TURNING TROUBLES TO TRIUMPH
JUDGES 6:11-14
Today we will be looking at the subject of miracles...a subject we all would probably say we believe in, and yet one in which we have little faith to believe in when it comes to God performing the miraculous through us.
But this whole excursion into the supernatural power of God is useless unless we can make it practical...unless it is something that can actually be realized and become a tool for reaching a lost world for Jesus Christ...which is why it is available in the first place.
Miracles and healings and all the other miraculous signs and wonders are to be a visible demonstrate of the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ. They are to confirm the Word so that others will believe and be saved.
But the biggest hindrance to seeing, experiencing, and even being used as God's instrument in the miraculous is the doubt and unbelief that Satan so cleverly deceives us with. And this doubt concerning the power of God so often comes from all the many troubles and situations that seem to continually bombard us.
By yielding to the pressures Satan brings against us, we can allow adversity to break our spirit and destroy us...or at least destroy our effectiveness as Christians. And that is so often the case. We just get overwhelmed by circumstances and situations to the point that we no longer expect the truly miraculous to happen. We just do our best to get by...and are satisfied with that. AMEN?
The hard times make some bitter...and others better. Some have allowed past problems to draw them closer to God, while it may spoil the faith and effectiveness of others. And it seems that there are people who experience what seems to be much more than their share of difficulties.
And whenever they face a new challenge, all they can think of are the problems of the past. And that is not only a horrible way to live...it's also very unnecessary!
Gideon must have been like that. Most of you know a little about Gideon, and the miraculous victories God worked through him. But he was far from a textbook example of faith in God...at least at first.
The Midianites had invaded and brutally dominated the children of Israel. And like many people today...Gideon had difficulty believing that the God of miracles was with them because of all the troubles they had encountered. READ Judges 6:11-14
The occupation of the Midianites had its purpose in the discipline of the children of Israel. There was a purpose and a reason for their difficulties. But it was also an opportunity for Gideon. If Gideon was to be used of God in a miraculous way...he would first have to forget what was behind and move ahead in faith. He had to quit nursing the problems of the past!
Gideon had to learn that troubles can be your servant...or they can keep you from the making of a miracle. They can be your stepping stone - or your stumbling block. They can make you better - or just bitter. It's up to you!
God can solve any problem we'll ever face in a thousand ways. When you look at the obstacles in that frame of mind...He'll reveal to us one of those solutions. Some good advice would be - "Don't consider your problems until you have the faith to see them from God's perspective."
I preached a couple of weeks ago that the battle is primarily fought in the mind. That is where it all begins! You need to take your thoughts captive...before they take you captive. And this is so important because you never come to be something or someone - that you didn't first become in your thoughts.
Proverbs 23:7 says, "As a man thinks in his heart, so he is." Who you are is a direct result of what you think and believe. That's why low self-esteem is so destructive. If we think we're incapable or untalented we're likely never strive for...let alone achieve any measure of success or fulfillment in any of those areas. And those feelings usually come after running into some type of trouble.
If we spend all our time licking our own wounds, we can't help to heal the wounds of others. So we have to make a conscious and determined decision to let go of our hurts and anger so that we can get on with our real reason for being.
Vindication is certainly nice...but it's not necessary. But it is important for us to take our eyes off the rearview mirror and put them on the harvest all around us. I read a good illustration of how to respond to difficult situations...and it takes us back to the cross and the example of Jesus in His last moments of suffering there. Matthew 27:33-34 READ
Christ tasted the gall - but spit it out. Now gall was a poisonous herb that grew wild in the furrows of the fields in Israel. And often this wild weed was mixed with wine to make a drink powerful enough to kill pain for a short period of time.
And this stuff was brutally bitter. And we don't know if Jesus was offered this out of mercy or meanness. All we know is that when He tasted the wine mixed with gall He spit it out.
Life in this world will hand us some pretty bitter things to swallow. But if we're to be like Jesus...we must spit out the bitterness, we must refuse to let it into our system. But it's always tempting to hang on to it when we are being "crucified."
