SERMONS
The Anatomy of a Divine Appointment: Philip and the Ethiopian Ruler
https://youtu.be/Qri0P5qWjzk
CLJ English 141026
this morning you know I I feel a bit
apologetic in a sense because I speak to
you so seldom as part of our
congregation and I would love to just be
able to share something very light and
and easy to absorb and not uncomfortable
but but the Lord has put in my heart a
burden to speak a word that is a serious
and a bit heavy and sometimes someone
might interpret as confrontational even
but as a pastor I I do feel that I am
accountable to the Lord to speak the
Word of God even when it is
uncomfortable for me to proclaim it for
our people even to hear it and so this
is a the reason why I I do feel a bit
uncomfortable though I know that this is
of God and in a sense I ultimately don't
apologize for announcing the word of the
Lord nevertheless I decided last week as
a matter of fact to alter a series of
sermons that I was preaching at the the
Latino part of our congregation to
preach a sermon on a different topic
from the series that I was approaching
and that parentheses was caused by an
event that took place here in America
just a few days ago which I do feel has
historic implications and that the
Church of Jesus Christ that needs to
address and that every pastor in America
really is required in us in a sense to
speak to the congregation about this
particular event and so I want to place
my comments in the context of that event
and I will describe it for you and I
hope that you will see how urgent it is
for us to be clear as to the
implications of this particular event it
has implications for
the cherished issue of religious liberty
in America the the freedom and the right
that religious people now use that word
religious in the sense of in the general
sense I'm not just saying about
Christians but whether it's Hindus or
Muslims or Christians or Buddhists the
right that they have to proclaim truth
according to their scriptures that they
hold the deer and that they cherish and
to do it respectfully but that is the
freedom that our Constitution guarantees
under the First Amendment the freedom of
speech and it is it is a principle that
many secular organizations like the ACLU
American Civil Liberties Union spend
huge amounts of money and time and
energy protecting and they protect the
right of Nazis to speak about their
beliefs or of racists of the most
extreme sort because they believe that
this principle of a liberty of speech
and liberty of conscience is such a
foundational pillar of a democratic
society and that if that pillar is
threatened somehow or limited the very
nature of our society would be altered
and so Christians fall within that
freedom that's all I'm saying and
Christians should have the right and the
freedom to proclaim truth especially
within the confines of the walls of a
church and the intimacy of a Christian
community but the fact is that in
America even that right is now being
questioned and it will continue to be
questioned in ever deeper more profound
ways and we need to resist that and we
need to declare our absolute opposition
to it so what what brings me to this
point before I even enter into the word
although we are already in the word but
I want to use some texts as a foundation
because everything needs to be supported
by the Word of God but I'm just a few
days ago the mayor of Houston who
happens to be a lesbian woman that's a
redundancy she's a lesbian period but
sometimes you kind of want to smooth out
lesbian sounds too kind of heavy
sometimes but she happens to be a
lesbian and a very committed militant
lesbian she makes no bones about the
fact that she is militant about her
sexuality and that she sees her
opportunity as a mayor of a major city
as a place for her to defend the rights
of LGBT people and she has no apologies
about the fact that she will use her
pulpit in every possible way to advance
the interests of the homosexual
community and so recently the the city
of Houston in a very unilateral fashion
without consulting its citizens decided
to establish a ordinance that among
other things allows for example people
of any sex to enter a bathroom of the
opposite sex if they feel that their
identity their sexual identity not their
physical identity but their sexual
identity in the sense of their mind
allows them to so that means that a man
who may feel disposed to as a woman has
a right to enter a bathroom for women
and be free of any kind of attack from
the law about it or a woman feels she
may be transgender may be simply an
individual who feels that that's my
right and they are free to do that and
other elements that impinge in a very
dramatic sort of way on the rights of
citizens as a whole and Christian
citizens or I for example whether I wear
an atheist or a Christian the idea that
man has the right to enter a bathroom
where my wife or my daughters are doing
whatever need they had got to take care
of is absolutely threatening and
scandalous regardless of my religious
beliefs but this is the kind of
scandalous
teaching that is being promoted in our
time which makes us wonder I mean a
society gone mad there are so many crazy
things being proposed that today in
society not just around the issue of
sexuality that you do wonder and it
makes me think of what the what the
Bible says that us men become more
distance from the image of God as they
they refuse to acknowledge the dignity
of God God gives them over to a mind
that that is deficient and defective a
mind that proclaims and does things that
are not convenient not healthy for the
well-being of society it is a mind that
can function very well in technological
and scientific and philosophical areas
but somehow in the areas that pertain to
human behavior and human relationships
is totally depraved and totally
dysfunctional and I think we're
beginning to see that in ever clearer
ways in our time through the
proclamation of such laws that are
evidently are contrary to the health of
our society so the city of Houston
decided to unilaterally declare this
right and this ordinance not consulting
citizens not asking them for their
opinion not submitting it to a vote
simply because it has the right to do so
a group of pastors decided to challenge
that law through the only democratic
channel that existed still because once
the city used that mechanism the only
channel to bring down that law that
ordinance was through a petition a
citizen's petition that would bring that
law into question through a proposition
for the citizenship to vote upon now it
seems to me a perfectly good right a
perfect mechanism that America
recognizes that is legitimate for
citizens of diverse opinions to settle
their differences through the booth of
voting and so these are pastors
following the law decided to do what
needed to be done which is to procure
17,000 I think 70,000 plus signatures
from citizens
that then would enable that law to be to
be a proposition to be placed for voters
to decide in a Democratic Society what
would be done about that ordinance the
proponents of this proposition not only
collect the 17,000 they collected fifty
thousand three times the amount required
because we have known through previous
experience that we need to be redundant
because these individuals who are
proposing a proposal is laws will always
seek to disqualify many of these
petitions we wanted to be redundant
50,000 petitions plus were collected and
incredibly the city determined that the
vast minus Sigma chures were invalid and
illegitimate through an arbitrary
decision how could I know because I have
participated in one of these petitions
years ago here in the city and how
careful we were to make sure that the
petitions that were submitted stood the
test of a scrutiny and yet it was clear
that this was a bold arbitrary move to
disenfranchise citizens and to prevent
them from being able to register their
beliefs through legal normal democratic
channels and that says something about
America in the direction that we are
going in unless we are clear in standing
up against this creeping dictatorship
that we find ourselves in in America the
the signatures were disqualified and it
was determined that there weren't enough
enough of them to justify proposition
coming before the citizenship five
pastors in the city decided to sue the
city to force them to go through the
proper channels to truly decide whether
these petitions these signatures were
invalid or not to call the city to task
for being so arbitrary and this is where
it brings us through this is the mayor
the day the city because now the mayor
because of the Opera that her decision
cause is not denying that she was
involved in this thing which is totally
it just defies the imagination to think
that the mayor would not know about
something as significant but the city
decided to subpoena five pastors to
submit force them to submit their
sermons and all communications within
the church that pertained to the issue
of homosexuality for scrutiny which if
you know anything about American law is
such a brazen violation of human rights
and such an attack on our human rights
and that it really was designed not to
for some sort of objective examination
of their papers because now there was a
legal process involved but really it was
designed to intimidate to muzzle to shut
up people of religious conviction and to
tell them if you dare to speak out
against these things you are next and
the state has the right to control what
you say even within the intimacy of your
sanctuary and of course this this was
such a brazen violation that there was
an uproar and pastors and other it has
created a national scandal and the mayor
seeing this backtracked and of course
some of her underlings very dutifully
fell under sword and said no she didn't
know about it and it was us doing it and
you know that's not what we intended to
do blah blah blah and they've been
trying to backtrack and to kind of
minimize the reach that they were really
seeking to attain through this
intervention and I believe that this
this move of a mayor of a major city in
America this wanton violation of the
rights of American citizens and
believing citizens is so such a
violation it reaches such a point of
scandal that we must observe it as a
historic moment in American life in an
American history it is a defining moment
and that shows the true intent and the
true
sort of inclination of this movement to
not only obtain rights to live and to
express itself but also to kill the
rights of others in order for it to just
possess and be free to do all that I
wants to do which is really ultimately
it will destroy our nation it will
undermine the fabric of our nation our
children our young people the moral
standards of our culture the limits that
every society needs to put on fallen
human nature I need laws I need them my
friends I need the accountability that
you provide for me because if left to my
own designs I would be a mess and I
would make a mess we all need
accountability we all need laws the
moment that I society in the name of
love and freedom abandons limitations
for the fallenness of human nature at
that moment that society is consigning
yourself to utter destruction ultimate
debilitation and so this is why I feel
