Love Worth Finding

Adrian Rogers: What is the object of your faith? Listen to Adrian Rogers. Sometimes people say, "Just believe. Have faith." I say, believe what? Have faith in who? Believe God. Have faith in God. That's what it's all about. Just having faith as positive thinking, and positive thinking is not faith in God, it is faith in yourself.

And what is the origin of faith? The Word of God. The object of faith? The God of the Word. And the operation of faith is obeying the Word of God and the God of the Word. And Barak said, "I will go." Faith is belief with legs on it. So here was a man of faith.

Guest (Male): Welcome to Love Worth Finding, featuring the timeless teaching of pastor and author Adrian Rogers. Hebrews chapter 11 lists several champions of faith who exemplified tremendous character all throughout Scripture. One figure mentioned is Barak, a military leader whose faith in God helped deliver Israel from a 20-year oppression of Canaan.

Judges 5:20 explains: "They fought from the heavens, the stars from their courses fought against Sisera." These passages reveal four reasons why the heavenlies sided with Barak and fought to bring him the victory. If you have your Bible, turn to Hebrews 11, beginning in verse 32, as Adrian Rogers shares part one of this message, "Star Wars."

Adrian Rogers: We've been in a series of messages entitled "Champions of Faith." And in Hebrews chapter 11, we have God's Hall of Fame. And the people who are listed in God's Hall of Fame are listed there because of one character quality, and that is faith. And so we're going to study today about a man named Barak. Most of us have never heard of him. And Barak was known for his faith.

Let's read about it. Look here, if you will, in verse 32. And the writer of Hebrews says this: "And what shall I more say? For time would fail me to tell of Gideon and of Barak" (just underscore that, that's the one today), "and of Samson and Jephthah, and David also, and Samuel, and the prophets, who through faith subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, waxed valiant in fight, turned to flight the armies of the aliens."

Some years ago, right after the implosion of the Soviet system and the Soviet Empire, the Soviet Union, we call it, I was invited to go to Moscow to preach. And the Cold War had come to a conclusion, the Iron Curtain had come down, and I found myself in Moscow, preaching in Red Square on the Orthodox Easter, on nationwide television across the nation. A remarkable experience. But even more remarkable than that, or at least parallel in the amount of remarkability, was the fact that we had a briefing with a Soviet naval captain and a Soviet general.

Both of these met with us in the Cosmos Hotel in Moscow. And there were some American military men there, and these Soviets, former Soviets, and about 15 in this briefing. And these other men had become Christians. The general had become a Christian, and the naval captain had become a Christian and was talking with American Christian service people. I had the privilege to be there to listen. And it was a very interesting conversation. One of the American military men asked this question to the general, the Soviet general.

"General, I want to ask you a question. What effect did SDI have on the implosion of Soviet communism?" SDI, you will remember, is the Strategic Defense Initiative. Ronald Reagan said we need a shield against incoming missiles, and we need missiles that will shoot down those missiles. And so that was called SDI, Strategic Defense Initiative, but nicknamed "Star Wars." You remember that? "Star Wars." Because a man named Lucas had produced a film about that time that was very popular and seen in all the theaters about intergalactic war.

And so SDI was nicknamed "Star Wars." This American military man said to this Russian general, "What effect did that have?" He said, "It devastated us. We were not able to stay up. We were already spending an immense amount of our national income on the military. And then when you came up with SDI, that was it. We were not able to stay up and everything caved in on itself. It caused us to implode."

And then here's what he said. Now listen to this. He said, "We told you that you did not need SDI because all of our weapons were defensive. We didn't have offensive weapons." And then he said, "Of course, we were lying." I thought, "Good night, this man dare say this in Moscow and in the Cosmos Hotel." But he said, "Of course, we were lying."

Now, the devil wants to tell you a lie about another Star Wars. Because the title of the message today is this: "Star Wars." And I take the title of my message from Judges chapter 5 and verse 20, which says, "And the stars in their courses fought against Sisera." Now, I'll tell you what all that means in just a moment. But that's the text. At least that's the kickoff. "The stars in their courses fought against Sisera."

