There we go. We put this one
in here so that we don't confuse. Take your bibles and turn me
to Judges chapter six. Judges. Chapter 6. We'll be looking
at verses 1 down through verse 10 this morning. The title of
the message is The Gospel of Judges. The Gospel of Judges. Now, this book of Judges is a
period of 300 or more years between the time that Joshua had brought
them into the land and given them the possession of the land
From that time until Saul became king, there was no king in Israel. There was no king in Israel. God was king. God was their king. And during this time, after that
Joshua had died, and after that the men that Joshua had led across
After they had died, after the generation had come up that did
not remember, did not know or see the works that God did for
Israel, they began to do evil in the sight of the Lord. They began to disobey God and
follow after other gods. Follow after other gods. And
so the book is called Judges because that's what God raised
up to deliver them. Every time they fell into this
sin, every time they followed after these other gods, God sent
a man, a judge. One time it had gotten so bad
he sent a woman. There was no man. The men were
so horrible that he had nobody else to send. And even the man
that God sent to destroy the enemies of God. I'm trying to think of his name. Anyway, Barak, what's come to
mind, but I can't remember. Anyway, he sent him and he wouldn't
even go unless that woman went with him. He was so faithless. But yet God has raised up a man
here in chapter 6 concerning this domination of Midian over
Israel. Israel had sinned and the tribe
of the people of Midian, the Midianites, came in and conquered
over, they ruled over Israel. So God sends this man in this
chapter, He sends Gideon. Gideon is the deliverer. Gideon is the judge that God
sends. And by God's grace, I want to
go through each part of this at separate times, and I want
us to see the message of the gospel even throughout this whole
chapter, throughout this whole life of Gideon. I'd like for
us to see the gospel of Jesus Christ. Let's begin at the first
verse here. And the scripture says, And the
children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord, and the
Lord delivered them into the hand of Midian seven years. The first thing here we see is
the evil of Israel. The evil of Israel. This, no doubt, refers to the
condition of all men by nature. Every man, woman, boy, And when
we're born, we are born dead in sins. We have no interest
in the things of God. We don't love the things of God.
All we love is sin. This is the condition of all
natural men, all men by nature. The Scripture says, go over with
me to Ephesians. Go to Ephesians chapter 2. Let's
read it together. All men are born dead in sins,
even God's elect. I want us to know that, that
Israel, which is a picture of God's elect, they are born in
sin just like everyone else. Look at this in verse One, it
says, and you hath he quickened, made alive, who were dead in
trespasses and sins, wherein in time past you walked according
to the course of this world, according to the prince of the
power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children
of disobedience, among whom also we had our lifestyle, our conversation
in time past, in the lust of our flesh, fulfilling the desires
of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of
wrath, even as others." What is this children of wrath? Is
that talking about the wrath of God? No, that's talking about
our hatred to God. We were children of wrath against
God. Hate God. To deny original sin is to deny
the gospel. To deny that sin came from our
father Adam, that his sin by his transgression, that death
passed to all men, to deny that is to deny the gospel. Why? Because to deny that is
to think that man has some kind of hope of goodness. Some kind
of goodness in himself. to deny original sin, men would
have to say that a man is born innocent. That's not true. That's not true. We are born
sinners. We came forth from the womb speaking
lies. I know this, that if I could
speak, if I could really talk from the womb, I'd be lying.
I would. We only realize this when our
children get old enough and they start lying. You didn't teach
them that. They did that on their own. Why? It's their nature. It's
who they are. Because it's who we are. Dead in sin. So this picture
here, the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the
Lord, that's a picture of all of us by nature. We all did that
which was evil in the sight of the Lord, and none of us had
done any good. There is none that doeth good,
no, not one. There is none that understandeth.
