[0:00] This message was recorded at Vision Baptist Church in Alfred, Georgia. It is our prayer that you'll be blessed by the preaching of God's Word. All right, take your Bibles, if you would, and turn with me to Deuteronomy chapter 2.
[0:13] Deuteronomy chapter 2, if you would. And we're going to start in verse 25. Before we do, Brother Sam Wilson's with us tonight. And everybody, I think, knows Brother Sam. He has a friend with him, Brother Ron Draper, also a missionary with IBJM.
[0:26] Is that correct? International Board of Jewish Missions. And Brother Sam's his dad. Amen, Brother Sam? Yeah. And so anyway, glad you're here tonight, brother. Glad you're with us in the service.
[0:38] Open your Bibles to Deuteronomy chapter 2, verse 25. This is the last part of the message we were in whenever the last time we were in Deuteronomy was. It's so old I don't remember. But this is a tremendous truth we need to know and be able to answer.
[0:54] Chapter 2 and verse 25. The Bible said, This day will I begin to put the dread of Thee and the fear of Thee upon the nations that are under the whole heaven, who shall hear report of Thee and shall tremble and be in anguish because of Thee.
[1:10] Father, this is so important that Your people learn, that I pray You would help me in wisdom to be able to share the truth. And I pray You would help them to trust You and trust Your strength and Your guidance.
[1:25] And that You would help us to be missionary sending people. And I pray You'd help us to realize the awesome responsibility we have of getting Your gospel around the world.
[1:36] And I'll give You praise and honor and glory for all that You do. In Jesus' name, amen. Well, the first thing I want to talk to you about tonight is, Why would God destroy all of those nations?
[1:50] How can God be just in the Old Testament when He has taken out whole groups of people? Genocide, it would appear. And maybe it would appear that God was horrible.
[2:04] And I want you to be able to answer that question in your mind. I'm not sure I'll do a good enough job. But I want you to consider with me some things. Number one, they are not innocent nations.
[2:16] These are not innocent nations. Now, you know the story. We're in Deuteronomy. It's the second given of the law. In just a little bit, this is like Moses' farewell speech.
[2:27] In just a little bit, Joshua's going to take over. The nation of Israel is going to cross the Jordan River. They're going to go into the Promised Land. And little by little, they're going to take over. And in about seven years, they will own the Promised Land.
[2:40] And in that process, they will have destroyed many groups of people. And the command is given, take them out. The command is given, take them out.
[2:51] If you'll recall, we saw last time we looked at this, when they got to Esau's land, he said, I promised Esau, and I keep my word. And so don't touch Esau's land.
[3:03] Because I gave that to him 500 years ago, 700 years ago. They've been in Egypt for 435 years or so. And Joseph took them to Egypt. And Joseph's daddy was Jacob, which was Esau's brother.
[3:16] And so it's over 400 years, 500 years. And he kept the promise. Then when they got to Lot's land, he said, Don't touch Lot's land. I promised that to him. So we saw that God's word is true and trustworthy.
[3:29] And when he says something, he means it. Amen? Now he comes here and he says, I'm going to put my dread, or the dread of you, on these people, on these nations.
[3:39] And we're going to see them take out these nations. So I would remind you, they're not innocent. These nations that are about to take out, sacrifice their children to their false gods and their idols.
[3:51] These nations have female and male prostitutes that serve in their temples. When they go to worship, it's a sex orgy in the name of a false god.
[4:04] They have sexual intercourse as a very important part of their religion. We know that these people know about God.
[4:15] And we know that from the New Testament. I hope you write this down. Look it up. Romans chapter 1 and verse 18. All over the world, the Bible teaches that God has placed the knowledge of him in every heart.
[4:27] Everybody knows. In Romans chapter 1 and verse 18, the Bible said, Verse 19, Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has showed it unto them.
[4:52] So somehow they know. And he tells us in verse 20, For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power in Godhead, so that they're without excuse.
[5:09] Now understand, that verse is found in Romans chapter 1 and verse 18. And the Bible is going to go on and say that they knew him and they rejected him. And then they turned from the creator to the creation and they worship what they made and not who made them.
[5:25] And so all nations from the beginning, God is somehow placing them a knowledge of him. And just stop here just a second and kind of bear with and understand what's going on in the Bible.
