The Strength of the Lord (2 Chronicles 13)

WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:08.070 It's people. First, in this twopart brook chronicles one and chronicles too, 2 00:00:08.189 --> 00:00:14.550 we heard of soul and David, than his son Solomon, then Raya Boem, 3 00:00:15.710 --> 00:00:20.589 his son, who continued the Kingdom of Solomon and Judah, and Jerobalm, 4 00:00:20.710 --> 00:00:27.859 who sinfully King, established his own kingdom in Israel. Rayabalm died and 5 00:00:28.339 --> 00:00:35.179 had a son who we hear of now, Abijah, and we consider God's 6 00:00:35.259 --> 00:00:41.890 word about Abijah's reign and God's reign over him and through him in second chronicles 7 00:00:42.009 --> 00:00:47.850 thirteen. So this is God's word. Let's give our attention to it. 8 00:00:49.130 --> 00:00:57.000 In the Eighteenth Year of King Jerobom came to reign over Judah. He reigned 9 00:00:57.079 --> 00:01:02.359 for three years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Makaiah, the daughter of 10 00:01:02.439 --> 00:01:08.310 Uriel of GIBEA. Now there was war between Abijah and JEROBOM. Abijah went 11 00:01:08.349 --> 00:01:14.109 out to battle having an army of valiant men of war, four hundred thousand 12 00:01:14.189 --> 00:01:19.299 chosen men, and Jerobom drew up his line of battle against him with eight 13 00:01:19.379 --> 00:01:26.620 hundred thousand chosen mighty warriors. Then Abis just stood up on the mount as 14 00:01:26.620 --> 00:01:32.299 Zemmerre Zmr Rien, that is in the hill country of Ephraim and said hear 15 00:01:32.420 --> 00:01:37.250 me, Oh, Jerobalm and Israel. Ought you not to know that the 16 00:01:37.409 --> 00:01:42.290 Lord, God of Israel, gave the kingship over Israel forever to David and 17 00:01:42.450 --> 00:01:49.480 his sons. Jerobald, son of Niebot, a servant of PALOM and the 18 00:01:49.560 --> 00:01:55.799 son of David, rose and rebelled against his Lord, and certain worthless scoundrels 19 00:01:55.879 --> 00:02:00.319 gathered around him and defied Reeobalm, the son of Solomon, when Yobalm was 20 00:02:00.469 --> 00:02:07.829 young, and Israel irres irresolute, and could not withstand them. And now 21 00:02:08.030 --> 00:02:14.750 you think to withstand the Kingdom of the Lord in the hands of the sons 22 00:02:14.789 --> 00:02:19.259 of David, because you are a great multitude and you have with you the 23 00:02:19.379 --> 00:02:23.460 golden calves that Jeribalm made you. For God's have you not driven out the 24 00:02:23.539 --> 00:02:28.060 priests of the Lord, the sons of Aaron and the Levites, and made 25 00:02:28.180 --> 00:02:34.250 priests for yourselves? Like the peoples of other lands, whoever comes for ordination 26 00:02:34.409 --> 00:02:38.409 with a young bull or seven rams becomes a priest of what are no gods. 27 00:02:40.210 --> 00:02:45.479 But as for us, the Lord is our God and we have not 28 00:02:45.719 --> 00:02:50.439 forsaken him. We have priests ministering to the Lord who are sons of Aaron, 29 00:02:50.919 --> 00:02:54.360 and Levites for their service. They offer to the Lord every morning and 30 00:02:54.520 --> 00:03:00.550 every evening, burnt offers and incense of sweet, sweet spices, set out 31 00:03:00.590 --> 00:03:05.069 the showbread on the table of pure gold, and care for the golden lambstand 32 00:03:05.710 --> 00:03:09.669 that that it's lamps may burn every evening, for we keep the charge of 33 00:03:09.750 --> 00:03:15.139 the Lord, our God, but you have forsaken him. Behold, God 34 00:03:15.419 --> 00:03:20.539 is with us at our head, and his priests with their battle trumpets to 35 00:03:20.659 --> 00:03:24.300 sound the call to battle against you, Oh sons of Israel, do not 36 00:03:24.539 --> 00:03:30.770 fight against the Lord, the God of Your father's for you cannot succeed. 