Judges 3:31 - Marketplace Ministry
* Our primary form of worship is work.
* This is why excellence in the workplace is so important.
* The workplace consists of both for-profit and nonprofit models.
* People call the for-profit space the “Marketplace.”
* They call the non-profit space the “Ministry.”
* This is wrong, but it is what it is.
* ** God often uses the marketplace as the training ground for His leaders.
* Look at Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, David - all shepherds.
* Look at Elisha, Amos, Gideon - all farmers.
* Look at Joseph, Daniel, Obadiah - all employed by kings.
* Look at the disciples and Jesus Himself - all trained in the workplace.
* God uses the marketplace to winnow and wield strong men and women.
* The marketplace judges by ACTION, not INTENTION.
* ** So when it came time to find a leader for Israel, God tapped a farmer on the shoulder.
* Vs 31 - After Ehud, Shamgar used the tool of his business to fight God’s battles.
* He struck down 600 Philistines over time.
* His way of life included work, worship, and warfare! (Sword and Trowel - Nehemiah)
* The same thing happened years later when Israel was about to go into battle.
* Joel 3:10 - "turn your plowshares into swords and your pruning hooks into spears"
* The tools of their sustainability would now be used as weapons for their deliverance.
* 100 years later……in a time of peace:
* Micah 4:3 - "turn your swords into plowshares and your spears into pruning hooks"
* The weapons of their deliverance would now be used as tools for their sustainability.
* This is why your work is so important. God has made it to be your primary form of worship.
* Judges 6:11 - God shows up when you do common work in an uncommon way.
* Judges 6:12 - Your work prepares you for warfare.
* EX: Love Life.
Government Gone Bad
August 16, 2018 • Benham Brothers
* This verse shows the importance of good government.
* A hardworking productive person can have their stuff taken away by a bad government.
* The role of government is to praise the good and punish the wicked.
* They do this so that we can have an environment that allows us to flourish.
* As Christians we need to concern ourselves with discipling nations, not just people.
* This means we have to be involved in shaping our environment so people can flourish.
* Example - if you started a business in America you can make a lot of money.
* But if you started the same business in North Korea there’s no chance.
God the Governor
January 7, 2016 • Benham Brothers
• God forms and fills everything for man to govern the world we live in.
• The world needed order first - then we could have dominion.
• LIGHT has to come first - this is God’s presence.
• Light did two things:
• 1) SEPARATION - Holy means “set apart” - like a chocolate chip.
• 2) GOVERN - the sun, moon, and stars are used to govern.
• vs 22 - The first blessing - taking part in creation.
• vs 28 - The difference in this blessing is that we have the authority to govern.
Justice and Covenant
January 18, 2018 • Benham Brothers
* Gross sin demands justice.
* Jacob’s sons were justified in their anger - justice needed to be served.
* But they went about it in the wrong way.
* When injustice happens we can rely on God or man.
* You can go through God’s channel of justice or take matters into your own hands.
* Jacob’s sons did the latter and it ended up badly for everyone.
* The same is happening today - young kids demand justice but they’re going about it the wrong way.
* They aren’t interested in justice according to God, but their own idea of what’s right.
* So they’re looting cities and tearing down monuments.
* vs 15-17 - ** when you are bent on your own form of justice it leads to the greatest injustice **
* Jacob’s sons used the sign of God’s covenant to kill innocent people.
* Circumcision was God’s sign of peace with the Israelites, but it was now used selfishly to bully others.
* Think about today - what’s the rainbow?
* A sign of God’s covenant (peace with mankind).
* How is it being used? To bully people.
* God’s special covenant is being used wrongfully because of a cry for justice.
* A cry for justice can only be quenched by a God who is just.
The Foundation for Civil Government
January 10, 2019 • Benham Brothers
* God had just given Noah instructions that he could eat animals, but he gave rules regarding it (don’t eat with the blood - vs 3-6).
* God gave him rules on personal government before civil government.
* One of the first blessings God gave to man was to involve him in the process of bringing life into the world.
* After God reset the world by the Flood, God involved man in the process of removing life from the world.
* Why?
* So that people would honor life (murder was rampant before the flood).