[5:35] Everybody else is making their gods. Everybody else is making their gods. Like Eric showed you tonight, the picture of those Hindu idols, they made their gods.
[5:46] And in the Old Testament, the Jewish people were taught what a foolish thing it is to even think of making your gods. But that's what's going on. But God has placed in every man, they know, people know God made us.
[5:58] Evolutionists know there's something really happened. They may try to avoid it. They may try to think up other ways. They may use science to try to calm their conscience. But something inside, according to the word of God, tells them God made us.
[6:13] So no man is innocent. No man is innocent. Second thing I want you to look at is in Romans chapter 2 and verse 14. They have a conscience.
[6:24] They know right from wrong. Something's been placed in them that makes them know right from wrong. Romans 2, 14, the Bible says, For when the Gentiles, which have not the law, do by nature the things contained in the law, these having not the law, are a law unto themselves.
[6:41] So in verse 14, underline have not the law. Maybe put a circle around that and in the margin of your Bible write, not the Bible. They don't have the word of God. They didn't have the books of Moses. They didn't have the law and the prophets.
[6:53] They didn't have the Psalms. They didn't have the books of poetry. They didn't have the prophets. They didn't have the history books. They didn't have Moses' law. But you know what? They knew. And by nature, by nature, the things in the law, they were doing them.
[7:06] And that became a law to itself. Verse 15, which shows us the work of the law written in their hearts. Look at that.
[7:17] The work of the law written in their hearts. Their conscience bearing witness. Their conscience also bearing witness. And their thoughts. The meanwhile accusing or else excusing one another.
[7:28] In the day when God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ, according to my gospel. So they're going to be told to go in and take these nations. And that comes across.
[7:39] I mean, really, when you read the Old Testament, if anything shocks you, it's how many times God said, just go kill them. Just go kill them. And we're like, was the God of the Bible into genocide?
[7:50] Is the God of the Bible into destroying people? And I want you to bear with me. Number one, creation says that. Number two, conscience says that God is real and God is there. Conscience tells them God is there.
[8:02] But let me remind you that the people that are about to be attacked in the book of Joshua, they know about Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. And they have watched them worship and live for their God.
[8:16] They've been traveling around, wandering in this promised land that was given to Abraham and Isaac and Jacob. And where their feet touched. And they've known those guys and seen their testimony.
[8:27] It's pretty obvious, I would think, or pretty clear, if you know anything about the history of the Bible, if you know anything about anything, that they probably heard about Sodom and Gomorrah getting destroyed.
[8:38] That story was probably told. That was probably on the front page of the Flintstone Times. And everybody's like, what happened to Sodom and Gomorrah?
[8:48] And you can only imagine when they're interviewing and trying to figure out what goes on. And it's stated, well, that was a wicked place. And there was a man there that got out. Only one guy got out. How'd you get out?
[8:59] What was it? They probably knew that story. I'm sure by now they've heard of the plagues in Egypt. That's got to have spread across. We know from the book of Joshua that it did spread.
[9:11] They knew. They'd heard. They'd heard of the plagues of Egypt. They'd heard how God had delivered the people through the Red Sea. We know that Rahab knew. Rahab the harlot, Joshua chapter 2.
[9:23] They show up at Rahab's place. And Rahab, a harlot in the city of Jericho that should be killed with everybody else, says, hey, we know about you. And we know about your God.
[9:35] And we know what's about to happen. So they knew about God. Creation told them. Conscience told them. Testimony told them. They knew. Rahab said, I'm going to do something about what I know.
[9:48] I'm going to accept. I'm going to trust. I'm going to believe. I'm going to ask. We know that in Deuteronomy chapter 2 and verse 25, before they ever go to attack anybody, that he puts the dread of the nation of Israel and the fear of the nation of Israel on all the other nations.
[10:05] We know in Deuteronomy chapter 2 and verse 25, it says, who shall hear a report of thee? And tremble and be in anguish because of thee. So I want you to understand that he's going to annihilate these people, but he's going to annihilate these people when creation told them there's a God and they knew they made their own gods.
[10:26] And don't you realize that when you're taking the book of Isaiah, the book of Psalms, several places just make so much fun. A guy goes out in the woods and cuts down a tree. And of that tree, he takes and makes him a wooden idol.