37 00:03:32.569 --> 00:03:39.009 JEREBOAM had sent an ambush around to come upon them from behind. Thus his 38 00:03:39.210 --> 00:03:45.120 troops were in front of Judah and the ambush was behind them. And when 39 00:03:45.159 --> 00:03:47.840 Judah looked, behold, the battle was in front, it was in front 40 00:03:47.879 --> 00:03:53.639 of and behind them, and they cried out to the Lord and the priests 41 00:03:53.719 --> 00:03:58.750 blew the trumpets. Then the men of Judah raised the battle shout, and 42 00:03:58.909 --> 00:04:04.750 when the men of Judah shouted, God defeated Jereboam and all Israel. Before 43 00:04:04.830 --> 00:04:10.979 Abijah and Judah, the men of Israel fled before Judah and God gave them 44 00:04:11.139 --> 00:04:15.660 into their hand Aubjah and his people struck them with great force. So there 45 00:04:15.740 --> 00:04:21.620 fell slain in it of Israel five hundred thousand shows and men. Thus the 46 00:04:21.699 --> 00:04:27.410 men of Israel were subdued at that time and the men of Judah prevailed, 47 00:04:28.329 --> 00:04:34.730 because the relied on the Lord, the God of their fathers. And ABIJAH 48 00:04:34.810 --> 00:04:41.079 pursued jerebalm and took cities from him, Bethel with its villages, and Jeshana 49 00:04:41.199 --> 00:04:46.600 with its villages and fron with its villages. JEREBOAM did not recover his power 50 00:04:46.720 --> 00:04:50.000 in the days of Abijah, and the Lord struck him down and he died. 51 00:04:50.959 --> 00:04:56.990 But ABIJAH grew mighty and he took fourteen wives and had twenty two sons 52 00:04:57.069 --> 00:05:01.269 and sixteen daughters. The rest of the acts of Abija, his ways and 53 00:05:01.389 --> 00:05:09.660 his sayings are written in the story of the Prophet Edo. Since the reading 54 00:05:09.699 --> 00:05:17.699 of God's word, may He bless it to us, so is the chronicler 55 00:05:17.819 --> 00:05:23.930 takes us through these various kings. We come now to the Kingdom of Abijah. 56 00:05:24.930 --> 00:05:29.250 As I said, Abijah is the son of Raya Balm, the son 57 00:05:29.290 --> 00:05:34.089 of Psalomon, the son of David. He continues the Line of Faithful Kings, 58 00:05:34.129 --> 00:05:42.439 or least kings who are supposed to be faithful under Solomon Jereboam, his 59 00:05:42.759 --> 00:05:49.509 uncle, is the one who rebelled, rebelled against the Lord, who established 60 00:05:49.629 --> 00:05:55.470 his own kingdom, and and Abijah points this out. He tells them, 61 00:05:55.509 --> 00:05:59.910 he warns him not to fight him. Do not fight me, do not 62 00:06:00.790 --> 00:06:04.500 fight your brothers here in the southern tribe of Judah, because you will not 63 00:06:04.540 --> 00:06:10.779 succeed. God is not with you, he tells him, and he explains 64 00:06:10.819 --> 00:06:15.980 why. Jared Jeroboam has rejected the Lord. He has made his own gods, 65 00:06:15.060 --> 00:06:20.170 he's established his own priests, he no longer does as the Lord has 66 00:06:20.250 --> 00:06:27.250 called Israel to do. And we will consider more about Abijah. But really, 67 00:06:27.850 --> 00:06:31.730 throughout this story, obvious though he is the primary human character here, 68 00:06:31.769 --> 00:06:42.199 he really has, excuse me, playing second to to God. You remember 69 00:06:42.240 --> 00:06:45.600 that God has set up the kingdom in such a way that he is the 70 00:06:45.720 --> 00:06:48.029 Lord, he is the King, and all the kings who rule under him 71 00:06:48.029 --> 00:06:54.709 do so is sort of vassal kings or under kings. Yes, they rule 72 00:06:54.750 --> 00:06:58.949 over their people, but they do so only carrying out the authority of the 73 00:06:59.110 --> 00:07:05.139 Lord. This story is not about Abijah's great strength, it is about the 