1 00:00:00,320 --> 00:00:03,560 I just want to say thank you, Phil, for putting this together 2 00:00:03,560 --> 00:00:07,720 and for the trip. I think it's a very special and 3 00:00:07,720 --> 00:00:11,040 meaningful thing to do. And if anyone of you is ever 4 00:00:11,040 --> 00:00:14,720 interested in joining a prayer mission team like that, the 5 00:00:14,720 --> 00:00:17,000 Congress does them periodically, different countries, not just 6 00:00:17,000 --> 00:00:20,960 Bolivia, so to pay attention and they'll be announced. 7 00:00:20,960 --> 00:00:22,920 And then you can sign up as well if you choose. 8 00:00:24,360 --> 00:00:29,320 Our sermon title this morning is With God We Can. 9 00:00:30,760 --> 00:00:34,440 How much we can do in life has a lot to do with how much we 10 00:00:34,440 --> 00:00:38,000 believe we can. There are many people over the 11 00:00:38,000 --> 00:00:41,520 years who've gone on to do great things in life because someone 12 00:00:41,520 --> 00:00:45,040 believed in them and encouraged them and they received it. 13 00:00:47,000 --> 00:00:50,440 Have you ever done something because someone told you you 14 00:00:50,440 --> 00:00:53,240 could? Are there things in life you've 15 00:00:53,240 --> 00:00:56,720 accomplished because someone came alongside you, encouraged 16 00:00:56,720 --> 00:00:59,920 you, took you under their arm and supported you? 17 00:00:59,920 --> 00:01:03,040 And it doesn't even have to be big things like an 18 00:01:03,040 --> 00:01:05,480 accomplishment, something like that. 19 00:01:05,480 --> 00:01:09,360 It can be something that you maybe wanted to stop doing and 20 00:01:09,360 --> 00:01:13,520 you can't or you feel you can't. Somebody comes alongside, offers 21 00:01:13,520 --> 00:01:16,560 you some help, and you found that the thing, whatever it was 22 00:01:16,560 --> 00:01:19,280 you're struggling with, you got free from. 23 00:01:19,680 --> 00:01:25,000 You couldn't, but then you did. I truly believe in the big 24 00:01:25,000 --> 00:01:29,720 picture of life. We must believe with God we can. 25 00:01:30,120 --> 00:01:32,760 Think of it. If God tells us to do something, 26 00:01:33,160 --> 00:01:37,200 do we think he's telling us to do that just to watch us fail? 27 00:01:38,120 --> 00:01:41,120 There are many things in Scripture and Scripture we're 28 00:01:41,120 --> 00:01:43,880 told to do that are direct commands of God. 29 00:01:44,760 --> 00:01:47,200 They may be hard, but we're told to do them. 30 00:01:47,720 --> 00:01:52,400 We're not promised it will be easy, but with God we can. 31 00:01:53,680 --> 00:01:55,920 But too often we feel like, well, I can't. 32 00:01:56,520 --> 00:02:00,120 I'm not able and the end result is the same because we limit 33 00:02:00,120 --> 00:02:04,440 ourselves from achieving what God has for us, because we don't 34 00:02:04,440 --> 00:02:06,240 trust and we allow fear to control us. 35 00:02:06,320 --> 00:02:08,240 Yes, I know there are physical boundaries. 36 00:02:08,600 --> 00:02:10,280 There are limitations in human life. 37 00:02:10,560 --> 00:02:13,640 We know that there are great hurdles and limitations that we 38 00:02:13,640 --> 00:02:16,360 physically do not have the capacity to overcome. 39 00:02:16,520 --> 00:02:21,560 That is true, but overall God is in the miracle business and 40 00:02:21,560 --> 00:02:24,000 things we say we can't do but other people can. 41 00:02:24,120 --> 00:02:26,640 Let's be careful. Remember the story of Sarah in 42 00:02:26,640 --> 00:02:30,480 the Old Testament when God said to Abraham, your wife will have 43 00:02:30,480 --> 00:02:34,480 a son. She laughed, It's impossible and 44 00:02:34,480 --> 00:02:38,680 she had a baby. Joseph had a dream about how he 45 00:02:38,680 --> 00:02:40,880 and his brothers were in the field harvesting grain and 46 00:02:40,880 --> 00:02:44,400 bundling it into sheafs of grain and all the other sheeps bow to 47 00:02:44,400 --> 00:02:47,040 his sheaf. His brother said you will never 48 00:02:47,040 --> 00:02:49,800 rule over us. They sold him as a slave for 49 00:02:49,800 --> 00:02:53,160 good measure, making sure it would never happen. 20 years 50 00:02:53,160 --> 00:02:56,760 later it happened. If God has promised something, 51 00:02:56,760 --> 00:03:00,120 he'll come through. The question is, can we believe 52 00:03:00,120 --> 00:03:01,960 it? Do we believe it? 53 00:03:03,840 --> 00:03:08,080 Sometimes the impossible becomes the possible simply because 54 00:03:08,080 --> 00:03:11,080 someone believes and has faith in God, uses that as a channel, 55 00:03:11,320 --> 00:03:14,040 as a conduit through which to make it happen. 56 00:03:15,520 --> 00:03:19,600 And sometimes it's the littlest, silliest little things that make 57 00:03:19,600 --> 00:03:22,200 no sense that shouldn't happen. I remember many years ago to 58 00:03:22,200 --> 00:03:24,360 tell this story and ask my wife's permission to do so. 59 00:03:24,360 --> 00:03:28,560 And so I have permission. I was a student in Steinbeck 60 00:03:28,560 --> 00:03:31,960 Bible College. But 27 years ago now, we had 61 00:03:31,960 --> 00:03:33,480 this little tiny pressure cooker. 62 00:03:33,800 --> 00:03:39,200 I used old little pressure cooker and the the little gasket 63 00:03:39,200 --> 00:03:41,640 ring around the top, you know, we close it and it has to be 64 00:03:41,640 --> 00:03:43,720 sealed so it builds pressure on the stove. 65 00:03:44,200 --> 00:03:48,280 Well, it had gotten old and soft and expanded and it was way too 66 00:03:48,280 --> 00:03:51,240 big. Came home one day and Anna had a 67 00:03:51,240 --> 00:03:54,040 brilliant idea. She had cut the ring, cut out a 68 00:03:54,040 --> 00:03:55,520 piece. Now it fit Well. 69 00:03:56,960 --> 00:04:00,520 I knew what would happen. I said you can't do that. 70 00:04:00,640 --> 00:04:03,440 You can't cut a gasket, it won't work. 71 00:04:03,840 --> 00:04:06,440 Well, I'll try. I said it's not going to work 72 00:04:06,440 --> 00:04:08,560 and if it works I'll buy a brand new dress. 73 00:04:10,680 --> 00:04:12,880 Well, she apparently had to cut it just right. 74 00:04:12,880 --> 00:04:15,040 She put it in there on the stove and it built pressure. 75 00:04:16,360 --> 00:04:18,800 I lost the bet. I bought her a new dress. 