The Illusion of Self-Will: Why Your ‘Yes’ Isn’t Enough

[00:00:00] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]:
I'm really, really excited to be here today.
[00:00:02] We've been in this series called
[00:00:03] Eden to Eternity.
[00:00:06] And we've been really breaking down the structure of the Bible and what that actually looks like.
[00:00:12] And today we're going to pick up in Judges, the book of Judges in the Old Testament.
[00:00:18] And what takes place before the book of Judges, and Will talked about this last week, he talked about Moses, and then he talked about Joshua.
[00:00:25] Joshua led the Israelites into the Promised Land, but now Joshua, he's no longer here, he has died.
[00:00:32] And with that, other things have died as well for the Israelites.
[00:00:37] A spiritual leadership, unity, following God's Word.
[00:00:41] So what all of a sudden takes place is the Israelites start to do whatever they want to do, whatever they feel like doing.
[00:00:50] And this is Joshua's last words to some of the last words to the Israelites at the time.
[00:00:56] And it's this in Joshua 24, 15.
[00:00:58] It says, And if it is evil in your eyes to serve the Lord,
[00:01:03] Choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served in the region beyond the river or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell.
[00:01:13] But as for me, many of you guys know this, but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.
[00:01:21] So Joshua is basically saying at this time, hey, you got a choice to make.
[00:01:26] Right now you have a choice to make.
[00:01:28] You know God's Word.
[00:01:29] You know how to obey God.
[00:01:31] You know how He is there when you need Him.
[00:01:35] You know how He leads, how He guides, how He protects.
[00:01:37] So you've got a choice to make in this moment.
[00:01:41] But what do the Israelites, what have we been seeing all throughout?
[00:01:44] What do we see?
[00:01:45] We see disobedience.
[00:01:46] We see them, hey, I wanna go do whatever I want to do.
[00:01:50] And what takes place is they start to intermingle and marry the Canaanites.
[00:01:56] And the Canaanites, we know, they didn't have very many morals.
[00:02:01] Child sacrifice was part of what they did.
[00:02:03] So what took place was the Israelites said, you know what, we're going to go down that path.
[00:02:09] Let's do that.
[00:02:10] So they started intermingling and doing all these things.
[00:02:12] With the Canaanites, knowing good and well, Joshua warned them of this.
[00:02:18] and what takes place next is in is in Judges and we're going to look through in this verse we'll explain why there were actually judges why did God raise up judges who were delivered in that time so we're going to jump into this really quick in Judges chapter 2 now we're going to go through verses 16 through 19 so a little bit of a little bit of scripture this morning
[00:02:43] And it says this, then the Lord raised up judges to do what?
[00:02:47] To rescue the Israelites from their attackers.
[00:02:51] Yet Israel did not listen to the judges but prostituted themselves by worshiping other gods.
[00:02:58] How quickly they turned away from the path of their ancestors who walked in obedience to the Lord's commands.
[00:03:06] Whenever the Lord raised up a judge over Israel, he was with that judge and rescued the people
[00:03:13] from their enemies throughout the judge's lifetime.
[00:03:17] For the Lord took pity on his people who were burdened by oppression and suffering, but when the judge died, the people returned to their corrupt ways, behaving, what, worse than those who had lived before them.
[00:03:29] They went after other gods, serving and worshiping them, and they refused to give up their evil practices and stubborn ways.
[00:03:38] So what do we see in this moment?
[00:03:40] Like, hey, they just started doing their own thing.
[00:03:43] And not only that, it was worse than those before them.
[00:03:49] They were actually worse.
[00:03:50] And every single time you see this, there's a cycle.
[00:03:54] There's a cycle that we see with the Israelites.
[00:03:57] And we got something on the screen we're gonna put up there.
[00:04:01] If you want to take a picture of it, we'll be up there for a few seconds.
[00:04:04] What we see with the Israelites is this.
[00:04:06] We see rejection.
[00:04:08] They rejected God, so there was sin, there was idolatry.
[00:04:11] Then what do we have next?
[00:04:12] We have oppression.
[00:04:14] And then we have what?
[00:04:16] What do the people do in this moment?
[00:04:17] They cry out that, God, we need you.
[00:04:20] God, we need your help.
[00:04:21] God, come and save us.
[00:04:22] So we have repentance.
[00:04:24] And then what do we have next?
[00:04:26] We have deliverance.
[00:04:27] Now, it doesn't just stop there.
[00:04:28] God delivers them.
[00:04:30] God saves them.
