April 17, 2005
Morning Worship
Text: Judges 6:11-27
Subject: Gideon’s Call
Title: All the Power You Need
I want to begin today by telling you good news. God is in this church today. And because He is here, there is no obstacle big enough to keep us from becoming what He has expressly called us to be. If you have ever doubted as to whether we will ever make an impact on our town, I want you to consider this. Has the Holy Spirit ever moved in this church? Has God’s power to heal or provide or conquer ever been evident here? Maybe it has been so long that you wonder if it is possible for it to happen again. I’ve got good news for you. Jesus said, “Most assuredly I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these will he do, because I go to My Father.”
Ernest B. Beevers tells this story. In a seminary missions class, Herbert Jackson told how, as a new missionary, he was assigned a car that would not start without a push. After pondering his problem, he devised a plan. He went to the school near his home, got permission to take some children out of class, and had them push his car off. As he made his rounds, he would either park on a hill or leave the engine running. He used this ingenious procedure for two years. Ill health forced the Jackson family to leave, and a new missionary came to that station. When Jackson proudly began to explain his arrangement for getting the car started, the new man began looking under the hood. Before the explanation was complete, the new missionary interrupted, "Why, Dr. Jackson, I believe the only trouble is this loose cable." He gave the cable a twist, stepped into the car, pushed the switch, and to Jackson’s astonishment, the engine roared to life. For two years needless trouble had become routine. The power was there all the time. Only a loose connection kept Jackson from putting that power to work. J.B. Phillips paraphrases Ephesians l:19-20, "How tremendous is the power available to us who believe in God." When we make firm our connection with God, his life and power flow through us.
When I was called to ministry the very first thing that came to my mind was, “How could God use someone as insignificant as me?” I still ask that question, but now the answer has become more evident. God uses the weak so His power may be established.
In our passage today we will see how God, once again, took an insignificant human and called him to a leadership position for the purpose of drawing people to Himself.
As we look today at the story of Gideon’s call, keep in mind that the same God who called Gideon has also called you, not because of your abilities, but in spite of them. When you are weak remember, God has all the power you need.
I. GOD’S ABIDING PRESENCE (11-16)
A. God’s Confidence in Times of Trouble. “11Now the Angel of the LORD came and sat under the terebinth tree which was in Ophrah, which belonged to Joash the Abiezrite, while his son Gideon threshed wheat in the winepress, in order to hide it from the Midianites.” This passage begins by showing the fear that Israel was living under at the time of Gideon. The Midianites oppressed Israel for seven years (6:1) Gideon was fearful that they would come and take away his grain. That is why he threshed wheat on the wine press floor. He was hiding it from the Midianites. Why had Israel fallen into such hard times? 6:1 says it was because the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord. Yet God had not forsaken them. He was about to raise up a military leader to deliver them. And this leader was the most unlikely person. He was a farmer. 1 Corinthians 1:27-29, “27But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty; 28and the base things of the world and the things which are despised God has chosen, and the things which are not, to bring to nothing the things that are, 29that no flesh should glory in His presence.” Though God will always have a plan to deliver us HE doesn’t always use the most likely candidate to do it. “Man looks at outward appearance, but God looks at the heart.” When God calls, HE is confident that the object of His calling can do the work. So why aren’t we confident? Verse 12 tells us how God looked upon Gideon. “12And the Angel of the LORD appeared to him, and said to him, “The LORD is with you, you mighty man of valor!” God obviously saw something in Gideon that he failed to see in himself. That is the way it is for most of us. When the bible refers to “The Angel of the Lord” instead of “an angel” it is likely referring to a pre - incarnate visitation of the Lord Jesus Himself. In the Old Testament Jesus would take the form of a human and appear to God’s people.
