HEROES

#1 · November 2, 2009, 2:11 pm

Quote from Forum Archives on November 2, 2009, 2:11 pm
Posted by: bhfbc <bhfbc@...>
HEROES

November 1, 2009

Text: Judges 6:11-16

Last night (Halloween) a lot of people, children and adults, dressed in a variety of costumes. Even though many wore costumes of fictional characters, most of them were familiar enough to be recognized by a lot of us. This got me to thinking about something I have done before, so I want you to take a look at a few images on the screen and let me know if you can identify any of them. [1. Michael Jackson] Oh yes, the so-called king of pop Michael Jackson. [2. Britney Spears] Two for two, at least for some of you. Singer Britney Spears. [3. Dave Letterman] Yes, late night host David Letterman. Well, lets move on. [4. Gianna Jessen] Now its getting more difficult, isnt it? Well, the truth for me is that I would not have identified her either before last Sunday evenings pro-life rally that Becca put together. More in just a moment.

Those first three were certainly more recognizable, werent they? Im not suggesting that just because you recognize them that you adore or idolize them in any way. But some people do. To some, they are heroes and heroines. We need to be careful, though, who we select to serve in that capacity. For the most part, those first three express worldviews that are antagonistic toward the faith we celebrate this morning. Without a doubt, they work in an industry that expresses a great deal of antagonism toward the Christian faith.

Christians can certainly have heroes and heroines. The Bible is filled with personalities we should hold up as models when they obeyed God properly. Even in our contemporary culture, Christians can certainly find personalities we can regard as heroes and heroines not to worship, of course, but to look to as a model of Christian servant hood. The challenge is that Christians have to do a bit more work to discover our heroes and heroines.

One such person is the young lady on the screen. Her name is Gianna Jessen. She is a survivor of a saline abortion attempt. Besides not surviving, she should have been born blind and terribly burned since she was born alive. She is neither, although she does have cerebral palsy as a result of the disruption of oxygen to her brain during her struggle to survive in the womb. But more than all this, and because of all this, she has a testimony of heroic proportions. She was not at Beccas rally in person, but a video clip of her address in Australia was shown. This young woman certainly does not back down from proclaiming the glorious name of Christ in any setting. It may cause some to be uncomfortable, she says, but she did not survive an abortion attempt and overcome the effects of cerebral palsy just to make everyone feel comfortable. Yes, a Christian can legitimately place Gianna among their list of heroes.

Like I said, I would not have recognized Gianna by name if it were not for last Sunday evenings event. But she is certainly a Christian we should know about. It doesnt seem entirely fair that Christians have to work so hard to discover their heroes while those of the world can get their fill of heroes and heroines and idols at the touch of a few buttons. But, lets face it, that is the way it is, so we should be willing to make the effort and find those men and women who we can hold up as appropriate role models for our children, grandchildren, church family, and self.

But we are not the only ones who have to dig a little deeper to find heroes. God has run into that problem Himself. [read Judges 6:11-16]

Look at the angels greeting. "The Lord is with you, mighty warrior!" It is startling. Gideon isn't thinking about fighting. Quite the opposite. He is hiding from the Midianites, trying to thresh his wheat in a winepress and remain unobserved. He glances around. "I don't see any mighty warriors," he might have thought to himself.

When he realizes that the Angel is talking about him, he stammers an incredulous reply: "But sir, if the Lord is with us, why has all this happened to us?... The Lord has abandoned us and put us into the hand of Midian." Gideon is a realist. He knows what is going on, takes stock of the facts, and concludes that God could not be with Israel. This Scripture, although written so long ago, is a part of our story, too. When we look at the tasks before us, they seem very overwhelming. When we look at the conditions of our communities and recognize the potential ministries that could be offered to meet the spiritual and physical needs of the people, we easily feel inadequate and defeated before we attempt anything. The words of Christ certainly ring clear: "The harvest indeed is plentiful, but the workers are few."

We can easily be realists like Gideon. We dont have that many resources that we can use to minister. Both people and finances are always in short supply. Where are all the wonders the Lord has done in the past? Is it really possible to believe and dream that we can influence our neighbors? How can we be called mighty warriors? It is in the very real context of fear and doubt that God's call comes to Gideon. But God calls weak people to do mighty things! God calls heroes.

