Exodus: Bondage, Deliverance, and Passover: The Superiority of Christ

Impossible Situations

Transcript: AI Transcript

Professor: John Weaver

Subject: Old Testament Studies

Genre: Sermon

Dictation Name:

Date: 2012-11-20

Synopsis: Pastor John Weaver teaches from Psalm 76:5-8 that impossible situations are only impossible by human standards, but with God nothing is impossible. Using biblical examples (Moses, the Red Sea, King Asa) and the destruction of Sennacherib's army, he shows that God always delivers His people and destroys His enemies. He connects this to current events of government overreach and media control, urging believers to trust totally in God's sovereign power rather than fear.

[John Weaver] Alright, let's open our Bibles today to Psalm 76. Psalm 76. We're going to read verses 5 through 8. Psalm 76. Our main text is going to be verse 5 and 6, but I want you to see it in the context. Psalm 76, beginning there with verse 5. The title of the message today is Impossible Situations. impossible situations. Notice Psalm 76 verse 5. The stout-hearted are spoiled, they have slept their sleep, and none of the men of might have found their hands. At thy rebuke, O God of Jacob, both the chariot and the horse are cast into a dead sleep. Thou even thou art to be feared, and who may stand in thy sight when once thou art angry? Thou didst cause judgment to be heard from heaven, The earth feared and was still. Impossible situations are experienced by many people. In fact, probably everyone in this room and everyone that is listening to my voice could declare an impossible situation that has been experienced in their lifetime. We need to understand that impossible situations are only considered impossible by our standards and by our power because of our limitations.

[John Weaver] With the Lord, there is absolutely nothing that is impossible. He is the God of the impossible. He is the infinite, eternal, omnipotent, omniscient, and omnipresent God. He is the great I Am. The Word of God declares in the book of Luke chapter 1 in verse 37, For with God nothing shall be impossible." And then in Luke 18 and verse 27, he said, the things which are impossible with men are possible with God.

[John Weaver] I want to take just a little while this morning and let you follow me in Scripture and let me show you just two or three impossible situations, humanly speaking, before we get started with our text. So I want you to turn in your Bibles to the book of Exodus chapter 5. Exodus chapter 5. And let's begin reading there with verse 19. This is one of my favorite texts of Scripture. And of course I say that often because I have plenty of favorite texts of Scripture. But you'll understand why when you look at this one. Notice if you would please, Exodus chapter 5, beginning there with verse 19.

[John Weaver] You will remember now that Moses has tried to deliver the children of Israel from Egypt. And of course, Pharaoh's answer to Moses was this, I know not the Lord, neither will I let Israel go. And so Moses has tried and failed. Now the elders have tried. Notice Exodus chapter 5, beginning there at verse 19, and the officers of the children of of Israel did see that they were in an evil case.

[John Weaver] After it was said, You shall not minish aught from your bricks of your daily task. And they met Moses and Aaron, who stood in the way, as they came forth from Pharaoh. And they said unto them, The Lord look upon you and judge, because you have made our saver to be abhorred in the eyes of Pharaoh, and in the eyes of his servants, to put a sword in their hand to slay us. And Moses said unto the Lord, Lord, wherefore hast thou so evil untreated this people? Why is it that thou hast sent me? For since I came to Pharaoh to speak in thy name, he hath done evil to this people, neither hast thou delivered thy people at all." Now I want you to note very carefully that Moses and Aaron have done everything that God has told them to do, and they had failed. The children of Israel, that is their elders, went and appealed to Pharaoh, And he said to them, the problem with you is you're idle. You're going to make the same number of bricks that you normally make, but this time you're going to have to gather your own straw.

[John Weaver] And they came out, after having experienced this from Pharaoh, and they looked at Moses there and said, The Lord look between you and us and judge. The only thing you've done is make things worse for us. We have not been delivered at all. And so Moses then falls on his face and says, Why did you even send me? Why am I here?

[John Weaver] Now I want you to watch carefully. God has Moses and Aaron helpless. They've tried and failed. God has the elders of Israel helpless. They've tried and failed.

[John Weaver] Now look if you would please at chapter 6 and verse 1. Then the Lord said unto Moses, Now shalt thou see what I will do to Pharaoh. For with a strong hand shall he let them go, and with a strong hand shall he drive them out of his land. God says, now you're going to see what I can do. In other words, Moses and Aaron and the elders found themselves in an impossible situation. They could not deliver themselves. And God says, now that you realize your extreme helplessness and hopelessness, you're going to see what I can do. So the impossible became possible with God. And you know the outcome, how God delivered His people and He destroyed His enemies. If you would turn over to Exodus chapter 14, let me show you a second impossible situation.

[John Weaver] You are aware of this. But Exodus chapter 14, and let's begin reading there with verse 1. Of course, the children of Israel now have marched out of Egypt, and they've gotten to a place where it looks as if they're cornered. Exodus 14 verse 1, and the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel that they turn and encamp before Pi-hi-hi-roth, between Migdal and the sea, and over against Bel-zephon, before it shall you encamp by the sea. For Pharaoh will say of the children of Israel, They are entangled in the land, and the wilderness hath shut them in.

[John Weaver] And I will harden Pharaoh's heart, and he shall fall after them. And I will be honored upon Pharaoh, and upon all of his host, that the Egyptians may know that I am the Lord, and they did so. I want you to know two things. Number one, God says, I'm going to be honored upon Pharaoh and all of his hosts. How was he honored? In justice. And he says, they shall know that I'm the Lord. How did they know that God was the Lord? When he struck them in his justice. Watch verse five. And it was told the king of Egypt that the people fled and the heart of Pharaoh and of his servants were turned against the people.

[John Weaver] And they said, why have we done this? That we have let Israel go from serving us. And he made ready his chariot, and took his people with him. And he took six hundred chosen chariots, and all the chariots of Egypt, and captains over every one of them. And the Lord hardened the heart of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and he pursued after the children of Israel, and the children of Israel went out with a high hand. But the Egyptians pursued after them, and all the horses and chariots of Pharaoh, and his horsemen and his army overtook them, encamping by the sea beside Pihairoth, before Belshaphon. And when Pharaoh drew nigh, the children of Israel lifted up their eyes, and behold, the Egyptians marched after them, and they were so afraid. And the children of Israel cried out unto the Lord. And they said unto Moses, Because there were no graves in Egypt, hast thou taken us away to die in this wilderness? Wherefore hast thou dealt thus with us, to carry us forth out of Egypt?

[John Weaver] Is not this the word that we did tell thee in Egypt, saying, Let us alone that we may serve the Egyptians? For it had been better for us to serve the Egyptians, that we should die in this wilderness. And Moses said unto the people, Fear ye not, stand still and see the salvation of the Lord, which he will show to you today. For the Egyptians whom you have seen today, you shall see them again no more forever. The Lord shall fight for you, you shall hold your peace.

[John Weaver] In other words, just shut up and watch. And the Lord said unto Moses, Wherefore criest thou unto me, speaking to the children of Israel, that they may go forward? But lift up thy rod, and stretch out thine hand over the sea, and divide it. And the children of Israel shall go on dry ground through the midst of the sea.

[John Weaver] Now, I want you to note something. If you would, watch verse 17. And I, behold, I will harden the hearts of the Egyptians, and they shall follow them. But I will get me honor upon Pharaoh, and upon all his hosts, upon his chariots, and upon his horsemen. And the Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord, when I have gotten me honor upon Pharaoh, and upon his chariots, and upon his horsemen. Now, you know the story.

[John Weaver] Israel is entangled in the wilderness, so to speak. Red Sea is in front of them. Mountains and deserts on either side. And Pharaoh is coming on strong. And so they begin to look at Moses and said, what in the world are we going to do? We're trapped. We're like animals. We're in a cage. We're sitting ducks. And here's what's going to happen. They're going to come upon us and kill us.

[John Weaver] Would it not have been right for you to have just heeded our words and left us alone and let us stay in our slavery and stay in our bondage and serve the Egyptians. Why did you bring us out here today? There's graves plenty in Egypt. What are we going to do?" And what did God say? Stand still and see the salvation of the Lord. Just shut up. And God directed Moses and he raised that rod and the sea parted hither and thither.

[John Weaver] And you know what happened? The children of Israel went across on dry ground. And when those Egyptians came in behind them, God closed the water upon them. And they all drowned. An impossible situation became possible with God. And in that impossible situation, God destroyed His enemies and delivered His people.

[John Weaver] Now, I want you to think about this. In every situation that I've given you so far, in an impossible situation, God always destroys His enemies and delivers His people. Let me give you one more. I want you to turn in your Bibles to 2 Chronicles chapter 14. 2 Chronicles chapter 14. I want you to see, in 2 Chronicles chapter 14, this impossible situation. And you can ask yourself, If you were Asa, would you not be doing exactly the same thing that King Asa did? Notice 2 Chronicles chapter 14, and let's begin reading there with verse 1. 2 Chronicles chapter 14, beginning there with verse 1.

[John Weaver] The Bible says, So Abijah slept with his fathers, and they buried him in the city of David. And Asa his son reigned in his stead. In his days the land was quiet ten years. And Asa did that which was good and right in the eyes of the Lord his God. And he took away the altars of the strange gods in the high places and break down the images and cut down the groves. And commanded Judah to seek the Lord God of their fathers and to do the law and the commandments. And he took away out of all the cities of Judah the high places and the images and the kingdom was quiet before him. And he built fenced cities in Judah. and the land had rest, and he had no war in those years because the Lord had given him rest. Therefore, he said unto Judah, Let us build these cities, and make about them walls, and towers, gates, and bars, while the land is yet before us, because we have sought the Lord our God, and we have sought Him, and He hath given us rest on every side.

[John Weaver] So they built and prospered. And Asa had an army of men that bare targets and spears out of Judah, three hundred thousand, and out of Benjamin that bare shields and drew swords, 204 score thousand. All these were mighty men of valor. Now watch. He has 580,000 fighting men. But watch verse 9. And there came out against them Zerah the Ethiopian with a host of a thousand thousand, that's a million, and 300 chariots and came to Marashah. Then Asa went out against him and they set the battle at Aray in the valley of Zephathah at Marashah. And Asa cried unto the Lord his God and said, Lord, it is nothing with Thee to help, whether with many or them that have no power. Help us, O Lord our God, for we rest on Thee, and in Thy name we go against this multitude. O Lord our God, let not man prevail against Thee. So the Lord smote the Ethiopians before Asa and before Judah, and the Ethiopians fled. And Asa and the people that were with him pursued them unto Gerar, and the Ethiopians were overthrown, that they could not recover themselves, for they were destroyed before the Lord and before his host, and they carried away much spoil.

[John Weaver] And they smote all the cities round about Gerar, for the fear of the Lord came upon them, and they spoiled all the cities, for they were exceeding much spoil in them. They smote also the tents of cattle, and carried away sheep and cattle in abundance, and returned to Jerusalem.

[John Weaver] Now I want you to note this, Asa with 580,000 men is now facing the Ethiopians with a million men and 300 chariots. Now not only was Asa outnumbered 2 to 1 basically, but you stop and think 300 chariots. Chariots would have been considered the tanks in those days. And so Asa then with his 300 tanks was ready to wreak havoc upon Judah and upon Jerusalem. And when Asa saw how outnumbered he was, and how outgunned he was, he cried to the Lord and said, Lord, You can help, and it doesn't matter whether You help those who have no strength at all. Help us, O God, because we trust in Thee. Do you realize in this instance, God delivered His people and destroyed His enemies.

[John Weaver] Now I could multiply illustrations like this there throughout the entire Bible. Here's my question. Have you ever wondered? Have you ever considered why God gave us so many such illustrations? I suppose we could give one answer is so that we would not fear. Do you realize the Bible commands us to fear not over 300 times. If you have not memorized 2 Timothy 1.7, I would encourage you to do so, where the scripture says, for God hath not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind. Notice God has not given us a spirit of fear. What has God given us? He's given us the power of love and of a sound mind. So one of the reasons we could say there are so many such illustrations is so that we would not fear.

[John Weaver] Another answer would be so that we would not be disquieted, disturbed, dismayed, discouraged, and hold a defeatist attitude. I get so aggravated at some people because they are always so pessimistic, so downcast, so discouraged, so downtrodden, And you know what our Lord said in Luke chapter 12 and verse 32? Listen to what He said. Fear not, little flock. It's the Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom. Do you realize?

[John Weaver] I don't care how small we are. It is the Father's good pleasure to give us the kingdom. What does that mean? It means we are going to succeed. It does not matter how dismal, dank, dark and dangerous our surroundings are. It does not matter the circumstances. It does not matter the situation. The truth of the matter is we're always more than conquerors through our Lord Jesus Christ.

[John Weaver] Now, if you have not been jolted recently, if you have not been concerned, upset, and thoroughly confused by a number of things that is happening in this country, I just want to say this, you just really haven't been paying attention. I want to give you some things before I show you the truth of Psalm 76 in verse 5. I want to show you some truths. Some things that are happening. This is just a smattering.

[John Weaver] If I were to take everything that I've read within the last two weeks, we would probably be here for hours after hour. But here's just one illustration. Anaheim, California. And this is happening now. It has been happening for the last couple of weeks. But it is happening right now as I speak. There have been two men that have been murdered by police in Anaheim, California. The last one, I don't recall the circumstances around the first one, but the last one, was an unarmed man who was fleeing from the police.

[John Weaver] He was frightful and afraid of them. And they shot him in the back of the head and killed him. So there have been a number of protests, and I might add peaceful protests, of police brutality in Anaheim, California. You haven't heard this on the mainstream news, and I'm going to tell you why just momentarily. But let me read you this article. It's only two paragraphs. Peaceful protests around the city's police headquarters proceeded, but when a picket line along Harbor Boulevard got too close to Disneyland, something unprecedented and unnerving happened.

[John Weaver] A paramilitary police force stripped of names and badge numbers, wearing urban camouflage utilities, and outfitted with a combat load and assault rifles emerged to blockade the world-famous theme park. These police look like National Guardsmen and some have been photographed with grenade launchers, ostensibly loaded with tear gas canisters, M16A2 assault rifles, and tear gas paintball guns. They bear simple vests or patches emblazoned with police over their camo flak jackets. It looks like a military occupation and they are carrying out a directive reminiscent of urban combat in the Middle East.

[John Weaver] You're hearing this from someone who saw this sort of thing in Afghanistan. Now Alice and I watched the videos of this happening in Anaheim and you could not tell that these men in these camis were police.

[John Weaver] Now they may have had police emblazoned on the back somewhere but they look like soldiers. Some of the peaceful protesters have been charged by the police. Dogs have been unleashed upon the civilians. Women and children have been shot with rubber bullets and tear gassed.

[John Weaver] Now if that doesn't upset you, listen to this. Here's another article. Riot gear orders pile up as Department of Homeland Security and Army prepare for civil unrest. Breaking news July 30th, 2012. It's more than just stockpiling surveillance drones to spawn US citizens. The United States Army is attempting to procure an arsenal of riot gear in case the military must go toe-to-toe with civilians on United States soil. A solicitation for weapons post on the official government website for federal business opportunities reveals that the United States Army has been in the market for non-lethal equipment that it very well might be used in the United States. In a web posting made earlier this summer, the Army asked for bids regarding its request for riot shields, face masks, polycarbonate batons, and body armor.

[John Weaver] On July the 10th, they awarded the contract to A to Z Supply Corporation of Stevensville, Montana, who pledged to fulfill their request to the tune of $6,589,000. The latest inquiry from the United States Army was filed only a few weeks before. Another call for bids was published by the Department of Homeland Security. On July the 26th, the Department of Homeland Security Office of Procurement Operations also wrote on FBO.gov that they were soliciting contractors to help equip them with riot helmets, tactical gloves, shin guards, body armor, and other equipment comparable that could be used in tandem with a complex riot control system. Wow.

[John Weaver] Do you realize our own government is preparing for war with its own people. Paul Joseph Watson wrote an article last month. Some of you I'm sure read this, but here was the headline. Listen carefully. Warning shots will not be fired. A newly leaked US Army military police training manual for civil disturbance operations outlines how military assets are to be used domestically to quell riots confiscate firearms, and even kill Americans on United States soil during mass civil unrest. The document, which is dated 2006, was used for a self-learning course at the United States Army Military Police School at Fort McClellan, and it makes it clear that the operations described in the manual apply to CONUS and OCONUS, meaning inside the continental United States and outside the continental United States. and I have that document downloaded.

[John Weaver] Now my question is this, how does all this information go with your afternoon tea? I mean, who could read this and not at least be a teeny tiny bit disturbed and upset?

[John Weaver] Another question is this, why have you not heard a lot of this on the mainstream media? Why can you not turn on NBC, ABC, CBS, CCN and see all these police in Anaheim attacking these civilians? Why do you have to go to the internet to see some of these things? Why is it you're not even reading or hearing much bad information or negative material on Obama? You want to know why?

[John Weaver] One more article before we get started. This article was written by Joseph Farah and here's the title. Proof Establishment Media Controlled. There was a rather low key confession made in the New York Times last week that deserves to be blared throughout this country so that every American understands what we're reading in the establishment's ultra-controlled governmental managed press, and I use that word loosely. The admission came in the form of a story by Jeremy Peters on the politics page in New York Times on July the 6th, 16th it is.

[John Weaver] I've been waiting for others to point it out, discuss it, debate it, express shock and exasperation over it, but I've waited for naught. What this shocking story reveals is that even I, one of the kingpins of the news media, and a refugee from the state-controlled spin machine underestimated the utter and total corruption of the euphemistically called mainstream press. It shows that most, not some, members of the print media establishment with access to the White House submit their copy to governmental officials for review, correction, and approval before it reaches the American people.

[John Weaver] Here are some of the key excerpts from the piece if you think I'm exaggerating. I'm quoting now. The quotations come back redacted, stripped of colorful metaphors, colloquial language, and anything even mildly provocative. They are sent by email from the Obama headquarters in Chicago to reporters who have interviewed campaign officials under one major condition. The press office has veto power over what statements can be quoted and attributed by name. Most reporters desperate to pick the brains of the president's top strategists grudgingly agree.

[John Weaver] After the interviews, they review their notes, check their tape recorders, and send in the juiciest sound bites for review. The verdict from the campaign, an operation that prides itself on staying consistently on script, is often, no, Barack Obama does not approve this message. I'm going to skip some of this, but listen to this. Many journalists spoke about the editing only if granted only if granted that their names would not be used. Those reporters who did speak on the record said the restrictions seem only to be growing.

[John Weaver] It's not something I'm particularly proud of because there's a part of me that says don't do it, don't agree to their terms, said Major Garrett, a correspondent for the National Journal. Listen carefully. It was difficult to find a news outlet that had not agreed to quote approval, albeit reluctantly. Organizations like Bloomberg, the Washington Post, Vanity Fair, Reuters, and the New York Times have all consented to interviews under such terms. If you think you're going to get any major news on the major news networks and the major newspapers, you're mistaken. Everything is scripted. Everything has to be approved through the powers that be.

[John Weaver] Now the question is, what has all this got to do with Psalm 76 and verse 5? Go back to Psalm 76 verse 5. I want you to look at it. I want you to think about this. I'm going to show you, just momentarily, the connection. Watch this. Before I do, I'm going to give you one more quote. But notice Psalm 76, if you would please, and verse 5.

[John Weaver] The stout-hearted are spoiled. They have slept their sleep. And none of the men of might have found their hands. So what is everything I've just read to you? What does that have to do with Psalm 76 verse 5? The answer is everything. We no longer live in the days of horses, chariots, swords and spears when it comes to weaponry. We live in the age of drones and bots and lasers and mind control techniques, thermal imaging and being able to kill and be killed from hundreds and even thousands of miles away.

