How The World Sees The Church

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Looking at our world from a theological perspective. This is

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the Theology Central podcast, making Theology Central, Ladies and gentlemen.

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It is twenty eight days, seven hours, forty three minutes

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and fifty one seconds until the twenty twenty four presidential election.

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Let me say that again. It is twenty eight days,

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seven hours, forty three minutes and now thirty seven seconds

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until the twenty twenty four presidential election. Now you may

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say I don't care, I don't vote, I don't care

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to vote, I don't care about politics, and I completely

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understand because I hate politics and I don't vote. I

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can't stand anything about the entire process. But here's the question.

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With the election being twenty eight days, seven hours, forty

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three minutes and now eight seconds away, here's the question. Politics,

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the coming election, the consequences after the election, everything about

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the presidential election, everything about politics. Has it dramatically impacted

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how the world sees the church. That's what we're going

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to talk about right after this. Good afternoon everyone. It

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is Monday, October seventh, twenty twenty four. It is currently

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five seventeen pm Central Time, and I am coming to

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you live from the Theology Central studio. Located right here

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in Albilene, Texas. And please let me state that again.

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I'm coming to you live from the Theology Central Studio,

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not Republican you know headquarters, not the Democratic headquarters. Not

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from any political party, no political affiliation, no political allegiance

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I have. I have no allegiance to any political party.

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I can't stand any of it. I despise all of it.

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And you know what I despise the most is when

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politics finds its way into the church. I can't stand it.

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I despise it. I feel it's I feel it's just

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wrong in every way, shape or form. I can't stand

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when church is just not five minutes from my house,

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five minutes. If I was to get in my car,

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drive out of my neighborhood, get to the stop sun

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at the end of the street, turn right, maybe two

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minutes a minute up the road. If that on the

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left hand side, there is a very very very very

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very large church. I mean it's it's I mean hundreds

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upon hundreds upon hundreds of people probably maybe even a

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thousand people could probably fit inside the building. It's gigantic, right,

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and guess what is outside? All over its property, all

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of these signs to vote Republican, vote for Trump, vote

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for Ted Cruz, vote vote, vote vote. It's just it

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looks like a I don't know, like the Republican Party.

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Back to truck up and put nine hundred signs right

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there on the church property. And I'm like the church.

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When people drive by, they don't see a church, they

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don't see Christ. They see a political party. And if

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I go down about another five minutes down the road,

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there's another very large church that has a campus on

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this side of town and on the other side of town.

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And guess what they have in front of their church,

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all these signs again from the Republican Party, the Republican Party,

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the Republican Party. So if anyone was to drive down

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this street, they would drive past two very large churches,

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and you know what, they would see politics. They wouldn't

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see a church that preaches Christ. They see a church

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preaching political affiliation, political identity. I am sick of that.

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How does the world see the church? That is what

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we're going to talk about, because we're now twenty eight days,

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seven hours, forty minutes and one second until the twenty

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twenty four presidential election, and I wish, I wish I

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could say, hey, once the election happens, this will all

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be over, ladies and gentlemen. It'll be over. The political

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division will be over, the everyone finding their identity and

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a political party will be over. All of the misinformation

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disinformation will be over. The church will just go back

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to the church being a church. I wish I could

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say that. I can't say any of that. I can't

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say any of that because I know it's not true.

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I think what we're going to see moving forward is

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the church is going to become more political, more political,

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and more political, and it's going to drive more and

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more people away from the Cross because they are sick

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and tired of the politics. That is my feeling. You

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may disagree, but that's what we're going to talk about.

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And the way and the reason we're going to talk

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about this is kind of actually kind of interesting. So

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today I was like, okay, I wasn't able to record

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at the time. I didn't feel like I could do

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a live broadcast or anything. So I'm like, well, I

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need to I need to listen to something. I mean,

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it's the twenty twenty four you know, Sermon's two point

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oh sermon Challenge, So I need to listen to a

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sermon today, and I started looking and I saw one

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entitled How's your Heart? How's your Heart? And I'm like, oh, okay,

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wait a minute. We just did a long broadcast a

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couple of days ago talking about the heart the nature. Okay,

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well this is going to talk about how's your heart?

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Maybe this will add some kind of discussion about is

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the heart the same thing as the nature? Is it separate?

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Is it different? Do we have a new heart, old heart?

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All of those types of questions. And I'm like, okay,

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let me start listening. And I kind of like, well,

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he's kind of I'm saying I think maybe. And it

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was kind of getting frustrated because it's getting right back

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into all of the just confusion and how confounding that

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subject really is when you start listening to sermons. So

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I was like, Okay, this is not really going anywhere.

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Oh okay, I'm just gonna stay with it. I'm gonna

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stay with it and see where this goes. And then

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all of a sudden, about twenty minutes into the sermon,

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maybe twenty five minutes into the sermon, he ends up

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in He ends up in First Samuel, and then he

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reads a phrase in first Samuel, and I'm like, oh,

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oh wow, that's what's happened. That describes the church today,

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that describes the church. This is awesome. So then I,

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even though that may not have been his obviously was

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not his major major thesis, It wasn't his major point,

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I was like, well, let me grab the audio. So

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I grabbed the audio, and I'm like, I'm just gonna

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play this short section and then I'm gonna use is

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to talk about how does the world see the church,

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especially in light of politics, especially in light of well

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twenty eight days, seven hours, thirty six minutes, and fifty

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four seconds away from the twenty twenty four presidential election.

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How does that fact impact how the world sees the church?

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So again, this sermon is not about that that I'm

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getting ready to play this clip from. But he's gonna

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make a point now to me, I wish he would

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have just made this his entire sermon, but he makes

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the point. He's going somewhere else. But we're just gonna

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take this one point and I'm really really going to

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dig into it, and we're gonna have hopefully an interesting

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conversation about it. So are you ready? All right? He's

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talking about David, he's talking about Saul, he's talking about heart.

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So you're gonna hear a little bit of that, but

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just listen carefully because he's going to describe how the

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people quote unquote the people of God, how they're being

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described by their enemy. Listen, here we go.

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The refused heart can be concealed. Number two, The refused

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heart is cowardly. Go to chapter seventeen with me, please,

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Now what has happened. Sau has put his battle in array.

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We're gonna put King Sau in the armies of Israel

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for the sake of the object lesson tonight. We're gonna

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put them in the choir loft. The Philistines, their hated enemies,

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have put their battle in array, and we're gonna put

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them in that balcony back there where the PA is

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not picking on the PA guy, but most people think

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that the PA guys are Philistines anyway. All right now,

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my MIC's gonna go mute here in just a second.

