Learning How to be a Faithful Farmer for God’s Harvest!

The Faith of a Person After God’s Own Heart!

Hebrews 11:32-40 (NASB)

God is in the business of transforming stories through the gospel of Jesus Christ. We are to grow strong in God’s grace as active participants in the world He ‘ created. God has entrusted His creation to His people to work as His Harvest workers – “All the world’s a field, and all the disciples of Jesus Christ merely farmers!” Therefore, let’s be faithful farmers by following the four-step strategy of a hard-working farmer: 1) cultivate people with faith; 2) sow the good seed of God’s grace (the gospel) into their hearts and minds; 3) care for them as their stories are transformed into fruit-bearing plants; and 4) reap a harvest of praise as the church of Jesus Christ. This strategy must be empowered by the Holy Spirit because apart from God we cannot bear any good fruit (John 15:5). Therefore, harvest workers of God’s kingdom are called to grow strong in God’s grace. Let’s take the first step by learning from the transforming stories of the Hall of Faith, found in Hebrews 11.

STEP #1 OF THE FARMER’S STRATEGY: CULTIVATE THE SOIL WITH FAITH

Today’s story is about David, found in Hebrews 11:32-40:

And what more shall I say? For time will fail me if I tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the prophets, who by faith conquered kingdoms, performed acts of righteousness, obtained promises, shut the mouths of lions, quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, from weakness were made strong, became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight. Women received back their dead by resurrection; and others were tortured, not accepting their release, so that they might obtain a better resurrection; and others experienced mockings and scourgings, yes, also chains and imprisonment. They were stoned, they were sawn in two, they were tempted, they were put to death with the sword; they went about in sheepskins, in goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, ill-treated (men of whom the world was not worthy), wandering in deserts and mountains and caves and holes in the ground. And all these, having gained approval through their faith, did not receive what was promised, because God had provided something better for us, so that apart from us they would not be made perfect.

David’s story is found throughout the Old Testament, and it would take the rest of the year to cover it, and even then, we would only be covering the highlights. David’s life of faith, and his transforming story, are essential to learn from. What is it about this story that put David in the hall of faith? Let us pray and then we will look at the next action step to answer that question.

STEP #2 OF THE FARMER’S STRATEGY: SOW THE GOOD SEED OF GOD’S GRACE

David was not a perfect man, but, in Acts 13:22, Paul called him“a man after God’s own heart.” He did so as part of a short history lesson of Israel, during one of his sermons from his first missionary journey, as recorded in Acts 13:21-23:

Then they asked for a king, and God gave them Saul the son of Kish, a man of the tribe of Benjamin, for forty years. After He had removed him, He raised up David to be their king, concerning whom He also testified and said, ‘I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after my heart, who will do all My will.’ From the descendants of this man, according to promise, God has brought to Israel a Savior, Jesus. [emphasis added]

Paul attributes the key phrase here to God, that according to God, David was “a man after my heart, who will do all My will.” Paul mentioned his name’s sake, Saul the son of Kish, who was the first king of Israel. Interestingly, Saul is not listed in Hebrews 11, even though he was the chosen of God to be the first king. Even though the author of Hebrews listed multiple judges of Israel, David was the only king of Israel listed. That’s kind of scandalous if you think about it, especially when you consider the number of Judges who are listed. Hebrews 11 even goes on to say, “Samuel and the prophets,” which we will look at over the next two Sundays, but of all the kings of Israel, only David was named. Furthermore, there is a significant contrast between Saul and David, which emphasizes why David was a man after God’s own heart – David was obedient to do all God’s will. In direct contrast with Saul, who was removed from office for disobeying God, as Samuel, the last judge of Israel and prophet of God, rebuked Saul in 1 Samuel 15:22-23, and verse 28:

Has the Lord as much delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed than the fat of rams. For rebellion is as the sin of divination, and insubordination is as iniquity and idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the Lord, He has also rejected you from being king. … The Lord has torn the kingdom of Israel from you today and has given it to your neighbor, who is better than you.

David was chosen to replace Saul, and while he, too, didn’t do it perfectly, he obeyed the Lord’s will. It is evident from the Bible that David loved God with all his heart, mind, body, and soul. This is the Greatest Command of Jesus Christ, who taught us in Matthew 22:37-40:

And He said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’This is the great and foremost commandment. The second is like it, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets.”

More than anyone else in the Bible, David expresses his love for God and His Word. Just read the Psalms. David loved God and that manifested in his obedience to do God’s will, as Jesus explained would happen to His followers in John 14:15, “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.” John built upon Jesus’ words in 1 John 5:1-3:

Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and whoever loves the Father loves the child born of Him. By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and observe His commandments. For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments; and His commandments are not burdensome.

Let’s take the next step to learn how to mature into such loving obedience to God.

