“Reporting for Duty” – Matthew 28:16-20

Do you ever watch the news? I’m all in favor of keeping up with what is going on in the world but lately I can’t recommend watching the news at all. You may be better off being ignorant. What I have noticed is that everyone is so angry nowadays. Everybody is mad at somebody about something.

The big news in the past couple of weeks is how children are being separated from their parents at the border when people try to cross illegally. I have seen the most passionate hatred, mainly toward President Trump, that I have ever seen in public because of this. Now, whatever your views and whatever your political leanings; whatever is true and whatever the media is saying or not saying, I have a hard time believing that some people are as upset about this as they say they are when Planned Parenthood kills more babies in a week than we have on the border separated from their parents and nobody is mad about that.

But people are mad and in this issue they have found some “righteous indignation” to cling to and it makes them feel good about themselves to be so mad. “It’s about the children!” they scream with their faces turning blue from rage. Have you ever noticed how good it feels to be mad, especially when you just know you are right and the other person is wrong? That’s like eating a fine meal. It goes down so good. It’s so tasty until you realize that what you are feasting on is your own peace and joy.

But this is not the only issue that people are mad about. In fact, they are mad about everything. Tear down the monuments! They cause racism. Tear down the bathroom signs! They cause gender insecurity. Tear down the church! They don’t love gay people. It used to be that people could agree to disagree with each other. Now, if you don’t agree with me, I want you and everything you stand for to be torn down.

Do you ever wonder why people are so mad? Well, if you step back and look at it biblically, I believe you will be able to see it. I was thinking about this the other day and I thought the Book of Proverbs would probably say something about this. So I turned there and started reading in chapter 18 and saw in verse 3, one sentence that explained it all.  Proverbs 18:3 says, “When wickedness comes, so does contempt.” That’s it right there. That’s the root problem. That’s the cause of all this anger. Contempt is a mix of disgust and anger and doesn’t that perfectly describe the outrage that everybody in the news has today?

They are angry because they have made bad choices - wickedness - in their own lives but if they were to be honest and say, “I am so angry at myself!” they would look stupid. So they find something else to be angry at and take it out on that cause or that problem. Their own wickedness has caused horrible problems in their lives but instead of changing their lifestyle, they get mad at other people with different lifestyles and blame them for all their problems.

I have some friends that are gay and they know that I love them; I have told them and shown them that I love them but when they ask my opinion and I tell them what scripture plainly says about that lifestyle, they get outraged and tell me that I obviously hate them. That’s frustrating for all of us.

But, thankfully, I have the solution. It’s not some clever, political agenda that I came up with. It’s nothing that congress needs to vote one. It doesn’t require a bunch of signatures or marching or picketing. In fact, it’s not new. It’s not complicated and you would expect the pastor of an evangelical church to say this.

It is what the little boy said in Sunday School one day. His teacher was showing the class a picture of a squirrel and she asked them what it was. The little boy said, “Well, it’s brown and it has a long, bushy tail and it’s eating an acorn and looks for all the world like a squirrel but since I know this is Sunday School, the answer has to be Jesus!”

He is right. The answer to the problem of this out-of-control anger in the world today is Jesus and that is where you come in. We just graduated from Battle Strategy Training last week in our preparation for battle against Satan and that concluded our preparation. We, as a church, are as prepared as anybody and more prepared than most because we have studied Satan’s playbook and we have seen how and where and when he likes to attack and what we can do to stand up against those attacks.

We have learned the basics in Boot Camp, learned how to put on our armor in Combat Training, we have studied what Satan has done in the past and what he’s doing in the world today and now it is time to receive our marching orders. So far, up to this point, we have learned basically how not to get killed in combat but that is not how an army wins the battle. You don’t defeat the enemy huddled up in the foxhole at 1301 North Main Street in Lake Bridgeport.

The importance of the foxhole can’t be overestimated but that is not where we stay. It’s not where we live. Well, it’s not where YOU live. 😊 But, at some point, we get our orders from the Commander and we go fight the battle. So, what are those orders? Well, the Commander knows what kind of shape this world is in and our orders are to take back what the enemy has stolen.

If you want to get mad at something, get mad at the thought of our friends and neighbors and families that are fighting and losing the battle to drugs and alcohol and sex addiction all around us. It ought to make you furious to think that some of the people that you deal with every day at work, at home or school or the store are falling for the lies of Satan, trying in vain to get more and more stuff to make them happy or trying to get more and more high or trying to get more and more people to love them but it never satisfies. That ought to make you irate. That ought to make you say, “Not on my watch! What can I do to help the people; my family; my kids and grandkids not have to fight and lose those battles?”

Well, let’s see what our orders are in Matthew 28:18-20. Yes, you recognize that passage. It is the Great Commission. We have studied it several times before and I don’t guarantee that we won’t study it again several more times this year. We might ought to at least discuss it every week. It is that important and it is that neglected. If a soldier in the army was given a direct order by his commanding officer but failed to carry out that order, what do you think would happen? Would he get promoted? Would the CO tell him how proud he was of him and give him shiny medals?

Maybe today that is why you are struggling in what you are going through. Maybe you have a personal relationship with God through His Son Jesus and yet God has not blessed you like He could. One reason for that might be because you have received your orders but you have failed to carry them out. Let’s look at those orders right now in Matthew 28:18-20.

Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."

I have a friend named Bud Elkins who was in the US Army Air Corps which became the US Air Force in World War II. Bud was the navigator on a B-17 Flying Fortress which was the main big bomber of the day. He had some incredible stories of flying mission after mission into enemy territory and dropping bombs on military and strategic targets.

Bud told me that one time they were given the order to fly from somewhere in North Africa up to Germany and drop some bombs on a certain ball-bearing plant, if I remember right. That would have been an acceptable and understandable order except for one thing. The B-17 had a flight range of something like 2000 miles and the target was about 1500 miles away – one way. That wouldn’t leave them with enough fuel to make the return trip.

Bud said everybody on the crew knew what their range was and what the mission was and do you know what they did? They didn’t talk about it. They just suited up. They got on the plane. They taxied to the end of the runway and just as they were about to take off on what surely would have been a suicide mission, they got word from headquarters that the weather was too bad over the target and the mission was aborted. He said the exact same thing happened to them twice. That’s the “Greatest Generation” for you, right there. Twice they were not just prepared but expecting to give their lives for the greater good of their nation because an order was given.

In the Great Commission, we, like the first disciples are given an order. Jesus first gives His credentials as Commander, as if anybody needed them. He said that all authority has been given to Him in Heaven and on earth. He is the sovereign leader; the one in control of everything going on in Heaven and on earth. Scripture tells us over and over again not to be afraid. Why? Because God is sovereign and has given control of everything going on in the universe to His Son, Jesus.

So, based on the authority of the one who is in control, our command is to go and make disciples. Well, what is a disciple? First, notice that Jesus doesn’t tell us to go and make church members. He doesn’t even say to go and make Christians. He sure doesn’t say to go and make people better; help them to not cuss so much and quit watching R rated movies and follow a bunch of rules and collect a bunch of money so you can buy a $54 million-dollar jet to help you do it better.

He said that we are to go and make disciples and a disciple, as we have talked about before, is simply one who has learned something from Jesus and then tells somebody else what they have learned. When someone has authority, there is no arguing with that.  And if Jesus has authority over all things then it shouldn’t matter what He tells us to do, where He tells us to go, or what He tells us to say, we can be obedient without any fear of the consequences.  It’s what the first church depended on.  It’s what gave Paul the power to stand up and preach.  It’s what gave Stephen the strength to forgive his attackers.  It’s how Peter slept in prison the night before he was supposed to be tried and probably killed.  If Jesus is in control, what do we have to worry about? 

And the authority of Jesus is what this church depends on just like the first church.  I love the fact that it was this church’s idea to take the church to the Lake Road RV Park down the road when we found out that most of them couldn’t come to us for any number of reasons.  We have done it several times and we never know who is going to show up or what is going to happen or how we are going to be treated but I saw faith in this church; faith in the authority of Jesus Christ that allowed you to do what you were supposed to do, go where you were supposed to go and say what you were supposed to say!

And whether you thought about it or not, you were doing your part at that time to fulfill the Great Commission of Jesus in this Gospel.  When Jesus says to “Go and make disciples…” it literally means, “as you go, make disciples”.  As you go, go intentionally.  As you go to the grocery store, as you go to the gas station, as you go to Dos Chiles after church today, be intentional about telling others what you know. 

Tell others about what Jesus has done in your life.  You don’t have to be an evangelist or a missionary to tell that.  Telling that makes you an evangelist and a missionary.  When Jesus gave this order to His disciples, it was the end of His bodily, earthly ministry.  But it was the beginning of ours.  We don’t do it to work our way to Heaven.  We do it because the One who died and was raised again tells us to. 

We do it because we want other people to have what we have and to not live in anger and shame and guilt and disobedience and wickedness that leads to contempt. We do it so our children and grandchildren won’t have to grow up with the same anger and pain and all the issues we see on the news today. I’m reminded again of what I heard a famous atheist say. Penn Jillette once said that somebody tried to witness to him about Jesus. He said he knew it was all bunk, but he appreciated the guy trying. He said if that is what you truly believe; if that is your honest belief about how somebody can have eternal life in Heaven then how bad do you have to hate somebody NOT to tell them? That is from an avowed atheist.

What is it that is keeping you from giving your 2-3 minute testimony to your neighbor, your friend or your loved one? You don’t have to know everything. You just have to know that it says in John 14:6 that “Jesus said, I am the Way, the Truth and the Life and no man gets to the Father but through Me.”

But look at how Jesus ends this command.  The One who lived a perfect life, died a sacrificial death and then became the victor over death tells us that wherever we go, whatever we do, whatever we say, He is with us.  The One who is in authority; the One who defeated Satan and conquered death; the One who deserved to cry out, “Tetelestai! It is finished” is with us.

Do you know Him today?  Do you have a relationship with Him?  I’m not asking if you are a church member or who your family is or what you have done, good or bad.  None of that matters. I’m asking if you have believed that Jesus is God and that He can take away all the guilt and shame of your sin just by asking Him into your life to be Lord of your life. Do that right now as the music plays.