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He's gonna get me bad. We're gonna put him back there,

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just for the object Lesson. In between is the Valley

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of Ela, and there is a brook there. They're ready

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to go into battle, and all of a sudden, before

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they can go into battle, and you've heard this story

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all your life, outcomes a giant of a man by

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the name of Goliath.

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He is of the region of goth He.

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Walks down in the valley and he begins number one,

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to blaspheing God. Number two, he begins to challenge the

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children of Israel, choose you a.

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Man that we may fight together.

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If I defeat him and kill him, then shall you

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be our servants. But if he defeat me and kill me,

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then we shall we be your servants. He says, let's

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go ahead and have a fight, right now, send me

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down someone to fight me. First observation about his speech,

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and we'll read it here in just a moment. The

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first observation about his speech is, when did the children

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of Israel get together and have a vote and make

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Goliath the commander in chief of the armies of Israel?

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Siper the harper?

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What are you trying to say? Well, you have to

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understand a little bit about me. When I was young,

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I was what some of lovingly and graciously called a

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smart elek. All right, are you familiar with that? Some

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of you have probably described some of your kids and grandkids.

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That way, I was a smart elec. At least that's

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what I was told.

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I found if you ever asked an adult a question

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they couldn't answer, there was going to be a meeting

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with your parents because you were a smart elec. So oftentimes,

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by the way, I will tell anybody in the auditorium

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that you're if you're right now being called a smart elek,

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wait till you turn about forty five, because then you're

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just satirical and sarcastic.

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So I had this question.

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Every time I would hear this passage of scripture taught

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on or approached on, I would want to ask the question.

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I would want to bring it up, but I was

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always afraid that my parents would be called in and

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I would face the wrath of my mom or dad

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when I got home because I asked a smart elec question.

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When did the child of Israel vote for Goliath to

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be the leader of the armies of Israel.

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I'm going to starport right here. I somewhat understand this

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because I think some people think I'm a smart elec.

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I think some people think I'm the same way because

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I will ask these kinds of questions to me, We've

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got to get rid of this idea that you're being

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a smart alec if you ask difficult questions. I think

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in many cases, the Church and Christians don't like difficult questions.

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When you're reading a text and you're like, well, wait

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a minute, who made Goliath leader over Israel? And he said, well,

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why would you ask that question? Read the text? The

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text makes no sense, and there's plenty of te I

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could ask this question about you. Just name the passage

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of scripture. There's almost inevitable that I could be like,

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wait a minute, this makes no sense. You're not supposed

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to say that in church. You're not supposed to ask that.

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All of the conversations we've been having recently about sin

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and how does this work? And a new heart or

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not a new heart? And well you can keep the law,

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well you can't keep the law, but you can't, but

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you can't all of the things Christians say that I

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ask difficult questions. People are like, oh, you're just being

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a jerk, You're just being a smart Like, no, these

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are questions that should be asked when you read the Bible.

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You should ask these kinds of questions. And sometimes so

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I do believe it's young people in the church who

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they learn quickly. You're not supposed to ask these questions.

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You're supposed to just accept whichever narrative they feed you.

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You're just supposed to go, well, that's the way they know.

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It's people can feed you a narrative that's more tradition

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than it is actually text based. Pastors can preach things

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about the text and you're just sitting there, going, what

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in the world are you talking about? There has nothing

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to do. No, but you're not supposed to say that.

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You're just supposed to go along, just go along, go along.

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So I think we need to get rid of this

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idea that asking tough questions about the text makes one

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a smart elec. I think what we have to be

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willing to do is sometimes we have to look at

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the text and go, man, this makes no sense. This

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is just crazy. And I think he raises a good

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point here in this story about Goliath who voted him

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in charge of Israel. What does he mean by that? Well,

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let's listen. This is where we'll get to the part

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that I want to get to. So stay with me.

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But let's at least see I thought this was interesting,

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so what do.

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You mean, brother Harper. Goliath comes down in that valley

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and he says, you send me one man, and the

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child of Israel said, oh, we can only send one.

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Why didn't Saul send three thousand guys down there at

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that moment and chop Goliath into little tiny pieces. Yes,

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he might kill a few of them, he's not gonna

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kill them all. Why did he put two thousand archers

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on either side and send arrows into Goliath so he

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looked like a pincushion by the time they were done.

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Why was it that the children of Israel immediately said, well,

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we've got to do what Goliath said?

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Who put him in charge?

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By the way, Christian, let me point something out. Goliath

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wasn't in charge of the nation of Israel, and Goliath

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isn't in charge of the Church today. Goliath acts like

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he's in charge the war, act like they can tell

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us what to do. The simple truth of the matter

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is we march in the same army, and our Savior,

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Jesus Christ is our captain. We don't have a commander

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in chief. If you will over us, that isn't him.

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I think that's a reasonable question to ask. The text,

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why would Israel just be like, oh, wait, he's calling

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one person out. Why Why do you have to send

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one person out? Why? Now I think it's a good one.

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Now I'm not saying that there's not an answer, right,

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but it's a good question to ask. What I want

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you to take from this is this, when you read

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the text, ask the questions. Ask the questions. Sometimes Christians

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will get irritated with you. Sometimes Christians will get bothered

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because a lot of times it's because, well, they don't

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have a good answer, right. Sometimes it can just get

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very frustrated because sometimes there's not a good answer. But

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it's better to get frustrated. It's better for everyone to

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get irritated. But we're all forced to go, well, I

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don't really know now. I think there may be an answer.

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There may be an answer here. I could throw out

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some possible answers. But when you read the text, that's

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how read it and think and ask questions and struggle

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with it and try to figure it out and try

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to understand it. It's perfectly okay, all right, Now, let's

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see where this is going to go.

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Notice the second thing, over and over, you've heard that

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story about Goliath, about all those things.

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That he did.

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And they always say one thing that just isn't found

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in scripture. Do you know they'll tell you every time

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you hear this passage preached on that Goliath blaspheme God.

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You know, Goliath didn't say a single word in recorded

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scripture about God.

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Notice what it says.

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Let's just read it, because I know you're looking at me, funny,

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and you're saying, well, all the Bible story books say

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that he blasphemed, and all the sermons I've heard said

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he's blaspeaming. I'm not concerned about what Bible's storybooks say

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or what sermons say. I just want to know what

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the Bible says. So let's look at chapter seventeen.

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Start with me.

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In verse four, and there went out a champion out

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of the camp of the Philistines named Goliath of Gath,

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whose height was six cubits and a span. And he

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had a helmet of brass upon his head, and he

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was armed with a coat of mail, and the way

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to the coat was five thousand shekels of brass. And

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he had greams of brass upon his legs, and a

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target of brass between his shoulders, and the staff of

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his spear was like a weaver's beam, and his spear's

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head weighed six hundred shekels of iron, And when bearing

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a shield, went before him, and he stood and cried

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under the armies of Israel and said to them, why

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are you come out to set your battle in array?

