Servant
Leadership School
January 5, 2003
Having Begun in the Spirit – ch. 9
Gideon
Look at the story of Gideon and stop the story each time you see something
about strength or weakness.
In the first 10 verses, we get a glimpse of the state of the nation. Since
they had once again fallen away from the Lord, the Lord had allowed the
Midianites to “prevail” over Israel.
The Israelites would work hard all year to raise their crops, and after the
harvest the Midianites would swoop in and steal all their food.
Up to this point, the defeated condition of the Israelites was due to their
sin. God had allowed the Midianites to “prevail” over Israel
as a judgment on Israel’s
sin.
(Judg 6:11-40 KJV) And there came an angel
of the LORD, and sat under an oak which was in Ophrah,
that pertained unto Joash the Abiezrite: and his son
Gideon threshed wheat by the winepress, to hide it from the Midianites.
Gideon is like everyone else. He’s afraid of the Midianites.
{12} And the angel of the LORD appeared unto him, and said unto
him, The LORD is with thee, thou mighty man of valour.
I would imagine that this “title” surprised Gideon.
{13} And Gideon said unto him, Oh my Lord, if the LORD be with us,
why then is all this befallen us? and where be all his miracles which our
fathers told us of, saying, Did not the LORD bring us up from Egypt?
but now the LORD hath forsaken us, and delivered us into the hands of the
Midianites. {14} And the LORD looked upon him, and said, Go in this thy might,
and thou shalt save Israel
from the hand of the Midianites: have not I sent thee?
Gideon was commanded to go in “this thy might”. We’ll
see he didn’t have much strength, but the strength he had he was to use.
{15} And he said unto him, Oh my Lord, wherewith shall I save Israel?
behold, my family is poor in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father's house.
Gideon didn’t think he had much to offer. That’s a good place to be in.
{16} And the LORD said unto him, Surely I will be with thee, and thou
shalt smite the Midianites as one man.
Gideon’s real strength would be that God would be with him.
{17} And he said unto him, If now I have
found grace in thy sight, then show me a sign that thou talkest
with me.
Gideon seems a little reluctant to trust this person that has been talking
to him.
{18} Depart not hence, I pray thee, until I come unto thee, and
bring forth my present, and set it before thee. And he said,
I will tarry until thou come again. {19} And Gideon went in, and made ready a
kid, and unleavened cakes of an ephah of flour: the
flesh he put in a basket, and he put the broth in a pot, and brought it out
unto him under the oak, and presented it. {20} And the angel of God said unto
him, Take the flesh and the unleavened cakes, and lay them upon this rock, and
pour out the broth. And he did so. {21} Then the angel of the LORD put forth
the end of the staff that was in his hand, and touched the flesh and the
unleavened cakes; and there rose up fire out of the rock, and consumed the
flesh and the unleavened cakes. Then the angel of the LORD departed out of his
sight. {22} And when Gideon perceived that he was an angel of the LORD, Gideon
said, Alas, O Lord GOD! for because I have seen an
angel of the LORD face to face. {23} And the LORD said unto him, Peace be unto
thee; fear not: thou shalt not die. {24} Then Gideon built an altar there unto
the LORD, and called it Jehovahshalom: unto this day
it is yet in Ophrah of the Abiezrites.
{25} And it came to pass the same night, that the LORD said unto him, Take thy
father's young bullock, even the second bullock of seven years old, and throw
down the altar of Baal that thy father hath, and cut down the grove that is by
it: {26} And build an altar unto the LORD thy God upon the top of this rock, in
the ordered place, and take the second bullock, and offer a burnt sacrifice
with the wood of the grove which thou shalt cut down. {27} Then Gideon took ten
men of his servants, and did as the LORD had said unto him: and so it was,
because he feared his father's household, and the men of the city, that he
could not do it by day, that he did it by night.
Gideon is so afraid of the men of the city that he sneaks in by night to
tear down the altar.