“Battle Strategy Training” 3 – 1 Samuel 17

Maybe it’s just because I’m a guy. Maybe it’s because I was raised watching boxing with my dad. Or maybe it’s entertaining to everybody. I don’t know. But I love to watch a good fight. I’m not talking about street-fighting or when some loser punches his wife. I just mean I like to watch 2 athletes box or wrestle or kick box or Karate or that MMA stuff in a ring. And the best fights are always when the underdog wins.

I don’t think I’ve ever seen a whole Rocky movie but isn’t that the premise behind most of them? Rocky is too young or too old or too something and he surely can’t win the big fight…but he does. I think everybody likes a story like that even if you don’t like to watch boxing. Maybe that’s why they made 6 of them and I think they made just about as many Rambo movies but that’s another sermon.

I did a little research, and you know what that means. I googled it and found out that everybody likes an underdog and it is true in every sport from boxing to tiddlywinks but it is also true in every other aspect of life.  When we have a political season coming up you will hear certain politicians being referred to as the underdog. 

Don’t be fooled.  That is not an accident.  If somebody calls them an underdog they are most likely being paid by that politician to say it because politicians know that being an underdog works heavily in your favor.  Studies have shown that being labeled an underdog can make your actions seem more virtuous and your face appear more beautiful. (The Underdog Effect -Why do we love a loser? By Daniel Engber)

Being labeled an underdog gives the impression that you try harder, have more heart, more courage and more gumption.  And that may or may not be true but that is how we look at underdogs.  What it boils down to is that everybody likes an underdog because everybody sees themselves as an underdog.

We can all relate to being the underdog and for most of us we never seem to win anything and so we root for the underdog because we long for some kind of justice in this world.  How much more so when we see the underdog as being young and pure and on the “right” team and his opponent is just a big ol’ meanie-headed jerk!  Which is what makes the story of David and Goliath such a timeless classic and the perfect underdog story.

If you would like to read along with that story, turn to 1 Samuel 17.  And since most of you may not have read this story in a good while, and probably haven’t turned to the book of 1 Samuel in a while, I will set the story up for you as you find your place in 1 Samuel chapter 17.  The Samuels are in between the books of Ruth and 1 Kings.

I have been looking forward to preaching from this passage for a long time.  It is one of my all-time favorite stories in the whole Bible.  I have said many times that I grew up reading about David growing up and now it seems like we are old friends.  And this story has fascinated me since before I could read it for myself.  And it has continued to fascinate me as I have been studying it lately.

I called my mom just this week and said, “Mama!  Did you know that Goliath was 9’6” tall???  His armor weighed 150 pounds!  The head of his spear alone weighed like 16 pounds!  That’s incredible!”  I felt like a little kid again saying, “Mama, look at this!”  I love this story!  It has action, drama, suspense, an underdog and a big ol’ meanie-headed jerk.  And the big ol’ meanie-headed jerk gets his big ol’ meanie head cut smooth off.  How great is this?

But I’ll tell you what else it has.  It has a twist in the story.  Because it looks like as you read it the first time that the story is all about David and Goliath.  But while this story does star those guys, the Author, the Producer, the Director and the One who made it all happen is God.  This story is more about God than it is about David or Goliath.  Let’s read the story and we will see on the other side why I say that.

1 Samuel starting in chapter 17.  I’m not going to read the whole chapter but I will read most of it.  And it’s ok.  I promise it won’t take any longer than usual so just sit back, relax and enjoy “Story Time” this week.

