There Will Be Tags Judges 3: 12-30

Nothing at all. It means nothing at all. Okay,

here we go. So I want to share with you a certain

story out of the book of Judges today. I want

to give you a little bit of a caveat before we

get there. Is it on now? I think it's on now,

yes. So before we get there, we're just going

to drill down on one aspect of the story. So

if you really want to get everything that God's

going to... have for you out of the store, you're

probably going to have to do a little bit more

work than what I can do with you here today,

because we will drill down on just one really

serious thing that the Lord laid on my heart.

That also will keep us from being here for another

two or three hours, which is good. So we're just

going to get right through it and then get on

that one really major thing. But I will show

you how to use it, I think, for your benefit.

I hope so. And I will show you why it's so important

when we get there. First of all, I want to talk

to you, just do an object lesson if I may, about

a sword style. So if you happen to know, does

anyone in the house happen to know what the sword

style, if I say these words, half -sorting, does

anybody know what half -sorting is? You do know

what it is? All right, would you come up here

and demonstrate? Don't hurt yourself, obviously,

because you don't have gauntlets. Basically,

from what I understand, bracing the blade with

your palm. Okay. Mind you, you'd be wearing protection

on your hands, but you're using it to block and

thrust and open up the attacks. Okay. So that

is one very serious part of that strategy, is

you're basically putting a hand on the blade.

Now, to finish the move, a knight in metal armor

or metal gauntlets, I'm going to do it now without

my gauntlets, because this is an actual sword

I'm using up here. It's not supercharged. Okay?

They would actually... drop the sword into both

hands, and swing it like a hammer. Which would

allow these cross pieces to function like a hammer,

and then you can pierce armor where the sword

would be turned away. So if you swing this sword

at steel armor, it will glance off most of the

time. You can find chinks in armor, so you can

thrust in. Or if you can get them out of position,

you can whack them in the armpit or in the back

of the knee, and it'll hurt pretty bad. But plate

armor is not necessarily penetrated by a normal

sword swing if the person swinging is not on

horseback. When you're on horseback, you get

a lot more momentum, or you can be traveling

20 miles per hour, and it will pierce plate armor

then. But typically, a sword will not do that.

So as Rahm has pointed out, if you put one hand

on the blade, you now have this maneuver, this

maneuver, and then pretty much the Germans invented

what? There's a word for it. I'll give you the

word. It's actually more to how. Thank you very

much. And they would actually switch and put

both hands on the blade and use it like a pick

or a hammer. So I want you to bear that in mind

today as we talk about this text. It is a kind

of combative and even kind of volatile text.

But we're going to use that, what I just showed

you, in spiritual ways. to our benefit, okay?

So maybe you'll say amen with me, a who to holler,

hallelujah, something as we go to Judges chapter

Judges 3 · chapter mention

3. Okay, this is the word of God from here on

out. Whatever I get right, whatever I get wrong,

as long as I don't read the word incorrectly.

And if I do that, you're responsible to catch

it. Okay, not my job to catch it for you, right?

I'm going to try to read it exactly as it is

written. And then if I miss something or if there's

something in there that the Lord really wants

to highlight for you, then you need to catch

it, okay? Judges chapter 3 beginning in verse

Judges 3 · chapter mention

12. So we're just coming in after Ophniel and

the land had 40 years of rest. Verse 12 says

this, Now the sons of Israel again did evil in

the sight of the Lord. So the Lord strengthened

Eglon, the king of Moab, against Israel because

they had done evil in the sight of the Lord.

In other words, he's raising up an enemy king,

giving him strength, giving him success over

top of Israel. 13. And he gathered to himself

the sons of Ammon and Amalek, and he went and

defeated Israel, and they possessed the city

of the palm trees. Any Bible scholars in the

room know what city is referred to as the city

of the palm trees? Take a stab at it. If I told

you that it is a prominent city in the region

and would give them control of the entire region

of the Promised Land, now would you take a stab

at it? Say it again. It's Jericho. Does anybody

know something special about Jericho? Jericho

was cursed by Joshua after it was captured and

said that if anybody ever fully rebuilt the city,

they will pay for the first part of the building

of the wall with their firstborn son, and when

they put the gates up, they will pay with their

youngest child's life. And that does happen later,

but it doesn't happen here, and they don't really

rebuild the walls, they just control that region

which overlooks the entirety of the promised

land. And so for them to take over Jericho, which

God conquered in a miraculous way, is a pretty

big deal. And that's what they did. They possessed

the city of the palm trees. And the sons of Israel

served Eglon, the king of Moab, for 18 years.