There is none that seeketh after God. We are all together become
unprofitable. What could you profit God? If you want to make me sick,
the easiest way to do it is at a funeral when somebody says
heaven is a better place because so and so is there. I shouldn't have said it. I feel
sick. That's not true. You see, we
can add nothing to God. We have sinned and done evil. And not only did we do evil accidentally,
willfully, despising and hating God. That's who we are by nature. And there is no hope of us saving
ourselves. Second of all, we see the captivity
of Israel. And the Lord delivered them into
the hand of Midian seven years. Not only are we born dead in
sins, we're also born captive. You see, when Adam sinned, God
delivered him to death. God delivered him over to judgment. Judgment was passed immediately
when he ate. In the day thou eatest thereof,
thou shalt surely die, and that day he died. Judgment was passed. And from that moment on, Adam
and all of his race were not only dead in sin, but captive
to it. You ever seen a pig wallow in
mud? You clean him off, and it's his nature to run right back
to the mud. That's our nature. You can clean up this flesh all
you want to. One thing you can't do is you can't escape your sins. You can turn over as many new
leaves as you want to. Lord knows I've turned over several
myself before the Lord saved me. Didn't do me any good because
the other side of the leaf was just as corrupt as the side I
turned over. Didn't matter. I was corrupt.
And I was chained to my sin. You see, sin is not just what
I do. It is who I am by nature. So then every action, every thought,
every deed, every word that I speak in this natural man is nothing
but sin completely. You cannot do anything but sin. Why? A chain to it. It's a chain you can't break. The problem is, it's a chain
that the natural man loves. You ever heard somebody say when
they... I know my dad had a difficult time giving up smoking. But he
did. I mean, you ever heard someone
say, well, I can quit when I want to. I can do it when I want to. You know what? I'll just accept
Jesus when I want to. You know, I don't want to right
now. I'm having too much fun. I like this. Go on. Go on. Because you're chained
to your sins. You can't break free. Man by nature is enslaved. In
Luke chapter 11, the Lord Jesus Christ says that Satan is as
a strong man armed and keepeth his palace in peace. Isn't that what the world says?
Smile, God loves you. Well, that's great. I can go
on and just keep on doing what I'm doing. That's all right.
God loves me. Peace! Peace! when there is no
peace. Sin is enslaving. And unless
a stronger man come, unless someone is stronger than the chains of
your sins, you will not ever be able to
break free. Number three, notice the barrenness
of Israel. Verse two, it says, 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 strongholds. And so it was, when Israel had
sown, that the Midianites came up, and the Amalekites and children
of the east, even they came up against them, they encamped against
them, and destroyed the increase of the earth, until you come to Gaza and left
no substance for Israel." Have you ever noticed how sin
is like a puff of smoke? It looks thick. It looks like
something you can grab ahold of, but as soon as you grab it,
it goes right through your fingers. It's empty. It doesn't fill anything. It doesn't fill the void that
it promises. It promises to satisfy. And when
you do it and have it, it doesn't satisfy. And you have to have
something else and something else and something else. And
the more you see it, the more barren and fruitless your life
becomes. Empty. Empty. This is the result of
all sinful men. Barrenness. No fruit unto God. No works that are able to satisfy
God or your conscience. When the Word of God is sown
like it is today, when I come in the pulpit, I really think
about this. I want to think about this. The
gospel is not throwing a seed at one person. I don't do that. I don't sit in the back and study
and think of one person that I'm preaching to. No. I get the
gospel message, I take it, and I throw it. And wherever it lands,
it lands. I don't know. I don't know where
this gospel goes. I know it lands on hard ground. Some hearts are just hard against
it. And immediately it lands and
the enemy comes and swoops it up, destroys it, eats it, takes
it away. Some of it will land on some
ground that's kind of tender. But that won't last long. As
soon as the trouble comes, away you go, never to hear it again. And some, they'll sprout up and
they'll even come to church. They'll even come and attend
once in a while. They'll do great. But if you
look at their lives, there's no fruit. There's no evidence.
