The “Here Comes The
Judges!” Series
#4
“GIDEON – The Right Stuff!?”
TEXT: Judges
6-7
INTRO: Have you
ever noticed how often God seems to have picked poor choices initially to get a
job done?
1. A stammering Moses at age
80!
2. A slave boy named Joseph who
liked to daydream a lot!
3. A 16-17 year old shepherd boy
named David to go against a mature war trained giant named
Goliath!
4. A 90+ year old man named
Daniel who was thrown into a lion's den!
5. A fisherman named Peter ...
very impetuous!
6. A murderer named Saul of
7. A stubborn and prejudiced man
named Jonah who told a whale of a story!
8. A strange preacher like
Jeremiah who told sermons by smashing pots and wearing an ox yoke around his
neck for a period of time ... and then hiding.
9. An odd prophet like Ezekiel
who preached lying on his side for 390 days; shaving his head, and other strange
approaches to ministry.
10. A wilderness man named John the Baptist
who went around in a coat of camel's hair and routinely ate a diet of locusts
and wild honey!
It is not always capability God looks
for as much as it is availability and
pliability! God can always teach capability ... but availability and
flexibility we must offer Him!
ILLUS: There are
great abilities that people acquire, cultivate and demonstrate. In the service of God there is one
ability that is the greatest ability of all. What is it? Is it sociability, compatibility,
accountability, adaptability, or reliability? The greatest ability is
availability. If we are not
available to God, no matter what other kind of ability we have, it is no
good. Ability without availability
is a liability. What does
availability mean? It means to
place one's self totally, absolutely, completely at God's disposal for Him to do
anything and everything He wants to do in us, through us, with us, for us, when
He chooses. Anything less than that
is putting restrictions on God and writing fine print in your commitment
contract to Jesus Christ. – Source
Unknown
Maybe you have thought of yourself as
one of those "unlikely" heroes of faith ... just an unqualified person; but the
only way to be truly unqualified is to be unavailable, unchangeable, and
unwilling!
PROP.
SENT: The Scripture teaches us that God's
capability combined with man's availability and pliability produces a powerful
witness of the reality of God in this world!
I. GOD THE OPTIMIST! Judges
6:1-10
A. Calamity! Judges
6:1-6
1. Take one ungodly nation ...
beaten and bruised for 7 years by a more ungodly nation; impoverish them and
what do you get?
a. Either a hopeless situation
without remedy...
b. Or the beginnings of
revival!
ILLUS: We hear
much about revival these days, but the heart of revival is the Lordship of
Christ. A mere emotional upheaval, a spurt of religious excitement, is not
revival. When Christians become
convicted of rebellion against the rule of Christ in their lives, confess their
sins, renounce self, take the cross and let Jesus have the first and last word
in everything, that is revival, by whatever name you call it. – Source
Unknown
2. God knows how to get our
attention ... even through ugly circumstances He is optimistic that we will turn
toward Him!
3. “weeping may
remain for a night, but rejoicing comes in the morning.” Psalm 30:5
4. God is not a lover of pain
but He sometimes uses it when He knows it will produce the fruits of
righteousness!
a. Like the pain of breaking a
leg, perhaps you always took for granted the use of your legs until pain gives
you new appreciation for what you always had before they were
broken!
b. Even pain can have a
productive purpose in life!
B. Call
Judges 6:7-10
1. It is made clear to
ILLUS: The devil
tempts us to bring us down, but God tests us to bring us up. -- Jerry
W. Mixon in Along the Way.
Christianity Today, Vol. 33, no. 13.
2. God reminds them of their
past call and connection to Him, and the obvious consequences of disobedience,
it took them out from under God being able to bless
them!
3. It didn't take them away from
His love and concern however, He has a plan to restore them, a plan that
required a man!
II. GIDEON THE ORDINARY! Judges
6:11-40
A. Crazy!?
Judges 6:11-12
1. God makes a personal call and
addresses Gideon as "mighty warrior!"
a. God was talking to a young
man from an insignificant family at this time, a frightened young man trying to
get a little bit of grain by secretly threshing it in a wine press so the enemy
wouldn’t get him or his family, or their meager
supplies!
b. He had no weapons on hand nor
was he wearing any armor, in fact, he was in a threshing floor so the space was
extremely small for harvesting.
c. He looked like anything but a
WARRIOR!
2. God must have been crazy
to see him as a "mighty warrior!" But then God
loves us too! God is not
afraid to use anyone who is willing!
