We're going to look today at Judges chapter 8.
We left the book of Judges, having made it this
far, back in November to dwell deeply on the
scriptures surrounding the birth of Christ. And
I warned you, for those who were available to
receive that warning, I know we've got some people
who are out sick and some people who are here
and that kind of thing, but we'll be in the book
of Judges for the foreseeable future. So I would
encourage you to read, study, meditate through
the book of Judges. That'll catch you up to the
story such as it is. This character that we're
looking at today, we had delved pretty deeply
into the early part of his story. And then now
this is a particular episode. As we look at it,
just on the off chance that you're not remembering,
you're not super familiar with the story, I'll
try to fill in some of the blanks so you make
sure that... You're getting it connected, basically,
in your mind. Before I do that, I want to share
with you an illustration. So this week I was
on the internet, as I occasionally find myself,
and I found a little meme about a show which
I had not seen before called The Middle. It's
a sitcom. They produced like nine seasons of
it. The article that I was reading said it's
okay for Christians, that you can watch it. There's
just a tiny bit of foul language. but it's not
really like there's not sexual themes or violent
themes or anything like that, so you should be
okay to watch it. But I watched one scene of
it, and in this scene, the dad in the household
is just coming home from work, and the mom is
in the kitchen, and she's got the kids lined
up, and two of them are teenagers and one's a
little younger. And she's explaining to them,
the mom's explaining to them a piece of paper
that she put up on the fridge that shows the
order of their household. And she says, Mom?
And then she lists the oldest kid and then the
next oldest kid and then the youngest kid. And
then she goes, oh, yeah, and dad. And she puts
dad up there kind of next to mom but slightly
below mom. And one of the kids says, I don't
think that's right. And she said, what do you
mean? And he said, I think dad's supposed to
be on the top. And she said, what do you mean
dad's on the top? I'm in charge of this house.
And he said, well, then why is dad always first?
And just then dad comes walking in from work
and he goes to the refrigerator and gets a drink
out of the fridge. And she says, as he's walking
in, she said, they're trying to say that you're
in charge of the house. Tell them that they've
got it wrong. And he said, what? What are you
talking about? And he said, I just got here.
I'm just coming in on this scene. I'm not sure
I'm ready to make a decision. What's going on
here? And she said, well, just tell them. She
said, they say that you're in charge. And he
goes, well, that's not incorrect. And he leaves
it against the counter, and he starts taking
a drink of his drink. And the kids are smiling,
and she said, no. She said, I'm in charge. Tell
them that I'm in charge. And he said, okay, when
I'm not here, your mother is in charge. And she
starts getting red in the face, really frustrated.
She said, but why did you say it that way? She
said, I'm in charge. And then the kids started
bickering back and forth. And the littlest kid
says, well, try being me. I'm the littlest. And
he starts to complain, and they start to bicker
back and forth. And she says, that's it. You're
done. Go to your room. And they look at their
dad, and their dad says, and so they start to
go to their room. And she goes, oh, wait a minute,
wait a minute. Why did you look at him? You looked
at him first. I saw that. Stay. Don't go. Stay
here right now. And they look at the dad, and
the dad says, and he tries to cover it with his
drink, like cover his face, and says, okay, stay.
And she goes, wait. And she starts to realize
he's actually in charge. So this is our life,
is it not? I mean, I feel like, generally speaking,
when I am the only person there and no one else
is around, I'm in charge. Now, I know in my heart
of hearts that God is really in charge, and I
try to submit everything in my life. I don't
want to get ahead of myself to the Lord. But
the truth is, there is a great struggle in the
universe. about who will be in charge. When God
said at the very beginning that he would make
man to reign over all creation, that created
an upheaval in those who thought that they were
better than man. Not that man should be in charge,
but that they should be in charge. And then if
God is going to be like that, then maybe God's
not fit to be in charge. And it created a rebellion.
And whatever you believe about the doctrine of
demons and angels, not everything that people
say about the doctrine of demons and angels is
in Scripture. It's not all there the way people
try to say it. But whatever you believe about
that, there have always been, pretty much from
the very beginning, those who were questioning
God being in charge. And it really shouldn't
be like that. He has certain traits that we'll
see before we're through that pretty much qualify
him and him alone to be in charge. But one of
the characters in the story that we're looking
at today gets that. And it seems like everybody
else in the story doesn't. And so what's it like
to be one who gets it when everybody else doesn't?
