Speaker 1: 0:00

Welcome to Madison Church Online. I'm Stephen Fee, lead pastor. We're glad that you are joining us and I'm wondering, not just for our online audience but for those of you in the room have you ever faced an overwhelming challenge that you thought there is absolutely no way I can do this? Raise your hand. You've gone through a situation. Anyone who's not raising their hand is a liar. Okay, that's the point. Okay, you're a liar.

Speaker 1: 0:21

We all go through those situations where it's like I can't do this, there is absolutely no way. As a matter of fact, I bet a couple of you, maybe a lot of you watching or listening online some of you are going through that situation right now. You feel that this morning, whatever it is, whatever season you're in or you're about to enter into, you can kind of see it coming. The season is coming and you're like I can't do this. Maybe it's a decision that you don't feel equipped to make a conversation. You're afraid to have a step of faith. God is saying go this way. Throughout this whole series, you've been feeling that and you're like it's too big of a step for me to take. In these moments it is easy I would say it's probably natural to let fear and doubt paralyze us. Rather than doing something or anything, we do nothing. We hope that God will do something for us. Instead, we're stuck and we feel stuck. We're wondering how do we move forward when the path ahead seems impossible, and these are the subjects of what we're going to talk about today in the third part of our teaching series Guided by God, finding Clarity in the Chaos. And over the past couple of weeks, we've explored how God not just speaks to us, but how God guides us even through uncertainty. Even through uncertainty. The first week of the series, we talked about Samuel and Eli, a story of learning to listen right. Samuel didn't recognize God's voice, yet he had to learn what God's voice sounded like and, with the help of Eli, he did that. Last week, we talked about Moses' encounter with God and the burning bush, and it reflected on how God calls us to trust him even when we feel inadequate for the task.

Speaker 1: 2:13

And this week we're going to dive into the story of Gideon, which is found in Judges, chapter 6, chapters 6 and 7, if you want to follow along on your phones or those house Bibles. Gideon's journey is all about wrestling with doubt and fear, while learning to trust in God's presence and promises. When God calls Gideon, he doesn't respond with bold faith. He doesn't respond with bold faith. If you grew up in and around church, you might think Gideon is this big warrior type of figure who must have had great faith and strength. And what you're going to find out is actually quite the opposite. He questions, he hesitates, he drags his feet. He asks for multiple signs, kind of a prove it God before I do it. God and maybe that sounds familiar to you this morning. God, and maybe that sounds familiar to you this morning Hesitate, question, dragging your feet. Gideon's story reminds us that faith isn't the absence of doubt, it's trusting God enough to take the next step, even when we don't have all of the answers. And, as I said, the story of Gideon begins in Judges, chapter 6. I'm going to start reading verse 11, which is a scene that vividly captures the fear and desperation of not just Gideon but his community, his people, who are under Midianite oppression. Reading from again, judges six, verse 11.

Speaker 1: 3:42

Then the angel of the Lord came and sat beneath a great tree at Orpha, which belonged to Joash of the clan of Abizer. Gideon, son of Joash, was threshing wheat at the bottom of a winepress to hide the grain from the Midianites. The angel of the Lord appeared to him and said Mighty hero, the Lord is with you. Sir Gideon replied very polite guy here. Sir, if the Lord is with us, why has all this happened to us? That might be a familiar prayer to you, god. If you are with me, why is this happening to me? And where are all the miracles our ancestors told us about, didn't they say? The Lord brought us up out of Egypt, but now the Lord has abandoned us and handed us over to the Midianites. Then the Lord turned to him and said go with the strength you have and rescue Israel from the Midianites I am sending you. But Lord Gideon replied how can I rescue Israel? My clan is the weakest in the whole tribe of Manasseh and I am least in my entire family.

Speaker 1: 4:59

So the scene does provide what I think is very relatable If you're going through one of those difficult, challenging, seemingly impossible situations a very real encounter with God. A snapshot of hopelessness had overtaken Israel. The Midianites were cruel, like human right violation after another. The reason that good old Gideon here is thrashing in the wine press instead of out in a field, which would have been preferred because you could thrash and then the wind would take the chafe away and then it would help the whole community. The Midianites found the Israelites who were doing that and they'd go and they'd set their fields on fire. They'd cut it all down. They would ruin it because they wanted the Israelites men, women, children, elderly, it didn't matter, they wanted them to starve. And so for the Israelites to survive, to have food, they had to prep in private and this was way inefficient. This was not the best way to do it. It took extra long and the results were half as good. But this is what they had to do.

