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Good morning, everyone.
Welcome to our services this morning here at Faith Ward Baptist Church.
It's very good to see all of you here on this Sunday morning.
If you would all please find your seats, we'll begin with our congregational singing this morning.
Let's go to hymn number 224.
You should find a songbook close by.
And let's go to hymn number 224.
There shall be showers of blessing number 224.
And we'll start on that first verse together, number 224.
There shall be showers of blessing, this is the promise of love.
Hymn number 224.
Let's sing it out this morning.
🎵There shall be showers of blessing, this is the promise of love🎵
🎵There shall be seasons refreshing🎵
Sent from the Savior above. Showers of blessing, showers of blessing we need.
Mercy drops round us are falling, but for the showers we clean.
There shall be showers of blessing, precious reviving again.
Over the hills and the valleys, sound of abundance of rain.
Showers of blessing, showers of blessing we need.
Mercy drops round us are falling, but for the showers we clean.
There shall be showers of blessing, send them upon us, O Lord.
Grant to us now a refreshing, come and now honor thy word.
Showers of blessing, showers of blessing we need.
Mercy drops round us are falling, but for the showers we clean.
There shall be showers of blessing, O that today they might fall.
Now as to God we're confessing, now as on Jesus we come.
Showers of blessing, showers of blessing we need.
Mercy drops round us are falling, but for the showers we clean.
God will take care of you, number 124.
Let's sing this great hymn together. It begins, be not dismayed, whatever the time.
God will take care of you, number 124.
Be not dismayed, whatever the time. God will take care of you.
Give him his grace, the blood of life. God will take care of you.
God will take care of you through every dale of the wind.
He will take care of you, God will take care of you.
Truth is uncoiled when arms unveil, God will take care of you.
When dangerous fears don't bow the sail, God will take care of you.
God will take care of you through every dale of the wind.
He will take care of you, God will take care of you.
All you may need he will provide, God will take care of you.
Nothing you ask will be denied, God will take care of you.
God will take care of you through every dale of the wind.
He will take care of you, God will take care of you.
No matter what may need a test, God will take care of you.
Give him one upon his breast, God will take care of you.
God will take care of you through every dale of the wind.
He will take care of you, God will take care of you.
It's time to go through our announcements.
If you don't have a bulletin, slip up your hand nice and high.
We'll get to you with one.
On the inside, we have our service time.
Sunday mornings at 10.30 is our preaching service.
Sunday nights at 6.00, Wednesday nights at 7.00 is our Bible study.
This week will be in Ezekiel chapter number 30.
We've got the soul-winning times listed there below, as well as
salvations and baptisms.
Across the page are the list of birthdays and anniversaries for
March, and the doughnuts this morning were in honor of those
birthdays and anniversaries.
On the back, congratulations to the Rogalski family on the birth
of Angeli Hadassah, born Saturday, February 26th at 9.56 p.m.,
6 pounds, 15 ounces.
And then Mexico Monday, that's tomorrow, just a day trip to
Nogales, Mexico.
And they're going to be leaving here at 7 a.m.
and getting back around 10 o'clock at night.
So see Brother Segura if you would like more details upon that.
And then below that, just some other upcoming events.
We've got the Spanish night coming up on March 10th.
The soul-winning marathon in San Diego is going to be this
Saturday.
And then the mission strip coming up in May.
Also, the weekly singing class resumes today.
That's on Sundays at 5 p.m.
That is starting up again today at 5.
So that's about it for announcements.
Let's go ahead and sing our next song.
Come lead us.
Oh, one more thing.
Somebody found a couple of keys.
It just looks like maybe like a house key and some kind of a pad
lock or something, but it's got blue on the house key.
So if these are yours, then see Brother Segura.
All right.
Turn your song books to number 363.
Wonderful Words of Life, number 363.
Let's sing it on that first verse together.
Sing them over again to me.
Wonderful Words of Life, number 363.
Sing them over again to me.
Wonderful Words of Life.
Let me more of their beauty sing.
Wonderful Words of Life.
Words of Life and Beauty.
Teach me faith and beauty.
Beautiful Words, Wonderful Words.
Wonderful Words of Life.
Beautiful Words, Wonderful Words.
Wonderful Words of Life.
Christ the Blessed One gives to all.
Wonderful Words of Life.
Centerless to the loving whole.
Wonderful Words of Life.
All so freely given.
Ruling us to heaven.
Beautiful Words, Wonderful Words.
Wonderful Words of Life.
Beautiful Words, Wonderful Words.
Wonderful Words of Life.
Sleep the end of the Gospel call.
Wonderful Words of Life.
Offer pardon and peace to all.
Wonderful Words of Life.
Jesus, only Savior.
Sanctified forever.
Beautiful Words, Wonderful Words.
Wonderful Words of Life.
Beautiful Words, Wonderful Words.
Wonderful Words of Life.
Amen. Go back to number 321.
Where he leads, I'll follow number 321.
Hymn number 321.
Sweet are the promises, kind is the word. Number 321.
Sweet are the promises, kind is the word.
Dearer, far than any message man ever heard.
Pure was the mind of Christ, sinless by sea.
In the great example is the matter for me.
Where he leads, I'll follow.
Follow all the way.
Where he leads, I'll follow.
Follow Jesus every day.
Let's go back and do that first.
We kind of have a rough start there, but
Sweet are the promises, kind is the word. Let's sing it out.
Sweet are the promises, kind is the word.
Dearer, far than any message man ever heard.
Pure was the mind of Christ, sinless by sea.
In the great example is the matter for me.
Where he leads, I'll follow.
Follow all the way.
Where he leads, I'll follow.
Follow Jesus every day.
Sweet is the tender love Jesus has shown.
Sweet are far than any love that mortals have known.
Kind to the every one, thankful is he.
In the great example is the matter for me.
Where he leads, I'll follow.
Follow all the way.
Where he leads, I'll follow.
Follow Jesus every day.
Listen to his loving words, come unto me.
We're ememulating, they're sweet, rest for thee.
Trust in his promises, faithful and sure.
Lay them on the Savior and my soul is secure.
Where he leads, I'll follow.
Follow all the way.
Where he leads, I'll follow.
Follow Jesus every day.
All right, this time we'll pass offering plates around.
As the plates go around, let's turn our Bibles to Judges 20, the book of Judges 20.
As we always do, we'll read the entire chapter, beginning in verse number 1.
Follow along silently with Brother Nick as he reads Judges 20, beginning in verse number 1.
Judges 20, the Bible reads,
Then all the children of Israel went out, and the congregation was gathered together as one man from Dan, even to Beersheba, with the land of Gilead, under the Lord of Misphe.
And the chief of all the people, even of all the tribes of Israel, presented themselves in the assembly of the people of God four hundred thousand footmen that drew sword.
Now the children of Benjamin heard that the children of Israel were gone up to Misphe.
Then said the children of Israel, Tell us, how was this wickedness?
And the Levite, the husband of the woman that was slain, answered and said, I came into Gibeah that belonged to Benjamin, I and my concubine, to lodge.
