Verse by verse teaching - Hosea 11:6 "The Shield & The Sword"

May 19, 2024 00:33:11
Verse by verse teaching - Hosea 11:6 "The Shield & The Sword"
Know Im Saved Bible Teaching - Book of Hosea
Verse by verse teaching - Hosea 11:6 "The Shield & The Sword"

May 19 2024 | 00:33:11

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Pastor Richard Fulton teaches verse by verse through the scriptures with the primary objective of communicating the Gospel of Christ, which is the power of God unto salvation, in a clear and simple light.

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Episode Transcript

All right. 00:00 --> 00:04 Hebrews chapter 11 verse 6. 00:04 --> 00:07 Hebrews chapter 11 verse 6. 00:07 --> 00:11 - Hosea. 00:11 --> 00:13 - Hosea. 00:13 --> 00:15 (audience laughing) 00:15 --> 00:16 Hosea chapter 11 verse 6. 00:16 --> 00:18 I'm sorry. 00:18 --> 00:20 We just got through looking at the book of Hebrews 00:20 --> 00:25 next door in the Sunday school class 00:25 --> 00:28 and showing Jesus being the sinless substitute 00:28 --> 00:31 who by himself purged our sins 00:31 --> 00:33 and sat down the right hand of the majesty on high 00:33 --> 00:35 and I still had Hebrews stuck in my head 00:35 --> 00:37 and I saw the H and went to Hebrews. 00:37 --> 00:41 Anyway, I started to say it again. 00:41 --> 00:45 Hosea chapter 11 verse 6. 00:45 --> 00:50 God willing we'll be expounding this wonderful verse here 00:50 --> 00:55 and looking at some precious truths in God's word. 00:55 --> 01:00 The title of the message this morning is the shield 01:00 --> 01:03 and the sword. 01:03 --> 01:05 The shield and the sword. 01:05 --> 01:08 In verse five last week we learned 01:08 --> 01:11 that every God has a king. 01:11 --> 01:13 If you worship a false God, 01:13 --> 01:16 then you must serve the king 01:16 --> 01:19 through whom that false God reigns. 01:19 --> 01:23 We've seen that in other messages as well. 01:23 --> 01:25 In the past. 01:25 --> 01:26 Likewise, if you worship the one true God, 01:26 --> 01:30 then you're gonna have to serve the king 01:30 --> 01:31 through whom that one true God reigns 01:31 --> 01:33 and that's the Lord Jesus Christ. 01:33 --> 01:35 His kingdom's forever and ever. 01:35 --> 01:37 Sadly, Israel began to worship false gods. 01:37 --> 01:43 The false gods of the surrounding heathen nations 01:43 --> 01:47 and so they would be ruled by the surrounding nations. 01:47 --> 01:51 They're ruler, they're king and Hosea 11.5. 01:51 --> 01:56 God said, if you'll look back there, 01:56 --> 01:58 that Israel shall not return into the land of Egypt 01:58 --> 02:01 but the Assyrian shall be his king 02:01 --> 02:05 because they refused to return to him, to God. 02:05 --> 02:10 Israel had forsaken the one true God for a foreign God 02:10 --> 02:16 so now they would be ruled by that foreign God's king. 02:16 --> 02:20 The king of Assyria and by that we learn 02:20 --> 02:24 that you cannot separate God and king. 02:24 --> 02:28 You cannot. 02:28 --> 02:29 If you worship one, then you must serve the other. 02:29 --> 02:34 Here's the kingdom truth for you this morning. 02:34 --> 02:36 Who we worship determines who we serve. 02:36 --> 02:42 In who we serve reveals who we worship. 02:42 --> 02:47 Who we worship determines who we serve. 02:47 --> 02:52 In who we serve reveals who we worship. 02:52 --> 02:57 Let's pray. 02:57 --> 02:58 Father, we thank you for your precious word. 02:58 --> 03:01 We pray now, Lord, that you'll fill us with your spirit, 03:01 --> 03:04 teach us your wonderful truth, Lord. 03:04 --> 03:07 May all eyes be on you. 03:07 --> 03:09 We rest in your word. 03:09 --> 03:11 We pray that you'll feed us with the bread of heaven. 03:11 --> 03:15 Medify us with your truth. 03:15 --> 03:18 Glorify your great name now, we pray in Jesus' name, amen. 03:18 --> 03:22 Israel was gonna find out the hard way 03:22 --> 03:25 that worshiping a false God and serving 03:25 --> 03:27 that false God's king were two different things. 03:27 --> 03:29 Whole lot easier to worship the false God 03:29 --> 03:32 and think that everything's going great 03:32 --> 03:34 than it is to have to bow the knee to that God's king 03:34 --> 03:37 and serve in the end. 03:37 --> 03:39 God said this, "Searings shall be their king." 03:39 --> 03:43 Look now in verse six, "And the sword shall abide." 