[John Weaver] It is very possible that we could soon find ourselves in an impossible situation. One last quote before I show you the implications and applications of Psalm 76 and verse 5. Listen to this. New Homeland Security laser scanner reads people at the molecular level. The Department of Homeland Security will soon be using a laser at airports that can detect everything about you from 160 feet away. Gizmodo reports a scanner that could read people at the molecular level has been invented. The laser-based scanner, which can be used 164 feet away, could read everything from a person's adrenaline levels to traces of gunpowder on a person's clothes to illegal substances.

[John Weaver] And it can all be done without a physical search. It could also be used on multiple people at a time, eliminating random searches at airports. The laser-based scanner is expected to be used in airports as soon as 2013, Gizmodo reports. The scanner is called a picosecond programmable laser. The device works by blasting its targets with lasers which vibrate the molecules that are then read by the machine that determined what substances a person has been exposed to. This could be Semtex explosives or the bacon and egg sandwich you had for breakfast that morning.

[John Weaver] Now, let me make a few statements. Listen carefully. The Bible and historic Christianity mean nothing to our government. The Constitution means nothing to our government. Morality means nothing to our government. Rights mean nothing to our government. Our government is only interested in control. Humanly speaking, not only as Christians, but as civilians, we have been and are outnumbered, outgunned, and we have been made outlaws. Liberty and freedom has been destroyed. And most people today are willing to trade what little liberty is left for what they think is security. As Ben Franklin said, those who would give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporal safety deserve neither liberty or safety.

[John Weaver] Now I want you to look back at Psalm 76 and verse 5. I want to start putting this together for you. Watch carefully. God says, The stout-hearted are spoiled, they have slept their sleep, and none of the men of might have found their hands. This verse refers to the strong, powerful, rapacious, and violent Assyrian army that had pillaged, plundered, and pilfered the countryside around Judea. They had now come to Jerusalem, they wanted Jerusalem, and they wanted King Hezekiah. They had conquered so many nations and so many countries, they now come to Hezekiah and Jerusalem and just simply demand their surrender without a fight. It's true Hezekiah paid some tribute, but he went no further. And the very fact that Hezekiah paid some tribute, just indicates that you cannot please the wicked. The more you give them, the more they demand. The more you give in, the more they want. And once you give in, and once you pay even a little of their demands, it signals to them weakness, and they therefore demand more and more.

[John Weaver] Now, I want you to hold Psalm 76. We're going to come right back there. But I want you to turn in your Bibles to 2 Kings chapter 18, and we're going to read a rather lengthy passage only to show you the context of Psalm 76 and verse 5. So go in your Bibles to 2 Kings chapter 18, because we're going to read about the Assyrians as they come to Jerusalem. Notice 2 Kings chapter 18, and we're going to begin reading there with verse 13. And we're going to read through chapter 19. Okay? So it's going to be a long passage. I want you to follow, because I want you to see the background. Notice, if you would, 2 Kings chapter 18, and let's begin reading with verse 13.

[John Weaver] Now, in the fourteenth year of King Hezekiah did Sennacherib, king of Assyria, come up against all the fenced cities of Judah, and took them. So now he's already got the surrounding cities. And Hezekiah king of Judah sent to the king of Assyria to Lahish, saying, I have offended. Return from me, and that which thou puttest on me will I bear. And the king of Assyria appointed Hezekiah king of Judah three hundred talents of silver and thirty talents of gold.

[John Weaver] Now I want you to watch this. Now Hezekiah was a good king, okay? He was not a reprobate. But I want you to watch what even a good king did. And Hezekiah gave him all the silver that was found in the house of the Lord and in the treasures of the king's house. Now, here's my question. If Hezekiah wanted to give away his own silver and gold, that's his business. But why did he rob the house of God? That didn't belong to Hezekiah. But he took it out of the house of God. Watch verse 16. At that time did Hezekiah cut off the gold from the doors of the temple of the Lord and from the pillars which Hezekiah king of Judah had overlaid, and gave it to the king of Assyria. And the king of Assyria sent Tartan, and Rabsarus, and Rabshaken from Lachish to king Hezekiah with a great host against Jerusalem. And they went up and came to Jerusalem.

[John Weaver] And when they were come up, they came and stood by the conduit of the upper pool, which is the highway of the fuller's field. When they had called to the king, there came out to them Eliakim, the son of Hilkiah, which was over the household, and Shebna the scribe, and Joah the son of Asaph the recorder. And Rabshakem said unto them, Speaking out of Hezekiah, Thus saith the great king, the king of Assyria, What confidence is this wherein thou trustest? Thou sayest but there but vain words.

[John Weaver] I have counsel and strength for the war. Down whom dost thou trust, but that thou rebellest against me?

[John Weaver] Now, behold, thou trustest upon this staff of this bruised reed, even upon Egypt, on which, if a man lean, it will go into his hand and pierce it. So has Pharaoh, king of Egypt, unto all that trust on him. But if you say to me, we trust in the Lord our God, is not that he whose high places and whose altars has the chias taken away? By the way, he took away those places that were idolatrous, you know. So now he's thinking that, yeah, he took away the worship of God, which he did not. and had said to Judah in Jerusalem, You shall worship before this altar in Jerusalem. Well, that's what God said.

[John Weaver] Now, therefore, I pray thee, give pledges to my Lord, the king of Assyria, and I will deliver thee two thousand horses, if thou be able on my part to set riders upon them. In other words, you want to fight? I'll give you horses if you can mount men on them. Watch verse 24. How then wilt thou turn the face of one captain of the least of my master's servants, and put thy trust on Egypt for chariots and horsemen? Am I now come up without the Lord against this place to destroy it? The Lord said unto me, Go up against this land and destroy it. Then said Eliakim, the son of Hilkiah, and Shebna, and Joab, and Rabshaken, Speak, I pray thee, to thy servants in the Syrian language, for we understand it. And talk not with us in the Jews' language in the ears of the people that are upon the wall. But Rabshaken said unto them, Hath my master sent me to thy master? and to thee to speak these words? Hath he not sent me to the men which sit upon the wall, that they may eat their own dung, and drink their own piss with you?'

[John Weaver] Then Rabshaken stood and cried with a loud voice in the Jews' language, and spake, saying, Hear the word of the great king, the king of Assyria. Thus saith the king, Let not Hezekiah deceive you, for he shall not be able to deliver you out of his hand. Neither let Hezekiah make you trust in the Lord, saying, The Lord will surely deliver us, and this city shall not be delivered. into the hand of the king of Assyria. Hearken not to Hezekiah, for thus saith the king of Assyria, Make an agreement with me by a present, and come out to me.

[John Weaver] And then eat ye every man of his own vine, and every one of his own fig tree, and drink ye every one of the waters out of his own cistern. Let me just stop there just momentarily. I want you to notice what the king of Assyria is promising. Do you know that during The power and the rule and the reign of God, God promises that every man shall sit under his own fig tree and eat of his own fruit and drink water out of his own cistern. And so here what the king is promising is a imitation of what God has promised. So the king of Assyria is saying then, I will give you I will give you what God promises if you'll worship Me." Watch this.

[John Weaver] He says in verse 32,"...until I come and take you away to a land like your own, a land of corn and wine, a land of bread and vineyards, a land of oil, olive, and honey, that you may live and not die, and hearken not to Hezekiah, when he persuadeth you, saying, The Lord will deliver us. Hath any of the gods of the nations delivered at all? his land out of the hand of the king of Assyria? Where are the gods of Hamath and Arpad? Where are the gods of Sepharvim, Hinnah, and Iva? Have they delivered Samaria out of mine hand? Who are they among all the gods of the countries that have delivered their country out of mine hand? And the Lord should deliver Jerusalem out of my hand."

[John Weaver] Now look what he's doing. He's giving them some references. He said, I've destroyed all these countries. I've destroyed all these kingdoms, all these nations. Their gods have not delivered them out of my hands. You think you're going to get out of my hand? Watch it. Verse 36, But the people held their peace, and answered him not a word. For the king's commandment was saying, Answer him not.

[John Weaver] Then came Eliakim, the son of Hilkiah, which was over the household, and Shebna the scribe, and Joab the son of Asaph the recorder, to Hezekiah with their clothes rent, and told him the words of Rabshaken. Watch. And it came to pass, When King Hezekiah heard it, that he rent his clothes, and covered himself with sackcloth, and went into the house of the Lord. And he sent Eliakim, which was over the household, and Shebna the scribe, and the elders of the priests, and covered with sackcloth to Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amoz. And they said unto him, Thus saith Hezekiah, This day is a day of trouble, and of rebuke, and blasphemy.

[John Weaver] For the children are come to birth, and there is not strength to bring forth. It may be the Lord thy God will hear all the words of Rabshakem, whom the king of Assyria, his master, had sent to reproach the living God, and will reprove the words which the Lord thy God hath heard. Wherefore, lift up thy prayer for the remnant that are left. So the servants of king Hezekiah came to Isaiah, and Isaiah said to them, Thus shall you say to your master, Thus saith the Lord, Be not afraid of the words which thou hast heard, with which the servants of the king of Assyria have blasphemed me. Behold, I will send a blast upon him, And he shall hear a rumor, and shall return to his own land, and I will cause him to fall by the sword in his own land. So Rabshaken returned and found the king of Assyria warring against Libna, for he had heard that he was departed from Laish. And when he heard say of Terhaka king of Ethiopia, Behold, he has come out to fight against thee, he sent messengers again to Hezekiah, saying, One more time, I'm trying to get you to surrender without a fight.

[John Weaver] Saying, Thus shall you speak to Hezekiah king of Judah, saying, Let not thy God in whom thou trustest deceive thee, saying, Jerusalem shall not be delivered in the hand of the king of Assyria. Behold, thou hast heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all the lands by destroying them utterly. And shalt thou be delivered? Have the gods of the nations delivered them which my fathers have destroyed as Gozan, and Haran, and Recep, and the children of Eden, and the children of Thalassar? Where is the king of Hamath, and the king of Arpad, and the king of Sepharvim, and Ahena, and Iva? And Hezekiah received the letter at the hand of the messengers, and read it. And Hezekiah went up to the house of the Lord, and spread it before the Lord. And Hezekiah prayed before the LORD and said, O LORD God of Israel, which dwelleth between the cherubim, thou art God, even thou alone. Of all the kingdoms of the earth, thou hast made heaven and earth. LORD, bow down thine ear, and hear, open, LORD, thine eyes, and see, and hear the words of Sennacherib, which hath sent him to reproach the living God of a truth LORD, the kings of Assyria, have destroyed the nations and their lands, and they have cast their gods into the fire.

[John Weaver] For they were no gods, but the work of men's hands, wood and stone. Therefore they have destroyed them.

[John Weaver] Now therefore, O Lord our God, I beseech Thee, save Thou us out of His hand, that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that Thou art the Lord God and Thou only. Then Isaiah the son of Amos sent to Hezekiah, saying, Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, That which Thou hast prayed to me against Sennacherib king of Assyria, I have heard. This is the word that the Lord hath spoken concerning him. The virgin, the daughter of Zion, hath despised thee, and laughed thee to scorn. The daughter of Jerusalem hath shaken her head at thee. Whom hast thou reproached and blasphemed? And against whom hast thou exalted thy voice, and lifted up thine eyes on high? Even against the Holy One of Israel. By thy messengers thou hast reproached the Lord, and hast said, With the multitude of thy chariots I am come up to the height of the mountains, to the sides of Lebanon, and will cut down tall cedar trees thereof, and the choice fir trees thereof.

[John Weaver] And I will enter into the lodgings of his borders, and into the forest of his carmel. I have digged and drunk strange waters, and with the sole of my feet I have dried up all the rivers of besieged places. Hast thou not heard long ago how I have done it? and of ancient times that I have formed it.

[John Weaver] Now have I brought it to pass that thou shouldest be to lay waste-fenced cities, and to ruin its heaps. Therefore their inhabitants were of small power. They were dismayed and confounded. They were as the grass of the field, and as the green herbs, and as the grass of the housetops, and as corn blasted before it had grown up. Watch what God says, But I know thy abode, and thy going out, and thy coming in, and thy rage against Me. because thy rage against me and thy tumult has come up into mine ears. Therefore will I put my hook in thy nose, and my bridle in thy lips, and I will turn thee back by the way which thou camest.

[John Weaver] And this shall be a sign unto you, you shall eat this year such things as grow of themselves, and the second year that which springeth forth the same, and the third year sow ye, and reap, and plant vineyards, and eat the fruits thereof. and the remnant that is escaped of the house of Judah shall yet again take root downward and bear fruit upward. For out of Jerusalem shall go forth a remnant, and they that shall escape out of the Mount Zion and the zeal of the Lord of hosts shall do this.

[John Weaver] Therefore thus saith the Lord concerning the king of Assyria, He shall not come into this city, nor shoot an arrow there, nor come before it with a shield, nor cast a bank about it. By the way that he came, By the same shall he return, and shall not come into this city, saith the Lord. For I will defend this city to save it for mine own sake, and for my servant David's sake. And it came to pass that night that the angel of the Lord went out, and smote in the camp of the Assyrians a hundred, fourscore, and five thousand.

[John Weaver] And when they arose early in the morning, behold, they were all dead corpses. So Sennacherib king of Assyria departed. and went and returned and dwelt at Nineveh. And it came to pass, as he was worshipping in the house of Nisroch his god, that Adrammelech and Cherezer, his sons, smote him with the sword, and they escaped in the land of Armenia, and Esarhaddon, his son, reigned in his stead."

[John Weaver] Now, here is what has happened. The Assyrian army, its officers, its generals, have come against Jerusalem. And they have come with great resolution and great courage and great determination, as well as with their impiety and blasphemy against the Lord God of heaven, as demonstrated by what Rabshakeh not only said, but what he had written as well. When you look at Psalm 76 and verse 5, when it says the stout-hearted are spoiled, the word stout-hearted here refers to this great Assyrian army. In fact, the word stout-hearted literally refers to what you and I would call the bulls, the strong ones, the valiant, the courageous.

[John Weaver] You remember General Beauregard, the first bull that I had, weighed 3,000 pounds, nice horns, I remember one time years ago coming from bow hunting at night. I'd walked, and by the time I got out of my stand and started walking back, it was just pitch black. And I was walking down the road, and lo and behold, Beauregard had heard me coming or smelled me coming. And being a pet, he had gone up to the fence line and stuck his head over the fence. And I walked, probably within a foot of him before I saw him. My heart went in my throat because all I saw was this big headed horn sticking over the fence. And then when I caught myself, I stopped and I said, Beauregard, and I reached over and started petting him.

[John Weaver] I said, you scared me to death. And then I got to thinking and I got to laughing. I thought, can you imagine somebody trying to slip up on me and then trip over him? you know, lying down or something, you know. But when you think about a bull, a big, strong, ferocious animal, that's what this word stout-hearted means. God calls them the bulls, the valiant, the courageous.

[John Weaver] These Assyrian soldiers were warriors. They were battle-hardened and they were confident. They were sure of their powers in battle and they looked forward to the spoils of war. However, in this instance, those who were looking for prey became the prey themselves. He says, the stout-hearted are spoiled. It is understood that a strong man may be robbed and spoiled by a much stronger man. However, in this instance, these strong men were turned into useless, helpless, worthless soldiers. When God spoils the stout-hearted, He turns them into Magar Misabibs. The word Magar Misabib is in the Bible, and it means terror on every hand. So when God spoils the stout-hearted, He takes away their stout heart, and He puts a heart of fear in them, and men who were formerly terrified at nothing, are now terrified by their own shadows.

[John Weaver] They're frightened by a child. They're frightened by a sound. They're frightened by a rumor. For instance, hold Psalm 76, but look back in your Bibles to 2 Kings chapter 19 and verse 7. We just read it, but I want you to see this. 2 Kings chapter 19. Watch verse 7. Look what God says. Behold, I will send a blast upon him, and he shall hear a rumor, and shall return to his own land, and I will cause him to fall by the sword in his own land." Well, what was the rumor that he heard? Well, he heard Terhaka, the king of the Ethiopians, were coming out against him. He just heard a rumor. God used a rumor to turn him. I want you to go back in your Bibles to 2 Kings chapter 7. Watch this. God doesn't even have to use a rumor. Look in 2 Kings chapter 7.

[John Weaver] And notice, if you would please, verses 6 and 7. 2 Kings 7. Notice, if you would please, verse 6. The Syrians have surrounded Samaria. They have them cut off. People are starving to death on the inside. If they go outside, the Syrian kills them. Well, look what the Bible says. 2 Kings 7, verses 6 and 7. How did God get rid of the Syrians? He says, For the Lord had made the host of the Syrians to hear a noise of chariots, and the noise of horses, even the noise of a great host. And they said one to another, Lo, the king of Israel hath hired against us the kings of the Hittites and the kings of the Egyptians to come against us. Wherefore, they arose and fled in the twilight, and left their tents and their horses and their asses, even the camp as it was, and fled for their lives." God just let them hear a sound.

[John Weaver] It was a figment of their imagination. They just thought someone was coming against them. and those who were valiant, brave, courageous warriors turned tail and run like a dog with his tail between his legs. God just destroyed the stout-hearted. I want you to see and understand how easy it is for the sovereign God of heaven and earth to quash the spirit of His enemies. When God removes their stout heart, He destroys them. They cannot function. They cannot fulfill their desires, their plans, their schemes. They're spoiled.

[John Weaver] And those who come for a prey become a prey themselves. Now, look back in Psalm 76 and verse 5. He says the stout-hearted are spoiled. They have slept their sleep. When God says they have slept their sleep, it means they're dead. They've slept their last sleep. Do you realize that God has various ways at His disposal in dealing with His enemies? First of all, He may, by His grace, regenerate them like He did Saul of Tarsus. In that instance, Saul, who was formerly an enemy, has now become a friend. So, God may regenerate them. Secondly, God may restrain His enemies, as it is told in Exodus 34 and verse 24.

[John Weaver] I want you to listen. You remember that God demanded that every Israelite male appear before Him three times a year.

[John Weaver] Now, the question is this. Oftentimes, the women and children went. They didn't have to, but usually they did. But the men had to go there. Well, remember they had conquered the land, and some of their enemies were left in the land. In fact, some of them were their servants. Here's the question. What is to stop these enemies, when the men go to Jerusalem to worship three times a year, from rising up and murdering the families that are left, and confiscating and stealing whatever is left?

[John Weaver] Listen to what God said in Exodus 34, verse 24. For I will cast out the nations before thee, and enlarge thy borders, Neither shall any man desire thy land, when thou shalt go up to appear before the Lord thy God thrice in the year." God says, I have such sovereign power and control even over the enemies and the wicked. I will fix it when you obey me. They will not even desire to have their land back. Wow! So God can regenerate His enemies. God can restrain His enemies, or thirdly, God can remove His enemies just like He did these Assyrians. They slept their sleep. They perished in their sleep and never awoke again. We're told in 2 Kings 19 and verse 35 that in one night, with one stroke of the sword, God killed 185,000 Assyrian soldiers.

[John Weaver] and the ones who awoke the next morning found all of their friends dead. Do you realize how easy it is for God to annihilate His enemies? That is why in Psalm 2 and verses 4 and 5, the Bible says, He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh, the Lord shall have them in derision, then shall He speak unto them in His wrath and vex them in His sore displeasure. God can just destroy them.

[John Weaver] I don't care how multitudinous they are. I don't care how powerful they are. I don't care the weaponry they have. God is capable of destroying His enemies and delivering His people in any impossible situation. I want to show you this. Look at it. Verse 5. I love this part. He says,"...the stout-hearted are spoiled, they have slept their sleep, and none of the men of might have found their hands." None of the men of might have found their hands.

[John Weaver] I told you this the other day. When I read this verse again, I said, man, I've got to look at that. Because I have been asleep at night, and my arms get tangled up in the cover, and you're dreaming, you know, you're tied, you can't get loose or something like that. And you wake up and boy, here's your arm all tangled up. At least you're not like the fellow who woke up thirsty and thought he'd been eating dry cereal and found out all the stuffing was going out of his pillow. But, you know, you've had experiences like that where, you know, it seems like your hands just simply do not work. Well, the Bible says, and none of the men of Midah found their hands. The Septuagint renders this, they found nothing in their hands, that is, they obtained no plunder. But Luther renders it, all the warriors must suffer their hands to fall or to fail.

