Devil - You Can't Have Back What God Gave Us!
PPT 1 Message Title
PPT 2 Text
Judges 11:23 'Since now the LORD, the God of Israel, drove out the Amorites from before His people Israel, are you then to possess it? (NAS)
Judges 11:23 It was GOD, the God of Israel, who pushed out the Amorites in favor of Israel; so who do you think you are to try to take it over? (MSG)
Jephthah is an amazing individual for a number of reasons, his humble beginnings, his foolish vow, and his awesome faith. Most sermons focus on his family situation, or on his foolish vow, I want to talk about his faith and in particular the sentiment expressed in the verse above: A simple declaration to the Lord's enemies that they can have or take back that which God has given us.
Today I want to do a quick overview of his faith, then spend most of our time talking about not surrendering conquered land back to the enemy.
The scriptures tell us several things about the faith of Jephthah some are clear some you have to deduce. First clearly Hebrews 11 lists him with God's champions:
PPT 3, 4 text
Heb 11:32 And what more shall I say? For time will fail me if I tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the prophets,
Heb 11:33 who by faith conquered kingdoms, performed [acts of] righteousness, obtained promises, shut the mouths of lions,
Heb 11:34 quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, from weakness were made strong, became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight.
You will notice he is listed alongside David, Samuel, and the prophets. A spiritual resume doesn't get much better than that. Also we read this about him:
PPT 5 text
Judges 11:29 Now the Spirit of the LORD came upon Jephthah, so that he passed through Gilead and Manasseh; then he passed through Mizpah of Gilead, and from Mizpah of Gilead he went on to the sons of Ammon.
He is one of the few people in the Old Testament that we know had a genuine encounter and movement of the Holy Spirit in and through his life.
Then there are a few more subtle references to his faith:
PPT 6 text
Judges 11:11 Then Jephthah went with the elders of Gilead, and the people made him head and chief over them; and Jephthah spoke all his words before the LORD at Mizpah.
The elders of Gilead asked Jephthah to help them fight the Ammonites, he agreed on the condition they would make him ruler over the people, terms they accepted. He then goes to a place where the presence of God was and "rehearses," all his words before the Lord. That means in prayer he told God what he agreed to and also most likely asked His assistance and blessing in the matter. The text shows that Jephthah was a man who acknowledged God in all his ways.
Finally as to the strength of his faith in chapter 11 verses 14 - 26 Jephthah relates the spiritual and historical legacy of the Jewish claim to the land the Ammonites were seeking. He knew his bible, he knew his nations history very intimately, He was a man of the word.
So with that established let's move into the crux of Jephthah's statement to the Ammonites and how it relates to us today.
Very simply he says God gave it to us, and you ain't getting it from us. That is a spiritual view point from a man listed in God's hall of faith, it is an attitude all of us as believers should have.
That view point teaches us two important lessons:
1. The enemy is always trying to take back territory he has lost.
2. Resist and don't stop resisting.
1. The enemy is always trying to take back territory he has lost.
Jephthah tells the Ammonites the land they are disputing has been in Israeli hands for 300 years (11:26). 300 years later the Ammonites are still trying to get it back. Now here is a fact that ought to shock you. The land that we are talking about in this story is the land (Gilead) East of the Jordan, where 2 ½ tribes settled. If you were to look at a map today that land encompasses a significant portion of the country we call Jordan. Do you know what the capital of Jordan is? Amman. Amman is the ancient name of the capital of the Ammonite territory. In other words the land the Jews fought for and won, the land Jephthah fought for and kept out of Ammonite hands is this very day under the complete control of the Ammonites (Jordan)!
Land that the Jewish forefathers purchased with their blood, was taken from their descendants. The parallel for us is this, the things Jesus died to free us from, the enemy is always trying to get us back into. When the enemy loses ground he never gives up the idea of getting it back. I don't think we understand how relentless the enemy is in this regard, let me lay this out for you biblically.
PPT 7 text
Lu 11:24 "When the unclean spirit goes out of a man, it passes through waterless places seeking rest, and not finding any, it says, 'I will return to my house from which I came.'
Lu 11:25 "And when it comes, it finds it swept and put in order.
Lu 11:26 "Then it goes and takes [along] seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they go in and live there; and the last state of that man becomes worse than the first."
There is something very satisfying to demons about controlling humans. When they lose territory it says they cannot find rest, it is to them a waterless place.
