Brian Guerin explores the biblical figures of Absalom, Korah, and Haman, illustrating how they represent the darker aspects of human nature and leadership challenges within the church. He emphasizes the importance of recognizing these figures as part of God's plan, suggesting that their presence can ultimately lead to growth and authority for true believers. Guerin encourages the congregation to remain humble and focused on God, reminding them that true Christianity requires self-denial and a commitment to God's will over personal ambition. He highlights the necessity of discernment in identifying self-appointed leaders and warns against the dangers of division and deception. The sermon concludes with a call to embrace the lessons learned from these biblical accounts to strengthen one's faith and community.

I have them named Absalom's, Korah's, and Haman's. Three legends for the dark side in scripture. But really again just from a, hopefully a healthy biblical way of uncovering what comes along. And I just normally don't think to, so again, it's just things you see and we've been in it for a minute. Again Isaac would totally know what I'm, you know, he'd have his stories. And you see it, and actually as backwards as it sounds I've come to appreciate them. Because I've seen them enough. And when they pop up they actually do you a favor. And I'll explain all that. And so I don't really put a lot of tension there. Just we go, oh there's another Absalom. Okay, got another Korah on the scene, good. Lord bless him. And then, and you just stay low and follow the Lord. I don't really draw attention. But sometimes, especially this, I felt like the Lord was saying, Hey, did you hit this one between the eyes? In love and just the word. And it could be something, you know, down the road, later. Again, people online just, it's good and it's Bible and it's very clear. So that'll be good. So I'm going to talk to you from my heart. Share some verses. Won't dig into it a lot because it's a lot of passages you have to go through. So I'm going to kind of read or digest and skim over. And hopefully it'll be a blessing. And I feel like it applies, no it does. It totally applies in life as well. So however this would fit with everybody. It would just take it and it's really good. And I'm hoping I can shed the positive light on it. Because if we just do our job, that we're constantly trying to get better out of loving Jesus really well. Stay super low. Just die to it all. It's not about you. Like, man, I was thinking the other day. You know, sometimes we get born again and I've been guilty of this. We come to the Lord and it's still so about us. And it's like you need to know. I mean the real Bible Christianity. Believers that give their life to Jesus. The day you got born again, you lost all rights. You have no say so over anything. Your life's not your own. And this is healthy stuff I want and want to produce. I don't want all the superficial bless me club. You can keep it, but it just doesn't work. And so it's like Jesus says, okay, step one. You're excited, got born again. New creation. Die. Deny yourself anything you ever knew or thought you wanted to be denied all. Check it all at the door. And it gets you a big fat cross, a heavy one. Splinters all in it. Three nails come with it. And just walk with me for a minute. And you never hear him say. And then after chapter three, you get to put it down. And it's just really good. So stuff like that. But this is another one that's just I think helpful. And again, I'll talk to you from my heart. And you see it real clear in the word. It's just when you don't walk through it a lot, you kind of like, it gets overlooked. So Absalom's Korah's and Haman's. Really good. Basically, the first scene, quickly in prayer, this was before Pastor Matt hit me up and said, yo, I want to roll through. Was real fast in prayer where Esther comes before the king. And the whole reason she comes is to expose Mordecai. If you all remember that. We all get caught up in you were born for such a time as this. And Mordecai and all this. Expose Haman, sorry. But the whole reason she does it is she's got to uncover something. And again, my nature normally is like, bro, I ain't got time. It is another beautiful thing. The Haman's, the Korah's, the Absalom's are all in there. Super apostles in the New Testament. Judas is to Jesus. They're just in there. And they're going to come. Just need to know it. There's no Christian life that bypasses these. If you carry any weight. And many of you do. And many of you will go way past anything we ever thought about doing, which is amazing. But they just come with the territory. And at first, because we've been in it for a little bit. And years prior, you start to go, man, that's, it hits you personally. It hurts and all. But then you start to see like, whoa, that was actually a crazy fruit out of that. Authority came. And then you start to see the reciprocal effect of the kingdom and how it works. And you welcome them. Like the Judas's, it hurts. But it's like that opened up