good morning church family and ministry
friends i'm pastor stephen brooks
welcome today to our online internet
around the world church service i'm so
happy that you're here today
i believe that god's word will build you
up it'll make you strong to do what god
has called you to do and to become the
person that god wants you to be and that
is the mature believer in christ praise
god
let's take our bibles today and go to
psalm 66 verse 10
and we're going to receive the holy
tithes and offerings we're going to
bring them into the storehouse of god
and of course it's always good to
examine
god's word the scriptures so that we can
have a clear understanding of god's plan
god's will for our lives particularly in
the area of our finances now verse 10
for you oh god have tested us you have
refined us as silver is refined
and my friends that's just part of the
path that god has for us so that we can
be good stewards of what we have
so that we can appreciate it and protect
it
and uh
you know watch over it take good care of
it that's what all of that testing will
uh create
you brought us into the net you laid
affliction on our backs and so we come
into these
uh what i would call adversarial
circumstances sometimes just like the
holy spirit led jesus into the
wilderness sometimes we
encounter situations that will try our
faith and it's like test time everything
that we've studied and prepared for now
we get to apply
in those moments
where we would be
given opportunity to compromise or give
an opportunity to
not walk in obedience to god's word and
so it says you brought us into the net
you laid affliction on our backs
you have caused men to ride over our
heads and perhaps you've experienced
that where you are in a situation
where you're not comfortable with the
situation and maybe it would uh
be the type of situation where it's so
bad
the person riding over your head uh you
might even think you know what i could
probably win a multi-million dollar
lawsuit if i were to uh record or video
all the injustices and stuff like that
but you know what so often in situations
like that god won't allow you
because it has a higher purpose which is
for your training and for your
edification
and it says you caught you have caused
men to write over our heads that's
always something temporary that god will
allow you to walk through it's never
designed to be permanent
and so you go through that
and you
uh you learn examples of
poor leadership or weak leadership so
that when your time comes to be the
leader you have seen by
that example what you should not do and
your you know okay i'm going to do it
the right way praise god you have caused
men to write over our heads we went
through fire and through water
and that's very important that you
understand you go through you don't stop
and drown or get burned up you keep on
moving moving by faith and then it says
but you brought us out to rich
fulfillment
the new living translation says you
brought us to a place of great
abundance my friends that's where god's
wanting to bring you to he doesn't want
to leave you in the water or fire he
wants you to come through all forms of
testing he wants you to hold to his word
he wants you to operate by his
principles and he's bringing you out
into a place of great abundance
now the king james bible says
but you brought us out into a
well if i'm going to read it technically
but thou brought us out into a wealthy
place i like that a place of abundance a
wealthy place
the new king james version says you
brought us out to rich fulfillment
praise the lord i like all of that
and the amplified bible says you brought
us out into a broad place of abundance
to be
refreshed praise the lord
holman christian standard bible you
brought us out to abundance
and the contemporary english version you
brought us to a land of plenty
praise god
and the english revised version you
brought us out into a wealthy place
my my friends god's word is god's will
for your life
you don't need god's help to bring you
out to a place of impoverishment
you don't need that you could create
that yourself
nobody needs any help to be brought out
into a place of having nothing
no you need god's blessing and god's
wisdom to take you into the wealthy
place that he has planned for you and of
course we cooperate with god's word with
god's spirit
and we walk in light of god's word where
does that take us to where are we going
to end up at in a very wealthy place a
place of great
abundance praise the lord now as you
bring your tides and offerings into the
storehouse of the lord know
where god's journey of faith is taking
you to it's taking you to in the
financial arena it's taking you into a
wealthy place and as you bring the
tithes and offerings into the storehouse
today be mindful of that praise god
hallelujah now for those of you that are
mailing in your tithes and offerings
please send them to stephen brooks
international p.o box 717 moravian falls
north carolina zip code
28654 i'm talking a little faster than
normal because i have um
a good little bit of territory to cover
in today's sermon and i want to make
sure i have time to get that all in
there now if you want to bring your
tithes and offerings in online you can
do so any time of the day or night from
any place in the world praise god amen
thank you lord jesus you know it's a joy
to see the tides and offerings when they
come in from
north carolina
south carolina california texas or
the various states of america and it's a
joy to see them when they come in from
new zealand
china
australia
france
germany it's a blessing and my friends
you can bring the tithe into the
storehouse from anywhere in the world
please go to the ministry website
stevenbrooks.org there's a link on the
homepage that says give it has a red
heart on it you can click that and
you'll see the designated area for your
tithe and if you would also like to sew
an offering into one of the various
projects we're focused on that my
friends would be greatly appreciated now
lift your hands while i pray for your
finances father as your people are
honoring you
through the holy tithe and the offerings
father bless your people lead them lead
them lead them into the wealthy place
there may be those that are going
through these various tests and they
could sense the water or the fire or
they could maybe somewhere even in a
place where somebody else is writing
over their head but father i just speak
your encouragement to them because they
are passing through that and they're
going to come into a place of leadership
they're are going to come into a place
that is that wealthy place that you have
prepared them for and because of that
preparation when they get there they
will not squander it or blow it or
mismanagement but it will be a lifetime
setup
praise you oh god that i even you will
even position them to have legacy
blessing that will speak even even
when their time on earth is complete
should we have time for that
in light of christ's soon coming return
so father bless bless bless your people
lead them on into that wealthy place we
give you praise in jesus name
amen hallelujah praise god thank you
jesus
now my friends i would like to
move into the subject today that i'm
going to be teaching on on the subject
of vows
and
i would have to say that this is uh
either something that we in the western
church have maybe uh taken either very
lightly or we have dismissed it based
upon a few scriptures that we didn't
really study out so we're going to
launch into that today and since we're
so close to it let's start in psalms
66
we'll drop down just a little bit let's
go to
verse 13
and let's pray heavenly father as we go
into your word we ask that your holy
spirit
would come
bringing the light in illumination
and
let the scriptures come alive and father
let us understand vowels
from a biblical perspective from a new
testament perspective and let us apply
them very very wisely
to our lives
and we give you praise thank you
in jesus name
amen
i'm convinced that when you do
understand
the biblical vow
that there is an element
that would be a mystery
that is a there's an element of blessing
that a deep rich blessing that can be
released
when you understand this covenant
element this mysterious element of a vow
to god praise the lord
psalm 66
and verse 13
i will go into your house
with burnt offerings
i will pay you my vows
which my lips have uttered and my mouth
has spoken
when i was in trouble
now you wouldn't always make a vowel
when you're in trouble but
how many have actually done that and
it's not rare
it's not unusual for even
sinners
who have heard the gospel
but have not responded
and then they suddenly find themselves
in a situation where they're about to
die maybe they're on a plane and the
plane is literally going down and the
engines are on fire
and it looks like they're all gonna you
know be destroyed and die and so i've
heard testimonies of people who've been
in situations like that or out in the
ocean adrift for sharks circling
and they
they had a they had a wise idea i'm
going to make a vow which is usually
what is usually something like this god
if you get me out of this which there
appears no way possible except for you
god if you'll get me out of this i'll
serve you
[Laughter]
and the reason they're alive is because
god heard that vow and responded now
there are some
that make those types of vows in those
types of situations
and then
the angels begin to move and something
happens and they're delivered out of
that situation but then they start
thinking well how can i even know if
that was really god maybe i just got
lucky maybe uh
maybe we didn't die because you know it
just kind of worked out this certain way
and maybe i wasn't actually going to die
and so i don't think i really need to
keep that vow i made and you know we've
heard many stories about those who just
kind of forgot about how god delivered
them
but for those who really meant business
with god yes god delivered them and they
turned their hearts over to the lord
praise god so you want to keep your vows
and here we see that the psalmist is
saying
i will pay you my
vows praise the lord
now i think in the old testament we see
a very clear
precedent for vows
in a certain light we're going to talk
about that but we must certainly address
the things that were said in the new
testament even by jesus and by saint
james concerning the making of vows
so let's go over now to the gospel of
matthew chapter 5
matthew chapter 5 praise the lord and
we're going to drop down now to verse
33.
