Hot Dog Faith: Jephthah

Well for all of you type a members of the summit church who have been obsessing about what happened to our series on the book of Judges are we ever to come back to that you'll ever have to worry about stuff like that. I am extremely type a about things like that and have to finish them. They say that Mozart was a perfectionist and he had to have things finished and his dad who was evidently something of a prankster way down after Mozart. His son had gone to bed would go up and he would go on the family piano and he would play one of those arts pieces maybe get right to the end and then just not play the last resolution to the last unit record and then he would stop and he because he knew that Mozart his son would have to get up come down the stairs play the resolution of the cord and then go back before you to sleep so I feel a little bit like that when it comes to sermon series so we return to the book of Judges. If you have your Bible not want to welcome you and all of our campuses were Judges chapter 10 this weekend, take out your Bible and then find Judges chapter 10 have your notebooks on the take notes with that certainly be helpful for you to have out now.

I can't prove this, but I'm pretty sure that if you take a lot of sermon notes you get in the fast pass line for all the garage and having a gimmick and preventing it somewhere in Deuteronomy, which is where pastors quote from and to make stuff up. But anyway, a lot of the stories in the book of judges people know stories like Samson or Gideon or maybe even the story of Deborah. Almost nobody knows the story of Jeff in Judges, chapters 10 and 11 because it is terrible.

I mean terrible.

It is going to leave you feeling deeply unsettled's downright disturbed. Sometimes at night my wife and I are putting our kids to bed and I will start in on some story sonatas, Bible stories and on the store for my life and I will look over at my wife and shall be going to disconnect, shaking her head like this is not appropriate for kids at this age because we have a different filter for that kind of stuff. Well… Suffice it to say that this story would not make for great bedtime story for your seven-year-old butt first before we get into it. I want to talk with you about hotdogs, Americans can eat them some hot dogs can they not just on 4 July alone. Americans consume 150 million hotdogs. They say that if you line them up into end, they would stretch from where I am standing to Sydney Australia.

Frankly, we love them that there's you they got that if you have ever looked on the package where it tells you the contents of a hot dog. However, the first component that you will notice goes into a hot dog is mechanically separated chicken or turkey, which the USDA defines as a and I quote a paste or better like poultry product manufactured by forcing turkey bones with attached edible tissue through a sieve. Under high pressure, a process called advanced meat recovery in advancement recovery. Does that make your mouth water and other ingredients include corn syrup, beef, salt, sodium phosphate, sodium airfare abate sodium nitrate and what makes it so tasty alto dextran now. I just know that makes you hungry and ready to get out of church and go eat something actually like hotdogs other coaches that aren't carpet us and try to get me to stop eating them. But I tell them. The only reason I work out so I that I can eat stuff like that without guilt, so lay off, but the point is hotdogs, not pure meet and there are some who would say that that eating that kind of stuff is not good for you and by some.

I mean the medical community. Many Americans, I share that because many Americans build their faith like a cheap hot dog.

They take a little bit of something from this a little bit of something from that they mix it with a little bit of something else, and the result is a concoction that you could hardly call Christian it's more than simply bad for you. It is spiritually toxic and that is what you're going to see with Jep that today he's got a little bit of the meat of Christian faith that has been separated from true Christianity through advanced faith recovery system or whatever mixed with a whole lot of the sodium nitrate in the mall to dextran of his culture, keep that in mind as we get into Judges chapter 10 will begin number six the people of Israel again did what was evil in the sight of the Lord may serve the bails a master off the gods of Syria. The gods side and the gods of Moab and the gods of the ammonites and the God of the Philistines. They forsook the Lord and they did not serve him.

If you are counting by the way that seven different kinds of gods that they serve seven in Hebrew is of course the number of completion, which is a way of saying they had completely abandoned God.

Their symbolism in the seven or so verse seven studying of the Lord was kindled against Israel and he sold them in the name of the Philistines and in the name of the ammonites and the Christ, and oppress the people of Israel that year not here we see a familiar pattern. The Israelites false gods. In the end up in slavery we see metal through the book of Judges, but now the author inserts a little twist the Israelites begin crying out for deliverance to the very gods that have enslaved them. The ammonites are the ones who enslaved them in the gods of the ammonites of the very ones they cry out to for deliverance. Here is what is being taught and it's very important. It's not just that idolatry leads you to enslavement.

