Grace Lutheran Church Sermon The Baptism of our Lord, January 7, 2007

The Rev. Evan Gaertner

The Baptism of our Lord “Be a Shamgar!”

January 7, 2007 Judges 3:31

We stand at the beginning of a new year and I hope you are ready to take aim on this new year. There will be opportunities for success and failure.

As a congregation we are going to talk about our goals for this year and the years to come. This year is our 100^th Anniversary as a congregation. This year is a chance for us to ask some tough questions about what direction we want our congregation to go.

Personally the beginning of a new year is also a chance for me to make goals about my personal life, church life, family life, and about my friends and neighbors.

As a congregation and as individuals it is important for us to have goals, a sense of purpose, direction.

The crime of goals is not failure but aiming low or not aiming at all. Some people will be so frozen by failure that they will not even try. Others will make a goal that is to not ambitious enough and so will never challenge themselves to grow.

Another pastor sent me a little devotion about a person in the Bible that I had never heard about named Shamgar. Pastor Ginkel was challenging me to not just busy myself with the daily responsibilities but to keep in mind the big picture. A person once said about planning, “You’ve got to think about the big things while you’re doing the small things so that all the small things are going in the right direction.” (Alvin Toffler)

Let’s learn this morning from Shamgar. At the end of this sermon I want you all to desire to be Shamgar’s this year.

Listen to Judges 3:31:

“After Ehud was Shamgar the son of Anath, who killed 600 of the Philistines with an oxgoad, and he also saved Israel.”

So at first you may wonder why I want you all to become Shamgar’s this year, considering that he killed 600 people.

Take a look with me at what was happening at the time of Shamgar and hopefully you will become inspired by the way God’s power worked through Shamgar.

Joshua had led the people of Israel across the Jordan River into the Promised Land. After Joshua died there rose up a generation who did not know the Lord or the work the Lord had done rescuing Israel from slavery in Egypt, guiding them through the Wilderness, and bringing them across the Jordan River.

The people of Israel did what was evil in the sight of the Lord. The Lord handed them over to their enemies. They cried out to God for mercy and he raised up judges, who saved them out of the hand of those who plundered them. This is the cycle of the book of Judges. The people are unfaithful, they fall into the hands of their enemies, they cry for mercy, and God provides a leader to rescue them.

This is similar to the cycle of our own lives. We disobey God on account of sinfulness. We fall into the hands of this world. We cry to God for mercy and we rejoice that he has sent his Son Jesus Christ to rescue us from sin, death, and the devil.

During Shamgar’s time once again the people found themselves in the hands of their enemy the Philistines. The Philistines took all weapons away from the Israelites so Israel could not fight back. It appeared hopeless.

But Shamgar was a man willing to be used by God for the purpose God had given him. Each one of us has in our time and place been given by God sufficient grace to accomplish great things. We may find all sorts of excuses why we are not up to the challenge but we called are to trust that God’s grace is sufficient for us and his power will be made known in our weaknesses (2 Cor 12:9).

We do not know Shamgar’s profession, but certainly he did not hold a full-time religious job like a pastor. Likely Shamgar was a farmer, and the harvest was ready. The Philistines had a history of attacking at harvest time to prevent the people from storing any food. They swept down upon the land expecting the people to be helpless. But Shamgar, armed with an oxgoad—not a very sophisticated weapon—stood tall An ox-goad was a long pole that on one end is pokey to get the ox moving and on the other end has a little hook to scrap the dirt off the plow.

Shamgar could have had many excuses for doing nothing but he stood up and acted. He saved Israel because he did not aim low or do nothing but trusted God to work through him to accomplish great things.

I have confidence that God can work through each of you to accomplish great things. None of us are going to be called to serve the Lord in exactly the same way as Shamgar, but each of us are called by God. You are the body of Christ. Expect great things from God.

The devil in this world believes he has the power. He works to bring despair and hopelessness. Like the Philistines that took away the weapons of Israel and attacked, the devil attacks believing you are defenseless and hopeless. One of his greatest weapons is convincing you are doing alright without God. But I want you to be a Shamgar and trust that by the power of God you can do all things. Indeed it was only by the power of God that Shamgar stood up and with his ox-goad struck down 600 Philistines and saved Israel.

At the graveside service of a funeral we are reminded that not only are we dust and to dust we shall return, more importantly we are reminded that we commit this body to the ground in the sure and certain hope of the resurrection to eternal life through our Lord Jesus Christ, who will change our lowly bodies so that they will be like His glorious body, by the power that enables Him to subdue all things to Himself.

You are not defenseless in this world nor do you need to let the modern day philistines trample all over you. Shamgar had his ox-goad and faith and with that he was able to do more than he could imagine.

I want you set careful goals, goals that are godly. Have the desire to never quit. And I want you to expect great things from God. Believe the promise of Ephesians 3:20 “Now to Christ who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine..”

Shamgar wanted to free his people from bondage, the fear of the Philistines. In spite of all the obstacles and limitations, he trusted God would use him to bring that goal to pass. For the glory of God be a Shamgar. Trust in the power of Christ, the same power that enabled him to silence death, trust that he has great plans for you. Christ did not rescue from sin, death, and the devil so that Philistines could destroy you. Christ did not rescue from sin, death, and the devil so that injustice could silence you.

Soli Deo Gloria

Grace Lutheran Church Sermons