Proverbs: The Fear of the Lord and Wisdom: The Doctrine of Election

Prerequisites to be Used by God - 1

Transcript: AI Transcript

Professor: John Weaver

Subject: Old Testament Studies

Genre: Sermon

Dictation Name:

Date: 2003-10-26

Synopsis: John Weaver examines the life of Gideon in Judges 6 to identify the first prerequisite for being used by God: godly character. He explains that character is what a person is in the dark, tested by what it takes to stop them, built over a lifetime, and essential for God's long-term use. Gideon exemplified character through hard work, honesty, wisdom, perseverance under oppression, and faith. Weaver emphasizes that God sovereignly calls and uses people of character, and believers should diligently develop biblical character to be usable vessels.

[John Weaver] Well, let's open our Bibles. To the book of Judges, Chapter six. Book of Judges, Chapter six. There are a number of things that I want to bring to you in preaching, but. I passed through the book of Judges again, reading it, and you remember a couple of months ago, I preached several messages from Judges, Chapter six on the life of Gideon. And as I came to this chapter, I read it and I thought, well, I've already preached from this chapter several times. And then I looked at it and lo and behold, here was new material that I had not even seen as I preached through it before. So I want to bring a message today which will probably continue for two or three weeks.

[John Weaver] Entitled prerequisites to be used of God prerequisites to be used of God. So judges chapter six and let's begin reading there with verse eleven judges chapter six verse eleven. And there came an angel of the Lord and sat under an oak tree which was Oprah that pertained unto Joash the Abiezarite and his son Gideon threshed wheat by the winepress to hide it from the Midianites and the angel of the Lord appeared unto him and said unto him the Lord is with

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

[John Weaver] Behold, my family is poor in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father's house. And the Lord said unto him, Surely I will be with thee, and thou shalt smite the Midianites as one man. 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 send 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 of any of our ephah flower the flesh he put in a basket and you put the broth in a pot and brought it out on him under the oak and presented it and the angel of God said to 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 disappeared 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. And to this day, it is yet an oprah of the Abiezarites. 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.

[John Weaver] Now each of us know and understand that God used Gideon to deliver his nation from God's enemies, the Midianites. The life of Gideon gives us many important lessons and principles live and govern our lives by. Now, Gideon may have failed at certain points, as all of us do, but one thing is for certain. He was a man used of God. And I might add, he was mightily used of God. I suppose that one of the greatest desires of every true Christian and especially of every true preacher is to be used by God.

[John Weaver] We not only want to be vessels of mercy, According to Romans 9 in verse 23, we also want to be vessels of honor. If you would hold Judges chapter 6, but look in your Bibles very quickly to 2 Timothy chapter 2. And let me explain to you what I mean by vessels of honor. Notice in 2 Timothy chapter 2, beginning there with verse 20. 2 Timothy chapter 2 verse 20. The word of God says, but in a great house, They're not only vessels of gold and silver, but also of wood and earth, and some to honor and some to dishonor. If a man therefore purge himself from these, that is, those which are of dishonor, if a man therefore purge himself from these, he shall be a vessel unto honor, sanctified, and meet for the master's use, and prepared unto every good work. So God says if we purge ourselves, from the dishonorable vessels, then we will be an honorable vessel, sanctified and meet for the master's use, prepared under every good work. Now God commands us in 1 Thessalonians 4 and verse 4 that each one of us should know how to possess his vessel in sanctification and honor.

[John Weaver] And the vessel there refers to our body. So God says at all times we should know how to possess our bodies and sanctification and honor, if we followed God's commands. Each of us would be readily available for the master's use.

[John Weaver] Now, since you're in the New Testament, I also want you to look at 2nd Corinthians, chapter 7 and verse 1, because this passage is parallel to 2nd Timothy, chapter 2. In 2nd Corinthians, chapter 7 and verse 1, the Bible says this. Notice having, therefore, these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God. Now, God says it were to cleanse ourselves not only from the filthiness of the flesh, but also the spirit perfecting holiness in the fear of God. Now, what God is teaching us is basically this. When we cleanse ourselves from the filthiness of the flesh that is external, when we cleanse ourselves from a filthy spirit that is internal, all of that is equal to 2 Timothy 2, 20 and 21 that is purging ourselves from vessels of dishonor that we may be an honorable vessel fit for the Master's use. So God tells us then that when we cleanse ourselves Externally and internally, we are indeed purging ourselves from that which is dishonorable.

[John Weaver] Now, God used Gideon. No one can deny that fact. God used Gideon mightily. We look around today and we see basically our nation in the same situation that Gideon's nation was in during his time. They were oppressed. They were persecuted. The enemy had the upper hand. And God used Gideon.

[John Weaver] Now, let me just be very pointed. God does not use committees. I read one man's writing one time, and he said, for God so loved the world that he did not send a committee. And that is so true. God does not use committees. God does not use corporations. God uses me. And he came to Gideon and he found a man that he could use to deliver his people from the hands of their enemies. Now, my question is very simple. Would you not like to be used of God to deliver our people from the hands of the enemy?

[John Weaver] And the answer should come back, yes. Well, if that is so, then there are some prerequisites that God lays down in Judges chapter six that are required if we're going to be used of God.

[John Weaver] Now, today, I'm only going to cover one point. What is the very first prerequisite? I want you to note that Gideon was a man of character. Notice, if you would please, in Judges chapter six, in verse eleven, the angel of the Lord comes to Gideon as he is threshing wheat by the winepress. to hide it from the Midianites. And then in verse 12, And the angel of the Lord appeared on him and said unto him, The Lord is with thee, thou mighty man of valor.

[John Weaver] Now, I've often kind of smiled at this. And, you know, I mentioned this to you before. If Gideon was a mighty man of valor, why was he hiding by the winepress? Well, let me just point out the fact that God called him a mighty man of valor. The Hebrew word for valor is the word K'yil. It occurs 37 times in the Old Testament. And let me tell you this about this one particular word. Every time the word valor appears in the Old Testament, it is always from the same Hebrew word.

[John Weaver] Now, valor is usually given to us in a military sense. Hence, David's warriors And also the Israelitish soldiers who were brave and courageous were referred to as mighty men of valor. So usually when you read the word valor, it has the context of military strength or military might. But the word goes beyond military strength and military might. The word valor can also mean not only strength or force, but can also be used to understand virtue. So Gideon was not just simply a man of strength. He was a man of virtue. So actually, the angel of the Lord said, Hail, thou mighty man of virtue, which included strength and a number of other things as well. So he was indeed then a man of character.

[John Weaver] Now, before we begin to look precisely at Gideon's life, I want to give you some broad principles concerning character. And I want you to stop and think about these with me. First of all, it has been well said that character is what a man is in the dark.

[John Weaver] Now, the explanation of that is very simple. You tell me what you would do if you knew that no one would ever find out about it, and I'll tell you exactly what you are. You said, well, if I knew no one else would ever find out about it, boy, I'd run off with old sister so and so. Well, you're an adulterer. Well, if I knew no one would ever find out about it, I'd go steal all the gold in the world. Well, you're a thief.

[John Weaver] Character is what a man is in the dark. Character is what we are alone before God. Character is not what we put on in front of everyone else. Character is what we are by ourselves. So very obviously, the very first thing we need to understand That character is what a man is in the dark. The second thing about character is this. The test of your character is what it takes to stop you.

[John Weaver] Now let me just point out the fact, if that is a true statement, and it is true, very few people in this day and time have real, genuine character. Because to stop the average individual, all you've got to do is gossip about them, or insinuate something, or hurt their feelings. Or not let things go their way. And their attitude is, if you can't play by my rules, I'll take my marbles and I'll go home. Because their feelings get hurt.

[John Weaver] Do you realize there is absolutely no comparison between the Christians of today and the Christians of the first century? The Christians of the first century were willing to die for their faith. And I've got news for you. Some of the ways they died were not too pleasant. But so often we let so many little things hinder us and stop us from doing that which is right and honorable and biblical. So the test of your character is what it takes to stop you.

[John Weaver] The third thing is this. Listen carefully. And this is a broad general principle. God may use you on credit the first years of your life. After that, he will use you on character. And if you don't have any character, you might as well forget God ever using you.

[John Weaver] Now, I know that there are a few exceptions to that statement. God used Balaam, and he certainly had no character. God used Balaam's ass. But I got news for you, I do not want to suffer the fate of Balaam. You remember Balaam was the false prophet who said, let me die the death of the righteous, but you cannot die the death of the righteous unless you live the life of the righteous. It is true God used Balaam and Balaam had no character, but he was the exception and not the rule.

[John Weaver] If you'll look in your Bibles, hold Judges 6, but look in your Bibles to 2 Chronicles chapter 16 and verse 9. 2 Chronicles 16 and verse 9. Look what the Bible says. Just to demonstrate to you that God looks for people who have character. The Bible says, 2 Chronicles 16 verse 9, For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth to show himself strong in behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward him. In other words, God is looking for someone with a heart who's perfect toward him. God is looking for someone who has a life that measures up to what God requires. So here's the truth. God may use us on credit the first years of our life. And I'll explain why in just a moment. But after that, he's going to use us on character. And if we don't have any character, We might as well forget God ever using us. Here's the fourth general principle. Character is not something that can be attained overnight. It is not something that can be attained in an instant of time.

[John Weaver] That's why I said that God may use us on credit for the first years of our lives. But character is something that grows, that builds, that increases over time. It is the habit It is the disposition. It is the attitude and the actions of a lifetime. One should increase in character as he grows older, wiser and meditates upon the word of God. But let me point out that that does not automatically happen. Do you know how we build character in our lives? It's not just simply as we read and meditate upon the word. It's as we apply that word to our lives and thus bring our lives into conformity to the word of God. As we do that, then slowly but surely, we begin to build a godly character.

[John Weaver] Let me put it like this. Our convictions, our biblical convictions, should become deeper and stronger and firmer over a period of time. You should have more godly character today than you had last month. You should have more godly character today than you had last year. I could say it like this, we should be better men today than we were last year, because character is something that builds over a lifetime. Let me tell you something, folks. If you will slowly but surely begin to not only study the Word of God, but say, how can I apply this in my life? How can I make my life more biblical, more conformity, more in conformity to the Word of God? You're going to find that you're going to be slowly but surely and progressively changing to become a more godly person. Thus, you're going to develop a biblical and a godly character.

[John Weaver] Now, here are four very general principles. Let me show you some of the things that God reveals to us about Gideon and his character. Notice, if you would please, the Bible says in Judges 6 and verse 11, And there came an angel of the Lord and sat under an oak, which was at Ophrah, that pertained unto Joash the Abiezarite, and his son Gideon threshed wheat by the winepress. The very first thing the Bible shows us about Gideon was he was a hard worker. What does that mean? Well, he was threshing wheat. Threshing wheat is hard work, but let me tell you a little story. What Gideon was doing was harder than normal. You see, Gideon was not necessarily using an oxen here. Gideon was not necessarily using any mechanical means. In fact, the word thresh here literally means to knock wheat out with a stick.

[John Weaver] If you will turn right over in your Bibles to the book of Ruth, just a few books over, Joshua judges Ruth. It's the next book over Joshua judges Ruth, Ruth chapter two, and look at verse 17. If you knocked out wheat with a stick, it indicated that you were extremely poor. You remember Ruth was the widow woman, Naomi's daughter-in-law. Well look in Ruth chapter 2 and verse 17, so she gleaned in the field until even, and beat out that she had gleaned, and it was about an eighth of barley. How'd she beat it out? She beat it out with a stick. So when he was here threshing the wheat, he was not sitting back watching oxen do it, no. He had a stick and he was beating out the wheat himself. So threshing here, in this manner, was hard, meticulous work.

[John Weaver] Let me make a point. I'm going to make a broad generalization, then I'm going to narrow it down. The ministry is no place for a lazy man. Now let me narrow it down. Any service of God has no place for a lazy man. God requires that we be diligent. When he came to Gideon, he found him hard at work. I remember when I was a boy, I wanted to be a preacher.

[John Weaver] Now, I want to confess something to you this morning. When I was a boy and I wanted to be a preacher, my motives were not pure. You know why I wanted to be a preacher when I was a boy? Because all I saw the preacher ever do was Sunday morning, Sunday night, and Wednesday night, I figured, hey, man, for three hours a week and have the rest of the week to play, that's wonderful. So if I could just be a preacher and, you know, just preach a couple hours a week and have the rest of the week to play, well, man, my goodness, I'd be set for life. Well, God did call me in the ministry, but it didn't quite work out the way I thought it would because I found out That it's seven days a week and many times, many nights during the week. And you know something?

[John Weaver] Every time you plan to take a day off or a couple days off, usually somebody gets sick or somebody dies or somebody wants to get married or somebody needs counseling. So inevitably, you always end up in the ministry seven days a week and sometimes many nights of the week. So I'm pointing out the fact, when God uses a man, He expects a man to be a hard worker.

[John Weaver] Now, hold Judges 6, but turn in your Bibles to 2 Timothy 2. Let me show you something. God gives us eight pictures of the ministry in 2 Timothy 2. I might form this out. This could be eight pictures of any man that God uses. Notice, if you would please, 2 Timothy 2 verse 1, Paul is riding Timothy, who was his young understudy, and he said, Thou my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. Now, in verse 2, he gives us an illustration, the first illustration of what the ministry is like.

[John Weaver] He says, And the things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, The same commit thou to faithful men who shall be able to teach others also. So what's the picture? Here's a picture of a teacher.

[John Weaver] Now, let me tell you something, folks, if you have never taught. You don't know the work in teaching. You don't know the hours of preparation. The hours of communication. And then the hours of correcting and grading papers. And although the school day sometimes quote unquote may only run from 830 until 230 or three, that doesn't mean a thing. Because a teacher is someone who wants to communicate truth. And therefore, there's a lot of study and a lot of work that goes into it. I told someone recently, I said, you know, Sometimes it is difficult for a pastor to grasp something. And this is what it's difficult to grasp. Why in the world cannot you understand and comprehend in one hour what it took me 15 or 20 hours to dig out? You follow? You'll never grasp it in one hour. If it took me 15 or 20 to get it, it's probably going to take you that long as well. So that is the necessity of sometimes repeating truth over and over so that we can grasp it.

[John Weaver] But here he gives the illustration of a preacher. That's not all. Look at verses three and four. Thou therefore endure hardness as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. No man that warrenth entangled himself with the affairs of this life that he may please him who chose him to be a soldier. Now, in verses three and four, you have the illustration of the ministry or the work of God as compared to being a soldier. I was in service.

[John Weaver] So were many of you. And you know that your day normally starts at 5 a.m. And usually stop somewhere around 10 or 11. And, you know, the hard things that you have to do, God says, endure hardness as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. And then he talks about the fact. That God has chosen us. So the ministry, then, is compared to a teacher. It's compared to a soldier. That's law. Look in verse five.

[John Weaver] And if a man also strive for masteries, yet he's not crowned, except he strive lawfully. Now it's compared to an athlete.

[John Weaver] Now, I don't know about you. But there are many things I cannot do, athletically speaking. A lot of things I'd like to do. But do you realize the hours that those gymnasts put in just to be able to do those hand springs and mad exercises? Can you imagine some of the martial artists? I mean, jumping in air, twirling and kicking and doing two or three things at one time. Can you imagine the practice day after day, hour after hour? Can you imagine just someone who runs 15 or 20 miles?

[John Weaver] This is what he's talking about. If a man also strives for mastery, that is, an athlete, he wants to win something, yet he's not crowned except he strives lawfully. He's not only got to follow the rules, he's got to be a fine, fine, disciplined individual. Then if you look in verse 6, the husbandman that laboreth must be first partaker of the fruits. Now the ministry is now compared to a farmer in verse 6.

[John Weaver] I don't know how many of you were raised on a farm, but I was raised on a farm. And I can tell you, especially usually every summer. We were up at 3 a.m. when I was a boy and you would work in the barn until daylight. Then you went to the field and you did not come in from the field except for dinner. And then when it got dark. And then by the time you got in and got a bath, you weren't interested in going anywhere except a bed.

[John Weaver] So God here likens the ministry and his service to that of a farmer. Look in verse seven. He says to consider what I say, the Lord give the understanding in all things. Now, here's a student. What's a student do? He studies, he meditates over and over and over. I don't know about you, but most of us do not breeze through the universities. We do not breeze through colleges. We do not breeze through schools.

