The era of the judges began with God providing Othniel to deliver Israel and give God's people peace for 40 years, followed by Ehud and Shamgar delivering the people. In this session, we will find that the Israelites were once again under God's discipline because they had done what was evil in the Lord's sight. This time, God used King Jabin of Canaan, along with his commander Sisera, to oppress his people. But once again, we will see the pattern unfold. of the people crying out for relief and God providing a deliverer. Although this time the deliverer would be someone the Israelites may not have expected. We will see that God gives his people gifts and works through them so that he might receive glory. And in the Christ connection, Deborah was the chosen leader of God who ruled with wisdom to rescue her people. Her life points forward to Jesus Christ, the wonderful counselor whose kingdom is marked by justice and righteousness. Now let me get three volunteers to read these three main sections of the text. Can I get somebody to read Judges 4, 4-7? Anybody want to volunteer? Laura, you'll take that? Thank you. What about the next section, which is Judges 4, 14-16? Anybody for that? Alright, somebody. Nanook, you'll take that? Thank you. Then the last section, Judges 5, 1-5 and 9-11. Anybody want to take that? Anybody? Okay, Steven. All right, guys, whenever you're ready, just go ahead and read. Who's second? Nanook? Is it? Yeah. Yes. That's right. that the leaders who took the lead in Israel, that the people offered themselves willingly to bless the Lord. Hear, O kings, give ear. O princes, to the Lord I will sing. I will make known unto the Lord the God of Israel. Alright, thank you. Let's look at these questions together, now looking specifically at Judges 4, 4-7. Serving as both a prophetess and judge, Deborah stands out in the book of Judges due to her God-honoring quality and character. Fulfilling the dual roles of prophetess and judge would have been challenging enough, but doing so as a woman in a patriarchal society made her task all the more difficult. At times, the Lord gives to His people the most difficult of tasks. What is the right mindset to possess when a believer is faced with the most difficult of responsibilities? Go ahead, Martin. That's good. Good answer. Anybody else? Right, right. Yeah, that's good. Yes. Go ahead, Stephen. Absolutely, absolutely. God gives what He commands. Whatever the Lord calls us to do, He will empower us to do it and to see it through. God doesn't call us to something and then leave us on our own. He doesn't put you in a situation without also pouring out into your life the grace you need to endure whatever it is. If it's a trial, He's going to give you the grace you need to see you through it. If He's called you to a particular task, He's going to give you the abilities that you need to see that through in a God-honoring way. And so these are the kinds of things that we need to be thinking about when we do find ourselves in a situation that maybe we feel overwhelmed by. You know, again, the Lord will not put you in a situation, and let's not forget, He is a sovereign God, and His sovereignty is absolute. So there's no mistakes in the Christian life. Nothing happens to you or me by chance. Everything happens in accordance with God's decree of will, something that He has decreed in eternity past. It's not a mistake. So whatever God gives you in life, there's a reason for it. And we have to yield to God's will. We have to bend to God's will. We have to bow the knee to God's will. Submissively receive it. And if we do this, we will learn all that we need to learn. We will grow in the way that God expects us to grow throughout that particular phase of our life. And so these are just the kinds of things that we need to rightly understand in the Christian life. And Deborah's a great example of that. She was called to do what she did. I'm sure it wasn't easy in a patriarchal society, but she did it and she did it really well. In fact, when you look at the book of Judges, as you know, there were very few people in the book of Judges that look good. Deborah's one of them. So God can use anybody to see His will be done. Number two, in light of Deborah's quality and success, some have concluded that she is an example of why women should be allowed to serve as elders within the church. How would you respond to such a conclusion? Very specifically, I'm sorry if I'm calling it correctly, somewhere in that old creed of ownership is the husband to one wife, married for generations. So just because in the Old Testament That's good. That's right. That's exactly right. That's exactly right. Yeah. Yeah, I mean, We see women being used of God in a mighty way throughout scripture, but when it comes to a question like this, when it comes to elders, it's amazing how people try to find whatever they can in the Bible to support something like that, like even in the church today. I remember early on as a young believer, not even fully understanding what was going on, but having people refer to Deborah. in judges and say, well, look at Deborah, look what she accomplished. I mean, you read through judges and when you first read through judges, you do find that, you're like, well, she really does look good. And maybe women can do that, but it's a little more specific than that. You can't just leave it at that. It doesn't work that way. Mark, you. That's a good point. Yeah. Yeah. Right, right. Anybody else? Go ahead, Laura. Right, right, right. Good point. Good point. Anybody else? No, those are good answers. Here's what I put down. The New Testament is clear that only men are called to the office of the elder. We see that in 1st Timothy 2, 12-15. 