A vow is a serious thing. It is a promise, an oath, a contract or covenant. How many of you seriously consider your vows? You made a vow of marriage commitment to your spouse and God. You made a vow to Almighty God when you accepted Jesus into your heart and were baptized. You even made a vow to repay your debts when you took out that credit card and bought that car and/or house.

God never breaks a promise (Numbers 23:19) and He expects us to keep our vows and in many cultures, a man will die before bringing shame on himself with a broken vow. How sad it is that we treat vows with such contempt today.

Our study today must be assessed through this understanding:

“When you make a vow to God, do not be late in paying it; for He takes no delight in fools. Pay what you vow! It is better that you should not vow than that you should vow and not pay. Do not let your speech cause you to sin and do not say in the presence of the messenger of God that it was a mistake. Why should God be angry on account of your voice and destroy the work of your hands?...Therefore, fear God!” Ecclesiastes 5:4-7

Much of our failure to stand with integrity is based on the hyper-grace mentality that I can sin and sin and God will forgive and forgive. Yet Paul was quick to refute this line of thinking in Romans 6:1.

Soldiers, if there was no fear of discipline for not doing what you are told, would you do what you were told? 

We are unafraid to spend beyond our means until we stand in bankruptcy court. We are unafraid to speed until we get slapped with a ticket. We are unafraid to touch a hot stove until we get burned. Respect comes through healthy fear and likewise, we must fear the Lord with healthy fear. He is God and we are man.

Today we will read of a man who will break your heart and God’s. This is one of the hardest chapters to read in all of Scripture and another is forthcoming. We will read of several people who car so much about their vow to God that they will die to keep it.

In 11:1–3, a man by the name of Jephthah is introduced. “Now Jephthah the Gileadite was a valiant warrior, but he was the son of a harlot. And Gilead was the father of Jephthah. Gilead’s wife bore him sons; and when his wife’s sons grew up, they drove Jephthah out and said to him, ‘You shall not have an inheritance in our father’s house, for you are the son of another woman.’ So Jephthah fled from his brothers and lived in the land of Tob [“good”]; and worthless fellows gathered themselves about Jephthah, and they went out with him.” Jephthah’s name means “he opens,” and he is quite good at opening his mouth and speaking. Unfortunately, his mouth ends up getting him in a lot of trouble. Jeff is the Peter of the Old Testament. Yet, initially he is the victim, not the victimizer. When Jeff’s dad dies and the inheritance is to be divided, his brothers drive him away because he is the son of a harlot. Little do Jeff’s brothers realize they are rejecting the man that would deliver them and all of Israel. Jephthah is in good company though. Joseph was rejected by his brothers and later became their savior. It also took King David seven years to gain the full support of the twelve tribes of Israel. Even Jesus was rejected by His people, but will be received by them when He comes again. Indeed, God has a huge sense of humor and He shows it here. Jephthah turns out to be the most gifted guy in the family. What a great reminder that God chooses the weak and foolish people of this world to shame the wise and strong (1 Corinthians 1).

Jephthah is the perfect example of someone who has all the right ingredients (though looked down on by men) and is empowered by God but his undisciplined mouth and his stubborn pride get in the way of his ultimate success.

William Penn said “No man is fit to command another who cannot command himself.”

How many Judges have we covered so far?

1) Othniel – half blood foreigner from the tribe of Judah, son of Kenaz, Caleb’s younger brother = 40 years of peace

2) Ehud – Left-handed man from a tribe called “of the right hand” (Benjamin) the two tribes who would inherit the land of Israel today (Judah and Benjamin) of the line of Rachel = 80 years of peace

3) Shamgar – Foreigner – slew 600 Philistines

4) Deborah – Woman Judge = 40 years of peace

5) Gideon – Timid servant = 40 years of peace

Then Pastor Liborio taught on Abimelech two weeks ago from Judges 9 and some historians will label Abimelech as a judge of Israel but Scripturally, he is not given this title as it was self-appointed and the people who clamored for his leadership had not sought the Lord for such, which leads to depravity that would have made Babylon or Rome quite proud. He slaughtered all of the children of Gideon (all 70 of them) murdered the people of Shechem and was ultimately killed by a woman. This man was no judge of Israel. His reign of terror lasted by only 3+ years.

We will now cover 2 more judges here today, while setting up the 3^rd.

