Revelation Themes and Eschatological Applications

Prerequisites to be Used by God - 2

Transcript: AI Transcript

Professor: John Weaver

Subject: New Testament Studies

Genre: Sermon

Dictation Name:

Date: 2003-11-02

Synopsis: John Weaver continues his series on the prerequisites for being used by God, focusing on Gideon in Judges 6. He emphasizes that God uses men of character, understanding, and divine commission. Gideon exemplifies these traits: he was a hard worker, honest, wise, and not easily discouraged (character); he saw reality clearly and questioned why Israel suffered if God was with them (understanding); and he was called and sent by God to deliver Israel (divine commission). Weaver applies these lessons to the church and nation, urging repentance and reliance on God's presence rather than human strength.

[John Weaver] Judges chapter 6, and we're going to begin reading with verse 11. And let me just remind everyone once again that I will be gone on Sunday, December the 7th. And that's the only Sunday the rest of the entire year that I'll be away. So notice Judges chapter 6, beginning there with verse 11. And there came an angel of the Lord and sat under an oak, which was an ophra that pertained to the Joash, the Abiezarites.

[John Weaver] 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? And 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, wherewithal 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. And he said unto him, If now I have found grace in thy sight, then show me a sign that thou talkest with me. Depart not hence, I pray thee, until I come unto thee, and bring forth my presence, and set it before thee. And he said, I will tarry until thou come again.

[John Weaver] And Gideon went in, and made ready a kid and eleven cakes of an ephah flower, the flesh he put in a basket, and he put the broth in a pot, and brought it out unto him under the oak, and presented it. And the angel of God said unto him, Take the flesh and the eleven cakes, and lay them upon this rock, and pour out the broth, and he did so. Then the angel Lord put forth the end of his staff that was in his hand, and touched the flesh and the unleavened cakes, and there rose up fire out of the rock, and consumed the flesh and the unleavened cakes. Then the angel of the Lord departed out of his sight. And when Gideon perceived that he was an angel of the Lord, Gideon said, Alas, O Lord God, for because I have seen an angel of the Lord face to face.

[John Weaver] And the Lord said unto him, Peace be unto thee, fear not, thou shalt not die. Then Gideon built an altar there unto the Lord, and called it Jehovah Shalom. Unto this day it is yet in Ophrah, of the Abba Ezarites. And it came to pass that 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 had, and cut down the grove that is by it. And build an altar unto the Lord thy God upon the top of this rock in the ordered place, and take the second bullock, and offer a burnt sacrifice with the wood of the grove which thou shalt cut down.

[John Weaver] Now last week I began a brief series which I entitled prerequisites to be used of God. I pointed out the fact how we need men in this nation and how we need individuals who are usable by God and for God's honor and God's glory. The one point that I was really emphasizing is that God uses men. He does not use committees. He does not use corporations. He uses men.

[John Weaver] I noticed as I came to church today, of course I've noticed it every week as I came by, that there is a church building down the road that has a sign, and it is something like this on the sign. I forget exactly. The Church of God by Faith Incorporated. And I thought, well, How can it be the Church of God if it's a state corporation, and how can it be by faith if it's incorporated? But that's the sign they have out. But God does not use committees. God does not use corporations. He uses men. And all you have to do is read Hebrews chapter 11, and you'll find that there were men named one after the other that God has been pleased to use. And God searches for men, the Bible teaches us, whose hearts are right toward Him, that He might use them for His honor and His glory.

[John Weaver] And He found such a man in Gideon. Now, the first prerequisite that we saw last week, and I spent the entire sermon last week on the first point, that Gideon was a man of character. The Bible tells us in 2 Chronicles 16, verse 9, that God looks for individuals whose hearts are perfect toward Him. Now, there were several things I pointed out that demonstrated Gideon's character, the very first thing was he was a hard worker. The Bible tells us that the angel of the Lord found him as he was threshing wheat by the line press.

[John Weaver] And the word thresh literally means to beat out with a stick. And I've pointed out from the book of Ruth, chapter 2, this is how poor people thresh their wheat. So evidently, not only according to Gideon's own words, but according to his actions as well, he was indeed a poor man, but he was a hard working man. Secondly, I pointed out that he was an honest man.

[John Weaver] He was thankfully trying to provide for himself and for his family. The third thing I pointed out that illustrated his character was he was wise and innovative. He was hiding his sweet by the wine press. Normally, you thresh your wheat on the mountaintop, you throw it up in the air, and after you've done everything in the wind then separates the chaff from the wheat, it blows the chaff away, But, of course, Gideon could not do that because of the Midianites. The Midianites would invade the land and rob, steal, and confiscate everything that they possibly could. And so, therefore, he was hiding his wheat down by the wine press. So he was wise and innovative. He was trying to preserve and protect that which God had given him and not allow it to be stolen from him. And then I pointed out another thing that demonstrated his character.

[John Weaver] that he was not easily discouraged. Because he had been doing this for seven years. Seven years the Midianites had oppressed. And for seven years, he faithfully discharged his duty. And then lastly, I pointed out that he was a man of faith because he did indeed trust in the Lord. And the Bible says that many followed the gods of the Amorites in verse 10, but Gideon evidently was not one of them. So the very first prerequisite that God looks for in a man is that he must be a man of character. I pointed out that God may use us on credit the first years of our life. After that, he will use us on character. And if we don't have any character, we might as well forget it. God is not going to use us.

[John Weaver] Now, I know there are exceptions, such as Balaam and Balaam's ass, but I do not want the fate of Balaam nor of Balaam's ass. So to be honest, God uses men of character. And the important thing that I want you to grasp from last week is this. Character cannot be developed on the spur of a moment. It is the habit, it is the attitude, it is the disposition of a lifetime. And you and I should be constantly and continually developing a biblical character as we read and study and apply the Word of God to our lives.

[John Weaver] Now, if you look today in Judges chapter 6, verses 12 through 13, I want to show you the second characteristic of Gideon. That is, he was a man of understanding. I could have used the word discernment. He was a man of discernment. Either one would be sufficient. But notice 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. And Gideon said unto him, O my Lord, if the Lord be with us, why then is all this before 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. Now when I say that Gideon was a man of understanding, or that he was a man of discernment, what I mean is simply this, that he was a man who saw things clearly and distinctly. He saw things as they really were.

[John Weaver] He was not a dreamer, He was not a visionary. He was not someone who absolutely could not grasp reality. He was a man who could correctly ascertain the situation of his time.

[John Weaver] Now the Bible says in verse 11, that there came an angel of the Lord and sat on an oak, which was an ophra that pertained to Joash the Abiezarite, and his son Gideon threshed wheat by the winepress to hide it from the Midianites. Now when that angel came, In verse 12, he spoke to Gideon, and the angel said to him, the Lord is with thee, thou mighty man of valor.

[John Weaver] Now, I'm going to take a little time and explain who this angel really was. Now, when the angel said, the Lord is with thee, thou mighty man of valor, Gideon did not at first perceive who the angel really was. And so if you look in verse 13, And Gideon said unto him, O my Lord.

[John Weaver] Now the word Lord there, and I'll explain the difference in just a moment, is the word Adonai, which is the term of reverence and respect. It is an ordinary form of respectful salutation. So what Gideon was doing was very politely and civilly addressing the stranger. He acknowledged him, and then he proceeded to express himself very clearly and very distinctly. Now, the angel, in verse 11, is none other than the angel of the Lord, who is, in this instance, none other than Christ Himself.

[John Weaver] In time past, I have explained this to you, but let me do so again. This is what is known in the Bible as a Christophany. you will find a Christophany several times in the Old Testament. A Christophany is a pre-incarnate appearing of Christ in the Old Testament before Christ was ever made flesh in the New Testament. Now when I say pre-incarnate, the incarnation speaks about God becoming flesh.

[John Weaver] Do you remember John 1 in verse 14? The Bible said, And the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. So Jesus Christ was made flesh. In 1 Timothy 3, verse 16, the Bible says, And without all controversy, great is the mystery of godliness, God was manifest in the flesh. And so when Jesus Christ took upon Himself the form of man, according to Philippians 2, verses 6 and 7, when He took upon Himself the form of a man, that is referred to as the incarnation. So when I say a Christophany is a pre-incarnation, or a pre-incarnate appearing of Christ, it means that Christ is appearing in the flesh or in human form in the Old Testament, before he ever became flesh in the New Testament.

[John Weaver] Now, I want you to note, look carefully at verse 11. And there came an angel of the Lord. Now, look if you would please at verse 13. And Gideon said to him, O my Lord. Now, do you see any difference between the word Lord in verse 11 and the word Lord in verse 13? Do you see that? What is it? Alright, it's lowercase except for the L in verse 13, and it's all caps in verse 11. And by the way, do you know how we got the phrase uppercase and lowercase? Alice and I visited an antique print shop years ago, and the man explained how we got the phrase uppercase and lowercase. Uppercase refers to caps and of course lowercase refers to the non-capitalized letters. He said the reason it came to be that because in the print shop all the capital letters were kept in the upper end of the case and all the small letters the lower end of the case. So it really had nothing to do except where they were in a box.

[John Weaver] So that's how we got that understanding uppercase and lowercase. But the word LORD is all caps in verse 11, and it's small in verse 13.

[John Weaver] Now, let me explain something to you. If you look in verse 14. Now, go back to verse 11 just for a moment. And there came an angel of the LORD. Note, here is the expression, the angel of the LORD. Now look in verse 14. And the LORD looked upon him and said, Now, do you see a distinction between verse 11 and verse 14? Who is doing the speaking in verse 14? The Lord Himself. God Himself. But yet, it says very plainly in verse 11, it was an angel of the Lord. Verse 12, an angel of the Lord. Well, how in the world can Christ be called the angel of the Lord? The Bible tells us in verse 14 that God spoke to him himself and the Lord looked upon him. Well, let me explain it to you like this.

[John Weaver] Anytime in your King James Bibles that you see capital L, capital O, capital R, capital D, That is to demonstrate to you that that is a translation of the sacred name of God, which is Yahweh, or Jehovah, or Yah as some pronounce it. So anytime you see all caps, it is the sacred personal name of God Himself. It is Yahweh. Anytime you see capital L, then small o-r-d, It is Adonai, or just simply Lord, Boss, Owner, Master, Sovereign. But here you have the specific name of God. So in verse 12, it is the angel of the Lord who does the speaking, but in verse 14, it is God Himself. Now, how in the world can Jesus Christ be referred to then as an angel of the Lord? Well, it's very simple. You see, the word angel in the Greek is the word angelos, and all it means is messenger. What is an angel? He is a messenger.

[John Weaver] He is a sent one. Do you know the phrase that our Lord used of Himself over and over in the New Testament? He was a sent one. He said, the Father hath sent Me. He is the sent one.

[John Weaver] Now, if you'll hold Judges chapter 6, but look in your Bibles to the book of Hebrews chapter 3, and look at verse 1. Let me show you another phrase. that will explain that he is a sent one. Notice Hebrews chapter 3, verse 1. Look what the Bible says. Wherefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the apostle and high priest of our profession Christ Jesus. Isn't that interesting? Here Jesus Christ is called an apostle. Consider the apostle and high priest of our confession. Do you know what the word apostle means? The Greek word is apostolos. And it literally means a sent one. So literally, it says consider the sent one and the high priest of our profession, Christ Jesus. So not only then is the angel directly referred to in Judges 6 and verse 14 as Jehovah Himself or Yahweh Himself.

[John Weaver] I want you to note what happened in verses 22 Verse 22, And when Gideon perceived that he was an angel of the Lord, Gideon said, Alas, O Lord God, for because I have seen an angel of the Lord face to face. And the Lord said unto him, Peace be unto thee, fear not, for thou shalt not die. Now watch. Then Gideon built an altar there unto whom? Yahweh. And called it Jehovah or Yahweh Shalom.

[John Weaver] Unto this day it is yet an offer of the Abiezrites. Now, the point I'm trying to make is this. Here you find the angel of the Lord received worship at the hand of Gideon. Nowhere in the Bible does a mere angel ever receive worship. Only God receives worship. Certainly not a good angel. Not a holy angel. In fact, hold Judges chapter 6, but look in your Bibles to the book of Revelation chapter 19. Revelation chapter 19, and then we'll go to chapter 22. Revelation chapter 19.

[John Weaver] And notice, if you would please, verse 10. In fact, let's begin reading with verse 8. And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white, for the fine linen is the righteousness of the saints. And he said unto me, Right? Blessed are they which are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he saith unto me, These are the true sayings of God.

[John Weaver] Now look what John did. And I fell at his feet to worship him. And he said to me, See thou do it not. I am thy fellow servant and of thy brethren that have the testimony of Jesus. Worship God for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy. Look in Revelation 22 and verse 9. Revelation 22 verse 9. Verse 8, John said, And I, John, saw these things, and I heard them. And when I heard and seen, I fell down to worship before the feet of the angel which showed me these things. Then saith he unto me, See thou do it not? For I am thy fellow servant, and of thy brethren the prophets, and of them which keep the sayings of this book worship God. So nowhere in the Bible does a mere angel of God receive worship. And yet you find in Judges chapter 6, this angel received worship and therefore he was indeed God himself. Now, when the angel addressed Gideon in verse 11, he said, the Lord is with thee, that is, Yahweh or Jehovah is with thee, thou mighty man of valor.

[John Weaver] So the angel there is speaking to Gideon, but at this point, Gideon does not yet perceive who is speaking to him. Now, look if you would, back in your Bibles, to verse 13. Because I want to emphasize that Gideon was a man of understanding. He was a man of discernment. And Gideon instantly picked up upon what was meant by the angel in verse 12. When the angel said, the Lord is with thee, thou mighty man of valor, he understood that to be a promise. And then Gideon turned around and made an application of that promise, not only to the present situation that he was in, but also to the condition of Israel. Now, I'm going to explain what I meant when I say the man that God uses must not only be a man of character, but a man of understanding and discernment. He is a man who can face reality.

[John Weaver] He is not someone that always has to sugarcoat things. And look what he said in verse 13, And Gideon said unto him, well, the Lord said, The Lord is with thee, thou mighty man of valor. Gideon said unto him, O my Lord, if the Lord, if Yahweh, if Jehovah be with us, Why then has 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 hath forsaken us, and delivered us into the hands of the Midianites. Now, Gideon's understanding of the present state of his people led him to ask a series of simple questions.

[John Weaver] The first one being this. If God is with us, Why are we in this mess? That's a pretty important question, isn't it? If God is with us, why are we in this mess? By the way, I want you to notice how Gideon applies the promise of God to all of God's people. Look, if you would please, at verse 12. And the angel of the Lord said unto him, The Lord is with thee.

[John Weaver] singular, thou mighty man of valor. Verse 13, And Gideon said unto him, O my lord, if the Lord be with us, plural, why then is all this befallen us? In other words, Gideon took the promise of God that was made to him and then applied it to all of God's people.

[John Weaver] Now, I want you to understand before I explain this. Gideon's reply to the angel or to Christ, is who it was in reality, is not one of rebellion. His answer just demonstrates that he sees and comprehends and understands reality. His question reveals the fact that he perceived the state of things as they actually existed. Can you not hear Gideon? Just try to imagine this for a moment.

[John Weaver] Here Gideon is working, sweating, probably tired, give out, looking over his shoulder, wondering when the midnight's were going to come, bounding around the corner, and all of a sudden here's this stranger that appears to him and says, the Lord is with thee, thou mighty man of valor. Can you imagine Gideon as he takes his hand and maybe wipes the sweat from his brow and he says, I've got a question. If Yahweh is with me, Why am I beating out my wheat here by the wine press?

[John Weaver] I mean, why am I not up on the mountaintop doing it where it's real easy? If Yahweh is with us, why do the Midianites come year after year and devour our substance and destroy our land and impoverish us? If Yahweh is with us, why has all this befallen us? If Yahweh is with us, where are all His miracles and His mighty acts? If Yahweh is with us, Where are all his deliverances that we've heard from our father? Oh, he said, oh, no, it's not that Yahweh is with us. It's Yahweh who has forsaken us and given us over into the hands of the Nidi Knights. Yahweh is not for us. Yahweh is against us.

[John Weaver] Now, the point I want to make is this. When Gideon was saying that, it was not an attitude of rebellion. Gideon was not sugarcoating things. Gideon was no philosopher and follower of the power of positive thinking. You know, let's just put everything in a positive light. You know, Norman Vincent Peale was the one who wrote the book on the power of positive thinking. Of course, he denied the deity of Christ. I like what one man said. He said, I find Norman Vincent Peale appalling and the Apostle Paul appealing.

[John Weaver] It was a good play on words. But there was no positive thinking here. There was no trying to look on the bright side. There was no trying to overlook the facts and reality. He saw and understood things as they clearly were. You know, I have known preachers that there were extreme problems within the church. And every time you ask them, well, how's the church doing? Oh, great. Wonderful. Couldn't be better. In fact, I know personally one preacher who kept saying that and kept saying that until finally the church just disintegrated, the property was sold. Never could face reality. You know, some people think if you overlook problems, they just go away. If you sugarcoat things, they just go away. They don't. Gideon was a man who could face reality. You know, we could take this and apply it to our country. This country is referred to as a Christian nation. Now, I admit, I believe this country was founded on Christian principles. And I admit that many of our founding fathers were godly Christian men.

[John Weaver] And I know that we were set up to be a Christian nation. But you have to ask, if God be with us, why then is abortion on every hand? If God be with us, why are the sodomites running wild? If God be with us, why do we have such corruption and fraud in our government? You follow what I'm saying? Am I trying to sugar coat things when I say, well now folks, We're the best nation on the face of the earth. Let me tell you something, folks. We still may be the best nation on the face of the earth, but that does not mean that we are sinless, and that does not mean that we are guiltless.

