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Judges: Scripture's Believe It Or Not! Message #6

Getting Right With God Five Things Few People Understand Scripture References

May 17-18, 2008 Dr Larry Osborne

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THE STORY:

    Again the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord. They served the Baals and the Ashtoreths, and the gods of Aram, the gods of Sidon, the gods of Moab, the gods of the Ammonites and the gods of the Philistines. And because the Israelites forsook the Lord and no longer served him, [7] he became angry with them. He sold them into the hands of the Philistines and the Ammonites, [8] who that year shattered and crushed them. For eighteen years they oppressed all the Israelites on the east side of the Jordan in Gilead, the land of the Amorites. [9] The Ammonites also crossed the Jordan to fight against Judah, Benjamin and the house of Ephraim; and Israel was in great distress. [10] Then the Israelites cried out to the Lord, "We have sinned against you, forsaking our God and serving the Baals."
    [11] The Lord replied, "When the Egyptians, the Amorites, the Ammonites, the Philistines, [12] the Sidonians, the Amalekites and the Maonites oppressed you and you cried to me for help, did I not save you from their hands? [13] But you have forsaken me and served other gods, so I will no longer save you. [14] Go and cry out to the gods you have chosen. Let them save you when you are in trouble!"
    [15] But the Israelites said to the Lord, "We have sinned. Do with us whatever you think best, but please rescue us now." [16] Then they got rid of the foreign gods among them and served the Lord. And he could bear Israel's misery no longer. _^[NIV]

FIVE THINGS FEW PEOPLE UNDERSTAND:
      The Fear of the Lord.

    Again the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord. They served the Baals and the Ashtoreths, and the gods of Aram, the gods of Sidon, the gods of Moab, the gods of the Ammonites and the gods of the Philistines. And because the Israelites forsook the Lord and no longer served him, [7] he became angry with them. He sold them into the hands of the Philistines and the Ammonites, _^[NIV]

    "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom,
        and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding. _^[NIV]

    If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left, [27] but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God. [28] Anyone who rejected the law of Moses died without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. [29] How much more severely do you think a man deserves to be punished who has trampled the Son of God under foot, who has treated as an unholy thing the blood of the covenant that sanctified him, and who has insulted the Spirit of grace? [30] For we know him who said, "It is mine to avenge; I will repay," and again, "The Lord will judge his people." [31] It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. _^[NIV]

    'The Lord is slow to anger, abounding in love and forgiving sin and rebellion. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation.' [19] In accordance with your great love, forgive the sin of these people, just as you have pardoned them from the time they left Egypt until now." _^[NIV]

    "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. [29] Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. [30] For my yoke is easy and my burden is light." _^[NIV]

      Spiritual Discipline.

    he became angry with them. He sold them into the hands of the Philistines and the Ammonites, [8] who that year shattered and crushed them. For eighteen years they oppressed all the Israelites on the east side of the Jordan in Gilead, the land of the Amorites. [9] The Ammonites also crossed the Jordan to fight against Judah, Benjamin and the house of Ephraim; and Israel was in great distress. _^[NIV]

    Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as sons. For what son is not disciplined by his father? [8] If you are not disciplined (and everyone undergoes discipline), then you are illegitimate children and not true sons. [9] Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of our spirits and live! [10] Our fathers disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, that we may share in his holiness. [11] No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it. _^[NIV]

    For it is time for judgment to begin with the family of God; and if it begins with us, what will the outcome be for those who do not obey the gospel of God? [18] And,

    "If it is hard for the righteous to be saved,
        what will become of the ungodly and the sinner?" _^[NIV]

      Confession.

    Then the Israelites cried out to the Lord, "We have sinned against you, forsaking our God and serving the Baals."
    [11] The Lord replied, "When the Egyptians, the Amorites, the Ammonites, the Philistines, [12] the Sidonians, the Amalekites and the Maonites oppressed you and you cried to me for help, did I not save you from their hands? [13] But you have forsaken me and served other gods, so I will no longer save you. [14] Go and cry out to the gods you have chosen. Let them save you when you are in trouble!"
    [15] But the Israelites said to the Lord, "We have sinned. Do with us whatever you think best, but please rescue us now." _^[NIV]

    If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. _^[NIV]

    He who conceals his sins does not prosper,
        but whoever confesses and renounces them finds mercy. _^[NIV}

      Repentance.

    Then they got rid of the foreign gods among them and served the Lord. And he could bear Israel's misery no longer. _^[NIV]

    But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to where he was baptizing, he said to them: "You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? [8] Produce fruit in keeping with repentance. _^[NIV]

    As Jesus started on his way, a man ran up to him and fell on his knees before him. "Good teacher," he asked, "what must I do to inherit eternal life?"
    [18] "Why do you call me good?" Jesus answered. "No one is good--except God alone. [19] You know the commandments: 'Do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not give false testimony, do not defraud, honor your father and mother.'"
    [20] "Teacher," he declared, "all these I have kept since I was a boy."
    [21] Jesus looked at him and loved him. "One thing you lack," he said. "Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me."
    [22] At this the man's face fell. He went away sad, because he had great wealth. _^[NIV]

    But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law who belonged to their sect complained to his disciples, "Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and 'sinners'?"
    [31] Jesus answered them, "It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. [32] I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance."  _^[NIV]

    First to those in Damascus, then to those in Jerusalem and in all Judea, and to the Gentiles also, I preached that they should repent and turn to God and prove their repentance by their deeds. _^[NIV]

      Restoration. 

    Then they got rid of the foreign gods among them and served the Lord. And he could bear Israel's misery no longer. _^[NIV]

    This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord: [2] "Go down to the potter's house, and there I will give you my message." [3] So I went down to the potter's house, and I saw him working at the wheel. [4] But the pot he was shaping from the clay was marred in his hands; so the potter formed it into another pot, shaping it as seemed best to him.
    [5] Then the word of the Lord came to me: [6] "O house of Israel, can I not do with you as this potter does?" declares the Lord. "Like clay in the hand of the potter, so are you in my hand, O house of Israel. [7] If at any time I announce that a nation or kingdom is to be uprooted, torn down and destroyed, [8] and if that nation I warned repents of its evil, then I will relent and not inflict on it the disaster I had planned. [9] And if at another time I announce that a nation or kingdom is to be built up and planted, [10] and if it does evil in my sight and does not obey me, then I will reconsider the good I had intended to do for it.
    [11] "Now therefore say to the people of Judah and those living in Jerusalem, 'This is what the Lord says: Look! I am preparing a disaster for you and devising a plan against you. So turn from your evil ways, each one of you, and reform your ways and your actions.' _^[NIV]