If you have your Bibles there this morning, turn with me to the book of Judges chapter 4. Book of Judges and chapter 4. It's Mother's Day today and so we're going to be looking this morning and this evening at two women God used mightily. Judges chapter 4 and we're going to read from verse 1 down to The end of the chapter. The Bible reads, And the children of Israel again did evil in the sight of the LORD, when Ehud was dead. And the LORD sold them into the hand of Jabin king of Canaan that reigned in Hudsor, the captain of whose host was Sisera, which dwelt in Harasheth of the Gentiles. And the children of Israel cried unto the Lord, for he had nine hundred chariots of iron, and twenty years he mightily oppressed the children of Israel. And Deborah, a prophetess, the wife of Lapidoth, she judged Israel at that time. And she dwelt under the palm tree of Deborah, between Ramah and Bethel in Mount Ephraim. And the children of Israel came up to her for judgment. sent and called Barak the son of Abinuim out of Kadesh Naphtali and said unto him hath not the Lord God of Israel commanded saying go and draw toward Mount Tabor and take with the 10,000 men of the children of Naphtali and of the children of Zebulun and I'll draw unto thee to the river Chisholm Sisera Sorry, to the river Kaishon, Sisera, the captain of Jabin's army, with his chariots and his multitude, and I will deliver him into thine hand. Barak said unto her, if thou wilt go with me, then I will go. But if thou wilt not go with me, then I will not go. She said, I will surely go with thee, notwithstanding the journey that thou takest shall not be for thine honour, for the Lord shall sell Sisera into the hand of a woman. Deborah arose and went with Barak to Kadesh. Barak called Zebulun and Naphtali to Kadesh, and he went up with 10,000 men at his feet, and Deborah went up with him. Now Heber the Kenite, which was of the children of Hobab, the father-in-law of Moses, had severed himself from the Kenites and pitched his tent under the plain of Zanaim, which is by Kadesh. They showed Sisera that Barak the son of Abinuim was gone up to Mount Tabor. Sisera gathered together all his chariots, even 900 chariots of iron, and all the people that were with him from Harasheth of the Gentiles under the river of Kishon. Deborah said unto Barak, Up, for this is the day in which the Lord hath delivered Sisera into thine hand. Is not the Lord gone out before thee? So Barak went down from Mount Tabor and 10,000 men after him and the Lord discomfited Sisera and all his chariots and all his host with the edge of the sword before Barak so that Sisera lighted down off his chariot and fled away on his feet. But Barak pursued after the chariots and after the host under Harosheth of the Gentiles and all the host of Sisera fell upon the edge of the sword and there was not a man left. Howbeit, Sisera fled away on his feet to the tent of Jael, the wife of Heber the Kenite. For there was peace between Jabin, the king of Hazor, and the house of Heber the Kenite. Jael went out to meet Sisera and said unto him, Turn in, my lord, turn in to me, fear not. When he had turned in unto her into the tent, she covered him with a mantle. He said unto her, Give me, I pray thee, a little water to drink, for I am thirsty. She opened a bottle of milk and gave him drink and covered him. Ganey said unto her, stand in the door of the tent, and it shall be when any man doth come and inquire of thee, and say, is there any man here? That thou shalt say, no. Then Jael, Heber's wife, took a nail of the tent, and took a hammer in her hand, and went softly unto him, and smote the nail into his temples, and fastened it into the ground. Now that's female power right there. For she was fast asleep and weary, so he died. Behold as Barak pursued Sisera, Jael came out to meet him and said unto him, Come, and I will show thee the man whom thou seekest. When he came into her tent, behold, Sisera lay dead, and the nail was in his temples. So God subdued on that day Jabin the king of Canaan before the children of Israel, the hand of the children of Israel prospered and prevailed against Jabin the king of Canaan until they had destroyed Jabin king of Canaan. Let's just read verse 7 of chapter 5, words of Deborah here, the inhabitants of the villages ceased, they ceased in Israel until that I Deborah arose and that I arose a mother in Israel. So Deborah is relevant to motherhood. So we're dealing with a theme today, warrior women. this morning, Deborah, a woman who spoke for God, and tonight, Jael, a woman who smote for God. Amen. Let's pray. Father, we need your help now, Lord, to understand this passage. We acknowledge this morning that it's not here by accident, this is the Word of the Living God, Lord, help us to understand the central theme of the passage, Lord, and to understand how it applies to us. We pray that you would minister through this passage of Scripture a special blessing to each one here, especially to our ladies today, that they might be courageous, Lord, like Deborah of old, in a world that is increasingly dark and wicked, just like Deborah's day. And so we ask you to bless, Lord, help us to understand, we pray that the Holy Spirit would take control Now of these moments together that you take control of me as the Speaker Lord and take control of the hearer that they might be receptive to your word. Move upon each one of us this morning we pray through this thy holy word and we'll thank you for what you will do in Jesus name, Amen. theme of the book of Judges is found in the following words, that God is demonstrating what happens when man determines his own morality. That's exactly the kind of society, that's exactly the kind of world we find ourselves in today, a world where everybody does not that which is right in the eyes of God, but they just do what is right in their own eyes. And when men turn to their own morality, when situational ethics become the order of the day, you end up with chaos, you end up with barbarism of the worst kind and immorality and debauchery of the worst kind. And what you find as you read through the book of Judges is there is a cycle that emerges with the children of Israel. While a godly judge was in place, they would follow God for a time. Then that judge would die and that would lead them to compromise. They would then begin to drift from God into idolatry. That would then lead to chastening. God would deal with his people to bring them to repentance. That would then lead to crying. They would cry out to God under the bondage. that would then lead to a conqueror. God would raise up a deliverer to set them free and then that would lead to calm for another period. So you see those five aspects to that cycle in the book of