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The Resting Place
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The Resting Place
What Will You Do When Your Ziklag Burns?
We've all experienced moments when everything we've worked for burns to the ground. In this powerful episode, we explore how to respond when adversity strikes with devastating force through David's story at Ziklag.
After years of running for his life, David finally found temporary stability – only to return home one day to find everything destroyed. His city burned, his family taken, and his loyal men turning against him. Rock bottom. Yet in this darkest moment, "David strengthened himself in the Lord his God" before taking any action.
This ancient story reveals the profound difference between being loved and beaten up versus loved and victorious. While beloved identity forms our foundation, we must also know what God's Word says about our specific situations to stand firm when storms come. Faith isn't denial of reality but declaring God's truth over our circumstances.
We examine practical ways to encourage yourself in the Lord through adversity: worship, scripture meditation, and maintaining right confession. When you relate to God from your true identity rather than your circumstances, you position yourself to hear His voice clearly and receive direction.
Most remarkably, David's crown arrived immediately after his greatest devastation – a pattern we often see in our own lives. The adversity you face today might be the doorway to your greatest breakthrough.
Whether you're currently facing your own Ziklag moment or preparing for future challenges, this episode provides biblical wisdom for not just surviving but reigning in life as kings and queens regardless of circumstances. Your declaration matters more than you know.
Subscribe to continue exploring how beloved identity transforms not just who we are, but how we navigate life's inevitable storms.
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Hi everyone. I'm Ben and I'm Logan and we're the Robins. Welcome to the Resting Place Podcast. We're going to read the Bible a lot today. Imagine that Church meeting where you read the Bible.
Speaker 1:Now there are some meetings where it's a little bit less text heavy and those are fantastic as well. But then there are some times where it is required to know what the Bible says about a particular thing, a particular thing. And I find that when I know what the word says about a particular thing and I'm going to edit the way I want to say this but I have a whole lot more confidence towards how I can expect the result of a situation when I know what the word says about that situation. I'll go so far as to say without a good understanding of what the word says about the situations of life that we find ourselves in, it becomes impossible to have immovable confidence towards the outcome of that situation and we become, like James says, double-minded, where beloved identity being the baseline of who we are, being the very core of who we are, being the foundational piece of our identity and the only not even just the foundational piece, but being the whole foundation of who we are is we're beloved of Yahweh, and that's all. That's incredible to know. It must be metabolized and it must be practiced out. However, if we fail in the area of understanding what the word says concerning our lives, what will happen is that we will be shaken when the storms come, because we've built upon sand. Beloved identity is not sand in and of itself, but it is incomplete in that we must have confidence towards what Yahweh has already declared about a situation, and if we can marry the two together, we become immovable. And when the storms come and the winds rage and the water rises, the water level of opposition rises. What we then can do is we can stand firm in the day of tribulation. Knowing these things cannot move me, because I know what my God says. This is how we move from being loved I want to say this correctly. This is how we move from being loved and beaten up to loved and victorious. This is how we live a victorious life. This is how the victorious life of the believer becomes a reality in each of our lives.
Speaker 1:We must know what the Lord says about certain sit fill in the blank situations. I love it. Dropping the magnet situations, adversity, trial, tribulation, victory Good things, not just bad things. Good things as well, and we have a place to apply our faith towards, because the law of faith will work, whether we're using it in a positive way or a negative way, it's going to work. The law of faith works.
Speaker 1:Faith works period, and what we begin to find, and what I've found and I'm saying this because this is true in my life what I have found to be true is when I am unsure of a particular situation, one, if I don't have the word of the Lord, or if I don't have a strong understanding of what the word says concerning a given situation, I lack confidence in being able to declare the end. From the beginning, it's a oh, thank you, holy Ghost. It is our job to declare our end from the beginning. It's a oh, thank you, holy ghost. It is our job to declare our end from our beginning. He declares the end from the beginning, but it is then our job to partner with what he declares, to cause that to come into reality. The way that the Lord has set faith up and the way that the Lord has set his interactions with us up require interaction on our behalf Well, let me say it this way, not on our behalf interaction from us with the realities he has already set into place. We have to interact. We have a responsibility in all of this. These are not. This is not a hey. You've got to try harder and do more. There's grace already available to put effort towards these things. There's grace already available to begin to declare that this is not my end. This is my end, and I'm going to hold my life up to the, to the, to the word. And I'm going to look at this and I'm going to say, hey, if this tribulation that I am walking through, or if this situation in life that I am walking through, or if X, y or Z fill in the blank you can fill in just about anything that you want to there If it does not find a home here in what he says about me, then I know exactly what I have to then begin to do. I have to call those things that are not as though they are, and I start declaring the ultimate victory of Yahweh over whatever I'm going through into this situation. We don't listen, one of the ways that the faith movement. I'm going. I'm going faster than I want to, but y'all will forgive me. Um, I know you well, cause you're here in my living room and you keep coming back. So there's six of us, but they all. Forgive me when I ramble. Find you six people that'll forgive you when you ramble. Oh, um, people that'll forgive you when you ramble, there's eight of us.
Speaker 1:I was speaking in hyperbole, hyperbole. I used to pronounce hyperbole, hyperbole, and I was like I wonder what hyperbole is. I wonder why they didn't name the Superbowl the hyperbole, but Superbowl, I guess, sounds better. Um, musings, musings from the ADHD mind, that's what that is. Um, good Lord, um, I'm so out of track. I'm so off place now. Um, good Lord, um, I'm so out of track. I'm so off place now. Um, where was I? I've completely lost it. Grace, there's grace available to begin to declare the end from the beginning, in agreement with Yahweh's word over our lives.
Speaker 1:What we can't do, and what the faith movement began to do and this is where the faith movement really got in trouble was they started to declare that those things that were were not. So if you had cancer, you couldn't talk about having cancer, because you don't really have it, it's just. No, you really do have it. No, you really do. So you start to declare. You start to declare things that are as though they are not, and faith will never work that way. That's called living in denial and delusion. That's called denial and delusion. Two D's, the two D's of false faith. Listen to it False faith and two D's denial and delusion. Good Lord, I'm a preacher. I tell you, um, so I can't. I'm sorry, I'm sorry. My wife asked me when I was going to be serious earlier today. And the answer is probably never. It was just probably never. Um, the answer is probably never, it's just probably never. What will happen is, if you begin to declare those things that are as though they are not, you'll never see the intended result of the use of your faith, never will. It does not work that way and never will work that way.