Now the Philistines gathered their forces for war and assembled at Sokoh in Judah. They pitched camp at Ephes Dammim, between Sokoh and Azekah. 2 Saul and the Israelites assembled and camped in the Valley of Elah and drew up their battle line to meet the Philistines. 3 The Philistines occupied one hill and the Israelites another, with the valley between them. 4 A champion named Goliath, who was from Gath, came out of the Philistine camp. His height was six cubits and a span. 5 He had a bronze helmet on his head and wore a coat of scale armor of bronze weighing five thousand shekels 6 on his legs he wore bronze greaves, and a bronze javelin was slung on his back. 7 His spear shaft was like a weaver’s rod, and its iron point weighed six hundred shekels. His shield bearer went ahead of him. 8 Goliath stood and shouted to the ranks of Israel, “Why do you come out and line up for battle? Am I not a Philistine, and are you not the servants of Saul? Choose a man and have him come down to me. 9 If he is able to fight and kill me, we will become your subjects; but if I overcome him and kill him, you will become our subjects and serve us.” 10 Then the Philistine said, “This day I defy the armies of Israel! Give me a man and let us fight each other.” 11 On hearing the Philistine’s words, Saul and all the Israelites were dismayed and terrified. 12 Now David was the son of an Ephrathite named Jesse, who was from Bethlehem in Judah. Jesse had eight sons, and in Saul’s time he was very old. 13 Jesse’s three oldest sons had followed Saul to the war: The firstborn was Eliab; the second, Abinadab; and the third, Shammah. 14 David was the youngest. The three oldest followed Saul, 15 but David went back and forth from Saul to tend his father’s sheep at Bethlehem. 16 For forty days the Philistine came forward every morning and evening and took his stand. 17 Now Jesse said to his son David, “Take this ephah[d] of roasted grain and these ten loaves of bread for your brothers and hurry to their camp. 18 Take along these ten cheeses to the commander of their unit. See how your brothers are and bring back some assurance[e] from them. 19 They are with Saul and all the men of Israel in the Valley of Elah, fighting against the Philistines.” 20 Early in the morning David left the flock in the care of a shepherd, loaded up and set out, as Jesse had directed. He reached the camp as the army was going out to its battle positions, shouting the war cry. 21 Israel and the Philistines were drawing up their lines facing each other. 22 David left his things with the keeper of supplies, ran to the battle lines and asked his brothers how they were. 23 As he was talking with them, Goliath, the Philistine champion from Gath, stepped out from his lines and shouted his usual defiance, and David heard it. 24 Whenever the Israelites saw the man, they all fled from him in great fear.
Now skip over to verse 32.  32 David said to Saul, “Let no one lose heart on account of this Philistine; your servant will go and fight him.” 33 Saul replied, “You are not able to go out against this Philistine and fight him; you are only a young man, and he has been a warrior from his youth.” 34 But David said to Saul, “Your servant has been keeping his father’s sheep. When a lion or a bear came and carried off a sheep from the flock, 35 I went after it, struck it and rescued the sheep from its mouth. When it turned on me, I seized it by its hair, struck it and killed it. 36 Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear; this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, because he has defied the armies of the living God. 37 The LORD who rescued me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will rescue me from the hand of this Philistine.” Saul said to David, “Go, and the LORD be with you.” 38 Then Saul dressed David in his own tunic. He put a coat of armor on him and a bronze helmet on his head. 39 David fastened on his sword over the tunic and tried walking around, because he was not used to them. “I cannot go in these,” he said to Saul, “because I am not used to them.” So, he took them off. 40 Then he took his staff in his hand, chose five smooth stones from the stream, put them in the pouch of his shepherd’s bag and, with his sling in his hand, approached the Philistine. 41 Meanwhile, the Philistine, with his shield bearer in front of him, kept coming closer to David. 42 He looked David over and saw that he was little more than a boy, glowing with health and handsome, and he despised him. 43 He said to David, “Am I a dog, that you come at me with sticks?” And the Philistine cursed David by his gods. 44 “Come here,” he said, “and I’ll give your flesh to the birds and the wild animals!” 45 David said to the Philistine, “You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the LORD Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. 46 This day the LORD will deliver you into my hands, and I’ll strike you down and cut off your head. This very day I will give the carcasses of the Philistine army to the birds and the wild animals, and the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel. 47 All those gathered here will know that it is not by sword or spear that the LORD saves; for the battle is the LORD’s, and he will give all of you into our hands.” 48 As the Philistine moved closer to attack him, David ran quickly toward the battle line to meet him. 49 Reaching into his bag and taking out a stone, he slung it and struck the Philistine on the forehead. The stone sank into his forehead, and he fell face down on the ground. 50 So David triumphed over the Philistine with a sling and a stone; without a sword in his hand he struck down the Philistine and killed him. 51 David ran and stood over him. He took hold of the Philistine’s sword and drew it from the sheath. After he killed him, he cut off his head with the sword. When the Philistines saw that their hero was dead, they turned and ran. 52 Then the men of Israel and Judah surged forward with a shout and pursued the Philistines to the entrance of Gath and to the gates of Ekron. Their dead were strewn along the Shaaraim road to Gath and Ekron. 53 When the Israelites returned from chasing the Philistines, they plundered their camp. 54 David took the Philistine’s head and brought it to Jerusalem; he put the Philistine’s weapons in his own tent.

Isn’t that a great story?  Do you believe it’s true?  I hope so.  I sure do.  And while some scholars disagree about just how tall Goliath was – some say only 6 something while others say he may have been as much as 11 feet tall – it doesn’t matter.  Again, as in all great biblical stories, critics want to pick it apart and say that there is no way this could have happened because of such and such reason.  I won’t even go into the ridiculous things they said about this story.  Either God did a miracle or He didn’t.

Either the story is true or it isn’t.  Either the whole Bible is true or none of it is true!  And when you get distracted by debating if Goliath’s helmet covered his forehead or not or if both of his legs were covered in armor or just one of them, then you miss seeing what this story is all about.  I want us to see that God intervened here.  I want us to see that it was God’s grace and mercy at work, not a slingshot.

I want us to specifically see that God gave David a divine encounter.  God gave David divine talent.  God gave David divine confidence.  And then God gave David divine victory.  Look again at verse 23 to see how God gave David this divine encounter.  As he was talking with them, Goliath, the Philistine champion from Gath, stepped out from his lines and shouted his usual defiance, and David heard it.

Do you think it is just coincidence that David showed up when he did?  Do you think it was just good luck, good karma, chance, fate or happenstance that David happened to be at the right place at the right time to hear Goliath defy Israel and God Himself?  Do you think it was coincidence that it was 40 days exactly that he had been doing this when 40 days in the Bible is nearly always symbolic of trials or testing?

So often, God shows up in the Bible and brings relief at 40 days.  And that is exactly what He does here with this little teenaged shepherd boy from the sticks.  God brings about this divine encounter and does it in a way that only God can do.  And what do we call it when God does something only God can do?  That’s called a miracle.  And miracles don’t happen by chance, good luck or certainly not by some made up thing called karma.

