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["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] Alright, good evening everyone. Welcome to First Works Baptist Church. Let's all make our way inside and find a seat. We'll grab a song book. Open that song book up to song number 66 at Calvary. And let's all stand together for our first song, which will be song number 66 at Calvary. Song 66 at Calvary. Everyone nice and strong all together on that first verse. Years I spent in vanity and pride, caring not my Lord was crucified, knowing not it was for me he died on Calvary. Mercy there was great and grace was free, pardon there was multiplied to me. There my burdens full found liberty at Calvary. By God's word at last my sin I learned, then I trembled at the law I'd stern, till my guilty soul in glory turned to Calvary. Mercy there was great and grace was free, pardon there was multiplied to me. There my burdens full found liberty at Calvary. Oh the love that drew salvation's plan, oh the grace that God had to lend, oh the mighty gulf that God did span at Calvary. Mercy there was great and grace was free, pardon there was multiplied to me. There my burdens full found liberty at Calvary. Now I've given to Jesus everything, now I gladly own Him as my King, now my rapture soul can only sing of Calvary. Mercy there was great and grace was free, pardon there was multiplied to me. At Calvary. Amen, let's open our service with a word of prayer. Father thank you God, Lord for allowing us God to be in your house tonight Lord and hear your word preached unto us God. Thank you Lord for Calvary Lord and the great gift of salvation there God. Pray Lord that you would bless the service Lord and fill pastor with your Holy Spirit Lord and help us to be attentive tonight Lord as we hear your word preached unto us God. That we would leave here edified God and apply that which we hear to our lives Lord and also ask God that you would bless every aspect of the service Lord and the fellowship to follow God. We love you Lord, it's in Jesus name we pray, Amen. You may be seated. Song number 29 at the cross. Song number 29 at the cross. Everyone nice and strong all together. Alas and did my Savior bleed and did my sovereign die. Would he devote that sacred head for such a worm as I. At the cross at the cross where I first saw the light and the burden of my heart rolled away. It was there by faith I received my sight and now I am happy all the day. Was it for crimes that I had done he groaned upon the tree. Amazing pretty grace unknown and love beyond degree. At the cross at the cross where I first saw the light and the burden of my heart rolled away. It was there by faith I received my sight and now I am happy all the day. Well might the sun in darkness hide and shut his glories in. When Christ the mighty maker died for man the creature sin. At the cross at the cross where I first saw the light and the burden of my heart rolled away. It was there by faith I received my sight and now I am happy all the day. But drops of grief can ne'er repay the debt of love I owe. Here Lord I give myself away, tis all that I can do. At the cross at the cross where I first saw the light and the burden of my heart rolled away. It was there by faith I received my sight and now I am happy all the day. Alright great singing thank you for being here this evening just a few announcements here before we sing our next song. Which is song number 15 lead me to Calvary if you want to get that ready in your song books. Song number 15 if you did not get a bulletin go ahead and raise your hand and one of the ushers can get one for you. Some important information on there but the mark right over here needs one. Our services are as follows Sunday morning is at 10 30 Sunday evening is at 5 p.m. And then we have our Thursday night bible study at 7 o'clock. We are currently going through the book of first Samuel you see the so many times and teams the list of expecting mothers. Important reminders there at the bottom. And then some of the upcoming church events of course the big thing we got going on in our church this week is the Easter service this Sunday. Along with the Easter egg hunt I want to encourage you to be here bright and early. Well not necessarily bright and early 945 for the breakfast. Okay but invite your family friends co-workers to that. And we will have breakfast for everyone at 945 and so bring your guests at that time. And then there will be an Easter egg hunt for the kids up to fifth grade on the east side of the building which is right outside here. And so just keep that in mind that'll be immediately after the service so keep that in mind there. Looking forward to a great Easter Sunday. Pray that we get a lot of people saved. We want to obviously fill up the building and have a lot of visitors but on top of that we want to make sure we give the gospel to as many people as we possibly can. And get a lot of people saved on that day and so please pray to that end. The ladies tea party is coming up on Saturday April 23rd. Please RSVP to my wife by this Sunday. And then we have a home school field trip coming up to San Diego Safari Park on Tuesday April 26th. RSVP with my wife ASAP. And then ladies prayer breakfast is coming up on Saturday April 30th at 10 a.m. And then the May birthday breakfast is on Sunday May 1st. No food or drink allowed in the main auditorium except for water and coffee. Make sure you're not loitering in the foyer or fellowship hall during the preaching service. And then make sure you silence your phones during the preaching so as to not be a distraction during the service. Go out and pull out your prayer sheet there. We're going to go over that briefly and then Brother Morrie is going to come on up and pray over these needs. If you could pray for God's favor on our church that it would continue to grow spiritually and numerically. That the marriages would grow. The children would grow. That the new Christians would continue to grow in their love for God's word and their church attendance. And that God will continue to prosper us here at our church. That we'd see many more souls saved and people being discipled and just kind of just assimilating to the Christian life. And then of course pray for the leadership and pastors in training. And as I mentioned in the announcements pray for Easter Sunday. You know Easter is a time where people just are more mindful to be in church. And so we don't want them going to the Orthodox Church or the Catholic Church or the liberal church. We want them to come to a fundamental Baptist church amen. To make sure that they get the gospel especially if they're not saved. Or if they are saved or maybe they strayed away from the Lord. You know this can be a time that we can kind of reel them into the church. And kind of get them assimilated and get them back to doing the things of God. Whether that's church attendance, Bible reading and teaching them how to soul one. And so pray to that end that we'd have a great Easter service. You see the church families there the different needs if you can continue to pray for those needs there. Please continue to pray for Abigail. I don't have an update as far as how her health is but I'm assuming it's pretty much the same. If you can pray for her and the doctors would find a solution quick to that. I'm sure that would be a blessing to the family there. And then pray for family salvations and the expecting mothers and barren women. And then of course the church of the month is Steadfast Baptist Church in Oklahoma City. Pray for evangelist Tanner Furr, Soul Winning Protection and Success. And of course the new building. If you could just continue to keep Pastor Shelley in your prayers as they're still going through their ordeal. And I know it's not easy there and so please continue to pray that God would favor them. And provide a new building for them to meet in. And then if you have an additional prayer request you'd like to be mentioned or placed on the bulletin. Please put that at the bottom of the prayer sheet. Tear that off and make sure it gets into the offering plate. So that we make sure we can put it on the prayer sheet for the following week. And that is it. Brother Moore is going to come on up and pray over these needs. Alright please bow your head in the word of prayer. Dear Lord, Heavenly Father thank you for allowing us to be able to come into church. And Lord just thank you for your word and salvation. And Lord we just pray that you bless our church and allow us to be able to continue doing a great work for you Lord. And Lord I just also pray that you allow us to be able to keep doing the things that you require of us. Allow us to grow spiritually. Allow us to be able to read our Bibles more and study your word and draw closer to you Lord. And have a better relationship with you Lord. And Lord I just also want to pray for our so winning efforts that we have here. Please bless those efforts and allow us to