[John Weaver] We have to work at it. We have to study. Look down in verse eight. Remember that Jesus Christ of the seed of David was raised from the dead according to my gospel. Here, the minister is compared to a preacher, that is, someone who is looking for the fulfillment of the promises. Then look in verses 9 and 10. Wherein I suffer trouble as an evildoer, even unto bonds, but the word of God is not bound. Therefore, I endure all things for the elect's sake, that they might also obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory. So here, the minister is compared to a witness. And then if you look at verse 15, he says, study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needed not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. Now, the interesting thing is this, the word workman is the word for toiler or laborer, someone whose occupation is working. Not someone who sits in an air-conditioned office.

[John Weaver] Not someone who comes in at nine, leaves at five, has three breaks a day and a two-hour lunch period. No, no, no. Here's a man that is a toiler, that is a laborer. Here are eight pictures given to us in 2 Timothy chapter 2 that shows us clearly that the ministry and the service of God is hard work. And by the way, if you will turn back to Judges chapter 6 and you will notice that when our Lord came to Gideon, he did not find Gideon sitting under shade tree sipping lemonade.

[John Weaver] He found him threshing wheat with a stick. He found him hard at work. So the very first thing we find in Gideon as a man of character, he's a hard worker. By the way, you've always heard the expression, if you want anything done, ask a busy man. And that's about the truth. You ask a hard worker, they're the ones that get things done. But notice secondly, not only was Gideon a hard worker, Gideon was honest. You know what he was doing when he was threshing out that wheat? Let me tell you.

[John Weaver] He was providing for his family. According to Gideon's own testimony, he was poor. That's what he said. Look in verse 15, 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. He says, Not only am I poor, but I am the very least in my father's house.

[John Weaver] Now let me show you two New Testament principles. Look in your Bibles very quickly to the book of Ephesians chapter 4. Ephesians chapter 4. And notice verse 28. Look what God tells us. Ephesians 4 verse 28. The Bible says, let him that stole steal no more. In other words, if you are a thief, repent. Let him that stole steal no more, but rather let him labor, working with his hands a thing which is good that he may have to give to him that needeth. God says what we should learn to do, if necessary, is labor with our hands. Why? Not only that we may provide for ourselves, but also that we may have to give to him that needeth, that we can be generous and gracious to others. And then if you look in your Bibles, the first Timothy chapter 5 in verse 8. First Timothy chapter 5 in verse 8. You notice this particular statement made by the Apostle Paul. Look what he says. First Timothy 5 verse 8.

[John Weaver] But if any provide not for his own, especially for those of his own house, he has denied the faith and is worse than an infidel. So here's a man who was a hard worker. But you must say this as well. He was an honest man. He was not a con artist. He was not a fraud. He was not a thief. He was a man that was working with his hands. He was a man that may have been poor. But he was making an honest living.

[John Weaver] You know, there are so many dishonest preachers today. There are many dishonest Christians. But let me tell you something, folks. Preachers take the cake. You ought to understand, anyone should understand, that if you're going to preach the truth, you at least ought to have character enough to live the truth. I remember one preacher. I was a boy. And he got three men in the church, one of them was my father. And he borrowed a large amount of money from those three men. And then that Sunday before he got up to preach, he told one of them he left his watch at home and could he borrow his watch that day? And so the man gave the pastor's watch. Well, after Sunday morning, when we assembled Sunday night for church, there was no preacher. You know why? He took the money, he took the watch, and he left town. A thief. A thief. Now, he didn't count on one thing. He didn't count on my father. Because my father and another man tracked him down. And they got the watch, and they got their money back.

[John Weaver] But can you imagine anyone having the nerve to do something like that? Absolutely, totally dishonest. You know what? Most people find it easier to be a thief. And then live within their own means. Isn't that amazing? I want you to look in your Bibles, Luke chapter 16, whole Judges chapter 6, but let me show you a principle. Look at Luke chapter 16. Here's the principle. Luke chapter 16, beginning there, verse 11. Look what our Lord says. Luke 16, verse 11.

[John Weaver] If therefore you have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, Who will commit unto you the true riches? And if you have not been faithful in that which is another man's, who shall give you that which is your own?

[John Weaver] Now, do you hear what our Lord is saying? If we cannot be faithful in our money. Who's going to give us the true riches? If we cannot be faithful and honest in that which is least, who's going to commit that to us, which is the greatest? And if I cannot be faithful in that which belongs to another man, who's going to give me that which is my own? So if I borrow Ed's vehicle and I tear it up just out of carelessness, unconcern, what makes you think God's going to ever give me something of my own? If I can't take care of his, I certainly wouldn't take care of my own. And if I can't be faithful in my little bit of money, do you think God is going to bless me with a tremendous spiritual blessing and use me to turn many to righteousness? No. We've got to learn to be faithful in the little things. Now, I want to tell you something, folks.

[John Weaver] Honesty is not only needed and necessary. I want you to look in your Bibles. to the book of Deuteronomy chapter 26. I tell people, and I deal with folks all the time, I check every bill that I have, and I tell people, when I see a discrepancy there, I say, look, I can assure you I'm going to pay what I owe, but I'm not going to pay one penny that I don't owe.

[John Weaver] You can mark that down right now. As we used to say, put it in your pipe and smoke it, you know, whatever. But look in Deuteronomy, chapter 20, 25, it is not 26 is chapter 25, beginning of verse 13. Watch carefully, by the way, as you turn there, do you realize one of the qualifications of a pastor? Is the pastor must be. A man of good report from them that are without. How can you be a man of good report if you're dishonest? You can't. Look what God says, Deuteronomy chapter 25, beginning there, verse 13. Here's what he says, Thou shalt not have in thy bag divers weights, that is, different weights are greater than small. By the way, why would anyone have different sizes of weights? To cheat, to defraud. He said, you're not going to do that. But thou shalt have a perfect and just weight, a perfect and just measure shalt thou have. that by days may be lengthened in the language of the Lord thy God, give it thee. For all that do such things and all that do unrighteously are an abomination of the Lord thy God."

[John Weaver] So here's a man who's a hard worker. Here's a man who's honest. That's not all. Look back in Judges chapter 6. Here's the third thing. He was innovative and wise. How do I get that? Well, One's got to ask this simple question. Look at verse 11. And there came an angel, the Lord, and sent her an oak, which was an oprah, that pertained unto Joash the Abiezarite, and his son Gideon, threshed wheat by the winepress, to hide it from the Midianites. Now, one must ask, why in the world was Gideon threshing wheat by the winepress and not on a mountain top? The easier place to thresh the wheat is where the wind can catch the chaff and blow it away. The wind can't catch the chaff by a winepress or down in a hole. Why was he there? Very simple. He was hiding it from the Midianites. What were they doing? Well, look in your Bibles. I know it's been some time since some of you read it, but look in Judges 6, beginning in verse 3.

[John Weaver] 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, and they encamped against them, and destroyed the increase of the earth, until thou come to Gaza, and left no sustenance for Israel, neither sheep, nor ox, nor ass. For they came up with their cattle and their tents, and they came up as grasshoppers for multitude.

[John Weaver] For both they and their camels were without number, and they entered into the land to destroy it. And Israel was greatly impoverished because the Midianites and the children of Israel cried unto the Lord.

[John Weaver] Now, what was he doing? He was hiding the fruits of his labor from those who would steal it. For those who would confiscate it. Unlawfully. Does not our Lord say in Matthew 10 and verse 16 that we are to be as wise as serpents and harmless as doves? Sure. You know what Gideon was doing? He's being wise. In fact, Gideon was exercising a biblical attitude. He was not courting danger.

[John Weaver] He was not tempting God. He was not challenging the Midianites to a fight that he knew he could not win by himself. No. What was he doing? He was using avoidance. He was using deception. He was using camouflage to keep away from danger and to provide for himself and his family.

[John Weaver] Now, there's a verse you will find it occurs twice in the Bible. You'll find it in Proverbs 22 and verse three and Proverbs 27 and verse 12, and it says this. A prudent man foresees the evil and hide himself. But the simple pass on and are punished. Now, listen that again, a prudent man, that is a wise man, foresees the evil. And what does he do? He hides himself. Words, he keeps himself out of danger. He keeps himself. From being stolen from and ripped off when there's nothing else that he can do, but the simple who are unwise Pass on and are punished. Now look in your Bibles to the book of Proverbs 28.

[John Weaver] And let me show it to you. In verse 12 and then in verse 28. Proverbs 28 verse 12. The Bible says, when righteous men do rejoice, there is great glory. But when the wicked rise, a man is hidden. Why is a man hidden when the wicked rise? Because they're always trying to destroy or to steal. Look in verse 28 of the same chapter. Proverbs 28, verse 28. When the wicked rise, men hide themselves, but when they perish, the righteous increase.

[John Weaver] Now, folks, let me tell you, Gideon had biblical character. He was only a hard worker. He was only honest. He was innovative and he was wise. He was hiding what little he had from those who would steal from him. Let me give you just a simple biblical principle. Don't tell everybody your business. I'm serious. Don't tell everybody what you have or what you don't have.

[John Weaver] Now, I realize there's some that are close friends and you understand are brothers in the Lord and you trust them implicitly. I understand that, but I've heard people, I've seen people just broadcast openly to anybody who happened to be walking by what they had, what their business was, what they were doing, what they were not doing. That's like going downtown in a bad section and reaching in your pocket and pulling out a roll of money and letting everybody see it. Guess what's going to happen? Sooner or later, you're going to get mugged. The truth is, folks, there are some things that other people have no business knowing. A million knights had no business knowing what Gideon had and what he didn't have. Nor did they have any business knowing where it was, what he was doing, or how he's providing for his family.

[John Weaver] So here's a man who had a godly character. He was a hard worker. Yes, he was honest. He was innovative. He was wise. But fourthly, listen carefully. Here's another aspect of his character. He was not easily discouraged. Look in verse 11 of Judges chapter 6 again. And there came an angel of the Lord and sat under an oak which was an ophra that pertained in the Joash the Abiezarite and his son Gideon threshed wheat by the winepress to hide it from the Midianites. Now here's my question. How long do you think Gideon had been threshing the wheat by the wine press? Let me ask that another way. How long do you think Gideon had been doing this work the hard way? Well, if you look in Judges chapter 6 and verse 1, you'll get the answer. Judges chapter six, verse one, and the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord. And the Lord delivered them into the hand of Midian seven years. So for seven long years, Gideon had been faithfully discharging his duties under the severest oppression.

[John Weaver] You say, what do you mean severest oppression? Look in verse two of chapter six. 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. The oppression were so severe that most of them hid themselves. So for seven years. He knocked out wheat with a stick. By the wine press. the hard way.

[John Weaver] I want you to note that he did not give up. He did not give in and he did not give way to despondency, discouragement and defeat. He just simply kept on doing what was right. He kept on doing what he knew needed to be done. Let me put it another way. Gideon was consistent and dedicated. Dr. Bob Jones Sr. had a saying, and it went like this, the greatest ability is dependability.

[John Weaver] Now you stop and think about that, folks. Most of us do not have great abilities. But the one ability that we can have is that we can be dependable. We can be faithful and we can be consistent. You see, one of our biggest problems as Christians is that we have not learned to stay faithful, regardless of the circumstances. What we do is this. We get to looking at the circumstances. We get to looking at the situation. We get looking at the times and we become discouraged.

[John Weaver] Downhearted, despondent, and we take a defeatist attitude. They can't fight City Hall. You've heard that all of your life. Well, the wicked's got the upper hand, man, they got the guns, they got the bombs, they got this, they got that. Well, let me tell you something. And I'm going to point it out just a moment. But if you want to be discouraged, you just look at the circumstances and you keep your eyes on the situation. But if you want to be dependable, If you want to be thankful, if you want to be someone that is not easily discouraged, then you need to keep your eye on the Word of God.

[John Weaver] Let me show you Galatians 6 and verse 9. I can quote it, but I want you to turn there, please. Look in Galatians 6 and verse 9. Then we're going to go to Jeremiah chapter 12. We'll look in Galatians 6 and verse 9. Is not this the absolute truth? Is not this God's Word? Look in Galatians 6 and verse 9, And let us not be weary in well-doing, for in due season we shall reap if we faint not. God did not say that we would reap if the circumstances were right. that we would reap if the situation was okay. No.

[John Weaver] He said, you just be consistent. You don't give up. You don't give in. You don't give out. You don't become discouraged. You just remember one thing that in due season, that is in God's time, we shall reap if we faint not. What God requires of us is faithfulness, dependability, doing our duty regardless of the situation and the circumstances. Look back in your Bible to the book of Jeremiah, Chapter 12.

[John Weaver] I've got news for you, I understand. That we live in hard times. But that doesn't mean it's not going to get any worse. That doesn't mean it's not going to get harder. And look at the question that God asked through Jeremiah, God asked. If thou hast run with a footman and they have wearied thee, then how can thou contend with horses? And if thou in the land of peace were thou trusted, they wearied thee, then how wilt thou do in the swelling of the Jordan? Now, God said, if you've been running along with a footman, and you got tired and discouraged, what are you going to do when the horses come along? And if in the land of peace, in the time of prosperity, you get discouraged, what are you going to do with the swelling of Jordan? That is, when Jordan overflows her banks, And you're in really deep trouble in. What are you going to do?

[John Weaver] Let me tell you something, folks. If we understand. The truth of God's word. There is no reason to be discouraged. I had someone asked me this last week. It kind of took me by surprise. But the person asked me, well, are you ever discouraged? And you know what my answer was? Hardly ever. Hardly ever. Why? Because I know that God is sovereign. I know that greater is he that is in us than he that is in the world. Now, my wife can tell you this.

[John Weaver] I've told her this innumerable times. You know, the one thing that would discourage me. Her. I'm serious. I told her years ago, I can take everything the world throws at me. I can take what the ungodly throws at me. I can take what other Christians throw at me because of their own ignorance and misunderstanding. But when I come home. I don't want someone on my case griping and complaining and jumping up and down. And you understand what I'm saying? I don't want someone at home turning against me.

[John Weaver] That's the only area that I could become discouraged in. And since you've been such a good wife, I would never get discouraged. Besides, If she knows she's ugly, I'll sit Jane on her. I mean, you know, or Rachel or somebody. I'll get somebody to deal with her. No. But you understand what I'm saying? How in the world can you be discouraged if you understand that the sovereign, omnipotent God of heaven and earth is in control? God came to a man who for seven years under the severest oppression and persecution remained faithful. That's a mark of character. He never gave in. He never gave up. And he never gave way. Why? Here's the fifth point. Demonstrating his character because he is a man of faith.

[John Weaver] Look in your Bibles to Judges 6. Look at verse 10. Judges 6, verse 10, and then 11. Judges 6, verse 10. Here's what the prophet says through the power of God. And God said, I said unto you, I am the Lord your God. Fear not the gods of the Amorites and whose land you dwell. But you have not obeyed my voice. And there came an angel of the Lord and son of an oak, which was Oprah, that pertained in the Joash, the Abiezarite, and his son Gideon, threshed sweet by the winepress. Evidently, Gideon was one of the few who did not fear the gods of the Amorites. He was one of the few who continued to obey God.

[John Weaver] There was a large number of the people who had apostatized. But Gideon didn't. I want you to understand something, folks. If we are a people of faith, it does not matter how many are on the other side. It does not matter what everyone else is doing. We understand the Word of God. What does the Bible say in Hebrews 11 verse 6? But without faith, it is impossible to please God. For he that cometh to God must first believe that he is and that he is a rewarder of those that diligently seek him. What kept Gideon faithful for seven years? He knew that God was going to reward him sooner or later. He didn't know that God was going to come in this miraculous manner. But he knew that God was going to come. You know what the name Gideon means? It means hewer. God used Gideon not just to hew down the image of Baal, but to hew down Baal worship. Understand something. Faith does not look at circumstances. Faith does not look at situations.

[John Weaver] Faith does not determine and is not determined by our feelings. Faith only looks at the Word of God. Look in your Bibles to 1 John 5. Once again, here's a verse that I can quote, but I want you to see it because I believe it's very, very important. Look in 1 John 5 at verse 4. Look at what God says. 1 John 5 verse 4. For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world. And this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith. What is it that gives us victory over the world? Our faith. Faith in God, faith in his word, Regardless of the situation, regardless of the circumstances, faith and a man of faith is not easily discouraged. A man of faith can be faithful, even in the severest oppression. A man of faith can continue to be honest and continue to be a hardworking man. Even in light. Of persecution.

