'FINDING THE GOD WHO IS'

Rev. Brent Russett

By Rev. Brent Russett

Pastor of Sunnyside Wesleyan Church in Ottawa:

http://www.sunnysidechurchottawa.com/   

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PODCAST LINK to CFRA broadcast - Sunday, April 23^rd, 2017:

http://proxy.autopod.ca/podcasts/chum/6/52823/good_news_257_apr23.mp3

____________________________________________

Broadcast Notes: ******************************

Finding the God who is

Good morning. And welcome to good news in the morning. It is the first Sunday of the Easter Season.

 My name is Brent Russett. I am the Senior Pastor at Sunnyside Wesleyan Church. I have been pastoring there for 27 years. One thing that becomes apparent when you have spent that much time in one place is that what you do with Jesus matters. Who you think God is matters.

            This morning we are going to look at, seeing the God who is.

This morning’s program sponsor is Bruce Newman. He wants to give a shout out to Jericho Road Christian Ministries. Jericho Road is a local registered charity that exists to serve the poor, the addicted and the mental ill. They do an outstanding service for our community. Thanks Bruce for recognizing them.

            Today I want to take you to the first part of John 14. I want to direct your attention to John 14:8. Jesus is with his disciples at the last supper.

I want to direct your attention to Philip`s request in verse 8

John 14:8 (NLT)

8 Philip said, “Lord, show us the Father, and we will be satisfied.”

            What follows from verses 9-21 is Jesus` response to that request.

            Philip’s request in some ways articulates the request of all of humanity.

            It is the request of the agnostic – show us God and we will believe.

            It is the request of the seeker – God, show up, so I can believe.

            It is the request of the new believer, God, I need to see you.

            It is the request of those who are in pain. God show up, I need to know that you are there.

            It is one of the deepest requests of my own heart, and it probably is for many of you as well. Lord, I want to know you. Lord, I want a fresh revelation of who you are. Lord what I  need is your presence in my life. Lord what I need is your wisdom in my life. Lord what I need is for you to show yourself to us.

            For I know that when God shows up that many of the challenges that are going on in our lives, cease to be challenges. If you look throughout scripture, when God revealed his person and his name, he did so in a way that gave them what they needed.

            Here of some of the ways that God revealed himself.

El Shaddai – the Lord Almighty

Adonai – the lord most high

Jehovah – Raah The Lord My Shepherd

Jehovah Rapha – The Lord that heals

Jehovah Shammah The Lord that is there

Jehovah Shalom The Lord is peace

            And the list could go on. But what we know is that when God reveals himself – we have all we need.

            So I am with Philip. Show us the Father.

John 14:8 (NLT)

8 Philip said, “Lord, show us the Father, and we will be satisfied.”

Part of the grand adventure of walking with Jesus, is that you being to see more and more of who God is, and you start to see his goodness and his grace, the more you will love him.

           

            If you have ever been there, If you have every wanted God to show up, then you need to hear the words of Jesus today. 

John 14:9–11 (NLT)

9 Jesus replied, “Have I been with you all this time, Philip, and yet you still don’t know who I am? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father! So why are you asking me to show him to you? 10 Don’t you believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words I speak are not my own, but my Father who lives in me does his work through me. 11 Just believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me. Or at least believe because of the work you have seen me do.

            Jesus says, it is the last night of my life, and you still don’t quite get it. Ok – one more time from the top.

            If you have seen me you have seen the father. I am in the father and the father is in me. The words I have spoken are the Fathers words. The works I have done are the father’s works.

            The take home point for us is, if you want to know what God is like, look at Jesus. If you want to see who God is look at Jesus. For some of you this is really basic. But for others you need to hear this. Some people don’t like the God of the Old Testament but they like Jesus. Jesus is saying, if you like me, you will like the Father. What you see in me, the kindness the compassion, that is what God is like.

            But he also points to a second thing that you are going to need if you are going to have a revelation of who God is. You are going to need faith. He asked Philip, “Don’t you believe that I am in the Father and Father is in me?”

Then he goes on, if nothing else believe because of the miracles. Here is what you need to know. It is going to take faith for you to see the face God in in the person of Jesus.

