 00:21:33,840 Eventually, OK, you know what? I've sinned, the House of Israel 384 00:21:33,840 --> 00:21:37,960 lamented after the Lord. Sometimes people don't like 385 00:21:37,960 --> 00:21:40,280 their sinful ways, but they don't want to repent either. 386 00:21:40,280 --> 00:21:45,400 There's too much pride, and the road to becoming better is 387 00:21:45,400 --> 00:21:48,960 difficult. Sometimes people live that way 388 00:21:48,960 --> 00:21:51,560 their whole lives. They know what they're doing is 389 00:21:51,560 --> 00:21:54,840 wrong, but don't have the desire or courage to do anything about 390 00:21:54,840 --> 00:21:57,560 it. The people of Israel now had 391 00:21:57,560 --> 00:22:00,280 come to the threshold of change after 20 years. 392 00:22:00,720 --> 00:22:03,640 It's a long time. We don't know how long they 393 00:22:03,640 --> 00:22:08,720 lived moral failure beforehand, but they made some bad decisions 394 00:22:09,320 --> 00:22:12,040 when the war happened. They lost the war made life 395 00:22:12,040 --> 00:22:14,160 difficult. That had not changed them. 396 00:22:14,760 --> 00:22:17,240 Didn't like the situation, but not willing to give up what they 397 00:22:17,240 --> 00:22:20,120 were doing wrong. And as a consequence, we're 398 00:22:20,120 --> 00:22:22,760 living under God's discipline. It says you're the lamented 399 00:22:22,760 --> 00:22:24,960 after the Lord. It's painful. 400 00:22:26,840 --> 00:22:30,480 It has been said that people will not change until the pain 401 00:22:30,480 --> 00:22:33,800 of remaining the same becomes greater than the pain of change. 402 00:22:35,720 --> 00:22:38,520 I'll repeat that, people will not change until the pain of 403 00:22:38,520 --> 00:22:42,000 remaining the same becomes greater than the pain of change. 404 00:22:44,720 --> 00:22:48,080 These people should have done the lamenting and repenting 405 00:22:48,080 --> 00:22:52,080 right at the start when the sins took place, not see how long can 406 00:22:52,080 --> 00:22:54,160 they stretch it out and how comfortable and convenient can 407 00:22:54,160 --> 00:22:56,040 we make it. And then maybe it'll work after 408 00:22:56,040 --> 00:22:59,520 all, it always leads to ruin. And Eli, the priest, he should 409 00:22:59,520 --> 00:23:00,560 have done the first thing he did. 410 00:23:00,560 --> 00:23:02,920 Nothing. He just allowed it to continue. 411 00:23:03,600 --> 00:23:07,240 He's long dead now, 20 years ago, and still things are not 412 00:23:07,240 --> 00:23:10,560 where they should be. But then things changed in verse 413 00:23:10,640 --> 00:23:16,440 3 to 6 Chapter 7 says then Samuel spoke to all the House of 414 00:23:16,440 --> 00:23:20,280 Israel, saying, if you return to the Lord with all your hearts, 415 00:23:20,760 --> 00:23:24,200 then put away the foreign gods and the Ashtereths from among 416 00:23:24,200 --> 00:23:27,840 you, and prepare your hearts for the Lord and serve Him only, and 417 00:23:27,840 --> 00:23:30,080 He will deliver you from the hand of the Philistines. 418 00:23:30,080 --> 00:23:31,480 So they're subject to the Philistines. 419 00:23:32,160 --> 00:23:34,920 So the children of Israel put away the bales and the asteroth 420 00:23:34,920 --> 00:23:37,280 and serve the God, the Lord God only. 421 00:23:37,920 --> 00:23:40,720 And Samuel said, gather all Israel to Mizpah, and I will 422 00:23:40,720 --> 00:23:43,080 pray to the Lord for you. So they gathered together at 423 00:23:43,080 --> 00:23:45,760 Mizpah, drew water and poured it out before the Lord. 424 00:23:46,200 --> 00:23:50,360 And they fasted that day and said, there, listen to this, we 425 00:23:50,360 --> 00:23:54,920 have sinned against the Lord. There you go, that's it. 426 00:23:57,000 --> 00:23:59,440 And Samuel judged the children of Israel, Mizpah there. 