6) Tola, who will judge Israel for 23 years, from the tribe of Issachar and

7) Jair, who will judge Israel for 22 years, probably from the tribe of Manasseh

8) Then we will begin to read of Jephthah, the eight judge of the 12 covered in the book of Judges - also of the tribe of Manasseh

Have you been on a commercial airline flight this year? What happens when you get on an airplane? You likely locate your seat, store your carry-on luggage, and then sit down and buckle your seatbelt. While you are settling in or preparing to taxi out to the runway, a flight attendant gets up and delivers a sermon. The sermon goes something like this, “Please take out the card located in the seat in front of you and familiarize yourself with all of the safety features located on this plane.” The exposition of this three-point sermon includes a discussion on how to operate your seatbelt. The flight attendant then provides instructions on how to use the oxygen mask in case the cabin loses pressure. The message concludes with an explanation as to how your seat may serve as a flotation device! As you look at your seat, you realize that this is not a comforting thought.

I don’t know about you but I have to confess, I don’t pay attention to airplane sermons any more. Right or wrong, I typically read something else or rest my eyes. Occasionally, I will attempt to be courteous and make eye contact with the flight attendant, but by and large I’m not listening. Now I hear the person talking in the background but it is all noise, because I am not engaging in a sermon. Honestly, it just doesn’t seem very relevant to me. I figure if we get into a difficult situation, a flight attendant will repeat the sermon. If it is a worst-case scenario, it’s not going to matter anyway. We’re all going to die!

I think this may be how you and I approach the Bible. It’s easy to think that we really know God’s Word. Perhaps you have thought to yourself, I don’t need to read or study the Bible. I’ve been doing it for so many years. Seriously, what else is there to learn? Maybe you’ve said, “I’ve listened to hundreds or thousands of sermons in my life. I’ve heard the good, the bad, and the ugly. Do I really need to keep attending church every week? Scripture suggests that this is a dangerous attitude that can affect every area of your life. In the Book of Judges, we will discover that right theology and a thorough understanding of the Bible are essential. To put it another way: A biblical mind is a terrible thing to waste. Judges 10–12 breaks down into five scenes and today, we will cover 2 of these.

Martin Luther once said, “Work, work, from early until late. In fact, I have so much to do that I shall spend the first three hours in prayer.” What a paradigm shift! Even now, as you read these words, you may be thinking about all the things that you need to accomplish. The tasks of the day can be overwhelming for many of us. It was no different for Martin Luther. But he knew he couldn’t face the obstacles and challenges of the day without God’s hand guiding him. Just being in the presence of the Lord for a moment of solitude at the beginning of each day can ease your burdens, renew your vision, and replenish the spiritual stores of wisdom you need to make decisions through the day.

                  When I first began praying every morning, I found it difficult to pray for even 10 minutes; now, I often find myself in prayer for hours. And I’ve since found that my day is more productive and my mind is better prepared when I commit my morning to prayer. The Psalms offer ample evidence that King David understood this essential practice as well:

•     “In the morning, Lord, you hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before you and wait expectantly” (Psa 5:3).

•     “I will sing of your strength, in the morning I will sing of your love; for you are my fortress, my refuge in times of trouble” (Psa 59:16).

•     “O God, You are my God; Early will I seek You” (Psa 63:1 nkjv).

•     “But I cry to you for help, Lord; in the morning my prayer comes before you” (Psa 88:13).

                  William Wilberforce also spoke of the importance of regular prayer, early and often: “Of all things, guard against neglecting God in the prayer closet. There is nothing more fatal to the life and power of religion. More solitude and earlier hours—pray three times a day, at least. How much better might I serve if I cultivated a closer communion with God!”¹

“Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.” –Romans 12:2

The nation cannot afford a sidelined church, taken out by worldliness and confusion. The Apostle Paul commands believers to allow ourselves no longer to be conformed by worldly patterns, but rather to be transformed by the renewing of our minds. Only then we will understand the will of God, not just for our own lives, but so that we can be a prophetic voice to our nation. Sometimes the best way to pray for our nation is to pray for revival in the church!

Pray for a transformation in the church through a renewing of our minds through the Word of God.

Ask the Lord for the church to rise up with a strong prophetic voice for America.

Lord, forgive us, Your people, for our timidity, worldliness, and failure to be the light and salt that our nation desperately needs. Transform us! May Your Word bring lasting change to our minds and lifestyles. Help us then to speak with boldness as we understand more and more of Your will. Help us not so much to seek political power as to seek to speak Your wisdom into political situations.

Intro: The power of a Song
For those who were not here last week, Judges 5 is a commentary on Judges 4, providing us some clarity on what happens and why. So, let me give you the 60 second summary of what happened so that this makes sense. After the death the Ehud, the left handed Judge, Israel sins again. God sells them into the hands of Canaanite king named Jabin. His general, named Sisera, leads an army of 900 chariots and thousands of men, to rape, pillage, and oppress Israel cruelly for 20 years. Israel cries and God responds. Deborah, the first and only woman Judge, rises up to deliver Israel. She calls up a man named Barak, tells him to gather an army to fight Sisera, to which a fearful Barak responds with—I will only if come with me. Deborah agrees telling him that glory will go to a woman instead of him in the victory. They battle and, as promised, God destroys Sisera’s army who escapes on foot north. He tries to hide with the wife of an ally who eventually ends up murdering him as he sleeps and crushes his head with a tent peg.

