September 16, 2007
Morning Worship
Text: Judges 6:7-24
Subject: Knowing Who You Are
Title: Who Are You? - You Are More Than You Think
Jack was walking along a steep cliff one day, when he accidentally got too close to the edge and fell. On the way down he grabbed a branch, which temporarily stopped his fall. He looked down and to his horror saw that the canyon fell straight down for more than a thousand feet. He couldn’t hang onto the branch forever, and there was no way for him to climb up the steep wall of the cliff. So Jack began yelling for help, hoping that someone passing by would hear him and lower a rope or something.
HELP! HELP! Is anyone up there? "HELP!"
He yelled for a long time, but no one heard him. He was about to give up when he heard a voice. Jack, Jack. Can you hear me?"
"Yes, yes! I can hear you. I’m down here!"
"I can see you, Jack. Are you all right?"
"Yes, but who are you, and where are you?
"I am the Lord, Jack. I’m everywhere."
"The Lord? You mean, GOD?"
"That’s Me."
"God, please help me! I promise if, you’ll get me down from here, I’ll stop sinning. I’ll be a really good person. I’ll serve You for the rest of my life."
"Easy on the promises, Jack. Let’s get you off from there; then we can talk."
"Now, here’s what I want you to do. Listen carefully."
"I’ll do anything, Lord. Just tell me what to do."
"Okay. Let go of the branch.""What?" "I said, let go of the branch. Just trust Me. Let go."
There was a long silence.
Finally Jack yelled, "HELP! HELP! IS ANYONE ELSE UP THERE?"
Last week I challenged you to do something. I called the church to a time of prayer and fasting. I told you the church would be opened up every morning and evening for prayer. I challenged you to take the time to get a good look at yourself and ask the very personal question, “Who am I?” Once you see who you are then you can seek to find who God is and finally who you are in Christ. The reason that I want you to see who you are in Christ is that until you get to that place in your life you end up being like Jack, holding on for dear life. That is not the kind of life that God has in store for you. God intends for you to be a people of faith, a people who can hear His message, believe His promises, experience His power, receive His favor, and see the proof of all those things manifest themselves in your life.
Today we look at the calling of Gideon to be a deliverer for Israel. I want you to understand this one thing. The spiritual climate of Israel in the time of the judges is given in Judges 17:6, 6In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes. That sounds very much like the attitude that prevails today, even in the church.
Open your hearts to receive a blessing from God today.
I. GOD’S MESSAGE IS FOR ALL TO HEAR. (7-10) Israel is under the oppression of the Midianites. Of course in hindsight we see that their oppression came because they turned away from the Lord and chased after other gods. Verse 6, 6Midian so impoverished the Israelites that they cried out to the LORD for help. Isn’t it amazing that people always know what to do in times of trouble? They cried out to God. God sends them a prophet to speak His word. Before you can be delivered from your oppression you must hear the Word of God. 7When the Israelites cried to the LORD because of Midian, 8he sent them a prophet, who said, “This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: I brought you up out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. 9I snatched you from the power of Egypt and from the hand of all your oppressors. I drove them from before you and gave you their land. 10I said to you, ‘I am the LORD your God; do not worship the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you live.’ But you have not listened to me.” What the Lord spoke through the prophet is the same word that He is speaking to the church today. Don’t you know that I recorded all those miracles and healings and signs and wonders in My word for your benefit? Don’t you know that I have given you a record of those things to strengthen your faith? Don’t you know what I have done in the past I will do again? Why do you think that we have all those things written in the Bible? 1 Corinthians 10 says that all the bad things that came as a result of disobedience were recorded as a warning so that we would not fall into the same trap. The works of Jesus are recorded as a testimony to who He is and who He has called us to be. They are faith builders. The message given by this unnamed prophet was to prepare the nation for the deliverance to come. That’s a biblical cycle – first the word then the work then the word. The works confirm the word. The word brings forth the supernatural works. The works draw attention so the word can go out again. God’s message is one for all to hear. It is a message of repentance. But you have not listened to me. Now do something about it!
II. GOD’S PROMISE IS FOR ALL WHO BELIEVE. (11-13) Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God. In these next verses the Angel of the Lord comes down and sits next to where Gideon is working. When the Bible refers to “the Angel of the Lord” it is speaking of a pre-incarnate visitation of Jesus to earth. We know that is true here because we see Him say to Gideon, “The LORD is with you, mighty warrior.” I want you to take note again of the spirituality that prevails. “…if the LORD is with us, why has all this happened to us? Where are all his wonders that our fathers told us about when they said, ‘Did not the LORD bring us up out of Egypt?’ But now the LORD has abandoned us and put us into the hand of Midian.” Gideon was really struggling here. He couldn’t make sense of it. “If God is who He says He is then where is He? I mean if He really brought Israel up out of the bondage of Egypt then why can’t He deliver us from these Midianites?” 2 Corinthians 5:7, For we walk by faith, not by sight. There are times when we have to stop and confess who God is and then let go of the limb and trust Him to do what He said He would do. 1 John 5:4-5, 4for everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith. 5Who is it that overcomes the world? Only he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God. So the promises are there for you to believe. You just have to believe them even when your senses say that it’s not happening. The just shall live by faith!