03:43 --> 03:48 And the sword shall abide. 03:48 --> 03:52 There's a connection now between the king and the sword, 03:52 --> 03:55 you see, the Syrian shall be their king 03:55 --> 03:58 and the sword shall abide, underscore the word sword. 03:58 --> 04:01 Israel existed as a nation for one reason. 04:01 --> 04:06 It's because of the covenant that God made 04:06 --> 04:09 with Abraham, their father. 04:09 --> 04:11 God promised Abraham that he would make him a great nation 04:13 --> 04:16 and that from his descendants, God would bless the world 04:16 --> 04:21 and he would give his descendants the land forever. 04:21 --> 04:25 God kept his word to Abraham. 04:25 --> 04:29 God kept his word to Abraham's descendants this entire time. 04:29 --> 04:34 But being the ungrateful and rebellious people 04:34 --> 04:38 that they were, Israel had been unfaithful to God. 04:38 --> 04:43 Now listen to what God told Abraham in Genesis 15.1. 04:43 --> 04:48 Genesis 15.1 says, "After these things, 04:48 --> 04:53 "the word of the Lord came unto Abraham in a vision saying, 04:53 --> 04:56 "Fear not Abraham, I am thy shield 04:56 --> 04:59 "and thy exceeding great reward." 04:59 --> 05:04 So God was a shield unto Israel. 05:04 --> 05:08 But Israel's foreign king was gonna be a sword unto them. 05:09 --> 05:13 Now I don't know about you, but if I'm gonna have a king, 05:13 --> 05:15 I'd rather one be a shield to me than be a sword to me. 05:15 --> 05:19 But that's the difference. 05:19 --> 05:23 Israel's foreign king was gonna be a sword. 05:23 --> 05:25 Here's a kingdom and truth for you this morning. 05:25 --> 05:27 Every man is ruled by a shield or by a sword, 05:27 --> 05:32 all depending on who he worships. 05:32 --> 05:35 Every man is ruled by shield or by a sword, 05:35 --> 05:40 all depending on who he worships. 05:40 --> 05:44 The true God is a shield to those who worship him. 05:44 --> 05:49 A false God is a sword to those that worship him. 05:49 --> 05:55 When the foreign king ruled, 05:55 --> 05:59 God said the sword shall abide, where? 05:59 --> 06:02 On his cities. 06:02 --> 06:04 The sword would abide on his cities, on Israel's cities, 06:04 --> 06:07 where that foreign king would reign, 06:07 --> 06:10 the sword would abide there. 06:10 --> 06:13 Now where God reigns, the shield abides. 06:13 --> 06:16 Where a foreign king reigns or a foreign God reigns, 06:16 --> 06:20 then a sword abides. 06:20 --> 06:23 The Hebrew word for sword here literally means a drought. 06:23 --> 06:27 A drought. 06:27 --> 06:29 So through the wording here, the thought, 06:29 --> 06:33 the idea here is that Israel would be consumed away 06:33 --> 06:38 when this Assyrian king ruled over them. 06:38 --> 06:40 They would shrivel up and be consumed away, 06:40 --> 06:43 whether it was through a literal sword 06:43 --> 06:45 or due to the lack of provision. 06:45 --> 06:47 They would shrivel up. 06:47 --> 06:50 Now God told Abraham, I am thy shield 06:50 --> 06:56 and thy exceeding great reward. 06:56 --> 06:59 Now the word reward means salary, salary. 06:59 --> 07:04 I'm your paycheck. 07:04 --> 07:06 I'm your monthly, I'm your mailbox check. 07:06 --> 07:09 Whatever you wanna call it. 07:09 --> 07:09 I'm your monthly provision, your weekly provision, 07:09 --> 07:13 your daily bread. 07:13 --> 07:14 That's me. 07:14 --> 07:15 I am your shield and your reward. 07:15 --> 07:18 I'm your protector as well as your provider. 07:18 --> 07:23 That's what God is. 07:23 --> 07:24 When God rules, in God's dominion, 07:24 --> 07:28 where he rules, he gives protection, he gives provision. 07:28 --> 07:33 Where a false God rules, all you get is a sword. 07:33 --> 07:38 As a shield, God's our protector. 07:38 --> 07:43 As a reward, God is our provider. 07:43 --> 07:46 Here's a kingdom and truth for you this morning 07:46 --> 07:48 where God reigns, there is protection and provision. 