WEBVTT

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 Father, your word talks about things which many of us never think about, and virtually nobody in our culture thinks about.

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 And so sometimes, Father, your word is just a bit of a stretch for us.

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 It talks about things that don't seem to be very, very relevant, yet your word says that this is very relevant to us.

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 So we ask, Father, that you create within us an openness and a curiosity to see how you and your word analyze our situation and how your word wants us to see ourselves and see our own situation.

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 We ask, Father, that you make us open to that, hungry for that, and that you grant us that teachable heart, Father,

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 that allows your word to speak deep into our heart and create deep change within us for our good, for the good of this city, and for your great glory.

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 And all this we ask in the name of Jesus, your Son and our Savior. Amen.

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 One of the things which was, many of you know, about two years ago and a bit, I had the great privilege of being able to go to Angola.

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 I think I was gone for 20 days.

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 I was invited by SIM, an important missionary agency.

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 I was invited to come and be the speaker at their conference for all of their missionaries in Angola.

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 They gathered them together for a six-day conference, a time of retreat and refreshment, and many other missionaries came to it as well.

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 And I got to do some other stuff and do some other speaking in and around Angola.

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 And one of the really interesting things about going to something like this is because I was going to be with missionaries,

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 it meant I went to parts of Angola that tourists don't go to, not that Angola is much of a tourist destination.

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 It could be, but that would require a great change in the culture and everything like that.

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 Like I, some of you know, I joked how, I think it was like every day when I woke up in Angola and I was there in July,

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 every day you'd wake up, the question would be whether you'd see one cloud in the blue sky or two clouds in a blue sky

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 with a high of 31 degrees with no humidity.

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 And at night it would go down to 18 degrees with no humidity.

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 And that sounds like the perfect summer holiday destination for many people.

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 But anyway, so I got to go to a part of Angola that, I mean, I don't know why any tourist would ever go there,

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 but missionaries were there because there were a lot of very, very needy people.

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 And most of the missionaries were connected with a medical work and other types of development work around water.

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 One of the wonderful things I had, got to do is I got to go with a nurse one day as she drove around.

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 We were already in a very remote part of Angola, but we got to drive around other really, really remote parts of Angola.

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 And it was very, very striking to me.

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 Other than the fact that some people had cell phones and there was some steel, the huts, the village, the farming techniques,

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 the village life and these back, back, back roads that you needed like a land cruiser to drive to.

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 It was like unchanged in many of its ways of living.

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 Like I could have gone back 200 years ago and it would have just been the same.

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 It was quite stunning.

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 And one of the things that the nurse and many of the other nurses and doctors told us is not only, of course,

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 were they trying to deal with the actual physical problems,

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 but they were also trying to get people to change their ways in terms of how they fed babies

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 and how they dealt with things like water.

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 And one of their problems was, in fact, trying to get people to change their understanding of water.

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 They'd sort of say, and you can sort of understand why they'd say this.

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 I mean, the Portuguese colonial power wasn't actually a very, very good colonial power in Angola.

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 Like it didn't add a lot to them.

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 It was a very oppressive type of colonial power.

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 And, you know, the nurses and doctors would say,

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 well, you can't just drink the water out of the river or out of that well or out of that stream.

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 You need to do this or that.

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 And they'd sort of go along.

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 They'd be polite with it.

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 But when they'd go back and in their hearts and minds, they'd say,

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 well, woman, we've been drinking this water.

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 You know, we've been on this part of land for hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of years.

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 And we've been drinking this water for hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of years.

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 And why, on one level, should I listen to some white person come and tell me that this water is making us sick?

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 I mean, the nurse would say, yeah, but the water has been making your family sick for hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of years.

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 And you'd have fewer diseases and all this.

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 So anyway, it was an ongoing battle to try to actually have the people realize that what was going on

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 and what part of their custom and tradition was, was actually something that was making them sick.

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 The Bible's going to talk about something today that Canadians generally never talk about,

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 but it's actually something that causes us lots of distress and it corrupts us.

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 But it's not something you'll ever hear talked about in the Globe and Mail or in CBC or at the University of Ottawa or Carleton

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 or the Université de Québec in Hull.

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 I don't know if I pronounced that correct. I probably didn't.

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 You don't hear about it.

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 And it's going to talk about the problem of idolatry.

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 The Lord was very kind to me this week.

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 I mean, he's always kind to me.

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 But on Friday, in one of the coffee shops, which I'm a regular person at,

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 I was there in the morning working on something and the guy asked me where I was off to.

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 And I said, well, actually, I'm going to Parliament Hill to speak on Parliament Hill.

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 I spoke on Parliament Hill on Friday.

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 And I went back to the coffee shop later on in the afternoon to get some more work done.

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 And he asked me two things.

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 He asked me how it went and he asked me what I talked about.

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 And I paused for a moment and I said, well, actually, I talked about idolatry.

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 I talked about idols.

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 And he said, he's a really, really, really, really, he's a friend.

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 He's a really, really, really fine young man.

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 And you'd love to have him as your employee.

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 You'd love to have him as your neighbor.

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 He's a really good guy.

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 And he looked at me blankly when I said that I was speaking about idols.

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 And he said, do you mean like people you look up to?

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 And I said, no, no, no, that's not people you look up to.

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 That's sort of talking more like about heroes or something like that or role models.

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 No, I talk about idols or something that you serve, that you get your meaning and identity from.

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 But they're not really something that will really give you a true identity or worth serving.

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 And he still looked blankly at me.

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 And I'm trying to think.

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 Somebody, you know, in heaven I'll find out that one of you was praying for me at that exact moment.

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 And I said, well, money.

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 You know, we can see how many people in our culture, they make a type of idol out of money.

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 They get their meaning from pursuing money.

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 They get their, they serve money.

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 They sort of put everything that they have into trying to accumulate money, keep money.

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 And he said, oh, okay.

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 And then he sort of paused for a second and said, I don't have any idols.

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 And I said, well, I think every single human being has idols that they struggle with.

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 And he said, hmm, this was Friday.

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 I haven't, I haven't been back to that coffee shop.

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 He said, well, I'll think about it, whether I have an idol.

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 So you can pray that about this young man, that he will, in fact, raise the conversation.

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 Or maybe I will with him on Monday or Tuesday when I see him next.

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 But you can see here a very, very common Canadian thing.

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 And actually a very, very common Christian thing.

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 That idols are something that, you know, when you go to Angola.

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 And Angola, one of the problems with rural Angola is that they still have a great belief in witch doctors.

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 And there's, in a sense, a very, very obvious type of idolatry and worship of gods and forces that go on there.

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 But we don't really think that that's something that goes on in Canada.

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 It's something primitive.

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 But the Bible is going to suggest that, in fact, it's a human problem.

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 It's something we have to think about very, very deeply.

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 So if you could turn with me in your Bibles to Judges 2, verse 6.

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 Let's look at it.

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 Judges 2, verse 6 and following.

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 And just as you're turning to this, a bit of a geek moment for those of you who are geeks about things to do with the Bible.

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 The way the book of Judges is written is that there's two introductions.

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 There's also two conclusions.

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 And the first introduction is what we looked at last week, chapter 1, verse 1 to chapter 2, verse 5.

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 And in some ways, that emphasizes a type of historical thing which happens after Joshua had died and brought them into the promised land.

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 But they haven't taken the whole promised land.

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 The book of Judges covers the time from entering the promised land to the time of the first kings.

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 And about 250 years or so, depending on how you date things in the book.

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 And so last week, we looked at the first introduction, which sort of just says nine tribes and what they did or didn't do to take the promised land.

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 Most scholars, all scholars, say that what we're looking at today, chapter 2, verse 6 to chapter 3, verse 6, is the second introduction.

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 And it's, in a sense, the more theological introduction, where you get, in a sense, God's perspective on what happens when you give yourselves, when you're in the presence of idols and you don't deal with them properly.

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 And for those of you who like, like, just straight, like, theology and straight ideas like that, then this is the part of the book you'd like.

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 And then the rest of the book, really, it tells the same thing as chapter 2, verse 6 to 3, verse 6, but it tells it in the form of stories.

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 A series of stories about 12 judges and what happens.

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 So the stories later on will, in a sense, you enter into truths in a different way when you read a story.

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 And that's what's going to happen in the rest of the book.

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 So this is the second introduction, and here's how it goes.

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 It begins with sort of a flashback to the past.

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 Verse 6, when Joshua dismissed the people, the people of Israel went each to his inheritance to take possession of the land.

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 And we saw what happened with that last week.

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 And the people served the Lord all the days of Joshua and all the days of the elders who outlived Joshua,

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 who had seen all the great work that the Lord had done for Israel.

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 And Joshua, the son of Nun, the servant of the Lord, died at the age of 110 years old.

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 And they buried him within the boundaries of his inheritance in Timnath-Heres,

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 in the hill country of Ephraim, north of the mountain of Gesh.

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 And all that generation also were gathered to their fathers.

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 And there arose another generation after them who did not know the Lord or the work that he had done for Israel.

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 And so what this is talking about here is how the Lord has saved them out of bondage into slavery.

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 He took them out of Egypt, and it was the Lord who did that.

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 And then the Lord kept them, even though the people of Israel had been unfaithful,

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 he kept them and provided for them for 40 years.

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 And now they've come to the edge of the promised land.

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 And Joshua is the one who God uses to bring them into the promised land.

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 And once again, God saves and delivers them.

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 It's God who brings them into the promised land.

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 And Joshua, in a sense, is the leader that he has called to do that.

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 But then you'll notice here what it says at verse 10.

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 And all that generation also were gathered to their fathers, their forefathers,

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 and there arose another generation after them who did not know the Lord or the work that he had done for Israel.

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 And the word there, know, is the same word that's used when I want to talk about matters of sex.

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 What I'll talk about is knowing another person.

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 And that's a biblical way of talking about it.

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 It's a bit of a more polite way in church to talk about a certain type of thing.

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 And it's the same word which is used there.

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 And so it's not talking about as if you went back in a time machine

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 and asked the people of Israel just after all this generation had passed,

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 do you know who the Lord is?

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 They'd say, oh yeah, I know who the Lord is.

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 The Lord is the one who, you know, did this and that.

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 And they might even be able to give you a bit of a theology about him.

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 But they don't know him.

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 They don't have that intimate relationship with him of trust.

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 That's sort of what a good marriage should be

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 where there is a knowing of the husband for the wife and the wife of the husband

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 that both involves something physical but is far more than physical.

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 It's something which should involve the imagination and the emotions

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 and how you spend your time and there's a sense of intimacy.

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 And so this new generation doesn't have that with the Lord.

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 And they don't even know those works of the Lord.

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 And once again, it's not so much that they don't have a sense

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 of being able to recount some of them.

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 But if you think about it, if you understand this fundamental image

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 of almost a marital type of sexual imagery,

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 a knowing imagery, it's the same thing of

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 I can tell you certain things about Louise

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 and I can think about different things that Louise has done

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 and there'd be many things like that that would make me smile,

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 that would give me pleasure, so to speak, just thinking about it.

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 Like the way she stands or the way she walks.

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 Like I can recognize her walking from a great distance.

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 And like I like it.

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 Like I know things about her.

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 It's not just that I know things about her,

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 that I know them connected to intimacy

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 and connected with affection and connected with delight.

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 And that's what has been lost.

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 There's no personal knowledge.

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 And when they think about different things that he's done,

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 they might just say, oh yeah, yeah,

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 it'd be the same thing as one of you being able to tell me

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 who the shortstop was for the New York Yankees in 1935.

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 It's just a fact that you could roll off.

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 I don't know if there'd be anybody here who could do it,

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 but there might be.

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 And it's just, there's not that intimacy.