[John Weaver] So the idea here is this. They had lost the use of their hands. That is, they had no use for them. They could not find any use for them. They could not make them work. They could not employ their hands for the purpose which they intended. In other words, they were absolutely stricken down. I want to read you two quotes. One is from Albert Barnes on Psalm 76 and verse 5, and one is from John Calvin. I want you to listen. Albert Barnes says, the stout-hearted are spoiled. It must be acknowledged that these two verses seem in a very particular manner to point at the miraculous destruction of Sennacherib's army when the stout-hearted who doubted not of taking and spoiling the holy city were suddenly spoiled of strength and life, they slept their sleep and found not their hands. They awakened not again to the use of their powers and faculties.

[John Weaver] A rebuking blast was sent from the God of Jacob, under which the flower of Assyria withered in the space of a night, and in the morning was no more. The horse and rider were cast into a deep sleep. They slept the sleep of death. How in a moment were the mighty fallen and the weapons of war perished! How astonishing! is the downfall of the tyrant. How complete the triumph of the daughter of Zion! Such will be the destruction of the world, such the salvation of the people of God." Can you imagine how astonishing the downfall of the tyrant in one night?

[John Weaver] And then Calvin says it like this, All the men of might have not found their hands, That is to say, they were incapable of fighting as if their hands had been maimed or cut off. In short, their strength of which they boasted was utterly overthrown. The words, they slept their sleep, refer to the same subject, implying that whereas before they were active and resolute, their hearts now failed them.

[John Weaver] They were sunk asleep in sloth and listlessness. The meaning, therefore, is this. that the enemies of the chosen people were deprived of that heroic courage of which they boasted, and which inspired them with such audacity, and that in consequence neither mind, nor heart, nor hands, nor either of their mental or bodily faculties could perform their office. We are thus taught that all the gifts and powers which men seem to possess are in the hand of God, so that He can, at any instant of time, deprive them of the wisdom which He has given them, make their hearts effeminate, render their hands unfit for war, and annihilate their whole strength." Listen, it is not without reason that both the courage and power of these enemies are magnified, the design of this being that the fateful might be led from the contrast to extol the power and the working of God.

[John Weaver] The same subject is further confirmed from the statement that the chariots and the horse are now cast into a deep sleep at the rebuke of God. This implies that whatever activity characterized these enemies, it was rendered powerless simply by the nod of God. Although therefore we may be deprived of all the created means of help, let us rest content with the favor of God alone, accounting it all sufficient, since He, has no need of great armies to repel the assaults of the whole world, but is able by the mere breath of His mouth to subdue and dissipate all assailants." Can you imagine? God just speaks the Word and they are destroyed. I want to give you just a couple of things.

[John Weaver] The first one is this, George Gordon, Lord Byron wrote a poem on the destruction of Sennacherib. I want you to listen as I read it. The Assyrian came down like the wolf on the fold, and his cohorts were gleaming in purple and gold. And the sheen of their spears was like the stars of the sea when the blue waves rolled nightly on deep Galilee. Like the leaves of the forest when summer's green, that host where their banners at sunset were seen, like the leaves of the forest when autumn hath blown, that host on the morrow laid wither and stroan.

[John Weaver] For the angel of death spread his wings on the blast, and breathed in the face of the foe as he passed. And the eyes of the sleepers waxed deadly in chill, and their hearts that once heaved forever grew still. And there lay the steed with his nostril all wide, but through it there rolled not the breath of his pride. And the foam of his gasping lay white on the turf, as cold as the spray of the rock-beating surf. And there lay the rider distorted and pale, with the dew on his brow and the rust on his mail.

[John Weaver] And the tents were all silent, the banners alone, the lances unlifted, the trumpets unblown. and the widows of Asher were loud in their wail, and the idols were broken in the temple of Baal, and the might of the Gentile unsmote by the sword hath melted like snow by the glance of the Lord." We have to learn at all times the truth of Psalm 46, and I want you to turn there. I want you to see why I preach this message. We must, at all times, trust totally in Him.

[John Weaver] For every impossible situation is only impossible with man. All things are possible with God. Look in Psalm 46. Martin Luther's favorite psalm, from which we get, a mighty fortress is our God. Notice Psalm 46 verse 1, God is our refuge and strength. A very present help in trouble. Now watch. Therefore will not we fear, though the earth be removed, though the mountains be carried in the midst of the sea, though the waters thereof roar and be troubled, though the mountains shake with the swelling thereof. There is a river, the streams whereof shall make glad the city of God, the holy place of the tabernacle of the Most High, God is in the midst of her, and she shall not be moved. God shall help her in that right early. The heathen raged. The kingdoms were moved. He uttered His voice. The earth melted.

[John Weaver] The Lord of hosts is with us. The God of Jacob is our refuge. Come, behold the works of the Lord. What desolations He hath made in the earth! He maketh wars to cease unto the end of the earth. He breaketh the bow, and cutteth the spear in sunder. He burneth the chariot in the fire. Be still! and know that I am God, I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth, the Lord of hosts is with us, the God of Jacob is our refuge. Our God is sufficient.

[John Weaver] And with Him, there are no impossible situations. It doesn't matter what circumstances exist, doesn't matter What situations we find ourselves in, we must always trust only in Him. With God, all things are possible. Father, in the name of Jesus Christ, we bow to Thee, we thank You, we praise You. We know that Thou art the sovereign God of heaven and earth. And besides Thee, Father, there is none else. We give Thee praise, we give Thee glory, we give Thee worship, we acknowledge Thy divine sovereignty, Thy power over every enemy. And we know that he that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh, the Lord shall have them in derision. And Lord, we pray that Thou wouldst indeed speak in Thy wrath and punish them in Thy divine displeasure. and bring honor and glory to thyself through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, in whose name we pray, Amen. Amen.

Impossible Situations

John Weaver | YouTube

Lecture Metadata	Details
Speaker	John Weaver
Source	YouTube
Media ID	8BtjEIRrGA0
Subject	Old Testament Studies
Course	Exodus: Bondage, Deliverance, and Passover: The Superiority of Christ
Genre	Sermon
Date	2012-11-20
Dictation Name
Book	Book 078: Exodus: Bondage, Deliverance, and Passover - Volume 1 — Chapter 19
Source Timed Segments	93

Formatted Transcript

Introduction: Impossible Situations Defined

Impossible situations are experienced by everyone, but they are only impossible by human standards; with God nothing is impossible.

Alright, let's open our Bibles today to Psalm 76. Psalm 76. We're going to read verses 5 through 8. Psalm 76. Our main text is going to be verse 5 and 6, but I want you to see it in the context. Psalm 76, beginning there with verse 5. The title of the message today is Impossible Situations. Impossible situations. Notice Psalm 76 verse 5. The stout-hearted are spoiled, they have slept their sleep, and none of the men of might have found their hands. At thy rebuke, O God of Jacob, both the chariot and the horse are cast into a dead sleep. Thou, even thou, art to be feared, and who may stand in thy sight when once thou art angry? Thou didst cause judgment to be heard from heaven, the earth feared and was still. Impossible situations are experienced by many people. In fact, probably everyone in this room and everyone that is listening to my voice could declare an impossible situation that has been experienced in their lifetime. We need to understand that impossible situations are only considered impossible by our standards and by our power because of our limitations.

Biblical Examples of Impossible Situations

Moses and the elders failed to deliver Israel, but God showed His power; at the Red Sea, God parted the waters and destroyed the Egyptians; King Asa, outnumbered, cried to God and was delivered.

With the Lord, there is absolutely nothing that is impossible. He is the God of the impossible. He is the infinite, eternal, omnipotent, omniscient, and omnipresent God. He is the great I Am. The Word of God declares in the book of Luke chapter 1 in verse 37,

Scripture Reading — Luke 1:37

"For with God nothing shall be impossible."

And then in Luke 18 and verse 27, he said, "The things which are impossible with men are possible with God." I want to take just a little while this morning and let you follow me in Scripture and let me show you just two or three impossible situations, humanly speaking, before we get started with our text. So I want you to turn in your Bibles to the book of Exodus chapter 5. Exodus chapter 5. And let's begin reading there with verse 19. This is one of my favorite texts of Scripture. And of course I say that often because I have plenty of favorite texts of Scripture. But you'll understand why when you look at this one. Notice if you would please, Exodus chapter 5, beginning there with verse 19.

Scripture Reading — Exodus 5:19-6:1

You will remember now that Moses has tried to deliver the children of Israel from Egypt. And of course, Pharaoh's answer to Moses was this, "I know not the Lord, neither will I let Israel go." And so Moses has tried and failed. Now the elders have tried. Notice Exodus chapter 5, beginning there at verse 19, "And the officers of the children of Israel did see that they were in an evil case."

After it was said, "You shall not minish aught from your bricks of your daily task." And they met Moses and Aaron, who stood in the way, as they came forth from Pharaoh. And they said unto them, "The Lord look upon you and judge, because you have made our savor to be abhorred in the eyes of Pharaoh, and in the eyes of his servants, to put a sword in their hand to slay us." And Moses said unto the Lord, "Lord, wherefore hast thou so evil entreated this people? Why is it that thou hast sent me? For since I came to Pharaoh to speak in thy name, he hath done evil to this people, neither hast thou delivered thy people at all." Now I want you to note very carefully that Moses and Aaron have done everything that God has told them to do, and they had failed. The children of Israel, that is their elders, went and appealed to Pharaoh, and he said to them, "The problem with you is you're idle. You're going to make the same number of bricks that you normally make, but this time you're going to have to gather your own straw."

And they came out, after having experienced this from Pharaoh, and they looked at Moses there and said, "The Lord look between you and us and judge. The only thing you've done is make things worse for us. We have not been delivered at all." And so Moses then falls on his face and says, "Why did you even send me? Why am I here?"

Now I want you to watch carefully. God has Moses and Aaron helpless. They've tried and failed. God has the elders of Israel helpless. They've tried and failed.

Scripture Reading — Exodus 5:19-6:1

Now look if you would please at chapter 6 and verse 1. "Then the Lord said unto Moses, Now shalt thou see what I will do to Pharaoh. For with a strong hand shall he let them go, and with a strong hand shall he drive them out of his land." God says, "Now you're going to see what I can do." In other words, Moses and Aaron and the elders found themselves in an impossible situation. They could not deliver themselves. And God says, "Now that you realize your extreme helplessness and hopelessness, you're going to see what I can do." So the impossible became possible with God. And you know the outcome, how God delivered His people and He destroyed His enemies. If you would turn over to Exodus chapter 14, let me show you a second impossible situation.

You are aware of this. But Exodus chapter 14, and let's begin reading there with verse 1. Of course, the children of Israel now have marched out of Egypt, and they've gotten to a place where it looks as if they're cornered. Exodus 14 verse 1,

Scripture Reading — Exodus 14:1-31

"And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel that they turn and encamp before Pi-hahiroth, between Migdol and the sea, over against Baal-zephon: before it shall ye encamp by the sea. For Pharaoh will say of the children of Israel, They are entangled in the land, the wilderness hath shut them in." "And I will harden Pharaoh's heart, and he shall follow after them; and I will be honored upon Pharaoh, and upon all his host; that the Egyptians may know that I am the Lord. And they did so."

I want you to know two things. Number one, God says, "I'm going to be honored upon Pharaoh and all of his hosts." How was he honored? In justice. And he says, "They shall know that I'm the Lord." How did they know that God was the Lord? When he struck them in his justice. Watch verse five.

Scripture Reading — Exodus 14:1-31

"And it was told the king of Egypt that the people fled: and the heart of Pharaoh and of his servants was turned against the people."

"And they said, Why have we done this, that we have let Israel go from serving us? And he made ready his chariot, and took his people with him. And he took six hundred chosen chariots, and all the chariots of Egypt, and captains over every one of them. And the Lord hardened the heart of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and he pursued after the children of Israel: and the children of Israel went out with an high hand. But the Egyptians pursued after them, all the horses and chariots of Pharaoh, and his horsemen, and his army, and overtook them encamping by the sea, beside Pi-hahiroth, before Baal-zephon. And when Pharaoh drew nigh, the children of Israel lifted up their eyes, and, behold, the Egyptians marched after them; and they were sore afraid: and the children of Israel cried out unto the Lord. And they said unto Moses, Because there were no graves in Egypt, hast thou taken us away to die in the wilderness? wherefore hast thou dealt thus with us, to carry us forth out of Egypt?"

"Is not this the word that we did tell thee in Egypt, saying, Let us alone, that we may serve the Egyptians? For it had been better for us to serve the Egyptians, than that we should die in the wilderness. And Moses said unto the people, Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord, which he will shew to you to day: for the Egyptians whom ye have seen to day, ye shall see them again no more for ever. The Lord shall fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace." In other words, just shut up and watch. "And the Lord said unto Moses, Wherefore criest thou unto me? speak unto the children of Israel, that they go forward: But lift thou up thy rod, and stretch out thine hand over the sea, and divide it: and the children of Israel shall go on dry ground through the midst of the sea."

Now, I want you to note something. If you would, watch verse 17. "And I, behold, I will harden the hearts of the Egyptians, and they shall follow them: and I will get me honor upon Pharaoh, and upon all his host, upon his chariots, and upon his horsemen. And the Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord, when I have gotten me honor upon Pharaoh, upon his chariots, and upon his horsemen." Now, you know the story. Israel is entangled in the wilderness, so to speak. Red Sea is in front of them. Mountains and deserts on either side. And Pharaoh is coming on strong. And so they begin to look at Moses and said, "What in the world are we going to do? We're trapped. We're like animals. We're in a cage. We're sitting ducks. And here's what's going to happen. They're going to come upon us and kill us."

"Would it not have been right for you to have just heeded our words and left us alone and let us stay in our slavery and stay in our bondage and serve the Egyptians. Why did you bring us out here today? There's graves plenty in Egypt. What are we going to do?" And what did God say? "Stand still and see the salvation of the Lord. Just shut up." And God directed Moses and he raised that rod and the sea parted hither and thither. And you know what happened? The children of Israel went across on dry ground. And when those Egyptians came in behind them, God closed the water upon them. And they all drowned. An impossible situation became possible with God. And in that impossible situation, God destroyed His enemies and delivered His people.

Now, I want you to think about this. In every situation that I've given you so far, in an impossible situation, God always destroys His enemies and delivers His people. Let me give you one more. I want you to turn in your Bibles to 2 Chronicles chapter 14. 2 Chronicles chapter 14. I want you to see, in 2 Chronicles chapter 14, this impossible situation. And you can ask yourself, if you were Asa, would you not be doing exactly the same thing that King Asa did? Notice 2 Chronicles chapter 14, and let's begin reading there with verse 1. 2 Chronicles chapter 14, beginning there with verse 1.

The Bible says, "So Abijah slept with his fathers, and they buried him in the city of David: and Asa his son reigned in his stead. In his days the land was quiet ten years. And Asa did that which was good and right in the eyes of the Lord his God: For he took away the altars of the strange gods, and the high places, and brake down the images, and cut down the groves: And commanded Judah to seek the Lord God of their fathers, and to do the law and the commandment. Also he took away out of all the cities of Judah the high places and the images: and the kingdom was quiet before him. And he built fenced cities in Judah: for the land had rest, and he had no war in those years; because the Lord had given him rest. Therefore he said unto Judah, Let us build these cities, and make about them walls, and towers, gates, and bars, while the land is yet before us; because we have sought the Lord our God, we have sought him, and he hath given us rest on every side."

So they built and prospered. "And Asa had an army of men that bare targets and spears, out of Judah three hundred thousand; and out of Benjamin, that bare shields and drew bows, two hundred and fourscore thousand: all these were mighty men of valor." Now watch. He has 580,000 fighting men. But watch verse 9. "And there came out against them Zerah the Ethiopian with an host of a thousand thousand, and three hundred chariots; and came unto Mareshah. Then Asa went out against him, and they set the battle in array in the valley of Zephathah at Mareshah. And Asa cried unto the Lord his God, and said, Lord, it is nothing with thee to help, whether with many, or with them that have no power: help us, O Lord our God; for we rest on thee, and in thy name we go against this multitude. O Lord, thou art our God; let not man prevail against thee. So the Lord smote the Ethiopians before Asa, and before Judah; and the Ethiopians fled. And Asa and the people that were with him pursued them unto Gerar: and the Ethiopians were overthrown, that they could not recover themselves; for they were destroyed before the Lord, and before his host; and they carried away very much spoil."

"And they smote all the cities round about Gerar; for the fear of the Lord came upon them: and they spoiled all the cities; for there was exceeding much spoil in them. They smote also the tents of cattle, and carried away sheep and camels in abundance, and returned to Jerusalem." Now I want you to note this, Asa with 580,000 men is now facing the Ethiopians with a million men and 300 chariots. Now not only was Asa outnumbered 2 to 1 basically, but you stop and think 300 chariots. Chariots would have been considered the tanks in those days. And so Asa then with his 300 tanks was ready to wreak havoc upon Judah and upon Jerusalem. And when Asa saw how outnumbered he was, and how outgunned he was, he cried to the Lord and said, "Lord, You can help, and it doesn't matter whether You help those who have no strength at all. Help us, O God, because we trust in Thee." Do you realize in this instance, God delivered His people and destroyed His enemies.

Why So Many Illustrations?

God gave many examples so we would not fear, be discouraged, or hold a defeatist attitude; it is the Father's good pleasure to give us the kingdom.

Now I could multiply illustrations like this there throughout the entire Bible. Here's my question. Have you ever wondered? Have you ever considered why God gave us so many such illustrations? I suppose we could give one answer is so that we would not fear. Do you realize the Bible commands us to fear not over 300 times. If you have not memorized 2 Timothy 1:7, I would encourage you to do so, where the scripture says,

Scripture Reading — 2 Timothy 1:7

"For God hath not given us a spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind."

Notice God has not given us a spirit of fear. What has God given us? He's given us the power of love and of a sound mind. So one of the reasons we could say there are so many such illustrations is so that we would not fear.

Another answer would be so that we would not be disquieted, disturbed, dismayed, discouraged, and hold a defeatist attitude. I get so aggravated at some people because they are always so pessimistic, so downcast, so discouraged, so downtrodden. And you know what our Lord said in Luke chapter 12 and verse 32? Listen to what He said.

Scripture Reading — Luke 12:32

"Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom."

Do you realize? I don't care how small we are. It is the Father's good pleasure to give us the kingdom. What does that mean? It means we are going to succeed. It does not matter how dismal, dank, dark and dangerous our surroundings are. It does not matter the circumstances. It does not matter the situation. The truth of the matter is we're always more than conquerors through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Current Events: Government Overreach and Media Control

Examples of police militarization, DHS and Army preparing for civil unrest, and mainstream media submitting stories for government approval show we may face impossible situations.

Now, if you have not been jolted recently, if you have not been concerned, upset, and thoroughly confused by a number of things that is happening in this country, I just want to say this, you just really haven't been paying attention. I want to give you some things before I show you the truth of Psalm 76 in verse 5. I want to show you some truths. Some things that are happening. This is just a smattering. If I were to take everything that I've read within the last two weeks, we would probably be here for hours after hour. But here's just one illustration. Anaheim, California. And this is happening now. It has been happening for the last couple of weeks. But it is happening right now as I speak. There have been two men that have been murdered by police in Anaheim, California. The last one, I don't recall the circumstances around the first one, but the last one, was an unarmed man who was fleeing from the police.

He was frightful and afraid of them. And they shot him in the back of the head and killed him. So there have been a number of protests, and I might add peaceful protests, of police brutality in Anaheim, California. You haven't heard this on the mainstream news, and I'm going to tell you why just momentarily. But let me read you this article. It's only two paragraphs. "Peaceful protests around the city's police headquarters proceeded, but when a picket line along Harbor Boulevard got too close to Disneyland, something unprecedented and unnerving happened."

