First Union Missionary Baptist Church E. Chelsea Street, Tampa FL

Transcription

1 First Union Missionary Baptist Church 3707 E. Chelsea Street, Tampa FL Rev. B.E. Garmon, Sr., M.Div - Pastor Deacon Anthony E. Brown - Chairman Deacon Bernard Reese, Vice Chairman Deacon Robert. L. Barnum, Jr. Deacon Joseph Echols Deacon Michael A. Hudgins, Sr. Deacon Tom D. Marshall Deacon Wendell Pope, Jr. Deacon Robert R. Scott, Jr. Deacon Mark Sherman, Sr. Deacon Willie Tim Faith! Class # FAITH HALL OF FAME! Operation Education: Catch The Vision Welcome back to the Faith Hall of Fame! We have already established some undeniable facts, such as God never changes (Malachi 3:6; Hebrews 13:8), and the requirement for faith is nothing new. God s consistency in requiring man to have faith in Him goes all the way back to the Garden of Eden. Because of man s sin in the Garden, man s relationship with God was changed from that of personal communion to that of personal faith. Man transitioned from walking and talking directly with God, to experiencing God from within his person. Ever since Adam s fall, faith has been the only way that man can develop, foster, and maintain, an intimate relationship with God. Our journey thus far has taken through the lives of some incredible people where better by nature than we are by everyday practice. They have exhibited levels of faith that people today couldn t even dream of attaining! We have reviewed the fact that without faith, it is impossible to please God! (Hebrews 11:6) Therefore, it is essential for every Christian get a firm grasp on the concept of faith! Without faith, there can be no relationship with God because since God cannot be seen, it takes faith to even believe that God exist! (2 Corinthians 5:7) How much more is faith required to believe in a God that you cannot see, and seek a God that you cannot see, and believe that a God that you cannot see will reward you! This, is true faith! God could have made Himself visible, and He could have provided all the evidence necessary to prove His existence. But He chose not to! Jesus told Thomas that those who believe without seeing are more blessed! (John 20:29) Faith in God is essential in every Christian s life, and God rewards those that are faithful to Him. In fact, God has reserved a special place for those that demonstrate true faith; we call it, God s Faith Hall Of Fame! c:\aaa-fumbc\bible class\faith\faith - lesson docx 1

2 Welcome BACK TO THE The FAITH HALL OF FAME Welcome back to the FAITH HALL OF FAME. This is the place in Holy Scripture where God Himself chose to reserve for those who exhibited genuine faith in Him. God gave a favorable report on each person that He placed in His Hall Of Fame. When we first entered the Hall, we were impressed by the grandeur of those whom God placed in the main entrance corridor. These appear to be the faith giants that God holds in the highest esteem as they are in the grand promenade. (1) ABEL Hebrews 11:4 God began by acknowledging the first young man that died on the earth, killed by his own brother. In the first position of the grand promenade was Abel, who offered to God a more excellent sacrifice that his older brother Cain. God rewarded Abel for his faithfulness, and as a result, he was killed by his own brother. Cain took his life, but he was not able to take his reward. Therefore, Abel finds His way into God s Faith Hall of Fame by faithfully giving to God. (2) ENOCH Hebrews 11:5 The second position in the Hall of Fame was occupied by a man who had a sincere desire to walk and talk with God. God interacted directly with man until Adam sinned; but after the fall, because of His Holy nature, God could no longer have direct contact with man. Enoch lived for more than 308 years with Adam. There is no doubt that Adam was able to tell Enoch of how wonderful it was to have direct contact with God. Enoch s desire for God was so great, that he consecrated himself to a level that caught God s attention. As a result of his sincere efforts, God took him directly off the earth (translated) without dying! Therefore, Enoch found his way into God s Faith Hall of Fame by faithfully walking and talking with God. (3) NOAH Hebrews 11:7 The third position is occupied by a giant of faith! His faith was so incredible in that he was obedient to the call of God to spend 120 years of his life building a huge ship on dry land out of wood that is known not to float, because of water that has never fallen out of the sky! Furthermore, he is told to take into the Ark his three sons who weren t even born yet! Nevertheless, he was completely obedient to God s call, even in the face of adversity, all of the nay-saying and ridicule; he continued to carry out God s instructions to the letter. (Genesis 6:22 Thus did Noah; according to all that God commanded him, so did he.) Noah found his way into God s Faith Hall of Fame by taking on the largest example of faith known to mankind at that time! If God were to give a faith report on YOU today, what would He say? (4) ABRAHAM Hebrews 11:8; As we continued our journey down the Hall, we came to the fourth position and found that it was occupied by another giant of faith. At the direction of God, Abraham did something that was unprecedented at the time; he packed up his family and left his father s house. Even more outlandish was the fact that he didn t even know where he was going! God only told him to go in that direction. Nevertheless, Abraham was immediately obedient to God, even with all that he did not know about his instructions. Somewhere along the way, God took Abraham s test of faith to yet another level. He instructed Abraham to offer up his son of promise for sacrifice. Once again, Abraham was immediately obedient to God, and followed through the instructions right up to extending of the knife over his son. Abraham found his way into God s Faith Hall of Fame by believing God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness and he was called the Friend of God! c:\aaa-fumbc\bible class\faith\faith - lesson docx 2

