[0:00] All right, take your Bible if you would and open with me to 1 Samuel chapter 6 and verse 6. I'm excited to be in the house of God with you and excited to hear about all the problems of our missionaries and finding money in their pockets.
[0:12] It's got to be a very unusual night seeing who could top who with the weirdest story tonight. Amen? I think you did win, Ed. I think you won. We'll have a discussion about that later about having a little money on us. Amen.
[0:25] My wife said to tell you thank you for praying for her mother. She's in the hospital but is doing very well and thank you very much for praying for her. Take your Bibles if you would with me to 1 Samuel chapter 6 and verse 6.
[0:36] You remember they took the ark and the glory is departed and now the Philistines have the ark. And the question tonight is what are we going to do with the ark? What are we going to do with the ark? Because God has power.
[0:50] And the Philistines may think that they have a God named Dagon and that the God Dagon has power. And so the Israelites have their God and he's in that ark and they have power.
[1:02] But they don't realize that the God of the Bible is not the God of the ark. The ark is the ark of God but it doesn't go the other way around. Amen? And so if you would take your Bibles and go into 1 Samuel chapter 6 and verse 6.
[1:14] And we'll work our way through chapters 5 and 6. Verse 6 says, Wherefore then do you harden your hearts as the Egyptians and Pharaoh hardened their hearts? When he had wrought wonderfully among them, did they not let the people go and they departed?
[1:30] That's a fantastic verse and I think you need to learn this. You know if somebody doesn't get saved, they make a choice. Anybody can be saved. All can choose to be saved.
[1:41] God in his sovereignty has allowed every man the opportunity to believe or not to believe. Even if you choose to reject and the story they're going to reject. And here you've got a story in your Bible about the false priest talking to their people and saying, We got this ark over here and it's messing our families up.
[2:01] It's messing our country up. And you all know the story of what this same God did back in Egypt. It's been hundreds of years. They still remember the story. So what are we going to do with the ark?
[2:12] That's what the lost people are saying. Father, I pray you would challenge us with this. That we are responsible to accept you as our Savior. That we are responsible to believe in you. And that we can make that choice and we make that decision.
[2:25] You have given us our free will. And I pray, dear God, that tonight you would help us to honor you and glorify you. I pray you'd help us to learn how to treat your things with reverence and respect and honor.
[2:35] And I'll give you praise and honor for all you do in Jesus' name. Amen. Go with me to 1 Samuel chapter 5 if you would and verse 1. Now, Dagon is the father of Baal. He's the God that's going to be mentioned in this story.
[2:47] And we've even got lost people in our story tonight preaching about our God. Lost people are going to say y'all should believe them. But the first thing I want you to write down beside verse 1 if you like is God is glorified over false gods.
[3:01] There's only one God. You need to understand that. Every time you write the word God, you write that with a capital G. Every time you write the other words gods or God, you write that with a little g. Because there's only one God, and that's the God of heaven.
[3:13] Idols aren't gods, and Buddha's not a god. They're gods, but they're not God. There's a major difference. And the Philistines think that their God has conquered the God of Israel.
[3:24] But in 1 Samuel chapter 5, verses 1, down through, well, several verses here, there's a story. I just want to tell you the story because there's a lot of verses, and you can go read them later. So the Philistines, they took him to Ashdod.
[3:36] They took the ark to Ashdod, and they put it in the temple of their god, Dagon. And when they got the temple, they got it in the temple of Dagon. They woke up the next morning and went into their temple, and there Dagon was.
[3:47] He'd fallen off his perch, and he was laying on his face. Well, you can imagine. Now, their God is a God you have to carry around. I mean, you have to pick him up and move him. He can't think. He can't hear.
[3:57] He can't see. He can't taste. He's something made with men's hands. And he falls down. So they go in, and they pick him up. And the next day, when they go in, he's fallen down again. And this time, he's in really bad shape.
[4:08] And look, if you would, in chapter 5 and verse 3, when they arose, that when they of Ashdod arose early on the morrow, behold, Dagon was on his face. They put him in his place again in verse 3.