[00:04:31] What happens?
[00:04:31] Boom, right back into rejection.
[00:04:34] And we may be looking at this and thinking, man, this is a messed up bunch of people.
[00:04:38] What in the world is wrong with them?
[00:04:40] They had a clear path.
[00:04:42] They knew exactly what to do.
[00:04:44] They knew how to be obedient.
[00:04:45] They knew the steps to take in following God.
[00:04:48] And we're like, they're horrible.
[00:04:50] They're messed up.
[00:04:51] Let's just be real today.
[00:04:53] It's no different for us.
[00:04:55] How many of us could say we've been in that same cycle, in that same cycle of sin, potentially?
[00:05:02] It's like, hey, okay, you know what?
[00:05:04] I reject God.
[00:05:06] He saves me.
[00:05:06] And then it's just like, all of a sudden,
[00:05:09] It's just this complete cycle.
[00:05:10] See, we fall into the same trap as well, just like the Israelites.
[00:05:17] It looks an awful lot like us today.
[00:05:20] And what's the result for the Israelites?
[00:05:24] What's the result for us?
[00:05:27] Chaos, confusion in our lives.
[00:05:31] And another thing, constant compromise.
[00:05:36] And today we're gonna be looking at this idea of obedience.
[00:05:39] We're gonna look at compromise.
[00:05:41] And to come out of here understanding and knowing that there is victory on the other side of obedience.
[00:05:48] How many of us want victory in this room today?
[00:05:51] Oh, really, five people.
[00:05:53] Everybody else got it all together.
[00:05:55] I'm gonna let y'all come up here and preach today.
[00:05:57] How many of y'all want victory in your life today?
[00:05:59] Come on.
[00:06:00] All of us, myself included.
[00:06:02] So what did God do in this moment?
[00:06:04] God raised up judges.
[00:06:06] Now we have 12 judges that God raised up to be deliverers.
[00:06:11] We have six minor judges, then we have six major judges, and we're gonna put those on the screen and kind of show the region that they were actually in.
[00:06:21] So you can take a pic of that as well for some of you.
[00:06:24] So it shows exactly where they were, how they were ruling at the time,
[00:06:28] Judges aren't like the judges of today's time like we see they were more like chiefs they were decision makers but they lacked really the organizational power that you would say is a king or a queen and so today we're going to walk through a few people we got three people we're specifically going to be talking about first one is Jabin.
[00:06:54] Jabin is the king of
[00:06:57] The Canaanites.
[00:06:59] And then we're gonna talk about one of the judges, which is Deborah, the lady, whose name's Deborah.
[00:07:04] She was the actual judge during this time, and the scripture we're gonna be walking through today.
[00:07:08] And then we have Israel's military leader at the time.
[00:07:12] His name was Barak.
[00:07:14] So we're gonna break them down a little bit, look into their lives, and understand that they are a mirror to our own lives as well today.
[00:07:23] So let's actually go ahead and jump in
[00:07:26] to what's taking place in this story.
[00:07:29] Judges chapter four, we're gonna start in verse one.
[00:07:34] And the people of Israel again, here's the cycle, did what was evil in the sight of the Lord after Ehud died.
[00:07:41] Now, Ehud, he was actually the previous judge who passed away.
[00:07:45] And then the Lord sold them into the hand of Jabin, king of Canaan, who reigned in Hazor.
[00:07:52] The commander of his army was Sisera, who lived in Harasheth Hagoyim.
[00:07:56] Then the people of Israel cried out to the Lord for help, for he had nine hundred iron chariots, and he oppressed the people of Israel cruelly for twenty years.
[00:08:08] Here's the thing.
[00:08:09] Jabin wasn't this accidental oppressor.
[00:08:11] He didn't just, oh, fall into it one day.
[00:08:15] The reason this took place was it was very clear for the Israelites to push out, to remove the Canaanites.
[00:08:23] But what did they do?
[00:08:25] They end up intermingling.
[00:08:27] They compromised.
[00:08:27] They allowed them to stay.
[00:08:29] So over the years, all of a sudden, Jabin rose to power because they didn't get rid of him.
[00:08:36] They didn't get rid of the Canaanites in their land.
[00:08:38] So for 20 years, they had oppression.
[00:08:43] That they lived in.
[00:08:44] So instead of confronting the enemy, they compromised with the enemy.
[00:08:51] And then what takes place, eventually they refused to confront.
[00:08:56] What they confused to confront began to actually control them, to control their lives.
