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Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music I know the Bible is true Sing out loud on the first I know the Bible I know the Bible was sent from God The old as well as the new Inspired and holy the living Word I know the Bible is true I know, I know, I know the Bible is true Divinely inspired the whole way through I know the Bible is true Amen. At this time, we'll have our announcements. Good afternoon, everybody. Welcome to the Church Foundation Baptist Church. I'm going to quickly go through the announcements. If you don't have a bulletin, would you just lift up your hand and one of the ushers will bring you on. Anybody need a bulletin? Right on our front cover, we have our verse of the week. It says, Is not my word like as a fire saith the Lord, and like a hammer that breaketh the rock in pieces. The Bible is very powerful, isn't it? The word of God. Our service times are 1030 a.m. for our preaching service. Sunday evening service 330 p.m. will be tonight in Exodus chapter 17. Our Thursday Bible study is at 630 p.m. We'll be in the back of the book of Hebrews, not this Thursday, but the Thursday after because of the conference. Our sowing time, the sowing times there are going to be modified this week. But we did have sowing today. We have any salvations? About one over there. Anybody else? All right. Well, we got one. Amen. It's a tough little area that we were in. It was kind of a weird neighborhood. Had some dead end roads you couldn't park on and just kind of weird. But anyway, I'm glad we got one salvation out there. Praise God for that. And so the Thursday time will be at three o'clock this week. The Friday time will be at three o'clock. Saturday is kind of there's not like a set time for for Saturday. So if you want to go, there'll be maps provided. There'll be maps. We're going to do paper maps for the whole conference period. Sunday will be going out also. The area we're hitting is from Andreessen and Fourth Plain West to the freeway. So for the whole conference, that's the whole area we're going to be in. And so usually that's a pretty receptive area. I just wanted to get like at least the instead of doing what they do to us in Sacramento, where we go to the worst areas, I'm going to try to get everybody to the best areas we can. So anyway, so without going to Portland, because Portland's kind of a crapshoot. If you, you know, if you cross that bridge, you might not be coming back for several hours later. You try to take that that one exit. Oh, man, trying to get on 205 is just a nightmare. So anyway, we're not going to do that. We're just going to have Vancouver zoning locations. So we will be earlier in the service. The first service I said, if you want to meet on location, you can. But Brandon was talking to me after the service and he said the best thing to do is just meet here at the building so we can pair up and send people off because some people won't have rides. And so we'll try to figure all that stuff out. But Brother Alex is leading Thursday. Do I have a volunteer for Friday? Does anybody want to run Friday? Can anybody run Friday? Brother Sean, that's your normal time anyway, right? So you're not going to be forced into overtime or anything? Just don't answer the phone. All right. So Brother Sean will be running Friday. And then, like I said, Saturday, Saturday, we have that bull riding and the and the other fun stuff, the bouncy house. But so but Sunday we will have. But Sunday we will have so so and Brother Sean, you run so. OK, so Brother Sean will be running his regular time will probably be about 130, though, instead of the normal time. So anyway, the praise report, you can see the the stats. We did have a baptism. I think that got kind of but I think Brother Ian had a baptism. So, Ryan, will you add a baptism there for the baptisms anyway? And so the King James Conference schedule is there. I kind of already went over it. So I'm not going to go over the whole thing. If you ask me any questions for the rest of the week, I'm just going to say, look at the schedule. All right. We posted in the group. Now you can ask me questions. It's OK. But if you do have you do have a schedule, it's right here in your hand and then it's in the WhatsApp group. So if you have any questions, look at the schedule first. And then if that doesn't answer your question, then reach out to me. OK, I want to say thank you to everybody that came out for the workday yesterday. I forgot to mention that this morning. I apologize for that. But we had a good showing. We had a lot of people come out to help with pressure. That got all pressure washed out there. All the trash got cleaned up around the building. And it was a great group effort. There was a lot of work done here. And I just want to say from the bottom of my heart, I really appreciate it. And that was I was really I shouldn't say I was surprised, but I was very happy about the turnout yesterday. So thank you so much. Now, there's I know there's a lot of work left to do. And we're definitely going to need some help cleaning. So the normal cleaning that gets done during the week is going to be already done this week. So Thursday, we should be able to walk into a fairly reasonably clean church because everybody's going to meet here for sewing. So people might leave the papers and stuff. So if anybody just notices anything on the floor or anything, just pick it up. But after the dinner, so the dinner is from five to six. You know, we might have to push it like 615, but we kind of I made it where we have a buffer there to to get like all the food stuff cleaned up. So anybody that can pitch in and help do that, just like turn this place back to normal again. We're going to have like an overflow area there. We've got that television installed in the back there. We'll have a couple of rows of seating. I mean, that's if we have more than 200 people. So I don't think we're going to have more than 200. But I'll be I'll be surprised and happy if we do have more than that. But it's just going to be really cramped in here. So no whining about the air conditioning. We can we can only do what we can do. So Brother Ryan went up there and tinkered with it yesterday. It feels good in here to me, but I'm like standing right above the vent and it's open now. So anyway, if you guys start getting too hot, just someone have one of the ushers dial it down for you tonight. I'm talking about. But during the conference, it's going to be what it is. So hopefully we'll be able to keep up. Anyway, so that's kind of we are going to need just extra help cleaning up. And so after the dinner and then maybe sometime before the services the next day. So it doesn't have to be after church. But if that's what you want to do, if you volunteered to clean that day and you just want to get it done, not have to worry about the next day. That's fine. But if you want to come in the next day and do it at your leisure, that's fine also. So we've had a couple families volunteer to do that. So I think is there still lacking some areas are still there's three, three times that we still need someone to volunteer for. So if you can do that, please see me after church. We'd really appreciate not having to worry and fret about that stuff. So anyway, all the other stuff is stuff you already know. So anyway, that's all I got for announcements. Let's go ahead and sing another song. We'll receive the offering. All right, let's open up our hymnals to page one hundred thirty six. Master, the Tempest is Raging, page one, three, six. Master, the Tempest is Raging, page one hundred thirty six. Sing it out on the first. Master, the Tempest is Raging, the billows are tossing high. The sky is o'er shadow with blackness, no shelter or help is nigh. Heiress