And the men of Gibeah rose against me and beset the house round about upon me by night, and thought to have slain me.
And my concubine, they have force that she is dead.
And I took my concubine and cut her in pieces and sent her throughout all the country of the inheritance of Israel, for they have committed lewdness and folly in Israel.
Behold, ye are all children of Israel, give here your advice and counsel.
And all the people arose as one man, saying, We will not any of us go to his tent, neither will we any of us turn into his house.
But now this shall be the thing which we will do to Gibeah.
We will go up by lot against it, and we will take ten men of an hundred throughout all the tribes of Israel,
and an hundred of a thousand, and a thousand out of ten thousand, to fetch vittle for the people,
that they may do when they come to Gibeah of Benjamin, according to all the folly that they have wrought in Israel.
So all the men of Israel were gathered against the city, knit together as one man.
And the tribes of Israel sent men through all the tribe of Benjamin, saying, What wickedness is this that is done among you?
Now therefore deliver us the men, the children of Belial, which are in Gibeah, that we may put them to death, and put away evil from Israel.
For the children of Benjamin would not hearken to the voice of their brethren the children of Israel.
But the children of Benjamin gathered themselves together out of the cities unto Gibeah, to go out to battle against the children of Israel.
And the children of Benjamin were numbered at that time out of the cities twenty and six thousand men that drew sword beside the inhabitants of Gibeah, which were numbered seven hundred chosen men.
Among all this people there were seven hundred chosen men left handed, everyone could sling stones at an air breath and not miss.
And the men of Israel beside Benjamin were numbered four hundred thousand men that drew sword, all these were men of war.
And the children of Israel arose and went up to the house of God and asked counsel of God and said, Which of us shall go up first to battle against the children of Benjamin?
And the Lord said, Judah shall go up first.
And the children of Israel rose up in the morning and encamped against Gibeah.
And the men of Israel went out to battle against Benjamin.
And the men of Israel put themselves in a ray to fight against them at Gibeah.
And the children of Benjamin came forth out of Gibeah and destroyed down to the ground of the Israelites that day twenty and two thousand men.
And the people, the men of Israel encouraged themselves and set their battle again in a ray in the place where they put themselves in a ray the first day.
And the children of Israel went up and wept before the Lord until even and asked counsel of the Lord saying, Shall I go up again to battle against the children of Benjamin, my brother?
And the Lord said, Go up against them. Go up against him.
And the children of Israel came near again against the children of Benjamin the second day.
And Benjamin went forth against them out of Gibeah the second day and destroyed down to the ground of the children of Israel again eighteen thousand men.
All these drew the sword.
Then all the children of Israel and all the people went up and came unto the house of God and wept and sat there before the Lord and fasted that day until even and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before the Lord.
And the children of Israel inquired of the Lord for the ark of the covenant of God was there in those days.
And Phinehas the son of Eleazar the son of Aaron stood before it in those days saying, Shall I yet again go out to battle against the children of Benjamin my brother or shall I cease?
And the Lord said, Go up for tomorrow I will deliver them into thine hand.
And Israel said, Liars and wait round about Gibeah.
And the children of Israel went up against the children of Benjamin on the third day and put themselves in array against Gibeah as at other times.
And the children of Benjamin went out against the people and were drawn away from the city and they began to smite of the people and kill as at other times in the highways of which one goeth up to the house of God
and the other to Gibeah in the field about thirty men of Israel.
And the children of Benjamin said, They are smitten down before us as at the first.
But the children of Israel said, Let us flee and draw them from the city unto the highways.
And all the men of Israel rose up out of their place and put themselves in array at Baal Temer.
And the liars and wait of Israel came forth out of their places even out of the meadows of Gibeah.
And there came against Gibeah ten thousand chosen men out of all Israel and the battle was sore but they knew not that evil was near them.
And the Lord smote Benjamin before Israel and the children of Israel destroyed of the Benjamites that day twenty and five thousand and a hundred men.
All these drew the sword.
So the children of Benjamin saw that they were smitten for the men of Israel gave place to the Benjamites because they trusted under the liars and wait which they had set beside Gibeah.
And the liars and wait hasted and rushed upon Gibeah and the liars and wait drew themselves along and smote all the city with the edge of the sword.
Now there was an appointed sign between the men of Israel and the liars and wait that they should make a great flame with smoke rise up out of the city.
And when the men of Israel retired in the battle Benjamin began to smite and kill of the men of Israel about thirty persons for they said, Surely they are smitten down before us as in the first battle.
But when the flame began to arise up out of the city with a pillar of smoke the Benjamites looked behind them and behold the flame of the city ascended up to heaven.
And when the men of Israel turned again the men of Benjamin were amazed for they saw that evil was come upon them.
Therefore they turned their backs before the men of Israel under the way of the wilderness but the battle overtook them and them which came out of the cities they destroyed in the midst of them.
Thus they enclosed the Benjamites round about and chased them and strode them down with ease over against Gibeah toward the sun rising.
And there fell of Benjamin eighteen thousand men all these were men of valor.
And they turned and fled toward the wilderness under the rock Rimun and they gleaned of them in the highways five thousand men and pursued hard after them unto Gedim and slew two thousand men of them.
So that all which fell that day of Benjamin were twenty and five thousand men that drew the sword all these were men of valor.
But six hundred men turned and fled to the wilderness under the rock Rimun and abode in the rock Rimun four months.
And the men of Israel turned again upon the children of Benjamin and smote them with the edge of the sword as well the men of every city as the beast.
And all that came to hand also they set on fire all the cities that they came to.
Let's pray.
Father in heaven thank you for this church I pray that you please bless Pastor Anderson with the power of the Holy Ghost as he preaches your word and help us your children learn and do your word in Jesus name I pray.
Amen.
The title my sermon this morning is winning the war winning the war.
Sometimes you lose a battle but you can still win the war.
Now we're going to come back to judges chapter 20 but if you would flip over to Second Corinthians chapter number four in the New Testament Second Corinthians chapter number four.
You don't have to win every battle in order to win the war.
The Bible tells us in Second Corinthians chapter number four verse number eight we are troubled on every side yet not distressed.
We are perplexed but not in despair persecuted but not forsaken cast down but not destroyed always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body.
Now back in that story in judges chapter 20 if you want to turn back there.
The remarkable thing about this is that the children of Israel are for sure on the right side and they are for sure fighting a righteous battle.
The Benjamites have done extreme wickedness.
This violent perverted act has been carried out.
They're refusing to punish the people responsible.
Israel is for sure on the right side.
Not only that they keep seeking God and asking God and God tells them go fight this battle.
This is the right battle for you to be fighting.
Go fight against Benjamin.
Get rid of this wickedness.
So Israel is for sure doing right.
They go and they fight the first battle and they lose.
Then they go back and do it again.
They lose again.
Okay so the first point I want to make is that being in the right does not mean that you are going to win every battle in life.
Just because you're right with God.
Just because you are fighting for a righteous cause.
It doesn't mean that you're going to win every round but I guarantee you you will win the war period.
