So, what are you afraid of? Certainly in your life there is something. Yeah, there’s something. For some, it’s heights. For some, it’s spiders. For some, it’s snakes. For some, it’s germs, for some, clowns, flying, public speaking.
Do you know what I’m afraid of? I’m afraid of people who aren’t afraid of anything. Why? Because I know they’re going to hurt themselves and I know there is not enough insurance coverage for that thing they’re going to do that will cause my insurance rates to go up. I’m afraid of that, I really, really am--afraid that my insurance premiums will go up.
No, no, no, no, what I have learned is that there are some people who aren’t really afraid of anything but they should be, and then there are other people who are afraid of things they shouldn’t be. Researching the word “fear” for this study, I discovered there are many people who suffer from bewildering phobias.
“You’re afraid of what?” Listen, there’s a literal fear, a group of people out there who are afraid of chins, a phobia of chins. How can you be afraid of a chin? I don’t understand it! On the internet, I also discovered that there are people who are afraid of cats--afraid of cats? You’re afraid of a kitten? They’re afraid of cats.
There are also people who are afraid of, chop sticks, a literal fear of chopsticks. “I’m thinking, who’s afraid of a chop stick?” Listen; there is a phobia, a literal phobia, a fear of sermons! If you aren’t here today and you’re someplace else, you must be afraid of a sermon. Some are afraid of string. “I see string and it just—just, tangles me up. I just, I don’t know what happens in me, but I’m afraid.”
As I review this long list of things that people are afraid of, listen, if you’re a note taker, truth one: Fear is an emotion you can’t trust. Don’t trust fear, anymore than you trust anger or lust or guilt. Do you understand that there are some emotions, if you let them lead you in life; you’re going to make mistakes? You can’t let fear lead you; it’s an emotion you can’t trust.
Here’s what else I discovered, I discovered, truth number two: Fear is a tool that God can use. Now wait a minute; you’re saying it’s an emotion we can’t trust, but it’s a tool God can use?
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah because you’ll agree, there is good fear and then there is bad fear. There is good fear that is holy and helpful and then there’s a bad fear that is unhealthy and certainly debilitating, incapacitating. The bad fear can do those things to you and it doesn’t let you be who you’re supposed to be.
For instance, how many of you know that there are bad drivers in South Florida? Can I see your hands real quick? Okay, okay, you know that, I know that, I know that. I know that from experience. I’ve never been one of those bad drivers, of course, but I know other people out there that are, just bad drivers.
Now what do you do with that information? For some of you, that healthy, holy, helpful fear causes you to buckle up your seatbelt, why? It just makes sense to do that where there are bad drivers so strap yourself in!
But other people, with unhealthy, and not so helpful fears, you stay inside, you’re so afraid that you’ve actually let that fear keep you off the road completely. You see, it’s good to buckle up but it’s bad if it stops you from going anywhere. So, many of you are not growing because where you’re supposed to be is not where you are. I also see, in the Word of God, that there are examples of good fears and bad fears.
Exodus chapter 20, I’d ask you to turn there. Most of you, whatever version it might be have a subtitle that starts the chapter and it reads, “The Ten Commandments.” Now if you didn’t know where the Ten Commandments were in the Word of God, this is one of two places, the big ten. I’m not drawing your attention to the big Ten Commandments, what I’m drawing your attention to is the first verse that follows the big ten. In verse eighteen we read: Now all the people witnessed the thundering, the lightning flashes, the sound of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking; and when the people saw it, they trembled and stood afar off. Then they said to Moses, “You speak with us, and we’ll hear; but let not God speak with us, lest we die.” And Moses said to the people (note this) “Do not fear, for God has come to test you, and that His fear may be before you, so that you may not sin.” So the people stood afar off, but Moses drew near the thick darkness where God was… Pause right there your attention please, what do we see?
We see good and bad fear, God says, “Listen, if you’re going to be afraid of something, don’t be afraid of Me or these commandments. No, no, no what I want you to do with Me is… (And watch this, the Hebrew word for “fear,” although the same word, it appears more than once.) On the one hand, God says, “I don’t want you to dread Me. I don’t want you to panic because of Me, but here’s what I want you to do. I want you to revere Me and I want you to respect Me. What I want you to do is to dread and to panic over sin, but if you dread and panic over Me; no, I’m God, revere and respect Me, panic over and dread sin.”
Now some people you know they have no fear for sin, and they have no fear for God. They neither revere nor respect Him nor do they dread or panic over sin. God shakes the mountain and suddenly the people say, “There is lightening. There’s thunder and smoke. What’s that, the sound of a trumpet? Moses says, “God is trying to get your attention guys, listen; there is something you should be afraid of and there are other things you shouldn’t be afraid of and I, Moses, know that personally.”
