WEBVTT

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 Some things just don't go together.

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 To my friend's dismay, I'm a really big fan of matchmaking.

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 I'm really enthusiastic about it.

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 And my logic always goes along the lines of,

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 well, I like this person and I like this person,

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 and so I can't understand why they wouldn't like each other.

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 Solid logic, I thought, until I was on the other side of it.

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 I had a girl from my other work at a real estate agency

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 tell me that I would be perfect with her roommate,

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 and she wanted to set us up.

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 And I don't know why.

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 I didn't want to seem snorty or something,

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 so I just agreed to go.

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 And he worked, and so he said he would pick me up at 8,

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 and I'd get hungry at like 6 o'clock, and so I ate,

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 and then he picked me up when I was full.

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 But anyway.

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 And we talked about what he did and what his job was.

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 He was an accountant for toiletries or something,

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 and he said,

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 I can give you free razors and deodorant if you need.

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 And then I suddenly got really self-conscious.

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 And we were walking along,

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 and I picked like the closest restaurant to my house.

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 I live like near five Thai restaurants.

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 I picked the closest one to my house

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 so that I could go and put deodorant on or something.

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 And we spent like five minutes talking about what I did and what he did,

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 and then the conversation was over for the rest of the night.

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 So intermittently we talked about how good the food was,

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 but at 8.30, half an hour after he had picked me up,

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 we walked as fast as we could back to his car,

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 and then I ran into my dorm and waved him goodbye,

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 and I never heard from him again.

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 And there are heaps of other examples of stuff that doesn't go together.

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 Coke and milk, wine and ice cream,

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 brushing your teeth and then eating an apple.

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 Some things don't go together.

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 So if you miss the last couple of weeks,

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 God told Israel that he was angry with them,

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 and instead of dealing with that,

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 the Israelites went in a war against Philistine,

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 and Israel was losing the war,

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 and so they brought out the ark of the Lord into the battlefield.

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 And if you don't know what that is,

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 it's like a big box where God's presence was supposed to be.

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 And then after they brought out the ark,

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 they started losing even worse,

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 and the Philistines took away the ark,

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 and God started cursing and putting plagues on Philistine.

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 And so we've gotten to this place where the Philistines have seen Israel's God,

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 and they've seen that he's greater than their own God, Dagon,

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 and they've seen him control diseases

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 and be in control of animals and nature.

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 And the Philistines have kind of rightly been like,

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 oh crap, we're on the wrong side of God's anger.

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 We need to get this out.

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 And they figured out that, yeah, the ark was related to the anger of God,

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 and so they're just trying to get it out of their country now.

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 Look at verse 4 with me.

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 So they asked their own priests, like, what are we supposed to do about this?

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 How should we get rid of it?

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 And the priests answered by saying,

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 make models out of gold of the plagues that God has given you.

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 And they keep saying things out of fear in verse 5 and verse 6,

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 and fear is a correct response for them.

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 I do think that this passage has something to say, though,

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 about knowing God correctly,

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 knowing what good is like and how to serve him.

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 The offerings of gold, rats, and tumors make so much sense

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 if you don't know the Lord, Israel's God.

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 God has revealed himself to Israel,

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 and so Israel knows how to please God and what they can sacrifice to him,

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 but he hasn't done that for the Philistines.

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 So the Philistines would have gotten their own common sense

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 and sort of thought gold is valuable and good,

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 and therefore we should just give that to God.

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 God, it's kind of like they have taken themselves and the stuff that they like

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 and just put her on a bigger scale.

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 Has anyone ever done something for you that's really well-intentioned,

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 but you hated it?

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 Like if you drink long blacks and someone tries to shout you like a surprise coffee,

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 and then you're like, oh my gosh, thank you so much,

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 and you take a sip and it's like a mocha with five sugars.

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 It's like, that's really nice,

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 and it's so nice that you tried to do something nice to me,

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 but you didn't really, you didn't nail it, hey?

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 In the same way, for Philistines,

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 if they had actually known God,

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 they would know that the earth is the Lord's and everything in it,

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 and therefore anything that they try to offer him is already God's.

