Sham-Wow-gar

Judges 3:31 – Sham -“Wow”-gar

I want you to go back in time for a bit, all the way to 1776. What famous event took place then?

That’s right, the signing of the Declaration of Independence. It was a historic day, because it was the birth of a nation. But as soon as that document was signed. It also issued a declaration of war.

And for the next several years following that day, we fought against the British.

Now this seemed like an impossible war. The British were bigger, had greater resources, and were trained to fight.

But we know the outcome of that war, don’t we? By using what we had and some ingenuity, we fought back and won the war.

Now I share with you that illustration from history, because this is not the first time such an event like this has happen.

No, we didn’t fight the British again, but in history, there have been those that have rose up and fought for freedom. Which is the case in the text we are about to read.

[Read Scripture]

Shamgar is not a very well known person in the Bible. In fact, probably before tonight, some of you may have not ever had heard his name before.

He is not someone that has a lot of scripture written about his life. But in this verse, we read about a man who was called by God to fight against a stronger group.

Throughout the book of Judges, we find men and women that God used to deliver the Israelites from captivity or oppression. God’s nation would often turn away from God because of sin, and fall into calamity.

It was a repeated cycle. Over and over again this would happen. And in this event, we find that the Israelites were being oppressed by a familiar foe. The Philistines.

Time and time again, this group caused problems for the Children of Israel. And in like manner, we have those same philistine problems in our life. Because we are not so different from the people of this day.

But as we see, God used a man, a man that came and fought back. This man named Shamgar, that God used to defeat the Philistines once again.

Now this man illustrates to us some principles that we should see and apply to our life as well. Notice these three things.

1. Just because you’re not well known, doesn’t mean God can’t use you.

· Shamgar is not someone that stands out. Like I said, there is little scripture that speaks about him.

· But his name is in the Book. Now let that sink in. Shamgar is in the Bible. Now this is an important book, but there is another book that is equally important. It is called the Lamb’s Book of Life.

· You see, as we go through life, there are those who make it into that book and some who do not.

· And your name is not in that book for your status in life among men, it is in that book because of a relationship you have with Jesus.

· Now this is good, because when your name is in that book, God can look through that book and say, here is someone I can use.

· And this brings us to this first point, that just because your not well known doesn’t mean God can’t use you.

· Shamgar was not well known, but God used him to bring about a great victory. A foe that had oppressed Israel time and time again, was defeated because here was a man that trusted in Jesus.

· Was he someone who was a great warrior? No. Because his weapon is not a weapon of war. Was he a great politician, no, he was no King. Was he a man of notoriety? No again, because he was a man that is hardly mentioned in the scripture.

· But just because he was not a man who had books written on him, doesn’t make him any less important. He stands out because of his faith. And the fact that God used him nonetheless.

· Now, you may think that you don’t have the credentials to be used by the Lord. That you feel yourself as a nobody. But let me tell you something, you are somebody in the eyes of God.

· Well, these people don’t know me, that’s okay, because the Lord knows you and he knows what you are capable of.

· Shamgar was not well known, but God knew he was capable of being a judge in Israel that could free the people from the oppression that they were under.

· Now can I say, that is what we have just bore witness of with our judges. Praise the Lord, these men and women have stood up and overturn this sinful oppression we have been under for the last 50 years.

· Now there is a second thing that we see here in this verse that we need to take note of.

2. We don’t have to have the latest and greatest to be effective for Christ.

· Now note what Shamgar is remembered for using here to defeat the Philistines. Its an ox goad.

· A ox goad is not a modern instrument. It was an instrument used for farming. In fact, it was a stick with a curved hook on it, that connected to the oxen and was used like a plow.

· Now during these days, swords were around and shields. Spears and other weapons of war were available. But God didn’t call a man who was skilled with a sword, he called a man who was skilled with a ox goad.

· Swords would have been the weapon of choice, a modern weapon. But here is a man that doesn’t have a sword he has this staff.

· Now Shamgar could have said, God I don’t have a sword, how am I going to defeat this foe? But he didn’t. We don’t read that Shamgar complained because he didn’t have the latest and greatest.

· You know, we live in a world today, that puts all the attention on what is new. What is modern.

· For instance, we think that God can use the church unless they have all the modern conveniences of today. That if we don’t have great big screens, or flashy lights, or eye catchy scenery, that God can’t use us.

· Well, Shamgar didn’t have a sword, but he had an ox goad and if God was able to use this man with what seem primitive, he can use what we have as well.

· Now are you hearing what God is saying? You might be here right now, and you are not a skilled musician, but does that mean you are not to make music unto the Lord?

· You might be saying, I am not a trained speaker, but does that mean God hasn’t given you something to say?

· You might be here saying, I am not a skilled warrior, but can you pray? It is not so much with what you possess, it is about what God can do through you.

· Now God was able to defeat 600 mighty men with this fella called Shamgar. And if God can bring a great victory with this man, he can do the same with you.

· He can do the same with the little country church, and he can do it with the untrained person.

· Now there is another great principle that we need to see here and that is…

3. Stay committed with the Lord and you will see victory.

· Now I can’t help but see that God gave this man a great victory over the Philistines. Here was 600 men that stood against God up against one. And who is the victor?

· I would dare say, if Vegas was putting odds on this fight, Shamgar would have been the underdog by a giant margin.

· Here was a great many men who were coming up against this man of God. But each time they came up against Shamgar, he was able to defeat them. You know why this happened?

· Commitment to God. We don’t know how difficult this battle was for Shamgar, there might have been a time where he was surrounded. And for most, that would have been the time they would have given up.

· Is that how you are right now? Feel like giving up, because you have problems surrounding you?

· I was listening to Elizabeth Elliot this past week speak about her trials of being a missionary in Ecuador when her husband was killed by tribesman. She was left with a great work to do.

· By all accounts no one would have faulted her for leaving the mission field and returning home. But she stayed, because here was a group of people that needed to hear the gospel.

· And through her efforts many of those tribes people came to know the Lord.

· By being committed, she saw that God did a great work. And that serves as a reminder to us as well.

· That like Shamgar and Elisabeth Elliot, if we would stay committed to Christ, that there would be a great victory to share.

· Problems are going to come, it is the result of this sin cursed world we live in. People are going to get sick, bad things are going to happen to good people, we are going to be surrounded by problems.

· But if we stick with the Lord, if we stay committed to him, victory will come.

· You see, Jesus didn’t come to remove the curse of sin from this world, but to provide you a way of escape.

· Shamgar was a man that stayed committed to the fight, and was able to beat the odds.

· Let me ask you, will you stay committed to the Lord even if you don’t have what everyone else has? Will you use what God has placed in your life for His glory? Will your name be a name in His book?