STEP #3 OF THE FARMER’S STRATEGY: CARE FOR THE MATURING PLANT

How do we continue to live with the faith of a person after God’s own heart when we sin? When we royally mess things up and must face serious consequences? We learn from David that this requires of us to learn how to walk in a rhythm of confession and repentance. Learning obedience to God’s will is not a linear path, a once and done experience. As we learn from the Old Testament (think about the 40 years of wandering in the desert), observe every person mentioned in Hebrews 11, and confess from our own lives, the pathway of obedience is a meandering journey of learning to trust God, and that He will keep His promises. On paper, this should be a quick and easylesson to learn, but it’s not; it’s a long slow obedience in the same direction of maturing into a person after God’s own heart, who will do all God’s will.

David learned this in the infamous moment of his life: his affair with Bathsheba, and the murder of her husband, Uriah. This story is found in 2 Samuel 11, and David’s life is forever marked by his treachery, as we see it referenced in Jesus’ genealogy in Matthew 1:6, “Jesse was the father of David the king. David was the father of Solomon by Bathsheba who had been the wife of Uriah.” Yet, it was not for this massive abuse of power, and sin against God, that he is remembered and celebrated – David is forgiven and called, “a man after God’s own heart.” To understand this, we need to read what happens when Nathan the prophet confronted David for his sin in 2 Samuel 12:7-13 (This response is set in the context of an allegorical story Nathan told David to arouse his anger, and sense of justice, in verses 1-6.):

Nathan then said to David, “You are the man! Thus says the Lord God of Israel, ‘It is I who anointed you king over Israel and it is I who delivered you from the hand of Saul. ‘I also gave you your master’s house and your master’s wives into your care, and I gave you the house of Israel and Judah; and if that had been too little, I would have added to you many more things like these! ‘Why have you despised the word of the Lord by doing evil in His sight? You have struck down Uriah the Hittite with the sword, have taken his wife to be your wife, and have killed him with the sword of the sons of Ammon. ‘Now therefore, the sword shall never depart from your house, because you have despised Me and have taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your wife.’ “Thus says the Lord, ‘Behold, I will raise up evil against you from your own household; I will even take your wives before your eyes and give them to your companion, and he will lie with your wives in broad daylight. ‘Indeed you did it secretly, but I will do this thing before all Israel, and under the sun.’ ” Then David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the Lord.” And Nathan said to David, “The Lord also has taken away your sin; you shall not die.

If you keep reading this historical account in 2 Samuel 12, you see that David was a broken man over his sin against God, and because of the consequences of his sin against his family and nation. We see his confession and repentance most clearly in Psalm 51. To learn from David how we are to walk in a rhythm of confession and repentance, so that, we too, can become people after God’s own heart, let us know read Psalm 51 out loud, together. To do this, I am going to read from one our new pew Bibles, which are the NASB95 edition, donated to us through the estate of Jane Reese. (We will have a dedication ceremony of these new pew Bibles next week.)

Maturing into a person who has a heart after God’s own heart is cooperating with the work of the Holy Spirit to conform us into the image of Jesus Christ, as Paul taught in Romans 8:29a, “For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son.” This is a life-long process of maturation, and it is through this process that our lives will reap a harvest of praise to the glory of God, so let’s turn to the last action step.

STEP #4 OF THE FARMER’S STRATEGY: REAP A HARVEST OF PRAISE

Paul taught us about his ministry in 2 Corinthians 5:14-15, “For the love of Christ controls us, having concluded this, that one died for all, therefore all died; and He died for all, so that they who live might no longer live for themselves, but for Him who died and rose again on their behalf.” [emphasis added] The Greek word for “controls us,” is also translated “compels us” and has the connotation of being seized by the love of God. You can only seize the moment for God, after you have been seized by the love of Jesus Christ! (The order matters!)

Compelled by the love God, the work of the Holy Spirit in us, we can live a life of obedience, like Jesus, and become people after God’s own heart, which includes living in the rhythm of confession and repentance when we mess it up. The life of love will not be a perfect life, as we saw from David, and every other person listed in Hebrews 11, but it will be life that is responsive to the conviction of the Holy Spirit through God’s Word and God’s people. This is how we are transformed, from the inside out, so that we become like Jesus, “gentle and humble in heart,” which Jesus graciously invited you to learn from Him and find rest for your soul in His easy yoke.

I conclude with Jesus’ gracious invitation from Matthew11:28-30,

“Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”

You can watch the message by clicking HERE.

Learning How to be a Faithful Farmer for God’s Harvest!

The Faith of an Overcomer!

