The angel promised to be with Gideon and that Gideon would defeat the enemy. “How long will you forget me?”. The Bible is an ancient book, but its central message—the good news that Jesus Christ, the Son of God, died to save sinners—remains as timely and relevant today as ever. If He comes through, they thank Him and put Him back on the shelf until the next time they need Him. You need to cry, but not like this. He was at work in disciplining His wayward people. 6:16), “Surely I will be with you, and you shall defeat Midian as one man.” But Gideon was focused on his own incompetence rather than on the Lord’s power and presence. You might wish that God spoke directly to you like that to clarify what He wants you to do. Verse 3 begins, “Year after year…”[1] In other words, this circumstance that she was facing was not a matter of passing significance; rather, it confronted her all day, as it were, and every day. We’ll come to that sermon later. He’ll take us back down that corridor all day, every day—just take us back down: “Oh, do you remember. 1. I’m only here for a time. God uses weak people to accomplish His sovereign purpose. And perhaps a few days later or whatever: “Will you leave the light on?”, “Well, will you leave the light on in the bathroom?”, “Well, will you close it all the way, or will you please leave it open just a little bit?”, Now, if the child is twenty-seven years old and this is still going on, we’ve got a major problem here. Yes, he was just a baby. In other words, you’re a lot like Gideon! The listening queue will play items sequentially from the "Up Next" list below. Whether in times of suffering, moments of triumph, or simply the ordinary cycles of our daily lives, God’s Word calls us to put our faith in Him alone, today and forever. copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Drawing on both the Old and New Testaments, Alistair Begg guides us through the Bible’s counsel on wisdom, love, suffering, providence, and right living, as well as on everyday matters such as keeping the Sabbath, God’s design for men and women, and the raising of godly children. Just go above the clouds. Paul wrote (Rom. [3] Apparently, he has forgotten us.”, But “Zion said, ‘The Lord has forsaken me, the Lord has forgotten me.’” And here’s the word of God to his people: “Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has borne?” No, surely not! It didn’t really seem to do very much for them at all. God will make something beautiful of your life, but he needs your trust … When the angel tells Gideon (Jud. Trust in the Lord. We live in spiritually dark times that can lead us to despair. The feelings of his heart are real, but now he’s applying his mind to the matter. “But I have trusted in your steadfast love.” “The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end.”[18] “Well,” you say, “okay, but what does that mean? Then the sons of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord and served the Baals, and they forsook the Lord, the God of their fathers, who had brought them out of the land of Egypt, and followed other gods from among the gods of the peoples who were around them, and bowed themselves down to them; thus they provoked the Lord to anger. 1:11), we have been “predestined according to His purpose who works all things after the counsel of His will.” That was true in Gideon’s day as well. In the strength of the fact that she recognizes that God is still God with the lights on or the lights off. And therefore, I can sing, and therefore, I will sing.”. Spanning a variety of topics including the relevance of the Bible, church ministry, Christian character, and the biblical record of Jesus’ ministry, this series contains essential teaching that will navigate believers further down the road of their spiritual journey. You’ve lost hope for any kind of deliverance. How God Works in Dark Times (Judges 6:1-24) 1. 6:1, 6-7). The path of His choosing is the only one that leads to true happiness, © 1994 - 2020 Truth For Life. “How long must I take counsel in my soul”—the very core of my being—“and have sorrow in my heart all the day?” The juxtaposition between his mind and his emotions. And so, as I came into the building this morning thinking along these lines, and then seeing who was present at about ten past eight—about eleven people—I decided that I should do something, then, that Hannah would be pleased with, if you like, because now I’ve been living with Hannah all week. Besides Paul, throughout Scripture we see God using weak people who trust in Him. If we love God and really want His will for our life, I think it's safe to say that we can trust Him to bring good from it—no matter what happens to us. Every day brings stories of human suffering through war, terrorism, natural disasters, coronavirus or crime. Related Video. Likewise, as adults, we often learn best when we hear and apply a lesson or truth multiple times. Now, let me just pause and say—okay, let’s imagine for a moment that we find ourselves in this condition. God graciously complied with His weak servant’s request, first by incinerating Gideon’s offering; and then by making Gideon’s fleece first wet and then dry. The Search Of The Wise Men (Matthew 2:1-12), Christmas Searches: Expository Sermons For Christmas, 3. 12:9-10). “What’s up with you? Look at me!” Hannah, again: it’s fascinating that it says that her “countenance”[12] changed—her “countenance” changed. All the excitement was on their side, all of the potential triumph for victory was in their side, and he was up against it. God knows you need somewhere to go … | (Photo: Harvest Ministries) When I think of all this, I fall to my knees and pray to the Father, the Creator of everything in heaven and on earth. All rights reserved. Because He is the chief glory weight. He either had not heard or not understood the message of the prophet, who attributed Israel’s abysmal situation to their sin. Therefore, we’re unable to say he was speaking in this way, or writing in this way, because this or that was happening. Proverbs 3:5-6 holds the key to walking confidently and successfully in dark times. Here’s the comment: let’s acknowledge the fact that there is a perverse sense of satisfaction in feeling sorry for ourselves. Number one, he faces the fact that he feels forgotten and forsaken: “How long will you forget me? Trusting in the Dark Times By Greg Laurie, CP Contributor Follow Greg Laurie preaches on revival in America on Sunday, August 11, 2013, in Southern California. Consider me. Number one, I will not make a major decision in that experience. The illustration is that as a boy in Scotland, we would go camping with a youth organization. Truth For Life is the teaching ministry of Alistair Begg and is committed to teaching the Bible with clarity and relevance so that unbelievers will be converted, believers will be established, and local churches will be strengthened. 