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Hallelujah, no more distance, 
Lord, Amen. 

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The veil on the temple was 
ramped from top to bottom, 

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Scripture says, when he gave up 
the ghost from that cross. 

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Amen. 
The writer of Hebrews said, now 

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we can boldly enter into the 
throne of grace. 

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We can boldly enter into that 
place that only typically a 

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priest could go, but now all 
mankind, regardless what of our 

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office is or our position is, 
can bodily enter into the throne

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room of grace. 
We can make our petition known 

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there. 
There's no more distance, Amen. 

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There's no more distance. 
I thank the Lord that there 

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isn't, Amen. 
I'm glad I don't necessarily 

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have to go through someone, but 
I can go to Him, Amen. 

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I can go to him, Amen. 
Tonight, Hallelujah. 

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If you understand with me this 
evening, just for the reading of

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the word Amen, we are glad for 
our guest here tonight. 

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It's always good to have guests 
when you have some of your home 

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folks that are gone. 
It's always, it's like the 

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product of replacement, Amen. 
So we're happy to have you Amen,

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with us. 
Even in spite or Despite that, 

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we're happy to have you with us,
Amen. 

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Tonight. 
Going to be turning to the Book 

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of First Kings Chapter 11, First
Kings chapter #11 here this 

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evening. 
And I want to look at a couple 

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of verses, although the the 
first several, several verses of

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this chapter would be important 
perhaps to what I'm hoping to 

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convey tonight. 
First Kings Chapter 11, I'm 

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going to read verse #4 and I'm 
going to read verse #6 as well 

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tonight. 
Bible says in verse number four 

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of First Kings 11 For it came to
pass, when Solomon was owed, 

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that his wives turned away his 
heart after other gods, and his 

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heart was not not perfect, or 
another word would be not 

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complete or not whole with the 
Lord his God I was as was the 

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heart of David his father. 
Verse 6 says And Solomon did 

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evil in the sight of the Lord 
and went not fully after the 

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Lord, but not fully after the 
Lord, as did David his father. 

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Amen. 
For a little while tonight I 

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want to talk to you on this 
subject. 

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Illusional devotion, not 
delusional, but with AI 

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illusional devotion. 
Amen. 

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Can we ask the Lord to help us 
the next little while for a 

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moment? 
Father, we need you tonight. 

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God, I love you and I put my 
faith in my trust, my confidence

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in you, God. 
Bring captive, Lord, every 

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thought in this place, and let 
our hearts be centered, Lord, 

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upon you, God, for the next 
space of time. 

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I pray, Lord, that you're able 
to help us, Lord, in this 

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endeavor tonight. 
Let your word arise and let it 

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stand Lord upright God, and let 
it speak into our spirits. 

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God, those that are here, those 
that are watching online, those 

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the Lord that we'd hear in the 
future. 

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I pray God something sad God 
will be of some benefit. 

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Lord, I pray God to someone 
tonight will not fail to thank 

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you Lord for what you 
accomplished. 

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Lord, through your word we love 
you and we thank you for it in 

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the name of Jesus Christ that we
pray a man of the church say 

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man, a man. 
You may be seated tonight in 

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Jesus name, illusional, 
illusional devotion. 

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When we talk about when we talk 
about devotion, we are talking 

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about total dedication. 
Total dedication to A cause or a

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person or a purpose. 
Devotion is not something that 

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you measure on a on a spectrum 
or a continuum devotion. 

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That's not the way that you 
measure it. 

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It isn't measured by degrees. 
It's not measured by by levels. 

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Devotion is a word even in its 
definition that devotion is a 

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all or nothing type of concept. 
You're either devoted or you're 

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not devoted to XYZ thing or 
purpose. 

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It's just the way it goes. 
As a matter of fact, the very 

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nature of devotion implies total
commitment. 

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I don't know how else you can 
define total than total. 

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Total commitment to something 
many of us, maybe even today's 

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world, would not, would not have
passed Abraham's devotion test 

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in the Old Testament, the book 
of Genesis. 

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He had a promised son, and he 
had a promise made to him of 

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many descendants that would come
through his loins and his 

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lineage. 
But he only had one son of 

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promise, only one son of 
promise. 

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And that son's name was Isaac. 
And that very son God would ask 

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Abraham to sacrifice on Mount 
Moriah. 

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And because devotion requires 
sacrifice. 

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And so whenever he said Abraham 
said yes to God, yes to this one

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thing, as we do often in life, 
instantly we have said no to 

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everything else. 
That is in essence the feel of 

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devotion. 
When you accept this thing and 

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are devoted to that thing, 
you're saying no, and you are 

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avoiding everything else. 
But we live in a predominant 

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generation today where we like 
to keep our options open. 

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We like to keep our options 
open. 

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We don't want to be exclusive 
just by chance if something 

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better comes along. 
But the Bible tells me in the 

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word Moses spoke in Exodus 1511,
he said, Who is like unto thee, 

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O Lord among the gods, who is 
like thee, glorious and 

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holiness, fearful in praises, 
doing wonders. 

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Samuel even said in first Samuel
2 and two, he said, There is 

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none holy as the Lord, for there
is none beside thee, neither is 

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there any rock like our God. 
In other words, there is nothing

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better. 
There's no reason to keep your 

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options open concerning if it 
comes to true devotion and total

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commitment to God. 
It's not as though you're going 

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to be partially devoted, if 
that's even possible, Or or 

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incompletely devoted. 
Perhaps, like Abraham, some of 

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us would have cut the wood and 
we'd have travelled the distance

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to the spot. 
Maybe we would have bound our 

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only son upon an altar, but God 
interrupted Abraham whenever the

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Bible records in Genesis 22, the
Abraham stretched off his hand 

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and took the knife to slay his 
son that God stopped and he knew

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what was about ready to take 
place full devotion, complete 

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devotion. 
He stopped him. 

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Others might call along the path
all those various steps. 

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They might say, well, well, 
gathering the wood that was 

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partial devotion or or traveling
to the spot that that that was, 

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you know, somewhat of a 
devotion. 

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But the reality of the matter is
the summation of the whole 

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process from gathering the wood,
climbing up the mountain, laying

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the sundown bound upon an altar 
and to the apex of taking the 

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night, then even to his son, the
whole process is actual 

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devotion. 
Because I'm afraid in my life 

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sometimes I've cut wood that 
will never be laid on an altar. 