76 00:04:19,720 --> 00:04:22,920 It should not have worked. Ask any mechanic on planet Earth 77 00:04:23,200 --> 00:04:25,760 does cutting a gasket work and they'll all say no. 78 00:04:27,240 --> 00:04:31,040 But it did work here. When we think something won't 79 00:04:31,040 --> 00:04:34,080 work, often times we think it's because we know that we have the 80 00:04:34,080 --> 00:04:37,360 information. Well, God can work past that. 81 00:04:37,360 --> 00:04:40,240 And apparently you can cut a gasket and fit it so nicely. 82 00:04:40,240 --> 00:04:43,960 It does work. She proved it in her sermon 83 00:04:43,960 --> 00:04:45,480 series. We're going through Judges. 84 00:04:46,280 --> 00:04:48,640 And last Sunday we learned how God dealt with his people when 85 00:04:48,640 --> 00:04:50,720 they fell into sin again, walked away from him. 86 00:04:51,960 --> 00:04:54,400 The question I want to ask before I dig into the heart of 87 00:04:54,400 --> 00:04:57,560 the sermon is did those people going into sin think, you know 88 00:04:57,560 --> 00:05:00,920 what, we're going to go into sin and we're going to suffer years 89 00:05:00,920 --> 00:05:03,840 of oppression for it, but it's OK, we'll do it anyway. 90 00:05:04,040 --> 00:05:06,440 Did they think those thoughts? No, they did not. 91 00:05:07,280 --> 00:05:09,360 They just thought we'll be the exception. 92 00:05:10,320 --> 00:05:13,320 And as sin is never free, it wasn't free here either. 93 00:05:13,560 --> 00:05:16,880 And the cost came and we had the store of Eglon and how King 94 00:05:16,880 --> 00:05:20,080 Eglon of Moab oppressed them and the bondage and then what God 95 00:05:20,080 --> 00:05:24,240 did with Ihad and he saved his people through the deliverance 96 00:05:24,280 --> 00:05:27,880 of of Ihad. And then they had rest for 80 97 00:05:27,880 --> 00:05:31,320 years and it was back to the same cycle over again, and this 98 00:05:31,320 --> 00:05:36,200 time it was a 20 year bondage and they cried for help and it 99 00:05:36,200 --> 00:05:38,360 was the same thing again. God, will you help us? 100 00:05:38,360 --> 00:05:40,040 Will you get us out of this mess? 101 00:05:40,840 --> 00:05:44,680 Today's sermon is a reminder that no matter how difficult and 102 00:05:44,680 --> 00:05:48,480 how impossible things look, with God, we can. 103 00:05:49,560 --> 00:05:51,560 God knows our situation better than we do. 104 00:05:52,360 --> 00:05:56,400 And when we repent and surrender ourselves to Him, He wants to 105 00:05:56,400 --> 00:06:00,840 help us and then He can help us. Our story today begins and 106 00:06:00,840 --> 00:06:04,360 judges chapter 4. And we see how God used the most 107 00:06:04,400 --> 00:06:09,240 unlikely people to carry out his will in the most impossible 108 00:06:09,480 --> 00:06:12,560 circumstances. And by now, for those of us who 109 00:06:12,560 --> 00:06:14,760 are following this series, you know the cycle. 110 00:06:15,120 --> 00:06:19,080 Turning away from God, suffering oppression, the consequences of 111 00:06:19,080 --> 00:06:22,400 sin, remembering what they did, then getting back to God, 112 00:06:22,680 --> 00:06:26,160 repenting, and God rescues them. And on it goes. 113 00:06:27,280 --> 00:06:30,040 I was listening to an online Bible teacher go through this 114 00:06:30,040 --> 00:06:34,360 passage and he commented on the book of Judges and he said 115 00:06:34,360 --> 00:06:36,520 something like this. He said some people are good at 116 00:06:36,520 --> 00:06:39,040 confessing, just not stopping sinning. 117 00:06:39,280 --> 00:06:42,160 It's one thing to say, I know I'm sinning and I'm sorry and 118 00:06:42,160 --> 00:06:43,960 I'm doing this. I'm sorry, but keep on doing it. 119 00:06:43,960 --> 00:06:46,960 That's one thing Some are good at confessing and then also 120 00:06:46,960 --> 00:06:49,240 repenting. They know that, OK, I need to 121 00:06:49,240 --> 00:06:50,640 stop this. And then they do stop for a 122 00:06:50,640 --> 00:06:52,080 while. And the Israelites fit that 123 00:06:52,080 --> 00:06:56,160 category. They stopped for a time, but 124 00:06:56,160 --> 00:06:58,440 that's not it. And what's missing is 125 00:06:58,440 --> 00:07:00,880 transformation. And those of you who are in 126 00:07:00,880 --> 00:07:03,880 there Wednesday night Bible studies here will have heard 127 00:07:03,880 --> 00:07:05,800 about what it means to be transformed. 128 00:07:06,120 --> 00:07:08,640 So the transformation didn't really happen. 129 00:07:08,640 --> 00:07:11,120 There was always this partial turning. 130 00:07:11,440 --> 00:07:13,560 And inside their hearts there were still some residue. 131 00:07:13,560 --> 00:07:17,200 And after a while, they would go back to sinning again. 132 00:07:18,000 --> 00:07:22,520 The passage in There's a passage in Romans chapter 12 I want to 133 00:07:22,520 --> 00:07:25,560 use as an introductory passage. In Romans 12 verse 2, the Paul 134 00:07:25,560 --> 00:07:31,520 writes, do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed 135 00:07:31,520 --> 00:07:35,000 by the renewing of your mind that you may prove what is good, 136 00:07:35,200 --> 00:07:39,400 what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. 137 00:07:40,080 --> 00:07:42,960 In the book of Judges, the people of Israel repeatedly 138 00:07:42,960 --> 00:07:47,920 conformed to the cultures of sin and followed after the sins of 139 00:07:47,920 --> 00:07:50,320 the people around them. Then they would eventually reap 140 00:07:50,320 --> 00:07:53,000 the consequences over a long period of time. 141 00:07:53,360 --> 00:07:56,440 Then they would remember. They would cry out and confess 142 00:07:56,960 --> 00:08:00,560 and repent and God would rescue. And this cycle repeats itself 143 00:08:00,560 --> 00:08:05,080 many times over. And we have, we live in the same 144 00:08:05,080 --> 00:08:08,760 kind of culture today. I want us to keep this in the 145 00:08:08,760 --> 00:08:12,280 background of our minds what Paul wrote to the Romans as we 146 00:08:12,280 --> 00:08:15,280 go through the passage of Judges chapter 4 this morning. 147 00:08:15,640 --> 00:08:19,480 Judges chapter 4, we have again a nation that conformed to the 148 00:08:19,480 --> 00:08:22,320 world around them. This time God gave them over to 149 00:08:22,320 --> 00:08:24,400 a king who oppressed them for 20 years. 150 00:08:24,960 --> 00:08:28,280 They again cried for mercy. God raised up a deliverer, a 151 00:08:28,280 --> 00:08:30,880 very unlikely one, but it happened. 