THE COURAGE OF THE KING

Today, in Judges, we’re going to see God transform a coward into a man of courage. The aim of this text is to teach us that

God doesn’t reward courage with a calling; he creates courage with a calling.

Judges 6:1 ESV

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.

Judges 6:2 ESV

And the hand of Midian overpowered Israel, and because of Midian the people of Israel made for themselves the dens that are in the mountains and the caves and the strongholds.

Judges 6:3 ESV

For whenever the Israelites planted crops, the Midianites and the Amalekites and the people of the East would come up against them.

Judges 6:4 ESV

They would encamp against them and devour the produce of the land, as far as Gaza, and leave no sustenance in Israel and no sheep or ox or donkey.

Judges 6:5 ESV

For they would come up with their livestock and their tents; they would come like locusts in number—both they and their camels could not be counted—so that they laid waste the land as they came in.

Judges 6:6 ESV

And Israel was brought very low because of Midian. And the people of Israel cried out for help to the Lord.

Judges 6:7 ESV

When the people of Israel cried out to the Lord on account of the Midianites,

Judges 6:8 ESV

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.

Judges 6:9 ESV

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.

Judges 6:10 ESV

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.”

Now, stop for a minute—that is odd, isn’t it? They cry out to the Lord, and he sends… a prophet…? They weren’t asking for teaching; they were calling for deliverance. Israel’s problem was not primarily the Midianities. They were their own problem. They were asking for deliverance, but God said, “What you need first is a sermon.”

Not every instance of suffering is in response to disobedience.

Some of you are in that category. You are here seeking something from God, but what God wants to do first is turn the spotlight onto your heart. Let me be very clear: Not every instance of suffering is in response to disobedience. God is not always trying to “teach you something.” In fact, most instances are not. Believers often suffer, like Jesus did, having done nothing wrong. But sometimes it is…

Psalm 119:67 ESV

Before I was afflicted I went astray, but now I keep your word.

I think it’s worth asking this morning: Is God possibly trying to get your attention? You came wanting God to give you help or deliverance and God is saying, What I need to do in your heart is more important. He hasn’t caused hardship to pay you back, but he has done it to bring you back.

Judges 6:11 ESV

Now the angel of the Lord came and sat under the terebinth at Ophrah, which belonged to Joash the Abiezrite, while his son Gideon was beating out wheat in the winepress to hide it from the Midianites.

But wait a minute… How did the people respond to the prophet’s sermon? Before the people responded, God has already begun their salvation! Make sure you get this:

We don’t get ourselves into shape and then God comes for us; he comes to us when we’re a mess.

Well, the angel takes a seat by this tree …

Judges 6:11 ESV

Now the angel of the Lord came and sat under the terebinth at Ophrah, which belonged to Joash the Abiezrite, while his son Gideon was beating out wheat in the winepress to hide it from the Midianites.

Now, a winepress is a terrible place to thresh wheat. Let me explain to you a little something about wheat threshing, in case you haven’t done it in a while: the way that they threshed wheat was they threw it up in the air so that the wind could blow away all the light, useless stuff, and the good stuff, the heavy stuff, falls back down.

Judges 6:11 ESV

Now the angel of the Lord came and sat under the terebinth at Ophrah, which belonged to Joash the Abiezrite, while his son Gideon was beating out wheat in the winepress to hide it from the Midianites.

A winepress is underground, which means it is a terrible place to thresh wheat, because you’d have to throw it way up to get the wind. So why is Gideon doing it there? Because he is afraid. The point: This is no Jack Bauer or Chuck Norris or Nicolas Cage…

Judges 6:12 ESV

And the angel of the Lord appeared to him and said to him, “The Lord is with you, O mighty man of valor.”

God doesn’t speak to Gideon based on what he is, but based on what God is going to make him into. Gideon is not called because he is courageous. He’s made courageous as a result of his call.

God doesn’t call the brave; he makes brave those he calls.

You see, when God calls us, he doesn’t see us or define us by the condition we are in, but by what he is determined to make us into in Christ. o Isn’t that good news? You were a mess when God came to you. He doesn’t reward the righteous and courageous, he makes men righteous and courageous. So God looks at a man cowering in a hole and says, “Man of valor! Stand up.”

Judges 6:13 ESV

And Gideon said to him, “Please, my lord, if the Lord is with us, why then has all this happened to us? And where are all his wonderful deeds that our fathers recounted to us, saying, ‘Did not the Lord bring us up from Egypt?’ But now the Lord has forsaken us and given us into the hand of Midian.”