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Am not I a philistine? And ye servants to God? Oh?

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That's not what it says, is it. By the way,

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can I tell you something scary about this passage of scripture?

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The scariest thing about this entire story is that sometimes

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God gives us exactly what we think we want. The

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children of Israel wanted a king go before them and

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to judge them and to fight their battle. The children

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of Israel rejected God's leadership for a king's leadership.

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And now all of a sudden, they're no longer known.

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By the philip by the Philistines as the servants of God.

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Now they're the servants of Saul. He goes on, I'm

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sure I shopped too early that the next part is the.

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Now. As soon as he said that I was booked,

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I was blown away. Okay, as soon as he said that,

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I was like, oh, wow, that is so good. Now

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he immediately moves on. He immediately moves on. But I

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was like, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, back up,

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back up. That is awesome. So a couple of things. First,

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he is absolutely right that so many times we hear

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things in a book or we hear things in a

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sermon where they say this happened in the text, or

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this person did this, or they interpret it this way,

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and it has nothing to do with what the Bible says.

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So many times people say, well, well Goliath said this

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or Goliath, and you're like, well, where is that in

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the text. And I completely agree that we should not

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care about what sermons say or what books say, We

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should care about what the text says. I completely agree.

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But he makes a point here that he goes by

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two quick. So let me read it again. First Samuel,

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chapter seventeen, verse eight. First Samuel, chapter seventeen, verse eight.

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And he stood, this is speaking of Goliath. He stood

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and cried unto the armies of Israel. And he said,

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unto them, why are you come out to set your

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battle in array? Am not i of Philistine, And ye

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servants to Saul, Am not I of Philistine, and ye

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servants to Saul. He did not see them as servants

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of God. He saw them servants of Saul. And I'm like,

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that is that's such a valid point. The enemy does

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not perceive them as the people of God or the

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servants of God. He sees them, at least at this

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particular verse, he sees them as the servants of Saul.

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And why are they seen as the servants of Saul?

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Because the people had a desire. They wanted something. If

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you go back to first Samuel chapter eight, go back

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to first Samuel chapter eight, the people wanted something, right,

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they wanted something. And look at what they say that

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here are if you look at first Samuel chapter eight,

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verse one. And it came to pass when Samuel was old,

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that he made his son's judges over Israel right. And

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if you look there in the verse three, his sons

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walked not in his ways, but turned aside after Lucre

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and took bribes and perverted judgment. Then all the elders

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of Israel gathered themselves together and they come to Samuel.

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I look at verse five, and they said into him,

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behold thou art old, and thy sons walk not in

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thy way. Now make us a king to judge us

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like all the nations. And then but this thing displeased

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Samuel when they said, give us a king to judge us.

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And Samuel prayed unto the Lord, and the Lord said

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into Samuel, hearken into the voice of the people. And

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all that they say unto THEE. For they have not

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rejected THEE, but they have rejected me. That I should

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not reign over them. The people of God and a

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sense reject God. And they want a political leader. They

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want a civil leader. They want a governmental official, one

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whom they can see. That's what they want. They want

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that they want that person to lead us so we

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can be like all the other nations. And I will

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argue that what has happened in the American Church over

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the last I don't it feels like ten years. Slowly,

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but surely, the Church has said, we need a leader,

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we need a man, We need a political party so

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that we can win these earthly battles with political power,

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with political influence, by passing laws and passing bills. We're

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going to make this work. And so we have rejected

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God for the sake of political for political political expediency.

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And guess what we've gained from that. The world now

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When they see the church, they don't say servants of God.

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They see servants of Trump. They see servants of the

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Republican Party. They see people committed to politics to trying

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to fight culture wars through political force. They don't see

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the Cross. They don't see Christ. They don't see salvation.

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They don't see the Gospel. They see what we believe

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about cultural issues, what we think about this, and what

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we think about that. They no longer hear the word

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of God. They see political ideology. They see a commitment

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to political power. That is the look. I know many

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who love politics and get all into politics and wants

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to talk politics. They say, they're trying to stand for righteousness.

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But you have in your supposed a tip to stand

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for righteousness, which again, when we can get into who

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you're supporting for, if you're going for the Republicans, I

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I it's well, we can get into a whole discussion there.

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But your supposed stance for righteousness, Guess what people see.

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They don't see the righteousness of your stance. They see

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the political party which you have pledged your allegiance to.

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They don't see Christ. They don't see the Cross, they

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don't see the law of God. They don't see the Gospel.

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They see you are Trump this, Trump this, Trump this, America, America, America,

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make America great, make America great, and all the other

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political slogans. The same thing can happen with people on

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the left, but typically conservative churches go for the Republicans.

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So that's what we're going to focus on, because we're

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not gonna we can get into a whole discussion about

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the liberal churches. But in many cases, those liberal churches

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have already abandoned biblical theology. So we're talking to conservative

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churches that pay lip service to to biblical theology while

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they slowly but surely become nothing more and they do

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nothing more than prostitute themselves to a political party. And

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many Christians are all over social media and running all around,

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and all people know about them is they're a Trump supporter.

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They're maga. That's all that's because that's all and all

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you do is argue politics, politics, and then and then

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the worst part of it is when you get into

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a political argument, then you'll start trying to rip scriptures

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out of context and throw scriptures in there as if

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God is on your political side. But people don't see

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God they see your politics. They don't see you as

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servants of God. They see you servants of Trump. They

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see you are, in this case, servants of Saul. Go

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back to that First Samuel chapter seventeen, and he stood

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and cried into the armies of Israel and said, unto them,

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why are you come out to set your your battle

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in array? Am I am not I a philistine? And

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ye's servants to Saul. Not servants to God, but servants

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to Saul. Now, as soon as he said that, I

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was like, wow. Now I know when I first came

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back in, I tried to say wow, and I couldn't

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say wow because I don't know. I was about to

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start coughing. But I get all excited even thinking about it,

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because I was like, what a brilliant point. I would

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have never considered that. I would have never even thought

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about that. I know that's not the point of his sermon,

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but I was like, man, this makes the whole sermon

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worth listening to. So I did a little bit of

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work and I said, Okay, what can I do? How

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can we expand this? Am I thinking about this? Right?

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Am I going so hit? My perspective? Is this the

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reference to the Israelites as a servant of Saul and

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one Samuel seventeen eight. I believe this can be seen

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as significant and light of the earlier rejection of God's

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kingship in first Samuel chapter eight, by demanding a human

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king to lead them like all the other nations. For

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Samuel eighteen five, which we've read, or for Samuel eight five,

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not eighteen five. For Samuel eight five, I apologize. Israel

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shifted its identity. Now this is very important. Israel shifted

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its identity from being God's chosen people to being a

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nation led by a fallible human ruler. The Church, has

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my estimation, has shifted its identity from being those who

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are saved by the blood of Jesus Christ and his

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imputed righteousness to those who now want to be identified

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by a very very very very very very very very

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very very fallible and flawed human leader by the name

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of Donald Trump. And there's been books and articles written

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about I just don't understand what's happened to the Evangelical Church.