"Go in the strength you have" is God's word to His cringing prophet. "I will be with you." God is no less a realist than we are. God knows the reality of the situations He takes us into, and He knows the reality of His nature, will, and strength. From the outside, Christians following God faithfully are often accused of unrealistic thinking, hoping, and dreaming. Actually, though, it is the Christian who knows what the reality is. Jesus said the same thing to us, you know: "All authority is given unto me. Go therefore and make disciples of all peoples." And He concludes with the promise of His continuous presence: "I will be with you always, even to the end of the age." The basic problem in our jobs of evangelism, mission, and outreach, so often, is that we have an inadequate understanding of Who it is who stands behind us to resource us for the task and turn us into heroes.

This was Gideon's problem - "How can I?... My clan is the weakest and I am the least in my family." Moses felt the same way - so did Jeremiah and other prophets. It is not at all unusual to feel inadequate for the missions God has for us. We can all identify with Gideon's feelings. We are a small force. We have to plan around all kinds of activities as we prepare our schedules. We work - and work hard - in the Church without a lot of visible return. We wonder what impact we can possibly have in communities of people bent on going their own ways. Surely God does not count on wounded and weak people to stand up to the might of "Midian." Yet, we dont read very far in the Bible without discovering that God calls and uses and sends weak people who know they cannot depend on themselves, but are forced to depend only on His overshadowing strength. "But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the strong - so that no human being might boast in the presence of God." 1 Corinthians 1:27-29. Theres the formula for hero making from Gods perspective.

God also enables inadequate people to motivate others to do mighty things! As the enormous and awesome confederacy of Midianites and Amalekites gathered to pillage Israel, the Spirit of the Lord came upon Gideon. The Hebrew word translated "came upon" literally means "clothed," as in a coat of armor, invincible in its might. Note, however, that the particular ability with which God clothed Gideon was not skill in commanding an army. Rather, it was the capability of motivating others to join him in the task. We know he was successful in this because 32,000 men responded to his call to arms.

If you have not figured this out yet, youre not paying attention. Referring to Gianna again, this is what is happening. She is not mighty in our worldly sense. But she is making a mighty call. In fact, she is doing what she specifically tells men they are supposed to be doing: confronting and defeating evil. She puts it this way: Men, you were made for greatness. We may be few in number, with limited resources, but we can be motivated to do the Lord's work, and we can motivate others. Numbers may not always increase, but we can continue doing what the Lord gives us to do: caring for one another, supporting mission ministries, inviting others into the Christian faith and into the Church. We are, even in our weakness, responding to God's call to share the Gospel with others. This kind of thing is happening throughout Christendom because God is still raising up His heroes.

After God encourages Gideon by crowning with success his recruiting efforts, He turns right around and demonstrates to the young leader that God works well with a scared few! Almost incomprehensibly, from our point of view, He weeds out 22,000 of the potential fighters. The account in chapter seven tells us that "Anyone who trembles with fear may turn back..." This might easily have included Gideon himself! We already know that he was afraid when the angel appeared to him. Later, in 7:10-15, the Lord tells him that "if you are afraid to attack, go down to the camp with your servant Purah and listen to what they are saying. Afterwards, you will be encouraged to attack the camp." They went and they heard two enemy soldiers talking about a dream in which the tents of Midian were overturned. God would give Israel the victory. Gideon and the others who remained were probably just as afraid as the ones who went home. The difference was their willingness to press on in spite of their fear. There is a difference between being fearful and trembling with fear. As Mark Twain once put it: "Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear - not absence of fear."

Still, God was not satisfied. He proceeded further to sift out 9,700 more soldiers, leaving just 300 - one percent of the original volunteers. Imagine how Gideon and his men must have felt as they thought about facing an army of 135,000. The odds were now 450 to one in favor of the Midianites.

But God can save by many or by few. And His glory is manifested more strikingly through a weak, small, committed minority than through a large force which relies on the strength of numbers or technology to assure victory. "You have too many men for me to deliver Midian into their hands," God says, "in order that Israel may not boast against me that her own strength has saved her." It is a sad testimony to Israel or anyone else that this would happen; yet, it is exactly what happens time after time. It is not God who is privileged to be able to call upon me to do some ministry; it is I who is privileged to be thought of at all by God to do some ministry for which I am always ill-prepared. I am not smarter, wiser, or more capable than God, but in spite of all that, God has created me and gifted me to participate in His Kingdom work to some extent. This applies to you, too. Kingdom ministry is not the work of clergy alone; it is the work of every believer in some form or fashion. Each and everyone one of us who has been saved by Jesus is a minister. God calls heroes.

The final lesson we need to learn from Gideon's experience in battle is this: By God's enabling, a handful of warriors coordinated in a common strategy can succeed against overwhelming odds. Remember, the odds against Gideon and his army were 450 to 1.

