From Worrier to Warrior (Isaish 62:1-5, 1 Corinthians 12:1-11, John 2:1-11)
Listen.January 17th, 2010
Rev. Dr. Craig A. Wagner
Introduction
There are times when I observe great religious leaders of our day and think to myself, “How do they do it? What do they have that makes them such great leaders?” Naturally, there are many books about leadership qualities that one could read to discover the identifiable traits, but it does astound me how creative, dynamic and charismatic many of these people are. Just last week, the media highlighted Rick Warren of Saddleback Church and how his message to his people over a deficit of $900,000 dollars in the church budget, elicited giving of $2.4 million! The response to his plea was overwhelming.
When I think of great contemporary religious leaders, I almost always think of Billy Graham and how his message touched so many people. He proclaimed the gospel and touched the hearts of people in a way that few others ever have.
Comparing myself to those and other religious leaders, contemporary and historical, I quickly realize that I could not do what they have done; I do not have the right mixture of gifts, talents and abilities and besides all of that I’m really an introvert.
Then I remember scripture and the stories of women and men whom God raised at various times to lead the people. I discover that God uses all sorts of people even people we would not recognize as heroes of faith. Gideon is one of those people.
God called Gideon to be a judge and to lead God’s people; to rescue the people from the Midianites. Gideon who had a lousy family background, poor self-esteem, a man fearful of bullies, a chronic worrier and one who caved in to peer pressure. Who would have thought that this type of person would be called by God to rescue his people?
The meeting
The story of Gideon is found in the book of Judges. The book is about the faithfulness and unfaithfulness of the people of Israel. Whenever the people were unfaithful they were oppressed by a foreign power. In the times of oppression and defeat, the people would cry to God and God would send a judge, who actually functioned more like a powerful military leader to overcome the oppressors and bring the people back into favor with God. The book portrays this as a process, or a cycle, in the life of the people of Israel.
The passage for this morning relates that the people of Israel were at a low point in their history. They were abandoned by God and had fallen into idol worship. They were attacked by the Midianites with a force of 135,000 warriors forcing the Israelites to flee and hide in caves. Into this situation, we find the LORD connecting with Gideon as he is hiding from the Midianites threshing grain in a winepress.
The angel of the Lord comes to him and brings a greeting that is not without some sarcasm, as well as a glimpse into the future: “The Lord is with you, mighty warrior.” Gideon is about to do something dramatic. But he is not convinced and begins arguing with God: “Why has this happened to us? Why me? Why won’t God help? Where is God when I need him? I come from a poor family background – pick someone else! I am physically the smallest in my family.” God overcomes each objection that Gideon raises.
God meets us in our situations in life. In situations that are difficult or when times appear to be bad, God comes to us without harsh words. He comes to us in love and with great compassion. He wants us to place our faith in him and to allow the spirit to work within us. God’s Spirit brings into our lives words of hope and encouragement and this starts a transformation in our lives. When the challenges of life appear to be almost insurmountable, God’s word places everything perspective and reminds us of what is important. As that begins to take root in our heart and mind, transformation begins and we are moved closer and closer to God and his desires for us… then the challenges can be met.
God sees our potential. He sees the new identity we have in Christ and he knows what great things we can do for him, for his community of believers and in the process for ourselves as well. God has created us and given us the gifts and abilities that he wants us to have. Each of us is different, but each is wonderfully made in God’s image. God wants us to bloom where we are planted; where he has placed us. Gideon was called from his hiding place to battle the Midianites and lead the people.
We miss God’s will for our life and fail to see the role he has for us in his kingdom when we become too wrapped up in ourselves, our position, our image and we begin to worship other gods. We may protest the call of God; but God is persistent. He knows what we can do and when he wants us to do it, I pray that we allow the spirit to move us and guide us. No matter our gifts, abilities and talents, or even our age or location, God is with us, loves us and wants to use us in ministry in great ways for his glory.
The testing
Gideon was tested before God raised him to overthrow the Midianites. The way in which he was tested was in response to the problem of idolatry. Israel had decided to try out others gods when the one true God seemed to be absent and had allowed the Midianites to have victory over the people of Israel.
Gideon’s father had built an altar to the god Baal (see the sort of family from which Gideon came?). God directed Gideon to go and tear down the altar that his father had built and then build an appropriate altar to God. This was a test of allegiance. Gideon passed the test by having ten of his men go and tear down the altar to Baal and erect one to worship God.
We have seen that God does test people. God tested Abraham, God tested Moses and now we see that God is testing Gideon. It appears that God tested each one of these great biblical figures before they accomplished great things for God’s glory and for the Israelites.
God does not tempt us, but there is testing that is placed before us even today. There are times when our faith is tested. For example, we can see our faith being tested when we consider who is most important in our life. Who’s number one? This is a test of Lordship. We may not worship the god Baal as did Gideon and his family, but are there other gods that raise their head and demand allegiance in our life? What keeps us from doing the things God wants us to do? Are we too busy? Are we too self-centered in our approach to life? Think about your life and the reality of whom or what you worship?
Another test area is in our relationships. Would we be able to confront family traditions and relatives for the sake of Christ? We have just come away from the Christmas season. Did the traditions of family around the celebration of Christmas reflect faithfulness to the message of Jesus the Christ? Gideon certainly risked upsetting his father when he tore down the altar. That was a tradition that involved the whole family – the worship life of his family would have been changed!
Next we find a test of discipleship. Are we willing to follow Jesus even when the odds are difficult for us? Do we worry about what others will say, think or do if they find out how much Jesus means to us? Gideon worried. He worried about what his father would think. He worried about the men of the city. He worried about the Midianites. He worried whether or not this was truly a message from God.
Gideon needed to trust God. He needed to be transformed. God would transform him. God would move this worrier to become a great warrior for the Lord and he would rescue the people from their oppression. God wants to take our worry from us and move us to do great things in our way and style for him. There may be tests along the way, but transformation comes in Christ Jesus. I pray we are available to the working of the spirit.
The filling
The spirit came upon Gideon. The spirit clothed himself with Gideon. The people were assembled for battle. Here we see that Gideon did not show great leadership. He issued the call for men to fight and 32,000 responded.
He asked if any were afraid. 22,000 raised their hands and he sent them home! Then he sent the remainder of the men to get a drink. 9700 of those men were careless with the water and they lacked caution and so he sent them home.
Finally, he had 300 men left. The odds were not good. 450 Midianites to one Israelite! This is terrible odds, but don’t bet on the Midianite army!
The Israelite army took oil lamps, lit them and covered them with clay pots. They surrounded the Midianite army in the night. They blew their trumpets, broke the pots, lifted up their torches and watched as the Midianite army ran confused into the night annihilating one another. The victory belonged to the Israelite army under the flawed leadership of Gideon. God brought the victory.
Gideon trusted in God even if what God asked of him seemed illogical. The trust proved right. Do we need encouragement from God? Through Christ we have received grace, love and power to be his people in the world today. In spite of all odds, in times of testing, in battles verse good and evil God is with us and raises us to do great things for the kingdom.
Conclusion
Of course there is the rest of the story. Gideon lapsed into moral failure (70 sons and many wives), spiritual compromise (worshipped other gods) and gained personal profit from his leadership. Again Israel sunk to a new low… and then the next judge will rise. The Lord calls us not to worry, but to walk in faith, ready to be a great warrior for our Lord and his people. God be with us. Amen.