Properly King: Judges 8: 18-23

We're going to look today at Judges chapter 8.

Judges 8 · chapter mention

We left the book of Judges, having made it this

far, back in November to dwell deeply on the

scriptures surrounding the birth of Christ. And

I warned you, for those who were available to

receive that warning, I know we've got some people

who are out sick and some people who are here

and that kind of thing, but we'll be in the book

of Judges for the foreseeable future. So I would

encourage you to read, study, meditate through

the book of Judges. That'll catch you up to the

story such as it is. This character that we're

looking at today, we had delved pretty deeply

into the early part of his story. And then now

this is a particular episode. As we look at it,

just on the off chance that you're not remembering,

you're not super familiar with the story, I'll

try to fill in some of the blanks so you make

sure that... You're getting it connected, basically,

in your mind. Before I do that, I want to share

with you an illustration. So this week I was

on the internet, as I occasionally find myself,

and I found a little meme about a show which

I had not seen before called The Middle. It's

a sitcom. They produced like nine seasons of

it. The article that I was reading said it's

okay for Christians, that you can watch it. There's

just a tiny bit of foul language. but it's not

really like there's not sexual themes or violent

themes or anything like that, so you should be

okay to watch it. But I watched one scene of

it, and in this scene, the dad in the household

is just coming home from work, and the mom is

in the kitchen, and she's got the kids lined

up, and two of them are teenagers and one's a

little younger. And she's explaining to them,

the mom's explaining to them a piece of paper

that she put up on the fridge that shows the

order of their household. And she says, Mom?

And then she lists the oldest kid and then the

next oldest kid and then the youngest kid. And

then she goes, oh, yeah, and dad. And she puts

dad up there kind of next to mom but slightly

below mom. And one of the kids says, I don't

think that's right. And she said, what do you

mean? And he said, I think dad's supposed to

be on the top. And she said, what do you mean

dad's on the top? I'm in charge of this house.

And he said, well, then why is dad always first?

And just then dad comes walking in from work

and he goes to the refrigerator and gets a drink

out of the fridge. And she says, as he's walking

in, she said, they're trying to say that you're

in charge of the house. Tell them that they've

got it wrong. And he said, what? What are you

talking about? And he said, I just got here.

I'm just coming in on this scene. I'm not sure

I'm ready to make a decision. What's going on

here? And she said, well, just tell them. She

said, they say that you're in charge. And he

goes, well, that's not incorrect. And he leaves

it against the counter, and he starts taking

a drink of his drink. And the kids are smiling,

and she said, no. She said, I'm in charge. Tell

them that I'm in charge. And he said, okay, when

I'm not here, your mother is in charge. And she

starts getting red in the face, really frustrated.

She said, but why did you say it that way? She

said, I'm in charge. And then the kids started

bickering back and forth. And the littlest kid

says, well, try being me. I'm the littlest. And

he starts to complain, and they start to bicker

back and forth. And she says, that's it. You're

done. Go to your room. And they look at their

dad, and their dad says, and so they start to

go to their room. And she goes, oh, wait a minute,

wait a minute. Why did you look at him? You looked

at him first. I saw that. Stay. Don't go. Stay

here right now. And they look at the dad, and

the dad says, and he tries to cover it with his

drink, like cover his face, and says, okay, stay.

And she goes, wait. And she starts to realize

he's actually in charge. So this is our life,

is it not? I mean, I feel like, generally speaking,

when I am the only person there and no one else

is around, I'm in charge. Now, I know in my heart

of hearts that God is really in charge, and I

try to submit everything in my life. I don't

want to get ahead of myself to the Lord. But

the truth is, there is a great struggle in the

universe. about who will be in charge. When God

said at the very beginning that he would make

man to reign over all creation, that created

an upheaval in those who thought that they were

better than man. Not that man should be in charge,

but that they should be in charge. And then if

God is going to be like that, then maybe God's

not fit to be in charge. And it created a rebellion.

And whatever you believe about the doctrine of

demons and angels, not everything that people

say about the doctrine of demons and angels is

in Scripture. It's not all there the way people

try to say it. But whatever you believe about

that, there have always been, pretty much from

the very beginning, those who were questioning

God being in charge. And it really shouldn't

be like that. He has certain traits that we'll

see before we're through that pretty much qualify

him and him alone to be in charge. But one of

the characters in the story that we're looking

at today gets that. And it seems like everybody

else in the story doesn't. And so what's it like

to be one who gets it when everybody else doesn't?

