JUDGES 6:33-40 CLEAR DIRECTION FROM GOD2015 Teaching by Jerry B Simmons

Teaching Transcript: Judges 6:33-40 Clear Direction From God

You are listening to FerventWord, an online Bible study ministry with teachings and tools to help you grow deeper in your relationship with God. The following message was taught by Jerry Simmons in 2015. How often do you have clear direction from God?

How often is it where you know, like almost second to your salvation, like beyond anything else that you know, that you know exactly that what you're doing is what God wants you to do? Do you have that kind of clear confirmation or clear direction from God regularly? Is that a normal part of your life? I think it's interesting to consider as we look at the example of Gideon this morning, because Gideon was just a regular guy.

You know, a lot of times we look at the figures in the Bible, you know, the people who these are written about and we can elevate them and think, well, you know, of course they did that. Of course, you know, God worked in their life that way because, you know, they were incredible. But we can see clearly from this account that Gideon was just a regular guy.

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And when God met him earlier in Judges chapter 6, you read about that encounter with the Lord telling Gideon that he's going to be used by God to deliver Israel. And Gideon's really confused by that. And he says, how can that be? Because...

Well, he says, my clan is the weakest in Manasseh. Now, he's not talking about clash of clans. He's talking about his family, you know, within the tribe of Manasseh. And he says, we're the weakest family in the tribe of Manasseh. And then he says, I'm the least in my father's house. So I'm part of the weakest family, just one tribe of Israel. We're the weakest family and I'm the least in

the littlest, the smallest, the youngest, the least important in my family. And so his testimony of himself was, I'm the least of the least. I'm the weakest of the weak. And as Gideon had this, you know, impression of himself, he had this perspective on himself. It helps us to then be able to put ourselves right here in this account. And can you imagine God calling you

And you might say, well, he's not gonna call me because I'm the least of the least and whatever way that you would describe that. But could you imagine if God called you to lead an army to defeat hundreds of thousands of soldiers?

that's, you know, probably not a normal thing on your imagination, right? You probably don't think about that regularly. Like, what if God sent me out, you know, to charge out onto the battlefield and I'm leading 300 men against a couple hundred thousand. You probably don't envision that very much. It's probably not something that you dream about. And yet it's the kind of thing that God can do

with normal people like you and I. And it's the kind of thing that God did with Gideon. But because he was just a normal guy, because he was the least of the least, he, well, he relied upon God to give him clear direction that what he was doing was really what God wanted him to do. Do you have that kind of clear direction from God so that even though you might acknowledge that

I'm the least of the least. I don't have much. I'm not that amazing. I'm not a superhero. And yet you're able to do what God has called you to do because you have clear direction from God. Now, God does not always give us every detail that we want. But I want to encourage you this morning that many times God is able or God wants to give you direction. Even if you don't have all the information, he can tell you the steps to take to

So that you can stay in the center of his will. And I think that we miss out many times on clear direction from God simply because we don't ask for it. And so I want to encourage you this morning to look at the example of Gideon and to ask God for clarity, to ask God for direction, to ask God for insight into the decisions that you have to make. And so there's four points we'll look at as we see the example of Gideon this morning and we learn about clear direction from God.

Point number one, found in verse 36, is to hear from God. I want to encourage you this morning to hear from God. Let God speak to you about your life and about what He wants for you. Now, before we get into verse 36, to set it up a little bit, let's look again at verse 33.

It says,

The Midianites were kind of their neighbors for the nation of Israel. They were across the river and they would come and raid Israel for this period leading up to this point here in chapter 6. They were oppressing Israel for some time. They were quite a burden so that as they planted their crops in the field, whenever they would, you know, go out to harvest their crops, they would

the Midianites would come in, they would raid, they would take their food from them. And in doing this, they would, you know, oppress them and steal from them. And they were, you know, quite a problem for them for some time.

Now, as they continue to be this problem, now it kind of escalates a little bit more. And now there's more of an army that's gathered together. The Midianites and the Amalekites, the people of the east, have gathered together. They've crossed over the Jordan River, so now they're in Israel's territory. They're camped in the Valley of Jezreel. They're right in Gideon's backyard.

And so as they're right there, they're camped, you know, they're there to make trouble. They're there to do some battle, to do some conquering. And now God is going to do a work. But understanding it from Gideon's perspective, there is now a large army that is camped out right there in front of them, right there in their area. In chapter 7, the army that's gathered together here against them is described as being as numerous as locusts.

And that's a visual picture for us that as locusts would come and they would just cover everything, that's how it looked as they overlooked the valley of Jezreel. It just, they were covered. It was covered in these enemy soldiers. The valley was filled with the enemy. We know from Judges chapter 8 that after, you know, God does bring deliverance and the Midianites are defeated, it tells us that 132,000 of the soldiers of the Midianites died.