You will win the war.
We are more than conquerors through Christ and you are on the winning side if you are serving the Lord Jesus Christ.
That does not mean you're going to win every battle.
Your life will have setbacks and some of the setbacks that you face won't even make sense.
I mean when you're reading this in Judges chapter 20 it's really just flabbergasting seeing the children of Israel go out in this righteous battle with the Lord on their side and then seeing them lose.
What's going on?
I mean other places in scripture you see oh they lost because they weren't right with God.
Or oh they lost because Achan said or oh they lost because this.
You know they just they go out they're doing all the right things and yet they still lose.
Second battle they lose again but then of course the third battle God gives them the victory.
Because you're always on the winning side when you're serving God but that does not mean you're not going to face disappointments, setbacks, failures.
You're not going to win every round but you're going to win the fight in general.
Look what the Bible says in verse 21.
And the children of Benjamin came forth out of Gibeah and destroyed down to the ground of the Israelites that day twenty and two thousand men.
I mean it's a major loss a devastating defeat.
It says in verse 22 and the people the men of Israel encouraged themselves.
You know that's what we have to do in life is just dust ourselves off and get back up and just encourage ourselves and keep going.
Don't despair. Don't give in. You know the Apostle Paul said over there in 2 Corinthians chapter 4.
He said we're troubled on every side but we're not distressed.
You know we're not panicking.
Everything's falling apart around us.
All these enemies are surrounding us but we're not panicking.
We're not in despair.
We're persecuted but we're not forsaken.
Yeah okay we're cast down but we're not destroyed.
And so he's saying look you're going to lose sometimes.
You're going to get hurt sometimes but the difference between those who fail and those who succeed are the people who encourage themselves and get back into the fight and keep on going.
Now a couple different things inspired this sermon that I'm preaching this morning.
You know one was I was just in my personal Bible reading I was just reading through Judges chapter 20 and this is always just a very powerful chapter to me.
As I read it it always really just grips me when I read this chapter because it's just such a shock that they keep getting defeated even though I've read it so many times.
But anyway you know reading this chapter inspired the sermon but also thinking about our brethren over at Steadfast Baptist Church out in Dallas, Texas.
You know here you have a church that is preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ that's preaching the whole counsel of God including things that aren't popular today in our just Christ forsaking society our de-Christianized American culture.
The things that he's preaching are not acceptable but it's the word of God that's being preached over there.
And if there was ever a time that it was just a no-brainer who's on the right side when you're looking at on one side you have literal Satanists and sodomites trying to get a church a Bible believing Baptist Church kicked out of their building evicted from their building because of the preaching that took place.
Which I thought we had freedom of speech in America but yet in spite of the First Amendment which gives us the right which guarantees us the right to practice our religion and to preach the word of God that was the main influence on many of the founders of our country for crying out loud.
It's not like we're Muslim or something. I mean it's the Bible. It's the book that was brought over on the Mayflower.
But you know in spite of the fact that we're supposed to have freedom of religion some satanic demonic evil judge in Texas who's not honorable, he's dishonorable, he's wicked as hell got up and said that they're to be evicted.
That they're to be evicted from their building. In fact the sheriff is going to evict them or the constable or whoever is going to be evicting them tomorrow.
He's going to be enforcing the eviction. Tomorrow they've had to clear out their gear, clear out their stuff. Of course it's a complete fraud because they have paid a ton of money to upgrade their facility.
You know they signed this long lease. They put tens of thousands of dollars into improving the facility and then now all of a sudden not only are they being kicked out because of this demonic judge who hates the word of God who's going to burn in hell.
But not only that but they have to pay all the attorney fees or something for the landlord because the landlord's suing them saying oh you violated your lease by preaching the word of God.
I mean I know you're a church. I know we rented a building to a church but we didn't expect you to actually preach the Bible and so therefore you know they have to pay all these huge incredible amounts of money.
They're being evicted from their building in the United States of America. You know when we're supposed to have the freedom of speech.
Oh but not that speech though. Not when you're preaching the word of God against a bunch of filthy faggots.
And you know if you don't like that word faggot you should probably just get up and leave right now and just don't let the door hit you on your way out you fag loving idiot.
You know our country is being overrun by the most wicked degenerate filthy scum imaginable and you're worried about me using the word faggot.
Okay idiot then go down the street to some little soft church and they'll never get evicted. In fact they'll never face any persecution because they're not actually following the Bible.
But all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer shall suffer persecution. That's what the Bible says.
Today you have a bunch of watered down weak Christians in America who never endure persecution and they sit back all smug like oh well you know it serves him right for saying what he said.
Oh it serves Pastor Anderson right. It serves Pastor Shelley right. Oh it serves Pastor Jimenez right. You know and they just sit back all smug. Isn't it funny how you never get persecuted because that's not what the Bible said would happen?
Isn't it interesting how the Bible said that all that live godly in Christ Jesus will guaranteed suffer persecution and you don't get persecuted. Maybe it's time to start reevaluating your life.
Maybe it's time to look in the mirror and figure out which side you're even on which team you're even on if you're never getting persecuted as a church.
Isn't it funny how all of our friends get persecuted. All of my preacher friends. Why? Because that's the only kind of preachers that I hang out with.
The kind who actually do something that are actually a barnstorming hell raising independent Baptist preacher not some watered down little soft soap lily livered you know sharing every Sunday morning or something.
You know hey have you ever read the book of Isaiah? Did you ever read Jeremiah? Have you ever cracked open the book of Ezekiel? Because you know what you'll find is that the prophets of God they ripped some face.
And you know let's get you say well that's the Old Testament. Well have you ever read the book of Revelation? Because it's gnarlier than anything in Isaiah Jeremiah or Ezekiel.
But today we have Christians who don't want to take a stand and then they criticize the ones who do take a stand. Folks you'd have to be a complete idiot to not know who's right here when it's literal Satan worshippers.
That's how they're identifying themselves. The people who are trying to get steadfast and have succeeded at getting steadfast evicted from their building literally have said we're Satanists.
They've said we worship Satan. That's what they've said on the record and then the landlord claims to be a Christian.
And he says he's going to party with the Satanists in steadfast building to rejoice over God's people being evicted.
So he's going to party with homosexuals and literal Satanists in a church building and he calls himself a Christian.
But you know what? That's Christianity in Texas today. Let me tell you something. You know what Texas is? It's filled with a bunch of fake right wing, fake Republican, fake conservative, fake Christians. That's what it is.
Texas is the most overrated state in the union. There I said it.
Well don't mess with Texas. Well don't mess with God's people. Don't mess with the Lord.
You know what? Let me tell you why Texas is so lame.
Let me tell you why Texas is so lame. Because it's filled with a bunch of fake Christians.
I'd rather hang around with non-Christians. I'd rather hang around with atheists and agnostics than fake Christians.
Than these bunch of pious, fake, right wing, Republican, Fox News.
Because that's who's literally persecuting Steadfast Baptist Church right now. A bunch of conservatives.