74 00:07:05.180 --> 00:07:10.740 strength of the Lord. This is Abijah's own point when he says to Jereboam, 75 00:07:10.819 --> 00:07:15.379 you shall not succeed. Pay attention to this point. You cannot win, 76 00:07:15.689 --> 00:07:21.329 despite the fact that he was much stronger, humanly speaking, in several 77 00:07:21.410 --> 00:07:28.370 ways. Days this crought the Chronicler here tells us this story because he wants 78 00:07:28.410 --> 00:07:32.720 us to understand who the Lord is and he wants us to understand and and 79 00:07:32.920 --> 00:07:39.720 follow Abijah's example and what it means to rely on the Lord. So let 80 00:07:39.720 --> 00:07:43.199 me show you what I mean when I say that this is the Lord's battle. 81 00:07:44.079 --> 00:07:46.750 Of course, Abijah was the one who fought it. We read in 82 00:07:46.829 --> 00:07:53.189 verse seventeen that Abijah and his people struck them with great force. So ABIJAH 83 00:07:53.230 --> 00:07:56.589 had a part in it. The each and every soldier had a part to 84 00:07:56.750 --> 00:08:00.259 play out, a sword to wheel, had a battle to fight, and 85 00:08:00.339 --> 00:08:03.819 they did and it. We read that they struck them with great force and 86 00:08:05.420 --> 00:08:11.459 many of their enemies, sadly their others, were slain. But ultimately, 87 00:08:11.779 --> 00:08:16.769 though, Abijou and his people had to fight and fight hard. This was 88 00:08:16.889 --> 00:08:22.250 the Lord's battle. Look at Verse Fifteen. We read that when the men 89 00:08:22.410 --> 00:08:30.639 of Judas shouted, God defeated Jerobalm or Verse Sixteen, when we read that 90 00:08:30.800 --> 00:08:35.399 the men of Israel fled before Judah, it was because God gave them into 91 00:08:35.519 --> 00:08:41.710 their hand. We also read in verse eighteen that all this happened because they 92 00:08:41.789 --> 00:08:48.110 relied on the Lord, the God of their fathers. The men of Israel 93 00:08:48.149 --> 00:08:52.789 were subdued at that time and the men of Judah prevailed because they relied on 94 00:08:52.990 --> 00:08:58.220 the Lord, the God of their fathers. Over and over and over again, 95 00:08:58.259 --> 00:09:01.899 where the point is emphasized that yes, Abbys, young is men won 96 00:09:03.019 --> 00:09:07.620 this victory, but it was because the Lord did the work. And that 97 00:09:07.820 --> 00:09:11.690 point is not only stated multiple times, it's evidence in the victory itself. 98 00:09:13.769 --> 00:09:18.690 Only God could have won this victory. It was a spiritual victory. First 99 00:09:18.730 --> 00:09:24.799 of all, remember the abby or that Jereboam was fighting with false gods. 100 00:09:24.159 --> 00:09:30.240 He had JEREB obvious says to Jerebom, you think you're going to win because 101 00:09:30.279 --> 00:09:33.639 you brought out these golden calves that you have made. You think that these 102 00:09:33.840 --> 00:09:39.950 gods will save you. They will not. They are false gods. There 103 00:09:41.029 --> 00:09:45.710 are false gods in this world. People will try to point you to them, 104 00:09:45.750 --> 00:09:48.750 they will try to get you to depend on them, but they are 105 00:09:48.830 --> 00:09:52.059 unreliable. There is only one true God, as abbies that points out, 106 00:09:52.419 --> 00:09:58.299 and as we cease from his success. It's true he prevails over these false 107 00:09:58.379 --> 00:10:05.340 gods and over these false priests, these self adorned ordained priests. I feel 108 00:10:05.379 --> 00:10:16.409 like there's sarcasm in Aubija's voice when he talks about the priests who come and 109 00:10:16.610 --> 00:10:22.159 are ordained just for bringing whatever they bring. And it's in verse eleven. 110 00:10:22.679 --> 00:10:26.080 Whoever comes for ordination with a young bull and seven rams becomes a priest. 