III. GOD’S POWER IS FOR ALL TO EXPERIENCE. (14-16) 14The LORD turned to him and said, “Go in the strength you have and save Israel out of Midian’s hand. Am I not sending you?” God commands us to go into battle every day and He’s given us His word as a weapon. Hebrews 4:12For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. When God told Gideon to go in the strength you have… don’t think for a minute that God was saying, “You go and do what you can and when you can’t do anymore I’ll take over.” He was saying, “I am your strength and your shield. I am your deliverer. Go in My power!” Too often the church takes that previous attitude. And when we take that attitude we will fail. Sometimes I wonder what we are thinking. “I’m a Christian so I can do all things…” Yeah, but only through Christ who strengthens you…” Gideon didn’t understand what God was saying to him. 15“But Lord,” Gideon asked, “how can I save Israel? My clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my family.” At least Gideon knew his own weaknesses. He never attempted to do something in his own power. 1 Corinthians 1:25 … the foolishness of God is wiser than man’s wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man’s strength. 2 Corinthians 2:10, 1That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong. When God calls you to a specific purpose He will empower you. Romans 4:18-21, 18Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed and so became the father of many nations, just as it had been said to him, “So shall your offspring be.”£ 19Without weakening in his faith, he faced the fact that his body was as good as dead—since he was about a hundred years old—and that Sarah’s womb was also dead. 20Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, 21being fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised. Acts 2:38, 39The promise (of power) is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call.” You can experience that power.
IV. GOD’S FAVOR IS FOR ALL TO RECEIVE (17-18) 17Gideon replied, “If now I have found favor in your eyes, give me a sign that it is really you talking to me. 18Please do not go away until I come back and bring my offering and set it before you.”
And the LORD said, “I will wait until you return.”
Four things I want you to see here.
1) Gideon wants God’s favor. But he also wants to know it’s real. You see, at this point in history God had not revealed Himself as fully as the revelation we have now. Gideon didn’t know about Holy Spirit power in your life even though 6:34 says, 34Then the Spirit of the LORD came upon Gideon… The Hebrew text literally means that Gideon became “clothes” for the Holy Spirit. The picture we get from that is that Gideon was filled with the Holy Spirit the same way that those who are baptized in the Holy Spirit are filled with power. The Holy Spirit gives confirmation of God’s favor.
2) Gideon needs a sign. Once again, God confirms His word with signs and wonders. If God is calling Gideon to something special and has given him power, he needs to see a sign.
3) Finding favor with God will require a sacrifice on your part. Part of that sacrifice would involve your willingness to give to God what He has given you – your life. Jesus died on a cross and was raised from the dead in order that you might have life. The best offering you can give is your life back to Him.
4) God will wait as long as He must in order for you to bring your sacrifice. You can be like Jack in our opening story. Lord I’ll do whatever you say – I’ll live my life for you. Just don’t ask me to do anything that doesn’t make sense or makes me uncomfortable or I don’t like to do. He’ll wait for you to make up your mind to receive favor or reject it.
V. GOD’S PROOF IS FOR ALL TO SEE. 20The angel of God said to him, “Take the meat and the unleavened bread, place them on this rock, and pour out the broth.” And Gideon did so. 21With the tip of the staff that was in his hand, the angel of the LORD touched the meat and the unleavened bread. Fire flared from the rock, consuming the meat and the bread. And the angel of the LORD disappeared. I want to show you something interesting here. In verse 20 the Lord told Gideon, Take the meat and the unleavened bread, place them on this rock,.. In verse 21 it says, Fire flared from the rock… In verse 20 the word translated “rock” means a “fortress” or “stronghold”. I think that refers to the demonic stronghold that satan had in that area. He wasn’t asking Gideon to sacrifice to a demonic stronghold – just to place it on the stronghold and watch what happens. In verse 21 the word translated as “rock” means a “rock that is high – a cliff or a boulder – or a refuge” Gideon placed the offering on a stronghold and fire came from the one who is his refuge – Jesus Christ – and consumed the offering. It was at that point that the Midianites were finished. I read a commentary that said that this miracle of fire alone should not have convinced Gideon that it was God who he was talking to, but the whole experience. He says that the enemy can bring miracles in order to deceive. I can’t say that I agree with that. Even though the Bible says that in the end times there will be great deception so that even the elect will be deceived if possible. But Jesus said that if you ask for the Holy Spirit God will give you the Holy Spirit. I take that to mean that if you are asking God for a supernatural sign, when you get that sign you can believe it’s from God. Don’t you like the picture painted here in verse 21, 21With the tip of the staff that was in his hand, the angel of the LORD touched the meat and the unleavened bread. Fire flared from the rock, consuming the meat and the bread. Meat and bread are the very things that sustain us in this life. Gideon’s offering was a statement saying I’m willing to give God my life. Hebrews 12:28-29, 28Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, 29for our “God is a consuming fire.”
Closing:
Gideon doubted God’s call on his life as a “mighty warrior”. He really needed some physical proof.
Gideon is a mighty warrior.
Who are you? I’m reasonably sure that you are more than you think you are. Romans 8:16-17, 16The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. 17Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.
We are more than conquerors…
4For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds,
The proof is in the Message.
The proof is in the Promise.
The proof is in the power.
The proof is in God’s favor.
And it’s there for all to see.
