Judges 1-4
Judges 5-6:24
Judges 6:25-7
Judges 8-9:20
Judges 9:21-57
Judges 10-11:27
Judges 11:28-12:15
Judges 13
Judges 14-15
Judges 16
Judges 17-18
Judges 19-20
 
 

In Judges 8, the hard work had been done—the praying, fasting, cleaning up, etc. And when the victory had manifested itself, there were those who, after sitting idly by and watching the labor, came and said, “why didn’t you call us? … and they criticized him sharply.” (Judges 8:1) 

There will always be a ‘Lazy-boy Spirit’, when you are in the midst or work of God. What is true in the natural will always have a spiritual counterpart.  For example, a ‘Lazy-boy’ chair is something that is cushy, comfortable and helps you relax.  Reclining in that chair, you may become so relaxed that you just do not want to move too far for anything. You become so comfortable, or lazy, that you call everyone else to do the things you want done and should do yourself, but you find it inconvenient to move. 

As in the natural, so in the spirit … There will always be those ‘Lazy-boy Spirits’ around who are content with watching others do all the work for the Kingdom of God. They are content with watching the move of God, but never jumping in and experiencing the move of God.  They will always be the first in line to accept recognition or praise, even though they had no part in it, other than being in the way or being a hindrance. These same spirits will be the first ones to say, ‘well if you had only told me,’ or ‘ if I had only known you needed help’.  These ‘Lazy-boy Spirits’ are in every church; sometimes they travel in packs.  These spirits will not only question ‘why’ things were done, but also, AFTER the work has been accomplished, they will question ‘how’ things were done.  They will offer opinions on how they could have done it better or quicker or more efficiently.  Then there are those ‘Lazy-boy Spirits’ that are in the midst of what God is doing, only to be a deterrence.  They are the ones that stand on the outside, never willing to roll up their sleeves and dive in, but will criticize every step taken, even to the point of saying, ‘are you sure you heard from God?’ or ‘maybe God meant this or that.’ 

Now in the natural a ‘Lazy-boy’ chair usually sits right in the middle of the room, where the remote is accessible, the refrigerator is in view, and it’s not a far leap to the bathroom.  When you are trying to pass through the room, the chair is always in the way; when you are cleaning, it is the heaviest thing to move—it’s just in the way.   Again what is in the natural is true in the spirit. That ‘Lazy-boy Spirit’ will see what needs to be done, unwilling to do the work; he will see a need, but not respond to the need.  He will wait (patiently, I might add) for someone else to do it. 

That spirit will not pray for self (or at least not long enough for a break-through), even when the heat is on.  And forget about that spirit interceding for others.  He will, instead, seek out the strong ones to pray him through.  He will always wait on someone else to start and finish the work and then come to ‘assist’, getting angry because they were not asked or invited to help.  He is usually the one that is easily offended, because the spirit of offense often follows a ‘Lazy-boy Spirit’.  (This is only to mask that the Lazy-boy Spirit had no ‘real’ intentions to help in the first place.) 

The Word says, “He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; to him that over cometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God” (Revelations 2:7, KJV).  In verse 4, Gideon and his troops were exhausted, YET they stayed in pursuit.  Whatever battle you may be in, NOW is NOT the time to give up, turn back, or faint.  The race is not given to the swift, but to those who endure, who finish the battle—“however, I consider my life worth nothing to me, if only I may finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me—the task of testifying to the gospel of God’s grace” (Acts 20:24, NIV). Victory is given after the completion of the battle, not before, not in the middle and not while in pursuit … but after the completion of the battle!

You don’t want a ‘near’ answered prayer; you want God to complete the prayer or request.  You don’t want a ‘near’ healing, you want a complete healing.  You don’t want a ‘near’ deliverance, you want a complete deliverance. ‘Near’ has never accomplished anything in this world or for God’s Kingdom. 

Gideon asked for bread for himself and his men in verses 6-8, but the officials of Succoth (religious Pharisees and Sadducees) said, (author paraphrase) ‘do you have the victory yet? Do you have that job yet? That house yet? That healing yet? Well, you have been fasting and praying and living a so-called holy life; why should I help you?  Why should I agree in prayer with you?  What about this God you serve?’ 

When you are in the battle and standing on that which God has promised, that ‘Lazy-boy Spirit’ will always rear its ugly head. But you have to remain focused and not listen to them, but to stand, and when you’ve done all -- child of God – STAND! STAND AND SEE THE SALVATION AND DELIVERANCE OF THE LORD!  “…and having done all, to stand” (Ephesians 6:13, KJV). That spirit will refuse to move and refuse to help, but you cannot let that be a deterrent. You have to remain focused on what God has ALREADY spoken and shown you. 

Remind that ‘Lazy-boy Spirit’ what God has promised (or said) and stir up your remembrance of things of past days that God has done.  And if He did it then, child of God, He is more than able to do this as well, whatever THIS is!  Remind yourself and that ‘Lazy-boy Spirit’, that the God YOU serve is not a little-bitty God. He told Moses—I AM, THAT I AM.  Whatever you need Moses (put your name there), I AM! Whatever needs to be done or moved, I AM!  I AM your God, in spite of what it looks like or feels like! I AM! 

I AM there with you!  Wherever you are, I AM!  Don’t faint now, child of God.  This is not the time to give in to that ‘Lazy-boy Spirit’.  This is the time to fight, to keep up the pursuit of the work of God.  This is the time to know that the great I AM is there with you!

After Gideon had conquered the towns of Zebah and Zalnuna, (8:10-16) he captured a young man of Succoth and received the names of the seventy-seven officials of Succoth (‘Lazy-boy Spirits’), who had denied Gideon and his men food and mocked them.  Gideon went back and reminded them of their mockery of him and his God. 

The word of God says that He will prepare a table before you in the presence of your ‘Lazy-boy Spirits’ (enemies)—“You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies”(Psalm 23:5, NIV). When the Isralites went to Gideon, after the battle was won (8:22-23), they asked him to rule over them. God used Gideon (the weapon or the vessel) to destroy the Midians (your enemies).  But Gideon told the Israelites (the ‘Lazy-boy Spirits’) that he would not rule over them and neither would his sons, but that the Lord shall rule over them.  The point being, we should not see our prayer partner, our intercessor friend(s), our pastor, our husband/wife, etc. as the deliverer – Our deliverer is God.  We should NOT look to others to pray us out of a situation, fast us out, or get us out of our mess or the fire of God.  Instead, we are to seek God for ourselves, allowing Him to use us as His vessel, as His weapon and, ultimately, as His instrument of deliverance … not only for ourselves, but also for others.  Then once that storm has passed, because of the mercy of God, and because the fervent prayers of those righteous ones moved God, “the effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much” (James 5:16, KJV), you will look to I AM as the deliverer, not anyone else.   God is ALWAYS the power behind the weapon, the vessel, and the deliverer — and only He brings the deliverance through other people or means that He chose.

When you look to man/woman to rule over you, to hear from God for you, to pray for you or pray you through, you are looking to them to deliver you.  In doing this, you elevate them as a god or as an idol.  The word of God clearly says that there shall be no other God before Him—“you shall have no other gods before me” (Exodus 20:3, NIV). We are to look to God as the author and the finisher of our faith and our being, not man—“looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith” (Hebrews 12:2, KJV). 

