1 00:00:03,320 --> 00:00:05,960 Welcome to the Liberty Baptist Sermon Archives. 2 00:00:06,200 --> 00:00:09,040 The message you're about to hear was preached at Liberty Baptist 3 00:00:09,040 --> 00:00:13,040 Church in Easton, MA. You can find out more about us 4 00:00:13,040 --> 00:00:17,280 or contact us at my libertybaptist.org or just look 5 00:00:17,280 --> 00:00:19,760 us up on Facebook. And now we hope that this 6 00:00:19,760 --> 00:00:22,080 message from God's Word will be a blessing to you. 7 00:00:24,840 --> 00:00:28,000 Please turn to Second Samuel chapter #8 this evening as we 8 00:00:28,000 --> 00:00:33,360 return to our series in Second Samuel chapter #8 as we see that 9 00:00:33,360 --> 00:00:36,920 David was a man after God's own heart, and we'll be looking at 10 00:00:36,920 --> 00:00:41,120 that this evening from the text in Second Samuel. 11 00:00:41,120 --> 00:00:47,720 Chapter #8 I'm going. To repeat some lyrics to a song, 12 00:00:47,720 --> 00:00:49,080 and I'm going to ask you to finish it. 13 00:00:49,080 --> 00:00:50,520 I have a feeling I'm looking at this crowd. 14 00:00:50,520 --> 00:00:53,520 I think that you're going to be able to know exactly what I'm 15 00:00:53,520 --> 00:00:54,640 talking about. Are you ready? 16 00:00:55,120 --> 00:00:57,880 A horse is a horse, of course, of course. 17 00:00:58,120 --> 00:01:00,320 And no one can talk to a horse of course. 18 00:01:01,000 --> 00:01:06,160 That is, of course, unless the horse is the famous Mr. Ed. 19 00:01:06,160 --> 00:01:08,880 All right, that's good. So a lot of you knew that. 20 00:01:08,880 --> 00:01:10,200 Michelle, did you know that? All right. 21 00:01:10,400 --> 00:01:12,080 You had no idea what we were talking about. 22 00:01:12,080 --> 00:01:15,080 All right, I knew what that was. You know, a horse is a horse. 23 00:01:15,240 --> 00:01:17,280 I mean, talking horse. Mr. Ed. 24 00:01:17,520 --> 00:01:19,320 You know, what did Mr. Ed say? Mostly was? 25 00:01:19,400 --> 00:01:22,120 Oh, Wilbur, you know, was mostly. 26 00:01:22,120 --> 00:01:24,480 I don't think I've ever done that from a pulp, and I hope I 27 00:01:24,480 --> 00:01:26,080 never do it again, to be honest with you. 28 00:01:26,920 --> 00:01:29,240 Yeah, that's good. Thank you for finally amening. 29 00:01:29,240 --> 00:01:32,320 That's a blessing. You know, I mean, who wouldn't 30 00:01:32,320 --> 00:01:34,720 want a talking horse? I mean, really, who wouldn't 31 00:01:34,720 --> 00:01:38,880 want a horse in general? You think about it, No, I 32 00:01:38,880 --> 00:01:41,440 understand there's a lot of expenses that go into having a 33 00:01:41,440 --> 00:01:42,920 horse. In fact, it can be very 34 00:01:42,920 --> 00:01:47,640 expensive to be able to care for it and to feed it and to stable 35 00:01:47,640 --> 00:01:49,240 it. My understanding is that can be 36 00:01:49,440 --> 00:01:54,120 a very very pricey venture to be able to actually take care of a 37 00:01:54,120 --> 00:01:56,760 horse to. Own one on your own, but. 38 00:01:57,120 --> 00:01:59,240 Of course we're talking about David this evening. 39 00:01:59,240 --> 00:02:02,880 And if the issue of David having a horse or multiple horses, 40 00:02:02,880 --> 00:02:06,160 well, David I wouldn't say had unlimited resources, but David 41 00:02:06,160 --> 00:02:09,400 had quite a bit as far as resources didn't he didn't have 42 00:02:09,400 --> 00:02:12,600 unlimited amounts of money, but I would say he was very, very 43 00:02:12,600 --> 00:02:14,880 wealthy. Well, David had the opportunity 44 00:02:14,880 --> 00:02:20,560 to amass to himself a large amount of horses, a large amount 45 00:02:20,560 --> 00:02:24,200 of horses to be able to bring these into, not just into his 46 00:02:24,200 --> 00:02:28,640 Kingdom, but really to bring them and fold them into his own 47 00:02:28,640 --> 00:02:32,680 defenses and his own military for Israel. 48 00:02:33,320 --> 00:02:37,000 And really, in many ways, it would seem like a no brainer for 49 00:02:37,000 --> 00:02:39,120 David. He had the resources, he had the 50 00:02:39,120 --> 00:02:42,320 abilities, and he has these horses that could be added to 51 00:02:42,320 --> 00:02:45,920 him, which would be very, very helpful militarily speaking for 52 00:02:45,920 --> 00:02:49,880 the people of Israel. But David not only passed on 53 00:02:50,280 --> 00:02:53,880 having those horses, he passed on them in a very graphic way. 54 00:02:53,880 --> 00:02:57,160 And we're going to look at what that is here in just a moment. 55 00:02:57,280 --> 00:03:01,720 Well, the issue that David dealt with with these horses was very 56 00:03:01,720 --> 00:03:05,640 much of the time we'll see that the issue that David's talking 57 00:03:05,640 --> 00:03:08,600 about here rather the David is dealing with is not something 58 00:03:08,600 --> 00:03:12,480 that we deal with here in 2025. Sure, we still have horses 59 00:03:12,600 --> 00:03:14,560 around. We're familiar with what horses 60 00:03:14,560 --> 00:03:18,360 are, but horses being used in the military is certainly not 61 00:03:18,360 --> 00:03:21,720 something that is pertinent today other than maybe more of a 62 00:03:21,720 --> 00:03:25,680 decorative nature or maybe just for some very specialized uses. 63 00:03:25,680 --> 00:03:29,240 But in general, you know, tanks have taken the place of the 64 00:03:29,240 --> 00:03:33,240 horse, the iron horse, if you will, in almost every situation. 65 00:03:33,520 --> 00:03:38,120 But while it might seem that the situation is irrelevant by, you 66 00:03:38,120 --> 00:03:41,680 know, several 100 years, and of course, looking at around 3000 67 00:03:41,680 --> 00:03:45,480 years from our text, that really what the horses represent, 68 00:03:46,040 --> 00:03:50,720 really what we see that David is dealing with goes far beyond 69 00:03:50,720 --> 00:03:53,160 horses. It goes far beyond any type of 70 00:03:53,160 --> 00:03:56,760 animal. And it is very, very relevant to 71 00:03:56,760 --> 00:03:58,680 where we are today. So I'm looking forward to 72 00:03:58,680 --> 00:04:00,440 getting this text. So why don't we go ahead and do 73 00:04:00,440 --> 00:04:01,680 that? Let's all stand together for 74 00:04:01,680 --> 00:04:04,400 Second Samuel chapter 8. Second Samuel chapter 8. 75 00:04:04,400 --> 00:04:10,200 We'll begin reading in verse #1 it says. 76 00:04:10,200 --> 00:04:13,440 And after this it came to pass that David smote the Philistines 77 00:04:13,440 --> 00:04:17,079 and subdued them. And David took meth gamma out of 78 00:04:17,079 --> 00:04:20,000 the hand of the Philistines, and he smote Moab and measured them 79 00:04:20,000 --> 00:04:22,160 with a line, casting them down to the ground. 80 00:04:22,480 --> 00:04:26,480 Even with two lines measured, he put to death and with one line 81 00:04:26,480 --> 00:04:29,280 to full, one full line rather to keep alive. 82 00:04:29,760 --> 00:04:32,600 And so the Moabites became David's servants and brought 83 00:04:32,600 --> 00:04:35,760 gifts. David Smote also had a Deezer, 84 00:04:35,880 --> 00:04:40,200 the son of Rehab the king of Zoba, as he went to recover his 85 00:04:40,280 --> 00:04:42,880 border at the river Euphrates. Now note this. 86 00:04:43,160 --> 00:04:47,600 And David took from him 1000 Chariots and 700 horsemen and 87 00:04:47,600 --> 00:04:51,640 20,000 footmen. And David hawked all the chariot 88 00:04:51,640 --> 00:04:55,160 horses, but reserved of them for 100 Chariots. 89 00:04:55,680 --> 00:04:59,680 And when the Syrians of Damascus came to sucker Hadadeezer, king 90 00:04:59,680 --> 00:05:03,600 of Zoba, David slew the Syrians 2 and 20,000. 91 00:05:03,600 --> 00:05:05,880 Men. Then David put garrisons in 92 00:05:05,880 --> 00:05:09,640 Syria of Damascus, and the Syrians became servants to David 93 00:05:09,640 --> 00:05:15,320 and brought gifts, and the Lord preserved David whithersoever he 94 00:05:15,320 --> 00:05:17,160 went. What we saw in the previous 95 00:05:17,160 --> 00:05:21,080 chapter, when I preached a few weeks ago, we saw that David had 96 00:05:21,080 --> 00:05:23,840 a time of rest. Well, that time of rest is over 97 00:05:24,160 --> 00:05:26,960 and he's back to war and we're going to look at some of these 98 00:05:26,960 --> 00:05:30,440 conquests, but particularly this issue of having horses and 99 00:05:30,440 --> 00:05:32,960 Hawking horses. What's Hawking a horse? 100 00:05:32,960 --> 00:05:34,560 Why is it important? Why? 101 00:05:34,560 --> 00:05:37,200 What does it have to do with us? And I hope and pray we can 102 00:05:37,200 --> 00:05:38,800 answer those questions as we go along. 103 00:05:38,800 --> 00:05:40,720 So why don't you be seated and let's pray together. 104 00:05:42,000 --> 00:05:44,160 Heavenly Father, do thank you for this night. 105 00:05:44,160 --> 00:05:46,880 And I do pray that you would just help me to be able to 106 00:05:46,880 --> 00:05:50,840 convey what's in this text to. Be able to explain what is the 107 00:05:51,840 --> 00:05:54,000 happenstance here with these animals. 