A bunch of Christians and conservatives. And folks, they're worse. It's better the devil you know than the devil you don't know.
I'd rather live in a liberal state where at least I knew where I stood.
Not that Arizona is liberal because it's not. But the point is, you know, I'd rather at least know where I stand than people naming the name of Christ.
I'd rather have somebody just tell me that they worship Satan than to claim the name of Jesus Christ as they team up with the Satanists.
As they team up with the Sodomites. Folks, at least why don't you just be real?
Why don't you just admit what you are Texas? A bunch of phonies? A bunch of devils?
And obviously I understand that there's a righteous remnant in Texas that has not bowed the knee to bail.
There's always a righteous remnant. But you know, that heartland, you know, Merica, fake conservative.
Texas isn't conservative. There's no freedom there.
Oh Texas, you know, maybe Texas could break off from the United States and we could have freedom.
Folks, if Texas leaves the United States, I'll be like, bye. Bye.
Because they don't want to give freedom. They won't even give freedom to a church in 2022.
I don't see California evicting people from their church buildings for preaching the word of God.
I don't see Arizona evicting people for preaching the word of God.
I don't even see Massachusetts evicting people for preaching the word of God.
But isn't it funny how the fake conservative Christian Texas is evicting people for preaching the word of God.
It's incredible, isn't it?
Folks, how could anyone wonder whose side to be on?
Yeah, but he was a little too mean to the sodomites.
Burn them.
So what?
Whose side are you on?
Oh, you're on the side of the sons of Belial.
You're on the side of the haters of God, the haters of the Lord.
Well, you know what? I'm on the Lord's side. I'm with God's people.
If somebody's a little too mean to sodomites, well, I don't even know how that's possible.
So, you know, in light of Leviticus 2013, I don't even see how that's even possible.
You know, you spoke too harshly about it.
You didn't speak harshly enough.
And so we see all this persecution coming against God's people.
And a lot of people would look at this and say,
well, you know, if Steadfast Baptist Church is in the right, then why did they get evicted?
I'll tell you why they got evicted.
Because, you know, just because you're in the right doesn't mean you always win.
You know, newsflash, but it's possible that we could be living in the generation when the Lord returns.
No man knows the day or the hour.
But we could be living in that generation.
And let me tell you what the book of Revelation says.
It says that the Antichrist will make war against the saints.
And you know what it says next?
It says the Antichrist will make war with the saints and he will overcome them.
So who's going to win, the Antichrist or the saints?
The Antichrist is going to win.
That's what the Bible says.
It says he will make war with the saints and he will overcome them.
So we've got this Antichrist landlord, this Antichrist judge, bunch of Antichrist weirdos.
And what are they doing?
They're making war against Steadfast Baptist Church and they overcame them.
So what?
Does that mean the Steadfast Baptist Church?
It does not have the Lord on their side?
Folks, you need to read Judges 20 because in Judges chapter 20 we see the biggest no-brainer
in the Bible where all of Israel is united and gathered together as one man
because they're avenging horrible violence, horrible perversion.
And it's so obvious who's on the right side.
They're serving the Lord.
Benjamin is super wicked.
It's the biggest no-brainer ever.
And yet they lose that battle.
But they win the war.
Let me tell you something.
Steadfast has lost the battle but they're going to win the war.
There's no question about that.
They are on the winning side.
God's got something better for them.
You know, they lost this building.
God's got something better for them in the future.
We don't know what a day is going to bring forth.
We don't know what tomorrow holds.
But every time I lose something because of doing right, I always know that God's got something better for me.
Because all things work together for good to them that love God.
And to them that are called according to His purpose.
So you know what?
They encouraged themselves in Judges chapter 20 and they went to battle again.
And you know, that's what steadfast needs to do.
They just need to keep fighting.
And I'll be like, oh man, I guess we need to rethink our ministry.
Nope.
You just need to keep going.
Keep on going and let them party and rejoice in your building.
Let them celebrate all the way to hell.
But you just keep on fighting the good fight.
You just keep on serving the Lord.
You just keep on doing what's right.
And so they encouraged themselves.
They set the battle again in array.
And that's what churches need to do when they get persecuted.
They just need to set the battle in array again.
And then of course, what do we see?
We see that they lose again.
You know, the Bible says in verse 25,
Benjamin went forth against them out of Gibeah the second day
and destroyed down to the ground of the children of Israel again.
18,000 men.
All these drew the sword.
Then all the children of Israel and all the people went up
and came unto the house of God
and wept and sat there before the Lord
and fasted that day until even
and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before the Lord.
So we see here that the first time they lose the battle,
it's like, okay, all right.
You know, we lost the battle.
We're still going to win the war.
You know, let's just pick ourselves up and try it again.
Let's, you know, let's encourage ourselves.
Now, when it happens the second time though,
that's a little frustrating, isn't it?
I mean, we're human.
Even if the Word of God is on our side,
even if God is telling us exactly what to do,
even if we know what the Bible says
and we know what's right
and we know that we're on the right side,
you know, it's a little discouraging
when you lose the second time.
And so now there are tears involved.
There's weeping, they're discouraged,
they're confused, they're disillusioned
because we're human.
And so these are just normal reactions
to this defeat and they're fasting,
they're offering offerings of the Lord.
It says in verse 27,
and the children of Israel inquired of the Lord
for the ark of the covenant of God was there in those days
and Phinehas, the son of Eleazar,
the son of Aaron,
stood before it in those days saying,
shall I yet again go out to battle
against the children of Benjamin my brother
or shall I cease?
I mean, God, should I,
do I need to change the way I'm preaching?
I mean, do I just need to stop?
What do I need to do here?
I mean, it's the second defeat,
the second round that I've lost.
What needs to change?
Do I need to stop?
Shall I cease?
And the Lord said, go up.
Go up.
For tomorrow I will deliver them into thine hand.
Go up.
You know, you could lose and lose,
but then God still says,
you know what's funny is that, you know,
if you do what the Bible says
and then you suffer some kind of a defeat
and you're like, okay, that's what the Bible says
and then I suffer another defeat,
you know, it doesn't really matter how much I pray about it.
No matter how much I pray about it,
it's like the Bible just keeps saying the same thing.
You know, I'm for prayer.
You know, praying is when I ask God for things.
The word pray literally means to ask for something.
You could even say it to a human like I pray thee.
That's an old way of speaking
where you would be asking someone for something, right?
So pray simply means to ask for.
So I'm all for praying and asking God to help us.
I'm for praying and asking God to give us strength
and to give us wisdom so that we can make decisions,
to give us our daily bread,
to lead us away from temptations.
You know, there are all kinds of wonderful things to be praying,
but you know what?
I'm not going to sit around praying
about whether or not I should do something
that the Bible clearly tells me to do.
I mean, if the Bible just says something,
I don't need to pray about it.
Well, I'll pray about that.
I don't need to pray about whether I should not kill
or not steal or not commit adultery.
I don't need to pray about that.
It's a waste of time.
I just keep praying like,
are you sure you don't want me to commit adultery, God?