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 But even outside of that,

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 that God has outlined what pleases him

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 and what is an appropriate sacrifice for guilt,

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 and they just don't know God,

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 and therefore they can't do it.

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 Their feelings are appropriately in line with God,

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 and they're fearing God correctly,

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 but without knowing him,

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 there was no way that they could make up for their guilt.

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 I think it's important for us to get this,

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 because I see this in Christians and non-Christians alike.

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 I see Christians,

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 and we kind of assume that God is a bigger version of ourselves.

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 I'm super guilty of this.

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 Christians were like,

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 oh, I really like youth ministry,

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 and then therefore that's the most important ministry to God,

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 or I like hymns,

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 and therefore it's what glorifies God the most.

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 I don't even think we do it with bad intent.

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 I heard of this book,

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 and it's called Introverts in the Church,

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 and the essence of the book is,

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 Jesus was an introvert,

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 and he was perfect,

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 so go introverts,

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 it's good to be an introvert.

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 Now, I don't want to tease a book,

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 or tease introverts or anything,

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 but that's like the ultimate spiritual trump card, isn't it?

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 Jesus was an introvert.

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 But we seriously do that in all aspects of our lives.

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 Like, if we're loud,

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 and we communicate loudly,

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 and we talk about our love for Jesus all the time,

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 we just think that that's what God likes the most.

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 And if we're quiet and more serious,

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 and we obey Jesus quietly,

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 then we assume that Jesus is more pleased by that.

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 We make God into a bigger,

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 more authoritative version of ourselves,

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 when in reality,

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 God has revealed himself,

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 and what he's like,

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 and whatever parts we don't really like,

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 or the bits we think are less important,

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 we just skip over.

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 But I also see this in people who aren't Christians as well.

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 The amount of times I've heard someone say,

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 I'm just going to try and do my best,

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 try to be a good person,

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 and I think that'll be enough for God.

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 Can I say it isn't?

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 It isn't enough for God?

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 That's enough for you,

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 and I think that's projecting it on God.

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 God has revealed the way in which he's pleased,

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 and he's shown us how to have a relationship with him,

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 and that is through Jesus.

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 And you doing your best isn't actually enough for God.

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 These Philistines sent back these guilt offerings,

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 and were trying to make up their guilt before God,

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 and make it go away.

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 But it wasn't sufficient,

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 because it's not what God asks for.

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 All right, look at verse seven.

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 Now then, get a new cart ready with two cows

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 that have carved and have never been yoked.

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 Hitch the cows to the cart,

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 but take their calves away and pen them up.

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 Take the ark of the Lord and put it on the cart,

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 and in a chest beside it,

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 put the gold objects you are sending back with it to him

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 as a guilt offering.

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 Send it on its way, but keep watching it.

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 If it goes up to its own territory towards Beth Shemesh,

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 then the Lord has brought this great disaster on us.

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 But if it does not,

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 then we will know that it was not his hand that struck us,

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 but that it happened to us by chance.

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 So the Philistines have attached the ark of God to the cows,

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 and apparently I learnt while researching for this sermon

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 that cattle subconsciously walk towards their owner.

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 And so the idea is that if we attach the ark to these cows,

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 and they walk away from us and towards Israel,

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 then we'll know that God was bringing these curses on Philistine,

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 and if it doesn't, then it was just an accident.

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 And they do that,

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 and the ark starts to walk away from them and towards Israel.

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 If you look at verse 12,

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 the cows went straight up the road to Beth Shemesh

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 and stayed on that one highway.

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 Lowing as they went,

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 they never strayed to the right or to the left.

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 So that's really cool anyway,

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 and God brings himself back to his own people.

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 But have you noticed what Israel is doing while this is happening?

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 I have no idea,

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 because it doesn't matter.

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 God isn't dependent on the Israelites to save him,

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 and he's not sitting in Philistine waiting for Israel like,

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 guys, I've been captured, save me.

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 God shows his power,

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 and he shows how worthy he is to be feared and worshipped

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 when the Israelites aren't even present.

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 The Old Testament often refers to God

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 as making his name known among the nations

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 in and outside of his people,

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 and Israel was supposed to be a part of that.

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 This part of 1 Samuel shows God doing exactly that.

