The Fog Factor (Matthew 16:21-17:8)

7/11/2010 CMC Sunday message

Florence May Chadwick was a U.S. long-distance, open-water swimmer. She was most famous for being the first woman to swim 23 miles across the English Channel between England and France in both directions.

On July 4, 1952, at the age of 34, she attempted to be the first woman to swim 21 miles across the Catalina Channel, from Catalina Island to Palos Verde on the California coast. The weather was unfavorable, the ocean was ice cold, the fog was so dense she could hardly see her support boats that followed her, and the sharks prowled around her. But, for 15 hours and 55 minutes she swam over twenty and half miles. She had only a half mile to go. But, she gave up.

Later Chadwick told a reporter, “Look, I’m not excusing myself, but if I could have seen land I know I could have made it.”^[1]

Can you imagine giving up the race after swimming for almost 16 hours, perhaps only twenty or thirty minutes left to go? Twenty and half miles behind you, and only a half mile to go, but she lost her heart, she lost her courage, she gave up, she sunk deep into her own despair and couldn’t climb out of it to finish the race.

Guys, we’ve been through so much together for this past year. By December of last year, we were about to be blown apart into many fragments. The dense fog descended upon us and we weren’t able to see where we were going. We got discouraged and confused. But, as a ray of light breaks through a dark cloud, God broke through our confusion and discouragement with his vision. We began to dream together that we don’t have to repeat the passionless and joyless church life. Starting with me and to you, God began to show us that our lives are to be the display of his glory, the display of what he can do and how he can change us through his Son, Jesus Christ. And, God began to awaken us to the life of church that is neither about you nor about me, but church that is all about what God can do through broken and massed up people like you and me to transform the world. We’ve come a long way together to be here.

But, the danger of fog remains, the fog that can easily rob our vision and courage and derail our journey together. My goal this morning is to help you deal with the fog factor. First, we are going to see how Jesus understood his identity and his mission with clarity and without the fog of confusion. And, later, we are going to see the fog factor through Peter’s response to Jesus’ mission.

God’s revelation of Jesus’ identity

Let’s get right to it shall we? Peter made the most amazing discovery about the identity of Jesus Christ. Peter didn’t make the discovery because he was a really smart guy. No, Jesus made it clear in Matthew 16:17 that it was his Father in heaven who revealed to Peter about the identity of Jesus Christ his Son. It was the Father who revealed to Peter about his Son that Jesus is the Christ (the anointed), the Son of the living God. The way Jesus fed thousands of people out of few bread and fish, the way Jesus healed the blinds, the way Jesus casted out demons, the way Jesus forgave sins… Jesus was the Anointed Son of the living God.

Jesus’ declaration of his mission

Now that Jesus’ identity was revealed by the Father in heaven, it was the right time for Jesus to let his disciples in on his mission. It was the time for Jesus to help his disciples understand how his identity would determine what he was going to do with his life. It was the time for his disciples to see the complete agreement between his identity and his mission, what he must do with his life.

Jesus understood who he was and what he must do early on. When he was twelve years old, Mary and Joseph took Jesus to the annual pilgrimage to the temple in Jerusalem. After they made the visitation, they left go home. Least Mary and Joseph thought it so until they discovered that Jesus was missing for a whole day. The amber alert went off and they searched for him for the next two agonizing days, worrying to death. Finally, they found him in the temple courts, mingling with the teachers of the law; twelve years old boy was discoursing with the teachers about the grownup issues. It was like finding a sixth grader talking to the professors of theology in a divinity school. People were amazed by how smart he was; but Marry and Joseph, they weren’t impressed because they’ve been half out of their minds looking for him. They questioned Jesus in bewilderment, “Son, why have you treated us like this? Your father and I have been anxiously searching for you” (Luke 2:48).

And, Jesus equally bewildered by their worries asked them, “Why were you searching for me? Didn’t you know that I had to be in my Father’s house?” (Luke 2:49) Do you see it the language of must in Jesus’ words? “Don’t you know that I have to be in my Father’s house?” Whenever you hear someone talking with “I have to” attitude, you know that person means business. It wasn’t that Jesus stumbled into the temple courts accidentally after losing his way. No, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem purposely because he was compelled to be in the presence of his Father, compelled with the Father’s business. He knew who he was, he knew to whom he belonged, and he knew exactly what he wanted to do in life.