[00:09:02] So if you're taking notes, point number one today is this.
[00:09:05] Compromise is the first step toward captivity.
[00:09:11] Compromise is the first step toward captivity.
[00:09:15] What we see is the Israelites, it didn't start with open rebellion, it actually just started with compromise.
[00:09:22] God commanded them to confront the enemy, to remove the enemy, to be obedient in this moment, but they said, you know, it's okay.
[00:09:31] I think sometimes like that, it's for us today.
[00:09:35] We may have some things in our lives that God has told us to remove, that we need to work on.
[00:09:41] And we're like, you know what?
[00:09:42] It's not that big a deal right now.
[00:09:44] It's not hurting anyone right now.
[00:09:47] But what we see, and over time, many of us have lived it, and I have myself, is over time it starts to grow.
[00:09:53] And then it starts to take over your life.
[00:09:56] And then it becomes out of control.
[00:09:58] See, they didn't just say, hey, we want to be oppressed for 20 years.
[00:10:02] They didn't just wake up and say, that's what we want.
[00:10:05] They didn't plan in this moment to cry out to God.
[00:10:10] They didn't really plan all this, but here's the thing, they really didn't plan on obeying God either.
[00:10:17] Have you ever done that in your own life?
[00:10:19] It's like you do something, you know there's sin, you know there's some things in your life, and you're like, I'm just gonna give it to God today.
[00:10:25] And you're even praying, but deep down you know, I'm probably not gonna get rid of it.
[00:10:30] You know what I mean?
[00:10:30] You're like, I want to obey, but deep down you know I'm not really going to obey.
[00:10:34] That's exactly what this cycle and why this cycle continues to take place for the Israelites and our own lives as well.
[00:10:43] We don't want to, we don't initially just drift, intentionally drift into destruction for our own lives, but so often we find that we do.
[00:10:55] We stop resisting.
[00:10:57] The places and the areas that God is telling us to remove, to step forward into.
[00:11:02] And here's the deal, every single one of us, we have Jabons in our life.
[00:11:08] Every single one of us, we have a Jabon in our life.
[00:11:14] We have something that we have allowed to grow in our lives, to take over our life, and we try to ignore it, but it is actually still there.
[00:11:24] We still try to hold on to it.
[00:11:26] We still try to say, you know what, it is okay.
[00:11:30] I'm just going to ignore it.
[00:11:31] And it's almost like this.
[00:11:32] Have you ever received a bill in the mail and you look at it and you're like, I just don't really want to pay this.
[00:11:38] I don't like this bill.
[00:11:40] I don't know why I got myself into this bill in the first place.
[00:11:42] Amen.
[00:11:43] Like, I don't even like it.
[00:11:44] And then you're like, I'm just going to ignore it.
[00:11:46] Let's see what happens then.
[00:11:47] Then you ignore it the next month.
[00:11:50] and then the third month comes in and then you ever notice on the outside of the envelope I'm going too far in this but it's red you know when that like little red stuff you're like oh okay I better take care of this but then all of a sudden your account's frozen you know what I mean or how about this little practical piece of this is how about when you cook dinner and you got a big pot full of all kinds of junk and it's like you know most of us know that we should probably clean it right away before it sticks but what do we do what is it I'm going to speak to the guys this morning what do we do it needs to what
[00:12:19] Needs to soak.
[00:12:20] Come on, let's go.
[00:12:21] Let's go, guys.
[00:12:22] Work with me.
[00:12:23] That's good.
[00:12:23] So it needs to soak.
[00:12:25] So then you put it in there and say, huh, it's just going to soak for a little bit.
[00:12:28] Okay, whatever.
[00:12:29] And then two days later, you go back and you empty it and it still needs to do what?
[00:12:34] Soak.
[00:12:34] It's like we just ignore it.
[00:12:36] We're like, oh, I hope it'll just go away.
[00:12:39] Quite a few years ago,
[00:12:40] Me and a bunch of my buddies, we would play tackle football, no pads, no anything.
[00:12:45] And we'd go out, and there'd be 20 or 30 of us.
[00:12:48] And every weekend, every Saturday, my dad would say, hey, you better not get hurt.
[00:12:52] Don't you dare get hurt.
[00:12:54] But on this one particular Saturday, he said, we got a lot of work to do today around the house.
[00:12:59] Do not get hurt.
[00:13:00] Of course, I'm like, Dad, I'm not going to get hurt.
[00:13:03] Of course, what happens?
[00:13:04] I get hurt.
