Who Me? You have Got to be Kidding God!
Wednesday, January 20, 2010-01-20
By Pastor James May
How many of you love to fly? I know that some of you probably wouldn’t fly unless it was a life or death emergency. A lot of people have a fear of flying. If you’re one of them you would surely agree with George S. Kaufman who once said, "I like terra firma - the more firma, the less terra."
One of the greatest science-fiction writers of our time is Ray Bradbury of Los Angeles. In 1968 he won a top award from the Aviation-Space Writers Association for a Life Magazine article that he wrote concerning the wonders of space exploration. But Mr.Bradbury didn’t attend the awards meeting in Florida because he was afraid to fly.
The subject of our message tonight also had a great fear that stalked him day and night. In fact, when we first see him in the scriptures, he is hiding out in a secret place where no one could find him and he was threshing wheat. Yet this poor, pathetic, pitiful little man, who considered himself as insignificant and weak, became one of the most famous Judges of Israel at a time when there was no clear leader of the Jews.
Fifteen Judges arose in Israel during this time in their history. Their names are forever recorded in the Word of God. One of those was Samson, a man whose strength was legendary, and whose very name made his enemies shake in their boots. But it was not so for the little man we are talking about tonight.
I don’t know how many of you remember Don Knotts? He is famous for his roles as the bumbling sheriff’s deputy, Barney Fire, who was only allowed to carry one bullet and it wasn’t in his pistol. He also starred in “The Reluctant Astronaut”, “The Ghost and Mr. Chicken”, and “The Shakiest Gun in the West”. In all of his films he seemed so aggressive and yet he was a chicken at heart.
I think our character for tonight is a lot like the characters that Don Knotts played. This guy brings to your mind the picture of a little weasel of a man, reluctant to even being noticed, and easily frightened. The amazing thing is that God saw something in him that no one else could see, not even the man himself.
Judges 6:11 And there came an angel of the LORD, and sat under an oak which was in Ophrah that pertained unto Joash the Abiezrite: and his son Gideon threshed wheat by the winepress, to hide it from the Midianites.
Some say that the angel of the Lord was actually God himself who came down and sat under that oak tree for a length of time just watching and listening to what Gideon was doing and saying down in that winepress.
I wonder what Gideon might have been saying as the angel of the Lord sat there under that oak? Could it be that he prayed as he worked, begging God to send a deliverer to his people to free them from the terror of the Midianites? Could it be that he cried for the condition of his people and felt so powerless to do anything about it? In effect, you could say that Gideon was most likely engaged in intercessory prayer on behalf of Israel as he threw each rake of wheat in the air and prayed that God would smite the Midianites just as he was striking the grain with his staff to separate the wheat from chaff. Maybe he was singing a little song of praise, or thanking God for the little bit of wheat that he had been able to conceal from the searching eyes of the Midianites who would certain have taken it if they could.
There was something about this little man, hiding from his enemies and working as a common laborer that caught the attention of Almighty God. Was it his faith? Was it his courage? Was it his stature? Was it his ability to influence people? I doubt if he had much education, if any at all. I doubt that Gideon had much going for him in leadership skills. Yet there was something about him that God approved of.
Judges 6:12 And the angel of the LORD appeared unto him, and said unto him, The LORD is with thee, thou mighty man of valour.
I can just imagine Gideon’s reaction to this appearance of the angel of the Lord. Perhaps he did like we do sometimes and he turned around to see if someone was standing behind him that the angel was speaking to.
Who, Me, “a mighty man of valor”? You have got to be kidding. You must have me confused with someone else. But, then it dawned on Gideon just who he was speaking to and his whole thought process started over. Yes, this was the angel of the Lord speaking. Here he was, the very presence of God, the Living Word, speaking to Gideon.
God had seen a man who was willing to put his shoulder to the wheel and work, even under the threat of death if he was discovered by his enemies. He had seen a man who was in hiding, but he was not lazy and not a coward. He had seen a man who had a heart for his people; and a man who was willing to be an intercessor on behalf of Israel. God saw in Gideon the heart of a champion. The world may have seen him as just an ordinary man, trying to get by. The devil might have seen Gideon as an easy target for instilling fear and doubt. Even his enemies, the Midianites, didn’t pay too much attention to him. He just seemed like an insignificant little man who was no threat to them.
Gideon’s first thoughts were, “if this is really the angel of the Lord and, if this is the very presence of God, then I have some questions to ask.”
