WEBVTT 00:01.742 --> 00:08.585 [SPEAKER_00]: As Angie said, first Kings, chapter 18, if you will, turn there with me, we'll hang out mostly there today. 00:08.605 --> 00:10.386 [SPEAKER_00]: We'll move around a little bit. 00:12.607 --> 00:18.490 [SPEAKER_00]: In 1715, King Louis, the 14th, you may have heard of King Louis, the 14th of France. 00:19.170 --> 00:25.413 [SPEAKER_00]: He was the longest-raining King, longest-raining monarch in French history 72 years as King. 00:25.493 --> 00:28.014 [SPEAKER_00]: He was known as King Louis, the Greats. 00:28.974 --> 00:41.964 [SPEAKER_00]: The name that he gave to himself, the great, and also the Sun King, called himself the Sun King and kind of got that moniker, the Sun King, and he famously said this statement, I am the state. 00:42.164 --> 00:43.225 [SPEAKER_00]: That's what he said about himself. 00:43.486 --> 00:45.287 [SPEAKER_00]: I am the state. 00:45.687 --> 00:49.750 [SPEAKER_00]: As if to say like this, I am this country, this empire, it's me. 00:50.611 --> 00:52.893 [SPEAKER_00]: Very just a man known for pomp. 00:53.393 --> 01:09.727 [SPEAKER_00]: and circumstance even the way that he dressed and if you look at pictures of him and you'll see this just the way that he dressed the way he did his hair and his wigs and things like it was just very he kingly liked kingly we let's just put it that way just a man full of himself really when he died 01:10.978 --> 01:12.499 [SPEAKER_00]: as kings do, greater not. 01:13.180 --> 01:25.591 [SPEAKER_00]: When he died at his funeral, he had given the order that he put into a golden coffin, solid gold coffin, and that the cathedral where they would have his service would be very dimly lit, very dark, 01:26.191 --> 01:37.236 [SPEAKER_00]: and his gold coffin would be up front with nothing but a candle on top of his coffin so that the lights would certainly be focused on his coffin there on this gold coffin too. 01:37.516 --> 01:50.241 [SPEAKER_00]: Remind everybody, even at his own funeral that he is King Louis the Great and so at his service that's what happened that dimly lit cathedral golden coffin up front, candle on top of its shining off this golden coffin. 01:51.121 --> 02:01.585 [SPEAKER_00]: And as the bishop mass along gets up to give the eulogy and and lead the service before he does I'll let this one of my fake this guy there's just after my own heart. 02:01.885 --> 02:11.348 [SPEAKER_00]: He walked up to the front the bishop And he snuffed out the candle And he said, only God is great. 02:12.168 --> 02:12.869 [SPEAKER_00]: That's what he said. 02:14.069 --> 02:14.689 [SPEAKER_00]: There, I don't know. 02:14.709 --> 02:16.290 [SPEAKER_00]: I'll get your head cut off right there, but I'm 02:18.125 --> 02:33.833 [SPEAKER_00]: We have a tendency, we have this tendency as human beings to elevate men, ideas, deities, principalities, powers, ideologies to the place of God Almighty. 02:35.173 --> 02:40.156 [SPEAKER_00]: But there is only one, as this bishop reminded them that day, there is only one who is truly great. 02:41.637 --> 02:42.237 [SPEAKER_00]: It is God. 02:43.269 --> 02:48.310 [SPEAKER_00]: And this is a story here in First King's 18 that really just brings us back to that brings us back to that truth. 02:48.370 --> 02:53.551 [SPEAKER_00]: It was Elijah reminding Israel only God is great. 02:54.031 --> 02:57.172 [SPEAKER_00]: There's only one God and he alone is great. 02:57.192 --> 03:03.093 [SPEAKER_00]: I want to pray for us y'all and then we're going to we're going to jump into this Lord help us help us to hear your word today. 03:04.373 --> 03:07.794 [SPEAKER_00]: This is a hard word for all of us to hear at times. 03:09.910 --> 03:23.578 [SPEAKER_00]: the thought that maybe we would put alongside of you, any, anything, anyone to be worship, to be glorified, to be called great, or any ideology, or any experience in our lives. 03:24.198 --> 03:32.723 [SPEAKER_00]: So God, it just helps us to hear your word and respond in faith today, and trust you, that you truly are the Lord, our God, in Jesus name. 03:32.943 --> 03:33.103 [SPEAKER_00]: Amen. 03:34.342 --> 03:36.883 [SPEAKER_00]: So this is in the story, again, first King's 18. 03:37.163 --> 03:38.584 [SPEAKER_00]: There's the prophet Elijah. 03:39.445 --> 03:41.325 [SPEAKER_00]: This is about 800 BC. 03:41.626 --> 03:43.527 [SPEAKER_00]: He's a prophet in the northern kingdom of Israel. 03:43.547 --> 03:45.227 [SPEAKER_00]: At this point, Israel's been splitting the two kingdoms. 03:45.347 --> 03:47.789 [SPEAKER_00]: Israel, the north, Judah in the south. 03:47.809 --> 03:50.290 [SPEAKER_00]: The northern kingdom called Israel or Samaria. 03:50.730 --> 03:53.512 [SPEAKER_00]: And there's this king in the northern kingdom, his name is Ahab. 03:53.832 --> 03:58.554 [SPEAKER_00]: Known as the most, if not the most, one of the most wicked kings that Israel ever had, Ahab. 03:58.954 --> 03:59.995 [SPEAKER_00]: And he has this queen. 04:00.455 --> 04:09.100 [SPEAKER_00]: And she was a Phoenician woman, not an Israelite woman, a foreign woman, a pagan worshipper of idols named Jezebel. 04:09.780 --> 04:11.382 [SPEAKER_00]: And I want to be clear up front about this. 04:11.402 --> 04:14.284 [SPEAKER_00]: This is not a story about how Jezebel is that fault for any of this. 04:14.324 --> 04:15.365 [SPEAKER_00]: Jezebel is Jezebel. 04:15.405 --> 04:18.207 [SPEAKER_00]: She is a pagan, you know, worse for her false God. 04:18.227 --> 04:19.288 [SPEAKER_00]: That's who she's always been. 04:19.808 --> 04:25.513 [SPEAKER_00]: It's A-hab, the king who capitulates to her, allows her as his new bride. 04:25.533 --> 04:33.079 [SPEAKER_00]: He's the first king to ever take a foreign queen, which God told the Israelites not to do, because of this reason, to take a foreign queen as his wife, and he does. 04:33.600 --> 04:37.223 [SPEAKER_00]: And very quickly, A-hab begins to worship her gods. 04:38.243 --> 04:57.268 [SPEAKER_00]: And lead the Israelites into the worship of Jezebel's gods, namely Bale, and what we're called, the Ashera, Ashera's kind of an interesting term where we're kind of, nobody really knows exactly who Ashera was, maybe a female sort of consort to Bale. 04:57.288 --> 05:00.449 [SPEAKER_00]: But just somewhere, it seems like maybe a category even of gods. 05:00.689 --> 05:01.990 [SPEAKER_00]: They would set up these polls. 