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 And that's been lost.

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 So if you know the last week thing,

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 is the people of Israel didn't fulfill what Joshua had said.

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 And they also, there's been a lostness there.

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 There's been a loss of that relationship with the Lord.

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 And so what happens?

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 Well, that's what happens if you look at verses 10 to 13.

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 We'll look at, well, actually,

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 we'll look at verse 10 again.

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 And then notice verse 11.

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 In my version, there's like a different little chapter heading.

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 But it's really important to notice the move

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 between verse 10 and verse 11, 12, and 13.

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 Look at verse 10 again.

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 And all that generation also were gathered to their forefathers.

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 It's a way of referring to death.

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 And there arose another generation after them

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 who did not know the Lord or the work that he had done for Israel.

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 And verse 11,

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 And the people of Israel did what was evil in the sight of the Lord,

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 and served the Baals.

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 And they abandoned the Lord, verse 12,

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 the God of their forefathers,

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 who had brought them, not the forefathers,

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 but God, who had brought them out of the land of Egypt.

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 They went, this is Israel,

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 after other gods from among the gods of the peoples

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 who were around them.

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 And they bowed down to them.

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 I'll talk about that in a moment.

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 And they provoked the Lord to anger.

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 However, they abandoned the Lord

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 and served the Baals and the Ashteroth.

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 And Ashteroth is a plural word for those different goddesses.

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 So they served these male gods,

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 the Canaanite pantheon of gods and goddesses.

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 And you'll notice here, it's very, very subtle,

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 but it's very, very important between verse 10 and 11,

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 is that when they stop knowing the Lord,

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 it isn't as if they go to something neutral.

00:16:33.040 --> 00:16:35.980
 But when they stop worshipping the Lord,

00:16:36.280 --> 00:16:38.140
 they immediately start, in a sense,

00:16:38.300 --> 00:16:39.840
 worshipping something else.

00:16:41.380 --> 00:16:44.280
 I'm going to unpack this more in a few minutes.

00:16:44.940 --> 00:16:46.680
 But you see, one of the things which the Bible

00:16:46.680 --> 00:16:50.120
 wants to communicate to us as human beings

00:16:50.120 --> 00:16:54.700
 is that, in a sense, human beings are hardwired to worship.

00:16:54.700 --> 00:16:59.560
 Every human being is a creature made in the image of God

00:16:59.560 --> 00:17:03.040
 who's hardwired to bow down.

00:17:03.860 --> 00:17:06.080
 And the word which is translated as bowed down,

00:17:06.200 --> 00:17:07.740
 what it's really talking about is,

00:17:08.100 --> 00:17:09.840
 this is very old-fashioned language.

00:17:10.000 --> 00:17:12.900
 Those of you who like fantasy novels,

00:17:13.240 --> 00:17:17.299
 which often recreate lots of things from medieval times

00:17:17.299 --> 00:17:22.819
 and ancient times in a fantasy or science fiction context,

00:17:22.819 --> 00:17:26.359
 what they really do, that the language is of paying homage.

00:17:27.220 --> 00:17:28.279
 That's what it says.

00:17:28.339 --> 00:17:30.179
 It would actually be more literal to say

00:17:30.179 --> 00:17:34.939
 they paid homage to the Baals and the Ashtaroth,

00:17:35.079 --> 00:17:37.339
 to the gods and goddesses of Canaan.

00:17:38.359 --> 00:17:42.339
 And to pay homage means to become a vassal

00:17:42.339 --> 00:17:48.639
 under a Lord and swear fealty to the Lord.

00:17:48.640 --> 00:17:53.500
 So they no longer, in a sense,

00:17:53.940 --> 00:17:57.580
 understand themselves as being the Lord's people,

00:17:58.259 --> 00:18:00.640
 that he is their great deliverer,

00:18:01.520 --> 00:18:03.080
 who delivered them out of Egypt,

00:18:03.860 --> 00:18:05.700
 provided for them in the wilderness,

00:18:07.040 --> 00:18:09.080
 brought them into the promised land,

00:18:09.620 --> 00:18:11.820
 and has carried them and cared for them.

00:18:11.819 --> 00:18:15.059
 And that when he refers to them,

00:18:15.179 --> 00:18:19.460
 he uses languages of almost like marital intimacy,

00:18:20.019 --> 00:18:22.519
 that that's what he desires for his people.

00:18:23.740 --> 00:18:25.419
 And as they lose that,

00:18:25.539 --> 00:18:26.740
 they don't become neutral,

00:18:27.279 --> 00:18:31.059
 but now they enter into a new relationship instantly,

00:18:31.259 --> 00:18:34.480
 and this instance is now one of homage.

00:18:35.399 --> 00:18:38.200
 They acknowledge themselves or see themselves

00:18:38.200 --> 00:18:42.420
 as the vassals of these gods and goddesses,

00:18:42.580 --> 00:18:45.980
 and they pledge fealty to them.

00:18:46.059 --> 00:18:47.080
 They will serve them.

00:18:47.160 --> 00:18:49.980
 They understand that these gods and goddesses

00:18:49.980 --> 00:18:51.620
 are higher than them,

00:18:51.920 --> 00:18:54.660
 and are worthy of their service,

00:18:55.160 --> 00:18:56.539
 and of their loyalty.

00:18:58.340 --> 00:19:00.140
 Now, the problem is,

00:19:00.140 --> 00:19:05.100
 and most of the rest of the Old Testament,

00:19:05.259 --> 00:19:07.860
 there's many, many scathing, scathing,

00:19:08.320 --> 00:19:10.440
 scathing things about idolatry.

00:19:11.220 --> 00:19:14.759
 The shocking thing in an entire ancient,

00:19:15.220 --> 00:19:19.040
 a whole planet that saw idolatry as natural,

00:19:19.880 --> 00:19:22.360
 God begins to teach the Israelites

00:19:22.360 --> 00:19:24.840
 to have no image and no likeness,

00:19:25.340 --> 00:19:26.680
 that there's not gods,

00:19:27.100 --> 00:19:27.860
 excuse me,

00:19:27.920 --> 00:19:29.780
 that there's not gods and goddesses,

00:19:29.779 --> 00:19:31.619
 that there's only the Lord.

00:19:32.539 --> 00:19:35.519
 And Isaiah and Ezekiel and all,

00:19:35.660 --> 00:19:36.379
 they make fun.

00:19:36.460 --> 00:19:36.920
 They say, you know,

00:19:36.980 --> 00:19:38.039
 you go into the woods,

00:19:39.039 --> 00:19:40.539
 and you kill some game,

00:19:41.139 --> 00:19:43.019
 and then you want to cook your game.

00:19:43.359 --> 00:19:44.740
 So you see a nice piece of,

00:19:45.039 --> 00:19:46.579
 you see something there,

00:19:46.779 --> 00:19:47.319
 a tree,

00:19:47.399 --> 00:19:48.700
 and you cut the tree down,

00:19:49.039 --> 00:19:50.619
 and you take half of the tree,

00:19:50.740 --> 00:19:52.019
 and you turn it into fire,

00:19:52.139 --> 00:19:53.299
 and you roast your game,

00:19:53.379 --> 00:19:54.460
 and you eat your game.

00:19:54.799 --> 00:19:56.240
 And the other half of the tree,

00:19:56.240 --> 00:19:57.879
 you carve it into an idol.

00:19:58.279 --> 00:19:59.200
 And that same tree,

00:19:59.200 --> 00:20:00.840
 part of it you burned in the fire,

00:20:01.279 --> 00:20:02.900
 to roast your meat.

00:20:02.980 --> 00:20:04.200
 And then after you've roast your meat,

00:20:04.279 --> 00:20:06.180
 you bow down to the other half of the tree,

00:20:06.240 --> 00:20:07.400
 which has become your idol,

00:20:07.680 --> 00:20:08.500
 and worship it,

00:20:08.580 --> 00:20:11.880
 and give that other half of the tree thanks

00:20:11.880 --> 00:20:14.240
 for the fact that you've received this food.

00:20:15.240 --> 00:20:16.799
 And the prophets keep saying,

00:20:17.019 --> 00:20:18.340
 how foolish is this?

00:20:18.900 --> 00:20:20.700
 How can you not see that this is completely,

00:20:20.840 --> 00:20:21.600
 utterly ridiculous?

00:20:21.599 --> 00:20:21.919
 ridiculous.

00:20:23.679 --> 00:20:24.139
 You see,

00:20:24.199 --> 00:20:25.159
 the fact of the matter is,

00:20:25.179 --> 00:20:27.399
 is that every human being is made in the image of God.

00:20:28.599 --> 00:20:30.240
 No other created thing,

00:20:30.319 --> 00:20:31.740
 no other created thing,

00:20:31.839 --> 00:20:35.679
 no other creature will most help you to know what God is like,

00:20:35.679 --> 00:20:38.419
 rather than actually seeing another human being.

00:20:38.420 --> 00:20:40.220
 And yet human beings,

00:20:40.220 --> 00:20:44.039
 who are made in the image of God,

00:20:44.580 --> 00:20:48.580
 they pledge their allegiance and loyalty

00:20:48.580 --> 00:20:52.019
 to something vastly less than them,

00:20:52.019 --> 00:20:52.860
 a piece of wood,

00:20:53.500 --> 00:20:57.160
 to money,

00:20:58.500 --> 00:21:01.160
 to the job,

00:21:01.160 --> 00:21:03.980
 to having power,

00:21:04.880 --> 00:21:07.960
 to having sex with a particular person,

00:21:09.140 --> 00:21:13.800
 with having a war where you're able to kill other people.

00:21:14.880 --> 00:21:16.440
 And all these things are less,

00:21:16.660 --> 00:21:17.360
 or evil,

00:21:17.800 --> 00:21:18.640
 or demonic.

00:21:20.019 --> 00:21:21.440
 And we bow to them,

00:21:21.980 --> 00:21:22.400
 and say,

00:21:22.500 --> 00:21:23.620
 you are greater than me.

00:21:24.259 --> 00:21:25.759
 I will serve you.

00:21:26.460 --> 00:21:28.240
 I will be loyal to you.

00:21:28.940 --> 00:21:30.640
 I will do whatever I have to do.

00:21:31.160 --> 00:21:32.759
 Because you are my Lord.

00:21:35.720 --> 00:21:36.140
 Now,

00:21:37.660 --> 00:21:41.740
 this other type of theological critique,

00:21:43.180 --> 00:21:45.940
 this prophetic denunciation of how foolish it is,

00:21:46.000 --> 00:21:46.880
 how foolish it is.

00:21:46.960 --> 00:21:48.060
 You killed the game.

00:21:48.620 --> 00:21:49.880
 You cut down the tree.

00:21:50.380 --> 00:21:52.740
 You took half of the tree to make a fire,

00:21:52.880 --> 00:21:53.580
 to cook the meat.

00:21:53.660 --> 00:21:54.759
 And the other half of the tree,

00:21:54.840 --> 00:21:56.040
 you turned it into an idol,

00:21:56.340 --> 00:21:58.220
 and then you bowed down to that wood,

00:21:58.759 --> 00:21:59.800
 thanking you for this.

00:21:59.799 --> 00:22:00.519
 Like,

00:22:00.599 --> 00:22:02.220
 how can you not see that that's nuts?

00:22:04.059 --> 00:22:08.519
 That type of theological critique will come later on in the Bible.

00:22:10.500 --> 00:22:10.740
 But,

00:22:11.099 --> 00:22:14.919
 what Judges does is set the stage for it,

00:22:15.919 --> 00:22:18.139
 by talking about how,

00:22:18.140 --> 00:22:20.340
 well,

00:22:20.340 --> 00:22:22.440
 let's look at how it talks about it.