152 00:08:31,200 --> 00:08:34,640 Let's read Judges chapter 4 beginning verse one the first 3 153 00:08:34,640 --> 00:08:37,559 verses. When he had was dead, the 154 00:08:37,559 --> 00:08:41,240 children of Israel again did evil in the sight of the Lord, 155 00:08:42,080 --> 00:08:45,800 so the Lord sold them into the hand of Jabin, king of Canaan, 156 00:08:45,800 --> 00:08:49,200 who reigned in Hazar. The commander of his army was 157 00:08:49,200 --> 00:08:52,320 Sisera, who dwelt in Hirosheth Hagoyam. 158 00:08:52,840 --> 00:08:56,480 And the children of Israel cried out to the Lord, for Jabin had 159 00:08:56,480 --> 00:09:01,840 900 Chariots of iron, and for 20 years he had harshly oppressed 160 00:09:02,600 --> 00:09:07,640 the children of Israel. There's a bit of a map, what 161 00:09:07,640 --> 00:09:09,920 it's supposed to look like. So there you on the map, you 162 00:09:09,920 --> 00:09:12,040 have Hazer's north of the Sea of Galilee. 163 00:09:12,280 --> 00:09:14,880 That's where Jabin was doing his thing. 164 00:09:14,880 --> 00:09:17,480 He was ruling over that, over the nation of Israel from there. 165 00:09:17,720 --> 00:09:22,480 Now, if you read Joshua many years ago, over a century before 166 00:09:22,480 --> 00:09:25,480 that, he had conquered that place. 167 00:09:26,600 --> 00:09:29,520 But apparently, over time, in different pockets of the 168 00:09:29,520 --> 00:09:31,440 country, the Canaanites rose up again. 169 00:09:31,680 --> 00:09:34,320 And King Jabin of Hazer is in charge. 170 00:09:35,040 --> 00:09:36,960 And his commander of his army is Cicero. 171 00:09:36,960 --> 00:09:39,760 He's more toward the ocean. We have a map later, later on. 172 00:09:39,760 --> 00:09:42,880 He's more toward the sea. That's where Cicero, his 173 00:09:42,880 --> 00:09:46,320 commander, is stationed. And he has 900 Chariots made of 174 00:09:46,320 --> 00:09:48,840 iron. His military is well equipped, 175 00:09:48,840 --> 00:09:52,680 very advanced for its time. And to get out of out from under 176 00:09:52,680 --> 00:09:55,800 his control would literally take a miracle. 177 00:09:57,120 --> 00:09:59,840 This is one of the things where the people were said, we can't. 178 00:10:00,680 --> 00:10:05,200 Nope, we can't. How are we going to win 900 179 00:10:05,200 --> 00:10:07,760 Chariots of Iron? Those were the military tanks of 180 00:10:07,760 --> 00:10:10,360 their time. How's how's how's somebody on 181 00:10:10,360 --> 00:10:13,600 foot with a spear going to chase after these guys and and kill 182 00:10:13,600 --> 00:10:14,960 them? Can't be done. 183 00:10:17,080 --> 00:10:20,560 They would be like in our day, a tank comes rolling into town and 184 00:10:20,560 --> 00:10:22,560 somebody with small arms fires trying to win. 185 00:10:22,800 --> 00:10:26,200 Absolutely no way. Chariots were a big deal in 186 00:10:26,200 --> 00:10:28,440 their day. A chariot might have several 187 00:10:28,440 --> 00:10:32,160 horses harnessed before it. And the soldier riding that 188 00:10:32,160 --> 00:10:35,560 little cart he has, he's what he's armed, and he can dart here 189 00:10:35,560 --> 00:10:38,840 and there fast, and he can shoot with arrows or throw Spears. 190 00:10:39,280 --> 00:10:43,440 A soldier on foot has no chance. Well, let's see what happens. 191 00:10:45,560 --> 00:10:48,560 Verse 4. Now, Deborah, a prophetess, the 192 00:10:48,560 --> 00:10:52,640 wife of Lapidus, was judging Israel at that time, and she 193 00:10:52,640 --> 00:10:56,000 would sit under the palm tree of Deborah between Rama and Bethel 194 00:10:56,560 --> 00:10:59,480 in the mountains of Ephraim, and the children of Israel came up 195 00:10:59,480 --> 00:11:01,400 to her for judgment. That's interesting. 196 00:11:01,800 --> 00:11:05,400 So this is the first time we find God using a woman to give 197 00:11:05,400 --> 00:11:08,160 leadership in the worst possible circumstances. 198 00:11:08,880 --> 00:11:12,440 They had never had this before, that they would be oppressed by 199 00:11:12,440 --> 00:11:17,920 an army with 900 Chariots of iron and he's going to use a 200 00:11:17,920 --> 00:11:23,880 woman to give direction. When those people were being 201 00:11:23,880 --> 00:11:27,600 oppressed by the foreign kings, whether it's the Moabites or 202 00:11:27,600 --> 00:11:31,600 whether it's Jabin, whoever it was, they were not disbelieving 203 00:11:31,600 --> 00:11:33,760 God. It was not that they had quote 204 00:11:33,760 --> 00:11:36,240 UN quote, thrown God out as if he did not exist. 205 00:11:36,240 --> 00:11:39,400 They were not atheists. They still went for guidance 206 00:11:39,400 --> 00:11:42,480 from God. They still believe that God 207 00:11:42,480 --> 00:11:45,920 existed, but they didn't equate their sin with their 208 00:11:45,920 --> 00:11:48,120 consequences. So here's the prophetess 209 00:11:48,120 --> 00:11:50,000 Deborah. She's the judge in Israel. 210 00:11:50,080 --> 00:11:52,760 She would speak to the people on behalf of what God is teaching. 211 00:11:52,960 --> 00:11:58,120 They had that just like today, churches mixing sin and Bible 212 00:11:58,120 --> 00:12:00,200 and all together, we're still Christians. 213 00:12:00,440 --> 00:12:04,640 They did the same thing, but God's faithful even in 214 00:12:04,640 --> 00:12:07,480 idolatrous times, they were just like we are today. 215 00:12:09,080 --> 00:12:10,720 It's not that they didn't know about God. 216 00:12:10,720 --> 00:12:15,280 They knew about God and they would still go for advice, but 217 00:12:15,280 --> 00:12:17,520 it doesn't mention anything about how sincere they were. 218 00:12:18,040 --> 00:12:21,000 Shiloh was still there. They were still going to, to 219 00:12:21,000 --> 00:12:25,400 this to to Here was Deborah where she was under the tree 220 00:12:25,400 --> 00:12:29,520 there near, near Bethel, and they would go for advice. 