Well, we'll see that here. And it doesn't really
end great. But then Jesus comes much later and
sort of sorts everything out for us, and we're
grateful for that. So grab your Bibles, if you
would. Maybe give me an amen, a hoot, or a holler
as we go to Judges chapter 8. Thank you very
much. This is the Word of God. So that fun story
may help to interpret this passage a little bit
or maybe put it in perspective for you. But what
we're about to read now was inspired by God's
Holy Spirit, written by the hands of men, but
clearly preserved for us through centuries that
we might delve into it just this day. Judges
chapter 8, beginning in verse 18. Right after
verse 18, I'll stop and break the story down
just to make sure that we understand where this
is coming from. Then he said to Ziba and Zalmunna,
What kind of men were they whom you killed at
Tabor? And they said, they were like you, each
one resembling the son of a king. So backing
up the story from this point, and for those of
you who didn't read it or get a chance to look
at it in advance, Gideon has been at war, and
these two kings have really been a thorn in the
side to God's people, right? In fact, there were
two cities that while Gideon was pursuing, them,
and as they crossed over the Jordan and went
after these kings, they were in full flight because
God basically decimated their army. Gideon didn't
do it. He only had 300 men with him. They had
Campbell to the horizon, right? Tens of thousands
of men, at least. And God had routed them and
used them to destroy each other, but now Ziba
and Zalun, these kings, they still exist, and
they have fled, and Gideon has pursued them.
While they were pursuing, there were two cities
that Gideon went to, and his men were hungry,
and they were tired. and they needed resources,
and the cities refused them. So the passage right
before what we're reading today, when the cities
refused them, they said, well, have you already
got these kings in your grasp? Have you already
captured them that we should help you? What they
were saying was, if you fail to get Ziba and
Zalmunna, then they'll come back against us later
and destroy us, and Gideon's not that big a deal.
You're just not that big a deal, right? So we
don't want to risk it. And Gideon said, you've
made a huge mistake today. After I capture them,
I'll come back and I'll deal with you. So he
goes out there, he captures Ziba and Zalmunna,
and then he brings them back, and then he destroys
those two cities. And the one city, he kills
every man in the city. And so you can read the
story, get the better details out of it. Although
before this, I encourage you to do that. We did
it back in November. I encourage you to do it
again just to make sure. But now he's captured
Ziba and Zalmunna. And verse 18, he looks at
these two kings who were really... creating a
very downtrodden society amongst God's people.
They were losing their homes and their strongholds.
They were fleeing to the mountains. They lost
their crops year after year. And now Gideon has
conquered their armies really through God's might.
And he asks them, he says, what kind of men were
they whom you killed at Tabor? Now there's a
couple of things to see here. So first of all,
Tabor is an interesting place. Tabor is a place
that exists and its location is known even today.
In fact, it's become a place of Christian pilgrimage.
This is saying a lot of Christians go and see
Tabor, not because of this event. In fact, a
lot of Christians that go and see Tabor don't
know anything about this event where Ziba and
Zalmunna killed a bunch of people at Tabor. This
event is not recorded elsewhere in Scripture.
It took place probably before everything that
we're reading. So we don't know exactly when
it happened for sure, and we don't have any details
of the event, but what we do know is what we're
about to read is real, and I'll show you why
in a second. The reason that many Christians
go there is because another miraculous or incredible
event takes place there way later on in the history.
Any Bible scholars in the room know what that
event is? You'd be pretty incredible if you did.
It is the Transfiguration, possibly. So there
is a mountain that is proclaimed to be in a certain
region. That is where they went up to see Jesus
be transfigured. He got his white robes. looked
holy before them, and they offered to build tents.
You probably remember this story a little bit
now. And people think, starting about 300 to
400 AD, pretty much people attributed that story
to the church fathers, said that's where it took
place, on Tabor, Mount Tabor. There's another
mountain nearby that's actually taller, and scholars
debate which mountain it actually was, but when
Christians go and see where Jesus was transfigured,
guess where they go? Tabor. Going to Tabor, not
knowing about this massacre, probably, and maybe
it wasn't actually where Jesus was transfigured,
because it doesn't say that. The amount on which
Jesus was transfigured is not named in Scripture.
But starting about 380, people thought it was,
and so people go there and see where maybe Jesus
was transfigured. But what we do know that happened
there was a massacre. And this is why we know
that. He says, what kind of men were they whom
you killed at Tabor? And they said, They were
like you, each one resembling the son of a king.
Verse 19 says, and he said, they were my brothers,
the sons of my mother. So his biological brothers
were killed at the massacre at Tabor. This is
a fact. But, so he says, the sons of my mother.
As the Lord lives, if only you had let them live,
I would not kill you. So what he's saying is,
when... Ziba and Zalmunna killed his biological
brothers. They sealed their fate. Now, it's interesting,
and scholars debate why this event was never
mentioned previous to Gideon coming to power
and all the war that's actually going on right
now. And the prime theory, the number one theory,
is this, that if it hadn't been mentioned, then
everyone might be thinking that the reason that
Gideon went to war was vengeance, was to destroy
was to destroy those people who killed his brothers.
