And if you would open up your Bibles to the book of Judges, it's on page 236 of your Pew
Bible.
And if you're not familiar with how your Bible is laid out, the first book of your Bible
is Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy, and then we go Joshua, and then Judges.
So open up your Bibles to the book of Judges.
And I've got a big swath of Scripture to preach to, so I'm not going to actually read its
entirety out.
I'm just going to work us through it, and we're going to make our way through it in a speedy
way this morning.
But I want to let you know that Judges 1-36, basically there's two parts to it.
1-1-36, it's kind of a listing.
It's a state of affairs of the tribes of Israel.
And then in 2-1 through 3-6, you have God's explanation for how the tribes are doing.
And what we're going to see is the book of Judges is about God testing His people.
We are being tested by God.
Testing isn't anything new for us.
If you're a student, you are tested by your teachers of your understanding of a given subject
matter.
Your kind of understanding of something is exposed, right?
Maybe you're an employee.
Your supervisors will test you, whether that is through some kind of evaluation or some
kind of review to kind of test your competence as an employee.
If you are a patient, your doctors are going to test your bodies to expose the good or ill
health within you.
If you are a parent, your children will test your patience.
Do I have an amen?
Amen.
And if you're a child, your parents will test your patience.
Do I have an amen?
And if you're a Christian, God will lovingly test you to expose in you who you love, to
expose your allegiance, to expose who you're devoted to, to expose who or what is the controlling
center of your life.
Will it be God, the Lord Jesus Christ, or will it be something from this world?
We live in the world, but we're not of the world.
And how your Bible is described the world throughout it, it's a definition like this.
The world is humanity in sinful spiritual deadness in organized rebellion against God.
That's the world.
And what God will do is He will test us to find out where our allegiances lie.
The book of Judges is a book of God testing His old covenant people, Israel, as they enter
the promised land.
Will they walk in Yahweh's way or will they compromise?
And as one scholar said, will they Canaanize?
Will they become like the nations they are to dispossess?
Moses led his people, God's people, out of Egypt.
Joshua leads the tribes of Israel into the promised land.
But Joshua doesn't eradicate all the nations in Canaan.
No, that's left for the generation to come.
In Deuteronomy chapter 7, this is an important passage to understand what God is expecting
of His people as they enter the promised land.
So if you can turn to Deuteronomy chapter 7, 1 through 5, it's on page 179 of your pew Bible.
I want to read it so you understand what God's expectation is, was of Israel.
When the Lord your God brings you into the land that you are entering to take possession
of it.
This is the law of Moses.
He's anticipating His people going into Canaan.
And God clears away many nations before you, the Hittites, the Girgashites, the Amorites,
the Canaanites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites.
Seven nations, more numerous and mightier than you.
And when the Lord your God gives them over to you and you defeat them, then you must devote
them to complete destruction.
That was the expectation.
It is hard.
Shall you deal with them?
You shall break down their altars and dash in pieces their pillars and chop down their
Asherim and burn their carved images with fire.
That was God's expectation for Israel, His people, as they went into the promised land.
And you might find yourself saying, this is very distasteful.
Why would God ever do that?
God answers that question.
Why would God use His people as a means of judgment and eradication of these nations in
Canaan?
In Deuteronomy 9, 4 and 5, we read this.
Do not say in your heart, Israel, after the Lord your God has thrust them out before you,
these nations, that it's because of my righteousness the Lord has brought me in to possess this land,
whereas it is because of the wickedness of these nations that the Lord is driving them out before you.
Not because of your righteousness nor the uprightness of your heart are you going in to possess their land,
but because of the wickedness of these nations the Lord your God is driving them out from before you,
and that He may confirm the word that the Lord swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob.
So what you need to know from the very beginning as we enter into the book of Judges
is that God's call on His people was to enter Canaan and be His means of judgment on these wicked nations
that have been rebelling against God.
And brothers and sisters, you've got to understand, judgment is coming for everyone.
