If you'd open up your Bibles, gang, to Judges 4 and 5, it's on page 239 of your Pew Bible.
And if you're looking, we're going to cover quite a bit of biblical real estate this morning.
So buckle in.
Confession.
I totally waffled Friday night.
But maybe not the kind of waffling you think.
Jenny's, we had some family in.
We were at a restaurant.
I was given three options.
French fries.
No.
Sweet potato fries.
No.
Waffle fries.
Slam dunk.
I waffled Friday night.
Totally, totally waffled.
Oh, and they were so good.
But there is a different kind of waffling we all know about and we've all experienced, isn't there?
It's a spiritual compromise.
We drag our feet.
God commands us clearly to do something.
Flee sexual immorality.
And we waffle.
Love one another just as I have loved you.
And we waffle.
Go make disciples of all nations.
And we waffle.
Have no other gods before me.
And we waffle.
Prone to waffle.
Lord, we know it.
When we waffle, what we're essentially doing is we're forgetting our great God and we are taking on the gods of our culture.
We are getting swept into the canonizing currents of contemporary culture.
It's not far after you forget that you become like the world.
We're an iffy bunch.
We're a waffling bunch.
And we think that we can both love Christ with all we got and love the world too.
It's not both.
It's one or the other.
The book of Judges is a sad account.
A sad account of the canonization of the nation of Israel.
The nation of Israel was supposed to go into the promised land and dispossess the nations.
And what happens is that instead of dispossessing them, they become like them.
They take on the gods of the nations.
They start worshiping Baal and the Ashereth.
Judges is a downward spiral.
Cycle after cycle.
Judge after judge.
Into a waffling worldliness.
Judges 4 and 5 is a very sophisticated passage.
In fact, if you look at it side by side, you will see in your Bible that you have two different kinds of literature.
It's like two different kinds of commentary on the same event.
Does anybody who would know Jim Nance is?
He's a play-by-play commentator.
He's often paired with Tony Romo.
Call her commentator, NFL football.
Anybody know who Joe Buck is?
Play-by-play guy.
He's paired with Troy Aikman, color guy.
What we have in Judges 4 is a play-by-play narrative, probably from Samuel.
And what we have in chapter 5 is color commentary.
It's poetry.
It's a song of Deborah.
But they're both addressing the same sequence of events.
And so here's what I'm going to do this morning.
We're going to walk through the five scenes in this.
And we're going to look at both the play-by-play and the color commentary.
They're both talking about the same thing.
And they're both making the same point.
So let's start with scene number 1, Judges chapter 4.
And let's look at the play-by-play.
I'm just going to make our way through one scene at a time.
And we're met in verse 1 with something very familiar.
It's a familiar cycle.
We see this cycle introduced in chapter 2.
And then we see in chapter 3 twice with Othniel and Ehud.
The people do evil in God's sight.
Ehud dies.
The external restraints are taken off.
And Israel does what she wants to do.
We'll find out what that is in a second.
In verse 2, the Lord sells Israel into the hand of an oppressor.
His name is Jabin, king of Canaan.
And God did this because in God's jealous anger,
he will hand over his disobedient people so that they learn and remember him.
Baby, come back.
Jabin has hired likely a mercenary, the commander of his army,
a guy named Sisera,
and they are known for having 900 iron-plated chariots.
It's like the Abrams tank of the day.
And if that was in a flat plain,
the battle would belong to the iron-plated chariots.
In verse 2, we also learn that God is raised up,
and for 20 years,
Jabin, Sisera, oppress Israel.
This is God handing them over.
And then in verse 4, 3,
chapter 4, verse 3,
it's, again, this familiar cycle,
God's people cry out.
That's the play-by-play.
Let's look at the color commentary.
Chapter 5, verses 6 through 8,
in verses 6 and 7,
we get some color on what this oppression actually was.
Did you notice?
In the days of Shamgar,
the son of Anath,
he's one of the minor judges just referenced,
in the days of Jael,
we'll learn about her in a second,
the highways were abandoned,
and travelers kept to the byways.
What is that all about?
It's kind of like this.
You can go down to Chicago,
either by 94 or 41.
Those are the highways.
But if you're concerned of being oppressed by somebody,
you're going to take the byways.
