One of the foundational truths of the Christian faith is that God is a wonderful Creator, and He has a design for everything.

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God designed the earth, and He has a plan for the earth.

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God designed animals, and He has a plan for the animal kingdom.

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God designed the Church, and He has a plan for the Church.

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God designed men and women, and He has a plan for men and women.

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God designed the family, and He has a plan for the family.

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Part of what it means to follow God is that we submit to His will and plan for our lives.

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Well, today, we’re going to talk about some of God’s design for the church.

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Don’t forget, Paul is writing to Timothy, a young pastor, to give him instructions for the church in Ephesus.

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Today, Paul’s going to talk, in part, about the role of men and women in worship. Today’s sermon is entitled “The Roles of Men and Women in Worship.”

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Let’s go to the Lord in prayer, and then let’s dive into this passage.

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(prayer)

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Ok, let’s look at

1 Timothy 2:8-15.

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8 Therefore, I want the men in every place to pray, lifting up holy hands without anger or argument. 9 Also, the women are to dress themselves in modest clothing, with decency and good sense, not with elaborate hairstyles, gold, pearls, or expensive apparel, 10 but with good works, as is proper for women who profess to worship God. 11 A woman is to learn quietly with full submission. 12 I do not allow a woman to teach or to have authority over a man; instead, she is to remain quiet. 13 For Adam was formed first, then Eve. 14 And Adam was not deceived, but the woman was deceived and transgressed. 15 But she will be saved through childbearing, if they continue in faith, love, and holiness, with good sense.

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Alright, as we journey through this passage, let’s discover three truths that we can apply to our lives and to local church worship.

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First, we are to . . .

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‌I. Pursue prayer, not anger.

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Ok, look at verse 8 only. Paul says, “Therefore, I want the men in every place to pray, lifting up holy hands without anger or argument.”

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Church, this part is really easy to understand.

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Now listen, this instruction in verse 8 is for men, but I dare say this applies to women as well.

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Here’s what we should gain from verse 8: prayer is good, anger and arguing are bad.

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That’s pretty easy to understand, isn’t it?

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Here’s a question for the men in our church: how are you known?

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Are you known as a man of prayer? Are you known as a man of anger and arguing? Are you known as a man of complaining? Are you known as a man of apathy? Are you known as a man of intimidation? Are you known as a man of cowardice? Are you known as a man of worldliness? Are you known as an intelligent man? Are you known as a godly man?

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Paul says that the men of the church should be men of prayer, with hands lifted up to God.

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Men, God wants you to be talking to Him, and in a tight relationship with Him. God doesn’t want to be spouting off to other men in the church, and arguing and fighting to get your own way.

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If the men in this church, and in every church, would put their big boy britches on and learn what it means to be in an intimate relationship with the one true living God of the universe, rather than squabbling over ridiculousness, the world wouldn’t know what hit them. The devil wouldn’t know what hit him!

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Oh, what a powerful force the church would be if we would be men, and people of prayer!

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Pursue prayer, not anger.

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Second, . . .

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‌II. Pursue modesty, not attention.

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Paul spent a moment speaking about men; now he shifts his attention to women.

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In the following verses, Paul will speak about modesty, teaching, learning, au

Do you ever get sidetracked when you’re talking about something? You all know that happens to me often when I’m preaching. My wife and I often have a hard time finishing a conversation because we hear, “Mom, mom, mom, dad, dad, mom, dad, dad, mom.” We get sidetracked.

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Well, Paul started giving instructions to Timothy in last week’s passage, but he got sidetracked and provided us with a beautiful picture of the power of the gospel to save sinners.

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There’s nothing wrong with getting sidetracked as long as you can bring it back, right? Well, today, Paul brings it back to some of the instruction that he was giving Timothy.

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Our sermon today is from 1 Timothy 1:18-2:7. This message is entitled “Strong Faith in the Strong Salvation of Jesus.”

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Let’s read the passage and then go from there. Before we read it, let’s go to the Lord in prayer and ask for His blessings.