05:03.510 --> 05:11.575 [SPEAKER_00]: these kind of like sticks or tree chunks, you know, all over the place, and they would call the Asherum, the Ashera poles, and they would worship Ashera, but also Bale. 05:11.595 --> 05:12.615 [SPEAKER_00]: Bale was their chief god. 05:13.936 --> 05:21.200 [SPEAKER_00]: A-hab, even went so far as to set up a shrine, a temple, an altar to Bale in Israel. 05:22.221 --> 05:29.546 [SPEAKER_00]: This is the, this is the people of God in the Holy Land, and this is how far he has now gone in the worship of Bale. 05:29.566 --> 05:32.188 [SPEAKER_00]: It's been about 600 years since Exodus. 05:32.769 --> 05:34.230 [SPEAKER_00]: The Israelites have been in the Promised Land. 05:34.250 --> 05:35.371 [SPEAKER_00]: They have the Ten Commandments. 05:35.391 --> 05:36.191 [SPEAKER_00]: They have the Temple. 05:36.211 --> 05:37.192 [SPEAKER_00]: They have the priesthood. 05:37.492 --> 05:39.414 [SPEAKER_00]: The Presence of God lives with them. 05:39.434 --> 05:41.095 [SPEAKER_00]: And that has happened for centuries now. 05:41.435 --> 05:42.456 [SPEAKER_00]: They know God. 05:43.016 --> 05:44.677 [SPEAKER_00]: They should be walking with God. 05:44.757 --> 05:47.660 [SPEAKER_00]: Following God, worshiping God alone. 05:48.360 --> 05:49.321 [SPEAKER_00]: That's the keyword here. 05:49.801 --> 05:52.603 [SPEAKER_00]: Alone, worshiping him alone as God. 05:53.043 --> 05:54.864 [SPEAKER_00]: They are meant to be and God's hold them this. 05:54.884 --> 05:55.685 [SPEAKER_00]: He's told Abraham this. 05:56.205 --> 05:59.567 [SPEAKER_00]: He's told his people this, you're meant to be a beacon of light to the nations. 06:00.128 --> 06:01.488 [SPEAKER_00]: Not become like the nations. 06:01.508 --> 06:02.829 [SPEAKER_00]: It's not your meant to do. 06:02.849 --> 06:09.934 [SPEAKER_00]: It's not what you meant to be to worship these false gods, but they have now turned very quickly to what we call syncretism, syncretism means. 06:10.494 --> 06:14.797 [SPEAKER_00]: They have included the worship of false gods in with the worship of Yahweh. 06:15.833 --> 06:18.697 [SPEAKER_00]: It's not that they stopped worshiping Yahweh. 06:19.419 --> 06:20.460 [SPEAKER_00]: They still worshiped Yahweh. 06:20.941 --> 06:22.063 [SPEAKER_00]: They always worshiped Yahweh. 06:22.383 --> 06:24.646 [SPEAKER_00]: I don't even think God was worried that they wouldn't worship him. 06:26.149 --> 06:28.873 [SPEAKER_00]: But they have now included a long side of Yahweh. 06:29.847 --> 06:31.087 [SPEAKER_00]: these false gods. 06:31.167 --> 06:47.110 [SPEAKER_00]: So Elijah's been a prophet for about three and a half years at this point at least, probably a little bit longer than that, but he had told King Ahab early on because of his idolatry and because he has led the people in idolatry that it was not going to reign on the land. 06:47.350 --> 06:51.631 [SPEAKER_00]: It was not going to reign on the land any more until this idolatry was done. 06:52.471 --> 06:55.072 [SPEAKER_00]: So it's been three and a half years of no reign. 06:56.072 --> 06:56.813 [SPEAKER_00]: three and a half years. 06:56.833 --> 06:57.734 [SPEAKER_00]: Can you imagine that? 06:57.774 --> 07:03.079 [SPEAKER_00]: I mean, in our world today, I mean, we have we have running waters, that's not, have it stink for us, but we have water. 07:03.119 --> 07:05.101 [SPEAKER_00]: So we don't really get that, they don't have that. 07:05.121 --> 07:12.489 [SPEAKER_00]: I mean, the the brooks, the creeks, the rivers are dried up, crops are dying, which is interesting because Bale is the god of agriculture. 07:13.850 --> 07:17.433 [SPEAKER_00]: And God is, and storms, and God has made it not rain. 07:18.433 --> 07:26.840 [SPEAKER_00]: So during that time, Ahab and Jezebel, they've been hunting down prophets, the prophets of God, the prophets of Yawah, they've been hunting them down and systematically murdering them. 07:27.380 --> 07:36.988 [SPEAKER_00]: Elijah's been on the run, Elijah's been on hiding, and then finally at the beginning of this chapter, God tells Elijah to go meet with Ahab, tells him to go talk to Ahab. 07:37.689 --> 07:41.111 [SPEAKER_00]: And so Elijah does, he goes and he presents himself to Ahab and he challenges him. 07:42.092 --> 07:48.254 [SPEAKER_00]: and the profits of bail and the profits of Ashera to come to Mount Caramel for this showdown. 07:48.374 --> 07:53.755 [SPEAKER_00]: So, first Kings, chapter 18, famous story, you guys know this story, you've heard this story, if you've been in church a little while. 07:55.236 --> 08:01.117 [SPEAKER_00]: First Kings 18, verse 20, so A-habs sent word throughout all Israel and he assembled the profits on Mount Caramel. 08:02.018 --> 08:10.540 [SPEAKER_00]: Elijah went before the people and said, let's listen to this question, how long will you waver between two opinions? 08:11.170 --> 08:17.915 [SPEAKER_00]: Some of your scripture, if you're looking at your own Bible, might say limp or hesitate, how long will you hesitate? 08:17.955 --> 08:20.317 [SPEAKER_00]: How long will you limp, how long will you waver? 08:20.337 --> 08:21.778 [SPEAKER_00]: It's just a word that, I mean, it is. 08:21.798 --> 08:23.499 [SPEAKER_00]: It's kind of what it sounds like. 08:23.559 --> 08:27.842 [SPEAKER_00]: It's okay, maybe I want to, you know, I kind of like to be over here as well. 08:27.862 --> 08:30.444 [SPEAKER_00]: I kind of like to do that, but I think I want to stay here. 08:30.464 --> 08:33.026 [SPEAKER_00]: But well, maybe today I'll go, you know, that's the word. 08:33.166 --> 08:35.188 [SPEAKER_00]: It just means to, you're undecided. 08:35.848 --> 08:37.029 [SPEAKER_00]: I don't know which way I want to go. 08:37.089 --> 08:38.751 [SPEAKER_00]: I want to straddle the line. 08:38.791 --> 08:40.293 [SPEAKER_00]: I want to ride the fence here. 08:40.393 --> 08:45.418 [SPEAKER_00]: It's limping, it's half harded worship. 08:45.478 --> 08:48.521 [SPEAKER_00]: It's wavering worship. 08:48.541 --> 08:55.308 [SPEAKER_00]: I say that I worship God, y'all weigh the ones you've got, but I also want to, you know what, some days I like bail. 08:55.928 --> 09:01.132 [SPEAKER_00]: And I like to do that because you look the queen, worships them on the king, they worship Bell and Ashera. 