matthew 5 33
and this is jesus speaking
again you have heard that it was said to
those of old you shall not swear falsely
but shall perform your oaths to the lord
but i say to you do not swear at all
neither by heaven for it is god's throne
nor by the earth for it is his footstool
nor by jerusalem for it is the city of
the great king
nor shall you swear by your head because
you cannot make one hair white or black
but let your yes be yes
and you know
no for whatever is more than these is
from
the evil one well somebody could read
that and remember
we are told not just to read the bible
we are told to study the bible and paul
speaking the timothy said study to show
yourself approved a workman that this
that does not need to be ashamed rightly
dividing the word of truth so if you
were just to read these few verses that
we've looked at
you would completely dismiss yourself
from any type of a vow and you would you
might you might even say we're not we're
not uh allowed to even make a vow in
light of what jesus said
but we need to
we need to consider the whole council of
god and i'm going to come back to this
in just a moment and i think you'll
understand the context better of what
jesus is endeavoring to say let's go
over to the other statement by james
james chapter 5 praise the lord today
james chapter 5
and we're going to go directly to verse
12.
but above all my brethren
do not swear
either by heaven
or by earth
or with any other oath but let your yes
be yes and your no no lest you fall in
the judgment so this is very very
similar to what jesus said
and they're very closely related well
that's enough for me pastor stephen i'm
not having anything to do with the vow
after jesus and saint james i i'm not
taking any kind of a vowel
well
isn't this interesting look at acts
chapter 18. let's take a look at this
acts chapter 18
verse 18.
so paul still remained a good while
then he took leave of the brethren and
sailed for syria
and priscilla and aquila
were with him
he had his hair cut off at centuria
for he had taken
a vow
oh pastor stephen somebody forgot to
tell paul about vows he's not supposed
to do that no
paul
being an expert
of the law
the most brilliant legal mind that we
see in scriptures if you want to read
something that's really deep that is
like a
a very complex legal document read the
book of romans
it's paul's masterpiece and when you
read it you are reading something that
is written by a man under the
inspiration of the holy spirit and at
the same time you're seeing you're
seeing the
the the shades of a man
the reflection of a man who is without
doubt an intellectual genius it's a very
profound book
so paul was well versed in the old
testament knowledge
of all the rules pertaining to
to vows vows regarding family members
vows regarding houses and property and
even animals and all of that he was very
very well versed in all of that
and he had a lot of what we would call
revelation based upon the cross and what
christ accomplished for us
and the purpose and the meaning of the
new covenant so it's not like he's going
to be caught off guard
with something
that perhaps james knew about
or that jesus said that he's not aware
of no he's very aware of that again it
says he had his hair cut off at
centuries for he had taken
a vow i remember one time sitting
on the front row
in a church service in california
and i was the guest speaker
and i hadn't seen the pastor he hadn't
come out yet and sometimes like if
you're speaking you'll meet the pastor
in the back room
well for whatever reason although he was
a very good friend of mine
and uh administering his church many
times before
he was he was like tied up in the back
office so i never saw him i saw his wife
and and greeted everybody else but he
was doing something in his back office
and didn't come out so i'm sitting there
on the front row
and before he ever came out while i was
sitting on the front row just before the
church service started
the holy spirit spoke to me and said
tell
tell jeff that's the pastor tell jeff
when he comes out that he needs to shave
all of the hair off of his head because
of the vow
he just completed
and i thought oh
oh
oh holy spirit i don't know if i want to
tell him that he's he's a big guy he's
like what maybe six foot seven and real
strong i mean sweet as a teddy bear but
he's a huge guy and had real nice
looking hair and i just couldn't imagine
him
shave ball hit it i mean i i i just said
well holy spirit he might think i'm
crazy or something now he's not really
going to think i'm crazy because
at his church i would always really be
able to be free to flow in the prophetic
and move in the spirit
but i said holy spirit that's pretty
wild to tell him to shave all of his
hair off and completely bald and the
holy spirit said it again
he said he said it is my will for him to
shave all of his hair off and tell him
when you see him
i said okay i'll do that
and so uh there's a few songs praise and
worship starts the service begins and
and then a side door opened and jeff
came out the pastor and when he came out
much
to my relief
he had shaved all of his hair off he was
completely ball headed and it would be
kind of
shocking just as shocking as if i stood
up here in front of you and this is all
you've ever known is the stephen brooks
with the hair that i've got and suddenly
you saw me ball hit it it would really
surprise you well that's what happened
when i saw him and he had just i think
it was that morning it was either
yes it was that morning and he had just
done it he had just done it but he was
struggling with it and he had shaved all
of his
hair off one of his friends convinced
him to do it there was a friend back in
the back room i found out later that was
basically saying hey if you feel god's
telling you to do that you need to do it
because he had made a vow to the lord
and he had completed that vow
and he felt that's what the lord wanted
wanted him to do so i was ready to go
as back up just in case he's not gonna
uh you know kind of
get it on his own the holy spirit will
help you with these things praise god
but thank goodness i didn't really have
to tell him now i did tell him when he
came down and sit next to him i said you
know the holy spirit was telling me that
you're supposed to shave all your hair
off he goes yeah i knew that but i
thought i thought well i've never really
done anything like this before so i just
he said i stopped arguing with god just
did it
whoa praise the lord
that was a fun meeting praise the lord
thank you lord jesus
hallelujah glory to god
well paul my friends he had taken a vow
isn't that interesting in the light of
what jesus and
what james both
had said
well let's look at another example and
there's many in the new testament but
for the sake of time let's go to
to
the book of the revelation
last book in the bible very easy to find
we're going to go to chapter 10 and i'm
going to pull this up and i want to show
this to you from a couple of different
translations praise god
revelation
chapter 10
and this will be
let's start in verse 5. the angel whom i
saw standing on the sea
and on the land raised up his hand to
heaven
by the way there are some really big
angels i once saw a national angel the
angel that's over the the archangel over
the nation of singapore he was so big
and so tall that he had one foot in the
ocean and the other foot
on the land of singapore
so this is also a very large angel here
and it says he raised up his hand to
heaven and look at verse 6
and swore
by him who lives forever and ever who
created heaven and the things that are
in it the earth and the things that are
in it
and the sea and the things that are in
it that there should be delay no longer
now
the amplified bible says
that he swore an oath
by the name of him who lives forever and
ever
the nasb says he swore by him who lives
forever and ever
so the holman christian standard bible
he swore an oath he swore and oh pastor
stephen now somebody forgot to tell paul
do not take an oath and he went ahead
and took an oath and shaved his head off
who does he think he is now pastor
stephen somebody is going to have to go
talk to this big angel because he has
not read the words of james and jesus
and here he is swearing and taking an
oath and james certainly said don't
swear and he swears an oath
what is going on
context
you have to not lift verses or
statements of scripture out of context
and try to build doctrines on them
when you're not understanding the full
picture of what is being spoken praise