[10:39] And what's left over, he takes the wood and the shavings and he makes him a fire to cook him some bread with. And he said they make gods that can't see and hear and smell, and they're just like them.
[10:50] They're dumb as they are. They can't speak. So these people had to know I'm making idols. And by the way, I've been in a country where people have business set up making idols. And you can go by there and they'll take some, it's called yeso, I don't know what it would be called in English.
[11:06] It's not cement, but it's kind of whatever that junk is. People make pottery-type stuff out of here. And they'll take that and they know it's just a lump of clay and they know it's just some little mixture they're going to mix with water and they're going to come up with something.
[11:20] And they're cussing and drinking and living wild lives and not godly at all. And when they get through, they're going to have made you something you can worship at your house. The guys who make them know they're not real.
[11:32] Everybody knew they weren't real. So God says go take them out. There are plenty of Bible stories that show us of others that knew about God, but they rejected Him anyway.
[11:43] For example, have you ever heard of the story later on in the Bible of a guy named David who will kill Goliath so that all may know? When we read that story, we see the story of David and Goliath that we think in terms of there was a wee little boy named David, he killed a big old giant, and we get it all wrong.
[12:01] The story's not about a little boy that killed a big giant. The story's about a big God, and David wanted everybody to know there is a God in Israel. The God of Israel is the real God, so watch this.
[12:12] A guy who shouldn't be able to win will win. And all you Philistines as you watch, every Philistine on these mountains, you know I should lose. You know I should lose. But if I win, I prove to you there's a God in Israel.
[12:27] That's what he said. Go read the story. That's the real story. And then David wins. And the nation of the Philistines says, we still won't believe. But they knew. They weren't innocent.
[12:38] They were God rejecters and God haters. Can you think back with me of Dagon? You remember Dagon? They set him in there, and they bring the ark of the Jews.
[12:49] They put it in front of old Dagon, their idol. They think our Dagon has conquered their God, and we brought their ark. They come in the next day. Somebody tell me what happened when they got in there the next day.
[13:02] Well, what happened? Where was the idol? Fell over on his face. He's laying on the ground. I can just imagine that, can't you? There's the ark, and there's old Dagon on the ground. They come and say, oh, poor little God. Let's pick you back up and help you sit up.
[13:14] Sorry, did you get drunk last night? What happened? Did you fall down? It's okay, little God. We'll take care of you. And the next night, he falls down and gives up. What else happens to him? Now he's busted. Now he's missing stuff.
[13:26] They go in there. This time, it ain't like he just fell over. It wasn't a wind that came through and blew over a stack of cement. Something happened. They knew. Do you not realize they knew?
[13:36] God was giving them a witness, and he was saying, your God is nothing. There's a real God, the God in heaven. But they rejected him. You ever think about the Philistines when they got the ark?
[13:48] These stories are off to the Bible, so you know your God is not just a destroyer of people. He didn't come to kill people. He came to save people. You should say amen right there.
[13:59] You remember the story of the Philistines? Man, they were having bad times. They were getting hemorrhoids and all kinds of rats and all kinds of junk going on. And finally, they got around talking. They said, I know what the problem is. We better give them their ark back.
[14:12] And they even made some idle junk, stuck it in the ark, and sent it back on a couple of milk cows. Because you know what they were saying? There's something more than just regular here.
[14:23] There's something more than just regular here. He's God. So was it just to mass annihilation? Was it just God was like, I'm into genocide, and I pick Jews, and I'm going to kill everybody else?
[14:34] That's just not what the Bible would teach at all. You remember the jailer and the Pharaoh back in Egypt? Just jumping around the Bible too much for you. You remember them? The old jailer?
[14:46] He gets a whole... What's his name? I just... The name just left me. What's his name? The guy that owns old Joseph when he first gets there? Old Potiphar? You remember old Potiphar? Potiphar says something different about this boy.
[14:59] He said, I've noticed something. When you're around, God's with you. What do you mean by that? God blesses when you're here. I don't know if old Potiphar got saved or if he didn't get saved, but I do know this.
[15:09] He knew. That's what the book says. Amen. By the way, Pharaoh knew. Huh? Huh? Huh? Pharaoh said... Pharaoh said, hey, nobody can explain these dreams to me.