09:01.292 --> 09:05.575 [SPEAKER_00]: And if I set up those things and if I worship them, then I'll be in favor with them. 09:05.595 --> 09:06.916 [SPEAKER_00]: But I know God's the true God. 09:06.957 --> 09:08.217 [SPEAKER_00]: Don't give me wrong. 09:08.638 --> 09:09.518 [SPEAKER_00]: I believe in Yahweh. 09:09.538 --> 09:10.159 [SPEAKER_00]: I love God. 09:10.179 --> 09:10.920 [SPEAKER_00]: I love Yahweh. 09:11.280 --> 09:13.401 [SPEAKER_00]: But also, you know, this is the word. 09:14.242 --> 09:19.786 [SPEAKER_00]: And Elijah's just coming to them and talking to the people and asking them this very direct way. 09:19.826 --> 09:21.147 [SPEAKER_00]: How long are you going to do this? 09:23.069 --> 09:24.490 [SPEAKER_00]: How long are you going to limp back and forth? 09:27.965 --> 09:28.906 [SPEAKER_00]: He's the first commandment. 09:29.967 --> 09:31.549 [SPEAKER_00]: Exodus 20, verses 2 and 3. 09:32.250 --> 09:34.752 [SPEAKER_00]: Here's the first commandment of God. 09:34.773 --> 09:38.677 [SPEAKER_00]: I, and the Lord, your God, who brought you out of Egypt. 09:39.658 --> 09:40.699 [SPEAKER_00]: Out of the land of slavery. 09:41.280 --> 09:47.627 [SPEAKER_00]: You shall have no other gods before me. 09:48.462 --> 09:51.004 [SPEAKER_00]: Now, that word before me, it's not about sequence. 09:51.024 --> 09:54.987 [SPEAKER_00]: It's not about, okay, y'all might just have to be number one, but you can have other gods two, three, and four. 09:55.647 --> 09:58.549 [SPEAKER_00]: That's not the word, the no other gods before me. 09:58.569 --> 10:03.472 [SPEAKER_00]: This is about the literal translation, is you shall have no other gods before my face. 10:05.974 --> 10:09.797 [SPEAKER_00]: In my presence ever, it's not about order and sequence. 10:09.817 --> 10:11.018 [SPEAKER_00]: This is about exclusivity. 10:12.377 --> 10:14.699 [SPEAKER_00]: This is about pure monotheism. 10:14.719 --> 10:19.442 [SPEAKER_00]: They were the one people on the earth at this time, who were purely monotheistic. 10:19.722 --> 10:22.023 [SPEAKER_00]: One God, there's only one God. 10:22.384 --> 10:24.465 [SPEAKER_00]: We don't add others into this. 10:25.065 --> 10:27.887 [SPEAKER_00]: This is not a command to simply keep worshiping y'all. 10:27.907 --> 10:28.988 [SPEAKER_00]: It's not all he says here. 10:29.288 --> 10:31.690 [SPEAKER_00]: He doesn't say the first command is not worship me. 10:33.120 --> 10:40.702 [SPEAKER_00]: because that would open the door too, okay, I can worship Yahweh, but also as long as I'm doing that, I'm keeping the command and I can add in other gods. 10:40.722 --> 10:43.703 [SPEAKER_00]: I think worship Bale can worship Bashur, I can do the other things. 10:43.743 --> 10:52.226 [SPEAKER_00]: I can continue to kind of worship the way I want to worship, but leave it open to the idea that we can worship other gods as long as we keep on worshiping God as our chief God. 10:52.286 --> 10:56.867 [SPEAKER_00]: No, this is a command to worship only Yahweh. 10:58.362 --> 11:07.225 [SPEAKER_00]: This is about, this is a command to not be wavering in our worship, limping back and forth between two opinions. 11:07.365 --> 11:12.968 [SPEAKER_00]: After all God had done for them, again, I just really don't think he was worried that they would ever completely forget him. 11:13.528 --> 11:24.252 [SPEAKER_00]: That really wasn't his worry here, but he knew God knows that they would have the same temptation that we all have, that all people have, to simply add God's to their pantheon. 11:25.918 --> 11:28.220 [SPEAKER_00]: so that Yahweh just becomes another deity among many. 11:30.061 --> 11:35.005 [SPEAKER_00]: And so, Bale and Ashera Bale literally just means it's like a pretty generic term itself. 11:35.485 --> 11:37.247 [SPEAKER_00]: It means Lord, it's what Bale means. 11:37.984 --> 11:46.751 [SPEAKER_00]: Bill means Lord, he was their chief agricultural fertility and storm God of again of the Canaanites, the people of the land, kind of the chief God of the people of that land. 11:47.392 --> 11:51.275 [SPEAKER_00]: When the Israelites went into the promise land, this was who they were driving out. 11:51.315 --> 11:55.158 [SPEAKER_00]: People who worshiped this bail and people who worshiped these asheras. 11:55.178 --> 11:57.760 [SPEAKER_00]: And we often thank the whole conquest of Canaan. 11:57.800 --> 11:59.762 [SPEAKER_00]: And you know, they were driving out very nice people. 11:59.842 --> 12:00.462 [SPEAKER_00]: No, they weren't. 12:01.143 --> 12:11.287 [SPEAKER_00]: They were driving out murderers, violent people, children being sacrificed, rape, and incest, and all sorts like this land was full of it, because that's what their God's demanded. 12:11.928 --> 12:15.429 [SPEAKER_00]: And God was driving them out to purify this place to let it be known. 12:15.929 --> 12:17.110 [SPEAKER_00]: I'm the one true God. 12:17.510 --> 12:19.611 [SPEAKER_00]: There are no other gods before me. 12:19.931 --> 12:25.233 [SPEAKER_00]: And so maybe they thought, I don't know, maybe they thought, okay, let's not put a God before Yahweh. 12:25.894 --> 12:29.135 [SPEAKER_00]: Let's just put Bale and Asher a beside Yahweh. 12:31.991 --> 12:33.893 [SPEAKER_00]: really sad reality is they did that. 12:34.013 --> 12:36.455 [SPEAKER_00]: It is real did that for centuries. 12:36.475 --> 12:36.815 [SPEAKER_00]: They did that. 12:36.835 --> 12:53.909 [SPEAKER_00]: In fact, even in our own day, archaeological digs, archaeological discoveries in Israel, from this time period, have found even in the homes of Israelites, even let they dug up small idols to bail and ashra in their homes. 12:54.790 --> 12:55.951 [SPEAKER_00]: Y'all listen, it's one thing. 12:57.357 --> 13:02.641 [SPEAKER_00]: It's one thing for the government and officials to promote ideologies and practices and government's going to be the government. 13:02.661 --> 13:04.822 [SPEAKER_00]: They're going to do what they're going to do and that is what it is. 13:05.662 --> 13:06.323 [SPEAKER_00]: Let them do that. 13:06.863 --> 13:15.729 [SPEAKER_00]: But don't let their policies enter our homes when it comes to our worship and our affection for God for Christ. 13:16.409 --> 13:20.752 [SPEAKER_00]: You, church, Christians, you worship Jesus and Him alone. 13:21.965 --> 13:23.486 [SPEAKER_00]: You know, let that into our homes. 