the lord what the angel is doing is just
fine what paul was doing is just fine
in the light
of
the knowledge that they had concerning
oaths praise the lord thank you jesus
now
in order to understand a little more
clearly
the words of jesus in matthew chapter 5
verse 33
as we take one more look at those just
for a second
matthew 5 verse 33
and let me just move directly to
verse 36 nor shall you swear by your
head
and verse 37 let your yes be yes and you
know no and then james saying
make no oath and don't swear on anything
well let's stop and think about this
just for a moment
what would you think if
just and just think logically for a
moment
what would you think if your spouse and
you
at your wedding marriage ceremony
you're standing there
and uh you know you got the rings and
it's now ready it's now time to make
your vows
and
your spouse who's the person you're
about to marry they make their vows and
then when the
uh that person looks at you and the
preacher looks at you and the preacher
says now it's time for you to make your
vows what would the what would the
spouse and everybody in the in the
church or in the audience think if you
said oh i don't make vows
what if i did that to kelly
kelly makes a vow to me to be faithful
to me to be committed to me and what if
it came my turn nice to know i i can't
make a commitment like that mm-hmm
i cannot give you any promises i cannot
make a vow to you
she'd she'd think this is crazy and it
would be it would be something would be
wrong there
what if you went into the courtroom
and uh you're ready to tell the truth
and the judge says well that's what
everybody says everybody says they're
ready to tell the truth so we want to we
want to get some substantiation on this
so put your hand on the bible okay
and swear to tell the truth oh i can't
do that well everybody's going to think
what are you a liar why won't you tell
the truth why would you not commit to
tell the truth well i don't take vows i
can't take an oath i can't do something
like that
well if you're in the military
you're joining one of the various
branches of the armed forces and then
they're ready to enlist you and you have
to make the vow oh i'm not going to do
that i'm not going to commit to really
all i'm not going to make a verbal
commitment well then you're not you're
not going to come into the military or a
lot of other things you can't even get
into the country as a legal immigrant
why because if you want to become a
citizen you have to make that vow
you read it off of a card you memorize
it
even doctors
make a vow
when they make that profession that
quote
of taking care of others
and if you want to join a
monastery a monk makes a vow he doesn't
say you know what
i'm going to give this a try but i'm i'm
out of here any time i don't like this
no you have to make a vow
and a nun to join a convent has to make
a vow police officers have to make vows
there's vows all over the place
that you have to make in a sense
so let's get a little bit more light on
this even from what jesus himself said
matthew chapter 23
and this will begin to open it up some
and then we're going to go back and open
james up a little bit okay matthew 23
verse 16.
we're going to drop all the way down to
verse 16.
woe to you
blind guides
who say
whoever swears by the temple
it is nothing but
whoever swears by the gold of the temple
he is obliged to perform it
fools and blind for which is greater the
gold or the temple that sanctifies the
gold
and whoever
swears by the altar it is nothing but
whoever swears by the gift that is on
the altar that is on it he is obliged to
perform it
fools and blind for which is greater the
gift or the altar that sanctifies the
gift
therefore
he who swears by the altar swears by it
and by all things on it he who swears by
the temple swears by it and by him who
dwells in it and he who swears by heaven
swears by the throne of god and by him
who sits on
it
praise the lord
what jesus in context is trying to say
is that we should never
knowingly make a vow
that we are not fully committed to
keeping and these religious experts in
the law would try to create these fake
loopholes
that would get them out of the
requirements of the law
and they would skirt around these issues
of vowing by
vowing something and then later they
would change their mind on it and then
that they would want it back because
maybe they they had an emotional moment
when they made the vow or something like
that or they saw others making a vow
they they felt compelled well i guess
i'd better make something too then they
make a vowel
and then later they're like oh i regret
that i did that
and so this is a
this is the type of thing that jesus is
dealing with here because they were
making their own rules of how they could
get out of their vows
now
the reason they're trying to get out of
those vows is because they never should
have made them in the first place
because they never thought it through or
they had wrong motives or it just was
something that
was
it was something they treated very
lightly that they never should have made
in the first place
now let's go over to the book of james
we've seen what james said in verse 12
when he said but above all my brethren
do not swear either by heaven or by
earth or with any other oath but let
your yes be yes and your no note lest
you fall in the judgment now let's go to
the previous chapter james chapter 4
verse 13.
come now
you who say today
or tomorrow we will go to such and such
a city
spend a year there buy and sell and make
a profit whereas you do not know what
will happen tomorrow for what is your
life it is even a vapor that appears for
a little time and then vanishes away
instead you ought to say if the lord
wills we shall live and do this or that
but now you boast in your arrogance and
that that's the problem
you boast in your arrogance or you make
vows in your arrogance or you swear in
your arrogance all such boasting is evil
and that's that's what we have here
wrong motives uh not thinking these
things through
and it's ending up
into a place of arrogance
praise the lord now
what james is addressing is oaths and
swearing that are done out of a boastful
arrogant heart and that's wrong he says
that's wrong so that's the context of
what he's talking about and jesus the
context of what he's talking about is
those who have made vows and they're
trying to get out of them they're trying
to get out of vows they never should
have made in the first place
now there were conditions in which the
rabbis could release
a person from a vow and
you could get out of a vow of a person
of greater authority spiritually you
talk to that person you explain that
they could release you out of it but
there are some other things that if you
commit it to god would expect you to
carry it through and not try to
just jump out of it because
now you're experiencing what the
commitment level is like marriage or
something like that well i didn't no i
couldn't mess around anymore you knew
exactly what that meant and you should
have you should have thought that
through you should have thought that
through
well i feel like i my days are running
around over with you should have thought
that through before you married that
person
so you see the foolishness in this type
of stuff
making vows not understanding what
you're getting into this is for life
this is for life a vow in many ways is
is a covenant
it's a covenant agreement
that's and that's what jesus is talking
about that's what james is talking about
these are weighty things that that the
religious leaders and others that james
is referring to they're treating this
stuff that's sacred very very lightly
praise the lord thank you jesus
now
james is dealing with arrogant boastful
oaths boastful types of swearing and
when james is saying
in a sense that you shouldn't say we're
going to go to this city or you
shouldn't say we're going to spend time
there look
he's not saying that you can't make any
kind of plans
and that's what some people do on that
they take that out of context and well
we can't make any plans we just never
know what's going to happen
it reminds me of the time when i had
a worker that i had hired and he was
doing some work for me up on the
mountain and he was uh working in this
one area helping to clear this property
and i said
i said well brother you did a great job
today i said i'll see you tomorrow
morning at 8 o'clock
and i i don't know why you ever met
people like this they always try to act