The camp of the invading enemy is described as "settled in the valley as thick as locusts." Their camels were like the "sand on the seashore." In short, there were a lot of 'em. With 135,000 enemy soldiers, there would have to be a lot of camels and other support animals. How did Gideon and his tiny force prevail? We have all seen Western movies in which there is a cattle stampede, and everyone runs for cover. Imagine what happened when Gideon and his 300 men surprised the camp at midnight with concerted trumpet blasts and waving torches! It was the biggest camel stampede ever - with no place to hide!

Gideon had devised a well-conceived strategy in which a mere 300 fighting men could vanquish their enormous foe. The secret of their victory was dependence on God, remaining faithful to Him and His promise that He would go with them. With God's inspiration and power, no enemy can stand opposed to His people for very long.

What God taught Gideon, He also teaches to us. We cannot claim to have superiority in numbers or resources. As individuals, we are overwhelmed by the various demands placed upon on us, and as a congregation, we are overwhelmed by the work of ministries left undone. There are more "Midians" around us than Baptists - or other Christians.

God always has a way. We may not always see it right away, but His way is there. In fact, it may even be confusing to us because it doesnt always bring popularity. In 2006, Colorado State Representative Ted Harvey had Gianna sing the National Anthem at the opening of a legislative session on the day that their House of Representatives was voting on a resolution recognizing the 90^th anniversary of a local branch of Planned Parenthood. When the moment came for Representative Harvey to introduce his guest, everyone burst into applause when he told of her hard won victory over cerebral palsy. But when he revealed that her cerebral palsy was the choice of her seventeen year old mother to have an abortion, which Gianna survived, there were those present who were outraged. Gianna is not afraid to tell her audiences that she still faces hatred simply because she survived an abortion procedure that was supposed to end her life. As she says herself when she faces such adversity, It is just another jewel in my crown.

In spite of our fears, frailties, human limitations, and weaknesses, we can believe and live like the Lord wants us to. We can live with trust, faith, and assurance that God's promises are not empty. We can believe that God strengthens the weak and gives power to the fearful and raises up heroes.

"'But Lord,' Gideon asked, 'how can I save Israel? My clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my family.' The Lord answered, 'I will be with you...'" Isn't that promise enough?

Rev. Charles A. Layne

First Baptist Church

PO Box 515

179 W. Broadway

Bunker Hill, IN 46914

765-689-7987

[email protected]

www.bhfirstbaptist.com
-- To unsubscribe, send ANY message to: [email protected]   

Posted by: bhfbc <bhfbc@...>

HEROES

November 1, 2009

Text: Judges 6:11-16

Last night (Halloween) a lot of people, children and adults, dressed in a variety of costumes. Even though many wore costumes of fictional characters, most of them were familiar enough to be recognized by a lot of us. This got me to thinking about something I have done before, so I want you to take a look at a few images on the screen and let me know if you can identify any of them. [1. Michael Jackson] Oh yes, the so-called king of pop Michael Jackson. [2. Britney Spears] Two for two, at least for some of you. Singer Britney Spears. [3. Dave Letterman] Yes, late night host David Letterman. Well, lets move on. [4. Gianna Jessen] Now its getting more difficult, isnt it? Well, the truth for me is that I would not have identified her either before last Sunday evenings pro-life rally that Becca put together. More in just a moment.

Those first three were certainly more recognizable, werent they? Im not suggesting that just because you recognize them that you adore or idolize them in any way. But some people do. To some, they are heroes and heroines. We need to be careful, though, who we select to serve in that capacity. For the most part, those first three express worldviews that are antagonistic toward the faith we celebrate this morning. Without a doubt, they work in an industry that expresses a great deal of antagonism toward the Christian faith.

Christians can certainly have heroes and heroines. The Bible is filled with personalities we should hold up as models when they obeyed God properly. Even in our contemporary culture, Christians can certainly find personalities we can regard as heroes and heroines not to worship, of course, but to look to as a model of Christian servant hood. The challenge is that Christians have to do a bit more work to discover our heroes and heroines.

One such person is the young lady on the screen. Her name is Gianna Jessen. She is a survivor of a saline abortion attempt. Besides not surviving, she should have been born blind and terribly burned since she was born alive. She is neither, although she does have cerebral palsy as a result of the disruption of oxygen to her brain during her struggle to survive in the womb. But more than all this, and because of all this, she has a testimony of heroic proportions. She was not at Beccas rally in person, but a video clip of her address in Australia was shown. This young woman certainly does not back down from proclaiming the glorious name of Christ in any setting. It may cause some to be uncomfortable, she says, but she did not survive an abortion attempt and overcome the effects of cerebral palsy just to make everyone feel comfortable. Yes, a Christian can legitimately place Gianna among their list of heroes.

