WEBVTT 00:00.000 --> 00:01.000 In Jesus' name we pray, Amen. 00:02.500 --> 00:08.500 Amen. Okay, we're in first Samuel chapter 5 and this is actually one of my favorite stories in the bible 00:08.500 --> 00:14.180 The title of my sermon tonight is holy things in unholy hands. Holy things 00:14.740 --> 00:19.860 In unholy hands. Let me give you a little bit of a background what's taking place here in this particular story 00:20.100 --> 00:22.820 We're going to go through first samuel chapter 5 and 6 00:23.300 --> 00:29.940 Prior to this, of course, we have what's called the ark of the covenant and the ark of the covenant was essentially a gold plated 00:30.500 --> 00:37.840 Structure that God commanded for Moses to make where you had the ten commandments you had Aaron's rod that budded and you had 00:37.840 --> 00:43.940 the manna as well and this essentially signified where the presence of God would dwell and 00:44.180 --> 00:49.320 Essentially as long as the children of Israel obey the Lord they kept his commandments 00:49.320 --> 00:52.060 They did what they were supposed to do adhere to the Covenant 00:52.160 --> 00:58.120 Then when they had that arc they would essentially prosper and everything that they did specifically 00:58.500 --> 01:00.500 when they would go out to war, right? 01:00.500 --> 01:02.500 So anytime they would go out to battle, 01:02.500 --> 01:05.200 as long as they had the presence of God, 01:05.200 --> 01:07.500 as signified by the Ark of the Covenant, 01:07.500 --> 01:10.200 they would be blessed, they would be victorious, 01:10.200 --> 01:12.500 God would be with them, and so forth. 01:12.500 --> 01:15.700 And so, obviously, this is a physical thing 01:15.700 --> 01:18.500 that God commanded to be within the nation of Israel 01:18.500 --> 01:21.500 in order to signify that God was with that nation. 01:21.500 --> 01:24.200 Now, by the time we get to 1 Samuel chapter 4, 01:24.200 --> 01:25.400 a lot has happened. 01:25.500 --> 01:29.020 You know, you have a lot of corrupt leaders. You have Eli and his sons, 01:29.020 --> 01:32.940 Hophni and Phineas, who according to the Bible were sons of Belial. 01:32.940 --> 01:36.060 They were reprobates. They were evil and wicked people. 01:36.060 --> 01:39.660 And we're not, for the sake of time, I'm not going to necessarily cover that entire story. 01:39.660 --> 01:43.660 But, you know, they go to war with the Philistines, and they think to themselves, 01:43.660 --> 01:46.940 well, you know, let's just bring the Ark of the Covenant with us, 01:46.940 --> 01:50.380 and we will obviously be victorious against the Philistines. 01:50.380 --> 01:53.420 So they're essentially treating the Ark of the Covenant somewhat- 01:53.500 --> 01:59.000 like a lucky charm. They're being superstitious about the Ark of the Covenant thinking, well, 01:59.000 --> 02:04.860 we could just be wicked and be reprobates and disobey the Lord and not obey the Lord 02:04.860 --> 02:08.760 in these areas. But as long as we have the Ark of the Covenant, everything should be 02:08.760 --> 02:13.860 hunky dory. We should be able to defeat the Philistines. Now, obviously, that didn't happen. 02:13.860 --> 02:18.860 And in fact, the Bible specifically said that God wanted to kill Haphne and Phineas. 02:19.600 --> 02:24.500 Because there were sons of Belial, there were godless people, there were reprobates, children of the devil, 02:24.500 --> 02:28.100 and the Bible says that he would destroy them. He wanted to kill them. 02:28.100 --> 02:32.100 And so when this war took place, they ended up dying in battle, 02:32.100 --> 02:37.300 and the Philistines, who are a heathen nation, they're a heathen people, 02:37.300 --> 02:41.900 ended up stealing the Ark of the Covenant and bringing it into their land. 02:41.900 --> 02:47.400 So you have the children of Israel suffering a great defeat, and this is where you have the term 02:47.400 --> 02:47.600 day 02:47.600 --> 02:52.760 which means the glory of God has departed as noted by the fact that the 02:52.760 --> 02:57.440 physical Ark of the Covenant is taken it's essentially symbolizing that God's 02:57.440 --> 03:02.480 presence God's glory is not there now obviously folks you know when you read 03:02.480 --> 03:07.800 these chapters we can see that the glory of God departed long ago right as noted 03:07.800 --> 03:12.800 by the fact that Eli his eyes were dim he wasn't a great leader his sons are 03:12.800 --> 03:15.600 super wicked, but the nail in the co- 03:15.600 --> 03:20.760 Often, the straw that broke the camel's back, that really, that indicator that he was no 03:20.760 --> 03:23.200 longer there was the fact that they took the Ark of the Covenant. 03:23.700 --> 03:36.000 So now we're in chapter 5, and in chapter 5 we see what happens when you put something so sacred and holy as the Ark of the Covenant in the hands of godless people. 03:36.000 --> 03:40.000 And that's what I'm going to preach on this evening. Now, how do we apply this? 03:40.000 --> 03:51.600 Well, you know, sometimes people think, well, as long as we put someone in the right environment, as long as we put someone around the right type of people, they're just going to turn out, right? 03:51.700 --> 03:54.240 They're going to be good people, great Christians, 03:54.240 --> 03:57.780 but it doesn't necessarily work that way. 03:57.780 --> 04:00.540 If you put an unsafe person in our church, 04:00.540 --> 04:03.540 it doesn't mean that they're going to be a great person. 04:03.540 --> 04:05.100 They have to get saved. 04:05.100 --> 04:07.020 They have to be regenerated. 04:07.020 --> 04:09.180 They have to have their sins forgiven. 04:09.180 --> 04:12.740 They have to have that new man, the Holy Spirit of God, in them. 04:12.740 --> 04:14.500 And that's all based upon whether they 04:14.500 --> 04:16.260 believe on the Lord Jesus Christ or not. 04:16.600 --> 04:20.520 So you can have the greatest church with the greatest of preaching 04:20.520 --> 04:24.240 You can have great sermons, you can have great hymns 04:24.240 --> 04:27.800 You can have an environment that is conducive to spiritual growth 04:27.800 --> 04:32.040 But it means nothing to the unsafe person if they don't actually get saved 04:32.040 --> 04:32.720 Right? 04:32.720 --> 04:37.080 You can place an unholy person within a holy environment 04:37.080 --> 04:40.560 It does nothing to them if they don't actually choose to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ 04:40.560 --> 04:43.680 You know, you can place a King James Bible 04:44.100 --> 04:48.820 on the coffee table of an unsafe house and it does nothing for them. 04:48.820 --> 04:51.540 They can operate, they can use it like a lucky charm 04:51.540 --> 04:54.420 and to ward off the spirits and the vampires 04:54.420 --> 04:57.220 and you know so that no deal, it does nothing. 04:57.600 --> 05:02.600 And by the way, the King James Bible is the inspired, preserved word of God for the English-speaking people. 05:02.600 --> 05:05.100 It's the only Bible that Christians should be using. 05:05.100 --> 05:14.100 All other modern versions are fraudulent, they're fake, they're trashy, they're not God's word. 05:14.100 --> 05:16.600 They're a corruption of God's word is what it is. 05:17.100 --> 05:21.180 So but here's the thing if you give someone the King James Bible 05:21.300 --> 05:25.860 Which is the accurate in Aaron inspired word of God, you know, it does nothing to them 05:25.860 --> 05:27.860 If they don't believe the words that are written in that book 05:28.700 --> 05:32.540 Keeping it on the coffee table does nothing. You don't you're not blessed by osmosis 05:33.220 --> 05:35.640 By having the Bible in your presence, right? 05:36.100 --> 05:40.540 Like well, you know, I have a keen I have five King James Bible on my bookshelf 05:40.540 --> 05:44.960 It does nothing for your bookshelf. It does nothing for your spiritual life. It does nothing for you. Okay 05:45.600 --> 05:51.060 And so it's important for us to realize that just because you put a holy thing in the hands of an unholy person 05:51.060 --> 05:53.540 it actually does nothing for them. 05:53.540 --> 06:00.540 We're not the superstitious type to think that well, you know, as long as we put this person alongside a righteous individual 06:00.540 --> 06:05.940 that somehow they're going to influence that person, that righteous individual is going to make them better spiritually. 06:05.940 --> 06:08.100 Doesn't work that way because everyone has a choice. 06:08.600 --> 06:11.360 and they have to choose to be renewed. 06:11.360 --> 06:13.520 You know, reformation is great, 06:13.520 --> 06:15.960 but reformation has an end. 06:15.960 --> 06:18.040 You need transformation, right? 06:18.040 --> 06:21.720 You can have someone come into our church and be reformed. 06:21.720 --> 06:22.560 What does that mean? 06:22.560 --> 06:24.000 You know, they come in here 06:24.000 --> 06:26.400 and maybe they're a drug addict or whatever, 06:26.400 --> 06:27.960 and they're trying to get cleaned up, 06:27.960 --> 06:31.880 and they come here, they hear preaching about alcohol 06:31.880 --> 06:33.800 and drugs and whatnot, 06:33.800 --> 06:36.300 and they can even clean up their lives in that regard. 06:37.100 --> 06:43.100 They can buy a suit, they can part their hair, they can sing the hymns, they can buy the Bible 06:43.100 --> 06:50.100 But folks, that's all reformation and if there's no transformation that comes about because you believe in Christ, it means nothing 06:50.100 --> 06:54.100 Now what are we talking about with transformation? We're talking about salvation, being born again 06:54.100 --> 07:00.100 Okay, you know, if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature, old things have passed away, behold all things have become new 07:00.100 --> 07:02.000 It's referring to salvation 07:02.600 --> 07:06.040 And so, you know, we're not necessarily looking to reform people. 07:06.040 --> 07:08.040 We're looking to reform Christians. 07:08.300 --> 07:13.900 after they've already gotten saved, but not to reform unbelievers because that does nothing for them. 07:13.900 --> 07:17.500 It's essentially putting holy things in unholy hands. 07:17.500 --> 07:23.100 And as we're going to see tonight, that is often detrimental to the individual and it does nothing for them. 07:23.100 --> 07:25.100 So let's read here. Look at verse number one. 07:25.100 --> 07:29.900 The first thing we're going to look at here is that when you place a holy thing in an unholy hand, 07:29.900 --> 07:32.300 it actually desecrates holy things. 07:32.300 --> 07:33.800 Okay, look at verse one. 07:33.800 --> 07:35.800 And the Philistines took the Ark of God. 07:36.300 --> 07:40.860 Brought it for Ebenezer unto Ashton and when the Philistines took the ark of God 07:41.100 --> 07:45.060 They brought it into the house of Dagon and set it by Dagon 07:45.620 --> 07:48.980 So when they're bringing this ark of the covenant, they're just like they're not like hey, you know what? 07:50.000 --> 07:53.200 We probably shouldn't be worshiping false gods. This is the real deal. 07:53.200 --> 07:58.160 Let's repent of our ways. Let's get rid of our false gods. 07:58.160 --> 08:03.280 Let's get rid of Dagon. Let's get rid of these devils and start worshiping the God of the Bible. 