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I I I for myself, I believe 
maybe sometimes I've taken trip 

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up mountains sides with no 
intentional purpose of going 

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through with what my trip was 
for. 

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Amen. 
I, I bound some things and laid 

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it on an altar without ever 
laying a knife to it. 

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And someone said, oh, Patrick 
McGee, you've done good. 

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You're that's great. 
Partial devotion, you know, 

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taking the trip. 
No, no, no devotion really. 

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To call devotion partial or 
incomplete is an anomaly. 

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There, there is not a degree to 
devotion. 

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It either happens or it don't 
happen. 

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You, you are or you are not 
Amen. 

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It's an anomaly. 
It's a a deviation from the 

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rule, Amen. 
That idea even betrays the very 

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meaning of devotion. 
Devotion that lacks 

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completeness, that there's 
divided loyalty somewhere, 

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divided allegiances somewhere. 
That's the reason why Jesus said

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in the Gospels of Matthew 624 he
said no man can serve 2 masters 

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for he'll either hate the one 
and love the other or else he'll

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hold to the one and despise the 
other. 

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You cannot serve God and Mammon.
You know what he's saying? 

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He's saying devotion is a all in
game devotion to someone, some 

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cause, something, some purpose. 
It's a all in thing. 

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You can't be partially devoted 
to God and be partially devoted 

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to all the other things that 
don't work like that. 

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It's a all in ball game. 
There's there's no such thing as

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partial devotion. 
There's no such thing as if you 

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will just incomplete a little 
short of full No, we are either 

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devoted or not says you can't 
serve God. 

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And mammon. 
Mammon was a siric word, a name 

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given to the idol worship as the
God of riches. 

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And yes, the passage that Jesus 
said that him, he was focusing 

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on wealth and riches and 
material goods, but just as much

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as he compared it to that, 
anything else could have been 

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filled in that blank. 
You cannot serve God and mammon.

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You cannot serve God and other 
people. 

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You cannot say that the list 
could go on and on. 

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You could fill in the blank. 
What's the purpose? 

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Because devotion isn't about God
along with everything else. 

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He doesn't want to be another 
God among your gods. 

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He wants to be your God, God 
alone, all by himself. 

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Because the problem in Scripture
is there are plenty of people 

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that wanted to accept God as 
God, but just as another God 

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along with their other gods. 
That's not devotion. 

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No, not at all. 
That's compromised that. 

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00:10:26,320 --> 00:10:29,400
That's just allowing something 
else to be on the table with 

165
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everything else. 
God is what he's asking for. 

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If the song said it tonight. 
He don't want there to be any 

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distance. 
He doesn't want there to be any 

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favoritism except toward him. 
He doesn't want Amen. 

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Devotion cannot be partial, 
Amen, because divided allegiance

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is really just a failure to 
commit. 

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There's no middle ground with 
masters, right? 

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00:10:58,640 --> 00:11:02,680
There is no middle ground with 
our devotion. 

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00:11:03,680 --> 00:11:06,880
Matthew 15 and 8, Jesus said 
this as well. 

174
00:11:07,400 --> 00:11:12,800
He said This people draweth nigh
unto me with their mouth, and 

175
00:11:12,800 --> 00:11:17,920
honor with me with their lips, 
but their heart is far from me. 

176
00:11:18,800 --> 00:11:22,000
Because when we attempt what we 
might like to call partial 

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devotion, it is like serving God
on Sunday and chasing every word

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we desire every other day of the
week, right? 

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Right. 
It's a masquerade devotion. 

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00:11:34,280 --> 00:11:38,560
A masquerade, just like the 
Pharisees in the Gospels did. 

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They had all the outward 
mechanics and all the outward 

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doings of obedience, Amen. 
But their heart was far from 

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God, Amen. 
That's not devotion. 

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I know it looks like devotion. 
It has, if you will, the facade 

185
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of devotion, but that's not 
devotion, Amen. 

186
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Can we truly call it devotion if
it's not wholehearted? 

187
00:12:00,960 --> 00:12:04,440
Can we truly call it devotion if
it's not complete? 

188
00:12:04,760 --> 00:12:08,720
Folks, when we look at the life 
of Solomon, there's so many 

189
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great positive aspects in 
Solomon's life. 

190
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His wisdom was unparalleled. 
One of the high watermarks of 

191
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his life is his wisdom that 
whenever God said, ask of me 

192
00:12:20,240 --> 00:12:22,960
what I shall give thee, when he 
could have asked for the moon, 

193
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so to speak, He asked them God 
to give him and grant him that 

194
00:12:27,640 --> 00:12:29,760
wisdom. 
And since he didn't ask for 

195
00:12:29,760 --> 00:12:32,400
riches and some of these other 
things, God says, I'll give 

196
00:12:32,400 --> 00:12:35,440
these things to you because you 
asked for wisdom. 

197
00:12:35,600 --> 00:12:40,040
That wisdom was a gift from God.
Solomon could discern the truth 

198
00:12:40,040 --> 00:12:43,800
and very complex situations. 
We have illustrations in 

199
00:12:43,800 --> 00:12:48,480
Scripture him using his wisdom 
in a very very good and 

200
00:12:48,480 --> 00:12:50,680
profitable way for the Kingdom 
of God. 

201
00:12:51,000 --> 00:12:55,360
Early on the Bible even tells us
that Solomon acknowledged 

202
00:12:55,360 --> 00:12:58,600
whenever he became king. 
He acknowledged he said I am a 

203
00:12:58,600 --> 00:13:02,200
child or meaning I am an I'm 
inexperienced. 

204
00:13:02,480 --> 00:13:04,960
I don't know it all my my 
dependency. 

205
00:13:04,960 --> 00:13:08,960
God really depends upon you. 
I know I got this wisdom, but I 

206
00:13:08,960 --> 00:13:13,160
still need you. 
I know I got this intellect, but

207
00:13:13,160 --> 00:13:16,320
I still need to. 
He did some great exploits in 

208
00:13:16,320 --> 00:13:18,840
his life. 
He headed up the construction of

209
00:13:18,840 --> 00:13:22,360
the most embellished and 
elaborate temple there ever was,

210
00:13:22,720 --> 00:13:25,440
Amen. 
He did that in only seven years.

211
00:13:25,680 --> 00:13:27,920
A lot of great things happened, 
Amen. 