In Judges 8:33, the Israelites (‘Lazy-boy Spirits’) went back to their old habits—‘god (idol) seeking’ and not ‘God Chasing’.  When you depend on man/woman as your source and not God, as soon as that person(s) leaves (for whatever the reason may be), you will go back to your old ways.  Or, if that person falls off the beaten path, then you will follow, because you had your eyes on man, and not on God.  Because your house was not built on a solid foundation, but built on that person, it will not stand—(Matthew 7:24-27, NIV). The word says to put no confidence in man—“and who put no confidence in the flesh” (Philippians 3:3, NIV).  The Israelites went back to prostituting after other gods after Gideon had died. Because their hearts and affections were not set toward or on God—“set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth” (Colossians 3:2, KJV).

We are to look to the hills, from whence cometh our help, for our help comes from God, not man—“I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help, My help cometh from the LORD, which made heaven and earth” (Psalm 121:1-2, KJV). 

In Chapter 9:1, we see the consequences of  ‘Lazy-boy Spirits’.  After Gideon died, the Israelites refused to seek God, but chose to seek man instead.  The spirit of pride reared its ugly head and everybody wanted to be in charge, to be the one that was noticed, admired, looked up to and looked upon because of his or her talents, gifts, and position.  What they failed to realize – and what we fail to realize - is that, without the anointing of God, all we are is a wild gift or talent with an office or a position, running here and there, destroying everything in our path and getting NO recognition.   It is the anointing of God that seals our gifts or talents in that office or position. 

So the son of  Gideon and his concubine, Abimelech, went to his other brothers and deceived them into making him ruler over the townspeople (9:1), telling them it was better for him to rule over them than his other seventy brothers.  Gideon had already told the Israelites that he would not rule over them and NEITHER would his sons, but that the Lord shall rule over them (8:23).  Abimelech did not honor the words of his father.  Rather, he tricked his brothers into allowing him to rule over the townspeople. (Beware:  the spirit of power, which is control, always accompanies pride. The spirit of manipulation follows this. 

After Abimelech told the citizens of Shechem that he would rule over them and not his brothers, (9:23) he then received silver from the temple (the spirit of greed now enters in).  Abimelech used the money to hire another person just as corrupt as himself (the spirit of murder or death creeps in) to kill his seventy brothers.  When you seek man or woman as your ‘all in all’, as your means ‘to and from’ God and not seeking God on your own—you enter in agreement with the devil. For the word says, “…seek the LORD your God, you will find him if you look for him with all your heart and with all your soul (Deuteronomy 4:29, NIV).” 

The youngest son of Gideon escaped from the clutches of the enemies (verse 5).  For God will make a way of escape from the sword of your enemies. “Quenched the fury of the flames, and escaped the edge of the sword; whose weakness was turned to strength; and who became powerful in battle and routed foreign armies (Hebrews 11:34, NIV). Then Jotham (Gideon’s youngest son, the only survivor) went to the top of Mount Gerizim and shouted to the citizens a parable, verse 8-15.  In essence what Jotham was saying, when the trees wanted the ‘olive tree’ to be ‘their king’; the olive tree was content, it knew its place. It recognized its purpose and that purpose was to produce oil for both the just (God) and the unjust (man).  The same question was asked of the ‘fig tree’, but just as the olive tree, the fig tree knew that its purpose was to bear fruit.  So the trees turn to the ‘vine’, but again, the vine knew that it would be useless or fruitless, to be something that it was not ‘called’, ‘created’ to be, for it was created to produce wine from its grapes.

Finally, the question was asked to the ‘thorn-bush’, and the thorn bush said, “Sure, come and sit under me, close to me, I will give you refuge, shade.  But if I should not be ‘the one’, or in other words ‘if I am not just’; ‘if I am not called’ then let fire come out of me and consume you.  In short you would not just get stuck in the end—but all over.”  For there must be oil [olive tree]— “olive oil for the light; spices for the anointing oil and for the fragrant incense”(Exodus 25:6, NIV). The anointing or the oil is a representation of the Holy Spirit. The four elements of the Holy Spirit are Water-Wind-Fire-Oil.  There must be fruit produced [fig tree]—“but the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law (Galatians 5:22-23, NIV). The fruit represents God or the work of the by-product of God working in and through our lives. The wine [the vine] is the connecting element between the anointing and the fruit— “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful” (John 15:1-2, NIV). Without the vine there would be no bearing of the grapes for wine.  And the grapes must be pressed, by the anointing of God to produce the wine. There is no need to hide our light under the bushel [thorn-bush]—“Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house”(Matthew 5:15, KJV). 

 If that which you have placed over you—to rule (cover) over you is not God or sent by God, with the anointing of God active in their life, that thing or person(s) will consume you and consume all that is around you! Because you sought the easy way or the lazy way out.  The anointing of God (olive tree) and the fruit that we bear through the anointing (fig tree) that only through connecting us to God through Jesus (vine), will produce the best wine in the end. “…But thou hast kept the good wine until now” (John 2:10, KJV). You can only receive this by going to God and seeking God for yourself.  By going through His refiner’s fire, so through this process, you will produce the anointing of God, by being pressed by the vine keeper—Jesus.  So that when men see you, they will see the anointing active in and on your life and the life of God in you, will draw men to Jesus, not to you! 

The only thing that a ‘Lazy-boy Spirit’ will produce is destruction and hindrance of what God is trying to do in and through His people.  It cannot stop the move of God, but it can hinder the move of God! If you are one of those ‘Lazy-boy Spirits’, then repent and seek God for yourself, and whatever the Holy Spirit leads you to do—do!  Whether it is in the church, your home or on your job, do that thing as unto the Lord— “and whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men” (Colossians 3:23, KJV).  For we see in verses 23-25 of chapter 9, that because of their lazy and evil spirits, they sought man and not God! God sent an evil spirit between Abimelech and the citizens of Shechem.  God gave Abimelech three years to repent as well as the citizens, and to turn from their harlotry or idolatry ways.  But when they did not, because God cannot and will not condone sin and a ‘Lazy-boy Spirit’ is sin, God allowed an evil spirit, called strife and division, to come among them, so that the shedding of blood of the seventy sons of Gideon might be avenged on their brother Abimelech and the citizens of Shechem who helped. 

For God said revenge is His, He shall repay—“Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God's wrath, for it is written: "It is mine to avenge; I will repay," says the Lord” (Romans 12:19, NIV).  For Jesus called a lazy servant ‘wicked’—“His master replied, ‘You wicked, lazy servant! So you knew that I harvest where I have not sown and gather where I have not scattered seed” (Matthew 25:26, NIV)? The Apostle Paul goes on to say—“we do not want you to become lazy, but to imitate those who through faith and patience inherit what has been promised” (Hebrews 6:12, NIV).  The crown, the reward is not given to the ‘Lazy-boy Spirits’, or to those who faint, but to those who endure—endure to the end, and a ‘Lazy-boy Spirit’ is not even in the race.  If you have become lazy, then now is the time, the season to shake that spirit off and get back into the race—for your victory awaits you on the other side and only you can claim it, not your best friend, your prayer partner and not even your pastor!  For do you not know or understand, that I AM is on your side—not on the side of the ‘Lazy-boy Spirit’, but on those who CONTINUALLY pursue Him and His righteousness! 

