Sermon Date: Februrary 11, 2007
INTRODUCTION:
98 yds lay ahead of him and his team was looking to him for leadership and guidance. Their opponent was ahead and time was running out and victory did NOT seem possible!
But they began to listen to their fearless leader and play by play they inched closer and closer to their goal of winning the game! They were obedient to his play calls, they did not question his authority and they performed their jobs and did not try to do someone else’s job!
John Elway took the Denver Broncos down the field and scored the tying touchdown and the Broncos won the 1986
AFC Championship game with what is now affectionately known as “The Drive”
Today in life you may be facing great and mighty challenges that seem to be TOO big to overcome, but I want you to understand that when we are faithful to God and we are obedient to His calling on our lives… victory is assured!
We may not see the victory right away, and we are going to have to do our share of the work… but victory is assured! Today I want us to read about a man who did not believe God could use him to be victorious… but He did!
Turn with me to Judges 7:21-22 and stand with me as we read from God’s Holy Word…
21 Each stood in his place around the camp; and all the army ran, crying out as they fled. 22 When they blew 300 trumpets, the LORD set the sword of one against another even throughout the whole army; and the army fled as far as Beth-shittah toward Zererah, as far as the edge of
Abel-meholah, by Tabbath. Judges 7:21-22 (NASB)
This morning I want us to look at how God guarantees victory for those who heed His call and are obedient to His voice! And this morning I want to share 3 observations about obedience to God’s plan for your life… the first observation is…
1. OBEDIENCE MEANS ACCEPTING THE RISK OF THE TASK (6:12-15; 25-27)
12 The angel of the LORD appeared to him and said to him, "The LORD is with you, O valiant warrior." 13 Then Gideon said to him, "O my lord, if the LORD is with us, why then has all this happened to us? And where are all His miracles which our fathers told us about, saying, ’Did not the LORD bring us up from Egypt?’ But now the LORD has abandoned us and given us into the hand of Midian." 14 The LORD looked at him and said, "Go in this your strength and deliver Israel from the hand of Midian. Have I not sent you?" 15 He said to Him, "O Lord, how shall I deliver Israel? Behold, my family is the least in Manasseh, and I am the youngest in my father’s house." Judges 6:12-15 (NASB)
25 Now on the same night the LORD said to him, "Take your father’s bull and a second bull seven years old, and pull down the altar of Baal which belongs to your father, and cut down the Asherah that is beside it; 26 and build an altar to the LORD your God on the top of this stronghold in an orderly manner, and take a second bull and offer a burnt offering with the wood of the Asherah which you shall cut down." 27 Then Gideon took ten men of his servants and did as the LORD had spoken to him; and because he was too afraid of his father’s household and the men of the city to do it by day, he did it by night.
Judges 6:25-27 (NASB)
Our nation was founded on people who were willing to take great personal risk. For a long time risk was something that was weighed on a daily basis by everyday people because it simply was a part of life.
You picked one thing over another because you had weighed the risk and come to a conclusion that one risk was more palatable than another.
For example, farmers have walked a risk-filled path in that daily they had to weigh whether this day or that day would be the better one to disc the field.
This is because the weather was something out of their control and all that they had was their “folk” prognostication and intuition for predicting rain or sun, farming had traditionally been a pretty risky business. That is, of course, until the advent of modern weather forecasting. Today risk is far less of a factor in farming.
And although today we live in society that is no less “risky” than in the past, we DO live under a governing system that has made it its job to “save us”, “to secure us” from as much RISK as possible.
We have things like seat belts, helmets, social security, MediCare and we even have weather forecasters now who can tell us almost to the hour when the weather is going to change for the better or the worse.
However, all this “help” seems to be taking us rapidly toward becoming obsessed with living safely over living faithfully.
Let me ask you a very tough question this morning, “Does God want us to take risks?” God does not wish us to be foolhardy in taking unnecessary risks, but there are risks that God does want us to take.
BUT, when God brings us into a situation that requires thoughtful deliberation and a faith-filled heart, we tend to cower away in fear.
I am here to tell you this morning that God isn’t expecting us to back down or be a coward simply because there might be risk involved. God wants us to look to Him for leadership, guidance and for the faith we need to tackle the tasks he places in our path!
In our passage this morning we find God telling a young man named Gideon to take a risk for Him by pulling down the pagan altars that were built by his father. Despite the risk that others would be offended, even moved to attack him, Gideon willing to take the risk God placed before him as he faithfully obeyed.