07:48 --> 07:53 And that's why I want God to reign over every part 07:53 --> 07:58 of my life. 07:58 --> 07:59 I don't want anything that I withhold from God 07:59 --> 08:03 that is not completely under his rule. 08:03 --> 08:06 I want it all yielded to him. 08:06 --> 08:07 I want him to reign over my house, over my church, 08:07 --> 08:10 over my finances, over my marriage, over my soul. 08:10 --> 08:15 Couldn't help but think when I was studying 08:15 --> 08:19 for this message about Jesus, you know, 08:19 --> 08:22 God being a shield, about Jesus saying, 08:22 --> 08:25 oh Jerusalem, Jerusalem how often I would have gathered 08:25 --> 08:27 you under my wings like a hen gathers his chickens 08:27 --> 08:31 or her chickens, and there's that shield, that protection. 08:31 --> 08:35 Now here's a good one for you. 08:35 --> 08:38 Boy, you're talking about a good memory verse right here. 08:38 --> 08:41 Psalm 91 verse four. 08:41 --> 08:43 Psalm 91 verse four. 08:43 --> 08:47 Listen to the ones that God's talking to the people 08:47 --> 08:50 who trust him, listen to this now. 08:50 --> 08:52 Psalm 91 four. 08:52 --> 08:53 He shall cover thee with his feathers, 08:53 --> 08:56 and under his wings shalt thou trust. 08:56 --> 09:01 His truth shall be thy shield and buckler. 09:01 --> 09:06 The other day, I was talking to someone 09:06 --> 09:09 on the way home from the airport 09:09 --> 09:13 who called troubled about something. 09:13 --> 09:16 And as I was talking to this person, 09:17 --> 09:20 this person made the comment 09:20 --> 09:23 that they could just lay down in my lap, 09:23 --> 09:29 and my wife's lap, and let us hold them like a child. 09:29 --> 09:33 Because that's how safe they felt talking to us. 09:33 --> 09:38 And when I read this right here, listen. 09:38 --> 09:42 He shall cover thee with his feathers, 09:44 --> 09:48 and under his wings shalt thou trust. 09:48 --> 09:53 His truth shall be thy shield and buckler. 09:53 --> 09:59 His truth. 09:59 --> 10:03 Man, do you know what God's feathers are? 10:03 --> 10:06 Do you know how God covers us with his feathers? 10:06 --> 10:10 Do you know that shield that shields us from the storms 10:10 --> 10:14 and the rain like the hen's feathers? 10:14 --> 10:17 It's God's truth. 10:17 --> 10:19 And God's truth is a lap 10:19 --> 10:23 that we can always snuggle up into. 10:23 --> 10:27 And God puts his feathers over us, 10:27 --> 10:31 and with that truth, it becomes our shield, 10:31 --> 10:34 and we can just rest our head on God's lap, 10:34 --> 10:37 and know that his truth, 10:37 --> 10:39 his truth that Christ came into the world to save sinners. 10:39 --> 10:43 This is a faithful saying, 10:44 --> 10:46 and worthy of all acceptation. 10:46 --> 10:48 You know what that's saying when it says 10:48 --> 10:49 this is a faithful saying, 10:49 --> 10:50 and worthy of all acceptation? 10:50 --> 10:53 It's saying, hey, you can put yourself 10:53 --> 10:57 under these feathers right here. 10:57 --> 10:59 You can go crawl up under these feathers right here. 10:59 --> 11:01 His truth shall be thy shield and buckler. 11:01 --> 11:04 When Israel followed God, he gave them a land 11:04 --> 11:07 that flowed with milk and honey. 11:07 --> 11:10 He was their shield, he was also their reward. 11:10 --> 11:13 Their provision, he gave them a land 11:13 --> 11:16 that flowed with milk and honey, 11:16 --> 11:17 but now a false God was about to dry it all up. 11:17 --> 11:20 That's what that word sword means, drought. 11:20 --> 11:25 A sword, not a shield, but a sword would abide 11:25 --> 11:30 in their cities, look back in your text, and shall consume. 11:30 --> 11:34 That's what a false God does. 11:34 --> 11:38 He consumes. 11:38 --> 11:39 In the 23rd Psalm, David said the Lord was his shepherd. 11:39 --> 11:43 A shepherd feeds the sheep. 11:43 --> 11:48 A wolf consumes them. 11:48 --> 11:50 You remember the parable of the prodigal son? 11:50 --> 11:54 That prodigal son, man, he thought he had it made. 11:54 --> 11:58 When he was with the father, he had everything he needed. 11:58 --> 12:02 He had a shield, and he also had a reward. 12:02 --> 12:06 He had protection and provision. 12:06 --> 12:11 He left the father, the Bible says, 12:11 --> 12:13 and when he left the father, the Bible says 12:13 --> 12:15 he wasted his substance. 12:15 --> 12:18 So here's how that works. 12:18 --> 12:20 He leaves the father, he's now separated 12:20 --> 12:24 from the father's rule, from the father's house. 12:24 --> 12:26 He's out on his own, doing his own thing. 12:26 --> 12:29 He's got a pocket full of money, 12:29 --> 12:30 and he's burning a hole through his pocket. 