It's that your enslavement usually lead you to more and more idolatry see when sin enslaves you. You usually will end up looking for deliverance to the very things that put you in slavery in the first place anything about us try harder with the same gods. Then they will deliver me now only stop for a minute here because some of you think what's I got to do with me. I don't have any idols in my house and about on any statues and I'm not anybody slave that's a great question and it brings up a really important point, one that is absolutely foundational. If you can understand what the Bible teaches about sin.

That is that an idol is in the Bible is not just a statute which you bow down an idol is anything that you look to in your life or power or joy or significance apart from God. For example, some people think if I have success, then a high-powered security and safety. Enjoy.

If I have some academic recognition or or if I moved to some talent that I have is a gift.

Maybe it's not personal beauty or the beauty of my spouse or maybe it's that I'm a athletically fit whatever that these things will guarantee for me power joint significance in the future. Now those things are all fine in and of themselves.

Of course, but when you look to them instead of God or power joint significance. They will always enslave you.

What do I mean by enslave you when you start to feel like you could never be happy until you have that thing and so you'll do anything to get it in us, the definition of slavery is that when it speaks you obey. I've got to do that what it says because I gotta have it and when you do get that thing you never thought you have enough of it, or you're always worried about losing it. So you begin to make really destructive choices to hang onto it or to get more of it to you for like I have to be beautiful.

If I'm going to have power enjoys significant so I will, for example, starve my body even though it's bad for it so I can be a certain size because I couldn't be worth anything about not the way that will hate myself. And when I'm not at that weight or you say II need more money so I will work until I destroy my family or I will cheat outbreak mind to people, by the way, who cheat in business are not usually inherently dishonest people are just people who want something so bad that they're willing to compromise their integrity to get it. William James, who was not a Christian is a postmodern philosopher said that success is the primary God of the Western world and he said no use his words be careful I'll use any such success is a BI TCH goddess. Is it because no matter what you give to her. She always demands more.

See said were for me on the altar of success. I first gave my family visited then the goddess that I need more. And so I gave them my integrity and on the gotta said. Lori said, and I finally get my health in my life and the goddess never quit demanding more. Have you ever stopped to consider the writer or judges is implying to you that maybe the idol itself is wrong.

Maybe you chosen the wrong thing in which to find power enjoys significant maybe the reason that you're unhappy and love is not because you haven't found Mr. right, it's because ultimate happiness was not found in him anyway. Jeremiah chapter 213 probably gives you the clearest description of sin anywhere in the Bible.

Jeremiah 213 verse I think you ought to have memorized my people have committed two evils, the first evil they have forsaken me, the fountain of living waters may have skewed out evil number two cisterns for themselves, broken cisterns that can hold the water all in those days, water was a precious commodity in the best thing to do was to find out the natural underground spring that's living water constantly flowing constantly fresh. He said that was me that was God that was my love. I was the one who gave you power joint significance in security and safety, but you forsook me and then because that left you parched.

You started to dig out sister not a cistern was what you would dig in the desert to collect rainwater and then the problem is released to the ground, it will become muddy was terrible is not nearly what you would compare to a natural underground spring is like. So the evil number one was you forsook me a minute left her soul parched and you just dug cistern at the cisterna process turn up a cistern to try to get enough water to satisfy your soul. It's the wrong well you think I got a dig dig dig deeper deeper deeper deeper. There's gotta be some kind of satisfying water in here somewhere. God says it's wrong. Well I created those things in me.

I'm the one who gives you power joint significance, not those queued out cisterns and hold the water burst in the people of Israel cried out to the Lord then saying we have sinned against you because we have forsaken our God and serve the false gods Lord said to the people of Israel.

You have forsaken me, and serve other gods, therefore I will save you no more want to go cry out to the gods whom you've chosen. Let them save you and your time of distress.

For the first time in the book of Judges God says no. Why will see it's one thing for the wayward prodigal to come home and true repentance.

