I've entitled the message for
this evening, Barack and I. And I hope you will be enabled
to say the same thing with regard to yourself, Barack and I. I hope that will be understood
by the end of this message. Now, the fact that he is mentioned
in the hall of faith tells us of his significance. by faith,
Barak. This is God, the Holy Spirit's
testimony with regard to this man. Now he was not a judge.
Deborah was the judge at this time. And we read the same old
story beginning in verse one and the children of Israel again, the emphasis being again. Do you find that true with regard
to yourself? The children of Israel again
did evil in the sight of the Lord when Ehud was dead. And the Lord sold them into the
hand of Jabin of Canaan, that reigned in Hazor, the captain
of whose host was in Caesarea, and he was the general, Caesarea,
which dwelt in Herosheth of the Gentiles. And the children of
Hazor cried unto the Lord, for he had 900 chariots of iron with
these scythes coming out the side of their axles and mowing
men down, war machines. In 20 years, he mightily oppressed
the children of Israel and Deborah, a prophetess. The wife of Lappidoth,
she judged Israel at that time, and she dwelt under the palm
tree of Deborah. Between Ramah and Bethel and Mount Ephraim,
the children of Israel came up to her for judgment, and she
sent and called Barak. Here we have Barak, the son of
Abinoam. out of Kadesh, Naphtali, and said unto him, Hath not the
Lord God of Israel commanded? Saying, Go and draw toward Mount
Tabor, and take with thee ten thousand men of the children
of Naphtali, and of the children of Zebulun, and I will draw unto
the river Kishon-sesera. The captain, the general of Jabin's
army, with his chariots and his multitude, And I will deliver
him into thy hand. And interestingly, uh, it would
be more literally read. I have delivered him into your
hand. Not something that's going to
be done in the future, but something that has already taken place. Child of God. Your salvation has already taken
place. It's behind you. When our Lord
said, it is finished, it was finished. And here's an interesting detail.
And Barak said unto her, now she gives this assurance, the
Lord has delivered Sisera and his army and his chariots into
your hand, the victory is sure because it's already. And Barak said unto her, if thou
will go with me, then I will go. But if thou will not go with
me, then I will not go. Now, on one hand, I can understand
why Barak wanted her going. As a matter of fact, I think
she intended to go all along. But he said, I won't go unless
you go with me. And if you go with me, then will I go. He should have gone at once,
shouldn't he? But he didn't. He didn't. That's an important
detail. Verse nine, 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 rose and went with
Barak to Kadesh." Now, she says to him, you're not gonna get
any glory or honor in this victory. It is all going to go to a woman. You will get absolutely none. Verse... 10 and Barak called
Zebulun and Naphtali to Kadesh and he went up with 10,000 men
at his feet and Deborah went up with him just like God told
him to do. And then we're given this interesting
detail in verse 11. Now Heber the Kenite which was
of the children of Hodab the father-in-law of Moses had severed
himself from the Kenites and pitched his tent under the plain
of Zerulim which is by Kadesh. This is the man whose wife is
the woman who will kill Cicero. The Lord ordained everything
that was going to take place. Everything that took place took
place because he said it would take place. You know, that's
true with guarding everything. God's God. He's the first cause
behind everything. Do you find comfort in that?
He's God. He controls everything. He's the first cause of everything.
And he has ordained that this woman, the wife of this man we
just read about, is going to get the glory in this fight. Back to the story, verse 12,
and they showed Sisera that Barak, the son of Abednom, was gone
up to Mount Tabor and Sisera gathered together all his chariots.
even 900 chariots of iron, his war machines, and all the people
that were with him from Heresheth of the Gentiles under the river
of Kishon. And Deborah said unto Barak,
up, for this is the day in which the Lord hath delivered Seserah
into thy hand. It's already accomplished. Is not the Lord gone out before
thee? So Barak went down from Tabor and 10,000 men after him.
