1 00:00:02,440 --> 00:00:05,160 The. World is on fire. 2 00:00:07,200 --> 00:00:12,760 The world is on fire. Those are the words that flashed 3 00:00:12,760 --> 00:00:18,080 on one of my devices from a report issued from one of the 4 00:00:18,440 --> 00:00:23,160 leading news organizations in our country. 5 00:00:24,040 --> 00:00:28,120 And I'm sure you as well are being bombarded by barrage of 6 00:00:28,120 --> 00:00:32,119 breaking news and incoming stories on almost an hourly 7 00:00:32,119 --> 00:00:36,600 basis. But this particular statement 8 00:00:36,600 --> 00:00:41,840 gripped me. It caught my attention because I 9 00:00:41,840 --> 00:00:45,040 find it to be a very compelling, compelling and powerful 10 00:00:45,960 --> 00:00:49,440 description of how the world today perceives what's happening 11 00:00:49,920 --> 00:00:53,360 in the. World, The world is on fire. 12 00:00:55,800 --> 00:00:59,080 And as I thought about this, I thought. 13 00:00:59,880 --> 00:01:03,960 That's probably how some people here feel as well, that no 14 00:01:03,960 --> 00:01:07,240 matter what direction you look into, no matter what sphere in 15 00:01:07,240 --> 00:01:10,520 society, something is up in flames. 16 00:01:12,120 --> 00:01:15,480 Something is up in flames, whether that's metaphorical or 17 00:01:15,480 --> 00:01:20,600 literal, and these fires are projected to only spread and to 18 00:01:20,600 --> 00:01:25,520 generate and cause untold damage and destruction. 19 00:01:27,160 --> 00:01:31,520 And if there isn't a fire, in an obvious sense, if there isn't 20 00:01:32,120 --> 00:01:36,640 clear turbulence, then there is smoke, There's smoke signaling a 21 00:01:36,640 --> 00:01:39,920 fire to come. And that's producing in this 22 00:01:39,920 --> 00:01:44,240 generation an overwhelming and eerie sense that there is no 23 00:01:44,240 --> 00:01:47,000 longer a safe place to go to in this world. 24 00:01:48,440 --> 00:01:52,160 We feel surrounded. It's not just a little spark 25 00:01:52,160 --> 00:01:55,040 here, a little spark there, the whole building. 26 00:01:55,480 --> 00:01:57,680 Is up. In flames. 27 00:02:00,240 --> 00:02:04,920 And this is the day that you and I are living in, and it is 28 00:02:04,920 --> 00:02:09,960 escalated quickly and the emotions range from total 29 00:02:09,960 --> 00:02:14,520 outrage to people living on edge, wondering how the events 30 00:02:14,520 --> 00:02:18,480 that we are seeing will unfold and how they will determine the 31 00:02:18,480 --> 00:02:21,160 trajectory, if not our own lives, then the lives of the 32 00:02:21,160 --> 00:02:23,960 children and grandchildren that we love so deeply. 33 00:02:24,120 --> 00:02:27,640 Where is this all going? What is this all going to lead 34 00:02:27,640 --> 00:02:33,800 to? International wars, famines, 35 00:02:33,800 --> 00:02:38,920 earthquakes, Mass shootings that almost seem to be numbing now 36 00:02:38,920 --> 00:02:44,480 because they just are expected disease and pestilences and 37 00:02:44,480 --> 00:02:47,880 immoral education system on all levels. 38 00:02:48,320 --> 00:02:53,800 The invasion of Marxism? A blatant and outright corrupt 39 00:02:53,840 --> 00:03:01,840 and dysfunctional political. System The looming threats of 40 00:03:01,840 --> 00:03:04,960 terrorism. More and more, we're hearing 41 00:03:04,960 --> 00:03:08,000 about how terrorists are flooding into our borders and 42 00:03:08,000 --> 00:03:12,600 through our borders. Natural disasters that are just 43 00:03:12,880 --> 00:03:15,640 becoming more intense and more common. 44 00:03:15,640 --> 00:03:19,840 And the cherry on top is just the overall moral decay. 45 00:03:21,080 --> 00:03:24,400 And all of these things seem to just be coming closer and 46 00:03:24,400 --> 00:03:29,040 closer, surrounding us as a generation, and it's almost 47 00:03:29,040 --> 00:03:34,080 suffocating. But while the world is 48 00:03:34,720 --> 00:03:38,160 helplessly and, dare I say, frantically looking for a 49 00:03:38,160 --> 00:03:42,520 solution or solutions, you and I, the Church of Jesus Christ, 50 00:03:42,520 --> 00:03:46,600 are not hopeless. We are very hopeful because we 51 00:03:46,600 --> 00:03:50,800 have many reasons to be hopeful. And one of those reasons why we 52 00:03:50,800 --> 00:03:55,480 can be at rest is because the modern tragedies and the modern 53 00:03:55,480 --> 00:04:00,120 trends that are disturbing are not without explanation for the 54 00:04:00,120 --> 00:04:03,680 Christian. Because in the possession of the 55 00:04:03,680 --> 00:04:10,040 Christian is a eternal, unchanging, timeless word, the 56 00:04:10,040 --> 00:04:12,320 word that belongs to God and comes from God. 57 00:04:12,760 --> 00:04:16,480 And in that word, we have answers. 58 00:04:16,880 --> 00:04:22,000 We have answers, and with those answers we have the only 59 00:04:22,000 --> 00:04:25,840 solution for the problems that we're seeing and facing today. 60 00:04:26,960 --> 00:04:31,360 Now the overall consensus, the general opinion of the believer 61 00:04:31,360 --> 00:04:34,160 today is that we are racing towards the. 62 00:04:34,200 --> 00:04:36,400 End that. That. 63 00:04:36,400 --> 00:04:39,760 That's undeniable. But I don't want that to be the 64 00:04:39,760 --> 00:04:42,840 only answer we have for ourselves or for others. 65 00:04:44,080 --> 00:04:45,800 Because yes, the world may be confused. 66 00:04:46,040 --> 00:04:48,720 We are confident the the world may be in hysteria. 67 00:04:48,720 --> 00:04:52,560 You and I know rest. The world might be in darkness. 68 00:04:52,640 --> 00:04:57,880 We surely have the light, but we want to also feed into our 69 00:04:57,880 --> 00:05:02,320 confidence with greater truth. I I want us to dig deeper into 70 00:05:02,320 --> 00:05:06,920 the mind of God, to find even more precise commentary of what 71 00:05:06,920 --> 00:05:09,640 is actually happening here. Why is it happening? 72 00:05:09,920 --> 00:05:14,640 How is this being caused? Why is it only getting worse and 73 00:05:14,640 --> 00:05:16,440 worse? There are answers here. 74 00:05:17,080 --> 00:05:19,520 We don't just have to brush it off by saying, well, this is 75 00:05:19,520 --> 00:05:22,240 just the last days. No, there's even more to that. 76 00:05:23,040 --> 00:05:25,120 There's more to what we're seeing today. 77 00:05:25,160 --> 00:05:30,120 Let me say this way, There is a message from God to the people 78 00:05:30,200 --> 00:05:32,520 that are living in this time of history. 79 00:05:32,880 --> 00:05:37,080 There is a message from God himself, and I don't stand 80 00:05:37,080 --> 00:05:40,360 before you as a prophet who has subjective words from God. 81 00:05:40,360 --> 00:05:43,520 I stand to you as. A simple mailman with God's word 82 00:05:43,520 --> 00:05:47,800 that's already been given and that relates to and connects to 83 00:05:47,800 --> 00:05:52,640 what we are experiencing. And so I invite you to pursue 84 00:05:52,640 --> 00:05:55,920 that with me by coming to the book of Second Chronicles in 85 00:05:55,920 --> 00:05:59,360 Chapter 15. If you haven't caught on yet, 86 00:05:59,360 --> 00:06:06,720 we're taking a pause on Mark Second Chronicles Chapter 15 and 87 00:06:06,720 --> 00:06:10,320 come with me to verse 5. Here's the context of this 88 00:06:10,320 --> 00:06:12,720 passage. You have a prophet named Azariah 89 00:06:13,280 --> 00:06:17,560 and he with the Spirit of God coming upon him approaches a 90 00:06:17,560 --> 00:06:21,200 king. King of Judah at this time was 91 00:06:21,280 --> 00:06:24,480 ASA. ASA up to this point was a man 92 00:06:24,480 --> 00:06:26,120 of God. He had a tender heart for God. 93 00:06:26,120 --> 00:06:28,880 He was dependent upon God and he displayed that through his 94 00:06:28,880 --> 00:06:32,120 prayer life. But the prophet Azariah by the 95 00:06:32,120 --> 00:06:35,840 Spirit wants to encourage him to not make the same self defeating 96 00:06:35,840 --> 00:06:38,920 mistakes that the nation of Israel has made in former times. 97 00:06:39,360 --> 00:06:43,680 And so he's going to exhort the king and he's going to exhort 98 00:06:43,680 --> 00:06:45,760 the king by giving a brief history lesson. 99 00:06:45,760 --> 00:06:49,280 And this history lesson is from a unspecified time period in 100 00:06:49,280 --> 00:06:54,040 Israel's resume. But interestingly, as you're 101 00:06:54,040 --> 00:06:56,960 going to hear this, it's not just pertaining to Israel's 102 00:06:56,960 --> 00:06:59,920 unstable past. It actually speaks of an era 103 00:07:01,680 --> 00:07:07,960 when the world was on fire, when the world when the neighboring 104 00:07:07,960 --> 00:07:11,240 nations, when the inhabitants of not just one land but multiple 105 00:07:11,240 --> 00:07:15,680 lands were also troubled and disturbed. 106 00:07:17,040 --> 00:07:20,640 And here's what it says in verse in verse 3. 107 00:07:22,160 --> 00:07:27,160 For a long time, Israel was without the true God and without 108 00:07:27,160 --> 00:07:28,760 a teaching priests and without law. 109 00:07:29,800 --> 00:07:32,280 But when in their distress they turned to the Lord, the God of 110 00:07:32,280 --> 00:07:35,200 Israel, and sought him, He was found by them. 111 00:07:36,080 --> 00:07:37,920 And here's the main text in verse 5. 112 00:07:37,920 --> 00:07:43,600 In those times there was no peace to him who went out or to 113 00:07:43,600 --> 00:07:48,480 him who came in, For great disturbances afflicted all the 114 00:07:48,480 --> 00:07:53,360 inhabitants of the lands. They were broken in pieces. 