O Mighty Man Of Valor

You may be seated.

Good morning.

My name is Matthew Capone, and I'm the pastor here at Cheyenne Mountain Presbyterian Church.

And it's my joy to bring God's word to you today.

A special welcome if you're new or visiting with us.

We're glad that you're here.

And we're glad that you're here not because we're trying to fill seats,

but because we're following Jesus together as one community.

And as we follow Jesus together, we become convinced that there's no one so good.

They don't need God's grace.

And no one so bad that they can't have it.

Which is why we come back week after week to hear what God has to say to us in his word.

We're continuing this morning our series in the book of Judges.

And you'll remember that the book of Judges is about a number of things.

It's about the need for constant renewal and revival among God's people.

It's about the need for a faithful and true king.

A king who can do what no man can do, which is to change the hearts of humans.

It's about the spirit, the power of spirit-filled leadership.

And it's about God's mercy on hard-hearted people.

People like you and me.

Last week, Drew Arrington finished up for us the story of Deborah and Barak and Sisera.

And so now we move on to Judges chapter 6, where we see the story of Gideon.

Judges 6 · chapter mention

The story of Gideon spans several chapters in the book of Judges.

And so we're going to be in this for a number of weeks.

And just at the beginning this week, we're going to try to bite off verses 1 through 24.

Now, there's a lot going on even in these verses.

And we could spend several weeks just in these first 24 verses up in front of us.

And what I want us to focus on, to keep our eyes on, is a paradox, a tension,

that appears in this text and in this story.

And the tension is between...

There's an angel.

He shows up to Gideon.

The tension is between the angel's description of Gideon and how Gideon actually behaves.

So we're going to see the angel in verse 12.

He's going to come to Gideon and he's going to describe him as this great, mighty man of valor.

And then in verse 14, he's going to tell him,

Hey, you have actually this great and enormous strength.

Gideon, on the other hand, does not appear at all like a mighty man of valor.

He appears feeble and doubting and hiding from his enemies.

And so our question this week is simple.

Why does God call this hesitant and hiding man a mighty man of valor?

A related question would be, what gives us the power to go out on God's mission?

What is it that gives us the power to go out on God's mission?

And with that, I'm going to invite you to turn with me to Judges chapter 6.

Judges 6 · chapter mention

You can turn in your worship guide.

You can turn on your phone.

You can turn in your Bible.

No matter where you turn, remember that this is God's word.

And Proverbs chapter 30 verse 5 tells us,

Proverbs 30:5

Every word of God proves true.

He is a shield to those who take refuge in him.

And so that's why we read now Judges chapter 6, starting at verse 1.

Judges 6 · chapter mention

The people of Israel did what was evil in the sight of the Lord.

And the Lord gave them into the hand of Midian seven years.

And the hand of Midian overpowered Israel.

And because of Midian, the people of Israel made for themselves the dens that are in the mountains and the caves and the strongholds.

For whenever the Israelites planted crops, the Midianites and the Amalekites and the people of the east would come up against them.

They would encamp against them and devour the produce of the land as far as Gaza

and leave no sustenance in Israel and no sheep or ox or donkey.

For they would come up with their livestock and their tents.

They would come like locusts in number.

Both they and their camels could not be counted.

So that they laid waste the land as they came in.

And Israel was brought very low because of Midian.

And the people of Israel cried out for help to the Lord.

Verse 7.

When the people of Israel cried out to the Lord on account of the Midianites,

the Lord sent a prophet to the people of Israel.

And he said to them,

Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel,

I led you up from Egypt and brought you out of the house of slavery.

And I delivered you from the hand of the Egyptians and from the hand of all who oppressed you

and drove them out before you and gave you their land.

And I said to you, I am the Lord your God.

You shall not fear the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell.

But you have not obeyed my voice.

Verse 11.

Now the angel of the Lord came and sat under the terebinth at Aphra,

which belonged to Joash the Abizrite,

while his son Gideon was beating out wheat in the winepress to hide it from the Midianites.

And the angel of the Lord appeared to him and said to him,

The Lord is with you, O mighty man of valor.

Verse 13.

And Gideon said to him,

Please, sir, if the Lord is with us, why then has all this happened to us?

And where are all his wondrous deeds that our fathers recounted to us,

saying, Did not the Lord bring us up from Egypt?

But now the Lord has forsaken us and given us into the hand of Midian.

And the Lord turned to him and said,

Go in this might of yours and save Israel from the hand of Midian.

Do not I send you.