[John Weaver] Now, let me make just a couple of applications. I want you to go back in your Bibles to Judges, chapter six. And look, if you would, please. At verse 11. I'll probably say more about this next Lord's Day. But in Judges, chapter six, and there came an angel, the Lord, and sat on an oak tree, which is in Ophrah that pertained to Joash the Abiezarite and his son Gideon threshed wheat by the winepress to hide it from the Midianites. Note, and there came an angel of the Lord and sat under an oak. It was God who came to Gideon. It was God who called Gideon. It was God who initiated the conversation, the calling, and the promises. Here's the point. God calls whomsoever he pleases.

[John Weaver] When I was a child and in school. When the teacher would begin giving us an oral quiz. And she would ask a question that was easy. You know what we would all do? Me, me, choose me, I know, I know. I always wanted to answer the easy questions, but guess what? She didn't always call me for an easy question. When she asked a hard question, nobody raised their hand.

[John Weaver] Everybody kind of pointed at somebody. Don't call me, call him. Well, let me tell you something, folks. We can say and we should say, Lord, here am I, Sid me. But God still calls and uses whomever he pleases. Know what the Bible says in Hebrews 5 in verse 4. And no man taketh this honor unto himself, but he that is called of God, as was Aaron. No man taketh this honor to himself, but he that is called of God, as was Aaron. You know what God will do. God will sovereignly raise up a man.

[John Weaver] He always has and always will. God will sovereignly raise up a man to save His people. But it will be a man of God's own choosing. And I can assure you, first and foremost, it's going to be a man of character. In Mark 3, verse 13, The Bible says concerning our Lord, that he goeth up into a mountain and calleth unto him whom he would. And they came unto him. Who did our Lord call to be his disciples? Whomever he pleased. And when he called them, they came.

[John Weaver] Now, I want you to turn in your Bibles to Jeremiah 23. And let me show you one of the greatest problems that we have in this day and time. Look at Jeremiah 23. And notice, verse 32. Jeremiah 23, verse 32. God is dealing with the false prophets. With the false preachers. And here's what he says, Jeremiah 23, verse 32, Behold, I am against them that prophesy false dreams, saith the Lord, and do tell them, and cause my people to err by their lies and by their likeness.

[John Weaver] Yet I sent them not, nor commanded them. Therefore they shall not profit this people at all, saith the Lord. We have men that have never been called God. And therefore, says God, they will not profit. They will not benefit this people at all. Do you understand, folks? You can build great cathedrals. You can build great works. You can have thousands in attendance The best music ministry in the entire world. But if there's not a man there that's been called of God. It will not benefit. Or profit the people. At all. For God said, I sent him not. I commanded him not. And yet he ran. We need to pray. That God would raise up a man in this country.

[John Weaver] And I don't know who. And I don't know from where. But I know this when God raises him up. Each of us will know that he's God's man. Because he will have a godly character, he will evidence it. The second application is very simple. Each of us should understand the importance of developing a biblical character, a godly character. Without a godly character, we are useless and unusable. What we need to pray for is not just simply that God would give us that character. But that God would enable us to apply his word to our individual lives and bring our lives in conformity to the word of God and thus produce that character.

[John Weaver] The older we get. The more godly, the more firm in our convictions and the greater character we should have. And for our young people, they need to know. They need to understand that the foundation in their lives is being laid right now as to what they will be 10 or 15 years from now. And if you and I cannot be faithful in that which is least. How is God going to use us?

[John Weaver] And that which is the greatest. Let me show you one passage in closing, look in First Corinthians. Chapter one. I probably should use this passage. On some other point, but I want to show you I love this passage. Remember what Gideon said? That he's the least. In his father's house, I'm nothing. Look in 1 Corinthians 1. Verse 25. Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men. And the weakness of God is stronger than men. Or you see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh Not many mighty, not many noble are called. But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise, and God has 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 have God chosen, yea, and things which are not to bring to naught things that are, that no flesh should glory in his presence. Look in verse 31, that according as it is written, he that glorieth let him glory.

[John Weaver] And the Lord, let me tell you something, folks, if God chooses the weak, if God chooses the foolish. If God chooses the base. Most of us qualify. If we have character. You understand that. What did he say, I'm the poorest. And I'm the least of my father's house. God. can use a crooked stick to draw a straight line. Let's pray. Father, we ask in the name of Jesus Christ that you would help us. Lord, we need thee. We need godly character. We need to be used of thee. We want to present ourselves a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto thee, which is our reasonable service. May we, Father, Be usable vessels, whether thou dost ever choose to use us or not.

[John Weaver] That is thy divine prerogative. But Lord, may we always be at thy disposal. In the name of Jesus Christ, we ask and pray. Amen. Amen.

Prerequisites to be Used by God - 1

John Weaver | SermonAudio

Lecture Metadata	Details
Speaker	John Weaver
Source	SermonAudio
Media ID	10290315725
Subject	Old Testament Studies
Course	Proverbs: The Fear of the Lord and Wisdom: The Doctrine of Election
Genre	Sermon
Date	2003-10-26
Dictation Name
Book	Book 189: Prerequisites to be Used by God — Chapter 1
Source Timed Segments	87

Formatted Transcript

Introduction: God Uses Men, Not Committees

Weaver introduces the series on prerequisites to be used by God, noting that God used Gideon mightily and that God uses individuals, not committees or corporations.

Well, let's open our Bibles to the book of Judges, chapter six. Book of Judges, chapter six. There are a number of things that I want to bring to you in preaching, but I passed through the book of Judges again, reading it, and you remember a couple of months ago, I preached several messages from Judges, chapter six on the life of Gideon. And as I came to this chapter, I read it and I thought, well, I've already preached from this chapter several times. And then I looked at it and lo and behold, here was new material that I had not even seen as I preached through it before. So I want to bring a message today which will probably continue for two or three weeks. Entitled "Prerequisites to be Used of God." Prerequisites to be used of God. So Judges chapter six, and let's begin reading there with verse eleven. Judges chapter six, verse eleven: "And there came an angel of the Lord and sat under an oak tree which was in Ophrah, that pertained unto Joash the Abiezarite: and his son Gideon threshed wheat by the winepress, to hide it from the Midianites. And the angel of the Lord appeared unto him, and said unto him, The Lord is with

thee, thou mighty man of valor. And Gideon said unto him, O my Lord, if the Lord be with us, why then is all this befallen us? 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. And the Lord looked upon him, and said, Go in this thy might, and thou shalt save Israel from the hand of the Midianites: have not I sent thee? And he said unto him, O my Lord, wherewith shall I save Israel? Behold, my family is poor in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father's house. And the Lord said unto him, Surely I will be with thee, and thou shalt smite the Midianites as one man. 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 Abiezarites. 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. Now each of us know and understand that God used Gideon to deliver his nation from God's enemies, the Midianites. The life of Gideon gives us many important lessons and principles to live and govern our lives by. Now, Gideon may have failed at certain points, as all of us do, but one thing is for certain: he was a man used of God. And I might add, he was mightily used of God. I suppose that one of the greatest desires of every true Christian, and especially of every true preacher, is to be used by God.

Scripture Reading — Romans 9:23

We not only want to be vessels of mercy, according to Romans 9 and verse 23, we also want to be vessels of honor. If you would hold Judges chapter 6, but look in your Bibles very quickly to 2 Timothy chapter 2. And let me explain to you what I mean by vessels of honor. Notice in 2 Timothy chapter 2, beginning there with verse 20. 2 Timothy chapter 2 verse 20. The word of God says, "But in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and of silver, but also of wood and of earth; and some to honor, and some to dishonor. If a man therefore purge himself from these, that is, those which are of dishonor, if a man therefore purge himself from these, he shall be a vessel unto honor, sanctified, and meet for the master's use, and prepared unto every good work." So God says if we purge ourselves from the dishonorable vessels, then we will be an honorable vessel, sanctified and meet for the master's use, prepared unto every good work. Now God commands us in 1 Thessalonians 4 and verse 4 that each one of us should know how to possess his vessel in sanctification and honor.

And the vessel there refers to our body. So God says at all times we should know how to possess our bodies in sanctification and honor. If we followed God's commands, each of us would be readily available for the master's use. Now, since you're in the New Testament, I also want you to look at 2 Corinthians, chapter 7 and verse 1, because this passage is parallel to 2 Timothy, chapter 2. In 2 Corinthians, chapter 7 and verse 1, the Bible says this:

Scripture Reading — 2 Corinthians 7:1

"Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God."

Now, God says we are to cleanse ourselves not only from the filthiness of the flesh, but also the spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God. Now, what God is teaching us is basically this: when we cleanse ourselves from the filthiness of the flesh, that is external, when we cleanse ourselves from a filthy spirit, that is internal, all of that is equal to 2 Timothy 2:20-21, that is purging ourselves from vessels of dishonor that we may be an honorable vessel fit for the Master's use. So God tells us then that when we cleanse ourselves externally and internally, we are indeed purging ourselves from that which is dishonorable.

Now, God used Gideon. No one can deny that fact. God used Gideon mightily. We look around today and we see basically our nation in the same situation that Gideon's nation was in during his time. They were oppressed. They were persecuted. The enemy had the upper hand. And God used Gideon.

Now, let me just be very pointed. God does not use committees. I read one man's writing one time, and he said, "For God so loved the world that he did not send a committee." And that is so true. God does not use committees. God does not use corporations. God uses men. And he came to Gideon and he found a man that he could use to deliver his people from the hands of their enemies. Now, my question is very simple: would you not like to be used of God to deliver our people from the hands of the enemy?

The First Prerequisite: A Man of Character

The angel of the Lord called Gideon a 'mighty man of valor,' which also means virtue, indicating that God requires character.

Now, today, I'm only going to cover one point. What is the very first prerequisite? I want you to note that Gideon was a man of character. Notice, if you would please, in Judges chapter six, in verse eleven, the angel of the Lord comes to Gideon as he is threshing wheat by the winepress, to hide it from the Midianites. And then in verse 12, "And the angel of the Lord appeared unto him, and said unto him, The Lord is with thee, thou mighty man of valor."

Now, I've often kind of smiled at this. And, you know, I mentioned this to you before. If Gideon was a mighty man of valor, why was he hiding by the winepress? Well, let me just point out the fact that God called him a mighty man of valor. The Hebrew word for valor is the word chayil. It occurs 37 times in the Old Testament. And let me tell you this about this one particular word: every time the word valor appears in the Old Testament, it is always from the same Hebrew word.

Now, valor is usually given to us in a military sense. Hence, David's warriors and also the Israelitish soldiers who were brave and courageous were referred to as mighty men of valor. So usually when you read the word valor, it has the context of military strength or military might. But the word goes beyond military strength and military might. The word valor can also mean not only strength or force, but can also be used to understand virtue. So Gideon was not just simply a man of strength; he was a man of virtue. So actually, the angel of the Lord said, "Hail, thou mighty man of virtue," which included strength and a number of other things as well. So he was indeed then a man of character.

General Principles of Character

Weaver outlines four broad principles: character is what a man is in the dark; the test of character is what it takes to stop you; God may use you on credit early but later on character; character is built over a lifetime.

Now, before we begin to look precisely at Gideon's life, I want to give you some broad principles concerning character. And I want you to stop and think about these with me. First of all, it has been well said that character is what a man is in the dark. Now, the explanation of that is very simple. You tell me what you would do if you knew that no one would ever find out about it, and I'll tell you exactly what you are. You said, "Well, if I knew no one else would ever find out about it, boy, I'd run off with old sister so and so." Well, you're an adulterer. "Well, if I knew no one would ever find out about it, I'd go steal all the gold in the world." Well, you're a thief.

Character is what a man is in the dark. Character is what we are alone before God. Character is not what we put on in front of everyone else. Character is what we are by ourselves. So very obviously, the very first thing we need to understand is that character is what a man is in the dark. The second thing about character is this: the test of your character is what it takes to stop you.

Now let me just point out the fact, if that is a true statement, and it is true, very few people in this day and time have real, genuine character. Because to stop the average individual, all you've got to do is gossip about them, or insinuate something, or hurt their feelings, or not let things go their way. And their attitude is, "If you can't play by my rules, I'll take my marbles and I'll go home." Because their feelings get hurt. Do you realize there is absolutely no comparison between the Christians of today and the Christians of the first century? The Christians of the first century were willing to die for their faith. And I've got news for you: some of the ways they died were not too pleasant. But so often we let so many little things hinder us and stop us from doing that which is right and honorable and biblical. So the test of your character is what it takes to stop you.

The third thing is this. Listen carefully. And this is a broad general principle. God may use you on credit the first years of your life. After that, he will use you on character. And if you don't have any character, you might as well forget God ever using you.

Now, I know that there are a few exceptions to that statement. God used Balaam, and he certainly had no character. God used Balaam's ass. But I got news for you, I do not want to suffer the fate of Balaam. You remember Balaam was the false prophet who said, "Let me die the death of the righteous," but you cannot die the death of the righteous unless you live the life of the righteous. It is true God used Balaam and Balaam had no character, but he was the exception and not the rule. If you'll look in your Bibles, hold Judges 6, but look in your Bibles to 2 Chronicles chapter 16 and verse 9. 2 Chronicles 16 and verse 9. Look what the Bible says. Just to demonstrate to you that God looks for people who have character. The Bible says, 2 Chronicles 16 verse 9,

Scripture Reading — 2 Chronicles 16:9

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

In other words, God is looking for someone with a heart who's perfect toward him. God is looking for someone who has a life that measures up to what God requires. So here's the truth: God may use us on credit the first years of our life. And I'll explain why in just a moment. But after that, he's going to use us on character. And if we don't have any character, we might as well forget God ever using us. Here's the fourth general principle: character is not something that can be attained overnight. It is not something that can be attained in an instant of time.

That's why I said that God may use us on credit for the first years of our lives. But character is something that grows, that builds, that increases over time. It is the habit, it is the disposition, it is the attitude and the actions of a lifetime. One should increase in character as he grows older, wiser, and meditates upon the word of God. But let me point out that that does not automatically happen. Do you know how we build character in our lives? It's not just simply as we read and meditate upon the word. It's as we apply that word to our lives and thus bring our lives into conformity to the word of God. As we do that, then slowly but surely, we begin to build a godly character.

Let me put it like this: our convictions, our biblical convictions, should become deeper and stronger and firmer over a period of time. You should have more godly character today than you had last month. You should have more godly character today than you had last year. I could say it like this, we should be better men today than we were last year, because character is something that builds over a lifetime. Let me tell you something, folks. If you will slowly but surely begin to not only study the Word of God, but say, "How can I apply this in my life? How can I make my life more biblical, more in conformity to the Word of God?" you're going to find that you're going to be slowly but surely and progressively changing to become a more godly person. Thus, you're going to develop a biblical and a godly character.

Now, here are four very general principles. Let me show you some of the things that God reveals to us about Gideon and his character. Notice, if you would please, the Bible says in Judges 6 and verse 11, "And there came an angel of the Lord and sat under an oak, which was at Ophrah, that pertained unto Joash the Abiezarite: and his son Gideon threshed wheat by the winepress." The very first thing the Bible shows us about Gideon was he was a hard worker. What does that mean? Well, he was threshing wheat. Threshing wheat is hard work, but let me tell you a little story. What Gideon was doing was harder than normal. You see, Gideon was not necessarily using an oxen here. Gideon was not necessarily using any mechanical means. In fact, the word thresh here literally means to knock wheat out with a stick.

Gideon Was a Hard Worker

Gideon was threshing wheat by hand, a laborious task indicating diligence. Weaver contrasts this with laziness and shows from 2 Timothy 2 that ministry is hard work.

If you will turn right over in your Bibles to the book of Ruth, just a few books over, Joshua, Judges, Ruth. It's the next book over. Joshua, Judges, Ruth. Ruth chapter two, and look at verse 17. If you knocked out wheat with a stick, it indicated that you were extremely poor. You remember Ruth was the widow woman, Naomi's daughter-in-law. Well look in Ruth chapter 2 and verse 17,

Scripture Reading — Ruth 2:17

"So she gleaned in the field until even, and beat out that she had gleaned: and it was about an ephah of barley."

How'd she beat it out? She beat it out with a stick. So when he was here threshing the wheat, he was not sitting back watching oxen do it, no. He had a stick and he was beating out the wheat himself. So threshing here, in this manner, was hard, meticulous work.