115 00:07:53,360 --> 00:07:58,760 Nation was crushed by nation and city by city, for God troubled 116 00:07:58,760 --> 00:08:01,760 them with every sort of distress. 117 00:08:03,280 --> 00:08:07,400 Father, we ask that you help us understand your word, your voice 118 00:08:07,400 --> 00:08:10,920 for today give us ears to hear what the Spirit says to the 119 00:08:10,920 --> 00:08:13,960 churches in Jesus name. Amen. 120 00:08:16,320 --> 00:08:19,960 Again, you and I here see that these circumstances that Azariah 121 00:08:19,960 --> 00:08:23,840 is alluding to is not just focused on the nation of Israel. 122 00:08:25,000 --> 00:08:29,840 And people wonder where and when these things, these 123 00:08:29,840 --> 00:08:33,600 circumstances occurred, right? He's very general in verse five. 124 00:08:33,600 --> 00:08:38,039 He just says in those times, well, what times based on the 125 00:08:38,080 --> 00:08:40,000 characteristics, many believe that he's speaking about the 126 00:08:40,000 --> 00:08:43,080 times of the judges, which is a very good case to make. 127 00:08:43,559 --> 00:08:47,400 But it's ambiguous. And it's it's ambiguous because 128 00:08:47,600 --> 00:08:51,160 Israel has known a cycle of apostasy throughout its history. 129 00:08:52,000 --> 00:08:54,120 But I want you, more importantly, to look at the 130 00:08:54,120 --> 00:08:58,320 descriptions of those times. Look at how the Bible is so 131 00:08:58,320 --> 00:09:00,280 specific. And as you discover this, you 132 00:09:00,280 --> 00:09:03,040 will see how unparalleled, how rather paralleled it is to our 133 00:09:03,040 --> 00:09:05,520 own time. The first thing that he says 134 00:09:05,520 --> 00:09:08,480 here in verse 5 is that there was no peace to him who went out 135 00:09:08,720 --> 00:09:13,280 or to him who came in. There was no peace for him who 136 00:09:13,280 --> 00:09:15,120 came out or to him who would come in. 137 00:09:15,120 --> 00:09:18,760 In other words, there was a general fear in the atmosphere 138 00:09:19,920 --> 00:09:21,840 and the main reason for that fear is because there was 139 00:09:21,840 --> 00:09:26,720 criminal activity rampant causing citizens to be fearful 140 00:09:26,720 --> 00:09:30,080 of being in the public of traveling. 141 00:09:30,600 --> 00:09:33,400 They were hesitant to even leave their own homes. 142 00:09:34,920 --> 00:09:37,320 And in Judges Chapter 5 verse six, you don't have to turn 143 00:09:37,320 --> 00:09:38,760 there. But in Judges 5-6, as a 144 00:09:38,760 --> 00:09:42,120 reference for you, there's even more light shed on this where we 145 00:09:42,120 --> 00:09:45,360 were told there that the highways in Israel were 146 00:09:45,360 --> 00:09:48,680 abandoned and people went about through the byways. 147 00:09:49,560 --> 00:09:53,320 In other words, there was so much evil that people avoided 148 00:09:53,320 --> 00:09:56,240 public places, high traffic areas. 149 00:09:56,800 --> 00:10:01,000 They would take the longer route home because criminals at this 150 00:10:01,000 --> 00:10:04,480 point took advantage of these strategic places, robbers and 151 00:10:04,480 --> 00:10:08,640 thieves and murderers, to satisfy their evil pursuits. 152 00:10:08,640 --> 00:10:11,520 And so it caught on. These are these are the places 153 00:10:11,520 --> 00:10:19,800 to avoid and to watch out for. And there was no officials to 154 00:10:19,800 --> 00:10:22,600 regulate this, to supervise this, to deal with this. 155 00:10:22,720 --> 00:10:24,960 Is that not the reality that you and I are in today? 156 00:10:25,040 --> 00:10:28,880 Especially for us in Illinois, especially for us near Chicago, 157 00:10:30,240 --> 00:10:33,880 You have people today that want to avoid parades, that think 158 00:10:33,880 --> 00:10:38,880 twice about going to concerts. You have many people who are 159 00:10:38,880 --> 00:10:42,000 willing to rely on online shopping than to risk being a 160 00:10:42,000 --> 00:10:45,360 victim of another random act of murder, mass murder at a mall. 161 00:10:45,360 --> 00:10:46,840 So let me just click, click and get it. 162 00:10:46,840 --> 00:10:49,960 Come to my front door. There's fear. 163 00:10:51,160 --> 00:10:55,000 There's no peace. That's why you don't drive in 164 00:10:55,000 --> 00:10:57,560 certain neighborhoods at certain times of the day, and in our 165 00:10:57,560 --> 00:10:58,760 city it's at any time of the day. 166 00:10:58,760 --> 00:11:03,040 In some places, this is what is being told to us. 167 00:11:03,040 --> 00:11:06,000 There is an. Environment and atmosphere of 168 00:11:06,000 --> 00:11:10,960 evil that's causing innocent civilians and citizens to pay a 169 00:11:10,960 --> 00:11:13,880 price to their regular day-to-day experience. 170 00:11:14,720 --> 00:11:15,760 But from there, we read something else. 171 00:11:15,760 --> 00:11:20,240 We read about nation crushing another nation, so international 172 00:11:21,040 --> 00:11:24,400 distress and turmoil, but not just international notices, he 173 00:11:24,400 --> 00:11:28,200 says. City against city, we're talking 174 00:11:28,200 --> 00:11:32,600 about demographic, we're talking about internal conflict and 175 00:11:33,040 --> 00:11:36,920 combat. So this is civil war. 176 00:11:38,920 --> 00:11:43,480 This is death and division and tension among people who 177 00:11:43,480 --> 00:11:46,560 represent a group or a nation or a people. 178 00:11:48,000 --> 00:11:52,320 And so you have now streets. You have territorial and tribal 179 00:11:53,880 --> 00:11:57,520 antagonism, and Israel is not unfamiliar with skirmishes among 180 00:11:57,520 --> 00:12:01,240 their own tribes. And neither are we, because you 181 00:12:01,240 --> 00:12:04,200 and I are being programmed every single day in our universities, 182 00:12:04,200 --> 00:12:07,560 in our media, from books and celebrities and everything in 183 00:12:07,560 --> 00:12:10,040 between, that you belong to a social class. 184 00:12:10,040 --> 00:12:13,480 You are a part of a subgroup, and here let's help us identify 185 00:12:13,480 --> 00:12:15,760 you to a subgroup. And on top of that, let's show 186 00:12:15,760 --> 00:12:20,440 you the other subgroups in your context that are opposite of 187 00:12:20,440 --> 00:12:24,520 you, that are obstacles not just to you, but obstacles to the 188 00:12:24,520 --> 00:12:29,680 thriving of this culture. These other groups are 189 00:12:29,680 --> 00:12:34,320 hindrances to the urban utopia that we want to reach as a 190 00:12:34,320 --> 00:12:37,440 people. And so we're worried about 191 00:12:37,440 --> 00:12:39,600 gangs. We're creating gangs out of our 192 00:12:39,600 --> 00:12:43,960 own civilians, and we can't have discourse anymore. 193 00:12:43,960 --> 00:12:47,920 We now resort to violence. And you can't express yourself 194 00:12:47,920 --> 00:12:50,400 without being threatened, either being punched in the mouth or 195 00:12:50,400 --> 00:12:53,200 have a gun pulled out on you having your house vandalized. 196 00:12:53,200 --> 00:12:57,120 If you post the wrong thing, you have to get up and move and 197 00:12:57,120 --> 00:12:58,840 leave the whole place altogether. 198 00:13:01,840 --> 00:13:04,400 And I can give you more and more examples from these texts, but 199 00:13:04,400 --> 00:13:06,840 let me just summarize it the way Azariah does here. 200 00:13:06,840 --> 00:13:10,040 He says in verse 5. In those times there was no 201 00:13:10,040 --> 00:13:11,960 peace to him who went out or to him who came in. 202 00:13:11,960 --> 00:13:19,000 For great disturbances, plural afflicted all the inhabitants of 203 00:13:19,000 --> 00:13:23,520 the lands. Meaning here that there were 204 00:13:23,520 --> 00:13:27,120 many factors that contributed to the global anarchy of that day 205 00:13:27,480 --> 00:13:32,160 and it affected absolutely everyone in some way, shape or 206 00:13:32,160 --> 00:13:35,080 form. No one was out of reach from 207 00:13:35,080 --> 00:13:40,920 feeling the effects. Of this disorder and growing 208 00:13:40,920 --> 00:13:45,240 mayhem, and that's true of you and I as well. 209 00:13:45,480 --> 00:13:50,520 We all are feeling something, and I'm persuaded that it's only 210 00:13:50,520 --> 00:13:53,280 going to get more intense unless a miracle happens. 211 00:13:55,280 --> 00:13:58,560 And if you thought that these uncanny similarities from this 212 00:13:58,560 --> 00:14:03,200 text are shocking, prepare to be shocked further by the final 213 00:14:03,200 --> 00:14:05,520 statement that Azariah gives here and verse. 214 00:14:06,000 --> 00:14:09,160 Six. Look at the last part of verse 215 00:14:09,160 --> 00:14:16,720 6, for God troubled them with every sort of distress. 216 00:14:18,880 --> 00:14:21,680 Who's in charge of all of this? Who's in charge of the lack of 217 00:14:21,680 --> 00:14:24,000 peace? Who's in charge of nations and 218 00:14:24,000 --> 00:14:26,720 nations coming against each other, city against city? 219 00:14:27,160 --> 00:14:28,960 Who's in charge? It's not Satan. 