Well, we'll see that here. And it doesn't really

end great. But then Jesus comes much later and

sort of sorts everything out for us, and we're

grateful for that. So grab your Bibles, if you

would. Maybe give me an amen, a hoot, or a holler

as we go to Judges chapter 8. Thank you very

Judges 8 · chapter mention

much. This is the Word of God. So that fun story

may help to interpret this passage a little bit

or maybe put it in perspective for you. But what

we're about to read now was inspired by God's

Holy Spirit, written by the hands of men, but

clearly preserved for us through centuries that

we might delve into it just this day. Judges

Judges 8 · chapter mention

chapter 8, beginning in verse 18. Right after

verse 18, I'll stop and break the story down

just to make sure that we understand where this

is coming from. Then he said to Ziba and Zalmunna,

What kind of men were they whom you killed at

Tabor? And they said, they were like you, each

one resembling the son of a king. So backing

up the story from this point, and for those of

you who didn't read it or get a chance to look

at it in advance, Gideon has been at war, and

these two kings have really been a thorn in the

side to God's people, right? In fact, there were

two cities that while Gideon was pursuing, them,

and as they crossed over the Jordan and went

after these kings, they were in full flight because

God basically decimated their army. Gideon didn't

do it. He only had 300 men with him. They had

Campbell to the horizon, right? Tens of thousands

of men, at least. And God had routed them and

used them to destroy each other, but now Ziba

and Zalun, these kings, they still exist, and

they have fled, and Gideon has pursued them.

While they were pursuing, there were two cities

that Gideon went to, and his men were hungry,

and they were tired. and they needed resources,

and the cities refused them. So the passage right

before what we're reading today, when the cities

refused them, they said, well, have you already

got these kings in your grasp? Have you already

captured them that we should help you? What they

were saying was, if you fail to get Ziba and

Zalmunna, then they'll come back against us later

and destroy us, and Gideon's not that big a deal.

You're just not that big a deal, right? So we

don't want to risk it. And Gideon said, you've

made a huge mistake today. After I capture them,

I'll come back and I'll deal with you. So he

goes out there, he captures Ziba and Zalmunna,

and then he brings them back, and then he destroys

those two cities. And the one city, he kills

every man in the city. And so you can read the

story, get the better details out of it. Although

before this, I encourage you to do that. We did

it back in November. I encourage you to do it

again just to make sure. But now he's captured

Ziba and Zalmunna. And verse 18, he looks at

these two kings who were really... creating a

very downtrodden society amongst God's people.

They were losing their homes and their strongholds.

They were fleeing to the mountains. They lost

their crops year after year. And now Gideon has

conquered their armies really through God's might.

And he asks them, he says, what kind of men were

they whom you killed at Tabor? Now there's a

couple of things to see here. So first of all,

Tabor is an interesting place. Tabor is a place

that exists and its location is known even today.

In fact, it's become a place of Christian pilgrimage.

This is saying a lot of Christians go and see

Tabor, not because of this event. In fact, a

lot of Christians that go and see Tabor don't

know anything about this event where Ziba and

Zalmunna killed a bunch of people at Tabor. This

event is not recorded elsewhere in Scripture.

It took place probably before everything that

we're reading. So we don't know exactly when

it happened for sure, and we don't have any details

of the event, but what we do know is what we're

about to read is real, and I'll show you why

in a second. The reason that many Christians

go there is because another miraculous or incredible

event takes place there way later on in the history.

Any Bible scholars in the room know what that

event is? You'd be pretty incredible if you did.

It is the Transfiguration, possibly. So there

is a mountain that is proclaimed to be in a certain

region. That is where they went up to see Jesus

be transfigured. He got his white robes. looked

holy before them, and they offered to build tents.

You probably remember this story a little bit

now. And people think, starting about 300 to

400 AD, pretty much people attributed that story

to the church fathers, said that's where it took

place, on Tabor, Mount Tabor. There's another

mountain nearby that's actually taller, and scholars

debate which mountain it actually was, but when

Christians go and see where Jesus was transfigured,

guess where they go? Tabor. Going to Tabor, not

knowing about this massacre, probably, and maybe

it wasn't actually where Jesus was transfigured,

because it doesn't say that. The amount on which

Jesus was transfigured is not named in Scripture.

But starting about 380, people thought it was,

and so people go there and see where maybe Jesus

was transfigured. But what we do know that happened

there was a massacre. And this is why we know

that. He says, what kind of men were they whom

you killed at Tabor? And they said, They were

like you, each one resembling the son of a king.

Verse 19 says, and he said, they were my brothers,

the sons of my mother. So his biological brothers

were killed at the massacre at Tabor. This is

a fact. But, so he says, the sons of my mother.

As the Lord lives, if only you had let them live,

I would not kill you. So what he's saying is,

when... Ziba and Zalmunna killed his biological

brothers. They sealed their fate. Now, it's interesting,

and scholars debate why this event was never

mentioned previous to Gideon coming to power

and all the war that's actually going on right

now. And the prime theory, the number one theory,

is this, that if it hadn't been mentioned, then

everyone might be thinking that the reason that

Gideon went to war was vengeance, was to destroy

was to destroy those people who killed his brothers.

