Judges chapter 3 is where you'll find our scripture reading for this evening, and we're breaking in at verse 5, please. The book of Judges chapter 3, and we're breaking in at verse 5. We've come to our third study on this overall title, Hearts of Iron, Feet of Clay, and I want to talk to you tonight on the subject God has a place for you. Judges chapter 3 in verse 5. And the children of Israel dwelt among the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, and Perizzites, and Hivites, and Jebusites. And they took their daughters to be their wives, and gave their daughters to their sons, and served their gods. And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord, and forgot the Lord their God, and served Balaam and the groves. Therefore the anger of the Lord was hot against Israel, and he sold them into the hand of Hushun, Rish Athim. How would you like your mother and father have called you Cushon Rish Athim? King of Mesopotamia. And the children of Israel served Cushon Rish Athim eight years. And when the children of Israel cried unto the Lord, the Lord raised up a deliverer to the children of Israel, who delivered them, even Othniel, the son of Kenaz, Caleb's younger brother. The Spirit of the Lord came upon him, and he judged Israel and went out to war. And the Lord delivered Cushon, Rishathin, king of Mesopotamia, into his hand, and his hand prevailed against Cushon, Rishathin. And the land did rest forty years, and Othmiel, the son of Kenaz, died." And the children of Israel did evil again in the sight of the Lord. And the Lord strengthened Eglon, the king of Moab, against Israel, because they had done evil in the sight of the Lord. And he gathered unto him the children of Ammon and Amalek, and went and smote Israel, and possessed the city of palm trees. So the children of Israel served Eglon, the king of Moab, eighteen years. But when the children of Israel cried unto the Lord, the Lord raised them up a deliverer, Ehud, the son of Jireh, a Benjamite, a man left-handed. And by him the children of Israel sent a present unto Eglon, the king of Moab. But Ehud made him a dagger or a sword which had two edges of a cubit length, and he did gird it under his raiment upon his right thigh. And he brought the present unto Eglon, king of Moab. And Eglon was a very fat man. And when he had made an end to offer the present, he sent away the people that bear the present. But he himself turned again from the quarries that were by Gilgal, and said, I have a secret errand unto thee, O king, who said, Keep silence. And all that stood by him went out from him. And Ehud came unto him, and he was sitting in a summer parlor, which he had for himself alone. And Ehud said, I have a message from God unto thee. And he arose out of his seat. And Ehud put forth his left hand and took the dagger from his right thigh and thrust it into his belly. And the haft also went in after the blade, and the fat closed upon the blade, so that he could not draw the dagger out of his belly, and the dirt came out. Then Ehud went forth through the porch, and shut the doors of the parlor upon him, and locked them. When he was gone out, his servants came, and when they saw that, behold, the doors of the parlor were locked, they said, Surely he covereth his feet in his summer chamber. And they tarried till they were ashamed, and, behold, he opened not the doors of the parlor. Therefore they took a key and opened them, and, behold, their Lord was fallen down dead on the earth. And he who had escaped while they tarried, and passed beyond the quarries, and escaped into Sarah, that came to pass when he was come, that he blew a trumpet in the mountain of Ephraim. And the children of Israel went down with him from the mountain, and he before them And he said unto them, Follow after me, for the Lord hath delivered your enemies, the Moabites, into your hand. And they went down after him, and took the fords of Jordan toward Moab, and suffered not a man to pass over. And they slew of Moab at that time about ten thousand men, all lusty, and all men of valor, and there escaped not a man. So Moab was subdued that day under the hand of Israel. The land did rest fourscore years. And after him was Shamgar, the son of Anath, which slew of the Philistines six hundred men with an ox goat, and he also delivered Israel. Let's just keep our Bibles open at Judges chapter 3. God has a place for you. With tears streaming down her face, she looked at the pastor and said, I want more than anything else to make my life to count for the Lord Jesus. When you were talking about the Lord and what He has done for us and our position in Him, that really got through to me. It really touched me. But how can God use someone like me? And then she talked about Christians she respected and the qualities