[4:19] And the next day, he had fallen upon his face, and the head and the palms of his hands were cut off upon the threshold. Only the stump was left. That had to be the most shocking thing.
[4:30] You know, you got your God in there, and you just put this box in there, just a big box. And you put it in there, and this false God has fallen down. You go in, and you help your God out. I'm glad my God helps me out, and I don't have to help him out.
[4:42] But they go in, and they pick up their God, dust him off. They say, sorry, little boy, you fell down, but you'll be all right. It'll be okay. The next day, they come in, he's fallen down again. He's all busted to pieces. And this is the same Dagon that was mentioned in Judges chapter 16 and verse 23.
[4:56] And that's when they captured Samson. When they captured Samson, they took Samson, and they went to praise Dagon. The Bible says in Judges chapter 16 and verse 23, the lords of the Philistines gathered them together for to offer a great sacrifice unto Dagon their God, and to rejoice, for they said, our God, little G in the Bible, hath delivered Samson, our enemy, into our hands.
[5:19] They had to think their Dagon was somebody big. Samson fell. They had to think their Dagon was somebody big. They got their ark. They defeated the nation of Israel. They're probably thinking they're in pretty good shape. But look, if you would, at chapter 5 and verse 6.
[5:32] The hand of the Lord was heavy on them of Ashdod. And it destroyed them. And it smote them. And it gave them emrods.
[5:43] Emrods, however you say that word. Hemroids or tumors on these guys. They got tumors in their private parts. I mean, they're suffering. And in verse 7, the Bible says that when the men of Ashdod saw that it was so, they said, the ark of God of Israel shall not abide with us.
[6:00] For his hand is sore upon us and upon Dagon our God. We got to get this ark out of here. This is not good. I'm not feeling too good. They had five. There's five kings of the Philistines, five lords of the Philistines, five areas.
[6:15] They got the ark in its place. Their God is falling down. They're getting hemorrhoids and they got mice or rats in their place. And disease is rampant. And they say, we have got to get him out of Ashdod.
[6:28] So they had to be thinking in their mind just a second. Well, maybe this is coincidence. Maybe we were already going to get sick. Maybe something else caused Dagon to fall. Maybe it's not really their God.
[6:38] Let's send the ark down to Gath. Look, if you would, at chapter 5 and verse 8. They said, we'll see what happens in Gath. Let's move it and see if this is coincidence that this happens to be happening.
[6:48] In verse 8, the Bible said, they sent there for it and gathered all the lords of the Philistines under them and said, what shall we do with the ark of the God of Israel? What are we going to do with this ark? And so they sent him in verse 8 to Gath.
[7:00] In verse 9, there was against the city great destruction. And he smote the men of the city, both small and great. They had emirads in their secret parts.
[7:11] Things aren't going good. And so they said, we've got to get rid of this ark. The ark was over in Ashdod. Now it's been in Gath. Let's send the thing over to Ekron. As soon as the boys in Ekron hear it's coming, they're like, oh, no.
[7:24] You are not bringing that thing to our place. On Twitter, we've seen what kind of pictures you're putting out. We've heard about the mice. We've heard about the rats. And we've heard about the disease. So chapter 5 and verse 10, they brought about the ark of the God of Israel to us to slay us and to kill our people.
[7:42] And then they said, we've got to get rid of this thing. Let's send it home in verse 11. So let it go again to its own place because there's deadly destruction. And the hand of God is very heavy.
[7:55] And these men that died were smitten with those emirads again. Seven months. The ark is in Philistia with the Philistines.
[8:06] In chapter 6 and verse 1, the Bible said, the ark of the Lord was in the country of the Philistines seven months. First thing I want you to get, there's only one God. And he proves he's truly God.
[8:20] You've got to understand, these are like tribal deities. You know, every little group's got their little God. So you've got the Muslims with their God. You've got the Hindus. These are big tribes. Nowadays, but that's what's going on. You've got all these gods and everybody's like, well, they're kind of like equal.