You're going to cruise through the neighborhood streets
and find your way down to Chicago.
That's what was happening there.
People were so afraid of the oppressive nature
of Jabin and Sisera
that they were doing everything.
If they had to travel,
they would go byways, not highways.
It's a picture of fear.
Further oppression you see in verse 7.
The villagers ceased in Israel.
That's not talking about their demise or death.
What it is saying is that
they were sheltering in place.
They weren't laboring.
They weren't going to family gatherings.
They were staying in their homes
because of the oppression of the day.
But it's in verse 8
that Deborah,
in this song of praise and victory,
she tells us why all this is going on.
When new gods were chosen,
then war was in the gates.
When Israel chose new gods
over their god Yahweh,
when they forgot Yahweh
and they went to the foreign gods of Baal,
when they chose these new gods,
war was in the gate.
The consequence for their disobedience.
Oppression.
And so what we see in the play-by-play,
in the color commentary here,
in this familiar cycle,
is Israel sinning,
God handing them over,
Israel crying out.
I want you to see the word again
in chapter 4, verse 1.
And the people of Israel again
did what was evil in God's sight.
Again, they forgot God.
Again, they worshipped
the idols of the nations.
Again, we'll see that again
and again and again.
It's a downward spiral
throughout the whole book.
When you forget your God,
you will worship something else.
That's the way you've been hardwired.
It's the way of all people on the planet.
That's the way God has designed us.
We are worshippers by nature.
And if we're not worshipping
the one true God,
the living Christ,
we will worship something else.
For us,
one of the leading gods
of American culture
is the cult of me.
It's self-worship.
It's self-actualization.
Self-realization.
It's me-ism.
Brother, sister, friend,
are you stuck
in some kind of sin cycle
again and again and again
of me-worship?
Hang in there.
We've got good news coming.
The next scene
is where we meet
Deborah and Barak.
We know the cycle.
Israel sins.
God hands them over.
The people cry out
and then God raises up
a deliverer.
In Judges 4 and 5,
it's a little unusual
because we're first given
a prophet
and then the deliverer.
We'll see that again
in chapter 6 next week
with Gideon.
An unnamed prophet
is raised up
and then Gideon,
the deliverer,
is raised up.
But here's something
we need to know
about Deborah.
Let's look at the play-by-play
in verses 4 through 10.
Deborah's a prophetess.
She's a wife,
but she's a prophetess.
And what that means
is she is speaking
the very words of God
to God's people.
She speaks
as God's mouthpiece
to God's people,
speaking God's word.
It's a mercy of God
that he would raise up
a prophet.
You've got to think
of Deborah
as God using this woman
and calling his people
back to himself.
Baby, come back!
It might be a little confusing
that Deborah is judging.
You see that in verse 4.
Israel at the time
that she sat under,
verse 5,
under the palm of Deborah
between Ramah and Bethel
in the hill country of Ephraim
and the people of Israel
came for her for judgment.
You know what the real question is?
Where is the priesthood
of Israel?
Levites, where are you?
Do you know where you find them
in the book of Judges?
17, 18, and 19.
They're MIA.
And not just MIA,
they have been Canaanized.
They are in it for themselves.
They're not in it for Yahweh.
And so with this vacuum
of leadership,
God in His mercy
raises up Deborah
to speak to His people.
And the people come to her
for judgment.
And it's not just
any other judgment
because they've been crying out
for a deliverer.
God, rescue us.
And so they go to her
to say,
who's our deliverer?
And look what she does
in verses 6 and 7.
She sent and summoned
Barak.
And now we meet
what we'll see
is a waffling deliverer.
She sent and summoned Barak,
the son of Abinoam
from Kadesh Neftali.
It's right off of the
southwestern tip
of the Sea of Galilee.
All this story takes place
in northern Israel.
And she says to him,
has not the Lord,
the God of Israel,
commanded you?
And then pay attention
to what she says
and how she says it.
So she has summoned
Barak to herself.
And now she's going
to speak to him
on behalf of God.
She says,
go gather your men
at Mount Tabor,
which is 10 miles west
of Kadesh Neftali.
Taking 10,000
from people of Neftali,
the people of Zebulun.
And I will draw out
Sisero,
the general of Javin's army,
to meet you
by the river Kishon,
which is with his chariots
and his troops,
and I will give you him
into your hand.