Hebrews 11:32-40 (NASB)

God is in the business of transforming stories through the gospel of Jesus Christ. We are to grow strong in God’s grace as active participants in the world He created. God has entrusted His creation to His people to work as His Harvest workers – “All the world’s a field, and all the disciples of Jesus Christ merely farmers!” Therefore, let’s be faithful farmers by following the four-step strategy of a hard-working farmer: 1) cultivate people with faith; 2) sow the good seed of God’s grace (the gospel) into their hearts and minds; 3) care for them as their stories are transformed into fruit-bearing plants; and 4) reap a harvest of praise as the church of Jesus Christ. This strategy must be empowered by the Holy Spirit because apart from God we cannot bear any good fruit (John 15:5). Therefore, harvest workers of God’s kingdom are called to grow strong in God’s grace. Let’s take the first step by learning from the transforming stories of the Hall of Faith, found in Hebrews 11.

STEP #1 OF THE FARMER’S STRATEGY: CULTIVATE THE SOIL WITH FAITH

Today’s story is about Jephthah, found in Hebrews 11:32-40:

And what more shall I say? For time will fail me if I tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the prophets, who by faith conquered kingdoms, performed acts of righteousness, obtained promises, shut the mouths of lions, quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, from weakness were made strong, became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight. Women received back their dead by resurrection; and others were tortured, not accepting their release, so that they might obtain a better resurrection; and others experienced mockings and scourgings, yes, also chains and imprisonment. They were stoned, they were sawn in two, they were tempted, they were put to death with the sword; they went about in sheepskins, in goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, ill-treated (men of whom the world was not worthy), wandering in deserts and mountains and caves and holes in the ground. And all these, having gained approval through their faith, did not receive what was promised, because God had provided something better for us, so that apart from us they would not be made perfect.

Jephthah’s story is found in Judges 11-12. What is it about this story that put Jephthah in the hall of faith? Let us pray and then we will look at the next action step to answer that question.

STEP #2 OF THE FARMER’S STRATEGY: SOW THE GOOD SEED OF GOD’S GRACE

The first thing we learn about Jephthah is that he was a valiant warrior, but also that he was the son of his father Gilead’s visit with a prostitute (Judges 11:1). In fact, when I put into my internet search engine “son of harlot,” the first thing that comes up is “Jephthah the Gileadite.” People pay lots of money to be the top result in an internet search. Not Jephthah! He gets that honor free of charge. Jephthah’s name is synonymous with being the son of a prostitute.

How did Gilead’s wife and his legitimate children treat his illegitimate son? Hebrews 11:37-38 gives us the answer in its description of those people who experienced the triumph of faith, “ill-treated (men of whom the world was not worthy).” Judges 11:2-3 explains “ill-treated”:

Gilead’s wife bore him sons; and when his wife’s sons grew up, they drove Jephthah out and said to him, “You shall not have an inheritance in our father’s house, for you are the son of another woman.” So Jephthah fled from his brothers and lived in the land of Tob; and worthless fellows gathered themselves about Jephthah, and they went out with him.

He was ostracized; treated like an outcast! How did Jephthah overcome such prejudice and stereotyping to become a judge of Israel? The answer to this question is part of the reason Jephthah is listed in Hebrews 11; his story is a triumph of faith, teaching us the faith of an overcomer. Circumstances beyond his control forced Jephthah to live the life of an outcast.

Have you seen people like outcasts? Have you ever been ostracized by a group? Have we as a church done this? Are we doing it currently? How much damage has our prejudice and stereotyping done to the witness of the church? How much potential has not been developed by congregations because of who someone’s parents were, or the challenges of a person’s childhood that caused them to walk a road that shaped them, inside and out? I invite you to look around you right now and see if there are potential Jephthahs being limited (or worse, being kept out) due to factors beyond their control?

I want to introduce you to my friend, Joshua. He was a member of my Thursday morning discipleship group at the New Castle Correctional Facility, where I took fifteen men through my first discipleship book, Live Like a Champion Today. Joshua was released last month, but he continues to in his discipleship with me, being a part of over forty men who have accepted the New Testament Reading Challenge, reading the New Testament in 90 days. This man is my brother in Christ, a fellow member of the Body of Christ, and God has a plan for life. I am excited that he is here today to share his transforming story of faith.

[Joshua to share testimony and special song.]

Neither Joshua, Jephthah, nor Jerry are the heroes of our own stories! There is only one hero of the faith, and His name is Jesus! If you want to have a story that demonstrates the triumph of faith, you must keep your eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, learning how to walk with Him each day, in His easy yoke, not making promises for the future after your own victory has been won, but obeying Him today, trusting His victory for your situation! You can live with the faith of an overcomer by obeying today. Let’s take the next step to learn how to do this.