212
00:13:27,920 --> 00:13:32,680
Through him, his reign was a 
reign of peace and serenity. 

213
00:13:32,880 --> 00:13:37,160
He had some organizational 
skills that he put to use as a 

214
00:13:37,160 --> 00:13:41,400
king that helped protect, if you
will, the economy and the 

215
00:13:41,400 --> 00:13:45,280
governance of his Kingdom. 
Most of Israel's wisdom 

216
00:13:45,280 --> 00:13:49,120
literature that you read, such 
as Proverbs and the Song of 

217
00:13:49,120 --> 00:13:54,160
Solomon and Ecclesiastes, flowed
from the pen of Solomon. 

218
00:13:54,160 --> 00:13:57,480
All those little tidbits and 
principles of wisdom and 

219
00:13:57,480 --> 00:14:01,240
instruction came from him. 
He had such a reputation that 

220
00:14:01,240 --> 00:14:05,200
leaders around from the known 
world, such as the Queen of 

221
00:14:05,200 --> 00:14:10,160
Sheba and others wanted to come 
and was astonished by his 

222
00:14:10,160 --> 00:14:14,600
reputation that he had. 
And who can forget that at the 

223
00:14:14,600 --> 00:14:19,920
dedication of the temple Bishop,
that great long, elaborate, 

224
00:14:20,400 --> 00:14:26,240
flowery prayer that Solomon 
prayed at the dedication of the 

225
00:14:26,240 --> 00:14:28,440
temple? 
As a matter of fact, if you look

226
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at the chapter right before our 
text in First Kings chapter #10 

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it is a celebratory chapter for 
Solomon. 

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Queen of Sheba showed up. 
And she's taken in everything 

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that she has heard about. 
She's taken in everything that 

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people, other people have said 
concerning Solomon and what she 

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sees and what she experiences 
it. 

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It exceeds her wildest 
expectations. 

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His wisdom to her. 
Her estimation was on point, as 

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she questioned him, and he 
answered her. 

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The structures that he had built
were remarkable. 

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Amen to her in her eyes. 
Verse #5 of that chapter says. 

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And the meat of his table and 
the sitting of his servants and 

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the attendance of his ministers 
and their apparel and his cup 

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bearers, and his ascent by which
he went up and to the House of 

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the Lord, There was no more 
spirit in her, which basically 

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meant it, her breath. 
So this, this is astounding. 

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The wisdom, the pomp, the 
prestige, the way that he orders

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his servants, the way that all 
this fits together. 

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For that matter, you skip down a
few verses later in chapter 10, 

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verse 23. 
And the Bible says so King 

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Solomon exceeded all the kings 
of the earth for riches and for 

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wisdom and all the earth sought 
to Solomon to hear his wisdom 

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which God had put in his heart. 
And so if we were to read 

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chapter 10 alone, we're like 
this is tremendous. 

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This man has built a temple to 
God none like it most 

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embellished. 
He has wisdom to decide hard 

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things. 
Just from that snapshot of that 

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light. 
Surely someone would said this 

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is a devoted man. 
But the Bible continues then in 

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verse #1 of Chapter 11 and says,
and we have we have the 

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00:16:28,320 --> 00:16:36,280
contrasting word. 
But King Solomon loved many 

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strange women. 
It goes to verse 4 that I read 

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in your hearing and says that 
when he was old that his wives 

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turned away his heart after 
other gods, and it states that 

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his heart was not perfect or not
complete with the Lord his God, 

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as was the heart of David his 
father. 

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00:17:00,840 --> 00:17:06,680
If I can say tonight, the tragic
flaw of Solomon, the fly in the 

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ointment for Solomon was, if we 
could say it like this, his 

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incomplete or lack of devotion. 
Some might say, well, no, his 

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problem was women. 
Well, in reality, I know what 

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you're talking about, but women 
were just the tool. 

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They weren't per se the absolute
problem, Amen. 

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00:17:29,200 --> 00:17:32,520
We could fill in the blanks. 
For others it might be this, or 

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for others it might be that, or 
several other things. 

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00:17:35,440 --> 00:17:40,960
But it boils down really, his 
problem was a lack of devotion, 

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Amen. 
What he and others may even said

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was incomplete or partial 
devotion. 

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00:17:47,600 --> 00:17:50,480
The reason why I want to 
illustrate this, and I know 

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00:17:50,680 --> 00:17:52,760
partial devotion, again, that's 
irony. 

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00:17:52,920 --> 00:17:55,880
But if I can use it in this 
saying tonight, I'll say this. 

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He was where he was. 
He experienced what he 

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00:17:58,840 --> 00:18:03,680
experience in Chapter 11. 
Because incomplete devotion will

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00:18:03,680 --> 00:18:13,680
set you up for total seduction. 
Whenever you like devotion, 

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00:18:13,760 --> 00:18:16,880
you're set yourself up for total
seduction. 

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00:18:17,160 --> 00:18:21,240
He's an old man, yes, but the 
fact, the fact that he was old 

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doesn't mean that that this is 
something that only aged people 

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00:18:25,160 --> 00:18:27,880
face. 
Aged people face a problem of 

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00:18:27,880 --> 00:18:30,960
like a no, no, no, that's not 
what this is illustrating. 

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00:18:31,200 --> 00:18:35,600
What it is illustrating is this.
You can waste your whole life on

285
00:18:35,600 --> 00:18:38,240
a facade. 
You can waste your whole life on

286
00:18:38,240 --> 00:18:41,000
living a front. 
You can live your whole life not

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00:18:41,000 --> 00:18:43,480
being genuine. 
You can live your whole life 

288
00:18:43,640 --> 00:18:46,600
with just a artificial. 
You can live your whole life 

289
00:18:46,760 --> 00:18:56,120
masking devotional issues. 
The true issue was lack of 

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00:18:56,120 --> 00:18:58,360
devotion. 
Oh, but Brother McGee, he built 

291
00:18:58,360 --> 00:19:01,160
a temple. 
I know you can build a temple 

292
00:19:01,280 --> 00:19:04,320
and still not be devoted to the 
one whom you built the temple 

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00:19:04,320 --> 00:19:06,200
to. 
But Brother McGee, he had great 

294
00:19:06,200 --> 00:19:08,120
wisdom. 
He used that in great ways. 