I challenge you today, if you have fallen into the ‘Lazy-boy Spirit’ to ‘Rise-up’ and be all that God has declared you ARE!  Do not worry what man will say or think, for as Romans 8:31 (NIV) declares— What, then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us?
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In Judges 9:26-29, we have Gaal, son of Ebed, who moved into Shechem, received the latest gossip and decided that he could do better than Abimelech.  So he shoots off his mouth and proceeds to enlarge his own self and abilities to the townspeople or anyone willing to listen. 

Everywhere we go, whether on our jobs, at home or at church, there will always be a ‘Gaal’ who will speak of your inabilities or what you are lacking -   whether it is something within you or something you have already done – and then this ‘Gaal’ will speak of how great his abilities are.   The word ‘Gaal’ means contempt, abomination and loathing.  This ‘Gaal’ will point out your faults or shortcomings and tell of how awesome he is.  The Bible refers to this as boasting and teaches that we are only to boast in the Lord.  “In God we make our boast all day long, and we will praise your name forever.”  Psalm 44:8, NIV.   The Bible also teaches, “To the arrogant I say, ‘Boast no more’, and to the wicked, ‘Do not lift up your horns’.  Psalm 75:4, NIV.

It is wrong for us to boast in our own abilities, knowledge or wisdom, especially when it is not true knowledge that only comes from the Lord.  “Teach me knowledge and good judgment, for I believe in your commands”  Psalm 119:99, NIV.  “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline” Proverbs 1:7, NIV.  “For the LORD gives wisdom, and from his mouth come knowledge and understanding.”  Proverbs 2:6, NIV. 

In Judges 9:30, Zebul, the governor of the city, overheard Gaal’s boasting and sent undercover men to tell Abimelech what was being said.  For the Word of God states, that there is nothing hid that will not be revealed.  “For there is nothing covered that shall not be revealed; neither hid, that shall not be known” Luke 12:2, KJV. 

When we boast about ‘our’ accomplishments and tear down another’s accomplishments, then our hearts and motives are not pure.  Sooner or later, we will have to ‘rise-up’ to what we said we could do or to whom we said that we are.  What I’m saying is that when we criticize another’s ability to sing, preach, pray or lead (or when you criticize your pastor and/or what he or she ministered on), we tend to boast how we would have done things if we were the leader.  Well, God will always reveal what is being said or done in the dark, and because God is sovereign, it is up to Him to choose how He will reveal these things.

We will then have to attempt to rise with our  hot air (or fake it), but only that which is the breath of God enables us to rise, because we are not puffed up with self or pride.  But rather, we are filled with the anointing of God, the breath or life of God fills us and upon Him, we rise.  We rise on eagles’ wings.  “You yourselves have seen what I did to Egypt, and how I carried you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself (Exodus 19:4, NIV).  And when we rise with the life of God in us, we breathe HIS life out to others.  It is through His ability and our inability that God does what only God can do.  It is through His ability that we do those things, whatever those things are, that He has called us to do.  For it is He that calls, it is He that appoints, and it is He that anoints.  The choice has always been God’s and not man’s, for He said, it is He that has chose us, and not we ourselves.  “For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight.  In love he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will.”  Ephesians 1:4-5, NIV.  It is the anointing of God that makes the difference in what we do, because we are to do it unto Him, not unto man, or a title, or position, or for personal gain (money, material wealth, or status).  The anointing of God, the breath of God, gives life wherever there is death.  But it is pride (hot air) that breeds death, wherever there was life.  God will never tear another down in his or her ability to just lift you up.  (Love is patient, love is kind.  It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.  It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.  Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.  It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.”  1 Corinthians 13:4, NIV.

Zebul, the governor, had dispatched several spies and had them tell Abimelech that Gaal was stirring up trouble and turning the people against him.  He told the men that, in short, ‘when you find them (Gaal and his men), do whatever you want to do to them – GET THEM!’  So Abimelech and his men set out by night to kill Gaal and his men.  When Gaal saw the men, Zebul the governor, basically told him, ‘what you are seeing is not really what you are seeing – in short, in the morning, see Pearl Vision (author paraphrase v. 36).  But Gaal spoke up again and said, “No it is not my lack of vision and I do not need to see Pearl Vision, I see men, not mountains.”  (Author takes liberty again, verse 37.)  So then Zebul decided to clue Gaal in on the fact that it was really Abimelech and his men coming for him, and Zebul said, “Where is all that hot air you had before?  Let’s see you rise now!”  (Again, author takes liberty in verse 38). 

When we tear another member of the body down for their gifts and talents, or for their offices and positions they hold in the church, and then attempt to elevate ourselves; when we mock or criticize another member of the Body of Christ; we basically mock Christ, because we ware members of His Body.  There are several scriptures that state this, but I will use Ephesians 5:29-30, NIV “After all, no one ever hated his own body, but he feeds and cares for it, just as Christ does the church – for we are members of his body.”

Judges 9:37-41 tells about the battle between Abimelech and Gaal, where Abimelech defeated Gaal.  Now, if Abimelech were a righteous and God-fearing man, this would have been a good thing for the townspeople.  But the fight that took place was no more than evil fighting evil, for Jesus stated, “Any kingdom divided against itself will be ruined, and a house divided against itself will fall.  If Satan is divided against himself, how can his kingdom stand?”  Luke 11:17-18, NIV.  But Abimelech was no better than his opponent, Gaal.  After chasing Gaal and his men away, Abimelech came back to the city of Shechem, killed the people and destroyed the town that had falsely elevated Gaal as ruler over them.  And for their disobedience, God allowed this to happen.   Then Abimelech poured salt over the city.  He drove Gaal out of Shechem and Gaal was heard of no more.  This is what happens when there is someone, even if that someone is us, who is filled with hot air.  That person cannot rise to the occasion, so they will either flee or submit to the will and voice of God and the evil spirit will flee.  One way or the other, the hot air will leave and will never rise to ‘its’ occasion. 

Nothing in this earth can happen without God being aware of it, but because the people refused to submit to the voice of God – through Gideon and his son, Jotham, their own disobedience overtook them.  Three times the people tried to have a man rule over them (Gideon – aka Jerub-Baal, Abimelech and Gaal), where this position belonged to God ONLY, or to whom God had chosen; and God had chosen no man at this time.  Because the people refused God’s covering, which also included His love and provision, God turned them over to their own disobedience, to their own sin.  I know you may be saying, what was so bad in boasting about what I am able to do?  What is so bad in saying that my gift, my talent, my church, is better than another’s?  When you read the reset of chapter nine, you see that Abimelech went on a killing rampage only in the end to reap what he had sewn (9:45-57). 

When you allow pride to lift you up, it ultimately will be what brings you down.  Pride leads to destruction because pride says, “I myself am a god”, or “Why do I have to obey God or any other man?”  “Why should I submit?”  Hot air is nothing more than pride puffed up on self, and with pride brings the spirit of rebellion and a host of other wicked spirits.  If what you boast on or in will not give God and God alone the glory, then pride is your hot air and you will not be able to rise – certainly not soar – above the problems, the storms; you will not soar as the eagle does.  Yes, in your mind you have lifted yourself up, your talents and your gifts.  But it is ONLY the anointing of God that rises and never falls, because you are riding on God’s ability and not your own.