Why did God give David this divine encounter with Goliath?  Was it to show how strong David was or how brave he was?  Or to prove he should be king while putting Saul in his place? Was it because nobody else was able to defeat Goliath?  No.  In fact, I am confident that if David had not been obedient to what God told him to do that God could just have easily have used any other man, woman, child or tree on the battlefield to do the job.

God would have found somebody else to do it and David would have had to suffer the consequences of disobedience while the other was blessed for his obedience.  And either way, God gets the ultimate glory, not the person.  And I will tell you why I am so confident in saying that in a minute but we see in our next point that God gave David divine talent.  He gave him the divine encounter with Goliath and now we see in verses 34-37 that God also gave David divine talent.

But David said to Saul, “Your servant has been keeping his father’s sheep. When a lion or a bear came and carried off a sheep from the flock, 35 I went after it, struck it and rescued the sheep from its mouth. When it turned on me, I seized it by its hair, struck it and killed it. 36 Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear; this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, because he has defied the armies of the living God. 37 The LORD who rescued me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will rescue me from the hand of this Philistine.” Saul said to David, “Go, and the LORD be with you.”

Now, when I say that God gave David divine talent, I, of course, do not mean that God gave David the talent to be divine or to be god-like but that the talent was a divine gift.  And it was obviously a God-given gift that David had to be able to kill a much more powerful enemy.  This is not Samson who had great strength.  God had given David the talent and the ability to think straight under pressure, to be able to move quickly and to do what was necessary to kill a lion and a bear.
Now, don’t you wish you had that kind of talent?  And if you do…why?  Because what possible good would it ever do you?  When would the ability to kill a lion and a bear be of any use?  What about the ability to use a slingshot?  Wooo, there’s a talent!  Big deal, right?  Don’t you know David must have practiced with that slingshot a thousand times, wondering what good it would ever do in the scheme of things?

I bet he prayed, “God give me some real talent.  Sure, I’m good with this stupid slingshot but I want a real talent that will help me in life.”  Doesn’t that sound ridiculous now?  How God must have smiled to hear a prayer like that from David!  And how He must smile when He hears a prayer like that from you!  Because He knows what you don’t know; that He is going to give you a divine encounter with somebody and He is going to use you to bring about change in their life because He has gifted you with the talent that person needs.

And you can choose to use your so-called “insignificant” divine talent to pray or to read or to use the internet or ride a motorcycle or use a slingshot to God’s glory and be blessed by it or God will find somebody else and bless them while you suffer the consequences of squandering your divine talents.  Phillips Brooks once said, “It is almost as presumptuous to think you can do nothing as to think you can do everything.”

God hasn’t called any of us to do everything.  But He has called all of us to do something and He has provided the talents and abilities to do it for every one of us.  And when that divine encounter comes for you and you have the opportunity to use your divine talent, you can have divine confidence like David did.  Let’s look at verses 45-47 to see that.

David said to the Philistine, “You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the LORD Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. 46 This day the LORD will deliver you into my hands, and I’ll strike you down and cut off your head. This very day I will give the carcasses of the Philistine army to the birds and the wild animals, and the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel. 47 All those gathered here will know that it is not by sword or spear that the LORD saves; for the battle is the LORD’s, and he will give all of you into our hands.”

That’s big talk for a little boy!  How does a guy like David get that kind of divine confidence?  Because if it were me looking across the field at Goliath the warrior I think I would have remembered the verse that says, “Be still and know that He is God.”  Instead, it says that David ran toward him.  Did you see that in verse 48?  David picked up 5 stones and took off running toward Goliath.  And maybe it’s just because I’m such a big fan of David’s that I think he picked up 5 stones because Goliath had 4 brothers behind him.  But I don’t know that.

How do you know when to “Be still and know that He is God” and when to run toward the warrior?  Because both take divine, God-given confidence; not confidence in yourself, but that God is going to do what He said He would do.  And that is where that confidence comes from.  It comes from knowing what God says and believing it.

And for David, we know he was taught the scriptures and I believe it was a scripture like is found in Deuteronomy 20:1-4 that gave him his divine confidence.  Let me read that to you.  This is a passage that David would have been familiar with, I’m sure.  It says, “When you go to war against your enemies and see horses and chariots and an army greater than yours, do not be afraid of them, because the LORD your God, who brought you up out of Egypt, will be with you. 2 When you are about to go into battle, the priest shall come forward and address the army. 3 He shall say: “Hear, Israel: Today you are going into battle against your enemies. Do not be fainthearted or afraid; do not panic or be terrified by them. 4 For the LORD your God is the one who goes with you to fight for you against your enemies to give you victory.”
Now, as much as I would love to claim that verse, I can’t.  It is not a promise to everyone in the world.  It was given to the children of Israel and as a child of Israel, David could claim that verse and I believe he did, (or one similar to it) knowing that God was the One going with them to fight and that it was God that was going to bring about the victory.
David shows up on the battlefield, hears Goliath and thinks, “It’s not that he is so big that I can’t win.  He is so big I can’t miss because God is going to do the fighting.”  And while we can’t claim that particular verse and say that every enemy we are going to come across is going to be defeated, we do have thousands of other promises from God in His Word that we can hang on to because we know what it says and we believe it!