So for 18 years, they were in oppression. Longer

than last time. Verse 15 says, But when the sons

of Israel cried to the Lord, the Lord raised

up a deliverer for them. And remember that as

we read the book of Judges, another apt term

might be the book of deliverers, actually, because

most of them don't judge the people or judge

legal cases, but they are deliverers in times

of need. Ehud, the son of Gerah, the Benjamite,

a left -handed man. Now, before I go any further,

if you lived in that day and you talk about him,

Ehud, being a left -handed man, does that sound

like a positive or a negative? It was a negative.

So he was to be considered handicapped from birth

because he could not use his right hand the way

that he should be able to. Now, there are advantages

to it, a few, in combat, because it puts your

sword on their sword side instead of on their

shield side. So there's some advantage to that,

but the truth is it also puts your shield on

their... On the wrong side. So it was considered

to be a weakness, and he's considered handicapped

from the beginning. He's always been thought

of as handicapped. In fact, even up until about

50 years ago or so, people would try very hard

to convert their left -handed child to right

-handedness because they saw it as a flaw, a

disability. And in fact, there was a period of

time where they believed that a lot of kids got

stuttering from being converted from left -handed

to right -handed. Because they would tie their

hand behind their back and everything else. And

finally, people figured out that being left -handed

is pretty normal for some folks and not really

a handicap. But in this day, he is seen as a

handicapped man, basically. And the sons of Israel

sent tribute by him to Eglon, the king of Moab.

So tribute is when you pay them not to bother

you any more than necessary. So he's taking the

tribute. Verse 16. Ehud made himself a sword

which had two edges. It was a cubit in length.

Now, a cubit is the distance from your elbow

to the tip of your fingers, about 18 inches on

most grown men. It could be a little less, a

little more. I don't know what his was exactly.

But it made about a cubit in length. And he bound

it on the right thigh under his cloak. So a man

would normally wear his sword on his hip on the

opposite side of his handedness. So if you're

right -handed, your sword goes over here. So

you can draw it cross -body because a sword is

longer than the length of your arm, usually.

or inconvenient in any case, to get it to clear

of the scabbard. So if it's on this side, you

have to flip it around, and you'll have a poor

grip if you're right -handed drawing from your

right side. If you draw from your left side,

you've got a good firm grip on it, you bring

it out, you can bring it into action faster.

So they would wear it on their left side. So

you would expect him, if he's going to be armed,

to have a sword there, and they will search him

in a moment, and they will not find a sword there,

because he has strapped it on the inside of his

right thigh. So here we go. Verse 16 said, and

Ehud made himself a sword which had two edges,

a cubit in length, and he bound it on his right

thigh under his cloak. And he presented the tribute

to Iglan, king of Moab. Now, Iglan was a very

fat man. And it came about when he had finished

presenting the tribute that he sent away the

people who had carried the tribute. So he was

sending everybody else away. Iglan, I'm sorry.

Our hero, if you will, Ehud, sends everybody

else away. He's the only one still standing there.

Verse 19. But he himself turned back from the

idols which were at Gilgal and said, I have a

secret message for you, O king. And he said,

keep silence. And all who attended him left him.

So in other words, he's requesting a secret audience

with the king. Now it's interesting that people

in the world are lured by secrets. We're looking

for that which is, That's just outside our knowledge.

Always looking for that just outside our knowledge.

And he was very intrigued by this secret message.

Now, what kind of a secret message could Ehud

be bringing that he would need to send his guards

away or whatever? But in any case, he says, I

have a secret message for you. The king first

says, keep silence. And then all who attended

the king left him. Verse 20. And Ehud came to

him while he was sitting alone in his cool roof

chamber. Ehud said, I have a message from God

for you. And he arose from his seat. And he who

stretched out his left hand took the sword from

his right thigh and thrust it into his belly.