thou, not that we perish, thou canst thou lie asleep. When each moment so madly is threatening, a grave in the angry deep. The winds and the waves shall obey my will, peace be still. Whether the wrath of the storm toss sea or demons or men or whatever it be. The water can swallow the ship where lies the master of ocean and earth and skies. They all shall sweetly obey my will, peace be still, peace be still. They all shall sweetly obey my will, peace be still. Master, with anguish of spirit I bow in my grief today. The depths of my sad heart are troubled, awaken and save I pray. Torrents of sin and of anguish sweep o'er my sinking soul. And I perish, I perish, dear master, oh he sin and take control. The winds and the waves shall obey my will, peace be still. Whether the wrath of the storm toss sea or demons or men or whatever it be. The water can swallow the ship where lies the master of ocean and earth and skies. They all shall sweetly obey my will, peace be still, peace be still. They all shall sweetly obey my will, peace be still. Master, the terror is over, the elements sweetly rest. Earth's sun in the calm wake is mirrored in heavens within my breath. Leave me alone no more, and with joy I shall make the blessed harbor and rest on the blissful shore. The winds and the waves shall obey my will, peace be still. Whether the wrath of the storm toss sea or demons or men or whatever it be. The water can swallow the ship where lies the master of ocean and earth and skies. They all shall sweetly obey my will, peace be still, peace be still. They all shall sweetly obey my will, peace, peace be still. Thank you for watching. Thank you for watching. Thank you for watching. Thank you for watching. Right, open your Bibles to Exodus chapter 17. Exodus chapter 17, if you don't have a Bible there should be one under the seat in front of you. Exodus 17. Exodus 17, the Bible reads, and all the congregation of the children of Israel journeyed from the wilderness of sin, after their journeys according to the commandment of the Lord, and pitched in of Rephidim. And there was no water for the people to drink. Wherefore the people did chide with Moses, and said, Give us water that we may drink. And Moses said unto them, Why chide ye with me? Wherefore do ye attempt the Lord? And the people thirsted there for water, and the people murmured against Moses and said, Wherefore is this that thou hast brought us up out of Egypt to kill us and our children and our cattle with thirst? And Moses cried unto the Lord, saying, What shall I do unto this people? They'd be almost ready to stone me. And the Lord said unto Moses, Go on before the people, and take with thee the elders of Israel and thy rod, wherewith thou smotest the river, take in thine hand and go. Behold, I will stand before thee there upon the rock in Horeb. And thou shalt smite the rock, and there shall come water out of it, that the people may drink. And Moses did so in the sight of the elders of Israel. And he called the name of the place Massah and Meribah, because of the chiding of the children of Israel, and because they tempted the Lord, saying, Is the Lord among us or not? Then came Amalek, and fought with Israel and Rephidim. And Moses said unto Joshua, Choose us out men, and go out, and fight with Amalek. Tomorrow I will stand on the top of the hill with the rod of God in mine hand. So Joshua did as Moses had said to him, and fought with Amalek. And Moses, Aaron, and Hur went up to the top of the hill. And it came to pass, when Moses held up his hand, that Israel prevailed, and when he let down his hand, Amalek prevailed. But Moses' hands were heavy, and they took a stone and put it under him, and he sat thereon. And Aaron and Hur stayed up his hands, the one on the one side and the other on the other side. And his hands were steady until the going down of the sun. And Joshua discomfited Amalek and his people with the edge of the sword. And the Lord said unto Moses, Write this for a memorial in a book, and rehearse it in the ears of Joshua. For I will utterly put out the remembrance of Amalek from under the heaven. And Moses built an altar, and called the name of it Jehovah Nessie. For he said, Because the Lord has sworn that the Lord will have war with Amalek from generation to generation. Brother Shawn, will you pray for us? Father, I thank you for this day. I thank you for the opportunity to be here. I pray that you will, Pastor Johnson, now with your full experience, Lord, I pray that you just help us to get the message. Please help us to understand your word. I pray that you please stand out. Amen. Exodus 17, the title of the sermon is called A Surprise Attack from Amalek. A Surprise Attack from Amalek. So I pulled a trick from Pastor Jones there and made a cheeky little sermon title there. But if you remember last chapter, the people were complaining against Aaron and Moses in that chapter also. And then what were they complaining about? They were complaining about the food. They were complaining about the manna that the Lord had provided for them. And of course we looked into the fact that the manna is a picture of Christ. He was that bread that came down from heaven. He even says it in John chapter 6. And he talks about him being that bread and Moses gave you a different kind of bread. But I'm the bread from heaven. So that's a picture of the Lord Jesus Christ. Also there's a picture there about Bible reading and that you can't really get back that day of Bible reading. Once you've gone into the next day, you can't get that supply that you were supposed to take the day before. So it's very important to read your Bible. So moving on here, we're going to look at verse number 1. And the first point of the sermon is that there's another picture here of the Lord Jesus Christ. And it comes in the form of water from the rocks. So look at verse number 1. The Bible says, Now the word chide means to scold or rebuke or blame in just a really angry way. So they're chiding with Moses. That's not really a word that we commonly use. Wherefore did the people chide with Moses and said, Because if you remember in the last chapter, when they were chiding with Moses before, that they said, You're not really mad at me. You're not murmuring against me, but you're murmuring against the Lord. So they haven't really learned their lesson from last time. And if you remember when the quail was, you know, they were whining about having meat. And so God gave them so much quail, it's coming out their nostrils. So verse 3 says, So they're always going off the extreme. You know, why did you rescue us, Moses? So you could go kill us out in the middle of this godforsaken wilderness or whatever. And Moses cried unto the Lord, which is always the good thing to do, right? He goes to God and said, So they're ready to kill Moses because they don't have anything to drink. But again, if you remember last chapter, couldn't they have just asked Moses, Hey, could you ask God if he could just provide us some water? Instead of whining and complaining and murmuring. And really they're murmuring against the God that set them free from Egypt. They're murmuring against the God that gave them great leaders to follow. And Moses is obviously a great, great man of God. And they're ready to kill him. So Moses does picture Christ in many areas. And just like Moses is blamed by the people here, he pictures Christ in the way that he was also persecuted by his own people that he was sent to help. Because wasn't Moses sent to help the children of Israel? He heard their groanings. He heard their cries of hard servitude. And he heard the children of Israel. And then he gave them what they asked for. He always seems to give them what they asked for, right? And they still find a way to complain. And so just like Moses was sent to the