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Part 9 of 16
A Cloud Of Witnesses
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We are studying 52 Bible people over 52 weeks this year. What I want you to know is that these people are not characters, not fiction, and not superheroes. They are normal people like you and me.
Here's what happens: God comes and he calls normal people to be part of his work. We have a God who doesn't need to use us—he's all-powerful, almighty, knows everything, can do anything he wants. Yet every time he's going to accomplish something, he comes and invites a person to be part of his work.
Some of these people have failed, and they've failed miserably. Yet God is so good, taking broken vessels and using them for his purposes in this world. That's what he desires to do with each of us today.
God wants to use you to make a difference in this world. Not just for a moment, but every moment. Not just for a day, but every day. Not just on a Sunday, but Monday through Saturday. He wants to use you for your entire life—at home, with your family, in your neighborhood, in your community, at church, at work, in the city, across the state, everywhere. God wants to use you with absolutely no limits.
Here's what I know: God wants to use us with no limits, but from first-hand experience, I know that I put limits on how God can use me. We put limitations on God and how he can use us. We say to him, "I'm willing to jump on board with you, but maybe not quite in the way you want to use me."
The word "limitations" is kind of a sore word for me right now because I broke my hand seven weeks ago. I broke the top of my hand and my middle finger, and I've had some limitations as a result.
I have a sabbatical coming up later this year. Northview Church is very generous to pastors, and after 14 years on staff—starting as the junior high pastor at Carmel, then launching the Westfield campus 12 years ago—I qualify for a sabbatical. My plans are to go out west, do a lot of camping. I bought a medium-size camper with an outdoor kitchen, a heater, and the ability to heat water for showers. All of that is powered by two propane tanks that didn't come with the trailer.
I heard the Carmel recycle center had propane tanks people drop off for free. I thought, "What a great idea—I'll save money." I went over there the day after Easter. I put my bike in the truck, planning to ride after I picked up a tank. When I got there, they were closed, so I went down to the trail instead.
About three or four miles into my ride, I couldn't believe what I saw off the side of the trail. There was a propane tank just sitting there—almost like finding a pot of gold. On my mind that day was a free propane tank, and there it was. I got off my bike and picked it up. It was empty and light. I don't know how it technically got there—I'm guessing it floated down the river, the river went down, and there it sat.
For whatever reason, I picked it up and walked with it, shortcutting the trail a bit. Then I got to a place where the trail was extremely flat, and I had a brilliant idea: I might as well just ride with the propane tank. So I got on my bike with the propane tank in my right hand, steering with my left hand. Everything was going great until it wasn't. I went over a root, got a little wonky, went off to the left side, my tire stuck, I flipped, chucked the propane tank somewhere, and I gripped that handlebar into the ground.
That's how I broke my hand and my finger.
Now, I know you're thinking a couple of things. First, did I get that propane tank? Yes, of course I got it. I could have gone to Walmart and gotten one for 50 bucks, but I got this one for 1,500 bucks. Amazing.
Second, I started this sermon by saying God wants to use us to make a difference in this world. But then I told you that story. And here's the thing: if God can use that guy—the guy standing up here who rode his mountain bike one-handed carrying a propane tank—then God can use you. He can use you, and he wants to use you. But we've got to throw off some of these limitations we're putting on God. We've got to get better at saying yes to God when he invites us to be part of his work.
Today we're getting into the story of Gideon in Judges 6. Let me summarize the first ten verses: Israel has turned their backs on God and worshipped false idols. God allows their enemy, the Midianites, to come in. For seven years, the Midianites have been destroying the crops in Israel—their food supply—making life so difficult that people have fled their homes and are living in caves.
Eventually, Israel realizes they need to get right with God again. They cry out to God. God hears their cries and is going to deliver them. But what does God do when he's at work? He calls a person. He calls an individual: "Come join me. I'm going to use you to make a difference in this world. I'm going to use you to deliver Israel."
In our story today, it's going to be Gideon. You see this cycle over and over in Judges: Israel falls away, Israel cries out, God calls up a person, and God uses that person to deliver Israel.
Let's read Judges 6:11. It says:
The angel of the Lord came and sat down under the oak in Ophrah that belonged to Joash the Abiezrite where his son Gideon was threshing wheat in a winepress to keep it from the Midianites.
Two things to point out. First, "the angel of the Lord"—when you see that article "the" in front of "angel of the Lord," this is God in the flesh or Christ in the flesh. This is a theophany or christophany—an appearance of God or Christ. So this is God in the flesh coming to talk to Gideon.
Second, what is Gideon doing? He's threshing wheat in a winepress, which isn't the right place. A wine press is a pit where you throw grapes and crush them to squeeze out juice. You would thresh wheat in a place that's windy, maybe a higher place, so the chaff would blow away. Gideon is threshing wheat down in a pit so he can do this unseen. Remember, the Midianites have been destroying the food supply. Gideon is basically hiding.