00:22:22.700 --> 00:22:25.120
 Verse 14 and 15.

00:22:26.560 --> 00:22:29.759
 So the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel,

00:22:29.980 --> 00:22:32.920
 and he gave them over to plunderers who plundered them.

00:22:33.540 --> 00:22:36.000
 And he sold them into the hand of their surrounding enemies,

00:22:36.100 --> 00:22:38.460
 so that they could no longer withstand their enemies.

00:22:39.300 --> 00:22:40.820
 Whenever they marched out,

00:22:40.940 --> 00:22:43.020
 the hand of the Lord was against them for harm,

00:22:43.240 --> 00:22:44.140
 as the Lord had warned,

00:22:44.140 --> 00:22:46.360
 and his Lord had sworn to them.

00:22:47.060 --> 00:22:48.500
 And they were in terrible distress.

00:22:49.620 --> 00:22:49.840
 Now,

00:22:49.920 --> 00:22:51.259
 there's several things here

00:22:51.259 --> 00:22:55.040
 that we see from the rest of the text.

00:22:55.120 --> 00:22:55.460
 First of all,

00:22:55.500 --> 00:22:57.360
 we can see that God is angry,

00:22:57.480 --> 00:22:58.520
 but he's justly angry.

00:22:59.540 --> 00:23:01.180
 Just as I would be angry,

00:23:01.300 --> 00:23:02.400
 just as Louise would be angry.

00:23:02.480 --> 00:23:03.060
 Why make it me?

00:23:03.100 --> 00:23:03.900
 I'll be the bad guy.

00:23:04.000 --> 00:23:06.060
 Louise is far better than me.

00:23:06.540 --> 00:23:09.120
 If Louise came in and found me flirting with women,

00:23:09.119 --> 00:23:11.959
 none of you would say,

00:23:12.099 --> 00:23:14.059
 she's wrong to be mad at me.

00:23:15.000 --> 00:23:15.719
 You'd all say,

00:23:15.779 --> 00:23:16.459
 you go, girl.

00:23:18.559 --> 00:23:19.639
 You go, girl.

00:23:19.979 --> 00:23:20.899
 You give it to him.

00:23:21.339 --> 00:23:21.979
 Let me help.

00:23:23.199 --> 00:23:24.539
 That's what you'd say, right?

00:23:25.099 --> 00:23:25.719
 And so,

00:23:25.799 --> 00:23:27.959
 because there's this desire for the Lord

00:23:27.959 --> 00:23:31.739
 to have this relationship with human beings like us,

00:23:31.739 --> 00:23:34.519
 and when he sees human beings like us

00:23:34.519 --> 00:23:35.859
 serving money,

00:23:36.000 --> 00:23:37.139
 or serving the state,

00:23:37.140 --> 00:23:38.360
 or serving the race,

00:23:38.460 --> 00:23:39.560
 or serving nation,

00:23:40.240 --> 00:23:42.460
 or serving our own ambition,

00:23:42.880 --> 00:23:44.100
 serving our ego,

00:23:44.400 --> 00:23:44.660
 serve,

00:23:45.860 --> 00:23:46.280
 and it,

00:23:47.080 --> 00:23:47.280
 it,

00:23:48.040 --> 00:23:50.380
 there's a proper anger which is there.

00:23:51.680 --> 00:23:53.140
 And the language,

00:23:53.440 --> 00:23:53.900
 it's very,

00:23:54.040 --> 00:23:55.560
 very important language here,

00:23:55.740 --> 00:23:56.400
 because it's,

00:23:56.400 --> 00:23:57.940
 it's how you have to understand

00:23:57.940 --> 00:24:00.280
 a whole lot of the Lord's judgment

00:24:00.280 --> 00:24:01.560
 in the entire Bible

00:24:01.560 --> 00:24:02.460
 from the Old Testament

00:24:02.460 --> 00:24:03.340
 to the New Testament.

00:24:04.060 --> 00:24:06.080
 Look at this here again in verse 14.

00:24:06.079 --> 00:24:07.019
 So the anger of the Lord

00:24:07.019 --> 00:24:08.399
 was kindled against Israel.

00:24:09.179 --> 00:24:09.859
 And notice here,

00:24:09.939 --> 00:24:12.179
 he gave them over to plunderers

00:24:12.179 --> 00:24:13.099
 who plundered them,

00:24:13.139 --> 00:24:14.720
 and he sold them into the hand

00:24:14.720 --> 00:24:16.019
 of their surrounding enemies

00:24:16.019 --> 00:24:17.980
 so that they could no longer

00:24:17.980 --> 00:24:19.059
 withstand their enemies.

00:24:19.419 --> 00:24:20.279
 Here's the thing.

00:24:21.579 --> 00:24:21.939
 You see,

00:24:22.099 --> 00:24:23.500
 what happens is that God,

00:24:23.639 --> 00:24:24.919
 by his common grace,

00:24:25.139 --> 00:24:27.439
 restrains us from the full effect of evil.

00:24:27.440 --> 00:24:32.100
 Day after day,

00:24:32.259 --> 00:24:33.580
 I want to serve an idol.

00:24:33.759 --> 00:24:34.660
 Day after day,

00:24:34.759 --> 00:24:36.039
 I want to serve my ego.

00:24:36.259 --> 00:24:37.180
 Day after day,

00:24:37.299 --> 00:24:39.120
 I want to be my own boss,

00:24:39.240 --> 00:24:40.059
 my own law.

00:24:40.559 --> 00:24:41.380
 Day after day,

00:24:41.460 --> 00:24:43.320
 I want to think I'm the center of the universe.

00:24:43.460 --> 00:24:44.940
 I want to think I'm the center of the church.

00:24:45.039 --> 00:24:46.900
 This is the most important person in the world.

00:24:47.000 --> 00:24:49.100
 I want to think this over and over and over again.

00:24:49.539 --> 00:24:50.580
 And God in his kindness,

00:24:50.820 --> 00:24:51.539
 and so do you,

00:24:51.600 --> 00:24:53.180
 and God in his kindness and his mercy,

00:24:53.180 --> 00:24:56.180
 he restrains us experiencing the full consequence

00:24:56.799 --> 00:24:58.820
 of such ideas and such desires.

00:24:59.240 --> 00:25:00.360
 He restrains us.

00:25:00.720 --> 00:25:02.320
 But at some point in time,

00:25:03.120 --> 00:25:07.580
 God's judgment is to remove his common grace

00:25:07.580 --> 00:25:09.400
 and let me have what I want.

00:25:12.880 --> 00:25:14.779
 He gives me over.

00:25:15.880 --> 00:25:17.660
 The language of sold into

00:25:17.660 --> 00:25:20.740
 is a technical language in the ancient world

00:25:20.740 --> 00:25:22.140
 for committing.

00:25:23.180 --> 00:25:25.580
 He, in a sense,

00:25:26.500 --> 00:25:28.820
 commits into our hands

00:25:28.820 --> 00:25:30.460
 what it is we want to do.

00:25:32.860 --> 00:25:34.380
 But this type of committing

00:25:34.380 --> 00:25:36.840
 is also connected to slavery.

00:25:38.220 --> 00:25:39.320
 And what we end up doing

00:25:39.320 --> 00:25:42.160
 is, if you think back to that analogy,

00:25:42.299 --> 00:25:42.960
 what is it like

00:25:42.960 --> 00:25:45.620
 if your entire imaginative world

00:25:45.620 --> 00:25:46.460
 and everything is

00:25:46.460 --> 00:25:47.900
 is that you bow down to something

00:25:47.900 --> 00:25:49.259
 which is either less than you

00:25:49.259 --> 00:25:50.759
 or evil or demonic,

00:25:51.240 --> 00:25:52.779
 it will plunder you.

00:25:53.180 --> 00:25:58.539
 it will cause you vast distress.

00:26:02.600 --> 00:26:03.000
 So,

00:26:03.140 --> 00:26:04.340
 let's just sort of capture

00:26:04.340 --> 00:26:05.140
 some of these things

00:26:05.140 --> 00:26:05.820
 and some of the points.

00:26:06.200 --> 00:26:07.200
 Here's the first thing

00:26:07.200 --> 00:26:08.320
 which we have to understand

00:26:08.320 --> 00:26:09.740
 behind all of this text.

00:26:09.820 --> 00:26:10.640
 If you understand

00:26:10.640 --> 00:26:12.480
 that even in the Old Testament,

00:26:12.680 --> 00:26:13.580
 how it's the Lord

00:26:13.580 --> 00:26:15.000
 who delivers them out of slavery,

00:26:15.200 --> 00:26:16.240
 how it's the Lord

00:26:16.240 --> 00:26:17.860
 who keeps them safe,

00:26:17.980 --> 00:26:18.660
 how it's the Lord

00:26:18.660 --> 00:26:19.960
 that fed them in the wilderness.

00:26:20.180 --> 00:26:20.840
 It's the Lord

00:26:20.840 --> 00:26:21.560
 who brings them

00:26:21.560 --> 00:26:24.560
 into the promised land.

00:26:24.620 --> 00:26:25.360
 It's the Lord

00:26:25.360 --> 00:26:26.140
 who desires

00:26:26.140 --> 00:26:27.279
 that they be idol-free.

00:26:27.740 --> 00:26:29.480
 The Lord longs for you

00:26:29.480 --> 00:26:31.220
 to be fully human,

00:26:31.880 --> 00:26:32.640
 fully free,

00:26:33.300 --> 00:26:34.180
 fully whole,

00:26:34.720 --> 00:26:35.560
 fully his,

00:26:36.060 --> 00:26:37.440
 fully idol-free.

00:26:38.080 --> 00:26:39.240
 That's what the Lord longs

00:26:39.240 --> 00:26:40.540
 for each and every one of us

00:26:40.540 --> 00:26:40.940
 who is here

00:26:40.940 --> 00:26:41.700
 and every person

00:26:41.700 --> 00:26:42.480
 in the city of Ottawa

00:26:42.480 --> 00:26:43.960
 and every person in Angola

00:26:43.960 --> 00:26:45.480
 and every person

00:26:45.480 --> 00:26:47.720
 in any people group,

00:26:47.860 --> 00:26:49.559
 his desire for every human being

00:26:49.559 --> 00:26:52.340
 is to be fully human,

00:26:53.420 --> 00:26:54.259
 fully free,

00:26:55.200 --> 00:26:55.860
 fully whole,

00:26:56.539 --> 00:26:57.220
 fully his,

00:26:57.720 --> 00:26:59.819
 and fully idol-free.

00:27:01.380 --> 00:27:02.960
 But here's the problem.

00:27:03.180 --> 00:27:04.340
 As a creature made

00:27:04.340 --> 00:27:05.500
 in the image of God,

00:27:05.500 --> 00:27:07.860
 you are hardwired

00:27:07.860 --> 00:27:09.700
 to give homage

00:27:09.700 --> 00:27:11.440
 and fealty.

00:27:11.440 --> 00:27:14.019
 As a creature made

00:27:14.019 --> 00:27:15.000
 in the image of God,

00:27:15.120 --> 00:27:16.860
 you are hardwired

00:27:16.860 --> 00:27:18.059
 to give homage

00:27:18.059 --> 00:27:19.000
 and fealty.

00:27:19.720 --> 00:27:20.820
 And that's because

00:27:20.820 --> 00:27:22.180
 we've been made for God.

00:27:25.759 --> 00:27:26.660
 We've been made

00:27:26.660 --> 00:27:27.620
 to be fully human.

00:27:28.259 --> 00:27:29.140
 We've been made

00:27:29.140 --> 00:27:29.799
 to be whole.

00:27:30.500 --> 00:27:31.140
 We've been made

00:27:31.140 --> 00:27:31.820
 to be free.