{28} And when the men of the city arose early in the morning, behold,
the altar of Baal was cast down, and the grove was cut down that was by it, and
the second bullock was offered upon the altar that was built. {29} And they
said one to another, Who hath done this thing? And when they inquired and
asked, they said, Gideon the son of Joash hath done this thing. {30} Then the
men of the city said unto Joash, Bring out thy son, that he may die: because he
hath cast down the altar of Baal, and because he hath cut down the grove that
was by it. {31} And Joash said unto all that stood against him, Will ye plead
for Baal? will ye save him? he that will plead for
him, let him be put to death whilst it is yet morning: if he be a god, let him
plead for himself, because one hath cast down his altar. {32} Therefore on that
day he called him Jerubbaal, saying, Let Baal plead
against him, because he hath thrown down his altar. {33} Then all the
Midianites and the Amalekites and the children of the
east were gathered together, and went over, and pitched in the valley of Jezreel. {34} But the
spirit of the LORD came upon Gideon, and he blew a trumpet; and Abiezer was gathered after him.
Gideon was strong because God’s Spirit was upon him.
{35} And he sent messengers throughout all Manasseh; who also was
gathered after him: and he sent messengers unto Asher, and unto Zebulun, and unto Naphtali; and they came up to meet them.
{36} And Gideon said unto God, If thou wilt save Israel by mine hand, as thou
hast said, {37} Behold, I will put a fleece of wool in the floor; and if the
dew be on the fleece only, and it be dry upon all the earth beside, then shall
I know that thou wilt save Israel by mine hand, as thou hast said. {38} And it
was so: for he rose up early on the morrow, and thrust the fleece together, and
wringed the dew out of the fleece, a bowl full of water. {39} And Gideon said
unto God, Let not thine anger be hot against me, and I will speak but this
once: let me prove, I pray thee, but this once with the fleece; let it now be
dry only upon the fleece, and upon all the ground let there be dew. {40} And
God did so that night: for it was dry upon the fleece only,
and there was dew on all the ground.
It seems that Gideon had a hard time believing what God was promising to do
through him.
How would you have reacted if you had this sense that God wanted to do some
great thing through you?
Would you at all wonder if you were doing the right thing?
(Judg 7:1-22 KJV) Then Jerubbaal,
who is Gideon, and all the people that were with him, rose up early, and
pitched beside the well of Harod: so that the host of
the Midianites were on the north side of them, by the hill of Moreh, in the valley. {2} And the LORD said unto Gideon,
The people that are with thee are too many for me to give the Midianites into
their hands, lest Israel
vaunt themselves against me, saying, Mine own hand
hath saved me.
Gideon has gathered an army of 32,000 to face 150,000 Midianites. Yet God
thinks he has too many.
This is the only time I can recall when God tells a leader he has too many
people. I’m not sure this is a thing you can apply across the board.
Why did God think Gideon had too many people? God knew that Gideon’s people
would want to take the credit for their victory. God wanted the people to be
giving Him the credit for the victory.
{3} Now therefore go to, proclaim in the ears of the people,
saying, Whosoever is fearful and afraid, let him return and depart early from mount Gilead. And there
returned of the people twenty and two thousand; and there remained ten
thousand. {4} And the LORD said unto Gideon, The people are yet too many; bring
them down unto the water, and I will try them for thee there: and it shall be,
that of whom I say unto thee, This shall go with thee, the same shall go with
thee; and of whomsoever I say unto thee, This shall not go with thee, the same
shall not go.
Gideon only has 10,000 now, but God says that is still too much.
{5} So he brought down the people unto the water: and the LORD said
unto Gideon, Every one that lappeth of the water with
his tongue, as a dog lappeth, him shalt thou set by
himself; likewise every one that boweth down upon his
knees to drink. {6} And the number of them that
lapped, putting their hand to their mouth, were three hundred men: but all the
rest of the people bowed down upon their knees to drink water.
I’ve heard lots of suggestions as to why God chose people that “lapped”
like a dog. I have yet to hear a good reason. Some have suggested that these
might be men who were more vigilant than the others, keeping their heads up. But
that goes against the flow of the story. I’m not sure God is picking men who
are better qualified, then they’d claim credit for the
victory. Perhaps God is simply trying to get down to three hundred people. Perhaps
these are really stupid guys who act like dogs?