[00:13:05] So we're out there and we're playing and this guy, he's about 280 pounds, he's running with the football,
[00:13:11] and one of the guys that was on my team was behind him and he was about 230.
[00:13:14] Well, I decided in my little 170 pound self, I'm gonna show some people something today.
[00:13:21] I'm gonna hit this guy.
[00:13:22] I'm gonna take him out.
[00:13:23] Well, as soon as I hit him, of course I fell to the ground.
[00:13:26] He falls on top of me.
[00:13:27] The other guy falls on top of me.
[00:13:29] So I have about 600 pounds on top of me in that moment and I land sideways.
[00:13:33] I feel my chest compress and then I feel my shoulder pop.
[00:13:38] I was like okay it's good it was not good so I have to go home at this moment and I can't tell my dad I got hurt so we're working around the house and I'm literally like trying to lift like I couldn't lift my arm and I was like he said you okay I'm good everything's good everything's fine you know we say that right everything's good it's all good and then I went to bed that night I'm like okay I'm just gonna hope I'm gonna pray this goes away God heal me in the name of Jesus come on so I wake up the next morning
[00:14:06] and I couldn't even roll out of the bed.
[00:14:07] It hurt so bad, my whole left side of my body.
[00:14:10] I just couldn't even move it.
[00:14:11] So did I cry out for my dad?
[00:14:14] Absolutely not.
[00:14:15] I cried out for my mama, come on.
[00:14:18] My mama takes me to the doctor and I broke my collarbone.
[00:14:22] Here's the deal.
[00:14:23] I was hoping and praying it would just in that moment go away.
[00:14:27] I really was just honestly ignoring it.
[00:14:30] That's us.
[00:14:33] Every single time
[00:14:35] In our life, so often, we just try to ignore it.
[00:14:39] We try to compromise with it.
[00:14:41] And we're just like, man, I just hope this Jabin just happens to just go away in our life.
[00:14:49] And what is a Jabin today?
[00:14:51] A Jabin is anything you accept that keeps you from full obedience to God.
[00:15:00] Anything that keeps you from full obedience to God.
[00:15:05] Maybe there's some bitterness you're holding on to.
[00:15:08] And you're like, you know what?
[00:15:13] I'm not gonna apologize to that person, even though you know you're supposed to.
[00:15:18] Like, I'm gonna wait on them.
[00:15:22] A sin that maybe you have in your life that you renamed as a struggle.
[00:15:30] There's a lot of anger that you may write off as just, that's just who I am, that's how I was raised.
[00:15:37] And there's compromises that we start to make with our sin and some of these issues, let's call it, that we actually have in our life.
[00:15:47] And it takes control over you.
[00:15:48] Or maybe you had a relationship that you got into and you knew that it was unhealthy, but you thought, you know what, I can manage it.
[00:15:57] You just start to make compromises.
[00:16:00] There are things that God has actually called us to truly deal with.
[00:16:07] But sins we have minimized.
[00:16:10] Wounds that we have ignored.
[00:16:11] Distractions that we just hope goes away.
[00:16:16] But it's the distractions that we allow every single day in our life.
[00:16:20] And it keeps us stuck, just like the Israelites.
[00:16:26] It keeps us oppressed.
[00:16:29] and honestly it keeps us from really moving forward with who God has called us to be and what God has actually called us to do.
[00:16:39] So for some of us today, you can write this down.
[00:16:41] Maybe for you, name your Jabin.
[00:16:45] Name your Jabin.
[00:16:48] What is it that you have in your life that you know is a weight that has you oppressed?
[00:16:56] What is it?
[00:16:58] And here's the thing, it's not, hey, okay, I'm gonna write this down and I'm gonna deal with it next month.
[00:17:03] I wanna deal with it next year.
[00:17:05] It's I'm gonna deal with this today.
[00:17:08] I'm gonna give this to God today.
[00:17:10] I'm gonna pray over this today.
[00:17:12] And whatever that may be a sin or a struggle, whatever has you oppressed today, whatever that weight is that you're like, man, I gotta find a scripture to help me through this.
[00:17:19] You find that scripture and once you find it, and when all of a sudden the enemy comes at you and says, no, don't get rid of it because that's just who you are.
[00:17:28] just ignore it maybe one day it'll go away and what you would do is you're like I'm gonna find that scripture I'm gonna memorize that verse to counteract what the enemy is telling me and saying who I am and it starts today it starts today of actually giving it to God not just saying words but truly giving it to him and stepping into what he is called and where he is calling you to be
[00:17:54] So now we go through the story and after 20 years of oppression, when they cried out, what does God do?