00:27:32.620 --> 00:27:33.299
 We've been made

00:27:33.299 --> 00:27:34.180
 to be at home

00:27:34.180 --> 00:27:35.500
 in our bodies

00:27:35.500 --> 00:27:36.259
 and at home

00:27:36.259 --> 00:27:36.880
 in the planet.

00:27:38.740 --> 00:27:39.019
 I mean,

00:27:39.100 --> 00:27:39.720
 part of being

00:27:39.720 --> 00:27:40.580
 at home in the planet

00:27:40.580 --> 00:27:40.900
 is

00:27:40.900 --> 00:27:42.519
 I mean,

00:27:42.600 --> 00:27:43.860
 even the worst polluter

00:27:43.860 --> 00:27:45.380
 wants somewhere else

00:27:45.380 --> 00:27:45.980
 to be polluted.

00:27:46.080 --> 00:27:46.640
 They don't want to live

00:27:46.640 --> 00:27:47.519
 where the pollution is,

00:27:47.560 --> 00:27:47.759
 right?

00:27:49.360 --> 00:27:50.440
 So if you understand

00:27:50.440 --> 00:27:51.960
 that to be fully at home

00:27:51.960 --> 00:27:52.780
 in the planet

00:27:52.780 --> 00:27:53.519
 is that you have

00:27:53.519 --> 00:27:54.259
 to be opposed

00:27:54.259 --> 00:27:55.380
 to things that

00:27:55.380 --> 00:27:56.519
 degrade the planet.

00:27:57.700 --> 00:27:58.840
 Nobody wants to live.

00:27:59.519 --> 00:28:00.460
 Nobody wants to go swimming

00:28:00.460 --> 00:28:01.400
 in a polluted river.

00:28:01.660 --> 00:28:02.900
 They go somewhere else

00:28:02.900 --> 00:28:03.780
 where it's not polluted.

00:28:04.840 --> 00:28:04.960
 Right?

00:28:05.040 --> 00:28:06.259
 But the Lord wants us

00:28:06.259 --> 00:28:07.700
 to be fully idol-free.

00:28:09.040 --> 00:28:10.320
 No idols at all.

00:28:10.319 --> 00:28:11.539
 He made us

00:28:11.539 --> 00:28:12.639
 to walk with Him

00:28:12.639 --> 00:28:14.740
 to be fully transparent,

00:28:14.939 --> 00:28:15.700
 to be at peace

00:28:15.700 --> 00:28:16.419
 with the garden,

00:28:16.559 --> 00:28:17.679
 at peace with one another,

00:28:17.779 --> 00:28:18.659
 at peace with Him,

00:28:19.439 --> 00:28:20.139
 to be able

00:28:20.139 --> 00:28:21.319
 to have conversation

00:28:21.319 --> 00:28:23.939
 and not

00:28:23.939 --> 00:28:24.779
 to

00:28:24.779 --> 00:28:26.099
 bow down

00:28:26.099 --> 00:28:26.579
 to anything

00:28:26.579 --> 00:28:26.919
 that Him,

00:28:26.980 --> 00:28:27.720
 but He made us

00:28:27.720 --> 00:28:28.319
 to know Him

00:28:28.319 --> 00:28:29.059
 and to acknowledge

00:28:29.059 --> 00:28:30.099
 that He is our God,

00:28:30.200 --> 00:28:30.919
 He is our creator,

00:28:31.039 --> 00:28:32.119
 He is our sustainer.

00:28:33.460 --> 00:28:34.919
 We were made for Him.

00:28:35.019 --> 00:28:36.399
 He's made in His image.

00:28:36.400 --> 00:28:39.440
 He hardwired that into us.

00:28:40.080 --> 00:28:41.100
 And when we turned away

00:28:41.100 --> 00:28:41.740
 from God

00:28:41.740 --> 00:28:42.860
 and rejected God

00:28:42.860 --> 00:28:43.660
 and desired to be

00:28:43.660 --> 00:28:44.460
 our own God,

00:28:44.600 --> 00:28:46.580
 the terrible irony is

00:28:46.580 --> 00:28:48.120
 is that seeking to be wise,

00:28:48.280 --> 00:28:50.140
 seeking to be a God,

00:28:50.240 --> 00:28:51.320
 we became fools.

00:28:53.080 --> 00:28:54.320
 And that part of us

00:28:54.320 --> 00:28:55.400
 which is hardwired

00:28:55.400 --> 00:28:56.259
 to bow down,

00:28:56.360 --> 00:28:57.380
 we now bow down

00:28:57.380 --> 00:28:58.640
 to the evil within us.

00:28:58.740 --> 00:28:59.400
 We bow down

00:28:59.400 --> 00:29:00.660
 to the pride within us.

00:29:00.880 --> 00:29:01.640
 We bow down

00:29:01.640 --> 00:29:03.320
 to the narcissism within us.

00:29:03.319 --> 00:29:05.419
 And we start to bow down

00:29:05.419 --> 00:29:06.159
 to other things.

00:29:06.599 --> 00:29:06.779
 You know,

00:29:06.879 --> 00:29:08.220
 you look at the terrible history

00:29:08.220 --> 00:29:09.159
 of the 20th century,

00:29:09.279 --> 00:29:10.000
 you bow down

00:29:10.000 --> 00:29:11.539
 to the social class,

00:29:11.619 --> 00:29:12.419
 you bow down

00:29:12.419 --> 00:29:14.259
 to ethnic purity

00:29:14.259 --> 00:29:15.439
 or racial purity,

00:29:15.579 --> 00:29:16.259
 you bow down

00:29:16.259 --> 00:29:17.159
 to capitalism

00:29:17.159 --> 00:29:18.220
 or ideology

00:29:18.220 --> 00:29:19.559
 or communism,

00:29:19.559 --> 00:29:20.480
 and you bow down

00:29:20.480 --> 00:29:21.119
 to sex,

00:29:21.240 --> 00:29:21.740
 you bow down

00:29:21.740 --> 00:29:22.399
 to violence,

00:29:22.539 --> 00:29:23.019
 you bow down

00:29:23.019 --> 00:29:23.700
 to war,

00:29:24.220 --> 00:29:25.059
 you bow down

00:29:25.059 --> 00:29:26.099
 to consumerism,

00:29:26.220 --> 00:29:26.980
 you bow down

00:29:26.980 --> 00:29:27.539
 to things

00:29:27.539 --> 00:29:28.240
 which are evil

00:29:28.240 --> 00:29:28.960
 or demonic

00:29:28.960 --> 00:29:30.779
 or which are just

00:29:30.779 --> 00:29:32.579
 vastly less than you

00:29:32.579 --> 00:29:34.000
 and they corrupt you

00:29:34.000 --> 00:29:35.220
 and they plunder you.

00:29:35.579 --> 00:29:37.079
 And the main problem

00:29:37.079 --> 00:29:38.460
 with most idolatry,

00:29:38.599 --> 00:29:39.220
 it is something

00:29:39.220 --> 00:29:39.919
 that we see

00:29:39.919 --> 00:29:40.559
 as a problem

00:29:40.559 --> 00:29:41.359
 for other people

00:29:41.359 --> 00:29:42.299
 and not for ourselves.

00:29:44.939 --> 00:29:46.059
 It's other people

00:29:46.059 --> 00:29:46.879
 who serve money,

00:29:47.199 --> 00:29:48.119
 not us.

00:29:49.579 --> 00:29:50.559
 It's hard for us

00:29:50.559 --> 00:29:51.059
 to think that

00:29:51.059 --> 00:29:51.779
 that other person

00:29:51.779 --> 00:29:52.639
 might look at us,

00:29:54.079 --> 00:29:54.879
 look at me,

00:29:55.079 --> 00:29:55.699
 as an example

00:29:55.699 --> 00:29:56.099
 of somebody

00:29:56.099 --> 00:29:56.779
 who serves money.

00:29:57.220 --> 00:29:57.679
 I think,

00:29:57.740 --> 00:29:58.359
 I don't serve money,

00:29:58.439 --> 00:29:59.079
 they serve money.

00:29:59.159 --> 00:29:59.619
 And they're thinking,

00:29:59.759 --> 00:30:00.399
 I don't serve money,

00:30:00.460 --> 00:30:01.159
 they serve money.

00:30:01.160 --> 00:30:02.060
 It's always

00:30:02.060 --> 00:30:03.340
 somebody else's problem.

00:30:06.180 --> 00:30:06.900
 If you could up

00:30:06.900 --> 00:30:07.540
 the third point,

00:30:07.640 --> 00:30:07.880
 Andrew,

00:30:08.060 --> 00:30:08.920
 idols seem full

00:30:08.920 --> 00:30:09.640
 of promise

00:30:09.640 --> 00:30:11.060
 but really only

00:30:11.060 --> 00:30:11.779
 plunder you.

00:30:12.800 --> 00:30:13.680
 Idols seem full

00:30:13.680 --> 00:30:14.180
 of promise

00:30:14.180 --> 00:30:14.860
 but really only

00:30:14.860 --> 00:30:15.400
 plunder you.

00:30:15.420 --> 00:30:15.900
 I want to just

00:30:15.900 --> 00:30:16.720
 give you two quotes,

00:30:16.800 --> 00:30:17.680
 I'm mindful of the time.

00:30:18.080 --> 00:30:18.500
 Many of you

00:30:18.500 --> 00:30:19.040
 are famous,

00:30:19.160 --> 00:30:19.980
 familiar with

00:30:19.980 --> 00:30:21.340
 David Foster Wallace

00:30:21.340 --> 00:30:25.100
 and a very important

00:30:25.100 --> 00:30:26.779
 intellectual and writer,

00:30:27.040 --> 00:30:28.120
 committed suicide,

00:30:28.440 --> 00:30:29.300
 but about a year or two

00:30:29.300 --> 00:30:30.400
 before he committed suicide,

00:30:30.400 --> 00:30:31.300
 he gave a commencement

00:30:31.300 --> 00:30:33.519
 address at Oberlin College.

00:30:33.660 --> 00:30:34.400
 It's a very famous,

00:30:34.420 --> 00:30:35.360
 you can go Google it,

00:30:35.620 --> 00:30:36.580
 it's still available,

00:30:36.720 --> 00:30:37.040
 it's very,

00:30:37.140 --> 00:30:37.759
 very famous.

00:30:38.240 --> 00:30:38.880
 And one of the things

00:30:38.880 --> 00:30:39.500
 he talked about

00:30:39.500 --> 00:30:40.600
 is he uses this example.

00:30:40.740 --> 00:30:41.540
 He said there's this

00:30:41.540 --> 00:30:42.740
 old fish swimming

00:30:42.740 --> 00:30:43.780
 in the water one day

00:30:43.780 --> 00:30:44.640
 in the ocean

00:30:44.640 --> 00:30:47.019
 and swimming in the water

00:30:47.019 --> 00:30:47.580
 and old fish

00:30:47.580 --> 00:30:48.120
 comes across

00:30:48.120 --> 00:30:49.160
 these two young fish

00:30:49.160 --> 00:30:49.620
 that are swimming

00:30:49.620 --> 00:30:50.060
 the other way

00:30:50.060 --> 00:30:50.600
 and the old fish

00:30:50.600 --> 00:30:51.460
 says to the young fish,

00:30:51.540 --> 00:30:52.160
 how's the water?

00:30:53.700 --> 00:30:55.220
 And the two young fish

00:30:55.220 --> 00:30:56.420
 say, great.

00:30:57.360 --> 00:30:58.380
 And they swim on

00:30:58.380 --> 00:30:59.240
 and a couple of minutes later

00:30:59.240 --> 00:30:59.940
 one young fish

00:30:59.940 --> 00:31:01.120
 says to the other young fish,

00:31:01.440 --> 00:31:02.120
 what's water?

