Judges 6
2 And the hand of Midian prevailed against Israel: and because of the Midianites the children of Israel made them the dens which are in the mountains, and caves, and strong holds.
3 And so it was, when Israel had sown, that the Midianites came up, and the Amalekites, and the children of the east, even they came up against them;
4 And they encamped against them, and destroyed the increase of the earth, till thou come unto Gaza, and left no sustenance for Israel, neither sheep, nor ox, nor ass.
5 For they came up with their cattle and their tents, and they came as grasshoppers for multitude; for both they and their camels were without number: and they entered into the land to destroy it.
6 And Israel was greatly impoverished because of the Midianites; and the children of Israel cried unto the LORD.
7 And it came to pass, when the children of Israel cried unto the LORD because of the Midianites,
8 That the LORD sent a prophet unto the children of Israel, which said unto them, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, I brought you up from Egypt, and brought you forth out of the house of bondage;
9 And I delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians, and out of the hand of all that oppressed you, and drave them out from before you, and gave you their land;
10 And I said unto you, I am the LORD your God; fear not the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but ye have not obeyed MY voice.
If we fear those things the world fears, we take on "another god".
Instead we should turn to our God and ask HIM to deal with those fears
which come from this world and we ask God to protect us as HIS people
and know that HE is God and in control of those things which this world fears.
11 And there came an angel of the LORD, and sat under an oak which was in Ophrah, that pertained unto Joash the Abiezrite: and his son Gideon threshed wheat by the winepress, to hide it from the Midianites.
12 And the angel of the LORD appeared unto him (to Gideon) , and said unto him, The LORD is with thee, thou mighty man of valour.
13 And Gideon said unto him, Oh my Lord, if the LORD be with us, why then is all this befallen us? and where be all HIS miracles which our fathers told us of, saying, Did not the LORD bring us up from Egypt? but now the LORD hath forsaken us, and delivered us into the hands of the Midianites.
14 And the LORD looked upon him (upon Gideon), and said, Go in this thy might, and thou shalt save Israel from the hand of the Midianites: have not I sent thee?
15 And he (Gideon) said unto him, Oh my Lord, wherewith shall I save Israel? behold, my family is poor in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father's house.
16 And the LORD said unto him, Surely I will be with thee, and thou shalt smite the Midianites as one man.
5 And HE (God) said, Draw not nigh hither: put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground.
6 Moreover HE said, I am the God of thy father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.
4 My manner of life from my youth, which was at the first among mine own nation at Jerusalem, know all the Jews;
5 Which knew me from the beginning, if they would testify, that after the most straitest sect of our religion I lived a Pharisee.
6 And now I stand and am judged for the hope of the promise made of God unto our fathers:
7 Unto which promise our twelve tribes, instantly serving God day and night, hope to come. For which hope's sake, king Agrippa, I am accused of the Jews.
8 Why should it be thought a thing incredible with you, that God should raise the dead?
9 I verily thought with myself, that I ought to do many things contrary to the name of Jesus of Nazareth.
10 Which thing I also did in Jerusalem: and many of the saints did I shut up in prison, having received authority from the chief priests; and when they were put to death, I gave my voice against them.
11 And I punished them oft in every synagogue, and compelled them to blaspheme; and being exceedingly mad against them, I persecuted them even unto strange cities.
12 Whereupon as I went to Damascus with authority and commission from the chief priests,
13 At midday, O king, I saw in the way a light from heaven, above the brightness of the sun, shining round about me and them which journeyed with me.
14 And when we were all fallen to the earth, I heard a voice speaking unto me, and saying in the Hebrew tongue, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou ME? it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks.
15 And I said, Who art thou, Lord?
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Another problem:
The children of Israel tried to co-mingle with the people of this world
and that ended up drawing them away, in part, from the God of Abraham,
Isaac, and Jacob.