13:23.506 --> 13:25.327 [SPEAKER_00]: I don't care what the world says. 13:25.347 --> 13:27.168 [SPEAKER_00]: I don't care what policies get made. 13:27.468 --> 13:29.269 [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, I did not write this sermon because we had a lecture. 13:29.289 --> 13:30.390 [SPEAKER_00]: I really didn't. 13:30.430 --> 13:31.150 [SPEAKER_00]: Nothing to do with it. 13:31.250 --> 13:41.115 [SPEAKER_00]: This was already on my heart and just I think the Lord's timing in this, but whatever policies are made ever, I don't care either side, as both sides are corrupt. 13:41.155 --> 13:42.416 [SPEAKER_00]: I'm just going to say that, and all right. 13:43.396 --> 13:46.098 [SPEAKER_00]: And what ever is going on, we trust the Lord. 13:47.672 --> 13:51.275 [SPEAKER_00]: and we continue to follow him and worship him a little and that's a little bit of a sidepiece, but I just wanted to say that. 13:51.695 --> 13:54.838 [SPEAKER_00]: Listen, there is a time and a place for diplomacy. 13:55.138 --> 14:05.346 [SPEAKER_00]: There's a time and a place for compromise in good ways, trying to find middle ground sea both points of view, maybe even get a little to get a little, making certain decisions, attempting to work together and agree in all that comes up. 14:05.366 --> 14:10.750 [SPEAKER_00]: There's a time and a place for that, but that is never the case when it comes to who is the ones you're God. 14:12.390 --> 14:16.772 [SPEAKER_00]: Never, is there a time for compromise in that? 14:17.012 --> 14:22.735 [SPEAKER_00]: So Elijah says to the people here, how long are you gonna waver between these two opinions? 14:23.035 --> 14:28.717 [SPEAKER_00]: If the Lord, that is Yahweh and the original, say if Yahweh is God, follow him. 14:29.738 --> 14:31.899 [SPEAKER_00]: But if Bill is God, follow him. 14:34.700 --> 14:35.880 [SPEAKER_00]: Is it interesting that he says that? 14:36.641 --> 14:39.362 [SPEAKER_00]: I wouldn't need to say, Yahweh is God, follow him and stop. 14:40.489 --> 14:41.990 [SPEAKER_00]: He actually gives him an option here. 14:42.710 --> 14:44.792 [SPEAKER_00]: Look, you've been limping back and forth either way. 14:45.452 --> 14:47.133 [SPEAKER_00]: He's just saying, look, pick one. 14:48.434 --> 14:49.915 [SPEAKER_00]: God's tired of the wavering. 14:49.935 --> 14:50.936 [SPEAKER_00]: He's tired of the limping. 14:50.976 --> 14:52.016 [SPEAKER_00]: He's tired of you pretending. 14:52.036 --> 14:53.357 [SPEAKER_00]: You can put anybody beside him. 14:54.057 --> 14:54.958 [SPEAKER_00]: You want to worship bail. 14:55.298 --> 14:56.239 [SPEAKER_00]: Go worship bail. 14:56.839 --> 15:00.381 [SPEAKER_00]: Stop pretending that God is one of many to you. 15:01.602 --> 15:04.224 [SPEAKER_00]: He's either the one or he's nothing to you. 15:05.384 --> 15:07.085 [SPEAKER_00]: And that's the point of light just making here. 15:07.226 --> 15:07.626 [SPEAKER_00]: Stop. 15:08.816 --> 15:11.797 [SPEAKER_00]: If the Lord is God, Yahweh is God, He says, follow Him. 15:12.137 --> 15:14.297 [SPEAKER_00]: And if Baal is God, follow Him. 15:14.337 --> 15:15.738 [SPEAKER_00]: We are not allowed middle ground. 15:15.758 --> 15:16.738 [SPEAKER_00]: There's no treaty here. 15:16.758 --> 15:18.078 [SPEAKER_00]: There's no compromise here. 15:19.278 --> 15:20.659 [SPEAKER_00]: One of these two is God. 15:21.139 --> 15:22.399 [SPEAKER_00]: One of these two is not. 15:22.479 --> 15:24.300 [SPEAKER_00]: Both can't be true at the same time. 15:25.920 --> 15:27.200 [SPEAKER_00]: And they're trying to pretend that it is. 15:27.220 --> 15:32.281 [SPEAKER_00]: Y'all listen, one of the worst things we can ever do is to truly pretend that we can worship multiple gods. 15:33.802 --> 15:35.142 [SPEAKER_00]: The pretend that we can do that. 15:36.293 --> 15:47.737 [SPEAKER_00]: Whether or listen, an actual religious context, like I said, syncretism of adding in other religions to your Christian faith and trying to follow other things or maybe it's a more humanistic way or more ignorant way. 15:48.257 --> 15:55.140 [SPEAKER_00]: Sometimes we simply elevate people, ideologies, experiences, pleasures to the place of worship in our lives. 15:56.110 --> 16:16.752 [SPEAKER_00]: And so if you are a listen, if you are literally partaking in and get practical with you and just talk with us for a minute, if you are literally right now partaking in the worship of other deities or the ceremonial activities of those deities, even if it's in ignorance, you are in violation of the first commandment of God, it's pure and simple, it's not me making this up. 16:17.650 --> 16:18.651 [SPEAKER_00]: This is the word of our Lord. 16:19.231 --> 16:21.312 [SPEAKER_00]: This is a lie, just whole ministry right here. 16:21.873 --> 16:22.974 [SPEAKER_00]: Just letting it be known. 16:23.254 --> 16:26.896 [SPEAKER_00]: He said, no other God's before my face, period. 16:27.817 --> 16:32.440 [SPEAKER_00]: God, the one true God, the triune God of the Bible, Father, Son, Holy Spirit. 16:33.080 --> 16:36.583 [SPEAKER_00]: Listen, he is incompatible. 16:37.563 --> 16:37.924 [SPEAKER_00]: Look right here. 16:38.284 --> 16:42.047 [SPEAKER_00]: God is incompatible with any other God or religion. 16:43.067 --> 16:44.028 [SPEAKER_00]: He's incompatible with it. 16:46.251 --> 16:50.173 [SPEAKER_00]: Um, listen, I know we have the maybe you probably see him and maybe I don't know. 16:50.473 --> 16:53.235 [SPEAKER_00]: If you have this bumper sticker, I'm talking to you for a minute. 16:53.515 --> 16:54.075 [SPEAKER_00]: Co exist. 16:55.676 --> 16:56.376 [SPEAKER_00]: I get the heart. 16:56.476 --> 16:56.777 [SPEAKER_00]: I do. 16:56.917 --> 16:57.837 [SPEAKER_00]: I understand the heart of it. 16:57.857 --> 16:58.558 [SPEAKER_00]: The heart of it is men. 16:58.638 --> 17:00.178 [SPEAKER_00]: I want to get along with people. 17:00.198 --> 17:01.199 [SPEAKER_00]: I want to try to agree with people. 17:01.619 --> 17:01.959 [SPEAKER_00]: Oh, whatever. 17:01.979 --> 17:02.660 [SPEAKER_00]: That's whatever. 17:03.260 --> 17:09.503 [SPEAKER_00]: Listen, ultimately, y'all, it's silly because the God of the Bible literally states again and again and again and again and again and again and again. 17:09.543 --> 17:12.225 [SPEAKER_00]: He will not coexist with another God. 17:13.125 --> 17:13.745 [SPEAKER_00]: He won't do it. 17:14.666 --> 17:15.926 [SPEAKER_00]: It does not work. 17:18.868 --> 17:19.988 [SPEAKER_00]: So listen, a couple of things. 