Judges. Compromise, chastening, crying, conqueror, and then calm, and then you find the people of God just repeat the cycle all over again. You know, that's a terrible way, isn't it, by the way, to live the Christian life, in a cycle of continuous defeat. That is not the kind of Christian life that God wants for you and I. God wants us to walk in victory, and one of the main problems in the book of Judges was that the people of God were far way too dependent upon their leaders, as soon as the leader was removed, they went back into idolatry. And so here in Judges chapter 4, Deborah comes on the scene as the fourth and the only female judge out of the 13 judges in the book. Now, we're going to be focusing a lot today on the two heroines of this chapter, Deborah and Jael. But let us just note at the outset that the key character in this chapter is not Deborah, it's not Jael, nor is it Barak, but it is God. And the theme of the chapter is really this, God working to deliver his people from heathen oppression through unlikely vessels. Let me say that again. The theme of the chapter is God working to deliver his people from heathen oppression through unlikely vessels. Look at verse 6 and 7, key verses here. And she sent and called Barak the son of Abinuim out of Kadesh Naphtali and said unto him, Hath not the Lord God of Israel commanded, saying, Go and draw toward Mount Tabor and take with thee ten thousand men of the children of Naphtali and of the children of Zebulun? And I will draw unto thee to the river Caishon, Caishon, Sisera, the captain of Jabin's army, with his chariots and his multitude, and I will deliver him into thine hand. Look at verse 14. And Deborah said unto Barak, Up, for this is the day in which the Lord hath, there's that key word, delivered Sisera into thine hand. Is not the Lord gone out before thee? Verse 23, so God subdued on that day Jabin the king of Canaan before the children of Israel. So here we have God working to deliver a people who are oppressed. We'll talk more about that in a moment. But as far as the earthly instruments, the human instruments, the spotlight of inspiration really rests very much upon Deborah, who was a mouthpiece for God, and Jael, who was courageous in her dealing with a very powerful and wicked enemy. So let's look at Deborah this morning. And firstly, let me give you the outline. Number one, what I would call the context of Deborah's ministry in verse 1 to 3. The context of Deborah's ministry. Verse 1 to 3 paint the scene for us, it provides the backdrop to the times in which Deborah ministered and the children of the Lord again did evil in the sight of the law when Ehud was dead and the Lord sold them into the hand of Jabin king of Canaan that reigned in Hazor, I've been there by the way, the captain of whose host was Sisera which dwelled in Harasheth of the Gentiles and the children of Israel cried unto the Lord For he had nine hundred chariots of iron, and twenty years he mightily oppressed the children of Israel." So here we have, firstly, what I would call the context of Deborah's ministry, and under that, notice in verse 1, what I would call Israel's backsliding. Israel's backsliding, the nation has again drifted into an apostate condition. Notice the word again there in verse 1, and the children of Israel again did evil in the sight of the Lord. So here we have the repetition of the cycle, the children of Israel had just enjoyed an 80-year period of peace under godly Ehud. Another interesting story in chapter 3 there, read about that man there and the dagger and Eglon, the very fat man, that's an interesting story. But they were back into sin again, and the Bible tells us the reason. It says that they did evil again in the sight of the Lord when Ehud was dead. So there you see that situation happening. As long as the godly leader was on the scene, the people of God would follow him. As soon as the godly leader passed off the scene, the people would degenerate back into heathen idolatry. You know there are people like that, there are Christians like that, as long as they have a godly leader, they follow God. It's like that leader provides a restraining influence in their lives, but as soon as that godly leader is removed, they just go catapulting out into all sorts of sin and compromise. Let me tell you this morning, you need to develop some convictions of your own, and godly leaders play an important role in our lives, but you need to have your convictions rooted grounded in the Word of God, I'd like to think that if God suddenly took me off the scene here, that you wouldn't all of a sudden just go drifting into the world, I would like to think that you would continue to follow God and to follow His Word. You must develop your own convictions as a child, raised in a Christian home, what a blessing. But what are you going to do when mum and dad aren't there anymore? What are you going to do when the godly influence is not around? You see, this was the problem of the people of God, they were too dependent on their leaders to keep them faithful. Israel's backsliding. Look at Israel's bondage, verse 2 and 3. Look at the bondage and I hope you can see there's a connection here between the backsliding of the people of God and the bondage of the people of God. Backsliding leads to bondage. Sin leads to slavery. I mean, it had passed off the scene and the people of God said, this is great, we can go after our lusts. We can pursue our sin again because the godly leader is out of the way. Could I just say, be very careful what you pursue in your life. Be very careful what you go lusting after because very often the lusts that you go after end up becoming your captors and you become in bondage to that sin. that's what we see here in chapter 4, a people enslaved, a people in bondage, a people oppressed because of their sin. Number one, under that, look at the people of the oppression, the people of the oppression. God delivered the Israelites into the hand of Jabin, king of Canaan, who reigned in Hazor, who had a powerful captain named Sisera, and he had 900 chariots of iron. You have to understand in those days, this was state-of-the-art military technology. I mean, it would be equivalent to the leading tanks of today, for example. And so, they had 900 chariots of iron, and the Bible says that they mightily oppressed the children of Israel. Now, it's very interesting, if you go back to the book of Joshua, and chapter 11, Joshua and the people of God conquered Hazor. They actually subdued this exact area, but now with the passing of time, this very area that was once a site of great victory, had become a site of defeat for the people of God. And it's a reminder that you can have victories in your life. You can have areas where by God's great grace you