Speaker 1:Faith is really interesting to me and it's multi-dimensional, and I could probably talk about faith every time I begin to open my mouth in a setting like this. I probably could just talk about faith forever. Y'all would get tired of hearing about it. But really, faith undergirds everything that we do, because everything we receive from God is through faith, by grace, through faith. Everything that we receive from Yahweh is by grace, through faith. All is grace, yes, all is grace, but it requires faith to activate that grace.
Speaker 1:What you then do is you call those things that are not as though they are. That's what Yahweh did in the creation of the universe. There's a creative aspect to who we are inside of the image of Yahweh that he gave to us, that allows us to begin to create worlds here on the earth. What do I mean when I say worlds? Our interior world can be reformed through the declaration of the saints. Our interior world can be reformed to the point that the exterior world begins to be reformed because of the degree of the transformation of our interior world. Damon used to say this all the time, and I agree with it that the answer for the world around you is the world within you. The answer for the world around you is the world within you. This is how cultures are created and this is how cultures are reformed. You create a counterculture movement that starts in infancy, hidden you can't see it and it's reformed to the point that it begins to. It begins to I'm trying to think of the best word but it begins to blossom to the point that it begins to affect the culture around it, until the leaven that is inside of the superior culture begins to leaven the whole of the culture at to leaven the whole of the culture at large and reforms the whole of the culture at large, and it would be from a hidden place that no one has seen. But that hidden place was so profound in its transformational power that the whole of the culture is transformed.
Speaker 1:Okay, so Psalm 138. Psalm 138 says this. Psalm 138, verses 1 through 4. You can turn there if you want to. I'm going to go ahead and read it. I give thanks, o Lord, with all my heart. I will sing your praises before the gods. I bow before your holy temple. As I worship, I praise your name for your unfailing love and faithfulness, for your promises are backed by all the honor of your name, backed by all the honor of your name, backed by all the honor of your name. And that's the NLT. And I want to show you this is the way I have always read this passage and I like the NLT, but I really don't care for that particular translation of that, because I think this drives home the point a little bit more poignantly. This little blue letter Bible app is amazing.
Speaker 1:Okay, this is New King James. This is how the New King James translates verse 2. I will worship toward your holy temple and praise your name for your loving kindness and your truth. For you have magnified your word above all your name. For you have magnified your word above all your name. In the day when I cried out, you answered and made me bold with strength in my soul. All the kings of the earth shall praise you, o Lord, when they hear the words of your mouth, when they hear the words of your mouth, when they hear the words of your mouth, when they hear the words of your mouth, when they hear the words of your mouth. You have magnified your word above all your name, and all the kings of the earth will praise you when they hear the words of your mouth.
Speaker 1:We understand that his name is the name above every other name. At his name, every knee will bow, every, every tongue confess. And we can go on about the glory of the name of jesus and the glory of the name of the father and how highly exalted those things are. Yet in his wisdom and goodness, he has decided to exalt his own word even above his own name. Hebrews would say that when he looked for someone to swear by or to promise by, he could find no one greater. So he swore upon his own name. He promised Abraham on the power of his own name. He could find no other thing worthy to promise upon. So he said I promise upon myself and my word is exalted even higher than the thing that I just promised you on. My word is exalted above every other thing. Now listen, I am part of a movement where we are reforming the way that we think.
Speaker 1:Okay, and our apostle has a specific assignment in the earth and part of that specific assignment in the earth is to bring correction and to bring alignment to appropriate patterns of thought. And he says some things about the Bible. He says some things like Jesus is the word of God. The Bible is a word of God, but Jesus is the word of God and I agree 100% with him. But if we're not careful, what we'll do is we'll hear that language and in his mind and in his heart and in intention from him. That is not taking away any importance from the Bible, because he has memorized more of the Bible than most people have read whole books of the Bible have been. He's helps that he's a genius. It, literally it does. It helps that he has an enormous IQ. It's unreal and the memorization powers are crazy.
Speaker 1:Um, but that is not taking away from the importance of the word. It's just saying, hey, holy Spirit's a really big deal, and it's not God the Father, god the Son and God the Holy Spirit. Yeah, god the fun. Well, it might be God the fun. It's a t-shirt. It's a t-shirt. It's a t-shirt. We'll make a t-shirt and it'll be the Jesus holding a boombox above his head. It'll say God the fun. Across it God the fun. Tuxedo t-shirt. Jesus Tuxedo t-shirt. Jesus, god the fun. Across the front of it. That's amazing. It's not God the Father, god the Son and God the Holy Bible front of it. That's amazing. It's not God the Father, god the Son and God the Holy Bible, because large swaths of, especially the American church and the fundamentalist church, and we can go on, but they have replaced Holy Spirit with the Bible and that was never the intention of God. The Bible is an incredible addition to us that gives us an insight into the way that he thinks and the way that he acts.
Speaker 1:Bill Johnson says this. It's an official meeting now, since I'm quoting Bill Johnson. He says this he says the Lord will never violate the scripture, but he'll violate our understanding of the scripture. Let's throw my pen through a wall and he, he, he read. He said something the other day I'm going to this is an aside, but this is going to help somebody. This is an aside. My friend Luke sent me this and I'm going to read it to you guys because it's so profound. It made me just kind of sit dumbfounded for a while.
Speaker 1:Bill wrote a new book about loss and grief and drew a lot from his experience in losing his wife, benny, to cancer and just the unbearable weight of all of that. I think about that pretty frequently when I think about Bill, how he was able to shoulder the unbearable grief, first of all, disappointment of it all, and secondly, like just honestly, what in the world that man I mean this is. This is from the man that would go to auditoriums and for a season of two years he did. He called it an experiment. I mean, if I had done this I would have been like running through trees afterwards. He would would just make a simple, seriously, he'd just make a simple statement at the beginning of his message that it's normal, in the presence of Jesus, for tumors to dissolve, and then at the end of service he'd say hey, I'd like everyone in here just to check yourself. If you had a growth or a tumor in your body, I'd like you just to check and see if it's dissolved or if it's still there or what have you. And hands would go up across, all across the whole auditorium. People had had tumors dissolve off their body just under the sound of his teaching and he found that when he did that beforehand, that there were more tumors that would dissolve than if he would not mention that beforehand.
Speaker 1:There's some wisdom in that and that's a. That's a. You'll never see miracles. Unless you try, you'll never see. You'll never see mass salvation unless you try to witness, you'll never see. You'll never see breakthrough unless you put the first foot towards going that direction. It requires that when we hear the word, we become doers of the word. Requires that when we hear the word we become doers of the word. You can't be a hearer only, you must be a doer, and this message today is going to help us become doers. But I'm talking so fast, it's all the caffeine I've had today. Possibility, okay.