Now coming back to our passage, Jesus revealed clearly what he must do with his life as the Christ, the Son of the living God. Matthew 16:21, “From that time on Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life.”[2]

Jesus’ language of “must” tells us that he meant business, he meant what he must do with his life, he meant his mission. And to Jesus the mission was not optional; it was not something he would do if he felt like doing it or something he could abandon in a heartbeat if things became too uncomfortable, uneasy, and unbearable. To be true to his identity meant to be true to his mission without deviation. That is why Jesus began his journey towards Jerusalem with the “must” attitude. It didn’t matter that false accusation, the illogical madness and rejection and ultimately the most horrifying form of execution waited him in Jerusalem. His journey towards Jerusalem that began with the “must” attitude ended in Jerusalem on the cross.

The crucifixion was the most feared forms of execution. Romans used it very effectively to deter any kind of rebellion or insurrection in their empire. The condemned was forced to carry a crossbeam to the scene of crucifixion. And, there at the execution site, the condemned was nailed to the crossbeam and also to the upright beam. Then the whole cross was lifted into place,^[3] so that the condemned would die most painfully.

His last words having accomplished resolutely what he set out to do nailed on the cross with the “must” attitude, were, “It is finished” according to John 19:30. With these words, Jesus bowed his head and gave up his spirit.

Do you know what was beneath Jesus’ “I must go” attitude towards the cross? Romans 5:6-7 tells us what drove Jesus’ death wish. It says, “You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrated his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

Jesus’ mission was determined by who he was. And, Jesus was the Son of the living God who was deeply in love with you and me, with the people. He loved so much that he had to do something about the predicament of humanity facing hell in sins. Out of that love, out of that compassion, the mission of God was born, to die the horrible death of crucifixion in my place, in your place, in our neighbors’ place, in our colleagues’ place, in our families’ place to be condemned for our sins; he died the death of crucifixion to display the power of God to raise him from the power of death and thereby to raise you and me to life from the power of death and sin.

For Jesus, the mission was very clear; the land was in plain sight for Jesus because he was driven by love for you and me, for the people. His “must” attitude toward the cross was continually renewed and fueled by his love and his compassion for the hell bound world. He wasn’t asking, “What’s in for me?” Instead, he poured himself out, he emptied himself out and became obedient to death even death on a cross (Philippians 2:8).

Do you have the “must” attitude of Jesus? Do you have the death wish like that of Jesus? Is your life about pouring yourself out, emptying yourself out for God’s mission for the world because you love the Savior who did it for us and for the world? Or, are you asking, “What’s in for me?”

The fog factor

Jesus always knew who he was and what he must do, but there was a dense fog of confusion in Peter’s mind about Jesus’ identity and his mission.

When Jesus declared to the disciples that as the Son of the living God, his mission was to die the horrible death of crucifixion for the world and to be raised from the dead, Peter jumped and started rebuking Jesus.

Peter was so convinced that Jesus was out of his mind to talk about his death wish like this. Peter was convinced that he needed to shake Jesus out of this “must” attitude to suffer to and to die.

Peter thought he had to protect Jesus from the silly obsession with suffering and dying. Peter thought he was looking out for Jesus’ comfort and safety, but what he ended up becoming a stumbling block to Jesus who was determined to accomplish God’s mission.

A. B. Bruce wrote what is very perceptive about the situation here. He wrote, “Jesus recognizes here His old enemy in a new and even more dangerous form. For none are more formidable instruments of temptation than well-meaning friends, who care more for our comfort than for our character.”[4] So, here we see Peter, well-meaning friend, caring for Jesus’ comfort more than his character, caring for safety more that the mission of God. “Heaven forbid, Lord… This will never happen to you.” “Goodness sake, why are you talking about your death like this? Don’t you know that kind of negative thinking and negative talk about yourself will bring down the whole group? So, stop being so darn negative about it and think positively.”

This was Peter who just made the incredible confession about Jesus’ identity with God’s help. How do you understand this dichotomy? Jesus’ identity compelled him to take the most difficult path as the way to fulfill his mission while Peter’s understanding of Jesus’ identity compelled Peter to stop Jesus from going after his mission. Jesus answers it for us in Matthew 16:23. “You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men.”

When you have in mind the things of men while ignoring the things of God, you begin to ask, “What’s in for me?” instead of asking “What’s in for God?” You ask, “What can I do?” and feel insecure or feel overconfident instead of asking, “What can God do through me?” with humility. Jesus’ heart was breaking for Peter, for the disciples and for the whole world and he was going to do something about it. But the fog factor clouded Peter from seeing Jesus’ “must” attitude through Jesus’ incredible depth of his compassion.

