The Unlikely, Almost King

Thank you, Gabriel and Joyce, for reading that extra-long passage.

And good morning, everybody.

For those that don't know me, my name is Oscar. I'm one of the elders here at Watermark Community Church.

Again, it's great to be here, worshiping God with you guys this morning, and an extra-special

welcome to some of our guests that are here. Great to have you with us today.

Worshiping in the house of God.

Would you pray with me as we consider God's Word?

Father God, thank you for your Word, which is living, active, sharper than a double-edged sword,

penetrating deep into our hearts.

Father, as we receive your Word today, I pray, God, that it would be your Word that comes through,

and not my words, Lord.

I pray your Holy Spirit would help me to convey your message today, Father, from your Word.

I pray for all of our hearts here, God.

We would be open to receive your Word.

We would see our own sin in our lives,

our own depravity.

But at the same time, we'll see the grace and love of Jesus Christ, our Lord.

Amen.

Amen.

Some of you know this about me, but one of my biggest weaknesses,

one of my biggest weaknesses is my truly horrible sense of direction.

I lived in Causeway Bay for four years, but honestly, if you drop me right now in Times Square,

I wouldn't know which direction Wan Chai is.

I think my wife can attest to that.

After we got married, I moved into Celeste's apartment in Pak Fulam,

just close by here to Ebenezer.

And she kept telling me how good the minibus system was from Pak Fulam to Central.

So one day, I hopped on the number 10 bus, hoping to go to my office in Central.

Ten minutes later, I was in Cyberport.

I called Celeste, angrily accusing her of giving me the wrong directions,

to which she said calmly,

Honey, you got on the wrong bus in the wrong direction.

And then I made the exact same mistake about a month later.

And I don't mind sharing this weakness, this struggle I have,

because although it's a bit embarrassing,

it's probably more funny than tragic.

But I can imagine there are people here at Watermark,

myself included,

who have weaknesses,

who have struggles,

that you would probably rather not talk about.

But I think if we're truly honest,

at some level,

all of us hate feeling weak.

We struggle with having uncertain or stressful jobs,

difficult family members,

disobedient children,

because, well,

these struggles make life feel out of control,

and that makes us feel weak.

And we don't like that.

I think if we're honest,

we wish these struggles would go away,

and then life would be easier.

We would rather be self-sufficient and self-reliant

than having to depend on God.

This morning, we're continuing our sermon series

called Christ in the Old Testament,

and today we're looking at the story of Gideon,

and how God uses this weak man,

this unlikely hero,

to make his glory known.

But Gideon had to first come face-to-face

with an impossible battle

before the power of God was shown.

Gideon had to be weak

before God's power was made known.

Now, over the past few weeks,

we've called this sermon series

Christ in the Old Testament,

because the whole Bible,

from Genesis to Revelation,

is one story about the glory of God.

It's one story which points us

to the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Two weeks ago,

Kevin shared from Genesis,

where Abraham intercedes with God

on behalf of Sodom.

And in that passage,

Abraham searched for one righteous man,

but no one was righteous.

Only Jesus Christ,

our great high priest,

is righteous.

And last week,

Chris also preached from Genesis

in the passage where Jacob

wrestles with God.

And there, we learn that God

often breaks us

to bless us.

And we were reminded that it was Christ

that was broken on the cross

to bless us

and to save us.

Today, we're looking at

the story of Gideon

in the book of Judges.

Now, a very quick summary

of Judges for everybody here.

Judges records one of the darkest times

in Israel's history,

between 1375 and 1050 B.C.

During this time,

Israel would continually go through

a vicious cycle.

It would follow false gods

of the people around them,

disobey God,

and as a result,

would face immense persecution

from the very people

whose idols they followed.

Israel would then cry out to God

and God would hear her cry

and raise up a judge

who would deliver her.

And there's one recurring phrase

in Judges

which sums up

their state of morality,

which is,

in those days,

Israel had no king

and everyone did what was right

in his own eyes.

Nowhere in the Bible

is the depravity of man

described at such length

and in such explicit detail

than in Judges.

Idolatry,

fornication,

self-promotion,

and murder

are just some of the wickedness

mentioned in this book.

But the stark counterpoint

to Israel's idolatry

in Judges

is God's mercy,

his patience,

his faithfulness,

his grace.

Israel would sin against God,

but God would again and again

forgive and deliver Israel

from her enemies.