Gaal was not a good person, yet what better example could God use to show what happens when a wicked man is full of hot air and still unable to rise.  The same could happen to us who are called by Him when we allow ourselves to be puffed up and to tear down another’s calling or gifts.  We are one body, one body that should support one another and when we support one another, we then become a unified body.  When we mock another with our words, we plant wicked seeds, not only in our lives but also in theirs.  Before we can rise, we have to fall and be broken; broken by the potter, who then fills us with His Spirit, and then and only then, will we soar on Eagles Wings.  I will end with this poem:

May God ALWAYS be the reason that you rise and never self.
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In Judges 10:1, after Abimelech’s reign and fall, the Israelites chose yet another leader.  This leader’s name was Tola, son of Puah.  Tola rose to “save” Israel.  Back in those days, a name spoke of who the person was, their heritage and their future. In Hitchcock Bible Dictionary, the name Tola means “worm, grub, scarlet”.  None of those meanings speak of something to be admired or looked up to.  Tola was the son of Puah.  Hitchcock Bible Dictionary defines Puah as meaning “mouth, corner, bush of hair.” So we have a worm that is the son of a mouth. 

Tola led the Israelites for twenty-two years and then he died and was buried.  (Judges 10:1-2).  God speaks no more than two sentences about this man that rose to lead Israel, as if God was saying to the Israelites, “SELAH!” (meaning to pause and think)  “Think about the fact that for twenty-two years you allowed a worm to rule over you.  And that person came and went.”

As we have been studying the book of Judges, it seems that God is very concerned about who or what we allow to rule over us.  This even goes to the point of who shepherds us.  Is it the man/woman that God chose, or is it someone that you chose because they have a following, they are on television; they have an awesome worship team or choir?  Have you chosen someone to rule over you because they are a ‘prophet’ but not necessarily of God?  You see, this is what the children of Israel had been doing for years – seeking whom they wanted to rule over them and not seeking God’s appointed and anointed.

We have people in the Body of Christ who are “self-appointed and not God-anointed”.  They have chosen for themselves an office or a calling, or they have chosen to join themselves with another, without first seeking God’s will in the matter.  It is God who appoints and anoints, not self.   The Word says in Proverbs 18:16, KJV, “A man’s gift maketh room for him, and bringeth him before great men.”  The man does not force or make his own way, the anointing (gift) of God does.  Who gives this gift?  The Word says in James 1:17 NIV, “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.”

Notice the Word stated that ‘every good and perfect gift comes from above’.  But it also states ‘who does not change like shifting shadows’.  How will you know if your gift or calling is from above?  When you continually seek God and when you bare His fruits, not your own “seasonal fruits” and not your own “shape-shifting fruits”. 

In Judges 10:3, Israel made Jair their leader.  Jair means “my light, one who diffuses light.”  Jair ruled over Israel for thirty years, and he had thirty sons who rode thirty donkeys and they controlled thirty towns in Gilead.  Today the towns are still called Havoth-Jair, which means “the villages that enlighten.”   Jair’s name means “my light or one who diffuses the light”; but was it God’s light and God’s anointed, or was it the light of  a self-appointed man?  Again, God mentions very little about Jair, who gets one sentence more than Tola.  When God mentions very little about a person (not always, as in the case of Jabez), then there is usually little of “God” in that person to mention.  In verse 6, the Israelites did evil AGAIN in the sight of the Lord- they sought other gods. 

There is no difference in what the Israelites did than what we do today, except we do not call our gods “Baal” or the “gods of Araim”.  Instead, we call our gods the “god of religion-doctrine”, or perhaps the “god of self-pride, self-promotion”.  “For promotion cometh neither from the east, nor from the west, nor from the south.”  Psalm 75:6, KJV.  Whether it is on your job or in the church, anytime we seek anything or anyone more than we seek God, we in essence, have made that thing our god.

You can do this by exalting your problems, your ministry or your calling above God.  How?  When the problem in your eyes becomes greater and more powerful than God.   Psalms 29:4, NIV states, “The voice of the Lord is powerful.”  In Genesis 1:3, 1:6, 1:9, 1:11, 1:14 states, “And God said.”   Whatever God says, happens.  If the voice of God alone is powerful enough to make what He says happen, then when you put Him in totality, He is more powerful than anything you are or will ever face.  When “your” ministry becomes your agenda or when you stop seeking God, then you are exalting yourself or “your” ministry above God.  The key point is to seek.  Acknowledge God first, not second or whenever you get around to it, but FIRST.  The Word says, “If you seek Him, He will be found by you.”  1 Chronicles 28:9, KIV. 

The Israelites (which we can translate as you and me) forgot the Lord and no longer served Him.  This is the same thing that happens today.  We seek His hands, but not His face.  We seek His blessings but not the Blessor.  We seek the anointing but not the Anointed One.  God became angry at the Israelites (Judges 10:7) and turned them over to the Philistines and Ammonites (the enemy - self, religion, greed, pride).  The Word says, “If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.”  2 Chronicles 7:14, NIV

God allowed the Philistines and Ammonites to crush the Israelites.  This is what happens when we seek and allow things or people to lord (rule) over us and when we don’t allow God to be Lord over us!  For eighteen years the Israelites were oppressed by that which they had appointed over themselves (Judges 10:8).  God did not come to oppress, but He came to set the captive free, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised.”  Luke 4:18, KJV. 

Jesus came to deliver us from what we have gotten ourselves into and He is still willing and more than able to do the same today – but only when we cry out to Him, just as the Israelites did in verse 10.  They said, “We have sinned against you, forsaking our God and serving the Baals”. 

We sin when we seek a church, pastor, or minister because of their reputation, gifts, or how well they speak, but not by allowing the Holy Spirit to lead and guide us.  “But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth.  He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come.”  John 16:13, NIV.

Understand that this has been a continual cycle for the Israelites – to appoint someone to lord (rule, cover) over them and then expect God to anoint their choice, or to bless those that they ‘self-appointed’.  We do the same, in that we step out before God – before His time – by starting “our” church, getting business cards made up with our self as ‘prophet wannabe’ or ‘pastor know-little’ and then we expect God to slap some anointing on what we are doing.  God is not “Miracle-Whip”, but He is the “Miracle-Maker”, the “Miracle-Creator”.  God’s response to the Israelites in Judges 10:14 was (author paraphrase), “Oh, now you call me ‘your’ God after you have disrespected me, shown me your back side by seeking man, money and things.  Now you see that money cannot save you, or your houses, cars, your husband/wife, or your position in the church and certainly not your religion.  So now you call out to me to save and deliver you.  But when you were in your mountaintops, when everything was going good, I beckoned to you as a lover does his long lost love and you responded not, you played and mocked me and the love I had for you and tried to give you.  So that which you gave your affections to – your time, your worship and praise – seek it now to deliver you.”

But the Israelites cried out again to the Lord (verse 15) and said, “We have sinned.  Do with us whatever you think best, but please rescue us now.”  The Israelites knew God’s justice and punishment would be kinder than the enemy, “For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth” Hebrews 12:6, KJV. 

Someone who is self appointed and not God-anointed will have no mercy, no compassion or love for you or the mistakes you make and will make, what you may be going through and definitely not your shortcomings.  “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” Romans 3:23, NIV.  It is the anointing of God in us that not only allows us to do what we could not do ourselves, but to feel what we ourselves are incapable of feeling on our own – the compassion of God for others as well as for ourselves. 

The next thing the Israelites did was to get rid of their images of gods (Judges 10:16) and began to serve and worship the Lord.  And God could no longer bear Israel’s misery.  You see, this is the reaction of a God-appointed and God-anointed person.  Mercy, compassion, love, long-suffering, joy – not as man would feel, but as God feels.  “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self control.  Against such things there is no law.  Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passion and desires.  Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.  Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other.”  Galatians 5:22-26, NIV. 