Speaker 1:So Bill said this in his book the possibility that my wife could die. That kind of mindset short-circuits the actual work of God and seriously limits what a person is able to receive from the Lord. We knew life was far too fragile to play around with mixture in our hearts, and so everything we did was about building for our future of abundance with family and friends. We were even more careful than normal with what we watched on TV and who we allowed to come into our home, and even then, if she wasn't feeling well enough for interaction, she often stayed in her bedroom while I welcomed our friends who dropped by for a visit. I protected her the best I knew how, so that she could maintain hope in spite of the obvious affliction in her body. For me, this was the privilege of a lifetime to give myself so completely to the one who had given herself to me in the same way.
Speaker 1:And yet many would say to me it didn't work. Benny died. She wasn't healed. Actually, it did work. This is the most insane statement I think I've ever read in a book. Actually, it did work. This is this is the most insane statement I think I've ever read in a book. Actually, it did work, for it is better to die in hope than live in unbelief. Throw the whole table through every wall in the house. It's better to die in hope than live in unbelief. And she did. She died in hope and, let's get real, she is not disappointed. We are the ones who must adjust to the disappointing outcome, not her, good Lord. And that's such a practical application of where we're going today. But the Lord has exalted His Word and I want to frame everything I'm about to say through this the Lord has exalted His Word above even His own name. So, with that in mind, turn with me to 1 Samuel 30. And I normally don't teach from the Old Testament, but I felt like today was the day. I've been sitting on this for some time and I felt like today was the day. So we're going to let her fly. 1 Samuel 30. And I don't have that many notes, but, as you can see, I've already talked for probably 20-ish minutes, so we'll push the gas pedal and see where we land. But, as you can see, I've already talked for probably 20-ish minutes, so we'll push the gas pedal and see where we land. 1 Samuel 30 and verse 1 says this Three days later, when David and his men arrived home at their town of Ziklag, they found that the Amalekites had made a raid into the Negev and Ziklag.
Speaker 1:They had crushed Ziklag and burned it to the ground. Okay, so what's going on here is David has become a vassal of King Achish, who is a Philistine king. There were several kings of the Philistines and Achish was one of them. David had become this man's vassal. He had been gifted a town the town was called Ziklag In repayment for giving him this town, david and his now 600 men, which would have been a sizable fighting force and we'll see later that these men were not just your average 600 men.
Speaker 1:There were, inclusive of what we call the mighty men of david, 37 men who did feats that would make our own special forces blush with shame. And I like to like listen to podcasts of like guys who have been in socom or the green berets or navy seals and stuff, and the stories that they tell are mind-blowing. It's it's stuff that, like an average human is like you can't, you can't have done. That they tell are mind blowing. It's it's stuff that, like an average human, is like you can't, you can't have done that, and there are people that are out there doing it, and these men would have been what, what I would consider probably the special forces of their day. They were the men who did things that no human should be able to do.
Speaker 1:And uh, in repayment for giving him Ziklag, what David would then do is David would raid the enemies of his king. So in repayment for that, david made sure that the enemies of his king stayed away, which would have been Achish at the time, stayed away from his territory. Achish may have thought that David was raiding the Israelites when he was out raiding, but David was out raiding people like the Amalekites and several other enemies of the children of Israel, thus not harming his people and keeping his king happy at the same time. Anyway, the kings of the Philistines have decided to invade Israel and Achish is mobilizing for war and takes David with him. In taking him with him, the other kings and captains of the Philistines are angry that David is there.
Speaker 1:I don't think I would have wanted David either if I were the Philistines, especially not in a battle against the Israelites, because if this man turns against you, the whole tide of the battle is over. You're going to lose. And so the other kings rightly say Achish, what are you doing? He can't come with you. This is ridiculous. You've got to send him home. And that would have been considered dishonorable at the time. And Achish tells the other kings that I've never found fault with my servant David. He's been perfect to me. I don't want to send him home. But they impress on him the importance of sending him home until he finally is under so much pressure that he has to say David, you've got to go home. David, offended at being sent home, says what have I done to you to deserve this dishonor? King Achish says to him you have been perfect to me, like an angel of God, you have been unto me, but you must go home. Go back to Ziklag.
Speaker 1:So David returns, not having to fight the children of Israel, not having to go to war against Saul, thus preserving his kinship with the nation of Israel. And we know that David is the anointed king and he's in exile because of Saul's jealousy, because of Saul's jealousy. And he goes home to Ziklag and finds it burned. And this is the response the Amalekites had made a raid into the Negev and Ziklag. They had crushed Ziklag and burned it to the ground. They carried off the women and children and everyone else, but without killing anyone. Without killing anyone, when David and his men saw the ruins and realized what had happened to their families, they wept until they could weep no more. David's two wives, ahinoam from Jezreel and Abigail, the widow of Nabal from Carmel, were among those captured.
Speaker 1:At this point in his journey, david had been living in exile for years You'll have to fact check me, but I believe it would have been something close to 10 years at this point that David had been in exile from King Saul and his jealousy, and in that time he had been nearly captured by Saul, nearly killed by Saul and mistreated by more people than he could count. You can find in his account of this period of time in his life that david pretended to be insane to escape execution by the philistines. At one point he went to the king of gath and asked the king of gath for a place among them, and the nobles of gath said that's david who killed goliath, let's kill him. And david started foaming at the mouth and eating grass and acting like an animal to escape being killed by the Philistines. Imagine it the future king of Israel, the one beloved by Yahweh, foaming at the mouth, eating dirt and grass just so as not to get killed, and living in caves, and in all of his trials and tribulations, which included having his first wife stolen from him and given to another man. Saul gave his daughter to David and when David had to go on the run, stole David's wife. Didn't just cause him to go into exile, unjustly, stole his wife and gave her to another man. This, where we find him here, is rock bottom.
Speaker 1:Saul so hated David that you can find in 1 Samuel chapter I believe it's 21. Let's look. No, we'll find it here. Give me one second. Saul so hated David that the priest. It's 1 Samuel 22. Saul so hated David that when Saul found out that priests had helped David run from Saul, saul took his captains with him and slaughtered the whole of the priests at Nob, other than Ahimelech, who became David's high priest, slaughtered all of them. When Saul's captains wouldn't do it, doeg the Edomite did it for him, killed the men still wearing their ephods they're in their priestly garments and Saul, so angered and so driven by hatred of David at this point in his life, slaughtered all of them just for helping him. So David not only is running for his life, he's not only had his wife stolen from him, those that helped him get slaughtered. And when Ahimelech comes to him he says I knew that when I saw Doeg there that vengeance would be brought down upon the priest and I have caused the death of your father and all your kinsmen. You can stay with me and I'll protect you, for the same man that's trying to kill you is trying to kill me. And after all of that, we find him at rock bottom here.