children of Israel to help them, Jesus Christ was sent to be our Savior and to help us in the way that we were forgiven for all of our sins and get to go to heaven someday. So look at verse 5. It says, And the Lord said unto Moses, Go on before the people, and take with thee of the elders of Israel, and thy rod wherewith thou smotest the river, take in thine hand, and go. And behold, I will stand before thee there upon the rock in Horeb, and thou shalt smite the rock, and there shall come water out of it that the people may drink. And Moses did so in the sight of the elders of Israel. So obviously thinking about this specific story here, what's God tell him to do? He tells him to smite the rock. And of course Jesus Christ is that rock that's pictured here. And when Jesus Christ was smitten, he became a source of life for everybody to be saved, right? So in the last chapter we had the manna as a form of sustenance. We need food to eat to live, right? But we also need spiritual food to live. And we need water to drink to live. But we also need that source of everlasting water, that eternal water, that water that we shall never thirst again from. So we need the water that Jesus provides, that river of water that's bubbling up onto eternal life, that springs up in us. So Jesus is pictured here as the rock that is supposed to be smitten. And so let's turn to John chapter 4, and we'll see where Jesus kind of brings this up later on. Obviously he's by himself. We probably all know the story about the woman that is at the well with Jesus. So now before I get into this, there's a story in Numbers chapter 20 where Moses is told to speak to the rock. And instead of speaking the rock, he smites it three times. And then because of that, Moses was not able to go into the Promised Land. So this is not the same instance, obviously, because the first time he does tell him to smite the rock. And obviously that picture is there. Moses obeys God. But if you look at the story in Numbers, it's not the same story. They're not in the same place. It's not the same timeline, because Miriam has already died at that point, and so on and so forth. But look at John chapter 4 verse 7. The Bible says, There cometh a woman of Samaria to draw water. And saith unto her, Give me to drink. For his disciples were gone away unto the city to buy meat. Then saith the woman of Samaria unto him, How is it that thou, being a Jew, askest, Drink of me, which am a woman of Samaria? For the Jews have no dealings with the Samaritans. Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith unto thee, Give me to drink, thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water. So, he's saying it's living water if you ask for salvation. If you ask, so, I mean, Jesus said, there's a lot of great I Am statements in the book of John. This is one of those where he says that he is that water. He also is that bread that came down from heaven. But, look at verse 11, it says, The woman saith unto him, Sir, thou hast nothing to draw with, and the well is deep. From whence then hast thou that living water? Art thou greater than our father Jacob, which gave us the well, and drank thereof himself, and his children, and his cattle? Jesus answered and said unto her, Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again, but whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst, but the water that I give him shall be in him a well of water, springing up into everlasting life. So, it's a spiritual water. And, so, in the Exodus here, obviously, he's given him literal water to drink, but the picture there is that if you smite that rock, who is represented as the Lord Jesus Christ, then you also, spiritually, you're going to get that living water that's going to come because the fact that he was spent. If Jesus Christ didn't die for our sins, then he doesn't have that eternal life, that eternal water for us, but he did do that. And, so, that's how he can say that it's the living water. And, so, both areas are needed. So, in our physical, we need water to live. We can't go past three days without it. And, in our spiritual life, if you don't have the living water that Jesus provides for you, then you're going to die and go to hell. It's just that simple. So, let's go look at Revelation 21, verse number 6. Revelation 21, verse number 6. And the Bible refers to this later on. Jesus says with his own words that he will give us this water. So, Revelation 21, verse 6 says, And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is the thirst of the fountain of the water of life freely. So, it's not something we have to work for. Obviously, everybody in here pretty much knows that. But, it's a fountain that we can ask for and that is asking for salvation. So, when we ask for salvation, he gives us that water of life freely. Flip over one chapter over in verse 16 in Revelation 22, 16. The Bible says, I, Jesus, have sent mine angel to testify unto you these things in the churches. I am the root and offspring of David and the bright and morning star. And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is the thirst, Come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely. That water of life comes through Jesus and it comes through the rock. Now, let's look at one more set of verses here before we move on. So, 1 Corinthians chapter 10, verse 1. Now, the apostle Paul explains to us that when the children of Israel left Egypt, they were baptized unto Moses by that cloud and by the Red Sea. They weren't literally under water or whatever, but that's what he says, that they were baptized unto Moses. Look what it says in verse number 1 in 1 Corinthians 10. It says, Moreover, brethren, I would not that you should be ignorant how that all our fathers were under the cloud and all passed through the sea, and were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea, and did eat the same spiritual meat. What's he talking about there? He's talking about the manna, right? So, he's talking about these particular stories from the last couple chapters here. And then verse 4 says, And did all drink the same spiritual drink. So, it's a spiritual drink that he's talking about that is represented in Christ. And it even explains it further. It says, For they drank of that spiritual rock that followed them. So, through the 40 years of the wilderness, it says they drank of the spiritual rock that followed them. So, apparently this rock follows them. And what does it say? And that rock was Christ. So, we know that the rock represented in this story is representative of the Lord Jesus Christ. And in Numbers chapter 20, they get water out of the rock. Again, a different rock, a different place. But it's a picture for us that we need to take that water of life freely. And that rock is Christ. That's what the Bible says. That's what the Apostle Paul is explaining to us in 1 Corinthians chapter 10. Now, let's go back to our chapter, Exodus 17, verse 7 says, And he called the name of the place Massah and Meribah, because of the chiding of the children of Israel, and because they tempted the Lord, saying, Is the Lord among us or not? So, I mean, how would you even ask that question? After all that they've already been through, how could you ask the question, Is the Lord among us or not? He's already done all these miracles. He's literally feeding them every morning. They get to walk outside and just collect their food. It's already waiting for them in the evening. The quails come, so they have meat, they have bread, they have water, whatever. They ask for it, and they're not really asking very nicely at all either. They're threatening to kill the guys that God sent to lead the children of Israel. So, I mean, it's really, they just have a really bad attitude. They have a really bad, they're kind of almost like welfare