Romans: Sin, Judgment, and Gospel Foundations: Prepared Hearts

Principles of Deliverance - 3

Transcript: AI Transcript

Professor: John Weaver

Subject: New Testament Studies

Genre: Sermon

Dictation Name:

Date: 2006-07-23

Synopsis: In this sermon, John Weaver continues a series on deliverance from the life of Gideon, focusing on the person God uses as a deliverer. He emphasizes that God always chooses a man, not a committee or politician, and that such a man will exhibit specific characteristics: prudence and practicality, discernment and perception, a divine call and sending, and meekness and humility. Weaver illustrates these traits from Gideon's life and other biblical figures, warning against arrogant, self-promoting leaders. He concludes that deliverance depends solely on God, not on wealth or human schemes, and encourages believers to cultivate these godly virtues so that God may use them mightily.

[John Weaver] Judges chapter 6. You'll remember I've started a brief series on principles of deliverance from the life of Gideon. And today we're going to be doing part three, principles of deliverance. Basically, God finds a man. And I will continue this message next week, I am sure, and possibly the week after, just on this one particular point. But let's read from Judges chapter 6, beginning there with verse 11, and read through verse 16. Judges 6, verse 11. And there came an angel of the Lord, and sat under an oak, which was an ophra, that pertained unto Joash the Abiezarite, and his son Gideon, threshed wheat by the winepress, to hide it from the Midianites. And the angel of the Lord appeared unto him, and said unto him, The Lord is with thee, thou mighty man of valor. And Gideon said unto him, O my Lord, if the Lord be with us, why then is all this befallen us?

[John Weaver] Where be all his miracles which our fathers told us of, saying, Did not the Lord bring us up from Egypt? But now the Lord hath forsaken us, and delivered us into the hands of the Midianites. And the Lord looked upon him, and said, Go in this thy might, and thou shalt save Israel from the hand of the Midianites. Have not I sent thee? And he said unto him, O my Lord, wherewith shall I save Israel?

[John Weaver] Behold, my family is poor in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father's house. And the Lord said unto him, Surely I will be with thee, and thou shalt smite the Midianites as one man."

[John Weaver] Now, we've looked at two points previous to this message. We've looked, first of all, at the preparation for deliverance. And we saw that in the preparation for deliverance, God always strips us of our pride, haughtiness, self-confidence, and self-ability. God always prepares us by enabling us to understand that we cannot save ourselves. We cannot deliver ourselves. Therefore, if we are ever delivered, we must be delivered by the grace and power of God. The second thing we looked at in this passage is the procedure in deliverance. And when God prepared the people, He then proceeded to send them a preacher, the Bible says, in verse 8. And what in the world did the preacher do? He reminded them, first of all, of the goodness and the greatness and the mercy of God. And then secondly, he reminded them of their wickedness and rebellion against God. Now, he did this in order, number one, to encourage confidence in God, because if God is the one who has delivered them in times past, Certainly, he will be the one who delivers us now and in the future.

[John Weaver] And on the other hand, he also did this to increase and intensify and magnify their wickedness and rebelling against such a loving Heavenly Father. So whenever God then prepares the people for deliverance, he not only strips them of themselves and their self-confidence, he also then shows them His grace and His mercy, and He gives them repentance and faith. Therefore, it is necessary to send a preacher. You remember the Bible says in Romans 10 and verse 17, How shall they hear without a preacher? And faith cometh by hearing, and how? by the preaching of the Word of God. So you have to have a preacher, and the Bible tells us in Acts 5 that he gave the gift of repentance. So the procedure is God always sends a preacher, and the preacher always magnifies God and always shows man his sin and rebellion against God.

[John Weaver] Now today we come to the third point, and that is the person of deliverance. In this passage, God finds His deliverer in the person of Gideon. Now, it is true that God Himself is the deliverer, but God is pleased to use means, and God is always pleased to use a man. Now, I want you to note, if you would please, the Bible said, in verse 11, There came an angel of the Lord, and sat under an oak, which was an ophra, that pertained to the Joash, the Abiezrite, and his son Gideon, threshed wheat by the winepress, to hide it from the Midianites. Please observe carefully. that when it came time for God to deliver His people from bondage and from tyranny, He did not send a politician. He did not send a congressman. He did not send a president. He did not send a committee. He did not send a political party. He sent a man. Someone has rightly said, paraphrasing John 3.16, for God so loved the world so much that He did not send a committee.

[John Weaver] And thankfully, that is true. A committee certainly would have messed things up. But when God chooses to deliver His people, He always chooses a man. It doesn't matter if it's a Moses, a Samuel, a Samson, a Gideon, or Christ. He is always pleased to send a man. An interesting thing is, if you would take just the names that are given us in this passage, we can see a foreshadowing of Jesus Christ and His great work of deliverance. For instance, if you look in verse 11, you'll find that Gideon's father's name is Joash. Now, the name Joash literally means given by the Lord. Given by the Lord.

[John Weaver] When you hear that, you cannot help but think, first of all, of John 3, 16. For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son. And how about 1 John 4 and verse 10? Herein is love, not that we loved Him, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be a propitiation for our sins. So the very name Joash means given by the Lord. Then we find that Joash is an Abiezarite. Now, the word Abiezarite just simply means that he was a descendant of the family of Abiezer who was Joseph's son or a descendant of Joseph's son Manasseh. The word Abiezerite literally means my father is help. Now watch this. Joash means given by the Lord. Abiezerite means my father is help.

[John Weaver] Over and over as you study the life of Christ What was he constantly doing? Communing with his Father. Praying to his Father. And what did he say? I can do nothing of myself. Whatsoever I see the Father do, that I do likewise. And so, Joash means given by the Lord. Abiezarite means my Father's help. When you come to Gideon's name, the word Gideon literally means hewer. A hewer. When you look at the word Midianites, the enemy there, the word Midian means strife. So what is Gideon? He is a hewer down of strife. Put it all together. Here you have someone who is given by the Lord, whose father is help, who hews down strife. Can you not see a picture of Jesus Christ there?

[John Weaver] One should automatically think of verse John 3 and verse 8, where the Bible says, For this purpose was the Son of God manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil. As Gideon hewed down the statues of Baal and Asherah, Jesus Christ, the true Gideon, hewed down sin and Satan. Now, I want you to note something in verse 11. Look carefully. When the angel of the Lord came to Gideon, what was Gideon doing?

[John Weaver] He was threshing wheat by the wine press. I want you to understand that Gideon was not seeking the position of being a deliverer. He was not seeking that office. You know what he was doing? He was going about his daily business, just simply trying to stay alive. He was not out endeavoring to recruit an army. He was not raising a militia. He was threshing wheat. Are you listening? It was God who sought out Gideon. It was God who initiated the contact. It was God who arranged the encounter. Usually the men that God calls for specific tasks are not looking for the work that God singles them out to accomplish.

[John Weaver] Moses was a shepherd on the backside of the desert. David was a keeper of sheep. Saul of Tarsus was on his way to Damascus to persecute Christians. Peter, James, and John were fishermen. None of these people were looking for the office to which God called them. They were simply going about their business. It is God who chooses ordinary men to do extraordinary things. It is God who calls them. It is God who selects them. It is God who empowers them. And it is God who makes them great.

[John Weaver] One of my favorite verses is found in Mark 3 in verse 13. Talking about Jesus. And he goeth up into a mountain and calleth unto him whom he would. And they came unto him. And the next verse says, and he ordained twelve, that they might be with him and that he might send them forth and preach the gospel. But note what our Lord did. He went into a mountain and he called to him whom he would.

[John Weaver] And that's exactly what you find in the life of Gideon. God comes to Gideon and God calls him. God finds him. Now, what I want to do this week and next week is I want to look at some characteristics that are in the life of Gideon. And I'm just going to tell you in advance that any man that God uses today or in the future, any man that God uses will have the same characteristics in his life.

[John Weaver] Now, what does that mean? That means this. We ought to be able, if we know the Scripture, to discern whether or not someone is really called of God to do a work or not. I've heard many voices in this world. I've heard people say, follow me. I've heard men and women say that. But let me tell you something, folks. We're to follow no one further than they follow Jesus Christ. And if someone does not have the characteristics that we find in the Bible, you can marker down, God never called him to be a deliverer. Now, what were the characteristics that were in Gideon's life? First of all, let me point out the fact that Gideon was a prudent and a practical man. What do I mean when I say that he was a prudent and a practical man? Well, Gideon was doing everything necessary to save his life and the life of his family. He was threshing wheat.

[John Weaver] And he was doing it secretly. Why was he doing it secretly? He was hiding it from the Midianites. You see, when one threshes wheat normally, you do that on the mountaintop. You do it out in the open. Why? Because you throw the wheat up and the wind comes and separates the chaff from the wheat. Well, if you do it down below the mountain, where the wind is not blowing, it's additional work.

[John Weaver] Why was he doing it behind the wine press? Because he did not want the Nitty Knights to come and steal it and take it from his family. Now, please understand this. Gideon was not a coward. He was merely exercising common sense as well as being biblical.

[John Weaver] Now, let me give you a couple of scriptures. Listen to this. The Bible says in Proverbs 27 and verse 12, a prudent man foresees the evil and hides himself. But the simple pass on and are punished. Now what does God say a prudent man does? A prudent man foresees the evil and he does what? And he hides himself. He gets out of the way. But the simple pass on and they're punished. Now the Bible goes further. In Proverbs 28 and verse 12, the Bible tells us that when righteous men do rejoice, there's great glory. But when the wicked rise, a man is hidden.

[John Weaver] Stop and think about that. Why will a man be hidden when the wicked rise? Because the wicked are notorious thieves and notorious for their injustices. And so a man hides himself. The same passage in Proverbs 28 and verse 28 tells us this. When the wicked rise, men hide themselves, but when they perish, the righteous increase. So what was Gideon doing? Gideon was hiding behind the winepress. And he was hiding there, not because he was a coward, but rather because of biblical principles.

[John Weaver] He was doing everything that he could, acting wisely, practically, and prudently. He was doing everything he could to save his substance from being stolen by the Midianites. That's not being a coward. That's being prudent, and that's being practical.

[John Weaver] Now, I want you to note something. Listen very carefully. Here's something that is very applicable in our day and time. Gideon was not a visionary. What do I mean by that? Gideon was not a visionary in the sense that he was not just simply sitting back looking forward to better times. Nor was he waiting for a governmental handout. Nor was he waiting for someone to come along and do the work for him. Gideon undertook the menial, difficult, laborious work himself. In other words, he was willing to do that which was low and menial.

[John Weaver] By the way, another aspect to show you that he was not a coward, but he was bold and brave in this. Can you imagine what would be done? If the Midianites had come along and caught him, threshing his wheat and hiding his substance from them. Not only would everything have been stolen from him, he would have probably been executed as well. And so with Gideon himself doing it, he was protecting his family saying, look, I'll take care of this.

[John Weaver] I'm willing to face the consequences and you will not have to do that. Whenever God chooses a man to be a deliverer, You can marker down that man is always going to be a practical man. He's always going to be able to use and make use of whatever God puts before him. He's not going to shun his duties or his obligations. He's not going to be above menial work. He's not going to be above dangerous work. He will be willing to say, this is the way, come, let us walk in it. He'll be willing to do it himself.

[John Weaver] You look at most of our leaders today. They're willing for your children to go out and die, but they're not willing for their children to go out and die. They're willing for you to die, but they're not willing to die themselves. You know, the easy way to stop all wars is make it absolutely mandatory that leaders have to fight first. You just don't think about that. The first people on the battlefront would be the president and his cabinet and Congress. Wouldn't that be wonderful?

[John Weaver] But you never find that. You know, Gideon was a man who was prudent and practical. He was willing to do that which had to be done. General Robert E. Lee said it like this, a Christian is one who will do his duty in all things. And he will never do less than his duty. So what is the characteristic then of a deliverer? First of all, he's prudent and practical. Secondly, I want you to note something that Gideon also was perceptive and discerning. Look in verse 12. And the angel of the Lord appeared unto him and said unto him, The Lord is with thee, thou mighty man of valor. What a greeting. But look what he says. And Gideon said of him, O my Lord, if the Lord be with us, why then is all this befallen us?

[John Weaver] And where be all these miracles which our fathers told us of, saying, Did not the Lord bring us up from Egypt? But now the Lord hath forsaken us and delivered us into the hands of the Midianites.

[John Weaver] Now, Gideon has been greatly criticized in many areas, especially by some people who've not done much studying on his life or certainly do not know the principles of hermeneutics. And I would be the first to admit that Gideon was not perfect. But I can tell you this, in spite of whatever faults he had, he was a man that was greatly used of God. If you'll remember the two messages I preached recently, when God hides his face, you can understand verses 12 and 13 of Judges chapter 6. You see, usually we're able to perceive God even in our chastisements.

[John Weaver] But that's not always so. So what in the world happens? Gidding is saluted by the angel, and the salutation is this, the Lord is with thee, thou mighty man of valor. What a great salutation. The Lord is with thee, thou mighty man of valor. How does Gidding respond? Look at it, verse 13, Gideon said, Oh my Lord, if the Lord be with us, why then is all this befallen us? And where be all these miracles which our fathers told us of, saying, did not the Lord bring us up from Egypt? But now the Lord has forsaken us and delivered us into the hands of the Midianites. Now, the interesting thing is, when the angel saluted him and said, the Lord is with thee, thou mighty man of valor. Gideon did not whine. He did not complain.

[John Weaver] He did not endeavor to deal with the symptoms. He went straight to the heart of the matter. He correctly discerned that the reason that they were in the mess that they were in in Israel was because the Lord was not among them. He was saying, if the Lord is among us, where are all of His miracles that we've heard about? Where is His power? Where is His deliverance?

[John Weaver] Now, I want you to hold, Judges 6. But look back in your Bibles to Deuteronomy 31. I read this passage to you when I dealt with when God hides His face. But look in Deuteronomy 31 in verse 17, and I can assure you that Gideon aptly understood this verse. That's why he said what he did to the angel. Notice Deuteronomy 31 in verse 17. God says this, Then my anger shall be kindled against them in that day, and I will forsake them, and I will hide my face from them, and they shall be devoured, and many evils and troubles shall befall them, so that they will say in that day, Are not these evils come upon us? Because why, our God is not among us." And what in the world is Gideon saying? When the angel says, The Lord is with thee, thou mighty man of power, he said, Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. If God is with me, If God is with my people, if God is with our country, where then are all the miracles?

[John Weaver] Where are all the powers? If God is with us, why are we in the mess that we're in? No, he said, the reason we're in the mess that we're in is the Lord has forsaken us, look at that, and delivered us in the hands of the Midianites. Listen carefully. Gideon did not blame Israel's problems on defective foreign policies. on failed economic programs, on a lack of governmental welfare, on unmanageable immigration policies, or a host of other things.

[John Weaver] He said, no, no, no. It's not those things. The reason we're in the mess that we're in is God has sold us in the hands of our enemies. Say what you will. Gideon understood that the problem primarily was a spiritual problem. Let me tell you this. Gideon has more discernment and more perception than all of our politicians put together. At least he knew the root of the problem. And the root of the problem is always a spiritual problem.

[John Weaver] So his reasoning then is very simple. He asked, what has happened to us? Why are we in the mess that we're in? Where are all of God's miracles and deliverances? He rightly concluded we're not experiencing those miracles. We're not experiencing those deliverances because of our sins, our rebellion. God has sold us into bondage. And the only way we'll ever have the grace and mercy of God is through repentance, restitution, and restoration. Now, let me say it very poignantly. Just like God will not use an imprudent and unpractical man, God is not going to use an undiscerning and unperceptive man. Why?

[John Weaver] Because he cannot discern and perceive spiritual realities. If you do not know the root of the problem, the only thing you can do is treat the symptoms. It takes discernment. It takes perception to see through all the symptoms and go to the root of the problem. I don't know about you, but when I go to a doctor, I don't want him to say, oh, you have a headache?

[John Weaver] Let me give you a cup of aspirin. No, I want him to know, tell me why I have a headache and what is causing that headache. And let's deal with the root of the problem and not the symptoms. And when God calls a man, he always makes sure that he's discerning and perceptive.