Speaker 1:Guys, this was not a one-time event in his life. David had been anointed king. David is a bastard and that's why they didn't like him. And when I say bastard, not that he didn't have a legitimate father. He had an illegitimate mother. She was not of the children of Israel. That's why David was hated and left with the sheep, because his mother was someone that would have brought shame to the house of Jesse.
Speaker 1:And he gets called from the sheep pasture an anointed king. And then he finds himself in the household of Saul. He starts playing his lyre and his harp and drives evil spirits from Saul. But eventually Saul would not align his heart with beloved identity. And because he would not align his heart with beloved identity, the song of beloved identity, what used to calm him, infuriated him. You've got to be careful, because if you hear the message of beloved identity and fail to come into alignment with the message of beloved identity, what once moved you will cause you to become angry and bitter. So Saul tries to kill him.
Speaker 1:Him runs him out of town, and David, for 10 years, faces obstacle after obstacle after tragedy after tragedy, constant war, no peace, living in caves, and finally finds a measure of success, finally finds a measure of peace. He's given a city. His men and their wives are allowed to settle there. His wife, his two wives and his family are allowed to settle there, and they're able to raid the Amalekites. They're able to take vengeance on the enemies of the Lord. They're able to establish themselves as one wealthy and two successful. They're influential and they're successful here, but they're not yet governing a kingdom. And Yahweh's design for them was never for them to be wealthy and influential. Yahweh's design for them was for them to govern a kingdom, to reign in life as kings. So they find themselves at rock bottom. And watch the response from his men.
Speaker 1:Verse six David was now in great danger. Great, that's fantastic. Not only has his have his wives been stolen, along with all the other wives, but now he's in danger too. And why is he in danger? Because all his men were bitter about losing their sons and daughters and they began to talk of stoning him. He loses everything. Everything is burned to the ground All the wealth they've amassed because they would have become very wealthy, all their wealth, all their influence, their city, their families. And now he's going to get stoned by the very men that he took out of poverty and caused to become influential and wealthy.
Speaker 1:And I want to just rewind just for a second. I know I'm kind of maybe belaboring the point, but I think this is important. Let's look at 1 Samuel 22, and I want to show you who these men were before they met David. I want to rewind just a few years and look at the men who were deciding at this time that David was to blame for their misfortune and trouble. Beloved identity was the issue, and we've had enough of his leadership, so let's take care of it ourselves. These were these men. So David left Gath this is just after he has had to pretend to be insane and eat grass and foam at the mouth to escape death and escaped to the cave of Adullam Soon. His brothers and all his other relatives joined him there. Then others began coming, men who were in trouble or in debt or who were just discontented, until David was captain of about 400 men, you know. To give a visual, who's all seen the movie the Patriot? Has everyone seen the Patriot in here? So everyone knows what I'm talking about.
Speaker 1:Okay, there's a particular scene where Mel Gibson's character, who is kind of fashioned loosely after Francis Marion the swamp fox, who was so influential in the war in South Carolina um, during the war for independence, they come to a. They come to an establishment where there are a lot of men on the inside drinking and, uh, his son makes a comment to him and says dad, these aren't the sort of men that we need. And he makes a statement I won't get it exactly right. But he says, uh, long live the King, or some sort sort of thing, and he has to close the door. Won't get it exactly right, but he says long live the king, or some sort of thing, and he has to close the door because so many knives and hatchets have been thrown at him for making a mention of the king of England.
Speaker 1:And he looks at his son and says these are exactly the sort of men that we need. And so when we start to read that these are discontented, they're in debt, they're in trouble, they're on the run, they're outlaws discontented, they're in debt, they're in trouble, they're on the run, they're outlaws. These are not the kind of men that you need to build a kingdom with. And David looked at these men and said no, no, no. These are exactly the kind of men that I need, because these are not men that will settle for status quo. These are not the sort of men that are designed to just be okay with the average that has been given to them in life. No, these men would rather rise to something greater, and if they're going to go with me, they're going to have to rise up and become all that Yahweh has designed them to be. And the discontented are exactly who he was looking for. They're exactly who he was looking for, not just content to be idle, idle sitters by while everything else happened to them. I, david, said no, I'll take you and I'll take you and I'll take you. And you may not be the ones that would fit in everywhere else, but I'm not looking for someone that would fit in everywhere else. I'm looking for someone that I can build a culture with, and if I can build a culture with you, we can rule a kingdom. These were the mighty men, the elite special forces of their day. In the days to come, these men would perform legendary feats of bravery and astonishing acts of loyalty.
Speaker 1:In the days to come, after he's crowned king, the Philistines invade before david would have time to consolidate his kingdom before david had a chance to be established as king. He's been crowned king but has not yet been established, as there's a difference. There's a difference in being crowned and established. There's a journey between being crowned for something and established in something. And every time that you get crowned for something, jesus, the plan of the enemy is for adversity to strike before you've been established. You've been crowned but you've not yet been established. And between crowning and establishment, adversity comes. And what do these men do when adversity comes for David after he's been crowned? They do this they invade Israel after David has been crowned and had the ability to establish his kingdom, and the Philistines overrun Bethlehem.
Speaker 1:And while David was preparing his response, he would say something like this I'd give anything for a drink from the well that I drank from as a child the well, and that is not exactly what the Bible says, but that is essentially what David says. The well at the gate of Bethlehem is what he's desiring a drink for. And three of these men hear him say it. Three of these men hear him say it, and you know what they do. These three men break through enemy lines, go and fill a flask with water and bring it back to him. This was so holy to David that he wouldn't even drink it. He poured it out as an offering to the Lord. Water was not on the acceptable list of sacrifices to the Lord, but this was so holy to David that these men would do this for him that he knelt before Yahweh and said I cannot drink this. I'm going to offer this to Yahweh. You can find that in 2 Samuel 23. You can find that in 2 Samuel 23. No, that's not in 2 Samuel 23.
Speaker 1:2 Samuel 23 is the deeds of the mighty men. This is where you can find their deeds 2 Samuel 23, verses 8 through 39. The deeds of these men are recorded immediately after the last words of David. So it says in my Bible. It says the last words of David and then it says the deeds of the mighty men. So at the ending of the life of David, they make sure to include the deeds of the mighty men.