conquer the enemy, but if you neglect those areas, if you backslide, if you become lazy in your walk with God, the very sites that used to be sites of victory in your Christian life can become again sites of defeat. That's exactly what was happening here. The pain of the oppression. the pain of the oppression and the children of Israel cried unto the Lord for he had nine hundred chariots of iron and twenty years he mightily oppressed the children of Israel. You know, any pleasure that sin gives you is only temporary. Sin only delivers pain in the long term. Sin comes with a heavy price tag. The devil tells you that his pleasures are free, but he does not show you the hidden T's and C's. And I'm here to tell you that just like the people of old here, Without Christ, we are in a state of bondage because of sin. Did you understand that? If you don't know Christ this morning, you are under sin's oppression. You are under the oppression of Satan. The world thinks that it's living free, but if you're honest this morning, you're a captive to the devil. You're a captive to your sin. Your sin is not your friend. Your sin is holding you back. bondage. Jesus said in John chapter 8 verse 34 that whosoever committed sin is the servant, and the word there is doulos, bond slave of sin. Romans 5 12, wherefore as by one man sin entered into the world and death by sin and so death passed upon all men for that all have sinned. Oh don't you see what God is doing here in this passage? God is working through some unlikely vessels, God is working in his power, to deliver His people who are oppressed, His people who are enslaved, His people who are in bondage because of their sin. And I'm here to tell you that that same God has that same desire towards you this morning. If you're here and you have not yet trusted Christ as your Savior, you are under the bondage and the dominion and the power of sin and Satan, but I'm here to tell you, that there is a God in heaven who worked and a God in heaven who moved in might and in power by sending His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, and He came to break the power of sin's oppression in your life. Oh, and you need to come today if you're not yet saved and receive the freedom from sin that is offered by the Lord Jesus Christ. Sin brings slavery. Well, I just want to be free. Well, I'm just free man, I'm just doing this and I'm doing that. No, you're not free, you're a slave. You're a slave to your lust, you're a slave to your temper, you're a slave to your sinful habits, you're a slave to those things. Oh, but God can deliver you from the oppression of sin. Oh, don't we live in a world that is so oppressed by sin? We live in a world just like Deborah's world that is dark, a world that is in bondage. Oh, but I'm here to tell you that there's one whose name is Jesus Christ who can set you free from sin. There is one whose name is Jesus Christ who can deliver you from Satan's bondage. The pain of the oppression. Look at the period of the oppression. The Bible says that they were oppressed, verse 3, for 20 years. That's the longest oppression recorded in the book of Judges. Remember this, sin will take you further than you want to go and it'll keep you longer than you want to stay. Are you listening to me? Sin... do we need some air in here or is it a bit... yep, just put the air on low without the water, just get some air circulating, I need everybody awake for this message, okay? So, sin will take you further than you want to go and it'll keep you longer than you want to stay. But look at the plea amidst the oppression. And the children of Israel cried unto the Lord. You say, why did God answer his stubborn people again and again in the book of Judges? I mean, they sinned against God. Wouldn't God just give up on them? But yet when they cried out to God, God would deliver them again. Well, doesn't that reveal something of the heart of God? Doesn't that reveal something of God's mercy and God's grace? And I'm thankful to tell you this morning that there is a God who will answer the cry of someone oppressed by sin. If you find yourself in that position today, you're mightily oppressed by the devil, you're under the devil's bondage, you're under Satan's power and his sway, and you found yourself bound by sin, I'm here to tell you, there's a God who hears a cry for deliverance. Oh, you need to cry out to God this morning. If you are bound by sin, you need to cry out to the God who made you. You need to cry out to the Lord Jesus Christ who died on the cross and shed his blood to break the power of sin that binds you, to break the chains of sin. That Jesus Christ who was buried and rose again. Oh, he'll hear your cry if you'll come to him. That's why Romans Chapter 10 verse 13 says, "...for whosoever..." that means anybody "...shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved." You say, it's Mother's Day, what's the most important thing for me as a mother? You need to accept Christ. Whether you're a mother or not. man or a mother, mother or father, son, daughter, whatever your situation is, you need to come to realize today that without Christ you're in bondage. You need to come to realize that you are under oppression, that your sin is holding you captive, but you can cry out to God in repentance and faith and he will set you free. So that's the context of Deborah's ministry. The context of Deborah's ministry is Look now at the character of Deborah's ministry. In verse 4 to 9, and we'll also briefly touch on verse 14. In verse 4 to 9, the character of Deborah's ministry. Here in verse 4, Deborah enters the scene. Aren't you thankful that in a world at that time, or in a nation that was dark, in a nation that was under bondage, that there were some godly women? who were shining lights in that dark world. I see a parallel between the world of Deborah's day and ours, don't you? I see a day today that's very dark. I see a day where the bondage of Satan is widespread. I see a society very similar to the society in which Deborah lived, a society where everybody is doing that which is right in their own eyes. Oh, and sisters, how we need, not just godly men in our day, how we need some godly Deborahs who can be shining lights for the truth, shining lights for God in a world full of compromise, in a world full of debauchery, in a world full of evil. And if there's one thing you should learn from the example of Deborah as a Christian woman, it is this, never underestimate the power of one Christian woman's influence for God. Oh, this woman was mightily used of God. Her name means a bee. I like that. I think it fits her character. You see, Deborah was a woman who was industrious and busy about the Lord's work. She was as busy as a bumblebee serving the Lord. In