108 00:05:54,000 --> 00:05:58,440 And Lord, at the same time, help us all to understand that the 109 00:05:58,440 --> 00:06:00,640 issue here, although it's not something that would be dealt 110 00:06:00,640 --> 00:06:04,280 with today, couldn't be any more relevant to our own lives. 111 00:06:05,000 --> 00:06:07,560 It's something that we deal with very, very often. 112 00:06:07,560 --> 00:06:10,120 So I pray that you would just help us as we look at this 113 00:06:10,120 --> 00:06:13,840 passage and look at it in some ways in its obscurity, but at 114 00:06:13,840 --> 00:06:17,360 the same time, know that it will help us right here, right now 115 00:06:17,360 --> 00:06:19,800 where we are. And we do ask this in Jesus 116 00:06:19,800 --> 00:06:22,920 name, Amen. Like I mentioned in Second 117 00:06:22,920 --> 00:06:26,000 Samuel chapter #7 a few weeks ago, we were last in our series, 118 00:06:26,000 --> 00:06:29,280 we saw that David had the Davidic covenant given to him. 119 00:06:29,280 --> 00:06:31,640 Of course, it wasn't called the Davidic covenant that time, but 120 00:06:31,640 --> 00:06:34,120 it was a covenant that God made with David. 121 00:06:34,360 --> 00:06:37,520 That was the fact that he was going to be able to have a 122 00:06:37,520 --> 00:06:40,200 lineage and he was going to have land. 123 00:06:40,200 --> 00:06:44,360 Do you remember that that the land was that reconfirming that 124 00:06:44,360 --> 00:06:47,280 the promised land belonged to the people of Israel? 125 00:06:47,280 --> 00:06:50,080 Remember, that is a promise that has not expired. 126 00:06:50,080 --> 00:06:53,640 And we talked about why is relevant in world events even 127 00:06:53,640 --> 00:06:56,400 today, but then also the day would have a lineage, meaning 128 00:06:56,400 --> 00:07:00,000 this, that there was going to be a line of kings that would come 129 00:07:00,200 --> 00:07:04,360 from his family. And that the ultimate of that is 130 00:07:04,560 --> 00:07:08,720 maybe he did not understand at that time, but we understand by 131 00:07:08,720 --> 00:07:12,080 looking at Bible prophecy, we understand the fulfillment of 132 00:07:12,080 --> 00:07:15,520 that is Jesus Christ. And someday Jesus Christ will 133 00:07:15,520 --> 00:07:18,720 set up his Kingdom here on this earth for 1000 years. 134 00:07:18,720 --> 00:07:21,440 And so we looked at that a couple weeks ago, and that was 135 00:07:21,640 --> 00:07:24,040 given to David during a time of rest. 136 00:07:24,040 --> 00:07:27,880 But yet as it is often times in life that, well, there's seems 137 00:07:27,880 --> 00:07:30,720 to be times of rest, but then, well, kind of life starts 138 00:07:30,720 --> 00:07:33,120 happening again, doesn't it? That's just often times the way 139 00:07:33,120 --> 00:07:34,920 that it is. And that was the way for David. 140 00:07:34,920 --> 00:07:38,240 Because here in chapter #8 it says that after this came to 141 00:07:38,240 --> 00:07:41,560 pass, meaning after that Davidic covenant was given, there were 142 00:07:41,560 --> 00:07:43,560 some more battles that took place. 143 00:07:43,560 --> 00:07:48,520 And verse #1 is mentioned almost just really as an aside. 144 00:07:48,520 --> 00:07:51,080 It's not even mentioned as a very big deal, but it's actually 145 00:07:51,080 --> 00:07:54,680 a very big deal because it mentions in chapter one that 146 00:07:54,680 --> 00:07:57,160 David smote the Philistines and subdued them. 147 00:07:57,160 --> 00:08:00,840 Now remember, it wasn't that long ago that the Israelites 148 00:08:00,840 --> 00:08:02,720 were in hiding from the Philistines, that the 149 00:08:02,720 --> 00:08:06,680 Philistines had made that major incursion into Israel, that they 150 00:08:06,680 --> 00:08:10,360 had come into Israel at the death of Saul, and that now 151 00:08:10,360 --> 00:08:15,160 David has overthrown the yoke of Israel, or rather overthrown the 152 00:08:15,160 --> 00:08:17,640 the yoke of the Philistines on Israel. 153 00:08:17,880 --> 00:08:20,160 But he's gone beyond that. Now it's not just that the 154 00:08:20,160 --> 00:08:22,960 Israelites are free, but he's now, you know, taking the fight 155 00:08:23,360 --> 00:08:25,400 to the Philistines. It's not just they're defending 156 00:08:25,400 --> 00:08:27,920 themselves and trying to restore their own land. 157 00:08:28,200 --> 00:08:31,200 He's pushing into the Philistines territory and 158 00:08:31,200 --> 00:08:35,080 mentions here meth gamma. But we if you were to go to and 159 00:08:35,080 --> 00:08:38,520 you don't have to turn their first Chronicles 18 one, you'll 160 00:08:38,520 --> 00:08:42,600 find that David pushed all the way and took Gath. 161 00:08:42,720 --> 00:08:45,920 Now Gath was the capital of the people of the Philistines. 162 00:08:45,920 --> 00:08:49,400 And so for this time, David has completely subdued the 163 00:08:49,400 --> 00:08:52,040 Philistines. Now this, this isn't my message, 164 00:08:52,040 --> 00:08:53,400 but let's dwell on this for a moment. 165 00:08:53,480 --> 00:08:55,320 What a different from Saul's reign. 166 00:08:55,720 --> 00:09:00,520 What a difference that just a few years makes Saul, who left 167 00:09:00,520 --> 00:09:03,000 the Philistines alone. Because instead of chasing the 168 00:09:03,000 --> 00:09:06,440 actual enemy, the Philistines, he was chasing David around the 169 00:09:06,440 --> 00:09:09,440 wilderness for years, wasn't he? And he left the Philistines 170 00:09:09,440 --> 00:09:11,040 alone. They grew in power. 171 00:09:11,120 --> 00:09:14,920 And it ended up causing great havoc and great harm to the 172 00:09:14,920 --> 00:09:18,320 people of Israel, including at the expense of Saul's life and 173 00:09:18,320 --> 00:09:21,440 all of his sons. Now David realizes who the real 174 00:09:21,440 --> 00:09:24,160 enemy is, and they real enemy were the Philistines. 175 00:09:24,160 --> 00:09:26,480 And So what does he do? He not only protects the people 176 00:09:26,480 --> 00:09:29,520 of Israel, kicks them out of Israel, he continues the fight 177 00:09:29,520 --> 00:09:33,560 and brings it all the way right into the heart of the land of 178 00:09:33,560 --> 00:09:36,880 the Philistines, brings it right to Gath and the Israelites win 179 00:09:36,880 --> 00:09:38,400 the day. It's an absolutely incredible 180 00:09:38,400 --> 00:09:41,000 thing. Verse #2 mentions that then he 181 00:09:41,000 --> 00:09:45,040 moves on to the people of Moab and that he takes Moab and 182 00:09:45,040 --> 00:09:49,120 actually mentions here that they he deals very harshly with them. 183 00:09:49,120 --> 00:09:52,320 It says that he smote them. He measured them with a line, 184 00:09:52,320 --> 00:09:56,720 casting them down to the ground. Even 2 lines he measured he put 185 00:09:56,720 --> 00:09:59,480 to the death and with one full line to keep alive. 186 00:09:59,480 --> 00:10:04,120 And it seems that after he captured the land of Moab, but 187 00:10:04,120 --> 00:10:09,600 he took the the military that he had captured and some lived and 188 00:10:09,600 --> 00:10:12,160 some died. And it seems very harsh because 189 00:10:12,160 --> 00:10:17,200 in many ways, remember that David is a great grandchild of a 190 00:10:17,200 --> 00:10:19,400 woman who came from Moab. Do you remember that? 191 00:10:19,400 --> 00:10:22,360 We're talking about Ruth? And so it seems like, wow, 192 00:10:22,360 --> 00:10:24,440 David, why would you treat them so harshly? 193 00:10:24,440 --> 00:10:28,560 And, and we don't know all that goes into this verse, but even 194 00:10:28,560 --> 00:10:31,040 just doing some study and even looking at Jewish history, and 195 00:10:31,040 --> 00:10:33,080 of course, Jewish history is not the Bible. 196 00:10:33,080 --> 00:10:36,240 We know that the Bible is true from cover to cover. 197 00:10:36,240 --> 00:10:39,240 But when we look at history, it can give us some light and some 198 00:10:39,240 --> 00:10:41,960 understanding. But we don't always know that 199 00:10:41,960 --> 00:10:44,400 it's exactly true. But there are some maybe 200 00:10:44,480 --> 00:10:49,040 historical indications that when David was on the run, his 201 00:10:49,040 --> 00:10:51,640 parents went to Moab. Now that is in the Bible that he 202 00:10:51,640 --> 00:10:54,560 had his parents go to Moab, Jesse would have been. 203 00:10:54,560 --> 00:10:57,800 The grandson of Ruth. And so they hid there. 204 00:10:57,800 --> 00:11:02,800 For a while, and it could have been that and history suggests 205 00:11:02,800 --> 00:11:05,840 that perhaps they were mistreated or perhaps maybe even 206 00:11:05,840 --> 00:11:09,600 died at the hands of the Moabites as their way of trying 207 00:11:09,600 --> 00:11:12,720 to Curry favor with Saul. So it very well could be that 208 00:11:12,720 --> 00:11:15,920 David goes to Moab. And again, this is not vengeance 209 00:11:15,920 --> 00:11:18,520 that he's taking out on them. Remember that these are people 210 00:11:18,520 --> 00:11:20,600 that are not supposed to be in the promised land. 211 00:11:20,600 --> 00:11:22,760 These are people that were supposed to be have cleared out 212 00:11:22,760 --> 00:11:25,520 of the promised land far before the Moabites. 