Judges 3:31
“And after him was Shamgar the son of Anath, which slew
of the Philistines six hundred men with an ox goad: and he also delivered
Israel.”
-Moses who leads God's people out of Egypt and speaks with God face to face as a man speaks with his friend.
-The ministry of Paul that is so powerful even the devil and demons know and fear his name.
The
Bible is literally filled with wonderful heroes. Yet most people have heard very
few sermons preached about the man named Shamgar. Shamgar gets 2 verses
in all the Bible. Just 42 words are said about Shamgar in Judges 3:31 and 5:6.
Yet this man’s story is so important that a whole book was written about the
Shamgar Principle in 2004 by Pat Williams, Jay Strack, and Jim Denny. In the
book they share 3 principles that they derived from Shamgar and I want to use
those 3 points today. I believe the Lord laid this upon
my heart because some still believe that the glory days
of our church are past. Yet I believe if we together adopt these principles our best days are ahead of us. What are those three principles about Shamgar?
-You do what you can.
-You start where you are.
According to Jewish tradition
Shamgar was most likely a farmer. No one ever trained him for battle or in the
art of war. All he knew was farming. I’m sure Shamgar was very
upset about the condition of the land of Judah when God called him into service
right there on the farm. God had placed Israel once again into the hands of the
Philistines because of their sins against Him. These Philistines would come to
Shamgar's village regularly, destroy their crops and take away everything
people had to live on just as they did others in the region according to their
history. Despite the lack of military training, Shamgar responded to God's
calling to fight the Philistines.He had a passion and a desire to serve God and redeem Israel although he had never fought in battle before. Many Christians today dream of doing great things for God, but they don't obey when He calls them to do something for Him. It's not necessary to worry about where we are or what we have or don’t have, but it is our obligation to obey God and submit yourself to His will right where you are.
Matthew
22:14 “For many
are called, but few are
chosen.”
Romans
11:29 “For the gifts
and calling of God are without repentance.”
1 Peter 2:9, 10 “But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should show forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvelous light; Which in time past were not a people, but are now the people of God: which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy.”
-You use what you’ve got.
Shamgar
killed 600 Philistines with an ox goad. The
most common form of transportation in that day was to ride in a cart which was
drawn by oxen. From time to time, the oxen would want to stop and veer off the
road to eat or whatever. The driver of the cart had a long stick which was
pointy, like a spear, used for prodding the oxen along to keep them moving
straight and forward. Also, at the back of the cart, the oxen would like to
kick at the
one who was prodding them, so big thorns were attached to the cart. These were
called the “pricks” and they encouraged the oxen that were foolish enough to
try to kick at the owner of the ox goad. So
what does Shamgar use to go to war with the Philistines? An ox goad, which was
the major tool of his trade as a farmer and driver of an ox cart.
I
imagine that the Philistines laughed at him, much like Goliath mocked David for
being a child and attacking him with a child's toy like a sling. Can you
imagine the taunts of those Philistines about Shamgar needing to go back to the
farm where he belonged? I guarantee you they mocked him right up until they saw
a few of their buddies die at the end of that ox goad. And I believe they had
the most unusual look of wonder as well when he killed them with that ox goad,
too.
1 Timothy 4:14 “Neglect
not the gift that is in thee, which was given thee by prophecy, with the laying
on of the hands of the presbytery.”
-You do what you can.
So
many people live their lives thinking only of what they could have been or
could have done. They live lives of quiet apathy. They know they should be
living for the Lord. They know that they should be taking stands for Christ.
And yet, they sit idly by and do nothing. When
the Philistines began to oppress God's people, there were thousands who did
nothing. Yet, there was Shamgar who would not sit idly by and watch God's name
be profaned or His people suffer injustice. He
could have done what we do so many times. He could have thought of all the
cost. He could have thought of the hundred reasons why he should not get
involved. Yet, God's honor was at stake and that one reason overshadowed all
his objections.If you desire a life of extra ordinary spiritual success, then learn and live the
Principles of Shamgar.
a.
Start right where you are.
I
don’t have to make excuses or go somewhere else to be used of God. I can begin
to live by these Shamgar principles right here where I am at. God has a place
for me, a work for me, and a job for me. I will be faithful. I will
understand these are my green pastures and I will work under the authority of
my spiritual leaders to do what God has called me to do right here.
b.
Use what you have.
I
can use my abilities and my gifts to help build this place God has placed me
in.
c.
I will do what I can.
The
life I live, I live at the pleasure of the Lord Himself. Every breath that I
breathe belongs to Him. I will not cower before the Philistines of this world.
I will not allow the Goliaths of this world to intimidate me. I cannot do everything.
Maybe I cannot change anything. Yet, I am not content to not try.
With the
enabling of the Spirit of God and by His might, I will do what I can with what
I have been given in the place God has put me. With Him by my side all things
are possible.
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