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(prayer)

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Ok, let’s read 1 Timothy 1:18-2:7.

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18 Timothy, my son, I am giving you this instruction in keeping with the prophecies previously made about you, so that by recalling them you may fight the good fight, 19 having faith and a good conscience, which some have rejected and have shipwrecked their faith. 20 Among them are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I have delivered to Satan, so that they may be taught not to blaspheme.

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2:1 First of all, then, I urge that petitions, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for everyone, 2 for kings and all those who are in authority, so that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity. 3 This is good, and it pleases God our Savior, 4 who wants everyone to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.

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5 For there is one God and one mediator between God and humanity, the man Christ Jesus, 6 who gave himself as a ransom for all, a testimony at the proper time.

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7 For this I was appointed a herald, an apostle (I am telling the truth; I am not lying), and a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth.

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Ok, let’s learn what God might have for us in these verses. We find in this passage four spiritual actions that Paul is charging Timothy with doing, and leading others to do. These actions are certainly charges that we should accept as our own responsibility as well. So, let’s learn them and embrace them as our own.

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First, . . .

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‌I. We must fight for faithfulness.

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Paul pointed out to Timothy that God had called him to this role of leading churches. In fact, although we don’t know details, we learn that it was even prophesied that Timothy would be called to this ministry.

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Therefore, Paul tells Timothy in verse 18 to “fight the good fight.”

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Timothy must not lose heart, he must not give up, and he not be distracted; he must not be overcome by fear, discouragement, or apathy.

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Timothy must continue to fight for faithfulness.

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Church, we, too, must fight for faithfulness.

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You may get discouraged. You may get tired. You get distracted. You may become tempted. You may get hurt. You may be fearful.

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Listen: fight the good fight! Fight to keep reading God’s Word. Fight to keep praying. Fight to keep sharing the message of Jesus. Fight to keep forgiving others. Fight to not gossip. Fight to not complain. Fight to not return to sin. Fight to have faith. Fight to trust God. Fight to keep a good conscience. Fight to be generous. Fight to be a part of the church. Fight to be a part of fellowship with other Christians. Fight to be a disciple. Fight the good fight!

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When we fight the good fight, we can look forward to the moment when Jesus will say to us, “Well done, good and faithful servant . . . Share your master’s joy.” (Matthew 25:23).

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We hear about two people in verses 19 and 20 who did not fight the good fight. Hymenaeus and Alexander were two who did not

The apostle Paul was a man who was committed to Judaism. He considered himself a Jew of Jews. He was highly trained and he was highly devout. 

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In fact, before God changed Paul, he viewed his devotion to Judaism as a call to persecute those who belonged to a new religious movement. They were devoted to a man who claimed to be the Son of God, who was crucified, and who had risen from the dead. These people were called Christians.

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However, God had great plans for Paul. On his way to bring harm to some of these Christians, Jesus appeared to Paul, and he himself became a Christian. Then, God told him that he would be used as an apostle; one who was sent to take the message of Christianity to others.

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Paul became a devout missionary and church planter, planting many churches, and raising up others to lead in these churches. One place where he planted a church was the powerful city of Ephesus. One of those whom Paul trained, and whom Paul left to lead the church in Ephesus, was a young man named Timothy.

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The letters of 1 and 2 Timothy are Paul’s correspondence and charge for Timothy to pastor the church in Ephesus well. 

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These two letters are what we will study over the next several weeks in a series called “Instructions for the Local Church.”

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Today’s sermon is entitled “Focusing on What’s Important.”

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Let’s go to the Lord in prayer and ask Him to speak to us as we study His Word.

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(prayer)

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Today’s passage is a little bit of introduction from Paul, and then Paul gets right into impactful truth from God’s Holy Spirit.

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So, let’s look at the passage and learn what God has to say to us. Look at 1 Timothy 1:1-17: 

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1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the command of God our Savior and of Christ Jesus our hope:

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2 To Timothy, my true son in the faith.

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Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.