And that would make sense, right? People did
go to war for that reason or go to battle or
try to hunt down those. And it's even just to
do that. Man kills your brother to go after them
and try to bring justice. That's a just thing,
right? But it's not mentioned that way. So we
don't actually know that that was in any way
a motivator for Gideon. What we do know is what
God told us to do. Welcome, welcome, come on
in. Got some guests with you today. Yes. Awesome.
All right. And so what we do know, is that they
killed Gideon's brothers. And he says, the justice
I'm about to deal with you, to you, I would not
have done if you had let them live. So they failed
to show mercy to Gideon's brothers. And now Gideon
will fail to show them mercy or will not show
them mercy. So verse 20 says, so he said to Jether,
so this is his oldest son, it says Jether, his
firstborn, he looks at his oldest son. So Jason,
this would be as if your dad looked at you, right?
Or Aaron, because if I looked at you, oldest
son, and said, rise, kill them. So he says, basically,
put them to the sword. Right here, right now,
kill them right now. They deserve to die right
now. They killed your uncles, kill them. But
the youth did not draw his sword, for he was
afraid, because he was still a youth. So he wasn't
a grown man, proven in battle, that kind of thing.
But his dad just said, Kill them. They deserve
it. Showed the evidence. They openly confessed
that they had done what they did, right? He said,
why did you kill them? They said, well, we did
it because we could. They were like sons of kings,
and we killed them. We didn't show them any mercy.
Big deal. And they said, well, those are my brothers.
And then he tells his son, kill them. And his
son says, no, because he was afraid and because
he was still a youth. Verse 21. Then Ziba and
Zalmunna said, rise up yourself and fall on us,
for as the man, so is his strength. For as the
man, so is his strength. And so that's a saying
that relates the character of a person or the
quality of that person or the nature of that
person to the strength that that person shows
in conflict, under difficulty. You understand?
The kings are saying, these are kings, so they
carry some weight, even though they're defeated
kings and not godly kings. And they say, as the
man, so is his strength. So, Gideon arose and
killed Ziba and Zalmunna and took the crescent
ornaments which were on their camels' necks.
With two verses left today. Then the men of Israel
said to Gideon, rule over us, both you and your
son. So that would mean that his son, who did
not kill them, who did not rise to Jether, his
firstborn, would become king. If he becomes king,
then Jether would become king after him. Rule
over us, both you and your son, and your son's
son. For you have delivered us from the hand
of Midian. So because of what Gideon did, and
you and I know God did it, right? But because
of what Gideon did, they were going to make Gideon
king over them. Now in verse 23, Gideon says,
But Gideon said to them, I will not rule over
you, nor shall my son rule over you. The Lord
shall rule over you. That ends our text for the
day. And you can already see that Gideon appears
to be the only person in the room who understands
that God is supposed to rule at least over God's
people. The truth is God rules over the whole
world. Before we get to that, though, there's
a couple of other glaring truths here. The first
one is this, that justice and vengeance are two
different things. Right. So when someone hurts
you, you have probably a right to justice. Now
you can show mercy and add those kings show mercy
to Gideon's brothers. They might have been shown
mercy by Gideon. At least Gideon said that he
would. He proved pretty much to be a man of his
word throughout his entire life, so he probably
would have shown them mercy had they shown mercy
to his brothers, but they didn't. Was it justice
that they killed them? They didn't kill them
for justice, because they only killed them for
defending their families and their crops and
so on, for defending their households, so they
didn't kill them for justice. They didn't kill
them for vengeance. Vengeance is they would do
something back to them because of something that
was done to them. Gideon, in this passage of
Scripture, is not dealing justice. Gideon did
not become a judge in charge of his people. I'm
sorry, I said that backwards. He is not dealing
vengeance. Thank you. I'm going to clarify that.
He is not dealing vengeance. I saw it in your
eyes. He is dealing justice. He's not bringing
vengeance, we know, because his brothers were
killed. He didn't fight the battle because his
brothers were killed. He didn't summon the 20
,000 -man army or reduce it down to 300 men because
his brothers were killed. He didn't go out to
war because his brothers were killed, right?
He didn't capture these men because his brothers
were killed. But along the way, somewhere along
the way, he discovers that these men are also
the men who killed his brothers. And it becomes
justice that these men, first of all, their armies
are defeated, they're dealt with, and the evil
is stopped, right? But then he says, well, you
know, if they had shown mercy to my brothers,
I could show them mercy now. But it's justice
that they died. for not having shown mercy to
my brothers. And it's kind of a nice side effect
that he's able to deal justice to those who killed
his brothers. And it is justice. But it's not
vengeance. It comes at the end of a long line
of what is not vengeance. Right? Because it's
justice, his son might have gotten up and killed
them. I submit to you that vengeance is daunting
for youth, for young people. They might seek
it, they might feel it in their bones that they
want to deliver vengeance. But to murder somebody
in his mind, to kill somebody openly in the presence
of the king and all those witnesses, he didn't
understand justice. He couldn't bring justice
to them because he was young. And a lot of times
as young people, we don't understand justice.
