Have you ever thought about those seemingly ordinary people that go above and beyond for causes that would change our lives?
• Why did they do what they did?
• Why do they care?
• What makes them so strong?
• How could they bear so much?
• Were they born that way?
• Did they already know they would be special?
• In the face of death, how could they RISE UP?
Well, one of the most exciting things about God, time and time again throughout the pages of scripture is the fact that we see God using the ordinary people just like you and I, to accomplish his will and get his work done. Those ordinary people carry crosses instead of carrying swords. They are led by an indomitable Spirit with a force of strength and guidance; they are the quite spirits, the seemingly small individuals, willing to take God’s call.
The Jesus we follow did not call us to be successful. In fact he said “If you follow me,
• You might just be regarded as a failure because you follow me.”
• You might not be famous.
• You might not have the best of things.
• You might not be rich.
• You might not have a home,
• But what God has in store for you is special in a spiritual way.
Judges 6:1-3 states “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. 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. 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.
My Message today is ……. Why Do the Seemingly Ordinary, Rise Up?
Today we will discuss a young man by the name of Gideon, but before we get started let’s talk a little about a few special ordinary individuals that would bring about change according to God’s grace.
Let’s first look at Moses. Moses was barely three months old, he was placed in a tiny basket barely escaping death. He was just a child, like any other child, and you wouldn’t have known that he was chosen to deliver his people. And the staff that Moses would carry was only a piece of wood, nothing special until it was touched by God, and then it was an instrument through which God performed Great miracles.
• Moses, God said, he is my deliverer.
Then there was David. His own father didn’t think that he could possibly be a King. After all he was just a shepherd boy. But when God looked at David, He didn’t see a shepherd boy, but rather he saw a man after His own heart. And those five smooth stones in the stream near the valley of Elah were not that special either, but when God got a hold of them AND PUT THEM INTO THE HANDS OF a shepherd boy by the name of David, they became powerful projectiles that would slay the GIANT enemy of the Israelites, Goliath.
• David, God said, he will be my King.
Oh, but let’s look at Esther. Esther was a slave girl in a foreign land. Who but God would have looked at her and knew her destiny. She was a slave girl with a will and strength that could only be given by God. Her Everlasting words rang true today, “If I Perish, I Perish”.
• Ester, God said, she will deliver her people from certain destruction..."
And then there is the woman at the well, she had been through five unsuccessful marriages, and was now living with a man. And she comes to draw water from the well at the hottest part of the day, because she can no longer bare the stares, whispering, and cold shoulders of the other woman in the town. Most people would not have looked at that sad and lonely woman walking down that hot dusty road and picked her out to do anything significant. But Jesus is not most people, and when he saw her approaching on that hot and sunny day.
• He said, "She is the one who will take the Gospel to her town."
But let’s not stop there. We all may know the story of Saul, who became to be named Paul. I am confident that the early church did not hold weekly meetings to discuss how they could convert Saul, because they felt that he had so much potential for Jesus Christ -No- They were afraid of him (and rightly so).... But the Lord doesn’t make decisions based on outward appearances, the way we do! People judge by outward appearance, but the Lord looks at a person’s thoughts & intentions.
• Paul he said, "he will take the gospel throughout the world (even at the cost of his own life)
1 Samuel 16:7 states: But the LORD said unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for the LORD seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the LORD looketh on the heart.
God, is a master at using the unlikely, he is an EXPERT at turning the ordinary into the extraordinary. Time and time again in scripture, we see God’s power manifested in lives of someone who, on the outside may not look that impressive, but on the inside, has submitted and surrendered his or her life (their thoughts & intentions) completely to God.
And “My God”….. “Oh my Lord”, the things God can do, and the victories God can win, with that kind of surrendered life. ‘Our’ God is a master at using the ordinary, at using things that others would merely pass right by.
Remember the disciples, the original chosen followers of Christ. They were Simon (Peter), Andrew, James (son of Zebedee), John, Philip, Bartholomew, Thomas, Matthew, James (son of Alphaeus), Thaddeous, Simon the Zealot, and Judas.
Most were just simple fishermen, not wealthy, not educated; not very influential-- that is until Jesus got a hold of them and those uneducated believers would turn the Roman World upside down in 30 years. AMEN
So what about you? Do you feel kind of ordinary? Most of us are just that, ordinary. Do you feel like an unlikely candidate to do anything significant for the kingdom of God?