The handle also went in after the blades. In

other words, he thrust that sword, probably a

good part of 18 inches or so, into the man's

innards. And the fat closed over the blade. And

he did not draw the sword out of his belly. In

other words, he left it there, 18 inches buried

in this very rotund ruler. And the refuge came

out. So in other words, it started to stink in

the room. It started to stuff coming out of him.

It was really gross. 23. Then Ehud went out into

the vestibule and shut the doors of the roof

chamber behind him and locked them. Then when

he had gone out, his servants came and looked

and behold, the doors of the roof chamber were

locked. And they said, he is only relieving himself

in the cool room. And they waited until they

became anxious. But behold, he did not open the

doors of the roof chamber, because he's got an

18 -inch sword stuck in his gut. Therefore, they

took the key and opened the doors themselves.

Behold, their master had fallen to the floor

dead. Now Ehud escaped while they were delaying,

and he passed by the idols and escaped to Sirah.

And it came about when he had arrived that he

blew the trumpet. in the hill country of Ephraim.

And the sons of Israel went down with him from

the hill country, and he was in front of them.

So he leads them out into battle. He said to

them, Pursue them, for the Lord has given your

enemies, the Moabites, into your hands. So they

went down after him and seized the fords of the

Jordan opposite Moab. So that cuts off their

reinforcements and also blocks their way home.

And he did not allow anyone to cross. And they

struck down at that time about 10 ,000 Moabites,

all robust and valiant men. and no one escaped.

So Moab was subdued that day under the hand of

Israel, and the land was undisturbed, that is

to say, it had peace for 80 years, which is the

longest period of peace that the judges have

yet marshaled. So here's what I want you to see.

It's really kind of one thing, and the Lord really

laid it on my heart. It starts with this. The

world has a tendency to categorize people. It's

too much work to get to actually know someone

completely. You're going to have to sit down

with them over coffee, over meals, call them

regularly, visit with them, talk to them, ask

them questions about their past, where they came

from, about their family, what's their history,

what's their culture. Even your best friends

and even some of your closest family members,

you do not know enough about them to actually

say, I know them the way that would be necessary

for us to really know people. It's just too much

work. So the world has a tendency to tag people.

It's easier to mentally tag them and know how

to deal with them from the moment of tagging

on. This is why, for example, we naturally distrust

anyone who has ever lied to us before. Not because

lying is bad, addictive, wrong, all these things,

right? And because we can expect if they did

it once, they'll do it again. But because we

have mentally tagged them as a liar. It's how

people deal with people at their work. That's

my boss. By now, I know if I say this, this is

how he's going to react. If I say that, this

is how he's going to react. We may be completely

incorrect, but the bottom line is we've tagged

them. So here's how to break out of being tagged.

Ehud has given us the example. He was handicapped.

For his whole life, he was thought of as an inferior

man, an inferior warrior, and incapable. He looked

at his handicap and said, wait a minute, it's

possible that the very thing that everyone has

been tagging me with my whole life, the very

thing that everyone has been saying about me

is the weakest thing, is actually the thing that

God wants to use to bring deliverance to his

people. God raised him up. It says he raised

him up. He empowered him to recognize that God

is the one in charge and God is the one who did

all of these things that made you who you are.

So here's how to break up. Understand that you

are a culmination of many factors. As much as

the world might want to highlight just one of

those, or you might want to look at just one

experience that you've had, or one thing that

you think you've become, you're much more complex

than that. So if a tag is delivered onto you,

understand that that tag is barely scraping the

surface of who you actually are. You have to

know that. This is to say, many things have come

together to make you who you are. Even outside

Christ. People have DNA. People have culture.