God will always receive someone like that.

But imagine a wife who is been unfaithful again and again and again and again and she is caught in the midst of her adultery and so she pleads with her husband for security and provision just until she find somebody else to take her on. That's a totally different scenario. These people God sees their heart they don't want God for God there just in pain may want somebody, anybody, to make it stop. There's no change of heart toward God.

This is not God, I'm going to use you to get out of trouble. There's a difference you see in using God and worshiping God. This is very very important for many of you listen, it is possible for you to come back to God in an idolatrous way that he will not receive I see it all the time. To be quite honest with you, you see a man whose marriage begins to fall apart and he panicked, so he runs into church and he begins to make promises to God. God does give you my family back. Or maybe he's out of a job and so he comes in the gotta do this. I'll do whatever it read repentance looks so sincere, but it's not because the moment that the danger the immediate danger is gone and he gets his family back to get his job back. He goes back to the independent way that he was live in the to begin with. See you got to evaluate Mrs. a huge, huge question. Are you using God or are you worshiping God for God because God can tell whether you come to God in pain is not really the issue you go to anybody you think and get you out of pain. The question is will you follow him the same when the immediate danger has passed. Are you using God. Are you worshiping God. Verse 15 the people of Israel said to the Lord. Then we have sinned, so do to us whatever seems good to you only. Please deliver us this day. So they put away the foreign gods from among them, and they serve the Lord will either not to get it to seal different with a set verse 15 is from what I said in verse 10, verse 10, they said we want peace from you. Verse 15 said we want peace with you, even if it continues to mean trouble for us here do whatever you're going to do. That's a huge difference. We would rather not have trouble they say, of course, but having you having peace with you. That's the essential part that's true repentance.

I don't care if life gets easier.

Life gets hard. I just want you know some people who talk as if when you come to Christ he just makes everything in your life easy to be here and give testimonies and I think there you know don't mean harm, but came to Jesus, my marriage turned awesome and I can started so my bedside quote Scripture and my boss can you raise we discovered oil near my house and it was just awesome. You know, and this and that is not always is back is not usually the way that it works. A friend of mine calls it a train wreck conversion, God, let's most people have a train wreck conversion where where it thinking alike to start going wrong in one of his purposes and that in Scripture is to see if you're coming to God for something he can do for you if you come in for him. Sometimes the things in your life begin to go wrong and you don't get the raise in the marriage doesn't turn immediately better because gotta say to you in this for me.

You and this just to use me for something. Are you using God or worshiping God.

That was the question what Israel genuinely repents and so the Lord becomes impatient over the misery of Israel or the NIV says he could bear it no longer a love that phrase could it just shows you how God feels about his people. He hurts with them. He says not for your pain is painful to me and he rises to his feet. Chapter 11 now Jephthah was a mighty warrior but he was a sign of a prostitute.

Gilead was Jephthah's father had many other sons by his wife. You know is is not a prostitute, and when his wife sons grew up the drive Jephthah out because they said to him you shall have no inheritance in our father's house for you are the son of a prostitute. So Jephthah fled from his brothers and they lived in the land of Tobit and worthless fellows collected around Jephthah and man and came out to a becomes a kind of crime boss land pirates is what we would call in verse four, but after a time the ammonites made war against Israel, and so the elders of Gilead went to bring Jephthah back and I said hey can be our leader, that we may fight against the ammonites.

I apologize for this but this can't help but be reminded of season seven and 24 were they directed Jack Bauer and they say we don't really like you but we need you to come fight the terrorist verse seven, Jack Bauer said to the elders of Gilead, did you not hate me and drive me out of my father's house and I you come crime back to me when you're in our pain, no deal.

By the way, Jephthah's respondent just like I did jump is likely you want me for me as well use me ever say this, I'm really sorry this time if you come home you to be in charge. Again, I would hear your mom is you have CT you will be present ever. All we care what everyone so Jephthah agrees and Jephthah says I'm taken my talents back to Cleveland. But first, at first he tries diplomacy. He tries diplomacy with the ammonites and he says to the king of the ammonites are you attacking us in the king of the ammonites says will because you took my land. Jephthah responds with three I think rather compelling points of reasoning is is number one well as a point of fact, it wasn't your land we took. It was the Amorites and not ammonites, but Amorites, your name was never the title deed so get off your high horse number two. We took their land. We were simply responding to bear aggression against us. We passed through their land.