salvation for all mankind. And so it's like it's in God's master plan. And there's no getting around them. So this helps too. So hopefully some of you would be like, this will pop back up like a light bulb when you go through them. Like, ah, this is what he, this was that. And it'll be good. But then the second one, I said, okay, Lord, that's awesome. Got it. But again, I'm going to typically go back to the Lord and all this. And then the next one was another quick one after I connected with Matt where Absalom's hair gets caught. And what I'd seen, the whole thing flipped. And that's when things turn. And they're all over the word, really good. So I said, okay, let me just, let me touch on it. So anyway, what you have here, if you're taking notes, you don't need to. Again, I'm just going to talk to you from my heart. But Absalom, later if you want to study it out because it's a lot of word. 2 Samuel 15. That's where he is. Korah, in his little posse, he rounded up, was in number 16. Just giving you the passages for it. Haman, we all know. Esther, he came in around chapter 3. Super Apostles, Paul, he brings them up in 2 Corinthians 11. So again, isn't that, I mean, the greats all had these around them. So just know, like, if you want to do something for God, they're usually going to come knocking. And then Judas, of course, with the Lord. Out of 12, I mean, you start thinking about the percentage there, just practically, and that's strong. I mean, you get 120 people, every 10 out of that's Judas'. You do the Lord's math. One out of 12, every 120 people. So I'm scanning you folks. No, I'm teasing. We don't have it in here. I'm teasing. I'm totally clowning. You know, because a lot of people will be like, man, what about this? It's like, man, even the Lord, the flawless Lamb of God, they pop up and it's good. And so our heart is always for people to come to God and they often, it can turn and come full swing, but I just think it's healthy. So, real quick, Korah, Korah, number 16, again, I'm just going to kind of tell you, many of you know these accounts, some that may just remind you. What happened with him is he pops up on the scene and he was a Levite and several of them were. His band of comrades that ran with him. And they pop up and come against Moses and Aaron for a minute. And number 16, read this beautiful passage. Like literally, and that's why too, I kind of appreciate this stuff, especially in the school of ministry setting, because this is the type of stuff you don't hear about. You're never going to release typically on a Sunday morning. But like these are conversations ministers, we have behind doors in a healthy way, just wrestling through with the Lord and the word. I was literally on a call today about this thing. The same thing in a totally different situation. And they pop up. I mean, Isaac, you'll know what I meant. You get it. And many of you. But it's awesome. So number 16, Korah pops up. Got delegated a little bit of space. The Levites are doing their thing in a Levitical role. And they start to come under the mindset that Moses and Aaron are kind of missing the mark. And they kind of challenge him. And again, this comes in all kind of different packages. I think I told you guys a few months ago that anymore now it's the same thing happens, it just comes in different vessels and different packages. It's just like, oh, there it is again. It's the same stuff it seems like you see. But they challenge Moses and Aaron. They say, hey man, y'all aren't all that. This is my version. We're all kind of set apart by God. Y'all don't have it all going on. We need to kind of be equal. And they start trying to pull their weight. Moses, this is so beautiful, he hits the deck. If you read, again, read it later, number 16. Moses falls face first. And I believe he was like, don't do that. He wasn't angry at all. Later he got angry because they really, he could tell they were trying God, not him. He never even defended himself. I love this, man. The Korahs and the Moseses are vastly different. Moseses really encounter burning bushes and they get cold. Korahs are self-appointed. They fly by night. Don't be fooled by them, I'm telling you. They come a dime a dozen. The Absaloms, they're self-appointed, not by God. Talk a good game. They're all throughout the word. And the presence of the Lord always backs what he appoints. Super simple. It seems so basic. That's what I mess with. I don't even talk about it. They pop up, especially with increase. I feel like a camaraderie here with Isaac. He knows. You've been in it. With increase, they increase. It's just sheer quantity. It could be every couple weeks. What's the Lord saying? What's he doing? Sure enough, you see an Absalom hung by his hair a few weeks later. Why'd you do that? Don't do that. Or a Korah, or whatever. But it's helpful, and I think hopefully some of us could be like, oh, got that on my belt. Got that in the notch. In the resume, and so it's healthy. But Korah and them, they tried Moses. He falls face down. He's like, you and Aaron, y'all don't