In essence,

this is the gospel

of our Lord Jesus Christ.

In spite of our sin

and our rebellion,

God gives us his grace.

But today,

as you look at the story

of Gideon,

what we'll see is,

we'll see the oppression

brought about

by Israel's idolatry.

We'll see how God

calls his weak man Gideon

to be a mighty warrior

and deliverer

through God's own strength.

And finally,

we'll see that Gideon,

in fact,

points us

to the true deliverer

and king,

Jesus Christ.

There's a fair bit of content

in this story,

but what I'm going to do

is I'm going to walk through

the story of Gideon

while bringing out

four main takeaways.

There they are.

Ready?

All right.

Ed's ready.

It's good.

Number one.

Judges chapter 6,

Judges 6:1

verse 1.

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.

Now,

what does doing evil

in the sight of the Lord mean?

What was Israel's sin?

Now,

we know during Gideon's time

that Israel had no king,

and everyone did what was right

in his own eyes.

So every man

had his own version

of what morality was.

And when Israel

entered Canaan,

God called them

to take over the land,

but instead,

Canaan came into their hearts.

Israel was drawn in

and tempted by

the worldly ways

of the Canaanite people.

Jumping ahead

to verse 25.

Here,

God instructs Gideon

to tear down

two pagan idols,

the altar to Baal

and the Asherah pole.

A Baal was believed

to be the god

of the harvest,

and Asherah was believed

to be the goddess

of fertility

and love.

And the Canaanite people

would give offerings

to these two gods

hoping to receive

something in return.

They even sacrificed

their own children

to Baal and Asherah.

And Israel was drawn

to this because,

well,

they said to themselves,

we'll worship Yahweh,

the god of our forefathers,

but we'll also worship Baal

because, well,

we're farmers

and we need to have

a good harvest this year.

And while we're at it,

we'll also worship Asherah

because, well,

we need to raise,

we need to have more children

to continue our family line.

They hedged

their religious bets,

so to speak.

Now, you may think,

well,

I don't bow down

to a wooden idol.

None of this applies to me.

But though our modern-day idols

may not be idols of wood,

don't we struggle

with idols of the heart?

For idolatry is

when in our hearts

we place anything

above God.

And I think one of the biggest

idols as parents

is the idol

of our children's success.

I think because,

maybe because of

how competitive

the world is becoming,

we think as parents

we need to exert

an enormous amount

of energy

to maximize

our children's

potential success

when they become adults.

Sometimes when I speak

to parents,

my sense is

they think

if their children

could just have two things,

fluency in Mandarin

and a Harvard degree,

they'll be set up for life.

some can relate to that,

I think.

Idolatry is about

wanting to do things

in our own strength,

about wanting

to be in control

instead of letting God

be in control.

In Gideon's day,

Israel would feed

Baal and Asherah

offerings

to get what they wanted.

And for us,

we pursue

our heart idols

to try to control

our destiny.

So what happened

to Israel

as a result

of her idolatry?

Look at verses

two to five.

The Midianites

did not just rule

Israel politically

like in previous

oppressors

and judges.

It was much worse.

In verse five,

we read that

the Midianites

were like locusts

in number.

Both they

and their camels

could not be counted.

They laid waste

the land

as they came in.

The Midianites

threatened Israel's

very existence

by destroying

their livestock

and their crops.

And so,

the consequence

of idolatry

and sin

is complete

oppression

and fear.

Israel had to

hide from

the Midianites

in dens

in the mountains.

They were constantly

on the move,

afraid,

unsettled.

And ironically,

Israel was being

persecuted

by the very people

whose idols

they took

for their own.

Isn't that how

idolatry works?

Tim Keller

in his book

Counterfeit Gods

describes a woman

who had an unhealthy

desire

desire to give

her kids

the perfect

life.

But this desire

drove her to be

overprotective,

fearful,

and anxious,

and her need

to control

every detail

of her children's

lives hurt her

and those around

her.

It gave her

no joy,

and it resulted

in one child

having developmental

issues,

and the other

child anger

issues.

Her idol

was the thing

that oppressed

her.

Now,

your children

may not have

anger or

developmental issues,

but let me ask

you,

is your desire

to see your

children succeed

above your

desire to know

the nature of

God,

to experience

his joy,

to delight

in him

for who he

is?