People have how they were raised, where they

came from, what they experienced, the abuse they

suffered as a child. Let's be realistic. This

is childhood we're talking about. Hopefully not

terrible abuse, but the reality is children are

abused. If they're not abused by their parents,

which hopefully they're not, but if they're not,

they're often abused by their friends. Search

your history. How often were you abused by the

people that should have been? In your life that

were a positive, your friends, your family members,

your brother or sister, whatever. Bottom line

is we have all those events. So I ask you, who

is it that, number one, wrote your DNA? Who is

it that put you together just exactly the way

you would be in the womb of your mother before

ever you entered in? So those factors are all

controlled by God. According to Acts 17, Paul

says that God orchestrates the boundaries of

our living. So God set up where you live. God

set up the things that you experience. God did

all of that. So God has authored every bit of

it. Even though some of it was sin by other people

or sin by you or things that you wish you weren't

a part of, right, that you maybe regret, all

of those factors then were allowed to come together

to form you. And I would submit to you that by

now you're probably figuring out that you really

don't actually know yourself all that well. Better

than anybody, I'll give you that. Better than

any human alive. But the reality is, do we really

know? Like, for example, I believe wholeheartedly,

I believe absolutely that it is the position

of a Christian man to stand up and protect his

wife and his children and even his church, God

forbid, if something happened. And in our church,

we have a kind of a plan, right? So if the church

is ever invaded by a shooter or whatever, the

women will take the children and go one way and

all the men go toward the shooter. It's not run

away, not hide, whatever. We go take him out.

Ten men go after him. Unless he brings a bomb,

he's going down. And so even though I believe

that's true and I want that to be the kind of

man that I am, do I really know? Do I really

know that when that time comes that I will step

up and have the courage? I've walked into crazy

things. I've seen and done crazy things. But

will I be focused on doing the right thing at

that time? I'm not sure I know myself well enough

to know for sure what I will do in every circumstance.

But what I can say for sure is that God wove

together all those factors. Some of them may

be considered bad. Consider, if God can use the

very thing that you're going through, the difficulty,

the tag that you've been hit with, if you will,

that somebody labeled you with, if he can use

that for his purposes, that's what Ehud said.

God can use my left -handed handicappedness,

and I can make a sword, and I can put it where

they will not as likely be prepared for me to

carry a weapon. And maybe I'll die trying to

pull this off, but maybe I won't. And clearly

he didn't. And it was Ehud's strong, I submit

to you that it was Ehud's strong left hand that

buried that sword 18 inches deep in the enemy

king. The handicap of the man used to overcome

the things of life. If God can use the very thing

that you are labeled with, the very handicap

that you supposedly have, the diagnosis or the

prognosis or the weakness or the handicap, if

he can do that, then understand, first of all,

his presence will be clearly felt, at least by

you. I look back at who I was before I got saved.

I've said this many times. Before I got saved,

I avoided every opportunity at public speaking

that I possibly could. I missed 38 days of my

junior year of high school to avoid every public

speaking opportunity I would ever have. And when

they first asked me to preach, I said, oh no,

I would never do that. I know who God has made

me to be. See what I was doing there? I was believing

the tag. I said, no, no, I know who God has made

me to be. I would never be called to do that.

He's going to use me, I'm sure, but never that.

And for 48 hours, I couldn't sleep and I couldn't

eat and I felt sick and sweaty. And I didn't

have a fever. I didn't have any other symptoms.

I just couldn't eat. I felt sick and sweaty.

And I said, Lord, is this something I've done?

I wasn't even thinking about the fact I said

no, because I was sure I would never preach.

And the Lord said, you said no. He said, will

you pray about it? And I said, you said no, you

wouldn't even pray about it. You wouldn't even

bother to ask me if you should. And I said, okay,

I'm asking you now. And he said, yes, you should.

And I'm like, no, no, I don't want to do that.

And he says, and that's why. And then fast forward

now, I've been preaching for... Two and a half

decades. Preaching the gospel. And yes, am I

afraid I won't get it right? Sometimes. Do I

realize that that's who I am outside Christ?

Yes. But I also realize that God has used that

to make something in my life that he can use.

And I feel his presence when I'm writing a sermon,

when I'm praying for what I'm supposed to say,

when I'm standing here right now, knowing that

God is saying through me what it is that God

wants to say, I feel his presence. And if you

can allow that very thing that would hold you

back, that diagnosis, that prognosis, that tag,

that disability, to become a thing that God uses

for his purposes, then you too will feel his

presence. Notice also that if the world is trying

to label you, if they are wrong about you, if

they try to put that label on you and then later

you prove that they are completely wrong. Right?