know. Falls face forward, he goes, man. I feel like he was interceding for them, like, don't do that. And if you continue to read, it says that Moses said, all right, boys, men, because they dug their heels in tight. He even called a couple of Korah's guys and says, y'all come on over. And they said, nah, they had bit the bait of Korah. That's another foolish thing, because I've seen people later, hopefully I'll get to this verse in Romans 16. It says, these type people pray on the gullible and the naive. And this is part of it too, and again, I wouldn't even have gone here. I was almost like the Lord had to tell me twice, like, hey, no, I really don't want you to hit this. But to hopefully pull the rug out from under as well, because sometimes people mean well, they're just literally, Romans 16 calls them simple. And the Greek is naive. And they pray on these type people. And people that are deep in the Lord, they're sharp enough, they can read a Korah from a mile away. Or an Absalom, like, man, you ain't got no, you self-appointed yourself? There's no fruit. It's very obvious. I love that in Matthew 7, Jesus, he says, look, always check a tree by its fruit. Many people can talk a good game and all this and put on a show, but, like, what are they like behind doors? What are their children like? Like, look at the fruit. It seems simple, but we're just, we overlook these things. So he says, all right, boys, man, digging your heels in. This time tomorrow, meet me out here, bring some incense, we'll light it up, see what God says. And he said, just everybody show up. And he had rounded up about 250 people. He says, bring all 250. And Moses, they come out before God the next day, lit the incense. They said the manifest presence came. Look, when God shows up, you want to be a Moses. Yeah. Yeah, you follow, that's really good. So anyway, the manifest presence shows up and God was like, hey, I'm going to tell you right now, everybody get away from the tents of Korah and his posse, because I'm about to light them all up. Thank the Lord we're in the New Testament. It looks different sometimes. Sometimes. And that's the fire of what didn't end too pretty. But he says, look, get away from the tents. Anybody running? Because this is the other thing that'll happen sometimes, and this is what I'm hoping it'll do. I'm just trying to obey the Lord. Again, I normally never, you'll never hear me talk about this type of stuff, while yet we've been going through for years, and it's just part of the territory. You begin to appreciate it, because I'll explain later, but the, yeah, so anyway, the incense, the Lord comes, he says, everybody pull up, oh, that's what I was going to say, sorry. The ones that gravitate to it, it's sad because often they get caught up in the downfall of it. And that's what I hope this helps with some. Again, some of you may be going like, what are you talking about? I'm just being obedient. If it makes sense now, praise God, or later, who knows? But you see it happen is all. And that's why Romans 16 is very explicit over and over and over again in the Word. It says they pray on the naive, and so would the naive fall for it? They're like, oh yeah. Korah and the band got it going on. The new thing. What's wrong with them? Korah ain't seen no burning bush. No history in God. No split in any sea. They just pop up out of nowhere. They're just self-appointed, think they know everything. It's a trip. It's comical at times. Not that, I love that about Moses, meekest man in the earth. Not that he cared to be anything. I guarantee you when they said that about him, because if you read, they actually say, hey, you've put too much on yourself. You think you're too much, you and Aaron, you think y'all are all that. And I bet Moses was like, I don't understand you right now. I don't even think about me. This thing ain't about me. I ran into a bush. A voice came out of it. I've just been trying to follow it all this time. I would have run from this thing if I could. This thing's been so costly. What are you even talking about right now? The true Moseses and Davids is who Absalom came against. And Mordecai is who Haman came against. Jesus who Judas did. The super apostles with Paul. They don't even get your language. They're like, it never even was about any of that. I care about God. I care about obeying him. God says, hey, tell him now. Get away from the tents. And in verse 30, it's beautiful, number 16, you really see Moses, he defends Aaron. So beautiful. He didn't even care. Didn't defend himself. He defended Aaron, actually, and then said, ultimately, though, you've grown contempt with God. You lost honor of God, boys. Don't ever cross that line. You got out of honor. The reverential awe and fear of God. Just don't toe that line. And, um, so they run to help and save the crew that were duped, even. Still merciful. I'll be honest. I'll probably let them boys burn. They fell for it. I've got that side to me. I need help. But, it's kind of like, no, man, them jokers fell for it. Let them all, you know. So Moses and