And so here we have God's expectation on His people,
and you can see in Judges 1-1 that Joshua has died.
And now the question becomes, will the tribes of Israel, without Joshua as their leader,
will they finish dispossessing the land of Canaan,
and will they walk fully in the ways of the Lord their God, Yahweh,
or will they compromise?
And chapters 1 and 2 answers the question of Judges.
Judges.
Judges 1.
1-36.
It is a listing of the tribes of Judah and their compromise.
And then chapter 2, 1-36.
Is the divine explanation of why they are still dwelling with these nations in their midst.
Brothers and sisters,
God tests His people.
And though His people fail,
God remains faithful.
So let's look at this compromised state of affairs.
This is chapter 1, 1-36.
And what I want you to see first is the listing out of the tribes of Israel.
And so it seems like Judges starts off strong.
Joshua dies.
The people of Israel inquire of Yahweh.
That is really good.
And they're like,
Who shall go up first for us against the Canaanites to fight against them?
We're ready, God, to occupy the land.
Who of the tribes should go?
And God says in verse 2,
Send up Judah.
And then Judah says to Simeon, another tribe,
Let's go.
Let's do it.
And so from verse 2 all the way through verse 20,
We have the account of Judah and Simeon occupying Canaan.
And then what we see in verse 21,
You see the tribe of Benjamin.
22, the house of Joseph.
27, another tribe, Manasseh.
29, Ephraim.
30, Zebulun.
31, Asher.
33, Naphtali.
And then what comes up at the end is 34, the tribe of Dan.
So here's the listing.
You know what this is?
This is like a state of the union.
The Israel union of tribes.
How are they doing?
And in chapter 1, when we look at Judah,
Judah takes up a whole lot of real estate in chapter 1.
And you look at it and you're like, man, they're doing great.
They went up against Bazak and they defeated with Simeon 10,000 people.
And then in verse 8, they go against Jerusalem.
And then in verse 10, they go up against Hebron.
And they beat all these people.
And then there's this whole thing in Deborah where Caleb is like, who's going to take Deborah?
And then Othniel's like, I'll do it.
And then Caleb gives Othniel not just into the hand of the city, but the hand of his daughter.
You keep on reading and eventually they get into Philistine territory.
And it looks like Judah is doing really well.
But on closer inspection, they're not doing as well as they look.
If you look at chapter 1, this whole Bezek scenario where Judah and Simeon go and defeat 10,000 of these inhabitants of Bezek,
the king, Adonai Bezek, makes a run for it.
Israel, Judah, tracks him down.
They cut off his thumbs and big toes.
And you might think, well, that's great.
But you know what that is?
Nowhere in the Mosaic law is that required.
In fact, if they were to actually devote to destruction the inhabitants of Bezek,
the king would have been put to death as well.
What is actually happening is they are taking the practices of the king of Bezek
and applying it to the king of Bezek.
Did you notice what he had to say in verse 7?
Seventy kings.
This is Adonai Bezek, the king of Bezek.
Seventy kings with their thumbs and their big toes cut off used to pick up scraps under my table.
As I have done, so God has repaid me.
But what you need to understand is Judah has become Canaanized in its way of treating Bezek.
But it doesn't end there.
In verse 19,
And the Lord was with Judah, and he took possession of the hill country,
but he could not drive out the inhabitants of the plain because they had chariots of iron.
And so that little phrase, they could not drive out, we're going to see that repeated in chapter 1.
And what it means is they didn't fully, completely do what God required of them.
And the reason given is they had chariots of iron.
That's not God's explanation.
God wasn't like, oh no, they have chariots of iron.
I can't take them.
This is Judah becoming unnerved.
Losing sight that it's God who fights for them.
And so what you have here is actual compromise in the tribe of Judah.
And then, you read in verse 21,
But the people of Benjamin did not drive out the Jebusites.
So the Jebusites have lived with the people of Benjamin in Jerusalem to this day.
So they don't drive them out.