And that would make sense, right? People did

go to war for that reason or go to battle or

try to hunt down those. And it's even just to

do that. Man kills your brother to go after them

and try to bring justice. That's a just thing,

right? But it's not mentioned that way. So we

don't actually know that that was in any way

a motivator for Gideon. What we do know is what

God told us to do. Welcome, welcome, come on

in. Got some guests with you today. Yes. Awesome.

All right. And so what we do know, is that they

killed Gideon's brothers. And he says, the justice

I'm about to deal with you, to you, I would not

have done if you had let them live. So they failed

to show mercy to Gideon's brothers. And now Gideon

will fail to show them mercy or will not show

them mercy. So verse 20 says, so he said to Jether,

so this is his oldest son, it says Jether, his

firstborn, he looks at his oldest son. So Jason,

this would be as if your dad looked at you, right?

Or Aaron, because if I looked at you, oldest

son, and said, rise, kill them. So he says, basically,

put them to the sword. Right here, right now,

kill them right now. They deserve to die right

now. They killed your uncles, kill them. But

the youth did not draw his sword, for he was

afraid, because he was still a youth. So he wasn't

a grown man, proven in battle, that kind of thing.

But his dad just said, Kill them. They deserve

it. Showed the evidence. They openly confessed

that they had done what they did, right? He said,

why did you kill them? They said, well, we did

it because we could. They were like sons of kings,

and we killed them. We didn't show them any mercy.

Big deal. And they said, well, those are my brothers.

And then he tells his son, kill them. And his

son says, no, because he was afraid and because

he was still a youth. Verse 21. Then Ziba and

Zalmunna said, rise up yourself and fall on us,

for as the man, so is his strength. For as the

man, so is his strength. And so that's a saying

that relates the character of a person or the

quality of that person or the nature of that

person to the strength that that person shows

in conflict, under difficulty. You understand?

The kings are saying, these are kings, so they

carry some weight, even though they're defeated

kings and not godly kings. And they say, as the

man, so is his strength. So, Gideon arose and

killed Ziba and Zalmunna and took the crescent

ornaments which were on their camels' necks.

With two verses left today. Then the men of Israel

said to Gideon, rule over us, both you and your

son. So that would mean that his son, who did

not kill them, who did not rise to Jether, his

firstborn, would become king. If he becomes king,

then Jether would become king after him. Rule

over us, both you and your son, and your son's

son. For you have delivered us from the hand

of Midian. So because of what Gideon did, and

you and I know God did it, right? But because

of what Gideon did, they were going to make Gideon

king over them. Now in verse 23, Gideon says,

But Gideon said to them, I will not rule over

you, nor shall my son rule over you. The Lord

shall rule over you. That ends our text for the

day. And you can already see that Gideon appears

to be the only person in the room who understands

that God is supposed to rule at least over God's

people. The truth is God rules over the whole

world. Before we get to that, though, there's

a couple of other glaring truths here. The first

one is this, that justice and vengeance are two

different things. Right. So when someone hurts

you, you have probably a right to justice. Now

you can show mercy and add those kings show mercy

to Gideon's brothers. They might have been shown

mercy by Gideon. At least Gideon said that he

would. He proved pretty much to be a man of his

word throughout his entire life, so he probably

would have shown them mercy had they shown mercy

to his brothers, but they didn't. Was it justice

that they killed them? They didn't kill them

for justice, because they only killed them for

defending their families and their crops and

so on, for defending their households, so they

didn't kill them for justice. They didn't kill

them for vengeance. Vengeance is they would do

something back to them because of something that

was done to them. Gideon, in this passage of

Scripture, is not dealing justice. Gideon did

not become a judge in charge of his people. I'm

sorry, I said that backwards. He is not dealing

vengeance. Thank you. I'm going to clarify that.

He is not dealing vengeance. I saw it in your

eyes. He is dealing justice. He's not bringing

vengeance, we know, because his brothers were

killed. He didn't fight the battle because his

brothers were killed. He didn't summon the 20

,000 -man army or reduce it down to 300 men because

his brothers were killed. He didn't go out to

war because his brothers were killed, right?

He didn't capture these men because his brothers

were killed. But along the way, somewhere along

the way, he discovers that these men are also

the men who killed his brothers. And it becomes

justice that these men, first of all, their armies

are defeated, they're dealt with, and the evil

is stopped, right? But then he says, well, you

know, if they had shown mercy to my brothers,

I could show them mercy now. But it's justice

that they died. for not having shown mercy to

my brothers. And it's kind of a nice side effect

that he's able to deal justice to those who killed

his brothers. And it is justice. But it's not

vengeance. It comes at the end of a long line

of what is not vengeance. Right? Because it's

justice, his son might have gotten up and killed

them. I submit to you that vengeance is daunting

for youth, for young people. They might seek

it, they might feel it in their bones that they

want to deliver vengeance. But to murder somebody

in his mind, to kill somebody openly in the presence

of the king and all those witnesses, he didn't

understand justice. He couldn't bring justice

to them because he was young. And a lot of times

as young people, we don't understand justice.

