Half-Hearted Discipleship pt.2

Judges: Half-Hearted Discipleship pt.2

  1. God’s _________ is clear.

  2. Partial ___________________ looks successful.

  3. Compromise becomes a _______________.

21 But the men of Benjamin did not drive out the Jebusites who lived in Jerusalem, so the Jebusites live among the people of Benjamin in Jerusalem to this day. (Jdg 1:21)
8 The men of Judah waged war against Jerusalem and captured it. They struck the city with the edge of the sword and set it on fire. (Jdg 1:8)
22 The house of Joseph likewise went up against Bethel, and the Lord was with them. 23 The house of Joseph sent spies to scout Bethel (the name of the city was formerly Luz). 24 The spies saw a man coming out of the city, and they said to him, “Please show us a way into the city, and we will grant you mercy.” 25 The man showed them a way into the city, and they struck the city with the edge of the sword, but they let the man and his whole family go. 26 The man went to the land of the Hittites, built a city, and named it Luz. That is its name to this day. (Jdg 1:22–26)
27 But the tribe of Manasseh did not take possession of Beth Shan and its towns or Ta’anach and its towns. They did not drive out the inhabitants of Dor and its towns, or the inhabitants of Ibleam and its towns, or the inhabitants of Megiddo and its towns, so the Canaanites were determined to keep living in this land. 28 Whenever Israel grew strong, they made the Canaanites perform forced labor, but they did not drive them out completely. 29 In the same way, Ephraim did not drive out the Canaanites living at Gezer. Instead, the Canaanites continued to live among them at Gezer. (Jdg 1:27–29)
30 Zebulun did not drive out the inhabitants of Kitron or the inhabitants of Nahalol. Instead, the Canaanites continued to live among them. Zebulun did subject them to forced labor [מַס (mǎs)]. (Jdg 1:30)  
So the Egyptians placed taskmasters over them to oppress them with forced labor. The Israelites built Pithom and Rameses as store cities for Pharaoh. (Ex 1:11)
31 Asher did not drive out the inhabitants of Akko, the inhabitants of Sidon, or those in Ahlab, Akzib, Helbah, Aphek, or Rehob. 32 Instead, the people of Asher lived among the Canaanites, who continued to live in the land because the Asherites did not drive them out. (Jdg 1:31–32)
33 Naphtali did not drive out the inhabitants of Beth Shemesh or the inhabitants of Beth Anath. Instead, they continued to live among the Canaanites, who continued to live in the land, but the inhabitants of Beth Shemesh and Beth Anath did perform forced labor for Naphtali. (Jdg 1:33)
34 The Amorites forced the men of Dan back into the hill country. They did not allow them to come down to the lowlands. 35 The Amorites were determined to continue living in Mount Heres, in Aijalon, and in Sha’albim, but the hand of the house of Joseph grew heavy on them, and they were put to forced labor. (Jdg 1:34–35)

When we allow _______ or spiritual _________________ to remain, it spreads. What we tolerate today will _______________ us tomorrow.

  1. The _____________ of half-hearted discipleship.

2 I am the Lord your God, who brought you out from the land of Egypt, where you were slaves. 3 You shall have no other gods beside me. (Ex 20:2–3)
4 Hear [שְׁמַע (she-ma)], O Israel! The Lord is our God. The Lord is one! 5 Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. 6 These words that I am commanding you today are to be on your heart. (Dt 6:4–6)

The Shema represents the call to recognize God's absolute ___________ and _______________________, demanding our complete, ___________________ devotion.

Teacher, which is the greatest commandment of the Law? (Mt 22:36)
Therefore I urge you, brothers, by the mercies of God, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice—holy and pleasing to God—which is your appropriate worship. (Ro 12:1)
1 My son, if you accept my words, if you store up my commands within you, 2 by paying attention to wisdom with your ear, by reaching out for understanding with your heart, 3 if indeed you call out for intelligence, if you raise your voice for understanding, 4 if you search for it like silver, if you hunt for it like hidden treasure, 5 then you will understand the fear of the Lord, then you will find the knowledge of God, 6 because the Lord gives wisdom. Knowledge and understanding come from his mouth. (Pr 2:1–6)
16 All Scripture is God breathed and is useful for teaching, for rebuking, for correcting, and for training in righteousness, 17 so that the man of God may be complete, well equipped for every good work. (2 Ti 3:16–17)
But the one who looks carefully into the perfect law, the law of freedom, and continues to do so—since he does not hear and forget but actually does what it says—that person will be blessed in what he does. (Jas 1:25)

  1. Christ is the _________________ deliverer.

The Cycle of Judges—Five “R’s.”

R_________________

R_________________

R_________________  

R_________________

R_________________

he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death—even death on a cross. (Php 2:8)
23 Jesus said to all of them, “If anyone wants to come after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross daily, and follow me. 24 For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it.” (Lk 9:23–24)
I have been crucified with Christ, and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I am now living in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. (Ga 2:20)

Points to Ponder

  1. What is one thing that stood out for you from this week’s message?
  2. How did God make His will clear to Israel at the start of Judges?
  3. What compromises did Israel make, and why do you think they seemed so reasonable at the time?
  4. Why do small compromises often grow into entrenched patterns in our lives or communities?
  5. What “small compromises” might today’s church be tempted to tolerate, and how can we guard against them?
  6. How do we discern when we’ve become comfortable settling for less than wholehearted devotion to God?
  7. In what practical ways does Jesus’ faithfulness motivate us to pursue wholehearted obedience today?
  8. Looking at the whole chapter, where do you see yourself most in Israel’s story—confident in victory, tempted to compromise, or longing for rescue?

Read: Judges 2