12:30 --> 12:33 And so while he's out, he's blowing and going. 12:33 --> 12:37 He's spending the money, he's partying, 12:37 --> 12:39 he's, hey, get another round that's on me. 12:39 --> 12:42 And everyone, he's got all these friends, 12:42 --> 12:44 and everyone loves him, and he's living it up, 12:44 --> 12:46 and he's thinking to himself, 12:46 --> 12:49 look at my older brother back here at the house. 12:49 --> 12:52 Man, still living under the father's rule, 12:52 --> 12:55 still doing what he's told, still the same old humdrum 12:55 --> 13:00 day in, day out, and here I am living it up. 13:00 --> 13:04 And if you would have looked at the two of you, 13:04 --> 13:06 man, I thought, man, I wanna be like 13:06 --> 13:07 that prodigal son there. 13:07 --> 13:08 He's really living the high life. 13:09 --> 13:11 But while he is living the high life, 13:11 --> 13:15 his substance was being consumed. 13:15 --> 13:17 When he was at home, his substance was never consumed. 13:17 --> 13:22 There was always eternal provision, spiritually speaking. 13:22 --> 13:27 So a sword was abiding on him. 13:27 --> 13:31 While he was living it up, he was wasting it away. 13:31 --> 13:33 A sword was abiding on him, consuming him, 13:33 --> 13:37 until he finally figured out that the world 13:37 --> 13:39 was not his friend like he thought it was. 13:39 --> 13:43 And he returned back home to his father, 13:43 --> 13:45 where he found provision and protection once again. 13:45 --> 13:48 God tells us the truth. 13:48 --> 13:51 The world will always lie to us. 13:51 --> 13:54 God cares about you. 13:54 --> 13:56 The world will consume you. 13:56 --> 13:58 The richest person on earth who's not serving God 13:58 --> 14:03 is simply wasting away without him. 14:03 --> 14:06 He may pile up riches on the outside, 14:07 --> 14:11 but he's poor and empty on the inside. 14:11 --> 14:14 And when his meaningless life comes to an end, 14:14 --> 14:18 so will the riches that he stored up for himself. 14:18 --> 14:21 That's how it's gonna work. 14:21 --> 14:22 God said the sword of Israel's foreign god and king 14:22 --> 14:26 would consume them. 14:26 --> 14:28 And I thank God that with Christ, 14:28 --> 14:32 we don't consume our riches, we can actually store them up. 14:32 --> 14:37 We can lay up treasure in heaven. 14:37 --> 14:39 It's wonderful. 14:39 --> 14:41 So God said the king would consume. 14:41 --> 14:43 Now what would the king consume? 14:43 --> 14:46 Look back in your text. 14:46 --> 14:48 Consume his branches. 14:48 --> 14:51 His branches. 14:51 --> 14:52 Now remember, Hosea is a prophet. 14:52 --> 14:54 Hosea is not just prophesying about the near time. 14:54 --> 14:57 Hosea is prophesying about the end time. 14:57 --> 15:02 His branches. 15:02 --> 15:04 Hosea prophesied the enemy's sword 15:05 --> 15:07 would consume Israel's branches, and in this prophecy, 15:07 --> 15:10 the nation of Israel is likened to a tree. 15:10 --> 15:14 Could be a vine, but it's probably a tree. 15:14 --> 15:18 Because a kingdom, like with Nebuchadnezzar, 15:18 --> 15:21 once there was a prophecy where his was a tree 15:21 --> 15:24 and the birds lodged in the branches 15:24 --> 15:27 and the people dwelt underneath the shadow of that tree. 15:27 --> 15:29 And here also is a kingdom. 15:29 --> 15:31 And the kingdom's branches are going to be consumed. 15:31 --> 15:35 So Israel is likened to a tree here. 15:35 --> 15:38 Both, whether a vine or a tree, 15:38 --> 15:40 they have branches going in all different directions. 15:40 --> 15:43 But think of a tree here. 15:43 --> 15:44 It's going all different directions. 15:44 --> 15:47 Branches spreading out in different directions. 15:47 --> 15:50 It's a picture of Israel spreading out 15:50 --> 15:53 in all different directions as God blesses them. 15:53 --> 15:57 All the different avenues and areas of prosperity. 15:57 --> 16:01 They branch out in two and stretch out their dominion 16:01 --> 16:05 and bear fruit, cast a shadow upon the people 16:05 --> 16:11 that come beneath its branches 16:11 --> 16:15 so they can take refuge in it. 16:15 --> 16:16 The nation of Israel was a mighty tree. 16:16 --> 16:21 The citizens had rest beneath its prosperous branches. 