Knowing Your Own Strength

 Judges 16:20 “Samson, the Philistines are upon you! ”He awoke from his sleep and thought, “I’ll go out as before and shake myself free.” But he did not know that the Lord had left him.

 Who are the “Philistines” in your life these days?

 Perhaps the news of the day has brought you to despair, and you feel like the ‘Philistines’ have won.

 Or perhaps the ‘Philistines’ in your life are health, finances, addictions, even old age’s creakiness. Perhaps you are beset by doubts, grief, shame, or guilt.

 The real lesson of Samson’s story is that he gave in to the wiles of the world, trusting in his own strength, which was too weak to defeat the enemy.

 Are you trusting in your own strength to overcome your enemies? Are you despairing of your future because you refuse to dwell with the Lord?

 We all have enemies which we need to defeat if we are to become the person God intends us to be.  Don’t rely on your own strength. Draw on the strength of the Lord through prayer, worship, community.

 Invite the Lord to be with you today, to provide you with the inner strength to defeat your ‘Philistines.’

God? Test, Test (pt. 2)

Judges 6:17 Gideon replied, “If now I have found favor in your eyes, give me a sign that it is really you talking to me.”

After the first sign God gave to Gideon, God sent Gideon to destroy the false gods Gideon’s neighbors worshiped. (See ‘God? Test, Test’ Pt. 1)

 Gideon’s second request for a sign is the famous fleece test. Gideon set up a test to see if God was really with him as he was going into battle against Israel’s enemies. (Judges 6:36-40)

 If God played along with Gideon’s test, there was every expectation that Gideon would lead an army into a battle in which he could very well lose his life. Before you ask God for a sign you had better be ready to go to work for God.

 You cannot say ‘no’ to God’s ‘go.’  If God has confirmed that God is with you in the battle into which God is sending you, then you need to gather up the courage to confront the enemy.

So, before you decide to do a little microphone check on whether God is really there, be prepared to say ‘yes’ if God answers,  ‘Here I am. You will go.’ 

God? Test, Test (pt. 1)

 Judges 6:13 “Pardon me, my lord,” Gideon replied, “but if the Lord is with us, why has all this happened to us?”

 God’s people felt abandoned.  Their 401k’s were drying up. The streets weren’t safe.  Running away and hiding seemed like the only good option.

 Why had this happened? God’s people forgot their identity. They worshipped false gods. They expected all of God’s blessings, but they refused to live lives that showed their gratitude to God. You couldn’t tell God’s people from their neighbors.

 The people abandoned God.  But God is more faithful to his people than God’s people are to God. God appointed Gideon to lead God’s people in battle to restore peace and prosperity.

 The first step was to get rid of the false gods people were worshiping. If we expect the Lord to be with us, shouldn’t we be willing to demonstrate with our lives our own loyalty to God?

 The second step was defeating the enemies.

 Gideon wasn’t so sure that God was really the One giving orders.  He didn’t want to go out and engage the enemy unless it really was God who was speaking.

 How do you know if God is speaking to you?

 

 

When Women Lead God's People

 Judges 5:7 Villagers in Israel would not fight;

    they held back until I, Deborah, arose,
    until I arose, a mother in Israel.

 On Pentecost Peter quotes the prophet Joel to make the point that the Spirit of God falls on both women and men. (Acts 2:18)

 The people of Israel knew this truth because of Israel’s “Mother Deborah”, their Judge who led God’s people in a victory over their enemies through her willingness to lead the men into battle.

 Is one reason for the Church’s current decline because so many refuse to see that women as well as men are called to lead God’s people? Many in the Church are intentionally deaf to the leadership voice of women, to their songs which brings wisdom and courage to the battle against the enemies and evil that surround us.

 My prayer on this Pentecost weekend is that the Spirit of God will open the eyes, ears, and minds of the worldwide Church to the truth of God’s Word: when women lead God’s people, offering up God’s prophetic words, God’s people are victorious.

 I thank God for all the “Deborahs” with whom it is my privilege to serve God’s people. Lead the way!