08:03.280 --> 08:08.560 What do they do? What happens when you place a holy thing into the hands of unholy men? 08:08.560 --> 08:12.800 They just basically add God to their plethora of false gods. 08:13.700 --> 08:20.300 When you add Jesus Christ to your religion and you're just like, well, you know, I believe in Jesus Christ 08:20.300 --> 08:23.300 I think He is the Christ, I believe He is the Messiah 08:23.300 --> 08:27.100 But you don't believe that He's God, you don't believe that He's forgiven you of all your sins 08:27.100 --> 08:28.600 and that He died on the cross to pay for your sins 08:28.600 --> 08:31.200 Guess what? It does nothing for you 08:31.200 --> 08:34.800 It changes nothing for you, in fact, it desecrates you 08:34.800 --> 08:38.500 Okay? It actually makes you worse, and it desecrates Christ! 08:39.100 --> 08:45.740 Why? Because Christ is not interested in being added to your shelf of false gods. 08:45.740 --> 08:51.180 Okay? You know, you ask a Hindu, a Buddhist, if you were to give a Hindu or a Buddhist 08:51.180 --> 08:55.020 some idol of Jesus Christ, and we're not four idols of Jesus Christ, 08:55.020 --> 08:59.420 but let's say you just give them an idol of Jesus Christ, you know, they're not gonna be against it. 08:59.420 --> 09:02.700 They're really like, oh, thank you, you know? They view it as like a lucky charm. 09:02.900 --> 09:07.460 This will ward off the so-called spirits of whatever and they'll just put it on their shelf 09:08.060 --> 09:12.340 Along with all the other false gods that they have thinking that that's how somehow getting prove their life 09:12.340 --> 09:14.820 But what is that that is a desecration of the name of God? 09:15.180 --> 09:20.420 Thinking that you could just add Jesus Christ to your plethora of false gods. There should be no God before him the Bible says 09:20.420 --> 09:25.280 That's literally like the first commandment in the Ten Commandments thou shall have no other gods before me 09:25.280 --> 09:29.980 I I am the Lord and there's no Savior listen to this beside me 09:30.800 --> 09:31.800 What are they doing? 09:31.800 --> 09:33.160 They're placing Jesus, or they're 09:33.160 --> 09:35.440 placing the God of the Bible at this time, 09:35.440 --> 09:36.640 right next to Dagon. 09:36.640 --> 09:38.240 Now, who's Dagon? 09:38.240 --> 09:40.040 Exactly, who's Dagon? 09:40.040 --> 09:44.360 Dagon is basically historically referred to as the fish god. 09:48.120 --> 09:52.200 So some say it was just like this anthropomorphic image 09:52.200 --> 09:55.200 of like a half man, half fish, like Aquaman or something 09:55.200 --> 09:55.700 like that. 09:56.300 --> 09:58.660 where it looked like a fish but it was a man, 09:58.660 --> 10:01.080 and they had this image of him. 10:01.080 --> 10:04.500 This is who the people of the Philistines 10:04.500 --> 10:06.220 would worship as Dagon. 10:07.220 --> 10:09.340 And some say he was the god of fertility, 10:09.340 --> 10:12.340 blah, blah, blah, is a devil is what it is. 10:12.340 --> 10:13.680 There is no other gods. 10:13.680 --> 10:16.580 There's lowercase g gods, but these aren't gods. 10:16.580 --> 10:18.500 These are devils according to the Bible. 10:19.300 --> 10:25.900 So what are they doing? Does bringing the Ark of the Covenant into Philistine territory improve the Philistines? 10:25.900 --> 10:30.800 No, because they just add him to their false gods. They're like, well, now we got two gods. 10:30.800 --> 10:34.800 We have the Ark of the Covenant and we have Dagon. 10:34.800 --> 10:37.600 But of course, we know that the Bible is completely against... 10:37.600 --> 10:41.100 Go to 1 Corinthians chapter 8, if you would. 1 Corinthians chapter 8. 10:42.200 --> 10:47.400 1 Corinthians chapter 8. Now let me just remind you that as Christians we should flee idolatry. 10:48.440 --> 10:54.360 Meaning that Christians should have nothing to do with idols. And I'm not just referring to 10:54.360 --> 11:01.080 idols of false gods like Dagon. I'm talking about idols of images that are made of things of heaven 11:01.080 --> 11:09.400 above such as the Godhead. Images of Jesus Christ. Images of Mary. Images of the saints, Catholics. 11:10.000 --> 11:15.800 icons and so forth, these are things that the Bible renders and classifies as being an idol. 11:15.800 --> 11:19.200 The Bible tells us, keep yourselves from idols. 11:19.200 --> 11:23.600 And look folks, idolatry is a major sin in the Bible. 11:23.600 --> 11:26.500 Okay? It should not be taken lightly. 11:26.500 --> 11:29.400 And in fact, it's such a grievous sin in the eyes of God 11:29.400 --> 11:32.500 that if someone commits idolatry in the local New Testament church, 11:32.500 --> 11:36.300 they are excommunicated if they're unwilling to repent of that. 11:36.500 --> 11:37.600 Now, what do we mean by that? 11:37.600 --> 11:40.500 Meaning that if you're carrying some Virgin Mary in your vehicle 11:40.500 --> 11:42.800 because your grandma gave it to you, 11:42.800 --> 11:45.200 according to the Bible, you're an idolater. 11:45.200 --> 11:46.700 You're like, well, I don't really worship it. 11:46.700 --> 11:50.400 God doesn't care what you think worship is or not. 11:50.400 --> 11:53.500 The mere fact that you possess the idol 11:53.500 --> 11:56.200 classifies you being an idolater. 11:56.200 --> 11:59.400 And he doesn't care if you have it for sentimental reasons. 11:59.400 --> 12:00.900 Oh, it's a good luck charm. 12:00.900 --> 12:02.600 Oh, my grandma gave it to me. 12:02.600 --> 12:04.000 Oh, I'm Mexican. 12:05.600 --> 12:10.400 You know, oh, you know, you don't understand it's made out of gold or whatever. He doesn't care get rid of it 12:12.000 --> 12:14.400 And here's the thing. He's like why don't pray to it, but you have it 12:15.120 --> 12:17.120 And the bible not only condemns 12:17.580 --> 12:18.720 venerating 12:18.720 --> 12:23.600 Praying towards worshiping these idols. It just condemns having them period 12:24.480 --> 12:28.400 Okay, especially if you think you know if you ascribe some sort of power 12:29.120 --> 12:32.260 To that idol and look that also includes crosses 12:33.500 --> 12:38.500 If you have a cross with a dead Jesus on there, first and foremost, that's not Jesus. 12:38.500 --> 12:40.500 You say, well, how do you know? 12:40.500 --> 12:42.500 Well, because he didn't stay on the cross. 12:42.500 --> 12:45.500 So why have this morbid Jesus on a cross? 12:45.500 --> 12:48.500 You're just carrying around, you just have it in your church. 12:48.500 --> 12:50.500 That's called an idol. 12:50.500 --> 12:54.500 And look, a lot of people think, you know, and I used to think this because I was a Catholic at one point. 12:54.800 --> 13:01.360 You know, that if you had some sort of Jesus cross crucifix where he's on there in your home 13:01.360 --> 13:04.560 that somehow that would protect you or something like that. 13:04.560 --> 13:05.560 Right? 13:05.560 --> 13:10.960 You know, Catholics will often think, well if I carry this with me, this is going to kind of protect me from the evil spirits. 13:10.960 --> 13:11.960 It's called superstition. 13:12.600 --> 13:19.740 That's exactly what Catholics do. They're just superstitious people thinking that that's gonna ward off the vampires and the werewolves and the zombies or whatever 13:19.740 --> 13:23.020 But it does nothing. This is what is referred to as idolatry 13:23.020 --> 13:30.100 It's when you ascribe some sort of supernatural power to that physical cross and look I'm not against people having crosses 13:30.440 --> 13:34.980 You know as a necklace, you know, obviously I am against having Jesus on that cross 13:36.300 --> 13:42.860 But let me say this, if you need to have a cross around your neck because you're afraid something might happen to you, 13:42.860 --> 13:51.660 now you're a superstitious person, you're ascribing power to a physical thing that's wrapped around your neck that does nothing for you. 13:51.660 --> 13:53.820 Let me tell you who protects you is the Lord. 13:53.820 --> 13:59.260 Ten thousand shall fall on my right side, ten thousand on my left shall not come nigh unto me. 13:59.400 --> 14:03.380 Okay, and we need to understand that idolatry is a major thing and you know 14:03.380 --> 14:08.880 You may not think too much of idolatry because we live in the United States of America where you know in general 14:09.280 --> 14:12.480 People would consider to be somewhat of a Christian nation as a lot of churches 14:12.480 --> 14:16.520 But around the world idolatry is extremely rampant Southeast Asia 14:16.780 --> 14:21.500 They have alters and idols literally on every corner. Okay 14:22.200 --> 14:25.360 And so, and here's the thing, this is what happens 14:25.360 --> 14:27.880 when you bring people of other cultures 14:27.880 --> 14:29.840 into the United States of America. 14:29.840 --> 14:30.680 What does it do? 14:30.680 --> 14:32.520 It actually normalizes idolatry. 14:32.520 --> 14:34.040 Oh, that's just who they are. 14:34.040 --> 14:36.320 They're just, you know, that's what they believe. 14:36.320 --> 14:39.160 That, you know, they're Catholics, you know, they're Buddhists, 14:39.160 --> 14:41.920 that they're Hindus, they're Muslims or whatever. 14:41.920 --> 14:43.200 This is just what they believe. 14:43.200 --> 14:44.040 That's what they do. 14:44.040 --> 14:46.120 Yeah, but they're bringing in Godless customs 14:46.120 --> 14:47.760 that's contrary to the word of God. 14:48.900 --> 14:51.300 And before you know it, we're going to be like Southeast Asia 14:51.980 --> 14:54.580 Where it's just you have all these idols in the land 14:54.820 --> 14:56.580 Displeasing God because of that 14:56.900 --> 14:59.540 And so it's important to know, look at 1 Corinthians chapter 8 15:00.740 --> 15:03.540 And look down to your Bibles at verse number 4, it says 15:03.540 --> 15:06.540 As concerning therefore the eating of those things that are offered 15:06.780 --> 15:08.300 In sacrifice unto idols 15:08.620 --> 15:11.180 We know that an idol is nothing in the world 15:11.700 --> 15:13.700 And that there is none other God but one 15:14.100 --> 15:18.500 So in other words, don't fear the idol. 15:18.500 --> 15:21.060 Oh, Annabelle. 15:21.060 --> 15:21.820 There's this doll. 15:21.820 --> 15:22.500 It's Annabelle. 15:22.500 --> 15:23.340 She might kill me. 15:23.340 --> 15:26.020 It's a doll. 15:26.020 --> 15:27.340 I'll whoop that doll. 15:27.340 --> 15:28.900 Just burn it. 15:28.900 --> 15:30.660 It's a doll. 15:30.660 --> 15:33.460 But this is how superstitious people are. 15:33.460 --> 15:35.380 And look, again, Roman Catholicism 15:35.380 --> 15:37.900 is notorious for this, where they literally 15:37.900 --> 15:40.900 have fragments of human remains. 15:41.800 --> 15:43.400 And they idolize it. 15:43.400 --> 15:46.200 Now a couple years ago, they had supposedly the hand of Jude 15:46.200 --> 15:48.960 or something, and they brought it to Orange County or whatever. 15:48.960 --> 15:50.560 That's someone else's dude's hand, bro. 15:50.560 --> 15:52.280 That's not Jude's hand. 15:52.280 --> 15:54.920 They dug some random dude out of the grave 15:54.920 --> 15:56.000 and just say that's Jude. 15:56.000 --> 15:56.920 They're going to believe it. 15:56.920 --> 15:58.000 They believe everything else. 15:58.000 --> 15:59.600 And they just got someone's corpse. 