The only way

to rid

ourselves

of idol

worship,

of this desire

which will

ultimately

oppress us,

is to recognize

the idolatry

and the sin

submitted to

Christ and

allow him

to destroy

it.

Second

takeaway,

the calling

of a weak,

mighty warrior.

Verse 11,

now the angel

of the Lord

came and sat

under the

terebinth,

which is a

tree,

at Ophrah,

Gideon's

hometown,

which belonged

to Joash

the Abriazrite,

Gideon's

father,

while Gideon

was beating

out wheat

in a wine

press 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.

But God

calls Gideon,

this unlikely

hero,

to be Israel's

deliverer.

Now when I

think of a

hero,

I think of

gladiators,

Russell Crowe,

a courageous

army general,

a born

leader,

thick beard.

At first glance,

Gideon appears to

be the exact

opposite.

He wasn't even

a soldier.

He was a

farmer.

The first mention

of him is him

hiding away from

the Midianites,

threshing wheat

in a wine

press.

And in verse

14,

when the angel

of the Lord

says to

Gideon,

save Israel

from the hand

of Midian,

do not I

send you,

what does

Gideon say?

He says,

how can I

save Israel?

My clan

is the

weakest

in Manasseh,

and I am the

least in my

father's house.

Not exactly

a courageous

response.

But perhaps,

worst of all,

Gideon was

ignorant of

the state of

Israel's heart

and his own

heart.

He says to

the angel of

the Lord,

if the Lord

is with us,

why then has

all this

happened to

us?

Why are we

being persecuted

if God is

with us?

Not when a

bank robber

robs a bank,

gets caught

red-handed,

perpetrating the

crime.

When the police

come to arrest

him, he doesn't

say, why are you

arresting me?

He's caught

red-handed.

But look at

Gideon.

There are two

idols in his

backyard.

He doesn't even

realize his own

idolatry and

sin.

But yet, in

spite of Gideon's

fear, his

weakness, and

ignorance, God

in his mercy and

in his grace

chooses this

unlikely man to

deliver Israel

from her

oppression.

But God

doesn't just

give Gideon

verbal instructions

and then

expects him

to follow

blindly.

In verse 17,

Gideon asks

God for a

sign to

know if he

is a true

God, Yahweh,

that he's

talking to.

But Gideon

prepares the

sacrifice of

meat, bread,

and broth,

brings them

under the

terebinth,

under the

tree, places

them on a

rock, and

the angel of

the Lord

touches the

offering with

the tip of

his staff.

fire burns

up from the

rock, consuming

the offering,

and the angel

of the Lord

disappears,

vanishes,

showing his

power and

true self as

who?

The almighty

God of the

universe.

God was

right there.

God had

revealed a

very, a

part of his

very nature

to Gideon.

And this

marker, this

catalyst, would

serve as a

very important

turning point

in Gideon's

life.

Before this

point, he

was a fearful

farmer,

threshing wheat

in a wine

press, hiding

away.

After seeing a

glimpse of the

glory of God

through the

fire, Gideon

worships God,

and then he

does two things

he never thought

he would do.

First, he

cuts down the

altar of Baal

and the

Asherah pole,

both of which

were in his

father's house.

So he came

directly against

his father and

against the men

of the town who

wanted to kill

him for doing

so.

Second, he

sacrifices his

father's prize

bull.

And remember,

the Midianites

were oppressing

Israel by killing

off their livestock.

So you can

imagine,

a prize bull

would have been

a scarce

resource at

that time.

But in this

way, God

was telling

Gideon,

I know you

don't have many

bulls left.

Bulls are

becoming very

scarce, but

sacrifice this

one for me.

You can trust

me.

When you are

insufficient, I

am more than

sufficient.

So what's the

best way to

build courage

as a Christian?

desire God.

Desire to see

his face.

Desire to

know him

better and

better and

better and

better.

Pray for this

to happen in

your life.

Even God

calls us.

He doesn't

just expect us

to follow

blindly.

He reveals

his glory to

us through the

Holy Spirit,

through his

word,

through the

many men and

women that he

puts in our

lives.

God.

But Gideon

still struggled

with fully

trusting God,

didn't he?

Verse 36,

after God

had revealed

himself to

Gideon,

Gideon asks

for yet

another sign.

He says to

God,

if you indeed

will help me

save Israel,

well, I need

further proof

that you're

sovereign.

He lays

his wool

fleece on

the threshing

floor.