{7} And the LORD said unto Gideon, By the three hundred men that
lapped will I save you, and deliver the Midianites into thine hand: and let all
the other people go every man unto his place. {8} So the people took victuals
in their hand, and their trumpets: and he sent all the rest of Israel
every man unto his tent, and retained those three hundred men: and the host of Midian was beneath him in the valley. {9} And it came to
pass the same night, that the LORD said unto him, Arise, get thee down unto the
host; for I have delivered it into thine hand. {10} But if thou fear to go
down, go thou with Phurah thy servant down to the
host: {11} And thou shalt hear what they say; and afterward shall thine hands
be strengthened to go down unto the host. Then went he
down with Phurah his servant unto the outside of the
armed men that were in the host.
Why is Gideon being sent into the Midianite camp
to spy? Because he’s still having a hard time thinking
he’s doing the right thing. God is still having to
show Gideon that He has things in control. God is still using a man who is
struggling to trust Him.
Also – he takes his servant Phurah with him. That
means that Gideon is afraid.
{12} And the Midianites and the Amalekites
and all the children of the east lay along in the valley like grasshoppers for
multitude; and their camels were without number, as the sand by the sea side
for multitude. {13} And when Gideon was come, behold, there was a man that told
a dream unto his fellow, and said, Behold, I dreamed a dream, and, lo, a cake
of barley bread tumbled into the host of Midian, and
came unto a tent, and smote it that it fell, and overturned it, that the tent
lay along. {14} And his fellow answered and said, This
is nothing else save the sword of Gideon
the son of Joash, a man of Israel:
for into his hand hath God delivered Midian, and all the host. {15} And it was so, when
Gideon heard the telling of the dream, and the interpretation thereof, that he
worshipped, and returned into the host of Israel, and said, Arise; for the LORD
hath delivered into your hand the host of Midian.
It seems that this is when Gideon finally understands that God is going to
take care of things.
{16} And he divided the three hundred men into three companies, and
he put a trumpet in every man's hand, with empty pitchers, and lamps within the
pitchers. {17} And he said unto them, Look on me, and
do likewise: and, behold, when I come to the outside of the camp, it shall be
that, as I do, so shall ye do. {18} When I blow with a trumpet, I and all that
are with me, then blow ye the trumpets also on every side of all the camp, and
say, The sword of the LORD, and of Gideon.
Why say “and of Gideon”? Isn’t that claiming credit for Gideon? I don’t
think so. I think this is because of the Midianite’s
dream. It is going to play into fulfilling this Midianite’s
dream and scare the Midianites.
{19} So Gideon, and the hundred men that were with him, came unto
the outside of the camp in the beginning of the middle watch; and they had but
newly set the watch: and they blew the trumpets, and brake
the pitchers that were in their hands. {20} And the three companies blew the
trumpets, and brake the pitchers, and held the lamps in their left hands, and
the trumpets in their right hands to blow withal: and they cried, The sword of
the LORD, and of Gideon. {21} And they stood every man in his place round about
the camp: and all the host ran, and cried, and fled. {22} And
the three hundred blew the trumpets, and the
LORD set every man's sword against his fellow, even throughout all the
host: and the host fled to Bethshittah in Zererath, and to the border of Abelmeholah,
unto Tabbath.
Who caused the Midianites to be defeated? The Lord did. The Lord did. The
Lord did.
We may think that doing things on
our own is a good idea, but it usually really stinks.
Illustration
THE WORST CONVENIENCE FOODS
3. Meeter's Kraut Juice (Stokely
USA): Yes,
that's sauerkraut juice, which is even worse than it sounds. The taste and
smell can be a bit, well, harsh, but KJ is reputed by its fans to have certain
medicinal benefits (as a source of vitamin C, cure for intestinal bugs, etc.),
which adds up to a classic case of the cure being worse than the disease.
1. Tengu Clam
Jerky (Tengu Co.): Nothing you’ve ever consumed can
prepare you for the horror that is clam jerky. Still,
this product does score a sort of conceptual coup: If you’re the sort who’s
always found raw clams too slimy and gelatinous for your taste, these dried,
shriveled mollusks will help you dislike clams on a whole new level.