[John Weaver] Now, there's another characteristic that was in Gideon's life, and you'll find that in verse 14. Gideon was called and sent, and the Lord looked upon him and said, Go in this thy might, and thou shalt save Israel from the hand of the Midianites. Have not I sent thee?

[John Weaver] Now let me tell you up front that one of the biggest causes of failure in the ministry is because many have never been called or sent by God. It's just that simple, folks. Without a divine call, all you have is the arm of the flesh. I want to show you something. I want you to turn in your Bibles, hold Judges 6, but turn to 2 Chronicles 32. 2 Chronicles 32.

[John Weaver] King Jehoshaphat is encouraging his people against the king of Assyria. In 2 Chronicles 32, look at verses 7 and 8. I want you to see what he says. 2 Chronicles 32 verse 7 and 8. So King Jehoshaphat encourages his people and he says this, Be strong and courageous, be not afraid nor dismayed, for the king of Assyria, for all and for all the multitude that is with him, for there be more with us than with him. Now look what he says, for with him, that is the king of Assyria, is the arm of the flesh.

[John Weaver] But with us is the Lord our God to help us and to fight our battles. And the people rested themselves upon the words of Hezekiah, king of Judah. Hezekiah, not Jehoshaphat. I was thinking it was Jehoshaphat, but it's Hezekiah. But look what he said. With him is the arm of the flesh. But with us is the Lord our God to help us.

[John Weaver] Now, look in your Bibles, if you would, please, to the book of Jeremiah, chapter 15. Jeremiah chapter 15 and make sure that you hold judges chapter 6. And I want you to note a specific curse. Jeremiah. Well, I said 15, but I'm sure I've jotted down the wrong one. I think it's 17, but let me quote it for you. Where he says, Cursed be he that trusteth in flesh and maketh flesh his arm, but blessed be he that trusteth in the Lord.

[John Weaver] Now, notice what he said. Cursed be he that trusteth in flesh and maketh flesh his arm, but blessed is the man who trusteth in the Lord.

[John Weaver] Now, go back to Judges chapter 6. What did God do for Gideon? God specifically called him, and God specifically sent him. Without those two qualifications, we are absolutely doomed for failure. You and I cannot accomplish anything without being called and sent by God.

[John Weaver] Now, without me getting into this right now, what you have in this passage is in reality a Christophany. Now, Christophany is a pre-incarnate appearance of Christ in the Old Testament. That is, He appears in the flesh before He was ever made flesh in the New Testament. And the Bible says, look specifically now at verse 14,"...and the Lord looked upon him." The word looked is very important. It means to look, to regard with favor, to regard, Kindly, in other words, when the Lord looked upon Gideon, the Lord was highly regarding and highly favoring him.

[John Weaver] Basically, he was giving him a commission. That's why the Bible says and the Lord looked upon him and said, go in this by might. And thou shalt save Israel from the hand of the Midianites have not I sent thee. Now. The word might. not only refers to human strength, but it also refers to divine strength as well. So what are we talking about? We'll go back, if you would, to the salutation in verse 12. And the angel of the Lord appeared on him and said, The Lord is what? With thee, the almighty man of valor. Then he says in verse 14, Go in this thy might. What might is it? Is it just the might that Gideon has? No, it's the might of God, the mighty power of God. The Lord is with thee. Listen to me, folks. Special calling involves special power and special gifts.

[John Weaver] Let me say it another way. Whomever God calls, he qualifies. And whomever he qualifies, he empowers. So here Gideon is not just prudent and practical. And not just discerning and perceptive. Gideon has been specifically called and sent by God. And God says, Gideon, listen to this. You can rest assured that you'll be victorious. I love this. Look in verse 16. And the Lord said to him, surely I will be with thee.

[John Weaver] And thou shalt smite the Midianites as one man." What's God saying? God is saying, whenever I send you, you're not going to fail. Whatever I commission you to do, you will accomplish it. Why? Because you have my name and you have my power and you have my might. So Gideon then was specifically called and sent of God.

[John Weaver] Now, let's stop and think about our situation. We're in a mess in this country. I don't have to argue that. How are we going to get out of this mess? Well, the answer is we're not unless God is pleased to deliver us. And when God is pleased to deliver us, he's going to always send us a deliverer, he will use a man, that man will always be prudent and practical. He will always be discerning and perceptive. He will always be called and sent of God. He will be specifically commissioned by God to accomplish that particular task. And it cannot fail when God sent. Did Israel have to remain in Egypt when God sent Moses? No. Did the children of Israel have to remain on the other side of Jordan when God sent Joshua? No. Whenever God specifically calls and sends someone to accomplish a mission, He empowers them and enables them to accomplish it. The only thing I'm trying to say is this, whenever we hear someone say, follow me and I'll deliver you, you better start looking for some characteristics in his life.

[John Weaver] And one of the most important ones is, has he been specifically called and sent by God for that task? There's something else, look in verse 15. After the Lord looks upon him in verse 14, it says, Go in this thy might and thou shalt save Israel from the hand of the Midianites. Have not I sent thee? Look at Gideon's response. And he said to him, O my Lord, wherewith shall I save Israel?

[John Weaver] Behold, my family is poor in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father's house. Gideon was meek and humble. Are you listening to me? Practical and prudent, yes. Discerning and perceptive, yes. Called and sent by God, yes. Now meek and humble. He says, my family is poor Manasseh and I'm the least in my father's house. Why in the world would you even consider using me?

[John Weaver] Now, the word poor can refer to financial poorness, but it can also refer to being weak or lean or small. I'm going to tell you, Gideon may have considered himself poor, but if you'll skip down to verse 27, Then Gideon took ten men of his servants. I don't know how many servants he had, but I'd like to just have ten. He took ten of his servants. And then if you'll notice in verse 28, and I'll deal with this next week. And when the men of the city arose early in the morning, behold, the altar of Baal was cast down and the grove was cut down that was by it.

[John Weaver] And the second bullock was offered upon it, etc., etc. But here Gideon, let's see, in verse 27, he feared his father's household. So there was a household, very huge, very large. I don't know how many men were in it. But the family also, if you look down to verse 25, back up there, it came to pass the same night that the Lord said unto him, Take thy father's young bullock, even the second bullock of seven years old, and throw down the altar of Baal that thy father hath, and cut down the

[John Weaver] grove that is by it. So they were financially well off enough to have their own private altar to Baal and to Ashtaroth. And evidently this was on public land. I mean, it may have been private land, but Joash had built it, and therefore the men of the city worshipped there, according to verse 28. So when he says he's poor, you've got to put that into perspective. It could be that They were not as well off as they used to be because of the Midianites, or he could be saying, my family is lean and small in Manasseh, even though we might have plenty of money. When he said that I am the least in my father's house, in verse 15, the Hebrew word there refers to the fact that he was the youngest. In fact, that word is translated younger, least, Youngest, little one, small one.

[John Weaver] It can also refer to being insignificant. So Gideon is saying my family is poor and I'm the youngest and I am insignificant. Now, here's what Gideon was doing. Gideon viewed himself as unworthy of this calling due to the smallness and leanness of his family. and his own personal insignificance as being the youngest in the family.

[John Weaver] Now, you've got to remember something. In Old Testament times, opportunities as well as responsibilities usually fell to the eldest of the family, not the youngest. Joseph, Jacob, David and Gideon were exceptions to the rule. There was a patriarchal order. And Gideon well knew it. Therefore, for the oldest son to be passed over and this opportunity to come to the youngest son. Gideon's attitude is. Who am I? I mean, I don't deserve this opportunity. My family is poor and I'm insignificant, I'm the youngest. Now, listen to me. When our Lord told Gideon, I've sent you. I've empowered you. I'm with you.

[John Weaver] You will smite the Midianites as one man. What was Gideon's attitude? Bring it on. Boy, I'll show them. I'll give them some shock and awe. Gideon's attitude wasn't that. Gideon's attitude was, who am I? I don't deserve this. There's no braggadociousness about him, no haughty, arrogant, proud, high-minded spirit. He's just simply me. and humble. Are you listening to me? If you haven't noticed it, I want to challenge you to notice it. Read through scripture. And you will find that the men that God has always used have been meek and humble men. One of the greatest deliverers in the Bible was Moses. Everybody knows that. You look at what God did through Moses in Egypt. You look at the plagues, the signs, the wonders, the marvels, the miracles. You stand in awe at the greatness of that deliverance, of how God parted the Red Sea.

[John Weaver] And the children of Israel walked across on dry ground. And Moses then raised his rod and the waters came back in and drowned Pharaoh and his host. I mean, here's a great, tremendous deliverance. Surely, surely, somewhere in Moses, there's got to be a little pride saying, we did it, God. We did it. Oh. Well, the interesting thing is, when you get to Numbers 12 and verse 3, Moses is called the meekest man on earth. There was no pride. There was no arrogance. There was just humility. Meekness to think that God would use me. You ever stop to think about David? Do you remember David the mighty warrior? When he came into town, what did the women sing? Saul has slain his thousands, and David his tens of thousands. David the young boy who slew Goliath.

[John Weaver] who used a rock and a sling, and then took the giant's own sword and cut his head off. David, who killed thousands of the Lord's enemies. Surely, surely there's got to be some pride and arrogance in David's heart. Don't you remember how David even wanted to build a house for the Lord? The Lord sent Nathan to David In 2 Samuel chapter 7 and verse 17 and 18, he said, Look, David, you're not going to build a house for the Lord. But the Lord is going to build you a house. The Lord is going to establish your kingdom. And verse 18, David answers the Lord with these words. Then went King David in and sat before the Lord and said, Who am I, O Lord, and what is my house?

[John Weaver] that thou hast brought me hither to. Lord, who am I that you would do this for me? Do you see that, folks? There are no words of exaltation. There's no words of personal achievement. There's no language of self-promotion. There's no, well, I'm finally getting the recognition that I deserve. No, no, no, no. David was just absolutely and totally amazed and stupefied and marveled that God would even consider doing anything for him.

[John Weaver] Joshua, the conqueror of Canaan, the successor of Moses, the military genius who was confronted by the captain of the host of the Lord in Joshua chapter 5. Joshua saw him standing there with his sword drawn, and he confronts him very bravely. And he says, Art thou for us or for our adversaries? And the angel of the Lord said, Neither. But as captain of the Lord's host am I now come. Take off thy shoes, for the ground on which thou standest is holy. What did Joshua, the mighty military genius, do? He fell on his face to the earth and did worship and said, What saith my Lord to his servant? Joshua didn't say now, Lord, let me tell you my battle plans. Let me tell you how I've got this thing figured out. Let me tell you what I believe we ought to do. No, no, no. He just said, Lord. What is your word to your servant? You tell me and I'll obey. I'm just trying to show you something, folks.

[John Weaver] There is a difference between these men that have been mightily used of God in times past and the men today. Who are claiming to be God's deliverers, do you remember Elisha, the mighty miracle worker, Elisha, the man who raised the dead, who healed the sick, who subdued armies, Yes, he did. The Syrian army he subdued all by himself. He prayed that God would smite them with blindness, and God did so. Here is a man who did twice as many miracles as Elijah did. And do you know that which Elijah was known by all of his ministry? was he who poured water upon the hands of Elijah. Isn't that amazing?

[John Weaver] He never got away from that. He was Elijah's servant as long as Elijah was alive. He waited on Elijah. And here the mighty prophet Elijah is known as he who poured water upon the hands of Elijah. Elijah had a servant's heart. throughout his entire ministry, he was meek and humble. Isn't that amazing? Let me give you just a couple more. Saul of Tarsus. Everybody know about Saul the Pharisee? Saul of Tarsus, who became the mighty Apostle Paul, who was used of God to convert thousands Did you know that the Apostle Paul wrote most of the New Testament? Do you know that? I think if you count the book of Hebrews, which is debatable, there's about 14 books out of 27 that were written by the Apostle Paul. Let's listen to what Paul said now, remember, Paul has been mightily used of God, but in 1 Corinthians 15, verses 9 through 10, here's what Paul says, For I am the least of the apostles, that am not meet to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God.

[John Weaver] But by the grace of God, I am what I am. Now, where's all the bragging? Where's all the haughtiness, the high mindedness? It was true that God used Paul. But Paul said, I am the least of all the apostles. I'm not even worthy to be called an apostle. Why? I persecuted the church of God. And then when Paul lists his pedigree in Philippians chapter three, when he talks about how he was a Hebrew of the Hebrews, Pharisee of the Pharisees, circumcised the eighth day of the tribe of Benjamin and on down through list, then he ends up with this.

[John Weaver] But what things were gained to me, those I counted loss for Christ, yea, doubtless, I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus, my Lord, for whom I've suffered the loss of all things and do count them but done. That I may win Christ. You know, Paul's attitude was. I have nothing, I am nothing, I can do nothing. All I have and all I want is Jesus Christ.

[John Weaver] Oh, you're talking about a meek and humble spirit. Let me give you one more illustration. One of the greatest and meekest and most humble leaders in the last couple of hundred years, was General Robert E. Lee. General Lee, of course, is known for his Christianity, his kindness, his graciousness, his meekness. But, you know, a lot of people do not know the genealogy of the Lee family. Did you know that General Lee had an ancestor, Lancelot Lee, who fought in the Battle of Hastings in 1066 under the banner of William the Conqueror. Did you know that he had another ancestor, Lionel Lee, who won honors at the Siege of Acre in Jerusalem with Richard the Lionhearted in 1192 in the Third Crusade.

[John Weaver] In fact, Lionel's armor is still on display today in the Tower of London. On his maternal side, the blood of Robert the Bruce, King of Scotland, friend of William Wallace, runs in his veins. And when General Lee was presented with a project that wished to publish and exploit his ancestry. Of course, General Lee already knew about his ancestry. He had already vowed not to dishonor his ancestors. But when he was presented with this project that would publish and exploit his ancestry, General Lee replied, I think the money had better be appropriated to relieve the poor.

[John Weaver] No, it didn't matter that he could go all the way back. Lee said, I'd rather use that money to relieve the poor than to brag about my ancestors. The point I'm trying to make, folks, is simple. We need to beware of arrogant, boastful, self-confident leaders. who declare what they are going to accomplish. You know, even the wicked sometimes have enough sense to recognize this principle. I want you to turn in your Bibles to 1 Kings chapter 20. 1 Kings chapter 20.

[John Weaver] And let me show you. Ahab, you know, was the most wicked, vile king in Israel. But yet, there were other kings that were wicked and vile as well. And with the king of Assyria, or the king of Syria rather, is threatening Ahab and Israel. Let me just read it to you. 1 Kings chapter 20. And if you look down in verse 10, Ben-Hadad, the king of Syria now, is threatening And then Hadad sent unto him, that is, to Ahab, and said, The gods do so unto me, and more also, if the dust of Samaria shall suffice for the handfuls of all the people that follow me." What is he saying? The king of Syria is saying, look, we've got enough people.

[John Weaver] We're going to wipe you out. We're going to stomp you in the ground. That's it. Look what wicked Ahab answers. Verse 11, And the king of Israel answered and said, Tell him, Let not him that girdeth on his harness boast himself as he that putteth it off. What did Ahab just get out of his mouth? He said, listen, buddy, there's a difference between starting a war and finishing a war.

[John Weaver] We would say it like this, don't count your chickens before they hatch. It's easy to put on that armament. It's not too easy to take it off if you've been defeated. You know what the Bible teaches us? A man's pride shall bring him low. Everyone in here probably can quote Psalm 127 verse 1. Listen carefully. Except the Lord build the house, they labor in vain that build it. Except the Lord keep the city, help me out, the watchman waketh but in vain. Do you remember what he said in Proverbs 21 in verse 3?

[John Weaver] The horse is prepared for the day of battle, but safety. is of the Lord. And then Psalm 33 and verse 17 says, A horse is a vain thing for safety, neither shall he deliver any by his great strength. What is Scripture saying? Neither man, his might, or machinery can deliver. Only God alone can deliver. That's why the Bible says in Psalm 118 verses 8 and 9, It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in man. It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in princes. All through the Bible, those men that God used were prudent and practical, discerning and perceptive, called and sent, and meek and humble.