He says to

God,

well, if

there's dew

on the

fleece in

the morning

but the

ground around

the fleece

is dry,

then, well,

I know

you're with

me.

And it

was so.

But apparently

that wasn't

enough for

Gideon.

He tests

God yet

again.

This time

he says

to God,

this time

he asks

for the

fleece to

be dry

and the

ground to

be wet

around the

fleece.

And God

indulges

Gideon yet

again.

What is

going on

here?

Although

Gideon saw

God in

the fire,

although God

had spoken

directly to

Gideon,

Gideon was

just a frail

human being

like you

and I.

And he

still wrestled

with fear

and with

doubt.

And that

is okay.

Because

although

God is

sovereign,

all-powerful,

he's also

incredibly

patient and

long-suffering.

Now get

this.

It's not

in spite

of Gideon's

weakness

that God

uses him.

It's not

in spite

of Gideon's

weakness.

It's actually

because of

Gideon's

weakness

that God

uses him.

It was

because of

Gideon's

weakness

that God's

power and

glory will

be made

known to

Israel and

to the

world in

the battle

against the

Midianites.

See,

in the

upside-down

counterintuitive

nature of

the gospel of

our Lord

Jesus Christ,

it is not

those who are

self-reliant,

self-righteous,

like the Pharisees

who are the

sons and

daughters of

Almighty God.

No.

It is the

broken man

and woman,

the childlike,

the humble,

who says,

God,

I come to

you in

my weakness

with nothing,

but in

you I

have

everything.

Third

takeaway.

How are we

doing so

far?

Are we

good?

Ed's still

good.

Okay,

great.

Third

takeaway,

God's

victory in

our weakness.

And so

Gideon,

with increase

but still

questionable

faith,

rallies his

troops from

other tribes

of Israel

and readies

his men

to attack

the Midianites.

You can

imagine Gideon

getting his

32,000 men

ready,

sharpening

their swords.

Maybe he

gave them

a Mel Gibson

Braveheart-like

pep talk.

But then the

Lord says to

Gideon in

chapter 7

verse 2,

the people,

the people

with you

are too many

for me to

give the

Midianites

into their

hand.

Lest

Israel

boast

over me

saying,

my own

hand

has saved

me.

But God

says,

if any

soldier is

fearful,

let him

go home.

22,000

soldiers

left

then and

there.

Gideon

lost close

to 70%

of his

men right

there.

Let's put

ourselves in

Gideon's

shoes for a

second.

Gideon,

the fearful

farmer who

we found

hiding away,

threshing

wheat in a

wine press,

he probably

thought that

32,000 men

versus 135,000

Midianites was

too difficult

at the start.

But now with

only 10,000 men

left, God

says there are

still too many.

Imagine what

Gideon must have

thought.

With only 10,000

men left, I'm

massively outnumbered.

I need more men,

not fewer men.

But God takes

Gideon and his

men down to the

water for a

drink.

He sifts

Gideon's men

yet again

and in the

process

and afterwards

only 300

men

remained.

Gideon lost

99%

of his men

before the

battle even

began.

He was

outnumbered

450 to

one.

His men

only had

trumpets

and candles.

One trumpet

to 450

swords.

Imagine that.

An impossible

victory.

Gideon must

have thought,

God, I am

completely relying

on you to win

this battle.

If you don't

come through

here, this

won't just be

an embarrassing

defeat.

My men

and I, we're

going to die.

But why does

God do this

to Gideon?

But why does

God do this

to us?

Why does

God put

seemingly

impossible

battles

in our

lives?

I would

argue two

reasons.

First,

this is the

normal Christian

life.

In the book

of Habakkuk,

God tells

the prophet

Habakkuk,

the righteous

shall live

by faith.

The righteous

shall live

by faith.

faith.

I think

most Christians

know that it

is by faith

and not by

works that we

initially come

to receive Jesus

Christ as our

Lord and Savior.

But we also

need to exercise

faith along our

entire journey

as Christ

followers.

We don't just

come to believe

in Christ and

then our entire

lives consist of

strawberries and

cream where we're

just relying on

ourselves.

We have to

learn to lean

on God in

every single

aspect of

our lives.

That is why

Paul says to

pray unceasingly

because if we

really do so,

it means that

we are relying

on God for

everything.

And this leads

me to point

number two.

Point number

two is because

God is merciful.

Now this may

sound strange,

right?

