Hindrances to Victory: Weakness and Cowardice
Hindrances to Victory • Sermon • Submitted
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Text - Deuteronomy 20.2-8
Text - Deuteronomy 20.2-8
2 So it shall be, when you are on the verge of battle, that the priest shall approach and speak to the people.
3 And he shall say to them, ‘Hear, O Israel: Today you are on the verge of battle with your enemies. Do not let your heart faint, do not be afraid, and do not tremble or be terrified because of them;
4 for the Lord your God is He who goes with you, to fight for you against your enemies, to save you.’
8 “The officers shall speak further to the people, and say, ‘What man is there who is fearful and fainthearted? Let him go and return to his house, lest the heart of his brethren faint like his heart.’
Series - Hindrances to Victory, Part 3
Title - Weakness and Cowardice
Introduction
Introduction
Background
Background
Deuteronomy 20 addresses the regulations of going to war, especifically, the preparedness of the army.
5 “Then the officers shall speak to the people, saying: ‘What man is there who has built a new house and has not dedicated it? Let him go and return to his house, lest he die in the battle and another man dedicate it.
6 Also what man is there who has planted a vineyard and has not eaten of it? Let him go and return to his house, lest he die in the battle and another man eat of it.
7 And what man is there who is betrothed to a woman and has not married her? Let him go and return to his house, lest he die in the battle and another man marry her.’
In time of war, God allowed the following to stay home:
those who have recently built a house
those who have recently planted a vineyard
those who are bethrothed to be married
Why
these things are legitimate concerns
these cares can become the army’s weakness - a distraction in the battlefield
these cares can breed fear or apprehension - “if I die… what happens…?”
The Main Idea
The Main Idea
If we want to victory everytime we face our enemies, we must address our weakness and fears.
Weakness and fear go together.
weakness breeds fear, and fear breeds weakness
likewise, strength and courage are a perfect pair
Weakness and cowardice have no place in the army of God
Weakness and cowardice have no place in the army of God
8 “The officers shall speak further to the people, and say, ‘What man is there who is fearful and fainthearted? Let him go and return to his house, lest the heart of his brethren faint like his heart.’
fearful - full of apprehension
fainthearted - lit. weak in heart; discouraged
Gideon’s army was filled with fearful and afraid men
2 And the Lord said to Gideon, “The people who are with you are too many for Me to give the Midianites into their hands, lest Israel claim glory for itself against Me, saying, ‘My own hand has saved me.’
3 Now therefore, proclaim in the hearing of the people, saying, ‘Whoever is fearful and afraid, let him turn and depart at once from Mount Gilead.’ ” And twenty-two thousand of the people returned, and ten thousand remained.
fearful
afraid - trembling; shaking with fear or anxiousness
What kind of weakness are we talking here?
not the physical weakness
41 Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.”
the weakness OF the flesh
the weakness is the flesh itself
flesh - the humanity, carnality, the natural life
flesh will alway be weak, no matter how willing we are in the spirit.
the weakness of the mind - carnality
5 For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit.
6 For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.
7 Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be.
8 So then, those who are in the flesh cannot please God.
carnal mind - fleshly mind, to think in the flesh, or, thinking that is based on, or influenced and governed by, the flesh (senses)
carnal thinking leads to death, destruction, defeat
Examples of carnal thinking
Israel’s army (Deut 20)
cares for the new house, the vineyard, and the wife
34 “But take heed to yourselves, lest your hearts be weighed down with carousing, drunkenness, and cares of this life, and that Day come on you unexpectedly.
King Saul (1 Samuel 15)
he feared the people more than God
24 Then Saul said to Samuel, “I have sinned, for I have transgressed the commandment of the Lord and your words, because I feared the people and obeyed their voice.
What are the signs of “spiritual” cowardice?
No one would admit that he/she is cowardly, but we can identify the signs:
toleration of error
King Solomon tolerated his wives’ ilatrous practices
refusal to impose discipline
priest Eli did nto discipline his children
lowering of spiritual standards
running away from accountability
Peter hid from the Jews
refusal to make a commitment
Israel halted between two opinions
God wants His people strong and courageous
God wants His people strong and courageous
We are “commanded” to be strong and courageous
Moses to Joshua
7 Then Moses called Joshua and said to him in the sight of all Israel, “Be strong and of good courage, for you must go with this people to the land which the Lord has sworn to their fathers to give them, and you shall cause them to inherit it.
God to Joshua
6 Be strong and of good courage, for to this people you shall divide as an inheritance the land which I swore to their fathers to give them.
Joshua to Israel
25 Then Joshua said to them, “Do not be afraid, nor be dismayed; be strong and of good courage, for thus the Lord will do to all your enemies against whom you fight.”
David to Solomon
20 And David said to his son Solomon, “Be strong and of good courage, and do it; do not fear nor be dismayed, for the Lord God—my God—will be with you. He will not leave you nor forsake you, until you have finished all the work for the service of the house of the Lord.
The command is for the inner man - not for the body
16 that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man,
7 But reject profane and old wives’ fables, and exercise yourself toward godliness.
8 For bodily exercise profits a little, but godliness is profitable for all things, having promise of the life that now is and of that which is to come.
9 This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance.
Why?
Because it is the inner that is engaged in warfare
3 For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh.
4 For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds,
5 casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ,
Because a strong inner man cancels the weak flesh
16 Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day.
not lose heart - not discouraged; not disheartened
Example
Paul - weak, afraidand trembling - but determined
2 For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified.
3 I was with you in weakness, in fear, and in much trembling.
4 And my speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power,
5 that your faith should not be in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.
he was determined because he put trusted in the working of the Spirit
Conclusion
Conclusion
When Christians fall into sin, it is mostly because they have not been watchful of the flesh, nor consistent in their spiritual life.
all sins are works of the flesh - Galatians 5.19-21
when the flesh (which is weak) is allowed to have its way, the result is always in
Strengthen the inner man
grow in the spirit, like John and Jesus
Luke 1.80
Luke 2.40
a strong inner man builds courage
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