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They used to say character matters, they used to say

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morality matters. They have abandoned character, They've abandoned morality, they've

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abandoned truth, all for political expediency. Goliath's words may reflect

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how this shift was perceived even by their enemies. They

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were no longer seen as directly aligned with God, but

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rather withsaw, their human king. Do you want to be

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identified as a follower of Christ or as a follower

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of Trump? Now, personally, these churches that are about, you know,

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five minutes from my house. If I was a member

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of any of those churches, and I would have pulled

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up and saw those political signs on the church property,

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I would have walked in asked the pastor why are

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those there? Are we going to remove those? And he

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says no, I wanted them there. I would be like,

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remove my membership. I am never coming back to this place.

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Under this place, just put Ichabod. The glory has departed.

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This has become not the house of God, but this

475
00:27:03.920 --> 00:27:08.480
has become a prostituted building for political purposes. And I'm

476
00:27:08.480 --> 00:27:10.200
not going to have anything to do with it. And

477
00:27:10.240 --> 00:27:16.799
I would never go back under any circumstances. And if

478
00:27:16.839 --> 00:27:20.279
politics have made it into the pulpit as far as

479
00:27:20.799 --> 00:27:23.920
about a political party, Now, if you're talking about issues

480
00:27:23.960 --> 00:27:26.200
that are related to politics, but you're doing so from

481
00:27:26.240 --> 00:27:29.960
a philological perspective. Okay, but when it comes about voting

482
00:27:30.039 --> 00:27:33.920
and politics and oh man, no, no, no, that's when

483
00:27:33.920 --> 00:27:42.279
the church has been corrupted. The identification with a human

484
00:27:42.400 --> 00:27:50.599
leader instead of God carries strong implications. It suggests that

485
00:27:50.599 --> 00:27:53.559
when God's people put their trust in human institutions or leaders,

486
00:27:53.799 --> 00:27:56.960
even their enemies begin to recognize them more for their

487
00:27:57.039 --> 00:28:01.400
political alignment than for their spiritual identiy as God's people.

488
00:28:01.640 --> 00:28:03.599
I'm going to read that to you again. That's not

489
00:28:03.640 --> 00:28:05.839
even my words. These are words from a different source.

490
00:28:05.920 --> 00:28:09.759
Listen to this carefully. This identification with a human leader

491
00:28:10.119 --> 00:28:15.000
and carries strong implications. I've been trying to say this.

492
00:28:15.000 --> 00:28:16.759
This says it better than I've ever said it. Are

493
00:28:16.759 --> 00:28:20.119
you ready? It suggests that when God's people put their

494
00:28:20.119 --> 00:28:24.839
trust in human institutions or leaders, even their enemies begin

495
00:28:25.000 --> 00:28:29.039
to recognize them more for their political alignment than for

496
00:28:29.160 --> 00:28:32.480
their spiritual identity as God's people. And I've seen this

497
00:28:32.640 --> 00:28:35.799
in news article after news article where there's comments underneath it,

498
00:28:36.039 --> 00:28:39.759
and it just it basically links Christianity with Trump supporters,

499
00:28:39.759 --> 00:28:45.680
and it's like no, no, no no, And it's hard

500
00:28:45.720 --> 00:28:47.880
to fight it because it's like, you know, I'm just

501
00:28:48.200 --> 00:28:51.400
I'm like one lone voice in the wilderness, going no, no, no, no, no, no,

502
00:28:51.400 --> 00:28:54.559
no no. Do not attach me in any way, shape

503
00:28:54.640 --> 00:28:58.039
or form to Trump to the Republicans. Do not. I'm

504
00:28:58.079 --> 00:29:01.279
a follower of Christ. This is not my world. I'm

505
00:29:01.279 --> 00:29:05.000
an alien and a stranger here. I am just passing through. No,

506
00:29:05.359 --> 00:29:09.400
I do not connect me with any political party because

507
00:29:09.440 --> 00:29:12.200
I am not connected to it in any way, shape

508
00:29:12.279 --> 00:29:16.519
or form. But the Church is so far down this

509
00:29:16.680 --> 00:29:19.640
road that now that's what the church is identified as,

510
00:29:19.680 --> 00:29:23.079
and every Christian should be fighting against that and yelling

511
00:29:23.119 --> 00:29:26.240
and screaming, going no, do not connect us with that,

512
00:29:26.400 --> 00:29:30.880
do not. We are about Christ and him crucified. We

513
00:29:30.960 --> 00:29:33.559
are about salvation through grace alone, through faith alone, because

514
00:29:33.559 --> 00:29:36.680
of Christ alone. We are about the imputed righteousness of Christ.

515
00:29:36.920 --> 00:29:39.720
We are about the Word of God. We are about discipleship.

516
00:29:39.920 --> 00:29:42.640
We are about baptism, the Lord's Supper. We are about praise.

517
00:29:42.640 --> 00:29:47.799
We're about prayer. We are not about politics. But you watch,

518
00:29:48.119 --> 00:29:50.680
you look at a lot of Christians, you know, and

519
00:29:50.720 --> 00:29:55.359
what they're doing on social media. It's all stinking politics.

520
00:29:55.519 --> 00:29:58.519
And they put politics before the cross. Therefore they now

521
00:29:58.559 --> 00:30:00.960
blind people from seeing the cross, and they don't see

522
00:30:01.200 --> 00:30:05.440
Christ follower, a Christ worshiper. They don't see a Christ learner.

523
00:30:05.720 --> 00:30:11.559
They see a well a political person committed to a

524
00:30:11.599 --> 00:30:22.359
political ideology. Even their enemies begin to recognize them more

525
00:30:22.359 --> 00:30:25.079
for their political alignment than for their spiritual identity as

526
00:30:25.079 --> 00:30:28.960
God's people and Goliath's taunt Israel's identity is bound to

527
00:30:29.000 --> 00:30:33.480
their king, not their God, reinforcing the consequences of their

528
00:30:33.480 --> 00:30:37.720
request for a monarchy. This indeed serves as a warning

529
00:30:37.799 --> 00:30:41.200
for the Church today. If the Church becomes overly politicized

530
00:30:41.359 --> 00:30:43.960
or too closely aligned with a political party or agenda,

531
00:30:44.200 --> 00:30:46.960
those outside the church may begin to identify it more

532
00:30:46.960 --> 00:30:50.519
with that political movement than with God. The danger is

533
00:30:50.519 --> 00:30:53.279
that the church's witness becomes clouded, and it is no

534
00:30:53.319 --> 00:30:56.480
longer seen primarily as a body of believers representing Christ

535
00:30:56.519 --> 00:30:59.000
in his kingdom, but rather as a group associated with

536
00:30:59.039 --> 00:31:03.480
a particularolitical stance. This hinders the church's ability to fulfill

537
00:31:03.480 --> 00:31:09.359
its spiritual mission, and it compromises the identity as God's people.

