Do It Again
Notes
Transcript
A man named Jack was walking along a steep cliff one day when he accidentally got too close to the edge and fell. On the way down he grabbed a branch, which temporarily stopped his fall. He looked down and to his horror saw that the canyon fell straight down for more than a thousand feet. He couldn't hang onto the branch forever, and there was no way for him to climb up the steep wall of the cliff. So Jack began yelling for help, hoping that someone passing by would hear him and lower a rope or something. "HELP! HELP! Is anyone up there? HELP!
He yelled for hours, but no one heard him. He was about to give up when he heard a voice.
"Jack, Jack. Can you hear me?"
"Yes, yes! I can hear you. I'm down here!"
"I can see you, Jack. Are you all right?"
"Yes, but . . . Who are you, and where are you?"
"I am the Lord, Jack. I'm everywhere."
"The Lord? You mean, GOD?"
"That's Me."
"God, please help me! I promise if You'll get me down from here, I'll stop sinning. I'll be a really good person. I'll serve You for the rest of my life."
"Easy on the promises, Jack. Let's just get you down from there; then we can talk. Now, here's what I want you to do. Listen carefully."
"I'll do anything, Lord. Just tell me what to do."
"Okay. Let go of the branch."
"What?"
"I said, let go of the branch. Just trust Me. Let go."
There was a long silence. Finally Jack yelled, "HELP! HELP! IS ANYONE ELSE UP THERE?"
How often have we asked God for a sign… only to have that sign given, then turn around and ask for God to give another sign? I mean, we want confirmation and we want to know the will of God, but sometimes when we get the answer it might scare us. We may think we could never do it… We might say, God, is there another way.
Good thing is, when God is in control we really don’t have to worry about working out the details He’s got us. But, please know God is okay with us asking Him to confirm His calling.
Looking back at this time in the life of the nation of Israel, there was a great turning away from God after the death of Joshua. With no leadership, God established Judges, but the people still rebelled.
There was a behavioral pattern that could be seen in the nation - sin, wrath, oppression, repentance, and deliverance.
11 And the people of Israel did what was evil in the sight of the Lord and served the Baals.
12 And they abandoned the Lord, the God of their fathers, who had brought them out of the land of Egypt. They went after other gods, from among the gods of the peoples who were around them, and bowed down to them. And they provoked the Lord to anger.
7 And the people of Israel did what was evil in the sight of the Lord. They forgot the Lord their God and served the Baals and the Asheroth.
12 And the people of Israel again did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, and the Lord strengthened Eglon the king of Moab against Israel, because they had done what was evil in the sight of the Lord.
1 And the people of Israel again did what was evil in the sight of the Lord after Ehud died.
1 The people of Israel did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, and the Lord gave them into the hand of Midian seven years.
Now, when did change occur?
7 When the people of Israel cried out to the Lord on account of the Midianites,
8 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.
9 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.”
But God would hear their cry, would restore them, and would raise up Gideon to lead them out of Midian. This wasn’t something that came natural to Gideon.
14 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?”
15 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.”
16 And the Lord said to him, “But I will be with you, and you shall strike the Midianites as one man.”
17 And he said to him, “If now I have found favor in your eyes, then show me a sign that it is you who speak with me.
Show me a sign. Many times I think we get
21 Then the angel of the Lord reached out the tip of the staff that was in his hand and touched the meat and the unleavened cakes. And fire sprang up from the rock and consumed the meat and the unleavened cakes. And the angel of the Lord vanished from his sight.
22 Then Gideon perceived that he was the angel of the Lord. And Gideon said, “Alas, O Lord God! For now I have seen the angel of the Lord face to face.”
Now keep this in mind - Gideon had just come face to face with the angel of the Lord - a Christophany - and he acknowledges who he has seen. One would think that seeing the angel of the Lord face to face would bring about long-lasting faith, correct? What would we do if we came face to face with Christ? Faith as firm as the rock, right? But for how long? Gideon goes on to destroy the altar of Baal (although it was at night), was protected from death from the followers of Baal, and was ready to turn the nation of Israel back to God. But not without asking God for a sign again.
Now, doesn’t this sound like us? Faith strong, willing to fight an army with a tooth pick. God shows off and shows us His power and might, and then… We question ourselves… We question our faith… And then we need God to reconfirm. Notice this is not necessarily a bad thing. We want to make sure whatever we do is from God, and it has His blessings, so to settle our own minds we ask God to send another sign.
Gideon asks God for another sign.