427 00:23:59,440 --> 00:24:03,760 He was the leader. Finally, finally, after 20 428 00:24:03,760 --> 00:24:06,720 years, they were at a point where they admitted, 429 00:24:07,240 --> 00:24:09,720 acknowledged and owned they had sinned. 430 00:24:10,040 --> 00:24:12,600 And now they're at the point where God could intervene. 431 00:24:13,120 --> 00:24:17,840 Now the connection between God's people was going to be restored. 432 00:24:19,240 --> 00:24:22,280 Notice Samuel says if, if you will return, there's a 433 00:24:22,280 --> 00:24:24,880 condition. It's not going to happen just 434 00:24:24,880 --> 00:24:27,000 because God wants it. It's going to happen because 435 00:24:27,000 --> 00:24:30,280 there's going to be repentance. The conditions for the people 436 00:24:30,280 --> 00:24:32,920 where they would have to turn from the idol worship and return 437 00:24:32,920 --> 00:24:37,680 to the Lord. One would think that they would 438 00:24:37,680 --> 00:24:40,080 have learned the lesson, right? Just think, it had taken 20 439 00:24:40,080 --> 00:24:42,400 years before the people were ready for change. 440 00:24:43,200 --> 00:24:45,960 They had gotten tired of being sick and tired. 441 00:24:47,120 --> 00:24:50,160 They wanted to turn back to God. Up to that point, it was just 442 00:24:50,160 --> 00:24:52,800 head knowledge, but not heart action. 443 00:24:53,560 --> 00:24:57,480 They lamented and they prayed. Now Sam was speaking to the 444 00:24:57,480 --> 00:24:59,840 people and things are finally looking up. 445 00:25:00,040 --> 00:25:03,320 They own their sins. There are many people who never 446 00:25:03,320 --> 00:25:06,960 get to that point where they actually own what they've done 447 00:25:06,960 --> 00:25:09,560 wrong. It's always the other person, 448 00:25:10,360 --> 00:25:11,960 always the other guy who messed up. 449 00:25:11,960 --> 00:25:13,600 And that's why my life was all messed up. 450 00:25:13,800 --> 00:25:17,880 I did wrong because he made me. I did wrong because I couldn't 451 00:25:17,880 --> 00:25:20,280 help it. It's always somebody else or 452 00:25:20,280 --> 00:25:21,760 something else that's the problem. 453 00:25:23,520 --> 00:25:26,240 One of the most difficult phrases to speak in the English 454 00:25:26,240 --> 00:25:31,280 language is I have sinned. That was the thing David said 455 00:25:31,280 --> 00:25:33,120 when he had committed adultery with Bathsheba. 456 00:25:33,120 --> 00:25:36,600 Nathan confronted him. He didn't rationalize, didn't 457 00:25:36,600 --> 00:25:40,240 justify that I have sinned. That's the change point. 458 00:25:40,880 --> 00:25:44,600 As long as we can't say those words with honesty, nothing will 459 00:25:44,600 --> 00:25:47,440 happen. But when repentance does happen, 460 00:25:47,880 --> 00:25:52,800 does it get easier? No, it gets better. 461 00:25:53,640 --> 00:25:57,040 It can get very painful. Sometimes. 462 00:25:57,040 --> 00:26:00,040 It means opening up and confessing and repenting in a 463 00:26:00,040 --> 00:26:05,440 way that we don't like. Repenting is not easy. 464 00:26:05,720 --> 00:26:09,640 It's hard, but it's good. Well, let's continue. 465 00:26:09,640 --> 00:26:13,120 When God's people start to repent, not everybody will be 466 00:26:13,120 --> 00:26:14,560 happy and not everybody's pleasing. 