ILLUS: A
one-legged school teacher from
3. This too is part of God the
optimist ... He sees what is not always obvious to us. He sees
us as we can be with His strength,
we see
ourselves mostly by our failures!
4. Being that he might have come
from a former wealthy home Gideon probably wasn't even a good farm hand, much
less a warrior!
5. In God's eyes though he was the man for the
job!
6. Because he was the weakest of
the weakest (Judges 6:15) he had time on his hands! In other words ... he was
available, pliable, and humble! PRIME
INGREDIENTS!
B. Confidence!? Judges
6:13-16
1. Like us, Gideon's reaction
was, "THIS DOESN'T
COMPUTE!"
2. Notice however that God
doesn't ask Him to use something he doesn’t already possess ... He tells Gideon
to go "IN THE
STRENGTH YOU HAVE" ... God will make up the rest – after all
God added this statement: “Am I not sending you?” God
was certainly hinting that Gideon didn’t have worry about the outcome since God
would be with him if he did go!
a. Gideon hardly seemed the best
candidate ... but he was a somewhat
willing one!
b. Sometimes we don't have the
strength to do the job until we get there!
3. We can't always wait until we
think we are ready, but we need to be willing when God thinks we're ready, when
He calls!
4. To give Gideon confidence God
offers him the best promise of help, "I WILL GO WITH
YOU" ... we NEVER go into battle alone.
ILLUS: As we
drove up the steep, winding road in the Cave of the Winds near Colorado Springs,
we came suddenly to a narrow passageway between high rock walls through which it
looked as if the car could not possibly go. But facing us was a sign which said:
"Yes, you can! Millions of others have!"
And so, driving carefully through, we soon came to a wider roadway. So many times we face seemingly
insoluble problems and impossible situations. But we can know that God is able to open
ways before us which are now hidden from our view. We may hear God's message to us: "Yes,
you can! Millions of others have gone this way. Be of good cheer. Trust in the Lord and
go ahead!" Heavenly Father, when we
face difficult times, help us to trust in You to show us the way through. In Jesus' name. Amen. – Source Unknown
a. If you can't have self-confidence, be sure to have God-confidence!
b. God doesn't
desert his troops, those who are willing to fight!
C. Convinced!? Judges
6:17-24
1. As part of the process of
building Gideon into the fighting machine he would become, God convinces him of
the call!
2. What is interesting in this
event is the willing offering made by Gideon here:
a. Before asking God for
something ... he asks the Lord to stay until he can offer a
sacrifice!
b. So much is made of Gideon
“fleecing the Lord” for proof, or needing a sign … but in reality, Gideon gives
before he gets, he creates a sacrifice immediately for God, and it is in his
heart to do something for God before he gets anything, even a sign from
God!
c. It is getting clearer why God
was calling Gideon!
ILLUS: It does
not take great men to do great things; it only takes consecrated
men. -- Phillips Brooks (1835-1893) -- Edythe Draper, Draper's
Book of Quotations for the Christian World (Wheaton: Tyndale House Publishers,
Inc., 1992). Entry 1723.
3. His
offering:
a. Approx. 45 lbs. of grain
involved (little more than half a bushel – approx. 22 liters) ... must have
taken ages to thresh that much in that small winepress ... and was a substantial
offering in light of the tremendous poverty of the
times!
b. This was no tokenism toward
God; it was a real sacrifice up front!
c. He offers it willingly ... which means that he is capable of
offering willingly the PRIME INGREDIENT!
d. He also brings a meat
sacrifice.
e. God consumes the offering ...
and it suddenly becomes clear to Gideon that this was no ordinary visitor, but
the Lord Himself!
(1. Common views of that day were
that you died if you saw God ... so rather than be delighted in the visit he is
gripped with great fear!
(2. Until of course God calms him
down and assures him it was o.k. ... after all, God came by His own invitation!
"THE LORD IS
PEACE."
22 “When Gideon
realized that it was the angel of the LORD, he exclaimed, "Ah, Sovereign LORD! I
have seen the angel of the LORD face to face!"
23 But the LORD said
to him, "Peace! Do not be afraid. You are not going to die."
24 So Gideon built an
altar to the LORD there and called it The LORD is Peace. To this day it stands
in Ophrah of the Abiezrites.”
D.