that they exhibited that she admired and envied. They inspired her, but they also discouraged her because of their personalities. because of their gifts, because of their talents. So how could the Lord have something significant for her to do? I wonder, have you ever thought like that? Have you ever spoken like that? I wonder, have you ever asked the question to yourself, how can God use someone like me? Sincere Christians think and speak like that. because they do not fit their concept of what a Christian must be before God can or will use them. The reasons are as diverse as the people who come. Some believers feel that God can't use them because they're consumed with failure and with guilt. Others feel inadequate because of a lack of education. Many suffer with the scars of their family history or personal background. Some have got physical limitations. Perhaps they've got mental handicaps. A number have difficulty accepting themselves. They have a very poor self-image of themselves. that many Christian believers are paralyzed by the belief that they do not fit the mold. They have got an image of the person that God uses, and they see themselves as being a long way from that image. The conclusion is inevitable. If I am not what God requires, the Lord cannot use me. Some years ago, that great man of God, Oswald J. Smith, pastor of the People's Church in Toronto, produced a little booklet that I have in my study at home entitled, The Man God Uses. The Man God Uses. If I were to ask this company of people this evening, what kind of Christian does God use? The answer would be as diverse as the people gathered. You see, each of us has an image of the person that God uses. And invariably, we see ourselves as being a long way from fitting that image. As with most problems, the real problem is that we are not guided by the Scriptures in our thinking. For when we turn to the Word of God, we discover a delightful truth. God isn't stuck on one pattern. He doesn't have a heavenly mold into which you and I must fit, or else we will be discarded. You see, the world produces conformity, but God produces individuality. Our God is a God of infinite variety, who uses people of all kinds, all shapes, all backgrounds, all colors, and He has a wonderfully unique purpose for each of us. Now, nowhere is this more clearly seen as in the first three judges we meet with in the book of Judges in chapter three. Now, in this book of Judges, twelve judges are spoken of successfully. The twelve are these, Othniel, Ehud, Shamber, Deborah with Barak, Gideon, Tola, Jer, Japsa, Iveson, Elon, Abdon and Samson. Now, of the twelve judges, there are six judges that stand out pre-eminently. You see, the whole story of the book of Judges, as I have said to you already in our studies, the whole story of the book of Judges goes round in cycles. And there are six judges that stand out pre-eminently in this book because there are six successive apostasies in this book. And these six judges, or deliverers, were the people under whom God wrought deliverance. The main six judges are these, Hothniah, Ehud, Deborah, Gideon, Jephthah and Samson. You see, at least six times we read these words. Look at them in verse 7. And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord. Time and time again we're on that merry-go-round. So, six times. We read these words, six apostasies in the book of Judges, and six judges who stand out preeminently against the other six whom God raised up to deliver His people. There was sin, consequently there was suffering, but eventually salvation, deliverance, came through these judges. Judges who were as different from each other as night is from day. Now, that difference is nowhere more obvious than in the first three judges we're going to look at this evening. And so I want us to look at the first three. Here's Othniel, a man with a glorious heritage. And then we're going to take a moment or two and look at Ehud, A man with an obvious handicap. And then finally we're going to look at Shamgar, a man with a courageous heart. I would suggest to you tonight that very few of you have ever heard a study on these three men. Now, remember, in the book of Judges we're going round in cycles. We have the first cycle of sin in chapter 3 from verses 5 through 9. Let's look at it for a moment. Did you notice it starts with sin? It starts with sin. Look at verse 7. And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord. If you look at verse 5, you'll discover it begins with friendship. And the children of Israel dwelt among the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites. It begins with friendship. Instead of destroying them as God told them to do, God says, wipe them out. They are dwelling with them. This is exactly what God told them not to