1 00:00:01,400 --> 00:00:06,840 All right, my Bible and 365 brothers and sisters, we have 2 00:00:06,880 --> 00:00:11,840 arrived at the Book of Judges. And folks, I. 3 00:00:11,840 --> 00:00:17,160 Have to tell you that the book of Judges, in my opinion, may be 4 00:00:17,160 --> 00:00:21,000 one of the most somber books in the Bible. 5 00:00:21,000 --> 00:00:24,720 Now don't get me wrong, we see many stories in the book of 6 00:00:24,720 --> 00:00:29,280 Judges, some of which represent victory, some of which represent 7 00:00:29,280 --> 00:00:34,720 conquest, some of which represent so many encouraging 8 00:00:34,720 --> 00:00:37,520 themes. But the problem in the book of 9 00:00:37,520 --> 00:00:41,320 Judges is the pattern. The problem in the book of 10 00:00:41,320 --> 00:00:46,360 Judges is when we see the blessing of God coming upon a 11 00:00:46,360 --> 00:00:50,120 people who then allow the blessing to get to their head. 12 00:00:50,480 --> 00:00:53,360 And when the blessing gets to their head, they go to God and 13 00:00:53,360 --> 00:00:57,520 they say, I got this. And it's amazing because in 14 00:00:57,520 --> 00:01:01,240 their minds they think they're big and tough and everything is 15 00:01:01,240 --> 00:01:06,040 going to be OK, when in reality, what's really being said, even 16 00:01:06,040 --> 00:01:07,560 though they don't hear it, is God. 17 00:01:08,000 --> 00:01:13,040 I got this. You know what I mean? 18 00:01:13,280 --> 00:01:16,360 Listen, that might just be an excuse to use a funny effect. 19 00:01:17,000 --> 00:01:22,280 The one thing I want you to know is that Judges does a phenomenal 20 00:01:22,280 --> 00:01:27,560 job at showing the nature of humanity that when we are 21 00:01:27,560 --> 00:01:31,480 blessed by God, we tend to ignore the one who blessed us 22 00:01:31,480 --> 00:01:33,800 first. And it is poof. 23 00:01:34,000 --> 00:01:38,480 It is shocking. It makes literally no. 24 00:01:38,600 --> 00:01:41,200 Sense. It makes literally no sense. 25 00:01:41,200 --> 00:01:43,800 I can give you even a. Modern day example of this. 26 00:01:44,040 --> 00:01:45,840 And I'm going to talk about it in a minute because I can 27 00:01:45,840 --> 00:01:49,160 promise you when I give you this example, it is going to hit 28 00:01:49,720 --> 00:01:54,520 very, very close to home. But if I were to find a passage 29 00:01:54,520 --> 00:01:58,880 in the book of Judges that creates what in my opinion is a 30 00:01:58,960 --> 00:02:02,960 phenomenal and accurate anchoring point, it would be 31 00:02:03,000 --> 00:02:07,320 verse 25 of Judges chapter 21. And again. 32 00:02:07,720 --> 00:02:10,000 This is. Extraordinarily heartbreaking, 33 00:02:10,320 --> 00:02:14,920 very, very sad, but it is reflective of a very specific 34 00:02:15,200 --> 00:02:17,520 condition, OK? And it's important that we 35 00:02:17,520 --> 00:02:20,280 understand it. Look what it says in Judges 21 36 00:02:20,280 --> 00:02:24,520 verse 25. It says in those days there was 37 00:02:24,600 --> 00:02:30,400 no king in Israel. Every man did that which was 38 00:02:30,400 --> 00:02:32,840 right in his own. Eyes. 39 00:02:33,120 --> 00:02:36,520 Now this is important. Because a lot of people will say 40 00:02:36,800 --> 00:02:40,200 that because there was no king, This is why they choose. 41 00:02:40,200 --> 00:02:42,360 They chose to follow their own morality. 42 00:02:43,000 --> 00:02:46,560 But no king here translates to no God, OK? 43 00:02:46,760 --> 00:02:49,360 And that's a very important aspect of what we're talking 44 00:02:49,360 --> 00:02:51,320 about. By the way, it's no coincidence 45 00:02:51,600 --> 00:02:54,160 that there's a popular movement here in the United States of 46 00:02:54,160 --> 00:02:56,600 America that's called the No Kings movement. 47 00:02:56,600 --> 00:02:59,000 Why? It has nothing to do with kings 48 00:02:59,000 --> 00:03:01,080 versus not kings. It has nothing to do with Donald 49 00:03:01,080 --> 00:03:03,400 Trump. It has everything to do with the 50 00:03:03,400 --> 00:03:05,640 group of people whose hearts. And minds. 