Know that personally? Yeah you don’t need to turn there but its, listen, Exodus chapter one and verse seventeen, the midwives feared God more than the Egyptian king so they decided not to kill the infant Hebrew children. Moses was the fruit of a midwife who determined, “No, I’m not going to obey the king.” Why? “I fear God more than I fear the king and I’m not going to do what the king is telling me to do because I care more about God and revering and respecting him, than disobedience even though the king has commanded it.” So, there are fears we should have that maybe we don’t, and there fears we do have that maybe we shouldn’t? Exactly.
So what fear shouldn’t we have? Listen number one fear, top of the list, the “fear of failure.” “You blew it! You messed up! I can’t believe it! You are such a loser man—I can’t believe…!”
“Oh man .I can’t do it!” How many times have you believed in your heart of hearts that you can’t do anything right? “I’m no good, I’m just so bad, and I’m a failure.”
Really? Why is the fear of failure, the number one fear? You know, I started to think it through and I realized that sometimes, its misunderstanding. Sometimes, we are afraid of failure because we think in terms of failure in our physical health and bodies and in our mental capacities. A lot of us consider ourselves failures in business, our finances, our relationships, marriage, and kids. We are reminded of failure when it comes to security and safety--terrorists’ attacks, terrorist attacks?
The number one fear of teens in America in 2005 was terrorist attacks. Hey, it’s the world we’re living in and if in fact our military system fails, if in fact our government fails--are you getting failure mixed up with future or are you just bothered about real life?
Did you really fail at the points listed above or is your body just starting to fade? Was that relationship really supposed to be or was it a matter of just, “Well God had another plan for me. He had another thought and a different opportunity for me.”
You see, sometimes I think we feel like failures because we’ve convinced ourselves that is our failure when in reality it’s nothing more than listen, “a holy redirect.”
A holy redirect? Yeah listen, you thought success was money, you thought success was popularity, you thought success was notoriety and the whole time God is saying, “No, no, no, no, I’m not letting you do that. Remember, you gave your life to Me and that’s really not My plan for your tomorrow.” You didn’t fail, you’re actually more successful than you think you are because God is in the midst of your life with a redirect where he’s adjusting your direction and now it will be His will rather than your own.
Why do you pray that? Remember praying, saying, “God I don’t my will, I want Your will.” God says, “It’s okay that I’m going to have you leave that big paying job because I want you to spend more time with your kids and the only way you’re going to do that is if you make a little less in a year. “I’m a failure.” “No, you’re a really great dad.” “I never thought about it that way.” Let me tell you something, you have to think about it that way, why? His way is always a better way but His way may not be your way.
“What do you mean Bob?” It’s Proverbs chapter 16, leaving Exodus 20, Proverbs 16, take a look with me at verse nine. Proverbs 16 and 9. Here’s what the Bible declares; a man’s heart plans his way but the Lord directs his steps.
If you haven’t done this, circle the word for “direct,” close by, another translation reads, makes sure you understand that God says, “I want to make sure that you take this step and here’s what I’m going to do. You’re going to be walking this way and I’m going to move you in a different direction and you won’t know that it’s me at first but it will be. You may feel like a failure but you’re not. You’re succeeding on My path for My glory rather than your path for your glory.” It’s just a simple redirect from God.
Let me give it to you again, Proverbs 19, drawing your attention this time to verse 21, and the bible reads, there are many plans in a man’s heart, nevertheless the Lord’s council or circle it the Lord’s purpose that will stand.
Come on back your attention please. We moved here twenty five years ago and I needed a job, and if you don’t know this, before I was Pastor Bob at Calvary Chapel Las Vegas, I was Mr. Bob.” “Huh, who was Mr. Bob?” Mr. Bob was a children’s pastor. I wore this really crazy T-shirt, had these extra large glasses and every week all the kids of all ages used to pack into one room and they would wait until the song leader would begin to chant, “Here comes Mr. Bob, here comes Mr. Bob.” Mr. Bob would come out, “Hi boys and girls, have I got a bible story for you!”
All the kids loved Mr. Bob, before I was Pastor Bob, yeah that’s what I did, and that is how I got to be Pastor Bob. “Well, we think that’s great because we like it when you’re happy and animated.” Listen, if you can teach third graders, you can teach adults. I discovered that--it’s true--it’s true, but stay with me.
When I moved to Ft. Lauderdale and began to look for a John Doe job, I discovered that Channel 7 was looking for a host for a Saturday morning kids’ show that would air locally. So, because of the time I had spent as children’s pastor, “Mr. Bob,” I said to my wife, “This is perfect me. This is my perfect job. Wait till they find out Mr. Bob is in town.” I interviewed for the job and told them, “Hey, here’s what I’ve been doing. Here’s how I do it…” To which they said, “Well try this. Do this.” “I’m doing it.” Thinking that I’m nailing the interview/audition, they say, “No, we’re sorry, you’re not the right person.” I drove home defeated—unsuccessful. I’m a failure in the world. They don’t understand! I was so mad!