[John Weaver] We've got enough sins of our own, and what we need to do is be honest with ourselves and honest with our state. God is not going to use a man who cannot be cannot see things in reality, who cannot face reality, and cannot be truthful about what the facts really are. How in the world can God use someone who will lie about the facts? Or who will ignore the facts? And Gideon was not ignoring the facts. He was not lying about the facts.

[John Weaver] He says, we're in trouble. We're in deep trouble. What were the facts? Well, the facts was this. Number one, the nation was under the judgment of God. Number two, they were delivered into the hands of the Midianites because of their sins. Look in your Bibles to Judges chapter 6. Notice verse 1. Here it is. Gideon was right on when he said what he said. And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord. And the Lord delivered them into the hands of the Midianites in seven years. And the hand of Midian prevailed against Israel. And because of the Midianites, the children of Israel made them the dens which are in the mountains, and caves, and strongholds. And so it was, when Israel had sown, that the Midianites came up, and the Amalekites, and the children of East, even they came up against them. Note, the children of Israel had sinned against God. Who was it that delivered them? God. So thirdly, God's hand was against them.

[John Weaver] Therefore, up to that time, there had been no miracles. There had been no deliverance, and what was Gideon doing? He was acknowledging the reality of the situation. And when he acknowledged it, by the way, he was also confessing the righteous judgment of God upon that nation because of their sins and their rebellion. You see, folks, unless we are honest with ourselves, and unless we're honest about the state of our nation, We will never repent individually or naturally.

[John Weaver] It's just like people who are drunkards. Most of them don't ever think they have a drinking problem. Why stop anytime I want to stop? They never consider the fact that they just never want to stop. But you see what I'm saying? How in the world can you deal with any sin unless you're willing to face it and to be honest with it?

[John Weaver] Now, I want you to hold Judges chapter 6, but look in your Bible to Revelation chapter 2. Now, the reason I'm telling you this is because these truths are necessary in order to properly ascertain where we are as an individual and as a people and as a nation. Look in the book of Revelation chapter 2 at what God tells the church. Revelation 2 verse 5. This is to the church of the Ephesians. He tells them in verse 5, Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do thy first works, or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent. Now, the very first thing he tells us is to remember. Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen. You know something, folks? It would pay us to remember our first love. That's exactly what it's talking about in this chapter. That when God first saved us, how zealous we were for Him.

[John Weaver] How thankful we were to Him. How obedient we were. We could not do enough to honor and to please God. But as years go by, We begin to take everything that God does for granted, and our love and our zeal cools off. And so he says, you better remember from whence you're fallen. You better remember what your first state really was. But now the same thing is true as a nation. We need to remember what our founding fathers gave us. We need to remember that until 1913, There was no public debt except for short periods when there was war. We need to remember there was prayer in every school, in every home. Bible reading. The Bible was the main book that was being taught. We need to remember that our congressmen served at their own expense.

[John Weaver] You see what I'm saying? But now, what we've done, we've fallen from all of that. So he says the very first thing you need to do is remember. The second thing he says you need to do is repent.

[John Weaver] Now, if you look in Judges 6 and verse 13, there's another thing. Whole Revelation. I'm coming right back there in just a moment. But look in Judges 6 and verse 13. And Gideon said unto him, O my Lord, if the Lord be with us, why then is all this befallen us? And 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. Now, he said, And where be all his miracles which our fathers told us of, saying, Did not the Lord bring us up from Egypt?

[John Weaver] We don't remember from whence we have fallen. We don't only need to repent, we need to recall the mighty works of God. Look in your Bibles, whole Revelation please, but look in your Bibles to Psalm 44. I usually preach from this text, especially this time of year. The world has just gone through what most folks refer to as Halloween. Actually, it was Reformation Day, October 31st, 1517, when Martin Luther nailed his 95 theses on the castle church door in Wittenberg, Germany. And All Saints Day, of course, is a pagan holiday, and all of that is wicked and wrong. But, you know, nobody ever hears of Reformation Day or Reformation Sunday. And usually I preach on Martin Luther this time of year. I did not this year. The fact is, when you think about the Reformation, you begin to recall some of the mighty works of God. But watch Psalm 44.

[John Weaver] We have heard with our ears, O God, our fathers have told us what work thou didst in their days and times of old. How about it's drive out the heathen with thy hand and plentish them. How thou didst afflict the people, and cast them out. For they, that is Israel, got not the land in possession by their own sword, neither did their own arms save them, but thy right hand, and thine arm, and the light of thy countenance, because thou hast a favor unto them. No, we have heard with our ears, O God, our fathers have told us what you did in days of old." What is that? That is a recalling of the mighty works of God.

[John Weaver] And that's exactly what Gideon is doing in Judges chapter 6. He said, if God is with us, where are all those mighty works we've been told about? All that mighty deliverance. All that mighty power. Where is God's miracles? And where is His deliverance? Now, look back in Revelation chapter 2. God says we need to remember from whence we're fallen individually and as a nation. We need to repent. We need to recall. And if we don't, verse five, remember, therefore, whence art fallen and repent and do the first works or else I will come unto thee quickly and remove thy candlestick out of his place, except I repent. What does God say? I just remove you.

[John Weaver] You know, I get so tickled at people when they think that nothing catastrophic could ever happen to America. What did God do to Judah and Jerusalem? He removed their candlestick. What did He do to the ten northern tribes? He removed their candlestick. You look at all the peoples of this earth that are now extinct. Why? God removed them. God took them out. He said, you better remember. You better repent. You better recall.

[John Weaver] If you don't, I will remove you. Gideon was a man of discernment. He was a man of understanding. He saw things clearly. He called a spade a spade. He was honest. He could face the facts. He never sugarcoated anything. If you're going to be used of God, you must only have character. You must have understanding. Simple, common sense understanding. Number three, if you're going to be used of God, look back in your Bible to Judges chapter 6. Here's a third thing. I touched upon it very lightly last week, but Judges chapter 6, verse 14. You must be a man who is divinely commissioned 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? Now, isn't it interesting just to show you that Gideon had no rebellious attitude and was not being hateful and ugly in verse 13. Verse 14 says, And Yahweh, looked upon him, or literally turned toward him. The phrase illustrates the fact that fellowship basically had been restored between Gideon and God, and therefore between God and His people.

[John Weaver] Now there are several symbolisms in this passage that cannot be ignored. Let me point these out before I explain verse 14. First of all, Gideon is threshing wheat by the wine press.

[John Weaver] Now, I don't know if that means anything to you, but if you study through the Bible, you will find that wine and bread are the food of kings. Read Genesis chapter 40, for instance. And then, if you want to turn to Genesis 14 and verse 18, you will find that Melchizedek When Abraham returned from the slaughter of those people who had stolen Lot and stolen Lot of other people, when Abraham returned from defeating them, then Melchizedek met Abraham with bread and wine, indicating that Abraham was

[John Weaver] the true king of Canaan. So when you look at where he was, bread and wine, Bread and wine being the food of kings, God came to him and God was going to use him mightily as a king to deliver his people. And by the way, I hope you can see the fulfillment or the antitype to that. Jesus Christ is the greater Melchizedek. And therefore, according to Revelation 1 in verse 6, He hath made us what? Kings and priests unto God our Father. So, Jesus Christ is the one that gives us the true bread and wine, His body, His flesh, His blood. You see? So, bread and wine then are a symbol of the food of kings. Secondly, what was Gideon doing by the wine press? He was threshing. Now, threshing in the Bible is a sign or a symbol of historical judgments. It's a picture of the judgment of God in time and in history. You see, when you thresh, it is a winnowing process.

[John Weaver] You are separating the grain from the chaff. The grain is that which is beneficial. The chaff is that which is absolutely worthless. If you'll hold Judges 6, but look in your Bibles to the book of Luke 3, let me show you how John the Baptist tells us that that is exactly what Jesus Christ is going to do to the world. Notice in Luke 3 and verse 17. In fact, we'll read verse 16 and 17. Luke 3, verse 16, John answered, saying unto them, I indeed baptize you with water, but one mightier than I come at the latchet of whose shoes I am not worthy to unloose. He shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost and with fire, whose fan is in his hand, and he will thoroughly purge his floor, that is, he shall separate the wheat from the chaff, and will gather the wheat into his garner, but the chaff he will burn with fire unquenchable. So the Bible tells us that Christ is going to thresh the world. Thus, Gideon is going to thresh Israel, starting with his own father's house, which we'll look at next week.

[John Weaver] Now, let me ask that you turn in your Bibles to 2 Samuel, because let me show you something that most people have not picked up on. 2 Samuel chapter 24. And let's begin with verse 18. 2 Samuel 24, verse 18.

[John Weaver] Now you'll remember when David had numbered Israel. The judgment of God began to fall and people were dying like flies. And I forget exactly how many. I think it was 70,000 men that were killed. And look in verse... Let's look at verse 16, 2 Samuel 24. And when the angel stretched out his hand upon Jerusalem to destroy it, the Lord repented him of the evil and said to the angel that destroyed the people, It is enough. Stay now thine hand. And the angel of the Lord was by the threshing place of Arunah the Jebusite. Now where was he? By the threshing place. And David spake unto the Lord when he saw the angel that smote the people and said, I've sinned, I've done wickedly, but these sheep, what have they done? Let thine hand, I pray thee, be against me and against my father's house. And Gad, the prophet, came that day to David and said unto him, Go rear up an altar unto the Lord in the threshing floor of Arunah, the Jebusite.

[John Weaver] And David, according to the saying of Gad, went up as the Lord commanded. And Arunah looked and saw the king and his servants coming on towards him. And Arunah went out and bowed himself before the king on his face before the ground. And Arunah said, Wherefore has my lord the king come to his servant? David said, To buy the threshing floor of thee, to build an altar unto the Lord, that the plague may be stayed from the people. And Arunah said unto David, Let my lord the king take and offer what seemeth good unto him. Behold, here be oxen for burnt sacrifice, and threshing instruments, and other instruments of the oxen for wood, all these things that Arunah as a king give unto the king. And Arunah said unto the king, The Lord thy God accept thee. And the king said unto Arunah, Nay, but I will surely buy it of thee at a price. Ne'er will I offer burnt offerings unto the Lord my God, for that which cost me nothing. So David bought the threshing floor and the oxen for fifty shekels of silver.

[John Weaver] And David built there an altar unto the Lord, and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings. So the Lord was entreated for the land, and the plague was stayed from Israel."

[John Weaver] Now, can someone tell me the significance of this place? This is where the temple was built on the threshing floor of Aruna. What does that tell you? Does it not tell you this is a process by which the kingdom of God is actually built? God's winnowing, God's separating the chaff from the wheat. Let me show you. One more passage before I get back to Judges 6. Look in your Bibles, 1 Peter 4, verse 17. If you don't understand what I just showed you, 1 Peter 4 should make it exceedingly clear. 1 Peter 4, verse 17. 1 Peter 4, verse 17. Look what the Bible says.

[John Weaver] For the time has come that judgment must begin where? At the house of God. And if it first begin at us, what shall the end of them that obey not the gospel of God? And if the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodliness of the sinner appear? What did he say? For the time has come that judgment must begin first at the house of God. God always winnows his own. He always separates the wheat from the chaff. And if God does that to his people, the question is, what will be the end of the ungodly?

[John Weaver] And of course, it will be utter and total destruction. Now, let's go back in our Bibles to Judges 6, because we're looking at verse 14. And the Lord looked upon him and said, Go in this thy might, and thou shalt save Israel from the hand of the many knights. Have not I sent thee? Now, I told you that we're on the third point. Prerequisites to be used of God must be a man of character, must be a man of understanding, must be divinely commissioned and sent. And the point that needs to be emphasized is that God called and sent Gideon. You know, the one thing that we're missing today in the ministry as a whole is an awareness and a conviction of the divine call. Listen carefully.

[John Weaver] Pastors are not employees of a church. They're not administrators. They're not tools of a deacon board. They're not spiritual burpers who go around burping spiritual babies who should have matured 40 years ago. No. They are to be the servants of God. God calls them and God sent them. Pastors are to be first and foremost the representatives of God. I want to show you this. Look in your Bibles to 2 Corinthians. 2 Corinthians chapter 5 and look at verse 20.

[John Weaver] Now, please, if you Push me for time. I can show you the context. But to save time, I'll just tell you what the context is. In 2 Corinthians chapter 5, Paul is talking about pastors. He's talking about preachers. And he says in verse 20, Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ. As though God did beseech you by us, we pray you in Christ's stead be you reconciled to God. Now let me just take a moment and explain this. All my life I've been taught that everyone is an ambassador for God.

[John Weaver] Well, that's true in a very general sense, but then it's really not true as well. The Southern Baptists always had a group of boys called the Royal Ambassadors, the RAs. And in one sense of the word, we are representatives of Christ, generally speaking, because whatever we do or say reflects upon Christ in the ministry. That's certainly true. But when you talk about an ambassador, you're talking about a horse of a different color. To be a real ambassador, you have to be appointed by a government. You have to be sent by a government.

[John Weaver] For instance, suppose you and I took a trip to England. And when we were over there, we decided we wanted to go see the Queen. And so we go up to the Queen's palace and there are guards everywhere and we start to knock on the door and someone stops up and says, steps up to us and says, where do you think you're going? Well, we're going to see the Queen. But what makes you think you can see the Queen? Well, we're ambassadors. We represent America. Whatever we do over here reflects upon America, and we want to have an audience with the Queen. You know what the guard's going to say? May I see your papers? What? We don't have any diplomatic papers.

[John Weaver] I mean, our government never appointed us. We're just general ambassadors. Yeah. And I'm generally telling you to turn around and get out of here before I arrest you. But now, if you were appointed by the United States government, and sent, and you had your diplomatic papers, and you needed an audience with the Queen, guess what? You could get in. There's a difference between those two things. But I want you to see what the Apostle Paul said. Look in verse 20.

[John Weaver] Now then we, he's talking about the pastors. He's talking about the preachers. We then are ambassadors for Christ. That is, we're here in His stead, as though God did beseech you, what? By us! We pray you in Christ's stead, be you reconciled unto God.

[John Weaver] Now, what is the Apostle Paul saying? The true preacher represents Christ. The true preacher is there in Christ's stead. He's been divinely called, and He's been divinely sent. Consequently, pastors are required to represent God and His Word and His interest to His people. They're required to teach His Word, proclaim His demands. They are men that are just as sent as was Moses. You can read Exodus chapter 3, verse 10, verse 12, verse 14. God said, I have sent you. I have sent you. I have sent you. You know, it would be interesting today to discover how many pastors actually view themselves as commissioned and called and sent by God.

[John Weaver] I am afraid the answer would be very few in all probability. Do you realize there is a difference between a man that has been sent and a man that has not been sent? Just stop and think about this. A man that has been sent has a master. That's the one who sent him. Therefore, he's answerable and accountable to that master. The man that has been sent not only has a master, he has a mission. That's why he was sent.

[John Weaver] There's something that he must do. There's something that he must accomplish.

[John Weaver] Thirdly, a man that has been sent has a method. He's got a method for accomplishing that mission in order that he might please his master. And then, of course, he has a mind that is concentrated solely upon that master and upon that mission and upon that method in order to please and honor that master. Now, the man who's not been sent has none of these things. He just simply flounders around in the sea of administration, endeavoring to please all of those whom he thinks might have authority over him or whom he thinks might could help his professional career.

[John Weaver] Now, let me ask you a question. Do you perceive a difference when you read your Bible between, say, John the Baptist and a modern day preacher? Do you perceive the distance between the Apostle Paul and the average pastor. Do you perceive a difference between Samuel, Peter, Elijah, Elijah, Apollos, and multitudes of others that were sinning called of God and modern day preachers? Do you even perceive a difference between Luther and Calvin and Whitfield and what we have today?

[John Weaver] And the answer is, Oh yes. Have we lost anything in this century? And the answer is most definitely. What we have lost is the concept that a true preacher is divinely called and divinely sent and divinely ordained by God. You have many preachers today who have never been called by God, never been sent by God, never been ordained by God.

[John Weaver] Now, look back in your Bibles to Judges 6 and verse 14. Look what is said. Judges 6 verse 14, And the Lord looked upon him and said, Go in this thy might, and thou shalt save Israel from the hand of the many knights. Have not I sent thee?

[John Weaver] Now my question is this. What is Gideon's might? I mean, look at the context. Look at verse 13. And Gideon said unto him, O my Lord, if the Lord be with us, why then has all this befallen us? Where be all these miracles which our fathers told us of? Saying, did not the Lord bring us up from Egypt? And now the Lord has forsaken us and delivered us into the hands of the Midianites. I mean, he's just described reality. And the Lord looked upon him and said, go in this thy might. Now, what is his might? Well, Gideon's might is nothing less than the promised presence of God. If you'll look back in verse 12, when the angel of the Lord appears unto him, he said, what? The Lord is with thee, thy mighty men of valor. When the angel appeared, he gives him this promise of the presence of God.

[John Weaver] Do you know that Moses understood this concept? Look in your Bibles to the book of Exodus chapter 33 very quickly. Exodus 33, and let's begin reading there with verse 12. Exodus 33 and verse 12. Notice, if you would, Exodus 33, verse 12. And Moses said unto the Lord, See thou sayest unto me, bring up this people, and thou hast not let me know whom thou wilt sit with me. Yet thou hast said, I know thee by name, and thou hast also found grace in my sight. Now therefore, I pray thee, if I have found grace in thy sight, show me now thy way, that I may know thee, that I may find grace in thy sight, and consider that this nation is thy people. And he said, My presence shall go with thee, and I will give thee rest. God said, Moses, my presence will go with you. Now look what he said in verse 15, and he said, If thy presence go not with me, carry us not up. He said, God, if you're not going with me, I don't want to go.