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3 As I urged you when I went to Macedonia, remain in Ephesus so that you may instruct certain people not to teach false doctrine 4 or to pay attention to myths and endless genealogies. These promote empty speculations rather than God’s plan, which operates by faith. 5 Now the goal of our instruction is love that comes from a pure heart, a good conscience, and a sincere faith. 6 Some have departed from these and turned aside to fruitless discussion. 7 They want to be teachers of the law, although they don’t understand what they are saying or what they are insisting on. 8 But we know that the law is good, provided one uses it legitimately. 9 We know that the law is not meant for a righteous person, but for the lawless and rebellious, for the ungodly and sinful, for the unholy and irreverent, for those who kill their fathers and mothers, for murderers, 10 for the sexually immoral and homosexuals, for slave traders, liars, perjurers, and for whatever else is contrary to the sound teaching 11 that conforms to the gospel concerning the glory of the blessed God, which was entrusted to me.

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12 I give thanks to Christ Jesus our Lord who has strengthened me, because he considered me faithful, appointing me to the ministry—13 even though I was formerly a blasphemer, a persecutor, and an arrogant man. But I received mercy because I acted out of ignorance in unbelief, 14 and the grace of our Lord overflowed, along with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. 15 This saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance: “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners”—and I am the worst of them. 16 But I received mercy for this reason, so that in me, the worst of them, Christ Jesus might demonstrate his extraordinary patience as an example to those who would believe in him for eternal life. 17 Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.

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So, as we reflect upon this page, let’s extr

I’ve said this before, but it’s worth noting that nearly every time someone suggests a book of the Bible that I should preach, they usually suggest the book of Revelation. Well, today is your day . . . today, I am preaching from the book of Revelation.

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Today, I will be preaching from Revelation 11:3-13 about the famous two witnesses. Today’s sermon is entitled “The Witness of the Witnesses.”

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Let’s pray together and then journey into this passage.

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(prayer)

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Ok, so let’s look at the passage. Look at Revelation 11:3-13:

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3 I will grant my two witnesses authority to prophesy for 1,260 days, dressed in sackcloth.” 4 These are the two olive trees and the two lampstands that stand before the Lord of the earth. 5 If anyone wants to harm them, fire comes from their mouths and consumes their enemies; if anyone wants to harm them, he must be killed in this way. 6 They have authority to close up the sky so that it does not rain during the days of their prophecy. They also have power over the waters to turn them into blood and to strike the earth with every plague whenever they want.

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7 When they finish their testimony, the beast that comes up out of the abyss will make war on them, conquer them, and kill them. 8 Their dead bodies, will lie in the main street of the great city, which figuratively is called Sodom and Egypt, where also their Lord was crucified. 9 And some of the peoples, tribes, languages, and nations will view their bodies for three and a half days and not permit their bodies to be put into a tomb. 10 Those who live on the earth will gloat over them and celebrate and send gifts to one another because these two prophets had tormented those who live on the earth.

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11 But after three and a half days, the breath of life from God entered them, and they stood on their feet. Great fear fell on those who saw them. 12 Then they heard a loud voice from heaven saying to them, “Come up here.” They went up to heaven in a cloud, while their enemies watched them. 13 At that moment a violent earthquake took place, a tenth of the city fell, and seven thousand people were killed in the earthquake. The survivors were terrified and gave glory to the God of heaven.

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Ok, this is a weird story, right? So, let’s talk about a few introductory comments, then we’ll get into three truths we can take from this story.

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First, let’s try to answer the question, “Who are the witnesses?”

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Well, I’m going to come right out and say it: we don’t know who they are. How’s that?

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However, there are several different theories of who they might be.

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Some believe that these two witnesses are Moses and Elijah, who are two of the greatest heroes of Israel, and two of God’s most faithful servants. Also, Moses and Elijah were miraculously present at the transfiguration of Jesus in Matthew 17.

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Others think these two are Elijah and Enoch. Elijah and Enoch are both heroes of the Old Testament who didn’t actually die but were miraculously taken to God in heaven.

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Others think they may be Elijah and Elisha, both who had powerful prophetic ministries during the Old Testament days.