Speaker 1: 6:00

It's when Gideon is in hiding had to do. It's when Gideon is in hiding, working twice as hard for some pretty lame results, that an angel of the Lord appears to him. And I have to think Gideon thinks the angel's making fun of him when he says mighty warrior, mighty warrior. Imagine what you're going to be doing on Wednesday afternoon. I don't know what it is. Some of you are teaching you're going to work. Whatever it is that you do on Wednesday afternoon. Imagine an angel of the Lord appears to you and says mighty warrior. You'd say you got the wrong guy, unless he's talking to Kyle, and then it's accurate, mighty hero, the Lord is with you.

Speaker 1: 6:37

Gideon doesn't look like a hero, he doesn't feel like a hero, and then he has an anti-hero response. Instead of saying oh yep, you found me. What's the mission today, sir? He responds with if the Lord is with us, why has all this happened to us? Kind of a little snappy, isn't it? But it's a common human reaction. And what he does is he says if God is really with us, why is my life like this right now?

Speaker 1: 7:08

What's interesting is that if we were to read beginning in verse one, we're going to read that Israel did a whole bunch of bad stuff. They left God's presence, they made a bunch of choices, they broke covenant with God and all God did was say fine, if you don't want to hold up your part of the covenant, this is what's going to happen Natural consequences. So that's the story. The author of Judges is like hey, I just want you to know the backdrop, because in a moment, gideon is going to blame God for their situation. And it actually isn't God's fault, gideon, look in the mirror, take some responsibility. Isn't God's fault, gideon? Look in the mirror, take some responsibility.

Speaker 1: 7:43

And yet God doesn't say that, does he? That would have been my response. If I was God, I'd say are you freaking, kidding me? You didn't break all these rules, you didn't leave me, and now you have the audacity to come to me and say why have I done this? Well, why didn't you do that? Rather than rebuking him and I love this this shows us so much, I think, about God's character Rather than that, god redirects his focus.

Speaker 1: 8:10

He says I ain't got time to split hairs with you and have this argument. The time is now argument. The time is now Gideon. Go with the strength you have I am sending you. It shifts the narrative. God isn't asking Gideon to become someone else or to summon strength that he doesn't possess himself. Instead, god promises to work through Gideon as he is today, in this moment in hiding. I will use you, as you are today, to do the most remarkable thing.

Speaker 1: 8:47

And then how Gideon responds is really similar to how Moses responded at the burning bush. Like Moses, gideon protests this inadequacy. He says to God how can I rescue Israel? My clan is the weakest and I'm the least in my entire family. He's just. He's burying himself. He says not only is Israel just completely oppressed by this horrible oppressor, but out of everyone in Israel, my family is the weakest. And not only is my family the weakest, I'm the weakest in my family. And Gideon is trying to say if you're looking for someone qualified, I am the least qualified.

Speaker 1: 9:29

But Moses and Gideon show us that human inadequacy is never a limitation in God's economy, because God calls us not because of our strength, but because of his. His presence is what qualifies us, not our abilities or status. Despite their rebellion and failure, remember why is Israel where they are? Their rebellion, their failure, god was still working to bring about deliverance, and certainly we are not under oppression here today, like the Israelites were 4,000 years ago. The context is different today, which isn't to imply you're not oppressed in some way, shape or form, but it is to say it's different. And yet the message is still timeless, because God meets us in our fears and doubts and he is inviting you to trust him and to take the next step of faith. Do not forget and always remember that God's call on our lives is not about our ability, but rather it's about his sufficiency Wherever you feel unqualified or unsure in your life.

Speaker 1: 10:41

Gideon's story reminds us that God is not limited by our weaknesses. He's not. Instead, he calls us. What's he say? Go with strength, for I am sending you, trusting that his presence and his promise is enough to accomplish his purposes. Now we're going to skip down to verse 36.

Speaker 1: 11:05

As we continue Gideon's story, we see his persistent struggle. Even after all of this, gideon isn't like yep, sure, I'm ready to go now. Great pep talk, god. He's just like Moses. He's wrestling and he's struggling to trust what God would have. And that's despite God giving him pretty clear instructions. You see, there's no questioning what God's will is in this situation, is there? See, unlike Moses, where he tells Moses, go to Pharaoh and I'll tell you what to do. Now he says, gideon, here's what I want you to do Take up arms. Let's read the next passage together.