Verse 12 says:
When the angel of the Lord appeared to Gideon, he said, "The Lord is with you, mighty warrior." Gideon responded, "Pardon me, my Lord, but if the Lord is with us, why has all this happened to us? Where are all his wonders that our ancestors told us about when they said, 'Did not the Lord bring us up out of Egypt?' But now the Lord has abandoned us and he's given us into the hand of Midian."
The Lord turned to him and said:
Go in the strength you have and save Israel out of Midian's hand. Am I not sending you?
Gideon replied:
Pardon me, my Lord, but how can I save Israel? My clan is the weakest in Manasseh, I am the least in my family.
The Lord answered:
I will be with you and you will strike down all the Midianites leaving none alive.
Look at verse 13. Gideon says, "Pardon me, my lord." Notice the little "l" on lord—that's just like saying "sir." But then he says, "But if the Lord"—capital L. That's Yahweh. That's God himself. And it's interesting: there is God standing right in front of Gideon, and Gideon does not recognize who it is. "Pardon me, sir," Gideon says, "But if the Lord was with us... where is the Lord?" Right there in front of you, Gideon! He totally misses that Yahweh is standing right in front of him.
Why does he miss it? Look at verse 13 again. He says, "Why has all this happened to us?" I want you to focus on those words: all this. Where is Gideon's attention right now? It's on all this. Seven years of trouble. The Midianites wreaking havoc on their land. They're in difficulty. They're fleeing their homes. They're living in caves. All this is going on, and all this is all that Gideon can see. He can't see that God is right there in front of him talking to him.
I believe we fall to the same thing in life. All this gets our attention—too much attention. Think about life in general: our busy schedules, the demands of work, the demands of youth sports running us everywhere every weekend, the demands to care for a home and the stuff we own. We live in a very fast-paced life. We've got to keep up. And all this stuff, all these things to do, sometimes it just captures all of our attention. It's all we can see. All this is blinding us to the fact that God is standing right in front of us inviting us to be part of his work.
It's crazy because when all this is going on, sometimes someone from church comes to us and says, "Hey, would you consider serving in the kids ministry?"
When Gideon encounters God, his attention is completely consumed by all this—seven years of trouble, the Midianites wreaking havoc, people fleeing their homes and living in caves. Gideon can only see the crisis in front of him. He cannot see that God is standing right there, inviting him to be part of His work.
We do the same thing in our lives. Our busy schedules, work demands, youth sports running us everywhere every weekend, caring for our homes and possessions—all this captures our attention completely. Sometimes it's all we can see. And when someone from church approaches us asking, "Would you consider serving in kids ministry?" we respond, "I'm honored, but don't you see all this I have going on? Maybe when all this is over, then I could serve."
What we may not recognize is that the invitation actually came from God Himself standing in front of us. We need to develop greater awareness and sensitivity. We must learn to discern: Is this coming from God? Is God the one inviting me to be part of this work right now?
"The quality of a person's leadership will be in part measured by time, its use and its passage. We cannot regulate school or office hours, those are determined for us, but we can say what we do before and after those commitments. The way we employ the surplus hours will determine if we develop into mediocre or powerful people. Leisure is a glorious opportunity and a subtle danger. Each moment of the day is a gift from God that deserves care, for our time is short and the work is great." — J. Oswald Sanders
Notice the highlighted words here: mediocre. I don't want to live a mediocre life. I don't want to reach the end of my life and say, "Yep, I was mediocre." That is not the goal.
Leisure is an opportunity or a danger—we have choices to make with our free time. Each moment of the day is a gift from God. We must value that. We must see that. And finally, the work is great. The work that God calls us to do is great. There is nothing you can carry into the next life that's more valuable than impacting another individual and helping Jesus be known. That is the only thing we carry into eternity.
Hebrews 12:1 reminds us:
"Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us."
We know we must get sin out of the way, but notice also: throw off everything that hinders. Is all this getting in the way? Is it hindering what God has in store for you? We must have the boldness to discern that.
When God appears to Gideon, He says, "The Lord is with you, mighty warrior." But Gideon is hiding—not sharpening his sword, not preparing for battle, not gathering troops or developing a plan. Just hiding.
Yet God sees something in Gideon that Gideon cannot see in himself. How does Gideon see himself? He says in verse 15: "My clan is the weakest in Manasseh...and I am the least in my family."
Manasseh was one of the twelve tribes of Israel. Historical records show there were 52,700 fighting men in Manasseh. Gideon is saying, "Out of 52,700 men, I am the least of the least. I rank 52,700. I'm dead last. How can God do anything through me?"
God sees what we don't see.
"When God calls us, we cannot refuse from a sense of inadequacy. Nobody is worthy of such trust. Let us not pass the buck of leadership or service because we think ourselves incapable. Nobody is worthy. We're normal people. We've fallen. We've made mistakes. But yet we have a God who calls us. He wants to use us to make a difference. He's the one that empowers us." — J. Oswald Sanders
We cannot use inadequacy as an excuse. We place another limitation on God when we say, "I'm not good enough." We think about our failures, our weaknesses, our inadequacies. We compare ourselves to others and think, "They're so much better. I don't compare."