You see this, “What’s in for me?” attitude in chapter 17. Peter, James and John were given the incredible privilege to the prescreening show up on a high mountain. The prescreening was about Jesus in post-resurrection glory; transfigured with his face shining like the sun, his clothes beaming with white light, accompanied by Moses and Elijah, two great figures of the Old Testament.

And, what was Peter thinking? Matthew 17:4, “Lord, it is good for us to be here. If you wish, I will put up three shelters- one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah.” Didn’t Jesus talk to Peter just a week ago about the fog factor of minding the things of men rather than minding the things of God?

But, here was Peter going after what was in for him. Why go back down to the miserable earthly existence, when I can stay here with Jesus and rest and be fed in his glory and hang out two of the most famous people in the Old Testament? Why go back to Jesus’ negative talk of suffering and dying when this glory can be the reality now?

A week ago, Peter heard mouthful from Jesus for being clouded with “What’s in for me?” question instead of “What’s in for Jesus?” question. Now Peter hears it from God the Father.

“Come on Peter, This is my Son, whom I love; with him and I am well pleased. So, stop questioning him, stop being a stumbling block to carrying out his mission. Instead, I want you to listen to him. I want you to participate in his mission.”

Matthew doesn’t tell us why the transfiguration took place. But, I cannot help but to think if Jesus allowed Peter, James and John, the leaders among the twelve, to the prescreening for his post-resurrection glory to comfort their hearts. They heard Jesus’ mission to suffer, to die and to be raised from the dead. And, he knew it was hard for them to get over his suffering and dying parts. So, here Jesus let them taste the victorious glory beyond his death in resurrection. But, even then, Peter couldn’t stop thinking what was in for him.

Rid of the fog

Guys, as long as you keep asking, “What’s in for me?” you are not going to see the finish line, you are not going to see the land that you’ve been swimming towards, you are not going to see clearly the vision God has for CMC. If you try to make the church exist for you, if you come with the attitude of demands, “What’s church going to do for me?” I guaranty you that you are going to crash and burn.

The way of the cross is pouring out, emptying ourselves for the cause of the Christ. The way of the cross is to stop asking “What’s in for me?” instead begin to ask “What does God want to do through me?” The way of the cross isn’t being afraid of holding back in fear that you are going to burn out. The way of the cross recognizes that being vitalized is to do the will of God as Jesus said, “My food is to do the will of God” John 4:34. The way of the cross means stop formulating your idea of Jesus as your genie and stop trying to fit Jesus into your life. No, the way of the cross demands that we fit our lives around Jesus’ life. We got to fit our lives into Jesus’ identity of love and compassion for the world, his mission to the world.

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[1] http://www.answers.com/topic/florence-chadwick

[2] After Jesus had undergone and victoriously emerged out of the devil’s temptation against him, it says in Matthew 4:17, “From that time on Jesus began to preach, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near.” This marked the beginning of Jesus’ ministry in the Galilean area. Matthew 16:21 marks the end of the Galilean ministry and the beginning of his mission to Jerusalem. It marks the final steps to accomplish what he came to do on the earth.

^[3]Wilkins, M. J. (2004). The NIV Application Commentary: Matthew (571). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

[4] A. B. Bruce, “The Gospel According to Matthew,” 226.

Christian Quality Assurance- Approved by God (2 Timothy 2:14-26)

Cornerstone Mission Church, Sunday Sermon, February 7 2009

Akio Toyoda, CEO and President of Toyota Motor Corporation and the grandson of the company’s founder bowed and gave a formal apology at an evening news conference in Japan. It was after two weeks since Toyota announced massive and the biggest almost 8 million global recalls due to the issue of sticking accelerator pedals. Adding to the insult, now the U.S. Transportation Department is investigating Toyota’s Prius hybrid car after the Japanese government ordered an investigation of its braking system.

A professor (Dr. Hrebiniak,) in the Department of Management at The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania expressed his trouble by the fact that “Toyota had clues there were quality problems-not only general problems, but that there was an accelerator problem.”[i] Many wonder how the famed Toyota for their reliability and their workmanship failed so miserably lately. Perhaps, it’s the cost-cutting measures, or their push to expand the markets in unsustainable pace… whatever the causes are, the current state of Toyota reveals that they have made seriously compromise the quality of their workmanship.

Paul thinks of Christian life in terms of quality as well. Will you and I be able to pass the quality control as Christians? Will you and I be known for the quality of workmanship? For Paul, the key to the Christian quality is becoming a worker who does not need to be ashamed but approved by God.