538
00:31:16.559 --> 00:31:21.680
Now this has happened in twenty twenty four. The Church

539
00:31:22.000 --> 00:31:25.880
has lost its spiritual identity and it has taken upon

540
00:31:25.960 --> 00:31:32.039
itself a political one. How does this happen. Here's some examples. Well,

541
00:31:32.160 --> 00:31:36.720
let's start with alignment with political parties. Many churches in

542
00:31:36.799 --> 00:31:40.759
Christians and communities have, particularly in countries like the United States,

543
00:31:40.839 --> 00:31:44.759
have become closely aligned with specific political parties. For instance,

544
00:31:44.839 --> 00:31:47.680
some segments of the church are often strongly associated with

545
00:31:47.720 --> 00:31:50.519
a Republican party and its policies. This has led to

546
00:31:50.559 --> 00:31:54.079
the perception those outside the church that Christianity, at least

547
00:31:54.119 --> 00:31:58.519
certain denominations is primarily concerned with promoting a conservative political

548
00:31:58.599 --> 00:32:03.559
agenda rather than spiritual or moral principles. And the problem

549
00:32:03.680 --> 00:32:07.720
is Christians won't realize this and acknowledge this. Christians need

550
00:32:07.759 --> 00:32:13.119
to repent of this alignment with political parties. They'll say, no, no, no, no,

551
00:32:13.160 --> 00:32:17.200
I'm just standing for righteousness. I'm just standing for morality.

552
00:32:17.359 --> 00:32:23.000
You do understand how foolish that sounds? If I mean,

553
00:32:23.039 --> 00:32:25.079
do we need to go into everything with Donald Trump?

554
00:32:25.119 --> 00:32:33.359
Do we need to really rehash everything? Do we? The

555
00:32:33.440 --> 00:32:38.720
point is, whether you think Trump is basically sinless or

556
00:32:38.759 --> 00:32:41.799
whether you think is you three seconds away from being satan?

557
00:32:43.319 --> 00:32:45.559
You don't want to be aligned with any political party

558
00:32:45.880 --> 00:32:48.359
in any way, shape or form. You want to just

559
00:32:48.400 --> 00:32:50.599
be saying we call you to faith in Christ. We

560
00:32:50.640 --> 00:32:52.559
don't call you to a political party, and we're not

561
00:32:52.599 --> 00:32:55.359
going to use politics to try to force Christianity upon you.

562
00:32:55.640 --> 00:33:00.000
Christianity is to be preached to you, not forced upon you.

563
00:33:07.799 --> 00:33:11.799
So alignment with political parties that's where the problems begin.

564
00:33:13.599 --> 00:33:18.079
Number two, Political endorsements from the pulpit. In some cases,

565
00:33:18.119 --> 00:33:21.759
pastors and church leaders use their platforms to endorse political

566
00:33:21.799 --> 00:33:27.200
candidates or parties, often framing political issues as moral imperatives.

567
00:33:27.559 --> 00:33:30.680
While there are legitimate moral issues and politics, this can

568
00:33:30.680 --> 00:33:33.319
blur the line between church and state, causing the church

569
00:33:33.359 --> 00:33:35.759
to be viewed more as a political lobbying group than

570
00:33:35.759 --> 00:33:38.480
a community of faith. This can alienate members of the

571
00:33:38.480 --> 00:33:41.680
congregation who hold different political views and shift the focus

572
00:33:41.680 --> 00:33:45.480
from spiritual growth to political advocacy. And so what happens

573
00:33:45.680 --> 00:33:47.799
you will hear from the pulpit, And this has happened

574
00:33:47.799 --> 00:33:51.279
now countless time. If you are a Christian, you cannot

575
00:33:51.359 --> 00:33:54.200
vote for this party, or you're not a child of God.

576
00:33:54.319 --> 00:33:58.279
As if now my salvation is determined by who I

577
00:33:58.440 --> 00:34:01.880
vote for, and not my faith in Christ. This destroys

578
00:34:01.920 --> 00:34:05.200
the Gospel, It destroys Christianity. And now you have political

579
00:34:05.240 --> 00:34:08.840
endorsements happening from the pulpit, and that the pulpit is

580
00:34:08.840 --> 00:34:12.000
to preach the word of God, not to preach the

581
00:34:12.119 --> 00:34:23.440
Republican Party's talking points. So number one, when we align

582
00:34:23.480 --> 00:34:26.480
ourselves with political parties. Number two, when political endorsement starts

583
00:34:26.519 --> 00:34:31.679
happening from the pulpit. Number three, church as voting blocks.

584
00:34:32.679 --> 00:34:36.440
In some countries, political parties openly court churches and Christian

585
00:34:36.440 --> 00:34:39.800
communities as voting blocks. This reduces the church to a

586
00:34:39.880 --> 00:34:43.199
tool for political power and reinforces the idea that Christians

587
00:34:43.199 --> 00:34:46.719
are primarily voters who can be swayed by appealing to

588
00:34:46.760 --> 00:34:50.559
their values. At a superficial level, this political mobilization of

589
00:34:50.559 --> 00:34:55.360
religious groups can lead to transactional relationship where the church's

590
00:34:55.440 --> 00:34:59.320
influence is reduced to its ability to deliver votes rather

591
00:34:59.360 --> 00:35:02.800
than acting as a prophetic voice for justice and righteousness.

592
00:35:02.840 --> 00:35:05.559
And this is what happens. The church is just seen

593
00:35:05.599 --> 00:35:08.599
as okay, we have to superficially seem like we agree

594
00:35:08.639 --> 00:35:11.000
with these people. We may not like these people, we

595
00:35:11.079 --> 00:35:13.719
may think they're stupid, but we will see we will

596
00:35:13.719 --> 00:35:16.719
appear to go along with them, so we get political power.