16:21 --> 16:26 God grew that tree to be what it was. 16:26 --> 16:29 God made those branches spread out. 16:31 --> 16:33 But now a foreign king belonging to a foreign god 16:33 --> 16:39 would consume those branches. 16:39 --> 16:45 Their prosperity, which branched out in many directions, 16:45 --> 16:49 would be consumed. 16:49 --> 16:50 And it doesn't take long for that to happen to a nation. 16:50 --> 16:52 But I want you to notice the precision of Hosea's prophecy. 16:52 --> 16:57 He didn't say they would be consumed. 16:57 --> 17:00 He said their branches would be consumed. 17:00 --> 17:02 Only the branches are being consumed 17:02 --> 17:06 when it comes to this tree. 17:06 --> 17:08 Just the branches. 17:08 --> 17:10 The root of the tree will not be consumed. 17:10 --> 17:14 And that's what's important. 17:14 --> 17:16 Tammy and I, a few years back, 17:16 --> 17:18 we went out and bought a big pecan tree. 17:18 --> 17:21 I had a pickup, I stuck it in the back of my truck. 17:21 --> 17:26 I wrapped up the branches and everything on the way back. 17:26 --> 17:28 They already had pecans on it, it was big. 17:28 --> 17:31 I really needed a trailer for it. 17:31 --> 17:34 I didn't have one at the time. 17:34 --> 17:35 My dad wouldn't loan me one. 17:35 --> 17:36 No, I'm kidding. 17:36 --> 17:37 But I stuck it in the back of my truck. 17:37 --> 17:40 I wrapped up the branches. 17:40 --> 17:42 The tree was, did you like that, trying to drag the ground? 17:42 --> 17:46 But I got it home safe and sound, unwrapped it, 17:46 --> 17:49 dug a big hole, stuck it in my front yard. 17:49 --> 17:51 Then we had snow vid. 17:51 --> 17:56 And we had a drought. 17:56 --> 17:57 Psh, consumed my tree. 17:58 --> 18:02 But didn't get my root. 18:02 --> 18:06 I'm on the second year now. 18:06 --> 18:09 You know what happened to that tree? 18:09 --> 18:12 I didn't have had to cut the tree down. 18:12 --> 18:14 And now there's a rod coming up out of that root. 18:14 --> 18:18 Second year that rod's coming up 18:18 --> 18:20 and branches are coming back out again. 18:20 --> 18:22 It's got a ways to go. 18:22 --> 18:24 By the time it bears pecans, 18:24 --> 18:26 I may be too old to bend over and pick them up. 18:26 --> 18:28 I'd get Jonathan, if his thumb's healed up, 18:28 --> 18:30 get him, come pick him up for me. 18:30 --> 18:32 But it looked like that tree 18:32 --> 18:35 might have been completely dead, 18:35 --> 18:36 but its root was still alive and its stem shut up. 18:36 --> 18:40 And now it's growing and branching back out again. 18:40 --> 18:43 And in the same way, 18:43 --> 18:44 though the enemy would consume Israel's branches, 18:44 --> 18:49 the enemy would not consume Israel's root 18:49 --> 18:53 because Christ is their root. 18:53 --> 18:56 So Hosea said Assyria would be Israel's king 18:56 --> 19:01 and devour their branches, but ultimately, 19:01 --> 19:04 Israel would spring back up from the root of King David 19:04 --> 19:09 and Jesus would rule as king forever and ever. 19:09 --> 19:13 Revelation chapter five, verse five. 19:13 --> 19:15 Revelation chapter five, verse five. 19:15 --> 19:20 And one of the elders saith unto me, 19:20 --> 19:22 Weep not, behold, the line of the tribe of Judah, 19:22 --> 19:26 the root of David hath prevailed to open the book 19:26 --> 19:31 and to loose the seven seals thereof. 19:31 --> 19:35 Jesus is the root of Israel, 19:35 --> 19:39 but he's specifically the root of David. 19:39 --> 19:42 So here's the beauty of it. 19:42 --> 19:44 On the top side, Israel was rebellious. 19:44 --> 19:50 And so a foreign king consumed their branches. 19:51 --> 19:54 Looked like my dead pecan tree 19:54 --> 19:58 when they got through with them. 19:58 --> 19:59 But beneath it all was the covenant 19:59 --> 20:03 that God made with Abraham. 20:03 --> 20:05 Beneath it all was the covenant that God made with David, 20:05 --> 20:08 that from his loins, there would be a king 20:08 --> 20:10 who would reign forever and ever. 20:10 --> 20:12 And so even though a foreign king came 20:12 --> 20:16 and took care of the outside, the top side 20:16 --> 20:21 above the soil of Israel, 20:21 --> 20:24 beneath that was a root of King David. 20:24 --> 20:27 And that root eventually is gonna shoot back up 20:27 --> 20:33 and make that kingdom prosper again. 