            I have a lot of commentary sets on the Bible. Many of these are written by people of faith. Some are written by people of academia but without faith. My conclusion is that study without faith tends to lead people into discussions on the level of “how many angels can dance on the head of a pin.” It may be interesting, but not fruitful. Study with faith can lead to a deeper revelation of who God is.

            When you go to the word, go in faith. When you look at the life of Jesus, look in faith. When you do, God will reveal himself to you.

           

            Then Jesus goes on. And as you are reading through this passage and you come upon these verses, it seems like a complete non- sequitur. But it is not. He is still talking about seeing the father. He is still talking about how God reveals himself.

John 14:12–14 (NLT)

12 “I tell you the truth, anyone who believes in me will do the same works I have done, and even greater works, because I am going to be with the Father. 13 You can ask for anything in my name, and I will do it, so that the Son can bring glory to the Father. 14 Yes, ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it!

            It is like if you believe in me, you have seen who God is, and by the way, if you believe in me – you are going to see your prayers answered and you are going to greater works than me.

            Let me put in a disclaimer. I don’t understand these verses fully. Some of my hyper faith friends say, “it says we can do greater works than Jesus – so we should see the dead raised and the lame walk and the sick healed.” Some of the traditional friends would say, there are no greater works than what Jesus has done – after all he turned water into wine and it doesn’t get any better than that. – So he must mean that the greater works are people coming to the Lord. A soul saved – that is the greater work.

            I am not satisfied with either of those answers. I will tell you this, that the word “you” in these verses are plural. And this answer comes in the context of Philips request to show us the father.

I think he is saying that you church are going to greater works than I have been able to accomplish in my 3 years of ministry here on the earth. You plural are going to see your prayers answered and miracles done. You are going to do the things that I have done and more of them.

            When you see those things happen, that will be a revelation of who God. God will be showing himself through those things.

            Just an observation: While I hear of miracles happening around us I don’t see enough of them

            While I see answers to prayer, I don’t see enough of them. Now when I talk with people from the church in Africa and Asia they report amazing miracles and a lot of them.

In places like that, the spiritual world, of both good and evil, is self-evident. And when they pray they expect the spiritual world to make a difference in our world - and God moves. Here we are so skeptical that I think we prevent God from doing all that he wants to do.

            I believe that God wants to do a lot more than he does, but he is hindered by our skeptic’s stance.

            But the point of the verses here, is that when you do see God answer prayer – that is part of the way that God reveals himself.

I know people say that you should not develop theology from experience. There is danger in doing that for sure. But it is also dangerous to see God do something and not contemplate what God might be saying.

            So God reveals himself in the person of Jesus. God also reveals himself through the supernatural.

MUSIC-  Knowing You Jesus – Graham Kendrick 4:38

Hear the words of Jesus

John 14:15–19 (NLT)

5 “If you love me, obey* my commandments. 16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate,* who will never leave you. 17 He is the Holy Spirit, who leads into all truth. The world cannot receive him, because it isn’t looking for him and doesn’t recognize him. But you know him, because he lives with you now and later will be in you.* 18 No, I will not abandon you as orphans—I will come to you. 19 Soon the world will no longer see me, but you will see me. Since I live, you also will live.

            There are so many things that Jesus is saying here. But sticking to the question of how God reveals himself – Jesus says I am going to leave this earth. But I am going to send the Holy Spirit. I am going to come to you through Him. The world will no longer see me, but you will see me

            In other words. We see Jesus through the revelation of the Holy Spirit. In fact

John 14:26 (NLT)

26 But when the Father sends the Advocate as my representative—that is, the Holy Spirit—he will teach you everything and will remind you of everything I have told you.

            The Holy Spirit is going to remind you of what I have already taught you and he is going to teach you everything you need to know.

            How is God going to show himself. He is going to do that by the power of the Holy Spirit. How does that happen.

            Lets go back to verse 15.

John 14:15–17 (NLT)

15 “If you love me, obey* my commandments. 16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate,* who will never leave you. 17 He is the Holy Spirit, who leads into all truth.

