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And, and, and I'll share this 
actually, I remember my pastor. 

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Pastor. 
Tom, he said, he said one time 

3
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that his his spiritual father, 
his pastor, Ken Sumrall, he, he 

4
00:00:09,560 --> 00:00:12,200
visited here one time and he 
said all it took was for him to 

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show up one time and say, Tom, I
wouldn't do that again. 

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00:00:15,520 --> 00:00:16,840
And he said, and I never did it 
again. 

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It took me years before I 
finally said what? 

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What was it? 
Well, they were doing something.

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00:00:21,880 --> 00:00:24,480
Thank you, Sarah, where maybe 
you've been in a church and 

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00:00:24,480 --> 00:00:27,480
you've seen it. 
The baskets are up at the front 

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instead of passing baskets. 
That's what it was. 

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And I said, I said why didn't he
like that? 

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And he went. 
I don't know. 

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I just know he didn't like it, 
so I never did it again. 

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And you know, well, I don't 
think you always have to do that

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when it comes to a human. 
Is that not the way? 

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That we're supposed to live when
the Lord tells us something. 

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I think too many times we wait 
until everything reconciles in 

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our mind. 
The Lord tells us something, but

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00:00:51,880 --> 00:00:53,960
we want it to make sense. 
But if you're waiting for 

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00:00:53,960 --> 00:00:57,080
everything in your faith life to
make sense, good luck. 

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It's not really faith if it 
makes sense, is it? 

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Well, you can turn to Hebrews 
chapter 2. 

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This will be my my last 
Wednesday for a little bit. 

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I mean, I'll be here, but I'm 
really excited for the reason 

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why we've got some Bible college
interns that are going to be 

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sharing some words. 
So we're going to be hearing 

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some words from, you know, 
Autumn Nichols, Brendan Newton, 

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Miriam Hernandez next week. 
Not a Bible college intern, but 

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we do have a sucker sharing a 
word with you next week. 

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And that's my wife. 
Because the reason I say this, 

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she said, she said, listen, she 
said, I need to talk to you and 

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I and I really don't want to. 
And I said thank you. 

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That's what you want to hear 
from your spouse. 

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She said. 
She said. 

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I feel like the Lord gave me 
something to share. 

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And I said. 
Well, don't let me get in 

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between you and the Lord's will.
So I'll be excited to hear 

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00:01:49,520 --> 00:01:52,360
Cassie share. 
A word next week and some other 

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people who have gone through the
internship program are going to 

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help us. 
They're going to share in the 

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months to come to Michael 
Fletcher, Joya Barnett. 

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So I'm really excited to hear 
what the Lord is going to speak 

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00:02:01,640 --> 00:02:03,160
through these people. 
I'll be here. 

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00:02:04,560 --> 00:02:06,600
I just won't be here, if that 
makes sense. 

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00:02:07,040 --> 00:02:10,479
So before we get to Hebrews 2, 
hopefully I'll pronounce this 

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00:02:10,479 --> 00:02:12,400
right. 
But it's fascinating story I 

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came across. 
And it's it happened. 

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00:02:15,360 --> 00:02:18,280
In March of 2011, Japan 
experienced one of the most 

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powerful earthquakes. 
In recorded history and within 

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minutes there was a massive 
tsunami that crashed into the 

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northeastern coast and there 
were nearly 20,000 people who 

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lost their lives in the storm. 
I mean, it was absolutely tragic

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and horrendous. 
The force of water just swept 

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through homes, vehicles and all 
sorts of stuff, but it also 

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washed a lot of boats out away 
from the shore and one of. 

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Those was a 164 foot fishing 
vessel pronounced the Ryun Maru.

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I'll call it the R boat from now
on, but I wanted. 

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00:02:53,360 --> 00:02:56,320
To say it, this boat wasn't out 
there fishing. 

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00:02:56,840 --> 00:03:01,080
It had been tied securely to a 
harbour and it had actually been

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00:03:01,080 --> 00:03:03,320
just on a list. 
It was waiting to be dismantled 

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00:03:03,320 --> 00:03:05,960
for scrap, so it was just 
sitting there. 

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But when the tsunami hit, it 
snapped the mooring lines and it

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just disappeared into the ocean.
So everybody assumed that this 

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boat had just sunk. 
It was just gone. 

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But it wasn't gone. 
It drifted. 

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00:03:18,080 --> 00:03:20,960
So how long did it drift? 
I'm glad you asked. 

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More than a year it drifted and 
people thought it was gone. 

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00:03:25,040 --> 00:03:27,560
Nobody had any idea where this 
boat was. 

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Remember how big this boat is 
and nobody had a clue? 

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00:03:30,520 --> 00:03:32,000
That'll tell you how big the 
ocean is. 

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00:03:32,920 --> 00:03:37,720
It drifted from Japan across the
Pacific Ocean with no captain 

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and no crew. 
Nobody. 

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00:03:39,360 --> 00:03:43,640
At the helm, ocean currents 
carried it thousands of miles 

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until it finally settled off the
coast of Alaska. 

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00:03:48,640 --> 00:03:52,720
Alaska by then. 
It had become such a hazard to 

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other ships because it couldn't 
safely be recovered. 

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And so the Coast Guard made the 
difficult decision. 

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They had to sink it right where 
it was. 

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So that's how they handled that.
But as I read that story a while

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00:04:03,600 --> 00:04:05,360
ago, I couldn't get. 
It out of my mind because that 

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00:04:05,360 --> 00:04:08,040
ship was not designed to cross 
an ocean, but there it went. 

83
00:04:08,920 --> 00:04:11,960
It wasn't trying to be 
dangerous, it it was just simply

84
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drifting because there was 
nothing there holding it into 

85
00:04:14,320 --> 00:04:16,040
place. 
There was nobody to guide it. 

86
00:04:16,040 --> 00:04:18,959
And so it just floated and went 
where it went. 

87
00:04:21,040 --> 00:04:23,640
And sadly, I think that is also 
one of the clearest pictures of 

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00:04:23,640 --> 00:04:26,040
the Christian life that I've 
ever seen. 

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00:04:26,720 --> 00:04:29,200
If you don't have it anchored, 
if you don't have it tethered to

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00:04:29,200 --> 00:04:33,560
something, it'll drift. 
And I don't know of any story. 

91
00:04:33,560 --> 00:04:35,760
I can't say it's never happened,
but I don't know of any story 

92
00:04:35,760 --> 00:04:37,520
where somebody. 
Woke up 1 morning and just said 

93
00:04:37,520 --> 00:04:40,600
you know what, I think I'll walk
away from God. 

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00:04:41,320 --> 00:04:44,400
Nobody plans to become 
spiritually cold or to lose 

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00:04:44,400 --> 00:04:47,560
their passion for Jesus or. 
Neglect their family or 

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00:04:47,560 --> 00:04:50,160
compromise their integrity. 
Nobody wakes up 1 morning and 

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00:04:50,160 --> 00:04:52,880
says I think today's the day 
that I'll stop listening to God.

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00:04:52,880 --> 00:04:56,120
There is normally something that
happens where there is a slow. 

99
00:04:56,120 --> 00:05:00,400
And gradual decline, something 
that was once passionate and a 

100
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starts to fade. 
And before you know it, we've 

101
00:05:03,320 --> 00:05:06,440
drifted. 
And before you know it, you've 

102
00:05:06,440 --> 00:05:08,680
got one missed opportunity to 
obey. 

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00:05:08,680 --> 00:05:10,880
And it becomes a habit. 
And once it becomes a habit, it 

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becomes your routine. 
And once it becomes your 

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routine, it becomes your life. 
So the book of Hebrews, we're 

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00:05:15,480 --> 00:05:17,000
going to start in the very first
verse. 

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00:05:17,000 --> 00:05:19,160
And I want you to know it's not 
warning you about rebellion. 

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Listen to what it says, just the
first 4 verses. 

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00:05:22,080 --> 00:05:26,840
We must listen very carefully to
the truth we've heard, or we may

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drift away from it. 
I could just stop it right 

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00:05:29,840 --> 00:05:33,680
there. 
But the author of Hebrews says 

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For the message God delivered 
through angels has always stood 

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00:05:37,960 --> 00:05:41,080
firm, and every violation of the
law and every act of 

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disobedience was punished. 
So what makes us think? 

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That we can escape if we ignore 
this great salvation that was 

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first announced by the Lord 
Jesus Himself and then delivered

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00:05:50,800 --> 00:05:53,800
to us by those who heard him 
speak and God. 

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00:05:53,800 --> 00:05:58,000
Confirmed the message. 
By giving signs and wonders and 

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various miracles and gifts of 
the Holy Spirit whenever He 

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00:06:02,560 --> 00:06:05,560
chose, so God has provided. 
For us there have been 

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00:06:05,560 --> 00:06:07,880
consequences, but God has also 
provided guidance. 

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00:06:07,880 --> 00:06:10,200
He always does this. 
He is so good to us. 

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00:06:10,200 --> 00:06:12,520
Even the consequences are 
blessings. 

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They are not pleasant blessings,
but they are still blessings. 

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00:06:16,520 --> 00:06:20,800
We need corrections sometimes. 
And isn't it something some 

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00:06:20,800 --> 00:06:23,360
translations? 
Would would say pay much closer 

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00:06:23,360 --> 00:06:27,360
attention lest you drift away. 
We have to pay attention because

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otherwise we drift. 
And when you drift you just 

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00:06:29,440 --> 00:06:32,800
don't know. 
I remember being in high school 

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and going on a on a trip to I 
think. 

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It was like the water park, I 
forget the name of it, but the 

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00:06:37,320 --> 00:06:39,800
water park down there near Busch
Gardens over there. 

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Was it water country USA? 
Thank you dude. 

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00:06:43,120 --> 00:06:45,400
You sound like you have been 
there many times. 

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So we went there and I remember 
we were just floating and, and I

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remember looking and I remember 
looking and seeing the girl that

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00:06:55,240 --> 00:06:56,760
I kind of wanted to float close 
to. 

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And I remember the teachers were
over there and that was great 

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00:06:59,160 --> 00:07:02,440
because they were the chaperone.
So I'm like, without people. 

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00:07:02,440 --> 00:07:05,280
Looking I'm like trying to like 
move the water right? 

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00:07:05,400 --> 00:07:09,480
So I just casually float and I'm
trying to look laid back and I I

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00:07:09,480 --> 00:07:11,440
wasn't planning to share the. 
Story just popped into my head 

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00:07:11,440 --> 00:07:14,200
so God must want me to share it.
I wouldn't share it. 

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00:07:14,760 --> 00:07:17,400
I'm trying to get close to this 
girl and I'm trying to look laid

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00:07:17,400 --> 00:07:20,440
back so my eyes are closed. 
And before you know it, I, I 

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00:07:20,440 --> 00:07:23,640
feel skin here and I'm like, 
there. 

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00:07:23,640 --> 00:07:26,280
So now I get to have the moment 
where I'm like, oh, I'm so 

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00:07:26,280 --> 00:07:29,320
sorry. 
And I turn around and it is our 

149
00:07:29,320 --> 00:07:35,280
math teacher's foot. 
The teachers were not near me. 

150
00:07:36,200 --> 00:07:38,120
But it was the math teacher's 
foot. 

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00:07:39,000 --> 00:07:43,080
And I just, I just gave up on 
that method after that. 

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00:07:43,600 --> 00:07:44,920
My eyes were not closed that 
long. 

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00:07:44,920 --> 00:07:46,760
It was a drift. 
It was a drift. 

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00:07:46,880 --> 00:07:51,040
Have you ever noticed that if 
you are beach dwellers, as I am 

155
00:07:51,040 --> 00:07:53,560
not that when you go there, 
sometimes you're just playing 

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00:07:53,560 --> 00:07:55,680
out there in the ocean and 
before you know what, you look 

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00:07:55,680 --> 00:07:57,720
back and you're like, why are 
our. 

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00:07:57,720 --> 00:07:59,840
Towels over there. 
We started here. 

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00:08:00,200 --> 00:08:03,920
You can't tell because it's 
gradual unless you're focused on

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00:08:03,920 --> 00:08:06,400
what is your anchor. 
Sometimes that's a physical 

161
00:08:06,400 --> 00:08:08,760
anchor with a boat. 
Sometimes it's a visual anchor, 

162
00:08:08,760 --> 00:08:10,520
but you have got to pay 
attention. 

163
00:08:10,520 --> 00:08:12,600
When you don't pay attention, 
you're in trouble. 

164
00:08:13,960 --> 00:08:15,560
Like I said, nobody 
accidentally. 

165
00:08:15,560 --> 00:08:18,160
Rebels against God, it's always 
something that they've thought 

166
00:08:18,160 --> 00:08:21,000
about. 
That warning that we just read 

167
00:08:21,000 --> 00:08:24,040
in Hebrews is important. 
Let me just say this, it's not a

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00:08:24,040 --> 00:08:26,680
season of Bible study, but when 
we return to the season of Bible

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00:08:26,680 --> 00:08:30,440
study later on in October, we're
going to be going into the book 

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00:08:30,440 --> 00:08:32,520
of Hebrews and breaking this 
down. 