* Killing a human was a denial of the image of God and did violence to God Himself.
* How would they remove life?
* Through civil government.
* Government is made for the orderly conduct of man in a fallen world.
* It’s role is to punish those who do evil and praise those who do good (1 Peter 2:14).
* Why government? To protect life.
* God initiated government with a man who had a righteous heart (Proverbs 29:2).
* It was Noah’s responsibility to pass government down so everyone would know it’s role.
* Personal government is the foundation for civil government.
* Moses simply codified civil government.
Sheep and Goat Nations
January 26, 2017 • Benham Brothers
* Here in this verse Jacob blesses the king of Egypt.
* Hundreds of years later in the book of Exodus we see Moses essentially cursing Pharaoh.
* What was the difference?
* Matthew 25:32-33 - “All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.”
* Individually, a sheep is a believer and a goat is a non-believer.
* But what makes a sheep nation or goat nation?
* The way they treat the people of God.
* In Jacob’s time Pharaoh and the Egyptians were favorable toward God’s people - this put them in the position to receive God’s blessing.
* In Moses’ time Pharaoh and the Egyptians treated God’s people poorly - this put them in the path of God’s curse.
* America has gone from a sheep nation to a goat nation, but change is in the air!
How Justice is Perverted
February 27, 2016 • Benham Brothers
• True justice stands outside our emotions.
• Our hearts naturally gravitate toward certain people at certain times.
• If we give in to our emotions then justice will be perverted.
• To "pervert" something means that it's not being used according to it's original intention.
• Sex - you can still have it with a same sex partner, but that's not its original intent - it's perverted.
• The original intent of justice is to keep people moving toward God - but you can only do that by OBEDIENCE to His Law.
• The only way to do this is to look at the sin and not the sinner.
• If you look at the sinner you'll make the wrong decision.
• Justice is perverted when:
• 1) You show favoritism to the poor.
• 2) You show favoritism to the rich.
• The word "fairness" is used a lot when justice is perverted.
• Justice is meant to lead people to God so that He can have mercy!
• This is how mercy triumphs over justice.
• But if justice is perverted then everyone will miss God's mercy.
Community Organizer
March 9, 2017 • Benham Brothers
* Korah was a community organizer.
* Community organizers blame leaders for everything and are always looking for systemic change.
* Community organizer’s are experts at playing on peoples’ fears.
* The only way a person can be under the control of a community organizer is when they fear man more than God.
* The devil is one who never lets a good crisis go to waste.
* The punishment of Korah was that he lost his life along with his entire family.
* You can always recognize a CO when a crisis occurs - what are they crying for?
* They’re always crying against leaders, for external change, but never toward individuals for internal change.
A Blessed Nation
February 28, 2017 • Benham Brothers
* Psalms 33:12 - “Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord.”
* God blesses people individually when He blesses nations corporately.
* If a nation makes God its Lord, the citizens will be blessed.
* In America, look how many other religions can exist here in freedom because we were established as one nation under God.
* What does it mean for a nation to make God Lord?
* It means to operate under His authority.
* America is “one nation under God.”
* The founders put us under God’s authority - He gave us rights and the govt protects those rights.
* This leads to freedom for everyone - even those who hate God.
Blessings and Curses
March 23, 2017 • Benham Brothers
* vs 1 - George Washington had the Bible open to this chapter when he placed his hand on it to be sworn in as our first president.
* God is an “if / then” God - we have a part to play.
* Whether we experience the blessings or curses is our choice.
* vs 15 - God’s love is unconditional, but His favor is conditioned on our obedience.
* He wants to shower us with blessings, but it’s our choice.
* vs 20 & 63 - God Himself becomes our enemy.
* I tell my kids I can be their best friend or their enemy, it depends on them.
* vs 47-48 - Obedience requires more than just doing the right thing - you have to do it with the right heart.
* vs 64-67 - Moses ends with a small list of things they would experience if they didn’t obey the Lord:
* 1) They would constantly be out of place (vs 64) - never feeling “at home” anywhere.
* 2) They’ll worship the wrong gods (vs 64) - other gods will replace the true God.