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Some think that these are not actually people but representative symbols for something. This is certainly possible as the book of Revelation is full of symbols and signs, such as the lampstands, the bowls, the stars, the thrones, and so much more.

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So, perhaps the two witnesses represent the Old Testament law and the prophets.

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Perhaps they represent the law and the gospel.

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Perhaps they represent the Old Covenant and the New Covenant.

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A leading theory is that they represent the Church.

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However, there’s no way to prove who these witnesses actually are or what these symbols represent. In fact, perhaps they are two new people who have not yet ministered on th

‌My big brother, Ben, is a wonderful sleeper. That guy can nap like it’s his job. He’s a super hard worker, and a great husband and father. So, when he’s tired, he sleeps, even if it’s not bedtime. I’ve gone hunting with him, only to find him sleeping in the truck. I’ve gone fishing with him only to see him fall asleep in the boat. The guy knows how to sleep.

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In today’s Bible passage, we’re going to hear about a young man who also was apparently pretty good at sleeping. Today’s sermon is entitled “The Dangers of Sleeping During the Sermon.”

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Let’s go to the Lord in prayer and ask Him to speak to us as we study His Word.

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(prayer)

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Let me give you a little background to what leads up to our passage in Acts 20.

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After Jesus rose from the dead, He hung out on the earth for forty days; then He ascended back to Heaven.

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After Jesus left the earth, the apostles began to lead the church, and tell others about Jesus.

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On the day of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit came upon the disciples, and Peter preached a powerful sermon where about 3,000 people became part of the early Church.

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From there, the church began to blossom and spread through the ministry of Peter and John, and the other apostles. God also raised up another apostle, one who was once an enemy of the Church, whose name was Paul.

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Paul would become a legendary preacher, missionary, and church planter. He was particularly effective in taking the gospel to the non-Jewish world.

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Paul took the gospel to many cities, including a city called Troas. That takes us to Acts 20:7-12, where Paul would spend seven days in Troas.

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By the way, the book of Acts was written by Luke, who was a traveling companion of Paul.

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Well, let’s dive into today’s passage. Look at Acts 20:7-12:

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7 On the first day of the week, we assembled to break bread. Paul spoke to them, and since he was about to depart the next day, he kept on talking until midnight. 8 There were many lamps in the room upstairs where we were assembled, 9 and a young man named Eutychus was sitting on a window sill and sank into a deep sleep as Paul kept on talking. When he was overcome by sleep, he fell down from the third story and was picked up dead. 10 But Paul went down, bent over him, embraced him, and said, “Don’t be alarmed, because he’s alive.” 11 After going upstairs, breaking the bread, and eating, Paul talked a long time until dawn. Then he left. 12 They brought the boy home alive and were greatly comforted.

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This is a weird story, right? I’ve never heard of this happening to anyone other than this young man named Eutychus.

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By the way, that’s also a weird name. Although his name Eutychus means “fortunate.” Now, this story certainly didn’t start out fortunate for Eutychus, but it did end that way.

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Something special happened in this story. However, I hope that you will see there’s more than one special element to this story.

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First, let’s see that . . .

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‌I. There is something special about the fellowship of God’s people.

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When we speak of fellowship, we mean gathering together and spending time together.

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One aspect we repeatedly see in the New Testament concerning the early church was that they gathered frequently.

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Churches should enjoy being together in fellowship with one another.

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In this case, the church gathered at a building, probably someone’s house, and they hung out all night. That’s amazing!

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Church, we should have a bond with one another to where we enjoy being together.

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Now, to be clear, this was a special circumstance. From what we know, Paul was about to leave town, so they probably spent more time together than they normally do, so they could soak up every last ounce of what Paul was teaching.

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However, it was a regu

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As my sons grow up, they are discovering what it means to be a son of a pastor. One of my boys asked one time, “Dad, what do other kids’ daddies do for a job?” As if pastoring was the only job for a man. Also, once in a while, they’ll say something like, “Well, my dad is the pastor!” Or, they’ll say, “Dad, you’re the pastor; why don’t you just do what you want to do.” I have to explain to them what it means to be humble and wise when you are serving in a position of authority, or when your father is in a position of authority.