And the Lord discomfited, utterly crushed Sarah and all his chariots
and all his oath with the edge of the sword before Barak." You
know, it doesn't even say Barak was using his sword. He may have
been, but that's not what it says. It says this was all happening
before Barak. It almost seems like he was a
spectator at this time, watching the Lord accomplish this victory. So that Seserah lighted down
off his chariots and fled away on his feet. He saw he was being
crushed. What does he do? He jumps out of his chariot and
he runs. But Barak pursued after the chariots
and after the host unto Herosheth of the Gentiles and all the host
of Seserah fell upon the edge of the sword. There was not a
man left. Child of God. That's what Christ
did for you. There's not a sin left. There's not a sin left. What
a complete victory he achieved for every believer. Verse 17, how be it? Caesar,
this general, when he saw that his army was crushed, fled away
on his feet to the tent of Jael. wife of the man mentioned in
verse 11, Heber the Kenite. For there was peace between Jabin
the king of Hazor and the house of Heber the Kenite. So he thought
this is safe for me to go into her tent and hide. There's peace
between that family and us. And Jael went out to meet Sisera
and said to him, turn in my Lord, turn into me, fear not, And when
he turned into her, into the tent, she covered him with a
mound, she hid him. And he said unto her, give me, I pray thee,
a little water to drink, for I'm thirsty. And she opened a
bottle of milk and gave him a drink and covered him. Again, he said
unto her, stand in the door of the tent, and it shall be when
any man doth come and inquire of thee and say, is there any
man here? Thou shalt say, no. And Jael, Heber's wife, took
a nail of the tent. and took a hammer in her hand
and went softly unto him and smote the nail into his temples
and fastened it into the ground for he was fast asleep, weary,
so he died. Cicero was killed in this gruesome
fashion with what? by a hammer and a nail. Who else was killed by a hammer
and a nail? So he died and behold, as Barak
pursued Cesar, now he's still pursuing. He doesn't know that
Cesar is dead. He's still pursuing. This detail
is very important. He's still pursuing. Behold, as Barak pursued Seserah,
and Jael came out to meet him, she said unto him, Come, and
I'll show you the man whom thou seekest. And when he came into
the tent, behold, Seserah lay dead, and the nail was in his
temple. So God subdued on that day Jabin
the king of Canaan before the children of Israel, And the hand
of the children of Israel prospered and prevailed against Jabin the
king of Canaan until they had destroyed Jabin king of Canaan. Now what stands out to me about
this story is Barak saying, I'm not going unless you go with
me. You're going to win. God's determined
it. It's already taken place. Victory
is absolutely sure. And Barak says, I'm not going
unless you go with me. And he is still pursuing Sisera
and he doesn't know what has taken place. Now I want us to
think just for a moment about this thing of pursuing. He pursued. Sister, I'm going to give you
some scriptures with regard to this thing of pursuing. Hebrews
12, 14 says, follow or pursue after peace. Pursue it. And holiness, without which no
man shall see the Lord. The scripture says, pursue hospitality. Pursue it. Let us follow or pursue after
the things that make for peace and edify one another. Paul said,
pursue charity, follow after charity, make it your pursuit. Paul said, I follow after, if
I may apprehend, I pursue after, if I may apprehend that which
I am also apprehended of Christ Jesus. He said, I press, I follow,
I pursue. I press toward the mark of the
prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. Ever follow, ever pursue that
which is good. Follow, pursue after righteousness,
godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness. Follow righteousness,
faith, charity, and peace. Seek peace and pursue it. We are pursuing perfection. Amen. We are pursuing perfection. But Paul said, I've not attained. A believer is described by our
Lord in the Sermon on the Mount as poor in spirit, mourning,
meek before God, hungering and thirsting after righteousness,
merciful, pure in heart, a peacemaker, one who is persecuted for righteousness'
sake. I pursue being poor in spirit
and I find myself so proud and arrogant and haughty. I pursue mourning over my sin. I pursue that and I find it frightening
how hard-hearted I am toward my own sin. I pursue after being
meek before God. You know, Barak was pursuing
that which he was told, you're not going to get any glory in
this. I pursue being meek before God, being submissive before
God, believing everything he does and brings my way is right
and just. I pursue that. But I find myself
murmuring and being unhappy with the things God brings my way. I pursue hungering and thirsting
after righteousness. I want that to be me. I find far too much satisfaction
rather than hungering, indifference with regard to my sin rather
than thirsting. I pursue being merciful. I want
to be merciful. I want this to be the description
of me and it is the description of every believer. I pursue being
merciful. Yet I find myself being non-empathetic
where I should be touched by others. I feel myself being hard-hearted. I pursue being pure in heart. And if I'm a believer, I am pure
in heart. But I see something else in me that is so impure
and evil. I pursue being a peacemaker.