597
00:35:16.920 --> 00:35:20.079
We just manipulate them and use them. We don't see

598
00:35:20.599 --> 00:35:23.679
We're not seen as having a prophetic voice where we

599
00:35:23.719 --> 00:35:27.119
are speaking truth. We're seen as just people to be

600
00:35:27.239 --> 00:35:30.079
manipulated so that we will vote, so they get the

601
00:35:30.119 --> 00:35:32.920
power and they get the position. They don't stink and

602
00:35:33.079 --> 00:35:36.840
care about you, and you should stop selling the church

603
00:35:37.199 --> 00:35:46.039
out for stinking political advancement. We're just used. We're looked at, Oh,

604
00:35:46.079 --> 00:35:48.320
look there's a group of people. If we can convince

605
00:35:48.360 --> 00:35:50.760
those people to vote for us, well that's good. Okay,

606
00:35:51.079 --> 00:35:53.079
we what do we have to say? What do we

607
00:35:53.159 --> 00:35:57.360
have to say? What do they need to hear? What

608
00:35:57.840 --> 00:35:59.440
do we need to what do they what do they

609
00:35:59.480 --> 00:36:04.039
need to hear? And so they say it, and then

610
00:36:04.039 --> 00:36:06.480
we just like okay, okay, okay, we're gonna turn to them.

611
00:36:06.480 --> 00:36:08.559
We're gonna, I said, of saying, We'll wait a minute,

612
00:36:08.559 --> 00:36:11.599
whit you know, keep your politics keep just leave us alone,

613
00:36:12.639 --> 00:36:14.440
all right. What we need to do is be a

614
00:36:14.480 --> 00:36:18.159
prophetic voice, preach and teach, and we need to engage

615
00:36:18.199 --> 00:36:21.559
in things from a spiritual perspective, a thiological perspective, and

616
00:36:21.679 --> 00:36:24.920
politics we don't get you're not no, just go away,

617
00:36:25.079 --> 00:36:32.760
leave us alone, all right. So number one alignment with

618
00:36:32.800 --> 00:36:36.119
political parties. Number two political endorsement from the pulpit. Number

619
00:36:36.119 --> 00:36:41.079
three churches as voting blocks Number four. Christian nationalism. Christian

620
00:36:41.199 --> 00:36:44.199
nationalism is another example where the identity of the Church

621
00:36:44.239 --> 00:36:47.800
becomes intertwined with national political identity, and this view to

622
00:36:47.840 --> 00:36:50.039
be a Christian is equated with being a patriot, and

623
00:36:50.159 --> 00:36:53.559
Christianity becomes a way to promote a nationalistic goal rather

624
00:36:53.599 --> 00:36:57.199
than God's kingdom. This conflation of faith with national identity

625
00:36:57.320 --> 00:37:00.280
can lead the church to support policies or behaviors that

626
00:37:00.360 --> 00:37:04.960
contradict the teachings of Jesus, such as promoting exclusion or

627
00:37:05.039 --> 00:37:08.880
violence in the name of nationalism. Christian nationalism often involves

628
00:37:08.880 --> 00:37:13.239
invoking Christian language or symbols to justify political agendas, which

629
00:37:13.360 --> 00:37:16.119
may lead the church's mission to be compromised. The result

630
00:37:16.239 --> 00:37:18.480
is that the outsider sees the church as a force

631
00:37:18.719 --> 00:37:22.679
of cultural or political dominance rather than a community of

632
00:37:22.719 --> 00:37:25.440
dedicated to love, service and the message of the Gospel.

633
00:37:25.599 --> 00:37:28.239
And that's what they see, Oh, you want to dominate

634
00:37:28.360 --> 00:37:32.760
my life with your political agenda that you are calling

635
00:37:32.800 --> 00:37:35.519
a religious one. Well, the religious one would be like,

636
00:37:35.679 --> 00:37:37.760
here's what the Word of God says. It says that

637
00:37:37.880 --> 00:37:40.519
is a sin, believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and

638
00:37:40.559 --> 00:37:46.440
follow him. We're not coming after you politically, we're not

639
00:37:46.480 --> 00:37:49.960
going to come after you. Culturally, We're going to preach

640
00:37:50.039 --> 00:37:54.599
the Word of God to you. But Christian nationalism is

641
00:37:54.639 --> 00:37:59.920
another example of what has happened to the church. Number five,

642
00:38:00.639 --> 00:38:04.840
moral issues are reduced to political sound bites. Complex moral

643
00:38:05.000 --> 00:38:08.719
issues like abortion, immigration, racial justice, and poverty often get

644
00:38:09.159 --> 00:38:12.440
reduced to political sound bites in the Church, depending on

645
00:38:12.440 --> 00:38:16.039
which political ideology it aligns with. Instead of having nuanced,

646
00:38:16.280 --> 00:38:20.199
biblically informed discussion on these topics, churches sometimes adopt the

647
00:38:20.320 --> 00:38:23.800
language of political parties, thereby allowing their positions to be

648
00:38:24.199 --> 00:38:29.320
dictated more by political platforms than by biblical teaching. And

649
00:38:29.360 --> 00:38:32.480
I have seen this happen time you listen to Christian's

650
00:38:32.559 --> 00:38:37.159
talk and you'll be like, you sound like you. All

651
00:38:37.199 --> 00:38:40.480
you do is watch Fox News. You don't sound like Matthew,

652
00:38:40.519 --> 00:38:44.519
Mark Luke or John you sound like Sean Hannity. Stop it.

653
00:38:45.199 --> 00:38:47.320
And I've talked about how Christian men I don't know

654
00:38:47.320 --> 00:38:50.159
how many times in the past. There'll be some complex

655
00:38:50.239 --> 00:38:52.599
issue going on in the Middle East, something going on,

656
00:38:52.719 --> 00:38:55.280
and we could have a long, lengthy discussion about you know,

657
00:38:55.519 --> 00:38:57.480
you think you should be able to have a nuanced

658
00:38:57.480 --> 00:39:01.639
discussion in depth about America and foreign policy and how

659
00:39:01.639 --> 00:39:03.599
we did this and this led to this, and how

660
00:39:03.599 --> 00:39:06.280
should we approach this, and should we be involved, should

661
00:39:06.320 --> 00:39:08.360
we not be involved? How should we handle this? What

662
00:39:08.400 --> 00:39:11.119
should we do? And you'll get Christian men. I'll say something,

663
00:39:11.119 --> 00:39:13.280
we just need to turn that place into a parking lot.

664
00:39:13.360 --> 00:39:15.280
I'm like, so you want so what you're saying is

665
00:39:15.320 --> 00:39:20.480
you want to drop what some kind of nuclear weapon

666
00:39:20.639 --> 00:39:23.239
and just turn that entire country into a parking lot.

667
00:39:23.400 --> 00:39:25.360
You do realize there's human beings who live there. I

668
00:39:25.360 --> 00:39:27.280
don't know. You do realize that there's people creating the

669
00:39:27.280 --> 00:39:29.039
image of God there, and you just want them all

670
00:39:29.079 --> 00:39:31.599
to die because you watch Fox News and you think

671
00:39:31.639 --> 00:39:34.360
you're all big and bad talking about blowing up people.