[15:23] And they said, well, there's a guy down in the prison, Ken. We don't know how he does it, but he got a direct line to the guy that gives dreams. He says, is it in the book or not? Talk to me. They go down and get him. He comes up.
[15:33] And when he comes up, he says, hey, I'm not... It's nothing special about me. I don't know stuff. God knows stuff. By the way, Daniel says the same story, doesn't he? All through the Bible, God said, I'm here.
[15:46] And people are saying, you can drop dead and I don't want you. Pharaoh knew. Potiphar knew. These pagan nations would have caused even more temptation, by the way, if they'd been left in place. So I want you to understand what happened.
[15:58] Please understand. By conscience, they knew. It was written in their hearts. They knew they were wrong. I've read of cannibals and headhunters and read stories about them and they had to get used to killing.
[16:15] The first time they killed, they felt sick. Why'd they feel sick? Because God built it in them. It's wrong. You may not know me, but that's wrong. I don't like people to kill people because there's a God in heaven.
[16:26] And he's showing people that. So then their conscience, they knew it was wrong. The creation said it was wrong, but God was screaming from the heavens all through the stories. It's wrong.
[16:38] My goodness, that's just point one out of three that I need to do. I'm going to be ready to preach stories. But watch this one. One of the wonderful stories you can read about missions, you should get a hold of the peace child. Don Richardson's telling the story of the peace child.
[16:52] It's a book about that thick. But in the story of the peace child with Don Richardson, there's these two tribes and they're at war. And when he tells them about Jesus, they don't like Jesus at all.
[17:07] They can't stand Jesus. They think he's a wimp. They think he's a loser. They think he doesn't have what it takes. And he tells them about Judas. And they're all like, we love Judas.
[17:18] He's us. He's one of us. That's the kind of, yeah, we like old Judas. And in the middle of the story, he sees a battle between these two nations and they make peace by taking a child from one side and putting on the other side.
[17:30] And they brought this child over and he said, what's that? They said, that's a peace child. Because if the child comes from the other nation to this nation and gets raised as one of us, anybody who would kill him would be horrible.
[17:42] And Richardson said, well, Jesus came from the other side. He became one of us. And Judas betrayed him. And they said, Judas is a terrible guy. We hate Judas. And that's the whole story.
[17:54] So they were not innocent nations. If you think I'm anywhere near right, say amen. I hope it helps you understand. This is a big deal. But if they'd have left them in place, if God had left them in place, don't you understand what he's going to tell them all through the Bible?
[18:09] These guys don't love me. These guys would rather have sex orgies at church than talk about Jesus. These guys would burn their babies to their idols. That's not who we are. These guys will tempt you to walk away from me, so get rid of them.
[18:22] You don't get rid of them because I hate them. You get rid of them because they hate me. You didn't listen to that, but it's the truth. God's people often look to falsehood to find what they want.
[18:37] Boy, I like the look of that religion. I like the way they chant and swing them little things with incense in it. I like that. That's cute. I like the way they sing them little songs and sit there doing this thing when they're doing their little thing.
[18:49] I like all that. And he says, if you get around it too much, you'll learn it, so get rid of it. The physical and prideful part of these false religions can be appealing.
[19:01] For you, these nations represent sin and things that cry out for you to sin against God. So here's the whole truth. In Deuteronomy, he's going to say, and in Joshua and Judges and Kings, he's going to say, get rid of these godless people.
[19:17] But the reason is because he's teaching a story about a nation. A nation that's a theocracy led by God and later by a king, but even then is supposedly a nation dedicated to God.
[19:30] And he's going to say, that represents sin, that represents temptation, and that's going to pull you out. Now, when you get saved, just like it said this morning, when you really want to serve God, you cut your hand off.
[19:42] You pluck your eye out. You cut your foot off. Not literally, but you do say, I am taking drastic measures to pull away from sin.
[19:53] This is no joke. Serving God is not for the faint of heart. Serving God is not like, praise Jesus for salvation. Once saved, always saved.
[20:04] You can live like the devil after you get saved. That's not in the scripture. Once saved, you'll live for Jesus because he made a difference in your life. So maybe you should kill some nations.