[John Weaver] I want your presence. Have you ever stopped to think how futile it is to try to accomplish the work of God without the God of the work? I've often said my wife and I were raised basically in liberal churches. When we got married, we went to a liberal church. And you would have to sit there for 30 minutes. They very seldom spoke over 30 minutes, but you'd have to sit there for 30 minutes. And I often wondered how a man had to study to say something for 30 minutes to avoid using any scripture and avoid offending anybody and upsetting anybody. That's got to be a lot of work. I mean, really. I mean, Alice can tell you, I study every day. I study all week long. But I got news for you. I sure would hate to have to study like that.

[John Weaver] But you see, the truth is this, folks. If God's not with us, it doesn't matter what we do. It doesn't matter what we say. You know what the Bible says in Zechariah 4 and verse 6? Not by might or power, but by my Spirit, saith the Lord. If God's not with us, folks, it's useless. It's worthless. In 1819, George Adkins wrote the hymn Brethren, we have met to worship.

[John Weaver] Let me read to you the first stanza. Brethren, we have met to worship and adore the Lord our God. Will you pray with all your power while we try to preach the Word? All is vain unless the Spirit of the Holy One comes down. Brethren, pray in holy manner. We'll be showered all around. What's he saying? It's useless without God. It's useless without God.

[John Weaver] Now let me tell you something, folks. God is still the God of miracles. God is still the God of deliverance. God is still the God of salvation. Are you listening? The problems in our lives, the problems in our families, the problems in our churches, the problems in our state, and the problems in our nation do not come from the fact that God has lost His power, His position, or His sovereignty. The problem is not with God. The problem is with us.

[John Weaver] Look in your Bibles to Isaiah 59. Look what he says, Isaiah 59, beginning there with verse one. And by the way, I hope as you look at this verse, or this passage, I should say, because I'm going to read several verses, I hope you can put our country in perspective as we read it. Your own problems, your own family. Watch Isaiah 59, beginning with verse one. The Lord's hand is not shortened that it cannot save.

[John Weaver] The problem's not with God. Neither His ear heavy that He cannot hear. He's not deaf. Well, what's the problem? But your iniquities have separated between you and your God. And your sins have hid His face from you that He will not hear. Why? For your hands are defiled with blood, and your fingers with iniquity, your lips have spoken lies, your tongue hath uttered perverseness. None call it for justice, nor any plead it for truth. They trust in vanity and speak lies. They conceive mischief and bring forth iniquity.

[John Weaver] They hatch cockatrices' eggs and weave the spider's web. He that eateth of their eggs dieth, and that which is crushed breaketh out into a viper. Their webs shall not become garments, neither shall they cover themselves with their works. Their works are works of iniquity, and the acts of violence is their hand. Their feet run to evil, and they make haste to shed innocent blood. Their thoughts are thoughts of iniquity.

[John Weaver] Wasting and destruction are in their paths. The way of peace they have not known. There is no judgment in their going. They have made them crooked paths. Whosoever goeth therein shall not know peace."

[John Weaver] Now what did he say? My hand's not shortened that it can't save. My ear's not heavy that it cannot hear. The problem is not with my miracle, says God. It's not with my power. It's not with my deliverance. It's with your sins. It's with your sins. When you repent, when you turn, when you seek, when you cry, you'll understand my mercy. Now, I want you to understand something, folks. When God does indeed appear in mercy and grace and blessing, His power and His blessing are sufficient. What did He say to Gideon? Go in this by might, and thou shalt save Israel from the Midianites. Go in this promised presence of God. And you shall save Israel.

[John Weaver] Now, go back in your Bibles to Judges chapter 6. I want to point this out. I've said it innumerable times. But I hope this will be an encouragement to you. I want you to see it from the Bible. Look in Judges chapter 6. Notice verse 14. And the Lord looked upon him and said, Go in this thy might, and thou shalt save Israel from the hand of the Midianites.

[John Weaver] Have not I sent thee? Skip down to verse 16. And the Lord said unto him, surely I will be with thee. There's that promised presence. And thou shalt smite the Midianites as one man. God is able to defeat his enemies and deliver his people with one man. We need to comprehend the simple fact that it does not take a multitude to accomplish the will and the purpose of God. It takes one man who is sent by God, commissioned by God, and called by God. God took Gideon. Are you listening?

[John Weaver] And 300 men and defeated the entire Midianite Army. Everywhere I go in this country, I hear people say, oh, Brother Weaver, if we could just get everybody together. If the Christians would just pull together. I got news for you folks. You're never, ever going to have a multitude And you're never, ever going to get Christians together. We're worse than spoiled young'uns. But it doesn't take a multitude, and it doesn't take even all the Christians. It just takes one or two, or a small number, committed, called, and sent by God, who will not err from their course. and will do what God tells them to do. Gideon took 300 and destroyed the Midianite army. Our Lord took 12 men and turned the world upside down. But God always begins with one. You heard that old saying, God and one man make a majority. That's really not true. God's a majority Himself. But when He takes that one, He can accomplish whatever He wants to accomplish. The question is, are you willing to be that one? To be a man of character, of understanding, and say, Here, my Lord, send me.

[John Weaver] I'm willing. I'll play by your rules. I'll do what you say. For you are the one true of the living God.

[John Weaver] Now, I read this last week, and I'm going to close with it this week. Look in your Bibles to 1 Corinthians chapter 1. Because inevitably, whenever I teach something like this, someone will say, but Brother Weaver, I don't have a college education. I don't know the Bible. I'm not a scholar. I'm not this. I'm not that. Well, look at 1 Corinthians 1, beginning there. with verse 26. What does he say?

[John Weaver] For you see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble are called. But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise, and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty. And the base things of the world and things which are spice hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring in all things that are." Why has God chosen that which is despised and useless and powerless? Here's why. That no flesh should glory in His presence.

[John Weaver] Skip down to verse 31. That according as it is written, he that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord. God is pleased to use plain, simple, powerless individuals so that our flesh will not steal his glory. What did he tell Gideon when Gideon had this vast army? You're too many. You will think that you did it. Get rid of them. And he cut him down to 300 so that everyone would know the victory was God's. And when God uses us folks We're bound to know the victory has to be God's, because we're nothing in and of ourselves. To Him goes the honor and the glory. Let's pray.

[John Weaver] Father, we thank Thee today for Jesus Christ, for His grace and for His mercy. We pray, Father, that You would make us usable, and Thou wouldst be pleased to use us. Help us, Lord, to repent as individuals, as families, as a church, as a state, as a nation. Give us by gift of repentance. Enable us to serve Thee effectively with reverence and godly fear. In Thy name we pray, Amen.

Prerequisites to be Used by God - 2

John Weaver | SermonAudio

Lecture Metadata	Details
Speaker	John Weaver
Source	SermonAudio
Media ID	11603175122
Subject	New Testament Studies
Course	Revelation Themes and Eschatological Applications
Genre	Sermon
Date	2003-11-02
Dictation Name
Book	Book 189: Prerequisites to be Used by God — Chapter 2
Source Timed Segments	95

Formatted Transcript

Opening

Judges chapter 6, and we're going to begin reading with verse 11. And let me just remind everyone once again that I will be gone on Sunday, December the 7th. And that's the only Sunday the rest of the entire year that I'll be away. So notice Judges chapter 6, beginning there with verse 11.

Scripture Reading — Judges 6:11-24

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? And 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, wherewithal 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. And he said unto him, If now I have found grace in thy sight, then show me a sign that thou talkest with me. Depart not hence, I pray thee, until I come unto thee, and bring forth my present, and set it before thee. And he said, I will tarry until thou come again. And Gideon went in, and made ready a kid, and unleavened cakes of an ephah of flour: the flesh he put in a basket, and he put the broth in a pot, and brought it out unto him under the oak, and presented it. And the angel of God said unto him, Take the flesh and the unleavened cakes, and lay them upon this rock, and pour out the broth. And he did so. Then the angel of the Lord put forth the end of the staff that was in his hand, and touched the flesh and the unleavened cakes, and there rose up fire out of the rock, and consumed the flesh and the unleavened cakes. Then the angel of the Lord departed out of his sight. And when Gideon perceived that he was an angel of the Lord, Gideon said, Alas, O Lord God! for because I have seen an angel of the Lord face to face. And the Lord said unto him, Peace be unto thee; fear not: thou shalt not die. Then Gideon built an altar there unto the Lord, and called it Jehovah-shalom: unto this day it is yet in Ophrah of the Abiezrites. And 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: and build an altar unto the Lord thy God upon the top of this rock, in the ordered place, and take the second bullock, and offer a burnt sacrifice with the wood of the grove which thou shalt cut down.

Introduction and Review of Character

Weaver reviews the first prerequisite: Gideon was a man of character, demonstrated by hard work, honesty, wisdom, perseverance, and faith. Character is developed over a lifetime.

Now last week I began a brief series which I entitled Prerequisites to Be Used of God. I pointed out the fact how we need men in this nation and how we need individuals who are usable by God and for God's honor and God's glory. The one point that I was really emphasizing is that God uses men. He does not use committees. He does not use corporations. He uses men. I noticed as I came to church today, of course I've noticed it every week as I came by, that there is a church building down the road that has a sign, and it is something like this on the sign. I forget exactly. The Church of God by Faith Incorporated. And I thought, well, how can it be the Church of God if it's a state corporation, and how can it be by faith if it's incorporated? But that's the sign they have out. But God does not use committees. God does not use corporations. He uses men. And all you have to do is read Hebrews chapter 11, and you'll find that there were men named one after the other that God has been pleased to use. And God searches for men, the Bible teaches us, whose hearts are right toward Him, that He might use them for His honor and His glory.

And He found such a man in Gideon. Now, the first prerequisite that we saw last week, and I spent the entire sermon last week on the first point, that Gideon was a man of character. The Bible tells us in 2 Chronicles 16, verse 9, that God looks for individuals whose hearts are perfect toward Him. Now, there were several things I pointed out that demonstrated Gideon's character, the very first thing was he was a hard worker. The Bible tells us that the angel of the Lord found him as he was threshing wheat by the winepress. And the word thresh literally means to beat out with a stick. And I've pointed out from the book of Ruth, chapter 2, this is how poor people thresh their wheat. So evidently, not only according to Gideon's own words, but according to his actions as well, he was indeed a poor man, but he was a hard working man. Secondly, I pointed out that he was an honest man.

He was thankfully trying to provide for himself and for his family. The third thing I pointed out that illustrated his character was he was wise and innovative. He was hiding his wheat by the winepress. Normally, you thresh your wheat on the mountaintop, you throw it up in the air, and after you've done everything, the wind then separates the chaff from the wheat, it blows the chaff away. But, of course, Gideon could not do that because of the Midianites. The Midianites would invade the land and rob, steal, and confiscate everything that they possibly could. And so, therefore, he was hiding his wheat down by the winepress. So he was wise and innovative. He was trying to preserve and protect that which God had given him and not allow it to be stolen from him. And then I pointed out another thing that demonstrated his character.

that he was not easily discouraged. Because he had been doing this for seven years. Seven years the Midianites had oppressed. And for seven years, he faithfully discharged his duty. And then lastly, I pointed out that he was a man of faith because he did indeed trust in the Lord. And the Bible says that many followed the gods of the Amorites in verse 10, but Gideon evidently was not one of them. So the very first prerequisite that God looks for in a man is that he must be a man of character. I pointed out that God may use us on credit the first years of our life. After that, he will use us on character. And if we don't have any character, we might as well forget it. God is not going to use us.

Now, I know there are exceptions, such as Balaam and Balaam's ass, but I do not want the fate of Balaam nor of Balaam's ass. So to be honest, God uses men of character. And the important thing that I want you to grasp from last week is this. Character cannot be developed on the spur of a moment. It is the habit, it is the attitude, it is the disposition of a lifetime. And you and I should be constantly and continually developing a biblical character as we read and study and apply the Word of God to our lives.

Gideon as a Man of Understanding

Gideon saw things clearly and distinctly. He questioned the angel's promise by pointing to Israel's suffering, showing he faced reality without sugarcoating.

Now, if you look today in Judges chapter 6, verses 12 through 13, I want to show you the second characteristic of Gideon. That is, he was a man of understanding. I could have used the word discernment. He was a man of discernment. Either one would be sufficient. But notice 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. And Gideon said unto him, O my Lord, if the Lord be with us, why then is all this befallen us? and 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. Now when I say that Gideon was a man of understanding, or that he was a man of discernment, what I mean is simply this, that he was a man who saw things clearly and distinctly. He saw things as they really were.

He was not a dreamer, He was not a visionary. He was not someone who absolutely could not grasp reality. He was a man who could correctly ascertain the situation of his time. Now the Bible says in verse 11, that 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. Now when that angel came, in verse 12, he spoke to Gideon, and the angel said to him, the Lord is with thee, thou mighty man of valor.

The Identity of the Angel of the Lord

Weaver explains that the angel of the Lord is a Christophany—a pre-incarnate appearance of Christ. He supports this by noting the angel received worship and is called Yahweh.

Now, I'm going to take a little time and explain who this angel really was. Now, when the angel said, the Lord is with thee, thou mighty man of valor, Gideon did not at first perceive who the angel really was. And so if you look in verse 13, And Gideon said unto him, O my Lord. Now the word Lord there, and I'll explain the difference in just a moment, is the word Adonai, which is the term of reverence and respect. It is an ordinary form of respectful salutation. So what Gideon was doing was very politely and civilly addressing the stranger. He acknowledged him, and then he proceeded to express himself very clearly and very distinctly. Now, the angel, in verse 11, is none other than the angel of the Lord, who is, in this instance, none other than Christ Himself.

In time past, I have explained this to you, but let me do so again. This is what is known in the Bible as a Christophany. You will find a Christophany several times in the Old Testament. A Christophany is a pre-incarnate appearing of Christ in the Old Testament before Christ was ever made flesh in the New Testament. Now when I say pre-incarnate, the incarnation speaks about God becoming flesh. Do you remember John 1 in verse 14? The Bible said, And the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. So Jesus Christ was made flesh. In 1 Timothy 3, verse 16, the Bible says, And without all controversy, great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh. And so when Jesus Christ took upon Himself the form of man, according to Philippians 2, verses 6 and 7, when He took upon Himself the form of a man, that is referred to as the incarnation. So when I say a Christophany is a pre-incarnation, or a pre-incarnate appearing of Christ, it means that Christ is appearing in the flesh or in human form in the Old Testament, before he ever became flesh in the New Testament.

Now, I want you to note, look carefully at verse 11. And there came an angel of the Lord. Now, look if you would please at verse 13. And Gideon said to him, O my Lord. Now, do you see any difference between the word Lord in verse 11 and the word Lord in verse 13? Do you see that? What is it? Alright, it's lowercase except for the L in verse 13, and it's all caps in verse 11. And by the way, do you know how we got the phrase uppercase and lowercase? Alice and I visited an antique print shop years ago, and the man explained how we got the phrase uppercase and lowercase. Uppercase refers to caps and of course lowercase refers to the non-capitalized letters. He said the reason it came to be that because in the print shop all the capital letters were kept in the upper end of the case and all the small letters the lower end of the case. So it really had nothing to do except where they were in a box.

So that's how we got that understanding uppercase and lowercase. But the word LORD is all caps in verse 11, and it's small in verse 13. Now, let me explain something to you. If you look in verse 14. Now, go back to verse 11 just for a moment. And there came an angel of the LORD. Note, here is the expression, the angel of the LORD. Now look in verse 14. And the LORD looked upon him and said, Now, do you see a distinction between verse 11 and verse 14? Who is doing the speaking in verse 14? The Lord Himself. God Himself. But yet, it says very plainly in verse 11, it was an angel of the Lord. Verse 12, an angel of the Lord. Well, how in the world can Christ be called the angel of the Lord? The Bible tells us in verse 14 that God spoke to him himself and the Lord looked upon him. Well, let me explain it to you like this.

Anytime in your King James Bibles that you see capital L, capital O, capital R, capital D, that is to demonstrate to you that that is a translation of the sacred name of God, which is Yahweh, or Jehovah, or Yah as some pronounce it. So anytime you see all caps, it is the sacred personal name of God Himself. It is Yahweh. Anytime you see capital L, then small o-r-d, it is Adonai, or just simply Lord, Boss, Owner, Master, Sovereign. But here you have the specific name of God. So in verse 12, it is the angel of the Lord who does the speaking, but in verse 14, it is God Himself. Now, how in the world can Jesus Christ be referred to then as an angel of the Lord? Well, it's very simple. You see, the word angel in the Greek is the word angelos, and all it means is messenger. What is an angel? He is a messenger.

He is a sent one. Do you know the phrase that our Lord used of Himself over and over in the New Testament? He was a sent one. He said, the Father hath sent Me. He is the sent one.

Now, if you'll hold Judges chapter 6, but look in your Bibles to the book of Hebrews chapter 3, and look at verse 1. Let me show you another phrase that will explain that he is a sent one. Notice Hebrews chapter 3, verse 1. Look what the Bible says. Wherefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our profession, Christ Jesus. Isn't that interesting? Here Jesus Christ is called an apostle. Consider the Apostle and High Priest of our confession. Do you know what the word apostle means? The Greek word is apostolos. And it literally means a sent one. So literally, it says consider the sent one and the high priest of our profession, Christ Jesus. So not only then is the angel directly referred to in Judges 6 and verse 14 as Jehovah Himself or Yahweh Himself.

I want you to note what happened in verses 22. Verse 22, And when Gideon perceived that he was an angel of the Lord, Gideon said, Alas, O Lord God! for because I have seen an angel of the Lord face to face. And the Lord said unto him, Peace be unto thee; fear not, for thou shalt not die. Now watch. Then Gideon built an altar there unto whom? Yahweh. And called it Jehovah or Yahweh Shalom.