[John Weaver] Let me make just three applications. The first one is this. This one is very important. Deliverance does not depend upon wealth and supplies. Gideon had neither. Deliverance depends upon God alone. His strength, His might, His mercy, His grace. I've heard men for years complain that there is not enough money to finance a movement to restore America. Let me tell you. You don't need money to restore America. You can have all the money in the world and America still would not be restored apart from God. It's not money that we need. It's mercy that we need.

[John Weaver] The second application is this pride, ambition, arrogance, haughtiness, self-serving, Self-promoting attitudes and schemes will never, ever work in delivering a people. Never. You know why? God is not going to share his glory with another. I've said this before and I'm going to say it again. There's really only one way to be delivered. And that's God's way. You'll either be delivered God's way or you will not be delivered at all. But when you get proud, arrogant, haughty, boastful, braggadocious men with their schemes, all they can do is condemn a people. They can never deliver a people. Listen to this.

[John Weaver] You and I need to acquire these characteristics and these virtues in our lives. We need to learn to be prudent and practical. We need to learn to be discerning and perceptive. It's true only God can call and send us, but we also need to be learned to be meek and humble. Are you listening? I had rather have these attributes and characteristics in my life and be prepared to be used by God and never be used by God than to not have them and not be used of God.

[John Weaver] I got news for you, folks. If those attitudes are in our lives, God will use us. Let me show you why. Look in your Bibles to 2 Chronicles 16. 2 Chronicles 16. and verse 9. If there's no verse that you remember today, please remember this one. 2 Chronicles 16, verse 9. Here's an amazing, amazing truth. Look at what the Bible says. For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth. Why? to show himself strong in behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward him." Stop there. What is God doing? God is looking for men and women whose hearts are perfect toward Him, that He may show Himself strong in them.

[John Weaver] If you develop these godly characteristics and virtues in your life, I can assure you, sooner or later, you will be called and sent by God to do something. For God is looking for men and women who keep their heart, that He might do something glorious and gracious and mighty through them. Let's pray. Father, we do ask that You help us Thank you, Lord, for all of your grace to us. And, Lord, I do pray that you would make us meek and humble, discerning and perceptive, prudent and practical, that we may be, in some areas, called and sent by Thee. Give us grace, Lord, to serve Thee acceptably with reverence and godly fear. In Thy name we pray, Amen.

Principles of Deliverance - 3

John Weaver | SermonAudio

Lecture Metadata	Details
Speaker	John Weaver
Source	SermonAudio
Media ID	92906145810
Subject	New Testament Studies
Course	Romans: Sin, Judgment, and Gospel Foundations: Prepared Hearts
Genre	Sermon
Date	2006-07-23
Dictation Name
Book	Book 163: Principles of Deliverance — Chapter 3
Source Timed Segments	75

Formatted Transcript

Introduction and Scripture Reading

Weaver introduces the third part of the series on deliverance from Gideon's life and reads Judges 6:11-16.

Judges chapter 6. You'll remember I've started a brief series on principles of deliverance from the life of Gideon. And today we're going to be doing part three, principles of deliverance. Basically, God finds a man. And I will continue this message next week, I am sure, and possibly the week after, just on this one particular point. But let's read from Judges chapter 6, beginning there with verse 11, and read through verse 16. Judges 6, verse 11:

Scripture Reading — Judges 6:11-16

"And there came an angel of the Lord, and sat under an oak which was in Ophrah, that pertained unto Joash the Abiezrite: and his son Gideon threshed wheat by the winepress, to hide it from the Midianites. And the angel of the Lord appeared unto him, and said unto him, The Lord is with thee, thou mighty man of valor. And Gideon said unto him, O my Lord, if the Lord be with us, why then is all this befallen us?"

"Where be all his miracles which our fathers told us of, saying, Did not the Lord bring us up from Egypt? But now the Lord hath forsaken us, and delivered us into the hands of the Midianites. And the Lord looked upon him, and said, Go in this thy might, and thou shalt save Israel from the hand of the Midianites: have not I sent thee? And he said unto him, O my Lord, wherewith shall I save Israel?" "Behold, my family is poor in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father's house. And the Lord said unto him, Surely I will be with thee, and thou shalt smite the Midianites as one man."

Now, we've looked at two points previous to this message. We've looked, first of all, at the preparation for deliverance. And we saw that in the preparation for deliverance, God always strips us of our pride, haughtiness, self-confidence, and self-ability. God always prepares us by enabling us to understand that we cannot save ourselves. We cannot deliver ourselves. Therefore, if we are ever delivered, we must be delivered by the grace and power of God. The second thing we looked at in this passage is the procedure in deliverance. And when God prepared the people, He then proceeded to send them a preacher, the Bible says, in verse 8. And what in the world did the preacher do? He reminded them, first of all, of the goodness and the greatness and the mercy of God. And then secondly, he reminded them of their wickedness and rebellion against God. Now, he did this in order, number one, to encourage confidence in God, because if God is the one who has delivered them in times past, certainly He will be the one who delivers us now and in the future.

Review of Previous Points

He reviews the preparation for deliverance (God strips pride) and the procedure in deliverance (God sends a preacher to show grace and sin).

"Behold, my family is poor in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father's house. And the Lord said unto him, Surely I will be with thee, and thou shalt smite the Midianites as one man." Now, we've looked at two points previous to this message. We've looked, first of all, at the preparation for deliverance. And we saw that in the preparation for deliverance, God always strips us of our pride, haughtiness, self-confidence, and self-ability. God always prepares us by enabling us to understand that we cannot save ourselves. We cannot deliver ourselves. Therefore, if we are ever delivered, we must be delivered by the grace and power of God. The second thing we looked at in this passage is the procedure in deliverance. And when God prepared the people, He then proceeded to send them a preacher, the Bible says, in verse 8. And what in the world did the preacher do? He reminded them, first of all, of the goodness and the greatness and the mercy of God. And then secondly, he reminded them of their wickedness and rebellion against God. Now, he did this in order, number one, to encourage confidence in God, because if God is the one who has delivered them in times past, certainly He will be the one who delivers us now and in the future.

And on the other hand, he also did this to increase and intensify and magnify their wickedness and rebellion against such a loving Heavenly Father. So whenever God then prepares the people for deliverance, He not only strips them of themselves and their self-confidence, He also then shows them His grace and His mercy, and He gives them repentance and faith. Therefore, it is necessary to send a preacher. You remember the Bible says in Romans 10 and verse 17, "How shall they hear without a preacher?" And

Scripture Reading — Romans 10:17

"faith cometh by hearing,"

and how? By the preaching of the Word of God. So you have to have a preacher, and the Bible tells us in Acts 5 that He gave the gift of repentance. So the procedure is God always sends a preacher, and the preacher always magnifies God and always shows man his sin and rebellion against God.

Now today we come to the third point, and that is the person of deliverance. In this passage, God finds His deliverer in the person of Gideon. Now, it is true that God Himself is the deliverer, but God is pleased to use means, and God is always pleased to use a man. Now, I want you to note, if you would please, the Bible said, in verse 11, "There came an angel of the Lord, and sat under an oak which was in Ophrah, that pertained unto Joash the Abiezrite: and his son Gideon threshed wheat by the winepress, to hide it from the Midianites." Please observe carefully that when it came time for God to deliver His people from bondage and from tyranny, He did not send a politician. He did not send a congressman. He did not send a president. He did not send a committee. He did not send a political party. He sent a man. Someone has rightly said, paraphrasing John 3:16, "For God so loved the world that He did not send a committee."

The Person of Deliverance: God Uses a Man

God chooses a man, not a committee, to deliver His people, as seen in Gideon, and the names in the passage foreshadow Christ.

And thankfully, that is true. A committee certainly would have messed things up. But when God chooses to deliver His people, He always chooses a man. It doesn't matter if it's a Moses, a Samuel, a Samson, a Gideon, or Christ. He is always pleased to send a man. An interesting thing is, if you would take just the names that are given us in this passage, we can see a foreshadowing of Jesus Christ and His great work of deliverance. For instance, if you look in verse 11, you'll find that Gideon's father's name is Joash. Now, the name Joash literally means "given by the Lord." Given by the Lord.

When you hear that, you cannot help but think, first of all, of John 3:16, "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son." And how about 1 John 4 and verse 10?

Scripture Reading — 1 John 4:10

"Herein is love, not that we loved Him, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be a propitiation for our sins."

So the very name Joash means "given by the Lord." Then we find that Joash is an Abiezrite. Now, the word Abiezrite just simply means that he was a descendant of the family of Abiezer, who was Joseph's son or a descendant of Joseph's son Manasseh. The word Abiezrite literally means "my father is help." Now watch this. Joash means "given by the Lord." Abiezrite means "my father is help." Over and over as you study the life of Christ, what was He constantly doing? Communing with His Father. Praying to His Father. And what did He say? "I can do nothing of myself. Whatsoever I see the Father do, that I do likewise." And so, Joash means "given by the Lord." Abiezrite means "my father's help." When you come to Gideon's name, the word Gideon literally means "hewer." A hewer. When you look at the word Midianites, the enemy there, the word Midian means "strife." So what is Gideon? He is a hewer down of strife. Put it all together. Here you have someone who is given by the Lord, whose father is help, who hews down strife. Can you not see a picture of Jesus Christ there?

One should automatically think of 1 John 3 and verse 8, where the Bible says,

Scripture Reading — 1 John 3:8

"For this purpose was the Son of God manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil."

As Gideon hewed down the statues of Baal and Asherah, Jesus Christ, the true Gideon, hewed down sin and Satan. Now, I want you to note something in verse 11. Look carefully. When the angel of the Lord came to Gideon, what was Gideon doing?

Gideon's Prudence and Practicality

Gideon was threshing wheat secretly to protect his family, demonstrating biblical prudence, not cowardice.

Now, what does that mean? That means this. We ought to be able, if we know the Scripture, to discern whether or not someone is really called of God to do a work or not. I've heard many voices in this world. I've heard people say, "Follow me." I've heard men and women say that. But let me tell you something, folks. We're to follow no one further than they follow Jesus Christ. And if someone does not have the characteristics that we find in the Bible, you can mark it down, God never called him to be a deliverer. Now, what were the characteristics that were in Gideon's life? First of all, let me point out the fact that Gideon was a prudent and a practical man. What do I mean when I say that he was a prudent and a practical man? Well, Gideon was doing everything necessary to save his life and the life of his family. He was threshing wheat.

And he was doing it secretly. Why was he doing it secretly? He was hiding it from the Midianites. You see, when one threshes wheat normally, you do that on the mountaintop. You do it out in the open. Why? Because you throw the wheat up and the wind comes and separates the chaff from the wheat. Well, if you do it down below the mountain, where the wind is not blowing, it's additional work.

Why was he doing it behind the winepress? Because he did not want the Midianites to come and steal it and take it from his family. Now, please understand this. Gideon was not a coward. He was merely exercising common sense as well as being biblical.

Now, let me give you a couple of scriptures. Listen to this. The Bible says in Proverbs 27 and verse 12,

Scripture Reading — Proverbs 27:12

"A prudent man foreseeth the evil, and hideth himself; but the simple pass on, and are punished."

Now what does God say a prudent man does? A prudent man foresees the evil and he does what? And he hides himself. He gets out of the way. But the simple pass on and they're punished. Now the Bible goes further. In Proverbs 28 and verse 12, the Bible tells us that "when righteous men do rejoice, there is great glory: but when the wicked rise, a man is hidden."

Stop and think about that. Why will a man be hidden when the wicked rise? Because the wicked are notorious thieves and notorious for their injustices. And so a man hides himself. The same passage in Proverbs 28 and verse 28 tells us this:

Scripture Reading — Proverbs 28:12, 28

"When the wicked rise, men hide themselves: but when they perish, the righteous increase."

So what was Gideon doing? Gideon was hiding behind the winepress. And he was hiding there, not because he was a coward, but rather because of biblical principles.

He was doing everything that he could, acting wisely, practically, and prudently. He was doing everything he could to save his substance from being stolen by the Midianites. That's not being a coward. That's being prudent, and that's being practical.

Now, I want you to note something. Listen very carefully. Here's something that is very applicable in our day and time. Gideon was not a visionary. What do I mean by that? Gideon was not a visionary in the sense that he was not just simply sitting back looking forward to better times. Nor was he waiting for a governmental handout. Nor was he waiting for someone to come along and do the work for him. Gideon undertook the menial, difficult, laborious work himself. In other words, he was willing to do that which was low and menial.

By the way, another aspect to show you that he was not a coward, but he was bold and brave in this. Can you imagine what would be done if the Midianites had come along and caught him, threshing his wheat and hiding his substance from them? Not only would everything have been stolen from him, he would have probably been executed as well. And so with Gideon himself doing it, he was protecting his family saying, "Look, I'll take care of this." "I'm willing to face the consequences and you will not have to do that." Whenever God chooses a man to be a deliverer, you can mark it down that man is always going to be a practical man. He's always going to be able to use and make use of whatever God puts before him. He's not going to shun his duties or his obligations. He's not going to be above menial work. He's not going to be above dangerous work. He will be willing to say, "This is the way, come, let us walk in it." He'll be willing to do it himself.

You look at most of our leaders today. They're willing for your children to go out and die, but they're not willing for their children to go out and die. They're willing for you to die, but they're not willing to die themselves. You know, the easy way to stop all wars is make it absolutely mandatory that leaders have to fight first. You just don't think about that. The first people on the battlefront would be the president and his cabinet and Congress. Wouldn't that be wonderful?

Gideon's Discernment and Perception

Gideon correctly identified Israel's problem as spiritual—God had forsaken them—not political or economic.

"And where be all these miracles which our fathers told us of, saying, Did not the Lord bring us up from Egypt? But now the Lord hath forsaken us and delivered us into the hands of the Midianites." Now, Gideon has been greatly criticized in many areas, especially by some people who've not done much studying on his life or certainly do not know the principles of hermeneutics. And I would be the first to admit that Gideon was not perfect. But I can tell you this, in spite of whatever faults he had, he was a man that was greatly used of God. If you'll remember the two messages I preached recently, when God hides His face, you can understand verses 12 and 13 of Judges chapter 6. You see, usually we're able to perceive God even in our chastisements.

But that's not always so. So what in the world happens? Gideon is saluted by the angel, and the salutation is this: "The Lord is with thee, thou mighty man of valor." What a great salutation. "The Lord is with thee, thou mighty man of valor." How does Gideon respond? Look at it, verse 13: "Gideon said, O my Lord, if the Lord be with us, why then is all this befallen us? And where be all these miracles which our fathers told us of, saying, Did not the Lord bring us up from Egypt? But now the Lord has forsaken us and delivered us into the hands of the Midianites." Now, the interesting thing is, when the angel saluted him and said, "The Lord is with thee, thou mighty man of valor," Gideon did not whine. He did not complain.

He did not endeavor to deal with the symptoms. He went straight to the heart of the matter. He correctly discerned that the reason that they were in the mess that they were in in Israel was because the Lord was not among them. He was saying, "If the Lord is among us, where are all of His miracles that we've heard about? Where is His power? Where is His deliverance?"

Now, I want you to hold Judges 6. But look back in your Bibles to Deuteronomy 31. I read this passage to you when I dealt with when God hides His face. But look in Deuteronomy 31 in verse 17, and I can assure you that Gideon aptly understood this verse. That's why he said what he did to the angel. Notice Deuteronomy 31 in verse 17. God says this:

Scripture Reading — Deuteronomy 31:17

"Then my anger shall be kindled against them in that day, and I will forsake them, and I will hide my face from them, and they shall be devoured, and many evils and troubles shall befall them; so that they will say in that day, Are not these evils come upon us, because our God is not among us?"

And what in the world is Gideon saying? When the angel says, "The Lord is with thee, thou mighty man of valor," he said, "Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. If God is with me, if God is with my people, if God is with our country, where then are all the miracles?"

"Where are all the powers? If God is with us, why are we in the mess that we're in? No," he said, "the reason we're in the mess that we're in is the Lord has forsaken us," look at that, "and delivered us into the hands of the Midianites." Listen carefully. Gideon did not blame Israel's problems on defective foreign policies, on failed economic programs, on a lack of governmental welfare, on unmanageable immigration policies, or a host of other things. He said, "No, no, no. It's not those things. The reason we're in the mess that we're in is God has sold us into the hands of our enemies." Say what you will. Gideon understood that the problem primarily was a spiritual problem. Let me tell you this. Gideon has more discernment and more perception than all of our politicians put together. At least he knew the root of the problem. And the root of the problem is always a spiritual problem.