You probably think you don’t have much to offer, or aren’t capable of accomplishing much. You believe nothing you could do would matter. You doubt God’s power.
If that’s how you feel (right now) HERE’S WHAT I’VE GOT TO SAY TO YOU…… You are just the kind of person that God loves to work with, and through.
You see those who think they have already arrived, those who think they know all the answers, THOSE who think they can do everything, are always too busy listening to themselves, to even hear what God has to say. ` AMEN
Brothers and sisters, the life of Gideon serves as an example for all who desire to be used of God, for all who have a passion to do something significant for the kingdom. In the life of Gideon we see how God works in the lives of ordinary men and women, empowering them to do extraordinary things.
An angel came to Gideon and asked him to take on the task of overthrowing the Midianites. The Midianites were destroying Israel. Gideon’s response to the angel was one of humility. The angel said that Gideon would save Israel. Gideon asked that if God was for Israel, where was He now. Had God abandoned them? When the angel replied that God was sending him to lead Israel into battle Gideon said that he was from a poor humble family. God responded through the angel that Gideon would lead the country to victory. AMEN
Judges 6:14 states “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?
So, who was Gideon? Well, Gideon was a pretty ordinary guy. When we first meet Him, we don’t find a man who had it all together and who was rock solid in his faith - rather we find a man who had fears and doubts - and who felt confusion and despair. Gideon was slow to believe in the words of God and in addition to this, his father had turned away from God and worshiped idols... MY MY!
Let’s think about what happened to the people of Israel, and consider our life as a parallel.
God’s people would be doing well - life was great...God was blessing them, the bills were paid, the kids were behaving,
the camels (their transportation at that time) were not in the shop, and the birds were singing. A M E N
Then the people would turn away from God. I guess they figured they didn’t need him anymore. They believed they were doing pretty good on their own. Does this sound familiar?
But before too long, life began to stink - it went south in a hurry. An enemy would come in and oppress them... Before they knew it, they were being STOMPED ON!
So, what do you think they did next?
You guessed it, they cried out to God for help. “God Help Us” and our God being full of mercy and rich in compassion heard their cries and sent a deliverer. Gideon, an ordinary person.
Israel was suffering a seven year oppression at the hands of the Midianites. The Midianites were cruel & powerful. And every year at harvest time the Midianites would come sweeping into Israel - with their powerful army. The scripture says that like a locust plague they would strip the land - stealing all the grain and destroying all the crops. My LORD
Judges 6:4 says, 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.
Every year at harvest time, it was the same thing - The Midianites would come riding in and take all the fruits of the labor - not only were the Israelites discouraged but they had become an impoverished nation... many hid in the mountains and in caves - fleeing from their homes.. Times were so hard, they cried out to God for help...God help us please!!!!
Judges 6:5-7 states: “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. And it came to pass, when the children of Israel cried unto the LORD because of the Midianites,
And God sent a prophet to them - who said, "This is what the Lord, the God of Israel says: I brought you up out of slavery in Egypt and rescued you from the Egyptians and from all who oppressed you. I drove out your enemies and gave you their land. I told you, ‘I am the Lord your God. You must not worship the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you now live. BUT you have not listened to me..." You have pushed aside my words, for words of your own. MY MY
What we should understand from this is: God hears us when we cry out & return to Him - BUT that doesn’t mean we won’t have something that needs to be straightened out...
So here we have Gideon. He didn’t have an impressive pedigree. He didn’t come from a prestigious family. He was just an ordinary guy, from the weakest family within the tribe of Manasseh and he was the youngest within this weak and unimpressive family. And Gideon didn’t have a lot of confidence either. He had his doubts. AMEN
Let’s put ourselves in his sandals, and I think we’ll see why.
Here you are the youngest member of your family, which happens to be the weakest family in the whole tribe of Manasseh. And the Midianites, who were worse than any bully you could ever imagine, are picking on you stealing your donkeys, cows, your bike and your lunch money. And here you are hiding out in a winepress or in the bathroom stall eating your lunch because you are afraid that the bad guys will beat you up and take it. I won’t say you’re weak, but you lack confidence.