And yet how often do I stir up the pot with my own wicked whatever? I pursue being persecuted for
righteousness sake and how often I'm afraid I'm persecuted for
self-righteousness sake. Big difference. I pursue. But like Cicero, I don't get
a hold of it. What about the fruit of the spirit?
I pursue love. I want to love God with all my
heart and all my soul and all my strength. I want to love my
neighbor as myself. That's the greatest commandment.
What's the greatest commandment? Love God with all your heart,
with all your soul and with all your strength and your neighbor
as yourself. I pursue the greatest commandment, yet I find myself
in the constant breaking of the greatest commandment. Not loving
God with all my heart and all my soul and all my strength and
my neighbor as myself. I want to have the joy and the
peace of believing. Yet, how often I'm anything but
that. I want to love, joy, peace. I want to have nothing but peace.
Yet, how often am I filled with anxiety? I pursue long-suffering,
that's what I want to be, and every believer has the fruit
of the Spirit. And I pursue being long-suffering and patient, but
how impatient I am. I pursue gentleness and goodness. I want to treat people in a merciful
way, but how often am I the opposite? I pursue faith. And yet in my experience, I believe,
help thou mine unbelief. I pursue meekness. And how in
my experience do I feel anything but meek before God? Upset, angry,
not liking the way providence has turned things my way. I pursue temperance. I want to
have complete control from within by the grace of God, yet how
intemperate I am. Barack, he pursues, but he doesn't
get it. Every day, the most accurate
description of my experience is found in Romans chapter seven.
Would you turn with me there? Beginning in verse 14. For we know that the law is spiritual. But I am carnal, sold under sin. Now this is, I reckon there's
never been a, I guess you could argue that John the Baptist was
the greatest of them born of women. That's what the Lord said,
but I think Paul would be close. Yet look at his experience. For that which I do, I allow
not, I don't approve of it. For what I would, be perfect,
never sin again, be poor, mourn, be meek before God, hunger and
thirst, perfectly after righteousness, be merciful, be a peacemaker,
pure in heart, persecuted for righteousness sake. What I would,
that do I not, but what I hate, that do I." And notice he doesn't
say sometimes I mess up, he says this is my experience before
God, this is my experience, that do I. He doesn't say sometimes
I mess up, that do I. If then, verse 16, I do that
which I would not I consent under the law that it is good. I love God's holy law. I love
every commandment. It reflects his holy character.
It's good. I love God's holy law and I can
see it's good. You believe that? It's good. Now then. It's no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me. For I know that in me, that is
in my flesh, dwelleth no good thing. Do you know that? Paul
said he did. For to will is present with me. I would never sin again, but how to perform that, which
is good. What are those next three words?
I find not. And once again, these are the
words of Paul, and this is the state of a healthy believer. For the good that I would, verse
19, I do not, but the evil, which I would not that I do. Now, if I do that, I would not,
it's no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me. I find
then a law that when I would do good, evil is present with
me, for I delight in the law of God after the inward man.
