What’s Your Call

Judges 6-8 (Judges 6:1-16)

Intro: Most of us here have been waiting for it.  That one call we have hoping for, praying for, expecting for.  It might have been a call back for that job we feel we would be happy doing as a life long career.  Or maybe it is from a family member who has been to the doctor, dealing with a health concern.  Perhaps it is from a friend who has some news about a concern you have been both praying about.  Either way, you are waiting for a call.  An answer to a question you have been asking for some time.  In many ways, we approach our lives like we are waiting for a call from God.  Waiting for our ringtone version of Amazing Grace to go off so we can move forward in our walk with the Lord.  However, sometimes it is when we are not waiting that God speaks to us, calling us to something.  Gideon was someone like us, who was not even waiting for a call, yet was used mightily by God to accomplish his purposes in Gideon and in Israel.

Context: The story of Gideon is set in the book of Judges, which is set in time in Israel’s history when the Judges provided political and spiritual leadership to Israel.  This was a very rocky time in Israel’s history.  They had entered the Promised Land under Joshua’s leadership, and conquered much of the land.  However, they had not fully obeyed God’s instructions to wipe out the Canaanites.  Because of this failure, Israel found themselves constantly influenced by the pagan religions around them.  They kept becoming more like their neighbours, breaking their covenant with Yahweh, the Lord God.  For this reason, because God is just and keeps His Word, God sent discipline in the form of neighbouring nations to come and oppress Israel.  This punishment would cause Israel to realize their sin, and turn back to the Lord.  Then God would send a delivering leader, a judge to lead Israel.  Then their would be a time of faithfulness to the Lord.  However, the next generation would turn form the Lord, become like their neighbours, and the cycle would start over.  Israel goes through this cycle throughout the book of Judges, even after Gideon up into the time that David becomes king.

Story:  The story of Gideon is an often repeated story in Sunday school, and we often refer to “laying out a fleece”, which comes directly from this story (Side note: fleece does not equal faith, but lack of faith).  The text of the story of Gideon is contained in Chapters 6, 7, and 8 of the book of Judges.  Israel is oppressed by the Midianites, so they cry out to the Lord.  God comes to Gideon while he is threshing wheat in secret.  God reveals his call for Gideon, to which Gideon replies with hesitancy, but a step of obedience by destroying the town idols.  After this, we read the well-known story of laying out the fleece portion of the story, where Gideon, not once but twice.  After the Lord gives him the sign he asked for, he prepares to go into battle.  After the Lord whittles Gideon’s army down to 300 men (against which they will fight over 100,000 men), he provides another confirmation they will be victorious.  After a miraculous intervention by the Lord in the battle, Israel is victorious in battle over Midian.  Again, I suggest you read the entire story of Gideon on your own.  Focusing on the first part of Gideon’s story, I think there are three points we can learn

1st Point

God’s Call is not based on our greatness

Look at verses 15 and 16 of chapter 6 (Judges 6:15-16).  Gideon is from some small jerk water clan in Israel, yet it is he who God calls.  The idea of Gideon being from small family is repeated again in 8:2.  This is a continual theme throughout Scripture.  From Genesis, where God calls Abraham, chooses Jacob over Esau, and uses Joseph to save Israel, to the choosing of David as king, though he is the youngest and not even considered great amongst his family, to the NT, where Jesus himself is placed as an underdog in the world’s eyes.  God often chooses and calls those who do not have much to “offer”.  Why?  Look at Judges 7:2: “The Lord said to Gideon, ‘You have too many men for me to deliver Midian into their hands. In order that Israel may not boast against me that her own strength has saved her’”.  Too many times, when we rely on natural gifts, it becomes easier to boast about successes as our successes, and not the Lord’s.  God favors underdogs.  The Christian band in their song Underdog, (play clip).  So does that mean those of us who have little will always have plenty of faith.  Not necessarily…