00:31:05.900 --> 00:31:07.160
 Because it's just so part

00:31:07.160 --> 00:31:07.920
 of their environment

00:31:07.920 --> 00:31:08.700
 they don't even think

00:31:08.700 --> 00:31:09.259
 about the fact

00:31:09.259 --> 00:31:10.339
 that they have an environment.

00:31:11.420 --> 00:31:12.519
 And David Foster Wallace

00:31:12.519 --> 00:31:13.500
 went on from that

00:31:13.500 --> 00:31:14.240
 to say the fact

00:31:14.240 --> 00:31:14.880
 the matter is

00:31:14.880 --> 00:31:15.799
 is that human beings

00:31:15.799 --> 00:31:17.900
 live as idol worshippers.

00:31:18.019 --> 00:31:20.680
 This is a secular agnostic

00:31:20.680 --> 00:31:24.539
 and that idols beat you up

00:31:24.539 --> 00:31:26.400
 and plunder you

00:31:26.400 --> 00:31:28.519
 and destroy you.

00:31:29.220 --> 00:31:29.480
 Remember,

00:31:29.600 --> 00:31:30.000
 those of you

00:31:30.000 --> 00:31:30.720
 who were here last week

00:31:30.720 --> 00:31:31.100
 who remember

00:31:31.100 --> 00:31:32.860
 I shared how I came across

00:31:32.860 --> 00:31:33.860
 one of these

00:31:33.860 --> 00:31:35.460
 Ricky Gervais type writers.

00:31:35.840 --> 00:31:36.519
 He's a novelist

00:31:36.519 --> 00:31:37.560
 by the name of Mike Marshall.

00:31:37.640 --> 00:31:38.860
 He also does screenplays

00:31:38.860 --> 00:31:39.299
 and stuff

00:31:39.299 --> 00:31:40.259
 and I was reading a novel

00:31:40.259 --> 00:31:42.320
 because I don't look up quotes.

00:31:42.519 --> 00:31:44.060
 I do this weird thing.

00:31:44.120 --> 00:31:44.900
 I read books.

00:31:45.240 --> 00:31:46.259
 I don't look up quotes.

00:31:46.340 --> 00:31:46.920
 I read books.

00:31:47.060 --> 00:31:47.560
 And sometimes

00:31:47.560 --> 00:31:48.680
 you come across good quotes.

00:31:48.680 --> 00:31:50.660
 And in this book

00:31:50.660 --> 00:31:52.100
 one of the characters

00:31:52.100 --> 00:31:52.759
 in the novel

00:31:52.759 --> 00:31:54.000
 it's all about this person.

00:31:54.120 --> 00:31:55.220
 He's always doing

00:31:55.220 --> 00:31:55.799
 the right thing.

00:31:56.019 --> 00:31:57.039
 He has the right

00:31:57.039 --> 00:31:58.220
 political views.

00:31:58.360 --> 00:31:58.820
 He's concerned

00:31:58.820 --> 00:31:59.820
 about the environment.

00:32:01.019 --> 00:32:03.140
 He has the right

00:32:03.140 --> 00:32:05.539
 type of possessions.

00:32:06.120 --> 00:32:07.220
 The right type of career.

00:32:08.019 --> 00:32:09.519
 And he uses social media

00:32:09.519 --> 00:32:10.039
 and he does all

00:32:10.039 --> 00:32:10.720
 the right things

00:32:10.720 --> 00:32:11.500
 and his life starts

00:32:11.500 --> 00:32:12.060
 to unravel

00:32:12.060 --> 00:32:12.960
 and this is part of it.

00:32:13.060 --> 00:32:14.140
 I'm going to say a word

00:32:14.140 --> 00:32:14.720
 which you don't normally

00:32:14.720 --> 00:32:15.360
 say in church

00:32:15.360 --> 00:32:16.500
 and you have to give me a pass.

00:32:16.580 --> 00:32:17.259
 I'm just reading it.

00:32:17.400 --> 00:32:17.539
 Okay?

00:32:17.900 --> 00:32:18.560
 Here's the quote.

00:32:18.680 --> 00:32:19.640
 From Mike Marshall.

00:32:20.380 --> 00:32:21.580
 He's in a burger place.

00:32:21.660 --> 00:32:22.680
 The place reeked

00:32:22.680 --> 00:32:23.900
 of fries and ketchup.

00:32:24.299 --> 00:32:24.820
 He's brought into

00:32:24.820 --> 00:32:25.420
 a burger place

00:32:25.420 --> 00:32:26.460
 sort of against his will

00:32:26.460 --> 00:32:28.259
 as his life is unraveling.

00:32:28.480 --> 00:32:28.920
 So sort of again.

00:32:28.980 --> 00:32:29.759
 The place reeked

00:32:29.759 --> 00:32:30.860
 of fries and ketchup

00:32:30.860 --> 00:32:31.799
 and sounded like

00:32:31.799 --> 00:32:33.740
 an experimental station

00:32:33.740 --> 00:32:36.660
 called Radio Human.

00:32:37.160 --> 00:32:38.080
 People chewing,

00:32:38.740 --> 00:32:39.799
 bawling out kids,

00:32:39.980 --> 00:32:41.060
 talking on phones,

00:32:41.360 --> 00:32:41.799
 belching,

00:32:42.120 --> 00:32:42.539
 breathing,

00:32:42.820 --> 00:32:43.279
 existing.

00:32:43.279 --> 00:32:44.759
 I don't come

00:32:44.759 --> 00:32:45.500
 to burger joints

00:32:45.500 --> 00:32:46.100
 very often

00:32:46.099 --> 00:32:47.500
 for the very same reason

00:32:47.500 --> 00:32:49.019
 that I do head

00:32:49.019 --> 00:32:49.639
 to the gym

00:32:49.639 --> 00:32:51.719
 and read positivity blogs.

00:32:52.559 --> 00:32:54.079
 Because we're supposed to.

00:32:54.740 --> 00:32:56.019
 Supposed to eat right,

00:32:56.419 --> 00:32:57.039
 think right,

00:32:57.359 --> 00:32:58.719
 act right by the planet.

00:32:59.519 --> 00:33:00.839
 That endless series

00:33:00.839 --> 00:33:02.299
 of secular rituals

00:33:02.299 --> 00:33:03.619
 intended to keep others

00:33:03.619 --> 00:33:04.559
 thinking well of us

00:33:04.559 --> 00:33:05.579
 or keep us thinking

00:33:05.579 --> 00:33:06.439
 well of ourselves.

00:33:07.219 --> 00:33:08.559
 People rag on

00:33:08.559 --> 00:33:09.259
 about God,

00:33:09.359 --> 00:33:10.279
 how lucky we are

00:33:10.279 --> 00:33:12.619
 to be getting rid of him,

00:33:13.159 --> 00:33:13.839
 short of him.

00:33:13.839 --> 00:33:15.119
 But he at least

00:33:15.119 --> 00:33:15.639
 would throw

00:33:15.639 --> 00:33:16.959
 the occasional bone,

00:33:17.319 --> 00:33:17.959
 handing down

00:33:17.959 --> 00:33:18.879
 a good harvest

00:33:18.879 --> 00:33:20.039
 or a ticket to heaven

00:33:20.039 --> 00:33:21.139
 once in a while.

00:33:21.839 --> 00:33:23.639
 The internal taskmaster

00:33:23.639 --> 00:33:25.359
 we're working for now

00:33:25.359 --> 00:33:26.339
 doesn't believe

00:33:26.339 --> 00:33:27.399
 in fripperies

00:33:27.399 --> 00:33:29.539
 like motivation.

00:33:30.539 --> 00:33:31.019
 He,

00:33:32.099 --> 00:33:32.419
 she

00:33:32.419 --> 00:33:33.599
 just wants you

00:33:33.599 --> 00:33:34.399
 as his bitch.

00:33:37.659 --> 00:33:38.519
 Steph and I

00:33:38.519 --> 00:33:39.359
 have a ritual though.

00:33:39.480 --> 00:33:40.339
 Once in a blue moon

00:33:40.339 --> 00:33:40.899
 we'll go out

00:33:40.899 --> 00:33:41.959
 to an ultra burger,

00:33:42.439 --> 00:33:43.619
 a kingdom of fries,

00:33:43.619 --> 00:33:44.319
 though usually

00:33:44.319 --> 00:33:45.459
 it's a McDonald's

00:33:45.459 --> 00:33:46.599
 and slum it,

00:33:46.699 --> 00:33:47.439
 showing the world

00:33:47.439 --> 00:33:48.259
 that we are bigger

00:33:48.259 --> 00:33:49.479
 than how the world

00:33:49.479 --> 00:33:50.359
 all talks.

00:33:50.759 --> 00:33:51.559
 That we can make

00:33:51.559 --> 00:33:52.459
 our own choices.

00:33:53.479 --> 00:33:54.500
 And I suddenly realized

00:33:54.500 --> 00:33:55.359
 we hadn't done this

00:33:55.359 --> 00:33:56.579
 in months and months

00:33:56.579 --> 00:33:57.079
 and months.

00:33:57.779 --> 00:33:58.879
 I had been getting

00:33:58.879 --> 00:34:00.019
 deep into the program.

00:34:00.139 --> 00:34:00.739
 We both had.

00:34:00.899 --> 00:34:01.719
 Time had been

00:34:01.719 --> 00:34:03.539
 patiently breaking

00:34:03.539 --> 00:34:04.359
 Steph and me,

00:34:04.699 --> 00:34:05.359
 turning us into

00:34:05.359 --> 00:34:06.119
 everyone else.

00:34:08.199 --> 00:34:09.500
 Like what he's describing

00:34:09.500 --> 00:34:10.319
 as idolatry.

00:34:10.320 --> 00:34:13.539
 The serving of these

00:34:13.539 --> 00:34:14.280
 things that at the

00:34:14.280 --> 00:34:14.700
 end of the day

00:34:14.700 --> 00:34:15.720
 don't care about us,

00:34:15.780 --> 00:34:16.420
 don't love us,

00:34:16.539 --> 00:34:17.420
 don't die for us,

00:34:17.500 --> 00:34:18.420
 don't save us.

00:34:19.120 --> 00:34:19.960
 Very conscious

00:34:19.960 --> 00:34:20.500
 of the time.

00:34:20.580 --> 00:34:21.039
 But let's,

00:34:21.120 --> 00:34:22.000
 let's look at

00:34:22.000 --> 00:34:23.700
 how God responds

00:34:23.700 --> 00:34:24.620
 to all of this.

00:34:25.660 --> 00:34:26.500
 If you could go

00:34:26.500 --> 00:34:27.900
 back to verse 16.

00:34:27.960 --> 00:34:28.519
 We're going to read

00:34:28.519 --> 00:34:29.120
 verse 16.

00:34:29.180 --> 00:34:29.800
 How does God

00:34:29.800 --> 00:34:30.940
 respond to this?

00:34:32.380 --> 00:34:33.160
 People giving

00:34:33.160 --> 00:34:34.320
 themselves to idols.

00:34:34.320 --> 00:34:41.240
 In fact,

00:34:41.300 --> 00:34:42.080
 actually this is really,

00:34:42.460 --> 00:34:43.680
 just before we go to this,

00:34:43.800 --> 00:34:43.940
 you know,

00:34:44.019 --> 00:34:45.280
 I was thinking about this

00:34:45.280 --> 00:34:46.620
 a lot yesterday.

00:34:47.180 --> 00:34:48.260
 So my friend

00:34:48.260 --> 00:34:50.400
 at the coffee place

00:34:50.400 --> 00:34:51.039
 who said he had

00:34:51.039 --> 00:34:51.600
 no idols.

