-Intro: Purify the Land Personally 7/5/15 -Yesterday was the 4 th of July, a day that is supposed to be a happy day in the life of our country. -A day that is supposed to invoke a spirit of nostalgia and patriotism. -Yet, I did not feel any of those emotions. Thankful for where I live. Not thankful for heading. -Instead, I have been mourning and grieving over the direction of our country. -As we get further and further away from Biblical principles and Biblical morality. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -Over the next few weeks, we are going to be talking about the details of those decisions, the effects of those decisions and our response as a church to those decisions. -These recent events have prompted us to change our planned teaching series. -Instead a 4 part message called Purify the Land. -Personally -Corporately as a Church -Nationally -Eternally with the return of Jesus. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ -Pray ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ -Review the book of Judges -The book of Joshua ends with the people of God ready to experience all the blessings of God in the land that was promised to them by God. -However, when the spiritual leaders of the nation of Israel died, they were not readily replaced and instead of obeying God, the people violated the very command that God said specifically to avoid. -Judges 1:19 (NLT) The Lord was with the people of Judah, and they took possession of the hill country. But they failed to drive out the people living in the plains, who had iron chariots. -Judges 1 talks about how each tribe failed to completely drive out the pagan people living in the land. -Instead they made them serve as their slaves -Instead they befriended them. -Instead they even married them. -It s a picture of sin. -God says Drive it out but they said Let it stay
-What God called evil they called good. -Judges 17:6 (NLT) In those days Israel had no king; all the people did whatever seemed right in their own eyes. -Judgment of God comes in chapter 2. -Judges 2:1-5 (NLT) The angel of the Lord went up from Gilgal to Bokim and said to the Israelites, I brought you out of Egypt into this land that I swore to give your ancestors, and I said I would never break my covenant with you. 2 For your part, you were not to make any covenants with the people living in this land; instead, you were to destroy their altars. But you disobeyed my command. Why did you do this? 3 So now I declare that I will no longer drive out the people living in your land. They will be thorns in your sides, and their gods will be a constant temptation to you. (Constant struggles/ Constant sin) 4 When the angel of the Lord finished speaking to all the Israelites, the people wept loudly. 5 So they called the place Bokim (which means weeping ), and they offered sacrifices there to the Lord. -The people served the Lord after that during the lifetime of Joshua and the leaders who outlived them. -Judges 2:10 (NLT) After that generation died, another generation grew up who did not acknowledge the Lord or remember the mighty things he had done. -Doesn t this sound like our nation? (Living in the first post-christian generation). -So God handed them over and turned them over to their surrounding enemies. -The Lord fought against them, causing them to be defeated, just as he had warned. -So then, the people would cry out to God, and God in his mercy He would raise up a leader (a judge) to rescue them from their oppressors. -That is the ebb and flow of the entire book. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- -Today, I want to focus in on one particular judge. -Gideon. -Familiar story: -God calls Gideon (a man who is from the least tribe of Israel and the least one from his whole tribe) to rescue God s people from the pagan Medianites. -Major victory story as God proves to Gideon that He is with him. -God dwindles his army down from 32,000 to 300 to show that the victory is from God, not man. -These 300 men, armed with a clay jar, a torch and a ram s horn, used these objects at the appropriate time, and God caused the enemy to fight against themselves and run away. -God gave them victory. -However, before that final victory in the initial call to Gideon, God called Gideon to wage war on a personal front. -When the angel of the Lord appears to Gideon and calls him to lead, Gideon asks him for a sign to make sure it s a real encounter.