3, 1-7, and Titus 1, 5-9. Anyone using Deborah as an example in support of female elders fails to recognize the various aberrations clearly on display within the book of Judges. Deborah's leadership, though exemplary in the book of Judges, is primarily an indictment on the overall spiritual decline of Israel. In other words, a godly woman was used of the Lord because godly men were scarce to be found. So let me also say this, I mean, it can get kinda It can get kind of tricky because there are times, and you guys have probably heard about this even on the mission field, where there are no men to lead. And so you'll have a woman and she doesn't want to lead in this particular way, but she's like, There's no men to lead. Someone has to lead here and so she will actually lead and train the men and teach the men so the men can rise up and be the elders of that congregation. So sometimes it's kind of tricky and that doesn't bother me at all because listen, God loves male and female equally. We are both equally valuable in God's sight, okay? So, I want to make that clear. I certainly believe that. I have come across women that are so clearly gifted. I mean, they're great teachers, they're great communicators. Oh, what's her name? I can't believe it. She just slipped my mind. Not Beth Moore. No, who's... She's been around a while. Nathalie DeMoss, but who's the other one? Who? Who? She was a good one too. I just saw her on Christian TV. Who? Yeah. Kay Arthur. Yeah. I mean, Kay Arthur, when I was a young believer, Kay Arthur was the one who was doing... Now, she hasn't, like, done anything crazy. Okay. The fact that nobody said her name, I'm like, oh my goodness, am I looking crazy here or what? You know? Because I didn't even know that about Beth Moore, not that I ever really liked Beth Moore that much, but I knew she's kind of... I know she's kind of gone off the deep end, but I wanted to make sure that wasn't true. But anyway, yeah, I mean, it's... Just understanding, I mean, this is what the Lord would will. This is what the Lord would have. And look, we just want to be submissive to what the word of God says. And that's part of living a truly godly life is understanding that God knows why he does what he does. And it's certainly not because men are better than women. That is just not the case. So let's move down because I know we're running out of time here. Number four, one of the keys to Deborah's success was the fact that the Lord had gifted her to serve him as she did. How can we know what gifts the Lord has given us for the furtherance of his kingdom? I'm just looking for like a basic answer here. Okay, like what you love to do. Yeah, that's good. What else? Say that again. Oh, you mean praying to the Lord asking for that. Right. Okay, good. Good. Yeah, that's good. Yeah, that's good. Yeah, yeah. Yeah, because there are many stories of people who may not have wanted to be a part of a particular ministry, and then they start, and all of a sudden it's like, wow, I love this. This is fantastic. I really have a heart for this. Mark? I think one of the most over-ordinary answers to many questions like this also is to be in the Word, to be subservient to Him, live your life the way you're supposed to live it, and through all of that, He will provide you with what you need to know in order to Yeah, that's good. That's good. I think another thing that's helpful is to ask those who know you best. Do you think I'm gifted in this area? Ask. Ask someone who knows you really well. Ask them to be honest and be willing to hear what they have to say to you. I remember one guy when I was attending MacArthur's church, I can remember he said to me, well, I think it's pretty clear that I have the gift of teaching. And like a couple of weeks earlier, I heard him teach for the first time, and I felt like, this is a disaster. I mean, it was not good at all. I mean, it really wasn't. And so when he said that, I thought, oh boy, I don't have time to talk to him right now about this, but I hope somebody ends up telling him, look, maybe the Lord has called you into a teaching ministry, but at least where you are right now, I wouldn't be as confident as you are. I mean, there's some work you need to put in. You need to be better prepared. You need to be better organized. And see, another reason I was thinking this is because, and this is especially true of guys. At least I found this to be true of guys in my own life. Men kind of want the showy gifts. They want to be up front. They