6:25-7:15a); and, Gideon’s conquering, followed (sadly) by his compromising (Jud. In addition, I get daily emails that tell how the world is attacking our Christian faith from every angle imaginable. Hudson Taylor, the pioneer missionary to China, said (goodreads.com/author/quotes/4693730.James_ Hudson_Taylor), “God uses men [he meant women, too] who are weak and feeble enough to lean on him.” That’s how God works in spiritually dark times! I get to go home.” And the second thing was, “I’m glad that whoever hammered in the tent pegs for our tent hammered them into such solid ground, and did so so securely.” And then—I don’t think I would ever have thought to myself at twelve, “You know, that would be a good illustration for a talk.” But it is. Truth For Life is a qualified 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization. And I would like simply to outline the study. That was a problem for David. The reality of it is that he feels forgotten and forsaken and, in a second phrase, he is sorrowful and he is subdued—sorrowful and he’s subdued. Something has happened to change her.”, Now, our reaction to despondency, to discouragement, to disappointment, is just this: to ask God to turn the lights back on. And certainly, if we have not had reason to feel in this way, if we just live a little longer we will have the opportunity, no doubt. And what makes this psalm so compelling—and, I think, a psalm with which, as I say, Hannah would be quite happy for us to pursue—is the fact that verse 5 and verse 6 give no indication of anything having changed in the psalmist’s circumstances. But what is more important is the one to whom he cries. And you don’t know a single person, and you have to stand by the radiator in the hope that somebody may come and say hello to you. And in that act he not only unwittingly sealed his own doom, but he opened the door for Jesus to offer redemption and salvation to the whole world. Third, trusting God requires knowing God’s purpose for your future. But what he’s talking about here is actually something far more significant: he’s talking about the sense that he has of being isolated from God himself. If you keep up with the news, it’s difficult not to get depressed. Some of us, as well, we like to play in the minor key all the time, you know—erect a monument to all of our disappointments: “Oh, this didn’t happen, and that was a mistake, and this is a failure, and look at this, and look at that.” And the Evil One is happy with that. In Encore 2010, we’re highlighting some of the most requested messages from the past 12 months. Even the news about Christianity reports many stories of Christian leaders and churches falling into sin or defecting from the faith. I’m the only person that really cares. But it’s just there. But the harsh servitude that He brought on His sinning people teaches us that sin never delivers on its promises. What is the bridge that gets us from verse 4 to verse 5? And we can’t fully explain it. All Rights Reserved. In triumphs and trials, in strength and weakness, in the smallest of details and in His eternal plan – God is always at work in and through the lives of His people. Our text reveals five requirements of trusting God that helps bring it more into focus: First, trusting God requires repenting of compromise with the world. In another psalm, you remember, he says, “When I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long.”[11] So the cry is important. As we’ve seen the Lord was working even in this spiritually dark time. With topics such as fear and anxiety, giving, attitudes, family, the church, and faith and salvation, there is encouragement from God’s Word for everyone. 2:10-13): All that generation also were gathered to their fathers; and there arose another generation after them who did not know the Lord, nor yet the work which He had done for Israel. Or, you’re spiritually dense. The fact that God was willing to repeat the deliverance of His idolatrous people over and over shows His great patience and grace. Your gift will be something you enjoy doing (not that it’s always easy!) Jesus called fickle Peter “a rock” and promised to build His church on Peter’s confession (Matt. The following excerpt by A.W. He was threshing wheat in a winepress. Others of us are introverted, which brings with it, I’ve observed, the danger of morbid introspection. And while in Inverness, the weather deteriorated significantly, as it can, and significant winds blew through, so that by the time we arrived back at the campsite, a number of the tents had been blown away, some of them actually over the edge of the cliff. Rather, He picked a weak man who remained somewhat weak through the whole story and who (at the end of the story) finally failed. Instead, it redirects our focus on who God is. Have you experienced the power of the gospel in your life? How can you discover your spiritual gifts so that you know how God wants to use you? God looks down. Feeling forgotten, forsaken, sorrowful, and subdued, David cried out for God’s consideration and illumination. God didn’t look for a man with renowned military skills,... 3. He’s hiding underneath a broom tree. Trust God. Later, Samson’s father Manoah feared the same fate after he and his wife saw the same angel. If you are struggling with the difficult circumstances of your life; if you are struggling with fear; if you are struggling to trust that Christ is, indeed, who he says he is, Tozer encourages you not to waste … You cannot trust God to use you in serving Him until you know that you are at peace with Him through trusting in the sacrifice of His Son. And we pray in Christ’s name. How long? But God calls His servants by what He will make them, not by what they are when He first calls them. When he entrusts us with something that is hard to accept, it remains because he is able to look upon us and give to us the privilege of bearing testimony in that circumstance to the reality of his grace. The answer is, it is prayer. But Gideon needed a sign to confirm the angel’s word. You see, this is the real test. Nothing’s changed—except his perspective. In Psalm 13, David demonstrated what it means to trust God in tough times. You don’t need to worry. Because what he feels to be the case is not the case. You can know that God is at work even if you don’t see immediate evidence of it. Why. and it ministers to others. Whether we’re facing anxiety, struggling with laziness, or simply trying to be a better spouse, God’s Word offers a wealth of wisdom and encouragement. Our relationships, words, deeds, and even our private thoughts are affected by accepting the truths of the Gospel. It’s only human to be afraid but Christians have the option to be superhuman.
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