Participants:
Series Code: NP
Program Code: NP210619S
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00:25 I'm alive in You You're alive in me
00:28 In You I've been set free 00:31 My past is one and I'm moving on 00:34 Into my destiny yeah 00:37 All things are new this life with You 00:40 You're helping me to see that all my past is gone 00:50 Nothing compares to Your love 00:56 Nothing compares to Your love 01:02 Nothing compares to the power of the cross 01:07 Hallelujah! Hallelujah! 01:13 How great is Your love 01:27 I'm alive in You You're alive in me 01:30 In You I've been set free 01:33 My past is one and I'm moving on 01:36 Into my destiny yeah 01:40 All things are new this life with You 01:43 You're helping me to see 01:45 that all my past is gone 01:52 Nothing compares to Your love 01:58 Nothing compares to Your love 02:04 Nothing compares to the power of the cross 02:10 Hallelujah! 02:13 Hallelujah! 02:15 How great is Your love 02:23 All my past is gone 02:26 All my past is gone 02:29 All my past is gone 02:33 All my past is gone 02:35 I believe that 02:36 All my past is gone 02:39 All my past is gone 02:41 I'll never be same 02:43 All my past is gone 02:45 All my past is gone 02:48 All my past is gone 02:52 All my past is gone 02:55 All my past is gone 02:58 All my past is gone 03:01 All my past is gone 03:08 Nothing compares to Your love 03:14 Nothing compares to Your love 03:20 Nothing compares to the power of the cross 03:26 Hallelujah! Hallelujah! 03:32 Hallelujah! 03:35 Hallelujah! Hallelujah! 03:41 Hallelujah! 03:43 How great is Your love 03:52 Amen. 04:17 The weapon may be formed 04:20 But it won't prosper 04:23 When the darkness falls I know, it won't prevail 04:30 'Cause the God I serve 04:32 Knows only how to triumph 04:37 My God will never change 04:42 Oh, my God 04:45 will never change 04:48 I'm gonna see a victory 04:52 I'm gonna see a victory 04:56 For the battle belongs to You, 05:00 Lord 05:02 I'm gonna see a victory 05:05 I'm gonna see a victory 05:09 For the battle belongs to You, Lord 05:30 There's power in the mighty 05:33 Name of Jesus 05:37 Every war He wages 05:39 He will win 05:43 I'm not backing down from any giant 05:50 I know how this story ends 05:55 Yes, I know how this story ends 06:01 I'm gonna see a victory 06:04 I'm gonna see a victory 06:08 For the battle belongs to You, 06:12 Lord 06:14 I'm gonna see a victory 06:17 I'm gonna see a victory 06:21 For the battle belongs to You, 06:25 Lord 06:27 I'm gonna see a victory 06:30 I'm gonna see a victory 06:34 For the battle belongs to You, Lord 06:40 I'm gonna see a victory 06:43 I'm gonna see a victory 06:46 For the battle belongs to You, Lord 07:20 You take what the enemy meant for evil 07:24 And You turn it for good 07:27 You turn it for good 07:33 You take what the enemy meant for evil 07:37 And You turn it for good 07:41 You turn it for good 07:46 You take what the enemy meant for evil 07:50 And You turn it for good You turn it for good 07:54 You turn it for good 07:59 You take what the enemy meant for evil 08:03 And You turn it for good 08:05 You turn it for good 08:10 I'm gonna see a victory 08:13 I'm gonna see a victory 08:17 For the battle belongs to You, Lord 08:23 I'm gonna see a victory 08:26 I'm gonna see a victory 08:30 For the battle belongs to You, Lord 08:36 I'm gonna see a victory 08:39 I'm gonna see a victory 08:42 For the battle belongs to You, Lord 08:48 I'm gonna see a victory 08:52 I'm gonna see a victory 08:55 For the battle belongs to You, Lord 09:22 El Shaddai, El Shaddai, 09:26 El Elyonna Adonai 09:30 Age to age You're still the same 09:34 By the power of the name 09:38 El Shaddai, El Shaddai, 09:42 Erkamkana Adonai 09:46 We will praise and lift You high 09:50 El Shaddai 09:54 El Shaddai, El Shaddai 09:58 El Elyonna Adonai 10:03 Age to age You're still the same 10:06 By the power of the name 10:11 El Shaddai, El Shaddai 10:15 Erkamkana Adonai 10:18 We will praise and lift You high 10:22 El Shaddai 10:26 Through your love and through the ram 10:30 You saved the son of Abraham 10:34 Through the power of Your hand 10:38 You turned the sea into dry land 10:42 To the outcast on her knees 10:46 You were the God who really sees 10:51 And by Your might 10:53 You set Your children free 10:58 El Shaddai, El Shaddai 11:02 El Elyonna Adonai 11:06 Age to age You're still the same 11:10 By the power of the name 11:14 El Shaddai, El Shaddai 11:18 Erkamkana Adonai 11:22 We will praise and lift You high 11:26 El Shaddai 11:29 Through the years You made it clear 11:33 That the time of Christ was near 11:38 Though the people couldn't see 11:41 What Messiah ought to be 11:45 Though Your Word contained the plan 11:49 They just could not understand 11:53 Your most awesome work was done 11:57 In the frailty of Your Son 12:03 El Shaddai, El Shaddai 12:07 El Elyonna Adonai 12:11 Age to age You're still the same 12:14 By the power of the name 12:18 El Shaddai, El Shaddai 12:22 Erkamkana Adonai 12:26 We will praise and lift You high 12:30 El Shaddai 12:47 Happy Sabbath, PMC. 12:50 Our scripture reading 12:51 is from 1 Kings 18:21, 12:57 "Elijah went before the people and said, 13:02 'How long will you waver between two opinions? 13:07 If the Lord is God, follow Him, 13:12 but if Baal is God, follow him.' 13:17 But the people said nothing.'" 