And so now these Canaanite people are living in the midst of these Israelites.
It's not what God wanted.
That's not Deuteronomy 7, 1 through 5.
And then, you read in verse 27,
Manasseh did not drive out the inhabitants of Bethshean.
And what happens?
The Canaanites persisted in dwelling in the land at the end of verse 27.
End of verse 28,
But they did not drive them out completely.
Again, they don't drive them out.
These people are dwelling in the land with these Israelites.
It's not what God wanted.
Ephraim did not drive out the Canaanites.
So the Canaanites lived in Gezer with them.
30, Zebulun did not drive out the inhabitants of Kitron.
So the Canaanites lived among them.
31, Asher did not drive out the inhabitants of Akko.
So the Asherites lived among the Canaanites.
That's a little change.
We're going from Judah doing pretty well to now these other tribes not doing so well.
And now Asher, the Canaanites aren't living with Asher.
Asher's living with the Canaanites.
33, Naphtali.
They did not drive out the inhabitants.
So they lived among the Canaanites.
And then when you get to the tribe of Dan in verse 34,
it's the Amorites who drive out Dan.
So what this is, this state of the union of Israel,
is full of compromise.
Partial obedience.
Not doing what God has required of them.
And here's what this means for us.
Partial obedience, brothers and sisters,
is full-on disobedience.
Don't confuse partial obedience
with full-on obedience.
Partial obedience
is full-on
disobedience.
It's the sin of omission.
It's not doing what God has required.
It's like a brother
who is giving generously to the Lord,
but over here,
he's dabbling in pornography.
And he's thinking he's being obedient.
It's partial obedience.
It's full-on disobedience.
The other thing you might want to know about is,
okay, why does Judah get so much real estate
in chapter 1?
Why do they get so much space
from like verse 2 all the way to verse 20?
Why is that?
Well, if you look at it carefully,
Judah is couched between a reference to Joshua
and a reference to Caleb.
And these are the two guys
in the book of Joshua
who are filled with the Spirit of God
and they are seeking to obey God.
So what's happening here is,
is Judah's being associated with those two.
Do you know why?
Judges occupies the historical space
between Joshua
and the establishing of the Israelite kings
in 1 Samuel.
Judges ends with a terrible story about Benjamin.
They're almost eradicated
like the Canaanites were supposed to be eradicated around them.
Do you remember which king came from
the tribe of Benjamin?
Saul.
He proved to be a lousy king.
But do you remember which king came from the tribe of Judah?
David.
And do you remember who else came from the line of Judah?
The greatest king of all.
Partial obedience is full on disobedience.
And now the question becomes,
well, what happened?
What happened?
Why this?
Why are God's people
disobedient in dwelling with the nations
they were supposed to dispossess?
What happened?
And then in chapter 2, verse 1 through 3, 6,
you have an explanation of why.
It's actually a three-fold explanation why.
The first is in verses 1 through 5.
The angel of the Lord.
And when you see the angel of the Lord speak,
it's God speaking.
First person.
Personal pronoun.
I.
He comes up from Gilgal.
You know what happened in Gilgal?
In Joshua?
End of chapter 5.
Joshua encounters the commander of the Lord's army.
And the commander of the Lord's army says,
take off your sandals.
You are on holy ground.
It's the commander of the Lord's army
that fights God's fights for Israel.
And if there's an association along these lines,
could it be
that the commander of the Lord's army,
the angel of the Lord,
has shown up to Bochim
to address God's people?
And he says this,
I brought you up from Egypt
and brought you into the land
that I swore to give to your fathers.
I said I will never break my covenant with you.
I delivered you.
I saved you.
I rescued you.
I made covenant with you.
I've held my side up to the covenant.
You shall make no covenant
with the inhabitants of this land.
You shall break down their altars.
That's a reference to Deuteronomy 7,
1 through 5.
But then he says this.
The angel of the Lord says this.
But you have not obeyed my voice.
What is this that you have done?