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 Philistine, only a couple of chapters ago,

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 thought that they could win a battle against God

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 by fighting hard and being men,

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 and now they are shaking and frantically

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 trying to get the ark out of their country,

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 and God guides his own way back to Israel.

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 So there are two really wonderful things about this.

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 The first one is that God didn't need Israel to save him.

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 God isn't dependent on them to go and get him,

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 and he's also not dependent on them

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 to fulfill his work in the world.

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 God wants to make his name known,

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 and he can do that with or without the Israelites.

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 I think that's a good lesson for us as well.

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 In God, not being bound by what we can do for him.

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 We do this thing in church,

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 and I think it's a result of making God

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 really small in our mind,

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 but we do this thing where we think

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 that God is dependent on us to get stuff done.

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 Like God's hands are tied,

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 and he's just sitting around waiting for us

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 to do his work for him.

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 A friend of mine from when I was at art school, Chelsea,

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 was telling me that when she was in year four,

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 she got her report card back

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 from her religious education teacher,

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 and her report card read something like this.

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 Chelsea is a zealous young woman

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 who clearly has a lot of love for Jesus.

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 However, Chelsea needs to learn

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 that God does not need Chelsea to defend him.

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 God can defend himself.

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 What a wise lady.

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 And I think that attitude is kind of taken on by us as adults.

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 Like God is lucky to have us on his team,

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 otherwise he would have no one.

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 And I'm super guilty of this.

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 I find myself at college talking to people

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 who are so weird,

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 and just thinking to myself,

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 don't tell anyone you're a Christian.

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 You're making God look lame.

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 But I know that's awful.

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 It sounds even worse when I say it out loud.

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 But God doesn't need us to make him look good.

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 He doesn't need St. Paul's Church

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 to reach the people of Chatswood.

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 It's out of a heart that thinks

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 that God is small and unimpressive

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 that makes us think we're necessary for his plan.

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 The second wonderful thing

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 about God leaving Philistine

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 to go back to Israel on his own

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 is that although Israel treated him like a genie

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 and considered God in their debt

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 and didn't listen to his warning

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 about the current wrath, coming wrath,

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 God returned to Israel anyway.

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 Throughout the book of 1 Samuel

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 and all through Israel's history,

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 Israel ignored God

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 and tried to get stuff from him.

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 They presumed their position over God.

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 And considering God made the heavens and the earth,

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 that's really offensive.

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 But God returns to them anyway.

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 The ark of God left Israel

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 and was distant from them.

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 And that was their judgment.

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 But after only seven months,

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 God returns to them.

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 And this is a beautiful sign

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 of their relationship with him, isn't it?

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 God is despised by his own people,

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 but still returns to them.

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 So the ark of God comes back into Israel

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 and there's like a big party

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 and everyone's sacrificing

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 and celebrating the ark returning.

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 And for some reason or another,

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 people decide to look into the ark

00:12:49.659 --> 00:12:51.579
 and God strikes down 70 of them.

00:12:53.319 --> 00:12:55.299
 That seems really out of place, right?

00:12:56.259 --> 00:12:57.679
 Like you think you're moving towards

00:12:57.679 --> 00:12:59.000
 a happy ending by this point.

00:12:59.099 --> 00:13:00.879
 The Philistines have been given a hard time.

00:13:01.179 --> 00:13:03.319
 God is showing the nations how powerful he is.

00:13:03.559 --> 00:13:04.719
 And then all of a sudden,

00:13:05.439 --> 00:13:07.899
 bam, God kills 70 of his own people.

00:13:08.419 --> 00:13:10.099
 It's really disheartening, isn't it?

00:13:10.899 --> 00:13:12.379
 It's like if this was a movie,

00:13:12.459 --> 00:13:13.319
 that would never happen.

00:13:13.679 --> 00:13:16.139
 You'd just finish with the ark coming towards Israel

00:13:16.139 --> 00:13:18.039
 and then everyone's starting to celebrate

00:13:18.039 --> 00:13:19.299
 and the credits would open.