Verse 15.

And he said to him,

Please, Lord, how can I save Israel?

Behold, my clan is the weakest in Manasseh,

and I am the least in my father's house.

And the Lord said to him,

But I will be with you, and you shall strike the Midianites as one man.

And he said to him,

If now I have found favor in your eyes,

then show me a sign that it is you who speak to me.

Please do not depart from here until I come to you

and bring out my present and set it before you.

And he said,

I will stay until you return.

Verse 19.

So Gideon went into his house and prepared a young goat

and unleavened cakes from an ephah of flour.

The meat he put in a basket,

and the broth he put in a pot,

and brought them to him under the terebinth,

and presented them.

And the angel of God said to him,

Take the meat and the unleavened cakes,

and put them on this rock,

and pour the broth over them.

And he did so.

Then the angel of the Lord reached out the tip of the staff

that was in his hand,

and touched the meat and the unleavened cakes.

And fire sprang up from the rock,

and consumed the meat and the unleavened cakes.

And the angel of the Lord vanished from his sight.

Then Gideon perceived that he was the angel of the Lord.

And Gideon said,

Alas, O Lord God,

for now I have seen the angel of the Lord face to face.

But the Lord said to him,

Peace be to you.

Do not fear.

You shall not die.

Then Gideon built an altar there to the Lord

and called it,

The Lord is Peace.

To this day,

it still stands at Afra,

which belongs to the Abizrites.

I invite you to pray with me

as we come to this portion of God's word.

Our Father in heaven,

we praise you,

and we thank you again

that you are not a God who's far off,

but you're a God who comes near to us,

that you're a God who's with us,

that you speak to us clearly in your word.

And we ask that you would do that again this morning,

that you would show us your mercy and your grace,

and you'd show us our need for that mercy,

and you would help us to turn in faith and love to you.

And we ask all these things

in the mighty name of Jesus Christ.

Amen.

Amen.

As we begin in chapter six,

we see in verse one a phrase

that we've seen over and over before.

In fact, this has become something of a formula

to explain what we've talked about before

of the judge's cycle,

or the judge's spiral,

as some have called it.

That the judges are faithful to God for a time,

they fall into idolatry and disobedience,

and then they again cry out to him.

And so we see in verse one,

the people of Israel did what was evil

in the sight of the Lord.

It's a formulaic statement

that we've seen with Ophniel and Ehud.

We saw it with Deborah and Barak.

And so in a sense,

we're expecting the same thing to happen again

in this passage.

Once again,

we're going to see God's people turn away from him,

a judge be raised up,

and then them come back.

But this time,

things are worse than ever before.

In fact, that should not surprise us.

Remember when the cycle is introduced,

Judges chapter two, verse 19,

it tells us each time there's a cycle,

things are going to get worse and worse.

Things are so bad here,

verse two,

they are hiding out in caves.

They have never had to do this before.

This was not part of the previous stories

in this book.

And we find out very quickly

why it is that they're hiding out in the caves.

Verses three and four,

things are not just bad.

Actually, things are so bad.

They are not just oppressed like they were before.

They are actually starved.

We have not heard before of the food supply

for the Israelites being cut off,

but that's exactly what's happening here.

Verse four,

they're devouring the produce of the land

and they leave no sustenance in Israel,

no sheep or ox or donkey.

And so that helps explain for us

what's happening later in the chapter.

Why do we find Gideon,

verse 11,

beating out wheat in a wine press?

Well, he's doing everything he can,

right, to hide food

from those who are coming to pillage and destroy.

It helps us understand

why are they hiding in caves?

Well, because they're trying to keep their food,

the little food that they have,

away from those who are pillaging them

and plundering them.

We haven't heard this phrase before.

Verse six,

Israel was brought very low.

Things are worth now

than they have been in chapters one through five.

And so they do what they've always done.

Verses six and seven,

they cry out.

Notice though,

what they don't do,

it's what they failed to do in the past.

They cry out,

they don't repent.

They're sorry that they're in the situation

where they're being plundered.

They are not sorry

that they've turned aside,

verse 10,

worshiped the gods of the Amorites.

And so God comes,

verses eight through 10,

by this angel,

speaks on his behalf

to spell out for them

what exactly has gone wrong.

Look,

I told you all to do this

and you did that.

I told you all

not to worship foreign gods,

but instead

you have chosen to do that.

It's worth noting here

that God's condemnation

in verses eight through 10

is immediately

followed by his deliverance

in verse 11.

We'll come back to that later.

