SUB: Adversity and deliverance TEXT: Judges: 6: 7-14. INTRO: The existing situation: 1) The Israelites were in captivity. 6:1. (7 years. Bible numbers significance) 2) They were dispossessed of all that God had given to them. 6:2. 3) While in captivity they were surrounded by enemies and all their efforts to make provisions for themselves came to nothing . 6:3-6 4) They cried unto God and God heard them. Think upon this. 1. THE SUFFERING PEOPLE WERE THE PEOPLE OF GOD. These were under the yoke of the Midianites and the Amalekites and the suffering people were God's chosen people. Gen 12: 1,2. A. A people, who from time to time had experienced the many blessings and mighty deliverance of God their Father. e.g. From the time of Isaac to Gideon's time. B. Now, they were in bondage to the Midianites etc.( After the mountaintops came the valleys.) 11. WHY WERE THEY SUFFERING? God just does not allow persecution and problems upon His people for any reason. A. They had done evil in the sight of God. i) They had not obeyed the voice of God. 6:10. God had given them His law and they were disobeying them. Exodus 20: 1-6. ii) They were involved in Baal worship. 6:25.The sun-god, under the general title of Baal, or "lord," was the chief object of worship of the Canaanites. Each locality had its special Baal, and the various local Baals were summed up under the name of Baalim, or "lords." Baal was also know as Moloch, Malcam, Milchem and Chemosh : They meant King. These were the name of the national god of the Ammonites, to whom children were sacrificed by fire. B. The gods of their neighbors had become their gods. i) The dangers of wanting what others have. Not the good things but the bad. ii) The others were the majority all the surrounding nations. C. Today, it has become the same thing. We have a form of Molech worship where we are literally sacrificing our children by our practices through misplaced values. The best safeguard for the younger generation is a good example by the older generation. i) The things of God are no longer important. ii) Self has become our God. 111. IN THEIR PROBLEMS, THEY CRIED UNTO GOD. 6:7. They cried unto God, but what caused them to? A. They had problems. i) Depending on your outlook of God, adversity will either drive us away from or draw us near to God. B. What creates your outlook of God? i) Your acceptance of the Word of God. ii) Your being influenced by the Word of God. C. Being God's chosen, instead of going away from God, they called upon Him. i) What does adversity do to you as one professing Christ? Bear in mind As we faithfully serve the Lord through the power of His Spirit, the devil's hosts will begin to attack us with all their might. As a result, we may be called upon to suffer for Christ's sake. The veteran missionary Russell Ebersole was once greatly encouraged by the beloved Bible teacher William Pettingill. After Ebersole told him of the disappointments and trials he had faced on the foreign field, Pettingill exclaimed, "Brother, that means you're on the right track. If you never experience any opposition or setbacks in the Lord's work, you ought to get down on your knees and ask Him to show you what you're doing wrong!" 1 Peter 5:7 1V. THE LORD HEARD THEM. Ps 34:15 says..." The eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous, and His ears are open unto their cry." A. God sent a prophet. 6:8. Prophets were the immediate organs of God for the communication of his mind and will to men. Thus a prophet was a spokesman for God; he spoke in God's name and by God's authority; he is the mouth by which God speaks to men and hence what the prophet says is not of man but of God. B. The prophet led them to destroy the altar of Baal. 6:25-28. i) God gave the message to the prophet. 6: 9-24 ii) He could not and did not do it by himself. 6:27. "servants" could be translated "worshippers". C. They were successful against the enemies. Judges 7:9 CONCL: There are several lessons for us here. i) Examine our condition before God. Have we made our idols and placed them before Him? ii) If we recognize that we have done so, are we willing to cry unto Him? iii) In our limited outlook of God, have we been sacrificing our children upon the altar of Molech? iv) Will we be willing to heed the Word of God and in unison battle the enemy successfully? APPL: The battle is the Lord's but only for His people. Are you one of His? |