220 00:14:33,320 --> 00:14:40,240 It's not politicians. It's not Hollywood God. 221 00:14:41,880 --> 00:14:48,360 God was the one that troubled them with every sort of 222 00:14:48,960 --> 00:14:51,120 distress. Is that ruffle with your 223 00:14:51,120 --> 00:14:55,440 theology? God's not apologizing for it. 224 00:14:57,040 --> 00:15:00,560 The Spirit of God comes upon Ezra to say that unequivocally, 225 00:15:02,080 --> 00:15:06,160 God is behind this. Should we think any differently 226 00:15:06,160 --> 00:15:09,840 today? I'm convinced, No, not that we 227 00:15:09,840 --> 00:15:11,960 have to be careful. God is the author of evil. 228 00:15:11,960 --> 00:15:14,720 He's far from the author of evil, but in his wisdom and in 229 00:15:14,720 --> 00:15:18,600 his power and in his justice, he is often the permitter of it. 230 00:15:21,320 --> 00:15:26,920 God, who is the great restrainer from time to time, will remove 231 00:15:26,920 --> 00:15:32,240 his restraining grace and allow a generation to devour one 232 00:15:32,240 --> 00:15:35,600 another. God. 233 00:15:36,720 --> 00:15:42,600 God troubled them with every sort of distress, And if God is 234 00:15:42,600 --> 00:15:45,520 the one that they were dealing with, then we're that much 235 00:15:45,520 --> 00:15:49,400 closer to finding reprieve. We're that much closer to 236 00:15:49,400 --> 00:15:52,760 hopefully finding a true solution here, because what 237 00:15:52,760 --> 00:15:55,360 we're seeing right now is interview and podcasts of people 238 00:15:55,360 --> 00:15:59,440 trying to figure out how do we find an answer and here's the 239 00:15:59,440 --> 00:16:01,600 word of God. Well, if you know the 'cause, 240 00:16:01,600 --> 00:16:04,800 then you come that much closer to a solution. 241 00:16:05,480 --> 00:16:12,520 God is the one troubling, You know, the nations today can save 242 00:16:12,520 --> 00:16:15,080 themselves a lot of time, a lot of energy, a lot of resources, 243 00:16:15,080 --> 00:16:18,280 and they can even save a lot of lives if they just but realize 244 00:16:18,280 --> 00:16:22,560 and accept now, except today, not as a history lesson now. 245 00:16:23,560 --> 00:16:25,240 That who they're dealing with is God. 246 00:16:27,800 --> 00:16:30,840 Accept that there is a transcendent, holy being that is 247 00:16:30,840 --> 00:16:35,760 orchestrating these events. That's undeniable. 248 00:16:36,760 --> 00:16:40,440 But is there an explanation? Yes, In the very same text there 249 00:16:40,440 --> 00:16:42,720 is an explanation. You and I received clarification 250 00:16:42,720 --> 00:16:46,800 to the Why. Why would a good and holy God, a 251 00:16:46,800 --> 00:16:50,160 God of peace, God of forgiveness, God of mercy? 252 00:16:50,160 --> 00:16:54,560 Why would such a God allow the world to be set on fire? 253 00:16:56,320 --> 00:16:58,280 Why wouldn't he stop it at a spark? 254 00:16:59,960 --> 00:17:04,359 Why is it only destroying and wreaking more havoc? 255 00:17:04,359 --> 00:17:08,280 And in the same text, you actually get three reasons why. 256 00:17:09,200 --> 00:17:14,880 There are three reasons why for why God troubled them, and why 257 00:17:16,040 --> 00:17:21,280 God today, I believe, is allowing what's happening across 258 00:17:21,280 --> 00:17:24,720 the globe. Maybe you saw it, but if you 259 00:17:24,720 --> 00:17:26,640 didn't go back to verse three with me. 260 00:17:27,280 --> 00:17:32,080 Here's what Azariah says. For a long time, Israel he's 261 00:17:32,080 --> 00:17:38,000 focusing on Israel now was without the true God number 1/2, 262 00:17:38,000 --> 00:17:43,000 and without a teaching priest and three and without law. 263 00:17:43,800 --> 00:17:48,240 Those are the three reasons. The reason why God troubled them 264 00:17:48,240 --> 00:17:51,000 with every distress was because Israel was without the true God. 265 00:17:51,000 --> 00:17:52,840 Let's deal with that one first. What do you mean without the 266 00:17:52,840 --> 00:17:55,200 true God? Did they become atheist? 267 00:17:55,720 --> 00:17:57,000 No. Azariah is specific. 268 00:17:57,000 --> 00:17:58,640 He didn't say that they weren't without God. 269 00:18:00,000 --> 00:18:02,520 Without what? The true God. 270 00:18:04,920 --> 00:18:09,960 And so we're not being told here that Israel stopped believing in 271 00:18:09,960 --> 00:18:12,800 God. We're not talking about a 272 00:18:12,800 --> 00:18:16,120 postmodern age. We're not talking about a post 273 00:18:16,120 --> 00:18:19,440 truth age. We're not even talking about a 274 00:18:19,440 --> 00:18:21,880 people who stop performing sacrifices and observing 275 00:18:21,880 --> 00:18:26,240 rituals. It's that the object of their 276 00:18:26,240 --> 00:18:30,800 submission, the object of their worship, was not toward the one 277 00:18:30,800 --> 00:18:35,480 and true God. So the primary reason for why 278 00:18:35,480 --> 00:18:39,800 God troubled this generation was with distress was because of 279 00:18:40,120 --> 00:18:42,800 idolatry. Idolatry. 280 00:18:44,480 --> 00:18:46,360 Which means what? Well, there's many ways that you 281 00:18:46,360 --> 00:18:47,960 and I can create an idol in our lives. 282 00:18:47,960 --> 00:18:50,480 We can, like the Israelites early in the wilderness journey, 283 00:18:50,480 --> 00:18:53,000 create a golden calf and give it the name Yahweh. 284 00:18:54,240 --> 00:18:57,800 So it has the right name, but it's a totally different being. 285 00:18:58,720 --> 00:19:01,520 Or we can abandoned the idea of Yahweh altogether and just raise 286 00:19:01,520 --> 00:19:04,920 up different false gods. And a false God can be anything. 287 00:19:05,360 --> 00:19:08,240 Anything that you find your source of guidance and 288 00:19:08,240 --> 00:19:12,280 satisfaction from ultimately is an idol. 289 00:19:14,680 --> 00:19:17,320 And what you're seeing here is as this generation has turned 290 00:19:17,320 --> 00:19:21,080 their back on the true God. Not the idea of God, not even 291 00:19:21,240 --> 00:19:24,400 the participation in spiritual activity or the willingness to 292 00:19:24,400 --> 00:19:27,400 even claim to be religious. That is not true. 293 00:19:27,400 --> 00:19:30,480 If you just read Judges and First Samuel and Kings, you'd 294 00:19:30,480 --> 00:19:33,680 realize that from the surface they were very religious. 295 00:19:34,920 --> 00:19:38,440 They participated in much, but it was illegitimate worship. 296 00:19:40,360 --> 00:19:43,960 They did not honor God the way he revealed himself to be. 297 00:19:43,960 --> 00:19:48,440 Instead they found liberty to define God the way they wanted 298 00:19:48,440 --> 00:19:53,920 him to be defined. And when you abandon the true 299 00:19:53,920 --> 00:19:58,440 God, it's inevitable that chaos will ensue. 300 00:20:00,200 --> 00:20:04,600 And one of the reasons why the true God the main reason here 301 00:20:04,600 --> 00:20:06,440 according to the Holy Spirit in this verse. 302 00:20:07,120 --> 00:20:10,480 Why the true God was not acknowledged and revered and 303 00:20:10,480 --> 00:20:14,360 pursued was because of point #2. They weren't just without the 304 00:20:14,360 --> 00:20:15,120 true God. They were what? 305 00:20:15,120 --> 00:20:20,960 Without a teaching priest. And again, the Holy Spirit is 306 00:20:20,960 --> 00:20:22,840 specific. He didn't say that they were 307 00:20:22,840 --> 00:20:26,920 without priests. There was plenty of priests 308 00:20:27,560 --> 00:20:33,440 throughout Israel's history, but one of the forgotten roles of 309 00:20:33,440 --> 00:20:36,480 the priest was that a priest was not just called the Levitical 310 00:20:36,480 --> 00:20:40,360 priest was not just called to supervise sacrifices and help 311 00:20:40,360 --> 00:20:44,000 screen what was coming in the the temple or Tabernacle. 312 00:20:44,960 --> 00:20:48,680 The priest, according to the law, also had a responsibility 313 00:20:48,680 --> 00:20:53,120 to verbally instruct the people about the law of God. 314 00:20:56,080 --> 00:20:57,440 And if you need a reference for that, there are many. 315 00:20:57,440 --> 00:20:59,400 There's one in Leviticus, there's one in Malachi, and 316 00:20:59,400 --> 00:21:03,960 here's one from Deuteronomy. In Deuteronomy 3310, the Levites 317 00:21:03,960 --> 00:21:09,960 were called to instruct people with the written word of God, 318 00:21:11,800 --> 00:21:14,400 but in those times there was no teaching priests. 319 00:21:14,400 --> 00:21:17,160 So what does that mean? Well, there were priests who are 320 00:21:17,160 --> 00:21:20,480 present. Additionally, there were even 321 00:21:20,600 --> 00:21:26,560 priests who are performing. But there was virtually no 322 00:21:26,560 --> 00:21:34,840 priest proclaiming the word of God, and God says that is a 323 00:21:34,840 --> 00:21:44,840 reason why I am going to trouble the world with distress, namely 324 00:21:44,840 --> 00:21:47,960 my people. Well, how does this work? 325 00:21:47,960 --> 00:21:52,160 I mean, who would have thought? Think about this. 326 00:21:52,160 --> 00:21:53,760 This is what? Blew my mind late last night. 327 00:21:54,240 --> 00:21:58,840 Who would have thought that the havoc and the mayhem in cities 328 00:21:58,840 --> 00:22:02,200 was due to a vacancy in the pulpit? 329 00:22:04,000 --> 00:22:06,320 That's what God does. Stop me. 330 00:22:07,360 --> 00:22:13,200 God is pointing to the pulpits and he's saying, where is my 331 00:22:13,200 --> 00:22:20,200 word? Where is the word of God being 332 00:22:20,280 --> 00:22:26,080 taught? Here's how it works. 333 00:22:26,080 --> 00:22:28,040 The pulpit proclaims the Word of God. 334 00:22:29,040 --> 00:22:32,400 The church is enlightened and empowered by that proclaimed 335 00:22:32,400 --> 00:22:36,000 Word. Then the empowered church goes 336 00:22:36,000 --> 00:22:40,640 out into the world and operates as a purifying and preventative 337 00:22:40,720 --> 00:22:43,320 agent in the culture. That's how that works. 