2nd Point

Our lack of faith does not disqualify God’s Call

While Gideon recognized his lack of standing, he allowed it to become a stumbling block for faith.  Look at the number of times Gideon is asking for a sign.  First, he asks for an initial sign in Judges 6:17-21.  Now one would hope and guess that one sign should be enough to satisfy Gideon, but then in Judges 6:36-40, Gideon asks for the well-documented fleece test, not once but twice.  Even after this Gideon still had his doubts.  Look at Judges 7:9-11: “During that night the Lord said to Gideon, “Get up, go down against the camp, because I am going to give it into your hands. If you are afraid to attack, go down to the camp with your servant Purah and listen to what they are saying. Afterward, you will be encouraged to attack the camp.”  We can discern even on the eve of battle, Gideon still had his doubts.  Yet God did not give up on Gideon.  Gideon’s lack of faith did not disqualify him.  Recently Time magazine released an article about Mother Teresa and letters she wrote, describing the extended dark times in her walk with Christ.  There are some out in the world that question how someone who had such doubts really fulfill God’s call.  But she is not the first.  Many strong Christian leaders in history have struggled with doubt.  So why did God continue to bless them.  Despite their struggles, they would obey no matter what.

3rd Point

God’s Call Demands Our Obedience

Despite his doubts, Gideon still was obedient to the Lord.  In Judges 6:25-28, Gideon destroys the idolatrous altars and builds altars to the Lord.  In Judges 7:1-8, Gideon obeys the Lord in whittling his army down from 22,000 men to 300 men, knowing that the odds will be well against them.  Gideon, despite doubt, fulfilled his call through obedience.  When God calls us, we are called to a life of obedience.  God guides us places in our life where our obedience will be tested.  We can obey, or we can choose to not obey.  Gideon could have given up quickly, yet he persevered in obedience.  We see this throughout Israel’s history.  God had called Israel out of slavery in Egypt.  God had miraculously delivered them and had established His covenant with them.  The trip through the desert should have only taken 40 days to the Promised Land.  Yet because they would not obey God, it took 40 years and cost an entire generation a chance to see the fulfillment of God’s promises.  As well, God had called Israel to be a light to the nations, yet they became so enamoured by their neighbours, they ended up becoming like their pagan neighbours, but seemingly more so.  God’s call demands that we obey Him, if we wish to see what He can do through us.

Application:

1)      Do not think that because you are not “talented” God can not or will not, use you.  If God has called you, He will give you what you need to accomplish His plan for you. Remember Jer 29:11: ”For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” God will not call you to a task without giving you the tools necessary for success.

2)      It is okay to not be sure.  This may seem funny coming from a pulpit, especially when we place so much emphasis on have a strong faith.  A strong faith does not mean that you will never be discouraged or have doubts.  It means you are human, and God is “gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and rich in love” (Ps 145:8).  He knows we are not always going to trust Him 100% all the time.  Often times He will provides places to tangibl look and see His faithfulness and provision.  Many of us here today could tell stories of how God has answered prayer when we were unsure of what to do next. 

3)      Despite those times when we are unsure, we still need to obey God.  That will mean at times we will need to make a step of faith.  Realistically, 300 men should not have routed 100,000 men, but Gideon still obeyed, believing God would deliver.  God will call us to things that will test our obedience.  We will be stretched and will have to take the proverbial “leap of faith”.  But we can trust what God is asking us to do in obedience is for our good, even if it does not turn out the way we imagined.  What we need to do is to obey, because without obedience, we will never see God’s best for us.

Closing

Gideon’s life should be encouraging to us today.  He was a simple man, with not a lot to offer, yet God used him mightily, to save Israel from the hands of the Midianites.  He struggled with issues of faith, like many of us here today, even this guy here at the pulpit.  God did not condemn him, but answered his honest prayers for assurance.  God wants us to trust him, and does answer those prayers when we are not quite sure what to do.  Finally, the one thing Gideon did accomplish, despite his doubts about himself, was to obey fully, believing the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob would be with him.  Even while we struggle, we need to obey, trusting that Jesus is with us, in the midst of the trial, strengthening us and making our path straight.