Father Knows Best (Slide 1)

Joke

A BASEBALL JOKE - A man walks into a Seattle Restaurant with a dog. The waiter says, "You can't bring that dog in here."

"You don't understand," says the man. "This is no regular dog, he can talk."

"Listen, pal," says the waiter. "If that dog can talk, I'll give you a hundred bucks."

The man puts the dog on a stool, and asks him, "What's on top of a house?"

"Roof!"

"Right. And what's on the outside of a tree?"

"Bark!"

"And who's the greatest baseball player of all time?"

"Ruth!"

"I guess you've heard enough," says the man. "I'll take the hundred in twenties."

The waiter is furious. "Listen, pal," he says, "get out of here before I belt you."

As soon as they're on the street, the dog turns to the man and says, "Do you think I should have said 'Griffey Jr'?"

Open

(Slide 2)

Open with old tv. Father knows best, Dick Van Dyke show, Leave it to Beaver. These were all shows that had a strong father type of figure.

It seemed like every episode the Beave or whatever the kid’s name is would get in trouble for something. Then sure enough they would get caught, get punished, and they would get that weeks wisdom from their father.

You see even though they probably thought that the dad was old and out of date. They listened, why, because they knew that their father wanted nothing but the best for them. Even if they didn’t like it.

This was taken for granted every week. Even as tv began to change into the 80’s and nineties it seemed like father knew best. You could put total trust in WHATEVER the father said.

As Christians we have a heavenly father. Who is wiser and wants more for us than Bill Cosby, Tim Allen and Ward Clever COMBINED, yet we struggle to listen to what He tells us.

Today we will be in Judges. Judges, a sneak peak.

Judges - the entertaining book about the messed up Israelites and God’s mercy. Check it out. Why Gideon is someone I can relate to.

We will be addressing 3 questions that I believe hold us back from following our fathers guidance. These 3 questions keep us from believing that our father knows best.

The first question opens our discussion. Before we talk about the question lets set the scene by opening our Bibles to Judges chapter 6 starting with me in verse 11. If you don’t have a Bible there is one under your chair or you can read along on the screen.

Judges 6:11–24 (ESV)

(SLIDE 3) 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. And the angel of the Lord appeared to him and said to him, “The Lord is with you, O mighty man of valor.” 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.” 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?” 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.” And the Lord said to him, “But I will be with you, and you shall strike the Midianites as one man.” 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. Please do not depart from here until I come to you and bring out my present and set it before you.” And he said, “I will stay till you return.”

(SLIDE 4)So Gideon went into his house and prepared a young goat and unleavened cakes from an ephah of flour. The meat he put in a basket, and the broth he put in a pot, and brought them to him under the terebinth and presented them. And the angel of God said to him, “Take the meat and the unleavened cakes, and put them on this rock, and pour the broth over them.” And he did so. Then the angel of the Lord reached out the tip of the staff that was in his hand and touched the meat and the unleavened cakes. And fire sprang up from the rock and consumed the meat and the unleavened cakes. And the angel of the Lord vanished from his sight. Then Gideon perceived that he was the angel of the Lord. And Gideon said, “Alas, O Lord God! For now I have seen the angel of the Lord face to face.” But the Lord said to him, “Peace be to you. Do not fear; you shall not die.” Then Gideon built an altar there to the Lord and called it, The Lord Is Peace. To this day it still stands at Ophrah, which belongs to the Abiezrites.

So the first question that I believe keeps us from doing what we are supposed to is.....

Does Our Father Know What He’s Doing? (SLIDE 5)

This is a rhetorical question. Of course HE does, but if He does, why do we like Gideon have such a hard time accepting His words?

The angel of the Lord, who scholars believe is the angel Gabriel appears to Gideon. We say that because He might have been there a while, we don’t know. He shows himself and addresses Gideon “The Lord is with you, mighty man of Valor.” Remember what Gideon knows is that the Mideanites have the Israelites under their thumb. Gideon is literally thrashing the wheat to hide from the Mideanites. Gideon takes this title it seems as an insult and fires back sarcastically at the stranger. “Oh really if I am such a mighty man then where is God? Why are we under so much turmoil?”

The stranger can see the fire in Gideon. Though it is the Israelites fault and not God’s that they are in this situation. Gideon’s father is a prophet of Baal! Take that fire and destroy the Mideonites!

Gideon continues to argue the fact. He doesn’t get it. When He finally figures out that there is more to this stranger than it seems Gideon wants proof.

We can’t blame him to this point. If anything we can relate. God rarely gives us easy jobs. They are usually jobs that stretch us in ways that we never anticipated. Gideon needed proof that He was supposed to take on a whole army!

Gideon prepares an offering for the Angel and brings it to him. The angel touches the bread and meat with his staff and like a bbq with gas on it fire engulfs the offering disintegrating it.

LIGHT BULB - This is God! Gideon realizes now who it is he is talking to. The angel again reassures him and Gideon builds an alter on the spot.

Why choose a Gideon?

(SLIDE 6)

1 Corinthians 1:26–29 (ESV) For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God.

So, do we believe that our father knows best? If we do, our faith holds us back because we ask ourselves the second question?

