Hotdog Faith, Part 2

Today on Summit life with Jeannie Greer religions are often divided into how to motivate people. Some religions use the Karen oh, you won't have anyone God's blessing. No others like no you suspect you read and what hell you cursing the gospel is that God took the stick and beat Jesus what it behaved you carefully miss it, like with world changing good news of the gospel takes Brent dinner every day. I'm your host Molly events during the next half hour. We'll see. That man is incapable of constructing or living up to the true gospel.

In fact, left to our own devices, we tend to twist and misconstrue what God design is perfect. Our current theories is called broken saviors to learn more about our Bible teacher, and to access materials that will help go deeper into the gospel, including this month's featured resource go online to Jeannie Greer.com.

Today's message is titled a hot dog faith and comes from the book of Judges, chapters 10 through 12, the American faith like a teapot dog to take a little something from Bill's a little bit of something from that of a mix of 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 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 mouth of dextrin of his culture, keep that in mind as we get into Judges chapter 11. Now Jephthah was a mighty warrior but he was the son of a prostitute. Gilead was Jephthah's father had many other sons by his wife. You know why sons grew up the drive Jep out because they said 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 ran and came out to a becomes a kind of crime boss verse four. But after a time the ammonites made war against Israel.

So the elders of Gilead went to bring Jephthah back. I say we are a leader that we may fight against the ammonites. So Jephthah agrees and Jephthah says I'm taking my talents back to Cleveland. 30 Jephthah made a vow to the Lord and he said, Lord, if you will give me the ammonites in the my hand whatever comes out from the doors of 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 ammonites to fight against them in the Lord indeed gave them into his hand and Jephthah came to his home at Ms. Feingold.

His daughter came out to meet him with tambourines and with dances. 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 open my mouth the Lord and now I cannot take back my bow.

Verse 36 she said to him I father you have open your mouth the Lord said 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 simmer 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 personnel for these promising to God as a burnt offering, but animals will not be kept in the house so he's deftly thinking human sacrifice. Obviously, he actually burnt his daughter he killed his daughter wishes 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, so a couple questions I want us to consider here is the first, why did Jephthah make this value to reasons because he was desensitized to violence the way they did things human life was cheap in those days when it came to the idol, obtaining the idol of military dominance, usually before we shake our heads in bewilderment at Jep, but we should realize were probably not as maps of a culture as we think we all would have got different titles 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 is the second question first question why did Jephthah make about why why did Jephthah keep his vow that the second question for two months. He sat there considered in the news went through wasn't 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 to keep his horrific valve in God's punishment, but God does not give victory or favor, or salvation because we are never, it is not by works of righteousness which we have done. It is according to his mercy that he saves us, the more 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. 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 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 the disfavored. So you're making promises that God is you came in here got to be better got to be a better this is your lunch money 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 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 thing to promising God. Things are offering God, yourself or your daughter anything. It is the 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 taste or mouth or 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 cause it with you. We will burn your house over you with fire. Jephthah who has tried diplomacy with the ammonites sitting I 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 Gilley Heights captured 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 or 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 Ephraim I would always a symbol 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 if you set it into syllables. So you're from the city if you say that six syllables only from the country, Jesus, you not be like their pure from the country. That's what made 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 deliverance is 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 didn't 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. It 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 Benson will clearly see that the 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 your kids out of public schools and will you not watch that this is why cannot I honestly I grew up with 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're like me you Amish is, it messes we were separate.

You know him and I understand when that impulse come from that's now 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. Don't keep your way pure by isolating yourself in the world you keep your way pure by putting the word of God should deeply inside of you that you can resist the lives of those that are outside permit.

First, let me tell you about our latest resource explicitly for extended night listeners.

In his latest book, honest questions, click answers, Jeannie tackled the big questions empathy short answer is the kind of responses you can get when chatting at the coffee shop with a friend were stranger in this new resource we cover lots of topics. How many everyday theology answers to these questions having changed over the centuries, the way we talk about the change with our contact help those searching to find answers to some of the nicest question we'd like to get you this new book right now. Reserve your copy today by calling eight 663-3552 training or visit us online.

Jeannie Greer.com now to get back to the final moments of our teaching today once again asked again. She had a lot of parents they look at you know what's going on this big discussion. You should you have your kids about private school or home school that's a very good discussion.

Some will be like well you got a poll about them 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 skid schooling. 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 the stuff on for Bible for every chance we get, so that when the world lies come upon them, they just exude God's word right so 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 and 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 our that is free from idols men, I will say to you, specifically, there are many of you who your idolatries destroy 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 idolatry is 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 as yet. This was on his daughter 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 got I have this our appetite for pornography has created a sex industry where the average age of the girl who enters that industry is start eating years old. You may think that the idolatry of physical pleasure in hurting anybody because it is you want to scream.

It is created 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 offer 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 yet so counterintuitive that while a child can understand it. The most religiously sophisticated people miss. Martin Luther said were hardwired for works righteousness, 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 lower Christian we hear you preach every week will only study about the guy was 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 and you make him preach and there are times I'm back here in the blastoff. I woke up here is God. You 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 up 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 wrote a book you know I just I just been fantastic in a recycled and all got.

I just feel the warmth of God's love is exempt is all over me and I was like oh you know God like all he's awesome and comes in a blessed sermon because he just drips awesome spiritual solace, and so on. The walk on the stage and I'm a man preaching to the field to got enough and then couple weeks later.

I've had terrible week 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 as I want talk to him and so is terrible and I am denied. I met I was meeting my wife and I take the dog and I really have a dog sit his neighbor's dog was making it worse and I just so I just feel like I can just feel like we want to do better start making promises to God as you bless a sermon about God. You promised next week and will be really generous on the witness there but SAM and Mr. making 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 really say this to myself sometimes. But 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 and I fasted for 40 days in the wilderness.

I did, and Satan came to me three times and missed that wilderness time and I resisted 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 do is look at the people doing and that father give them the 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. Fred and Rachel Young threat of a cursing care to 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 reformer said 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 and 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, but it 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 won 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's 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 utility taken that spot of sacrifice.

It was his sacrifice, not mine.

He did not take me to the river Jordan threatened to kill me but insatiable of 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 will give you a broken Savior because you need to see that your broken and then one day I'll give you a perfect Savior will 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 was easier to his people, broken Savior. Thankfully he gives us a preview of the true Savior. Current your listening to Summit life with pastor and Bible teacher clear recently sat down with pastor Jenny and Tim to tell me a little bit more about the book of Judges during our month in the book of Judges were in the sea so much violence and abuse judgment war, but when God's people call out to him in the midst of the things he sends a deliverer to bring peace now these deliverers in the being very broken people and we find that there's no earthly deliverer that can give us the peace the security the satisfaction that her heart yearned for Jorgen to see this incredible theme of God's mercy and how every earthly solution ultimately fails in the solution we need is found in Jesus Christ. One of the things we thought would be helpful with the seriousness to which provides you a resource that will help you answer some of the crazy questions that people in our culture are asking to be taken. 16 of the most difficult questions that we get asked as Christians we put them into a second volume of honest questions quick answers you can get any of these are all available right now. JD Greer.com with a generous donation that you make your to us some life of helpless be able to Summit life on the air ministry to others city high training for training or you can donate online Greer.com Molly benefits inviting me to join us again tomorrow Bible characters doing it again Thursday for Senate Katie air ministry