213 00:11:25,520 --> 00:11:28,520 But the Israelites did not obey God's command here. 214 00:11:28,520 --> 00:11:31,400 David is just obeying the commands, the Lord, and very 215 00:11:31,400 --> 00:11:35,720 likely that he is also executing justice for some things that 216 00:11:35,720 --> 00:11:38,560 have been done to the people of Israel and perhaps even his own 217 00:11:38,560 --> 00:11:40,880 family. Basically, he's taking care of 218 00:11:40,880 --> 00:11:44,320 business again that Saul did not take care of previously. 219 00:11:44,680 --> 00:11:49,960 So what happens verse #1 the Philistines, verse #2 Moab. 220 00:11:50,040 --> 00:11:53,480 But then in verse #3 it says that David Smote had it easier, 221 00:11:53,480 --> 00:11:57,320 the son of Rehab, the son of the king of Zoba, as he went to 222 00:11:57,320 --> 00:11:59,960 recover the border at the river Euphrates. 223 00:11:59,960 --> 00:12:04,360 Now, if you're thinking in your mind of a map and you consider 224 00:12:04,360 --> 00:12:07,920 where Israel is on that map, and you look to the West, what do 225 00:12:07,920 --> 00:12:08,920 you see? To the West? 226 00:12:08,920 --> 00:12:12,080 You would see the Mediterranean Sea, the great sea, they would 227 00:12:12,080 --> 00:12:14,120 have called it. We call it the Mediterranean Sea 228 00:12:14,120 --> 00:12:15,840 today. Now, if you were to look to the 229 00:12:15,840 --> 00:12:18,880 east, you would see the Jordan River, and then if you were to 230 00:12:18,880 --> 00:12:22,360 continue to go to the east, you'd go all the way to the 231 00:12:22,360 --> 00:12:26,080 river Euphrates. And in that void, in that space 232 00:12:26,080 --> 00:12:29,320 between the Jordan River and the river Euphrates would have been 233 00:12:29,680 --> 00:12:33,040 the land of Gilead, where the 2 1/2 tribes of the people of 234 00:12:33,040 --> 00:12:36,120 Israel would have lived. But then you'd also find that 235 00:12:36,120 --> 00:12:40,320 there would be the the country of Syria, there would be also 236 00:12:40,520 --> 00:12:43,600 other nations air W effects Syrians and Damascus is 237 00:12:43,600 --> 00:12:47,920 mentioned in verse #5 but in that same area of Zoba is 238 00:12:47,920 --> 00:12:49,440 mentioned. Had it easier. 239 00:12:49,720 --> 00:12:53,800 Now remember, if we were to go back and look not just at the 240 00:12:53,800 --> 00:12:56,240 Davidic Covenant, but we're to go all the way, way back to the 241 00:12:56,240 --> 00:13:00,720 Abrahamic covenant that God promised Abraham not just the 242 00:13:00,720 --> 00:13:04,320 land, but he, he gave the deed to the land in the sense that he 243 00:13:04,320 --> 00:13:06,800 said what that land would be. And when you look at the 244 00:13:06,800 --> 00:13:09,640 different covenants and you put it all together, really you see 245 00:13:09,640 --> 00:13:11,040 that. Remember we talked about this a 246 00:13:11,040 --> 00:13:14,120 couple weeks ago, that really in many ways it's from the river to 247 00:13:14,120 --> 00:13:17,320 the sea. That's why it's such a affront 248 00:13:17,440 --> 00:13:21,720 when those who use that term, that phrase, those Palestinians 249 00:13:21,720 --> 00:13:24,640 who say from the river to the sea and use it as a phrase of 250 00:13:24,640 --> 00:13:27,760 genocide, which again, that's the way they use it today. 251 00:13:27,960 --> 00:13:31,440 It was really a promise of God to the Israelites because you go 252 00:13:31,440 --> 00:13:33,000 all the way to the river Euphrates. 253 00:13:33,040 --> 00:13:36,960 It belonged to the people of God all the way to the sea, all the 254 00:13:36,960 --> 00:13:40,040 way to the border of Egypt. It all belonged to the people of 255 00:13:40,040 --> 00:13:42,760 God. The deed was given to them by 256 00:13:42,760 --> 00:13:45,240 God. And so now here in chapter after 257 00:13:45,240 --> 00:13:48,000 three and beyond, we see that David says this. 258 00:13:48,200 --> 00:13:51,320 I'm just going to trust God that he's going to give us the land 259 00:13:51,320 --> 00:13:54,360 that we don't possess yet. But he's already promised to us. 260 00:13:54,360 --> 00:13:58,200 And so he goes on this military campaign and he doesn't just go, 261 00:13:58,200 --> 00:14:00,280 he wins. And then the Syrians get 262 00:14:00,280 --> 00:14:02,360 involved. There's some men from Damascus 263 00:14:02,360 --> 00:14:05,680 and some other areas and they try to help and they lose as 264 00:14:05,680 --> 00:14:08,000 well. David wins the day because he 265 00:14:08,000 --> 00:14:11,120 trusts in the Lord, as it says in verse number six, that God 266 00:14:11,120 --> 00:14:14,720 preserved him wherever he went. David's just taking the word of 267 00:14:14,720 --> 00:14:17,000 God for what it is. And he says, Lord, you said this 268 00:14:17,000 --> 00:14:19,600 land belongs to us. I trust you that it belongs to 269 00:14:19,600 --> 00:14:21,680 us. And he goes and he fights and he 270 00:14:21,680 --> 00:14:25,200 wins. So it's from this campaign, this 271 00:14:25,200 --> 00:14:29,680 campaign to the River Euphrates, which comes the issue of the 272 00:14:29,680 --> 00:14:32,280 horses. And what's the deal with these 273 00:14:32,280 --> 00:14:35,280 Hawking of horses? Well, again you see it just 274 00:14:35,280 --> 00:14:38,480 mentioned briefly in verse #4 look at it again with me. 275 00:14:38,800 --> 00:14:43,080 It says, and David took from him 1000 Chariots and 700 horsemen 276 00:14:43,440 --> 00:14:46,440 and 20,000 footmen. And David hawked, I know that 277 00:14:46,440 --> 00:14:49,560 word. The word looks like hauged, if 278 00:14:49,560 --> 00:14:53,120 you will, but it's hawked. He hawked all the chariot horses 279 00:14:53,360 --> 00:14:56,200 but reserved of them 400 Chariots. 280 00:14:56,760 --> 00:14:59,720 So we see in this verse Davidde plunder. 281 00:15:00,120 --> 00:15:06,200 David took 1000 Chariots, he took 700 horsemen, he 20,000 282 00:15:06,200 --> 00:15:09,640 footmen and this isn't David Hawk chariot horses. 283 00:15:09,640 --> 00:15:14,480 So David in capturing what he does, he captures Chariots and 284 00:15:14,480 --> 00:15:17,680 he captures our horses out. Interestingly enough, we don't 285 00:15:17,680 --> 00:15:19,680 have a number of the horses that are given. 286 00:15:19,680 --> 00:15:22,240 We see the number of the horses that were preserved, which were 287 00:15:22,240 --> 00:15:24,120 very few, but we don't know how many horses. 288 00:15:24,120 --> 00:15:26,840 I would suggest to you it was a very large number. 289 00:15:27,160 --> 00:15:30,560 Now again to you and I, we think of horses, we mostly think of 290 00:15:30,560 --> 00:15:34,840 maybe agriculture or racing. I mean, that's most of the 291 00:15:34,840 --> 00:15:38,240 applications that we have for horses here in our day, or just 292 00:15:38,240 --> 00:15:40,920 recreation, if you will, if you were to go to a farm or 293 00:15:40,920 --> 00:15:45,320 something like that. But horses in those days had one 294 00:15:45,320 --> 00:15:48,520 primary use. Not that it was the only use, 295 00:15:48,520 --> 00:15:51,880 but one primary use in those days and those times. 296 00:15:52,040 --> 00:15:55,960 And they were animals of war because, as I just mentioned a 297 00:15:55,960 --> 00:15:59,400 few moments ago, they could make a great difference on a 298 00:15:59,400 --> 00:16:01,440 battlefield where there were no tanks. 299 00:16:01,720 --> 00:16:04,040 Horses and Chariots were the tanks of the day. 300 00:16:04,360 --> 00:16:06,400 Why? Well, because they were fast. 301 00:16:06,760 --> 00:16:10,840 Imagine on a battlefield, having a sword, being on a battlefield 302 00:16:11,040 --> 00:16:14,640 and having a bow and an arrow. Imagine coming against a horse 303 00:16:14,640 --> 00:16:16,640 and a chariot. It would be. 304 00:16:17,240 --> 00:16:20,880 It would be a very bad thing for the one who was on foot. 305 00:16:20,880 --> 00:16:21,840 It would be very bad. Why? 306 00:16:21,840 --> 00:16:24,520 Because they're so fast, they're so maneuverable. 307 00:16:24,640 --> 00:16:28,680 They were armored. I mean, you could hit that arrow 308 00:16:28,680 --> 00:16:30,840 and it wasn't that the fact that or you could rather shoot that 309 00:16:30,840 --> 00:16:32,160 arrow. You wouldn't hit the arrow, but 310 00:16:32,160 --> 00:16:33,960 you could shoot that arrow and what would happen? 311 00:16:34,360 --> 00:16:37,840 It will be very unlikely to be able to harm the rider of the 312 00:16:37,840 --> 00:16:40,160 chariot. He's protected by the chariot. 313 00:16:40,280 --> 00:16:42,440 He probably also has armor on himself. 314 00:16:42,600 --> 00:16:45,120 So the fact is, if you could even hit the man on the chariot, 315 00:16:45,200 --> 00:16:48,120 you'd have to hit him at the speed that he's going, at the 316 00:16:48,120 --> 00:16:50,240 direction he's going, the armor he's going. 