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In our weird story today, we’re going to hear Jesus speak about sons of a king and how they are treated because their father is in charge of all things.

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So, let’s pray together, and then we’ll dive into this passage.

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(prayer)

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First, let’s give a little context for this story. Jesus has called His disciples, and they are ministering through Israel. Their base of operation is Capernaum. So, anytime they go to Capernaum, all eyes are on them. Oftentimes, people will question them or try to trap them in some controversy while they are there. So, that gives you a little background to this passage.

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Ok. Let’s read the passage. Look at Matthew 17:24-27:

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24 When they came to Capernaum, those who collected the temple tax approached Peter and said, “Doesn’t your teacher pay the temple tax?”

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25 “Yes,” he said.

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When he went into the house, Jesus spoke to him first, “What do you think, Simon? From whom do earthly kings collect tariffs or taxes? From their sons or from strangers?”

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26 “From strangers,” he said.

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“Then the sons are free,” Jesus told him. 27 “But, so we won’t offend them, go to the sea, cast in a fishhook, and take the first fish that you catch. When you open its mouth you’ll find a coin. Take it and give it to them for me and you.”

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Today’s sermon is entitled, “I Will Make You Fishers of Money.”

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Of course, this is a play off of what Jesus said when He called His disciples, when He said, “I will make you fishers of men.”

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Obviously, this sermon is not about gaining money. Well, what is this weird story about? I’m glad you asked.

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First, let’s discover that we must . . .

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‌I. Remember the Master.

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One beautiful truth that comes out of this weird story from the Bible is that we serve the King!

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Our God is Master of all of the universe!

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We must maintain that truth in our hearts and in our minds.

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The Bible paints a very clear picture that we should honor those in authority, even when we don’t agree with them.

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We should honor our parents. We should honor our bosses. We should honor our elected officials. We should honor our pastors. Why? Because the one who is in ultimate authority (God) has commanded that we do so.

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However, we should never forget, we know who is really in charge around here!

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He is the King of kings! He is the Lord of lords! He is the Alpha and the Omega! He is Master of all.

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We belong to the King! We belong to Jesus!

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The exchange between Jesus and Simon Peter in verses 25 and 26 makes it very clear that we are children of the King, and the children of the King shouldn’t have to pay for the King’s home (which is what the Temple tax was).

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Look again at verses 25 and 26:

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“What do you think, Simon? From whom do earthly kings collect tariffs or taxes? From their sons or from strangers?” “From strangers,” he said. “Then the sons are free,” Jesus told him.

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The children of the King are free! Ultimately, we don’t owe anything to anyone because we are children of the Master.

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So, we must remember the Master.

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Second, we must . . .

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‌II. Remember the mission.

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Even though we only owe our allegiance to the Master, even though we only owe anythi

Perhaps one of the most famous prophets in all of the Old Testament is the prophet Elijah. He was a major part of my favorite Old Testament story, the showdown on Mt. Carmel.

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However, as wonderful as Elijah was, the prophet who followed him actually had a double portion of the spirit of Elijah. That prophet’s name was Elisha. Let me tell you, Elisha was very special, and he had some weird stories.

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Today, we’re going to learn about one of the weird stories from the ministry of Elisha. Before we do, let’s go to the Lord in prayer.

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(prayer)

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Well, today’s sermon is entitled “When Ax Heads Float.”

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In case you didn’t know, iron ax heads are not supposed to float. However, in today’s passage, we’re going to see that sometimes they do float.

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Let’s look at 2 Kings 6:1-7:

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1 The sons of the prophets said to Elisha, “Please notice that the place where we live under your supervision is too small for us. 2 Please let us go to the Jordan where we can each get a log and can build ourselves a place to live there.”

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“Go,” he said.

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3 Then one said, “Please come with your servants.”

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“I’ll come,” he answered.

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4 So he went with them, and when they came to the Jordan, they cut down trees. 5 As one of them was cutting down a tree, the iron ax head fell into the water, and he cried out, “Oh, my master, it was borrowed!”