That I is not Deborah.
The I of verse 7
is God.
It's God saying
through Deborah
to Barak,
Barak,
I want you to get your guys
and I want you to go
to Mount Tabor
and I want you to be ready there.
And by the way,
Barak,
I am going to draw out
Sisera for you.
And then I will hand him
over to you.
This is God speaking.
You know what this amounts to?
God's word
speaking
a promise.
This is what's going to happen.
So let me ask you,
at this point,
what are you expecting?
What do you expect Barak to do?
If he was a good deliverer,
he'd be like this,
you got it!
I'm on my way!
But what does he do?
Look at verse 8.
Look at the first word
of what Barak says.
If,
if,
he's speaking
to Deborah,
if you will go with me,
I will go,
but if you will not go with me,
I will not go!
Do you know what he's doing?
Waffling.
He's putting conditions
on his obedience
to God's command.
This is not exemplary.
This,
this is not a model
of godliness.
The model of godliness
is Deborah.
Barak is not being
a model of godliness here.
Deborah
mercifully says,
surely I will go.
But then she adds
a consequence.
It's God who adds
the consequence.
She says in verse 9,
I will surely go with you,
nevertheless,
the road on which
you are going
will not lead
to your glory,
for the Lord
will sell Sisera
into the hand of a woman.
Mark that,
because that is prophetic.
Barak
goes,
gets the 10,000 troops.
He and Deborah
and the 10,000
go to Mount Tabor.
So he's obeyed.
He is,
after all,
in the Hebrews 11
hall of faith.
So let's now look
at the color commentary
of what's going on here.
Let's look at
Deborah's
psalm of praise.
Well,
what's interesting here
is this,
first and foremost.
Well,
first,
not foremost.
In 5-2,
she rejoices.
It says,
that the leaders
took the lead
in Israel,
that the people
offered themselves
willingly.
Bless the Lord.
Look at verse 9.
My heart goes out
to the commanders
of Israel
who offered themselves
willingly among the people.
Bless the Lord.
What she's saying
is here,
hey,
there's been
such a great response
to Barak's call
to go to Mount Tabor.
Woo-hoo,
bless the Lord!
But it's a mixed blessing
because not only
Zebulun and Naphtali
go,
I mean,
if you look at verse 18,
Zebulun is a people
who risked their lives
to the death.
Naphtali too
on the heights
of the field.
But there were
a number of tribes
that didn't go.
The invitation
went out
to many
of the tribes
of Israel.
14,
Ephraim went.
Benjamin went.
Machir,
Manasseh,
marched out.
Zebulun went.
Issachar,
15,
went.
But then we get
to Reuben.
Among the clans
of Reuben,
there was great
searching of heart.
The paralysis
of analysis.
You see it again
in verse 15.
Among the clans
of Reuben,
there were great
searchings of heart.
Do you know
what that means?
They didn't go.
They waffled.
Gilead,
the tribe of Gad,
stayed beyond
the Jordan.
And Dan,
why did he stay
with the ships?
Asher sat still
on the coast
of the sea,
staying by his landings.
Waffling.
Disobedience.
There's a call out
to go.
Let's unite
in defeating
Sisera,
Zebulun,
and Naphtaligo.
Some other
tribes go,
but not these tribes.
It's disobedience.
But there's
something remarkable.
We're going to see
in a little bit
that Sisera
gets word
about Barak's
move to Mount Tabor,
and he rallies
his troops to go.
But somebody else
is on the move.
Look at chapter 5,
verses 4 and 5.
This is more
color commentary
of who is showing up
to the battlefield.
Lord,
when you went out
from Seir,
when you marched
from the region
of Edom,
the earth trembled,
the heavens dropped,
yes,
the clouds dropped,
water,
mark that,
the mountains quaked
before the Lord,
even Sinai
before the Lord,
the God of Israel.
You know what it's
a picture of?
God marching forth
from Sinai,
moving up south.
He walks all the way up,
and he's going to
meet the battlefield
outside of Mount Tabor
in the valley of Kishon.
God's on the move.
This play-by-play
in color commentary
introducing Deborah
and Barak
is also introducing
the hero of the story.
God himself
is going to
fight the fight.