51 00:03:05,840 --> 00:03:09,680 Have strayed so far apart from God that they're willing to say 52 00:03:09,680 --> 00:03:13,400 we have no desire for anything that would constrain us from 53 00:03:13,400 --> 00:03:15,840 fulfilling the very desires of our flesh. 54 00:03:16,440 --> 00:03:20,400 In other words, we choose to do what is right in our. 55 00:03:20,400 --> 00:03:23,600 Eyes not. What is right in God's eyes? 56 00:03:23,920 --> 00:03:27,120 That's the issue. And by the way, when I read that 57 00:03:27,120 --> 00:03:32,720 verse to you, verse 25, it's not just a simple isolated verse at 58 00:03:32,720 --> 00:03:34,600 the end. It's certainly not a. 59 00:03:34,600 --> 00:03:38,880 Summary at the end. It is the heartbeat, the literal 60 00:03:38,880 --> 00:03:41,200 heartbeat of the whole book. And that's why I say. 61 00:03:41,480 --> 00:03:44,600 It's somber. So let's talk about why this is 62 00:03:44,600 --> 00:03:46,720 an anchor, OK? And I think it's an important 63 00:03:46,720 --> 00:03:50,600 one to understand, it explains. The chaos. 64 00:03:51,000 --> 00:03:53,440 That you see through judges again let me go through the 65 00:03:53,440 --> 00:03:56,360 pattern God blesses them they get up there I've. 66 00:03:57,240 --> 00:04:00,160 Got this. God says, oh, do you really? 67 00:04:00,240 --> 00:04:02,600 OK, you can have it. They get judged. 68 00:04:02,760 --> 00:04:05,280 They fall down to the pits. They cry out to God. 69 00:04:05,280 --> 00:04:07,320 They say, oh God, please help us. 70 00:04:07,520 --> 00:04:09,640 God says, OK, I'm going to bless you. 71 00:04:09,840 --> 00:04:11,840 And then they get to the point where they're super blessed by 72 00:04:11,840 --> 00:04:13,560 God. They got this. 73 00:04:13,560 --> 00:04:14,400 That's where they go. I got this. 74 00:04:14,960 --> 00:04:16,920 I got this. I got this. 75 00:04:17,480 --> 00:04:21,959 Then when they go back to the Lord after being judged again 76 00:04:21,959 --> 00:04:23,920 and they repent, God brings them back up. 77 00:04:23,960 --> 00:04:27,200 It's the ebb and flow of self-sufficiency. 78 00:04:27,720 --> 00:04:31,880 So it exposes the root problem, not just the symptoms that 79 00:04:31,880 --> 00:04:33,960 occurred. And by the way, this applies to 80 00:04:33,960 --> 00:04:38,080 human nature. It shows the spiritual condition 81 00:04:38,320 --> 00:04:41,640 of the people, not just the political instability that 82 00:04:41,640 --> 00:04:44,560 existed with respect to the absence of judges during that 83 00:04:44,560 --> 00:04:49,600 time. The issue was never just. 84 00:04:49,600 --> 00:04:52,680 External enemies I want. You to understand that the issue 85 00:04:52,680 --> 00:04:54,480 was never the attacks that they. Were getting from the. 86 00:04:54,480 --> 00:04:58,720 Outside, the real issue was internal rebellion. 87 00:04:59,280 --> 00:05:02,600 The real issue was that the people rejected God's authority 88 00:05:02,960 --> 00:05:05,080 and replaced it with personal opinion. 89 00:05:06,000 --> 00:05:09,440 And what it reveals to us is very simple, and it should be 90 00:05:09,440 --> 00:05:12,320 critical. It should be taken gravely. 91 00:05:12,320 --> 00:05:13,960 It should. We should really think it 92 00:05:13,960 --> 00:05:15,360 through. This is what it reveals. 93 00:05:15,840 --> 00:05:23,080 It reveals that no king, no king meant no submission to God as 94 00:05:23,080 --> 00:05:25,360 king. That's what that meant. 95 00:05:25,480 --> 00:05:28,960 In that time, moral relativism took over. 96 00:05:28,960 --> 00:05:33,040 Sound familiar? Sin cycles followed. 97 00:05:33,680 --> 00:05:35,160 That's exactly what. Happened. 98 00:05:36,120 --> 00:05:40,800 They chose to rebel, they were judged, they cried out, they got 99 00:05:40,800 --> 00:05:43,760 deliverance and they repeated same thing. 100 00:05:43,880 --> 00:05:47,040 Rebellion judgement crying out, deliverance repeated. 101 00:05:47,200 --> 00:05:49,920 Rebellion, judgement crying out, Deliverance repeated. 102 00:05:51,720 --> 00:05:54,800 Understand this. We learned this from the Book of 103 00:05:54,800 --> 00:05:58,000 Judges. Spiritual drift begins. 