Gideon: Seeing God’s Strength (Part 1 of 2)

When light is easy can find ourselves forgetting about God and calling on him only during the hard times. What happens when we ignore God, and we rely on ourselves today on Truth for Life. Alastair Begg explores the answer by studying the strange predicament of God's people and are reluctant leader invite you to turn with me to the book of Judges and to chapter 6 what I'd like to do is to spend today and tomorrow morning with the story of Gideon and I can't take time to read all the way through all of it, but perhaps I'll just turn you to verse 34 of Judges 6 which means then the spirit of the Lord came upon Gideon and he blew a trumpet spirit of the Lord came upon Gideon and the blue trumpet and in chapter 7 and in verse two 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.

The great danger that presents itself in preaching out of Old Testament narrative is the danger of a dreadful kind of devotional preaching. I don't mean that all devotional preaching is dreadful. But there is a dreadful kind of devotional preaching the kind of sermon title. I would've a great chunk of Old Testament narrative which would run something like Gideon blew his trumpet, why don't you blow yours and the key to this kind of preaching is that you read the Bible you close the Bible and you never refer to the Bible again are dealing with the locusts in your life or or squeezing the fleece is only funny because you preach some of these in your and you're annoyed that I am mentioned them so we remind ourselves that if we are going to preach effectively from the Bible we must under must always be men under control. First, that we would obviously be under the control of the direction of the Holy Spirit. But then that we would be under the control of the text itself, and if there are only three things in the purchase of real estate, namely location, location and location. Then there are only three things in the faithful exposition of Scripture context context context, and in order to safeguard the kind of leaps into oblivion which can be very impressive to the unschooled. We must always try our best to ensure that we pay attention to the context in which the varus is set and the context in which the surrounding verses are set. I simply say that in passing, because all of us want to be better at our preaching. I'm sure one of the great dangers for as is that, for example, when we are preaching from the book of Corinthians.

We are very keen to get from the text to Chicago or to Cleveland. This is what first Corinthians 3 says, and we are in Chicago and this is what it means and it is possible for us to do it without ever paying attention to what it had to say to Corinth and the only way to get effectively to Chicago is to go via Corinth and the only way to get effectively to the application of these verses is of course to pay very careful attention to the historic context in which these matters arise, we can I think identify the fact that your in the book of Judges there is a rate cutting cycle which is taking place, and in this recurring cycle of events we read the story of Gideon and it is vitally important that we understand that the story of what God is doing with Gideon finds its significance. Ultimately, and only in the wider story of what God is doing with his people and it is for that reason that it is very very important that we do not make the application simply from Gideon to ourselves immediately, but that we recognize that that which was true of the people of God in an earlier era is the first point of identification with the people of God in the present era and that we will find ourselves mirrored in this sad recurring cycle of events into which God places his choice servants, not least of all this interesting chap by the name of Gideon God's purpose throughout all of time has been to redeem for himself a people that are his very own, and his focus throughout of all of time is upon that people who on his very own, and it is important we understand it.

Also because it serves as a healthy reminder in a generation that is increasingly preoccupied with individuals and with personalities.

It is not that individuals are irrelevant or that personalities have no significance but it is that in the unfolding plan of what God is doing in the totality of his kingdom in that unfolding plan, individuals find significance, but none of those whom God has raised up to be useful to him, whether known or unknown, whether apparently prominent or un-prominent none of us has any significance apart from the overarching end unfolding plan and purpose of God from eternity to eternity and the message of Gideon is therefore to be understood in light of that, whatever the story of Gideon is about. I suggest to you it is a classic illustration of what Paul says in two Corinthians 12 nine the Lord speaks to Paul in his weakness and he says to my grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness. Whatever else the story of Gideon is. It is a story of the weakness of the people God chooses to use it is a story of the apparently overwhelming strength of the enemy and it is a story of God's methods of perfecting his own strength in the expedience of weakness. The Lord said to Gideon, you have too many men for me to deliver Midian into their hands.

