Minister: Marv Vose

 Judges 6: 11-16

            I grew up in Iowa and we know how to grow tomatoes in Iowa-big, red, juicy ripe tomatoes.  But Colorado is another story.  It is really hard to grow tomatoes here.  I finally gave up after my plants got hailed out for the third time in one summer.  That was just too much.  But I have new hope!  I have the latest, newest way to grow tomatoes.  Here it is!  You see, you put the dirt in this bag and you plant the tomato upside down and let it grow down.  Then you water it from the top!  Doesn't that look fantastic!  I am confident I'm going to have vine-ripened tomatoes this summer!  I have hope. 
            I mention that, because most of us have something like that.  It is a hope or a dream.  It may be farfetched.  It could be big.  It could be little.  It probably won't happen, but it is still out there and it still calls us.  Isn't that right?  Don't you have something like that?  It may have been shelved years ago.  You may not have thought about it for a while.  It may be kind of vague, but it is still there.
            Gideon certainly had aspirations.  They weren't very significant.  He just wanted to eat!  How's that for covering the essentials.  But the Midianites kept raiding the farms and stealing the grain and the produce and that was all they had to eat.  He was sifting the wheat from the chaff in a stone wine press.  The wine press would have been cut into rock, so it was recessed and would hide Gideon and the dust from the wheat.  He was hiding from the Midianites! That was his dream.  That was his aspiration.  He wanted to be able to eat.
            Bruce Wilkinson has written a number of books.  Maybe the best known is his book entitled The Prayer of Jabez.  I know a number of you have read that book.  He has a new one out entitled The Dream Giver and, quite frankly, I think it is his best book.  In it he tells a story of going to lunch with a Hollywood producer.  He was trying to convince the producer that everyone has a Big Dream, and that most people, for one reason or another, just weren't pursuing their dreams.
            The producer wasn't buying it.  He said that there were only a few people who were born dreamers and just because Bruce happened to be one of them, didn't mean everyone was.
            Bruce was unable to prove his point, so he decided to take a chance.  When their waitress Sonja came to take their order, Bruce's heart was pounding, but he asker her, "Are you doing what you've always wished you could be doing?"
            She looked at his and asked, "What do you mean?"
            He said, "Well, maybe you are doing your dream, and that would be terrific.  But I wonder, do you have a Big Dream inside of your heart that hasn't come true yet?"
            Sonja thought for a moment.  And then she said, "My mother is a nurse.  My sister is a nurse.  And I always dreamed of becoming a nurse."
            Bruce asked, "Would you have been a good nurse?"
            Now Sonja is getting emotional and she says, "I would have been a really good nurse."
            Bruce took one more risk.  He asked, "Do you happen to believe that God wants you to be a nurse?"
            She looked away for a minute and then said, "I think so."
Bruce was well on his way to convincing the producer that everyone has a kind of big dream.  What about you?  Do you have one of those dreams?
            Most of us still have those dreams, because something got in the way and it never happened.  There were obstacles that seemed insurmountable and the dream just kind of faded away. 
            Gideon certainly couldn't see any way for his dream to come to pass.  Life was risky in those days.  The Israelites were a kind of loose confederation of tribes and the Midianites were too much for them.  There were too many of them and so they just tried to hide out and hope the Midianites didn't discover their crop storage.  God wasn't doing anything to help them and Gideon certainly couldn't do anything about it.  His tribe was the smallest of all and in his tribe, he was the least.  There simply weren't any solutions.  Best just to lay low and hope they didn't find you.
            It was the same way with Sonja.  You remember Sonja?  She was the waitress in the restaurant and Bruce Wilkinson was talking to her.  Bruce asked her, "If God wants you to be a nurse, then there must be a way for you to be one.  What has stopped you?  Sonja listed all of the reasons.  Her education had been cut short by marriage.  Then there were two children and the demands of raising a family.  And with real sadness in her voice, she said, "Now it's impossible.  It's too late."
            I can identify with that waitress.  I can identify with Gideon.  Can you?  Many of us can resonate with that.  I was born the last son of a poor family in a little, out-of-the-way place.  We seldom had money and then when I was about 11, my parents divorced and my Dad took off.  In those days, in our little town, divorce was just about the worst thing that could happen to anyone.  And like most kids, I blamed myself.  I understand Gideon.  I understand that waitress.
            And there are times when I still feel like Gideon-the least and the last.  I got a letter this week from Rev. Adam Hamilton.  That name probably won't mean much to you, but he serves the largest United Methodist Church in America.  He was writing because Sunrise is one of the hundred largest churches in Methodist and he wants to get together those 100 churches to see if there is some way that we can provide leadership for the entire denomination.  And I have to confess, that the letter took me by surprise.  I wanted to say, "Why write to us?"  It was that old Gideon coming out.  I'm the least and the last. 