171
00:08:33,679 --> 00:08:37,240
It is not written to atheists. 
It's not written to wishy washy 

172
00:08:37,240 --> 00:08:38,799
believers. 
It's not trying to convince the 

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00:08:38,799 --> 00:08:41,280
Jewish population to believe in 
Jesus. 

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00:08:41,280 --> 00:08:46,280
It's written to people who love 
Jesus, serve Jesus, and he says.

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00:08:47,320 --> 00:08:50,000
Listen very carefully to the 
truth you've heard, or you may 

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00:08:50,000 --> 00:08:55,080
drift away from it. 
We've got to We lose our joy, 

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00:08:55,080 --> 00:08:57,880
our initial joy of salvation, 
when we don't tend to it. 

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00:08:59,040 --> 00:09:01,760
And if we don't recognize how 
drift works, then we'll just 

179
00:09:01,760 --> 00:09:04,080
assume we're standing still. 
But the current is actually 

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00:09:04,080 --> 00:09:06,920
carrying us away. 
I want to talk about spiritual 

181
00:09:06,920 --> 00:09:08,920
drift. 
This is one of the best things I

182
00:09:08,920 --> 00:09:11,120
can hand to you guys on a 
Wednesday night because it is a 

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00:09:11,120 --> 00:09:13,640
little more challenging than an 
average Sunday where you've got 

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00:09:13,640 --> 00:09:15,960
a wider variety. 
But I also want to set you up. 

185
00:09:15,960 --> 00:09:19,640
For coming out and supporting as
we have Bible college interns 

186
00:09:19,640 --> 00:09:22,080
and other people that the God is
speaking to in this church, I'm 

187
00:09:22,080 --> 00:09:23,480
going to be here. 
I want to hear what God is 

188
00:09:23,480 --> 00:09:25,720
saying through them. 
I hope you will be too. 

189
00:09:26,680 --> 00:09:28,960
Drifting is subtle. 
It's the first thing I want to 

190
00:09:28,960 --> 00:09:30,840
share with you. 
Drifting is subtle. 

191
00:09:31,120 --> 00:09:33,080
It is quiet. 
It is so. 

192
00:09:33,080 --> 00:09:37,120
Gradual that you often don't 
recognize it happening, and I 

193
00:09:37,120 --> 00:09:40,320
cannot think of a better picture
of that in the Bible than the 

194
00:09:40,320 --> 00:09:43,240
life of Samson. 
So when you look at these 

195
00:09:43,240 --> 00:09:45,760
normally, I've got little facts,
I've actually got little chunks 

196
00:09:45,760 --> 00:09:49,640
of scripture, and I've done this
as a men's lesson before in 

197
00:09:49,640 --> 00:09:51,720
different ways. 
I want to show how he. 

198
00:09:51,720 --> 00:09:55,520
Drifted and didn't just make a 
decision to walk away from the 

199
00:09:55,520 --> 00:09:57,800
Lord. 
What do you think of when you 

200
00:09:57,800 --> 00:09:59,200
think of Samson? 
The. 

201
00:09:59,200 --> 00:10:01,480
Obvious stuff, right? 
Hair, right? 

202
00:10:01,560 --> 00:10:05,440
Probably a really bad haircut. 
Delilah, right? 

203
00:10:05,880 --> 00:10:09,280
Not the not the smooth one that 
talks to you on evening radio 

204
00:10:11,240 --> 00:10:14,040
and not the plain white T song, 
but we. 

205
00:10:14,040 --> 00:10:16,160
Think about his hair and we 
think about Delilah betraying 

206
00:10:16,160 --> 00:10:17,960
him, cutting his hair. 
There have been songs written 

207
00:10:17,960 --> 00:10:21,400
about it, but by the time his 
hair hit the ground, he had 

208
00:10:21,400 --> 00:10:24,720
already been drifting for years.
And a lot of people really do 

209
00:10:24,720 --> 00:10:26,600
miss that. 
So we'll start at the very 

210
00:10:26,600 --> 00:10:29,200
beginning of Judges chapter 13 
and we'll. 

211
00:10:29,200 --> 00:10:33,920
Just go from there. 
It says again, the Israelites 

212
00:10:33,920 --> 00:10:36,640
did evil in the Lord's sight. 
Isn't it sad that starts with 

213
00:10:36,640 --> 00:10:39,400
again? 
OK, so the. 

214
00:10:39,400 --> 00:10:41,600
Lord handed them over to the 
Philistines, who oppressed them 

215
00:10:41,600 --> 00:10:46,520
for 40 years, and in those days 
a man named Manoa from the tribe

216
00:10:46,520 --> 00:10:48,320
of Dan lived in the town of 
Zarah. 

217
00:10:48,800 --> 00:10:51,680
His wife was unable to become 
pregnant and they had no 

218
00:10:51,680 --> 00:10:54,040
children. 
The Angel of the Lord appeared 

219
00:10:54,040 --> 00:10:57,080
to Manoah's wife and said, Even 
though you have been unable to 

220
00:10:57,080 --> 00:10:59,840
have children, you will soon 
become pregnant and give birth 

221
00:10:59,840 --> 00:11:03,000
to a son. 
So be careful you. 

222
00:11:03,000 --> 00:11:07,160
Must not drink wine or any other
alcoholic drink, nor eat any 

223
00:11:07,160 --> 00:11:10,080
forbidden food. 
You will become pregnant and 

224
00:11:10,080 --> 00:11:13,240
give birth to a son, and his 
hair must never be cut, for he 

225
00:11:13,240 --> 00:11:16,400
will be dedicated to God as a 
Nazarite from birth. 

226
00:11:17,080 --> 00:11:20,480
He will begin to rescue Israel 
from the Philistines. 

227
00:11:20,880 --> 00:11:24,560
Just begin. 
Samson's story actually begins 

228
00:11:24,560 --> 00:11:26,720
with a promise. 
Before he's ever born, God had 

229
00:11:26,720 --> 00:11:28,640
already set him apart for a 
purpose. 

230
00:11:29,000 --> 00:11:31,560
And, and, and we've got the 
Angel of the Lord here appearing

231
00:11:31,560 --> 00:11:32,760
to his. 
Parents and telling them he's 

232
00:11:32,760 --> 00:11:34,920
going to be a Nazarite. 
That was not just a title. 

233
00:11:35,200 --> 00:11:37,560
You could go further back into 
Leviticus and you could read 

234
00:11:37,560 --> 00:11:39,240
about the Nazarites. 
They were set apart in a 

235
00:11:39,240 --> 00:11:42,160
different way to the Lord and. 
This is not something that had 

236
00:11:42,160 --> 00:11:44,400
to be explained to them. 
The second is that second that 

237
00:11:44,400 --> 00:11:45,920
they would have heard Nazarite. 
They would have known. 

238
00:11:47,440 --> 00:11:49,840
So there were specific. 
Boundaries that God gave him. 

239
00:11:49,840 --> 00:11:52,400
And it's not because God likes 
making your life difficult. 

240
00:11:52,440 --> 00:11:56,280
Although there are times I have 
been like Lord and I get it, 

241
00:11:56,520 --> 00:11:59,320
this was not something that was 
an attempt to make things 

242
00:11:59,440 --> 00:12:03,240
harder. 
For Samson, these were beautiful

243
00:12:03,240 --> 00:12:06,800
reminders to Samson that he was 
set apart for something great 

244
00:12:07,720 --> 00:12:09,440
anytime. 
The Lord lays a restriction on 

245
00:12:09,440 --> 00:12:11,960
you anytime he tells you when 
you're watching something and he

246
00:12:11,960 --> 00:12:14,800
says that's not for you when 
you're having a conversation and

247
00:12:14,800 --> 00:12:18,480
he says don't speak like that. 
When he says go and do this. 

248
00:12:18,480 --> 00:12:21,320
When he calls you to something 
and you look around and you say,

249
00:12:21,560 --> 00:12:23,280
but God, I don't see other 
people doing this. 

250
00:12:23,280 --> 00:12:25,600
That does not mean God's not 
speaking to you. 

251
00:12:26,240 --> 00:12:28,960
Actually, a lot of times it 
means he is speaking to you and 

252
00:12:29,520 --> 00:12:32,920
he is calling you to something 
specific and it is up to you to 

253
00:12:32,920 --> 00:12:37,720
either obey or rebel. 
Samson starts with a promise. 

254
00:12:37,920 --> 00:12:40,520
He is. 
Set apart before he's even born 

255
00:12:40,880 --> 00:12:44,360
because he is called to begin 
the salvation of his people, 

256
00:12:45,280 --> 00:12:47,680
even as long hair was a daily 
symbol that he had been set 

257
00:12:47,680 --> 00:12:50,720
apart. 
That's why I think that drift 

258
00:12:50,720 --> 00:12:53,760
almost always begins with 
identity before it ever becomes 

259
00:12:53,760 --> 00:12:55,320
your behavior. 
Long. 

260
00:12:55,320 --> 00:12:57,720
Before we start making 
compromises on our actions, 

261
00:12:57,720 --> 00:12:59,680
we've stopped remembering who we
are. 

262
00:13:00,000 --> 00:13:02,400
At some point, he wasn't acting 
like a Nazarite anymore, and 

263
00:13:02,400 --> 00:13:04,600
you'll see that. 
And we've been bought by the 

264
00:13:04,600 --> 00:13:06,400
blood, and we know that we're 
redeemed. 

265
00:13:06,600 --> 00:13:08,720
And you know what we do? 
We're really good at this. 

266
00:13:08,720 --> 00:13:11,400
As humans, we take it for 
granted. 

267
00:13:12,760 --> 00:13:15,240
We take it for granted. 
Especially the more that you 

268
00:13:15,240 --> 00:13:17,080
know him, it's easy to drift 
into that. 

269
00:13:17,080 --> 00:13:19,680
And I'll tell you why it's easy 
to drift into it. 

270
00:13:19,680 --> 00:13:21,400
Because we know how forgiving he
is. 

271
00:13:21,880 --> 00:13:23,320
And we. 
Know how loving He is, and we 

272
00:13:23,320 --> 00:13:25,560
know how merciful He is. 
Growing. 

273
00:13:25,560 --> 00:13:26,680
Up. 
Did y'all have a parent that you

274
00:13:26,680 --> 00:13:28,360
knew you could get away with 
more with? 

275
00:13:29,400 --> 00:13:31,240
And did you act different when 
it was just them? 

276
00:13:32,520 --> 00:13:38,520
Uh huh, right? 
We've got a perfect father who 

277
00:13:38,520 --> 00:13:40,560
could toss one of those 
lightning bolts down on us. 

278
00:13:40,840 --> 00:13:43,120
He doesn't. 
We know how merciful He is, and 

279
00:13:43,120 --> 00:13:45,280
we know how forgiving He is, and
we know how loving He is. 

280
00:13:45,920 --> 00:13:48,760
And our little rebellious heart 
takes advantage of that 

281
00:13:48,760 --> 00:13:51,440
sometimes, doesn't it? 
You'll. 

282
00:13:51,440 --> 00:13:53,880
Understand if I don't meet with 
you this morning, my life has 

283
00:13:53,880 --> 00:13:55,840
been crazy. 
God, what Good thing he's got 

284
00:13:55,840 --> 00:14:00,520
nothing going on. 
Listen to this in chapter 14. 

285
00:14:01,400 --> 00:14:03,840
He's now grown up and it says 
one day when Samson was in 

286
00:14:03,840 --> 00:14:06,440
Timna, one of. 
The Philistine women caught his 

287
00:14:06,440 --> 00:14:07,320
eye. 
Uh oh. 

288
00:14:07,520 --> 00:14:09,760
Isn't he supposed to save his 
people from the Philistines? 

289
00:14:11,160 --> 00:14:13,040
But one of the Philistine women 
catches his eye. 

290
00:14:13,040 --> 00:14:15,200
And when he returned home, he 
told his father and mother. 

291
00:14:15,400 --> 00:14:18,120
A young Philistine woman in 
Timna caught my eye. 

292
00:14:18,960 --> 00:14:20,880
I want to marry her. 
Get. 

293
00:14:20,880 --> 00:14:29,920
Her for me, he, if you can't 
tell us, a romantic hallmark in 

294
00:14:29,920 --> 00:14:34,080
ancient days. 
His father and mother objected. 

295
00:14:34,080 --> 00:14:37,400
They said, isn't there even one 
woman in our tribe or among all 

296
00:14:37,400 --> 00:14:38,960
the Israelites that you could 
marry? 

297
00:14:39,480 --> 00:14:42,000
Why must you go to the? 
Pagan Philistines to find a wife

298
00:14:42,000 --> 00:14:44,280
and Samson told his father. 
Get her for me. 

299
00:14:44,280 --> 00:14:50,680
She looks good to me. 
Here's what I'm pointing out 

300
00:14:51,920 --> 00:14:53,640
where. 
Is his Nazarite identity in 

301
00:14:53,640 --> 00:14:56,880
this? 
Where? 

302
00:14:56,880 --> 00:15:00,360
Is his identity of being a man 
who is called by God for 

303
00:15:00,360 --> 00:15:03,880
something in this. 
It's the appetite there. 