Now, let me give you a little background. And by the way, be turning over to Judges chapter 4. Would you do that? Judges chapter 4, because here we're going to learn the lesson of this man Barak and his story. Let me give you a little background. Israel had gone through a senseless cycle, and they went through it over and over again. First of all, there would be rebellion, and then there would be retribution, then there would be repentance, then there would be restoration, and they'd go around for a while and then start up all over again.

Well, they had been, Israel, under the judgment of God, had been under subjection to the king of Canaan for 20 long years. And the king of Canaan had a general whose name was Sisera. He was a man who was a very successful general. But the important thing about this man was this: he had 900 chariots of iron. And Barak was the Israeli general. He had a contingent of 10,000 men. And they meet in a battle there at the foot of Mount Tabor.

And there comes a battle that I'm going to tell you about. Sisera, who should have won the battle, lost the battle. Barak, who was greatly outgunned, won the battle. And over there in Judges chapter 5, verse 20, a woman named Deborah explains it all in a song that she wrote. And she said, "The stars in their courses fought against Sisera." That is, the fight was fixed. It was over before it began because here was Sisera who had a collision with the stars, this Canaanite general.

Now, there are four things I want you to learn about this today, and we're going to take these from Judges 4 and 5 as we talk about "Star Wars" and Barak, a man of faith. First of all, I want you to see what I'm going to call "the woman that God chose." God chose a woman to kick all of this off. Look, if you will, in Judges 4, verses 4 and 5. "And Deborah, a prophetess, the wife of Lapidoth, she judged Israel at that time. And she dwelt under the palm tree of Deborah between Ramah and Bethel in Mount Ephraim. And the children of Israel came up to her for judgment."

There was a woman named Deborah. Her name literally means "bee," like a honeybee. And she was a judge and a prophetess. She was judging Israel at this time. She was a godly woman, and she had a great impact for God. Now, you may or may not know that in the Bible, there were women, women of God who were named and called prophetesses. For example, Miriam, Moses' sister, was a prophetess. Another woman in the Bible named Huldah who was a prophetess. Anna in the New Testament was a prophetess.

The Bible tells us there was a man named Philip who had four daughters, and they were prophetesses. And over here in Judges chapter 5, verse 7, Deborah is called "a mother in Israel." May I tell you, I thank God for women down through history who have been called of God and mightily used of God, chosen of God for very special purposes. Henrietta Mears was a godly woman of yesteryear who had a great impact on Bill Bright. Bill Bright who, incidentally, was the man who engineered the whole Moscow thing where I preached, invited me to come and preach.

Now, we think that perhaps Billy Graham has brought more people to Christ than any other man. But I dare say Bill Bright has been used in our generation to touch more people for Christ than any man. But what got Bill Bright started? There was a woman named Henrietta Mears who prayed for him, who guided him, who instructed him, who encouraged him in the things of God. And in a very real sense, Henrietta Mears was a mother in Israel.

I think of Corrie ten Boom. Many of you may not know the name, but Corrie ten Boom, a remarkable woman who stood up against the Nazis, spent time in the Nazi concentration camp, has impacted the world by her faith, Corrie ten Boom. I had the privilege of having lunch with her one time. What a grand experience. I thank God for these women. We today are blessed by the songs of Fanny Crosby. When you sing "Blessed Assurance, Jesus is mine! O what a foretaste of glory divine," you're being blessed by a woman, Fanny Crosby.

I thank God for my own dear wife. I believe she is a mother in Israel. Before I came out to preach today, I knelt and she laid her hands on me and prayed for me. I thank God for that. That means much to me. The Bible speaks of prophetesses. And up until this day, Acts chapter 2, verses 17 and 18: "And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, that I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams, and on my servants and on my handmaidens I will pour out in those days of my Spirit and they shall prophesy."

Well, pastor, does that mean that you believe in women preachers? No. Women pastors? No. A pastor is to be a man. The Bible teaches that very clearly and very plainly. First Timothy 2, verse 12, Paul says, "But I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over a man, but to be in silence" (that is, to be in quietness). The Bible says that a bishop is to be the husband of one wife. I've never met a woman who could be the husband of one wife. The Bible's clear about that.