[20:15] Maybe you should destroy some nations and cut off some feet and cut off some hands and pluck out some eyes. How about the nation of pornography? You know, you can't play with that nation. You let it hang around too much, it'll affect you.
[20:28] So you better get rid of it. Well, it's not. You say, well, it's okay. I'm just friendly. I'm not accepting it, not worshiping it, not following it, but you can't play with that junk. It'll destroy you.
[20:39] How about putting some boundaries so you avoid sin? Some of you are like, hey, having a little social drink and hanging out with people that do wrong and doing the things wrong. That's okay. Well, probably not in Jesus's day and probably not in the Old Testament day.
[20:53] Probably in the Old Testament day, he'd have said, blow them off the face of the earth. Because I know what'll happen. You hang around them, you'll get to be like them. You hang around a bunch of people who want to divorce their wife, you might get the idea yourself.
[21:10] Boy, you're mad, aren't you? I'm so sorry. It just happens to be what's in the passage is what it's all about here. Put some boundaries. It might be that there are people, places, and things that might cause you to fall, and it's time for you to get rid of them to do your job.
[21:26] Since I want to finish, and I've got five minutes, I'm going to give you the last two points in five minutes. The second thing I want you to look at tonight is verse 20, chapter 2 and verse, no, chapter 3 and verse 20.
[21:40] Look at that if you would. Until the Lord have given rest unto your brethren as well as unto you, until they possess the land. I wish you'd circle the word until. And I want you to write this down.
[21:52] Finish what he told you to do. Finish what he told you to do. God has a plan for your life. God has a will for your life, and you're supposed to finish it. In Deuteronomy 2 and 3, he's talking to the two and a half tribes that are going to stay on the wrong side of the river.
[22:05] And I said wrong side of the river. They ought to never stay on that side. God had a place for them. They chose to stay on the wrong side, and he let it go. But he said, all right, I'll let you have it, but you stick until you finish.
[22:18] You do the job that God has sent you to do. And that's a big thing for all of us. It's easy for the older you get for the more you want to coast. You want to move into the state of Florida or Arizona, which are waiting rooms for heaven.
[22:35] You just want to sit and enjoy the sun. No fight. Until he comes back. Worry about leaving your home. By the way, the older you get, not the less responsibility you have, but the greater responsibility.
[22:49] Because as I get older, I've got 18 grandkids. Now I've got responsibility for four kids, and then I've got responsibility for the ones that follow after that. And if the Lord lets me live long enough, I'm liable to have some great grandkids.
[23:03] Somebody needs to do some praying here. Somebody needs to do some Bible sharing here. Somebody needs to set an example here. The older I get, it seems the more responsibility God puts on me.
[23:14] Don't get tired because you don't get what you want quickly. I think most of us are like, we want a Christian life that's like over and done and quick. That's never the teaching in the scriptures.
[23:25] Last thing I want you to look at. Chapter 3 and verse 28. God wants you to encourage the next group of leaders. God wants you to encourage the next group of leaders.
[23:39] Let me just remind you quickly of these things here. It says in verse 28, But charge Joshua. Encourage him and strengthen him. And I'm going to tell you what I think is wrong with most of our churches.
[23:54] Old people won't let go. And old people won't share. And old people won't change to teach. We finally got a job when the old people died and let us have it.
[24:07] We was 100 when they gave it to us. And so we don't plan on letting anybody else have it until they're 100. And we need to realize this. Moses, your day's done, buddy.
[24:18] You're not going any further. So teach Joshua. That doesn't mean you quit working. But I'd like to challenge you just for a few minutes. I'd take longer if I hadn't spent so much time on the other.
[24:29] But can I remind you that if we don't encourage and motivate and strengthen some young people, we're going to mess up. Hey, Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, and Numbers, and Deuteronomy have been great books.
[24:43] Boy, we've seen God do great things. We've seen God create the world. We've seen a flood. We've seen God call out a nation. We've seen God do all of his preparations. But there's a guy coming right after this book, and he's going to be one hero, buddy.
[24:56] He's going to lead the nation of Israel to do things that's just wild. They're going to take over the promised land. And I don't get to do it all, but I get to do it where God wants me to until. But I need to realize there's other guys following me.