They attacked us and we kick their tails.

We kept their land because gotta give into a guy I give it to us anyway number three in this land is really a gift from your God commotion to you.

Why don't you come and get it in verse and verse 30 said okay were common there. 30 Jephthah and I made about Jephthah made a vow to the Lord and he said, Lord, if you will give me the ammonites in my hand whatever comes out from the doors in my house to greet me when I return in peace from the ammonites, shall belong to you.

The Lord, and I will offered up as a burnt offering to jump across the turbid of the ammonites to fight against them in the Lord indeed gave them into his hand and Jephthah came to his home and missed time to hold his daughter came out to meet him with tambourines and with dances. She was his only child, besides her. He had neither son nor daughter, and as soon as he saw her coming out after the battle he tore his clothes and he said alas my daughter you brought me very low. You've become the cause of great trouble to me for I've open my mouth to the Lord and now I cannot take back my bow. Verse 36 and she said to him I father you have open your mouth to the Lord. So do to me according to what is going out of your mouth.

Now that the Lord is avenged. You and your enemies on the ammonites, so she said to her father, but this thing be done for me. First, leave me alone for two months and I may go up on the mountains and wait for my virginity with my friends.

So he said go sooner away for two months and she departed. She and her companions, she wept for her virginity in the mountains and the end of the two months he returned her father did with her according to his vow that he had made.

Sometimes commentators try to soften what has happened here.

They'll say, like, well, Jephthah must have expected it to be an animal that came out of his house first and that's what is promising to God as a burnt offering, but animals will not of been kept in the house. I didn't have pets like we have pets is not talking about that, by the way, we said whatever greets me the word used for greet definitely connotes acumen encounter. It's not a word you would use with an animal so he's deathly thinking human sacrifice, or they'll say commentators have Jephthah did not she kill his daughter sacrificing her just meant that she had to die as a virgin like you know she just would remain a married for the rest of her life wife that's true why the two month hiatus that would make any sense. Obviously were talking about human sacrifice and obviously he actually burnt his daughter he killed his daughter. This is that he expected the first one out of his house would not be his daughter. He thought it would be one of his many servants or one of his many comrades in arms. So a couple questions I want us to consider here is the first, why did Jephthah make this about, so you think this is nothing to do with me. It has a lot to do with you, I'll say that it tore the end, but why did Jephthah make this value to reasons because he was desensitized to violence. He was desensitized to violence is just the way they did things human life was cheap in those days when it came to the idol, obtaining the idol of military dominance. Now it seems unspeakably horrific eyes but that's just because violence is no longer our idol of choice before you and I shake our heads in bewilderment and say what a backwards primitive people. We ought to consider that we commit similar excesses with our idols and we do not wince nearly as much when we do, for example, a woman can tear apart her family and devastate her kids because she finally realizes she's been married to the wrong person.

That's why she's not happy and she's gotta be true to herself and so she's gotta go find true love, even if it devastates her kids and we can shake our heads say well she's gotta be true to yourself and I guess that's is what she's got to do talk about this for a minute because our culture idolizes romantic and sexual fulfillment to the point that anything you sacrifice on the altar that is okay because that idol is enthroned an unquestioned. For example, if I as an evangelical pastor decided that I preferred sex with men and I left my wife and my kids for another man. By the end of this month. I would be celebrated as a national hero. I would be on Ellen. I would be on Oprah and they would say things like just being true to himself. What a courageous guy to come out and just acknowledge the truth about who he is. The fact that I had to abandon my family.

That's just the price you gotta pay for true love that I devastated my family would be totally insignificant. What is true love meant that is not actually about me anymore. Our culture confuses true love was self-love when you can't wrap up self idolatry and the close of romance and call that true love for another sphere man can neglect his wife and kids in order to get ahead and we say well that's what it takes to get ahead, to survive in this business will never succeed in the finance world unless you work will not every night.