But the Bible does speak of the ministry of women, and women who are gifted and wise and called of God. Deborah was such a woman. Now, here's the second thing I want you to see. Not only "the woman that God chose," but I want you to see "the warrior that God called." There needed to be a battle. And God was going to deliver Israel. And so He needed a man to lead the charge, a warrior. And his name was Barak. Notice, if you will, in Judges 4, verses 8 and 9.

And Barak said unto her, that is to Deborah, "If thou wilt go with me, then I will go. But if thou wilt not go with me, then I will not go." And she said, "I will surely go with thee. Notwithstanding, the journey that thou takest shall not be for thine honor, for the Lord shall sell Sisera into the hand of a woman." And Deborah arose and went with Barak to Kedesh. Now, Deborah knew the limits of her position. She knew there's going to be a war. She knew that she was not fitted nor called for the battle. She knew that she needed a man.

Now, in this time, the men had failed. By the way, may I say that the problem in America today that we call militant feminism and domineering women is primarily a tribute to the failure of men. Slacker, shirker, failing men who fail to take the place that they ought to take. There are times, there are times when a woman has to do a man's work, but that is not God's norm, not God's ultimate plan.

If there's a woman on the frontier and her husband dies, she may have to go out and chop wood. She may have to go out and plow the fields. She may have to take a gun and defend her family from intruders. But that is not God's intended plan, His perfect plan. When God made Adam, God made Adam to tend the garden and to keep it. That is, he is to be the provider and the protector. He's to keep it. He is to guard it. God made the woman to be the nurturer. God gave her the soft, feminine side. Now, it doesn't mean that they're not equal. It means they are not the same.

And so though Deborah was a woman of wisdom and a woman of leadership, greatly gifted of God, greatly used of God, she got this man Barak to be the general to lead the army of Israel. And the man Barak is listed in the book of Hebrews, chapter 11, as a man of faith. And let's look at his faith. Let's look at the origin of his faith. What was the origin of his faith? The Word of God. Look in Judges 4, verse 6. "And she sent and called Barak, the son of Abinoam out of Kedeshnaphtali and said unto him, 'Hath not the Lord God of Israel commanded?'"

She is speaking for God. She is a prophetess. The origin of his faith was hearing from God. You cannot have faith. No one ever has who's not heard from God. The Bible says in Romans 10:17 (and I've referenced this in almost every one of these messages), "Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God." You must hear from God to have faith. Faith is hearing God, believing God, and acting on it. That's what faith is. And so the origin of his faith is the Word of God.

What was the object of his faith? It's in that same passage of Scripture: "And said unto him, 'Hath not the Lord God of Israel commanded?'" The object of his faith was the Lord God of Israel. Now, sometimes people say, "Well, just believe. Have faith." I say, believe what? Have faith in who? Believe God. Have faith in God. That's what it's all about. Jesus answering saith unto them, "Have faith in God." Mark 11, verse 22.

Just having faith as positive thinking, and positive thinking is not faith in God, it is faith in yourself. And what is the origin of faith? The Word of God. The object of faith? The God of the Word. And the operation of faith is obeying the Word of God and the God of the Word. And Barak said, "I will go." Faith is not mere mental intellectual assent. It is obedience. Faith is belief with legs on it. Our English word "believe" comes from an old English word "by-live."

What we really believe we live by. The rest is just religious talk. Don't tell me your creed without your conduct. So here was a man of faith. Now, here we go. There's "the woman God chose," there is "the warrior God called." Now, I want you to see "the warfare God conducted." Now, there's some people who believe that all war is evil and wrong. Well, they better go back and read the Bible. Judges chapter 4, verses 12 through 16.

And they showed Sisera that Barak, the son of Abinoam, was gone up to Mount Tabor. And Sisera gathered together all his chariots, even 900 chariots of iron, and all of the people that were with him from Harosheth of the Gentiles unto the river Kishon. And Deborah said unto Barak, "Up, for this is the day in which the Lord" (notice that, underscore this), "the Lord hath delivered Sisera into thine hand. Is not the Lord gone out before thee?" So Barak went down from Mount Tabor and 10,000 men after him. And the Lord discomfited Sisera.