[8:33] Let me explain to you what this story tells us. They ain't equal. There's one and the rest of them ain't. That's good English. Amen. There's one that is and the rest of them aren't. He proves it over their God.
[8:45] I mean, do you understand what happened? Ashdod, Gath, Ekron, everywhere the ark goes. Seven months, everywhere the ark goes, they're suffering. He proves in three of their five main cities. He proves it until they won't know more of him.
[8:57] You never need to feel like you need to defend God. He's big enough to take care of himself. He has been defending himself and he can. Israel wasn't God's power.
[9:08] God was Israel's power. It's a big difference there. You understand it? They might have thought, well, we whipped them. And since we whipped them, their little God must not be much. And so Israel lost and the ark is in the hands of the Philistines.
[9:20] But believe me, the Philistines have figured out something. We might have whipped their men, but we can't handle their God. Our God defeated the false gods. That's the first thing I wish you'd notice if you would. Look, if you would, to the second thing.
[9:32] God proves that he's winning over the Philistines. This will be chapter six in verse two. God proves he's winning. You see, they know they must get the ark out of their country to keep their people from suffering, being sick and dying.
[9:44] God's had plagues sent on them. They got rats and vermin that have multiplied. They got large tumors, possibly hemorrhoids. They've seen everything. Could be like the bubonic plague. So they get their religious leaders together.
[9:55] They call all their religious leaders of their false god. They get them together to see what do we got to do to get this to stop. We need to get this ark out of here. And we need to somehow get all this to stop.
[10:06] So look at chapter six in verse two. And the Philistines call for the priests and the diviners saying, what shall we do to the ark of the Lord? Tell us wherewith we shall send it to its place.
[10:18] Help us to figure out how to get rid of this thing. Help us to get it out of our country and get all this stuff to stop. We got to figure out what to do. So they decided that they would send it back with five golden tumors.
[10:28] They took a picture of their tumors. And they made gold nuggets like their tumors. That's weird.
[10:39] Amen. But they're like, hey, we're going to recognize that that's what happened. Then they made five golden mice. So you got five golden mice and five golden tumors. Chapter six in verse three.
[10:50] So don't send that ark away empty. Return him with a trespass offering. That way you'll get healed and you'll figure out when all this stops happening. And you guys will know what's going on. So in chapter six in verse five, they made images of their tumors, emeralds, and images of the mice.
[11:05] And I wish you'd underline this in your Bible. False priest, demon worshippers said, and give glory to the God of Israel.
[11:16] Would you underline that in verse five? And wherefore you shall make images of their emeralds and images of your mice that mar the land. And you shall give glory unto the God of Israel.
[11:28] False people. That's just like saying that the Buddhists got together and said, we're going to send a note back. We're going to send the ark back. We're going to send the things of God back. We're going to send an offering with the ark. And we're going to say, give glory to the God of Israel.
[11:43] So they decided to run a little test. You know, they're real smart. First off, they made these gold nuggets. There's five of them. I don't know what size they are. I don't know what size their tumors were. But they got five tumors.
[11:54] And I doubt they're raisin size. Amen. And they got five tumors. And they got a gold. And then they got five rats that are made out of gold. And they put them in the ark. And so they decided to take some milk cows and lock their calves up and put the cart behind the cows and put the ark on the cows.
[12:09] These cows aren't used to pulling carts. And they put the ark on there. And they say, look, we'll just let the cows go while we keep their calves here. And their calves will be crying for their mama. And their mama's natural nature is to go back to their calf.
[12:21] And so if their god is so big, let him make their cows take the ark straight to their country. These cows ain't never been to their country. These cows ain't never pulled an ark. These cows got their calves locked up.
[12:33] They put the ark on there. Turn the cows loose and straight. Didn't turn right. Didn't turn left. And the five lords of the Philistines, can you imagine the five kings? You got Obama, Reagan, Bush, and Clinton.
[12:44] You got all of them. And they're all riding along just watching. Check it out. They're back there in the back comment. Look at them. They're going straight. They watched the thing all the way until it arrived in their place.