304
00:15:04,520 --> 00:15:08,640
She looks good to me. 
Get her for me. 

305
00:15:09,600 --> 00:15:11,320
What if? 
She doesn't want to be gotten 

306
00:15:11,320 --> 00:15:13,640
for you. 
It doesn't matter. 

307
00:15:13,640 --> 00:15:15,760
It doesn't matter what mother 
and father say there. 

308
00:15:16,720 --> 00:15:18,840
He's got something that he 
desires and he's going to get 

309
00:15:18,840 --> 00:15:20,760
it. 
And. 

310
00:15:20,880 --> 00:15:23,240
I would venture to say there's 
probably not a lot of bad things

311
00:15:23,240 --> 00:15:24,960
that happened to him. 
You know, it would be wild. 

312
00:15:24,960 --> 00:15:26,560
I wonder what his teen years 
were like. 

313
00:15:27,360 --> 00:15:30,320
I bet he was a strong kid. 
I bet you nobody tangled with 

314
00:15:30,320 --> 00:15:31,920
Samson. 
I bet you he got his way. 

315
00:15:32,280 --> 00:15:36,160
I'm just hypothesizing there, 
but the first warning doesn't 

316
00:15:36,160 --> 00:15:39,600
look that dramatic, does it? 
He looks at somebody who 

317
00:15:39,600 --> 00:15:42,360
worships a different God. 
This has nothing to do with 

318
00:15:42,360 --> 00:15:44,320
race. 
Somebody who worships a 

319
00:15:44,320 --> 00:15:46,640
different God and says. 
That'll do. 

320
00:15:47,960 --> 00:15:50,400
His parents immediately pushed 
back because they recognize the 

321
00:15:50,400 --> 00:15:53,040
direction he's headed, as 
parents are supposed to, and 

322
00:15:53,840 --> 00:15:56,520
they remind him that he's called
to something different. 

323
00:15:57,120 --> 00:15:58,600
But he. 
Said she looks good to me. 

324
00:16:00,640 --> 00:16:02,120
So. 
Instead of asking what does God 

325
00:16:02,120 --> 00:16:04,400
want, he began asking, what do I
want? 

326
00:16:05,160 --> 00:16:06,880
That's one. 
Of the first places we fall into

327
00:16:06,880 --> 00:16:08,520
adrift. 
But the story? 

328
00:16:08,520 --> 00:16:10,760
Keeps moving on. 
We're going to go to verse 5. 

329
00:16:11,760 --> 00:16:15,520
Then once we're given what feels
like a random detail there, it 

330
00:16:15,520 --> 00:16:17,760
actually tells us everything we 
need to to know here. 

331
00:16:17,760 --> 00:16:20,240
Listen this Samson and his 
parents were going. 

332
00:16:20,400 --> 00:16:22,560
Down to Timna, 'cause I guess he
got his way. 

333
00:16:23,120 --> 00:16:24,600
A. 
Young lion suddenly attacked 

334
00:16:24,600 --> 00:16:27,480
Samson near the vineyards of 
Timna, and at that moment the. 

335
00:16:27,480 --> 00:16:30,680
Spirit of the Lord came 
powerfully upon him, and he 

336
00:16:30,680 --> 00:16:33,840
ripped the lion's jaws apart 
with his bare hands. 

337
00:16:34,440 --> 00:16:36,320
He did it as. 
Easily, as if it were a young 

338
00:16:36,320 --> 00:16:38,320
goat, which still sounds 
difficult to me. 

339
00:16:38,760 --> 00:16:39,000
I'm. 
Just. 

340
00:16:39,480 --> 00:16:42,600
I've never ripped somebody's 
skull apart, but this sounds 

341
00:16:42,600 --> 00:16:47,360
difficult, OK? 
And it says he didn't tell his 

342
00:16:47,360 --> 00:16:50,720
father or mother about it. 
When? 

343
00:16:50,720 --> 00:16:53,400
Samson arrived in Timna. 
He talked with a woman and was 

344
00:16:53,400 --> 00:16:58,000
very pleased with her. 
Later, when he returned to Timna

345
00:16:58,000 --> 00:17:01,400
for the wedding, he turned off 
the path to look at the carcass 

346
00:17:01,400 --> 00:17:04,400
of the lion. 
Now I'm going to pause here. 

347
00:17:06,000 --> 00:17:09,520
We'll do a little Q&A here. 3 
requirements of a Nazarite who 

348
00:17:09,520 --> 00:17:14,200
can give me one of them? 
One of them don't touch 

349
00:17:14,200 --> 00:17:14,720
anything. 
What? 

350
00:17:15,599 --> 00:17:17,839
Don't touch anything dead, 
correct? 

351
00:17:17,960 --> 00:17:19,319
I don't care how much you love 
them. 

352
00:17:19,319 --> 00:17:20,560
I don't care if they're your 
relative. 

353
00:17:20,560 --> 00:17:23,240
I don't care if it's your child,
if it's your parent, if it is a 

354
00:17:23,240 --> 00:17:26,040
dead body, you must regard it as
off limits. 

355
00:17:26,599 --> 00:17:31,000
For the nazarite #2 Peter, no 
alcohol really. 

356
00:17:31,000 --> 00:17:34,400
Nothing from the vine, even. 
Before it gets fermented, Welch 

357
00:17:34,400 --> 00:17:38,440
is out of business. 
Nothing from the vine, nothing 

358
00:17:38,440 --> 00:17:39,920
dead. 
The third one can't cut. 

359
00:17:42,040 --> 00:17:45,200
Your hair can't cut your hair 
right, you know? 

360
00:17:45,200 --> 00:17:47,560
What that means, ladies, I'm 
going to talk to you in a 

361
00:17:47,560 --> 00:17:49,240
minute. 
You don't even get a trim, you 

362
00:17:50,000 --> 00:17:51,880
know what I'm saying? 
There's no styling here. 

363
00:17:52,360 --> 00:17:54,440
It is literally. 
Meant to be a mark that you're 

364
00:17:54,440 --> 00:17:57,080
set apart. 
It's the visual, visual visible 

365
00:17:57,080 --> 00:17:59,400
mark that you are set apart for 
something different. 

366
00:17:59,640 --> 00:18:02,200
In those days you would have 
seen an Israelite like that and 

367
00:18:02,200 --> 00:18:04,000
you would have been like, that's
a Nazarite. 

368
00:18:04,760 --> 00:18:06,960
You would have known. 
And keep in mind, this is the 

369
00:18:06,960 --> 00:18:09,000
book of judges. 
No kings over Israel. 

370
00:18:09,000 --> 00:18:10,640
The judges are the ones keeping 
order. 

371
00:18:11,000 --> 00:18:15,320
OK, it says later in verse 8, he
returned to Timna for the 

372
00:18:15,320 --> 00:18:16,640
wedding. 
He turned off the path to look 

373
00:18:16,640 --> 00:18:19,960
at the carcass of the lion, and 
he found that a swarm of bees 

374
00:18:19,960 --> 00:18:22,080
had made some honey in the 
carcass. 

375
00:18:23,320 --> 00:18:25,880
So he scooped some of the honey 
into his hands and ate. 

376
00:18:25,880 --> 00:18:29,880
It along the way. 
He. 

377
00:18:29,880 --> 00:18:32,720
Also gave some to his father and
mother and they ate it, but he 

378
00:18:32,720 --> 00:18:34,640
didn't tell them where you'd 
taken the honey from. 

379
00:18:34,880 --> 00:18:36,640
From the Garcas of the lion. 
I bet he didn't. 

380
00:18:39,120 --> 00:18:41,440
It's interesting. 
Have you ever noticed that 

381
00:18:41,440 --> 00:18:44,320
sometimes what you intend to be 
your own discretion, your own 

382
00:18:44,320 --> 00:18:53,200
sin, never stays with you? 
But you know, if you go back 

383
00:18:53,200 --> 00:18:56,280
here to verse 5 as. 
Samson and his parents are going

384
00:18:56,280 --> 00:18:59,200
down near to Timna. 
A young lion suddenly attacked 

385
00:18:59,200 --> 00:19:04,040
Samson near Near what? 
It's near the vineyards. 

386
00:19:04,280 --> 00:19:06,680
How about that? 
And we know he's not even with 

387
00:19:06,680 --> 00:19:08,920
his mother and father here 
because it says he didn't tell 

388
00:19:08,920 --> 00:19:10,800
them about it. 
And I feel like that's something

389
00:19:10,800 --> 00:19:12,360
you would notice if you're 
walking with him. 

390
00:19:13,880 --> 00:19:16,160
At some point. 
He detached from his mother and 

391
00:19:16,160 --> 00:19:18,480
father on the way to get that 
woman for him. 

392
00:19:19,760 --> 00:19:21,560
And. 
Wandered near these vineyards, 

393
00:19:22,200 --> 00:19:25,440
which to me is such a good 
visual of how close can I get to

394
00:19:25,440 --> 00:19:27,920
the edge? 
I'm not going to drink anything 

395
00:19:27,920 --> 00:19:29,200
from it. 
I'm not going to eat a grape. 

396
00:19:29,360 --> 00:19:32,520
I'm not touching you. 
You ever do that as a kid? 

397
00:19:33,640 --> 00:19:38,120
You were a brat if you did that.
Weren't we all? 

398
00:19:40,040 --> 00:19:41,880
He's seeing how close he can get
to it. 

399
00:19:42,160 --> 00:19:45,320
He's touching a dead body here. 
Samson kills a lion on the 

400
00:19:45,320 --> 00:19:48,000
journey, returns to it, pulls 
out honey and shares it later 

401
00:19:48,000 --> 00:19:49,320
on. 
He must have brought a giant 

402
00:19:49,320 --> 00:19:52,560
honeycomb back, something like 
that to share with his parents. 

403
00:19:53,760 --> 00:19:55,640
He knew he wasn't supposed to 
touch a dead body. 

404
00:19:56,600 --> 00:19:58,600
This was not an accident or a 
misunderstanding. 

405
00:19:58,600 --> 00:20:01,400
You don't accidentally realize 
it's a dead body for a lion. 

406
00:20:01,600 --> 00:20:04,720
He specifically went out of his 
way to go see his handiwork 

407
00:20:04,720 --> 00:20:06,520
again. 
He was impressed with himself 

408
00:20:07,520 --> 00:20:11,080
deliberate decision to reach 
into something God told him to 

409
00:20:11,080 --> 00:20:14,040
avoid because he wanted 
something that looked good to 

410
00:20:14,040 --> 00:20:17,800
his eyes. 
Once again, isn't that how 

411
00:20:17,800 --> 00:20:19,600
temptation works? 
It tells us that there is 

412
00:20:19,600 --> 00:20:21,840
something sweet waiting inside 
of something that's actually 

413
00:20:21,840 --> 00:20:24,440
going to lead you down a path 
that eventually leads to death. 

414
00:20:25,520 --> 00:20:28,920
Nothing dramatic happens, though
I'm sure everybody's happy. 

415
00:20:28,920 --> 00:20:33,040
I bet it was great, honey, the 
heavens didn't open. 

416
00:20:33,720 --> 00:20:35,520
There's. 
No sky finger that came down and

417
00:20:35,520 --> 00:20:37,120
thumped him. 
No. 

418
00:20:37,120 --> 00:20:39,040
Lightning bolt life just keeps 
moving on. 

419
00:20:39,040 --> 00:20:41,880
And by the way, that's what 
makes compromise so easy for us.

420
00:20:42,200 --> 00:20:45,080
Have you ever done something and
expected to find God's judgement

421
00:20:45,080 --> 00:20:47,600
and when it didn't come, you 
thought maybe it wasn't that big

422
00:20:47,600 --> 00:20:52,120
of a deal? 
Drift doesn't feel dangerous 

423
00:20:52,120 --> 00:20:54,480
when it's happening because 
every step feels so small. 

424
00:20:55,720 --> 00:20:58,200
By the time we meet Delilah 
Samson. 

425
00:20:58,200 --> 00:21:00,920
Has already trained himself to 
live near the edge. 

426
00:21:01,360 --> 00:21:03,480
He's become comfortable seeing 
how close he could get to 

427
00:21:03,480 --> 00:21:06,120
temptation without getting hurt.
And. 

428
00:21:06,120 --> 00:21:08,120
That brings us to one of the 
most frustrating parts of the 

429
00:21:08,120 --> 00:21:09,840
story. 
This is a lengthy section of 

430
00:21:09,840 --> 00:21:11,000
Scripture. 
I'm going to read it. 

431
00:21:11,640 --> 00:21:14,120
Judges 16. 
We're going to be in verse 4, 

432
00:21:14,120 --> 00:21:15,800
and we're going to read up 
through 17. 

433
00:21:15,800 --> 00:21:19,120
Listen to this sometime later. 
This is his next wife. 

434
00:21:19,240 --> 00:21:23,040
What happened with his last one?
Look, it wasn't a good marriage.

435
00:21:23,560 --> 00:21:25,040
Didn't work out. 
Lots. 

436
00:21:25,040 --> 00:21:26,960
Of stuff involved. 
Lots. 

437
00:21:26,960 --> 00:21:31,080
Of sets of clothing, some foxes 
getting their tails tied 

438
00:21:31,080 --> 00:21:33,520
together, some fire. 
Some people lose their land. 