13:36 There's a place 13:39 Where mercy reigns 13:43 And never dies 13:51 There's a place 13:55 Where streams of grace 13:59 Flow deep and wide 14:06 Where all the love 14:10 I've ever found 14:14 Comes like a flood 14:18 Comes flowing down 14:26 At the cross, at the cross 14:29 I surrender my life 14:33 I'm in awe of You 14:37 I'm in awe of You 14:41 Where Your love ran red 14:45 And my sin washed white 14:49 I owe all to You 14:52 I owe all to You, 14:56 Jesus 15:04 There's a place 15:07 Where sin and shame 15:11 Are powerless 15:18 Where my heart 15:21 Has peace with God 15:25 And forgiveness 15:32 Where all the love 15:36 I've ever found 15:39 Comes like a flood 15:43 Comes flowing down 15:50 At the cross, at the cross 15:54 I surrender my life 15:57 I'm in awe of You 16:01 I'm in awe of You 16:04 Where Your love ran red 16:08 And my sin washed white 16:11 I owe all to You 16:15 I owe all to You 16:19 Here my hope is found 16:23 Here on holy ground 16:26 Here I bow down 16:30 Here I bow down 16:33 Here arms open wide 16:37 Here You saved my life 16:40 Here I bow down 16:44 Here I bow down 16:47 At the cross, at the cross 16:50 I surrender my life 16:53 I'm in awe of You 16:57 I'm in awe of You 17:00 Where Your love ran red 17:04 And my sin washed white 17:07 I owe all to You 17:11 I owe all to You 17:14 At the cross, at the cross 17:18 I surrender my life 17:21 I'm in awe of You 17:25 I'm in awe of You 17:28 Where Your love ran red 17:32 And my sin washed white 17:35 I owe all to You 17:39 I owe all to You 17:42 I owe all to You 17:46 I owe all to You, 17:50 Jesus 18:03 I've been praying that the Spirit would speak 18:06 to my heart and that he do the same 18:10 to yours. 18:12 Let's pray. 18:15 Oh God, how true we owe it all to You. 18:16 We owe it all to our Lord Jesus. 18:21 What does that mean? 18:23 Make it clear, we humbly pray in Jesus' name. 18:29 Amen. 18:31 All right, here's the quiz for the day. 18:33 What goes yap, yap, yap, yap, yap, 18:36 and is brown and red 18:39 with a little bit of white and black, 18:42 and comes running through our neighborhood? 18:44 And I saw him once in our yard. 18:48 What would that be? 18:50 Our little granddaughter spent the week with us 18:52 and their mother. 18:54 They're up from Kettering. 18:56 And so I said, "Hey, Ella," she said, I said, 18:58 "Ella, Papa's preaching on animals for animals." 19:01 I bet you can't guess what the animals are. 19:04 She says, "What?" 19:06 I said, "How about this one? 19:08 Hee-haw, hee-haw, hee-haw? 19:11 "Pop, that's a donkey." 19:13 I said, "Okay, this is gonna be hard." 19:14 Roar. 19:16 She said, "That is a lion." 19:18 And I knew she was going to miss this one. 19:19 I said, "What about this one?" 19:21 Yap, yap, yap, yap, yap, yap, yap? 19:23 She said, "Papa, that is so obvious." 19:27 You know what? She got it. 19:29 You haven't even gotten it? 19:31 What goes yap, yap, yap, yap, yap, yap? 19:34 She just gets it right, of course she's, 19:35 you know, she's a chip off of her parents. 19:39 Very bright girl for seven, I might add, 19:41 in case you're asking. 19:42 There it is right there. 19:44 Come on. 19:45 You knew it was a fox, didn't you? 19:47 Yeah, she did. 19:48 She said, "That's a fox." 19:50 I'm not going to tell you what the animal is for next week. 19:54 But the sound is baa. 19:56 And you can't get it. 19:58 You are going to think the rest of this... 20:02 The rest of this week coming. 20:04 Isn't that'd beautiful fox. We have them here. 20:06 They're all over. 20:08 One day a man came running up to Jesus and he said, "Lord, 20:10 I want to follow You wherever You go. 20:13 And Jesus said, "Oh really?" Guess what? 20:16 Birds have nest and foxes have dens, 20:20 but the Son of Man has no, nowhere to lay His head. 20:25 The next time you're feeling rather poor, 20:29 I want you to remember that line. 20:31 Whatever you have, Jesus didn't have. 20:34 Nowhere to lay His head. 20:36 One day the Pharisees came up to Jesus. 20:38 They said, "Listen, young man, you need to know that Pharaoh. 20:41 You need to know that Herod, Rome king. 20:45 You need to know that Herod is out to kill You." 20:49 You know what Jesus said? 20:50 I wish I had a video of Jesus' facial expression. 20:52 He said, "You go tell that fox 20:57 that I'll die when it's time for Me to die 20:59 and not a day too soon. 21:02 Fox is there everywhere in Scripture. 21:04 You know what the greatest love song 21:06 in all of Holy Scripture? 21:07 Come on, open your Bible to the Song of Solomon. 21:09 So, you find the Psalms in the middle, of course, 21:13 and then there's Proverbs, 21:15 you're moving toward the end of the Old Testament. 21:16 See if you can find Song of Solomon. 21:17 It's a bit of a trick. 21:19 But after the Proverbs will be Ecclesiastes, 21:21 and then you come to Song of Solomon. 21:25 I want you to see this right out of this beautiful, 21:27 beautiful love song. 21:29 Here is, Song of Solomon 2:15. 21:34 All right. 21:36 "Catch for us the foxes..." 21:38 This is a husband and wife singing back 21:40 and forth to each other. 21:42 "Catch for us the foxes, 21:44 the little foxes that ruin the vineyards." 21:47 The New King James reads, 21:48 "The little foxes that spoil the vineyards, 21:51 our vineyards that are in bloom." 21:55 Catch the little foxes. 