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6 Then the man of God asked, “Where did it fall?”

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When he showed him the place, the man of God cut a piece of wood, threw it there, and made the iron float. 7 Then he said, “Pick it up.” So he reached out and took it.

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Ok, let’s learn some more about Elijah and about this story.

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First, let’s realize that . . .

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‌I. Elisha was God’s servant.

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Elisha is perhaps one of the most underrated prophets of the Old Testament.

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He had some amazing miracles and stories associated with him. Some of these stories include:

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Parting the Jordan River.

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Purifying contaminated the water.

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Producing endless oil for a widow to sell.

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Raising a dead boy back to life.

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Multiplying bread.

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Healing a man named Naaman of leprosy.

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And, one of my favorites: cursing some young boys who were making fun of his baldness. Let’s read about that one.

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Look at 2 Kings 2:23-24

“From there Elisha went up to Bethel. As he was walking up the path, some small boys came out of the city and jeered at him, chanting, “Go up, baldy! Go up, baldy!” He turned around, looked at them, and cursed them in the name of the Lord. Then two female bears came out of the woods and mauled forty-two of the children.”

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I mean, this could be a sermon in the weird stories series for sure. However, this was one of many signs that Elisha was God’s anointed servant.

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In fact, (as I said earlier) Elisha was given a double portion of the spirit that his predecessor, Elijah, had.

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Listen to what 2 Kings 2:9-13 says about this: “When they had crossed over, Elijah said to Elisha, ‘Tell me what I can do for you before I am taken from you.’ So Elisha answered, ‘Please, let me inherit two shares of your spirit.’ Elijah replied, ‘You have asked for something difficult. If you see me being taken from you, you will have it. If not, you won’t.’ As they continued walking and talking, a chariot of fire with horses of fire suddenly appeared and separated the two of them. Then Elijah went up into heaven in the whirlwind. As Elisha watched, he kept crying out, ‘My father, my father, the chariots and horsemen of Israel!’ When he could see him no longer, he took hold of his own clothes, tore them in two, picked up the mantle that had fallen off Elijah, and went back and stood on the bank of the Jordan.”

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So, we see the evidence here that Elisha received two shares, or double, of the s

Many of you have surely heard of the ark of the covenant. The ark was something that was prescribed by God and built by the priests during the time of Moses. The ark was sort of a chest, overlaid with gold, with two artistic renderings of angels on the top (called “cherubim”).

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Hebrews 9:4 tells us what was in the ark. It says, “It had the gold altar of incense and the ark of the covenant, covered with gold on all sides, in which was a gold jar containing the manna, Aaron’s staff that budded, and the tablets of the covenant.”

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So, we’re going to dive into a story about the ark of the covenant, and you may come to feel that’s even a bit weird.

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Before we do, let’s go to the Lord in prayer.

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(prayer)

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Ok, so let’s read the passage, and then we’ll talk more about it.

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Today’s sermon is entitled “One Bad Decision.” You’ll see why I chose that title in just a moment.

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Look at 2 Samuel 6:1-11:

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1 David again assembled all the fit young men in Israel: thirty thousand. 2 He and all his troops set out to bring the ark of God from Baale-judah. The ark bears the Name, the name of the Lord of Armies who is enthroned between the cherubim. 3 They set the ark of God on a new cart and transported it from Abinadab’s house, which was on the hill. Uzzah and Ahio, sons of Abinadab, were guiding the cart 4 and brought it with the ark of God from Abinadab’s house on the hill. Ahio walked in front of the ark. 5 David and the whole house of Israel were dancing before the Lord with all kinds of fir wood instruments, lyres, harps, tambourines, sistrums, and cymbals.

