What About Me God?

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Good morning, CHURCH!

Welcome to FFM where we are here to connect people to the love of God through biblical teaching, loving community, and relational small groups.

(Introduction)

Here we are on the first Sunday of 2024.

And you’ve found yourselves gathering together with the other believers to start off the year.

I hope your year is going well so far.

I have some good news for you and some bad news for you.

It happens to be the same news. So, it will be taken as good news to some of you and it will be taken as bad news to some of you.

I’m all out of jokes to start my messages.

But I will say this. If you want to know who in your family or circle of friends is really saved or not, just go with them to see the new Color Purple movie.

If they don’t get at least a little emotional at some point during that movie, they need to either get saved or get in touch with their emotions.

Are you ready to be equipped today?

Let me see your Bibles.

Pray

Lord, help us to see you as new and fresh through your word today.

Help us to see truth where we have believed lies.

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Help us to see where we have been deceived by the enemy.

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Most of all let us see how much you love us.

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Let’s go to the book of Colossians 2:6-7 ESV for this week’s wisdom Vaccination.

We know that the Bible says without faith it’s impossible to please God.

Let’s take a look at a scripture in Colossians chapter 2.

This Week’s Wisdom Vaccination

Colossians 2:6-7 ESV

Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him,7 rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving.

Our walk with the Lord Jesus must be established in the faith.

The writer uses an agriculture term here when he says be rooted in him.

This suggests that our faith in Christ must have deep roots that are connected to biblical truth.

And then he says built up in him. You can’t very well build something up that is going to stand strong without it being rooted well or having a firm foundation.

That word faith is one of the most important words to understand in scripture.

You can’t be saved without it.

And apart from it, you can do nothing of heavenly value.

Faith stripped down is to believe.

To believe what you can’t actually see with your human eyes.

In Hebrew, the word emun speaks of that which is sure, solid, and true.

Add an ah to emun and it becomes the word emunah. The Hebrew word for faith.

And that tells us that faith is linked to what is sure, solid, and true.

Faith isn’t wishful thinking or unrealistic hoping.

Faith has to be linked to that which is rock solid.

There is also another Hebrew word that comes from the same root word as truth and faith.

And it even sounds like emun. It’s the word amen.

To say, amen, is to say, it’s true, I agree, yes.

So, we could say faith is to give your amen or agreement to what is sure, solid and true about God.

Let’s get into today’s message.

I still have one more message to close out the series, The Gift of Gratitude.

But I felt impressed by the Spirit of God that after that word we received on New Year’s Eve, Don’t Forget the Lord, there were going to be some people that the enemy tried to attack right out the gate in 2024.

I pray that it is not you but if it is you tune in and listen.

If it’s not you, deposit this message into your account so if the enemy tries to come for you, you can make this withdrawal.

There are some of you that the enemy has told to look and see how God seems to be with some of your teammates and others that you know but not necessarily with you.

The enemy told you to look at your ancestors and kin folk and see how God seemed to be with them, but what about you.

You seem to be praying the right prayers.

You feel like you have faith in God.

You are not practicing sin which is disobedience to God.

But you still don’t feel like God is taking care of your needs.

Today’s message title is:

What About Me God?

Our text of scripture for today will be Judges 6 and 7.

Do you recall a passage in the Bible about a woman judge named Deborah.

The Lord had given Israel a victory over Canaan whose King at the time was a man named Jabin.

And Canaan’s military leader was a man named Sisera.

Israel’s general at the time was a Barak.

But Barak was afraid to lead Israel against Canaan.

So, God gave Deborah a prophetic word that Israel would defeat Canaan.

But Barak was still afraid to lead Israel and Barak said he wouldn’t go to war unless Deborah went with him.

Deborah told him that because of this a woman would end up getting the credit for the victory instead of him.

And when Israel had defeated Canaan, Canaan’s leader Sisera tried to flee.

He hid in the tent of a woman named Jael (Yael).

Sisera was thirsty and asked for some water.

Deborah told him to lie down under a blanket to hide in case Israel came looking for him.

And instead of water she gave him milk to make him sleepy.

And then she drove a tent peg into his scull while he was sleeping.

And just as Deborah had prophesied, a woman got the credit for the victory over Canaan.

And after God gave a whopping victory like that for Israel over Canaan, just 40 years later they are no longer walking in obedience the LORD.

They needed that message we got last week on New Year’s eve.

And because of this they found themselves in a predicament.

And today we’re going to see a man who felt the same way some of you may feel today.

Point #1

I don’t feel you God.

As we begin in Judges chapter six the Lord had given the Israelites into the hands of the Midian’s for seven years.

As we pick this up in verse two, we’ll see what state Israel was in.

Judges 6:2 ESV

And the hand of Midian overpowered Israel, and because of Midian the people of Israel made for themselves the dens that are in the mountains and the caves and the strongholds.

They had hidden themselves in the caves because they were that afraid.

Judges 6:3-4 ESV

For whenever the Israelites planted crops, the Midianites and the Amalekites and the people of the East would come up against them. 4 They would encamp against them and devour the produce of the land, as far as Gaza, and leave no sustenance in Israel and no sheep or ox or donkey.

You want to talk about shortage.

Try everything you try to grow it gets taken.

And then they mess with your ability to grow anything else.

This is a bad situation to find yourself in.

Judges 6:6 ESV

And Israel was brought very low because of Midian. And the people of Israel cried out for help to the Lord.

I know some of you have been crying out to the Lord for help.

Judges 6:8 ESV

the Lord sent a prophet to the people of Israel. And he said to them, “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: I led you up from Egypt and brought you out of the house of slavery.

God was simply about to remind them what part they played in getting to the point they were.