Because of God’s mercy, compassion and love for us, He responded to the cries for help and deliverance from the Israelites (you and me).  God raised up a remnant from the seed of Gilead, the same seed that the people had rejected and chased out of town because he was from the wrong side of the tracks (Judges 11:1-3).  We often look down on people because they don’t have the right clothes, education, home, car, etc.  In other words, they don’t look like God could use them, let alone be someone you would want to follow or listen to or learn from.  But that’s because we see them through our own eyes, which lack compassion, mercy and foresight, rather than looking through the eyes of God, which are the eyes of mercy, love, compassion and foresight as well as hindsight.  “For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part, but then shall I know even as also I am known.” 1 Corinthians 13:12, KJV. 

The Israelites finally went looking for the God-appointed and God-anointed.  When Jephthah responded to their request to be their commander, he basically responded as God had.  Jephthah did as a God-appointed and God-anointed person should do – he consulted with God.  He did not take it upon himself to say, “Cool, they think I’m somebody now, look at them groveling back to me.  They see what I have to offer, they know I can preach, sing, minister, prophecy, maybe it’s time for me to launch my own ministry and church.”  No, what Jephthah did was to consult God and sought God’s will in the matter.  You see, you can be God-appointed and God’s anointed, but when you step out on your own authority and not His, you become God appointed and NOT God-anointed.  This is what separates the God-appointed and the God-anointed from the self-appointed and self-anointed - Seeking God and not self or man.

After Jephthah took the matter before the Lord, God confirmed it was His will for Jephthah to be their commander.  When you read Judges 11:13-20, you see that the Israelites had some obstacles to cross, “But is there anything too hard for the Lord?”  Genesis 18:14.

In Judges 11:21, the Lord gave the Israelites victory over their enemy and their obstacles, because they sought the Lord and repented.  Then, God sent in His appointed and His anointed.  For three hundred years, the Israelites dwelled where God led them.  They took only what God directed them to take and when the issue would arise, they said, “Let the Lord, the Judge, decide.” 

Are there things or people in your life that are self-appointed and not God-anointed?  If so, then I will leave these scriptures with you:

“But if from there you seek the Lord your God, you will find him if you look for him with all your heart and with all your soul.  When you are in distress and all these things have happened to you, then in later years you will return to the Lord your God and obey him.  For the Lord your God is a merciful God; he will not abandon or destroy you or forget the covenant with your forefathers, which he confirmed to them by oath.”  Deuteronomy 4:29-31, NIV.

“Seek the Lord while he may be found; call on him while he is near.  Let the wicked forsake his way and the evil man his thoughts.  Let him turn to the Lord, and he will have mercy on him, and to our God, for he will freely pardon.”  Isaiah 55:6-7, NIV.

SELAH!  (To pause, to think, and to meditate on.)

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In Chapter 11, verse 29-30, Jephthah made a vow to God that if God would give him victory over the Ammonites, that when he returned home, whatever came out of his house, he would sacrifice unto the Lord.  The Lord gave Jephthah victory over the Ammonites, Jephthah devastated twenty two towns from Aroer to Minnith and as far as Abel Keramim.  When Jephthah returned home, his only daughter (for he had no sons) came out to meet him, dancing to the sound of the tambourines. 

There will be times in our lives that God will ask us to ‘sacrifice’ our last, our only, to see if it is that ‘thing’ or ‘person’ that we love more than Him.  Ask father Abraham, when he took his only ‘promise’, Isaac, to the region of Moriah to sacrifice the promise.  For Ishmael was the blessing born of the flesh, but Isaac was the promise created in the spirit first (Genesis 17:21).  Abraham was willing to obey God, even at the price of his only ‘promise.’  He was willing to sacrifice the promise for the Promise Keeper.  Or ask the widow woman and her son, who had only a little meal and jar of oil left, to make one cake for her and her son (I Kings 17:12).  But when the prophet Elijah (God’s mouthpiece, God’s anointed) required it for himself, she was willing to obey the voice of God – at any cost.

God is seeking a people who are willing to obey Him – at any cost - the cost of our pride, ministry, family, money – whatever God requires of us.  Jephthah knew that his relationship, his covenant and word to God, was more precious to him than his daughter’s life.  When Jephthah saw her, he tore his clothes and cried out in pain (verse 35). 

Obeying God will always cost you something in the natural – but you gain much more in the spirit than what you gave up in the natural, for we are to build on eternal things, not temporal.  “So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen.  For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.”  2 Corinthians.  Jephthah made a vow to the Lord, and he knew he could not break it because the spirit of the Lord was upon Jephthah when he made the vow.  Jephthah told his daughter what he had vowed to the Lord, and she was in agreement with her father that keeping his word to the Lord was more precious than her life.

In today’s society, we think that when we go without a vehicle or new clothes, material things or comfort that we are suffering or sacrificing for the ‘sake of the Gospel’.  But we have never suffered for the Gospel or for righteousness sake as the people in the Bible did.  God has never required the life of our child as a sacrifice, He has never required the last bit of food we had and when we make a promise or oath to God and do not fulfill our end of the bargain, God has never required our life.  Because Jesus paid the price for our disobedience, when we repent God puts us back into right standing with Him, because of the blood of His Son!  But that still does not mean that God is not seeking a people that will be as He is – holy and righteous.  “And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation.”  Exodus 19:16.  “The Lord will establish you as His holy people, as He promised you on oath, if you keep the commands of the LORD your God and walk in His ways.”  Deuteronomy 28:9. 

Not only did Jephthah make a great sacrifice, but his daughter did as well.  “To do justice and judgment is more acceptable to the Lord than sacrifice.”  Proverbs 21:3.  What God is saying is, ‘don’t just sacrifice to me your ‘things’, but sacrifice to me ‘your will’. In doing this, we are obeying God; this is how we offer up a sacrifice of praise.  “Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise – the fruit of lips that confess his name.  And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices please God.”  Hebrews 13:15-16.  Because “our will” never wants to praise God, let alone obey Him, whether we are in the midst of a storm or not, “So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God” Romans 8:8.  But when we choose to obey God and offer up to Him whatever He is requiring, God knows it is a sacrifice, but then it becomes a sacrifice of praise that is pleasing unto Him.  “The voice of joy, and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom, and the voice of the bride, the voice of them that shall say, Praise the Lord of hosts; for the Lord is good; for his mercy endureth for ever; and of them that shall bring the sacrifice of praise into the house of the Lord.  For I will cause to return the captivity of the land, as at the first, saith the Lord.”  Jeremiah 33:11

Too often we ask God for things or to get us out of situations, but AFTER God has done His portion, we then turn around and get amnesia and/or find excuses why we cannot fulfill our end of the deal.  “For since the creation of the world, God’s invisible qualities – his eternal power and divine nature – have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.”  Romans 1:20.

God is STILL looking for a people that will not only obey His Word, but also follow through with His Word – even when it requires a sacrifice.  For no greater sacrifice did God surrender for us than through His Son.  And no greater sacrifice did Jesus surrender than His life for us.  When we make a promise to God and to man (for we do it as unto the Lord) we need to follow through.  In doing so, we are showing the character of Jesus, and the nature of God.