Someone said this, “I really cannot give you the formula for success. But I can give you the formula for failure. It’s this: Try to please everyone.

What Paul taught to Timothy and what he teaches us today is that we have the calling from God to aim our lives to please him. The key to the success for Christian life is becoming a worker approved by God. When testing is done, will you and I emerge as genuine and honorable or will we be ashamed?

• A worker approved by God knows how to correctly handle the word of truth.

In the postmodern world we live in, people reject the notion of absolute truth; they are much more comfortable with relativism, the world where no one can claim to have truth. Truth is determined not by absolutes, but by what makes one feel good. Truth is reduced to matter of preferences, merely what one favors. When you push the world of relativism and tolerance to its logical conclusion, it is whoever has more power gets their way. Dorothy Sayers writes in “The Six Other Deadly Sins” about the world we live in:

"...In the world it calls itself Tolerance; but in Hell it is called Despair. … It is the sin which believes in nothing, cares for nothing, seeks to know nothing, interferes with nothing, enjoys nothing, loves nothing, hates nothing, finds purpose in nothing, lives for nothing, and only remains alive because there is nothing it would die for...."

God envisions a workman approved by him, one who honors his truth, his word. In the age where talk is cheap and words don’t mean whole lot because people don’t live it out, Paul calls us to correctly handles the word of truth. This is a call to live out the convictions that are hammered out of the anvil and the fire of God’s word.

Can you handle the word of truth correctly? The Bible says the word of God is the sword of the truth.

When I was young, I dreamed of being a martial art hero. Walking from school, I would look for that perfect sword made out of tree branch. And, in the privacy of my little world, I became the most powerful warrior anyone has ever known. Well, sadly, if you live with me, you may occasionally find me in my spacious home breaking into my warrior fight with my red broom or the old shower curtain rod. But, really who am kidding? I am no fearsome warrior prince. I cannot handle any kind of sword except kitchen knives to cut fruits and vegetables.

Can you handle the word of truth correctly?

It takes immersing yourself in the word of God where God reveals who he is, his perspectives, his will, his purpose, his character. A month has passed, now we’re in February. I encourage you to continue the reading of God’s word as you planned. Whatever plans you picked reading four chapters a day, a chapter a day, a paragraph, whatever it is. What matters is that you read God’s word consistently.

• A worker approved by God avoids quarrelsome and argumentative attitude.

Paul says a person whose convictions are grounded in God’s word avoids quarreling about words (v. 14), godless chatter (v. 16), foolish and stupid arguments (v.23).

When I speak to you about contending for the faith, wielding the sword of truth, I wonder if I am drawing a picture in your mind of a person who goes around blasting people with the Bible, pounding any who disagree with you with the hammer of truth, out to destroy the heretics, to argue against the opponents into submission.

Well, this isn’t the case at all as you can read from Paul’s letter. The world sees enough of angry and bitter so called Christians who are argumentative, and quarrelsome over trivial doctrinal matters, who justifies killing a doctor who performs abortion, who talks about love of God but shows no concern for the hungry, poor, single mothers, etc.

The world needs to see Christians who are approved by God, something other than quarrelsome and argumentative.

• A worker approved by God instruct gently.

Paul’s take is that we are to be unmovable when it comes to our conviction in the truth of God’s word. We are to never deny Jesus even if someone threatens to kill us for our faith.

But, when it comes to communicating the truth of God’s word to the world, Paul says being argumentative or quarrelsome or militant is not the way to go. After all, are we not serving the Master who laid down his life for the enemies? The way to win the world is not by the sword of that cuts down people but the surgeon’s knife that cuts out the dangerous cancer tissues.

Consider how Jesus treated Judas, the one who betrayed Jesus. We see no record of Jesus treating Judas harshly, as he, a betrayer, deserved. Jesus was stern and firm towards the self-righteous hypocrites like Pharisees and teachers of laws who lived behind the facet of righteousness. But, overall his attitude in instructing people was gentle and kind. Jesus expects the same from us.

• A worker approved by God is set apart.

Paul illustrates a worker approved by God in verse 20-21. He likens workers approved by God as household articles that are for noble purposes and workers unapproved by God as household articles of ignoble purposes. The difference is that the articles of noble purposes are made holy, meaning set apart for the Master’s purpose. Being set apart, workers approved by God are useful for the Master and are prepared to do any good work desired by the Master.