So his reasoning then is very simple. He asked, "What has happened to us? Why are we in the mess that we're in? Where are all of God's miracles and deliverances?" He rightly concluded, "We're not experiencing those miracles. We're not experiencing those deliverances because of our sins, our rebellion. God has sold us into bondage. And the only way we'll ever have the grace and mercy of God is through repentance, restitution, and restoration." Now, let me say it very poignantly. Just like God will not use an imprudent and unpractical man, God is not going to use an undiscerning and unperceptive man. Why?

Because he cannot discern and perceive spiritual realities. If you do not know the root of the problem, the only thing you can do is treat the symptoms. It takes discernment. It takes perception to see through all the symptoms and go to the root of the problem. I don't know about you, but when I go to a doctor, I don't want him to say, "Oh, you have a headache?" "Let me give you a cup of aspirin." No, I want him to know, tell me why I have a headache and what is causing that headache. And let's deal with the root of the problem and not the symptoms. And when God calls a man, He always makes sure that he's discerning and perceptive.

Now, there's another characteristic that was in Gideon's life, and you'll find that in verse 14. Gideon was called and sent: "And the Lord looked upon him, and said, Go in this thy might, and thou shalt save Israel from the hand of the Midianites: have not I sent thee?"

Gideon's Divine Call and Sending

God specifically called and sent Gideon, empowering him; without this divine commission, ministry fails.

Now let me tell you up front that one of the biggest causes of failure in the ministry is because many have never been called or sent by God. It's just that simple, folks. Without a divine call, all you have is the arm of the flesh. I want to show you something. I want you to turn in your Bibles, hold Judges 6, but turn to 2 Chronicles 32. 2 Chronicles 32. King Hezekiah is encouraging his people against the king of Assyria. In 2 Chronicles 32, look at verses 7 and 8. I want you to see what he says. 2 Chronicles 32 verse 7 and 8:

Scripture Reading — 2 Chronicles 32:7-8

"Be strong and courageous, be not afraid nor dismayed for the king of Assyria, nor for all the multitude that is with him: for there be more with us than with him."

Now look what he says:

Scripture Reading — 2 Chronicles 32:7-8

"With him is an arm of flesh; but with us is the Lord our God to help us, and to fight our battles. And the people rested themselves upon the words of Hezekiah king of Judah."

Hezekiah, not Jehoshaphat. I was thinking it was Jehoshaphat, but it's Hezekiah. But look what he said: "With him is an arm of flesh; but with us is the Lord our God to help us." Now, look in your Bibles, if you would, please, to the book of Jeremiah, chapter 17. And I want you to note a specific curse. Jeremiah 17:5:

Scripture Reading — Jeremiah 17:5, 7

"Thus saith the Lord; Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the Lord."

And verse 7:

Scripture Reading — Jeremiah 17:5, 7

"Blessed is the man that trusteth in the Lord, and whose hope the Lord is."

Now, notice what he said. "Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, but blessed is the man who trusteth in the Lord." Now, go back to Judges chapter 6. What did God do for Gideon? God specifically called him, and God specifically sent him. Without those two qualifications, we are absolutely doomed for failure. You and I cannot accomplish anything without being called and sent by God.

Now, without me getting into this right now, what you have in this passage is in reality a Christophany. Now, a Christophany is a pre-incarnate appearance of Christ in the Old Testament. That is, He appears in the flesh before He was ever made flesh in the New Testament. And the Bible says, look specifically now at verse 14, "...and the Lord looked upon him." The word "looked" is very important. It means to look, to regard with favor, to regard kindly. In other words, when the Lord looked upon Gideon, the Lord was highly regarding and highly favoring him. Basically, he was giving him a commission. That's why the Bible says, "And the Lord looked upon him, and said, Go in this thy might, and thou shalt save Israel from the hand of the Midianites: have not I sent thee?" Now, the word "might" not only refers to human strength, but it also refers to divine strength as well. So what are we talking about? We'll go back, if you would, to the salutation in verse 12: "And the angel of the Lord appeared unto him, and said, The Lord is with thee, thou mighty man of valor." Then he says in verse 14, "Go in this thy might." What might is it? Is it just the might that Gideon has? No, it's the might of God, the mighty power of God. The Lord is with thee. Listen to me, folks. Special calling involves special power and special gifts.

Let me say it another way. Whomever God calls, He qualifies. And whomever He qualifies, He empowers. So here Gideon is not just prudent and practical, and not just discerning and perceptive. Gideon has been specifically called and sent by God. And God says, "Gideon, listen to this. You can rest assured that you'll be victorious." I love this. Look in verse 16: "And the Lord said unto him, Surely I will be with thee."

"And thou shalt smite the Midianites as one man." What's God saying? God is saying, "Whenever I send you, you're not going to fail. Whatever I commission you to do, you will accomplish it. Why? Because you have My name and you have My power and you have My might." So Gideon then was specifically called and sent of God.

Now, let's stop and think about our situation. We're in a mess in this country. I don't have to argue that. How are we going to get out of this mess? Well, the answer is we're not unless God is pleased to deliver us. And when God is pleased to deliver us, He's going to always send us a deliverer. He will use a man. That man will always be prudent and practical. He will always be discerning and perceptive. He will always be called and sent of God. He will be specifically commissioned by God to accomplish that particular task. And it cannot fail when God sends. Did Israel have to remain in Egypt when God sent Moses? No. Did the children of Israel have to remain on the other side of Jordan when God sent Joshua? No. Whenever God specifically calls and sends someone to accomplish a mission, He empowers them and enables them to accomplish it. The only thing I'm trying to say is this: whenever we hear someone say, "Follow me and I'll deliver you," you better start looking for some characteristics in his life.

And one of the most important ones is, has he been specifically called and sent by God for that task? There's something else, look in verse 15. After the Lord looks upon him in verse 14, it says, "Go in this thy might, and thou shalt save Israel from the hand of the Midianites: have not I sent thee?" Look at Gideon's response. "And he said unto him, O my Lord, wherewith shall I save Israel?"

Gideon's Meekness and Humility

Gideon viewed himself as unworthy, being the youngest and from a poor family, exemplifying the humility God honors.

"Behold, my family is poor in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father's house." Gideon was meek and humble. Are you listening to me? Practical and prudent, yes. Discerning and perceptive, yes. Called and sent by God, yes. Now meek and humble. He says, "My family is poor in Manasseh and I am the least in my father's house. Why in the world would you even consider using me?"

Now, the word "poor" can refer to financial poorness, but it can also refer to being weak or lean or small. I'm going to tell you, Gideon may have considered himself poor, but if you'll skip down to verse 27, "Then Gideon took ten men of his servants." I don't know how many servants he had, but I'd like to just have ten. He took ten of his servants. And then if you'll notice in verse 28, and I'll deal with this next week, "And when the men of the city arose early in the morning, behold, the altar of Baal was cast down, and the grove was cut down that was by it." "And the second bullock was offered upon it," etc., etc. But here Gideon, let's see, in verse 27, he feared his father's household. So there was a household, very huge, very large. I don't know how many men were in it. But the family also, if you look down to verse 25, back up there, "It came to pass the same night that the Lord said unto him, Take thy father's young bullock, even the second bullock of seven years old, and throw down the altar of Baal that thy father hath, and cut down the grove that is by it."

So they were financially well off enough to have their own private altar to Baal and to Ashtaroth. And evidently this was on public land. I mean, it may have been private land, but Joash had built it, and therefore the men of the city worshipped there, according to verse 28. So when he says he's poor, you've got to put that into perspective. It could be that they were not as well off as they used to be because of the Midianites, or he could be saying, "My family is lean and small in Manasseh," even though we might have plenty of money. When he said that "I am the least in my father's house," in verse 15, the Hebrew word there refers to the fact that he was the youngest. In fact, that word is translated "younger," "least," "youngest," "little one," "small one."

It can also refer to being insignificant. So Gideon is saying, "My family is poor and I'm the youngest and I am insignificant." Now, here's what Gideon was doing. Gideon viewed himself as unworthy of this calling due to the smallness and leanness of his family and his own personal insignificance as being the youngest in the family. Now, you've got to remember something. In Old Testament times, opportunities as well as responsibilities usually fell to the eldest of the family, not the youngest. Joseph, Jacob, David, and Gideon were exceptions to the rule. There was a patriarchal order. And Gideon well knew it. Therefore, for the oldest son to be passed over and this opportunity to come to the youngest son, Gideon's attitude is, "Who am I? I mean, I don't deserve this opportunity. My family is poor and I'm insignificant, I'm the youngest." Now, listen to me. When our Lord told Gideon, "I've sent you. I've empowered you. I'm with you."

"You will smite the Midianites as one man." What was Gideon's attitude? "Bring it on. Boy, I'll show them. I'll give them some shock and awe." Gideon's attitude wasn't that. Gideon's attitude was, "Who am I? I don't deserve this." There's no braggadociousness about him, no haughty, arrogant, proud, high-minded spirit. He's just simply meek and humble. Are you listening to me? If you haven't noticed it, I want to challenge you to notice it. Read through Scripture. And you will find that the men that God has always used have been meek and humble men. One of the greatest deliverers in the Bible was Moses. Everybody knows that. You look at what God did through Moses in Egypt. You look at the plagues, the signs, the wonders, the marvels, the miracles. You stand in awe at the greatness of that deliverance, of how God parted the Red Sea.

Biblical Examples of Meek Leaders

Moses, David, Joshua, Elisha, and Paul all demonstrated meekness despite their great achievements.

Scripture Reading — Numbers 12:3

And the children of Israel walked across on dry ground. And Moses then raised his rod and the waters came back in and drowned Pharaoh and his host. I mean, here's a great, tremendous deliverance. Surely, surely, somewhere in Moses, there's got to be a little pride saying, "We did it, God. We did it." Oh. Well, the interesting thing is, when you get to Numbers 12 and verse 3, Moses is called the meekest man on earth. There was no pride. There was no arrogance. There was just humility. Meekness to think that God would use me. You ever stop to think about David? Do you remember David the mighty warrior? When he came into town, what did the women sing? "Saul has slain his thousands, and David his tens of thousands." David the young boy who slew Goliath.

Who used a rock and a sling, and then took the giant's own sword and cut his head off. David, who killed thousands of the Lord's enemies. Surely, surely there's got to be some pride and arrogance in David's heart. Don't you remember how David even wanted to build a house for the Lord? The Lord sent Nathan to David. In 2 Samuel chapter 7 and verse 17 and 18, he said, "Look, David, you're not going to build a house for the Lord. But the Lord is going to build you a house. The Lord is going to establish your kingdom." And verse 18, David answers the Lord with these words: "Then went king David in, and sat before the Lord, and he said, Who am I, O Lord God? and what is my house, that thou hast brought me hitherto?"

"Lord, who am I that You would do this for me?" Do you see that, folks? There are no words of exaltation. There's no words of personal achievement. There's no language of self-promotion. There's no, "Well, I'm finally getting the recognition that I deserve." No, no, no, no. David was just absolutely and totally amazed and stupefied and marveled that God would even consider doing anything for him.

Joshua, the conqueror of Canaan, the successor of Moses, the military genius who was confronted by the captain of the host of the Lord in Joshua chapter 5. Joshua saw him standing there with his sword drawn, and he confronts him very bravely. And he says, "Art thou for us or for our adversaries?" And the angel of the Lord said, "Neither; but as captain of the host of the Lord am I now come." "Take off thy shoes, for the ground whereon thou standest is holy." What did Joshua, the mighty military genius, do? He fell on his face to the earth and did worship and said, "What saith my Lord unto his servant?" Joshua didn't say, "Now, Lord, let me tell you my battle plans. Let me tell you how I've got this thing figured out. Let me tell you what I believe we ought to do." No, no, no. He just said, "Lord, what is Your word to Your servant? You tell me and I'll obey." I'm just trying to show you something, folks.

There is a difference between these men that have been mightily used of God in times past and the men today who are claiming to be God's deliverers. Do you remember Elisha, the mighty miracle worker? Elisha, the man who raised the dead, who healed the sick, who subdued armies. Yes, he did. The Syrian army he subdued all by himself. He prayed that God would smite them with blindness, and God did so. Here is a man who did twice as many miracles as Elijah did. And do you know that which Elisha was known by all of his ministry? Was he who poured water upon the hands of Elijah. Isn't that amazing?

He never got away from that. He was Elijah's servant as long as Elijah was alive. He waited on Elijah. And here the mighty prophet Elisha is known as he who poured water upon the hands of Elijah. Elisha had a servant's heart. Throughout his entire ministry, he was meek and humble. Isn't that amazing? Let me give you just a couple more. Saul of Tarsus. Everybody know about Saul the Pharisee? Saul of Tarsus, who became the mighty Apostle Paul, who was used of God to convert thousands. Did you know that the Apostle Paul wrote most of the New Testament? Do you know that? I think if you count the book of Hebrews, which is debatable, there's about 14 books out of 27 that were written by the Apostle Paul. Let's listen to what Paul said now. Remember, Paul has been mightily used of God, but in 1 Corinthians 15, verses 9 through 10, here's what Paul says: "For I am the least of the apostles, that am not meet to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God I am what I am."

Now, where's all the bragging? Where's all the haughtiness, the high-mindedness? It was true that God used Paul. But Paul said, "I am the least of all the apostles. I'm not even worthy to be called an apostle. Why? I persecuted the church of God." And then when Paul lists his pedigree in Philippians chapter 3, when he talks about how he was a Hebrew of the Hebrews, Pharisee of the Pharisees, circumcised the eighth day, of the tribe of Benjamin, and on down through the list, then he ends up with this:

"But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ. Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ." You know, Paul's attitude was, "I have nothing, I am nothing, I can do nothing. All I have and all I want is Jesus Christ."

Historical Example: Robert E. Lee

General Lee, despite his noble ancestry, preferred to use money for the poor rather than exploit his lineage, showing humility.

Oh, you're talking about a meek and humble spirit. Let me give you one more illustration. One of the greatest and meekest and most humble leaders in the last couple of hundred years was General Robert E. Lee. General Lee, of course, is known for his Christianity, his kindness, his graciousness, his meekness. But, you know, a lot of people do not know the genealogy of the Lee family. Did you know that General Lee had an ancestor, Lancelot Lee, who fought in the Battle of Hastings in 1066 under the banner of William the Conqueror? Did you know that he had another ancestor, Lionel Lee, who won honors at the Siege of Acre in Jerusalem with Richard the Lionhearted in 1192 in the Third Crusade?

In fact, Lionel's armor is still on display today in the Tower of London. On his maternal side, the blood of Robert the Bruce, King of Scotland, friend of William Wallace, runs in his veins. And when General Lee was presented with a project that wished to publish and exploit his ancestry—of course, General Lee already knew about his ancestry; he had already vowed not to dishonor his ancestors—but when he was presented with this project that would publish and exploit his ancestry, General Lee replied, "I think the money had better be appropriated to relieve the poor."

No, it didn't matter that he could go all the way back. Lee said, "I'd rather use that money to relieve the poor than to brag about my ancestors." The point I'm trying to make, folks, is simple. We need to beware of arrogant, boastful, self-confident leaders who declare what they are going to accomplish. You know, even the wicked sometimes have enough sense to recognize this principle. I want you to turn in your Bibles to 1 Kings chapter 20. 1 Kings chapter 20. And let me show you. Ahab, you know, was the most wicked, vile king in Israel. But yet, there were other kings that were wicked and vile as well. And with the king of Syria, rather, is threatening Ahab and Israel. Let me just read it to you. 1 Kings chapter 20. And if you look down in verse 10, Ben-Hadad, the king of Syria now, is threatening.

Scripture Reading — 1 Kings 20:10-11

"And Ben-Hadad sent unto him, and said, The gods do so unto me, and more also, if the dust of Samaria shall suffice for handfuls for all the people that follow me."

