From His Heart

Speaker 1

What does it mean and why does it matter that you are a difference maker? Here's Pastor Jeff Shreve.

Speaker 2

Hey, you can be a person like Deborah who is wise, who operates within the roles that God has set up for us, who's an encourager and who trusts in the Lord with all her heart and is confident that God will come through.

Hey, if you're a person who follows in those footsteps, you'll make a difference in the lives of other people.

Speaker 3

There is treasury, there is blessing, there is hope that you always dream of. He can hear every scar with real truth, real love, real hope from his heart.

Speaker 1

In the book of Judges, the prophetess Deborah is regarded as one of the greatest women in all of scripture because she was very industrious and truly made a difference for her nation of Israel. So the question is, how can we be a difference maker like Deborah?

This is from his heart with Pastor Jeff Shreve. Thank you for joining us today for part two of the message called "The Difference Maker" from Pastor Jeff's new 10-lesson series, "Before There Were Kings: The Cost of Compromise." If you missed part one from last time, we hope you'll go online to fromsheart.org, click the listen link, and catch up.

Right now, though, open your Bible to the Book of Judges, chapter four, and learn how to make a difference that will glorify God. Here's Pastor Jeff.

Speaker 2

So the question is, how can you be a difference maker like Deborah was a difference maker? Well, you can do the four things that she did to make a difference.

Number one, you can be wise. She was wise. You know, it's not an accident or just a coincidence that people sought her out to judge in a dispute or a difficulty; they would come to Deborah. She would sit under the tree of Deborah. We want to be wise. So where does wisdom come from? Well, number one, wisdom comes from the fear of the Lord. If you want to be a person who is wise, the Bible says in Proverbs 9:10, "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom." Secondly, wisdom comes from the word of God in prayer. If you want to be wise, you need to spend time in the word of God. You need to spend time in prayer. And then thirdly, where does wisdom come from? Wisdom comes from wise friends. "He who walks with wise men will be wise, but the companion of fools will suffer harm" (Proverbs 13:20). And so you don't want to do that. You want to be a person who is wise. And Deborah was a person who was wise.

The second quality is that you can understand your God-given role. Deborah understood the role that God gave her. It says again in verse four, "Now Deborah, a prophetess, the wife of Lapidoth, was judging Israel at that time." She's the wife of Lapidoth. This is the only time we ever run into the name Lapidoth. We don't know anything about this guy, but the scripture is clear that Deborah was his wife. It doesn't say that Lapidoth was the husband of Deborah because that would put Deborah in a subordinate position. No, he's the husband; she's the wife of Lapidoth because she understood her role.

The Bible is very clear about the roles that God gives us. Remember this: God made men and women to be different but equal. That's a basic truth. Men aren't better than women, and women aren't better than men. But we are different from one another. God made us different and gave us different roles. When a husband marries a wife, the two become one flesh. We're a lot stronger together as husband and wife than we are by ourselves. God commands us to operate within his parameters, within the roles that he sets for us.

Now, in the church, the mantle of leadership is given to men. God says, "I do not allow a woman to teach or exercise authority over a man because it was the man who was first created and then the woman" (1 Timothy 2). Some have said, "Well, why is Deborah the leader in Israel if God is big on male leadership?" Isaiah 3:12 gives us insight into this. In a rebuke, it says, "Children are your oppressors, and your women rule over you." That's not a good thing; that's a bad thing.

Now, it doesn't reflect poorly on Deborah. Deborah was a great woman, the mother of Israel, but it reflects poorly on the men. At this time in Israel's history, there wasn't a man to step up. Men desperately need to step up. A man needs to reject passivity because men tend to be passive, and we have to step up, reject passivity, accept responsibility, lead courageously, and trust God for a greater reward.

God commands us to operate within his God-given parameters. If we say, "Well, we have a better way to do family and to do church than what God says," we are mistaken. "There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death." We do life and we do church the way God says to do it, and God blesses that. If you try to do it on your own and say, "Well, I'm going to figure out a better way," you're going to fail. "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways, acknowledge him, and he will direct your path."