And so we don't know how many exactly there were. Many fled, many ran away, many surrendered or escaped, but those who died were 132,000. And so it was at least that many that had gathered together to battle against Israel on this time.

In verse 34, it says, So this large army has invaded their territory. And now Gideon, it tells us that he's filled with the Spirit.

and he blows the trumpet. He sounds the alarm, and his family comes around him, and then he sends messengers to the nearby tribes, the nearby areas of Israel, and they come to him, and so he's gathered a little army. It's nowhere near the large army that the Midianites have, but they've got this small gathering, and now Gideon is facing this huge decision.

because he has his few men that have gathered together with him. And he's got to decide whether or not he's going to actually go into battle because God said that he would deliver the Midianites over to Gideon's hand. And so he has a decision to make. It's one thing to, you know, hear from God. It's one thing to have an idea of, I think this is what God wants me to do.

But then you get to the point where it's like, you have to act upon that decision. Now it becomes real. You know, it's one thing to entertain, like maybe one day, you know, I'll do something for God, something amazing for God. But then when you actually are there, you're on the edge of it. You know, one day I'll witness to somebody, but then there's somebody in front of you and God says witness to them. It's like, oh, you know, now it's like, this is for real. And that's where Gideon's at. He's facing this big decision and he's got a huge responsibility.

Because he's sounded the alarm and he's gathered all these guys behind him. He's now responsible for these guys and they're greatly outnumbered. I mean, massively outnumbered to head in against the enemy with these numbers. It's, well, it seems like it's not a good idea. It seems like that's foolish. Why would you go with tens of thousands against an army that's hundreds of thousands? He's got a big decision to make.

Now, although they're massively outnumbered, Gideon has heard from God. Look again at verse 36. It says, so Gideon said to God, if you will save Israel by my hand, and then notice this next phrase, as you have said. If you will save Israel, as you have said, and now he's going to give him the test, and we'll get to that in just a moment. But notice here, Gideon is acknowledging, God, you've spoken to me. I've heard from you.

And he's referring back to earlier in chapter 6, which we're not getting into this morning. But earlier in chapter 6, an angel of the Lord appears to Gideon and announces to Gideon that God is going to use him to bring deliverance to Israel. I would encourage you to come back this evening at 6 o'clock because Ronnie is going to be teaching the earlier part of chapter 6 this evening. And you'll be able to fill in the gaps and get some great insight into Gideon and the work that God did through him.

But God had spoken to Gideon and Gideon here acknowledges that. He says, you've spoken to me. And if you really are going to deliver them into my hand, you're going to use me to deliver Israel as you have said. Well, then he's going to lay out some tests before him. Gideon has heard from God. And I want to encourage you this morning to follow that example and seek to hear from God.

You and I, we make lots of decisions in our life. We make lots of decisions on a daily basis. And I want to encourage you as you are facing decisions similar to, you know, Gideon faced the decision. It was time for the rubber to meet the road and whether or not he was going to do it. As he faced that decision, he reflected on the fact that God had spoken to him. And I would suggest to you that as believers today, it should be a pretty normal thing

for us to hear from God. It should be a pretty normal thing for us to be on the edge of decisions and to be able to reflect and remember, okay, God, you have spoken to me. And yet many times Christians make decisions without hearing from God. And sometimes big life-changing decisions. And we need to be seeking God for his will, for his plans for our life, because he knows what's best and he loves us and he wants what's best for us.

And he wants to reveal his will to us. Do you hear from God? Is he speaking to you? You know, the decisions that you make on a regular basis impact many times your whole life. You suffer the consequences or you reap the benefits for the rest of your life of decisions that you make on a regular basis. And so hearing from God is really important because the decisions that you make

you're gonna live with for a long time to come. And you want to know what God has for you. But it's not just you that we're talking about. The decisions that you make also impact your family's life. It affects your spouse. It affects your children. It affects your children's children. You can make decisions today that, again, you might suffer the consequences for a long time to come or reap the benefits for a long time to come. And so knowing and understanding that there's this great impact in your family's life

again, it should drive us to our knees to seek to hear from God about the decisions that we make. Your decisions also impact your spiritual life and your spiritual growth. And you can make decisions today. You can make decisions this week that have long-term impacts on how you walk with the Lord and how you develop and how you grow in your relationship with Him. Not only that, but the decisions that you make can impact the church.

We've taught this very many times, but God has gathered us together as believers and he's made us members of the body of Christ. And as members of the body of Christ, we have a vital role, an important part. And decisions that we make then impact those that we're connected with in the kingdom of God. And so your decisions impact the kingdom of God. It impacts the church, this church, as well as the church universally. Again, your decisions...

have huge impact and it should drive us to our knees. I encourage you, make sure that you hear from God. Listen, God wants to speak to you about all aspects of your life. He doesn't just speak about doctrine. He doesn't just speak to you about, you know, things related to the church. Should you attend this retreat or should you not attend this retreat? And that's, you know, mainly what God speaks to you about. Now, if you're looking at where to live, God wants to speak to you about that.

if you're looking at what kind of employment you should have, God wants to speak to you about that. If you're looking about what kind of education you need, God wants to speak to you about that.