recipients in the way that, you know, there's nothing wrong with being on welfare if you really need it or whatever, but obviously you don't want to stay on that kind of a system forever. Everybody needs a helping hand at some point in their life, but they're permanently just being given everything by God, and sometimes when people get everything for free all the time, they tend to have this attitude where the things that they're being given aren't good enough. The food that's being provided isn't good enough. The building that they're provided with isn't good enough, and it's just, again, kind of backing onto last week's sermon, it's not good to have these types of attitudes. Like, oh, I'm sick of pizza. I'm sick of Panda Express. It's like, you know, it's free. Like, you didn't have to pay, I mean, you know, it's provided for you. Like, most churches don't do that, so I don't know if you've ever been to an old IFB church, but you're probably paying for your dinner. Like, if they have, like, a special couples night, you're paying to attend it. If they have a conference, you're paying to attend it. If you have anything that's going on, if you have camp, you're paying to attend it. You're doing some kind of work, some kind of taco feast or something where people pay or sponsor your way in. Most churches make you pay above the tithe. Most churches make you pay for everything else that you do extra, and then they don't even use the rest of the money to do evangelism. It's like, it's so weird how backwards churches are right now, but all they care about is the building. How can we get this building? They're constantly in a building fund mode where they're just raising money for these churches to build some stained glass steeple and, you know, not very many people or whatever. But it's just a bad attitude to have, and we ought to be thankful for the things that are provided for us and not have a welfare attitude about things or just a spoiled brat attitude about the things that are provided from you by the Lord. Now, number two, and this is basically the only point, the rest of my sermon is basically based on this surprise attack by Amalek. So let's look at verse number eight. The Bible says, Then came Amalek and fought with Israel and Rephidim. So basically they just come out of nowhere. But I find it really interesting that after they're whining and complaining and God gives them what they want, that it seems like even if you think about the quails, you know, they're just chewing it with their teeth and then God starts smiting people with a great plague. So, you know, and then God allows them to be attacked by their enemies. And obviously, you know, God doesn't want the children of Israel to be attacked, but it's just interesting how it comes to pass. And Amalek in the Bible is an enemy of Israel for the whole time. Any time they're ever mentioned, there's nothing ever good said about them. And God really gets angry with what they do here. So it says they came and fought with Israel. So it's a surprise attack. They weren't expecting it. And notice that this is the first attack that they come under when they leave Egypt. So they've crossed the Red Sea and now, you know, they've had a couple struggles with some food and water and then this people called Amalek attacks. So who is Amalek? Well, I preached a sermon in Genesis chapter 36 about the descendants of Esau and I kind of went pretty deep into this whole thing. And I'll just say this, that I still believe that Amalek is, you know, related to Esau. But I do think that there's also possible alternative ways to think about who Amalek is. And you're like, well, who cares who Amalek is? Well, you know, we're studying the Bible here. I care what the Bible says. I care what I believe and I hope that you do too. And, you know, this is why we learned the Bible. This is why the Bible is preached so you can understand things. And I'm going to offer you some things of who I think that they are, but ultimately I still kind of hold to what I already believe about this. But look at Genesis chapter 36. Now, I'm just going to kind of do a little study on Amalek for the rest of this service and then I'm going to finish off with what happens with Moses and Joshua in the battle against Amalek. So, I kind of, you know, this thing is a monumental thing that happens with the children of Israel because from here on out Amalek is the enemy of Israel. And a lot of times people attack us, the enemy attacks us, and we don't really know why, you know. But Jesus said that we should expect it. Sometimes people just attack us. Some people just hate us. I mean, sometimes we just knock on someone's door. We've never done anything wrong to them. We're just trying to bring the gospel to them and then they get mad at us and say, oh, man, they're evil against us. And it's just like, I don't even know you, you know. So, but this is just kind of something that we expect as Christians that we're going to get attacked by Amalek. And whether Amalek is the literal Amalek or if it's, you know, just people that are acting like Amalek, it's going to happen. We're going to have enemies. They're going to attack us when we're doing great things for God. That's when they like to attack. They like to attack. They're spiritual. There's a thing called spiritual warfare. You know, we're not in a physical battle. We're in spiritual warfare. And any time we try to do something great at this church, you can always expect that something's going to happen. And so, look at Genesis 36, verse 12. The Bible says, And Timnah was concubine to Eliphaz Esau's son. So, and it says, And she bare to Eliphaz Amalek. These were the sons of Ada, Esau's wife. So, Amalek is the grandson of Esau in this genealogy. Now, you're not going to find a genealogy of Amalek anywhere before this. So, that's kind of why I lean toward the fact that I think that it is the son. You know, I mean, obviously, there's a guy named Amalek who's related to Esau. That's a fact, okay? But there are some scriptures that place him earlier on, the name Amalek earlier on in the scriptures. But look down at verse number 16 before we move on. It says, These are the dukes that came of Eliphaz in the land of Edom. These were the sons of Ada. And Amalek was a concubine's son. So, that did kind of mean a different status in a lot of cultures. Even in the European kings and queens, the sons of the main wife and husband would have been more highly regarded. But that's just something to keep in your cap there. But look at verse 19. It says, These are the sons of Esau who is Edom, and these are their dukes. These are the sons of Seir the Horite. So, in the middle of the genealogy of Esau, they start talking about this man named Seir the Horite. So, the Horites were the people that, it says it right here, who inhabited the land. Lotan and Shobel and Zibeon and Anah and Dishon and Ezer and Dishan. These are the dukes of the Horites, the children of Seir in the land of Edom. So, when Edom left the land of Canaan, he went to this place called Seir. And Seir was named the place where Edom, because if you look later on in the Bible, you'll see that Seir is the place where the Edomites live. But there was a man named Seir, and he was a Horite, and then Esau married in with these people. And so, basically, Edom took this area over, but in times past, it was the place where the Horites lived. So, now let's turn back to Genesis chapter 14. Genesis chapter 14, and this is kind of what makes it somewhat confusing about the Amalekites. So, look at Genesis chapter 14. Now, this is obviously before Esau was even born, and it says, And in the fourteenth year came Chedelomer, and the kings that were with him, and smote the Rephames, and in Ashtaroth, and Karnaim, and the Zuzims, which were