20:33 --> 20:36 And so in Revelation, the root of David prevails. 20:36 --> 20:41 That means he conquers the enemy kings, 20:43 --> 20:46 which all came from the God that Israel served, 20:46 --> 20:50 which all the devil was behind. 20:50 --> 20:53 And so Jesus comes through the gospel, 20:53 --> 20:56 through his second coming, he conquers the devil, 20:56 --> 21:00 he crushes the devil's head, as was prophesied 21:00 --> 21:04 in the book of Genesis 3.15, he crushes Satan's head, 21:04 --> 21:09 and by doing so, he prevails over that false God, 21:09 --> 21:13 over that false God's king, and now God through his king, 21:13 --> 21:18 shoots Israel back up again. 21:18 --> 21:20 On the other hand, it won't be that way 21:20 --> 21:28 for those who don't trust in Christ. 21:28 --> 21:30 Because of the covenant God made with Abraham, 21:30 --> 21:33 the enemy consumed Israel's branches, 21:33 --> 21:36 but the kingdom would rise from its root. 21:36 --> 21:38 Here's the kingdom of truth for you this morning. 21:38 --> 21:40 Because of the gospel covenant, 21:40 --> 21:43 the enemy may get your branches, 21:43 --> 21:48 but he will never get your root. 21:48 --> 21:49 Man, you can take that to the bank with you. 21:49 --> 21:52 Because of the gospel covenant, 21:52 --> 21:55 the enemy got Israel's branches, 21:55 --> 21:56 but they couldn't get Israel's root. 21:56 --> 21:59 Because of the gospel covenant, 21:59 --> 22:00 the enemy may get your branches, 22:00 --> 22:03 but he'll never get your root. 22:03 --> 22:05 Once you put your faith in Jesus Christ, 22:05 --> 22:07 listen to that enemy, 22:07 --> 22:08 he may desire to sift you like wheat. 22:08 --> 22:10 He may take you out and do you like he did Peter. 22:10 --> 22:14 He may take you out and cause you to do, 22:14 --> 22:21 was it Mark that left Paul? 22:21 --> 22:23 Yeah, do like Mark and leave the ministry for a while, 22:23 --> 22:27 then come back. 22:27 --> 22:28 He may throw you in the wrong direction. 22:28 --> 22:32 He may cause you to do like David and commit a sin. 22:32 --> 22:36 Do you think, man, everything's over? 22:36 --> 22:38 I don't know how many times 22:38 --> 22:42 I've heard people say, my life is ruined. 22:42 --> 22:46 My ministry's ruined. 22:46 --> 22:50 My life is done. 22:50 --> 22:53 But you know what happens? 22:53 --> 22:55 There's that root inside there. 22:55 --> 22:58 There's that seed inside the believer in Christ. 22:58 --> 23:04 And it ends up sprouting right back up again. 23:04 --> 23:09 The enemy will clip your branches. 23:09 --> 23:14 You'll make mistakes. 23:14 --> 23:16 You'll suffer. 23:16 --> 23:18 But for the believer in Christ, 23:18 --> 23:19 the enemy gets your branches, 23:19 --> 23:21 but he can't get your root. 23:21 --> 23:22 You're always alive 23:22 --> 23:25 because you believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. 23:25 --> 23:30 In the end, you'll flourish again because of him. 23:30 --> 23:32 But if you don't trust in Christ as your savior, 23:32 --> 23:35 if you're the person that says, 23:35 --> 23:37 no, I'm gonna worship this false God, 23:37 --> 23:39 I'm not gonna have this man Jesus rule over me. 23:39 --> 23:42 I'm not going that Christian direction. 23:42 --> 23:44 I'm going the direction of the world here. 23:44 --> 23:46 The light of the tribe of Judah, 23:46 --> 23:49 it ends up killing your root. 23:49 --> 23:51 Malachi chapter four, verse one and two. 23:51 --> 23:56 Malachi chapter four, verse one and two. 23:56 --> 24:00 God told Israel and thus God told the church. 24:01 --> 24:05 Listen to what he said. 24:05 --> 24:05 Malachi four, one and two. 24:05 --> 24:06 For behold, the day cometh that shall burn as an oven. 24:06 --> 24:11 Now this is talking about the second coming of Christ. 24:11 --> 24:15 And all the proud, yay, 24:15 --> 24:17 and all that do wickedly shall be stubble. 24:17 --> 24:20 That's what you'd use to start a fire, by the way. 24:20 --> 24:24 And the day that cometh shall burn them up, 24:24 --> 24:27 saith the Lord of hosts, 24:27 --> 24:29 it shall leave them neither root nor branch. 