21:59 That is precisely by the way how compromise works. 22:04 Just a little compromise here, just a little compromise there. 22:08 And before you know it, 22:10 the whole thing here is spoiled. 22:13 Moral of the story. 22:15 Watch out for the little foxes. 22:17 Once upon a long ago time, there was a bright young man 22:22 sitting on his daddy's throne. 22:24 My humble opinion is, is it tad too early. 22:27 But daddy died and the throne is his. 22:32 Turns out his mother and father, 22:33 and that, this was before he was born. 22:36 His mother and father had been embroiled 22:37 in a tangled and adulterous imbroglio, 22:42 a scandal in every sense of the word. 22:45 God is heartbroken over David and Bathsheba. 22:50 He's ready for a new start. 22:52 We've got to have a new start. 22:53 And so David and Bathsheba have the first baby died. 22:56 They have a second child 22:57 and they decided to name him Peaceable Solomon. 23:01 But God said, "No, no, no, no, no." 23:03 This is the only time he did it. 23:04 He said I have a nickname for that boy, 23:06 and you're going to name him Jedidiah, 23:09 the one the Lord loves. 23:17 In fact, 23:20 a few days into his reign... 23:23 But wouldn't you like to have a dream like this? 23:25 God shows up in a dream. 23:27 God shows up to young Solomon, Jedidiah. 23:29 And he says, "I have it. 23:31 I have an offer to make. 23:33 Ask me anything you wish. 23:36 And I'll give it to you." 23:38 And in that dream, this young man, 23:41 he pauses for a moment. 23:42 And then he looks up to where God is. 23:44 And he says, "You know what I want? 23:46 I am such a boy. 23:49 I'm not able to discern good and evil, 23:52 unless You give to me. 23:55 Give me wisdom that I might govern Your people 24:01 as You would have me do. 24:03 God steps back and He says, "You know what? 24:07 This is incredible. 24:09 I thought you might ask for wealth. 24:10 I thought you might ask for victory over the enemies. 24:12 I thought you might ask for honor. 24:13 But because you asked for wisdom, guess what? 24:15 I'm going to give you wisdom 24:17 and I'm going to give you everything else 24:19 besides the wealth, the conquering of the enemy. 24:23 You have it all. 24:24 Shoo, He's gone. 24:26 And a few days later, the Land of Israel found out 24:30 that this boy had received the gift of wisdom. 24:34 Two prostitutes come into the throne room. 24:37 The king is just doing the business of the kingdom. 24:40 These two ladies come in. 24:41 The first lady speaks, she said, "Long live the King, 24:44 Your Highness." 24:47 This lady and I live together. 24:49 We had babies about the same time. 24:50 My baby was born three days ahead her hers. 24:54 And the other night while I was sound asleep, 24:57 she tiptoed into my room because inadvertently 25:00 she rolled over on that infant and she suffocated it. 25:04 It was dead. 25:05 She took the dead baby, 25:06 put it under me and took my baby. 25:09 When I woke up in the morning, 25:10 I looked into that face, I do, "This is not my boy." 25:13 The other woman speaks up, "No, no, no, Your Honor, 25:15 it's the other way around." 25:17 I'm the one that owns the living baby. 25:22 And the record reads. 25:24 And so they argued before the King. 25:28 And Solomon stops, he said, "Yo, give me a sword. 25:33 Guard bring it in. 25:35 All right, here's a deal. 25:37 I want you to cut this baby in half right down the middle. 25:39 I want you to give one half to that woman. 25:41 I want you to give one half to that woman. 25:44 And the woman who spoke first, "My Lord, 25:46 O, King, live forever." 25:48 No, no, no, no, no, no, no, you just give the baby to her. 25:51 That's okay. 25:52 Keep the baby alive. 25:54 And the other one said, "No, King, 25:56 that's brilliant solution. 25:58 Just cut it in half, we'll each take a half." 26:00 And Solomon says, "Yo, there's the mother." 26:04 Right? 26:05 Of course, watch this. 26:07 And so it was that, "When all Israel heard the verdict 26:10 the king and given, they hailed the king in awe, 26:14 because they saw that he had wisdom 26:16 from God to administer justice. 26:18 And God gave Solomon, Jedediah, wisdom and very great insight, 26:22 and a breadth of understanding as measureless 26:25 as the sand on the seashore. 26:26 Solomon's wisdom was greater than the wisdom 26:28 of all the people of the East, 26:30 and greater than all the wisdom of Egypt. 26:33 From all nations people came to listen to Solomon's wisdom, 26:37 sent by all the kings of the world, 26:39 who had heard of his wisdom." 26:45 I'm telling you what? 26:47 Just a suggestion, if God ever shows up in a dream of yours, 26:52 and He asks you, "What do you want most? 26:55 Just ask Me, I'll give it to you." 26:57 I wanna tell you, I'm telling you, 26:59 ask for the giver of wisdom, 27:02 who happens to be 27:04 the third person of the Godhead, 27:05 the Holy Spirit, one gift, 27:08 and you get every other gift with it. 27:10 I'm telling you the truth. 27:11 Red letter words, 27:13 when Jesus was here, what did He say? 27:14 "If you then, though you are evil, 27:16 know how to give good gifts to your children, 27:18 how much more will your Father in heaven 27:20 give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!" 