00:34:52.760 --> 00:34:53.640
 And then I said

00:34:53.640 --> 00:34:54.600
 everybody has idols.

00:34:55.440 --> 00:34:56.480
 And he said

00:34:56.480 --> 00:34:56.980
 he was going to think

00:34:56.980 --> 00:34:57.559
 about whether he had

00:34:57.559 --> 00:34:57.960
 an idol.

00:34:59.120 --> 00:35:01.460
 And I was thinking

00:35:01.460 --> 00:35:01.920
 about this.

00:35:02.120 --> 00:35:03.200
 Let's say he finds out

00:35:03.200 --> 00:35:04.120
 that he has an idol.

00:35:04.320 --> 00:35:04.660
 Like what,

00:35:04.700 --> 00:35:05.559
 what can he do?

00:35:09.500 --> 00:35:10.200
 Because you see,

00:35:10.260 --> 00:35:11.300
 if we're hardwired

00:35:11.300 --> 00:35:12.300
 to have idols,

00:35:12.620 --> 00:35:13.780
 then all we can do

00:35:13.780 --> 00:35:14.960
 is switch idols.

00:35:16.960 --> 00:35:17.360
 Right?

00:35:18.640 --> 00:35:20.039
 And this may be,

00:35:20.220 --> 00:35:21.019
 in many cases,

00:35:21.019 --> 00:35:22.360
 this is probably progress.

00:35:22.480 --> 00:35:22.620
 Right?

00:35:22.660 --> 00:35:23.820
 If you've gone from,

00:35:24.420 --> 00:35:24.760
 you know,

00:35:24.800 --> 00:35:27.180
 from making pornography

00:35:27.180 --> 00:35:28.740
 into something you serve

00:35:28.740 --> 00:35:29.740
 and instead you're able

00:35:29.740 --> 00:35:30.500
 to defeat that,

00:35:30.580 --> 00:35:31.380
 but you end up doing that

00:35:31.380 --> 00:35:32.320
 by making your husband

00:35:32.320 --> 00:35:32.940
 or your wife

00:35:32.940 --> 00:35:33.700
 into your idol.

00:35:33.699 --> 00:35:34.059
 Or,

00:35:34.679 --> 00:35:34.939
 you know,

00:35:34.960 --> 00:35:35.659
 you've been maybe

00:35:35.659 --> 00:35:36.579
 serving money

00:35:36.579 --> 00:35:37.819
 and that's wrecking

00:35:37.819 --> 00:35:38.500
 your life up.

00:35:38.579 --> 00:35:39.480
 You're serving career

00:35:39.480 --> 00:35:40.500
 and it wrecks your life up.

00:35:40.559 --> 00:35:42.319
 So you make your family

00:35:42.319 --> 00:35:43.219
 into your idol.

00:35:43.679 --> 00:35:44.159
 And it's,

00:35:44.239 --> 00:35:44.500
 in a sense,

00:35:44.539 --> 00:35:45.460
 a better idol.

00:35:45.859 --> 00:35:46.739
 Less harmful.

00:35:47.480 --> 00:35:47.759
 Better.

00:35:48.460 --> 00:35:49.139
 Still an idol.

00:35:50.879 --> 00:35:52.019
 Like there's a problem.

00:35:52.139 --> 00:35:52.500
 In a sense,

00:35:52.559 --> 00:35:53.739
 that's the problem of Canaan.

00:35:53.899 --> 00:35:54.699
 All they could do

00:35:54.699 --> 00:35:55.939
 is they could maybe say,

00:35:56.500 --> 00:35:56.819
 you know what,

00:35:56.819 --> 00:35:57.319
 I think I'm going to

00:35:57.319 --> 00:35:58.879
 stop worshipping Moloch

00:35:58.880 --> 00:36:00.039
 because I want to stop

00:36:00.039 --> 00:36:01.079
 having my kids

00:36:01.079 --> 00:36:02.539
 burned to death.

00:36:03.760 --> 00:36:05.240
 So maybe we'll switch

00:36:05.240 --> 00:36:06.300
 to this idol

00:36:06.300 --> 00:36:09.000
 because it's not as bad.

00:36:10.099 --> 00:36:11.420
 But in a world

00:36:11.420 --> 00:36:13.079
 where all you have

00:36:13.079 --> 00:36:13.680
 is idols,

00:36:13.860 --> 00:36:14.579
 all you can do

00:36:14.579 --> 00:36:15.720
 is switch to one

00:36:15.720 --> 00:36:18.220
 which is less bad.

00:36:19.820 --> 00:36:20.640
 You see,

00:36:20.740 --> 00:36:22.740
 unless God replaces

00:36:22.740 --> 00:36:23.440
 the idols,

00:36:24.500 --> 00:36:25.539
 listen to what happens.

00:36:25.539 --> 00:36:27.900
 Verse 16.

00:36:30.840 --> 00:36:31.619
 Then the Lord

00:36:31.619 --> 00:36:32.579
 raised up judges.

00:36:32.759 --> 00:36:33.039
 Remember,

00:36:33.279 --> 00:36:34.420
 they were in terrible distress

00:36:34.420 --> 00:36:35.340
 to serving the idols.

00:36:35.559 --> 00:36:36.940
 The Lord raised up judges,

00:36:37.079 --> 00:36:37.719
 deliverers,

00:36:38.119 --> 00:36:39.059
 who saved them

00:36:39.059 --> 00:36:39.659
 out of the hand

00:36:39.659 --> 00:36:40.739
 of those who plundered them.

00:36:41.679 --> 00:36:42.420
 Yet they did not

00:36:42.420 --> 00:36:43.400
 listen to their judges

00:36:43.400 --> 00:36:44.719
 for they prostituted

00:36:44.719 --> 00:36:46.320
 themselves after other gods

00:36:46.320 --> 00:36:47.320
 and bowed down to them.

00:36:47.380 --> 00:36:48.480
 That's paid homage to them.

00:36:48.539 --> 00:36:49.980
 They soon turned aside

00:36:49.980 --> 00:36:50.500
 from the way

00:36:50.500 --> 00:36:51.800
 in which their fathers

00:36:51.800 --> 00:36:52.320
 had walked

00:36:52.320 --> 00:36:53.860
 to obey the commandments

00:36:53.860 --> 00:36:54.500
 of the Lord

00:36:54.500 --> 00:36:55.900
 and they did not do so.

00:36:55.980 --> 00:36:56.599
 Whenever the Lord

00:36:56.599 --> 00:36:58.059
 raised up judges for them,

00:36:58.400 --> 00:36:59.619
 the Lord was with the judge

00:36:59.619 --> 00:37:00.300
 and he saved them

00:37:00.300 --> 00:37:01.300
 from the hand of their enemies

00:37:01.300 --> 00:37:02.500
 all the days of the judge.

00:37:02.920 --> 00:37:03.400
 For the Lord

00:37:03.400 --> 00:37:04.400
 was moved to pity

00:37:04.400 --> 00:37:05.380
 by their groaning

00:37:05.380 --> 00:37:06.199
 because of those

00:37:06.199 --> 00:37:07.079
 who afflicted them

00:37:07.079 --> 00:37:08.260
 and oppressed them.

00:37:08.860 --> 00:37:09.760
 Just pause there

00:37:09.760 --> 00:37:10.599
 before we read any further.

00:37:10.760 --> 00:37:11.500
 You want to notice

00:37:11.500 --> 00:37:12.139
 this is very,

00:37:12.280 --> 00:37:12.880
 very important.

00:37:15.340 --> 00:37:15.840
 It is,

00:37:16.039 --> 00:37:17.239
 it's that,

00:37:17.880 --> 00:37:18.960
 it isn't that

00:37:18.960 --> 00:37:20.280
 the Lord said,

00:37:20.360 --> 00:37:21.159
 look at these people

00:37:21.159 --> 00:37:22.480
 they've become so religious

00:37:22.480 --> 00:37:24.219
 and so hard working.

00:37:24.420 --> 00:37:26.000
 I think I'll show mercy.

00:37:26.820 --> 00:37:26.940
 Or,

00:37:27.099 --> 00:37:27.300
 whoa,

00:37:27.380 --> 00:37:28.139
 look at those people.

00:37:28.240 --> 00:37:28.699
 They've become

00:37:28.699 --> 00:37:29.900
 very penitent.

00:37:30.019 --> 00:37:31.639
 They really repent well.

00:37:31.920 --> 00:37:33.059
 I think I'll show mercy.

00:37:34.199 --> 00:37:35.840
 They're not seeking the Lord.

00:37:37.019 --> 00:37:38.679
 They're not showing repentance.

00:37:39.460 --> 00:37:40.800
 They're pursuing idols.

00:37:42.219 --> 00:37:43.900
 And it's plundering them.

00:37:44.340 --> 00:37:45.840
 And it's oppressing them.

00:37:45.840 --> 00:37:48.780
 And the Lord's heart breaks

00:37:48.780 --> 00:37:50.120
 with mercy and compassion

00:37:50.120 --> 00:37:50.760
 for them.

00:37:51.420 --> 00:37:51.760
 You see,

00:37:51.840 --> 00:37:53.240
 His mercy and compassion

00:37:53.240 --> 00:37:55.600
 precedes our religion

00:37:55.600 --> 00:37:56.579
 and our spirituality

00:37:56.579 --> 00:37:58.400
 and our achievements

00:37:58.400 --> 00:38:01.260
 and our holiness

00:38:01.260 --> 00:38:03.360
 and our religion

00:38:03.360 --> 00:38:04.900
 and our accomplishments.

00:38:05.960 --> 00:38:07.680
 His mercy and compassion

00:38:07.680 --> 00:38:09.980
 comes out of our distress,

00:38:09.980 --> 00:38:13.079
 not out of our

00:38:13.079 --> 00:38:14.119
 secular

00:38:14.119 --> 00:38:15.960
 or idolatrous

00:38:15.960 --> 00:38:17.199
 or religious

00:38:17.199 --> 00:38:18.380
 accomplishments.

00:38:20.840 --> 00:38:21.780
 Verse 19,

00:38:21.900 --> 00:38:22.360
 it continues,

00:38:22.480 --> 00:38:23.639
 but whenever the judge died,

00:38:23.719 --> 00:38:24.400
 they turned back

00:38:24.400 --> 00:38:25.219
 and were more corrupt

00:38:25.219 --> 00:38:25.920
 than their fathers,

00:38:26.019 --> 00:38:27.119
 going after other gods,

00:38:27.280 --> 00:38:27.840
 serving them

00:38:27.840 --> 00:38:29.099
 and bowing down to them.

00:38:29.500 --> 00:38:30.460
 They did not drop

00:38:30.460 --> 00:38:31.579
 any of their practices

00:38:31.579 --> 00:38:32.940
 or their stubborn ways.

00:38:33.260 --> 00:38:34.340
 So the anger of the Lord

00:38:34.340 --> 00:38:35.880
 was kindled against Israel

00:38:35.880 --> 00:38:36.460
 and He said,

00:38:36.599 --> 00:38:37.360
 because this people

00:38:37.360 --> 00:38:38.179
 have transgressed

00:38:38.179 --> 00:38:38.740
 My covenant

00:38:38.740 --> 00:38:39.500
 that I commanded

00:38:39.500 --> 00:38:40.179
 their fathers

00:38:40.179 --> 00:38:41.460
 and have not obeyed

00:38:41.460 --> 00:38:41.960
 My voice.