be able to plant seeds and get people saved. And Lord just know our hearts and know that we're trying to serve you with all of our hearts Lord. Lord I just also want to pray for Easter as it's coming up Lord. And Lord pray that people will be receptive to the gospel and we can have a great turnout and get a lot of people saved Lord. And Lord I pray for those people that potentially will get saved that they start getting acclimated to the Christian life. And Lord we just pray that you allow them to be able to grow closer to you. And put it on their hearts to be able to start coming to church and going so winning. And doing all the things that Christians should be doing with their lives which is serving you Lord. Lord I just want to pray for the family's salvation and for the request that we have here for our family members Lord. And I also want to pray for our families to continue to grow. I want to pray for Miss Janelle, Miss Sari, Miss Sarah Ortiz, Miss Kimberly and Miss DJ. I pray that they have a healthy and a safe delivery and protect them. And allow them to be able to nourish their bodies and have favor on them. And Lord just allow them to be able to have a healthy delivery. And Lord I just also want to pray for Miss Abigail as she's going through this health situation. Lord please have a hand of healing on her and bless her family and with the trying time that they're going through be with them. Lord I just pray for a speedy solution to the situation Lord. Lord I also just want to pray for the general requests and the unspoken requests here as well. I'm going to pray for Pastor Shelley. I pray that he has your favor and Lord I just pray that he's able to overcome the trying time that he's going through. Allow him to find his building but ultimately allow him to continue to serve you. And ultimately get people saved through the situation that he's going through Lord. Lord I also want to pray for Steadfast Baptist Church Oklahoma City. I want to pray for Brother Tanafar. I pray that you bless him as he's leading the church there. And Lord just pray that you have a hand of protection over him, his family and his congregation there Lord. And Lord I just also pray for success for the ministry. And we pray that they have a new building as well Lord. Lord thank you for just giving us your word in the church that we have here. And Lord I just pray that Pastor Mejia's message that he has prepared for us tonight. That we're able to listen to it and grow there by and grow closer to you. And Lord I just pray this in the heavenly name. Amen. Alright. Turn your hymn notes to song number 15. Lead me to Calvary. Song number 15. Song number 15 lead me to Calvary. Song 15 lead me to Calvary. Everyone nice and strong all together. King of my life I crown thee now. Thine shall the glory be. Lest I forget thy thorn crowned brow. Lead me to Calvary. Lest I forget Gethsemane. Lest I forget thine agony. Lest I forget thy love for me. Lead me to Calvary. Show me the tomb where thou wast laid. Tenderly mourned and wept. Angels in robes of light arrayed. Guarded thee whilst thou slept in fear. Lest I forget Gethsemane. Lest I forget thine agony. Lest I forget thy love for me. Lead me to Calvary. Let me like Mary through the clone. Come with a gift to thee. Show to me now in the empty tomb. Lead me to Calvary. Lest I forget Gethsemane. Lest I forget thine agony. Lest I forget thy love for me. Lead me to Calvary. May I be willing, Lord, to bear. Pay me my cross to thee. Even thy cup of grief to share. Thou hast borne all for me. Lest I forget Gethsemane. Lest I forget thine agony. Lest I forget thy love for me. Lead me to Calvary. At this time the ushers will collect the offering. Tonight will be in 1 Samuel chapter number 13. . . . . . . . . Good evening. We're in 1 Samuel chapter 13. And the chapter reads, Saul reigned one year, and when he had reigned two years over Israel, Saul chosen three hundred men of Israel. Whereof two thousand were with Saul in Michmash and in Mount Bethel, and a thousand were with Jonathan and Gibeah of Benjamin. And the rest of the people he sent every man to his tent. And Jonathan smote the garrison of the Philistines that was in Geba, and the Philistines heard of it, and Saul blew the trumpet throughout all the land, saying, Let the Hebrews hear. And all Israel heard say that Saul had spit in the garrison of the Philistines, and that Israel also was had in abomination with the Philistines. And the people were called together after Saul to Gilgal. And the Philistines gathered themselves together to fight with Israel, thirty thousand chariots, and six thousand horsemen, and people as the sand which is on the seashore in multitude. And they came up and pitched in Michmash, eastward from Beth Avon. When the men of Israel saw that they were in a strait, for the people were distressed, then the people did hide themselves in caves, and in thickets, and in rocks, and in high places, and in pits. And some of the Hebrews went over Jordan to the land of Gad and Gilead. As for Saul, he was yet in Gilgal, and all the people followed him trembling. And he tarried seven days according to the said time that Samuel had appointed. But Samuel came not to Gilgal, and the people were scattered from him. And Saul said, Bring hither a burnt offering to me, and peace offerings. And he offered the burnt offering. And it came to pass that as soon as he had made an end to the burnt offering, behold, Samuel came, and Saul went out to meet him, that he might salute him. And Samuel said, What hast thou done? And Saul said, Because I saw that the people were scattered from me, and that they came as not within the days appointed, and that the Philistines gathered themselves together at Michmash. Therefore said I, The Philistines will come down now upon me to Gilgal, and I have not made supplication unto the Lord. I forced myself therefore, and offered a burnt offering. And Samuel said to Saul, Thou hast done foolishly. Thou hast not kept the commandment of the Lord thy God, which he commanded thee. For now would the Lord have established thy kingdom upon Israel forever. But now thy kingdom shall not continue. The Lord hath sought him a man after his own heart, and the Lord hath commanded him to be captain over his people, because thou hast not kept that which the Lord commanded thee. And Samuel arose, and gathered him up from Gilgal unto Gibeah of Benjamin. And Saul numbered the people that were present with him about six hundred men. And Saul and Jonathan his son, and the people that were present with them, abode in Gibeah of Benjamin, but the Philistines encamped in Michmash. And the spoilers came out of the camp of the Philistines in three companies. One company turned unto the way that leadeth to Uphrah, unto the land of Sheol. And another company turned to the way to Bethoran, and another company turned to the way of the border that looketh to the valley of Zeboam toward the wilderness. Now there was no smith found throughout all the land of Israel, for the Philistines said, lest the Hebrews make them swords or spears. But all the Israelites went down to the Philistines to sharpen every man's share, his coulter, and his ax, and his madoc. Yet they had a fowl for the madoc, and for the coulters, for the forks, and for the axes, and to sharpen the goads. So it came to pass in the day of the battle, that there were neither sword nor spear found in the hand of any of the people that were with Saul and Jonathan. But with Saul, and with Jonathan, his son was there found. And the garrison of the Philistines went out through the passage of Michmash. Let's pray. We thank you Heavenly Father for your word, dear God, for preserving your word unto us. We thank you for every precious soul in this church. We ask that you bless Pastor with your Holy Spirit as he preaches your word tonight. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Amen. Okay, we are continuing this evening with the book of 1 Samuel, we're in chapter 13. And of course, this really marks the beginning of the end for Saul. And although for the next couple chapters he's still ruling and reigning in Israel, he's still the king, we're basically seeing that God is starting to phase him out due to a really bad decision that he makes here in chapter 13. Now, in chapter 12 you have the great speech that Samuel gives, basically confirming the fact that Saul is their first king, that Israel has rejected God as being their sovereign king and have chosen them an earthly king. But then this ruling is short-lived, is it not? Because then two years, three years afterwards, we see Saul making this bad decision and then immediately he is replaced in the mind of God and even prophesied that he's going to be replaced, even though he's allowed to still hold the throne until David is ready to take over. But this is what we're looking at in chapter 13. Now, what's taking place between chapter 13 and 12, we don't really know what happened in those three years. If we were to just conjecture what are some of the things that are happening, it's basically Saul's probably conquering land, he's regaining ground from the Philistines and different enemies of God, he's campaigning to basically just destroy the enemies of God and protect his land and protect his people. That's why we're kind of segueing here in chapter 13 immediately to a battle where the Israelites are kind of conquering a garrison of the Philistines that the Philistines had taken from the Israelites. And look at verse number 1, it says here, Saul reigned one year and when he had reigned two years over Israel, Saul chose him three thousand men of Israel, whereof two thousand were with Saul in Michmash and in Mount Bethel, and a thousand were with Jonathan and Gibeah of Benjamin, and the rest of the people he sent every man to his tents. We're going to look at a couple things tonight from this chapter. First we're going to look at Saul provoking the Philistines, we're going to see Israel panicking, we're going to see Saul's presumptuous behavior, the plan to disarm God's people, and lastly the prudence to use what was at their disposal. So first and foremost, let's look at Saul provoking the Philistines. Now how does he do this? Well he does it first and foremost by recovering lost ground. He says in verse number 3, And Jonathan smote the garrison of the Philistines that was in Gibeah, and the Philistines heard of it, and Saul blew the trumpet throughout all the land, saying, Let the Hebrews hear. So what we see here is that apparently the Philistines have a garrison in Israel. This is basically implying that this portion of land that belonged to the Israelites was conquered by the Philistines, and they basically kind of have them in subjection. They have a garrison there, it's a military base so to speak, and they have the people in subjection. We're going to look at later on that it got to the point where the Philistines removed their ability to have any weapons because they didn't want them revolting or causing an uprising and taking their land back. So Jonathan is introduced here and of course later on we know, based upon what we're looking at here in 1 Samuel, that Jonathan is Saul's son. He's introduced not as his son but just as a man who's taking over this garrison and thereby provoking the Philistines. So he recovers lost ground. Now one spiritual application that we can get from this particular passage here is that when we become Christians, there are certain victories that we get right off the bat. Certain victories, whether it's we get the victory of the fact that we're saved now, and the fact that we're now considered overcomers in the eyes of God because of our faith in Christ. But even thereafter, you start coming to church, you start getting things right in your life, maybe you conquer some vices in your life, some bad ways of thinking in your life. But you know the battle doesn't stop there. For a lot of people it does. They think, well I'm a Christian now, I'm a completely different person, I'm never going to have to struggle thereafter. But the reality is there's a bunch of garrisons out there in your life that still need to be conquered. You still need to take back some ground. And the day that you decide to stop fighting the Lord's battles within your members, within your mind, that's the day that the enemy can get you, that's the day where you will regress, you'll go back to your old man, and you won't make steps forward. And so the spiritual application that we can get there is that we need to have the mentality that the Christian life is a battlefield. Never put this vehicle known as the Christian life in cruise control. Where it's just like, you know what, I'm just going to cruise through the Christian life and I'm just going to try to be as faithful as I can, but I'm not really going to try to fight any battles. I'm not going to try to become a better Christian, or a better student of the Bible, a better husband, a better wife. I'm just going to kind of hang on. Well, you know what, that's not what God wants from us. The Bible constantly refers to the Christian life as a fight. The Bible says to fight the good fight of faith, to get involved in spiritual warfare. The weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty through God through the pulling down of strongholds, the Bible says. And so we constantly have to fight and overcome these garrisons and kind of repair the damages that were done by the world, by the flesh, by the devil. And so the garrisons can be kind of compared to strongholds that we have built in our personal lives because of bad decisions that we've made in the past. And those strongholds can be bad habits or just bad ways of thinking. A lot of the times the war isn't necessarily outwardly, the war is in our mind. There's a lot of battles that we have to overcome in our mind, whether that's discouragement, maybe it's depression, maybe it's anxiety, maybe it's fear, you name it, the battle always starts off in the mind. This is what the Bible tells us to not faint in our minds. It warns us of being weary and fainting in our minds because before you faint outwardly in the Christian life, you faint up here. If you ever see a Christian who just kind of gets out of the battle, and by that I'm referring to they get out of church or they stop reading their Bibles, they're no longer sowing, just mark it down, they fainted in their minds long ago. That's typically how it works. They turn back to Egypt in their hearts first. And so in order to prevent that, we need to constantly go out and campaign against the members of our body. We have to constantly be working on ourselves and identifying the strongholds in our life, the bad habits in our life, the bad ways of thinking and renewing our minds through God's Word, transforming our minds through God's Word. And every once in a while we need that reminder because it's easy for us as Christians because we're creatures of habit to just kind of say, well, I think I got it all figured out. I'm just a really good Christian and I'm here on a Thursday night. This is the cream of the crop here. Just kind of like, I'm here, I know the hymns and I read my Bible or I just kind of do it out of habit. But you're not necessarily working on yourself. You're not necessarily examining yourself to see what areas you still need to work on. And the reality is this. If we were to just flesh out a spiritual map of our spiritual life, we would see that there's quite a bit of garrison still need to be taken care of. There's very much land to be possessed, so to speak. When we step into the promised land of the victorious Christian life and where God's blessing is, where there's wells that we did not dig and houses that we did not build and vineyards that we did not plant, the battle's not won on the first day with Jericho. There's still AI, there's still plenty of cities to conquer and so we need to have that mindset that the war is not done. The war isn't over until we're dead. Mortify therefore the deeds of your body. Those things which war against us. And so we see here that this is exactly what Jonathan and Saul are doing. They're recovering lost ground from the Philistines. And you know what? Saul could have easily said, well, we've got enough land. Let's just let them keep that. I don't want to fight anybody. This is, you know, fighting is bloody and people can get hurt and die. But you know what? That's not the attitude that God wants them to have. That's not the attitude that God wants us to have. Or it's just like, well, you know, I'm pretty much good here and I'm just complacent and I'm just content with where I'm at. It's good to be satisfied, but don't be complacent. Be satisfied with what you have, but stay in the battle, stay in the fight. Continue to recover lost ground. And let me say this, is that just because you've been a Christian for X amount of years doesn't mean that you are completely successful in the Christian life because here we see that even three years after he is anointed king, he's about to make a really bad decision. And so we need to make sure that we take heed lest we fall. You know, myself, I'm going to be a Christian for 15 years. It's coming up in July. I got saved July 22, 2007. Is that 15 years? Some math whizzes out there? That's about 15, right? No? Why are you laughing? Is that not 15 or what? No math whizzes here. God gets all the glory from our church. What? 2007. Yeah, 15 years. Okay, I'm right, I'm right. Okay. I know, I'm just testing you guys. All right. You know, it's about to be 15 years. I got to be careful that I don't have the attitude of, well, I've been saved for 15 years. I got this Christian thing down already. You know, I already know how it's like and I already know how to soul and I already know how to read my Bible. You know, the Christian life is not measured in years, but in decades. And so we need to make sure that we continue to charge