want to feed that ego. They want to be in leadership. But they don't necessarily have the gifts to be in leadership. You know, don't. You need to see yourself rightly and you need to ask the Lord to help you see yourself rightly, because, look, understand this, the Lord. only expects you to be faithful to Him based on what He's given to you. Like, the Lord hasn't called me to imitate John MacArthur. He's called me to be Gary White. I mean, I love John, but the Lord hasn't given me the same gifts that He's given John MacArthur or John Piper. So, you know, it's like, just worry about being faithful with what the Lord has given you. Seek to stir up the gifts that you do have. Try to refine them. Try to perfect them. Strive to do that, because that's what the Lord has called you to, and that's what He's going to hold you accountable to. So don't try to be like somebody else. Be yourself. But as Mark brought up, I mean, walk as closely with Christ as you can. You know, draw close to Him and love Him and have that passionate desire to serve Him. And as you do this, you'll be, for the most part, where you need to be. And you'll be doing what the Lord has called you to do. Go ahead, Laura. Yeah. Yeah. Right. Yeah. Yeah. That is so true. That is so true. Anything else, guys? That's good. Let's go down to number six. Barak leads Israel to victory, but his success is somewhat tarnished. Having received the Lord's command through Deborah to prepare Israel for a victorious battle over Sisera, Barak responds by saying to her, if you will go with me, I will go. But if you will not go with me, I will not go. Deborah's response to him expresses the Lord's displeasure. I will surely go with you. Nevertheless, the road on which you are going will not lead to your glory, for the Lord will sell Sisera into the hand of a woman. What do you think is the most important lesson to take from this scene? They didn't trust, and so they did lose out to a degree in that situation. Anybody else? I put this in line of the book of Judges as a whole, I would say the most important lesson to take from this scene is that the Lord is very much pleased whenever we take him at his word, and he's very much displeased whenever we doubt his word. In the words of Hebrews 11, 6, without faith, it's impossible to please God. But again, this fits in with the overall theme of Judges. Everything's an aberration in the book of Judges. Things are not where they need to be. And part of the flow of Judges is meant to show us Israel's need for a king. Because, of course, from Judges, we eventually get into Samuel. And, of course, Samuel himself is the official king anointer. So, when they were putting this together, Judges is meant to show Israel's need for a king, and ultimately that king is King David. And if you remember, in the book of Judges, we see like the tribe of Benjamin, and how the tribe of Benjamin is not looking very good. Well, that's because at the time that this was put together and the people were reading this, there were still some saying, hey, Saul needs to be our king, because David's the king now, but Saul was our first king. Well, no, David is the king. He's the model king. And this is why Jesus himself is referred to as the greater David. So that's one of the things that's going on. Israel needs a king. David is the answer to that. And ultimately, the people of God need a king. And the king of kings for us is Jesus Christ, the greater David. Go ahead, Mark. Right, right. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Taking God at his word again, it goes back to that. And again, this is a life of faith and a life of faith is needed in the old covenant as well as the new covenant. This is what God expects from his people. And this is how it's been from the very beginning. Trust the Lord. Believe in him. We see it with Abraham. I had to know that you would truly trust me by offering his son. The way he did. Abraham did that and it showed that his faith was truly in God. That he did believe in God. And that trust was strong enough and so he has that covenant with Abraham. And Abraham, of course, is the father of all who believe. And so we look to him and we understand the importance of faith. And that's how we need to behave in our relationship with the Lord. Faith is so important. Even though we can't see what's coming around the next corner, we know enough if we know that God is with us. Because God Himself is going to be around the next corner. So it really doesn't matter. He's there. He's wherever we are as His people. So we need to understand that. Go ahead, Mark. I remember a passage, it's been a while since I preached at First Sema, but I do remember him saying something like that. I don't remember the exact quote, but clearly Israel's desire for a king was a desire motivated to be like the nations around them. And so who did they pick? The best looking and the tallest. The guy who was kind of like head and shoulders above everybody else. That was Saul. But what a loser he turned out to be. I mean, it was terrible. And so who does the Lord end up taking? The guy you would