So you can be wise, you can understand your God-given role and operate in that role.

Number three, you can be an encourager. This is very interesting because Deborah is going to employ the services of Barak to bring about the victory over Jabin and Sisera. It says in verse six, "She sent and summoned Barak, the son of Abinoam from Kadesh Naphtali, and said to him, 'Behold, the Lord, the God of Israel, has commanded, Go and march to Mount Tabor and take with you 10,000 men from the sons of Naphtali and from the sons of Zebulun. I will draw out to you Sisera, the commander of Jabin's army, with his chariots and his many troops to the river Kishon, and I will give him into your hand.'"

Then Barak said to her, "If you will go with me, then I will go. But if you will not go with me, I will not go." Not a real courageous guy here. She said, "I will surely go with you. Nevertheless, the honor shall not be yours on the journey that you are about to take, for the Lord will sell Sisera into the hands of a woman." Then Deborah arose and went with Barak to Kedesh.

Here's the situation: things aren't good in Israel. They've been serving Jabin, King of Canaan, for 20 years. He's severely oppressing them, and it looks hopeless because the oppressor has 900 tanks. If you gather 40,000 Israelites, you can't come up with one shield and one spear. They have nothing. So how do you go up against an army that has 900 tanks and you have nothing? Well, the word of the Lord comes to Deborah, and she tells Barak, "Hey, this is how it's going to work."

Well, he's afraid. So she encourages him. He says, "I don't want to go. If you don't go with me, I'm not going to go." She says, "Okay, I'll go with you." Notice this: she doesn't nag him, she doesn't browbeat him, she doesn't diss him. She doesn't say, "Oh, you're such a wimp. How do you not know that you're supposed to do this?" She encourages him. By her encouragement, Barak is going to lead the men to a great victory, according to the word of the Lord.

Now, encouragement is desperately needed today. The Bible says in Hebrews 3:13, "But encourage one another day after day, as long as it is still called today, lest any of you be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin." Truett Cathy, the founder of Chick-fil-A, had a famous statement. He would ask this question: "How do you know if someone needs encouragement?" The answer: "They're breathing." If they're breathing, they need encouragement.

Encouragement makes such a difference. Think about encouragement this way: encouragement is like a wind to a fire, a wind to a flame. If you're trying to get a fire going in your fireplace, you can fan up the flame or too much wind can blow out the flame. We want to be those who fan up the flame. We want to build up our spouse, our kids, our parents, and those we work with. It doesn't cost you anything to be encouraging to people.

Ephesians 4:29 says, "Let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth, but only such a word as is good for edification to build up according to the need of the moment, that it may give grace to those who hear." It would have been real easy for Deborah to unload on Barak, but she didn't. She encouraged him, and she encouraged him with her presence.

He said, "Listen, if you don't go with me, I'm not going to go. But if you go with me, I'll go." She said, "I'll go with you. I'll be there for you." However, there's a cost associated with that. The victory over Sisera is not going to come from you; it's going to come from a woman. Deborah wasn't talking about herself; she was talking about Jael, as we're going to see in a moment. But she was there. She had the encouragement of presence.

Sometimes when we go see someone who has lost a loved one or is facing serious issues in their family or health, we say, "I don't know what to say to them." Often, it's just the ministry of presence. It's just being there. You encourage them just by being there, by coming alongside them. The word "encourage" means to come alongside. "Parakaleo" is the same word that's used for the Holy Spirit, one called alongside to render aid, comfort, and build up, not tear down.

Look for things in people that you can praise them about because if they're breathing, they need encouragement.

Lastly, you can be confident in the Lord. Let's pick up our story, beginning in verse 11. "Now Heber the Kenite had separated himself from the Kenites, from the sons of Hobab, the father-in-law of Moses, and had pitched his tent as far away as the oak in whatever, which is near Kedesh." Then they told Sisera that Barak the son of Abinoam had gone up to Mount Tabor. Sisera called together all his chariots, 900 iron chariots, and all the people who were with him from Harosheth, Hagoyim, to the river Kishon.