27:22 That's in the continuous tense, 27:24 to those who continually ask Him, 27:26 those who ask him day after day after day. 27:28 You want one gift that brings every other gift with it. 27:30 Come on, every morning ask for the Holy Spirit. 27:35 I do. 27:38 You don't have to be very special. 27:40 Just you and me. 27:41 We can ask, give me that gift today. 27:45 I want that wisdom. 27:50 While even the Queen of Sheba shows up, God bless her. 27:52 She's pagan by the way. 27:54 She has heard. 27:56 She has heard about this king, 27:57 and I want you to see how she heard about it. 28:01 "When the Queen of Sheba heard about the fame of Solomon," 28:03 and notice this, 28:05 "and his relationship to the Lord." 28:07 Wouldn't that be something, if people where you live, 28:08 or people where you work, they notice, 28:10 there's something about this guy. 28:12 There is something about this woman. 28:13 There is something about this 20 something. 28:18 Every time this teen, 28:20 every time he shows up, there... 28:22 It's got to be that, that friendship of his. 28:28 "When the Queen of Sheba heard about the fame of Solomon 28:30 and his relationship to the Lord, 28:32 she came to test Solomon with hard questions." 28:36 Science and philosophy, poetry and art. 28:41 Oh, she says, after the grilling, 28:43 "Oh how happy your people must be! 28:45 How happy your officials who continually stand 28:47 before you and hear your wisdom! 28:49 Praise be to the Lord your God." 28:51 She's a pagan. 28:52 "Praise be to Yahweh of Israel who is delighted in you 28:55 and place you on the throne of Israel. 28:59 Because of the Lord's eternal love for Israel, 29:02 He has made you king to maintain justice 29:04 and righteousness." 29:09 But that's the whole point. 29:12 Whenever God gives a gift, with that gift 29:16 comes the opportunity to tell people 29:19 where you got the gift, 29:22 whatever your gift is. 29:23 Come on. 29:25 Don't keep it a secret. 29:26 Let your relationship with Jesus be what people pick up on 29:30 after they quiz you for a while. 29:34 Nearly half a millennium before Jedediah 29:37 came on the throne. 29:39 The children of Israel are still wandering 29:40 in the wilderness. 29:42 They're coming on the brink of the Promised Land. 29:44 And God comes along and says, "Yo, 29:46 I want to tell you something. 29:48 I hope you never have a king. 29:50 All right, ever. 29:51 You don't need a king. 29:53 I am your king." 29:54 This is what we call a theocracy. 29:56 You follow me and we will conquer the world 29:59 for my kingdom. 30:02 But if you do choose a king, it's amazing to me, 30:08 my friend John Peckham, you know what he calls that? 30:10 He calls that middle knowledge. 30:13 It's not something that's going to happen necessarily. 30:15 It's something that could happen. 30:17 God has all this eventuality. 30:19 If you go this way, this is going to happen. 30:21 If you go this way, 30:22 I can tell you this is going to happen, 30:24 middle knowledge. 30:25 But if you should choose a king, 30:28 let me give you three standards to have a king. 30:30 Here we go. 30:31 This is God speaking, Deuteronomy 17:14, 30:33 "And when you enter the land, the Lord your God is giving you 30:36 and you have taken possession of it and settled in it, 30:39 and you say, 'Let us set a king over us 30:42 like all the nations around us.'" 30:43 What is it about whatever we're in a wider community, 30:48 our tendency, human tendency 30:50 is to try to be like everybody else around. 30:52 We can't be unique. We can't just stand out. 30:54 No, we got to fit in. 30:56 Why is that? 31:01 "And you say, 'Let us set a king over us 31:04 like all the nations around us." 31:05 Okay. 31:07 Then I want you to be sure to appoint over you a king, 31:10 the Lord your God chooses. 31:11 He must be from among your fellow Israelites. 31:13 Don't place a foreigner don't put a pagan 31:15 who rules over you, one who is not an Israelite. 31:17 "The king, moreover, must not acquire 31:20 great numbers of horses for himself 31:23 or make the people return to Egypt to get more of them." 31:25 Why? 31:26 "For the Lord has told you, 31:28 'You are not to go back that way again.'" 31:30 You don't need those horses. 31:32 You know why? 31:33 Because horses are tanks. 31:36 Yeah, there were the tanks of that day. 31:38 And the more tanks you had, the more powerful you are, 31:41 but I'm your king. 31:43 You don't have to worry about power. 31:44 I'll have the power for you. Okay. 31:45 So we don't need many horses. 31:47 God keeps going. 31:49 "You must not take many wives, 31:52 or the king's heart will be led astray. 31:54 He must not accumulate, by the way up, 31:55 standard number three, 31:57 large amounts of silver and gold. 32:00 That's just for the fun of it. 32:02 You and me run those three standards 32:03 by and see how Solomon fares 32:06 with those three divine standards for kingship. 32:10 Okay, let's take the first one. 32:12 The first one is horses, okay? 32:14 How did Solomon do with horses? 32:15 Back to 1 Kings Chapter 10, 32:17 "Solomon accumulated chariots and horses, 32:19 he had fourteen hundred chariots 32:21 and twelve thousand horses, 32:24 which he kept in the chariot cities 32:26 and also with him in Jerusalem." 32:27 We have a family in this parish 32:29 that has 135 horses. 