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Amen, so keep your place there in Isaiah chapter 31, we are going to come back there but we are going to take you somewhere else and bring you back to Isaiah chapter 31, a short chapter. Brother Trevor who has had to read some really long chapters is like what, only 9 verses, Gary? I think we had him read Deuteronomy 28 or something in the dark that one night, didn't we? Anyway, Isaiah chapter 31, you are going to keep your place there and we are going to turn to Exodus chapter 1 if you would. So we are starting a new sermon series tonight and the sermon series is titled Egypt, Egypt. So we are going to talk about Egypt, this word, this nation is all over the Bible and it is used in the Bible as a warning to Christians. So Egypt is used as a warning, we see that in Isaiah chapter 31. So we are going to do a little bit of a study over the next 2-3 weeks and look at why God is warning us about Egypt and what He is using Egypt as a metaphor of in the Bible. Alright, so of course what is Egypt all about? Egypt, if we look at Exodus chapter 1, we see that Egypt is, you know, it's where Joseph was, he was second in command to Pharaoh and he brought all of his brothers there in that great famine, that great drought. So Egypt kind of, you know, provided this safe haven for the nation of Israel at the beginning. Look at Exodus chapter number 1, look at Exodus chapter 1, look down at verse number 7. It says, and the children of Israel were fruitful and increased abundantly. This is after Joseph brought them all to Egypt and they multiplied and waxed exceeding mighty and the land was filled with them. So they went to Egypt and they did very well there and they had many children there. But look at verse number 8, something changes here. It says, there rose up a new king over Egypt which knew not Joseph. So a new Pharaoh comes in and he was not, you know, friendly or did not know Joseph the way the previous king did and he said unto his people, behold the people of the children of Israel are more and mightier than we. It said, you know, they're taking over this country as far as their numbers go, at least. Come on, let us deal wisely with them lest they multiply and it come to pass, that where they falleth out any war, they join also unto our enemies and fight against us. And so get them up out of the land. Therefore they did set over them taskmasters to afflict them with their burdens and they built for Pharaoh treasure cities, Pithom and Ramses. But the more they afflicted them, the more they multiplied and grew. So they didn't stop growing in numbers even though they were being persecuted or they were put under this tribulation and they were grieved because of the children of Israel. And the Egyptians made the children of Israel serve with rigor and they made their lives bitter with hard bondage in mortar and in brick and in all manner of service in the field. All their service wherein they made them serve was with rigor. And of course this is the story of how they came into bondage in Egypt and then of course the story continues as Moses goes to take the people away and he rescues God's people from Pharaoh and that famous story of Moses and Aaron and the ten plagues and all that. So throughout the Bible, we see that is where the original story of Egypt is but throughout the Bible Egypt is used as a metaphor of the world, of carnal things. So it's used as a metaphor and a warning as a metaphor to Christians that we should focus on spiritual things and not carnal things. So you're indwelled if you're saved tonight, you're indwelled with the Holy Spirit but you also have the flesh. And the Bible is teaching us using the metaphor of Egypt, it is constantly warning us against following the flesh because the world or Egypt as the Bible call it has many things to offer your flesh not your spirit. Alright so tonight flip back to Isaiah chapter 31. Tonight I want to warn you about one specific thing that the Bible is talking about in Isaiah chapter 31 about Egypt or about the world. Look at Isaiah chapter 31 and look at verse number one. Flip back to Isaiah chapter 31 and look at verse number one. Look what the Bible says here it says woe to them that go down to Egypt for help and stay on horses and trust in chariots because they are many and in horsemen because they are very strong but they look not unto the Holy One of Israel neither seek the Lord. Again this is using this example of going down to Egypt trusting in things of the world versus trusting in the things of God. Alright look at verse number two it says yet he also is wise and will bring evil and will not call back his words but will rise against the house of the evildoers and against the help of them that work iniquity. Now the Egyptians are men and this is really the key right here the Egyptians are men and not God so the difference is Egypt is trusting on going to Egypt is trusting on men and not it's which is the opposite of trusting in God alright and their horses flesh and not spirit. When the Lord shall stretch out his hand both he that helpeth shall fall and he that is hoping shall fall. Hoping is like an older word for like he that has helped. It means he that has helped shall fall down and they shall all fail together. So what the Bible here is saying is those that trust in these things in Egypt which we're going to talk about specifically tonight what those things are it doesn't matter that they're helped from Egypt because they're still going to fall if that's what they trusted on was the thing in Egypt. So tonight I'm going to look at this very specific thing in verse number one which is horses and chariots. Turn to Job chapter 39. So tonight we're going to talk about Egypt and the warning against horses and chariots from Egypt. So what is the deal with horses and chariots what do those represent. All right if you're