Jephthah’s daughter asked her father if she could have two months to roam the mountainside with her friends and mourn since she would never marry.  After the two months, she came back as she had promised her father, because she not only promised, but she obeyed!  When we give our word to man, regardless of what they say or do, we still need to follow through and obey what is being asked or required of us.  In today’s society, we try to justify our wrong, or we try to justify why we have not honored our word, but there is little to no honor in us and no character of Jesus.  Our obeying is contingent on what the next person says or does and not on the character of Jesus.

In Chapter 12, verse 1, we see that the men of Ephraim called out their ‘boyz’ and came calling on Jephthah.  They wanted to know why they were not consulted and asked to join in the fight against the Ammonites.  It was not because they wanted to assist Jephthah, but because they wanted to enjoy the spoils and the praise. We have ‘members’, not ‘covenant members’, in our church today that will not pick up paper, sweep or vacuum the sanctuary, but are willing to take the credit for what others have labored for.   So the men of Ephraim wanted to burn down Jephthah’s house, because they were not involved in the victory.  It is the same in the church today when members want to tear down another ‘covenant member’ because they see the favor of the Lord on that person, and they see pastors drawn to the God in them.   ‘Members’ seek fame, fortune and recognition, a worldly ministry – but the ‘covenant member’ seeks God and His heart, and at times the heart of God may consist of going beyond the call to assist the pastor in whatever way God leads them. 

But our focus is not to touch man, not to touch the world – but to touch God, and through touching Him, we touch the world. 

It is no different when the pastor calls for prayer, fasting and meditation for a breakthrough or deliverance.  The ‘members’ will not participate in these activities, but will stand and take the credit for the deliverance and/or the breakthrough.  The difference between a ‘member’ and a ‘covenant member’ is that a ‘member’ just has his/her name on the roll call, whether they are there or not.  But a ‘covenant member’ has his/her name written on God’s heart and the pastor’s heart.  They are there to serve, to give – not just to receive.  They obey the voice of God and the man of God – at any cost.  It is not about man’s praise, but about praising God and the praise of God!

Jephthah responded to the men of Ephraim in 11:2, (author paraphrases), “I called you, I told you that I was in a great struggle with the enemy.  I asked you to pray with me, to fast with me – but you had your own agenda.  This was a life and death struggle for me, for the church.  I had no time to beg or persuade you of the importance of the matter.  So I sought the Lord again, and when I did, He showed me whom to go to, He provided the ram in the bush that gave me the victory over the enemy.  Now you want to come and tear me down, after God has given me the victory  - the Lord gave the victory to me, but the praise belongs to Him and to Him alone. So now you speak evil things about me to my family, friends, co-workers, church members – but the same God who gave me victory over my other enemies, will do the same in this matter – and still it is He who gets the praise.”

So Jephthah called together the men of Gilead and fought against Ephraim, and God gave them victory.  The Gileadites captured a survivor of Ephraim and when the survivor asked if he could cross, the men of Gilead asked him, “Are you an Ephramite?”  If they said no, then the Gileadites would ask them to say “Shibboleth”.  If the Ephramites could only say “Sibboleth” because they could not pronounce the word correctly, then they would be killed.  Forty-two thousand Ephramites were killed. 

You see, there are people in your church that may look like a ‘covenant member’, but in truth, they are only a ‘member’ – a wolf in sheep’s clothing.  A ‘member’ may have gifts, and a calling and speak eloquent words, but a ‘covenant member’ has all of those things and the anointing of God because he poses and exhibits the fruits of the spirit – not seasonal fruits.  Here today and gone tomorrow and nowhere to be seen next week.  “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.  Against such things there is no law.”  Galatians 5:22-23. 

Only a ‘covenant member’ will obey the voice and the Word of God – at any cost.  Jephthah led Israel for six years and when he died, he was buried in Gilead.  God had a lot to say about the man that obeyed Him, regardless of the cost to Jephthah.  In the next few verses (8-15), God speaks nothing more than the names of the people that rose to lead Israel and the possessions they had.  But God did not speak of their character as He did about Jephthah.  When we obey God - at any cost, this speaks of the character and the nature of God dwelling inside us that people cannot help but see and draw near to.  Jephthah followed God and he obeyed God, even when it meant losing something dear to him.  But he prized his relationship with the Almighty more than the temporal or natural things and possessions.

When we obey God - at any cost, the enemy will come against us, but the Lord will lift up a standard against him.  “So shall they fear the name of the Lord from the west, and his glory from the rising of the sun.  When the enemy shall come in like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord shall lift up a standard against him.”  Isaiah 5:19.  To obey the Word of God – the voice of God – the pastor of God’s heart, it takes strength – the strength of God – the character of God.

We must expect the arrows and the darts of the enemy, but God stated, “No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn.  This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and their righteousness is of me, saith the Lord.”  Isaiah 54:17. 

Expect opposition, expect trouble from ‘members’ of your local church, but know that the ‘covenant members’ are supporting you, praying with you and for you and most of all – that God is on your side, He is there with you – AT ANY COST, because you dared to OBEY HIM!

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Unfortunately there is no difference between the Israelites and you or me today. How many times have we done evil in the eyes of the LORD after He has saved us from ourselves and or the idol(s) we have worshiped? Remember an idol does not necessarily have to be something that you have erected in your house, although it can be, but it is what you have erected in your heart, your life and lifestyle. Idols are anything that controls more of your time, heart and attention than God does. If we are not careful, we can allow our storms, the things we go through, whether it is ‘self-inflicted’ or ‘God-designed’ to take up more of our time (such as your thought process, or worry process) than the praising and exaltation of God. Yet, how many times has the LORD brought us out of self, out of our mess, out of the hands of the Philistines (whether spiritual or physical enemy), once we have repented and turned back to Him again. 

God left the Children of Israel in the hands of the Philistines for forty-years.  God did several things in relation to ‘forty-years’: 
Isaac was forty-years when he married Rebekah (Gen. 25:20)
The Israelites ate manna for forty-years (Ex. 16:35)
The LORD’s anger was burned against the children of Israel and made them wander for forty-years in the desert (Num. 32:13)
God for forty-years took care of the children of Israel (Dt. 2:7)
Joshua was forty-years old when Moses sent him to explore the land (Jos. 14:7)
Saul was forty-years old when he became king over Israel (2 Sam. 2:10)
David reigned king for forty-years (2 Sam. 5:4)
Solomon reigned forty-years (1 Kings 11:42)
God made the land Egypt desolate for forty-years (Ezek. 29:11)
When Moses was forty-years he called himself as the deliver and tried to deliver his people by flesh and not by spirit (Acts 7:23)
After forty-years, the angel of the Lord appeared to Moses in the flames of the burning bush and told him that He would use him to deliver His people, by spirit not flesh (Acts 7:30). 
God used ‘forty-years’ not only to punish His children, but also to mature them for His work and perform His work for that season of time. 

Judges 13:2 speaks of the infertile nature of the wife of Manoah.  Manoah means ‘rest’. The Angel of the Lord appeared to her and said, “You are sterile and childless, but you are going to conceive and have a son. Now see to it that you drink no wine or other fermented drink and that you do not eat anything unclean, because you will conceive and give birth to a son. No razor may be used on his head, because the boy is to be a Nazirite, (Easton’s Bible Dictionary—the word denotes generally one who is separated from others and consecrated to God.) set apart to God from birth, and he will begin the deliverance of Israel from the hands of the Philistines.” 