Aaron run over there like, hey, move quick. Get away from the tents. And, uh, and literally, that was the account many remember where Moses said, alright, man, if I'm a man of God, something abnormal is going to happen to you right now, such as the earth's going to open up and swallow you. Something like that. And it says before Moses could finish talking, the earth opened up and swallowed him. And then people ran out of fear. And that was that. Then you hop to 2 Samuel 15. And again, that's just for later if you want to, because I'm doing a Reader's Digest. And, uh, Absalom, I do want to point this out, because this is something to know about them. The Absaloms, the Korahs, the Hamans, they pop up. They come and go. And one thing, I'll give you a little tip that I've seen about them. You see it time and time again, and the beauty of it, you start to watch God in it, and you're like, oh, they're actually super helpful. And you think, how? This is how. I'll just give you a little insider tip. It's beautiful. So, people that normally, it's like inner core staff, because we deal with stuff you'll never see. And I'm like, oh, yeah. And I love that about, you'll see David. He doesn't even, he handles it masterfully. He's like, oh, no. You'll see it in a second. Gamaliel, I'm probably butchering that. Acts 5 is a beautiful picture. I love using that one often. But the true people that roam with God, they know, like Moses did. Alright, bring the incense. God's going to be with who he's going to be with. If you missed him, though, don't want to be on your side. Well, typically, you see it in time, and you know enough, like, man, they're going to be hung by the hair in a minute, and it's not going to be good. But, oh, the beauty is, and you hate this for anybody, but it just happens. It just happens. And I wish it was only Old Testament, but you see it cross all the way through. But let's just say a Korah pops up, and he's the main weed. Or an Absalom. Weed in the garden. And typically, a seed of Satan finds a void in their heart where they want fame. They want to be known. Or the Judas's, it was more money, but Absalom, Korah, all of them. Haman, it was fame. Notice me. That's all we got to die to it all. And if the enemy can find that in the heart and plant a seed, and then boom, the weed pops up, and they got to be, and they'll usually leech off of the Davids and the Moses to try and build their thing, because they can't, they don't have anything. They're self-appointed. I'm telling you, you wouldn't believe how often, weed pops up, and then Korah, if he's, they'll fool people, and then what the beauty of this is, is how God works. I've seen it plenty, it's good. Typically, weeds attract to like-kind weeds. Meaning, if you have that same thing in you, you'll be drawn to it, and you don't know why. And so, actually, they do the dirty work for you. A weed will come up, and then other like-kind that gravitate, they'll attach to it, and when God removes the main, they all go. And it's a great, great blessing, because you don't want them there in the first place. No, seriously, 1 John 2, it's a very mysterious passage, he goes into, he goes, hey, they were with us in the beginning, they went out from us, but they weren't really with us. It's very interesting how he says it, meaning, they weren't with us anyway, they weren't us. And the quicker the weeds move, the purer the river gets, and power increases. Heaven can, I'm telling you, he'll do it on purpose, and so the ones that walk with God, they go, there's another one, it's a matter of time. And whoever the weeds are, go for it. Because when that one comes out, you all go, and then increase of heaven comes every time. And actually, they were replaced, they get replaced by people that are more real and deep in heaven. I just saw another account like this occur, I'll be real generic, and I mean, there's been several I know of, and these generals that have been at it for a minute, these fathers in the faith, they're still alive. They told certain ones, and they said, look, when that one's gone, 300 more are coming that are actually going to be holy and covenant, and God's going to mark it. It happens. It's just the design, it's beautiful. And he'll kill you in the meantime, which is always beautiful. We don't like it, but greater death, always better resurrection. And then when you start dying enough to it all, you're kind of like, you don't care, you just see the beauty, like, good, another week, so now the other ones that have it in their heart, go ahead, that's attractive to you, go ahead, join their tent. So 2 Samuel 15, I do want to read this one, this one's pretty good. They're going to be at work tomorrow, be like, who's Absalom up in here? They're like, go on, weeds. You know what I'm saying? Be in the cafeteria at work, be like, I don't know. I'm not trying to create that, but yeah, we love and bless. Yeah. So, 2 Samuel 15, and we all know this is very complex, there's a million different directions you could preach this, with Absalom, David, the whole story, it's