hell with a squirt gun, so to speak, and fight the battles of the Lord and fight the enemies of God and recover ground. And that's exactly what's taking place here. Look at verse number 4. It says, And all Israel heard say that Saul had smitten the garrison of the Philistines. Look what it says here. And that Israel also was had in abomination with the Philistines and the people were called together after Saul to Gilgal. So Saul is provoking the Philistines because he's recovering lost ground. And so now they become a reproach to the Philistines because when it says there in verse number 4 that Israel also was had in abomination with the Philistines, it basically means that the Philistines are like these people are just abominable because they're taking back their ground. Okay. They're very irritated with the Israelites. They are now officially more just of a reproach in their eyes because they're kind of messing up their way of life. They're taking their ground, their possessions, et cetera. And the principle that we can learn here is this, is that when you live a godly Christian life, when you're seeking to make advancements in your life and you're seeking to go forward and make good changes, you know, you're going to be an abomination to someone, believe it or not. Okay. You guys came in at the right time. You guys are going to be an abomination to someone. It's true though. There's someone out there who doesn't matter how wholesome, how holy, how righteous, the change you make, in the eyes of someone else, it's an abomination. You're going to be a reproach to someone. And unfortunately, a lot of the times, it's to other Christians. See, we expect to be a reproach to the world, right? The world doesn't like us. The world hates us. And the world looks at what God teaches and calls it a reproach. It's wicked and it's evil and it's outdated. That doesn't surprise us. It's when Christians have that attitude when we're surprised. They're like, why are you, who are our brethren, they're saved, they believe the Bible. When we become a reproach, they're our neighbors. I'm not saying the Philistines were their neighbors, but sort of, they're kind of like their neighbors. You know, they become a reproach to them. And so, we see here that even doing something good like taking back what is rightfully theirs, you know, they don't like that. And so, just know this is that whenever you seek to make achievements in your life, spiritually speaking, it's not going to happen without a fight. There's always a fight involved, you know. A great and effectual door is opened unto me and there are many adversaries, the Bible says, okay? If you don't want adversaries or battles or wars in the Christian life, just go to the contemporary Christian church, the liberal church with the glass pulpit and the glass Bible and the glass preacher with the glass chin and you know what? You will face no battles, okay? But, you know, if you want to accomplish something and go forward for the Lord and actually win someone to Christ and actually change someone's life and actually do something significant with your life like lead your family in a godly manner and make a difference, you know, you're going to have some enemies, okay? You're going to be a reproach to someone. And the reason I say that is because, you know, sometimes Christians get this misconception that the Christian life is just a bed of roses. It's all roses and daisies, we should have no problems and I just want to please everyone. They have this political type of mentality, a politician type of mentality where they think just because they become a Christian, everyone should like them, okay? But, you know, it's not realistic. From a biblical perspective, that is not realistic because the fact of the matter is that the word of God is a reproach unto other people. And when you stand for right, when men, you, you know, have a job and, you know, you embrace, you know, biblical masculinity, you know, that becomes a reproach to this world, the feminine people of this world, okay? Oh, why do you got to be so masculine and, you know, you shouldn't lift weights and you shouldn't want to, you know, provide for your family and we should have equal rights and all this nonsense. Women, when, ladies, when you are seeking to be a keeper at home and you want to be a keeper at home and you want to serve your husband, you know, and reverence him and have his agenda as your agenda and worship him. No, I'm just kidding. You know, just, you know, be a help me, that's going to tick off a lot of people, you know, you want to be a help me, you will become a reproach to this world because they're like, girlfriend, that's toxic. You need to do your own thing, girl. Nonsense. So, you know, it's important to know that because you might as well just make the right decisions and do that which is right on the side of the Lord because you're going to be a reproach no matter what. So might as well be a reproach doing the right things the right way in an extreme manner. And by extreme I mean just the biblical manner. Extreme to the world but it's not extreme to God, it's not extreme to us, what God requires of us. And so, you know, they're like, how dare you take your land back and, you know, how dare you destroy our garrison, we were, you guys were enslaved to us and now you're an abomination to us. It's like, what? They're doing what God is telling them to do, they are recovering land, they want to be free people, they want to be at liberty to serve the Lord and then the Philistines are like, oh, you're just an abomination, I can't believe you, you know. It's insanity, okay. You know, and obviously we're living in a nation where, you know, just people being free in general is like an abomination to others. You know, I mean, I don't really know what it's like because I live in Orange County now but I'm sure there's other parts like Los Angeles that God forsaken place where they bomb churches and stuff, you know, where if you don't wear a mask or something you're probably very much looked down upon. How dare you, you know, put me at risk or something, you know, and it's just like, well, did you get your vaccines? I got three of them or something, you know, they got the booster, booster, booster. And it's just like those who are at liberty are looked down upon and reproached, you know. Oh, how dare you not vaccinate your children and how dare you don't, you know, how dare you not support the Ukraine and how dare you do this and they just like, it's crazy. And those who are set at liberty, those of us who actually have liberty and when I mean liberty I don't mean like patriot liberty, okay. I'm talking about like salvation because where the spirit of the Lord is there is liberty the Bible says, okay. Those of us who have true liberty, we're just like, we just want to live our lives. We just want to serve God peaceably, read the Bible and win souls to Christ and preach the word of God and preach everything that God tells us to preach. You're not allowed to preach that. It's like, first of all, we're doing it in my church, our church here, okay, where we all willingly came to hear God's word being preached. It's not like we have some blow horn on the corner being obnoxious doing it here and all of a sudden it's just like, well, that's hate speech. Well, then turn me off and then it's no longer hate speech because you can't hear the speech, right. Here's how you can fix hate speech. Exit out of the screen. Just turn it off. That's how you do it, you know, but it's like, no, I'm going to listen, I'm a thumbs down, I'm going to report you and, you know, all these things, you're a reproach. That's why it's better to just live the extreme Christian life because you're going to be a reproach no matter what. We're going to hate you no matter what, okay. And so shame on these Philistines and they're just like, they're an abomination because they took back their land and, you know, we can't enslave them anymore. So Saul is provoking the Philistines by recovering ground, they become a reproach and this is a good thing. You know, this is a great thing and people should appreciate the fact that he's doing this but, you know, they begin to panic. So Israel provokes the Philistines and the byproduct is that Israel begins to panic. Look at verse number five, it says, and the Philistines gather themselves together to fight with Israel, which obviously they should have seen it coming, right. It's not like the Philistines are going to take this line down. 30,000 chariots and 6,000 horsemen and people as the sand which is on the seashore in multitude and they came up and pitched in Michmash eastward from Bethaiah. Now this is typically how it is. Anytime the enemies of God rise up against God's people from a physical perspective we are always outnumbered, okay. They will always seem like the sand of the sea, okay. But the reality is this is that there are, from the spiritual perspective, there are