317 00:16:50,840 --> 00:16:53,920 They were almost invulnerable. Not completely, but they were 318 00:16:53,920 --> 00:16:57,120 almost invulnerable. And maybe most importantly, when 319 00:16:57,120 --> 00:16:59,720 you look at these horses and look at these Chariots, maybe 320 00:16:59,720 --> 00:17:02,560 more importantly than all of these things, they were in short 321 00:17:02,560 --> 00:17:06,480 supply. Because if one nation has tanks 322 00:17:06,920 --> 00:17:09,599 and another nation has tanks, you can kind of be the stand 323 00:17:09,599 --> 00:17:12,520 off, can't you? But if one nation has horses and 324 00:17:12,520 --> 00:17:17,520 Chariots and the other have none or very few, it's very, very 325 00:17:17,520 --> 00:17:20,560 likely that the nation with horses and Chariots will be the 326 00:17:20,560 --> 00:17:23,800 one that will put the other nation to the worst. 327 00:17:24,200 --> 00:17:26,599 Oh yeah, If you had horses, you're in good shape. 328 00:17:27,240 --> 00:17:30,640 You had Chariots. You weren't invincible, but you 329 00:17:30,640 --> 00:17:34,320 were pretty near invincible. Here's David. 330 00:17:34,880 --> 00:17:37,200 He goes on a campaign, first to the Philistines. 331 00:17:37,240 --> 00:17:39,880 He wins, Then he goes to Moab and he wins. 332 00:17:39,960 --> 00:17:43,000 And now he's understanding that God is blessing. 333 00:17:43,000 --> 00:17:46,600 He understands that God is doing things that only God can do. 334 00:17:46,600 --> 00:17:49,240 And he says, you know what, I'm going to continue to trust God 335 00:17:49,240 --> 00:17:52,400 in a major way, and I'm going to apply the promises that were 336 00:17:52,400 --> 00:17:54,960 given to our people in the past. So we're going to go all the way 337 00:17:54,960 --> 00:17:57,480 to the River Euphrates and we're going to continue the military 338 00:17:57,480 --> 00:17:59,160 campaign. They win again. 339 00:17:59,400 --> 00:18:01,840 Syria gets involved, they win again. 340 00:18:02,000 --> 00:18:05,000 Over and over they win. And in the plunder, in 341 00:18:05,000 --> 00:18:08,320 everything that happens, they end up inheriting, if you will, 342 00:18:08,480 --> 00:18:12,360 through the spoils of war, horses and Chariots. 343 00:18:12,440 --> 00:18:15,120 Listen, Israel will never lose again. 344 00:18:16,000 --> 00:18:19,680 They will never lose on a battlefield again, because not 345 00:18:19,680 --> 00:18:22,480 only have they won victory after victory, but now they've got 346 00:18:22,480 --> 00:18:25,760 these horses and Chariots that almost nobody else has, and they 347 00:18:25,760 --> 00:18:31,120 have them in abundance. And so David does the opposite 348 00:18:31,120 --> 00:18:35,800 thing of what we would think. And he Hawks. 349 00:18:35,800 --> 00:18:39,800 The horses. He basically makes the horses 350 00:18:40,360 --> 00:18:43,520 unusable for war. Now, maybe you've heard that 351 00:18:43,520 --> 00:18:45,480 term of a Hawking of a horse before. 352 00:18:45,480 --> 00:18:47,360 Sometimes it's called hamstringing. 353 00:18:47,480 --> 00:18:52,200 Of a horse. The idea of it is that the 354 00:18:52,200 --> 00:18:56,480 hamstring of a horse is cut. In fact, doing some research 355 00:18:56,480 --> 00:18:59,080 I'll just read this. Hamstringing involves cutting 356 00:18:59,080 --> 00:19:03,600 the large sinew or tendon in a horse's hind leg, which impairs 357 00:19:03,600 --> 00:19:08,800 its ability to run or pull heavy loads like Chariots, effectively 358 00:19:08,800 --> 00:19:12,760 ruining it as a War Horse. Importantly though, this did not 359 00:19:12,760 --> 00:19:16,640 render the horses completely unable to stand, graze, or move 360 00:19:16,640 --> 00:19:18,680 slowly. They could still function for 361 00:19:18,680 --> 00:19:23,200 basic purposes, but we're no longer viable for military 362 00:19:23,200 --> 00:19:25,160 purposes. You know, he didn't kill the 363 00:19:25,160 --> 00:19:26,240 horses. What did he do? 364 00:19:26,440 --> 00:19:31,160 He made sure they would never be able to use a military campaign 365 00:19:31,160 --> 00:19:33,280 again. Now, listen, if you were Hawking 366 00:19:33,280 --> 00:19:36,880 the enemy's horses, that made sense because you don't want the 367 00:19:36,880 --> 00:19:39,040 enemy to be able to use the horses again in battle. 368 00:19:39,680 --> 00:19:44,440 But if you have received the horses as spoils of war and you 369 00:19:44,440 --> 00:19:49,040 could incorporate them into your military, why on earth would you 370 00:19:49,040 --> 00:19:52,400 take this seemingly amount of invincibility? 371 00:19:52,400 --> 00:19:57,200 And throw. It away a horse that couldn't 372 00:19:57,200 --> 00:20:01,400 even handle a chariot. Maybe you've seen someone in 373 00:20:01,400 --> 00:20:04,880 sports or maybe it's happened to you yourself here or there where 374 00:20:04,880 --> 00:20:08,000 you pull the hamstring. And I'll tell you this, it's 375 00:20:08,000 --> 00:20:10,320 painful. It hurts. 376 00:20:10,680 --> 00:20:12,840 And on top of that, if you're running and pulling a hamstring, 377 00:20:12,840 --> 00:20:15,320 you're not going to run anymore, not until it's healed. 378 00:20:16,200 --> 00:20:18,360 And the difference between pulling a hamstring and having 379 00:20:18,360 --> 00:20:21,040 the hamstring cut is quite different. 380 00:20:21,760 --> 00:20:24,480 The hamstringing of a horse, the Hawking of a horse means it will 381 00:20:24,480 --> 00:20:28,800 never participate in a military campaign again. 382 00:20:29,840 --> 00:20:35,200 So why on earth? Would a king who just received 383 00:20:35,200 --> 00:20:39,240 the gift of near invincibility in battle throw it away? 384 00:20:41,960 --> 00:20:48,360 Listen, on its face, it makes zero sense unless you understand 385 00:20:48,760 --> 00:20:52,240 that to David, the horse wasn't just a horse. 386 00:20:53,800 --> 00:20:58,320 Of course, trying to work that in somehow, all right? 387 00:20:59,800 --> 00:21:04,840 The issue was the horse really wasn't about the horse. 388 00:21:05,960 --> 00:21:09,720 There was an issue that was far greater at play that David had 389 00:21:09,720 --> 00:21:13,680 in mind. See, David wanted David had the 390 00:21:13,720 --> 00:21:18,000 ability by incorporating these horses and Chariots within his 391 00:21:18,360 --> 00:21:23,160 military of near invincibility. But I would submit to you. 392 00:21:23,920 --> 00:21:26,680 That he already had that. Why? 393 00:21:27,280 --> 00:21:31,040 Because he had something greater than a horse and a chariot. 394 00:21:31,480 --> 00:21:34,800 He had God Almighty. He didn't need the horses. 395 00:21:35,000 --> 00:21:38,600 He didn't need the Chariots. Why he had got, listen, he'd 396 00:21:38,600 --> 00:21:42,240 been doing fine before the horses and the Chariots. 397 00:21:42,720 --> 00:21:44,480 It's not like he was struggling before. 398 00:21:44,480 --> 00:21:46,760 Why? Because he was aligned with the 399 00:21:46,760 --> 00:21:51,000 God of the universe that the God of the universe said, you go and 400 00:21:51,000 --> 00:21:55,160 you honor me and you follow me and you will win over and over 401 00:21:55,160 --> 00:21:57,200 again. He didn't need the horses, and 402 00:21:57,200 --> 00:22:00,360 he was afraid that if he kept the horses, his trust would be 403 00:22:00,360 --> 00:22:04,720 in the horses and not in the God who created the horses. 404 00:22:06,000 --> 00:22:07,680 That's not just conjecture on my part. 405 00:22:08,920 --> 00:22:10,640 That's not just me reading into the text. 406 00:22:11,000 --> 00:22:14,360 There are several mentions in the Old Testament where it was 407 00:22:14,360 --> 00:22:17,680 important for a king to understand who he was, trusting 408 00:22:17,680 --> 00:22:20,160 it. And literally the comparison was 409 00:22:20,160 --> 00:22:23,840 made between trusting in God and trusting in horses. 410 00:22:23,840 --> 00:22:27,000 Again, I know for us you don't even think about that today, 411 00:22:27,040 --> 00:22:28,680 boy. I trust God or I trust a horse. 412 00:22:28,840 --> 00:22:32,360 You probably don't think about that very much, but to them it 413 00:22:32,360 --> 00:22:35,320 was a very real thing. Follow me for just a second. 414 00:22:35,320 --> 00:22:37,560 Deuteronomy 17, verses 14 through 16. 415 00:22:37,720 --> 00:22:39,800 You don't have to turn there, but just follow me as I read. 416 00:22:40,080 --> 00:22:43,200 When thou art come unto the land which the Lord thy God giveth 417 00:22:43,200 --> 00:22:46,720 thee, and shalt possess it, and shalt dwell therein, and shalt 418 00:22:46,720 --> 00:22:50,120 say, I will set a king over me, like as all the nations that are 419 00:22:50,120 --> 00:22:52,600 about me. Thou shalt in any wise set him 420 00:22:52,600 --> 00:22:56,120 king over thee, whom the Lord thy God shall choose one from 421 00:22:56,120 --> 00:22:59,000 among thy brethren. Shalt thou set the king over 422 00:22:59,000 --> 00:23:00,800 thee. Thou mayest not set a stranger 423 00:23:00,800 --> 00:23:02,080 over thee which is not thy my brother. 