221 00:12:30,440 --> 00:12:36,200 She was just north of Jerusalem, Bethel and Rama and Jerusalem in 222 00:12:36,200 --> 00:12:37,360 the South. That's where she was. 223 00:12:38,360 --> 00:12:41,160 It tells us the children of Israel would come to seek her 224 00:12:41,160 --> 00:12:43,400 out when they needed help. Again, remember, she's a 225 00:12:43,400 --> 00:12:45,400 prophetess. She's also serving as a judge, 226 00:12:45,400 --> 00:12:48,280 as an advice giver, A ruler, helping the people resolve their 227 00:12:48,280 --> 00:12:50,320 issues. She's judging between people who 228 00:12:50,320 --> 00:12:53,280 have disagreements and so on, speaking to them for God. 229 00:12:54,120 --> 00:12:56,880 The word Deborah by the way, from what I've heard it means 230 00:12:56,880 --> 00:13:00,280 the word bee, like a honey bee fits her well. 231 00:13:01,680 --> 00:13:05,520 Now in all of this, she's very busy giving leadership direction 232 00:13:05,520 --> 00:13:08,840 to this nation of Israel that's living in moral debauchery and 233 00:13:08,840 --> 00:13:11,520 sin, but they still connect with her. 234 00:13:12,000 --> 00:13:15,560 It was through this woman that God got the ball rolling that 235 00:13:15,560 --> 00:13:18,360 would result in His people becoming free from oppression 236 00:13:18,360 --> 00:13:21,080 under King Jabin and the story of Deliverance. 237 00:13:21,520 --> 00:13:24,520 It was Deborah who was the 1st to speak and give instructions 238 00:13:24,520 --> 00:13:26,720 from God to get the rescue plan in motion. 239 00:13:26,920 --> 00:13:30,920 Let's read verse 4 and on. Then she sent and called Barrick 240 00:13:30,920 --> 00:13:35,600 the son of Abinum from Kadesh to Naftali, and said to him, has 241 00:13:35,600 --> 00:13:37,680 not the Lord God of Israel commanded? 242 00:13:37,920 --> 00:13:39,880 Go and deploy troops at Mount Tabor? 243 00:13:40,200 --> 00:13:45,800 Take with you 10,000 men of the sons of Naftali and the sons of 244 00:13:45,800 --> 00:13:50,120 Zebulun and against you I will deploy Sisera, the commander of 245 00:13:50,120 --> 00:13:53,120 Jabin's army with his Chariots and his multitude at the river 246 00:13:53,120 --> 00:13:56,320 Kaishan and I will deliver him into your hand. 247 00:13:57,240 --> 00:13:59,440 Let's look at the map from where Barack has Barack has called 248 00:13:59,440 --> 00:14:03,360 from there he is, that's there's Issaqar Zebulun and NAFTA is at 249 00:14:03,360 --> 00:14:05,720 the top, then Hazard at the top and then Kadish is up the very 250 00:14:05,720 --> 00:14:07,840 top there, that loose blue line in the middle, that's Kadish. 251 00:14:08,080 --> 00:14:11,560 That's where Barack is. And then here close down the 252 00:14:11,560 --> 00:14:13,360 bottom by Jerusalem, close to Jerusalem. 253 00:14:13,360 --> 00:14:16,160 That's where Deborah is. Anyway, she calls for Barack 254 00:14:16,600 --> 00:14:19,560 tells him God has called you to fight against Sisera, that 255 00:14:19,560 --> 00:14:22,480 dreaded and feared military generals, his 900 Chariots. 256 00:14:23,240 --> 00:14:27,640 He tells him go to Naftali and Zebulun where close to Hazer and 257 00:14:27,640 --> 00:14:30,560 get these guys and deploy them on Mount Tabor. 258 00:14:31,160 --> 00:14:33,600 Both of those tribes were where the oppression was likely the 259 00:14:33,600 --> 00:14:37,400 harshest and there's a reason why he's to station his man on 260 00:14:37,400 --> 00:14:39,760 Mount Tabor. They would be relatively safe on 261 00:14:39,760 --> 00:14:41,280 top of the mountain from Chariots. 262 00:14:41,280 --> 00:14:44,320 Chariots are not good on on on hilly on hilly ground. 263 00:14:45,000 --> 00:14:50,840 Then #7 we read what she says. Go there again, it says I will 264 00:14:50,840 --> 00:14:54,360 deploy Sisera. I will and against you, I will 265 00:14:54,360 --> 00:14:56,840 deploy Sisera. I'm going to make him fight you 266 00:14:59,600 --> 00:15:02,000 and the IT was his Chariots, it was his multitude at the river 267 00:15:02,000 --> 00:15:04,760 Kishan and I will deliver him into your hand. 268 00:15:05,000 --> 00:15:06,640 Now this is a scary as it can sound. 269 00:15:07,680 --> 00:15:11,120 There's there's a very descriptive detail how this 270 00:15:11,120 --> 00:15:14,560 battle will go down. She tells him there will be war. 271 00:15:14,960 --> 00:15:17,760 They will engage you. And of course, the Chariots are 272 00:15:17,760 --> 00:15:20,600 mentioned again, and any time those Chariots are mentioned, 273 00:15:20,600 --> 00:15:23,120 that's like a shudder going down his spine, like, what am I going 274 00:15:23,120 --> 00:15:25,160 to do with that? Then of course, also the river 275 00:15:25,160 --> 00:15:27,880 kitchen is mentioned as well. And that's key as well. 276 00:15:27,880 --> 00:15:29,360 We'll see that a little bit later on. 277 00:15:30,040 --> 00:15:31,800 That's the river that aligned with the bottom right of the 278 00:15:31,800 --> 00:15:33,280 Mediterranean Sea that you see the river there. 279 00:15:34,640 --> 00:15:37,880 Have you ever thought about it? The road to freedom can be 280 00:15:37,880 --> 00:15:45,640 complex, difficult, risky. It's a lot harder to get to 281 00:15:45,640 --> 00:15:47,240 freedom than it is to get to bondage. 282 00:15:48,560 --> 00:15:50,640 And here's the plan that God's own, and this is what it's going 283 00:15:50,640 --> 00:15:54,120 to take when people want to break free from bondage. 284 00:15:54,680 --> 00:15:58,280 Some people do better than others, but breaking free is not 285 00:15:58,280 --> 00:16:00,600 free. Breaking free is often hard. 286 00:16:00,600 --> 00:16:03,440 It's laborious, risky, and dangerous. 287 00:16:03,840 --> 00:16:06,200 In this story, there's a lot of moving parts. 288 00:16:06,760 --> 00:16:09,920 Deborah was a prophetess. Her job was to summon Barrack 289 00:16:09,920 --> 00:16:12,680 and give him the message he would would he be up for? 290 00:16:12,680 --> 00:16:15,400 It's the next question. How was he going to respond? 291 00:16:15,400 --> 00:16:19,960 Notice what he does verse 8 and Barrick said to her, if you'll 292 00:16:19,960 --> 00:16:24,520 go with me, then I will go. If you will not go with me, I 293 00:16:24,520 --> 00:16:26,640 will not go. He has conditions. 294 00:16:26,920 --> 00:16:29,720 I'm not saying that was foolish or wise or anything. 295 00:16:29,720 --> 00:16:33,160 I don't know, but it's interesting that he does that. 296 00:16:33,400 --> 00:16:34,920 Maybe for the benefit of the doubt. 