If you're looking at marriage, God wants to speak to you about that. Transportation, what car to purchase or rent or lease or whatever, God wants to speak to you about that. If you're thinking about what church to attend, God wants to speak to you about that. You're thinking about ways that you can serve God, God wants to speak to you about that. You're thinking about where to go to lunch after service today, God wants to speak to you about all kinds of aspects in your life.

He does. He really does. He cares about the details. He cares about those things, not just doctrine, not just what we would maybe classify as spiritual things. God cares about your whole life, and he has blessings for you. He has insights for you. He has direction for you about every aspect of your life, about every part of your life. James tells us in James chapter 1 verse 5,

He says, Do you lack wisdom? Let me answer that for you. Yes, you lack wisdom. We all do. We lack wisdom and we need to hear from God. And here's God's promise. If you lack wisdom and you ask God, God will give you wisdom.

God will give you the wisdom that you need. He will speak to you. He will give you insight. Now, sometimes it's easy for us to ask God for wisdom when it comes to a big decision. You know, you're in Gideon's shoes. You're leading a small army against a huge army. There's great risk, you know, involved. When you have those kinds of decisions in your life, it's more typical for us to then, you know, call out to the Lord and be seeking the Lord and trying to hear from him. But then there's a lot of times in our lives where there's

not so big decisions. And oftentimes we miss out on hearing from God in those areas that we think, you know, that's not that big of a deal. I've got that one covered. I have enough wisdom for that decision. I just don't have enough wisdom for this really big decision. But I would encourage you to look at the example of Joshua. And if you're reading through the Bible in three years with us, these are fresh in your mind as we went through the book of Joshua. Remember when Joshua was

He led the children of Israel into the promised land. They conquered Jericho. It was incredible victory. Well, the next city on the agenda was a city called Ai. And Ai was a small city. And so they looked at this next city that's on the list and Joshua sent out some scouts. They came back and they said, you know, this is a small city. This is gonna be a piece of cake. It's gonna be so easy. We don't even need to send the whole army. Just send a few of us. And sending a few of us, we'll be able to conquer them. We'll be able to take care of it.

Joshua sought counsel. He said, hey, Pastor George, here's AI. What do you think? And George says, you know, that's going to be real easy. Just send a few of the soldiers. You don't need to send the whole army. He sought counsel. It's wise to seek counsel, right? There's safety in a multitude of counselors. He sent out scouts. He sought counsel, but he forgot to seek counsel from someone very important. He forgot to hear from God. He didn't even ask God.

what he thought about this city and about this battle that was about to take place. And because he didn't ask God, he didn't know about a serious issue. There was an issue of sin within the camp where Achan, one of the soldiers, he disobeyed God in the previous battle with Jericho. And God wasn't going to allow them to go forward in victory while they were living in disobedience.

And so because he didn't hear from God, he didn't know about the issue of sin. And so he listened to the multitude of counselors. He sent out the small few soldiers or the small group of soldiers to Ai, but then they were defeated. And then Joshua calls out to the Lord and say, God, why did you allow this to happen? Others are going to hear about it now. They're going to wipe us out because they'll realize that we're not very strong. And God said, well, you didn't seek me.

There's an issue in the camp. You got to deal with that and then you can go and be victorious. And sometimes there's those small battles in our minds, in our hearts, where we think, ah, it's a little thing. And maybe we even seek counsel. We say, hey, Pastor George, what do you think about this in my life? And George says, well, here's what I think. And that's great. And you need to seek counsel. There is wisdom in that. But make sure that you hear from God. Don't just think, well, I have enough wisdom.

for that decision. I just need wisdom for this other decisions. I would encourage you to ask God, hear from God. It was not too long after this battle with Ai that we see another example in Joshua chapter 9 with the Gibeonites. Now the Gibeonites were inhabitants of the promised land.

But they heard about what God had called them to do and God instructed Israel to drive out all the inhabitants of the land. And so in an effort to preserve their lives, they came to Joshua but pretended to come from really far away. So they put on some costumes so that their clothes looked old and worn out. And they said, hey, we're here to make a treaty with you. And they're like, hey, well, you might be our neighbors. Well, no, look, this cloak, it was brand new when I left, but...

Now it's all worn out. And look at this bread. They brought some moldy bread. They said it was fresh out of the oven when we left, but now it's old and moldy. We're from really far away and it's just gotten old because we had to travel so far. Now we can look at this and easily kind of chuckle a little bit like, how could they fall for that? But they fooled the leaders of Israel. They looked at the old clothes. They looked at the moldy bread. They thought, well, yeah, they came from really far away. And so they made the covenant with them.