a horse fan you are not going to like the sermon tonight. All right. I'm sorry in advance but we're just going well the Bible says not what your emotions think. All right. OK. Job chapter 39. What is the deal with horses what are horses symbolizing here in Egypt. All right. Look down at verse number 19 of Job chapter 39. What's the deal with horses. All right. Has thou given the horse strength has thou clothed his neck with thunder. So God you know Job is talking about you know who gave he's talking about this characteristic of a horse here he's talking about you know this this animal that God created and how is this animal characterized the animal is characterized by strength and his neck is clothed with thunder it says can thou make him afraid as a grasshopper it's saying you know it's saying yes God can do this but the horse is generally not afraid. All right. The horse is an animal that its neck is clothed with thunder. It's characterized by strength and like the glory of his nostrils is terrible. So this is an animal that just it symbolizes power in the Bible. All right. He poth in the valley and rejoiceth. Here it is again in his strength. He goeth on to meet the armed men. He mocketh at fear and is not a frightened neither turneth he back from the sword. The quiver rattleth against him and the glittering spear and the shield. He swalloweth the ground with fierceness and rage. Neither believeth he that is the sound of the trumpet. So the horse is saying like the horse just is this strong fearless animal. It's characterizing the horse. Look this is very very true about horses. He sayeth among the trumpets haha and he smelleth the battle of far off the thunder of captains and the shouting. So here it's just it's just pointing out that this characteristic it's kind of getting glory to God for creating this creature. But this creature is characterized by just extreme strength and just a lack a complete lack of fear. And if you know anything about any little bit of history this is absolutely true. For thousands of years one of the main main characteristics of a strong army was whether or not they had a strong cavalry or not. Whether or not they had chariots or not. Like all the way I mean throughout all of modern and throughout all of history all the way up to the beginning of the 20th century even in World War One they were still using horses. Before you know we had mechanization of everything come in but the point is like it was known it was a known in military strategy that it was almost impossible for foot soldiers for an infantry to hold up to a charge of heavy cavalry. Because these horses these these 1200 pound animals that are just nothing but muscle would just break through lines and just crush an army of just foot soldiers. It wasn't fair at all. They would you know they had big lances that they would carry on these horses. They would pull chariots in the Bible many times talking about how certain armies couldn't be defeated because they had chariots of iron. You know chariots and horses and cavalry is just its strength and its power. And it's real. And it's something that's true. I mean I grew up with horses which is why I have a disdain for them actually. But one of the things that I remember distinctly about horses is I mean everybody thinks you know you move to the city and everyone's like oh cute horses all this stuff look at the pretty horse and I can have a pretty horse and I can brush his hair and I can braid his mane and all this kind of stuff. I don't know like we didn't have those kind of horses at all. Like we had the kind of horses that I mean I don't know. I still remember being a kid and having like a horse with like a rope around its back end and having several men trying to get this horse into a trailer. The horse did not want to go into the trailer. And I mean it is something when you're a young man when you're a child and you see grown men who you consider extremely tough men like struggling and you know a little bit afraid actually. I mean it's a jarring moment. But basically these animals are so strong if they don't want to go somewhere they're not going to go. If they want to go over a fence they're going to go over the fence or through the fence. There is nothing that's going to keep it in if it is so it's it's literally twelve hundred pounds of solid muscle that can basically kill you at any time. So it's not so cute to me. All right. Those are the kind of horses that we had. All right. But turn to Psalm chapter 1 47. So you say what's the problem. You say what's the problem. You know these horses are strong these horses are powerful. That's what it's picturing in the Bible here. The horse when it talks about going to Egypt for those things is talking about going to Egypt for strength and for power. That's what the Bible is talking about in Isaiah chapter 31. So what's the problem. Well the problem is this turn to Psalm chapter 1 47 and look at verse number 10. Psalm chapter 1 47. Look at verse number 10. The Bible says this it says he delighted talking about God. He says he delighted not in the strength of the horse. See this is the physical strength. When we look at something we're like I need a strong army. I need a lot of horses. I need a lot of tanks. I need a lot of actual physical strong things. It says he taketh not pleasure in the legs of man. But the problem is is that kind of power means nothing to the Lord. That's what the Bible is saying. It says the Lord taketh pleasure in them that fear him and in those that hope in his mercy. So this is the problem. The problem is people go and they seek power. They seek these things from the world and God does not recognize those things. God only wants people to seek him and to seek his mercy. So look it seems to make sense. Turn to Matthew chapter 6 and verse number 24. As a logical person that needs power in a situation they need strength. It