Hey, hey, hey, hey, did God want me to be Mr. Bob or Pastor Bob? What would have happened if I had gotten the job? Maybe I would have done so well at Mr. Bob; the show would have been syndicated. Maybe I would have been so good, I would have become nationally known--maybe I would have taken Bozo’s place and right now I have a whole row of exotic cars. I probably would be flying in a G-6 and I would not want anything to do with Calvary Chapel.
Many are the plans of a man’s heart… You say, “Bob, wait a minute, you’re telling the church this weekend that you’d rather be Mr. Bob than Pastor Bob?” No, no, no, see that’s the point, silver, gold are only treasures on earth. I have discovered how happy and how satisfied and content a man can be when he does what the Lord wants him to do. I don’t know what the Lord is calling you to do, but there’s no better place to be than where God wants you to be. So, if you feel like a failure at what you’ve tried to do, ask yourself the question, “Did God want me to do that?”
“Well, here’s what I hope to be.” Does He want you to be that? I would rather be and do what He wants because I’m not going to be satisfied with anything less. Yield to His path, desire His purpose because anything less than that, quite honestly, you’re going to miss it. You’re going to miss it and life won’t bring to you the satisfaction or the happiness or the joy that you thought you’d have.
So then you end up just miserable and mediocre and although it appears you are satisfied and happy, there’s this thing inside of your knower—you’ve got a knower inside of you and your knower says, “I know it’s not really what I thought, but here’s what happened...my parents said…, or you know, somebody said, ‘I should…’ and you know—you know.”
Listen, I ended up working at an outdoor lawn manufacturing company right here in Fort Lauderdale and I oversaw the production of lawn cushions making sure we had enough fabric to cover them and that production values stayed high. I had an office that overlooked a warehouse where I could see all the employees. That’s what I did and I was able to stay just bored enough to continue to study God’s word and hold on to this vision in my mind that someday there’d be this church called, “Calvary Chapel Fort Lauderdale.”
It would have, listen, the thing I thought I was supposed to do, it would have been a distraction. God said, “No, no, no, we’re not going to do this. We’re going to do this redirect thing.”
So you’re saying He might be redirecting my life? I’m saying, “Absolutely! He could be redirecting your life and what could really be happening then is that the thing in your life you think is failure is not really failure.” “Yeah, but it seems like I failed a lot.” Listen, you’re really not a failure if you’re a Christian because as a Christian you’re already on the winning team. You’ve already won man. You’ve already got it. You’ve made it to heaven. You’re going to get to the other side. “Go!” I made it. I made it but a lot of people aren’t going to make it if you who are already winners continue to believe, that you’re not a winner or you don’t feel like a winner.
You may feel like you have a low batting average, but listen, “You’re on the winning team! You’ve got a World Series team! You’re wearing the kind of outfit that a World Series or Super Bowl winners wear. You just--you missed a catch. You just didn’t hit that good and all you need is some batting practice.
Batting practice? Do you know that the number one, top of the list, best batting average is? It’s 344. What does that 344 mean? That means he missed six times out of every ten six and half times, it means he, it means he struck out seven times every ten times at bat. “Wait a minute, you mean I could actually strike out seven times and still be great?” Yes, because you’re on the winning team. “Well then maybe I’m not doing that bad at all.” Maybe you’re not doing that bad at all. Maybe in your mind, you see loser, when in reality, you need to see a winner. “Well then how can I be a better batter?” Oh, a better batter? I can teach you that, in fact there’s a man in the word of God who will teach you how to be a better batter.
Leaving Proverbs, it’s the book of Judges and in the first verse we begin a journey with none other than Gideon. Judges six and one: So then the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord. So the Lord delivered them into the hand of Midian for seven years and the hand of Midian prevailed against Israel. Because of the Midianites, the children of Israel made for themselves the dens, the caves, and the strongholds which are in the mountains. So it was, whenever Israel had sown, Midianites would come up, also Amalekites and the people of the East would come up against them. Then they would encamp against them and destroy the produce of the earth as far as Gaza and leave no sustenance for Israel, neither their sheep nor their ox nor their donkey.
If you’re a note taker, the failure in your life might be the first of five; it just might be the result of serious sin. You say, “Wait a minute, what do you mean?”
You’re striking out because you’re hoping for a home run and God says, “I’m sorry, I don’t really get behind home run hitters who have a lot of pride in their life or a lot of sloth in their life, or a lot of greed in their life. You see, those are not platforms I can promote from.”