Unto this day it is yet in Ophrah of the Abiezrites. Now, the point I'm trying to make is this. Here you find the angel of the Lord received worship at the hand of Gideon. Nowhere in the Bible does a mere angel ever receive worship. Only God receives worship. Certainly not a good angel. Not a holy angel. In fact, hold Judges chapter 6, but look in your Bibles to the book of Revelation chapter 19. Revelation chapter 19, and then we'll go to chapter 22. Revelation chapter 19.

And notice, if you would please, verse 10. In fact, let's begin reading with verse 8. And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints. And he saith unto me, Write, Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he saith unto me, These are the true sayings of God.

Now look what John did. And I fell at his feet to worship him. And he said to me, See thou do it not: I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren that have the testimony of Jesus: worship God: for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy. Look in Revelation 22 and verse 9. Revelation 22 verse 9. Verse 8, John said, And I John saw these things, and heard them. And when I had heard and seen, I fell down to worship before the feet of the angel which showed me these things. Then saith he unto me, See thou do it not: for I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren the prophets, and of them which keep the sayings of this book: worship God. So nowhere in the Bible does a mere angel of God receive worship. And yet you find in Judges chapter 6, this angel received worship and therefore he was indeed God himself. Now, when the angel addressed Gideon in verse 11, he said, the Lord is with thee, that is, Yahweh or Jehovah is with thee, thou mighty man of valor.

Gideon's Honest Assessment of Israel's Condition

Gideon applied God's promise to all Israel and asked why they were in such a mess if God was with them. He acknowledged God's judgment due to sin.

So the angel there is speaking to Gideon, but at this point, Gideon does not yet perceive who is speaking to him. Now, look if you would, back in your Bibles, to verse 13. Because I want to emphasize that Gideon was a man of understanding. He was a man of discernment. And Gideon instantly picked up upon what was meant by the angel in verse 12. When the angel said, the Lord is with thee, thou mighty man of valor, he understood that to be a promise. And then Gideon turned around and made an application of that promise, not only to the present situation that he was in, but also to the condition of Israel. Now, I'm going to explain what I meant when I say the man that God uses must not only be a man of character, but a man of understanding and discernment. He is a man who can face reality.

He is not someone that always has to sugarcoat things. And look what he said in verse 13, And Gideon said unto him, well, the Lord said, The Lord is with thee, thou mighty man of valor. Gideon said unto him, O my Lord, if the Lord, if Yahweh, if Jehovah be with us, why then has 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 hath forsaken us, and delivered us into the hands of the Midianites. Now, Gideon's understanding of the present state of his people led him to ask a series of simple questions. The first one being this. If God is with us, why are we in this mess? That's a pretty important question, isn't it? If God is with us, why are we in this mess? By the way, I want you to notice how Gideon applies the promise of God to all of God's people. Look, if you would please, at verse 12. And the angel of the Lord said unto him, The Lord is with thee.

singular, thou mighty man of valor. Verse 13, And Gideon said unto him, O my lord, if the Lord be with us, plural, why then is all this befallen us? In other words, Gideon took the promise of God that was made to him and then applied it to all of God's people. Now, I want you to understand before I explain this. Gideon's reply to the angel or to Christ, is who it was in reality, is not one of rebellion. His answer just demonstrates that he sees and comprehends and understands reality. His question reveals the fact that he perceived the state of things as they actually existed. Can you not hear Gideon? Just try to imagine this for a moment.

Here Gideon is working, sweating, probably tired, give out, looking over his shoulder, wondering when the Midianites were going to come, bounding around the corner, and all of a sudden here's this stranger that appears to him and says, the Lord is with thee, thou mighty man of valor. Can you imagine Gideon as he takes his hand and maybe wipes the sweat from his brow and he says, I've got a question. If Yahweh is with me, why am I beating out my wheat here by the winepress? I mean, why am I not up on the mountaintop doing it where it's real easy? If Yahweh is with us, why do the Midianites come year after year and devour our substance and destroy our land and impoverish us? If Yahweh is with us, why has all this befallen us? If Yahweh is with us, where are all His miracles and His mighty acts? If Yahweh is with us, where are all his deliverances that we've heard from our fathers? Oh, he said, oh, no, it's not that Yahweh is with us. It's Yahweh who has forsaken us and given us over into the hands of the Midianites. Yahweh is not for us. Yahweh is against us.

The Need for Repentance and Remembrance

Weaver applies Gideon's honesty to the church and nation, urging remembrance of past blessings, repentance, and recalling God's mighty works to avoid judgment.

Now, the point I want to make is this. When Gideon was saying that, it was not an attitude of rebellion. Gideon was not sugarcoating things. Gideon was no philosopher and follower of the power of positive thinking. You know, let's just put everything in a positive light. You know, Norman Vincent Peale was the one who wrote the book on the power of positive thinking. Of course, he denied the deity of Christ. I like what one man said. He said, I find Norman Vincent Peale appalling and the Apostle Paul appealing.

It was a good play on words. But there was no positive thinking here. There was no trying to look on the bright side. There was no trying to overlook the facts and reality. He saw and understood things as they clearly were. You know, I have known preachers that there were extreme problems within the church. And every time you ask them, well, how's the church doing? Oh, great. Wonderful. Couldn't be better. In fact, I know personally one preacher who kept saying that and kept saying that until finally the church just disintegrated, the property was sold. Never could face reality. You know, some people think if you overlook problems, they just go away. If you sugarcoat things, they just go away. They don't. Gideon was a man who could face reality. You know, we could take this and apply it to our country. This country is referred to as a Christian nation. Now, I admit, I believe this country was founded on Christian principles. And I admit that many of our founding fathers were godly Christian men.

And I know that we were set up to be a Christian nation. But you have to ask, if God be with us, why then is abortion on every hand? If God be with us, why are the sodomites running wild? If God be with us, why do we have such corruption and fraud in our government? You follow what I'm saying? Am I trying to sugar coat things when I say, well now folks, we're the best nation on the face of the earth. Let me tell you something, folks. We still may be the best nation on the face of the earth, but that does not mean that we are sinless, and that does not mean that we are guiltless.

We've got enough sins of our own, and what we need to do is be honest with ourselves and honest with our state. God is not going to use a man who cannot see things in reality, who cannot face reality, and cannot be truthful about what the facts really are. How in the world can God use someone who will lie about the facts? Or who will ignore the facts? And Gideon was not ignoring the facts. He was not lying about the facts. He says, we're in trouble. We're in deep trouble. What were the facts? Well, the facts was this. Number one, the nation was under the judgment of God. Number two, they were delivered into the hands of the Midianites because of their sins. Look in your Bibles to Judges chapter 6. Notice verse 1. Here it is. Gideon was right on when he said what he said. And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord. And the Lord delivered them into the hands of the Midianites seven years. And the hand of Midian prevailed against Israel. And because of the Midianites, the children of Israel made them the dens which are in the mountains, and caves, and strongholds. And so it was, when Israel had sown, that the Midianites came up, and the Amalekites, and the children of the east, even they came up against them. Note, the children of Israel had sinned against God. Who was it that delivered them? God. So thirdly, God's hand was against them.

Therefore, up to that time, there had been no miracles. There had been no deliverance, and what was Gideon doing? He was acknowledging the reality of the situation. And when he acknowledged it, by the way, he was also confessing the righteous judgment of God upon that nation because of their sins and their rebellion. You see, folks, unless we are honest with ourselves, and unless we're honest about the state of our nation, we will never repent individually or nationally. It's just like people who are drunkards. Most of them don't ever think they have a drinking problem. Why stop anytime I want to stop? They never consider the fact that they just never want to stop. But you see what I'm saying? How in the world can you deal with any sin unless you're willing to face it and to be honest with it?

Now, I want you to hold Judges chapter 6, but look in your Bible to Revelation chapter 2. Now, the reason I'm telling you this is because these truths are necessary in order to properly ascertain where we are as an individual and as a people and as a nation. Look in the book of Revelation chapter 2 at what God tells the church. Revelation 2 verse 5. This is to the church of the Ephesians. He tells them in verse 5, Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent. Now, the very first thing he tells us is to remember. Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen. You know something, folks? It would pay us to remember our first love. That's exactly what it's talking about in this chapter. That when God first saved us, how zealous we were for Him.

How thankful we were to Him. How obedient we were. We could not do enough to honor and to please God. But as years go by, we begin to take everything that God does for granted, and our love and our zeal cools off. And so he says, you better remember from whence you're fallen. You better remember what your first state really was. But now the same thing is true as a nation. We need to remember what our founding fathers gave us. We need to remember that until 1913, there was no public debt except for short periods when there was war. We need to remember there was prayer in every school, in every home. Bible reading. The Bible was the main book that was being taught. We need to remember that our congressmen served at their own expense.

You see what I'm saying? But now, what we've done, we've fallen from all of that. So he says the very first thing you need to do is remember. The second thing he says you need to do is repent.

Now, if you look in Judges 6 and verse 13, there's another thing. Hold Revelation. I'm coming right back there in just a moment. But look in Judges 6 and verse 13. And Gideon said unto him, O my Lord, if the Lord be with us, why then is all this befallen us? And 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. Now, he said, And where be all his miracles which our fathers told us of, saying, Did not the Lord bring us up from Egypt?

We don't remember from whence we have fallen. We don't only need to repent, we need to recall the mighty works of God. Look in your Bibles, hold Revelation please, but look in your Bibles to Psalm 44. I usually preach from this text, especially this time of year. The world has just gone through what most folks refer to as Halloween. Actually, it was Reformation Day, October 31st, 1517, when Martin Luther nailed his 95 theses on the castle church door in Wittenberg, Germany. And All Saints Day, of course, is a pagan holiday, and all of that is wicked and wrong. But, you know, nobody ever hears of Reformation Day or Reformation Sunday. And usually I preach on Martin Luther this time of year. I did not this year. The fact is, when you think about the Reformation, you begin to recall some of the mighty works of God. But watch Psalm 44.

We have heard with our ears, O God, our fathers have told us what work thou didst in their days, in the times of old. How thou didst drive out the heathen with thy hand, and plantedst them; how thou didst afflict the people, and cast them out. For they got not the land in possession by their own sword, neither did their own arm save them: but thy right hand, and thine arm, and the light of thy countenance, because thou hadst a favour unto them. No, we have heard with our ears, O God, our fathers have told us what you did in days of old. What is that? That is a recalling of the mighty works of God. And that's exactly what Gideon is doing in Judges chapter 6. He said, if God is with us, where are all those mighty works we've been told about? All that mighty deliverance. All that mighty power. Where is God's miracles? And where is His deliverance? Now, look back in Revelation chapter 2. God says we need to remember from whence we're fallen individually and as a nation. We need to repent. We need to recall. And if we don't, verse five, Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent. What does God say? I just remove you.

You know, I get so tickled at people when they think that nothing catastrophic could ever happen to America. What did God do to Judah and Jerusalem? He removed their candlestick. What did He do to the ten northern tribes? He removed their candlestick. You look at all the peoples of this earth that are now extinct. Why? God removed them. God took them out. He said, you better remember. You better repent. You better recall.

If you don't, I will remove you. Gideon was a man of discernment. He was a man of understanding. He saw things clearly. He called a spade a spade. He was honest. He could face the facts. He never sugarcoated anything. If you're going to be used of God, you must not only have character. You must have understanding. Simple, common sense understanding. Number three, if you're going to be used of God, look back in your Bible to Judges chapter 6. Here's a third thing. I touched upon it very lightly last week, but Judges chapter 6, verse 14. You must be a man who is divinely commissioned 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? Now, isn't it interesting just to show you that Gideon had no rebellious attitude and was not being hateful and ugly in verse 13. Verse 14 says, And Yahweh looked upon him, or literally turned toward him. The phrase illustrates the fact that fellowship basically had been restored between Gideon and God, and therefore between God and His people.

Symbolism of Threshing and the Divine Commission

Threshing symbolizes judgment and separation. Gideon was divinely commissioned and sent by God, just as pastors should be called and sent, not mere employees.

Now there are several symbolisms in this passage that cannot be ignored. Let me point these out before I explain verse 14. First of all, Gideon is threshing wheat by the winepress. Now, I don't know if that means anything to you, but if you study through the Bible, you will find that wine and bread are the food of kings. Read Genesis chapter 40, for instance. And then, if you want to turn to Genesis 14 and verse 18, you will find that Melchizedek, when Abraham returned from the slaughter of those people who had stolen Lot and stolen a lot of other people, when Abraham returned from defeating them, then Melchizedek met Abraham with bread and wine, indicating that Abraham was the true king of Canaan. So when you look at where he was, bread and wine, bread and wine being the food of kings, God came to him and God was going to use him mightily as a king to deliver his people. And by the way, I hope you can see the fulfillment or the antitype to that. Jesus Christ is the greater Melchizedek. And therefore, according to Revelation 1 in verse 6, He hath made us what? Kings and priests unto God our Father. So, Jesus Christ is the one that gives us the true bread and wine, His body, His flesh, His blood. You see? So, bread and wine then are a symbol of the food of kings. Secondly, what was Gideon doing by the winepress? He was threshing. Now, threshing in the Bible is a sign or a symbol of historical judgments. It's a picture of the judgment of God in time and in history. You see, when you thresh, it is a winnowing process.

You are separating the grain from the chaff. The grain is that which is beneficial. The chaff is that which is absolutely worthless. If you'll hold Judges 6, but look in your Bibles to the book of Luke 3, let me show you how John the Baptist tells us that that is exactly what Jesus Christ is going to do to the world. Notice in Luke 3 and verse 17. In fact, we'll read verse 16 and 17. Luke 3, verse 16, John answered, saying unto them all, I indeed baptize you with water; but one mightier than I cometh, the latchet of whose shoes I am not worthy to unloose: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost and with fire: whose fan is in his hand, and he will throughly purge his floor, that is, he shall separate the wheat from the chaff, and will gather the wheat into his garner; but the chaff he will burn with fire unquenchable. So the Bible tells us that Christ is going to thresh the world. Thus, Gideon is going to thresh Israel, starting with his own father's house, which we'll look at next week.

Now, let me ask that you turn in your Bibles to 2 Samuel, because let me show you something that most people have not picked up on. 2 Samuel chapter 24. And let's begin with verse 18. 2 Samuel 24, verse 18.

Now you'll remember when David had numbered Israel. The judgment of God began to fall and people were dying like flies. And I forget exactly how many. I think it was 70,000 men that were killed. And look in verse... Let's look at verse 16, 2 Samuel 24. And when the angel stretched out his hand upon Jerusalem to destroy it, the Lord repented him of the evil, and said to the angel that destroyed the people, It is enough: stay now thine hand. And the angel of the Lord was by the threshingplace of Araunah the Jebusite. Now where was he? By the threshingplace. And David spake unto the Lord when he saw the angel that smote the people, and said, Lo, I have sinned, and I have done wickedly: but these sheep, what have they done? let thine hand, I pray thee, be against me, and against my father's house. And Gad the prophet came that day to David, and said unto him, Go up, rear an altar unto the Lord in the threshingfloor of Araunah the Jebusite.

And David, according to the saying of Gad, went up as the Lord commanded. And Araunah looked, and saw the king and his servants coming on toward him: and Araunah went out, and bowed himself before the king on his face upon the ground. And Araunah said, Wherefore is my lord the king come to his servant? And David said, To buy the threshingfloor of thee, to build an altar unto the Lord, that the plague may be stayed from the people. And Araunah said unto David, Let my lord the king take and offer up what seemeth good unto him: behold, here be oxen for burnt sacrifice, and threshing instruments and other instruments of the oxen for wood. All these things did Araunah, as a king, give unto the king. And Araunah said unto the king, The Lord thy God accept thee. And the king said unto Araunah, Nay; but I will surely buy it of thee at a price: neither will I offer burnt offerings unto the Lord my God of that which doth cost me nothing. So David bought the threshingfloor and the oxen for fifty shekels of silver.

And David built there an altar unto the Lord, and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings. So the Lord was intreated for the land, and the plague was stayed from Israel. Now, can someone tell me the significance of this place? This is where the temple was built on the threshing floor of Araunah. What does that tell you? Does it not tell you this is a process by which the kingdom of God is actually built? God's winnowing, God's separating the chaff from the wheat. Let me show you. One more passage before I get back to Judges 6. Look in your Bibles, 1 Peter 4, verse 17. If you don't understand what I just showed you, 1 Peter 4 should make it exceedingly clear. 1 Peter 4, verse 17. 1 Peter 4, verse 17. Look what the Bible says.

For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God? And if the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear? What did he say? For the time is come that judgment must begin first at the house of God. God always winnows his own. He always separates the wheat from the chaff. And if God does that to his people, the question is, what will be the end of the ungodly?

And of course, it will be utter and total destruction. Now, let's go back in our Bibles to Judges 6, because we're looking at verse 14. 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, I told you that we're on the third point. Prerequisites to be used of God must be a man of character, must be a man of understanding, must be divinely commissioned and sent. And the point that needs to be emphasized is that God called and sent Gideon. You know, the one thing that we're missing today in the ministry as a whole is an awareness and a conviction of the divine call. Listen carefully.

Pastors are not employees of a church. They're not administrators. They're not tools of a deacon board. They're not spiritual burpers who go around burping spiritual babies who should have matured 40 years ago. No. They are to be the servants of God. God calls them and God sent them. Pastors are to be first and foremost the representatives of God. I want to show you this. Look in your Bibles to 2 Corinthians. 2 Corinthians chapter 5 and look at verse 20.