Why, in order that Israel may not be self reliance, in order that Israel may not boast that they have done this in their own power or strength, and since God's concern is to get glory to his name and since he will share his glory with no one else. It is his express purpose to pick up the most unlikely individuals to put them together in the most uncertain kind of army so that when victory is established, both those within the forces, and those who observe the victory may know God surely did this and it is to that of course in pastoral ministry. We must continually be giving attention. The enemy were told, had too many people to count. That's verse five of chapter 6 and God's people were too many in this case to be victorious. So another words the chapters provide for as a necessary corrective to the prevailing preoccupation in evangelicalism with numbers, skill and self-congratulation we are riddled with it. We have embraced it to such a degree that it is impossible for us now to disengage ourselves sufficiently to be able to be objective enough about how endemic the issue really is. Let's take a look at God's people, and then let's take a look at God's servant were in chapter 6. What are we told of God's people were were told that again the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord. Now this is the expression of the cycle. If you turn over back one page in your Bible to the 31st verse of Judges 5 that ends then the land had peace for 40 years. So after 40 years of peace. Here we go all over again.

Just when we might have anticipated that they had finally cracked it that he had understood it that the pathway of trust and of obedience was clear to them, we turn the page and here we go again. Again, the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord and for seven years.

He gave them into the hands of the Midianites and the world according to verse two oppressed so we find the people of God oppressed and the strength of the oppression, the strength of the opposition against them is the depicted father is there. As we find them prepending shelters for themselves in moans and clefts hiding in caves creating strongholds and finding themselves on the receiving end of the devastating intervention of the Midianites, the Amalekites and all the host of other Eastern peoples who invaded the country and they came whenever the fence he took them to Murad.

The place to burn the crops to pillage them and to return to the place that they come from the people of God would oppressed and whenever these folks chose it would seem they would come they would attack and they would destroy no the societies of the oppression is given description there in the second half of verse five when they put down their livestock and their tenants. They were like swarms of locusts, and it was impossible to count the men and their camels and they invaded the land to ravage it.

So quite straightforwardly. As we look at the text. The first thing we notice is that the people of God went back to the same nonsense they began to do evil again in the sight of the Lord and he found themselves oppressed. They found themselves according to verse six impoverished and the oppression and the impoverishment were interwoven, ruined crops, livestock destroyed and the sense of the enemies against them being of such an overwhelming dimension that they could do nothing to stop them and right at the very beginning of it all. We read the phrase for seven years, God gave them into the hands of the Midianites. God took his own people. The object of his special affection and he ordered the events of their lives so as to ensure that they would expedience in their physical frames in their hearts in their minds and their families in their worship the devastating impact of what happens when the people of God become self-reliant, it cannot be done without cost. It will never be done without pain. And God is true to his word today as he was then into this land of too many people God had given his own people, and so is before the folks cry out to him and when the Israelites cried out to the Lord because of Midian. Verse seven you see the cycle rebellion retribution. I cry for rescue, some posture, at least of repentance. When the Israelites cried out to the Lord because of Midian. It doesn't say he send them a savior, but he sent them a profit. Now this is what we'd seen before. Back in chapter 4. Exact same thing. The people had found themselves on the receiving end of all this kind of oppression and in that instance. It was Deborah, a prophetess who was leading Israel at that time and God had raised it up along with panic for this express purpose. What is the profit do while the prophet speaks because that's what prophets are supposed to do, but he doesn't speak to them in the way that they might have wanted nor does he speak to them in the way that they might have feared, they might've wanted him to say you know God is been a little displeased with you, but he's not very displeased and is glad to hear that you're wising up and so I want you to know that it doesn't really matter and have a nice day.

They might've expected and hope for that kind of message they might've feared. On the other hand, the prophet would come and say if you think this is bad when you see what the next seven years are going to rely but neither of the two things happen. The prophet simply brings a word of explanation. He send them a prophetess said this is what the Lord, the God of Israel says I brought you up out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.

They could remember that I snatched you from the power of Egypt and from the hand of all your oppressors.

I drove them from before you and give you their land.

I said to you. I am the Lord your God.

Do not worship the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you live, but you have not listened to me the word of the prophet was not in this case, a word of condemnation. It was a word of explanation and the prophet came to revealed to the people.

The incongruity of doing what they were doing. After all, says God through his servant. I did this for you. I redeemed you with an outstretched hand.

I brought you safely to this place. I have protected you all along the way. And yet here you are, despite all of that and you don't listen to me leavens, I want to pause here to make a point of application. The prophetic voice is very necessary in our day.