439
00:21:33,520 --> 00:21:36,760
It's wild. 
But here Samson fell in love 

440
00:21:36,760 --> 00:21:41,040
with a woman named Delilah who 
lived in the valley of Sorek. 

441
00:21:41,240 --> 00:21:43,680
The rulers of the Philistines 
went to her and said, entice 

442
00:21:43,680 --> 00:21:47,040
Samson to tell you what makes 
him so strong and how he can be 

443
00:21:47,040 --> 00:21:48,640
overpowered and tied up 
securely. 

444
00:21:48,840 --> 00:21:51,880
Then each of us will give you 
1100 pieces of silver. 

445
00:21:53,520 --> 00:21:56,960
It's probably a lot of silver. 
So, Delilah said to Samson, 

446
00:21:57,720 --> 00:22:00,120
Please tell me what makes. 
You so strong and what it would 

447
00:22:00,120 --> 00:22:04,320
take to tie you up securely. 
Is this not suspicious to 

448
00:22:04,320 --> 00:22:07,920
anybody else? 
Could you imagine coming home 

449
00:22:07,920 --> 00:22:09,560
one day? 
Hey, I'm just. 

450
00:22:09,560 --> 00:22:15,560
Curious, what is it that would 
make you completely incapable to

451
00:22:15,560 --> 00:22:17,400
fight back if somebody were to 
take everything from you? 

452
00:22:19,480 --> 00:22:23,160
Why do you want to know? 
There's no record that he asks 

453
00:22:23,160 --> 00:22:24,440
this at all, as a matter of 
fact. 

454
00:22:24,440 --> 00:22:27,080
Look, Samson replied. 
If I were tied up with 7 new 

455
00:22:27,080 --> 00:22:29,480
bowstrings that have not yet 
been dried, I'd become as weak 

456
00:22:29,480 --> 00:22:32,720
as anyone else. 
I kind of understand the first 

457
00:22:32,720 --> 00:22:34,560
one. 
It's like he's messing with her.

458
00:22:34,560 --> 00:22:36,320
It's like he's returning a 
Riddle for her. 

459
00:22:36,480 --> 00:22:40,640
Her question but. 
Listen to this verse 8 So the 

460
00:22:40,640 --> 00:22:43,400
Philistine rulers brought 
Delilah 7 new bowstrings and she

461
00:22:43,400 --> 00:22:46,240
tied Samson up with them. 
She had hidden some men in one 

462
00:22:46,240 --> 00:22:47,880
of the inner. 
Rooms of her house and she cried

463
00:22:47,880 --> 00:22:49,640
out. 
Samson, the Philistines have 

464
00:22:49,640 --> 00:22:51,760
come to capture you. 
But Samson snapped the 

465
00:22:51,760 --> 00:22:54,560
bowstrings as a piece of string 
snaps when it's burned by a 

466
00:22:54,560 --> 00:22:56,840
fire. 
So the secret of his strength 

467
00:22:56,840 --> 00:22:59,200
was not discovered. 
Do you not feel like there's a 

468
00:22:59,200 --> 00:23:01,000
conversation to be had after 
this? 

469
00:23:03,120 --> 00:23:05,520
And maybe there was. 
Maybe it's just not included? 

470
00:23:07,640 --> 00:23:09,280
This. 
Doesn't seem like a coincidence 

471
00:23:12,640 --> 00:23:14,440
then, Delilah said. 
You've been making fun of me and

472
00:23:14,440 --> 00:23:16,320
telling me lies. 
Now tell me how you can be tied 

473
00:23:16,320 --> 00:23:19,480
up securely, he said. 
Well, if you weave the seven 

474
00:23:19,480 --> 00:23:21,760
braids of my hair into the 
fabric of the loom and you 

475
00:23:21,760 --> 00:23:24,360
tighten it with the loom 
shuttle, I would become as weak 

476
00:23:24,360 --> 00:23:28,080
as anyone else. 
So while he slept, Delilah wove 

477
00:23:28,080 --> 00:23:30,520
the seven braids of his hair 
into the fabric and then 

478
00:23:30,520 --> 00:23:31,840
tightened it with the loom 
shuttle. 

479
00:23:32,200 --> 00:23:34,800
And again, she cried. 
Out, Samson, the Philistines 

480
00:23:34,800 --> 00:23:37,280
have come to capture you. 
But Samson woke up and pulled 

481
00:23:37,280 --> 00:23:39,920
back the loom shuttle yanked his
hair away from the loom in the 

482
00:23:39,920 --> 00:23:44,560
fabric. 
You understand what's happening 

483
00:23:44,560 --> 00:23:48,400
here. 
Nothing significantly bad has 

484
00:23:48,400 --> 00:23:52,520
been happening to him, and 
because of that he's. 

485
00:23:52,520 --> 00:23:57,760
Not even thrown off. 
When she asks, he's willing to 

486
00:23:57,760 --> 00:24:00,160
play the game, How close to it 
can I get? 

487
00:24:00,600 --> 00:24:02,880
He feels like the strong man 
amongst his enemies. 

488
00:24:03,320 --> 00:24:05,920
He feels like he's still got the
upper hand when it comes to her.

489
00:24:07,520 --> 00:24:10,560
And verse 15 is funny to me. 
Then Delilah pouted. 

490
00:24:12,360 --> 00:24:13,280
How? 
Can you tell? 

491
00:24:13,280 --> 00:24:15,160
Me. 
I love you when you don't share 

492
00:24:15,160 --> 00:24:18,280
your secrets with me. 
You've made fun of me three 

493
00:24:18,280 --> 00:24:19,920
Times Now and you still haven't 
told me. 

494
00:24:19,920 --> 00:24:25,000
What makes you so strong? 
Like he had wronged her. 

495
00:24:27,160 --> 00:24:28,640
So. 
She tormented him. 

496
00:24:28,640 --> 00:24:30,680
This is the Bible. 
She tormented him with her 

497
00:24:30,680 --> 00:24:33,840
nagging day after day until he 
was sick to death of it. 

498
00:24:34,720 --> 00:24:36,400
Finally, Samson shared his 
secret with her. 

499
00:24:36,400 --> 00:24:38,240
My hair has never been cut, he 
confessed. 

500
00:24:38,240 --> 00:24:41,120
I was dedicated to God as a 
Nazarite from birth. 

501
00:24:41,400 --> 00:24:41,720
If. 
My. 

502
00:24:41,720 --> 00:24:43,720
Head were shaved, my strength 
would leave me and I would 

503
00:24:43,720 --> 00:24:48,200
become as weak as anyone else. 
I don't think he really thought 

504
00:24:48,200 --> 00:24:49,640
he'd become as weak as anyone 
else. 

505
00:24:51,000 --> 00:24:52,120
He did. 
Share it with her. 

506
00:24:52,120 --> 00:24:55,080
He got to the point that he was 
willing to say it, but. 

507
00:24:55,080 --> 00:24:57,080
Why would he think it? 
He touched something dead. 

508
00:24:57,200 --> 00:24:59,640
Nothing happened out there near 
the vineyard, nothing happened. 

509
00:24:59,800 --> 00:25:01,440
Shared that honey from something
dead. 

510
00:25:01,600 --> 00:25:03,920
Nothing happened. 
He's playing stupid games, 

511
00:25:03,920 --> 00:25:07,080
winning stupid prizes and really
there's no consequences. 

512
00:25:07,360 --> 00:25:09,080
And for many people, this. 
Is what we do. 

513
00:25:09,080 --> 00:25:13,400
We play with it too long. 
And God, in his grace, even Old 

514
00:25:13,400 --> 00:25:16,480
Testament, you see the grace 
present here, His patience, his 

515
00:25:16,480 --> 00:25:19,640
loving kindness, waiting for him
to learn something from it and 

516
00:25:19,640 --> 00:25:25,120
to turn, and he just doesn't. 
So we get in verse 18, Delilah 

517
00:25:25,120 --> 00:25:26,960
realized he had finally told her
the truth. 

518
00:25:27,840 --> 00:25:29,520
I'm sure they'd heard about the 
Nazarites. 

519
00:25:29,840 --> 00:25:31,640
So she sent for the Philistine 
rulers. 

520
00:25:32,280 --> 00:25:36,920
Come back one more time, she 
said, for he has finally told me

521
00:25:36,920 --> 00:25:39,560
his secret. 
So the Philistine rulers 

522
00:25:39,560 --> 00:25:43,920
returned with the money in their
hands, and Delilah lulled Samson

523
00:25:43,920 --> 00:25:45,760
to sleep with his head in her 
lap. 

524
00:25:46,840 --> 00:25:50,120
And then she called in a man to 
shave off the seven locks of his

525
00:25:50,120 --> 00:25:53,680
hair. 
In this way she began to bring 

526
00:25:53,680 --> 00:25:57,160
him down, and his strength left 
him when she. 

527
00:25:57,160 --> 00:25:59,440
Cried out Samson, the 
Philistines have come to capture

528
00:25:59,440 --> 00:26:00,160
you. 
He. 

529
00:26:00,160 --> 00:26:03,240
Woke up and he thought, I'll do 
as before and shake myself free.

530
00:26:03,920 --> 00:26:07,000
But he didn't realize that the 
Lord had left him. 

531
00:26:07,000 --> 00:26:09,640
Do you understand that? 
That is one of the saddest 

532
00:26:09,640 --> 00:26:13,360
statements in all of scripture. 
He did not know that the Lord 

533
00:26:13,360 --> 00:26:15,800
had left him. 
How can you not tell? 

534
00:26:16,320 --> 00:26:17,920
How can you be used to being in 
His presence? 

535
00:26:17,920 --> 00:26:19,360
And then he leaves and you don't
know. 

536
00:26:20,520 --> 00:26:23,040
It's only said one other time 
about one other person in the 

537
00:26:23,040 --> 00:26:25,120
Old Testament Bible trivia. 
Anybody know who it is? 

538
00:26:25,920 --> 00:26:30,160
King Saul, first king of Israel.
Doesn't matter how important you

539
00:26:30,160 --> 00:26:34,280
are in the eyes of the world. 
That's the tragedy. 

540
00:26:34,480 --> 00:26:36,240
Samson thought he was still the 
same man. 

541
00:26:36,240 --> 00:26:38,360
He assumed that this strength 
was with him and that he could 

542
00:26:38,360 --> 00:26:40,280
keep living the way that he 
wanted to live and still 

543
00:26:40,280 --> 00:26:42,240
experience God's power like he 
always had. 

544
00:26:42,880 --> 00:26:46,960
This is why Hebrew says pay 
close attention, because at the 

545
00:26:46,960 --> 00:26:49,280
wrong moment it was over for 
him. 

546
00:26:50,600 --> 00:26:53,280
And his story ends up where he 
does take out a lot of 

547
00:26:53,280 --> 00:26:56,840
Philistines, but they take him. 
They put him in chains, they 

548
00:26:56,840 --> 00:26:58,600
blind him. 
They don't just blind him. 

549
00:26:58,600 --> 00:27:02,560
They gouge his eyes out, put him
in chains, and they have him 

550
00:27:02,560 --> 00:27:05,520
perform in their equivalent of a
Coliseum for their own 

551
00:27:05,520 --> 00:27:07,920
entertainment. 
But his hair begins to grow back

552
00:27:07,920 --> 00:27:09,280
and nobody thinks anything of 
it. 

553
00:27:09,520 --> 00:27:11,440
But I think it's not the only 
thing that started to return. 

554
00:27:11,440 --> 00:27:15,440
I think also his realization and
his humility started to come 

555
00:27:15,440 --> 00:27:18,080
back. 
And he says, Lord, if you just 

556
00:27:18,080 --> 00:27:21,720
grant me one last time with your
strength, I'll do what you had 

557
00:27:21,720 --> 00:27:24,880
called me to do. 
And he has somebody position him

558
00:27:24,880 --> 00:27:27,680
between two of the key columns 
that are there, and he shoves 

559
00:27:27,680 --> 00:27:29,480
them and it collapses on top of 
them. 

560
00:27:29,800 --> 00:27:31,240
And yeah, he takes out the 
enemy. 

561
00:27:31,400 --> 00:27:34,440
But don't for you think for a 
second that it's a heroic end 

562
00:27:34,440 --> 00:27:35,960
for him. 
It's a bad ending. 

563
00:27:36,720 --> 00:27:39,200
God's will will always be 
accomplished. 

564
00:27:39,800 --> 00:27:45,240
Our will, not so much. 
I I wasn't around when this 

565
00:27:45,240 --> 00:27:49,160
happened, but maybe some would 
remember that back in 1980, 

566
00:27:49,160 --> 00:27:52,080
there was something unusual that
happened with Mount Saint Helens

567
00:27:52,920 --> 00:27:56,480
and there was a tragic eruption 
in Washington. 

568
00:27:56,480 --> 00:27:58,720
This volcano wasn't erupting 
yet. 

569
00:27:58,720 --> 00:28:01,440
There weren't rivers of lava 
that were happening first. 

570
00:28:01,440 --> 00:28:02,640
But a lot of people don't know 
this. 