spiritual even when you know they're not
really spiritual
they like to throw out some spiritual
lingo
and so i said i said good job i said
i'll see you tomorrow morning at eight
o'clock in the morning he said all right
he said well lord willing in the creek
don't why and and the creek don't rise
[Laughter]
lord willing and the creek don't rise
well after pastor stephen we should say
lord willing we shouldn't commit we
should only say lord willing
well i said well if the lord ain't
willing you ain't here you get no money
tomorrow
he suddenly got serious
i said first of all there ain't no creek
that you've got a cross and i believe
the lord's willing and i'll be here at
eight o'clock in the morning and if
you're not here
whether the lord's willing or not you're
not going to get paid
and i said it kind of in a smiling way
but also in a way to kind of like
hit that well now pastor stephen we're
all just to vapor we don't even know if
we're going to be here tomorrow no i'm
going to be here tomorrow unless the
rapture takes place i'm going to be here
tomorrow
now pastor stephen we should not book a
plane ticket because we don't even know
it two weeks if we'll be here or not now
that's just being stupid
that's like going to a job interview and
and they they want to give you the job
and they say we need you to start in
three days well lord willing in the
creek don't rise
they'll say you need to get your creek
and your lord willing right on out of
here we'll get somebody right here who's
normal you're ready to show up for work
we have to have reliable people that we
can depend on not goofy stuff
that's what james is hammering this
arrogant boasting
this arrogant boasting of uh we're gonna
do all this we're gonna do all that i
swear we're gonna do it you just watch i
swear you can't you can't arrogantly
boast and swear like that i make a foul
we're gonna do it you can't do that
that that's that that's way out of order
that's what jesus and that's what james
are talking about
there is still a pure and holy vow
but you can come into that on the right
terms and in the right heart condition
god will work with you but not this
other stuff don't do this other stuff
don't swear don't make oaths in that
form of nature praise god
in other words what james is saying in
verse 12 but above all my brethren do
not make arrogant boastful swearing
either by heaven or by earth or with any
other boasting arrogant oath
that's the context of what he is saying
praise the lord
thank you lord jesus
i stood next to a
a good christian brother
and he had just completed a beautiful
swimming pool
at the property of where he lived
and he stood back
and he said
i'm my family and i
will never leave from this place
we will be here
we will be here like i can't remember he
said forever or something like that but
he is basically saying we're not going
anywhere because this is where we're
going to be and i thought
i thought lord he's probably going to
end up moving because when you make real
boastful things like out of the flesh
like yeah we've done all this and
yeah
two years later they're gone oh no we're
never gonna leave this place two years
later boom gone
gone
and the decision to leave boom happened
overnight
well that's never going to happen to me
pastor steve and i give you my word i
swear okay get careful careful careful
[Laughter]
pastor stephen i swear i'm never going
to lie ever again god i swear i'll never
tell another lie you probably just told
one right then
careful on these certain areas
that are beyond you see what i'm saying
well praise the lord
praise god praise the lord all right now
so
let's talk about oaths
that are pleasing to the lord
there is an oath that is acceptable in
the eyes of god
and it has certain qualities to it
number one it is a is a vowel or an oath
where it's vowed in faith
it's also a vowel that's taken
in a pure motive
and it is also listen this is very
important it is a vowel
that is done
with very
careful
consideration
not in the heat of the moment not just
because maybe everybody else is doing it
no it's something that's done with very
careful
consideration you have to really weigh
it
before you ever
sign up for it
it's kind of like the military you know
you want to join the marines or air
force uh and they like you everything's
good once you sign your name
they got you and that there's nothing
wrong with that because you want to be
in but uh it's not like you say your
next morning hey you know what what did
i just do uh it's too late yeah you're
going off boot camp in two weeks
[Laughter]
whoo praise the lord you signed on the
dotted line well i didn't really
understand what i was doing it's too
late
it's too late
only way to get out now is dishonorable
discharge you don't want that
praise god um
well pastor stephen like what happens if
i actually do make a vow to god and i
mean i i i have i really mean it and uh
what happens if i get down the road some
way a couple of years and and i just
want out what what what does all that
mean
i don't know it could a lot of that
could depend on who you are in the lord
what the vow
pertained to
and if it was a serious serious enough
vow and you want out
uh could be uh could very well mean get
ready for this some of you this might be
a little bit new to you
could very well mean that you probably
should think about leaving the planet
because god if you're not willing to
keep your vow and do what you told god
you're going to do
he might just take you home oh pastor
stephen you know you need to teach a
whole chapter on grace before saying
something like that oh that is the grace
of god i'm very very well familiar with
the grace of god
i'm just familiar with the other
scriptures in the bible too
plus a lot of real life stories
that make the hair stand up on the back
of your neck make you want to really
think about what you're doing before you
ever do it about making a vow
how many of you heard of uh prophet
kenneth hagin
and a great bible teacher one of the
greatest teachers in my estimation of
the word of god
that uh i mean just his teachings gone
all over the world lifting people out of
all kinds of messes and it's
when we say his teaching it's just the
revelation of what's already in the word
but he brought forth revelation of faith
the word of faith
that produces great victory in your life
but you know
when he was saved
he was saved in a condition where he had
an incurable heart disease
and
he made a deal with god he made a vow to
god
that basically if god would raise him up
and you know save him and so forth that
he would preach
and he'd preach it all over he started
off by saying god i'll i'll preach it
all over the local area they thought
i'll go a little bit bigger lord i'll
preach it all over texas lord i'll
preach it all the way down to the rio
grande river and all the way up to
amarillo then he just said lord i'll
teach it everywhere
and
the lord heard that
the lord heard that
and he was eventually healed
and he's out and about
uh and it was an incurable condition of
his heart because his heart had multiple
problems not just one but multiple
things that were wrong with it and god
god healed him he's out and
he starts his ministry his ministry gets
going and uh you know things begin to
pick up the ministry is getting real
busy and he's just traveling all the
time preaching preaching but he's in the
will of god and he's traveling all the
time preaching preaching it's very very
difficult
for a while he tried to take his wife
aretha and the children
uh with him you know but you know they
had a fifth wheel trailer and he would
take that along and take the family and
it was very very hard because when he's
preaching all the time and then they
come back out he's got to be in the
little trailer and everybody's kind of
cooped up there and the kids are on the
road all the time and so it was just
very very difficult so eventually
the wife and the children just stayed
home and aretha raised the children
and kenneth hagin said whenever he would
come home off the road
and see his wife and kids
and then have to leave again
because he'll only stay a little bit i
go back out to another meeting
he said sometimes as he was driving off
in the car away from his family he would
just weep and weep and cry because he
missed his children so much he loved the
son and daughter he would weep and cry
and said god this price
that i have to pay to serve you to
fulfill this vow
lord this is tough
and you know what it was real tough for
his wife
and his wife aretha basically said this