And he's looking at his compromised people.
What have you done?
They have broken God's covenant.
Their disobedience,
their partial obedience
is full-on breaking of God's covenant.
That the covenant that God made through Moses
to the people of Israel
coming out of Egypt.
And then the consequence of this
is in verse 3.
So now I say,
I will not drive them out before you,
but they shall become thorns in your sides,
and their gods shall be a snare to you.
God will no longer be fighting for them.
God will be kind of somehow opposing them.
That these nations
that they're living among,
they're going to be thorns to them.
Their gods are going to be snares to them.
Thorns and snares are not good things.
This is the consequence
of the God of the covenant
who loves his people.
He's saying,
I love you so much
that I'm going to make it
very uncomfortable for you
so that you come back to me.
Look what they do in verse 4.
They,
the people lift up their voices
and weep.
In fact,
bochem
means weeping.
this little passage,
one through five,
one starts with a reference to weeping
and it closes with a reference to weeping.
What kind of weeping is this?
Is this genuine repentance?
You're going to see in the book of Judges,
it is not.
The first explanation comes from the angel of the Lord
and he is saying,
you have broken the covenant.
That's why this is the way it is.
The second explanation comes in verses 6
and it goes all the way through verse 19
and this is from the narrator
of the book of Judges.
I think there's a good chance
this is actually Samuel,
the last of the judges
and he gives further explanation
of why this is the situation
these tribes are in.
If you look at verses 6 through 10,
there's a comparison made.
The word,
the name Joshua is dropped three times
and it's associated with the generation
with Joshua.
That these are the people
that they knew their God.
They saw Him act.
They were obeying Him.
Not perfect,
but they were obeying Him
and they were devoting to destruction
the nations that they were
coming into dwelling among.
That generation passes.
Joshua dies.
That generation who's seen the works of God.
I mean,
they were part of the whole Jericho event, gang.
They saw it.
And then in verse 10,
we read that all that generation
was gathered to their fathers.
They died.
And there arose another generation
after them who did not know the Lord
or the work that He had done for Israel.
They had major theological amnesia.
They were ignorant to who God was
and what God had done,
but it's worse than ignorance.
Do you know what this is?
This is called apostasy.
And what apostasy is,
is a turning of one's back
to the living God
to go and serve other gods
that are not gods at all.
This generation that followed
Joshua's generation,
they apostatized.
They had become canonized.
They turned their backs
on the living God.
This is why
they're in the situation
that they're in.
And then what we read
following this
in verses 11 through 19
is a cycle.
It's the cycle
that gets played
throughout the entire book of Judges
all the way through chapter 16
with Samson.
And here's how the cycle goes.
The cycle begins
with Israel's apostasy.
You can see that
in verses 11 through 13.
And the people of Israel
did what was evil
in the sight of the Lord.
You will see that line
repeated all throughout
the book of Judges.
Israel turns
from their God.
The God who delivered them.
The God who covenant with them.
The God who said,
I am your God
and you are my people
among all the nations
on the planet.
They turn.
They abandoned him.
Look at verse 12.
And they abandoned the Lord
who had brought them out
of the land of Egypt.
They went after other gods
from among the gods
of the people
who were around them
and bowed down to them.
And they provoked
the Lord to anger.
They abandoned Yahweh
and served the Baals
and the Ashtoreth.
These are the gods
of the Canaanites.
So the first move
in the cycle
is Israel's apostasy.
The second move
of the cycle
is the kindling
of God's anger.
And we see that
first reference
at the end of verse 12
and they provoke
the Lord to anger.
And then we see it again
in verse 14.
So the anger of the Lord
was kindled against Israel.
We see it again
in verse 20.
So the anger of the Lord
was kindled against Israel.
And what anger is this?
Is this a capricious
kind of anger?
Maybe you had a dad
you just walked
on eggshells around him.
You didn't know
how he was going to react.
This anger
is a jealous anger.