When we hurt so badly, anything that makes the pain stop - even for a moment - feels good. Self-pity and bitterness are like gall. It will ease the pain momentarily as we justify our position and lash out at those who are hurting us - or have hurt us. But bitterness will also kill us!
Too many people are like the lady who was bitten by a rabid dog. She immediately got out a pencil and paper and started writing down a long list of names. When asked why she was doing this...she replied, "These are the people I plan to bite before I die!"
The present pain will one day pass...but how we react and respond during these trying times will follow us forever. You don't have to deny that difficulties exist...but how you think about them is what will make the difference. You should look at your problems in the light of this fact...With the God we serve - all things are possible.
And I have found that it is hard to find a miracle until you get to this place. But so often we depend upon our own resources. But when you're trying to fight the battle in your own strength - another danger arises...You're tempted to manufacture your own miracles.
Abraham tried this. Do you remember how he was promised a son...one who would make his descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky. Well, it didn't happen right away. And when Sarah couldn't give him a son, he tried to produce an heir through Hagar. And the result of that union was Ishmael. It wasn't until later that Sarah gave birth to Isaac.
So how does this story apply to us? When we need a miracle we can probably fight and maneuver and use our own resources to bring about some type of result...we can give birth to our own Ishmael. But just as the descendants of Ishmael and the descendants of Isaac were mortal enemies...you will live in strife from that time on.
Ishmael is a good symbol of what we produce by our own efforts...when we give up on our faith and patience to wait on God. We can often win a battle - but by doing so we can easily lose the war!
I think every believer should carefully examine the ministry of Jesus and discover the keys that made Him successful...and then use those keys to unlock the door to personal success as a Christian. Isn't that what a Christian is...one like Christ?
We need to understand that the resources Jesus had were no more or no less divine than the resources you have as a child of God. What was His source of power...what was it that enabled Jesus to perform the miraculous? What was it that enabled Him to face and endure the agony of Calvary?
Well, we all know that when Jesus walked the earth, miraculous signs and wonders followed Him wherever He went. But Jesus didn't begin to move in the miraculous until he was baptized with the Holy Spirit...when the Spirit descended on Him and endued Him with the power that He willing laid down when He left heaven.
Not one miracle was ever done in Jesus' own strength. He walked in the power and the anointing of the Holy Spirit. And there is no question that the Lord expects His people to be living in the supernatural. Turn with me to John 14:12.."READ (v.11-miracles)
So...if we are to do the things Jesus did...and He only did these things after receiving the power of the Holy Spirit...then it stands to reason that we need to be filled with the Holy Spirit.
When we receive the Lord as Savior, the Holy Spirit comes to live within us. But it is onlywhen we yield ourselves totally to the Spirit that He can fill us and empower us. It's not how much of Him we have...it's how much of us does He have.
The measure of spirituality is not how much you get or have...but how much you give. How much of the Spirit and the grace of God flow through you...not just to you.
God's power...His glory...and His love are all around us yet His kingdom is invisible. But when His nature and character is displayed through His servants...through us...then the kingdom becomes more visible.
People need to know that God is real and that He is sufficient for all their needs and desires. And the only way that will become a reality for them is when it becomes a reality for us - and we begin to carry out the two-fold ministry that Jesus began...which is proclamation and demonstration.
The miracle of abundant life will become a reality for us and will continue to be a demonstration of the truth of the gospel - as long as we continue to be lead by the Spirit and let Him have control.
Jesus gave every believer - from the past right up to the present hour - the power of attorney to use His name. You, too, can work the miraculous in the power of that name. Signs and wonders of every sort and description ought to follow you. (Mark 16).
The power in that name will heal bodies...it will heal minds...it will heal marriages...it will heal hurts...it will heal finances...it can heal any circumstance. The challenge is to first of all make it a reality in your own life...and then take it out to a lost and hurting world...a world that needs the reality of Jesus love and power.