Deborah said to Barak, "Arise, for this is the day in which the Lord has given Sisera into your hands. Behold, the Lord has gone out before you." So Barak went down from Mount Tabor with 10,000 men following him. The Lord routed Sisera and all his chariots and all his army with the edge of the sword before Barak. Sisera alighted from his chariot and fled away on foot. But Barak pursued the chariots and the army as far as Hareshath Hagoim, and all the army of Sisera fell by the edge of the sword; not even one was left.

You can have confidence in the Lord. Deborah gave the word of the Lord. She's a prophetess, so the word came to her to share with Barak and the people. This is what's going to happen. Thus says the Lord. Boom. And she was confident.

When you look at it from a human perspective, we walk by faith and not by sight. But if you walk by sight, you would say, "There is no way on God's green earth that we could have victory over Sisera and his 900 tanks." It's impossible. But remember this: impossible is "I'm possible" with God. With men, it's impossible, but with God, it is not impossible. It is very possible, and it will come to pass.

God is always able. In any and every situation, God is able. Ephesians 3:20, one of my favorite verses, says, "Now, to him who is able, he's able to do exceeding abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us, to him be the glory."

So how did they defeat Sisera and his 900 iron chariots? His 900 tanks are by Megiddo, the battlefield we read about in the Battle of Armageddon. Napoleon called that area the world's most natural battlefield. It's just a flat piece of ground. I've been there on several occasions, and you can see for miles. It's just huge.

Sisera, who is from Harosheth, Hagoyim, brings all his chariots and all his guys down, and they're by the river Kishon. What does the Lord do? It's summertime; it's not going to rain. Ah, but God controls the rain. The Canaanites worship Baal, the storm god. Here God turns the tables on the pagans. He said, "I'm going to bring rain."

He gets everybody together, and God brings a torrential downpour. It overflows the banks of the river and creates a muddy environment for the iron chariots. Iron chariots are great until they get stuck in the mud, and then you can't move in them. This is what it says in chapter five: "The kings came and fought. Then they fought the kings of Canaan at Tanakh, near the waters of Megiddo. They took no plunder in silver. The stars fought from heaven; from their courses, they fought against Sisera. The torrent of Kishon swept them away."

God had the stars in their courses fighting against Sisera. The whole universe is lined up against the man who's lined up against God. The whole universe is lined up for the man who's lined up with God and for God. God will fight for that person, and God fought against Sisera because Sisera was fighting against God and God's people. Sin cannot win, and faith cannot fail. We can trust and have confidence in the word of God.

Listen, we may lose some battles along the way, but we don't lose the war. We win. If you're in Jesus Christ, you win in Jesus Christ. One day we're going to rule and reign with him. You read the book of Revelation, and you find out in Revelation 20, we rule and reign with Jesus for a thousand years. Sin cannot win, and faith cannot fail. God is always able.

Sisera, the general, is the guy you want to get. He got off his iron chariot and ran. To run from the battle is embarrassing. You're a general, and you're running from the battle; that's embarrassing. To be killed running from the battle is doubly embarrassing. To be killed by a woman while running from battle? That is a fate worse than death.

Look at verse 17. "Now, Sisera fled away on foot to the tent of Jael, the wife of Heber the Kenite. There was peace between Jabin and the king of Hazor and the house of Heber the Kenite. Jael went out to meet Sisera and said to him, 'Turn aside, my master. Turn aside to me. Do not be afraid.' He turned aside to her into the tent, and she covered him with a rug. He said to her, 'Please give me a little water to drink, for I am thirsty.' She opened a bottle of milk and gave him a drink. Then she covered him."

He said to her, "Stand in the doorway of the tent, and it shall be that if anyone comes and inquires of you and says, 'Is there anyone here?' you shall say no." That was a dead giveaway that he was fleeing from the battle. But Jael, Heber's wife, took a tent peg and seized a hammer in her hand and went secretly to him and drove the peg into his temple. It went through into the ground, for he was sound asleep and exhausted. So he died.