You need to get this in perspective… the ignoble articles of household in the ancient time is what you find in your bathroom. You know the thing that you have to use when things don’t go well after using bathroom. Toilet plunger is dispensable and has no other value than unclogging toilet. Now, picture in your mind your home. Quickly scan in your mind your possessions… what are your possessions that are of great value because they are simply not irreplaceable, priceless…

You need to know this about yourself. As Christians, God treats you not as disposable and only good for ignoble purposes. God is after transforming you into his proud possessions of great value for his great purposes, for his good work. He is after setting you apart for himself. Understand this clearly… this is your identity; this is your destiny; this is your calling. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.

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God sees each of you and he envisions workers who are set apart by him for his good work, one who knows how to handle his word correctly, not quarrelsome or argumentative, but one who can instruct gently because you are confident in what he can do through you… this is what God wants to accomplish in your life. This is the gospel, transforming unworthy people like us into worthy people to carry out the King’s good works.

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[i] http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/article.cfm?articleid=2423

Sunday Sermon: Judges 6, The LORD is with you, mighty warrior.

Normally it was Midianites and Amalekites who lived a nomadic lifestyle. Nomads are “a group of people who have no fixed home and move according to the seasons from place to place in search of food, water, and grazing land.”[1] It was Midianites and Amalekites who lived this way. In contrary, when the Israelites finally came into the Promised Land during Joshua’s period, they were no longer people who wondered through the desert. They were the people of the land, each person belonging to the inherited portion of the inherited land from God.

But in chapter 6 of Judges, we witness something was very wrong. Verse 2-6 says:

Because the power of Midian was so oppressive, the Israelites prepared shelters for themselves in mountain clefts, caves and strongholds. Whenever the Israelites planted their crops, the Midianites, Amalekites and other eastern peoples invaded the country. They camped on the land and ruined the crops all the way to Gaza and did not spare a living thing for Israel, neither sheep nor cattle nor donkeys. They came up with their livestock and their tents like swarms of locusts. It was impossible to count the men and their camels; they invaded the land to ravage it. Midian so impoverished the Israelites that they cried out to the LORD for help.

Why was this happening? This was the land that God promised to Abraham long ago, their forefather. After forty years of wondering in the desert, by God’s grace, they finally made into the land of Promise. How did they get to this point of impoverishment? How did they become a people of the land to a people being chased away from the land? Verse 1 summarizes what they did in the manner typical to the book of Judges: Again the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the LORD, and for seven years he gave them into the hands of Midianites.

I am certain that Israelites during this period did some deep soul searching, wondering what life was all about. Perhaps, you are doing the same soul searching trying to understand why your life is as it is. Is your life impoverished? Do you lack joy, peace, love, purpose? Do you feel like nomads dictated by life circumstances? Do you feel out of control?

Verse 6 says that after 7 years of misery and soul searching, the Israelites cried out to the LORD for help. I want you to listen carefully how God responded to them.

Verse 8-10 says that when they cried out for help to the LORD, he responded by sending a prophet. And, the prophet delivered the message from the LORD:

I brought you up out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. I snatched you from the power of Egypt and from the hand of all your oppressors. I drove them from before you and gave you their land. I said to you, `I am the LORD your God; do not worship the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you live.' But you have not listened to me.

Why did God allowed the Israelites’ life to become so impoverished, uprooted, anxiety filled, defeated, enslaved? It is so that they might turn to God for help!

1. God wants you to pay attention to the fact that He is the LORD, your God who alone can deliver you, free you, make your steps firm, help you to live the real life. He wants you to grapple again and again with his saving grace in Jesus Christ.

Does your life feel like something is missing big time? Turn to Jesus. Do you feel defeated by sins? Turn to Jesus. Does your heart feel cold? Turn to Jesus. Are you overcome by sadness? Turn to Jesus. Are you depressed? Turn to Jesus. Are you going through the motion of life and feel that life is meaningless? Turn to Jesus. God wants you to know that knowing him through his Son Jesus is the key to truly meaningful, fulfilled, satisfied life.

If we do not know this God, if we are not seeking to know him, if we are not drawing near to his son Jesus, if Jesus is not in the center of our thoughts, emotions, decisions, actions, we can only live substandard, unsatisfying, frustrating, defeated life.
God wants to take you to Calvary, to the cross where your savior, Jesus died for you, where he was killed to take the full blow of God’s curse against you in sin, where he forgives all your sins, so that you can have reconciled life with him and with others.