Let me make a point. I'm going to make a broad generalization, then I'm going to narrow it down. The ministry is no place for a lazy man. Now let me narrow it down. Any service of God has no place for a lazy man. God requires that we be diligent. When he came to Gideon, he found him hard at work. I remember when I was a boy, I wanted to be a preacher.

Now, I want to confess something to you this morning. When I was a boy and I wanted to be a preacher, my motives were not pure. You know why I wanted to be a preacher when I was a boy? Because all I saw the preacher ever do was Sunday morning, Sunday night, and Wednesday night. I figured, hey, man, for three hours a week and have the rest of the week to play, that's wonderful. So if I could just be a preacher and, you know, just preach a couple hours a week and have the rest of the week to play, well, man, my goodness, I'd be set for life. Well, God did call me in the ministry, but it didn't quite work out the way I thought it would because I found out that it's seven days a week and many times, many nights during the week. And you know something?

Every time you plan to take a day off or a couple days off, usually somebody gets sick or somebody dies or somebody wants to get married or somebody needs counseling. So inevitably, you always end up in the ministry seven days a week and sometimes many nights of the week. So I'm pointing out the fact, when God uses a man, He expects a man to be a hard worker. Now, hold Judges 6, but turn in your Bibles to 2 Timothy 2. Let me show you something. God gives us eight pictures of the ministry in 2 Timothy 2. I might form this out. This could be eight pictures of any man that God uses. Notice, if you would please, 2 Timothy 2 verse 1, Paul is writing Timothy, who was his young understudy, and he said, "Thou therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus." Now, in verse 2, he gives us an illustration, the first illustration of what the ministry is like.

He says, "And the things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also." So what's the picture? Here's a picture of a teacher. Now, let me tell you something, folks, if you have never taught, you don't know the work in teaching. You don't know the hours of preparation, the hours of communication, and then the hours of correcting and grading papers. And although the school day sometimes, quote unquote, may only run from 8:30 until 2:30 or 3:00, that doesn't mean a thing. Because a teacher is someone who wants to communicate truth. And therefore, there's a lot of study and a lot of work that goes into it. I told someone recently, I said, "You know, sometimes it is difficult for a pastor to grasp something. And this is what it's difficult to grasp: why in the world cannot you understand and comprehend in one hour what it took me 15 or 20 hours to dig out?" You follow? You'll never grasp it in one hour. If it took me 15 or 20 to get it, it's probably going to take you that long as well. So that is the necessity of sometimes repeating truth over and over so that we can grasp it.

But here he gives the illustration of a preacher. That's not all. Look at verses three and four: "Thou therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life; that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier." Now, in verses three and four, you have the illustration of the ministry or the work of God as compared to being a soldier. I was in service.

So were many of you. And you know that your day normally starts at 5 a.m. and usually stops somewhere around 10 or 11. And, you know, the hard things that you have to do, God says, "Endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ." And then he talks about the fact that God has chosen us. So the ministry, then, is compared to a teacher. It's compared to a soldier. That's not all. Look in verse five.

"And if a man also strive for masteries, yet is he not crowned, except he strive lawfully." Now it's compared to an athlete. Now, I don't know about you, but there are many things I cannot do, athletically speaking. A lot of things I'd like to do. But do you realize the hours that those gymnasts put in just to be able to do those handsprings and mad exercises? Can you imagine some of the martial artists? I mean, jumping in air, twirling and kicking and doing two or three things at one time. Can you imagine the practice day after day, hour after hour? Can you imagine just someone who runs 15 or 20 miles?

This is what he's talking about. "If a man also strive for masteries," that is, an athlete, he wants to win something, "yet is he not crowned, except he strive lawfully." He's not only got to follow the rules, he's got to be a fine, fine, disciplined individual. Then if you look in verse 6, "The husbandman that laboureth must be first partaker of the fruits." Now the ministry is now compared to a farmer in verse 6. I don't know how many of you were raised on a farm, but I was raised on a farm. And I can tell you, especially usually every summer, we were up at 3 a.m. when I was a boy and you would work in the barn until daylight. Then you went to the field and you did not come in from the field except for dinner. And then when it got dark, and then by the time you got in and got a bath, you weren't interested in going anywhere except to bed.

So God here likens the ministry and his service to that of a farmer. Look in verse seven. He says, "Consider what I say; and the Lord give thee understanding in all things." Now, here's a student. What's a student do? He studies, he meditates over and over and over. I don't know about you, but most of us do not breeze through the universities. We do not breeze through colleges. We do not breeze through schools.

We have to work at it. We have to study. Look down in verse eight: "Remember that Jesus Christ of the seed of David was raised from the dead according to my gospel." Here, the minister is compared to a preacher, that is, someone who is looking for the fulfillment of the promises. Then look in verses 9 and 10: "Wherein I suffer trouble, as an evil doer, even unto bonds; but the word of God is not bound. Therefore I endure all things for the elect's sakes, that they may also obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory." So here, the minister is compared to a witness. And then if you look at verse 15, he says, "Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth." Now, the interesting thing is this, the word workman is the word for toiler or laborer, someone whose occupation is working. Not someone who sits in an air-conditioned office.

Not someone who comes in at nine, leaves at five, has three breaks a day and a two-hour lunch period. No, no, no. Here's a man that is a toiler, that is a laborer. Here are eight pictures given to us in 2 Timothy chapter 2 that shows us clearly that the ministry and the service of God is hard work. And by the way, if you will turn back to Judges chapter 6 and you will notice that when our Lord came to Gideon, he did not find Gideon sitting under a shade tree sipping lemonade. He found him threshing wheat with a stick. He found him hard at work. So the very first thing we find in Gideon as a man of character, he's a hard worker. By the way, you've always heard the expression, "If you want anything done, ask a busy man." And that's about the truth. You ask a hard worker, they're the ones that get things done. But notice secondly, not only was Gideon a hard worker, Gideon was honest. You know what he was doing when he was threshing out that wheat? Let me tell you.

Gideon Was Honest

Gideon was providing for his family through honest labor, not theft. Weaver stresses that honesty in small things is necessary for God to entrust greater things.

He was providing for his family. According to Gideon's own testimony, he was poor. That's what he said. Look in verse 15, "And he said unto him, O my Lord, wherewith shall I save Israel? Behold, my family is poor in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father's house." He says, "Not only am I poor, but I am the very least in my father's house."

Now let me show you two New Testament principles. Look in your Bibles very quickly to the book of Ephesians chapter 4. Ephesians chapter 4. And notice verse 28. Look what God tells us. Ephesians 4 verse 28. The Bible says,

Scripture Reading — Ephesians 4:28

"Let him that stole steal no more."

In other words, if you are a thief, repent.

Scripture Reading — Ephesians 4:28

"Let him that stole steal no more: but rather let him labour, working with his hands the thing which is good, that he may have to give to him that needeth."

God says what we should learn to do, if necessary, is labor with our hands. Why? Not only that we may provide for ourselves, but also that we may have to give to him that needeth, that we can be generous and gracious to others. And then if you look in your Bibles, the first Timothy chapter 5 in verse 8. First Timothy chapter 5 in verse 8. You notice this particular statement made by the Apostle Paul. Look what he says. First Timothy 5 verse 8.

"But if any provide not for his own, and specially for those of his own house, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel." So here's a man who was a hard worker. But you must say this as well: he was an honest man. He was not a con artist. He was not a fraud. He was not a thief. He was a man that was working with his hands. He was a man that may have been poor, but he was making an honest living.

You know, there are so many dishonest preachers today. There are many dishonest Christians. But let me tell you something, folks. Preachers take the cake. You ought to understand, anyone should understand, that if you're going to preach the truth, you at least ought to have character enough to live the truth. I remember one preacher. I was a boy. And he got three men in the church, one of them was my father. And he borrowed a large amount of money from those three men. And then that Sunday before he got up to preach, he told one of them he left his watch at home and could he borrow his watch that day? And so the man gave the pastor his watch. Well, after Sunday morning, when we assembled Sunday night for church, there was no preacher. You know why? He took the money, he took the watch, and he left town. A thief. A thief. Now, he didn't count on one thing. He didn't count on my father. Because my father and another man tracked him down. And they got the watch, and they got their money back.

But can you imagine anyone having the nerve to do something like that? Absolutely, totally dishonest. You know what? Most people find it easier to be a thief and then live within their own means. Isn't that amazing? I want you to look in your Bibles, Luke chapter 16, hold Judges chapter 6, but let me show you a principle. Look at Luke chapter 16. Here's the principle. Luke chapter 16, beginning there, verse 11. Look what our Lord says. Luke 16, verse 11.

"If therefore ye have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches? And if ye have not been faithful in that which is another man's, who shall give you that which is your own?" Now, do you hear what our Lord is saying? If we cannot be faithful in our money, who's going to give us the true riches? If we cannot be faithful and honest in that which is least, who's going to commit that to us which is the greatest? And if I cannot be faithful in that which belongs to another man, who's going to give me that which is my own? So if I borrow Ed's vehicle and I tear it up just out of carelessness, unconcern, what makes you think God's going to ever give me something of my own? If I can't take care of his, I certainly wouldn't take care of my own. And if I can't be faithful in my little bit of money, do you think God is going to bless me with a tremendous spiritual blessing and use me to turn many to righteousness? No. We've got to learn to be faithful in the little things. Now, I want to tell you something, folks.

Honesty is not only needed and necessary. I want you to look in your Bibles to the book of Deuteronomy chapter 25. I tell people, and I deal with folks all the time, I check every bill that I have, and I tell people, when I see a discrepancy there, I say, "Look, I can assure you I'm going to pay what I owe, but I'm not going to pay one penny that I don't owe." You can mark that down right now. As we used to say, put it in your pipe and smoke it, you know, whatever. But look in Deuteronomy, chapter 25, beginning of verse 13. Watch carefully, by the way, as you turn there, do you realize one of the qualifications of a pastor is the pastor must be a man of good report from them that are without. How can you be a man of good report if you're dishonest? You can't. Look what God says, Deuteronomy chapter 25, beginning there, verse 13. Here's what he says:

Scripture Reading — Deuteronomy 25:13-16

"Thou shalt not have in thy bag divers weights, a great and a small."

By the way, why would anyone have different sizes of weights? To cheat, to defraud. He said, you're not going to do that.

Scripture Reading — Deuteronomy 25:13-16

"But thou shalt have a perfect and just weight, a perfect and just measure shalt thou have: that thy days may be lengthened in the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee. For all that do such things, and all that do unrighteously, are an abomination unto the Lord thy God."

Gideon Was Innovative and Wise

Gideon threshed wheat by the winepress to hide it from the Midianites, demonstrating prudence and biblical wisdom in avoiding unnecessary danger.

So here's a man who's a hard worker. Here's a man who's honest. That's not all. Look back in Judges chapter 6. Here's the third thing: he was innovative and wise. How do I get that? Well, one's got to ask this simple question. Look at verse 11: "And there came an angel of the Lord, and sat under an oak which was in Ophrah, that pertained unto Joash the Abiezarite: and his son Gideon threshed wheat by the winepress, to hide it from the Midianites." Now, one must ask, why in the world was Gideon threshing wheat by the winepress and not on a mountain top? The easier place to thresh the wheat is where the wind can catch the chaff and blow it away. The wind can't catch the chaff by a winepress or down in a hole. Why was he there? Very simple. He was hiding it from the Midianites. What were they doing? Well, look in your Bibles. I know it's been some time since some of you read it, but look in Judges 6, beginning in verse 3.

"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; and they encamped against them, and destroyed the increase of the earth, till thou come unto Gaza, and left no sustenance for Israel, neither sheep, nor ox, nor ass. For they came up with their cattle and their tents, and they came as grasshoppers for multitude; for both they and their camels were without number: and they entered into the land to destroy it. And Israel was greatly impoverished because of the Midianites; and the children of Israel cried unto the Lord."

Now, what was he doing? He was hiding the fruits of his labor from those who would steal it, for those who would confiscate it unlawfully. Does not our Lord say in Matthew 10 and verse 16 that we are to be as wise as serpents and harmless as doves? Sure. You know what Gideon was doing? He's being wise. In fact, Gideon was exercising a biblical attitude. He was not courting danger.

He was not tempting God. He was not challenging the Midianites to a fight that he knew he could not win by himself. No. What was he doing? He was using avoidance. He was using deception. He was using camouflage to keep away from danger and to provide for himself and his family.

Now, there's a verse you will find it occurs twice in the Bible. You'll find it in Proverbs 22 and verse 3 and Proverbs 27 and verse 12, and it says this:

Scripture Reading — Proverbs 22:3; 27:12

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

Now, listen that again, a prudent man, that is a wise man, foresees the evil. And what does he do? He hides himself. In other words, he keeps himself out of danger. He keeps himself from being stolen from and ripped off when there's nothing else that he can do, but the simple who are unwise pass on and are punished. Now look in your Bibles to the book of Proverbs 28.

And let me show it to you. In verse 12 and then in verse 28. Proverbs 28 verse 12. The Bible says,

Scripture Reading — Proverbs 28:12, 28

"When righteous men do rejoice, there is great glory: but when the wicked rise, a man is hidden."

Why is a man hidden when the wicked rise? Because they're always trying to destroy or to steal. Look in verse 28 of the same chapter. Proverbs 28, verse 28.

Scripture Reading — Proverbs 28:12, 28

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

Now, folks, let me tell you, Gideon had biblical character. He was not only a hard worker, he was not only honest, he was innovative and he was wise. He was hiding what little he had from those who would steal from him. Let me give you just a simple biblical principle: don't tell everybody your business. I'm serious. Don't tell everybody what you have or what you don't have.

Now, I realize there's some that are close friends and you understand are brothers in the Lord and you trust them implicitly. I understand that, but I've heard people, I've seen people just broadcast openly to anybody who happened to be walking by what they had, what their business was, what they were doing, what they were not doing. That's like going downtown in a bad section and reaching in your pocket and pulling out a roll of money and letting everybody see it. Guess what's going to happen? Sooner or later, you're going to get mugged. The truth is, folks, there are some things that other people have no business knowing. The Midianites had no business knowing what Gideon had and what he didn't have. Nor did they have any business knowing where it was, what he was doing, or how he's providing for his family.

Gideon Was Not Easily Discouraged

For seven years under severe oppression, Gideon remained faithful and consistent, exemplifying dependability and perseverance.

So here's a man who had a godly character. He was a hard worker. Yes, he was honest. He was innovative. He was wise. But fourthly, listen carefully. Here's another aspect of his character: he was not easily discouraged. Look in verse 11 of Judges chapter 6 again: "And there came an angel of the Lord and sat under an oak which was in Ophrah, that pertained unto Joash the Abiezarite: and his son Gideon threshed wheat by the winepress, to hide it from the Midianites." Now here's my question: how long do you think Gideon had been threshing the wheat by the winepress? Let me ask that another way: how long do you think Gideon had been doing this work the hard way? Well, if you look in Judges chapter 6 and verse 1, you'll get the answer. Judges chapter six, verse one: "And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord: and the Lord delivered them into the hand of Midian seven years." So for seven long years, Gideon had been faithfully discharging his duties under the severest oppression.

You say, what do you mean severest oppression? Look in verse two of chapter six: "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 strong holds." The oppression was so severe that most of them hid themselves. So for seven years, he knocked out wheat with a stick by the winepress, the hard way. I want you to note that he did not give up. He did not give in and he did not give way to despondency, discouragement, and defeat. He just simply kept on doing what was right. He kept on doing what he knew needed to be done. Let me put it another way: Gideon was consistent and dedicated. Dr. Bob Jones Sr. had a saying, and it went like this: "The greatest ability is dependability."

Now you stop and think about that, folks. Most of us do not have great abilities. But the one ability that we can have is that we can be dependable. We can be faithful and we can be consistent. You see, one of our biggest problems as Christians is that we have not learned to stay faithful, regardless of the circumstances. What we do is this: we get to looking at the circumstances. We get to looking at the situation. We get looking at the times and we become discouraged.

Downhearted, despondent, and we take a defeatist attitude. "They can't fight City Hall." You've heard that all of your life. "Well, the wicked's got the upper hand, man, they got the guns, they got the bombs, they got this, they got that." Well, let me tell you something. And I'm going to point it out just a moment. But if you want to be discouraged, you just look at the circumstances and you keep your eyes on the situation. But if you want to be dependable, if you want to be thankful, if you want to be someone that is not easily discouraged, then you need to keep your eye on the Word of God. Let me show you Galatians 6 and verse 9. I can quote it, but I want you to turn there, please. Look in Galatians 6 and verse 9. Then we're going to go to Jeremiah chapter 12. We'll look in Galatians 6 and verse 9. Is not this the absolute truth? Is not this God's Word? Look in Galatians 6 and verse 9,

Scripture Reading — Galatians 6:9

"And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not."