24:29 --> 24:32 Ah, you see the difference here? 24:32 --> 24:35 Now we can understand what God's talking about 24:35 --> 24:38 when he says that the enemy would destroy their branches, 24:38 --> 24:42 but not their root. 24:42 --> 24:46 But for those who do not trust in Christ, 24:46 --> 24:48 those who do not bow the knee to the Lord, 24:48 --> 24:51 the one true Lord in God, 24:51 --> 24:53 when Jesus comes back, 24:53 --> 24:55 they won't have either root or branch. 24:55 --> 24:58 So when Jesus destroys the enemy kingdom, 24:58 --> 25:03 it will never come back. 25:03 --> 25:06 Man. 25:06 --> 25:06 When Jesus crushes the head of the serpent 25:06 --> 25:13 and destroys his kingdom, 25:13 --> 25:16 he's gonna get, not just the top side, 25:16 --> 25:18 he's gonna get the part underground too. 25:18 --> 25:20 He's gonna get it root and all. 25:20 --> 25:23 It will never come back. 25:23 --> 25:25 We'll be able to dwell in a kingdom in which sin 25:25 --> 25:28 will enter no more. 25:28 --> 25:30 But then he says in verse two, Malachi four two, 25:30 --> 25:37 but unto you that fear my name. 25:37 --> 25:39 Oh man, praise God, I will get your root. 25:39 --> 25:43 I'm gonna get your branches, you unbelievers. 25:43 --> 25:47 But unto them that fear my name shall the Son of Righteousness 25:47 --> 25:52 arise with healing in his wings. 25:52 --> 25:54 Oh wow, and ye shall go forth and grow up 25:55 --> 26:00 as calves of the stall. 26:00 --> 26:02 Son of Righteousness is gonna come. 26:02 --> 26:05 He's gonna have healing in his wings. 26:05 --> 26:09 The wings that cover you, 26:09 --> 26:13 the truth that saves you, 26:13 --> 26:16 the feathers that cover you, 26:16 --> 26:19 that shield, that buckler, that truth, 26:19 --> 26:22 that you put your trust in the gospel. 26:22 --> 26:24 It's gonna have healing in it. 26:24 --> 26:26 And that gospel's gonna spread over all the believers 26:26 --> 26:30 of the world. 26:30 --> 26:31 He's gonna make the earth new again. 26:31 --> 26:33 He's gonna make us new again. 26:33 --> 26:35 And he's gonna heal us of all the infirmities 26:35 --> 26:40 that were passed down to us from Adam. 26:40 --> 26:43 And we'll go forth as calves of the stall. 26:43 --> 26:48 What does that mean? 26:48 --> 26:51 Man, I'll tell you. 26:52 --> 26:54 My dad was never a rancher. 26:54 --> 26:58 He was a businessman. 26:58 --> 26:59 But for a while we did have some calves. 26:59 --> 27:01 And they were kept in a stall 27:01 --> 27:04 and we bottle fed them and all that stuff. 27:04 --> 27:08 And I'll never forget the first time I saw it. 27:08 --> 27:10 Most of y'all have probably seen it too. 27:10 --> 27:13 When you have a calf grow up in a stall, 27:13 --> 27:16 and then one day calf gets a little bit bigger 27:16 --> 27:19 and you open that gate. 27:20 --> 27:22 You're seeing a calf go out, 27:22 --> 27:24 what do they do, Brother Doug? 27:24 --> 27:25 They do, they go woo woo, they do. 27:25 --> 27:28 They start kicking and bucking and man, 27:28 --> 27:30 you think, oh yeah, boy, this is good. 27:30 --> 27:33 I'm free. 27:33 --> 27:34 The whole world belongs to me. 27:34 --> 27:37 That's the way they look. 27:37 --> 27:38 Haven't y'all seen that before? 27:38 --> 27:40 Man, that's good stuff. 27:40 --> 27:41 Y'all haven't seen it. 27:41 --> 27:42 When Jesus comes back with those feathers of truth, 27:42 --> 27:47 that's our shield, 'cause the cross is the truth. 27:47 --> 27:50 And I rest beneath the feathers of the cross. 27:50 --> 27:52 That's my shield, that's my buckler. 27:52 --> 27:54 When Jesus, who has those wounds in his hands, 27:54 --> 27:59 when he comes back with those calvary feathers, 27:59 --> 28:02 the death, the burial and resurrection of Christ 28:02 --> 28:06 is gonna heal us. 28:06 --> 28:07 And we're gonna go out into this world 28:07 --> 28:10 like calves coming out of the stall. 28:10 --> 28:12 Woo woo. 28:12 --> 28:14 We made it. 28:14 --> 28:18 We made it. 28:18 --> 28:20 Thank you, Jesus, by your grace, we made it. 28:21 --> 28:24 Right now, Israel depends on the United States 28:24 --> 28:26 and others to keep them going. 28:26 --> 28:29 The man, when they turn to the Lord Jesus Christ, 28:29 --> 28:33 their root of David, their nation will gloriously rise 28:33 --> 28:37 like never before. 28:37 --> 28:40 All they need to do is just bow the knee to Christ 28:40 --> 28:44 and the root will shoot up in that nation again. 