            He says to his disciples if you love me, do what I have told you to do. The you here, continues to plural. And you church if you love me do what I have told you to do, and the Holy Spirit will lead you into all truth.

            Part of the out-working of what Jesus is saying here, is the creation of the New Testament. It was written by apostles or their disciples and we believe it was the Holy Spirit leading the church into all truth.

            Part of the working out of this is believing that God worked through the church councils as they looked at who Jesus is – so we get the apostles creed and the Nicene creed. Part of what the church councils decided was when the cannon of scripture was closed. We do not believe that there is another book of scripture yet to be written or yet to be found.

            But I will say this, it seems that the revelation of the Spirit comes to those who obey the commands of Jesus. If you read church history, you will find that while God has always had his faithful followers, the church was not always faithful. The revelations coming out of the church at those times are often more suspect.

            So God reveals himself first and foremost through Jesus, through the supernatural, through the church by His Holy Spirit – especially through the scriptures.

           

            The Holy Spirit is still in the business of revealing God is to his people. He is still leading his church into truth. It will not contradict the truth that he has stated in his word. But we need his revelations more and more.

            Jesus goes on and tells his disciples this

John 14:20 (NLT)

20 When I am raised to life again, you will know that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you.

            I love the picture of this. Jesus has already told us in verse 10 that he is in the father and the father is in him. But now he goes a step further and say you are in me and I am in you.

            The idea that Jesus is in us, is not a foreign idea. Again the you here is plural. He is in his church and we are a part of his church. We know from other places in scripture that he is in us as individuals. In fact that is what he is say in verse 18. The Spirit of God has been with you, but now he is going to be in you.

            Picture it this way. Jesus is in you. That is not a new revelation. You invite Jesus into your life. He takes up resident in your spirit by his Spirit. But he is also saying you are in him.

            Jesus is part of the Trinity. God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit. They are three yet one. They are in constant communication and conversation with each other. This is a mystical union. We don’t really understand how three can be one and one can be three. They are of one essence, yet different.

            But Jesus says, He is in us and we are him, and he is in the Trinity. He takes us into the midst of the Godhead. We are not God, but we are located in God, and we have communion with God, and we are friends of God, all because of what Jesus has done by his spirit.

            When I meditate on that it just blows my mind and it fills my heart.

            But I need to push on.

John 14:21 (NLT)

21 Those who accept my commandments and obey them are the ones who love me. And because they love me, my Father will love them. And I will love them and reveal myself to each of them.”

            I have been telling you that the word you, is plural all the way through this passage. But here the word “you” changes to singular.

            Jesus gets really personal. If you want to have a fresh revelation of Jesus, then love Jesus and do what he says.

            What this verse is not saying is that if you don’t obey God’s commands God doesn’t love you. God loves the whole world. We know from the rest of scripture that God’s love is not dependent on our behaviors.

            But this verse does seem to make it clear that there is a correlation between our obedience to Christ and the revelation of Christ.

            There does seem to be a correlation between showing our love for God by what we do, and our ability to see who God is.

            Philip starts off by saying “Show us the father and we will be satisfied.”

            Jesus says, if you get to know me, if you have seen me, you have seen the father. He goes on to say, you are going to see who God is through answered prayers and miracles. Not only that by I am going to send the Holy Spirit and he is going to lead you into all truth.

            Not only that I am going to take you into deep fellowship with me. I am going to take you right into the middle of the conversation of the trinity so that you can have fellowship with the God of the universe. You are me and I am in the father. You are going to see who God is because of your fellowship with him.

            I am going to do all that with your brothers and sisters in Christ. But if you really want a personal revelation of who I am; If you want me to speak into your deepest needs; If you want to really know me; then love me by obeying what I have told you – and when you do that I am going to reveal myself to you in deeper and deeper ways.

            There are a number of you who have a hunger to know God better. You want to see him more clearly. As I have been talking you can see what you need to do next.

            For some of you, it has been a while since you spent some time looking into Jesus life. I would encourage you to read the gospels, the first four books of the New Testament again and again, to see who Jesus really is. Read it through eyes of faith and it will make all the difference in your life.

            For others of you, I am hoping that God will show up through miracles, so that you can see part of who he is that way.