Judges 6:9-10 ESV

And I delivered you from the hand of the Egyptians and from the hand of all who oppressed you, and drove them out before you and gave you, their land.

10 And I said to you, ‘I am the Lord your God; you shall not fear the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell.’ But you have not obeyed my voice.”

I can’t speak for anyone in this room or watching online but myself.

I’m not sure I can remember a time that I found myself as an adult in a really bad situation that I couldn’t find some fault of my own as to how I ended up where I was.

But regardless of what I may have done or not done to get myself in the situation I was, there was something in me that all ways asked God why.

Which leads me into my second point.

Point #2

Why am I going through all of this?

Judges 6:11 ESV

Now the angel of the Lord came and sat under the terebinth at Ophrah, which belonged to Joash the Abiezrite, while his son Gideon was beating out wheat in the winepress to hide it from the Midianites.

This is just another sign that Gideon the judge’s son was probably afraid.

Gideon’s name has a few meanings.

One is cutter. One who cuts down. An inspiring image of great strength and ferocity.

Gideon’s name also means hacker.

That’s a term that means unskilled. (They call bad golfers weekend hackers.)

And this is where Gideon see’s himself at the time.

So, you have this unskilled man in a losing position in life, crying out to the Lord for help.

And what does God do?

Judges 6:12 ESV

And the angel of the Lord appeared to him and said to him, “The Lord is with you, O mighty man of valor.”

Not exactly what you would have been looking for or anticipating.

And this is right where some of you are today.

The enemy is trying to get you to think about the situation you see yourself in.

You question if you have the skillset to bring yourself out of the situation.

You question your education.

You question your experience.

You question your connections.

You question if you can catch a break.

But God is seeing you already out of that situation and walking in victory.

Not based on your education.

Not based on your experience.

Not based on your connections.

Not based on your skill set.

If you’re wondering if you can catch a break.

God is trying to tell you he is your break.

But Gideon didn’t get it at first.

Judges 6:13 ESV

And Gideon said to him, “Please, my lord, if the Lord is with us, why then has all this happened to us? And where are all his wonderful deeds that our fathers recounted to us, saying, ‘Did not the Lord bring us up from Egypt?’ But now the Lord has forsaken us and given us into the hand of Midian.”

Everybody keeps on telling me that you have done so many miracles in the lives of our people, your children.

You did bring me to this place which is deliverance from where I was but is that it.

Have you now forsaken me?

Judges 6:14 ESV

And the Lord turned to him and said, “Go in this might of yours and save Israel from the hand of Midian; do not I send you?”

What is this might of yours?

He’s not talking about timid unskilled Gideon’s might.

He’s referring to the might that Gideon would go in knowing that Jehovah God is with him.

Gideon doesn’t realize it, but he’s found himself right where he needs to be.

If he thought he could do it in his own strength, God would not go with him.

But it’s when we know that we can’t do it without God that he shows up and fights for us in ways we couldn’t have even imagined.

Judges 6:15 ESV

And he said to him, “Please, Lord, how can I save Israel? Behold, my clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father's house.”

I don’t have the requisite skill set.

I don’t have the requisite resume.

I don’t know the right people.

I’m not in the right circles.

I said all of that for God to say this as I close.

Point #3

“I got you” says the LORD.

Judges 6:16 ESV

And the Lord said to him, “But I will be with you, and you shall strike the Midianites as one man.”

In scripture we saw God put his hand on Moses.

We saw God put his hand on Joshua.

We saw God put his hand on Gideon.

And God wants to put his hand on you in your situation.

But you have to have faith.

You have to give your agreement to God walking with you and leading you to the victory.

If you’re watching online or here in the building, I have a very important question to ask you.

What About Me God?

Colossians 2:6-7 ESV

Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him,7 rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving.

What About Me God?

Point #1

I don’t feel you God.

Judges 6:2 ESV

And the hand of Midian overpowered Israel, and because of Midian the people of Israel made for themselves the dens that are in the mountains and the caves and the strongholds.

Judges 6:3-4 ESV

For whenever the Israelites planted crops, the Midianites and the Amalekites and the people of the East would come up against them. 4 They would encamp against them and devour the produce of the land, as far as Gaza, and leave no sustenance in Israel and no sheep or ox or donkey.

Judges 6:6 ESV

And Israel was brought very low because of Midian. And the people of Israel cried out for help to the Lord.

Judges 6:8 ESV

the Lord sent a prophet to the people of Israel. And he said to them, “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: I led you up from Egypt and brought you out of the house of slavery.

Judges 6:9-10 ESV

And I delivered you from the hand of the Egyptians and from the hand of all who oppressed you, and drove them out before you and gave you, their land.

10 And I said to you, ‘I am the Lord your God; you shall not fear the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell.’ But you have not obeyed my voice.”

Point #2

Why am I going through all of this?

Judges 6:11 ESV

Now the angel of the Lord came and sat under the terebinth at Ophrah, which belonged to Joash the Abiezrite, while his son Gideon was beating out wheat in the winepress to hide it from the Midianites.

Judges 6:12 ESV

And the angel of the Lord appeared to him and said to him, “The Lord is with you, O mighty man of valor.”

Judges 6:13 ESV

Judges 6:14 ESV

And the Lord turned to him and said, “Go in this might of yours and save Israel from the hand of Midian; do not I send you?”

Judges 6:15 ESV

And he said to him, “Please, Lord, how can I save Israel? Behold, my clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father's house.”

Point #3

“I got you” says the LORD.

Judges 6:16 ESV

And the Lord said to him, “But I will be with you, and you shall strike the Midianites as one man.”

What is the Holy Spirit saying to you right now?