This anger
is the anger
the jealous anger
of a husband
for his wife
when he sees her
flirting with other men.
It's that kind of anger.
It's a holy anger.
It's an exclusive
devotion anger.
What Israel was doing
was worse than adultery.
Let me point you out.
Verse 17.
Yet they did not listen
to their judges
for they whored
after other gods
and bowed down to them.
The tribes of Israel
were prostituting themselves
to the gods
of the Canaanites.
This anger
is a holy anger.
It comes out of
his devotion
to his people.
And in his anger
what God then does
we see it in 14 and 15
is God
he actually raises
up their enemies
the nations around them
to oppress them.
You see
God is the God
of the nations.
He's sovereign
over them all.
And he will use
the nations
to humble his people
or use his people
to humble the nations.
And they
and he
makes it
really hard
for them.
At the end
of verse 15
we read
and they were
in terrible distress.
At the beginning
of verse 15
whenever they marched out
the hand of the Lord
was against them
for harm
as the Lord
had warned
back in Deuteronomy 7
you know I would do this.
God is being faithful
even though his people
have failed.
So
Israel
apostatizes
God's anger
is kindled
he raises up
to those people
to oppress
his people
so that they would
eventually come to
an end to themselves
and they do.
The cycle goes on
is that his people
cry out.
And we
see that
in verse 18
in their groaning.
For the Lord
was moved to pity
by their groaning
because of those
who afflicted
and oppressed them.
That groaning
language
is that of
Exodus chapter 2.
Israel groaning
under the slavery
of Egypt
and God
is moved
to action
for them.
We see
God's
anger
kindled
and we also
see his
compassion
stirred.
This
crying
out
that we see
it's
God's people
realizing
oh this is
awful
God
deliver us
Yahweh
rescue us
and we see
it again
and again
throughout the
book of Judges.
the last
move of this
cycle
is that
God
in his
compassion
in his
mercy
his mercy
is more
raises up
a deliverer
a judge.
We see this
in verse 16
then the Lord
raised up
judges
who saved
them out
of the land
of those
who plundered
them.
In the
book of Judges
there are
actually 12
judges.
Six are
minor judges
six are
major judges
we're going
to be
focusing
this summer
on the
major judges
but there's
also one
anti-judge
Abimelech
and Zach
gets to
preach on
him.
Over
and over
again
God raises
up these
human judges
and what
you need
to know
brothers
and sisters
these
judges
they are
savior kings
they're
savior rulers
they rescue
then rule
and they're
all imperfect
and as we
get through
the book
of Judges
you're going
to see
more and
more
oh man
these judges
they reflect
God's people
they're imperfect
they are
digressing
into
canaanization
and not
only the
imperfect
but
they provide
a temporary
salvation
in verse
18
and 19
whenever the
Lord raised
up judges
for them
the Lord
was with
the judge
and he
saved them
from the
land of
their enemies
all the
days of
the judge
for the
Lord was
moved to
pity
by their
groaning
because of
those who
afflicted
and oppressed
them
but whenever
the judge
died
they turned
back
and were
more corrupt
than their
fathers
going after
other gods
serving them
and bowing
down to
them
what we have
in the book
of Judges
is not just
these cycles
of apostasy
and God's
anger and
oppression
and then
they cry
out for
deliverance
and then God
raises up a
judge
and then they
just drop
into apostasy
it's a
digressive
spiral
all the way
through the
book of
Judges
till you get
to Samson
but then you
have five more
chapters
in the book
of Judges
and you know
what gets
repeated
there was no
king in Israel
so they did
what was right
in their own
eyes
they become
more and more
canaanized
what
canaanization
was to
Israel
is what
worldliness