[00:18:02] God does what he always says he's gonna do, he's gonna respond.
[00:18:07] Even for us today, we talk about that cycle.
[00:18:11] He responds every single time.
[00:18:17] He raised up for the Israelites, this is where the judges come in, he raised up deliverers who listened to God.
[00:18:25] and Judges 4.
[00:18:26] Here's Deborah.
[00:18:28] She comes in to play.
[00:18:30] It says, Now Deborah, a prophetess, the wife of Lapidoth, was judging Israel at the time.
[00:18:36] She used to sit under the palm of Deborah between Ramah and Bethel in the hill country of Ephraim.
[00:18:42] And the people of Israel
[00:18:43] came up to her for judgment.
[00:18:45] She sent and summoned Barak, the son of Abadim, from Kadesh Neftali, and said to him, Has not the Lord, the God of Israel, commanded you?
[00:18:53] So here she is, she's having a conversation with the military leader Barak, and she says, Has he not commanded you?
[00:19:01] Go gather your men at Mount Tabor.
[00:19:04] Taking 10,000 from the people of Natali and the people of Zebulun.
[00:19:09] And I will draw out Sisera, the general of Jabin's army, to meet you by the river Kishon with his chariots and his troops, and I will give him to you.
[00:19:21] He will be into your hand.
[00:19:22] He raised up Deborah.
[00:19:25] Deborah wasn't a warrior.
[00:19:27] She wasn't a king.
[00:19:28] It was a woman who was willing to listen and obey and to actually follow God.
[00:19:36] Who was Deborah?
[00:19:37] Deborah was a leader.
[00:19:39] Deborah was courageous.
[00:19:41] She had boldness.
[00:19:42] She had faith to listen to God's word.
[00:19:45] And here she is in this story, chilling under a palm tree as everyone is coming to her.
[00:19:53] But she had a word for God.
[00:19:54] She wasn't preparing for battle.
[00:19:57] She wasn't sharpening her sword.
[00:19:58] She was sitting under a palm tree listening and obeying God's commands and telling the Israelites, telling Barak, it's time to get in the game.
[00:20:12] It's time to end this oppression.
[00:20:14] You know where God and what God is calling you to do.
[00:20:18] And here's point number two, taking notes.
[00:20:23] Conviction calls for an immediate response.
[00:20:28] Deborah had conviction.
[00:20:31] She said, you need to do this immediately.
[00:20:34] You need to go after Jabin and the army.
[00:20:39] She said, you gotta go right now.
[00:20:41] And I love this from Barak in this next, I think it's just a little bit funny what Barak says.
[00:20:47] This is his actual response.
[00:20:49] To Deborah, because what did she say?
[00:20:51] She said, hey, you got the same word I did.
[00:20:55] I'm telling you this is what needs to be done, but this is what he says.
[00:20:58] He says, Barak said to her, talking to Deborah, if you will go with me, I will go, but if you will not go with me, I will not go.
[00:21:07] He said, I'm not going to go without you.
[00:21:11] What do we see with Barak?
[00:21:13] There was hesitation.
[00:21:16] There was hesitation.
[00:21:17] They both got the same word, but he was like, I don't really know about this.
[00:21:22] I'm not sure if it's really time for us to go.
[00:21:24] What did he want?
[00:21:25] He wanted conditions.
[00:21:27] I think so often it's like us.
[00:21:29] Have you ever clearly heard from God?
[00:21:33] Like you knew, you sensed it, you knew what it was.
[00:21:37] You knew it was the Holy Spirit leading and guiding you to do something, but you're like, nah, I don't really know about that.
[00:21:43] I really know that's what you want me to do, but hey, can we just take some time?
[00:21:48] So often we hesitate when God is saying, hey, this is an immediate response.
[00:21:53] I'm calling you to actually do something.
[00:21:55] We look for conditions.
[00:21:57] We look for clarity.
[00:21:58] And then we delay.
[00:22:01] What does that look like for us?
[00:22:02] God tells us to forgive, we wait on Him to apologize.
[00:22:05] God tells us to serve, but we wait on our schedule to clear.
[00:22:09] God tells us very clearly, it's time to give, but you're like, you know what, I need to wait for my finances to get in a little bit better shape.
[00:22:15] God tells us to move, to go tell our story, to go disciple, and we're like, I need to know more of God's Word before I actually step into this.