For now,

I want us to move on

to our friend Gideon

who we meet in verse 11

and he is hiding food.

He is beating out wheat

in the wine press,

hoping somehow

that these plunderers

as they come through

are not going to see him.

Somehow he's going to be able

to preserve food

for himself

and his family

by changing his location.

He is struggling

for basic existence.

In fact,

all of Israel here

is struggling

for basic existence.

And the angel comes

and says

probably one of the last things

we would expect him to say.

The angel does not first

come to deliver

some sort of instructions

or encouragement.

No, the angel just shows up,

verse 12,

and says this,

The Lord is with you,

O mighty man of valor.

And so you can imagine

Gideon's thoughts

as he is hiding out

in a wine press

just trying to have

enough food to eat.

This angel shows up

out of nowhere

and just says,

You know what?

God's with you.

And you know what?

You are a real strong guy.

And of course,

Gideon does not buy it.

Verse 12,

The Lord is with you.

Verse 13,

what does he say?

If the Lord is with us.

You might tell me

that God is here with us.

It certainly doesn't feel like that.

You might tell me

that God is with us.

It certainly doesn't look like that.

We have heard all the stories

about what you did

for our forefathers,

but where are you now?

What good does the story

of the Exodus do for us

when we can barely eat?

What good do your words

of presence do for us

when we're being ransacked

by other countries?

Gideon is cynical

and jaded.

He's cynical and jaded

based on what's been happening

in his country.

That fact that he's having

to hide out

and just preserve

enough food to survive.

And what does the angel respond?

The angel doesn't answer

his complaints at all.

The angel doesn't tell him,

Oh no,

this is how you should

think through it.

No,

he just gives him a command.

Thank you for sharing

those complaints, Gideon.

And here's what I have

to say to you.

Verse 14,

go in this might of yours

and save Israel

from the hand of Midian.

Sorry you're feeling oppressed.

I'm sorry you're struggling

for food.

Step two,

go and defeat your conquerors.

Which raises our question again,

why does God choose

this hesitant

and hiding man

a mighty man

of valor?

Gideon does not have

a great resume.

Verse 11,

what is he doing?

He is not going out

in this great strength

that he supposedly has

to fight Israel's enemies.

No,

he's hiding away.

He is staying

as low

as he can.

And it makes sense,

right?

But this is not

some great act

of bravery

or courage.

We have no indication

that Gideon

has a resume

of bravery

and courage.

Verse 13,

we find out

he is a disaffected

and cynical

and jaded young man

who has doubts

and questions

about whether God

is really with them.

Verse 15,

he goes on

to help this angel

understand

that his resume

is really bad.

His clan

is the weakest

in Manasseh.

And it's not just

his clan

that is a problem.

He is also a problem.

He is the least

in his father's house.

And so we have

a pretty strong case

up front

that God

has picked

the wrong man.

God,

at least in Gideon's eyes,

has made

a mistake.

There are other clans

to choose from.

within his clan,

there are other men

to pick from.

And so why

does God come

to Gideon

of all these people

and tell him

in the midst

of his failure,

his weak resume,

no indication,

there's no track record

here of his victory

against oppressors

that he is

the mighty man

of valor?

Well,

I've told you

only one side

of the story.

the angel

says,

O mighty man

of valor,

but that's not

the first thing

he says.

What does the angel

say

first?

Verse 12,

the Lord

is

with you.

The Lord

is with you,

O mighty

man

of valor.

Verse 13,

Gideon

has doubts

about God's

presence.

What does he say?

Verse 14,

do I

not

send

you?

Gideon

explains

verse 15

that his

resume

is really

bad.

He is the

weakest

and the

least.

And what

does the angel

say?

Verse 16,

the angel

does not

say,

oh,

no,

no,

Gideon,

that's not

true.

Manasseh's

not the

weakest.

You're

actually

such a

strong

man.

No,

he doesn't

argue with

Gideon.

What does

he say?

But I

will

be

with

you.

This is

the same

thing we

saw with

JL a

couple weeks

ago.

God

is not

interested

in picking

the strongest

or the

most talented.

God

does not

choose to

do his

work

through

those

who

are

most

gifted

or

impressive.

God

works

through

those

who

follow

him

in

obedience.

Victory

comes

to the

faithful

who

take

God

at

his

word.

By the

way,

he doesn't

just promise

his presence,

he also

promises

great

victory.

The same

thing he

promised

to Barak.

Verse 16,

you shall

strike the

Midianites

as one

man.