295
00:19:08,160 --> 00:19:10,440
I understand that. 
But you can do all of the 

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00:19:10,440 --> 00:19:14,920
mechanics, all the theatrics, if
you will, of a devoted life, and

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00:19:14,920 --> 00:19:18,720
still not be devoted at the 
core, at the heart, at. 

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00:19:27,280 --> 00:19:32,720
We read in first Kings chapter 3
and verse 3 and Solomon loved 

299
00:19:32,720 --> 00:19:39,520
the Lord verse 1 of Chapter 11 
but King Solomon loved many 

300
00:19:39,520 --> 00:19:46,200
strange women. 
What did Jesus said? 

301
00:19:46,680 --> 00:19:49,960
You either love the one or 
you'll hate the other. 

302
00:19:54,880 --> 00:20:01,400
Solomon, you can't be devoted to
God and be devoted to all these 

303
00:20:01,400 --> 00:20:02,760
other women that you brought in 
your life. 

304
00:20:02,760 --> 00:20:04,440
And please understand, I'm not 
just talking about his wife. 

305
00:20:04,440 --> 00:20:07,120
I'm talking about he's got all 
these concubines and all these 

306
00:20:07,280 --> 00:20:10,320
wives. 
You you can't do that because 

307
00:20:10,320 --> 00:20:15,920
chapter 3 and Solomon love God 
sounds like devotion, but 

308
00:20:15,920 --> 00:20:18,400
Chapter 11 showcases something 
different. 

309
00:20:19,080 --> 00:20:22,880
It showcases a man that had some
divided allegiance. 

310
00:20:23,080 --> 00:20:26,600
It shows a man with a 
contradictory phrase above his 

311
00:20:26,600 --> 00:20:29,840
life, a partial devotion if you 
will, Amen. 

312
00:20:29,840 --> 00:20:32,800
With which it was definitionally
no devotion. 

313
00:20:33,080 --> 00:20:34,200
Amen. 
It's not sound. 

314
00:20:34,360 --> 00:20:38,600
And the Bible says he went not 
fully after the Lord. 

315
00:20:38,760 --> 00:20:40,960
Not going fully is empty. 
What does that mean? 

316
00:20:45,720 --> 00:20:48,400
It doesn't matter all of his 
incredible wisdom. 

317
00:20:48,600 --> 00:20:50,760
It doesn't matter how much 
riches he has. 

318
00:20:51,040 --> 00:20:54,920
None of that compensates for 
incomplete devotion. 

319
00:20:55,120 --> 00:20:59,200
It don't matter how high I can 
scream, how far I can jump. 

320
00:20:59,400 --> 00:21:03,320
None of that can compensate for 
incomplete devotion. 

321
00:21:03,600 --> 00:21:06,920
Money can't buy it. 
Wisdom can't reason it into 

322
00:21:06,920 --> 00:21:10,040
existence. 
The pimples we build cannot 

323
00:21:10,040 --> 00:21:18,760
compensate. 
He could organize communities, 

324
00:21:18,760 --> 00:21:22,120
he could organize people, he 
could organize hierarchies, but 

325
00:21:22,120 --> 00:21:24,840
he could not command his own 
commitment. 

326
00:21:28,440 --> 00:21:35,960
People are flocking to him, 
astonished at him, but what they

327
00:21:35,960 --> 00:21:43,160
don't know is there's not a full
surrender of him and his heart. 

328
00:21:44,800 --> 00:21:47,680
Bible says yes, that his wives 
may have turned his heart after 

329
00:21:47,680 --> 00:21:51,920
other gods. 
In reality, his heart was not 

330
00:21:51,920 --> 00:21:56,000
complete or perfect with the 
Lord anyway. 

331
00:21:57,200 --> 00:22:00,440
And that's the issue when you're
not devoted. 

332
00:22:03,240 --> 00:22:08,880
When you're not devoted, 
something may come by that looks

333
00:22:08,880 --> 00:22:16,160
better. 
Unless you forsake all others. 

334
00:22:20,160 --> 00:22:24,920
Forsake all others. 
That issue of of of lack of 

335
00:22:24,920 --> 00:22:29,240
devotion invited them total 
seduction, Amen. 

336
00:22:29,240 --> 00:22:34,360
His marriages were basically 
just symptoms of his absence of 

337
00:22:34,640 --> 00:22:37,760
devotion, Amen. 
Some might even argue, well, he 

338
00:22:37,800 --> 00:22:42,640
married strange Pagan women and 
he allowed them to worship their

339
00:22:42,840 --> 00:22:47,720
little GODSS, their gods, and he
tolerated that and he built 

340
00:22:47,720 --> 00:22:50,080
shrines and temples. 
This is in your Bible. 

341
00:22:50,400 --> 00:22:54,080
Amen for their gods and 
eventually we read in Scripture 

342
00:22:54,080 --> 00:22:58,880
that he would worship their 
Pagan gods as well in verse 5 

343
00:22:58,880 --> 00:23:02,600
where the Bible says he went 
after Astara and Milkham. 

344
00:23:02,800 --> 00:23:05,760
That's exactly what that means 
him going after is him 

345
00:23:05,800 --> 00:23:10,320
worshiping those gods as well. 
And so they might claim well all

346
00:23:10,320 --> 00:23:13,720
of these strange women was the 
motivation for his downward 

347
00:23:13,720 --> 00:23:15,840
spiral. 
But I back it up further than 

348
00:23:15,840 --> 00:23:16,840
that. 
It's not that. 

349
00:23:17,000 --> 00:23:21,400
It's his lack of devotion that 
really has, if you the angle on 

350
00:23:21,400 --> 00:23:25,600
all of that, Solomon got a bride
from a lot of places, but one 

351
00:23:25,600 --> 00:23:27,600
place he got a bride from was 
Egypt. 

352
00:23:27,920 --> 00:23:31,640
He also got some horses from 
there and Chariots from there. 

353
00:23:31,800 --> 00:23:35,720
And there's a law on Deuteronomy
for kings that says they should 

354
00:23:35,720 --> 00:23:39,840
not multiply horses, they should
not multiply Chariots, they 

355
00:23:39,840 --> 00:23:42,360
should not return to Egypt. 
Amen. 

356
00:23:42,360 --> 00:23:45,000
But he does it anyway. 
Amen. 