672
00:39:34.440 --> 00:39:37.400
How about you just shut up and stop talking because

673
00:39:37.400 --> 00:39:42.679
you don't sound like a Christian and it's usually Christian

674
00:39:42.679 --> 00:39:46.199
men who do that nonsense. And I started noting this all.

675
00:39:46.400 --> 00:39:49.320
I started noticing this happening in the church going all

676
00:39:49.360 --> 00:39:51.719
the way back to the nineteen nineties, and I was

677
00:39:52.239 --> 00:39:55.480
speaking out against it then because at that point, Rush

678
00:39:55.519 --> 00:39:59.960
Limbaugh was dominating radio every afternoon and Christian men on

679
00:40:00.039 --> 00:40:02.079
their lunch hours were listening to Rush Limbaugh, and then

680
00:40:02.119 --> 00:40:03.719
when they would come to church and have any talk

681
00:40:03.719 --> 00:40:06.920
about any political issue they were they sounded like Rush Limball,

682
00:40:06.920 --> 00:40:10.159
they didn't sound like the Bible, they didn't sound like Christians.

683
00:40:12.599 --> 00:40:17.239
And then Fox News or whatever, and it's like no, no, no, no, no,

684
00:40:17.280 --> 00:40:23.559
no scripture. But the one what they'll do is they'll

685
00:40:23.559 --> 00:40:25.880
grab a couple of scriptures, rip them so far out

686
00:40:25.880 --> 00:40:28.159
of context that you know that they wouldn't know the

687
00:40:28.159 --> 00:40:30.519
context have ever got put back in its context because

688
00:40:30.519 --> 00:40:33.960
it's been so removed, and then try to connect it

689
00:40:33.960 --> 00:40:37.559
to their political talking points. We got to stop reducing

690
00:40:37.639 --> 00:40:41.719
things to political sound bites. The politicians should not dictate

691
00:40:41.920 --> 00:40:46.000
the way we talk about moral issues, the policy, the

692
00:40:46.039 --> 00:40:49.639
Fox News, Sean Hannity, Glenn Beck, none of those people

693
00:40:49.679 --> 00:40:52.400
should be dictating to the church how we should be

694
00:40:52.440 --> 00:40:58.639
speaking about issues. The church is not to be influenced

695
00:40:58.639 --> 00:41:03.559
by the world. That means liberal world, Hollywood world, music world,

696
00:41:03.880 --> 00:41:07.440
video game world, and political world. Coming from the right.

697
00:41:07.760 --> 00:41:09.880
It's funny, like you know, Pastor to be up there.

698
00:41:10.039 --> 00:41:12.159
I'm so sick and tired of these young people being

699
00:41:12.199 --> 00:41:16.719
influenced by TikTok and Netflix and rock and roll and rap,

700
00:41:16.760 --> 00:41:18.960
and oh, what's wrong with you young people? You need

701
00:41:19.000 --> 00:41:20.880
to put your face in the Word of God. And

702
00:41:20.920 --> 00:41:24.760
then five seconds later, oh, oh, this about Hillary or

703
00:41:24.840 --> 00:41:27.599
this about the vice president or this about Biden. Well

704
00:41:27.599 --> 00:41:29.000
wait a minute, wait a minute. It sounds like you

705
00:41:29.159 --> 00:41:32.480
being influenced by Fox News. I would rather the kids

706
00:41:32.519 --> 00:41:35.440
to be influenced by Netflix, TikTok, and I don't care

707
00:41:35.880 --> 00:41:44.159
name the secular artist, then I would Fox News. The

708
00:41:44.239 --> 00:41:49.079
point is all influence that removes our worldview from a

709
00:41:49.079 --> 00:41:52.880
biblical worldview to any other type of worldview liberal conservative,

710
00:41:53.280 --> 00:41:59.000
That is us being influenced by the world. The world

711
00:41:59.039 --> 00:42:01.239
is just not the music you don't like. The world

712
00:42:01.320 --> 00:42:04.400
is just not the movies that you don't like. The

713
00:42:04.440 --> 00:42:08.519
world can be the conservatives that you so love and

714
00:42:08.599 --> 00:42:12.000
adore that you allow them to dictate how you speak

715
00:42:12.039 --> 00:42:21.519
about moral issues, not the Word of God. What does

716
00:42:21.559 --> 00:42:23.519
this all lead to. It leads to the perception that

717
00:42:23.559 --> 00:42:26.440
the church is just another political player pushing an agenda,

718
00:42:26.519 --> 00:42:31.719
rather than a spiritual body offering hope and truth. Number six,

719
00:42:33.159 --> 00:42:37.599
the polarization and division within the church, The politicizing of

720
00:42:37.679 --> 00:42:41.119
the church leads to internal division where members are split

721
00:42:41.159 --> 00:42:44.360
along political lines. Instead of focusing on unity in Christ,

722
00:42:44.599 --> 00:42:48.199
Division based on political ideology can create a fractured body,

723
00:42:48.480 --> 00:42:52.760
with some churches becoming echo chambers of of a particular

724
00:42:52.760 --> 00:42:57.320
political viewpoint. This diminishes the church's ability to model reconciliation,

725
00:42:57.679 --> 00:43:00.639
peace and unity to a wider world. Makes it appear

726
00:43:00.880 --> 00:43:03.840
that a polarize that we are just as polarized as

727
00:43:03.880 --> 00:43:07.280
the culture around it. And that is exactly what has happened.

728
00:43:07.280 --> 00:43:09.800
The church has become polarized. What really, I don't I

729
00:43:09.800 --> 00:43:11.639
think in some case, I don't think it has become polarized.

730
00:43:11.679 --> 00:43:13.760
I take that back. I think what has happened is

731
00:43:13.800 --> 00:43:17.039
the church has just driven out anyone who doesn't buy

732
00:43:17.079 --> 00:43:21.039
into their political part their political agenda. You either buy

733
00:43:21.039 --> 00:43:23.880
into their political agenda or the church is not for you,

734
00:43:26.960 --> 00:43:29.519
because what will happen if you don't buy into their

735
00:43:29.559 --> 00:43:33.639
political agenda. You're not a Christian. That's exactly what has happened.

736
00:43:34.800 --> 00:43:39.400
Political affiliation now becomes a test of one's allegiance to Christ.

737
00:43:40.679 --> 00:43:51.880
And that's complete and utter nonsense. That's polarization and division

738
00:43:51.920 --> 00:43:54.599
within the church. How about social media and political activism.