giants, and Ham, and the Emims, and Sheva, Kirothaim, and those were giants also, and the Horites in their Mount Seir. So, the Horites, see how they were part of Mount Seir, unto Elperin, which is by the wilderness. And they returned and came to Emeshpat, which is in Kadesh, and smote all the country of the Amalekites, and also the Amorites that dwelt in Haziz on Tamar. So, like, this makes it a little bit confusing, doesn't it? Because in Genesis chapter 36, you have the Amalek being the grandson of Esau, but then you go to Genesis chapter 5, and it appears that there already were Amalekites before that. But I will just say this, that when it says, And smote all the country of the Amalekites, my interpretation of that, and this is what I personally believe, and it's my opinion, okay, that it's just speaking about where, you know, the land that they lived in before. Or where they would live in the future, excuse me. But the Bible does that a lot, and so, like, it'll say, like, Jacob went to Bethel, but in the first, that place was called Luz, right? So it'll help us identify things, because you'll have, like, things that were called something else, and then when the children of Israel took over, they called it something different. But then it'll refer to both places so you kind of understand what it's talking about, because when Abraham first started going into the land, you know, things were called something different. It'll stop and say, like, this was before called this, or whatever. Now, I'm not saying that's 100% solid gold that I would hang my hat on that verse necessarily, but that's just my interpretation of it. I believe that that's just where the, you know, I believe that that's where the Amalekites would have lived later on. Because there is kind of a separation between Esau and his descendants, and so the Amalekites are kind of made separate from Esau later on, but they still live in the same area. So that's just my personal interpretation of it, like I said, but you could interpret it like this, that there was a people called the Amalekites that were before Esau, and maybe Esau's grandson was named after that tribe, or whatever, called the Amalekites. So, now turn to Numbers chapter 24, verse 20. So, I'm offering you alternative answers, but I'm just saying what I personally believe, and you can believe what you want. These are the kind of things that I just won't be dogmatic on, but I just will say, if it's my opinion, it's my opinion, right? Now, look at Numbers 24, verse 20. Now, the people that think that Amalek was just some other nation, this is another verse that they could kind of, you know, draw from, right? It says in Numbers chapter 24, verse 20, this is talking about when Balaam is cursing all these people, right? And he was supposed to be cursing the children of Israel, but every time he tried to do it, he couldn't do it, because he couldn't do something that God told him not to say. But it says, when he looked on Amalek, this is obviously after Esau was already born, so it's possible to be his descent or whatever, he looked on Amalek and took up his parable and said, Amalek was the first of the nations, but his latter end shall be that he perish forever. So, and again, so here's where you could say, well, see, it says he's first of the nations, right? And so you're like, well, that's what it says. I mean, that's what it means, that's what it says. And that is a viable option. But the thing is, is though, when you go to Genesis chapter 10, you're not going to find a genealogy of Amalek. And the genealogy of Noah, Ham, or, you know, Shem, Ham, and Japheth is clearly given in who their sons are, where they moved to, and you'll never see the name Amalek in that chapter. So that's why I personally believe that this is saying something else. Now, it seems to, you know, and it could be, but maybe they just weren't mentioned for some strange reason and there's supposed to be some mystery through the Bible. There's two people called Amalek. One of them was the first of the nations. One of them was around when Abraham was around. One of them was the grandson named after Amalek or whatever. You can hold, you know, those interpretations if you want to. I personally think it probably means that they were the first of the nations to attack the children of Israel, because that's what we see happening in the chapter that we're in, in Exodus chapter number 17. It says that they just attack them. And so they are the first people that attack them once they cross the Red Sea, once they leave Egypt, so that is an option, but you could also believe that they are the first of the nations. But then I would say, well, where's your scriptural basis for that in the Bible, because you can't find it. So, again, it's a little confusing, right? But I don't want you to be confused. You can believe what you want, but either way, there is a people named Amalek, and they do attack the children of Israel, and they are their mortal enemies until they're completely extinguished. So, now, let's see, let's move on to numbers chapter 13. So, you know, and basically my opinion on this is you can't be 100% certain on either way you want to look at it. But one thing we know for certain is that they do exist, but they're not mentioned in the table of nations in Genesis chapter 10, and they just kind of appear out of nowhere here in Exodus chapter 17. So, and then, so numbers chapter 13, it says where the Amalekites dwell. So it says the Amalekites dwell, numbers 13, 29, the Amalekites dwell in the land of the south, and the Hittites and the Jebusites and the Amorites dwell in the mountains, and the Canaanites dwell by the sea and by the coast of Jordan. So it kind of pinpoints where they live, and obviously we might not have the map of Israel memorized in our mind, but that's what it says, that they dwell in the land of the south. So a lot of people will say, well, they were this nomadic tribe, and people think that they might have been from Ham, that they were Africans or something, and like I don't know where they're getting their scriptural basis for that, but I was just kind of geeking out on this last night and just trying to look and see. But we know that even after this, after this battle with the children of Israel, where Moses and the children of Israel fended them off, they appear, and the thing that they always seem to do is they always seem to attack Israel for no reason, unprovoked, and do some kind of damage, right? So turn to 1 Samuel chapter 15, and God, He says in this chapter that there'll be enemies forever, right? That basically from generation to generation there are going to be enemies. And so God's not going to forget about this. See, if God has a grudge against somebody, He doesn't forget about it. Now, He might forgive people for grudges He has against them, but for whatever reason, He doesn't want to forgive the Amalekites. He knows what's in them, and if they truly are the children of Esau, what does the Bible say? The Bible says, Jacob have I loved, and Esau have I what? Hated. So He hates the Amalekites, there's no doubt about that, right? So look at 1 Samuel chapter 15 verse 2, it says, Thus saith the Lord of hosts, and this is when Saul has become king of Israel, years and years later, I remember that which Amalek did to Israel, how he laid weight for him in the way, when he came up from Egypt. So it's referring back to the story that we're in tonight. But it says that they laid in weight for him. So they waited for them to come, and they surprise attacked them. That's why it's a surprise attack. It says, Now go and smite Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have, and spare them not, but slay both man and woman, infant and suckling, ox and sheep, camel and ass. He's not stuttering here, he's saying