you who are remaining in here, Judges 3 tonight for our Bible study together, Judges chapter 3. And the sermon title is, When Enough is Enough, subtitled, left-handed people are the most awesomest people ever. Subtitled, subtitled, because it is one of those sermons, When Lefty Killed Hefty, but we are in Judges chapter 3 stand with me if you would out of respect for the reading of God's Word David We're gonna read verses 12 through 16 as we get started tonight The Bible says this and the children of Israel did evil again in the sight of the Lord And the Lord strengthened Eglon, the king of Moab, against Israel, because they had done evil in the sight of the Lord. And he gathered unto him the children of Ammon and Amalek, and went and smote Israel, and possessed the city of palm trees. So the children of Israel served Eglon, the king of Moab, eighteen years. But when the children of Israel cried to the Lord, the Lord raised them up a deliverer. Ehud, the son of Gerah of Benjamite, a man left-handed, and by him the children of Israel sent a present unto Eglon, the king of Moab. But Ehud made him a dagger which had two edges of a cubit length, and he girded under his raiment upon his right thigh." Father, I pray tonight as we look at this account in Scripture of the judge Ehud. I pray that you would help our hearts to be ready to hear and receive all that you have for us. We ask these things in Jesus' name. Amen. Thank you. You may be seated. So Judges, if you're familiar with this book of the Bible, is a very sad yet very relevant book. Israel, a nation that knew God, a nation that had been chosen by God to declare His glory, a nation that had seen God do the miraculous time and time again, was locked in a bitter cycle of rebellion against God. They would rebel. God would judge. Eventually they would repent and God would deliver. And this cycle occurred again and again. You'll notice in verse 12 tonight as we read, the Bible says that the children of Israel did evil. What's that word? Evil? Oh come on church. Did evil again in the sight of the Lord. They were locked in this bitter cycle of rebellion against God. They knew God's law. They had seen God's power. They had lived His victory. And yet over and over and over again they had turned from God and fallen in bondage. And we find here tonight in our account that Israel had lived in bondage to King Edlon of Moab for 18 years. Now tonight I want us to understand this very clearly. God never intends that His people live in bondage. And yet far too often we do, don't we? Edlon, the king of Moab, held Israel and set great burdens upon them. Edlon took that which belonged to the Lord and abused it in bondage for 18 years. And yet even in our own lives it's far easier than we like to admit. for us to suffer bondage to sin or under the burden of some circumstance. And we find that we do. We suffer day after day. But there came a day for Israel when enough was enough. They were not going to serve Egalon anymore. Church tonight, I want us to see truly we as Christians, are not made to be in bondage to the flesh, are not made to be in bondage to hurts, we are made to live in victory and serve the Lord. So tonight I want to draw on some principles for spiritual victory from the life of Ehud and learn tonight what to do when truly we find enough is enough. So let's pick this up verses 15 and 16 together. The Bible says, But when the children of Israel cried unto the Lord, the Lord raised them up a deliverer, Ehud, the son of Gera, a Benjamite, a man left-handed. And by him the children of Israel sent a present unto Aglaon, the king of Moab. But Ehud made him a dagger, which had two edges of a cubit length. And He did gird it under His reign and upon His right side. So what do we do, church, when enough is enough? Some principles for spiritual warfare tonight. Number one, when enough is enough, it's time to equip for battle. It's time to equip for battle. You see, here's the thing about Eglon. Here's the thing about whatever sin, whatever hurt, whatever situation seems to hold you embonded. The problem is not going away on its own. Contrary to popular belief, time does not make it better and heal all wounds. We have to deal with the things that hold us. Now I want you to notice what they did first in verse number 15. When the children of Israel formed a committee. When the children of Israel sought to elect a different president. When the children of Israel set a budget that would allow them to eventually build an army. No, what does it say? When the children of Israel did what? When the children of Israel cried unto the Lord. They cried unto the Lord. I love what the psalmist says, Psalm 18 and verse number 6. Here the psalmist says this, In my distress I called upon the Lord and cried unto my God and He heard my voice. Isn't that awesome? He heard my voice out of His temple and my cry came before Him even into His ears. As we consider tonight equipping for battle, I think first of all we have to recognize that the children of Israel sought God with the intense understanding that they were inadequate and that they desperately needed Him. You see, far too often we remain in bondage because we live in delusion. We live under the delusion that we can, with a little more effort, with a little more willpower, with a little more fortitude, we can handle it on our own. But you see, we know spiritually that not to be the case because you cannot defeat the flesh and you cannot defeat the problems of the flesh with your flesh. You need God. And they sought the Lord. The humble. The ones who are humble before the Lord receive the help from the Lord. Think about that. The ones who were humble before the Lord receive help from the Lord. James 4, 6 reminds us of that truth. The Bible says He giveth more grace, wherefore He saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble. The children of Israel cried unto the Lord, and the Bible says the Lord heard their prayer and raised them up a deliverer. And so we are introduced to this man, Ehud, tonight. And Ehud prepared for battle, and as he prepared for battle, the Bible says he made a dagger. He carefully and purposefully fashioned a weapon, the Bible says, in verse number 16, that had two edges. Or one might say he had a double-edged sword. Does that sound familiar, church? What does Hebrews chapter 4 remind us? That the word of God is quick and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the divining of thunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. Ehud fashioned himself a dagger. He equipped himself for battle. Christian, I remind us tonight that the Bible is still the weapon of choice for believers in spiritual warfare. The Bible reminds us in Ephesians 6, 17, going over the armor of God, that really we are allotted one offensive weapon. And that is the sword of the Spirit, say it with me, which is the Word of God. It's this book. Consider this too, Ehud didn't flash it, he hit it on his person. We ought to hide it in our hearts. That's what the Bible teaches us, doesn't it? That we ought to hide God's Word in our hearts, that we might not sin against Him. Wherewithal shall the young man cleanse his way by taking heed thereto according to Thy Word. You want to know how to get out of bondage? This book is a lamp unto your feet and a light unto your path. Do you want to know how to have your life cleansed from sin? The Bible says the Lord Jesus Christ as a good groom for the church, He washes us with the water of the Word. It's this book. It's this book. Not what you know tonight, I don't know what you're facing, but you're not facing anything that the sword can't handle. The Bible is perfect, it is profitable, it is sufficient in all matters of human life. The Bible is the key to spiritual growth and success. The Bible is the mechanism that the Holy Spirit uses to save us and to sanctify us. I'm going to tell you church, when enough is enough, it's time to equip. It's time to humble ourselves before the Lord. It's time to get a hold of this book. It's time to get into this book. When enough is enough, it's time to equip for battle. I want you to see how this battle takes place. So Ehud has fashioned himself a sword. And he has been sent to lead a group who would come and bring the taxes, the tribute, would bring this gift to the oppressing king. Verse 17, and he brought the present unto Eglon, king of Moab. And Eglon was a very fat man. When he had made an end to offer the present, he sent away the people that bear the present. But he himself turned again from the queries or the idols that were by Gilgal, and said, I have a secret errand unto thee, O king. who said, keep silence, and all that stood by him went out from him. Nehud came unto him, and he was sitting in a summer parlor, which he had for himself alone. And Nehud said, I have a message from God unto thee. And he arose out of his seat. And Ehud put forth his left hand and took the dagger from his right thigh and thrust it into his belly. And the haft also, the handle also went in after the blade and the fat closed upon the blade so that he could not draw the dagger out of the belly and the dirt came out. Oh, PG-13 on Wednesday night, right? So church, when enough is enough, what can we learn from spiritual warfare? Number one, equip for battle. Number two, engage to win. Engage to win. Ehud was the one tasked with bringing the tribute, the gift to the oppressing king, Eglon. The Bible gives the indication that when they went to go home, that Ehud passed by the idols that were at Gilgal. For those of you who may not be familiar with Gilgal, Gilgal has a special place. in the history of the nation of Israel. If you go back to the book of Joshua, it was at Gilgal where the Bible says that the Lord rolled away the reproach of Egypt from the nation of Israel. So this was the place, Gilgal was the place where the remaining reproach of Egypt was rolled away. And they became that blessed, sanctified people of the Lord. You see, Gilgal didn't belong to idols. Gilgal represented the fact that Israel belonged to the Lord. And Ehud saw these idols there at Gilgal and I think something inside of him said, you know what? Enough is enough. So Ehud took some individual responsibility. He determined to go face Eglon face to face. He didn't whine about whose fault this was. He didn't whine about how it wasn't fair. And I wish my mom and daddy had done different. He didn't whine about how hard it was going to be. He just decided to deal with it in the name of the Lord. I'm going to tell you, church, if we're going to walk in victory, we're going to have to deal with our strongholds. We're going to have to deal with our struggles. And we're going to have to deal with our pains. And we're going to have to deal with our hurts head on. We can't deflect it, we can't detract from it, we can't dismiss it or disregard it. We have to call it what it is and determine we're going to do something about it. Call it what it is. What does the writer of Hebrews admonish us in Hebrews 12 in verse number 1? We're foreseeing we are encompassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses. Let us lay aside every weight and the sin which doth so easily beset us and let us run with patience the weight that is set before us." Hey, if I'm going to lay aside the sin and the weight, I'm going to have to figure out what it is. I'm going to have to figure out what it is. I'm going to have to identify it and do something about it. But I love it, when we get serious about it, here's what the Bible says, 1 John 1, 9, that if we confess our sins, praise God, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. You