So when God calls upon us and places us into a risk-filled situation, we need to realize that we always have a choice. We can pray for strength and take the risks He has put before us and be obedient; OR we can weigh the risks and decide to walk away in disobedience.
However, if we choose to walk away in disobedience we will not know the blessing and perfection God has reserved for those willing to obey and follow Him.
In our passage today we find Gideon placed in a highly risked filled position of obedience to God. He is instructed to tear down the altar to the false God and chop down the Asherah pole beside the altar…
He is then to take the broken altar and fashion an altar to Living God and sacrifice a bull dedicating it to God and thus shaming the gods it was originally built for...
We can see that Gideon was obedient to God’s call on him… but the Bible specifically mentions that Gideon waited until the cover of darkness to do what God had instructed him to do…
How are we when it comes to God directing our steps and actions? Are we willing to be a risk taker for God? If we are to be fully obedient to God it means that we have to be willing to take THE RISK ASSOCIATED WITH OUR OBEDIENCE.
I know that most of you have heard the phrase, “…nothing ventured, nothing gained…”? Well in case you haven’t heard that one, it simply means that the more that is on the line, the more rewarding the victory is…
Sometimes it is like that with obedience in the life of the believer. For us to be obedient to God… it can be a risky venture on our part! And I want you to know that there are times when God will ask us to do things that might bring us hurt and pain. Our life in Christ is NOT a life free from pain, but it is a life free of eternal worries and anxiety.
And what we need to understand is that obedience is a necessary part of being a Christian. And even though the world doesn’t understand this because it can only see the downside of obedience, we must!
But I can just hear Gideon when the angel comes to see him, “Now God – why are you choosing ME for this task? I am a nobody and I come from a family of nobodies!” “God I simply cannot take this risk at this time in my life, what will the people around me say? How will they react to me? I won’t be able to show my face in public again!”
And so many times, like Gideon, when Christ calls for our obedience in a certain manner, we are reluctant and even blatantly disobedient to God’s call.
When God calls us into service to accomplish something for Him we may ask, “Why would God choose me for this, I am not qualified! God must be making a big mistake?”
In our church here we may be asking ourselves some things like,
• What do I have to offer this committee?
• What can I do in Sunday School to help our church?
• What can I do to in the church that would benefit the Kingdom?
• Am I willing to take this risk for the Lord?
Gideon was surely asking himself these questions, but I want you to see just what Gideon did! We find Gideon being obedient even in the face of difficult times…Gideon was obedient even when the risk was great!
Another issue here is that Gideon realized that it was NOT him who going to fight the battle but it was God, look at 6:36
36 Then Gideon said to God, "If YOU WILL DELIVER ISRAEL THROUGH ME, as You have spoken, Judges 6:36 (NASB)
Gideon realized it was ONLY thru God that Israel could be delivered and that victory could be realized. And Gideon realized that God would only deliver on His promise if Gideon was obedient to God.
Likewise we must be resilient and obedient in our walk with Christ, we must look past the risk and realize the riches of this life in Christ!
We must understand that in and of ourselves we are powerless… we are like Gideon, we are the least of the least, weak and helpless… but WITH God on our side, we can do whatever it is God desires of us!
But not only are we to know the risks and be able to over come them in Christ… but we also need to understand that…
2. GOD’S VICTORY DOESN’T ALWAYS LOOK LIKE VICTORY THRU OUR EYES (7:2):
2 The Lord said to Gideon, “You have too many people for Me to hand the Midianites over to you, or else Israel might brag: ‘I did it myself.’ Judges 7:2 (HCSB)
In the movie “Hoosiers” the final scenes are focused in on the State championship game. The Hickory team has 7 players and come from a school of only about 35-40 kids…
The team they are playing was from Indianapolis and had a team of 15 men and they had an enrollment of more than 2000 in their school. It was tagged in the movie as ‘the David vs Goliath’ story, but just like David and Goliath, not many people gave David any hope of coming out victorious.
Early on in the game the team from Indianapolis jumped out to a lead and looked as if they were going to win going away, but slowly and surely the Hickory boys worked their way back into the game.
They did this by sticking to what the coach was telling them and by doing what they had been taught all season. In the final minute of the game… the Hickory team has the ball as the clock is winding down… their star takes the last shot and contrary to all the nay-sayers… the small school from Hickory, Indiana won the overall State championship in basketball!
So often we feel like David… or like this team from Hickory, IN. We feel as if there is NO way we can win, we feel like there is NO way victory can be ours! And I am here to tell you that is a feeling that many people have had… and in our passage this morning we see that Gideon had the same feeling!
