Lappers and Slurpers

“Gideon brought down the people unto the water: and the Lord said unto Gideon, Every one that lappeth of the water with his tongue, as a dog lappeth, him shalt thou set by himself; likewise every one that boweth down upon his knees to drink. ~ Judges 7:5

  

Gideon finely has recognized the power of God! After asking God two times for confirmation, he is ready to do what God as asked him to do.  In these Messages from Judges 6 you will see that God wants to “Show Us His Way” in our life.  We are in a great warfare with the enemy of our soul, and those who seek to follow Him will experience Battles. I love this Passage of Scripture where the “Spirit of the Lord comes upon Gideon.”  He sounds the war cry upon the Trumpet, perhaps it was a shofar, and the troops are rallied.  Scripture tells us five companies of Israel gathered, some 32 Thousand men. This caused great concern for the enemy, the Midianites and the Amalekites, men of the east, who were gathered against Israel. When the Spirit of the Lord comes upon us, we are well able to stand against the devil. The Apostle Paul writes in, Eph 6:13 “Take unto you the whole Armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.” God shows us the way to stand against the enemy, by arming ourselves with the Power of His Word. Note what God says to Gideon next; you have too many warriors!? I can’t even imagine what thoughts went through Gideon’s mind at this statement from God. As we follow this Account of Gideon: God releases the fearful, and 10 Thousand remain. God continues to test Israel until only 300 men of Israel are left for the battle against an enemy of 135 thousand. Are you being tested today?  Does your enemy seem bigger than life?  We have this sure Word from God:  Isa. 58:8 “Then shall thy light break forth as the morning, and thine health shall spring forth speedily: and thy righteousness shall go before thee; the glory of the Lord shall be thy reward.”  Do not be detoured by the batter for the “Battle is the Lord’s.” We are His hands extended to declare to this Generation that Jesus is Lord of our battles! Loving you, Pastor ~Phil. 2:15

Is Once Enough

Judges 6:36-37  “ Gideon said unto God, If thou wilt save Israel by mine hand, as Thou hast said, Behold, I will put a fleece of wool in the floor; and if the dew be on the fleece only, and it be dry upon all the earth beside, then shall I know that Thou wilt save Israel by mine hand, as Thou hast said.”

Today we find Gideon still pondering God’s plan for Himself and for Israel.  God has plans for all of His children.  We probably want to give a big sigh that God has not asked us to do what He asked Gideon to do – however we are in a battle, a battle against the enemy of our soul.  Christianity is truly in a Battle today in our country. There continues to be a battle raging against Israel even unto this day. It has been said, “just ask God once and then wait for His answer, because it is lack of Faith to keep asking.”  Once might be enough – perhaps when we come to Christ, that is, when we sincerely take Him into our heart!  Yet we find that we need to continue to come to Him for cleansing, that He might sanctify us daily. Consider Eph. 6:18 – We are encouraged to Pray in the Spirit with all Perseverance and Supplication — as we explore the word “Supplication” we learn a depth of meaning: “strong and incessant pleading until the Prayer is answered!”  It is good to pursue God with a whole heart.  Gideon heard what God said, yet there remained a bit of being unsure for God was asking a great thing of him, and the Midianites were a fierce enemy.  As this Account of Gideon unveils he places a fleece before the Lord.  God answers and again Gideon asks God to not be angry with him, but could he place one more fleece. God responded to Gideon’s request.  While some may mock Gideon – God revealed Himself once again to him.  Let us persevere in our Prayer life, for God is always available to us!  He gave the life of His Son, that we might boldly approach Him! Let us persevere together for our Nation, Loving you, Pastor

Shew Me a Sign Pt. 2

And Gideon said unto Him, “If now I have found Grace in Thy sight, then shew me a sign that thou talkest with me.”   ~ Judges 6:17

We are living in a glorious time!  The knowledge of the Lord is filling the earth.  God has and is revealing Himself to His people.  It is appropriate to take a good long look at some of the ‘Accounts’ in the Old Testament.  These are Accounts where God dwelt with His people.  We are still His people, and He continues to deal with us.  The difference is: We have Jesus to intervene for us, to cover us with His Redeeming Blood and to ward off the accusations/thievery of the enemy if we will obey the Word of the Lord!  The Word of God reveals some 63 times the term “Fear Not!” in this Account of Gideon, God reminds him that He has said “Fear Not” – yet Gideon is hid behind the wine press threshing wheat.  He is hid because of fear of the Midianites who comes upon the Israelites at harvest time and robs/takes their grain.  In the midst of this struggle, the angel of the Lord comes to Gideon and calls him a “Man of Valor.”  The Lord tells him to “go in thy might” and he would save Israel from the Midianites.  The Lord promises to go with him ... Gideon’s response: “If now I have found Grace in Thy sight, then shew me a sign that thou talkest with me.”  Perhaps sometimes we are Gideon, and desire God to show us a sign. In this Message today, we will see the signs that God reveals to Gideon.  Be assured if you ask of the Lord, He will reveal Himself to you.  Sometimes we miss Him because His ‘Revealing’ does not fit with our desires.  In this moment and time, let us not fear, but ask of the Lord to shew us His way, that we might fulfill His desire in our life. The signs are there, He is revealing Himself, can we discern them? Loving you, Pastor