Strength In The Battle
Before we get into today’s message, I want to share a quick testimony from someone whose life has been transformed by Jesus in our church. This person recently said...
“Before attending City Awakening, I was always lost about what the point of life is, beyond working and providing for others. I would think endlessly about what path I was on, and whether or not I would live to see the next day. But then Jesus transformed my life through my wife, who helped me discover who Jesus is and how he died for my sins. Ever since then, my life has taken on a new meaning. I believe Jesus has given me a new life, a new family, a new community, and a new path. I was always lost, depressed, and didn't know my true purpose in life. But I’ve now found meaning and purpose in Jesus, and City Awakening has provided me with a loving and very informative Christian community, which has continued to deepen my faith in Jesus.”
Let’s give God praise for this testimony!...This testimony is evidence that Jesus is still transforming people’s lives today in and through our church. It’s evidence that when you volunteer, financially give, and invite people to our church, it’s having an impact on people’s lives. So let’s keep volunteering, giving, and inviting, so we can keep impacting more lives in the future. Let’s keep Reaching People and Reaching The World, with the life-transformative message of Jesus.
Now as for today, we’re continuing our teaching series on a book of the bible called Judges. We’re calling this series Broken Saviors, and it’s about how everybody needs a savior at some point in life. Sometimes we face situations beyond our control, and we need a savior to save us. The problem is we often turn to things that aren’t a real savior; they’re a broken savior. What are those things for you?...What are those things you’ve been turning to, hoping they’ll save you from the situations, struggles, battles you’re facing in life?...Are those things you’re turning to a real savior or a broken savior?...Today we’re talking about finding strength for the battles of life, by finding strength in a real savior, not a broken savior. Let’s turn to Judges 6 and get into it. If you’re new to the bible, just open the bible to the middle and keep turning left until you find the book of Judges. We’ll be in Judges Ch. 6:1-40. Title of the message for those of you taking notes is Strength In The Battle, and here’s the big idea of the message. The God who is with you is greater than the battles in front of you...The God who is with you is greater than the battles in front of you...
Here’s your context. The book of Judges records the historical events that happened after the Israelites were freed from their Egyptian slavery and entered the Promised Land. They were supposed to live in the Promised Land and be faithful to the Lord wherever they were planted, but instead they started being unfaithful to the Lord. They started going through a continual cycle of sin, suffering, and crying out to the Lord for salvation. So the Lord raises up some judges, some leaders to save them, but they’re all broken saviors, including Gideon who we’re about to study now. The story of Gideon is several chapters, so we’ll break his story down into 3 messages. For this week’s message, our focus is on God’s promise to be with Gideon in the battle. Let’s check it out.
The Word:
Judges 6:1-40 states, “The Israelites did what was evil in the sight of the Lord. So the Lord handed them over to Midian for seven years, 2 and they oppressed Israel. Because of Midian, the Israelites made hiding places for themselves in the mountains, caves, and strongholds. 3 Whenever the Israelites planted crops, the Midianites, Amalekites, and people of the east came and attacked them. 4 They encamped against them and destroyed the produce of the land...They left nothing for Israel to eat...5 and they entered the land to lay waste to it. 6 So Israel became poverty-stricken because of Midian, and the Israelites cried out to the Lord.” At this point it seems like the Israelites are following the same cycle of sin, suffering, and salvation. The text says they did what was evil, they’re suffering oppressive consequences for their sins, and they cry out to the Lord for salvation. Vs. 2 says their suffering has reached the point where they’ve been forced out of their homes, and they’re hiding in mountains and caves. Vs. 3-5 says they’re also starving, because the Midianites keep attacking and destroying their crops. They’re suffering, they’re being oppressed, and they’re in bad shape, so they cry out to the Lord for help. At this point it seems like they’re following the same cycle of sin, suffering, and salvation. But the Lord’s about to do something different to disrupt that cycle, which is to send them someone else before sending them a Judge.