God did not say that we would reap if the circumstances were right, that we would reap if the situation was okay. No.

He said, you just be consistent. You don't give up. You don't give in. You don't give out. You don't become discouraged. You just remember one thing: that in due season, that is in God's time, we shall reap if we faint not. What God requires of us is faithfulness, dependability, doing our duty regardless of the situation and the circumstances. Look back in your Bible to the book of Jeremiah, chapter 12.

I've got news for you, I understand that we live in hard times. But that doesn't mean it's not going to get any worse. That doesn't mean it's not going to get harder. And look at the question that God asked through Jeremiah. God asked,

Scripture Reading — Jeremiah 12:5

"If thou hast run with the footmen, and they have wearied thee, then how canst thou contend with horses? And if in the land of peace, wherein thou trustedst, they wearied thee, then how wilt thou do in the swelling of Jordan?"

Now, God said, if you've been running along with a footman, and you got tired and discouraged, what are you going to do when the horses come along? And if in the land of peace, in the time of prosperity, you get discouraged, what are you going to do with the swelling of Jordan? That is, when Jordan overflows her banks, and you're in really deep trouble. What are you going to do?

Let me tell you something, folks. If we understand the truth of God's word, there is no reason to be discouraged. I had someone ask me this last week. It kind of took me by surprise. But the person asked me, "Well, are you ever discouraged?" And you know what my answer was? Hardly ever. Hardly ever. Why? Because I know that God is sovereign. I know that greater is he that is in us than he that is in the world. Now, my wife can tell you this.

I've told her this innumerable times. You know, the one thing that would discourage me? Her. I'm serious. I told her years ago, I can take everything the world throws at me. I can take what the ungodly throws at me. I can take what other Christians throw at me because of their own ignorance and misunderstanding. But when I come home, I don't want someone on my case griping and complaining and jumping up and down. And you understand what I'm saying? I don't want someone at home turning against me.

Gideon Was a Man of Faith

Gideon continued to obey God despite widespread apostasy, demonstrating faith that overcomes the world and pleases God.

Look in your Bibles to Judges 6. Look at verse 10. Judges 6, verse 10, and then 11. Judges 6, verse 10. Here's what the prophet says through the power of God. And God said, "I said unto you, I am the Lord your God; fear not the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but ye have not obeyed my voice." And there came an angel of the Lord and sat under an oak, which was in Ophrah, that pertained unto Joash the Abiezarite: and his son Gideon threshed wheat by the winepress. Evidently, Gideon was one of the few who did not fear the gods of the Amorites. He was one of the few who continued to obey God.

There was a large number of the people who had apostatized. But Gideon didn't. I want you to understand something, folks. If we are a people of faith, it does not matter how many are on the other side. It does not matter what everyone else is doing. We understand the Word of God. What does the Bible say in Hebrews 11 verse 6? "But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him." What kept Gideon faithful for seven years? He knew that God was going to reward him sooner or later. He didn't know that God was going to come in this miraculous manner. But he knew that God was going to come. You know what the name Gideon means? It means "hewer." God used Gideon not just to hew down the image of Baal, but to hew down Baal worship. Understand something: faith does not look at circumstances. Faith does not look at situations.

Faith does not determine and is not determined by our feelings. Faith only looks at the Word of God. Look in your Bibles to 1 John 5. Once again, here's a verse that I can quote, but I want you to see it because I believe it's very, very important. Look in 1 John 5 at verse 4. Look at what God says. 1 John 5 verse 4: "For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith." What is it that gives us victory over the world? Our faith. Faith in God, faith in his word, regardless of the situation, regardless of the circumstances. Faith—and a man of faith is not easily discouraged. A man of faith can be faithful, even in the severest oppression. A man of faith can continue to be honest and continue to be a hardworking man, even in light of persecution.

Applications: God's Sovereign Call and Our Responsibility

God sovereignly calls whom He pleases, and we must pray for God to raise up men of character. Believers should diligently develop biblical character to be usable.

Now, let me make just a couple of applications. I want you to go back in your Bibles to Judges, chapter six. And look, if you would please, at verse 11. I'll probably say more about this next Lord's Day. But in Judges, chapter six, "And there came an angel of the Lord, and sat under an oak tree, which is in Ophrah, that pertained unto Joash the Abiezarite: and his son Gideon threshed wheat by the winepress, to hide it from the Midianites." Note, "and there came an angel of the Lord and sat under an oak." It was God who came to Gideon. It was God who called Gideon. It was God who initiated the conversation, the calling, and the promises. Here's the point: God calls whomsoever he pleases.

When I was a child and in school, when the teacher would begin giving us an oral quiz, and she would ask a question that was easy, you know what we would all do? "Me, me, choose me, I know, I know." I always wanted to answer the easy questions, but guess what? She didn't always call me for an easy question. When she asked a hard question, nobody raised their hand. Everybody kind of pointed at somebody. "Don't call me, call him." Well, let me tell you something, folks. We can say and we should say, "Lord, here am I, send me." But God still calls and uses whomever he pleases. Know what the Bible says in Hebrews 5 in verse 4? "And no man taketh this honour unto himself, but he that is called of God, as was Aaron." No man taketh this honor to himself, but he that is called of God, as was Aaron. You know what God will do? God will sovereignly raise up a man.

He always has and always will. God will sovereignly raise up a man to save His people. But it will be a man of God's own choosing. And I can assure you, first and foremost, it's going to be a man of character. In Mark 3, verse 13, the Bible says concerning our Lord, "And he goeth up into a mountain, and calleth unto him whom he would: and they came unto him." Who did our Lord call to be his disciples? Whomever he pleased. And when he called them, they came.

Now, I want you to turn in your Bibles to Jeremiah 23. And let me show you one of the greatest problems that we have in this day and time. Look at Jeremiah 23. And notice, verse 32. Jeremiah 23, verse 32. God is dealing with the false prophets, with the false preachers. And here's what he says, Jeremiah 23, verse 32: "Behold, I am against them that prophesy false dreams, saith the Lord, and do tell them, and cause my people to err by their lies, and by their lightness;

yet I sent them not, nor commanded them: therefore they shall not profit this people at all, saith the Lord." We have men that have never been called of God. And therefore, says God, they will not profit. They will not benefit this people at all. Do you understand, folks? You can build great cathedrals. You can build great works. You can have thousands in attendance, the best music ministry in the entire world. But if there's not a man there that's been called of God, it will not benefit or profit the people at all. For God said, "I sent him not. I commanded him not. And yet he ran." We need to pray that God would raise up a man in this country.

And I don't know who. And I don't know from where. But I know this: when God raises him up, each of us will know that he's God's man. Because he will have a godly character, he will evidence it. The second application is very simple. Each of us should understand the importance of developing a biblical character, a godly character. Without a godly character, we are useless and unusable. What we need to pray for is not just simply that God would give us that character, but that God would enable us to apply his word to our individual lives and bring our lives in conformity to the word of God and thus produce that character.

The older we get, the more godly, the more firm in our convictions and the greater character we should have. And for our young people, they need to know, they need to understand that the foundation in their lives is being laid right now as to what they will be 10 or 15 years from now. And if you and I cannot be faithful in that which is least, how is God going to use us? In that which is the greatest. Let me show you one passage in closing, look in 1 Corinthians chapter one. I probably should use this passage on some other point, but I want to show you—I love this passage. Remember what Gideon said? That he's the least in his father's house, I'm nothing. Look in 1 Corinthians 1, verse 25: "Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men; and the weakness of God is stronger than men. 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: that no flesh should glory in his presence." Look in verse 31, "That, according as it is written, He that glorieth, let him glory

in the Lord." Let me tell you something, folks, if God chooses the weak, if God chooses the foolish, if God chooses the base, most of us qualify. If we have character. You understand that? What did he say? "I'm the poorest, and I'm the least of my father's house." God can use a crooked stick to draw a straight line. Let's pray. Father, we ask in the name of Jesus Christ that you would help us. Lord, we need thee. We need godly character. We need to be used of thee. We want to present ourselves a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto thee, which is our reasonable service. May we, Father, be usable vessels, whether thou dost ever choose to use us or not.

Study Guide

Major Themes

Godly Character as Prerequisite for Service

Summary: The foundational requirement for being used by God is a life of virtue and integrity, not merely talent or position.

Evidence: Weaver states, 'What is the very first prerequisite? I want you to note that Gideon was a man of character.'

The Nature of True Character

Summary: Character is defined by private conduct, resilience under testing, and long-term development rather than instant acquisition.

Evidence: Weaver says, 'Character is what a man is in the dark... the test of your character is what it takes to stop you.'

Diligence in Work

Summary: God uses those who are hard workers, as seen in Gideon's manual threshing and the biblical pictures of ministry as labor.

Evidence: Weaver notes, 'When God uses a man, He expects a man to be a hard worker.'

Honesty and Faithfulness in Small Things

Summary: Integrity in finances and daily dealings is essential; unfaithfulness in little disqualifies from greater spiritual trust.

Evidence: Weaver cites Luke 16:11, 'If therefore ye have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches?'

Perseverance Under Oppression

Summary: Gideon's seven-year consistency under Midianite oppression demonstrates that dependability is a mark of character.

Evidence: Weaver says, 'For seven long years, Gideon had been faithfully discharging his duties under the severest oppression.'

Faith as the Victory Over the World

Summary: Gideon's obedience amid national apostasy shows that faith, not circumstances, enables steadfastness and pleases God.

Evidence: Weaver quotes 1 John 5:4, 'This is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith.'

God's Sovereign Choice in Calling

Summary: God calls and uses whom He wills, and only those He sends will truly profit His people.

Evidence: Weaver says, 'God calls whomsoever he pleases... God will sovereignly raise up a man to save His people.'

Key Arguments

Character is the indispensable prerequisite for being used by God.

Summary: Weaver argues that while God may use someone on credit initially, long-term usefulness depends on developed character.

Evidence: He states, 'God may use you on credit the first years of your life. After that, he will use you on character.'

True character is revealed in private and under pressure.

Summary: Character is not public persona but what one does when alone and what it takes to make one quit.

Evidence: Weaver explains, 'Character is what a man is in the dark... the test of your character is what it takes to stop you.'

Hard work is a non-negotiable aspect of godly character.

Summary: Gideon's manual threshing and the biblical metaphors for ministry all emphasize diligent labor.

Evidence: Weaver says, 'The ministry is no place for a lazy man... God requires that we be diligent.'

Honesty in financial and practical matters is foundational for spiritual trust.

Summary: Using Luke 16:11, Weaver contends that unfaithfulness in money disqualifies one from receiving true spiritual riches.

Evidence: He asks, 'If I cannot be faithful in that which belongs to another man, who's going to give me that which is my own?'

Wisdom and prudence are biblical character traits.

Summary: Gideon's hiding of wheat exemplifies the prudent man who foresees evil and hides himself, as taught in Proverbs.

Evidence: Weaver cites Proverbs 22:3, 'A prudent man foreseeth the evil, and hideth himself.'

Consistency under prolonged hardship proves dependability.

Summary: Gideon's seven years of faithful labor under oppression show that the greatest ability is dependability.

Evidence: Weaver quotes Dr. Bob Jones Sr., 'The greatest ability is dependability.'

Faith, not circumstances, sustains character and overcomes the world.

Summary: Gideon's faith in God's eventual reward kept him obedient despite national apostasy and personal poverty.

Evidence: Weaver says, 'What kept Gideon faithful for seven years? He knew that God was going to reward him sooner or later.'

God's sovereign call is the ultimate factor in being used.

Summary: Despite human character, God alone chooses whom He will use, and those not sent by Him will not profit the people.

Evidence: Weaver cites Jeremiah 23:32, 'I sent them not, nor commanded them: therefore they shall not profit this people at all.'

Scripture References

Judges 6:11-12

Context: Introduction of Gideon threshing wheat and the angel calling him a mighty man of valor.

Judges 6:13-16

Context: Gideon's objection about his family's poverty and God's promise of presence.

Judges 6:17-24

Context: Gideon's request for a sign and the consuming fire; Gideon builds an altar.

Judges 6:25-26

Context: God's command to tear down Baal's altar and build an altar to the Lord.

Romans 9:23

Context: Desire to be vessels of mercy and honor.

2 Timothy 2:20-21

Context: Vessels of honor and dishonor; purging oneself to be meet for the master's use.

1 Thessalonians 4:4

Context: Possessing one's vessel in sanctification and honor.

2 Corinthians 7:1

Context: Cleansing from filthiness of flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness.

2 Chronicles 16:9

Context: God's eyes run to and fro to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is perfect.

Ruth 2:17

Context: Ruth beating out barley with a stick, indicating poverty and hard manual labor.

2 Timothy 2:1-15

Context: Eight pictures of ministry: teacher, soldier, athlete, farmer, student, preacher, witness, workman.

Ephesians 4:28

Context: Let him that stole steal no more, but labor with his hands to have to give.

1 Timothy 5:8

Context: If any provide not for his own, he has denied the faith and is worse than an infidel.

Luke 16:11-12

Context: Faithfulness in unrighteous mammon and that which is another's as prerequisite for true riches.

Deuteronomy 25:13-16

Context: Prohibition of diverse weights and measures; dishonest dealing is an abomination.

Judges 6:3-6

Context: Midianite oppression destroying Israel's produce and impoverishing them.

Proverbs 22:3; 27:12

Context: A prudent man foresees evil and hides himself, but the simple pass on and are punished.

Proverbs 28:12, 28

Context: When the wicked rise, men hide themselves.

Galatians 6:9

Context: Be not weary in well doing, for in due season we shall reap if we faint not.

Jeremiah 12:5

Context: If you have run with footmen and they wearied you, how will you contend with horses?

Historical References

Dr. Bob Jones Sr.

Context: Weaver quotes his saying, 'The greatest ability is dependability.'

Important Quotes

Character is what a man is in the dark.

Significance: Defines character as private integrity, not public image.

The test of your character is what it takes to stop you.

Significance: Highlights resilience as the measure of character.

God may use you on credit the first years of your life. After that, he will use you on character.

Significance: Emphasizes that long-term usefulness requires developed character.

The ministry is no place for a lazy man.

Significance: Stresses diligence as essential for God's service.

If I cannot be faithful in that which belongs to another man, who's going to give me that which is my own?

Significance: Links honesty in small matters to receiving greater trust.

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

Significance: Biblical wisdom principle exemplified by Gideon's hiding of wheat.

The greatest ability is dependability.

Significance: Quoting Dr. Bob Jones Sr. to highlight consistency as a key trait.

What kept Gideon faithful for seven years? He knew that God was going to reward him sooner or later.

Significance: Shows that faith in God's reward sustains perseverance.

Discussion Questions

What does it mean that 'character is what a man is in the dark'? How can we cultivate private integrity?

Context: Weaver defines character as private conduct, not public persona.

What are some things that easily stop us from serving God, and how can we develop greater resilience?

Context: The test of character is what it takes to stop you; many are stopped by small offenses.

In what areas of life is God calling you to be more diligent and hardworking for His kingdom?

Context: Gideon was a hard worker, and ministry is compared to a soldier, athlete, and farmer.

How does faithfulness in financial and practical matters relate to spiritual trust and usefulness?

Context: Weaver uses Luke 16:11 to connect honesty with money to receiving true riches.

When have you been tempted to give up under prolonged difficulty, and what helped you persevere?

Context: Gideon remained faithful for seven years under severe oppression.

How can we keep our eyes on God's Word rather than circumstances to avoid discouragement?

Context: Weaver says faith looks only at the Word of God, not situations or feelings.

What does it mean that God sovereignly calls whom He pleases, and how should that affect our ambition for ministry?

Context: God called Gideon; we should be available but recognize God's prerogative.

What practical steps can you take to build godly character over the long term?

Context: Character is built by applying God's Word to life progressively.

Applications

Develop Private Integrity

Summary: Cultivate character by being the same person in private as in public, doing right even when no one is watching.

Evidence: Weaver says, 'Character is what a man is in the dark... what we are alone before God.'

Build Resilience Against Discouragement

Summary: Identify what easily stops you from serving God and develop perseverance through faith in God's sovereignty.