Underscore that, the Lord did this. The Lord did this and all his chariots and all his host with the edge of the sword before Barak, so that Sisera lighted down off his chariot and fled away on his feet. But Barak pursued after the chariots and after the host unto Harosheth of the Gentiles. And all of the host of Sisera fell upon the edge of the sword, and there was not a man left. Now, here's the battle. How it's ensued. Barak, anointed of God, called of God, goes out with 10,000 men of Israel.

But he is coming up, he is coming up against 900 chariots of iron. Now, you have to understand this time. This would be like a group of infantrymen going up against a battalion of tanks. How are they going to fight 900 chariots of iron? It looks hopeless. Had you been there that day, you would have said, "There's no hope for Israel. There's no hope for Barak to win this battle." Number one, Sisera is a gifted and a seasoned general. Number two, he has been victorious for 20 straight years.

Number three, he has 900 chariots of iron. There's no way. But of course, as you know the Bible, the Bible says "the stars in their courses fought against Sisera." Well, what happened was this: that day, just before the battle was joined, there came a rainstorm. I mean a big one. Go over to Judges chapter 5 and look, if you will, in verses 4 and 5. "Lord, when thou wentest out of Seir, when thou marchedst out of the field of Edom, the earth trembled."

Now, that's speaking of thunder. "And the heavens dropped, the clouds also dropped water." What that is speaking of is the bottom falling out. That is speaking of a stump-floating, frog-strangling rain. "The mountains melted." That's talking about a mudslide. "From before the Lord, even that Sinai from before the Lord God of Israel." There came a storm, a thunderstorm.

There was a brook there, Kishon. It's normally a dry brook, what we would call in Israel today a wadi, W-A-D-I. But there comes flash floods sometimes. This time there came an enormous flood, so much that there were mudslides, so much that the water began to gush down there right there at the battlefield. And notice, if you will, in Judges chapter 5, verse 20 and 22: "They fought from heaven. The stars in their courses fought against Sisera. The river of Kishon swept them away." Now, what happened there was that the battlefield was turned into a swamp.

And a rushing torrents of rain came down from Mount Tabor. And here is Sisera out there with all of his chariots of iron, ready to join the battle, and it rains. He's not prepared for this. What good are chariots of iron in a swamp? Now, what I said again is that fight was fixed. That's the reason Deborah, who after the battle wrote this song that we find in chapter 5, has this wonderful verse in chapter 5, verse 20: "The stars in their courses fought against Sisera." Now, what does that mean?

Here's the crux of the message. We call the message "Star Wars." Can you imagine how many stars there are in the glory? No, you can't imagine it. None of us can even begin to imagine how many stars there are. Now, here's one little puny Canaanite general, and all of those stars were lined up against him. As I say, the fight was fixed. It was impossible for him to win because he was battling the stars. He had a collision with the stars. What is the message here? The message is very plain and I want you to listen to it and don't miss it.

All the universe is against the man who is against God. That's it. All of the universe is against the man who is against God. What this is, is Romans 8:28 in reverse. You know what Romans 8:28 says: "And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, who are the called according to His purpose." What this verse says is all things work together for bad for those who don't love God, who are against His purpose.

Friend, if you are not with God, ultimately you are destined to fail. The God who runs those stars, the God who created the universe and flung those stars out into space programmed everything against Sisera. There was no way that he could win because a sin can't win and faith can't fail. And this was a battle of faith and God gave the victory.

Guest (Male): And coming up tomorrow, please join us for part two of this vital message. But as you've listened today, maybe you have questions regarding your faith. We'd love to offer an insightful resource on our website. It's the Find Answers page. There you'll discover resources and materials that will answer questions you might have about how to begin a relationship with God.

We'd also love to invite you to check out our Grow Your Faith page where you can get grounded and dig deeper in the scriptures. Go to lwf.org/radio and click the tab that says Find Answers or Grow Your Faith. We can't wait to hear from you today.

Carry Vaughn: Hi, this is Carry Vaughn, and this program has been brought to you by Love Worth Finding, a nonprofit ministry showcasing the powerful preaching and teaching of Pastor Adrian Rogers. We operate solely through the generous gifts of individual supporters just like you. To give a gift today, call 1-877-LOVEGOD, that's 1-877-LOVEGOD, or write to us at Love Worth Finding, Box 38-600, Memphis, Tennessee 38183.

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