STEP #3 OF THE FARMER’S STRATEGY: CARE FOR THE MATURING PLANT

Jephthah had the reputation as a “valiant warrior,” and when the Ammonites oppressed the Israelites, the people needed a military leader, and none could be found, so the elders of Gilead asked Jephthah to come back home and lead them to victory. Judges 11:7-11 captures his response and what happens next:

Then Jephthah said to the elders of Gilead, “Did you not hate me and drive me from my father’s house? So why have you come to me now when you are in trouble?” The elders of Gilead said to Jephthah, “For this reason we have now returned to you, that you may go with us and fight with the sons of Ammon and become head over all the inhabitants of Gilead.” So Jephthah said to the elders of Gilead, “If you take me back to fight against the sons of Ammon and the Lord gives them up to me, will I become your head?” The elders of Gilead said to Jephthah, “The Lord is witness between us; surely we will do as you have said.” Then Jephthah went with the elders of Gilead, and the people made him head and chief over them; and Jephthah spoke all his words before the Lord at Mizpah.

Interestingly, in verse 11, we see that Jephthah sealed this with a covenant by bringing all his words before the Lord as Mizpah. This was no longer a contract between men, this was a covenant with God as a witness. Jephthah was all in, and in doing so, he led Israel to victory. We must remember though, it wasn’t Jephthah alone, it was God with him, as verse 29 emphasizes, just like we saw in the Samson story, “Now the Spirit of the Lord came upon Jephthah, so that he passed through Gilead and Manasseh; then he passed through Mizpah of Gilead, and from Mizpah of Gilead he went on to the sons of Ammon.” [Emphasis added]

Jephthah stepped into the opportunity that was presented to him. Despite his ostracism, living in Tob, an Aramean city, he responded to the invitation of God to use what he had been given by God for the good of God’s people. Unfortunately, as we learn from the rest of his story, he was not a good father (Judges 11:30-40[1]), nor a skillful diplomat (Judges 12:1-6). The one thing he could righteously offer to God, he used for His glory – he was a break-glass-only-in-the-event-of-war kind of guy. As I wrote in my Seize the Moment devotion on Judges 11:

Jephthah reminds me of Gunnery Sergeant Thomas Highway, Clint Eastwood’s character from Heartbreak Ridge, a grizzled old medal of honor recipient who, when finishing his last years in the Marine Corps, had to go to war one last time. His commander critiqued that people like him should be behind glass displays that say, “Break glass only in the event of war!”[2]

You may not understand why God made you the way you are, or why certain events have happened in your life, but you can bet that God has good works for you to do with your life (Ephesians 2:10). God is not interested in your promises for one day in the future; He desires obedience today! Are you willing to respond to the invitation of God, even if you have been misjudged previously, or treated unfairly because of people’s prejudices? Are you allowing your past to hold you back from being obedient to God today?

You are being invited today to trust God with every part of your story. Let’s turn to the last action step – God desires for you to reap a harvest of praise to His glory.

STEP #4 OF THE FARMER’S STRATEGY: REAP A HARVEST OF PRAISE

Jephthah led Israel to victory – He was an overcomer! We learn at the end of his story, recorded in Judges 12:7a, “Jephthah judged Israel six years.” He fulfilled the purpose for which God created him and called him. He had the faith of an overcomer!

Are you an overcomer? Are you walking in the victory of Jesus Christ? Paul taught in Romans 8:37-39:

But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

The life of an overcomer is a life that reaps a harvest of praise to the glory of God. It’s not a perfect life though; it’s a life filled with grace. The grace of God, which empowers us to keep going and not bail before the blessing. Jephthah did not do it perfectly, nor will I, or you, or Joshua, or any of us. We will make mistakes and those mistakes will have real consequences, but we should not allow those to stop us from reaping a harvest of praise in our lives, and through the lives of others. Jephthah went from outcast to overcomer, and from his story we have learned how to walk in the faith of an overcomer.

Do you really think you are going to get back at the world for being unfair, or get satisfaction out of a life filled with the pursuit of vengeance. Both are waste of your energy and will not lead to a life that reaps a harvest of praise to God’s glory! Jephthah did not seek vengeance against his people; rather, he obeyed God and was filled with the Spirit to answer God’s call through them. That’s the faith of an overcomer! In Romans 12:17-21, Paul commands us to do the same:

Never pay back evil for evil to anyone. Respect what is right in the sight of all men. If possible, so far as it depends on you, be at peace with all men. Never take your own revenge, beloved, but leave room for the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord. “But if your enemy is hungry, feed him, and if he is thirsty, give him a drink; for in so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.” Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

FOOTNOTES:

[1] I’m not going to go into in this manuscript, but Jephthah’s rash vow, described in Judges 11:30-40, is NOT why he was listed in Hebrews 11. It breaks my heart to think that has been and continues to be taught by teachers. Men like Gideon, Samson, and Jephthah, each of which are found in Hebrews 11, offer students a challenge. We must discern what it is we are to emulate as a triumph of faith, and what is just of man, excess not to be emulated.