Listen carefully, Christian, you want to be rich and it’s been your mind’s eye? “I see myself…I believe it, I chant it. Well, I have visions of grandeur where I can just enjoy a luxury gold bath and lots of bubbles and servants waiting on me.” “Sorry, not going to bless that. It’s all about you isn’t it? If it’s all about you, I’m sorry I can’t bless that.”
What’s your motivation to make more money; is it really all about you? You’re not really failing in that sense, what you’re doing is discovering that there is an issue that’s far deeper and your feelings of failures are actually linked to something you’re doing to yourself. You’re inflicting yourself because you won’t deal with your pride, you won’t deal with your greed, or you won’t deal with your sloth.
When I was serving in the Calvary Chapel in Las Vegas, I decided to build posts at the top of parking spaces so that cars wouldn’t pull all the way up to the building and kids wouldn’t be able to walk through. One Saturday morning, I gathered wood, a hammer, nails and I’m ready to serve the Lord thinking that everything is going to go right and whatever you do; God is going to bless it. As I raised my hand back to pound a nail, “boom,” I flatten my thumb! I literally flatten it to the point where it burst open. I stopped for second I started to turn pale and I can’t believe what I did to me.
I just took a hammer in one hand and I just hit my other hand and I still have a scar where I split it open. I did that to me. Have you ever done something really dumb to you? You did it. Have you ever just bitten your own tongue, your cheek, because you’re so hungry? When you do that, here’s what you’ll say, you’ll say to yourself, “Slow down!” And yourself will say to yourself, “I know!” And yourself will say, “Don’t do that again!” And yourself will say to yourself, “Especially there!” And then, “Boom, I just did it again in the same place! I bit my mouth at the same place, twice, stop it!”
I used to have a motorcycle and before they overturned the helmet laws, I faithfully rode with a helmet. When those helmet laws were overturned, I thought, “Hey, maybe…?” But other friends were saying, “No, always…” So whenever I rode the big roads I kept my helmet on and on the smaller roads, I’d take my helmet off.
So, one day, I’m coming down Copans Road and I turn into my subdivision and taking my hands off the bars, just for a second, I remove my helmet and place it on my lap. Because it was a hot day and my hair was sweaty, I decided to shake my head while driving the motorcycle with no hands.
I did that to me, I did it to me. The Israelites are sowing seed and somebody else is harvesting it. And they say, “We’re working really hard and we plant and just about the time it gets high the Midianites reap our harvest. God asks Israel, “Could this be a result of your greed, your sloth, your pride?”
“Well, just because we, in the last couple of chapters, we kind of pushed God out of our life, we still would like to succeed without God.” I don’t know if that’s going to happen. You’re expecting to succeed without God and you’re doing it to yourself? Why would you do that to you? “It’s not really our fault.” It’s not your fault? Look at the next verse. “All right I’ll look at the next verse.” Whose fault is it? Let’s see, verse five.
For they would come out with their livestock, their tents, coming in as numerous as locusts, both they and their camels were without number; and they would enter the land and destroy it. So Israel was greatly impoverished because of the Midianites. And the children of Israel cried out to the Lord, and it came to pass when the children of Israel cried out to the Lord because of the Midianites that the Lord sent a prophet to the children of Israel and said to them. “Thus says the Lord God of Israel, ‘I brought you up out of Egypt, I brought you out of the house of bondage, I delivered you out of the hands of the Egyptians and out of the hand of those who pressed you and drove them out before you and gave to you their land.
I also said to you I am the Lord your God do not fear the Gods of the Amorites whose land you dwell but you have not obeyed my voice,’”
Pause there, your attention please. Listen, come here. I don’t know where your mind stayed, but some of your minds are finding fault with the Midianites. “It’s not our fault we’re not succeeding. It’s the Midianites’ fault.”
No, no, no, second half of verse ten. “You haven’t obeyed the voice of the Lord.” “I’ll deal with that later, right now, I’m dealing with these Midianites and they continue to impoverish me. It’s their fault.”
You know how many people are not succeeding because they blame others for their sloth? They’re blaming somebody else for their pride. “My boss doesn’t understand me, man. I need that promotion. I deserve that promotion.” “Do you come in early?” “No, but that’s not the issue. Don’t point a finger at me.” “It’s my boss, he’s lame.” “Does he know you think he’s lame?” “Well, you mean, that e-mail?”
I’m saying, you’re destroying yourself and it’s always somebody else’s fault. Why don’t you instead, obey the voice of the Lord, obey the voice of the Lord, obey, and obey. Are you the kind of person who get’s pulled over by a traffic cop and you get bothered because he’s not catching criminals, he’s catching you? “I can’t believe this! There’s a guy behind a tree. He should be out there catching real criminals, not speeders like me!”