this is so urgent that for us to just
camp simply go as life as usual and to
continue preaching nice the sermons
about God loves you and you know he has
good intentions for I believe in that we
just proclaimed that this morning would
be to really be neglectful of our duty
citizens Christian believers need to be
alerted to what is going on in America
we need to be emboldened we need to be
affirmed affirmed in our own beliefs in
our own convictions and pastors need to
be released to proclaim the Word of God
which is a medicine that that cleanses
and that that heals it's caustic yes
it's it's it's it creates conflict
within us but it heals because it is the
truth of God and so this is the
environment that we are living in today
and this is this the environment in the
environment that the Church of Christ is
preaching the Word of God it's not a
neutral environment in neutral times
when there's not the flux and the
questioning of
morality that we are facing in our
nation in the world the church can
afford to preach normal sermons quote
unquote maintenance sermons but in times
of change in times of radical
transformation the Church of Jesus
Christ needs to inform its believers
about the foundations that they require
in order to make the decisions that they
need to make in the everyday world am I
making myself up or maybe into too
complex and too confusing saying what
I'm saying in other words in the time of
a radical questioning of Christian
values the Church of Jesus Christ its
duty is to declare those values at the
very least among believers but also I
think in the outer culture as well in
order to heal the culture to be a
prophetic presence in the culture I am
reminded of the words of a psalm 2 in
this context in the context of the world
that we are living in where the psalmist
rhetorically quest asks why do the
nation's conspire and the people's plot
in vain psalm to the kings of the earth
take their stand and the rulers gathered
together against the Lord and against
his anointed one you know what we are
seeing in America right now is precisely
the authorities of this nation the legal
authorities the judicial authorities the
political authorities standing against
the Word of God in a nation that has
historically always supported the Word
of God and let me can let me make a
parenthesis here many people say well
America has never been a Christian
nation well in a sense that may be true
but I can tell you this that America has
always been a god-fearing nation America
may not be a perfect nation America may
not have been led always by Orthodox
believers such as in the time of the
Enlightenment or the 18th century with
the founding fathers but if you examine
their writings have you examined the
flow of American history you see a
nation that has always had the fear of
God and the fear of the Bible in it its
leaders may not have been perf
its leaders may not have been fully
Orthodox but they always assumed a
judeo-christian context for the laws
that were being proclaimed what is
happening now is that that generic
judeo-christian context within which
America has always float is being
questioned and is being rejected by the
rulers by the leaders of this nation by
the judicial rulers by by the political
rulers of this nation and the people are
being left out of the decision-making
process that a democracy presupposes and
requires so the Bible looking thousands
of years before our time prophetically
sees a time when the rulers of the earth
will get together and confirm among
themselves to conspire and to sort of
establish a mutiny against the the Lord
and against his anointed when it's
interesting this is a messianic sound by
the way who is God's anointed one Jesus
Christ meshia may see a messiah means
anointed and most commentators of the
Bible will will agree that this Psalm
prophetic alee points to rebellion not
only against God but also against his
chosen ruler with Jesus Christ and so it
says the rulers gathered together to
confer to conspire and and this is what
they say in the minds and in their
little covens as they get together they
say let us break their chains they say
and throw off their feathers break what
chains not that not the change that
destroy but the loving chains that that
is they see it as a chain we see it as
headings for safety that the Word of God
provides and these individuals who have
rebelled in their heart now against the
law of God and see it as a chain they
say let's break that chain let's break
away from it let's free ourselves from
this burn
of moral law in the moral belief and
let's be free to do whatever we want let
me tell you rebellion rebelliousness is
at the very center of the human heart it
is the source of every evil that has
taken place in human history beginning
with the first rebellion in the Garden
of Eden no even before that the first
rebellion was Lucifer against God this
is why God so hates rebellion he says a
king to witchcraft because he knows that
the you know the rebellious in the heart
is this this resistance to full of the
being i'm going to call whether it's a
demonic or a human being to submit
himself to the lordship of god to
acknowledge his creature ness if you
will and to acknowledge that there's a
Creator who has sovereignty over who you
are and what you do and that rebellious
is that teenage rebelliousness in the
human heart is the reason for all the
tragedy in the universe the fallenness
of even the cosmos itself and this is
what we see today in the 21st century
where the human beings have acquired a
level of sophistication and knowledge
and technological dominion that they now
feel strong enough and adult enough to
rebel against the lordship of god and
his chosen messiah and we see that in
the question that is taking place in
sexuality in morality in our
understanding of society human beings
now feel that they can invent themselves
we see this everything is being
manipulated is they human beings of the
the potential right now two to play with
and reconfigure the genetic makeup of
the human being that is our that is our
next barrier that is our next journey
the manipulation of the very essence
that of a human being and so we have
extended that into a capacity perceived
capacity to also change our sexuality to
reinvent society as a whole to sort of
everything is up for grabs in our time
and by the way this is not the first
time that
of social questioning and that social
rebelliousness it also took place in
this is what the course Babel you know
where we human beings achieve such a
level of sophistication we don't really
know exactly what that meant in that
time that they felt they wanted to
construct a tower to their credit into
their glory because this rebellious
pneus every time you feel
self-sufficient you feel I don't need
God anymore and so God what did he do he
confused the languages God said you know
these human beings that I've created
they have such potential such power I
have endowed them with such creativity
that have left to themselves that's not
telling what they will do god knows what
he has put in us yes we are highly
creative very powerful but without the
love of God and the hedge protection of
god we can destroy ourselves because
wisdom turns to mere intelligence than
and mere intelligence kills and destroys
so God confused mankind and this is the
the origin of so many the tongues of
diversity of tongues according to the
Bible and so we are living in a similar
time but I think much more sophisticated
where human beings have achieved such a
level of sophistication that we feel
that we can now again seek to question
God and the Thomas says you know they
say let us break their chains let us
overthrow their feathers and this is
God's reaction through the prophetic
lengths of the summit he says the one
and throned in heaven laughs the Lord
scoffs makes fun of them you know the
first reaction of goddess who are these
weaklings to think that they can
question me and he laughs at the the
ridiculousness of their pretensions
because it's so so grandiose that it's
ridiculous and it's laughable but then
the second reaction is anger since then
he rebukes them in his anger and
terrifies them in his wrath saying i
have installed my King on Zion my holy
hill you know there is there is a holy
anger that God experiences when we
questioned his glory and his lordship
and I think this society this world
right now is beginning to experience
some of the consequences of their
questioning I think America is beginning
to experience that I have never in my
whole life experienced the kind of
turmoil that this world is experiencing
now I am I am flabbergasted I've studied
history I've read history and I don't
think there has ever been a period in
human history of such turmoil how's the
one that we are experiencing right now
whether it's in the Middle East Iran
Iraq Afghanistan Israel and the
Palestinian situation Egypt whether it's
in Europe the Ukraine crisis Russia sort
of raising its head once more and
seeking to become a dominant power again
no matter what the cause whether it's
North Korea developing full capacity for
nuclear destruction such a neurotic
society having nuclear weapons in their
hand it's absolutely beyond me and we
see China which is a sinister presence i
mean i love my Chinese brothers and
sisters but the government and the
philosophy that animates the government
which is a godless philosophy coupled
with incredible financial power and they
desired again to assert itself in the
whole indian ocean or in the Pacific Rim
countries and in the philippines and
japan and so on japan is probably going
to arm itself again after a second world
war it refused to to our midst of what
now in the threats of before the threats
of china it's seeking also to arm itself
again and china is seeking to compete
with the united states in africa and
latin america and buying every piece of
land that they can and seeking control
and arming itself in for nuclear
capacity they are they already have it
in spades everywhere Isis and Ebola I
mean that the level of turmoil in
the world is absolutely astounding in
our time and the level of change and of
questioning in our time is unprecedented
and in America we see all of this stuff
that's happening in the international
world is coupled with the the demise of
American influence which has always been
a good influence in the world and the
people of the world have always sought
America for the solution they still do
to a certain degree but they also now
see America as a fallen giant not worthy
of respect because America is losing its
influence and becoming a minor power
because of the fact that they have
abandoned the God that made America
possible in the first place we have
abandoned the moorings that these dis
godly feathers that kept kept us safe we
have abandoned those and so this in the
world the problem of the world is being
increased by the fact that this
influence which is never perfect but it
was very good it's also on the decrease
in significant sort of way so it is this
this this God who has inscribed his law
in our psyche in our genetic makeup we
will never be able to break the fetters
quote unquote of God's intent because it
is written in our biological laws a
