TOPIC: Obedience; Disobedience, Justice, Wrath
TITLE: THORNS & SNARES – The Proof Is Indeed In the Pudding!
TEXT: Judges 2:3
CONCISE OUTLINE:
And when God rebuked them they named the place Bochim (Baw-gghh-heem; the weepers or the place of weeping).
Here is the basic outline of the entire Book of Judges:
Paul says this about the Old Testament ...
Now look at what our history with God shows: Crusades, Dark Ages, Popish religion, paganism, materialism, Holocaust, Inquisition, witch trials, slavery, 500 years of conflict in Ireland, Bosnia/Rwanda/Darfur, terrorism, Islamic radicalism, wars, abortion, pedophilia, pornography, secular humanism, public homosexuality, judicial activism & tyranny, greed, selfishness, drugs, promiscuity, educational decay, taxation without representation, social & racial discrimination … and I could go on!
Worse haven’t we become a world which blames others for these thorns and snares?
You see our enemies don’t have to be nations, but they may be; one thing is for sure … if they are allowed to have at us, “they will become as thorns in [our] sides and [they] will be a snare to [us]”!
FOUNDATIONAL INQUIRY: What are we to learn from the lesson of Israel?
EXPANDED OUTLINE:
And don’t you see: God’s people are failing to be obedient by faith so that He will drive them out for us!
Except with obedience and repentance, we will see no change in our nations! [2 Chronicles 7:14]
TITLE: THORNS & SNARES – The Proof Is Indeed In the Pudding!
TEXT: Judges 2:3
“Therefore I also said, 'I will not drive them out before you; but they will become as thorns in your sides and their gods will be a snare to you.”FOUNDATIONAL INQUIRY: What are we to learn from the lesson of Israel?
CONCISE OUTLINE:
I. OUR ENEMIES WILL BE DUE TO OUR DISOBEDIENCE!TRUTH/CONTEXT: Israel is not far from the shores of the Wilderness and yet here they are in this predicament. (READ ALOUD: Judges 2:10-11)
II. OUR ENEMIES WILL (probably) BE GOD’S TESTING OF US!A. Our Enemies Will Be Pains In Our Daily Lives!
B. Our Enemies Will Trap Us In Things We Can't Control!
And when God rebuked them they named the place Bochim (Baw-gghh-heem; the weepers or the place of weeping).
Here is the basic outline of the entire Book of Judges:
Israel –That’s it; over and over Israel goes through this cycle. Even individuals are shown to exhibit the same characteristics (e.g., Samson, priests, Jephthah, the greedy Levite, etc.).1. Is instructed to obey
2. Agrees to obey
3. Disobeys
4. Suffers
5. Cries out (repentance)
6. Is judged
7. Is restored
8. Is instructed to obey
Paul says this about the Old Testament ...
“Now these things happened to them as an example, and they were written for our instruction, upon whom the ends of the ages have come.”Would you say we’ve been in that cycle here in the United States? In the world?1 Corinthians 10:11
Now look at what our history with God shows: Crusades, Dark Ages, Popish religion, paganism, materialism, Holocaust, Inquisition, witch trials, slavery, 500 years of conflict in Ireland, Bosnia/Rwanda/Darfur, terrorism, Islamic radicalism, wars, abortion, pedophilia, pornography, secular humanism, public homosexuality, judicial activism & tyranny, greed, selfishness, drugs, promiscuity, educational decay, taxation without representation, social & racial discrimination … and I could go on!
Worse haven’t we become a world which blames others for these thorns and snares?
You see our enemies don’t have to be nations, but they may be; one thing is for sure … if they are allowed to have at us, “they will become as thorns in [our] sides and [they] will be a snare to [us]”!
FOUNDATIONAL INQUIRY: What are we to learn from the lesson of Israel?
EXPANDED OUTLINE:
I. OUR ENEMIES WILL BE DUE TO OUR DISOBEDIENCE!
Consider how the contemporary church has disobeyed God ...A. The Great Commandments [Matthew 22:37-38]II. OUR ENEMIES WILL (probably) BE GOD’S TESTING OF US!
B. First Things First"But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.”D. SacrificeMatthew 6:33Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship.E. OthersRomans 12:1Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves; do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others.[CHEAP WORDS] A non-believing lawyer went to a friend’s church, listened watching speechlessly to the behavior of many who he knew … especially a number whom he’d seen in court or whom he represented.Philippians 2:4
“How did you like the service?” His friend asked at the close of the service. He answered, “As a lawyer let me respond in this way: there is a world of difference between testimony and evidence.
"Words are cheap; it’s easy to give testimony for Christ, but quite another matter to offer evidence of God's purifying power in one’s life in Christ. Didn’t your Jesus say ... 'This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me.'” [Mark 7:6]“Now these are the nations which the LORD left, to test Israel …”Judges 3:1A. OUR ENEMIES WILL BE PAINS IN OUR DAILY LIVES!1. Entertainment industry is surely testing usB. OUR ENEMIES WILL TRAP US IN THINGS WE CAN’T CONTROL!a) Audio & video2. Political system is surely testing us
b) Prurient & voyeuristic desires
c) Gambling and pamperinga) Lacks a clear Christian national-view3. Educational system is surely testing us
b) Lacks a Christian worldviewa) Corrupting the minds of our young people
b) Anti-Americanism
c) Lying & cheating
d) Communistic & socialistic1. Our own churchesa) Mega-church growth2. Judicial system:
b) Theological conflict
c) Church splits & pastoral hostility
d) Tares & wolvesa) 9th Circuit decision this week3. Secularism-humanism
b) Kelo
c) Gay marriage
d) Destruction of the familya) Paganism
b) Drug trade
c) Pornographers
d) Materialism
e) Victim class
f) Laziness
APPLICATION/CHALLENGE: So where have we disobeyed the LORD? Remind them of the above AND it was up to God’s people to drive the enemies of Israel out but it was in fact the Lord who drove them out.
And don’t you see: God’s people are failing to be obedient by faith so that He will drive them out for us!
Except with obedience and repentance, we will see no change in our nations! [2 Chronicles 7:14]
[REAL WITNESS] Let's not be like those who are seen and heard being un-Christian. People who know we are Christians will wonder greatly at our conduct.Didn’t the LORD say we were not to take His name in vain? Isn’t calling oneself a Christian but not behaving as one taking the name of Jesus in vain?
We might say, “I do this or that not as a Christian, but as a sinner saved by grace." Or we might even try, “I do this or that not as a Christian, I am at work where I may not act like a Christian.”
“But,” the observer will ask, “when the sinner or worker goes to Hell, what will become of the Christian?”
How will God judge us when we appear before His throne? Will it be for what we sang or prayed in church, or will it be for our witness before a lost and dying world?
It will be whether His Son ever knew us!
[NAME CHANGE] Once a soldier was reported to Alexander the Great for showing cowardice on a particular occasion; when the soldier appeared before Alexander the Great, he asked him his name. He said, “Alexander, sir!” Alexander rebuked him for the dishonor he’d brought upon the name and ordered him to change his name or behave in a way that honored the name.
It would not be a better thing to have fewer Christians laboring in the Lord’s vineyard but it would be to have better ones.
It would seem to me that most of what passes as Christianity today could certainly use a name change.
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