WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:06.280 Good morning. My name is Matthew Capone, and I'm the pastor here at Cheyenne Mountain Presbyterian 00:00:06.280 --> 00:00:12.519 Church, and it's my joy to bring God's Word to you today. I'm a special welcome if you are new 00:00:12.519 --> 00:00:17.199 or visiting with us. We're glad that you're here, and we're glad that you're here not because we're 00:00:17.199 --> 00:00:23.760 trying to fill seats, but because we're following Jesus together as one community, and as we follow 00:00:23.760 --> 00:00:28.160 Jesus together, we become convinced that there's no one so good. They don't need God's grace, 00:00:28.160 --> 00:00:33.759 and no one so bad that they can't have it, which is why we come back week after week to hear what 00:00:33.759 --> 00:00:39.320 God has to say to us in His Word. Now, we're continuing this morning our series in the book of Judges, 00:00:39.620 --> 00:00:45.240 and you'll remember that the book of Judges is about many things. It's about the need for constant 00:00:45.240 --> 00:00:52.879 renewal and revival among God's people. It's about the need for a faithful and true king, a king who 00:00:52.880 --> 00:01:00.200 can do what no human can do, which is to change the hearts of men. It's about the power of spirit-filled 00:01:00.200 --> 00:01:07.159 leadership, and it's about God's mercy to hard-hearted people, people like you and me. 00:01:08.200 --> 00:01:14.079 Last week, we ended the story of Abimelech, and we also ended Judges chapter 9, and you'll remember 00:01:14.079 --> 00:01:20.280 our big question was, what is our hope when we find ourselves under wicked leaders? And we had a 00:01:20.280 --> 00:01:25.960 couple of answers to that. The first one was that God is still at work, whether we see Him or not. 00:01:26.859 --> 00:01:33.019 And the second one was that those wicked leaders will, in fact, receive justice. In fact, we've been 00:01:33.019 --> 00:01:37.780 spending some time now over the past several weeks looking at leadership from different angles. 00:01:38.260 --> 00:01:42.379 And so, when we were at the very beginning of Judges chapter 9, we saw the principle that we'll talk 00:01:42.379 --> 00:01:49.659 about again this morning, that we often, not always, we often get the leaders we deserve. The very end of 00:01:49.659 --> 00:01:55.979 chapter 8, as we saw the end of the Gideon story, we saw that success reveals the heart. And at the 00:01:55.979 --> 00:02:01.899 beginning of chapter 8, as Gideon was winding down, we saw the sorry state of Israel, that groups and 00:02:01.899 --> 00:02:10.579 individuals were loyal only to themselves. We ended last week in something of a chaotic note as we 00:02:10.579 --> 00:02:17.659 closed out the Abimelech administration. Remember that Abimelech received his just desserts, and the men of 00:02:17.659 --> 00:02:25.659 Gilead he had an alliance with received their just desserts. And yet, Israel is left in chaos, which leads us to our 00:02:25.659 --> 00:02:33.759 passage this morning. And our question is, how does God preserve His people in the midst of chaos? How does God 00:02:33.759 --> 00:02:41.719 preserve His people in the midst of chaos? Now, it's with that, we turn now to Judges chapter 10. I invite you to turn with 00:02:41.719 --> 00:02:47.860 me in your worship guide. You can turn on your phone, you can turn in your Bible. No matter where you turn, 00:02:47.939 --> 00:02:53.659 remember that this is God's Word. God tells us that His Word is more precious than gold, even the finest 00:02:53.659 --> 00:02:59.159 gold, and it is sweeter than honey, even honey that comes straight from the honeycomb, which is why we read 00:02:59.159 --> 00:03:07.300 now in Judges chapter 10, starting at verse 1. After Abimelech there arose to save Israel Tola, the son of 00:03:07.300 --> 00:03:14.060 Pua, son of Dodo, a man of Issachar. And he lived at Shamir in the hill country of Ephraim, and he judged 00:03:14.060 --> 00:03:23.300 Israel 23 years. Then he died and was buried at Shamir. Verse 3. After him arose Jer the Gileadite, who judged 00:03:23.300 --> 00:03:31.820 Israel 22 years. And he had 30 sons who rode on 30 donkeys, and they had 30 cities called Habath Jer to 00:03:31.820 --> 00:03:39.920 this day, which are in the land of Gilead. And Jer died and was buried in Cammon. I invite you to pray 00:03:39.920 --> 00:03:48.360 with me as we come to this portion of God's Word. Our Father in heaven, we do thank you again for the sun 00:03:48.360 --> 00:03:54.000 this morning that melts our parking lot, that we'd be able to gather together in person and worship you. 00:03:54.520 --> 00:04:00.400 We thank you also for your Word, that you continue just as you sustain this earth through the sun, 00:04:00.460 --> 00:04:06.100 you sustain us by your Word, that you speak to us, that you nourish us, you challenge us, you encourage 00:04:06.100 --> 00:04:10.500 us. We ask that you would do that this morning, and most of all, we ask that you would show us Christ, 00:04:10.500 --> 00:04:19.040 that we would see even more how beautiful and glorious and loving he is. We thank you that we 00:04:19.040 --> 00:04:24.100 don't worry this morning about whether we've earned these things or deserve them. We know that we don't 00:04:24.100 --> 00:04:29.259 