28:44 --> 28:49 It's all that the kingdom's waiting on. 28:49 --> 28:53 But in the meantime, the enemy would consume their branches, 28:53 --> 28:56 look back in your text and devour them 28:56 --> 29:00 because of their own councils, 29:00 --> 29:04 because of Israel's own councils. 29:04 --> 29:08 Now we have all the council we need. 29:08 --> 29:12 The feathers that cover us is the council that guides us. 29:12 --> 29:15 It's our shield, our buckler. 29:15 --> 29:18 The truth is God's council to us in Christ. 29:18 --> 29:22 But they rejected God's truth 29:22 --> 29:25 and they went about to make up their own truth. 29:25 --> 29:28 I remember the first time I heard the phrase 29:28 --> 29:33 truth is relevant. 29:33 --> 29:35 I thought, what could they be thinking? 29:35 --> 29:37 Truth is truth, it's either true or it's not true. 29:37 --> 29:40 But because of their own councils, 29:40 --> 29:42 their branches would be consumed. 29:42 --> 29:44 They need to turn back to the council of the Lord. 29:44 --> 29:46 They need to take your pen, underscore the word councils. 29:47 --> 29:51 Our council consumes branches. 29:51 --> 29:57 God's council bears branches. 29:57 --> 30:01 When Israel returns to God's council, 30:01 --> 30:07 they will spring from their root, the Lord Jesus Christ, 30:07 --> 30:11 who will rule us their king forever 30:11 --> 30:12 because Jesus is the council of God. 30:12 --> 30:15 Jesus is the council of God to the world. 30:16 --> 30:20 The only way to return to God's council 30:20 --> 30:22 is to come to God's councilor, 30:22 --> 30:25 who happens to be the king through whom God rules, 30:25 --> 30:29 who happens to be the God who became the king. 30:29 --> 30:33 The counselor is the king and God himself. 30:33 --> 30:37 Isaiah chapter nine, verse six and seven. 30:37 --> 30:40 Isaiah chapter nine, verse six and seven. 30:40 --> 30:42 For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given. 30:44 --> 30:49 If the government shall be upon his shoulder, 30:49 --> 30:55 it his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor. 30:55 --> 30:59 The mighty God, the everlasting Father, 30:59 --> 31:04 the Prince of Peace, of the increase 31:04 --> 31:06 of his government peace, there shall be no end. 31:06 --> 31:09 Upon the throne of David, 'cause he's the root of David, 31:09 --> 31:12 and upon his kingdom to order it and to establish it 31:12 --> 31:15 with judgment and with justice from henceforth, 31:15 --> 31:17 even forever, the zeal of the Lord of hosts shall perform 31:17 --> 31:20 this, Jesus is not on the root of David 31:20 --> 31:23 that will shoot back up the branches, 31:23 --> 31:25 he is the counsel of God, the counselor of God, 31:25 --> 31:29 and all they have to do to activate the root 31:29 --> 31:32 is to turn and accept his counsel. 31:32 --> 31:36 For now, Israel's branches have been devoured. 31:39 --> 31:43 Israel's but a dried stump. 31:43 --> 31:45 Only the root remains. 31:45 --> 31:48 Today they know the sword. 31:48 --> 31:52 When they return to their God, 31:52 --> 31:55 they will once again know the shield and the reward. 31:55 --> 32:00 Father, we thank you so much for your precious word. 32:00 --> 32:02 We thank you, Father, for these prophecies. 32:02 --> 32:05 Lord, they comfort us, they assure us, they enlighten us. 32:07 --> 32:12 Thank you, Lord, that we're not stumbling in darkness 32:12 --> 32:20 unaware of what will happen in the end 32:20 --> 32:24 and why things are the way they are today. 32:24 --> 32:27 Thank you for giving us your word and being so precise. 32:27 --> 32:33 We thank you when we ask these things in Jesus' precious name. 32:34 --> 32:38 We pray for the Vacation Bible School coming up. 32:38 --> 32:42 We pray for the nation of Israel 32:42 --> 32:43 as so many churches are today. 32:43 --> 32:46 Lord, that you'll heal them. 32:46 --> 32:48 We pray they'll turn to you. 32:48 --> 32:50 We can pray for their victory and all those things 32:50 --> 32:54 over the Palestinians and all, and we do pray for that, 32:54 --> 32:58 but we know there will be no victory 32:58 --> 33:01 until they receive it from the line of the tribe of Judah, 33:02 --> 33:06 the root of David. 33:06 --> 33:08 In his name we pray, amen. 33:08 --> 33:10

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