We see justice as just as vengeance. She took

it from me. He hit me, I hit him back. I want

back. I want more time. I want to feel better

about myself and I'm not going to tolerate you

talking to me. So now I'm going to say nasty

things to you to get you to shut up and so on.

And we get mixed up over what's vengeance and

justice. But Gideon's son could have dealt justice

and it wasn't wrong necessarily of Gideon to

call on his son to do that. It would have been

a great opportunity for him to learn a valuable

lesson about justice. And he didn't. And then

Gideon did. Justice and vengeance are two different

things. And you'd be wise at whatever stage in

your life that you're at to learn the difference.

There is one person, one being, who has a right

to vengeance. And it is God. And there is one

person who ensures justice. And it is God. It

is not me and it is not you. Now God might use

you to deal justice. He might use you to put

somebody in their place. In their place, for

example. You better do it in the Lord, or you're

going to have a hard time sorting out what's

justice and what's vengeance, what's just dangerous,

where is mercy in all of this, and so on. The

next thing to see in there, then, is that validation

for people is not the same as authorization.

So it stems from reason that I would like the

people around me to say that something is okay.

If you tell me I'm doing a good job, then I might

have an emotional boost. I might feel a physical

sensation. My heart might beat a little faster

for a moment, and I might get some validation

out of that. But validation is not the same as

authorization. You don't get to do whatever you

want just because you think it's okay, and you

don't get to do whatever you want just because

somebody else says it's okay. If everybody in

this room ignores what I say today, that's not

validation. And yet, I have been validated by

God to say and authorized by God to say what

I'm saying, because this is the Word of God.

And I'm just teaching you what it says. If I

get something wrong, it's your job then not to

validate it. So I don't keep doing that. And

I have authorized you to do that. See, validation

is not the same thing as authorization. And if

someone in your life tells you it's okay to do

something, it stems from reason, emotion, logic,

that you may continue to do that. When a parent

says, do this. And then you do it and then they

say oh you did such a good job So grateful that

you did that here's a reward the child will do

it again because they feel like they've been

validated Now they had authorization to do it

from the beginning and all they needed to do

is act on the Authorization that they already

had they didn't need all that validation or the

gamification thing that we talked about during

inspirational moment You don't need to make a

game out of it. You've already been authorized.

You've been authorized to read the Bible, to

understand it, and to explain it to anyone who

will listen to you. Right? And if you're a Christian,

you've been validated by the Holy Spirit being

in you so that you can properly understand it

and properly deliver it. But validation from

people is not the same as authorization. Real

authority must reach into the spiritual realm.

You have to have an effect. When you speak, I

had this instance come up in my house just recently.

Ariana and I, she was going to bed last Thursday,

and they had school on Friday. They had snow

day on Thursday, and on Friday she had to go

to school. She was laying down. She said, I don't

want to go to school tomorrow. She just doesn't

really like school. She's doing well in school.

She's well -behaved. It's not a discipline issue

like that. She just doesn't like the humdrum

of it and all the drama. and kids trying to push

their agendas on her, and she deals with bullying,

and she deals with some persecution that people

don't like that she's a Christian, and things

like that. So one thing after another, and she

just doesn't really like to go. So she said,

I really don't want to go. And I said, honey,

you will go to school every day as long as the

Lord says you're supposed to go to school. You'll

go to school every day, so you can just let it

go. Stop worrying about it. Go to school, and

it'll be fine. God always takes care of it, doesn't

he? Yeah, he always takes care of it. Okay, then

don't worry about it. She said, but I don't want

to go. And I said, well, it's fine that you don't

want to go, but you're going to go. So you may

as well just accept it. And I said, you're going

to go unless you're sick. And she said, well,

I wish I was sick. It took less than 24 hours.

She got a bad cold. She missed school. Okay.

So now I'm not saying she got sick because she

said it, but God is a creator God and he speaks

things into existence. And you need to be careful

about how you use your mouth, right? Because

you can speak into the spiritual realm as a believer

in the Lord Jesus Christ. And you say, well,

I'm having trouble. with this, whatever it is.

And you verbalize that. And you've now authorized

a whole bunch of evil spirits and issues and

trials and tribulations to jump on the bandwagon

and make that thing more difficult for you than

it was before. And when you're going through

trials and tribulations, you need to say, well,

This is meant to cause me trouble, but God's

going to turn it out for my good. That's absolutely

biblical. Not only is it Romans 8, but it's biblical

in the entire story of Joseph, right? So people

tend to want to cause you harm, including evil

spirits and demons, the world system, your enemies,

and sometimes your friends and family members.

