Difference Makers- Part 5- Gideon

Matt Wood

Difference Makers • Sermon • Submitted 3 years ago

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Introduction

The nation of Israel has now fallen to the Midianites and they have been made to live in constant fear and have been oppressed by their enemies for some time now.

Finally this oppression and hardship brings the Israelites to the point of crying out to God and God responds reminding them of how He had delivered them from oppression in the past, but also reminding them that they are in this situation because they have refused to obey the voice of God.

God has a plan to deliver Israel from their enemies once again and he has chosen Gideon to be the instrument which he will use to bring about this deliverance.

Gideon would ultimately rise up and lead a small band of only 300 men to conquer the massive army of the multitude. Gideon certainly made a difference for the people of his generation but ultimately we can clearly see that it was God who empowered and enabled Gideon to be the “Difference Maker” that he became.

Now we will trace the life of Gideon from the moment that God begins to speak to Him regarding the plan He has for his life.

In the beginning of this passage we see:

Gideon’s Potential (Vs. 11-15)

The first picture we have of Gideon is that of him threshing wheat by the wine press for fear of the Midianites. Not exactly what we would expect from a future military leader.

If the people Israel would have been asked who was the most likely to lead Israel’s deliverance from the Midianites, it is unlikely that anyone would have chosen Gideon.

Yet God looked upon Gideon not on the basis of his courage and ability but knowing the potential that lay within him if only he would yield himself to be used.

God doesn’t speak to Gideon as a coward and a weakling but he calls him a “mighty man of valour” He tells him to “Go in this thy might”.

When God looks down upon this congregation this morning He sees each of us from an entirely different perspective than what others may see and even how we may see ourselves.

Gideon looked upon his family and upon himself and concluded that he was not fit to be the one who should deliver Israel. Yet God replies to Gideon with the assurance that He will be with him and that he will surely conquer the Midianites and deliver Israel.

You and I must recognize that there is no limit to what God can do in and through us if He so chooses. You may think it unlikely or even impossible that God would choose to use someone like you to undertake some momentous task that would have such a significant impact, but you may be the very individual that God has selected.

God often chooses unlikely candidates to do impossible things! God uses ordinary people (like you and I) to do extraordinary things! This assures that, when the task is completed, God is the one who gets the glory.

I Corinthians 1:26-29- God has chosen the foolish things, the weak things, and the base things to confound the wise

There is tremendous potential in all of us. If we will but surrender our lives to God to be used as He sees fit, God will enable and empower us to do more than we can imagine.

Gideon’s Preparation (Judges 6:25-32 )

Gideon’s first mission from God was not to lead the armies of Israel against the Midianites. His first mission was to go into his own backyard and to destroy the idols which had been set up there by his own father.

Gideon was yet fearful and would not do such a thing in broad daylight but he summoned the courage to undertake what God had commanded him to do after nightfall. He gathered ten men of his servants and did exactly what God had asked him to do.

Morning dawns and the men of the city come out to find the altar to Baal torn down and a new altar erected from the grove which had been cut down and an offering had been made upon this new altar.

It seems that Gideon will be forced to face sever punishment for his actions but then his father intervenes and sensibly urges the men to let Baal plead for himself if he is a god.

It may be that God would ask us to commit ourselves to some seemingly insignificant task at first that we may prove ourselves faithful to Him and that we may know that He is with us.

This smaller task was not so that God would know that He could trust Gideon for God is omnipotent and knows all things. This task was to prove to Gideon what he was capable of and that God would be with him as he carried out His instructions.

God has now proven to Gideon that his fears are unwarranted and that He will be with him and will strengthen, help, and protect him.

We may be convinced that we are incapable of overcoming fear and doubt but if we will follow God and yield to His hand we will find out otherwise.

God’s Patience (Judges 6:36-40)

Gideon apparently still has some reservations for to take on the armies of the Midianites and the Amalekites is a task much greater than the tearing down of an idolatrous shrine.

Gideon desires that God would give him a sure sign that it is He who is calling him to deliver Israel from her enemies.

Now we come to what is likely a familiar passage for many of us as Gideon lays our the fleece to receive a sign from God to confirm His call upon Gideon’s life.

It is not to be seen as a sign of weakness or doubt on Gideon’s part that he requests that God would give confirmation to His will for Gideon’s life.

It may be that you are sensing God’s call upon your life today. It may be that God is calling you to a task that seems impossible or that is so significant that you question the call.

It is not wrong for you and I to seek confirmation from the Lord so that we may be absolutely certain before we step out in faith to follow Him.

God was patient with Gideon and does not express anger or frustration because Gideon wanted to be sure but instead gives the sign of confirmation that Gideon requested.

When we understand the gravity of the call of God upon our lives we too will want to be absolutely sure that we are undertaking the task at God’s command.

Even as Gideon moved toward the battlefield God gives Him and added assurance as he provides the opportunity for Gideon to listen in on the conversation taking place in the enemies camp. (Judges 7:9-15)

Gideon was about to face a great enemy and he was well aware that without God he would surely be defeated. The confirmation that God gave served to embolden and encourage him for the battle, now being assured that God was on his side!

God’s Power (Judges 7:1-8 & Judges 7:16-23)

Gideon is finally ready to do what God has instructed him to do. He gathers the army of Israel together numbering some 32,000 men.

God’s desire is not only for victory over the Midianites but also that the people of Israel would recognize that it was He who gave them victory so that they would turn back unto Him.

Immediately God instructs Gideon to shrink the size of his force first from 32,000 to 10,000 and then ultimately from 10,000 to 300.

It is certain that if Gideon and the 300 soldiers were to defeat the Midianites and Amalekites it would take the supernatural power of God.

Gideon follow’s God’s instructions and delivers to every man a trumpet, a lamp, and a pitcher, not exactly the weapons of warfare.

At the changing of the night watch Gideon and his men break their pitchers and blow their trumpets and cry out the Sword of the Lord and of Gideon and the enemy, fearing they are surrounded descends into utter chaos in the night and begin to attack one another and to flee in fear and the Israelites won a great victory that day.

The only explanation for what happened on that day was that God worked in a supernatural way on behalf of Gideon and the nation of Israel. The same God who used Gideon and his three hundred men to defeat the armies of the Midianites and the Amalekites will use us to conquer the enemies of God today if we will but yield to His voice and follow His commands.

I believe it is still God’s desire to take and to use unlikely instruments to do impossible things so that His power may be clearly seen.

It may seem that all is lost and that there is no hope of victory in sight, but we must remember that God is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think.

The power of God is only limited when you and I choose to reject God’s call and fail to pursue God’s plan.

Conclusion

Gideon made a difference because the power of God was actively at work in his life.

In order for the power of God to be active in one’s life you must have a relationship with God.

A relationship with God is only available to you and I through Jesus Christ.

Logically, the first step to becoming a “DIFFERENCE MAKER” is to begin a relationship with God through faith in Jesus Christ.

Again we recognize that Gideon was able to be a “Difference Maker” because he answered God’s call and yielded himself to God’s plan

Gideon was an unlikely deliverer for the nation of Israel but God was able to transform Gideon into the mighty man of valor He already knew that he could be.

Gideon was certainly hesitant to follow God’s leading, but once he received confirmation of God’s will he surrendered to it and was able to win a mighty victory.

Will you answer God’s call today and let God make you into what He would have you to be so that He can use you to make a difference in this world?

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