kill them all, and yes, it says infant and suckling. So when God wants to completely exterminate a people, He has a good reason for it. And later on, we'll see why God felt this way. There's a reason why He felt like this, and it's because the nature of Amalek is to attack and try to destroy God's people at any chance he gets. Now let's skip down, this is a great chapter here, but let's skip down to verse 32 for sake of time. It says, Then said Samuel, bringing hither... So let me just give you a little back story here. Saul doesn't do what God says. He spares Amalek, he spares the best of the sheeps, he spares the best of the flock, and Samuel comes and he comes late. And Saul's like, I did what God told me to, and he's like, no you didn't. And he's like, why do I hear the bleeding of the sheep, and so on and so forth, and you should have utterly destroyed them and you didn't do it. And so because of what Saul doesn't do, because Saul spared some people here, and namely Agag, the king, then God permanently disqualifies Saul from being the king of Israel. He takes away his kingdom at that point, and even though he is king in, you know, he looks like the king, he sounds like the king, he gives orders like the king, he delivers like the king, but in reality, that day, God stripped him and found somebody better than him, David, the person that would do his will, and so on and so forth. So, but look what he says to, what Samuel says to Saul. Then said Samuel, bring, or not to Saul, he's already rebuked Saul and all this, so Agag was spared, right? Then Samuel said, bring ye hither to me Agag, the king of the Amalekites. And Agag came unto him delicately, he's just like, hmm. And Agag said, surely the bitterness of death is past. And Samuel said, as thy sword hath made women childless, so shall thy mother be childless among women. And Samuel hewed Agag in pieces before the Lord and Gilgal. So Samuel's old too at this time, but he takes up a sword and chops, it says he hues him into pieces, that means he chops him into pieces before the Lord. So God's watching what's going on, Samuel does the will of the Lord, but there are people that escape from this. So let's turn to 1 Samuel chapter 27 verse 8. So Saul didn't do what he was supposed to, there's consequences to not doing what God says. He was stripped of his kingdom, and people escaped that should not have escaped. And he did not, obviously Agag got what was coming to him by Samuel, but they didn't utterly destroy everybody because the Amalekites still live on after this. Look at 1 Samuel chapter 27 verse 8, it says, And David and his men went up and invaded the Gesherites and the Gezrites and the Amalekites. For those nations were of old the inhabitants of the land, as thou goest to shore even unto the land of Egypt. So David goes up and invades them like God wants him to. So that means they're still around. Look at 1 Samuel chapter 30 verse 1. The Bible says, And it came to pass, when David and his men were come to Ziklag on the third day, that the Amalekites had invaded the south and Ziklag and smitten Ziklag and burned it with fire. So, surprise attack again, right? And had taken the women captives that were therein. They slew not any, either great or small, but carried them away and went on their way. So David and his men came to the city, and behold it was burned with fire, and their wives and their sons and their daughters were taken captives. Skip down to verse 17. Verse 17 says, And David smote them from the twilight even unto the evening of the next day, and there escaped not a man of them, save four hundred young men which rode upon camels and fled. So they live on in this four hundred men that escape, right? But what did they do? They attacked this place, burned it with fire, took all their wives and sons and daughters, and then David gets them back and saves everybody, and saves all of his wives and everything. Now look at 2 Samuel chapter 8 verse 11. 2 Samuel chapter 8 verse 11. I'm just kind of quickly trying to take you through the timeline here of the Amalekites and what they do later on after this chapter that we're in tonight. So, 2 Samuel chapter 8 verse 11. The Bible says, Which also King David did dedicate unto the Lord with the silver and gold, that he had dedicated of all nations which he subdued, of Syria and of Moab and of the children of Ammon, and of the Philistines and of Amalek, and of the spoil of Hadadezer son of Rehob king of Zobah. So, David subdued them, but they're not completely wiped out yet. Now turn to 1 Chronicles chapter 4 verse 41. And the Bible does say in this chapter that we're at that he's going to... or actually it was in Numbers, right? Where he said they're the first of the nations, but their latter end is to be completely destroyed, right? So, now 1 Chronicles chapter 4 verse 41. It's kind of giving a little bit of information about some of the different tribes of Israel and what happened to them. This is talking about Simeon, and it says, These were written by the name in the days of Hezekiah king of Judah and smote their tents. So, now we're going further into the future past David unto the time of Hezekiah. It says, And the habitations that were found there and destroyed them utterly unto this day, and dwelt in their rooms because there was a pasture there for their flocks. And some of them, even the sons of Simeon, five hundred men, went up to Mount Seir. So, isn't that who lives there? Esau, right? Having for their captains Pelotia, and Neriah, and Rephiah, and Uzziel, the sons of Ishi. And they smote the rest of the Amalekites that were escaped and dwelt there unto this day. So, remember David had killed all of them except for four hundred men, and then they escaped and lived on into different time periods. And here they are in the time of Hezekiah. It says that they smote the rest of the Amalekites that were escaped and dwelt there unto this day. So, notice that the Amalekites were in Seir at this time. Whose grandson was he again? Was it Amalek? He was Esau's grandson, and that's where Esau took over was Mount Seir. So, anyway, that's where they escaped to apparently. But, here's the thing. So, they got all those guys in the time of Hezekiah. They got the rest of the Amalekites and basically killed them off. However, there was a group that kind of... So, God basically extinguished this whole nation like he said he was going to in numbers to the prophecy of Balaam. But, there's another relative that escaped. And when these guys were killed, I believe that this is the final end of Amalek. It's in Esther chapter...turn to Esther chapter three. And so, God wanted the Amalekites to be utterly destroyed for a reason. Because look at all the things that they always are trying to do. They're always surprised attacking Israel. God hates them. And his ultimate will was for them to be completely annihilated. Which, of course, happens, but human beings make mistakes. And Saul made a huge mistake by not smoking them all when he had the chance to. That's when God wanted them to be done. And I believe that he was trying to save this story from not happening, maybe. But, this story happens anyway. And, of course, we know that Esther and the Jews in the book of Esther, they had a grave enemy. Who was the enemy? Haman. Now, let's look at what it says in Esther 3.1. It says, So, he was a relative of Agag, the king, and so he was what? An Amalekite. He was a distant relative of the Amalekites. And it says, Now, look at verse 10. It says, So, at the time here, the Jews were good, right? Okay? So, the Jews were, you know, he's talking about the Jews, the people that actually believed. Alright? At that time, these are the Jews that were saved. I believe that's what it's talking about. Maybe not all of them were saved, but he's the