Deborah and Barak
Sharon Simoneau · Tidal Church Miramichi · August 23, 2026 · Heroes of the Faith series
Sharon Simoneau looks at Deborah and Barak in Judges 4 and 5 to show that faith and obedience go together. Even when faith falters, God stays faithful, and ordinary people who trust and obey Him can become heroes of the faith.
More from Sharon Simoneau · The Heroes of the Faith series
Topics: Faith, Discipleship
Transcript
[0:04] Does anyone here remember Batman and Robin? Yeah, I'll date myself. I'll go ahead. They fought crime on TV in the, believe it or not, 60s. Wow. Known as the dynamic duo, they triumphed over evil every time. Every time. We have been looking at and learning from heroes of the Bible. From the Hall of Faith in Hebrews, Chapter 11. This morning, we're going to touch on Deborah and Barak, whose story is found in Judges 4 and 5. As the curtain rises, we see the Israelites once again in rebellion against God.
[0:56] So he gives them over to the wicked Canaanite King, Jabin. Fast forward 20 years, and God hears the cries of his people. So he sets in motion a plan to rescue and redeem them. He does this using Deborah, a prophetess and judge, and Barak, the commander of the army. God speaks to Deborah with a message for Barak. The Lord commanded Barak to take his soldiers to Mount Tabor, and God will hand Jabin's commander, Sisera, and his army over to Barak. So why did Deborah have to summon Barak and remind him of God's call and promise?
[1:47] Did you ever pick that up when you were reading that story? It sounds like the prophecy came just directly to Deborah, but she says to him when he comes up to her, what are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be on Mount Tabor, fighting the army and capturing Sisera? So Barak's a bad boy. He's a bad boy. Did his faith falter? A little bit more about that later. What we know is that when Barak showed up for the meeting, he altered God's instructions. He changed what God told him to do.
[2:34] Is that a smart thing to do? No, that is not a smart plan. Barak told Deborah that he would not go into battle with Sisera unless she, Deborah, agreed to go with him. But there were immediate consequences for Barak. Now that we have the bones of this story, I'm going to shift the focus. For every one of these heroes we've been hanging out with these past few weeks, they have two qualities in common. Two qualities. Faith and obedience.
[3:20] These are the dynamic duo of our successful walk with God. If we want to have the very best life that God has planned for us, we have to have faith and obedience. We discover that faith is a container and a conduit. A container meaning like a vessel and a conduit like a pipeline. Faith can falter, but God is faithful. Amen? And obedience is the glue that grows our faith and holds it together. Faith is a container and a conduit.
[4:07] Hebrews 11.1 says this. Faith shows the reality of what we hope for. It is the evidence of things that we cannot see. It's like we go over to a light switch and we turn it on. What are we expecting? We're expecting the lights to come on, right? Well, that's faith. You can't see the wires in the wall. You don't know for sure it's going to come on, but in faith you go and flip the switch. Hebrews 11.6 says this. And it is impossible to please God without faith. Say that with me, please. It is impossible to please God without faith.
[4:55] Anyone who wants to come to Him must believe that God exists and that He rewards those who sincerely seek Him. When I was still working as a financial advisor, I was wrongfully accused by a client. Because I am human, my initial reaction was fear. I could lose my business, my income, etc. Then faith kicked in and I handed the situation over to God. Long story short, the client took back her statement and I was cleared of any wrongdoing. Amen.
[5:42] Faith operates as a conduit or pipeline. Our faith acts as a conduit that joins heaven and earth as we make ourselves available to allow God's divine power flow through us and help those that God puts in our path. God's divine power to flow through us. Just stop and chew on that for a second. God's divine power flows through us. That's amazing. That's just amazing. This aspect of faith is for giving out rather than storing up.
[6:31] Our faith also acts as a container. This is the part of our faith which is stored up and carries our worldview, our trust, and the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit. This faith aspect within us acts within us to determine how we will receive and navigate life. Is Christ central to our thinking and our being? That's a good question to ask yourself on a regular basis. The word says that we're supposed to examine ourselves to see where we are in the faith. So is he central to your thinking and your being?
[7:18] Mother Teresa said this, God does not demand that I be successful. God demands that I be faithful. Now let's move on to faith can falter, but God is faithful. Early on in my Christian walk, I turned away from my commitment to God. I had no solid grounding to build my faith on because discipleship was not widely practiced back then. It was just like, say the prayer, you're good to go until it's time to go to heaven. Well, that's not much of a foundation to build a faithful life on, is it?
[8:07] So I fell away and I fell away in a big way. I returned to my former way of life, but God was faithful in pursuing me. Did you know that God pursues us? That's really cool, right? Okay, just checking to see who's awake and who's not. I am who I am today because I sought out discipleship and more so because of God's great faithfulness. Has anyone discipled you? Have you had that benefit in your life to build your faith?
[8:55] If not, go look and find someone. Find someone who can mentor you and disciple you and build your faith. Barack's poor decision to alter God's plan cost him dearly. God does not reward bad behavior. Originally, Barack was to defeat Cicero's army and capture him in the battle, but God punished him by handing the honor of killing Cicero over to a woman. He gave it to a woman. Now, talk about your slap in the chops. He gave it to a woman, and knowing how women were considering the position women typically held at the time, this was no small correction.
[9:51] God was making a point to Barack. However, God, in his faithfulness, still caused Barack to overthrow the Canaanite army, but Cicero escaped. He ran to the tent of Hebrew, the Kenite, whose wife ended Cicero's life with a tent peg. You got to watch whose tent you decide to sleep in for the day because it could go very bad for you. It went very bad for Cicero. Her name was J.L. And in Deborah's song that she sings with Barack, J.L. is called the most blessed of women.
