God is Boss
November 15, 2009
No one likes to be bossed around. No one likes to
have orders barked at them to follow. No one
likes to be constantly told what you can and can
not do. If I can not be in charge of a lot of things
at least I like to think that I can in charge of
something- like my own life.
But then I pick up my Bible whether it is Old
Testament or New Testament and I read
passages of Scripture like Deuteronomy 27:9
which says: You have now become the people of
the LORD your God. Obey the LORD your God
and follow his commands and decrees…"
And Luke 6:46 which says: "Why do you call me,
'Lord, Lord,' and do not do what I say? And what
these Scriptures do is shoot down the idea that I
am in charge of anything. God is the boss. God
is the boss of everything. He is certainly the boss
of me.
And unless I have locked down that concept in
my own mind I can not do what the heroes of
faith did. And before we go any further let’s look
at exactly what they did. Please stand as we
read:
Hebrews 11:30-31 (NIV)
30
By faith the walls of Jericho fell, after the
people had marched around them for seven
1 Dr. Dave M. Hartson Hebrews 11:30-31
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November 15, 2009
days.
31
By faith the prostitute Rahab, because she
welcomed the spies, was not killed with those
who were disobedient.
As we get to the three points of this message
today let me show you how important it is to
settle in our minds that God is boss and that He
is certainly is boss of me.
1. Unless you have settled in your mind that
God is boss, you will not follow His rules
when they don’t seem to make sense to
you.
Hebrews 11:30 (NIV)
30
By faith the walls of Jericho fell, after
the people had marched around them
for seven days.
A. I have no problem obeying God as long
as His rules make sense to me. If God
and I see something the same way,
then it is easy for me to do what He
has asked me to do.
B. The difficulty comes when God ask me
to do something that just doesn’t seem
2 Dr. Dave M. Hartson Hebrews 11:30-31
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November 15, 2009
to make a whole lot of sense to me.
Those are the times I struggle doing
what He has asked me to do.
C. Take for example verse 30. Joshua has
assembled behind Him a fighting army
to take seize of Jericho. This is Israel’s
first big fight in the Promised Land. And
Joshua is hoping for a decisive military
victory over his enemies so that it will
soften all his other enemies that he has
to fight to take possession of the
Promised Land. And as he is getting
last minute instructions from God, he
hears something that doesn’t seem to
make a whole lot of sense.
Listen to these instructions with me
from the Book of Joshua: Joshua 6:1-
5 (NIV)
1
Now Jericho was tightly shut up
because of the Israelites. No one
went out and no one came in.
2
Then the LORD said to Joshua,
"See, I have delivered Jericho into
your hands, along with its king and
its fighting men.
3
March around the city once with all
3 Dr. Dave M. Hartson Hebrews 11:30-31
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November 15, 2009
the armed men. Do this for six
days.
4
Have seven priests carry trumpets
of rams' horns in front of the ark.
On the seventh day, march around
the city seven times, with the
priests blowing the trumpets.
5
When you hear them sound a long
blast on the trumpets, have all the
people give a loud shout; then the
wall of the city will collapse and the
people will go up, every man
straight in."
D. Don’t use any weapons to knock down
the walls of Jericho that are locked
tight. Instead, use walking; some
trumpets and a whole bunch of
shouting and the walls will come
stumbling down. Now tell me how can
that make sense to you especially if
you are a military person unless you
have settled in your mind that God is
boss?
E. Now let’s fast forward to today. Taxes
take a big chunk out of what I make.
And if I were self employed it is a
4 Dr. Dave M. Hartson Hebrews 11:30-31
God is Boss
November 15, 2009
chunk and a half. God says to me pay
to Caesar what is Caesar’s. It doesn’t
make a lot of sense to me. What
makes sense to me is the more money
in my pocket the more money that I
have to spend on what I need. So do I
fill out my tax return the way it should
be filled out or do I fudge here and
there. If I fudge, God says to me why
do you call me Lord, Lord and do not
do what I ask you to do. The truth is I
will not pay what I owe unless I have
settled in my mind that God is boss.