Must you never take days off. It is been easy for me to justify the sacrifice of an awful lot of the altar of ministry success like Jeff like, well, gotta succeed in doing God's work and that means I gotta sacrifice relationships in family not even integrity. Well, that's just the price I gotta do your work God somebody in our culture, gets pregnant and inconvenient time and they eliminate the child in an abortion. We say well, only she has the right to determine what will save her life will take and of having a kid right now in her judgment to mess up her life. Well I guess that's okay since the price of freedom, usually before we shake our heads in bewilderment. A jump but we should realize were probably not as advanced of a culture as we think. We always got different idols number two. Here's the reason that he made about this because this is how you pleased pagan gods. That's how you pleased pagan gods offered sacrifices to gain their favor, the greater the sacrifice.

The greater favor you could earn from your God.

You need some big from M. Gotta sacrifice something big. But God elicited this never ever ever puts this out as a requirement to get his attention or his favor not yet right for visit. Deuteronomy 1810, there shall not be found among you, anyone who burns his son or his daughter as an offering. So what about Abraham that was a test of faith and obedience. This is an attempt by Jeff that a pay got off to negotiate with them. It's totally different. Here is what has happened. Listen, Jephthah has mixed all kinds of sodium phosphates and poultry paste into his faith and come up with something that looks like the meat of faith, but it's really not faith at all because it's totally different than how God said that we should pursue him and do his work.

The second question first question why did Jephthah make about why why did Jephthah keep his bow. That's the second question you can excuse him for in his fear. Save some stupid but after he saw was his daughter for two months. He sat there considered in the news went through with what some of this he kept it for the exact same reason that he made it. He has no concept of the grace of God he feels like he has to earn God's favor, the way you are the pagan gods favor by making sacrifices that merit it. Now he feels like God and keep his horrific valve in God's gonna punish them. But God does not give victory or favor, or salvation because we aren't never it is not by works of righteousness which we have done. It is according to his mercy that he saves that he mourn his old body. The price for our peace by his sacrifice that we were healed. Should Jephthah have This bow no the citizen God. You never told me you would give me victory if I would sacrifice something to get your attention you give your people victory is a gift of grace. So instead of fulfilling this wicked bow in which I thought I could purchase your favor. I repent of making it in the first place. I repent of thinking or something I can do to earn your favor and I receive your grace for what is an unmerited gift. This is the gospel it's always been the gospel from Adam and Eve all the way straight through the last few minutes over the wall the face of your you and I never have to make promises or sacrifice of the God to earn his favor in your some of you to come into this place of one of our campuses today and you really think the same thing as Jephthah you like. I really need God's blessing on these favorites are your making promises that God is you came in here. Gotta want to be better. Gotta want to be a better this your lunch money in the offering at the end of the services of God be pleased with the $23 that you put in the offering plate. Meth cannot guarantee his favor on you. You keep your lunch money. Okay God does not give you his favor. As a result of you making sacrifices for him. It's a gift. It's like a favor.

I give to my son or daughter little, aren't they just receive it. There is only one way only one way to please God, faith, faith in his grace, faith in his loving kindness toward you. Ephesians 28.

It is by grace that you have been received by faith and not even out of yourself. If the gift of God is not of works, it's not about you, sacrifice and anger given things a promising God. Things are offering God, yourself or your daughter anything.

It is a gift of God not of works lest anyone should boast. Will have to negotiate with God. You can't negotiate God pretty much says is only one deal that God will ever make with you his righteousness. He gives his right to Jesus righteousness is a gift for your absolute surrender. That's the only deal God will ever make with you.

So whatever deal you can't walk with God put it down, negotiate these as I give you my favor the gift like I give it to a son or daughter you just receive that and you surrender to me this is the pure meat of the gospel with no poultry paste or melter dextrin mixed in was tragic as this story is already Jephthah's family troubles are just the beginning of chapter 12 the men of Ephraim, which is another tribe in Israel fellow Israelites called themselves the arms and across to Xenophon and said the Jephthah why did you cross over to fight against the ammonites did not go through with you. We will burn your house over you with fire.