Vs. 7, “When the Israelites cried out to him because of Midian, 8 the Lord sent a prophet to them. He said to them, ‘This is what the Lord God of Israel says: ‘I brought you out of Egypt and out of the place of slavery. 9 I rescued you from the power of Egypt and the power of all who oppressed you. I drove them out before you and gave you their land. 10 I said to you: I am the Lord your God. Do not fear the gods of the Amorites whose land you live in. But you did not obey me.’”The Israelites cry out to the Lord for help, and the Lord sends them a prophet instead of another Judge. We aren’t given the prophet’s name, but we’re given the prophet’s message. He’s reminding the Israelites to remember God’s faithfulness and to repent for their unfaithfulness. The implication is that the Israelites are crying out to the Lord because of their suffering, but not because of their sinfulness. They’re grieving over their suffering, but they’re not grieving over their sin hurting God’s heart. When you grieve over your sin you need to check what you’re really grieving over. Are you grieving over the suffering, grieving over the consequences, or are you grieving over your sin hurting God’s heart? True repentance doesn’t just grieve over suffering from consequences; it grieves over hurting God’s heart. If you just grieve over suffering from consequences, then as soon as the consequences go away or subside, you’ll go back to that sin again. It’s because your heart was really grieved over the consequences, and it wasn’t grieved enough over hurting God’s heart. Tim Keller states, “Regret is all about us. How I’m being hurt, how my life is ruined, how my heart is breaking. But repentance is all about God. How he’s been grieved, how his nature as Creator and Redeemer is being trampled on, how his repeated saving actions are being trivialized and used manipulatively...God’s response to the Israelites crying shows they are regretful for what they’ve lost, but they’re not repenting for their idolatry.” So God sends them a prophet before he sends a judge, so they’ll remember God and genuinely repent over their sins hurting God’s heart.
Vs. 11, “The angel of the Lord came, and he sat under the oak that was in Ophrah, which belonged to Joash, the Abiezrite. His son Gideon was threshing wheat in the winepress to hide it from the Midianites.” So after the Lord sends the prophet to preach a message urging the Israelites to remember and repent, he finally sends them a Judge named Gideon. This is the 5th judge in the book of Judges, and what we’re learning here about Gideon is that he’s scared. The text says he’s threshing wheat in a winepress to hide it from the Midianites. That isn’t how they threshed wheat back then. What they’d do is step outside, throw the wheat in the air, and let the wind blow away the lighter, useless stuff, while the heavier, good stuff would fall back down. But the reason Gideon’s threshing wheat secretly inside a winepress, is because he’s afraid of the Midianites.
Vs. 12, “Then the angel of the Lord appeared to him and said, ‘The Lord is with you, valiant warrior.’” Gideon’s hiding in a hole scared, but the reason he’s called a valiant warrior is because the angel knows what Gideon’s about to become. Gideon’s scared now, but with God’s presence he’ll be transformed into a valiant warrior later. It’s a great reminder that with God’s presence in your life, the person you are today isn’t who you’ll become later. Your life might be a mess now, but with God’s presence your life will be transformed into something better later.
Again vs. 12, “Then the angel of the Lord appeared and said, ‘The Lord is with you, valiant warrior.’ 13 Gideon said, ‘If the Lord is with us, then why has all this happened? And where are all his wonders our ancestors told us about? They said, ‘Hasn’t the Lord brought us out of Egypt?’ But now the Lord has abandoned us and handed us over to Midian.’” Notice Gideon questions if God is really with him. He says, “If that’s true! If God’s really with us, then why has he abandoned us!” But God didn’t abandon them, they abandoned God! Instead of trusting God’s presence in his suffering, his suffering is causing him to question God’s presence. We sometimes do the same thing! Instead of trusting God’s presence in our suffering, we sometimes let our suffering cause us to question God’s presence. But God is reminding Gideon to trust his presence in suffering.