00:13:20.379 --> 00:13:22.059
 But you read this part of the story

00:13:22.059 --> 00:13:24.059
 and you're like shocked and angry

00:13:24.059 --> 00:13:26.519
 because it's like we've done full loop

00:13:26.519 --> 00:13:28.100
 in the story again.

00:13:28.600 --> 00:13:30.779
 Like it seems like after all this time

00:13:30.779 --> 00:13:31.819
 and all that had happened,

00:13:32.799 --> 00:13:35.159
 the Israelites hadn't learnt or changed anything.

00:13:37.460 --> 00:13:38.899
 I'm just going to put it in the open

00:13:38.899 --> 00:13:41.379
 that I don't think we really understand this.

00:13:41.379 --> 00:13:44.879
 Like a bunch of guys would look into a box

00:13:44.879 --> 00:13:45.480
 and get killed.

00:13:45.600 --> 00:13:47.019
 I don't really think that we understand

00:13:47.019 --> 00:13:48.639
 why that happened.

00:13:50.179 --> 00:13:52.059
 But God's holiness requires

00:13:52.059 --> 00:13:53.879
 that laws like that should be kept.

00:13:54.620 --> 00:13:55.939
 God isn't like a bad parent

00:13:55.939 --> 00:13:59.100
 who continuously threatens but never punishes.

00:13:59.919 --> 00:14:02.059
 That's how serious God's holiness is.

00:14:02.500 --> 00:14:04.460
 It's not just that holiness means

00:14:04.460 --> 00:14:07.179
 that people could die from taking a peek.

00:14:07.299 --> 00:14:08.960
 It's that because of God's holiness,

00:14:08.960 --> 00:14:10.160
 people needed to die.

00:14:10.940 --> 00:14:12.480
 It's not even like he's punishing them

00:14:12.480 --> 00:14:13.860
 for not keeping his law.

00:14:14.280 --> 00:14:15.759
 It's like those men couldn't live

00:14:15.759 --> 00:14:17.780
 after having been that close to God's holiness.

00:14:19.879 --> 00:14:20.680
 The Philistines,

00:14:20.840 --> 00:14:23.480
 even with their error of what offering to make God,

00:14:23.940 --> 00:14:26.060
 the Philistines actually had a more correct view,

00:14:26.420 --> 00:14:28.500
 a more reverent and fearful view of God.

00:14:29.100 --> 00:14:30.280
 But the Israelites have gone back

00:14:30.280 --> 00:14:31.400
 to being presumptuous

00:14:31.400 --> 00:14:33.780
 and expectant in their relationship with God.

00:14:36.280 --> 00:14:38.280
 Treating God as anything besides God

00:14:38.279 --> 00:14:39.839
 is what sin is.

00:14:40.459 --> 00:14:41.279
 I want you to imagine

00:14:41.279 --> 00:14:42.959
 how much bigger God is than you.

00:14:44.100 --> 00:14:46.059
 Like imagine God's power.

00:14:46.679 --> 00:14:47.659
 God created the world.

00:14:47.980 --> 00:14:49.120
 He can do anything he wants.

00:14:49.199 --> 00:14:50.539
 He can change anything he wants.

00:14:50.600 --> 00:14:52.100
 He can move mountains if he wants to.

00:14:52.139 --> 00:14:53.120
 He can dry up the sea.

00:14:53.659 --> 00:14:55.259
 He sustains everything.

00:14:55.500 --> 00:14:57.039
 He decides the temperature of the sun.

00:14:57.139 --> 00:14:58.480
 He holds up the stars

00:14:58.480 --> 00:14:59.339
 and he makes it rain

00:14:59.339 --> 00:15:00.559
 and he makes our hearts beat.

00:15:01.339 --> 00:15:03.860
 We get tired at like three o'clock in the afternoon.

00:15:03.860 --> 00:15:06.159
 And then like think about

00:15:06.159 --> 00:15:07.740
 how much more God knows than you.

00:15:08.279 --> 00:15:09.960
 Like God has always existed

00:15:09.960 --> 00:15:11.980
 so he's known everything that has ever happened

00:15:11.980 --> 00:15:13.860
 and he knows how those events

00:15:13.860 --> 00:15:15.060
 caused each event to happen

00:15:15.060 --> 00:15:17.159
 and he knows everyone who's ever existed

00:15:17.159 --> 00:15:18.759
 and everyone who will ever exist.

