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Disabled Nation
Judges 1:1-7
Judges is a book about
incomplete victory...which stems from incomplete obedience.
What is another
word for 'incomplete obedience?'
DISOBEDIENCE!
Partial obedience in your
morals is disobedience. [I'm not so
bad! / But are you still willfully choosing to do wrong in some areas?] If
you aren't fully faithful you are unfaithful.
If you tithe on about half of your paychecks you cannot call it a
tithe. It may be 10% of THAT
check but if it's only 5% overall it is not credited by God as partial
obedience, but disobedience.
When it comes to our
commitment to Christ, let's not do things halfway.
Let's be all or nothing Christians and nothing is not a good option!
Jesus gave all and so should we!
1 Kings 18:21
21 And Elijah came unto all the people, and said, How long halt
ye between two opinions? if the Lord be God, follow him: but if Baal,
then follow him. And the people answered him not a word.
You are either committed
or you are not.
And
After turning [cramming]
an 11 day journey from Egypt to the Promised Land into 40 years of
meandering, Israel found itself IN the promised land, but not IN POSSESSION
of it.
They went back to their
old ways of going in circles in the wilderness.
Their progression
was:
Sin...Suffering...Supplication...Salvation
They would sin and
naturally suffer for it, then cry out to God and He would come to their
rescue. But God is not bound to
always be a safety net for His people.
He has come to our nation's rescue many times, but like with
If you want to know just
how up–to–date the Book of Judges is, listen to the words of the late
General Douglas MacArthur: “In this day of gathering storms, as moral
deterioration of political power spreads its growing infection, it is
essential that every spiritual force be mobilized to defend and preserve the
religious base upon which this nation is founded; for it has been that base
which has been the motivating impulse to our moral and national growth.
History fails to record a single precedent in which nations subject to moral
decay have not passed into political and economic decline. There has been
either a spiritual reawakening to overcome the moral lapse, or a progressive
deterioration leading to ultimate national disaster.”
The last war we won was
WWII. That was back when
generals fought wars to win them.
Today, Congress fights wars according to the polls and popular
opinion and politics. No wonder
we often lose or end in a stalemate at best.
Judges is about a small
group sent by God to reclaim a fallen nation, to speak as prophets of
judgment and turn them away from backsliding to repentance, revival, and
recovery.
Again, this book is about
incomplete obedience and incomplete victory, and their first instance of
both is right here in chapter one.
They begin w/ a victory in the first 7 verses, but then fail to
continue, they stop short, satisfied w/ partial obedience.
Important symbolism:
Adoni-bezek = "Lord of Lightning" =
SATAN!
That's right.
I believe the king in our text is a picture of the devil himself.
Why? Because of a
parallel passage in the NT...
Luke 10:1
1
After these things the Lord appointed other seventy
also, and sent them two and two before his face into every city and place,
whither he himself would come.
Luke 10:17-20
17 And the seventy returned again
with joy, saying, Lord, even the devils are subject unto us through
thy name.
18 And he said
unto them, I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven.
19 Behold, I give unto you power to
tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and
nothing shall by any means hurt you.
20
Notwithstanding in this rejoice not, that the spirits are
subject unto you; but rather rejoice, because your names are written in
heaven.
Jesus reminded these 70
followers of His that Satan is a powerful bolt of lightning that fell from
heaven, and his power is beyond our own.
Jesus teaches them that
although He has given them a position of power they should glory in the
position but not in the power as if it were their own.
Our position is in Christ,
but the power is all of Him.
Once upon a time in heaven Lucifer gloried in his power and sought to
overthrow God instead of recognizing his position in God's order.
He was cast out of heaven and ever since has sought to dethrone and
disable others.
Another powerful teaching
in vv. 6-7 is retribution.
Adoni-bezek was punished for his crimes in the exact same way as he punished
those 70 kings.
Retribution is a fearful
aspect of God's character we seldom think about.
We like to focus on His love and rewards in heaven, but we often fail
to consider His holy, perfect nature that demands justice and a payment for
all imperfection.
Satan's day is coming!
He may think he's getting away with things now on earth but it is
payday someday, and I believe his hour is drawing nigh.
God may not pay weekly, monthly, or annually, but when He pays he
pays in full!
We too should take warning
at this...
Numbers 32:23
23 ...behold, ye have sinned against the Lord: and be sure your
sin will find you out.
Galatians 6:7
7 Be not deceived; God is not
mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.
1
Timothy 5:24
24 Some
men's sins are open beforehand, going before to judgment; and some men
they follow after.
DETHRONED
means to be knocked out of your seat of power.
Romans 13:1
1
Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is
no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God.
It's like a major
demotion...that hurts!
Proverbs 25:7
7
For better it is that it be said unto thee, Come up
hither; than that thou shouldest be put lower in the presence of the prince
whom thine eyes have seen.
Proverbs 25:26
26 A righteous man falling down
before the wicked is as a troubled fountain, and a corrupt spring.
What a let down!
To our mature believers:
the many young ones and disciplees in our church see YOU as the end
result of Christianity. It's a
big responsibility to be a good example...don't let them down!
DISABLED
means unable to accomplish work for God.
Some try but find
themselves to be ineffective.
And some have been disabled to the point that they have quit trying.
With no thumbs they could
not hold a sword, so they were no threat.
With no big toes they were
unstable, could not stand to fight. If
you can’t stand you can’t fight.
Under his table = oppression. They lived
off the scraps they could gather under his table, which was very difficult
with no thumbs.