15:59.600 --> 16:01.360 It might not even be that. 16:01.360 --> 16:02.840 It might just be like paper mache. 16:02.840 --> 16:03.440 We don't know. 16:05.900 --> 16:11.000 But it's just like, oh it has so much power, it's just able to do so many things, it's just you know, 16:11.000 --> 16:15.600 you know, this idol, we gotta be careful, you know, I'm scared of that thing, you're superstitious! 16:15.600 --> 16:18.100 The idol is nothing, the Bible says! 16:19.200 --> 16:24.400 You know, years ago, what we did in order to prevent idolatry from, you know, 16:24.400 --> 16:30.000 unforeseen idolatry from getting a foothold in our church, we had Idol Burning Sunday. 16:30.800 --> 16:34.440 Because we had a lot of former Catholics and former Orthodox 16:34.440 --> 16:38.140 And so we encourage everyone to bring their idols to church 16:38.140 --> 16:42.640 And we're going to have a bonfire of idols who are just throwing them into the fire 16:42.640 --> 16:45.140 People just repenting of their idolatry 16:45.140 --> 16:49.000 And you know we have some Orthodox guys, so one of them in particular just 16:49.200 --> 16:53.760 Bro's an idolater, you know, he's bringing all kinds of images and wood and whatnot. 16:53.760 --> 16:57.500 And then we just had people who were just pyromaniacs and they just wanted to burn stuff. 16:57.500 --> 17:01.200 Glenn was bringing like Mickey Mouse and stuff like, this is kind of like an idol, right? 17:01.200 --> 17:05.600 Some people idolize, like, he just wants to burn stuff at this point, you know. 17:05.600 --> 17:10.700 Just random, you know, covetousness is idolatry, so you don't just throw money into flames or whatever. 17:11.800 --> 17:16.500 But you know, it was good because, you know, we had, I think we had a twice back-to-back. 17:16.700 --> 17:22.300 And you know, we would burn these idols and the bigger idols, we gave bats to the kids, 17:22.300 --> 17:23.900 we gave them goggles, okay? 17:23.900 --> 17:30.700 And they're just smashing the idols, we're just teaching them to hate idolatry, okay? 17:30.700 --> 17:33.300 But we obviously know that the idol is nothing, it's not going to do anything, 17:33.300 --> 17:36.500 it's not going to fly at you, it's not going to talk to you, 17:36.500 --> 17:39.700 it's not going to harm you or anything, it's nothing! 17:40.100 --> 17:45.300 Look what it goes on to say in verse 5, for though there be that are called gods, whether in heaven or in earth, 17:45.300 --> 17:53.100 as there be gods many and lords many, but to us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, 17:53.100 --> 17:58.300 and we in him, and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by him. 17:58.300 --> 18:03.300 Go to chapter 10 if you would. Chapter 10, look at verse 19 here. 18:03.300 --> 18:05.300 You're like, well, the idol is nothing. 18:05.800 --> 18:13.800 Then what's the problem? If it's not going to do anything to me, what's the harm of keeping my little Saint Joseph in my drawer? 18:13.800 --> 18:18.800 What harm is there? Here's the harm is that God's going to destroy you. 18:18.800 --> 18:22.800 Because you ain't listening. And He's offended at that idol. 18:22.800 --> 18:27.800 Because you're basically taking Jesus and you're putting Him next to this idol. 18:28.600 --> 18:31.360 Look what it says in verse number 19. 18:31.360 --> 18:34.760 It says, what say I then, that the idol is anything, 18:34.760 --> 18:37.900 or that which is offered in sacrifice to idols is anything? 18:38.000 --> 18:44.640 But I say that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to devils and not to God. 18:44.640 --> 18:49.040 And I would not that ye should have fellowship with devils. 18:49.040 --> 18:52.880 Ye cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of devils. 18:52.880 --> 18:56.240 Ye cannot be partakers of the Lord's table and of the table of devils. 18:56.240 --> 19:00.320 In other words, you can't say that you're worshipping God and you're keeping these idols with you in your house. 19:01.600 --> 19:04.640 You know, it is an oxymoron is what it is. 19:04.640 --> 19:12.240 You're contradicting yourself by saying, well, you know, I worship God, but then you have these images, you have these idols in your house. 19:12.240 --> 19:19.200 And in fact, we're going to goes on to say in verse 22, do we provoke the Lord to jealousy? Are we stronger than he? 19:19.200 --> 19:24.480 So what are you doing actually when you possess these images, these idols? 19:24.480 --> 19:28.240 And yeah, you don't worship them, you're just carrying them for sentiment of value. 19:28.240 --> 19:29.600 You're provoking the Lord. 19:29.600 --> 19:35.480 to jealousy. You're making them mad. You're basically taking the Ark of the Covenant and 19:35.480 --> 19:42.040 putting it right beside Dagon. That's how God views it. Okay. So what should I do? Burn 19:42.040 --> 19:48.480 it! Throw it in the trash. Stomp on it. Have an idol burning Sunday at your house. Take 19:48.480 --> 19:53.640 all your idols, throw them in the trash. And look, you know, I feel very strongly about 19:53.640 --> 19:56.200 this because I came from Catholicism and I think it's very important. 19:56.600 --> 20:00.600 And in fact, I just don't think Christians really think it's that important. 20:00.600 --> 20:03.600 They're not as zealous about it as they should be. 20:03.600 --> 20:06.600 I'll give you an example. 20:06.600 --> 20:10.600 A couple weeks ago, sometimes people just give you stuff, right? 20:10.600 --> 20:13.600 And they don't really think about what they're giving you or whatever. 20:13.600 --> 20:17.600 And people give my mom things a lot. 20:17.600 --> 20:21.600 And one time I went over to her house, and I'm just kind of talking to my mom. 20:21.600 --> 20:22.500 I was with my wife. 20:22.700 --> 20:26.440 And then, you know, my wife was like, 20:26.440 --> 20:28.940 you know there's like idols in here? 20:28.940 --> 20:29.860 I was like, where? 20:29.860 --> 20:31.160 I'm like, oh dang. 20:32.300 --> 20:33.860 Like how did I not see this? 20:33.860 --> 20:36.080 But there was like three fat Buddhas. 20:37.180 --> 20:38.340 And look, here's the thing folks, 20:38.340 --> 20:40.380 is that Buddha, he's not a god, 20:40.380 --> 20:42.220 but he's still an idol though. 20:42.220 --> 20:46.020 It's classified as an idol, according to the Bible. 20:46.020 --> 20:48.080 Because I don't get my classification or definitions 20:48.080 --> 20:50.600 from ungodly people, unholy people. 20:50.900 --> 20:53.240 Well, it's not really worship, it's veneration, it's worship. 20:53.240 --> 20:54.660 I'm not asking you. 20:54.660 --> 20:55.700 No one asked you, bro. 20:55.700 --> 20:56.700 OK? 20:56.700 --> 20:59.220 According to the Bible, it's classified as an idol. 20:59.220 --> 21:01.840 So my wife is like, there's like, Buddhists here. 21:01.840 --> 21:04.140 And I was horrified. 21:04.140 --> 21:06.580 And I'm like, mom, do you know that there's 21:06.580 --> 21:07.860 you have Buddhists in the house? 21:07.860 --> 21:10.900 She's like, oh, yeah, someone sent this to me or whatever. 21:10.900 --> 21:13.140 I'm like, you can't have these. 21:13.140 --> 21:14.460 This is idolatry. 21:14.460 --> 21:15.620 She's like, really? 21:15.620 --> 21:16.620 I'm like, yeah. 21:17.600 --> 21:22.960 I'm like, this is, this is, this is, uh, you're provoking the Lord to Chelsea here, 21:22.960 --> 21:26.800 because you're a saved woman, you're having these, and she didn't really realize how bad it was. 21:27.200 --> 21:31.000 And I was explaining to her the concept of idolatry 21:31.000 --> 21:33.400 and the fact that these should not be in the home. 21:33.400 --> 21:35.440 And I said, but don't worry, I'm a good son. 21:35.440 --> 21:37.040 I'll take care of them for you. 21:37.040 --> 21:38.240 And she's like, oh no, don't do that. 21:38.240 --> 21:39.080 I can just sell them. 21:39.080 --> 21:40.200 We're not selling them. 21:40.200 --> 21:42.320 Because my mom likes to sell things, you know? 21:42.320 --> 21:45.160 And I was just like, no, we're not selling them. 21:45.160 --> 21:47.160 I'm going to get rid of them for you, OK? 21:47.160 --> 21:49.120 And she's like, oh, do you really have? 21:49.120 --> 21:49.680 I'm like, yes. 21:49.680 --> 21:52.160 And it's not because her heart was endeared to these idols 21:52.160 --> 21:53.800 because she just wanted to make money off of them. 21:54.000 --> 21:58.820 She's just like, I could sell this to some Buddhist or whatever, and they'll pay a pretty 21:58.820 --> 22:02.000 penny for this. 22:02.000 --> 22:05.680 And I said, nah, I'm just going to take care of them. 22:05.680 --> 22:09.560 And so when she wasn't looking, and look, I'm not saying you should do this, I'm just 22:09.560 --> 22:10.560 saying what I do. 22:10.560 --> 22:12.560 This is just what I do. 22:12.900 --> 22:16.140 And I was just like, you know, my wife, as she's distracting my mom, 22:16.140 --> 22:18.780 I just grab the paper bag, just throw all the idols in there. 22:18.780 --> 22:20.940 I'm like, okay, mom, gotta go. 22:20.940 --> 22:22.060 I'll see you later. 22:22.060 --> 22:24.420 You know, and took him and went trashed him. 22:24.420 --> 22:25.180 She probably looking for him. 22:25.180 --> 22:27.500 She can't find him. 22:27.500 --> 22:30.200 You know, I don't want my mom provoking the Lord to jealousy. 22:30.400 --> 22:32.400 Call me Jeroboam, amen. 22:32.400 --> 22:35.700 You know, and so it's important for us to be zealous about these things 22:35.700 --> 22:40.700 and recognize it's not just a matter of, oh, well I'm not praying to this idol. 22:40.700 --> 22:42.700 Well, don't even have it. 22:42.700 --> 22:44.400 Don't even have it. 22:44.400 --> 22:45.600 Trash it. 22:45.600 --> 22:46.800 Just destroy it. 22:46.800 --> 22:48.000 Burn it in the fire. 22:48.000 --> 22:52.400 And teach your kids and your family what it is, what the Bible talks about, idolatry, 22:52.400 --> 22:54.700 and how we should not be idolaters. 22:54.700 --> 22:57.200 Go back to 1 Samuel, if you would. 22:58.500 --> 23:00.500 1st Samuel chapter 5 23:02.980 --> 23:08.820 And so, you know when you put holy things in unholy hands you actually end up desecrating the holy things 23:09.060 --> 23:12.180 Okay, you're provoking the lord to jealousy 23:12.180 --> 23:17.700 It's not like it god doesn't view it as you just being tolerant of other people or you're just so loving 23:18.100 --> 23:21.780 No, he's a jealous god and he's not going to share his glory with anybody 23:23.060 --> 23:25.060 Especially some fat little idol 23:25.500 --> 23:28.940 of Buddha, of someone who's literally burning in hell today. 23:28.940 --> 23:32.860 Okay? And you can insert anybody else into that. 23:32.860 --> 23:36.780 And here's the thing, you know, you say, what about saints? You know, saints are saved. 