Why

is Gideon

a mighty

man

of

valor?

Gideon

is a

mighty

man of

valor

because

God

is with

him.

God

does

not

call

the

qualified.

God

qualifies

the

called.

God

is not

interested

in the

most

talented

or

gifted

or

flashy

people.

God

is

interested

in

those

who

will

obey.

And

God

gives

his

presence

to

his

people.

Gideon

is a

mighty

man of

valor

for one

reason

and one

reason

only.

God's

presence

with

him.

Remember

I mentioned

the other

question we're

asking is

this,

what gives

us the

power

to go

out on

God's

mission?

And the

answer is

the same,

God

is with

us.

Proverbs

Proverbs 18:10

18,

verse 10

reminds us,

the name

of the

Lord

is a

strong

tower.

The

righteous

man

runs

into

it

and

is

safe.

Psalm

Psalms 125:1

125,

verse

1.

Those

who

love

the

Lord

are

like

Mount

Zion,

which

cannot

be

moved,

but

abides

forever.

Psalm

Psalms 125:2

125,

verse 2,

as the

mountains

surround

Jerusalem,

so the

Lord

surrounds

his

people

from

this

time

forth

and

forevermore.

Christian,

how

can you

follow

after God?

How can

you go

on the

mission

that he

has called

us to?

For

one reason

and one

reason

only,

God

is with

you.

Gideon's

question

in

verse

15

is our

question

as well.

He says

to him,

please,

Lord,

how can

I save

Israel?

Behold,

my clan

is the

weakest

in Manasseh

and I

am the

least

in my

father's

house.

Don't

we ask

the same

questions?

how

can I

share

my hope

in Christ

with my

neighbor?

I am

awkward

and I

lack

skill,

but I

will be

with you.

How can

I stand

for truth

when I

know that

others

will slander

me?

Behold,

I am

someone who

only likes

peace,

but I

am

with you.

How can

I love

my enemies

and pray

for those

who persecute

me?

When I

look in

my heart,

all I

see is

anger,

but I

am

with you.

How can

I make

the call

that I

know that

I need

to make

and I'm

desperately

avoiding?

I'm not

even sure

what I'm

going to

say.

but I

am

with you.

How can

I remain

faithful to

my marriage

vows when

it is a

relationship

that's filled

with coldness

and distance?

But I

will be

with you.

How can

I move

towards those

who have

hurt me

with forgiveness?

Behold,

I am

filled with

bitterness.

but I

will be

with you.

How can

I confess

my sins

and stop

living a

double life?

What will

happen when

people find

out?

What about

the consequences?

But I

will be

with you.

Some of

you are

wondering,

you want to

switch to

this mic?

I'm

some of

you are

wondering,

how do

I continue

the journey

that I'm

on with

parenting?

It's been

a long

road.

There's

failures and

mistakes in

the past.

There's things

that I would

change.

I'm not

sure I want

to keep

going.

I'm not

sure I have

the perseverance

or the wisdom

that it takes,

and I wonder

if I should

just give up

if it's

too late.

And God's

word to you

is the same,

but I

am with

you.

Gideon

is right

in a

sense.

Gideon is

right that

obedience is

impossible if

we're left to

ourselves.

Obedience is

impossible unless

God is with

us.

We are

not

moralists.

We don't

believe that

we can pull

ourselves up

by our

bootstraps.

We don't

believe we

can will

ourselves to

obey.

Our hope

is that

God's

spirit is

at work

within us

stirring up

our hearts

and our

minds to

obey.

Without

God,

we can't.

With

God,

we can.

God is

with us

by his

Holy Spirit.

There's

comforting words

on the back

of our

worship guide

which remind

us of this.

Christ promises

a spirit that

no enemies

will be able

to withstand.

God's

children in

the time of

opposition,

when they

understand

themselves and

what they

stand for,

are given

by God a

spirit against

which no

enemies can

stand.

The spirit

of liberty

gives boldness,

strength,

and courage

against

opposition.

God's

spirit,

God's

presence with

us is

what gives

us everything

we need

to follow

after him

in obedience.

In fact,

we can have

even greater

confidence than

Gideon had.

We have

greater confidence

than Gideon

had because we

have greater

access to the

Holy Spirit

than Gideon

had.

We don't

live in the

time of the

Old Testament.

Verse 9 on

your worship

guide helps us

understand the

difference between

God's presence in

the Old Testament

and the New

Testament.