God himself
is going to
win a victory
despite
the waffling
of his people.
Who's the hero?
We're going to find out.
You know what?
We are prone
to waffle,
aren't we?
We're prone
to put conditions
on our obedience
to God.
When you know what?
Wouldn't it be wonderful
and refreshing
if God gave us
a clear command
and we responded
in Psalm 119,
60 fashion,
I hasten
and do not delay
to obey
your commandments.
Let's move on
to the third scene.
the battle ensues.
Play-by-play,
11-13,
Sisera gets word
that Barak
is moving
to Mount Tabor,
that there's a fight,
a brewing.
How do you get that word?
Well, look at verse 11 now.
Heber, the Kenite,
had separated
from the Kenites
and the descendants
of Hobab,
the father-in-law
of Moses,
and had pitched
his tent
as far away
as the oak
in Zananim,
which is near Kadesh.
So that's close
to where Barak's from.
And this guy
named Heber,
he's going to come
back later
in the story,
he's in league
with Jabin
and Sisera.
He gets word
that Barak's leading
and he reports
it to Sisera.
Verses 12 and 13,
Sisera,
he rallies his forces,
all 900 chariots
of iron,
and they go
from his headquarters
of Heresheth,
Hegoyim,
to the river Kishon.
So we got
a fight,
a brewing.
In verse 14,
Barak and his 10,000
are at Mount Haber
and Deborah says to Barak,
notice it's Deborah,
not Barak.
This is Deborah
calling these troops
to action.
It should be Barak.
She says,
Up!
For this is the day
in which the Lord
has given Sisera
into your hand.
Does not the Lord
go out before you?
What,
why did she say that?
Does not the Lord
go out before you,
10,000?
You know what,
if you're one
of the 10,000,
you're thinking,
we are to meet Sisera
in the Kishon plain
and he's got 900
iron-plated
Abram tank-like
kind of machines
of killing.
You want us
to meet him there?
Can't you even
just put us in the woods?
Deborah says,
Do you not know?
Does not the Lord
go out before you?
Barak
takes it and goes.
And then in verse 15,
something remarkable happens.
And the Lord
routed
Sisera
and all his chariots
and all his army
before Barak
by the edge of the sword.
And Sisera
got down from his chariot
and fled away on foot.
And Barak
pursued the chariots
and the army
to Heresheth Helgoyim.
And all the army
of Sisera
fell that day
by the edge of the sword.
Not a man was left.
God routes them.
The Hebrew word
actually means
throws them into confusion.
So let's get some
color commentary.
Color commentary
is in chapter 5
verses 19 through 22.
The kings came.
They fought.
Then fought the kings
of Canaan
at Tanakh
by the waters
of Megiddo.
They got no spoils
of silver.
Canaan didn't win
a thing.
From heaven
the stars fought.
From the courses
they fought against.
Wait.
Heaven's throwing
down stars?
Is this kind of like
Genesis
is it 19
where God
sends sulfur
and fire
from heaven
on Sodom?
Is this the kind
of thing
going on here?
Whatever it is
it's supernatural
using natural means.
This is a God event.
Look at verse 21.
The torrent
Kishon
swept them away
and the ancient
torrent
the torrent
Kishon.
Wait.
Hold time out.
If you know
the Kishon
it's like a stream.
It's not a torrent.
What's going on?
Do you remember
God's march
from Sinai?
5-4
the earth
trembled
the heavens
dropped
yes
the clouds
dropped water.
Do you know
who's behind
the torrent?
Do you know
who raised
the water levels?
Do you know
who swept away
the army of Sisera?
Who mired
the chariots
plated with irons?
Horses
rearing up
horses
galloping away?
It's God
who's doing this.
It's God
who has won
this victory.
It's God
who's not left
anyone alive
except Sisera
who's on foot now.
The color commentary
and the play-by-play
point to this
being a victory
of God.
Do you not know
the Lord goes
before you?
There's been
a greater victory
won.
The Lord Jesus
has gone before us.
He did something
on the cross
and with the
empty tomb
that leaves
us speechless.
He's won
a victory.
Victory over sin
victory over death
victory over the devil
victory over the world.
He's won.
We move from
scene three
to scene four.
And who is on the run?
Sisera.
In verses 17
through 22
we've got the
play-by-play.