23:36.780 --> 23:40.220 Yeah, and you know what? They're probably horrified of what people have been doing 23:40.220 --> 23:44.220 to their names over the last couple thousand years. You know? 23:44.400 --> 23:48.560 Just like I'm sure I'm sure especially Mary. I'm sure she just facepalming 23:48.720 --> 23:52.980 You know like someone comes into heaven like I I got saved I used to be Catholic 23:52.980 --> 23:58.360 You're not gonna believe I know I know I already know I heard about it. You know it's just it's crazy 23:58.360 --> 24:03.320 You know and you're like yeah, they pray to you. They call you the Queen the Queen of Heaven 24:03.960 --> 24:07.980 She's like that's in the pie like that's in the but the Queen of Heaven is not a good title 24:09.240 --> 24:11.240 and so 24:11.800 --> 24:18.480 Holy things and unholy hands desecrates holy things but number two it doesn't improve unholy things 24:18.760 --> 24:25.320 So when you place holy things in unholy hands, it does not improve unholy things at all 24:25.440 --> 24:29.100 Why because again, it's not reformation its transformation 24:29.560 --> 24:34.200 Look what it says in verse number three. It says that one day of Ashton arose early in the morrow 24:34.920 --> 24:36.160 Behold 24:36.160 --> 24:38.160 Dagon was fallen upon his face 24:38.600 --> 24:43.800 to the earth before the ark of the Lord, and it took Dagon and set him in his place again. 24:43.800 --> 24:50.440 So he's just coming into the temple and then like Dagon is just removed from his threshold, 24:50.440 --> 24:54.840 falling flat on his face right before the ark of the Lord. Now obviously you're going to see in 24:54.840 --> 25:02.440 this chapter that God has a great sense of humor. Okay, because it's funny because he's making Dagon 25:02.440 --> 25:04.440 bow before him. 25:05.200 --> 25:07.560 And these Philistines are like, well, that's weird. 25:07.560 --> 25:09.480 I didn't feel any earthquake last night. 25:09.480 --> 25:11.520 And then just kind of set them back in this place. 25:11.520 --> 25:15.720 Now, what's funny about this is that idols, 25:15.720 --> 25:18.840 they need to be moved around. 25:18.840 --> 25:21.480 They have all this supernatural power 25:21.480 --> 25:24.800 to give you fertility, to bless your crops, 25:24.800 --> 25:26.960 but they can't seem to move around on their own now, 25:26.960 --> 25:27.200 can they? 25:27.500 --> 25:30.780 And it just reminds me of all these videos of Catholics that I see where they're like 25:30.780 --> 25:33.460 holding the Virgin Mary's idol and they're like, 25:33.460 --> 25:36.260 uh-huh, uh-huh, and it just like falls and it breaks. 25:37.580 --> 25:38.980 It's like, why isn't it floating? 25:40.500 --> 25:44.580 Why, you know, why did God let that happen to that precious idol? 25:44.580 --> 25:46.580 You know, they must need to be born. 25:47.660 --> 25:48.740 They have no power. 25:48.740 --> 25:53.500 So it falls over, flat on its face, worshiping the Ark of the Lord. 25:54.400 --> 25:55.400 It says in verse number four, 25:55.400 --> 25:58.280 when they arose early on the morrow morning, 25:58.280 --> 26:01.600 behold, Dagon was fallen upon his face to the ground 26:01.600 --> 26:05.520 before the Ark of the Lord, and the head of Dagon 26:05.520 --> 26:08.000 and both the palms of his hands were cut off 26:08.000 --> 26:11.260 upon the threshold, only the stump of Dagon was left to him. 26:12.600 --> 26:13.640 You know, it sounds like the Ark of the Lord 26:13.640 --> 26:15.600 is not really helping them much. 26:15.600 --> 26:18.600 It's not really improving their quality of life at all. 26:18.700 --> 26:24.060 So, you know, it falls the first time and these priest are just like, that's weird, they put it back up. 26:24.060 --> 26:29.660 The second day they come, it's falling to the ground again, but it's decapitated and maimed. 26:29.660 --> 26:36.120 Okay? So obviously what is the God doing? He's mocking the gods of the Philistines. 26:36.120 --> 26:40.120 Removing their hands and their head, just the stump is left. 26:40.120 --> 26:45.120 And what is he doing? He's basically telling these people, hey, your God is just wood. 26:45.400 --> 26:47.400 A stump is just like what? 26:47.400 --> 26:49.400 Go to Jeremiah chapter 10 if you would. 26:49.400 --> 26:50.700 Jeremiah chapter 10. 26:52.900 --> 27:00.140 Jeremiah chapter number 10, he's basically stripping away the glory of Dagon and demonstrating 27:00.140 --> 27:02.460 this thing has no power. 27:02.460 --> 27:07.440 I cut off its head, removed its hands, and it's still bowing down before me. 27:07.440 --> 27:09.140 Look at Jeremiah chapter 10 verse 1. 27:09.140 --> 27:13.020 Hear ye the word which the Lord speaketh unto you, O house of Israel. 27:13.020 --> 27:15.820 Thus saith the Lord, Learn not the way of the heathen. 27:16.400 --> 27:19.920 And be not dismayed at the signs of heaven, for the heathen are dismayed at them. 27:19.920 --> 27:22.800 For the customs of the people are vain. 27:22.800 --> 27:28.880 For one cut at the tree, out of the forest, the work of the hands of the workmen, with the axe, 27:28.880 --> 27:36.240 they deck it with silver and with gold, they fasten it with nails and with hammers, that it move not." 27:36.240 --> 27:39.360 Now let me just say this, this is not talking about a Christmas tree, okay? 27:40.100 --> 27:43.200 Oh man, that's why I'm a guest, against Christmas trees. 27:43.200 --> 27:46.400 But you should remove anything that's carved of wood out of your house. 27:46.400 --> 27:48.400 Okay? 27:48.600 --> 27:50.160 Look what it goes on to say verse 5. 27:50.160 --> 27:53.800 They are upright as the palm tree, but speak not. 27:53.800 --> 27:57.200 They must needs be borne, because they cannot go. 27:57.200 --> 28:00.360 Be not afraid of them, for they cannot do evil, 28:00.360 --> 28:02.960 neither also is it in them to do good. 28:02.960 --> 28:04.040 Now what is he talking about? 28:04.040 --> 28:07.440 He's talking about the fact that these heathen nations will 28:07.440 --> 28:10.800 cut out a tree and essentially carve out an idol out 28:10.800 --> 28:12.280 of that tree. 28:12.280 --> 28:13.560 In other words, it's just wood. 28:14.100 --> 28:16.100 Wood hangs double, so to speak, right? 28:16.100 --> 28:17.500 Meaning it has no power. 28:17.500 --> 28:22.500 So when God, you know, decapitates Dagon, removes his hands, just leaves his stump, 28:22.500 --> 28:26.500 he's essentially demonstrating to the Philistines, you're worshipping wood. 28:26.500 --> 28:32.700 It has no power, it has no value, it's just a piece of wood. 28:32.700 --> 28:35.700 Okay? It's a stock, as the Bible says. 28:35.700 --> 28:38.100 Now, there's an important principle that we see. 28:38.100 --> 28:40.100 Go to Haggai, if you would. 28:40.100 --> 28:41.100 Haggai. 28:42.000 --> 28:47.560 It's an important principle regarding putting holy things next to unholy things. 28:47.560 --> 28:49.000 Look at Haggai chapter 2. 28:51.700 --> 28:57.940 What's the point here? When you put holy things in unholy hands, it never improves the unholy things. 28:57.940 --> 29:02.180 A person has to decide, right? You know, you put someone in a fundamental Baptist church, 29:02.180 --> 29:04.500 if they're not saved, they're going to be made a reprobate eventually. 29:05.300 --> 29:11.780 You put a godless person, an unsaved godless person into the house of God, guess what's 29:11.780 --> 29:14.580 going to happen? Their heart is going to be hardened towards the things of God. 29:14.580 --> 29:18.340 They're not going to benefit from the preaching of his word. They're only going to become worse. 29:18.900 --> 29:23.860 And look folks, the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, when it shines into the person who's 29:23.860 --> 29:30.100 receptive towards the gospel, it benefits them, of course. They get saved, right? But a person who 29:30.100 --> 29:36.180 hates the truth, they hate the Bible, it blinds them. It makes them a reprobate. It corrupts them, 29:36.180 --> 29:41.620 because that's exactly what the light of the truth does. Look at Haggai chapter 2 and verse 11. 29:42.300 --> 29:46.460 It says here, Thus saith the Lord of hosts, Ask now the priest concerning the law, saying, 29:46.460 --> 29:52.700 If one bear holy flesh in the skirt of his garment, and with his skirt do touch bread, 29:52.700 --> 29:57.260 or potage, or wine, or oil, or any meat, shall it be holy? 29:57.260 --> 29:59.260 And the priest answered and said, No. 29:59.700 --> 30:03.640 Then said Haggai, if one that is unclean by a dead body, 30:03.640 --> 30:06.800 touch any of these, shall it be unclean? 30:06.800 --> 30:11.120 And the priest answered and said, it shall be unclean. 30:11.120 --> 30:14.360 In other words, when you put the Ark of the Covenant 30:14.360 --> 30:17.320 in a foreign land that doesn't worship the God of the Bible, 30:17.320 --> 30:19.160 all you're going to do is make God mad, 30:19.160 --> 30:20.400 because you're desecrating it. 30:20.400 --> 30:23.320 But it's also not going to improve the land, right? 30:23.600 --> 30:30.600 You know what, this goes to show us that when we are seeking to witness to people, our friends, family members, 30:30.600 --> 30:33.600 you don't reach them by being like them. 30:33.600 --> 30:40.600 You reach them by condescing to men of low estate, but eventually you've got to give them the gospel. 30:41.600 --> 30:45.560 You know I know a lot of times people have a burden for their friends family 30:45.560 --> 30:48.920 And you know this is one of the reasons they stay in contact with these people 30:48.920 --> 30:51.040 And I'm all for that but eventually 30:51.560 --> 30:56.320 You're just gonna have to break the ice and actually give them the gospel and if they reject it you need to dust off your 30:56.320 --> 30:57.600 feet and move on 30:57.600 --> 31:03.600 Why because you as a holy thing will become desecrated by the unholy thing if you continue to spend time with the unsaved people 31:04.200 --> 31:07.480 Okay, and look I'm a firm believer that say people 31:08.400 --> 31:10.800 The friends of safe people should be safe people. 31:10.800 --> 31:13.640 I'm talking about like the closest friends of safe people. 31:13.640 --> 31:16.120 Obviously, you're going to associate with people out in the world, 31:16.120 --> 31:19.200 at your job, in your family, right? 31:19.200 --> 31:25.160 But it's important to recognize that you can't allow yourself to be influenced by these people. 31:25.160 --> 31:29.320 And I do think it's a problem when safe people have more in common 31:29.320 --> 31:31.720 with unsafe people than with safe people. 31:31.720 --> 31:32.320 All right? 31:32.900 --> 31:35.460 Why? Because eventually you will become defiled. 31:35.460 --> 31:39.300 And look folks, the Bible obviously teaches us to be all things to all men, 31:39.300 --> 31:41.860 you know, but the Bible says not without law unto Christ though. 31:42.900 --> 31:48.660 So if you're trying to reach your friend, you know, you need to just be bold and start just giving them the gospel. 31:49.000 --> 31:55.320 Just say hey, we're friends, but I need to talk to you about this right now because this it's a it's like burdensome on my heart 31:55.320 --> 31:59.080 Are you 100% sure that if you die today you go to heaven? Oh, man? 31:59.080 --> 32:00.320 Don't bring that Christianity stuff 32:00.320 --> 32:02.360 Oh, you know I you know I don't like to talk about that with you 32:02.480 --> 32:06.560 Then we can't hang out no more than because this is like the most important thing in my life 32:06.560 --> 32:12.120 And you know what I want you to be saved so I want you to listen to this and they're like well if you're gonna 32:12.120 --> 32:16.000 Be talking to me about this stuff, then I don't want to be friends and be like toodles 32:17.300 --> 32:18.800 See you later. 