Amen. Thank you, Pastor Randy. Boy, those were some great favorites tonight, weren't they? What an encouragement that was. Amen. Well, we're gonna continue with our series tonight, Dealing With Doubt. And I wanna focus tonight on a man named Gideon. If you would turn with me to Judges chapter six, Judges chapter six. Judges, if you'll remember, presents the dreary cycle of Israel's rebellion, and then the Lord's deliverance, and then back to Israel's rebellion. And this pattern is spelled out in Judges 2. Judges 6 begins with that sad, familiar refrain. In Judges 6, 1, and the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord. What is happening here is that the Lord is using Midian as his instrument of judgment. Del Ralph Davis says that we find in verses one through six, which we're not gonna read tonight, but in verses one through six, we find the most detailed description of Israel's distress up to this point. The Midianites, along with their allies, the Amalekites, and other children of the East, would descend like locusts upon the fruit of Israel's land, along with their livestock, stripping it to the bone. So Davis describes them as a giant broom sweeping the land clean from north to south. Right now, many areas of the country are going through economic hardship, but can you imagine nothing being in the pantry or in the cupboard, everything is taken away. That is the situation that these people were in. All of their crops and their livestock were stolen by the Midianites. For the bread basket, Israel's bread basket of the plain of Jezreel, all the way down to Gaza in the south. From one end of the land to the other, this was taking place. And that brings us to verse 11 of chapter six. The Bible says, and there came an angel of the Lord and sat under an oak, which was an ophra that pertained unto Joash the Abiezrite, and his son Gideon threshed wheat by the winepress to hide it from the Midianites. And the angel of the Lord appeared unto him and said unto him, The Lord is with thee, thy mighty man of valor. And Gideon said unto him, O my Lord, if the Lord be with us, why then is all this befallen us? And where be all his miracles which our fathers told us of, saying, Did not the Lord bring us up from Egypt? But now The Lord hath forsaken us and delivered us into the hands of the Midianites. Dealing with doubt. Let's pray. Father, help us as we look at this passage of scripture tonight. Doubt is something that we experience as your children and your word gives us the proper way to handle it. And so I pray, Lord, that as we look at the life of this man, Gideon, that we would take lessons from it, but more importantly, that we would see you as you should be seen in your glory and in your power, in your faithfulness, and in your provision. We thank you, Lord, for all that you'll do for us. In Jesus' name, amen. Ray Pritchard says this, we all doubt from time to time. Doubt itself is not sinful or wrong. It often can be the catalyst to new spiritual growth. As I, Pritchard said, have pondered the matter, I have concluded that our doubts tend to fall into three categories. First, they're intellectual doubts. These are doubts most often raised by those outside of the Christian faith, but sometimes from those within. For instance, is the Bible the word of God? Is Jesus the son of God? Did he really rise from the dead? Second, there are spiritual doubts. These tend to be the doubts of those inside the church, especially. Am I really a Christian? Have I truly believed? Why is it so hard to pray? Why do I still feel guilty? Third, there are circumstantial doubts. This is the largest category, Pritchard says, because it encompasses all the whys of life. Why did my child die? Why did my marriage break up? Why can't I find a husband? Why did my friend betray me? Where was God when my uncle was abusing me? These questions touch the intersection of biblical faith and the pain of a fallen world. As we approach this topic, there are several things we need to understand upfront that will help us with this issue of doubt. And maybe we've never thought seriously about this. Number one, many people think doubt is the opposite of faith, but it isn't. Unbelief is the opposite of faith. Now this is important because I'm making a distinction and Pritchard is making a distinction. Unbelief refers to a willful refusal to believe. It is choosing to turn away from God. Remember how the book of Hebrews warns us against having an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God? So unbelief is a willful refusal to believe, while doubt refers to an inner uncertainty. And I'm talking about the kind of doubt that occurs among God's people. And by the way, if you're a Christian and you've never doubted, you are a rare specimen. A rare specimen, indeed. There may be some who have never doubted anything that God has done in their life or the way in which he was moved. If so, you have a special gift. I'll have to confess to you, I've doubted before. I've had doubts about what God is doing. And there are times when it has crossed the line into sin. But it doesn't always have to be that way. Sometimes that doubt is just that inner uncertainty. And