The Weakness of a Rescuer
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Gideon: . The enemy oppressor is the Midianites.
Israel had just finished 40 years of rest.
They now enter 7 years of oppression by the Midianites.
After the seven years, they enter 40 years of rest.
“Thus let all Your enemies perish, O Lord; But let those who love Him be like the rising of the sun in its might.” And the land was undisturbed for forty years.
“The torrent of Kishon swept them away, The ancient torrent, the torrent Kishon. O my soul, march on with strength.
But then this happened:
Judges 5:
Then the sons of Israel did what was evil in the sight of the Lord; and the Lord gave them into the hands of Midian seven years.
Are we above God sending catastrophe into our lives to discipline us?
and I said to you, “I am the Lord your God; you shall not fear the gods of the Amorites in whose land you live. But you have not obeyed Me.” ’ ”
Then it came about, as soon as Gideon was dead, that the sons of Israel again played the harlot with the Baals, and made Baal-berith their god.
What are some times when it is a problem to have too much power?
What lies at the root of man’s rebellion?
Why do we pray?
I. Strength Comes from God Who Is Present
I. Strength Comes from God Who Is Present
Then the angel of the Lord came and sat under the oak that was in Ophrah, which belonged to Joash the Abiezrite as his son Gideon was beating out wheat in the wine press in order to save it from the Midianites. The angel of the Lord appeared to him and said to him, “The Lord is with you, O valiant warrior.” Then Gideon said to him, “O my lord, if the Lord is with us, why then has all this happened to us? And where are all His miracles which our fathers told us about, saying, ‘Did not the Lord bring us up from Egypt?’ But now the Lord has abandoned us and given us into the hand of Midian.” The Lord looked at him and said, “Go in this your strength and deliver Israel from the hand of Midian. Have I not sent you?” He said to Him, “O Lord, how shall I deliver Israel? Behold, my family is the least in Manasseh, and I am the youngest in my father’s house.” But the Lord said to him, “Surely I will be with you, and you shall defeat Midian as one man.”
What stands out about Gideon’s attitude?
Who am I? What am I? My clan is the weakest!’
teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”
The Gospel
The Gospel
The Gospel IS the power of God to salvation
For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.
The world considers the gospel moronic
For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, “But the righteous man shall live by faith.”
For the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.
The world does not employ human wisdom in order to evaluate Christianity and the freely decide, based on that analysis, that the gospel makes sense.
For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not come to know God, God was well-pleased through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe.
1 cor 1 21
If you win people using gimmicks and rock bands, you have not won them to Christ. You have won them to gimmicks and rock bands. And when the smoke is gone, so are they.
II. Assurance Comes from The God who is Patient
II. Assurance Comes from The God who is Patient
Then Gideon said to God, “If You will deliver Israel through me, as You have spoken, behold, I will put a fleece of wool on the threshing floor. If there is dew on the fleece only, and it is dry on all the ground, then I will know that You will deliver Israel through me, as You have spoken.” And it was so. When he arose early the next morning and squeezed the fleece, he drained the dew from the fleece, a bowl full of water. Then Gideon said to God, “Do not let Your anger burn against me that I may speak once more; please let me make a test once more with the fleece, let it now be dry only on the fleece, and let there be dew on all the ground.” God did so that night; for it was dry only on the fleece, and dew was on all the ground.
Gideon doubted that God would deliver Israel.
Yet Gideon demonstrated great reverence and fear of God.
‘The Lord is slow to anger and abundant in lovingkindness, forgiving iniquity and transgression; but He will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generations.’
who keeps lovingkindness for thousands, who forgives iniquity, transgression and sin; yet He will by no means leave the guilty unpunished, visiting the iniquity of fathers on the children and on the grandchildren to the third and fourth generations.”
“You shall not make for yourself an idol, or any likeness of what is in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the water under the earth. “You shall not worship them or serve them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, on the third and the fourth generations of those who hate Me, but showing lovingkindness to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments.
If you do not fear God, then you do not know God.
“I will make an everlasting covenant with them that I will not turn away from them, to do them good; and I will put the fear of Me in their hearts so that they will not turn away from Me.
What are some fleeces we lay out before God?
Gospel gimmicks?
Entertaining rather than training our children?
Rock bands and smoke machines rather than genuine worship from a pure heart?
Thinking the gospel isn’t sufficient to transform lives. It needs our personal touch.
Believing that if things are going smoothly, God must approve and if things are falling apart, we must have sinned.
III. Victory Comes from God who Is Powerful
III. Victory Comes from God who Is Powerful
The Lord said to Gideon, “The people who are with you are too many for Me to give Midian into their hands, for Israel would become boastful, saying, ‘My own power has delivered me.’ “Now therefore come, proclaim in the hearing of the people, saying, ‘Whoever is afraid and trembling, let him return and depart from Mount Gilead.’ ” So 22,000 people returned, but 10,000 remained. Then the Lord said to Gideon, “The people are still too many; bring them down to the water and I will test them for you there. Therefore it shall be that he of whom I say to you, ‘This one shall go with you,’ he shall go with you; but everyone of whom I say to you, ‘This one shall not go with you,’ he shall not go.” So he brought the people down to the water. And the Lord said to Gideon, “You shall separate everyone who laps the water with his tongue as a dog laps, as well as everyone who kneels to drink.” Now the number of those who lapped, putting their hand to their mouth, was 300 men; but all the rest of the people kneeled to drink water. The Lord said to Gideon, “I will deliver you with the 300 men who lapped and will give the Midianites into your hands; so let all the other people go, each man to his home.”
God’s 300 v 120,000
Who can light the fires
Of a thousand burning suns
Blazing in the heavens?
There is only One
He is our God
1 cor 12
to another faith by the same Spirit, and to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, and to another the effecting of miracles, and to another prophecy, and to another the distinguishing of spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, and to another the interpretation of tongues.
For consider your calling, brethren, that there were not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble; but God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong, and the base things of the world and the despised God has chosen, the things that are not, so that He may nullify the things that are, so that no man may boast before God. But by His doing you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption, so that, just as it is written, “Let him who boasts, boast in the Lord.”
And when I came to you, brethren, I did not come with superiority of speech or of wisdom, proclaiming to you the testimony of God. For I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified. I was with you in weakness and in fear and in much trembling, and my message and my preaching were not in persuasive words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, so that your faith would not rest on the wisdom of men, but on the power of God.
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IV. Summary
IV. Summary
Our problems begin when we forget, neglect, or ignore the sovereignty of God.
When we elevate man, there is always corresponding downgrade of God.
We live with the delusion that we somehow do not deserve the suffering we experience in this life.
Reliance on ourselves is rebellion against and rejection of God’s sovereignty.
The Westminster Shorter Catechism Question 1
What is the chief end of man?
Man’ s chief end is to glorify God, (1 Cor. 10:31, Rom. 11:36) and to enjoy him for ever. (Ps. 73:25–28)
Whom have I in heaven but You? And besides You, I desire nothing on earth. My flesh and my heart may fail, But God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. For, behold, those who are far from You will perish; You have destroyed all those who are unfaithful to You. But as for me, the nearness of God is my good; I have made the Lord God my refuge, That I may tell of all Your works.
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