What is he saying? The king of Syria is saying, "Look, we've got enough people."

Warning Against Arrogant Leaders

Even wicked Ahab knew not to boast before victory; Scripture teaches that deliverance is from the Lord alone.

Scripture Reading — 1 Kings 20:10-11

"And Ben-Hadad sent unto him, and said, The gods do so unto me, and more also, if the dust of Samaria shall suffice for handfuls for all the people that follow me."

What is he saying? The king of Syria is saying, "Look, we've got enough people."

"We're going to wipe you out. We're going to stomp you in the ground. That's it." Look what wicked Ahab answers. Verse 11: "And the king of Israel answered and said, Tell him, Let not him that girdeth on his harness boast himself as he that putteth it off." What did Ahab just get out of his mouth? He said, "Listen, buddy, there's a difference between starting a war and finishing a war." We would say it like this: "Don't count your chickens before they hatch." It's easy to put on that armament. It's not too easy to take it off if you've been defeated. You know what the Bible teaches us? "A man's pride shall bring him low." Everyone in here probably can quote Psalm 127 verse 1. Listen carefully.

Scripture Reading — Psalm 127:1

"Except the Lord build the house, they labour in vain that build it: except the Lord keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain."

Do you remember what he said in Proverbs 21 and verse 31?

"The horse is prepared against the day of battle: but safety is of the Lord." And then Psalm 33 and verse 17 says, "An horse is a vain thing for safety: neither shall he deliver any by his great strength." What is Scripture saying? Neither man, his might, or machinery can deliver. Only God alone can deliver. That's why the Bible says in Psalm 118 verses 8 and 9, "It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in man. It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in princes." All through the Bible, those men that God used were prudent and practical, discerning and perceptive, called and sent, and meek and humble.

Applications and Conclusion

Deliverance depends on God, not wealth; prideful schemes fail; believers should cultivate prudence, discernment, and humility, for God seeks such hearts to show His strength.

Let me make just three applications. The first one is this. This one is very important. Deliverance does not depend upon wealth and supplies. Gideon had neither. Deliverance depends upon God alone. His strength, His might, His mercy, His grace. I've heard men for years complain that there is not enough money to finance a movement to restore America. Let me tell you. You don't need money to restore America. You can have all the money in the world and America still would not be restored apart from God. It's not money that we need. It's mercy that we need.

The second application is this: pride, ambition, arrogance, haughtiness, self-serving, self-promoting attitudes and schemes will never, ever work in delivering a people. Never. You know why? God is not going to share His glory with another. I've said this before and I'm going to say it again. There's really only one way to be delivered. And that's God's way. You'll either be delivered God's way or you will not be delivered at all. But when you get proud, arrogant, haughty, boastful, braggadocious men with their schemes, all they can do is condemn a people. They can never deliver a people. Listen to this.

You and I need to acquire these characteristics and these virtues in our lives. We need to learn to be prudent and practical. We need to learn to be discerning and perceptive. It's true only God can call and send us, but we also need to learn to be meek and humble. Are you listening? I had rather have these attributes and characteristics in my life and be prepared to be used by God and never be used by God than to not have them and not be used of God. I got news for you, folks. If those attitudes are in our lives, God will use us. Let me show you why. Look in your Bibles to 2 Chronicles 16. 2 Chronicles 16 and verse 9. If there's no verse that you remember today, please remember this one. 2 Chronicles 16, verse 9. Here's an amazing, amazing truth. Look at what the Bible says: "For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to shew himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward him." Stop there. What is God doing? God is looking for men and women whose hearts are perfect toward Him, that He may show Himself strong in them.

If you develop these godly characteristics and virtues in your life, I can assure you, sooner or later, you will be called and sent by God to do something. For God is looking for men and women who keep their heart, that He might do something glorious and gracious and mighty through them. Let's pray. Father, we do ask that You help us. Thank You, Lord, for all of Your grace to us. And, Lord, I do pray that You would make us meek and humble, discerning and perceptive, prudent and practical, that we may be, in some areas, called and sent by Thee. Give us grace, Lord, to serve Thee acceptably with reverence and godly fear. In Thy name we pray, Amen.

Study Guide

Major Themes

God Uses a Man for Deliverance

Summary: God always chooses an individual, not a committee or political entity, to deliver His people.

Evidence: Weaver states, 'When it came time for God to deliver His people from bondage and from tyranny, He did not send a politician... He sent a man.'

Characteristics of a God-Used Deliverer

Summary: A deliverer must be prudent/practical, discerning/perceptive, called/sent by God, and meek/humble.

Evidence: Weaver outlines these four characteristics throughout the sermon, e.g., 'Gideon was a prudent and a practical man... Gideon also was perceptive and discerning... Gideon was called and sent... Gideon was meek and humble.'

Spiritual Root of Problems

Summary: Gideon discerned that Israel's troubles were due to God's forsaking them because of sin, not external factors.

Evidence: Weaver says, 'Gideon understood that the problem primarily was a spiritual problem... the root of the problem is always a spiritual problem.'

Divine Calling and Empowerment

Summary: Those whom God calls, He qualifies and empowers; without a divine call, ministry is futile.

Evidence: Weaver states, 'Whomever God calls, He qualifies. And whomever He qualifies, He empowers.'

Meekness and Humility in Leaders

Summary: God uses those who are humble and view themselves as unworthy, not the arrogant or self-promoting.

Evidence: Weaver illustrates with Gideon, Moses, David, Paul, and others, e.g., 'Gideon's attitude was, "Who am I? I don't deserve this."'

Deliverance Depends on God Alone

Summary: Neither wealth, human might, nor schemes can deliver; only God's mercy and power can save.

Evidence: Weaver says, 'Deliverance does not depend upon wealth and supplies... Deliverance depends upon God alone.'

Key Arguments

God's deliverers are not self-seeking but are found in ordinary tasks.

Summary: Gideon was threshing wheat, not seeking leadership, showing that God initiates the call.

Evidence: Weaver says, 'Gideon was not seeking the position of being a deliverer... It was God who sought out Gideon.'

Prudence is biblical, not cowardice.

Summary: Gideon hid his wheat from the Midianites, acting on Proverbs 27:12 and 28:12, 28.

Evidence: Weaver cites Proverbs 27:12 and 28:12, 28 to justify Gideon's actions as prudent, not cowardly.

True discernment identifies spiritual causes.

Summary: Gideon attributed Israel's plight to God's absence, not political or economic failures.

Evidence: Weaver states, 'Gideon did not blame Israel's problems on defective foreign policies... He said... the reason we're in the mess that we're in is God has sold us into the hands of our enemies.'

A divine call is essential for effective ministry.

Summary: Without being called and sent by God, ministry relies on the arm of flesh and is cursed.

Evidence: Weaver references Jeremiah 17:5 and says, 'Without a divine call, all you have is the arm of the flesh.'

Humility is a mark of those God uses.

Summary: Gideon, Moses, David, Paul, and others expressed unworthiness, not pride, in their callings.

Evidence: Weaver quotes David: 'Who am I, O Lord God?' and Paul: 'I am the least of the apostles.'

Arrogant leaders cannot deliver.

Summary: Prideful, self-promoting schemes fail because God does not share His glory.

Evidence: Weaver says, 'pride, ambition, arrogance... will never, ever work in delivering a people... God is not going to share His glory with another.'

Scripture References

Judges 6:11-16

Context: The primary passage read and expounded, detailing the angel's visit to Gideon.

Romans 10:17

Context: Cited to support the necessity of a preacher for faith to come by hearing.

Acts 5 (implied gift of repentance)

Context: Mentioned that God gives the gift of repentance through preaching.

John 3:16

Context: Paraphrased to emphasize God sending a man, not a committee; also linked to Joash meaning 'given by the Lord'.

1 John 4:10

Context: Quoted to show God's love in sending His Son, connecting to Joash's name.

1 John 3:8

Context: Cited to show Christ's purpose to destroy the devil's works, paralleling Gideon hewing down strife.

Mark 3:13

Context: Used to illustrate Jesus calling whom He would, similar to God calling Gideon.

Proverbs 27:12

Context: Quoted to support Gideon's prudence in hiding from evil.

Proverbs 28:12, 28

Context: Cited to show that when the wicked rise, a man hides himself, justifying Gideon's actions.

Deuteronomy 31:17

Context: Read to show that evils come when God hides His face, which Gideon understood.

2 Chronicles 32:7-8

Context: Quoted to contrast the arm of flesh with the Lord's help, emphasizing divine empowerment.

Jeremiah 17:5, 7

Context: Cited to pronounce a curse on trusting in man and blessing on trusting the Lord.

Numbers 12:3

Context: Mentioned that Moses was the meekest man on earth, illustrating humility.

2 Samuel 7:17-18

Context: Quoted David's humble response: 'Who am I, O Lord God?'

Joshua 5 (implied)

Context: Referenced Joshua's encounter with the captain of the Lord's host, showing his submission.

1 Corinthians 15:9-10

Context: Quoted Paul calling himself the least of the apostles, demonstrating humility.

Philippians 3 (implied)

Context: Referenced Paul counting all things loss for Christ, showing his humble valuation.

1 Kings 20:10-11

Context: Read to show even wicked Ahab's proverb against boasting before victory.

Psalm 127:1

Context: Quoted to emphasize that unless the Lord builds, labor is in vain.

Proverbs 21:31

Context: Cited: 'The horse is prepared against the day of battle: but safety is of the Lord.'

Historical References

General Robert E. Lee

Context: Cited as an example of meekness; Lee preferred to use money for the poor rather than publish his noble ancestry.

Lancelot Lee (ancestor of Robert E. Lee)

Context: Mentioned as fighting in the Battle of Hastings in 1066 under William the Conqueror.

Lionel Lee (ancestor of Robert E. Lee)

Context: Mentioned as winning honors at the Siege of Acre in 1192 with Richard the Lionhearted.

Robert the Bruce, King of Scotland

Context: Mentioned as an ancestor of Robert E. Lee on his maternal side.

Important Quotes

When it came time for God to deliver His people from bondage and from tyranny, He did not send a politician. He did not send a congressman. He did not send a president. He did not send a committee. He did not send a political party. He sent a man.

Significance: Emphasizes that God's method of deliverance is through an individual, not human institutions.

Gideon was not a visionary in the sense that he was not just simply sitting back looking forward to better times. Nor was he waiting for a governmental handout. Nor was he waiting for someone to come along and do the work for him. Gideon undertook the menial, difficult, laborious work himself.

Significance: Highlights Gideon's practical, hands-on character as a model for godly leadership.

Whomever God calls, He qualifies. And whomever He qualifies, He empowers.

Significance: Succinctly states the principle of divine enablement for those commissioned by God.

Gideon's attitude was, 'Who am I? I don't deserve this.' There's no braggadociousness about him, no haughty, arrogant, proud, high-minded spirit. He's just simply meek and humble.

Significance: Captures the essential humility that characterizes those God uses mightily.

Deliverance does not depend upon wealth and supplies. Gideon had neither. Deliverance depends upon God alone.

Significance: Summarizes the sermon's application that human resources are irrelevant to divine deliverance.

For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to shew himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward him.

Significance: The climactic Scripture promise that God actively seeks those He can use, encouraging believers to cultivate godly character.

Discussion Questions

Why does God choose to use a man rather than a committee or political system for deliverance?

Context: Weaver emphasizes that God sent Gideon, not a politician, and that committees would 'mess things up.'

How can we distinguish between biblical prudence and cowardice in our own lives?

Context: Gideon hid his wheat, which Weaver defends as prudent based on Proverbs, not cowardly.

In what ways do we tend to treat symptoms rather than the spiritual root of problems in our personal lives and society?

Context: Gideon discerned that Israel's issue was spiritual, not political or economic.

What does it mean to be 'called and sent' by God, and how can someone discern such a call?

Context: Weaver stresses that without a divine call, ministry is just the arm of flesh.

How does meekness and humility manifest in a leader's life, and why is it essential for God's use?

Context: Gideon, Moses, David, and Paul all expressed unworthiness despite great achievements.

What are some modern examples of arrogant, self-promoting leadership, and how can we guard against following them?

Context: Weaver warns against boastful leaders and cites Ahab's proverb about not boasting before victory.

How can we cultivate a heart that is 'perfect toward God' so that He may show Himself strong through us?

Context: The sermon concludes with 2 Chronicles 16:9, urging believers to develop godly characteristics.

Applications

Cultivate Prudence and Practicality

Summary: Believers should act wisely and practically in difficult times, doing necessary work themselves rather than waiting for others.

Evidence: Weaver says, 'We need to learn to be prudent and practical... Gideon undertook the menial, difficult, laborious work himself.'

Develop Spiritual Discernment

Summary: Christians must learn to see beyond symptoms to the spiritual root of problems, both personally and nationally.

Evidence: Weaver states, 'If you do not know the root of the problem, the only thing you can do is treat the symptoms.'

Seek God's Calling, Not Self-Promotion

Summary: Rather than striving for positions, believers should wait for God's specific call and sending, trusting His empowerment.

Evidence: Weaver warns, 'Without a divine call, all you have is the arm of the flesh.'

Embrace Meekness and Humility

Summary: We should adopt an attitude of unworthiness and servanthood, recognizing that God uses the humble.

Evidence: Weaver says, 'I had rather have these attributes and characteristics in my life and be prepared to be used by God... than to not have them.'

Trust in God Alone for Deliverance

Summary: In personal and national crises, rely on God's mercy and power, not on wealth, human strength, or political schemes.

Evidence: Weaver states, 'It's not money that we need. It's mercy that we need.'

Prepare Your Heart for God's Use

Summary: Since God seeks those with perfect hearts to show His strength, believers should actively cultivate godly virtues.

Evidence: Weaver quotes 2 Chronicles 16:9 and says, 'If you develop these godly characteristics... sooner or later, you will be called and sent by God.'

deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | clean_readable_transcript | 2026-06-05T15:46:17Z

deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | weaver_study | 2026-06-06T05:40:52Z

Clean Transcript

Principles of Deliverance - 3

Clean readable transcript. This view follows the Commentary.net cleaned segment text while preserving timestamps for audio follow-along.