Are you sure you don't want me to kill someone?
Are you sure you don't want me to take your name in vain?
It's stupid.
Well, you know, I don't need to pray about
where I stand on this issue of the sodomites.
I don't need to pray about it, because you know what?
I've read the Bible over and over again.
I know what it says,
and it has nothing good to say about these people.
It has nothing good to say about homos.
It says they're an abomination.
They're wicked.
They're vile.
They're beasts.
They're reprobates.
I don't need to pray about that.
No point, because you know what?
I can pray and pray and pray and fast.
I can fast for 40 days and 40 nights,
but Leviticus 2013 will still be there.
Romans 1 will still be there.
Jude verse 7 will still be there.
2 Peter chapter 2 will not have left my Bible,
no matter how long I pray about sodomites.
It's all going to be there.
And so you've got to just put the battle in a ray
for a third time.
You just keep fighting.
You know, the Bible says a just man
falleth seven times and riseth up again.
And so you're obviously not dealing with
what Steadfast is dealing with.
You know, this is what they're dealing with.
But you know, you're dealing with your own issues.
You've had setbacks in your life, I'm sure.
You have oppositions and failures that you face.
Maybe you have failures at your job
or just failures in whatever goals you're trying to achieve
or maybe you've been trying to read the Bible
and you keep failing at reading your Bible
or you keep failing to get out so many.
You know what?
Just keep getting back on the horse and just keep going.
Because the Bible didn't change.
The instructions haven't changed.
God hasn't changed.
Just keep on trying to serve the Lord
and keep on fighting the good fight.
You don't have to win every battle to win the war.
And so it's not about winning the battle.
It's about winning the war, okay?
And if you are serving the Lord and doing what the Bible says,
you are guaranteed to win the war,
even if you don't win the battle.
So number one, being right doesn't mean you're going to win every battle.
Number two, the enemy thinks that they win one battle,
that because they win one battle that they're going to be victorious.
So when the enemy wins a battle, they think like,
ha, we won, don't they?
But guess what? They didn't.
Look, if you would, at verse 32 of chapter 20.
And the children of Benjamin said,
they're smitten down before us as at the first.
So they get in this third battle where the Lord has guaranteed victory.
And in the third battle, what do they say?
Hey, we already won the first battle.
We're guaranteed to win this one too.
We won the first battle, won the second battle.
They're smitten down before us as at the first.
But the children of Israel said,
let's flee and draw them from the city under the highways.
So the children of Israel are retreating on purpose in the third battle.
But the enemy has become overconfident because they think,
well, because we won this battle,
they've been emboldened now to feel that they just can't lose.
And you know that that's what's happening with these filthy sodomites over in Texas.
They're probably really emboldened now,
and they think like, we're on a roll, we're on fire, we can't lose.
No, you're not on fire, but you will be.
But it's like, oh, we can't lose, we're on a roll, we're on fire,
let's, you know.
And I even heard them saying things like,
well, let's do this to churches all over America.
Let's just start doing it.
I don't know, maybe you can find enough worthless feces
that call themselves a judge to rule this way for you,
you bunch of devils.
But you know what?
These worthless piles of excrement that would make such a ruling in court,
they're dishonorable selves that love to be called your honor
when they have no honor because they're dirty scum.
You know what?
Hey, I don't care if every single hard preaching independent fundamental Baptist church
gets evicted from every church building in America,
that's not going to stop me at all.
Maybe it'll stop you.
I hope not.
I hope you'll still be with me.
But you know what?
I don't need a building.
I don't need anything except the Bible and the Holy Spirit.
That's all I need.
And I'll just keep going.
I'll just keep going.
You know, this just kind of popped into my head.
It wasn't in my sermon.
But I want to say it's from the book of Jeremiah
where God is basically telling them, you can't win.
God tells them in the book of Jeremiah, like, you guys can't win.
Even if you wounded every single soldier on the other side,
then the guys who are like maimed and wounded and hurt and crippled,
they will get up and they will burn this city to the ground.
And you know what?
You can wound us and stab us and shoot us and evict us
and take everything from us and take away everything.
And you know what?
We will still win because you can't win
because the devil is going to lose and the Lord is going to win
and there's nothing you can do about it.
You will lose and you can't stop us.
It doesn't matter how wounded we are.
If 100% of us are wounded and crippled and handicapped from the battle,
we'll just keep fighting and still burn the thing down.
The enemy thinks because they win one battle that they'll be victorious.
What a joke.
But number three, I want to say this.
We are in the majority.
So number one, being right doesn't mean that you win every battle.
Number two, the enemy thinks that because they win one battle,
they'll be victorious.
They won't.
But number three is that we're in the majority.
And you say, what?
What?
Did I just hear you right, Pastor Anderson?
Because I thought I heard you say that we're in the majority.
Okay.
Well, go if you would to 2 Kings Chapter 6.
2 Kings Chapter 6.
And while you're turning to 2 Kings Chapter 6,
let me just give you some of the numbers.
We read the chapter before the service,
but you may not have picked up on the numbers.
But we've got two armies fighting.
We've got Israel versus Benjamin.
Am I right?
Okay.
So Israel, how many people are on Israel's side,
which is the right side, the godly side,
the side that the Lord is blessing.
How many people are on Israel's side?
400,000 men that draw sword.
So the good guys, Israel, have 400,000 men that draw sword.
How many guys are on Benjamin's side?
On Benjamin's side, you have, let me find the number, 26,700.
So on Benjamin's side, the wicked side,
the sons of Baaliel's side, you have 26,700.
And then on Israel's side, you have 400,000, right?
So I mean, you have like roughly, what,
15 times as many people on Israel's side as on Benjamin's side.
So who's in the majority?
Who's got the most troops?
In Judges 20, Israel has way more troops than Benjamin.
Does everybody get that?
Now, look what the Bible says in 2 Kings 6.
2 Kings 6, and in fact, this story does have some slight parallels
with the Sodom and Gomorrah story, in fact,
because it says in 2 Kings 6, verse 14,
Therefore sent he thither, horses and chariots and a great host,
and they came by night and compassed the city about.
And when the servant of the man of God was risen early and gone forth,
behold, and hosts compassed the city, both with horses and chariots,
and his servant said unto him, Alas, my master, how shall we do?
So here's what's going on.
Elisha has run afoul of the king of Syria,
and so the king of Syria is coming to kill Elisha.
So the king of Syria has sent an entire army.
In verse 14, it said horses, chariots, and a great host.
A great host means a great army.
So this giant army is coming against two people.
Elisha and his servant, they're surrounded by an entire army,
horses, chariots, foot soldiers, just this, it's just incredible.
They're just surrounded by a giant army.
They're two guys.
Okay.
And the servant's like, what are we going to do?
And look at verse 16.
And he answered, fear not, for there be more, there be with us, excuse me,
they that be with us are more than they that be with them.
So it's like there's two guys.
And he says, well, we got more guys.
We got more guys.
It's like, you're surrounded by an entire army.
No, no, no, we have more guys.
There's more of us.