"A paramilitary police force stripped of names and badge numbers, wearing urban camouflage utilities, and outfitted with a combat load and assault rifles emerged to blockade the world-famous theme park. These police look like National Guardsmen and some have been photographed with grenade launchers, ostensibly loaded with tear gas canisters, M16A2 assault rifles, and tear gas paintball guns. They bear simple vests or patches emblazoned with police over their camo flak jackets. It looks like a military occupation and they are carrying out a directive reminiscent of urban combat in the Middle East." "You're hearing this from someone who saw this sort of thing in Afghanistan." Now Alice and I watched the videos of this happening in Anaheim and you could not tell that these men in these camis were police.

Now they may have had police emblazoned on the back somewhere but they look like soldiers. Some of the peaceful protesters have been charged by the police. Dogs have been unleashed upon the civilians. Women and children have been shot with rubber bullets and tear gassed.

Now if that doesn't upset you, listen to this. Here's another article. "Riot gear orders pile up as Department of Homeland Security and Army prepare for civil unrest. Breaking news July 30th, 2012. It's more than just stockpiling surveillance drones to spawn US citizens. The United States Army is attempting to procure an arsenal of riot gear in case the military must go toe-to-toe with civilians on United States soil. A solicitation for weapons post on the official government website for federal business opportunities reveals that the United States Army has been in the market for non-lethal equipment that it very well might be used in the United States. In a web posting made earlier this summer, the Army asked for bids regarding its request for riot shields, face masks, polycarbonate batons, and body armor."

"On July the 10th, they awarded the contract to A to Z Supply Corporation of Stevensville, Montana, who pledged to fulfill their request to the tune of $6,589,000. The latest inquiry from the United States Army was filed only a few weeks before. Another call for bids was published by the Department of Homeland Security. On July the 26th, the Department of Homeland Security Office of Procurement Operations also wrote on FBO.gov that they were soliciting contractors to help equip them with riot helmets, tactical gloves, shin guards, body armor, and other equipment comparable that could be used in tandem with a complex riot control system." Wow. Do you realize our own government is preparing for war with its own people. Paul Joseph Watson wrote an article last month. Some of you I'm sure read this, but here was the headline. Listen carefully. "Warning shots will not be fired. A newly leaked US Army military police training manual for civil disturbance operations outlines how military assets are to be used domestically to quell riots confiscate firearms, and even kill Americans on United States soil during mass civil unrest. The document, which is dated 2006, was used for a self-learning course at the United States Army Military Police School at Fort McClellan, and it makes it clear that the operations described in the manual apply to CONUS and OCONUS, meaning inside the continental United States and outside the continental United States." And I have that document downloaded.

Now my question is this, how does all this information go with your afternoon tea? I mean, who could read this and not at least be a teeny tiny bit disturbed and upset? Another question is this, why have you not heard a lot of this on the mainstream media? Why can you not turn on NBC, ABC, CBS, CNN and see all these police in Anaheim attacking these civilians? Why do you have to go to the internet to see some of these things? Why is it you're not even reading or hearing much bad information or negative material on Obama? You want to know why?

One more article before we get started. This article was written by Joseph Farah and here's the title. "Proof Establishment Media Controlled. There was a rather low key confession made in the New York Times last week that deserves to be blared throughout this country so that every American understands what we're reading in the establishment's ultra-controlled governmental managed press, and I use that word loosely. The admission came in the form of a story by Jeremy Peters on the politics page in New York Times on July the 16th it is." "I've been waiting for others to point it out, discuss it, debate it, express shock and exasperation over it, but I've waited for naught. What this shocking story reveals is that even I, one of the kingpins of the news media, and a refugee from the state-controlled spin machine underestimated the utter and total corruption of the euphemistically called mainstream press. It shows that most, not some, members of the print media establishment with access to the White House submit their copy to governmental officials for review, correction, and approval before it reaches the American people."

"Here are some of the key excerpts from the piece if you think I'm exaggerating. I'm quoting now. The quotations come back redacted, stripped of colorful metaphors, colloquial language, and anything even mildly provocative. They are sent by email from the Obama headquarters in Chicago to reporters who have interviewed campaign officials under one major condition. The press office has veto power over what statements can be quoted and attributed by name. Most reporters desperate to pick the brains of the president's top strategists grudgingly agree." "After the interviews, they review their notes, check their tape recorders, and send in the juiciest sound bites for review. The verdict from the campaign, an operation that prides itself on staying consistently on script, is often, no, Barack Obama does not approve this message." I'm going to skip some of this, but listen to this. "Many journalists spoke about the editing only if granted that their names would not be used. Those reporters who did speak on the record said the restrictions seem only to be growing."

"It's not something I'm particularly proud of because there's a part of me that says don't do it, don't agree to their terms," said Major Garrett, a correspondent for the National Journal. Listen carefully. "It was difficult to find a news outlet that had not agreed to quote approval, albeit reluctantly. Organizations like Bloomberg, the Washington Post, Vanity Fair, Reuters, and the New York Times have all consented to interviews under such terms." If you think you're going to get any major news on the major news networks and the major newspapers, you're mistaken. Everything is scripted. Everything has to be approved through the powers that be.

Now the question is, what has all this got to do with Psalm 76 and verse 5? Go back to Psalm 76 verse 5. I want you to look at it. I want you to think about this. I'm going to show you, just momentarily, the connection. Watch this. Before I do, I'm going to give you one more quote. But notice Psalm 76, if you would please, and verse 5.

"The stout-hearted are spoiled. They have slept their sleep. And none of the men of might have found their hands." So what is everything I've just read to you? What does that have to do with Psalm 76 verse 5? The answer is everything. We no longer live in the days of horses, chariots, swords and spears when it comes to weaponry. We live in the age of drones and bots and lasers and mind control techniques, thermal imaging and being able to kill and be killed from hundreds and even thousands of miles away.

Psalm 76:5 and the Assyrian Threat

The stout-hearted Assyrian army, confident and powerful, was spoiled by God; they slept their sleep and could not use their hands, illustrating God's easy destruction of enemies.

It is very possible that we could soon find ourselves in an impossible situation. One last quote before I show you the implications and applications of Psalm 76 and verse 5. Listen to this. "New Homeland Security laser scanner reads people at the molecular level. The Department of Homeland Security will soon be using a laser at airports that can detect everything about you from 160 feet away. Gizmodo reports a scanner that could read people at the molecular level has been invented. The laser-based scanner, which can be used 164 feet away, could read everything from a person's adrenaline levels to traces of gunpowder on a person's clothes to illegal substances."

"And it can all be done without a physical search. It could also be used on multiple people at a time, eliminating random searches at airports. The laser-based scanner is expected to be used in airports as soon as 2013, Gizmodo reports. The scanner is called a picosecond programmable laser. The device works by blasting its targets with lasers which vibrate the molecules that are then read by the machine that determined what substances a person has been exposed to. This could be Semtex explosives or the bacon and egg sandwich you had for breakfast that morning."

Now, let me make a few statements. Listen carefully. The Bible and historic Christianity mean nothing to our government. The Constitution means nothing to our government. Morality means nothing to our government. Rights mean nothing to our government. Our government is only interested in control. Humanly speaking, not only as Christians, but as civilians, we have been and are outnumbered, outgunned, and we have been made outlaws. Liberty and freedom has been destroyed. And most people today are willing to trade what little liberty is left for what they think is security. As Ben Franklin said, "Those who would give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporal safety deserve neither liberty nor safety."

Now I want you to look back at Psalm 76 and verse 5. I want to start putting this together for you. Watch carefully. God says, "The stout-hearted are spoiled, they have slept their sleep, and none of the men of might have found their hands." This verse refers to the strong, powerful, rapacious, and violent Assyrian army that had pillaged, plundered, and pilfered the countryside around Judea. They had now come to Jerusalem, they wanted Jerusalem, and they wanted King Hezekiah. They had conquered so many nations and so many countries, they now come to Hezekiah and Jerusalem and just simply demand their surrender without a fight. It's true Hezekiah paid some tribute, but he went no further. And the very fact that Hezekiah paid some tribute, just indicates that you cannot please the wicked. The more you give them, the more they demand. The more you give in, the more they want. And once you give in, and once you pay even a little of their demands, it signals to them weakness, and they therefore demand more and more.

Now, I want you to hold Psalm 76. We're going to come right back there. But I want you to turn in your Bibles to 2 Kings chapter 18, and we're going to read a rather lengthy passage only to show you the context of Psalm 76 and verse 5. So go in your Bibles to 2 Kings chapter 18, because we're going to read about the Assyrians as they come to Jerusalem. Notice 2 Kings chapter 18, and we're going to begin reading there with verse 13. And we're going to read through chapter 19. Okay? So it's going to be a long passage. I want you to follow, because I want you to see the background. Notice, if you would, 2 Kings chapter 18, and let's begin reading with verse 13.

"Now in the fourteenth year of king Hezekiah did Sennacherib king of Assyria come up against all the fenced cities of Judah, and took them." So now he's already got the surrounding cities. "And Hezekiah king of Judah sent to the king of Assyria to Lachish, saying, I have offended; return from me: that which thou puttest on me will I bear. And the king of Assyria appointed unto Hezekiah king of Judah three hundred talents of silver and thirty talents of gold." Now I want you to watch this. Now Hezekiah was a good king, okay? He was not a reprobate. But I want you to watch what even a good king did. "And Hezekiah gave him all the silver that was found in the house of the Lord, and in the treasures of the king's house." Now, here's my question. If Hezekiah wanted to give away his own silver and gold, that's his business. But why did he rob the house of God? That didn't belong to Hezekiah. But he took it out of the house of God. Watch verse 16. "At that time did Hezekiah cut off the gold from the doors of the temple of the Lord, and from the pillars which Hezekiah king of Judah had overlaid, and gave it to the king of Assyria. And the king of Assyria sent Tartan and Rabsaris and Rabshakeh from Lachish to king Hezekiah with a great host against Jerusalem. And they went up and came to Jerusalem."

"And when they were come up, they came and stood by the conduit of the upper pool, which is in the highway of the fuller's field. And when they had called to the king, there came out to them Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, which was over the household, and Shebna the scribe, and Joah the son of Asaph the recorder. And Rabshakeh said unto them, Speak ye now to Hezekiah, Thus saith the great king, the king of Assyria, What confidence is this wherein thou trustest? Thou sayest, (but they are but vain words,) I have counsel and strength for the war. Now on whom dost thou trust, that thou rebellest against me?" "I have counsel and strength for the war. Now on whom dost thou trust, that thou rebellest against me?"

"Now, behold, thou trustest upon the staff of this bruised reed, even upon Egypt, on which if a man lean, it will go into his hand, and pierce it: so is Pharaoh king of Egypt unto all that trust on him. But if ye say unto me, We trust in the Lord our God: is not that he, whose high places and whose altars Hezekiah hath taken away, and hath said to Judah and Jerusalem, Ye shall worship before this altar in Jerusalem?" By the way, he took away those places that were idolatrous, you know. So now he's thinking that, yeah, he took away the worship of God, which he did not. And had said to Judah and Jerusalem, "You shall worship before this altar in Jerusalem." Well, that's what God said. "Now therefore, I pray thee, give pledges to my lord the king of Assyria, and I will deliver thee two thousand horses, if thou be able on thy part to set riders upon them." In other words, you want to fight? I'll give you horses if you can mount men on them. Watch verse 24. "How then wilt thou turn away the face of one captain of the least of my master's servants, and put thy trust on Egypt for chariots and for horsemen? Am I now come up without the Lord against this place to destroy it? The Lord said to me, Go up against this land, and destroy it. Then said Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, and Shebna, and Joah, unto Rabshakeh, Speak, I pray thee, to thy servants in the Syrian language; for we understand it: and talk not with us in the Jews' language in the ears of the people that are on the wall. But Rabshakeh said unto them, Hath my master sent me to thy master, and to thee, to speak these words? hath he not sent me to the men which sit on the wall, that they may eat their own dung, and drink their own piss with you?"

"Then Rabshakeh stood and cried with a loud voice in the Jews' language, and spake, saying, Hear the word of the great king, the king of Assyria: Thus saith the king, Let not Hezekiah deceive you: for he shall not be able to deliver you out of his hand: Neither let Hezekiah make you trust in the Lord, saying, The Lord will surely deliver us, and this city shall not be delivered into the hand of the king of Assyria. Hearken not to Hezekiah: for thus saith the king of Assyria, Make an agreement with me by a present, and come out to me." "And then eat ye every man of his own vine, and every one of his fig tree, and drink ye every one the waters of his own cistern." Let me just stop there just momentarily. I want you to notice what the king of Assyria is promising. Do you know that during the power and the rule and the reign of God, God promises that every man shall sit under his own fig tree and eat of his own fruit and drink water out of his own cistern. And so here what the king is promising is a imitation of what God has promised. So the king of Assyria is saying then, "I will give you what God promises if you'll worship Me." Watch this.

He says in verse 32, "Until I come and take you away to a land like your own land, a land of corn and wine, a land of bread and vineyards, a land of oil olive and of honey, that ye may live, and not die: and hearken not unto Hezekiah, when he persuadeth you, saying, The Lord will deliver us. Hath any of the gods of the nations delivered at all his land out of the hand of the king of Assyria? Where are the gods of Hamath, and of Arpad? where are the gods of Sepharvaim, Hena, and Ivah? have they delivered Samaria out of mine hand? Who are they among all the gods of the countries, that have delivered their country out of mine hand, that the Lord should deliver Jerusalem out of mine hand?"

Now look what he's doing. He's giving them some references. He said, "I've destroyed all these countries. I've destroyed all these kingdoms, all these nations. Their gods have not delivered them out of my hands. You think you're going to get out of my hand?" Watch it. Verse 36, "But the people held their peace, and answered him not a word: for the king's commandment was, saying, Answer him not."

"Then came Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, which was over the household, and Shebna the scribe, and Joah the son of Asaph the recorder, to Hezekiah with their clothes rent, and told him the words of Rabshakeh. And it came to pass, when king Hezekiah heard it, that he rent his clothes, and covered himself with sackcloth, and went into the house of the Lord. And he sent Eliakim, which was over the household, and Shebna the scribe, and the elders of the priests, covered with sackcloth, to Isaiah the prophet the son of Amoz. And they said unto him, Thus saith Hezekiah, This day is a day of trouble, and of rebuke, and blasphemy." "For the children are come to the birth, and there is not strength to bring forth. It may be the Lord thy God will hear all the words of Rabshakeh, whom the king of Assyria his master hath sent to reproach the living God; and will reprove the words which the Lord thy God hath heard: wherefore lift up thy prayer for the remnant that are left. So the servants of king Hezekiah came to Isaiah. And Isaiah said unto them, Thus shall ye say to your master, Thus saith the Lord, Be not afraid of the words which thou hast heard, with which the servants of the king of Assyria have blasphemed me. Behold, I will send a blast upon him, and he shall hear a rumour, and shall return to his own land; and I will cause him to fall by the sword in his own land. So Rabshakeh returned, and found the king of Assyria warring against Libnah: for he had heard that he was departed from Lachish. And when he heard say of Tirhakah king of Ethiopia, Behold, he is come out to fight against thee: he sent messengers again unto Hezekiah, saying, One more time, I'm trying to get you to surrender without a fight."

"Saying, Thus shall ye speak to Hezekiah king of Judah, saying, Let not thy God in whom thou trustest deceive thee, saying, Jerusalem shall not be delivered into the hand of the king of Assyria. Behold, thou hast heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all lands, by destroying them utterly: and shalt thou be delivered? Have the gods of the nations delivered them which my fathers have destroyed; as Gozan, and Haran, and Rezeph, and the children of Eden which were in Thelasar? Where is the king of Hamath, and the king of Arpad, and the king of the city of Sepharvaim, of Hena, and Ivah? And Hezekiah received the letter of the hand of the messengers, and read it: and Hezekiah went up into the house of the Lord, and spread it before the Lord. And Hezekiah prayed before the Lord, and said, O Lord God of Israel, which dwellest between the cherubims, thou art the God, even thou alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth; thou hast made heaven and earth. Lord, bow down thine ear, and hear: open, Lord, thine eyes, and see: and hear the words of Sennacherib, which hath sent him to reproach the living God. Of a truth, Lord, the kings of Assyria have destroyed the nations and their lands, And have cast their gods into the fire."

"For they were no gods, but the work of men's hands, wood and stone: therefore they have destroyed them." "Now therefore, O Lord our God, I beseech thee, save thou us out of his hand, that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that thou art the Lord God, even thou only. Then Isaiah the son of Amoz sent to Hezekiah, saying, Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, That which thou hast prayed to me against Sennacherib king of Assyria I have heard. This is the word that the Lord hath spoken concerning him; The virgin the daughter of Zion hath despised thee, and laughed thee to scorn; the daughter of Jerusalem hath shaken her head at thee. Whom hast thou reproached and blasphemed? and against whom hast thou exalted thy voice, and lifted up thine eyes on high? even against the Holy One of Israel. By thy messengers thou hast reproached the Lord, and hast said, With the multitude of my chariots I am come up to the height of the mountains, to the sides of Lebanon, and will cut down the tall cedar trees thereof, and the choice fir trees thereof."

"And I will enter into the lodgings of his borders, and into the forest of his Carmel. I have digged and drunk strange waters, and with the sole of my feet have I dried up all the rivers of besieged places. Hast thou not heard long ago how I have done it, and of ancient times that I have formed it?" "Now have I brought it to pass, that thou shouldest be to lay waste fenced cities into ruinous heaps. Therefore their inhabitants were of small power, they were dismayed and confounded; they were as the grass of the field, and as the green herb, as the grass on the housetops, and as corn blasted before it be grown up. But I know thy abode, and thy going out, and thy coming in, and thy rage against me. Because thy rage against me and thy tumult is come up into mine ears, therefore I will put my hook in thy nose, and my bridle in thy lips, and I will turn thee back by the way by which thou camest."

"And this shall be a sign unto thee, Ye shall eat this year such things as grow of themselves, and in the second year that which springeth of the same; and in the third year sow ye, and reap, and plant vineyards, and eat the fruits thereof. And the remnant that is escaped of the house of Judah shall yet again take root downward, and bear fruit upward. For out of Jerusalem shall go forth a remnant, and they that escape out of mount Zion: the zeal of the Lord of hosts shall do this." "Therefore thus saith the Lord concerning the king of Assyria, He shall not come into this city, nor shoot an arrow there, nor come before it with shield, nor cast a bank against it. By the way that he came, by the same shall he return, and shall not come into this city, saith the Lord. For I will defend this city, to save it, for mine own sake, and for my servant David's sake. And it came to pass that night, that the angel of the Lord went out, and smote in the camp of the Assyrians an hundred fourscore and five thousand."

"And when they arose early in the morning, behold, they were all dead corpses. So Sennacherib king of Assyria departed, and went and returned, and dwelt at Nineveh. And it came to pass, as he was worshipping in the house of Nisroch his god, that Adrammelech and Sharezer his sons smote him with the sword: and they escaped into the land of Armenia. And Esarhaddon his son reigned in his stead."

Now, here is what has happened. The Assyrian army, its officers, its generals, have come against Jerusalem. And they have come with great resolution and great courage and great determination, as well as with their impiety and blasphemy against the Lord God of heaven, as demonstrated by what Rabshakeh not only said, but what he had written as well. When you look at Psalm 76 and verse 5, when it says "the stout-hearted are spoiled," the word stout-hearted here refers to this great Assyrian army. In fact, the word stout-hearted literally refers to what you and I would call the bulls, the strong ones, the valiant, the courageous.

God's Methods of Dealing with Enemies

God may regenerate, restrain, or remove His enemies; He can turn the stout-hearted into terrified men, as seen with the Assyrians and Syrians.