Then they realize how much they licked the area they used to control, and the only way there are going to get back in is with some serious warfare and effort on their part. So they return with a greater and larger force to attempt to regain territory. In other words they work extra hard to get back in. They redouble their efforts, they look for every opportunity to exploit a weakness. They are always looking for a way back in. Look at this insightful passage from the life of Jesus.
PPT 8 text
Lu 4:13 And when the devil had finished every temptation, he departed from Him until an opportune time. (NAS)
Jesus gets baptized, the Holy Spirit comes on Him, He goes to the wilderness fasting, the devil comes and tests Him. Test is over Jesus wins. The text shows the devil didn't throw in the towel and say, "I quit you won." No he waited for a better opportunity, perhaps he thought if Jesus gets worn out physically, or if he got betrayed by friends, or if He got tired of fighting the good fight - then the devil would be successful. The devil would think that way, because it has been a successful strategy with so many people, a better time, a better set of circumstances and the human would fall to temptation. That is the whole basis of his argument with God about attempting to cause Job to fall into sin. He tried many tactics against Jesus, fortunately for us, Jesus never did sin. My point though, is the enemy is always trying to gain (re)gain ground, that is why the bible warns us to be sober, be vigilant...
Let me show you this principle from the life of David. You remember Goliath, David beat him case closed right? No.
PPT 9 text
2Sa 21:16 Then Ishbi-benob, who was among the descendants of the giant, the weight of whose spear was three hundred [shekels] of bronze in weight, was girded with a new [sword,] and he intended to kill David.
If you continue reading in 2 Sam 21 there were 3 more giants (4 total) besides Goliath who challenged Israel and David in particular. The same enemy came back, and back, and back again.
Did you overcome cancer? Stay vigilant it may try to come back. Don't take for granted the battle is over, always fight the good fight of faith. Deliver us from evil is a prayer that not only is about the present, but should be prayed over your future as well. Satan we resist in Jesus name all attacks against our physical and spiritual bodies, against our family, our homes, our nation, get thee hence!
Did you quit drugs when you got saved? Stay vigilant the enemy may come back with 7 brothers worse. In reality he has done that and succeeded that with a lot of people. I am aware of some Christians who were saved from the drug lifestyle and in the course of life they encountered some physical pain and the doctor prescribed opiates. With a prescription opiate dependence they are in a worse condition now then before they got saved. Listen very carefully to me, if you have been delivered from drugs earlier in your life be aware that the devil might try to use a physical attack as a way to get you back on drugs. Doctors give opiates out way to easily, and people who would otherwise fight the temptation to go back to drugs, get tricked into it just like Eve was. There is a place for medicine, and pain relief, but it has been abused by hell to the personal destruction of many, many people. There is an opioid epidemic in the United States, which means there are a lot of people legally addicted to drugs. Somebody listening to this message needs to stand up in the Spirit and say, "Devil, I ain't going back there. You can't have the freedom Jesus gave me." Don't let the flag of Ammon fly over your spiritual life again!
Was porn the thing that brought you down. Be aware the devil will try to get it front of your eyes anytime he can, especially when he thinks you are vulnerable. The bible tells us to flee youthful lusts, that isn't the bibles way of saying this only gets the young people, but it is telling us that it starts in youth. Flee it, run from it, declare the devil is not going to get back your heart, your mind, and your eyes.
2. Resist and don't stop resisting.
Here is a gem from the book of Proverbs:
PPT 10 text
Pr 24:33 "A little sleep, a little slumber, A little folding of the hands to rest,"
Pr 24:34 Then your poverty will come [as] a robber, And your want like an armed man. (NAS)
Pr 6:10 A nap here, a nap there, a day off here, a day off there, sit back, take it easy—do you know what comes next?
Pr 6:11 Just this: You can look forward to a dirt-poor life, poverty your permanent houseguest! (MSG)
If you slack off in watchfulness you can expect to be overtaken by your enemies.
Here is wise counsel from the New Testament:
PPT 11 text
James 4:7 Submit therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.
You resist he flees. Simple and straight forward. However you will find one resisting does not equal a lifetime of fleeing. A lifetime of resisting = a lifetime of fleeing. The devil is like a squatter, he has no legal right but if he can squat long enough he will have legal right. He also knows that if he can get in for just a few moments he can wreck havoc, so resist and keep on resisting.
Close: Are you dealing with one of Goliath's brothers? Pray for those who are a facing an enemy the second time. Have people declare that the flag of Ammon will not fly again in their heart.