and we haven't, and so we simply ask for them in the mighty name of Jesus Christ. Amen. 00:04:29.259 --> 00:04:41.659 Some of you, not all of us, were alive on August 8, 1974. And if that date rings a bell, it's because 00:04:41.659 --> 00:04:47.099 it is the day that Richard Nixon announced his resignation as president in the midst of the 00:04:47.099 --> 00:04:54.099 Watergate scandal. And so the next day, August the 9th, Gerald Ford was sworn in as president. Now, 00:04:54.100 --> 00:05:00.180 if you are coming up on history trivia anytime soon, this is important for you to stash away, 00:05:00.740 --> 00:05:07.439 Gerald Ford is the only president in the history of our country who was neither elected as president 00:05:07.439 --> 00:05:13.660 nor as vice president. You'll remember that Nixon's vice president was Spiro Agnew, 00:05:13.920 --> 00:05:20.480 who had to resign over tax evasion. And so Ford was basically nominated, selected. The people did not 00:05:20.480 --> 00:05:27.240 vote on him. It's the only time that's happened in our nation's history. And Ford became a solid, 00:05:27.740 --> 00:05:33.540 a steady president known as a fair dealer. He kept the economy on track, and he was president for a 00:05:33.540 --> 00:05:40.900 grand total of about two and a half years. Also an extremely short time to serve our country. 00:05:41.720 --> 00:05:47.660 Now, I hope I don't offend anyone with what I'm about to say, but Gerald Ford was boring. 00:05:47.660 --> 00:05:55.260 Gerald Ford is not known for his great accomplishments. We know him for a few things. 00:05:55.360 --> 00:06:00.620 He pardoned Nixon, which some people say that's why he lost to Jimmy Carter. Of course, I'm sure 00:06:00.620 --> 00:06:11.400 that's a debate. And he kept the economy on track. So boring, but faithful. Boring, but faithful. 00:06:11.399 --> 00:06:21.239 Gerald Ford stabilized the country after the chaos of Richard Nixon. And it's exactly that same thing 00:06:21.239 --> 00:06:28.079 we see this morning. We could say the same about Tola, the son of Pua. We know almost nothing about 00:06:28.079 --> 00:06:34.539 him. We learn a few pertinent points. Verse one, we're told he arose to save Israel. Verse two, he judged 00:06:34.540 --> 00:06:42.760 Israel for 23 years. And outside of some geographical and family details, that's it. That's what we know 00:06:42.760 --> 00:06:50.340 about Tola. Saved Israel, 23 years. Now, that should create a little bit of a problem for us. You should be 00:06:50.340 --> 00:06:58.840 thinking to yourself, okay, he saved Israel, but from whom? No enemies are named here. We don't hear, as we've 00:06:58.839 --> 00:07:04.799 heard before, about the foreign nations or kings that he had to conquer. So in what sense did Tola, 00:07:04.899 --> 00:07:10.519 the son of Pua, actually save Israel? Now, one pastor puts it this way. He asks the question, 00:07:11.099 --> 00:07:18.919 who did Tola rise to save Israel from? Tola saved Israel from itself. 00:07:18.920 --> 00:07:33.300 Tola was Gerald Ford to Abimelech's Richard Nixon. We've seen all over chapter nine, just a spiral 00:07:33.300 --> 00:07:40.660 that happened under Abimelech, the downward fall of Israel. Now, it's certainly possible that Tola 00:07:40.660 --> 00:07:48.139 saved them from some sort of external enemies, but the challenge here is obvious. How do you come back 00:07:48.139 --> 00:07:56.719 from a leader like Abimelech? How do you recover from someone who goes around? He kills his own 00:07:56.719 --> 00:08:02.300 brothers. Remember, beginning of chapter nine, everyone except for his youngest brother is killed. He 00:08:02.300 --> 00:08:10.959 kills 69 of his 70 brothers. How is Israel supposed to recover from that? Well, the answer is Tola. 00:08:10.959 --> 00:08:23.979 Tola comes to save Israel from the chaos of the Abimelech administration. Tola comes and has a life 00:08:23.979 --> 00:08:31.439 that appears to be like Gerald Ford's. It is a life of quiet, steady, boring faithfulness. 00:08:31.439 --> 00:08:39.840 In fact, after Tola and Jer finish their terms, it's 45 years in total. Tola is there for 23 of those 00:08:39.840 --> 00:08:45.740 years, Jer for 22. We're told, we didn't read this this morning, but in the very next verse, verse six, 00:08:46.440 --> 00:08:53.519 Israel returns to idolatry. And so what he does in the midst of being a boring, in some ways, 00:08:53.519 --> 00:09:02.159 inconsequential leader is actually very powerful. He steadies the nation of Israel. He holds them back 00:09:02.159 --> 00:09:10.980 from further idolatry. After the just train wreck that is Gideon and Abimelech, he pulls God's people 00:09:10.980 --> 00:09:19.439 back. And so in this short passage, these five verses with very few details and two judges about 00:09:19.440 --> 00:09:26.440 whom we know almost everything. There's a few principles for us. The small principle, the lowercase 00:09:26.440 --> 00:09:35.480 p principle is this. There are worse things than a steady and faithful leader. There are worse things 00:09:35.480 --> 00:09:42.980 than a leader who's boring. There are worse things than a leader who has a steady hand on the wheel. 00:09:42.980 --> 00:09:54.399 That's the small principle, a principle about leadership. The big principle is this. God never gives up on his people.