Now, Deborah the prophetess and Barak a Levitical priest sing a duet. The Hebrew actually indicates that Deborah is the one who writes and sings the song so Barak probably plays an instrument to accompany her as some Levites were musicians. With Deborah on vocals and Barak on guitar, their two-person band tours Israel and sings this song. We all know the power of songs. And as this song is sung from the mouth of the prophet, it is even more powerful and meaningful. This is one of God’s songs. Music and song are contagious and important aspects of culture. Some of the songs of our culture quite meaningful, others are quite foolish, but usually the best ones are so memorable that we end up believing them, repeating them, or even subconsciously allowing them to affect our convictions. That is because songs are sermons—they communicate and influence worldviews.

While many consider songs as mere entertainment, historically songs were used as a tool to seal, protect, and guard culture. Martin Luther once said that he did not care so much who wrote theologies as long as he could write hymns. Songs have an agenda—they intend to reform how you feel, how you think, or even how you act. That is the nature and power of art. In other words, this song is not intended to simply inform you about what happened—it is written to proclaim truth about God that demands a response.

Satan understands the power of music too – which is why he is able to manipulate the minds of generations with what comes through performing arts and music. In fact, Scriptures tell us he was beautiful and possibly responsible for worship in Heaven:

Ezekiel 28:13

Thou hast been in Eden the garden of God; every precious stone was thy covering, the sardius, topaz, and the diamond, the beryl, the onyx, and the jasper, the sapphire, the emerald, and the carbuncle, and gold: the workmanship of thy tabrets and of thy pipes was prepared in thee in the day that thou wast created.

 (2-11) STANZA 1: Big God and Scary people
This song is broken into three different stanzas beginning in verse 2, 12, and 24ish… I’ll title the first stanza “Big God and scary people”. The song begins by recalling what it was like when God originally led his people out of Egypt to the bottom of Mt. Sinai (Exodus 20.16ff).

At the mountain, God met his people, and he did so through a powerful storm with lighting, rain, and earthquakes. This is important because the God of the Canaanites is Baal, the storm God.

Yahweh is praised as a God who marches, a God who shakes the earth, a God who dwells with his people with rain, clouds, and lighting.

Easter (Resurrection Sunday) is fast approaching and I'm comforted by the reminder that our Savior remains as present in our world today as He was when He walked the earth more than 2,000 years ago. This is a wonderful time of year to reflect on the unfailing reality of "God with us" and to rediscover our adoration for the Lord.  

Psalm 89 says, "I will sing of the Lord's great love forever; with my mouth I will make your faithfulness known through all generations." 

In our home, one of our favorite traditions at Easter, after attending services, has been for each family member to reflect and share at least one blessing for which they are especially grateful. It is a time for appreciating each other and most importantly, for appreciating God; often, many of us are brought to tears! These moments always remind us that Jesus has given us everything through his life, death, and resurrection. We have all we need in Him.  

Author Ruth Myers writes, "I find that my worship is richer when I offer the Lord praise and thanks for three things: who He is, what He does, and what He gives." At this very moment, what can you say about each of these? I urge you to review often the questions of who God is, what He does, and what He gives. I pray that your answers every day will be a little richer, a little stronger, and a little more powerful in the grip they hold on your heart's affections.

He is Risen Indeed!

Have you ever wondered, “How could God use someone like me?” Perhaps you are consumed with guilt over sin and failure. You may suffer with the scars of your family history or personal background. Perhaps you have physical problems and limitations. Maybe you have difficulty accepting yourself and bear the burden of a poor self-image. Maybe you feel inadequate due to a lack of education, skills, or spiritual gifts. I don’t know about you but when I think of myself I’m not impressed. There are many physical features I dislike about myself. There are many personality quirks, I wish I could change. When I think of myself from the world’s perspective, underwhelmed comes to mind. Yet, over the course of my life, the Lord has taught me that He loves to use weak and foolish people like me (1 Corinthians 1). I praise God for his amazing grace.

Have you gotten so familiar with your problems that you no longer see your potential? God is using our time together and your time with Him to piece something together that is bigger than you can imagine. Often when we look back can we finally see the final masterpiece of God and I assure that someday we will see the masterpiece completely unfolded before our eyes. But in the meantime, you and I will get pieces, entrusted to care for each one, trusting that God is working out all things to His glory and to the good of those who love Him.