seems to make sense to go get something that's powerful. But the problem is this and it's pointed out in the first verse of Isaiah chapter 31. But Jesus actually says it in Matthew chapter 6 as well in verse number 24. Look what Jesus says the problem is is that you can't rely on two things equally at the same time. It's impossible. It's impossible you say well I'm going to rely on you know the world and I'm going to rely on you know Jesus Christ at the same time. I'm going to rely on works and I'm going to rely on Jesus. It's impossible. You cannot do both. And that's what Jesus points out in Matthew chapter 6 and verse number 24. He says no man can serve two masters for he will either hate the one and love the other or else he will hold to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God in mammon. So what the Bible here and what Jesus is teaching is you can't have both. You can't trust in the world and trust in God. It's impossible. Well I can. No you can't. Otherwise the gospel is not true. It's either grace or it's works. You cannot mix the two. Those two don't go together. You're either relying on yourself or you're relying on Jesus Christ. But the thing is Egypt has stuff. And that's the problem that people run into. And that's why the Bible warns so much about it. Look horses and chariots are there in the world. So tonight we're going to talk about I want to warn about what the Bible is talking about here seeking horses and chariots from the world. What does that mean. It means seeking power and strength from the world. Look folks the world has power and strength. And if you seek it you can gain it. You can gain power and strength and position from the world. You can go to Egypt and you can get those things. The world at least claims that it has it all. And you can seek those things. But the world has real power. Like it has real power. That's up for grabs. There is real power in the world. But the Bible is teaching you tonight and I'm warning you against seeking that kind of power from Egypt or the world. I mean just think about it for a second. You say what are you talking about real power. Well I mean doesn't that doesn't the general of an army have real power. I think so. A general of an army is is is a is a powerful man. He is a man who has power over many people over the destruction or not destruction over strategy over decisions. I mean CEOs they have real power. CEOs of companies you know large you know organizations they have real power. Turn to Ephesians chapter 6 if you would turn to Ephesians chapter number 6. Even even people with just a lot of money have power because I'm going to show you in just a second that really money and power as far as the horses and chariots of Egypt. Money and power are really interchangeable. Those two things. One can get the other and you can flip it around and one can get the other. So if you've ever heard the saying you know money is power. That's true. As far as horses and chariots from Egypt go. Look at Ephesians chapter 6 and verse number 12. So the first point I'm trying to get you to see is Egypt has the horses. Egypt has the chariots. They're there. There is power and there is strength that can be gained in the world. Look at Ephesians chapter 6 and verse number 12. It says we wrestle not against flesh and blood but against principalities. Look at this next one. And what? And powers and the rulers of the darkness of this world against spiritual weakness wickedness in high places. Look there is power. There are actual horses and chariots in Egypt. There is power that can be gained from the world. Look. Even just leaders of you know governments and the world and things they have actual power in the world. They can make things happen. But here's the problem you say well pastor you're telling me not to go and get that power but then you're saying that that power that strength is there. Here's the problem though. Turn to first Kings chapter number 10. The problem is number one the power that Egypt has to offer is not free. Look at first Kings chapter number 10. The world's power comes with a price every single time. Look at first Kings chapter number 10. Look at verse number 28. Here we see Egypt brought up again but it's actual Egypt here but we can apply that to the same situation that we're talking about. Look at verse number 28. So Solomon's got all this wealth. He's got all this money and it says Solomon had horses brought out of Egypt and linen yarn. Kings merchants received the linen yarn at a price and a chariot came up and went out of Egypt for 600 shekels of silver and a horse for 150. And so for all the kings of the Hittites and for the kings of Syria did they bring them out by their means. So Solomon had all these horses and all these actual chariots brought out of Egypt but they were not free. That's a physical example but the spiritual application is exactly the same. If you go and you seek power from the world and you want the power that the world has and the strength that the world has that it has to give you it is not free. It always comes with a price just like the actual horses in the actual chariots that Solomon purchased. I mean the perfect example of this is let me just most politicians. Most politicians. Did you know that most politicians are our ticket takers. They're bought and paid for. You say what does that mean. Well just think about this for a second. If you go and you want to if you want to be in the House of Representatives. Let's say you want to get elected to the House of Representatives of the United States Congress. Let's say that's your dream. OK. We need to talk if that's your dream. But let's say that that's you. All right. And you get elected. All right. You have your annual salary. I wouldn't have looked this up. Your annual salary will be about two hundred and twenty four thousand dollars a year. You say well well