B. God’s Revelation in Time of Doubt. Gideon did not recognize who was talking to him. When he responded to the Lord he uses two different words that are translated “Lord”. “Oh my lord” … This is the Hebrew word that can mean either a human or divine master, lord, or owner- a title of respect. But in the next phrase he says, “if the Lord is with us…” This is the word that means “self-existent or eternal” – Jehovah. He is talking about the Lord God almighty. “If the Lord is with us, why then has all this happened to us?” Not only does Gideon fail to recognize the Lord, but also he is totally without a clue about God’s nature. He could have been from Missouri. Before I believe it, SHOW ME. 13“Where are all His miracles which our fathers to us about saying, ‘Did not the Lord bring us up from Egypt?’ But now the Lord has delivered us into the hands of the Midianites.” I’m glad that I don’t have to make those kinds of decisions for God. I would have looked at Gideon and seeing how he didn’t recognize the Lord or didn’t even have any idea that Israel’s sin (himself included) was the cause for their oppression. He blamed God. “God has forsaken us…” He would have been the last guy I would have picked. I would have probably said, “quit your whining…” but look how God responded. “14Then the LORD turned to him and said, “Go in this might of yours, and you shall save Israel from the hand of the Midianites. Have I not sent you?” He was commanded to go in the might that he had, not in his own might, but in God’s might, because He is sending him.
C. God’s Power in Times of Weakness. 15So he said to Him, “O my Lord, how can I save Israel? Indeed my clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father’s house.” Good question. At least Gideon is coming around to recognize his own weaknesses instead of blaming everything on God. He is also using his own inadequacies as an excuse for not doing anything. You know there is an old axiom that says if you are not part of the solution, then you are part of the problem. Gideon couldn’t save himself, much less the rest of the nation. But when God commissions you, you move from private first class to five star general with just one word. Verse 16, “…surely I will be with you, and you shall defeat the Midianites as one man.” When God calls you, the enemy and all his principalities, powers, and rulers of the darkness of this age will fall before you because you stand in the power of His might and not your own.
II. GOD’S ABIDING ASSURANCE (17-21)
A. Showing Signs. Verse 17, “… if I have found favor in your sight, then show me a sign…” Is it wrong to ask God for a sign? Whenever you hear that still small voice speaking to you something that is not detailed in the written word of God, then ask. Let me explain. If the Lord said, “I want you to share the gospel with the lost.” There is no question that it is the Lord because it lines up with His word. But now, "I want you to share the gospel with the lost, in Siberia” that would be a case where you would say, “Lord show me a sign that I might know it is you speaking to me.” The things that God asks us to do may not always make sense to us. But if it is God, He will confirm it. My call into ministry – confirmed by my wife. Our call to Palmyra – again confirmed by Charlotte and also by the timing and the open doors since we have been here. In other words, if you are not sure, ask for a sign.
B. Fulfilling Obligations. While you are waiting for that sign, you still must be obedient to God’s word to you. You can’t say, “I’m not sure about that call to Siberia, so I’m going to wait for a sign before I witness to anybody.” You have to keep on. So for Gideon to see the sign God wanted to show, he had to do something. He needed to prepare an offering. That’s biblical! Verse 19, “So Gideon went in and prepared a young goat, and unleavened bread from an ephah of flour. The meat he put in a basket, and he put the broth in a pot; and he brought them out to Him under the terebinth tree and presented them.” All the while that Gideon was gone God patiently waited for him. Aren’t you glad that the Lord doesn’t say, “I’ve called and called but they didn’t come. I’m tired of waiting’?” He is longsuffering. Hallelujah!!! What offering are we able to give to the Lord? The same offering that He gave for us! Your life!
C. Receiving Confirmation. God was patient and Gideon was obedient. As he lay the offering on the rock and poured out the broth something happened. “Then the angel of the Lord put out the end of the staff that was in His hand, and touched the meat and the unleavened bread…” Reminiscent of the story of Elijah and the prophets of Baal… Verse 21, “and fire rose out of the rock and consumed the meat and the unleavened bread…” The fire didn’t come from heaven. It came out of the Rock. It was the Rock that provided water for the children of Israel in the desert. 1 Corinthians 10: 4, “For they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them, and that Rock was Christ.” It was Christ our Rock who said it was expedient and to our benefit that He go away, for if He went away He would send another Helper. How did that Helper come? As the sound of a mighty rushing wind and tongues of fire. And the angel of the Lord departed from his sight.”
III. GOD’S ABIDING PEACE (22-27)
A. Confession. That confirmation was all Gideon needed. Verse 22, “Now Gideon perceived that He was the Angel of the Lord…” Our spiritual understanding of God is always lacking until we come into personal contact with Him. Gideon said, “I have seen the Angel of the Lord face to face.” That’s confession. “If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you shall be saved.” Gideon went from doubt to confession because the Lord spoke to him and confirmed His word with signs and wonders. Do you think that God works miracles just so we can be entertained? Miracles are always to confirm that God is who HE says He is.