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6 When they came to Nacon’s threshing floor, Uzzah reached out to the ark of God and took hold of it because the oxen had stumbled. 7 Then the Lord’s anger burned against Uzzah, and God struck him dead on the spot for his irreverence, and he died there next to the ark of God. 8 David was angry because of the Lord’s outburst against Uzzah, so he named that place Outburst Against Uzzah, as it is today. 9 David feared the Lord that day and said, “How can the ark of the Lord ever come to me?” 10 So he was not willing to bring the ark of the Lord to the city of David; instead, he diverted it to the house of Obed-edom of Gath. 11 The ark of the Lord remained in his house three months, and the Lord blessed Obed-edom and his whole family.

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Ok, so let’s talk a little more about the ark.

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First, let’s answer the question:

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‌I. What’s going on with the ark?

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I’ve already told you a little bit about what’s in the ark, how it came to be, and so forth.

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However, the ark was not merely a relic with special artifacts inside. The ark actually represented the presence of God.

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When God’s people carried the ark into battle, they were victorious. When the enemies of Israel stole the ark and kept it in their territory, they suffered.

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At this point in the Bible (2 Samuel 6), David is king of Israel.

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David wanted to set up a new capital for his kingdom and for worship in Israel, in a place called Jerusalem.

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The ark was being held at someone’s house, and it was close to the borders of one of Israel’s greatest enemies, the Philistines.

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So, David planned to bring the ark closer to his home, closer to the new capital of the kingdom, and further away from the Philistines.

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So, David set off with 30,000 fit young men to bring the ark back. David probably brought this large army both as a sign of strength and prosperity, and as a genuine means of protecting the ark.

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However, even though 30,000 men were brought to protect the ark, it only took one man to mess things up.

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So, second, let’s see . . .

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‌II. What’s going on with this guy’s death?

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This is the weird part for many of us. We think, “Why in the world would God strike Uzzah dead for touchi

One of my favorite songs is a song by William Nelson and Merle Haggard called, “Pancho & Lefty.” It’s a song about a couple of outlaws named Pancho and Lefty. Well, that song has inspired the title of today’s sermon, which will make more sense to you later. Today’s sermon is entitled “Pudgy and Lefty.”

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Today’s sermon is from

Judges 3

. We’re continuing our series called “Weird Stories from the Bible.”

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Before we go any further, let’s go to the Lord in prayer and ask Him to speak to us.

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(prayer)

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As we get into this sermon, we must first understand that . . .

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‌I. The build-up of this story is weird.

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First of all, we have to understand what is going on in the book of Judges.

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A way to remember the book of Judges is the word “cycles.”

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There were cycles that kept happening in the book. The people of God would sin against God, God would bring judgment on them, they would cry out to God, God would provide a judge or a deliverer, the people would have peace, then they would get comfortable and start sinning again. This cycle would happen over and over again in the book of Judges.

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Let me just point out what I think is obvious, just so you know, church: when things are going well, that is not the time to turn your back on the Lord. In fact, there is never a good time to turn your back on the Lord.

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We should faithfully trust the Lord when it’s raining and when the sun is shining. We should worship God when we are rich and when we are poor. We should praise the name of Jesus when we are healthy and when we are dying. We should follow God’s ways when our country is prosperous or when we’re living under oppression. We must realize that every blessing comes from God, and we must realize that God is with us in every moment of suffering.

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Don’t be a fair-weather Christian. Be a faithful Christian who faithfully follows all the time!

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It’s weird to think that it’s ok to only follow the Lord when He delivers you from trouble.

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As we approach this particular story, we see that many of the Israelite tribes were failing when it came to being faithful, mostly in the fact that they did not drive the people out of the land as God commanded.

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God delivered them into the land He promised when they came out of Egypt, but they are not thriving in the land because they are not obeying the Lord.

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Verse 12 of our passage today, which we’ll get to in just a moment, sums up how the people were behaving in the land.

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However, just know this . . . the fact that God did all that He did to deliver the people from Egypt, sustain them as He did, and bring them to the Promised Land, yet, they did not obey Him is crazy.

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The build-up to this story is weird.

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Second, we see that . . .

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‌II. The unfolding of this story is weird.

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Let’s look at the passage to see this particular story.