You remember General Beauregard, the first bull that I had, weighed 3,000 pounds, nice horns, I remember one time years ago coming from bow hunting at night. I'd walked, and by the time I got out of my stand and started walking back, it was just pitch black. And I was walking down the road, and lo and behold, Beauregard had heard me coming or smelled me coming. And being a pet, he had gone up to the fence line and stuck his head over the fence. And I walked, probably within a foot of him before I saw him. My heart went in my throat because all I saw was this big headed horn sticking over the fence. And then when I caught myself, I stopped and I said, "Beauregard," and I reached over and started petting him.

I said, "You scared me to death." And then I got to thinking and I got to laughing. I thought, can you imagine somebody trying to slip up on me and then trip over him? You know, lying down or something, you know. But when you think about a bull, a big, strong, ferocious animal, that's what this word stout-hearted means. God calls them the bulls, the valiant, the courageous. These Assyrian soldiers were warriors. They were battle-hardened and they were confident. They were sure of their powers in battle and they looked forward to the spoils of war. However, in this instance, those who were looking for prey became the prey themselves. He says, "the stout-hearted are spoiled." It is understood that a strong man may be robbed and spoiled by a much stronger man. However, in this instance, these strong men were turned into useless, helpless, worthless soldiers. When God spoils the stout-hearted, He turns them into Magor-missabib. The word Magor-missabib is in the Bible, and it means terror on every hand. So when God spoils the stout-hearted, He takes away their stout heart, and He puts a heart of fear in them, and men who were formerly terrified at nothing, are now terrified by their own shadows.

They're frightened by a child. They're frightened by a sound. They're frightened by a rumor. For instance, hold Psalm 76, but look back in your Bibles to 2 Kings chapter 19 and verse 7. We just read it, but I want you to see this. 2 Kings chapter 19. Watch verse 7. Look what God says.

Scripture Reading — 2 Kings 19:7

"Behold, I will send a blast upon him, and he shall hear a rumour, and shall return to his own land; and I will cause him to fall by the sword in his own land."

Well, what was the rumor that he heard? Well, he heard Tirhakah, the king of the Ethiopians, were coming out against him. He just heard a rumor. God used a rumor to turn him. I want you to go back in your Bibles to 2 Kings chapter 7. Watch this. God doesn't even have to use a rumor. Look in 2 Kings chapter 7.

And notice, if you would please, verses 6 and 7. 2 Kings 7. Notice, if you would please, verse 6. The Syrians have surrounded Samaria. They have them cut off. People are starving to death on the inside. If they go outside, the Syrian kills them. Well, look what the Bible says. 2 Kings 7, verses 6 and 7. How did God get rid of the Syrians? He says,

Scripture Reading — 2 Kings 7:6-7

"For the Lord had made the host of the Syrians to hear a noise of chariots, and a noise of horses, even the noise of a great host: and they said one to another, Lo, the king of Israel hath hired against us the kings of the Hittites, and the kings of the Egyptians, to come upon us. Wherefore they arose and fled in the twilight, and left their tents, and their horses, and their asses, even the camp as it was, and fled for their life."

God just let them hear a sound.

It was a figment of their imagination. They just thought someone was coming against them. And those who were valiant, brave, courageous warriors turned tail and run like a dog with his tail between his legs. God just destroyed the stout-hearted. I want you to see and understand how easy it is for the sovereign God of heaven and earth to quash the spirit of His enemies. When God removes their stout heart, He destroys them. They cannot function. They cannot fulfill their desires, their plans, their schemes. They're spoiled.

And those who come for a prey become a prey themselves. Now, look back in Psalm 76 and verse 5. He says "the stout-hearted are spoiled. They have slept their sleep." When God says "they have slept their sleep," it means they're dead. They've slept their last sleep. Do you realize that God has various ways at His disposal in dealing with His enemies? First of all, He may, by His grace, regenerate them like He did Saul of Tarsus. In that instance, Saul, who was formerly an enemy, has now become a friend. So, God may regenerate them. Secondly, God may restrain His enemies, as it is told in Exodus 34 and verse 24.

I want you to listen. You remember that God demanded that every Israelite male appear before Him three times a year. Now, the question is this. Oftentimes, the women and children went. They didn't have to, but usually they did. But the men had to go there. Well, remember they had conquered the land, and some of their enemies were left in the land. In fact, some of them were their servants. Here's the question. What is to stop these enemies, when the men go to Jerusalem to worship three times a year, from rising up and murdering the families that are left, and confiscating and stealing whatever is left?

Listen to what God said in Exodus 34, verse 24.

Scripture Reading — Exodus 34:24

"For I will cast out the nations before thee, and enlarge thy borders: neither shall any man desire thy land, when thou shalt go up to appear before the Lord thy God thrice in the year."

God says, "I have such sovereign power and control even over the enemies and the wicked. I will fix it when you obey me. They will not even desire to have their land back." Wow! So God can regenerate His enemies. God can restrain His enemies, or thirdly, God can remove His enemies just like He did these Assyrians. They slept their sleep. They perished in their sleep and never awoke again. We're told in 2 Kings 19 and verse 35 that in one night, with one stroke of the sword, God killed 185,000 Assyrian soldiers.

And the ones who awoke the next morning found all of their friends dead. Do you realize how easy it is for God to annihilate His enemies? That is why in Psalm 2 and verses 4 and 5, the Bible says,

Scripture Reading — Psalm 2:4-5

"He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh: the Lord shall have them in derision. Then shall he speak unto them in his wrath, and vex them in his sore displeasure."

God can just destroy them. I don't care how multitudinous they are. I don't care how powerful they are. I don't care the weaponry they have. God is capable of destroying His enemies and delivering His people in any impossible situation. I want to show you this. Look at it. Verse 5. I love this part. He says, "...the stout-hearted are spoiled, they have slept their sleep, and none of the men of might have found their hands." None of the men of might have found their hands.

The Meaning of 'None of the Men of Might Have Found Their Hands'

The Assyrian warriors lost the use of their hands, rendered powerless by God; commentators Barnes and Calvin emphasize God's sovereign control over all human strength.

I told you this the other day. When I read this verse again, I said, "Man, I've got to look at that." Because I have been asleep at night, and my arms get tangled up in the cover, and you're dreaming, you know, you're tied, you can't get loose or something like that. And you wake up and boy, here's your arm all tangled up. At least you're not like the fellow who woke up thirsty and thought he'd been eating dry cereal and found out all the stuffing was going out of his pillow. But, you know, you've had experiences like that where, you know, it seems like your hands just simply do not work. Well, the Bible says, "and none of the men of might have found their hands." The Septuagint renders this, "they found nothing in their hands," that is, they obtained no plunder. But Luther renders it, "all the warriors must suffer their hands to fall or to fail."

So the idea here is this. They had lost the use of their hands. That is, they had no use for them. They could not find any use for them. They could not make them work. They could not employ their hands for the purpose which they intended. In other words, they were absolutely stricken down. I want to read you two quotes. One is from Albert Barnes on Psalm 76 and verse 5, and one is from John Calvin. I want you to listen. Albert Barnes says, "The stout-hearted are spoiled. It must be acknowledged that these two verses seem in a very particular manner to point at the miraculous destruction of Sennacherib's army when the stout-hearted who doubted not of taking and spoiling the holy city were suddenly spoiled of strength and life, they slept their sleep and found not their hands. They awakened not again to the use of their powers and faculties."

"A rebuking blast was sent from the God of Jacob, under which the flower of Assyria withered in the space of a night, and in the morning was no more. The horse and rider were cast into a deep sleep. They slept the sleep of death. How in a moment were the mighty fallen and the weapons of war perished! How astonishing is the downfall of the tyrant. How complete the triumph of the daughter of Zion! Such will be the destruction of the world, such the salvation of the people of God." Can you imagine how astonishing the downfall of the tyrant in one night?

And then Calvin says it like this, "All the men of might have not found their hands, That is to say, they were incapable of fighting as if their hands had been maimed or cut off. In short, their strength of which they boasted was utterly overthrown. The words, they slept their sleep, refer to the same subject, implying that whereas before they were active and resolute, their hearts now failed them." "They were sunk asleep in sloth and listlessness. The meaning, therefore, is this: that the enemies of the chosen people were deprived of that heroic courage of which they boasted, and which inspired them with such audacity, and that in consequence neither mind, nor heart, nor hands, nor either of their mental or bodily faculties could perform their office. We are thus taught that all the gifts and powers which men seem to possess are in the hand of God, so that He can, at any instant of time, deprive them of the wisdom which He has given them, make their hearts effeminate, render their hands unfit for war, and annihilate their whole strength." Listen, it is not without reason that both the courage and power of these enemies are magnified, the design of this being that the faithful might be led from the contrast to extol the power and the working of God.

"The same subject is further confirmed from the statement that the chariots and the horse are now cast into a deep sleep at the rebuke of God. This implies that whatever activity characterized these enemies, it was rendered powerless simply by the nod of God. Although therefore we may be deprived of all the created means of help, let us rest content with the favor of God alone, accounting it all sufficient, since He has no need of great armies to repel the assaults of the whole world, but is able by the mere breath of His mouth to subdue and dissipate all assailants." Can you imagine? God just speaks the Word and they are destroyed. I want to give you just a couple of things. The first one is this, George Gordon, Lord Byron wrote a poem on the destruction of Sennacherib. I want you to listen as I read it. "The Assyrian came down like the wolf on the fold, And his cohorts were gleaming in purple and gold; And the sheen of their spears was like stars on the sea, When the blue wave rolls nightly on deep Galilee. Like the leaves of the forest when Summer is green, That host with their banners at sunset were seen: Like the leaves of the forest when Autumn hath blown, That host on the morrow lay withered and strown."

Conclusion: Trust in God Alone

Psalm 46 and the poem on Sennacherib's destruction remind us that God is our refuge; we must trust totally in Him in every impossible situation.

"For the Angel of Death spread his wings on the blast, And breathed in the face of the foe as he passed; And the eyes of the sleepers waxed deadly and chill, And their hearts but once heaved, and for ever grew still! And there lay the steed with his nostril all wide, But through it there rolled not the breath of his pride; And the foam of his gasping lay white on the turf, And cold as the spray of the rock-beating surf. And there lay the rider distorted and pale, With the dew on his brow, and the rust on his mail." "And the tents were all silent, the banners alone, The lances unlifted, the trumpet unblown. And the widows of Ashur are loud in their wail, And the idols are broke in the temple of Baal; And the might of the Gentile, unsmote by the sword, Hath melted like snow in the glance of the Lord!" We have to learn at all times the truth of Psalm 46, and I want you to turn there. I want you to see why I preach this message. We must, at all times, trust totally in Him.

For every impossible situation is only impossible with man. All things are possible with God. Look in Psalm 46. Martin Luther's favorite psalm, from which we get, "A Mighty Fortress Is Our God." Notice Psalm 46 verse 1, "God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore will not we fear, though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea; Though the waters thereof roar and be troubled, though the mountains shake with the swelling thereof. Selah. There is a river, the streams whereof shall make glad the city of God, the holy place of the tabernacles of the most High. God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved: God shall help her, and that right early. The heathen raged, the kingdoms were moved: he uttered his voice, the earth melted."

"The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah. Come, behold the works of the Lord, what desolations he hath made in the earth. He maketh wars to cease unto the end of the earth; he breaketh the bow, and cutteth the spear in sunder; he burneth the chariot in the fire. Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth. The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah." Our God is sufficient.

And with Him, there are no impossible situations. It doesn't matter what circumstances exist, doesn't matter what situations we find ourselves in, we must always trust only in Him. With God, all things are possible. Father, in the name of Jesus Christ, we bow to Thee, we thank You, we praise You. We know that Thou art the sovereign God of heaven and earth. And besides Thee, Father, there is none else. We give Thee praise, we give Thee glory, we give Thee worship, we acknowledge Thy divine sovereignty, Thy power over every enemy. And we know that he that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh, the Lord shall have them in derision. And Lord, we pray that Thou wouldst indeed speak in Thy wrath and punish them in Thy divine displeasure. And bring honor and glory to thyself through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, in whose name we pray, Amen. Amen.

Study Guide

Major Themes

God's Sovereignty Over Impossible Situations

Summary: What is impossible with man is possible with God; He is the God of the impossible who delivers His people and destroys His enemies.

Evidence: The speaker states, 'With the Lord, there is absolutely nothing that is impossible. He is the God of the impossible.'

Fear Not: God's Provision Against Discouragement

Summary: God commands us not to fear over 300 times in Scripture; He has given us a spirit of power, love, and a sound mind.

Evidence: The speaker says, 'Do you realize the Bible commands us to fear not over 300 times... God hath not given us a spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.'

God's Judgment on the Wicked

Summary: God spoils the stout-hearted, turning their courage into fear; He can destroy enemies effortlessly, as with the Assyrian army.

Evidence: The speaker explains, 'When God spoils the stout-hearted, He takes away their stout heart, and He puts a heart of fear in them.'

The Illusion of Human Power

Summary: All human strength and courage are in God's hand; He can render the mighty powerless in an instant.

Evidence: The speaker quotes Calvin: 'all the gifts and powers which men seem to possess are in the hand of God, so that He can, at any instant of time, deprive them of the wisdom which He has given them.'

Trust in God Amidst National and Personal Crisis

Summary: Despite government overreach and media corruption, believers must trust in God alone, who is our refuge and strength.

Evidence: The speaker says, 'We must, at all times, trust totally in Him. For every impossible situation is only impossible with man. All things are possible with God.'

Key Arguments

Impossible situations reveal human helplessness and God's power.

Summary: God allows His people to reach the end of their own strength so that He alone gets the glory when He delivers them.

Evidence: In Exodus 5-6, Moses and the elders failed completely; then God said, 'Now shalt thou see what I will do to Pharaoh.'

God always destroys His enemies and delivers His people in impossible situations.

Summary: In every biblical example given, God's intervention results in the destruction of the wicked and the salvation of His own.

Evidence: The speaker says, 'In every situation that I've given you so far, in an impossible situation, God always destroys His enemies and delivers His people.'

Current events mirror biblical patterns of oppression and divine deliverance.

Summary: Government militarization and media control are signs that we may soon face impossible situations, but God's power remains unchanged.

Evidence: The speaker reads articles about police militarization and DHS riot gear orders, then connects them to Psalm 76:5.

God can render the most powerful enemies utterly helpless.

Summary: The Assyrian army, though mighty, was spoiled by God; they could not use their hands, symbolizing complete incapacitation.

Evidence: The speaker explains, 'none of the men of might have found their hands' means they lost the use of their hands and could not employ them for their intended purpose.

Believers must respond to threats with faith, not fear.

Summary: Psalm 46 teaches that even if the earth gives way, we will not fear because God is our refuge and strength.

Evidence: The speaker reads Psalm 46:1-3 and emphasizes, 'Therefore will not we fear, though the earth be removed.'

Scripture References

Psalm 76:5-8

Context: Main text; describes the spoiling of the stout-hearted and the sleep of death for God's enemies.

Luke 1:37

Context: Quoted to affirm that with God nothing shall be impossible.

Luke 18:27

Context: Quoted to show that things impossible with men are possible with God.

Exodus 5:19-6:1

Context: Moses and the elders fail to deliver Israel; God promises to show His power.

Exodus 14:1-31

Context: The Red Sea crossing; Israel trapped, but God parts the sea and destroys the Egyptians.

2 Chronicles 14:1-15

Context: King Asa outnumbered by Ethiopians; he cries to God and is delivered.

2 Timothy 1:7

Context: God has not given a spirit of fear but of power, love, and a sound mind.

Luke 12:32

Context: Fear not, little flock; it is the Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom.

2 Kings 18:13-19:37

Context: The Assyrian siege of Jerusalem; Hezekiah's prayer and God's deliverance by slaying 185,000.

2 Kings 19:7

Context: God sends a blast and a rumor to turn back the Assyrians.

2 Kings 7:6-7

Context: God causes the Syrian army to hear a noise of chariots and flee.

Exodus 34:24

Context: God promises to restrain enemies so they will not desire the land when Israel goes to worship.

Psalm 2:4-5

Context: God laughs at His enemies and speaks to them in wrath.

Psalm 46:1-11

Context: God is our refuge and strength; therefore we will not fear though the earth be removed.

Historical References

Sennacherib's siege of Jerusalem (701 BC)

Context: The Assyrian army under Sennacherib threatened Jerusalem; God destroyed 185,000 soldiers in one night.

Anaheim police protests (2012)

Context: Peaceful protests against police brutality met with paramilitary police force; cited as example of government overreach.

Department of Homeland Security riot gear orders (2012)

Context: DHS and Army procuring riot gear for potential civil unrest on U.S. soil.

U.S. Army military police training manual for civil disturbance operations (2006)

Context: Leaked manual outlines use of military assets domestically to quell riots and confiscate firearms.

New York Times article on media quote approval (July 16, 2012)

Context: Reveals that major news outlets submit quotes to Obama campaign for approval before publication.

Ben Franklin quote on liberty and safety

Context: Those who would give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.

Lord Byron's poem 'The Destruction of Sennacherib'

Context: Poem read to illustrate the sudden downfall of the Assyrian army.

Martin Luther's 'A Mighty Fortress Is Our God'

Context: Psalm 46 is noted as Luther's favorite psalm, from which the hymn is derived.

Important Quotes

With the Lord, there is absolutely nothing that is impossible. He is the God of the impossible.

Significance: Establishes the foundational truth that God transcends all human limitations.

Now shalt thou see what I will do to Pharaoh.

Significance: God's response when human efforts fail, highlighting His sovereign intervention.

Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord.

Significance: Moses' command at the Red Sea, emphasizing trust in God's deliverance.

The stout-hearted are spoiled, they have slept their sleep, and none of the men of might have found their hands.

Significance: The key verse showing God's power to render the mighty helpless.

When God spoils the stout-hearted, He takes away their stout heart, and He puts a heart of fear in them, and men who were formerly terrified at nothing, are now terrified by their own shadows.

Significance: Explains the transformation of the courageous into the fearful by God's judgment.

All the gifts and powers which men seem to possess are in the hand of God, so that He can, at any instant of time, deprive them of the wisdom which He has given them, make their hearts effeminate, render their hands unfit for war, and annihilate their whole strength.

Significance: Calvin's quote underscoring God's absolute control over human abilities.

God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore will not we fear, though the earth be removed.

Significance: Psalm 46:1-2, the ultimate declaration of trust in God amidst chaos.

Discussion Questions

What impossible situation are you currently facing, and how does the truth that 'with God nothing shall be impossible' change your perspective?

Context: Based on the introduction and Luke 1:37.

Why do you think God allows His people to reach a point of complete helplessness before He intervenes, as seen with Moses and the Red Sea?

Context: From the examples in Exodus 5-6 and Exodus 14.

How should Christians respond to increasing government overreach and media manipulation in light of Psalm 76:5?

Context: Connecting current events to the Assyrian threat.

What does it mean that 'none of the men of might have found their hands,' and how does this demonstrate God's sovereignty over human strength?

Context: From the exposition of Psalm 76:5.

In what ways can we practically 'be still and know that He is God' when surrounded by threats and bad news?

Context: From Psalm 46:10 and the conclusion.

Applications

Replace fear with faith in God's power.

Summary: Memorize 2 Timothy 1:7 and consciously reject a spirit of fear, trusting that God has given power, love, and a sound mind.

Evidence: The speaker encourages memorization of 2 Timothy 1:7 and states, 'God hath not given us a spirit of fear.'

Trust God completely in impossible situations.

Summary: When facing overwhelming odds, follow Asa's example and cry out to God, acknowledging that He can help whether with many or with no power.

Evidence: Asa's prayer: 'Lord, it is nothing with thee to help, whether with many, or with them that have no power.'

Do not be discouraged by current events.