32:31 And when I heard that, and I said, 32:32 "You can't, you got to be kidding me." 32:34 "Twelve thousand, which he kept in the chariot cities 32:37 and also with him in Jerusalem. 32:39 Solomon's horses were imported from..." 32:40 What did God say? 32:42 Don't go back to get your horses. 32:43 What did He say? Don't go to Egypt. 32:44 That's where he got it. 32:46 "Imported from Egypt and from Kue. 32:47 The royal merchants purchased them 32:49 from Kue at the current price." 32:54 But dear Jedediah, God bless him. 32:58 He decided, you know, it's not that big a deal. 33:00 I know God said you're not supposed 33:01 to have a lot of horses. 33:02 But you know what? I got to have horses. 33:04 It's just a little you know, it's a compromise. 33:09 Surely, it's not going to matter in the end. 33:11 There is that dangerous word, compromise. 33:15 You know what's right. 33:17 But you figure it's such a little disobedience, 33:19 it surely won't matter. 33:21 Come on, God, You can't be serious. 33:24 All right, there were three of these standards. 33:25 Standard number one, horses. 33:26 What's the second one? Put it up? 33:28 The second one, gold. 33:30 What did God just say there in Deuteronomy? 33:31 He must not accumulate large amounts of gold and silver. 33:35 Well, let's see how it goes here. 33:37 The weight of the gold... 33:38 This is Solomon's annual revenue. 33:39 All right? 33:41 We got some economists in this room. 33:43 "The weight of the gold that Solomon received 33:46 yearly was 666 talents of gold." 33:50 How much is that? 33:52 "Not including the revenues from the merchants 33:53 and the traders and from all the Arabian kings 33:56 and the governors of the territories." 33:57 All right. 33:59 So how much gold is that? 34:00 David Tasker, my friend, 34:01 he used to be a doctoral student here. 34:03 He's in the South Pacific. 34:06 He writes the commentary and Andrews, 34:08 the Andrews Bible commentary 34:10 has just come out a few months ago, 34:12 and they had just the Old Testament out. 34:13 I got it. 34:15 It's a great commentary. 34:16 New Testament still coming. 34:18 So David Tasker writes, okay, how much? 34:19 How much is that revenue? 34:22 I'm quoting him now. 34:24 Solomon's annual take on gold was about 50,000 pounds 34:29 of gold a year. 34:32 Not to mention silver, ivory and other luxury goods. 34:36 There comes again, that morally debilitating word compromise. 34:41 You know, it can't be. 34:45 How can this be that big a deal? 34:47 You know what's right, 34:48 but you figure it's such a little disobedience, 34:51 it won't matter anyway. 34:53 By the way, please notice that 34:56 when compromise continues to rule, 34:59 every following compromise 35:02 is more egregious than the previous one. 35:04 It just keeps getting worse and worse and worse. 35:07 There's one category we haven't reached. 35:09 What's the other category? 35:10 That we had horses, we had gold. 35:12 What's the third one. 35:14 Huh? 35:15 Wives, so that's right, wives. 35:17 What's that line in Deuteronomy? 35:19 He must not take many wives 35:20 or his heart will be led astray. 35:22 Here we go. 35:23 1 Kings 11:1, "King Solomon, however," 35:26 compromise always introduces a however, I know the rule. 35:31 "However, King Solomon loved 35:36 many foreign women besides Pharaoh's daughter." 35:39 Song of Solomon was composed, 35:40 these two were singing to each other. 35:42 It was such a beautiful love story 35:43 if it had kept that way. 35:45 And by the way, we are told 35:46 she became a believer of Israel's God. 35:48 So he has everything going for him. 35:50 The Queen from, the little princess 35:51 has become a believer in Israel's God. 35:53 "However, Solomon had loved many foreign women, 35:59 from the Moabites, and the Ammonites, 36:01 and the Edomites, and the Sidonians, 36:04 and the Hittites. 36:05 They were from nations about which the Lord had told 36:07 the Israelites," yo, yo, yo, yo, yo, 36:09 "you must not intermarry with them, no, no, 36:11 because they will surely turn your hearts after their gods. 36:13 Nevertheless, Solomon held fast to them in love." 36:17 Now, I want you to watch this. 36:18 You see these two words held fast. 36:20 That's the very same word in Genesis 2:24 36:23 when the Creator blesses the marriage of Adam and Eve. 36:26 He says, "A man will leave his parents 36:28 and he will home fast, 36:30 he will cleave, the Old English word, 36:32 he will cleave to his wife. 36:34 He cleaved. 36:36 In fact, you have the King James 36:37 it says, he clays, 36:38 whoever uses that word, he held fast to them in love. 36:42 Oh, Dwight, we got a problem here. 36:44 This is a real love story. 36:45 There are a whole lot of people 36:47 who are telling real love stories 36:48 that are not the love story God ever had in mind for you. 36:51 Just listen to me carefully, that love story that you say 36:53 is so wonderfully put together by Almighty God Himself. 36:57 You know, it was not the love story 37:00 God created you for, 37:02 and intended you for. 37:05 But you say, I'm in love, so it has to be good. 37:07 No, it doesn't. 37:10 There's too much self delusion that takes place. 37:13 Once you start compromising, 37:16 it just gets worse and worse and worse. 37:18 Until, oh, my, oh my. 37:20 "He had seven hundred wives of royal birth 37:24 and three hundred concubines, and his wives led him astray." 