This is a

theologian named

Herman Boving

who says the

Holy Spirit,

and this is he's

talking about the

Old Testament,

had come down to

a few independent

persons and only

temporarily for a

specific purpose.

Remember, one of

our themes for the

book of Judges is

the power of

spirit-filled

leadership.

What do we see?

We see the Holy

Spirit showing up

here and there on

specific people.

And what does he

tell us?

Now, that is in

the age of the

New Testament,

it descended upon

the whole church

and upon all its

members, and it

remains dwelling and

working there

permanently.

Christian, God

promises you his

presence by his

Holy Spirit.

If you are in

Christ, God is

with you.

God is with you in

a way that he was

not with every

Israelite in the

Old Testament.

God has poured out

his spirit in a way

that is new in the

new covenant.

God has poured it

out on all

believers.

It is not

something had by

some, but had by

all.

You have God's

presence.

God is with you

turning a heart of

stone into a heart

of flesh.

God is with you

giving you the

courage that you

need to stand

against opposition.

As we follow

after God, we know

that we have his

presence.

obedience.

As we follow him

in obedience.

Now, it's important

to say as we follow

him in obedience

because sometimes

preachers say things

like this and people

hear, oh, God is

with me in whatever I

do.

God is not with you

as you try to pick

winning numbers for

the Powerball.

God is not promising

success in every

business venture that

you try out.

He does promise his

ultimate power and his

ultimate success as we

follow after him in

obedience.

God promises us

success in the way that

the psalmist talks about

in Psalm 27, that he

knows he will see the

goodness of the Lord in

the land of the living.

God promises his

presence in the way

Jesus speaks about it

in Matthew 28, verse

Matthew 28:20

20.

He gives the mission to

the church, right?

He says, you're going

out to make disciples of

all nations.

Behold, I am with you

always, even to the

end of the age.

Christian, God is with

you.

In fact, this passage is

dripping.

It is saturated with

God's grace.

Remember, I told you in

verses 8 through 10, God

comes with this word of

condemnation and we see

zero repentance from the

people.

And what does he

immediately do?

He moves into

deliverance.

God does not wait for

his people to repent

before he raises up

Gideon.

That's the same thing

we're told in Romans

Romans 5:8

chapter 5, verse 8.

It was while we were

still sinners that

Christ died for us.

It is deliverance

followed by obedience.

It is not obedience

followed by

deliverance.

Verse 17, Gideon is

looking for a sign.

Now, it would be

tempting at this point

to say, oh, Gideon

lacks faith.

He needs some sort of

confirmation.

But we have to remember,

Gideon is trying to

act out the old

Russian proverb,

trust, but verify.

It's not that he doesn't

trust God's word.

It's that he needs to

make sure it is actually

God who is speaking.

And so what he's saying

is here is, I want to

make sure I'm not having

a hallucination.

Okay?

Please confirm for me

that this is a word from

God.

And God comes and

confirms that for him.

Gideon did not have

clarity.

We do.

We do not need a sign

to remind us or

confirm God's presence.

We have already received

the greatest sign.

The greatest sign is this,

that God sent his one

and only son,

that whoever would

believe in him would

have eternal life.

The greatest sign is

that we look to Christ

who became a man and

walked life on this

earth.

Colossians 1.15

tells us this,

Jesus is the visible

image of the invisible

God.

God.

We no longer look

for a sign.

We have the greatest

sign possible.

And so now,

after Christ's

resurrection and his

ascension, his presence

is even greater than it

was in the Old

Testament.

That's the promise that

Jesus makes in John

John 14 · chapter mention

chapter 14.

In John chapter 16,

John 16 · chapter mention

I'm going to send my

spirit to be with you.

In the Old Testament,

the spirit was given

to certain people

at certain times.

In the New Testament,

God gives it to his

whole church.

Without God,

we can't.

With God,

we can.

God is with you.

Why does God call Gideon

a mighty man of valor?

Because God is with him.

What gives us the power

to go out on God's mission?

The answer is the same.

God is with us.

Christian,

God is with you.

You are mighty men

and mighty women of valor

because of God's presence.

Let's follow after him.

Let's pray.

Our Father in heaven,

we praise you

and thank you

for your word.

And we thank you

that we live

as Jesus

is already ascended

to the right hand

of God the Father.

That he pours out

the spirit on us

as he's promised.

That we are assured

of your presence

and your power.

We ask that you would

remind us of that.

that it would motivate us

and enable us

to move forward

following you

together this week.

We ask these things

in the mighty name

of Jesus Christ.

Amen.