not expect. David, the youngest? I mean, it's like, what? I mean, that's one of the reasons why his brothers are like, what? This is, this is, what? This, you know, he's, he's taking care of the sheep. He's a nobody. Well, God takes nobodies and makes them somebodies. And that's what he does. And so he took, he took this young shepherd, young shepherd boy. He really wasn't a boy. I mean, I think, I think when I was studying this, I think David was anywhere between the age of, what did they say between? I think it was like between the age of 17 and 21 or something like that. And I don't know how they come up with these numbers, but anyway, but it wasn't like he was a little kid or anything like that. But still, you see what the Lord did in David's life. He was a man after God's own heart. And that was the big thing right there. David was a man after God's own heart, not without flaws, but David was meant to be someone that they could look to and see someone like David is coming, that being the greater David, that being Jesus himself. Mm-hmm. Yeah. Yeah. Right. Right. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And that's what's so great when we read of the promise of the New Covenant in Jeremiah and in Ezekiel. How the Lord would move and how He would cause them to walk in accordance with His commands and His statutes. And that's the New Covenant. As we give ourselves to Christ, we receive His imputed righteousness. And not just that, but also the indwelling Holy Spirit. And as that Spirit indwells us, it empowers us to walk in faith and to walk in obedience. And that's what's so great about the New Covenant. When you embrace Jesus Christ, you are empowered to live for the Lord the way the Lord desires you to live for Him. So, as difficult as the Christian life can be, as difficult as discipleship can be, the Lord always gives to us all that we need to be faithful disciples. And that's a fact. And it's irrefutable in Scripture. And so there's no way around it. But what happens is, We allow things to pull us away from the Lord. We don't take advantage of the various means of grace that He's given to us. We're not in the Word the way we need to, because we're lazy, or because we're tired, or we want to do something else, or it's growing stale, or I just don't feel the Lord's presence, or all of a sudden the world is looking more desirable to us. And these are all dangerous things. And this is why when you read something like Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress, you cannot help but come away saying, I tell you what, you better stay on that path. You better stay on that narrow path, because it's far too easy to get off that path, and it can be very dangerous to do so. You know, just recently, who was it? Josh Harris, who openly proclaimed that he no longer believes in Christ. And here was a guy who was well-respected for the longest time. But Carl Truman had an article, I think, the website, is it called Last Things? Doug or Laura, are you familiar with that, Last Things? I think it's Last Things. But Carl Truman, whom I love, I had an article on that about Josh Harris, and one of the things he said about Josh Harris is that he was probably put into leadership and in the spotlight way too fast, being a young guy. I mean, he's in his early 20s, but he was a part of this young, reformed, and restless movement. And you see how many of these YRR guys who have kind of fallen by the wayside, guys like Josh Harris, guys like Mark Driscoll, guys like Tully and Chivijan, and there are others. So you have to be careful. I don't care how gifted someone may look, or appear to be, they too had better keep their feet on that narrow path that leads to heaven because you can get off that path, and that's exactly what happened to Josh Harris. And unless something major happens in his life, he is on his way to eternal damnation. That's a fact. This is how powerful Satan is. This is the power of the world in which we live. Many people start out naming the name of Christ, And then they can't follow through. They cannot follow through because they give up. They don't understand the importance of endurance. So we have to get that straight in the Christian life. Sorry for coughing like that. All right, let's look at one more question, guys. Number nine, let's look at number nine. What sort of things might hinder us from glorifying the Lord for the things He's done for us and through us? What hinders us from glorifying the Lord the way that we should? What's that? Yes, sin in our lives. When you're living a sinful life, that's exactly what happens. And I tell you, that's the other thing. Once we're living in sin, again, that sin can be so powerful that it's like suddenly our desire is more for sin than it is for the good things of God. And that's a major issue. That's why we're not to play with sin. Anybody else? Go ahead, Steve. Right. Yeah. Absolutely. That's very good. Mark. Oh, yeah. Yeah, yeah. Yeah, yeah. This is one of the reasons why whenever you go to a church, and I've said it to so many people, you know, you're out looking for a church. One of the