Two questions: 1.“Please, my lord, if the LORD is with us, why then has all this happened to us? Based on what we’ve just read, this question is totally wrongheaded. Is it God that has left the people? No, the people have left God. The second question is even more confusing: And - where are all his wonderful deeds that our fathers recounted to us…?”

Judges 6:13 ESV

And Gideon said to him, “Please, my lord, if the Lord is with us, why then has all this happened to us? And where are all his wonderful deeds that our fathers recounted to us, saying, ‘Did not the Lord bring us up from Egypt?’ But now the Lord has forsaken us and given us into the hand of Midian.”

“God, why don’t you do great things for us anymore?” Well, Gideon, an angel is sitting in front of you. I think that would qualify as a wonderful thing. But look at God’s specific answer:

Judges 6:14 ESV

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?”

God’s answer to Gideon: “Where are all my wonderful deeds, Gideon? Why, I’m about to do them through you.” We often look to heaven and ask God, “Where are you?”

We are the work of God in our generation.

BTW: Who is this angel in verse 12, he’s called an angel, and he talks about the Lord in the 3rd person. In verse 14, however, he’s called “the Lord” directly. This happens a lot in the Hebrew Bible, and it’s a mystery until the coming of Jesus, and after that, it makes sense. It’s what theologians call a “Christophany.” Jesus was both the messenger of God, in addition to being God himself.

Judges 6:15 ESV

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.”

God, I am small; I am a coward. I’m here threshing my wheat underground, for crying out loud.

Judges 6:16 ESV

And the Lord said to him, “But I will be with you, and you shall strike the Midianites as one man.”

But I will be with you, This is God’s one line answer to everything. Everything you need is in that statement: I will be with you.

Judges 6:16 ESV

And the Lord said to him, “But I will be with you, and you shall strike the Midianites as one man.”

and you shall strike the Midianites as one man.” In other words, you will take out the massive Midianite army as if it’s one scrawny little guy

Judges 6:17 ESV

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.

So the angel tells Gideon to prepare some food, and when Gideon puts it on the table the angel touches the food with his staff and the flames spring up out of the rock and consume the food, and then the angel disappears, and Gideon is convinced God is behind it.

Judges 6:25 ESV

That night the Lord said to him, “Take your father’s bull, and the second bull seven years old, and pull down the altar of Baal that your father has, and cut down the Asherah that is beside it

Revival had to start with Gideon before it could spread.

Judges 6:26 ESV

and build an altar to the Lord your God on the top of the stronghold here, with stones laid in due order. Then take the second bull and offer it as a burnt offering with the wood of the Asherah that you shall cut down.”

Judges 6:27 ESV

So Gideon took ten men of his servants and did as the Lord had told him. But because he was too afraid of his family and the men of the town to do it by day, he did it by night.

Again, this is no William Wallace! But God doesn’t criticize Gideon for this, because obedience is more important to God than bravado. Well, the next morning everyone gets up and says, “What happened to our god?” Someone says, “Gideon did this!” and they say, “Let’s kill Gideon.

Judges 6:31 ESV

But Joash said to all who stood against him, “Will you contend for Baal? Or will you save him? Whoever contends for him shall be put to death by morning. If he is a god, let him contend for himself, because his altar has been broken down.”

Judges 6:32 ESV

Therefore on that day Gideon was called Jerubbaal, that is to say, “Let Baal contend against him,” because he broke down his altar.

Again, don’t miss the humor. This small, cowardly guy gets the nickname “Baal-tail-whooper.” Well, after this… vs. 33, the Midianites launch a massive assault on Israel, at which point the angel of God appears to Gideon again, and tells him to mount a resistance… Gideon says again, “OK, God, again, how can I be sure you’re going to do this?” And then Gideon comes up with his own idea: “I’m going to put this animal skin, this fleece, out on the ground. If you are really with me, in the morning let the ground around it be dry and the fleece be wet.”

Judges 6:38 ESV

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.

Then Gideon said, “Wait a minute, that was too easy. God, what I meant to say was, ‘Let the fleece be dry, and the ground around it be wet.’ That would be a real miracle.”

Judges 6:40 ESV

And God did so that night; and it was dry on the fleece only, and on all the ground there was dew.

Ahh… the famous fleece test. This concept has been more abused than just about any other thing in the Bible. Including by me. People come up with these litmus tests to determine if God is really in something. That’s not really the point. We’ll come to that.

WHEN GOD IS KING WE CAN BE COURAGEOUS.

God doesn’t call the brave; he makes brave the called.