I sympathize with that. I don’t like behind the tree radar guns like the one on Banks Road, just North of Atlantic or the one on Turtle Creek Run just north of Sample Road. I’ve observed them there. I’ve not been ticketed, but I’ve observed them there, okay? Still have, “safe driver” on my license. Don’t find fault with those people who catch you in a fault.
Again, failure is not really failure; it’s the result of some serious sin. Now it could be, go with me, starting in verse eleven: The Angel of the Lord came and sat under the terebinth tree it belonged to Joash, move further, verse twelve: the Angel of the Lord appeared to him and said, “Gideon the Lord is with you, mighty man of valor!” Gideon said, “O my lord, if the Lord is with us, why has all this happened to us?” And where are all the miracles which our fathers told us about, saying, “Did not the Lord bring us up from Egypt? But now the Lord has forsaken us and delivered us into the hands of the Midianites.” Then the Lord turned to him and said, “Go in this might of yours, and you shall save Israel from the hand of the Midianites. Have I not sent you?” Again, verse 14, Go in this might of yours. What might of yours?
In the midst of his complaining and his whining, he comes in contact with the Lord and the first thing that comes out of his mouth is, "Why are we in this situation if you are the God that you claim to be?"
Have you ever said that, “Why am I in this situation if you’re the God that you claim to be? You promised in Your Word to multiply us and we’re not being multiplied right now. You promised in Your Word to prosper us and we’re not prospering right now. God what’s the deal?”
It may not be failure. Listen, it could be number two, just a second chance. That’s all it is. It’s just a second chance and this chance is the chance when you might discover something about yourself that you didn’t know before because your failure stopped you and you never tried again.
Now is the perfect time for a couple of poignant quotes. “The only real failure in life is the failure to try.” It’s true. Life’s real failure is when you don’t realize how close you were to success when you gave up. Success comes in “can dos,” failure, in “can’t dos.” Some people only dream of success while others wake up and work hard at it. I love this one: “The only place “success” comes before “work” is in the dictionary.”
I tell you those things why? Because they’re supposed to be like Tony Robbins. Things you know, where you say, “Yes, I can do it! Yes, I’ll do it!” Listen, if you do it the same way you did it, you’ll end up with the same results, and it may be that God is knocking on your heart saying, “Remember those sins we talked about on the first point?”
The second point would be to, “Stop doing them.” Why? Because if you’re doing it the same way you did it and there hasn’t been real repentance… John the Baptist is on the water’s edge, he’s calling people into the baptismal waters and the Pharisees show up, and they start giving John a hard time. John looks at the Pharisees and says, “You brood of vipers…” and then he says this, and I quote, “Where is your fruit in keeping with repentance? In other words if you repented, we should see something, I know so many people that are getting the same results because they haven’t changed the way they do what they do.
So somebody says to me, “I just don’t do relationships well.” “No, you just don’t let the right guys date you. Could we do that differently this time?” “What do you mean?” “Well, I’ve seen who you’re going out with. They’re all the bad boys”. “Well, I have this thing for bad boys--I didn’t know you rode a bike.”
“Hey, hey, hey, hey, listen I sold it okay?” “I just like the idea of a man in leather with a little bit of chew between his teeth and gums. You know, someone who has no responsibility or commitment? He rides with the wind.” “Does he have a job?” “No, the last boyfriend told me that binds him.” “You think he wants to have kids?” “He has kids, lots of them.”
Or are you the person who says, “I just never been any good with money.” “No you’ve never been good at spending, that’s the problem. You just spend and spend and you want a different result and you can’t have a different result unless you do something different and you have to do something different right now. Come on, let’s change that.”
This is your opportunity for a second chance, and if in fact you’re willing to do this second chance thing, what will happen? Well, it may happen, if there’s repentance, we’ll see a change. He’s asking the Lord, “Why are we in this situation?” Even when you deal with the pride, greed and anger, it may be God saying, “Now, let’s shake this up and do it a little differently.”
I love this Ben Franklin’s quote. He said, “I didn’t fail, I just learned how not to do it a hundred times.” Think of it that way. One hundred guys later; this is the time to date a good man. This is the time to make a smart choice. Amen?
Thank you. Let’s move on. Where do we move? Look with me now, it’s interesting to see that even with the Lord’s help, Gideon says he won’t be able to defeat the Midianites. Look at verse fifteen, chapter six.
So he said to him, “O my Lord, how can I save Israel? Indeed my clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I’m the least in my father’s house.” And the Lord said to him, “Surely I’ll be with you, and you shall defeat the Midianites as one man.” And he said, “If I found favor in your sight, then show me a sign so it’s really you who talk with me.”
What is that? Gideon continues to have a hard time believing that God was going to use him because he didn’t think God knew that he was from a small tribe considered the least in his father’s house.