Now, please, if you push me for time. I can show you the context. But to save time, I'll just tell you what the context is. In 2 Corinthians chapter 5, Paul is talking about pastors. He's talking about preachers. And he says in verse 20, Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God. Now let me just take a moment and explain this. All my life I've been taught that everyone is an ambassador for God.

The Promised Presence as Gideon's Might

Gideon's might was the promised presence of God. Without God's presence, all efforts are vain. The problem is not God's power but human sin.

Well, that's true in a very general sense, but then it's really not true as well. The Southern Baptists always had a group of boys called the Royal Ambassadors, the RAs. And in one sense of the word, we are representatives of Christ, generally speaking, because whatever we do or say reflects upon Christ in the ministry. That's certainly true. But when you talk about an ambassador, you're talking about a horse of a different color. To be a real ambassador, you have to be appointed by a government. You have to be sent by a government.

For instance, suppose you and I took a trip to England. And when we were over there, we decided we wanted to go see the Queen. And so we go up to the Queen's palace and there are guards everywhere and we start to knock on the door and someone steps up to us and says, where do you think you're going? Well, we're going to see the Queen. But what makes you think you can see the Queen? Well, we're ambassadors. We represent America. Whatever we do over here reflects upon America, and we want to have an audience with the Queen. You know what the guard's going to say? May I see your papers? What? We don't have any diplomatic papers.

I mean, our government never appointed us. We're just general ambassadors. Yeah. And I'm generally telling you to turn around and get out of here before I arrest you. But now, if you were appointed by the United States government, and sent, and you had your diplomatic papers, and you needed an audience with the Queen, guess what? You could get in. There's a difference between those two things. But I want you to see what the Apostle Paul said. Look in verse 20.

Now then we, he's talking about the pastors. He's talking about the preachers. We then are ambassadors for Christ. That is, we're here in His stead, as though God did beseech you, what? By us! We pray you in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled unto God.

Now, what is the Apostle Paul saying? The true preacher represents Christ. The true preacher is there in Christ's stead. He's been divinely called, and He's been divinely sent. Consequently, pastors are required to represent God and His Word and His interest to His people. They're required to teach His Word, proclaim His demands. They are men that are just as sent as was Moses. You can read Exodus chapter 3, verse 10, verse 12, verse 14. God said, I have sent you. I have sent you. I have sent you. You know, it would be interesting today to discover how many pastors actually view themselves as commissioned and called and sent by God.

I am afraid the answer would be very few in all probability. Do you realize there is a difference between a man that has been sent and a man that has not been sent? Just stop and think about this. A man that has been sent has a master. That's the one who sent him. Therefore, he's answerable and accountable to that master. The man that has been sent not only has a master, he has a mission. That's why he was sent.

There's something that he must do. There's something that he must accomplish. Thirdly, a man that has been sent has a method. He's got a method for accomplishing that mission in order that he might please his master. And then, of course, he has a mind that is concentrated solely upon that master and upon that mission and upon that method in order to please and honor that master. Now, the man who's not been sent has none of these things. He just simply flounders around in the sea of administration, endeavoring to please all of those whom he thinks might have authority over him or whom he thinks might could help his professional career.

Now, let me ask you a question. Do you perceive a difference when you read your Bible between, say, John the Baptist and a modern day preacher? Do you perceive the distance between the Apostle Paul and the average pastor? Do you perceive a difference between Samuel, Peter, Elijah, Elisha, Apollos, and multitudes of others that were sent and called of God and modern day preachers? Do you even perceive a difference between Luther and Calvin and Whitefield and what we have today? And the answer is, Oh yes. Have we lost anything in this century? And the answer is most definitely. What we have lost is the concept that a true preacher is divinely called and divinely sent and divinely ordained by God. You have many preachers today who have never been called by God, never been sent by God, never been ordained by God.

Now, look back in your Bibles to Judges 6 and verse 14. Look what is said. Judges 6 verse 14, 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 my question is this. What is Gideon's might? I mean, look at the context. Look at verse 13. And Gideon said unto him, O my Lord, if the Lord be with us, why then has all this befallen us? Where be all these miracles which our fathers told us of? Saying, did not the Lord bring us up from Egypt? And now the Lord has forsaken us and delivered us into the hands of the Midianites. I mean, he's just described reality. And the Lord looked upon him and said, go in this thy might. Now, what is his might? Well, Gideon's might is nothing less than the promised presence of God. If you'll look back in verse 12, when the angel of the Lord appears unto him, he said, what? The Lord is with thee, thou mighty man of valor. When the angel appeared, he gives him this promise of the presence of God.

Do you know that Moses understood this concept? Look in your Bibles to the book of Exodus chapter 33 very quickly. Exodus 33, and let's begin reading there with verse 12. Exodus 33 and verse 12. Notice, if you would, Exodus 33, verse 12. And Moses said unto the Lord, See, thou sayest unto me, Bring up this people: and thou hast not let me know whom thou wilt send with me. Yet thou hast said, I know thee by name, and thou hast also found grace in my sight. Now therefore, I pray thee, if I have found grace in thy sight, show me now thy way, that I may know thee, that I may find grace in thy sight: and consider that this nation is thy people. And he said, My presence shall go with thee, and I will give thee rest. God said, Moses, my presence will go with you. Now look what he said in verse 15, and he said, If thy presence go not with me, carry us not up hence. He said, God, if you're not going with me, I don't want to go.

I want your presence. Have you ever stopped to think how futile it is to try to accomplish the work of God without the God of the work? I've often said my wife and I were raised basically in liberal churches. When we got married, we went to a liberal church. And you would have to sit there for 30 minutes. They very seldom spoke over 30 minutes, but you'd have to sit there for 30 minutes. And I often wondered how a man had to study to say something for 30 minutes to avoid using any scripture and avoid offending anybody and upsetting anybody. That's got to be a lot of work. I mean, really. I mean, Alice can tell you, I study every day. I study all week long. But I got news for you. I sure would hate to have to study like that.

But you see, the truth is this, folks. If God's not with us, it doesn't matter what we do. It doesn't matter what we say. You know what the Bible says in Zechariah 4 and verse 6? Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the Lord. If God's not with us, folks, it's useless. It's worthless. In 1819, George Atkins wrote the hymn Brethren, We Have Met to Worship.

Let me read to you the first stanza. Brethren, we have met to worship and adore the Lord our God. Will you pray with all your power while we try to preach the Word? All is vain unless the Spirit of the Holy One comes down. Brethren, pray in holy manner. We'll be showered all around. What's he saying? It's useless without God. It's useless without God.

Now let me tell you something, folks. God is still the God of miracles. God is still the God of deliverance. God is still the God of salvation. Are you listening? The problems in our lives, the problems in our families, the problems in our churches, the problems in our state, and the problems in our nation do not come from the fact that God has lost His power, His position, or His sovereignty. The problem is not with God. The problem is with us.

God Uses the Weak to Glorify Himself

God chooses the foolish, weak, and despised to accomplish His purposes so that no flesh may glory. He used Gideon with 300 men to show the victory was His.

Look in your Bibles to Isaiah 59. Look what he says, Isaiah 59, beginning there with verse one. And by the way, I hope as you look at this verse, or this passage, I should say, because I'm going to read several verses, I hope you can put our country in perspective as we read it. Your own problems, your own family. Watch Isaiah 59, beginning with verse one. Behold, the Lord's hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; The problem's not with God. Neither his ear heavy, that it cannot hear: He's not deaf. Well, what's the problem? But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear. Why? For your hands are defiled with blood, and your fingers with iniquity; your lips have spoken lies, your tongue hath muttered perverseness. None calleth for justice, nor any pleadeth for truth: they trust in vanity, and speak lies; they conceive mischief, and bring forth iniquity.

They hatch cockatrice' eggs, and weave the spider's web: he that eateth of their eggs dieth, and that which is crushed breaketh out into a viper. Their webs shall not become garments, neither shall they cover themselves with their works: their works are works of iniquity, and the act of violence is in their hands. Their feet run to evil, and they make haste to shed innocent blood: their thoughts are thoughts of iniquity; wasting and destruction are in their paths. The way of peace they know not; and there is no judgment in their goings: they have made them crooked paths: whosoever goeth therein shall not know peace.

Now what did he say? My hand's not shortened that it can't save. My ear's not heavy that it cannot hear. The problem is not with my miracle, says God. It's not with my power. It's not with my deliverance. It's with your sins. It's with your sins. When you repent, when you turn, when you seek, when you cry, you'll understand my mercy. Now, I want you to understand something, folks. When God does indeed appear in mercy and grace and blessing, His power and His blessing are sufficient. What did He say to Gideon? Go in this thy might, and thou shalt save Israel from the Midianites. Go in this promised presence of God. And you shall save Israel.

Now, go back in your Bibles to Judges chapter 6. I want to point this out. I've said it innumerable times. But I hope this will be an encouragement to you. I want you to see it from the Bible. Look in Judges chapter 6. Notice verse 14. 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? Skip down to verse 16. And the Lord said unto him, Surely I will be with thee. There's that promised presence. And thou shalt smite the Midianites as one man. God is able to defeat his enemies and deliver his people with one man. We need to comprehend the simple fact that it does not take a multitude to accomplish the will and the purpose of God. It takes one man who is sent by God, commissioned by God, and called by God. God took Gideon. Are you listening?

And 300 men and defeated the entire Midianite army. Everywhere I go in this country, I hear people say, oh, Brother Weaver, if we could just get everybody together. If the Christians would just pull together. I got news for you folks. You're never, ever going to have a multitude. And you're never, ever going to get Christians together. We're worse than spoiled young'uns. But it doesn't take a multitude, and it doesn't take even all the Christians. It just takes one or two, or a small number, committed, called, and sent by God, who will not err from their course, and will do what God tells them to do. Gideon took 300 and destroyed the Midianite army. Our Lord took 12 men and turned the world upside down. But God always begins with one. You heard that old saying, God and one man make a majority. That's really not true. God's a majority Himself. But when He takes that one, He can accomplish whatever He wants to accomplish. The question is, are you willing to be that one? To be a man of character, of understanding, and say, Here, my Lord, send me.

I'm willing. I'll play by your rules. I'll do what you say. For you are the one true and living God.

Now, I read this last week, and I'm going to close with it this week. Look in your Bibles to 1 Corinthians chapter 1. Because inevitably, whenever I teach something like this, someone will say, but Brother Weaver, I don't have a college education. I don't know the Bible. I'm not a scholar. I'm not this. I'm not that. Well, look at 1 Corinthians 1, beginning there with verse 26. What does he say?

For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called: but God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty; and base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are: Why has God chosen that which is despised and useless and powerless? Here's why. That no flesh should glory in his presence. Skip down to verse 31. That, according as it is written, He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord. God is pleased to use plain, simple, powerless individuals so that our flesh will not steal his glory. What did he tell Gideon when Gideon had this vast army? You're too many. You will think that you did it. Get rid of them. And he cut him down to 300 so that everyone would know the victory was God's. And when God uses us folks, we're bound to know the victory has to be God's, because we're nothing in and of ourselves. To Him goes the honor and the glory. Let's pray.

Study Guide

Major Themes

Character as a Prerequisite for Service

Summary: God uses men of character, developed over a lifetime through habits and attitudes aligned with Scripture.

Evidence: Weaver states, 'God may use us on credit the first years of our life. After that, he will use us on character.'

Understanding and Facing Reality

Summary: A man used by God must see things clearly, without sugarcoating, and honestly assess the spiritual condition of himself and his people.

Evidence: Gideon asked, 'If the Lord be with us, why then is all this befallen us?' showing he faced reality.

Divine Calling and Commission

Summary: True servants of God are divinely called and sent, not self-appointed or hired by men. They represent God and His interests.

Evidence: Weaver says, 'Pastors are not employees of a church... They are to be the servants of God. God calls them and God sent them.'

The Necessity of God's Presence

Summary: Without God's presence, all human effort is futile. Success comes only through reliance on God's Spirit and power.

Evidence: Weaver quotes Zechariah 4:6 and the hymn 'Brethren, We Have Met to Worship' to emphasize dependence on God.

Repentance and Remembrance

Summary: Individuals and nations must remember their spiritual heritage, repent of sin, and recall God's mighty works to avoid judgment.

Evidence: Weaver references Revelation 2:5 and Psalm 44 to call for remembrance and repentance.

God Uses the Weak to Display His Glory

Summary: God chooses the foolish, weak, and despised to accomplish His purposes so that no human may boast in His presence.

Evidence: Weaver cites 1 Corinthians 1:26-31 and Gideon's reduction to 300 men.

Key Arguments

God uses men, not institutions

Summary: God works through individuals of character, not committees or corporations.

Evidence: Weaver says, 'God uses men. He does not use committees. He does not use corporations.'

Character is built over time

Summary: Character cannot be developed instantly; it is the habit and disposition of a lifetime.

Evidence: Weaver states, 'Character cannot be developed on the spur of a moment. It is the habit, it is the attitude, it is the disposition of a lifetime.'

Honest assessment is necessary for repentance

Summary: Unless we are honest about our sin and condition, we will never repent individually or nationally.

Evidence: Weaver says, 'Unless we are honest with ourselves, and unless we're honest about the state of our nation, we will never repent individually or nationally.'

The angel of the Lord is Christ

Summary: The angel of the Lord in Judges 6 is a pre-incarnate appearance of Christ, evidenced by receiving worship and being called Yahweh.

Evidence: Weaver explains, 'This is what is known in the Bible as a Christophany... a pre-incarnate appearing of Christ.'

Pastors must be divinely sent

Summary: A true preacher is called and sent by God, not merely hired by a church, and is accountable to God.

Evidence: Weaver says, 'Pastors are not employees of a church... They are to be the servants of God. God calls them and God sent them.'

God's presence is the source of strength

Summary: Gideon's might was the promised presence of God, not his own ability.

Evidence: Weaver states, 'Gideon's might is nothing less than the promised presence of God.'

Sin separates from God's power

Summary: The problem is not God's inability but human sin that separates us from His deliverance.

Evidence: Weaver reads Isaiah 59:1-2: 'Your iniquities have separated between you and your God.'

God accomplishes much through few

Summary: God does not need a multitude; He can deliver through one committed person or a small number.

Evidence: Weaver says, 'It does not take a multitude to accomplish the will and the purpose of God. It takes one man who is sent by God.'

Scripture References

Judges 6:11-24

Context: The primary text: the angel of the Lord appears to Gideon, commissions him, and receives worship.

2 Chronicles 16:9

Context: God looks for individuals whose hearts are perfect toward Him.

Hebrews 11

Context: God uses men named one after another.

John 1:14

Context: The Word was made flesh, referring to the incarnation.

1 Timothy 3:16

Context: God was manifest in the flesh.

Philippians 2:6-7

Context: Christ took upon Himself the form of a man.

Hebrews 3:1

Context: Jesus is called the Apostle (sent one) and High Priest.

Revelation 19:10

Context: John is forbidden to worship an angel; only God receives worship.

Revelation 22:8-9

Context: Again, John is told not to worship an angel but God alone.

Judges 6:1-6

Context: Israel did evil, and God delivered them to Midianites for seven years.

Revelation 2:5

Context: The church at Ephesus is told to remember, repent, and do the first works or have their candlestick removed.

Psalm 44:1-3

Context: Recalling the mighty works God did in the past.

Genesis 14:18

Context: Melchizedek met Abraham with bread and wine, symbolizing kingship.

Revelation 1:6

Context: Christ has made us kings and priests unto God.

Luke 3:16-17

Context: Christ will baptize with the Holy Ghost and fire, separating wheat from chaff.

2 Samuel 24:16-25

Context: David buys the threshingfloor of Araunah, where the temple was later built, symbolizing judgment and mercy.

1 Peter 4:17

Context: Judgment must begin at the house of God.

2 Corinthians 5:20

Context: Pastors are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech by them.

Exodus 33:12-15

Context: Moses insisted on God's presence going with them.

Isaiah 59:1-8

Context: God's hand is not shortened, but sins have separated the people from Him.

Historical References

Norman Vincent Peale and the power of positive thinking

Context: Weaver contrasts Gideon's realism with Peale's philosophy, noting Peale denied Christ's deity.

Reformation Day (October 31, 1517)

Context: Martin Luther nailed his 95 theses, but the world celebrates Halloween instead.

George Atkins' hymn 'Brethren, We Have Met to Worship' (1819)

Context: Quoted to emphasize the necessity of the Holy Spirit's presence.

Luther, Calvin, Whitefield

Context: Mentioned as examples of preachers who were divinely called and sent, contrasting with modern preachers.

Important Quotes

God uses men. He does not use committees. He does not use corporations. He uses men.

Significance: Core thesis that God works through individuals, not institutions.

Character cannot be developed on the spur of a moment. It is the habit, it is the attitude, it is the disposition of a lifetime.

Significance: Emphasizes that character is built over time, not instantly.

If the Lord be with us, why then is all this befallen us?

Significance: Gideon's honest question showing his understanding of reality.

Pastors are not employees of a church. They're not administrators. They're not tools of a deacon board. They're not spiritual burpers who go around burping spiritual babies who should have matured 40 years ago.

Significance: Strong statement on the divine calling and authority of pastors.

Gideon's might is nothing less than the promised presence of God.

Significance: Defines the source of Gideon's strength for his mission.

It does not take a multitude to accomplish the will and the purpose of God. It takes one man who is sent by God, commissioned by God, and called by God.

Significance: Highlights that God can work through a single committed individual.

God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty;

Significance: Quotation of 1 Corinthians 1:27 to show God's pattern of using the weak.

All is vain unless the Spirit of the Holy One comes down.

Significance: From the hymn, emphasizing dependence on the Holy Spirit.