297 00:16:34,920 --> 00:16:38,240 He was thinking she's smart, she's wise, she connects with 298 00:16:38,240 --> 00:16:40,480 God. I'll take her with just in case. 299 00:16:41,040 --> 00:16:43,080 Maybe that's what he was thinking or he could have been 300 00:16:43,080 --> 00:16:45,120 thinking on the negative side. Well, let's see how far she 301 00:16:45,120 --> 00:16:47,680 backs up. What she says we don't know, but 302 00:16:47,680 --> 00:16:50,840 it does say this verse 9. I will surely go. 303 00:16:50,840 --> 00:16:53,840 She said, I'll go with you. Nevertheless, there will be no 304 00:16:53,840 --> 00:16:56,880 glory for you in the journey you're taking, for the Lord will 305 00:16:56,880 --> 00:16:59,320 sell sister into the hand of a woman or another woman. 306 00:17:00,040 --> 00:17:03,160 Then Deborah arose and went with Barek to Kadesh way up north, 307 00:17:03,920 --> 00:17:06,280 and Barek called Zebulun and afterlife to Kadesh. 308 00:17:06,640 --> 00:17:10,280 He went up with 10,000 men under his command and Deborah went up 309 00:17:10,280 --> 00:17:11,880 with him. So now they're in motion. 310 00:17:13,240 --> 00:17:16,280 Both Deborah and Marek both go up to Kadesh to assemble the 311 00:17:16,280 --> 00:17:18,720 army. He calls for these tribes and 312 00:17:18,720 --> 00:17:21,319 takes them under his control. So far so good. 313 00:17:21,720 --> 00:17:25,119 Things are starting to build. But in case we think all of this 314 00:17:25,119 --> 00:17:27,960 is unfolding cleanly and smoothly, there's no forces at 315 00:17:27,960 --> 00:17:29,240 work here. It's everything's going as 316 00:17:29,240 --> 00:17:30,440 planned. It's going as planned. 317 00:17:30,440 --> 00:17:33,720 But notice something else goes on to verse verse 11. 318 00:17:34,280 --> 00:17:37,760 Now Heber the Kenite of the children of Hobab, the 319 00:17:37,760 --> 00:17:40,600 father-in-law of Moses had separated himself from the 320 00:17:40,600 --> 00:17:44,120 Kenites and pitched his tent near Terebin near the terebinth 321 00:17:44,120 --> 00:17:48,760 tree at Zinem Zine name can't pronounce that property anyway, 322 00:17:48,960 --> 00:17:51,080 which is beside Kadesh. Remember Kadesh up north. 323 00:17:51,240 --> 00:17:54,840 So there's a man named Heber Heber the the Kenite. 324 00:17:55,400 --> 00:17:59,880 He's related to the Israelites, but he's also friends with Jabin 325 00:18:00,120 --> 00:18:04,960 of the of this of Hazor. They were distant relatives back 326 00:18:04,960 --> 00:18:06,880 in Exodus. You can find the story of Moses 327 00:18:07,200 --> 00:18:10,240 how all that happened. But anyway, now the flames are 328 00:18:10,240 --> 00:18:11,520 going to burn. And here's where it gets 329 00:18:11,520 --> 00:18:15,800 interesting. Verse 12 judges for verse 12. 330 00:18:16,240 --> 00:18:20,160 And they the people of Heber, the Canites, they reported to 331 00:18:20,160 --> 00:18:23,320 Cesara that Barrack, the son of Abenom had gone up to Mount 332 00:18:23,320 --> 00:18:28,280 Tabor. Oh, Heber's people reported to 333 00:18:28,280 --> 00:18:30,200 Sisera. What's going on? 334 00:18:30,440 --> 00:18:32,800 Barracks son of a minimum has gone up to Moab with an army of 335 00:18:32,800 --> 00:18:35,400 10,000. That's betrayal. 336 00:18:36,240 --> 00:18:37,720 How? Why would he ever do that? 337 00:18:37,720 --> 00:18:39,440 Why would he ever say this is what they've done? 338 00:18:39,440 --> 00:18:42,240 Why would he get involved? This is just my belief. 339 00:18:42,240 --> 00:18:44,640 I don't know this for sure, but I think he was more afraid of 340 00:18:44,640 --> 00:18:46,960 Sisera than he was of the God of Israel. 341 00:18:46,960 --> 00:18:48,880 He had, he thought, you know, Israel has no power. 342 00:18:49,040 --> 00:18:51,360 Don't worry about them. I just want to keep jabbing king 343 00:18:51,360 --> 00:18:53,640 of Canaan on the Canaanites of Hezra. 344 00:18:53,640 --> 00:18:57,040 I want to keep him on my side. He should have been quiet, but 345 00:18:57,040 --> 00:19:00,360 anyway, God was using Heber to do this because of who he was, a 346 00:19:00,360 --> 00:19:03,160 double character. You see, the truth is this. 347 00:19:03,160 --> 00:19:06,520 If we align ourselves with God, He will use us as vessels of 348 00:19:06,520 --> 00:19:09,600 honor. If we align ourselves with evil, 349 00:19:09,720 --> 00:19:12,240 God will still use us, but as vessels of dishonor. 350 00:19:12,240 --> 00:19:13,640 I think that's what's happening here. 351 00:19:13,640 --> 00:19:16,720 Well, Heber informed Cicera that Barrick is what Barrick is 352 00:19:16,720 --> 00:19:18,400 doing. Cicera gets to work. 353 00:19:18,520 --> 00:19:21,080 Sister wastes no time and responding, and here's what he 354 00:19:21,080 --> 00:19:24,480 does. Verse 13 Judges 413 So Cicero 355 00:19:24,480 --> 00:19:28,840 gathered together his Chariots, 900 Chariots of iron, and all 356 00:19:28,840 --> 00:19:31,840 the people who were with him from Hirosheth Hogoyum to the 357 00:19:31,840 --> 00:19:36,160 river Kishon. Cicero's military might gathered 358 00:19:36,160 --> 00:19:37,920 and concentrated on this one spot. 359 00:19:37,920 --> 00:19:41,960 He would eliminate the threat of Barrack and Cicero's mind. 360 00:19:41,960 --> 00:19:43,400 It's not a question of Who Will Win. 361 00:19:43,600 --> 00:19:48,200 He will strike first. Or he would encircle Barrack 362 00:19:48,200 --> 00:19:51,000 with his army and make a siege around Montabor. 363 00:19:51,000 --> 00:19:53,200 Whatever it was, he was going to get this done. 364 00:19:53,800 --> 00:19:55,760 And again, the verse, the river cushion is important. 365 00:19:55,760 --> 00:19:57,960 That will come up in chapter 5. Now things are ready. 366 00:19:58,240 --> 00:20:01,040 Barack with the soldiers on Mount Tabor, there's no concern 367 00:20:01,040 --> 00:20:03,320 who's going to win, just a matter of getting the job done. 368 00:20:04,320 --> 00:20:07,600 Some commentators suggest this was a siege tactic, Hemming 369 00:20:07,600 --> 00:20:09,480 Barack and on because he couldn't get down. 370 00:20:09,480 --> 00:20:11,960 The Chariots were in the way and once they would come down, he's 371 00:20:11,960 --> 00:20:16,840 going to mow them down anyway. Verse 14 falls out different 372 00:20:16,840 --> 00:20:18,160 than Deborah, said the barrack up. 373 00:20:18,760 --> 00:20:21,720 For this is the day in which the Lord has delivered Sisera into 374 00:20:21,720 --> 00:20:23,880 your hand. Has not the Lord gone out before 375 00:20:23,880 --> 00:20:26,080 you? So Barek went down from on table 376 00:20:26,080 --> 00:20:29,840 with 10,000 men following him. And the Lord routed Sisera and 377 00:20:29,840 --> 00:20:32,160 all his Chariots and all his army with the edge of the sword 378 00:20:32,160 --> 00:20:34,480 before Barek. And Sisera alighted from his 379 00:20:34,480 --> 00:20:38,760 chariot and fled away on foot. But Barek pursued the Chariots 380 00:20:38,760 --> 00:20:40,880 and the army as far as Hirosheth Hagoian. 