But God sees something different. He sees potential. He sees that you are the perfect piece to the puzzle. God sees the real you—a version of you that is so valuable to the kingdom of God.
I've been gathering all the titles and names that God calls us in Scripture—the truth about who we are as declared by God:
This is who you are. Stop letting the world push you into a corner. Stop letting shame speak over you. Take time this week to sit with God and get these verses. Let God speak to you until this sinks in—this is the real you.
As Pastor CJ says, your identity determines your activity. If I start to see myself this way, then I'm going to start living a different life. It will be a life of true confidence—not self-confidence, but Christ-confidence.
Self always fails. Self lets you down. But Christ never lets us down. He's always victorious. When I put my confidence in Christ, I live a different life. And I become part of His work in a completely different way. It's all about Him.
Gideon still isn't convinced. He goes to God with fleece tests—asking for specific signs (Judges 6:36-40). But Gideon already knows what he needs to do. God has already spoken clearly. What Gideon is actually doing is trying to get out of what God is calling him to do. God is about to move Gideon into a very uncomfortable place, and Gideon prefers to stay comfortable.
When God invites us to be part of His work and it's clear what He's asking, sometimes we say, "I'm not comfortable doing that." This is the third limitation we place on God.
Personal testimony: When Pastor CJ texted asking if I'd be in town on Memorial Day weekend, I was lying on the couch, comfortable, when this request came. My first response was to hedge: "Yes, right now we are in town," even though I was making plans to potentially be gone.
When he then asked me to pray about preaching from the Carmel campus, I felt instant stress. I'd never spoken here before. I started thinking, "I don't preach very often, so I'm out of rhythm." I played the comparison game: "I can't speak like CJ, Steve, Kurt, and everyone else." I questioned why he was asking me. I was being a complete Gideon.
But Pastor CJ asked me to do one thing: pray. When I prayed, God gave me simple words from Scripture: "Be strong and courageous."
That changed everything. The very next day, I said yes. Why would I wuss out? Why would I not answer the call? God said, "I'm going to be with you." God stretches us out of our comfort zones.
Here are two questions I want to ask you: Has God called you to do something, but you are playing games with God trying to get out of it? And second: Are you choosing your comfort instead of trusting God to be with you as He does His work through you?
God doesn't call us to step out of our comfort zone alone. The all-powerful, almighty God goes with us. He goes before us. Yes, we get stretched, but it's a good thing.
When Gideon finally lifts the limitations and says yes to God, God does amazing things. In Judges 7, Gideon gathers an army of over 32,000 men. But God says that's not how it's going to work. If Israel has 32,000 men and defeats the Midianites, Israel will think they saved themselves. "This is about me," God says. "I want all of Israel to know I used you, Gideon, but I am the deliverer."
God reduces the army from 32,000 down to 300. Gideon probably thinks, "Okay, but surely we have great weapons, right?" God says yes—trumpets, empty jars, and torches inside them. That's the plan.
They go to the Midian camp at night, blow their trumpets, shout "For the Lord and for Gideon!" and throw their jars on the ground.
Verse 22 says:
"When the 300 trumpets sounded, the Lord caused the men throughout the camp to turn on each other with their swords."
God did the work. That's what happens when we say yes to Him. He does amazing things. He wants to use you to make a difference in this world.
Yes, we put limitations on God, but when you say yes, be prepared—He's going to do amazing things.
The Indy 500 is the largest one-day spectator sport in the world. But following Jesus is not a spectator sport. We weren't called to be spectators. We're called to get in the game.
God wants to use you. He wants to make a difference in this world through you. He's going to call you. He's going to empower you. He's going to go with you. We've got to stop with these limitations and say yes to Him.
If you're struggling to answer God's call, know that these calls come small, large, daily—they can come at any moment. God wants to use you any moment, any place, anywhere.
I want to encourage you to use the Northview app and find the serve finder. If you're saying, "Yes, I get it. I need to be part of what God is doing. God wants to use me," then get on the app and see the different ways you could start serving. That might just jump-start you into saying yes to God.
If you're struggling to answer God's call, know that these calls come small, large, and daily. They can come at any moment. God wants to use you any moment, any place, anywhere. You don't have to wait for the perfect moment or feel completely ready before you start.
I want to encourage you to use the Northview app and find the serve finder. If you're saying, "Yes, I get it. I need to be part of what God is doing. God wants to use me," then get on the app and see the different ways you could start serving. There's a way to take a test drive on there so you can see what a ministry is all about, and then you can jump in. That might just jump-start you into saying yes to God.
God, you are mighty, awesome, and amazing. All glory to you, Lord. It is amazing to me why you would invite people like me to be part of your work. Yet we see it all through scripture, and we know this is your plan. You could do it all, but you want to do it through us and with us, and we get to be a part.
I'm praying over anyone in this room who is seeking discernment. Lord, is that you standing in front of them inviting them to be part of something? Help them to know, and help them to say yes. Help us to say yes in all those moments where we feel your promptings. There are times we just want to limit you, Lord. Help us to be better. God, we love you. Thank you for today. Amen.