F. Let me give you another example. God
tells us that what I do I am to do whole
heartedly to the Lord. The boss is out
sick today. The rest of the employees
are just relaxing not doing a whole lot;
let’s call it like it is- they are goofing
off; but God tells you to work hard. The
other employees are looking at you
strange; and they start calling you
names in jest; and you have nothing to
gain because you have no one to see
what you have done. It doesn’t make a
lot of sense to work whole heartedly
unless I have settled that God is boss
in your mind. If I join in with the rest
5 Dr. Dave M. Hartson Hebrews 11:30-31
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November 15, 2009
of them God ask me: why do I call Him
Lord, Lord and do not do what I say.
2. Unless you have settled in your mind that
God is boss, you will not be obedient when
it becomes difficult to be obedient.
Hebrews 11:31 (NIV)
31
By faith the prostitute Rahab, because she
welcomed the spies, was not killed with those
who were disobedient.
A. This verse tells me that those inside of
the walls of Jericho were disobedient
but one wasn’t- Rahab. She was
obedient. It is tough to be obedient
when you are the only one being
obedient. She did it at a risk; if the
people of Jericho discovered she helped
the Israelites she surely would have
been killed. How did she do it; she had
to settle in her mind that God is boss.
B. Remember Peter, he was not as
successful as Rahab the Harlot. Three
times when he was out numbered by
non-believers; three times when put in
a spot about his faith, he denied the
Lord. It is tough to be obedient in
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difficult times unless you have locked
down in your mind that God is boss.
C. It is easy to be obedient to God in the
church house around a whole bunch of
Christians. It is difficult to be obedient
in your own house if you have an
unbelieving spouse; it is difficult to be
obedient at the work place when you
are the only Christian there. And unless
you have locked down in my mind that
God is boss you will struggle being
obedient in difficult situations.
D. Remember, the three little Jewish boys
in the book of Daniel. They were not
going to bow down to the image of the
king even at the expense of being
thrown into the fiery furnace. Talk
about a difficult situation but they
locked down in their mind that God is
boss. Have you done that? Do you find
yourself being obedient in difficult
situations? Or do you crumble?
3. Unless you have settled in your mind that
God is boss, you will not be able to love
the unusual family of God like He tells us
to do.
7 Dr. Dave M. Hartson Hebrews 11:30-31
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November 15, 2009
Hebrews 11:31 (NIV)
31
By faith the prostitute Rahab, because she
welcomed the spies, was not killed with those
who were disobedient.
A. The Old Testament spans some 4,000 years.
And you are going to tell me this is the
cream of the crop; these are the instructors
of our faith; these are the ones that head
and shoulders above everybody else and one
of them is a harlot. Yes, and I am going to
tell you one of them is a murderer. Didn’t
Moses kill an Egyptian? Yes, and I am going
to tell you that one of them lied to his father
to steal the birthright.
B. God’s family is a bunch of odd folks. Some of
them with colorful pasts but you know what
God is not interested in our past; He is
interested in knowing if you will obey Him
now. When you hear His voice, will you do
what He asked you to do?
C. And He instructs us to love these odd folks
like He does. How can you do that? Only if
you settled in your mind that God is boss.
D. Let me tell you something: if you don’t love
your brothers and sisters in Christ you have
8 Dr. Dave M. Hartson Hebrews 11:30-31
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never locked down in your mind that God is
boss.
And here is the conclusion. Are you struggling
doing what God has asked you to do? I believe
that the answer is that you have never come to
grips in your mind that God is your boss. There
is something deep down inside of you that says:
“I am running the show.” Give it up and allow
God to be the boss.
Today, will you make Him boss of your life?
Let us pray!
9 Dr. Dave M. Hartson Hebrews 11:30-31