Is the death of Jesus for you a past act, irrelevant to you? Oh, I pray that the Holy Spirit come upon you to convict you of your need for the living Savior every day.

Now, I am going to speak on the life of Gideon, a judge whom God raised up. We are going to learn from the story of Gideon that God can and will use you mightily for his glory.

2. When God calls you to do his will, he promises you his enabling powerful presence now!

In 6:12, an angel of the LORD told Gideon, “The LORD is with you, mighty warrior.” And from this point on, we meet Gideon not responding with faith and trust, but with whole lot of “buts.”

When God brings us to grapple with the magnitude of his sacrificing love through his Son two thousand years ago, he doesn’t just leave us there. He doesn’t have us grapple with his past act of death on the cross alone. He tells us that he is here with us now! That is exactly what God did with Gideon. God was raising Gideon up for his purpose to rescue and deliver Israel from the oppression. Our God is not God of past, but God who is present now! And, it is his presence of God that made Gideon a mighty warrior.

So, when the LORD said to Gideon through the angel, “The LORD is with you, mighty warrior,” he was calling Gideon to place his trust in God’s enabling presence.

To this Gideon replied in verse 13, “But sir… if the LORD is with us, why has all this happened to us? Where are all his wonders that our fathers told us about when they said, ‘Did not the LORD bring us up out of Egypt? But now the LORD has abandoned us and put us into the hand of Midian.” When the LORD promised, “The LORD is with you,” to Gideon, God was promising his enabling powerful presence for Gideon to accomplish God’s kingdom works. But, Gideon’s response was not of gratitude, thankfulness. Instead Gideon couldn’t reconcile in his mind God’s promise of his presence and the current oppression. He conveniently forgot that God allowed the oppression because of the Israelites’ unbelief, to turn them to himself.

Verse 14, “The LORD turned to him and said, “God in the strength you have and save Israel out of Midian’s hand. Am I not sending you?” God redirected Gideon’s attention to what God was going to do through Gideon. Now in verse 15, Gideon’s response seems to be of humble nature… “But Lord… how can I save Israel? My clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my family.” This is not true humility. Because true humility would say, in contrary to what I think and what I feel about myself and situation, I will trust in what you say! It was God sending him, with his abiding presence. God was going to deliver Israel out of the misery through Gideon. All that God was calling Gideon to do was trust what God had told him. Again, in verse 16 God affirmed Gideon, “I will be with you, and you will strike down all the Midianites together.”

And, from verse 17 to 24, we see how a beginning of Gideon’s quest for signs from God. Gideon wasn’t satisfied with God’s word of promise that he was going to be with him and that Gideon was going to strike down all the Midianites together. He wasn’t convinced by God’s word. He needed more proof. So what does he do? He hastily prepared sacrifices to offer to the LORD. And, what did God do? Verse 21 says, “With the tip of the staff that was in his hand, the angel of the LORD touched the meat and the unleavened bread. Fire flared from the rock, consuming the meat and the bread. And the angel of the LORD disappeared.”

And, we see this attempt to make certain of God’s promise by seeking signs by Gideon from verse 36 to verse 40. First, he asked only on a fleece, a peace of sheep skin, to be wet by the morning dew and not the surrounding ground. And, God did. Then again, Gideon asked for a sign, this time for the fleece to be dry while the ground surround it be covered with dew. And, God did the sign again.

In spite of Gideon’s unbelief, God graciously gave him the signs to turn his unbelief into belief in what God promised. The point is not that we ought to seek signs from God. Because Gideon asking signs was a sign of unbelief. Rather, it shows how much God wanted to use Gideon for his purpose. So, the story speaks of God’s patience and graciousness to convince Gideon that God was really with Gideon.

3. When God call you to do his will, he calls you to hack away any hindrance. (6:25-32)

Going back to verse 25 to verse 32, God called Gideon to destroy the Baal’s alter and to build the altar for God. Verse 27 says that Gideon was afraid of his family and the men of the town. So, he did it at night rather than in the daytime. Now, this isn’t exactly what you might want to put on the hall of fame of courageous acts. The altar to Baal and the Aherah pole were the idols that were dear to Gideon’s family and his clan. It is like going to someone’s house who have a shrine set up in their room to destroy it.

As coward as it might sound, the important thing is the fact that Gideon obeyed. In order to be used by God, you need to deal with any sinful stumbling block that prevents you from doing God’s will.


[1] Excerpted from The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, Third Edition Copyright © 1992 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Electronic version licensed from Lernout & Hauspie Speech Products N.V.