more with us than there are with them. And if God before us, who can be against us? Because us and God make the majority, amen. And so obviously they're looking at this, look at verse six it says, when the men of Israel saw that they were in a strait, for the people were distressed, then the people did hide themselves in caves and in thickets and in rocks and in high places and in pits. So Israel panics, the Philistines are regrouping, they're planning to fight against Israel. What do the Israelites do? They run. Where do they run to? Caves, thickets, rocks, high places and pits. So instead of standing their ground and this is so ridiculous, let me explain to you why this frustrates me. Because it's like at first you had God as your king, that wasn't enough. Now you have an earthly king to fight your battles and he's doing it, but that's still not enough. So now what? Now it's just like go to the pit. Now it's like go to the cave. It's like these people don't know what they want. You know, folks, when you make a decision, stick with it, amen. Don't quit. You know, if you made a mistake and you did something stupid and you know, or if you are kind of overestimated yourself as maybe Saul did by conquering this garrison, you know, just stand your ground. But instead what are they doing? They're running. They're fearful. They fear retaliation is what they fear. And here's another thing is that when you live the Christian life, you need to count the cost. Isn't that what the Bible tells us? To count the cost. What is this going to cost you? What is serving God going to cost you? Okay, that's what you need to think about. And you know, there's people who count the cost and say, well, I'm not going to do that then. And it's true. That's what the Bible even tells us to count the cost. There are literally Christians out there that will look at what living the Christian life will cost them. I'm not talking about salvation. I'm talking about the Christian living. They will look at what the Christian life will cost them and say, not for me. I don't want to do that. I'm not going to get us committed. I'm not going to become dedicated. I'm not going to try to do a whole lot because I don't want to pay that price. Okay. And, you know, they go to the caves. They go to the thickets. They go into the rocks, the high places, and in the pits. And, you know, the Bible isn't necessarily condemning them for doing this because, you know, fear is obviously a natural thing, right, that people experience. I think their punishment is the fact that it's just written in the Bible now. Because everyone reads that and is like, oh, man, what a wimp. Who is that? You go into heaven and you meet some saint up there. And, you know, they tell you about what time they lived. And then, you know, they tell you about who was ruling over them during that time. And you're like, hey, do you remember that story in chapter 13? Like, which one were you? Were you the one? Like, I was the one in the pit, actually. It was actually, but it was his idea. You know, it was like. Look at verse 7. And some of the Hebrews went over Jordan to the land of Gad and Gilead. As for Saul, he was yet in Gilgal, and all the people, look what it says here, followed him trembling. So, you know, this is kind of noble because they're probably just as afraid as the ones who are in the caves, thickets, pits, and high places. The difference is they chose to follow Saul still, even though they're afraid. Now, fear isn't necessarily a really bad thing. It's when fear paralyzes you from doing the right thing. You understand? That's when it becomes bad. So when God commands you to do something and you are afraid and it impedes you from doing that which is right in the sight of the Lord, at that point it becomes wrong. But when you are afraid and you act in spite of that fear and you do that which is right, that's righteous. Because all of us have a little bit of fear. All of us fear a little bit of the outcome of what would happen if we obey God and go through with it, right? Whereas what God expects for us to do is step out in faith in spite of fear. Now, you can apply this all across the board, whether that's providing for your family, living on one income, or having children, or just kind of being sold out for the Christian life and just serving God no matter what happens. There is always a little bit of fear in what could possibly happen. It's like, oh man, what if I stay in California? What if I don't go to some remote place in the United States where there's like no people, into the mountains, in the cabin? What if I decide to stay here? What's going to happen to me? Yeah, there's a little bit of fear, right? But let me ask you, does that cabin have a fire-breathing independent fundamental Baptist church? Probably not. And if there is an independent fundamental Baptist church in that cabin, up in the mountains, in the middle of nowhere, they're just as scared as you are. That's why they're there. Think about that. I guarantee you that pastor's probably not a fire-breathing, hell-firing, damnation, charging hell with a squirt gun type of a pastor. He's probably the one who ran for the hills. He's like, I'm getting out of here. I'm going to enjoy the mountains and the scenery and the cabins and the millennial reign, where I have the liberty to just go wherever I want. That's truly a free country at that point. Right now, it's wartime, folks. But these guys, I admire these guys because they still followed Saul, even though they were trembling, and it's no accident or coincidence that the Bible puts that in there. And you're going to be faced with some challenges in the coming years, or this year, where you're going to have to make the right decision, and you are afraid to make it. There will be fear in your heart to make it. And I want to challenge you to remember this statement, remember these words, to, even though you're afraid, act in faith in spite of that fear. You know, Saul can be likened unto the Lord at this point, in this particular passage, that you follow the Lord to Gilgal trembling. You go with the Lord in spite of the fact that you're afraid, and you still do that which is right in the sight of the Lord, and you obey God, and you go to war. Man, I just don't know what happens if I decide to have a biblical home and a biblical family and raise my children for God. I'm afraid to homeschool. There's people out there that are afraid to homeschool. They feel that they are inadequate, they can't do it. You know, there's just all these challenges that come with homeschooling, but you know what, why don't you act in spite of that? Because here's the thing, if God commanded us to do something, He will enable us to do it. As we do it. Even if it's beyond the scope of our capability, if He's commanded us to do it, He will enable us to fulfill that command. God will never command us to do something that we cannot do or He will enable us to do. And so I admire these guys that even though they fear the retaliation, they're still following Saul, even though, that's how we roll, sorry. If you want some desert, you can go to the desert and act like a cowboy and stuff. If that's what you want. If you want forest, if you want big trees and nature stuff and all that, you can have that too. Or hey, you can go to the snow in the morning and be at the beach by night. It's the best state ever. So you know, I don't understand why a lot of these libertarian republicans have given up such a wonderful state and moved to these lame states, but they're going to the dens and the caves and the rocks and the pits. Let's follow the Lord trembling, amen? Alright, well that's basically where Saul ceases to be likened unto the Lord because after this it gets pretty bad. So we looked how Saul provokes the Philistines. Go back to chapter 10, let's look at it real quick. Look at chapter 10 and verse number 8, it says, And now shall go down before me to Gilgal, and behold, I will come down unto thee to offer burnt offerings and to sacrifice sacrifices of peace offerings. Seven days shalt thou tarry till I come to thee and show thee what thou shalt do. And of course, he waits. This is during the time when Saul actually had some patience. Waited seven days and he just did as he was told. Now, go back to chapter 13, we see the same exact thing taking place here. But now, Saul is under a little pressure here. Alright, because he's fighting against the Philistines, he's now the king, he has all these responsibilities. And so he's waiting for him but he doesn't come at a point in time. Verse 9 says, And Saul said, Bring hither a burnt offering to me and peace offerings, and he offered the burnt offering. And it came to pass that as soon as he had made an ending of offering the burnt offerings, behold, Samuel came and Saul went out to meet him that he might salute him. And Samuel said, What hast thou done? And Saul said, Because I saw that the people were scattered from me, and