381 00:20:40,880 --> 00:20:43,360 And all the army of Sisera fell by the edge of the sword. 382 00:20:43,640 --> 00:20:49,520 Not a man was left. Deborah gave leadership, Bear 383 00:20:49,520 --> 00:20:53,440 carried it out, and the rest is history. 384 00:20:53,440 --> 00:20:55,640 As they say, God came to the rescue. 385 00:20:56,120 --> 00:20:59,840 We're not told exactly what the details are, how this happened, 386 00:21:00,320 --> 00:21:04,800 but there's a passage in chapter 5 that gives some some detail on 387 00:21:04,800 --> 00:21:08,040 the surface. One would say, well, if this 388 00:21:08,040 --> 00:21:11,200 were 900 Chariots of iron, the men of Israel are only on foot. 389 00:21:11,200 --> 00:21:12,960 What happened that they won the battle? 390 00:21:13,560 --> 00:21:17,240 In chapter 5, verse 19 to 21, there's a little bit of insight 391 00:21:17,240 --> 00:21:19,960 there. This is a song that Berek and 392 00:21:19,960 --> 00:21:23,360 Deborah sing after the battle. It says the kings came and 393 00:21:23,360 --> 00:21:25,520 fought. Then the kings of Canaan fought 394 00:21:25,520 --> 00:21:27,960 in Tanakh by the waters of Megadood. 395 00:21:27,960 --> 00:21:31,400 They took the spoils of silver. They fought from the heavens. 396 00:21:31,400 --> 00:21:33,560 The stars from their courses fought against Sisera. 397 00:21:33,840 --> 00:21:35,680 The torrent of Kishon swept them away. 398 00:21:35,920 --> 00:21:38,400 That ancient torrent, the torrent of Kishon O my soul 399 00:21:38,400 --> 00:21:41,680 marched on in strength. One of the explanations for the 400 00:21:41,680 --> 00:21:44,800 victory is that this flat land by the river was chosen 401 00:21:44,800 --> 00:21:49,080 specifically for this battle by sister himself, but he didn't 402 00:21:49,080 --> 00:21:51,320 know what would happen. And the story goes that there 403 00:21:51,320 --> 00:21:55,520 was most likely a very heavy downpour, massive flash flood or 404 00:21:55,520 --> 00:21:59,200 something and made the land totally useless for chariot 405 00:21:59,200 --> 00:22:02,360 operations. Didn't work and back in chapter 406 00:22:02,360 --> 00:22:05,160 4 when sister gets off his chariot and runs away on foot, 407 00:22:05,440 --> 00:22:06,960 maybe that has something to do with it. 408 00:22:07,200 --> 00:22:10,160 Something went very, very wrong he hadn't encountered on nature 409 00:22:10,160 --> 00:22:14,600 interfering or could also been maybe that and running away on 410 00:22:14,600 --> 00:22:16,400 foot. He would be better be able to 411 00:22:16,400 --> 00:22:19,560 blend in with the rest of his fleeing army and hopefully get 412 00:22:19,560 --> 00:22:21,680 away. Whatever the details, we know 413 00:22:21,680 --> 00:22:24,320 that chaos, confusion and problems ensued. 414 00:22:25,000 --> 00:22:27,840 This powerful, unconquerable man in his army. 415 00:22:28,080 --> 00:22:31,320 We're now just running for their lives, losing the war, and 416 00:22:31,320 --> 00:22:35,480 Barrick pursues them. When the ancient writers wrote 417 00:22:35,480 --> 00:22:38,360 their stories, they were not worried about a lot of detail, 418 00:22:39,040 --> 00:22:41,240 and part of it had to do with the culture in which they wrote 419 00:22:41,240 --> 00:22:44,080 and to who they wrote. We today are so far removed from 420 00:22:44,080 --> 00:22:47,240 these times and stories and cultures, we need to do a lot of 421 00:22:47,240 --> 00:22:49,760 study to grasp the details of it. 422 00:22:49,840 --> 00:22:53,440 We're so far away from it. But the point of the story here 423 00:22:53,720 --> 00:22:57,280 is Cicero lost and Barrack overpowered him. 424 00:22:58,640 --> 00:23:01,960 But Barack, Barack was not content with just overpowering 425 00:23:01,960 --> 00:23:04,320 the army. For the victory to be complete, 426 00:23:04,440 --> 00:23:07,560 he had to get the leader, Sisera, to be completely free 427 00:23:07,560 --> 00:23:11,520 from this Jaben, king of Hazar. He needed to do eliminate 428 00:23:11,520 --> 00:23:14,160 everybody. See, sometimes people, they just 429 00:23:14,160 --> 00:23:16,560 want to get partial victory just just so much that's not 430 00:23:16,560 --> 00:23:18,920 uncomfortable anymore, just so much that things are better. 431 00:23:19,240 --> 00:23:20,440 And that's not what happened here. 432 00:23:20,760 --> 00:23:24,840 Barack goes all out, It says here in verse 17 and on it says 433 00:23:27,000 --> 00:23:30,400 Sisera fled away on foot to the tent of jail. 434 00:23:30,400 --> 00:23:33,040 The wife of Heber the Kennite, remember him, He's the one who 435 00:23:33,040 --> 00:23:35,000 formed Sisera of what Barrack was doing. 436 00:23:35,000 --> 00:23:38,080 So there's trust there says, for there was peace between Jabin 437 00:23:38,360 --> 00:23:41,600 Jabin, king of Hazer and the House of Heber the Kennite. 438 00:23:41,920 --> 00:23:45,280 And jail went out to meet Sisera and said to him, turn aside my 439 00:23:45,280 --> 00:23:47,880 Lord, turn aside to me and do not fear. 440 00:23:48,360 --> 00:23:50,680 And when he had turned aside with her into the tent, she 441 00:23:50,680 --> 00:23:54,600 covered him with a blanket. Then he said to her, Please give 442 00:23:54,600 --> 00:23:56,360 me a little water to drink from thirsty. 443 00:23:56,720 --> 00:23:59,320 So she opened a jug of milk, gave him a drink and covered 444 00:23:59,320 --> 00:24:01,320 him. And he said to her, Stand at the 445 00:24:01,320 --> 00:24:03,040 door of the tent. And if any man comes and 446 00:24:03,040 --> 00:24:06,400 inquires of you, say, and it says, is there any man here, you 447 00:24:06,400 --> 00:24:10,200 shall say no. This was a bold move on Cicero's 448 00:24:10,200 --> 00:24:12,800 part. Again, culture is important 449 00:24:12,800 --> 00:24:14,320 here. One speaker mentioned that in 450 00:24:14,320 --> 00:24:17,400 that day and age, the men would have their own tent and the 451 00:24:17,400 --> 00:24:20,080 wife, the wife, the wife with her maidens would have their 452 00:24:20,080 --> 00:24:23,720 own, her own tent. And no man ever would walk into 453 00:24:24,160 --> 00:24:27,600 this married woman's tent except the husband of that woman. 