-He is taken back with fear when he realized that he is indeed in the presence of the Lord. -He builds an altar to the Lord in that very spot and named it Yahweh-Shalom (The Lord is Peace) and he worships the Lord in that place. -When you encounter the Lord, you can t help but worship. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ -Then the Lord calls him to his greatest task. -The first call was to the enemy that had already invaded the hearts of the people of God (the sin of idolatry). -Judges 6:25-27 (NLT) That night the Lord said to Gideon, Take the second bull from your father s herd, the one that is seven years old. Pull down your father s altar to Baal, and cut down the Asherah pole standing beside it. 26 Then build an altar to the Lord your God here on this hilltop sanctuary, laying the stones carefully. Sacrifice the bull as a burnt offering on the altar, using as fuel the wood of the Asherah pole you cut down. 27 So Gideon took ten of his servants and did as the Lord had commanded. But he did it at night because he was afraid of the other members of his father s household and the people of the town. -Don t you know that was hard for him to do? -His father wasn t just a pagan man, he was apparently THE leader of the pagan worship. -He wasn t just involved in it, he was the leader of it. -This is a reversal of roles, -Dads are supposed to go to their children and teach their children right from wrong. -It s not supposed to be the other way around. -Gideon is having to do what his father should have done a long time ago. -I m sure this is the last place that Gideon wanted to go and confront but it s the first place God calls him to. PULL DOWN YOUR FATHER S ALTAR TO BAAL. (1) God will lead you to confront areas that are closest to you first -It wasn t the enemy on the far hills, it was the sin of his father right down the street. -Up to this point, Gideon was content to put up with his father s idolatry. -Why wasn t he more concerned with his father s idol worship before? What changed? -He had a fresh and real encounter with the Living God. *None of us can be useful to God in public service until we are first useful to Him in private service. (2) Until you have a fresh and real encounter with God, essential things will remain hidden from you -God calls Gideon to do two things: (1) FALSE WORSHIP HAS TO BE TORN DOWN
-If you want God to work in your life personally, false worship and false idols have to be dealt with. -What is idolatry? Putting anything else in the place of God. -What are the idols that we hold high in our society? -Sports over the Spiritual -Sex over Surrender -Entertainment over Encounter -People s opinion over God s opinion -Earthly treasure over heavenly treasure. -Earthly relationships over heavenly relationships. -Popularity with people over popularity with God. -Religion over Truth -The almighty dollar over THE ALMIGHTY GOD. -We ve saturated ourselves with sin -1 John 5:21 (NIV) Dear children, keep yourselves from idols. (2) TRUE WORSHIP MUST BE PUT BACK -Judges 6:26 (NLT) Then build an altar to the Lord your God here on this hilltop sanctuary, laying the stones carefully. Sacrifice the bull as a burnt offering on the altar, using as fuel the wood of the Asherah pole you cut down. -No matter what the risk or what the cost, God demands to be first in your life. -It s the only position that He occupies. -It may be a dating relationship, friends, business practices, secret sins -God says, Tear them down and begin to worship me fully once again. -It may come with severe opposition. -Judges 6:28-30 (NLT) Early the next morning, as the people of the town began to stir, someone discovered that the altar of Baal had been broken down and that the Asherah pole beside it had been cut down. In their place a new altar had been built, and on it were the remains of the bull that had been sacrificed. 29 The people said to each other, Who did this? And after asking around and making a careful search, they learned that it was Gideon, the son of Joash. 30 Bring out your son, the men of the town demanded of Joash. He must die for destroying the altar of Baal and for cutting down the Asherah pole. -Gideon knew these consequences. That s why he went at night. -He would rather face the wrath of men than the wrath of God. -He had to fully obey the Lord in this private area. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -What was the personal result of Gideon s obedience? -Judges 6:34a (NLT) Then the Spirit of the Lord clothed Gideon with power -You want to be clothed with the power of God, obey God in the areas that are closest to you. -When you do that,
-You will encounter the Lord. -You will be awakened and offended by the things that offend God. -You will do what they did in Judges 2 when they understood the judgment of God against them. -Judges 2:4-5 (NLT) When the angel of the Lord finished speaking to all the Israelites, the people wept loudly. 5 So they called the place Bokim (which means weeping ), and they offered sacrifices there to the Lord. -The wept and they worshipped. ------------------------------------------------------------ -Call to prayer. ------------------------------------------------------------- -Bridge Group Questions: (1) What stood out to you most about this week s message? (2) What was your initial reaction to the court ruling on same-sex marriage? (3) In what ways is the book of Judges being played out in America? (4) God called Gideon to confront the issues that were closest to him (his father s idolatry). How hard was that for him to do? What are the idols closest to us that God wants us to confront? (5) The people wept and worshipped when confronted with their sin. In what areas does God want you to weep and worship this week?