Challenge! Judges
6:25-35
1. Most people miss the next
event ... before Gideon tests God ... God tests
Gideon!
a. God asks Gideon to begin
ministry by destroying the false idols in his own
home!
b. The ability to lead others
begins by self and a smaller unit first, the home! This is born out in the Pastoral
Epistles in the New Testament too.
2. This would be a first logical
step to a larger fight ... Gideon would have to face his own home area and the
fear of tearing down idols!
a. And he is afraid! Judges
6:27 “So Gideon took ten of his
servants and did as the LORD told him. But because he was afraid of his family
and the men of the town, he did it at night rather than in the
daytime.”
b. He does it at night because
of his fear ... but he is found out anyway, and he lives in spite of the initial
anger of his family!
c. ONE SMALL VICTORY FOR GIDEON ... ONE GIANT STEP FOR
ILLUS: The
ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and
convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and
controversy. -- Martin Luther King, Jr. Leadership, Vol. 16, no.
3.
3. With a successful challenge
now behind him he can face a larger one!
a. God is so good to do this in
our lives!
b. Too often people want to do
the "BIG" ministries first ... ""Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be
trusted with much," Lk. 16:10a
4. Did this victory solve all of
Gideon's fears and lack of self-confidence? NO!
E. Conditions! Judges
6:36-40
1. Probably still a bit shaken
by the previous challenge he struggles with doubts again ... probably because
now he is beginning to see the bigger picture!
a. His family was one thing ...
the Midianites were something else!!
b. God is wonderfully patient
and takes into account Gideon’s needs!
2. The well known "FLEECE"
technique is tried:
a. God comes through on both
requests of Gideon’s for the fleece test ... the message from God to
him:
b. Yes you’re the
man ... and yes you'll make it ... this is NO ACCIDENT, and I don’t want someone
else Gideon!
ILLUS: Gypsy
Smith was once asked how to start a revival. He answered, "Go home, lock
yourself in your room and kneel down in the middle of your floor. Draw a chalk mark all around yourself
and ask God to start the revival inside that chalk mark. When he has answered your prayer, the
revival will be on." Why not
covenant with God to draw that private circle? – Source Unknown
III. GIVING THE ORDERS!
Judges 7:1-25
A. Calling! Judges
7:1-8
1. The time finally comes for
action ... and God doesn't ask Gideon to do the job
alone!
2. His leadership call was now
brought to bear on all the other Israelites:
3. The call goes out for
everyone to respond, there are 3 types of responses:
a. FAINT-HEARTED! Judges
7:3
(1. Gideon must have been happy
with the initial turnout; 32,000 men!
Not a bad first start! ... Until God contacts
him!
(2. The first message from God:
“Let everyone
go home that is scared!” Judges 7:3 “announce now to the people, 'Anyone who
trembles with fear may turn back and leave
(3. God knew it would only
cripple the operation if the faint-hearted joined in the battle ... the real
warriors wouldn't have time to fight and hold hands at the same time, the battle
field is no place for the timid!
(4. This was actually God
protecting the real warriors although it must have been hard to see that
from Gideon's perspective!
b. HALF-HEARTED! Judges 7:4-5
(1. Probably a bit shaken but
proceeding with the 10,000 men left God stops Gideon and asks him to get rid of
all the men who when they went to drink water knelt down and put their head in
the water ... God said to only use the men who cupped their hands in the water
and brought the water to their mouths!
(2. WHY? Because any real whole-hearted soldier
would know better than to be caught off guard with your head under or in the
water while enemies are possibly in the area! These few seconds of your head in the
water might allow the enemy to sneak up on you! Only true soldiers would understand the
need to vigilant and bring the water to their mouths with their hands so they
could keep an eye on the enemy at all times, even during
thirst.
(3. I can just hear Gideon when
he sees only 300 MEN do it the right way: "THIS IS YOUR
IDEA OF LEADERSHIP QUALIFICATIONS GOD ... CUPPING HANDS TO
DRINK?"
(4. The men who did it with their
heads under water were really only half-hearted soldiers. While they might not have been afraid
they weren't really into the battle mentality either – their failure to stay
alert could not only cost them their own lives, but the comrades too! You can’t say you’re a warrior but fail
to act like one!
ILLUS: Late one
December, an elementary school principal said to his teachers: "Let's all write
our New Year's Resolutions about how we can be better teachers, and I'll put
them on the staff bulletin board.