Evidence: Weaver states, 'The test of your character is what it takes to stop you.'

Be Diligent in All Work

Summary: Approach every task, especially spiritual service, with hard work and dedication, avoiding laziness.

Evidence: Weaver says, 'The ministry is no place for a lazy man... God requires that we be diligent.'

Practice Honesty in Small Matters

Summary: Be scrupulously honest in finances and daily dealings, knowing that faithfulness in little leads to greater trust.

Evidence: Weaver cites Luke 16:11 and says, 'If I cannot be faithful in that which is least, who's going to commit that to us which is the greatest?'

Exercise Prudence and Wisdom

Summary: Avoid unnecessary danger and do not broadcast personal business; be wise as serpents and harmless as doves.

Evidence: Weaver says, 'Don't tell everybody your business... Gideon was exercising a biblical attitude.'

Remain Faithful Under Pressure

Summary: Stay consistent in duty regardless of circumstances, trusting that in due season you will reap if you do not faint.

Evidence: Weaver says, 'Gideon was consistent and dedicated... The greatest ability is dependability.'

Live by Faith, Not by Sight

Summary: Keep your eyes on God's Word and promises rather than on oppressive circumstances to overcome discouragement.

Evidence: Weaver says, 'Faith does not look at circumstances... Faith only looks at the Word of God.'

Apply God's Word to Build Character

Summary: Regularly study Scripture and intentionally conform your life to it, progressively developing godly character.

Evidence: Weaver says, 'As we apply that word to our lives... we begin to build a godly character.'

deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | clean_readable_transcript | 2026-06-06T02:22:49Z

deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | weaver_study | 2026-06-06T15:51:24Z