Speaker 1:So essential to his kingdom were these men that you could not separate their deeds from his rule, separate their deeds from his rule In the eyes of the children of Israel. These men walked hand in hand with David, to the point that their deeds became an extension of his rule and his rule became an extension of their deeds. They slew giants and expanded the rule of the beloved. At the point we find them at ziklag, these men had been given a city and made and been made wealthy. After years of adversity, these men were finally getting established. They finally had their feet under them and at that moment, when they finally thought their feet were getting established underneath of them, the bottom fell out. And at that moment adversity strikes and attempted to destroy the beloved, to destroy the beloved, and we don't have this recorded.
Speaker 1:But at some point in all of this adversity and all of this journeying and all of these ten years, he had to run from Saul. You would think that David had some thoughts come to him, even if they were intrusive, and they would have been something like I wish I had never been anointed king at all. All this has done is bring me trouble. My life would have been easier, my life would have been simpler, my life would have been less full of trouble. I could have lived a really good life if I had not been anointed king. If Samuel had left that oil off the top of my head, I could have done well for myself and done well for my family, and it would not have included all of this heartbreak. David would have moments of victory, he'd have great breakthroughs, he'd kill Goliath, and then he'd have years of adversity.
Speaker 1:This was not the first contradiction, it was just the worst one. David lived with constant contradiction. You're king, david, but you're in exile. How do you walk the tension of holding I'm king, but I'm in exile? How do you walk holding that tension? That's a very real question and it's one that's really applicable to our lives is how do you walk holding these tensions? And in the middle of tension is where life is found. I've made that statement before and I believe that statement with my whole heart. In the middle of contradiction, in the middle of contradictory truths, that's where Damon says Revelation lies. Revelation lies in the seeming contradiction of two truths. Right, that's where life is found. In the middle of seeming contradiction, life can be found. This was not the first contradiction, it was just the worst one In a long series of contradictions for this man. His men were about to kill him, lost everything, and the people he counted on most had enough of him.
Speaker 1:Adversity is one of the few things we're promised in life. It's one of the few things we're promised in life. Storms will come, and I want to just just for a moment we're going to I'm almost done Like I've been talking only for a few minutes now and I'm almost done. I told you I wasn't gonna be long. I want to. I want you to see how beloved identity responds to soul crushing adversity. Paul says in his letter to the 2 Corinthians, his second letter to the Corinthians, his letter of 2 Corinthians, paul says we're crushed on all sides to the point of despairing of life. Man, adversity on all sides is promised, but we don't have to allow adversity to dictate the way that we live our lives. Let's look at verse six again. We don't have to allow adversity to dictate the way that we live our lives.
Speaker 1:David was now in great danger. I'm going to pull up because I like the way New King James says it just a little bit better. 30 and verse here we go. David was in great danger because all his men were bitter about losing their sons and daughters. And they began to talk of stoning David. But David found strength in the Lord, his God. Now David was greatly this is New King James. Now David was greatly distressed, for the people spoke of stoning him because the soul of all the people was grieved. That's a great explanation. Every man for his sons and daughters, but David. This is what I want us to see David strengthened himself in the Lord. Now watch how he responds.
Speaker 1:Then he said to Abiathar the priest bring me the ephod. So Abiathar brought it. Then David asked the Lord should I chase after the band of raiders and will I catch them? Should I chase them and will I catch them? And the Lord said, yes, go after them, you will surely recover everything that was taken from you. Yes, go after them, you will surely recover everything that was taken from you. David encouraged himself in the Lord and after encouraging himself, he sought the word of the Lord in dealing with trial. We'll just say how the church says it right when you're in the middle of trials and tribulations, when you've got sorrow multiplied upon sorrow knocking at the door, when you've got too much going on in your life to deal with, you can insert the. You can insert whatever it is that you need to insert, you can fill in the blank. Wherever it is that you need to fill in the blank when you have these things happening.
Speaker 1:David gives us for lack of a better term the playbook to living a victorious life. David gives us the perfect play. It works every time. The perfect play. It works every time. The perfect play. It works every time. It's like the football coach who designs the perfect play and you just get six. Every time it's touchdown. Every time David, in the middle of men trying to stone him, in the middle of great grief and distress, encourages himself in the Lord, he reminds himself of two things. These are the two things he reminds himself of who his God is and who he is to his God. These are the two things David reminds himself of who his God is and who he is to his God. These are the two things David reminds himself of who his God is and who he is to God. Then the next thing he does is go and wait on the word of the Lord before he does anything.
Speaker 1:My knee-jerk reaction would have been let's get all the boys together and we're going to go tail these suckers and we're going to make them pay. That would have been let's get all the boys together and we're going to go. We're going to go tail these suckers and we're going to make them pay. That's, that's, that would have been my immediate reactions. We find me the fastest horse and we're going to go chop some heads off. That's what's going to happen Now. They did eventually. They eventually did get to chop some heads off and I'm sure they enjoyed it. I would have. I know we're pacifists now, but I would have enjoyed doing that to someone that tried to steal my family. That pacifism thing was a joke. I'm not a pacifist.
Speaker 1:He reminds himself of these two things who his God is and who he is to his God, or how his God cares for him. Then the next thing he does is go and wait on the word of the Lord and, yes, as soon as he receives the word of the Lord, the word of the Lord returns to him. You'll go and you'll recover everything that was lost. And I want to just and we could go. I'm not going to go into the rest of the story, because the rest of the story is they got exactly what the Lord said they would get. They recovered everything, down to the last hair on everyone's head. Not a hair was lost on a soul's head and not a penny was stolen from them that they did not recover.
Speaker 1:And immediately after returning from this victory, the crown came to Ziklag. David was crowned on the other side of rock bottom. If you ever want to really get encouraged and really feel like shouting, td Jakes preached a message one time. The crown has come to Ziklag and it'll make me do a dance right now that'll embarrass the fire out of all my kids and my wife and I won't even care. I won't even care that they're embarrassed. I'll be so fired up by the end of this thing that I'll be running through walls and going crazy. The crown has come to Ziklag.
Speaker 1:The crown was brought to the place that adversity thought it had won. Adversity had him beat and the crown came Jesus. The crown came on the other side of rightly handling the adversity that had been given to him. David reigned as king because he handled adversity rightly. Guys, the lesson in all of this is that we are to reign in life as kings, but we never will until we learn to handle adversity rightly. How do we handle adversity rightly? I've got a couple of practical applications here and I've got a bunch of Bible verses written, so we're going to read a little bit and then I'm going to be done. Practical lessons and application. That's what I've got written at the top of this page to be scholarly and astute.