32:18.800 --> 32:20.640 You know, I'm not interested in having a relationship 32:20.640 --> 32:24.240 with someone who's not interested in the gospel. 32:24.240 --> 32:26.000 Who's not saved. 32:26.000 --> 32:30.160 And look folks, it's better to just step out in faith, 32:30.160 --> 32:32.680 give the gospel, and then your best friend gets saved 32:32.680 --> 32:34.800 and he remains your best friend. 32:34.800 --> 32:37.500 I mean, that's gotta be one of the best feelings ever. 32:37.900 --> 32:43.440 I've never experienced something like that, but you know I've experienced instances where I have extremely close friends 32:43.440 --> 32:49.220 Just friends that I love friends that I've experienced life with and they came to church they got saved praise God for that 32:49.480 --> 32:53.040 Because I know I'm gonna know this person for the rest of my life and eternal life amen 32:54.600 --> 32:59.600 But, hold on a second, you know, don't allow your loyalty to an unsafe person 32:59.600 --> 33:03.600 override your responsibility of being a Christian and recognize, well, you know, 33:03.600 --> 33:05.600 yeah, you're right, sorry, I didn't mean to offend you. 33:05.600 --> 33:07.600 I won't be a Christian around you then. 33:07.600 --> 33:09.600 We'll just talk about other things. 33:09.600 --> 33:11.400 You know, you're a compromiser at that point. 33:12.600 --> 33:18.880 Be a man of boldness, be a person of boldness, of conviction, and have loyalty to Jesus Christ and recognize, 33:18.880 --> 33:22.600 you know what, we're best friends and because we're best friends, I'm gonna give you the truth. 33:22.600 --> 33:27.400 I'm gonna tell you what the Bible says on how to be saved, and I want you to be saved, I want you to have eternal life. 33:27.400 --> 33:31.200 Because here's the thing, folks, if you're not willing to do that, then you're a trashy friend. 33:31.200 --> 33:32.200 Right. 33:33.200 --> 33:35.800 You're not a good friend, if that's you. 33:35.800 --> 33:38.000 Well, I'm just willing to put my differences aside. 33:38.000 --> 33:39.800 Oh yeah, just let your friends go to hell, right? 33:40.200 --> 33:43.720 Tell your friends to spend eternity in hell, just so you can keep them as friends this 33:43.720 --> 33:47.800 side of eternity, so there's no division between you and your friend. 33:47.800 --> 33:48.800 That's garbage. 33:48.800 --> 33:53.560 I'd rather risk offending my friends, giving them the gospel, and potentially them getting 33:53.560 --> 33:57.600 saved, than just not telling them anything at all, just so I can keep that relationship 33:57.600 --> 33:58.600 with them. 33:58.600 --> 33:59.600 You don't really love your friends. 34:01.100 --> 34:06.460 You know, when I first got saved, I had a lot of friends and I brought them all to church. 34:06.460 --> 34:10.140 And obviously, when I first got saved, I didn't really have to know how to communicate the gospel. 34:10.140 --> 34:14.300 I knew I could say that I got saved and how I got saved, but I didn't really know how to like 34:14.300 --> 34:19.020 systematically teach the gospel. So what I would do is I'd bring people to church and have other 34:19.020 --> 34:24.060 people witness to them. And some of my friends got saved and some didn't. You know, those who 34:24.060 --> 34:27.660 didn't and wanted to keep contact with me, I said, you know where to find me on Sundays. 34:29.000 --> 34:34.060 This is where I'm out on Sundays, Sunday morning Sunday. Yeah, but what about Friday night Friday night? I'm I'm sleeping 34:34.600 --> 34:39.640 Not going out anymore on Fridays. You know if you really if you really value my friendship 34:40.140 --> 34:44.440 You're gonna have to come to church. You know and you say how'd that go? They didn't go very well 34:44.440 --> 34:47.060 You know I had to get some new friends 34:48.320 --> 34:53.980 The point that I'm making here is that you know placing you in the midst of unholy people 34:54.200 --> 34:56.760 Doesn't improve them unless you actually give them the gospel 34:57.300 --> 35:04.820 Okay, and so that's important to note, you know, and we need to learn how to dust off our feet when it comes to it 35:04.820 --> 35:10.340 You know, the Bible says give not that which is holy into the dogs neither cast your pearls before swine 35:11.100 --> 35:16.100 Lest they trample them under their feet the Bible says what that means it means they take it for granted 35:16.420 --> 35:21.380 They don't care what you have to say. They're not taking these things serious and make no mistake about it 35:21.380 --> 35:23.900 I don't have any friend listen to me 35:23.900 --> 35:29.460 I haven't had any friends since I got saved who just can blaspheme the Lord in my presence 35:30.220 --> 35:31.500 It's not gonna happen 35:32.400 --> 35:35.840 I'm not gonna have some friend just because we grew up together 35:35.840 --> 35:39.060 just mock the things of God and I'm just gonna kinda turn a blind eye to that 35:39.060 --> 35:42.900 not gonna happen. You blaspheme my God you're done bro 35:42.900 --> 35:45.900 not your first of all you're getting a strong rebuke 35:46.700 --> 35:49.280 I'm going to correct you and then you're done. 35:49.280 --> 35:51.780 Either you apologize, you get saved, 35:51.780 --> 35:53.200 or we're just not talking again, 35:53.200 --> 35:54.660 because I'm not going to tolerate that. 35:54.660 --> 35:56.120 You know, you shouldn't tolerate people 35:56.120 --> 35:58.420 blaspheming your God in your presence, 35:58.420 --> 36:01.720 mocking the things of God, mocking Jesus Christ, 36:01.720 --> 36:03.380 saying all manner of evil. 36:03.380 --> 36:05.040 And look, one of the reasons people do that 36:05.040 --> 36:09.000 is because they want to see if you're really about it. 36:09.000 --> 36:12.080 And if you don't say anything, if you don't actually speak up, 36:12.080 --> 36:13.460 they're like, oh, he's one of those. 36:14.200 --> 36:18.000 You can say anything you want around him. He's not gonna say anything. He's too scared 36:19.740 --> 36:24.020 You know I don't want to be characterized as that and I have no problem listen to me 36:24.020 --> 36:26.020 I have no problem with making a conversation awkward 36:27.660 --> 36:33.240 So in blasphemes are like hey, what is that you know? I'm a Christian you know I believe on you 36:33.240 --> 36:37.440 Oh, I get it all tight because you're mocking my God 36:38.140 --> 36:40.140 You know why don't you curse Allah? 36:41.000 --> 36:43.000 Why don't you curse Buddha? 36:43.000 --> 36:45.500 Why don't you curse the Mormon God? 36:45.500 --> 36:47.000 Why you gotta come after my God? 36:47.000 --> 36:48.000 Right? 36:48.000 --> 36:51.000 I'll tell you why, because they test the waters to see what they can get away with. 36:51.000 --> 36:52.000 Okay? 36:52.000 --> 36:53.800 And you shouldn't have friends around you like that. 36:53.800 --> 37:01.040 The point being here is that placing holy things in unholy hands does not improve the 37:01.040 --> 37:02.920 unholy person. 37:02.920 --> 37:04.840 It actually makes it worse for them. 37:04.840 --> 37:05.840 And you know what? 37:05.840 --> 37:06.840 God's not interested. 37:06.840 --> 37:07.840 Listen to me. 37:07.840 --> 37:11.920 God isn't interested in just reforming a person on the outside. 37:11.920 --> 37:14.760 He wants them to believe the truth on the inside. 37:14.760 --> 37:15.760 Okay. 37:15.760 --> 37:17.360 Let's look down. 37:17.360 --> 37:19.600 Go back to 1 Samuel chapter 5 if you're already there. 37:21.000 --> 37:27.980 Next we see here that when you place on holy things and unholy hands it actually ends up destroying unholy hands 37:28.520 --> 37:34.100 Okay, so it doesn't improve it, but it actually ends up destroying it look at verse number six 37:34.480 --> 37:36.480 It's probably the best part of the story 37:36.960 --> 37:41.200 says but the hand of the Lord was heavy upon them of Ashtod and 37:41.640 --> 37:46.200 He destroyed them. He said how did he like send down fire and brimstone? 37:46.900 --> 37:50.900 that he just like opened up hell and they just fell into hell 37:50.900 --> 37:54.200 like what amazing thing did God do? 37:54.200 --> 37:57.200 Did he smite them with madness? 37:57.200 --> 38:00.900 You know, did he send locusts and lice? 38:00.900 --> 38:05.900 It says he destroyed them and smote them with emeralds 38:05.900 --> 38:07.900 even Ashton and the coast throw up. 38:07.900 --> 38:09.400 Now what are emeralds? 38:10.400 --> 38:13.340 If you speak Spanish, I think it's hemorrhoidus, 38:13.340 --> 38:14.800 hemorrhoidus, is that right? 38:14.800 --> 38:17.300 Okay, which means hemorrhoids. 38:18.500 --> 38:20.260 Yes, you heard right. 38:21.260 --> 38:25.580 So, you know, he's hitting them where it hurts. 38:25.580 --> 38:28.760 Hitting them where the sun don't shine. 38:28.760 --> 38:29.980 So think about this, you know, 38:29.980 --> 38:32.260 and what an uncomfortable conversation 38:32.260 --> 38:33.960 this must have been with everybody. 38:33.960 --> 38:35.260 Because, you know, if someone has hemorrhoids, 38:35.260 --> 38:37.580 they're not just gonna tell people about it. 38:37.580 --> 38:38.300 Right? 38:38.500 --> 38:40.820 If they have hemorrhoids, they're not going to say anything, 38:40.820 --> 38:42.660 but everyone has them. 38:42.660 --> 38:47.060 And here's the thing, a lot of people in Ashdod, Ekron, 38:47.060 --> 38:50.700 and these regions, there's people who are dying. 38:50.700 --> 38:53.140 So he is killing some. 38:53.140 --> 38:54.820 He's distributing the judgment. 38:54.820 --> 38:57.500 Some are dying, but those who are not dying 38:57.500 --> 39:00.780 are just being given hemorrhoids. 39:00.780 --> 39:03.340 So there's a lot of people just walking around all funny. 39:04.300 --> 39:10.060 Eventually, someone's going to ask, like, hey, you know, I got this problem, I got it too. 39:10.060 --> 39:11.500 And everyone's like, I got it too. 39:11.500 --> 39:15.700 You know, they can't sit down, they can't sleep, they got chub rub going on. 39:15.700 --> 39:17.540 I mean, it's just like the whole nine. 39:17.540 --> 39:19.380 Everything's just bothering them. 39:19.380 --> 39:20.060 And you know what? 39:20.060 --> 39:21.460 God is just smiting them with that. 39:21.460 --> 39:24.700 And I think it's absolutely hilarious. 39:24.700 --> 39:27.620 I think it's so funny. 39:27.620 --> 39:28.820 You know, the Bible's not boring. 39:30.500 --> 39:33.980 Now, those of you who don't know what hemorrhoids are, 39:33.980 --> 39:36.060 don't look it up. 39:36.060 --> 39:38.340 And if you do, get the AI version. 39:38.340 --> 39:41.780 Don't click images. 39:41.780 --> 39:47.540 They're basically like sores in your privy parts. 39:47.540 --> 39:51.820 And God is not just going to put one there. 39:51.820 --> 39:53.820 I'm sure they got clusters of hemorrhoids 39:53.820 --> 39:56.180 there to just make their life absolutely miserable. 