338 00:22:43,320 --> 00:22:47,000 Do you see how it trickles down word receiving the word? 339 00:22:47,200 --> 00:22:50,120 And as you guys are scattered, as all of us are scattered into 340 00:22:50,120 --> 00:22:54,280 our unique context, your presence, your salt, your light 341 00:22:54,280 --> 00:23:01,320 puts a level of restraint on our culture from going headlong, 342 00:23:01,320 --> 00:23:08,280 diving headlong into depravity. But what happens when the priest 343 00:23:08,280 --> 00:23:10,800 is not teaching? Well then the the priest is not 344 00:23:10,800 --> 00:23:14,160 proclaiming the word of God. And in those times a lot of it 345 00:23:14,160 --> 00:23:17,920 was just personal dreams or experiences or or gross 346 00:23:17,920 --> 00:23:21,880 misinterpretations and interpretations of the scripture 347 00:23:22,320 --> 00:23:27,280 to fit the needs of the people, what they think are their needs. 348 00:23:27,600 --> 00:23:29,400 So the word is not proclaimed. And when the word is not 349 00:23:29,400 --> 00:23:30,600 proclaimed, overtime what happens? 350 00:23:30,600 --> 00:23:31,880 The people are no longer nourished. 351 00:23:31,880 --> 00:23:33,280 And when they're not nourished, what happens? 352 00:23:33,280 --> 00:23:35,320 Well, they become weak. And when they become weak, what 353 00:23:35,320 --> 00:23:36,160 happens? More? 354 00:23:36,160 --> 00:23:39,280 Susceptible to deception without the true God. 355 00:23:41,680 --> 00:23:45,080 More vulnerable to temptation, Not representing the true God's 356 00:23:45,080 --> 00:23:49,880 character. And in the long term, this 357 00:23:49,920 --> 00:23:55,000 entity that was called to be the moral conscience of a culture 358 00:23:55,920 --> 00:24:01,320 fails to operate as such, and this culture now accelerates 359 00:24:01,320 --> 00:24:07,480 into collapse. That's how that works, you know. 360 00:24:07,480 --> 00:24:10,880 Jeremiah was told by God in chapter 23 and you don't have to 361 00:24:10,880 --> 00:24:13,640 turn there. He criticizes the false prophets 362 00:24:13,640 --> 00:24:17,360 and he says where are those who stood in my counsel and proclaim 363 00:24:17,360 --> 00:24:22,560 my words that the people may turn from their evil? 364 00:24:23,800 --> 00:24:27,880 That's a fascinating insight because the the possibility of 365 00:24:27,880 --> 00:24:31,880 people repenting and changing and being renewed is absolutely 366 00:24:31,880 --> 00:24:34,960 inseparable from the transaction of the word of God. 367 00:24:37,400 --> 00:24:39,920 People are convinced that if I can, if I can just get the 368 00:24:39,920 --> 00:24:43,240 emotions, if I can just relate, if I can just help you with this 369 00:24:43,240 --> 00:24:47,040 one problem in your life, then I can help you and God can help 370 00:24:47,040 --> 00:24:47,840 you. That's not the case. 371 00:24:47,840 --> 00:24:51,000 Just give the word of God and let. 372 00:24:51,000 --> 00:24:58,760 The word do its work. It's not enough to have a Bible 373 00:24:58,760 --> 00:25:01,560 and a pulpit. It's not enough to even give 374 00:25:01,560 --> 00:25:06,280 footnotes to certain statements you make from the pulpit. 375 00:25:07,280 --> 00:25:14,800 People need to be taught what the word of God is, what it's 376 00:25:14,800 --> 00:25:19,640 saying, what it means, how it applies. 377 00:25:19,760 --> 00:25:25,720 That needs to happen regularly, and God says there was no 378 00:25:25,720 --> 00:25:31,480 teaching. Priest I'll let you interpret 379 00:25:31,480 --> 00:25:36,440 that for today, if you need help seeing how that. 380 00:25:37,360 --> 00:25:40,080 Today, just look for the most popular sermons on the Internet 381 00:25:40,800 --> 00:25:44,440 and you'll get what I mean. Thank God there are voices today 382 00:25:44,440 --> 00:25:46,960 that are giving the truth. I praise God and you know those 383 00:25:46,960 --> 00:25:50,440 ministries as well. But it's unfortunate that not 384 00:25:50,440 --> 00:25:52,920 every pulpit has a teaching priest. 385 00:25:54,120 --> 00:25:57,120 America is a big country. There are 1,000,000 upon 386 00:25:57,440 --> 00:26:00,960 hundreds of millions of people. We need more than just six 387 00:26:00,960 --> 00:26:06,080 reputable ministries. We need every state, every city 388 00:26:06,080 --> 00:26:11,320 to have teaching priests. And what event eventually 389 00:26:11,320 --> 00:26:14,440 happens, Well, the deterioration will intensify also because of 390 00:26:14,440 --> 00:26:17,520 the final thing mentioned here by Azariah, that they were 391 00:26:17,520 --> 00:26:22,040 without law, that they were without law. 392 00:26:23,320 --> 00:26:25,920 And so now, over time, when you don't have the true God, when 393 00:26:25,920 --> 00:26:29,000 you don't have teaching priests, we don't have the Church 394 00:26:29,000 --> 00:26:37,760 speaking to the powers, the politics, the policies, the evil 395 00:26:37,760 --> 00:26:42,760 agendas and agents of evil, where people lose track of 396 00:26:42,760 --> 00:26:44,720 what's right and wrong. And just like the days of 397 00:26:44,720 --> 00:26:48,040 judges, everybody begins to do what is right in their own eyes. 398 00:26:48,880 --> 00:26:50,760 And what did Jesus say would be the mark? 399 00:26:50,840 --> 00:26:54,280 One of the marks of the last days in Matthew 24 that 400 00:26:54,280 --> 00:27:01,800 lawlessness will increase, lawlessness will increase, so 401 00:27:01,800 --> 00:27:05,440 there will be. Less and less of a fear and 402 00:27:05,440 --> 00:27:08,840 recognition of objective right and wrong. 403 00:27:09,800 --> 00:27:14,640 And now we are making rules and making laws based on what you 404 00:27:14,640 --> 00:27:17,240 feel is right. And I don't want to keep going 405 00:27:17,240 --> 00:27:18,880 there, You hear that all the time. 406 00:27:20,440 --> 00:27:24,720 But I find amazing here is that it starts as a minority of 407 00:27:24,720 --> 00:27:27,080 lawless people. Then over time, that minority 408 00:27:27,080 --> 00:27:29,560 becomes the majority and that majority. 409 00:27:30,120 --> 00:27:35,000 Then vehemently begins to snuff out any remnant who holds to the 410 00:27:35,000 --> 00:27:38,680 truth, whether or not there are teaching priests or not. 411 00:27:40,240 --> 00:27:46,400 That's how it tends to go. Now I just want to give you one 412 00:27:46,400 --> 00:27:51,840 example of what happens when a society or culture no longer has 413 00:27:51,840 --> 00:27:54,760 the true God, no longer has teaching priests, no longer has 414 00:27:54,760 --> 00:28:02,400 law. God gets their attention by 415 00:28:02,400 --> 00:28:07,920 troubling them with all kinds of distress, and He's very specific 416 00:28:07,920 --> 00:28:09,720 in how He does it with his tragedies. 417 00:28:09,720 --> 00:28:13,120 Let me give you one example. This is one that you probably 418 00:28:13,120 --> 00:28:16,560 never heard in Sunday school, but turn with me to 2nd Kings 419 00:28:16,560 --> 00:28:19,280 Chapter 2. And look here with me in verse 420 00:28:19,280 --> 00:28:25,160 23, just to give you an idea, this is speaking about Elijah, 421 00:28:25,160 --> 00:28:27,440 not Elijah. Elijah was transported into 422 00:28:27,440 --> 00:28:29,760 heaven. In a miraculous way, this is now 423 00:28:29,760 --> 00:28:32,880 Elijah who has received his mantle, a double portion of his 424 00:28:32,880 --> 00:28:37,200 anointing, and he is now walking in that power as the prophet for 425 00:28:37,200 --> 00:28:39,360 the nation of Israel. And this is an interesting 426 00:28:39,360 --> 00:28:42,200 occurrence that takes place while he's on route as a prophet 427 00:28:42,840 --> 00:28:47,360 in Second Kings 2/23. He, being Elijah, went up from 428 00:28:47,360 --> 00:28:51,680 there to Bethel and while he was going up on the way, some small 429 00:28:51,680 --> 00:28:53,920 boys. That's not the best translation. 430 00:28:54,760 --> 00:28:58,800 Some small boys came out of the city and jeered at him, saying 431 00:28:58,800 --> 00:29:04,600 go up you bald head, go up you bald head. 432 00:29:05,600 --> 00:29:08,760 And he turned around and when he saw them he cursed them in the 433 00:29:08,760 --> 00:29:12,320 name of the Lord. And two she bears came out of 434 00:29:12,320 --> 00:29:15,760 the woods and. Tore 42 of the boys. 435 00:29:15,760 --> 00:29:17,920 I told you, you didn't hear this in Sunday school. 436 00:29:21,560 --> 00:29:24,960 That's in the Bible. And here's how most This is why 437 00:29:24,960 --> 00:29:27,360 most believers who know the story are disturbed by because 438 00:29:27,960 --> 00:29:30,840 they they just see a bunch of kids probably playing around 439 00:29:30,840 --> 00:29:34,040 with with sticks, and they're there on on the side street 440 00:29:34,040 --> 00:29:36,200 outside of the borders of the city of Bethel. 441 00:29:36,200 --> 00:29:40,800 And the prophet had a very long ministry journey and he dealt 442 00:29:40,800 --> 00:29:44,280 with many miracles and problems and he just wants to get home 443 00:29:44,280 --> 00:29:46,920 quietly and peaceably. And now you have these little 444 00:29:46,920 --> 00:29:49,400 kids calling him out for his receding hairline. 445 00:29:51,400 --> 00:29:53,280 Hey bald head. Hey, And they're just joking. 446 00:29:53,280 --> 00:29:54,680 They're a little rude and insensitive. 447 00:29:54,680 --> 00:29:57,920 And here's an irritated prophet who turns around and calls a 448 00:29:57,920 --> 00:30:01,320 curse upon them and two bears come out of nowhere mall. 42 of 449 00:30:01,320 --> 00:30:03,520 them. Is that what's going on here? 450 00:30:05,640 --> 00:30:09,200 This is why you have to read slowly and not just read slowly, 451 00:30:09,200 --> 00:30:12,920 but read the whole Bible or us. Things like this, if you read 452 00:30:12,920 --> 00:30:14,360 them in isolation, don't make sense. 