do. Of course, friendships lead to relationships. Look at verse 6, And they took their daughters to be their wives, and gave their daughters to their sons. If you become friendly, with a non-converted person of the opposite sex, chances are that friendship will lead to relationship and a relationship will form. But it didn't stop there. You'll notice that friendship led to relationship, but that's not all. Look at the last phrase in verse 6, And they served their gods. Watch the pattern. Friendship, relationship, worship. It's always the same. Friendship, relationship, worship. They threw themselves into the worship of these sensual Canaanite gods. It all began with sin. It led to suffering. Look at verse 8. The anger of the Lord was had against Israel. You see, you and I are not immune from God's anger. Whom the Lord loves, He chastens and scourges every son whom He receiveth. Israel felt the heat of the anger of God as He sold them into the hands of Cushon Reshathim. His name means doubly wicked Cushon, which may have been a nickname that his enemies gave him. He was a cruel, powerful man, and for eight years Israel was under his heel. Sin led to suffering. And then suffering led to supplication. Look at verse 9. And when the children of Israel cried unto the Lord, their prayers were saturated with tears. When Bible-believing churches are packed with believers who mean business with God, believers who are crying to the Lord, then we'll be well on the way to deliverance. Finally, there was salvation, verse 9, the Lord raised him up, Othniel, the son of Kenaz, Caleb's younger brother. Now, Bible scholars don't agree as to the exact blood relationship of Othniel to Caleb. Look at verse 9, Othniel, the son of Kenaz, Caleb's younger brother. Was Othniel Caleb's nephew? That is, was he the son of Tenaz, Caleb's younger brother? Or was Othniel Caleb's younger brother? As far as the text is concerned, either interpretation is possible. If he was Caleb's younger brother, then why was his father's name Tenaz and not Jothani? You remember, we read of Caleb in Joshua chapter 14, when he came unto Joshua, and it says, Caleb, the son of Juthanna. If Ophniel was his younger brother, then why is his father's name not Juthannai instead of Cana? Whatever way we may seek to untangle the branches in Othniel's family tree, one thing is certain. Othniel had the privilege of belonging to a family that was led by an outstanding Christian. Caleb was one of two men who were the greatest two men of his generation. It was God Himself who said concerning Caleb, My servant Caleb hath followed Me fully. And since Othniel's parents would have died in the wilderness, my dear friends, Caleb could have been a father to this man. This man could thank God for a godly heritage. What a great thing it is to have a solid Christian family. Some years ago, a young pastor was dying from cancer. And as he was lying on his deathbed, his father and uncle, both of whom were pastors, came in to see him. They visited for a while, and then the young man asked his uncle, Would you mind if I spoke to my father alone? And when the father came out of that side ward after that visit, he said to his brother, I want to tell you what David did when we were alone. He called me over to his bedside and said, Can I put my arms around you? I scooped over him as best as I could and I let him hug me. Now, Dad, would you put your arms around me? And then with his arms around me, he said this, Dad, I want you to know that the greatest gift that God ever gave me outside of salvation itself was a father and a mother who loved the Lord and who have taught me to love him too." A godly heritage. I've learned to text, you know, and that's what you do on your mobile phone. And I'm as good as the young folk are. And the other day I text Christine, she's just come to know Christ in Belfast, just about a few months ago, and I just sent her a wee text to tell her that I was praying for her. And she sent me a text immediately back and she said, thank you for your prayers. And then she said this, thank God for giving me a Christian family, a good family. Without them, I don't know where I would be. Young person tonight, let me ask you, do you appreciate your heritage? Do you appreciate your heritage? Do you appreciate your godly background? And yet, my dear friends, a godly heritage does not equip a person to be used of the Lord. Othniel was a man with some special characteristics. Have a look at them. He was mindful of God's work. You see, Othniel was associated with Hebron. Come back to chapter one for a moment. Judges chapter 1 and verse 8. Judges chapter 1 and verse 8. Now the children of Judah had fought against Jerusalem and had taken it and smitten it with the edge of the sword and set the city on fire. And