[12:56] Chapter 6, verse 6. You know, they've locked up the calves and let the cows loose and see if they take the ark to the right place. They want to know if God's doing a work. The cows go straight.
[13:06] Chapter 6, verse 6. Wherefore then do you harden your hearts as the Egyptians and Pharaohs hardened their hearts? Guys, we best learn a lesson here. We best learn a lesson here.
[13:18] We don't want to mess up. We've seen what their God does. We knew it before he started working on us. And now he's been doing it for seven months. Let's get him out of here. I love that.
[13:30] I just love that. They knew who God was and they knew what God had done and they wanted to get rid of him. God tells a story to show you that he is all powerful. He can win over false gods.
[13:42] He can win over his own enemies and he doesn't need the nation of Israel to do it. It wasn't like God said, well, Israel lost. I don't know how I'm getting my ark back. God's like, I'll make them want to give the ark back.
[13:53] Amen. Let the ark go. He even has his enemies. He has his own enemies preaching and telling people to glorify his name. He has false priests of a false god saying, hey, guys, you better listen up to the nation, to the God of Israel.
[14:10] Now go with me to chapter 6 and verse 20. That's the first two things. God got glory over them and he proved it. They figured it out. But they still wanted one more test. And God more than passed the test.
[14:22] In chapter 6 and verse 20, God requires respect and honor even from his own people. Look at what it says in chapter 6 and verse 20. And the men of Beth Shemesh said, who's able to stand before this holy Lord God and to whom shall he go up from us?
[14:38] So here's what happened. The cows just took off walking. And they're coming up through Mexico trying to get to Laredo, Texas. And when they got across the border, the lords of the Philistines are riding along behind watching to see where it's going to get.
[14:51] It crossed the border. And they're like, wow, went straight to a town where the Levites are. The Levites are where the people of God are. And he goes in there. And they've got the offering in there. And when they got there, they took it.
[15:03] Chapter 6 and verse 15. The Levites handled the ark first. And the offering, look at it. And the Levites, verse 15, took down the ark of the Lord. And the coffer that was with it, wherein the jewels of gold were.
[15:14] They put them on a great stone. And the bit of Beth Shemesh offered burnt offerings and sacrificed sacrifices the same day unto the Lord. It's been gold seven months. Crosses the border.
[15:26] Levites know what to do. Get the ark off the cart. Set the ark down. They handle the ark with respect and honor. And they make an offering. And God accepts it. Chapter 6, verse 16.
[15:37] Look at it. And when the five lords of the Philistines had seen it, they returned. Tehran the same day. I know what you were thinking. I don't know where the five lords went along. They went right there in chapter 6 and verse 16.
[15:47] They're going along to see what happens. But then, the people of Beth, how do you say that? Beth Shemesh, decide to not show the respect to the ark.
[16:03] You've got to remember the ark. Y'all remember the ark. It's in the Holy of Holies. Remember the ark. Even when they travel, they cover it up. You don't, not just anybody touches the ark.
[16:14] Because it's the symbol of the power of God. It's the special furniture that God said, I will speak to you from the mercy seat over that ark.
[16:27] But they decided to treat it like a piece of furniture. They're kind of like, well, the Philistines figured out it wasn't theirs. Now it's back. Let's look in that thing. We never got to see that. It's always been in the Holy of Holies.
[16:37] Here it is outside where everybody can touch it. Chapter 6 and verse 19. And he smote the men of Beth Shemesh because they looked into the ark. And 50,070 guys were dead.
[16:50] They should have shown reference for the ark and covered it. They shouldn't have looked inside. I guess they wanted to see what the gifts were. Whatever.
[17:02] God was angry. And thousands died. That's a pretty horrible story. God is to be respected.
[17:14] Somewhere along the way, because we serve him by grace, we get into this put your hand in the hand of the man from Galilee attitude. Jesus kicked me through the goalposts of life for your glory.
[17:27] God is just a regular, everyday, one of us kind of guy. We're just buddies walking along in the life together. And God didn't like it. He said, those Philistines, they didn't know what to do with my ark.