Judges 6:13 And Gideon said unto him, Oh my Lord, if the LORD be with us, why then is all this befallen us? and where be all his miracles which our fathers told us of, saying, Did not the LORD bring us up from Egypt? but now the LORD hath forsaken us, and delivered us into the hands of the Midianites.
Have you ever questioned God like Gideon? Lord, I thought I was your child, so if I am, why do I have such bad luck? Why can’t things be a little easier? Where are the blessings that I’m supposed to be experiencing? Why don’t you do something about my problems, the problems of our community, the problems of our nation? There’s no doubt you have the power to do anything you want in this world. You could stop it all, but sometimes we feel so forsaken. Sometimes it seems like you’ve just done us like job and said, “Devil do your worst, but don’t kill them.” Lord, what’s really going on here? What have I done? Tell me; I’ll change.
But God wasn’t concerned with Gideon’s questions. God knew that Gideon probably already knew why Israel was in trouble. In any case, God didn’t answer not one of Gideon’s questions. Instead, God began to move to answer Gideon’s prayers.
Judges 6:14 And the LORD looked upon him, and said, Go in this thy might, and thou shalt save Israel from the hand of the Midianites: have not I sent thee?
Go in my might? Are you kidding? Can’t you see that I’m not a strong man; not a superhero; or any such thing? I can barely make a living for my family with all that’s going on in the land. I don’t have time to stop and save Israel, and even if I could, what can I do?
Judges 6:15 And he said unto him, Oh my Lord, wherewith shall I save Israel? behold, my family is poor in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father’s house.
Now comes the truth of the matter. Gideon isn’t going to fight the battle; he’s just going to obey the commandment of the Lord to do what God says to do.
Gideon, You were praying for a deliverer. You were asking when will the victory come? When will we hear from God? Where are you God? Well, here’s your answer - I’m here with you right now, so it’s time to quit asking questions and start moving in faith and obedience.
Judges 6:16 And the LORD said unto him, Surely I will be with thee, and thou shalt smite the Midianites as one man.
Now comes Gideon’s giant leap of faith. It’s time to transform from the knees to the feet and get moving. It’s time to put feet to your faith and only then can God answer your prayers.
How often do we pray for miracles and yet we don’t step out in faith as though the miracle has already occurred? How often do we wait for someone else to do the job that God has set before us? It’s time that we all step out in obedience to the commandment of the Lord.
God chooses those who will be the heroes of the faith from some of the most unlikely people so that God, and God alone will be glorified.
1 Corinthians 1:27-29, "But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty; And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are: That no flesh should glory in his presence."
How many times have we seen those among us who considered themselves to be great leaders, brought down on their knees in humility. God will not share His glory with man. The great leaders of the true church, including Jesus, came from the class of society where no one would have believed it possible. The 12 disciples were not men of renown until Jesus called them. So if you’re here tonight, wondering if you can do great things for God, let me tell you that the answer is “Yes, you can”! There’s nothing too hard for God, and with Him on your side you can’t fail
Gideon didn’t fail either. The Lord had said that he would be with Gideon and God never fails. But before Gideon could answer the call, God had to bring him through a growing process and cut away some of the weight from him.
The first thing Gideon did was raise an army.
Judges 7:1, "Then Jerubbaal, who is Gideon, and all the people that were with him, rose up early, and pitched beside the well of Harod: so that the host of the Midianites were on the north side of them, by the hill of Moreh, in the valley."
32,000 Israelites were ready for battle. They had rallied to the cause of freedom and they knew it would be a fight to the death. It’s not hard to find people who say they want to be a part of God’s kingdom. Everybody wants to go to Heaven. Everybody wants to go in the Rapture, but not everyone who wants to will. There’s some qualifying that has to come to pass. God is going to put us to the test.
Now 32,000 is a lot of soldiers but I want you to know that no matter how much power man has in his hand, it is never a match for the power of the devil. The arm of the flesh cannot defeat the devil in battle for it is a spiritual battle and not a fleshly battle. The devil laughs at our threats; our words and our showing of the flesh. Nothing that we can do will defeat him. The weapons of our warfare are mighty through God alone. Through the blood of Jesus we overcome. Through the power of the Holy Ghost we have victory. It’s all about God; not us. Remember that when you’re teaching a class, or preaching to the youth, or witnessing to the lost. It’s not about you; it’s about God. You give the message and God does the planting. Whatever is born of ministry, it must be born by the Lord, or it will not stand. It’s not about our talent or ability. It’s not about our plans or education. It’s not about our charisma. The ministry that will truly stand the test of time is the ministry that is build only according to the leading of the Holy Spirit.