afterward the children of Judah went down to fight against the Canaanites that dwell in the mountain and in the south and in the valley. And Judah went against the Canaanites that dwelt in Hebron. Now the name of Hebron before was Kirjath-arba, and they slew Shishai, and Hymen, and Thalme. And from hence he went against the inhabitants of Debor, and the name of Debor before was Kirjath-sephir. And Caleb said, He that smiteth Kirjath-sephir, and taketh it, to him will I give Aksa my daughter to wife. the son of Kenaz. Caleb's younger brother took it, and he gave him Aksa, his daughter, to wife. And it came to pass when she came to him that she moved him to ask of her father a field. And she lighted from off her ass, and Caleb said unto her, What wilt thou? And she said unto him, Give me a blessing, for thou hast given me a south land. Give me also springs of water. And Caleb gave her the upper springs and the nether springs. I want you to see from this passage that Othniel is associated with Hebron. You say, what's so special about that? Well, Hebron is the place of fellowship. Hebron is the place of communion. Beneath its oaks, Abraham pitched its tents. Its soil had been thorned. by the Son of God Himself when He visited that place. There Abraham and Sarah, Isaac and Rebekah, Jacob and Leah lie buried. Hebron, the place of communion where God's people are mindful of God's work. And I ask my fellow elders here this evening, and I include myself, I wonder, are we men of Hebron? I wonder do we really know anything about real communion with God? Do we know what it is to abide in Christ? You see, we'll never be able to lead God's people out from the enemy unless we start here. Men who are mindful of God's Word. I want to suggest to you also that Othniel was mastered by God's Word. He was mastered by God's Word. Just keep your finger in Judges 1 for a moment. You remember God's Word to Joshua. Every place that the sole of your foot shall tread upon, that have I given unto you as I gave unto Moses. Now here in chapter 1 and verses 12 to 13, Othniel is being challenged by Caleb to obey the word of the Lord. Verse 12, And Caleb said, He that smiteth Curjah's sephir, and taketh it to him, will I give Axa my daughter to wife? And Othniel, the son of Kenaz, Caleb's younger brother, took it. He's challenged by Caleb to obey the Word of God. He was a man who took a city in obedience to the Word of the Lord and because of love for a girl. I'm not asking you, do you love your wife, though the Scriptures clearly teach that you ought to. But I'm asking you tonight, do you love the Lord? That's an essential qualification, you know, for shepherding your flock. Do you love the Lord? You remember Christ questioned Peter, lovest thou me Peter more than these? Feed my lambs, feed my sheep. I wonder tonight, are you overseeing because you like the office? Because you like the name? Because you like the authority? Because you like the power? Because you like the influence? Or do you really love the Lord? Now, because of Othniel's obedience and love, he smote a city. Do you see its name? Verse 12, Curjath-sephir. It means the city of the book. And then its name was changed to Debir. Verse 11, it means the word of God. My dear friends tonight, all elders, I'm talking about the overseers, the bishop. I'm talking about the deacon. We're talking about the elders. All elders. For these judges in the book of Judges, they're not simply a picture of Christian believers. They're a picture of elders. All elders must know what it is to take the book and to know the book and to be mastered by the book. That's why the elders should always be giving a lead. Always. Especially. at the breaking of bread. Do you remember what Peter says concerning the elders? Feed the flock of God which is among you. And if you're like me, my fellow elder, that will take time. And you'll need to take the time to be mastered by the Word of God. Here's a man, Osniel, He's mindful of God's worth. He's mastered by God's Word. But that's not all. He's married in God's will. Notice verse 12. Caleb's challenging. He says, "...he that smiteth Curjah's separ, and taketh it to him, will I give Axa, my daughter, to wife? Off me, O, for an equal yield." He married a girl who belonged to Ishmael. He not only married a girl that belonged to the covenant people, but he married a woman who had spiritual desires, who said to her husband, verse 14, Judges 1, Ask for me. That is, she encouraged her husband to pray. Not only that, but when she met her father, she said, Father, you've given me the south country. Give me also springs of water. I wonder, have you a wife like that? I wonder what kind of fella, what kind of girl you're going to marry. Take your time. For next to your salvation, my dear friend, it's