Vs. 14, “The Lord turned to him and said, ‘Go in the strength you have and deliver Israel from the grasp of Midian. I am sending you!’ 15 Gideon said to him, ‘Please Lord, how can I deliver Israel? Look, my family is the weakest in Manasseh, and I’m the youngest in my father’s family.’ 16 ‘But I will be with you,’ the Lord said to him. ‘You’ll strike Midian down as if it were one man.’” It appears like Gideon’s now talking directly to the Lord, and he flinches again saying, “You want me to deliver Israel, but how can I do that when I’m so weak?” The Lord responds saying, “I will be with you!” It’s the second time the Lord promises to be with him, and it’s where we get the big idea of the message from, which is that the God who is with you is greater than the battles in front of you. I mean Gideon’s right that he can’t save Israel by relying on his own strength, but he can save Israel by relying on God’s strength. He can save Israel by relying on God’s presence and power being with him, because the God who is with him is greater than the battles in front of him.
Vs. 17, “Then Gideon said to him, ‘If I’ve found favor with you, give me a sign that you’re speaking with me.” So the Lord gives Gideon a sign, which you can read about in vs. 17-24, and it helps strengthen Gideon’s faith. It helps strengthen his faith so he can start becoming the valiant warrior God’s called him to be. He’s starting to realize that God really is with him in the battles.
Vs. 25, “On that very night the Lord said to him, ‘Tear down the altar of Baal that belongs to your father...’ Vs. 27, ‘So Gideon took ten of his male servants and did as the Lord told him. But he was too afraid of his father’s family and the men of the city to do it in the daytime, so he did it at night.” The Lord wants Gideon to tear down this pagan altar of Baal, but he’s too afraid to do it during the day, so he does it at night. The fact that this pagan altar of Baal was in his own father’s house shows once again that God didn’t abandon the Israelites; it’s the Israelites who abandoned God. Gideon’s own father was worshiping a pagan God named Baal, and the Lord had Gideon tear down the altar of Baal, which the Canaanites and Midianites believed was a crime punishable by death. So Gideon has good reason to be scared, but he does what the Lord asks even though he’s scared. It’s because he trusts God is with him in the battles. The next morning the people find out and start searching for Gideon to kill him. But listen to what Gideon’s father says.
Vs. 31, “But Joash said, ‘Would you plead Baal’s case for him? Would you save him?...If he is a god, let him plead his own case because someone tore down his altar.’ 32 That day Gideon was called Jerubbaal...” Notice Gideon’s father Joash says if he is a god, meaning if Baal is a real god, then let him defend his own name. Let him strike Gideon dead for tearing down his altar. But Gideon ends up surviving because their pagan god Baal isn’t any match for the real God. Their pagan god Baal isn’t a real god like Gideon’s God. So they give Gideon the nickname Jerubbaal, which means let Baal contend with him. It means he’s a Baal Butt Whooper, and every time they see him walking around alive, it’s a reminder that Gideon serves the real God and it isn’t Baal. But in vs. 33-35 the Midianites decide to launch a major attack against the Israelites. So Gideon gathers some warriors and asks the Lord for another sign to confirm that God is still with him in this battle.
Vs. 36, “Then Gideon said to God, ‘If you’ll deliver Israel by me as you said, 37 I will put a wool fleece here on the threshing floor. If dew is only on the fleece, and all the ground is dry, I will know you’ll deliver Israel by me as you said.’ 38 And that’s what happened...39 Gideon then said to God, ‘Don’t be angry with me; let me speak one more time. Please allow me to make one more test with the fleece. Let it remain dry, and the dew be all over the ground.’ 40 That night God did as Gideon requested: only the fleece was dry, and dew was all over the ground.” Now some people think Gideon’s wrong for asking God to give him a sign, especially because God already promised he’d be with him in these battles. But if what he’s doing is wrong, then why did God do as Gideon requested? He did what Gideon requested to help grow Gideon’s faith and confidence in God’s presence being with him in the battle. But the point of these verses isn’t to focus on Gideon’s fleece method of discernment; it’s to focus on God’s patience and presence with Gideon. We’re to focus on how God knew Gideon was scared, so he’s patient with Gideon and answers Gideon’s request. God gives Gideon the sign he’s asking for to help grow his faith and confidence in God’s presence being with him in the battle. Next week we’ll learn in ch. 7 that Gideon trusts the Lord and goes to fight the Midianites. With God’s presence in his life, he goes from being scared Gideon to being transformed into a valiant warrior, who trusts God in the battle. So here’s what all this means for us today. Here’s what all this means for us in our battles. It means...