God is still desiring a people that will allow Him to set them apart for His use, for His glory, a people that will sanctify themselves - unto God. 

The woman then went to her husband and told him what she had seen and heard from the angel of God (vs. 6-7). Instead of rebuking the Word of God that came to them, they prayed unto the LORD (vs. 8) for wisdom on how to raise the child that was to be born. “For the LORD giveth wisdom: out of his mouth cometh knowledge and understanding” (Proverbs 2:6, KJV). 

God heard the prayer of Manoah and his wife, and the angel of God came again unto the woman while she was out in the field (vs. 9) and her husband was not with her.  The woman hurried back to tell her husband. When Manoah followed his wife and came to the man, (vs. 10-11) Manoah asked, “Are you the one who talked to my wife?” and the angel said, “I am.” 

Anytime we receive a Word from God, whether it is in our spirit, a pastor or a prophet, we need to seek God for His wisdom and guidance in the matter. “Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: many false prophets are gone out into the world” (1 John 4:1, KJV). 

After Manoah and his wife prayed for knowledge and wisdom in what was spoken in their life, they then asked God, “What is your will for our child’s life?  What have you called him to be (vs. 12)!” They did not plan the future of their child using their wisdom—they sought God’s wisdom. They asked the LORD what His will was for their child’s life, they recognized the gift and favor not only on their lives, but their son’s life as well, and they wanted to stay in the will of God. 

Too many times when God bestows supernatural favor in our life, whether it is a conception and birth of a child, job, ministry, or healing, etc., instead of seeking God for His will in the matter, what He wants done, we want to run with ‘our’ vision and say it is ‘His’ vision. In other words, instead of letting God get the glory and/or FULL-GLORY in that situation, we tend to take part or all of the glory. It cannot be God’s vision if we have not sought His will in the matter and/or if we sought His will, but have not followed through with ALL He has said. God did not put you or me on that job just to earn wages, but to be a witness for Him—to be a light in a ‘Philistine’ village. It’s our responsibility and privilege to be that voice for God, that light for God, and the only way to be that voice, that light, is to seek Him in ALL things. God did not hook you up with that mate, just so you could say ‘I’ve got a man/woman’—but so you two would go out into the world and bring souls into His kingdom, so that you would have something to lay at the Master’s feet.   Our goal should ALWAYS be ‘what can we do for the Kingdom of God’, not ‘what God or the Kingdom of God can do for me’. When we only seek to fulfill our needs, wants and desires, we are ‘self-consumed’. But when we seek to fulfill His will, then we are ‘God-consumed’.  “Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done.” Luke 22:42, KJV  It should be what you two as man and wife can do for the Kingdom of God. “How could one man chase a thousand, or two put ten thousand to flight, unless their Rock had sold them, unless the LORD had given them up” (Deuteronomy 32:30,NIV)? 

Then the angel of the LORD told Manoah that he and his wife must obey all that was spoken unto them (vs. 13). Notice the word ‘all’ here.  When God is making an emphasis on what must be done in order to receive the full benefit of what He has, He states ‘all’ must be done or obeyed, included, etc. Too many times we cut off our own hand to spite our face or, in other words, we stop short of our blessings and or the manifestation of it, by not doing ALL that God has required of and from us. If Manoah’s wife had not followed ‘all’ that the angel of the Lord had told her, the outcome would have been much different. 

When we seek God for a healing, deliverance, financial breakthrough, a mate, etc., and we do not have the manifestation of whatever we are seeking God for, 99% of the time it is because we have not done ALL that God has required of and from us. Too many times we read a portion of the scripture and not the scriptures before and after that one—not ALL of the context of that scripture. The Word of God says, “Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me, John 5:39, KJV.” 

We have to not only get the breakthrough, but we also have to have the breakout! Let me define the difference between a breakthrough and a breakout. A breakthrough is—offensive thrust that penetrates and carries beyond a defensive line in warfare; an act or instance of breaking through an obstruction. Notice the key words here, ‘in warfare’, for we are in a battle, not just for our lives, but also for the lives of those who have yet to give themselves to Christ. Let me clear up a misconception—this war, this battle that we are in, has nothing to do with ‘our’ stuff, ‘our’ dreams, desires and or needs. But it has ALL to do with a soul, a life, for the Kingdom of God. The next set of words, says ‘through an obstruction’. We may breakthrough whatever ‘we’ are warring for in us. Where is the battle fought?  In our minds. How do we win the battle in our minds? Through prayer, praise and fasting, accompanied by our obedience to the Word of God. But the key word is THROUGH.  We first have to breakthrough the battle in ‘our mind’,  and until then, we still have a war going on and a battle to win. When God breaks us out, by you and me initiating the breakthrough with prayer, praise, fasting and the obedience to His Word, God then turns around and tells us, now it’s time for you to perform a breakout for another. 

Breakout means ‘a violent or forceful break from a restraining condition or situation; especially: a military attack to break from encirclement.’  There are several key words I want to address here.  First it says, ‘violent or forceful break’. We have to take the kingdom of darkness by violence, by force, and break its’ stronghold.  “And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force.”  Matthew 11:12, KJV. 

You and I are the violent, the spiritual militants and only by force can we take what was stolen back. The next set of words is ‘restraining condition or situation’—that means the devil has been restraining a soul, a life, with strongholds (sin, lies, deception) and only by a force will we take back what RIGHTFULLY belongs to the Kingdom of God. The next set of words states, a ‘military attack’.  Child of God, we are in a battle, a war, and God is trying to prepare us to be fierce and forceful soldiers—spiritual militants if you will (aggressively active (as in a cause)). 

If you are saved and filled with the Holy Spirit, the battle is then not for your soul, because you have already given it to God, but it is for the soul of someone who is not saved. And we have to use ‘spiritual’ military tactics to get back that life—that soul which belongs to God. The last word is ‘encirclement’, which means we have to surround the enemy with the presence of God that is in us, and use the ‘spiritual’ military tactics that His Word has given and trained us, and by force, breakout those that are still yet held captive. 

See, it’s not just important to get a breakthrough for yourself, but you have to perform a breakout for someone else. When we consume ourselves with what God is consumed with, He gives us our breakthrough, but then He will empower us to breakout someone that is still held captive by the enemy. And if we are only self-consumed we will never get our breakthrough, nor be able to provide the breakout for another.

 Once Manoah and his wife got their breakthrough (the conception and delivery of their child, Samson), God used their son to bring about the breakout for the Israelites. But we have to be FAITH-FULL, and we do this when we follow through with ALL that He has said and asked of us. Full of faith - FULL=ALL.  But when we do not follow through and only do just a portion of what God has said, we are FAITH-LESS, HALF=LESS. The one percent of the time that we have not received the manifestation of whatever we are FAITH-FULLY anticipating, is that the fruit is not ripe for picking and God will never give us anything that is not complete or matured. 

How do we show that we are FAITH-FULL and not FAITH-LESS? When we do not murmur and complain, when God says to tithe a tenth of ALL (there’s that word ALL again). “Bring ye ALL the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the LORD of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.” Malachi 3:10, KJV.  When we praise God in the midst of our bareness, whatever and wherever that bareness lies. When we seek God for who He is, when we let the light of God in us be a witness and a light to someone engulfed in utter darkness. When we continue to do what God has instructed us to do. When we continue to read the Word of God and fellowship with believers.  One of the most important parts, and maybe the hardest, is when we take our focus off ourselves, our problems, and ask the Holy Spirit, ‘Today, who do you desire for me to bless or be a blessing to?” You see when we choose not to be ‘SELF-CONSUMED’ and choose instead to be ‘GOD-CONSUMED,’ God is able to handle ALL (there’s that three-letter word again) that concerns you and me. 