Can you imagine what he felt like when God said what He said in v.2? 2 The Lord said to Gideon, “You have too many people for Me to hand the Midianites over to you, or else Israel might brag: ‘I did it myself.’
I can imagine him thinking… we have TOO many? How is that? They have WAY more than this already and God, you want me to send more of these people home? God I just cannot see it!
How often do you find yourself in the throws of a dilemma with God because you simply cannot see the victory God is promising you?
God asks you to do something and you automatically consider it to be impossible and that victory in this matter is NOT possible!
What if God told us here at OZHBC that 500 in worship and 450 in Sunday School was His will? What would you say to that? Would you believe and trust in God and begin to work toward that end… OR would you say to God or believe in your heart that victory of that magnitude is NOT possible in our area!
There are many here today that simply cannot believe that God can win a victory in our community! There are many here today who believe that we could not bring in 250, 300 or 350 people… much less 500!
Well I am here to tell you that as your pastor, God has given me a word… God has given me a vision for this church and that vision is crystal clear… God is telling me that our church is able to have 500 per Sunday and at least 450 in S.S!
I believe that God has some great and wonderful plans for this congregation and for this fellowship… but understand that God’s plans for our church include and must come about through our obedience to those commands! They will not simply happen!
God expects obedience and God expects submission to His plans and purposes. I know that God is going to use OZHBC in a mighty way in this community over the next 5 years… do you want to be a part of that? I know I do!
But for us to do this… for us to see such a tremendous growth, we must be faithful to God’s plan… we must remain faithful to His church; we must exercise our faith thru our obedience to Christ in going out and telling others about Jesus… and our church.
When we look at our passage WE can see from God’s perspective, but Gideon could NOT. Gideon could only see himself against those who hated Israel and he could not see God and His presence as an advantage.
So often as believers, we see the enormity of the task, but we cannot fathom the ability of the Savior! And it is then that we focus so much on the task that we lose sight of the Eternal One who has called us into His service… He will NOT abandon us…
On the Cross of Calvary, there were many standing at the foot of the Cross thinking that the battle was lost and that God had abandoned them… but even in their darkest hour, God was still there.
A mere 3 days later their grief and worry was turned into joy and celebration as they saw the Christ who had risen from the dead with their own eyes!
Satan thought he had won… victory for Satan had all but been declared, but in the end God was victorious and it is like that for us today.
So many times we see what LIFE shows us and we cannot focus on what God will do for us! Our faith is shaken by the evils of this world and our doubts overtake our faith in God!
We find ourselves beginning to believe that victory is IMPOSSIBLE… that what God is calling for is NOT going to happen!
But in reading our passage this morning we can see that even when it is the darkest hour of the night… God is still God and He can make things all right!
But victory does not come to those who are NOT trying to serve Him and that is because…
3. GOD BRINGS ABOUT THE VICTORY THRU OUR TOTAL OBEDIENCE TO HIM (7:21-22):
21 Each stood in his place around the camp; and all the army ran, crying out as they fled. 22 When they blew 300 trumpets, the LORD set the sword of one against another even throughout the whole army ; and the army fled as far as Beth-shittah toward Zererah, as far as the edge of Abel-meholah, by Tabbath. Judges 7:21-22 (NASB)
When we read this passage of Scripture there is 2 things that are abundantly clear! The first is that...
A. OUR EXPECTATIONS OF SUCCESS ARE ALWAYS LOWER THAN GOD’S…
So many times we think in a ‘SMALL POTATOES’ manner of thinking when we think of success in the kingdom of God! We think about 1 or 2 new souls… don’t get me wrong, when ONE soul surrenders to Christ… there is a party in heaven!
But we think like humans… with a limited and finite mind when it comes to the ministry and missions of God. We simply do NOT believe that we can move past these SMALL POTATOES goals!
In our passage this morning we can see that Gideon only had 300 men! And they were each armed with a pitcher, a torch, a trumpet and a willingness to be obedient, and with those 300 men, God used them to route their enemy.
I can imagine what Gideon was thinking… can you? 300 men, pitchers, torches and trumpets! What kind of inspiration and assurance of victory did that bring to Gideon and his army?
Many may believe that each one of these 300 men were scared! But I don’t believe it was the fear of battle, but it was a fear of being disobedient to God that frightened them!