Speaker 1:It's not always the intensity that will cause you to quit. It's not always the intensity of the adversity that will cause you to quit. It's the longevity of the adversity that will cause you to quit. You can handle it for a little while, but it keeps going on and on and on. Or it's one thing after the next thing, after the next thing, after the next thing, after the next thing, and I finally get my feet under me and I get hit again and I finally start to get established and I get hit again and the same old thing keeps happening and I keep walking around the same old mountain, keep walking around the same old mountain, keep walking around the same old mountain. I just feel like quitting. I'm just going to lay here and die. One thing after another, and you don't know when it'll stop. Or I have been believing this, for I've been believing for this for years and when will it stop? Or when will breakthrough come? Breakthrough come and the keys, just a couple of keys, just a couple of quick points of help to living in victory in these things and I wrote this keys to living in the realities of the new covenant.
Speaker 1:I don't believe there are promises on the other side of the old covenant. I believe they're all realities and we get to choose which ones we live in. That offends some people when I say it. My dad is one of them. I love my dad, but he's like son, you're saying there's no promises. I said no, dad, I'm not saying there are no promises, I'm just saying that it's a reality. What Jesus said on the other side of the cross is a reality. It's not a promise, it's reality. It's a higher realm of reality than we're currently living in, but we can get there. We're on a journey and we're going to get there. That's a good way to say that. The premise of the promise that is. That's a. That's a good lesson in homiletics Live in the premise, to live in the promise, and a couple of things that we can do to help ourselves live in victory and to reign in life as kings, because that's really what I'm talking about here today is reigning in life as a king. Reign in life as kings, because that's really what I'm talking about here today is reigning in life as a king, sons and daughters of Yahweh who have been destined to reign in life as kings.
Speaker 1:One, don't identify with your trial. Or, better said, don't let your trial identify you. Don't identify with your trial. Or, better said, don't let your trial identify you. Don't identify with your trial. Or, better said, don't let your trial identify you. We don't deny its existence, but we refuse to allow it to become our identity. I'm just always going to be this way and you can have the things that you say. This is where we have to begin to apply things like our confession.
Speaker 1:The confession of our mouth dictates the direction of our life. That will help you right there. The confession of our mouth will dictate the direction of our life, and if we get into these moments and we start talking like we're never going to get out of this listen, I'm not talking about having a moment. That's not what I'm. You're gonna have some, but what we do when that moment is over is we get right back into right confession and we get right back into right believing, and we move right back into what we know our identity is and we speak those things that are not as though they.
Speaker 1:I'm more than a conqueror through him. Who, jesus, I'm more than a conqueror for, through him that saved me, I am seated high above all principality, power, might and dominion, and we find our encouragement in the lord. So we don't allow our trial to identify us and we deny it. We don't deny its existence, but we refuse't allow our trial to identify us and we deny it. We don't deny its existence, but we refuse to allow it to become our identity. Now we find encouragement in the Lord, and this is extraordinarily practical. What I'm about to do, what I'm about to do, is the most practical thing that I have ever done in teaching, and I feel like Lucy is happy about this. So you're welcome, lucy. She's like oh my God, he's finally doing something I can understand. Been at this for almost two years. I haven't understood a thing that's come out of his mouth, and he's finally Listen.
Speaker 1:Colossians, chapter 3, verse 14 through 16. I'm going to show us some things that we can hang our hat on as far as encouraging ourselves in the Lord. Colossians 3, 14 through 16. Above all, clothe yourself with love, which binds us all together in perfect harmony, and let the peace that comes from Christ rule in your hearts. It's Colossians 3, 14 through 16. Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds us all together in perfect harmony, and let the peace that comes from God rule in your hearts, for as members of one body, you are called to live in peace and always be thankful. Let this message of Christ, in all its richness, fill your lives, teach and counsel each other with all wisdom he gives. Now watch this.
Speaker 1:Sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs to God with thankful hearts, and we can throw in verse 17,. And whatever you do or say, do it as a representative of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God, the Father. Let this message about Christ and all its richness fill your lives, teach and counsel each other with all the wisdom he gives. Then do this sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs to God with a thankful heart. One of the ways that we encourage ourselves in the Lord is to remind ourselves of the wisdom and teachings of Jesus, the wisdom, and in this case he's talking about the gospel he's teaching. So Paul's saying remind yourself of the gospel that I'm teaching you, and then I want you to sing songs and hymns and spiritual songs to the Lord with a thankful heart, because this will encourage your heart, this will strengthen your mind.
Speaker 1:Guys, we've got enough things taking away strength from our minds. We've got enough things causing fear to from our minds. We've got enough things causing fear to be injected into our spirit. Man, we've got to do a couple of things on our own to bring strength to our mind and our spirit, and one of the things we can do is sing off key, if you have to, to the Lord, and that's what I do. Listen to me, I'll use a country term I beller. I beller at the top of my lungs. I lived in the South long enough I can use that one. I beller at the top of my lungs to the Lord sometimes to encourage my heart. That's one of the things that will keep your heart adjusted and aligned with him in the day of adversity.
Speaker 1:Songs and hymns and spiritual songs to the Lord. Songs and hymns in spiritual songs to the lord, ephesians 5, verses 15 through 20 living in the spirit's power is the headline in my bible. So be careful how you live. Don't live like fools, but like those who are wise. Make the most of every opportunity in these evil days. Don't act thoughtlessly. Don't be drunk with wine, because that will ruin your life. Instead, be filled with the Holy Spirit, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs among yourselves and making music to the Lord in your hearts, and give thanks for everything to God, the Father, in the name of our Lord, jesus Christ.
Speaker 1:And we find it again psalms and hymns and spiritual songs to the Lord with a thankful heart. Twice, almost exactly the same. Almost the exact same encouragement from Paul, songs and hymns and spiritual songs to the Lord with a thankful heart. Do that thing, and that thing will help you find encouragement in the day of adversity. It will strengthen the foundation of your faith to the point that you can look at these things and say none of these things move me, for I know whom I have believed Hebrews, chapter 10, verses 19.
Speaker 1:We've got a few more Hebrews chapter 10, not too many more, but a couple. Hebrews 10,. Uh, 19 through 25 guys, and I'm just scratching the surface. This is literally just scratching the surface. You can go through on your own time and find a hundred of these Hebrews 10 and we'll go 19 through 25. Here we go, and this is so perfect.