[25:10] So sometimes you may get tired at vision because so many young preachers, because so many people come and so many people go. But I'd like to challenge you as a church to encourage them and strengthen them because they're the ones that are going to go on before this people and cause them to inherit the land which they shall see.
[25:29] Now, I know that's about Joshua. Well, Moses, it's time for you to change gears, buddy. I'm moving you out. You get the rest of the book of Deuteronomy, and then it's over. You get to write the last verses of Deuteronomy when I say you're dead.
[25:40] But I want you to prepare the next group. Almost every church I go into is a bunch of old white-haired people. And I am one of them, so I'll say that.
[25:52] But we haven't trained anybody. We haven't raised anybody up. I know this is weird, but when I was a kid, you wanted to have a boy kid to carry on your last name.
[26:05] You didn't really want to have all girls. You wanted to have girls, but you wanted some boys because you wanted to make sure the gardener name lives on. You kind of want that. I know nowadays people probably don't.
[26:17] But when I was a kid, everybody wanted that. I'll give you a hint. If we want to see the gospel keep going, we don't just do the work. We train others to do the work. We don't just do the work.
[26:28] We train others to do the work. By the way, Moses wanted one more chance. He said, come on, God. Let me go ahead and go into promised land. And look, if you would, at chapter 3 and verse 24.
[26:41] Oh, Lord God, you have shown your servant how great you are. You have shown us your mighty hand. You've shown us that there's what God is there in heaven or earth that can do according to your works.
[26:53] God, you're good. That's sweet, isn't it? He said, so in verse 25, come on. I'd like to ask you one more time. Can I go into the promised land?
[27:03] And God said, I'm tired of listening to you. You ain't going. You can quit asking. I'm not answering that prayer. Look at verse 26. But the Lord was wroth, angry with me for your sakes and would not hear me.
[27:18] And the Lord said unto me, stop it. Let it suffice. Don't talk to me about this anymore. Don't speak to me about this matter anymore. No, you're not getting in.
[27:29] He said, I'll tell you what I'll do. Verse 27, I'll take you up on the mountain. I'll let you look over and see it. I'll hand you a pair of binoculars and say, check out what you could have had if you'd have just done what I told you. But now go get Joshua ready to go there. God wanted Moses to teach Joshua.
[27:43] He needed to teach Joshua how to lead a nation and how to lead his home. He needed to teach Joshua how to walk with God and challenge him not to forget to honor and obey God. He needed to tell Joshua not to make the same mistakes he'd made because he made some.
[27:56] He needed to challenge Joshua not to challenge him to stand on the truth and not let the crowd get him away. Moses encouraged him and strengthened him and helped him to understand who God is and how God works.
[28:08] Helped him to know that no matter how big the job is and how scary it is, God's bigger. Remind him to keep his eyes on Jesus and spend time with God and control his thought life. Here's a beautiful thing that's so wonderful in the Bible and it's true about all of us.
[28:22] And that is this, that Joshua, he says, Moses, Joshua's going to be successful. And then he tells him to follow Joshua. He says, hey, job's done, buddy.
[28:32] All you got to do is go out there. It's done. I mean, it's all yours. All you got to do is go. You just step out there and I'll do the rest of it. By the way, that's how it is with us. Every missionary we send out, you can go knowing this.
[28:43] It ain't you going to do anything. It's God's going to do it. You step out there and God said, just step out there, son. I'll take care of things. He promised him he'd be successful. It was the promised land after all, which means I give my promise.
[28:56] It's yours. So Joshua, all you got to do is walk in and say, he promised it to me, so give it to me. It's mine. Yes, he's going to have to swing his sword. Yes, he's going to have to fight, but God's already proved himself.
[29:07] Joshua was a success before he ever got started. Joshua hadn't even taken over the reins yet. God said, you're a success. You won an Emmy. Cheers. I hadn't acted yet.
[29:19] You don't have to. I'm going to act. Amen. That's good stuff. Help those that follow you to be a success in the ministry God has for them. Help them learn from your mistakes.
[29:30] Help them think the right thoughts so Satan doesn't get an advantage over them. Father in heaven, I love you and I thank you for your word. And I pray you'd help your people to know you're a sweet and wonderful God.