fact, you'll find there's nothing half-hearted about this woman. Read her song in chapter 5. Awake! Awake! Arise! Arise! I mean, she was a woman who was interested in some revival. He was a woman who was interested in the spiritual temperature of Barak. He was a woman who was interested in being a vessel to stir the nation for God. Now, Deborah's role was often misunderstood and misrepresented. Do not read the life of Deborah with a feminist lens on. She was not a feminist icon. She was not a Joyce Meyer. No, she was not. And sometimes she's misused and held up as, well, here's an example of a woman preacher. I'm going to demonstrate, I believe, as we go through the passage, that I don't believe that there was really anything that was inconsistent in her ministry with the New Testament teaching on a woman's role. Now, we should note here, that we are dealing with national Israel, not the church, so not every aspect of Deborah's role can automatically carry over into the church age. But what I do want you to see is, at the heart of it all, Deborah functioned within her God-given role as a woman of faith. That's going to become very clear. She was not asserting herself as a leader in the nation. She was not leading the army to battle. She was not trying to be, quote unquote, a woman preacher. No, but she was a woman of influence. And ladies, you need to understand that today, that your role is primarily not one of authority and leadership, but it is one of influence. The world knows the power of female influence. Does it not? devil knows the power of female influence. There's a reason why there's a woman on most advertisements, because advertisers have done research and found that when there's a woman in an advertisement, it'll draw more eyes of both genders, something about a woman's presence. The devil is using feminine appeal, the devil is using female influence to have a corrupting effect, but I'm here to tell you that you can be a Deborah today and go against the flow of culture. Deborah was not moving with her times, she was moving with the Lord. Deborah was not conforming to to the wicked culture in which she lives, she was a separated and godly woman who was bucking against the tide. We need some Deborah's today, let me tell you, we need some godly women of godly influence. So, how did God use Deborah? Let me give you a few points. Firstly, God used her as a speaker of God's Word. Verse 4, a communicator of God's Word, in the right context. And Deborah, a prophetess, the wife of Lappidoth, she judged Israel at that time. Now, the Old Testament role of the prophet did often include a foretelling aspect, because we did not have the completed canon of Scripture yet. So right here she, for example, prophesize that Cicero would be defeated not by a man but by a woman and that prophecy came true. But when you think about it, really at the heart of the ministry of the prophet or in this case the prophetess, it was to be a mouthpiece for God. It was to speak God's Word. Deborah stands alongside several other prophetesses in Scripture such as Miriam, Exodus 15 20, Holder, 2 Kings 22 14, Anna, Luke 2 36 and Philip's four daughters, Acts 21 verse 9. These women were vessels for the Word of God at their particular time, they were those who communicated the Word of God. Now, Here's why I don't believe that Deborah is a justification for women preachers. Let me give you a few reasons. It's interesting to me that right after she's mentioned as a prophetess, it then says the wife of Lepidus. So whatever her role was, it was connected to her role as a wife. That's mentioned straight away. Secondly, and I think this is probably the most powerful, look at Deborah's own view of her role as expressed in her own song in chapter 5 verse 7. What was Deborah's view of her ministry? So, that tells you that Deborah in her heart was not trying to be a great leader in Israel, but she was a mother figure to the nation. And there is absolutely nothing wrong with you being a mother figure. the church. In fact, it's biblical because the Apostle Paul instructed Timothy to treat the young women as sisters and the older women as mothers in the assembly. And so there's nothing wrong with that. That's what we see with dear Deborah. She was not trying to assert herself in the nation, but she was a mother to the nation. She was a channel of blessing as a godly woman. What I find interesting as well is that she didn't go around declaring God's Word, the people came to her, verse 5, and she dwelt under the palm tree of Deborah between Ramah and Bethel in Mount Ephraim and the children of Israel came up to her for judgment. So here you have a woman who's actually functioning within the sphere of her home. She's not all over the nation conducting some preaching tour. No, she was there and they would find her. In fact, this particular palm tree became so well known as the place where she would sit as a wise woman in Israel that it became known as the palm tree of Deborah. And people would come from the nation because she became renowned for her wisdom and for her godliness. And we do need women who can function within the parameters of their God-given role, but who speak the Word of God within the parameters of that role. Now, the New Testament is clear that a woman cannot hold the office of pastor or deacon in the church. 1 Timothy chapter 3, you say, well, how do you know? Well, because you have to be the husband of one wife and you can't do that as a woman. unless you subscribe to transgenderism, which we don't. Furthermore, New Testament teaching, she cannot teach or preach in the church assembly. 1 Timothy 2, 12 to 15, 1 Corinthians 14, 34. Please, don't get all up in arms. This has nothing to do with equality. It's God's functional order for the church and for the home. But within those parameters, a Christian woman can still be a mouthpiece for God. You can speak for God within the parameters of your role, not as a preacher out the front in the assembly, but you can certainly share the Word of God. I tell you what, we need some mothers who will communicate the Word of God to their children. We need some mothers who can speak up with their children when the time's right and say, listen, daughter, listen, son, this is what the Word of God says. That's the kind of mothering we need, don't we? Women of the Word of God. She can speak God's Word to encourage her husband, Proverbs 31, 26. In her tongue is the law of kindness. She can speak God's Word to her children and must, Proverbs 1, 8, Proverbs 6, 20, Proverbs 22, 6. She can even assist the discipleship process in informal settings. I find it interesting in Acts 18, 26 that both Priscilla and Aquila taught Apollos the way of God more perfectly. You can see a role for