453 00:30:14,600 --> 00:30:16,840 And then atheists make blog posts talking about how vicious 454 00:30:16,840 --> 00:30:20,040 our God is. Let's read this together slowly. 455 00:30:20,040 --> 00:30:23,280 Yeah, Verse 23. He went up from there to where? 456 00:30:24,200 --> 00:30:25,120 Bethel. Good. 457 00:30:25,120 --> 00:30:26,800 So now we know the location of this place. 458 00:30:27,000 --> 00:30:29,040 Does Bethel have a rich spiritual heritage? 459 00:30:29,200 --> 00:30:31,640 Yes, it does have a rich spiritual heritage. 460 00:30:32,520 --> 00:30:36,480 Bethel is where Jacob encountered God while he was on 461 00:30:36,480 --> 00:30:39,600 the run from his brother Esau. And he encountered God in such a 462 00:30:39,720 --> 00:30:43,840 personal and special way that he called that place the House of 463 00:30:43,840 --> 00:30:47,480 God, which means Bethel. But unfortunately, Bethel did 464 00:30:47,480 --> 00:30:53,200 not continue to hold up to that rich spiritual heritage, because 465 00:30:53,440 --> 00:30:56,800 when the Kingdom of Israel was divided into two kingdoms, you 466 00:30:56,800 --> 00:30:58,720 have a northern Kingdom and a southern Kingdom. 467 00:30:59,120 --> 00:31:03,920 The king of the northern Kingdom, Jeroboam, was nervous 468 00:31:04,000 --> 00:31:07,280 about the southern Kingdom. He was nervous because the place 469 00:31:07,280 --> 00:31:10,800 of worship was Jerusalem, and he didn't want his people to go 470 00:31:10,800 --> 00:31:14,120 down there and to lose his allegiance with them. 471 00:31:14,360 --> 00:31:17,440 And so he comes up with a devilish but clever idea. 472 00:31:17,600 --> 00:31:22,280 I'm going to create two other places of worship so that my 473 00:31:22,280 --> 00:31:24,640 people don't have to travel down to the Southern Kingdom. 474 00:31:25,800 --> 00:31:28,920 And so I'm going to raise up a place of worship in the city 475 00:31:28,920 --> 00:31:32,280 called Dan. I'm going to put a golden calf 476 00:31:32,280 --> 00:31:34,000 there. Have you seen that before? 477 00:31:34,920 --> 00:31:36,920 And I'm going to raise up another golden calf in a place 478 00:31:36,920 --> 00:31:42,280 called Where? Bethel And from that time Bethel 479 00:31:43,040 --> 00:31:49,680 became not the House of God, but the House of idolatry, and years 480 00:31:49,680 --> 00:31:53,920 and decades go by. And this place, unfortunately 481 00:31:53,920 --> 00:31:57,440 now we become a den. Of apostates. 482 00:31:59,040 --> 00:32:02,640 And that hasn't changed here. In Second Kings chapter 223. 483 00:32:03,160 --> 00:32:06,800 You're talking about a people. You're talking about young boys 484 00:32:07,000 --> 00:32:12,600 whose parents very likely worship false gods and whose 485 00:32:12,600 --> 00:32:15,400 parents probably had a great disdain for the true God and the 486 00:32:15,400 --> 00:32:18,880 true messengers of God, one of them being Elisha. 487 00:32:20,920 --> 00:32:24,240 Secondly, we're told here that as Elisha travels by this 488 00:32:24,240 --> 00:32:27,800 idolatrous place, small boys came out of the city. 489 00:32:28,000 --> 00:32:30,080 Now, I told you earlier that small boys isn't the best 490 00:32:30,080 --> 00:32:33,840 translation because the Hebrew word can describe a wide range 491 00:32:33,840 --> 00:32:41,040 of different kind of boys. So one strong example of that is 492 00:32:41,040 --> 00:32:47,000 in Genesis 37 two, where we're told that Joseph was a lad, he 493 00:32:47,000 --> 00:32:49,720 was a young man. It's the same Hebrew word and 494 00:32:49,720 --> 00:32:52,320 we're told in that same verse that he was how old, 17 years 495 00:32:52,320 --> 00:32:55,680 old. So based on that, that truth 496 00:32:55,680 --> 00:32:58,800 concerning the Hebrew word, the wide range of it and its 497 00:32:58,800 --> 00:33:03,920 meaning, and the activity of these children, they're very 498 00:33:03,920 --> 00:33:07,720 likely preteen or teenagers. We're not talking about 499 00:33:07,920 --> 00:33:11,480 kindergarten kids that are just a little bit disrespectful here. 500 00:33:12,520 --> 00:33:16,120 We're talking about a band of young men that can pose a 501 00:33:16,120 --> 00:33:21,680 threat, and they're obviously intuitive enough to make these 502 00:33:21,680 --> 00:33:26,640 remarks go up, you bald head. Are they just criticizing his 503 00:33:26,640 --> 00:33:29,320 headpiece? No, they're not. 504 00:33:30,440 --> 00:33:32,880 What are they referring to? They're referring to what 505 00:33:32,880 --> 00:33:34,840 happened with Elijah. Just a few verses earlier, 506 00:33:35,320 --> 00:33:42,320 Elijah was taken up into heaven by Chariots of fire, And there 507 00:33:42,320 --> 00:33:44,520 were people who heard about this, and the reports clearly 508 00:33:44,520 --> 00:33:46,760 spread about it, and it came even to Bethel. 509 00:33:46,880 --> 00:33:49,520 But instead of it being a testimony that encouraged 510 00:33:49,520 --> 00:33:52,680 greater faithfulness and love to the true God, it became a reason 511 00:33:52,680 --> 00:33:56,600 to scorn God more. And maybe this is a remark of 512 00:33:56,600 --> 00:33:59,400 disbelief, but here's what they're saying. 513 00:33:59,440 --> 00:34:04,200 Hey Elijah, the same way your mentor was removed from us, why 514 00:34:04,200 --> 00:34:06,440 don't you join him and get out of our face? 515 00:34:06,960 --> 00:34:09,080 We want nothing to do with you or your ministry. 516 00:34:09,080 --> 00:34:10,880 We don't care what kind of miracles you perform. 517 00:34:11,080 --> 00:34:14,360 Go up, you bald head. Get out of here. 518 00:34:16,000 --> 00:34:18,560 So this is not this is more than just personal insult. 519 00:34:19,400 --> 00:34:22,639 This is rejection of the true God and the messenger of God. 520 00:34:24,480 --> 00:34:27,800 This is just solidifying the truth that these children as 521 00:34:27,800 --> 00:34:34,679 well are apostates. And what does Elijah do? 522 00:34:34,679 --> 00:34:38,000 Elijah do? Even the language here in verse 523 00:34:38,000 --> 00:34:41,639 20, he turned around, so he's just walking and he's going 524 00:34:41,639 --> 00:34:44,159 about his way. But they came up behind him 525 00:34:45,400 --> 00:34:50,080 because usually problems start with words and they tend to lead 526 00:34:50,080 --> 00:34:54,639 to physical altercation with troublemakers at least. 527 00:34:56,520 --> 00:35:00,320 And Elisha stops. He turns around and he curses 528 00:35:00,320 --> 00:35:02,320 them. And if it's stopped there, you 529 00:35:02,320 --> 00:35:05,280 might have more problems. But he curses them in the name 530 00:35:05,280 --> 00:35:09,240 of the Lord and two she bears come out. 531 00:35:10,160 --> 00:35:11,320 Here's the thing you have to understand. 532 00:35:11,800 --> 00:35:14,040 Elisha is not just speaking out of frustration. 533 00:35:14,800 --> 00:35:19,160 Elisha doesn't just have this personal ability to cause nature 534 00:35:19,160 --> 00:35:22,360 to work in his favor. Elisha pronounces a curse in the 535 00:35:22,360 --> 00:35:24,400 name of the Lord and guess who heard and accepted it? 536 00:35:25,200 --> 00:35:31,120 God. God answers that, and he moves 537 00:35:31,120 --> 00:35:37,320 in to defend his servant. And we think, OK, so, so we we 538 00:35:37,320 --> 00:35:38,800 have to look at God's character then. 539 00:35:38,800 --> 00:35:41,040 No, you have to. Understand that there's 540 00:35:41,040 --> 00:35:47,960 something deeper going on here. This is clearly the most 541 00:35:47,960 --> 00:35:50,600 disturbing part. So God is behind this. 542 00:35:51,320 --> 00:35:56,680 But it wasn't spontaneous even. No, this is God fulfilling an 543 00:35:56,680 --> 00:35:59,560 ancient warning that he gave long ago concerning his people 544 00:35:59,560 --> 00:36:03,360 if they remained in an unrepentant state of apostasy. 545 00:36:04,360 --> 00:36:06,960 Let me put it this way. What happened to those children 546 00:36:06,960 --> 00:36:12,360 was warned about many, many, many years ago before they even 547 00:36:12,360 --> 00:36:16,040 existed. Let me show you that. 548 00:36:16,720 --> 00:36:19,200 Go to Leviticus, the thrilling Book of Leviticus. 549 00:36:20,720 --> 00:36:22,600 I say that because people don't think it's thrilling, and I 550 00:36:22,600 --> 00:36:24,200 think it's absolutely fascinating. 551 00:36:25,400 --> 00:36:29,920 In Leviticus chapter 26. Here, the Lord gives promises 552 00:36:29,920 --> 00:36:34,120 and rewards for obedience and staggering warnings for 553 00:36:34,200 --> 00:36:37,280 persistent disobedience. And let's qualify the kind of 554 00:36:37,280 --> 00:36:39,200 disobedience that God is speaking about here. 555 00:36:39,360 --> 00:36:41,080 He's not speaking about you and I stumbling. 556 00:36:41,240 --> 00:36:42,480 He's not speaking about you and I. 557 00:36:42,480 --> 00:36:48,400 In a brief period of coldness of heart in verse 14 of chapter 26, 558 00:36:50,240 --> 00:36:51,480 here's what he is speaking about. 559 00:36:51,840 --> 00:36:54,800 But if you will not listen to me and will not do all these 560 00:36:54,800 --> 00:36:59,800 commandments, if you spurn my statutes and if your soul abhors 561 00:36:59,800 --> 00:37:01,600 my rules, do you hear the language here? 562 00:37:02,280 --> 00:37:05,720 If you spurn my statutes, if you you're so abhorred, like you 563 00:37:05,720 --> 00:37:09,920 have discussed towards the word of God, you have absolute 564 00:37:09,920 --> 00:37:15,360 disdain for the truths of God, so that you will not do all my 565 00:37:15,360 --> 00:37:17,480 commandments, but break my covenant. 