There's no love for Christ or His people. This is the barrenness of the
souls of men. Look at number four, the cry
of the poor. And it came to pass, verse seven,
when the children of Israel cried unto the Lord because of the
Midianites. I know this of a truth, until a man has exhausted every
possible avenue of hope. He will not call on God. Isn't that the most ignorant
thing in the world? I mean, to us who believe, is
that not, well, that was us. We exhausted every possible way
until God brought us to nothing. A man has to be stripped of everything before he'll turn to God. Stripped of all righteousness. Stripped of all hope. Stripped down to nothing to know
that if God sent you to hell, He'd be right to do so. We must all come to this spiritual
poverty and see the barrenness and imprisonment of our souls In your heart, what are you hungry
for? What do you want? Why are you here? I know it's not to hear me. If it is, you need to leave.
You need to go find something else. There's a lot better speakers
than me, if that's what you've come to hear. Do you hunger for righteousness? Do you long for acceptance with
God? Do you need an atonement for
your sins? It's only those who are impoverished
who will cry. Blessed are the poor in spirit.
Bankrupt. That's what that word means.
Bankrupt. in spirit, dead. For theirs is the kingdom of
heaven. Blessed are they that do hunger
and thirst after righteousness. Guess what? They shall be filled. With what? Righteousness. Righteousness. If you're barren and you've got
nothing, cry out! Cry out. The message that we have here
is only for sinners. The only message God gives is
for sinners. Because only sinners need a Savior.
You're not a sinner, you don't need a Savior. What are you doing?
What are you doing here? I need a Savior. I want righteousness. I've got one person that can
give you that. And all I can do is point you
to Him. I can't give Him to you, point you to Him. Look at this in our text in verse
8, "...and the Lord sent a prophet." Moses said that God will raise
up a prophet like unto me. You should hear him. And that prophet is Jesus Christ. He came with God's message. God's message. What was the message? He was the message. He was the
message. It was a message of grace, a
message of mercy, a message of kindness, a message of love and
healing. A message that the world hates. People talk a lot about love
and peace and all these things, but really, The only love and
peace that's worth anything is the love and peace of Christ.
And they hate him. They hate him. They'd rather have a group of
people that chop off heads than to have Christians. They would. They hate him. But friends, God sends a prophet
with his message. And here it is. Listen to me
carefully. Very simply. Salvation Is that
plain enough? Salvation is of the Lord. That's why I don't call you down
here and make you make some kind of decision. Because I am not
salvation. I cannot give you salvation. Salvation is of God, and He gives
it to whomsoever He will. Salvation is of the Lord. Look
at this again in your text. Notice the eyes here that God
says, Thus saith the Lord God, verse 8, Thus saith the Lord
God of Israel. I brought you up from Egypt. I delivered you out of the hand
of the Egyptians. I drove them away that oppressed
you. I said, I am your God. You see, God saves whomsoever
He will. This is the great leveler of
Scripture that every person here is shut up to grace. Shut up. If God gives me grace and saves
my soul, it is only because He would. There's nothing in me. There's
nothing in me that would give Him any reason Any reason to speak anything
but wrath to me. He has nothing else. There's
nothing in me that He could say but, damn you! That's all He
could say. If He judged me based on me. Praise God. He said, I'll have
mercy on whom I will have mercy. And whom he will, he hardneth." That's a message of the prophet. Do you believe on the Son of
God? Have you trusted that Jesus Christ
is all the righteousness of God? Is He who He says He was? He
said He was the Son of God. He said He was God manifest in
the flesh. He said He came to give everlasting
life to His sheep. Did He accomplish salvation or
just make it possible? If He made it possible, there's
no hope for any of us. The only hope for us is that
He did. That He did it. That He accomplished it. You
see, I believe in Christ, Jesus the Lord. as my only salvation."
And, friends, it's only God that saves. And God not only sends
the prophet, but He also sends His man with His message. Scripture
says, Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God.
How in the world can you hear the Word of God except God send
a man to preach it to you? And how can a man be preaching
anything if he's not sent? I am sent to tell you the message
of God. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ
and you shall be saved. Now is that not great news for
such a barren man as myself? That God would think of me, but
not only think of me, but send His Son to die for me. in my stead to bear my guilt,
to bear my shame, to bear his wrath on himself." This is the
message of the gospel. And it's the only message God
uses to save sinners. You can hear as many feel-good
messages as you want to. You can hear a man puff you up
and tell you how great you are. That doesn't save. You can have
a man tell you what to do. He can have you lined up and
you can do all kinds of things. That doesn't save. Only this
gospel saves. God sends a man with this message.