Illustration
The Cherry Sisters
In 1893 there was a group of four sisters who called themselves the Cherry
Sisters and they made their stage debut in Cedar Rapids,
Iowa starring in a skit they wrote
themselves. For three years the Cherry Sisters performed to packed theaters
throughout the Midwest. People came to see them to find
out if they were as bad as they had heard. Their unbelievably atrocious acting
enraged critics and provoked the audience to throw vegetables at the would-be
actresses. Wisely, the sisters thought it best to travel with an iron screen
which they would erect in front of the stage in self-defense. Amazingly, in
1896 the girls were offered a thousand dollars a week to perform on Broadway -
not because they were so good, but because they were no unbelievably bad. Seven
years later, after the Cherry Sisters had earned what in that day was a
respectable fortune of $200,000, they retired from the stage to a peaceful life
back on the farm. Oddly enough, these successful Broadway “Stars” remained
convinced to the end that they were truly the most talented actresses ever to
grace the American stage. They never had a clue as to how bad they truly were!
This is where things get confusing – sometimes a person doing things “in
the flesh” seems “successful”.
Have you ever been involved in a
ministry where it was something started “by the flesh”?
Calvary Chapel of almost-Placentia
Years ago we had a small Bible Study in our home in Placentia.
I wanted so bad to be a Senior Pastor that I convinced three other couples to
help us start a church. We made plans. We set dates. We even were going to have
Pastor Mark pray for us in the service at Calvary Anaheim and send us off. But
I realized that I was the one pushing the whole thing. It wasn’t a thing of
God. We called it off the week before we were going to start. Within three
months, each one of the other couples had either moved
out of town, left the church, or divorced.
I found out years later that Bob Kopeny was
starting the real Calvary Chapel of Placentia at the same time. I’m so glad
that we stopped our effort.
Are we “continuing” in the flesh?
(Gal 3:3 KJV) Are ye so foolish? having begun in the Spirit, are ye
now made perfect by the flesh?
I am afraid that as I was reading the chapter this week I felt that I’m
still in the process of learning that on my own I’m a failure, kind of like
Chuck’s first seventeen years of ministry.
Failure is not a bad thing. It’s the thing that God can use to bring us to
the place where we learn better to trust the Lord and not ourselves.
The Supremacy of Love – ch. 10
1. What do you think of Chuck’s
statement on page 110:
“I’ve come to the conclusion that it’s more important that I have the right
attitude than that I have the right answers.”
If we’re not careful, because we place such an emphasis on the Word, the
church can develop a cold, correct form of legalism where we work overtime to
make sure that we root out all the heretics.
Paul wrote,
(1 Cor 8:1 KJV) Now as touching things
offered unto idols, we know that we all have knowledge. Knowledge puffeth up, but charity edifieth.
The church in Ephesus was known
for it’s rooting out of heretics:
(Rev 2:2 KJV) I know thy works, and thy labour, and thy patience,
and how thou canst not bear them which are evil: and thou hast tried them which
say they are apostles, and are not, and hast found them liars:
But they had a problem,
(Rev 2:4 KJV) Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because
thou hast left thy first love.
2. Are there dangers in being
compassionate?
I think we can be a little slow to respond properly when people are taking
advantage of us.
I think we can even feel guilty about our feelings when someone has taken
advantage of us.
We can confuse “compassion” with lack of discipline.
Yet God’s chastisement of us comes because
He loves us.
(Heb 12:6 KJV) For whom the Lord loveth
he chasteneth, and scourgeth
every son whom he receiveth.
3. What are things that can help us
have love and compassion on others?
Chuck said: Understanding leads to compassion
(Prov 18:13 KJV) He that answereth a matter before he heareth it, it is folly and
shame unto him.
Letting God love you first:
(John 13:34 KJV) A new commandment I give unto you,
That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.
The work of the Holy Spirit.
(Gal 5:22-23 KJV) But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace,
longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, {23} Meekness, temperance: against
such there is no law.