            For those of you who have trusted in Jesus, God has given you his Holy Spirit. Part of the revelation of God, is how God has shown himself to his people throughout history. Part of the work of the Holy Spirit is to lead you into all truth. Listen to him.

            But more than anything I would urge you to have fellowship with God. You are in Christ and Christ is in God and from there, let yourself be enveloped by his presence and his love. Walk into the position you already hold as a child of God, as one who is in Christ.

            And lastly, for some of you, you know there are some things in your life that keep God from revealing himself to you the way he wants to. You know what God is calling you to do, but you are not doing it. Obey what he commands and Jesus’ promise is that he will show up.

PRAYER

Lord, I ask this for each and every person, that they would know you, to whom to know right is life eternal.

“ If Good News in the Morning has been a factor in your journey of faith, we would love to hear your story. Nothing could encourage us more in this work.  Contact us by e-mail or Twitter via the web site –goodnewsinthemorning.ca

            And Thank you for listening this morning.

            This program is on the air by the grace of God and donations of many faithful people. A special thanks to Bruce Newman, who gave a shout out to Jericho Road Christian ministries.

            If you can help financially we would appreciate it. You can give by going to the website. Goodnewsinthemorning.ca

  If you can help financially we would really appreciate it. You can make a cheque payable to Good News Christian Ministries,  and send it to Box 184 , Rideau Ferry , On. K0G  1W0.

May you know   Jesus Christ personally and profoundly.  May the Holy Spirit reside deep within your heart .  And may the heavenly Father surround you with His constant and abiding and accompanying love

MUSIC – Be Thou My Vision – Selah 3:17

By Rev. Brent Russett

Pastor of Sunnyside Wesleyan Church in Ottawa:

http://www.sunnysidechurchottawa.com/   

_______________________________________________________ 

PODCAST LINK to the CFRA broadcast:

http://proxy.autopod.ca/podcasts/chum/6/52823/good_news_257_apr23.mp3

'GIDEON'

Rev. Brent Russett

By Rev. Brent Russett

Pastor of Sunnyside Wesleyan Church in Ottawa:

http://www.sunnysidechurchottawa.com/   

_______________________________________________________
PODCAST LINK to CFRA broadcast - Sunday, July 17^th, 2016:

http://proxy.autopod.ca/podcasts/chum/6/44506/good_news_218_jul17.mp3

____________________________________________

Gideon

Good morning. And welcome to good news in the morning.  My name is Brent Russett. I am the Senior Pastor at Sunnyside Wesleyan Church here in Ottawa. I have been pastoring there for 26 years. One of the things I love to do is show how God’s word that was written a long time ago, connects with our world right now

            I am glad you have turned your radio on this morning. Starting your day with God’s word, is a really good place to start. Of course if you are not a morning person, and you want to re-listen, or get the manuscript for this program, you can find us on the internet at Goodnewsinthemorning.ca . There you can keep up to date with what is happening around Good News Christian Ministries.

            I want to say a special welcome to our international listeners, who listen via the internet. We are glad that you have found us, and that you are finding this ministry an encouragement.

**

This morning I want to tell you part of Gideon’s story which is found in Judges chapter 6. Judges, is the seventh book in the Bible.

The story of Gideon starts out messy, and it doesn’t end all that great either. But we live in a messy world. The story reflects many of our lives.

As we get to the story of Gideon in the sixth chapter of Gideon, the Israelites have already been through three cycles of: turning away from God, being oppressed by an enemy, crying out to God, God sending a deliver.  The story of Gideon starts a fourth such cycle.

I find that depressing and encouraging all at the same time. As I look back on my history I see the same cycle. There have been times when I have been close to God. It seemed like every time I would open the Bible God would speak to me. The power of the Spirit was evident and miracles were expected. Then either something happens, or more often there is a gradual cooling. Then the weeds of life grow up and ensnare me. Those weeds can be stress, or unconstructive habits, or bad attitudes. But over time if feels like life slides into the pit. Something happens that wakes me up to look around, and I say this is not where I should be. This is not where is not where I want to be. Then is a crying out to God. And God delivers. Maybe not right away, but God delivers.