We see justice as just as vengeance. She took
it from me. He hit me, I hit him back. I want
back. I want more time. I want to feel better
about myself and I'm not going to tolerate you
talking to me. So now I'm going to say nasty
things to you to get you to shut up and so on.
And we get mixed up over what's vengeance and
justice. But Gideon's son could have dealt justice
and it wasn't wrong necessarily of Gideon to
call on his son to do that. It would have been
a great opportunity for him to learn a valuable
lesson about justice. And he didn't. And then
Gideon did. Justice and vengeance are two different
things. And you'd be wise at whatever stage in
your life that you're at to learn the difference.
There is one person, one being, who has a right
to vengeance. And it is God. And there is one
person who ensures justice. And it is God. It
is not me and it is not you. Now God might use
you to deal justice. He might use you to put
somebody in their place. In their place, for
example. You better do it in the Lord, or you're
going to have a hard time sorting out what's
justice and what's vengeance, what's just dangerous,
where is mercy in all of this, and so on. The
next thing to see in there, then, is that validation
for people is not the same as authorization.
So it stems from reason that I would like the
people around me to say that something is okay.
If you tell me I'm doing a good job, then I might
have an emotional boost. I might feel a physical
sensation. My heart might beat a little faster
for a moment, and I might get some validation
out of that. But validation is not the same as
authorization. You don't get to do whatever you
want just because you think it's okay, and you
don't get to do whatever you want just because
somebody else says it's okay. If everybody in
this room ignores what I say today, that's not
validation. And yet, I have been validated by
God to say and authorized by God to say what
I'm saying, because this is the Word of God.
And I'm just teaching you what it says. If I
get something wrong, it's your job then not to
validate it. So I don't keep doing that. And
I have authorized you to do that. See, validation
is not the same thing as authorization. And if
someone in your life tells you it's okay to do
something, it stems from reason, emotion, logic,
that you may continue to do that. When a parent
says, do this. And then you do it and then they
say oh you did such a good job So grateful that
you did that here's a reward the child will do
it again because they feel like they've been
validated Now they had authorization to do it
from the beginning and all they needed to do
is act on the Authorization that they already
had they didn't need all that validation or the
gamification thing that we talked about during
inspirational moment You don't need to make a
game out of it. You've already been authorized.
You've been authorized to read the Bible, to
understand it, and to explain it to anyone who
will listen to you. Right? And if you're a Christian,
you've been validated by the Holy Spirit being
in you so that you can properly understand it
and properly deliver it. But validation from
people is not the same as authorization. Real
authority must reach into the spiritual realm.
You have to have an effect. When you speak, I
had this instance come up in my house just recently.
Ariana and I, she was going to bed last Thursday,
and they had school on Friday. They had snow
day on Thursday, and on Friday she had to go
to school. She was laying down. She said, I don't
want to go to school tomorrow. She just doesn't
really like school. She's doing well in school.
She's well -behaved. It's not a discipline issue
like that. She just doesn't like the humdrum
of it and all the drama. and kids trying to push
their agendas on her, and she deals with bullying,
and she deals with some persecution that people
don't like that she's a Christian, and things
like that. So one thing after another, and she
just doesn't really like to go. So she said,
I really don't want to go. And I said, honey,
you will go to school every day as long as the
Lord says you're supposed to go to school. You'll
go to school every day, so you can just let it
go. Stop worrying about it. Go to school, and
it'll be fine. God always takes care of it, doesn't
he? Yeah, he always takes care of it. Okay, then
don't worry about it. She said, but I don't want
to go. And I said, well, it's fine that you don't
want to go, but you're going to go. So you may
as well just accept it. And I said, you're going
to go unless you're sick. And she said, well,
I wish I was sick. It took less than 24 hours.
She got a bad cold. She missed school. Okay.
So now I'm not saying she got sick because she
said it, but God is a creator God and he speaks
things into existence. And you need to be careful
about how you use your mouth, right? Because
you can speak into the spiritual realm as a believer
in the Lord Jesus Christ. And you say, well,
I'm having trouble. with this, whatever it is.
And you verbalize that. And you've now authorized
a whole bunch of evil spirits and issues and
trials and tribulations to jump on the bandwagon
and make that thing more difficult for you than
it was before. And when you're going through
trials and tribulations, you need to say, well,
This is meant to cause me trouble, but God's
going to turn it out for my good. That's absolutely
biblical. Not only is it Romans 8, but it's biblical
in the entire story of Joseph, right? So people
tend to want to cause you harm, including evil
spirits and demons, the world system, your enemies,
and sometimes your friends and family members.