that if you've got a mature couple in the Lord, over the kitchen table so to speak, a woman can share a verse of scripture with a man... of course she can! And we have to strike the right biblical balance here because there are some groups that go to an extreme either way. You've got the woman preacher extreme over here. We're not for that. You've got some that have this extreme idea of a woman's submission where she can barely ever open her mouth and has to be a doormat. No, no, no, no. You can speak the Word of God within the parameters of your role. You can take the Word of God and with the right spirit encourage your husband and encourage your children and in appropriate context even encourage other men in the church. Were you right with that or...? And so, Deborah should inspire you as a Christian woman that you can be an influence for God within the parameters of your God-given role. Influence! An influence for God! She was a speaker or a communicator of God's Word. Number two, she was a counselor to God's people. Verse five tells us that they came up to her to receive judgment. And in the Old Testament context, this involved having an understanding of the law. And so she offered advice. She offered wise or helped people to make decisions there based on the law of God and how we need godly women like that today who know God's Word and know how to counsel properly from God's Word. Did you know there's a lot of bad counsel out there? from women to women. There's a lot of bad counsel. And sometimes mature women, who should know better, give very worldly advice. I'm saying very worldly advice. And you go to a Christian woman and think, well, she should know the Word of God, she should know what she's saying, she's been saved for 40, 50 years, and she gives you a view that really comes from the soapies, or gives you a view that comes from the magazines. And you have to ask yourself as an older woman, does my counsel line up with my role according to Titus 2? Or am I encouraging younger women to follow a different model than that which God requires me to teach? we need some older women, mature women, I don't know what Deborah's age was, I kind of get the sense she was probably maybe more in that mature category, I don't know, but if she was a mother to Israel that was her view, she's probably, she's had some maturity about her and she's communicating the Word of God in an appropriate way. A communicator of God's Word, a counsellor to God's people. Number three, an encourager of God's man. This is a big part of Deborah's ministry. An encourager of God's man. And these verses here in verse 6 to 9 further demonstrate how that Deborah functioned within her God-ordained role as a woman. She was an encourager, listen to this, not a usurper of male leadership in the nation. Is that a fair point? She was an encourager not a usurper of male leadership in the nation. She didn't lead the army to battle, she called Barak and said, get moving boy. Enough sitting around. Has not the Lord commanded you? This is the word of the Lord. You need to do something about the enemy who's been holding sway in our nation for 20 years. Oh, there's a role for women to help stir up men in their leadership in the right way, to stir up their husbands in this area of leadership, to encourage them in the word of God. It's a behind the scenes kind of role. And we see that in Deborah. She was an encourager of God's men. She privately exhorted and encouraged him to fulfill the high calling of God that he had for him. Number one, look at this, she prepared Barak for the battle, verse six and seven, and she sent and called Barak, the son of Abinuim, out of Kadesh Naphtali, and said unto him, hath not the Lord God of Israel commanded, saying, go and draw toward Mount Tabor, and take with thee 10,000 men of the children of Naphtali, and of the children of Zebulun, and I will draw unto thee to the river Kishon Sisera, the captain of Jabin's army, with his chariots and his multitude, and I will deliver him into thine hand. Deborah would not lead the nation to battle, that would be Barak's role, but she would help prepare him with God's Word for the battle and give him the plan of faith, not the plan of sight. Deborah was a woman of faith and that faith gave her real insight into the battle. You say, oh, I don't really get involved in spiritual warfare, that's for my husband. No, no, no. We need some women who also have spiritual eyesight, spiritual discernment, to understand something of the battle we face in our time, just as the children of Israel face this battle in their time, and some women who have some wisdom from the Word of God on how to approach the battle. Yes, the Christian warfare is for Christian men but it is also for Christian women and we need some Deborahs and we need some JLs too who know how to drive a stake through the enemy. We'll get to that tonight, it's going to be an exciting one, I'm looking forward to it. You guys who lift weights, you've got nothing on JL, absolutely nothing. Okay, all right. But she was an encourager of God's men. You know it's been said, behind every great man, there is a great woman. You're not going to be, in fact that's why you need a help meet. It doesn't take long, you see teenage boys and you think you can see why they need a help meet eventually. They've, they just, I've got no shirts, there's ten hanging in the cupboard, but they, the hormones make them disappear, I don't know what happens, they can't see them there. And it's such a complicated thing, you think, boy, I'm looking forward to the day when these guys have a wife who can just help them get, find their clothes, you know. And anyway, but, You need a... you Bible College students need to help me, amen? I like the pastor in Singapore, his philosophy, if you call to the ministry as a young man, he wants you to find a good wife and get married, so you're not overly tempted. It's good advice. Anyway, no pressure fellas. But a woman getting behind the man... I wouldn't be the preacher I am without the wife I have. not claiming to be a great preacher, I'm just saying I wouldn't be able to do what I do without the unseen ministry of a wife who encourages and sometimes challenges. She's the only one I'm scared of, let me tell you. No, not really, but Praise God for the ministry of encouragement, and not just a wife to her husband, but in an appropriate manner, you can get behind a barrack. Especially if you're an older woman in the Lord, or I thank God for the mothers of this church, who love their young preacher. pray for him and sometimes speak a little word of encouragement. I remember one time I was in the thick of a battle here, it's going back a few years ago, and my dear grandmother on my mum's side, Grandma