that's that's good money right there. And I agree with you that's that's good money. But here's the problem. The average campaign the average cost to get elected into the House of Representatives or into Congress you know whatever either one is about at this point it's about three million dollars. So you have to go and you have to spend three million dollars you know on your ad campaigns and all your TV commercials and all the things that you do to get elected. You have to spend three million dollars to possibly get a job to possibly get a job. Let's just say it's 50 50 to possibly get a job that pays you two hundred and twenty four thousand dollars a year in salary. Now look that's not a good deal. That's not a good deal at all. If you had your own money and you were trying to think about where I have I have three million dollars I've saved up for 40 years and I have three million dollars. Where should I spend this. That would be a terrible decision. There'll be a terrible investment decision to possibly waste three million dollars for nothing. Or even if you win you get this job that you can pay back your three million dollars in what is that about 13 or 14 years. That's not a good payback. But here's the problem folks. These politicians they don't spend their own three million dollars. They don't spend their own three million dollars. They don't spend their own hundred million most of them. Most of them. What they do is they have people that come to them and they say we'll fund your campaign. Who are you. Well I'm this interest group that represents these companies. They're in this field and we'll fund your campaign. And they get their campaign funded for free and then they get elected and guess what. Money is power and power is money. And so they take the ticket. They're bought and paid for. They have to serve the spec. This is what you hear special interests. These are the special interests. The people that paid for the campaigns. Look and you can just so you end up with the power as the politician and then people expect you know you to represent those things or guess what in two years or four years whenever you have to run again they're not going to give you the next money the next three million dollars that comes on. So you're you're on the hook you're bought and paid for. This is how it works folks. You use your power to get more money and they give you more money to get more power. It just goes back and forth and back and forth and back and forth. And look folks I could tell you stories for four days. Whenever there is a lot of money involved it doesn't have to be politics. Whenever there is millions or ten millions or even hundreds of millions of dollars involved it doesn't have to be politics. It could be business. This is the kind of stuff that goes on every single time. I could tell you stories that I couldn't put on YouTube that would blow you that your head would pop off. It's common. It's how the world works. It's how money and power in Egypt operates. It's how it goes. It's how the wheels the gears turn. Money is power. Power is money. It's very simple. You end up with somebody like Nancy Pelosi. She made $224,000 a year for I don't know how many years. She's worth like 250 million dollars. You're like how's that? What? How's that work? Well you know how it works because money is power and power is money. And those things come together. Musicians same thing. They get power. They get creativity. You have many musicians that have literally come out and said this. I preached a sermon on music a few months ago but they've literally said you know they were given great power. Many musicians have come out and said I was given this great power. I was given this great creativity and you know just but it was for a price. There's musicians that have come out and they've literally said that I have no idea how I wrote all these songs. They're like I just made a deal and you know what's the deal though? The deal is you will carry this message. The deal is literally from Satan himself. You will gain this creativity which will give you all this money which will give you all this popularity. Look you wouldn't believe it if people didn't come out and just say this is what happened. This is where I got the ideas for these songs these lyrics for these tunes and they became very popular. But you will carry the water for me. It's literally I mean it's the the cost is your soul. You literally sold your soul for money. Turn to Hebrews chapter number four. Look actually no turn to Luke chapter 22. Turn to Luke chapter 22. So we're talking about going to the world and receiving power and receiving strength but here's the problem folks. The problem is not that you can't go to the world and actually get that power and get that strength or you're turning to Luke chapter 22. The problem is this the real problem for the the Christian especially is that you should not have that desire for power from the world. You should not have that desire for strength from the world because the problem is this the problem and it's and it's totally ironic but people people and Jesus explains this in Luke chapter 22 he explains it again in Matthew 23 I believe when he's talking about the Pharisees saying that the people that want power from the world are the people that should not have power. That's what Jesus explains. Look at Luke chapter 22 and look at verse number 25. The disciples are actually talking they're talking about who is going to betray Jesus and then the disciples they have a different debate it says and they began to acquire look at verse number 23 of Luke chapter 22 says they began to inquire amongst themselves this is the disciples which of them that it was that should do this thing they're trying to figure out who is going to betray Jesus but look at verse 24. There was another argument that was taking place there was also strife among