3 (5) SARAH Hebrews 11:11 We move now to the fifth and final position of God s Top 5 in His Faith Hall of Fame; and it is occupied by the wife of Abraham. Sarah is a perfect example of how God will use us even with our character flaws. Ten years had passed since God told Abraham that he would have a son and Sarah felt that was long enough! So she intervened, apparently trying to help God along, and made matters worse. But God came through and kept His promise, just as He said He would, and Isaac was born when Sarah was 90 years old. Sarah died at the age of 127, which is the only instance in Scripture where the death age of a woman is recorded in the Bible (Genesis 23:1-2). Sarah found her way into God s Faith Hall of Fame by believing God, and having a child in her very old age! Now that we have concluded our tour of the Grand Promenade of God s Top 5, let us turn the corner and procced down another corridor which has stations and highlights of people who have all demonstrated true faith and God has rewarded them by placing them in His exclusive Faith Hall Of Fame! Before we commence this leg of our journey, it is important to note here that we will soon learn that just because a person exercises faith in God, doesn t necessarily mean that everything is going to work out in your favor. Many who had faith in God still faced harsh adversity, trials, tribulations, some were tortured, and some were killed. But even in the face of it all, they maintained their faith in God. They may have suffered and died on this side of the grave, but they received the ultimate reward that we all are looking for one day! (Matthew 10:28) Hebrews 11:32 And what shall I more say? for the time would fail me to tell of Gedeon, and of Barak, and of Samson, and of Jephthae; of David also, and Samuel, and of the prophets: (6) GIDEON Judges 6 Israel is in the midst of a Sin Cycle. One of the many that they experienced for centuries. They had turned away from God and done evil in His sight, therefore, God allowed the Midianites to come up against them and capture them. Now that they were weakened and enslaved again, they were vulnerable to other Nations, to the point where they could not even reap the benefits of their crops and livestock. Anything that they produced, the Midianites, the Amalekites, and other Peoples from the East would come and take away everything they had produced. The children of the East as referred to in Judges 6:2 were an eclectic group of people that were remnants from previously concurred nations. They had no official leadership and were not organized into any form of government, therefore they have no name as a nation or a people. They were nomadic in the land and wandered and pillaged as their means of survival. This was a group of people that everyone in the land despised. They were uncultivated and unintelligent. They had no king, lord, or general of any kind, but yet they were a nearly impenetrable force to be reckoned with. Because of Israel s weakened condition, this undisciplined mob was able to subdue and pillage the Israelites at will. During his farewell speech (the entire book of Deuteronomy), Moses had warned the Israelites many, many times, that if they obeyed God, they would live in peace and flourish. But if they were disobedient to God, they would suffer the consequences. This is one of the many occasions when the Israelites did evil in the sight of God and are now suffering the consequences. With two nations and a nomadic mob continually plundering all that they produced, the Israelites would be on the verge of extinction if this continued. c:\aaa-fumbc\bible class\faith\faith - lesson docx 3

