Ehud & Eglon part 4 of 4

There may be just one person here this morning who wants to influence his or her generation for Jesus Christ.

• We live in similar times to the book of Judges, don’t we? Everyone "does what is right in his own eyes."

• Our world is coming apart at the seams.

• Immorality and tolerance for sin is running rampant.

• But then there are the Ehuds: People who are willing to do whatever God wants them to do – using whatever God has given them to use.

• Do you believe that about yourself?

• Do you believe that God can use you in these ways, that you’re valuable and important to him and that you can make a difference?

• A little boy was heard talking to himself as he walked across the backyard, baseball cap in place, ball and bat in his hands. "I am the greatest hitter in the world," he said. He threw the ball up, swung and missed. "Strike one," he said. But again, he told himself, "I am the greatest hitter ever." He threw the ball up again, swung and missed. He looked at the ball, and at the bat, and said, "I’m the greatest hitter that ever lived." He threw the ball up again and swung and missed a third time. This time he said, "Wow! Strike three! What a pitcher! I’m the greatest pitcher in the world!"

• God thinks you’re great at something.

• It may not be what you envisioned, but you’re great in his eyes.

• He sees your heart; he knows your potential.

• He will take you, with your limitations and weaknesses, and use you to his glory.

• But are you willing, like Ehud did, to accept your potential in God’s eyes?

• Ehud had unreserved faith in and recognition of the ability and resources of God.

4. The third observation we can make about Ehud and apply to our lives falls closely on the heels of the second.

• It concerns the resources to do what God wants us to accomplish.

• What allowed Ehud to have the victory, to serve God and to be used by God, was not his own strength, but his faith in God. What was it that Ehud said to Eglon?

• "I have a message from God for you" (v. 20). Certainly, this gained the ear of the king but it was also something Ehud firmly believed in – the message was the sword and the sword was God’s swift judgment on Eglon and deliverance from the Moabites.

• But then listen carefully to Ehud’s words to the Israelites when calling them to battle, Judges 3:28 (NIV)28 "Follow me," he ordered, "for the LORD has given Moab, your enemy, into your hands." So they followed him down and, taking possession of the fords of the Jordan that led to Moab, they allowed no one to cross over.Ehud did not take any credit for anything but gave God all the glory. He recognized and had faith in the ability and resources of God at work in his life.

• The thing that allows us to have victory in our lives, to serve God and to be used by God, is not our own strength, or our list of credentials, but it is our faith in God through Christ.

• Paul writes,

2 Corinthians 3:5 (NIV) 5 Not that we are competent in ourselves to claim anything for ourselves, but our competence comes from God.

• I believe in education and preparation: but increased knowledge, more programs or additional degrees are not what we need to grow the church. What we need is simple faith and trust in God. WE need to believe that God is alive today and that as we step out in faith – He, not us, will be for us the power and strength to do what He wants to do!

• We live in a world where success is measured by degrees, by credentials, by climbing the ladder, by financial wealth, by popular fame.

• This is how the world views effectiveness and importance; but it’s not so in the kingdom of God.

• What God requires is faith and faith alone. This is why he chooses the weak and the limited – because he can’t use the proud. Did you hear me? This is why he chooses the weak and the limited – because He can’t use the PROUD!

• When we are weak then we are willing to trust in him, and then he can use us.

• The people who are handicapped and limited are rich in faith. They have the great resources in God made available to them.

• This is why he uses the weak, like Ehud, to topple the proud.

• Hudson Taylor (James Hudson Taylor was a British Protestant Christian missionary to China and founder of the China Inland Mission. Taylor spent 51 years in China.) once said, "God is sufficient for God’s work…God chose me because I was weak enough. God does not do his great works by large committees. He trains someone to be quiet enough and little enough, and then he uses him."

CONCLUSION Our text this morning encourages us in three ways: a. First, we need to be willing to confront areas of sin in our lives, even if they are ugly. When we do this, we can enter into God’s rest. b. Second, we need to see how valuable we are in God’s eyes. No matter how weak or limited we might feel, we are capable of great things for God. c. Third, we need to remember that it is unreserved faith in the strength and grace of our living God that will enable us to do what he wants us to do. We may be weak, but He is strong!