So they thought you were nothing, nobody, not

honest, not good, not strong, weak in some way.

And then you step up and you do amazingly in

the Lord. You do exactly what it is that God

would have you to do. Then if they were wrong

about you, they just might start to think, well,

if I was wrong about him or her, maybe I'm wrong

about God. And God can use that then to open

them up to the possibility that they have bought

into the lie, the trap, the death that has been

offered by the world, and that they too are missing

out on this freedom in Christ. So ask yourself,

what can I do to put it to use? Well, let's look

at his example. He created a tool. You may need

to create a tool, right? I know a couple of teachers

who were paralyzed. One was in a motorcycle accident.

Another one was like cerebral palsy or something.

And they were in a wheelchair. They got a wheelchair.

Then they got a motorized wheelchair. And then

they went everywhere teaching the truth and the

gospel on wheels, not on feet. Right? And so

we have the shoes of peace and they had the wheels

of peace. They would go. They found out what

the tool was that was going to allow them to

live beyond their handicap, live beyond their

weakness, and began to do that which God was

supposed to do. You may be like, well, I don't

read so well. You know, my academic level is

not super great. There are audio Bibles. There

are video Bibles. There are commentaries and

people will explain to you what it means. There

are pastors and teachers of Sunday school. There

are tools that will give you the ability to understand

what it is that you need to know from His Word.

You can go further with that. You say, well,

I'll probably never make a lot of money. Listen,

you don't need to make a lot of money in life.

Nobody needs to make a lot of money. Nobody.

Now, you might say, well, I've got a $300 cell

phone bill. Well, you have a different problem.

Your problem is not that you need to make a lot

of money. Your problem is that you have a $300

cell phone bill, right? And you can adjust your

life and say, well, what is my tool? I can have

a spending plan. I can have a budget. I can have

five different streams of income, giving me each

one a little bit until I survive and then have

a little to give and to prosper. The bottom line

is, you can find a tool, a method, to capitalize

on the world's ignorant point of view where they've

labeled you and you've accepted that label. You

can be found busy at God's work while all the

world says you are hindered from doing anything

of value. Chief, of course, is trust in the Lord

because it is He that wrote you. Your character

was written by God. Your body, designed by God.

Your mind, designed by God. It's He that wrote

you and He that put you where you are. And now

He can raise you up and allow you to do the things

that He desires to do through you. Chief then,

the one major thing that Ehud got right was he

trusted in the Lord and allowed the Lord to raise

him up. It says this in the New Testament, For

consider your calling, brothers and sisters,

that there were not many wise according to the

flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, But God

has chosen the foolish things of the world to

shame the wise. And God has chosen the weak things

of the world to shame the things which are strong.

And the significant things of the world and the

despised, God has chosen. The things that are

not, so that he may nullify the things that are.

So that no human may boast before God. For it

is due to him, to God, that you are in Christ

Jesus. who became to us wisdom from God, and

the righteousness and sanctification and redemption,

those are three really big words, so that as

it is written, let the one who boasts, boasts

in the Lord. There is one tag only in Scripture,

just one that God desires to place on you or

on me. In Romans 8 it says this, it says, For

all who being led by the Spirit of God, these

are the sons and daughters of God. For you have

not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear

again, but you have received a spirit of adoption

as sons and daughters by which we cry out, Abba,

Father. The Spirit Himself testifies with our

spirit that we are children of God. And if children,

heirs also. Heirs of God and fellow heirs with

Christ if indeed we suffer with Him so that we

may also be glorified with Him. See, it's not

always going to be good by your estimation. There's

going to be difficulty. And when you go through

that difficulty, you can come out shining. You

can come out as a child of God. You can come

out as a child of God if indeed you're being

led by the Spirit of God. Just one label, child

of God. That's all God wants for you. And every

time someone says to you, well, you're weak,

you can say, no, I'm a child of God. Every time

someone says to you, well, you're fat, you can

say, I'm a child of God. You say, you're old,

I'm a child of God. You're not creative, I'm

a child of God. You talk too much, I'm a child

of God. And you can just keep saying, I'm a child

of God, because all those other labels, at best,

are tools that you can turn around and use for

your benefit in the kingdom of God. Romans 12.