Summary: Recognize that God is sovereign over governments and media; He can turn the hearts of the mighty and deliver His people.

Evidence: The speaker says, 'We must, at all times, trust totally in Him... All things are possible with God.'

Respond to threats with prayer and Scripture.

Summary: Like Hezekiah, spread out the threatening 'letters' before the Lord and pray for deliverance, trusting God's promises.

Evidence: Hezekiah spread the letter before the Lord and prayed (2 Kings 19:14-19).

deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | clean_readable_transcript | 2026-06-06T04:26:07Z

deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | weaver_study | 2026-06-06T16:43:14Z

Clean Transcript

Impossible Situations

Clean readable transcript. This view follows the Commentary.net cleaned segment text while preserving timestamps for audio follow-along.

Alright, let's open our Bibles today to Psalm 76. Psalm 76. We're going to read verses 5 through 8. Psalm 76. Our main text is going to be verse 5 and 6, but I want you to see it in the context. Psalm 76, beginning there with verse 5. The title of the message today is Impossible Situations. Impossible situations. Notice Psalm 76 verse 5. The stout-hearted are spoiled, they have slept their sleep, and none of the men of might have found their hands. At thy rebuke, O God of Jacob, both the chariot and the horse are cast into a dead sleep. Thou, even thou, art to be feared, and who may stand in thy sight when once thou art angry? Thou didst cause judgment to be heard from heaven, the earth feared and was still. Impossible situations are experienced by many people. In fact, probably everyone in this room and everyone that is listening to my voice could declare an impossible situation that has been experienced in their lifetime. We need to understand that impossible situations are only considered impossible by our standards and by our power because of our limitations.
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With the Lord, there is absolutely nothing that is impossible. He is the God of the impossible. He is the infinite, eternal, omnipotent, omniscient, and omnipresent God. He is the great I Am. The Word of God declares in the book of Luke chapter 1 in verse 37, "For with God nothing shall be impossible." And then in Luke 18 and verse 27, he said, "The things which are impossible with men are possible with God."
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I want to take just a little while this morning and let you follow me in Scripture and let me show you just two or three impossible situations, humanly speaking, before we get started with our text. So I want you to turn in your Bibles to the book of Exodus chapter 5. Exodus chapter 5. And let's begin reading there with verse 19. This is one of my favorite texts of Scripture. And of course I say that often because I have plenty of favorite texts of Scripture. But you'll understand why when you look at this one. Notice if you would please, Exodus chapter 5, beginning there with verse 19.
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You will remember now that Moses has tried to deliver the children of Israel from Egypt. And of course, Pharaoh's answer to Moses was this, "I know not the Lord, neither will I let Israel go." And so Moses has tried and failed. Now the elders have tried. Notice Exodus chapter 5, beginning there at verse 19, "And the officers of the children of Israel did see that they were in an evil case."
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After it was said, "You shall not minish aught from your bricks of your daily task." And they met Moses and Aaron, who stood in the way, as they came forth from Pharaoh. And they said unto them, "The Lord look upon you and judge, because you have made our savor to be abhorred in the eyes of Pharaoh, and in the eyes of his servants, to put a sword in their hand to slay us." And Moses said unto the Lord, "Lord, wherefore hast thou so evil entreated this people? Why is it that thou hast sent me? For since I came to Pharaoh to speak in thy name, he hath done evil to this people, neither hast thou delivered thy people at all." Now I want you to note very carefully that Moses and Aaron have done everything that God has told them to do, and they had failed. The children of Israel, that is their elders, went and appealed to Pharaoh, and he said to them, "The problem with you is you're idle. You're going to make the same number of bricks that you normally make, but this time you're going to have to gather your own straw."
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And they came out, after having experienced this from Pharaoh, and they looked at Moses there and said, "The Lord look between you and us and judge. The only thing you've done is make things worse for us. We have not been delivered at all." And so Moses then falls on his face and says, "Why did you even send me? Why am I here?"
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Now I want you to watch carefully. God has Moses and Aaron helpless. They've tried and failed. God has the elders of Israel helpless. They've tried and failed.
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Now look if you would please at chapter 6 and verse 1. "Then the Lord said unto Moses, Now shalt thou see what I will do to Pharaoh. For with a strong hand shall he let them go, and with a strong hand shall he drive them out of his land." God says, "Now you're going to see what I can do." In other words, Moses and Aaron and the elders found themselves in an impossible situation. They could not deliver themselves. And God says, "Now that you realize your extreme helplessness and hopelessness, you're going to see what I can do." So the impossible became possible with God. And you know the outcome, how God delivered His people and He destroyed His enemies. If you would turn over to Exodus chapter 14, let me show you a second impossible situation.
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You are aware of this. But Exodus chapter 14, and let's begin reading there with verse 1. Of course, the children of Israel now have marched out of Egypt, and they've gotten to a place where it looks as if they're cornered. Exodus 14 verse 1, "And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel that they turn and encamp before Pi-hahiroth, between Migdol and the sea, over against Baal-zephon: before it shall ye encamp by the sea. For Pharaoh will say of the children of Israel, They are entangled in the land, the wilderness hath shut them in."
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"And I will harden Pharaoh's heart, and he shall follow after them; and I will be honored upon Pharaoh, and upon all his host; that the Egyptians may know that I am the Lord. And they did so." I want you to know two things. Number one, God says, "I'm going to be honored upon Pharaoh and all of his hosts." How was he honored? In justice. And he says, "They shall know that I'm the Lord." How did they know that God was the Lord? When he struck them in his justice. Watch verse five. "And it was told the king of Egypt that the people fled: and the heart of Pharaoh and of his servants was turned against the people."
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"And they said, Why have we done this, that we have let Israel go from serving us? And he made ready his chariot, and took his people with him. And he took six hundred chosen chariots, and all the chariots of Egypt, and captains over every one of them. And the Lord hardened the heart of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and he pursued after the children of Israel: and the children of Israel went out with an high hand. But the Egyptians pursued after them, all the horses and chariots of Pharaoh, and his horsemen, and his army, and overtook them encamping by the sea, beside Pi-hahiroth, before Baal-zephon. And when Pharaoh drew nigh, the children of Israel lifted up their eyes, and, behold, the Egyptians marched after them; and they were sore afraid: and the children of Israel cried out unto the Lord. And they said unto Moses, Because there were no graves in Egypt, hast thou taken us away to die in the wilderness? wherefore hast thou dealt thus with us, to carry us forth out of Egypt?"
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"Is not this the word that we did tell thee in Egypt, saying, Let us alone, that we may serve the Egyptians? For it had been better for us to serve the Egyptians, than that we should die in the wilderness. And Moses said unto the people, Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord, which he will shew to you to day: for the Egyptians whom ye have seen to day, ye shall see them again no more for ever. The Lord shall fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace."
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In other words, just shut up and watch. "And the Lord said unto Moses, Wherefore criest thou unto me? speak unto the children of Israel, that they go forward: But lift thou up thy rod, and stretch out thine hand over the sea, and divide it: and the children of Israel shall go on dry ground through the midst of the sea."
#13 | 8:47 to 9:05 | cleaned
Now, I want you to note something. If you would, watch verse 17. "And I, behold, I will harden the hearts of the Egyptians, and they shall follow them: and I will get me honor upon Pharaoh, and upon all his host, upon his chariots, and upon his horsemen. And the Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord, when I have gotten me honor upon Pharaoh, upon his chariots, and upon his horsemen." Now, you know the story.
#14 | 9:05 to 9:33 | cleaned
Israel is entangled in the wilderness, so to speak. Red Sea is in front of them. Mountains and deserts on either side. And Pharaoh is coming on strong. And so they begin to look at Moses and said, "What in the world are we going to do? We're trapped. We're like animals. We're in a cage. We're sitting ducks. And here's what's going to happen. They're going to come upon us and kill us."
#15 | 9:34 to 10:01 | cleaned
"Would it not have been right for you to have just heeded our words and left us alone and let us stay in our slavery and stay in our bondage and serve the Egyptians. Why did you bring us out here today? There's graves plenty in Egypt. What are we going to do?" And what did God say? "Stand still and see the salvation of the Lord. Just shut up." And God directed Moses and he raised that rod and the sea parted hither and thither.
#16 | 10:02 to 10:34 | cleaned
And you know what happened? The children of Israel went across on dry ground. And when those Egyptians came in behind them, God closed the water upon them. And they all drowned. An impossible situation became possible with God. And in that impossible situation, God destroyed His enemies and delivered His people.
#17 | 10:34 to 10:59 | cleaned
Now, I want you to think about this. In every situation that I've given you so far, in an impossible situation, God always destroys His enemies and delivers His people. Let me give you one more. I want you to turn in your Bibles to 2 Chronicles chapter 14. 2 Chronicles chapter 14. I want you to see, in 2 Chronicles chapter 14, this impossible situation. And you can ask yourself, if you were Asa, would you not be doing exactly the same thing that King Asa did? Notice 2 Chronicles chapter 14, and let's begin reading there with verse 1. 2 Chronicles chapter 14, beginning there with verse 1.
#18 | 11:00 to 11:52 | cleaned
The Bible says, "So Abijah slept with his fathers, and they buried him in the city of David: and Asa his son reigned in his stead. In his days the land was quiet ten years. And Asa did that which was good and right in the eyes of the Lord his God: For he took away the altars of the strange gods, and the high places, and brake down the images, and cut down the groves: And commanded Judah to seek the Lord God of their fathers, and to do the law and the commandment. Also he took away out of all the cities of Judah the high places and the images: and the kingdom was quiet before him. And he built fenced cities in Judah: for the land had rest, and he had no war in those years; because the Lord had given him rest. Therefore he said unto Judah, Let us build these cities, and make about them walls, and towers, gates, and bars, while the land is yet before us; because we have sought the Lord our God, we have sought him, and he hath given us rest on every side."
#19 | 11:52 to 12:49 | cleaned
So they built and prospered. "And Asa had an army of men that bare targets and spears, out of Judah three hundred thousand; and out of Benjamin, that bare shields and drew bows, two hundred and fourscore thousand: all these were mighty men of valor." Now watch. He has 580,000 fighting men. But watch verse 9. "And there came out against them Zerah the Ethiopian with an host of a thousand thousand, and three hundred chariots; and came unto Mareshah. Then Asa went out against him, and they set the battle in array in the valley of Zephathah at Mareshah. And Asa cried unto the Lord his God, and said, Lord, it is nothing with thee to help, whether with many, or with them that have no power: help us, O Lord our God; for we rest on thee, and in thy name we go against this multitude. O Lord, thou art our God; let not man prevail against thee. So the Lord smote the Ethiopians before Asa, and before Judah; and the Ethiopians fled. And Asa and the people that were with him pursued them unto Gerar: and the Ethiopians were overthrown, that they could not recover themselves; for they were destroyed before the Lord, and before his host; and they carried away very much spoil."
#20 | 12:50 to 14:10 | cleaned
"And they smote all the cities round about Gerar; for the fear of the Lord came upon them: and they spoiled all the cities; for there was exceeding much spoil in them. They smote also the tents of cattle, and carried away sheep and camels in abundance, and returned to Jerusalem."
#21 | 14:10 to 14:26 | cleaned
Now I want you to note this, Asa with 580,000 men is now facing the Ethiopians with a million men and 300 chariots. Now not only was Asa outnumbered 2 to 1 basically, but you stop and think 300 chariots. Chariots would have been considered the tanks in those days. And so Asa then with his 300 tanks was ready to wreak havoc upon Judah and upon Jerusalem. And when Asa saw how outnumbered he was, and how outgunned he was, he cried to the Lord and said, "Lord, You can help, and it doesn't matter whether You help those who have no strength at all. Help us, O God, because we trust in Thee." Do you realize in this instance, God delivered His people and destroyed His enemies.
#22 | 14:26 to 15:26 | cleaned
Now I could multiply illustrations like this there throughout the entire Bible. Here's my question. Have you ever wondered? Have you ever considered why God gave us so many such illustrations? I suppose we could give one answer is so that we would not fear. Do you realize the Bible commands us to fear not over 300 times. If you have not memorized 2 Timothy 1:7, I would encourage you to do so, where the scripture says, "For God hath not given us a spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind." Notice God has not given us a spirit of fear. What has God given us? He's given us the power of love and of a sound mind. So one of the reasons we could say there are so many such illustrations is so that we would not fear.
#23 | 15:28 to 16:29 | cleaned
Another answer would be so that we would not be disquieted, disturbed, dismayed, discouraged, and hold a defeatist attitude. I get so aggravated at some people because they are always so pessimistic, so downcast, so discouraged, so downtrodden. And you know what our Lord said in Luke chapter 12 and verse 32? Listen to what He said. "Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom." Do you realize?
#24 | 16:30 to 17:02 | cleaned
I don't care how small we are. It is the Father's good pleasure to give us the kingdom. What does that mean? It means we are going to succeed. It does not matter how dismal, dank, dark and dangerous our surroundings are. It does not matter the circumstances. It does not matter the situation. The truth of the matter is we're always more than conquerors through our Lord Jesus Christ.
#25 | 17:03 to 17:30 | cleaned
Now, if you have not been jolted recently, if you have not been concerned, upset, and thoroughly confused by a number of things that is happening in this country, I just want to say this, you just really haven't been paying attention. I want to give you some things before I show you the truth of Psalm 76 in verse 5. I want to show you some truths. Some things that are happening. This is just a smattering.
#26 | 17:35 to 18:10 | cleaned
If I were to take everything that I've read within the last two weeks, we would probably be here for hours after hour. But here's just one illustration. Anaheim, California. And this is happening now. It has been happening for the last couple of weeks. But it is happening right now as I speak. There have been two men that have been murdered by police in Anaheim, California. The last one, I don't recall the circumstances around the first one, but the last one, was an unarmed man who was fleeing from the police.
#27 | 18:11 to 18:57 | cleaned
He was frightful and afraid of them. And they shot him in the back of the head and killed him. So there have been a number of protests, and I might add peaceful protests, of police brutality in Anaheim, California. You haven't heard this on the mainstream news, and I'm going to tell you why just momentarily. But let me read you this article. It's only two paragraphs. "Peaceful protests around the city's police headquarters proceeded, but when a picket line along Harbor Boulevard got too close to Disneyland, something unprecedented and unnerving happened."
#28 | 18:57 to 19:36 | cleaned
"A paramilitary police force stripped of names and badge numbers, wearing urban camouflage utilities, and outfitted with a combat load and assault rifles emerged to blockade the world-famous theme park. These police look like National Guardsmen and some have been photographed with grenade launchers, ostensibly loaded with tear gas canisters, M16A2 assault rifles, and tear gas paintball guns. They bear simple vests or patches emblazoned with police over their camo flak jackets. It looks like a military occupation and they are carrying out a directive reminiscent of urban combat in the Middle East."
#29 | 19:38 to 20:22 | cleaned
"You're hearing this from someone who saw this sort of thing in Afghanistan." Now Alice and I watched the videos of this happening in Anaheim and you could not tell that these men in these camis were police.
#30 | 20:23 to 20:39 | cleaned
Now they may have had police emblazoned on the back somewhere but they look like soldiers. Some of the peaceful protesters have been charged by the police. Dogs have been unleashed upon the civilians. Women and children have been shot with rubber bullets and tear gassed.
#31 | 20:39 to 21:04 | cleaned
Now if that doesn't upset you, listen to this. Here's another article. "Riot gear orders pile up as Department of Homeland Security and Army prepare for civil unrest. Breaking news July 30th, 2012. It's more than just stockpiling surveillance drones to spawn US citizens. The United States Army is attempting to procure an arsenal of riot gear in case the military must go toe-to-toe with civilians on United States soil. A solicitation for weapons post on the official government website for federal business opportunities reveals that the United States Army has been in the market for non-lethal equipment that it very well might be used in the United States. In a web posting made earlier this summer, the Army asked for bids regarding its request for riot shields, face masks, polycarbonate batons, and body armor."
#32 | 21:06 to 22:05 | cleaned
"On July the 10th, they awarded the contract to A to Z Supply Corporation of Stevensville, Montana, who pledged to fulfill their request to the tune of $6,589,000. The latest inquiry from the United States Army was filed only a few weeks before. Another call for bids was published by the Department of Homeland Security. On July the 26th, the Department of Homeland Security Office of Procurement Operations also wrote on FBO.gov that they were soliciting contractors to help equip them with riot helmets, tactical gloves, shin guards, body armor, and other equipment comparable that could be used in tandem with a complex riot control system." Wow.
#33 | 22:06 to 22:55 | cleaned
Do you realize our own government is preparing for war with its own people. Paul Joseph Watson wrote an article last month. Some of you I'm sure read this, but here was the headline. Listen carefully. "Warning shots will not be fired. A newly leaked US Army military police training manual for civil disturbance operations outlines how military assets are to be used domestically to quell riots confiscate firearms, and even kill Americans on United States soil during mass civil unrest. The document, which is dated 2006, was used for a self-learning course at the United States Army Military Police School at Fort McClellan, and it makes it clear that the operations described in the manual apply to CONUS and OCONUS, meaning inside the continental United States and outside the continental United States." And I have that document downloaded.
#34 | 22:56 to 24:05 | cleaned
Now my question is this, how does all this information go with your afternoon tea? I mean, who could read this and not at least be a teeny tiny bit disturbed and upset?
#35 | 24:07 to 24:21 | cleaned
Another question is this, why have you not heard a lot of this on the mainstream media? Why can you not turn on NBC, ABC, CBS, CNN and see all these police in Anaheim attacking these civilians? Why do you have to go to the internet to see some of these things? Why is it you're not even reading or hearing much bad information or negative material on Obama? You want to know why?
#36 | 24:23 to 25:02 | cleaned
One more article before we get started. This article was written by Joseph Farah and here's the title. "Proof Establishment Media Controlled. There was a rather low key confession made in the New York Times last week that deserves to be blared throughout this country so that every American understands what we're reading in the establishment's ultra-controlled governmental managed press, and I use that word loosely. The admission came in the form of a story by Jeremy Peters on the politics page in New York Times on July the 16th it is."
#37 | 25:04 to 25:46 | cleaned
"I've been waiting for others to point it out, discuss it, debate it, express shock and exasperation over it, but I've waited for naught. What this shocking story reveals is that even I, one of the kingpins of the news media, and a refugee from the state-controlled spin machine underestimated the utter and total corruption of the euphemistically called mainstream press. It shows that most, not some, members of the print media establishment with access to the White House submit their copy to governmental officials for review, correction, and approval before it reaches the American people."
#38 | 25:47 to 26:29 | cleaned
"Here are some of the key excerpts from the piece if you think I'm exaggerating. I'm quoting now. The quotations come back redacted, stripped of colorful metaphors, colloquial language, and anything even mildly provocative. They are sent by email from the Obama headquarters in Chicago to reporters who have interviewed campaign officials under one major condition. The press office has veto power over what statements can be quoted and attributed by name. Most reporters desperate to pick the brains of the president's top strategists grudgingly agree."
#39 | 26:31 to 27:11 | cleaned
"After the interviews, they review their notes, check their tape recorders, and send in the juiciest sound bites for review. The verdict from the campaign, an operation that prides itself on staying consistently on script, is often, no, Barack Obama does not approve this message." I'm going to skip some of this, but listen to this. "Many journalists spoke about the editing only if granted that their names would not be used. Those reporters who did speak on the record said the restrictions seem only to be growing."
#40 | 27:12 to 28:02 | cleaned
"It's not something I'm particularly proud of because there's a part of me that says don't do it, don't agree to their terms," said Major Garrett, a correspondent for the National Journal. Listen carefully. "It was difficult to find a news outlet that had not agreed to quote approval, albeit reluctantly. Organizations like Bloomberg, the Washington Post, Vanity Fair, Reuters, and the New York Times have all consented to interviews under such terms." If you think you're going to get any major news on the major news networks and the major newspapers, you're mistaken. Everything is scripted. Everything has to be approved through the powers that be.
#41 | 28:03 to 28:51 | cleaned
Now the question is, what has all this got to do with Psalm 76 and verse 5? Go back to Psalm 76 verse 5. I want you to look at it. I want you to think about this. I'm going to show you, just momentarily, the connection. Watch this. Before I do, I'm going to give you one more quote. But notice Psalm 76, if you would please, and verse 5.
#42 | 28:52 to 29:18 | cleaned
"The stout-hearted are spoiled. They have slept their sleep. And none of the men of might have found their hands." So what is everything I've just read to you? What does that have to do with Psalm 76 verse 5? The answer is everything. We no longer live in the days of horses, chariots, swords and spears when it comes to weaponry. We live in the age of drones and bots and lasers and mind control techniques, thermal imaging and being able to kill and be killed from hundreds and even thousands of miles away.
#43 | 29:18 to 29:59 | cleaned
It is very possible that we could soon find ourselves in an impossible situation. One last quote before I show you the implications and applications of Psalm 76 and verse 5. Listen to this. "New Homeland Security laser scanner reads people at the molecular level. The Department of Homeland Security will soon be using a laser at airports that can detect everything about you from 160 feet away. Gizmodo reports a scanner that could read people at the molecular level has been invented. The laser-based scanner, which can be used 164 feet away, could read everything from a person's adrenaline levels to traces of gunpowder on a person's clothes to illegal substances."
#44 | 29:59 to 31:01 | cleaned
"And it can all be done without a physical search. It could also be used on multiple people at a time, eliminating random searches at airports. The laser-based scanner is expected to be used in airports as soon as 2013, Gizmodo reports. The scanner is called a picosecond programmable laser. The device works by blasting its targets with lasers which vibrate the molecules that are then read by the machine that determined what substances a person has been exposed to. This could be Semtex explosives or the bacon and egg sandwich you had for breakfast that morning."
#45 | 31:02 to 31:46 | cleaned
Now, let me make a few statements. Listen carefully. The Bible and historic Christianity mean nothing to our government. The Constitution means nothing to our government. Morality means nothing to our government. Rights mean nothing to our government. Our government is only interested in control. Humanly speaking, not only as Christians, but as civilians, we have been and are outnumbered, outgunned, and we have been made outlaws. Liberty and freedom has been destroyed. And most people today are willing to trade what little liberty is left for what they think is security. As Ben Franklin said, "Those who would give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporal safety deserve neither liberty nor safety."
#46 | 31:49 to 33:01 | cleaned
Now I want you to look back at Psalm 76 and verse 5. I want to start putting this together for you. Watch carefully. God says, "The stout-hearted are spoiled, they have slept their sleep, and none of the men of might have found their hands." This verse refers to the strong, powerful, rapacious, and violent Assyrian army that had pillaged, plundered, and pilfered the countryside around Judea. They had now come to Jerusalem, they wanted Jerusalem, and they wanted King Hezekiah. They had conquered so many nations and so many countries, they now come to Hezekiah and Jerusalem and just simply demand their surrender without a fight. It's true Hezekiah paid some tribute, but he went no further. And the very fact that Hezekiah paid some tribute, just indicates that you cannot please the wicked. The more you give them, the more they demand. The more you give in, the more they want. And once you give in, and once you pay even a little of their demands, it signals to them weakness, and they therefore demand more and more.
#47 | 33:04 to 34:27 | cleaned
Now, I want you to hold Psalm 76. We're going to come right back there. But I want you to turn in your Bibles to 2 Kings chapter 18, and we're going to read a rather lengthy passage only to show you the context of Psalm 76 and verse 5. So go in your Bibles to 2 Kings chapter 18, because we're going to read about the Assyrians as they come to Jerusalem. Notice 2 Kings chapter 18, and we're going to begin reading there with verse 13. And we're going to read through chapter 19. Okay? So it's going to be a long passage. I want you to follow, because I want you to see the background. Notice, if you would, 2 Kings chapter 18, and let's begin reading with verse 13.