467 00:26:14,560 --> 00:26:16,880 What happened here at Mizpah? They get together at Mizpah. 468 00:26:16,880 --> 00:26:18,800 Sam is going to have this big prayer meeting here. 469 00:26:19,000 --> 00:26:21,320 They're going to pray and have a big prayer meeting. 470 00:26:21,720 --> 00:26:23,840 Philistines here, but all the Israelites are congregating. 471 00:26:23,840 --> 00:26:27,360 Something's going on. Something's happening, and they 472 00:26:27,360 --> 00:26:28,400 don't like it. Well, are they going to 473 00:26:28,400 --> 00:26:30,080 uprising, have an uprising against us? 474 00:26:30,080 --> 00:26:33,000 We control them now have for 20 years and we don't want to lose 475 00:26:33,000 --> 00:26:37,160 that this big get together, this big congregation of Israelites 476 00:26:37,160 --> 00:26:39,120 means one thing. It means an uprising. 477 00:26:39,120 --> 00:26:41,480 They don't want to let that happen while they beat the God 478 00:26:41,480 --> 00:26:44,200 of Israel once and they can maybe do it again. 479 00:26:46,480 --> 00:26:50,800 And it says in verse 8, so the children of Israel cried to Sam, 480 00:26:50,800 --> 00:26:54,200 said to Samuel, do not cease to cry out to the Lord our God for 481 00:26:54,200 --> 00:26:56,520 us that he may save us from the hand of the Philistines. 482 00:26:56,720 --> 00:26:58,880 Now they're getting it. Now it's working. 483 00:27:02,280 --> 00:27:05,880 They knew salvation comes only through God, not trying to 484 00:27:05,880 --> 00:27:08,320 manipulate him. They remember 20 years ago they 485 00:27:08,320 --> 00:27:11,080 knew what had happened, then brought the ark, that the ark 486 00:27:11,080 --> 00:27:12,960 would save them. That hadn't worked. 487 00:27:13,560 --> 00:27:15,600 Now they're on the right track. They're connecting with God, 488 00:27:15,600 --> 00:27:20,720 with the right hearts, no longer proud and arrogant. 489 00:27:20,720 --> 00:27:23,560 No, no more of this. OK, let's see if the Ark of God, 490 00:27:23,560 --> 00:27:25,520 Ark of God works this time. None of that stuff. 491 00:27:27,080 --> 00:27:30,200 They're begging in prayer, asking Samuel, do not cease to 492 00:27:30,200 --> 00:27:32,080 cry out to the Lord our God for us. 493 00:27:32,240 --> 00:27:34,800 No more double standard living. No more dual allegiances, no 494 00:27:34,800 --> 00:27:36,120 more. We got this idea. 495 00:27:37,480 --> 00:27:39,280 How often don't we want to bargain with God? 496 00:27:39,280 --> 00:27:42,120 God, if you will, then I will. And God's not interested. 497 00:27:43,080 --> 00:27:45,480 God's not into deals. He just wants repentance and 498 00:27:45,480 --> 00:27:47,040 surrender. He wants to show himself 499 00:27:47,040 --> 00:27:49,920 powerful on our behalf, but too often we stand in the way. 500 00:27:50,560 --> 00:27:53,320 What did Samuel do? Verse 9 Samuel took a suckling 501 00:27:53,320 --> 00:27:55,680 lamb and offered it as a whole burnt offering to the Lord. 502 00:27:55,680 --> 00:27:59,800 And then Samuel cried out to the Lord for Israel, and the Lord 503 00:27:59,800 --> 00:28:03,400 answered him. Now it's unfolding as it should. 504 00:28:03,920 --> 00:28:06,960 Now with their hearts turned to God, connected to God, waiting 505 00:28:06,960 --> 00:28:10,200 on God, the road ahead looked clear. 506 00:28:11,160 --> 00:28:12,600 They knew only God could save them. 507 00:28:12,800 --> 00:28:16,520 Didn't know how the Philistines draw near to battle. 