424 00:23:02,080 --> 00:23:06,560 Now listen. But he shall not multiply horses 425 00:23:07,120 --> 00:23:11,160 to himself, because the people to return to Egypt to the end 426 00:23:11,160 --> 00:23:14,520 that he should multiply horses. For as much as the Lord has said 427 00:23:14,520 --> 00:23:18,200 unto you, you shall no more or you shall henceforth return no 428 00:23:18,200 --> 00:23:22,800 more that what that day as Moses is preparing the people to go in 429 00:23:22,800 --> 00:23:25,800 the promised land, God has told them, someday you're going to 430 00:23:25,800 --> 00:23:28,160 ask for a king. I know because you're 431 00:23:28,160 --> 00:23:30,120 disobedient. Someday you're going to ask for 432 00:23:30,120 --> 00:23:31,560 a king. And when that king comes, I'm 433 00:23:31,560 --> 00:23:34,120 going to give you some guardrails to help that king to 434 00:23:34,120 --> 00:23:37,480 understand how he should lead. And one of them was this, don't 435 00:23:37,480 --> 00:23:40,640 multiply horses to yourself, meaning this, don't breed them. 436 00:23:41,200 --> 00:23:43,360 And then he mentions Egypt. Did you hear those mentions of 437 00:23:43,360 --> 00:23:44,480 Egypt? And that text said, what does 438 00:23:44,480 --> 00:23:47,960 that have to do with Egypt? Well, Egypt would oftentimes be 439 00:23:47,960 --> 00:23:51,760 breeders of horses themselves. And so basically the Lord is 440 00:23:51,760 --> 00:23:53,560 telling the King. Listen, you don't need to breed 441 00:23:53,560 --> 00:23:54,920 the horses. You don't need to buy the 442 00:23:54,920 --> 00:23:56,680 horses. Trust me. 443 00:23:57,680 --> 00:23:59,320 You don't need to breed the horses yourself. 444 00:23:59,320 --> 00:24:01,360 You don't need to go to Egypt and buy the horses. 445 00:24:01,600 --> 00:24:04,440 Just trust in me because I will protect you. 446 00:24:05,360 --> 00:24:08,400 Psalm chapter 20, verse #7 which, by the way, was penned by 447 00:24:08,400 --> 00:24:13,160 David some. Trust in Chariots, some in 448 00:24:13,160 --> 00:24:17,400 horses, but we will remember the name of the Lord our God. 449 00:24:18,600 --> 00:24:22,960 That's powerful, isn't it? Psalm 33, verses 16 and 17. 450 00:24:23,480 --> 00:24:25,720 There is no king saved by the multitude of an host. 451 00:24:26,560 --> 00:24:30,240 A mighty man is not delivered by much strength, and horse is a 452 00:24:30,240 --> 00:24:35,040 vain thing for safety, neither shall he deliver any by his 453 00:24:35,120 --> 00:24:41,200 great strength. David had read, David had heard, 454 00:24:41,960 --> 00:24:46,600 and then David wrote about the fact that trust must come in the 455 00:24:46,600 --> 00:24:52,360 Lord, not from any other entity, that no other entity can give 456 00:24:52,360 --> 00:24:55,400 safety. No other entity can give 457 00:24:55,400 --> 00:24:58,760 strength. It is only God who gives safety 458 00:24:58,840 --> 00:25:01,000 and strength. And listen, there are things in 459 00:25:01,000 --> 00:25:03,640 this life that do give safety and strength, but it's only 460 00:25:03,640 --> 00:25:07,160 because God has granted it to them, because those things can 461 00:25:07,160 --> 00:25:09,160 give safety and strength until they don't. 462 00:25:09,280 --> 00:25:11,280 That's why you don't put your confidence in man. 463 00:25:11,400 --> 00:25:13,320 That's why you don't put your confidence in things. 464 00:25:13,480 --> 00:25:15,160 That's why you don't put your confidence in items. 465 00:25:15,160 --> 00:25:17,360 That's why you don't put your confidence in horses. 466 00:25:18,320 --> 00:25:21,720 You put your confidence. In God, and there's nowhere else 467 00:25:21,720 --> 00:25:24,400 that it belongs. And that's why verse 6, the 468 00:25:24,400 --> 00:25:26,440 final phrase is so important. Look at it again I just 469 00:25:26,440 --> 00:25:29,640 mentioned a few moments ago. And the Lord preserved David 470 00:25:29,880 --> 00:25:31,920 whither so ever he went. It wasn't the horses that 471 00:25:31,920 --> 00:25:33,880 preserved him. It wasn't the Chariots that 472 00:25:33,880 --> 00:25:36,160 preserved him. It was the God of the horses. 473 00:25:36,360 --> 00:25:38,920 It was the God of the Chariots. It was the God of Israel. 474 00:25:38,920 --> 00:25:42,720 No, David understood, I don't need these horses, I need God. 475 00:25:43,280 --> 00:25:46,400 I don't need these Chariots. I need God. 476 00:25:47,200 --> 00:25:51,080 So when is a horse not a horse? When it represents something 477 00:25:51,080 --> 00:25:54,120 that becomes your trust. More than God. 478 00:25:54,680 --> 00:25:58,360 A horse is no match for having God's protection, and there's 479 00:25:58,360 --> 00:26:00,560 nothing else that's any match for God's protection either in 480 00:26:00,560 --> 00:26:03,120 your life. A horse is no match for God's 481 00:26:03,120 --> 00:26:06,080 protection, and there's nothing else in your life that's any 482 00:26:06,080 --> 00:26:08,080 match for God's protection as well. 483 00:26:09,840 --> 00:26:11,920 Now I'm going to answer a question that might be rolling 484 00:26:11,920 --> 00:26:13,400 around in your mind right now. Well. 485 00:26:13,800 --> 00:26:17,280 OK, I see what you're saying. What you're saying, you know, 486 00:26:17,960 --> 00:26:19,560 you're saying I should throw away my gun. 487 00:26:21,680 --> 00:26:24,320 I mean, I'm sure nobody in here carries. 488 00:26:24,320 --> 00:26:28,320 But anyway, are you saying I should throw away my gun, get 489 00:26:28,320 --> 00:26:32,720 rid of my Ring doorbell, cancel my security system subscription? 490 00:26:32,720 --> 00:26:34,760 Is that what you're saying the Bible says? 491 00:26:34,760 --> 00:26:41,400 And my answer is absolutely not. Did David disband his military? 492 00:26:42,880 --> 00:26:46,880 Did David say I trust the Lord so much that I don't even need a 493 00:26:46,880 --> 00:26:50,600 standing army? Not only did he not do that, God 494 00:26:50,600 --> 00:26:54,080 never commanded him to do that. No, no, we don't. 495 00:26:54,520 --> 00:26:57,080 We're not talking the absurdity of saying that we were becoming 496 00:26:57,080 --> 00:27:00,200 pacifists and, well, we'll just let God do everything and that 497 00:27:00,280 --> 00:27:01,680 that's what we're looking to do here. 498 00:27:01,720 --> 00:27:03,480 No, the Bible doesn't teach that. 499 00:27:03,480 --> 00:27:04,760 The Bible doesn't say that, do we? 500 00:27:04,760 --> 00:27:06,080 No, no. Where do we find that in the 501 00:27:06,080 --> 00:27:09,040 Scripture or anywhere else in the 66 books of the Word of God. 502 00:27:09,480 --> 00:27:14,880 Remember, it says in Psalm 2027, some trusted Chariots and some 503 00:27:14,880 --> 00:27:18,440 in horses, but we will remember the name of the Lord our God. 504 00:27:18,600 --> 00:27:21,520 You know, this is not an issue of having them. 505 00:27:22,240 --> 00:27:23,560 This is an issue of trusting in them. 506 00:27:24,680 --> 00:27:26,560 No, this is not the issue of having them. 507 00:27:26,800 --> 00:27:28,280 This is the issue of trusting in them. 508 00:27:28,280 --> 00:27:30,760 Listen, there's nothing wrong with being able to protect 509 00:27:30,760 --> 00:27:32,640 yourself with a firearm. Amen. 510 00:27:32,720 --> 00:27:35,040 There's nothing wrong with being able to protect yourself by 511 00:27:35,040 --> 00:27:37,760 having a home security system. There's nothing wrong with being 512 00:27:37,760 --> 00:27:40,600 able to protect yourself by knowing who's at the door when 513 00:27:40,600 --> 00:27:42,800 they knock on the door. There's nothing wrong with that. 514 00:27:42,800 --> 00:27:46,240 But listen, when you trust in those things more than you trust 515 00:27:46,240 --> 00:27:49,600 in God, then you have gotten the emphasis in the wrong place. 516 00:27:49,720 --> 00:27:53,360 You put the order wrong. David, who was so concerned that 517 00:27:53,360 --> 00:27:56,640 the people of God would end up giving the glory to the horses 518 00:27:56,640 --> 00:27:58,280 instead of God, said we don't need those horses. 519 00:27:59,880 --> 00:28:03,360 So we're going to do what we need to do to be able to let 520 00:28:03,360 --> 00:28:07,440 them graze in the field or do some agricultural purposes, but 521 00:28:07,440 --> 00:28:10,280 we won't use them with Chariots. We won't use them. 522 00:28:10,280 --> 00:28:13,200 Because we're afraid our trust will be in the horses and 523 00:28:13,200 --> 00:28:16,960 instead of God, it's possible to have firearms security and 524 00:28:16,960 --> 00:28:18,680 defense measures and that be your trust. 525 00:28:20,040 --> 00:28:22,600 It's also possible to have the exact same things and God to be 526 00:28:22,600 --> 00:28:26,000 your trust. So the issue is not a having 527 00:28:26,000 --> 00:28:30,760 them issue, it's a heart issue. Let me say that again. 528 00:28:31,240 --> 00:28:33,720 It's not a having them issue to have things. 529 00:28:34,640 --> 00:28:40,480 It's an issue of a heart issue. Am I trusting in them more than 530 00:28:40,480 --> 00:28:45,600 I'm trusting in God? So when you think about it, 3000 531 00:28:45,600 --> 00:28:50,360 year old issue is as relevant today as it was back then. 532 00:28:51,440 --> 00:28:53,280 Do you have issues with trusting in horses? 