566 00:37:17,480 --> 00:37:21,280 So that is the level of disobedience we're speaking 567 00:37:21,280 --> 00:37:25,280 about, being steeped in stubborn rebellion. 568 00:37:26,040 --> 00:37:28,040 And for the rest of this chapter, you know what God does? 569 00:37:28,320 --> 00:37:31,840 He gives cycles of warning. In other words, he says, if you 570 00:37:31,840 --> 00:37:35,920 stay in this kind of condition, let me put it this way, if you 571 00:37:35,960 --> 00:37:40,600 turn your back on the true God and refuse to hear the truth and 572 00:37:40,600 --> 00:37:44,800 refuse to live without my law long enough, I'm going to give 573 00:37:44,800 --> 00:37:53,200 you a series of distress. Different degrees of distress. 574 00:37:54,280 --> 00:37:59,280 And one of those categories is later on in verse 21. 575 00:38:01,520 --> 00:38:05,440 Then if you walk contrary to me and will not listen to me, I 576 00:38:05,440 --> 00:38:07,880 will continue striking you. So pause there. 577 00:38:07,880 --> 00:38:12,240 Remember, he's talking about I'm going to turn up the heat more 578 00:38:12,240 --> 00:38:14,120 and more because you're not listening to me. 579 00:38:14,400 --> 00:38:17,960 I'm trying to get your attention here, and here's one way he'll 580 00:38:17,960 --> 00:38:19,720 do it. I will continue striking you 581 00:38:19,720 --> 00:38:25,120 sevenfold for your sins, and I will let loose the wild beast 582 00:38:25,120 --> 00:38:33,240 against you which shall bereave you of your children and destroy 583 00:38:33,240 --> 00:38:36,360 your livestock and make you few in numbers, so that your Rd. 584 00:38:36,360 --> 00:38:38,960 shall be deserted. Do you see this? 585 00:38:40,840 --> 00:38:43,840 Back before the people even entered into the promised land, 586 00:38:43,840 --> 00:38:47,960 God gave a warning that if you walk away from me long enough, 587 00:38:48,520 --> 00:38:52,080 I'm going to try to get your attention, and I will allow it 588 00:38:52,080 --> 00:38:55,480 to get to the point where the wild beast will come out and 589 00:38:55,480 --> 00:38:57,040 bereave you of your own children. 590 00:38:58,080 --> 00:39:02,960 And that happened in Second Kings 223 to 25 S Again, this 591 00:39:02,960 --> 00:39:06,080 isn't random. This isn't spontaneous. 592 00:39:07,080 --> 00:39:10,040 This was predicted. This was God fulfilling his 593 00:39:10,040 --> 00:39:14,040 part. Of the warning when the people, 594 00:39:14,040 --> 00:39:17,480 like the people of Bethel, walk contrary to his law. 595 00:39:17,480 --> 00:39:22,280 Do you know what I take from this though, in terms of 596 00:39:22,280 --> 00:39:26,840 principle? When a nation rejects God, when 597 00:39:26,840 --> 00:39:31,240 a nation rejects the true God, children pay a heavy price. 598 00:39:33,400 --> 00:39:40,720 Children will pay a heavy price. And again, this is just one 599 00:39:40,720 --> 00:39:45,600 example of many of how God will trouble a land. 600 00:39:46,280 --> 00:39:49,560 But with what goal in mind does he have? 601 00:39:50,440 --> 00:39:54,280 Does he have a goal? Is there an aim for all of this? 602 00:39:54,280 --> 00:39:56,720 Absolutely. Go back to Second Chronicles 15 603 00:39:57,240 --> 00:39:59,160 and let's look at verse three and four again. 604 00:40:08,200 --> 00:40:12,040 For a long time Israel was without the true God, and 605 00:40:12,040 --> 00:40:17,360 without a teaching priest, and without law now verse 4 But when 606 00:40:17,440 --> 00:40:22,600 in their distress they turned to the Lord, the God of Israel, and 607 00:40:22,600 --> 00:40:24,920 sought him, he was found by them. 608 00:40:27,360 --> 00:40:32,760 For God troubled them. He troubled them with great 609 00:40:32,760 --> 00:40:35,080 disturbances, afflicting all the inhabitants of land. 610 00:40:35,760 --> 00:40:38,880 Why does he trouble them with every sort of distress so that 611 00:40:38,920 --> 00:40:40,320 in? Their distress? 612 00:40:40,320 --> 00:40:50,720 They would turn to God. Unfortunately, so many people 613 00:40:51,040 --> 00:40:56,520 only understand the language of distress before they bend their 614 00:40:56,520 --> 00:41:00,200 knee. Before they even consider God. 615 00:41:03,200 --> 00:41:08,760 Is there distress in your life? If you're walking with the Lord 616 00:41:08,760 --> 00:41:11,240 and there is trials and tribulations, then you could 617 00:41:11,240 --> 00:41:16,360 take comfort to know that he is only purifying you further and 618 00:41:16,360 --> 00:41:18,760 that he's going to sanctify you through that. 619 00:41:19,920 --> 00:41:26,000 But if you have turned your back on God, and you are not walking 620 00:41:26,480 --> 00:41:34,120 for the true God without his law, perhaps the distress in 621 00:41:34,120 --> 00:41:36,120 your life. Is God trying to get your 622 00:41:36,120 --> 00:41:39,400 attention? Are you listening to that? 623 00:41:42,320 --> 00:41:48,560 In His love, He will let your world crumble so that you can 624 00:41:48,560 --> 00:41:52,760 come back to him and stay close to Him. 625 00:41:56,600 --> 00:41:59,800 In their distress, they turn to the Lord. 626 00:41:59,800 --> 00:42:04,280 That's why he allows it, because we're very, very stubborn 627 00:42:04,280 --> 00:42:06,800 people. Here's the thing I'm worried 628 00:42:06,800 --> 00:42:10,440 about, though. Personally, it's true for the 629 00:42:10,440 --> 00:42:13,320 testimony of Israel, and unfortunately, I think it's very 630 00:42:13,320 --> 00:42:15,440 true of our generation, especially here in America. 631 00:42:16,400 --> 00:42:20,200 Many people and many nations have a very high tolerance for 632 00:42:20,200 --> 00:42:22,320 pain, and that's not a good thing. 633 00:42:25,160 --> 00:42:28,280 That's not a good thing. I've said this before. 634 00:42:28,280 --> 00:42:31,320 I don't mean to repeat myself, but I know some strong people, 635 00:42:31,320 --> 00:42:33,640 and that's not a good thing. What I mean by strong is. 636 00:42:34,280 --> 00:42:37,120 It takes a lot for them to surrender. 637 00:42:39,080 --> 00:42:43,840 They find a lot of inner strength and fortitude, not to 638 00:42:43,960 --> 00:42:46,760 be faithful but to remain in a place of faithlessness. 639 00:42:47,600 --> 00:42:51,320 And it concerns me because I wonder, what else does God need 640 00:42:51,320 --> 00:42:56,160 to do in your life for you to wake up, America? 641 00:42:57,440 --> 00:43:00,840 What else does God need to do for you to wake up? 642 00:43:02,040 --> 00:43:10,960 And to call upon him in your distress, because look here 643 00:43:10,960 --> 00:43:15,400 verse 3 again, for a long time Israel that's so important. 644 00:43:16,360 --> 00:43:18,760 Lord doesn't resort to disasters immediately. 645 00:43:19,000 --> 00:43:24,040 He waits, He waits, and there you are, walking further and 646 00:43:24,040 --> 00:43:26,560 further away from the true God He waits. 647 00:43:26,920 --> 00:43:30,440 And more and more we're seeing less teaching priests occupying 648 00:43:30,440 --> 00:43:32,640 pulpits and churches. He waits. 649 00:43:32,920 --> 00:43:36,640 As we become more and more and more lawless, he waits. 650 00:43:36,640 --> 00:43:39,120 He waits. But there comes a time. 651 00:43:39,280 --> 00:43:43,600 We're in his brimming love, he says. 652 00:43:43,960 --> 00:43:47,680 I have to get their attention. And so he. 653 00:43:47,680 --> 00:43:54,240 Troubles them with every sort of distress, shaking our world so 654 00:43:54,240 --> 00:43:58,000 that we can look up. But here's the problem. 655 00:43:58,000 --> 00:44:01,120 You see, just because these are the divine designs of these 656 00:44:01,120 --> 00:44:04,880 disturbances, it does not mean that they always produce what 657 00:44:04,880 --> 00:44:09,440 they were intended to produce. And that's not God's fault. 658 00:44:11,040 --> 00:44:17,360 I believe with all of my heart that God is speaking to this 659 00:44:17,360 --> 00:44:18,800 generation with what we're seeing. 660 00:44:20,320 --> 00:44:28,770 Will they listen? Let me show you something in our 661 00:44:28,770 --> 00:44:31,290 final text in Jeremiah chapter 18. 662 00:44:33,530 --> 00:44:35,650 Let's go to verse seven of Jeremiah 18. 663 00:44:40,250 --> 00:44:45,690 Some might accuse a message like this of being oversimplistic or 664 00:44:47,370 --> 00:44:53,210 misapplication because God had a special covenant with Israel, so 665 00:44:53,210 --> 00:44:55,890 it makes sense for him to deal with them in this way. 666 00:44:56,640 --> 00:45:01,960 It was a theocracy. They were elected with a special 667 00:45:01,960 --> 00:45:04,040 privilege, but with that privilege came great 668 00:45:04,040 --> 00:45:07,640 responsibility. So how can you take these things 669 00:45:07,640 --> 00:45:10,000 that relate to Israel and apply them to us? 670 00:45:10,000 --> 00:45:11,920 Well, here's your answer from Jeremiah 18. 671 00:45:11,920 --> 00:45:17,240 Seven If at any time, what do you think any time means? 