508 00:28:16,520 --> 00:28:19,560 We can just imagine how they may have been thinking, OK, we beat 509 00:28:19,560 --> 00:28:24,000 him last time and they brought their God into the camp and we 510 00:28:24,000 --> 00:28:27,520 still beat him. They were not aware that back 511 00:28:27,520 --> 00:28:30,720 then God was not on the side of Israel and they were living in 512 00:28:30,920 --> 00:28:34,840 unrepentance. But things have changed now it 513 00:28:34,840 --> 00:28:39,040 says in verse 10 and on. Now as Samuel was offering up 514 00:28:39,040 --> 00:28:41,720 the burnt offering, the Philistines drew near to battle 515 00:28:41,720 --> 00:28:43,200 against Israel. Here it goes. 516 00:28:43,200 --> 00:28:46,640 But the Lord Thunder with a loud Thunder upon the Philistines 517 00:28:46,640 --> 00:28:49,920 that day so and so confused them that they were overcome before 518 00:28:49,920 --> 00:28:52,240 Israel. They didn't even have to fight, 519 00:28:52,480 --> 00:28:54,480 but they did. The men of Israel went out of 520 00:28:54,480 --> 00:28:57,800 miss but pursued the Philistines drove them back as far as below 521 00:28:57,800 --> 00:29:00,880 Beth's car. Then Samuel took a stone, set it 522 00:29:00,880 --> 00:29:05,520 up between Mizpah and Shannon, called it Ebenezer, saying thus 523 00:29:05,520 --> 00:29:09,600 far the Lord has helped us. So the Philistines were subdued, 524 00:29:09,600 --> 00:29:11,640 and they did not come again anymore into the territory of 525 00:29:11,640 --> 00:29:14,240 Israel, and the hand of the Lord was against the Philistines. 526 00:29:14,400 --> 00:29:20,040 All the days of Samuel must have been a shock for those 527 00:29:20,040 --> 00:29:23,000 Philistines. Whoa, wait a minute, they're 528 00:29:23,000 --> 00:29:25,120 gods, not even present, and they still win US? 529 00:29:25,200 --> 00:29:27,920 Well, actually, they're gods fighting us of the sky from the 530 00:29:27,920 --> 00:29:30,480 Thunder. Samuel was doing the right thing 531 00:29:30,480 --> 00:29:33,760 when he was crying out to the Lord for, for, for the sake of 532 00:29:33,760 --> 00:29:36,400 Israel. While the Philistines were 533 00:29:36,400 --> 00:29:39,520 marching to battle, Israel's busy waiting on God. 534 00:29:42,600 --> 00:29:43,960 And the Philistines learned a lesson. 535 00:29:44,120 --> 00:29:46,400 It's not their gold box that saves them. 536 00:29:47,240 --> 00:29:50,720 It's God who saves them. The Israelites learned a lesson. 537 00:29:51,040 --> 00:29:52,880 The ark of God had not saved them. 538 00:29:52,880 --> 00:29:54,840 That's that's just the box. It's a holy box. 539 00:29:55,240 --> 00:29:58,480 But was God himself who saved them not some material object? 540 00:30:00,400 --> 00:30:03,960 The Philistines probably learned a lesson that day, and Israel 541 00:30:03,960 --> 00:30:06,960 did too. And Samuel puts up a stone 542 00:30:06,960 --> 00:30:10,600 called Ebenezer, meaning thus far the Lord has helped us. 543 00:30:11,960 --> 00:30:14,720 Do we see this? See, there's no self 544 00:30:14,720 --> 00:30:18,440 congratulation by the people just worshipping God for what 545 00:30:18,440 --> 00:30:20,760 He's done. The nation's back on track. 546 00:30:21,760 --> 00:30:24,200 The journey away from God had lasted a long time, but they 547 00:30:24,200 --> 00:30:27,760 were back now. God had promised his people the 548 00:30:27,760 --> 00:30:29,440 land of Canaan as an inheritance. 