Manoah and his wife were not ‘SELF-CONSUMED’.  How do I know that, when the scripture does not state either way?  All we have to do is look at the outcome of this. If they had not been a people that worshiped and praised God, then God would not have heard their cries, because the Word of God says, “For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and his ears are attentive to their prayer, but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil,” 1 Peter 3:12, NIV. 

After the word came from the Lord, Manoah and his wife tried the spirit, by the spirit of God, not ‘1-900 ask Cleo’, not your spirit, but by the Spirit of God, the Word of God. When the Word of God came and confirmed His own word, they did not reject it. They did not question God saying, “well, how are you going to make me conceive, when I have been barren for all these many years?”  They  did not reject the word, but they offered up an offering for the word and to the Word. The next thing they did was to obey all that the LORD had commanded them to do, they were GOD-CONSUMED and not SELF-CONSUMED. 

What does GOD-CONSUMED and SELF-CONSUMED mean? When you are self-consumed, you think everything is all about you, your problems, your solutions and your deliverance, ‘it’s my world’ type of mentality.  When you are God-consumed, you have the problem, but you know that God has the solution and He is not only the deliverer but will bring about the deliverance. You don’t need to stay up all night trying to figure it out; you can go to bed and rest in His peace, knowing it’s HIS responsibility to bring about HIS Word.  When you are SELF-CONSUMED, you stay up at night, you worry throughout the day, trying to bring forth ‘your’ word or ‘man’s’ word. But God-consumed people know that it is not their responsibility, they know the burden of proof rests in the hands of God. 

Manoah and his wife were GOD-CONSUMER’S; they were consumed by His presence, His power and His will. They followed through with ALL of His commands and brought forth a mighty seed, a mighty-son, Samson. Manoah then asked the angel of the LORD to stay as they prepared a young goat for him, but the angel of the LORD replied back, “Even though you detain me, I will not eat any of your food. But if you prepare a burnt offering, offer it to the LORD.” (vs. 15-16) (Manoah did not realize that it was the angel of the LORD—Jesus). 

Manoah then inquired of the angel of the LORD, “What is your name, so that we may honor you when your word comes true?” (vs. 17). The angel of the LORD replied back to Manoah, “Why do you ask my name? It is beyond understanding.” Because God is too big to contain just one name, for He told Moses, “I AM WHO I AM” (Ex. 3:14). As Manoah took a young goat, together with grain offering, and sacrificed it on a rock to the LORD, the LORD did an amazing thing while Manoah and his wife watched: As the flames blazed up from the altar toward heaven, the angel of the LORD ascended in the flame. Seeing this, Manoah and his wife fell with their faces to the ground, realizing that it was the angel of the LORD (vs. 18-21). 

Manoah and his wife gave honor and praise to the LORD for turning their infertile bodies to fertile bodies, they did not give the honor to man (doctors, medicine, surgery, etc.). But they gave praise unto God, from whom all blessings flow. They offered unto the Lord an offering—to seal the word that was spoken over their lives—a covenant between the Lord and them. 

Manoah and his wife sought the LORD in everything concerning their blessing but also how to be a blessing to others. They knew it was not just about them or their child, but what God would accomplish through their child to save a nation and a people. God received the offering and within the offering showed Himself to them in a mighty way (vs. 19). 

After the LORD had ascended up in the flames, Manoah stated, “We are doomed to die, we have seen God.” (vs. 22). Too often after God has shown Himself to us in a mighty way, we allow the spirit of fear to enter in. If God were going to kill Manoah for seeing Him, He would have surely done it before accepting the offering—the covenant between Him and his seed. If God were going to kill them, how then would the child be born that was the promise to them, for their life of obedience? This was God’s way of not only answering Manoah and his wife’s prayer, but the prayer of Israel in regards to the bondage by the Philistines. “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God” (Matt. 5:8, NIV). 

Manoah’s wife gave birth to a son and his name was Samson—International Standard Bible Encyclopedia—Derived probably from shemesh, “sun’ with the diminutive ending-on, meaning “little sun” or “sunny,” or perhaps “sun-man.” Samson grew and the LORD blessed him and the Spirit of the LORD began to stir him while he was in Mananeh Dan (vs. 24-25). 

Because Manoah’s wife was God-consumed while she was carrying Samson, that God- consumption was implanted in him. Samson grew up God-Consumed. What made the difference in a miraculous birth taking place for Manoah and his wife? What made the difference is that they led a life (not perfect-without sin or fault) of serving God, in the midst of being persecuted by the Philistines (the enemy), they continued to praise, pray and worship God. They passed from their original state of fear to faith. 

Let me define what F.E.A.R. is, accordingly to what the Holy Spirit told me. Many of us have been told that F.E.A.R. is False-Evidence-Appearing-Real. But Evidence is something that you have solid proof of.  For example, if there is a murder, you have a body (sooner of later). If there is robbery, you have something missing. Let me interject -FEAR is always generated from the ‘OLD-HEART’, the old Adamic–unpurged nature. Fear stems from the mind (which is the spiritual heart), it comes from the part of the brain part called Amygdala, this is where our emotions are birthed and kept. So FEAR is really FALSE-EMOTIONS-APPEARING-REAL. 

When we feel fear, it comes from our old heart and not the NEW HEART, which has been replaced with the heart of God. In that NEW HEART contains only Truth—the Word of God. For Jesus said, “I am the way and the truth and the life.” John 14:6, NIV. The only thing that can reside in the NEW HEART is Truth, so when a situation comes before your eyes or ears, the NEW HEART responds, and what does it respond with? TRUTH, because that is the only thing that lives in the NEW HEART. 

So when Manoah experienced fear after realizing that he had just met the angel of the LORD face to face and assumed he would die, those emotions were coming from the natural part of his brain—Amygdala, the old spiritual heart. For if he had the new heart, the new heart would have addressed the spirit of fear with, “For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.” 2 Timothy 1:7, KJV. 

Manoah and his wife did ALL that was commanded of them—they obeyed the LORD and trained Samson up in the way that he should walk.  “Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.” Proverbs, KJV. 

When you are God-consumed and you receive a word, when God uses someone, or Himself to reveal your divine destiny to you, or it could be just that whatever you sought Him for and He said He would do, you rest from your labor.  “Yes,” says the Spirit, “they will rest from their labor, for their deeds will follow them.” Revelations 14:13, NIV. 
We know that it is He that will perfect and perform the work, “For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ.” Ephesians 4:12, KJV. 

The moment you and I choose to be God-Consumed, God will be consumed about what concerns us. For our “God is a consuming fire.” Hebrews 12:29, NIV. When we make the decision to be God-Consumed and not Self-Consumed, we not only get our breakthrough’s but we are then equipped to provide a breakout for someone else; we become that ‘spiritual militant’ that says, ‘by any means necessary, by force, by violent force, shall we surround the enemies camp until every captive has been set free,.  “If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.” John 8:36, KJV.  And only when we are consumed by and with God will we get our breakthrough, and then it is God that empowers us to be that ‘spiritual militant’ to provide a breakout for someone else. 

Created by Lynn Lillard