Speaker 1: 11:39

Gideon says to God if you're truly going to use me to rescue Israel, as you're promised, prove it to me. This way, I'll put a wool fleece on the threshing floor tonight, and if the fleece is wet with dew in the morning, but the ground is dry, then I will know that you're going to help me rescue Israel as you have promised. Rescue Israel as you have promised. Prove it, prove it, god. I know a lot of us we pray that right. Well, god, I can just get a little bit of a sign. Can you just tell me exactly what you want me to do? Just please help me.

Speaker 1: 12:14

We skipped verse 34, which tells us that Gideon had already been empowered by God's spirit. We skipped a couple of verses in which he was affirmed as Israel's leader. God is showing the signs, god is providing for him every which way, and nonetheless, gideon says prove it Just a little bit more, just a little bit of a sign for me. He struggles to fully trust that God will deliver on his promise, and maybe you do too. Gideon's request for the fleece is not about discerning God's will. Again, he knew what God's will was. Gideon already knew that. Instead, it reflects his own personal deep insecurity and fear. Gideon cannot reconcile what he knows with God's character, and sometimes what we know, or what we think we know, or what we feel so strongly about, impedes us from experiencing what God would have for us.

Speaker 1: 13:11

Israel had experienced cycles of oppression at this point and deliverance. It was seasons of ups and downs, and you know what was funny. Again I imagine this is relatable to you when things were good, the people of Israel were good with God. God is great. We're offering sacrifices, high fives. We love the Lord. And the minute things got tough, it was where are you now, god? You must have left us.

Speaker 1: 13:37

Gideon, repeatedly testing God, mirrored the doubt and faithfulness of an entire nation. It wasn't just Gideon, it was there. And yet again, god doesn't come out with all the fire that I have this morning that I would have brought to Gideon. Instead, god's response is striking. He patiently meets Gideon in doubt and he actually does what Gideon asked him to do. He actually does it. He gives him yet another sign.

Speaker 1: 14:05

Gideon's story reminds us that God doesn't abandon us in our doubt. He patiently works through our fears and insecurities to accomplish his purposes. Now, I don't think you're going to lay out a fleece tonight on a thrashing floor in a wine room or anything like that and ask God like God will take the job, if God will have the conversation, if God will make the move, if but I bet you do question whether or not God intends to work through you. You're asking for signs, some sort of indicator. God, do you really want me to do this? And maybe he's given you some of those. You're like Gideon, he's actually given you some of those. God's opened some doors, he's proven some things and yet you're still like, ah, one more, one more, one more.

Speaker 1: 14:55

In these moments of doubt, gideon's story encourages us to honestly bring our fears to God, just as he did. We can tell by God's reaction that he's not turned off, put off or struggling with Gideon's doubts. He's not. He would have responded a different way. Trust doesn't mean the absence of doubt. It means taking the step even if we are uncertain. And, as God did with Gideon, he meets us in those steps with grace. Grace we don't deserve Grace, it's hard to understand. He meets us where we are at and we trust him, even with our doubts.

Speaker 1: 15:33

And I do think it's important to pause the story to talk about doubt with you all for a moment, because if you grew up in or around the church, you might have heard that doubt is the opposite of faith. There's faith and then there's doubt, and that's just not biblically accurate. You might have grown up with doubt being something to be ashamed of, doubt to be avoided, that if you had doubt it actually meant you didn't have as much faith as someone who didn't appear to doubt. But the Bible gives us story after story after story, not just Gideon, not just Moses, but Jesus himself, story after story of people, even the sinless Son of God, wrestling with doubt. And it's not a matter of a lack of faith. Rather, doubt is the tension within ourselves to trust what we have faith in. To trust what we have faith in. We have faith that God can do all things, but will he? And we wrestle with that. The story shows us this beautifully Gideon didn't doubt God's existence or power.

Speaker 1: 16:41

I mean, gideon is there talking to God. It's not like he doubted God's existence. There was no lack of faith. He really didn't even need faith. God was right there in the room with him. There was no doubt God was real. But rather, will you do what I think you are telling me to do? And his questions did not disqualify him. And if you have doubts this morning and you're struggling trusting God, it does not disqualify you from whatever he is trying, whatever he's trying to do in you and wherever he's trying to get you to. Instead of rebuking Gideon, god reassures him. And yet it's not a pat on the back. Gideon, it's okay, you can trust me. Every time God pats him on the back, he gives him a shove, pats him on the back and he gives him a shove. Gideon, it's going to be okay. Now go, gideon. It's going to be okay, now go.