Discussion Questions

What does it mean to be a man or woman of character, and how can we develop such character in our daily lives?

Context: Weaver emphasized that character is built over a lifetime through habits and attitudes.

In what areas of our personal lives, families, or nation are we tempted to sugarcoat reality instead of facing it honestly?

Context: Gideon honestly assessed Israel's condition; we are called to do the same.

How can we discern whether someone is truly called and sent by God versus self-appointed or hired by men?

Context: Weaver discussed the importance of divine commission for pastors and leaders.

What does it look like to rely on God's presence rather than our own strength in our daily tasks and ministries?

Context: Gideon's might was the promised presence of God.

Why does God often choose the weak and foolish to accomplish His purposes, and how should that affect our view of ourselves?

Context: Weaver cited 1 Corinthians 1 to show God's pattern of using the weak.

What are some practical steps we can take to remember, repent, and recall God's works as individuals and as a church?

Context: Weaver applied Revelation 2:5 and Psalm 44 to the need for remembrance and repentance.

How does the concept of threshing as judgment apply to the church today, and what does it mean for judgment to begin at the house of God?

Context: Weaver connected threshing to God's winnowing process in 1 Peter 4:17.

In what ways might we be hindering God's work by trying to accomplish it without His presence and power?

Context: Weaver stressed that all is vain without the Spirit.

Applications

Develop godly character daily

Summary: Cultivate habits of hard work, honesty, wisdom, perseverance, and faith through consistent application of Scripture.

Evidence: Weaver said, 'You and I should be constantly and continually developing a biblical character as we read and study and apply the Word of God to our lives.'

Face reality honestly

Summary: Avoid sugarcoating problems; honestly assess personal, familial, and national sins to enable repentance.

Evidence: Gideon's question, 'If the Lord be with us, why then is all this befallen us?' models honest assessment.

Seek God's calling and presence

Summary: Ensure that your service is rooted in a divine call and rely on God's presence rather than human ability.

Evidence: Weaver emphasized, 'If God's not with us, it doesn't matter what we do.'

Repent and remember God's works

Summary: Regularly recall God's past deliverances and repent of sins to avoid judgment and experience revival.

Evidence: Weaver urged, 'Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent.'

Embrace weakness for God's glory

Summary: Accept your limitations and inadequacies, knowing God uses the weak to display His power and prevent human boasting.

Evidence: Weaver cited 1 Corinthians 1:27-29 and Gideon's reduction to 300 men.

Be willing to be the one God uses

Summary: Offer yourself to God as an individual, committed to His rules and purposes, even if you feel insignificant.

Evidence: Weaver challenged, 'Are you willing to be that one? To be a man of character, of understanding, and say, Here, my Lord, send me.'

deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | clean_readable_transcript | 2026-06-06T03:59:13Z

deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | weaver_study | 2026-06-06T16:33:30Z