is this is just too much this is too
hard and you know what he did
they reached the place where they both
realized this is so difficult that
kenneth hagin
he said i'm i'm coming off the field
then off when i feel i'm talking about
the field ministry of an itinerant
minister
he said i'm coming off the field and he
canceled all of his meetings
he canceled all of his meetings
and went home
and the holy spirit spoke to aretha
and said
well
you know what if you don't like him
traveling
i can take him home
and that didn't mean home there in texas
that meant home in heaven and the voice
was so real aretha looked for who said
it but she knew god had spoken that
but kenneth hagin came home he'd
canceled all of his meetings
and just basically said i this is just
too hard this is too hard for me to do
what i told god i would do
and
he got into a place where his heart
began to vibrate and have so many
problems that he knew he was about to
die
and he basically said you know what if i
don't preach
i'm going to die and you know what
he probably would have if he would have
said god this is too big of a price to
pay i can't do this i just want to stay
home i want a normal life
well if he'd had a normal life he would
have died
from that incurable heart disease
but god healed him god expected him to
preach like he committed to like you
said he would
these things are very very serious so he
almost died so he repented
and when he repented he said all right
lord i'll do it i'll do it
god instantly healed him
praise the lord
what about archbishop benson
idahosa
from nigeria
came to america oh they loved him in
america because he's so dynamic
powerful preacher can move in sightings
and wonders and miracles
and the famed evangelist
actually offered him
a beautiful house to live in said hey
i'll pay for it i'll just pay for it my
wife and i t.l and daisy osmond said we
love you so much
we want you and your wife and your
family to stay here in tulsa and he said
i'll buy your home and he said he said i
want you to go look at this home if
you'll just stay here in america in
tulsa he said you could live in this
home and they went and looked at the
home archbishop vincent idahosa did with
his wife and when they went and saw the
home his wife said this is it we are
moving in here because t.l said i'll pay
for it i'll pay for the whole thing he
said you can pay me back later but he
said i want you to move in you own the
home you will own the home he said i
just love you so much you're my
spiritual son i want you to stay here in
america
and so his wife said oh this home is
beautiful we're staying here and theo
osborne said wait he said
there's three choices you can select
either one you want go look at the other
home and the wife says oh no no i want
this one he said no go look at the other
home so they went and looked at the
other home vince idahosa and his wife
and when they saw the second home
they were like wow this
is over the top and the wife said oh
this is it we choose this one this is it
we're we're living here we're never
moving from here ever
t.l osborne said no no no
go look at the other option she said no
i don't want to look i want this i mean
it was beautiful
beautiful beautiful subdivision
wealthy rich house
and she said i want this one he said go
look at the other one
and so they went and looked at the other
one and it was over the top swimming
pool
everything granite everywhere
top of the line the best quality that it
could be built in a beautiful
subdivision and she said this is heaven
she said this is it
this is it and vincent said yeah we'll
take we'll take this this is it and teal
said okay that's the one you want
and uh they're like yes and the wife was
like yeah this is it this is it
and that night while they're in that
house
god came to teo excuse me god came to
benson idahosa and said
get back to africa or you're a dead man
oh pastor steve i don't know a god like
that
yeah there's a lot missing on what we
would call the spirit of the fear of the
lord in the western church it's okay
that's all right
by the way that's coming back
also never forget that ananias and
sapphira are not in the old testament
that is acts in the book of acts they
fell dead in the church for lying and
testing the spirit of god
that's new testament with all of the
grace and all of the love and mercy they
dropped dead right there
in front of church members
for knowingly committing
sin
and uh
so vince is heard that and it terrified
him and god told him again he said get
back to africa or you're a dead man i'm
going to kill you
god means business god means business if
you make a vow to him i vow to preach
the gospel all through africa what are
you doing over here get back get back
he packed up everything in the middle of
the night and told his wife god just
told me get back to africa he's going to
kill me she said you go i'm staying in
this house i'm never leaving this house
he said you could have the house if i
don't get out of here i'm a dead man
and he told he told t.l osborn and said
daddy daddy god told me to get back
and you know t.l the days were just like
well maybe
you know maybe it was a dream or
something like he goes oh no no it was
god
and he got back
he got back
and got it got into the fullness of
god's plan for his life so you have to
understand when you come to a certain
area and you see wealth and you see
luxuries and comforts that you may not
experience
where you're currently living and you
see all of that you're just like well
forget everybody else i made a
commitment to uh lord forget that vow
lord surely you understand
oh i'm not leaving this swimming pool
not for nothing
by the next day he the next morning he
had his suitcase packed and he was out
of there on a plane that next day flying
back to africa
and man when he got back the miracles
begin the roll the meetings begin to
happen tremendous apostolic anointing
that he begin to walk in why he's at
where he's supposed to be at he's doing
what god had called him to do he's also
doing what he committed to do through a
vow that he made to god god takes it
very very seriously please don't ever
make a vow to god if you don't know what
you're doing you're you're not really
really serious about it
praise the lord um
well there's many vowels in the bible
you have the nazarite vowel you wreck a
bite val all kinds of vowels but i want
to share with you my two favorite ones
in the bible first samuel chapter one
please you probably already know where
i'm going on this one
first samuel chapter one
but i do i do sense that i'm teaching
this message today
not for information or what we would
call expanding our knowledge base i'm
teaching this
because
because
there are some of you that the holy
spirit would like to
work with you engage with you in
connecting with god through a holy vow
please be open to that praise the lord
don't want to scare you but i do want
you to understand
that god still does vows today but you
just have to know what you're getting
into
because he expects you to keep your vow
verse one now there was a certain man of
rama theme zofim of the mountains of
ephraim and his name was elkanah the son
of
jeroham the son of elihu the son of tohu
the son of zuf and ephraimite and he had
two wives the one was hannah
and the name of the other panina padina
had children but hannah had no children
by the way long story short
the names the names of the children of
panina are not
mentioned in scripture why
they didn't really do anything special
they didn't do anything that was notable
they did not leave a legacy they did not
establish something great they're
probably just like their mom
a person that was
not not a very nice person
but we know what's going to happen to
hannah
she's going to get a son that
everybody's going to know about
and panina had her children her sons but
nobody knew anything about them they
never did anything great in life verse 3
verse 2 says hannah had no children this
man went up from his city yearly to
worship and sacrificed to the lord of
hosts in shiloh
and so
we have verse five but to hannah he
would give a double portion for he loved
hannah although the lord had closed her
womb i wonder why
wow we'll find out in just a moment and
her rival also provoked her severely to
make her miserable
because the lord had closed her womb
so it was year by year year by year i
wonder how long this was going on before
she finally said i can't take it anymore
and the thought of you know what i'm
willing to make a vow
hmm