Jews' enemy. But it never really says why he doesn't like them. He just doesn't like them. And what's the plot that Haman comes up with to destroy them? Well, what's he do? He writes out these things and gets the king to sign off on it, and Esther has to come and intervene. Look at chapter 8, verse 3. And he hates Mordecai, the Jew, because he won't bow down to him. And he wants Mordecai to bow down to him, and Mordecai refuses to do that. So, he really has it out for Mordecai. But Mordecai saved the king's life in a plot, and later on, you know, he gets rewarded for that in a way that Haman really gets upset about. But anyway, Esther chapter 8, verse 3 says, And Esther spake yet again before the king, and fell down at his feet, and besought him with tears, to put away the mischief of Haman the Agagite, and his device that he had devised against the Jews. So, what was his plot? It was a surprise attack, wasn't it? It was a surprise that on the same day, all the Jews would be killed in all provinces, in all the known world that was under the command of this king. And it's the, not the Babylonian, it's the, what empire is it? Huh? Well, what? Yeah, the Persian, yeah, I'm sorry. Yeah, that's what it was, the Medo-Persian Empire, you're right. Okay, I drew a blank there, I had a Biden moment there for a second. But anyway, where am I? So, anyway, so, it says that this device that he had devised against the Jews, look at verse 5, and said, If it pleased the king, and if I have found favor in his sight, and the things seem right before the king, and I be pleasing in his eyes, let it be written to reverse the letters devised by Haman the son of Hamadatha the Agagite, which he wrote to destroy the Jews which are in all the king's provinces. Why did God want all the Amalekites to be destroyed? Because this is what they do. This is what the Amalekites do. These are the enemies of the Jews, the enemies of God's people, and his ultimate design was to completely destroy all the Jews, right? It says, which he wrote to destroy the Jews which are in all the king's provinces. Now, move to chapter 9, verse 24. Chapter 9, verse 24. The Bible says, Because Haman the son of Hamadatha the Agagite, the enemy of all the Jews, had devised against the Jews to destroy them, and had cast per, that is, the lot to consume them and destroy them. Verse 25. But when Esther came before the king, he commanded by letters that his wicked device, which he devised against the Jews, should return upon his own head, and that he and his sons should be hanged on the gallows. The end of the Amalekites. The end of the Agagite, this wicked Haman. So, you don't see them appear any other time from thenceforth in the Scriptures. I believe that the Simeonites pretty much wiped them all out, but Agag had a relative who was an Amalekite who was, I mean, he really came to this plot, this plot was going to happen. Like, if Esther hadn't have come forward, remember in the Bible it says that, you know, who knows whether you came along for such a time as this, because the time was really crucial, and obviously God probably could have raised somebody up and probably would have raised somebody up so that they wouldn't all be completely destroyed, but this is what the enemies of God want. They want to destroy us. They want to kill us. They want to surprise attack us as much as they can. They want to draw up letters to try to get us destroyed, and that's what's going on, I mean, it still goes on today. God's enemies are always going to attack. They're always going to try to find some way, some mischief, to try to destroy us, but guess what always happens? God doesn't allow it to happen, but, you know, we as God's people need to be faithful to where we won't be put in positions like this, but, you know, sometimes it just happens, but I know one thing. God will never allow His seed to completely be destroyed upon the face of the planet. This was a time when it was, when they were trying to do this, this was a plan enacted, and obviously, you know, He's a man of Satan, this Haman. Like, He had no reason to hate him. And so this is what you know about the Amalekites. They're a bunch of sneaky, you know, surprise attack, sucker punch type people, and really their ultimate goal, you know, I mean, they go and capture all of David's family members and all the men that he rides with. Why do that to David? Why was it just David that they did that to? And I'm sure that they're kind of bandit type marauders or something, and they're all happy about the spoil they get or whatever, and there's lots of tribes that have been like that over thousands of years, but why attack David's people? Because this is what the devil does. He has enemies devise these things, and then they enact these things to happen. So in our lives and against our church, the spirit of the Amalekites does live on. But the Amalekites themselves are completely and utterly destroyed, and God made sure that His word came to pass, and there's no more Amalekites today. So did His word come to pass? Yes, it did. Now let's go back to our text, and we'll finish off in Exodus chapter 17, chapter number, or chapter 17, verse 9. We'll go through the rest of the chapter here, and we'll be done. So you kind of got the shortened version of it, but it's really interesting, isn't it, how God's enemies, they try to destroy us, but God just won't allow it to completely happen. Look at Exodus 17, 9. And Moses said unto Joshua, Choose us out men, and go out, fight with Amalek. Tomorrow I will stand at the top of the hill with the rod of God in my hand. So Joshua did as Moses had said to him, and fought with Amalek. And Moses, Aaron, and Hur went up to the top of the hill. And here's the picture I think here, is that Moses doesn't have to fight this battle on his own, and he picks the people that he trusts the most to go with him to help him. And he unleashes Joshua, who's obviously a younger man than him, the guy that's going to lead the children of Israel next, and he unleashes Joshua with them, but it's a team effort. If you notice it's a team effort here, look at verse number 11. It says, And it came to pass, when Moses held up his hand, that Israel prevailed, and when he let down his hand, Amalek prevailed. But Moses' hands were heavy, and they took a stone and put it under him. What do you think that represents? You know, resting upon the rock, resting upon the stone. What does the stone represent? Well, I believe it represents Christ. And it says, And he sat thereon, and Aaron and Hur stayed up his hands, the one on the one side and the other on the other side, and his hands were steady until the going down of the sun. Moses couldn't do it himself. He had to have help. And as Christians, we also, you know, we need to get behind our leaders, and we need to have leaders in our church that we can count on to stand with the leadership. And, you know, it's a team effort. You know, Joshua had his people that he chose to go out into the battle, but just know this, we shouldn't shy away from battles when they come our way. You know, we shouldn't blame the people that are, you know, you shouldn't blame the leadership because of the battles we're in. These battles are going to come to us whether we like them or not, as long as we're preaching the Word of God, as long as we're going out soul winning. Just say I just stop completely preaching anything controversial. The fact that we go soul winning, the fact that we preach the gospel, we're going to have enemies because of that, too. No matter what we preach in the Bible that's true, the enemy's going to come after us because, ultimately, what's at stake here is that they want to extinguish true Christianity, and they're really getting close to doing it. People are shutting up. People are scared to say anything