[17:41] They're ignorant. And look what I did to them. Even more ought to do to you. That's why we do church the way we do it. That's why our church is about teaching and preaching the Bible his way.
[17:52] That's why we always want to remember that he's God in heaven. And we're on earth. That's why he taught his disciples to pray, Our Father which art in heaven, hallowed be thy name.
[18:04] Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done. You are mighty, almighty, powerful, omnipresent, omniscient. I'm omnipotent God. You're everything. And I am just a man.
[18:16] Somehow those guys forgot that that day. We're to seek his will to be done here on earth as much as it is in heaven. And somehow they forgot that. They took a flippant attitude.
[18:27] I think people do that about the Bible. I think people, we do that about prayer. We do that about God in so many ways. And this story, God said, let's not go put up with it. And they died.
[18:38] They didn't show respect. Now go with me, if you would, to chapter 7, verse 1. God blesses obedience. The Bible said, And the men of Kirjath-Jerom, or whatever, came and fetched up the ark of the Lord and brought it to the house of Abinadab in the hill.
[18:57] And they sanctified, set apart Eliezer, his son, to keep the ark of the Lord. These people decided to do it God's way. You know, you're going to hear the story later on about how they're going to carry the ark like the Philistines did and how somebody's going to die for touching it when it's about to fall.
[19:16] Our God all through the Bible is like, I'm God. Do not play like I'm one of you. I am to be worshipped. I am to be honored. I am to be glorified.
[19:28] They had a man who they set apart to take out of the ark, obviously a Levite. And God blessed these people. They obeyed him. They showed honor and respect.
[19:39] And the ark stayed with them for 20 years, chapter 7 and verse 2. What we've seen, God wins over the false gods. He proves that he's won over the false gods.
[19:52] And he requires respect and honor from his own people, and he blesses obedience. Now go with me to chapter 5 and verse 7 if you would. I want you to remember this. We're a missionary church, and maybe you should know this.
[20:05] People go to hell because they reject God. Now listen to this. God didn't make anybody and plan for them to go to hell. He loves everybody, and he wants everybody to be saved.
[20:17] And all you've got to do is read the Bible, you figure that out. All you've got to do is read the Bible, you figure that out. It wasn't some predestined plan where some are going. I just made two babies, and I hated one, and I hate all the little babies like Oesah, and I love little babies like Jacob.
[20:32] That's not what's going on here at all. So in this story, they knew that the God of heaven was stronger than their God. Look, if you would, at 5-7.
[20:43] And when the men of Ashdod saw that it was so, they said, The ark of the God of Israel shall not abide with us. His hand is sore upon us and upon our God.
[20:53] All they wanted to do was get rid of the ark out of their country. They knew about the God of the ark, and they rejected him. In the story, there's so much wild stuff going on. Do you have any idea?
[21:05] Can you think with me just a second? The ark gets to Ashdod, and all that stuff starts happening. Why didn't somebody just wake up and say, He's really God? We can see His power.
[21:15] We know He's real. We know He's powerful. We should repent. They did that in Nineveh. In Nineveh, the message they heard was, 40 days, you guys are all dead. And even the king and everybody began to say, no, no, no, no, no, no.
[21:28] Let's repent and see what He'll do. And God forgave them. In this story, they know that the ark of the God of Israel shall not abide, for His hand is sore upon us and upon our God. Look at chapter 5 and verse 10.
[21:40] They knew that God was much more powerful than their God. Therefore, they sent the ark of God to Ekron, and it came to pass that the ark of God came to Ekron, that the Ekronites cried out, saying, They have brought about the ark of the God of Israel to slay us.
[21:56] What is a little piece of furniture going to do to you? What's going to happen here? Why do you believe? They knew. They knew. They knew. They knew.
[22:07] This is not a normal God. This ain't like Dagon. This isn't like the gods of the Egyptians. This is the God of Israel. They knew. Chapter 6 and verse 5, the spiritual leaders of the Dagon Baptist Church, or I guess the Philistine Dagon Church, whatever you want to call it, they said, Give God glory.