Clean Transcript

Prerequisites to be Used by God - 2

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

Judges chapter 6, and we're going to begin reading with verse 11. And let me just remind everyone once again that I will be gone on Sunday, December the 7th. And that's the only Sunday the rest of the entire year that I'll be away. So notice Judges chapter 6, beginning there with 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.
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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? And 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, wherewithal shall I save Israel?
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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. And he said unto him, If now I have found grace in thy sight, then show me a sign that thou talkest with me. Depart not hence, I pray thee, until I come unto thee, and bring forth my present, and set it before thee. And he said, I will tarry until thou come again.
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And Gideon went in, and made ready a kid, and unleavened cakes of an ephah of flour: the flesh he put in a basket, and he put the broth in a pot, and brought it out unto him under the oak, and presented it. And the angel of God said unto him, Take the flesh and the unleavened cakes, and lay them upon this rock, and pour out the broth. And he did so. Then the angel of the Lord put forth the end of the staff that was in his hand, and touched the flesh and the unleavened cakes, and there rose up fire out of the rock, and consumed the flesh and the unleavened cakes. Then the angel of the Lord departed out of his sight. And when Gideon perceived that he was an angel of the Lord, Gideon said, Alas, O Lord God! for because I have seen an angel of the Lord face to face.
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And the Lord said unto him, Peace be unto thee; fear not: thou shalt not die. Then Gideon built an altar there unto the Lord, and called it Jehovah-shalom: unto this day it is yet in Ophrah of the Abiezrites. And 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: and build an altar unto the Lord thy God upon the top of this rock, in the ordered place, and take the second bullock, and offer a burnt sacrifice with the wood of the grove which thou shalt cut down.
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Now last week I began a brief series which I entitled Prerequisites to Be Used of God. I pointed out the fact how we need men in this nation and how we need individuals who are usable by God and for God's honor and God's glory. The one point that I was really emphasizing is that God uses men. He does not use committees. He does not use corporations. He uses men.
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I noticed as I came to church today, of course I've noticed it every week as I came by, that there is a church building down the road that has a sign, and it is something like this on the sign. I forget exactly. The Church of God by Faith Incorporated. And I thought, well, how can it be the Church of God if it's a state corporation, and how can it be by faith if it's incorporated? But that's the sign they have out. But God does not use committees. God does not use corporations. He uses men. And all you have to do is read Hebrews chapter 11, and you'll find that there were men named one after the other that God has been pleased to use. And God searches for men, the Bible teaches us, whose hearts are right toward Him, that He might use them for His honor and His glory.
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And He found such a man in Gideon. Now, the first prerequisite that we saw last week, and I spent the entire sermon last week on the first point, that Gideon was a man of character. The Bible tells us in 2 Chronicles 16, verse 9, that God looks for individuals whose hearts are perfect toward Him. Now, there were several things I pointed out that demonstrated Gideon's character, the very first thing was he was a hard worker. The Bible tells us that the angel of the Lord found him as he was threshing wheat by the winepress.
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And the word thresh literally means to beat out with a stick. And I've pointed out from the book of Ruth, chapter 2, this is how poor people thresh their wheat. So evidently, not only according to Gideon's own words, but according to his actions as well, he was indeed a poor man, but he was a hard working man. Secondly, I pointed out that he was an honest man.
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He was thankfully trying to provide for himself and for his family. The third thing I pointed out that illustrated his character was he was wise and innovative. He was hiding his wheat by the winepress. Normally, you thresh your wheat on the mountaintop, you throw it up in the air, and after you've done everything, the wind then separates the chaff from the wheat, it blows the chaff away. But, of course, Gideon could not do that because of the Midianites. The Midianites would invade the land and rob, steal, and confiscate everything that they possibly could. And so, therefore, he was hiding his wheat down by the winepress. So he was wise and innovative. He was trying to preserve and protect that which God had given him and not allow it to be stolen from him. And then I pointed out another thing that demonstrated his character.
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that he was not easily discouraged. Because he had been doing this for seven years. Seven years the Midianites had oppressed. And for seven years, he faithfully discharged his duty. And then lastly, I pointed out that he was a man of faith because he did indeed trust in the Lord. And the Bible says that many followed the gods of the Amorites in verse 10, but Gideon evidently was not one of them. So the very first prerequisite that God looks for in a man is that he must be a man of character. I pointed out that God may use us on credit the first years of our life. After that, he will use us on character. And if we don't have any character, we might as well forget it. God is not going to use us.
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Now, I know there are exceptions, such as Balaam and Balaam's ass, but I do not want the fate of Balaam nor of Balaam's ass. So to be honest, God uses men of character. And the important thing that I want you to grasp from last week is this. Character cannot be developed on the spur of a moment. It is the habit, it is the attitude, it is the disposition of a lifetime. And you and I should be constantly and continually developing a biblical character as we read and study and apply the Word of God to our lives.
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Now, if you look today in Judges chapter 6, verses 12 through 13, I want to show you the second characteristic of Gideon. That is, he was a man of understanding. I could have used the word discernment. He was a man of discernment. Either one would be sufficient. But notice 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. And Gideon said unto him, O my Lord, if the Lord be with us, why then is all this befallen us? and 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. Now when I say that Gideon was a man of understanding, or that he was a man of discernment, what I mean is simply this, that he was a man who saw things clearly and distinctly. He saw things as they really were.
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He was not a dreamer, He was not a visionary. He was not someone who absolutely could not grasp reality. He was a man who could correctly ascertain the situation of his time.
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Now the Bible says in verse 11, that 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. Now when that angel came, in verse 12, he spoke to Gideon, and the angel said to him, the Lord is with thee, thou mighty man of valor.
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Now, I'm going to take a little time and explain who this angel really was. Now, when the angel said, the Lord is with thee, thou mighty man of valor, Gideon did not at first perceive who the angel really was. And so if you look in verse 13, And Gideon said unto him, O my Lord.
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Now the word Lord there, and I'll explain the difference in just a moment, is the word Adonai, which is the term of reverence and respect. It is an ordinary form of respectful salutation. So what Gideon was doing was very politely and civilly addressing the stranger. He acknowledged him, and then he proceeded to express himself very clearly and very distinctly. Now, the angel, in verse 11, is none other than the angel of the Lord, who is, in this instance, none other than Christ Himself.
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In time past, I have explained this to you, but let me do so again. This is what is known in the Bible as a Christophany. You will find a Christophany several times in the Old Testament. A Christophany is a pre-incarnate appearing of Christ in the Old Testament before Christ was ever made flesh in the New Testament. Now when I say pre-incarnate, the incarnation speaks about God becoming flesh.
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Do you remember John 1 in verse 14? The Bible said, And the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. So Jesus Christ was made flesh. In 1 Timothy 3, verse 16, the Bible says, And without all controversy, great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh. And so when Jesus Christ took upon Himself the form of man, according to Philippians 2, verses 6 and 7, when He took upon Himself the form of a man, that is referred to as the incarnation. So when I say a Christophany is a pre-incarnation, or a pre-incarnate appearing of Christ, it means that Christ is appearing in the flesh or in human form in the Old Testament, before he ever became flesh in the New Testament.
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Now, I want you to note, look carefully at verse 11. And there came an angel of the Lord. Now, look if you would please at verse 13. And Gideon said to him, O my Lord. Now, do you see any difference between the word Lord in verse 11 and the word Lord in verse 13? Do you see that? What is it? Alright, it's lowercase except for the L in verse 13, and it's all caps in verse 11. And by the way, do you know how we got the phrase uppercase and lowercase? Alice and I visited an antique print shop years ago, and the man explained how we got the phrase uppercase and lowercase. Uppercase refers to caps and of course lowercase refers to the non-capitalized letters. He said the reason it came to be that because in the print shop all the capital letters were kept in the upper end of the case and all the small letters the lower end of the case. So it really had nothing to do except where they were in a box.
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So that's how we got that understanding uppercase and lowercase. But the word LORD is all caps in verse 11, and it's small in verse 13.
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Now, let me explain something to you. If you look in verse 14. Now, go back to verse 11 just for a moment. And there came an angel of the LORD. Note, here is the expression, the angel of the LORD. Now look in verse 14. And the LORD looked upon him and said, Now, do you see a distinction between verse 11 and verse 14? Who is doing the speaking in verse 14? The Lord Himself. God Himself. But yet, it says very plainly in verse 11, it was an angel of the Lord. Verse 12, an angel of the Lord. Well, how in the world can Christ be called the angel of the Lord? The Bible tells us in verse 14 that God spoke to him himself and the Lord looked upon him. Well, let me explain it to you like this.
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Anytime in your King James Bibles that you see capital L, capital O, capital R, capital D, that is to demonstrate to you that that is a translation of the sacred name of God, which is Yahweh, or Jehovah, or Yah as some pronounce it. So anytime you see all caps, it is the sacred personal name of God Himself. It is Yahweh. Anytime you see capital L, then small o-r-d, it is Adonai, or just simply Lord, Boss, Owner, Master, Sovereign. But here you have the specific name of God. So in verse 12, it is the angel of the Lord who does the speaking, but in verse 14, it is God Himself. Now, how in the world can Jesus Christ be referred to then as an angel of the Lord? Well, it's very simple. You see, the word angel in the Greek is the word angelos, and all it means is messenger. What is an angel? He is a messenger.
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He is a sent one. Do you know the phrase that our Lord used of Himself over and over in the New Testament? He was a sent one. He said, the Father hath sent Me. He is the sent one.
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Now, if you'll hold Judges chapter 6, but look in your Bibles to the book of Hebrews chapter 3, and look at verse 1. Let me show you another phrase that will explain that he is a sent one. Notice Hebrews chapter 3, verse 1. Look what the Bible says. Wherefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our profession, Christ Jesus. Isn't that interesting? Here Jesus Christ is called an apostle. Consider the Apostle and High Priest of our confession. Do you know what the word apostle means? The Greek word is apostolos. And it literally means a sent one. So literally, it says consider the sent one and the high priest of our profession, Christ Jesus. So not only then is the angel directly referred to in Judges 6 and verse 14 as Jehovah Himself or Yahweh Himself.
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I want you to note what happened in verses 22. Verse 22, And when Gideon perceived that he was an angel of the Lord, Gideon said, Alas, O Lord God! for because I have seen an angel of the Lord face to face. And the Lord said unto him, Peace be unto thee; fear not, for thou shalt not die. Now watch. Then Gideon built an altar there unto whom? Yahweh. And called it Jehovah or Yahweh Shalom.
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Unto this day it is yet in Ophrah of the Abiezrites. Now, the point I'm trying to make is this. Here you find the angel of the Lord received worship at the hand of Gideon. Nowhere in the Bible does a mere angel ever receive worship. Only God receives worship. Certainly not a good angel. Not a holy angel. In fact, hold Judges chapter 6, but look in your Bibles to the book of Revelation chapter 19. Revelation chapter 19, and then we'll go to chapter 22. Revelation chapter 19.
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And notice, if you would please, verse 10. In fact, let's begin reading with verse 8. And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints. And he saith unto me, Write, Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he saith unto me, These are the true sayings of God.
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Now look what John did. And I fell at his feet to worship him. And he said to me, See thou do it not: I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren that have the testimony of Jesus: worship God: for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy. Look in Revelation 22 and verse 9. Revelation 22 verse 9. Verse 8, John said, And I John saw these things, and heard them. And when I had heard and seen, I fell down to worship before the feet of the angel which showed me these things. Then saith he unto me, See thou do it not: for I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren the prophets, and of them which keep the sayings of this book: worship God. So nowhere in the Bible does a mere angel of God receive worship. And yet you find in Judges chapter 6, this angel received worship and therefore he was indeed God himself. Now, when the angel addressed Gideon in verse 11, he said, the Lord is with thee, that is, Yahweh or Jehovah is with thee, thou mighty man of valor.
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So the angel there is speaking to Gideon, but at this point, Gideon does not yet perceive who is speaking to him. Now, look if you would, back in your Bibles, to verse 13. Because I want to emphasize that Gideon was a man of understanding. He was a man of discernment. And Gideon instantly picked up upon what was meant by the angel in verse 12. When the angel said, the Lord is with thee, thou mighty man of valor, he understood that to be a promise. And then Gideon turned around and made an application of that promise, not only to the present situation that he was in, but also to the condition of Israel. Now, I'm going to explain what I meant when I say the man that God uses must not only be a man of character, but a man of understanding and discernment. He is a man who can face reality.
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He is not someone that always has to sugarcoat things. And look what he said in verse 13, And Gideon said unto him, well, the Lord said, The Lord is with thee, thou mighty man of valor. Gideon said unto him, O my Lord, if the Lord, if Yahweh, if Jehovah be with us, why then has 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 hath forsaken us, and delivered us into the hands of the Midianites. Now, Gideon's understanding of the present state of his people led him to ask a series of simple questions.
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The first one being this. If God is with us, why are we in this mess? That's a pretty important question, isn't it? If God is with us, why are we in this mess? By the way, I want you to notice how Gideon applies the promise of God to all of God's people. Look, if you would please, at verse 12. And the angel of the Lord said unto him, The Lord is with thee.
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singular, thou mighty man of valor. Verse 13, And Gideon said unto him, O my lord, if the Lord be with us, plural, why then is all this befallen us? In other words, Gideon took the promise of God that was made to him and then applied it to all of God's people.
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Now, I want you to understand before I explain this. Gideon's reply to the angel or to Christ, is who it was in reality, is not one of rebellion. His answer just demonstrates that he sees and comprehends and understands reality. His question reveals the fact that he perceived the state of things as they actually existed. Can you not hear Gideon? Just try to imagine this for a moment.
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Here Gideon is working, sweating, probably tired, give out, looking over his shoulder, wondering when the Midianites were going to come, bounding around the corner, and all of a sudden here's this stranger that appears to him and says, the Lord is with thee, thou mighty man of valor. Can you imagine Gideon as he takes his hand and maybe wipes the sweat from his brow and he says, I've got a question. If Yahweh is with me, why am I beating out my wheat here by the winepress?
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I mean, why am I not up on the mountaintop doing it where it's real easy? If Yahweh is with us, why do the Midianites come year after year and devour our substance and destroy our land and impoverish us? If Yahweh is with us, why has all this befallen us? If Yahweh is with us, where are all His miracles and His mighty acts? If Yahweh is with us, where are all his deliverances that we've heard from our fathers? Oh, he said, oh, no, it's not that Yahweh is with us. It's Yahweh who has forsaken us and given us over into the hands of the Midianites. Yahweh is not for us. Yahweh is against us.
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Now, the point I want to make is this. When Gideon was saying that, it was not an attitude of rebellion. Gideon was not sugarcoating things. Gideon was no philosopher and follower of the power of positive thinking. You know, let's just put everything in a positive light. You know, Norman Vincent Peale was the one who wrote the book on the power of positive thinking. Of course, he denied the deity of Christ. I like what one man said. He said, I find Norman Vincent Peale appalling and the Apostle Paul appealing.
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It was a good play on words. But there was no positive thinking here. There was no trying to look on the bright side. There was no trying to overlook the facts and reality. He saw and understood things as they clearly were. You know, I have known preachers that there were extreme problems within the church. And every time you ask them, well, how's the church doing? Oh, great. Wonderful. Couldn't be better. In fact, I know personally one preacher who kept saying that and kept saying that until finally the church just disintegrated, the property was sold. Never could face reality. You know, some people think if you overlook problems, they just go away. If you sugarcoat things, they just go away. They don't. Gideon was a man who could face reality. You know, we could take this and apply it to our country. This country is referred to as a Christian nation. Now, I admit, I believe this country was founded on Christian principles. And I admit that many of our founding fathers were godly Christian men.
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And I know that we were set up to be a Christian nation. But you have to ask, if God be with us, why then is abortion on every hand? If God be with us, why are the sodomites running wild? If God be with us, why do we have such corruption and fraud in our government? You follow what I'm saying? Am I trying to sugar coat things when I say, well now folks, we're the best nation on the face of the earth. Let me tell you something, folks. We still may be the best nation on the face of the earth, but that does not mean that we are sinless, and that does not mean that we are guiltless.
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We've got enough sins of our own, and what we need to do is be honest with ourselves and honest with our state. God is not going to use a man who cannot see things in reality, who cannot face reality, and cannot be truthful about what the facts really are. How in the world can God use someone who will lie about the facts? Or who will ignore the facts? And Gideon was not ignoring the facts. He was not lying about the facts.
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He says, we're in trouble. We're in deep trouble. What were the facts? Well, the facts was this. Number one, the nation was under the judgment of God. Number two, they were delivered into the hands of the Midianites because of their sins. Look in your Bibles to Judges chapter 6. Notice verse 1. Here it is. Gideon was right on when he said what he said. And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord. And the Lord delivered them into the hands of the Midianites seven years. And the hand of Midian prevailed against Israel. And because of the Midianites, the children of Israel made them the dens which are in the mountains, and caves, and strongholds. And so it was, when Israel had sown, that the Midianites came up, and the Amalekites, and the children of the east, even they came up against them. Note, the children of Israel had sinned against God. Who was it that delivered them? God. So thirdly, God's hand was against them.
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Therefore, up to that time, there had been no miracles. There had been no deliverance, and what was Gideon doing? He was acknowledging the reality of the situation. And when he acknowledged it, by the way, he was also confessing the righteous judgment of God upon that nation because of their sins and their rebellion. You see, folks, unless we are honest with ourselves, and unless we're honest about the state of our nation, we will never repent individually or nationally.
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It's just like people who are drunkards. Most of them don't ever think they have a drinking problem. Why stop anytime I want to stop? They never consider the fact that they just never want to stop. But you see what I'm saying? How in the world can you deal with any sin unless you're willing to face it and to be honest with it?
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Now, I want you to hold Judges chapter 6, but look in your Bible to Revelation chapter 2. Now, the reason I'm telling you this is because these truths are necessary in order to properly ascertain where we are as an individual and as a people and as a nation. Look in the book of Revelation chapter 2 at what God tells the church. Revelation 2 verse 5. This is to the church of the Ephesians. He tells them in verse 5, Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent. Now, the very first thing he tells us is to remember. Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen. You know something, folks? It would pay us to remember our first love. That's exactly what it's talking about in this chapter. That when God first saved us, how zealous we were for Him.
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How thankful we were to Him. How obedient we were. We could not do enough to honor and to please God. But as years go by, we begin to take everything that God does for granted, and our love and our zeal cools off. And so he says, you better remember from whence you're fallen. You better remember what your first state really was. But now the same thing is true as a nation. We need to remember what our founding fathers gave us. We need to remember that until 1913, there was no public debt except for short periods when there was war. We need to remember there was prayer in every school, in every home. Bible reading. The Bible was the main book that was being taught. We need to remember that our congressmen served at their own expense.
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You see what I'm saying? But now, what we've done, we've fallen from all of that. So he says the very first thing you need to do is remember. The second thing he says you need to do is repent.
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Now, if you look in Judges 6 and verse 13, there's another thing. Hold Revelation. I'm coming right back there in just a moment. But look in Judges 6 and verse 13. And Gideon said unto him, O my Lord, if the Lord be with us, why then is all this befallen us? And 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. Now, he said, And where be all his miracles which our fathers told us of, saying, Did not the Lord bring us up from Egypt?
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We don't remember from whence we have fallen. We don't only need to repent, we need to recall the mighty works of God. Look in your Bibles, hold Revelation please, but look in your Bibles to Psalm 44. I usually preach from this text, especially this time of year. The world has just gone through what most folks refer to as Halloween. Actually, it was Reformation Day, October 31st, 1517, when Martin Luther nailed his 95 theses on the castle church door in Wittenberg, Germany. And All Saints Day, of course, is a pagan holiday, and all of that is wicked and wrong. But, you know, nobody ever hears of Reformation Day or Reformation Sunday. And usually I preach on Martin Luther this time of year. I did not this year. The fact is, when you think about the Reformation, you begin to recall some of the mighty works of God. But watch Psalm 44.
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We have heard with our ears, O God, our fathers have told us what work thou didst in their days, in the times of old. How thou didst drive out the heathen with thy hand, and plantedst them; how thou didst afflict the people, and cast them out. For they got not the land in possession by their own sword, neither did their own arm save them: but thy right hand, and thine arm, and the light of thy countenance, because thou hadst a favour unto them. No, we have heard with our ears, O God, our fathers have told us what you did in days of old. What is that? That is a recalling of the mighty works of God.
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And that's exactly what Gideon is doing in Judges chapter 6. He said, if God is with us, where are all those mighty works we've been told about? All that mighty deliverance. All that mighty power. Where is God's miracles? And where is His deliverance? Now, look back in Revelation chapter 2. God says we need to remember from whence we're fallen individually and as a nation. We need to repent. We need to recall. And if we don't, verse five, Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent. What does God say? I just remove you.
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You know, I get so tickled at people when they think that nothing catastrophic could ever happen to America. What did God do to Judah and Jerusalem? He removed their candlestick. What did He do to the ten northern tribes? He removed their candlestick. You look at all the peoples of this earth that are now extinct. Why? God removed them. God took them out. He said, you better remember. You better repent. You better recall.
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If you don't, I will remove you. Gideon was a man of discernment. He was a man of understanding. He saw things clearly. He called a spade a spade. He was honest. He could face the facts. He never sugarcoated anything. If you're going to be used of God, you must not only have character. You must have understanding. Simple, common sense understanding. Number three, if you're going to be used of God, look back in your Bible to Judges chapter 6. Here's a third thing. I touched upon it very lightly last week, but Judges chapter 6, verse 14. You must be a man who is divinely commissioned 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? Now, isn't it interesting just to show you that Gideon had no rebellious attitude and was not being hateful and ugly in verse 13. Verse 14 says, And Yahweh looked upon him, or literally turned toward him. The phrase illustrates the fact that fellowship basically had been restored between Gideon and God, and therefore between God and His people.
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Now there are several symbolisms in this passage that cannot be ignored. Let me point these out before I explain verse 14. First of all, Gideon is threshing wheat by the winepress.
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Now, I don't know if that means anything to you, but if you study through the Bible, you will find that wine and bread are the food of kings. Read Genesis chapter 40, for instance. And then, if you want to turn to Genesis 14 and verse 18, you will find that Melchizedek, when Abraham returned from the slaughter of those people who had stolen Lot and stolen a lot of other people, when Abraham returned from defeating them, then Melchizedek met Abraham with bread and wine, indicating that Abraham was
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the true king of Canaan. So when you look at where he was, bread and wine, bread and wine being the food of kings, God came to him and God was going to use him mightily as a king to deliver his people. And by the way, I hope you can see the fulfillment or the antitype to that. Jesus Christ is the greater Melchizedek. And therefore, according to Revelation 1 in verse 6, He hath made us what? Kings and priests unto God our Father. So, Jesus Christ is the one that gives us the true bread and wine, His body, His flesh, His blood. You see? So, bread and wine then are a symbol of the food of kings. Secondly, what was Gideon doing by the winepress? He was threshing. Now, threshing in the Bible is a sign or a symbol of historical judgments. It's a picture of the judgment of God in time and in history. You see, when you thresh, it is a winnowing process.
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You are separating the grain from the chaff. The grain is that which is beneficial. The chaff is that which is absolutely worthless. If you'll hold Judges 6, but look in your Bibles to the book of Luke 3, let me show you how John the Baptist tells us that that is exactly what Jesus Christ is going to do to the world. Notice in Luke 3 and verse 17. In fact, we'll read verse 16 and 17. Luke 3, verse 16, John answered, saying unto them all, I indeed baptize you with water; but one mightier than I cometh, the latchet of whose shoes I am not worthy to unloose: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost and with fire: whose fan is in his hand, and he will throughly purge his floor, that is, he shall separate the wheat from the chaff, and will gather the wheat into his garner; but the chaff he will burn with fire unquenchable. So the Bible tells us that Christ is going to thresh the world. Thus, Gideon is going to thresh Israel, starting with his own father's house, which we'll look at next week.
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Now, let me ask that you turn in your Bibles to 2 Samuel, because let me show you something that most people have not picked up on. 2 Samuel chapter 24. And let's begin with verse 18. 2 Samuel 24, verse 18.
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Now you'll remember when David had numbered Israel. The judgment of God began to fall and people were dying like flies. And I forget exactly how many. I think it was 70,000 men that were killed. And look in verse... Let's look at verse 16, 2 Samuel 24. And when the angel stretched out his hand upon Jerusalem to destroy it, the Lord repented him of the evil, and said to the angel that destroyed the people, It is enough: stay now thine hand. And the angel of the Lord was by the threshingplace of Araunah the Jebusite. Now where was he? By the threshingplace. And David spake unto the Lord when he saw the angel that smote the people, and said, Lo, I have sinned, and I have done wickedly: but these sheep, what have they done? let thine hand, I pray thee, be against me, and against my father's house. And Gad the prophet came that day to David, and said unto him, Go up, rear an altar unto the Lord in the threshingfloor of Araunah the Jebusite.
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And David, according to the saying of Gad, went up as the Lord commanded. And Araunah looked, and saw the king and his servants coming on toward him: and Araunah went out, and bowed himself before the king on his face upon the ground. And Araunah said, Wherefore is my lord the king come to his servant? And David said, To buy the threshingfloor of thee, to build an altar unto the Lord, that the plague may be stayed from the people. And Araunah said unto David, Let my lord the king take and offer up what seemeth good unto him: behold, here be oxen for burnt sacrifice, and threshing instruments and other instruments of the oxen for wood. All these things did Araunah, as a king, give unto the king. And Araunah said unto the king, The Lord thy God accept thee. And the king said unto Araunah, Nay; but I will surely buy it of thee at a price: neither will I offer burnt offerings unto the Lord my God of that which doth cost me nothing. So David bought the threshingfloor and the oxen for fifty shekels of silver.
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And David built there an altar unto the Lord, and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings. So the Lord was intreated for the land, and the plague was stayed from Israel.
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Now, can someone tell me the significance of this place? This is where the temple was built on the threshing floor of Araunah. What does that tell you? Does it not tell you this is a process by which the kingdom of God is actually built? God's winnowing, God's separating the chaff from the wheat. Let me show you. One more passage before I get back to Judges 6. Look in your Bibles, 1 Peter 4, verse 17. If you don't understand what I just showed you, 1 Peter 4 should make it exceedingly clear. 1 Peter 4, verse 17. 1 Peter 4, verse 17. Look what the Bible says.
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For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God? And if the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear? What did he say? For the time is come that judgment must begin first at the house of God. God always winnows his own. He always separates the wheat from the chaff. And if God does that to his people, the question is, what will be the end of the ungodly?
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And of course, it will be utter and total destruction. Now, let's go back in our Bibles to Judges 6, because we're looking at verse 14. 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, I told you that we're on the third point. Prerequisites to be used of God must be a man of character, must be a man of understanding, must be divinely commissioned and sent. And the point that needs to be emphasized is that God called and sent Gideon. You know, the one thing that we're missing today in the ministry as a whole is an awareness and a conviction of the divine call. Listen carefully.
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Pastors are not employees of a church. They're not administrators. They're not tools of a deacon board. They're not spiritual burpers who go around burping spiritual babies who should have matured 40 years ago. No. They are to be the servants of God. God calls them and God sent them. Pastors are to be first and foremost the representatives of God. I want to show you this. Look in your Bibles to 2 Corinthians. 2 Corinthians chapter 5 and look at verse 20.
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Now, please, if you push me for time. I can show you the context. But to save time, I'll just tell you what the context is. In 2 Corinthians chapter 5, Paul is talking about pastors. He's talking about preachers. And he says in verse 20, Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God. Now let me just take a moment and explain this. All my life I've been taught that everyone is an ambassador for God.
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Well, that's true in a very general sense, but then it's really not true as well. The Southern Baptists always had a group of boys called the Royal Ambassadors, the RAs. And in one sense of the word, we are representatives of Christ, generally speaking, because whatever we do or say reflects upon Christ in the ministry. That's certainly true. But when you talk about an ambassador, you're talking about a horse of a different color. To be a real ambassador, you have to be appointed by a government. You have to be sent by a government.
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For instance, suppose you and I took a trip to England. And when we were over there, we decided we wanted to go see the Queen. And so we go up to the Queen's palace and there are guards everywhere and we start to knock on the door and someone steps up to us and says, where do you think you're going? Well, we're going to see the Queen. But what makes you think you can see the Queen? Well, we're ambassadors. We represent America. Whatever we do over here reflects upon America, and we want to have an audience with the Queen. You know what the guard's going to say? May I see your papers? What? We don't have any diplomatic papers.
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I mean, our government never appointed us. We're just general ambassadors. Yeah. And I'm generally telling you to turn around and get out of here before I arrest you. But now, if you were appointed by the United States government, and sent, and you had your diplomatic papers, and you needed an audience with the Queen, guess what? You could get in. There's a difference between those two things. But I want you to see what the Apostle Paul said. Look in verse 20.
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Now then we, he's talking about the pastors. He's talking about the preachers. We then are ambassadors for Christ. That is, we're here in His stead, as though God did beseech you, what? By us! We pray you in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled unto God.
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Now, what is the Apostle Paul saying? The true preacher represents Christ. The true preacher is there in Christ's stead. He's been divinely called, and He's been divinely sent. Consequently, pastors are required to represent God and His Word and His interest to His people. They're required to teach His Word, proclaim His demands. They are men that are just as sent as was Moses. You can read Exodus chapter 3, verse 10, verse 12, verse 14. God said, I have sent you. I have sent you. I have sent you. You know, it would be interesting today to discover how many pastors actually view themselves as commissioned and called and sent by God.
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I am afraid the answer would be very few in all probability. Do you realize there is a difference between a man that has been sent and a man that has not been sent? Just stop and think about this. A man that has been sent has a master. That's the one who sent him. Therefore, he's answerable and accountable to that master. The man that has been sent not only has a master, he has a mission. That's why he was sent.
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There's something that he must do. There's something that he must accomplish.
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Thirdly, a man that has been sent has a method. He's got a method for accomplishing that mission in order that he might please his master. And then, of course, he has a mind that is concentrated solely upon that master and upon that mission and upon that method in order to please and honor that master. Now, the man who's not been sent has none of these things. He just simply flounders around in the sea of administration, endeavoring to please all of those whom he thinks might have authority over him or whom he thinks might could help his professional career.
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Now, let me ask you a question. Do you perceive a difference when you read your Bible between, say, John the Baptist and a modern day preacher? Do you perceive the distance between the Apostle Paul and the average pastor? Do you perceive a difference between Samuel, Peter, Elijah, Elisha, Apollos, and multitudes of others that were sent and called of God and modern day preachers? Do you even perceive a difference between Luther and Calvin and Whitefield and what we have today?
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And the answer is, Oh yes. Have we lost anything in this century? And the answer is most definitely. What we have lost is the concept that a true preacher is divinely called and divinely sent and divinely ordained by God. You have many preachers today who have never been called by God, never been sent by God, never been ordained by God.
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Now, look back in your Bibles to Judges 6 and verse 14. Look what is said. Judges 6 verse 14, 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?
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Now my question is this. What is Gideon's might? I mean, look at the context. Look at verse 13. And Gideon said unto him, O my Lord, if the Lord be with us, why then has all this befallen us? Where be all these miracles which our fathers told us of? Saying, did not the Lord bring us up from Egypt? And now the Lord has forsaken us and delivered us into the hands of the Midianites. I mean, he's just described reality. And the Lord looked upon him and said, go in this thy might. Now, what is his might? Well, Gideon's might is nothing less than the promised presence of God. If you'll look back in verse 12, when the angel of the Lord appears unto him, he said, what? The Lord is with thee, thou mighty man of valor. When the angel appeared, he gives him this promise of the presence of God.
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Do you know that Moses understood this concept? Look in your Bibles to the book of Exodus chapter 33 very quickly. Exodus 33, and let's begin reading there with verse 12. Exodus 33 and verse 12. Notice, if you would, Exodus 33, verse 12. And Moses said unto the Lord, See, thou sayest unto me, Bring up this people: and thou hast not let me know whom thou wilt send with me. Yet thou hast said, I know thee by name, and thou hast also found grace in my sight. Now therefore, I pray thee, if I have found grace in thy sight, show me now thy way, that I may know thee, that I may find grace in thy sight: and consider that this nation is thy people. And he said, My presence shall go with thee, and I will give thee rest. God said, Moses, my presence will go with you. Now look what he said in verse 15, and he said, If thy presence go not with me, carry us not up hence. He said, God, if you're not going with me, I don't want to go.
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I want your presence. Have you ever stopped to think how futile it is to try to accomplish the work of God without the God of the work? I've often said my wife and I were raised basically in liberal churches. When we got married, we went to a liberal church. And you would have to sit there for 30 minutes. They very seldom spoke over 30 minutes, but you'd have to sit there for 30 minutes. And I often wondered how a man had to study to say something for 30 minutes to avoid using any scripture and avoid offending anybody and upsetting anybody. That's got to be a lot of work. I mean, really. I mean, Alice can tell you, I study every day. I study all week long. But I got news for you. I sure would hate to have to study like that.
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But you see, the truth is this, folks. If God's not with us, it doesn't matter what we do. It doesn't matter what we say. You know what the Bible says in Zechariah 4 and verse 6? Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the Lord. If God's not with us, folks, it's useless. It's worthless. In 1819, George Atkins wrote the hymn Brethren, We Have Met to Worship.
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Let me read to you the first stanza. Brethren, we have met to worship and adore the Lord our God. Will you pray with all your power while we try to preach the Word? All is vain unless the Spirit of the Holy One comes down. Brethren, pray in holy manner. We'll be showered all around. What's he saying? It's useless without God. It's useless without God.
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Now let me tell you something, folks. God is still the God of miracles. God is still the God of deliverance. God is still the God of salvation. Are you listening? The problems in our lives, the problems in our families, the problems in our churches, the problems in our state, and the problems in our nation do not come from the fact that God has lost His power, His position, or His sovereignty. The problem is not with God. The problem is with us.
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Look in your Bibles to Isaiah 59. Look what he says, Isaiah 59, beginning there with verse one. And by the way, I hope as you look at this verse, or this passage, I should say, because I'm going to read several verses, I hope you can put our country in perspective as we read it. Your own problems, your own family. Watch Isaiah 59, beginning with verse one. Behold, the Lord's hand is not shortened, that it cannot save;
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The problem's not with God. Neither his ear heavy, that it cannot hear: He's not deaf. Well, what's the problem? But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear. Why? For your hands are defiled with blood, and your fingers with iniquity; your lips have spoken lies, your tongue hath muttered perverseness. None calleth for justice, nor any pleadeth for truth: they trust in vanity, and speak lies; they conceive mischief, and bring forth iniquity.
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They hatch cockatrice' eggs, and weave the spider's web: he that eateth of their eggs dieth, and that which is crushed breaketh out into a viper. Their webs shall not become garments, neither shall they cover themselves with their works: their works are works of iniquity, and the act of violence is in their hands. Their feet run to evil, and they make haste to shed innocent blood: their thoughts are thoughts of iniquity;
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wasting and destruction are in their paths. The way of peace they know not; and there is no judgment in their goings: they have made them crooked paths: whosoever goeth therein shall not know peace.
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Now what did he say? My hand's not shortened that it can't save. My ear's not heavy that it cannot hear. The problem is not with my miracle, says God. It's not with my power. It's not with my deliverance. It's with your sins. It's with your sins. When you repent, when you turn, when you seek, when you cry, you'll understand my mercy. Now, I want you to understand something, folks. When God does indeed appear in mercy and grace and blessing, His power and His blessing are sufficient. What did He say to Gideon? Go in this thy might, and thou shalt save Israel from the Midianites. Go in this promised presence of God. And you shall save Israel.
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Now, go back in your Bibles to Judges chapter 6. I want to point this out. I've said it innumerable times. But I hope this will be an encouragement to you. I want you to see it from the Bible. Look in Judges chapter 6. Notice verse 14. And the Lord looked upon him and said, Go in this thy might, and thou shalt save Israel from the hand of the Midianites.
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Have not I sent thee? Skip down to verse 16. And the Lord said unto him, Surely I will be with thee. There's that promised presence. And thou shalt smite the Midianites as one man. God is able to defeat his enemies and deliver his people with one man. We need to comprehend the simple fact that it does not take a multitude to accomplish the will and the purpose of God. It takes one man who is sent by God, commissioned by God, and called by God. God took Gideon. Are you listening?
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And 300 men and defeated the entire Midianite army. Everywhere I go in this country, I hear people say, oh, Brother Weaver, if we could just get everybody together. If the Christians would just pull together. I got news for you folks. You're never, ever going to have a multitude. And you're never, ever going to get Christians together. We're worse than spoiled young'uns. But it doesn't take a multitude, and it doesn't take even all the Christians. It just takes one or two, or a small number, committed, called, and sent by God, who will not err from their course, and will do what God tells them to do. Gideon took 300 and destroyed the Midianite army. Our Lord took 12 men and turned the world upside down. But God always begins with one. You heard that old saying, God and one man make a majority. That's really not true. God's a majority Himself. But when He takes that one, He can accomplish whatever He wants to accomplish. The question is, are you willing to be that one? To be a man of character, of understanding, and say, Here, my Lord, send me.
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I'm willing. I'll play by your rules. I'll do what you say. For you are the one true and living God.
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Now, I read this last week, and I'm going to close with it this week. Look in your Bibles to 1 Corinthians chapter 1. Because inevitably, whenever I teach something like this, someone will say, but Brother Weaver, I don't have a college education. I don't know the Bible. I'm not a scholar. I'm not this. I'm not that. Well, look at 1 Corinthians 1, beginning there with verse 26. What does he say?
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For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called: but God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty; and base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are: Why has God chosen that which is despised and useless and powerless? Here's why. That no flesh should glory in his presence.
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Skip down to verse 31. That, according as it is written, He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord. God is pleased to use plain, simple, powerless individuals so that our flesh will not steal his glory. What did he tell Gideon when Gideon had this vast army? You're too many. You will think that you did it. Get rid of them. And he cut him down to 300 so that everyone would know the victory was God's. And when God uses us folks, we're bound to know the victory has to be God's, because we're nothing in and of ourselves. To Him goes the honor and the glory. Let's pray.
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Father, we thank Thee today for Jesus Christ, for His grace and for His mercy. We pray, Father, that You would make us usable, and Thou wouldst be pleased to use us. Help us, Lord, to repent as individuals, as families, as a church, as a state, as a nation. Give us the gift of repentance. Enable us to serve Thee effectively with reverence and godly fear. In Thy name we pray, Amen.
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deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | clean_readable_transcript | 2026-06-06T03:59:13Z