But I see another law in my members. warring against the law of my
mind and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in
my members. Oh wretched man that I am, who
should deliver me from the body of this death? I thank God through Jesus Christ
our Lord. So then with the mind I myself
serve the law of God, but with the flesh, the law of sin. Now, let me remind you that Deborah
told him at the outset of his journey, it should not be for
your honor. You will never in your experience
say I've arrived. I finally reached the poverty
of spirit that I need. I now sufficiently mourn over
my sin. I'm finally meet before God.
I'm hungering and I'm thirsting as I should. Oh, I'm pure in heart and I'm merciful. I'm a peacemaker. You're never going to reach the
state when you can say, I've arrived. Barack could not say,
I've defeated Cicero. He was pursuing, but he never
got to him. Now, if I did arrive, I know what I would do. Now,
I love to think about the Apostle Paul once again, this same man
who wrote Romans chapter seven, and this is the everyday experience
of every believer. This is the healthy believer.
This is not some believer who's just living wretchedly and wallowing
in his filth and mire and trying to look for an excuse. This is
the experience of every believer every day. This same man who
penned what was said in Romans chapter seven is also the man
who was taken into the third heavens and was taught the gospel
directly by Christ himself. Can you imagine what an experience
that must have been? He said, whether in the body
or out of the body, I cannot tell, God knows, what an experience
that must have been. And then he said, and lest I
should be exalted above measure. For the abundance of revelations
there was given me a thorn in the flesh. A messenger of Satan
to buffet me, to knock me black and blue. lest I should be exalted
above measure for this thing. I asked the Lord three times,
let it depart from me. He said, what was it? We don't
know. There's a thorn in the flesh, whatever that is. And
he said, Lord, take this away. And the Lord didn't say, no,
I'm not going to take it away. But he did say this, my grace
is sufficient for thee, for my strength, is made perfect in
weakness. As Barak pursues Caesara, Jael
comes out. Come and I will show you the
man you seek. And he sees this one with a nail
driven through his head. I pursue, I do, you do too, I
pursue likeness to Christ, I pursue obedience. And like Barack, in this life
we never attain, but we see our victory in the nails being driven
in the hands and feet of our Lord and Savior. And that's where
my victory is. No, I don't get any glory. That's fine with me. He gets
all the glory. What he achieved for us in his
life and death and resurrection is our salvation. Now look in
verse, back in Judges chapter four. 23, well, verse 22, and behold, as
Barak pursued Caesara, Jael came out to meet him and said unto
him, come and I'll show thee the man whom thou seekest. And
when he came into her tent, behold, Caesara lay dead and the nail
was in his temples. So God subdued on that day. Jabin, the king of Canaan, before
the children of Israel, in the hand of the children of Israel,
prospered. and prevailed against Jabin, the king of Canaan, until
they had destroyed Jabin, king of Canaan. In chapter five, we
have the song of Deborah and Barak, but let's look at this verse 31, the last verse. So
let all thine enemies perish, O Lord, but let them that love
him be as the sun when he goeth forth in his might, and the land
had rest. rest for 40 years, for a generation. What is rest? Rest is this. God forbid that
I should glory save in the cross. where the nails were driven,
the hammer raised and the nails driven in Christ. That is all
my salvation. God forbid that I should glory. saving the cross of our Lord
Jesus Christ. May you and I be enabled. Oh, wouldn't that be something
by the grace of God if you and I are enabled by his spirit to
glory in the cross of Jesus Christ. Let's pray. Lord, we are so grateful For
him who willed the nails to be driven through
his hands and feet with the hammer so that you would make a way
to be just and justify sinners like us, and how thankful and
grateful we are for him. Lord, cause us to pursue Oh Lord,
deliver us from anything short of pursuit of thy son. But Lord, let us know that in
our salvation, no glory goes to us, but all goes to thy son. And Lord, we're thankful it's
that way because we know that is what makes our salvation secure,
that he did it all. Bless us this message for Christ's
sake, in his name we pray.