wonder how many times how many trips she
had taken year by year up to shiloh
barren
frustrated
irritated with her situation and the
mocking
of the other wife
and the ridicule
it finally drove her to a place she's
like i can't take this anymore i'm going
to consider making a vow i'm really
thinking about
i'm not speaking to everybody out there
but i'm speaking to somebody
praise the lord
then o'connor her husband said to her
hannah
why do you weep why do you not eat and
why is your heart grieved am i not
better to you than ten sons and see he
doesn't really get it that she's like
hey that's not really what it's about
you know i'm glad you got i've got all
these other things you're a good
provider you're doing all of this i've
got my own room i got i got everything i
like you got nice perfumes for me you
treat i've got you treat me good but i
the one thing i want i can't get
so hannah arose after they had finished
eating and drinking in shiloh
now eli the priest was sitting on the
seat by the doorpost of the tabernacle
of the lord and she was in bitterness of
soul and prayed to the lord and wept in
anguish then she made a vow and said o
lord of hosts if you will indeed look on
the affliction of your maidservant and
remember me and not forget your
maidservant but will give your
maidservant a male child
then i will give him to the lord all the
days of his life and no razor shall come
upon his head
so all of that
uh
severe provoking
all of that
ongoing miserable condition
all of that uh humiliation and
frustration she endured drove her to a
point
where she made a vow
lord jesus we thank you today
what is the central purpose
of a vow
well here it is
it's you
wanting something
from god you're willing to make a vow
with god why because you want something
from god hmm
and and the thing
is that
you're making this vow because
nobody else can do it you're making a
vow with god because obviously
it requires a miracle and you know she
was a place where doctors can't do
anything
nature can't do anything
no drugs potions or lotions can do
anything only person can do something
about this
is the miracle worker god
so
she wants something from god
but why would god engage
you
in a vow
here's why
because whether it's you
or hannah you're wanting something but
god will engage you because
so often in setups like this
he's wanting something from you
oh
well that gives the possibility of you
and god working together in a mutual
accord
hannah
wants a son
you probably want something too from god
hannah wants a son
but that requires a miracle oh but god
wants something to
god wants a prophet
and that requires
a baby boy
that's going to require a child being
born and if it's going to be the prophet
that god wants
that has character not like
this stuff we're seeing with half of the
infinius and all the shenanigans going
on there at the
at the tabernacle and all the sin and
fornication oh lord have mercy
god wanted a prophet to rise up in this
mess of moral failure and spiritual
bankruptcy that means in order to get a
man like that he's got to be trained
from birth
in the house of god so that he knows the
ways of god and he has to have
good seed good godly parents
and god can take a child like that
and get him around the prophetic and
primarily also with the calling always
gotta have a child wonder who's willing
to give him a child nobody oh except a
lady who needs a miracle
pastor stephen
i want god to make me a
multi-millionaire
are you a tither no do you give
offerings well not really well why would
god want to work with you
that's all for you that's all in your
favor yes but god loves me yes but he's
not an idiot either since when has god
jesus
the greatest jewish business mind of all
time ever been stupid
where he doesn't realize what's in it
for me
i mean even peter jewish mind
peter when he sees the rich young ruler
back off
of joining
jesus
and his evangelistic association come
follow me
sell it all give it away to the poor
come follow me i uh
i can't do it
and he didn't do it
well peter's kind of standing there the
gears are turning jewish mind thinking
um
lord of may i say something i
just would like to remind you that me
and the other eleven uh we did walk away
from it all unlike him
we did give it all up we left the boats
we left the nets and the sardines and
the fish and the tax business and this
we left it all to follow you jesus
what's in it for us
now some of you if you were jesus this
is how you would answer peter what do
you mean what's in it for you you should
just be happy i got you out of that
sardine factory and got you over here in
the ministry so you can finally have
some dignity in your life
jesus said oh what's in it for you i'll
tell you what it's in it for you and for
anybody else who's left house or land or
father or mother or children for my sake
100 fold in this lifetime and and for
those of you the twelve
the twelve apostles of the lamb
when i rule on the earth in jerusalem
each one of you will be ruling over one
of the twelve tribes of israel whoa
peter said whoa i'm glad i came with you
that rich young ruler was and he was
oh he did
i'm glad i made the right choice
so god's supposed to stand back and say
yes i'll make a vow and i'll do
everything you want and i don't want
anything out of it because no no no no
no no no god wants something he wants
something from hannah
and if she had not been in such a dire
strait
i don't know if she ever would have been
in a place where she was even willing to
make a vow obviously nobody else was
[Music]
thank you lord jesus
yes yes yes she made the vow
the
the man of god there
eli blessed it
she goes home
and she conceives from her husband
and god does
the miracle
and she brings him and commits him
to the man of god so that he can be
raised there to tabernacle
learn the torah learn all of the
commandments of god and absorb the
prophetic anointing begin to train his
ear to hear the voice of god
thank you jesus
praise the lord
pastor stephen what's the end result
particularly for hannah of a person who
keeps their vows
what what is it what does it do yes yes
she gets the baby she gets the boy
what does it really do
well
god tells you
first samuel chapter 2
verse 1
and hannah prayed now this is after
she's had the miracle
and hannah prayed and said my heart
rejoices in the lord my horn horn
representation of strength my strength
my horn is exalted in the lord i smile
at my enemies oh now pastor steven we're
supposed to love our enemies and pray
for them and we're supposed to turn the
other cheek yep and you're also supposed
to smile at them
yep because you can hate me you could
want to kill me you could want to get
rid of all the christians but here we
are and we're blessed blessed blessed
and there is a place yes where you love
your enemies and you you do good to them
you do good to those them that even you
bless those who curse you but at the
same time at the same time yes you smile
while they burn with jealousy
and wish that you would just you know be
off the planet
and one day when the catching up with
the saints takes place yes we'll be off
the planet
but my friends there is a place where
god does such a work by blessing you
with that thing yes you have that thing
and what does it do it makes you smile
at your enemies
you'll always have those
that are jealous you'll always have
those that despise maybe openly or
secretly you always would have those
that would literally
rejoice in your falling i know that
sounds awful that can happen even in the
church where some christians are so
undeveloped in their walk with the lord
that they delight and seen others uh
have uh
you know uh spiritual accidents
and then they talk and and stuff like
that but i tell you what when you're
walking with god walking right and you
have a vow
that thing will make you smile it'll
make you smile
smile at my enemies
praise the lord
you have to understand this different
angle of the lord of what he's like yes
we we see these other aspects but you
have to understand this part of him too
he'll do something for you and make you
smile at your enemies you don't have to
say anything they just have to see it
hmm
and you smile
[Laughter]
praise the lord why because you and god
have something going on
and by the way
hannah went on to have other sons praise
god all right let's move to one more
example
of the sacred vow judges chapter 11
judges chapter 11. this one's amazing
praise the lord judges chapter 11 we're
going to go directly to verse 29 and
we're going to look at jephthah and the