And people want to bring you to a place that

you don't want to go. And you say, well, I see

this is meant to cause detriment for me, but

I'm not going to allow that. God is going to

turn out for my good, and I'm going to claim

that. I'm going to walk that. And in the middle

of your trials and tribulations, James 1, you

count it as pure joy. See where this is all going?

We've got to change what we're putting out in

the spiritual realm because when you speak, it

has an impact. You complain. You complain and

you're creating a nice warm bath for a whole

bunch of evil spirits to come and bathe in. And

now all of a sudden you're walking around with

a bathtub on your back and the evil spirits are

going, yeah, we love a complainer. Let's be realistic.

When we speak, real authority reaches into the

spiritual realm. And it has to come out on top.

It doesn't just like die there like you released

it and it fell to the ground dead. Otherwise,

it's nothing but deception and false hope. And

so when people come to you and say, oh, I'm so

glad that you did X. And if that is not meant

to build you up, if it's not meant to make you

a better Christian, a better follower of the

Lord and more of a faithful servant, then whatever

they just said to you really has no value whatsoever.

Real authority reaches into the spiritual realm

and comes out on top. Otherwise, it's nothing

but deception and false hope. How many times

has somebody said, oh, I love you. I love what

you're doing. Or, oh, you look great today or

whatever. And you're like, well, what does that

kind of mean? I mean, it's nice, but for about

seven seconds, I feel a little better, you know,

because you said something cheery or you said

something nice about my outfit or whatever. But

what does it really mean? What is really the

value of it? If you have somebody tell you a

hundred times you look nice, then what does that

do for your soul? It may do something for your

mind, and what it does for your mind may not

actually be a good thing. And so the bottom line

is this. Validation from people is not the same

as authorization. The God of the universe has

given you permission to come into his family

through Jesus Christ and become a follower of

the Lord, to carry the keys of the kingdom, to

rebuke evil spirits and demons wherever you go,

to heal, to bring the gospel, to turn people

from lost, subject to wrath, destined for hell

people, to saved, born again, destined for heaven

people. That is the most incredible authorization

that there could possibly be. Therefore, then

am I saying that you don't need validation at

all? If you've been authorized already by God

and accepted that authorization, well, let's

step into that thought for a moment because this

is something I've heard a lot of Christians say.

People say, I'm living for an audience of one.

Have you ever heard that? Somebody said, I'm

living for an audience of one. Who is the one?

Well, it's God. So I only care what God thinks.

I don't care what other people think, right?

And so what they're doing is they're saying,

I don't need any validation. I am who I am. I

don't need anybody to be like Popeye the Sailor

Man. I am who I am. I'm Popeye the Sailor Man.

I'm good. I get out of bed in the morning. I

don't need anybody to tell me I'm doing a good

job. I don't need praise. I don't need a big

pat on the back. I don't need posters. I don't

need trophies. I don't need any validation. I

already know I'm the best guy on the team or

I'm doing a great job or whatever, and I don't

need any validation. And if it's a Christian,

they say I'm living for an audience of one. It

kind of sounds like that's a good thing because

only what God thinks is the only one that matters,

right? Well. I mean, so Jesus said, so let your

light shine before men. Right? So in other words,

if people should see what you're doing and they

should formulate an opinion about what you're

doing, then it is good. The good works that you

do are good. And maybe join you in doing the

good works even if they're not saved. But surely

then when Jesus comes again and they look to

God and God says, see, this person was doing

this because I did this. And they were talking

about Jesus and they were doing good works and

make the connection and God will get the glory.

So are you living for an audience of one if God

says, so let your light shine before men? That

is to say, you're doing the things that you're

doing and God working through you. No, you're

not living for an audience of one. You're living

for an audience of literally every person you

come in contact with then based on that, so let

your light shine before men. Now, not that you

would be validated. That's already been done

in Christ. Not that you would be authorized.

Already been done in Christ. But you are living

not for an audience of one, but an audience of

everyone that's around you. So you have a responsibility.

to take care of your body, to control your mouth,

to stand up, serve, give, work, do the things,

be where you're supposed to be, when you're supposed

to be, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera. He said,

well, I'm busy doing so many things. There's

some things that just kind of fall through the

mark. Well, every time you miss the mark, somebody

sees you missing the mark, and now your light

is not shining. So am I saying you've got to

be perfect? No. You already have the authorization

and the validation. This is a method by which

we live so that others can be saved, and it's

what God has called us to. It won't affect you.