104 00:05:58,120 --> 00:05:59,960 When God's. Authority is. 105 00:05:59,960 --> 00:06:02,720 Ignored. You ignore God's authority. 106 00:06:02,800 --> 00:06:09,080 You begin to see the drift. People default to self rule when 107 00:06:09,080 --> 00:06:12,480 they reject God rule. Remember that Judges teaches us 108 00:06:12,480 --> 00:06:19,240 that people literally will default to self rule when they 109 00:06:19,240 --> 00:06:23,760 reject God rule. It's something that you should 110 00:06:23,760 --> 00:06:26,960 expect to understand. That's where they go and. 111 00:06:26,960 --> 00:06:29,040 Chaos, by the way, please don't. Forget this. 112 00:06:29,040 --> 00:06:32,880 One chaos. Is the natural result. 113 00:06:32,880 --> 00:06:34,880 Of everyone doing what feels right. 114 00:06:35,680 --> 00:06:37,920 That's exactly what. Happened and if. 115 00:06:37,920 --> 00:06:41,560 You want real evidence that shows you what the true problem 116 00:06:41,560 --> 00:06:44,440 was? Let me read Judges chapter 2 117 00:06:44,800 --> 00:06:48,880 verses 11 and 12. It says this, And the children 118 00:06:48,880 --> 00:06:53,640 of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord, and served Balaam. 119 00:06:54,920 --> 00:06:58,840 Then they forsook the Lord God of their fathers, which brought 120 00:06:58,840 --> 00:07:02,560 them out of the land of Egypt, and followed other gods of the 121 00:07:02,560 --> 00:07:05,720 gods of the people that were round about them, and bowed 122 00:07:05,720 --> 00:07:10,000 themselves unto them, and provoked the Lord to anger. 123 00:07:10,920 --> 00:07:14,040 Judges 2 shows us the. Very 'cause. 124 00:07:15,040 --> 00:07:20,240 Judges 21 shows us. The condition that. 125 00:07:20,240 --> 00:07:21,560 Led to the very. 'Cause. 126 00:07:22,840 --> 00:07:25,800 It's a very important thing to. Understand now with all that 127 00:07:25,800 --> 00:07:28,320 said. And understanding that, we 128 00:07:28,320 --> 00:07:32,840 learned the background of. All of this, the culmination of 129 00:07:32,840 --> 00:07:38,280 it all, ended up being terrible. A terrible, terrible story 130 00:07:39,160 --> 00:07:40,880 because at the. End of judges. 131 00:07:41,640 --> 00:07:45,160 We bring ourselves into a leeway where we're introduced. 132 00:07:45,160 --> 00:07:50,240 To a young man by the name of Samuel, and Samuel was the one. 133 00:07:51,600 --> 00:07:54,280 Who received a message from the? Lord, that says the. 134 00:07:54,280 --> 00:07:57,000 Hearts of the people. Are hardened. 135 00:07:57,480 --> 00:08:02,000 Give them the. Human king that they want when 136 00:08:02,000 --> 00:08:05,600 you rebel against God, you reject his authority, and then 137 00:08:05,600 --> 00:08:07,880 you want to give yourself to authority. 138 00:08:08,480 --> 00:08:12,480 That never should be had because you chose to. 139 00:08:12,480 --> 00:08:14,960 Ignore the. Benefits of the. 140 00:08:14,960 --> 00:08:17,960 Real authority because you wanted what you wanted for 141 00:08:17,960 --> 00:08:19,960 yourself. That's what the Book of Judges 142 00:08:20,120 --> 00:08:22,160 reveals to us. That's what it tells us. 143 00:08:22,480 --> 00:08:26,040 And guys, look, this hits close to home. 144 00:08:26,680 --> 00:08:29,360 Very close to home. Because I. 145 00:08:29,360 --> 00:08:34,039 Think about what happened when. Charlie was killed. 146 00:08:34,960 --> 00:08:37,520 I think about the gospel message. 147 00:08:37,520 --> 00:08:42,400 That was preached. I think about the millions and 148 00:08:42,400 --> 00:08:45,400 millions and millions and millions of people that. 149 00:08:45,400 --> 00:08:50,360 Heard the message. Then I think about the vultures. 150 00:08:51,480 --> 00:08:55,440 I think about the opportunists. I think. 