I don’t believe that life has to be this way. But I have experienced it that way. Maybe you have too .

When we catch up with the Nation of Israel in Judges chapter 6, they are at the bottom of the cycle.

 1 & Again the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the LORD, and for seven years he gave them into the hands of the Midianites.

 2  Because the power of Midian was so oppressive, the Israelites prepared shelters for themselves in mountain clefts, caves and strongholds. 

It tells us how they were so oppressive.

3  Whenever the Israelites planted their crops, the Midianites, Amalekites and other eastern peoples invaded the country.

 4  They camped on the land and ruined the crops all the way to Gaza and did not spare a living thing for Israel, neither sheep nor cattle nor donkeys.

 5  They came up with their livestock and their tents like swarms of locusts. It was impossible to count the men and their camels; they invaded the land to ravage it.

 

The enemy was wrecking the country. They would steal or destroy the crops. They would kill the cattle and sheep and donkey. They left nothing. They ravaged the land.

But note the first response of the Israelites. Vs 2. They prepared shelters for themselves in the mountain clefts, caves and strongholds.

That is so much like us. In the face of the things in life that oppress us, we try to hunker down. We look for the mountain clefts, to build a shelter in. Our shelters just look different. We build shelters in front of the television the numb our minds and emotions. We build shelters in the refrigerator, and take refuge in a sea of potato chips. We try to loose ourselves in the maze of extreme sports, or in the crowds of going out with friends or hobbies. We can build a shelter in our office at work, and live off the success there.  These are some of the more socially acceptable ways of building shelters.

But we can also try to reinforce ourselves with alcohol or drugs. We can try to loose ourselves in sex or pornography. We can look for the thrill in gambling. There are all kinds of shelters that we can build in our world.

The Israelites we oppressed. Their response was to hide and build strongholds. But finally it got so bad 6  Midian so impoverished the Israelites that they cried out to the LORD for help. 

The Human response was to build shelters. The Godly response was to cry to the Lord. There is a time when we become so impoverished that we finally turn. It would be better to turn sooner than later. My question to you is: What is your Midianite? Is it depression? Is it super stress at work? Is it a bad marriage? Is it a bad relationship with somebody significant in your life? Is it your singleness? Is it your financial issues? Is it your family? Is it a boss? Is it an addiction? Is it an unhealthy habit?

Verse 7

7 & When the Israelites cried to the LORD because of Midian,

 8  he sent them a prophet, 

Finally they got to the point where they cried out to the Lord. When we come to the end of our own devices – that is what we need to do.

Music Cry out to Jesus – Third Day – 4:50

Verse 7

7 & When the Israelites cried to the LORD because of Midian,

 8  he sent them a prophet

What, I wanted an Army. I wanted a legion of Angels to come and smash those Midianites. When I cry to the Lord I want him to come in power and deliverance. Instead, he sends a prophet.

The prophet basically says, This is what God says,  I told you not to turn to other god’s but you have not listened to me. They wanted an army, they got truth.

But that is God’s way. You see, truth is the basis of repentance. And repentance is the basis of the power of God coming into a situation.

That is true with us. The basis is the work of God happening in our lives is truth and repentance. Now that is often a hard concept for us to deal with because we like to blame. It’s not my fault that I’m in this situation. It’s the bosses. It’s the circumstances.

Here is a list of statements made by motorists who were trying to explain why they had been involved in accidents:

 

  -A pedestrian hit me and went under my car.

  -Coming home I drove into the wrong house and collided with a tree I don't have.

  -  The pedestrian had no idea which direction to run, so I ran over him.

 - The indirect cause of the accident was a little guy in a small car with a big mouth.

We like to blame. And maybe it is 90% the other person’s fault and 10% our fault. But until we deal with our 10% we shut out the power of God working in the situation. In fact, it is usually not what other people do to us that puts us in bondage. It is our response to our circumstance that usually is the most damaging to us.

***

            If you have never come to Jesus and said, Come into my life, forgive me of my sin, I want to follow you – that is the first step in unleashing His power in your life. When you pray a prayer like that, trusting that God will do what he said he would do – that step of acceptance and repentance brings you into the family of God

*******

We have been introduced to the situation. The Midianites are running all over the land and the Israelites are oppressed. God has sent truth. And Now we are introduced to Gideon.