37:28 He has 1000 women. 37:30 Now that's trouble in anybody's book. 37:33 But he has 300 concubines, it's like the little kid 37:36 that came back from church school one day say, 37:37 "Hey, Mommy, we learned about King Solomon today 37:40 and his 300 porcupines. 37:43 No, that's not what these are. 37:44 These are concubines. 37:45 They're prickly. 37:47 They'll hurt you. 37:50 Three hundred, one thousand. 37:53 What happens? 37:54 Solomon grew old, his wives turned. 37:56 Ah, that's exactly what God said would happen. 37:59 "As he grew old, his wives turned his heart 38:02 after other gods. 38:03 And his heart was not fully devoted to the Lord his God," 38:06 this word for fully devoted is the Hebrew word shalem, 38:09 he has no more peace. 38:11 I'm telling you read my lips. 38:13 When you live a life of compromise 38:15 and it goes from bad to worse, 38:19 you're going to end up, 38:21 you're going to end up no peace, no peace. 38:26 "He was not fully devoted to the Lord his God, 38:30 as the heart of David his father had been." 38:34 Oh, my. 38:36 I've had men talk to me, 38:38 and they're trying to justify to me 38:40 the affair that they've had. 38:43 And the divorce and then the marrying of this woman. 38:48 Yeah, I listen to them. 38:50 And they're telling me, I'm telling you what 38:52 it is such a blessed relationship 38:54 with each other and with God, 38:56 and I am saying to myself, who is fooling whom here? 39:01 Don't you give me this visit? 39:03 Well, I'm closer to God now. 39:05 You aren't. 39:07 You aren't. 39:13 That's the nature of compromise. 39:18 It's called shutdown in May. 39:24 Does it? Can it get worse? 39:26 Oh, please. 39:27 "Solomon who builds 39:29 one of the wonders of the world, 39:30 the mighty Temple in Jerusalem, on a hill east of Jerusalem 39:33 looking down on the temple to the God of Israel. 39:36 Solomon built a high place for Chemosh, 39:38 the detestable god of Moab, and for Molek." 39:41 This is the child sacrifice, burning alive for me, 39:45 so that you will have me blessing your life god, 39:47 the detestable god of the Ammonites. 39:49 Keep reading. 39:50 "And he did the same for all his foreign wives 39:52 who burned incense and offered sacrifices to their gods. 39:56 The Lord became angry with Solomon." 39:59 Hit the pause button right there. 40:00 There's some people who have this picture 40:02 of God's love and mercy. 40:03 And we sang about God's love and mercy. 40:04 But some people think that's just the end all. 40:07 There's no room in some people's understanding 40:09 of God for anger. 40:12 You crazy. 40:14 He's watching what's going, 40:16 He's watching what's going down. 40:18 He's losing an entire nation. 40:20 This nation will be wrecked at the end. 40:23 He's watching this and He's losing a soul. 40:25 This is Jedediah, the man I love. 40:29 You don't think He's angry? 40:31 Listen, if you were a parent, and somebody was doing 40:33 what you're doing, your child is doing, what you're doing. 40:36 Would you not be furious? 40:39 Would you still be loving them? 40:41 Of course, you would. 40:43 Would you still be longing for them? 40:45 You betcha. 40:47 But you would be as mad as you know what? 40:51 Because that's what you know what is all about? 40:55 People robbing children of the Heavenly Father 40:58 and putting them there. 41:00 I got another one. 41:02 There's another one. 41:04 Of course, He's angry. 41:06 You can quit trying to explain God by talking His anger out. 41:10 There is anger. 41:11 You know why? 41:13 Because He's watching us, a soul melt down. 41:15 He has loved this boy from the beginning. 41:17 I will give you anything you ask, you ask me, 41:19 and the boy prays the perfect prayer. 41:21 And now it's all gone. 41:29 I can tell you who have given your parents 41:32 a bit of a heartache over the course of your life. 41:35 There never was a day they stopped loving you. 41:38 There never was a day. 41:40 Were they angry with you? 41:41 They were angry, but they kept loving you. 41:45 "Maybe she'll come back. 41:47 Maybe he'll come back. 41:49 Don't give up, honey. 41:50 We'll keep loving." 41:52 That's God. 41:59 The reason people don't like the picture of God being angry 42:01 is because nobody wants to admit 42:02 their sins displease God hugely. 42:04 God cannot forever wink 42:06 at your moral ignorance and disobedience. 42:08 "Oh, you said it. 42:10 It said in the Bible God winked." 42:11 No, He may wink over the pagans' ignorance, 42:13 but He will not condone what the one who knows better, 42:15 knows he or knows she should be doing 42:18 or should not be doing. 42:19 He's not winking over that. 42:20 Compromise always starts innocently. 42:26 One little indiscretion, 42:27 one inconsequential disobeying here, 42:30 and before we know it, shhh, shot down. 42:35 Mine. 42:37 Prophets and Kings, 42:39 this great retelling of the story of the kings. 42:40 You've got to read that book sometime. 42:42 "At first, as wealth and worldly honor 42:44 came to Solomon," Jedidiah, "he remained humble, 42:48 and great was the extent of his influence..." 42:50 Yeah, we've heard. 42:52 "But after a morning of great promise his life 42:55 was darkened by apostasy... 42:57 So gradual was Solomon's apostasy 43:00 that before he was aware of it." 43:02 It's so slow, you can't even see the train coming. 