Faithless Gideon

I. EXORDIUM:

Are you full of faith? Are you doubtful?

II. AUDIENCE PROFILE:

Believers

III. OBJECTIVES:

To show faith in it's real sense.

IV. TEXT:

Judges 6:22 (New Living Translation, Second Edition)

When Gideon realized that it was the angel of the Lord, he cried out, “Oh, Sovereign Lord, I’m doomed! I have seen the angel of the Lord face to face!”

V. THESIS:

Faith believes, doesn't work with five senses.

VI. TITLE:

Faithless Gideon

VII. EXPLICATION:

A. Author: unknown, tradition attributes authorship to Samuel

B. Date written: 1086 - 1035 B.C.

C. Purpose: To review Israel's history following the conquest and prior to the Monarchy.

D. To whom written: Israel

E. Main theme: History of Israel during the time of the fifteen judges.

F. Keyword: apostasy

G. Key verse: Judges 17:6 (New Living Translation, Second Edition)

In those days Israel had no king; all the people did whatever seemed right in their own eyes.

VIII. MAIN BODY:

A. He questioned the angel with doubt

1. His lifestyle of questions: but he answered them with doubt as well, that the LORD GOD abandoned them over to the hands of their enemies. He never even let the angel answer one of them. He never allowed his faith to GOD take over and believe the angel's words instead of his fears.

Judges 6:13 (New Living Translation, Second Edition)

“Sir,” Gideon replied, “if the Lord is with us, why has all this happened to us? And where are all the miracles our ancestors told us about? Didn’t they say, ‘The Lord brought us up out of Egypt’? But now the Lord has abandoned us and handed us over to the Midianites.”

1 John 4:18 (New King James Version)

There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love.

B. He questioned GOD

Questioning the angel is like questioning GOD because the angel is only a messenger, the messenger is not important but who sent the message. It's questioning and doubting the very presence of GOD. He was like testing GOD. For example, you approach your grade school teacher and then give her a test to prove that she is really your teacher.

Isaiah 7:11-12 (New King James Version)

"Ask a sign for yourself from the Lord your God; ask it either in the depth or in the height above."

But Ahaz said, "I will not ask, nor will I test the Lord!"

Matthew 4:7 (Amplified Bible)

Jesus said to him, On the other hand, it is written also, You shall not tempt, test thoroughly, or try exceedingly the Lord your God.

Acts 15:10 (Amplified Bible)

Now then, why do you try to test God by putting a yoke on the necks of the disciples, such as neither our forefathers nor we [ourselves] were able to endure?

Because GOD is the tester of our hearts not the other way around. You approach GOD and act like god before Him, that would end you in no good situations. That's why Gideon's future is not a good one.

Psalms 26:2 (Amplified Bible)

Examine me, O Lord, and prove me; test my heart and my mind.

Deuteronomy 8:2 (New International Version)

Remember how the Lord your God led you all the way in the desert these forty years, to humble you and to test you in order to know what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep his commands.

C. He declared that GOD already had left them to their enemies

"But now the Lord has abandoned us and handed us over to the Midianites."

His thoughts of GOD are negative, I remember the servant given with one talent, thinking every negative thought about his master that made him afraid not to work for him.

Matthew 25:24-25 (New International Version)

"Then the man who had received the one talent came. 'Master,' he said, 'I knew that you are a hard man, harvesting where you have not sown and gathering where you have not scattered seed.

So I was afraid and went out and hid your talent in the ground. See, here is what belongs to you.'

D. He questioned GOD about the How's

"Didn’t they say, ‘The Lord brought us up out of Egypt’?"

Luke 1:18 (New Living Translation, Second Edition)

Zechariah said to the angel, “How can I be sure this will happen? I’m an old man now, and my wife is also well along in years.”

Remember Zechariah the father of John, the Baptist, instead of believing every angel's words, he doubted him and asked him about the how's. If it's a miracle, it can't be answered with logic. He tried logical thinking to accept a miracle, that won't work. Faith is not living by sight. If we choose to believe, then we have to forget about what we see and hear. Faith won't work if we still use our five senses. Faith is our sixth sense that is always contrary to the five senses.