How does

allowing us to

struggle show

God's mercy?

But if we

truly understand

our own

heart condition,

we realize

we really

don't like

having

lean on

God,

do we?

But the

longer we

go on

believing in

our own

self-sufficiency,

the more

removed we

are from

trusting God.

Our idols

become giants

in all that

we care about.

God becomes

very small

and we lose

our understanding

of God.

We lose

sight of the

very nature

of God

as sovereign,

majestic,

powerful.

And so

God in

his mercy

sometimes

puts these

impossible,

difficult battles

in front of

us.

So we

wake up

and realize

that we're

reminded of

who he is

and that

he is in

control.

I've always

loved being

in control.

But for me

personally,

I feel like

my life over

these past

six months

has been

more out

of control

than it's

ever been.

I left

my previous

job a few

months ago

and I'm

starting a

new job.

Actually,

I'm not even

sure when

the new

job is going

to start.

That's how

uncertain it

is.

My wife

Celeste and

I are having

twins,

which we're

very excited

about.

But twins,

that's

uncertain,

right?

Right?

And finally,

just standing

up here in

front of you

all trying

to convey

God's

word.

If you

had asked

me a couple

years ago

if I could

do this,

I would have

said,

no way,

that's

impossible.

I could

barely speak

until I was

five years

old.

But you

know,

in the midst

of all that's

been going

on in my

life,

I've seen

my own

weakness,

how desperate

I need

God.

And you

know,

through this

all,

I've come

to see

God in

a new

way as

being more

wonderful,

more beautiful,

more faithful

than before.

And you

know,

strangely,

it's been

freeing for

me.

And I

believe God

wants all

of us to

come to a

place where

we're broken

and desperate,

on our

knees,

admitting our

weakness to

him,

and where our

maximum weakness

comes face to

face with his

abundant

faithfulness.

I know it's

totally

counterintuitive

because we

all hate

feeling weak,

but if we

really want to

know God,

taste the

sweetness of

who he is,

to feel the

joy that is

in Christ,

I think we

regularly need

to recognize

situations where

we say to

God, like

Gideon did,

God, I

give this to

you.

You don't

come through

here.

I'm

finished.

I'm

done.

I cannot

go on.

Because that

is where

God's power

is revealed.

That is where

we see his

glory, his

awesomeness

at work.

And isn't

this the

gospel of

our Lord

Jesus Christ?

When we

come to

God, we

come to

him in

all our

weakness,

all our

brokenness,

and all

our sin.

we come

to him

with our

hands open,

but nothing

to give him

but our

faith, our

righteousness,

worthless,

our accolades,

our CV,

useless.

And yet, in

our weakness,

if our faith

is in

Christ, we

are fully

accepted by

God.

God.

And so,

for Gideon,

in spite of

being outnumbered

135,000 to

300,

450 to

1, God

delivered the

Midianites

into his

hand that

day.

Gideon's

army didn't

even raise

a sword.

All they

had were

trumpets and

candles.

When they

blew the

300 trumpets,

the passage

says that

the Lord

set every

man's

sword against

his comrade

and against

all the

army.

The Lord

caused the

Midianites to

kill each

other.

God didn't

just pitch

in and

help out.

He wasn't

just a

pinch hitter.

God fought

and he won

the battle

for Gideon.

finally,

fourth

takeaway,

the only

true king.

A friend

gave Celeste

and I

a Bible

comic

when Kiva,

our daughter,

was,

well,

right after

our daughter

was recently

born.

So I opened

up this Bible

comic recently

to look at

the story of

Gideon.

Chapter 6

was there

talking about

God calling

Gideon.

Chapter 7

was there

talking about

God delivering

the Midianites

into his

hand.

Chapter 8,

totally

missing.

Nothing

on chapter 8.

In a way,

I don't blame

the author

or the editor.

Chapter 8

is the dark,

ugly ending

to Gideon's

life and

can show us

what happens

if we forget

to trust God.

and we only

trust ourselves.

What happens

in chapter 8?

After winning

the battle

against the

Midianites,

Gideon continues

his pursuit

of two

Midianite kings.

And along

the way,

he comes

across two

Israelite towns

of Sukkoth

and Penuel.

And he asks

the men

of both towns

to feed

his own

300 men

as they're

hungry after

the last

battle.

But both

Penuel

and Sukkoth

reject his

request.

