SERMON SPOTLIGHT * 1/7/24
In the 22 words of this passage, we find a treasure trove of truth meant to move our hearts and minds to more profound wonder and awe at our God and Savior. Below is an outline summary of the sermon for your further study and deeper reflection.
SERIES: Christ in the Chaos
TEXT: Judges 3:12-30
TITLE: From An Oxgoad To A Cross
PREACHER: Derek Overstreet
POINTS:
1. A Mystery Setting
2. A Mystery Identity
3. A Mystery Deliverance
SERMON EXCERPTS:
All quotes are taken from the pastor’s notes.
”Shamgar is a man of mystery. As suddenly as he appears, he disappears. Every judge gets at least two verses, some 3 or 4 chapters. The only other place Shamgar is mentioned in Scripture is in Deborah’s song in Ch. 5. Everything we know about Shamgar is in this one verse. But we also know God doesn’t waste words.”
“Regardless of how much ink and paper he gets, Shamgar matters because, like Othniel, Ehud, Deborah, Gideon, Samson, and others in Judges, God called and chose him to be His people's Savior. In these 22 words, we find a treasure trove of truth meant to move our hearts and minds to more profound wonder and awe at our God and Savior.”
“As the book of Judges progresses, we will see the Philistines were a terror for the Israelites in keeping control of the Promised Land. But for now, Shamgar restored Israel’s peace and rest established with Ehud’s victory in the East. That brief history lesson is meant to take us somewhere. This obscure text is a clear reminder of the beautiful reality at the core of Christian faith and hope—heaven. Heaven is the place of perfect and unbreakable peace and rest for God’s people.”
“God used Shamgar in an emergency to keep the Philistines at bay, thus keeping His people at rest. In this way, Shamgar points us to Christ, in whom you are entirely out of the reach of Satan’s threats of eternal condemnation.”
“[His] description leads us to believe that Shamgar was an outsider. Isn’t that interesting? Israel is so destitute spiritually that she can’t save herself. Whatever Israel had going for them, economy, military might, you name it, they were so given over to idolatry, immorality, and sin that they needed someone else to save them.”
“God is the hero. Shamgar, a gentile who carried the name of a pagan God, wielding an unconventional weapon to do what Israel could not do for themselves, was used by a faithful and all-powerful God to save His people. Shamgar was an unlikely deliverer sent by God to defeat an undefeatable enemy in the most unlikely manner.”
“Despite Shamgar's heroic feat, he could not ultimately deliver Israel. Samson had to fight the Philistines. Saul had to fight the Philistines. David had to fight the Philistines. Did you catch it says he ALSO saved Israel. So many saviors, but none of them could ultimately deliver Israel from the enemy. Why? Because the greatest enemy is not out there; it’s in here. It’s sin.”
“We may read Shamgar’s story and think it’s pure foolishness—One man killed 600 Philistines with an oxgoad?! But the Bible says the most foolish weapon of all is a cross. A cross where all our sins were nailed, placed upon a divine and sinless Savior, so that all who have faith in him could have total forgiveness of sin, abiding righteousness, and unbreakable peace and rest with God. This is the mystery of mysteries unlocked for us by the Spirit and given to us by divine grace and mercy—From An Oxgoad To A Cross!”
“Shamgar’s story is meant to infuse our hearts and minds with fresh wonder and awe at our Lord and Savior.”
ADDITIONAL SCRIPTURE:
2 Timothy 3:16
Romans 8:1, 33-34
Romans 8:7-8
Luke 2:11
QUOTES:
Barry Webb - “In Shamgar, we catch a glimpse of unbroken rest. He prevented the eighty-year rest that Ehud won for Israel from being disturbed by a Philistine incursion, and like all the deliverances won by Israel’s judges that is a signpost on the way to something greater—a rest in which there will be no need for emergency action to keep the enemy at bay.”
David Jackman - “We are prone to domesticate the awesome power and majestic authority of God to fit into our little minds and pockets. We still want to control the omnipotent, to predict the infinite. We feel more comfortable that way. What we do not realize is this is a quick route to spiritual disaster. Unless we recover a healthy fear and awe of the inscrutable power and sovereignty of God, we shall end up as idolatrous as everyone else.”
APPLICATION:
One day in heaven, not even Satan’s threats will exist. Only unbroken rest and peace forever with God and His people. This is what makes Christianity so hopeful. We have hope in this life, yes, but it’s the glory, majesty, and wonder of life to come in the presence of God and Christ and all His saints that fuels our perseverance in this life. What area of life do you need to apply heaven to?
Here are the questions I want us to ask ourselves:
Even though you can’t fully fathom it, are you still amazed that God mercifully chose to save you out of millions lost?
Even though you don’t always see it, do you still wonder at the infinite power of God at work in your life, generously giving you all you need for life and godliness?
Even though you can’t fully grasp it, does it still leave you in awe that as unfaithful as you are to God every day, He remains forever faithful to you?
In all its mystery, the story of Shamgar goads us to draw near to our Savior in humility and repentance and hope that we can live every day with greater awe and wonder of our one and only Savior—Jesus Christ.