Sisera runs
to the
encampment
of Heber
the Kenite
because he knows
in verse 17
Heber
has a
peace alliance
with
his boss
Jabin.
King of Canaan.
So he's thinking
hey this is a safe
place.
Yes I'll find
refuge.
So he runs
there
and guess who
comes out to
meet him?
A lady.
The wife of Heber.
Her name is
Jael.
And you're thinking
oh she's
you know
she's gonna
give him
protection
because she's
the wife
of Heber.
and she does
some
magnificent
mothering.
Jael
comes out
to meet him
in verses
18 through 20
and begins
to mother him
come on in
turn inside
come on
into my
dead.
You don't
need to be
afraid
you're safe
you'll be
fine.
And then
she kind of
tucks him
in.
She puts
a rug
over him
she conceals
him.
you're
fine
you're
safe.
Oh you're
thirsty
oh here's
some milk
drink up
you're safe
here let me
tuck you
back under
that rug.
Everything
is just
gonna be
fine.
Oh you
want me
to stand
outside
and make
sure nobody
comes in
to find
you?
Of course
I'll do
that.
I'll stand
out here
and make
sure that
you are
safe
and you
just
go to
sleep
now.
Just
close
your eyes.
And then
in verse
21
this
mothering
jail
who's
supposed
to be
in league
with
Jadon
she
takes a
tent peg
takes a
hammer
and
nails
Cicero's
head to
the ground
instantly
killing
him.
That's
not a
mothering
thing
to do.
22
Barak
shows up
she
goes out
to meet
him
hey
look
at
their
sister
with
his
head
nailed
to
the
ground
oh
I
did
it
with
my
hands
and
you
know
what
that
would
have
triggered
prophecy
Cicero
handed over
to the hand
of a
woman
at that
moment
Barak
would have
known
felt some
humiliation
situation
there's
been a
number of
men
humiliated
here by
jail
not
just
Barak
Cicero
the warrior
killed
by a
woman
and not
just
Cicero
Heber
her husband
she's
defied him
because she's
loyal to
Yahweh
it's
remarkable
total
surprise
there's
some
contrasts
here
there's
some
color
commentary
in
verses
23
and
24
I'll
just
point to
one
there's
a
couple
it's
jail's
mothering
of
Cicero
leading
to his
death
and
that
what you
have
in
verses
28
through
30
is
Cicero's
actual
mother
where's
my
boy
you
know
what
he
should
have
plundered
those
Israelites
by now
and
his
troops
should
have
gotten
one
or
two
wombs
each
rape
where's
my
boy
she's
looking
through
the
lattice
and
your
last
look
at
jail
is
between
her
feet
verse
27
between
her
feet
he
sank
he
fell
he
lay
still
between
her
feet
he
sank
he
fell
where
he
sank
there
he
fell
dead
quite
a
contrast
the
play
by
play
and
the
color
despite
Israel's
waffling
God
is
faithful
he's
destroyed
the
army
now
he
has
nailed
sister
his
head
to
the
ground
through
jail
and
now
we
move
on
to
the
last
scene
five
deliverance
and
rest
in
verse
23
and
24
chapter
four
the
play
by
play
so
on
that
day
God
subdued
Jabban
the king
of
Canaan
before
the
people
of
Israel
and
the
hand
of
the
people
of
Israel
pressed
harder
and
harder
against
Jabban
the king
of
Canaan
until
they
destroyed
Jabban
king
of
Canaan
God
subdues
Jabban
and he
is
eventually
destroyed
and so
by the
end of
the story
here
chapter
four
all of
God's
enemies
are
subdued
they've
all
perished
those
he's
raised
up against
Israel
he is
now
destroyed
speaks
of God's
sovereign reign
over all
the
nations
the
color
commentary
is in
verse
31
the
explanation
so
may
all
your
enemies
oh
Lord
perish
but
your
friends
literally
those
who
love
you
be
like
the
sun
as
he
rises
in
his
might
do
you
know
what
the
irony
of
this
is
that
as
we
move
through
the
book
of
Judges
those
who
are
supposed
to
love
the
Lord
Israel
becomes
more and
more
the
enemy
of
the
Lord
friend
becomes
foe
that's
the
tragedy
but
God
is
