Warrior or Whimp

Intro

Good Morning Church. If you didn’t know I had to go home for family for a few weeks, but now I am back. If you did know my family felt the prayers and thoughts. We appreciate it and if you could continue the prayers as they have a long road toward recovery. Were in Chapter 8 in the Story and this talked about many different leaders that have rose in Israel. If you following along in the Bible this would cover the book of Judges. In this book, we learn that Israel continues to disobey and God allows their enemies to conquer them. Once repentance is made, then God delivers them out from their enemies. We have seen that Israel continues to struggle with their faith and this will be a journey for a long time for this nation. However, I want to talk about something different today. I want to talk about how God uses certain people that we don’t expect to fulfill his plans.

Before we start the sermon lets start with a story. In the early 1800s a 9 year old boy was at the French Academy of Science. On display there was a Shoemaker’s Awl. An Awl is a sharp point tool used to pierce leather or material to make a hole. A prominent Shoemaker has his Awl on display and while his son played around him. The little boy was using this Awl to punch a hole through the leather and accidently stabbed himself in the eye. Unfortunately, the doctors couldn’t save the eye. The little boy suffered in pain and attracted an infection that spread to the other eye. The infection was so severe he lost eye sight in the good eye causing the boy to be blind.

The Shoemaker sent his boy to a Royal Institute for the Blind who educated him by using large wooden blocks. Unfortunately the school was under funded and didn’t have proper accommodation for the blind children. So the boy was left “educated” but couldn’t communicate through correspondence. After his education he devoted his efforts to develop a system for blind people can read. Louis Braille developed braille system so blind could now have written communications with the outside world. A wounded uneducated man developed a system that changed the world for the blind community.

This story goes along the lines of what I want to talk about this Sunday. How God uses the unthinkable, the meek, the weak, people to change the world. I believe God uses these people in the Bible because he designs the classic underdog story. How a person defeated all odds and conquered the obstacle. Think about it. If the best warrior or best team wins the championship, then it just become a victory then the story lingers and lasts throughout time. Since I like hockey, it reminds me of a hockey time. I’m a LA Kings fan, and if any of you aren’t…..well I’ll pray for you. Anyways, The LA Kings barely made the playoffs and in hockey it a best out of 7 series in each bracket of the championship. So the Kings were the first team that experts thought would get knocked off, because they were playing the 1st place team that had a historical winning career. In fact, every time these teams played each other the Kings were demolished. So the Playoffs start and the Kings were getting slaughtered game after game. It came down to game 4 and the San Jose Sharks were slotted to move on to the next round….but the LA Kings somehow and someway beat the Sharks game after game. In fact, this underdog team went on to win the championship undefeated after their first 3 games and won their first Stanley cup. Kings fans talk about this even though it was back in 2014 because it was such an impactful story. God does the same thing in the Bible. So lets begin.

The first person that was not a stereotypical leader. Deborah. I may get in trouble talking about a woman leader and a head of a nation. See in the theological world, there are long un-ending debates about women in ministry. Church leaders have battled this issue for before time, but here we see that Deborah has been ordained as a leader, and it was her faith that lead the nation to victory.

Judges 4:6- “Then she sent and called Barak the son of Abinoam from Kedesh in Naphtali, and said to him, “Has not the Lord God of Isarel commanded, ‘Go and deploy troops at Mount Tabor; take with you ten thousand men of sons of Naphtali and of the sons of Zebulun and against you I will deploy Sisera, the commander of Jabin’s army, with his chariots and his multitude at the River Kishon;and I will deliver him into your hand?”

And what did Barak say when he was confronted? Did he rely on God’s insight? No!

Judges 4:8- Barak said to her, “If you will go with me, then I will go; but if you will not go with me, I will not go!”

So be because he doubted and he lacked faith, then the unthinkable happened. The glory was give to a woman. Now before I get stones casted at me thinking a woman can’t do what a man can do. Let me explain. This was in the mid 1400s BC. Meaning about three thousands years before equal rights and during those times women didn’t have much, if any rights, and they definitely were military leaders. They were considered mothers and care takers. That’s it. That’s what society thought of them and placing a woman in a senior military leadership was flipping the social norm and the traditional hierarchy. But not only was this just weird, God gave Deborah the army AND the victory of the battle. This is monumental in the Bible. This means not only that a woman lead the army, but through her faith the army followed her into battle. So even though you are a modern world warrior, where is your faith? Where do you lay your strength in? You may portray a tough soldier, but if you have no faith, then your nothing but an empty soldier. If you have faith, then you have passion, if you have passion, then you have persuasion, if you have persuasion, then you have influence, if you have influence, then you can lead an army. But it all starts with faith.