571
00:28:02,640 --> 00:28:05,960
They just know about the tragedy
when this volcano erupted. 

572
00:28:05,960 --> 00:28:08,760
But for people who studied the 
mountain and they studied the 

573
00:28:08,760 --> 00:28:10,920
side of it, they could tell that
something was coming. 

574
00:28:11,160 --> 00:28:13,920
And here's why. 1. 
Side of the mountain had begun 

575
00:28:13,920 --> 00:28:17,840
to bulge outward. 
Now, it wasn't all at once. 

576
00:28:17,840 --> 00:28:19,520
It was gradually. 
It was day after day, and 

577
00:28:19,520 --> 00:28:22,200
eventually the bulge had grown 
several feet larger. 

578
00:28:22,200 --> 00:28:24,360
If you had been hiking there, 
you wouldn't have known any 

579
00:28:24,360 --> 00:28:25,640
difference. 
You wouldn't have been able to 

580
00:28:25,640 --> 00:28:27,600
tell. 
If you're hiking, you can't 

581
00:28:27,600 --> 00:28:30,240
really tell the difference 
between 5 feet as an incline or 

582
00:28:30,240 --> 00:28:32,320
10 feet. 
Once you're already up there, 

583
00:28:32,320 --> 00:28:35,560
you can't tell. 
And so for anybody, it was just 

584
00:28:35,560 --> 00:28:37,240
a mountain. 
But to the experts, every inch 

585
00:28:37,240 --> 00:28:38,800
said, oh, something weird is 
happening. 

586
00:28:38,800 --> 00:28:41,080
And then on the morning of May 
18th, 1980. 

587
00:28:41,480 --> 00:28:45,320
The mountain erupted with such 
incredible force that 57 people 

588
00:28:45,320 --> 00:28:47,240
lost their their lives and 
hundreds of homes were 

589
00:28:47,240 --> 00:28:50,200
destroyed. 
But what I want to get across to

590
00:28:50,200 --> 00:28:53,400
you before we move on is this. 
That moment was the eruption. 

591
00:28:54,000 --> 00:28:58,080
But there were signs that this 
was happening all along, all 

592
00:28:58,080 --> 00:28:59,880
along, and nobody did anything 
about it. 

593
00:29:01,320 --> 00:29:04,120
The difficult thing about Adrift
is that it is subtle but. 

594
00:29:04,120 --> 00:29:05,800
If it's subtle, then what do we 
do with it? 

595
00:29:05,920 --> 00:29:08,080
Well, I would just submit to you
that there's a couple questions 

596
00:29:08,080 --> 00:29:11,000
that you can ask yourself 
because I don't want you leaving

597
00:29:11,000 --> 00:29:13,440
here saying, Oh my goodness, 
I've been drifting for years and

598
00:29:13,440 --> 00:29:14,920
I didn't realize it until 
tonight. 

599
00:29:15,080 --> 00:29:18,680
This is me. 
If Samson, though, didn't 

600
00:29:18,680 --> 00:29:22,440
realize it, what keeps you and I
from making the same mistake? 

601
00:29:23,600 --> 00:29:26,000
So I don't think the answer is 
looking for a dramatic sign. 

602
00:29:26,000 --> 00:29:28,200
I think the answer is paying 
attention, just like Hebrews 

603
00:29:28,200 --> 00:29:29,040
taught us to. 
So let's. 

604
00:29:29,040 --> 00:29:30,840
Pay attention and ask some real 
questions. 

605
00:29:31,280 --> 00:29:33,200
First thing I would tell you to 
ask yourself is what am I 

606
00:29:33,200 --> 00:29:36,440
becoming excited about? 
I want you to really think about

607
00:29:36,440 --> 00:29:37,400
this. 
You don't have to say it out 

608
00:29:37,400 --> 00:29:38,640
loud. 
In fact, you probably shouldn't,

609
00:29:40,000 --> 00:29:41,720
but there. 
Was a time when opening God's 

610
00:29:41,720 --> 00:29:45,200
word stirred something in US and
there was a time where prayer 

611
00:29:45,200 --> 00:29:48,120
was not just another item on the
schedule where we needed to do 

612
00:29:48,120 --> 00:29:51,000
it or we were going to feel 
guilty there was a time where 

613
00:29:51,640 --> 00:29:52,880
spending. 
Time getting to know God. 

614
00:29:52,880 --> 00:29:55,920
'S people was not an obligation,
and if we find ourselves far 

615
00:29:55,920 --> 00:29:59,600
more excited about a Netflix 
series then carrying out the 

616
00:29:59,600 --> 00:30:02,840
sovereign will that the creator 
of the universe has laid out 

617
00:30:02,840 --> 00:30:04,880
specifically for you, there's a 
problem. 

618
00:30:06,320 --> 00:30:07,560
I watched the Netflix this 
morning. 

619
00:30:07,560 --> 00:30:11,680
I'm not anti Netflix. 
But I am anti Netflix replacing 

620
00:30:11,880 --> 00:30:16,040
God. 
Spiritual passion is always 

621
00:30:16,040 --> 00:30:18,040
going to rise and fall 
throughout life, but when your 

622
00:30:18,040 --> 00:30:20,880
affection for Jesus has been 
replaced by something else, 

623
00:30:20,880 --> 00:30:22,840
you're in trouble. 
Ask yourself what you're getting

624
00:30:22,840 --> 00:30:25,080
excited about. 
You can also ask yourself what 

625
00:30:25,080 --> 00:30:28,360
am I becoming comfortable with? 
Samson. 

626
00:30:28,360 --> 00:30:30,040
Didn't wake up comfortable with 
Delilah. 

627
00:30:30,040 --> 00:30:33,640
He became comfortable with 
Delilah. 

628
00:30:34,120 --> 00:30:38,240
How do you become comfortable 
with somebody in your house who 

629
00:30:38,240 --> 00:30:43,560
is seeking your demise? 
Many of us, we've had a 

630
00:30:43,560 --> 00:30:45,440
spiritual attack. 
There's things all around us 

631
00:30:45,440 --> 00:30:48,720
that would seek your demise. 
Good thing that Jesus gets the 

632
00:30:48,720 --> 00:30:52,280
final word, but he became 
comfortable and I get it, it 

633
00:30:52,280 --> 00:30:53,480
said. 
He fell asleep with his head in 

634
00:30:53,480 --> 00:30:54,000
her lap. 
The. 

635
00:30:54,200 --> 00:30:56,760
Fastest way to make a man pass 
out as those head scratches. 

636
00:30:57,200 --> 00:31:02,840
I understand it. 
That being said, isn't it sad 

637
00:31:03,920 --> 00:31:07,400
that he became so comfortable 
that God's Spirit could leave 

638
00:31:07,400 --> 00:31:10,920
him and he didn't notice it? 
Sin has a way of recalibrating 

639
00:31:10,920 --> 00:31:12,600
our conscience. 
If you don't deal with it, 

640
00:31:12,600 --> 00:31:15,360
things that once grieve us 
actually will start to entertain

641
00:31:15,360 --> 00:31:16,680
us. 
What part of that? 

642
00:31:16,680 --> 00:31:19,120
Scenario with Delilah, do you 
think that God would have been 

643
00:31:19,120 --> 00:31:21,400
amused with? 
What? 

644
00:31:21,400 --> 00:31:23,360
Part of it if he had. 
Actually thought, is God pleased

645
00:31:23,360 --> 00:31:25,720
with what I'm? 
Doing He's taunting her, teasing

646
00:31:25,720 --> 00:31:27,480
her. 
He's exhibiting arrogance and 

647
00:31:27,480 --> 00:31:29,200
pride. 
What part of it would have been 

648
00:31:29,200 --> 00:31:31,560
pleasing to God? 
Didn't even cross his mind. 

649
00:31:32,680 --> 00:31:34,360
You know. 
We should ask God whether our 

650
00:31:34,360 --> 00:31:35,920
hearts have been going to drift.
I'm going to share a couple 

651
00:31:35,920 --> 00:31:37,960
scriptures with you here. 
For the first one is Ephesians 

652
00:31:37,960 --> 00:31:41,040
430. 
It says, do not bring sorrow to 

653
00:31:41,040 --> 00:31:43,480
God's Holy Spirit by the way you
live. 

654
00:31:44,160 --> 00:31:48,160
You can bring sorrow to God's 
Spirit by the way you live. 

655
00:31:49,240 --> 00:31:52,520
And remember, it says He has 
identified you as his own, 

656
00:31:53,760 --> 00:31:56,280
guaranteeing that you will be 
saved on the day of redemption. 

657
00:31:56,280 --> 00:31:59,520
You may not be a Nazarite, but 
you might as well be, because 

658
00:31:59,520 --> 00:32:03,680
he's identified you as his own. 
And in First Thessalonians 519, 

659
00:32:03,680 --> 00:32:07,960
it also says do not stifle the 
Holy Spirit or do not quench the

660
00:32:07,960 --> 00:32:11,720
Holy Spirit. 
That used to confuse me how I'm 

661
00:32:11,720 --> 00:32:12,520
not that. 
Powerful. 

662
00:32:12,520 --> 00:32:14,160
How can I stop what the Holy 
Spirit wants? 

663
00:32:14,160 --> 00:32:16,960
Because God has given you a 
great deal of authority on this 

664
00:32:16,960 --> 00:32:19,840
earth. 
You're the only thing that has 

665
00:32:19,840 --> 00:32:23,440
the ability to tell God no. 
You don't have the ability to 

666
00:32:23,440 --> 00:32:26,600
choose your consequences, but 
you do have the ability to tell 

667
00:32:26,600 --> 00:32:29,720
Him no. 
And the Bible warns us not to. 

668
00:32:29,720 --> 00:32:32,200
Grieve the Holy Spirit, or 
quench the Holy Spirit, or 

669
00:32:32,200 --> 00:32:34,920
stifle the Holy Spirit. 
These commands wouldn't be here 

670
00:32:34,920 --> 00:32:38,240
if it wasn't possible. 
It's possible to become less 

671
00:32:38,240 --> 00:32:40,800
responsive to God's voice if you
repeatedly ignore Him. 

672
00:32:42,160 --> 00:32:45,480
So the third question is what 
have I stopped doing? 

673
00:32:47,000 --> 00:32:51,480
Right. 
What have? 

674
00:32:51,480 --> 00:32:54,840
I stopped doing drift. 
Is normally revealed more by 

675
00:32:54,840 --> 00:32:57,720
neglect and rebellion. 
If we don't suddenly stop 

676
00:32:57,720 --> 00:33:00,120
following Jesus, we just 
gradually stop doing the things 

677
00:33:00,120 --> 00:33:02,760
that kept us close to him, 
keeping up with the people who 

678
00:33:02,760 --> 00:33:05,720
hold us accountable or the 
things that would anchor us 

679
00:33:05,720 --> 00:33:07,760
spending the time in the word or
the prayer, things like that. 

680
00:33:07,760 --> 00:33:09,200
And we'll speak more about that 
in a bit. 

681
00:33:09,520 --> 00:33:11,920
That next bullet point. 
You can you can ignore that. 

682
00:33:11,920 --> 00:33:14,280
That's actually from Sunday. 
I left it in there just to see 

683
00:33:14,280 --> 00:33:15,840
if you noticed. 
But joke's on you. 

684
00:33:15,840 --> 00:33:17,040
I noticed. 
All right. 

685
00:33:18,520 --> 00:33:20,640
The last thing though that I 
would say is we all need someone

686
00:33:20,640 --> 00:33:22,760
in our lives that can ask us 
those hard questions. 

687
00:33:23,280 --> 00:33:24,640
Let me give you the illustration
of this. 

688
00:33:24,640 --> 00:33:26,960
If you want to ask the hard 
questions, find somebody that 

689
00:33:26,960 --> 00:33:29,120
will ask these questions of you 
who was. 

690
00:33:29,120 --> 00:33:32,840
Around Samson. 
The only push back you saw was 

691
00:33:32,840 --> 00:33:35,000
initially with his first 
marriage when his parents were 

692
00:33:35,000 --> 00:33:38,200
like, oh, isn't there anybody? 
Isn't there a nicer girl you 

693
00:33:38,200 --> 00:33:40,360
could find? 
It's not even that forceful. 

694
00:33:41,400 --> 00:33:44,160
He surrounded himself with 
people that were impressed by 

695
00:33:44,160 --> 00:33:46,360
him and that we're going to tell
him what he wanted to hear. 

696
00:33:47,160 --> 00:33:49,760
But I would tell you the 
Proverbs 27 six says that wounds

697
00:33:49,760 --> 00:33:52,400
from a sincere friend are better
than many kisses from an enemy. 

698
00:33:53,120 --> 00:33:55,080
Find people that want the very 
best for you, OK? 

699
00:33:55,920 --> 00:33:57,960
The other thing I just want you 
to know before we end up. 

700
00:33:58,280 --> 00:34:00,440
Leaving tonight is this drifting
is preventable. 

701
00:34:01,480 --> 00:34:04,120
It is preventable. 
So it's not just something that 

702
00:34:04,120 --> 00:34:06,840
you have to be alert for because
it's subtle, but you can also 

703
00:34:06,840 --> 00:34:09,639
take preventative measures to 
make sure that you don't drift. 