And then moments later found out, hey, you're like two towns over. You tricked us. Why'd you trick us? So they said, well, because we know God said drive us out. And we don't want to be driven out. We want to preserve our lives. And so we tricked you. But Joshua didn't seek the Lord. He didn't hear from God. He didn't. He thought, well, we have the capacity. Look, I can evaluate this really well. But first, it kind of says they were skeptical. How do we know you're not really our neighbor? Well, look at my shirt.

Look at how old it is. It's got a hole here. See that hole? I mean, there wasn't a hole there when I left. Oh, it's pretty convincing. And look at my shoes. My shoes are all worn out. They weren't worn. Whoa. And now they're thinking, okay, we've got enough information. We've got the capacity. We can understand these things. We can evaluate these things. All right. They're from far away. We'll make a covenant.

And that's the dangerous thing for us is there's those small decisions. There's those little things that we think, hey, I'm perfectly capable of making all those decisions. I just need help with the big ones, God. And God would say to us, no, you know, you lack wisdom more than you know. Ask God for wisdom. I would encourage you, seek to hear from God. And I would also encourage you that as you seek to hear from God, understand that you have greater access to God than

than they did here in the book of Judges and in the book of Joshua. You have greater access to God because of what Christ has done for us upon the cross.

When Jesus died upon the cross and he paid the price for all his sin, he opened the way for you to have direct access to the Father. Now, that might not be in visual, you know, things that you would like. Maybe you would prefer. I don't know if I'd prefer to have an angel visit me. That might be more freaky. But, you know, to have that kind of experience, you might think, well, then I would know for sure. And then that would be great. But don't let those things distract you. You have greater access to God.

because of what Christ has done for you. You have greater access to God because you are able, by faith in Jesus Christ, to commune with our heavenly Father. He's able to speak to you, and you're able to speak to him. You're able not just to be filled with the Spirit. Occasionally, like Gideon, he was filled with the Spirit on this occasion, and he blew the trumpet and gathered the army.

But you're able to be continually filled with the Holy Spirit because as a believer in Jesus Christ, you are clothed in the righteousness of Christ. The Holy Spirit dwells within you and you're able to walk in the Spirit. And I like that illustration because just picture each step in the Spirit, in the Spirit, in the Spirit, in the Spirit. You're able to continually, constantly walk

be walking in the Spirit, be led by the Spirit, be ministered to by the Holy Spirit, you're able to be speaking to God and communing with God and seeking God continually. Paul encourages us in Romans chapter 12 to know the will of God. You have the opportunity, the capacity to know God's will. Now again, I'm not saying you have to know God's will.

that you'll know every detail that you want necessarily, but you'll know the steps that God wants you to take as you ask him for wisdom. His promise, his guarantee is that he will give you wisdom. And so here's Gideon. He's heard from God. There's this massive army in front of him, but he says, if you are going to deliver them by my hand, as you've said, he's heard from God and Gideon is spirit filled. The Holy Spirit came upon Gideon in verse 34, but he's still uncertain. He's still uncertain.

And again, what a great example for us because, well, I don't know about you, but I can relate. Having heard from God, being filled with the Spirit, but still there's this, there's this anxiety. There's this fearfulness. There's this uncertainty. And so Gideon needs clarity. He needs clear direction. And that brings us to point number two in verse 37 and 38, and that is to ask God for confirmation.

Number one, hear from God. But then on top of that, ask God for confirmation that he would confirm, that he would clarify the things that he has already spoken to you. Check out verse 37. He says,

And so Gideon sets forth a little bit of a test. He's saying, Lord, I need some confirmation. I need some clarity. I know you've spoken. I'm still uncertain. I'm still fearful. And so he says, I'm going to take this fleece, this piece of wool, and lay it on the threshold here, or not the threshold, but the threshing floor. And if there's dew on the blanket, but the ground is dry, and

Then I'll know. Now, if you've ever left a blanket out in your lawn, you'll understand why this was a good test. Because normally if you leave something out in your lawn, when you wake up the next morning, it's going to be wet just like all the ground around it is wet, right? Even especially if you let the sprinklers go on, then it'll be wet like all the ground is wet on Tuesdays and Thursdays. But Wednesdays and Fridays when it's just the dew, then you understand that this is a test. This isn't normal. He's asking for a supernatural work of God.

Let the fleece be wet and the ground be dry. Verse 38, and it was so. When he rose early the next morning and squeezed the fleece together, he wrung the dew out of the fleece, a bowl full of water. And so he wakes up the next morning, he walks out to the yard, like, okay, what'd God say? And God said, I have spoken to you, Gideon. The fleece was wet and the ground was dry. I think it's interesting here is how it says it. So he rose early the next morning and squeezed the fleece together.