111 00:10:26.960 --> 00:10:31.679 Doesn't matter who you are, doesn't matter what your family history is, doesn't 112 00:10:31.720 --> 00:10:35.080 matter that you follow the Commands of the Lord, that you belong to, 113 00:10:35.159 --> 00:10:37.789 Aaron or whoever. Just as long as you bring the payment, you can 114 00:10:39.110 --> 00:10:43.990 become a priest in Jeroboam's kingdom. The victory, then, that God wins, 115 00:10:45.070 --> 00:10:50.059 is very much a spiritual victory over these supposed strengths that Jerebom has, 116 00:10:50.259 --> 00:10:56.100 but he doesn't. But even more obviously, is this physical and military victory. 117 00:10:58.460 --> 00:11:03.100 There's some question about what these numbers exactly represent. They are very large 118 00:11:03.100 --> 00:11:07.730 numbers in terms of numbers of men, and there's some question about what they 119 00:11:07.809 --> 00:11:11.090 mean and how we're to count them. But no matter what they are. 120 00:11:11.250 --> 00:11:18.960 We the ratios are what's really important here. Jarrobom brings an army that is 121 00:11:20.080 --> 00:11:24.320 at least twice as strong, at least in terms of manpower. Jerebalm, 122 00:11:24.440 --> 00:11:31.559 we read in verse are verse three, had eight hundred chosen mighty warriors and 123 00:11:31.759 --> 00:11:37.149 Abijah brings four hundred thousand showsen men. Sort of interesting to me the way 124 00:11:37.190 --> 00:11:41.909 that they puts it there. Four hundred thousand chosen men, eight hundred thousand 125 00:11:41.950 --> 00:11:48.019 chosen mighty warriors. It's start of an emphasis on the strength of of JEROBOAM. 126 00:11:48.059 --> 00:11:54.659 Not only twice as many men but also a very skilled mighty warriors. 127 00:11:54.700 --> 00:12:01.889 It's not just in manpower that that Jerobalum is strong, but there's a strategy 128 00:12:01.009 --> 00:12:07.409 which seems certain to succeed. He sets men before him, the smaller army, 129 00:12:07.690 --> 00:12:13.250 and then he sends another group around behind him. They are inclosed, 130 00:12:13.370 --> 00:12:20.799 they're being cut off, they're being squashed. I'm known military strategist, but 131 00:12:20.480 --> 00:12:26.240 the point seems to be in the text that Abbijo was doomed. He has 132 00:12:26.440 --> 00:12:35.909 he's outnumbered, he's been out strategized and these people are a committed and yet 133 00:12:35.950 --> 00:12:43.269 by the end of the story obvious just stands victorious and and Judah's are. 134 00:12:43.309 --> 00:12:46.580 I'm sorry, JEROBOAM's army has not only been cut down, it's been cut 135 00:12:46.659 --> 00:12:56.179 down to a size even smaller than what Abisha began with. The point is 136 00:12:56.379 --> 00:13:01.690 very simple. This is a victory that only God could have won. Abby's 137 00:13:01.730 --> 00:13:03.690 just says this. It's the point of the text, is the way that 138 00:13:03.850 --> 00:13:07.889 the history reads and it's what God wants us to understand as we read this. 139 00:13:09.610 --> 00:13:13.159 We're not here to look at Aubij and say wow, those preacher blew 140 00:13:13.240 --> 00:13:18.399 those trumpets. Well, guess they did something Speck tacular to win this battle. 