And while you’re hiding in the corner, heart pounding, palms sweating, as your ears are tuned in to hear the least little sound -- someone looks from over the top of the stall and calls you a Mighty Warrior...
You say, What? What’s that you say? Me, a warrior, you have got to be kidding!
Judges 6:12 states: “ And the angel of the LORD appeared unto him, and said unto him, The LORD is with thee, thou mighty man of valour.
Gideon had a problem with that statement too; Yeah right, “the Lord is with us... "...if the Lord is with us, why has all this happened to us? WHERE are all his wonders that our fathers told us about when they said, ‘Did not the Lord bring us up out of Egypt?’ BUT now the Lord has abandoned us and put us into the hands of the Midianites." LORD LORD
Judges 6:14 says: “ And the LORD looked upon him, and said, Go in this thy might, and thou shalt save Israel from the hand of the Midianites: have not I sent thee?
Have you ever felt that way? Have you ever thought or said, “If God is with me then why am I getting dumped on”? Why are these things happening to me?
Brothers and sisters, Gideon had a problem with that statement as well, You see, Gideon felt about as far from strength and a mighty warrior as you could get -- I think if Gideon wasn’t so afraid he would have laughed - "are you talking to me, you must be nuts..." "Me save Israel”, you got to be are out of your mind.
My family is the weakest and I am the youngest one in my family... You must have mistaken me for someone else. I’m just an ordinary guy.... Have you even looked at my resume Lord? Not too impressive - no pedigree, no confidence, hiding in a winepress... And to top it all off, my father’s house was full of idols and altars to foreign Gods."
Gideon’s faith was weak, it was immature. And when your faith is weak and immature there are a lot of things you can’t understand; Gideon couldn’t understand why God was letting all of this tragedy strike His people... He wondered where God was, and where the miracles were... But at this point in Gideon’s life, his faith was too weak to see that it was NOT God, But Israel who brought this devastation on them. Even his own family had altars and worshiped Baal. Gideon told the Lord he was not the guy he was looking for. I am not the one!
Judges 6:16 states: “And the LORD said unto him, Surely I will be with thee, and thou shalt smite the Midianites as one man.
Brothers and sisters, what we should understand here is in order to grow in faith we need to let God’s word and His view of us - encourage and build us up. AMEN
That night as Gideon slept - the Lord spoke to him - and told him that there was something he needed to do up-front - before he did anything else - God told Gideon that he had to destroy the altars to the false gods that were in his father’s house....AND after these altars were destroyed, Gideon had to take a second bull from his father’s house - the one that was seven years old. He had to build an altar to God on the same spot where the altar to the false gods were, and then, sacrifice the bull on it. AMEN
Now, what we should take from this is those who are, and who want to be leaders of God’s people, must first set in order the affairs of their own house.
Judges 6:27 states: " Then Gideon took ten men of his servants, and did as the LORD had said unto him: and so it was, because he feared his father's household, and the men of the city, that he could not do it by day, that he did it by night.
Brothers and sisters, it’s not easy to take care of problems at home....Stepping up to the plate takes courage -- because everyone is not gonna like what you have to do. But our faith is measured not by fearlessness BUT by obedience.
As the time for battle approached, Gideon was Afraid, perhaps as he sat with his army, not the original 32,000, not the willing 10,000, but the God chosen 300, looking down at the Midianites camp of 135,000, THAT WAS DESCRIBED AS THICK AS LOCUSTS, WITH CAMELS AS NUMEROUS AS THE SANDS OF THE SEASHORE.
Maybe this sight caused GIDEON to calculate the numbers in his head. (135,000 divided by 300). (OH MY GOD)… and AS he visualized the NUMBER 450, He realized that each man in his army would be up against 450 Midianites. (MY LORD)
Needless to say Gideon wasn’t getting much sleep....And Maybe he thought to himself, "Perhaps, I misunderstood the Lord, is this thing really gonna to work. There’s that doubt trying to creep back in……
Judges 7:9 states “And it came to pass the same night, that the LORD said unto him, Arise, get thee down unto the host; for I have delivered it into thine hand.
Then the Lord said, IF you are afraid to attack, go down to the camp with your servant Purah and listen to what they are saying. Afterward, you will be encouraged to attack the camp. So he and Purah his servant went down to the outposts of the camp.