357
00:23:45,000 --> 00:23:48,160
What is that a product of? 
It's the product of a lack of 

358
00:23:48,160 --> 00:23:51,280
devotion. 
It says, it tells very clearly 

359
00:23:51,400 --> 00:23:55,080
he had peace with a lot of 
areas, but the reason why he had

360
00:23:55,080 --> 00:23:59,080
peace is these areas where it 
could get tumultuous sometimes 

361
00:23:59,240 --> 00:24:02,160
he married the Princess of that 
region. 

362
00:24:02,320 --> 00:24:04,880
That's where one of his 
marriages come into play, so 

363
00:24:04,880 --> 00:24:07,960
that maybe he could keep the 
peace that his father secured by

364
00:24:07,960 --> 00:24:10,000
war. 
He would try to keep, if you 

365
00:24:10,000 --> 00:24:13,400
will, by marriage, but that 
marriage was a compromise. 

366
00:24:13,560 --> 00:24:18,800
It was a lack of it was a lack 
of devotion. 

367
00:24:19,000 --> 00:24:21,800
He was trying to secure peace 
with compromise. 

368
00:24:22,160 --> 00:24:25,200
He meant secure peace with the 
enemies or with people who had 

369
00:24:25,200 --> 00:24:29,200
been enemies at the cost of 
losing his peace with God. 

370
00:24:29,480 --> 00:24:33,440
It was the actions of somebody 
that doubted that God could be 

371
00:24:33,440 --> 00:24:36,880
their defense. 
It was a lack of devotion. 

372
00:24:37,160 --> 00:24:40,280
Did not even David his father? 
He meant the writer makes the 

373
00:24:40,280 --> 00:24:42,920
comparison. 
He didn't go fully like his dad 

374
00:24:42,920 --> 00:24:46,840
did or after his dad David had 
wrote in the Psalms, that's some

375
00:24:46,840 --> 00:24:49,600
trust in horses and some in 
Chariots. 

376
00:24:49,800 --> 00:24:53,480
But we will remember the name of
the Lord our God. 

377
00:24:53,680 --> 00:24:56,440
You know what he's saying? 
He said just let me be devoted 

378
00:24:56,440 --> 00:24:59,160
to the king. 
Just let me be devoted to him. 

379
00:24:59,360 --> 00:25:01,560
It doesn't matter about all 
these other things. 

380
00:25:01,760 --> 00:25:11,800
I want to be completely devoted.
Didn't have a complete perfect 

381
00:25:11,800 --> 00:25:16,720
heart went not fully after the 
Lord even in his here's how we 

382
00:25:16,720 --> 00:25:22,480
can masquerade even his dedicory
prayer of the Temple of First 

383
00:25:22,480 --> 00:25:30,360
Kings 861. 
Solomon is praying this he says 

384
00:25:30,920 --> 00:25:40,600
let your heart therefore be 
perfect with the Lord our God to

385
00:25:40,600 --> 00:25:47,040
walk in his statutes to keep his
commandments as at this day 

386
00:25:49,400 --> 00:25:52,240
devotion can be masqueraded 
because that sounds like a great

387
00:25:52,240 --> 00:25:55,640
prayer. 
That sounds like tremendous 

388
00:25:55,640 --> 00:26:04,840
advice to let my heart be 
perfect when then the end story 

389
00:26:04,840 --> 00:26:10,480
in First Kings 11 tells me his 
heart wasn't perfect. 

390
00:26:16,080 --> 00:26:21,160
When we are not solely devoted 
to the Lord, we open ourselves 

391
00:26:21,160 --> 00:26:23,080
and we're vulnerable to 
seduction. 

392
00:26:25,440 --> 00:26:31,080
Seduction by sin, seduction by 
worldly desires, seduction by 

393
00:26:31,080 --> 00:26:36,880
false teaching that itches the 
right spot, scratches the right 

394
00:26:36,880 --> 00:26:40,760
spot, maybe of our itch. 
Rather, when we're not totally 

395
00:26:40,760 --> 00:26:50,640
devoted, it'll create gaps in 
our spiritual defenses, leaving 

396
00:26:50,640 --> 00:26:57,800
room for temptation to take 
hold, our heads not turning 

397
00:26:57,800 --> 00:27:00,360
another direction toward 
whatever it may be. 

398
00:27:00,840 --> 00:27:09,720
Because I only have eyes for 
one, We read in the scripture of

399
00:27:09,720 --> 00:27:16,560
Judges 16 of Samson. 
He's consecrated from birth as a

400
00:27:16,560 --> 00:27:21,120
Nazarite. 
Nazarite vow, Don't touch dead 

401
00:27:21,120 --> 00:27:23,560
things, don't drink through to 
the vine. 

402
00:27:24,840 --> 00:27:29,360
He was to leave his hair uncut, 
honoring his Nazarite vow. 

403
00:27:30,920 --> 00:27:35,480
But before he ever laid his head
on Delilah's lap, he had touched

404
00:27:35,480 --> 00:27:40,000
dead things. 
Good possibility to read the 

405
00:27:40,000 --> 00:27:44,000
scripture that he had made 
himself available, perhaps to 

406
00:27:44,000 --> 00:27:48,280
the fruit of the vine, and that 
all that we ever want to 

407
00:27:48,280 --> 00:27:53,200
concentrate upon is the Delilah 
scenario and the cutting of the 

408
00:27:53,200 --> 00:27:55,840
hair. 
And like, boom, there it is. 

409
00:27:56,560 --> 00:28:00,640
No, there was a lack of devotion
already somewhere back here. 

410
00:28:02,400 --> 00:28:06,120
The Delilah scenario was just 
the evidence of what been going 

411
00:28:06,120 --> 00:28:11,640
on. 
Someone say man. 

412
00:28:12,800 --> 00:28:16,400
And as a result, a Samson that 
was not he was born. 

413
00:28:16,400 --> 00:28:19,400
Listen, he was given to his 
parents who were barren, mind 

414
00:28:19,400 --> 00:28:22,720
you, he was given to his 
parents, which were barren to 

415
00:28:22,720 --> 00:28:27,400
begin to deliver Israel from the
Philistines, All right. 

416
00:28:27,880 --> 00:28:32,520
And so, yes, there was some 
great exploits that happened to 

417
00:28:32,520 --> 00:28:34,840
Samson. 
As a matter of fact, you read in

418
00:28:34,840 --> 00:28:37,440
Scripture and you'll see the 
phrasing over and over again 

419
00:28:37,720 --> 00:28:44,680
that the Spirit of the Lord 
moved upon him for this episode 

420
00:28:44,760 --> 00:28:48,120
of Exploit and that episode of 
Exploit. 

