U Can Make A Difference Week 6

UCanMakeADifference (Gideon-Judges 6) Good morning! We have spent the past six weeks asking the question "Can I Make A Difference With My Life?" In a world so filled with pain, anger, rage, misunderstanding, disconnection, need, loss, evil and sin-maybe we sometimes wonder--what difference can my life possibly make? This week I read the story of Lu who, with her husband Li, since 1972 have rescued more than 30 abandoned babies left in the garbage heaps outside their home in an eastern province of China. This couple, who themselves lived in abject poverty, would routinely search the trash heaps for recyclable items to sell for food and living costs. Down through the years, they have come upon tiny infants abandoned among the trash. In each case, Lu took the babies to her humble home and nursed them back to health until they regained their strength and grew into strong, happy children. 30 children! She writes, 'The whole thing started when I found the first baby, a little girl back in 1972 while I was out collecting rubbish. She was just lying amongst the junk on the street, abandoned. She would have died had we not rescued her and taken her in. 'Watching her grow and become stronger gave us such happiness and I realized I had a real love of caring for children. I realized if we had strength enough to collect garbage how could we not recycle something as important as human lives?' Zhang Juju, one of Lou's adopted daughters, said that despite her mother's poverty, she always provided the best life she could to each of the 30 children she rescued. A simple woman doing what she was able to do, in her own way made a life changing difference for 30 children who would not have survived without her. Today, I'm going to talk about a man named Gideon...(Pastor Naomi spoke about him briefly a few weeks ago) You'll find his story in Judges 6... (Stand) (Judges 6:1-16) The Israelites did evil in the Lord's sight. So the Lord handed them over to the Midianites for seven years. The Midianites were so cruel that the Israelites made hiding places for themselves in the mountains, caves, and strongholds. Whenever the Israelites planted their crops, marauders from Midian, Amalek, and the people of the east would attack Israel, camping in the land and destroying crops as far away as Gaza. They left the Israelites with nothing to eat, taking all the sheep, goats, cattle, and donkeys. These enemy hordes, coming with their livestock and tents, were as thick as locusts; they arrived on droves of camels too numerous to count. And they stayed until the land was stripped bare. So Israel was reduced to starvation by the Midianites. Then the Israelites cried out to the Lord for help. When they cried out to the Lord because of Midian, the Lord sent a prophet to the Israelites. He said, "This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: I brought you up out of slavery in Egypt. I rescued you from the Egyptians and from all who oppressed you. I drove out your enemies and gave you their land. I told you, 'I am the Lord your God. You must not worship the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you now live.' But you have not listened to me." Then the angel of the Lord came and sat beneath the great tree at Ophrah, which belonged to Joash of the clan of Abiezer. Gideon son of Joash was threshing wheat at the bottom of a winepress to hide the grain from the Midianites. The angel of the Lord appeared to him and said, "Mighty hero, the Lord is with you!" Sir," Gideon replied, "if the Lord is with us, why has all this happened to us? And where are all the miracles our ancestors told us about? Didn't they say, 'The Lord brought us up out of Egypt'? But now the Lord has abandoned us and handed us over to the Midianites." Then the Lord turned to him and said, "Go with the strength you have, and rescue Israel from the Midianites. I am sending you!" But Lord," Gideon replied, "how can I rescue Israel? My clan is the weakest in the whole tribe of Manasseh, and I am the least in my entire family!" The Lord said to him, "I will be with you. And you will destroy the Midianites as if you were fighting against one man." The quality of life in Gideon's neighborhood was poor. Constant harassment and intimidation by the Midianites. Despair and fear marking the people. Then the angel shows up while Gideon is threshing wheat and God says - YOU ARE GOING TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE WITH YOUR LIFE! You might think Gideon was like-YES! But the years had worn him down His cynicism kicks in-"okay so God is for us and yet we have lost everything!" Sound familiar? We must remember that things are not always as they appear. From Gideon we learn... Gideon Had a Perception Problem (6:14-16) * There is distinction between the way we see ourselves vs. how God sees us o We lack confidence in our ability to do great things for God in part because of how we see ourselves. o We are too focused on our past mistakes and present flaws to have the BIGGER picture of God's view o We can sometimes think we are simply a better version of our old self but that is not true... (2 Corinthians 5:17) This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun! I AM A CHILD OF GOD! (Psalm 103:13-15) The LORD is like a father to his children, tender and compassionate to those who fear him. For he knows how weak we are; he remembers we are only dust. Our days on earth are like grass; like wildflowers, we bloom and die. * Gideon saw himself as a most "unlikely" choice for God is to choose (I'm at the back of the line)-is that how you feel sometimes? o Moses lost his confidence when he got ahead of God. o Elijah ran in fear when threatened by Jezebel. * We look at life and our circumstances through our own eyes without the proper balance of faith in God. (Romans 11:29, ESV)- God never changes his mind about the people he calls. He never decides to take back the blessings he has given them. * God's confidence in Gideon starts with His Daily Presence (v.16)-The Lord said to him, "I will be with you..." * We forget what the daily Presence of God means to our individual lives, the difference we can make in almost any situation. * These are the same words he reassured Moses (Exodus 3:12) God answered, "I will be with you. * The Presence of God changes my confidence in my ability to make a difference * If God is with me...if I believe that! Gideon Was Challenged To Follow God's Plan And Not His Own (7:2-3) * Gideon's fear... * (v.15)-But Lord, Gideon replied, "how can I rescue Israel?" * In other words, how can I make a difference in such a complex situation o How can I bring peace in a chaotic world? o How can I demonstrate integrity when so much deception and evil is present on my job? o How can I be a witness to people who seem to have no interest in God? * Fear is so common when we are forced into situations of uncertainty and awkwardness. * God has a plan before you sense Him calling you! o God called it-(v.16)-"...you will destroy the Midianites as if you were fighting one man." * Once Gideon accepted the assignment, then he had to build his team * When he put out the invitation-33,000 showed up o And God said "You have too many people" * If you do it your way, you won't learn how to trust me! * So God told him to tell the ones who were afraid to go home and only 10,000 remained. (some relieved guys) o And God said "You have too many people" * We crave the predictable * But our lives are never predictable o One phone call o One ultrasound o One biopsy o One court date * We must rely on God's plan-- * The man's dream (7:13-14) The man said, "I had this dream, and in my dream a loaf of barley bread came tumbling down into the Midianite camp. It hit a tent, turned it over, and knocked it flat!" His companion answered, "Your dream can mean only one thing-God has given Gideon son of Joash, the Israelite, victory over Midian and all its allies!" * Our assurance is not in what we can assemble but what God will do Conclusion: Making A Difference With Your Life Is Not In What You Can Do But What God Can Do Working Through Your Obedience! * Don't underestimate the power of God to work through one life that is completely surrendered... * There is a power in you, active and ready when you decide that you have something to contribute to what God is doing in the world God I'm a sinner I'm sorry for my sins I believe Jesus died for my sins I believe you will forgive me of my sins I choose Jesus