God Looks To The Faithful

Pastor Allan Kircher

Shell Point Baptist Church

6 January 2012

Judges 2:11,4:1, 6:1, 8:33, 13:1; 1 Cor. 1:27-29

God looks to the faithful

Read the headlines:

Family feud leaves 69 brothers dead!

Powerful Government leader caught in “love Nest.”

Gang rape leads to victim’s death and dismemberment.

Girls at party kidnapped and forced to marry strangers.

Sensational headlines like these/usually found/front page or our newspapers,

• Actually describe some/events/narrated/Judges.

• A dramatic change from book Joshua.

Near end of Joshua, they were resting from war, enjoying the riches of God

They were given the promise land.

• But Book/Judges pictures Israel suffering….

• Invasion, slavery, poverty, civil war

• What happened?

Deuteronomy 6 outlined/nation’s responsibilities. 4 things.

• Love/obey/Jehovah as the only true God.

• Teach your children God’s laws

• Be thankful for God’s blessings

• Separate yourselves/worship/pagan god’s/in Canaan.

(our translation) Do not conform/pattern’s/world.

Unfortunately, the new generation failed in each.

• One of two things was true: either

• Older/generation/failed/instruct /children/grand’s

• Or, if they had, they refused to submit to God’s law.

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My prayers for the New Year will be to fall in love with God’s Word again and again and again and to experience Him in a new way.

My prayers are to include the church body to experience this in their lives.

• The explosion of Pentecost/lives of believers

• The power to sling giants/stones

• To feel/hear/speak revival in our lives.

This coming year let us walk into the promise land.

Not only walk into it, but heed the Word of God in it.

That promise land may be….

• Your own life experience

• Your family healing

• Your relationships with friends/coworkers

this will only come with the power of the almighty.

• Transforming and conforming you into His Image.

• If you’re a child of the king, you’re already there.

• You just have to enable that Spirit to move.

• Enable it by reading/God’s Word/praying/meditating

• Now let’s look and get some guidance/direction from God.

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First, let’s take a walk/Israelites/they escaped Egypt

• Wandering through the desert 40 years.

• Why were they there so long?

• There/blessings/curses throughout this time.

They received blessings and prospered for a while then…

• They forgot their God/got idle/stagnant.

• They just went through the routines

• Took God for granted.

• We don’t do that do we?

We don’t…..

• Just call upon God when we need Him.

• One verse a day doesn’t keep the devil away

• Show up for worship to show up.

We have learned from the past from/Israelites haven’t we?

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This year our time has come/just as it was/Israelites/Joshua

• But we have to be faithful/obedient/reverent/humble.

The Bible says “the nation of Israel faithfully followed God throughout the life of Joshua and the elders” (Judges 2:7).

• In their faithfulness they were blessed mightily.

• They have seen the mountain top.

• They wouldn’t want to travel back down again.

• They have a new vision, a new and refresh passion.

• They set up Ebenezer, memory stones, milestones to help them remember what The Lord had done.

They’re not going to make the mistake again?

• But as we read, that is not the case.

• Joshua dies/next generation/not know the work of the Lord and what He had done.

• Don’t we forget so easily?

• You see the nation failed/instill/love/devotion for God.

• They failed to live and pass it on/next generation.

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Now this morning we look in The Book of Judges.

• This/cycle for/history of Israel.

• Disobedience/punishment

• Repentance/deliverance/service.

Has this happened in your life? Your family? In this church?

You would think in this cycle/Israel would catch on.

• Cycle continues/over 300 years.

• How many times have you fell/repented/said this won’t happen again?

• Can we learn this year how to break this cycle?

Here’s how it happens in the first place:

• They became consumed/surrounding culture

• Stopped worshiping God/or became very sporadic

• Began worshiping idols of Baal.

• They called the idols Baal/ we have them too.

And they went back and forth: 6 times/Judges you’ll read:

“Again the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord.” Read with me in Judges 6:1-6

God gave Israel everything they needed to be a great nation.

• God/given/SPBC/everything/they need to be great church.

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He established guidelines for them to live by

• They clearly said, “Do not worship other gods.”

Guidelines we must adhere to also to prosper in 2013

• We need to rid ourselves of those other gods.

• (god’s) that take the place of the Lord.

• Take away from our time/devotion/prayer w/Lord.

For this blatant sin God severely punishes their behavior.

• They have not worshiped with a genuine heart.