[22:30] Look at chapter 6 and verse 5. Wherefore, you shall make images of your emirads, and images of your maus that mar the land, and give glory. Give glory. Honor.
[22:40] Glory. Unto the God of Israel. And maybe he'll quit hurting us so much. They'd known about the God of Israel for a long time. Chapter 6 and verse 6 says, Wherefore then do ye harden your hearts, as the Egyptians and Pharaoh hardened their hearts.
[23:00] Can you understand it? It had to be embarrassing. They just beat up the Israelites and took their ark. They're walking around going, We are the man. We have done it.
[23:10] We have whipped the Israelites. We got their little piece of furniture. And their own priest come out and said, Guys, listen to me. Don't be so braggadocious. Don't be so proud. Don't be rejected of their gods.
[23:21] You need to not get hard on this. If you get hard, you remember what he did to Egypt, don't you? Before it was over, 10 plagues. Before it was over, all the firstborn kids are dead. Before it's over, they went chasing through the Red Sea, and they were all drowned.
[23:34] You remember what happened in the Red Sea? The wheels came off their chariots. That was not possible. This is the greatest army in the world. And the greatest army in the world goes driving through the Red Sea, and their wheels start coming off their chariots.
[23:46] They knew it was God. And so these Philistines are like, Man, be careful, guys. Be careful. Be careful, guys. We know the stories. We know the stories. We know the stories. They knew before this encounter, all the way back to Egypt, they wanted to think their God was as good as the only true God.
[24:03] But they could tell the story of God's power. Can you imagine that? Hey, I know the story of the God of Israel. I know all about it. We've been hearing that story for 500 years.
[24:14] We know about what God did in Egypt. And now his ark's come here. We gotta get rid of that thing. But let's don't trust. Let's don't believe. Let's don't go ask for help. You say, well, I don't see how they could have.
[24:25] The message wasn't that clear. How about this message? Yet 40 days and you shall perish. There was not one good word in that. But the king of Nineveh and all his people said, Oh, brother, sackcloth and ashes and repent.
[24:38] Let's just see what God will do. And God forgave. They knew about God. They knew his story. They knew his power. They simply refused to believe in him.
[24:49] They chose their own God to their destruction. They were so close, yet they refused. I'd just like to remind you before we go on, That old Ruth was a Moabitess.
[25:00] We just finished her story, remember? She was one of those false God worshipers. But you know what she did? She believed and she got a chance. You ever heard of a girl named Rahab? She's living in the city that's about to be destroyed.
[25:13] And when the people of God are coming, She said, we all know about your God. Please, when you destroy our city, could you save me? They said, sure. Just get everybody you know. In fact, just go all around town.
[25:24] Do a little soul with it. Get them all together in your house and we'll save all of them. And they can all be saved and come with us. Rahab didn't just come. She got in the lineage of the Lord Jesus. Two more things real quickly.
[25:36] What are some lessons of the ark? If lost people would be mistreated for disrespecting the ark, what do you think God's people living in a Levitical city should think? This is the age of the millennial.
[25:50] This is the age of the cool young person. It's been going on all of my life, too. My generation was disrespectful. We had a rock song and concert called Jesus Christ Superstar.
[26:00] And we, the guys who made that thing, put him as possibly being in fornication with Mary Magdalene. And people have always taken the things of God and made jokes about it and acted like God's not real and Jesus isn't real.
[26:15] And if there's anything I could learn reading this story, it is the Philistines might treat my stuff that way. You guys better not. You're mine. You ought to hold your Bible with reverence.
[26:26] You ought to hold the fact that you get to worship with reverence. You ought to take the Lord's Supper and not say, well, this little piece of bread don't matter. This little cup doesn't matter. None of this stuff matters. I think maybe in my generation it was over the top.
[26:38] You know, you couldn't eat in a sanctuary. That's what we called it, the sanctuary. You couldn't eat in there. You couldn't drink in there. You couldn't do anything in there. I wonder now if it wasn't because they didn't want the carpet messed up. But anyway, whatever it was, whatever it was, whatever it was, at least there was some reverence.