4 When we first meet Gideon, he is hiding in a pit, threshing wheat; but yet he is addressed by the Angel as a might man of valour. Examples of this situation are commonly referred to as an oxymoron a selfcontradicting phrase. Examples: He sure is a weak strong man. The comedian was seriously funny. Do you like jumbo shrimp? I am dealing with a minor crisis. Parting is such sweet sorrow The question, therefore, is Gideon fearful or a mighty man of valor? It all depends on whose perspective. Man sees things as they were and as they are. However, God sees things as they will be! A simple definition of a winepress is a hole in the ground. Normally, wheat is threshed out in the open. If Gideon was truly unfearful, he would not have been hiding in a hole in the ground trying to thresh his wheat without being seen by the Midianites. However, keep in mind that up to this point, Gideon and the entire Israeli nation had experienced seven years of oppression by two nations and an uncouth mob! They could do nothing of themselves to prevent this as they were experiencing the judgment/punishment of God. Therefore, to give Gideon the benefit of the doubt, he was doing the best he could with what he had. The very first thing that the Angel said to Gideon, even before calling him a mighty man of valour, he reassured him that God was with him. Gideon was very skeptical of this because of the situation that they were in; albeit, they were suffering the consequences of their own actions. But now God was ready to move the Israelites to the next phase of the sin cycle which is deliverance or restoration. They had been crying out to God, and now God was ready to answer their prayers and He planned on using Gideon just as he used Moses. Gideon obviously had his doubts; at this point, Israel was a very weak and poor nation, how could they ever repel such a massive force against them? Furthermore, how could they even be sure that God would come through? After all, for the past seven years, God is the one that allowed all of this destruction to happen to them. There was plenty of room for plenty of doubts. Gideon was told that he would be the one to save Israel from the Midianites. This, of course surprised Gideon to no end. He asked for confirmation; he wanted to be sure that this Angel had the right address and was talking to the right person! The Angel had Gideon get some meat and bread and lay it on a rock. The Angel then touched it with his staff and fire came and burnt everything up. This was the first step in building Gideon s faith. Later that same night, God Himself, spoke to Gideon and gave him instructions on tearing down the altars of Baal that the Israelites had set up. This would be Gideon s first test as a military leader and his first test of faith in God! Gideon went out that night with 10 men and did what God had instructed him to do. The people came out the next day, angry about what Gideon had done, but nevertheless, Gideon carried out the instructions from God and demonstrated that he was willing to trust God even in face of adversity. Gideon s obedience that night was so impressive that he was given a surname Jerubbaal, which translated means Contender with Baal or Let Baal plead for himself. In essence, going up against Baal was something that was unheard of at the time. For Gideon to accomplish such a task was quite impressive in the eyes of the people. This was God s way of giving the people confidence in Gideon for the task ahead. Now it s time for the big test! Gideon was instructed to assemble an army to go up against the Midianites, and the Amalekites, and the wild negroes people from the East. c:\aaa-fumbc\bible class\faith\faith - lesson docx 4

5 This, of course was a daunting task! Sneaking out in the night with a few guys to cut down a few statues is one thing; but going up against a massive military force is something completely different! The Bible doesn t specifically say how many men Gideon went up against, but Theologians and Historians have theorized that it was quite a massive number, in the 200,000 range, and very easily could have been many more. Look at what the Scripture says: Judges 7:12 And the Midianites and the Amalekites and all the children of the east lay along in the valley like grasshoppers for multitude; and their camels were without number, as the sand by the sea side for multitude. Imagine what must have been going through Gideon s mind at this time. Keep in mind, the Israelites have been in oppression for the past seven years being beaten, looted, and pillaged continually. Would you think that it would be reasonable for him to doubt? The appearance and words of the Angel just wasn t enough to satisfy Gideon, so he goes to God for Himself! Judges 6: And Gideon said unto God, If thou wilt save Israel by mine hand, as thou hast said, 37 Behold, I will put a fleece of wool in the floor; and if the dew be on the fleece only, and it be dry upon all the earth beside, then shall I know that thou wilt save Israel by mine hand, as thou hast said. 38 And it was so: for he rose up early on the morrow, and thrust the fleece together, and wringed the dew out of the fleece, a bowl full of water. 39 And Gideon said unto God, Let not thine anger be hot against me, and I will speak but this once: let me prove, I pray thee, but this once with the fleece; let it now be dry only upon the fleece, and upon all the ground let there be dew. 40 And God did so that night: for it was dry upon the fleece only, and there was dew on all the ground. 01.) Why do you suppose that God answered Gideon s prayers for confirmation? Having received confirmation from God Himself, Gideon is now ready to proceed with the task that God has given him to do. He had placed a call out to four of the tribes to send men to prepare for the battle. This is why Gideon s night raid of the Baal statues was so important, because by doing so he was given a military title which gave the people confidence in his ability to lead them into battle. Without the men of Israel having confidence in Gideon, they would not have turned out to go into battle with him. As a result of the call that Gideon sent to the four tribes, 32,000 men showed up, ready for battle! Imagine Gideon looking over this instant army that he is now commander over. The first group of men that he was commander over was ten, and now, shortly thereafter, his fighting force has grown from ten to thirty-two thousand! How will he ever manage? c:\aaa-fumbc\bible class\faith\faith - lesson docx 5