that thou camest not within the days appointed, and that the Philistines gathered themselves together at Michmash, therefore, said I, The Philistines will come down upon me to Gilgal, and I have not made supplication unto the Lord. I forced myself, therefore, and offered a burnt offering. Now, we're looking at Saul's presumptuous behavior. Saul rebels against the Lord by doing that which is right in a wrong way. Because offering sacrifices is a good thing, but he did it in the wrong way. So he rebels against the Lord, and then he begins to rationalize his disobedience. Here's a big difference between Saul and David, because David wasn't perfect either. I mean, we're going to see that later on. But here's the thing. When David sinned, when he rebelled against the Lord, he repented. He took responsibility for his actions. He didn't try to point the finger at someone else. Whereas Saul was like, Well, you didn't come when you said you were going to come. I got these Philistines here. They're about to take me. And, you know, the people are scattered from me. He's basically saying, I had no choice but to disobey the Lord and offer this so I could make supplication. But remember this, folks. It's never right to do wrong to do right. And the reality is this, is that none of these excuses is God even considering as being valid. Because Saul is the leader. He's the king. So he made a big mistake. He rationalizes his disobedience. Let me stick there for a little bit. So we see that Samuel doesn't come at it as time appointed. And Samuel is Saul's leader, right? So Saul uses Samuel's lack of punctuality as an excuse as to why he chose to disobey the Lord. Now, how can we apply that today? Well, you know, sometimes people want to blame the leader for how something came about in their life. You know, some outcome in their life or, you know, the way something turned out, they automatically want to point to the easiest target, which is the leader. Now, sometimes that could be a father, that could be a husband, or that could be a pastor. Okay? Why is that? Because it's just easy to just not take responsibility and say, well, it was Pastor Mejia because he just offended me and said this and that. And it was a message that he preached and it offended my family. Or, you know, he said this and now there's quiet time at our church and I can't seem to, like, hang out anymore. And, you know, they come up with all these excuses as to why they did X, Y, and Z, which is exactly what Saul's doing. Saul should have just been like, I messed up. I messed up bad. I screwed up. I messed up. I shouldn't have done this. Please, you know, intercede for me unto the Lord so that he doesn't remove me from this office or that he has mercy on me. But he didn't even do that. He just begins to make a long list of excuses why he did what he did. And, folks, excuses are like armpits. Everyone has them and they all stink. That might not be completely accurate, but it's for illustration's sake, okay? I'm saying everyone has an excuse, but you know what? An excuse is never valid. An excuse is never valid, folks. And he's blaming the leader. He's saying, you didn't come on time. He's saying, look at this problem that I have. All these Philistines are going to come upon me. And then he's blaming the people. He's like, they're all scattered from me. This is why I offered it. But again, never right to do wrong to do right. And what are some ways that we can apply this? Well, you know, by the way, he says he forced himself. He forced himself. He's like, I was forced to do this. They forced my hand to do this. Wrong, buddy. Wrong. You know, that was your fault. You made that decision. You need to own up to it. You need to face the music, okay? Now, some ways you can apply this is this way. You know, sometimes guys, you know, marriage is a wonderful thing, amen? Marriage is a wonderful thing. And there's within the desire of a man to want to have a wife. And sometimes, a lot of the times, it's because they long for that physical relationship with another woman. That's a natural desire. Okay? That's a good thing, by the way, right? That's a natural thing. That's a natural desire. But sometimes, you know, like Saul, these young men don't want to wait. They don't want to wait. They don't want to wait to the appointed time when they actually get to come to the altar and marry in the right way. And so they force themselves and they fornicate. They sin. They do wrong. And you know what? It happens. It's a wicked sin. It's evil. It should never be done. But it does happen. But here's the problem is that when they do it and then they're like, well, it's because, you know, I'm never going to find a girl, a Christian girl. That's why I started talking to this girl at my job or whatever. And I'm never going to be happy. It's like nonsense. And let's say it was true. Let's say you're just as ugly as a mule. Let's say you just got the worst qualities ever. And, you know, you're just not the business. Whatever. It still doesn't make it right. Still doesn't make it right. You could have been dealt the worst cards in your life physically, you know, you just got bad genetics or whatever, but still doesn't make it right. It still doesn't make it right. And there's someone for everyone. I know this sounds cheesy, but it's true. Someone finds you attractive. Don't force yourself into a wicked relationship. Don't force yourself because you didn't get married at the time, appointed or whatever it may be. You know, some people want to force themselves into a relationship. Sometimes people want to force themselves out of a relationship. They want to use the D word. I'm not talking about damn either. I'm talking about a word that's far more of a cuss word. Divorce. Where it's just like, things aren't going right in my marriage and therefore I'd like to use this divorce card to get out of jail free card or something. Wrong. Wicked. And it's just like, yeah, but it's just not going right in my marriage. Well, that is on you, my friend. You know, when you get married, things don't just like, you don't ride off into the sunset and you watch too many Disney movies. And I guarantee you, if they were to do a follow up on all those people who got married in Disney, I guarantee you they'll tell a lot different story. I'm sure a lot of those got divorced because I'm sure Disney doesn't promote a godly marriage. I'm sure Jasmine divorced Aladdin after Aladdin gained some weight or something. I'm sure Snow White divorced whatever guy she got. Or whatever guy she got divorced Snow White because she gained a little weight after a couple kids. See, this is the reality, folks. Or, you know, one of these Disney princesses, like most of them, started mouthing off a little bit. You know, and some of them were like, I don't think this is God's will, you know. They're just like, but folks, there's no such thing as quitting marriage. No such thing as quitting in marriage and we have a nation full of quitters. Where it's like the going gets tough and it gets difficult and it wasn't what you expected and all of a sudden it's like, well, it's time to throw in the towel. No it isn't. You know what it's time to do? Obey the Lord. You know what it's time to do? Figure it out. You know what it's time to do? Fix your marriage. Yeah, but he's just so, you know, ugh. Yeah, but you married that ugh. I mean, I hate to be so insensitive about it, but it is true, my friends. Sorry Sarah, you're stuck with me, you know. If I get a little ugh with you, you know, she chose me just as I chose her, amen. And so when we go through these bumps in the road, you know, they're never used as an excuse to say, well, I guess this isn't going to work out. Too late. Too late! It's time to make it work out. You know, my father-in-law used to say that people used to come to him and say, you know, they would get married and he's just like, you know, she wasn't saved and so therefore, you know, it's not God's will. And he would say, she's God's will now. She's God's will now. There's no quitting, amen. Don't force yourself into a relationship, but don't force yourself out of one if you're married, amen. And so we can give so many examples of this, of ways that people want to just make excuses for why they can't do right. God always provides us with the right equipment, the right church, the right variables and environment that we need to succeed. And if you feel like you're not, if you don't have the right variables, then go look for it. Then go get it, okay. Don't be like Saul rationalizing why you're being disobedient unto the Lord, okay. And look what happens when he rationalizes it. You know, God doesn't take well to whining. God's not going to be like, oh man, I'm sorry. Yeah, Saul, Samuel, why didn't you go in time? You should have been there. And yeah, people, why aren't you following him? He is the leader, you know, and rebuke everyone else. What does God do? He's like, alright, I'll just replace