17:21.889 --> 17:36.176 [SPEAKER_00]: If you love and serve yourself or worldly philosophies or money or political powers, all these things are in the scriptures and all those things are in violation of the first commandment. 17:36.456 --> 17:41.539 [SPEAKER_00]: Self and worldly philosophies, Philippians 319, Paul says that there are people whose God is their own stomach. 17:42.507 --> 17:42.687 [SPEAKER_00]: Right? 17:42.947 --> 17:43.507 [SPEAKER_00]: That's their God. 17:43.527 --> 17:44.268 [SPEAKER_00]: You're it's your own stuff. 17:44.288 --> 17:45.088 [SPEAKER_00]: It's what you want. 17:45.148 --> 17:45.988 [SPEAKER_00]: It's your instinct. 17:46.028 --> 17:47.749 [SPEAKER_00]: It's your kind of based desires. 17:47.829 --> 17:50.210 [SPEAKER_00]: And he says their minds are on earthly things. 17:50.870 --> 17:51.691 [SPEAKER_00]: That's worship. 17:52.991 --> 17:53.712 [SPEAKER_00]: Or if it's money. 17:53.772 --> 17:56.613 [SPEAKER_00]: Jesus said, you can't serve God and money. 17:57.133 --> 17:57.713 [SPEAKER_00]: You can't do it. 17:57.753 --> 17:59.014 [SPEAKER_00]: Money is not evil in another self. 17:59.514 --> 18:01.455 [SPEAKER_00]: But if that's your thing, that's your God. 18:01.675 --> 18:02.695 [SPEAKER_00]: That's your worship. 18:02.715 --> 18:03.796 [SPEAKER_00]: That's where you run. 18:05.056 --> 18:07.757 [SPEAKER_00]: When things get hard, I got to go to my money. 18:07.777 --> 18:08.698 [SPEAKER_00]: I got to go to my stuff. 18:08.718 --> 18:09.958 [SPEAKER_00]: I got to find some comfort there. 18:10.719 --> 18:11.599 [SPEAKER_00]: Instead of to the Lord, 18:14.734 --> 18:15.534 [SPEAKER_00]: political powers. 18:15.554 --> 18:17.695 [SPEAKER_00]: I mean, the Israelites constantly struggled with that. 18:17.735 --> 18:23.336 [SPEAKER_00]: Going back to Egypt, trusting in Egypt, her Caesar is Lord in the first century. 18:24.476 --> 18:29.657 [SPEAKER_00]: Or if you're trying to infuse or supplement your spiritual life with other forms of spirituality. 18:29.677 --> 18:34.118 [SPEAKER_00]: Listen, I'm going to name a few things for a minute, and it might get uncomfortable for you, but I'm going to name a few things. 18:41.421 --> 18:44.423 [SPEAKER_00]: Any of that stuff, or name it, whatever it may be. 18:44.803 --> 18:47.906 [SPEAKER_00]: Listen, I'm not saying any of it to come down or anybody or make you feel condemned. 18:48.226 --> 18:49.707 [SPEAKER_00]: It's no condemnation in Christ Jesus. 18:49.727 --> 18:53.089 [SPEAKER_00]: And that's the point, trust in Christ Jesus and Him alone. 18:53.109 --> 18:55.331 [SPEAKER_00]: You don't need to add anything to that. 18:55.551 --> 18:56.632 [SPEAKER_00]: He's not good enough for you. 18:57.393 --> 18:58.673 [SPEAKER_00]: But Holy Spirit's not good enough. 18:59.514 --> 19:00.155 [SPEAKER_00]: He is. 19:00.956 --> 19:01.557 [SPEAKER_00]: He's great. 19:01.597 --> 19:04.902 [SPEAKER_00]: He's God and he needs no help. 19:05.643 --> 19:07.806 [SPEAKER_00]: You don't need help to be in his presence. 19:07.886 --> 19:09.308 [SPEAKER_00]: Jesus has paid it all for you. 19:09.328 --> 19:12.252 [SPEAKER_00]: You don't need anything else to add into that. 19:13.052 --> 19:16.234 [SPEAKER_00]: I'm gonna name a few things that you may not know are spiritual, but are. 19:16.834 --> 19:19.216 [SPEAKER_00]: And I've listened to experts on all of these things. 19:19.236 --> 19:23.798 [SPEAKER_00]: And I just wanna name a few, and if you wanna have a conversation with me, please come have a conversation with me. 19:24.279 --> 19:33.184 [SPEAKER_00]: Yoga, free-masonry, anyagram, things like that that are incompatible with a Christian worldview. 19:33.204 --> 19:36.606 [SPEAKER_00]: They are, they're incompatible. 19:37.909 --> 19:53.616 [SPEAKER_00]: And I know many do these now have had so many conversations with me and I'm not saying on a Christian if you do those things, I'm saying listen to the Lord and listen to Elijah his prophet this morning just going, how long are you going to kind of be wavering there between two opinions of things and trying to add in things? 19:54.767 --> 20:12.077 [SPEAKER_00]: that are not of the Lord and are founded upon things that are not of the Lord Word of faith, religion, new age, philosophies, prosperity, theologies and ideologies, or maybe it's just stupid worldly things, drink, and drug, and money, and sex, and power, and sports, and entertainment, and family. 20:13.077 --> 20:15.698 [SPEAKER_00]: All those things, a lot of those things, not bad at none of themselves. 20:16.119 --> 20:17.399 [SPEAKER_00]: Family, of course, is great. 20:18.020 --> 20:20.461 [SPEAKER_00]: Sports and entertainment, all those things nothing's evil about that. 20:21.181 --> 20:39.611 [SPEAKER_00]: But when those things become here for us, or alongside of the Lord for us, I fear that we like to Israelites have capitulated to our world and given up ground in our spiritual lives. 20:42.273 --> 20:44.294 [SPEAKER_00]: I know, I'd see some people wiggle on this one. 20:45.294 --> 20:51.576 [SPEAKER_00]: And listen, me too, I promise you, prayed over this this week, and I'll ask the Lord, please. 20:51.996 --> 20:53.237 [SPEAKER_00]: Don't let me say a word of this. 20:53.277 --> 20:59.839 [SPEAKER_00]: If it's not convicting to my own heart, because it is, any of those things can be a desire. 20:59.979 --> 21:02.200 [SPEAKER_00]: Out of a desire to ride the fence, play the middle ground. 21:02.240 --> 21:05.361 [SPEAKER_00]: I really like Jesus, but I also really want to follow this thing, too. 21:06.142 --> 21:07.302 [SPEAKER_00]: I really want to take part in that. 21:09.496 --> 21:10.497 [SPEAKER_00]: I like the way that feels. 21:10.517 --> 21:13.679 [SPEAKER_00]: I like that experience, or I like the way the benefits I get from it. 21:13.699 --> 21:20.763 [SPEAKER_00]: So I think I'll do both, Joshua, 24, 15, choose this day whom you will serve. 21:21.804 --> 21:24.986 [SPEAKER_00]: For me in my household, we will serve the Lord. 21:25.866 --> 21:29.048 [SPEAKER_00]: Revelation 3, 15 and 16, none of these are on the screen. 21:29.088 --> 21:29.688 [SPEAKER_00]: Just name it a few. 21:29.748 --> 21:31.049 [SPEAKER_00]: Revelation 3, 15 and 16. 21:31.069 --> 21:32.990 [SPEAKER_00]: That's Jesus talking to the lay out of sins. 21:33.431 --> 21:35.292 [SPEAKER_00]: You're neither hot nor cold he says. 21:37.039 --> 21:39.822 [SPEAKER_00]: I wish, she actually says, I wish you were one or the other. 