When God says He will never leave us; that He is our shield, our rock, our fortress, that His name is a mighty tower; when He says He will give us rest, He will give us a full and abundant life, He will give wisdom, forgive sins and not forsake His people for His great name's sake then we can have confidence in that to the point that we know without a doubt that He will use our divine encounters with our divine talents to give us that divine confidence which will ultimately result in divine victory.

Let’s look how that worked out for David in verses 50-51.  He has divine victory. So David triumphed over the Philistine with a sling and a stone; without a sword in his hand he struck down the Philistine and killed him. 51 David ran and stood over him. He took hold of the Philistine’s sword and drew it from the sheath. After he killed him, he cut off his head with the sword. When the Philistines saw that their hero was dead, they turned and ran.

All the “Rocky’s” 1-6 can’t compare with that!  Some people might think this is not as big of a miracle as parting the Red Sea was but have you ever tried to use a slingshot?  Especially one like David had?  This was no small miracle.  In fact, because of that one kill, the ladies back home made up a song that went, “Saul has killed his thousands but David his tens of thousands!”

David had only killed one guy but the ramifications of that were bigger than just Goliath.  It changed everything for David and for all of the people around him as well.  God loved them so much He wanted to give them victory.  And God could have just done it.  God could have struck Goliath down with a heart attack.  But as we saw last week and we see again here, God allows us to be a part of His plan.

When we take advantage of our divine encounters and use our divine talents, He gives us divine confidence based on His promises.  And He does it to bring us to divine victory through Him and for Him when we are followers of Him.

“Battle Strategy” 2 – Exodus 14

Have you ever been watching a movie that seems real enough and all the sudden they do something impossible? My favorite is the classic scene where the guy breaks the car window, opens the door, pulls down a couple of wires under the dash and in two seconds, hot wires the car by sparking two wires together. Drives me crazy. Do you know how impossible that is?

Number one, that window doesn’t break like that. I know. I locked my keys in my car once so I wrapped my hand in my t-shirt and punched the window as hard as I could. Do you know what happened? The window didn’t even crack but my hand did. I couldn’t use my arm for three days. Also, I have worked on cars and trucks enough to know that there are hundreds of wires under the dash and they are all different colors and all do different things and you can’t just pull them down like that.

I hate it when Hollywood thinks I’m stupid. Like when the cowboy shoots 25 times without reloading his six-shooter or the bus jumps over the gap in the highway. Don’t get me started on the laugh track they use on these so-called comedies. Those jokes aren’t near that funny. You know what I mean, right?

So, it’s always amazing to me that the people that put out these ridiculous movies or just watch them and have no trouble with them then want to explain away the real miracles of God. Our text this morning is from Exodus 14 where we read about the Israelites crossing the Red Sea on dry land. You know the story. The Israelites finally left Egypt but Pharaoh changed his mind and went after them and found them trapped next to the massive Red Sea so he attacked and God caused the sea to divide and the Israelites walked over but when the Egyptians followed, God closed the gap in the water and they all drowned.

It’s a story most of us have heard since we were little kids and we just believe it. The Bible says it. It’s true. That’s enough. I was watching a documentary a while back and several scientists have finally “figured out” how it happened. See, if they went at just the right spot across the Red Sea at just the right time of year and the right time of day, and if there was an earthquake and the wind was really blowing at just the right speed and if they hurried, then there is a chance this really happened.

That is what they believe. But here is another option. Now, keep in mind I am not a scientist nor do I play one on TV but here is my theory. God performed a miracle. You know what? If they did go at just the right time and place and there was an earthquake and the wind blew, that is still a miracle. But I believe it happened just like the Bible says. God led the people to this spot, allowed them to be part of it and caused several incredible things to happen so that all the people had to do was be obedient and God would get the glory. That is called a miracle any way you slice it.

We have come to our second installment of Battle Strategy Training in our preparation for battle. I told you when we began this even before Boot Camp that the reason we started this is because I got tired of seeing people get attacked by Satan and just giving up. Maybe it was in temptation or maybe he attacked by causing something bad to happen but I was seeing too many people just freaking out, dropping out and rolling over when we have at our disposal the same power that brought Jesus out of the grave.

Now, if that was you freaking out and rolling over, don’t feel like you are the only one that has ever done that. In Exodus 6:5, God said He had heard the groaning of the Israelites and so He was going to work for them. They groaned in Israel. They groaned in Egypt. They groaned in the desert. They groaned when they were free and they groaned in bondage…just…like…we…do.

You may remember from the book of Genesis that there had been a famine in Israel, which was part of God’s whole plan, and Joseph, an Israelite had become second in command of Egypt where there was plenty of food. His family finally came over to Egypt to live and pretty soon the whole country of Israel had pretty much done the same and the Egyptians made them slaves for 430 years. But, again, God heard their groaning and called Moses to bring them out of slavery. There are about twenty other major miracles in all that story (all part of God’s plan) but moving right along, we see the Israelites finally getting to leave Egypt. They are gone just a little while and Pharaoh has a change of heart when he hears they are wandering lost in the desert. Our main passage is in Exodus 14 but I want to start with a couple of verses at the end of 13.