is to the
church
when
Yahweh
ceased to be
the controlling
center
of Israel
they went
canaanization
and when
Jesus
ceases to be
the controlling
center
of God's
new people
the church
we become
worldly
the third
explanation
is in
verses 20
and 22
it's God
himself
and he
picks up
on a lot
of the
same
language
from verses
1-5
in the
angel of
the Lord
in verse
20
Israel
breaks
covenant
verse 21
he will no
longer
leave them
go before
them
but there's
something new
introduced
in this
explanation
it's in
verse 22
21
I will no
longer drive
out before
them any
of the
nations that
Joshua left
when he
died
22
in order to
test Israel
by them
by the
nations dwelling
among them
God is going
to test
his people
by those
people that
were not
dispossessed
to test
what
whether they
will take
care to
walk in
the way
of the
Lord
as their
fathers
did or
not
they remain
to test
God's
people of
who they're
going to
love
of who
they're
going to
live for
who they're
going to
obey
who's
going to
be the
controlling
center of
their lives
will it
be Yahweh
or will
it be
these gods
of the
Canaanites
that's the
test
in chapter
3
1 through
6
that
testing
language
is
pulled
all the
way
through
if you
look at
verse 1
now these
are the
nations
that the
Lord
left
to test
Israel
by them
and then
in verse
4
they were
for the
testing
of Israel
to know
whether
Israel
would obey
the commandments
of the
Lord
which he
commanded
their fathers
by the
hand of
Moses
this is
all about
testing
who is
this
generation
going to
love and
obey
and you
know what
they fail
miserably
look at
3
6
please
if you
can remember
Deuteronomy
7
1 through
5
and their
daughters
they took
to themselves
for wives
and their
own daughters
they gave
to their
sons
and they
served
the gods
compromise
it's
God's
anger is
kindled
against
them
this is
the
consequence
of
failure
to
obey
Deuteronomy
7
and so
what we
have here
is in
chapter 1
we have
this list
of compromised
tribes
going from
bad to
worse
and then
in chapter 2
1 through
3 6
we have an
explanation of
why this is
the way it
is
they've broken
the covenant
they're apostate
and God is now
testing them
so what does this
mean for us
we're being
tested too
God is
testing us
and even
though we're
failures
and unfaithful
to him
he remains
faithful
because he's
a God
of steadfast
love
slow to
anger
this is a
very sobering
book
it can be
very dark
book
and what
we're going
to be
confronted
with
is a
compromised
canonized
Israel
again and
again
and it
can be
like
oh this
is
you know
one sermon
is enough
but what you
also have
in this
book
is God's
faithfulness
over and
again
God's
faithfulness
to his
people
so even
though God
is testing
them and
even though
his people
fail him
God remains
faithful
then and
now
the book
of Judges
God has
not ceased
his plan
to bless
all the
nations of
the world
through
Abraham
Judges
doesn't put
that on hold
God is
continuing
his plan
out
Judges
doesn't
stop
God's
plan
for the
fullness
of time
to raise
up from
the line
of Judah
the greatest
savior
and king
of all
God
tests
his people
fail
but God
remains
faithful
here's what
that means
brothers and
sisters
we need the
book of Judges
because the
book of Judges
points us
to Jesus
God has
raised up
a new
and better
judge
Othniel
Ehud
Deborah
Barak
Gideon
Jephthah
Samson
these are
all imperfect
four of
them get
named in
Hebrews 11
but they're
all imperfect
imperfect
saviors
and they
they provide
a temporary
rest
a temporary
salvation
you know
what it
does
as you
read through
it
it makes
you long
oh
there's
got to
be better
there's
got to
be a
better
savior
and judge
and king
there's
got to
be a
better
it makes
you long
for the
king
the perfect
savior
who provides
a permanent
salvation
that's
Jesus
Christ
God in
the flesh
never since
once and