Jephthah who has tried diplomacy with the ammonites sitting in a do that with his own people. He immediately calls his men to arms. Jephthah gathered all the men of Gilead and fought with Ephraim and the Gilly-ites captured all the good the fort since the fords of the Jordan to give the Ephraimites and when any of the fugitives of Ephraim's after they defeated them all these Israelites.

These Ephraim's are are trying to get away. They try to cross the Jordan in there like let me go over the men of Gilead to say are you an Ephraimite when he said no. They said to him than say the word shibboleth in the Ephraimite would always say several of because he could not pronounce it right as it was happening here. Different parts of Israel pronounce words differently become like if I was trying to figure out if you are from the country.

The city I would write JES USMC pronounce that word and if you set it into syllables and say you're from the city if you say that six syllables only from the country.

Jesus, he not be like their pure from the country. That's what it when they figured out they were from the Ephraim they when they couldn't say "sh" they killed him right they seized him and slaughtered in there the Jordan River 42,000 of the Ephraimites fell, Jephthah judged Israel six years only six years they've been press for 18 years is the first time in judges the deliverances shorter than the oppression and Jeff of the Gilead at died and was buried. Therefore, lessons for crucial life-giving lifesaving lessons he learned from the storage Jephthah number one, we are far more influenced by our culture than we realize, Jephthah, and realize this but his outlook on God and life was shaped by the culture he was in those gods was saved by God's word. Jephthah ended up with a concoction of faith that may have looked Christian on the outside but it was not Christian at all. He got a hot dog instead of the pure steak and it ends up destroying a lot of people. Now you can look at Jeff thence it will clearly see that where have you done that you see Christians tend to have different approaches to culture and probably the most common is that we assimilate into culture, meaning we absorbed the values of our culture and we don't even know the word sorting them and how we think about romance and how we think about fulfillment only thing about life is a shape by Hollywood in the New York Times as it is by the word of God.

Some Christians react to that by if a civil little and assimilates will isolate and will pull out a culture will will will board will take her kids out of public schools and will you not watch that this is why cannot I honestly I grew up our tradition tended more toward the general music.

You boys have their hair cut short. You look like a Christian and girls where your culottes in them jumpers not just you know we was different. You are like me you Amish is, it messes we were separate. You know him and I understand when that impulse come from.

That's how the Bible teaches either not assimilate not isolated to re-create it means you going to culture, but you do so very critically, and the only way for you to do that is to be more say by the word of God and you are your culture. You see, the answer is not to isolate yourself culture because you can never do that. The answer is to know the word of God more deeply than you know the poison of the culture that is around you or someone 19 105 says, how can a young man keep his way pure by taking heed according to your word.

You don't keep your way pure by isolating yourself in the world you keep your way pure work by putting the word of God's are deeply inside of you that you can resist the lives of those that are outside of you is that a lot of parents they look at you know what's going on this big discussion. You should you have your kids in public school or private school or home school that's a very good discussion and in and honestly one right answer each you get to decide what's best for your kid but I know that some will be like, well, you gotta pull them out and and everything.

What I want to use this the most formative thing is not what the culture around them is doing. It's how much of the word of God.

You're putting into them, which means that whatever decision you make about your skin schooling. The one thing that ought to be absolutely solid in their life is how much you are teaching them the word of God and how actively involved. You have them in a place like this now to be at every possible thing we do is our goal was just a stuffing for Bible for every chance we get, so that when the world lies come upon them, they just exude God's word right suit, not the culture you gotta do. The word of God here number two. Our idolatry has devastating effects on those around us we see that our idolatry has devastating effects on those around us, the impurity of Jephthah's faith cost a lot of people, including his own daughter.

Their lives. My wife and I have realized that my idolatry is a dad and as a pastor is going to affect my kids and you because you see my idolatry as a pastor may cause me to do things that harm my children may cause me to pass on to them. Values that are not God's values.

My idolatry is a pastor may cause me to make decisions for this church that are not in the best spiritual interest of what is good for you. It may just be about my idolatry. The greatest gift that I can give to you and that I can give my kids is a heart that is free from idols men, I will say to you, specifically, there are many of you who your idolatries destroying your children is not only destroying your relationship with them.