When God comes to you, he never starts with what you are; he starts with what he intends to make you in Christ. So he looks at a man cowering in a hole and says, “Man of valor!” “Moses, you will be a great orator.” “But God, I can’t speak. I will be your mouth. Maybe even clearer example of this: Abraham: Sterile. Old. Father of many nations? Laughable. Romans 4:17 says

Romans 4:17 ESV

as it is written, “I have made you the father of many nations”—in the presence of the God in whom he believed, who gives life to the dead and calls into existence the things that do not exist.

that faith is believing God when he calls into existence the things that do not yet exist. God does that with you; he speaks to you, dead in your sin, and calls you alive based on the resurrection. The question is, “Will you believe him?”

Satan is the one who starts with who you are and what you’ve done and defines you by that.

He whispers, “You’re a failure… Coward. Reject. He is usually substantiating that by true facts. He’s called the accuser of the brethren: day an night. God says, “My beloved. Righteous. Saint. Mighty man of valor.” You say, “But God, I am none of those things.” He says, “You will be.”

Here’s how you tell the difference between the Holy Spirit’s voice and Satan’s.

Both will talk about your sin, and it’s easy to confuse their voice. But here’s how you tell: Satan starts with who you are and what you’ve done and beats you up for it. The Holy Spirit starts with a declaration of what he’s making you in Christ and grows you up into it. God starts with what he has declared you to be…

God doesn’t call the bold; he emboldens the called.

Or here is another way of saying that: “God doesn’t call the equipped; he equips the called.” If you are waiting on God to give you all you need before you obey, you’ll never get there. We say, “God, show me the provision, and I’ll obey.” God says, doesn’t work that way. “You obey, and I’ll show you the provision.” We have people waiting to obey God—to go and speak, to go on a mission, to make a sacrifice, saying, “God, show me how this will work and I will do it.” God says, “Wrong order. You step out of the boat, and then you’ll walk on water.”

We are the activity of God in our generation

God answers Gideon’s question, “God, why don’t do awesome things for us like you used to do for our grandparents?” with the statement, “Gideon, I’m here to use you.” We are the activity of God in our generation.

Amos 5:4–6 ESV

For thus says the Lord to the house of Israel: “Seek me and live; but do not seek Bethel, and do not enter into Gilgal or cross over to Beersheba; for Gilgal shall surely go into exile, and Bethel shall come to nothing.” Seek the Lord and live, lest he break out like fire in the house of Joseph, and it devour, with none to quench it for Bethel,

Why the 3 random cities?

Bethel is where Jacob had his life-changing encounter with God, a place that symbolized for Israelites awakening and renewal.

Why the 3 random cities?

Gilgal was where the children of Israel finally emerged from their 40 year wandering in the wilderness, believed God, and took possession of the Promised Land. God miraculously parted the Jordan at Gilgal he “rolled away their reproach” (Joshua 5:9).

Why the 3 random cities?

At Beerhseba, God delivered by Abraham by giving him a treaty with Abimelech that became instrumental in his possession of the new land. His son Isaac would make an altar there.

Why the 3 random cities?

Each of these represents a place of incredible spiritual power. But evidently by the time of Israel they were sitting around the campfire talking about the good old days. God, “will you shut up about the good old days? “My saving acts are not simply a thing of the past; seek them in the present.”

You are my answer to that prayer.

Are you asking, 'God, why aren't you active in my family? On my campus? In our community?' Maybe God is saying to you, 'You are my answer to that prayer... be the conduit of my power.

Revival starts at home.

Gideon’s 1st assignment was to get rid of the idol in his father’s house. Before you can do battle with the enemies around you, you need to throw off the enemies within you. These idols weaken you; make you ineffective in what God has for you. You say, “I don’t have any idols.” Maybe you don’t understand what they are. For Gideon’s family, these idols weren’t things instead of God; they worshipped them in addition to God.

Revival starts at home.

They had never rejected God: they had just substantiated him with idols that guaranteed other things: rain, fertility, etc. o They weren’t idols in the place of God; but idols in addition to God. Now, we may hear that and say, “That’s silly ancient superstition. Statues?” But where do you have places that you aren’t sure you can trust God, so you have other things that act as backup?

Revival starts at home.

Let me give you two sure signs of an idol: Disobedience and anxiety. For many people, they don’t feel like they can trust God in the area of money, so they cheat (business or taxes); or harm their family working all the time; or they refuse to obey God financially. If you don’t tithe; that indicates that money is an idol for you.

Disobedience is a sure sign of an idol.

Disobedience is always accompanied by anxiety… you are worried about your ability to hold onto these things. Maybe you worry about your kids all the time because you feel like you can’t trust God with them. Before God uses you in the mission, he has to go to war against your idols.

You can’t do battle with the enemies outside you until you have gone to war with the enemies within you.

Courage is not the absence of fear; it is following God in the midst of fear.