43:05 It's just, it's a slow-motion train wreck, 43:08 but you don't see it. 43:11 "So gradual was Solomon's apostasy 43:13 that before he was aware of it, he had wandered far from God. 43:16 No. 43:18 Almost imperceptibly he began to trust less and less 43:21 in divine guidance and blessing, 43:23 and to put confidence in his own strength. 43:26 Little by little he with held from God 43:28 that unswerving obedience 43:30 which was to make Israel a peculiar people, 43:34 and he conformed more and more, 43:36 and more and more closely to the customs 43:39 of the surrounding nations." 43:44 I could give you chapter and verse of men and women 43:49 I have watched gradually descend into apostasy 43:54 or willful disobedience. 43:56 I have visited them. 43:57 I have pleaded in some cases, 43:59 pleaded with them. 44:04 But the compromise they have made has solidified 44:07 their sad rebellion against the Spirit of Jesus. 44:10 And they always, to a man and woman, 44:12 they always tell me that they're actually doing 44:15 better now with Jesus than ever before. 44:20 You can't be serious. 44:26 It's the height of self-deception. 44:29 But let's say you're not better off. 44:31 Let's say right now your conscience is saying, 44:32 "You know what? 44:34 You are really not better off. 44:35 This is not going well at all." 44:39 Is there any step you can take 44:41 and turn this around? 44:45 I've got great news for you. 44:46 Same book, a few paragraphs later. 44:49 But none, oh, I love this. 44:50 "But none who have fallen need give up to despair. 44:54 Aged men, and I'm adding and women, once honored of God, 44:59 may have defiled their souls, 45:01 sacrificing virtue on the altar of lust." 45:04 You know what lust is? 45:05 It's not just sex. 45:06 Lust is whatever you have to have 45:08 and you have to have it right now. 45:09 That's lust. "I have to have it." 45:11 It could be riches. 45:12 It can be a position professionally. 45:14 It can be a social standing. 45:17 You have to have it, 45:18 and you have to have it right now. 45:20 "They may have defiled their souls 45:23 sacrificing virtue on the altar of lust," 45:25 but keep reading, "but if they repent, 45:28 if they forsake their sin, if they turn to God, 45:31 there is still hope for them." 45:33 Can I get an amen out of this group? 45:35 "There is still hope for them. 45:37 He who declares," in Revelation 2, 45:40 "Be thou faithful unto death, 45:41 and I will give you a crown of life." 45:43 He is the same one who gives the invitation in Isaiah 55, 45:46 "Let the wicked forsake their way, 45:48 and the unrighteous their thoughts. 45:52 God hates sin," the writer pens, 45:54 "but He loves the sinner," and that's the gospel truth. 45:57 "'I will heal their backsliding,' 46:00 He declares, "and I will love them freely.'" 46:04 Oh, I love that. I got to put that. 46:06 We got to iso that on the screen. 46:08 "I will heal their backsliding, 46:11 and I will love them freely." 46:16 You can get back from where you are. 46:20 What enormous hope God embedded 46:22 in the nickname He gave Solomon. 46:24 "Solomon, every time you hear your name, 46:25 I want you to know you're the man I have loved. 46:30 I need you to never forget that." 46:33 Did God know Solomon's life was gonna crash and burn? 46:36 Of course He knew. 46:38 But loved of the Lord was a piece 46:40 of gospel truth embedded in that young king's mind, 46:43 so that when the day came and his life 46:45 has crumbled into ashes, when the day came 46:50 where the king has no way to go back, he is certain. 46:54 When the day would come 46:56 and he would hear his nickname called again, 46:59 Jedidiah, the man who is loved by God, 47:02 God knew that that gospel planting 47:07 could spring back into a glorious harvest, 47:11 and a life almost totally lost at the last minute, 47:16 shooh, gets saved. 47:21 You say, "That's not the case." 47:22 Oh, yes, it is. 47:24 Solomon reversed his life and wrote Ecclesiastes. 47:28 Read Ecclesiastes sometime. 47:30 It's everything has turned to ashes on my tongue. 47:32 It's just emptiness, it's just vanity. 47:34 There's nothing out there. 47:35 I've tried everything! 47:37 And I'm empty! 47:39 But it ends, "Fear God and give glory to Him 47:43 and keep His commandments, 47:46 for God will bring every thought into judgment, 47:49 whether it be good or bad." 47:51 The last words, Solomon says, "I'm back." 47:56 Too late for the family. 47:57 Too late for the nation. 47:59 Too late for the career. 48:01 But not too late for the Savior. 48:04 Oh, "I will heal their backsliding, 48:07 and I will love them freely." 48:10 Oh, my. 48:11 Look, last line from Prophets and Kings. 48:14 "Yet the Lord forsook him not... 48:16 For Jedidiah at last the discipline of suffering 48:20 had accomplished its work." 48:23 It was painful. Are you kidding? 48:25 All salvation comes through suffering. 48:27 Jesus' suffering and your suffering and my suffering. 48:30 Some sinners would love to catch the fact, 48:32 the express elevator straight into heaven and say, 48:34 "Yo, I'm here! Look, I said I'm sorry. 48:37 Come on, let's go!" No, no, no, no, no. 48:41 There is no magic wand in heaven 48:44 that can dispel the harvest 48:46 and the consequences of those little foxes of compromise 48:50 that have spoiled and utterly ruined life's vineyard. 