I just kind of picture Gideon. I mean, imagine, you know, his task of leading a small group of soldiers against this massive army. What do you think he's hoping for when he walks out to the yard? Like, please let everything be wet. No miracle, you know, let me out of it. I don't want to be part of it. But he walks out and maybe touches it a little bit. It's wet.

the crown's dry. Oh, and you know, he's starting to agonize. But, but then he picks up the fleece and he's like squeezing it out. Like, let me just make sure it's wet. I kind of, I kind of just picture him like, in a sense, like relishing, like really God, God spoke to me and he gets a bowl full of water. Like, it's not just like a little bit damp, you know, but, but God said, yes, yes, for sure. Like, let it be known. Yes, guaranteed. But,

There's not just a sprinkle on it and then the ground is dry, but there's a bowl full of water. God answered him and then some. And he just receives that whole answer from the Lord and he wrings it out. He lets it speak to him and encourage his heart like, okay, God really is calling me to this. He didn't just touch it and walk away. Okay, yeah, yeah, it was wet. But he like, he let it be memorable. He let himself kind of take it in and say, oh yes, for sure. Look at this bowl full of water.

God really is calling me to do this. Now, when you look at this account, and if you listen to teachings on it or read different commentaries about it, a lot of times you'll see rebukes against Gideon for asking for this sign.

Because God has already spoken, you know, and so he should just obey. He should just trust. God's already revealed himself to him. And so there's a lot of times where, you know, the teacher will kind of slight Gideon and say, you should never do what Gideon did. But I would ask you to consider, as you look at this text, consider that God never rebukes Gideon for presenting this test before the Lord.

Thomas Constable, the commentator, puts it this way. Gideon's faith needed some added support and God provided this without reproof. He didn't smack him on the hand and say, okay, I'll give it to you, but just want you to know you're a dummy. You shouldn't have to do that. He didn't rebuke him. He wasn't upset at Gideon for this. I would suggest to you that God wanted to give Gideon confirmation. And even further, I would suggest to you this morning that God wants to give you confirmation

Confirmation. Going back to point one, as you hear from God, I believe that many times God wants to add on to that. He wants to give you a bowl full of water to add on to what he's already spoken so that you know that there's certainty, that there's that great confirmation and clarity that you are doing what God wants you to do. Think about it this way, and I'm not going to get into all the details of these things, but God spoke to Gideon many ways in

this whole process for just this one event of leading the small army against the big army. In Judges chapter 6 and verse 12, we see number one, God spoke to Gideon by an angel appearing to him. Now it tells us it's the angel of the Lord and so it might not just be an angel, but it could be that Jesus himself

appears to Gideon because many times the angel of the Lord is a reference to an appearance of the Lord. And so this could be Jesus, but whether it's Jesus or an angel, still, it's either way an amazing thing. An angel appears to Gideon and says, hey, the Lord's with you and I'm going to use you to deliver Israel. Well, then Gideon asked for a sign earlier than what we're looking at here with the fleece. He says, let me ask this sign of you to the angel.

And here's the sign. Will you stick around for a few minutes? I'm going to go prepare an offering for the Lord and then bring it back. And so if I come back and you're still here, then I'll take it as a sign. I'll know that you really are from the Lord and that this really is something that God wants. And so the angel said, okay, yeah, I'll stick around. So Gideon went. He brought back the offering after he made the preparations. The angel was still there. And so the sign was confirmed. The sign was fulfilled. This really was from God. But then Gideon,

The angel gave him another sign because the angel touched his staff to the rock. And then as he touched his staff to the rock, fire came out of the rock and consumed the offering. And so number one, he had an angel appear to him and give him the message. Number two, he asked for a sign that the angel would stick around for a little bit. The angel confirmed that and fulfilled that. Number three, the angel added on to that and said, all right, fire from the rock. Like,

Let's do a miracle right in front of Gideon's eyes so he can know this really is what God says. Now here in these verses, verse 37 and 38, we see number four, the wet fleece and the dry ground. In the next couple of verses, we'll see number five, the dry fleece and the wet ground. So already five times, there's been these clear things from God like,

This is really what I have for you. This is confirmation. This is what I have instructed you to do. But then in Judges chapter seven, he gives him another one. And this one, God just volunteers to Gideon. He doesn't, it's not something that Gideon asks for, but God says, hey, you want further confirmation? You want some more encouragement that you're doing what I've called you to do? All right. In Judges chapter seven, he says, all right, go down, sneak down into the enemy's camp and you're gonna hear something encouraging.

And so Gideon goes down and he hears one soldier of the enemy talking to another soldier. They're talking about a dream. I had this dream and there was this bale of barley and then the other soldier interprets the dream and says, oh, that's because God's delivered the Midianites into Gideon's hand and that's the picture of that. And so God speaks to Gideon and says, hey, go down. I wanna give you some more confirmation. And he goes down, he hears this dream and he's encouraged Gideon

There's confirmation upon confirmation. There's clarity upon clarity. He is doing what God has called him to do. In the same way, I would encourage you that God wants to give you confirmation. He wants to speak to you. He wants to add on some clarity to the things that you're wrestling with, the things that you're struggling with. I would encourage you to ask God for that. We could also look at the example of Jonathan in 1 Samuel chapter 14.