you then. Oh, you can't handle it? Okay, I'll just replace you. Why? Because God believes in replacement theology. He has no problem just replacing people. Now, I'm not saying that God is just cold and he just doesn't care about people. No, he just has no patience for outright rebellion. You understand? God is very merciful and gracious and long suffering towards those who make mistakes and are willing to own up to them. Who plead for mercy, who plead for grace, who plead for long suffering. He's very much gracious to those, but those who resist him and resist his hand, he also resists. Look at verse number 13. And Samuel said to Saul, thou has done foolishly. In modern terms, it's like, well, that was stupid. That's what he's saying. You've done a really stupid thing. Thou has not kept a commandment of the Lord thy God, which he commanded thee. For now would the Lord have established thy kingdom upon Israel forever. That is one of the saddest statements ever. In other words, Saul rewrote history. He rewrote history because God intended to establish him forever. He's like, you would have been established forever if you had not done this stupid thing. Verse 14, but now thy kingdom shall not continue. The Lord had sought him a man after his own heart, and the Lord had commanded him to be captain over his people, because thou had not kept that which the Lord commanded thee. He's basically saying you're being replaced. And the interesting thing here is that he says he's commanded a man, but David doesn't even know about this yet. David is keeping the sheep, he's serving his dad, he's just doing his own thing, not even knowing that this is taking place. So why does he say that? Well, because we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in him. Obviously in God's foreknowledge, he knew that this would happen, he knew that this would take place, and therefore he ordained it as such. And again, it's not because Saul just did some grievous sin that's not comparable to any other sins in the Bible. It's because of his lack of humility, it's because of his pride, it's because he forced himself to do something that he wasn't supposed to do. And let me just say this, you can't force anything, you can't force God's will upon your life. Hey guys, you guys can't force yourself to be a pastor. You can speak it all you want and say, I'm going to be a pastor, I'm going to be a pastor, I'm going to be a pastor, you can name it and claim it all you want. You can tell everyone in our church that one day you will be a pastor, but it doesn't mean it's going to happen. Because that's not how it works, my friend. That's not how it works. You cannot force yourself into any position, spiritually speaking. God has to put you on there. And you can convince the entire world that you're going to be a great spiritual leader one day, you're going to be a great pastor, a great deacon, a great evangelist. It doesn't mean it's going to happen because you can't force yourself into that. God has to select you for that. You understand that? And the reason I want to say that is because we don't want to create a culture in our church just because people say they're going to be a pastor that all of a sudden everyone thinks, oh that's what's going to happen. It doesn't work that way, folks. They're like, oh for sure. Paul, you told everyone you were going to be a pastor. I'm not saying you told everyone. Let's just use Paul because you forced yourself to sit there. Let's say Paul is just telling everyone, I'm going to be a pastor, I'm going to be a pastor, and he's just telling everyone he's going to be a pastor. Just because he says that doesn't mean in my mind I'm like, oh man, he already told everyone, I guess I should just make him a pastor now because he already told everyone. I don't want to disappoint everyone. He already told Kelly. He told Moses. We don't want to disappoint the church. That's not how it works. God has to put you in that position. You cannot force yourself into that position. And you know, Saul forced himself to do something that was right, and by the way, the pastorate, being a deacon, being an evangelist is a great thing. If any man desires the office of a bishop, he desires the good work, but then he gives the qualifications for a bishop. Because what you desire and what you truly are are two different things. You could have a divorced guy who wants to be a pastor. It doesn't mean he will ever be a pastor because divorced people cannot be pastors. Even when it's like, yeah, but I feel like God's called me because I have a desire. Well, you know, desire all you want, buddy. You know? I desire to visit some island one day, some tropical island, doesn't mean it's going to happen to me. We don't believe in naming and claiming over here. Okay? Saul did something bad. He didn't own up to it. He forced himself to do something that he wasn't supposed to do, and he screwed it up. It's very presumptuous of him. Okay? And here's the thing. Okay, so after all this, you would think after he said that, like in my mind, if Samuel said that, I'm like, okay, we've got to stop everything. What can I do to fix this? Because I don't want God's hand to no longer be on me. Like, how can God extend his mercy to me? That's what you would think that you would naturally do. Like, you just repent. You want to get right. It's just like, forget these Philistines. We've got a bigger issue here. Not having God's favor is a bigger issue. Right? So he says, the Lord have established thy kingdom upon, or the end of 14, because I was not kept that which the Lord commanded thee. Verse 15, and Samuel rose and got him up to Gilgal and Gibeah of Benjamin and saw a number of the people that were present with him, about 600 men. He just kind of goes about his business. Doesn't say anything that he repented or he feels, he's like, all right, let's go fight. It's like, what? Why aren't you in sackcloth and ashes, my friend? Your reign is short-lived. But now we're getting into the plan to disarm God's people. He says in verse 16, and saw in Jonathan his son and the people that were present with him, about and Gibeah of Benjamin, but the Philistines encamped in Michmash. And the spoilers came out of the camp of the Philistines in three companies. One company turned unto the way that leadeth to Orphah unto the land of Sheol, and another company turned the way to Bethhoron, and another company turned to the way of the border that looketh to the valley of Zeboim toward the wilderness. Now one thing I do want to mention here, it's very interesting, is that even though Saul was removed, he's obviously still allowed to be in power. And that's kind of like God's way of extending his mercy because he's still commanding him to do things. But he still continues to mess it up. We're going to see many other times where he just blows it royally. Pun intended. It says in verse 19, now there was no smith found throughout all the land of Israel, for the Philistines said, lest the Hebrews make them swords or spears. So we see here that the Philistines, we see the plan to disarm God's people, the camps get ready for battle, but the Philistines remove the smiths. So when they took over, the Philistines took over, they removed any possibility to create any weapons so that the Israelites would not basically usurp their authority. They would not be able to revolt or create an army and go to war and get out from under their power. And so what do we see here? We see a removal of weapons. And just know this, anytime a nation wants to disarm you, it's not for your protection. Because that's like a main narrative that we see nowadays, right? I mean wasn't there just like a supposed shooting in New York, right? Where this guy, he shot up a bunch of people in a subway and no one died. I mean either the guy has bad aim or is just fake. But let's just imagine for a second that it was real, okay? You know, he kills a bunch of people. You know what they're going to do with that, what they're going to seek to do with that, right? That's why we need gun laws. That's why we need to disarm the people. That's why everyone needs to turn in their guns and all this nonsense because some psychopath who probably didn't even have a registered gun, I'm just going to throw it out that he probably wasn't even registered. I'm sure the guy was under the influence of drugs or alcohol, although they probably won't mention that. You know, I'm saying by the way, if it was real, if it was true, they're going to want to push the narrative to disarm the people. Now I'm not necessarily a gun guy. I got like one gun. In my opinion that's probably like all I need. And even then I hardly ever take it out because I got these guns even. No, I'm just kidding. I carry guns everywhere I go. I'm just joking. I just don't do it. I like for it to be for a spiritual reason of like, you know, I'm always trusting the Lord, God is on my side, which I believe to be true. I just don't think about