141 00:13:18.159 --> 00:13:24.600 Now it's all about what the Lord has done. God's love for Avisha, 142 00:13:26.200 --> 00:13:31.909 because of David's promise, would be part of this great foundation of his 143 00:13:31.110 --> 00:13:37.029 victory. Now this teaches us a lot of wonderful lessons the strength of the 144 00:13:37.190 --> 00:13:41.700 Lord and it. But before we get to there, we have to point 145 00:13:41.740 --> 00:13:46.980 out that this victory is only anticipating the greater victory that God would have in 146 00:13:48.059 --> 00:13:52.740 an even greater king and in a greater son of David. I'm of course, 147 00:13:52.740 --> 00:13:54.460 speaking of Jesus, the son of David, the son of God, 148 00:13:54.620 --> 00:14:01.769 who came into the world in weakness. He came to fight the powers of 149 00:14:01.929 --> 00:14:07.570 evil, to destroy the evil one and his servants, to win victory over 150 00:14:07.850 --> 00:14:13.679 sin death. I'm in these kinds of things to heal that was was broken, 151 00:14:13.799 --> 00:14:18.159 to come for sinners and despised people. But he did this not in 152 00:14:18.240 --> 00:14:24.629 the strength of a Jeroboam but in the weakness of an Avisha. He was 153 00:14:24.710 --> 00:14:31.830 out gunned, he was outnumbered, he was he was eventually killed, murdered, 154 00:14:31.990 --> 00:14:35.750 crucified on a cross. Jesus, when he came into the world, 155 00:14:37.110 --> 00:14:41.779 was in many ways much, much weaker than Abbish, at least humanly speaking. 156 00:14:41.899 --> 00:14:46.139 Physically speaking, he had a band of twelve disciples, one of whom 157 00:14:46.500 --> 00:14:52.460 was a traitor to him, the others of whom fled when Jesus was captured, 158 00:14:52.970 --> 00:14:56.929 even denied him. He was left all alone in the world. Even 159 00:14:56.090 --> 00:15:03.929 his own family many times were rejecting him. But nevertheless, as Davidson and 160 00:15:05.090 --> 00:15:09.840 as Godson, he brought about this great victory for the Kingdom of God. 161 00:15:11.159 --> 00:15:18.600 Through this divine human king, God, the same Lord and and Covenant Keeper 162 00:15:18.759 --> 00:15:24.909 that we read about in second chronicles, established another king, a son of 163 00:15:24.990 --> 00:15:31.590 David, a son of Solomon, to rise up victorious over evil, over 164 00:15:31.710 --> 00:15:41.899 idolatry over false gods. No one thought victory was possible. Even his own 165 00:15:41.940 --> 00:15:45.980 disciples, who, he said I will rise in three days after they kill 166 00:15:46.100 --> 00:15:50.529 me, didn't believe it. They were scared and didn't know what would happen. 167 00:15:50.889 --> 00:15:56.929 But that victory, the victory even over our own sins, victory over 168 00:15:58.090 --> 00:16:03.210 death so that we might live forever, was made possible because of God. 169 00:16:03.440 --> 00:16:07.200 The father's will, the son's obedience, the spirits power, all of this 170 00:16:07.480 --> 00:16:14.000 came to us in Jesus Christ. It was a victory over the forces of 171 00:16:14.080 --> 00:16:18.549 evil, over the forces of this world. And though there are some aspects 172 00:16:18.590 --> 00:16:23.190 of it that were very glorious, like the resurrection, the ascension, the 173 00:16:23.269 --> 00:16:30.350 pouring out of the spirit, in many ways this victory of Jesus is hidden. 174 00:16:32.710 --> 00:16:41.059 When abbies slaid all of these men, it was obvious blood all over 175 00:16:41.220 --> 00:16:45.779 the battlefield, people who had died. Work that had to be had to 176 00:16:45.820 --> 00:16:48.490 be made. There were cities that were taken over, new laws that were 177 00:16:48.529 --> 00:16:53.169 implemented, and on and on and on. But in many ways, the 178 00:16:53.250 --> 00:16:56.730 Kingdom of God, as it comes through Jesus, though, it's much more 179 00:16:56.850 --> 00:17:00.210 powerful that the victory is much greater. In many ways it is hidden. 180 00:17:02.519 --> 00:17:07.440 We are told that we who have died to sin and and live to righteousness 181 00:17:07.559 --> 00:17:14.119 in Jesus. We don't see that old body. There's no Christopher that you 182 00:17:14.200 --> 00:17:17.109 can point to, sort of dead on the ground. It's a spiritual thing. 