549 00:30:29,960 --> 00:30:33,640 That was his plan. But they had a responsibility to 550 00:30:33,640 --> 00:30:37,160 to God to to serve God, to worship God, their devotion and 551 00:30:37,160 --> 00:30:40,080 obedience in all things. Instead, they repeatedly got 552 00:30:40,080 --> 00:30:43,560 distracted and turned away into other roads and followed other 553 00:30:43,560 --> 00:30:47,120 paths and separated themselves from God and in the end paid a 554 00:30:47,120 --> 00:30:50,720 high price and God withheld his protection. 555 00:30:51,200 --> 00:30:53,560 He allowed the enemies to overpower them, make them 556 00:30:53,560 --> 00:30:55,640 subject to them. And we're going to go back next, 557 00:30:55,640 --> 00:30:57,120 starting next week, into the book of Judges. 558 00:30:57,120 --> 00:30:59,240 And there's a long list of those stories. 559 00:31:00,640 --> 00:31:02,080 They became disconnected from God. 560 00:31:02,680 --> 00:31:06,120 They lost their way and paid a huge price. 561 00:31:06,840 --> 00:31:12,000 What difference does this make in our world today, in my world, 562 00:31:12,000 --> 00:31:19,800 in your world today, this morning, I usually get up early. 563 00:31:19,800 --> 00:31:23,080 And in my readings, I came across a short piece by a writer 564 00:31:23,080 --> 00:31:29,840 named Max Tocado and a little piece titled it The Road Ahead. 565 00:31:30,240 --> 00:31:31,720 Well, that's my sermon title this morning. 566 00:31:31,720 --> 00:31:33,720 I thought, that's my sermon title, The Road Ahead. 567 00:31:34,560 --> 00:31:36,160 Not that he stole it or I stole it from him. 568 00:31:36,160 --> 00:31:37,520 I just happened to read it this morning. 569 00:31:38,480 --> 00:31:40,560 And I just want to include that here this morning. 570 00:31:42,560 --> 00:31:46,240 And he says, occupy yourself with the nature of God, not your 571 00:31:46,240 --> 00:31:50,960 biceps. And he tells what God did with 572 00:31:50,960 --> 00:31:53,080 Moses. He says, Remember when Moses was 573 00:31:53,080 --> 00:31:55,480 in the desert and God called him? 574 00:31:55,840 --> 00:31:59,480 What's the first thing God said to Moses? 575 00:32:00,160 --> 00:32:04,520 Take off your Take off your sandals because you're standing 576 00:32:04,520 --> 00:32:07,600 on holy ground. Even that thin piece of leather 577 00:32:08,000 --> 00:32:10,080 between his feet and the ground was too much. 578 00:32:10,760 --> 00:32:14,120 God says you stand be me for barefoot nothing. 579 00:32:18,160 --> 00:32:20,600 Take off your sandals because you're standing on holy ground. 580 00:32:20,680 --> 00:32:24,960 Those 11 words Max writes with that Moses was enrolled in a 581 00:32:24,960 --> 00:32:28,200 class on God. The roles were defined God is 582 00:32:28,200 --> 00:32:32,000 holy and even as much as sandals on his feet was too much. 583 00:32:33,640 --> 00:32:37,720 No time was spent God convincing most most what you can do and so 584 00:32:37,720 --> 00:32:41,600 on and and explaining Moses you're well qualified for the 585 00:32:41,600 --> 00:32:45,560 job and you're well equipped for the job and your your resume 586 00:32:45,560 --> 00:32:48,160 looks good and your strength for the none of that. 587 00:32:49,760 --> 00:32:51,560 No pep talk, no Pats on the back. 588 00:32:51,760 --> 00:32:55,600 Just here's my job description for you and I will be with you. 589 00:32:56,840 --> 00:33:01,960 I will do this with you. God revealed himself. 590 00:33:03,120 --> 00:33:08,200 Do we want God to reveal himself to us as we are in the threshold 591 00:33:08,200 --> 00:33:11,680 of another year. If we look at the News Online 592 00:33:11,680 --> 00:33:14,080 and TV and Internet all that that doesn't look good. 593 00:33:14,080 --> 00:33:16,880 I get it, but that's not our focus. 