454 00:24:27,600 --> 00:24:31,120 And if any man would, would do so at the risk of his own life. 455 00:24:31,600 --> 00:24:37,200 Here's Cicera coming to jail's tent and she invites him in a 456 00:24:37,200 --> 00:24:40,920 pretty secure place. Cicera knows this. 457 00:24:41,400 --> 00:24:45,440 He goes inside, she covers him with a blanket he asked for for 458 00:24:45,480 --> 00:24:49,320 for a drink, to give some milk. And he does this because he 459 00:24:49,320 --> 00:24:52,640 trusts her. Well, was she trustworthy? 460 00:24:53,080 --> 00:24:55,480 Notice what she does. Verse 21. 461 00:24:55,720 --> 00:24:59,880 Then Jael Heber's wife, the Heber, the guy who informed on, 462 00:25:00,160 --> 00:25:05,200 on, on, on Barack on, on the army gathering, Heber's wife, 463 00:25:05,200 --> 00:25:09,280 took a tent peg, took a hammer in her hand, went softly to him, 464 00:25:09,280 --> 00:25:12,240 and drove the peg into his temple, meeting his head, and 465 00:25:12,240 --> 00:25:14,800 went down into the ground, for he was fast asleep and weary. 466 00:25:14,800 --> 00:25:17,240 So he died. And then as Barack pursued 467 00:25:17,240 --> 00:25:19,680 Cicero jail came out to meet him and said, come, and I'll show 468 00:25:19,680 --> 00:25:22,280 you the man whom you seek. And when he went into a tent, 469 00:25:22,600 --> 00:25:25,760 the early sister were dead with a peg in his temple. 470 00:25:27,240 --> 00:25:30,320 That was the place of his demise where he least thought he would 471 00:25:30,320 --> 00:25:35,440 end it. It says in verse 23. 472 00:25:35,440 --> 00:25:39,800 So on that day God subdued Jabin king of Canaan in the presence 473 00:25:39,800 --> 00:25:41,800 of the children of Israel, in the hand of the children of 474 00:25:41,800 --> 00:25:44,680 Israel grew stronger and stronger against Jabin king of 475 00:25:44,680 --> 00:25:48,840 Canaan until they destroy had destroyed Jabin king of Canaan. 476 00:25:49,520 --> 00:25:53,680 Notice who the writer of Judges gives the credit to God. 477 00:25:54,720 --> 00:25:59,000 God used all these events, all these many moving parts, all 478 00:25:59,000 --> 00:26:02,880 these different events were all part of the package that God 479 00:26:02,880 --> 00:26:07,960 used to destroy this king, His army and his power and to lift 480 00:26:07,960 --> 00:26:11,200 his people out. Well God never wanted His people 481 00:26:11,200 --> 00:26:14,200 to send in the 1st place but they did. 482 00:26:14,240 --> 00:26:16,520 They suffered when they repented and cried out. 483 00:26:16,720 --> 00:26:21,160 God used a very elaborate and very complex method and way and 484 00:26:21,160 --> 00:26:22,960 track to get them back to freedom. 485 00:26:24,120 --> 00:26:27,240 So what happened then in verse? And we won't read chapter 5 or 486 00:26:27,240 --> 00:26:30,400 just a few verses. Here's a song that Deborah and 487 00:26:30,400 --> 00:26:33,480 Barack sang together. Awake, awake, Deborah, awake, 488 00:26:33,480 --> 00:26:35,320 awake, sing a song. Arise. 489 00:26:35,320 --> 00:26:37,920 Barrick can lead your captives away or son of a bin Owen. 490 00:26:38,280 --> 00:26:41,160 Then the survivors came down, the people against the nobles. 491 00:26:41,400 --> 00:26:43,120 The Lord came down for me against the mighty. 492 00:26:43,280 --> 00:26:45,400 Notice the focus. It's not about what we did, what 493 00:26:45,400 --> 00:26:47,680 we accomplished. God can and God did. 494 00:26:48,600 --> 00:26:52,840 Then Judges chapter 524. It goes on and says most blessed 495 00:26:52,840 --> 00:26:55,280 among women is jail. The wife of Heber, the Kenite. 496 00:26:55,680 --> 00:26:57,560 Blessed is she among women in tents. 497 00:26:57,800 --> 00:26:59,480 He asked for water. She gave him milk. 498 00:26:59,960 --> 00:27:02,200 She brought out cream and a lordly bowl. 499 00:27:02,200 --> 00:27:05,440 She stretched out her hand to the tent peg her right hand to 500 00:27:05,440 --> 00:27:07,600 the workman's hammer. She pounded Sisera. 501 00:27:07,600 --> 00:27:10,240 She pierced his head. She split and struck through his 502 00:27:10,240 --> 00:27:12,400 temple at her feet. He sank, He fell. 503 00:27:12,400 --> 00:27:14,160 He lay still at her feet. He sank. 504 00:27:14,160 --> 00:27:16,160 He fell where he sank. There he fell dead. 505 00:27:16,320 --> 00:27:22,800 What a song, that's what it was. Deborah Barrack, with the help 506 00:27:22,800 --> 00:27:24,520 of jail, had done the impossible. 507 00:27:25,120 --> 00:27:28,400 They knew it was not them, they knew it was God working through 508 00:27:28,400 --> 00:27:30,760 them. We won't take time to go through 509 00:27:30,760 --> 00:27:32,600 that song, but I want to encourage us to read that 510 00:27:32,600 --> 00:27:36,240 chapter, both chapters, in fact, chapter 4 and chapter 5 today 511 00:27:36,240 --> 00:27:38,720 sometime. Read it slowly, meditate on it 512 00:27:39,440 --> 00:27:42,840 and see what God did. A story of rescue when people 513 00:27:42,840 --> 00:27:46,080 repented. What difference does this make 514 00:27:46,080 --> 00:27:49,120 for us today? God has not changed one bit from 515 00:27:49,120 --> 00:27:52,920 back then. I trust as we have seen how God 516 00:27:52,920 --> 00:27:55,640 works in Scripture, He still works today. 517 00:27:56,200 --> 00:27:57,840 Deborah, the unlikely prophetess. 518 00:27:58,080 --> 00:27:59,840 Who would have thought she would be a prophetess. 519 00:28:00,400 --> 00:28:04,120 Barrack, the military leader who depended on her in jail, the 520 00:28:04,120 --> 00:28:06,960 wife of Heber. The problem in the story was the 521 00:28:06,960 --> 00:28:08,720 evil king Jabin. First there's sin and then the 522 00:28:08,720 --> 00:28:11,080 evil king, his army commander. 900 Chariots. 