Reconfirming
Reconfirming
36 Then Gideon said to God, “If you will save Israel by my hand, as you have said,
37 behold, I am laying a fleece of wool on the threshing floor. If there is dew on the fleece alone, and it is dry on all the ground, then I shall know that you will save Israel by my hand, as you have said.”
I know I saw you Lord, I know you have protected me, but please support me while my faith is weak and wavering. What brought about this waver in faith?
33 Now all the Midianites and the Amalekites and the people of the East came together, and they crossed the Jordan and encamped in the Valley of Jezreel.
Isn’t it when we have great challenges that our faith can be shaken? Gideon now faces an enemy of 135,000 soldiers coming up into the Valley of Jezreel, as thick as locusts.
12 And the Midianites and the Amalekites and all the people of the East lay along the valley like locusts in abundance, and their camels were without number, as the sand that is on the seashore in abundance.
It had to be an intimidating sight, for sure. But, what can come against us, if God is in our corner?
31 What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?
One thing I took comfort in, while studying this is that many faithful men and women had faith that was shaken just like us today! It’s not that our faith gets shaken as much as what we do in moments when our faith is shaken! If we think back to Peter when he left the boat to walk on a raging sea, he was the only one with enough faith to leave the boat during a storm but also had a lapse of faith that caused him to sink. We tend to focus on his lack of faith, but overlook the faith to step out of the boat. Gideon had the faith to follow, but needed extra assurance when his faith was challenged. He sounded the alarm, he sent messengers, he prepared for the fight, but then asked God for a sign. We have to remember Gideon was not a military commander, but a farmer. He had been called by God, but had not formal military training, did not know military strategy, and he was responsible for 32,000 Israelite men that would be facing almost 4 times that many in battle. No doubt Gideon’s mind was swirling with questions and doubt. So…he turned to God. Lord, I’m laying out a wool fleece, and if you will make it wet while everything else on the ground is dry, I will know it is you and you will fulfill Your promise of victory. God answered Gideon.
38 And it was so. When he rose early next morning and squeezed the fleece, he wrung enough dew from the fleece to fill a bowl with water.
When he got up early the next morning, he was able to wring out a while bowl full of water. Not only did God make the wool fleece damp, he made sure there could be no mistake of whether it was wet or not. But just to make sure...
Do it Again, Lord
Do it Again, Lord
39 Then Gideon said to God, “Let not your anger burn against me; let me speak just once more. Please let me test just once more with the fleece. Please let it be dry on the fleece only, and on all the ground let there be dew.”
Do it again, Lord! It’s not that I didn’t believe you the first time, but I really need you to do it again… Lord settle my nerves and firm up my faith. This time, let the ground be wet, and keep the fleece dry. Isn’t this similar to how we approach God also? Lord, I know you showed me a sign, and it’s not that it’s not enough, but can you do it one more time just so I know for sure that I know for sure… God had already promised victory over the enemy, and Gideon knew this. But his faith…was weak. He was testing God. Why? Gideon was having trouble accepting the promise of God.
Church, it’s easy to say we have faith when everything is going well. When there are no problems, issues, concerns…it is easy to be a fair weather Christian. But what happens when life happens? Does our faith hold out, or does it falter like Gideon’s? Gideon thought he was facing an impossible situation, but knew without God it would certainly be impossible. Gideon needed God to help strengthen his unbelief. Help strengthen his faith. But… how many times must God confirm Himself to us? Gideon put out the fleece, not once, but twice, after receiving confirmation from the angel of the Lord Himself. So, how many times must God repeat Himself? To be honest, He doesn’t have to at all. Not one time does God HAVE to repeat Himself. And, if God’s Will has been revealed to us through His Word is it really wise to continually “put out the fleece” the same way Gideon did? We SHOULD believe the Word of God. We should put our FAITH in the Word of God. We shouldn’t have to question God. But we do…just like Gideon. And God, being the good Father He is, continues to be patient and will answer us again and again, in the same way.
40 And God did so that night; and it was dry on the fleece only, and on all the ground there was dew.
God answered Gideon, the same way He answers us when our faith falters too.
Closing
Closing
I don’t think this is an invitation to continue challenging or making requests of God, though. We shouldn’t become “sign seekers”, but we should put our faith in what God has said to us through scripture. If we think to the New Testament, many of the scribes and Pharisees asked Jesus for signs…not for their faith, but to tempt Him. But we have something Gideon didn’t have - the Holy Spirit. We have to learn to put our faith and trust in God’s guidance and leading, and rely on the Holy Spirit to reveal it to us - have…faith.