We will read Exodus 13:17-18 and 20-22 and then all of chapter 14. It sounds long but it’s a great story and fun to read.

When Pharaoh let the people go, God did not lead them on the road through the Philistine country, though that was shorter. For God said, “If they face war, they might change their minds and return to Egypt.” ¹⁸ So God led the people around by the desert road toward the Red Sea. The Israelites went up out of Egypt ready for battle. ²⁰ After leaving Sukkoth they camped at Etham on the edge of the desert. ²¹ By day the Lord went ahead of them in a pillar of cloud to guide them on their way and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, so that they could travel by day or night. ²² Neither the pillar of cloud by day nor the pillar of fire by night left its place in front of the people. 14 Then the Lord said to Moses, ² “Tell the Israelites to turn back and encamp near Pi Hahiroth, between Migdol and the sea. They are to encamp by the sea, directly opposite Baal Zephon. ³ Pharaoh will think, ‘The Israelites are wandering around the land in confusion, hemmed in by the desert.’ ⁴ And I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and he will pursue them. But I will gain glory for myself through Pharaoh and all his army, and the Egyptians will know that I am the Lord.” So the Israelites did this. ⁵ When the king of Egypt was told that the people had fled, Pharaoh and his officials changed their minds about them and said, “What have we done? We have let the Israelites go and have lost their services!” ⁶ So he had his chariot made ready and took his army with him. ⁷ He took six hundred of the best chariots, along with all the other chariots of Egypt, with officers over all of them. ⁸ The Lord hardened the heart of Pharaoh king of Egypt, so that he pursued the Israelites, who were marching out boldly. ⁹ The Egyptians—all Pharaoh’s horses and chariots, horsemen and troops—pursued the Israelites and overtook them as they camped by the sea near Pi Hahiroth, opposite Baal Zephon. ¹⁰ As Pharaoh approached, the Israelites looked up, and there were the Egyptians, marching after them. They were terrified and cried out to the Lord. ¹¹ They said to Moses, “Was it because there were no graves in Egypt that you brought us to the desert to die? What have you done to us by bringing us out of Egypt? ¹² Didn’t we say to you in Egypt, ‘Leave us alone; let us serve the Egyptians’? It would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the desert!” ¹³ Moses answered the people, “Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the Lord will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again. ¹⁴ The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.” ¹⁵ Then the Lord said to Moses, “Why are you crying out to me? Tell the Israelites to move on. ¹⁶ Raise your staff and stretch out your hand over the sea to divide the water so that the Israelites can go through the sea on dry ground. ¹⁷ I will harden the hearts of the Egyptians so that they will go in after them. And I will gain glory through Pharaoh and all his army, through his chariots and his horsemen. ¹⁸ The Egyptians will know that I am the Lord when I gain glory through Pharaoh, his chariots and his horsemen.” ¹⁹ Then the angel of God, who had been traveling in front of Israel’s army, withdrew and went behind them. The pillar of cloud also moved from in front and stood behind them, ²⁰ coming between the armies of Egypt and Israel. Throughout the night the cloud brought darkness to the one side and light to the other side; so neither went near the other all night long. ²¹ Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and all that night the Lord drove the sea back with a strong east wind and turned it into dry land. The waters were divided, ²² and the Israelites went through the sea on dry ground, with a wall of water on their right and on their left. ²³ The Egyptians pursued them, and all Pharaoh’s horses and chariots and horsemen followed them into the sea. ²⁴ During the last watch of the night the Lord looked down from the pillar of fire and cloud at the Egyptian army and threw it into confusion. ²⁵ He jammed the wheels of their chariots so that they had difficulty driving. And the Egyptians said, “Let’s get away from the Israelites! The Lord is fighting for them against Egypt.” ²⁶ Then the Lord said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand over the sea so that the waters may flow back over the Egyptians and their chariots and horsemen.” ²⁷ Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and at daybreak the sea went back to its place. The Egyptians were fleeing toward it, and the Lord swept them into the sea. ²⁸ The water flowed back and covered the chariots and horsemen—the entire army of Pharaoh that had followed the Israelites into the sea. Not one of them survived. ²⁹ But the Israelites went through the sea on dry ground, with a wall of water on their right and on their left. ³⁰ That day the Lord saved Israel from the hands of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians lying dead on the shore. ³¹ And when the Israelites saw the mighty hand of the Lord displayed against the Egyptians, the people feared the Lord and put their trust in him and in Moses his servant.

When I was a little kid, I had an illustrated story book of the Bible and I remember it had an illustration of this story that showed the people walking through the Red Sea with a wall of water on both sides and on one side the people were looking up at a whale swimming right beside them like they were looking at a huge aquarium. We don’t know that anything like that happened but I like that way of thinking. If God can do a small miracle then He can do a big miracle!

I think everybody here would say they believe that. But I think the problem most of us have is believing that God can do the small miracles in our lives, at least we don’t live like it. Oh, sure you believe God can part the sea or make a donkey talk or even speak the universe into existence but when the doctor gives bad news, it’s time to worry. When that temptation comes at you from what used to be an addiction, that’s too much for God. When the bills start piling up, you know what the Bible says but you still quit tithing and start working on Sunday so you can fix the problem.