523 00:28:11,400 --> 00:28:15,280 Everything seems so impossible in Psalm chapter 40 verse one 524 00:28:15,280 --> 00:28:18,240 and three we read. I waited patiently for the Lord. 525 00:28:18,240 --> 00:28:20,480 He inclined to me. He heard my cry. 526 00:28:21,000 --> 00:28:23,680 He also brought me up out of the horrible pit, out of the miry 527 00:28:23,680 --> 00:28:25,920 clay. He set my feet on a rock and 528 00:28:25,920 --> 00:28:28,600 established my steps. He has put a new song in my 529 00:28:28,600 --> 00:28:29,920 mouth. Praise to our God. 530 00:28:29,920 --> 00:28:32,480 Many will see it in fear and will trust in Him. 531 00:28:34,280 --> 00:28:36,840 I've had questions and conversations with people at 532 00:28:36,840 --> 00:28:38,800 times, and they tell me what they all cannot do. 533 00:28:39,240 --> 00:28:42,560 They've tried this, they've tried that, and for this reason 534 00:28:42,560 --> 00:28:44,680 and that reason. Nothing's working in deep 535 00:28:44,680 --> 00:28:46,800 distress and difficult circumstances they've gotten 536 00:28:46,800 --> 00:28:49,200 themselves into. Others have done things that 537 00:28:49,200 --> 00:28:52,560 gotten themselves into this and they play the victim. 538 00:28:53,920 --> 00:28:57,120 We're not victims, not with God, we're not victims. 539 00:29:01,480 --> 00:29:04,640 Sometimes people come for help and they don't really want help 540 00:29:04,640 --> 00:29:06,960 so much as this. Just look at how bad I have it 541 00:29:07,560 --> 00:29:09,240 and if life was better than I would have it better. 542 00:29:09,760 --> 00:29:12,040 The greatest battles are the battles of the mind and the 543 00:29:12,040 --> 00:29:14,920 heart. When I ask someone in difficult 544 00:29:14,920 --> 00:29:18,040 circumstances and situations what some options might be for 545 00:29:18,040 --> 00:29:21,280 them to try, they grow into great detail of why they can't 546 00:29:21,560 --> 00:29:24,000 and why it won't work, why they're stuck. 547 00:29:24,960 --> 00:29:27,640 The battle's already lost in the mind before it's ever fought. 548 00:29:27,800 --> 00:29:30,840 In the real world. There's so many circumstances we 549 00:29:30,840 --> 00:29:33,800 cannot control. But it's not about the 550 00:29:33,800 --> 00:29:36,880 circumstances that are that determine our outcome in life. 551 00:29:37,080 --> 00:29:39,880 It's our response to the circumstances that determine our 552 00:29:39,880 --> 00:29:43,000 outcome in life. Geez was a man in this world, he 553 00:29:43,000 --> 00:29:45,080 was God. Some, but also many, faced many 554 00:29:45,080 --> 00:29:48,200 difficulties. He never once faltered. 555 00:29:48,960 --> 00:29:51,960 He never once allowed himself to be drawn in or controlled by 556 00:29:51,960 --> 00:29:53,960 people or sin. Oh, he suffered horribly. 557 00:29:54,040 --> 00:29:57,520 But every obstacle, instead of stumbling over it, he stepped on 558 00:29:57,520 --> 00:30:00,960 it and use it toward his goal. When life turns difficult, 559 00:30:01,200 --> 00:30:03,760 either because we sinned or because others sinned, there is 560 00:30:03,760 --> 00:30:06,320 a path out. God can. 561 00:30:07,440 --> 00:30:12,520 We can because God can. Maybe there's a sister in your 562 00:30:12,520 --> 00:30:14,920 life who's got you under his thumb. 563 00:30:15,840 --> 00:30:19,440 Maybe he's got 900 ironclad reasons why you can't succeed. 564 00:30:19,800 --> 00:30:22,840 Those are his Chariots. You've gotten come to 565 00:30:22,840 --> 00:30:24,840 compromises. You can't find your way out. 566 00:30:26,080 --> 00:30:29,040 Maybe it's not even a sin issue, but something needs to happen. 567 00:30:29,040 --> 00:30:33,400 You can't see your way through. What about just surrendering to 568 00:30:33,400 --> 00:30:36,600 Christ and saying, Lord, I can't fix this unless you fix this, 569 00:30:36,600 --> 00:30:39,520 I'll just endure it. Whatever your sister might be, 570 00:30:40,240 --> 00:30:41,600 God does not need special people. 571 00:30:41,840 --> 00:30:45,000 He can use a woman like Deborah, She's not a soldier like jail. 572 00:30:45,000 --> 00:30:47,480 She was a housewife. She's not a soldier. 573 00:30:48,480 --> 00:30:51,160 What God wants is repentant and surrendered hearts, committed 574 00:30:51,160 --> 00:30:54,560 hearts and devoted hearts. And God can reach into any 575 00:30:54,560 --> 00:30:56,800 problem and solve it, just like we find in Judges. 576 00:30:56,800 --> 00:31:01,240 For whatever you are, wherever you are, I want to remind you, 577 00:31:01,320 --> 00:31:03,960 Jesus loves you. He's reaching out with his grace 578 00:31:03,960 --> 00:31:05,640 to you. He's inviting you to trust Him, 579 00:31:05,640 --> 00:31:08,480 to give you his life, give you his life, your life to Him. 580 00:31:08,800 --> 00:31:11,040 And no matter how big your Chariots around the air, 581 00:31:11,040 --> 00:31:14,200 Chariots of your enemies are, with God, we can. 582 00:31:15,160 --> 00:31:17,480 With God we can. Let's pray. 583 00:31:20,040 --> 00:31:24,720 Lord, we're grateful to you for your word, for your mercies, for 584 00:31:24,720 --> 00:31:28,520 your power, for your grace, and for your presence. 585 00:31:29,240 --> 00:31:31,440 You died for us, so we don't have to be slaves to sin. 586 00:31:31,440 --> 00:31:33,960 And we find so many stories in Scripture where people walked in 587 00:31:33,960 --> 00:31:37,040 slavery, in bondage, not because you wanted them to be, because 588 00:31:37,040 --> 00:31:39,720 they chose to. They chose sin, the path to 589 00:31:39,720 --> 00:31:42,640 bondage. You want us to walk in holiness 590 00:31:43,000 --> 00:31:46,080 and joy and in peace. There are no circumstances in 591 00:31:46,080 --> 00:31:50,120 our world so difficult that your spirit cannot overpower them or 592 00:31:50,120 --> 00:31:52,280 bring us healing and joy and peace as we walk through them. 593 00:31:52,600 --> 00:31:56,760 That's your will for us, Lord. May we accept it, but that 594 00:31:56,760 --> 00:31:58,840 countless thousands of your Saints have overcome. 595 00:31:58,840 --> 00:32:00,200 They've trusted you and surrendered. 596 00:32:00,720 --> 00:32:03,640 They took up their cross of suffering and in so doing gave 597 00:32:03,640 --> 00:32:05,320 up the bondage and received freedom. 598 00:32:06,680 --> 00:32:09,680 They gave up their fear and receive peace, and they gave up 599 00:32:09,680 --> 00:32:12,760 their worries and receive joy. Thank you Lord, for Your word 600 00:32:12,760 --> 00:32:15,240 that reminds us again and again of Your holiness and Your great 601 00:32:15,240 --> 00:32:19,280 love and Your mercy. May we be committed, devoted and 602 00:32:19,280 --> 00:32:21,720 loyal to You. Pray in Jesus name, Amen.