704
00:34:09,639 --> 00:34:10,880
And I want you to be aware of 
that. 

705
00:34:10,880 --> 00:34:12,560
The the good news is that 
Hebrews. 

706
00:34:12,560 --> 00:34:15,480
Is not just diagnosing the 
problem God never points out a 

707
00:34:15,480 --> 00:34:17,440
danger without giving you a path
forward and. 

708
00:34:17,440 --> 00:34:19,120
So the writer. 
Doesn't say try harder not to 

709
00:34:19,120 --> 00:34:21,600
drift if he did. 
Then at some point you would 

710
00:34:21,600 --> 00:34:23,440
say, well I keep trying but I'm 
drifting. 

711
00:34:23,880 --> 00:34:26,639
He just says pay close attention
to what you have heard. 

712
00:34:27,199 --> 00:34:28,480
So if you're. 
Wondering what to do? 

713
00:34:28,480 --> 00:34:31,320
If you're wondering what the 
anchor is, you go back to what 

714
00:34:31,320 --> 00:34:33,120
you first heard. 
Faith comes by hearing and 

715
00:34:33,120 --> 00:34:36,520
hearing. 
From the word of God, OK? 

716
00:34:38,199 --> 00:34:39,480
Now. 
Think about it this way. 

717
00:34:39,480 --> 00:34:43,080
If you were to ask a sailor how 
to keep a boat from drifting, he

718
00:34:43,080 --> 00:34:44,639
wouldn't tell you to yell at the
wind. 

719
00:34:45,679 --> 00:34:47,159
He. 
Might yell at the wind, but he 

720
00:34:47,159 --> 00:34:48,560
wouldn't tell you that that's 
the answer. 

721
00:34:49,040 --> 00:34:50,600
He wouldn't. 
Tell you to fight the tide. 

722
00:34:51,320 --> 00:34:52,800
He would. 
Tell you to drop an anchor. 

723
00:34:54,400 --> 00:34:56,000
The. 
Current may still be there, but 

724
00:34:56,000 --> 00:34:58,680
the anchor keeps the boat from 
going where the current goes, 

725
00:34:58,680 --> 00:35:00,360
right? 
So the same thing is true 

726
00:35:00,360 --> 00:35:02,680
spiritually. 
You can't stop the currents of 

727
00:35:02,680 --> 00:35:04,080
life. 
And too. 

728
00:35:04,080 --> 00:35:06,440
Many of us, that's our answer. 
Well, if I do this, then I'll 

729
00:35:06,440 --> 00:35:08,440
never drift from Jesus. 
If I do this then I'll never 

730
00:35:08,440 --> 00:35:09,560
drift. 
But. 

731
00:35:09,560 --> 00:35:11,000
Disappointments are going to 
come. 

732
00:35:11,040 --> 00:35:15,040
Busyness is going to come. 
Temptations are going to come. 

733
00:35:15,120 --> 00:35:17,320
Even success itself can become a
current. 

734
00:35:17,680 --> 00:35:20,480
Pain can become a current. 
Even good things are currency if

735
00:35:20,480 --> 00:35:22,480
you're not careful. 
And so the goal isn't to 

736
00:35:22,480 --> 00:35:24,600
eliminate the current. 
That would be ridiculous with a 

737
00:35:24,600 --> 00:35:27,440
boat. 
The goal is to remain anchored 

738
00:35:27,520 --> 00:35:28,920
to Christ. 
So that. 

739
00:35:28,920 --> 00:35:31,800
When the current begins to pull,
it can only take you so far. 

740
00:35:32,360 --> 00:35:35,280
I wonder sometimes if we have 
made the Christian life more 

741
00:35:35,280 --> 00:35:38,640
complicated than it needs to be.
Because a lot of times we hear 

742
00:35:38,640 --> 00:35:40,840
messages like this and we 
immediately think we need some 

743
00:35:40,840 --> 00:35:43,520
dramatic spiritual experience to
get back on track. 

744
00:35:45,600 --> 00:35:48,200
More often than not, the way 
back to God is the same way that

745
00:35:48,200 --> 00:35:50,600
you first. 
Learned to walk with him, go 

746
00:35:50,600 --> 00:35:53,600
back to what worked. 
I loved being a youth pastor. 

747
00:35:53,600 --> 00:35:56,560
I worked with teenagers for 12 
years, but every time we went to

748
00:35:56,560 --> 00:35:58,720
acquire the fire or winter 
fester. 

749
00:35:58,720 --> 00:36:01,800
There was some dynamic speaker 
who challenged them, and there 

750
00:36:01,800 --> 00:36:04,440
was always at least one teenager
who's going to get up with tears

751
00:36:04,440 --> 00:36:07,200
in their eyes and look at me and
say something like Pastor Blake 

752
00:36:07,480 --> 00:36:09,160
this. 
Moment has changed everything 

753
00:36:09,160 --> 00:36:11,160
because of this moment I'll 
never be the same. 

754
00:36:11,560 --> 00:36:14,360
Well, it may leave a lasting 
impression on you, but. 1. 

755
00:36:14,360 --> 00:36:16,320
Moment is not going to dictate 
your life. 

756
00:36:16,400 --> 00:36:18,840
You're going to have to continue
to choose Jesus every single 

757
00:36:18,840 --> 00:36:20,360
day. 
You know where it's easy to 

758
00:36:20,360 --> 00:36:22,280
choose God? 
When you're surrounded by 60 

759
00:36:22,440 --> 00:36:25,800
5000 Christians all saying we 
love Jesus, singing worships, 

760
00:36:26,080 --> 00:36:29,040
you know, songs, it's very easy 
to choose God. 

761
00:36:29,640 --> 00:36:31,000
What? 
Happens when you show up to work

762
00:36:31,000 --> 00:36:33,400
the next Thursday and you're 
late and your boss yells at you 

763
00:36:33,400 --> 00:36:36,280
and then you get home and your 
parents are mad at you and it's 

764
00:36:36,280 --> 00:36:39,720
a totally different world. 
You have to learn to choose to 

765
00:36:39,720 --> 00:36:41,840
return. 
What is it that drew you to the 

766
00:36:41,840 --> 00:36:46,280
gospel to begin with? 
But one of the reasons I 

767
00:36:46,280 --> 00:36:49,800
appreciate the story of Samson 
is his life reminds me that 

768
00:36:49,800 --> 00:36:53,520
nobody drifts in a single day. 
And the opposite is true too. 

769
00:36:53,600 --> 00:36:56,640
Took time for the hair to grow 
back and for his his perspective

770
00:36:56,640 --> 00:36:58,360
to change. 
I would just also encourage you 

771
00:36:58,360 --> 00:37:01,080
and tell you this. 
Nobody remains close to Jesus in

772
00:37:01,080 --> 00:37:04,080
a single day either. 
If it took you time to drift 

773
00:37:04,080 --> 00:37:06,520
away and you're saying, well I 
need one dramatic moment, God, 

774
00:37:06,520 --> 00:37:09,600
from now on I promise that I'll 
never fill in the blank again. 

775
00:37:09,960 --> 00:37:11,880
You have just set yourself up 
for failure. 

776
00:37:12,680 --> 00:37:14,360
You can't do it on your own 
strength. 

777
00:37:14,360 --> 00:37:17,480
You come to Him for the change. 
So if it took you a while to 

778
00:37:17,480 --> 00:37:19,040
drift, it's probably going to 
take you a little. 

779
00:37:19,040 --> 00:37:22,480
While to get back on the course,
but don't you stop don't let 

780
00:37:22,480 --> 00:37:25,360
that discourage you don't let 
that dissuade you from pursuing 

781
00:37:25,360 --> 00:37:27,840
him. 
You pursued him before pursue 

782
00:37:27,840 --> 00:37:31,520
him again. 
I think that's why the Bible 

783
00:37:31,520 --> 00:37:35,440
repeatedly calls us to abide 
John 15 verses four and five say

784
00:37:35,440 --> 00:37:38,400
this remain in me. 
This is Jesus and I will remain 

785
00:37:38,400 --> 00:37:42,080
in you for a. 
Branch cannot produce fruit if 

786
00:37:42,080 --> 00:37:45,960
it is severed from the vine, and
you cannot be fruitful unless 

787
00:37:45,960 --> 00:37:49,960
you remain in me and then he. 
Goes on to the famous part. 

788
00:37:49,960 --> 00:37:51,560
I am the vine, You're the 
branches. 

789
00:37:51,560 --> 00:37:54,240
Those who remain in me and I in 
them, They'll produce much 

790
00:37:54,240 --> 00:37:56,400
fruit, For apart from me you can
do nothing. 

791
00:37:57,040 --> 00:37:58,840
It's a good time of year where 
you see a lot of people doing 

792
00:37:58,840 --> 00:38:01,480
yard work and you see these big 
piles of branches and foliage 

793
00:38:01,480 --> 00:38:04,000
and shrubbery or whatever. 
I can't. 

794
00:38:04,000 --> 00:38:05,240
I can't believe I just said it 
like that. 

795
00:38:05,240 --> 00:38:07,760
I just totally thought of Monty 
Python in the search for the 

796
00:38:07,760 --> 00:38:12,120
Holy Grail. 
A shrubbery. 

797
00:38:12,120 --> 00:38:14,880
OK, those of you who haven't 
seen the movie, you're like, I 

798
00:38:14,880 --> 00:38:15,880
have no idea. 
What you're doing? 

799
00:38:16,880 --> 00:38:21,480
Go home and watch it, all right?
You have to remain in him when 

800
00:38:21,480 --> 00:38:23,400
you see those piles on the side 
of the road. 

801
00:38:23,560 --> 00:38:25,640
Are they normally the greenest, 
most beautiful things you've 

802
00:38:25,640 --> 00:38:27,040
ever seen? 
No. 

803
00:38:27,040 --> 00:38:31,480
And if they are, they're fresh. 
Come back the next day, the 

804
00:38:31,480 --> 00:38:33,520
longer that they are now 
detached. 

805
00:38:34,040 --> 00:38:36,800
They're wilting, they're dying, 
the life is leaving them and it 

806
00:38:36,800 --> 00:38:38,200
doesn't happen immediately, does
it? 

807
00:38:41,480 --> 00:38:44,040
Colossians 2 verses 6 and seven 
says this. 

808
00:38:44,040 --> 00:38:47,440
Paul says, and now just as you 
accepted Christ Jesus as your 

809
00:38:47,440 --> 00:38:51,000
Lord, you must continue to 
follow him, continue to follow 

810
00:38:51,000 --> 00:38:51,960
him. 
It's going to get hard. 

811
00:38:51,960 --> 00:38:55,080
Temptations are going to come. 
He says let your roots grow down

812
00:38:55,080 --> 00:38:57,800
into Him and let your lives be 
built on Him. 

813
00:38:58,240 --> 00:39:00,840
Then your faith will grow strong
in the truth you were taught and

814
00:39:00,840 --> 00:39:02,480
you will overflow with 
thankfulness. 

815
00:39:03,400 --> 00:39:06,760
Roots have to grow down. 
So if. 

816
00:39:06,760 --> 00:39:10,720
We're talking about shrubberies.
The deeper the roots, the more 

817
00:39:10,720 --> 00:39:13,120
that they'll survive. 
I love that picture. 

818
00:39:13,120 --> 00:39:14,920
Roots don't grow overnight. 
They take time. 

819
00:39:15,440 --> 00:39:18,000
And I don't know, I've been on 
many a nature trail and nature 

820
00:39:18,000 --> 00:39:19,760
hike. 
I've never heard somebody admire

821
00:39:19,760 --> 00:39:22,160
the roots. 
I'm sure somebody has. 

822
00:39:22,640 --> 00:39:24,800
But I've. 
Never seen people go look at the

823
00:39:24,800 --> 00:39:27,240
size of that tree. 
I bet those roots are amazing. 

824
00:39:28,840 --> 00:39:31,760
But they are. 
They are. 

825
00:39:32,200 --> 00:39:34,760
If they weren't, then it would 
just take a couple blows of the 

826
00:39:34,760 --> 00:39:36,200
wind and that tree would fall 
over. 

827
00:39:36,200 --> 00:39:38,840
It's when the roots start to 
become shallow that a tree's 

828
00:39:38,840 --> 00:39:43,440
really in trouble. 
The same truth is here for us in

829
00:39:43,440 --> 00:39:46,240
our lives, which is this. 
The prayers that nobody else 

830
00:39:46,240 --> 00:39:48,560
hears but are between you and 
the Lord matter. 

831
00:39:48,840 --> 00:39:51,680
Your Bible reading that nobody 
applauds, nobody gives you a 

832
00:39:51,680 --> 00:39:54,240
daily handclap because you're 
staying in the Scripture 

833
00:39:54,400 --> 00:39:56,880
matters. 
Those quiet moments where God 

834
00:39:56,880 --> 00:39:59,240
tells you to do something and 
you say yes, Sir, and nobody 

835
00:39:59,240 --> 00:40:02,400
else heard that word, but you 
said yes to God, they matter. 