#48 | 34:27 to 35:23 | cleaned
"Now in the fourteenth year of king Hezekiah did Sennacherib king of Assyria come up against all the fenced cities of Judah, and took them." So now he's already got the surrounding cities. "And Hezekiah king of Judah sent to the king of Assyria to Lachish, saying, I have offended; return from me: that which thou puttest on me will I bear. And the king of Assyria appointed unto Hezekiah king of Judah three hundred talents of silver and thirty talents of gold."
#49 | 35:23 to 35:52 | cleaned
Now I want you to watch this. Now Hezekiah was a good king, okay? He was not a reprobate. But I want you to watch what even a good king did. "And Hezekiah gave him all the silver that was found in the house of the Lord, and in the treasures of the king's house." Now, here's my question. If Hezekiah wanted to give away his own silver and gold, that's his business. But why did he rob the house of God? That didn't belong to Hezekiah. But he took it out of the house of God. Watch verse 16. "At that time did Hezekiah cut off the gold from the doors of the temple of the Lord, and from the pillars which Hezekiah king of Judah had overlaid, and gave it to the king of Assyria. And the king of Assyria sent Tartan and Rabsaris and Rabshakeh from Lachish to king Hezekiah with a great host against Jerusalem. And they went up and came to Jerusalem."
#50 | 35:52 to 36:46 | cleaned
"And when they were come up, they came and stood by the conduit of the upper pool, which is in the highway of the fuller's field. And when they had called to the king, there came out to them Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, which was over the household, and Shebna the scribe, and Joah the son of Asaph the recorder. And Rabshakeh said unto them, Speak ye now to Hezekiah, Thus saith the great king, the king of Assyria, What confidence is this wherein thou trustest? Thou sayest, (but they are but vain words,) I have counsel and strength for the war. Now on whom dost thou trust, that thou rebellest against me?"
#51 | 36:46 to 37:17 | cleaned
"I have counsel and strength for the war. Now on whom dost thou trust, that thou rebellest against me?"
#52 | 37:18 to 37:26 | cleaned
"Now, behold, thou trustest upon the staff of this bruised reed, even upon Egypt, on which if a man lean, it will go into his hand, and pierce it: so is Pharaoh king of Egypt unto all that trust on him. But if ye say unto me, We trust in the Lord our God: is not that he, whose high places and whose altars Hezekiah hath taken away, and hath said to Judah and Jerusalem, Ye shall worship before this altar in Jerusalem?" By the way, he took away those places that were idolatrous, you know. So now he's thinking that, yeah, he took away the worship of God, which he did not. And had said to Judah and Jerusalem, "You shall worship before this altar in Jerusalem." Well, that's what God said.
#53 | 37:26 to 38:02 | cleaned
"Now therefore, I pray thee, give pledges to my lord the king of Assyria, and I will deliver thee two thousand horses, if thou be able on thy part to set riders upon them." In other words, you want to fight? I'll give you horses if you can mount men on them. Watch verse 24. "How then wilt thou turn away the face of one captain of the least of my master's servants, and put thy trust on Egypt for chariots and for horsemen? Am I now come up without the Lord against this place to destroy it? The Lord said to me, Go up against this land, and destroy it. Then said Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, and Shebna, and Joah, unto Rabshakeh, Speak, I pray thee, to thy servants in the Syrian language; for we understand it: and talk not with us in the Jews' language in the ears of the people that are on the wall. But Rabshakeh said unto them, Hath my master sent me to thy master, and to thee, to speak these words? hath he not sent me to the men which sit on the wall, that they may eat their own dung, and drink their own piss with you?"
#54 | 38:03 to 39:05 | cleaned
"Then Rabshakeh stood and cried with a loud voice in the Jews' language, and spake, saying, Hear the word of the great king, the king of Assyria: Thus saith the king, Let not Hezekiah deceive you: for he shall not be able to deliver you out of his hand: Neither let Hezekiah make you trust in the Lord, saying, The Lord will surely deliver us, and this city shall not be delivered into the hand of the king of Assyria. Hearken not to Hezekiah: for thus saith the king of Assyria, Make an agreement with me by a present, and come out to me."
#55 | 39:06 to 39:35 | cleaned
"And then eat ye every man of his own vine, and every one of his fig tree, and drink ye every one the waters of his own cistern." Let me just stop there just momentarily. I want you to notice what the king of Assyria is promising. Do you know that during the power and the rule and the reign of God, God promises that every man shall sit under his own fig tree and eat of his own fruit and drink water out of his own cistern. And so here what the king is promising is a imitation of what God has promised. So the king of Assyria is saying then, "I will give you what God promises if you'll worship Me." Watch this.
#56 | 39:35 to 40:33 | cleaned
He says in verse 32, "Until I come and take you away to a land like your own land, a land of corn and wine, a land of bread and vineyards, a land of oil olive and of honey, that ye may live, and not die: and hearken not unto Hezekiah, when he persuadeth you, saying, The Lord will deliver us. Hath any of the gods of the nations delivered at all his land out of the hand of the king of Assyria? Where are the gods of Hamath, and of Arpad? where are the gods of Sepharvaim, Hena, and Ivah? have they delivered Samaria out of mine hand? Who are they among all the gods of the countries, that have delivered their country out of mine hand, that the Lord should deliver Jerusalem out of mine hand?"
#57 | 40:34 to 41:12 | cleaned
Now look what he's doing. He's giving them some references. He said, "I've destroyed all these countries. I've destroyed all these kingdoms, all these nations. Their gods have not delivered them out of my hands. You think you're going to get out of my hand?" Watch it. Verse 36, "But the people held their peace, and answered him not a word: for the king's commandment was, saying, Answer him not."
#58 | 41:12 to 41:35 | cleaned
"Then came Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, which was over the household, and Shebna the scribe, and Joah the son of Asaph the recorder, to Hezekiah with their clothes rent, and told him the words of Rabshakeh. And it came to pass, when king Hezekiah heard it, that he rent his clothes, and covered himself with sackcloth, and went into the house of the Lord. And he sent Eliakim, which was over the household, and Shebna the scribe, and the elders of the priests, covered with sackcloth, to Isaiah the prophet the son of Amoz. And they said unto him, Thus saith Hezekiah, This day is a day of trouble, and of rebuke, and blasphemy."
#59 | 41:36 to 42:10 | cleaned
"For the children are come to the birth, and there is not strength to bring forth. It may be the Lord thy God will hear all the words of Rabshakeh, whom the king of Assyria his master hath sent to reproach the living God; and will reprove the words which the Lord thy God hath heard: wherefore lift up thy prayer for the remnant that are left. So the servants of king Hezekiah came to Isaiah. And Isaiah said unto them, Thus shall ye say to your master, Thus saith the Lord, Be not afraid of the words which thou hast heard, with which the servants of the king of Assyria have blasphemed me. Behold, I will send a blast upon him, and he shall hear a rumour, and shall return to his own land; and I will cause him to fall by the sword in his own land. So Rabshakeh returned, and found the king of Assyria warring against Libnah: for he had heard that he was departed from Lachish. And when he heard say of Tirhakah king of Ethiopia, Behold, he is come out to fight against thee: he sent messengers again unto Hezekiah, saying, One more time, I'm trying to get you to surrender without a fight."
#60 | 42:10 to 43:13 | cleaned
"Saying, Thus shall ye speak to Hezekiah king of Judah, saying, Let not thy God in whom thou trustest deceive thee, saying, Jerusalem shall not be delivered into the hand of the king of Assyria. Behold, thou hast heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all lands, by destroying them utterly: and shalt thou be delivered? Have the gods of the nations delivered them which my fathers have destroyed; as Gozan, and Haran, and Rezeph, and the children of Eden which were in Thelasar? Where is the king of Hamath, and the king of Arpad, and the king of the city of Sepharvaim, of Hena, and Ivah? And Hezekiah received the letter of the hand of the messengers, and read it: and Hezekiah went up into the house of the Lord, and spread it before the Lord. And Hezekiah prayed before the Lord, and said, O Lord God of Israel, which dwellest between the cherubims, thou art the God, even thou alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth; thou hast made heaven and earth. Lord, bow down thine ear, and hear: open, Lord, thine eyes, and see: and hear the words of Sennacherib, which hath sent him to reproach the living God. Of a truth, Lord, the kings of Assyria have destroyed the nations and their lands, And have cast their gods into the fire."
#61 | 43:13 to 44:26 | cleaned
"For they were no gods, but the work of men's hands, wood and stone: therefore they have destroyed them."
#62 | 44:26 to 44:32 | cleaned
"Now therefore, O Lord our God, I beseech thee, save thou us out of his hand, that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that thou art the Lord God, even thou only. Then Isaiah the son of Amoz sent to Hezekiah, saying, Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, That which thou hast prayed to me against Sennacherib king of Assyria I have heard. This is the word that the Lord hath spoken concerning him; The virgin the daughter of Zion hath despised thee, and laughed thee to scorn; the daughter of Jerusalem hath shaken her head at thee. Whom hast thou reproached and blasphemed? and against whom hast thou exalted thy voice, and lifted up thine eyes on high? even against the Holy One of Israel. By thy messengers thou hast reproached the Lord, and hast said, With the multitude of my chariots I am come up to the height of the mountains, to the sides of Lebanon, and will cut down the tall cedar trees thereof, and the choice fir trees thereof."
#63 | 44:32 to 45:26 | cleaned
"And I will enter into the lodgings of his borders, and into the forest of his Carmel. I have digged and drunk strange waters, and with the sole of my feet have I dried up all the rivers of besieged places. Hast thou not heard long ago how I have done it, and of ancient times that I have formed it?"
#64 | 45:27 to 45:43 | cleaned
"Now have I brought it to pass, that thou shouldest be to lay waste fenced cities into ruinous heaps. Therefore their inhabitants were of small power, they were dismayed and confounded; they were as the grass of the field, and as the green herb, as the grass on the housetops, and as corn blasted before it be grown up. But I know thy abode, and thy going out, and thy coming in, and thy rage against me. Because thy rage against me and thy tumult is come up into mine ears, therefore I will put my hook in thy nose, and my bridle in thy lips, and I will turn thee back by the way by which thou camest."
#65 | 45:44 to 46:20 | cleaned
"And this shall be a sign unto thee, Ye shall eat this year such things as grow of themselves, and in the second year that which springeth of the same; and in the third year sow ye, and reap, and plant vineyards, and eat the fruits thereof. And the remnant that is escaped of the house of Judah shall yet again take root downward, and bear fruit upward. For out of Jerusalem shall go forth a remnant, and they that escape out of mount Zion: the zeal of the Lord of hosts shall do this."
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"Therefore thus saith the Lord concerning the king of Assyria, He shall not come into this city, nor shoot an arrow there, nor come before it with shield, nor cast a bank against it. By the way that he came, by the same shall he return, and shall not come into this city, saith the Lord. For I will defend this city, to save it, for mine own sake, and for my servant David's sake. And it came to pass that night, that the angel of the Lord went out, and smote in the camp of the Assyrians an hundred fourscore and five thousand."
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"And when they arose early in the morning, behold, they were all dead corpses. So Sennacherib king of Assyria departed, and went and returned, and dwelt at Nineveh. And it came to pass, as he was worshipping in the house of Nisroch his god, that Adrammelech and Sharezer his sons smote him with the sword: and they escaped into the land of Armenia. And Esarhaddon his son reigned in his stead."
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Now, here is what has happened. The Assyrian army, its officers, its generals, have come against Jerusalem. And they have come with great resolution and great courage and great determination, as well as with their impiety and blasphemy against the Lord God of heaven, as demonstrated by what Rabshakeh not only said, but what he had written as well. When you look at Psalm 76 and verse 5, when it says "the stout-hearted are spoiled," the word stout-hearted here refers to this great Assyrian army. In fact, the word stout-hearted literally refers to what you and I would call the bulls, the strong ones, the valiant, the courageous.
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You remember General Beauregard, the first bull that I had, weighed 3,000 pounds, nice horns, I remember one time years ago coming from bow hunting at night. I'd walked, and by the time I got out of my stand and started walking back, it was just pitch black. And I was walking down the road, and lo and behold, Beauregard had heard me coming or smelled me coming. And being a pet, he had gone up to the fence line and stuck his head over the fence. And I walked, probably within a foot of him before I saw him. My heart went in my throat because all I saw was this big headed horn sticking over the fence. And then when I caught myself, I stopped and I said, "Beauregard," and I reached over and started petting him.
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I said, "You scared me to death." And then I got to thinking and I got to laughing. I thought, can you imagine somebody trying to slip up on me and then trip over him? You know, lying down or something, you know. But when you think about a bull, a big, strong, ferocious animal, that's what this word stout-hearted means. God calls them the bulls, the valiant, the courageous.
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These Assyrian soldiers were warriors. They were battle-hardened and they were confident. They were sure of their powers in battle and they looked forward to the spoils of war. However, in this instance, those who were looking for prey became the prey themselves. He says, "the stout-hearted are spoiled." It is understood that a strong man may be robbed and spoiled by a much stronger man. However, in this instance, these strong men were turned into useless, helpless, worthless soldiers. When God spoils the stout-hearted, He turns them into Magor-missabib. The word Magor-missabib is in the Bible, and it means terror on every hand. So when God spoils the stout-hearted, He takes away their stout heart, and He puts a heart of fear in them, and men who were formerly terrified at nothing, are now terrified by their own shadows.
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They're frightened by a child. They're frightened by a sound. They're frightened by a rumor. For instance, hold Psalm 76, but look back in your Bibles to 2 Kings chapter 19 and verse 7. We just read it, but I want you to see this. 2 Kings chapter 19. Watch verse 7. Look what God says. "Behold, I will send a blast upon him, and he shall hear a rumour, and shall return to his own land; and I will cause him to fall by the sword in his own land." Well, what was the rumor that he heard? Well, he heard Tirhakah, the king of the Ethiopians, were coming out against him. He just heard a rumor. God used a rumor to turn him. I want you to go back in your Bibles to 2 Kings chapter 7. Watch this. God doesn't even have to use a rumor. Look in 2 Kings chapter 7.
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And notice, if you would please, verses 6 and 7. 2 Kings 7. Notice, if you would please, verse 6. The Syrians have surrounded Samaria. They have them cut off. People are starving to death on the inside. If they go outside, the Syrian kills them. Well, look what the Bible says. 2 Kings 7, verses 6 and 7. How did God get rid of the Syrians? He says, "For the Lord had made the host of the Syrians to hear a noise of chariots, and a noise of horses, even the noise of a great host: and they said one to another, Lo, the king of Israel hath hired against us the kings of the Hittites, and the kings of the Egyptians, to come upon us. Wherefore they arose and fled in the twilight, and left their tents, and their horses, and their asses, even the camp as it was, and fled for their life." God just let them hear a sound.
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It was a figment of their imagination. They just thought someone was coming against them. And those who were valiant, brave, courageous warriors turned tail and run like a dog with his tail between his legs. God just destroyed the stout-hearted. I want you to see and understand how easy it is for the sovereign God of heaven and earth to quash the spirit of His enemies. When God removes their stout heart, He destroys them. They cannot function. They cannot fulfill their desires, their plans, their schemes. They're spoiled.
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And those who come for a prey become a prey themselves. Now, look back in Psalm 76 and verse 5. He says "the stout-hearted are spoiled. They have slept their sleep." When God says "they have slept their sleep," it means they're dead. They've slept their last sleep. Do you realize that God has various ways at His disposal in dealing with His enemies? First of all, He may, by His grace, regenerate them like He did Saul of Tarsus. In that instance, Saul, who was formerly an enemy, has now become a friend. So, God may regenerate them. Secondly, God may restrain His enemies, as it is told in Exodus 34 and verse 24.
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I want you to listen. You remember that God demanded that every Israelite male appear before Him three times a year.
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Now, the question is this. Oftentimes, the women and children went. They didn't have to, but usually they did. But the men had to go there. Well, remember they had conquered the land, and some of their enemies were left in the land. In fact, some of them were their servants. Here's the question. What is to stop these enemies, when the men go to Jerusalem to worship three times a year, from rising up and murdering the families that are left, and confiscating and stealing whatever is left?
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Listen to what God said in Exodus 34, verse 24. "For I will cast out the nations before thee, and enlarge thy borders: neither shall any man desire thy land, when thou shalt go up to appear before the Lord thy God thrice in the year." God says, "I have such sovereign power and control even over the enemies and the wicked. I will fix it when you obey me. They will not even desire to have their land back." Wow! So God can regenerate His enemies. God can restrain His enemies, or thirdly, God can remove His enemies just like He did these Assyrians. They slept their sleep. They perished in their sleep and never awoke again. We're told in 2 Kings 19 and verse 35 that in one night, with one stroke of the sword, God killed 185,000 Assyrian soldiers.
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And the ones who awoke the next morning found all of their friends dead. Do you realize how easy it is for God to annihilate His enemies? That is why in Psalm 2 and verses 4 and 5, the Bible says, "He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh: the Lord shall have them in derision. Then shall he speak unto them in his wrath, and vex them in his sore displeasure." God can just destroy them.
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I don't care how multitudinous they are. I don't care how powerful they are. I don't care the weaponry they have. God is capable of destroying His enemies and delivering His people in any impossible situation. I want to show you this. Look at it. Verse 5. I love this part. He says, "...the stout-hearted are spoiled, they have slept their sleep, and none of the men of might have found their hands." None of the men of might have found their hands.
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I told you this the other day. When I read this verse again, I said, "Man, I've got to look at that." Because I have been asleep at night, and my arms get tangled up in the cover, and you're dreaming, you know, you're tied, you can't get loose or something like that. And you wake up and boy, here's your arm all tangled up. At least you're not like the fellow who woke up thirsty and thought he'd been eating dry cereal and found out all the stuffing was going out of his pillow. But, you know, you've had experiences like that where, you know, it seems like your hands just simply do not work. Well, the Bible says, "and none of the men of might have found their hands." The Septuagint renders this, "they found nothing in their hands," that is, they obtained no plunder. But Luther renders it, "all the warriors must suffer their hands to fall or to fail."
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So the idea here is this. They had lost the use of their hands. That is, they had no use for them. They could not find any use for them. They could not make them work. They could not employ their hands for the purpose which they intended. In other words, they were absolutely stricken down. I want to read you two quotes. One is from Albert Barnes on Psalm 76 and verse 5, and one is from John Calvin. I want you to listen. Albert Barnes says, "The stout-hearted are spoiled. It must be acknowledged that these two verses seem in a very particular manner to point at the miraculous destruction of Sennacherib's army when the stout-hearted who doubted not of taking and spoiling the holy city were suddenly spoiled of strength and life, they slept their sleep and found not their hands. They awakened not again to the use of their powers and faculties."
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"A rebuking blast was sent from the God of Jacob, under which the flower of Assyria withered in the space of a night, and in the morning was no more. The horse and rider were cast into a deep sleep. They slept the sleep of death. How in a moment were the mighty fallen and the weapons of war perished! How astonishing is the downfall of the tyrant. How complete the triumph of the daughter of Zion! Such will be the destruction of the world, such the salvation of the people of God." Can you imagine how astonishing the downfall of the tyrant in one night?
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And then Calvin says it like this, "All the men of might have not found their hands, That is to say, they were incapable of fighting as if their hands had been maimed or cut off. In short, their strength of which they boasted was utterly overthrown. The words, they slept their sleep, refer to the same subject, implying that whereas before they were active and resolute, their hearts now failed them."
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"They were sunk asleep in sloth and listlessness. The meaning, therefore, is this: that the enemies of the chosen people were deprived of that heroic courage of which they boasted, and which inspired them with such audacity, and that in consequence neither mind, nor heart, nor hands, nor either of their mental or bodily faculties could perform their office. We are thus taught that all the gifts and powers which men seem to possess are in the hand of God, so that He can, at any instant of time, deprive them of the wisdom which He has given them, make their hearts effeminate, render their hands unfit for war, and annihilate their whole strength." Listen, it is not without reason that both the courage and power of these enemies are magnified, the design of this being that the faithful might be led from the contrast to extol the power and the working of God.
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"The same subject is further confirmed from the statement that the chariots and the horse are now cast into a deep sleep at the rebuke of God. This implies that whatever activity characterized these enemies, it was rendered powerless simply by the nod of God. Although therefore we may be deprived of all the created means of help, let us rest content with the favor of God alone, accounting it all sufficient, since He has no need of great armies to repel the assaults of the whole world, but is able by the mere breath of His mouth to subdue and dissipate all assailants." Can you imagine? God just speaks the Word and they are destroyed. I want to give you just a couple of things.
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The first one is this, George Gordon, Lord Byron wrote a poem on the destruction of Sennacherib. I want you to listen as I read it. "The Assyrian came down like the wolf on the fold, And his cohorts were gleaming in purple and gold; And the sheen of their spears was like stars on the sea, When the blue wave rolls nightly on deep Galilee. Like the leaves of the forest when Summer is green, That host with their banners at sunset were seen: Like the leaves of the forest when Autumn hath blown, That host on the morrow lay withered and strown."
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"For the Angel of Death spread his wings on the blast, And breathed in the face of the foe as he passed; And the eyes of the sleepers waxed deadly and chill, And their hearts but once heaved, and for ever grew still! And there lay the steed with his nostril all wide, But through it there rolled not the breath of his pride; And the foam of his gasping lay white on the turf, And cold as the spray of the rock-beating surf. And there lay the rider distorted and pale, With the dew on his brow, and the rust on his mail."
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"And the tents were all silent, the banners alone, The lances unlifted, the trumpet unblown. And the widows of Ashur are loud in their wail, And the idols are broke in the temple of Baal; And the might of the Gentile, unsmote by the sword, Hath melted like snow in the glance of the Lord!" We have to learn at all times the truth of Psalm 46, and I want you to turn there. I want you to see why I preach this message. We must, at all times, trust totally in Him.
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For every impossible situation is only impossible with man. All things are possible with God. Look in Psalm 46. Martin Luther's favorite psalm, from which we get, "A Mighty Fortress Is Our God." Notice Psalm 46 verse 1, "God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore will not we fear, though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea; Though the waters thereof roar and be troubled, though the mountains shake with the swelling thereof. Selah. There is a river, the streams whereof shall make glad the city of God, the holy place of the tabernacles of the most High. God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved: God shall help her, and that right early. The heathen raged, the kingdoms were moved: he uttered his voice, the earth melted."
#91 | 1:04:33 to 1:05:33 | cleaned
"The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah. Come, behold the works of the Lord, what desolations he hath made in the earth. He maketh wars to cease unto the end of the earth; he breaketh the bow, and cutteth the spear in sunder; he burneth the chariot in the fire. Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth. The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah." Our God is sufficient.
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And with Him, there are no impossible situations. It doesn't matter what circumstances exist, doesn't matter what situations we find ourselves in, we must always trust only in Him. With God, all things are possible. Father, in the name of Jesus Christ, we bow to Thee, we thank You, we praise You. We know that Thou art the sovereign God of heaven and earth. And besides Thee, Father, there is none else. We give Thee praise, we give Thee glory, we give Thee worship, we acknowledge Thy divine sovereignty, Thy power over every enemy. And we know that he that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh, the Lord shall have them in derision. And Lord, we pray that Thou wouldst indeed speak in Thy wrath and punish them in Thy divine displeasure. And bring honor and glory to thyself through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, in whose name we pray, Amen. Amen.
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deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | clean_readable_transcript | 2026-06-06T04:26:07Z