really beautiful, but from the angle I'm hitting it this evening, I love this. Chapter 15, verse 1, watch this. We'll back up, sorry, to the end of 14. The very last part of verse 33, it says, then the king kissed Absalom. And then in a second we'll go to 1. So basically, Absalom, remember he committed a sin early on, murdered, this whole story, got ousted, David missed him because it's his son, but David knew better than to bring him back. Joab brought him back, by trickery, this whole deal. So Joab brought him back, big mistake, because he pops up, major weed, and actually who had to kill him in the end? Joab. He had to remove the very weed he brought back in. David was, I feel, pristine in his heart through it all. He loved, of course, he loved his son, but he wasn't the one that actually brought him in. And then, when it all goes down, it's so beautiful, so now we're at verse, oh, but when he kissed him, there's a whole thing there, too. When people sometimes get brought in, just like Korah, Levi, sometimes when they're given authority, you see both, the beauty and the opposite. So meaning, when people are delegated, favor, an authority type way, whatever's there, if it's bad, it gets exposed, whatever's good, comes to light. It can be both. And sometimes it's good, you can delegate and see what's really going on there. The most humble-seeming package you ever saw, you delegate authority, all of a sudden the arrogance starts coming up. And it's helpful if we'll just yield to the Lord, because we all have levels of it. He's working on us. But anyway, verse one, after this, it happened that Absalom provided himself with chariots and horses and fifty men to run before him. You see these two key words in here? Provided himself. He went and bought them some horses and buggies and got a few comrades and he's self-appointed. After this, it happened. Just out of nowhere, man, they pop up, they're self-appointed. Don't ever do that. You can't do anything. Whatever, that's a whole other deal, but whatever you start, you gotta make it fly anyway. You gotta keep oil in the machine, but the self-appointed ones, they're, it's just interesting, they pop up out of nowhere and they provided himself with chariots and horses and fifty men to run before him. They basically, they self-appoint themselves and then they get some people around them to look the part. But God's not in what they're doing. But because they have nothing going, you'll see later, and I'll just readers digest this, they have to attach to what God is really doing to try and get something going. It's interesting. It sounds backwards, but it just is. And it happens so often. So I just hope, again, however it would land, I know this is a unique direction, but they'll pop up self-appointed, and it's usually for power, usually it is for power, but they'll have to attach to that which what God is truly doing. Because what God's appointed, there is no I bought myself a chariot and a horse. You don't have to do anything when God appoints you. You understand? David, he was all caring for his father's sheep. He just cared about God. And then Samuel rolls up on him, dunks some oil on his head, anoints him. He's got a history in God. When nobody's watching, taking out lions because he cares about the call of what he's in. He don't need your pat on the back. You know what I mean? In Absalom, nobody sees him, so he's got to be seen. Somebody buy a horse and a buggy and get some men to go before me and fool people. So anyway, I'll just digest that one too. Absalom, we all know the story. Again, there's a lot there that's really good. But he rallies up, gets his men, does all this. And David, I really love how he handled this one. He leaves. He lets him have it in this one. He says, hey, even the ark of God, he tells him, hey, put the ark back there. If God wants me, he'll have me back. True men of God know. If this ain't God, he's going to crumble. Whatever God is in, you can't stop it. So the Korahs, the Absaloms, the Hamans, they crumble every time. It's like, why do that versus the Moseses, the Davids, the set and the other God breathes upon them. So David leaves and the whole thing transpires. There's so much there. Then he comes back, and we all know they rout them. I love to see the prophetic symbolism. We'll start turning here. We all know Absalom ran off on his donkey. It's interesting, too. Absalom, it means father of peace. If you read, it says he posted up. He looked the part, self-appointed. God's nowhere in his story that God appointed anything. Don't ever do that. Just wait. We touched on it, the in-between season weeks ago. That's the better way. Corrie last night smashed it. Talking about the 400 days. That's where it's at. The Absaloms, they bypass that season. The Korahs, they don't want to be Isaiah 64 on the potter's wheel on the clay. No, no, no. God, I'm ready. Just use me. Let me get a horse and a chariot and jump out there. Since nothing's happening because God hadn't appointed anything, let me attach to what God is doing and try and make my own