When we try to be friends (support) the
people who do not follow God, we are greatly weakened and will find it
difficult to speak the Word that is from God for we might offend them
with the Word.
We end up putting ourselves into bondage to the world as we hold back from speaking in order to keep the worldly people as "friends".
Often these worldly people are relatives and even attend some form of
Christian type church but they do not follow all the counsel of God as
given in the New Testament Bible.
When
we do speak the word given us by the Holy Spirit when we are with them,
we often drive them out from us by the Word we speak.
But
wanting to be friends with them, we often withhold that word which God
would have us speak and we try to please them with our words.
They become thorns in our sides and pricks in our eyes and vex us by their words in the land God has given us.
This is what God said would happen:
Numbers 33:55 But if ye will not drive out the inhabitants of the land from before you; then it shall come to pass, that those which ye let remain of them shall be pricks in your eyes, and thorns in your sides, and shall vex you in the land wherein ye dwell.
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There
was a Catholic woman who enjoyed visiting me. But she would come to my
house and tell me some worldly news story or begin telling me something
that she considered truth which was not in the Bible.
Each time she did this, I would explain to her: "What you have said is not in the Bible. I want to build my house on the Word of God from the Bible."
Often I would read the scripture from the Bible that pertained to the story she had just told.
After a time, she stopped contacting me.
This is how we drive them out from us today in the New Testament church. Speak what the Bible says. If God gives them an heart to hear they will be born again by the Word. If not, they will leave.
If the unbeliever depart let him depart.
But
we do not want to keep the world nor the unbelieving church around us
for they will trouble us with their words and their concepts. Neither
do we let them overcome us by our silence.
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A Baptist woman welcomed her adulterous granddaughter into her home. Even people in the community knew of the granddaughter's multiple adulterous relationships with men. I just couldn't understand allowing this granddaughter into my home.
The granddaughter was raised in the Baptist church. But she flaunted
her sin in front of her grandmother and her Baptist grandmother allowed
her to come to her house.
A Church of Christ cousin of mine allowed her cousin and that cousin's lover to come spend week-ends at her home.
When
my neighbor, a Jewish man, asked me if he could use my spare bedroom
for his wife's daughter and her friend for a weekend, I asked him about
this "friend". He then told me his wife's daughter was lesbian and her friend was her female "mate". I told him I could not have this in my house but if he had a married couple they could stay at my house.
Romans 1:26-28 For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections:
for even their women did change the natural use into that which is
against nature: And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of
the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working
that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompence of
their error which was meet. And even as they did not like to retain God
in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those
things which are not convenient;
I Timothy 5:22 ... neither be partaker of other men's sins: keep thyself pure.
James 4:4 Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God.
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Judges 6
12 And the angel of the LORD appeared unto him (to Gideon) , and said unto him, The LORD is with thee, thou mighty man of valour.
13 And Gideon said unto him, Oh my Lord, if the LORD be with us, why then is all this befallen us? and where be all HIS miracles which our fathers told us of, saying, Did not the LORD bring us up from Egypt? but now the LORD hath forsaken us, and delivered us into the hands of the Midianites.
14 And the LORD looked upon him (upon Gideon), and said, Go in this thy might, and thou shalt save Israel from the hand of the Midianites: have not I sent thee?
15 And he (Gideon) said unto him, Oh my Lord, wherewith shall I save Israel? behold, my family is poor in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father's house.
16 And the LORD said unto him, Surely I will be with thee, and thou shalt smite the Midianites as one man.
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God chose Moses and revealed HIMSELF to Moses.
Exodus 3
6 Moreover HE said, I am the God of thy father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.
And Moses hid his face; for he was afraid to look upon God.
7 And the LORD said, I have surely seen the affliction of my people which are in Egypt, and have heard their cry by reason of their taskmasters; for I know their sorrows;
8 And I am come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land unto a good land and a large, unto a land flowing with milk and honey; unto the place of the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites.