* 3) They would have no rest (vs 65) - constantly be striving, exhausted in every way.
* 4) They would be anxious (vs 65) - constantly stressed-out about everything.
* 5) They would be filled with want (vs 65) - wanting stuff would be their way of life.
* 6) They would be void of hope (vs 65) - always feeling hopeless.
* 7) They would be fearful (vs 66) - always wondering what was going to happen and afraid of the results.
* 8) They would lack certainty (vs 66) - never sure of themselves, always questioning.
* 9) They would lack contentment (vs 67) - never satisfied with where they are or what they have.
When Cultural Chaos Takes Place
August 28, 2018 • Benham Brothers
Learn a lesson from traffic lights as it shows us what must take place for God to move on behalf of a nation. When Deborah arose a mother Barak awakened a warrior.
Church and State
July 14, 2016 • Benham Brothers
• King Artaxerxes of Persia gave tax exempt status to the Levites thousands of years ago!
• He saw such value in “the church” and Ezra its representative that he gave him authority to appoint all the governing officials in Israel.
• That would be like the president asking Franklin Graham to appoint the congress and supreme court.
• The church was valuable and the government of Persia recognized it as such.
• The Bible was the most quoted source by the founding fathers at the Constitutional Convention in 1787.
• They saw the church playing a valuable role in society and in the development of a new nation.
• Why? Because their new form of civil gov was based on self gov - the church was the one who would teach people to properly govern themselves.
• In the preamble - “promote the general welfare” - people were to “provide” their own welfare and the church helped them do it.
• States started passing tax-exempt status’s for churches, and they were using the extra $$ to build hospitals, schools, community centers, and to help the poor, etc.
• But the church started using $$ to build big buildings for itself, government took over - it now “provides” welfare.
• We need the church to be more valuable to society once again.
National Sin
July 14, 2016 • Benham Brothers
• The Jews had intermarried with the other nations, which was direct disobedience to God.
• When Ezra found out about it he called for public repentance.
• Why? Because it was a sin taking place in his nation and it wasn’t being dealt with - it was seen as “ok” in the culture.
• Nehemiah 1:4-7 - the walls were broken down and Jewish culture was a disaster.
• He saw the condition of Jerusalem as God’s punishment for the nation of Israel.
• Nehemiah and Ezra prayed, “our sins….” they recognized there are two sins that require repentance - personal sin and national sin.
• How do you know it’s national sin? When what God calls sin is tolerated and/or celebrated.
• God deals with national sin by national punishment - enemies rule over us, justice trampled in the streets, bloodshed follows bloodshed, violence of unprecedented order, etc.
• We need to do three things:
• 1) Repent personally.
• 2) Repent as a nation - starts in the house of God.
• 3) Tear down the high places - the things that are abominations to God.
The Importance of History
July 21, 2016 • Benham Brothers
• This entire Psalm gives us a picture of the importance of knowing our history.
• History is “HIS” story - it’s all about seeing God’s hands working in the world.
• vs 1-8 show the importance of remembering your history, vs 9-11 shows what happens if you don’t.
• If you forget you won’t fight.
• Two things have to happen before a new worldview can overtake the existing one:
• 1) Words have to be redefined.
• 2) History has to be re-written - this is happening in America.
• With history, you have to remember the good (vs 12-16) AND the bad (vs 17-22).
• Remembering the good inspires you to act courageously and reminds you of God’s greatness.
• Remembering the bad keeps you humble and reminds you of God’s mercy.
• It would be wrong to judge an adult on the basis of what they did when they were 12.
• We need to be like the men of Issachar, not the men of Ephraim.
• Both of them had history, but only one of them could see God’s hand in it.
Wake Up!
September 29, 2016 • Benham Brothers
• These three verses are exactly what America needs to hear today.
• It’s getting so dark, but God is telling us to WAKE UP & BE LIGHT!
• These are commands given to the church.
• God then tells us why we should do this in verse 2 - “For your light has come, and the glory of the Lord rises upon you.”
• Christ is our light and He’s in us to shine through us.
• The result? Nations and those in authority over nations will see our light and come to it.
• This signifies the growth of the church throughout history.