21:41.083 --> 21:44.907 [SPEAKER_00]: But since you're just warm, lukewarm, let's spit you out of my mouth. 21:44.927 --> 21:46.429 [SPEAKER_00]: That's just like drinking lukewarm water. 21:47.530 --> 21:48.010 [SPEAKER_00]: You know why? 21:48.050 --> 21:50.793 [SPEAKER_00]: Because that does more damage, I think, than being hot or cold. 21:51.154 --> 21:53.836 [SPEAKER_00]: At least when you're cold, we know what you are. 21:55.338 --> 21:56.759 [SPEAKER_00]: When you're hot, we know what you are. 21:57.674 --> 21:58.815 [SPEAKER_00]: Look, Warren, what are you? 21:58.835 --> 22:01.356 [SPEAKER_00]: I don't know, and you don't know. 22:01.476 --> 22:02.857 [SPEAKER_00]: And it's confusing. 22:03.437 --> 22:07.860 [SPEAKER_00]: And the Lord is saying, and Elijah is saying, just pick aside that way we know. 22:08.100 --> 22:09.681 [SPEAKER_00]: And if you're over here, praise God. 22:09.701 --> 22:15.664 [SPEAKER_00]: And if you're over here, we can start telling you about Jesus so that you can trust in Him and repent of sin and follow Him. 22:15.904 --> 22:18.225 [SPEAKER_00]: There's forgiveness and there's freedom and Christ. 22:18.765 --> 22:22.988 [SPEAKER_00]: Not one thing I've named not one thing that we're talking about this morning is the end of you. 22:24.036 --> 22:25.116 [SPEAKER_00]: None of it is the end of you. 22:25.496 --> 22:30.158 [SPEAKER_00]: I'm just calling us Elijah's, just calling us to stop wimping this morning. 22:31.198 --> 22:33.759 [SPEAKER_00]: Stop wavering in your worship if you are. 22:35.079 --> 22:43.302 [SPEAKER_00]: And listen to what it says, if the Lord is God, follow Him, but if Baillah's God, follow Him, but the people said nothing. 22:45.382 --> 22:47.823 [SPEAKER_00]: That's why the middle ground doesn't work. 22:49.015 --> 22:53.778 [SPEAKER_00]: because you would think they would have the gumsion in that moment when I profit of the Lord is talking to them and go, yeah, y'all always got. 22:54.718 --> 22:55.318 [SPEAKER_00]: But they don't. 22:56.599 --> 22:59.220 [SPEAKER_00]: They say nothing because they know, they know their guilty. 23:00.881 --> 23:01.582 [SPEAKER_00]: They're quiet. 23:01.942 --> 23:02.842 [SPEAKER_00]: They compromised. 23:02.862 --> 23:05.644 [SPEAKER_00]: You know, this is not about just outright rejection of y'all. 23:05.664 --> 23:06.764 [SPEAKER_00]: It's about compromise. 23:07.585 --> 23:08.886 [SPEAKER_00]: It's not about apostasy. 23:08.906 --> 23:09.866 [SPEAKER_00]: It's about apathy. 23:11.247 --> 23:13.608 [SPEAKER_00]: A laziness, spiritual laziness. 23:14.649 --> 23:16.650 [SPEAKER_00]: Just, man, if God is God, 23:18.002 --> 23:19.343 [SPEAKER_00]: and trust him with your whole life. 23:22.025 --> 23:23.906 [SPEAKER_00]: And so, we know the rest of the story. 23:23.926 --> 23:34.054 [SPEAKER_00]: I don't have time to read the whole story here, but the profits of Baal, you know, Elijah kind of gives him the stipulations here. 23:34.074 --> 23:35.815 [SPEAKER_00]: He says, Bill Gerhalter, I'm gonna build my altar. 23:36.936 --> 23:42.520 [SPEAKER_00]: Elijah actually digs a ditch around his altar and the profits of Baal go first, and maybe get into call on Baal. 23:43.677 --> 23:49.420 [SPEAKER_00]: For morning, it says till noon day and even beyond that, they're just shouting and crying and they end up cutting themselves. 23:49.440 --> 23:52.641 [SPEAKER_00]: This is part of what bail worship it, like requires of them. 23:52.681 --> 23:59.205 [SPEAKER_00]: So to cut themselves to make themselves bleed, man, how good is our God that he does not make us bleed for him. 24:00.305 --> 24:01.546 [SPEAKER_00]: He bled for us. 24:03.525 --> 24:07.406 [SPEAKER_00]: and then the prophet's a bailer doing everything they can do to get a word out of this god. 24:07.947 --> 24:10.288 [SPEAKER_00]: And Elijah starts mocking him, literally making fun of him. 24:10.728 --> 24:11.768 [SPEAKER_00]: Maybe he's on vacation, y'all. 24:11.788 --> 24:13.709 [SPEAKER_00]: Maybe he's busy whatever. 24:15.309 --> 24:16.630 [SPEAKER_00]: And then Elijah builds his ulcers. 24:16.650 --> 24:17.730 [SPEAKER_00]: So they shout and they do all their things. 24:17.770 --> 24:24.773 [SPEAKER_00]: Nothing happens, of course, says it literally says no one answers them, because there's no one there. 24:25.928 --> 24:27.469 [SPEAKER_00]: All right, and no one answers them. 24:27.769 --> 24:29.010 [SPEAKER_00]: But Elijah built his altar. 24:29.251 --> 24:30.271 [SPEAKER_00]: He covers in a water. 24:30.291 --> 24:32.273 [SPEAKER_00]: Elijah's making a point, you know. 24:32.293 --> 24:33.654 [SPEAKER_00]: He knows what's bad to happen. 24:34.014 --> 24:34.935 [SPEAKER_00]: Covers this thing in water. 24:34.955 --> 24:36.276 [SPEAKER_00]: There's no earthly way. 24:36.296 --> 24:37.357 [SPEAKER_00]: No earthly way. 24:37.397 --> 24:39.759 [SPEAKER_00]: This altar is getting burned up. 24:44.382 --> 24:45.123 [SPEAKER_00]: He builds the altar. 24:45.183 --> 24:47.024 [SPEAKER_00]: Covers in a water and he prays a simple prayer. 24:47.865 --> 24:48.886 [SPEAKER_00]: Just prays a simple prayer. 24:51.915 --> 24:54.917 [SPEAKER_00]: A Lord, God of Abraham and Isaac, this is verse 36. 24:55.718 --> 25:02.742 [SPEAKER_00]: Let it be known today that you are God in Israel, and that I am your servant, and have done all these things that you're command. 25:03.383 --> 25:13.310 [SPEAKER_00]: Answer me, a Lord, answer me, so that these people will know that you allord are God, and that you are turtless, and that you are turning their hearts back again. 25:14.310 --> 25:16.092 [SPEAKER_00]: God is so kind to these people. 25:17.853 --> 25:19.294 [SPEAKER_00]: This fire could have been for them. 25:22.958 --> 25:27.201 [SPEAKER_00]: But instead, God is using Elijah just simply to turn their hearts back. 25:27.221 --> 25:28.823 [SPEAKER_00]: He's so gently, so kind. 25:30.004 --> 25:33.847 [SPEAKER_00]: I'm God, look at me, love me, serve me, worship me alone. 25:33.907 --> 25:35.608 [SPEAKER_00]: He's turning their hearts back. 25:35.648 --> 25:36.929 [SPEAKER_00]: I'll this is an invitation. 25:37.069 --> 25:37.650 [SPEAKER_00]: That's what it is. 25:41.993 --> 25:43.174 [SPEAKER_00]: Turning their hearts back again. 25:45.896 --> 25:50.219 [SPEAKER_00]: The prophet Amos, Amos chapter five, verse 21 through 24. 