that's why we go to the second observation. And that is many people think doubt is unforgivable, but it isn't. God does not condemn us when we question him. Both David and Job repeatedly questioned God, but they were not condemned. And by the way, when we get to this example of Gideon, you'll see that. You'll see that very, very clearly. Now, please understand, I'm not saying that unbelief is the proper response to God. But we're talking about honest, sincere doubt that we have from time to time. He goes on to say, God is big enough to handle all our doubts and all our questions. Do you believe that? Maybe you've experienced Christians in your life and they don't allow any questions at all. Maybe it was a teacher or a parent. There's just no discussion about it. Sometimes we think God is like that. And the truth is, he isn't. You see, God invites us to come to him. We find examples of this in the Psalms. Now what's important is that you come to the right conclusion. Our search is not open-ended. It does not end with uncertainty. And this is what separates us from those who don't know God. We can see this again and again in the Psalms where God will take a person with doubt and uncertainty and he will guide them to a place of trust and faith in him. And that is the pattern for God's people. Sometimes it can be a messy pattern and it doesn't always go in a straight line, but eventually God will lead us home. The saints will persevere if you want to put it another way. But all of us do doubt from time to time. Number three, many people think struggling with God means we lack faith. And that's not necessarily true. Struggling with God can be a sure sign that we truly have faith. If we never struggle, our faith will never grow stronger. Again, God can use doubt as a catalyst. Pritchard says, it helps me to think of doubt as a kind of immunization. When you receive a smallpox vaccination, the doctor actually gives you a tiny portion of the disease. That tiny portion is just enough to activate your antibodies so that you have the strength to fight off the disease later. In the same way, doubts can actually end up developing a much stronger faith if we face our doubts honestly and if we respond to God ultimately with trust. So we come to one of these people who was struggling with doubt, and that is a man named Gideon. Even as he hides from the Midianites, he has deeper problems within. He's struggling with three issues about God, and maybe these are issues that you're struggling with in some way. The circumstances are different. The issues are not quite the same, but you struggle with the same basic questions because you're a human being. We could put them in the form of three questions. Number one, is God trustworthy? Is God dependable? Does He do what He really says He will do? And friends, to really have joy and peace in the Christian life, we first and foremost have to answer this question. Is God really who He says He is? Because He tells us that He's faithful. and he tells us that he is dependable and trustworthy, and he says that when he makes a promise, he will fulfill it, and that it is impossible for him to lie. Now, if we can't trust him in that, we have a big problem from the very beginning, because who else in this universe is God? Who else can you depend on in the end? But I'm here to tell you that God is trustworthy, and he is faithful, But there are times when we question this, and notice, first of all, how God addressed Gideon in chapter 6 and verse 12. Here he is hiding from the enemy, and in chapter 6, verse 12, God says, through his messenger, the Lord is with thee. And I believe that this is the angel of the Lord, the pre-incarnate Christ who appears to Gideon. But he says, the Lord is with thee. What do we mean by that? Is the Lord with us? Yeah, he's everywhere, right? There's no place that God isn't. We know that God is omnipresent. He is present everywhere. But what this is saying is that God is with his people in the sense that he is there to give provision and blessing and power. and he makes his presence real to them. He is with them in a special way. And here he is saying this to Gideon, a man who is hiding from the enemy. And notice how Gideon responds. Now, think about this honestly. Would you say the same thing if you were in Gideon's position? In chapter 6, verse 13, and Gideon said unto him, O my Lord, and then what does he say? That little word, if, if the Lord is with us, then why? Why all this? Why has this happened to me? Now you yourself can fill in the blank with your own personal situation. And we may not always say this out loud, But if you've been a Christian any length of time, if you have any serious devotion to God, any kind of Christian life at all, you have to have asked this question, Lord, why? Why has this befallen us? Why have I lost my job? Why has my marriage fallen apart? Why have my children gone astray? Why has sickness and death entered my family? Why am I having financial woes? Well, first of all, God reminds us of his faithfulness. And you see, it's not necessarily a 12-step program. And by the way, I'm not against plans and programs, and especially when we come together