Speaker 1: 17:34

I love what pastor theologian Greg Boyd writes about doubt and faith. He says the faith that God's people are called to embrace is the one that encourages people to wrestle with God, to not be afraid of questions and to act faithfully in the face of uncertainty. You see, faith this morning is not about eliminating doubt, but it's about trusting God enough to move through the doubt with God, to move forward in obedience despite your doubt. You will never have all of the answers before you're expected to take the step and, just like Gideon, what you're going to find is a pat on the back and a push, and God will be with you the next step and the next step and the next step along the way. So if you're wrestling with doubt today, know this God isn't asking you to be certain, but he is inviting you to trust him and to take the step. To take the step.

Speaker 1: 18:35

The final segment of Gideon's story brings us to a humbling moment. We read in Judges 7, verse 7, and then, jumping on to 15, the Lord told Gideon with these 300 men, I will rescue you and give you victory over the Midianites. Send all the others home. When Gideon heard the dream and its interpretation, he bowed in worship before the Lord. Then he returned to the Israelite camp and shouted get up, the Lord has given you victory over the Midianite hordes. Here's what's interesting. So I got to catch up a little bit here.

Speaker 1: 19:05

Gideon recruits some 32,000 men to fight a Midianite army that was about 150,000. So you were still outnumbered five to one. And Gideon still says okay, like we can do this five to one, that takes. Oh, we're really going to need God to show up, you know. And then God says actually, curveball here, this is moments before the fight. He says, curveball, you're going to take these 300 and send the rest home. And send the rest home. Did I hear that? Right, we are already outnumbered one to five and you want me to send most of them home.

Speaker 1: 19:43

You see, up until this point God's been doing the padding and the pushing, the padding and the pushing. He gets Gideon to the point and he says now, listen, it is pretty unbelievable that you would win this fight one to five. Right, that would be unbelievable. It'd be the story you'd be sharing forever. You remember that one time it was like one to five and yet we still, like, came out with victory. God said, yeah, but it could happen. Right, it'd be unbelievable, but it could happen. And God said I want this story to be so freaking unbelievable that when people hear about it and read about it 2,000 years later, they say 300 people took 150,000. I wanted them to be like their. Only God could have done that. And by now Gideon's like sure, by now Gideon gets it. It's not that Gideon doubted. He felt like boy, he's sending us to the slaughterhouse, isn't he? But it's that he's finally gotten to the point where he says God does more with less, god does more with less.

Speaker 1: 20:41

Historically, israel always relied on its strength, and oftentimes that led to problems. Later, when they forgot the God who was really to give credit to for their victories, god ensured that the outcome could not be attributed to strategy or human effort. He has this dream and the dream gets interpreted. And then it shows him the Midianite defeat. God shows him. He says hey, with 300 people, here's how you're gonna do it. And Gideon's response is to boldly return to the camp and 300 guys which you can imagine, who have seen less than Gideon, are really struggling with this idea. We're going to go fight a war and he says we've got this, get up, the Lord has already given you victory. Today Not one person has been struck down in this fight. They haven't even engaged the enemy. And he's saying it's already over. We just got to show up, it's already over. We just got to show up, it's already over.

Speaker 1: 21:45

And this moment is significant because it shows how worship fuels courage. Gideon gets up from his dream and he worships God, and it's from that place of worship that he goes, with the confidence he needs that God is going to do it. And then the people worship. Worship changes our perspective to do it, and then the people worship. Worship changes our perspective. It changes our perspective. It turns it from me what I can do, what I can't do, who my family is. I'm not even that my family. We're the least of the least of the least. And worship reminds us it does not matter, because it's not about me, it's about God.

Speaker 1: 22:12

So you may be facing moments today where you feel overwhelmed by the size of challenge and the inadequacy of your resources. That might be you this morning, whether it's a personal struggle, a decision that feels beyond you, a step of faith that seems impossible. It's easy to focus on ourselves, what we lack. What's going to happen to me if I do this? And yet this passage, this story, reminds us that God works through insufficiency, so that his power is undeniable. Perhaps you're at a moment in your faith where God says it's time I show you I can do this without you. Maybe up until this point it's been you and God and tag teaming, and he takes a step and you take a step. But now God says I need to show you that I don't need you, and that's where your faith gets deeper. And yet for so many of us who grow and we're growing in our faith we get to this moment and we run. I think that's where we get a lot of spiritual like stunted growth. A lot of people, they hit a wall and they fall off and they deconstruct their faith. And it's because they don't get past this moment in which we trust God to do something beyond what I can understand or what I can even dream.