because all these freaks are coming after them now. We live in a crazy time right now where just preaching the Bible is controversial. It didn't used to be controversial, folks. It used to just be like, well, you know what used to be controversial? Being a queer. You know, they used to be in a closet. Did you know that? So being a homo, being a tranny was just something that they did in nightclubs and stuff in downtown Portland. Like, what was that guy? He just died and went to hell. What was his name? Anybody got it? Darcel. Darcel's roasting in hell. The oldest tranny died like a month ago or something, and I didn't have a, like I said, I was in my kinder, nicer days at that time. It was right at Easter time, so I just didn't want to preach that sermon. But, yeah, Darcel is in hell, and look, we're facing a different enemy than Christianity has really ever faced. I mean, yeah, there's no new thing under the sun. Yeah, there's Sodom and Gomorrah, and obviously the Sodomites have always been in the land, but we're facing a battle right now that is an uphill battle, and people are not on our side. Now, the pendulum is starting to swing. People are sick of it, but yet they're still trying to keep, like I was talking about this morning, they're still trying to keep their kids in these schools that are basically turned aside after Satan. They're completely satanic. They're complete groomers. The children that go there have become groomed, and now they are just exactly what their teachers are, what the teachers, school boards have allowed it to become, and, man, I'm telling you, if you have your kids in a public school, you need to get them out. You're Christian. Your kids are going to be. You're not going to influence them. They're going to influence you, and what their message is is that pretty much everybody is gay now, and that is not true, but I'll tell you what, if you're told that every single day and that's what your kids are getting taught, they're going to think that way. So, anyway, I'm not really preaching about that, but I'm just saying that it's a team effort and it's a battle, and, hey, if we get into battles, you know, we need to be one in doctrine, we need to be one in fight, we need to be one unit ready to strike, and I'm not saying one world government. I'm just saying, as a church, we need to be on the same page, okay, and we need to be ready for these battles as they come. They're going to come, and there's nothing we can do to stop it. The Amalekites can surprise attack us at any moment. I mean, what did he do? He drew up paperwork that was like he got it done through the legal system, didn't he? Haman was high up in the government, and he passed, he got the king, he tricked the king, basically, to kill his favorite wife's whole line of people and almost accomplished it, except for the fact that God is not going to allow that to happen. So that's the same thing with us today. God is not going to allow church, you know, the Bible says the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. So there's always going to be some remnant of believers here, and it's getting thin, folks. It really is, and people are afraid to preach the Bible. They're afraid to preach from the housetops what the Bible says, but let me move on here. It says, And Joshua disconfited, excuse me, verse 13, Joshua disconfited Amalek and his people with the edge of the sword, and the Lord said unto Moses, Write this for a memorial in a book, and rehearse it in the ears of Joshua, for I will utterly put out of the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven. That's another way of just saying, I'm going to completely annihilate them. There are going to be no more. It says, And Moses built an altar and called the name of it Jehovah-Nissi, for he said, Because the Lord has sworn that the Lord will have war with Amalek from generation to generation. And so they do have war with Amalek from generation to generation, but also the thing that he said is that they would cease to exist, that he's going to wipe out their remembrance, and look, any enemy of God that's, you know, and look, we're not supposed to hate our personal enemies. Don't get me wrong here. We all should know this by now. We're not supposed to hate our personal enemies, like the people that get promoted at work over you, or, you know, people that stab you in the back in your personal life or whatever. It's not what I'm talking about. I'm talking about people that are enemies of God. And these people, do you think they're enemies of God? Absolutely they're enemies of God. They're a whole group of people, and whether you believe they're the descendants of Esau, or whether you believe they've been around and we just don't know how they came to pass, but they were real people, and look, this is what Satan likes to do. He likes to attack God's people when they're not paying attention, and so we should be on guard. This is a clue for us to, you know, just be paying attention to what's going on. They were so worried about all the other stuff. They're worried about the manna and the quails, and they're worried about the water. Well, you should have been worried about Amalek surprise attacking you. But of course, God is protecting them, and God protects us too. And we've got to remember that, that as bad as this world gets, as crazy as this world gets, as much as the gates of hell try to prevail against us, it's not going to happen. God will never completely forsake his people, and he's never going to allow us to be completely destroyed. But we also have to understand the fact that the battles are going to come, and we need to stand together in these battles that come, right? All right, let's pray. Lord, we thank you so much for the chapter here, and Lord, for defeating our enemies. God, there's a lot of battles that we're going to face, even coming forward after this day. And Lord, I just pray that you would help us, you'd protect our church, you'd protect our people, Lord, that you would save us from these Amalekite-style enemies that just come, and they want to pass laws, and they want to try to destroy the foundation. And Lord, don't let them attack our foundation and destroy it. I pray that you would just bless this church, bless other churches like it, and bless any man of God that's getting up and preaching the Word of God without apologizing for it, without being afraid to preach the whole counsel of God. I pray that you'd bless the people and give them hearts that are not fearful, but, Lord, hearts that are bold and brave. In Jesus' name we pray, amen. Amen. Let's turn to page 165. We'll sing our last song, the Green Hymn books. Page 165, O Worship the King. Page 165, O Worship the King. Let's sing it out loud on the first. O worship the King, all glorious above, and gratefully sing his wonderful love. Our shield and defender, the ancient of days, a villain in splendor and girded with praise. O tell of his high, and sing of his grace, whose robe is a lie, whose canopy's face this chariot's of wrath a deep thundercloud's form, and ark is his path on the wings of the storm. Thy bountiful care, what tongue can recite, it breathes in the air, it shines in the light, it streams from the hills, it descends to the plain, and sweetly distills in the dew and the rain. Frail children of dust, and feeble as trail, in thee do we trust, nor find thee to fail. Thy mercies, how tender, how firm to the end, our Maker, Defender, Redeemer, and Friend. Amen. Great singing. Thank you for coming out this Sunday. We look forward to the conference this week, and we'd love to see you here. Brother Bill, you want to dismiss us with a word of prayer? Heavenly Father, thank you for this church. Thank you for the preaching of your word. Protect us from the amulets of this world. Amen. Amen.