And people want to bring you to a place that
you don't want to go. And you say, well, I see
this is meant to cause detriment for me, but
I'm not going to allow that. God is going to
turn out for my good, and I'm going to claim
that. I'm going to walk that. And in the middle
of your trials and tribulations, James 1, you
count it as pure joy. See where this is all going?
We've got to change what we're putting out in
the spiritual realm because when you speak, it
has an impact. You complain. You complain and
you're creating a nice warm bath for a whole
bunch of evil spirits to come and bathe in. And
now all of a sudden you're walking around with
a bathtub on your back and the evil spirits are
going, yeah, we love a complainer. Let's be realistic.
When we speak, real authority reaches into the
spiritual realm. And it has to come out on top.
It doesn't just like die there like you released
it and it fell to the ground dead. Otherwise,
it's nothing but deception and false hope. And
so when people come to you and say, oh, I'm so
glad that you did X. And if that is not meant
to build you up, if it's not meant to make you
a better Christian, a better follower of the
Lord and more of a faithful servant, then whatever
they just said to you really has no value whatsoever.
Real authority reaches into the spiritual realm
and comes out on top. Otherwise, it's nothing
but deception and false hope. How many times
has somebody said, oh, I love you. I love what
you're doing. Or, oh, you look great today or
whatever. And you're like, well, what does that
kind of mean? I mean, it's nice, but for about
seven seconds, I feel a little better, you know,
because you said something cheery or you said
something nice about my outfit or whatever. But
what does it really mean? What is really the
value of it? If you have somebody tell you a
hundred times you look nice, then what does that
do for your soul? It may do something for your
mind, and what it does for your mind may not
actually be a good thing. And so the bottom line
is this. Validation from people is not the same
as authorization. The God of the universe has
given you permission to come into his family
through Jesus Christ and become a follower of
the Lord, to carry the keys of the kingdom, to
rebuke evil spirits and demons wherever you go,
to heal, to bring the gospel, to turn people
from lost, subject to wrath, destined for hell
people, to saved, born again, destined for heaven
people. That is the most incredible authorization
that there could possibly be. Therefore, then
am I saying that you don't need validation at
all? If you've been authorized already by God
and accepted that authorization, well, let's
step into that thought for a moment because this
is something I've heard a lot of Christians say.
People say, I'm living for an audience of one.
Have you ever heard that? Somebody said, I'm
living for an audience of one. Who is the one?
Well, it's God. So I only care what God thinks.
I don't care what other people think, right?
And so what they're doing is they're saying,
I don't need any validation. I am who I am. I
don't need anybody to be like Popeye the Sailor
Man. I am who I am. I'm Popeye the Sailor Man.
I'm good. I get out of bed in the morning. I
don't need anybody to tell me I'm doing a good
job. I don't need praise. I don't need a big
pat on the back. I don't need posters. I don't
need trophies. I don't need any validation. I
already know I'm the best guy on the team or
I'm doing a great job or whatever, and I don't
need any validation. And if it's a Christian,
they say I'm living for an audience of one. It
kind of sounds like that's a good thing because
only what God thinks is the only one that matters,
right? Well. I mean, so Jesus said, so let your
light shine before men. Right? So in other words,
if people should see what you're doing and they
should formulate an opinion about what you're
doing, then it is good. The good works that you
do are good. And maybe join you in doing the
good works even if they're not saved. But surely
then when Jesus comes again and they look to
God and God says, see, this person was doing
this because I did this. And they were talking
about Jesus and they were doing good works and
make the connection and God will get the glory.
So are you living for an audience of one if God
says, so let your light shine before men? That
is to say, you're doing the things that you're
doing and God working through you. No, you're
not living for an audience of one. You're living
for an audience of literally every person you
come in contact with then based on that, so let
your light shine before men. Now, not that you
would be validated. That's already been done
in Christ. Not that you would be authorized.
Already been done in Christ. But you are living
not for an audience of one, but an audience of
everyone that's around you. So you have a responsibility.
to take care of your body, to control your mouth,
to stand up, serve, give, work, do the things,
be where you're supposed to be, when you're supposed
to be, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera. He said,
well, I'm busy doing so many things. There's
some things that just kind of fall through the
mark. Well, every time you miss the mark, somebody
sees you missing the mark, and now your light
is not shining. So am I saying you've got to
be perfect? No. You already have the authorization
and the validation. This is a method by which
we live so that others can be saved, and it's
what God has called us to. It won't affect you.