So you’re ready for failure because you’re convinced that you’re just not the person who’s destined for success? No, no, no, it may not be failure but number three quickly jot it down, it may be a result of not seeing yourself in His light.
God called Gideon “a mighty man of valor” and Gideon didn’t even respond to it but asks God, “If You’re a good and great God, and you’re in the business of doing miracles, then why aren’t you doing one?” “Did you not hear me say, ‘Gideon, mighty man of valor?’” “I know, but I’m not even thinking those thoughts because I’m so convinced that I’m small and I’m little and that I’m not really going to be used by you at all.”
Here’s what may have happened. In high school you were told you’re a loser; that you weren’t that smart and you came to believe that. My mom, oh bless her heart, she used to say, “Bobby, sticks and stones can break your bones but names will never hurt you.” She lied, she lied, well intentioned she was but names hurt bad, and the stigma attached with, “Well, you’re just a ‘c’ student.” “Oh okay, I’m a ‘c’ student.”
Let me tell you something, when I got out of high school, I decided to take some night classes and I discovered that if you study, you can get an “A.” Why didn’t I learn that in high school? I guess I wasn’t that motivated. I start learning and find that I’m good at it and I’m start to think, “I’d like to go backwards and then go forward again through school because didn’t know I was that smart. Why? I didn’t see myself in the light of God’s light, I saw myself in the opinion of others.
You are a success you’re a Christian. God already called you by name and He has a plan and it includes victory, my friend. Stop thinking the way that you’re thinking. You shouldn’t even be thinking that way.
“Well, but it’s true, I’m weak and I’m not that smart.” Oh wait a second; did you say you’re weak? Oh that’s perfect. I’m so glad you said that, listen to this, 1st Corinthians 1 and 27: But God has chosen the foolish things of this world to put to shame the wise. God has chosen weak things of this world to put to shame the things that are mighty, and the base things of this world and the things that are despised, God has chosen.
“You say, I’m not that weak, God? God can’t wait to use me?” Why, because people who are really smart have no room in their brain for God. People who are really strong don’t want God’s help thinking they can do everything on their own. Are you serious? Do you think you’re that smart or that strong, you think you’re that?
Fifteen years ago, we crossed the threshold of two thousand people attending our church and there was this new term being employed by those in circles of church growth, “mega-church.” If you reach the two thousand mark, (and there were only a few of us back then) reporters were coming by trying to learn about this thing called the “mega-church.”
Suddenly, our church was that size. Calvary Costa Mesa was that size. There were a few others across the country and these reporters wanted to know what we did to help the church grow? And here’s one of the questions they all asked me, “Where did you go to school?” “I didn’t. I missed that.” “Oh, then what’s your marketing strategy?” “Really I don’t have one.” “Where did you start your church?” “In a funeral home.” “Okay, who was your first employee?” “A Mexican concrete worker.”
The guy finally turns to me at one point during the interview and says, “Uh, this-- this is not working.” I said, “What’s that?” “Based on everything you’ve said, this church shouldn’t be a church.” And I said and I’ll never forget it, “Unless God’s involved…oh that—that--that would have to be it, yeah.”
The reporter thought I was being flippant and he responded, “Yeah, yeah, yeah that would be it, but it’s not you?” “Oh it’s not me and I pray it’s never me. I pray I’m never the reason. I pray that the Holy Spirit shows up here every single week in such bold and powerful ways, changing lives, molding spirits so that God always gets the glory for the things that He does here at this church and in this ministry. That is so important to me.”
You’ve got to see yourself in His light. I don’t know what label you’re still stuck with. It could be your background and your heritage. “Oh, I don’t think I can change because I’ve got this Latin passion.” “I don’t think I could change. I’ve got Irish anger.” Let me tell you something, when I gave my life to Christ, I received a blood transfusion and now coursing through my veins is the blood of Jesus Christ and that blood redeems everything.
You don’t have to look back at your past, you don’t have to find fault with anybody. You don’t have to blame anybody. Listen, God is trying to do something new in you and the newness starts with knowing how much He sees you as a mighty man, or a mighty woman of valor. That’s who you really are in his eyes.
Move a little further, quickly we’ve got to pick it up quickly. “Bob, don’t tell us to be quick; you’re the teacher.” I know. It’s verse thirty six of chapter six. Look what happens. He gets this power talk from God and He actually begins to tear down Baal worship centers and now he’s ready to come against men. There’s still fear in his life so Gideon said to God, verse 36 of chapter six: “If you will save Israel by my hand as you’ve said, I shall put a fleece of wool on the threshing floor; and if there’s dew on the fleece only, and it’s dry all on the ground, then I shall know that You will save Israel by my hand as you’ve said.” So it was, when he rose early the next morning and squeezed the fleece together he wrung the dew out the fleece, a bowlful of water. Then Gideon said to God, “Do not be angry with me, but let me speak just once more; let me test I pray, just once more with the fleece; let the dry only on be on the fleece, but all the ground let there be dew.” And God did so that night. It was dry on the fleece only but there was dew all on the ground.