the biggest decision that you'll ever make in your life. You make sure you're 100%. Now, you cannot read the New Testament without coming to the subject of elders and their wives. Paul talks about it, doesn't he, in Titus chapter 1? He says that an elder is to be a lover of hospitality. He talks about it in 1 Timothy chapter 3. He says that an elder's home is to be an open home. They're to be given to hospitality. Thank God for the wives of elders and pastors and ministers who have stood by them when the going is tough. You see, Othniel did not do what the people of God had done. They married out of the will of God. Here was a man who married in God's will. And this man, who was mindful of God's worth and mastered by God's will and married in God's will, was able to lead the people of God. A man with a glorious heritage. Let's look, secondly, at Ehud. He's a different chap. He's a guy with an obvious handicap. Now, by the time you and I finish with the book of Judges, we'll be thoroughly sickened with the cycle of sin. You see the second cycle beginning in verse 12. Look at that wee phrase that appears again. You mark it in your Bible. But it appears at least six times in the book of Judges. And the children of Israel did evil again in the sight of the Lord. As long as God's man lived and showed the example, there was rest. But when Othniel died, there was apostasy. A few months ago, just in fact in the summer, we were over in Geneva leading a tour. And of course we were brought to the church where John Calvin ministered in. We were brought down to Reformation Square. We saw all the busts of the reformers. John Calvin died in Geneva and then apostasy set in. John Knox, God's servant, died in Scotland and then apostasy set in. Archbishop Cranmer, Bishop Latimer, Bishop Ridley died and then apostasy set in in England. As long as God's man preaching God's truth leads the people of God and the ways of God, there is rest. But when he dies, his ministry is forgotten. Now, the man that God raised up on this occasion had an obvious handicap. Look at verse 15. But when the children of Israel cried unto the Lord, the Lord raised them up and delivered Ehud, the son of Jireh, a Benjamite, a man left-handed. Or, as another translation puts it, a man handicapped in the right hand. Now, I don't know whether you're left-handed tonight. I'm not hard on you if you are. But what an encouragement this is to people with physical disabilities who have the wrong idea that God cannot use them in His service. Here's a guy who's handicapped in his right hand and yet God's going to take him. We all know the life story of Johnny Eccleston. As a young woman she became paralysed in a diving accident and for years she struggled with the terrifying fact that she would never be able to walk again or perhaps use her arms again. And then God worked in her heart and she began to develop her skill. And then the Lord began to use her throughout the country in a wonderful way as she was sharing His truth. And when she accepted what she was, the Lord began to use her as she was. That's exactly what Ehud did. He not only accepted his left-handedness, he used When someone asked Hudson Taylor why he was chosen to lead the great China Inland Mission, he said this, God chose me because I was weak enough. God chose me because I was weak enough. Now, I want you to notice that this man, with an obvious handicap, detected the enemy. He detected the enemy. He detected the authority of the enemy. Did you notice that there's a trinity of evil already against Israel at this time? They're mentioned in verses 12 and 13. Let me give you the trinity of evil. Moab, Ammon, Amalek. Now, you say, where did they all heal from? Well, keep your finger in Judges 13. Let's go back for a moment to Genesis chapter 19. Genesis chapter 19 and verse 30. Genesis chapter 19 and verse 30. And Lot went up out of Zor and dwelt in the mountain, and his two daughters with him. For he feared to dwell in Zor, and he dwelt in a cave, he and his two daughters. And the firstborn said unto the younger, Our father is old, and there is not a man on the earth to come in unto us after the manner of old here. Come, let us make our father drink wine, and we will lie with him, that we may preserve seed of our father. And they made their father drink wine that night, and the firstborn went in and lay with their father, and he perceived not when she lay down, nor when she arose. And it came to pass on the morrow that the firstborn said unto the younger, Behold, I lay yesternight with my father. Let us make him wine this night also, and go thou. and lie with him that we may preserve seed of our father." This was incest. And they made their father drink wine that night also, and the younger arose and lay with him, and he