Weston, very godly lady, who just really walked with the Lord, separated life, loved her Bible. I went and saw her when she was still of sound mind and it was a wonderful time, it stands out in my memory, when we just sat there on the chairs, it was just the two of us. their white hair and I shared some of my ministry burdens with her. You know I went away feeling ready for the battle again because at the time it was I was under fire for preaching against alcohol And I mentioned that to grandma and she was just so clear on it. Oh no son, that's real clear that one. I mean, and I went away, I'm ready for round two. And that's the encouragement ministry of godly women. Listen, if there's a battle, if we're dealing with the world, the flesh and the devil, can the preacher count on you as a godly woman? Can the preacher count on you as a mother in the church, so to speak, a mature woman, to be a prayer warrior and a backer of the man of God in the battle? We need some Deborah's today. We need them. She prepared Barak for the battle. She accompanied Barak to the battle. This is what I love, and he says to her, and Barak said unto her, if thou wilt go with me, then I will go, but if thou wilt not go with me, then I will not go. Now I think that Barak does get sometimes a little bit too much of a hard rap. he was just a sook, you know, he was a wimp, what a wimp, wanting a woman to go with him. Well you try going up against 900 chariots with an ill-equipped army and see if you don't want someone there to encourage you, just to balance our thinking out a bit. In fact it's not uncommon in the Bible to see God's man a little bit timid and hesitant in the face of the battle and bear that in mind ladies, Sometimes you're like, charge man, charge! Yeah, but understand that in a sense you're behind us, but we have to go and face the chariots, it's not always easy. Why won't you do something? Okay, I appreciate the encouragement, but you're not gonna be the one that cops the bullets necessarily. Are you listening? But this is one of the great blessings of a godly woman, she goes with you. Look at that there in verse eight. And Barak said to her, if thou wilt go with me, then I will go. But if thou wilt not go with me, then I will not go. And she said, I will surely go with thee, notwithstanding the journey that thou takest shall not be for thine honour. Verse 10, and Deborah went with him. That little preposition, with, communicates a lot about the ministry of a godly woman. She's, for the husband, a companion and a completer. Don't underestimate how valuable that is, the companionship of a godly woman. She's just there in your life, she's with you, with you in your high points, with you in your low points, but she doesn't say much, but she's there, she's with you, she's with her husband as his companion and completer, as he fulfills God's calling upon his life. She's with her children if she follows the biblical model Titus 2. Don't take that for granted. You have a stay-at-home mum, you have a mum who takes her role seriously and is there to love you and care for you and to be with you. You should not despise that. You ought to thank God for that when there are many broken-hearted kids out there who hardly get to see their mothers in a world that's drunk with money, the pursuit of money. Lost the plot. Godly ladies go with God's men as prayer warriors and practical helpers in the gospel ministry. Yes, there's a place for godly women in a ministry team, not as leaders, but as supporters. Look at Christ's own ministry team. He had many women who ministered unto him of their substance. They went with the Lord. They weren't preaching, they weren't leading, but they were with him. They were there for him, to help him. Look at Phoebe who was a faithful servant and succor in her local church in Sancreia and also to Paul the Apostle, Romans 16, 1 and 2. Think of the Dorcas's of this world and their labors behind the scene to bring healing to hurting hearts and blessing to broken hearts. Thank God for some Dorcas's in this church. Thank God for the Phoebes, not just the mothers, but some of you single ladies as well. You say, what do I do? I'm not married yet. Well, just serve the Lord. Be a Deborah as best you can. And praise God for that. Praise God for the ministry of the Phoebes. Thank God for the ministry of the Dorcas's. Thank God for the ministry of single women in the church also, who instead of feeling sorry for themselves and chasing some idiot online, serve the Lord and wait. Serve the Lord. Behind the scenes, a help to the preacher in multiple ways. Do you understand how much help this preacher receives from certain single ladies in this church? Amen? Sister Mel, Sister Christina, others who help their preacher's family. Why? So that I can be a blessing to you. That's the blessing of godly womanhood. You can be with your husband if you're married, with your children, you can be with the man of God in your prayers and appropriately with him in the sense of a supporter of his ministry. Oh, what a blessing to have the backing of a godly woman when you're about to face the 900 chariots of Sisera and his multitude. Not just the 900 chariots, read the text, and the multitude that was with him. So, she was an encourager of God's man, she prepared him for the battle, she accompanied him to the battle, and I like this one, she stirred him up for the battle. Look at verse 14, and Deborah said unto Barak, by this stage they're up on Mount Tabor, and you can go there today in Israel, Mount Tabor overlooks the Jezreel Valley, the future site of the Battle of Armageddon, a very significant geographical location from past biblical history and for future prophecy. they go up to Mount Tabor with a vantage point over the enemy and God lures Sisera in. Now from a human standpoint, Sisera had the advantage. 