story of his daughter
judges
chapter 11 verse 29
then the spirit of the lord came upon
jephthah
oh now pastor stephen he's about to make
a very foolish foul he's about do it
he's about to do something he's going to
greatly regret
well it seems to me that the spirit of
the lord came upon him
not just on his journey and on his
travels but it seems that if you read
this slowly and work your way through
this it seems like he could have made
this vow
that some would say he was harsh and he
later regrets could be that actually the
spirit of the lord moved upon him to
make it
and i do believe that the holy spirit
can move upon the people of god at times
it's rare it's not like you're doing it
every week
maybe not even every year
maybe
not even every five years but there
could be a time when the holy spirit
moves upon you and you realize
i really need to consider making a vow
to the lord in this area
why because there's something that you
need from god and only god can do it
but you also have to understand god god
god
wants something
from you
and here's to catch it's probably
something you would never ever give him
unless you engaged with him in a vow
wow
you think hannah would have given her
son if she had a son by natural birth
with no miracle had her own son no no no
lord i know you need a prophet but my my
little boy he's not for prophetic
ministry he's going to be a doctor yes
because i want everybody to feel very
proud of him yes i he's going to be a
nuclear scientist or maybe a brain
surgeon yes yes well and god says i want
a prophet oh no oh lord no
no no prophets are weird and mysterious
and and they don't have respect with
politicians or with the media oh oh no
lord no no no no
that's why vows work both ways you get
what you want but god gets what he wants
and that thing that he wants is
something you would probably never ever
ever give him unless you met him on the
on the
on the field of engaging in a vow
praise the lord and there are some that
god calls to doctors and there are some
that calls god calls to brain surgeons
and what we would call noble positions
but what if god wants a prophet
what if god wants an evangelist oh no
pastor stephen may god never choose my
child to be a minister he would be away
from home all the time and i i want him
to be a real mama's boy and i i i want
to i want to just have him around me the
rest of my life
hmm
well if he's called to be an evangelist
probably traveling all over the place
maybe you can go even internationally
and maybe even be called to go to
dangerous areas oh
oh no no no
you can see why these are rare things
then the spirit of the lord came upon
jephthah and he passed through gilead
and manasseh by the way he is now one of
the judges
trying to hold together the people of
god again after falling off into
apostasies you know kind of the broken
cyclical record and now he's endeavoring
to
uh
beat up the bad guys who have previously
been beating up the people of god okay
now he passed through gilead and
manasseh
and passed through mizpah of gilead and
from miss bub gilead he advanced toward
the people of ammon
um oh they're pretty tough that's a
tough group down there with ammon yeah
jephthah's a pretty tough guy too outlaw
biker
type guy
he's going up against some tough guys
and this this is serious
could get killed
in a battle like this hmm
and jephthah made a vow to the lord
hmm
he made a vow to the lord
sure seems to me that this verse is
mighty close to the verse before the
spirit of the lord came upon him
and jephthah made a vow to the lord and
said
if you will indeed deliver the people of
ammon into my hands
then it will be that whatever comes out
of the doors of my house
to meet me when i return in peace from
the people of ammon surely
shall surely be the lords and i'll offer
it up as a bert offering
understand
the meaning of the burnt offering burnt
offering can also be
an allegory to something that's
completely devoted over to god because a
burnt offering is something that was
burnt completely when the it's not like
you save the skin or you save anything
in a burnt offering the only thing left
is ashes
it means completely devoted to the lord
i will offer it up as a burnt offering
so jephthah advanced toward the people
of ammon to fight against them
and the lord delivered them into his
hands
and if he hadn't done that hadn't made
that vow could have got his head cut off
could have got his body shot full of
errors could have got rammed through
with the sword probably wasn't going to
turn out really good i you know when you
when you're a
a warrior like that you you get a sense
that they had a rule in the roman army
uh you would allow like one exemption if
you just woke up and you knew
i'm having a really bad day and you bet
you're about to go in the battle
you could have your one bad day
exemption in other words you get get up
on the wrong side of bed or you tripped
over your you know your backpack or you
you put your shoes on you accidentally
cut your arm on your sword and you're
like what is going on this is going to
be a bad day but but outside of that you
got to go fight well he's having a day
like that he just had a he had kind of
like a sense like i'm going to need god
today or this could be my last day on
planet earth
made a vow
and the lord delivered the ammonites
into his hands
and he defeated them from a roar as far
as minith 20 cities
and to abel caramel with a very great
slaughter thus the people of ammon were
subdued before the children of israel he
sliced them
and diced them with this sword yes yes
yes
god came through for him
now it's time for uh jephthah to uphold
his end of the bargain
maybe maybe the pet dog will come
running out of the house first yeah
yes i can offer my dog to the lord yes
kind of old anyhow doesn't really matter
maybe maybe that pet pet goat will come
running out of the house yeah yes fine
maybe a servant yeah that old servant
will probably come out first
when jephthah came to his house at nispa
there was his daughter
coming
out to meet him
with timbrels and dancing
and she was his only
child don't you know that just hit him
with an impact he knew
oh
oh wow think about the impact of what
just hit him
she's playing you know
dancing and timbrels and stuff like that
singing besides her he had neither son
nor daughter
and it came to pass when he saw her that
he tore his clothes and said alas my
daughter
you have brought me
very low
you are among those who trouble me for i
have given my word to the lord
and i cannot
go back on it
well pastor stephen surely god
understood yeah he understands you go
back on this
you're probably not going to be around
on the planet
very much longer
yeah
pastor steven that preacher is preaching
in the pulpit just dropped dead i wonder
what happened well we'll find out one
day won't we
could have been an unkept vow could have
been a broken vow
praise the lord for i have given my word
to the lord and i cannot go back
on it
so she said to him my father
if you have given your word to the lord
do to me according to what has gone out
of your mouth
because the lord has avenged you of your
enemies glad you're alive dad yeah
the people of ammon then she said to her
father let this thing be done for me
let me alone for two months that i may
go and wander on the mountains
and bewell my virginity my friends and i
so he said go
and he sent her away for two months
you know get your sleeping bag in your
tents and your friends and hear some
spending money
and go eat all the pizza you want and
have fun go walk through the malls and
enjoy yourself and you know i have a
nice time
and he sent her away for two months and
she went with her friends and bewelled
her virginity on the mountains
and it was so at the end of the two
months that she returned to her father
and he carried out his vow with her
which he had vowed she knew
no man
wow
this is fascinating
praise the lord
praise the lord what did jephthah want
he made a vow what did he want he wanted
victory
in a situation where yeah he's probably
not going to win this battle he said god
i'm willing to make a vow with you and
he made a vow it had had a term and a
condition to it
god gave him a victory
oh
but what did god want
well i believe the holy spirit moved
upon jephthah to even stir him up to
make a vow why because god wanted
something too
he wanted a trophy
god wanted a rare trophy
from the house of the outlaw biker
you have to understand a little bit
about jephthah very quickly verse
1 from chapter 11.