[10:45] She's called the most blessed of women. Why? Because of her faith and her obedience. Wayne Grudem said this, God's faithfulness means that God will always do what he said and fulfill what he promised. God is the same today or yesterday, today, and forever. He doesn't change. He does not change. He's faithful. So now we've covered that faith is both a conduit and a container, and that faith can falter, but God remains faithful.
[11:32] Our final point this morning is obedience is a command. This is not incredibly popular, but it's the truth in God's Word. You want truth, you go to the Word of God because that's where it is. John 1415 states simply, if you love me, obey my commands. If you love me, repeat that with me. If you love me, obey my commands. Does that sound like a suggestion to you? No. It is a full-on command, and it's our way of showing God that we love him.
[12:23] We just sang a song not long ago. Jesus, we love you. Are you obeying him 100%? Because that's how you show Jesus. That's how you show God that you love him. Obedience. The Bible is clear that obedience to God is an act of love and trust and an act of faith. I found that at AskAboutMyFaith.com if you're looking for it anywhere. In 1992, Dr. Gary Chapman wrote a book called The Five Love Languages.
[13:11] Has anyone here read that book, The Five Love Languages? Oh, a few of you. The whole premise is that communicating in a person's love language with them will radically change the relationship for good. The languages are words of affirmation, quality time, receiving gifts, acts of service, and physical touch. I have seen this work, especially with Dan and I. Now, what Dr. Chapman says is if you and your spouse both speak only English, but you're saying to your spouse in Spanish, I love you, are they going to understand you?
[14:01] No, they're not going to understand you. They're English. So we have to learn how to speak their language. You have to learn how to say I love you in English. So for Dan and I, his number one love language is acts of service. So doing the dishes. How did I end up with him? Anyway, I'm blessed, trust me. And mine is gifts, which shouldn't surprise you too much. So Dan would go out and do the dishes and clean the house and come in and sit down with a big grin on his face.
[14:49] And I'm like, what you been doing? Well, I cleaned the house and I did the dishes. Oh, you didn't buy me anything, did you, while you were out there? See, he was trying to tell me in his love language that he loved me. And it wasn't getting through because we had a different love language. Now I said all that to say this. I believe that God has a single love language and it is obedience. It is obedience. When we respond to God's commands in faithful obedience, he is well pleased.
[15:40] Right after Jesus was baptized, God responds with, this is my son in whom I am well pleased. Jesus came in part to remind us that obedience is part and parcel with faith and is not an option but a command. I will even go one step further and say that God to God, partial obedience is complete disobedience. So what Barack really did by changing God's plan, put him in a position of disobedience with God.
[16:27] King Saul's story reveals this truth. It can be found in 1 Samuel 15. But the Reader's Digest version, because he rebelled against God, because he changed God's plan, he was rejected as king by God Almighty. He lost his kingdom for being disobedient. God gifted us with his word to take the mystery out of obedience. If in fact you write the word obedience on a piece of paper, you have to use your imagination right now. You write the word obedience on a piece of paper and you strike out the first three letters, and then you strike out the last three letters, you are left with D-I-E.
[17:21] Die. So at the very heart of obedience is a death. And folks, it's ours. We have to die to ourselves in order to fully obey and follow Christ. We have to die to ourselves. Put our agendas aside, put our likes and preferences and dislikes aside, and just lean in to God and obey him fully. Dietrich Bonhoeffer is quoted as saying, one act of obedience is better than 100 sermons.
[18:11] Wow. One act of obedience is better than 100 sermons. In conclusion, we can see that faith and obedience really are the dynamic duo of our Christian walk. We can't please God without either one. Faith is like a muscle. It must be exercised in order to grow. Must be exercised in order to grow. As we learn to trust God's unfailing faithfulness, our faith will naturally grow and stretch. Obedience is the spiritual glue that holds our faith together.
[18:57] In every situation, choosing obedience bolsters our faith and draws us closer to the heart of God. I don't know about you, but I want to get as close as I possibly can to the heart of God. I want to be like David who was called a friend of God. That's my goal. I don't know what yours is, but that's mine. In studying these stories about heroes of the faith, it becomes clear that God used ordinary people to do extraordinary things. Now, if you hear nothing else from me this morning, listen up.
[19:44] God used ordinary people to do extraordinary things. We often read these stories thinking, I could never do that. Have you done that when you read the Bible? Say, I couldn't do that. Not true. Each and every one of us that have turned our lives over to Christ can be a hero of the faith. So I want everyone to repeat after me, I can be a hero. Do you believe that? Do you believe that in your heart?
[20:30] You can be a hero as much as Deborah or Abraham or any of the heroes of the faith that we've been talking about. How do I know? Well, he used a murderer and he used a prostitute and he used a reluctant missionary to do his work. Moses, here I am, Lord, send Aaron. Yeah. You see, when God is with us, none can be against us. When God is with us, none can be against us. I read the end of the book, we win.
[21:15] We have the advantage of the dynamic duo of faith and obedience to lead us forward into becoming the very best we can be for Christ. In closing, Hudson Taylor leaves us with this quote, All God's giants have been weak men and women who have gotten a hold of God's faithfulness. All God's giants have been weak men and women who have gotten a hold of God's faithfulness. We can all be heroes. It's just a matter of trusting God, leaning into his faithfulness and being obedient.
[22:02] And you're going to see amazing things happen. Just amazing things happen.