594 00:33:18,200 --> 00:33:20,840 We serve the same God that Moses served, that the Israelites 595 00:33:20,840 --> 00:33:24,040 served, that Jesus worshipped. We have the same God. 596 00:33:24,040 --> 00:33:27,880 Jesus was God in the flesh. We have no idea what 2026 will 597 00:33:27,880 --> 00:33:30,040 bring, how it will unfold, what may happen. 598 00:33:30,200 --> 00:33:35,960 It doesn't matter. That's not our responsibility. 599 00:33:35,960 --> 00:33:38,480 Yes, we have responsibilities, but that's not our focus. 600 00:33:38,720 --> 00:33:43,680 Our focus is to live for God. The road ahead is walking with 601 00:33:43,680 --> 00:33:49,080 God. If we obey God, yes, we'll 602 00:33:49,080 --> 00:33:50,640 suffer. We don't know. 603 00:33:51,360 --> 00:33:53,200 Through some government policies, maybe. 604 00:33:54,200 --> 00:33:55,720 Through some economic stress, maybe. 605 00:33:56,520 --> 00:33:58,920 Through sickness, Maybe people reject us. 606 00:33:58,920 --> 00:34:02,080 Maybe. And even if we do, we still have 607 00:34:02,080 --> 00:34:03,600 the assurance we're in God's will. 608 00:34:04,840 --> 00:34:07,920 We may be like a Peter up and down this roller coaster, 609 00:34:07,920 --> 00:34:11,159 unimaginable. Down, down, up, up and back and 610 00:34:11,159 --> 00:34:13,159 forth. It doesn't matter. 611 00:34:16,120 --> 00:34:18,400 And whatever idols we need to clean out, let's do it. 612 00:34:18,840 --> 00:34:20,719 Let's surrender. Whatever sins we need to repent 613 00:34:20,719 --> 00:34:22,520 of, confess and make right, let's do it. 614 00:34:22,920 --> 00:34:24,840 Whatever commitments we need to make, let's do it. 615 00:34:26,040 --> 00:34:28,080 He will guide us on the road ahead. 616 00:34:29,840 --> 00:34:34,560 He didn't promise a vacation, but He promises a good journey. 617 00:34:34,560 --> 00:34:37,040 He didn't say it would be safe. He says it would be good. 618 00:34:37,600 --> 00:34:40,960 Will be drawn to Him, will experience His peace and joy in 619 00:34:40,960 --> 00:34:43,800 our lives. And yes, the road ahead may be 620 00:34:43,800 --> 00:34:46,000 easy or difficult, but that doesn't matter. 621 00:34:46,120 --> 00:34:50,719 The point is, are we with Jesus? So I will encourage us as we 622 00:34:50,719 --> 00:34:55,360 wrap up 2025. Let's walk with Jesus and it 623 00:34:55,360 --> 00:34:58,120 doesn't matter what we face. He will guide us on the road 624 00:34:58,120 --> 00:35:01,200 ahead. Let us pray, Lord. 625 00:35:01,200 --> 00:35:05,680 We're thankful that we do not have to personally learn each 626 00:35:05,680 --> 00:35:08,120 and every lesson of history by experience. 627 00:35:09,360 --> 00:35:11,400 We have your word that tells us the stories. 628 00:35:11,680 --> 00:35:14,120 We can learn from the stories. We don't have to repeat them. 629 00:35:15,320 --> 00:35:17,640 We know how your people of old walk before us. 630 00:35:17,640 --> 00:35:21,360 Many of them failed miserably. Some walked holy, sacred lives. 631 00:35:21,640 --> 00:35:24,880 Help us, Lord, to walk with you. We have this rich history. 632 00:35:24,880 --> 00:35:27,760 May we learn from it. Help us to be patient, Lord. 633 00:35:27,760 --> 00:35:30,400 Help us to be diligent. We pray, Lord, for forgiveness 634 00:35:30,400 --> 00:35:32,680 where we fail. We pray for strength and 635 00:35:32,680 --> 00:35:35,400 endurance in the race of life. We praise you, Lord, for your 636 00:35:35,400 --> 00:35:36,960 promises that you'll walk with us. 637 00:35:37,200 --> 00:35:38,080 In your name we pray.