Kind of gruesome, isn't it? You know, I wouldn't want to make Jael mad. In your sleep, she could come after you. As Barak pursued Sisera, Jael came out to meet him and said to him, "Come, and I will show you the man whom you are seeking." He entered with her, and behold, Sisera was lying dead with the tent peg in his temple.

So God subdued on that day Jabin, the king of Canaan, before the sons of Israel. The hand of the sons of Israel pressed heavier and heavier upon Jabin, the king of Canaan, until they destroyed Jabin, the king of Canaan. God brought about a great victory.

Some say, "Well, gosh, Jael is a murderess." Well, she is going after this guy who wants to rape, pillage, and destroy. It's like the police enacting vengeance on a perpetrator. That's what she did, and she did it in gruesome fashion. The Book of Judges is R-rated for violence. There's some gross stuff in the Book of Judges, but it teaches us that God is faithful to His Word. If you will trust Him, God will always support those who trust Him. He always comes through for those who trust Him.

The eyes of the Lord move to and fro throughout the earth that he may strongly support those whose heart is completely His. Do you trust him? Do you trust His Word? Are you confident in His Word? Do you know that His Word will come to pass?

One of the best words that you can add into your faith is the little word "yet." You know, you're praying about something, and it hasn't happened. You say, "Well, I was praying for a child; I haven't gotten a child yet. I'm praying for a spouse; I haven't gotten a spouse yet. I'm praying for a breakthrough; I haven't gotten a breakthrough yet." Psalm 27:13-14 tells us, "Wait for the Lord. Be strong and let your heart take courage. Yes, wait for the Lord." Just because it hasn't happened doesn't mean it's not going to happen; it just hasn't happened yet.

There were 20 years under the thumb of Jabin, the king of Canaan, but God brought deliverance at the proper time. You can be a person like Deborah, who is wise, who operates within the roles that God has set up for us, who is an encourager, and who trusts in the Lord with all her heart and is confident that God will come through. If you're a person who follows in those footsteps, you'll make a difference in the lives of other people.

Speaker 1

Today you've been listening to part two of the lesson called "The Difference Maker" from the 10-message series. Before, there were the cost of compromise. Now, this is a magnificent and insightful series—a chapter-by-chapter study of the Book of Judges. Eye-opening reminders of what happens when you and I reject God's truth in favor of our own desires. Over 3,000 years ago, life was often filled with chaos. We can't really imagine it today. They had no king, no clear direction, just a cycle of sin and suffering and desperate cries for deliverance.

But yet, even in the chaos, this mess, God raised up imperfect, unexpected, ordinary people who were called leaders to get God's people back to Him. In this new 10-message series, "Before There Were Kings: The Cost of Compromise," Pastor Jeff unpacks the deeper meanings of the warnings against apathy, the dangers of compromise, and the hope of redemption. The truth of it is clear: when you stray from God's way, life will unravel. But when you turn back to Him, He is always faithful to restore.

This substantial series is our gift of thanks to you for your support this month of any amount. You can receive the series on a USB flash drive, CDs, DVDs, or MP3 download of your choice. To get yours, call 866-40-BIBLE (866-40-BIBLE) or go online to fromhisheart.org to request the series "Before There Were Kings" when you make your gift. Reach out today, and you'll be blessed. God bless you for standing with us today.

We want to close out today's broadcast with a reminder of what God's Word promises when He says, "I have said these things to you that in me you may have peace. In the world, you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world." That's found in John 16:33.

Well, I'm Larry Nobles, and a big thank you for joining us today. We trust you'll be here for the beginning of the fifth message in this "Before There Were Kings" series. That's when we'll be reminded of the goodness of God. Join us on Thursday when we'll again open up God's Word and share real truth, love, and hope. From His heart.

Speaker 3

There is hope that you always dream Love he can hear me every scar.

Speaker 1

From his heart is the listener supported Broadcast Ministry of Dr. Jeff Shreve speaking the truth in love to a lost and a hurting world.

Remember that no matter what, God loves you and he has a wonderful plan for your life.

Find out more about that when you go to fromhishheart.org.