48:55 The law is unbreakable. 48:57 It will break you. 48:59 You cannot break it. 49:00 What a man sows, what a woman sows, 49:03 that shall she also reap. 49:05 You can't break it. 49:07 And nobody says, "Give him a break. 49:08 Get out of jail free card." 49:10 Nobody comes out. 49:12 What you sow, you reap. 49:14 Solomon reaped in spades what he sowed. 49:20 But he came to the Savior. 49:23 Oh, yes, nothing can separate us 49:25 from the love of God 49:27 which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. 49:28 But, ladies and gentlemen, 49:30 separating us from the love of God 49:32 and separating us from the sin of our heart 49:35 are two different matters. 49:37 Of course God's love is relentless. 49:40 He will never quit loving you. 49:41 But our sin must be repented. 49:43 Our sin must be relinquished. 49:44 It must be rejected. 49:46 Calvary is evidence enough that the end of sin 49:49 is always painful suffering and crucifixion. 49:52 Now, if you wish, 49:55 and you don't want Jesus to deal 49:56 with your sin, guess what? 49:58 It'll be your death that will pay the penalty. 49:59 It'll be covered. 50:01 You will pay it. 50:03 But if you are not willing to pay the ultimate price 50:07 for a life of compromise and rebellion, 50:11 there is a Savior. 50:13 There is a Savior, and His name is Jesus. 50:18 Oh, He loves you. 50:20 It doesn't matter what you've done. 50:24 I'm not talking to you teenagers up there. 50:26 It does matter what you do. 50:27 Don't you get to thinking, 50:29 "I'll just go and sow my wild oats, 50:31 and I'll sleep with a girl here and sleep with a boy there 50:33 and that it'll all be fine." 50:35 Nope. You will reap what you sow. 50:37 You will reap what you sow. 50:40 But for those who are older, 50:42 embittered, embattled 50:45 and still struggling to hang on, 50:47 I need you to know that Jesus loves you. 50:50 Jesus died for you. 50:53 The backsliding that you have lived, 50:55 your life has been a morality tale. 50:58 The backsliding you have lived, Jesus saw it coming. 51:03 He made full preparation, and He died for that sin. 51:07 He died for those compromises. 51:10 And He's saying, "Boy, come back to Me. 51:12 It's not too late. 51:13 Are you breathing? 51:15 Good. 51:16 Come back to Me." 51:19 Come back. 51:21 Oh, my. 51:23 Next Sabbath we're gonna come right here to the cross. 51:24 Oh, there'll be no more beautiful service 51:26 than next Sabbath's. 51:28 We'll come right here to the foot of the cross. 51:29 But I need to ask you, 51:31 is there something in your life right now 51:33 that needs to be given up to Jesus? 51:34 All right, I'm talking to you. 51:36 Don't you look at your wife? 51:37 I'm talking to you. 51:39 Is there something in your life 51:41 that needs to be given to Jesus right now? 51:45 Those compromises have to come to an end. 51:48 What are you gonna wait, manana? 51:50 Manana never comes. 51:51 Today's your day. 51:53 You just say in your heart, "Lord Jesus, 51:55 you know the story of my compromises. 51:59 I've given them to You. 52:01 I cannot get myself back, but I'm trusting You. 52:06 I give You. 52:07 I surrender all to You, everything, everything." 52:15 All to Jesus I surrender 52:20 All to Him I freely give 52:25 I will ever love and trust Him 52:32 In His presence daily live 52:38 I surrender all 52:45 I surrender all 52:52 All to Thee, 52:54 My blessed Savior 53:00 I surrender 53:39 All to Jesus 53:43 I surrender 53:47 All to Him I freely give 53:54 I will ever love 53:59 And trust Him 54:01 In His presence 54:05 Daily live 54:09 I surrender all 54:16 I surrender all 54:24 All to Thee, 54:27 My blessed Savior 54:32 I surrender all 54:39 All to Jesus 54:43 I surrender 54:47 Humbly at His feet 54:51 I bow 54:54 Worldly pleasures 54:58 All forsaken 55:02 Take me, Jesus, 55:05 Take me now 55:09 I surrender all 55:17 I surrender all 55:25 All to Thee, 55:28 My blessed Savior 55:33 I surrender all 55:41 All to Jesus 55:45 I surrender 55:48 Make me, Savior, 55:52 Wholly Thine 55:56 Let me feel Thy 56:00 Holy Spirit 56:03 Truly know that 56:07 Thou art mine 56:11 I surrender all 56:19 I surrender all 56:26 All to Thee, 56:29 My blessed Savior 56:35 I surrender all 56:43 I surrender all 57:08 Think of the last time someone said, "I'm praying for you." 57:12 Didn't it give you a sense of peace 57:14 and reassurance that somebody cares for me? 57:16 I know how I feel when I get an email 57:17 from one of our viewers saying, "Yo, Dwight, 57:19 I've been praying for you lately." 57:21 There's nothing like knowing someone is praying for you. 57:23 So I want to offer you an opportunity to partner... 57:26 Let me, let us partner with you in prayer. 57:28 If you have a special prayer request 57:30 or a praise of thanksgiving you'd like to share with us, 57:32 I'm inviting you to contact one of our friendly chaplains. 57:35 It's simple to do. 57:37 You can call our toll-free number 877, 57:39 the two words HIS WILL, 877-HIS-WILL. 57:43 That friendly voice that answers, 57:44 you tell him, you tell her what your prayer need is, 57:47 we'll join with you in that petition. 57:50 May the God who answers prayer journey with you 57:52 these next few days 57:53 until we're right back here together again next time. |
Revised 2021-07-19