151 00:08:55,440 --> 00:08:59,280 About the. People who saw what opportunity 152 00:08:59,280 --> 00:09:02,200 was presented before. Them and in. 153 00:09:02,400 --> 00:09:06,440 Their own minds, they said. They wanted a piece of the 154 00:09:06,440 --> 00:09:12,240 action. In the Bible makes it clear that 155 00:09:12,240 --> 00:09:19,160 when God is denied, when God is rejected, every man did that 156 00:09:19,160 --> 00:09:21,200 which was right in their own eyes. 157 00:09:23,080 --> 00:09:27,840 You can say of that moment that in those days there was no king 158 00:09:28,240 --> 00:09:32,680 in the United States of America because so many people took 159 00:09:32,680 --> 00:09:36,800 their eyes off of Jesus after the Lord doing an amazing work 160 00:09:37,040 --> 00:09:41,000 and bringing his blessing. And now we are seeing the effect 161 00:09:41,000 --> 00:09:43,080 of it. Now we are seeing what happens 162 00:09:43,080 --> 00:09:46,400 when everybody does what's right in their own eyes. 163 00:09:47,000 --> 00:09:51,160 And it's deadly. It's it's painful, it's 164 00:09:51,160 --> 00:09:54,920 heartbreaking, it is completely devastating. 165 00:09:56,240 --> 00:10:00,520 May it be said of us that we look at this scenario and that 166 00:10:00,520 --> 00:10:04,160 we look at the situation in a completely different way? 167 00:10:04,480 --> 00:10:09,000 And may it be said of us that we do not become the people that 168 00:10:09,000 --> 00:10:12,000 existed in the day of the judges. 169 00:10:13,320 --> 00:10:17,760 We can't afford to become that. We cannot afford to be a part of 170 00:10:17,760 --> 00:10:18,480 that. It's it's. 171 00:10:18,680 --> 00:10:23,880 It cannot happen, and by God's grace, if we will submit to him 172 00:10:24,320 --> 00:10:27,320 and if we will say, Lord, you stand on the. 173 00:10:27,320 --> 00:10:29,600 Throne, you sit. On the. 174 00:10:29,600 --> 00:10:33,360 Throne, you are king, and we yield ourselves. 175 00:10:33,360 --> 00:10:35,560 To that. Then we will never get to. 176 00:10:35,560 --> 00:10:37,440 The place. Where we see. 177 00:10:37,440 --> 00:10:41,520 What happened in verse 25 of Judges 21 where in those days 178 00:10:41,680 --> 00:10:44,600 they did not regard a king because there was no king and 179 00:10:44,600 --> 00:10:47,320 every man did that which was right in their own eyes? 180 00:10:47,320 --> 00:10:48,000 Why? Because. 181 00:10:48,000 --> 00:10:49,520 No king. Meant no God. 182 00:10:50,720 --> 00:10:54,000 Let that not be the case with us and let us get out there and 183 00:10:54,000 --> 00:10:59,160 carry the legacy of submission and worship of God Almighty. 184 00:10:59,480 --> 00:11:02,520 Let's carry the torch and watch God do great things. 185 00:11:03,000 --> 00:11:05,240 I want to say one thing that I think is important relative to 186 00:11:05,240 --> 00:11:10,160 this subject, and that's this. When we began to see the hand of 187 00:11:10,160 --> 00:11:14,360 God blessing Turning Point USA in a way that had never been 188 00:11:14,360 --> 00:11:20,640 blessed before, the commonality that existed was the heart of 189 00:11:20,640 --> 00:11:25,440 the man that was leading it. He was finding new ways to 190 00:11:25,440 --> 00:11:30,360 continue to give aspects of his mind and thought process and 191 00:11:30,360 --> 00:11:32,880 heart to the Lord. And the Lord took it and blessed 192 00:11:32,880 --> 00:11:36,280 it. No one else has the room to say 193 00:11:36,520 --> 00:11:39,880 I got this because it was obvious that God had it. 194 00:11:40,800 --> 00:11:43,320 Now the vultures are coming in and they want to take it all 195 00:11:43,320 --> 00:11:46,040 over. But may we remember as the 196 00:11:46,040 --> 00:11:50,040 people of God, may we. See it and recognize it for. 197 00:11:50,040 --> 00:11:52,000 What it is at the? Hand of God. 198 00:11:52,800 --> 00:11:57,360 Is upon our lives and as long as we stay submitted to it, we'll 199 00:11:57,360 --> 00:12:01,560 watch him do great things. So get out there, fight the good 200 00:12:01,560 --> 00:12:04,200 fight, keep. Reading the word I'm super 201 00:12:04,200 --> 00:12:06,920 excited for you. Guys and I can't wait to see you 202 00:12:07,160 --> 00:12:08,720 at the next Q and AI. Love you guys. 203 00:12:08,720 --> 00:12:11,800 God bless you and may there always be a king in our life, 204 00:12:12,800 --> 00:12:15,160 the God of heaven. Love you guys, God bless you.