421
00:28:48,720 --> 00:28:51,080
But the problem with Samson was 
this. 

422
00:28:51,520 --> 00:28:55,280
He misunderstood the Spirit of 
the Lord moving on him for 

423
00:28:55,280 --> 00:28:57,440
justification, for his lack of 
devotion. 

424
00:28:59,400 --> 00:29:05,240
He felt comfortable and his lack
of devotion because he felt the 

425
00:29:05,240 --> 00:29:09,800
Spirit moving upon him. 
That's the reason why I'm the 

426
00:29:09,800 --> 00:29:13,920
final episode of everything and 
Delilah has had his head shorn 

427
00:29:14,160 --> 00:29:17,240
and he's weak as another man. 
The Bible says that Samson says 

428
00:29:17,280 --> 00:29:20,640
I'll go out and shake myself as 
I did other times. 

429
00:29:21,120 --> 00:29:23,640
Why? 
Because all the other times when

430
00:29:23,640 --> 00:29:26,240
he touched the jawbone of a 
donkey, which was something 

431
00:29:26,240 --> 00:29:29,640
dead, and he got honey out the 
lions mouth that he had killed, 

432
00:29:29,640 --> 00:29:32,280
which was something dead. 
All the other times it seemed 

433
00:29:32,280 --> 00:29:38,920
like everything was okay. 
He had illusional devotion. 

434
00:29:39,800 --> 00:29:42,680
He thought I'd, I'd still feel 
the Spirit of God at times. 

435
00:29:42,680 --> 00:29:45,360
I, I still feel the power of God
sometimes. 

436
00:29:45,600 --> 00:29:48,400
But folks, you don't need to 
interpret those times as though 

437
00:29:48,640 --> 00:29:50,720
you're right. 
You need to interpret those 

438
00:29:50,720 --> 00:29:54,080
times that that's a loving 
father trying to woo you so 

439
00:29:54,080 --> 00:29:58,040
there'd be no distance trying to
woo you, that there would be 

440
00:29:58,040 --> 00:29:59,840
nothing that would stand between
and you. 

441
00:30:00,000 --> 00:30:10,040
He's trying. 
Charming a good stand, Amen. 

442
00:30:10,040 --> 00:30:13,080
Before the best judgment seat. 
Look at the temple I built you. 

443
00:30:13,280 --> 00:30:15,000
Hey, look how I used all your 
wisdom. 

444
00:30:15,240 --> 00:30:18,600
God says all of that doesn't 
matter much because I'm not 

445
00:30:18,600 --> 00:30:21,840
worried about all of all of the 
mechanics I'm worried about. 

446
00:30:21,840 --> 00:30:24,360
Do I have your heart? 
Do I have your heart? 

447
00:30:24,560 --> 00:30:28,200
I know you you can show up every
time the doors are open and 

448
00:30:28,200 --> 00:30:30,520
that's great. 
But I when you're there, do I 

449
00:30:30,520 --> 00:30:33,160
have your heart? 
And do I have it on Monday and 

450
00:30:33,160 --> 00:30:34,920
do I have it on Friday? 
Do you? 

451
00:30:40,960 --> 00:30:44,800
Because our heart can be far 
from him. 

452
00:31:00,290 --> 00:31:04,690
In New Testament, Dimas is a 
fellow laborer. 

453
00:31:06,480 --> 00:31:10,880
Demons is a fellow laborer, 
faithful fabled laborer with the

454
00:31:10,880 --> 00:31:14,240
apostle Paul. 
You see his name mentioned on a 

455
00:31:14,240 --> 00:31:18,200
couple of different accounts as 
being a fellow laborer with him 

456
00:31:18,200 --> 00:31:20,960
and you think of the apostle 
Paul, you think of 2/3 of the 

457
00:31:20,960 --> 00:31:22,640
Scripture being written by his 
pen. 

458
00:31:22,640 --> 00:31:25,520
You're thinking, man, he's in 
good association here. 

459
00:31:25,520 --> 00:31:29,000
He he, he, he must really be, 
you know, on fire and so on and 

460
00:31:29,000 --> 00:31:31,120
so forth. 
They have all this association 

461
00:31:31,120 --> 00:31:34,080
going on with being a fellow 
laborer, Paul, But the Bible 

462
00:31:34,080 --> 00:31:38,000
tells us that somewhere along 
the way that Demas forsook him. 

463
00:31:38,320 --> 00:31:41,640
And the Bible states This is why
in Second Timothy, Demas had 

464
00:31:41,640 --> 00:31:45,440
forsaken me. 
Having loved, having loved. 

465
00:31:45,440 --> 00:31:48,120
Listen, that's just not a love 
that started today. 

466
00:31:48,280 --> 00:31:52,040
That's a love he has loved and 
he's continued to love this 

467
00:31:52,040 --> 00:31:53,920
present world. 
What is that? 

468
00:31:54,080 --> 00:31:57,920
That is split allegiance. 
That is not partial devotion. 

469
00:31:58,080 --> 00:32:02,520
That's no devotion. 
It had all of the appearances of

470
00:32:02,520 --> 00:32:05,320
a fellow laborer. 
But at the crux of the matter, 

471
00:32:05,440 --> 00:32:09,520
it was a man that lacked 
devotion because he didn't love 

472
00:32:09,520 --> 00:32:13,440
the Lord his God with all of his
heart, with all of his mind, 

473
00:32:13,560 --> 00:32:16,400
with all of his might, with all 
of his strength. 

474
00:32:30,520 --> 00:32:34,000
So it seems all appearances 
solemn you started right, But 

475
00:32:34,000 --> 00:32:37,120
there's there's distractions, 
there's compromises, there's 

476
00:32:37,360 --> 00:32:43,440
erosions of commitment, there's 
what lack of devotion that is 

477
00:32:43,440 --> 00:32:45,520
left cracks in your spiritual 
defense. 

478
00:32:45,520 --> 00:32:50,200
It's it's invited, if you will 
total seduction into your life. 

479
00:32:53,960 --> 00:33:00,480
Can't serve 2 masters. 
True devotion isn't about really

480
00:33:00,480 --> 00:33:03,360
appearances and actions and 
moments of inspiration. 