836
00:40:04,680 --> 00:40:06,600
When you make a. 
Decision to forgive somebody and

837
00:40:06,600 --> 00:40:08,720
they don't deserve it, which is 
almost every time you forgive 

838
00:40:08,720 --> 00:40:10,760
somebody. 
It matters. 

839
00:40:10,960 --> 00:40:13,880
When you choose to trust God, 
when you choose to remain 

840
00:40:13,880 --> 00:40:16,080
faithful. 
These things are your roots 

841
00:40:16,080 --> 00:40:18,720
going down deeper and you have 
got to choose them on a regular 

842
00:40:18,720 --> 00:40:22,800
basis or that soil is going to 
erode and your root system will 

843
00:40:22,800 --> 00:40:25,320
not be able to hold you. 
Can I tell? 

844
00:40:25,320 --> 00:40:27,200
You one thing that I have 
learned in all of my years of 

845
00:40:27,200 --> 00:40:29,480
following Jesus. 
I've. 

846
00:40:29,480 --> 00:40:31,760
Never drifted near Jesus on 
accident. 

847
00:40:34,560 --> 00:40:36,560
It's funny, every time I've been
drifting, it's always been a 

848
00:40:36,560 --> 00:40:39,080
negative. 
Every single season when I felt 

849
00:40:39,080 --> 00:40:41,840
close to the Lord, it's because 
I intentionally made time for 

850
00:40:41,840 --> 00:40:44,320
Him. 
Every season that I felt distant

851
00:40:44,320 --> 00:40:47,440
from him, it wasn't because God 
had moved, it was because my 

852
00:40:47,440 --> 00:40:51,080
attention was divided. 
So I think that's why it's 

853
00:40:51,080 --> 00:40:53,760
important to note that Hebrews 
uses the word attention. 

854
00:40:54,280 --> 00:40:57,160
Just remember this, whatever 
captures your attention also 

855
00:40:57,160 --> 00:41:00,120
captures your direction and 
you'll keep moving towards it. 

856
00:41:01,840 --> 00:41:04,400
I've had a lot of water. 
Issues throughout the years. 

857
00:41:04,400 --> 00:41:05,680
I'll just share one other one 
with you. 

858
00:41:05,680 --> 00:41:07,320
One time I was at the Mullet 
Festival. 

859
00:41:07,320 --> 00:41:09,320
It's about the fish, not the 
haircut. 

860
00:41:10,800 --> 00:41:11,920
The. 
Mullet Festival is how they 

861
00:41:11,920 --> 00:41:15,360
celebrate in Swansboro, NC. 
And. 

862
00:41:15,560 --> 00:41:17,960
And I won this big inflatable 
hammer. 

863
00:41:18,720 --> 00:41:20,120
I mean, probably about this 
long. 

864
00:41:20,120 --> 00:41:21,880
It's the kind that every parent 
hates because when you hit 

865
00:41:21,880 --> 00:41:24,840
something, it squeaks, right? 
Oh, I love this thing. 

866
00:41:25,200 --> 00:41:27,760
I took it on the boat with my 
stepdad and my mom and. 

867
00:41:28,200 --> 00:41:29,560
They're. 
Trying to like, cast their net 

868
00:41:29,560 --> 00:41:31,000
and catch some shrimp for 
dinner. 

869
00:41:31,000 --> 00:41:32,880
And I'm just like, what can I 
hit with this hammer? 

870
00:41:33,560 --> 00:41:35,920
And I hit the wrong thing and it
kind of bounces back and it goes

871
00:41:35,920 --> 00:41:38,480
out into the water and I jump 
out into the water. 

872
00:41:39,360 --> 00:41:42,680
And I'm out there over my head 
and the hammer's not really 

873
00:41:42,680 --> 00:41:46,240
close enough to to grab a hold 
of and I try to and my stepdad, 

874
00:41:46,240 --> 00:41:47,840
who I did not get along with 
well. 

875
00:41:48,920 --> 00:41:53,040
He reaches over, grabs me by my 
trunks, I get the worst wedgie 

876
00:41:53,040 --> 00:41:56,680
of my life, hauls me back into 
the boat. 

877
00:41:57,440 --> 00:41:59,280
And gives me the whole don't you
ever do that again? 

878
00:41:59,280 --> 00:42:02,040
And he starts teaching me about 
the undertow and he teaches me 

879
00:42:02,040 --> 00:42:04,680
about currents and he teaches me
all this other stuff. 

880
00:42:04,680 --> 00:42:06,280
He probably should have taught 
me how to swim. 

881
00:42:06,600 --> 00:42:13,000
But but what? 
My point is this, I was not 

882
00:42:13,000 --> 00:42:19,560
equipped for where I was going. 
And I'm so glad that there was a

883
00:42:19,560 --> 00:42:23,120
hand to reach me out. 
What happens on the day that the

884
00:42:23,120 --> 00:42:25,560
presence of that hand leaves me 
and I don't even know it? 

885
00:42:28,520 --> 00:42:30,400
We had. 
Some questions before, but I 

886
00:42:30,400 --> 00:42:33,400
would just also tell you this. 
If drifting is preventable, how 

887
00:42:33,400 --> 00:42:35,120
do you prevent it? 
I'm going to get you out of here

888
00:42:35,120 --> 00:42:38,040
in about 10 minutes. 
The first way you can prevent 

889
00:42:38,040 --> 00:42:40,640
drift is by making Jesus your 
priority instead of your 

890
00:42:40,640 --> 00:42:43,280
leftovers. 
And I don't need to be the one 

891
00:42:43,280 --> 00:42:45,400
to tell you if that's the. 
Case or not, there's a lot of us

892
00:42:45,400 --> 00:42:47,440
that we love God. 
We've got the Christian bumper 

893
00:42:47,440 --> 00:42:49,360
sticker, we've got the nice 
Bible case. 

894
00:42:49,520 --> 00:42:51,360
We are here every Sunday, every 
Wednesday. 

895
00:42:51,360 --> 00:42:52,720
There's a lot of people that 
will do this. 

896
00:42:52,960 --> 00:42:54,760
That doesn't mean he's your 
first priority. 

897
00:42:54,840 --> 00:42:57,600
It might mean church is a top 
priority, which I'm grateful 

898
00:42:57,600 --> 00:42:59,280
for. 
But please don't put us above 

899
00:42:59,560 --> 00:43:03,080
Jesus either. 
Your time with your Saviour and 

900
00:43:03,080 --> 00:43:05,120
your God matters more than 
anything else. 

901
00:43:05,280 --> 00:43:08,000
In case your spouse is not brave
enough to tell you, let me tell 

902
00:43:08,000 --> 00:43:10,280
you your. 
Time with your Lord and Saviour 

903
00:43:10,280 --> 00:43:12,040
is more important than your time
with your spouse. 

904
00:43:13,320 --> 00:43:15,440
Your time with your Lord and 
Saviour is more important than 

905
00:43:15,440 --> 00:43:17,240
your time with your kids. 
Now listen to me. 

906
00:43:18,480 --> 00:43:20,360
Your Lord and Savior loves you 
enough. 

907
00:43:20,640 --> 00:43:22,120
He wants you to have a good 
marriage. 

908
00:43:22,120 --> 00:43:24,280
He wants you to have a good 
relationship with your kids. 

909
00:43:24,480 --> 00:43:27,520
If you prioritize your 
relationship with the Lord, He 

910
00:43:27,520 --> 00:43:28,560
will. 
Lead you to be a good. 

911
00:43:28,560 --> 00:43:31,920
Father, a good mother, a good 
husband, a Good Wife, a good 

912
00:43:31,920 --> 00:43:35,480
servant of the Lord in the House
of God, a good community member.

913
00:43:35,480 --> 00:43:37,200
He will lead you into all of 
this stuff. 

914
00:43:37,520 --> 00:43:40,760
I'm not saying that you have to 
spend more physical time in 

915
00:43:40,760 --> 00:43:42,520
prayer every time. 
What I'm saying is He needs to 

916
00:43:42,520 --> 00:43:45,080
be the priority. 
When I wake up, He's my first 

917
00:43:45,080 --> 00:43:48,280
priority. 
I've had some people tell me 

918
00:43:49,160 --> 00:43:51,160
very nice and they're like, man,
I remember when you were youth 

919
00:43:51,160 --> 00:43:53,280
pastor and you preached on 
occasion for Pastor Tom, but 

920
00:43:53,280 --> 00:43:54,440
you're so different now, you 
know? 

921
00:43:54,440 --> 00:43:56,720
And I'm like, thanks. 
The number one thing that 

922
00:43:56,720 --> 00:43:58,440
changed is the time that I spend
with them. 

923
00:43:58,960 --> 00:44:01,240
I didn't get different preaching
classes. 

924
00:44:01,440 --> 00:44:04,760
I didn't get different methods. 
I didn't study other preachers. 

925
00:44:04,760 --> 00:44:08,400
I spent time in his presence and
now I'm terrified to leave his 

926
00:44:08,400 --> 00:44:11,120
presence. 
That's why I love it. 

927
00:44:11,120 --> 00:44:14,440
I mean I just I told them what I
was preaching like 2 days ago 

928
00:44:14,480 --> 00:44:18,400
for this Wednesday so I don't 
know if it was Cassie. 

929
00:44:18,400 --> 00:44:21,160
Or Sarah, who set up the the 
songs for tonight? 

930
00:44:21,160 --> 00:44:23,320
Heather. 
Heather, you set it up. 

931
00:44:23,320 --> 00:44:26,280
Sorry neither of you forget my 
almost compliments you guys 

932
00:44:26,760 --> 00:44:28,400
great job. 
Because they're at the end. 

933
00:44:28,400 --> 00:44:31,560
We're singing in the blessing. 
May His presence go before you 

934
00:44:31,600 --> 00:44:35,240
and behind you and beside you 
and all around you and we're 

935
00:44:35,240 --> 00:44:36,800
singing. 
He's with you over and over 

936
00:44:36,800 --> 00:44:38,200
again. 
He's with you, he's with you, 

937
00:44:38,200 --> 00:44:40,080
he's with you. 
Do you want to get to the place 

938
00:44:40,080 --> 00:44:43,120
that he's not? 
Make him your priority. 

939
00:44:43,760 --> 00:44:45,400
He'll save you when you're 
drifting. 

940
00:44:45,880 --> 00:44:48,840
He's. 
Got to be #1 OK, don't. 

941
00:44:48,840 --> 00:44:52,160
Use him as an excuse for other 
relationships, by the way, but 

942
00:44:52,160 --> 00:44:55,600
make him #1. 
The number two thing I would say

943
00:44:55,600 --> 00:44:58,280
is this you? 
Have got to respond quickly 

944
00:44:58,440 --> 00:45:00,800
whenever the Holy Spirit 
convicts you. 

945
00:45:01,520 --> 00:45:03,240
One of the. 
Worst habits a Christian can 

946
00:45:03,240 --> 00:45:04,880
have is saying I'll deal with 
that later. 

947
00:45:06,560 --> 00:45:09,480
If somebody can ask you how are 
you doing with your forgiveness 

948
00:45:09,480 --> 00:45:13,000
and it's a year later and you 
say I'm working on it, I'm also 

949
00:45:13,000 --> 00:45:14,200
going to tell you another hard 
truth. 

950
00:45:14,360 --> 00:45:17,320
No, you're not. 
No, you're not. 

951
00:45:17,560 --> 00:45:20,240
I don't have a timeline for you.
You. 

952
00:45:20,240 --> 00:45:23,320
Know it's important, it's in 
your mind, but if you are 

953
00:45:23,320 --> 00:45:25,680
working on something that the 
Holy Spirit is leading you and 

954
00:45:25,680 --> 00:45:27,240
convicting you into, you'll do 
it. 

955
00:45:27,920 --> 00:45:30,000
And you may. 
Not want to you may have some 

956
00:45:30,000 --> 00:45:33,320
words to gripe with him it's OK,
he's a big boy he can handle it 

957
00:45:33,320 --> 00:45:35,240
if. 
He. 

958
00:45:35,240 --> 00:45:36,600
Convicts you of something. 
It is. 

959
00:45:36,600 --> 00:45:38,960
Yes, Sir. 
If you want him to give you more

960
00:45:38,960 --> 00:45:41,600
words, if you want him to guide 
you more, start being obedient. 

961
00:45:41,600 --> 00:45:43,480
And what he's already? 
Told you and when the Holy 

962
00:45:43,480 --> 00:45:46,760
Spirit convicts you and you say 
yes immediately, it changes 

963
00:45:46,760 --> 00:45:48,960
things. 
Try it out. 

964
00:45:49,480 --> 00:45:51,880
The next time that you even feel
the remotest thing of saying 

965
00:45:51,880 --> 00:45:55,800
forgive them or go be kind to 
them or pay for that or go pray 

966
00:45:55,800 --> 00:45:57,520
for them and you say. 
Yes to it. 

967
00:45:57,720 --> 00:46:00,320
Tell me that it doesn't feel 
like the the doorway to heaven 

968
00:46:00,320 --> 00:46:02,080
opens just a little bit more 
because it does. 

969
00:46:03,360 --> 00:46:05,080
Last thing I would just tell you
if you want to prevent it is 

970
00:46:05,080 --> 00:46:06,880
this. 
You have to practice regular 

971
00:46:06,880 --> 00:46:09,120
repentance. 
You know, it's interesting. 

