Scripture Carvings…
The general who would not general without her to hold his hand …
Barak said to her, "If you go with me, I will go; but if you don't go with me, I won't go."
Judges 4:8
· He was wise not to make a move without Deborah, she was God’s prophetess.
· But did he miss an opportunity? Deborah thought so. Judges 4:9
Gideon replied, "If now I have found favor in your eyes, give me a sign that it is really you talking to me.
Judges 6:17
· We all want signs when it is better to just know His voice.
Gideon was so timid. God repeatedly battles against the fear that possesses Gideon.
· Judges 6:12, When the angel of the LORD appeared to Gideon, he said, "The LORD is with you, mighty warrior."
· Judges 6:23, But the LORD said to him, "Peace! Do not be afraid. You are not going to die."
· Judges 6:27, So Gideon took ten of his servants and did as the LORD told him. But because he was afraid of his family and the men of the town, he did it at night rather than in the daytime.
· Judges 6:39, Then Gideon said to God, "Do not be angry with me. Let me make just one more request.
The LORD said to Gideon, "You have too many men for me to deliver Midian into their hands.
Judges 7:2
· Was God just messing with Gideon’s fear?
“Israel had no King…”
Judges 17:6
In those days Israel had no king; everyone did as he saw fit.
Judges 18:1
In those days Israel had no king.
Judges 19:1
In those days Israel had no king.
Judges 21:25
In those days Israel had no king; everyone did as he saw fit.
Who is your King?
What happens when there is no King in your life?
"How can a man be born when he is old?" Nicodemus asked. "Surely he cannot enter a second time into his mother's womb to be born!"
John 3:4
· Nicodemus replies to Jesus, “R U CrAzY?”
· God likes to do the impossible!
· Maybe when seeking God’s vision, we should only look to the impossible.
Proverbs 14:21, blessed is he who is kind to the needy.
· God has a special bent toward the hurts of the needy.
Ruth to her Mother-in-law:
But Ruth replied, "Don't urge me to leave you or to turn back from you. Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God. 17Where you die I will die, and there I will be buried. May the LORD deal with me, be it ever so severely, if anything but death separates you and me." 18 When Naomi realized that Ruth was determined to go with her, she stopped urging her.
Ruth 1:16-18
· R U CrAzY?
· Following God often leads you to make CRAZY decisions in the eyes of those around you.
Jesus answered, "Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, 14but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life."
John 4:13-14
· God is in the Water Business.
Then, leaving her water jar…
John 4:28
· Only the thirsty need a jar.
Do you not say, 'Four months more and then the harvest'? I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest.
John 4:35
· You got to open your eyes before you will ever see the harvest.
Many of the Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman's testimony, "He told me everything I ever did."
John 4:39
· Wow, not so sure you want to have someone tell you “everything YOU ever did!”
· But they urged him to because he told them all.
Remember the wonders he has done,
his miracles, and the judgments he pronounced…
Psalm 105:5
· God likes us to remember what He has done …
o Probably because that puts us in the right place for Him to do what He wants to do in us and through us.
whenever you are thirsty, go and get a drink from the water jars the men have filled."
Ruth 2:9
· What would it be like to not have access to water? It is a basic hospitality to share water with those who have none.
· Another example of the incredible generosity of Boaz.
May you … be famous in Bethlehem.
Ruth 4:11
· Prophesy of Jesus … Ruth would be famous in Bethlehem through Jesus.
49The royal official said, "Sir, come down before my child dies."
50Jesus replied, "You may go. Your son will live."
The man took Jesus at his word and departed.
53Then the father realized that this was the exact time at which Jesus had said to him, "Your son will live." So he and all his household believed.
John 4:49-50, 53
· Jesus likes doing the impossible …
"Do you want to get well?"
John 5:6, “…do you want to get well?”
· … NOT ALWAYS!
"I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does.
John 5:19
· The truth is, we can only do “something” when we work with the Father.
"Do not be amazed at this, for a time is coming when all who are in their graves will hear his voice
John 5:28
· All Rise!
whoever is kind to the needy honors God.
Proverbs 14:31
· God is relentless in His compassion for the poor.
Jesus looked up and saw a great crowd coming toward him, he said to Philip, "Where shall we buy bread for these people to eat?"
John 6:5
· Vision superseded resources … and that’s never a problem for Jesus.
In the desert they gave in to their craving…
Psalm 106:14
· Cravings … not usually a good thing. What do you crave?
The LORD answered, "Listen to them and give them a king."
1 Samuel 8:22,
· Sometimes … God gives us what we want … just to teach us, He should be all we want.
So the first King of Israel … is a DONKEY shepherd … Love God’s sense of humor!