00:38:42.059 --> 00:38:42.800
 I will no longer

00:38:42.800 --> 00:38:43.940
 drive out before them

00:38:43.940 --> 00:38:44.739
 any of the nations

00:38:44.739 --> 00:38:45.619
 that Joshua left

00:38:45.619 --> 00:38:46.239
 when he died

00:38:46.239 --> 00:38:48.219
 in order to test Israel

00:38:48.219 --> 00:38:48.719
 by them,

00:38:48.780 --> 00:38:50.320
 whether they will take care

00:38:50.320 --> 00:38:51.300
 to walk in the way

00:38:51.300 --> 00:38:51.800
 of the Lord

00:38:51.800 --> 00:38:53.900
 as their fathers did

00:38:53.900 --> 00:38:54.739
 or not.

00:38:55.400 --> 00:38:56.159
 So the Lord left

00:38:56.159 --> 00:38:56.820
 those nations

00:38:56.820 --> 00:38:58.239
 not driving them out quickly

00:38:58.239 --> 00:38:59.380
 and He did not give them

00:38:59.380 --> 00:39:00.039
 into the hand

00:39:00.039 --> 00:39:01.920
 of Joshua and His people.

00:39:02.679 --> 00:39:03.579
 I don't have to unpack

00:39:03.579 --> 00:39:03.980
 all of that.

00:39:04.059 --> 00:39:04.460
 I just want to,

00:39:04.760 --> 00:39:05.619
 I noticed the time

00:39:05.619 --> 00:39:06.380
 we have to just close.

00:39:06.460 --> 00:39:06.920
 If you could put up

00:39:06.920 --> 00:39:07.960
 the final point, Andrew.

00:39:07.960 --> 00:39:10.460
 In light of your idol problem,

00:39:11.260 --> 00:39:14.059
 you need the true

00:39:14.059 --> 00:39:15.619
 and greater Joshua.

00:39:16.500 --> 00:39:18.619
 In light of your idol problem,

00:39:18.760 --> 00:39:19.740
 my idol problem,

00:39:19.900 --> 00:39:20.579
 I need the true

00:39:20.579 --> 00:39:21.460
 and greater Joshua.

00:39:22.320 --> 00:39:22.960
 Some of you

00:39:22.960 --> 00:39:23.960
 might not know this,

00:39:24.099 --> 00:39:24.639
 but Jesus,

00:39:25.019 --> 00:39:25.659
 the name Jesus

00:39:25.659 --> 00:39:26.539
 and the name Joshua

00:39:26.539 --> 00:39:27.519
 are the same name.

00:39:28.340 --> 00:39:29.980
 My oldest son, Tosh,

00:39:30.220 --> 00:39:31.099
 he married Amy

00:39:31.099 --> 00:39:32.480
 and by coincidence,

00:39:32.799 --> 00:39:33.779
 Amy's father

00:39:33.779 --> 00:39:34.900
 had the same name as me

00:39:34.900 --> 00:39:36.079
 except he's an immigrant

00:39:36.079 --> 00:39:36.779
 from Germany

00:39:36.779 --> 00:39:38.940
 so his name was Jorg

00:39:38.940 --> 00:39:40.659
 and I'm George

00:39:40.659 --> 00:39:41.420
 but it's the same name,

00:39:41.519 --> 00:39:42.259
 just one's German

00:39:42.259 --> 00:39:43.900
 and one's an English pronunciation.

00:39:44.079 --> 00:39:44.960
 It's the same pronunciation,

00:39:45.159 --> 00:39:45.900
 Jesus and Joshua.

00:39:46.000 --> 00:39:46.639
 It's the same name

00:39:46.639 --> 00:39:49.000
 and it means God saves.

00:39:50.199 --> 00:39:50.400
 I mean,

00:39:50.460 --> 00:39:52.259
 you're true and greater Joshua.

00:39:52.960 --> 00:39:53.460
 You see,

00:39:53.539 --> 00:39:54.440
 because people go

00:39:54.440 --> 00:39:55.519
 to sacrifice

00:39:55.519 --> 00:39:56.440
 to idols

00:39:56.440 --> 00:39:59.159
 and to evil things

00:39:59.159 --> 00:40:00.039
 because they feel

00:40:00.039 --> 00:40:01.059
 senses of guilt

00:40:01.059 --> 00:40:02.960
 and senses of shame

00:40:02.960 --> 00:40:04.039
 that they have a sense

00:40:04.039 --> 00:40:05.400
 need to be atoned for

00:40:05.400 --> 00:40:07.519
 but we need

00:40:07.519 --> 00:40:09.500
 a true and greater Joshua

00:40:09.500 --> 00:40:12.599
 who can deal

00:40:12.599 --> 00:40:13.700
 with those sense

00:40:13.700 --> 00:40:15.360
 of our need for atonement

00:40:15.360 --> 00:40:16.119
 and our need

00:40:16.119 --> 00:40:17.179
 to deal with shame

00:40:17.179 --> 00:40:18.460
 by dealing with everything

00:40:18.460 --> 00:40:20.340
 that we ever have

00:40:20.340 --> 00:40:21.119
 to atone for

00:40:21.119 --> 00:40:22.400
 and we can't atone for

00:40:22.400 --> 00:40:23.980
 and he deals with it

00:40:23.980 --> 00:40:25.260
 in his sacrifice

00:40:25.260 --> 00:40:27.960
 and we feel incomplete

00:40:27.960 --> 00:40:29.600
 and need to have

00:40:29.600 --> 00:40:31.400
 some type of other things

00:40:31.400 --> 00:40:32.320
 to buffer us up,

00:40:32.400 --> 00:40:32.960
 some other type

00:40:32.960 --> 00:40:33.780
 of accomplishment

00:40:33.780 --> 00:40:34.860
 excuse me,

00:40:34.920 --> 00:40:36.000
 because we feel incomplete

00:40:36.000 --> 00:40:37.220
 and we need

00:40:37.220 --> 00:40:38.760
 a true and greater Joshua

00:40:38.760 --> 00:40:40.460
 whose death upon the cross

00:40:40.460 --> 00:40:41.500
 would not only deal

00:40:41.500 --> 00:40:42.280
 with those things

00:40:42.280 --> 00:40:43.520
 that need to be atoned for

00:40:43.520 --> 00:40:44.820
 but would in fact

00:40:44.820 --> 00:40:45.460
 clothe us

00:40:45.460 --> 00:40:46.660
 with all of the righteousness

00:40:46.660 --> 00:40:49.800
 that we ever possibly need

00:40:49.800 --> 00:40:51.200
 to stand before God

00:40:51.200 --> 00:40:52.660
 and we need

00:40:52.660 --> 00:40:53.780
 a true and greater Joshua

00:40:53.780 --> 00:40:55.140
 who is not just

00:40:55.139 --> 00:40:56.379
 the one that God uses

00:40:56.379 --> 00:40:56.920
 to deliver

00:40:56.920 --> 00:40:57.960
 but then he dies

00:40:57.960 --> 00:40:59.099
 and we are left helpless

00:40:59.099 --> 00:41:00.039
 but we need a true

00:41:00.039 --> 00:41:01.299
 and greater Joshua

00:41:01.299 --> 00:41:02.699
 who after he has

00:41:02.699 --> 00:41:04.279
 not only dealt with atonement

00:41:04.279 --> 00:41:05.400
 and giving us righteousness

00:41:05.400 --> 00:41:06.359
 will actually come

00:41:06.359 --> 00:41:07.279
 to live within us

00:41:07.279 --> 00:41:09.460
 to take that seat

00:41:09.460 --> 00:41:10.139
 in the heart

00:41:10.139 --> 00:41:11.679
 of every human being

00:41:11.679 --> 00:41:13.059
 that was designed

00:41:13.059 --> 00:41:14.339
 for the Lord

00:41:14.339 --> 00:41:15.839
 and not for an idol.

00:41:15.840 --> 00:41:22.700
 and because we cannot

00:41:22.700 --> 00:41:25.220
 not be hardwired

00:41:25.220 --> 00:41:26.079
 for idols

00:41:26.079 --> 00:41:28.280
 we need the true Lord

00:41:28.280 --> 00:41:29.100
 in our heart

00:41:29.100 --> 00:41:30.400
 to give us that sense

00:41:30.400 --> 00:41:31.120
 of security

00:41:31.120 --> 00:41:32.000
 and that presence

00:41:32.000 --> 00:41:32.760
 and that power

00:41:32.760 --> 00:41:35.760
 whereby we can examine

00:41:35.760 --> 00:41:37.880
 the idols of our lives

00:41:37.880 --> 00:41:39.220
 and realize

00:41:39.220 --> 00:41:40.500
 why should I pursue

00:41:40.500 --> 00:41:41.140
 that idol

00:41:41.140 --> 00:41:42.300
 or serve that idol

00:41:42.300 --> 00:41:44.860
 when there is

00:41:44.860 --> 00:41:45.620
 the true Lord

00:41:45.620 --> 00:41:46.440
 and the true God

00:41:46.440 --> 00:41:47.700
 whose way I should follow

00:41:47.700 --> 00:41:49.060
 and whose way I should serve

00:41:49.060 --> 00:41:51.320
 whose way is only that

00:41:51.320 --> 00:41:52.600
 which will make me whole

00:41:52.600 --> 00:41:54.039
 and make me free

00:41:54.039 --> 00:41:56.019
 and make me idol free

00:41:56.019 --> 00:41:57.800
 and not oppress me

00:41:57.800 --> 00:41:59.720
 and not corrupt me

00:41:59.720 --> 00:42:01.460
 and not in fact

00:42:01.460 --> 00:42:02.260
 be my enemy

00:42:02.260 --> 00:42:03.220
 but my friend

00:42:03.220 --> 00:42:04.280
 who desires

00:42:04.280 --> 00:42:05.720
 to be in a relationship

00:42:05.720 --> 00:42:06.780
 of love with me

00:42:06.780 --> 00:42:07.800
 and his people

00:42:07.800 --> 00:42:08.900
 for all eternity.

00:42:08.900 --> 00:42:12.220
 So just in closing

00:42:12.220 --> 00:42:17.440
 if you feel anxiety

00:42:17.440 --> 00:42:18.039
 or distress

00:42:18.039 --> 00:42:18.840
 in your life

00:42:18.840 --> 00:42:19.920
 one of the things to do

00:42:19.920 --> 00:42:20.800
 is ask the Lord

00:42:20.800 --> 00:42:22.420
 what idol

00:42:22.420 --> 00:42:23.619
 is causing me

00:42:23.619 --> 00:42:24.420
 that anxiety

00:42:24.420 --> 00:42:24.860
 and distress

00:42:24.860 --> 00:42:26.000
 what am I serving

00:42:26.000 --> 00:42:27.260
 that is not you

00:42:27.260 --> 00:42:29.619
 and my lack of service

00:42:29.619 --> 00:42:30.559
 is causing me

00:42:30.559 --> 00:42:31.360
 this anxiety

00:42:31.360 --> 00:42:32.280
 and this distress

00:42:32.280 --> 00:42:34.519
 if you feel compulsions

00:42:34.519 --> 00:42:35.780
 to have to do

00:42:35.780 --> 00:42:36.599
 certain things

00:42:36.599 --> 00:42:37.480
 ask the Lord

00:42:37.480 --> 00:42:39.119
 what idol am I serving

00:42:39.119 --> 00:42:40.320
 that creates this sense

00:42:40.320 --> 00:42:41.980
 of compulsion with me

00:42:41.980 --> 00:42:43.920
 to look at your life

00:42:43.920 --> 00:42:45.639
 whether it's money

00:42:45.639 --> 00:42:46.860
 or time

00:42:46.860 --> 00:42:48.740
 and ask yourself

00:42:48.740 --> 00:42:51.340
 would I do

00:42:51.340 --> 00:42:52.240
 what the Lord says

00:42:52.240 --> 00:42:53.260
 in all of these areas

00:42:53.260 --> 00:42:54.039
 of my life

00:42:54.039 --> 00:42:57.760
 or would I not want to do it

00:42:57.760 --> 00:42:58.800
 and if you don't want to do it

00:42:58.800 --> 00:42:59.460
 there's an idol.