Clean Transcript

Prerequisites to be Used by God - 1

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

Well, let's open our Bibles to the book of Judges, chapter six. Book of Judges, chapter six. There are a number of things that I want to bring to you in preaching, but I passed through the book of Judges again, reading it, and you remember a couple of months ago, I preached several messages from Judges, chapter six on the life of Gideon. And as I came to this chapter, I read it and I thought, well, I've already preached from this chapter several times. And then I looked at it and lo and behold, here was new material that I had not even seen as I preached through it before. So I want to bring a message today which will probably continue for two or three weeks.
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Entitled "Prerequisites to be Used of God." Prerequisites to be used of God. So Judges chapter six, and let's begin reading there with verse eleven. Judges chapter six, verse eleven: "And there came an angel of the Lord and sat under an oak tree which was in Ophrah, that pertained unto Joash the Abiezarite: and his son Gideon threshed wheat by the winepress, to hide it from the Midianites. And the angel of the Lord appeared unto him, and said unto him, The Lord is with
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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 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. And the Lord looked upon him, and said, Go in this thy might, and thou shalt save Israel from the hand of the Midianites: have not I sent thee? And he said unto him, O my Lord, wherewith shall I save Israel?
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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 Abiezarites. 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 each of us know and understand that God used Gideon to deliver his nation from God's enemies, the Midianites. The life of Gideon gives us many important lessons and principles to live and govern our lives by. Now, Gideon may have failed at certain points, as all of us do, but one thing is for certain: he was a man used of God. And I might add, he was mightily used of God. I suppose that one of the greatest desires of every true Christian, and especially of every true preacher, is to be used by God.
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We not only want to be vessels of mercy, according to Romans 9 and verse 23, we also want to be vessels of honor. If you would hold Judges chapter 6, but look in your Bibles very quickly to 2 Timothy chapter 2. And let me explain to you what I mean by vessels of honor. Notice in 2 Timothy chapter 2, beginning there with verse 20. 2 Timothy chapter 2 verse 20. The word of God says, "But in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and of silver, but also of wood and of earth; and some to honor, and some to dishonor. If a man therefore purge himself from these, that is, those which are of dishonor, if a man therefore purge himself from these, he shall be a vessel unto honor, sanctified, and meet for the master's use, and prepared unto every good work." So God says if we purge ourselves from the dishonorable vessels, then we will be an honorable vessel, sanctified and meet for the master's use, prepared unto every good work. Now God commands us in 1 Thessalonians 4 and verse 4 that each one of us should know how to possess his vessel in sanctification and honor.
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And the vessel there refers to our body. So God says at all times we should know how to possess our bodies in sanctification and honor. If we followed God's commands, each of us would be readily available for the master's use.
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Now, since you're in the New Testament, I also want you to look at 2 Corinthians, chapter 7 and verse 1, because this passage is parallel to 2 Timothy, chapter 2. In 2 Corinthians, chapter 7 and verse 1, the Bible says this: "Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God." Now, God says we are to cleanse ourselves not only from the filthiness of the flesh, but also the spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God. Now, what God is teaching us is basically this: when we cleanse ourselves from the filthiness of the flesh, that is external, when we cleanse ourselves from a filthy spirit, that is internal, all of that is equal to 2 Timothy 2:20-21, that is purging ourselves from vessels of dishonor that we may be an honorable vessel fit for the Master's use. So God tells us then that when we cleanse ourselves externally and internally, we are indeed purging ourselves from that which is dishonorable.
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Now, God used Gideon. No one can deny that fact. God used Gideon mightily. We look around today and we see basically our nation in the same situation that Gideon's nation was in during his time. They were oppressed. They were persecuted. The enemy had the upper hand. And God used Gideon.
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Now, let me just be very pointed. God does not use committees. I read one man's writing one time, and he said, "For God so loved the world that he did not send a committee." And that is so true. God does not use committees. God does not use corporations. God uses men. And he came to Gideon and he found a man that he could use to deliver his people from the hands of their enemies. Now, my question is very simple: would you not like to be used of God to deliver our people from the hands of the enemy?
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And the answer should come back, yes. Well, if that is so, then there are some prerequisites that God lays down in Judges chapter six that are required if we're going to be used of God.
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Now, today, I'm only going to cover one point. What is the very first prerequisite? I want you to note that Gideon was a man of character. Notice, if you would please, in Judges chapter six, in verse eleven, the angel of the Lord comes to Gideon as he is threshing wheat by the winepress, to hide it from the Midianites. And then in verse 12, "And the angel of the Lord appeared unto him, and said unto him, The Lord is with thee, thou mighty man of valor."
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Now, I've often kind of smiled at this. And, you know, I mentioned this to you before. If Gideon was a mighty man of valor, why was he hiding by the winepress? Well, let me just point out the fact that God called him a mighty man of valor. The Hebrew word for valor is the word chayil. It occurs 37 times in the Old Testament. And let me tell you this about this one particular word: every time the word valor appears in the Old Testament, it is always from the same Hebrew word.
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Now, valor is usually given to us in a military sense. Hence, David's warriors and also the Israelitish soldiers who were brave and courageous were referred to as mighty men of valor. So usually when you read the word valor, it has the context of military strength or military might. But the word goes beyond military strength and military might. The word valor can also mean not only strength or force, but can also be used to understand virtue. So Gideon was not just simply a man of strength; he was a man of virtue. So actually, the angel of the Lord said, "Hail, thou mighty man of virtue," which included strength and a number of other things as well. So he was indeed then a man of character.
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Now, before we begin to look precisely at Gideon's life, I want to give you some broad principles concerning character. And I want you to stop and think about these with me. First of all, it has been well said that character is what a man is in the dark.
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Now, the explanation of that is very simple. You tell me what you would do if you knew that no one would ever find out about it, and I'll tell you exactly what you are. You said, "Well, if I knew no one else would ever find out about it, boy, I'd run off with old sister so and so." Well, you're an adulterer. "Well, if I knew no one would ever find out about it, I'd go steal all the gold in the world." Well, you're a thief.
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Character is what a man is in the dark. Character is what we are alone before God. Character is not what we put on in front of everyone else. Character is what we are by ourselves. So very obviously, the very first thing we need to understand is that character is what a man is in the dark. The second thing about character is this: the test of your character is what it takes to stop you.
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Now let me just point out the fact, if that is a true statement, and it is true, very few people in this day and time have real, genuine character. Because to stop the average individual, all you've got to do is gossip about them, or insinuate something, or hurt their feelings, or not let things go their way. And their attitude is, "If you can't play by my rules, I'll take my marbles and I'll go home." Because their feelings get hurt.
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Do you realize there is absolutely no comparison between the Christians of today and the Christians of the first century? The Christians of the first century were willing to die for their faith. And I've got news for you: some of the ways they died were not too pleasant. But so often we let so many little things hinder us and stop us from doing that which is right and honorable and biblical. So the test of your character is what it takes to stop you.
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The third thing is this. Listen carefully. And this is a broad general principle. God may use you on credit the first years of your life. After that, he will use you on character. And if you don't have any character, you might as well forget God ever using you.
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Now, I know that there are a few exceptions to that statement. God used Balaam, and he certainly had no character. God used Balaam's ass. But I got news for you, I do not want to suffer the fate of Balaam. You remember Balaam was the false prophet who said, "Let me die the death of the righteous," but you cannot die the death of the righteous unless you live the life of the righteous. It is true God used Balaam and Balaam had no character, but he was the exception and not the rule.
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If you'll look in your Bibles, hold Judges 6, but look in your Bibles to 2 Chronicles chapter 16 and verse 9. 2 Chronicles 16 and verse 9. Look what the Bible says. Just to demonstrate to you that God looks for people who have character. The Bible says, 2 Chronicles 16 verse 9, "For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward him." In other words, God is looking for someone with a heart who's perfect toward him. God is looking for someone who has a life that measures up to what God requires. So here's the truth: God may use us on credit the first years of our life. And I'll explain why in just a moment. But after that, he's going to use us on character. And if we don't have any character, we might as well forget God ever using us. Here's the fourth general principle: character is not something that can be attained overnight. It is not something that can be attained in an instant of time.
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That's why I said that God may use us on credit for the first years of our lives. But character is something that grows, that builds, that increases over time. It is the habit, it is the disposition, it is the attitude and the actions of a lifetime. One should increase in character as he grows older, wiser, and meditates upon the word of God. But let me point out that that does not automatically happen. Do you know how we build character in our lives? It's not just simply as we read and meditate upon the word. It's as we apply that word to our lives and thus bring our lives into conformity to the word of God. As we do that, then slowly but surely, we begin to build a godly character.
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Let me put it like this: our convictions, our biblical convictions, should become deeper and stronger and firmer over a period of time. You should have more godly character today than you had last month. You should have more godly character today than you had last year. I could say it like this, we should be better men today than we were last year, because character is something that builds over a lifetime. Let me tell you something, folks. If you will slowly but surely begin to not only study the Word of God, but say, "How can I apply this in my life? How can I make my life more biblical, more in conformity to the Word of God?" you're going to find that you're going to be slowly but surely and progressively changing to become a more godly person. Thus, you're going to develop a biblical and a godly character.
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Now, here are four very general principles. Let me show you some of the things that God reveals to us about Gideon and his character. Notice, if you would please, the Bible says in Judges 6 and verse 11, "And there came an angel of the Lord and sat under an oak, which was at Ophrah, that pertained unto Joash the Abiezarite: and his son Gideon threshed wheat by the winepress." The very first thing the Bible shows us about Gideon was he was a hard worker. What does that mean? Well, he was threshing wheat. Threshing wheat is hard work, but let me tell you a little story. What Gideon was doing was harder than normal. You see, Gideon was not necessarily using an oxen here. Gideon was not necessarily using any mechanical means. In fact, the word thresh here literally means to knock wheat out with a stick.
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If you will turn right over in your Bibles to the book of Ruth, just a few books over, Joshua, Judges, Ruth. It's the next book over. Joshua, Judges, Ruth. Ruth chapter two, and look at verse 17. If you knocked out wheat with a stick, it indicated that you were extremely poor. You remember Ruth was the widow woman, Naomi's daughter-in-law. Well look in Ruth chapter 2 and verse 17, "So she gleaned in the field until even, and beat out that she had gleaned: and it was about an ephah of barley." How'd she beat it out? She beat it out with a stick. So when he was here threshing the wheat, he was not sitting back watching oxen do it, no. He had a stick and he was beating out the wheat himself. So threshing here, in this manner, was hard, meticulous work.
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Let me make a point. I'm going to make a broad generalization, then I'm going to narrow it down. The ministry is no place for a lazy man. Now let me narrow it down. Any service of God has no place for a lazy man. God requires that we be diligent. When he came to Gideon, he found him hard at work. I remember when I was a boy, I wanted to be a preacher.
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Now, I want to confess something to you this morning. When I was a boy and I wanted to be a preacher, my motives were not pure. You know why I wanted to be a preacher when I was a boy? Because all I saw the preacher ever do was Sunday morning, Sunday night, and Wednesday night. I figured, hey, man, for three hours a week and have the rest of the week to play, that's wonderful. So if I could just be a preacher and, you know, just preach a couple hours a week and have the rest of the week to play, well, man, my goodness, I'd be set for life. Well, God did call me in the ministry, but it didn't quite work out the way I thought it would because I found out that it's seven days a week and many times, many nights during the week. And you know something?
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Every time you plan to take a day off or a couple days off, usually somebody gets sick or somebody dies or somebody wants to get married or somebody needs counseling. So inevitably, you always end up in the ministry seven days a week and sometimes many nights of the week. So I'm pointing out the fact, when God uses a man, He expects a man to be a hard worker.
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Now, hold Judges 6, but turn in your Bibles to 2 Timothy 2. Let me show you something. God gives us eight pictures of the ministry in 2 Timothy 2. I might form this out. This could be eight pictures of any man that God uses. Notice, if you would please, 2 Timothy 2 verse 1, Paul is writing Timothy, who was his young understudy, and he said, "Thou therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus." Now, in verse 2, he gives us an illustration, the first illustration of what the ministry is like.
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He says, "And the things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also." So what's the picture? Here's a picture of a teacher.
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Now, let me tell you something, folks, if you have never taught, you don't know the work in teaching. You don't know the hours of preparation, the hours of communication, and then the hours of correcting and grading papers. And although the school day sometimes, quote unquote, may only run from 8:30 until 2:30 or 3:00, that doesn't mean a thing. Because a teacher is someone who wants to communicate truth. And therefore, there's a lot of study and a lot of work that goes into it. I told someone recently, I said, "You know, sometimes it is difficult for a pastor to grasp something. And this is what it's difficult to grasp: why in the world cannot you understand and comprehend in one hour what it took me 15 or 20 hours to dig out?" You follow? You'll never grasp it in one hour. If it took me 15 or 20 to get it, it's probably going to take you that long as well. So that is the necessity of sometimes repeating truth over and over so that we can grasp it.
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But here he gives the illustration of a preacher. That's not all. Look at verses three and four: "Thou therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life; that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier." Now, in verses three and four, you have the illustration of the ministry or the work of God as compared to being a soldier. I was in service.
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So were many of you. And you know that your day normally starts at 5 a.m. and usually stops somewhere around 10 or 11. And, you know, the hard things that you have to do, God says, "Endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ." And then he talks about the fact that God has chosen us. So the ministry, then, is compared to a teacher. It's compared to a soldier. That's not all. Look in verse five.
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"And if a man also strive for masteries, yet is he not crowned, except he strive lawfully." Now it's compared to an athlete.
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Now, I don't know about you, but there are many things I cannot do, athletically speaking. A lot of things I'd like to do. But do you realize the hours that those gymnasts put in just to be able to do those handsprings and mad exercises? Can you imagine some of the martial artists? I mean, jumping in air, twirling and kicking and doing two or three things at one time. Can you imagine the practice day after day, hour after hour? Can you imagine just someone who runs 15 or 20 miles?
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This is what he's talking about. "If a man also strive for masteries," that is, an athlete, he wants to win something, "yet is he not crowned, except he strive lawfully." He's not only got to follow the rules, he's got to be a fine, fine, disciplined individual. Then if you look in verse 6, "The husbandman that laboureth must be first partaker of the fruits." Now the ministry is now compared to a farmer in verse 6.
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I don't know how many of you were raised on a farm, but I was raised on a farm. And I can tell you, especially usually every summer, we were up at 3 a.m. when I was a boy and you would work in the barn until daylight. Then you went to the field and you did not come in from the field except for dinner. And then when it got dark, and then by the time you got in and got a bath, you weren't interested in going anywhere except to bed.
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So God here likens the ministry and his service to that of a farmer. Look in verse seven. He says, "Consider what I say; and the Lord give thee understanding in all things." Now, here's a student. What's a student do? He studies, he meditates over and over and over. I don't know about you, but most of us do not breeze through the universities. We do not breeze through colleges. We do not breeze through schools.
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We have to work at it. We have to study. Look down in verse eight: "Remember that Jesus Christ of the seed of David was raised from the dead according to my gospel." Here, the minister is compared to a preacher, that is, someone who is looking for the fulfillment of the promises. Then look in verses 9 and 10: "Wherein I suffer trouble, as an evil doer, even unto bonds; but the word of God is not bound. Therefore I endure all things for the elect's sakes, that they may also obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory." So here, the minister is compared to a witness. And then if you look at verse 15, he says, "Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth." Now, the interesting thing is this, the word workman is the word for toiler or laborer, someone whose occupation is working. Not someone who sits in an air-conditioned office.
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Not someone who comes in at nine, leaves at five, has three breaks a day and a two-hour lunch period. No, no, no. Here's a man that is a toiler, that is a laborer. Here are eight pictures given to us in 2 Timothy chapter 2 that shows us clearly that the ministry and the service of God is hard work. And by the way, if you will turn back to Judges chapter 6 and you will notice that when our Lord came to Gideon, he did not find Gideon sitting under a shade tree sipping lemonade.
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He found him threshing wheat with a stick. He found him hard at work. So the very first thing we find in Gideon as a man of character, he's a hard worker. By the way, you've always heard the expression, "If you want anything done, ask a busy man." And that's about the truth. You ask a hard worker, they're the ones that get things done. But notice secondly, not only was Gideon a hard worker, Gideon was honest. You know what he was doing when he was threshing out that wheat? Let me tell you.
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He was providing for his family. According to Gideon's own testimony, he was poor. That's what he said. Look in verse 15, "And he said unto him, O my Lord, wherewith shall I save Israel? Behold, my family is poor in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father's house." He says, "Not only am I poor, but I am the very least in my father's house."
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Now let me show you two New Testament principles. Look in your Bibles very quickly to the book of Ephesians chapter 4. Ephesians chapter 4. And notice verse 28. Look what God tells us. Ephesians 4 verse 28. The Bible says, "Let him that stole steal no more." In other words, if you are a thief, repent. "Let him that stole steal no more: but rather let him labour, working with his hands the thing which is good, that he may have to give to him that needeth." God says what we should learn to do, if necessary, is labor with our hands. Why? Not only that we may provide for ourselves, but also that we may have to give to him that needeth, that we can be generous and gracious to others. And then if you look in your Bibles, the first Timothy chapter 5 in verse 8. First Timothy chapter 5 in verse 8. You notice this particular statement made by the Apostle Paul. Look what he says. First Timothy 5 verse 8.
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"But if any provide not for his own, and specially for those of his own house, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel." So here's a man who was a hard worker. But you must say this as well: he was an honest man. He was not a con artist. He was not a fraud. He was not a thief. He was a man that was working with his hands. He was a man that may have been poor, but he was making an honest living.
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You know, there are so many dishonest preachers today. There are many dishonest Christians. But let me tell you something, folks. Preachers take the cake. You ought to understand, anyone should understand, that if you're going to preach the truth, you at least ought to have character enough to live the truth. I remember one preacher. I was a boy. And he got three men in the church, one of them was my father. And he borrowed a large amount of money from those three men. And then that Sunday before he got up to preach, he told one of them he left his watch at home and could he borrow his watch that day? And so the man gave the pastor his watch. Well, after Sunday morning, when we assembled Sunday night for church, there was no preacher. You know why? He took the money, he took the watch, and he left town. A thief. A thief. Now, he didn't count on one thing. He didn't count on my father. Because my father and another man tracked him down. And they got the watch, and they got their money back.
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But can you imagine anyone having the nerve to do something like that? Absolutely, totally dishonest. You know what? Most people find it easier to be a thief and then live within their own means. Isn't that amazing? I want you to look in your Bibles, Luke chapter 16, hold Judges chapter 6, but let me show you a principle. Look at Luke chapter 16. Here's the principle. Luke chapter 16, beginning there, verse 11. Look what our Lord says. Luke 16, verse 11.
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"If therefore ye have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches? And if ye have not been faithful in that which is another man's, who shall give you that which is your own?"
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Now, do you hear what our Lord is saying? If we cannot be faithful in our money, who's going to give us the true riches? If we cannot be faithful and honest in that which is least, who's going to commit that to us which is the greatest? And if I cannot be faithful in that which belongs to another man, who's going to give me that which is my own? So if I borrow Ed's vehicle and I tear it up just out of carelessness, unconcern, what makes you think God's going to ever give me something of my own? If I can't take care of his, I certainly wouldn't take care of my own. And if I can't be faithful in my little bit of money, do you think God is going to bless me with a tremendous spiritual blessing and use me to turn many to righteousness? No. We've got to learn to be faithful in the little things. Now, I want to tell you something, folks.
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Honesty is not only needed and necessary. I want you to look in your Bibles to the book of Deuteronomy chapter 25. I tell people, and I deal with folks all the time, I check every bill that I have, and I tell people, when I see a discrepancy there, I say, "Look, I can assure you I'm going to pay what I owe, but I'm not going to pay one penny that I don't owe."
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You can mark that down right now. As we used to say, put it in your pipe and smoke it, you know, whatever. But look in Deuteronomy, chapter 25, beginning of verse 13. Watch carefully, by the way, as you turn there, do you realize one of the qualifications of a pastor is the pastor must be a man of good report from them that are without. How can you be a man of good report if you're dishonest? You can't. Look what God says, Deuteronomy chapter 25, beginning there, verse 13. Here's what he says: "Thou shalt not have in thy bag divers weights, a great and a small." By the way, why would anyone have different sizes of weights? To cheat, to defraud. He said, you're not going to do that. "But thou shalt have a perfect and just weight, a perfect and just measure shalt thou have: that thy days may be lengthened in the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee. For all that do such things, and all that do unrighteously, are an abomination unto the Lord thy God."
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So here's a man who's a hard worker. Here's a man who's honest. That's not all. Look back in Judges chapter 6. Here's the third thing: he was innovative and wise. How do I get that? Well, one's got to ask this simple question. Look at verse 11: "And there came an angel of the Lord, and sat under an oak which was in Ophrah, that pertained unto Joash the Abiezarite: and his son Gideon threshed wheat by the winepress, to hide it from the Midianites." Now, one must ask, why in the world was Gideon threshing wheat by the winepress and not on a mountain top? The easier place to thresh the wheat is where the wind can catch the chaff and blow it away. The wind can't catch the chaff by a winepress or down in a hole. Why was he there? Very simple. He was hiding it from the Midianites. What were they doing? Well, look in your Bibles. I know it's been some time since some of you read it, but look in Judges 6, beginning in verse 3.
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"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; and they encamped against them, and destroyed the increase of the earth, till thou come unto Gaza, and left no sustenance for Israel, neither sheep, nor ox, nor ass. For they came up with their cattle and their tents, and they came as grasshoppers for multitude;
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for both they and their camels were without number: and they entered into the land to destroy it. And Israel was greatly impoverished because of the Midianites; and the children of Israel cried unto the Lord."
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Now, what was he doing? He was hiding the fruits of his labor from those who would steal it, for those who would confiscate it unlawfully. Does not our Lord say in Matthew 10 and verse 16 that we are to be as wise as serpents and harmless as doves? Sure. You know what Gideon was doing? He's being wise. In fact, Gideon was exercising a biblical attitude. He was not courting danger.
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He was not tempting God. He was not challenging the Midianites to a fight that he knew he could not win by himself. No. What was he doing? He was using avoidance. He was using deception. He was using camouflage to keep away from danger and to provide for himself and his family.
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Now, there's a verse you will find it occurs twice in the Bible. You'll find it in Proverbs 22 and verse 3 and Proverbs 27 and verse 12, and it says this: "A prudent man foreseeth the evil, and hideth himself: but the simple pass on, and are punished." Now, listen that again, a prudent man, that is a wise man, foresees the evil. And what does he do? He hides himself. In other words, he keeps himself out of danger. He keeps himself from being stolen from and ripped off when there's nothing else that he can do, but the simple who are unwise pass on and are punished. Now look in your Bibles to the book of Proverbs 28.
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And let me show it to you. In verse 12 and then in verse 28. Proverbs 28 verse 12. The Bible says, "When righteous men do rejoice, there is great glory: but when the wicked rise, a man is hidden." Why is a man hidden when the wicked rise? Because they're always trying to destroy or to steal. Look in verse 28 of the same chapter. Proverbs 28, verse 28. "When the wicked rise, men hide themselves: but when they perish, the righteous increase."
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Now, folks, let me tell you, Gideon had biblical character. He was not only a hard worker, he was not only honest, he was innovative and he was wise. He was hiding what little he had from those who would steal from him. Let me give you just a simple biblical principle: don't tell everybody your business. I'm serious. Don't tell everybody what you have or what you don't have.
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Now, I realize there's some that are close friends and you understand are brothers in the Lord and you trust them implicitly. I understand that, but I've heard people, I've seen people just broadcast openly to anybody who happened to be walking by what they had, what their business was, what they were doing, what they were not doing. That's like going downtown in a bad section and reaching in your pocket and pulling out a roll of money and letting everybody see it. Guess what's going to happen? Sooner or later, you're going to get mugged. The truth is, folks, there are some things that other people have no business knowing. The Midianites had no business knowing what Gideon had and what he didn't have. Nor did they have any business knowing where it was, what he was doing, or how he's providing for his family.
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So here's a man who had a godly character. He was a hard worker. Yes, he was honest. He was innovative. He was wise. But fourthly, listen carefully. Here's another aspect of his character: he was not easily discouraged. Look in verse 11 of Judges chapter 6 again: "And there came an angel of the Lord and sat under an oak which was in Ophrah, that pertained unto Joash the Abiezarite: and his son Gideon threshed wheat by the winepress, to hide it from the Midianites." Now here's my question: how long do you think Gideon had been threshing the wheat by the winepress? Let me ask that another way: how long do you think Gideon had been doing this work the hard way? Well, if you look in Judges chapter 6 and verse 1, you'll get the answer. Judges chapter six, verse one: "And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord: and the Lord delivered them into the hand of Midian seven years." So for seven long years, Gideon had been faithfully discharging his duties under the severest oppression.
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You say, what do you mean severest oppression? Look in verse two of chapter six: "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 strong holds." The oppression was so severe that most of them hid themselves. So for seven years, he knocked out wheat with a stick by the winepress, the hard way.
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I want you to note that he did not give up. He did not give in and he did not give way to despondency, discouragement, and defeat. He just simply kept on doing what was right. He kept on doing what he knew needed to be done. Let me put it another way: Gideon was consistent and dedicated. Dr. Bob Jones Sr. had a saying, and it went like this: "The greatest ability is dependability."
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Now you stop and think about that, folks. Most of us do not have great abilities. But the one ability that we can have is that we can be dependable. We can be faithful and we can be consistent. You see, one of our biggest problems as Christians is that we have not learned to stay faithful, regardless of the circumstances. What we do is this: we get to looking at the circumstances. We get to looking at the situation. We get looking at the times and we become discouraged.
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Downhearted, despondent, and we take a defeatist attitude. "They can't fight City Hall." You've heard that all of your life. "Well, the wicked's got the upper hand, man, they got the guns, they got the bombs, they got this, they got that." Well, let me tell you something. And I'm going to point it out just a moment. But if you want to be discouraged, you just look at the circumstances and you keep your eyes on the situation. But if you want to be dependable, if you want to be thankful, if you want to be someone that is not easily discouraged, then you need to keep your eye on the Word of God.
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Let me show you Galatians 6 and verse 9. I can quote it, but I want you to turn there, please. Look in Galatians 6 and verse 9. Then we're going to go to Jeremiah chapter 12. We'll look in Galatians 6 and verse 9. Is not this the absolute truth? Is not this God's Word? Look in Galatians 6 and verse 9, "And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not." God did not say that we would reap if the circumstances were right, that we would reap if the situation was okay. No.
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He said, you just be consistent. You don't give up. You don't give in. You don't give out. You don't become discouraged. You just remember one thing: that in due season, that is in God's time, we shall reap if we faint not. What God requires of us is faithfulness, dependability, doing our duty regardless of the situation and the circumstances. Look back in your Bible to the book of Jeremiah, chapter 12.
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I've got news for you, I understand that we live in hard times. But that doesn't mean it's not going to get any worse. That doesn't mean it's not going to get harder. And look at the question that God asked through Jeremiah. God asked, "If thou hast run with the footmen, and they have wearied thee, then how canst thou contend with horses? And if in the land of peace, wherein thou trustedst, they wearied thee, then how wilt thou do in the swelling of Jordan?" Now, God said, if you've been running along with a footman, and you got tired and discouraged, what are you going to do when the horses come along? And if in the land of peace, in the time of prosperity, you get discouraged, what are you going to do with the swelling of Jordan? That is, when Jordan overflows her banks, and you're in really deep trouble. What are you going to do?
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Let me tell you something, folks. If we understand the truth of God's word, there is no reason to be discouraged. I had someone ask me this last week. It kind of took me by surprise. But the person asked me, "Well, are you ever discouraged?" And you know what my answer was? Hardly ever. Hardly ever. Why? Because I know that God is sovereign. I know that greater is he that is in us than he that is in the world. Now, my wife can tell you this.
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I've told her this innumerable times. You know, the one thing that would discourage me? Her. I'm serious. I told her years ago, I can take everything the world throws at me. I can take what the ungodly throws at me. I can take what other Christians throw at me because of their own ignorance and misunderstanding. But when I come home, I don't want someone on my case griping and complaining and jumping up and down. And you understand what I'm saying? I don't want someone at home turning against me.
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That's the only area that I could become discouraged in. And since you've been such a good wife, I would never get discouraged. Besides, if she knows she's ugly, I'll sic Jane on her. I mean, you know, or Rachel or somebody. I'll get somebody to deal with her. No. But you understand what I'm saying? How in the world can you be discouraged if you understand that the sovereign, omnipotent God of heaven and earth is in control? God came to a man who for seven years under the severest oppression and persecution remained faithful. That's a mark of character. He never gave in. He never gave up. And he never gave way. Why? Here's the fifth point, demonstrating his character: because he is a man of faith.
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Look in your Bibles to Judges 6. Look at verse 10. Judges 6, verse 10, and then 11. Judges 6, verse 10. Here's what the prophet says through the power of God. And God said, "I said unto you, I am the Lord your God; fear not the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but ye have not obeyed my voice." And there came an angel of the Lord and sat under an oak, which was in Ophrah, that pertained unto Joash the Abiezarite: and his son Gideon threshed wheat by the winepress. Evidently, Gideon was one of the few who did not fear the gods of the Amorites. He was one of the few who continued to obey God.
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There was a large number of the people who had apostatized. But Gideon didn't. I want you to understand something, folks. If we are a people of faith, it does not matter how many are on the other side. It does not matter what everyone else is doing. We understand the Word of God. What does the Bible say in Hebrews 11 verse 6? "But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him." What kept Gideon faithful for seven years? He knew that God was going to reward him sooner or later. He didn't know that God was going to come in this miraculous manner. But he knew that God was going to come. You know what the name Gideon means? It means "hewer." God used Gideon not just to hew down the image of Baal, but to hew down Baal worship. Understand something: faith does not look at circumstances. Faith does not look at situations.
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Faith does not determine and is not determined by our feelings. Faith only looks at the Word of God. Look in your Bibles to 1 John 5. Once again, here's a verse that I can quote, but I want you to see it because I believe it's very, very important. Look in 1 John 5 at verse 4. Look at what God says. 1 John 5 verse 4: "For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith." What is it that gives us victory over the world? Our faith. Faith in God, faith in his word, regardless of the situation, regardless of the circumstances. Faith—and a man of faith is not easily discouraged. A man of faith can be faithful, even in the severest oppression. A man of faith can continue to be honest and continue to be a hardworking man, even in light of persecution.
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Now, let me make just a couple of applications. I want you to go back in your Bibles to Judges, chapter six. And look, if you would please, at verse 11. I'll probably say more about this next Lord's Day. But in Judges, chapter six, "And there came an angel of the Lord, and sat under an oak tree, which is in Ophrah, that pertained unto Joash the Abiezarite: and his son Gideon threshed wheat by the winepress, to hide it from the Midianites." Note, "and there came an angel of the Lord and sat under an oak." It was God who came to Gideon. It was God who called Gideon. It was God who initiated the conversation, the calling, and the promises. Here's the point: God calls whomsoever he pleases.
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When I was a child and in school, when the teacher would begin giving us an oral quiz, and she would ask a question that was easy, you know what we would all do? "Me, me, choose me, I know, I know." I always wanted to answer the easy questions, but guess what? She didn't always call me for an easy question. When she asked a hard question, nobody raised their hand.
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Everybody kind of pointed at somebody. "Don't call me, call him." Well, let me tell you something, folks. We can say and we should say, "Lord, here am I, send me." But God still calls and uses whomever he pleases. Know what the Bible says in Hebrews 5 in verse 4? "And no man taketh this honour unto himself, but he that is called of God, as was Aaron." No man taketh this honor to himself, but he that is called of God, as was Aaron. You know what God will do? God will sovereignly raise up a man.
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He always has and always will. God will sovereignly raise up a man to save His people. But it will be a man of God's own choosing. And I can assure you, first and foremost, it's going to be a man of character. In Mark 3, verse 13, the Bible says concerning our Lord, "And he goeth up into a mountain, and calleth unto him whom he would: and they came unto him." Who did our Lord call to be his disciples? Whomever he pleased. And when he called them, they came.
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Now, I want you to turn in your Bibles to Jeremiah 23. And let me show you one of the greatest problems that we have in this day and time. Look at Jeremiah 23. And notice, verse 32. Jeremiah 23, verse 32. God is dealing with the false prophets, with the false preachers. And here's what he says, Jeremiah 23, verse 32: "Behold, I am against them that prophesy false dreams, saith the Lord, and do tell them, and cause my people to err by their lies, and by their lightness;
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yet I sent them not, nor commanded them: therefore they shall not profit this people at all, saith the Lord." We have men that have never been called of God. And therefore, says God, they will not profit. They will not benefit this people at all. Do you understand, folks? You can build great cathedrals. You can build great works. You can have thousands in attendance, the best music ministry in the entire world. But if there's not a man there that's been called of God, it will not benefit or profit the people at all. For God said, "I sent him not. I commanded him not. And yet he ran." We need to pray that God would raise up a man in this country.
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And I don't know who. And I don't know from where. But I know this: when God raises him up, each of us will know that he's God's man. Because he will have a godly character, he will evidence it. The second application is very simple. Each of us should understand the importance of developing a biblical character, a godly character. Without a godly character, we are useless and unusable. What we need to pray for is not just simply that God would give us that character, but that God would enable us to apply his word to our individual lives and bring our lives in conformity to the word of God and thus produce that character.
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The older we get, the more godly, the more firm in our convictions and the greater character we should have. And for our young people, they need to know, they need to understand that the foundation in their lives is being laid right now as to what they will be 10 or 15 years from now. And if you and I cannot be faithful in that which is least, how is God going to use us?
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In that which is the greatest. Let me show you one passage in closing, look in 1 Corinthians chapter one. I probably should use this passage on some other point, but I want to show you—I love this passage. Remember what Gideon said? That he's the least in his father's house, I'm nothing. Look in 1 Corinthians 1, verse 25: "Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men; and the weakness of God is stronger than men. 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: that no flesh should glory in his presence." Look in verse 31, "That, according as it is written, He that glorieth, let him glory
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in the Lord." Let me tell you something, folks, if God chooses the weak, if God chooses the foolish, if God chooses the base, most of us qualify. If we have character. You understand that? What did he say? "I'm the poorest, and I'm the least of my father's house." God can use a crooked stick to draw a straight line. Let's pray. Father, we ask in the name of Jesus Christ that you would help us. Lord, we need thee. We need godly character. We need to be used of thee. We want to present ourselves a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto thee, which is our reasonable service. May we, Father, be usable vessels, whether thou dost ever choose to use us or not.
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That is thy divine prerogative. But Lord, may we always be at thy disposal. In the name of Jesus Christ, we ask and pray. Amen. Amen.
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Prerequisites to be Used by God - 1