533 00:28:53,680 --> 00:28:56,480 I don't. I've ridden a horse a few times. 534 00:28:56,480 --> 00:28:58,120 I don't know that I trusted it, to be honest with you. 535 00:28:58,360 --> 00:28:59,640 But that's not what we're talking about. 536 00:28:59,640 --> 00:29:02,840 We're not talking about trusting a horse with our safety or our 537 00:29:02,840 --> 00:29:07,080 life or the life of our nation. But I will say there are plenty 538 00:29:07,080 --> 00:29:11,000 of things I deal with and that you deal with that. 539 00:29:11,160 --> 00:29:14,680 We acquire that. We have that. 540 00:29:14,680 --> 00:29:17,480 If we're not careful, we will trust them more than we trust 541 00:29:17,480 --> 00:29:19,640 God. Can I give you some examples? 542 00:29:20,480 --> 00:29:23,680 Finances. Isn't it good to have finances? 543 00:29:24,120 --> 00:29:25,160 I think it's important, isn't it? 544 00:29:25,400 --> 00:29:27,040 I mean, I like going to the grocery store and, you know, 545 00:29:27,080 --> 00:29:29,560 having money, to be honest with you, because you can only eat so 546 00:29:29,560 --> 00:29:32,680 many free samples and go home before they want you tell you, 547 00:29:32,680 --> 00:29:33,560 you got to go. All right. 548 00:29:33,560 --> 00:29:38,560 Even at Costco, there's a limit. You know, finances are, are, are 549 00:29:38,560 --> 00:29:41,440 good. God has given you finances to be 550 00:29:41,440 --> 00:29:44,520 able to do some of the things you need to do and meet some of 551 00:29:44,520 --> 00:29:48,320 the needs of life. But I will say this, when you 552 00:29:48,320 --> 00:29:51,840 get to the place where you believe money will insulate you 553 00:29:52,320 --> 00:29:55,720 from life's problems, or you get to the place where you believe 554 00:29:55,720 --> 00:29:59,000 finances are the more important thing of your life, and 555 00:29:59,000 --> 00:30:02,600 decisions are being made not by what God wants to do in your 556 00:30:02,600 --> 00:30:06,360 life, but by finances. You're spending what you spend 557 00:30:06,360 --> 00:30:10,640 on or what you don't spend on. Listen, you have ended up 558 00:30:10,640 --> 00:30:14,920 trusting in finances like David was afraid he would trust in 559 00:30:14,920 --> 00:30:19,280 horses. First Timothy 617 says charge 560 00:30:19,280 --> 00:30:23,400 them that are rich in this world that they be not high minded nor 561 00:30:23,400 --> 00:30:27,640 trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God who giveth us 562 00:30:27,640 --> 00:30:32,320 richly all things to enjoy. I love the I love the 563 00:30:32,320 --> 00:30:34,600 juxtaposition. I love the contrast of those 564 00:30:34,600 --> 00:30:36,880 two. He says don't trust in uncertain 565 00:30:36,880 --> 00:30:40,640 riches, but he says this, but trust in the living God who 566 00:30:40,640 --> 00:30:43,960 gives us all things richly. Meaning this, you want to be 567 00:30:43,960 --> 00:30:46,040 rich in this life, it's not going to come from what's in 568 00:30:46,040 --> 00:30:48,760 your pocketbook or your wallet, It's going to be from God 569 00:30:48,760 --> 00:30:55,360 almighty material possessions. We often think that owning more 570 00:30:55,560 --> 00:31:00,320 houses, cars, gadgets, secures our future, but these things 571 00:31:00,320 --> 00:31:04,840 rust, they decay, and trusting them over God leaves us empty. 572 00:31:05,920 --> 00:31:09,160 It's amazing to me, the push and pull, and I think I've mentioned 573 00:31:09,160 --> 00:31:12,400 this before, people who own their own home and who rent A 574 00:31:12,400 --> 00:31:15,160 home. Many times when people own a 575 00:31:15,160 --> 00:31:17,760 home, they say, you know, I own a home, I have equity. 576 00:31:18,040 --> 00:31:20,720 You own a home, you have equity that you're able to own 577 00:31:20,720 --> 00:31:23,080 something yourself and it means something. 578 00:31:24,440 --> 00:31:27,160 And I look at people who own and that's what I think of. 579 00:31:27,960 --> 00:31:29,920 I'm spending rent money every month and it's just like you're 580 00:31:29,920 --> 00:31:32,760 lighting money on fire, you know, You're not building 581 00:31:32,760 --> 00:31:33,600 equity. You're not. 582 00:31:33,960 --> 00:31:36,280 But there's an amazing amount of people, believe it or not, when 583 00:31:36,280 --> 00:31:39,120 they retire in our apartment complex that move to our 584 00:31:39,120 --> 00:31:41,720 apartment complex. You know what they say, I don't 585 00:31:41,720 --> 00:31:43,200 have to worry about property taxes. 586 00:31:44,640 --> 00:31:46,800 I mean, you still do, but it's baked into the rent. 587 00:31:48,760 --> 00:31:50,480 I don't have to worry about repairs. 588 00:31:50,720 --> 00:31:56,640 You know, I've never paid for a roof that hit close to home for 589 00:31:56,640 --> 00:31:59,160 some of you. You know what? 590 00:31:59,160 --> 00:32:02,440 I've never had to pay for home repairs. 591 00:32:03,560 --> 00:32:05,320 Since we've moved in our apartment. 592 00:32:05,520 --> 00:32:08,880 I've had a, we, we've had a, a refrigerator go down, a 593 00:32:08,920 --> 00:32:11,520 dishwasher go down, a washer and a dryer. 594 00:32:11,520 --> 00:32:13,960 The only thing we've got left is the oven and we'll have a whole 595 00:32:13,960 --> 00:32:18,000 new set. And you know, we've never paid 596 00:32:18,000 --> 00:32:20,480 for one of them out of our own pocket. 597 00:32:20,560 --> 00:32:23,560 Oh, sure, we paid for it through our rent, but never through our 598 00:32:23,560 --> 00:32:25,480 own pocket. So it wasn't a time where, oh 599 00:32:25,480 --> 00:32:26,240 boy. Well, what? 600 00:32:26,400 --> 00:32:30,520 What, you know what, I don't have time for this bill. 601 00:32:30,520 --> 00:32:33,760 I wasn't expecting to pay this $1000 bill right now, or maybe I 602 00:32:33,760 --> 00:32:35,000 should put it on credit. All those things. 603 00:32:35,000 --> 00:32:37,200 It's just it's baked into the cake of my rent. 604 00:32:38,400 --> 00:32:40,920 And there's sometimes people who own, look at people who rent and 605 00:32:40,920 --> 00:32:44,000 say, wait, you don't do landscaping, You don't mow your 606 00:32:44,000 --> 00:32:45,600 own yard. You could. 607 00:32:45,800 --> 00:32:49,440 You can put in a a maintenance request and go out for two or 608 00:32:49,440 --> 00:32:51,040 three hours and come home and it's fixed. 609 00:32:52,560 --> 00:32:54,800 And they look at the people who rent and say, wow, look at you. 610 00:32:54,800 --> 00:32:57,000 And the people who rent, look at the people who own and say, hey, 611 00:32:57,000 --> 00:32:58,640 look at you. Listen, you know what the bottom 612 00:32:58,640 --> 00:33:02,240 line is? Material possessions are just 613 00:33:02,240 --> 00:33:05,600 possessions and they rust and they decay. 614 00:33:05,920 --> 00:33:07,480 Don't put your trust in those things. 615 00:33:09,360 --> 00:33:11,280 Matthew 619. Lay not out for yourselves 616 00:33:11,280 --> 00:33:14,520 treasures upon earth where moth and rust doth corrupt. 617 00:33:15,800 --> 00:33:19,680 We can trust in our own health food, exercise. 618 00:33:19,800 --> 00:33:22,040 It's good. It's good to take care of 619 00:33:22,040 --> 00:33:23,520 ourselves. It really is. 620 00:33:23,520 --> 00:33:25,640 I know we joke around about it sometimes, but it's good to take 621 00:33:25,640 --> 00:33:27,720 care of ourselves. But listen, there are some who 622 00:33:27,720 --> 00:33:29,720 trust so much in their healthcare regimen. 623 00:33:30,000 --> 00:33:33,200 There's some who trust so much in their their exercise 624 00:33:33,200 --> 00:33:35,400 routines. There's some who trust so much 625 00:33:35,400 --> 00:33:40,320 in those things that listen they have made it into a God and 626 00:33:40,320 --> 00:33:43,600 first Timothy first four verse 8 says for bodily exercise 627 00:33:43,600 --> 00:33:45,360 profiteth little. One of my favorite verses of the 628 00:33:45,360 --> 00:33:48,840 Bible. Doesn't say it doesn't profit, 629 00:33:48,840 --> 00:33:53,280 it just says a little OK. But godliness is profitable unto 630 00:33:53,280 --> 00:33:57,320 all things, having promise of the life that now is and that 631 00:33:57,320 --> 00:34:01,400 which is to come. Listen, we better be careful 632 00:34:01,400 --> 00:34:09,000 putting our trust in people. People, people let us down 633 00:34:10,199 --> 00:34:12,719 sometimes. We want people to protect us. 634 00:34:14,080 --> 00:34:17,560 We want people to help us. We want people to give us all 635 00:34:17,560 --> 00:34:21,760 the answers. And again, I'm not saying that 636 00:34:22,040 --> 00:34:25,080 we shouldn't have some level of that within our own lives, but 637 00:34:25,080 --> 00:34:28,560 listen, when it gets to the place where we don't go to God, 638 00:34:28,560 --> 00:34:33,400 but we go to the trusted confidant, you need to hawk that 639 00:34:33,400 --> 00:34:36,360 horse. You need to be careful what 640 00:34:36,360 --> 00:34:41,560 you're doing when we go to that trusted confidant looking for 641 00:34:41,560 --> 00:34:45,480 counsel more than trusting that we can hear from the Holy Spirit 642 00:34:45,480 --> 00:34:49,199 in our own life. Now again, God has given us 643 00:34:49,280 --> 00:34:52,199 counselors to blessing. Book of Proverbs says in the 644 00:34:52,199 --> 00:34:53,840 multitude of counselors, there's safety. 