672 00:45:17,720 --> 00:45:20,160 It means anytime. Nothing special about the Hebrew 673 00:45:20,160 --> 00:45:23,680 either. If at any time lean into this 674 00:45:23,680 --> 00:45:26,680 now. My brother, my sister, I declare 675 00:45:27,320 --> 00:45:33,080 concerning a nation. Did he say my nation, a nation 676 00:45:33,480 --> 00:45:36,240 or a Kingdom? So he's talking about any 677 00:45:36,240 --> 00:45:42,360 nation, any Kingdom, at any time that I will pluck up and break 678 00:45:42,360 --> 00:45:45,280 down and destroy it. And if that nation did he say my 679 00:45:45,280 --> 00:45:46,560 nation? No. 680 00:45:46,560 --> 00:45:50,720 If that nation concerning which I have spoken turns from its 681 00:45:50,720 --> 00:45:53,200 evil, I will relent of the disaster that I intended to. 682 00:45:53,200 --> 00:45:56,200 Do to it. And if at any time can you be 683 00:45:56,200 --> 00:45:58,760 any more clear? And if at any time I declare 684 00:45:58,760 --> 00:46:02,600 concerning a nation, not my nation, a nation or a Kingdom, 685 00:46:02,920 --> 00:46:06,400 that I will build and plant it, and if it does, evil in my 686 00:46:06,400 --> 00:46:09,880 sight, not listening to my. Voice. 687 00:46:09,880 --> 00:46:11,520 Well, I thought you just spoke to Israel. 688 00:46:14,120 --> 00:46:18,520 No, a nation, a Kingdom. If they don't listen to my 689 00:46:18,520 --> 00:46:20,360 voice. Well, how does God speak? 690 00:46:20,960 --> 00:46:22,760 He troubles them with many distress. 691 00:46:25,160 --> 00:46:30,560 Then I will relent of the good that I had intended to do to it. 692 00:46:31,760 --> 00:46:38,480 It's clear even in this covenantal age where God had a 693 00:46:38,480 --> 00:46:45,320 special relationship with one nation, though, they had unique 694 00:46:45,320 --> 00:46:49,920 features and unique rewards. Because of that relationship, 695 00:46:50,600 --> 00:46:54,200 there are certain things. That apply not just to them but 696 00:46:54,200 --> 00:46:57,920 to the whole world. And here's one of those things. 697 00:46:58,360 --> 00:47:02,600 Any nation that knows of my word, that knows of my law, that 698 00:47:02,600 --> 00:47:06,200 knows of who the true God is, turns their back on it and does 699 00:47:06,200 --> 00:47:09,760 not relent from doing it's evil, I will deal with that nation. 700 00:47:12,600 --> 00:47:19,560 So second Chronicles 15 verses three to six is just as 701 00:47:20,160 --> 00:47:23,960 relevant. To America in 2023 than it was 702 00:47:23,960 --> 00:47:29,440 King ASA few 100 years before Christ. 703 00:47:29,920 --> 00:47:34,240 Just as relevant. And what did this generation and 704 00:47:34,240 --> 00:47:38,720 Jeremias do in response to this? Look at verse 11 and 12. 705 00:47:43,480 --> 00:47:45,600 Now therefore say to the men of Judah and the inhabitants of 706 00:47:45,600 --> 00:47:46,720 Jerusalem. Thus says the Lord. 707 00:47:46,720 --> 00:47:52,040 Behold, I am, I am, I am. Shaping disaster against you and 708 00:47:52,040 --> 00:47:56,880 devising a plan against you. I'm, I'm, I'm shaping something 709 00:47:57,360 --> 00:48:02,800 catastrophic against you. I don't want to go there. 710 00:48:03,760 --> 00:48:06,680 And so here's the rest of it. Return everyone from his evil 711 00:48:06,680 --> 00:48:09,040 way and amend your ways and your deeds. 712 00:48:09,320 --> 00:48:14,480 Now look at this verse 12. But they say that is in vain. 713 00:48:15,560 --> 00:48:22,480 We will follow our own plans and will everyone act according to 714 00:48:22,480 --> 00:48:24,800 the stubbornness of his evil heart. 715 00:48:29,200 --> 00:48:34,680 So if somehow, miraculously, a message like this gets to the 716 00:48:34,680 --> 00:48:39,440 Oval Office. And our president and our 717 00:48:39,440 --> 00:48:46,840 officials hear the clear word of God, but they answer in the same 718 00:48:46,840 --> 00:48:56,560 way. Vain. 719 00:48:57,920 --> 00:48:59,400 We're staying on the path that we're in. 720 00:49:01,480 --> 00:49:05,920 This is what God is saying to this world today. 721 00:49:07,760 --> 00:49:11,320 Return everyone from his evil way and amend your ways and your 722 00:49:11,320 --> 00:49:16,720 deeds. I know that a lot of people 723 00:49:16,720 --> 00:49:19,960 today, as we're looking out into this world that is burning, 724 00:49:22,440 --> 00:49:25,680 they're also. Priests of our day who are 725 00:49:25,680 --> 00:49:30,960 speaking, and I'm from time to time listening to what is being 726 00:49:30,960 --> 00:49:35,200 said, maybe you are too, and praise God that there are 727 00:49:35,200 --> 00:49:37,200 faithful messengers of God out there. 728 00:49:37,360 --> 00:49:43,920 But here's here's what's going out there in terms of majority. 729 00:49:44,240 --> 00:49:45,400 So far. There's a lot of talk of 730 00:49:45,400 --> 00:49:49,680 prophecy. Is this prophetic fulfillment 731 00:49:49,680 --> 00:49:50,960 what we're seeing in the Middle East? 732 00:49:52,520 --> 00:49:55,400 Is this is this fit in the timeline of the Last Days 733 00:49:55,400 --> 00:49:58,080 somewhere? Which is fine, it's important to 734 00:49:58,080 --> 00:50:01,520 clarify that. But my concern is there is 735 00:50:01,520 --> 00:50:07,320 little exhortation for people to posture their hearts toward God. 736 00:50:09,040 --> 00:50:18,280 A lot of explanation, very little exhortation, posturing 737 00:50:18,280 --> 00:50:22,000 their hearts toward God in this time of great. 738 00:50:22,320 --> 00:50:26,480 Distress. What can we do? 739 00:50:27,920 --> 00:50:34,320 We're just this tiny faithful church in Norridge, IL. 740 00:50:37,400 --> 00:50:47,680 Well, we worship the true God, and we by God's grace make this 741 00:50:47,680 --> 00:50:53,280 a place of teaching. And we live according to the law 742 00:50:53,280 --> 00:50:57,040 of God, and we honor the righteous laws of our land. 743 00:50:58,040 --> 00:51:04,520 And we do our part in God's Providence to be a purifying and 744 00:51:04,520 --> 00:51:08,480 preventative agent in this distressing time in world 745 00:51:08,480 --> 00:51:12,960 history. And maybe for you today, in this 746 00:51:12,960 --> 00:51:18,960 place, your life is in shambles, but you don't know God. 747 00:51:19,680 --> 00:51:23,640 Or you once walk with God, and it has been months and years 748 00:51:24,000 --> 00:51:30,800 since you have pursued him, loved him, obeyed him, sought to 749 00:51:30,800 --> 00:51:34,320 understand him. Could it be that in his great 750 00:51:34,320 --> 00:51:38,480 love he is troubling you to bring you closer to him again? 751 00:51:38,920 --> 00:51:42,360 Will you listen to him? Will you? 752 00:51:46,480 --> 00:51:49,240 In Luke 13, I made mention of this last Friday. 753 00:51:49,840 --> 00:51:55,120 Two days ago and Luke 13, a few Jews came up to Jesus and they 754 00:51:55,120 --> 00:52:01,120 brought up a terrorist attack. Some Galileans were were slain, 755 00:52:01,120 --> 00:52:04,080 and their blood was mixed with the blood of the sacrifices. 756 00:52:04,400 --> 00:52:12,560 This was the doing of Pilate and Jesus simply looks at them and 757 00:52:12,560 --> 00:52:14,640 says do you think that there were worse sinners than you? 758 00:52:21,200 --> 00:52:23,160 Because the Jews of that they had a concept that if tragedy 759 00:52:23,160 --> 00:52:25,520 happened it means that you did something very bad to deserve 760 00:52:25,520 --> 00:52:28,240 it. And if you walk in righteousness 761 00:52:28,240 --> 00:52:31,480 and if you do good, then you escape such things. 762 00:52:32,880 --> 00:52:36,200 And Jesus clarifies that very briefly, and then he goes. 763 00:52:36,200 --> 00:52:39,040 Into something else, he goes into a message of repentance. 764 00:52:41,440 --> 00:52:44,800 And this is what somebody said, and I love to borrow it, just to 765 00:52:44,800 --> 00:52:48,640 share it with you when we hear of tragedies, when we hear of. 766 00:52:49,160 --> 00:52:51,320 Terrorist attacks when we hear of natural disasters, right? 767 00:52:51,320 --> 00:52:52,680 Because it wasn't just the guy leans. 768 00:52:52,960 --> 00:52:55,120 The Tower of Siloam fell and killed 18 people. 769 00:52:56,480 --> 00:53:02,040 Jesus brought that up too. People have a lot of questions 770 00:53:02,760 --> 00:53:08,440 and sometimes part of those questions is how can I protect? 771 00:53:08,440 --> 00:53:10,080 Myself from this How can I avoid this? 772 00:53:10,080 --> 00:53:14,240 How can I escape this? And you know what Jesus saying 773 00:53:14,240 --> 00:53:17,280 in that you want to know the safest place in a world like 774 00:53:17,280 --> 00:53:20,120 this. Where there can be tragedies and 775 00:53:20,120 --> 00:53:23,640 there can be evil men who have power and take advantage of that 776 00:53:23,640 --> 00:53:25,520 power, you know you want to know the safest place. 777 00:53:26,560 --> 00:53:30,560 Repent. That's the safest place. 778 00:53:32,200 --> 00:53:35,640 You want to know how you can assure the greatest security for 779 00:53:35,640 --> 00:53:38,080 your future? Repent. 780 00:53:39,400 --> 00:53:44,360 That's what you do. Not about accumulating this. 781 00:53:44,360 --> 00:53:46,760 Not about hiding there. Not about moving there. 782 00:53:48,160 --> 00:53:50,840 Making sure that your heart is right with God. 783 00:53:53,920 --> 00:53:59,600 This is my heart this afternoon. Because we have to read the 784 00:53:59,600 --> 00:54:02,320 writing on the wall. I get it. 785 00:54:02,560 --> 00:54:04,880 Every generation says Jesus is coming back. 786 00:54:05,160 --> 00:54:07,720 I understand. Well, one of these times 787 00:54:07,720 --> 00:54:09,120 somebody's going to get it right. 788 00:54:11,960 --> 00:54:15,480 I understand, but there is still though. 