“What is this? Wait a minute, you mean to tell me that even though you’re convinced that you’re the least and you’re last, if God says, ‘You’re a mighty man of valor; you can do this?’” And you say, “Uggg, prove it, prove it!”
What do you want me to do? Is not my word enough? Could it be that failure in your life is in reality a result of doubting what God has guaranteed? God’s already given it to you in his Word. He’s already told you something and you don’t believe Him. Why don’t you believe him?
Well because I’m waiting for a sign. Why are you waiting for a sign? I’ll give you a sign--Genesis to Revelation. It’s an amazing integrated message system with divine properties, it’s supernatural in every characteristic and God speaks through it with His spirit every time you open it.
“Yeah I know all that, but I was hoping to do something with the carpet sample. It’s kind of a fleece.” “It’s a chunk of wool. I know we’ve already had this really long conversation that covered most of chapter six, but here’s what I’m thinking.”
“Before we get to chapter seven, could you prove to me You are really who you are? I’m going to put this out at night and in the morning; I want the carpet sample to be wet and all of the ground to be dry. (And you say, “I hope it doesn’t happen. I hope it doesn’t happen. I hope it doesn’t happen.) And it’s just like you said, the carpet sample fills a bowl full of water and all the ground is dry. Alright, one more time, how about if tomorrow, the carpet sample is dry and all the ground is wet? Then, I’ll really know it was you.”
Over the years I’ve had people ask, “What do you think about fleeces, Bob?” “What’s that?” “Well, you know, I can kind of test the Lord by saying, ‘Hey Lord, if it’s really You, will You do something?” At that point, I ask, “Is it something He already has in the Bible?” “Yeah, I want to know if I should date this girl.” So you throw out this fleece. “I filled a glass of water and I said, ‘Lord, if I tip out this water from this glass if it comes out, I’ll know it’s a sign.’” “Why would you ask him?” “Well, she’s not really like a Christian, like a Christian, like how you guys are Christians.” “Well, what is she?” “Well, she’s a spiritualist and she hums, so I want to know if I can date her.” “The Bible has already spoken; can’t you just take God’s word at it?”
“How about if I....” I’ve always said if you’re going to do a fleece with God, be serious, not just curious, because He just may show up, but if your fleece is bizarre.” “I was waiting for lightening in the sky. Was it a stormy night?” “Yeah, but I asked for a lightning bolt in a specific cloud, and it happened.”
Here’s what we’re doing. We’re rolling the dice with God. “Okay, here’s what I want to do with you, God. Come on, let’s see if You can actually do what I’m saying you should do and see if you’re actually a genie in the sky who will obey my command.”
Stop! “Why did He do it with Gideon?” This (holding the Bible) is before this, you have this! There are already eight hundred thousand clear words from the Word of God to discover anytime you want. Gideon didn’t have that.
So okay you’re going to do this thing, “Okay, now this is a guarantee isn’t it, God?” “Oh yeah, for sure this is happening.” Why would He do this then if in fact it was already guaranteed?
Listen, don’t miss this, the leader has to know God’s will before he teaches others to follow it. As a leader, if you’re a mom or a dad, you’ve got to have faith. You can’t show your kids how to have faith if you don’t have any faith.
Gideon is going to go lead men into battle. If he’s going to lead men into battle believing God is going to give him the victory, he has to know that God is giving him the victory.
Make sure your sons and daughters know who God is because of the picture they see of God in your life. You should be answering your kids’ Bible questions, or helping them find great verses in the Bible; not the reverse.
And you know the story Judges seven verse two: The Lord said to Gideon, “The people who are with you are too many for me to give the Midianites into their hands, lest Israel claim glory for itself against me saying, ‘my own hand has saved me.’
“My own hand has saved me.” Listen; sometimes we fail when we are being led by a misguided trust. Right now, Gideon says, “Okay, I’ve got thirty-two thousand guys and I trust that these guys are going to give us the victory.” “God said, ‘He was the One who was going to give you victory. I know, but I’ve got a group of guys, isn’t that enough? Personally, I don’t’ think that was enough because scholars say that the Midianites have one hundred and twenty thousand soldiers, if not more.
Minimum, the Midianites have a hundred and twenty thousand, I have thirty-two thousand and God now says, “Hey Gideon, come here, do you have too many guys?” “I’ve got thirty two thousand and the Bible scholars say they have a hundred and twenty thousand. God, check your math.”