perceived not when she lay down nor when she arose. Thus were both the daughters of Lot with child by their father. And the firstborn bore a son called his name Moab, the same as the father of the Moabites unto this day. And the younger she also bore a son and called his name Ben-Ammon, the same as the father of the children of Ammon unto this day. Moab was the child of Lot with his eldest daughter. Ammon was the child of Lot with his youngest daughter. Incidentally, where did they learn all this incest, all this immorality? Sodom. My dear Christian friend, when you decide to drift from the Lord and when you decide to pitch your tent towards Sodom, remember, you'll take your children with you. And there was Moab and Ammon, and to complete the evil trinity, there was Amalek, stemming from Esau. You see, the enemy that Israel faced represents the enemy within us that I was speaking about briefly on Sunday morning, the flesh. Flesh stands for that part of man's nature wherein his natural desires of free reigns. Paul says, I know that in me that is in my flesh dwelleth no good thing. Sometimes the Bible refers to this flesh nature as the old man, our old or natural nature. Now, if you come back to Judges chapter 3, I just want to develop this for a moment because there are certain features about the King of Moab that help us to develop this picture. Look at Judges chapter 3 for a moment. Look at verse seventeen, Judges chapter three and verse seventeen, And he brought the present unto Eglon, king of Moab. And Eglon was a very fat man. Some of you would need to take this guy to Weight Watchers with you. He was fat, nothing admirable. That's a true picture of the flesh with all its works. Look at verse twenty, He sat alone in his cooling house. You see, when the flesh reveals itself in all its ugliness, it never makes for good company. Look at verse 20 again. He was seated and pampered. Is that not what the flesh likes? Rest and ease and time to satisfy its desires. Look at verse 22. When he was slain, the dirt came out. The flesh is corruption within. Now let me say this. To be born of the Spirit of God, does not mean that the old flesh nature disappears. Some people tell me that the old nature may be eradicated. It may be eliminated. Paul did not think so. He says, For the good that I would, I do not, but the evil which I would not, I do. Lady came to Mr. Spurgeon one time and said, I haven't sinned for some time, Mr. Spurgeon. Oh, he said, you must be very proud of it. Oh, yes, she says, I am. You see, the more holy a person becomes, the more he will shrink from claiming the attainment of sinless perfection. Indeed, someone has said, the old nature is born within us and shall be born by us all the days of our lives. I wonder, do you recognize the power the enemy was in? He detected the authority of the enemy. Look at verse 13, Judges 3. He detected the strategy of the enemy. And he gathered unto him the children of Ammon and Amalek, and went and smote Israel, and possessed the city of palm trees." Where's the city of palm trees? Well, those of you who have been to Israel, and if you go tonight, you'll not get to it. It's Jericho. Jericho. You see, when they crossed Jordan, Jericho was their first triumph in the land. And now the object of God was to bring Israel out by the blood of the Lamb, and to bring Israel in, and to bring Israel through. It's interesting that this enemy has now retaken the place of earliest triumph. Remember when you were saved? Some old habit of the flesh was abandoned and you found a new power, you found a new dynamic, but what about now? I wonder, has the flesh retaken that place of early triumph? Has the enemy come back into that territory from which it was once driven? He detected the authority of the enemy. He detected the strategy of the enemy. He detected the mastery of the enemy. Look at verse 14. The children of Israel served Eglon, the king of Moab, eighteen years. Israel were dominated for eighteen years. And then they cried to the Lord. Oh, the tragedy of needing to be delivered again. I don't mean getting received, because that can never happen. But I wonder tonight, have we lost territory to the enemy when we need to be delivered of that? Whatever your cry to God is tonight, Oh God, that I could get back to the place where once I was." Could it be that you're not living for the Lord as once you used to be? I wonder, has the enemy come in and has victory gone out? Bless God, tonight there's a Deliverer, there's a Saviour, there's a High Priest, a High Priest whose ministry is to prevent us from sinning, and a righteous Advocate who is to restore us once we do sin. Ehud. detected the enemy. The second thing I want you to notice very simply is this. Ehud ejected the enemy. How did he do it? With a