How Does Your Life Speak "JESUS"
Sunday Live Worship Experience - July 19, 2020
Nathaniel Grace
Part of JESUS—Jesus Series Sunday Messages
July 19, 2020

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How Does Your Life Speak “Jesus”

Text: Judges 12:5-6
5 And the Gileadites took the passages of Jordan before the Ephraimites: and it was so, that when those Ephraimites which were escaped said, Let me go over; that the men of Gilead said unto him, Art thou an Ephraimite? If he said, Nay;
6 Then said they unto him, Say now Shibboleth: and he said Sibboleth: for he could not frame to pronounce it right. Then they took him, and slew him at the passages of Jordan: and there fell at that time of the Ephraimites forty and two thousand.

Transition of Meaning:

A. Original Meaning: The word shibboleth originates from the Hebrew word shibbólet which literally means the part of a plant containing grain such as the head of a stalk of

B. Historical Hijacking of the word: Because the word Shibboleth was difficult for some people to say, it became a litmus test or a “password” to determine whether someone was a friend or foe.

C. Transition Through Time: Throughout time words and curtural distinctives became methods of identiftying differences. I say tomato, you say tomatoe, etc.

D. Modern Meaning: “Shibboleth” has become weaponized language, it is language with the power to divide, or even to kill.

The meaning of a shibboleth has now morphed into any custom or tradition, usually a choice of phrasing or even a single word, that

one group of people from another. Shibboleths have been used throughout history in many societies as passwords, simple ways of self-identification, signaling loyalty and affinity or protecting from real or perceived threats.

Historical Examples:

In times of battle the way a group of people pronounced a word was the determining factor in identifying enemy or foe.

a. During the Battle of the Bulge, American soldiers used knowledge of baseball to determine if others were fellow Americans or if they were German infiltrators in American uniforms. So in this case, it is more than just your conversation but your knowledge

b. During World War II, some United States soldiers in the Pacific theater used the word lollapalooza as a shibboleth to challenge unidentified persons, on the premise that Japanese people often pronounce the letter L as R or confuse Rs with Ls; the word is also an American colloquialism that even a foreign person fairly well-versed in American English would probably mispronounce or be unfamiliar with.

c. In October 1937 the Spanish word for parsley, perejil, pronounced parahill was used as a shibboleth to identify Haitian immigrants living along the border in the Dominican Republic. The president of the Dominican Republic, Rafael Trujillo, ordered the execution of these people. It is estimated that between 20,000 and 30,000 individuals were murdered within a few days in the Parsley Massacre.

Spiritual Maturity

The lesson in the story: We must be careful to look for the reason

the story. The bible is filled with stories and if we are not careful, we will read without understanding or interpreting.

2 Tim 3:16 All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:

Rhotic sounds are usually the last ones a

masters. Some people never learn to produce them; they substitute other sounds that are close to correct but still are not exactly correct.

This form of rhotacism has often been associated with a childlike way of pronouncing the letter R, an example being Elmer Fudd’s pronunciation of “rabbit” as “wabbit” often, people with the condition are mistakenly referred to as a person with a lisp, which is a different speech pattern.

1 Cor 13:11 When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things.

Typically speaking, all of us have one kind or another “shibboleth” in our lives. It usually does not result in as tragic an end as was the case with the Ephraimites, but the “shibboleths” in our life can do serious harm to our Christian testimony and witness. Let’s consider what some of these might be and how we can gain victory over them.

A shibboleth is any

or tradition, usually a choice of phrasing or even a single word, that distinguishes one group of people from another. Shibboleths have been used throughout history in many societies as passwords, simple ways of self-identification, signaling loyalty and affinity or protecting from real or perceived threats.

If the Ephraimites had known in advance what the

was, they would have rehearsed it repeatedly until they could pronounce it correctly. Fortunately for us, we are given the opportunity to get it right before we reach the spiritual Jordan River.

How to overcome the shibboleths in your life?

A. Recognize them.

Romans 7:21-25 I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me. 22For I delight in the law of God after the inward man: 23But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members. 24O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death? 25I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin.

We need to conduct our own personalized “spiritual inventory” of our

. Recognize it for what it really is; a shortcoming that impairs our spiritual effectiveness. To deflect judgment upon ourselves, we may give our “shibboleths” a fictitious identification. An example might be when we speak with hateful and sharp words and call that “righteous indignation”. The in our life might be interpreted by us as “ambition”. Pride might be called “self-confidence” or “self-reliance”.

B. Admit them.

We have all heard it said that the

most difficult words to utter are “I was wrong”. We need to recognize that “we have all sinned and have fallen short of the glory of God”. Romans 3:23

There is no hope for success unless we face up to the “shibboleths” in our life. Don’t try to ignore them and pretend they don’t exist. The likelihood is that most of the people we know are already quite aware of the shortcomings in our life.

Illustration:
One Sunday, a preacher, in the course of his sermon, asked that anyone who lives a perfect life, and never sins, to stand up. One man did, and immediately his wife spoke out clearly, “Sit down John, I know better!”

C. Confess them.

James 5:16 says, “Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.” (NIV).

There is a great benefit that occurs when we confess our faults to those we love and trust; and wonderful forgiveness when we confess our “shibboleths” to God and ask Him for forgiveness

D. Ask God to help you replace these various “shibboleths” with their antonyms.

  1. Pray for God’s help to replace evil for good

• Replace Pride with Humility
• Replace Selfishness with a Charity
• Bitterness to sweet spirit
• Rejoicing in the blessings that others enjoy to replace envy, covetousness and jealousy;
• Tongue that praises God and encourages others to replace a tongue given to criticism, gossip and vulgarity.

You might say, “that’s a mighty tall order!” Indeed it is, and you do not want to battle it alone. Add God to the equation and you are assured of victory. Let us say with Paul, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” (Philippians 4:13).

Many call themselves Christians but their talk does not match their walk!

Creating a shibboleth

its original meaning and suffuses it with power, even if this power is only emotional. The process transforms a word into a symbol. A shibboleth can make one group feel that they belong, while the very same symbol can fill others with fear. A shibboleth can be subtle, a fleeting hand gesture, a way of speaking, saying pop instead of soda. is essential to the nature of a shibboleth.

Matt 7: 21-23 21 Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. 22 Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? 23 And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.

The word shibboleth originates from the Hebrew word shibbólet which literally means the part of a plant containing grain such as the head of a stalk of wheat

We all know that the most common form of

is made from wheat.

John 6:35 And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.

The problem for the church is that “shibboleth” carries another connotation: that of “prejudice over trivialities”. For “shibboleth” did not itself denote anything particularly important (it meant “the part of a plant containing grains, a stalk of grain . Its sole significance was not what it meant, but how people pronounced it. It’s the world’s earliest version of “You say ‘tomayto’ and I say ‘tomahto’.
If we are not careful we will allow this to creep into the Church.

Inclusion vs Exclusion

We must make sure that we are not using our distinctives for divisiveness

God called us to be

He did not call us to have a Hollier than thou attitude

Church, God is calling us to use his Word to show love not hate

God help us to not weaponize the Gospel and use it to harm others

But for the grace of God we would each be in the placed of the worst sinner

Making mistakes is far better than

perfection.

Let us make a decision to allow our lives to use God’s love to draw others into God’s kingdom rather than push them away.

Rev 3:20 Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.

He is desiring that we let Him into our heart and when we do, we wont use that to keep others out but to bring them to know Him!
We will have an attitude of Inclusion vs Exclusion

John 4:29 Come, see a man, which told me all things that ever I did: is not this the Christ?