25:51.793 --> 25:54.154 [SPEAKER_00]: Amis says this from God talking to the Israelites. 25:54.454 --> 25:58.276 [SPEAKER_00]: He actually tells them y'all I hate I hate your festivals. 25:58.857 --> 26:00.557 [SPEAKER_00]: I have no delight in your offerings. 26:00.938 --> 26:02.418 [SPEAKER_00]: I even reject your songs. 26:04.159 --> 26:09.662 [SPEAKER_00]: But let justice and righteousness flow from you like a river and this point is. 26:10.489 --> 26:12.590 [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, we can do all the religious things we want to do. 26:12.610 --> 26:18.673 [SPEAKER_00]: We can sing all the songs, we want to sing, show up at church every Sunday, put on your Sunday best, give your offerings. 26:19.173 --> 26:25.016 [SPEAKER_00]: If you're doing it from a heart that is far from the Lord, he doesn't need any of it. 26:25.996 --> 26:26.957 [SPEAKER_00]: What does he want from us? 26:27.457 --> 26:28.598 [SPEAKER_00]: He wants our hearts. 26:29.828 --> 26:30.549 [SPEAKER_00]: wants a heart. 26:30.669 --> 26:37.076 [SPEAKER_00]: Jesus said this, Mark 760, these people honor me with their lips, but it's their hearts that are far from me. 26:37.116 --> 26:37.876 [SPEAKER_00]: He's quoting Isaiah. 26:37.897 --> 26:38.737 [SPEAKER_00]: That's Isaiah 29. 26:39.258 --> 26:40.179 [SPEAKER_00]: They honor me with their lips. 26:40.760 --> 26:41.941 [SPEAKER_00]: Their hearts are far from me. 26:41.961 --> 26:42.922 [SPEAKER_00]: That's the whole point. 26:44.023 --> 26:45.785 [SPEAKER_00]: So the whole point, that's what a lie, just praying here. 26:46.265 --> 26:50.369 [SPEAKER_00]: Just bring them back to you, who return their hearts back to you, God. 26:51.030 --> 26:51.891 [SPEAKER_00]: It's not about a show. 26:52.612 --> 26:57.777 [SPEAKER_00]: It's about worship, worship of the Lord and him alone. 26:57.837 --> 26:58.918 [SPEAKER_00]: That is what's happening here. 26:59.018 --> 27:02.502 [SPEAKER_00]: The invitation to know God again, and to know Him deeply. 27:04.644 --> 27:05.424 [SPEAKER_00]: And so He does, God. 27:06.169 --> 27:12.795 [SPEAKER_00]: Since fire says it burns up the entire altar to ash, it looks up all the water around the trench like it's gone. 27:13.636 --> 27:14.717 [SPEAKER_00]: It's gone, it's done. 27:16.119 --> 27:20.303 [SPEAKER_00]: Says the fire of the Lord fell, burned up the sacrifice, the wood, the stones of soil, licked up the water in the trench. 27:20.323 --> 27:31.013 [SPEAKER_00]: Verse 39, when the people saw this, they fell, prostrate and cried, listen, the Lord, he is God, the Lord, he is God. 27:32.018 --> 27:44.746 [SPEAKER_00]: Interestingly enough, I don't know what the Lord he is God is in Hebrew, Elijah, tell you say it, God had the person he needed for this job. 27:45.587 --> 27:46.887 [SPEAKER_00]: The Lord he is God. 27:48.468 --> 27:49.229 [SPEAKER_00]: That was the whole point. 27:50.870 --> 27:53.812 [SPEAKER_00]: Listen, we're in New Testament times. 27:54.272 --> 27:55.953 [SPEAKER_00]: This is obviously this was hundreds of years 27:59.726 --> 28:02.449 [SPEAKER_00]: Um, 2800 years ago when this happened to him, Matthew. 28:03.851 --> 28:05.372 [SPEAKER_00]: Um, we're on this side of the cross. 28:05.432 --> 28:07.134 [SPEAKER_00]: We're on this side of of Calvary. 28:08.255 --> 28:11.299 [SPEAKER_00]: Where God has sent us something far greater than fire from heaven. 28:11.539 --> 28:13.761 [SPEAKER_00]: Far greater than fire from heaven. 28:13.781 --> 28:15.103 [SPEAKER_00]: He has sent us his son. 28:16.515 --> 28:21.602 [SPEAKER_00]: He has lived a sinless life, died a sinner's death on that cross, as payment for your sin, my sin. 28:22.143 --> 28:28.032 [SPEAKER_00]: He rose again from the dead after three days to prove that he wants and for all is God Almighty. 28:28.673 --> 28:31.517 [SPEAKER_00]: And to confirm, every single word he said about himself, 28:32.742 --> 28:40.085 [SPEAKER_00]: that he is the water, the living water, the bread of life, the alphan, the omega, the first in the last, the beginning and the end. 28:40.105 --> 28:46.647 [SPEAKER_00]: Y'all, Jesus is the fire that has now been sent to the earth once and for all to incinerate our idols. 28:47.527 --> 28:54.330 [SPEAKER_00]: And every false religion, every false idea who he is, every earthly ideology, that is a post to his truth. 28:55.590 --> 28:56.511 [SPEAKER_00]: Jesus is the truth. 28:57.291 --> 28:59.292 [SPEAKER_00]: And Jesus is the image of the invisible God, 29:00.453 --> 29:01.093 [SPEAKER_00]: 15 says that. 29:01.113 --> 29:03.954 [SPEAKER_00]: He is the image of the invisible God. 29:05.255 --> 29:07.195 [SPEAKER_00]: John chapter 8 actually want to read this for you if you will. 29:07.215 --> 29:07.655 [SPEAKER_00]: Turn with me. 29:08.396 --> 29:09.936 [SPEAKER_00]: I want you to hear it from Jesus on mouth. 29:11.037 --> 29:12.117 [SPEAKER_00]: Here's what he says about himself. 29:12.217 --> 29:14.978 [SPEAKER_00]: John chapter 8 verse 54. 29:16.018 --> 29:21.220 [SPEAKER_00]: He's talking to the Israelites, the descendants of the people who were on that mountain that day with Elijah. 29:23.461 --> 29:27.882 [SPEAKER_00]: Jesus replied, if I glorify myself, my glory 29:30.633 --> 29:35.156 [SPEAKER_00]: whom you claim as your God is the one who glorifies me. 29:35.276 --> 29:37.658 [SPEAKER_00]: This Jesus talked about himself is he God. 29:38.538 --> 29:40.880 [SPEAKER_00]: Though you do not know him, Jesus said, I know him. 29:41.380 --> 29:46.003 [SPEAKER_00]: If I said I did not, I would be a liar like you, but I do know him and keep his word. 29:46.523 --> 29:50.005 [SPEAKER_00]: Your father Abraham rejoiced at the thought of seeing my day. 29:50.626 --> 29:52.087 [SPEAKER_00]: He saw it and was glad. 29:52.787 --> 29:56.870 [SPEAKER_00]: You are not yet 50 years old that you said to him and you have seen Abraham, they're asking him, 30:00.569 --> 30:12.953 [SPEAKER_00]: I tell you the truth, Jesus answered before Abraham was born, I am at this, they picked up stones to stone him, the Jesus hid himself slipping away from the temple grounds. 30:12.973 --> 30:13.973 [SPEAKER_00]: You know what God Jesus killed? 30:14.774 --> 30:22.636 [SPEAKER_00]: He claimed to be God, the one true God, the mystery of our faith, the all God is Father, Son, Holy Spirit. 