183 00:17:18.430 --> 00:17:22.349 The resurrection hasn't happened yet. One day these things will be made obvious. 184 00:17:22.750 --> 00:17:26.710 It will be obvious to all the world, but for now these things 185 00:17:26.789 --> 00:17:32.779 in many ways remain hidden. Take, for example, the cities that Abijah 186 00:17:33.180 --> 00:17:37.299 took back for the Kingdom of God. Jesus has done the same thing. 187 00:17:37.420 --> 00:17:41.579 Over all the world. There are believers in his name, but they live 188 00:17:41.660 --> 00:17:45.769 in cities as pilgrims and as resident aliens. And sometimes they don't live in 189 00:17:45.849 --> 00:17:52.490 the cities at all. They live in hidden places, they live in jails 190 00:17:52.650 --> 00:17:57.529 and prisons and camps, kept away from their loved ones. In many ways, 191 00:17:57.680 --> 00:18:03.599 the Kingdom of God, even as Jesus came in weakness, remains in 192 00:18:03.759 --> 00:18:10.960 weakness, at least outwardly speaking, and that's why this history of God's kingdom, 193 00:18:11.079 --> 00:18:15.190 in these early expressions of it in chronicles, is so helpful to us, 194 00:18:15.150 --> 00:18:18.990 because it assures us that the things that in many ways are hidden and 195 00:18:19.150 --> 00:18:25.589 veiled, the Glorious Victory that Christ is obtained that is hard to see sometimes. 196 00:18:26.150 --> 00:18:30.700 Is Really there it? When we read of abbys's victory, it brings 197 00:18:30.740 --> 00:18:37.619 us assurance that God has, does and will reign, even if we don't 198 00:18:37.619 --> 00:18:41.420 always see it, even if we don't always find it in the ways that 199 00:18:41.529 --> 00:18:47.650 we expect. In other words, if God could reign victorious through even a 200 00:18:47.769 --> 00:18:52.369 sinful man like Abbiesia, certainly he could do it, and all the more 201 00:18:52.529 --> 00:18:59.799 through the perfect and divine man and son of God, Jesus of Nazareth. 202 00:19:02.559 --> 00:19:07.400 These two historical victories of Abiesia and of Jesus, one local, the second 203 00:19:07.519 --> 00:19:14.430 global, leave each of us a choice, as long as the day of 204 00:19:14.509 --> 00:19:18.630 judgments has not yet come, and it has not. We have a choice. 205 00:19:18.829 --> 00:19:25.500 These events, this declaration of God's power and victory through his kings, 206 00:19:26.700 --> 00:19:36.299 call us to choose sides to act accordingly. Either we side with Jereboam and 207 00:19:36.420 --> 00:19:41.009 his man made Gods and his pride and his self appointed priests and is made 208 00:19:41.009 --> 00:19:48.450 up religion and is mighty army and is strength and boasts, we side with 209 00:19:48.650 --> 00:19:56.200 what is seemingly strong and seemingly going to win, or we sighe with Abbieshot 210 00:19:56.359 --> 00:20:02.599 and his king, the only the the only true God maker of the world. 211 00:20:03.279 --> 00:20:10.509 The one side leads to certain death, though seemingly strong. The other 212 00:20:10.589 --> 00:20:17.390 side leads to certain victory, though seemingly weak. God's victory here on this 213 00:20:17.589 --> 00:20:22.180 battlefield, and is the greater victory on the cross, calls us to make 214 00:20:22.220 --> 00:20:32.819 a choice. Do not choose what only appears strong. That's the message of 215 00:20:32.940 --> 00:20:37.529 this text. Don't choose the thing that appears strong, that seems strong. 