You're not going to go unsaved because you screwed

up, because somebody caught you in a lie. If

you're saved, you're saved. You're not going

to go unsaved. But at the same time, you're not

exactly helping them either, right? In fact,

Paul says it this way in 1 Corinthians 10. He

says, whatever is put before you, go ahead and

eat. Eat to the glory of the Lord. Go ahead and

do it. But if the person who puts it in front

of you, and I'm paraphrasing it, mentions that

it's been sacrificed to idols, then do not eat.

I don't say eat, you know, for your own conscience.

Because you're not going to be affected at all

if somebody eats something that was sacrificed

to idols because you know who God is. You're

already authorized and already validated. But

that person's obviously struggling with it because

they mentioned it. So they mentioned it had been

previously sacrificed to idols before it was

sold in the market and they bought it. So you

say, you know, if you go to a stranger's house,

just don't even ask them where the food comes.

Just eat and be grateful. Pray and eat and be

grateful. But if they mention where it came from

and it came from a place that you can't eat,

that Christians can't kind of embrace or whatever,

And like we don't believe in sacrificing things

to false gods, right? So then don't eat. Not

for your conscience, but for their conscience.

Because clearly it's bothering them, right? So

are you living for an audience of one? If the

person that's next to you is kind of stumbling

in their faith, they haven't quite figured it

out, like they're not going to church, let's

say, and they're not walking out their faith,

they maybe profess to be a Christian, but they

don't quite have it, and then you go ahead and

sin in their presence, you're teaching them that

that's okay, right? Worse than that, if you do

something that they think is sin that isn't even

sin in their presence, they're going to think,

well, what does it mean to be a Christian anyway?

Many years ago, I had three teenagers. I was

picking up for church. I'm bringing church every

single time. I went to their house. They had

all requested me baptized. I went to their house,

and I sat down with their mom. And she said,

well, I'll tell you one thing right now. First

thing. We said, hi, I am. She said, I am. Okay,

you want to sit down? Sure. Do you want a cup

of water? Not right this second. It's okay. Thank

you very much. I'll tell you one thing. Right

now, they're not getting baptized. That was the

beginning of the conversation. The reason she

said they were not getting baptized, because

in her impression, by her statement, they were

not living as Christians. Now, she was baptized

as a child. She hadn't been in church in 15,

20 years, hadn't read a Bible, hadn't watched

a Bible show. I asked her, you know, are you

an expert? Have you studied up on this? And she

would tell me, like, what it is, and we talked

it all through. So they had a chore chart, which

according to them, I found out later, was changing

so fast they couldn't keep up. And so the chore

chart was on the fridge, and they were not actively

doing their chore chart, because they were not

actively doing their chore chart, they were not

living as Christians, and because they were not

actively doing their chore chart, and therefore

not living as Christians, they could not be baptized.

So on the one hand, I'm going like, well, this

is their mom. They're minors. They can't be baptized.

We can't do that. We're not going to honor and

obey your parents. We're not going to go beyond

what she says. On the other hand, they come to

me and say, well, it changes so fast. We don't

know what to do. And I said, so what you're saying,

you're in the process of doing the chore chart

and she'll go and change the chore chart? Yeah.

And they said, so what do we do? And I said,

so you finish the chore chart. And then they

said, but then there's new chores. And I said,

so then finish those too. And they're like. But

then we're doing double the chores. I said, so?

So what? So you do twice as many chores in a

day, right? But that's what your mom thinks a

Christian is. We shouldn't have to do that. Are

you following Jesus or are you following you?

Are you the one that decides what you should

do or shouldn't have to do? Is it the pastor

that decides what you should do or have to do,

or your dad, your grandfather? Who's going to

decide what you should do or shouldn't have to

do? Well, God. So what does God say? God says,

in the presence of a believer who is struggling,

or not even a believer yet, if there's something

that they think is sin that you're doing, you're

at least throwing a stumbling block. So they

were throwing a stumbling block at her, and the

fact that she was stumbling over it, and it sounded

like this every time she stumbled. Well, I know

one thing. They're not getting baptized. And

that's the life that we're doing. You go home

and you're like, I am following the Lord. Therefore,

I am free to do whatever. But people are watching

you. People are watching you. They're looking

at the things that you're doing and they're offended.

Not offended like they're mad at you, but offended

like, well, if that's Christianity, I really

kind of don't need it. And I'm telling you, knock

it off. In fact, I would say to you that people

go on the Internet, for example, and say, I'm

living only for an audience of one. This is what

they're saying is, I don't care if anybody else

goes to heaven or not. I'm going. I got my ticket.

And that's what you're doing. You probably aren't

even a follower of Christ if that's how you live.

Because that's not what Jesus did. Was Jesus

going? Oh, he absolutely was going. He was going

from the moment he was born. He was going from

the moment that he left there. He was going back.

