Merritt Opening Song: Power in the Blood #294 Title: God of the Weak
Scripture: 2 Corinthians 12:10, For the sake of Christ, then I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
A bus driver saw a big man enter his bus. Six feet four, built like a wrestler, huge arms, he glared at the driver and said, "Pullman doesn't pay!" and sat down at the back. Conductor didn't argue with Pullman, but he wasn`t happy about it. The next day the same thing happened! Pullman got on again, made a show of refusing to pay, and sat down. And the next day, and the next. This grated on the bus driver, who started losing sleep over the way Pullman was taking advantage of him. Finally he could stand it no longer. The bus driver took body building courses, karate, judo, and all that strong stuff. End of summer, he felt really good about himself. So when Pullman got on the bus and said, "Pullman doesn't pay!" the driver stood up, glared at Pullman demanding, "And why not?" With surprise on his face, Pullman replied, "Pullman has bus pass."
Israelite people were fearful, hiding in mountain clefts and caves. Enemies would raid their land and destroy crops. Gideon is threshing wheat inside a winepress to hide it from Midianites. Angel appears and Gideon asks, “If the Lord is with us, why has all this happened to us? Where’s miracles our fathers told how the Lord brought us out of Egypt? God has forsaken us into the hand of Midian.” When we’re at our low point, we ask God, “If You’re with us, why let this happen to me?” We feel pressure pushing down on us.
God tells Gideon, “Go in this your might. Go in the strength you have.” Gideon feels like a weakling, not a warrior. “How can I deliver Israel? In tribe of Manasseh my family is bottom of the barrel. And in weakest family of the whole tribe, I’m the youngest.” Do you feel like you have nothing to offer God? But God told Gideon, “I am with you.” Before saving the whole nation, God has a priority for young Gideon, “Put your family’s house in order.” Gideon took ten menservants and did what God said, but because he was too afraid of his father and men of the city to do it by day, he did it by night. He secretly cuts down the idol altar under cover of darkness. Even though Gideon was scared, he does as God says. Don’t let your fear prevent you from following God.
SONG: ON EAGLE’S WINGS
Gideon's an ordinary man, from an ordinary family and an ordinary tribe, though this is not an ordinary fight. Judges 6: 34, But the Spirit of the Lord clothed Gideon with Himself and took possession of him. God’s Spirit came on Gideon, though the young man felt so weak. Gideon sent for volunteers: 32,000 men enlisted. Midian had 135,000 soldiers: Gideon's odds were less than 4 to 1. God makes the weak Israel army even weaker. Why does God allow such odds? The human heart loves to claim credit for victory. God tells Gideon to send away men who are scared to fight and 22,000 men said, “Thanks, I’m out of here!” God tested them by how they drank water; 300 were left. Now odds were 450 to 1. Can you walk by sight with those odds?
In God’s loving kindness He tells Gideon, “If you’re afraid, go to the enemy camp and listen.” Judges 7: 13-14, When Gideon arrived at Midianites camp, behold, a man was telling a dream to his comrade, “Behold, I dreamed a dream, and behold, a cake of barley bread tumbled into the camp of Midian and came to the tent and struck it so that it fell, and turned it upside down so that the tent lay flat.” His comrade replied, “This is nothing else but the sword of Gideon son of Joash, a man of Israel. Into his hand God has given Midian and all the host.” Now to hear himself described as a barley cake did not bother Gideon. It matters not how people describe us.
Gideon worshiped God and told his little army, “God has given Midian into your hand.” A promise from God is the real thing. Each man took a clay pitcher with a torch inside and a trumpet. What kind of weapons are these?! To God, natural circumstances don’t come into it. 300 men won! You and I are just a clay jar, fragile and easily broken. God places His power in jars of clay, fragile humans. Just as Gideon's army broke their jars to expose light, times of weakness reveal Jesus’ power. Apostle Paul said when he was hard pressed, perplexed and persecuted, that Jesus was revealed in him.
When Moses was adopted son of Pharaoh’s daughter, he thought all his education and strength could deliver Israel. Raised in a great palace with top authority and famous relationships. We think God needs such people. They strive in the flesh and do not bring glory to God. Young Moses fled after he killed an Egyptian. When Moses is an old man, then God calls him. Now Moses feels he’s a terrible choice to lead Israel and starts making excuses. Moses thinks he knows himself more than God. Is that pride or is it humility to say, “God, you don’t know who you’re asking”? Do we doubt God’s ability to use us and write it off as humility? Do we trust our own reality more than God’s? Low self esteem is not humility.
God told Moses to take off his shoes because the dirt was now holy. God can make dirt holy just by being on it. If He can make DIRT holy, can God make you holy by dwelling in you? One day scientists decided man came a long way and no longer needed God. "Sir, we decided we no longer need You. We can clone people!" God listened very patiently then said, "Very well, how about this? Let’s do a man-making contest." To which scientists replied, "OK, great!"
But God added, "Now, we're going to do this just like I did back in the old days with Adam." A scientist bent down to grab a handful of dirt. God looked at him and said, "No, no, no. You go make your own dirt!"
We have a view of history, reality and time focused on us. But we need to see God’s perspective. When Moses thought he was great, he forgot he is dust. He spent first 80 years wallowing in his own life. Exodus 4:6, The LORD said, "Put your hand inside your cloak." So Moses did and when he took it out, it was leprous like snow. God was saying, “Your old nature from Egypt is leprous. In yourself, you have nothing. The leprosy of ego, competition, self motivation, human strength. But in God, old flesh is gone and your service is purified.”