thing off of it. That's what they do. So just don't be duped. Just wait a second. Hold on. It came from nowhere. This is what's interesting to me. I'm just pulling the rug out from under some of the stuff. It's always the people that God has entrusted with nothing that know everything. I'm serious. It's a shock to me. They know everything. You're in the nosebleeds. Never put your foot on the court. You just know it all. I'm serious. It's comical. They know everything, but as you look around, you're like, since you have all the answers to the world's problems, why has God entrusted you with zero? Common sense tells you something's not adding up here. Do you know what I'm saying? That's what they do. It's just interesting. Anyway, sorry. I'll start feeling like that and aggressive on it. We just don't have time for it. You know what I mean? Absolutely. Absalom, he looks the part, self-appointed. Since he didn't have anything going, and God is doing what God entrusts and appoints, he does stuff through. Always the people that are being used, they don't care. They usually don't even realize it so much. They just want to obey and stay low. David's like, man, I don't care about it all. I took out Goliath, and now people are singing a song. That's fine. I don't even hear the song. I got my own stuff I play to the Lord. You know what I mean? These are the type of people I want to run with and become like, Moses, he don't understand. He just wants to gaze at the face of God and make my face shine like his. If you can't handle it, I'll throw a veil over it, but I need him. When I go back to God, I'm taking it off. I want to see him. I want to be like him. Absalom's like, why ain't God done gone? Let me attach it. David, so beautiful. It says he would get up early and cut people off at the pass with issues. There's another thing, too. They pray. Father of peace, they come like peace. I love that Matthew 7, when Jesus says, you'll know them by their fruit, he couples it together with sheep and wolves, wolves and sheep's clothing. They'll often look the part and come as a father of peace, but there's other stuff going on there. Absalom would cut them off at the pass and kept building up his little crew like Korah did. In the gullible weeds that fell with it, David's like, hey, let them have it. Then when it came full circle, they got routed and Absalom, we all remember, got hung in the tree. The Bible said he had super long hair. I love prophetically to look at that. When you start your own leadership, hair often speaks of leadership in dreams, you'll get hung by the very thing you started. You understand? You want to create you? You want to be a leader? Go for it. Let six months pass or whatever it is and you'll get hung by the very thing I'm telling you. That which a man sows, he will reap. I've seen it too much. Even the way people start ministries, again, I've been far from perfect trying to grow and help me, Lord, and I've got so far to go. Don't say this from that place. You start to see enough, though. I see people like, well, don't do that. Don't do that. Manipulative ways of starting stuff in ministries. Because you start that way, you're sowing seeds. You're sowing by choices and those seeds are going to pop up in the garden of your life. Then sure enough, the very things they sow to get in. If you manipulate to get your way in ministry, your ministry is always going to be manipulated. You see what I'm saying? If you divide and twist and this, that, and the other, then you wonder, well, why is my staff and everybody all twisted? Nothing's pure. That's the seed sheet. That's the very thing you planted. You're not going to get around it. The Bible says, do not be a fool. God can't be mocked. That which a man sows, he will reap. Absalom's hanging by his hair in Joab. It goes all the way back to when Absalom burned his field and all this stuff. He ran three spears in his heart and took him out. Haman the same. Anyway, I have some notes. I have a bunch of verses at the end, but we'll maybe pray. Hopefully that just lands where it does. I love this. It was really rolling. I have here... Also, Judas's end up hanging in themselves for being the key role player and hanging in the Son of God. You just start to see how everything comes full circle. I have Moses' get commissioned out of burning bushes. Korah's start their own little campfire and conjure up what they think they ought to be doing by a spirit of deception while they roast their marshmallows over it. Put a few logs together. Crispy marshmallow and a spirit of deception enters into the seat of their heart. That open door is a big difference. Big difference. They just pop up on the scene. This is what I should be doing. God doesn't trust me with anything. Let me leech onto what God is doing. That's what they try and do. The people that are really just trying to follow God, they don't care. They're okay. Then the few weeds it helps pull out what shouldn't be there in the first place. It's just really good. I have David's get commissioned by Samuel's pouring oil over