woman knows that the God the law of God
is inscribed in her just as a man does
as well we may we may forces us but the
fact it's always be that a woman gives
birth that a man generally has more hair
in his body than a woman or that their
voice are a few degrees lower like we
have we have God's law inscribed in or
something there are certain binary laws
that govern the way that we we move in
the way that we do things and when we
violate those things we are acting
according against the very green of our
being and so what we see in America this
questioning I think you know other
countries make question judeo-christian
values and not experience the kind of
turmoil that America will experience why
because America has a godly passed on
its head it's like a child that rebels
against God after growing in a loving
Christian home that child will suffer
the the you know the kingdom of animal
will be putting pressure on that child
because the law of God is describing
their heart and so that child is
rebelliousness would be an issue with
God now somebody who didn't grow up in
that kind of environment God may not
have really any dealings or any purposes
in their life but when you have grown up
way under the under the shadow of God
and His laws when you rebel against it
it has tripled the consequences and
America has always been there was a
there were covenants that were
established there there are pacts that
were established centuries ago and God
has a very good memory and when we rebel
against those things we pay the price
for it and so what we see now is that we
need to in it because of the love that
compels us and because of the way the
world is constructed Christians we need
to speak the truth in order to heal the
nation's because as the nation's rebel
against the cosmic law against
biological law against the laws that
have been structured into the very life
of the universe they are kicking a knife
they're kicking something that is has
the potential to kill them as they rebel
against it and and the fact that we love
people many people say that Christians
are hateful that we are self-righteous
that we are judgmental because they
think that to love is simply to accept
there's this idea that if we are truly
Christian then we will accept everything
that comes our way that will simply
affirm everyone well I I don't see that
in Jesus Christ I don't see that
anywhere in the gospel you know when I
look at Jesus Christ and his character
when I see his ministry when I see his
words when I read his sermons I see a
man God committed to truth and if he had
to say if that truth offended then so be
it actually that truth offended so much
that he ended up on the cross and this
idea of a Jesus that love so much that
he simply says be who you are and don't
worry about it is so diametrically
opposed to the true nature of Jesus and
of the gospel that I cannot contemplate
how even some Christians can enter into
that belief as well and some this today
we have so many believers Christian
believers you know ingesting and
accepting that demonic belief that if
you were a Christian you will simply
accept everything I accept everyone but
I don't accept everything I love
everyone i know that i'm the first one
who needs God's grace in my life and
when I speak the truth of God I speak at
knowing that that truth first cuts
through me and kills me and calls me to
reconfigure my life and then I announce
it my dear brothers assistance let us
not accept this idea that in order for
us to be loving we have to deny truth
you know I think Christians today need
intense psychotherapy we need to sit
down in silence before God and revisit
the things that we believe our
commitment to the kingdom our commitment
to the truth of God to God's Word and we
need to say am I going to put the
opinion of men in a superior place of
the opinion of God about my life and
about myself we need to come to a crisis
point where we have to ask ourselves
which authority am I going to accept as
the guiding force in my life is that the
Word of God or is it the opinions of men
and if we can come to the
crisis oriented decision that no I want
to live by the Word of God then we must
choose a path of sometimes martyrdom
sometimes aloneness but it's a path of
great satisfaction knowing that we are
living authentically that we are living
with integrity that we are living in
unity with what we profess with our
mouths and we live with our minds the
Christian path is a path of loneliness
many times my dear brothers and sisters
the God did not call us to an easy path
the church and the Word of God will
always be in enmity with the world you
know I think in our desire to fit to be
a winsome and attractive to the world
many times we have decided to throw
overboard the distinctives of the
Christian faith you cannot do that for
the church to be truly the Church of
Jesus Christ that must stand on the Word
of God and then invite others to come
and join them and join us in that
embrace but the world the Bible the
Bible tells us clearly that there will
always be enmity there will always be
friction and conflict between the light
that the Word of God offers and the
darkness that rules the world and I
think that today modern Christians many
modern Christians believe that we can
improve on God's marketing strategies
I've somehow we take away those things
are scandalized the world as somehow the
world then will come into our churches
and that is the most misguided
treacherous belief that you can ever
imagine the Church of Jesus Christ has
always thrived on scandal let me tell
you that the first candle is the scandal
of the cross you know that is a
stumbling block you know the Bible says
that Jesus Christ is a stumbling block
the cross is a stumbling block
in order to get into the kingdom you
have to go through that stumbling block
if you don't want to go through it then
you stay on the other side you know
people are scandalized by the fact that
you know Jesus Christ had to die on a
cross in order for humankind to be
reconciled with God and that we also
have to go through our own cross every
day in order to please God I believe
that the most powerful instrument for
the propagation of the gospel the very
seat of the power of the church and the
authority and the vitality in the help
of the church is scandal the scandal of
the cross the scandal of holiness the
call of God to conform ourselves to his
word when a church lovingly accepts the
Word of God and proclaims the Word of
God that church will be whole it will be
healed it will be strong it will have
authority it will be heard the Holy
Spirit will dwell within it why do you
think that there are so many liberal
churches that have thrown away that the
orthodoxy of the Christian faith why are
they dying out why are they evangelical
II evangelistic Lee neutered why are
they incapable of reproducing themselves
because the only thing that gives us the
capacity to reproduce ourselves is the
presence of the Holy Spirit the the
approval of the God and that approval
only comes and we remain within its word
one of the reasons why I think that we
we cannot simply neutrally say oh you
know what we will become and we will
become affirming to homosexuality or
whatever it is to it can be just simply
people you know all the different
perversions it can be you know adultery
it can be you know gambling it can be a
mean spirit that can be vindictiveness
it can be a pressing your loved ones you
know it's not just the sexual I
acknowledge that but you know we we need
to be able
to question every one every kind of
behavior that goes against what the Word
of God has declared we need to be free
we need to understand that this this is
the protective element of God for the
church when a church naked neglects the
knives rejects these beliefs it's not a
neutral decision it has implications for
the presence of the Holy Spirit when a
Christian when a church decides to just
assume that that's well that has nothing
just a minor decision you know what
happens really what the op shoot of it
is that we grieve the Holy Spirit and
the Holy Spirit then it becomes distant
from that community that is why for me
the call to holiness even though it's
such an agonizing thing should never be
abandoned by a community or by an
individual that embraces Jesus Christ
because that call to holiness is the
guarantee that the Holy Spirit will feel
comfortable dwelling within me and
within this building so we must
understand that the health the
survivability of a church depends on its
capacity to please the Holy Spirit
through what it declares everyday and
what it seeks to honor we are not a
perfect community by any means we are
all broken our marriages are broken our
homes are broken our minds are broken I
shudder to think that you may put a
microphone to my brain and know what I'm
thinking right now even I know who I am
but that does not prevent me however
from announcing and declaring the truth
of God you see there's this idea this
intimidating of technique that is being
used today somehow all your imperfect
you know you and I here Christian saying
that all the time oh you know you're a
sinner you do this you do that you're
hypocrites and there for you to just
shut up and stop announcing the Word of
God that is a demonic ploy the Church of
Jesus Christ has always been imperfect
the
ferences that we know that our
imperfection is covered by the blood of
Jesus Christ and we invite other sinners
like we do to acknowledge their own sin
and to come into this vessel of struggle
to you know do God's work in our lives
with the help of the Holy Spirit and
every day I have to inject myself with a
new dose of the gods grace every morning
and every night and several times a day
I have to come before the Lord say Lord
I'm a broken human being i need your
grace I admit it like the psalmist says
I acknowledge my sins there ever before
me I have broken your law but even as we
admit our brokenness and I think the
Church of Jesus Christ needs to admit
its brokenness we need to be a community
of transparency we need to be a humble
community we need to let people know
that we acknowledge that we are broken
that we have not fulfilled God's
expectations of us but even then we have
to say yes but God you call us to
holiness you call us to integrity and we
have to embrace the agony of the
Christian life my brothers and sisters
were I am landing right now I'm closing
up but um what I'm saying is that
America is engaged in in a in a very
dangerous experiment and we the
homosexual the militant homosexual lobby
and I used that word very deliberately I
wish had more time to unpack these terms
but the militant homosexual lobby in
America has always said you know all
that we are seeking is for the right to
be who we are and not to be oppressed
but really that claim has now turned
into in order for us to be who we are
you need to shut up about who you are
the idea of living that live has been
changed now in to die and let live and
we cannot accept this let me just read
something as I say I wish had enough
time to unpack all of these things this
is a statement from a scholar a legal
scholar who happens to be a lesbian and
who is one of the most honest scholars
that i have found who really say what