Gideon arrived just as a man was telling a friend his dream. "I had a dream," he was saying. "A round loaf of barley bread came tumbling into the Midianite camp. It struck the tent with such force that the tent overturned and collapsed."
His friend responded; This can be nothing other the sword of Gideon son of Joash, the Israelite. God has given the Midianites and the whole camp into his hands......"
Judges 7: 15 And it was so, when Gideon heard the telling of the dream, and the interpretation thereof, that he worshipped, and returned into the host of Israel, and said, Arise; for the LORD hath delivered into your hand the host of Midian.
And let me tell you, when Gideon heard this he was pumped - he was on fire....He fell down and worshiped God....
So, that night, Gideon prepared his men. They were each equipped with a lamp and a horn. The lamp was covered in a pitcher so that their lights did not shine out yet. Gideon spread out the 300 men on the hillside into 3 companies.
Judges 7: 16 And he divided the three hundred men into three companies, and he put a trumpet in every man's hand, with empty pitchers, and lamps within the pitchers.
Listen up now, you don’t wanna miss this.
The men crept down toward the camp with their eye on Gideon. He instructed them that when he blew his trumpet and broke the pitcher containing the lamp, the soldiers were to do the same thing. They also had to yell out, “the sword of the Lord, and of Gideon.”
Judges 7: 18 When I blow with a trumpet, I and all that are with me, then blow ye the trumpets also on every side of all the camp, and say, The sword of the LORD, and of Gideon.
So, when they all broke their pitchers and blew their trumpets (creating a great noise) the men inside the enemy camp woke up scared and scrambling in blind fear.
Gideon’s men yelled out, but did not attack. They stood their ground and did not engage the enemy. The Bible does not say that Gideon’s men had any kind of weapons, only trumpets, broken pitchers and lamps.
The enemy soldiers, scared, and confused, began fighting those around them instead of with Gideon and his men. The overwhelming sound, the striking light, the belief strength surrounding them, they just jumped up and started blindly striking anyone. Imagine that!
Those who survived the self-inflicted battle fled to the outer regions of Israel—right into the home territory of the 30,000 soldiers who were sent home previously. MY MY
Brothers and sisters, Gideon was just an ordinary guy - he had doubts, he had fears, his faith was not all it should be. BUT God use him to do something extraordinary - God use him to deliver...his people... God used him to bring about an incredible victory...
And as I bring my message to a close, I have some questions for you:
• Are you an ordinary person....?
• Do you have doubts and fears?
• Is your faith not all it should be?
• Are there issues at home you need to deal with?
• If God calls you to do something awesome, will you be willing?
Think about it for a while, and then, DON’T THINK ABOUT IT.
Because God can DO extra-ordinary things through ordinary people, just like you, and just like me. God is a master at using the unlikely; he is an expert at turning the ordinary into the extraordinary.
In the life of Gideon we see God’s power manifested in the life of someone who on the outside was not that impressive, but on the inside had submitted his life completely to God. And oh, the things that God can do and the victories God can win, when you finally surrender your life to GOD.
Brothers and sisters, there are still many battles left to be fought and many more victories to be won.
Battleground in our homes,
Battleground in our schools,
Battleground on our jobs,
And, battleground in our in our churches. AMEN
God’s enemies are still oppressing his people, and they have taken many captive – So many are afraid and are hiding in caves as their hope slowly fades. They have their doubts and fears, but God has not forsaken his children. In ordinary people like you and I, he will bring warriors to the world. Those warriors are the ordinary me or the ordinary you…. AMEN
Brothers and sisters, is god looking at you today? Is he calling you to be a mighty warrior? And are you tempted to say, "But God you can’t be talking to me, what I can do, I don’t know enough, I don’t have enough ...I can’t.
But God loves to work through ordinary men and women -- who are truly willing to put their faith in the Almighty God, and say to him -- "I’m yours, I’m not much – I may not have a pedigree, and my family may not be wealthy or well educated, but I trust you God, mold me into a warrior for you!
• I can surrender my heart.
• I can shield my faith,
• I can trust in you.
• I believe that you are GOD.
• I know that through you, all things are possible. AMEN
Someone once said “God will not permit any troubles to come upon us, unless He has a specific plan by which great blessing can come out of the difficulty”.
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