them which of them should be accounted the greatest. They wanted to know and this isn't the first time that this happened amongst the disciples but they wanted to know who is going to be the most powerful who is going to be most exalted in heaven who is going to have the most authority amongst the disciples and Jesus explains is like no no you're thinking like an Egyptian is basically what he's about to tell them. Look at verse number 24 it says in verse 25 it says he said unto them the kings of the Gentiles exercise lordship over them he's like you're thinking like worldly King you're thinking like a worldly leader and they that exercise authority upon them are called benefactors but ye shall not be so but he that is greatest among you let him be as the younger and he that is chief as he that doth serve. You see the problem is this in the world when you get to be the head of something you get to be the king that means you know that's what people want that means you have the power but Jesus is saying no no he's like to be the leader that means you're the servant. Jesus is saying to be the greatest means you will serve the most. He's literally defining servant leadership here so the young man that hasn't done anything in his life that just got you know bullied in high school and he just can't wait to get to be the boss so he can just put the pain down on everybody else that he's been suffering you ever met this guy he's just been you know he wants to become the bully it's like no no that's not the person you want to be leading. The person that wants to be leading you know Jesus explains this to the disciples and as soon as you know this then he's probably like who wants to be in charge now? Now that you know you're going to be washing the feet you're going to be carrying the water you're going to be doing the hard things when there's not enough for everybody else if you're in charge that means you don't get any. This is this is the servant leader that the father of the family should be. This is the the man who puts his wife and children in the lifeboats and he doesn't go and he goes down with the ship. This is what Jesus is teaching. You want to be the greatest you're going to suffer the most and Jesus proved that with his life. He was the greatest and what he suffered the most. He suffered everything. That is the problem. Jesus is saying no to lead you lead through service. Somebody that is out there that is desiring power and strength from the world is somebody that you would never want to have that power. And look there's a problem folks if you're a Christian and you're telling yourself I want that power from the world. Turn to Hebrews chapter number four. Hebrews chapter, look the only power you need as as a saved believer tonight is in Hebrews chapter number four and look at verse number twelve and it doesn't come with any strings. Look at Hebrews chapter four and verse number twelve. This is the power as a Christian that you should desire. And if you desire the power and the strength from the world but you don't desire this this power there's a problem in your life. Look at Hebrews chapter four and verse number twelve. The Bible says the Word of God is quick and powerful and sharper than any two-edged sword piercing even the dividing asunder of soul and spirit and the joints and marrow and the discerner of the thoughts and the intents of the heart. That is the power that you should desire. That is the power that you should seek. The world will tell you that a person cannot change. The world will tell you that once your personality is set that's it. No no no the Word of God is powerful. The Word of God can change you. If you get saved and you get in the Word of God you read your Bible you listen to preaching and then you apply it in your life you will change because why? Because it has real power on you. Because the Word of God, look the Word of God literally created the world. God spoke the world into existence. That's how it happened. And God said and God said and God said that's literal physical power. That's the power that we should seek. But do you seek the Word of God? Do you seek that power? Or do we seek the horses and the chariots of this world? Do we say oh if I could just get that job. If I could just get a little bit more money in my life. If I could just get further here and further there. No but you're not seeking this power. This is the power. This is the power that we carry out there today and we pass people from death to literal eternal life. What other power could there be? And it's free. It's a gift. Why don't we seek it? Yet we hunger for Egypt's power. We hunger for the things that the world has to offer that will lead us nowhere good. Look if you want power from the world you can obtain it. It's there. The horses and the chariots go back to, actually don't go back to Exodus chapter 1. Go to Romans chapter 6. And this is something we need to define as Americans because I talked about freedom and what people think freedom means a couple weeks ago. But if you want power from the world you can get it. It's there. You can get that job. You can get those things that the world has to offer. You can obtain it. You can have the horses. They're for sale. They're out there. But the real problem is this. Wanting it in the first place, wanting the horses from Egypt means that it's really Egypt that has power over you. That's what it means if you desire that power. They have the horses. And you say if I get those horses I have power. No, no, no. If you go to them for the horses they have the power over you. That's the problem. See Egypt, if you go back, if you just remember back to what I read to you in Exodus chapter 1, Egypt had what the people needed. But it was Egypt that took over the people and took their freedom from them. It was Egypt that took the people into slavery. It said that, you know, it took them