00:15:19.100 --> 00:15:20.879
 And I'm like a little bit foggy

00:15:20.879 --> 00:15:22.440
 on things I did over the weekend.

00:15:24.060 --> 00:15:24.960
 And so if you consider

00:15:24.960 --> 00:15:26.700
 how much bigger God is

00:15:26.700 --> 00:15:28.500
 in all those situations than you,

00:15:29.019 --> 00:15:30.000
 I want you to take a moment

00:15:30.000 --> 00:15:31.379
 to think about how much bigger

00:15:31.379 --> 00:15:33.799
 God's holiness is above your holiness.

00:15:34.639 --> 00:15:36.059
 God has always existed

00:15:36.059 --> 00:15:37.799
 and in that time

00:15:37.799 --> 00:15:39.840
 he has never done anything but perfection.

00:15:40.220 --> 00:15:40.440
 Sorry.

00:15:41.200 --> 00:15:42.840
 He has never been anything but perfection.

00:15:43.600 --> 00:15:45.019
 In fact, God is so perfect

00:15:45.019 --> 00:15:46.559
 that the word holiness

00:15:46.559 --> 00:15:47.600
 is kind of arbitrary

00:15:47.600 --> 00:15:50.019
 because holy just means like God

00:15:50.019 --> 00:15:51.620
 and holiness is like God

00:15:51.620 --> 00:15:53.299
 and then God is holy

00:15:53.299 --> 00:15:55.200
 and so you've kind of done a full circle there.

00:15:56.179 --> 00:15:57.559
 And God sets things up

00:15:57.559 --> 00:15:59.980
 so we can really see how holy he is.

00:16:00.480 --> 00:16:01.399
 The priestly system

00:16:01.399 --> 00:16:03.000
 that God sets up in Leviticus

00:16:03.000 --> 00:16:05.720
 is all about God showing his people

00:16:05.720 --> 00:16:07.360
 how holy he is.

00:16:07.960 --> 00:16:09.139
 Even though the Israelites

00:16:09.139 --> 00:16:10.320
 are God's chosen people

00:16:10.320 --> 00:16:11.100
 who he loves

00:16:11.100 --> 00:16:13.200
 and he's committed to them,

00:16:13.340 --> 00:16:15.419
 they can't come to God on their own.

00:16:15.919 --> 00:16:17.440
 That's why there were priests.

00:16:17.879 --> 00:16:18.980
 Someone needed to stand between

00:16:18.980 --> 00:16:20.259
 a perfect God

00:16:20.259 --> 00:16:21.320
 and a sinful people

00:16:21.320 --> 00:16:22.480
 and unholy people

00:16:22.480 --> 00:16:24.259
 so that the Israelites

00:16:24.259 --> 00:16:25.220
 could even come close

00:16:25.220 --> 00:16:26.000
 to being near God.

00:16:26.740 --> 00:16:28.000
 That's why there was need

00:16:28.000 --> 00:16:29.220
 for a sacrificial system.

00:16:29.220 --> 00:16:32.300
 In order for unholy people

00:16:32.300 --> 00:16:33.080
 or sinful people

00:16:33.080 --> 00:16:34.360
 to even come close to God,

00:16:34.480 --> 00:16:35.440
 someone needed to die

00:16:35.440 --> 00:16:36.700
 in order for them to get there.

00:16:38.840 --> 00:16:40.620
 And when we consider these things

00:16:40.620 --> 00:16:41.660
 and we consider the power

00:16:41.660 --> 00:16:42.820
 that God has over us

00:16:42.820 --> 00:16:45.160
 and the things that God knows above us

00:16:45.160 --> 00:16:46.920
 and the way that he is infinitely greater

00:16:46.920 --> 00:16:48.120
 than we can even fathom

00:16:48.120 --> 00:16:50.160
 and the fact that he's holy,

00:16:50.360 --> 00:16:51.340
 it makes the arrogance

00:16:51.340 --> 00:16:53.340
 of looking inside the ark of the Lord

00:16:53.340 --> 00:16:55.440
 quite shocking actually.