972
00:46:09,840 --> 00:46:12,280
I know that there's a lot of 
parts in the very Old Testament.

973
00:46:12,280 --> 00:46:15,280
A lot of people don't like to 
study, myself included. 

974
00:46:15,280 --> 00:46:18,680
Sometimes I do not love hearing 
all those Levitical laws. 

975
00:46:18,680 --> 00:46:20,960
And all of that. 
There are some good stuff in 

976
00:46:20,960 --> 00:46:22,680
there, but it's just not as 
exciting. 

977
00:46:24,640 --> 00:46:26,840
There were all sorts of 
offerings in the Old Testament, 

978
00:46:27,680 --> 00:46:30,000
all sorts of them. 
What's? 

979
00:46:30,000 --> 00:46:33,600
Interesting is there was also 
more than one kind of sin 

980
00:46:33,600 --> 00:46:36,200
offering. 
There was an offering for 

981
00:46:36,200 --> 00:46:38,120
intentional sin. 
And. 

982
00:46:38,120 --> 00:46:42,160
For unintentional sin, they 
literally had a system built in 

983
00:46:42,160 --> 00:46:46,120
in the Old Testament thousands 
of years before Jesus that was 

984
00:46:46,120 --> 00:46:48,680
centered around. 
I'm sure you've done some other 

985
00:46:48,680 --> 00:46:50,520
things that are wrong that 
you're not thinking of. 

986
00:46:51,840 --> 00:46:54,440
And so for your unintentional 
sin, for your accidental 

987
00:46:54,440 --> 00:46:57,520
discrepancies, this is what this
sacrifices for. 

988
00:46:57,640 --> 00:47:00,720
Now we live in an era where 
Jesus has made atonement for all

989
00:47:00,720 --> 00:47:03,120
of our sin, intentional, 
unintentional, and otherwise, 

990
00:47:03,120 --> 00:47:05,080
right? 
But the cool thing is this. 

991
00:47:05,760 --> 00:47:10,120
Your power and your authority on
this earth all hinges on 2 acts.

992
00:47:10,440 --> 00:47:11,720
We'll talk. 
About it a little bit in the 

993
00:47:11,720 --> 00:47:12,920
fall as we get into a little bit
of. 

994
00:47:14,000 --> 00:47:16,200
Spiritual warfare, right? 
That I feel like the Lord is 

995
00:47:16,200 --> 00:47:17,880
leading me to, to touch on this 
year. 

996
00:47:18,600 --> 00:47:22,000
But all of your power, if you 
belong to Jesus, is wrapped up 

997
00:47:22,000 --> 00:47:24,280
in two things. 
And one of them is to rebuke the

998
00:47:24,280 --> 00:47:25,360
enemy. 
We like doing that. 

999
00:47:25,360 --> 00:47:27,040
One, we feel powerful when we're
doing that. 

1000
00:47:27,040 --> 00:47:28,320
We're kind of like Samson, 
aren't we? 

1001
00:47:30,000 --> 00:47:31,760
Well, rebuking the enemy is 
kicking them out. 

1002
00:47:32,840 --> 00:47:40,440
Repenting is changing the locks.
Your repentance matters. 

1003
00:47:40,440 --> 00:47:42,840
A great deal I. 
Cannot tell you how many times I

1004
00:47:42,840 --> 00:47:44,640
have said Lord. 
I'm sure. 

1005
00:47:44,640 --> 00:47:45,960
I mean, today was an emotional 
day. 

1006
00:47:45,960 --> 00:47:47,120
I'm sure I was all over the 
gamut. 

1007
00:47:47,120 --> 00:47:49,720
If I misunderstood something, if
I judge somebody, if I did 

1008
00:47:49,720 --> 00:47:52,520
something that is displeasing 
you in any way, I repent of it. 

1009
00:47:53,120 --> 00:47:54,800
And this. 
Is not me walking around saying 

1010
00:47:54,800 --> 00:47:56,440
like I'm a lowly worm and I'm 
not worth? 

1011
00:47:56,480 --> 00:47:58,240
No, we're not worthy, we already
know this. 

1012
00:47:59,080 --> 00:48:00,280
I'm not. 
Trying to be less than. 

1013
00:48:00,280 --> 00:48:03,160
I'm just telling him, God, I am 
sure I don't have it all 

1014
00:48:03,160 --> 00:48:05,440
together. 
There's a reason why when I meet

1015
00:48:05,440 --> 00:48:07,680
somebody who served the Lord for
many decades, a lot of times 

1016
00:48:07,680 --> 00:48:09,960
I'll ask him, what's one thing 
that used to matter a lot to 

1017
00:48:09,960 --> 00:48:12,320
you, but then now that you know 
God the way that you do, it's 

1018
00:48:12,320 --> 00:48:13,800
changed? 
What has changed? 

1019
00:48:13,800 --> 00:48:15,280
What have you learned as time 
goes on? 

1020
00:48:15,280 --> 00:48:20,080
And I take notes when they tell 
me repent often. 

1021
00:48:20,920 --> 00:48:22,720
Repent often. 
Don't wait until it's something 

1022
00:48:22,720 --> 00:48:24,080
obvious. 
Well, Lord, I blew up with my 

1023
00:48:24,080 --> 00:48:25,680
wife this morning. 
I probably shouldn't have called

1024
00:48:25,680 --> 00:48:28,640
her that. 
I mean, repent for that, yes. 

1025
00:48:29,320 --> 00:48:30,640
I'm just saying don't wait for 
it. 

1026
00:48:32,160 --> 00:48:34,760
Do you remember when Jesus was 
was teaching and he said, you 

1027
00:48:34,760 --> 00:48:36,760
know that you're not supposed to
murder and you know you're not 

1028
00:48:36,760 --> 00:48:38,880
supposed to commit adultery? 
But I'm telling you, if you 

1029
00:48:38,880 --> 00:48:41,280
don't hold on to anger or lust 
in your heart, these things 

1030
00:48:41,280 --> 00:48:43,080
don't happen. 
What is it that's? 

1031
00:48:43,080 --> 00:48:45,520
Lurking in your heart that is 
just a seed waiting to burst 

1032
00:48:45,520 --> 00:48:47,240
through. 
Repent for it. 

1033
00:48:47,440 --> 00:48:49,240
Kill. 
The seed, don't wait for it to 

1034
00:48:49,240 --> 00:48:51,040
come up and try to yank it up by
its roots. 

1035
00:48:51,040 --> 00:48:54,000
Don't let it grow roots. 
You're growing roots in Christ 

1036
00:48:54,000 --> 00:48:57,040
right every. 
Single time. 

1037
00:48:57,720 --> 00:49:01,360
That I get upset at somebody, 
especially the moments that I 

1038
00:49:01,360 --> 00:49:05,600
feel justified that I was right.
I turn around and I start 

1039
00:49:05,600 --> 00:49:09,120
walking back to Jesus. 
Because if I become very certain

1040
00:49:09,120 --> 00:49:12,240
that I'm right about something. 
Even if I'm correct, you know 

1041
00:49:12,240 --> 00:49:14,360
what else comes in? 
Pride. 

1042
00:49:16,120 --> 00:49:18,920
Pride. 
Always return to Him. 

1043
00:49:19,440 --> 00:49:21,360
I just want to share one last 
scripture with you. 

1044
00:49:23,680 --> 00:49:26,200
One of the things I love about 
God is that He never exposes 

1045
00:49:26,200 --> 00:49:27,960
something in your life to make 
you feel guilty. 

1046
00:49:28,640 --> 00:49:31,080
I know a lot of us have a family
member who has done that before,

1047
00:49:31,360 --> 00:49:33,560
master of the guilt trip or 
something like that, but. 

1048
00:49:34,560 --> 00:49:37,280
If God exposes something in your
life, it's a kindness. 

1049
00:49:38,440 --> 00:49:40,880
He wants to restore something. 
Every single warning in 

1050
00:49:40,880 --> 00:49:44,800
Scripture is an act of grace. 
It is your loving Father saying,

1051
00:49:44,800 --> 00:49:47,360
I'm showing you this now because
I don't want you farther away 

1052
00:49:47,360 --> 00:49:50,440
from me tomorrow. 
And so the reality is that all 

1053
00:49:50,440 --> 00:49:51,800
of us are being pulled by 
something. 

1054
00:49:51,800 --> 00:49:54,200
And maybe it's just. 
Our schedules, our careers, our 

1055
00:49:54,200 --> 00:49:57,520
fears or our hurts and wounds. 
Whatever it is, good things pull

1056
00:49:57,520 --> 00:49:58,920
us too. 
But. 

1057
00:49:58,920 --> 00:50:01,560
Remember these words from Jesus 
in Matthew 633. 

1058
00:50:02,160 --> 00:50:05,440
Seek the Kingdom of God. 
Above all else. 

1059
00:50:06,200 --> 00:50:08,640
And. 
This one doesn't get quoted as 

1060
00:50:08,640 --> 00:50:11,760
often. 
And live righteously and he will

1061
00:50:11,760 --> 00:50:16,080
give you everything you need. 
That middle part is where we get

1062
00:50:16,080 --> 00:50:17,280
tripped up. 
You know why? 

1063
00:50:17,400 --> 00:50:19,000
Because we seek the Kingdom of 
God. 

1064
00:50:19,240 --> 00:50:22,200
We again go to church or we know
how to speak Christian or 

1065
00:50:22,200 --> 00:50:25,120
whatever's happening, and we're 
waiting for God to provide the 

1066
00:50:25,120 --> 00:50:27,320
stuff. 
Once you seek the Kingdom of 

1067
00:50:27,320 --> 00:50:28,960
God, guess what's going to 
happen. 

1068
00:50:29,160 --> 00:50:32,120
You're going to hear from the 
King, and when you hear from the

1069
00:50:32,120 --> 00:50:36,320
King, his edicts, his laws, his 
words, that's your law now. 

1070
00:50:37,320 --> 00:50:39,200
And as soon as you do that, 
guess what you're doing? 

1071
00:50:39,200 --> 00:50:43,120
You're living righteously. 
The Spirit of the living God 

1072
00:50:43,120 --> 00:50:46,320
will convict you and He will 
guide you, and you can walk in 

1073
00:50:46,320 --> 00:50:48,080
that and when. 
You do that, he'll give you 

1074
00:50:48,080 --> 00:50:49,880
everything you need. 
You'll find that the 

1075
00:50:49,880 --> 00:50:52,880
relationships you long for, 
they're either provided or you 

1076
00:50:52,880 --> 00:50:55,040
don't long for them. 
What you'll do is you'll find 

1077
00:50:55,040 --> 00:50:56,680
the things that you thought you 
needed in your life. 

1078
00:50:56,680 --> 00:50:58,680
He's either provided them or you
don't need them. 

1079
00:50:59,120 --> 00:51:03,040
He'll take care of it if you 
seek him above all else, and you

1080
00:51:03,040 --> 00:51:06,280
live righteously so. 
This. 

1081
00:51:06,280 --> 00:51:08,840
Week, I would just encourage 
you, this is not a a 

1082
00:51:09,000 --> 00:51:11,240
condemnation message. 
This is not how far have I 

1083
00:51:11,240 --> 00:51:13,160
drifted? 
Don't even ask God, it doesn't 

1084
00:51:13,160 --> 00:51:15,280
matter. 
Ask him. 

1085
00:51:15,280 --> 00:51:16,840
What can I do tomorrow to seek 
you? 

1086
00:51:17,440 --> 00:51:19,440
What can I do tonight to seek 
you First let. 

1087
00:51:20,160 --> 00:51:22,680
Me, go ahead and pray with you. 
Hey God, we just thank you so 

1088
00:51:22,680 --> 00:51:25,880
much for never giving up on us, 
for those of us who have given 

1089
00:51:25,880 --> 00:51:29,560
up on ourselves. 
We just publicly repent to you. 

1090
00:51:30,640 --> 00:51:33,080
God, we should have never given 
up on ourselves. 

1091
00:51:33,080 --> 00:51:35,640
We should have gone to you. 
For the help that we need for 

1092
00:51:35,640 --> 00:51:38,040
ourselves. 
We should have not been so proud

1093
00:51:38,040 --> 00:51:41,120
as to not ask for help. 
So we come to you tonight, God, 

1094
00:51:41,120 --> 00:51:44,240
wherever we have drifted, would 
you just anchor us and give us 

1095
00:51:44,400 --> 00:51:47,280
the courage and the strength to 
come back where we're supposed 

1096
00:51:47,280 --> 00:51:49,680
to? 
Father, we rebuke the currents. 

1097
00:51:49,680 --> 00:51:52,200
We rebuke the enemy that would 
pull us away. 

1098
00:51:53,280 --> 00:51:54,960
But at. 
The same time, God, we repent 

1099
00:51:54,960 --> 00:51:59,160
for allowing them to. 
We invite you into our life and 

1100
00:51:59,160 --> 00:52:01,760
we ask you to give us clear 
vision so that we won't drift 

1101
00:52:01,760 --> 00:52:03,720
again. 
In the name of Jesus, Amen.