Rising To Glory

Pastor Allan Kircher

18 Aug 2013

Shell Point Baptist Church

Judges 3:12-30

Rising to Glory

Intro:

• 400 years covered/book/Judges

• Nation/Israel followed/predictable pattern.

• Serve God faithfully while/strong leadership of their judges.

• Judge died/they had no leader/they would desert God

• began to live in disobedience to His Law

• Giving themselves/worship/pagan gods/Canaanites.

Exactly the pattern we see/work in the verses before us today.

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Israel sinned against God and/Lord caused Eglon, the king of Moab, to become strong.

• Eglon invaded Israel/help/Ammonites/Amalekites

• Together they oppressed Israel for 18 years.

• When they repented

• God raised/man/Ehud/their deliverer.

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Ehud assassinated Eglon and led Israel to victory and freedom.

• This story has much to teach us, if we will allow it to.

• Like Israel, we often follow the same pattern of disobedience, chastisement and restoration.

• Our problem is not Moabites/Ammonites/Amalekites.

• Our problem is the flesh.

Text unfolds, see Israel’s enemies clear type our own enemy.

• Eglon is the perfect picture of the flesh.

• He is out of control/self-indulgent/fat/lazy/evil.

• He is full of pride/He is also assassinated by Ehud.

In Israel’s defeat of Eglon, I see a picture/battle we are supposed to be fighting every day.

• Every one of us has problems with our flesh.

Sometimes:

• we win/we lose our battles/flesh

• We don’t fight against/desires/flesh at all.

Literally/fight for our very spiritual lives every day.

• Fight we must win, every time we enter the arena.

I want to preach/Ehud/Israel/their battle with Eglon.

They won their battle those who oppressed them/you can too.

I want to preach on How Lefty Killed Hefty.

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I. v. 12-14 ISRAEL’S DILEMMA

Verses describe/horrible oppression Israel suffered because of her rebellion against/Lord.

Their problems stand/warning/all those who walk away from God

A. v. 12-13a Their Foes

Israel faced three nations because of their rebellion against God.

• They faced/Moabites/Ammonites/Amalekites.

• All three/continual problems for Israel

• All three were connected to Israel by blood.

• Amalekites were descended/Esau, Jacob’s twin brother.

• Moabites/Ammonite/descendants of Lot/Abraham’s nephew.

Lot/daughters were delivered/Sodom/Gomorrah

Lot’s daughter got him drunk, had sexual intercourse with their father/conceived Moab and Ammon/descended these two nations.

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All three of these nations worshipped false gods.

• Moabites god--Chemosh Ammonites--Moloch.

Both/gods worshipped vile/sexual practices/child sacrifice.

• Amalekites nomadic, warlike people variety of pagan gods.

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All three were a continual thorn in the side of Israel.

• constantly attacking, hindering

• Seeking to enslave the people of Israel.

These three nations are a picture of our old, fleshly natures.

• Moab represents the power of the flesh.

• Ammon represents the passion of the flesh.

• Amalek represents the persistence of the flesh.

Just like Israel was repeatedly attacked by these nations, the believer is continually attacked by the flesh.

• Our flesh has its own desires.

• Doesn’t like the way of holiness/way of righteousness.

• flesh likes the way of evil/the way of Satan, Eph. 2:1-3

The flesh that you and I carry around will do everything in its power to enslave us and prevent us from reaching our fullest potential in Jesus Christ.

• Don’t be deceived

• Your flesh hates God/everything God stands for.

• Your flesh will never submit to the Word of God.

• It must be forced into submission by a strong show of force.

• Rom 7:18 I know nothing good lives in me…

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Three nations joined forces/came against Israel.

• We are told that they “attacked Israel”.

• pagan armies did not come by for a friendly picnic

The battle we wake up to every day is just as serious!

• We are/fight for our very spiritual lives every day we live

• Paul describes this battle for us in Gal. 5:16-18.

• We all have different areas in which we fight

• You are involved in warfare every day you live.

Sometimes

• You win the battles; you lose the battles.

• The choice is yours!

• Who you yield to is who you are a slave too. Rom. 6:16

• We are in a war!

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Just when you think:

• you have achieved victory/area/your life

• that problem with that sin is settled forever

Here comes the flesh.

• It will do everything in its power to undermine your victories

• Take back any ground you have won.

• The flesh is relentless.

• We let our guard down, and when we do, we lose the battle.

We fail:

• To pray. To read the Word.

• To avoid exposure/things that tempt us.

• To take a stand against the flesh.

When the flesh rises up, we must put it back in its place.

• Beat it/punch it/assault it/deny it

• Make it toe the line for the glory of God!