There's more with us than there are with them.
And it's like, how does that even work?
And you say like, oh, you know, it's cause God's on their side.
You know, not even that.
Look what the Bible says.
And Elisha prayed, verse 17, and said, Lord, I pray thee,
open his eyes that he may see.
And the Lord opened the eyes of the young man.
And he saw it be old.
The mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha.
So Elisha is literally surrounded by an army of fiery angels with fiery chariots.
I mean, there's, it's not just like, well,
God's on my side and me plus God makes a majority.
Hey, amen to that too.
But that's not even what it is.
I mean, there's literally more on his side, not even figuratively,
but literally there were, God had literally sent more angels to protect
Elisha than the king of Syria had sent to apprehend Elisha.
Even though he sent a great host, God's got a bigger host.
Here's one of the most important Old Testament names of the Lord.
The Lord of hosts.
That's his name.
That's one of his, I would say that's one of his top seven names in the Old Testament.
Is the Lord of hosts.
I mean, you can't even count how many times this term comes up in the Old Testament.
It's just, it's so many times.
The Lord of hosts is his name.
Why is his name the Lord of hosts?
Because he is surrounded tens of thousands of times,
tens of thousands and thousands and thousands,
just literally millions and millions of angels at his disposal.
And so there are more that be with us than those that be with them.
The Bible says the angel of the Lord encampeth round about them that fear him.
The angel of the Lord encampeth round about them that fear him.
That's why we're in the majority.
That's why we don't have to think, oh, there's so few of us, we're outnumbered.
We're never outnumbered.
Because yes, me plus God does make a majority.
But number two, what about even just the sheer numbers of heavenly hosts that God has at his disposal?
And the Bible says that they are ministering spirits sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation.
They are tasked, that is their duty, is to guard me, to guard you, to guard Steadfast Baptist Church.
The heavenly host is there.
And you say, well, doesn't that mean we're going to win every battle?
Folks, is that what the Bible teaches?
No.
You're not necessarily going to win every battle.
In Judges 20, they're in the majority in Judges 20.
Did the majority mean that they're necessarily going to win every battle?
But I'll tell you what it does mean.
It means that they're going to win the war.
And as a sub-point to this point about us being in the majority, this is a key thing to remember.
We have unlimited resources.
Let me say that again.
We have unlimited resources.
You say, well, what do you mean by that?
Well, go if you would to Psalm 50.
See, here's the problem when you're Benjamin.
The problem when you're Benjamin is that you've got 26,700 guys.
They've got 400,000.
So that means if the first battle you wipe out 22,000 of their troops,
that means that they still have 378,000 troops.
And then when you wipe out 18,000 more, they still have 360,000 troops.
And you have 26,700.
And they have 360,000.
Does everybody see how that works?
How many times does Benjamin have to face a serious loss in order to be completely wiped out?
Once.
How many times does Israel have to face a serious loss in order to be completely wiped out?
Somewhere on the order of 15 to 20 times.
They would have to be like losing every single battle in a horrible way for 15 to 20 times.
It's just not realistic.
It's just not going to happen.
And so basically when you have 400,000 troops, in many ways it's almost like your resources are unlimited
because you can just keep sending in more troops and you can just wear out the enemy.
You can just keep sending in fresh troops.
I mean, you just have so many troops.
When you have an unlimited supply, you're invincible.
The only way Israel could lose is if they do what?
If they quit.
If they quit or give up, then it's over and say,
hey, we don't want to lose another 20,000 guys.
We're giving up.
We're quitting.
But if Israel doesn't quit, they can't lose because they have basically what amounts to,
tantamount to just an unlimited supply to keep filtering in.
You know, if you think about the history of ancient Greece, you think about the famous Battle of Thermopylae, right?
Where you have the 300 Spartan warriors standing up against just this innumerable host brought over by the king of Persia
and he just brought over just so many hundreds of thousands of troops and everything.
It's just some huge number.
You know, historians disagree on what those exact numbers were.
But his incredible host that he brought over, basically he just has like an endless supply of resources.
So even if the Spartans can kill way more troops per capita, you know, when you have that many coming against you,
you know what I mean?
Eventually, the 300 guys, it doesn't matter how good they fight, the 300 guys, eventually they all die, okay, in that story.
Of course, Greece does win the war though, so there you go.
But my point is that, you know, when you have an unlimited supply of resources, you can just keep fighting.
There's nothing to stop you from just keep fighting.
Just keep going.
You just keep going because it's like you just never run out of supplies.
You never run out of resources and you wear out the other side, okay.
We have unlimited resources, okay.
Look what the Bible says in Psalm 50 verse 10.
For every beast of the forest is mine and the cattle upon a thousand hills.
God owns the cattle on a thousand hills.
And remember, in the ancient world, that's how you measure wealth, is cattle.
You know, when God tells us how rich Job is, he doesn't bring up stocks and bonds.
He brings up the cattle that he has.
God owns the cattle on a thousand hills and he owns also the wealth in every mine, okay.
Look what the Bible says in verse 11.
I know all the fowls of the mountains and the wild beasts of the field are mine.
If I were hungry, I would not tell thee, for the world is mine and the fullness thereof.
Does it sound like God is short of resources?
God is backing us and God has unlimited resources.
So whatever the financial blow or, oh, you got to pay this fine, you got to pay this lawsuit,
you got to pay this, you know, exorbitant rent fee or you got to pay this or you got to pay that.
You know what?
I'll tell you this right now.
I never feel bad about God losing money.
I never do.
I never feel bad about it.
You know, now sometimes when I lose my own money, I feel kind of bad about it.
Yeah, you probably feel kind of bad about it too, right?
When you lose your own money.
But you know what?
When God loses money, I never feel bad about it.
I'm never just like, oh, God lost money.
What's he going to do?
He's going to run out.
Because God has an unlimited supply of resources.
So why would I feel bad for someone losing money who has an unlimited supply of resources?
Does everybody understand what I'm saying?
So if some church is fighting a righteous battle, preaching the truth, preaching the
Word of God, having the guts to say what 99% of Baptists are too spineless and weak and
cowardly to say behind the pulpits of their churches, 99% of the pastors are just, you
know, in the corner with their tail between their legs, whining and peeing themselves,
okay?
And basically, you know, you got a man of God up there preaching.
And I don't care if you don't like exactly the way he did it, he's right.
You know, and I like the way he did it anyway.
But the point is, even if you didn't like exactly the way he did it, at least he's doing
something unlike 99% that are doing nothing.
They're just rolling over and saying, come on in, Sodomites, take over, brainwash our
kids, you know, turn us into Sodom and Gomorrah.
So here's the thing, you know, if a church is fighting a righteous battle and some judge
makes some decision that costs them a bunch of money because they have to now go get into
a new building and all the costs of moving and getting a new building and they end up
having to pay attorney fees or they end up having to pay fines or lawsuits or paying
rent at two different places or something so that the satanic landlord can just keep
sucking up more of the Lord's money just like so that God can just keep like deciding what
lower hell he's going to go to eventually.