39:58.600 --> 40:00.600 Think it's just funny. I think it's hilarious 40:01.380 --> 40:06.760 You know, there's just he smote them with emeralds. Just I mean that's super painful 40:06.960 --> 40:10.600 Okay, and there's no cream they could like apply 40:11.160 --> 40:16.960 You know, there's no what are the creams? I can't remember what they're called. Yeah, there's certain creams out there that help with this 40:16.960 --> 40:23.040 There's nothing that exists out there. There's nothing they can't go to a doctor and heal them. This is God's hand against them 40:23.600 --> 40:30.000 to just make them miserable just for desecrating the Ark of the Covenant 40:30.000 --> 40:36.160 destroying the people of God, thinking that they can just add God to their plethora of false gods 40:36.160 --> 40:39.600 just completely desecrating the name of God 40:39.600 --> 40:41.600 Okay, I'm going to give you Amorites 40:43.600 --> 40:46.000 This is when the men of Ashdod saw that it was so 40:46.000 --> 40:50.000 they said, the Ark of God of Israel shall not abide with us 40:50.200 --> 40:57.000 Listen to this for his hand is sore upon us, you know and upon day gone. I got sore right 40:57.640 --> 40:58.600 Yeah, it is 40:58.600 --> 41:03.320 He says they sent therefore and gathered all the lords of the philistines unto him and said what shall we do with the ark of? 41:03.320 --> 41:08.760 The god of israel and they answered let the ark of the god of israel be carried out about unto gath 41:09.160 --> 41:13.020 And they carried the ark of the god of god of the god of israel about thither 41:13.300 --> 41:20.700 And it was so that after they had carried it about, the hand of the Lord was against the city with a very great destruction. 41:20.700 --> 41:27.900 And he smote the men of the city, both small and great, and they had emirats in their secret parts. 41:27.900 --> 41:34.700 So everywhere that the Ark of God is going, it's like, hemorrhoids, hemorrhoids, hemorrhoids, everyone's just getting it. 41:37.000 --> 41:39.000 It's hilarious. 41:39.000 --> 41:42.000 Look at verse number 10. 41:42.000 --> 41:43.600 It says, Therefore... 41:43.700 --> 41:50.200 They sent the Ark of God to Ekron and it came to pass as the Ark of God came to Ekron that the Ekronites cried out saying, 41:50.200 --> 41:54.700 They have brought about the Ark of the God of Israel to us to slay us and our people. 41:54.700 --> 41:57.500 And they sent and gathered together all the lords of the Philistines and said, 41:57.500 --> 42:04.600 Send away the Ark of God of Israel and let it go down again to his own place that it slay us not and our people. 42:04.600 --> 42:07.900 For there was a deadly destruction throughout all the city. 42:07.900 --> 42:10.300 The hand of God was very heavy there. 42:10.300 --> 42:11.700 and the men that died not. 42:11.700 --> 42:18.620 We're smitten with emeralds and the cry of the city went up to heaven go to first current second Corinthians chapter 2 if you would second 42:18.620 --> 42:20.620 Corinthians chapter 2 42:21.020 --> 42:24.340 Second Corinthians chapter 2 stories hilarious 42:25.100 --> 42:31.900 So you know they're all the all victory victory. Yeah, you can't jump up and down you can't sit down 42:33.020 --> 42:38.960 God is smiting you with one of the most uncomfortable things that a human can experience in the privy and everyone has it 42:39.600 --> 42:41.600 Now, what does this show us? 42:41.600 --> 42:45.800 What shows us that, you know, God, the Ark of the Covenant, when people are right with 42:45.800 --> 42:46.800 God, it's awesome. 42:46.800 --> 42:47.800 Right? 42:47.800 --> 42:48.800 Obeditem. 42:48.800 --> 42:52.960 When it came to His house, He was living it up. 42:52.960 --> 42:56.620 His house was being blessed, and obviously, you know, the Bible's not explicit what kind 42:56.620 --> 43:00.000 of blessings He had, but I'm sure His resources... 43:00.500 --> 43:06.500 quadrupled, huh? There you go. His resources quadrupled. I'm sure his crops are doing great. 43:06.500 --> 43:12.100 I'm sure his wife was having a lot of babies. I mean, he was just probably being blessed 43:12.100 --> 43:14.900 because the archer guy, and he's probably like, hey David, take your time, you know, 43:15.700 --> 43:19.620 you know, I know you got to come get it, but you know, just take your sweet little time, you know. 43:19.620 --> 43:22.660 He's being blessed. Why? Because he's actually obeying the Lord. 43:23.000 --> 43:27.960 He's right with God, he's a safe person, it's blessing him, it's helping him. 43:27.960 --> 43:32.600 But here's the thing, when the Ark of God is in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, 43:32.600 --> 43:36.280 in the midst of a wicked people, it's like a curse to them. 43:36.280 --> 43:39.360 You know? And look, the way we can apply it is like this, 43:39.360 --> 43:44.960 you know, a fundamental Baptist church can be a curse and it can be a blessing to a place. 43:44.960 --> 43:47.520 It can be a blessing to a place who wants the truth. 43:47.800 --> 43:51.880 It could be a blessing to a place who wants the gospel, who wants salvation, but it could 43:51.880 --> 43:55.960 be a curse to those who hate the truth. 43:55.960 --> 43:59.520 You know when we started our church in Omani, we were a blessing. 43:59.520 --> 44:01.640 It was like the Ark of the Covenant and the city of Omani. 44:01.640 --> 44:02.640 It was great. 44:02.640 --> 44:06.920 But then eventually it became a curse, not because of us, but because of them. 44:06.920 --> 44:08.640 Because they hated the truth. 44:08.640 --> 44:12.680 We became a pain in their hinder parts, so to speak. 44:13.200 --> 44:16.200 We became like hemorrhoids to them. 44:16.200 --> 44:21.200 You know, it's just like, oh, Pastor, he has such a pain in the, you know what? 44:21.200 --> 44:24.200 He's a pain in the hinder parts. He's like hemorrhoids. 44:24.200 --> 44:31.200 Why? Because that's exactly what happens when you place a holy thing into the hands of unholy people. 44:31.200 --> 44:34.200 It'll eventually destroy them, you know, because they hate the truth. 44:34.200 --> 44:37.100 Look at 2 Corinthians, Chapter 2. 44:37.400 --> 44:43.720 In verse 14 it says, now thanks be unto God, which always causeth us to triumph in Christ 44:43.720 --> 44:48.840 and make it manifest the savor of his knowledge by us in every place. 44:49.480 --> 44:52.840 The Bible says here that, you know, God's people 44:53.100 --> 44:56.300 The knowledge of God is made manifest wherever they go 44:56.300 --> 44:59.500 Right? Like, oh, you know, God is with this person 44:59.500 --> 45:00.900 This person is a Christian 45:00.900 --> 45:02.500 This person is a believer 45:02.500 --> 45:03.900 It says in verse 15 45:03.900 --> 45:07.300 For we are unto God a sweet savor of Christ 45:07.300 --> 45:10.700 In them that are saved and in them that perish 45:11.500 --> 45:14.300 You know, we affect both saved and unsaved alike 45:14.300 --> 45:16.500 People want the truth, they love it 45:16.500 --> 45:18.500 People hate the truth, they hate it 45:18.500 --> 45:20.500 We have this effect on society, right? 45:20.900 --> 45:23.740 And in fact, look what it goes on to say in verse 16. 45:23.740 --> 45:28.100 To the one, we are the savor of death unto death. 45:28.100 --> 45:30.420 This is like, oh, I can't stand these people, 45:30.420 --> 45:32.900 these Christians, with their big families, 45:32.900 --> 45:35.780 and their marriages, and their conservative values, 45:35.780 --> 45:38.460 and their biblical teachings, and their doctrines. 45:38.460 --> 45:40.860 It's like a savor of death unto death. 45:40.860 --> 45:43.060 It's what salt does, right? 45:43.060 --> 45:45.740 Salt in an open wound hurts. 45:46.600 --> 45:52.600 But what is salt? It's simply, when you place salt in an open wound, it just exposes that there's an open wound there. 45:53.600 --> 45:57.600 We didn't create the open wound. We're just showing that there's an open wound there. 45:58.600 --> 46:03.600 When you go to a city and you preach against its sin, when you preach against the nation, against a person, 46:03.600 --> 46:06.600 if they start, ehh, ehh, it's because there's a problem there. 46:07.600 --> 46:11.600 When I preach against feminism, and you're like, ehh, ehh, it's because you're probably a little feminist. 46:14.100 --> 46:17.500 You know, if I preach against being effeminate, you're just like, ehh. 46:19.200 --> 46:20.900 I mean, you're being, there you go. 46:21.700 --> 46:22.200 Right? 46:22.600 --> 46:29.100 If I preach against fornication, and you're squirming, it's because the salt is irritating the wound. 46:29.100 --> 46:29.600 Right. 46:30.100 --> 46:37.000 If I preach against drunkenness, covetousness, idolatry, and you're squirming, it's not the salt's fault. 46:37.200 --> 46:41.300 Guess what? It's the open wound that's in you of sin. 46:41.900 --> 46:44.900 It's the open wound caused by sin, should we say. 46:44.900 --> 46:48.900 And so Christians can be a saver of death unto death, and it goes on to say, 46:48.900 --> 46:52.900 and to the other, the saver of life unto life. 46:52.900 --> 46:58.900 You know, there's people who, you know, they run into Christians, they meet churches, missionaries, 46:58.900 --> 47:01.900 and you're like a godsend to them. 47:01.900 --> 47:06.900 I mean, all of us have experienced this at one time or another when we're out there preaching the Gospel. 47:06.900 --> 47:09.800 And they're just like, man, I'm so thankful you came. 47:10.500 --> 47:13.300 You're just like, you're like an answer to prayer. 47:13.300 --> 47:14.900 And in fact, you know, I think it was this week, 47:14.900 --> 47:18.000 we were out soul-winding, and I was with my family, 47:18.000 --> 47:21.900 and you know, we ran into some Cholos, okay? 47:21.900 --> 47:24.400 And these are some like major Cholos. 47:24.400 --> 47:25.900 You guys know what Cholos are, right? 47:25.900 --> 47:28.000 Gangsters, okay, a few white people, you know, 47:28.000 --> 47:30.000 Mexican gangsters, okay? 47:31.600 --> 47:33.500 And you know, I'm talking about high socks, 47:33.500 --> 47:35.000 you know, no ankle socks, 47:35.000 --> 47:37.800 I'm talking about these were legit Cholos, right? 47:38.600 --> 47:44.600 But you know, I'm not biased, I'm not like, well, I don't want no chullos to come to my church, you know. 47:44.600 --> 47:48.600 I want them to come to my church, but I also want them to be saved, though, right? 47:48.600 --> 47:52.200 So I went up to them, and it was like a group of, I think it was like five of them. 47:52.300 --> 47:58.500 Some of them are young some of them are older and I started giving them the church invite and you know 47:58.500 --> 48:01.280 I was with my kids and then I gave them the question 48:01.280 --> 48:03.420 They're just kind of like they'd seem disinterested at first 48:03.640 --> 48:08.600 But then you know and it's easy when people when you have a group like that if they're disinterested that you just kind of like 48:08.600 --> 48:10.800 Move on you're just like I'm not gonna waste my time 48:11.140 --> 48:12.240 But I just said well 48:12.240 --> 48:15.300 Do you mind if I just spent a couple minutes showing you from the Bible? 