You're not going to go unsaved because you screwed
up, because somebody caught you in a lie. If
you're saved, you're saved. You're not going
to go unsaved. But at the same time, you're not
exactly helping them either, right? In fact,
Paul says it this way in 1 Corinthians 10. He
says, whatever is put before you, go ahead and
eat. Eat to the glory of the Lord. Go ahead and
do it. But if the person who puts it in front
of you, and I'm paraphrasing it, mentions that
it's been sacrificed to idols, then do not eat.
I don't say eat, you know, for your own conscience.
Because you're not going to be affected at all
if somebody eats something that was sacrificed
to idols because you know who God is. You're
already authorized and already validated. But
that person's obviously struggling with it because
they mentioned it. So they mentioned it had been
previously sacrificed to idols before it was
sold in the market and they bought it. So you
say, you know, if you go to a stranger's house,
just don't even ask them where the food comes.
Just eat and be grateful. Pray and eat and be
grateful. But if they mention where it came from
and it came from a place that you can't eat,
that Christians can't kind of embrace or whatever,
And like we don't believe in sacrificing things
to false gods, right? So then don't eat. Not
for your conscience, but for their conscience.
Because clearly it's bothering them, right? So
are you living for an audience of one? If the
person that's next to you is kind of stumbling
in their faith, they haven't quite figured it
out, like they're not going to church, let's
say, and they're not walking out their faith,
they maybe profess to be a Christian, but they
don't quite have it, and then you go ahead and
sin in their presence, you're teaching them that
that's okay, right? Worse than that, if you do
something that they think is sin that isn't even
sin in their presence, they're going to think,
well, what does it mean to be a Christian anyway?
Many years ago, I had three teenagers. I was
picking up for church. I'm bringing church every
single time. I went to their house. They had
all requested me baptized. I went to their house,
and I sat down with their mom. And she said,
well, I'll tell you one thing right now. First
thing. We said, hi, I am. She said, I am. Okay,
you want to sit down? Sure. Do you want a cup
of water? Not right this second. It's okay. Thank
you very much. I'll tell you one thing. Right
now, they're not getting baptized. That was the
beginning of the conversation. The reason she
said they were not getting baptized, because
in her impression, by her statement, they were
not living as Christians. Now, she was baptized
as a child. She hadn't been in church in 15,
20 years, hadn't read a Bible, hadn't watched
a Bible show. I asked her, you know, are you
an expert? Have you studied up on this? And she
would tell me, like, what it is, and we talked
it all through. So they had a chore chart, which
according to them, I found out later, was changing
so fast they couldn't keep up. And so the chore
chart was on the fridge, and they were not actively
doing their chore chart, because they were not
actively doing their chore chart, they were not
living as Christians, and because they were not
actively doing their chore chart, and therefore
not living as Christians, they could not be baptized.
So on the one hand, I'm going like, well, this
is their mom. They're minors. They can't be baptized.
We can't do that. We're not going to honor and
obey your parents. We're not going to go beyond
what she says. On the other hand, they come to
me and say, well, it changes so fast. We don't
know what to do. And I said, so what you're saying,
you're in the process of doing the chore chart
and she'll go and change the chore chart? Yeah.
And they said, so what do we do? And I said,
so you finish the chore chart. And then they
said, but then there's new chores. And I said,
so then finish those too. And they're like. But
then we're doing double the chores. I said, so?
So what? So you do twice as many chores in a
day, right? But that's what your mom thinks a
Christian is. We shouldn't have to do that. Are
you following Jesus or are you following you?
Are you the one that decides what you should
do or shouldn't have to do? Is it the pastor
that decides what you should do or have to do,
or your dad, your grandfather? Who's going to
decide what you should do or shouldn't have to
do? Well, God. So what does God say? God says,
in the presence of a believer who is struggling,
or not even a believer yet, if there's something
that they think is sin that you're doing, you're
at least throwing a stumbling block. So they
were throwing a stumbling block at her, and the
fact that she was stumbling over it, and it sounded
like this every time she stumbled. Well, I know
one thing. They're not getting baptized. And
that's the life that we're doing. You go home
and you're like, I am following the Lord. Therefore,
I am free to do whatever. But people are watching
you. People are watching you. They're looking
at the things that you're doing and they're offended.
Not offended like they're mad at you, but offended
like, well, if that's Christianity, I really
kind of don't need it. And I'm telling you, knock
it off. In fact, I would say to you that people
go on the Internet, for example, and say, I'm
living only for an audience of one. This is what
they're saying is, I don't care if anybody else
goes to heaven or not. I'm going. I got my ticket.
And that's what you're doing. You probably aren't
even a follower of Christ if that's how you live.
Because that's not what Jesus did. Was Jesus
going? Oh, he absolutely was going. He was going
from the moment he was born. He was going from
the moment that he left there. He was going back.