SUB: Adversity and deliverance TEXT: Judges: 6: 7-14. INTRO: The existing situation: 1) The Israelites were in captivity. 6:1. (7 years. Bible numbers significance) 2) They were dispossessed of all that God had given to them. 6:2. 3) While in captivity they were surrounded by enemies and all their efforts to make provisions for themselves came to nothing . 6:3-6 4) They cried unto God and God heard them. Think upon this. 1. THE SUFFERING PEOPLE WERE THE PEOPLE OF GOD. These were under the yoke of the Midianites and the Amalekites and the suffering people were God's chosen people. Gen 12: 1,2. A. A people, who from time to time had experienced the many blessings and mighty deliverance of God their Father. e.g. From the time of Isaac to Gideon's time. B. Now, they were in bondage to the Midianites etc.( After the mountaintops came the valleys.) 11. WHY WERE THEY SUFFERING? God just does not allow persecution and problems upon His people for any reason. A. They had done evil in the sight of God. i) They had not obeyed the voice of God. 6:10. God had given them His law and they were disobeying them. Exodus 20: 1-6. ii) They were involved in Baal worship. 6:25.The sun-god, under the general title of Baal, or "lord," was the chief object of worship of the Canaanites. Each locality had its special Baal, and the various local Baals were summed up under the name of Baalim, or "lords." Baal was also know as Moloch, Malcam, Milchem and Chemosh : They meant King. These were the name of the national god of the Ammonites, to whom children were sacrificed by fire. B. The gods of their neighbors had become their gods. i) The dangers of wanting what others have. Not the good things but the bad. ii) The others were the majority all the surrounding nations. C. Today, it has become the same thing. We have a form of Molech worship where we are literally sacrificing our children by our practices through misplaced values. The best safeguard for the younger generation is a good example by the older generation. i) The things of God are no longer important. ii) Self has become our God. 111. IN THEIR PROBLEMS, THEY CRIED UNTO GOD. 6:7. They cried unto God, but what caused them to? A. They had problems. i) Depending on your outlook of God, adversity will either drive us away from or draw us near to God. B. What creates your outlook of God? i) Your acceptance of the Word of God. ii) Your being influenced by the Word of God. C. Being God's chosen, instead of going away from God, they called upon Him. i) What does adversity do to you as one professing Christ? Bear in mind As we faithfully serve the Lord through the power of His Spirit, the devil's hosts will begin to attack us with all their might. As a result, we may be called upon to suffer for Christ's sake. The veteran missionary Russell Ebersole was once greatly encouraged by the beloved Bible teacher William Pettingill. After Ebersole told him of the disappointments and trials he had faced on the foreign field, Pettingill exclaimed, "Brother, that means you're on the right track. If you never experience any opposition or setbacks in the Lord's work, you ought to get down on your knees and ask Him to show you what you're doing wrong!" 1 Peter 5:7 1V. THE LORD HEARD THEM. Ps 34:15 says..." The eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous, and His ears are open unto their cry." A. God sent a prophet. 6:8. Prophets were the immediate organs of God for the communication of his mind and will to men. Thus a prophet was a spokesman for God; he spoke in God's name and by God's authority; he is the mouth by which God speaks to men and hence what the prophet says is not of man but of God. B. The prophet led them to destroy the altar of Baal. 6:25-28. i) God gave the message to the prophet. 6: 9-24 ii) He could not and did not do it by himself. 6:27. "servants" could be translated "worshippers". C. They were successful against the enemies. Judges 7:9 CONCL: There are several lessons for us here. i) Examine our condition before God. Have we made our idols and placed them before Him? ii) If we recognize that we have done so, are we willing to cry unto Him? iii) In our limited outlook of God, have we been sacrificing our children upon the altar of Molech? iv) Will we be willing to heed the Word of God and in unison battle the enemy successfully? APPL: The battle is the Lord's but only for His people. Are you one of His? |