Your passion onto them set of values that are to destroy their lives. You can talk all day long about God being the most important.

But if they can see from your life that money and success of the most important matter what you say with your mouth to corrupt their soul may give glory to money and glory to God in your idolatries going to destroy them the greatest gifts that you can give to somebody else is a heart that is free from idols. The idolatries we cherish in this country have affects us devastating on others is Jephthah's was on his daughter was in the best today, one out of every three children grow up in a single-parent home and only a fraction of those are the result of one of the spouses dying, mostly because one of the parents or maybe both decided their desires were more important than what was best for the family and wake County. There are 23 abortions every day and almost every single one of those is the result of an idol that has been enthroned and it doesn't matter if you pay the price because I gotta have this our appetite for pornography has created a sex industry where the average age of the girl who enters that industry is start teen years old. You may think that the idolatry of physical pleasure in hurting anybody because it is you want to screen it is creating an industry that is devastating. The daughters of this country and our country.

30 million mostly teenage girls have been diagnosed with anorexia or bulimia, which happens in part because of how highly we have exalted the idol of a perfect figure in our culture that is created in this sense that a girl has to be a certain size and it's our idolatry that is destroying them.

So I will say it again, we are not nearly as sophisticated as the cultures we think we are idols and slave idols kill, they killed Jephthah's daughter there killing our daughters, which means that you and I should be a zealous for God to work in us as we are for him to work through us because the greatest gift we can give is not what we say with our mouths. It is a heart that is free from idolatry. Number three we see from the story that we have a hard time believing in God's grace. It's ironic because it's so simple. God's favor is a gift and it's so counterintuitive that while a child can understand it. The most religiously Sisyphus and sophisticated people miss.

Martin Luther said were hardwired for works righteousness means that we it means that the moment we forget the gospel.

The moment we quit consciously thinking about the gospel. Our heart naturally goes back to this idea that we have to earn God's favor and that produces all kinds of destruction in everybody's life, including your own and your lower Christian rear you preach every week will be studied by the goes of your breach. I forget all the time because my heart is hardwired for works righteousness. But here's what I have an opportunity. I'm back here to make him preach and there are times I'm back here in the blastoff.

I woke up here is gonna need you to bless a sermon in here will think I had a great week. Man, you know, like I do my quiet time every day and assure Christlike through my neighbors and it was an awesome husband and I put my kids down to bed every night you and that my wife and I give them at all. Couple times and I get a lot of money offering and a read a book and I wrote a book you know I just I just been fantastic and a recycled and all got is is feel the warmth of God's love and his acceptance all over me and I was like oh you know how I God, like all he's awesome and comes in a blessed sermon because he's just groups of awesome spiritual sauce. And so, walk on the stage and I'm a minute preaching to the filter got enough and then couple weeks later, I've had a terrible week all I didn't read my Bible every day in the person next to me on the plane wanted to have a conversation and act like I was asleep because I want talk to him so is terrible and I am denied.

I not always mean my wife and I take the dog and I really have a dog sit the neighbors dog was making it worse and I just so I just feel like I can just feel like, and so we want to do better start making promises to God as you bless a sermon, but God promised next week and will be really generous on the witness there but Essien and Fenstermaker promises if my promises are gonna buy God's favor in his acceptance. I'm works righteousness guy is naturally you don't have to do after consciously remember the gospel by their God. Listen, I will lose it is to myself sometimes got, here's what I need you to bless the sermon we tell you about my week God is to remind you what I did. I walked on water in. I fasted for 40 days in the wilderness. I did, and Satan came to me three times and missed that wilderness time and I visited him every single dime I didn't send.

Not one time this week. In fact, they mailed my hands to a cross.

And while I was on the cross. I does look at the people doing as a father, forgive them and know what they do. They like when you do all that Bobby said into any of that.

That's Jesus's record that was given to me as a gift.

And so now my pleas for his favor and acceptance are not based on sacrifices I have done things that I have said or what I will do sacrifice it to his sacrifice that is given to me as a gift God's righteousness given. He was a gift that's a pure meet of the gospel. Religions are often divided into how to motivate people.