00:16:55.440 --> 00:16:58.160
 And it's not like

00:16:58.160 --> 00:16:59.960
 they looked in the ark of the Lord

00:16:59.960 --> 00:17:02.340
 and that's not what God told them to do

00:17:02.340 --> 00:17:03.660
 and God was angry

00:17:03.660 --> 00:17:04.660
 and so he killed them.

00:17:04.720 --> 00:17:05.880
 Although God would be totally

00:17:05.880 --> 00:17:07.019
 within his rights to do that

00:17:07.019 --> 00:17:07.759
 if that was true.

00:17:08.400 --> 00:17:10.080
 But it was the experience of people

00:17:10.080 --> 00:17:11.279
 who were so imperfect

00:17:11.279 --> 00:17:13.259
 approaching something so perfect.

00:17:14.039 --> 00:17:15.200
 The two couldn't coexist.

00:17:16.400 --> 00:17:16.980
 God's holiness

00:17:16.980 --> 00:17:18.500
 totally obliterated

00:17:18.500 --> 00:17:19.539
 these unholy people.

00:17:19.539 --> 00:17:22.259
 Look at verse 20.

00:17:23.980 --> 00:17:26.019
 And the people of Beth Shemesh asked,

00:17:26.579 --> 00:17:27.619
 who can stand in the presence

00:17:27.619 --> 00:17:29.159
 of the Lord, this holy God?

00:17:29.440 --> 00:17:31.139
 To whom will the ark go from here?

00:17:32.720 --> 00:17:34.159
 For the first time,

00:17:34.579 --> 00:17:35.879
 these people were struck

00:17:35.879 --> 00:17:37.039
 with fear of God.

00:17:37.399 --> 00:17:38.019
 For the first time,

00:17:38.039 --> 00:17:38.539
 they actually understood

00:17:39.119 --> 00:17:40.680
 how unworthy they were

00:17:40.680 --> 00:17:45.200
 and they had a correct perspective

00:17:45.200 --> 00:17:46.799
 of themselves before God.

00:17:46.799 --> 00:17:48.980
 And they saw a God

00:17:48.980 --> 00:17:49.779
 who was powerful

00:17:49.779 --> 00:17:50.879
 to win his own victories

00:17:50.879 --> 00:17:52.619
 and whose presence

00:17:52.619 --> 00:17:53.839
 they couldn't even stand in

00:17:53.839 --> 00:17:54.599
 because of his holiness

00:17:54.599 --> 00:17:56.240
 and they said to themselves,

00:17:57.039 --> 00:17:58.119
 who can stand in the presence

00:17:58.119 --> 00:17:58.759
 of the Lord?

00:18:00.319 --> 00:18:01.960
 It's like they finally realized

00:18:01.960 --> 00:18:03.799
 this cycle of their failures

00:18:03.799 --> 00:18:06.139
 and God's rightful anger

00:18:06.139 --> 00:18:06.799
 against that

00:18:06.799 --> 00:18:07.539
 and sort of thought,

00:18:08.259 --> 00:18:09.519
 when is this going to end?

00:18:09.740 --> 00:18:11.000
 Where's the hope in this?

00:18:11.859 --> 00:18:13.639
 God demonstrated his love for them

00:18:13.639 --> 00:18:16.019
 by coming back from Philistine,

00:18:16.019 --> 00:18:17.400
 coming back to Israel

00:18:17.400 --> 00:18:18.759
 and then this happening

00:18:18.759 --> 00:18:19.200
 would have been

00:18:19.200 --> 00:18:20.220
 such a huge blow

00:18:20.220 --> 00:18:21.200
 to their confidence.

00:18:23.139 --> 00:18:24.359
 Who can stand in the presence

00:18:24.359 --> 00:18:25.920
 of the Lord, this holy God?

00:18:27.200 --> 00:18:28.359
 The Israelites actually asked

00:18:28.359 --> 00:18:29.400
 a really good question

00:18:29.400 --> 00:18:31.660
 because the answer is no one.

00:18:32.379 --> 00:18:33.139
 No one could stand

00:18:33.139 --> 00:18:33.619
 in the presence

00:18:33.619 --> 00:18:34.859
 of this holy God.