The next person in Gibeon. Even after Israel was relieved from their enemies, they continue to sin and God allow their enemies to conquer them again. Things got so back and the Israel were so suppressed, that Gibeon was found hiding grain to help feed his family. When he is told that he should lead Israel to victory, what does he do? Does he stand taller, does he accept the challenge? No he retreats

Judges 6:14- “The Lord turned to him and said, “Go in this might of yours, and you shall hsave Israel from the hand of the Midianites. Have I not sent you?” 15- So he said to him, “O my Lord, how can I save Israel? Indeed my clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father’s house?

Does this sound familiar? If you been with us since we started the Story, does this sound like a person we just read about a few chapters ago? Let us look back…

Pg46- Moses said to God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?......Pardon your servant, Lord. I have never been eloquent, neither in the past nor since you have spoken to your servant. I am slow of speech and tongue.”

Gibeon was acting like Moses in the beginning. They immediately compared themselves with other leaders. They compared their own talents with others. Have you ever compared yourself with another? Have you ever looked at someone else and thought, I wish I was taller, skinner, smarter, more hansom like Chaplain Bockman. When you go this, we immediately forget one major component of this journey.

Judges 6:16- “And the Lord said to Him, “Surely I will be with you, and you shall defeat the Midianites as one man.””

When we start comparing ourselves with other, we try to change our of what or who we are. You see God created you, he perfectly customized you and he wants to use you with exactly who you are. Unfortunately, we lose the sight of the Lord’s plan and our faith diminishes. We forget God. See God has never left us and the Bible is rattled with scripture that reinforces that he will never abandon us, but we immediately start looking at worldly things to try to solve our problems. We try to look taller, buffer, prettier, stronger, etc. Now I’m not saying getting healthier, but our world has become obsessed with trying to obtain a perfect image. To the point where it affects our health. Diet pills, malnutrition, body manipulation, cosmetic surgery, etc. We try to become what the world tells us who we are, not who God designed us to be. The moment we take our eyes off God then fear and faults become our focus. If we had strong faith we could lead and Army. If we walked with God then we could conquer nations. But the common theme is that we cant do anything without God.

The last person that I want to talk about is not the person Israel wanted or anticipated. When the Roman Empire came and conquered the known world, oppression again came down on the Jews. So the Jews cried out for a savior. They wanted a warrior to come from the heavens to slay the Romans. They were expecting a prophet like Moses to bring down plagues on the Roman Empire. They prayed for a savior that would rise to power like King David. Conquering all the enemies that oppressed the Jews. They were expecting a great and powerful man to lead them into salvation. Since they were looking for a powerful prophet or a warrior like savior, there is no wondering why they didn’t recognize a carpenter from Galilee. When came and ministered during his time on the Earth be completely flipped the religious power scheme. The Sermon on the Mount best describes what I mean and they are known as the beatitudes-

Matthew 5:3-10

Jesus revolutionized the church, started a revival, and changed the world with one thing that the world needs more than wars.

1 Cor 13 “If I speak in the tongues[a] of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. 3 If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast,[b] but do not have love, I gain nothing.

4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

8 Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. 9 For we know in part and we prophesy in part, 10 but when completeness comes, what is in part disappears. 11 When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me. 12 For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.

13 And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.”

Jesus demonstrated this attribute to the fullest. When your love is so deep that you are willing to sacrifice yourself for it, then that’s love. When you’re willing to go to the depths of darkness for something, that’s love. When your being persecuted, tortured, and you still want to die for it’s sins then that’s love. Jesus demonstrated this attribute and he died by this attribute, but this was a physical visualization of God’s love for use. When we have strong faith then we could lead an Army. If we walked with God then we could conquer nations. If we loved like Jesus then we could change the world forever.

All three of these bible figures weren’t expected from the nation, but they had great victories. They didn’t compare themselves to others. They weren’t born from power. They weren’t the normal stereotypical warrior figures. If fact they were completely different from what was expected. God doesn’t want you to have strength. God wants you to have strength through him. God doesn’t want you to have faith in this world, God wants you to have faith in Him. God wants you to have faith in him, remember that he is next to you, and that he is willing to die for you. He doesn’t want you to change yourself. He wants you to allow Him to change you and by becoming less and allowing God to become more will change everything.