            Gideon couldn't believe that God was calling him to lead an Army against the Midianites.  When the Angel came to Gideon hiding in the winepress, he said something like, "Yo! Mighty Warrior!"  And Gideon is looking all around, trying to figure out where the mighty warrior is.  And he can't lead an army!  He is the least and the last.
            I would hate to guess how many times I have said the same thing to God.  I can't do that!
And then Gideon wanted a sign to prove to himself that God was serious, so he laid out fleeces to see if God would make the call clear.  And I have done the same thing.  God you can't be serious.  Would you make it really clear for me?
            It was such a struggle!  And as I struggled, I realized something really important.  I couldn't do it.  You can't do it.  We can't even do it together.  But we don't have to.  You see, if we could do it alone, God wouldn't get the glory!  That is the message of Gideon.  Why do you suppose God chose you?  To make sure God gets the glory!  That's why the apostle Paul had the thorn in his flesh.  Here was Paul the gifted healer and he couldn't even heal himself.  And why?  It says it in II Corinthians 12:9.  God says, "My grace is all you need, for my power is greatest when you are weak."    
          You see, Gideon had this incredible secret weapon that he didn't know about, but he had to recognize his limitations before he would start looking for it and use it!  And the secret power is right there is verse 16.  God says, "I will be with you."  I will be with you. 
            Well, Gideon is not convinced.  He wants proof.  That is when he starts asking God to prove it and uses the fleeces as a way of direction. 
            And quite frankly Gideon has a pretty negative attitude.  He can't do something like that. He is the least and the last.  How could God even ask?  And besides, God hasn't been doing anything to help them out. God has been sitting on the sideline.  Why should he believe that God would do anything now?  The world is a mess and God has let it happen.  It's right there is verse 13.  "But sir, if the Lord is with us, why then has all this happened to us?  And where are all his wonderful deeds that our ancestors recounted to us, saying, 'Did not the Lord bring us up from Egypt?'  But now the Lord has cast us off, and given us into the hand of Midian."
            A pastor was getting his haircut and the barber was trying to have a theological discussion.  The barber wasn't a believer and he started to list all of the ills of the world and when he had done that, he said to the pastor," Now with a world in that kind of mess, do you expect me to believe there is a good and loving God?  Why doesn't God do something about all of those problems."  At just that moment a man walked past the barbershop who was sadly in need of a haircut.  The pastor said, "Does that man prove there are no barbers in the world or does it simply say the barbers need to get to work?" 
            That's what the angel said to Gideon.  You are right.  The Midianites are a problem!  And God has come up with a solution.  You are the solution!  God is with you.
            Now let's spend a minute on describing what God's presence looked like in Gideon's life, because you may want to start looking for these things. 
            First of all, God made sure that the situation would clearly reveal the glory of God.  There would be no doubt in anyone's mind about who made this happen.  Gideon was not just a great, but undiscovered leader.  He was the least and the last, but God could use even him.
            And so once Gideon got to the point where he was brave enough to raise an army, he raised 32,000 soldiers.  That's a lot of soldiers!  In fact, God said it was too many.  Send the ones who are afraid home.  Well, 22000 went home.  God said, you still have too many soldiers and they were cut down to 300!  There was to be no doubt about who won the fight!  It was God. 
            But here is the biggie.  This one gets missed by lots of people.  God's presence took the shape of one incredible idea.  God told Gideon to take those 300 soldiers and give them trumpets and put an oil lamp inside a clay jar.  And then in the middle of the night those soldiers were to go to the Midianites, sound their trumpets, break the clay jars so that the night sky would be surrounded by light!  And they did it.  It was so unconventional that the Midianites woke up in terror and began to fight their own troops and then ran away!
            It was psychological warfare at its best!  Who would have expected something so unconventional? 
            One good idea.  Remember the waitress?  The one who had dreamed of being a nurse?  Bruce asked her, "What would have to happen for you to become a nurse?"
            She said, "We don't have enough money.  I can't afford a babysitter, so I can't go to school."
            "So," Bruce says, "If you had a babysitter, you would go to school?"  She said, "Yes," without any hesitation.  So Bruce took another risk.  He said, "Sonja, I believe there's somebody in your life who cares about you and would baby-sit your children for free.  Who is that person?"
            Sonja thought for a moment, then her face lit up.  'It's my mother!  She just retired two months ago!  She loves her grandchildren.  And she's always wanted me to have my dream.  She'd baby-sit my kids for free if I just asked her!"  And as she spoke her eyes started to fill with tears of joy. And without even taking their order, she sat down next to a friend at another table and announced she was going back to school.  She said, "I'm going to be a nurse!"
            What about you?  Do you have something you shelved a long time ago because it was just impossible?  Was it from God?  Does it still call you?  But here's the most important question.  Are you just one good idea away from fulfilling it? 