for a Bible study or a prayer meeting and we come together to encourage one another. But you see, your belief in God's word for your everyday life is absolutely crucial. Theology must be practical. You have to really believe what you say. It's not just something that you repeat because your parents believed it, but it's something that has to seep down into your everyday life, in every situation that you're in, because it all comes down to this, and that is, is God who He says He is? Is he truly faithful because he has made claims? Are they real? And if they are, that means that we can depend upon him no matter what. That means that we can't look at our situation, but that we look to him as the anchor, as the reference point. And that's exactly what he does here. He reminds his people of his faithfulness. There's a section just before he comes to Gideon where he reminds the people of this, and this is in verses eight and nine. This is what he says in chapter six and verse eight. The Lord sent a prophet unto the children of Israel, which said unto them, thus saith the Lord God of Israel, chapter six, verse eight, I brought you up from Egypt and brought you forth out of the house of bondage. and I delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians, and out of the hand of all that oppressed you, and draved them out from before you, and gave you their land." God rehearses his faithfulness to them. Let me ask you, has God been faithful to you? Has he blessed you? Has he given you things? I hope everyone in this room knows Christ as personal Savior. I hope you have a home in heaven. Is that not God's faithfulness and grace? In fact, if God would have given us what we deserve, where would we be? But the Bible says, whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord, what? Shall be saved. That is a promise. And every time we come to a difficulty, We need to, as some people have said, preach the gospel to ourselves. And that has to be very personal. For me, it is my salvation. That is the dearest thing that I have because my salvation is Christ. It is the righteousness of Christ. It is his person and work. Everything revolves around him. The Bible says, he that spared not his own son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him, what? Freely give us all things. That is the cornerstone of all of life. When you're counting your blessings, where do you start? You start with the Lord Jesus Christ, because none of us deserve him. Absolutely none of us. He didn't have to come and do what He did. But in His grace, He came to save us. And when you call upon Him, He will be faithful. Yes, if you're saved by the grace of God, then you should know God's faithfulness. Give reasons why God is trustworthy or dependable. Can you do that? Do you know God well enough? Have you really thought about it? We can talk about material blessings all day long. We can talk about spiritual blessings. God has been faithful to us and he reminds us of that. But then letter B, and this is the sad part, but God has to remind us of our unfaithfulness. And this is what he says in Judges 6.10. He says, but ye have not obeyed my voice. This is not to say that every bad thing that happens to us happens because of sin. We know that. It doesn't happen because of disobedience. It certainly does not give me the right to pass judgment on other Christians when misfortune befalls them. Because I don't know why God is bringing certain things upon their lives. It is cruel to accuse people of that. Well, let's say when their children go astray or when their marriage falls apart, it is cruel to accuse that person of something where we don't even know all the facts. So we know that that's a possibility, that maybe there's something that God has led a person through, and maybe not because of sin, but maybe it's part of this fallen world. But we also have to say that maybe it is because of sin. And maybe God is trying to steer us back because he does do that. And we find that in this passage and throughout God's word. But whatever it is, here's a good lesson for us. And that is God is not simply a dispenser of material benefits. He is not Santa Claus. He is the Creator and the Lord of all things, and He demands holiness and obedience from His people. That was true in the Old Testament, and it's true in the New Testament as well. The good news is, the good news of the gospel, not only does he justify you, but he sanctifies you. He will give you the power to live a holy life, but what he needs from us is submission, and he needs obedience. His Old Testament people did not obey the stipulations of the Mosaic covenant, and so God brought discipline upon them. And if we do not live holy lives, God will bring discipline upon us. That is a truth from God's word. We'll look at that in just a few moments. God is faithful, but there are so many times when we are faithless. So we consider that as we look at this point tonight of, is God trustworthy? Yeah, he is. Question is, am I trustworthy? Am I faithful? Because how many times, and we do this in different ways, we do it with different words, but it's God's fault that things are happening. This is the age old