Speaker 1:It says A call to persevere. And so, dear brothers and sisters, we can boldly enter heaven's most holy place because of the blood of Jesus. By his death, jesus opened a new, life-giving way through the curtain into the most holy place, and since we have a great high priest who rules over God's house, let us go right into the presence of God with sincere hearts, fully trusting him, for our guilty conscience has been sprinkled with Christ's blood to make us clean and our bodies have been washed with pure water. Let us hold tightly, without wavering, to the hope we affirm, for god can be trusted to keep his promise. Let us think of ways to motivate one another to act to acts of love and good works, and let us not neglect our meeting together, as some, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near. Our mind for our bodies have been washed with pure water and in another place, the writer of scripture would say letting your mind be renewed by washing of water with the word. It's a process of renewing your mind. So what Paul is talking about here is coming into the presence of Jesus boldly.
Speaker 1:This is a key. This is a key when we're in the day of adversity, boldly accessing the presence of Jesus, because what the temptation becomes when we're struggling with these adverse. Sometimes the trial is our fault, sometimes we make some dumb decisions and the trial is our fault, or the adversity is our fault. Sometimes it's my fault Not every time, but sometimes it's it's. Yeah, it's my fault. Yeah, that one, that one, that one's on me. I can, yeah, okay, that's, that's on me. I'm dealing with the fallout of my own poor decisions and there's some adversity coming my way because of it, and what we can do in those moments is understand that I'm not approaching him with my record. This is the key to approaching the presence of Jesus boldly is I'm not approaching him with my record, I'm approaching him with his. I don't get my righteousness that's the cool thing about this whole deal. I don't get my righteousness. That's the cool thing about this whole deal. I don't get a better version of my own righteousness, I get his, and that doesn't change when you make a bad decision. We only feel like that changes when we make a bad decision. So what we then do is we align ourselves with the truth and come right back into the presence of the one who can change the motivating factor inside of the decisions that have caused us to come to this place.
Speaker 1:Okay, moving forward, we're going to Titus, chapter 3, verses 4 through 8. Just a couple more. Just a couple more. Just a couple more. Alright, titus is one of those little ones that you turn over so fast. Huh, pages are so thin. I got a couple sticking together. I'm just going to roll through, I'm just going to roll through Blue Letter Bible. That's what I'm going to do. Good Lord, there we go. Amen, titus, here we go. Here we go. Here we go. We got her, we got her. We got her. We got her. Lit. Titus, chapter 3, verses 4 through 8.
Speaker 1:But when god, our savior, revealed his kindness and love, he saved us, not because of the righteous things we had done, but because of His mercy. He washed away our sins, giving us a new birth and new life through His Holy Spirit. He generously poured out the Spirit upon us through Jesus Christ, our Savior. Because of His grace, he declared us righteous and gave us confidence that we will inherit eternal life. This is a trustworthy saying, and I want you to insist on these teachings. And I want you to insist on these teachings. This is a trustworthy yeah, so that all who trust in God will devote themselves to doing good things. These teachings are good and beneficial for everyone. Good and beneficial for everyone. He generously poured out the Spirit upon us through Jesus Christ, our Savior. Because of His grace, he declared us righteous and gave us confidence that we will inherit eternal life. This is a trustworthy saying and I want you to insist on these teachings so that all who trust in God will devote themselves to doing good things. These teachings are good and beneficial for everyone. What's good and beneficial? The reminder that you've been given the hope of eternal life, but not just the hope of eternal life. You've been given the hope of the kingdom here today. Now the kingdom is at hand because of the gift of Jesus and the Holy Spirit given to us, because of Jesus Moving forward. 2 Peter 1, 16-21. And then I think I'm done with all my references here, so we've almost made it through. 2 Peter 1, 16-21.
Speaker 1:For we were not making up clever stories when we told you about the powerful coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. We saw His majestic splendor with our own eyes when we received the honor and glory from God, the Father. The voice, the voice Hold on this print is so small, for we were not making up clever stories. When we told you about the powerful coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, we saw his majestic splendor with our own eyes, and he's talking about the Mount of Transfiguration. When he's talking here, he's talking about Jesus being transfigured in front of them. He's relating the story of when they were all brought up to the Mount of Transfiguration and Jesus' robe turns whiter than any launderer's soap could turn it. And Elijah and Moses stand there with him when we receive the honor and glory from God.
Speaker 1:The father, the voice from his, from the majestic glory of God, said to him this is my dearly loved son, who brings me great joy. We ourselves heard the voice from heaven when we were there with him on the holy mountain. So the father spoke to him them from the cloud of glory. We all understand that you know what he's leaving out here, that he opened his mouth, and that's why God spoke to them from the cloud of glory. We all understand that you know what he's leaving out here, that he opened his mouth and that's why God spoke to him. He said Lord, it's good that we're here. Peter did Lord, it's good that we're here. Let's build three booths One for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah. Let's set up a place of worship here for the three of you. And the father speaks from the cloud. This is my dearly loved son. You hear him. I'm really glad that you're getting to see your childhood heroes, peter, but you hear him, hear him. So Peter left that piece out, which I would have done too and my letter to the church. We got to hear him. I mean, he spoke. I got to hear his voice. I don't I'm not going to tell you why we got to hear his voice, but we got to hear his voice.
Speaker 1:Because of that experience we were, we have even greater confidence in the message proclaimed by the prophets Such an interesting thing. We have an even greater confidence in the old covenant, the message of the prophets. You must pay close attention to what they wrote, for their words are like a lamp shining in a dark place until the day dawns and Christ, the morning star, shines in your hearts. Above all, you must realize that no prophecy in Scripture ever came from the prophet's own understanding or from human initiative. No, these prophets were moved by the Holy Spirit and they spoke from God.
Speaker 1:I'm going to read it in the New King James as well. I want to show you just one thing here and I'm going to make maybe one more point, and then I'm going to read this whole thing in the New King James. For we did not follow cunningly devised fables when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of his majesty. For he received from God, the Father, honor, honor and glory when such a voice came to him from the excellent glory. This is my beloved son, in whom I am well pleased, and we heard his voice, which came from heaven, when we were with him on the holy mountain again, because he opened his mouth and, but, bless God, they got to hear the voice of God. So I mean kind of worth it at that point. I think kind of worth it. I think if it were me and I'm making the trade and I'm there hearing the audible voice of God, I'm going to trade saying one dumb thing for hearing.
Speaker 1:This may have been a calculated decision on Peter's part. Actually, now that I think of it, it may have been a calculated decision to say something stupid. Maybe in his mind, when I say dumb things, jesus responds. So perhaps, so, perhaps One time he called me Satan, but I'm going to roll the dice and try again. That would be my thought process in that moment. I'm going to roll the dice, come on double sevens. And it worked. And when we heard his voice, which came from heaven, we were with him on the holy mountain.