Judges 7:3, "Now therefore go to, proclaim in the ears of the people, saying, Whosoever is fearful and afraid, let him return and depart early from mount Gilead. And there returned of the people twenty and two thousand; and there remained ten thousand."
Why were they afraid? 32,000 men is a pretty good army. Look at Judges 7:12, "And the Midianites and the Amalekites and all the children of the east lay along in the valley like grasshoppers for multitude; and their camels were without number, as the sand by the sea side for multitude."
Over 2/3 of Gideon’s army went on permanent leave only days before the battle was to take place. 22,000 Israelites whose faith was just too weak to carry on the battle. They would rather remain as slaves to the Midianites than trust God for the victory.
Don’t laugh too hard at them. I believe that there are a lot more than 2/3 of the Lord’s Army in the church today that have deserted the battlefield as well. They will never know the thrill of victory but will ever taste the agony of defeat.
If your commitment to Christ is weak; you’ll never make the cut. If you are half-hearted; or if the things of this world are too important and you are afraid of losing old friends, or giving up things that you like, then you won’t make the cut either. Like the soldiers of Gideon’s army.
God still wasn’t through with testing. Once again he brought Gideon down to the river and told him to order his soldiers to take a drink. Those who reached down with their hands and dipped water to their mouths while they watched for the enemy were to be kept but those who knelt down and put the face into the water and were not careful to be on guard had to go.
Jesus told us that we were to watch and wait for his return. Too many of the church today have gotten their faces fully into the world and are drinking it in gulps trying to fill the desires of the flesh. The people that God chooses for His Kingdom will be those who never let their guard down. They know that there’s an enemy out there. Whether it was in the form of a crocodile that would suddenly appear out of the river and drag a soldier to his death, or a band of the Midianites; there was always danger close by. It was imperative to be ever on guard. God wanted only those who would stand at the ready; stay in their place and be watchful for any approaching enemy.
When God finally finished trimming Gideon’s army there were only 300 men left; 300 to face many thousands. The odds were against slightly against him. He was probably outnumbered 10,000 to 1; but those are the odds that God likes. Those are the odds that prove it was God who did the work and not the power of men.
Now listen to what happens next. Every soldier was given a clay jar, a torch and a trumpet to carry into battle. When you fight for the Lord, you are wearing a body of clay, but inside that body burns the torch of the fire of God given to you by the Holy Ghost. You are to go out and let that fire burn inside until God gives you the opportunity to allow Him to shine through you.
Gideon’s 300 men split up and surrounded the host of the Midianites. Then at an appointed time they all broke their clay pots and let their torch shine and they gave a shout.
That’s what it takes to win. We must break the power of the flesh; let the light of God shine through us; and then open our mouths and shout of the goodness and mercy of God.
God had already prepared the Midianites for defeat through dreams and fear that had struck the camp and spread like wildfire. The sudden appearance of lights on the hills all around, the shouts of enemy soldiers from every side threw them into a panic and they fled from the battlefield. God had given Gideon the victory.
I want you to know that in these last days, there is a trimming process going on. God is preparing a church that will be His Bride. There’s a whole lot of worldly Christians, or lukewarm Christians, or sleeping Christians that aren’t going to be a part of that Bride when Jesus comes again.
Right now it may seem at times that the church will barely exist at all if Jesus tarries much longer. As I watch what’s happening in the church, especially here in our nation, I believe that we are losing Christians to the world just as fast, if not faster than we are winning them to Christ. But there is going to be a remnant of the church that will win the victory.
One day soon there’s going to be a trumpet sound. Then God is going to break this old clay pot that we are bound to once and for all and that light of God, the power of the Holy Ghost will shine through us as never before as take on that glorified body like that of our Lord. There’s going to be a shout on that day that has never been heard before. It’s a shout of victory as we all stand around the throne and prepare for the Marriage Supper of the Lamb.
This old world might not hear that shout, but I guarantee that it will be heard in the spiritual realms. Those in hell will hear that shout. Demons and devils will cower in fear for they know their time is short. Satan will cringe at the knowledge that his days are few. He is surrounded, hemmed in and defeated. But we will live on victory. What a day that will be!