900 chariots operating on beautifully flat ground, you're no match for that kind of army. But God was working. And here you have Deborah. She's with Barak. They're up there. There's 10,000 men with them. They're overlooking the valley. And she says, up Barak, it's time. It's time to go into battle. Now's the time. Today's the day. And I love this. She says, has not the Lord gone before you? Oh, there's the woman of faith. She can see that God's hand is upon God's man. She can see that God is working in the battle and she can speak those words of encouragement and assurance to him. say, go forward in the battle.' She stirred him up for the battle, she encouraged him to go forward for God, look at the word up there, and Deborah said under Barak, up! I think some women feel that way with their husbands, up! Get up! Yeah, get up out of bed, but get up for the Lord. Up, man of God. That's a great need today. Don't be one of these men who's just happy to just coast along in the Christian life. I think we do get a sense of some reluctance in Barak. Again, balance that with an understanding of what he faced, but he needed the encouragement. He needed a bit of urging. We're not talking again about a woman overstepping her bounds or having the ministry of hen pecking in a man's life. or just badgering him, but there is an appropriate exhortation here of stirring him up for the battle. You know, I think that Deborah was a woman who wanted to be stirred for the Lord. Listen to her song in chapter 5 verse 12, Awake, awake, utter a song, arise Barak and lead thy captivity captive, thou son of Abinuim. This woman was full of fervency, full of passion for the Lord. Oh, do you know your passion for God as a woman can be infectious, your passion for God, your passion for revival, your passion to be stirred for the Lord and stirred for His service can help the men of God to go forward in their walk with God and go forward into the battle. So for those people who say, well, you don't believe in women preachers, therefore you don't believe in any role of the woman. No, we believe that the role of the woman is very powerful if it's exercised biblically. Someone wrote a poem, the hand that rocks the cradle is the hand that rules the world. That's a powerful thought. Influence. The hand that rocks the cradle is the hand that rules the world. She encouraged him to go forward for God, but notice she encouraged him to have faith in God. Look back at verse 14 again. Deborah said under Barak, up means arise, for this is the day in which the Lord hath delivered Sisera into thine hand, and I love this bit, is not the Lord gone out before thee? What a picture. God going before Barak into battle. And folks, if God goes before us into the battle, we can follow. If God goes before us in the battle, the outcome is determined. If God goes before us in the battle, the enemy is defeated. Oh, thank God for the perception of faith. Thank God for the eyes of faith this dear woman had, and she encouraged Barak to go forward for God. Ladies, encourage your husbands. Ladies, encourage your children. Ladies, encourage the men of the church to go forward in their walk with God, to do battle for God. And she encouraged her barrack here to have faith in God. Did you know that Barak is mentioned in the Great Hall of Faith in Hebrews 11 32? That's why I'm inclined not to give him such a hard rap as some of the commentators. Whatever Barak did, he did it in faith. For the time would fail to tell of Gideon and of Barak. Hebrews 11 32. But don't forget, there was a godly woman who stirred him up in that faith and helped strengthen him in that faith to go forward for God. Did you know men of God need your encouragement? They do. Your husband needs your encouragement, dear sister. Don't tear him down, try and build him up, try and encourage his leadership. You say, well he's not a very good leader, well don't take over, try and get behind him, up, come on, let's go. No, maybe not, don't do that, he's not a dog. Come on mate! Encourage! Your sons need your encouragement. Don't you want them to develop as godly leaders? I don't understand the model of some homes where you've got a guy in his mid-twenties and he's to come in, oh mummy can I do this? Mummy can I do that? Mummy can I do that? Do you really want him tied to your apron strings like that or do you want him to learn to exercise some of his own decision-making? Now, if he's living with you, he needs to check in with you, I understand some of those dynamics and be accountable, those sort of things. But for pity's sake mothers, you shouldn't keep baby, don't baby your adult sons, encourage them to be men of God. your adult daughters for that matter. I mean here she's encouraging him to exercise his leadership, to go forward with God, that's just one application. Your pastor needs your encouragement, absolutely. Your prayers, the men of God who lead the work of God. There's a lot of battles, there's some pretty fearsome iron chariots that you face as a pastor. It's pretty daunting. I mean the devil is still alive and at large, haven't you noticed? The devil hasn't changed, the devil is still around folks. We need some Deborah's who can be backers of God's man and Deborah's who know how to get on the right side of spiritual battles in the church. That's important. I thank God for some Deborah's in this church who often have a clear-eyed readout on things and who know how to back their preacher in the battle. Amen? Some deacons wives are like, go sock the enemy pastor. No, not quite, but you know, get behind the preacher. Praise God. Secretary, he pops her head in most Sunday mornings. Is there something I can do to help you pastor? Now usually there's not, because I'm pretending to be on top of everything. But what a blessing, what an attitude, what a, seriously, what a blessing. encourager of God's man. Be a builder... I tell you what, in this day, men are smashed down by the feminist movement. They have been. Just smashed down. And you need to encourage. You need to help. Be a supporter of male leadership in the home and in the church. Number three, we need to wrap up. The consequences of Deborah's ministry, verse 10 to 16. think you would agree with me that Deborah's ministry was a ministry of consequence... consequence. Her influence had an impact upon the nation and don't forget that after This great victory, Israel experienced a 40 year period of peace. That's quite a legacy. Now ultimately, it was because of what God had done. But don't miss how God used these godly women to help bring that about. So again, the power of influence. She was used of God to influence a victor and to influence a victory. She was used of God to influence a victor. Can you see how God worked through Deborah here to help raise up a deliverer in Barak? Barak would not have gone into battle if she hadn't called him and encouraged him and got behind him and gone with him. So that was her role. She was used of God to raise up a deliverer. Can you think of another woman in the New Testament who was used of God to bring about the deliverer of all deliverers? Mary, another unlikely vessel, an unlikely candidate. was used of God to bring the Deliverer of all Deliverers into the world, Jesus Christ. Oh, He was born of a woman, born under the law to redeem them that are under the law. Aren't you thankful that the Deliverer of all Deliverers came through the vessel there, came through the instrumentality of a godly woman into the world and through His death, burial and resurrection defeated the oppression of sin and Satan so that all who repent and believe can be set free. She influenced a victor. She influenced a victory. Look