Judges chapter 6. You'll remember I've started a brief series on principles of deliverance from the life of Gideon. And today we're going to be doing part three, principles of deliverance. Basically, God finds a man. And I will continue this message next week, I am sure, and possibly the week after, just on this one particular point. But let's read from Judges chapter 6, beginning there with verse 11, and read through verse 16. Judges 6, verse 11: "And there came an angel of the Lord, and sat under an oak which was in Ophrah, that pertained unto Joash the Abiezrite: and his son Gideon threshed wheat by the winepress, to hide it from the Midianites. And the angel of the Lord appeared unto him, and said unto him, The Lord is with thee, thou mighty man of valor. And Gideon said unto him, O my Lord, if the Lord be with us, why then is all this befallen us?"
#1 | 0:00 to 0:59 | cleaned
"Where be all his miracles which our fathers told us of, saying, Did not the Lord bring us up from Egypt? But now the Lord hath forsaken us, and delivered us into the hands of the Midianites. And the Lord looked upon him, and said, Go in this thy might, and thou shalt save Israel from the hand of the Midianites: have not I sent thee? And he said unto him, O my Lord, wherewith shall I save Israel?"
#2 | 1:00 to 1:22 | cleaned
"Behold, my family is poor in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father's house. And the Lord said unto him, Surely I will be with thee, and thou shalt smite the Midianites as one man."
#3 | 1:23 to 1:34 | cleaned
Now, we've looked at two points previous to this message. We've looked, first of all, at the preparation for deliverance. And we saw that in the preparation for deliverance, God always strips us of our pride, haughtiness, self-confidence, and self-ability. God always prepares us by enabling us to understand that we cannot save ourselves. We cannot deliver ourselves. Therefore, if we are ever delivered, we must be delivered by the grace and power of God. The second thing we looked at in this passage is the procedure in deliverance. And when God prepared the people, He then proceeded to send them a preacher, the Bible says, in verse 8. And what in the world did the preacher do? He reminded them, first of all, of the goodness and the greatness and the mercy of God. And then secondly, he reminded them of their wickedness and rebellion against God. Now, he did this in order, number one, to encourage confidence in God, because if God is the one who has delivered them in times past, certainly He will be the one who delivers us now and in the future.
#4 | 1:34 to 2:49 | cleaned
And on the other hand, he also did this to increase and intensify and magnify their wickedness and rebellion against such a loving Heavenly Father. So whenever God then prepares the people for deliverance, He not only strips them of themselves and their self-confidence, He also then shows them His grace and His mercy, and He gives them repentance and faith. Therefore, it is necessary to send a preacher. You remember the Bible says in Romans 10 and verse 17, "How shall they hear without a preacher?" And "faith cometh by hearing," and how? By the preaching of the Word of God. So you have to have a preacher, and the Bible tells us in Acts 5 that He gave the gift of repentance. So the procedure is God always sends a preacher, and the preacher always magnifies God and always shows man his sin and rebellion against God.
#5 | 2:49 to 3:45 | cleaned
Now today we come to the third point, and that is the person of deliverance. In this passage, God finds His deliverer in the person of Gideon. Now, it is true that God Himself is the deliverer, but God is pleased to use means, and God is always pleased to use a man. Now, I want you to note, if you would please, the Bible said, in verse 11, "There came an angel of the Lord, and sat under an oak which was in Ophrah, that pertained unto Joash the Abiezrite: and his son Gideon threshed wheat by the winepress, to hide it from the Midianites." Please observe carefully that when it came time for God to deliver His people from bondage and from tyranny, He did not send a politician. He did not send a congressman. He did not send a president. He did not send a committee. He did not send a political party. He sent a man. Someone has rightly said, paraphrasing John 3:16, "For God so loved the world that He did not send a committee."
#6 | 3:46 to 4:58 | cleaned
And thankfully, that is true. A committee certainly would have messed things up. But when God chooses to deliver His people, He always chooses a man. It doesn't matter if it's a Moses, a Samuel, a Samson, a Gideon, or Christ. He is always pleased to send a man. An interesting thing is, if you would take just the names that are given us in this passage, we can see a foreshadowing of Jesus Christ and His great work of deliverance. For instance, if you look in verse 11, you'll find that Gideon's father's name is Joash. Now, the name Joash literally means "given by the Lord." Given by the Lord.
#7 | 4:59 to 5:45 | cleaned
When you hear that, you cannot help but think, first of all, of John 3:16, "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son." And how about 1 John 4 and verse 10? "Herein is love, not that we loved Him, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be a propitiation for our sins." So the very name Joash means "given by the Lord." Then we find that Joash is an Abiezrite. Now, the word Abiezrite just simply means that he was a descendant of the family of Abiezer, who was Joseph's son or a descendant of Joseph's son Manasseh. The word Abiezrite literally means "my father is help." Now watch this. Joash means "given by the Lord." Abiezrite means "my father is help."
#8 | 5:49 to 6:40 | cleaned
Over and over as you study the life of Christ, what was He constantly doing? Communing with His Father. Praying to His Father. And what did He say? "I can do nothing of myself. Whatsoever I see the Father do, that I do likewise." And so, Joash means "given by the Lord." Abiezrite means "my father's help." When you come to Gideon's name, the word Gideon literally means "hewer." A hewer. When you look at the word Midianites, the enemy there, the word Midian means "strife." So what is Gideon? He is a hewer down of strife. Put it all together. Here you have someone who is given by the Lord, whose father is help, who hews down strife. Can you not see a picture of Jesus Christ there?
#9 | 6:41 to 7:39 | cleaned
One should automatically think of 1 John 3 and verse 8, where the Bible says, "For this purpose was the Son of God manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil." As Gideon hewed down the statues of Baal and Asherah, Jesus Christ, the true Gideon, hewed down sin and Satan. Now, I want you to note something in verse 11. Look carefully. When the angel of the Lord came to Gideon, what was Gideon doing?
#10 | 7:39 to 8:11 | cleaned
He was threshing wheat by the winepress. I want you to understand that Gideon was not seeking the position of being a deliverer. He was not seeking that office. You know what he was doing? He was going about his daily business, just simply trying to stay alive. He was not out endeavoring to recruit an army. He was not raising a militia. He was threshing wheat. Are you listening? It was God who sought out Gideon. It was God who initiated the contact. It was God who arranged the encounter. Usually the men that God calls for specific tasks are not looking for the work that God singles them out to accomplish.
#11 | 8:12 to 9:09 | cleaned
Moses was a shepherd on the backside of the desert. David was a keeper of sheep. Saul of Tarsus was on his way to Damascus to persecute Christians. Peter, James, and John were fishermen. None of these people were looking for the office to which God called them. They were simply going about their business. It is God who chooses ordinary men to do extraordinary things. It is God who calls them. It is God who selects them. It is God who empowers them. And it is God who makes them great.
#12 | 9:11 to 9:47 | cleaned
One of my favorite verses is found in Mark 3 in verse 13. Talking about Jesus: "And He goeth up into a mountain, and calleth unto Him whom He would: and they came unto Him." And the next verse says, "And He ordained twelve, that they might be with Him, and that He might send them forth to preach the gospel." But note what our Lord did. He went into a mountain and He called to Him whom He would.
#13 | 9:49 to 10:19 | cleaned
And that's exactly what you find in the life of Gideon. God comes to Gideon and God calls him. God finds him. Now, what I want to do this week and next week is I want to look at some characteristics that are in the life of Gideon. And I'm just going to tell you in advance that any man that God uses today or in the future, any man that God uses will have the same characteristics in his life.
#14 | 10:20 to 10:51 | cleaned
Now, what does that mean? That means this. We ought to be able, if we know the Scripture, to discern whether or not someone is really called of God to do a work or not. I've heard many voices in this world. I've heard people say, "Follow me." I've heard men and women say that. But let me tell you something, folks. We're to follow no one further than they follow Jesus Christ. And if someone does not have the characteristics that we find in the Bible, you can mark it down, God never called him to be a deliverer. Now, what were the characteristics that were in Gideon's life? First of all, let me point out the fact that Gideon was a prudent and a practical man. What do I mean when I say that he was a prudent and a practical man? Well, Gideon was doing everything necessary to save his life and the life of his family. He was threshing wheat.
#15 | 10:54 to 11:52 | cleaned
And he was doing it secretly. Why was he doing it secretly? He was hiding it from the Midianites. You see, when one threshes wheat normally, you do that on the mountaintop. You do it out in the open. Why? Because you throw the wheat up and the wind comes and separates the chaff from the wheat. Well, if you do it down below the mountain, where the wind is not blowing, it's additional work.
#16 | 11:53 to 12:17 | cleaned
Why was he doing it behind the winepress? Because he did not want the Midianites to come and steal it and take it from his family. Now, please understand this. Gideon was not a coward. He was merely exercising common sense as well as being biblical.
#17 | 12:18 to 12:37 | cleaned
Now, let me give you a couple of scriptures. Listen to this. The Bible says in Proverbs 27 and verse 12, "A prudent man foreseeth the evil, and hideth himself; but the simple pass on, and are punished." Now what does God say a prudent man does? A prudent man foresees the evil and he does what? And he hides himself. He gets out of the way. But the simple pass on and they're punished. Now the Bible goes further. In Proverbs 28 and verse 12, the Bible tells us that "when righteous men do rejoice, there is great glory: but when the wicked rise, a man is hidden."
#18 | 12:38 to 13:16 | cleaned
Stop and think about that. Why will a man be hidden when the wicked rise? Because the wicked are notorious thieves and notorious for their injustices. And so a man hides himself. The same passage in Proverbs 28 and verse 28 tells us this: "When the wicked rise, men hide themselves: but when they perish, the righteous increase." So what was Gideon doing? Gideon was hiding behind the winepress. And he was hiding there, not because he was a coward, but rather because of biblical principles.
#19 | 13:17 to 13:49 | cleaned
He was doing everything that he could, acting wisely, practically, and prudently. He was doing everything he could to save his substance from being stolen by the Midianites. That's not being a coward. That's being prudent, and that's being practical.
#20 | 13:50 to 14:08 | cleaned
Now, I want you to note something. Listen very carefully. Here's something that is very applicable in our day and time. Gideon was not a visionary. What do I mean by that? Gideon was not a visionary in the sense that he was not just simply sitting back looking forward to better times. Nor was he waiting for a governmental handout. Nor was he waiting for someone to come along and do the work for him. Gideon undertook the menial, difficult, laborious work himself. In other words, he was willing to do that which was low and menial.
#21 | 14:08 to 14:53 | cleaned
By the way, another aspect to show you that he was not a coward, but he was bold and brave in this. Can you imagine what would be done if the Midianites had come along and caught him, threshing his wheat and hiding his substance from them? Not only would everything have been stolen from him, he would have probably been executed as well. And so with Gideon himself doing it, he was protecting his family saying, "Look, I'll take care of this."
#22 | 14:54 to 15:27 | cleaned
"I'm willing to face the consequences and you will not have to do that." Whenever God chooses a man to be a deliverer, you can mark it down that man is always going to be a practical man. He's always going to be able to use and make use of whatever God puts before him. He's not going to shun his duties or his obligations. He's not going to be above menial work. He's not going to be above dangerous work. He will be willing to say, "This is the way, come, let us walk in it." He'll be willing to do it himself.
#23 | 15:27 to 16:06 | cleaned
You look at most of our leaders today. They're willing for your children to go out and die, but they're not willing for their children to go out and die. They're willing for you to die, but they're not willing to die themselves. You know, the easy way to stop all wars is make it absolutely mandatory that leaders have to fight first. You just don't think about that. The first people on the battlefront would be the president and his cabinet and Congress. Wouldn't that be wonderful?
#24 | 16:09 to 16:51 | cleaned
But you never find that. You know, Gideon was a man who was prudent and practical. He was willing to do that which had to be done. General Robert E. Lee said it like this: "A Christian is one who will do his duty in all things. And he will never do less than his duty." So what is the characteristic then of a deliverer? First of all, he's prudent and practical. Secondly, I want you to note something that Gideon also was perceptive and discerning. Look in verse 12: "And the angel of the Lord appeared unto him, and said unto him, The Lord is with thee, thou mighty man of valor." What a greeting. But look what he says. "And Gideon said unto him, O my Lord, if the Lord be with us, why then is all this befallen us?"
#25 | 16:53 to 17:45 | cleaned
"And where be all these miracles which our fathers told us of, saying, Did not the Lord bring us up from Egypt? But now the Lord hath forsaken us and delivered us into the hands of the Midianites."
#26 | 17:45 to 17:54 | cleaned
Now, Gideon has been greatly criticized in many areas, especially by some people who've not done much studying on his life or certainly do not know the principles of hermeneutics. And I would be the first to admit that Gideon was not perfect. But I can tell you this, in spite of whatever faults he had, he was a man that was greatly used of God. If you'll remember the two messages I preached recently, when God hides His face, you can understand verses 12 and 13 of Judges chapter 6. You see, usually we're able to perceive God even in our chastisements.
#27 | 17:55 to 18:45 | cleaned
But that's not always so. So what in the world happens? Gideon is saluted by the angel, and the salutation is this: "The Lord is with thee, thou mighty man of valor." What a great salutation. "The Lord is with thee, thou mighty man of valor." How does Gideon respond? Look at it, verse 13: "Gideon said, O my Lord, if the Lord be with us, why then is all this befallen us? And where be all these miracles which our fathers told us of, saying, Did not the Lord bring us up from Egypt? But now the Lord has forsaken us and delivered us into the hands of the Midianites." Now, the interesting thing is, when the angel saluted him and said, "The Lord is with thee, thou mighty man of valor," Gideon did not whine. He did not complain.
#28 | 18:46 to 19:38 | cleaned
He did not endeavor to deal with the symptoms. He went straight to the heart of the matter. He correctly discerned that the reason that they were in the mess that they were in in Israel was because the Lord was not among them. He was saying, "If the Lord is among us, where are all of His miracles that we've heard about? Where is His power? Where is His deliverance?"
#29 | 19:38 to 20:02 | cleaned
Now, I want you to hold Judges 6. But look back in your Bibles to Deuteronomy 31. I read this passage to you when I dealt with when God hides His face. But look in Deuteronomy 31 in verse 17, and I can assure you that Gideon aptly understood this verse. That's why he said what he did to the angel. Notice Deuteronomy 31 in verse 17. God says this: "Then my anger shall be kindled against them in that day, and I will forsake them, and I will hide my face from them, and they shall be devoured, and many evils and troubles shall befall them; so that they will say in that day, Are not these evils come upon us, because our God is not among us?" And what in the world is Gideon saying? When the angel says, "The Lord is with thee, thou mighty man of valor," he said, "Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. If God is with me, if God is with my people, if God is with our country, where then are all the miracles?"
#30 | 20:02 to 21:07 | cleaned
"Where are all the powers? If God is with us, why are we in the mess that we're in? No," he said, "the reason we're in the mess that we're in is the Lord has forsaken us," look at that, "and delivered us into the hands of the Midianites." Listen carefully. Gideon did not blame Israel's problems on defective foreign policies, on failed economic programs, on a lack of governmental welfare, on unmanageable immigration policies, or a host of other things.
#31 | 21:07 to 21:45 | cleaned
He said, "No, no, no. It's not those things. The reason we're in the mess that we're in is God has sold us into the hands of our enemies." Say what you will. Gideon understood that the problem primarily was a spiritual problem. Let me tell you this. Gideon has more discernment and more perception than all of our politicians put together. At least he knew the root of the problem. And the root of the problem is always a spiritual problem.
#32 | 21:45 to 22:23 | cleaned
So his reasoning then is very simple. He asked, "What has happened to us? Why are we in the mess that we're in? Where are all of God's miracles and deliverances?" He rightly concluded, "We're not experiencing those miracles. We're not experiencing those deliverances because of our sins, our rebellion. God has sold us into bondage. And the only way we'll ever have the grace and mercy of God is through repentance, restitution, and restoration." Now, let me say it very poignantly. Just like God will not use an imprudent and unpractical man, God is not going to use an undiscerning and unperceptive man. Why?
#33 | 22:23 to 23:12 | cleaned
Because he cannot discern and perceive spiritual realities. If you do not know the root of the problem, the only thing you can do is treat the symptoms. It takes discernment. It takes perception to see through all the symptoms and go to the root of the problem. I don't know about you, but when I go to a doctor, I don't want him to say, "Oh, you have a headache?"
#34 | 23:13 to 23:45 | cleaned
"Let me give you a cup of aspirin." No, I want him to know, tell me why I have a headache and what is causing that headache. And let's deal with the root of the problem and not the symptoms. And when God calls a man, He always makes sure that he's discerning and perceptive.
#35 | 23:46 to 24:08 | cleaned
Now, there's another characteristic that was in Gideon's life, and you'll find that in verse 14. Gideon was called and sent: "And the Lord looked upon him, and said, Go in this thy might, and thou shalt save Israel from the hand of the Midianites: have not I sent thee?"
#36 | 24:09 to 24:28 | cleaned
Now let me tell you up front that one of the biggest causes of failure in the ministry is because many have never been called or sent by God. It's just that simple, folks. Without a divine call, all you have is the arm of the flesh. I want to show you something. I want you to turn in your Bibles, hold Judges 6, but turn to 2 Chronicles 32. 2 Chronicles 32.
#37 | 24:30 to 25:14 | cleaned
King Hezekiah is encouraging his people against the king of Assyria. In 2 Chronicles 32, look at verses 7 and 8. I want you to see what he says. 2 Chronicles 32 verse 7 and 8: "Be strong and courageous, be not afraid nor dismayed for the king of Assyria, nor for all the multitude that is with him: for there be more with us than with him." Now look what he says: "With him is an arm of flesh; but with us is the Lord our God to help us, and to fight our battles. And the people rested themselves upon the words of Hezekiah king of Judah."
#38 | 25:14 to 25:56 | cleaned