B. Possession. Notice in verse 23. The Lord had left him, but now he is hearing the voice of God speaking peace into his life. “Peace be with you; do not fear, you shall not die.” Gideon was afraid that since he had seen God he would die. When Jesus speaks to you it should always bring peace. Even when the Spirit is convicting you of sin, you should be aware that He does it because God loves you. It brings peace. When the enemy accuses and condemns he does it to make you think that you can have no part in salvation. But Gideon did what we all need to do in regard to God’s word. He took hold of it, claimed it as his own, and stood upon it. Verse 24, “So Gideon built an altar there to the Lord and called it The-Lord-is-Peace. Take possession of who you are in Christ. Set up an altar. Mark the spot in your life when Christ brought you peace. When you are troubled go back to that altar. Always remember what God has done for you and never let the enemy steal it form you.
C. Obsession. I have been accused of being a zealot. As a matter of fact, a former pastor used to call me a zealot. Most people use that word in a negative sense. Webster defines the word zealot like this, “someone who acts for a cause with excessive zeal or persistent fervent devotion to a cause.” I used to be offended by those types of remarks, but looking back I am going to consider it as a compliment. When he was pastor for the Methodist church in Scarborough, William Sangster had an eccentric member who tried to be a zealous Christian. Unfortunately, the man was mentally deficient and usually did the wrong thing. While working as a barber the man lathered up a customer for a shave, came at him with the poised razor, and asked, "Are you prepared to meet your God?" The frightened man fled with the lather on his face! W. Wiersbe, Wycliffe Handbook of Preaching & Preachers, p. 215.
Gideon went from being a Jew in name only to being a zealot for the work of God. He was asked to do something unheard of. He was asked to go against his father. God asked Gideon to use his father’s own bull and tear down the altar of Baal that his father had built, and then to cut down the wooden image that was there. Gideon had to get rid of the traditions of his father and move from tradition to a relationship with the Living God. We have a Pentecostal tradition that is something to be proud of. When you look at the history of Pentecostalism in America, all the things that happened, and all the supernatural experiences that accompanied revival, you realize what a wonderful heritage we have. But I’m not willing to build an altar to Pentecostalism. I’ll build my altar to God and the Pentecostal experience will follow. Gideon did what the Lord told him to do. Yes, he became a zealot too. But notice that zealot doesn’t mean stupid. He used godly wisdom and tore down the altar at night. He feared his father and the people of the city, not that he feared that they would harm him – Peace be with you – do not fear – you shall not die – but that they would see him and keep him from carrying out the work God had given him to do. Then he replaced the altar of Baal with an altar to the Lord. He was obsessed with his newfound relationship with the Lord.
Are you? Later we see that Gideon’s zeal brought his father to his senses (verse 31). Then Gideon went from having a relationship with the Lord to being filled with the Holy
Spirit. Then he defeated the Midianites with an army of three hundred. He knew where his power was.
One New Year’s Day, in the Tournament of Roses parade, a beautiful float suddenly sputtered and quit. It was out of gas. The whole parade was held up until someone could get a can of gas. The amusing thing was this float represented the Standard Oil Company. With its vast oil resources, its truck was out of gas.
Often, Christians neglect their spiritual maintenance, and though they are "clothed with power" (Luke 24:49) find themselves out of gas.
Steve Blankenship in God Came Near by Max Lucado, Multnomah Press,
What is God asking you to do today? Is He calling on you to do things that you absolutely think you cannot do? Is He calling you out of your comfort zone? Is He asking you to step out from behind the scenes and move into the front lines? Most people don’t really want to be out front, but folks listen, that’s where the real battle takes place. It is our Sunday school teachers, and youth pastors and children’s church leaders as well as your pastor who are fighting to get the word into everyone so they can become mature. Not that every person is called to be a teacher. But the writer of Hebrews says that mature Christians should be able to teach. Hebrews 5:12-14, 12For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the first principles of the oracles of God; and you have come to need milk and not solid food. 13For everyone who partakes only of milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, for he is a babe. 14But solid food belongs to those who are of full age, that is, those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.
It is time for the Gideons of the church to rise up, get hold of God and tear down the old altars. It’s time to move into new territory with God. It’s time for us to begin to hear anew what the Lord is speaking to the church.
You can do it. You have all the power you need.