Speaker 1:And so we have the prophetic word confirmed, which you do well to heed as a light that shines in a dark place until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts. Knowing this first, that no prophecy of scripture is of any private interpretation, for prophecy never comes by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit, and the King James says this. And this is really interesting how the King James interprets this. It says this we have a more sure word of prophecy, verse 19, where unto ye do well that ye take heed. We have a more sure word of prophecy. That's what they're calling the scripture. We have a more sure word of prophecy. We have a more sure word of prophecy.
Speaker 1:Why do I say that in the context of what I've been talking about here today? Because you can take what this thing says about who you are, about what you are, about the situations of your life. You can get this thing on the inside of you and you can have bold confidence before God that this is a more sure word of prophecy and this will be the deciding voice of my life. This will be the end of my life. Not the adversity that I find myself in, not the place that I find myself in, not the struggle, not the hardship, not the condemnation, not the lies, not the adversity. None of those things will be what defines me. This will be what to and I'm not going to read anymore. I'm done reading, thankfully. I've read enough today.
Speaker 1:But we can find some really practical application from St Veronica in her issue of blood, where she said within herself if I can just touch the hem of his garment, jesus man said within herself if I can just touch the hem of his garment, jesus man we find these things all through the gospel If I can just touch the hem of his garment, I know that I'll be made clean In the day of great adversity. She said if I can just touch him, she said if I can just touch him, if I can get, if I can just get in the presence, I know that I'll be made whole. Then later on it says that he was surrounded by those that were sick and and ill, and the infirmed, and as many as touched him were made whole. So they took her bold faith as permission and said within themselves if I can just touch him like she did, if I can just touch him like that woman who is ceremonially unclean and should not have been in public, if he'll do it for her, surely he'll do it for me, surely he'll lift this up off of me, if I can just get inside of the presence of the one who made all things come to pass. We know the rest of the story of David. It's kind of a mixed bag, but the Lord says of him David who did, who accomplished all of my will, the one who was after my own heart. In fact, david is so dear to the heart of the Lord that his is the only tabernacle he's interested in rebuilding.
Speaker 1:And one more thing I want to say about not allowing the difficulties of life to define you. In the book that I'm beginning to read, beginning to pray, I still haven't got past chapter 1. Chapter 1 was profound. He says there are several things that will cause God to be silent and one of those things is relating to him as an imposter. And when you allow, this is powerful, this is practical, but this is really powerful. This will help you. Allow adversity to define you and you try to relate to him from your adversity and you don't hear anything back. It's because you have effectively man, you have effectively taken on a false identity and he won't deal with that false identity. And he won't deal with that false identity. When you try to relate to God from your adversity or from the conflict in your life or from Guys, you fill in the blank. There's so many things going that you could say I'm this, this is who I am, this is always who I've been, I'm just going to be this, this is who I am, and you try to relate to God in that way, you try to relate to Yahweh in prayer in that way, and you don't hear anything back from him. It's because he will not deal with the imposter and you have effectively taken on a false identity, identity. Go ahead, it seems. It always seems like he's silent when you're in the middle of a struggle or whatever, because you're not.
Speaker 1:We. We tend to like not have the correct perspective in the middle of challenges. I would say it's a contributing factor. There are times when Yahweh is silent and I've said confusing things before like his first language is silence and I maintain that that's kind of true. However, I think the way that we relate to him contributes greatly to the fact that we're unable to hear him. And he speaks. Hebrews says that he speaks to us in the language of a son and you can actually take that and translate it. He speaks to us through sonship and when you try to relate to him any other way than from the reality of sonship, you can't hear it or you don't have the right interpretive lens on. And when he begins to try to speak to you, you can't hear it. There's too much competing noise because you're not relating to him from the appropriate place.
Speaker 1:This thing's about order, more than we realize it is, guys, and there's an order to the kingdom life, and one of the ways that we stay in order is we refuse to take on the false identity of the things that harass us. Staying in alignment means not allowing the contradiction to define me, no matter how severe. That's not who I am, in fact. I'm going to go through and I'm going to find in here everything he says about me and I'm going to declare it over my life. I don't care if we have to put it on mirrors, if we have to put it on the dash of our car, if we have to get really practical and do note cards, do those things. It's not about doing more and trying harder. It's about discovering who we really are. And you can hear me say you're loved, you're the beloved of God. That's who you are, that's your only identity.
Speaker 1:Until I'm blue in the face, but until we start to become doers of the word and not just hearers only, what will happen is we'll act like we're double-minded when we're really not double-minded. That's the, the, the. The terrible tragedy of those that are double-minded is the reality is they're not double-minded, they just think they are. They're not double-minded, they just think they are. Go grab that thing that has the verse from 2 Corinthians off the refrigerator real quick. Go grab that. I want to read that real quick, and then I'm going to be done. Sorry, I'll say thank you, it'll work. 1 Corinthians, Thank, thank you. I appreciate it.
Speaker 1:First, corinthians 1558 says this. So, and logan has so beautifully painted this. It's perfect. It's way better than I could do so now, beloved ones, stand firm, stable and enduring man. Live your lives with an unshakable confidence. We know that we prosper and excel in every season by serving the Lord, because we are assured that our union with Him makes our labor productive, with fruit that endures. So now, beloved ones, stand firm, stable and enduring. Live your lives with an unshakable confidence. Because why? Because we know that we prosper and excel in every season by serving the Lord, because we are assured that our union with the Lord makes our labor productive, with fruit that endures.
Speaker 1:And what is the first voice that comes to us in the middle of contradiction? None of this works. And why am I even doing this? This is all just a big waste of time. And when that voice comes, we have to stand firm, stable and enduring, with an unshakable confidence.
Speaker 1:And the only way we will be able to live with a firm, unshakable confidence is if we understand what he says about what we're going through. About what we're going through, and if we can understand what he says about what we're going through and we align our confession with that, then what he says will Jesus be the ultimate destination of our life? Situations be hanged, contradiction be hanged, all of it be hanged. His word stands forever. His word is above even his own name, and when he looked for someone to promise by, he promised by his own name, and his word is higher than that.
Speaker 1:So I don't have any. I don't have anything more profound than that to share. I felt like I would share something really, really practical today. So if you find yourself in the middle of contradictory waters, you align I'll use a sailing term you align your rudder with the North Star. And what is the North Star? The word of Almighty Yahweh, and if you do that, you won't fail to reign in life as a king. You will not fail to reign in life as a king. You will not fail Amen, thank you.