[00:22:23] Even though we know it's a clear calling, clear steps that he is wanting us to take, and we're like, I really don't know.
[00:22:30] We wait on confirmation.
[00:22:33] But here's the deal.
[00:22:34] Delayed obedience is just fear in disguise.
[00:22:40] Delayed obedience is actually just fear in disguise.
[00:22:44] And let's just be honest, if I was Barak, I would feel the same way.
[00:22:48] Have you ever went into a situation where it's like, man, I don't know the outcome, and there's a lot of fear?
[00:22:54] Inside of you, or maybe something from the past has happened.
[00:22:57] It's like, man, I don't know if I should take that step.
[00:22:59] I have fear.
[00:23:01] I don't have the courage to move.
[00:23:02] Here's the thing.
[00:23:03] If I was just like Barrett, we are in the same boat.
[00:23:08] We have those same fears in our life.
[00:23:10] And here's why he did.
[00:23:12] Because he knew the story.
[00:23:15] He knew the past from his ancestors.
[00:23:19] Here's the thing.
[00:23:19] If you go back to Judges chapter one,
[00:23:23] They were unable, the Israelites were unable to defeat the iron chariots.
[00:23:28] So now, Deborah's saying, hey, you know God's word.
[00:23:32] You know what he's telling you to do.
[00:23:33] It's time to go defeat those chariots now.
[00:23:36] So for him, it's like, they couldn't defeat them before, so there's no way we can defeat them now.
[00:23:44] So that can be our mentality so often.
[00:23:46] Have you ever started, maybe initially, maybe even today, you're just following God for the very first time and you've got something going on in your life
[00:23:53] and he didn't show up just like that and it's like you know what I think I'm about on the verge of giving up on God because he didn't answer that prayer he didn't show up in the moment that I actually needed him guys I've been there I've done that but here's what I what I know looking back on my own life I have to sit and think how often did I miss the victories because I gave up on God how many how many battles was he preparing to win for me but I was like I'm just going to give up on God
[00:24:23] and I've been there and I've done that and I don't want that for you today so maybe you're about ready to give up on God can I tell you there's victory on the other side don't give up on him today I don't know who I'm talking to here or even online today don't give up
[00:24:41] I was actually talking to someone just the other day and they were telling me about their story.
[00:24:45] They were in a job and everything was going okay.
[00:24:48] And for some strange reason out of nowhere, they really felt the presence of God telling them to move and do something different, do another job.
[00:24:56] And they were just like, man, I don't understand what you're doing, God.
[00:24:59] And it felt very clear
[00:25:30] Hey, you're already comfortable in this job, but this other one may not give you the financial flexibility that you're looking for.
[00:25:39] The Iron Chariot is, I don't know if I'm good enough to take this position.
[00:25:47] But then they said they stepped in to what they knew clearly came from God.
[00:25:51] And then as soon as they took that other job, they knew right away, this is what God called me to do.
[00:25:58] And I wonder what the hesitation would have been like.
[00:26:01] I wonder what that would have looked like if it had been like, I'm just not gonna listen.
[00:26:04] I'm gonna have fear.
[00:26:05] I'm not gonna have courage to be able to take this step.
[00:26:10] See, God said, hey, I want you to take this step.
[00:26:14] I want you to move in the direction.
[00:26:16] You may not know what's on the other side of it, but to know that I am here, I am with you, that I am for you.
[00:26:24] See, it's conviction.
[00:26:26] Conviction without action.
[00:26:28] is just good intentions.
[00:26:31] Conviction without action is just good intentions.
[00:26:37] God, I'll do it later.
[00:26:38] I'll do it someday.
[00:26:41] And what we continue to see in this moment is the Israelites.
[00:26:46] Barak had, he had to make a move.
[00:26:49] He had to take a step.
[00:26:50] And look what happens in verses 12 through 15.
[00:26:55] When Sisera was told that Barak the son of Abadim had gone to Mount Tabor, Sisera called out all his chariots, 900 chariots of iron, and all the men who were with him, from Heresheth Hagoyim to the river of Kishon.
[00:27:11] And Deborah said to Barak, Up, she's like, it's time to go, for this is the day in which the Lord has given Sisera into your hand.
[00:27:19] Does not the Lord go out before you?
[00:27:21] So Barak went down from Mount Tabor with 10,000 men following him, and the Lord routed Sisera and all his chariots and all his army before Barak by the edge of the sword.
[00:27:34] Here's the deal.