48:15.360 --> 48:19.220 How you can know for sure that you're gonna go to heaven when you die and the oldest is like do it 48:19.800 --> 48:21.180 I want to hear this. 48:21.180 --> 48:22.440 All right, cool. 48:22.440 --> 48:27.720 So I'm giving the gospel, and halfway through, 48:27.720 --> 48:30.360 their countenance changes a little bit. 48:30.360 --> 48:35.120 Where one of them, his eye kind of twitches a little bit. 48:35.120 --> 48:37.240 It was just kind of doing one of these. 48:37.240 --> 48:39.400 I'm like, is he looking at me? 48:39.400 --> 48:43.560 But he was just like, you could see the light bulb going on. 48:43.560 --> 48:45.860 And especially when we talked about eternal security, 48:45.860 --> 48:46.800 he's just like, oh. 48:47.400 --> 48:51.960 Oh, okay, yeah. Oh man. You know, and they started softening up. 48:53.400 --> 48:55.960 So make a long story short, they ended up getting saved. 48:56.400 --> 49:01.920 You know, they called upon the name of the Lord. They believed on the Lord Jesus Christ, you know, they receive Christ 49:01.920 --> 49:05.600 They receive the forgiveness of sins and you know, I spent a lot of time 49:06.240 --> 49:08.280 Talking about the fact that you don't repent of your sins 49:08.280 --> 49:11.280 You don't have to change your life to be saved because you know 49:11.280 --> 49:13.720 You never know if some of these guys went to like victory outreach or something 49:13.720 --> 49:19.480 You got you just gotta assume sometimes, you know, but these cholo churches are often like majorly repent of your sins 49:20.200 --> 49:23.000 It's a false gospel, so you just gotta, it's like the way, when you approach Jehovah's Witness, 49:23.000 --> 49:25.000 you gotta make sure they believe that Jesus is God, right? 49:25.000 --> 49:31.880 So, you know, and I realized later, I found out later, should I say, is that the guy, 49:31.880 --> 49:36.800 the older guy who accepted the invitation, he was actually the father of two of them. 49:36.800 --> 49:38.600 Okay, and the other one was like a neighbor. 49:39.000 --> 49:42.760 Now four out of the five got saved, the neighbor didn't get saved. 49:42.760 --> 49:46.920 But I remember just talking to him and he's kind of like finishing the verses. 49:46.920 --> 49:51.800 And then he's adhering to everything, and his sons were adhering to everything. 49:51.800 --> 49:52.840 They ended up getting saved. 49:52.840 --> 49:56.600 And then at the end of the conversation, the dad said this, he said, 49:56.600 --> 49:59.560 you're like an answer to my prayers. 49:59.560 --> 50:01.160 Like you came here. 50:01.300 --> 50:04.300 It was the most profound thing I've ever heard a Cholo say. 50:04.300 --> 50:09.300 You don't really hear a Cholo say speak deeply about stuff, you know what I mean? 50:09.300 --> 50:12.300 He was just like, that's a blessing, eh? 50:12.300 --> 50:15.300 He was just like, you came at the right time. 50:15.300 --> 50:18.300 I feel like God made you come here right now. 50:18.300 --> 50:21.300 And I was just like, yeah, it's true. 50:21.300 --> 50:24.300 And when someone tells me that, I'm not like, no, no, no. 50:24.300 --> 50:26.300 I'm like, yeah, that is true, because it is true. 50:27.300 --> 50:30.140 We're a saver of life into life. 50:30.140 --> 50:34.260 And he's just like, I feel like God brought you here. 50:34.260 --> 50:36.660 Now typically when I'm out with my family, 50:36.660 --> 50:40.060 we're a sight because I have six kids. 50:40.060 --> 50:41.780 And they're all very little. 50:41.780 --> 50:42.980 But Bro had me beat though. 50:42.980 --> 50:44.940 He's like, I got 25 kids. 50:44.940 --> 50:48.180 I didn't ask him if it was from one or many. 50:48.180 --> 50:50.980 I'm like, oh, you beat me. 50:50.980 --> 50:53.140 And I say, I got six, but it's all from one. 50:55.200 --> 50:59.520 But you know, how did he view me? He viewed me as someone who was a saver of life into life. 51:00.160 --> 51:05.200 Right? And I spoke to many people that day who viewed me as a saver of death unto death. 51:06.000 --> 51:13.040 They rejected the gospel. The point being here is that holy things improves unholy things if that 51:13.040 --> 51:18.720 unholy person actually hears to the gospel and decides to get saved, right? And so, you know, 51:18.720 --> 51:22.720 if we were to put that cholo inside of a church without salvation, it wouldn't help him much. 51:23.300 --> 51:25.540 We probably make him really mad. 51:25.540 --> 51:27.180 But now that he has salvation, if he 51:27.180 --> 51:28.540 were to come to a Bible believing church, 51:28.540 --> 51:31.500 he would actually benefit from it. 51:31.500 --> 51:36.140 Go back to 1 Samuel, if you would. 51:36.140 --> 51:37.660 Here's my last point. 51:37.660 --> 51:39.540 Point number one is that when you 51:39.540 --> 51:42.580 put holy things in unholy hands, it desecrates holy things. 51:43.200 --> 51:46.440 Point number two is that it doesn't improve unholy things. 51:46.440 --> 51:49.400 Point number three is that it destroys holy hands, 51:49.400 --> 51:52.640 meaning that the hemorrhoids come upon people. 51:52.640 --> 51:53.960 They're just made miserable. 51:53.960 --> 51:55.800 They suffer the wrath of God. 51:55.800 --> 51:58.400 They end up getting destroyed because of it. 51:58.400 --> 52:02.160 And point number four is that holy things cannot be 52:02.160 --> 52:04.800 understood by unholy men. 52:06.900 --> 52:11.900 And here's the thing, the only thing that an unholy person can understand is the gospel. 52:12.900 --> 52:16.900 But anything outside of the gospel, anything else in the Bible, they cannot understand. 52:17.900 --> 52:22.900 Meaning that unholy people can't come up with solutions to spiritual problems. 52:23.900 --> 52:25.900 Now look at verse 1 of chapter 6, 52:25.900 --> 52:28.900 And the ark of the LORD was in the country of the Philistines seven months. 52:29.900 --> 52:31.900 Dang, seven months, just hemorrhoids for seven months. 52:33.400 --> 52:36.820 That sucks so bad. 52:36.820 --> 52:39.500 No physical activity can be done. 52:40.800 --> 52:46.160 And the Philistines called for the priest and the diviner saying what shall we do to the ark of the lord? 52:46.560 --> 52:51.760 Tell us wherewith we shall send it to his place and they said if he send it away 52:52.400 --> 52:54.400 If he send away the ark of the god of israel 52:54.960 --> 52:59.700 Send it not empty but in any wise return him a trespass offering 53:00.160 --> 53:05.360 Then ye shall be healed and it shall be known to you why his hand is not removed from you 53:05.600 --> 53:08.800 So, you know, they're just like hey, we got to figure out how to get this thing back 53:08.800 --> 53:14.940 What should we do and the diviners and the priest is just like well the most logical thing to do is just return it back to Israel 53:14.940 --> 53:19.500 And then they're just like but make sure you send it back with an offering though 53:19.780 --> 53:25.680 Right because we want to placate God here because he's the one who's smiting us with this and you know 53:25.680 --> 53:27.820 Wait, don't read ahead. Don't read ahead everyone. We got up here, you know 53:29.300 --> 53:31.300 Let me build up the story 53:32.600 --> 53:39.040 Okay, so they want to placate the God of the Bible and so they're just like cinema trespass offering 53:39.040 --> 53:41.040 So, you know you're reading this you're just like okay 53:41.040 --> 53:45.800 This guy's you know, they're coming with a good solution here look down at verse number four 53:46.120 --> 53:53.240 Then said they what shall be the trespass offering which we shall return to him. They answered five golden emeralds 53:54.600 --> 53:56.900 And five golden mice 53:57.600 --> 54:02.640 According to the number of the lords of the philistines for one plague was on you all and on your lords 54:03.240 --> 54:05.240 What? 54:05.320 --> 54:09.520 So it's just like so what kind of offering you suggest like a lamb offering a 54:09.880 --> 54:15.780 Drink off because I know the Israelites do stuff like that. Nah, I get sent them five golden and hemorrhoids 54:18.900 --> 54:24.900 So, you know, you think of like the goldsmith who's responsible for this. 54:24.900 --> 54:30.900 I think about stuff like that like, like, alright, we need you to make five hemorrhoids. 54:30.900 --> 54:39.900 And, you know, in case you need to know what it looks like, like, what? 54:39.900 --> 54:45.900 And then there's five golden mice because we'll see later that basically these cities were plagued with mice as well. 54:46.500 --> 54:51.340 So on top of the deaths, on top of the hemorrhoids, 54:51.340 --> 54:54.260 is you also have mice rampant. 54:54.260 --> 54:59.380 And it's likely that if you have a large quantity of deaths, 54:59.380 --> 55:00.980 the mice are coming in to what? 55:00.980 --> 55:03.380 To eat the corpses. 55:03.380 --> 55:04.740 Because that happens. 55:04.740 --> 55:06.580 That's the actual thing. 55:06.580 --> 55:08.060 So this is miserable. 55:08.060 --> 55:10.900 So you know, oh, what a great idea. 55:10.900 --> 55:12.620 Send it back with, you know, imagine 55:12.620 --> 55:14.200 being the Israelite who received that. 55:16.000 --> 55:18.000 Like, is this what I think it is? 55:18.000 --> 55:21.000 Like, are these hemorrhoids? 55:21.000 --> 55:24.000 These fools are crazy. 55:24.000 --> 55:30.000 But this is what happens when you put holy things in unholy hands. 55:30.000 --> 55:31.000 Okay? 55:31.000 --> 55:34.000 Holy things cannot be understood by unholy people. 55:34.000 --> 55:39.000 You can't go to unsafe people for spiritual solutions. 55:39.000 --> 55:40.000 What should we do? 55:40.000 --> 55:41.700 Send them hemorrhoids! 55:41.900 --> 55:47.660 Golden hemorrhoids that'll play Kate God golden mice. I don't play gay guys. It's the stupidest thing ever. Oh 55:48.260 --> 55:50.260 Man, I'm so sad. What should I do? 55:50.660 --> 55:52.460 antidepressants oh 55:52.460 --> 55:59.820 Man, I you know I feel so sad what should I do drink alcohol smoke marijuana do drugs do antidepressants 56:00.620 --> 56:06.020 Get medicated and you'll be fine. These are worldly solutions to spiritual problems 56:07.600 --> 56:10.840 You know, oh this lady murdered her children, what should we do? 56:10.840 --> 56:13.560 Stick her in an insane asylum or just give her life in prison. 56:13.560 --> 56:17.000 These are not the proper solutions to the problem. 56:17.000 --> 56:24.200 You can't rely upon, this is why it's nonsensical to rely upon the government for anything spiritual. 56:24.200 --> 56:31.280 To bring upon spiritual reformation, you can't rely upon the president of the United States 56:31.280 --> 56:34.640 to fix spiritual problems that doesn't work that way because he's unsaved. 56:35.200 --> 56:38.200 Yeah, he could bring reform to the land for sure. 56:38.200 --> 56:40.200 Yeah, you know leaders can bring reform to the land, 56:40.200 --> 56:43.200 but we need transformation, not reformation. 56:43.200 --> 56:46.200 It's a spiritual problem. 56:46.200 --> 56:50.200 You know, I've been reading a biography on J. Frank Norris recently 56:50.200 --> 56:54.200 who is considered the father of, you know, independent fundamental Baptists. 56:54.200 --> 56:57.200 He's a great guy, you know, he just did a lot of great works, 56:57.200 --> 57:02.800 pastored two of the largest churches that collectively made 25,000 in membership. 