God’s one line answer to Gideon’s fear, his sense of inadequacy: “I am with you.” That is God’s one line answer to every feeling of fear and inadequacy.

Courage is not the absence of fear; it is following God in the midst of fear.

Secular teaching on overcoming fears tells us to banish whatever thoughts cause fear: “Control your thoughts… don’t think about the things that scare you.” God’s peace comes a different way; it is not closing your eyes to the things that make you afraid, but opening your eyes to the presence of God beside you. But that leads to this question…

How do we know he is with us?

The cross is our wet fleece.

Gideon asked God to prove he was with him by making a fleece wet when the ground was dry… I mentioned a moment ago that this concept of the fleece had been abused… We give God these random litmus tests to prove he wants us to do something. I’m not saying it’s always wrong to ask for confirmation… (though if you do, it should be 1 of 1000 pieces in the decision making process—the bulk of which should be Scripture and good counsel) But I can tell you that’s not the main point being made here.

The cross is our wet fleece.

In fact, Gideon knew what he was doing was unwise. Did you see in vs. 39 where Gideon tells God not to be angry at him for asking?

Judges 6:39 ESV

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.”

He knows this is testing God’s patience. And Gideon’s main question was not whether God wanted him to do this, but “God, how do I know you’re really on my side? How do I know you’re really in control?”

The cross is our wet fleece.

We have something much better that shows us that God is in control and that God is on our side: the cross o In control: took the worst action of men and turned it for his plan and our side. We therefore know he can do it in the dark times in our lives, too. On our side:

Romans 5:8 ESV

but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

That is what gives us courage. A great verse on fear is: 1 John 4:18,

1 John 4:18 ESV

There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love.

“Fear has to do with punishment.” We see something that makes us afraid and we feel vulnerable… Goes back to Garden: The first effect of the fall was a sense of nakedness… we feel vulnerable… so we put on clothes or good job; good reputation, good relationships… At any point the clothes might be ripped away. But in the cross,

We are clothed with the irrevocable garment of the perfect love of God.

Think about all the ways God’s love is perfect. God’s love is perfect in:

Its intensity toward us.

God couldn’t love us any more.

It is perfect in its constancy with us.

In Christ, God says he will never leave us. I will never leave or forsake you - You forsake or leave never will I.

It is perfect in its sufficiency.

We were created for the love of the eternal God; in being loved and possessed by him our thirst is quenched; and.....

It is perfect in its sovereignty of all things in our lives.

He commandeers every molecule in the universe to work out his good and perfect plan for our lives. Intensity; constancy; sufficiency; sovereignty…With God’s perfect love, what else is there to be afraid of? Numbers 23:23

Numbers 23:23 ESV

For there is no enchantment against Jacob, no divination against Israel; now it shall be said of Jacob and Israel, ‘What has God wrought!’

When the children of Israel went into the Promised Land, the spies had told them that there were powerful people there with powerful magic. They feared, “What if their power is stronger than ours? What if they have Lord Voldemort on their side?” He who cannot be named? God says, “Who cares what his name is? My name is bigger.”

Psalm 56:11 ESV

in God I trust; I shall not be afraid. What can man do to me?

Answer: nothing! Do you know this love? If you are experiencing any kind of fear, it is because you have lost touch with one of those aspects of God’s perfect love: Intensity; constancy; sufficiency; sovereignty.

True courage comes from the presence and the promises of God, and those are given to us irrevocably in the gospel.

When Jesus sent out his disciples in the Great Commission, he said this, “And I am with you always, to the ends of the age. Go therefore, and make disciples of all nations.” The Great Commission begins with the Great Announcement, and the power to go far and do much in the Great Commission comes from confidence in the Great Announcement. That’s what God says you:

“Go mighty man or woman of valor: I am with you.”

Is he calling you to be his instrument? To obey him in some way… I can tell you what he says (hear his voice in mine)

You are a saint and highly beloved in Christ (Romans 1:7) “But God, I don’t feel like saint.” “That’s what I’ve made you in Christ.” • You are my ambassador (2 Corinthians 5:19)That means you are on a mission from me, I’ll supply whatever provisions you need. He says, You are my son/daughter (Romans 8:15), and that he will never leave nor forsake you (Hebrews 13:5). So be strong and very courageous, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” (Joshua 1:9). “You are a mighty man of valor” (Judges 6:12).

We don’t work up courage

… it doesn’t come from our personality; it comes from embracing our identity in Christ. It is received as a gift, not worked out. Virtues like courage (all Christian virtues) don’t lead us to salvation; they flow from our salvation.

Don’t look to your courage to give you an identity in Christ; look to your identity in Christ to give you courage.