[00:27:35] Barak could have looked down and saw those 900 chariots and went back to history, went back to like we couldn't defeat them.
[00:27:44] He could have stayed on that hill.
[00:27:45] He could have counted the chariots.
[00:27:47] He could have stayed on that hill and said, we need a new strategy.
[00:27:52] But here's the thing, God already promised them victory.
[00:27:58] So Barak and the Israelite army had to take a step.
[00:28:04] And this is my last point of the day.
[00:28:06] Courage is the key to breakthrough.
[00:28:09] Courage is the key to breakthrough.
[00:28:12] So often, God has set up, is setting up the breakthroughs in our life.
[00:28:22] in such a way that the step of obedience comes before the evidence of success.
[00:28:29] Don't we want everything mapped out?
[00:28:33] We want God to clearly tell us every single step.
[00:28:37] And so often it's not like that.
[00:28:40] So often he calls us to take the step.
[00:28:43] We gotta step into it.
[00:28:46] to not hesitate.
[00:28:48] But it's like, man, I don't have the courage.
[00:28:49] I don't have the fear.
[00:28:52] Here's the thing.
[00:28:53] People will tell you, hey, man, just don't fear.
[00:28:55] We all have fear.
[00:28:55] I don't care who you are.
[00:28:57] Every single one of us has some kind of fear.
[00:29:00] But check this out.
[00:29:01] Courage doesn't mean you're not afraid.
[00:29:04] It means you trust God more than you fear.
[00:29:08] Let me say that one more time.
[00:29:09] Courage doesn't mean you're not afraid.
[00:29:11] It means you trust God more than you fear.
[00:29:16] So often obedience feels like a risk that we're not always willing to take.
[00:29:23] Like I said, they could have stayed on top of that mountain and counted those chariots and had different strategy.
[00:29:27] But what did they do?
[00:29:28] They had to move.
[00:29:29] And as soon as they moved, what did God do?
[00:29:32] God showed up right on time.
[00:29:34] He sent a storm down near the river.
[00:29:39] and it basically flooded the area and the iron chariots were useless in this storm.
[00:29:44] They were stuck in the mud and the Israelites with God's power and His word were able to defeat the army.
[00:29:54] But they had to take a step.
[00:29:59] So really my last question today is not only is what are the Jabons in your life, but what are the iron chariots?
[00:30:12] What are the iron chariots that you have that you are thinking about or the enemy is telling you about?
[00:30:17] Is it fear?
[00:30:18] Is it the unknown?
[00:30:20] Is it the doubt of who you are and who God has called you to be, who he said you were?
[00:30:26] What is your iron chariot?
[00:30:31] And what's your reason for staying safe?
[00:30:34] What's your reason for staying safe, even though it's a clear step that God has called you to do?
[00:30:41] And today is the day, to be honest with you guys, to take that step.
[00:30:46] To say, I know what it is.
[00:30:47] Maybe it is to take the step to apologize to somebody.
[00:30:50] Maybe it is to take the step to serve or to give or just to follow God.
[00:30:54] And today is the day to actually take that step in following Him.
[00:30:59] And saying, hey, I may not have the path, it may not be clear, I'm still on the mountaintop, I'm looking down, I see all these iron chariots, but I know what God is calling me to do.
[00:31:08] And today is the day.
[00:31:09] for you for me for us to take that step because here's the thing there's victory on the other side of obedience for us today to listen like Deborah to listen to God's Word to obey to be like Barak to say hey yeah I know I've hesitated I know I've had some delay but from here on out I'm on that mountaintop and I'm gonna charge my enemy
[00:31:41] But before we do that, we're going back to the Jabins.
[00:31:46] For some of us, it's that sin in our life that we're holding onto that's oppressing us.
[00:31:54] Today is the day to confront your Jabin, to confront those iron chariots in your life.
[00:32:05] To not walk out of here and say, I'll take care of it later
[00:32:10] Take care of it today.
[00:32:16] To listen, to obey God's word that he has on your life, for your family.
[00:32:25] I didn't mention this earlier, but I thought about this other cycle, and I'm just gonna be real, I'm talking as a parent, talking about the cycle that we kind of stay in.
[00:32:35] And I think for generations and generations and generations,
[00:32:39] The Israelites were stuck in this same cycle.
[00:32:44] Like I said, I won't speak to parents right now, to be honest with you.
[00:32:47] I didn't plan on saying this.
[00:32:51] So often we stay in that same cycle, and so do our kids.
[00:32:58] And our kids grow up with the same cycle that we went through, that we've battled.