[29:41] You're not in the business of destroying people. That those people rejected you after clear warnings and clear seeings of who you are.
[29:51] And I thank you for that. I thank you that I can know you won't change your mind and you won't change your word and what you promise you keep. I thank you for that. And I thank you, Lord, that you've got a job for me to do.
[30:04] And I'm not just here for no reason. You have a job for me to do. And I want to do it until you take me home. And God, I thank you that I have the privilege of investing in young lives so they can do for you more than I ever did.
[30:17] They can do for you more than all the older guys in this room have ever done. And see your greatness. We love you and we magnify you. With your heads bowed and your eyes closed, maybe you ought to come and apologize to God for thinking he just wanted to annihilate nations and realize what he did.
[30:37] He did wonderful things. He showed his power. He wrote it in their conscience. He showed them the creation. He gave them options and they refused them. Maybe you ought to come apologize. Maybe you ought to come and say, I will work until I do what God wants me to do.
[30:52] I'm not looking for a laying down place. I'm not looking for a resting place. I'm looking to do the job that God takes me home. Maybe you ought to come tell him that. Maybe you ought to come tell him that I am going to use my life to encourage others.
[31:07] I'm going to use my life to encourage young people. And maybe in our church you could start to raise up young men and young women. And you're a lady, several young ladies who would go on to become the kind of woman of God you are.
[31:19] And I love you ladies and how you love God. Why don't you say, I'll help other ladies become like that. Men, why don't you come and say, I'll help other men become like that. I'll help build men of character.
[31:31] I'll help build men that trust God. Men that will look to God and let God work in their lives. Why don't you come tell him that. You can make a difference. Father in heaven, I love you and I thank you and I praise you for who you are and what you're doing.
[31:44] I pray you'd work in our lives and I pray you'd magnify yourself and I'll give you all glory and all praise. Father God in heaven, I love you and I thank you for your word. And I pray you'd help us to grow and to see your hand on our lives and help us to make a difference.
[31:58] You make a difference in us and now let us live out that difference. I pray to your God that you'd help our people to continue to serve you and honor you and magnify you. God use us to make a difference.
[32:09] We love you and thank you in Jesus name. Amen. Thank you. Would you have a seat for just a second? I just want you to know he's a good, you can come on up for the train. I want you to know he's a good God. I want you to know he's a good God.
[32:20] The same Jesus that's the kindest person to ever walk the planet from this morning. And they wouldn't hurt a bruised reed or a smoking flax is the same one in the Old Testament who loved people.
[32:32] And they just refused. They refused him. And let me just tell you, they're going to refuse him today. They're going to refuse him today. And you're out in the world and you're a witness, Isaac. You're a witness, Abraham.
[32:44] You're a witness, Jacob. You're a witness, David, when you go to kill Goliath. Boy, Jesus ought to be magnified by them seeing your life. They ought to know about him. And so I hope you take that seriously.
[32:55] We're sending missionaries so they'll know. So if they reject him, then their reward is their earned reward. Amen? Let's tell them about Jesus. Pray for people and pray that souls will be saved.
[33:08] I hope you know he's a good God. Man, I want you to leave tonight knowing he's a good God. I want you to take the time so you know he's a good God. He wasn't into genocide. I know people make fun of the Bible for that. I don't think they thought it through.
[33:19] I know I didn't do a good job of it, but I think I've tried to help you see. He's a good God. Always been a good God. He's a good God in Genesis. He's a good God in Leviticus. He's a good God in Numbers and Deuteronomy.
[33:31] He's a good God. He always is a good God. I think he likes to hear he's a good God. And I want our church to always think he's a good God. And I want you to do the job God's got for you to do and help other people grow in that.
[33:43] And then, man, help us. Thank you. You're a great church. You are a great. I'm so blessed to work with you. The older folks in here, and I know older people in here means younger than me, but I thank you for helping young people.
[33:58] I thank you for sharing and discipling. Thank you for raising kids for Jesus. Thank you for praying with people. Thank you for being an example. We want to make a difference. Amen? Don't you stop.
[34:10] Thank you. This message was recorded at Vision Baptist Church in Alfredo, Georgia. For more information, log on to www.visionbaptist.com, where you can find our service times, location, contact information, and more audio and video recordings.