[26:55] Today there's almost no reverence. No reverence for the things of God. No reverence for the church of God. No reverence for the things of God. Let's remember that God is high and lifted up and worthy of respect and worship.
[27:08] Let's don't ever treat him like some puny Dagon. See how merciful God is, even when they didn't do everything right. You know, they offered that offering in the wrong place, and they were never supposed to offer cows, but they did.
[27:24] And God still let them do it. God's like, eh, you're trying. You bunch of dingies, you're trying, and I'm going to accept it. I mean, if I'd have been God, I'd have said, what? Cows?
[27:34] I don't accept cows. Told you what I accept, but he did. What a merciful, graceful God we serve. You might make mistakes, but he'll love you and keep working in your life.
[27:45] Never should we get our eyes on a thing instead of on God himself. I don't know what they thought in Beth Shemesh. I don't know what they thought. They didn't have any right to treat that ark like it was nothing.
[27:59] But we ought never make idols out of even things like the ark. Never think of God in his worship as one of many, but as the only one. I'm stopping to say to you, and I know you know this, but the story makes it clear.
[28:13] Egypt had its gods. They're not gods. Philistia had their gods, but they're not gods. There's only one God, and he is the God of the Bible. That's why we send missionaries.
[28:25] That's why we tell people about Jesus. Last thing, some things that we could take home real quickly. People everywhere must make their own decision to believe or reject the Lord Jesus Christ. And truth isn't always pleasant, and truth isn't always what you want to hear.
[28:40] Because you see, for these guys in the Philistine people to get saved, they would have had to reject their God. They'd have had to reject their culture. They'd have to reject everything they were brought up in. But that's what lost people have to do. To get saved, you've got to look and say, I'm wrong, and everything about me is wrong.
[28:54] I need God. And that's what they did. People know more than we usually think. They just refuse to accept. You know, it's like those poor Philistines, they didn't know nothing. God sent the ark over there and mistreated them.
[29:06] The poor Philistines. That's not the story. The story is they did know. They did know. And they refused. God's people lost the ark.
[29:17] But God never lost his glory. God never lost his glory. And God never got lost. And God showed his power even over there. No God can stand before the one and only true God.
[29:30] No God. You're a missionary, and you're going to walk into some field, and you're wondering, how could I ever turn the hearts of these people? Oh, you don't have to worry about it. God, you've got the great God of heaven working in your life.
[29:41] You've got his word. You've got his power. You've got his Holy Spirit. And he will do a work, and you can trust him. God can prove himself in mighty ways that convince even those that hate him. One day, the rocks will cry out, and even there, the false priest cried out.
[29:55] Man failed in losing the ark, but God in his grace brings the ark home after showing his power over the false gods. Amazing to me. Man, you blew it. You blew it, and you lost the ark.
[30:06] Don't worry. I'll bring it back. And cows, with calves locked up, and cows that never pulled a cart walked straight to the land of Israel, got across the border, and were sacrificed.
[30:17] The ark brings cursing to those that do not believe and blessings to those that do believe. Do you love him and honor him? There was a preacher when I was a kid called Reverend Ike.
[30:33] He may still be around. I don't know. But Reverend Ike said, I'd never get on my knees and pray to God. Get on your knees, somebody would kick you in the backside. You just remember this. He is a God we get on our knees to.
[30:44] He's a God we lay on our faces before. He's a God we know is great and mighty and powerful. And we have to come to him that way. Humble ourselves before a mighty God and treat him like the Lord that he is.
[30:56] We serve the one and only true God. This isn't a story out of a dead book about a dead thing that happened. It's a story about a powerful God that I serve. It's a story about a God who takes care of a dumb little Filipino missionary named Ed DeLoreyes trying to get a motel room.
[31:10] He doesn't have any money. He's alive, and he's real, and he's powerful, and he's at work in our lives. And we ought never lose sight of that.