As we meet him, Gideon is threshing wheat in a wine-press, as a way of hiding it from the Midianites. Usually when you thresh wheat you do it on the top of a hill, so the wind can blow away the chaff. Chaff is like the husk around the kernels. But even on top of a hill threshing is a dirty job. But Gideon is doing it in an enclosed wine-press. The air would be grey with dust particles. His clothes would be covered with dirt. His face would be streaked with the black dust attaching itself to his sweat and then his sweat running down his face. He is trying to keep himself from coughing.

And then an angel shows up to this guy who is hiding, who is coughing and says - Verse 12 The Lord is with you, mighty warrior. I am sure the Gideon feels like anything but a Mighty Warrior. I am sure he feels helpless in the face the of the invading hoards. I am sure that he feels impotent in the face of the 132000 person army that camped a little ways away. And yet the angel of the Lord calls him a Mighty Warrior.

People, there is your perspective and there is God’s perspective. There is your perspective on the Midianites in your life and God’s perspective. There is your perspective on the kind of strength you have and there is God’s perspective. And almost without fail, when you are going through the dark times of the soul, God’s perspective on you is loftier than your perspective on you.

In fact God would turn to you this morning and call you by name and say you mighty warrior. I am sure a lot of you would say, but you don’t know how I blew it last week. You don’t know how much I have failed. You don’t know how my life seems to have been swarmed. But that is your perspective. God’s has a different perspective. He see the full armour of God he has given you. He see the power of the Spirit that lives inside you. He sees the potential of the promises that he has put in your hand. And he says to you, The Lord is with you, you mighty Warrior.

13  "But sir," Gideon replied, "if the LORD is with us, why has all this happened to us? Where are all his wonders that our fathers told us about when they said, `Did not the LORD bring us up out of Egypt?' But now the LORD has abandoned us and put us into the hand of Midian." 

The Angel had just said to him “The Lord is with you”. And Gideon responds by saying the Lord has abandoned us. Gideon was judging God on the basis of his feelings and the circumstances he could see. But the Lord knows different. Never judge God from your limited experience.

You will notice that the Lord’s reply in verse 14 doesn’t try to argue with Gideon. His assurance comes in the form of a command and a question. . "Go in the strength you have and save Israel out of Midian's hand. Am I not sending you?" 

God will not argue with your lack of faith. He issues a command and asks a question. He will say take this step of faith, and ask will you trust me?

The command he gives to Gideon is to go in the strength he has. That is often the command that God will give to you.

God doesn’t ask you to do what you can’t. He asks you to use what you have for him right now. God is not looking for super human effort. He is looking for obedience.

But Gideon is not convinced. He sees the army of 132000 and asks, (Verse 15) How can I save Israel?  He goes on to say he comes from a weak clan, and the weakest family. In other words, I’m not leadership material.

The point though is not who you are. The point is who you are with God.  Jud 6:16  The LORD answered, "I will be with you, and you will strike down all the Midianites together." 

People, when it comes to the Midianites in your life. It is not about the size of your problem, it’s about the size of your God. It’s not about the past record of failure. It’s about the promise of God for the future. It’s not about how weak you feel. It is about who you are with God. And as is rightly said, “God plus one is a majority.”

Note the flow of the story. The Israelites tried their own ways to deal with the Midianites, and they built strongholds. Finally they got so desperate they cried to the Lord. When they did God sent a prophet to speak truth which became the basis for repentance. Then God sent an angel to speak his perspective. Now we move into the next part of the story. Learning to hear the voice of God.

 Jud 6:17  Gideon replied, "If now I have found favour in your eyes, give me a sign that it is really you talking to me. 

I love that line. The Lord shows up in person and gives instruction, and Gideon says give me a sign that it is you who is speaking. Isn’t that just like us. We think we know what God is saying but we are unwilling to trust what we feel.

The first sign that God was speaking was persistence.  Jud 6:18  Please do not go away until I come back and bring my offering and set it before you." And the LORD said, "I will wait until you return." 