Making the Maximum from the Minimum!
Judges 6: 11-16

Introduction:  Tomato planter.   

I.  Most of us have some kind of hope or dream or aspiration.
            A.  Gideon had aspirations.  Just wanted to be able to eat!
            B.  Bruce Wilkinson book The Dream Giver.
                        1.  Lunch with a Hollywood producer.  Sonja the waitress.       
           
II.  Something got in the way and it never happened.   It always looks impossible at the beginning.
            A.  Gideon couldn't see a way for his dreams to be realized.
                        1.  Least and last
                        2.  God wasn't helping
            B.  Same way with Sonja.  Early marriage. Kids. No education. Too late.
            C.  I identify with Sonja and Gideon.
                        1.  I was the last and the least.
                        2.  Letter from Adam Hamilton.  Felt like Gideon. 
                                    a.  Gideon said he couldn't do and I've said same thing.
                                    b.  Gideon wanted a sign and I've done the same thing. 
            3.  As I struggled, I realized that I can't do it.  Those are the folks God chooses.  Then God gets the glory.
                        4.  Recurring Theme in scripture. Paul. Thorn. "My grace is all you need, for my power is greatest when you are weak."    

III.  Gideon had an incredible secret weapon.  God is with us!
            A.  Gideon had a really negative outlook. 
1.  Gideon couldn't. 
            a. He had all kinds of reasons why he couldn't solve the problem.
2.  God wasn't doing anything.  Read verse 13. 
a.  God says, "That's why I have you!"
                                    b.  Joke about barber.  Prove there aren't any barbers? 
            B.  What did God's presence look like to Gideon?
                        1.  Make no mistake that this was God's work
                                    a.  He was the least and last.  That's why he got chosen.
                                    b.  Whittled down the numbers from 32,000 to 300.
                        2.  Here's the Biggie!  God's presence took the shape of an idea.
a.  It only took one good idea for Gideon to win the battle with preposterous odds! 
b.  Night-time raid.  Psychological warfare.
            C.  Remember the waitress?  "What would have to happen..."

Close-What if you are just one good idea away from fulfilling your hopes, making your dream come true?         

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