And then he went to the cross and they crucified

him and he submitted himself to death, even death

on a cross. Though equality with God was something

he could have had, he chose not to have that

equality while he was on earth, and instead subjected

him to death of a person, a sinner's death, a

crucifixion, the worst kind of death, that they

had to invent a word to describe the pain. He

died, and while he was doing it, prayed, Lord,

forgive them, for they know not what they do.

So let's stop with the whole, I'm living for

an audience of one, and start thinking about

the people around us. And if you want them to

validate you, you don't need that. You want them

to authorize you, you don't need that. You want

them to come to the Lord? Then whatever you do

in their presence ought to be godly. And if they

have an idea, and if they would think that you're

doing something is sin, you can do one of three

things. One, you cannot do that thing around

them. But if they hear about it, that's going

to have the same impact. Two, you can explain

to them how Scripture shows that what you're

doing is not sin. Be careful, because a lot of

things that are in the Bible, it says our sin

or... But there aren't so many things that it

doesn't say. It says our sin. Right. There are

things that says our sin. And you could probably

show them in the whole Bible that it nowhere

says that the thing that they're thinking you're

doing, that sin that isn't. You could show it

doesn't say anywhere in there that it's a sin.

But if they have a conviction that it's a sin,

it's still going to be a problem. Right. And

then the last thing you could do would be just

stop doing it. And if it's something that you,

it isn't something that God has told you you

must do. For example, let's say they say it's

a sin to witness. You know, unfortunately, God

has told me I have to do that. And you can show

them how the word shows you have to do that and

then do what you're supposed to do. But let's

say it's wear a color or show up at a certain

time or wear a kind of clothing. And they think

it's a sin to do that. You could say, well, the

Bible doesn't say it's a sin, but because it

clearly offends their conscience, I'm just not

going to do it. or I'm not going to do it around

them, or you're going to somehow teach them that

they're in error. Those are your options. You're

not living for an audience of one. You're living

for the next person to be saved. Paul then says,

I judge not even myself. So by the way, for a

lot of people who say I'm living for an audience

of one, they actually mean them, and that's not

acceptable either. You are not your own audience.

Stop validating yourself. Stop authorizing yourself,

and seek the validation and authorization that

the Lord provides, and that alone, that's the

only one. But to me, it is a very small thing,

he writes in 1 Corinthians 4, that I may be examined

by you or by any human court. In fact, I do not

even examine myself, for I am conscious of nothing

against myself, yet I am not by this acquitted.

That's the most important. Yet I am not by this

acquitted. In other words, I'm not found guilty

because I have examined myself or others have

examined. That's how I'm found not guilty. But

the one who examines me is the Lord. Lastly,

in Ephesians 3, we learn who the real audience

is meant to be. It says this, Ephesians 3 .10,

so that the manifold wisdom of God might now

be made known through the church, that's us,

to the rulers and the authorities in the heavenly

places. This was in accordance with the eternal

purpose which he carried out in Christ Jesus

our Lord. You know who's watching you? Angels

and demons. You know, the greatest audience you'll

ever have is angels and demons. If a human watches

you, I suggest you redirect their attention to

the Lord as much as you possibly can. If an angel

or a demon does so, you have a responsibility

to make clear the manifold wisdom of God. That's

what the church does. We make clear the manifold

wisdom of God. And they go, and Satan says, that

guy, he believes that truth. He's standing up

for that truth. And then one day he's going to

say, ooh, that guy was right. And this sucks.

And so be it. So the aside is, you really can't

live for an audience of one. You were not created

to do so. You've become part of God's job to

reach the lost. And therefore, you need to go

find them. And if they'll be your audience, you

need to go tell them what it is that they need

to know and stand up for what it is that they

need to see. Then we come to number three. As

is the man, so his strength. This is going to

be painful for some of us in the room. For me,

it was. Be prepared to do it yourself. When you

start with, there's a job that needs to be done.

It could be a chore. It could be the easiest

or simplest of things. You think it might need

to be done, and it's someone else's responsibility.

You could ask somebody else to do it. You asked

your kid to take the garbage out. He didn't take

the garbage out. Be prepared to do it yourself.

You asked your wife to balance the checkbook

or to pay the bills. She didn't do it. Be prepared

to do it yourself. Not just men, but certainly

poor men, because that's what we're talking about

in the passage when it says, as is the man, so

is strength. Be prepared to do it yourself. But

it goes a little further than that, doesn't it?

Somebody needs to tell the lost and dying world.

Somebody needs to step up and read the Bible.

Somebody needs to meditate, pray, serve, give,

show up, be there, stay over, come early. Somebody

needs to push a broom. Somebody needs to fix

a car. Somebody needs to. Somebody needs to.

And anytime somebody needs to, we need to be

prepared to do it ourselves. If you've become

aware, you need to be prepared to do it yourself.