faithful
through
it
all
and
in
verse
31
the
cycle
ends
and
the
Lord
gave
rest
to
the
land
for
40
years
these
are
two
different
commentaries
we have
play by
play
in
color
and
they
are
describing
the
same
event
and
they're
making
the
same
point
so
what's
the
point
what's
the
point
of
all
this
the
Israel
waffles
God
is
faithful
the
point
is
God's
the
hero
God
is
the
hero
of
Judges
4
and
5
it's
Deborah's
godly
but
she's
not
really
the
hero
Barak
waffles
and
he's
obedient
but
he's
not
the
hero
jail
used
murderous
deceptive
ways
but
she's
not
the
hero
you
know
who
the
hero
is
the
Lord
and
the
hero
of
Judges
4
and
5
back
in
the
day
is
our
hero
today
same
God
greater
revelation
more
clearly
seen
and
he's
won
a
greater
victory
these
Deborah
Barak
jailed
they're
all
imperfect
and
God
used
them
to
accomplish
a
temporary
salvation
40
years
the
hero
is
God
he's
the
one
that
Israel
has
sinned
against
he's
the
one
that
has
raised
up
Jabin
and
Sisera
to
teach
his
people
a
lesson
he
is
the
one
that's
raised
up
Deborah
in
his
mercy
to
speak
to
his
people
he
is
the
one
that
has
raised
up
the
waffler
Barak
who
still
is
obedient
he
raises
up
he
marches
from
Sinai
to
fight
the
fight
and
totally
routs
Sisera's
army
destroys
Sisera
and
destroys
Jabin
all
of his
enemies
perish
the
hero
is
God
do
you
remember
Deborah's
urging
in
415
does
not
the
Lord
go
before
you
our
hero
is
Jesus
does
not
the
Lord
Jesus
Christ
church
go
before
you
has
he
not
gone
before
you
has
he
not
won
the
greatest
of
all
victories
his
death
and his
resurrection
accomplishes
a
permanent
salvation
he is
the
perfect
savior
and
has
accomplished
a
permanent
salvation
not 40
years
forever
years
he's
defeated
our
enemies
sin
and God's
wrath
no longer
are over
your head
brother
sister
been defeated
at the
cross
sin's
power of
you
has
been
cancelled
because of
what Christ
has done
you are
now
in
him
the
world
has
no
claim
on
you
anymore
you've
been
called
out
of
the
world
you're
in
the
world
but
not
of
the
world
you don't
fear
death
because
Jesus
is
your
living
hope
the
death
and
resurrection
of
Jesus
is
the
decisive
ultimate
victory
won
has
not
the
Lord
Jesus
Christ
gone
before
you
and
now
we
walk
in a
manner
worthy
of
him
we
live
this
out
for
him
we
don't
waffle
we
don't
waffle
unto
worldliness
we
walk
in
worship
of
him
so
what
does
this
mean
for
us
well
this
is
a
warning
against
waffling
unto
worldliness
we
have
here
a
sober
warning
of
what
happens
when
we
forget
God
when
we
sin
again
bad
things
happen
when
God
ceases
to be
the
controlling
center
of
your
life
the
treasured
center
of
your
life
something
else
will
be
and
God
is
jealous
for
your
heart
and
he
will
work
to
regain
your
heart
when
we
lose
sight
of
God
church
it
it's
not
it
doesn't
take
a lot
of
imagination
to
realize
where
we
will
go
the
new
gods
of
American
culture
it's
the
cult
of
me
the
cult
of
self
worship
can
I
try
to
illustrate
this
in a
way
that
might
offend
some
people
in
my
lifetime
I
have
seen
the
proliferation
of
therapy
of
counseling
of
the
psychologizing
of
life
and
it
begs
the
question
where's
this
coming
from
don't
get me
wrong
I
believe
there
is
a
place
for
wise
biblical
counsel
therapy
helping
people
work
through
difficult
things
don't
get me
wrong
in
that
but
what
happens
if
a
culture
forgets
their
God
and
tries
to
counsel
people
and
help
people
with
therapy
that
is
God
less
there's
a
canaanizing
current
at our
feet
we
must
be
discerning
I
hope
you
see
it
I
hope
you
see
the
number
of
Americans
who
are
in
therapy
and
are
miserable
it's
not
doing
anything
in fact
it might
be making
things