30:22.716 --> 30:28.438 [SPEAKER_00]: One God and three persons, but we still, we worship this one true God, 30:30.677 --> 30:31.758 [SPEAKER_00]: And there is no middle ground. 30:34.119 --> 30:35.199 [SPEAKER_00]: Go to one more passage with me. 30:35.299 --> 30:37.480 [SPEAKER_00]: Flip back a couple books, Matthew, Matthew seven. 30:38.361 --> 30:40.221 [SPEAKER_00]: What you hear one more thing, Jesus said, before we're done. 30:42.623 --> 30:45.964 [SPEAKER_00]: Because again, today is just about, are you wavering? 30:46.664 --> 30:48.285 [SPEAKER_00]: Are you kind of going back and forth? 30:48.325 --> 30:48.905 [SPEAKER_00]: Are you limping? 30:48.986 --> 30:52.127 [SPEAKER_00]: Even if you're unaware that you're doing it, because that's probably a lot of us. 30:53.027 --> 30:56.969 [SPEAKER_00]: Maybe unaware that I'm adding into my life things that are not of God, not of Christ, 31:00.222 --> 31:01.803 [SPEAKER_00]: Pretend that I can kind of do both. 31:01.943 --> 31:06.945 [SPEAKER_00]: Jesus said this, Matthew 7, 13, enter through the narrow gate. 31:07.825 --> 31:12.687 [SPEAKER_00]: For why does the gate and brawl is the road that leads to destruction and many enter through it? 31:13.547 --> 31:16.709 [SPEAKER_00]: But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life. 31:17.829 --> 31:20.210 [SPEAKER_00]: And only if you find it, y'all, we try to find this middle road. 31:20.250 --> 31:23.431 [SPEAKER_00]: We try so hard, human beings. 31:23.491 --> 31:26.753 [SPEAKER_00]: We try so hard to find a place in the middle where we can have it both ways. 31:27.894 --> 31:28.755 [SPEAKER_00]: I sort of love Jesus. 31:28.775 --> 31:29.635 [SPEAKER_00]: I want to follow Jesus. 31:29.655 --> 31:35.298 [SPEAKER_00]: I want to do that thing, but I like the things that he says, but I also really like to do what I like to do. 31:37.640 --> 31:39.681 [SPEAKER_00]: And Jesus said, you can't serve two masters. 31:40.721 --> 31:41.902 [SPEAKER_00]: So how long are we going to hesitate? 31:42.442 --> 31:43.223 [SPEAKER_00]: How long are we going to limp? 31:44.163 --> 31:47.805 [SPEAKER_00]: If you believe in Jesus, call yourself a disciple of Jesus, then listen, choose him. 31:48.186 --> 31:50.147 [SPEAKER_00]: And only him, trust in him. 31:51.114 --> 32:00.167 [SPEAKER_00]: today and him alone, not just as your Savior, but as your Lord, Lord of your life, not just part of your life, your whole life. 32:02.197 --> 32:05.759 [SPEAKER_00]: Follow him, worship him, serve him, and love him. 32:05.800 --> 32:06.700 [SPEAKER_00]: Rest of the day to come out. 32:07.601 --> 32:10.082 [SPEAKER_00]: We're just gonna have some time y'all to sing. 32:11.083 --> 32:17.507 [SPEAKER_00]: A couple more songs to him this morning, and I wanna invite you, listen, as we do this, and as we just worship the Lord before we're done. 32:19.229 --> 32:25.033 [SPEAKER_00]: This may be a time for you to pray, and just seek the Lord about your, and I'm doing this too. 32:25.173 --> 32:26.614 [SPEAKER_00]: I'm telling you, I'm doing this with you. 32:27.214 --> 32:27.935 [SPEAKER_00]: Seek in the Lord. 32:28.815 --> 32:31.142 [SPEAKER_00]: Do I have clean hands in a pure heart when it comes to this? 32:31.964 --> 32:32.847 [SPEAKER_00]: The worship of you? 32:33.749 --> 32:36.336 [SPEAKER_00]: Are there other things in my life that I've put along side of you? 32:37.632 --> 32:47.479 [SPEAKER_00]: If I capitulated to the worldly philosophies that there are out there, but I can just add in this and this and kind of go back and forth or am I just worshiping Christ and Christ alone? 32:48.740 --> 32:50.421 [SPEAKER_00]: I wanna read you one more verse. 32:50.461 --> 32:51.242 [SPEAKER_00]: I'll be up here on the screen. 32:52.222 --> 32:54.844 [SPEAKER_00]: This is from First John, the very end of First John. 32:55.305 --> 33:04.451 [SPEAKER_00]: After John has spent an entire letter telling us that Jesus is God, that He's the Son of God, that we must put our faith in Him, that we must abide in Him and trust in Him, and obey Him. 33:04.491 --> 33:06.433 [SPEAKER_00]: Here's how He ends it, dear children. 33:07.293 --> 33:10.114 [SPEAKER_00]: keep your cells from idols. 33:11.434 --> 33:12.894 [SPEAKER_00]: It's the last verse in verse John. 33:14.075 --> 33:18.296 [SPEAKER_00]: All right, before that, he said, Jesus is the true God and eternal life. 33:19.016 --> 33:20.036 [SPEAKER_00]: Keep your cells from idols. 33:21.356 --> 33:21.916 [SPEAKER_00]: That's from John. 33:21.936 --> 33:23.317 [SPEAKER_00]: That's from the best friend of Jesus. 33:23.937 --> 33:33.319 [SPEAKER_00]: Telling us who he is and reminding us, yeah, we all have this temptation to turn and put other things where they shouldn't be in a hearts and mind. 33:33.339 --> 33:35.400 [SPEAKER_00]: So listen, as I look in, if you want to stand 33:37.339 --> 33:39.860 [SPEAKER_00]: and worship the Lord and confess these truths today. 33:39.980 --> 33:41.942 [SPEAKER_00]: If you want to pray at your seat, do that. 33:41.962 --> 33:42.902 [SPEAKER_00]: Just let the Lord lead you. 33:42.922 --> 33:46.124 [SPEAKER_00]: If you're on the prayer team and you would like to step down, all step over here too. 33:46.584 --> 33:50.466 [SPEAKER_00]: If you would like somebody to pray for you and with you, we'd love to pray with you today. 33:51.787 --> 33:52.347 [SPEAKER_00]: We can do that. 33:52.467 --> 33:53.668 [SPEAKER_00]: If you just want to come down and pray on your own. 33:53.708 --> 33:56.089 [SPEAKER_00]: However, the Lord leads, let's let the Lord lead. 33:57.470 --> 33:59.611 [SPEAKER_00]: But let's not hesitate and limp anymore. 33:59.891 --> 34:00.171 [SPEAKER_00]: OK? 34:01.932 --> 34:04.954 [SPEAKER_00]: If God is God, if Christ is God, worship Him and Him alone, 34:07.518 --> 34:08.058 [SPEAKER_00]: Lord, thank you. 34:08.519 --> 34:09.540 [SPEAKER_00]: Thank you for your word today. 34:11.041 --> 34:13.643 [SPEAKER_00]: How God just let it not return void. 34:16.665 --> 34:18.106 [SPEAKER_00]: I pray that for Kurt Peter's Son. 34:19.107 --> 34:20.368 [SPEAKER_00]: Let it not return void. 34:21.929 --> 34:26.072 [SPEAKER_00]: Let I hold a bay you as I need to today and for my church family as well. 34:27.633 --> 34:31.836 [SPEAKER_00]: Thank you that you're so good to us to call us back to yourself and Jesus name. 34:32.717 --> 34:32.977 [SPEAKER_00]: Amen.