what really this is all about it's not
about
you know I went to the state house one
day and I heard somebody say well you
know gay marriage is the law of the land
now and the sky has not fallen well let
me tell you the sky has fallen and that
statement is only being used to put us
into sleep so that we then will allow
this thing to continue creeping every
day more and more that the homosexual
movement becomes more and more daring in
its invasiveness in its imperialistic
aspirations to just process and America
must decide between gay rights or human
rights in that day we have made it into
one thing we have now the biggest
achievement of the homosexual one has
been to cover itself with the cloak of
Human Rights once Americans accept that
that claim of gay rights and human
rights being the same thing the battle
was lost for all believing Christians
and that is the one thing that still
needs its it's been presented as
something that has already solved it's
beyond questioning it's still very much
controversial it has not been proven
that homosexuality is an inherent trait
of the human being to qualified as a
human right to Christians and to so many
other people it is a choice it is a
lifestyle that you have chosen to adopt
just as I could adopt any other kind of
lifestyle and I cannot claim that
society should reconfigure itself to
accept my my choice my lifestyle but
here's what this legal scholar says and
it's it's legal terminology but I wanted
to show you something about you know the
complexity of this issue this is where
honesty compels and the fact that this
is being expressed by a lesbian person
who is fully committed to homosexual
rights it should convince us of what
really what we are up against that it's
a choice between our rights the rights
of every religious person in America or
in the world to be able to live
according to their profound inviolable
beliefs or the
rider homosexuals to live according to
their practice and their beliefs which
requires that the society the culture be
reconstituted in every area housing
employment religious life marriage
education of our children the power of
the state to control the intimacy of the
life of every citizen all of these
things are implicated in this issue of
gay rights this is what she writes she
says ensuring that LGBT people by the
way and now it's not just LGBT it's
LGBTQ it used to be simply LG but then a
bee was added to it and then after the
bee was added a tea was added to it and
now a queue has been added to it I
suppose we're going to go into uvwxyz at
some point as well because you know what
happens as this Lobby keep gains
confidence and power it keeps increasing
the reach it has always been said that
this this movement would end up with a
polygamy and that is exactly what we're
seeing in America right now increase of
polygamy and in the fight for polygamy
and you may be offended by what I'm
going to say but that also this is this
has been said 30 40 50 years ago the
ultimate is also for the rule of
pedophilia of people minors on the race
to be able to engage in homosexual
activity to be made the law of the land
as well now I know that may strike some
of your scandalous but read more about
that there is nothing that I have seen
in the trajectory of this process to
contradict that fact once you abandon
some very foundational areas what is
there to hold back anything else if all
that you have to defend your moral
beliefs is reason then everything is
open to questioning incest for example
why should I society be concerned about
incest if it's not concerned about
bestiality or homosexuality or anything
else it's stupid it really is completely
contradictory and yet in America where
it was oh yeah you can allow all these
of the laws about instance no never why
let's open the doors completely to every
possible change in every possible
questioning all right pass them around
they get to the text listen to this I
can give you her name chive fell below
as well you know you can find her in the
internet she's a major legal scholars is
ensuring that LGBT people can live
honestly and safely in all aspects of
their social lives requires that society
set a baseline of non discrimination on
the grounds of sexual orientation and
the gender identity you're gonna have to
process yourselves it's complex language
but you know saying that the foundation
has to be no discrimination in according
to sexuality if we're going to allow
homosexuals to live according to their
design if individual business owners
service providers and employers
including their Christian colleges like
Gordon College is right right now facing
the possibility of its own accreditation
being removed because of a minor
petition that the president I mean the
board of trustees of trustees of corn
college I know the intimacy of this
process but Gordon College a Christian
institution with clear statements about
its Christian beliefs is now facing the
possibility slimmers that might be of
having its accreditation removed because
the the president simply signed a law
President Michael Lindsey asking
President Obama to allow Christian
colleges to be to remain true to their
Christian beliefs in employment
practices but what you're saying is you
know if individual business owners
service providers i'm going to add
college at christian colleges christian
nonprofit agencies could easily exempt
themselves from such laws by make
incredible claims that their belief
liberty is burdened by the law LGBT
people would remain constantly
vulnerable to surprise discrimination in
other words unless all these
institutions are stripped of the right
to remain true to their beliefs then
LGBT people will suffer and they will be
discriminated against oh we cannot
louder that's the the subtext here she
says if I am denied a job an apartment a
room at a hotel a table at a restaurant
or a procedure by a doctor because I am
a lesbian that is a deep intense and the
tangible hurt that hurt is not
alleviated because I might be able to go
down the street and get a job an
apartment the hotel room a restaurant
table or a medical procedure from
someone else in other words you know the
fact that I can just you know said well
I can't provide it to you go someplace
else because I'm a Christian she says
that's not enough for that person to say
no the assault to my dignity and my
sense of safety in the world occurs when
the initial denial happens that assault
is not mitigated by the fact that others
might not treat me in the same way thus
for all my sympathy for the evangelical
Christian couple who may wish to run a
bed-and-breakfast from which they can
exclude unmarried straight couples and
all gay couples this is a point where i
believe the zero-sum nature of the game
inevitably comes into play in other
words is either or it's not both hand
you know it's either either the society
is fully on the side of LGBT rights or
it's against it there's no middle way
and that is exactly the point about you
know homosexuals you may say I love you
God has designed you I will respect your
rights but you are wrong as soon as you
say that you're against them the whole
homosexual movement is predicated on
this idea you're either a hundred
percent for me for me or a hundred
percent against me and unfortunately the
legal system in America is adopting that
same either or attitude and mentality so
that anybody who doesn't conform to that
new way of looking at things is
violating the law and will be punished
for it so this the power I believe the
zero-sum nature of the game inevitably
comes into play and in making the
decision in this zero-sum game I am
convinced society should come down on
the side of protecting the liberty of
LGBT people once individuals choose to
enter the stream of economic commerce by
opening commercial establishment
or any other kind of establishment that
has to deal with the public whether it's
a college or a church not a Christian on
profit whatever once you once you step
out of the confines of a church and you
step out into the world out there you're
in no man's land that's what is being
said here i believe it is legitimate to
require that they play by certain rules
as the court observed in Smith versus
fair employment housing commission quote
to permit Smith to discriminate would
sacrifice the rights of her prospective
tenants to have equal access to public
accommodations and their legal and
dignity interests in freedom from
discrimination based on personal
characteristics and closing here a
number of writers have made the argument
that entering the stream of Commerce
should legitimately subject and
enterprise to risk civil rights laws
commerce should not be clothed with
fundamental or First Amendment freedom
in other words that is the point you see
the moment that you step into any kind
of interaction with the outside world
give up any First Amendment rights
freedom of speech freedom of religion
freedom of whatever is related to your
conscience which is such a scandalous
such an illegitimate principle that it
baffles me that you know that the
Americans could be and the Christians
could somehow contemplate this
peacefully and even sometimes cooperate
with the implications of this trajectory
commerce should not be cloaked the
fundamental of First Amendment freedom
to exclude members on any basis they see
fit this is the the court supreme court
if the government tolerated the private
exclusionary policies of such
individuals in the commercial sector
such toleration would necessarily come
at the cost of gay people sense of
belonging and safety in society this is
I put this in both ways just as we do
not tolerate private racial beliefs that
adversely affect african-americans in
the commercial arena even if such
beliefs are based on religious views
we should similarily or similarly not
tolerate private beliefs about sexual
orientation and gender identity that
adversely affect LGBT people so you see
my dear friends and please come come
forward I want to give you hope that I'm
finishing I'm gonna ask whether the
worship people to come up you see this
conflation this putting together of
african-american the african-american
civil rights movement and the fact that
the government had to intervene right I
believe rightfully so to ensure the
rights of african-americans against
discrimination and racism its own here
in America now has come back to bite us
through the manipulation of that same
concept in its application to the
homosexual movement and they're not the
same they're not the same I would have
to give you another sermon you know how
to prove why it's not the same but I
would close perhaps with a pastoral
another pastoral observation which is
the following which is that in a sense
you know the Christian community is now
paying for all the discrimination that
we have accepted here in America against
african-americans to the point that
instead of using the Bible to renounce
racism it had to be done to the shame of
the Church of Jesus Christ it had to be
done by the secular authorities for us
because in many parts of the America
Bible believing Christians saw no
contradiction between denigrating and
and discriminating against African
American brothers and sisters and their