57:03.000 --> 57:09.240 You know, did a lot of great works, fought against modernism and communism, evolution. 57:09.240 --> 57:10.600 Unfortunately, he was a Zionist. 57:10.600 --> 57:12.920 You know, he had a lot of problems in that area. 57:12.920 --> 57:15.320 He actually even had C.I. Schofield come preach for him. 57:16.200 --> 57:21.320 And C.I. Schofield was largely responsible for converting him to dispensationalism. 57:21.320 --> 57:24.280 So he became a seven dispensation preacher, 57:24.280 --> 57:26.760 but then eventually because he was reading the Bible, he was like, this is stupid. 57:27.300 --> 57:32.380 So he's just like, and then he started preaching against C.I. Schofield and against the seven dispensations, 57:32.380 --> 57:37.100 but he kind of still remained kind of like a preacher, preacher or whatever. 57:37.700 --> 57:42.700 And you know, he did a lot of great works, but unfortunately, one of the his downfalls, 57:42.700 --> 57:48.380 one of his weaknesses was that he thought the way you can save America is through the political realm. 57:49.300 --> 57:56.100 You know, just fighting off spiritual problems, making sure we get the right person in the White House, 57:56.100 --> 58:00.100 and you know, if we could just get the right person with the right values, 58:00.100 --> 58:02.500 it's going to fix everyone's problem. It doesn't work that way. 58:03.400 --> 58:08.500 It's not going to work that way. You're going to unsave people for spiritual solutions. 58:08.900 --> 58:12.600 Okay, you might as well just make five Golden Emeralds at that point. 58:13.100 --> 58:13.700 Okay? 58:14.300 --> 58:18.300 Five golden trump, trump statues or whatever, as if that's gonna help you. 58:18.300 --> 58:19.300 You know, it's not gonna help anything. 58:19.300 --> 58:20.800 You say, what's gonna help the land? 58:20.800 --> 58:23.300 I'll tell you what, preaching the gospel. 58:23.300 --> 58:27.300 And then preaching the bible to those people who have gotten saved, making them righteous people. 58:27.300 --> 58:29.300 That's how you fix the land. 58:29.300 --> 58:30.300 Okay? 58:30.300 --> 58:34.300 Point being here is that, you know, these people can't understand. 58:34.300 --> 58:38.200 They're coming up with these weird solutions. 58:38.300 --> 58:39.820 to fix the problem. 58:39.820 --> 58:40.160 And you know what? 58:40.160 --> 58:43.100 The natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God, 58:43.100 --> 58:44.720 for they are foolishness unto him, 58:44.720 --> 58:46.700 neither can he know them for their spiritually discerned, 58:46.700 --> 58:49.280 until the wicked he saith, what is thou to do, 58:49.280 --> 58:51.820 you know, to take my covenant in thy mouth? 58:51.820 --> 58:57.500 Seest thou, hatest instruction, and castest my words behind thee. 58:57.500 --> 58:59.140 You know, the Bible's saying, you know, 58:59.140 --> 59:01.580 we can't go to unsafe people to figure out 59:01.580 --> 59:03.300 what to do spiritually. 59:03.300 --> 59:04.860 We need to go to the Word of God. 59:04.860 --> 59:05.360 OK? 59:05.800 --> 59:11.240 These guys don't know what they're talking about, they're coming up with weird solutions to these problems 59:11.240 --> 59:12.680 and it's just not going to work at all. 59:12.680 --> 59:15.320 And it reminds me of a story in Acts 19. 59:15.320 --> 59:17.880 You guys remember the seven sons of Sceva? 59:17.880 --> 59:18.680 Okay. 59:18.680 --> 59:24.040 You know, the seven sons of Sceva were these Jews who were exorcists 59:24.040 --> 59:28.520 and they thought they can literally exorcise demons by just saying like, 59:28.520 --> 59:31.880 I adjure you by Jesus whom Paul preacheth. 59:32.600 --> 59:37.640 In other words, it's like, come out of him because we heard Paul talking about this Jesus and we're just using... 59:37.640 --> 59:42.760 They're just kind of superstitious about it and the demon was just like, well Paul I know and Jesus I know, but who are you? 59:43.880 --> 59:45.880 That's gotta be like the worst thing to hear. 59:46.480 --> 59:52.820 And then, you know, the demon actually ends up whooping all seven of them and stripping them naked. 59:53.600 --> 59:56.760 And they just leave naked, it's just completely embarrassed 59:56.760 --> 01:00:01.000 Just humiliates them because, you know, there are unholy people 01:00:01.000 --> 01:00:04.960 trying to use holy things as a way to accomplish something, it's not gonna work 01:00:04.960 --> 01:00:10.120 You're an unsafe person, you know, you can't put a Bible in the hand of an unsafe person 01:00:10.120 --> 01:00:11.320 and expect to learn anything from the Bible 01:00:11.320 --> 01:00:13.800 And by the way, this is why we should never learn the Bible from Jews 01:00:15.800 --> 01:00:17.560 Especially from Jews 01:00:19.700 --> 01:00:24.220 They crucified Christ, they take credit for crucifying Christ 01:00:24.220 --> 01:00:28.420 But you expect to learn the Bible from 01:00:28.420 --> 01:00:32.180 well we just gotta get the cultural context from Jews. They're gonna lie about it 01:00:32.180 --> 01:00:36.020 You can't trust Jews 01:00:36.020 --> 01:00:40.140 with biblical knowledge especially if they've rejected the source of truth 01:00:40.140 --> 01:00:41.340 which is Jesus Christ 01:00:41.340 --> 01:00:44.740 Now let's finish off here 01:00:44.740 --> 01:00:47.700 Look down at Rebibles at verse number seven. 01:00:49.300 --> 01:00:55.060 It says, Now therefore make a new cart, and take two milch kind, on which there hath not come 01:00:55.060 --> 01:00:59.220 no yoke, and tie the kind to the cart, and bring their calves home from them. 01:00:59.220 --> 01:01:03.620 And take the ark of the Lord, and lay it upon the cart, and put the jewels of gold, which he 01:01:03.620 --> 01:01:09.220 return him for a trespass offering, and a coffer by the side thereof, and send it away, that it may go. 01:01:09.220 --> 01:01:11.740 See if it goes up by the way of his 01:01:12.200 --> 01:01:16.960 own coast to Beth-shemesh, then he have done us this great evil. 01:01:16.960 --> 01:01:22.640 But if not, then we shall know that it is not his hand that smote us, it was a chance 01:01:22.640 --> 01:01:24.760 that happened to us." 01:01:24.760 --> 01:01:29.360 So they basically send it off by this milch kind, they're sending the ark of God, and 01:01:29.360 --> 01:01:32.200 then later on we see that it goes by the narrow way, right? 01:01:32.200 --> 01:01:33.980 It goes through a narrow pass. 01:01:33.980 --> 01:01:37.520 And I believe what the Bible is trying to teach us here is the fact that, you know, 01:01:37.520 --> 01:01:39.520 in order to fix problems. 01:01:40.500 --> 01:01:42.140 spiritual problems 01:01:42.140 --> 01:01:45.440 You got to go through the narrow way and what is the narrow way Jesus Christ? 01:01:46.180 --> 01:01:53.500 Right like it's not through the hemorrhoids the golden hemorrhoids the golden mice. It's through the Lord Jesus Christ 01:01:54.580 --> 01:01:59.380 Solutions are through Christ alone. You know what by the Bible Jesus Christ Christianity 01:02:00.060 --> 01:02:07.740 Has a lot can benefit this world even without Christ to a certain degree because you know it just has so many beneficial principles 01:02:08.700 --> 01:02:11.200 and valuable principles that people can learn from, 01:02:11.200 --> 01:02:16.800 nations have benefited from the residual blessings that comes from just the Bible and Christians, 01:02:16.800 --> 01:02:18.800 even if they're not the ones obeying it. 01:02:18.800 --> 01:02:22.100 I mean, you have people in this nation who are being blessed of God, 01:02:22.100 --> 01:02:23.800 not because God is blessing them, 01:02:23.800 --> 01:02:28.700 but because they're experiencing the residual blessing that comes upon Christians within this nation. 01:02:28.700 --> 01:02:29.800 But at the end of the day, 01:02:29.800 --> 01:02:33.000 what shall the prophet command if they shall gain the whole world, lose their own soul? 01:02:33.800 --> 01:02:36.200 And so at the end of the day, they need Christ, right? 01:02:36.200 --> 01:02:38.920 The solution is Jesus Christ. 01:02:38.920 --> 01:02:43.720 The point being here is that holy things in unholy hands 01:02:43.720 --> 01:02:46.680 profits them nothing if they don't go through Jesus Christ first. 01:02:47.320 --> 01:02:47.640 Okay? 01:02:48.200 --> 01:02:48.920 And you know what? 01:02:48.920 --> 01:02:50.840 There's tons of people out there who claim to be Christian, 01:02:51.480 --> 01:02:54.280 claim to be saved, don't have the right gospel. 01:02:54.280 --> 01:02:54.760 And you know what? 01:02:54.760 --> 01:02:57.480 They may be living just decent lives. 01:02:58.100 --> 01:03:00.420 They may be successful in their business. 01:03:00.420 --> 01:03:03.460 Why? Because the residual of just the Bible itself, 01:03:03.460 --> 01:03:06.540 the blessings of the Bible, can benefit anybody's life. 01:03:06.540 --> 01:03:09.620 But at the end of the day, that soon shall pass. 01:03:09.620 --> 01:03:13.300 And when that's over with, the only thing that matters is what? 01:03:13.300 --> 01:03:15.300 Is the soul and where it's going to go. 01:03:15.900 --> 01:03:19.340 And so believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, right? 01:03:19.340 --> 01:03:23.860 And then you can benefit from all the blessings and realize that was a bad idea. 01:03:23.860 --> 01:03:26.540 You know, five golden hemorrhoids, who thought of that? 01:03:26.540 --> 01:03:28.220 Okay. 01:03:28.220 --> 01:03:30.740 And here's the last point that I want to make that I almost forgot here, 01:03:30.740 --> 01:03:33.460 is that you have to understand something about these unholy people. 01:03:33.900 --> 01:03:38.900 Like oh man, he's kind of rough, you know, just you know kind of criticizing the Philistines 01:03:38.900 --> 01:03:41.760 They just didn't know any better. Well, the priest actually said 01:03:42.280 --> 01:03:47.780 Didn't you hear what took place in Egypt when God did this to the Egyptians? That's hundreds of years before that 01:03:48.520 --> 01:03:55.820 So they're very much familiar with the plagues of the Bible the works of God what he did to Egypt 01:03:55.980 --> 01:03:57.980 they knew all about that and 01:03:58.720 --> 01:04:00.000 Still they said 01:04:00.800 --> 01:04:03.260 Golden hemorrhoids, that's the solution 01:04:04.440 --> 01:04:06.520 Why because people without Christ are stupid 01:04:07.360 --> 01:04:09.220 Let's pray father. We thank you so much for your word 01:04:09.220 --> 01:04:15.700 I pray that you would help us as your people to recognize that we are a saver of life into life death into death 01:04:15.700 --> 01:04:21.260 And I pray that Lord you would help us to continue to get more people save Lord that they would come to the saving knowledge 01:04:21.260 --> 01:04:25.760 Of Christ and recognize that the Bible can profit people. Yes, it's true 01:04:26.400 --> 01:04:31.000 but only so far as where they place their faith in for salvation. 01:04:31.000 --> 01:04:33.040 And I pray that you bless us as we go on our way. 01:04:33.040 --> 01:04:35.280 Help us not soon forget the principles we learned tonight. 01:04:35.280 --> 01:04:36.280 In Jesus' name, Amen.