When God speaks it is his habit to be persistent. Gideon was worried that when he left the room the Lord would disappear, and he would be left alone. So He asks for the sign of persistence.

When you feel like God is asking you to step out in faith. This is usually an worthwhile sign for you to look for. If that persistence in the voice of God is there, it is a good sign that this is the voice of God and you need to respond.

Gideon went away and came back and the Lord was still there. Gideon brought the Lord bread and meat. Now remember the country is in the middle of famine. It cost Gideon something to bring this meat and bread to the Lord. Moving out in faith usually does cost something.

If you think you are going to move against the Midianites of your life without cost, then you need to rethink. It will cost. Not as much as the Midianites are costing you, but it will cost you.

Gideon brought his offering before the Lord and 20  The angel of God said to him, "Take the meat and the unleavened bread, place them on this rock, and pour out the broth." And Gideon did so.

 21  With the tip of the staff that was in his hand, the angel of the LORD touched the meat and the unleavened bread. Fire flared from the rock, consuming the meat and the bread. And the angel of the LORD disappeared. 

The second sign that it was the voice of God was that the offering was received. The rock caught fire. It consumed the sacrifice. The third sign was that the angel disappeared.

People when you start following the voice of God, when you start stepping out in faith, strange things start to happen. Start expecting the unexpected. Things that the rest of the world would call coincidences start to pile up. God is at work. Take steps of faith and see what God will do.

 Jud 6:22  When Gideon realized that it was the angel of the LORD, he exclaimed, "Ah, Sovereign LORD! I have seen the angel of the LORD face to face!" 

When Gideon finally figured out that this was the angel of the Lord. He started to get scared. When you start knowing that you are dealing with God there is a knowledge of the sacred that comes over you . You are not playing at life anymore, you are living in the presence of the living God. Gideon was starting to figure he was toast.

This the fear of the Lord. It is something that is lacking in our day. But it is needed to move forward. But as soon as Gideon starts to realize what is going on the Lord speaks to him again.

 Jud 6:23  But the LORD said to him, "Peace! Do not be afraid. You are not going to die." 

Notice now that the angel had disappeared, but he still heard the voice of God. If you take steps of faith when you hear the voice of God that is persistent, God will be able to speak to you more subtly. The Lord’s message is peace.

So Gideon built an altar. The altar proclaimed the “The Lord is peace”. The text says, the altar stands to this day. It was a substantial altar.  Gideon was always going to remember what God had said to him.

So you want to take on the Midianites in your life. We have just finished the introduction to the story of Gideon. But here you have the Israelites giving up on their own methods of dealing with the enemy, and crying to the Lord. The Lord sends the truth that is needed for repentance. And then He sends the perspective that is needed to start moving towards victory.

He starts to teach Gideon to hear the voice of God: First, persistence, then through the unexpected. And then more subtly.

I believe that God wants to teach us to move against the Midianites in our lives. I invite you back next week when we are going to look at how to start to make moves against the enemy.

Let me pray:

Lord, thank you so much for how you meet with people in different ways.

Lord, Gideon didn’t have perspective; he thought he couldn’t see you at work in his situation at all. And, yet, you called him a mighty warrior.

I pray, Lord, that you would allow faith to arrive in people who are listening today; that you would speak into their lives and call them out for who they really are.

Lord, I pray that they would hear your voice and follow after you and that they would have faith to believe you, in spite of the enemy that is overwhelming in their life.

Lord, I pray that you would bring them across the right people and the right places, that they would be allowed to live well for you.

I pray all these things in your name. AMEN.

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May you know  Jesus Christ personally and profoundly.  May the Holy Spirit reside deep within your heart.  And may the heavenly Father surround you with His constant and abiding and accompanying love

MUSIC – The Battle belongs to the Lord 3:06 Petra

By Rev. Brent Russett

Pastor of Sunnyside Wesleyan Church in Ottawa:

http://www.sunnysidechurchottawa.com/   

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PODCAST LINK to the CFRA broadcast:

http://proxy.autopod.ca/podcasts/chum/6/44506/good_news_218_jul17.mp3