you know
what he's
still alive
and you
know
what it
means
because
he's
still
alive
his
salvation
is
still
alive
it's
permanent
perfect
savior
permanent
rest
permanent
salvation
there's
no one
like
him
but you
know
what it
also
means
we've
got a
new
and
better
covenant
God's
old
covenant
people
Israel
God
dwelled
with
them
in a
tabernacle
the
people
were
ethnic
Israel
and they
were
devoting
other
people
to
destruction
the
best
thing
that
they
could
do
in order
to
atone
for
their
sins
was
the
blood
of
goats
the
promised
land
was
this
strip
of
land
just
east
of
the
Mediterranean
that's
the
old
covenant
how about
the
new
how about
the
new
that
this
ultimate
judge
has
brought
let me
tell you
about
it
God
dwells
with
his
people
now
through
his
spirit
we
are
God's
people
God's
dwelling
place
it's
a
better
covenant
and
the
people
is
not
an
ethnic
Israel
it's
all
people
who
believe
in
Jesus
all
people
and
now
we
don't
devote
people
to
destruction
we
declare
Christ
among
the
nations
and
you
want
to
talk
about
a
payment
way
better
than
the
blood
of
goats
it's
the
blood
of
the
king
shed
for
you
and
me
permanent
salvation
and
you
want
to
talk
about
a
promised
land
don't
think
now
don't
think
east
of
the
Mediterranean
think
then
a
heavenly
homeland
which
will
come
down
from
heaven
itself
the
new
heavens
and
the
new
earth
where
God's
people
will
dwell
with
God
in
God's
place
forever
in
perfect
peace
no
more
tears
better
covenant
that's
our
king
but you
know
what we
got
going
on
now
we've
got
the
old
sober
warning
we can
canaanize
what
canaanization
was to
Israel
is what
worldliness
is to
the church
today
again
the world
is
sinful
spiritually
dead
humanity
that is
an organized
rebellion
against
God
the world
thinks
away
they value
certain
things
they have
different
methods
we can't
canaanize
you know
how we
not
keep
from
becoming
worldly
it's
not
by
avoiding
it's
by
adoring
by
treasuring
Jesus
above
all
else
by
keeping
Jesus
as
the
controlling
center
of
our
lives
when
we
abandon
Christ
we
will
accommodate
to
the
world
but
when
we
adore
Christ
we
will
stand
distinct
from
the
world
in
the
world
but
not
of
the
world
we
will
light
up
the
world
for
Jesus
we
won't
think
the
world's
thoughts
about
sexuality
and
marriage
we'll
think
God's
thoughts
we
won't
value
what
the
world
values
about
expressive
individualism
by the
way
if you
have
not
read
this
book
by
Carl
Truman
strange
new
world
this
will
help
you
see
the
values
of
the
Canaan
we're
living
in
we're
not
going
to
value
that
if
you're
trying
to
make
a
better
version
of
yourself
you
need
to
start
asking
have
you
been
canonized
we're
not
going
to
use
the
world's
methods
politically
we're
not
going
to
cut
off
people's
thumbs
and toes
God
will
test
us
and
we're
going
to
fail
but
he
will
be
faithful
better
king
better
covenant
and
we're
going
to
keep
him
as
the
controlling
center
the
treasured
center
of
our
lives
just
as
Israel
was
tested
brothers
and
sisters
we
are
being
tested
how
do
we
not
fail
God's
tests
of
our
hearts
how
do
we
walk
in
the
ways
of
the
Lord
our
God
in
the
midst
of
this
world
it's
not
complicated
but it
requires
daily
dying
to
yourself
treasure
Jesus
above
all
know
him
be
in
relationship
with
him
be in
awe
of
his
great
works
of
deliverance
brothers
and
sisters
do you
know why
we need
the book
of
judges
because
judges
points us
to
Jesus
will you
pray
with me
God
in
heaven
we
welcome
your
tests
consider
it all
joy
whenever
you
encounter
trials
of
various
kinds
because
we
know
you're
testing
our
hearts
God
would
you
help
us
learn
from
the
book
of
judges
that
we
would
be
warned
not
to
be
worldly
and
you
would
woo
us
to
our
king
again
and
again
so
that
we
would
walk
faithfully
with
you
in
this
place
at
this
time
in
Jesus
name
amen
so
you
not
but
have
but
I