739
00:43:55.000 --> 00:43:57.760
Many Christians and churches use social media to engage in

740
00:43:57.760 --> 00:44:02.920
political activism, often semplifying partisan messages. This can cause the

741
00:44:03.039 --> 00:44:05.679
church to be perceived as more focused on winning political

742
00:44:05.679 --> 00:44:09.159
battles than proclaiming the gospel. The loudest voices in Christian

743
00:44:09.159 --> 00:44:12.599
circles are often those who are politically motivated, and this

744
00:44:12.639 --> 00:44:14.960
can drown out the message of grace and redemption that

745
00:44:14.960 --> 00:44:17.920
the church is called to share outsiders and look in.

746
00:44:18.679 --> 00:44:21.159
Outsiders looking in may only see the church as a

747
00:44:21.199 --> 00:44:24.440
partisan community, not as a place of refuge, healing, or

748
00:44:24.519 --> 00:44:30.679
spiritual transformation. Well this leads to public perception of the church.

749
00:44:30.920 --> 00:44:34.039
Because of those ties between many churches and political movements,

750
00:44:34.159 --> 00:44:39.400
the public often perceives churches as hypocritical or compromise. For instance,

751
00:44:39.440 --> 00:44:42.119
when churches align with politicians who behave in ways that

752
00:44:42.159 --> 00:44:45.320
are contrary to Christian ethics, such as engaging in corruption

753
00:44:45.440 --> 00:44:48.639
or promoting and moral behavior, it damages the church's witness.

754
00:44:48.800 --> 00:44:52.880
People outside the church may see it as inconsistent, inconsistent,

755
00:44:53.000 --> 00:44:57.000
and more interest in political power than in sharing biblical values.

756
00:45:00.000 --> 00:45:04.119
Sequences of this political entanglement can be far reaching. The

757
00:45:04.199 --> 00:45:07.480
church's primary identity as the body of Christ called to

758
00:45:07.519 --> 00:45:13.679
represent God's kingdom, which transcends any earthly political system. When

759
00:45:13.679 --> 00:45:17.440
the church becomes too political, at risks losing its distinctiveness

760
00:45:17.519 --> 00:45:20.639
and the ability to speak prophetically to the culture. Instead

761
00:45:20.639 --> 00:45:23.280
of being a place where people of all political persuasions

762
00:45:23.440 --> 00:45:27.360
can find grace, truth, and transformation, it becomes just another

763
00:45:27.480 --> 00:45:32.000
faction in the political landscape. This can serve as a

764
00:45:32.039 --> 00:45:35.199
warning for churches today to ensure that they remain focused

765
00:45:35.360 --> 00:45:38.519
on their mission of making disciples, preaching the Gospel, and

766
00:45:38.559 --> 00:45:41.039
living out God's love in this world, rather than being

767
00:45:41.079 --> 00:45:45.000
co opted by political ideology that can ultimately distort the

768
00:45:45.119 --> 00:45:59.239
church's identity. Now, if we go back First Samuel chapter

769
00:45:59.280 --> 00:46:07.599
seventeen eight, Goliath, the enemy of God's people. He stood

770
00:46:07.639 --> 00:46:09.920
and cried unto the armies of Israel, and said, unto them,

771
00:46:10.199 --> 00:46:13.559
why are you come out to set your battle in array?

772
00:46:13.920 --> 00:46:21.360
Am not I a philistine? And ye servants to Saul?

773
00:46:23.519 --> 00:46:26.440
How did Israel become known as servants of Saul and

774
00:46:26.480 --> 00:46:30.400
not the servants of God? Go back to First Samuel

775
00:46:35.280 --> 00:46:41.679
chapter eight fir Samuel chapter eight, verse four. All the

776
00:46:41.719 --> 00:46:44.800
elders of Israel gathered themselves together and came to Samuel

777
00:46:45.280 --> 00:46:47.440
and said unto him, behold thou art old, and thy

778
00:46:47.480 --> 00:46:51.960
sons walk not in thy ways. Now make us a

779
00:46:52.119 --> 00:46:59.480
king to judge us like all nations. When all we

780
00:46:59.559 --> 00:47:02.840
care about is who we're going to vote for and

781
00:47:02.880 --> 00:47:07.480
who's going to win the election, we become completely identified

782
00:47:07.559 --> 00:47:12.119
with that political focus, that political desire, and the world

783
00:47:12.360 --> 00:47:15.320
no longer sees us as servants of Christ. They see

784
00:47:15.320 --> 00:47:19.599
a servants of You name the political party, you name

785
00:47:19.679 --> 00:47:30.880
the political candidate. And that's a problem. We are twenty

786
00:47:30.920 --> 00:47:38.639
eight days, six hours, fifty six minutes, and thirty one

787
00:47:39.079 --> 00:47:47.760
seconds away from the twenty twenty four presidential election. I

788
00:47:47.800 --> 00:47:54.199
don't care who wins. I don't care as far as

789
00:47:54.199 --> 00:47:56.960
this is concerned. Oh, I have my concerns. I guess

790
00:47:56.960 --> 00:47:59.800
I should say I have some cares, right, But for

791
00:47:59.840 --> 00:48:02.360
the this what I'm trying to emphasize is I care

792
00:48:02.559 --> 00:48:04.639
less about who wins. Let me state it that way.

793
00:48:05.119 --> 00:48:10.760
I care less about who wins, and I care more

794
00:48:11.480 --> 00:48:17.199
about how all of this political preoccupation is slowly but

795
00:48:17.360 --> 00:48:21.480
surely eating away at the Church. And it's leading our

796
00:48:21.719 --> 00:48:28.880
very enemies to say servants of Trump, servants of Republican Party,

797
00:48:29.920 --> 00:48:37.519
not servants of God. We have enough trouble being seen

798
00:48:37.559 --> 00:48:41.880
as servants of God for our own sin, our own failure,

799
00:48:42.280 --> 00:48:46.480
and our own hypocrisy. We don't need to add our

800
00:48:46.519 --> 00:48:51.960
political idolatry to the mix to only blind and confuse

801
00:48:52.159 --> 00:48:56.079
and hide the Cross from a world who doesn't need

802
00:48:56.119 --> 00:49:01.840
a Republican. They don't need a democrat. The Cross and

803
00:49:02.000 --> 00:49:07.320
the substitutionary sacrifice work of Jesus Christ because without his

804
00:49:07.440 --> 00:49:12.920
substitutionary atonement, without his imputed righteousness, we believe in a

805
00:49:12.920 --> 00:49:17.320
place called hell. That's what we're supposed to be concerned about.

806
00:49:18.880 --> 00:49:23.159
But somehow we become more concerned about an earthly kingdom,

807
00:49:23.559 --> 00:49:31.079
earthly power, and earthly control. May God forgive us thanks

808
00:49:31.119 --> 00:49:34.360
for listening. Everyone, have a great evening. God bless