know, far too often we do this spiritual warfare thing and we come into the battle already defeated. Well, I've tried so many times. Or, well, I just can't seem to get past. Or, oh, I wish this just changed my whole life. And we walk into the battle ready to lose. When enough is enough, you've got to decide to engage to win. And you know what? It doesn't matter what it is and it doesn't matter what it takes. By God's grace and for God's glory, I'm going to have victory in this. Because you see, Ehud didn't just take individual responsibility, he also did this with intense resolve. He stabbed the fat man. Now, I want you to picture tonight, this is what I was talking about Ms. April, I got this from overseas. This, my friends, is a 13 inch blade. Ehud's blade was a cubit. That's approximately 18 inches. So add 5 inches to this blade. Now I don't know about you, But even the thought of poking somebody with this, I can't do it. When I was in high school, I could not dissect the pig. I couldn't do it. But I was smart about it, because I found in my biology class a good old boy, and we had to have lab partners, right? I said, good old boy, I'll be the brains, and you do what I tell you to do, and we'll both get good grades, and we did. Amen and amen. I couldn't even cut the pig. Could you imagine taking something five inches longer than this? You know what it said, right? He didn't just poke the dude. He stabbed the dude. And he kept on stabbing the dude. And he stabbed the fat man so far that the whole blade, the blade and all, it got stuck in him so that he couldn't pull it out. You know how determined you have to be? Oh, I've upset the little one. I don't mean to be so graphic, little one. I'm sorry. We're not normally like this. You know how determined you have to be to shove an 18-inch blade into a man so far that the handle goes into his body? You know how determined you have to be? Ehud was determined to finish the job, though. And Christian, I'm going to tell you, when we get to the place where enough is enough, we have got to set out with resolve to finish the fight and win the war. To cut off sin where it stands. To take off the old man so that we can put on the new man. Romans 13, 12 reminds us of this glorious truth. The night is far spent, the day is at hand. Let us therefore cast off the works of darkness. Let us put on the armor of life. Ephesians 4 beginning in verse 22, the Bible says that you put off, cast away, get rid of the former conversation of the old man which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts and be renewed in the spirit of your mind and that ye put on the new man which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness. Here's the thing, if you want victory over it, quit coming into it acting like you're going to lose. You have to engage to win. Here's the thing, if you want victory over it, don't play with it. Oh, so many Christians are playing with sin. We play with sin and we play with sin. Here's the thing, we don't like sin to have power over us, but far too many of us are comfortable playing with it. We think, oh, it's just our pet sin. We're in control. I got news for you. No, you're not. Cut it off. And if Ehud's example is any example to us, you know, sometimes it's not always pretty. Sometimes that means certain people in our lives who lead us to walk away from God. I'm going to put this away because I'm getting ready to say, got to go. And I don't want to do that with a giant knife in my hand. But maybe certain people in our life have got to go. We've got to take them out of the contacts on the phone. We've got to remove them from social media. Because they don't need you to follow God. Sometimes it means we've got to remove things from our lives. It's not always pretty. But I'm going to tell you, when enough is enough, what do we do? We engage for the battle. And we equip for the battle. And then we have to engage to win. By God's grace and for God's glory, the fat man's got to go. Amen? So Ehud stands egg-long in the belly. And the handle went in after the blade, the fat closed upon the blade, so that he could not draw the dagger out of his belly, and the dirt came out. I will leave you to your thoughts on that one, okay? Look how the story ends. And Ehud went forth through the porch and shut the doors of the parlor upon him and locked them. And when he was gone out, his servants, Eglon's servants came. And when they saw that, behold, the doors of the parlor were locked. They said, surely he covereth his feet or he's using the restroom in his summer chamber. And they tarried until they were ashamed. Boy, he's taking a long time in there. And behold, He opened not the door of the parlor, therefore they took a key and opened them, and behold, their Lord was fallen down dead on the earth. And Ehud escaped while they tarried, and passed beyond the quarries, the idols, and escaped unto Sarath. And it came to pass that when he was come, that he blew a trumpet in the mountain of Ephraim. And the children of Israel went down with him from the mountain, and he before them. And he said unto them, Follow after me, for the Lord hath delivered your enemies, the Moabites, into your hands. And they went down after him, and took the fords of Jordan towards Moab, and suffered not a man to pass over. So what do we do when enough is enough? Principles of spiritual warfare tonight from Ehud. Number one, what is it church? What do we do? Number one, equip for battle. Number two, engage to win. Number three, emerge in victory. Emerge in victory. I love how Ehud didn't stick around to see what would happen next. He stabbed that man, lost his dagger forever. But then he walked forward, he closed the door, he locked it fast, and he emerged victorious. You know, sometimes, Christians, we just need to deal with things and then reckon it dead and determined to move forward by God's grace. Romans chapter 6, a beautiful chapter. Verses 1 and 2 begin, What shall we say? Then shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? God forbid. How should we that are dead to sin live any longer therein? Look at verse 4. Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death, that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. Jump to verse number 11. He says, likewise reckon ye yourselves also to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord. We engage the intent to win. We need to reckon it. We need to apply the sword of the Word. We need to allow the Spirit to work. We need to confess it and forsake it, reckon it dead, and continue to move forward by God's grace. How many of you recognize, though, we like to do that, but sometimes the devil tries to raise it up again. You know, and from time to time, we do have to deal with things. But I'm going to tell you, if you've determined to move on, it's not going to catch you as easily as it did the first time. Think about it this way. When Ehud poked the fat man, when Ehud killed Eglon, when Ehud emerged victorious, let me ask you, do you think the nation of Moab ceased to exist? Did they just stop existing when Eglon got killed? No. You see, the nation of Moab didn't cease to exist, but I am going to tell you, they did cease to enslave. And here's the thing, we still have our flesh. And we still have our struggles. And that hurt, it still happened. And we still have to deal with some things. And so it's not that it doesn't exist anymore. It's not that it doesn't hurt. It's not that it didn't happen. But what it means is, by God's grace, it doesn't get to enslave me anymore. And I'm going to tell you, Ehud claimed victory. In church, sometimes the oppression can seem so heavy that these words that I speak about victory and liberty, they seem nice, but they seem almost like a fairy tale to some. But I'm going to tell you, Ehud dealt with it. He closed the door. He moved on. He claimed victory. And this is not naming and claiming. This is, Christian, based on the reality that Jesus has claimed victory for every one of His children. This is not my victory that I have won or your victory that you have won. This is His victory that He has won. Just like we read in Romans 6, 4. He died on the cross. He was buried. He rose again. And by His grace, we get to walk with Him in newness of life. I love this thought. We're almost done. We're moving tonight. Ehud emerged in victory. Ehud didn't just win victory for himself. What did he do? He went to Mount Ephraim, verse 27, and he blew a trumpet. And he said unto them, follow me, for the Lord hath delivered your enemies, the Moabites, into your hand. Think about this truth tonight. Ehud didn't just win victory for himself. Ehud sounded a trumpet. and let other people know the liberty that God had granted. He invited all who would hear to join Him in that liberty. I'm going to tell you tonight, many of us have been through things. We have seen God deliver us from bondage. We have seen God set us free. We have seen God bring healing where we thought there could only be hurt forever. We have seen God do wonderful, wonderful things in our lives, in our families, in our marriages. We have seen God work! Here's the thing, as we find liberty in Christ, as we find victory in Christ, we have a responsibility to lead others to know that same freedom as well. Psalm 66, 16, the psalmist wrote this, Come and hear all ye that fear God, and I will declare what He hath done for my soul. Boy, I think it would really change things if we let that verse sink in. Someone tonight needs to hear your testimony about how God is still alive and how God is still good and how God is still working even after you've been through loss and heartbreak. Someone needs to hear tonight the testimony of how God was good and gracious and moved in your family and healed brokenness and there truly is hope in Christ. Somebody needs to hear tonight that, yes, I was bound. I suffered from addiction. I suffered from this. I had this stronghold, but Jesus truly set me free. You know, God gives us these victories. Yes, they're wonderful blessings for us personally, but I'm going to tell you, the greater blessing is when we get to see God use these things to help others. David, put that verse up there one more time. I want us to read it together tonight. The Bible says this, Come and hear all ye that fear God, and I will declare what He hath done for my soul. Look at verse 30 tonight. We're almost there. So Moab was seduced. that day under the hand of Israel, and the land had rest four score years. That is 80 years. The victory that Ehud won that day lasted 80 years. Think about that. Generations knew liberty because one man decided enough was enough. Generations knew peace because one man decided that enough was enough. Generations knew what it was like again to be under the blessing of the Lord. Why? Because one man said enough is enough. 18 years of oppression ended in one day. I wonder how long you've fought the battle you're fighting. I wonder how long you have labored under the burden that you bear. I wonder how long that you have struggled against the stronghold of some sin or some hurt. You know, I bet when all of this started, there was not one Israelite who thought, you know what, we're going to remain in bondage to Eglon for 18 years. But here's what happened. Days became weeks. And weeks became months. And months became years. But Ehud understood that it did not have to continue one minute longer. Let's go back to point one. What was step one? What did they do first? They cried to the Lord. And here's the thing, this can begin with your next breath. I wonder tonight, do we simply need to say, enough is enough.