481
00:33:05,280 --> 00:33:08,760
True devotion is about 
consistent, wholehearted, 

482
00:33:09,040 --> 00:33:18,720
exclusive commitment to him. 
Like Abraham, that requires the 

483
00:33:18,720 --> 00:33:23,360
following through. 
Not just preparing for an act of

484
00:33:23,360 --> 00:33:26,680
obedience, but completing, 
following through. 

485
00:33:29,560 --> 00:33:35,400
I've got to ask myself tonight, 
Lord, have I allowed some 

486
00:33:35,400 --> 00:33:41,800
divided loyalties in my life? 
Has has there been some subtle 

487
00:33:41,800 --> 00:33:44,040
compromises? 
Has there been some? 

488
00:33:44,200 --> 00:33:47,120
And again, this is a 
contradiction of terms. 

489
00:33:47,120 --> 00:33:50,640
Is there an incomplete devotion 
in my life? 

490
00:33:51,440 --> 00:33:56,160
God, are there altars I built 
that I never put sacrifices on? 

491
00:34:03,080 --> 00:34:07,800
Is there, is there pieces of my 
life that I put the caution tape

492
00:34:07,800 --> 00:34:10,920
up and say, God, you can have 
this area, that area, this area 

493
00:34:10,920 --> 00:34:14,159
and that area, but that area, 
that's my protected area. 

494
00:34:14,159 --> 00:34:17,679
God, you can deal with me and 
mess with any of these areas of 

495
00:34:17,679 --> 00:34:19,600
my life. 
But that area, that's my 

496
00:34:19,600 --> 00:34:21,560
protected area. 
You can have everything else 

497
00:34:21,560 --> 00:34:24,280
except that. 
That's not that's not full 

498
00:34:24,280 --> 00:34:32,440
commitment. 
That's, that's, that's not, 

499
00:34:32,440 --> 00:34:35,719
that's not wholehearted 
commitment. 

500
00:34:35,719 --> 00:34:48,840
You understand for me now, I 
won't hold you much longer if we

501
00:34:48,880 --> 00:34:56,719
just close our eyes tonight. 
I need to ask God, God, are are 

502
00:34:56,719 --> 00:34:59,160
there parts of my life? 
Maybe I'm blinded to it? 

503
00:35:00,120 --> 00:35:02,200
Maybe, maybe, maybe there's a 
blind spot. 

504
00:35:02,200 --> 00:35:04,480
And listen, we all have blind 
spots, right? 

505
00:35:05,120 --> 00:35:07,560
I know cars nowadays, they 
flashlights and everything else.

506
00:35:07,560 --> 00:35:09,400
So get your blind. 
We all have blind spots. 

507
00:35:09,480 --> 00:35:10,680
Cars do. 
We do too. 

508
00:35:12,280 --> 00:35:15,400
We need to ask God daughters, 
there is this places in my life 

509
00:35:15,920 --> 00:35:18,920
where devotion is incomplete, 
right? 

510
00:35:20,320 --> 00:35:22,320
Are there some skewed 
priorities? 

511
00:35:23,480 --> 00:35:26,960
Are there some alliances and 
relationships? 

512
00:35:27,600 --> 00:35:31,240
Are there some desires, God? 
If there is, Lord, If there's 

513
00:35:31,240 --> 00:35:34,920
ones that I'm, I'm just not 
Privy to or unknown to me, God 

514
00:35:34,920 --> 00:35:38,760
make them known so I can confess
them to you, God, because I want

515
00:35:38,760 --> 00:35:44,160
to acknowledge tonight that you 
alone are worthy of my undivided

516
00:35:44,200 --> 00:35:50,040
commitment. 
The McGee, this is the holidays 

517
00:35:50,040 --> 00:35:51,480
in Christmas. 
What you talking about that? 

518
00:35:51,680 --> 00:35:53,720
Well, the New Year's come and 
that's when everybody wants to 

519
00:35:53,720 --> 00:35:57,040
make their resolution. 
So God help me, Lord, to have 

520
00:35:57,040 --> 00:36:04,040
undivided commitment. 
Listen, we, we fool ourselves, 

521
00:36:04,040 --> 00:36:07,560
folks, if we're going to chalk 
devotion up as just some 

522
00:36:07,880 --> 00:36:18,200
emotional moment, right? 
A shout over in the corner, A 

523
00:36:18,240 --> 00:36:23,160
welling in the back Pew. 
No, no, devotion is not an 

524
00:36:23,160 --> 00:36:28,640
emotional moment per SE. 
Devotion is a daily decision. 

525
00:36:30,880 --> 00:36:35,240
It's a daily decision. 
And I'm at this place like God, 

526
00:36:35,240 --> 00:36:39,200
I want to resolve right now to 
live a life that's wholly 

527
00:36:39,400 --> 00:36:45,600
devoted to you. 
And if that means saying no to 

528
00:36:45,600 --> 00:36:53,080
anything that competes for your 
place, even if that means saying

529
00:36:53,080 --> 00:36:58,040
no for anything that's competing
for your place, in my heart, 

530
00:36:58,760 --> 00:37:01,880
because let me tell you, the 
competition's out there and the 

531
00:37:01,880 --> 00:37:06,360
competition sometime is rough. 
God, I don't want to settle. 

532
00:37:06,720 --> 00:37:09,120
And these altars are open. 
Lord, I don't want to settle for

533
00:37:09,360 --> 00:37:13,600
an illusional Lord devotion. 
God, I want to pursue a life 

534
00:37:13,600 --> 00:37:17,480
that is completely surrendered. 
God, I, I want, I want you to be

535
00:37:17,480 --> 00:37:19,760
my first love. 
You remember, do you remember 

536
00:37:19,760 --> 00:37:23,160
what he said to one of the 
churches of the of the churches 

537
00:37:23,160 --> 00:37:25,840
of the seven churches of Asia in
the Book of Revelation? 

538
00:37:26,120 --> 00:37:28,680
What he tell him he said you 
left your first love. 

539
00:37:29,240 --> 00:37:32,160
You've left your first love. 
What's he saying? 

540
00:37:32,480 --> 00:37:35,680
He said you lack devotion. 
You left your first love. 

541
00:37:36,080 --> 00:37:39,560
He said your highest priority 
should be that first love that 

542
00:37:39,560 --> 00:37:42,080
needs to be your only master. 
Hallelujah. 