question that people ask. Why is there suffering in the world? Well, it's my fault. My father Adam, I would have done the same thing if I'd have been in his place. It's not God's fault. God created all things good, but how often we like to pin the blame upon God. The good news is, though, that God is faithful. You can trust him. You can rely upon him. Number two, this follows with that. Does God care about me? Does God really care? In chapter 13, the last part, So Gideon is saying, well, if God did all of these things, why has he, and he uses this word, forsaken us and delivered us into the hands of the Midianites? Now, God had just sent an angel to the people of Israel that had explained this. in the verses just before. I don't know, maybe Gideon did not get the memo, or whatever the case, but this is what God had already said. I made, I delivered you, I did all of this, but you were faithless, and therefore I sold you into the hands of your enemies. Gideon is still wondering about this. We know what the truth is, but there are times when we don't get the memo either. And we should, God has already told us in his word. He is faithful. He does care about us. But you see, God shows his love and he demonstrates his grace in various ways. We often think about material blessings or spiritual blessings for that matter. But how do you show your love to your child? You show it in different ways. If you're a good parent, There are times, and when my children were young, I delighted in buying them toys. And I didn't tell my wife this, but when Bobby was born, it was an excuse for me to play with toys again. I got to go to Toys R Us. I don't even remember if they had Toys R Us when I was a kid. I think they had KB Toys in the mall. but I don't even think they had Toys R Us. And so I go into this giant place filled with toys and I get to shop for toys again. I love to give my children gifts, but sometimes though I had to give them discipline. That was my way of showing love to them. Charles Spurgeon said this, the Lord does not permit his children to sin successfully. That's an act of love. Sin will destroy you. God is going to step in. He's going to punish you. He's going to chastise you. God is not a permissive parent who allows his children to do as they please. He wants us to be conformed to the image of Christ. Hebrews 12, 6 says this, and this is a quote from Proverbs 3, 11 through 12. For whom the Lord loveth, he chasteneth. I had a big problem with that as a kid. I really did. I sometimes got the speech, and maybe you got it as well, from your parents. This is gonna hurt me more than it hurts you. And I always said, right, yeah, sure. But then I understood that as a parent. I understood, I did not want to have to treat my child in a harsh manner. I didn't want to have to discipline them, but I did it out of love because I had to communicate to them that what they were doing is wrong, and the other ways didn't quite get through. But chastening is an evidence of God's hatred for sin, first of all, and His love for us, and that's what He was doing to Israel. And yes, it was painful. And just like we questioned our parents' love for us, they were questioning God's love for them. But really, it was an act of love. In fact, it was an act of grace, because grace disciplines. Grace produces the peaceable fruit of righteousness in our lives. And when God doesn't discipline you, that's a bad sign. It means you're not one of His. All of this was an evidence of God's love. That's something we need to get back to. In this era, even in our circles of cheap grace, where there's not supposed to be any consequences for sin, because that would be unloving. Where do you get that from? You don't get it from the Bible. You get it from the culture. Chastening is an evidence of God's love. God wants everything the best for His children, and the best that He can give us is to be like the Lord Jesus Christ. And discipline is part of that process. Number two, and this goes along with that, sometimes by deprivation. Sometimes we have to be deprived of things to show us our need of God. God has to take away our health. He may have to take away our wealth or whatever the case may be. But in these ways, he shows us that he loves us. It's counterintuitive to our human nature. But again, as parents, we know this. We know how this works. Sometimes we have to give our children things that are unpleasant because that is the best thing for them at the time. Number one, is God trustworthy or faithful? Number two, does God care about me? Yes, he does. Then number three, can God really use me? Can God use me? Gideon questions God about this. He claims to be a nobody. If you really examine his family though, he had some prominence. But letter A, God leads us from fear to faith. Notice what God says to Gideon in Judges 6, 12. Remember, he says, the Lord is with thee. And then what does he say next? Thou mighty man of valor. And here he was hiding from the enemy. He was threshing weed in a wine press. You don't do that. We don't do it at all these days. Back in ancient times, if you wanted to thresh your wheat, you wouldn't do it in this enclosed place. You would do it