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Look at Judges 3:12-30:

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12 The Israelites again did what was evil in the Lord’s sight. He gave King Eglon of Moab power over Israel, because they had done what was evil in the Lord’s sight. 13 After Eglon convinced the Ammonites and the Amalekites to join forces with him, he attacked and defeated Israel and took possession of the City of Palms., 14 The Israelites served King Eglon of Moab eighteen years.

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15 Then the Israelites cried out to the Lord, and he raised up Ehud son of Gera, a left-handed Benjaminite, as a deliverer for them. The Israelites sent him with the tribute for King Eglon of Moab.

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16 Ehud made himself a double-edged sword eighteen inches long. He strapped it to his right thigh under his clothes 17 and brought the tribute to King Eglon of Moab, who was an extremely fat man. 18 When Ehud had finished presenting the tribute, he dismissed the people who had carried it. 19 At the carved images nea

We’re continuing our series called “Weird Things from the Bible.” Last week we learned about Abraham and his wife/sister. This week, we’re learning about a famous weird story from the book of Numbers.

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First, we need to know a bit about what is going on in the book of Numbers.

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The book of Numbers picks up right after the Israelites were set free from Egyptian bondage, and they exited the land of Egypt and headed off for the promised land. That event is what we call “The Exodus.”

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However, because the people sinned against God and didn’t trust God, they had to wander for forty years in the wilderness before entering the Promised Land. The book of Numbers describes a lot of that wandering.

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Towards the end of the book, the people are getting closer to the Promised Land, and they begin to have battles with those who are living in or near the area that God is giving them.

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So, let me show you on a map.

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The yellow circle is where Israel crossed the Red Sea and came out of Egypt, the red circle is where God spoke to Moses on Mt. Sinai, the blue circle is where the Israelites settled for some time at Kadesh Barnea, and the purple circle is where we are in today’s passage. This purple circle is just east of modern-day Israel, near modern-day Jordan and Syria.

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Some things happened just before the events that we’re studying today. As they near the Promised Land, the Israelites are going into battle, and they are winning the battles.

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Just before chapter 22, they defeated the king of Arad, King Sihon of the Amorites, and King Og of Bashan.

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Now, King Balak of Moab is concerned about the Israelites. He thinks that they may conquer him.

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So Balak goes to a seer named Balaam (a seer is sort of like a prophet/magician mix).

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Balak asks Balaam to curse the people of Israel so that Balak can defeat them. He actually asks him more than once to do this and offers him a lot of money to do so.

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Balaam, even though he is not one of God’s people, knows enough to not do anything against the God of Israel, so he says that he can only do what God says to do.

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Finally, the Lord tells Balaam that he can go with the men from Moab, but he must be careful to only do what God says.

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So, Balaam saddles his donkey and goes with the men.

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That brings us to today’s sermon, which is entitled “The One Who Should See and the One Who Shouldn’t Speak.”

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Join me in prayer before we look at the passage, and let’s ask God to speak to us.

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(prayer)

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Ok, let’s look at the passage together. Join me in Numbers 22:21-35:

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21 When he got up in the morning, Balaam saddled his donkey and went with the officials of Moab.

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22 But God was incensed that Balaam was going, and the angel of the Lord took his stand on the path to oppose him. Balaam was riding his donkey, and his two servants were with him. 23 When the donkey saw the angel of the Lord standing on the path with a drawn sword in his hand, she turned off the path and went into the field. So Balaam hit her to return her to the path. 24 Then the angel of the Lord stood in a narrow passage between the vineyards, with a stone wall on either side. 25 The donkey saw the angel of the Lord and pressed herself against the wall, squeezing Balaam’s foot against it. So he hit her once again. 26 The angel of the Lord went ahead and stood in a narrow place where there was no room to turn to the right or the left. 27 When the donkey saw the angel of the Lord, she crouched down under Balaam. So he became furious and beat the donkey with his stick.

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28 Then the Lord opened the donkey’s mouth, and she asked Balaam, “What have I done to you that you have beaten me these three times?”

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29 Balaam answered the donkey, “You made me look like a fool. If I had a sword in my hand, I’d kill you now!”