216 00:20:37.690 --> 00:20:45.450 Choose the one who is strong. God has made his covenants, he's established 217 00:20:45.490 --> 00:20:52.079 his promises, he's made commitments to certain things and to certain people. Know 218 00:20:52.319 --> 00:21:00.480 what those are. Follow in those steps, belong in that way in all 219 00:21:00.680 --> 00:21:06.910 your life. Don't choose what only seems to be strong, that which is 220 00:21:07.349 --> 00:21:14.190 powerful or wealthy or famous, but choose the one who is strong. Choose 221 00:21:14.509 --> 00:21:18.299 the God of David, the father of Jesus, the ruler of Israel, 222 00:21:18.420 --> 00:21:27.019 the King of the world. What does that look like? And all in 223 00:21:27.180 --> 00:21:30.500 with this, what is that? When with this question? What does it 224 00:21:30.660 --> 00:21:36.730 look like to choose that and to rely on Yah, way, to rely 225 00:21:36.970 --> 00:21:41.849 on the God of Israel? Let abbyse just show you what that looks like. 226 00:21:44.849 --> 00:21:48.720 As he stands on this mountain and calls out to Jerebaum and warns him 227 00:21:48.759 --> 00:21:53.440 and implores him. He shows us what it means to rely on the Lord. 228 00:21:56.599 --> 00:22:02.349 In Verse Five, we see that it starts with God's covenants and commitments. 229 00:22:03.750 --> 00:22:07.230 In verse five he says, ought you not to know that the Lord, 230 00:22:07.309 --> 00:22:11.349 God of Israel, gave the kingship over it is over, is over 231 00:22:11.589 --> 00:22:18.299 Israel forever to David and his sons by a covenant of Salt. He speaks 232 00:22:18.339 --> 00:22:21.940 of this covenant and he says to them this is the foundation of things. 233 00:22:22.380 --> 00:22:26.700 I stand here on this mountain not because I'm so great. Clearly I'm half 234 00:22:26.779 --> 00:22:33.089 your size. I stand here because of what God has done. Relying on 235 00:22:33.170 --> 00:22:36.369 the Lord, in other word, starts with an understanding of God's Covenance, 236 00:22:37.049 --> 00:22:42.690 of God's commitments. Second, it stands with and in God's kingdom, even 237 00:22:42.730 --> 00:22:48.039 when it's hidden. So this is Abbi'Shas correct perspective. In Verse Eight, 238 00:22:49.200 --> 00:22:53.079 and now you think to withstand the Kingdom of the Lord in the hands of 239 00:22:53.160 --> 00:22:56.960 the sons of David, because you have a great multitude and you have with 240 00:22:57.079 --> 00:23:03.869 you the golden calves the Geribo made you for God's you see, Abby just 241 00:23:04.109 --> 00:23:10.829 perspective. He stands on the Covenant Commitments of God and in that he stands 242 00:23:10.910 --> 00:23:15.380 and understands himself to be within God's kingdom. We are the same who belong 243 00:23:15.539 --> 00:23:21.420 to Jesus. God has made his covenant promises to David, has fulfilled them. 244 00:23:21.460 --> 00:23:26.619 In Christ he has made covenant commitments. The father has made covenant commitments 245 00:23:26.170 --> 00:23:30.490 with the Son and the spirit, and he stands on those. Jesus brought 246 00:23:30.490 --> 00:23:34.809 about a kingdom to which we belong and, even though it's hidden and veiled 247 00:23:34.930 --> 00:23:38.210 in many ways, he's with we want to rely in the Lord, we 248 00:23:38.329 --> 00:23:45.279 have to understand ourselves to be a part of that. We belong to the 249 00:23:45.319 --> 00:23:49.839 Kingdom of God. We are citizens of Heaven, though we are here on 250 00:23:51.119 --> 00:23:57.390 earth because of God's covenants. We stand in God's kingdom. The third thing 251 00:23:57.470 --> 00:24:00.869 obviously does is he discerns, on the basis of these things, what is 252 00:24:00.990 --> 00:24:06.269 true and what is false. He's not deceived by the priests, he's not 253 00:24:06.430 --> 00:24:11.859 deceived by the idols. Reliance on the Lord depends on the same. We 254 00:24:11.940 --> 00:24:17.220 must know him, we must know our God who keeps us and protects us, 255 00:24:17.420 --> 00:24:22.660 and be able to distinguish him from a man made calf. Sounds easy, 256 00:24:22.700 --> 00:24:27.930 enough. But how many of us