And then he went to the cross and they crucified
him and he submitted himself to death, even death
on a cross. Though equality with God was something
he could have had, he chose not to have that
equality while he was on earth, and instead subjected
him to death of a person, a sinner's death, a
crucifixion, the worst kind of death, that they
had to invent a word to describe the pain. He
died, and while he was doing it, prayed, Lord,
forgive them, for they know not what they do.
So let's stop with the whole, I'm living for
an audience of one, and start thinking about
the people around us. And if you want them to
validate you, you don't need that. You want them
to authorize you, you don't need that. You want
them to come to the Lord? Then whatever you do
in their presence ought to be godly. And if they
have an idea, and if they would think that you're
doing something is sin, you can do one of three
things. One, you cannot do that thing around
them. But if they hear about it, that's going
to have the same impact. Two, you can explain
to them how Scripture shows that what you're
doing is not sin. Be careful, because a lot of
things that are in the Bible, it says our sin
or... But there aren't so many things that it
doesn't say. It says our sin. Right. There are
things that says our sin. And you could probably
show them in the whole Bible that it nowhere
says that the thing that they're thinking you're
doing, that sin that isn't. You could show it
doesn't say anywhere in there that it's a sin.
But if they have a conviction that it's a sin,
it's still going to be a problem. Right. And
then the last thing you could do would be just
stop doing it. And if it's something that you,
it isn't something that God has told you you
must do. For example, let's say they say it's
a sin to witness. You know, unfortunately, God
has told me I have to do that. And you can show
them how the word shows you have to do that and
then do what you're supposed to do. But let's
say it's wear a color or show up at a certain
time or wear a kind of clothing. And they think
it's a sin to do that. You could say, well, the
Bible doesn't say it's a sin, but because it
clearly offends their conscience, I'm just not
going to do it. or I'm not going to do it around
them, or you're going to somehow teach them that
they're in error. Those are your options. You're
not living for an audience of one. You're living
for the next person to be saved. Paul then says,
I judge not even myself. So by the way, for a
lot of people who say I'm living for an audience
of one, they actually mean them, and that's not
acceptable either. You are not your own audience.
Stop validating yourself. Stop authorizing yourself,
and seek the validation and authorization that
the Lord provides, and that alone, that's the
only one. But to me, it is a very small thing,
he writes in 1 Corinthians 4, that I may be examined
by you or by any human court. In fact, I do not
even examine myself, for I am conscious of nothing
against myself, yet I am not by this acquitted.
That's the most important. Yet I am not by this
acquitted. In other words, I'm not found guilty
because I have examined myself or others have
examined. That's how I'm found not guilty. But
the one who examines me is the Lord. Lastly,
in Ephesians 3, we learn who the real audience
is meant to be. It says this, Ephesians 3 .10,
so that the manifold wisdom of God might now
be made known through the church, that's us,
to the rulers and the authorities in the heavenly
places. This was in accordance with the eternal
purpose which he carried out in Christ Jesus
our Lord. You know who's watching you? Angels
and demons. You know, the greatest audience you'll
ever have is angels and demons. If a human watches
you, I suggest you redirect their attention to
the Lord as much as you possibly can. If an angel
or a demon does so, you have a responsibility
to make clear the manifold wisdom of God. That's
what the church does. We make clear the manifold
wisdom of God. And they go, and Satan says, that
guy, he believes that truth. He's standing up
for that truth. And then one day he's going to
say, ooh, that guy was right. And this sucks.
And so be it. So the aside is, you really can't
live for an audience of one. You were not created
to do so. You've become part of God's job to
reach the lost. And therefore, you need to go
find them. And if they'll be your audience, you
need to go tell them what it is that they need
to know and stand up for what it is that they
need to see. Then we come to number three. As
is the man, so his strength. This is going to
be painful for some of us in the room. For me,
it was. Be prepared to do it yourself. When you
start with, there's a job that needs to be done.
It could be a chore. It could be the easiest
or simplest of things. You think it might need
to be done, and it's someone else's responsibility.
You could ask somebody else to do it. You asked
your kid to take the garbage out. He didn't take
the garbage out. Be prepared to do it yourself.
You asked your wife to balance the checkbook
or to pay the bills. She didn't do it. Be prepared
to do it yourself. Not just men, but certainly
poor men, because that's what we're talking about
in the passage when it says, as is the man, so
is strength. Be prepared to do it yourself. But
it goes a little further than that, doesn't it?
Somebody needs to tell the lost and dying world.
Somebody needs to step up and read the Bible.
Somebody needs to meditate, pray, serve, give,
show up, be there, stay over, come early. Somebody
needs to push a broom. Somebody needs to fix
a car. Somebody needs to. Somebody needs to.
And anytime somebody needs to, we need to be
prepared to do it ourselves. If you've become
aware, you need to be prepared to do it yourself.