Christian beliefs so you see the justice
sometimes of how God works today that
failure that moral failure of big
sectors of the American church
and having forced the secular
authorities to violate you know
democratic principles in a way in order
to ensure that this significant sector
of America would receive its legal
rights as they rightfully required has
now been employed to oppress us and this
is what this is what we have to
understand you know the God is a God of
justice and he loves his church but he
will also judge us when we fail to be
true to his truth into his laws and we
will ultimately have to pay a price
America had to pay a huge price for
slavery in the Civil War and many people
including President Lincoln saw the
Civil War as retribution from a just God
against all the inhumanity that was
perpetrated against African and African
Americans throughout many many decades
of American slavery and now I think in a
way we as Christians are paying the
price because we have provided the
secular movement this destructive
mentality a powerful argument to violate
democratic principles and to oppress us
and that's a call for me and for you to
always live in the truth of God no
matter what the cost no matter what the
cost you know the southern states for
many many years refuse to deal with
slavery because they said you know we're
addicted to slavery our whole economic
system is predicated on slavery if we
gave up slavery we would bankrupt
ourselves and so they chose money over
truth
and they had to pay the price if I
choose now in the 21st century comfort
over truth I will have to pay the same
price we cannot do that people of God we
must always be humble we must always be
client to the truth of God wherever it
leads and in this time we must again say
Lord am I going to follow the truth of
your word or the convenience of being
popular and I know that we all in our
heart I do hope that all of us are
saying as for me and my house we will
serve the Lord we will be true to the
word of God so I just urge you to be
praying full I urge you to be deliberate
I urge you to study the Word of God I
urge you to examine your conscience I
urge you to be courageous I urge you to
know the Word of God to be wise in the
things that you need to be wise in such
as the definition of love such as the
definition of Christianity such as how
you understand the vertical nature of
the character of Jesus Christ the
integrity that you choose to live in in
your life and what that implies for your
life these are times and we can no
longer afford to just play Church these
are times when we are being required to
be mature like never before and to know
why we believe and to know what we
believe it's a time for soberness it's a
time for great great sense of agony
within us and of martyrdom if necessary
knowing that living the Christian life
and the Christian identity is a ganic
it's agonizing it's not an easy life you
always I hope I'm almost questioning
myself Lord am i doing the right thing
should I just chalk this as well and
just embrace what's going on I'm always
questioning myself because I want to be
just I want to be I want to be loving
time and time again the Word of God
tells me no stay in what you have
believed
stay what you have believed let the tone
of my son his character his complexity
be the guiding force in your life set
your tone to him not to the world tune
your personality in your ministry and
your life and your conversation and your
words and your character to knit
according to the standard of the Word of
God and then let God align the world
around you if the Church of Jesus Christ
remains true to the Word of God the
church of jesus christ will prevail and
people will come flocking into the
church broken and needy to be repaired
and to be blessed and to be healed and
reconfigured according to the Word of
God but we must remain firm until that
day happens the Bible says that in the
evil day we stand firmly and when the
day has passed when that evil day has
passed we shall hopefully be found still
standing I ask you this morning people
of God stand and why don't I I else I
can invite you if you feel that this
word resonates with your spirit why
don't you stand you don't have to stand
but if you feel that it does resonate
with you let us stand so that the Holy
Spirit might see our church and might
and let this be a declaration Holy
Spirit of God we ask that you see us
right now and have mercy on us have
mercy on us Lord
we declare that the gospel is a gospel
of love but it's also a gospel of truth
and we want to be a congregation of love
and of truth Lord we acknowledge that we
are sinners in need of your constant
grace we are prone to break your law and
that we are far from perfect and so we
come before you needy and broken and we
ask Jesus that you would clothe us with
your justice that you would protect our
church that this church would always be
a haven and a refuge for those who are
needing the restoration of the kingdom
of God that we will be perceived as a
church of love and of righteousness and
a church of humility as well we thank
you for all the broken people including
myself that you bring every day into
this church and for the fact that here
we can find healing and that we are
seeking healing that we will have to
seek it on to the very end of our lives
thank you Father thank you for Jesus
Christ thank you because in him in his
gospel there is hope
there's hope to break every chain and
every obstacle that that impedes us
reaching that maximum potential that
Jesus Christ came to release I bless my
brothers and sisters I proclaim your
piece this morning I proclaim lightness
of spirit I proclaim joy I proclaim hope
and in a sense of being centered in you
lord thank you for this time thank you
for the privilege of knowing Jesus
Christ thank you for the security that
we find in your word teachers are will
be true and faithful to that word in
Jesus name we pray and the people of God
say man I bless you in the name of Jesus
this morning praise the Lord
Self Doubt - A Fatal Flaw or Window to Faith
and in the morning I will send you on
your way and will tell you all that is
in your heart as for the donkeys you
lost three days ago don't worry about
them they have been found and to whom is
all the desire of Israel turned if not
to you and to your whole family line now
Saul answered but am I not a benja might
from the smallest tribe of Israel is not
my clan the least of all the clans of
the tribe of Benjamin why do you say
such a thing to me and then it goes on
to say that Samuel invited him to eat
that day and went on to explain to him
his calling let's pray dear God I thank
you that you have a destiny for each one
of us you have a calling you have a
purpose I thank you Lord that even
though we usually stumble into our
destiny without realizing it God that
you know what you're doing we may feel
like we're lost but we're not we're
right where we're supposed to be because
you're looking for us and I thank you
that you have a plan for us but God
sometimes it's hard for us to believe
that sometimes all we can see is our own
problems and shortcomings and I pray God
that today you would teach us how to
overcome our fears and our self doubt
and learn to depend on the Great God
speak to us today I pray in Jesus name
Amen man Saul was not so happy about
what the prophet Samuel told him right
he didn't answer saying yeah you're
right I always thought I was supposed to
be a king now some of us have that
problem many of us don't have a low self
esteem we have a it appropriately big
self esteem that God needs to Humble us
I would say all of us are in that
category in some way right
but look at what happens with Saul he's
like it can't be me you can't be talking
about me and he had excuses he had
reasons why God couldn't use him he said
am I not a benja might from the smallest
tribe of Israel the tribe of Benjamin
was famous or i should say infamous in
israel because it was a tribe that a few
about a hundred years earlier had
committed some of the most horrible
atrocities and if you were a benja might
it was like 'hey you're from the tribe
of Benjamin you since I'm a benja might
you can't be talking about me and not
only am i from this bad tribe in Israel
but I'm from the smallest family in that
tribe how can you say these things to me
now it's interesting cuz Saul was a tall
man he was an impressive man but he was
a man with a profoundly low self esteem
he had a sense of inferiority about
himself it was interesting because
little later a couple weeks later the
prophet Samuel gathered all the people
to draw lots to pick the next king to
confirm that it was going to be saw and
they drew lots from all the people in
Israel narrowing it down from tribe to
tribe to tribe to Family to Family to
Family and finally by lot Saul was
chosen what a coincidence huh the
prophet Samuel wasn't worried he knew
God chose that guy now we're going to
draw lots and the lot will fall to Saul
so when the time came to choose all all
the people were gathered we're going to
pick our next king I wonder who it's
going to be and then the lot falls to
Saul son of Kish it was like Saul Saul
we're so just look at there's a mumbling
going on Saul we're so well so too and
they and they started looking for him
you know where they found him hiding
among the baggage it's like he's high
he's hiding in the bathroom hiding in
the bathroom what was he afraid of and
so they just all get out of the baggage
you're supposed to be king he's like
yeah right
Yeah right I'm King you know it pulled
him out he calls out there and he was a
head taller than everyone else and the
prophet Samuel says look at your new
king and he's standing there he's just
got to be dying thinking I would really
much rather be hiding in the bathroom
right now he's like I can't do this I'm
not that guy he felt insecure he felt
afraid he had a sense of his own
inadequacy now that should remind us of
someone else you know the prophet Samuel
put it this way he said God called you
to be king even though you were small in
your own eyes even though you were small
in your own eyes he was a tall man but
he saw himself like this so I'm self
small do any of us do that any of us may
be thinking yeah I'm yeah oh we can see
where our weaknesses right you look in
the mirror at all you can see are the
the blemishes all right everyone else
they say you're looking pretty good
today you're like I don't feel like I've
looking pretty good you ever think you
have excuses not to do what God calls
you to do no it can't be me I'm too
young do we have any any people under
the age of 18 in this room they have
made teenagers or kids no could say no
not me I'm too young can't be me or
someone else who might say but you don't
know what I've done you don't know my
past you don't know my struggles you
don't know my problems God says yes you
yes you Moses said I can't do it I don't
know how to talk I stutter and God's
like uh no excuses no excuses God calls
people who sometimes feel inadequate in
themselves if we read this text it
should remind us of another man who was
called about a hundred years earlier to
do some amazing things in the tribe of
Israel and he answered in a almost