Some religions think use the carrot you know you owe you one. Have anyone God's blessing no go after you know God good is Kylie's you know the others like no use the stick yet threaten what hell you're pretty much cursing the care the stick. Here's question, which one of theirs, Christianity, terroristic need. The gospel is that God took the stick and beat Jesus what it behaved you carefree and then said, follow me, and that kind of gift righteousness produces a whole new kind of obedience and you, Martin Luther, the great reformers of it this way the law says to is never done the guy when you sacrifice your daughter.

It's not done.

The gospel says believe it's already done.

Works righteousness is hard to believe it is the fountain of the Christian life. Number four. We need a better judge. We had better judge this a recurring theme throughout the book of Judges, Jephthah was a Savior was a broken Savior. He won the real Savior, Israel needed but he does give us a glimpse of a truer and better judge, he was coming. You see, like Jeff that Jesus would be driven out from his brothers. He was despised and rejected of men.

But unlike Jeff that we'd enough to plead to get them back. He came running back to us when he could bear our sufferings no longer Jephthah started his deliverance with diplomacy, but when that didn't work. He was afraid to kill and kill not only thousands of Amer ammonites, but he killed fellow Israelites as well and eventually would kill his own daughter. Yet when Jesus when pleading did not work. He took the warning to himself when it came time to die. It was not our lives, but his life that he took I'd have to offer my life.

I did have to offer the life of my children to earn his favor. He'd already taken that spot of sacrifice. It was his sacrifice, not mine.

He did not take me to the river Jordan threaten to kill me about insatiable of the right. He took me to the cross and pronounce shalom and salvation over me as a gift. Jephthah believe that we can only find favor with God. Do extreme sacrifice. Jesus offered favor with God as a gift. Three.

On the basis of his sacrifice, which is why the kids definition of grace is still the best GRA CE God's riches at Christ's expense. Jephthah was a Savior of Israel, but he was a broken Savior and so he, like all the other judges points us to Jesus, the perfect Savior who was broken for the broken Israel didn't see themselves as broken latest all they need a Savior to get rid of their enemies, and God said no I'm a give you a broken Savior because you need to see that your broken and then one day I'll give you a perfect Savior who be broken for your brokenness and that's the Savior that we need which is why Jesus is the only Savior is the only one worth giving your life to.

He's the only one who did what he said he did, never back down, never faltered, never failed, which is why he's able to save the outermost though to come to God through him. He's the only one you can trust because he's the only one that said and did exactly what he needed to do to Savior. That is the meat of Christianity is the grace of God that is received as a free gift. Ultimately Christianity takes you a lot of places, but you never leave that much what we say. The groping crisis never grow beyond the gospel which is growing deeper into the gospel that the meat here calls it the meat of Christianity and the pure milk of God's word for love that two things babies drink milk any pure milk white adults eat meat. Many pure meet, so the gospel is good for the new Christian it is. It is for the mature, because ultimately it is life for the believer and just gotta keep going deeper into it because that is the substance of the Christian life. Martin Luther said progress in the Christian life is always just to begin again just go back to that pure grace becomes the fountain of life and you spiritual health comes from and want to bow your heads all of our campuses. If you never received the pure grace of the gospel today can be your day, the gift is all that it is. It's just a gift, Jesus gives the gifts when you acknowledge that he's the Lord surrender to him and you receive.

You never done it, you can receive it right now to say Jesus I surrender it I believe. Just a moment all over campuses. Teams can accommodate and prevent the Lord's table together. If you're not a Christian, then there's I want you to do as others around you are taking the bread and the cop. Why don't you for the first time in your life receive Jesus as Savior but you open your heart you.

A lot of people take the bread macabre and you say yes Lord Jesus, I finally receive surrender. If you are a believer as you take the bread macabre Judas feast on the knowledge. Again, the God is giving you amazing grace that is acceptance you is given use against the progress is always to begin again.

Father, thank you for the beautiful grace of the guys will be amazing grace got what we need what we need is not to sacrifice to you but to embrace deeper in your sacrifice for us, that we thank you God open our hearts to see how wide, how hi how do you know how long is the love of the father for us in Jesus name