Who does he send it to? To Israel. Not to that Jewish group of people
living over in Palestine. The Scripture makes it clear
that not all those who are of the seed of Abraham are of Israel.
You read that in Romans chapter 9. He tells us that it is those
whom God has chosen, redeemed and called. That's Israel. Have you believed on the Lord
Jesus Christ? Well, you're Israel. You're Israel. You're God's Israel. You're God's Jacob. For Jacob
have I loved. Jacob. I like that scripture
that says, Fear not thou worm, Jacob. Isn't that wonderful? It is if you're a worm. I'll tell you what, you know,
you ever see a worm fight? He has no arms and legs, just
crawling on the ground. He's nothing. If anybody steps
on him, nobody thinks about him. That's me. I'm nothing. But God took this worm and said,
don't be afraid. I've chosen you, I've redeemed
you, I've called you. I am your God and you are My people." Isn't
that the covenant? Isn't that the promise He made
to us? He said, I will be your God and
you might be My people? If you would just please make
a decision for Me, if you would just do this for Me, then you
could be... No, God says, I will be your
God and you shall be My people. I will take away your iniquity.
I will create in you a new heart. I will put my law in you and
you shall love me and serve me. I'm so glad he willed that because
I never would have done it on my own. Notice this last part. But. You have not obeyed my voice. I am saved by the grace and mercy
of God, but I know this, in my flesh dwelleth no good thing. How could God give us such sweet
and precious promises, and yet we not obey His voice? How could
we do such a thing? Flip over to Hosea just a second. Believer, I want us to see this.
If you're a believer in Christ, I want you to see this, This
explains us again who we are even though God has been gracious. Chapter 11 and verse 7. God says this, and my people are bent to backsliding from
me. Have you ever heard a message
that thrilled your heart so much? What happened the next week? Feels like I fell off into an
oblivion. Like I was on the highest pedestal
that a man could be on, enjoying the presence of God. And, oh,
when you come down, Why is that? We're bent that way. Prone to wonder. Lord, I feel it. Prone to leave the God I love. Here's my heart. Oh, take and
seal it. Seal it for thy courts above. May God give us grace to obey
Him in every way, in all His commandments, in all His ordinances. These things shouldn't grieve
us. They should be a joy to us. The worship of God should be
a joy. I know it's not to the flesh.
I know. I understand. I struggle with
this old man every single day, right back here. I know. We are bent on backsliding. And his command should not be
grievous to us, but at times they become grievous because
of the old nature and we don't obey. But flip over a page in Hosea
to 14, and I'll close with this. God says, I will heal their backsliding. I will love them freely. For mine anger is turned away
from him." We don't deserve that. But that's
what grace is all about. That's what mercy is all about.
If you deserve it, it's not mercy. If you earn it, it works. But if you need mercy, Behold, the Lamb of God that
taketh away the sin of the world." Is that not wonderful? How far has our sin been removed? How far? Wednesday night, I used an analogy
about space. the distance, how far it is.
I was wrong. I said it was 14 million light
years. It's 14 billion light years away. It's as far as we can understand
to see. One light year is 5.88 billion
miles, and then there's 15 billion of those. I don't know what that
number is. It's incomprehensible. That's
how far my sins have been removed from me. Go east as far as you can into
space and go west as far as you can. And that's how far my sins
are gone from me that God doesn't even remember anymore. What grace. If God give us just
a mustard seed of faith to believe that. I'm sure we would love Him more.
I'm sure we would love to see His face. Long for heaven to
shed these robes of flesh and be with our Master. Praise God for His deliverer,
Jesus Christ. Let's stand. Oh, I'm sorry. Have
the men come forward to observe the Lord's table.