exactly the same way and I believe that
the Bible wants us to connect this text
with that one so let's take a look in
the book of Judges chapter six judges
chapter six disco go back a couple books
judges chap
six this is a book about a series of
military leaders in the people of Israel
tribe of Israel who would who would
raise up and be great deliverers and
great leaders and how God would deliver
his people and this is the story about
how God called one of the greatest
warriors and leaders in the entire
history of Israel a man named Gideon you
ever heard of Gideon before yeah yeah he
leaves Bibles in hotel rooms right he
put some right and well this is what
that's named after right this guy Gideon
judges 6 verse 11 now this was a time
before I i start judges 611 this was a
time during incredible oppression in the
people of israel the people of Israel
were under the oppression of a nation
called Midian and the Midianites would
come in and would steal all their bread
they would bring all their camels and
all their armies like a multitude like
they said it's like the sand on the
seashore and they would devour all the
crops and all the grass and the people
of Israel were being starved to death by
Midian it was a time of terrible
oppression and so we find Gideon in the
middle of this in verse 11 it says the
angel of the Lord came and sat down
under the oak in Oprah that belonged to
joash the Abbey as right where his son
Gideon was threshing wheat in a
winepress to keep it from the Midianites
ok I want to stop right there for a
second anyone know about threshing wheat
I don't know about threshing wheat you
know I didn't learn that in the town in
Connecticut I grew up in and they didn't
teach it to me in seminary here in
Boston either so let's talk about
threshing wheat wheat is a like a stalk
of wheat right they would take the wheat
everyone in Israel everyone in the
ancient world knew about threshing wheat
you would take the wheat and it's got
the colonel on it but it's also got the
stock and it's got chaff and so they
would bring it to a place called a
threshing floor and they would have a
long like instrument sort of like a long
stick like a threshing stick and they or
they call it a fork
sometimes it would be pronged and they
would put the weed up in the air and
they would whack it with the threshing
stick and it would knock the wheat so
that the heavy part the colonel would
fall to the ground and the chaff the the
light part of the wheat would just blow
away and they'd sweep it away and at the
end you've got a nice pile of wheat
kernels that you can use to make bread
it's called threshing wheat the main
thing you need to Thresh wheat is an
open space that's nice and big where you
can swing and you can hit it must have
been a lot of fun you know kinda like
demolishing you know you get to demolish
things every now and then you know
that's okay it's kind of fun right there
back in that week getting out their
aggressions getting up and but what you
need is open space and you also need a
breezy air to blow the wheat to blow the
chaff right so you need some wind or you
need a breeze now Gideon was threshing
wheat do you notice where he was
thrashing the wheat verse 11 is it says
he was threshing wheat not on a
threshing floor a nice open threshing
floor but in a wine press and when here
ever pressed wine we might have one or
two there's always somebody who went to
France or chili and stomped and now I
never did that right I know that you did
you see you seen on TV what they would
do is they would put the grapes in a
wine press and wine presses in those
days they would dig them into the ground
sort of like a like a 6-foot deep like a
well like a pit a circular small thing
so one person could fit in there and
just jump up and down on the week right
on the the grapes and make it sound
again it sounds like fun yeah I want to
go do I want to try some of this someday
right and they're stomping on the grapes
it was a pit in the ground that was a
circular enclosed concrete kind of pit
they found some of them look up google
wine press ancient wine press and you'll
see some pictures of wine presses from
this time you can actually see it I
should have projected it next time so
it's a circular thing so Gideon was
threshing wheat in a little wine press
and closed wine press do you see
the problem you see the problem when you
need to Thresh wheat is a place where
you can swing and hit stuff and there's
wind a wine press it's Underground he
was doing it why was he doing that he's
hiding he was hiding from the Midianites
because if they saw him doing what he's
doing they're going to confiscate the
grain so he has to hide underground and
try to Thresh wheat the only comparison
I could think of and some of you could
probably come up with a better one it's
kind of like trying to fly a kite in
your basement right try to fly the kite
in the basement and you got the kite and
you throw it up in the air ha it is
still not working I'm still it you're
trying to fly kite in the basement maybe
you should find a windy place maybe an
open place right that's what Gideon was
doing it was ludicrous it was something
that in the ancient world they would
have read this and they would have
actually it would have evoked a laugh he
was threshing wheat in a wine press so
at this moment the angel of the Lord
came to him and sat down right near
there under a tree in Oprah Gideon was
threshing the weed now in verse 12 we'll
go back to the text when the angel of
the Lord appeared to Gideon he said now
first of all what do you expect him to
say what are you doing in a wine press
crushing week right he doesn't say that
though he says the Lord is with you
mighty warrior how about that i would
think that god would say what are you
doing down there this is so pathetic
you're trying to fly a kite in the
basement you're trying to Thresh but
instead the angel of the Lord now when
we're talking about the angel of the
Lord here there are different kinds of
angels all right there are some angels
that would appear to people that are
glowing spiritual beings that would
terrify people and they would fall down
but then sometimes God's angels appear
as human figures and people don't even
know they're angels at first that's why
the Bible says that some people have in
showing hospitality entertained angels
without realizing it like Abraham did
like some of us may have done angel
sometimes can be just a guy right there
a person and you don't recognize them so
that's the case here and it's a specific
angel it's the
angel of the Lord who I believe actually
might just be Jesus invading human
history before he was incarnated but
that's that's just me so the angel is
sitting there and looks down at him and
instead of saying what do you think
you're doing down there he says the Lord
is with you mighty warrior how about
that how about that see the angel didn't
see a scared man cowering in a pit the
angel of the Lord saw who this person
was in God's eyes he saw you are a man
of courage you're a man of Valor you are
the real thing now what would your
response be might be excuse me and in
fact that's exactly what Gideon says he
says excuse me sir look at this verse 13
a pardon me my lord or excuse me sir
literally getting reply but if the Lord
is with us what am i doing threshing
wheat in a wine press doesn't exactly
say that he says if the Lord is with us
why has all this happened to us where
are all of God's wonders that our
ancestors told us about when they said
did not the Lord bring us up out of
Egypt but now the Lord has abandoned us
and has given us into the hand of Midian
how about that now you got to keep in
mind the conversation is going on when i
get into the baptist the baptismal here
i'm going to be cut down low i'm going
to be talking to you guys and I'm going
to be like this imagine he's kind of
underground right so he's looking up out
of this pit the Angels sort of sitting
there looking down and he's like if God
is with us then why are we so oppressed
have you ever felt that way you know
someone says you ever come to church and
people say God is with you and you like
I believe that but it's hard for me to
believe that right now you ever felt
like if God is with me then why is my
life such a mess you ever felt that way
that's the way Gideon felt if God is
with me then why are we a
by her enemies why am I trying to fly a
kite in my basement why am I here trying
to Thresh wheat in a wine press and so
he's saying where's god I've heard
stories about God I heard stories about
how God delivered his people from Egypt
he separated the waters and the people
walked through and the awesome God of
the Exodus I heard stories about the God
who appeared a Mount Sinai fire and
thunder and lightning and that's the god
I want to see but right now I don't see
that God anywhere so you always gotta
wonder if Gideon thinks are you mocking
me you making fun of me God is with you
it's like you know it's like it's like
you just strikeout you're playing
baseball you strike out your helmet
comes flying off you stumble back into
the dugout and they say you're the best
God is with you Slugger and you're like
you making fun of me here are you
mocking me God isn't mocking him and by
the way let me just say I don't believe
in false praise right I don't believe
that we need to lie to people and tell
them they're good at something when
they're not necessarily right right we
don't have to do that that's not helpful
my son the other day he was doing some
karate moves in the in the in the living
room and you know he was he was looking
good I was like Noah you know it's not
just cuz I'm your dad you are looking
good that is those are good moves and
he's like you know he's looking good
then you through on his soccer uniform
and we went to his soccer game there's a
different different experience anyone
ever seen peanuts this is this is
terrible someday he's gonna watch this
online and he is gonna let me have it
you know I just roast him every Sunday
but you ever seen peanuts where Lucy is
holding the football for Charlie Brown
and Charlie Brown comes and and and she
pulls it away and he goes flying any
lands on his back that's kind of like my
son playing soccer you know he whiffs
ends up on his back and then Illinois
people don't just leave him there though
a bunch of first and second graders
gather around him and just kick the
fing out of him you know and and then
because they're going for the ball of
course but they can't see their their
six you know they're just kicking
whatever is on the ground at that moment
and then he gets up and he's all you
know dusty and kind of staggers back to
the game it's after the game I'm not
gonna tell him you're the best soccer
player in the world I wouldn't be too
bad you know I say you you really you
ran around out there you you really ran
you you got dirty you you you almost
kicked that ball you connected once I
did you know okay so I'm gonna tell the
truth you know but um praise the Lord
you do what you gotta do right its life
its life you know it's just life is just
a reality the angel of the Lord is
looking at Gideon and says the Lord is
with you mighty warrior and he's like
whatever you are you big what's going on