But it goes a little further than that, doesn't
it? We have one example, one supreme example,
one person that's ever existed that we're supposed
to be like, and that is Jesus. And Jesus set
this example, which I've already mentioned, and
that is that he was willing to die, even death
on a cross, to be prepared to do it yourself.
In fact, if you are not prepared to do yourself
what it is that you need him to do for you, then
you can readily expect... Then what he did for
you may not count for you To get all that if
you are not prepared to do yourself what it is
that he did for you You can now do for others
Then what he did for you may not actually count
for you. What if you need to die? Die by you
know, not getting something you want not getting
a choice not eating a thing Not be able to listen
to a thing or have a thing or taste a thing or
feel a thing or spend time on what you'd like
to. What if you need to set aside your desires?
I think Jesus actually preached that. Set aside
your desires. What if you need to suffer? Take
up your cross. What if you need to suffer daily?
Be prepared to do it yourself. Strength can mean
equipping, calling, and more. It doesn't just
have to mean physical strength. But sometimes
it just means embracing what God says is necessary.
So whatever you're going through today, as much
as it may suck, as much as it may be difficult,
it wouldn't be happening if God wasn't allowing
it. So you can safely assume that what you're
going through now, God has said it is necessary.
So your option then is to rebel against God,
think God is not a just ruler, think it's not
right. try to weed out your way out of it, sneak,
creep, manipulate, lie, whatever. Or you can
say, well, here I am. It is necessary. And you
can be prepared to do it yourself. In the family
of God, such as the man, so is his strength.
Such as the woman, so is his strength. When you
reach heaven, your good works, they probably
won't stack up. much at all compared to what
you overcame. And I mentioned it earlier. Jesus
said, for him who overcomes, I will let him sit
on my throne with me just as my father, just
as I overcame and my father let me sit on his
throne with him. Overcome. So what good work
will you work when you get to heaven that Jesus
will let you sit on his throne? You will overcome.
How will you overcome? You will face difficulties
that you wish you never had to face and then
continue on being found faithful, doing the things
that God would have you to do. It means more.
to work hard when the sun is beating down on
your back or the rain is pouring than it does
to work hard when it's been made not so difficult.
And God is looking for us to overcome trials
and tribulations, and in that his will be perfected.
As is the man or the woman, so is strength. Be
prepared to do it yourself. That brings us to
our conclusion. I'll recap. Justice and vengeance
are two different things, and it would be wise
to spend some time knowing the difference between
the two. Validation from people is not the same
as authority. And it would be wise, very wise,
to get our validation and our authorization only
from the Lord. As is the man, so is his strength.
Be prepared to do it yourself. The things that
God has laid out for us and realize that what
we're going through right now is necessary as
much as we may not like it. And that brings us
to our conclusion. God, he, God alone is properly
king. As is the God, so is his strength. God
created everything from nothing. When only God
existed, when there was nothing and just one
someone, and that was God, God the Father, God
the Son, God the Holy Spirit, the Trinity, God,
God spoke into existence everything that human
beings have been scraping out their existence
in ever since Adam and Eve failed. everything
that ever was made into a car, everything that
was made into an SD card, everything that was
ever made into a wire, everything that was ever
made into a boat, everything that was ever made
into a sphere, everything that was ever made
into a nuclear bomb, God spoke it into existence
in an instant. God is properly king. There is
a rule that if you made it, it belongs to you
unless you sell it or give it to somebody else.
God made it, therefore it belongs to him. God
is properly king. God stands the test of time.
When there was no mediator, God sent Jesus Christ
to be that person for us so that we could be
saved. He is considered the only rightful ruler
of humanity. And it is our job as Christians
to bring that up. Remember the story that I told
at the beginning? Why'd you look at him? This
is where all the persecution of the church comes
from. Because we will submit to God and to no
one else. Not to the flag. Nothing wrong with
the flag. But not to the flag. Not to the government.
There's nothing wrong with the government. It
wouldn't exist if God had done it. This is necessary,
right? So we endure. But the bottom line is there's
nothing wrong with any of that stuff. Not to
the teachers. Not to the governors. Not to the
police. We submit to God. And so at any time,
anything, anyone starts to take part of his role,
we say, no, God is properly king. And that is
not light. Because when people start to get a
lot of power and authority, they say of the church,
well, if there's going to be resistance. I saw
a meme on Facebook this week that said when they
when they try to take our Bibles and it was basically
the screen went dark and there was gunfire all
over the place. And I'm not saying that's. the
solution. I'm not saying that's what's going
to happen, but the bottom line is ain't nobody
taking my Bible. Nobody's taking my relationship
with God. Nobody's taking my time with the church.
God is properly king. So, this is just meant
to be fun, so I hope I won't bore you with it.
The alphabet of how we know God is properly meant
to be king. I don't know if I'll do the whole
thing. You might see the whole thing later, but
I'll go through it.