[00:33:05] And maybe you've seen it in your life.
[00:33:08] Maybe it was from your parents, this same cycle that you lived in and it's become normalized.
[00:33:19] Can I tell you, you can stop that cycle of oppression today.
[00:33:25] Not in your own power, but with God.
[00:33:29] And for all of us today, to know that we can walk out of this place with victory.
[00:33:35] Because there's victory on the other side.
[00:33:38] of obedience today let me pray for us everyone's heads bowed and eyes closed i want to take a moment and i want to talk to those in the room you were a jesus follower maybe you accepted jesus to be the leader of your life last week last month or 30 years ago but you know there's some things in your life there's some sin that you're still trying to carry and hold and ignore and some weight that's kind of got you burdened and you you're
[00:34:08] You sometimes will go to God with it, but then you still are like, eh, it just still seems to have a hold on you.
[00:34:14] Today is the day to completely give it to Him.
[00:34:23] Today is the day to stop that cycle in your life, in your family's life, for your kids to stop the cycle, live in freedom,
[00:34:35] Live in obedience, to live in joy, to live in peace, even though life is hard and it's still going to be hard, but knowing that God is with you.
[00:34:47] So I just want to take a moment and pray for those who are Jesus' followers to say, God, just give them the courage, give them the strength, as many may be in this room or watching online or are giving their weight, their sin, that oppression to you right now.
[00:35:01] so God work and move in their lives whatever you've called them to do whatever that thing is that you want them to step into in following you that they will have that strength so God we thank you for what you're doing what you're going to do we're thanking you in advance for freedom for victory in their lives today and as we stay in this moment of prayer
[00:35:30] I want to talk to those of you who maybe you were invited here today and you never accepted Jesus to be the leader of your life and it feels like you're stuck.
[00:35:39] Maybe for you in a cycle of shame, a cycle of guilt and regret, I want to give you some good news today.
[00:35:50] I want you to know about a man named Jesus who came to this earth to break
[00:35:56] the cycle to offer freedom to offer forgiveness and to offer a fresh start for you the victory you've been longing for isn't isn't something you can earn because it's already been won and today is the day to receive it the good news is the gospel the gospel is that Jesus came to this earth and he died on the cross not just for a select few people for you today for me for us in this room today
[00:36:27] So that we can experience some joy and some peace and victory in our life.
[00:36:34] And today is your day to not hesitate, to not wait and say, you know what, I'll wait until next weekend or maybe later on until I get myself together or fix myself.
[00:36:49] Listen, can I tell you that Jesus loves you right where you are?
[00:36:52] In your sin, in your shame, in your doubt, in your fear, He loves you.
[00:36:58] And He just wants a relationship with you today.
[00:37:03] And if that is you, I just want you to have the courage this morning to say, you know what?
[00:37:10] I need Jesus.
[00:37:13] It's time for you to put your yes on the table and say, I want a relationship with Him today.
[00:37:20] to experience victory and freedom in my life.
[00:37:24] So if that is you, just want you to have the courage.
[00:37:26] It's not between you and your neighbor, anyone else.
[00:37:29] This is between you and God.
[00:37:34] A decision today that will impact your eternity.
[00:37:38] So on the count of three, I just want you to raise your hand.
[00:37:41] One, two, three.

[00:37:44] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]:
Raise your hand.
[00:37:45] You can keep them up and say, I'm accepting Jesus.
[00:37:48] Amen, amen, amen, amen, amen, amen, amen, amen, amen, amen, amen, amen, amen, amen.
[00:38:06] Amen.
[00:38:08] Amen.
[00:38:10] Amen.
[00:38:11] Amen.
[00:38:12] Amen.
[00:38:14] Man, come on.
[00:38:14] God is good.
[00:38:15] Amen.
[00:38:15] I see your hand.
[00:38:17] And all you have to do is pray this prayer.

[00:38:20] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]:
Father, today I choose you to be the leader of my life.
[00:38:26] Forgive me of my sins.
[00:38:28] From this day forward, I will follow you.
[00:38:32] Thank you for saving me.
[00:38:33] Thank you for setting me free.
[00:38:35] Thank you for victory in this place, in my life.
[00:38:41] God, we thank you for what you've done in this room.
[00:38:43] We give you the praise.
[00:38:44] We give you the glory.
[00:38:46] We give you the honor.
[00:38:47] And it's in Jesus' name.
[00:38:49] And everybody in the house said, amen, amen.
[00:38:51] Come on.