Impossible Situations

John Weaver | Freedom Ministries

Pastor John Weaver teaches from Psalm 76:5-8 that impossible situations are only impossible by human standards, but with God nothing is impossible. Using biblical examples (Moses, the Red Sea, King Asa) and the destruction of Sennacherib's army, he shows that God always delivers His people and destroys His enemies. He connects this to current events of government overreach and media control, urging believers to trust totally in God's sovereign power rather than fear.

Introduction: Impossible Situations Defined

Impossible situations are experienced by everyone, but they are only impossible by human standards; with God nothing is impossible.

Biblical Examples of Impossible Situations

Moses and the elders failed to deliver Israel, but God showed His power; at the Red Sea, God parted the waters and destroyed the Egyptians; King Asa, outnumbered, cried to God and was delivered.

Scripture Reading — Luke 1:37

"For with God nothing shall be impossible."

Scripture Reading — Exodus 5:19-6:1

You will remember now that Moses has tried to deliver the children of Israel from Egypt. And of course, Pharaoh's answer to Moses was this, "I know not the Lord, neither will I let Israel go." And so Moses has tried and failed. Now the elders have tried. Notice Exodus chapter 5, beginning there at verse 19, "And the officers of the children of Israel did see that they were in an evil case."

Now I want you to watch carefully. God has Moses and Aaron helpless. They've tried and failed. God has the elders of Israel helpless. They've tried and failed.

Scripture Reading — Exodus 5:19-6:1

Now look if you would please at chapter 6 and verse 1. "Then the Lord said unto Moses, Now shalt thou see what I will do to Pharaoh. For with a strong hand shall he let them go, and with a strong hand shall he drive them out of his land." God says, "Now you're going to see what I can do." In other words, Moses and Aaron and the elders found themselves in an impossible situation. They could not deliver themselves. And God says, "Now that you realize your extreme helplessness and hopelessness, you're going to see what I can do." So the impossible became possible with God. And you know the outcome, how God delivered His people and He destroyed His enemies. If you would turn over to Exodus chapter 14, let me show you a second impossible situation.

Scripture Reading — Exodus 14:1-31

"And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel that they turn and encamp before Pi-hahiroth, between Migdol and the sea, over against Baal-zephon: before it shall ye encamp by the sea. For Pharaoh will say of the children of Israel, They are entangled in the land, the wilderness hath shut them in." "And I will harden Pharaoh's heart, and he shall follow after them; and I will be honored upon Pharaoh, and upon all his host; that the Egyptians may know that I am the Lord. And they did so."

Scripture Reading — Exodus 14:1-31

"And it was told the king of Egypt that the people fled: and the heart of Pharaoh and of his servants was turned against the people."

Why So Many Illustrations?

God gave many examples so we would not fear, be discouraged, or hold a defeatist attitude; it is the Father's good pleasure to give us the kingdom.

Scripture Reading — 2 Timothy 1:7

"For God hath not given us a spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind."

Scripture Reading — Luke 12:32

"Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom."

Current Events: Government Overreach and Media Control

Examples of police militarization, DHS and Army preparing for civil unrest, and mainstream media submitting stories for government approval show we may face impossible situations.

Psalm 76:5 and the Assyrian Threat

The stout-hearted Assyrian army, confident and powerful, was spoiled by God; they slept their sleep and could not use their hands, illustrating God's easy destruction of enemies.

God's Methods of Dealing with Enemies

God may regenerate, restrain, or remove His enemies; He can turn the stout-hearted into terrified men, as seen with the Assyrians and Syrians.

Scripture Reading — 2 Kings 19:7

"Behold, I will send a blast upon him, and he shall hear a rumour, and shall return to his own land; and I will cause him to fall by the sword in his own land."

Scripture Reading — 2 Kings 7:6-7

"For the Lord had made the host of the Syrians to hear a noise of chariots, and a noise of horses, even the noise of a great host: and they said one to another, Lo, the king of Israel hath hired against us the kings of the Hittites, and the kings of the Egyptians, to come upon us. Wherefore they arose and fled in the twilight, and left their tents, and their horses, and their asses, even the camp as it was, and fled for their life."

God just let them hear a sound.

Listen to what God said in Exodus 34, verse 24.

Scripture Reading — Exodus 34:24

"For I will cast out the nations before thee, and enlarge thy borders: neither shall any man desire thy land, when thou shalt go up to appear before the Lord thy God thrice in the year."

And the ones who awoke the next morning found all of their friends dead. Do you realize how easy it is for God to annihilate His enemies? That is why in Psalm 2 and verses 4 and 5, the Bible says,

Scripture Reading — Psalm 2:4-5

"He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh: the Lord shall have them in derision. Then shall he speak unto them in his wrath, and vex them in his sore displeasure."

The Meaning of 'None of the Men of Might Have Found Their Hands'

The Assyrian warriors lost the use of their hands, rendered powerless by God; commentators Barnes and Calvin emphasize God's sovereign control over all human strength.

Conclusion: Trust in God Alone

Psalm 46 and the poem on Sennacherib's destruction remind us that God is our refuge; we must trust totally in Him in every impossible situation.

Impossible Situations

John Weaver | YouTube

Lecture Metadata	Details
Speaker	John Weaver
Source	YouTube
Media ID	8BtjEIRrGA0
Subject	Old Testament Studies
Course	Exodus: Bondage, Deliverance, and Passover: The Superiority of Christ
Genre	Sermon
Date	2012-11-20
Dictation Name
Book	Book 078: Exodus: Bondage, Deliverance, and Passover - Volume 1 — Chapter 19
Source Timed Segments	93

Lecture Guide

Outline

Introduction: Impossible Situations Defined: Impossible situations are experienced by everyone, but they are only impossible by human standards; with God nothing is impossible.
Biblical Examples of Impossible Situations: Moses and the elders failed to deliver Israel, but God showed His power; at the Red Sea, God parted the waters and destroyed the Egyptians; King Asa, outnumbered, cried to God and was delivered.
Why So Many Illustrations?: God gave many examples so we would not fear, be discouraged, or hold a defeatist attitude; it is the Father's good pleasure to give us the kingdom.
Current Events: Government Overreach and Media Control: Examples of police militarization, DHS and Army preparing for civil unrest, and mainstream media submitting stories for government approval show we may face impossible situations.
Psalm 76:5 and the Assyrian Threat: The stout-hearted Assyrian army, confident and powerful, was spoiled by God; they slept their sleep and could not use their hands, illustrating God's easy destruction of enemies.
God's Methods of Dealing with Enemies: God may regenerate, restrain, or remove His enemies; He can turn the stout-hearted into terrified men, as seen with the Assyrians and Syrians.
The Meaning of 'None of the Men of Might Have Found Their Hands': The Assyrian warriors lost the use of their hands, rendered powerless by God; commentators Barnes and Calvin emphasize God's sovereign control over all human strength.
Conclusion: Trust in God Alone: Psalm 46 and the poem on Sennacherib's destruction remind us that God is our refuge; we must trust totally in Him in every impossible situation.

Major Themes

Key Arguments

Impossible situations reveal human helplessness and God's power.

God allows His people to reach the end of their own strength so that He alone gets the glory when He delivers them.

In Exodus 5-6, Moses and the elders failed completely; then God said, 'Now shalt thou see what I will do to Pharaoh.'

God always destroys His enemies and delivers His people in impossible situations.

In every biblical example given, God's intervention results in the destruction of the wicked and the salvation of His own.

The speaker says, 'In every situation that I've given you so far, in an impossible situation, God always destroys His enemies and delivers His people.'

Current events mirror biblical patterns of oppression and divine deliverance.

Government militarization and media control are signs that we may soon face impossible situations, but God's power remains unchanged.

The speaker reads articles about police militarization and DHS riot gear orders, then connects them to Psalm 76:5.

God can render the most powerful enemies utterly helpless.

The Assyrian army, though mighty, was spoiled by God; they could not use their hands, symbolizing complete incapacitation.

The speaker explains, 'none of the men of might have found their hands' means they lost the use of their hands and could not employ them for their intended purpose.

Believers must respond to threats with faith, not fear.

Psalm 46 teaches that even if the earth gives way, we will not fear because God is our refuge and strength.

The speaker reads Psalm 46:1-3 and emphasizes, 'Therefore will not we fear, though the earth be removed.'

Scripture References

Psalm 76:5-8: Main text; describes the spoiling of the stout-hearted and the sleep of death for God's enemies.
Luke 1:37: Quoted to affirm that with God nothing shall be impossible.
Luke 18:27: Quoted to show that things impossible with men are possible with God.
Exodus 5:19-6:1: Moses and the elders fail to deliver Israel; God promises to show His power.
Exodus 14:1-31: The Red Sea crossing; Israel trapped, but God parts the sea and destroys the Egyptians.
2 Chronicles 14:1-15: King Asa outnumbered by Ethiopians; he cries to God and is delivered.
2 Timothy 1:7: God has not given a spirit of fear but of power, love, and a sound mind.
Luke 12:32: Fear not, little flock; it is the Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom.
2 Kings 18:13-19:37: The Assyrian siege of Jerusalem; Hezekiah's prayer and God's deliverance by slaying 185,000.
2 Kings 19:7: God sends a blast and a rumor to turn back the Assyrians.
2 Kings 7:6-7: God causes the Syrian army to hear a noise of chariots and flee.
Exodus 34:24: God promises to restrain enemies so they will not desire the land when Israel goes to worship.
Psalm 2:4-5: God laughs at His enemies and speaks to them in wrath.
Psalm 46:1-11: God is our refuge and strength; therefore we will not fear though the earth be removed.

Historical References

Sennacherib's siege of Jerusalem (701 BC): The Assyrian army under Sennacherib threatened Jerusalem; God destroyed 185,000 soldiers in one night.
Anaheim police protests (2012): Peaceful protests against police brutality met with paramilitary police force; cited as example of government overreach.
Department of Homeland Security riot gear orders (2012): DHS and Army procuring riot gear for potential civil unrest on U.S. soil.
U.S. Army military police training manual for civil disturbance operations (2006): Leaked manual outlines use of military assets domestically to quell riots and confiscate firearms.
New York Times article on media quote approval (July 16, 2012): Reveals that major news outlets submit quotes to Obama campaign for approval before publication.
Ben Franklin quote on liberty and safety: Those who would give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.
Lord Byron's poem 'The Destruction of Sennacherib': Poem read to illustrate the sudden downfall of the Assyrian army.
Martin Luther's 'A Mighty Fortress Is Our God': Psalm 46 is noted as Luther's favorite psalm, from which the hymn is derived.

Important Quotes

With the Lord, there is absolutely nothing that is impossible. He is the God of the impossible.

Establishes the foundational truth that God transcends all human limitations.

Now shalt thou see what I will do to Pharaoh.

God's response when human efforts fail, highlighting His sovereign intervention.

Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord.

Moses' command at the Red Sea, emphasizing trust in God's deliverance.

The stout-hearted are spoiled, they have slept their sleep, and none of the men of might have found their hands.

The key verse showing God's power to render the mighty helpless.

When God spoils the stout-hearted, He takes away their stout heart, and He puts a heart of fear in them, and men who were formerly terrified at nothing, are now terrified by their own shadows.

Explains the transformation of the courageous into the fearful by God's judgment.

All the gifts and powers which men seem to possess are in the hand of God, so that He can, at any instant of time, deprive them of the wisdom which He has given them, make their hearts effeminate, render their hands unfit for war, and annihilate their whole strength.

Calvin's quote underscoring God's absolute control over human abilities.

God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore will not we fear, though the earth be removed.

Psalm 46:1-2, the ultimate declaration of trust in God amidst chaos.

Discussion Questions

[Question]

What impossible situation are you currently facing, and how does the truth that 'with God nothing shall be impossible' change your perspective?

[Context]

Based on the introduction and Luke 1:37.

[Question]

Why do you think God allows His people to reach a point of complete helplessness before He intervenes, as seen with Moses and the Red Sea?

[Context]

From the examples in Exodus 5-6 and Exodus 14.

[Question]

How should Christians respond to increasing government overreach and media manipulation in light of Psalm 76:5?

[Context]

Connecting current events to the Assyrian threat.

[Question]

What does it mean that 'none of the men of might have found their hands,' and how does this demonstrate God's sovereignty over human strength?

[Context]

From the exposition of Psalm 76:5.

[Question]

In what ways can we practically 'be still and know that He is God' when surrounded by threats and bad news?

[Context]

From Psalm 46:10 and the conclusion.

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deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | weaver_study | 2026-06-06T16:43:14Z