These men had been chosen by God to win a victory! They had been chosen to meet this enemy regardless of how things looked or what happened… and we can see that they were totally obedient to God’s call on their lives! They did not know what to expect but they were obedient!
But not only are OUR expectations of success lower than God’s but I can also see that…
B. GOD’S RESULTS ARE ALWAYS GREATER THAN WE CAN KNOW…
How many here today believes that these 300 men entered into this battle with the expectation of victory?
I would dare say that ALL 300 believed God could win…but I don’t think these men knew what was in store for them! There was absolutely NO way they could have known that this army that was MORE than they could count would not only be defeated… but the victory would be so complete that Israel would be delivered from their hands for a long time!
There are times in our lives when we believe God can do something, but the results we look for are so short-sighted and meager compared to what He has in store for us!
Like we have already learned this morning, it was only thru the obedience of these men chosen by God did the victory come… and what a victory it was!
Likewise, we here at OZHBC will NEVER see a victory unless we submit and surrender to Christ in obedience to His call on this church!
Our call from God is clear… In Matt 28:18-20 Jesus declares that we are to take the Gospel to all the world, preaching and teaching and baptizing and making disciples!
In Acts 1:8 Jesus commands us to be His witnesses beginning where we live and extending out to the outer reaches of this world…
In John 14:34-35 Christ told His disciples that they were to love each other… that love was to be so strong and evident in their lives that the world would look at their love for each other and KNOW that they were followers of Christ…
In Matt 5:16 Jesus said that we were to do good works before men… NOT to bring attention to ourselves or our church… but to bring Glory, Honor and Praise to our Heavenly Father!
Are we being the obedient church that God has called us to be? I believe we WANT to be… but there are some areas where we fall short and we must begin to live out His commands obediently in our lives!
What kind of victory do you believe we can win here in this community? Do you think that we can touch the lives of those in our community by reaching out to them by doing good works for them?
Do you believe that we can influence them by our love for one another?
Do you believe that our witness of Christ must shine forth in this community so that people will be drawn to the Savior and the saving message of the Gospel?
Do you believe that it is our duty and our privilege to preach, teach and share the Gospel of Christ so that others may be converted and become followers of Jesus?
How many people do you think we can touch in a year’s time? 10, 20, 30, 50, 100, 200? How many? Like I mentioned a bit earlier, God is moving in our midst and He has revealed to me that we are NOT meeting the potential He has for this fellowship!
I believe that we could average 500 per Sunday… even if no one ever moved into our neck of the woods… there are many people already living here that don’t come to church!
I believe that our S.S. could be 425 to 450 each and every Sunday! Now I know that many are sitting out there and saying… WE have NEVER had that many come to church… that is impossible!
I am NOT saying this to get you to build a building because building buildings is NOT what brings people to church! People bring people to church!
f we begin to live an obedient and submissive life to Christ… and we begin to share the love of Christ with those around us… the people will begin to come!
And when the people begin to come, God is going to provide a place for them to come to… We don’t need to worry about a building… we need to worry about the souls that are lost and going to hell without Jesus!
We need to worry about being obedient to His calling on our lives and hearts! We need to worry about sharing His love with others… all of these other things like buildings will take care of themselves!
Now there is NOT a thing in the world wrong with wanting to build a new building for the Lord! But 1st we have to focus on what Christ has commanded… the harvest field is white and Jesus is seeking workers to go out into the field!
I am NOT speaking about the mission field in Africa or China, but the mission field of Albany, Independence, Tickfaw and Holden… are you being obedient today?
I want to remind you that when we are willing to be obedient to God’s commands on our life… GOD’S RESULTS ARE ALWAYS GREATER THAN WE CAN KNOW…
Do we want to become the church God desires us to be… then we must become the obedient and submissive fellowship that is willing to take a risk for the Gospel…are you ready today?
CONCLUSION:
With all the many miracles…
Why don’t you think it’s possible?
With all the things we’ve seen…
Why do you think it’s just a dream?
With all the things He’s done for us…
Don’t you think it’s time to trust?
REMEMBER WHAT IS POSSIBLE…With all the many miracles!
We have seen God do some mighty and wonderful things in this fellowship, but we cannot sit back and rest on what God HAS done in our fellowship…
We must focus on what God is WANTING to do NOW! What God desires us to be and do at this time in history! Are you being obedient to Him this morning!
As bro jerry comes I want to ask you to step out and come down to this altar and confess your sin of apathy… your sin of neglect… your sin of disobedience… and allow God to change your heart by cleaning it as white as snow!