In 1 Samuel chapter 14, the Philistines, another enemy, have camped against Israel, but Israel's afraid to go to battle against them. And Jonathan, the king's son, he wakes up one day and he tells his armor bearer, you know, God's big and he could save with a big army or just with a couple people if he wanted to. I wonder if God wants to work. I wonder if God wants to do something. And so he tells his armor bearer, hey, let's go over to their camp and

We'll just reveal ourselves to them. And if they say this, and he sets forth the phrase, okay, if they say it this way, then we know God's called us to battle and we're going to have victory. If they say something different, well, then we know, okay, okay, you know, that's not really of God. We're not going to rush into battle with just the two of us. That would not be that smart. And so they go and they reveal themselves and the Philistines give them the phrase and they say, hey, God is calling us to this.

And so they go to battle and they have victory just as they felt that God was calling them to. Another example, a few chapters later in 1 Samuel chapter 23, we have David before he's king, he's leading a group of men that they're disgruntled. You know, they're not an army yet, but they're developing. But the Philistines come against one of the cities in the area. And David asked the Lord, hey, should we go?

defend the city? Should we go fight against the Philistines? And God says, yeah, you should go. I'm going to give you victory. And so David goes back and tells his men, hey guys, God wants us to go against the Philistines. We're going to defend the city and deliver it from them. And the guys of David say, look around and say like, with who? I mean, you and what army? There's just a few of us. There's a lot of them. And we're not going to be able to be victorious against them. We can't, we're fearful. We can't go against them.

And so it tells us in 1 Samuel 23, 4, then David inquired of the Lord once again, and God said, go, I will deliver the Philistines into your hand. He inquired once again. Ask God for confirmation. Ask God, give him an opportunity to confirm, to bring clarity. Like sometimes we describe it as testing the waters. You know, just kind of put your foot in like, Lord, is this what you want?

I want to go forward. I want to be obedient to you. Is this what you want? And give him an opportunity to bring that confirmation. It's okay to go back to God and say, God, you know, I sought counsel. I asked Pastor George about this. He's the counselor for the whole church. And he said, we're too weak. We can't win this battle. You sure you want me to go, Lord? It's okay to go back to God. It's okay to continue to ask him, to continue to seek him. We see it time after time. I'm just giving you a couple examples here.

But let it be sufficient for you to understand that God wants to give you clear direction and it's okay. And maybe you've been, you know, a little bit nervous about asking God for confirmation because, you know, well, you've heard of those rebukes against Gideon. Like, well, yeah, you should never do that. God said, how many times does God say it before you have, you know, how many times does God have to say it before you obey it? You know, it's like, well, we know it should only be one time. But, you know, God understands that.

that you are frail. He understands your weakness. He understands the uncertainty. He understands the fear. He understands the anxiety. He understands those things.

It's okay. Ask God. Seek God for confirmation. Now, all that being said, bring us now to point number three. Ask God with humility. In verse 39 and 40, I'll emphasize that. Check out verse 39. It says, then Gideon said to God, do not be angry with me, but let me speak just once more. Let me test, I pray, just once more with the fleece. Let it now be dry only on the fleece, but on the ground, let there be dew.

And God did so that night. It was dry on the fleece only, but there was dew on the ground. Here Gideon asks for the opposite test. This time let the fleece be dry and let the ground be covered in dew. And again, just throw a blanket out in your front yard and you'll see how, you know, this could be great confirmation for Gideon as God works a miracle of having one dry and the other wet.

But what I'd ask you to pay attention to in this is Gideon's heart. Gideon's attitude is clearly revealed in here. He says, do not be angry with me. In a sense, Gideon's saying, you know, God, I know I'm kind of testing the limits here. I may be asking for too much, but Lord, would you please bear with me once more? And notice he says that. He says, let me speak just once more.

He says, let me test, I pray, just once more. You can see that he's recognizing, I might be asking too much here, God. I'm not trying to dictate to you what you should do. I'm just, I'm still wrestling with this. I'm still really afraid of what's about to happen. I know I should just obey, but I really need to know if it's just you. And that's the right heart to have as we ask God for confirmation.

It's the right heart to have as we approach God that we have the heart of, I want to obey and I'm trying to obey, but kind of like the father said to Jesus when he said, I believe, help my unbelief, right? I believe and I want to obey and I want to go forward, but I also struggle and acknowledging that struggle is not wrong.

So please don't be angry with me. Just once more, can you please just bring some extra confirmation? He has humility as he approaches God. And that's good. That's the right way to approach God and ask God for confirmation. There are wrong ways to ask God for confirmation. It would be wrong to demand that God give you a sign. God, you have to give me a sign. You want me to do that? Well, you must do this.