But it goes a little further than that, doesn't

it? We have one example, one supreme example,

one person that's ever existed that we're supposed

to be like, and that is Jesus. And Jesus set

this example, which I've already mentioned, and

that is that he was willing to die, even death

on a cross, to be prepared to do it yourself.

In fact, if you are not prepared to do yourself

what it is that you need him to do for you, then

you can readily expect... Then what he did for

you may not count for you To get all that if

you are not prepared to do yourself what it is

that he did for you You can now do for others

Then what he did for you may not actually count

for you. What if you need to die? Die by you

know, not getting something you want not getting

a choice not eating a thing Not be able to listen

to a thing or have a thing or taste a thing or

feel a thing or spend time on what you'd like

to. What if you need to set aside your desires?

I think Jesus actually preached that. Set aside

your desires. What if you need to suffer? Take

up your cross. What if you need to suffer daily?

Be prepared to do it yourself. Strength can mean

equipping, calling, and more. It doesn't just

have to mean physical strength. But sometimes

it just means embracing what God says is necessary.

So whatever you're going through today, as much

as it may suck, as much as it may be difficult,

it wouldn't be happening if God wasn't allowing

it. So you can safely assume that what you're

going through now, God has said it is necessary.

So your option then is to rebel against God,

think God is not a just ruler, think it's not

right. try to weed out your way out of it, sneak,

creep, manipulate, lie, whatever. Or you can

say, well, here I am. It is necessary. And you

can be prepared to do it yourself. In the family

of God, such as the man, so is his strength.

Such as the woman, so is his strength. When you

reach heaven, your good works, they probably

won't stack up. much at all compared to what

you overcame. And I mentioned it earlier. Jesus

said, for him who overcomes, I will let him sit

on my throne with me just as my father, just

as I overcame and my father let me sit on his

throne with him. Overcome. So what good work

will you work when you get to heaven that Jesus

will let you sit on his throne? You will overcome.

How will you overcome? You will face difficulties

that you wish you never had to face and then

continue on being found faithful, doing the things

that God would have you to do. It means more.

to work hard when the sun is beating down on

your back or the rain is pouring than it does

to work hard when it's been made not so difficult.

And God is looking for us to overcome trials

and tribulations, and in that his will be perfected.

As is the man or the woman, so is strength. Be

prepared to do it yourself. That brings us to

our conclusion. I'll recap. Justice and vengeance

are two different things, and it would be wise

to spend some time knowing the difference between

the two. Validation from people is not the same

as authority. And it would be wise, very wise,

to get our validation and our authorization only

from the Lord. As is the man, so is his strength.

Be prepared to do it yourself. The things that

God has laid out for us and realize that what

we're going through right now is necessary as

much as we may not like it. And that brings us

to our conclusion. God, he, God alone is properly

king. As is the God, so is his strength. God

created everything from nothing. When only God

existed, when there was nothing and just one

someone, and that was God, God the Father, God

the Son, God the Holy Spirit, the Trinity, God,

God spoke into existence everything that human

beings have been scraping out their existence

in ever since Adam and Eve failed. everything

that ever was made into a car, everything that

was made into an SD card, everything that was

ever made into a wire, everything that was ever

made into a boat, everything that was ever made

into a sphere, everything that was ever made

into a nuclear bomb, God spoke it into existence

in an instant. God is properly king. There is

a rule that if you made it, it belongs to you

unless you sell it or give it to somebody else.

God made it, therefore it belongs to him. God

is properly king. God stands the test of time.

When there was no mediator, God sent Jesus Christ

to be that person for us so that we could be

saved. He is considered the only rightful ruler

of humanity. And it is our job as Christians

to bring that up. Remember the story that I told

at the beginning? Why'd you look at him? This

is where all the persecution of the church comes

from. Because we will submit to God and to no

one else. Not to the flag. Nothing wrong with

the flag. But not to the flag. Not to the government.

There's nothing wrong with the government. It

wouldn't exist if God had done it. This is necessary,

right? So we endure. But the bottom line is there's

nothing wrong with any of that stuff. Not to

the teachers. Not to the governors. Not to the

police. We submit to God. And so at any time,

anything, anyone starts to take part of his role,

we say, no, God is properly king. And that is

not light. Because when people start to get a

lot of power and authority, they say of the church,

well, if there's going to be resistance. I saw

a meme on Facebook this week that said when they

when they try to take our Bibles and it was basically

the screen went dark and there was gunfire all

over the place. And I'm not saying that's. the

solution. I'm not saying that's what's going

to happen, but the bottom line is ain't nobody

taking my Bible. Nobody's taking my relationship

with God. Nobody's taking my time with the church.

God is properly king. So, this is just meant

to be fun, so I hope I won't bore you with it.

The alphabet of how we know God is properly meant

to be king. I don't know if I'll do the whole

thing. You might see the whole thing later, but

I'll go through it.