first things you should be looking at is their view on elder rule, their view of a plurality of leaders and leadership. A lot of churches, and you see this in a lot of Baptist churches, it's kind of like, The senior pastor's the guy. I mean, he's the guy. And I've never liked that. I have never liked that. No, it has to be a plurality of leaders that are equal in authority. Because if not, you could get yourself in trouble. There are a lot of churches out there with dynamic, charismatic leaders. But see, that in and of itself makes them more a target of Satan. Because the devil knows, well, this guy is so full of pride. If I can get him, I don't know why I'm coughing like this. If I can get Him, I can drag the name of Christ through the mud. And that's exactly what He does. So we need to be... Sorry, guys. I had popcorn the other night for the first time in a long time. I don't know if there's something in my throat or what. This is driving me crazy. Man, oh man. This is what He does, and that's why it's so important to have a priority of leaders. So anyway, but Kathy, you were going to say something. Yeah. Exactly. Exactly. You know, God, I mean, any talents and abilities that we have, the Lord has given them to us. And so none of us can boast about that. That's why always we boast in Christ. We boast in God's grace. I mean, I am what I am by the grace of God. That's true for all of us. We are what we are because of God's grace. And that's just the truth. Drake, you're going to. in front of me. Not, thank you God for providing this for me. Thank you for providing me with a refrigerator that I can store my leftovers for future meals. No, this is just the way things are supposed to be. That's kind of how I think about it sometimes. Instead of glorifying God, that God you so abundantly provided for me. In this matter, Yeah, yeah, that is so true. I mean, counting our blessings, you know, making that a habit in our lives, being reminded of what God has done for us. I mean, that'll help keep us humble, and that'll help keep us grounded. Mark. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Be transformed by the renewing of your mind. And that transformation takes place as we give ourselves to the Spirit-inspired Word of God. But it's not just a matter of knowing the Word of God in a superficial sense or in a surface sense, but it's allowing that Word to permeate our hearts and minds. We need to feed on that Word. This is how we grow. This is how we stay close to Christ and God, by not allowing ourselves to be given to lesser things. Look, we live in the technological age. And I, for one, am someone that loves watching good movies. I love doing that. Me and Barbara, I love it when we can watch a good movie together. But as I was saying to Drake and Megan and Andrew earlier, I can't get her to watch Lord of the Rings with me because it's just, it's too long. And we've already done that years ago, and she's like, I'm not doing that again. That was painful. But I love watching good movies, but use things like that in a positive way, but don't be controlled by things like that. Use the things of the world in a positive way, but never lose sight of the fact that the things of this world can drag you down. They can pull you away from Christ. Don't let TV stop you from praying. Don't let TV distract you from your own life. Don't allow television to kind of, and I know people like this, it's almost as though they're living their own lives, their own boring lives vicariously through these people they see on TV and in the movies. How sad is that? You're living your life through someone else who's not even real. This is an actor or an actress. But there is a real life to live. And you're living that life before the face of God. And understand that if you are a child of God and you've given your life to Christ, He's given you a reason to live. And He's watching you. And I'm not saying that to scare you, but He's watching you and He wants you to use the means of grace available to you that you might glorify Him. And then on that day we will be sharing in the glory of Christ. as we stand beside Him, using the gifts and abilities that He's given to us. And this world in which we live is not eternity. Eternity is coming. It's coming. Okay, but it's not here yet. Live for eternity. Don't live for the here and now. Just two more questions. Mark, go ahead. Oh, yeah. It doesn't take a lot. Is that what you're going to say, Cathy? Yeah. Right. Yeah. Well, he is here for unbelievers. He wants to drag them down. But he's definitely here to try to drag as many professing believers down as he can. And unfortunately, he does get a number of professing believers. But again, if we understand anything about discipleship, let's understand that it has to be deliberate. OK, you're not just going to become a God honoring Christian just by waking up in the morning and do whatever you want. You have to be deliberate in how you live your life. OK, there is a discipline unto godliness and we've got to get that straight. OK, Andrew, would you mind closing us in prayer, please? Amen. Thank you.