here you really talking to me now look
at what Gideon now the conversation goes
on it goes to another level okay goes to
another level look at what happens next
it says then the Lord turned to him in
in the original I think it says the Lord
looked at him and said go now about what
I'm visualizing here Gideon is down low
he's in the winepress the angel is
sitting up there the Angels looking like
a guy he still thinks it's just a person
then the angel sort of does this and
sort of looks at him and is staring
right into his eyes and this is the
moment when Gideon gets the first close
look at this man's eyes and I think he
starts realizing maybe this just isn't
some random person look at what he says
the Lord turned two men said go in the
strength you have and save Israel out of
midians hand am I not sending you but I
think at this moment Gideon starts
getting chills and he realizes what if
this isn't just a guy what if this is
something other than a person what if
this is an angel what if this is God
talking to me and so he says go take
what strength you have and just go and
I will help you you will save and save
Israel out of medians hands i'm sending
you now Gideon answers in verse 15 again
excuse me sir or pardon me my lord
Gideon reply but how can I save Israel
my clan is the weakest in Manasseh and I
am the least in my family that sound
familiar just like King Saul how can I
do this and I'm remember he's looking up
at this guy he's down they look at how
can I do this I'm from the smallest clan
in Israel apparently Manasseh was the
smallest and I am the loser of my family
anyone feel like you're from a messed-up
family and you're the loser that in the
name of Jesus we rebuke that title
because some people live with that fence
black sheep I'm the black sheep I'm the
rebel my brothers and sisters they're
good at school me oh well I'm good for
drinking you know or I'm good for
whatever i'm good for fighting or I'm
good for and you walk and you live your
life with this label on your forehead
that says I am the loser in Spanish
there's an interesting saying to be a me
siento me trata como ser o a la
izquierda un cero allies Kiera yeah it's
really hard just to swallow that means
in English they treat me like a zero and
not just any zero but a zero on the left
less than nothing so it's like go to the
zero and go left which you're in the
negative integers that's me you said all
I see are just some people live like
that Gideon felt that way how can I do
this I just can't do it that sense of
inferiority that sense of inadequacy I
just don't know if I can do what I'm
supposed to do I know my weaknesses and
failings now I want to say something and
this is where we're going to go with
this this is different from humility
humility is a good thing humility gives
you confidence inferiority or in
security is based on fear and cripples
us there's a difference between the two
see humility is good in fact anybody
that God will use he will humble you
first he will humble you before use you
pride goes when you know the proverb
pride goeth before a fall God will
humble those who uses he's done it with
all his great servants throughout
history Moses felt like he was going to
be a great leader but he even presumed
he killed an Egyptian to try to deliver
his people and be a great hero he grew
up in Pharaohs household and he had to
flee to the desert and live in the
desert for 40 years before he was humble
enough for God to use him some people
are too proud to be used by God there's
too much of them they've got a they need
some humble pie therapy they need to
touch bottom before God can use them
that ego that pride that self will needs
to be broken the Apostle Paul talked
about the thorn in his flesh you ever
heard of that he talked about how God
gave me great revelations of heaven but
to keep me humble God has given me a
thorn in my flesh to keep me humble
otherwise I would become too proud
anyone here have a thorn in your flesh
no no looking next to you you know any1
have a thorn in your flesh where you
feel that inadequacy no Peter you know
the story of the Apostle Peter when
Jesus said you're all going to going to
abandon me what did Peter say said I'll
never abandon you lord he was he was
cocky he was confident / self-confident
even if everyone else denies you I never
will and Jesus looked at min said Peter
before the Sun sets tonight you will
deny three times that you even knew me
he says no even if I have to die with
you see Peter needed some good failure
before he could be a great leader he
needed to be broken needed to be humble
I will guarantee anybody you know who
really
has power in the things of God who's
really used by God has been humbled by
God in some way you might not see what
they've gone through or what they're
going through but there's something that
God is using to Humble them or to break
them or to keep them humble because God
uses broken vessels I've heard of it
this way Jacob you heard the story of
Jacob in the Old Testament was a very
self-confident man who was very
deceptive he would do all kinds of he
was kind of tricky right there came a
moment when his tricks and problems
caught up with him and the angel of the
Lord I wonder if it was the same one
appeared to Jacob and they wrestled all
night you ever heard that story of Jacob
wrestling with an angel all night you
see for many of us when God calls us he
needs to wrestle with us cuz we are too
strong in ourselves and wrestling all
night and at the end of the night Jacob
wouldn't let go and he says I won't let
you go unless you bless me and the angel
said you have struggled with God and men
and Neville and have overcome so he
changed his name from Jacob to Israel
which means the one who struggles with
God but then God or the angel hit his
hip so that he was limping and the Bible
says as the Sun was rising that Jacob
was walking along with a limp and he
walked the rest of his life with a limp
for God to use us in some way we have to
walk with a limp we have to be broken we
have to be humbled but that is different
from being insecure you see insecurity
or fearfulness can lead us in some
terrible directions insecurities can
kill you it can kill you fear and
insecurity can turn you into a monster
it really can it is not humility
humility is good
it's based on fear of God in security is
based on fear of people fear of failure
fear of what if fear can be our greatest
enemy now I want to go back to Saul and
think about his life a little bit Saul
okay so are you with me I'm talking
about a lot of different stories right
so we're talking mainly about two kings
or king and a leader Saul and Gideon
both started their life insecure and
fearful but their lives ended in
radically different ways so Gideon went
on to be a great leader for God Saul
went on to be one of the worst tyrants
ever recorded in the Bible because he
didn't know how to handle his fears and
his insecurities if you wonder about the
dangers of fear and insecurity just ask
yourself have you ever had a boss or a
supervisor who is insecure now have you
ever had someone in authority over you
who is insecure and because of their own
insecurities they will cut off your head
if they need to to protect themselves
you ever done insecure people in
authority can be very dangerous that's
what happened with King Saul what
happened with him is he allowed his
fearfulness and insecurities to motivate
him to take things into his own hands
rather than to relax and trust God
there's an interesting story a little
later after Saul became king so you're
still with me I'm telling a lot of
stories today you with me Saul was
called to go to war and to do a great
battle and the prophet Samuel said
you've gotta wait for me until I come
and do the sacrifice so King Saul is
waiting and waiting and Saul doesn't
show up and he's waiting waiting waiting
people his men are starting to desert
and the enemy is right there and so in
his fear he said bring me the sacrifice
and he offered the sacrifice to God as
if offered the sacrifice would be a good
luck charm
rather than obeying God's instructions
Samuel comes and says because you have
disobeyed God God has rejected you as
king you see Saul in his fear and
anxiety he took things into his own
hands rather than taking a deep breath
and doing things God's Way have you ever
found in your own life that when we act
out of fear and worry and we act quickly
and we rush we make mistakes sometimes
we need to take a break take a deep
breath slow down and say what does God
want me to do I'm not going to act out
of my fears but I'm going to act out of
faith now things got worse for Saul
because later God called him to do
another battle and it's kind of a
confusing story that will study some day
but God called him to to fully destroy a
city that was a evil city that God was
using Israel as a instrument of judgment
against them and saw rather than
destroying everything he took some of
the best cattle and sheep and he took
them to an altar at the worship center
of Israel to do an offering a public
sacrifice for God on the way he stopped
just long enough to build a monument for
himself to build a monument in his own
honor and then he's going to do this
great sacrifice look at the great
victory I have achieved Samuel comes
along and said didn't God tell you to
destroy everything and sounds like yeah
I did I did then he says what is this
bleeding of sheep in my ears then what
is this lowing of cows oh well those are
for the sacrifice and Samuel site says
obedience is better than sacrifice what
do you think God is like a magic charm
that somehow you if you offer a
sacrifice it covers over all your
disobedience you see Saul viewed God as
a good luck charm that he could use
instead of Saul letting God be God and
make him great he tried to be great
himself and use god as a good luck charm
in the
process there are some people who use
church that way I was really like that
before i became a christian i used to
say rosaries every night right and i'm
not trying to criticize any religious
background going to it but I would do it
as a good luck charm especially if I had
a baseball game the next day and I
really wanted to win okay I'll say a
whole rosary it's not weird there's a
weird 14 year old and that says but i
was using religion as good luck right
Saul was like that and he was letting
his own insecurities motivate him to
seek to validate himself in
inappropriate ways build a monument in
his own honor try to make himself great
in the wrong way and then when David
came along and started having success in
battle King Saul became profoundly
envious and jealous of him because he
felt insecure no I got to keep him down
because here I've got to be the king and
out of his own insecurities he would be
competitive and political against David
and even tried to kill him sometimes
David would be playing the harp in an
evil spirit of jealousy would come upon
soul and he'd throw his spirit to the
wall and try to pin David to the wall
remember how we talked about a couple
weeks people with anger issues probably
shouldn't own a spear right because you
never know what you'll deal with it will
saul was like that so in his insecurity
he felt the need to keep other people
down he felt the need to be competitive