Like I said, I would not have recognized Gianna by name if it were not for last Sunday evenings event. But she is certainly a Christian we should know about. It doesnt seem entirely fair that Christians have to work so hard to discover their heroes while those of the world can get their fill of heroes and heroines and idols at the touch of a few buttons. But, lets face it, that is the way it is, so we should be willing to make the effort and find those men and women who we can hold up as appropriate role models for our children, grandchildren, church family, and self.

But we are not the only ones who have to dig a little deeper to find heroes. God has run into that problem Himself. [read Judges 6:11-16]

Look at the angels greeting. "The Lord is with you, mighty warrior!" It is startling. Gideon isn't thinking about fighting. Quite the opposite. He is hiding from the Midianites, trying to thresh his wheat in a winepress and remain unobserved. He glances around. "I don't see any mighty warriors," he might have thought to himself.

When he realizes that the Angel is talking about him, he stammers an incredulous reply: "But sir, if the Lord is with us, why has all this happened to us?... The Lord has abandoned us and put us into the hand of Midian." Gideon is a realist. He knows what is going on, takes stock of the facts, and concludes that God could not be with Israel. This Scripture, although written so long ago, is a part of our story, too. When we look at the tasks before us, they seem very overwhelming. When we look at the conditions of our communities and recognize the potential ministries that could be offered to meet the spiritual and physical needs of the people, we easily feel inadequate and defeated before we attempt anything. The words of Christ certainly ring clear: "The harvest indeed is plentiful, but the workers are few."

We can easily be realists like Gideon. We dont have that many resources that we can use to minister. Both people and finances are always in short supply. Where are all the wonders the Lord has done in the past? Is it really possible to believe and dream that we can influence our neighbors? How can we be called mighty warriors? It is in the very real context of fear and doubt that God's call comes to Gideon. But God calls weak people to do mighty things! God calls heroes.

"Go in the strength you have" is God's word to His cringing prophet. "I will be with you." God is no less a realist than we are. God knows the reality of the situations He takes us into, and He knows the reality of His nature, will, and strength. From the outside, Christians following God faithfully are often accused of unrealistic thinking, hoping, and dreaming. Actually, though, it is the Christian who knows what the reality is. Jesus said the same thing to us, you know: "All authority is given unto me. Go therefore and make disciples of all peoples." And He concludes with the promise of His continuous presence: "I will be with you always, even to the end of the age." The basic problem in our jobs of evangelism, mission, and outreach, so often, is that we have an inadequate understanding of Who it is who stands behind us to resource us for the task and turn us into heroes.

This was Gideon's problem - "How can I?... My clan is the weakest and I am the least in my family." Moses felt the same way - so did Jeremiah and other prophets. It is not at all unusual to feel inadequate for the missions God has for us. We can all identify with Gideon's feelings. We are a small force. We have to plan around all kinds of activities as we prepare our schedules. We work - and work hard - in the Church without a lot of visible return. We wonder what impact we can possibly have in communities of people bent on going their own ways. Surely God does not count on wounded and weak people to stand up to the might of "Midian." Yet, we dont read very far in the Bible without discovering that God calls and uses and sends weak people who know they cannot depend on themselves, but are forced to depend only on His overshadowing strength. "But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the strong - so that no human being might boast in the presence of God." 1 Corinthians 1:27-29. Theres the formula for hero making from Gods perspective.

God also enables inadequate people to motivate others to do mighty things! As the enormous and awesome confederacy of Midianites and Amalekites gathered to pillage Israel, the Spirit of the Lord came upon Gideon. The Hebrew word translated "came upon" literally means "clothed," as in a coat of armor, invincible in its might. Note, however, that the particular ability with which God clothed Gideon was not skill in commanding an army. Rather, it was the capability of motivating others to join him in the task. We know he was successful in this because 32,000 men responded to his call to arms.

If you have not figured this out yet, youre not paying attention. Referring to Gianna again, this is what is happening. She is not mighty in our worldly sense. But she is making a mighty call. In fact, she is doing what she specifically tells men they are supposed to be doing: confronting and defeating evil. She puts it this way: Men, you were made for greatness. We may be few in number, with limited resources, but we can be motivated to do the Lord's work, and we can motivate others. Numbers may not always increase, but we can continue doing what the Lord gives us to do: caring for one another, supporting mission ministries, inviting others into the Christian faith and into the Church. We are, even in our weakness, responding to God's call to share the Gospel with others. This kind of thing is happening throughout Christendom because God is still raising up His heroes.