at the victory God gave here in verse 10 to 16. And Barak called Zebulun and Naphtali to Kadesh, and he went up with 10,000 men at his feet. We know from chapter 5 that they were ill-equipped. They had few weapons. And Deborah went with him. Now Heber the Kenite, which we'll come back to that tonight, but look down at verse 13. And Sisera gathered together all his chariots, even 900 chariots of iron, and all the people that were with him. from Harasheth of the Gentiles under the river of Kishon. And Debrecen under Barak up for this day is the day which the Lord hath delivered Sisera into thine hand. Verse 15. And the Lord discomfited Sisera and all his chariots and all his hosts with the edge of the sword before Barak, so that Sisera lighted down off his chariot and fled away on his feet. But Barak pursued after the chariots and after the host under Harasheth of the Gentiles and all the host of Sisera fell upon the edge of the sword and there was not a man left. This was a great victory. God intervened against the enemy. Weapons were in short supply but God Almighty was on their side. And you know what God did? Again, on the human side, dry season, flat valley, perfectly favours chariots of iron. those chariots of iron, like I say, were the state-of-the-art military technology of their day. Often they were equipped with scythes on the wheels and they would just go hurtling through the infantrymen and just slash people to pieces. I mean they were a fearful sight. You know what God did though? Read chapter 5, God just turned the tap on. And all of a sudden, a torrential thunderstorm broke over the battlefield there during the dry season. And the Bible tells us that the river Chisholm, that normally flows as just a little stream, overflowed its banks and swept those chariots away. Hey, you think about it, a chariot has a great advantage on flat ground unless it's muddy. And what does a chariot of iron do in the mud? It sinks. And God just sent the rain as an act of providential intervention there. And all of a sudden, these mighty chariots were neutralized. You can see it there. Chapter five talks about the panicked prancings of the horses. And you can see the scene there as it begins to rain, as this river Kishon quickly swells over its banks. That still happens today, by the way. It's a small stream in the Valley of Jezreel, but at times it overflows its banks when it floods. It flooded in 2013, for example. And so you have this situation where the water's flowing across the valley and all of a sudden it's turned into a muddy place there and this mighty army of Cicero was neutralized and Cicero himself said, I'm out of here, jumped off his chariot and ran off to the tent of jail. He said, I'm safe here. But something was about to enter his mind that had never entered there before. And so Barak went into battle and God brought a great victory, including that mighty intervention with the rain from heaven and the flooding in the valley there. Judges 5 verse 4, the heavens dropped, the clouds also dropped water. Judges 5, 21, the river Kishon swept them away, that ancient river, the river Kishon, O my soul, thou hast trodden down strength. Then were the horse hooves broken by the means of the prancings, the prancings of their mighty ones. So where was Deborah during the battle? Mount Table. that's where she was. She went with Barak, they went up to the top of Mount Tamor, she said it's time Barak, time to go forward into battle, he went with the 10,000, they descended the mountain there, maybe they saw that God had sent the rain and that the chariots were beginning to flounder, I don't know, but they knew God was with them and they went down, where was Deborah? She's up on the mountain, no doubt she could see the battle playing out below her there and I just like to imagine for a minute, I just see godly Deborah there praying. Doesn't say that but just think about it. I mean, knowing something of her character, I could just imagine her, Lord help Barak, oh Lord help him, that's it Barak, hit him again, hit him Barak, that's it son! The eye of faith, supporter, a backer of the man of God in the battle. so the Lord defeated the enemy, the Lord discomfited them, it's an old word means defeated, routed, put to flight, destroyed, I mean this was a total rout of the enemy, a total victory that resulted in 40 years of peace for Israel and the land had rest 40 years, Judges 5 31. Deborah wrote a song of praise to God, is recorded in Judges 5 and it takes its place in the canon of Scripture alongside other portions of Scripture that were composed by women, Miriam for example, Exodus 15, Hannah 1 Samuel 2, Elizabeth Luke 1 and Mary Luke chapter 1. So Deborah, a woman who spoke for God. God intervening to liberate his enslaved and oppressed people. I wonder this morning, are you still entrapped and enslaved by sin? God wants to set you free from your sin. That's why he came, that's why he died on the cross, and bore all the wrath of God against your sin. That's why he died on the cross and shed his blood for your sin. You say, why? To break sin's oppression. To deliver you from the bondage of sin and Satan. Oh, we see here God working through these simple ladies, and in like manner, God worked through Mary to bring about the Deliverer who would rescue us and save us. So I hope this morning, if you've not yet trusted Christ, that today will be the day you cry out to God, say, oh God, I need you to set me free. I believe that you are the Son of God, I believe you died for me, that you were buried and rose again and call out there in simple faith and trust Christ to be your Lord and your Saviour. So well, I'm a Christian this morning, I know the Lord already, I've been saved, I know the Lord as a Christian woman. Maybe you could be inspired by Deborah about your influence. What kind of influence are you having behind the scenes for God? God can use you ladies, God can use you mothers, not only as a mother to your children but over time even a mother figure to others who desperately need some mothering, desperately need a woman's touch, desperately need a woman's encouragement, oh there's some broken-hearted people that come into our churches today, they need some mothers like Deborah, some mothers in Israel, who can help and who can be a blessing, who can get on the right side of the battle. Father we thank you for your word this morning, thank you for these courageous women of God who were used of you in a very dark age and Lord really a time in Israel where there was a dearth of good men to stand up. So Lord we thank you that you are not limited that you're able to take simple vessels, male or female, and use them for your glory. So seal these lessons to our hearts, we pray. In Jesus' name, Amen.