00:43:01.280 --> 00:43:01.460
 You see

00:43:01.460 --> 00:43:02.119
 one of the reasons

00:43:02.119 --> 00:43:03.179
 why we give an offering

00:43:03.179 --> 00:43:04.380
 and why we give a tithe

00:43:04.380 --> 00:43:05.699
 is because

00:43:05.699 --> 00:43:06.559
 the most

00:43:06.559 --> 00:43:07.759
 one of the deepest

00:43:07.759 --> 00:43:09.199
 most persistent idols

00:43:09.199 --> 00:43:09.860
 is money

00:43:09.860 --> 00:43:11.840
 and one of the ways

00:43:11.840 --> 00:43:12.619
 of being free

00:43:12.619 --> 00:43:13.739
 of the idol of money

00:43:13.739 --> 00:43:15.039
 is to give money away.

00:43:16.299 --> 00:43:17.159
 Money says

00:43:17.159 --> 00:43:18.380
 I will protect you

00:43:18.380 --> 00:43:19.699
 I will bless you

00:43:19.699 --> 00:43:21.519
 I will make you safe

00:43:21.519 --> 00:43:22.799
 I will make you secure

00:43:22.799 --> 00:43:24.199
 I will blah blah blah

00:43:24.199 --> 00:43:25.219
 blah blah blah blah

00:43:25.219 --> 00:43:25.559
 blah

00:43:25.559 --> 00:43:28.960
 can't take it with us.

00:43:30.880 --> 00:43:32.539
 Second after Bill Gates dies

00:43:32.539 --> 00:43:33.420
 and the poorest person

00:43:33.420 --> 00:43:33.799
 in the world

00:43:33.799 --> 00:43:34.299
 if they die

00:43:34.299 --> 00:43:34.960
 at the same moment

00:43:34.960 --> 00:43:36.000
 the second after they die

00:43:36.000 --> 00:43:36.940
 they both have the same

00:43:36.940 --> 00:43:37.699
 bank account

00:43:37.699 --> 00:43:38.639
 after death

00:43:38.639 --> 00:43:39.840
 which is zero

00:43:39.840 --> 00:43:42.019
 and part of the way

00:43:42.019 --> 00:43:43.219
 we put the idol to death

00:43:43.219 --> 00:43:44.460
 is by giving money away.

00:43:45.400 --> 00:43:46.199
 Part of the way

00:43:46.199 --> 00:43:47.199
 that we put to death

00:43:47.199 --> 00:43:47.719
 the idol

00:43:47.719 --> 00:43:48.639
 around sexuality

00:43:48.639 --> 00:43:50.119
 is by being faithful

00:43:50.119 --> 00:43:52.940
 in heterosexual marriage

00:43:52.940 --> 00:43:53.980
 or being abstinent

00:43:53.980 --> 00:43:54.639
 in singleness.

00:43:55.840 --> 00:43:56.639
 Part of the way

00:43:56.639 --> 00:43:57.300
 we deal

00:43:57.300 --> 00:43:58.300
 with the idol

00:43:58.300 --> 00:43:58.880
 of pride

00:43:58.880 --> 00:43:59.599
 is by learning

00:43:59.599 --> 00:44:00.300
 to be humble

00:44:00.300 --> 00:44:01.840
 humble not by thinking

00:44:01.840 --> 00:44:02.699
 less of ourselves

00:44:02.699 --> 00:44:04.159
 but much of Christ.

00:44:04.159 --> 00:44:05.619
 part of the way

00:44:05.619 --> 00:44:06.179
 that we deal

00:44:06.179 --> 00:44:06.960
 with the idol

00:44:06.960 --> 00:44:08.159
 of violence

00:44:08.159 --> 00:44:09.779
 is by being gentle.

00:44:11.079 --> 00:44:11.879
 The idol

00:44:11.879 --> 00:44:12.519
 of pride

00:44:12.519 --> 00:44:13.779
 by showing compassion.

00:44:17.099 --> 00:44:17.960
 Please stand.

00:44:23.559 --> 00:44:24.480
 Let's bow our heads

00:44:24.480 --> 00:44:24.899
 in prayer.

00:44:24.900 --> 00:44:30.460
 Father

00:44:30.460 --> 00:44:31.420
 many of us

00:44:31.420 --> 00:44:32.000
 are just like

00:44:32.000 --> 00:44:32.680
 my friend

00:44:32.680 --> 00:44:34.320
 from the coffee shop

00:44:34.320 --> 00:44:35.900
 we either

00:44:35.900 --> 00:44:36.320
 don't think

00:44:36.320 --> 00:44:37.240
 we have any idols

00:44:37.240 --> 00:44:40.260
 well

00:44:40.260 --> 00:44:41.019
 we just don't think

00:44:41.019 --> 00:44:41.660
 we have idols

00:44:41.660 --> 00:44:43.400
 and we don't even

00:44:43.400 --> 00:44:44.440
 think in those categories

00:44:44.440 --> 00:44:45.280
 because Father

00:44:45.280 --> 00:44:46.559
 we have to be honest

00:44:46.559 --> 00:44:47.099
 like nobody

00:44:47.099 --> 00:44:48.280
 thinks in those categories

00:44:48.280 --> 00:44:49.079
 like nobody

00:44:49.079 --> 00:44:50.619
 nobody on Instagram

00:44:50.619 --> 00:44:51.500
 or Facebook

00:44:51.500 --> 00:44:53.039
 or hardly anybody

00:44:53.039 --> 00:44:54.280
 thinks in these categories

00:44:54.280 --> 00:44:55.080
 so we don't think

00:44:55.080 --> 00:44:55.800
 in these categories

00:44:55.800 --> 00:44:56.200
 Father

00:44:56.200 --> 00:44:58.120
 we just don't.

00:44:58.840 --> 00:44:59.800
 We ask Father

00:44:59.800 --> 00:45:00.660
 that your word

00:45:00.660 --> 00:45:01.300
 would become

00:45:01.300 --> 00:45:02.680
 deeply real to us

00:45:02.680 --> 00:45:04.640
 and we ask Father

00:45:04.640 --> 00:45:05.740
 that you help us

00:45:05.740 --> 00:45:06.220
 to see

00:45:06.220 --> 00:45:07.560
 Father

00:45:07.560 --> 00:45:09.460
 don't help us

00:45:09.460 --> 00:45:10.120
 to see the idols

00:45:10.120 --> 00:45:11.320
 in other people's lives

00:45:11.320 --> 00:45:12.660
 ask us Father

00:45:12.660 --> 00:45:14.040
 we ask that you

00:45:14.040 --> 00:45:14.660
 help us to see

00:45:14.660 --> 00:45:15.240
 the idols

00:45:15.240 --> 00:45:16.260
 the functional idols

00:45:16.260 --> 00:45:17.040
 in our own life

00:45:17.040 --> 00:45:18.740
 and we give you

00:45:18.740 --> 00:45:19.580
 thanks and praise

00:45:19.580 --> 00:45:20.580
 that through faith

00:45:20.580 --> 00:45:21.100
 in Jesus

00:45:21.100 --> 00:45:22.240
 you are so patient

00:45:22.240 --> 00:45:22.660
 with us

00:45:22.660 --> 00:45:23.440
 and so kind

00:45:23.440 --> 00:45:23.960
 with us

00:45:23.960 --> 00:45:26.480
 that we keep

00:45:26.480 --> 00:45:27.119
 wanting to put

00:45:27.119 --> 00:45:27.880
 some idol

00:45:27.880 --> 00:45:28.340
 Father

00:45:28.340 --> 00:45:28.920
 on the throne

00:45:28.920 --> 00:45:29.519
 of our heart

00:45:29.519 --> 00:45:30.119
 to sit there

00:45:30.119 --> 00:45:30.720
 with Jesus

00:45:30.720 --> 00:45:31.420
 and Jesus

00:45:31.420 --> 00:45:32.159
 never leaves

00:45:32.159 --> 00:45:32.500
 the throne

00:45:32.500 --> 00:45:33.059
 of our heart

00:45:33.059 --> 00:45:35.059
 and he nudges

00:45:35.059 --> 00:45:35.360
 us

00:45:35.360 --> 00:45:37.300
 and pushes

00:45:37.300 --> 00:45:37.880
 us to

00:45:37.880 --> 00:45:38.980
 throw that idol

00:45:38.980 --> 00:45:39.360
 away

00:45:39.360 --> 00:45:39.920
 so that it

00:45:39.920 --> 00:45:40.720
 has no place

00:45:40.720 --> 00:45:41.740
 in our lives

00:45:41.740 --> 00:45:42.039
 Father

00:45:42.039 --> 00:45:42.460
 we ask

00:45:42.460 --> 00:45:42.760
 that your

00:45:42.760 --> 00:45:43.480
 Holy Spirit

00:45:43.480 --> 00:45:44.139
 your word

00:45:44.139 --> 00:45:44.980
 would make

00:45:44.980 --> 00:45:45.619
 the idols

00:45:45.619 --> 00:45:46.059
 that we are

00:45:46.059 --> 00:45:46.619
 tempted to

00:45:46.619 --> 00:45:47.320
 real to us

00:45:47.320 --> 00:45:47.780
 that we might

00:45:47.780 --> 00:45:48.320
 flee them

00:45:48.320 --> 00:45:49.780
 that we might

00:45:49.780 --> 00:45:50.260
 make much

00:45:50.260 --> 00:45:50.880
 of Jesus

00:45:50.880 --> 00:45:53.099
 we might

00:45:53.099 --> 00:45:53.579
 make much

00:45:53.579 --> 00:45:54.039
 of you

00:45:54.039 --> 00:45:56.079
 that we

00:45:56.079 --> 00:45:56.539
 might make

00:45:56.539 --> 00:45:57.059
 much of your

00:45:57.059 --> 00:45:57.480
 kindness

00:45:57.480 --> 00:45:57.880
 and your

00:45:57.880 --> 00:45:58.740
 grace to us

00:45:58.740 --> 00:45:59.920
 that that

00:45:59.920 --> 00:46:00.460
 would form

00:46:00.460 --> 00:46:01.280
 us and be

00:46:01.280 --> 00:46:02.160
 how we

00:46:02.160 --> 00:46:02.720
 understand

00:46:02.720 --> 00:46:03.400
 who we are

00:46:03.400 --> 00:46:04.480
 and how we

00:46:04.480 --> 00:46:05.360
 see our

00:46:05.360 --> 00:46:05.960
 life in this

00:46:05.960 --> 00:46:06.420
 world and

00:46:06.420 --> 00:46:06.960
 our future

00:46:06.960 --> 00:46:08.220
 and all

00:46:08.220 --> 00:46:08.660
 these things

00:46:08.660 --> 00:46:09.260
 we ask in

00:46:09.260 --> 00:46:09.680
 the name of

00:46:09.680 --> 00:46:10.000
 Jesus

00:46:10.000 --> 00:46:10.599
 your son

00:46:10.599 --> 00:46:10.920
 and our

00:46:10.920 --> 00:46:11.260
 savior

00:46:11.260 --> 00:46:12.500
 amen

00:46:12.500 --> 00:46:14.579
 our

00:46:14.579 --> 00:46:15.159
 gravel

00:46:15.159 --> 00:46:15.659
 Sports

00:46:15.659 --> 00:46:16.079
 after

00:46:16.079 --> 00:46:16.920
 Job

00:46:16.920 --> 00:46:16.940
pas