now jephthah the gilead was a mighty man
of valor but he was the son of a harlot
he was the son of a harlot
verse three part b worthless men banded
together with jephthah and went out
raiding with him
but he's real good with the sword
see because he was the son of a harlot
his other brothers
see his dad slept with a harlot and he
was produced through that relationship
but his dad was also married to a wife
so he messed around obviously and the
wife had other
sons to the father and the son said
you're not a legit the other brother
said you're not a legitimate brother to
us you're not even a legitimate son
you're out and they threw him out
basically
and he's on his own
but he's a tough guy and he had all
these bandits and raiders get around
them they joined up together and they
would raid and plunder the enemies he's
real good with a sword and real good in
leading men but he still had that
reputation and you also see his lineage
and even when they asked him to be
the leader because they're also the the
israelites are being oppressed
verse seven so jephthah said to the
elders of gilead did you not hate me and
expel me from my father's house why have
you come to me now when you are in
distress now do you see all these things
baked into
an underlying frustration
of not wanting all of that junk to win
over him and not wanting to go down
in a situation of humiliation where
people mock him and laugh at him and
degrade him because of something that
was not even his fault something he had
no involvement with he's just a
byproduct of it
god's like i could work with the guy
like that
he's got something i want and there's
something he's going to want from me he
wants victory why to show them all hey
hey you may think i'm a nut you may
think i'm a loser
you know about my mom but god
has made me a conqueror what does that
mean that means he's going to win he's
going to conquer what does that allow
him to do
smile and all of those who talk behind
his back his mother's harlot
you think what you want
i'm a great warrior i just wiped out a
whole army and see all that makes you
smile
smile at your critics they might not
even understand why you're smiling
that's okay it's between you and god
but see god wanted something too again
he wanted a trophy from the house of the
outlaw he wanted a jewish nun
that's exactly what he wanted and it
reminds me of the words of the
wonderful woman of god saint therese of
lesso
who said why can't god just have a few
of his own that are completely devoted
to him he was talking about young girls
young women that would become nuns and
grow up in a convent and love god with
all of their hearts
why can't god have some
that are completely devoted to him
why do they all have to go around in
miniskirts and want to make out with all
the boys why do they all want to go to
the movies and look at that stuff
why can't god have a few that want to be
holy and sanctified and completely given
over to god
oh pastor stephen her daddy took her and
threw her on an altar and burned her in
the flames no he didn't
no
he released her off into seclusion
into
a community of like-minded
people there's always been what we would
call the mystics
whether in the time of john the baptist
you had the essenes and even many
theologians say that perhaps john wasn't
essene himself
you've always had what we would call the
hermits out in the desert those that
wanted to get away from
the
beastial nature of
crude
degrading men and just lived their lives
with the lord and the lord calls a few
to that very very few
well he wanted a young girl praise the
lord notice that
it says she went with her friends for
two months and bewelled her virginity on
the mountains she's not sitting there on
the mountains crying oh
in two months my daddy's gonna have a
barbecue and i'm the i'm i'm what's
gonna get thrown on the fire i'm gonna
be dead in two months i'll never be my
life is over in two months she didn't do
that she's not bewailing her death she's
bewailing her virginity
that she's going to be a virgin for the
rest of her life
and she honors her father she comes back
after the two months she doesn't run off
well nobody's going to tell me what to
do in my life i'm going to run off to
egypt and i'm going to marry a man no no
no
she understands covenant she understands
her dad's also in a place he's got to
fulfill this vow
and guess what god's in the whole thing
he's in the whole thing why
jephthah wants something from god god
wants something from jephthah
by the way how many other
jewish moms and dads
were willing to give up their daughter
to go out in the wilderness to go out in
the desert
to be
those that we would call the the
prophets of the wilderness
well i'm willing to send my daughter out
there no no nobody is nobody is
so god needs somebody that's willing to
be in a desperate strait where he can
come through for them so that they can
come through for him
this is what you call a win-win
situation
well pastor stephen it doesn't seem like
jephthah's daughter was on the winning
side of this oh no she found out
in a sense what jesus would later say
that if you lose your life you'll find
it
oh pastor steve i feel so sorry for her
she couldn't go to high school
how many of you know what high school is
like
how many high schools have corrupted the
young people with the most profound
profoundly filthy language and just like
thrown to the wolves where you're trying
to serve the lord and you're just thrown
in with all the heathens and the next
thing you know because maybe you don't
have a a righteous base built into you
you're just broken down and you're next
thing you know you're just like them
she lost that life and found the life in
god that was secretly veiled that she
only discovered off in the secluded area
but those
with those few that were just
like her
well pastor stephen after hearing all
this i i don't know if i ever want to
make a vow with god
good
good you should understand this weighty
stuff
and that's why
jesus and james spoke against about vows
or making swearing-type statements
that are all coming out of arrogance and
boasting and also trying to wiggle out a
vows and not even really
treating the vowel with reverence that
they're they're just they're just
totally shutting all of that down
but the real thing is there
and there is a divine mystery tied into
it and don't be surprised if god
is working in a way where this might be
the only way for you to get this done
is to meet god with the vow
all i'm saying is that if you do that
do it in faith
make sure that the motive is very pure
and also make sure you do it with very
careful
consideration don't ever rush into it
praise the lord lift your hands father i
pray for those that are watching today
some are facing unusual situations
there's always a solution which is found
in your word
by the illumination of your spirit
father there would be some that are
listening today and
they're enjoying the exposition of your
word but they're thinking well i don't
really think i'm in a
time frame where this fits
but one day will come
and it will fit
so father we just thank you as we're all
in different moments but
for some they'll pull this book off the
shelf
this sermon will come back when they
need it but for others it is a now
moment for them
so father we just give you praise
let us follow your principles when it
comes to the making of vows
and let us if we're going to do it let
us get it right bless your people thank
you father in jesus name amen
praise the lord hallelujah now if you're
watching today and you don't know jesus
christ as your lord and savior
eternal life forgiveness of sin
salvation can only be found in him and
he presents it and makes it available to
you today if you would like to leave the
life of sin
and spiritual death behind and step over
into the life of christ
then pray this prayer and call upon him
right now and he will save you say lord
jesus
come into my heart
wash all of my sins away
i believe you died for me on the cross
and you rose again on the third day
and that you're seated right now at
god's right hand
jesus
save me
write my name in your book of life
i give my life completely to you and i
turn from my sins
and i live for you
thank you jesus teach me your ways
in your name i pray
amen
and amen welcome welcome welcome to the
family
of god praise the lord i'm so glad you
prayed that prayer
now let us take holy communion
whoa
praise the lord
praise the lord
wow
this is getting through this message is
getting through
to a part
of the world
that is very dangerous
and you could die at any moment
and you don't really know about jesus
how about make a vow to him if you're
not sure just say jesus i've heard about
you
if you get me out of this alive
because i'm surrounded by certain death
if you get me out of this alive me and
my family safely i will give my life to
you
watch what he'll do for you
he will prove himself to you but that is
a vow and he would expect you to commit
to it
and by the way who wouldn't want to
whoo when he comes through oh he's a
master at this as you can see he's been
doing it for thousands of years
let's grab some grape juice and some
unleavened bread
i use these little pre-packaged
cups they're so nice especially when you
travel
and let's pray
father we thank you for the bread and
the juice
we pray over it and we bless it
we set it apart as holy
and we receive it now as the body and
the blood of jesus and father as we
receive the body of christ
we thank you that all of your promises
are yes and amen
and as we look around what's on the
banquet table
that's been made available for us
as believers in christ
we see there on the table
healing and
gifts of the spirit and
joy and
happiness
oh we see the vow hmm
well father
as we receive the body of jesus let us
this week meditate and consider
the divine mystery and the potential
of the sacred vow in jesus name
amen must receive the flesh of christ
father thank you for the blood the blood
the blood the blood of jesus
if we've committed any sin we ask that
you would forgive us
wash us from all sin cleanse us from all
unrighteousness thank you father for the
blood of jesus we receive his blood
and we give you all of the praise we
thank you o
god that you allow us to smile
at our enemies those who would wish us
harm you allow us to smile
at them we give you praise in jesus name
amen
let's receive
praise the lord
my friends the question is not
will god fulfilled the vow
the question is will you fulfill
your commitment think about that because
god would expect you to keep your vow
praise the lord father bless your people
let it be a week of contemplation for
them and we thank you once again for
your holy spirit who leads us into all
truth and
what we should do with these truths how
we should act upon them thank you oh god
father we give you praise in jesus name
amen thanks for watching i'll see you
back next time