789 00:54:15,480 --> 00:54:18,320 We don't call for dates, and though we don't ask people to do 790 00:54:18,320 --> 00:54:23,520 ridiculous things under the pretense of get ready for the 791 00:54:23,520 --> 00:54:29,920 apocalypse, if there's anything that needs to be done is to call 792 00:54:29,920 --> 00:54:35,240 people to get right with God. OK, teach. 793 00:54:35,280 --> 00:54:36,600 Teach about prophecy in the Bible. 794 00:54:36,600 --> 00:54:39,760 Teach about how current events may be explained in the 795 00:54:39,760 --> 00:54:43,440 scriptures. Do it, but exhort the people. 796 00:54:44,040 --> 00:54:46,840 Get ready. Get ready. 797 00:54:48,400 --> 00:54:53,080 The Lord is coming. The Lord is speaking on a 798 00:54:53,080 --> 00:54:57,000 megaphone. So when I get caught up with 799 00:54:57,000 --> 00:55:01,480 little things, trinkets, and trivial ideas, hear what God is 800 00:55:01,480 --> 00:55:08,960 saying. Oh, I pray that America would 801 00:55:08,960 --> 00:55:13,080 hear what God is saying because He's speaking. 802 00:55:14,400 --> 00:55:19,800 And this God, who does perform many distressing things, is a 803 00:55:19,800 --> 00:55:24,240 God who's willing to bring rest to that land that calls back to 804 00:55:24,240 --> 00:55:26,920 him. I closed my Bible, but I have to 805 00:55:26,920 --> 00:55:33,560 show you that here it is in Second Chronicles 15, verse 15, 806 00:55:33,560 --> 00:55:37,320 When ASA encouraged the people to pursue reform and to pursue 807 00:55:37,320 --> 00:55:38,960 obedience, they got rid of idols. 808 00:55:39,880 --> 00:55:41,760 I mean, this man even got rid of his mother. 809 00:55:43,120 --> 00:55:45,880 The Queen Mother, because she had made a detestable image for 810 00:55:45,880 --> 00:55:47,840 Ashra. And notice what we're told here 811 00:55:47,840 --> 00:55:51,600 in Second Chronicles 1515 and all Judah rejoiced over the 812 00:55:51,600 --> 00:55:53,600 oath. For they had sworn with all 813 00:55:53,600 --> 00:55:59,200 their heart and it sought him with their whole desire, and he 814 00:55:59,200 --> 00:56:08,880 was found by them, and the Lord gave them rest all around again. 815 00:56:10,280 --> 00:56:12,960 I believe the God of this Bible is alive today. 816 00:56:13,520 --> 00:56:18,200 I do. I really believe that what a 817 00:56:18,200 --> 00:56:20,720 tragedy would be for any preacher to come up here to just 818 00:56:20,720 --> 00:56:23,040 give some inspirational lesson, not believe that it applies 819 00:56:23,040 --> 00:56:26,920 today, It applies today. And here's how much I believe in 820 00:56:27,520 --> 00:56:31,920 that if this nation would have enough sense to respond to 821 00:56:31,920 --> 00:56:35,680 distressing times that we're in and call out to God this God in 822 00:56:35,680 --> 00:56:39,320 heaven, the same God in Second Chronicles 15 will bring rest to 823 00:56:39,320 --> 00:56:41,040 this nation. He can. 824 00:56:41,640 --> 00:56:46,440 And until then, hold on tight. Hold on tight. 825 00:56:46,640 --> 00:56:51,360 Not gritting your teeth, not bracing for impact, but a heart 826 00:56:51,360 --> 00:56:54,080 full of joy because you are a repentant people. 827 00:56:54,400 --> 00:56:56,440 We are a repented people, are we not? 828 00:56:56,680 --> 00:56:59,920 We stand righteous before God in Christ Jesus. 829 00:57:00,360 --> 00:57:02,040 We have hope. Don't worry about your 830 00:57:02,040 --> 00:57:04,120 possessions. Don't worry about your mortgage. 831 00:57:04,120 --> 00:57:07,040 Don't worry about your children. Just put your hand in the hand 832 00:57:07,040 --> 00:57:10,360 of him who has control over all things, and you will be more 833 00:57:10,360 --> 00:57:13,840 than OK. It shall indeed be good for the 834 00:57:13,840 --> 00:57:20,000 righteous. And so we have hope, even as the 835 00:57:20,000 --> 00:57:24,760 world is burning. We are like Goshen, where there 836 00:57:24,760 --> 00:57:27,800 is light and life, though everything around us is death 837 00:57:27,800 --> 00:57:31,400 and dark. We are in Goshen who points to 838 00:57:31,440 --> 00:57:35,200 Jesus Christ, positionally safe and practically experientially 839 00:57:35,200 --> 00:57:38,440 safe because he is a real living God who walks with us. 840 00:57:38,840 --> 00:57:41,200 He walks with us not just when it is bright and dandy. 841 00:57:41,200 --> 00:57:45,480 He walks with us even where through the fire and in the 842 00:57:45,480 --> 00:57:48,160 water. Nothing will overtake us, 843 00:57:48,160 --> 00:57:50,960 Saints, nothing will overtake us. 844 00:57:51,280 --> 00:57:53,240 Cast all your fears, anxieties on him. 845 00:57:53,840 --> 00:57:57,440 Let every news headline and breaking story just cause you to 846 00:57:57,440 --> 00:57:58,960 break forth and praise. Why? 847 00:57:58,960 --> 00:58:02,520 Because we serve the One who is not surprised by these things. 848 00:58:03,320 --> 00:58:05,960 We were surprised on October 7th, 2023. 849 00:58:06,080 --> 00:58:10,840 King Jesus wasn't. And I have a hunch that there 850 00:58:10,840 --> 00:58:12,920 will be many surprises on the way. 851 00:58:13,560 --> 00:58:16,400 But I take comfort to know that I am shielded by the One who 852 00:58:16,400 --> 00:58:21,880 knows tomorrow, and He leads you and I what a blessed Savior we 853 00:58:21,880 --> 00:58:28,820 serve. I'm done. 854 00:58:30,100 --> 00:58:40,420 Let's pray. Lord, we thank you that we have 855 00:58:40,420 --> 00:58:44,620 the truth. We thank you that your word is 856 00:58:44,620 --> 00:58:48,300 truth. We thank you that you have 857 00:58:48,300 --> 00:58:50,220 called us for such a time as this. 858 00:58:51,700 --> 00:58:56,080 Help us stay close to you. That is, the ground rumbles 859 00:58:56,080 --> 00:59:01,360 beneath our feet, and as the walls shake around us, that we 860 00:59:01,360 --> 00:59:04,720 would take refuge in you, for you are an ever present help in 861 00:59:04,720 --> 00:59:08,560 trouble. We do pray for all the distress, 862 00:59:10,040 --> 00:59:13,280 and though you may be behind it, Lord, we ask that the purpose of 863 00:59:13,280 --> 00:59:15,920 it would find fruition in our generation. 864 00:59:17,320 --> 00:59:20,640 Give the grace for people to see and hear you. 865 00:59:22,680 --> 00:59:25,800 And to not let one more disaster go by before they call out to 866 00:59:25,800 --> 00:59:28,400 you. We pray for our governing 867 00:59:28,400 --> 00:59:30,400 officials. We pray for our President. 868 00:59:30,960 --> 00:59:35,080 We pray for our vice President. We pray for our mayors. 869 00:59:35,080 --> 00:59:39,800 We pray for our governors. May they see the writing on the 870 00:59:39,800 --> 00:59:44,720 wall, and Lord, may they see it in a way where it's not too 871 00:59:44,720 --> 00:59:47,160 late. But as an invitation to make 872 00:59:47,160 --> 00:59:50,880 things right, we pray for our new House Speaker. 873 00:59:52,160 --> 00:59:54,080 That he would stand for truth and righteousness. 874 00:59:54,080 --> 00:59:58,080 That he would be unashamed of the gospel, unashamed of the 875 00:59:58,080 --> 01:00:00,320 decrees and the testimonies of the Word of God. 876 01:00:01,440 --> 01:00:06,400 We ask Lord for what's happening around the world, that your 877 01:00:06,400 --> 01:00:09,200 wisdom would be deposited in our hearts and how to interpret it, 878 01:00:09,200 --> 01:00:12,120 and that you would, Lord, redeem those in the midst of it. 879 01:00:13,800 --> 01:00:15,480 But we know that these things will happen, and they will 880 01:00:15,480 --> 01:00:17,720 increase until you return and bring peace on the earth. 881 01:00:17,720 --> 01:00:19,720 So we say one more time with all of our hearts. 882 01:00:20,440 --> 01:00:22,800 On the Sunday afternoon come Lord Jesus, and make everything 883 01:00:22,800 --> 01:00:27,200 right. And with all this mess and all 884 01:00:27,200 --> 01:00:31,360 this burning and all the fire, may you find in our bosoms a 885 01:00:31,360 --> 01:00:35,480 passion that would bless you. So we sing to you now, asking 886 01:00:35,480 --> 01:00:38,720 that you would be pleased with what you see in here, in this 887 01:00:38,720 --> 01:00:42,240 place and other places on the Sunday afternoon that are 888 01:00:42,240 --> 01:00:43,800 honoring you. Because they have teaching 889 01:00:43,800 --> 01:00:46,560 priests and they have the true God. 890 01:00:47,520 --> 01:00:50,000 Empower our brothers and sisters across the lands. 891 01:00:50,920 --> 01:00:54,880 Empower those pastors to be prophets, to speak forth the 892 01:00:54,880 --> 01:00:57,520 word of the Lord so that people would get right with the God. 893 01:00:58,360 --> 01:01:01,400 We thank you and we rejoice in you with all the personal 894 01:01:01,400 --> 01:01:04,200 problems we have. All the issues, all the worries. 895 01:01:04,680 --> 01:01:06,920 Help us see them in the light of eternity. 896 01:01:07,720 --> 01:01:11,600 You will wipe away every tear you'll remove, every disease. 897 01:01:12,080 --> 01:01:14,240 You will crown us with a crown imperishable. 898 01:01:14,800 --> 01:01:17,280 You will clothe us with a white raiment that will never be 899 01:01:17,280 --> 01:01:21,680 stained, and you will bring us into your arms for all of 900 01:01:21,680 --> 01:01:25,240 eternity. Thank you for reminding us of 901 01:01:25,240 --> 01:01:28,280 our inheritance in Christ. In Jesus name we pray. 902 01:01:28,840 --> 01:01:31,120 Amen. Let's stand and worship the King 903 01:01:31,120 --> 01:01:33,840 of Kings and the Lord of Lords who reigns forevermore.