One says that we are to be transformed by the

renewing of our mind, not conformed to the way

the world sees us. And in part, this means not

being smaller, not being lesser, not being trapped

into the image that the world will try to pin

on you, but being changed into the new you, the

correct you, the free you, the authorized you,

the you that God is heading you towards, the

you that God is making you into. diagnosis, career

or job title. I'm a doctor. I'm a scientist.

I'm a mower. I'm a drill rig operator. I'm a

plumber. I'm a maintenance man. These are all

just things of this title. None of those things,

by the way, everything that I just said, are

there doctors in heaven? Sure, there are doctors

in heaven. Is there any doctoring in heaven?

No. Are there mowers in heaven? Sure, there are

mowers in heaven. But is there any lawns to mow

in heaven? No. Right? Should I go on? The jobs

and titles that we accept here, they become our

vocations. They become our pathway to income.

But the work that you do must be done in the

Lord, authorized by the Lord, the career that

you have. If you're not empowered to do it by

God and sent to do it by God, then don't do it.

Don't have anything to do with it. But if He

does tell you, this is what I intend to do through

you, then do that. And whatever the world says

otherwise, you tell them, knock it off. I'm a

child of God. Romans 8 .31 says this, What then

shall we say to these things? If God is for us,

who is against us? He who did not spare His own

Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how will

He not also with Him freely give us all things?

Here it is, 33, listen for it. Who will bring

a charge against God's elect? In other words,

who's going to tell you what you are? Who's going

to tell you what you deserve? Who's going to

label you? Who's going to tag you? Who will bring

a charge against God's elect? God is the one

who justifies. Who is the one who condemns? Who

will take you out of the hands of the Lord and

tell you that you are weak? Tell you that you

are not capable? Tell you that you are stuck

in a rut? Who will do that? Christ Jesus is he

who died for us. Yes, rather, who was raised,

who is at the right hand of God. who also intercedes

for us. Who shall separate us from the love of

Christ? Shall tribulation, that means when you

go through trouble, or distress, that means when

your very heart is shaking, or persecution, that

means when the world comes against you for being

a Christian, or famine, that means when you have

lack of food, or nakedness, when you have lack

of clothing or provision, or peril, when you're

in real danger, or sword? The answer is no one.

The answer is you mustn't let them. You mustn't

let them tag you. And when you recognize that

there is a tag, you need to learn, sometimes

crafting a tool or a process, how to use that

tag for God's glory. It's this simple. Our defeat

would be not being glorious, not being victorious.

Not being what God has made us to be. That would

defeat us in this lifetime. You walk away from

God. You do what's wrong. You use the blessings

of God for things that are not godly. And boy,

wouldn't the road of accepting the tags that

people place on you of the world, wouldn't that

be a road to doing that very thing? You want

to be what the world tells you to be so badly

that all your effort goes into that. Whether

it's a good tag or a bad tag. All your effort

goes into meeting the tag that's been placed

on you. That's not what we were created for.

We are meant to be victorious and glorious in

Christ. Our enemies would use literally anything

against us because they are our enemies. There

have been many times in history where one army

went against another and the one army was ill

-equipped and they would literally take pitchforks

and prods and staffs from taking care of the

sheep and rocks. whatever they had in their hands,

because otherwise it would take whatever weapon

they can get. And the enemy will take whatever

weapon he can get, which means if you tag yourself

or allow the world to tag you, then the world

will use it against you because the world system

is one of your enemies. If you speak it out loud,

you say, well, I'm no good because X. From that

moment on, the devil and evil spirits will use

that against you. It's why being rebellious is

addictive. It's why being lazy is addictive.

It's why making excuses is addictive. Because

there are plenty of evil spirits and demons that

will latch on to those things that we have accepted

in ourselves and use them against us. The enemy

will use anything he can get his hands on against

you. As God's children, however, God can and

will use anything at all for our good. Because

He is for us. Because He has that kind of power

and authority. When you go through the worst

suffering or the worst persecution or ailment

or disease or trials and tribulations of this

world, you can know, He says, in this world you

will have trouble, but fear not, for I have overcome

the world. Even in the verse that we just read,

it says, if we are willing to suffer with Him.