When Moses felt he was a zero, with the last scraps of his reputation gone, a has-been, he found revelation. Moses used to be a proud Egyptian prince in prime of life. Now he’s the opposite. He argued he wasn’t a good speaker so God replied, “Who has made man’s mouth?” When you feel you’re too weak to be used by God, remember Who MADE you.
SONG: ALL I EVER HAVE TO BE
Who split a lion with his bare hands? Who killed 1000 enemies using a donkey’s jawbone? What weightlifter carried 1000 pounds of city gate 38 miles up a mountain? Samson was strongest man in the world. He used his God-given strength for his own purposes, not for God’s glory. With so much potential, good looks, talent, supernatural ability, his life was one disaster after another. Mom and Dad were heart broken, his wife given to another man, his nation humiliated. God’s name damaged in eyes of the heathen. In his own strength, how did Samson end up? Eyes gouged out, bound in chains, harnessed like an animal, imprisoned by enemies. Instead of delivering God’s people, Samson delivered himself to the enemy. Who would have believed this could happen to the man who had everything going for him?
After a LONG sermon, a man said, "Pastor, that sermon reminded me of the peace and love of God!" The pastor was ecstatic. "Tell me, how did it remind you of the peace and love of God?"
"Well," he said, "it reminded me of peace cause it passed ALL understanding and it reminded me of God’s love cause it went on… forever!"
By loss of his sight, Samson’s eyes of understanding opened. Broken, blind, imprisoned, with all strength gone, he finally prayed. He asked the young servant leading him by hand to take him to pillars that held up the temple. How weak he now was that Samson had to be led by a boy. Samson cried out to God in his time of great weakness. Samson’s motives were still selfish, “Let me get revenge on the Philistines for my two eyes. Let me die with the Philistines." And the temple crashed down on all the people. So he killed more enemies when he died than during his life.
When we sense our helplessness, then God is our strength. If we think we can handle life on our own, God may withdraw other options until we know we can’t make it through a day without Him. If we’re realistic, we won’t even try to do it on our own like Samson did.
Linda was traveling solo the rugged highway from Alberta to Yukon. She didn’t know you don’t travel to Whitehorse alone in a rundown Honda Civic, so she set off where only four-wheel drives go. The first evening she found a room near a mountain summit and asked for a 5 A.M. wake-up call; the clerk looked surprised at her request. As Linda woke to foggy mountains, she understood. Not wanting to look foolish, she went to breakfast. Two truckers invited Linda to join them, and since the place was so small, she felt obliged. “Where you headed?” a trucker asked.
“Whitehorse.”
“In that little Civic? No way! This pass is DANGEROUS.”
“Well, I’m determined to try,” was Linda’s gutsy, if not very smart response.
“Then I guess we’re just going to have to hug you,” the trucker said.
Linda drew back, “There’s no way I’m going to let you touch me!”
“Not like THAT!” the truckers chuckled. “We’ll put one truck in front of you and one in the rear. In that way, we’ll get you through the mountains.” All that foggy morning Linda followed two red lights in front of her with a big rig behind as they made their way safely through the mountains. Caught in the fog in our dangerous passage through life, we need to be “hugged.”
There’s days we can’t face another day from despair of life. Somehow God comes and He gives us energy. On days I feel I can’t handle uncertainty and unknown, somehow God comes and we handle it together. Days when life is hard and desire to continue fades, God sends relief and reason to live. Days we wonder if life is in vain; God sends something or someone to assure us nothing is in vain. Times when words do not come or sound foolish and empty, but somehow God takes these words and uses them. Most days I am weak, but somehow God makes me strong.
Why are so many people divorced, depressed, messed up, full of pain, needy, hurting? Weaknesses are with us for the whole journey. Not when I am cured, not when I am successful, not when I am good, but when I am WEAK, then I am strong in the Lord. Can any say, “I’m grateful for what Jesus did then, but I need Him less now and I’m doing great”? Prodigal son returning before the Father was not a good, victorious Christian, but broken, a failure, not even good at being honest. Why do we think we are better than that boy? Why do we think the prodigal is a successful speaker, writes books, does revivals, does great things for God? It is not about growing stronger, but knowing we are weak. Facing our failure, inadequacy, weakness, and need leads us to Jesus, our ONLY strength.
Robert Reed’s hands are twisted; his feet don’t work. He can’t bathe himself, feed himself, brush his teeth, comb his hair, or put on his underwear. Strips of Velcro hold his shirts. His speech drags. Robert has cerebral palsy. Disease keeps him from driving a car, riding a bike, going for a walk. But it didn’t keep him from graduating Christian University with a degree in Latin, from teaching college, going overseas on five mission trips, then a missionary to Portugal. He moved to Lisbon alone, studied Portuguese, found a restaurant owner who spoon-fed him after rush hours; he distributed brochures about Jesus. In 6 years he led 70 people to God; one became his wife Rosa. Men carry his wheelchair to the church platform, lay a Bible in his lap, his stiff fingers open pages, and the audience wipes their tears. His shirts hold together by Velcro, but his life is held together by God.
Next time you feel God can’t use you, think of this: Noah got drunk, Abraham was too old, Jacob was a liar, Leah was ugly, Moses stuttered, Gideon was afraid, Rahab was a prostitute, David was too young, Elijah had burnout, Jeremiah was depressed, Isaiah preached naked, Jonah ran from God, Naomi was a widow, Job went bankrupt, Peter denied Jesus, Disciples fell asleep praying, Martha was a worrywart, Joseph was sold, Samaritan woman divorced many times, Paul had bad eyes, Zacchaeus was too small, Timothy had ulcers, and Lazarus was dead. God uses the weak, for only God is strong.
SONG: HIS STRENGTH IS PERFECT