worse
what
happens
if
godless
therapy
is a
godless
trap
circulating
current
people get
sucked
into
church
here's
what I
want to
do
this
morning
I
don't
want
you
to put
a stake
in the
ground
against
secular
counseling
that's
not
what
I'm
asking
I'm
just
using
that
as
an
illustration
here's
what
I
am
asking
if
you
have
never
disavowed
the
world
today's
the
day
and
here's
what
I
mean
by
the
world
sinful
spiritually
dead
humanity
in
organized
rebellion
against
god
the
very
people
you've
been
called
out
of
in
order
to
be
brought
into
the
church
the
people
of
god
have
you
disavowed
them
that
no
this
is
not
my
people
anymore
I
don't
think
like
them
I
don't
value
like
them
I
don't
operate
like
them
anymore
because
I
belong
to
the
family
of
god
now
I've
been
I've
been
I've
been
redeemed
I've
been
set
free
I've
been
called
as
god's
new
people
the
church
now
you
know
if
you're
a
Christian
that
the
moment
you
were
saved
you
were
delivered
out of
the
domain
of
darkness
and
transferred
into
the
kingdom
of
the
beloved
son
have
you
put
a stake
in
the
ground
and
said
I'm
done
the
world
has
no
claim
on me
now
whatsoever
in
light
of
what
my
king
has
done
have
you
taken
the
step
have
you
gone
that
far
have
you
communicated
that
to
your
god
I
would
urge
you
to
do
that
and
you're
going
to
find
in
you
some
space
in
your
soul
where
the
world
used
to
claim
you
it
doesn't
claim
you
anymore
we're
not
part
of
we've
been
called
out
of
it
we're
in
it
but
not
of
it
there's
a
warning
here
against
worldliness
but
there's
also
a
wooing
here
to
worship
the
one
who
has
won
the
victory
you
know
what
Deborah
does
she
witnesses
the
victory
and
you
know
what
she
does
she
worships
that's
what
chapter
five
is
it's
a
worship
song
it's
a
praising
of
Yahweh
the
Lord
for
his
great
acts
of
deliverance
it's
a
new
song
and
when
God
delivers
us
again
and
again
and
again
whether
it's
the
greatest
of
all
deliverances
or
it's
a
deliverance
from
sexual
immorality
or
it's
a
deliverance
from
hateful
of
other
brothers
it's
a
deliverance
of
not
seeking
to be
part
of
the
great
commission
it's
deliverance
from
worshiping
other
gods
if
he's
done
that
for
you
you've
got
a
new
song
to
sing
you've
been
delivered
you
know
what
worship
does
to
waffling
it
exposes
it
and
it
eradicates
it
when
you
treasure
Jesus
above
all
else
you
will
obey
him
because
you
delight
in
him
and
now
you
will
be
hasty
and
do
not
delay
to
obey
his
commandments
we
are
in
the
olympics
I
can't
wait
to
see
the
hundred
meter
dashes
let
me
close
with
this
on
your
marks
you
see
these
fine
tuned
athletes
men
and
women
they
get
into
the
blocks
get
set
they
put
their
butts
up
in
the
air
and
they
are
waiting
for
the
gun
and
when
that
gun
fires
bam
they're
off
do
you
obey
like
that
do
you
obey
like
that
god
you
said
I'll
do
it
or
you
are
barack
waffler
brothers
and
sisters
we
don't
obey
to earn
god's
favor
we
obey
because
we've
been
recipients
of god's
grace
and
it
pleases
him
the
book
of
judges
is a
sad
account
of
Israel
becoming
like
her
nations
they
waffle
brothers
and
sisters
the
lord
jesus
has
gone
before
us
he's
won
a
victory
we
operate
in
his
might
in
his
strength
let's
not
waffle
let's
obey
and
sing
praises
of his
deliverance
all
along
the way
will you
pray with
me
god in
heaven
thank you
so much
for your
word
god
would you
rescue
us
from us
would you
rescue
us
from a
culture
that is
worshipping
individualism
self
autonomy
self
direction
self
definition
self
worship
god
jesus
you are
so much
better
you are
so much
better
than the
cult
of me
would
you
grow
our
treasuring
of you
in your
name we
pray
amen