them, followed by years of credible history in God of taking out lions and bears while no one's watching. Ultimately, Goliath's by default begin to place them into what they were already anointed for. Absalom's have no history. They just buy themselves some chariots and horses and deceive a few gullible comrades that'll run before them to look the part. Man, sometimes you'll see them pop up and it's like they've barely been born again for the amount of time you were just delivering cheese before you ran into Goliath. Do you know what I'm saying? Not that it's about that, but it is. History with God matters. I heard Dr. Brown the other day was awesome. He was defending the Asbury Revival and he said, look, I got leaders credible for decades. History in God matters. A steady track record with God. Not that everybody's flawed, but you know what I mean. They'll vouch for this thing and it's really good, but sometimes, like I told you, the ones that pop up and these Absalom's and stuff, they think they have all the answers, but they barely even can keep their little circle together. You're like, man, there's no fruit. There's no history. And David just seasoned of taking out lions before he got to the bears as longer than, you know what I'm saying? Something needs to be said about that. Hamans love setting up parades for themselves in hopes to be elevated before man, while the true celebrations are always given over to the Mordecais. I love this part. Who never cared to be seen or known in the first place. They just kept choosing in life to do the right thing and obey God. Isn't that awesome? That touched on a lot of this. This one's pretty good. With Stephen, the book of Acts. Stephens joined what God is doing by becoming one with the vision and call and actually become a great asset to what God is doing. The Timothys do the same. They come under Paul and they just become a great asset. Absaloms and Korahs attach themselves to what God is doing. Like a leech and try and start their own. There's a big, big difference. Becoming one with something for God's purpose versus attaching and actually causing divison. It's a dual vision. It's a separate one off this and all this stuff. And um... Oh yeah, this is beautiful. And this will probably be good. Acts 5. Watch this. Uh... The account with Gamaliel. I feel like this is a beautiful way to look at a lot of this stuff. In verse 33. Many of you will remember this account. Acts 5, 33. It says, When they heard this, they were furious and plotted to kill them. Then one in the council stood up and it was Peter and the apostles and persecuted, locked up and all this. Then one in the council stood up, a Pharisee named Gamaliel, a teacher of the law held in respect by all the people and commanded them to put the apostles outside for a little while. And he said to them, Men of Israel, take heed to yourselves what you intend to do regarding these men. Watch this. This first one would be like a Korah. For some time ago, Thutis, probably butchering that, rose up, claiming to be somebody. See, that's what they do, man. Look at me. It comes as a father of peace and humble and all this. I don't know. I feel like I know what's going on here. Self-appointed. A number of men, about 400, joined him. There go the weeds. He was slain and all who obeyed him were scattered and came to nothing. Gamaliel is saying, look, this happens all the time. Just don't forget. When people pop up with self-appointed Gazan in it, it's going to blow away like the wind. After this man, Judas of Galilee, rose up in the days of the census and drew away many people after him. He also perished and all who obeyed him were dispersed. See, there's always typically these weeds that get attracted to it. And he's basically saying here, look, it's going to come to nothing. Verse 38, and now I say to you, keep away from these men and let them alone for if this plan or this work is of men, it will come to nothing. And this is the main thing for all of us, and we all have to watch it, honestly. May the Lord help us stay out of what men are in and just stay with what God's doing, what he's speaking. The wind's always on that. It always works. I love, is it 2 Samuel 3 or somewhere in there it says, regarding Saul because he veered. You all remember King Saul. He veered and he got off into himself. David stayed with God, always inquiring of God. Men after God's own heart. And it says the house, there was a long war between the house of Saul and the house of David, a long war, drug out forever. It says the house of Saul grew weaker and weaker and the house of David grew stronger and stronger. That's a beautiful picture as well, like that, which man is in, you can just leave it alone, it's going to crumble. And sometimes it's instant, sometimes it takes a minute, but it's going to do what it's going to do. With God, though, if we always attach ourselves there, it grows and it grows stronger. But watch this, he says, and now I say to you, keep away from these men and let them alone, for if this plan or this work is of men, it