John Weaver | Freedom Ministries

John Weaver examines the life of Gideon in Judges 6 to identify the first prerequisite for being used by God: godly character. He explains that character is what a person is in the dark, tested by what it takes to stop them, built over a lifetime, and essential for God's long-term use. Gideon exemplified character through hard work, honesty, wisdom, perseverance under oppression, and faith. Weaver emphasizes that God sovereignly calls and uses people of character, and believers should diligently develop biblical character to be usable vessels.

Introduction: God Uses Men, Not Committees

Weaver introduces the series on prerequisites to be used by God, noting that God used Gideon mightily and that God uses individuals, not committees or corporations.

Scripture Reading — Romans 9:23

We not only want to be vessels of mercy, according to Romans 9 and verse 23, we also want to be vessels of honor. If you would hold Judges chapter 6, but look in your Bibles very quickly to 2 Timothy chapter 2. And let me explain to you what I mean by vessels of honor. Notice in 2 Timothy chapter 2, beginning there with verse 20. 2 Timothy chapter 2 verse 20. The word of God says, "But in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and of silver, but also of wood and of earth; and some to honor, and some to dishonor. If a man therefore purge himself from these, that is, those which are of dishonor, if a man therefore purge himself from these, he shall be a vessel unto honor, sanctified, and meet for the master's use, and prepared unto every good work." So God says if we purge ourselves from the dishonorable vessels, then we will be an honorable vessel, sanctified and meet for the master's use, prepared unto every good work. Now God commands us in 1 Thessalonians 4 and verse 4 that each one of us should know how to possess his vessel in sanctification and honor.

Scripture Reading — 2 Corinthians 7:1

"Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God."

The First Prerequisite: A Man of Character

The angel of the Lord called Gideon a 'mighty man of valor,' which also means virtue, indicating that God requires character.

General Principles of Character

Scripture Reading — 2 Chronicles 16:9

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

Gideon Was a Hard Worker

Gideon was threshing wheat by hand, a laborious task indicating diligence. Weaver contrasts this with laziness and shows from 2 Timothy 2 that ministry is hard work.

Scripture Reading — Ruth 2:17

"So she gleaned in the field until even, and beat out that she had gleaned: and it was about an ephah of barley."

Gideon Was Honest

Gideon was providing for his family through honest labor, not theft. Weaver stresses that honesty in small things is necessary for God to entrust greater things.

Scripture Reading — Ephesians 4:28

"Let him that stole steal no more."

In other words, if you are a thief, repent.

Scripture Reading — Ephesians 4:28

"Let him that stole steal no more: but rather let him labour, working with his hands the thing which is good, that he may have to give to him that needeth."

Scripture Reading — Deuteronomy 25:13-16

"Thou shalt not have in thy bag divers weights, a great and a small."

By the way, why would anyone have different sizes of weights? To cheat, to defraud. He said, you're not going to do that.

Scripture Reading — Deuteronomy 25:13-16

"But thou shalt have a perfect and just weight, a perfect and just measure shalt thou have: that thy days may be lengthened in the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee. For all that do such things, and all that do unrighteously, are an abomination unto the Lord thy God."

Gideon Was Innovative and Wise

Gideon threshed wheat by the winepress to hide it from the Midianites, demonstrating prudence and biblical wisdom in avoiding unnecessary danger.

Now, there's a verse you will find it occurs twice in the Bible. You'll find it in Proverbs 22 and verse 3 and Proverbs 27 and verse 12, and it says this:

Scripture Reading — Proverbs 22:3; 27:12

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

And let me show it to you. In verse 12 and then in verse 28. Proverbs 28 verse 12. The Bible says,

Scripture Reading — Proverbs 28:12, 28

"When righteous men do rejoice, there is great glory: but when the wicked rise, a man is hidden."

Why is a man hidden when the wicked rise? Because they're always trying to destroy or to steal. Look in verse 28 of the same chapter. Proverbs 28, verse 28.

Scripture Reading — Proverbs 28:12, 28

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

Gideon Was Not Easily Discouraged

For seven years under severe oppression, Gideon remained faithful and consistent, exemplifying dependability and perseverance.

Scripture Reading — Galatians 6:9

"And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not."

God did not say that we would reap if the circumstances were right, that we would reap if the situation was okay. No.

Scripture Reading — Jeremiah 12:5

"If thou hast run with the footmen, and they have wearied thee, then how canst thou contend with horses? And if in the land of peace, wherein thou trustedst, they wearied thee, then how wilt thou do in the swelling of Jordan?"

Gideon Was a Man of Faith

Gideon continued to obey God despite widespread apostasy, demonstrating faith that overcomes the world and pleases God.

Applications: God's Sovereign Call and Our Responsibility

God sovereignly calls whom He pleases, and we must pray for God to raise up men of character. Believers should diligently develop biblical character to be usable.

Prerequisites to be Used by God - 1

John Weaver | SermonAudio

Lecture Metadata	Details
Speaker	John Weaver
Source	SermonAudio
Media ID	10290315725
Subject	Old Testament Studies
Course	Proverbs: The Fear of the Lord and Wisdom: The Doctrine of Election
Genre	Sermon
Date	2003-10-26
Dictation Name
Book	Book 189: Prerequisites to be Used by God — Chapter 1
Source Timed Segments	87

Lecture Guide

Outline

Introduction: God Uses Men, Not Committees: Weaver introduces the series on prerequisites to be used by God, noting that God used Gideon mightily and that God uses individuals, not committees or corporations.
The First Prerequisite: A Man of Character: The angel of the Lord called Gideon a 'mighty man of valor,' which also means virtue, indicating that God requires character.
General Principles of Character: Weaver outlines four broad principles: character is what a man is in the dark; the test of character is what it takes to stop you; God may use you on credit early but later on character; character is built over a lifetime.
Gideon Was a Hard Worker: Gideon was threshing wheat by hand, a laborious task indicating diligence. Weaver contrasts this with laziness and shows from 2 Timothy 2 that ministry is hard work.
Gideon Was Honest: Gideon was providing for his family through honest labor, not theft. Weaver stresses that honesty in small things is necessary for God to entrust greater things.
Gideon Was Innovative and Wise: Gideon threshed wheat by the winepress to hide it from the Midianites, demonstrating prudence and biblical wisdom in avoiding unnecessary danger.
Gideon Was Not Easily Discouraged: For seven years under severe oppression, Gideon remained faithful and consistent, exemplifying dependability and perseverance.
Gideon Was a Man of Faith: Gideon continued to obey God despite widespread apostasy, demonstrating faith that overcomes the world and pleases God.
Applications: God's Sovereign Call and Our Responsibility: God sovereignly calls whom He pleases, and we must pray for God to raise up men of character. Believers should diligently develop biblical character to be usable.

Major Themes

Key Arguments

Character is the indispensable prerequisite for being used by God.

Weaver argues that while God may use someone on credit initially, long-term usefulness depends on developed character.

He states, 'God may use you on credit the first years of your life. After that, he will use you on character.'

True character is revealed in private and under pressure.

Character is not public persona but what one does when alone and what it takes to make one quit.

Weaver explains, 'Character is what a man is in the dark... the test of your character is what it takes to stop you.'

Hard work is a non-negotiable aspect of godly character.

Gideon's manual threshing and the biblical metaphors for ministry all emphasize diligent labor.

Weaver says, 'The ministry is no place for a lazy man... God requires that we be diligent.'

Honesty in financial and practical matters is foundational for spiritual trust.

Using Luke 16:11, Weaver contends that unfaithfulness in money disqualifies one from receiving true spiritual riches.

He asks, 'If I cannot be faithful in that which belongs to another man, who's going to give me that which is my own?'

Wisdom and prudence are biblical character traits.

Gideon's hiding of wheat exemplifies the prudent man who foresees evil and hides himself, as taught in Proverbs.

Weaver cites Proverbs 22:3, 'A prudent man foreseeth the evil, and hideth himself.'

Consistency under prolonged hardship proves dependability.

Gideon's seven years of faithful labor under oppression show that the greatest ability is dependability.

Weaver quotes Dr. Bob Jones Sr., 'The greatest ability is dependability.'

Faith, not circumstances, sustains character and overcomes the world.

Gideon's faith in God's eventual reward kept him obedient despite national apostasy and personal poverty.

Weaver says, 'What kept Gideon faithful for seven years? He knew that God was going to reward him sooner or later.'

God's sovereign call is the ultimate factor in being used.

Despite human character, God alone chooses whom He will use, and those not sent by Him will not profit the people.

Weaver cites Jeremiah 23:32, 'I sent them not, nor commanded them: therefore they shall not profit this people at all.'

Scripture References

Judges 6:11-12: Introduction of Gideon threshing wheat and the angel calling him a mighty man of valor.
Judges 6:13-16: Gideon's objection about his family's poverty and God's promise of presence.
Judges 6:17-24: Gideon's request for a sign and the consuming fire; Gideon builds an altar.
Judges 6:25-26: God's command to tear down Baal's altar and build an altar to the Lord.
Romans 9:23: Desire to be vessels of mercy and honor.
2 Timothy 2:20-21: Vessels of honor and dishonor; purging oneself to be meet for the master's use.
1 Thessalonians 4:4: Possessing one's vessel in sanctification and honor.
2 Corinthians 7:1: Cleansing from filthiness of flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness.
2 Chronicles 16:9: God's eyes run to and fro to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is perfect.
Ruth 2:17: Ruth beating out barley with a stick, indicating poverty and hard manual labor.
2 Timothy 2:1-15: Eight pictures of ministry: teacher, soldier, athlete, farmer, student, preacher, witness, workman.
Ephesians 4:28: Let him that stole steal no more, but labor with his hands to have to give.
1 Timothy 5:8: If any provide not for his own, he has denied the faith and is worse than an infidel.
Luke 16:11-12: Faithfulness in unrighteous mammon and that which is another's as prerequisite for true riches.
Deuteronomy 25:13-16: Prohibition of diverse weights and measures; dishonest dealing is an abomination.
Judges 6:3-6: Midianite oppression destroying Israel's produce and impoverishing them.
Proverbs 22:3; 27:12: A prudent man foresees evil and hides himself, but the simple pass on and are punished.
Proverbs 28:12, 28: When the wicked rise, men hide themselves.
Galatians 6:9: Be not weary in well doing, for in due season we shall reap if we faint not.
Jeremiah 12:5: If you have run with footmen and they wearied you, how will you contend with horses?

Historical References

Dr. Bob Jones Sr.: Weaver quotes his saying, 'The greatest ability is dependability.'

Important Quotes

Character is what a man is in the dark.

Defines character as private integrity, not public image.

The test of your character is what it takes to stop you.

Highlights resilience as the measure of character.

God may use you on credit the first years of your life. After that, he will use you on character.

Emphasizes that long-term usefulness requires developed character.

The ministry is no place for a lazy man.

Stresses diligence as essential for God's service.

If I cannot be faithful in that which belongs to another man, who's going to give me that which is my own?

Links honesty in small matters to receiving greater trust.

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

Biblical wisdom principle exemplified by Gideon's hiding of wheat.

The greatest ability is dependability.

Quoting Dr. Bob Jones Sr. to highlight consistency as a key trait.

What kept Gideon faithful for seven years? He knew that God was going to reward him sooner or later.

Shows that faith in God's reward sustains perseverance.

Discussion Questions

[Question]

What does it mean that 'character is what a man is in the dark'? How can we cultivate private integrity?

[Context]

Weaver defines character as private conduct, not public persona.

[Question]

What are some things that easily stop us from serving God, and how can we develop greater resilience?

[Context]

The test of character is what it takes to stop you; many are stopped by small offenses.

[Question]

In what areas of life is God calling you to be more diligent and hardworking for His kingdom?

[Context]

Gideon was a hard worker, and ministry is compared to a soldier, athlete, and farmer.

[Question]

How does faithfulness in financial and practical matters relate to spiritual trust and usefulness?

[Context]

Weaver uses Luke 16:11 to connect honesty with money to receiving true riches.

[Question]

When have you been tempted to give up under prolonged difficulty, and what helped you persevere?

[Context]

Gideon remained faithful for seven years under severe oppression.

[Question]

How can we keep our eyes on God's Word rather than circumstances to avoid discouragement?

[Context]

Weaver says faith looks only at the Word of God, not situations or feelings.

[Question]

What does it mean that God sovereignly calls whom He pleases, and how should that affect our ambition for ministry?

[Context]

God called Gideon; we should be available but recognize God's prerogative.

[Question]

What practical steps can you take to build godly character over the long term?

[Context]

Character is built by applying God's Word to life progressively.

Applications

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