And we then take the attitude of, I will do that if you do this. I will obey if you will obey. You know, you do what I want and then I'll do what you want. Understand, first of all, God does not have to give you a sign. He's not obligated to give you a sign. Going back to point number one, hear from God. Ask God for wisdom and he will give you wisdom and he will speak to you. Hear from God. And once you've heard from God, he's fulfilled his obligation.

He doesn't have to give you a sign. He doesn't have to give you confirmation. But many times God will when we ask. But our heart needs to be right. It needs to be with humility and not some demand, not some ultimatum. God, you must do this before I will obey you. You jump through my hoops.

And then I'll do what you've asked me to do. Or we come to God with the approach, you know, hey, if you really love me, God, then you'll pay this bill by Tuesday. And then I'll think about doing what you want me to do. Well, maybe God wants to pay the bill on Wednesday. He's able to do that. We can't make demands or put these ultimatums before God, this ultimate test. Listen, God already proved that he really does love you at the cross, right?

once and for all. He died on the cross for your sin and gave you the opportunity for everlasting life and forgiveness. And if you're asking for more than that, your heart is wrong. If you're demanding more than that, your heart is wrong. But if you ask with humility and say, God, I know you love me. I know you've spoken to me and please forgive me. I still, I'm still struggling with this obedience to what you've called me to do. Lord, would you help me? Would you bring confirmation? Would

And so to approach God with a demand for a sign, that's the wrong way to ask for confirmation. Also, it would be wrong to ask for confirmation as an excuse for unbelief. In Luke chapter 1, we see the account of Zacharias, who was an old man. He was a priest, and an angel of God appeared to him and said, hey, you're going to have a child. You're going to have a son. And he says, what? I'm old? My wife's old?

How will I know that this is really going to happen? What sign can you give me? And so the angel tells him in Luke 1 20, he says, you will be mute and not able to speak until the day these things take place. But then he clarifies it a little bit. He says, because you did not believe my words, because you didn't believe, you're going to be mute. He gets the sign, but it's kind of a punishment sign. It's not the kind of sign that you want. But the angel says, it's because you did not believe.

Perhaps it's a subtle difference in many cases, but there is a difference in our hearts. When we're asking for God a sign so that we can obey, or when we're asking for a sign so that we don't have to obey. So Lord, if you really want me to go witness to my neighbor, don't let the sun come up tomorrow morning. You're just looking for an excuse not to do what you know God's calling you to do. There's a difference in your heart.

Whether you're trying to obey God and you just need some extra help or whether you're looking for any way out and okay, well, that didn't happen. Okay, well, they didn't have the kind of ice cream I wanted. So I can't do what God told me to do because they didn't have Rocky Road or whatever. Jesus says in Matthew chapter 12 that a wicked generation seeks a sign.

We need to be careful because sometimes the thirst for a sign from us, from God, can be as a result of unbelief in our hearts. And so again, that's why we need to ask God with humility to check our heart, to have the right heart in seeking God for a sign that our heart is inclined to obey God and we're just looking for God to help us in that.

I would suggest the way to do that best, to ask God for confirmation and have that humility and make sure that you have that right heart is ask God for confirmation and let God choose how he confirms it. So don't try to just, okay, well, here's what Gideon did. He threw a blanket out on the lawn. So I'm gonna use that for everything now. Okay, Lord, do you want me to go to this church? Throw the blanket on the lawn. All right, he wants me to go to that church. You know, don't...

Don't think that that is the formula. I would suggest just ask God for confirmation and give God the freedom to bring that confirmation however he wants. He's fully capable. He spoke to you already and he could speak to you again and he will. Now, I'm not saying it's absolutely wrong to, you know, set out some

criteria, you know, okay, like Jonathan did, right? If they say this thing, then I know you've called me to do it. But we got to be careful. We got to be careful that it's not an excuse just to disobey, to not do what God's called us to do. If you're still fearful, you're still struggling after God's spoken to you, ask God for clarity. Ask Him with humility, and I would encourage you to let God choose how He brings that confirmation.

Well, finally, point number four, we're going to push on now into Judges chapter seven, verse one. Point number four is to obey God. Check out verse four, or verse one of chapter seven. Then Jerubabbel, that is Gideon, and all the people who are with him rose early and encamped beside the wall of Herod so that the camp of the Midianites was on the north side of them by the hill of Morah in the valley.

Now I look at this verse only to point out that Gideon then obeyed God. He heard from God. He got multiple confirmations from God. And so now he obeys. He goes forward. He moves the camp. And now they camp opposite of them. They're getting ready for this battle. Here are the Midianites, this innumerable army, like locusts covering the hillsides.

In spite of that, Gideon has heard from God and so he goes forward. He's trusting God. He's obedient. When you know what God has spoken, it's very important that you do what he says. You hear from God, you ask him for confirmation, he brings the confirmation, then make sure that you do what he says. What if it sounds crazy? The instruction that God gave me, the things that he's calling me to do.