weapon. Look at the mention of this weapon in verse 16. But Ehud made him a dagger, or Ehud made him a sword. What a picture, what an illustration of the Word of God. The Word of God is quick and powerful and sharper than any two-edged sword. When Paul talks about the armour of God in Ephesians 6, he says, take the offensive weapon. The sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God. During the early days of the church, there was a young soldier. His name, he was a Roman soldier, his name was Martius who had been saved. The centurion of his band had died and Martius was about to take his place. The soldier next to him reported to the Roman emperor that Marcius was a Christian. The penalty was death, and Marcius was summoned to appear before the Roman emperor. When the emperor looked upon this courageous young soldier, he hesitated to deprive the state of such a courageous soldier. Are you a Christian, he asked. I am, sir, answered Marcius. I will give you until tomorrow morning to reconsider. Marcius was led away. The bishop of Rome, hearing of his terrible plight, visited him in prison. And he brought with him a beautiful centurion's sword, a sword with a glittering blade, a sword with a hilt that was covered in jewels. And lying by that sword, he placed a roll or a volume of scripture. And he said, Son, I know of your unhappy lot. Now, pointing to the book and pointing to the sword, he said, choose for yourself. For a moment or two, that young soldier looked longingly on that glittering blade whose hilt was covered with jewels, and he thought to himself how his strong right hand could wield that sword in the battle. And then he looked at the volume of Scripture. He looked at the book. with all the promises that it bore, with all the comfort that it brought, with all of the Christ who died that He might live. Choose to be the bishop. He that findeth his life shall lose it, and he that loses his life for My sake shall find it." And as he read those words, the young man's eyes were filled with tears that trickled down his sunburned cheek. And then, reaching out his hand, he drew that precious volume of the Word of God to his heart. He says, I choose. Thou hast chosen well, says the bishop. for before the setting of tomorrow's sun thou shalt be with thy Lord." The Roman emperor died and passed away, but Marsyas still lives, and for eighteen hundred years he has been singing the praises of his king. My dear friends, in an age when other glittering bleeds would tempt us away, have we chosen for ourselves the sword of the Spirit? You realize that the only offensive weapon that God has given you in the battle, not only with the flesh, but the world and the devil, is the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God. Notice the mention of this weapon. Look at verse 16. Notice the making of this weapon. But Ehu made him a dagger. He made this weapon personally. I wonder, do you make the Word of God your value? I wonder how many of you have made the Word of God your own today. Remember, Jeremiah, thy words were found and I did eat them, and thy word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of my heart. Preacher, tonight do you make the Word of God your own? Chrysostom, who was known as the golden-mouthed preacher, said on one occasion, I preached what I did smartly feel. He says, I preached it because I felt it first. Notice the mention of this weapon. Notice the making of this weapon. Look at verse 16 again. Notice the measurement of this weapon. A cubit length, just 18 inches long. Not a bit less than a cubit, not a bit more than a cubit. My dear friends, if this weapon would remind us of God's Word to be used against the flesh, remember it's the whole Word of God, nothing more, nothing less. Do you just want to skip on to the next wee bit? Can you see the ministry of this weapon? You see, we can use the sword defensively. Did you notice that Ehud hid the sword? He hid the dagger. He hid it down his right thigh. Simple lesson. Thy Word have I hid in my heart, that I might not sin against you. We need to hide the Word of God in our hearts and our minds, so that when the temper comes, we have the Word of God just in our minds and in our hearts. We can use the sword defensively, but notice, this guy used the sword offensively. Look at verse 21. And he who put forth his left hand and took the dagger from his right thigh and thrust it into his belly. Is that not how you deal with sin? In God's presence, with God's Word. You see, if you and I are going to deal with the flesh, then we need to get along with God. The Bible says, if we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. I wonder if you have an obvious handicap tonight? Defect. Accept your so-called limitations and God will open up new areas of ministry