Will My Father Take Care of Me? (SLIDE 7)

A Reminder: If God asks something of you, you can plan on it stretching you to your very limit, and our limit may be very different from that of our father. We are not enough, and when you cannot see a way to do it yourself the only option is to turn to God for help. You can even have a valid argument if you said that Gideon doubted himself more than he doubted God. Regardless, if Gideon was going to take this task on, whatever it may be that the Father wanted from him would the father take care of him.

Judges 6:25–32 (ESV)

(SLIDE 8) 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 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.” 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.

(SLIDE 9) When the men of the town rose early in the morning, behold, the altar of Baal was broken down, and the Asherah beside it was cut down, and the second bull was offered on the altar that had been built. And they said to one another, “Who has done this thing?” And after they had searched and inquired, they said, “Gideon the son of Joash has done this thing.” Then the men of the town said to Joash, “Bring out your son, that he may die, for he has broken down the altar of Baal and cut down the Asherah beside it.” 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.” Therefore on that day Gideon was called Jerubbaal, that is to say, “Let Baal contend against him,” because he broke down his altar.

God doesn’t need the rich, or the powerful, or the best. God wants the willing, even if it’s barely.

Gideon did all that God asked him to do to this point in spite of his fear. If he does what God wants he would be going against his friends, his people, even his family. ( his father was the prophet of baal.)

Why would God ask Gideon to do this? How does this prepare Gideon for battle?

(SLIDE 10)

Be Available (3. “Will God Take Care of Me?” (Jdg. 6:25–32))

if we don’t practice our faith at home, how can we practice it sincerely any place else? Gideon had to take his stand in his own village before he dared to face the enemy on the battlefield.

DAvid killed the bear and the lion BEFORE Goliath

Daniel ate the right food BEFORE the lions den

The disciples had to learn to catch fish in their own boat by faith before they could be fishers of men.

God will give us exactly what we need for ANY task He gives us.

Gideon was afraid but his earthly father listened to his Heavenly father it seems and saved him.

God shared his plan with Gideon. Not all of it, it was the cliffs note version, but he shared enough.

God showed Gideon that he had a plan and a promise for Gideon but Gideon still lacked in faith not fear. Gideon wondered our third question.

Does Our Father Keep His Promises?(SLIDE 11)

This is the portion that I struggle with when it comes to Gideon.

Judges 6:33–40 (ESV)

(SLIDE 12)Now all the Midianites and the Amalekites and the people of the East came together, and they crossed the Jordan and encamped in the Valley of Jezreel. But the Spirit of the Lord clothed Gideon, and he sounded the trumpet, and the Abiezrites were called out to follow him. And he sent messengers throughout all Manasseh, and they too were called out to follow him. And he sent messengers to Asher, Zebulun, and Naphtali, and they went up to meet them.

(SLIDE 13)Then Gideon said to God, “If you will save Israel by my hand, as you have said, behold, I am laying a fleece of wool on the threshing floor. If there is dew on the fleece alone, and it is dry on all the ground, then I shall know that you will save Israel by my hand, as you have said.” 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 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.” And God did so that night; and it was dry on the fleece only, and on all the ground there was dew.

The Bigger the task, the bigger the fear.

The Midianites and their allies made this trek every year. They had over 135,000 men!

God needed Gideon to act. Instead Gideons fear became bigger than the wisdom and power of the Father.

Gideon had already seen the power of God but it wasn’t enough to convince Gideon that God was on his side.

We can understand why Gideon was afraid, but the absolute gaul of Gideon. To not put God through 1 more, but 2 more tests.

Make no mistake, Gideon was testing God’s power. Could God do what he said....

After God graciously showed His power, Gideon had no choice but to trust Him and go into battle.

(SLIDE 14)

Zechariah 4:6 (ESV)

Then he said to me, “This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel: Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the Lord of hosts.

Be Available 4. “Does God Keep His Promises?” (Jdg. 6:33–40)

When a group of British pastors was discussing the advisability of inviting evangelist D.L. Moody to their city for a crusade, one man asked, “Why must it be Moody? Does D.L. Moody have a monopoly on the Holy Spirit?” Quietly one of the other pastors replied, “No, but it’s evident that the Holy Spirit has a monopoly on D.L. Moody.”

Because of Gideon and his fearful faith, 32,000 men agreed to follow him into a battle that they all knew was impossible to win.

(SLIDE 15)

Close

Does our father know what He is doing? Absolutely

Will our Father take care of us? Absolutely

Does our Father keep his promises? Without Fail

If there is something that God calls us to do, whether it be big or small, it will be done exactly as God wants it done if we can get over our own fear and doubt and realize that know matter what it may be it will be good for us because our Father ALWAYS knows best.

Benediction

Proverbs 4:20–27 ESV

My son, be attentive to my words; incline your ear to my sayings. Let them not escape from your sight; keep them within your heart. For they are life to those who find them, and healing to all their flesh. Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life. Put away from you crooked speech, and put devious talk far from you. Let your eyes look directly forward, and your gaze be straight before you. Ponder the path of your feet; then all your ways will be sure. Do not swerve to the right or to the left; turn your foot away from evil.