9 Now therefore, behold, the cry of the children of Israel is come unto ME: and I have also seen the oppression wherewith the Egyptians oppress them.
10 Come now therefore, and I will send thee unto Pharaoh, that thou mayest bring forth my people the children of Israel out of Egypt.
11 And Moses said unto God, Who am I, that I should go unto Pharaoh, and that I should bring forth the children of Israel out of Egypt?
7 And the LORD said, I have surely seen the affliction of my people which are in Egypt, and have heard their cry by reason of their taskmasters; for I know their sorrows;
8 And I am come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land unto a good land and a large, unto a land flowing with milk and honey; unto the place of the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites.
9 Now therefore, behold, the cry of the children of Israel is come unto ME: and I have also seen the oppression wherewith the Egyptians oppress them.
10 Come now therefore, and I will send thee unto Pharaoh, that thou mayest bring forth my people the children of Israel out of Egypt.
11 And Moses said unto God, Who am I, that I should go unto Pharaoh, and that I should bring forth the children of Israel out of Egypt?
(But it is God who is causing the work that will be done through Moses and therefore it is of God and not of Moses.)
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After the resurrection of Jesus, Saul (Paul) was chosen by Jesus and Jesus revealed HIMSELF to Paul.
Acts 26 (Paul tells king Agrippa)
5 Which knew me from the beginning, if they would testify, that after the most straitest sect of our religion I lived a Pharisee.
6 And now I stand and am judged for the hope of the promise made of God unto our fathers:
7 Unto which promise our twelve tribes, instantly serving God day and night, hope to come. For which hope's sake, king Agrippa, I am accused of the Jews.
8 Why should it be thought a thing incredible with you, that God should raise the dead?
9 I verily thought with myself, that I ought to do many things contrary to the name of Jesus of Nazareth.
10 Which thing I also did in Jerusalem: and many of the saints did I shut up in prison, having received authority from the chief priests; and when they were put to death, I gave my voice against them.
11 And I punished them oft in every synagogue, and compelled them to blaspheme; and being exceedingly mad against them, I persecuted them even unto strange cities.
12 Whereupon as I went to Damascus with authority and commission from the chief priests,
13 At midday, O king, I saw in the way a light from heaven, above the brightness of the sun, shining round about me and them which journeyed with me.
14 And when we were all fallen to the earth, I heard a voice speaking unto me, and saying in the Hebrew tongue, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou ME? it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks.
15 And I said, Who art thou, Lord?
And HE said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest.
16 But rise, and stand upon thy feet: for I have appeared unto thee for this purpose, to make thee a minister and a witness both of these things which thou hast seen, and of those things in the which I will appear unto thee;
17 Delivering thee from the people, and from the Gentiles, unto whom now I send thee,
18 To open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in ME.
19 Whereupon, O king Agrippa, I was not disobedient unto the heavenly vision:
11-14 And HE (Jesus) gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: Till
we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son
of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the
fulness of Christ: That we henceforth be no more children, tossed
to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the
sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to
deceive;
16 But rise, and stand upon thy feet: for I have appeared unto thee for this purpose, to make thee a minister and a witness both of these things which thou hast seen, and of those things in the which I will appear unto thee;
17 Delivering thee from the people, and from the Gentiles, unto whom now I send thee,
18 To open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in ME.
19 Whereupon, O king Agrippa, I was not disobedient unto the heavenly vision:
Paul was one of those New Testament apostles and teachers given to the New Testament church by Jesus after the crucifixion and resurrection.
Ephesians 4
Today
Jesus continues to give ministers to the New Testaments church as HE
calls from heaven and ordains HIS ministers to do this work of the
ministry in the New Testament church today.
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In both the Old and New Testament, both men and women (Deborah in Judges 4 & Philip's 4 daughters in Acts 21 who did prophesy),
were called by God for HIS work and set in the children of Israel and
in the New Testament church to lead HIS people and to turn them to HIS
ways.
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