for you. I've almost finished. We've looked at Othniel, a man with a glorious heritage. We've looked at Ehud, a man with an obvious handicap. Look at the last guy. The Holy Spirit just gives him one verse, verse 31. After him was Shamgar, the son of Anath, which slew of the Philistines six hundred men with an ox-coat, and he also delivered Israel. Now, Shamgar was not an off-nail. He wasn't a knee-hook. But he was a man who was used by God to strike down the Philistines who were beginning just to flex their muscles of authority in the southwest corner of the land. His background confuses us. Shamgar is not a Hebrew name. His father's name, Anath, is the name of a Canaanite god of sex and war. It may be that Shamgar was a Canaanite convert, someone who had come from raw paganism to the worship of the true and the living God. Or his father's name may indicate how deeply paganism had influenced this Israelite family. If his background confuses us, his bravery infuses us. Have a look at him. He slew 600 men with an oxcog. 600 Philistines with an oxcog. You know what that tells me? He was a farm labourer. Farmer. An oxcog was a strong pole that was eight foot long, And at one end of the pole there was a sharp metal point. You just used it to prod the oxen along. And then at the other end of the pole there was a spade. The sharp point was used for prodding the oxen. The spade was used for cleaning the plow. You see, it was the closest thing that Shamgar could get to a spear, because the enemy had confiscated all the weapons of the Israelites. Charles Haddon Spurgeon gave a lecture at his pastor's conference on one occasion. His college entitled to workers was Slender Apparatus. Shamgar didn't hear the lecture, but I'm sure he could have given it. An ordinary farm labourer whom God took. And he also delivered his... Now here's what I want to do in closing. Let's draw the threads together of Judges chapter 3. What do we find? Three tremendous principles. Here's the first one. God uses people who are different. God uses people who are different. If you're trying to find in this passage a stereotype of the person that God uses, you would end up confused. You would look it off, Neil, and say, well, God uses a man with proven ability. God uses a man with a good heritage, a glorious heritage, a godly heritage. But then the Lord took up Ehud, and He worked through Ehud, this man with a serious limitation, and yet God used His left hand for His glory. You say, I cannot identify tonight with Ehud. After all, he was pretty important. That's why God chose Shambhala, just a farm labourer, and he worked. Amen. I don't know what you see when you look at yourself tonight, Othniel, Ehud, Shambhala. Whoever you see, be yourself. For the Lord does not deal in duplicity. He only makes originals. Warren Weersbee, one of my favourite authors, has now written a book on himself. It's entitled Be Yourself. God doesn't want you to be anyone else. He just wants you to be yourself. For He uses different people for His glory. The second thread that I want you to notice is this. God not only uses different people, He uses dependent people. Even Othniel, with his godly background, with his tremendous abilities and talents, was only successful because of what the Spirit of God did through him. Verse 10. You remember Isaiah's words, They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength. God exchanges our weakness. He uses people who are different. He uses people who are dependent. Here's the last threat. He uses people who are defiant. Othnia, Ehud, Shandor, different in so many ways, but they had one thing in common. They dared to step out in faith for God. I mentioned Hudson Taylor already. As he looked over thirty years of ministry, where he had seen six hundred missionaries responding to his vision of China, he said this, God doesn't work by large committees. I say amen to that, but I'm not a committee person. God doesn't work by large committees. He trains someone to be quiet enough, and little enough, and small enough, and then He uses them. By that standard, which is God's standard, all of us qualify. The issue tonight is not whether He can use us or whether He will use us. The issue, my dear Christian friend, tonight is this. Will you trust God to use you? Let's pray together. Father, we thank Thee for Thy Word, the lessons that we have gleaned from it this evening. Grant, our Father, that we might realize tonight that God has a place for each of us and His wonderful purposes. O God, we pray that we might rest in You, trust You, just to take us up. Though we're different, though we have all different gifts and abilities, Lord, we pray that You would take us up. And Lord, we want to be You. by you and for you, for your glory and for Christ's sake. Amen.