645 00:34:54,080 --> 00:34:56,760 I thank the Lord for that. But if you have taken your 646 00:34:56,760 --> 00:35:01,080 multitude of counselors and have elevated them to the place of 647 00:35:01,080 --> 00:35:05,400 receiving answers and not God, then you're putting your trust 648 00:35:05,400 --> 00:35:11,040 in the wrong place. Listen, we can turn our spouses 649 00:35:12,240 --> 00:35:15,800 into those as well. Those of us who are married, we 650 00:35:15,800 --> 00:35:18,680 can look at our spouse and and we can look at them to answers 651 00:35:18,680 --> 00:35:20,440 that we can look for them for comfort. 652 00:35:20,440 --> 00:35:21,640 We can look for them. For our. 653 00:35:21,760 --> 00:35:24,080 For our. Own identity, we can look for 654 00:35:24,080 --> 00:35:26,720 them for all of those things and realize, listen, my identity 655 00:35:26,720 --> 00:35:30,840 comes from God alone first. We can even look to our spouse 656 00:35:30,840 --> 00:35:35,720 for our spiritual walk with God. And while I would say this, once 657 00:35:35,720 --> 00:35:38,440 you're married, your spiritual walks are linked together. 658 00:35:38,440 --> 00:35:40,560 We're all individually accountable before God. 659 00:35:40,560 --> 00:35:43,120 Look up here, please. Hey, pay attention, guys. 660 00:35:46,120 --> 00:35:49,800 What do we need to do? We need to know that, well, I 661 00:35:49,800 --> 00:35:52,200 can't put more faith in my spouse than I do. 662 00:35:52,200 --> 00:35:56,760 And my God, I know that may not be an issue for everybody, but I 663 00:35:56,760 --> 00:35:58,040 do know this. It can be a problem. 664 00:35:58,760 --> 00:36:01,320 Listen, you shouldn't put that much faith in your pastor. 665 00:36:02,560 --> 00:36:06,600 See, Who are you talking about? Oh, I see a shadow back. 666 00:36:06,600 --> 00:36:08,240 They actually see a couple of them back there because the way 667 00:36:08,240 --> 00:36:14,480 those lights are. Listen, I'm thankful that that 668 00:36:14,480 --> 00:36:16,960 you, you look up to me. Many of you do I'm, I'm thankful 669 00:36:16,960 --> 00:36:21,360 for that, but I'm just a person. I deal with sin just like you 670 00:36:21,360 --> 00:36:23,840 do. Now I do take, I do take it 671 00:36:23,840 --> 00:36:27,480 seriously and I want to, I want to follow the Lord in a way that 672 00:36:27,560 --> 00:36:30,440 to be like Paul who said follow me as I follow Christ. 673 00:36:30,440 --> 00:36:32,600 It's important to me that I have a right relationship with the 674 00:36:32,600 --> 00:36:34,520 Lord. So I can model that for you. 675 00:36:34,520 --> 00:36:38,240 But again, I can fail you. I can disappoint you now on the 676 00:36:38,240 --> 00:36:41,360 other side of that you can so trust in me that that that you 677 00:36:41,360 --> 00:36:43,320 asked me pastor, what should I do? 678 00:36:43,680 --> 00:36:46,040 And there are many times that people ask me about what they 679 00:36:46,040 --> 00:36:47,600 should do. And my first question would be 680 00:36:47,600 --> 00:36:49,640 this. Have you prayed about this yet? 681 00:36:49,680 --> 00:36:51,720 What has the Lord told you that you need to do? 682 00:36:51,840 --> 00:36:53,600 Can I pray with you about this? Why? 683 00:36:53,880 --> 00:36:57,000 Because you can't allow your trust to be placed in me to the 684 00:36:57,000 --> 00:37:00,480 place that as your spiritual leader here in this church, that 685 00:37:00,480 --> 00:37:02,600 did you hear from me before you hear from God. 686 00:37:04,080 --> 00:37:08,600 You know, hawk that horse. People will let you down. 687 00:37:10,200 --> 00:37:12,200 We can trust our knowledge and our intellect. 688 00:37:13,640 --> 00:37:17,560 Our mind is a gift, but leaning solely on our own understanding 689 00:37:17,560 --> 00:37:21,360 is a fool's errand. We can chase answers and books 690 00:37:21,360 --> 00:37:24,800 or logic, yet miss the truth that surpasses understanding. 691 00:37:25,560 --> 00:37:29,000 Proverbs 3 five and six. Trust in the Lord with all thine 692 00:37:29,000 --> 00:37:30,600 heart. Lean not in that own 693 00:37:30,600 --> 00:37:32,920 understanding. In all that ways, acknowledge 694 00:37:32,920 --> 00:37:34,240 Him and he shall direct that path. 695 00:37:35,400 --> 00:37:37,480 But we get so caught up in the things that we've learned, the 696 00:37:37,480 --> 00:37:40,000 things that we've known. Listen, even when we get older, 697 00:37:41,040 --> 00:37:43,000 we can almost trust our life experience. 698 00:37:43,640 --> 00:37:45,280 Why? I've lived this, I've seen this, 699 00:37:45,280 --> 00:37:48,400 I've done this, and we almost have this, no pun intended, 700 00:37:48,440 --> 00:37:52,840 horse sense within us that we feel like we know what's going 701 00:37:52,840 --> 00:37:55,280 to happen before it happens because we've lived life a 702 00:37:55,280 --> 00:37:57,240 little bit. And listen, we can elevate that 703 00:37:57,240 --> 00:38:03,200 intuition above even our walk with God if hand in hand with 704 00:38:03,200 --> 00:38:08,440 that self-reliance. We, you know, it's, it's amazing 705 00:38:08,440 --> 00:38:12,520 to me, the younger generation today that they can't do 706 00:38:12,520 --> 00:38:18,200 anything without help. It's amazing that that's that's 707 00:38:18,200 --> 00:38:21,680 not always the case, but it often times is the case that if 708 00:38:21,680 --> 00:38:23,840 you were to ask them to do something, they have no idea 709 00:38:23,840 --> 00:38:26,480 what they're do what they don't even know they can't even 710 00:38:26,480 --> 00:38:29,640 fathom. There were there were 18 year 711 00:38:29,640 --> 00:38:33,640 old men going to war in World War 2 and an 18 year old man 712 00:38:33,640 --> 00:38:38,080 today, 18 year old boy basically knows how to start up his PS4 713 00:38:39,000 --> 00:38:42,480 and how to play Call of Duty. That's not all of them. 714 00:38:42,720 --> 00:38:45,360 Again, I want to be careful that I don't own over generalize, but 715 00:38:45,360 --> 00:38:47,920 you understand there's been a generational shift in our 716 00:38:47,920 --> 00:38:49,680 culture. There's no doubt that we can say 717 00:38:49,680 --> 00:38:52,000 that. And so I say those of us again 718 00:38:52,000 --> 00:38:53,880 who are. Older, and maybe even those who 719 00:38:53,880 --> 00:38:56,520 are younger that don't fit into that mold. 720 00:38:57,320 --> 00:38:59,720 We can get into this place where we get a little bit smug in our 721 00:38:59,720 --> 00:39:02,640 self-reliance. Look at what I can do. 722 00:39:03,720 --> 00:39:08,080 Look at what I can handle. But I will tell you this, we can 723 00:39:08,080 --> 00:39:11,040 end up relying so much on our own strength that we isolate 724 00:39:11,040 --> 00:39:15,880 ourselves from God's strength. Well, what do we need to do? 725 00:39:16,040 --> 00:39:17,040 It's a horse. You got a hawk? 726 00:39:17,840 --> 00:39:18,720 Got a hamstring? It. 727 00:39:19,640 --> 00:39:21,880 Our trust is in God and God alone. 728 00:39:23,240 --> 00:39:25,240 I've heard it said before, and I've repeated it here before 729 00:39:25,240 --> 00:39:28,440 many times, that an idol is anything you have to check with 730 00:39:28,440 --> 00:39:32,480 before you do God's will. An idol is anything that you 731 00:39:32,480 --> 00:39:34,360 check with before you do God's will. 732 00:39:34,960 --> 00:39:37,600 Meaning this that we think idols are silver and gold that we bow 733 00:39:37,600 --> 00:39:41,480 down to, but really, we can create a God out of anything, 734 00:39:41,480 --> 00:39:44,880 including ourselves. So what do we need to do? 735 00:39:45,320 --> 00:39:48,760 Do whatever we need to do to make sure our trust is in God. 736 00:39:49,000 --> 00:39:53,320 1st. Before anything else, by the 737 00:39:53,320 --> 00:39:57,960 way, trust means this. You put your whole support, you 738 00:39:57,960 --> 00:40:03,200 put your whole weight, you put your whole being on something. 739 00:40:04,640 --> 00:40:08,400 That's what trust is. I've told you before, I'm afraid 740 00:40:08,400 --> 00:40:11,320 of heights, and I'll tell you if I've gone on a ladder. 741 00:40:11,760 --> 00:40:13,760 We have a couple different ladders we've had here over the 742 00:40:13,760 --> 00:40:15,080 years. We have one that's metal. 743 00:40:15,400 --> 00:40:17,760 I don't like going on it, but I'll tell you this, I'm pretty 744 00:40:17,760 --> 00:40:20,760 sure it'll hold together. Now, I may not hold together on 745 00:40:20,760 --> 00:40:23,360 the ladder going up 10 feet, but the ladder will hold. 746 00:40:23,360 --> 00:40:25,880 I trust it. It's firm, It's steady. 