it. I just don't think about it. But here's the thing. I think it is not only right, but it's biblical from a law perspective, but also biblical that people have weapons. They should have the liberty to have as many weapons as they want. And whenever, you know, obviously I probably would never have like an entire artillery of weapons. It'd be cool to be able to touch a button and then my closet opens up and I have like rifles and daggers and ninja stars or whatever. Bazookas, but you know, I probably won't do that. Some of you do have that. I'm not going to point any elbows over there, you know what I mean? I'm just kidding. But you know, some people have that and I'm all for it because here's the thing. Once the country begins to say everyone, we need to outlaw guns, it's not because they want to protect people. It's because of what the Philistines are doing. They don't want the Israelites to revolt. And when they revolt, they don't want them to have weapons to fight with. And that's a sermon in and of itself, but that's a great example of that. They remove the smiths so that they don't have, are able to make any weapons in case they decide to usurp their authority. But luckily, you know, the Israelites are very prudent. Look what it says in verse number 20, it says, But all the Israelites went down to the Philistines to sharpen every man his share, and his coulter, and his ax, and his mattock. Yet they had a file for the mattocks, and for the coulters, and for the forks, and for the axes, and to sharpen the goats. So they're starting to use these agricultural tools and making them into weapons. So in other words, they're doing like a 3D print of a gun kind of thing from the modern days. It's like, I make my own bullets, I make my own gun, I order pieces from over here and just make my own rifle, whatever. Kind of like that, maybe not to that extent. But they're like, well, you know, I can kill someone with a mattock. I can kill someone with an ax, a coulter, a share, we can use these, we just got to sharpen them up a little bit. So they're very prudent in using what was at their disposal. And I love stories in the Bible where people are exercising their ingenuity. When they don't make excuses why they can't do something, they're like, well, we don't have weapons, we can't fight. They're like, well, there's all kinds of weapons here. You know, if no one in our church at this moment had any guns, hypothetically speaking, very hypothetically speaking, and something happened, we would just be, guitar here, sorry, Brother Chevy, you know, we can grab all kinds of things. You know, I'd use a paper to slit some people, you know what I mean? Use anything, right? That's basically what they're doing. They're just using what they have at their disposal, okay? Which I think is great. They're reforming the agricultural tools to be used in battle. And the principle that we can learn there is that, you know, use what you have. Use what you have for the spiritual battle. Don't look at the weapons that you don't have, look at the weapons that you do have. Don't look at the talents and the gifts that you don't have, look at the talents and the gifts that you do have. Don't look at the church that you don't have, look at the church that you do have. Don't look at the pastor that you don't have, look at the pastor you do have. Huh? Don't look at, you know, all your deficiencies, look at what you have. You laughed a little too hard, Miss Kelly. I noticed that and I'm just kidding. I'm joking. Don't look at your deficiencies, look at what you do have. And you know what? They were able to use these tools in a great way and accomplish great things. Look what it says in verse 22. So it came to pass in the day of battle that there was neither sword nor spear found in the hand of any of the people that were with Saul and Jonathan. But with Saul and with Jonathan, his son, was there found. Now, obviously this is because the Philistines removed all the weapons and the smiths. But you know another application that I can make to this? Is the fact that Saul and Jonathan actually have weapons and the rest of Israel, they have these cheap knockoffs. That's not fair. You know, we would say like, for example, from a spiritual perspective, that would be me like saying, you know, I can use the King James, but you guys got to use like the NIV, ESV versions of the Bible. That wouldn't be right. You know, I'll go to battle with this, but you guys go ahead and use something that's inferior to sow in, to preach the word of God. That wouldn't be right to do. And you're thinking to yourself, well duh, who would do that? You know, I knew someone personally back in the day who, obviously we're not talking about English versions, but Spanish versions for example. One of the best versions to use for toilet paper is the 1960 Raina Valera. And I make no apologies about that. It's a trash Bible. It belongs in the trash. It's a wicked Bible. I personally use the Gomez. Okay, I think that's a great version in Spanish, and I would say it's like the equivalent to the King James Bible. I speak Spanish. I read Spanish. I can preach the gospel in Spanish. I can preach the word of God in Spanish. I know what I'm reading. I know what it says. But you know what, there's pastors out there who have literally told me, well I read from the Gomez during my personal devotion time, but I preach from the 1960 when I'm preaching to my congregation because they're using the 1960. And he recognizes the fact that the Gomez is superior to the 1960. That's why he's using it in his devotional time. So he's like, I use the sword and the spear when I'm doing spiritual battle, but for my congregation I give them the culture and the axe and the buttocks or whatever, you know, and all these other, these inferior weapons. I give them that to fight against the Philistines, but I'd rather use the sword. That's not right. It's not right, folks. You know, and I'm sure there's liberal churches out there that prefer to use the King James, but in the pew they have the NIV, in the pew they have the ESV, in the pew they have some lame modern version of the Bible. That's not right to do. Now here, obviously, they don't have a choice. They've got to work with what they've got, but in real life when it comes to the Bible, the pastors should have the guts to say, hey, we were wrong for using the 1960, I was wrong, but we're just going to go ahead and throw those out. I bought a bunch of new Bibles for everyone to use, the Gomez, and who cares what a bunch of Spanish churches say about that. They can go jump in the lake. And by the way, that's the reason why they don't want to switch is because they don't want to lose their preaching engagements with all their Spanish pastor buddies out there. I thought you weren't a denomination. And so, lame. Amen? Verse 23 says, and the garrison of the Philistines went out to the passage of McMash, and then we're going to get into next week this incredible fight that Jonathan and his armor bearer get into where the Lord delivers him by a strong hand. Great chapter there. Unfortunate for Saul. It's the beginning of the end for him. Let's pray. Father, we thank you so much for your word. We're so thankful for Saul's example and even the bad examples that he gives us that helps us to just avoid those bad decisions, Lord. Help us to not be a people who force ourselves into God's will. We just need to serve the Lord and do what we can with what we have and wait for you to exalt us in due time. And I pray, Lord, that you'd help us to do so, Lord. And we love you, Lord. We thank you. I pray that you bless this Easter service on Sunday that many people would come, that there would be many people would get saved, that we would have baptisms, that you'd prosper our weekend. We love you. We thank you. Pray these things in Jesus' name. Amen. All right. Song number 45. When I can read my title clear. Song number 45. Song 45. When I can read my title clear. Everyone nice and strong all together. When I can read my title clear. Two mansions in the skies. I'll bid farewell to every fear and wipe my weeping eyes. And wipe my weeping eyes. And wipe my weeping eyes. I'll bid farewell to every fear and wipe my weeping eyes. Should earth against my soul engage and fiery darts be hurled. Then I can smile at Satan's rage and face a frowning world. And face a frowning world. And face a frowning world. Then I can smile at Satan's rage and face a frowning world. Let cares like a wild deluge come and storms of sorrow fall. May I but safely reach my home, my God, my heaven, my all. My God, my heaven, my all. My God, my heaven, my all. May I but safely reach my home, my God, my heaven, my all. There shall I bathe my weary soul in seas of heavenly rest. And not a wave of trouble roll across my peaceful breast. Across my peaceful breast. Across my peaceful breast. And not a wave of trouble roll across my peaceful breast. Amen. Wonderful scene. You are dismissed.