When an alcoholic became a believer, he was asked how he could possibly believe all the nonsense in the Bible about miracles. "You don't believe that Jesus changed the water into wine do you?" "I sure do, because in our house Jesus changed the whiskey into furniture."  R. Stedman, Authentic Christianity, p. 36.

I look around here this morning and I see a lot of miracles. I see the prisoner who was set free and now goes back to the prison to share Jesus. I see the spiritually blind, the physically sick and the emotionally abused who are healed. I see the drunk who hasn’t had a drop in 30-something years. I see the immoral and the ugly, the wasteful and mean man who now stands up here to preach. But the question is, can God handle the attack you are going through right now? When Satan attacks, is God really going to fight for you?

Oh, I know what you’re thinking. “If I saw God do a huge miracle like parting the Red Sea, then I would believe.” No, you wouldn’t. Do you know why I say that? In the very next chapter, right after the big celebration and the long, wonderful prayer of thanksgiving, it says the people started groaning when they didn’t have enough water. The last person to cross over is just barely on the other side good and it’s already, “Oh, no! What are we going to do now? I mean, what has God done for us lately?”

There are several things I want us to see in this wonderful passage that will help us when Satan attacks. First we need to look at it from an overview. Was it God’s will that Joseph went to Egypt back in Genesis? Yes, it was. Was it God’s will that the people would follow Joseph and even be enslaved? Yes, it was. Was it God’s will that Moses deliver them? Absolutely. But look closer. In chapter 13, verse 17, God led them out of Egypt and into the desert right up to the Red Sea. God did that on purpose.

He didn’t take them the quickest way but led them in a way that would go around the crazy–mean Philistines and make it look like they were lost so that Pharaoh would chase them. God set all of this up. Why? For His glory. Why does God do anything? For His glory. Why does God allow or even cause what we think are bad things to happen to us? For His glory.

Read verses 2, 3 and 4 again.  “Tell the Israelites to turn back and encamp near Pi Hahiroth, between Migdol and the sea. They are to encamp by the sea, directly opposite Baal Zephon. ³ Pharaoh will think, ‘The Israelites are wandering around the land in confusion, hemmed in by the desert.’ ⁴ And I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and he will pursue them. But I will gain glory for myself through Pharaoh and all his army, and the Egyptians will know that I am the Lord.”

I bet they were groaning then, too. “That Moses! He is getting us lost. Where’s the GPS?” But God was telling Moses, in fact, He was showing Moses which way to go. It wasn’t Moses’s fault. God was in control of where they went the whole time just like He is today with your problem. So, that leads us to this question, how do we know where God is leading us? Look at chapter 13, verses 21-22. ²¹ By day the Lord went ahead of them in a pillar of cloud to guide them on their way and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, so that they could travel by day or night. ²² Neither the pillar of cloud by day nor the pillar of fire by night left its place in front of the people.

Don’t you wish you had something like that? Don’t you wish you had something to guide you and to help you make wise choices? You do! In Isaiah 30:21 it says, “Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, "This is the way; walk in it." Do you know what that voice is? For us as believers, that voice is the Holy Spirit.

In John 16:7, Jesus said, “But very truly I tell you, it is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you.” He calls Him the Advocate here or the Comforter. The Holy Spirit is our Guide and He wants us to know which way to go. He wants what is best for us and wherever He guides, it will be for our best and for God to get the glory through it.

So, when Satan attacks you, either by temptation or causing something bad in your life, we see in this passage what God’s part is in it. He allows it. He may even cause it. In John chapter 9, Jesus and His disciples come to a man born blind and His disciples ask Jesus, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” 3Jesus answered, “Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but this happened so that the works of God would be displayed in him.” Sometimes God allows or causes what we consider to be bad things to come into our lives but God is still in control. He is sovereign but He also loves us and wants us to do the right thing, to be obedient even in the midst of the trial.

It is fascinating to me to read verse 13 of chapter 14 that says, “¹³ Moses answered the people, “Do not be afraid. Stand firm (does that sound familiar? Stand firm? Stand. Put on the armor of God and stand? Ephesians 6) and you will see the deliverance the Lord will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again. ¹⁴ The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.”

God will fight for you. Just be still. But then in just the very next verse, God tells Moses to tell the people to move on. Do you see that in verse 15? Well, which is it? Be still or move on? The answer is “yes.” Psalm 46:10 uses the same words. “Be still and know He is God.” I love that verse and I know we have talked about it before. It literally means to let your hands hang down. Quit trying to solve the problem and to fix everything. Relax. God’s got this.

When you do that, you just keep moving on. Keep living life. The battle’s not over. Don’t give up and freak out and fall over. It’s gonna be ok. God’s in control and He loves you. His job is to fight the battle in a way that is best for you and brings Him glory. You just be obedient, keep going, be still in your heart and mind. Make Him look good in every season of your life, good or bad and watch Him work. Then watch the miracles.

I believe the greatest miracle God ever performed was making us justified and righteous and holy and His friends and He did that through the shed blood of Jesus on the cross. On that cross He died for your sins to pay the price we could never pay and all we have to do is believe. If you have never done that today, then let Him work that miracle in you right now. Ask Him for forgiveness of your sins and then repent or turn away from those sins. Let God change your life for your good and His glory today. Do it right now as the music plays.