into bondage and, you know, look down at Romans chapter number 6 and look at verse number 15. This is exactly what seeking strength and power from the world will do for us. It will take us straight into bondage. Look at verse number 15. If Christians we should understand the true definitions of freedom and bondage. Because the true definition of freedom isn't I just get to do whatever I want. A true definition of freedom is in Romans chapter 6 and verse number 15. It says what then shall we sin because we are not under the law but under grace God forbid. This is for those people that say oh you believe that you don't have to live a certain way to be saved. You can't go out and tell people that. They'll just go crazy. They'll just go nuts. They'll just go like yeah I'm saved and I can just go and sin all I want. But the Bible here is saying that you should not do that because God forbid. Why should I not do that? Will I lose my salvation? No, you won't lose your salvation but you will drive yourself into bondage. Look at verse number 16. Know ye not that to whom ye yield yourself servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom to ye obey whether of sin unto death or of obedience unto righteousness. But God be thanked that we ye were servants of sin. I'm no longer a servant of sin. I don't know about you but I was before I got saved I was I did the wrath of God abiding upon me because of my sin. But the moment I got saved sin had no more power over me. The moment you got saved sin no longer has power over you. It cannot kill you anymore. Cannot send you to hell anymore because God will see the righteousness of Christ when he looks at you if you're saved. But you could still voluntarily put yourself into bondage if you follow the flesh and become. Why would you do that? It's like the jail cells wide open. It is continually just putting yourself into bondage. You're not going to lose your salvation but you're going to put yourself into bondage of sin. When that sin literally has no power over you. It's like something that's totally weak and you're strong just giving yourself over to the thing that's weak. That's what you would be doing. But ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered to you. Ye were the servants of sin. Sin used to have power over me. Sin used to have power over you. But the moment you got saved it no longer has power over you. Jesus says the same thing in John 834. He says, verily I say unto you, whosoever committed sin is the servant of sin. So when you go out and you know that something's wrong and you go out and you just commit sin anyway, you are making yourself a servant to sin. So look, the world will grant you these things. The world will grant you this power. The world will grant you this strength. It will grant, look, the world can grant you power over other people. The world can grant you power over resources. The world can grant you power over situations. The world can grant you, but it comes with a cost of becoming a servant to sin in many places, at many times. I mean we were just talking about today after service, we were talking about organizations and I mentioned this a couple weeks ago, talking about organizations about, you know, how there is no head of any global government right now. It's just people serving their own self-interest and just God just guiding these people serving their own self-interest to accomplish his wicked, you know, Satan, guiding these people according to their own self-interest to accomplish his wicked goals in this world. There's no figurehead that's a man right now. But people are still responsible for what they do. We're talking about like somebody, we brought up like the CIA or something today. Like just clearly just a wicked organization that's just done horrible wicked things to this country, throughout history, whatever. But here's the thing, the CIA is full of people that just go there to work and they just want to go and they do a good job and, you know, want to, you know, type in their lines of code or whatever they do and just go home to their families. But here's the thing folks, they're still responsible. They're still personally responsible. There's been an industry for decades in my career as an engineer that is always hiring. And it's the literal military industrial complex. All these companies that make all the bombs and make the airplanes and make all these weapons of war, they're always hiring. Those jobs are there. But I would never go work there because why? Because I don't want to be personally responsible for that. I don't want to be responsible for creating something, doing something, no matter how small of a part it is, I believe that God will hold me personally responsible for that. Because the world's power, the world's strength, it always comes with a cost. And if I'm going to go do something and get that power and get that big job and get these big things that could get me money and could get me position and all these things, but it's at the cost of serving sin, I'm putting myself into bondage. It's a price that we should never be willing to pay as Christians when we have the free power of the word of God that has no strings attached. We should not want to have anything to do with the power and the strength that the world has to offer. Instead, you know, trust in the Lord. That's what God is saying in Isaiah chapter 31 and verse number 1. He's saying, look, leave all that stuff out there. He's like, you trust in me because I don't respect the horse and his strength and his power. What I respect is whether or not you fear me. That's the power and the strength that we should rely on. It's just our fear of the Lord and knowing that no matter what, He can handle anything that comes our way. So don't go to Egypt for horses and chariots. Trust in the power of the word of God. Let's bow our heads and have a word of prayer.