In Revelation 3, it says, after having suffered,

if you overcome, I will allow you to come and

sit on my throne with me as my father has allowed

me to come and sit on his throne with him. Yes,

there will be difficulty. Yes, there will be

trials. Yes, there will be troubles. Turn your

difficulty and your trials and your troubles

back on the enemy and beat him to stop with it.

What are we doing? We are victorious in Christ.

You say, well, I get angry so easy. I eat too

much. I sleep too much. I spend too much. I save

too much. I fight too much. I back down too much.

Cut it out. Anything that you have that is a

weakness, turn it around and beat him to death

with it. He's already dead just waiting for you

to strike the blow. As children of God, God can

and will use anything for our good. Being looked

down on makes you especially dangerous. That's

what happened with Eve. Nobody expected the handicapped

little man, unarmed. to take out the king of

the Moabites. And he didn't just do that. He

rallied an army of Israelites to block the fords

and cut down 10 ,000 men. I don't know how many

he took out. Personally. Being looked down on

just makes you especially dangerous. Being labeled

makes you especially dangerous. Being ignored

makes you especially dangerous. And learning

to use your identity in Christ to get hold of

all these things and put them to use for your

benefit and the benefit of the kingdom is part

of being ultimately victorious. You think you

have a weakness? I'll tell you right now, that

weakness turned around and properly used is your

greatest strength. I've traveled with my children

since they were tiny. Kid walked pretty much

even before that a little bit. And oftentimes

we'll go to the hotel pool. It's one of our favorite

places to visit. It comes free. You have to have

a place to sleep anyway, right? So you get a

pool, maybe spend an extra 20 bucks a night,

go to the pool, go swimming. And as they grow

up, every single one of them, we go through this

same cycle. We race, swim, race across the pool

and back. So three times, five times, whatever.

And then inevitably they'll say, well, I don't

want to race anymore. You always win. And I say,

well, I'll give you a head start. How much do

you want? Count to ten, count to five, whatever.

And they'll say, well, count to ten. And then

I'll count to ten. And then usually I'll count

to ten. When they're younger, I would still beat

them. And then when they're a little older, I

wouldn't beat them. And I'll say, well, I'll

give you a five count this time because you beat

me, and so on. What's the point of a head start?

Why does somebody need a head start? Because

they recognize that the other person is better,

faster, stronger, whatever, right? You play kickball

in the backyard and the one team is clearly weaker,

you spot them three runs. Whatever. The head

start is necessary because the one person is

going to win. Understand that the enemy is trying

to handicap you, trying to label you, trying

to tag you because... you're already going to

win. Every time one of those things pops up and

something is trying to hold you back, it's because

you are in Christ already going to win or because

you're getting close to being in Christ if you

haven't accepted Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior

yet and he doesn't want you to win and so he

tags you, labels you, holds you back so that

you cannot win the race. If I went running against

an Olympic racer, I would lose every single time.

They'd spot me. I'd say, we're going to run 400

yards and you're going to spot me 350 and maybe

I'll win. But they wouldn't have a problem with

that because they know that means they are a

winner. Why do you have a problem with it when

the world labels you if they're labeling you

just to hold you back because they already know

that you're going to win in the end? That's what

it's all about in the kingdom of God. It's time

to realize that our handicaps, such as we are

labeled, and remember that some of those things

are job titles, they are skill sets, they are

weaknesses of our physical form, whatever, and

we're labeled like that, and we're only being

labeled like that to hold us back because ultimately

we win anyway. Why? Because we are better, stronger.

If God is for us, who can be against us? Well,

if we let them label us and let them use that

label to slow us down, then we're allowing somebody

to stand against us. If they want to get you

doubting yourself, hold you back in some way,

if you can see a person undermining you, it's

a testimony to your proficiency. Then all the

more, you must know that you are worthy. I've

been reading this little devotional. I like golf,

by the way. Somebody bought this for me. It was

a gift. I think it was my wife. There's a little

story in here about... I folded the page over.

Here it is. We're in the conclusion, by the way.