00:18:35.660 --> 00:18:37.619
 It's just like when God returned,

00:18:37.680 --> 00:18:39.359
 but just like when God returned himself

00:18:39.359 --> 00:18:41.400
 from Philistine with the ark,

00:18:41.740 --> 00:18:43.160
 God doesn't rely on his people

00:18:43.160 --> 00:18:45.519
 to find a way to get to him.

00:18:46.140 --> 00:18:47.000
 No one can stand

00:18:47.000 --> 00:18:48.620
 in the presence of the holy God

00:18:48.620 --> 00:18:50.960
 and so God himself came out of heaven

00:18:50.960 --> 00:18:52.560
 and took on the appearance of man.

00:18:53.400 --> 00:18:54.940
 There was no possible way

00:18:54.940 --> 00:18:56.040
 that an imperfect human

00:18:56.040 --> 00:18:57.240
 could come into his presence,

00:18:57.480 --> 00:18:59.259
 so Jesus came out of heaven

00:18:59.259 --> 00:19:00.259
 and came to earth.

00:19:01.080 --> 00:19:02.240
 There was no other way

00:19:02.240 --> 00:19:04.759
 and God could have just not.

00:19:05.300 --> 00:19:07.200
 God could have left the ark in Philistine.

00:19:07.200 --> 00:19:09.360
 God could have not come to earth

00:19:09.360 --> 00:19:10.220
 and he would have just said,

00:19:10.840 --> 00:19:12.160
 you rebelled and I left you

00:19:12.160 --> 00:19:13.180
 and that's all.

00:19:13.840 --> 00:19:14.759
 But again and again,

00:19:14.880 --> 00:19:16.120
 God returns to his people

00:19:16.120 --> 00:19:18.740
 and his final solution for that

00:19:18.740 --> 00:19:20.400
 comes in the form of Jesus.

00:19:21.860 --> 00:19:24.460
 Jesus being holy and perfect like God

00:19:24.460 --> 00:19:27.440
 would stand between an unholy people

00:19:27.440 --> 00:19:28.319
 and a holy God.

00:19:31.220 --> 00:19:33.539
 The Israelites looking into the ark of God

00:19:33.539 --> 00:19:36.000
 and God striking them down

00:19:36.000 --> 00:19:38.159
 is contrasted in the New Testament.

00:19:39.359 --> 00:19:42.220
 In Hebrews 4, verse 16,

00:19:43.200 --> 00:19:44.079
 it says this,

00:19:44.720 --> 00:19:46.740
 let us then approach God's throne of grace

00:19:46.740 --> 00:19:47.379
 with confidence

00:19:47.379 --> 00:19:49.460
 so that we may receive mercy

00:19:49.460 --> 00:19:50.279
 and find grace

00:19:50.279 --> 00:19:52.079
 to help us in our time of need.

00:19:53.639 --> 00:19:54.839
 Jesus made us holy

00:19:54.839 --> 00:19:56.200
 and so that we could approach

00:19:56.200 --> 00:19:58.079
 a holy God without fear

00:19:58.079 --> 00:20:00.279
 so that we could even approach him

00:20:00.279 --> 00:20:01.799
 with confidence or boldly.

00:20:01.799 --> 00:20:05.119
 When the Israelites said to each other,

00:20:05.659 --> 00:20:06.779
 who can stand in the presence

00:20:06.779 --> 00:20:09.659
 of the Lord, this holy God?

00:20:10.099 --> 00:20:12.139
 I don't think that in their wildest dreams

00:20:12.139 --> 00:20:13.299
 they ever would have thought

00:20:13.299 --> 00:20:14.759
 that there was going to be a time

00:20:14.759 --> 00:20:16.359
 where us, the people of God,

00:20:16.440 --> 00:20:18.339
 could say, yes, we can.

00:20:18.339 --> 00:20:20.459
 We can reason for that.

00:20:20.459 --> 00:20:21.000
 Let us know

00:20:21.000 --> 00:20:21.339
 that this woman said

00:20:21.339 --> 00:20:22.019
 cannot be anything

00:20:22.019 --> 00:20:43.480
 but not only