out in the open where the wind could catch the chaff and blow it away. But you see, Gideon was doing this, first of all, because he probably had a small harvest. The Midianites had taken the rest. And then he wouldn't do it in an open area where the Midianites could see him if they suddenly appeared. But Gideon was a fearful man. He also responds in fear in chapter 6, verse 27, when God tells him to tear down the altar of Baal and the grove or the sacred tree or pole that was dedicated to a goddess named Asherah. He shows his fear and uncertainty over and over again. And then we come to this part, and this shows again his fear and doubt, laying out the fleece. Well, this is probably the most popular thing you'll hear out of the story of Gideon. And I think that we need some cautions here. We need to exercise caution. First of all, we need to exercise faith when God has clearly spoken. And I would take issue with this. You know, God is very merciful with Gideon. The judges were not a good time for Israel, spiritually speaking. It was a time of great apostasy, and so God is merciful with him. But at the same time, look at what Gideon says to God in this chapter. As God commands him to go and to do this, he says in verse 36, this is chapter six, and Gideon said unto God, if thou wilt save Israel by mine hand, Think that's a good statement to make? I don't think so. God had just said that, so it's not a question of if. And in fact, Gideon even admits it. He says, as thou hast said. Do you really need a fleece to determine that? No. You need to be obedient to God. Once you know what he wants you to do, we need to go forward. And hopefully God will bring us from that fear and uncertainty to a point of faith. And I think that we should also be careful in this, in tempting God with strange and fantastic requests. Some people actually encourage Christians to lay out a fleece, but I would say be careful that you not tempt God. For instance, God, if you want me to go to the mission field, then help the Phillies win the World Series. Or help Clemson to win the National Championship. Now that would be a miracle this year. Or some other crazy kind of request. I think there's a point where you can start tempting God. But you can ask God for direction. When my wife and I were making this move to New Jersey, this was a big step for us. I was a Southern boy. My wife was from Connecticut, so she was somewhat familiar with moving here and there. She had gone to college in Wisconsin. It was a big deal for us. We had a house that we were originally going to go to, that we were going to rent, but it was really too expensive for us. But, you know, we said, Lord, we're going to do this. We think that you're moving in this way. But it was about 25 to 30 minutes from the school. And at that time I was being called to be the campus pastor. So my wife and I got together and we said, we're just going to pray about this. We're not even going to tell anyone else. We're just going to pray about it and see what the Lord will do. And that's when a local pastor called Don Nets. And he said, this is a strange request, but I've got a person that's just sitting here. There's no one living in it. I just need somebody to move into it. No rent. You just pay the utilities and help out with some other things. And that was it. And it was like seven minutes away from the school. The Lord answered that request. I can stand here for a long, long time and tell you things like that that the Lord has done for me. The Lord will open the doors if you're obedient to him, and he'll show you, he'll guide you, and he'll direct you. But we have to respond to him in faith. Gideon was a weak person. But this is what the Bible says in 2 Corinthians 12, 9. God told Paul, my grace is sufficient for thee, for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Do you believe that tonight? How do we deal with doubt? We deal with it with faith in God's inexhaustible power. And friends, it's not a magic formula. It really isn't. And it's not about a program. And look, I have nothing against those things. There's a time for that. We can read books by good Christian authors, and I would encourage you to do that. I would encourage you to read missionary biographies and biographies of great Christians in the past, but first and foremost, read the Bible and believe God. Put your faith in him because he is always faithful. Let's pray. Father, we thank you, Lord, that you are a dependable and trustworthy God. You are so consistent. Lord, we thank you that your mercies are new every morning. And even though we are faithless, Lord, you are always there for us. We pray that we would live holy lives, acceptable unto you by your grace and power. We're thankful for the Lord Jesus Christ, for the resurrection power that he gives us. And as always, we pray if there are any in this service who don't know him as Savior, that they would come to him this very night. Lord, help us as we go throughout this week to be faithful to you. If there is one here, who is struggling with doubt, with uncertainty. Lord, we pray that they would put their faith and their trust in You, that they would endure by Your grace.