Here's the thing about that.
I don't feel bad about that.
I don't care about that.
Why?
Because like it's like, oh, you know, God's money, the Lord's money went to these people,
you know, the Lord's money went to the court fees, the Lord's money got wasted on this
landlord.
So what?
Yeah, let's all, let's all get sad about God's portfolio losing value.
Does everybody understand what I'm saying?
Folks, wake up to the reality here, okay?
If the Lord's money gets expended in a righteous battle, so what?
What do you want to spend it on, a stained glass window?
Now, you know, one of my strategies for our church is that if you got nothing, you got
nothing to lose.
So that's why I try to use as much money as we can toward missions trips, soul winning
programs, and get it out there doing its work in the world instead of laying up and stockpiling
a bunch of money as a church.
You know, get it out there doing its work so that if they come after us for the Lord's
money, we'll be like, oh, sorry, it's all gone.
We spend it all preaching the word of God all over the world.
If you got nothing, you got nothing to lose.
You know, the IRS man or whoever comes to us, I'm just going to toss them the keys to
the building and say, it's all yours, buddy.
See you, sucka.
That's what I'm going to say.
Be like, here you go.
I wasn't that attached to it anyway.
You want the church van too?
Here, here you want to take away my, my, uh, uh, my coat.
Here's my cloak also.
Here you go, buddy.
What now?
Because you know what?
I don't need a jacket.
I don't need a bill.
I live in Arizona.
I don't need a jacket.
I'm just wearing this for looks.
I don't need this.
It's Arizona.
Take my coat and my cloak.
I don't use them anyway.
What, do I use them for three days a year?
Take my coat, take my cloak, take the church van, take the church building, take the chairs,
take the camera, take everything.
And you know what?
I'll still be preaching and we'll still be assembling.
We'll still be singing praises to God.
We'll still be soul winning.
And you know what?
You can't stop us.
Why?
Because the Lord has unlimited resources.
The resources are unlimited.
The manpower is unlimited.
You know, somebody gets discouraged and whines and quits because they're like, oh, I can't
handle the persecution.
And then they whine and quit.
Guess what we'll do?
We'll just win somebody else to Christ and put them in your place.
How about that?
You're like, that's it.
I'm not going to this church anymore.
Okay, we'll go out and we'll win someone new to the Lord and we'll stick them in your
spot.
Folks, you think that you'd be the first person to quit a church because of persecution?
You won't be the first.
You won't be the last.
But isn't it interesting how there's always someone to replace you?
There's always someone to replace you.
Why?
Because God has unlimited resources.
And God has unlimited manpower because new people are getting saved all the time.
And the Holy Spirit can stir up those hearts and work in those people and enlist.
I mean, we got the recruitment.
That's what they always love to say when they write articles about us.
You know, we call it soul winning.
We call it evangelizing.
We call it preaching the gospel.
They call it like recruiting.
You know, they're out recruiting people to this hate group.
You know what?
Hey, we got the recruitment center open all the time, my friend.
We know how to recruit.
There is an unlimited supply of resources, an unlimited supply of manpower.
So you know what?
Have fun taking us on, you bunch of freaks, because you know what?
We will not stop.
And we have more with us than there are with you.
Because the Lord owns the cattle on a thousand hills and the wealth in every mine.
And he has unlimited manpower, unlimited resources.
And it doesn't matter how militant you are.
And look, those 26,700 Benjamites, they're pretty good fighters.
They're pretty militant.
They're pretty serious, right?
I mean, they were vicious to be able to win a battle against a huge opponent twice.
I don't care how vicious they are.
I don't care how mighty they are.
I don't care how powerful they are.
I don't care how militant they are.
Because we will win, guaranteed, unless we quit.
And I know I'm not quitting.
I'll never kowtow to these bunch of perverts.
You know?
And you know what?
And you say, well, that's because you're the pastor.
Even if I weren't a pastor, I would still not give in to this.
You know, I don't care if everything is taken away from me.
I am not going to back down on this issue.
I'm not going to.
It's too clear.
It's too obvious in the word of God.
It's too much of a no-brainer.
It's not like we're sitting here arguing about something that's questionable.
You know, there are some things in the Bible that are a little bit questionable.
And you're kind of like, you know, I can kind of see both sides.
I'm not really sure, you know.
Aren't there some things in the Bible that are questionable?
Homos aren't one of them.
They're not.
It's not questionable.
It's like, well, maybe they should.
Maybe we should bring them into our church.
Maybe we should have them joining the church.
Maybe we should be bringing them in.
Maybe we should be hanging around with them and friends with them and love them and treat them well.
Folks, this is not even close to being questionable.
It's stupid that we're even talking about this.
You know what I mean?
Because it should be such a no-brainer.
It should be so obvious.
Like, hmm, I wonder who I'm going to support.
Pastor Shelley or Satanists.
I don't know.
Hmm, let me think about it.
And you know who makes me a lot madder than the Satanists are the fake Christians that side with the Satanists.
They're worse.
And so we have unlimited resources.
There's no limit to our resources.
Last place we'll turn quickly is 2 Chronicles chapter 25.
2 Chronicles chapter number 25.
And folks, I'm not just up here saying this.
I mean, we literally have unlimited resources.
You say, well, no, because, you know, I looked at your bank account and, you know, there's a limit there.
Let me explain something to you about our church bank account.
Let me tell you something about our church bank account.
Our church bank account has never run out of money in 16 years of this church existing.
So to me, that seems like just an unlimited resource.
You say, well, yeah, but, you know, I opened up the barrel of meal and there's only a little bit of meal in that barrel.
It's only enough for one day.
But what was the reality of that barrel of meal?
The reality of the barrel of meal.
Hopefully, you know what I'm talking about.
2 Kings chapter 4.
I believe it is right.
The story of the widow woman.
And she's like, I got this.
No, I'm sorry.
1 Kings 17.
Somewhere in that neighborhood.
All right. Yeah.
1 Kings 17.
This is Elijah.
I was mixing up Elisha.
I was thinking of the oil in 2 Kings 4.
So 1 Kings 17.
You know, this widow woman's like, all I got left is one day's worth of food.
And then we're going to die.
And Elijah told her that will never run out.
And she goes back the next day.
There's just a little more.
She goes back the next day.
There's just a little more.
She never looked into that barrel and saw it overflowing.
She never looked in the barrel and said, whoa, we got three months supply.
Every time she looked in, there was just enough for like a day or two.
But every time she looked in, it was just always there.
And that's how it is with our resources.
It's like every time we check, it's there.
So I don't really care how little money is in the bank account
or how much money in the bank account.
All I know is that every time I look into that barrel,
it's always been there for the last 16 years.
So I'm pretty sure it's going to be there tomorrow.
I'm pretty sure it's going to be there the month after that
and the year after that.
And we had these bunch of devils shut down our bank account before, right?
Remember they shut down the B of A bank account?
Ooh, what do we do?
It doesn't matter because God has an unlimited supply of resources
and we're tapped into that supply chain.
We've got that pipeline.