Sam Sneed, pretty famous golfer. He was known

for gamesmanship, which entails using psychological

tactics to intimidate the opponent. Today, we

kind of call it trash talk or something like

that. Learning the game was not easy for Sneed.

who grew up in the backwoods of Virginia, the

White Sulphur Springs Resort is where he played

in the early days. In the 1930s, living during

the Depression meant he and everyone else did

everything they could just to make a few pennies.

Early on, Snead learned a difficult lesson about

the questionable art of gamesmanship during a

tournament. It was just before the final round,

and he was playing well. Then another golfer

came up to him and casually said, How do you

expect to do well with that left elbow flying

around like that? The comment unnerved Snead.

and he spent the rest of the round distracted

by his own arm movements. The result was an 8

on the second hole and an 80 total, which landed

him in third place. He realized he had been played,

and he determined that the next time someone

tried to get into his head, his response would

be, hey, beat me with your clubs. It was 1972.

I was a college golfer at the time, and had successfully

made it through sectional qualifying of the U

.S. Open. I was now in Charlotte at the regional

qualifier where all the touring pros were qualifying.

It was the first time I had played in an event

with tour players. I played with DeWitt Weaver,

a regular tour player at the time. I stepped

onto the tee and was getting ready to tee off

when I noticed someone standing just a few feet

away from me. I looked up from my ball and there

was Sam Snead with his arms crossed and simply

staring at me. It was the most intimidating thing

ever. I promptly ignored him and proceeded to

hit my ball down the fairway. I was shocked that

a man of that stature would want to intimidate

a college kid. Listen to me. This is your posture.

You should be shocked that the devil, ancient

as he is, some allege once the most beautiful

and strong of angels, that demons, ancient as

they are, long time ago they started this game.

You're a newcomer. That any of them should want

to bother to bring you down, you should go, oh.

I get it now, that anyone would, the world system,

how long has the world system been going on?

A long time before you and I were born. That

these ancient players of this game would come

against us with this feeble tactic, trying to

stop us from being what it is that God would

want us to be. And every time someone tags you,

and especially if it's you personally, but every

time someone tags you, you say, no, I am a child

of God. What game are you playing at? Beat me,

if you can. But I am a child of the king. Truly,

I am unbeatable. If pretty much everything of

this world can be used either by the enemy or

by God's people for blessing or cursing, then

determine to transform, renew, and redeem everything

you touch to bring it into line with his purposes.

Lastly, wear a tag that they can see so they

can find you. Stop trying to hide. As if you're

afraid of one more tag, if you're afraid of the

world judging you for who you are, Jesus said,

by this, all people will know that you are my

disciples. That is to say, they can all see this

one tag if we will wear it, and it is if you

have love for one another. We will stand firm.

Understand that your brother or sister in Christ

is facing trials and trouble. Love them through

it all. That's the tag that they can read. And

for all their efforts, they'll never cover it

up. They'll tag you 40 times, 50 times. They'll

cover you with toilet paper names and well -crafted

visages, something that will block your face

completely so no one can see you. You're downcast

and sad rather than mighty and true. But if you

love your brothers and sisters in Christ and

remain a child of God, these tags, they cannot

block out who you are. Let us not forget that

it says the thief comes to kill, steal, and destroy.

And he's not going to stop trying to kill, steal,

and destroy. Just because you don't like him

or like what he's doing, he will lose and fail

to kill, steal, and destroy when we instead follow

the good shepherd who came that we may have life

and have it more abundantly. Hear me now. Abundant

life is in remembering that every tag, every

event, everything that ever comes against you

can be used by God for your good. Will you join

me today in recognizing that he is the King of

Kings and the Lord of Lords and that Satan, who

may have been the serpent in the Garden of Eden,

some think, tempting Eve would come to you? It's

pretty unlikely, but if he ever comes, treat

it as a great honor. If one of his tactics comes

against you, wield your shield of faith and turn

it aside. If an enemy overtly comes against you,

wield the sword of the Spirit, which is the word

of truth, and defeat them. Don't doubt. that

you are an amazing creation of God, and God can

use you to transform, to renew, and to redeem

everything you touch. And if anyone tells you

otherwise, you tell them, I am a child of God.