And so,

after Gideon

captures the

two Midianite kings,

he returns

to Penuel

and to Sukkoth

and he murders

all the elders

of Sukkoth

and he murders

all the men

of Penuel.

He kills

his own

Israelite

brothers.

And later on,

Gideon asks

the people

of Israel

to donate

part of the

spoils

towards making

an idol

which he

places

in his

own

hometown

of

Ophrah,

the exact

place where

God told

him to tear

down the

pagan idols

of Baal

and Asherah.

And finally,

when the people

of Israel

ask Gideon

and his sons

to be their

kings,

Gideon

initially says,

I will not

rule over you,

nor will my

sons rule

over you.

The Lord

will rule

over you.

But what

does Gideon

do?

He does

the exact

opposite.

He acts

like a king.

He takes

many wives.

He has a

concubine.

He has 70

sons.

And he names

one of his

sons Abimelech,

which means

my father

is king.

What is

going on

here?

This story

is not

ending like

it's supposed

to.

But notice

in chapter

8.

In chapter

8,

Gideon

no longer

has any

communication

with God.

He no

longer relies

on God

for God's

deliverance

and power.

His own

hunger for

power

consumes him

and becomes

his idol.

And what

is the

result of

idolatry?

Oppression.

Chapter

8,

verse 27

says,

on the

idol that

Gideon

put up in

his hometown,

it says,

Israel

whored

after

there

and it

became

a snare

to Gideon

and to

his family.

After

Gideon

died,

his son

Abimelech

murdered

all but

one

of Gideon's

70 sons.

Tragic.

And Israel

continued

this cycle,

this downward

cycle.

Israel

wanted

Gideon

to be

her king.

But the

truth is,

Gideon

was no

king.

Gideon

needed a

king himself.

Gideon

needed a

king to

deliver

him.

Gideon

would not

have been

the perfect

king,

but there

is no

king on

earth,

past or

present or

future,

who is

perfect.

the whole

Old

Testament

was crying

out for

a righteous

king.

But as we

learned two

weeks ago,

no king

is righteous.

Not in the

Bible,

not in our

modern day.

There is no

king on this

earth who is

comparable to

the king of

kings,

our Lord

Jesus Christ.

Gideon came

from humble

beginnings as a

farmer.

He was weak.

God called

him a

mighty

warrior.

But look

at Christ.

Christ had

all the

glory of

heaven

surrounding

him.

But in

humility,

he took

the form

of a

man.

He was

born in

a lowly

manger in

Bethlehem.

He rode

into the

city of

Jerusalem on

a donkey,

not a

white army

horse.

After

defeating the

Midianites,

Gideon

elevated himself

to a

king-like

position.

But Jesus

Christ never

elevated himself.

Paul writes

in Philippians,

I love this

passage,

Paul writes

that although

Christ was

God,

he did not

consider equality

with God

something to be

grasped,

but emptied

himself by

taking the

form of a

servant.

Being found

in human

form,

he humbled

himself by

becoming obedient

to the point

of death,

even death

on a

cross.

Christ

humbled

himself

for us.

In order for

Gideon to win

the battle

against the

Amalekites

and Midianites,

much blood

had to be

shed.

Many

Midianites

and Amalekites

had to die

in order for

Israel to be

delivered that

day.

And for

all of us

today,

because of

our desire

to be our

own kings

in our

kingdom,

to be in

control of

our destiny,

to follow

our idols

of our

children's

success,

of money,

of power,

of relationships,

we sin

against God

and we

become God's

enemy.

And because

of that,

we

have to

shed our

blood.

But instead

of raising

his sword

against us,

Jesus Christ

shed his

blood

for us.

On the

cross,

Christ suffered

torturous

pain.

He bled

from his

hands and

feet.

His body

was beaten

and bloodied,

bruised.

He was whipped.

But worst

of all,

he was separated

from his

Father in

heaven.

But Christ

did this

for us.

When we

should have

died for

our

idolatry,

Christ

died

for us.

And that

is why the

gospel

is the

good news.

Christ,

who had

no sin,

became sin

for us

for that we

might become

the righteousness

of God.

Friends,

today,

please believe

that if

your life

is hidden

with Christ,

if your

faith is

in him,

you have

been delivered

from the

oppressive

nature of

idolatry.

No more

guilt nor

shame.

And we

do nothing

to receive

this.

It is

God's

grace

and our

weakness

his strength.

life.

When we

face the