will come to nothing. But if it is of God, you cannot overthrow it, lest you even be found to fight against God. Isn't that good? So that's another picture that often you can do that. So hopefully that helps as well in life if you just see the workspace in life and whatever it may be. Or again, this may make a little sense now and years down the road help, but I just want to be obedient with that. And man, there's so many good verses on... Let me quote these three and then we'll end. Romans 16, you don't have to turn there, I'll go there fast. Romans 16, 17 through 18. Now I urge you, brethren, note those who cause divisions and offenses. This is what they do, the absolutes and chorus. I love the King James, it says, mark them. Well, what about the love of God, brother? Covers a multitude of sins. Paul is saying, point blank, mark them boys. They don't earn adultery, no, they cause divisions. The Bible plays no games with it. And I love that, man. I love the Bible. Mark them. Oh yeah, put a big old fat stigma right on their forehead. Mark them boys or girls. I love that. Romans 16, 17, now I urge you, brethren, mark them. You got to, I'm just telling you. Contrary to the doctrine, which just means what has been instructed or taught. Chorus pops up, absolute, mark them. But then like Gamaliel said, soon it will prove itself to be true. And then watch this, he goes on, he says, mark them and avoid them. Well, what about grace and... No, avoid them. Well, we'll cut them off, point blank. Well, that's not New Testament. This is Romans. We need some good old B-I-B-L-E again, man. This is how I want to roll, seriously. I'm not trying to... Nah, man. Anyway. Oh, but this is what I mentioned earlier. Verse 18, watch this. For those who are such do not serve our Lord... Now again, you guys know me. Super gracious, man. We need mega, mega mercy. I'm not talking about it in moments. You know what I mean. We all need grace. There's a crazy mercy, long-suffering patience. But those, it's their M-O. Is there an absolute? A cora. The Lord's like, now mark them. For those who are such do not serve our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly, and by smooth words and flattering speech deceive the hearts of the simple. English Standard says naive. And so that's where I hope words like this would bring us out of naive. Like, oh, whoa. Light bulb. Never knew about that. Not simple anymore. Not gonna be skeptical with everybody and judgmental by any means, but if an absolute, like a self-appointed this was some of the things I was gonna bring up earlier. These are some of the dead giveaway indicators with coras, absolums, all this. They're always self-appointed. God hadn't appointed anything. Self-appointed, number two, deception. They're deceived, and so thereby they produce deception. They pervert things, because they're perverted. Dishonor, contempt. Moses said, you've stepped over into contempt with the Lord. Dishonor is gone out the window. And it would normally be pitched in flattering words like we just saw in Romans 16. It's always painted like, it's gossip sounds like just wisdom. And just pray, and I just sense. You know, no. And by that, it causes division, but then, number five, there's always ultimate judgment. Titus, you guys have heard me quote this a few times. Titus chapter 3, verses 10 through 11. As for a person who stirs up division after warning him once and then twice, have nothing more to do with him. Knowing that such a person is warped and sinful, he is self-condemned. Just twice. Paul let him go for a third strike here. And again, that's what Korahs and Absaloms do. And there's many other verses. I've got some here, but we'll just leave it at that. So, we'll pray, and then again, I told you guys, it's a little bit of a different angle, but I just want to be obedient. And then next month, I'm stoked. We're going to jump into seeing the Lord, Revelation 1. And again, hopefully that'll help our online students across the world, leaders, just in ministry. Some of you will be like, oh yeah, I totally get what you mean. Some of you may not understand, but then later they pop up like, that's what he was saying. Have you ever had that happen? It's like you learn something in school, and then later it made sense. I don't need anything I learned in school, though. Algebra especially, none of that. But, okay, you guys can stand. We'll pray. I should have learned Spanish, though. I was in it, but it didn't stick. It didn't stick. Awesome. It gets icy up in here. Man, these AC units are for real on this side. We've got a, that's a good problem. Alright. So yeah, Jesus, thank you so much for your word. Thank you for your presence, Lord. You're everything to us. I pray that you'd let this do what it needs to do, and just glorify Jesus, Holy Spirit. Thank you for your perfect ways, your kingdom. You're so good. We're so thankful. So thankful. Thank you, Lord, for all you're doing in our lives. I pray you would just continue to transform us more into your likeness, and be pleased. We love you. In Jesus' name.