I don't know. It doesn't sound really normal. It sounds pretty crazy. The things he's asked me to do, it's kind of impossible odds. I mean, this isn't going to go very well. This isn't going to work out amazingly. Is that for me? I'll answer it. Pastor George is seeking counsel. When you know that God has spoken, do what he says. Even when it's something that you're not particularly fond of. And I would ask you to consider the example of Jonah. Jonah heard from God.

And he knew he heard from God. He knew that God had spoken to him, but he did not want to do what God had asked him to do. And so he ran the other way. Now, God still gave him a sign. You know what the sign was? He prepared a great big fish that swallowed him up. And he spent three days in the belly of that fish wrestling with God. It's not the way that you want to go. When you know that God has spoken to you,

Don't run the opposite direction. Again, there might be that subtle difference, but it is a difference in your heart where you're seeking God for confirmation so that you can obey, not looking for an excuse to disobey. It's okay to be scared. It's okay to be uncomfortable. In fact, it's absolutely normal to be uncomfortable and freaked out about the things that God calls you to do and speaks to you about.

But the example of Gideon is good because Gideon continued to move forward while he was seeking God. He heard from God, right? There is the angel appeared to him. Then he blew the trumpet and gathered the army. And so while he's making preparations to go against the army as God called him to, well, he's still seeking God for confirmation and he lays the fleece before the Lord. And so he's going forward in obedience. He's working on the obedience while he's seeking confirmation.

because his heart's inclined to obey. He wants to obey God. He wants to fulfill God's will. That's the heart that we need to have. So don't necessarily just, you know, sit there and do nothing until God brings the confirmation. Start to obey. But at the same time, you can ask God, Lord, give me confirmation. Would you please confirm? Would you please bring clarity? Help me to know that I'm on the right track, that I'm really doing what you've called me to do. As opposed to Jonah, who's running the other way. That's not the kind of sign that you want.

That's not the way that you want God to deal with you. Obey God as he speaks to you. I'd like to encourage you with two last things. Number one, if you feel like, you know, I'm not really hearing from God. I once did, you know, in the past there was those times. It's often been said, and I think many of us have found it to be true. Sometimes when we're not hearing from God, it's because God's waiting for us to do the last thing he told us. And so if you feel like, you know, God's not really speaking to me, I'm asking for wisdom, but

I'm not really hearing anything from the Lord. He's not showing me anything. Think about the last thing that God spoke to you. And maybe there's been some disobedience there that God wants to bring to your attention. He wants you to go back and do that thing. And then you'll find that God gives you the instruction that you need for the next things. So if you're not hearing from God, go back to that last thing he told you to do and be obedient in that. Secondly, I would encourage you this.

You hear from God, you get confirmation, you obey. So don't quit what God has told you to do unless God tells you to quit. When God tells you to do something, he sets you on the course. Don't get off the course unless God says so. He's the one who puts you there. He's the one who called you to that. So don't quit.

I mean, you can be discouraged by the situation. You can be discouraged or freaked out or all kinds of scenarios can pop up and you can think, well, I guess I'm just gonna quit because of all these things. But I would say in the same way that God spoke to you to start doing that, you should wait for God to speak to you at that same level to quit doing that because God's the one who puts you there. And so don't quit what God has called you to do unless God tells you to quit. God doesn't always give us

clear direction exactly the way that we want. Sometimes he just gives us information about who he is. He teaches us about his nature and character and he says, okay, make decisions based on that. But many times, God wants to give you clear direction. Many times, God wants to speak to you about the decisions that you need to make.

And he doesn't just want to speak to you, but then he wants to add on to that confirmation and confirmation and confirmation so that you can rest and go forward in faith knowing that you are exactly where God wants you to be. So hear from God, ask him for confirmation and obey him as he speaks to you. Let's pray. God, I pray for each of our hearts here. Lord, that you would help us not to be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.

Lord, not to be looking for excuses to not believe or to run away, but Lord, I pray that you would help us to turn our attention to you. Lord, you've already demonstrated your great love towards us. You've already demonstrated that you have our best interests in mind, Lord, and that you know what's best for us. And so God, I pray that you would help us

not to rely upon our own wisdom, not to rely solely upon the wisdom of those around us, but Lord, help us to also look to you and to seek to hear from you. Lord, that you would speak to our hearts, that you would give the direction, Lord, that you would be Lord in our lives and in our hearts. Help us, God, to give you that opportunity to speak to us. And Lord, if there is any

who have been wrestling over decisions or there's things they need to hear from you or perhaps they've heard from you and are wrestling with whether or not that's really from you, God, I pray that you would bring clarity, that you would bring clear direction to them. And as they hear from you, God, I pray that you would also bring confirmation on top of that, Lord, that you would speak to them again and again as they seek to obey you, as they seek to walk with you and glorify your name.

And so God, I pray that you would do that work in us. Lord, that we might be your representatives to the world around us as we do what you've called us to do. In Jesus' name we pray, amen.