747 00:40:26,800 --> 00:40:30,200 We had a wooden ladder here for some years that we eventually 748 00:40:30,400 --> 00:40:33,760 got rid of. But every rung that you went up, 749 00:40:34,280 --> 00:40:37,560 it felt like you were going through an earthquake on San 750 00:40:37,560 --> 00:40:40,920 Andreas Fault. It was shaking everywhere. 751 00:40:41,320 --> 00:40:43,280 You know what? I didn't want to be on it. 752 00:40:43,280 --> 00:40:46,720 Why I didn't trust it. I didn't want to put my weight 753 00:40:46,720 --> 00:40:52,920 on it. And often times the way we can 754 00:40:52,920 --> 00:40:56,560 tell whether we trust God or not is, are you willing to fully put 755 00:40:56,560 --> 00:40:58,680 your weight, if you will, on him? 756 00:41:00,160 --> 00:41:02,280 Well, I trust in the Lord, but I'm also going to try to do 757 00:41:02,280 --> 00:41:05,160 things my own way too. One of the ways we'll end up 758 00:41:05,160 --> 00:41:06,840 working out. Well, that shows you really 759 00:41:06,840 --> 00:41:09,720 don't trust the Lord. You're trusting your own way of 760 00:41:09,720 --> 00:41:12,880 doing things. Well, I, I trust what God's 761 00:41:12,880 --> 00:41:15,760 going to do, but I'm going to, I'm going to have a couple 762 00:41:15,760 --> 00:41:17,800 different exit strategies just in case. 763 00:41:17,800 --> 00:41:20,920 Listen, Just trust. In the Lord, I'm not talking 764 00:41:20,920 --> 00:41:23,360 about being foolish. I'm not talking about being 765 00:41:23,360 --> 00:41:25,560 unwise. Even the things that I mentioned 766 00:41:25,560 --> 00:41:26,960 are all good things in themselves. 767 00:41:27,200 --> 00:41:29,680 Do you think self, do you think self-reliance is good? 768 00:41:29,760 --> 00:41:31,080 To a point? Absolutely. 769 00:41:31,240 --> 00:41:32,720 Do you think knowledge and intellect is good? 770 00:41:32,720 --> 00:41:33,920 The Bible tells us we're to be knowledgeable. 771 00:41:33,920 --> 00:41:35,040 We talked. About it this morning. 772 00:41:35,160 --> 00:41:36,880 To be knowledgeable in our Lord Jesus Christ. 773 00:41:37,040 --> 00:41:39,560 Do you think it's good to have friends and people in your life, 774 00:41:39,560 --> 00:41:42,440 a pastor, a spouse? If that's what God has done for 775 00:41:42,440 --> 00:41:44,160 you in your life, do you think those are good things? 776 00:41:44,160 --> 00:41:47,280 Yes, to be healthy, yes. To have material possessions, 777 00:41:47,280 --> 00:41:48,960 Yes. To have finance, Yes, these are 778 00:41:48,960 --> 00:41:52,560 not. Sinful things, what is sinful is 779 00:41:52,560 --> 00:41:56,760 when they come to a level above God in your life and you trust 780 00:41:56,760 --> 00:42:02,280 in them before you trust in God. Those are things that you have 781 00:42:02,280 --> 00:42:07,720 to hamstring and say, you know, if I trust in my finances more 782 00:42:07,720 --> 00:42:15,200 than God, how do I remedy that? If I trust in other people more 783 00:42:15,200 --> 00:42:19,560 than hearing from the Lord in my own life that the Holy Spirit 784 00:42:19,560 --> 00:42:23,160 can teach me through His word and through prayer, prayer, how 785 00:42:23,160 --> 00:42:26,960 do I remedy that? Maybe there's someone that you 786 00:42:26,960 --> 00:42:28,960 need to remind yourself, you know, when I'm in trouble. 787 00:42:29,240 --> 00:42:34,120 Maybe I shouldn't call them, at least not right away, or text 788 00:42:34,120 --> 00:42:37,720 them. You know, when I panic. 789 00:42:37,760 --> 00:42:41,120 Maybe I shouldn't just spend money like a drunken sailor. 790 00:42:42,000 --> 00:42:45,360 And maybe I should just get on my knees and ask the Lord what I 791 00:42:45,360 --> 00:42:46,920 should do before I do anything else. 792 00:42:48,200 --> 00:42:51,600 You know, when I have a situation when I don't know what 793 00:42:51,600 --> 00:42:55,520 to do, maybe I shouldn't just Stew on it for hours and hours 794 00:42:55,520 --> 00:42:58,720 just trying to work out all the possibilities and trying to 795 00:42:58,720 --> 00:43:00,240 figure out the best way to handle things. 796 00:43:00,240 --> 00:43:02,720 Get on the phone, call this person, call that person, and 797 00:43:02,720 --> 00:43:05,440 try to set up all the different contingency plans to try to 798 00:43:05,440 --> 00:43:09,080 figure it out and just stop and get on your knees. 799 00:43:09,880 --> 00:43:13,000 Say, Lord, I trust you. That trust doesn't mean I'm not 800 00:43:13,000 --> 00:43:15,520 willing to work. That trust doesn't mean that I'm 801 00:43:15,520 --> 00:43:17,800 not willing to. Talk to other people for 802 00:43:17,800 --> 00:43:20,200 counsel. But that trust means this. 803 00:43:20,240 --> 00:43:26,320 I'm fully leaning on you first and foremost, and I will only 804 00:43:26,320 --> 00:43:29,320 lean on someone else or something else once you direct 805 00:43:29,320 --> 00:43:33,320 me that way. Maybe mentally you need to go 806 00:43:33,320 --> 00:43:35,680 through all of God's provisions in your life, everything that's 807 00:43:35,680 --> 00:43:38,880 God's given you, and say this. Do I trust this more than I 808 00:43:38,880 --> 00:43:42,000 trust you? Do I trust this friend more than 809 00:43:42,000 --> 00:43:44,840 I trust you? Do I trust my money more than I 810 00:43:44,840 --> 00:43:47,600 trust you? Do I trust my possessions more 811 00:43:47,600 --> 00:43:50,800 than I trust you? Do I trust my job more than I 812 00:43:50,800 --> 00:43:53,520 trust you? Do I trust my own abilities 813 00:43:53,520 --> 00:43:55,960 before I trust you? And whatever the answer is. 814 00:43:56,120 --> 00:43:59,400 Make whatever remedy you need to, to make sure, whether it's 815 00:43:59,400 --> 00:44:02,920 hamstringing it or whether it's making sure that you have some, 816 00:44:02,920 --> 00:44:05,880 some guard rails in place to make sure you don't go to those 817 00:44:05,880 --> 00:44:08,200 things and run to those things before you go to the Lord first. 818 00:44:08,200 --> 00:44:14,800 But listen, if you're going to run, run to the Lord in my mind. 819 00:44:15,800 --> 00:44:24,320 As I finish up, I think a Gideon, Gideon had 32,000 820 00:44:24,320 --> 00:44:26,720 people. Now against the Midianites, they 821 00:44:26,720 --> 00:44:29,960 had about 150,000. Gideon was down 4 to 1. 822 00:44:30,920 --> 00:44:33,720 Now again, not knowing much about the military, those are 823 00:44:33,720 --> 00:44:38,520 bad odds, but God whittled down 32,000 to 300. 824 00:44:39,840 --> 00:44:43,200 You know, about 150 to one, actually, more than that. 825 00:44:47,680 --> 00:44:49,240 Why would God do something like that? 826 00:44:50,400 --> 00:44:54,360 Well, because it really didn't matter if it was 32,000 or 827 00:44:54,360 --> 00:44:59,040 10,000 or 300, God could bring the victory. 828 00:44:59,480 --> 00:45:04,000 Whether it was 30, 2010, 1300 or three. 829 00:45:05,120 --> 00:45:06,240 God could have brought the victory. 830 00:45:07,200 --> 00:45:10,880 But God brought it down to a place where it was ensured that 831 00:45:10,880 --> 00:45:14,520 the people of Israel could make no mistake, that God was the one 832 00:45:14,520 --> 00:45:18,520 who did it. So I'll tell you this. 833 00:45:19,480 --> 00:45:21,160 This is my admonition to you, and I'll be done. 834 00:45:22,480 --> 00:45:26,280 It's best for us to go through our own mental inventory of what 835 00:45:26,280 --> 00:45:32,280 we're trusting in and make corrections now before the Lord, 836 00:45:32,280 --> 00:45:37,480 like Gideon, has to take things away from us. 837 00:45:38,760 --> 00:45:41,000 Oh, you have a lot of money, and you trust in that more than me? 838 00:45:41,200 --> 00:45:43,440 Well, maybe you won't have that much money. 839 00:45:44,200 --> 00:45:47,160 Uncertain riches, trust in people more. 840 00:45:47,160 --> 00:45:48,640 Or maybe that person will move away. 841 00:45:49,480 --> 00:45:50,960 Maybe it'll be a rift in a friendship. 842 00:45:52,480 --> 00:45:55,560 You trust, you trust in in some other entity. 843 00:45:55,560 --> 00:45:57,600 Maybe that entity will no longer exist. 844 00:45:59,000 --> 00:46:01,880 But what do we need to do? Well, trust him more than 845 00:46:01,880 --> 00:46:04,840 anything else. So when's a horse not a horse? 846 00:46:05,760 --> 00:46:09,520 Well, when a wallet's not just a wallet or a house isn't just a 847 00:46:09,520 --> 00:46:13,320 house or any other entity is not just that, when anything takes 848 00:46:13,480 --> 00:46:18,680 the place of our trust in God, listen, it's out of order and 849 00:46:18,680 --> 00:46:22,120 we've got to get it right. Thank you for listening to the 850 00:46:22,120 --> 00:46:24,760 sermon from the pulpit of Liberty Baptist Church. 851 00:46:25,160 --> 00:46:28,360 If this message was a blessing to you, or if there's any way we 852 00:46:28,360 --> 00:46:31,480 can serve you, please let us know by contacting us at 853 00:46:31,640 --> 00:46:36,360 info@mylibertybaptist.org. Or you can visit us this Sunday 854 00:46:36,560 --> 00:46:40,280 at 800 Washington St. in Easton, MA. 855 00:46:40,520 --> 00:46:43,360 May the Lord bless you as you grow in His Word.