have fallen for that? How many 257 00:24:27.970 --> 00:24:33.769 of us have gone after a gods of gold and silver, gods of our 258 00:24:33.809 --> 00:24:40.400 own making, and if rejected the God who stands strong and who is a 259 00:24:40.519 --> 00:24:49.160 victorious in all his battles? Fourth, obviisiaz is obedient. And spiritual matters, 260 00:24:49.359 --> 00:24:53.430 he and the priests kept the charge. In other words, these things 261 00:24:53.470 --> 00:24:57.670 aren't just head knowledge for him. He doesn't just know about God's covenant with 262 00:24:57.829 --> 00:25:03.029 his father, and is his grandfather there, great grandfather. Now he doesn't 263 00:25:03.069 --> 00:25:07.420 just think of him self as belonging to God's kingdom. He doesn't just discern 264 00:25:07.700 --> 00:25:15.500 truth from error, but he also is obedient. He acts in this way, 265 00:25:15.700 --> 00:25:21.380 first in spiritual matters, the priests doing their duties, a continuing on 266 00:25:21.609 --> 00:25:25.529 worshiping the Lord, and then finally, in other matters as well. And 267 00:25:25.650 --> 00:25:30.049 that's number five. Forward Five. They're kind of the same thing. We 268 00:25:30.250 --> 00:25:36.480 Act, we act based on faith. We don't just hear these things, 269 00:25:36.599 --> 00:25:38.799 but we move. And he moves, he stands up, he gets on 270 00:25:38.960 --> 00:25:45.200 that mouth and he defies the armies of Jerebom and he says you are done, 271 00:25:45.400 --> 00:25:52.470 for you don't stand a chance. Takes a lot of courage when your 272 00:25:52.509 --> 00:25:57.630 half is strong and you're about to be ambushed from behind. But he has 273 00:25:57.789 --> 00:26:04.940 that courage not because he's just really gutsy guy, but because he knows y'all 274 00:26:04.980 --> 00:26:10.980 wear, he knows his God and he knows that God keeps his promises, 275 00:26:11.099 --> 00:26:15.140 and so he acts. He acts in his words, he acts in the 276 00:26:15.259 --> 00:26:19.250 blowing of the trumpets as they cry out to the Lord, and he acts 277 00:26:19.289 --> 00:26:26.210 again when they go into battle and start swinging. We do the same thing. 278 00:26:27.609 --> 00:26:34.440 We don't have a political kingdom we are trying to defend, but when 279 00:26:34.480 --> 00:26:44.200 it comes to the Kingdom of God, we do swing our swords, swords 280 00:26:44.240 --> 00:26:48.750 of the spirit. We preach the word, we communicate grace, we call 281 00:26:48.910 --> 00:26:52.230 people to repentance and forgiveness. We trust that as God's word goes out, 282 00:26:52.269 --> 00:26:56.829 it will accomplish the things it goes out to do. It will put to 283 00:26:57.029 --> 00:27:03.259 death that which is in sinful in Ess but not just in judgment. It'll 284 00:27:03.339 --> 00:27:11.579 bring to life that which is righteous and good in Jesus. I'll leave it 285 00:27:11.660 --> 00:27:15.339 to you to think about various areas of your life where you need to think 286 00:27:15.579 --> 00:27:21.769 more in accord with who God is in his strength. I'll leave it to 287 00:27:21.890 --> 00:27:26.849 you to think about the ways in which you are overly worried or fearful about 288 00:27:26.970 --> 00:27:33.000 wealth or power or notoriety, depending on those things instead of depending on the 289 00:27:33.119 --> 00:27:37.799 Lord, knowing that the worst thing that can happen you, happen to you 290 00:27:37.720 --> 00:27:44.240 is you could die and then rise again from the dead, and the strength 291 00:27:44.309 --> 00:27:49.630 of the Lord Jesus Christ and his resurrection. Our Lord is victorious, our 292 00:27:49.750 --> 00:27:56.269 King is mighty in battle. Trust in him in all your ways. He 293 00:27:56.390 --> 00:28:00.819 will be faithful to you. Let's pray