543
00:37:42,080 --> 00:37:45,560
Remember, incomplete devotion is
no devotion at all. 

544
00:37:45,960 --> 00:37:48,360
Hey, man. 
It sets us up for failure and 

545
00:37:48,360 --> 00:37:50,560
makes us vulnerable to total 
seduction. 

546
00:37:50,880 --> 00:37:53,080
Hey, man. 
But when you have a full, 

547
00:37:53,600 --> 00:37:58,480
unwavering, uncontended 
devotion, you know what that 

548
00:37:58,480 --> 00:38:01,000
does. 
It invites the power of God in 

549
00:38:01,000 --> 00:38:03,560
your life. 
It invites the peace of God in 

550
00:38:03,560 --> 00:38:07,640
your life. 
It invites the purpose of God in

551
00:38:07,720 --> 00:38:13,360
your life. 
Build your temples, exercise 

552
00:38:13,360 --> 00:38:17,800
your wisdom, enjoy your riches. 
Have all, if you will, the 

553
00:38:17,840 --> 00:38:21,440
acknowledgement of others 
because them astonished by your 

554
00:38:21,440 --> 00:38:24,960
life. 
But if Heaven isn't impressed, 

555
00:38:26,720 --> 00:38:29,880
it don't matter what my peers 
say, it don't matter what my 

556
00:38:29,880 --> 00:38:35,360
family says. 
If Heaven isn't impressed, if 

557
00:38:35,360 --> 00:38:38,080
I'm not totally surrendered, 
totally devoted, totally giving 

558
00:38:38,080 --> 00:38:41,760
myself to him, that's what he 
wants. 

559
00:38:42,320 --> 00:38:45,080
He wants me. 
He wants you. 

560
00:38:46,680 --> 00:38:48,720
All the other things that come 
with that would be the 

561
00:38:48,720 --> 00:38:52,840
byproducts of that. 
We can't use all these other 

562
00:38:52,840 --> 00:38:58,200
things as facades and fronts, 
masking the lack of devotion. 

563
00:38:58,920 --> 00:39:02,320
I got to be devoted tonight. 
I need to be devoted. 

564
00:39:03,160 --> 00:39:07,840
Oh search me, oh Lord, search 
me, oh Lord, and know my heart. 

565
00:39:08,800 --> 00:39:13,440
Try me and know my thoughts. 
See if there be any wicked way 

566
00:39:13,440 --> 00:39:19,200
in me. 
The Proverbs of four and 23 that

567
00:39:19,640 --> 00:39:24,720
we're to keep our heart with all
diligence, for out of it flows 

568
00:39:25,400 --> 00:39:29,960
the issues of life. 
Whenever you read Solomon, you 

569
00:39:29,960 --> 00:39:32,120
want to read him and you want to
read everything he wrote. 

570
00:39:32,480 --> 00:39:35,480
When you read the Song of 
Solomon, which is about Solomon 

571
00:39:35,480 --> 00:39:39,040
and his beloved, the Shulamite 
woman, that's the way that 

572
00:39:39,040 --> 00:39:41,840
things are supposed to be, 
right? 

573
00:39:42,200 --> 00:39:45,000
Enraptured in that love moment 
with the beloved. 

574
00:39:45,120 --> 00:39:47,360
That's the way things are 
supposed to be. 

575
00:39:48,280 --> 00:39:50,880
And whenever you read Proverbs, 
all of the wisdom and stuff that

576
00:39:50,880 --> 00:39:52,760
is spoken, we're enthralled by 
that. 

577
00:39:53,000 --> 00:39:57,240
But then there's Ecclesiastes. 
And Ecclesiastes is the writing 

578
00:39:57,240 --> 00:40:05,960
of regrets of a Solomon that had
missed complete devotion to God.

579
00:40:06,760 --> 00:40:10,440
And he says I built structures 
and it wasn't satisfying. 

580
00:40:11,160 --> 00:40:14,000
I exercised my wisdom in all 
things that it wasn't 

581
00:40:14,000 --> 00:40:16,240
satisfying. 
You know what he was saying. 

582
00:40:16,440 --> 00:40:20,200
There's nothing like complete 
devotion in so much that his 

583
00:40:20,200 --> 00:40:23,720
final words of Ecclesiastes were
this he said, let us hear the 

584
00:40:23,720 --> 00:40:27,520
conclusion of the whole matter. 
Fear God and keep his 

585
00:40:27,520 --> 00:40:30,640
commandments. 
For this is the whole duty of 

586
00:40:30,640 --> 00:40:32,320
man. 
You know what he's saying. 

587
00:40:32,600 --> 00:40:38,040
The whole duty of man is for him
to be devoted to God, for him to

588
00:40:38,120 --> 00:40:43,160
be devoted to God. 
These halters are open. 

589
00:40:43,160 --> 00:40:46,040
They'll prepare a song. 
I wonder if we could just meet 

590
00:40:46,040 --> 00:40:49,640
the Lord at a position and at a 
point, if you will, of 

591
00:40:49,640 --> 00:40:53,600
confession at a position and at 
a point of reality, at a 

592
00:40:53,600 --> 00:40:57,280
position and at a point of just 
realness with him. 

593
00:40:57,520 --> 00:40:59,920
God, I'm peeling back every 
layer of my life. 

594
00:41:00,160 --> 00:41:03,000
I'm peeling back every facade. 
I'm peeling it all back tonight.

595
00:41:03,240 --> 00:41:06,800
And Lord, I want you to help me,
Lord, in the area of devotion. 

596
00:41:07,080 --> 00:41:09,480
God, oh God, I don't want to 
serve. 

597
00:41:09,840 --> 00:41:12,560
I don't want to serve any other 
master but you. 

598
00:41:13,120 --> 00:41:15,520
I don't want to serve anyone 
else but you. 

599
00:41:16,080 --> 00:41:20,360
God, I pray, O Lord, tonight I 
want it to be you and you alone.

600
00:41:20,640 --> 00:41:22,720
I don't want to keep my options 
open. 

601
00:41:23,000 --> 00:41:26,200
I don't want to be blown about 
by every wind to this thing and 

602
00:41:26,200 --> 00:41:28,720
that thing. 
No, Lord, it's you forsaking all

603
00:41:28,720 --> 00:41:29,720
others. 
You, you, you, you, you alone. 

604
00:41:29,720 --> 00:41:31,160
Hallelujah, Jesus.