God is going to give us revelation in pieces as we journey together but part of the journey is endurance to get to the finish line. Some weeks I am going to talk about things you don’t want to read – too hard to process – “not as much fun as that other sermon you gave” – but these are steps to acquiring the pieces of understanding and we must be forward thinking that this all part of the process and in the end…masterpiece.

A minister told his congregation, "Next week I plan to preach about the sin of lying. To help you understand my sermon, I want you all to read Mark 17."

The following Sunday, as he prepared to deliver his sermon, the minister asked for a show of hands. He wanted to know how many had read Mark 17. Every hand went up. The minister smiled and said, "Mark has only sixteen chapters. I will now proceed with my sermon on the sin of lying."

So, last week I gave a general overview of Judges as we moved through Judges 1 and 2. However, since we couldn’t read every verse, I asked you to go back and read Judges 2. I am sure you were so excited to do so you ran back home and read every word, right?

We are in the second sermon in a series through the Book of Judges (“Avoiding Generation Degeneration”). The introduction to Judges (1:1–3:6) revealed what devastating consequences occur when God’s people rebel against Him. Now the author is going to focus on three judges whom God uses in a powerful way. In Judges 3:7–31 we will see, “Our responsibility is response to God’s ability.” In these twenty–five verses, the term “Lord” (Yahweh) occurs thirteen times. That’s every other verse! Even though God dominates this passage, these three stories remind us that He uses people like you and me to accomplish His purposes in the world.

In Experiencing God, Henry T. Blackaby and Claude V. King write:

Your personal prayer life may primarily be one-way communication­­—you talking to God. Prayer is more than that. Prayer includes listening as well. In fact, what God says in prayer is far more important than what you say…

Prayer is a relationship, not just a religious activity. Prayer is designed more to adjust you to God than to adjust God to you. God doesn’t need your prayers, but he wants you to pray. You need to pray because of what God wants to do in and through your life during your praying. God speaks to His people by the Holy Spirit through prayer… Genuine prayer does not lead to an encounter with God. It is an encounter with God.

Through prayer, God quickens our spirit by the power of His Holy Spirit. That’s an experience we don’t want to miss!

P.R.A.Y. for Today

Praise God fro His eternal perfection; repent of any attempts to adjust God to yourself; ask Him to adjust you to Him; yield to Him by making whatever changes are necessary.

This is our 26^th Week in Romans – that means it only took us 6 ½ months to get through this powerful book.

It was written in 57 AD…or 1959 years ago and still going strong.

You can learn a lot about people by what they tell you about their job. When I am first getting to know someone, I like to ask them about their work. This helps me measure their levels of stress, satisfaction, and overall health. This can be particularly enlightening when I’m talking with a small business owner. When I ask small business owners questions about their business, it can be nearly impossible to shut them up. Even the introverted small business owner can ramble on for hours on the state of their business. Why is this so? Small business owners have great quantities of time, money, and energy invested in their work. This results in them caring a great deal about their business. So when I talk with such people, I will often ask the question, “How’s business?”

I’d like to ask you that same question, “How’s business?” This question is posed with a twist though. I’m not referring to how you make a living; I’m asking about how you make a life. Whether you know it or not, you’re responsible to conduct business. In fact, you are called to be a businessman or a businesswoman. But your business may not be what you think it is. You’ve heard it said, “It’s none of your business!” Well, in Rom 16, we see: God’s work IS your business. Paul states that you are to be about the people business, the protection business, and the praise business.

Let me start off our discussion sharing a story with you. Why do bad things happen to good people? Do you remember when we were in Romans 8, we addressed Free Will and True Love – that God desires that all men be saved (1 Tim. 2:4) – well let me share another perspective on this from one of my mentors, Dr. Ravi Zacharias (share story with congregation).

1. We Are In The People Business (16:1-16, 21-23)

Effective ministry begins and ends with people. This section rattles off a list of twenty-eight individuals that have directly or indirectly impacted Paul. The apostle begins with a commendation in 16:1-2: “I commend to you our sister Phoebe, who is a servant [or “deacon”] of the church which is at Cenchrea; that you receive her in the Lord in a manner worthy of the saints, and that you help her in whatever matter she may have need of you; for she herself has also been a helper of many, and of myself as well.” Paul commends Phoebe who is most likely a deaconess. He requests that the church receive her with hospitality (and potential financial support) for she has been a “helper” (prostatis). This term likely means that Phoebe was a patron who gave generously to God’s work. According to tradition, she also carried Paul’s letter to Rome. Paul, therefore, wants Phoebe esteemed and treated well.