In that way, we can be mutually supportive in our efforts to keep those
resolutions." The teachers agreed,
and when the resolutions were posted, they all crowded around the bulletin board
to read them. One of the young
teachers in the group suddenly went into a fit of anger. She said, "He didn't put up my
resolution. It was one of the first
ones in. He doesn't care about
me. That just shows what it's like
around here." On and on she ranted
and raved. The principal, who
overheard this from his office, was mortified. He hadn't meant to exclude her
resolution. Quickly rummaging
through the papers on his desk, he found it and immediately went to the bulletin
board and tacked it up. The
resolution read: "I resolve not to let little things upset me anymore." Resolution, but no
commitment! – Source Unknown
(5. If God had allowed them to
fight they could have caused great distress in Israel, they might have tipped
the enemy off by not being careful thus endangering the lives of the real
fighters ... though he had only 300 to work with, Gideon and Israel had a better
chance or winning a war with those 300 than with the other
9,700!
c. WHOLE-HEARTED
Judges 7:6-8
(1. Imagine the heart of Gideon
considering the prospects of war with only 300 men against tens of thousands of
enemy troops who were well equipped!
(2. Yet, fighting with
whole-hearted committed people that are few in number will have a greater impact
that fighting with a lot of people that might involve very little
commitment. This is still true
today!
(3. Numbers don’t impress God,
faithfulness and commitment impress Him.
4. It is no surprise then that
God gives Gideon another word of encouragement but this time from the enemy’s
own mouth ... Gideon probably desperately needed it!
B. Courage!
Judges 7:9-18
1. In the moments that followed
the realization of having only 300 men God finds a way to encourage the frail
Gideon!
2. This time the word of
encouragement would come from the actual mouths of his enemies! Gideon hears in the enemy camp the
following: "This can be nothing other than the sword of Gideon son of
Joash, the Israelite. God has given the Midianites and the whole camp into his
hands." Judges 7:14
a. Satan knows he is a defeated
enemy ... he is like the turkey on Thanksgiving morning trying to gobble to
death the man with the hatchet!
b. He might peck at you, but he
is a dead bird! The bumps and
bruises inflicted on us will be used by God to help us go further in
life!
ILLUS: When they
first manufactured golf balls, they made the covers smooth. Then it was
discovered that after a ball had been roughed up one could get more distance out
of it. So they started manufacturing them with dimpled covers. So it is with
life; it takes some rough spots in your life to make you go your
farthest. -- James S. Hewett, Illustrations Unlimited (Wheaton:
Tyndale House Publishers, Inc, 1988) p. 12.
3. It works ... the final stage
in the
C. Conquerors! Judges
7:19-25
1. What a plan! No weapons, only 300 men, 300 hundred
trumpets, 300 hundred clay jars, and 300 hundred torches! Don't you just love the way God fights
Satan!
a. 300 wholehearted
warriors!
b. 300 trumpets signaled they’re
fighting mad!
c. 300 clay jars = we have this
earthen treasure in clay jars ... it is enough to scare the living daylights out
of the Devil!
d. 300 torches = to dispel the
darkness and cause a frenzy within the enemy camp who are sleeping in total
darkness!
2. While they stood in place the
enemy wakes up in a panic ... sees the light so to speak ... hears a great
commotion of smashing pots and assumes there is this huge Israeli army in their
camp knocking over things and so they quickly grab their swords and starting
stabbing anything that moves, which happens to be each
other!
3. The enemy thus destroys
themselves! They kill themselves
down into a small unit ... and when they are the right size Gideon and his men
chase them down and eventually destroy them all!
4. God made them
MORE THAN CONQUERORS ... sounds like a great verse for the Bible
doesn't it?
a. And he will do this with us
too! We are not working for this
world, but for the King.
ILLUS: Sophie, the scrub woman, was a Christian. One of the gentlemen in the large
building where she worked said to her, "Say, Sophie, I understand that you are a
Christian." "Yes, sir, I am a child
of the King," was her immediate reply. "Oh! So you must be a princess, since God
is your King." "I sure am." "Well, if God is your Father, and you are
a princess and a child of the King, do you not think that it is beneath your
dignity to be found here in
b. Are you available and
pliable?
CONCLUSION: God is looking for a few good men
(and women!) for His army! No prior
soldier experience required ... He will train; you must however be willing and
available! Will take you as you
are! Maybe you can be one of
His! Call toll free: 1-800
J-E-S-U-S! Join the supernatural
guard ... have you got the right
stuff?