#1 Rely on God before the battle, not just because of the battle. You need to rely on God before the battle, not just because of the battle. In the book of Judges we see the Israelites keep turning to God because of the battle, but not before the battle. They keep abandoning God until they’re in a battle. It takes them hitting rock bottom before turning to God. So in Judges 6 he sends a prophet to remind them to rely on him daily, not just as a last resort. He wants you to rely onhim daily, not just as a last resort. So rely on God before the battle, not just because of the battle.
#2 Rely on God’s presence for strength, not your limitations. You need to rely on God’s presence for strength in the battle, not your limitations in the battle. Gideon started out relying on his limitations, which had him hiding in a hole threshing wheat in fear. But he started transforming into a valiant warrior when he started trusting in God’s presence for strength in the battle. He still had moments where he was scared, which is why he kept asking God for signs. But the only thing that transformed him into a valiant warrior was when he started relying on God’s presence for strength in the battle instead of his limitations in the battle. It’s when he started believing in God’s promise, which is that God would be with him. What if you believed that promise for your life too?...What if you didn’t just say you believed God is with you, but you actually lived like God is with you?...Gideon’s life was transformed when he started believing and living like God was with him. What areas in your life do you need to start believing and living like God is with you?...I know those of us who are Christians believe God is with us, but we can sometimes forget this when we’re in a battle. We can sometimes be like Gideon was in vs. 12-13 saying, “If you really love me and are with me, then why are you letting this happen to me? Why have you abandoned me?” You can cry that out to God, but you also need to remember you’ve been given the assurance that God loves you and is always with you through faith in Christ on the cross, which is #3.
#3 Rely on faith in the cross, not a fleece on the ground. You need to rely on faith in the cross, not a fleece on the ground. Gideon kept asking for assurance that God would be with him, and he used a fleece on the ground to discern if God was with him. But we don’t need to use a fleece on the ground because we have Christ on the cross. Through the cross we’re given the assurance that God loves us and is always with us. The cross proves he loves us, because he died for us. And the resurrection proves he’s always with us, because he’s a real living savior, not a dead broken savior. He’s a real living savior you can go to before the battles and because of the battles. He's a real living savior you can go to for strength in every battle you’ll ever face in life, knowing he loves you and is always with you in the battle. Jesus said in John 16:33, “You’ll have suffering in this world. But be courageous, because I’ve overcome the world.” He also said in Matthew 28:20, “Remember, I am with you always...” Jesus warns that we’ll face suffering, we’ll face battles in life, but he also promises to be with us in those battles. Through reading the bible, prayer, and the power of his living Holy Spirit, he’ll guide us through daily life and every battle we’ll ever face in life. You don’t need a fleece on the ground, when you have faith in Christ on the cross. It’s because the cross proves he loves you, and the resurrection proves he’s always with you.
The big idea of the message is the God who is with you is greater than the battles in front of you...The God who is with you is greater than the battles in front of you...We’re going to face battles in life, and sometimes those battles can feel very overwhelming. But we need to remember God’s promise to Gideon is his promise to everyone who puts their faith in Jesus. We need to remember God will be with us in the battle, and we need to find our strength in him. He doesn’t promise we’ll never face battles; he promises he’ll be with us in the battles. So what battles are you facing right now?...What battles, what things are you struggling with?...What areas in your life do you need to start believing and living like Jesus is with you?...Instead of turning to broken saviors and other false Baal gods of this world, turn to the real living savior Jesus today. Trust that he loves you, he’s always with you, and he’s always greater than the battles in front of you...