After God encourages Gideon by crowning with success his recruiting efforts, He turns right around and demonstrates to the young leader that God works well with a scared few! Almost incomprehensibly, from our point of view, He weeds out 22,000 of the potential fighters. The account in chapter seven tells us that "Anyone who trembles with fear may turn back..." This might easily have included Gideon himself! We already know that he was afraid when the angel appeared to him. Later, in 7:10-15, the Lord tells him that "if you are afraid to attack, go down to the camp with your servant Purah and listen to what they are saying. Afterwards, you will be encouraged to attack the camp." They went and they heard two enemy soldiers talking about a dream in which the tents of Midian were overturned. God would give Israel the victory. Gideon and the others who remained were probably just as afraid as the ones who went home. The difference was their willingness to press on in spite of their fear. There is a difference between being fearful and trembling with fear. As Mark Twain once put it: "Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear - not absence of fear."

Still, God was not satisfied. He proceeded further to sift out 9,700 more soldiers, leaving just 300 - one percent of the original volunteers. Imagine how Gideon and his men must have felt as they thought about facing an army of 135,000. The odds were now 450 to one in favor of the Midianites.

But God can save by many or by few. And His glory is manifested more strikingly through a weak, small, committed minority than through a large force which relies on the strength of numbers or technology to assure victory. "You have too many men for me to deliver Midian into their hands," God says, "in order that Israel may not boast against me that her own strength has saved her." It is a sad testimony to Israel or anyone else that this would happen; yet, it is exactly what happens time after time. It is not God who is privileged to be able to call upon me to do some ministry; it is I who is privileged to be thought of at all by God to do some ministry for which I am always ill-prepared. I am not smarter, wiser, or more capable than God, but in spite of all that, God has created me and gifted me to participate in His Kingdom work to some extent. This applies to you, too. Kingdom ministry is not the work of clergy alone; it is the work of every believer in some form or fashion. Each and everyone one of us who has been saved by Jesus is a minister. God calls heroes.

The final lesson we need to learn from Gideon's experience in battle is this: By God's enabling, a handful of warriors coordinated in a common strategy can succeed against overwhelming odds. Remember, the odds against Gideon and his army were 450 to 1.

The camp of the invading enemy is described as "settled in the valley as thick as locusts." Their camels were like the "sand on the seashore." In short, there were a lot of 'em. With 135,000 enemy soldiers, there would have to be a lot of camels and other support animals. How did Gideon and his tiny force prevail? We have all seen Western movies in which there is a cattle stampede, and everyone runs for cover. Imagine what happened when Gideon and his 300 men surprised the camp at midnight with concerted trumpet blasts and waving torches! It was the biggest camel stampede ever - with no place to hide!

Gideon had devised a well-conceived strategy in which a mere 300 fighting men could vanquish their enormous foe. The secret of their victory was dependence on God, remaining faithful to Him and His promise that He would go with them. With God's inspiration and power, no enemy can stand opposed to His people for very long.

What God taught Gideon, He also teaches to us. We cannot claim to have superiority in numbers or resources. As individuals, we are overwhelmed by the various demands placed upon on us, and as a congregation, we are overwhelmed by the work of ministries left undone. There are more "Midians" around us than Baptists - or other Christians.

God always has a way. We may not always see it right away, but His way is there. In fact, it may even be confusing to us because it doesnt always bring popularity. In 2006, Colorado State Representative Ted Harvey had Gianna sing the National Anthem at the opening of a legislative session on the day that their House of Representatives was voting on a resolution recognizing the 90^th anniversary of a local branch of Planned Parenthood. When the moment came for Representative Harvey to introduce his guest, everyone burst into applause when he told of her hard won victory over cerebral palsy. But when he revealed that her cerebral palsy was the choice of her seventeen year old mother to have an abortion, which Gianna survived, there were those present who were outraged. Gianna is not afraid to tell her audiences that she still faces hatred simply because she survived an abortion procedure that was supposed to end her life. As she says herself when she faces such adversity, It is just another jewel in my crown.

In spite of our fears, frailties, human limitations, and weaknesses, we can believe and live like the Lord wants us to. We can live with trust, faith, and assurance that God's promises are not empty. We can believe that God strengthens the weak and gives power to the fearful and raises up heroes.

"'But Lord,' Gideon asked, 'how can I save Israel? My clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my family.' The Lord answered, 'I will be with you...'" Isn't that promise enough?

Rev. Charles A. Layne

First Baptist Church

PO Box 515

179 W. Broadway

Bunker Hill, IN 46914

765-689-7987

[email protected]

http://www.bhfirstbaptist.com

-- To unsubscribe, send ANY message to: [email protected]