I don't mean now, words of prophecy that predict the future I'll leave that aside I done about the prophetic voice in terms of the voice of the prophet speaking the word of God with clarity to the people of God in their generation, the voice if you like of John the Baptist was a forerunner, who is a finger-pointing is a light shining is if he's a voice crying but he knows he's not the bridegroom. He knows that he's just the best man but he is able to speak into his generation in a way that both understands the times in which the generation is living and understands the word of God for those times.

In other words, the great need in every generation is for man like the men of insecure, of whom it is said is you know that they understood the times and he knew what Israel ought to do another great need for the people of God. In this context was on account of the fight that they did not understand the time they did not understand and therefore God sent them a profit to ensure that the wood understand this is part of the pastoral responsibility part of the definition of preaching is surely best to ensure that people understand not first to ensure that they feel not first to ensure that they are in molted but to ensure that the understand and we can never make others understand what we do not understand our cell. Now your sensible men and women you judge for yourselves. Is it is it wrong for me to say that we're living in an era of great cluelessness when you find books that in the airport. As you travel. I saw one not so long ago it comes to mind as I speak is not in my notes but I think the book was entitled what ever happened to common sense and someone had written a book of you know that the most sensible stuff I guess you know like tie your shoelaces brush her teeth like that essential things and you see how could anybody ever make money simply explaining these routine things while as a culture gets increasingly crazy.

Common sense is at a premium and as the people of God, get increasingly confused.

Common sense and spiritual theological biblical terms is increasingly at a premium. There is in our generation and increasing lack of spiritual discernment there is in our generation. I suggest to you, and increasing theological vagueness, a blurring of the distinctives that I've always marked historic evangelical Christianity, and it is passing people, by and therefore for today. We need to pray God that he would raise up people who with sensitivity to people sensitivity to his words bold, unashamed conviction of the rightness of God's truth to stand up and say hey this is what God says no that's what we want. We don't want stories when one jokes we want to hear what God has to say when our people, and the Lord's day, they want to hear from God. They don't care about your grandmother. Frankly, they're not so concerned about the funny story that you got from the Reader's Digest. They're not interested in the fight you've got a great closer about golden retriever that got run over by a freight train all that stuff.

That stuff is bogus. Ultimately by the due long to hear the voice of God, and it is our conviction that when the word of God is truly preached. The voice of God is truly Herod and that is the word which comes here.

God says I Herod your cry. Interestingly enough, you want me to listen to you but funnily enough, you don't want to listen to me is not what it says they cried to him all God listen to us and God comes by and he says in his servant. Interestingly enough, you have and listen to my voice. But you know I've as I move around I I find people wondering I'm going does anybody here know was going on consultant he was going on, you're not listening to me that's the issue in Hebrews. That's why you have all these warning passages in Hebrews. Is it not what's the great warning in Hebrews chapter 2 and verse one we must pay more careful attention. Therefore, to what we have heard so that we don't drift away and what was a problem with the folks in chapter 4. It was the message that they Herod that they had preached to them was of absolutely no value to them because although they Herod that they did not combine it with faith.

They were akin to those who die in the wilderness with her fingers in their ears and their hands over their eyes and so says one commentator, in light of all of this, it is no coincidence that innumerable Midianites are sent as a punishment for the rejection of innumerable Maxis see God said you been singing great is thy faithfulness and I know that you know those things. But why are you not listening to me and so in order to get you to fasten back your ears. I'm going to bring you under. Of retribution. We have a difficulty fitting this into many of our theologies, but the Bible has no difficulty with her tall, it's not hidden in some covert somewhere in an obscure passage of Scripture. It sits on the very surface of Scripture, and I think it is actually an explanation as to where the church in the West is the present time are we paying attention tuning in listening to what God has to say this is Truth for Life Alister bread with part one of a message titled Gideon seeing God's strength. Alister continues this message tomorrow. Being a believer is a lifelong pursuit of getting to know God better. It's an ongoing journey involves studying the Bible, meaning a deeper understanding of who God is one of the best ways we can learn more about them is by exploring his attributes. And that's the subject of the book we want to recommend to you today.

The title is easy to remember is called God is.

This is a book that explores 26 unique attributes of God. Each chapter dedicates a few pages to a specific characteristic in each chapter closes by answering the question, how does Christ show this attribute and what is it mean for my life as a Christian. This is an outstanding book to help you increase your understanding of God's nature, and it's a book you want to return to over and over again as you spend time alone with God and meditation and prayer request your copy of the book God is today when you give a donation to Truth for Life.

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