“Too many guys?” “Here’s what I want you to do, say to all of them, ‘if anyone is afraid, you can go home.’” “Alright, hey thirty-two thousand guys, if any of you are afraid, you can go home.” “Vroooom!” Twenty-two thousand leave. Now he has ten thousand and he’s holding the fleece. “Ten thousand God, You said You’re going to do it. I just lost twenty-two thousand guys because they’re afraid.”
Fearful people can’t move into victory because the reward of victory is for the faith-filled not the fear-filled. Listen again, the reward for victory is for the faith-filled, not the fear-filled.
So now here’s Gideon, “Okay God, I have ten thousand ready to go! Too many? Too many? Don’t do this to me! What is it?” “Go down to the river and when you get to the river tell them all to have a drink, to drink from the river. Now some guys will get down on all fours like a dog and they’ll lap the water. Others will stay very alert and aware and they will cautiously drink the water with their hands. I want you to use the aware guys and go into battle. I don’t want you to use the lapping dogs for battle, okay?”
“Okay, could we do something with the carpet sample again instead of the lapping four-legged dog thing? Could we?”
Gideon, “Alright guys, come on down. Hey, have a drink of water! Let’s see how many lap the water like a dog and how many use their hands. Hands, hands, use your hands, use your hands.”
“Vroooom!” Now, I only have three hundred men against an army of one hundred and twenty thousand. Now God, what do use for weapons? Excuse me, I’m sorry, I think I--I thought I heard you say torches, clay pots, and trumpets. Is that really what You just said? You said we should use trumpets? A trumpet’s not a weapon unless I take off the bell and hit someone with it. Torches? Am I going to burn somebody? Clay pots? I don’t understand, you’re going to divide the team? Half the guys are going to have the pots and the torches and the other half are going to have the trumpets? You’re going to put us on the top of a hill with a light and they’re going to see us and throw rocks and we’re going to die? We’re supposed to make the sound of a trumpet so they’ll know where we’re at and we’ll say, ‘Hey, look at me, the idiot! Hit me!’ I don’t want to do this anymore. Use somebody else. Where is Moses? Why can’t he have this story? I’m such a failure.
Listen, Jeremiah 17 verse 5: Cursed is the man who trusts in man. Cursed is the man who trusts in man. Listen ladies, you know this one. Here’s the deal, if your trust is in man, He says, “You’re actually under--like a curse because you put so much hope in man and not hope in God. You’re going to find out man, count on it, will disappoint you because your hope is not supposed to be in man, your hope is supposed to be in God.”
So, God’s going to say to Gideon, “Make your army so small that the only way you win is that God showed up on your behalf and God will get the glory.” So Gideon and the army go to the top of the hill. If you don’t know the story, you’ve got to read chapter seven in its totality. They get to the top of the mountain, they blow the horn, “da, da, da, da,” sword of the Lord for Gideon. Then Gideon’s army begins to crack the pots, shine the lights bringing confusion and the Midianites begin to fight amongst themselves. The Israelites run down the hill and chase them out of the land, never having to use a weapon. “Ahhh, we’re winning with pots and lights.” How did that happen?
Last place 2nd Corinthians chapter 4, look with me at verse 6: 2nd Corinthians chapter four verse six; For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of the darkness who has shown in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ, but we have this treasure in earthen vessels.
You are an earthen vessel, you are a clay pot, and on the inside of you there’s a treasure, a light, an illumination that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us.
We are hard pressed on every side, yet we’re not crushed, we’re perplexed but we’re not in despair, we’re persecuted but we’re not forsaken, we’re struck down but we’re not destroyed. Always carrying about the body of the dying of the Lord Jesus that the life of Jesus also be manifest in our body.
On the count of three, “Hallelujah!” One two three, “Hallelujah,” why? He’s in you man, He’s in you, and you go, “Man, I’m feeling a little down.” Yeah, but you’re not crushed. “I’m despairing.” Yeah, but you’re not in despair.” Come on, I understand He’s taking you right to the edge but the reality, my friend, is that you have a bright light on the inside of a clay pot. And when that pot is broken and the fire of the Spirit is warmed by the breath of God, you shine very, very, brightly.
What’s that? You need to be a cracked pot, you need to be willing to be broken, and if you’re willing to be broken, say, “Okay God, I thought I was all that and I’m not.
I thought I was but I’m not. God, I admit I am weak, I admit God and I’m not that smart, and I admit God I’ve done some bad things in my life.” God says, “The brokenness that I see right now, I can now with that brokenness, breathe on you fresh wind and that will take that torch and it will shine so brightly that everyone will say, ‘That’s not Bob, that’s God. That’s not Michael, that’s Jesus. That’s not Debbie, look, that’s the Lord in them.’”
And now, everyone looks on and says, “We have the victory,” and then you hear the sound of the trumpet. How in the world did that happen?
To God be the glory, my friend, He has done great things. Amen? Amen, amen, amen, amen.