Prerequisites to be Used by God - 2

John Weaver | Freedom Ministries

John Weaver continues his series on the prerequisites for being used by God, focusing on Gideon in Judges 6. He emphasizes that God uses men of character, understanding, and divine commission. Gideon exemplifies these traits: he was a hard worker, honest, wise, and not easily discouraged (character); he saw reality clearly and questioned why Israel suffered if God was with them (understanding); and he was called and sent by God to deliver Israel (divine commission). Weaver applies these lessons to the church and nation, urging repentance and reliance on God's presence rather than human strength.

Opening

Scripture Reading — Judges 6:11-24

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? And 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, wherewithal 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. And he said unto him, If now I have found grace in thy sight, then show me a sign that thou talkest with me. Depart not hence, I pray thee, until I come unto thee, and bring forth my present, and set it before thee. And he said, I will tarry until thou come again. And Gideon went in, and made ready a kid, and unleavened cakes of an ephah of flour: the flesh he put in a basket, and he put the broth in a pot, and brought it out unto him under the oak, and presented it. And the angel of God said unto him, Take the flesh and the unleavened cakes, and lay them upon this rock, and pour out the broth. And he did so. Then the angel of the Lord put forth the end of the staff that was in his hand, and touched the flesh and the unleavened cakes, and there rose up fire out of the rock, and consumed the flesh and the unleavened cakes. Then the angel of the Lord departed out of his sight. And when Gideon perceived that he was an angel of the Lord, Gideon said, Alas, O Lord God! for because I have seen an angel of the Lord face to face. And the Lord said unto him, Peace be unto thee; fear not: thou shalt not die. Then Gideon built an altar there unto the Lord, and called it Jehovah-shalom: unto this day it is yet in Ophrah of the Abiezrites. And it came to pass the same night, that the Lord said unto him,

Introduction and Review of Character

Weaver reviews the first prerequisite: Gideon was a man of character, demonstrated by hard work, honesty, wisdom, perseverance, and faith. Character is developed over a lifetime.

Gideon as a Man of Understanding

Gideon saw things clearly and distinctly. He questioned the angel's promise by pointing to Israel's suffering, showing he faced reality without sugarcoating.

The Identity of the Angel of the Lord

Weaver explains that the angel of the Lord is a Christophany—a pre-incarnate appearance of Christ. He supports this by noting the angel received worship and is called Yahweh.

He is a sent one. Do you know the phrase that our Lord used of Himself over and over in the New Testament? He was a sent one. He said, the Father hath sent Me. He is the sent one.

Gideon's Honest Assessment of Israel's Condition

Gideon applied God's promise to all Israel and asked why they were in such a mess if God was with them. He acknowledged God's judgment due to sin.

The Need for Repentance and Remembrance

Weaver applies Gideon's honesty to the church and nation, urging remembrance of past blessings, repentance, and recalling God's mighty works to avoid judgment.

You see what I'm saying? But now, what we've done, we've fallen from all of that. So he says the very first thing you need to do is remember. The second thing he says you need to do is repent.

Symbolism of Threshing and the Divine Commission

Threshing symbolizes judgment and separation. Gideon was divinely commissioned and sent by God, just as pastors should be called and sent, not mere employees.

The Promised Presence as Gideon's Might

Gideon's might was the promised presence of God. Without God's presence, all efforts are vain. The problem is not God's power but human sin.

God Uses the Weak to Glorify Himself

God chooses the foolish, weak, and despised to accomplish His purposes so that no flesh may glory. He used Gideon with 300 men to show the victory was His.

I'm willing. I'll play by your rules. I'll do what you say. For you are the one true and living God.

Prerequisites to be Used by God - 2

John Weaver | SermonAudio

Lecture Metadata	Details
Speaker	John Weaver
Source	SermonAudio
Media ID	11603175122
Subject	New Testament Studies
Course	Revelation Themes and Eschatological Applications
Genre	Sermon
Date	2003-11-02
Dictation Name
Book	Book 189: Prerequisites to be Used by God — Chapter 2
Source Timed Segments	95

Lecture Guide

Outline

Introduction and Review of Character: Weaver reviews the first prerequisite: Gideon was a man of character, demonstrated by hard work, honesty, wisdom, perseverance, and faith. Character is developed over a lifetime.
Gideon as a Man of Understanding: Gideon saw things clearly and distinctly. He questioned the angel's promise by pointing to Israel's suffering, showing he faced reality without sugarcoating.
The Identity of the Angel of the Lord: Weaver explains that the angel of the Lord is a Christophany—a pre-incarnate appearance of Christ. He supports this by noting the angel received worship and is called Yahweh.
Gideon's Honest Assessment of Israel's Condition: Gideon applied God's promise to all Israel and asked why they were in such a mess if God was with them. He acknowledged God's judgment due to sin.
The Need for Repentance and Remembrance: Weaver applies Gideon's honesty to the church and nation, urging remembrance of past blessings, repentance, and recalling God's mighty works to avoid judgment.
Symbolism of Threshing and the Divine Commission: Threshing symbolizes judgment and separation. Gideon was divinely commissioned and sent by God, just as pastors should be called and sent, not mere employees.
The Promised Presence as Gideon's Might: Gideon's might was the promised presence of God. Without God's presence, all efforts are vain. The problem is not God's power but human sin.
God Uses the Weak to Glorify Himself: God chooses the foolish, weak, and despised to accomplish His purposes so that no flesh may glory. He used Gideon with 300 men to show the victory was His.

Major Themes

Key Arguments

God uses men, not institutions

God works through individuals of character, not committees or corporations.

Weaver says, 'God uses men. He does not use committees. He does not use corporations.'

Character is built over time

Character cannot be developed instantly; it is the habit and disposition of a lifetime.

Weaver states, 'Character cannot be developed on the spur of a moment. It is the habit, it is the attitude, it is the disposition of a lifetime.'

Honest assessment is necessary for repentance

Unless we are honest about our sin and condition, we will never repent individually or nationally.

Weaver says, 'Unless we are honest with ourselves, and unless we're honest about the state of our nation, we will never repent individually or nationally.'

The angel of the Lord is Christ

The angel of the Lord in Judges 6 is a pre-incarnate appearance of Christ, evidenced by receiving worship and being called Yahweh.

Weaver explains, 'This is what is known in the Bible as a Christophany... a pre-incarnate appearing of Christ.'

Pastors must be divinely sent

A true preacher is called and sent by God, not merely hired by a church, and is accountable to God.

Weaver says, 'Pastors are not employees of a church... They are to be the servants of God. God calls them and God sent them.'

God's presence is the source of strength

Gideon's might was the promised presence of God, not his own ability.

Weaver states, 'Gideon's might is nothing less than the promised presence of God.'

Sin separates from God's power

The problem is not God's inability but human sin that separates us from His deliverance.

Weaver reads Isaiah 59:1-2: 'Your iniquities have separated between you and your God.'

God accomplishes much through few

God does not need a multitude; He can deliver through one committed person or a small number.

Weaver says, 'It does not take a multitude to accomplish the will and the purpose of God. It takes one man who is sent by God.'

Scripture References

Judges 6:11-24: The primary text: the angel of the Lord appears to Gideon, commissions him, and receives worship.
2 Chronicles 16:9: God looks for individuals whose hearts are perfect toward Him.
Hebrews 11: God uses men named one after another.
John 1:14: The Word was made flesh, referring to the incarnation.
1 Timothy 3:16: God was manifest in the flesh.
Philippians 2:6-7: Christ took upon Himself the form of a man.
Hebrews 3:1: Jesus is called the Apostle (sent one) and High Priest.
Revelation 19:10: John is forbidden to worship an angel; only God receives worship.
Revelation 22:8-9: Again, John is told not to worship an angel but God alone.
Judges 6:1-6: Israel did evil, and God delivered them to Midianites for seven years.
Revelation 2:5: The church at Ephesus is told to remember, repent, and do the first works or have their candlestick removed.
Psalm 44:1-3: Recalling the mighty works God did in the past.
Genesis 14:18: Melchizedek met Abraham with bread and wine, symbolizing kingship.
Revelation 1:6: Christ has made us kings and priests unto God.
Luke 3:16-17: Christ will baptize with the Holy Ghost and fire, separating wheat from chaff.
2 Samuel 24:16-25: David buys the threshingfloor of Araunah, where the temple was later built, symbolizing judgment and mercy.
1 Peter 4:17: Judgment must begin at the house of God.
2 Corinthians 5:20: Pastors are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech by them.
Exodus 33:12-15: Moses insisted on God's presence going with them.
Isaiah 59:1-8: God's hand is not shortened, but sins have separated the people from Him.

Historical References

Norman Vincent Peale and the power of positive thinking: Weaver contrasts Gideon's realism with Peale's philosophy, noting Peale denied Christ's deity.
Reformation Day (October 31, 1517): Martin Luther nailed his 95 theses, but the world celebrates Halloween instead.
George Atkins' hymn 'Brethren, We Have Met to Worship' (1819): Quoted to emphasize the necessity of the Holy Spirit's presence.
Luther, Calvin, Whitefield: Mentioned as examples of preachers who were divinely called and sent, contrasting with modern preachers.

Important Quotes

God uses men. He does not use committees. He does not use corporations. He uses men.

Core thesis that God works through individuals, not institutions.

Character cannot be developed on the spur of a moment. It is the habit, it is the attitude, it is the disposition of a lifetime.

Emphasizes that character is built over time, not instantly.

If the Lord be with us, why then is all this befallen us?

Gideon's honest question showing his understanding of reality.

Pastors are not employees of a church. They're not administrators. They're not tools of a deacon board. They're not spiritual burpers who go around burping spiritual babies who should have matured 40 years ago.

Strong statement on the divine calling and authority of pastors.

Gideon's might is nothing less than the promised presence of God.

Defines the source of Gideon's strength for his mission.

It does not take a multitude to accomplish the will and the purpose of God. It takes one man who is sent by God, commissioned by God, and called by God.

Highlights that God can work through a single committed individual.

God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty;

Quotation of 1 Corinthians 1:27 to show God's pattern of using the weak.

All is vain unless the Spirit of the Holy One comes down.

From the hymn, emphasizing dependence on the Holy Spirit.

Discussion Questions

[Question]

What does it mean to be a man or woman of character, and how can we develop such character in our daily lives?

[Context]

Weaver emphasized that character is built over a lifetime through habits and attitudes.

[Question]

In what areas of our personal lives, families, or nation are we tempted to sugarcoat reality instead of facing it honestly?

[Context]

Gideon honestly assessed Israel's condition; we are called to do the same.

[Question]

How can we discern whether someone is truly called and sent by God versus self-appointed or hired by men?

[Context]

Weaver discussed the importance of divine commission for pastors and leaders.

[Question]

What does it look like to rely on God's presence rather than our own strength in our daily tasks and ministries?

[Context]

Gideon's might was the promised presence of God.

[Question]

Why does God often choose the weak and foolish to accomplish His purposes, and how should that affect our view of ourselves?

[Context]

Weaver cited 1 Corinthians 1 to show God's pattern of using the weak.

[Question]

What are some practical steps we can take to remember, repent, and recall God's works as individuals and as a church?

[Context]

Weaver applied Revelation 2:5 and Psalm 44 to the need for remembrance and repentance.

[Question]

How does the concept of threshing as judgment apply to the church today, and what does it mean for judgment to begin at the house of God?

[Context]

Weaver connected threshing to God's winnowing process in 1 Peter 4:17.

[Question]

In what ways might we be hindering God's work by trying to accomplish it without His presence and power?

[Context]

Weaver stressed that all is vain without the Spirit.

Applications

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