And so we're not worried about it.
Judges 20, verse 32.
No, I'm sorry, we're in 2 Chronicles.
2 Chronicles 25, verse 6.
He hired also 100,000 mighty men of valor out of Israel for 100 talents of silver.
So the king of Judah hires 100,000 mighty men.
And there came a man of God to him, verse 7, saying,
O king, let not the army of Israel go with thee,
for the Lord is not with Israel.
By the way, he's not in 2022 either.
For the Lord is not with Israel to wit with all the children of Ephraim,
but if thou wilt go, do it.
Be strong for the battle.
God shall make thee fall before the enemy,
for God hath power to help and to cast down.
He said, look, if you want to take these 100,000 bozos,
go ahead and do it, but you're going to lose
because God's not with Israel.
You team up with Israel, you're going to lose.
God's not with Israel.
God has the power to help and God has the power to cast down.
And Amaziah said to the man of God, verse 9,
but what shall we do for the 100 talents which I've given to the army of Israel?
He's like, I already paid these guys.
I already gave this huge amount of money to them.
And the man of God answered, the Lord is able to give thee much more than this.
And then Amaziah separated them to wit the army
that was come to him out of Ephraim to go home again,
wherefore their anger was greatly kindled against Judah
and they returned home in great anger.
Look, it doesn't matter who you make mad.
Oh, now Israel's real mad.
God's not with them.
Who cares if someone's mad at you if God's not with them?
I want the people who God is with to not be mad at me
and I want God not to be mad at me.
If somebody who the Lord says, man, I'm not with these people,
then it's like, okay, let them be mad then.
But then it's like, what about the waste of the $100,000
or the hundred or, you know, it's not dollars, but whatever it is.
The talents.
And it's questionable.
I know people will tell you what a talent is,
but I think talents have been different amounts at different times.
It's questionable.
But whatever it is, it's some huge amount of money.
What about the hundred talents?
What about the money though?
What about the waste of the Lord's money?
And you know what?
God just says, you know, I can give you way more than that
because guess what?
I have an unlimited supply of resources.
What you really want is not money, not manpower, not mercenaries,
not getting a bunch of people who I'm not with them decide with you.
What you really want is you want me on your side
because the Lord says if you got me on your side, I can help.
I can win this for you or I can make you lose.
You say, well, why aren't all the other independent fundamental Baptists
siding with steadfast?
What about all the other churches?
I don't know.
Is the Lord even with them though?
I don't know.
I hope so.
But you know what?
We don't need them.
Oh man, I got to get a hundred thousand Baptists on my side.
Nope.
Don't need them.
I better have a hundred thousand Baptists supporting me.
Nope.
Not necessary because I have the heavenly host.
I've got the Lord.
I got the heavenly host.
And you know what?
If there's some group of watered down Christians who want to just roll over
and die and just quit and give up and say, you know,
the sodomites want to come in, we'll roll out the red carpet for them.
You know, if that's what they want to do, then you know what?
It's like, bye.
Bye.
You know, if half our church wants to leave and say we, you know,
we don't want to fight this battle, then it's like, bye.
And just to be clear, we're not in a battle right now.
You know, our landlord's cool.
Okay.
But I'm saying, you know, but I'm, you know,
maybe somebody from steadfast is hearing this sermon, you know,
hopefully it would encourage them.
But you know, it's better to preach sermons like this while we're not in a battle,
because then you can think about it rationally.
When we actually get in a battle, then you get all emotional.
It's better to figure out where you stand now.
It's better to figure out what you believe now.
It's better to figure out that God has unlimited resources now than to get in
the thick of it.
And all of a sudden you're asking yourself all these questions that you
can't answer.
Like, why am I here?
And you can't answer that question.
You know, why don't you answer that question today while you're calm?
Why don't you figure out why you're here now?
And then that answer just doesn't change when you get in battle.
You know, we, we haven't been in battle in a long time,
but that, you know, part of that's because if you resist the devil,
he'll flee from you.
And that's what we've done.
But you know, maybe a big battle will start up tomorrow.
You know, I like peace.
I'd rather just have peace and no battles.
You know, let, let some of my other friends take the heat for a while.
You know, it's fine with me.
But you know what though?
It is what it is though, right?
Whatever God ordains, it is what it is at that point.
We just, you just do it.
God has unlimited resources.
We're in the majority.
We're on the winning side.
We don't have to win every battle to win the war just because they think they
won some battle.
And you know what?
Sometimes it's like, oh man, I just don't want them to get that satisfaction.
You know, I don't think that way.
Oh, I don't want them to get that satisfaction.
I'm just like, I'm like, let them get that satisfaction.
Let them think that they won.
Let them rejoice because they're, all they're doing is just making their own
damnation worse.
So I'm just like, laugh it up, buddy.
I'm not like, oh, they're winning.
It's like, so what?
They're going to spend eternity in hell.
Nothing that I do to them or nothing that could ever happen to me on this earth is
as bad as that.
So really does it matter if they're, if they're rejoicing right now?
I mean, I'm just like, oh man, I just don't want them to get the satisfaction.
Let them get the satisfaction.
Nuts to them.
And you know what?
Let me tell you what I appreciated.
I appreciated pictures of the members of steadfast smiling next to the eviction
notice.
They're, they're all posting like selfies,
smiling and giving a thumbs up next to the eviction.
And you know what?
That makes sense because you know what that is?
That's a badge.
That's a trophy that says, hey, we're fighting the Lord's battle here.
You know, unlike these other whining pastors who are like, well,
it's funny because I go to South Africa all the time and I never got kicked out
of South Africa.
It's cause you're, you're lame.
That's why.
It's like, well, I've been preaching for this many years.
Yeah, that's cause your YouTube channel has five views and it's all you
checking it.
It's your mom.
It's you, your mom and your wife and somebody who accidentally clicked on it
by mistake when they were looking for a pastor Shelley sermon.
They accidentally clicked on you for a second.
That's, you know,
that's why you're not being persecuted because you're not doing anything.
We're going to win the war.
Amen.
All right.
Have a word of prayer.
Father, we thank you so much for this great chapter.
Lord, it's no matter how many times I read it,
this chapter gets me fired up.
Lord, I thank you Lord.
As I read it this morning that you fired me up about this chapter as I read it
Lord, because it's powerful and Lord,
I pray that every single person in this room would,
would understand judges 20 and,
and get the message from this important chapter about winning the war even if
you don't win every battle because Lord,
this principle can be applied to many other areas in life.
Lord, help us always to do what your word says and never to quit and not to
pray about whether your word is going to change because we already know it's not
going to change.
Lord, help us to just execute the judgments that you've prescribed Lord and,
and to just do what you've told us do.
And in Jesus name we pray.
Amen.
Take your song books please.
If you need the words.
Number 176.
Jesus loves the little children.
176.
Switching gears a little bit here.
Number 176.
Let's sing it twice.
176.
Right and yellow, black and white.
They are precious in his sight.
Jesus loves the little children of the world.
Amen.
Great singing this morning.
You're so nice to see you.