Satan disables in many
ways, but seems to have the most success by using the following
BIGG SINS against
us:
Bitterness
Immorality
Greed
Guilt
Bitterness:
Jesus said in...
Matthew 5:23-24
23 Therefore if thou bring thy gift
to the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath ought against
thee;
24 Leave there thy
gift before the altar, and go thy way; first be reconciled to thy brother,
and then come and offer thy gift.
If you aren't right with
another Christian, you are not right with God.
Horizontal relationships affect the vertical one!
Bitterness only hurts you.
It's a poison...a monster which turns on its creator and devours
them. It will disable you.
Immorality:
The middle verse of the middle chapter of the middle book of the
Bible is...
Proverbs 16:17
17 The highway of the upright is to depart from evil: he
that keepeth his way preserveth his soul.
Immorality is a gross
public sin in which you sin against God, yourself, your family, and your
church.
Greed:
Jesus said in...
Matthew 16:26
26 For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole
world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his
soul?
Luke 12:15
15
...Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man's life
consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth.
Jesus says to lay up for
ourselves treasures in heaven, not on earth.
Guilt:
Maybe you were in the past guilty of some of the above or other 'BIG'
sins. I have only 1 question
for you: Is it under the blood?
If so, don't fall into the BIG sin of the devil's guilt, which is
designed to disable you and cause you to settle for scraps from the king
when you should be feasting at His table.
Don't try to do penance
for past mistakes. No looking
back. You are forgiven and it
is forgotten. If God can forget
it you should at least try to as much as possible.
God sends people guilt to
promote salvation or sanctification.
Put it under the blood if you need to.
But realilze that the
devil sends people guilt to paralyze their service.
Romans 6:14--"For sin
shall not have dominion over you"
Yet many Christians allow sin to rule them.
A. Many Christians Are
Defeated.
1. Some Have Been Overcome [Ambushed].
I Peter 5:8--"Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil,
as a roaring lion, walketh about seeking whom he may devour."
2. Some Have Been
Outmanned.
We try to go the battle alone and we are no
match for Satan.
Ephesians 6:10--"Finally, my brethren, be strong in
the Lord, and in the power of his might."
3. Some Have Been
Outsmarted.
Ephesians 6:11--"Put on the whole armour of
God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil."
II
Corinthians 2:11--"Lest Satan should get an advantage of us: for we are not
ignorant of his devices."
4. Some Have Been
Outgunned.
Ephesians 6:13--"Wherefore take unto you the
whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and
having done all, to stand.
1 Cor. 15:57 But thanks be
to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
A. Remember Three Things
About Satan:
1. Satan Is A Definite
Fact.
Not a mythological character.
Not just a force
or influence, but a real person.
He has life, intelligence, a will, a
feeling.
2. Satan
Is A Destructive Force.
He is out to defeat you.
Christianity, Christian America, Church, Family, Person.
3. Satan Is A Defeated
Foe.
B.
How Do You Gain Victory?
The only true victory is
complete victory.
1 John 5:4 For
whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that
overcometh the world, even our faith.
In this verse, Paul the
apostle is giving testimony to the church at
Victory Does Not Come By
Regretting.
Victory Does Not Come By Resolving.
Victory Does Not Come By
Renouncing.
Victory Does Not Come By Rededicating.
Victory Comes By
Receiving The Victory Already Made Possible Through Jesus.
Outside of Christ there is no victory.
There is no good excuse
for being overcome by Satan
In John 16:33 we read, These things I
have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall
have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.
This king is just like
the devil, he wants to oppress you and rob you of the benefits of your
salvation. Many of God’s people live a beggar's life style while they are
the rightful heirs to the
Other Biblical examples of
this:
Mephibosheth
1 Sam
20:14-15
14And thou shalt not only while yet I live shew me the kindness
of the LORD, that I die not:
15But also thou shalt not cut off thy
kindness from my house for ever: no, not when the LORD hath cut off the
enemies of David every one from the face of the earth.
2 Sam 9:1
1And
David said, Is there yet any that is left of the house of Saul, that I may
shew him kindness for Jonathan’s sake?
2 Sam 9:3-4
3And the king said,
Is there not yet any of the house of Saul, that I may shew the kindness of
God unto him? And Ziba said unto the king, Jonathan hath yet a son, which is
lame on his feet.
4And the king said unto him, Where is he? And Ziba said
unto the king, Behold, he is in the house of Machir, the son of Ammiel, in
Lo’debar.
Here was the son of Jonathan Living like a beggar, Why? (He
didn’t know anything about the covenant between his father and David.
Satan is holding many of God’s people in bondage to guilt and shame,
(slavery) living like beggars because they don’t know what the covenant
says.
The Syrophenician woman said, Just let me have the crumbs that
fall from the children's table, even the dogs under the table eat the
children’s crumbs, (She didn’t know or have part in the covenant.)
But the sad part is when we are covenant sons and daughters and because of
ignorance, Satan oppresses us and brings us into bondage, and has us living
like beggars.
Luke 16:19-21
19There was a certain rich man, which
was clothed in purple and fine linen, and fared sumptuously every day:
20And there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, which was laid at his gate,
full of sores,
21And desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from
the rich man’s table: moreover the dogs came and licked his sores.
Lazarus was a son of Abraham (Yet he was living like a beggar)
Here is the bottom Line: You are not a beggar, Satan has no authority to
hold you in bondage of guilt or shame to your past, You are a covenant Son
or Daughter of God. The King is
calling you to his banqueting table, and at his table no one sees what you
were, only what you are. When
you take your rightful place at the table, you rule and reign as kings.
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