and be envious his life ends in a
terrible way he becomes an abuser and a
tyrant in Israel and a profoundly
dangerous person I believe many of the
dictators in countries that oppress
others are people who are very insecure
themselves or their group and they need
to bolster themselves by putting others
down thinking Saul did that now here's
where I'm going with this our
insecurities can be our fatal flaw if
we're not careful it can lead us
to be envious of others to be jealous to
be competitive it can lead us to try to
bolster ourselves in ways that are
inappropriate it can lead us to fight I
think a lot of the violence that happens
on the street as a result of insecurity
and sensitivity why did he look at me
that way why did he say that gotta fight
insecure now thank God there is another
path we can take Gideon instead of
building a monument to himself now I
want to go back to Gideon you know what
he did after this encounter with the
angel Gideon built an altar for God to
worship God and I want to challenge you
today instead of building a monument to
yourself to try to prove yourself focus
on building an altar so that you worship
God because Gideon realized I don't have
to be great if I worship a great God if
I'm insecure and fearful that's okay the
weaker the better the Apostle Paul said
I delight in my weaknesses because when
I am weak then I am strong i boast about
my weaknesses so that the power of
Christ can be manifest in me if you feel
weak if you feel inadequate then that is
a good thing because that means God can
be great and powerful in you you don't
have to be great you don't have to prove
yourself you don't have to fight because
you have a big scary God who is fighting
for you amen that is the key to
overcoming this weakness and this
fearfulness and this in security of
knowing i am not going to make myself
anything i am going to touch base with
god and let him be powerful through me
i'll let him be great through me you
know it's kind of weird the answer to
fear this is going to be very strange is
fear okay the answer to fear is fear
Gideon when he realized that the man he
was talking to was
angel of God he brought a sacrifice that
he put it he bought some food put it on
a rock it was consumed by fire and then
the guy disappeared and Gideon said I've
been talking to the angel of the Lord
face to face I'm gonna die and God said
don't worry you're not going to die you
see he realized this was God and he was
afraid that is a good fear it's better
to be afraid of God than of anything
else because when we fear God we fear a
God who is great and who is awesome and
who is thankfully on our side it's weird
jesus said do not be afraid of people
who can kill your body I'll tell you who
you should fear fear the one who can
throw body and soul into hell it's not
weird but if I'm afraid of God because
God is so awesome he's so big but I know
that that God is on my side he's behind
me then I don't have to be afraid of
anything else because you just gonna
have to deal with my my big brother
who's behind me here defending me that's
what King David said he said you come at
me with your spear and your armor
Goliath I come at you in the name of the
Lord Almighty whom you have defied this
day so I don't have to be afraid because
my god is a scary God and he's fighting
for me now i'm gonna i'm going to
dismiss our baptism people it's time for
you to go downstairs you just have to
catch this online because please I
getting to the happy part please I do
watch it online okay baptism people can
go downstairs Gideon learned that the
answer to his insecurities was to see
how big and awesome God was now I want
to look again at judges six judges
chapter six he built the altar and when
he built that altar and worshipped God
and he had an encounter with God he
named the altar something that I want to
focus on he named the altar jehova
sholom it says in at the end of judges
verse 6
or in judges 6 verse verse 23 the Lord
says peace you are not going to die and
Gideon build the altar and he named the
altar the Lord is peace when we know
that our God is awesome and that he is
with us then we can have peace because
it's not about me anymore it's about him
jehova sholom jehova sholom i invite you
when you feel like you are out of your
league when you feel like you just can't
do it to know that god will go with you
in whatever he's calling you to do and
he is an awesome scary God and there is
nothing that can come against you that
is scarier than him there is nothing
that you can challenge that is bigger
than him and so you go at it with a
confidence and a strength that is
courageous and is awesome now what I
have often found in my own life is that
sometimes God calls me to do the things
that I am most afraid of and you might
have that in your own life God may call
you to do things that you would least
expect you have to do things you think
you can't do and God will specifically
pick those things and put you in those
situations so that you learn that he is
bigger than your problems he's bigger
than your fears and that's what he did
with Gideon I want you to look with me a
judge's 634 and we're going to begin to
wrap it up with this although I need to
give them some time to change into their
robes down there Gideon 6 verse 34
Gideon said to God oh wait a minute oh
I'm in the wrong place sorry
734 no that's the wrong place to see
sorry well I'm just going to tell the
story then because I can't find it i
think i need new glasses here but Gideon
was called to go into battle after he
had this encounter with God right God
said the enemy's Midian and the
Amalekites came against Israel and God
said now is the time now is the time for
you to go into battle and the Bible says
that the Holy Spirit came upon Gideon
but he uses very interesting language
for it the type of anointing the word
that's used for it is it the Holy Spirit
clothed himself with Gideon the Holy
Spirit became Gideon almost kind of
clothed himself with Gideon and then
Gideon blew the trumpet and went into
battle and here's how I read that God
wants to do things on earth but he
chooses to clothe himself with people to
do it have you ever heard the phrase the
we are God's hands and his feet we are
God's mouth God looks for people that he
can work through and you become his
hands you become his feet now God could
just do it he could send an angel right
but for some reason he chooses to use
people to do great things in this world
he chooses to clothe himself with people
and that's what the spirit did with
Gideon he clothed himself with Gideon
it's night the the the the opposing army
covers the the hills like dick so many
camels it's just an amazing throng and
he's got 300 biggest losers with him and
he's got to attack the next day now God
knows that sometimes we're afraid
sometimes we don't know if we can do
what we're called to do so God says if
you're afraid in the middle of the night
I want you to take a walk Gideon go down
among the men and just wander around and
you're going to overhear some
thing that's going to encourage your
heart you ever seen there's a movie
about Henry the fifth a Shakespearean
play where where the king is wandering
among his men hidden that's what Gideon
was doing he just sort of wandered down
and he overheard a couple guys talking
and this guy's saying you're not going
to believe a dream I just had I dreamt
that a big enormous loaf of barley bread
roll down the hill and rolled into the
enemy camp and knocked over the enemy
tent and the ten fell down the guy says
it's got to be Gideon winning a great
victory what's up with a dream about
bread knocking over tents right but it
was all Gideon needed then he knew God
is speaking to me God is encouraging me
to go through with it see greatness and
obeying God isn't about being great it's
about being faithful it's about going
where you're supposed to go and doing
what you're supposed to do and if we put
ourselves at the right place obeying God
even though I feel like I can't do it
God promises I will meet you there my
power will be waiting for you right
there and I will channel through you and
great things will happen sort of like a
lightning rod no lightning is going to
strike the earth it doesn't just strike
the earth it looks for a conductor well
god is looking for conductors for people
who will be faithful where you will just
go where you're supposed to go do what
you're supposed to do and watch God move
through you so Gideon took his 300 men
and does anyone know the story did he
give them swords to fight with no no
he's okay guys here's what we going to
do for the battle you're going to take a
torch and they somehow had glass covers
for the torches made it kind of like a
lamp all right you can hold that in one
hand and in the other hand you're going
to hold a little shofar trumpet we got
300 of them here throw with your little
shofar and when I say a sword for the
Gideon for
for the Lord I don't want you to grab a
sword I want you to blow your your
trumpet so so so we've only got three
hundred guys unarmed guys and we're
gonna blow our little trumpets and we're
gonna win a battle you know Gideon had
asked a question at the beginning of all
this he said where is the god of the
exodus the God who delivered us from
Egypt the god who appeared on Mount
Sinai on Mount Sinai there was the sound
of trumpets blowing there was the sound
of thunder there was light flashing so
when he had these men break those
bottles and blow those trumpets he was
acting out the exodus he was saying the
presence of God is here the god of the
exodus where is he he's right here he's
the same God the same God that delivered
us from Egypt will give us the victory
in this battle it's not about me it's
about God and they did it and we know
the story all the enemy turned on each
other right there were two nations the
Amalekites the Midianites they turned on
each other they started fighting they
started killing each other and getting
with his 300 little guys that's when
they did pick up their swords and they
followed after the enemy it is
considered next to the exodus the
greatest military supernatural victory
in the history of Israel and in the book
it's talked about for the rest of the
Bible and here's where i'm going with
all of this God calls us to be like
Gideon and please not to be like Saul
when you feel like you can't do it when
you feel like there's all kinds of
reasons why you can't serve God the way
he's called you to do remember that God
calls you to just go and then he will
work through you to do great things so
instead of building a monument to prove
that I'm who I think I should be I can
build an altar and worship God and say
God it's not about my strength it's
about my weakness so that the power of
God can be manifest in me now we are
about to do a baptism here and in this
moment of baptism people are being
faithful to God
some people approached me and said I'm
not sure I'm good enough to get baptized
yet I'm not sure I'm good enough yet and
I tell you well do you believe in Jesus
as your Lord and Savior I mean if you
really given your heart to him you're
born again you believe in Jesus yes he's
forgiven your sins yes then you are
ready to get baptized