Hezekiah, not Jehoshaphat. I was thinking it was Jehoshaphat, but it's Hezekiah. But look what he said: "With him is an arm of flesh; but with us is the Lord our God to help us."
#39 | 25:56 to 26:21 | cleaned
Now, look in your Bibles, if you would, please, to the book of Jeremiah, chapter 17. And I want you to note a specific curse. Jeremiah 17:5: "Thus saith the Lord; Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the Lord." And verse 7: "Blessed is the man that trusteth in the Lord, and whose hope the Lord is."
#40 | 26:22 to 27:04 | cleaned
Now, notice what he said. "Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, but blessed is the man who trusteth in the Lord."
#41 | 27:05 to 27:14 | cleaned
Now, go back to Judges chapter 6. What did God do for Gideon? God specifically called him, and God specifically sent him. Without those two qualifications, we are absolutely doomed for failure. You and I cannot accomplish anything without being called and sent by God.
#42 | 27:14 to 27:34 | cleaned
Now, without me getting into this right now, what you have in this passage is in reality a Christophany. Now, a Christophany is a pre-incarnate appearance of Christ in the Old Testament. That is, He appears in the flesh before He was ever made flesh in the New Testament. And the Bible says, look specifically now at verse 14, "...and the Lord looked upon him." The word "looked" is very important. It means to look, to regard with favor, to regard kindly. In other words, when the Lord looked upon Gideon, the Lord was highly regarding and highly favoring him.
#43 | 27:34 to 28:24 | cleaned
Basically, he was giving him a commission. That's why the Bible says, "And the Lord looked upon him, and said, Go in this thy might, and thou shalt save Israel from the hand of the Midianites: have not I sent thee?" Now, the word "might" not only refers to human strength, but it also refers to divine strength as well. So what are we talking about? We'll go back, if you would, to the salutation in verse 12: "And the angel of the Lord appeared unto him, and said, The Lord is with thee, thou mighty man of valor." Then he says in verse 14, "Go in this thy might." What might is it? Is it just the might that Gideon has? No, it's the might of God, the mighty power of God. The Lord is with thee. Listen to me, folks. Special calling involves special power and special gifts.
#44 | 28:25 to 29:29 | cleaned
Let me say it another way. Whomever God calls, He qualifies. And whomever He qualifies, He empowers. So here Gideon is not just prudent and practical, and not just discerning and perceptive. Gideon has been specifically called and sent by God. And God says, "Gideon, listen to this. You can rest assured that you'll be victorious." I love this. Look in verse 16: "And the Lord said unto him, Surely I will be with thee."
#45 | 29:29 to 30:11 | cleaned
"And thou shalt smite the Midianites as one man." What's God saying? God is saying, "Whenever I send you, you're not going to fail. Whatever I commission you to do, you will accomplish it. Why? Because you have My name and you have My power and you have My might." So Gideon then was specifically called and sent of God.
#46 | 30:12 to 30:36 | cleaned
Now, let's stop and think about our situation. We're in a mess in this country. I don't have to argue that. How are we going to get out of this mess? Well, the answer is we're not unless God is pleased to deliver us. And when God is pleased to deliver us, He's going to always send us a deliverer. He will use a man. That man will always be prudent and practical. He will always be discerning and perceptive. He will always be called and sent of God. He will be specifically commissioned by God to accomplish that particular task. And it cannot fail when God sends. Did Israel have to remain in Egypt when God sent Moses? No. Did the children of Israel have to remain on the other side of Jordan when God sent Joshua? No. Whenever God specifically calls and sends someone to accomplish a mission, He empowers them and enables them to accomplish it. The only thing I'm trying to say is this: whenever we hear someone say, "Follow me and I'll deliver you," you better start looking for some characteristics in his life.
#47 | 30:37 to 31:59 | cleaned
And one of the most important ones is, has he been specifically called and sent by God for that task? There's something else, look in verse 15. After the Lord looks upon him in verse 14, it says, "Go in this thy might, and thou shalt save Israel from the hand of the Midianites: have not I sent thee?" Look at Gideon's response. "And he said unto him, O my Lord, wherewith shall I save Israel?"
#48 | 32:00 to 32:31 | cleaned
"Behold, my family is poor in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father's house." Gideon was meek and humble. Are you listening to me? Practical and prudent, yes. Discerning and perceptive, yes. Called and sent by God, yes. Now meek and humble. He says, "My family is poor in Manasseh and I am the least in my father's house. Why in the world would you even consider using me?"
#49 | 32:31 to 33:13 | cleaned
Now, the word "poor" can refer to financial poorness, but it can also refer to being weak or lean or small. I'm going to tell you, Gideon may have considered himself poor, but if you'll skip down to verse 27, "Then Gideon took ten men of his servants." I don't know how many servants he had, but I'd like to just have ten. He took ten of his servants. And then if you'll notice in verse 28, and I'll deal with this next week, "And when the men of the city arose early in the morning, behold, the altar of Baal was cast down, and the grove was cut down that was by it."
#50 | 33:14 to 34:04 | cleaned
"And the second bullock was offered upon it," etc., etc. But here Gideon, let's see, in verse 27, he feared his father's household. So there was a household, very huge, very large. I don't know how many men were in it. But the family also, if you look down to verse 25, back up there, "It came to pass the same night that the Lord said unto him, Take thy father's young bullock, even the second bullock of seven years old, and throw down the altar of Baal that thy father hath, and cut down the grove that is by it."
#51 | 34:05 to 34:41 | cleaned
So they were financially well off enough to have their own private altar to Baal and to Ashtaroth. And evidently this was on public land. I mean, it may have been private land, but Joash had built it, and therefore the men of the city worshipped there, according to verse 28. So when he says he's poor, you've got to put that into perspective. It could be that they were not as well off as they used to be because of the Midianites, or he could be saying, "My family is lean and small in Manasseh," even though we might have plenty of money. When he said that "I am the least in my father's house," in verse 15, the Hebrew word there refers to the fact that he was the youngest. In fact, that word is translated "younger," "least," "youngest," "little one," "small one."
#52 | 34:41 to 35:41 | cleaned
It can also refer to being insignificant. So Gideon is saying, "My family is poor and I'm the youngest and I am insignificant." Now, here's what Gideon was doing. Gideon viewed himself as unworthy of this calling due to the smallness and leanness of his family and his own personal insignificance as being the youngest in the family.
#53 | 35:42 to 36:13 | cleaned
Now, you've got to remember something. In Old Testament times, opportunities as well as responsibilities usually fell to the eldest of the family, not the youngest. Joseph, Jacob, David, and Gideon were exceptions to the rule. There was a patriarchal order. And Gideon well knew it. Therefore, for the oldest son to be passed over and this opportunity to come to the youngest son, Gideon's attitude is, "Who am I? I mean, I don't deserve this opportunity. My family is poor and I'm insignificant, I'm the youngest." Now, listen to me. When our Lord told Gideon, "I've sent you. I've empowered you. I'm with you."
#54 | 36:16 to 37:22 | cleaned
"You will smite the Midianites as one man." What was Gideon's attitude? "Bring it on. Boy, I'll show them. I'll give them some shock and awe." Gideon's attitude wasn't that. Gideon's attitude was, "Who am I? I don't deserve this." There's no braggadociousness about him, no haughty, arrogant, proud, high-minded spirit. He's just simply meek and humble. Are you listening to me? If you haven't noticed it, I want to challenge you to notice it. Read through Scripture. And you will find that the men that God has always used have been meek and humble men. One of the greatest deliverers in the Bible was Moses. Everybody knows that. You look at what God did through Moses in Egypt. You look at the plagues, the signs, the wonders, the marvels, the miracles. You stand in awe at the greatness of that deliverance, of how God parted the Red Sea.
#55 | 37:23 to 39:03 | cleaned
And the children of Israel walked across on dry ground. And Moses then raised his rod and the waters came back in and drowned Pharaoh and his host. I mean, here's a great, tremendous deliverance. Surely, surely, somewhere in Moses, there's got to be a little pride saying, "We did it, God. We did it." Oh. Well, the interesting thing is, when you get to Numbers 12 and verse 3, Moses is called the meekest man on earth. There was no pride. There was no arrogance. There was just humility. Meekness to think that God would use me. You ever stop to think about David? Do you remember David the mighty warrior? When he came into town, what did the women sing? "Saul has slain his thousands, and David his tens of thousands." David the young boy who slew Goliath.
#56 | 39:04 to 40:27 | cleaned
Who used a rock and a sling, and then took the giant's own sword and cut his head off. David, who killed thousands of the Lord's enemies. Surely, surely there's got to be some pride and arrogance in David's heart. Don't you remember how David even wanted to build a house for the Lord? The Lord sent Nathan to David. In 2 Samuel chapter 7 and verse 17 and 18, he said, "Look, David, you're not going to build a house for the Lord. But the Lord is going to build you a house. The Lord is going to establish your kingdom." And verse 18, David answers the Lord with these words: "Then went king David in, and sat before the Lord, and he said, Who am I, O Lord God? and what is my house, that thou hast brought me hitherto?"
#57 | 40:29 to 41:27 | cleaned
"Lord, who am I that You would do this for me?" Do you see that, folks? There are no words of exaltation. There's no words of personal achievement. There's no language of self-promotion. There's no, "Well, I'm finally getting the recognition that I deserve." No, no, no, no. David was just absolutely and totally amazed and stupefied and marveled that God would even consider doing anything for him.
#58 | 41:28 to 42:04 | cleaned
Joshua, the conqueror of Canaan, the successor of Moses, the military genius who was confronted by the captain of the host of the Lord in Joshua chapter 5. Joshua saw him standing there with his sword drawn, and he confronts him very bravely. And he says, "Art thou for us or for our adversaries?" And the angel of the Lord said, "Neither; but as captain of the host of the Lord am I now come." "Take off thy shoes, for the ground whereon thou standest is holy." What did Joshua, the mighty military genius, do? He fell on his face to the earth and did worship and said, "What saith my Lord unto his servant?" Joshua didn't say, "Now, Lord, let me tell you my battle plans. Let me tell you how I've got this thing figured out. Let me tell you what I believe we ought to do." No, no, no. He just said, "Lord, what is Your word to Your servant? You tell me and I'll obey." I'm just trying to show you something, folks.
#59 | 42:12 to 43:32 | cleaned
There is a difference between these men that have been mightily used of God in times past and the men today who are claiming to be God's deliverers. Do you remember Elisha, the mighty miracle worker? Elisha, the man who raised the dead, who healed the sick, who subdued armies. Yes, he did. The Syrian army he subdued all by himself. He prayed that God would smite them with blindness, and God did so. Here is a man who did twice as many miracles as Elijah did. And do you know that which Elisha was known by all of his ministry? Was he who poured water upon the hands of Elijah. Isn't that amazing?
#60 | 43:33 to 44:36 | cleaned
He never got away from that. He was Elijah's servant as long as Elijah was alive. He waited on Elijah. And here the mighty prophet Elisha is known as he who poured water upon the hands of Elijah. Elisha had a servant's heart. Throughout his entire ministry, he was meek and humble. Isn't that amazing? Let me give you just a couple more. Saul of Tarsus. Everybody know about Saul the Pharisee? Saul of Tarsus, who became the mighty Apostle Paul, who was used of God to convert thousands. Did you know that the Apostle Paul wrote most of the New Testament? Do you know that? I think if you count the book of Hebrews, which is debatable, there's about 14 books out of 27 that were written by the Apostle Paul. Let's listen to what Paul said now. Remember, Paul has been mightily used of God, but in 1 Corinthians 15, verses 9 through 10, here's what Paul says: "For I am the least of the apostles, that am not meet to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God I am what I am."
#61 | 44:37 to 46:16 | cleaned
Now, where's all the bragging? Where's all the haughtiness, the high-mindedness? It was true that God used Paul. But Paul said, "I am the least of all the apostles. I'm not even worthy to be called an apostle. Why? I persecuted the church of God." And then when Paul lists his pedigree in Philippians chapter 3, when he talks about how he was a Hebrew of the Hebrews, Pharisee of the Pharisees, circumcised the eighth day, of the tribe of Benjamin, and on down through the list, then he ends up with this:
#62 | 46:17 to 47:00 | cleaned
"But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ. Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ." You know, Paul's attitude was, "I have nothing, I am nothing, I can do nothing. All I have and all I want is Jesus Christ."
#63 | 47:00 to 47:30 | cleaned
Oh, you're talking about a meek and humble spirit. Let me give you one more illustration. One of the greatest and meekest and most humble leaders in the last couple of hundred years was General Robert E. Lee. General Lee, of course, is known for his Christianity, his kindness, his graciousness, his meekness. But, you know, a lot of people do not know the genealogy of the Lee family. Did you know that General Lee had an ancestor, Lancelot Lee, who fought in the Battle of Hastings in 1066 under the banner of William the Conqueror? Did you know that he had another ancestor, Lionel Lee, who won honors at the Siege of Acre in Jerusalem with Richard the Lionhearted in 1192 in the Third Crusade?
#64 | 47:33 to 48:51 | cleaned
In fact, Lionel's armor is still on display today in the Tower of London. On his maternal side, the blood of Robert the Bruce, King of Scotland, friend of William Wallace, runs in his veins. And when General Lee was presented with a project that wished to publish and exploit his ancestry—of course, General Lee already knew about his ancestry; he had already vowed not to dishonor his ancestors—but when he was presented with this project that would publish and exploit his ancestry, General Lee replied, "I think the money had better be appropriated to relieve the poor."
#65 | 48:51 to 49:51 | cleaned
No, it didn't matter that he could go all the way back. Lee said, "I'd rather use that money to relieve the poor than to brag about my ancestors." The point I'm trying to make, folks, is simple. We need to beware of arrogant, boastful, self-confident leaders who declare what they are going to accomplish. You know, even the wicked sometimes have enough sense to recognize this principle. I want you to turn in your Bibles to 1 Kings chapter 20. 1 Kings chapter 20.
#66 | 49:59 to 50:50 | cleaned
And let me show you. Ahab, you know, was the most wicked, vile king in Israel. But yet, there were other kings that were wicked and vile as well. And with the king of Syria, rather, is threatening Ahab and Israel. Let me just read it to you. 1 Kings chapter 20. And if you look down in verse 10, Ben-Hadad, the king of Syria now, is threatening. "And Ben-Hadad sent unto him, and said, The gods do so unto me, and more also, if the dust of Samaria shall suffice for handfuls for all the people that follow me." What is he saying? The king of Syria is saying, "Look, we've got enough people."
#67 | 50:50 to 51:42 | cleaned
"We're going to wipe you out. We're going to stomp you in the ground. That's it." Look what wicked Ahab answers. Verse 11: "And the king of Israel answered and said, Tell him, Let not him that girdeth on his harness boast himself as he that putteth it off." What did Ahab just get out of his mouth? He said, "Listen, buddy, there's a difference between starting a war and finishing a war."
#68 | 51:42 to 52:09 | cleaned
We would say it like this: "Don't count your chickens before they hatch." It's easy to put on that armament. It's not too easy to take it off if you've been defeated. You know what the Bible teaches us? "A man's pride shall bring him low." Everyone in here probably can quote Psalm 127 verse 1. Listen carefully. "Except the Lord build the house, they labour in vain that build it: except the Lord keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain." Do you remember what he said in Proverbs 21 and verse 31?
#69 | 52:11 to 52:51 | cleaned
"The horse is prepared against the day of battle: but safety is of the Lord." And then Psalm 33 and verse 17 says, "An horse is a vain thing for safety: neither shall he deliver any by his great strength." What is Scripture saying? Neither man, his might, or machinery can deliver. Only God alone can deliver. That's why the Bible says in Psalm 118 verses 8 and 9, "It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in man. It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in princes." All through the Bible, those men that God used were prudent and practical, discerning and perceptive, called and sent, and meek and humble.
#70 | 52:51 to 53:44 | cleaned
Let me make just three applications. The first one is this. This one is very important. Deliverance does not depend upon wealth and supplies. Gideon had neither. Deliverance depends upon God alone. His strength, His might, His mercy, His grace. I've heard men for years complain that there is not enough money to finance a movement to restore America. Let me tell you. You don't need money to restore America. You can have all the money in the world and America still would not be restored apart from God. It's not money that we need. It's mercy that we need.
#71 | 53:46 to 54:41 | cleaned
The second application is this: pride, ambition, arrogance, haughtiness, self-serving, self-promoting attitudes and schemes will never, ever work in delivering a people. Never. You know why? God is not going to share His glory with another. I've said this before and I'm going to say it again. There's really only one way to be delivered. And that's God's way. You'll either be delivered God's way or you will not be delivered at all. But when you get proud, arrogant, haughty, boastful, braggadocious men with their schemes, all they can do is condemn a people. They can never deliver a people. Listen to this.
#72 | 54:45 to 55:39 | cleaned
You and I need to acquire these characteristics and these virtues in our lives. We need to learn to be prudent and practical. We need to learn to be discerning and perceptive. It's true only God can call and send us, but we also need to learn to be meek and humble. Are you listening? I had rather have these attributes and characteristics in my life and be prepared to be used by God and never be used by God than to not have them and not be used of God.
#73 | 55:43 to 56:25 | cleaned
I got news for you, folks. If those attitudes are in our lives, God will use us. Let me show you why. Look in your Bibles to 2 Chronicles 16. 2 Chronicles 16 and verse 9. If there's no verse that you remember today, please remember this one. 2 Chronicles 16, verse 9. Here's an amazing, amazing truth. Look at what the Bible says: "For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to shew himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward him." Stop there. What is God doing? God is looking for men and women whose hearts are perfect toward Him, that He may show Himself strong in them.
#74 | 56:30 to 57:38 | cleaned
If you develop these godly characteristics and virtues in your life, I can assure you, sooner or later, you will be called and sent by God to do something. For God is looking for men and women who keep their heart, that He might do something glorious and gracious and mighty through them. Let's pray. Father, we do ask that You help us. Thank You, Lord, for all of Your grace to us. And, Lord, I do pray that You would make us meek and humble, discerning and perceptive, prudent and practical, that we may be, in some areas, called and sent by Thee. Give us grace, Lord, to serve Thee acceptably with reverence and godly fear. In Thy name we pray, Amen.
#75 | 57:40 to 58:43 | cleaned

deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | clean_readable_transcript | 2026-06-05T15:46:17Z

Principles of Deliverance - 3

John Weaver | Freedom Ministries

In this sermon, John Weaver continues a series on deliverance from the life of Gideon, focusing on the person God uses as a deliverer. He emphasizes that God always chooses a man, not a committee or politician, and that such a man will exhibit specific characteristics: prudence and practicality, discernment and perception, a divine call and sending, and meekness and humility. Weaver illustrates these traits from Gideon's life and other biblical figures, warning against arrogant, self-promoting leaders. He concludes that deliverance depends solely on God, not on wealth or human schemes, and encourages believers to cultivate these godly virtues so that God may use them mightily.

Introduction and Scripture Reading

Weaver introduces the third part of the series on deliverance from Gideon's life and reads Judges 6:11-16.

Scripture Reading — Judges 6:11-16

"And there came an angel of the Lord, and sat under an oak which was in Ophrah, that pertained unto Joash the Abiezrite: and his son Gideon threshed wheat by the winepress, to hide it from the Midianites. And the angel of the Lord appeared unto him, and said unto him, The Lord is with thee, thou mighty man of valor. And Gideon said unto him, O my Lord, if the Lord be with us, why then is all this befallen us?"

Review of Previous Points

He reviews the preparation for deliverance (God strips pride) and the procedure in deliverance (God sends a preacher to show grace and sin).

Scripture Reading — Romans 10:17

"faith cometh by hearing,"

The Person of Deliverance: God Uses a Man

God chooses a man, not a committee, to deliver His people, as seen in Gideon, and the names in the passage foreshadow Christ.

When you hear that, you cannot help but think, first of all, of John 3:16, "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son." And how about 1 John 4 and verse 10?

Scripture Reading — 1 John 4:10

"Herein is love, not that we loved Him, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be a propitiation for our sins."

One should automatically think of 1 John 3 and verse 8, where the Bible says,

Scripture Reading — 1 John 3:8

"For this purpose was the Son of God manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil."

Gideon's Prudence and Practicality

Gideon was threshing wheat secretly to protect his family, demonstrating biblical prudence, not cowardice.

Now, let me give you a couple of scriptures. Listen to this. The Bible says in Proverbs 27 and verse 12,

Scripture Reading — Proverbs 27:12

"A prudent man foreseeth the evil, and hideth himself; but the simple pass on, and are punished."

Scripture Reading — Proverbs 28:12, 28

"When the wicked rise, men hide themselves: but when they perish, the righteous increase."

So what was Gideon doing? Gideon was hiding behind the winepress. And he was hiding there, not because he was a coward, but rather because of biblical principles.

Gideon's Discernment and Perception

Gideon correctly identified Israel's problem as spiritual—God had forsaken them—not political or economic.

Scripture Reading — Deuteronomy 31:17

"Then my anger shall be kindled against them in that day, and I will forsake them, and I will hide my face from them, and they shall be devoured, and many evils and troubles shall befall them; so that they will say in that day, Are not these evils come upon us, because our God is not among us?"

Gideon's Divine Call and Sending

God specifically called and sent Gideon, empowering him; without this divine commission, ministry fails.

Scripture Reading — 2 Chronicles 32:7-8

"Be strong and courageous, be not afraid nor dismayed for the king of Assyria, nor for all the multitude that is with him: for there be more with us than with him."

Now look what he says:

Scripture Reading — 2 Chronicles 32:7-8

"With him is an arm of flesh; but with us is the Lord our God to help us, and to fight our battles. And the people rested themselves upon the words of Hezekiah king of Judah."

Scripture Reading — Jeremiah 17:5, 7

"Thus saith the Lord; Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the Lord."

And verse 7:

Scripture Reading — Jeremiah 17:5, 7

"Blessed is the man that trusteth in the Lord, and whose hope the Lord is."

Gideon's Meekness and Humility

Gideon viewed himself as unworthy, being the youngest and from a poor family, exemplifying the humility God honors.

Biblical Examples of Meek Leaders

Moses, David, Joshua, Elisha, and Paul all demonstrated meekness despite their great achievements.

Scripture Reading — Numbers 12:3

And the children of Israel walked across on dry ground. And Moses then raised his rod and the waters came back in and drowned Pharaoh and his host. I mean, here's a great, tremendous deliverance. Surely, surely, somewhere in Moses, there's got to be a little pride saying, "We did it, God. We did it." Oh. Well, the interesting thing is, when you get to Numbers 12 and verse 3, Moses is called the meekest man on earth. There was no pride. There was no arrogance. There was just humility. Meekness to think that God would use me. You ever stop to think about David? Do you remember David the mighty warrior? When he came into town, what did the women sing? "Saul has slain his thousands, and David his tens of thousands." David the young boy who slew Goliath.

Historical Example: Robert E. Lee

General Lee, despite his noble ancestry, preferred to use money for the poor rather than exploit his lineage, showing humility.

Scripture Reading — 1 Kings 20:10-11

"And Ben-Hadad sent unto him, and said, The gods do so unto me, and more also, if the dust of Samaria shall suffice for handfuls for all the people that follow me."

What is he saying? The king of Syria is saying, "Look, we've got enough people."

Warning Against Arrogant Leaders

Even wicked Ahab knew not to boast before victory; Scripture teaches that deliverance is from the Lord alone.

Scripture Reading — 1 Kings 20:10-11

"And Ben-Hadad sent unto him, and said, The gods do so unto me, and more also, if the dust of Samaria shall suffice for handfuls for all the people that follow me."

What is he saying? The king of Syria is saying, "Look, we've got enough people."

Scripture Reading — Psalm 127:1

"Except the Lord build the house, they labour in vain that build it: except the Lord keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain."

Do you remember what he said in Proverbs 21 and verse 31?

Applications and Conclusion

Deliverance depends on God, not wealth; prideful schemes fail; believers should cultivate prudence, discernment, and humility, for God seeks such hearts to show His strength.

Principles of Deliverance - 3

John Weaver | SermonAudio

Lecture Metadata	Details
Speaker	John Weaver
Source	SermonAudio
Media ID	92906145810
Subject	New Testament Studies
Course	Romans: Sin, Judgment, and Gospel Foundations: Prepared Hearts
Genre	Sermon
Date	2006-07-23
Dictation Name
Book	Book 163: Principles of Deliverance — Chapter 3
Source Timed Segments	75

Lecture Guide

Outline

Introduction and Scripture Reading: Weaver introduces the third part of the series on deliverance from Gideon's life and reads Judges 6:11-16.
Review of Previous Points: He reviews the preparation for deliverance (God strips pride) and the procedure in deliverance (God sends a preacher to show grace and sin).
The Person of Deliverance: God Uses a Man: God chooses a man, not a committee, to deliver His people, as seen in Gideon, and the names in the passage foreshadow Christ.
Gideon's Prudence and Practicality: Gideon was threshing wheat secretly to protect his family, demonstrating biblical prudence, not cowardice.
Gideon's Discernment and Perception: Gideon correctly identified Israel's problem as spiritual—God had forsaken them—not political or economic.
Gideon's Divine Call and Sending: God specifically called and sent Gideon, empowering him; without this divine commission, ministry fails.
Gideon's Meekness and Humility: Gideon viewed himself as unworthy, being the youngest and from a poor family, exemplifying the humility God honors.
Biblical Examples of Meek Leaders: Moses, David, Joshua, Elisha, and Paul all demonstrated meekness despite their great achievements.
Historical Example: Robert E. Lee: General Lee, despite his noble ancestry, preferred to use money for the poor rather than exploit his lineage, showing humility.
Warning Against Arrogant Leaders: Even wicked Ahab knew not to boast before victory; Scripture teaches that deliverance is from the Lord alone.
Applications and Conclusion: Deliverance depends on God, not wealth; prideful schemes fail; believers should cultivate prudence, discernment, and humility, for God seeks such hearts to show His strength.

Major Themes

Key Arguments

God's deliverers are not self-seeking but are found in ordinary tasks.

Gideon was threshing wheat, not seeking leadership, showing that God initiates the call.

Weaver says, 'Gideon was not seeking the position of being a deliverer... It was God who sought out Gideon.'

Prudence is biblical, not cowardice.

Gideon hid his wheat from the Midianites, acting on Proverbs 27:12 and 28:12, 28.

Weaver cites Proverbs 27:12 and 28:12, 28 to justify Gideon's actions as prudent, not cowardly.

True discernment identifies spiritual causes.

Gideon attributed Israel's plight to God's absence, not political or economic failures.

Weaver states, 'Gideon did not blame Israel's problems on defective foreign policies... He said... the reason we're in the mess that we're in is God has sold us into the hands of our enemies.'

A divine call is essential for effective ministry.

Without being called and sent by God, ministry relies on the arm of flesh and is cursed.

Weaver references Jeremiah 17:5 and says, 'Without a divine call, all you have is the arm of the flesh.'

Humility is a mark of those God uses.

Gideon, Moses, David, Paul, and others expressed unworthiness, not pride, in their callings.

Weaver quotes David: 'Who am I, O Lord God?' and Paul: 'I am the least of the apostles.'

Arrogant leaders cannot deliver.

Prideful, self-promoting schemes fail because God does not share His glory.

Weaver says, 'pride, ambition, arrogance... will never, ever work in delivering a people... God is not going to share His glory with another.'

Scripture References

Judges 6:11-16: The primary passage read and expounded, detailing the angel's visit to Gideon.
Romans 10:17: Cited to support the necessity of a preacher for faith to come by hearing.
Acts 5 (implied gift of repentance): Mentioned that God gives the gift of repentance through preaching.
John 3:16: Paraphrased to emphasize God sending a man, not a committee; also linked to Joash meaning 'given by the Lord'.
1 John 4:10: Quoted to show God's love in sending His Son, connecting to Joash's name.
1 John 3:8: Cited to show Christ's purpose to destroy the devil's works, paralleling Gideon hewing down strife.
Mark 3:13: Used to illustrate Jesus calling whom He would, similar to God calling Gideon.
Proverbs 27:12: Quoted to support Gideon's prudence in hiding from evil.
Proverbs 28:12, 28: Cited to show that when the wicked rise, a man hides himself, justifying Gideon's actions.
Deuteronomy 31:17: Read to show that evils come when God hides His face, which Gideon understood.
2 Chronicles 32:7-8: Quoted to contrast the arm of flesh with the Lord's help, emphasizing divine empowerment.
Jeremiah 17:5, 7: Cited to pronounce a curse on trusting in man and blessing on trusting the Lord.
Numbers 12:3: Mentioned that Moses was the meekest man on earth, illustrating humility.
2 Samuel 7:17-18: Quoted David's humble response: 'Who am I, O Lord God?'
Joshua 5 (implied): Referenced Joshua's encounter with the captain of the Lord's host, showing his submission.
1 Corinthians 15:9-10: Quoted Paul calling himself the least of the apostles, demonstrating humility.
Philippians 3 (implied): Referenced Paul counting all things loss for Christ, showing his humble valuation.
1 Kings 20:10-11: Read to show even wicked Ahab's proverb against boasting before victory.
Psalm 127:1: Quoted to emphasize that unless the Lord builds, labor is in vain.
Proverbs 21:31: Cited: 'The horse is prepared against the day of battle: but safety is of the Lord.'

Historical References

General Robert E. Lee: Cited as an example of meekness; Lee preferred to use money for the poor rather than publish his noble ancestry.
Lancelot Lee (ancestor of Robert E. Lee): Mentioned as fighting in the Battle of Hastings in 1066 under William the Conqueror.
Lionel Lee (ancestor of Robert E. Lee): Mentioned as winning honors at the Siege of Acre in 1192 with Richard the Lionhearted.
Robert the Bruce, King of Scotland: Mentioned as an ancestor of Robert E. Lee on his maternal side.

Important Quotes

When it came time for God to deliver His people from bondage and from tyranny, He did not send a politician. He did not send a congressman. He did not send a president. He did not send a committee. He did not send a political party. He sent a man.

Emphasizes that God's method of deliverance is through an individual, not human institutions.

Gideon was not a visionary in the sense that he was not just simply sitting back looking forward to better times. Nor was he waiting for a governmental handout. Nor was he waiting for someone to come along and do the work for him. Gideon undertook the menial, difficult, laborious work himself.

Highlights Gideon's practical, hands-on character as a model for godly leadership.

Whomever God calls, He qualifies. And whomever He qualifies, He empowers.

Succinctly states the principle of divine enablement for those commissioned by God.

Gideon's attitude was, 'Who am I? I don't deserve this.' There's no braggadociousness about him, no haughty, arrogant, proud, high-minded spirit. He's just simply meek and humble.

Captures the essential humility that characterizes those God uses mightily.

Deliverance does not depend upon wealth and supplies. Gideon had neither. Deliverance depends upon God alone.

Summarizes the sermon's application that human resources are irrelevant to divine deliverance.

For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to shew himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward him.

The climactic Scripture promise that God actively seeks those He can use, encouraging believers to cultivate godly character.

Discussion Questions

[Question]

Why does God choose to use a man rather than a committee or political system for deliverance?

[Context]

Weaver emphasizes that God sent Gideon, not a politician, and that committees would 'mess things up.'

[Question]

How can we distinguish between biblical prudence and cowardice in our own lives?

[Context]

Gideon hid his wheat, which Weaver defends as prudent based on Proverbs, not cowardly.

[Question]

In what ways do we tend to treat symptoms rather than the spiritual root of problems in our personal lives and society?

[Context]

Gideon discerned that Israel's issue was spiritual, not political or economic.

[Question]

What does it mean to be 'called and sent' by God, and how can someone discern such a call?

[Context]

Weaver stresses that without a divine call, ministry is just the arm of flesh.

[Question]

How does meekness and humility manifest in a leader's life, and why is it essential for God's use?

[Context]

Gideon, Moses, David, and Paul all expressed unworthiness despite great achievements.

[Question]

What are some modern examples of arrogant, self-promoting leadership, and how can we guard against following them?

[Context]

Weaver warns against boastful leaders and cites Ahab's proverb about not boasting before victory.

[Question]

How can we cultivate a heart that is 'perfect toward God' so that He may show Himself strong through us?

[Context]

The sermon concludes with 2 Chronicles 16:9, urging believers to develop godly characteristics.

Applications

Format deepseek deepseek-v4-pro structured study JSON | Source Commentary.net transcript enrichment

deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | weaver_study | 2026-06-06T05:40:52Z