Speaker 1: 23:21

Gideon's story invites us to trust that God is faithful, his promises are true and his deliverance is already at work, even when we can't see it. Paul reminds us in 2 Corinthians 5-7,. Can't see it. Paul reminds us in 2 Corinthians 5-7,. We are a people who walk by faith and not by sight. We are people who walk by faith, not by sight.

Speaker 1: 23:42

So you might turn on the news, log into Facebook and you see the headlines and you see all these things going on around you. You see them, you read them, you're taking them in. You say, oh my gosh, this is terrible. But Paul says, yeah, there's no denying that Terrible. But we are a people who walk by a faith of a God who is greater than anything. We see, how do we get to this point? How do we get to this point? First, you got to shift from self-reliance to God-dependence. In our society, we're told, you got to be self-sufficient. Like, asking for help is a weakness, it's embarrassing, but we see in Gideon's story that it was necessary, it was needed and, like Gideon, we often let our weaknesses and fears define what we believe is possible.

Speaker 1: 24:30

Walking by faith means shifting our focus from what we lack to who God is. And who God is, he lacks nothing. So you ask yourself today, where am I relying too much on my own strength instead of trusting God's sufficiency? We also need to shift from certainty to obedience. Some of us, we want certainty before we're going to be obedient. We need to be obedient even without certainty. Faith does not mean waiting for all of the answers. Walking by faith means choosing obedience even in the midst of uncertainty and the unknown, trusting that God can see what you do not. We can ask ourselves am I holding back from acting because I'm waiting for certainty? And we need to finally shift from fear to worship.

Speaker 1: 25:22

Remember the turning point for Gideon? It's the dream and waking up and saying you know what? This really isn't about me, it's not even really about the Israelites. It's about all of us and it's about God's sovereignty and his trusted promise. And so when we gather here on Sunday mornings and the band is up here playing, that is why we start and end that way, so we can remind ourselves it's not about me, it's not about us, but it is about the God around us. But outside of this space, from Sunday to Sunday, what does your daily rhythm of worship look like in your life?

Speaker 1: 25:57

For those of you, you're deeply resonating with today's talk. One immediate practice you can use to put in the practice, to strengthen your walk, is to start each day with a simple prayer of surrender, and I'm a big fan of breath prayer. I think it helps us center, it slows us down, it reminds us it's more about other people and not ourselves, and it's about God and not ourselves. So we inhale and we say Lord, I trust you. And we exhale even when I cannot see. Lord, I trust you even when I cannot see, and perhaps for you this week, that's how you start your day.

Speaker 1: 26:39

Before you grab your cell phone to read the news, as you're trying to become a person who walks by faith and not by sight, you begin with this prayer Lord, I trust you, even when I cannot see Gideon's story. It teaches us that faith doesn't require us to have all of the answers. It calls us to trust in the one who does. We do not have all of the answers, but we are to trust in the one who does. In his doubt and his hesitation, gideon discovered that God's power is perfect and his promises remain true, even when the path ahead is unclear. Now you may not be facing an army of 150,000 people from the time you leave here today, as Gideon did, but each of us, we do wrestle with fear, we do wrestle with inadequacy, we do wrestle with uncertainty and yet, just like Gideon, god invites us to take the next step of our faith, trusting and knowing that he is with us every single step along the way.

Speaker 1: 27:44

As we come to the table for communion today, we remember that it is through Jesus this was the ultimate sign of God's faithfulness, or people who walk by faith. As we come to the communion table, we remember it is through Jesus' life, his death and his resurrection that we are made whole. The bread reminds us of his body broken for us. The cup reminds us of his blood poured out to establish a new covenant, a covenant of grace, where our failures and doubts do not disqualify you. So today, as you take the bread and the cup, reflect on this truth Jesus is not calling you today to be perfect.

Speaker 1: 28:23

He doesn't call Gideon to be perfect. He doesn't call Moses to be perfect. He doesn't call Samuel to be perfect. He doesn't call Gabby to be perfect. He doesn't call Jeff to be perfect. He doesn't call Tyler to be perfect. He doesn't call Nana to be perfect. He doesn't call Jeff to be perfect. He doesn't call Tyler to be perfect. He doesn't call Nana to be perfect. He calls you to trust him and to take that step. So let's come together now, walking by faith, not by sight to remember and celebrate the one who has already secured victory for us.