6 02.) Theologians and Historians have theorized that Gideon faced a force of approximately how many? (And possibly more) 03.) So when we do the math, even with an army of 32,000, Gideon was still outnumbered by at least how many? (And possibly more) The odds are definitely not in Gideon s favor. He and his army are grossly outnumbered. With the current odds stacked against Gideon, this means that each one of Gideon s 32,000 men would have to kill at least six enemies, just for the fight to break even! Nevertheless, Gideon is ready to forge forward because he had recently received the confirmation from God with the fleece. With faith that God is on his side, Gideon is ready to march into battle against an enemy of more than 200,000 with his force of only 32,000. But even as Gideon is positioning his armies for battle, God speaks to him again! Oh good! Maybe God is going to give Gideon some more men seeing that he is grossly outnumbered! Or maybe God is going to send angels riding on horses and chariots of fire like He did for Elijah! Or maybe God is going to open a highway through the midst of the valley like He did with Moses! Or maybe God is going to have the fortress come tumbling down around the enemy like He did for Joshua! Or maybe God is going to strike the enemy with blindness like He did for Elisha! But no that s not what God had to say to Gideon this time. It was something quite different. God stopped Gideon as he prepared his armies to tell him that he had too many men! How can this be!!!??? He s already outnumbered 6:1, and now God is telling him that he has too many men? Judges 7:2 And the LORD said unto Gideon, The people that are with thee are too many for me to give the Midianites into their hands, lest Israel vaunt themselves against me, saying, Mine own hand hath saved me. God has a reason for everything that He does, and of course He has a reason for telling Gideon that even though he was outnumbered 6:1, that he had too many men. God makes it clear to Gideon that He needs to make it clear to the people, just WHO it is that delivered them! Remember that the Israelites are in the process of coming out of one of their many sin-cycles, and God wants there to be absolutely no doubt in their minds WHO it was that delivered them. God is omniscient, and He KNEW that if Gideon were to go into battle with 32,000 men and prevailed, the people would forget all about the fact that it was GOD that delivered them, and they would have taken the credit for themselves! 04.) How often do we see man take credit for God s work, and fail to acknowledge God write down one example. c:\aaa-fumbc\bible class\faith\faith - lesson docx 6

7 So God tells Gideon, to go and speak to the men and tell them that anyone who is afraid can just leave and go home. That next morning 22,000 men were gone, leaving Gideon with an army of just 10,000. Ok, now it s time to turn the dial up on Gideon s faith just a bit more. Gideon has prepared himself to enter battle with just 32,000 men, knowing that he was out-numbered 6;1; but the fleece reassured him that God was there. But now, with just 10,000 men, the odds are dramatically different. Gideon is now outnumbered twenty-to-one! Which means that each of Gideon s 10,000 men will have to kill a minimum of 20 enemies! These are definitely not good odds! What level of faith Gideon must muster to stand firm in the face of such unthinkable odds! Seven years of oppression without the ability to defend themselves; and certainly they were praying to God for deliverance the entire time. Then God has him assemble an army that was six times too small, and before he can even prepare them for battle, God now has him reduce to an army that is at least 20 times too small. Who in their right mind would trust such a God? But God isn t done yet! Judges 7:4 And the LORD said unto Gideon, The people are yet too many; bring them down unto the water, and I will try them for thee there: and it shall be, that of whom I say unto thee, This shall go with thee, the same shall go with thee; and of whomsoever I say unto thee, This shall not go with thee, the same shall not go. 05.) If YOU were Gideon, what would you be thinking right about now? God had Gideon to understand that the first time He reduced the size of the army was because He wanted there to be no doubt in the people s mind that it was GOD that delivered them, and not their own might or power. Be mindful of the fact that this is not the first battle that Israel had ever endured. Israel was a warrior nation for many, many years, from the time of the Exodus throughout the days of Joshua. They were very familiar with wars, and they knew what it takes to win a battle. They could also count, and when the odds are grossly stacked against you, the outcome is normally not too good. But God always goes above and beyond the thoughts and imaginations of mankind. When He opens the door, no one can shut it! And when He shuts the door, no one can open it! (Revelation 3:7) When God is done with this demonstration, there will be absolutely not doubt in the minds of the entire Israeli nation that God Himself is responsible for this victory! It s time for the dog test! Judges 7:5 So he brought down the people unto the water: and the LORD said unto Gideon, Every one that lappeth of the water with his tongue, as a dog lappeth, him shalt thou set by himself; likewise every one that boweth down upon his knees to drink. Judges 7:6 And the number of them that lapped, putting their hand to their mouth, were three hundred men: but all the rest of the people bowed down upon their knees to drink water. c:\aaa-fumbc\bible class\faith\faith - lesson docx 7

8 In war, you have to remain alert and sharp at all times. You can never afford to let your guard down or it could cost you your life! Even when it comes to eating and drinking, you must always remain on the alert, for these are times when you are the most vulnerable. Those that bowed completely down and put their face in the water to drink would not be able to see an enemy approaching. They could be killed with their face in the water. However, those who cupped their hands and brought the water up to their mouth; they are able to keep their head up, their eyes up, and see what may be approaching. Only 300 of the 10,000 men did this! Judges 7:7 And the LORD said unto Gideon, By the three hundred men that lapped will I save you, and deliver the Midianites into thine hand: and let all the other people go every man unto his place. So now it s time to do the math again! The enemy has at least 200,000 men (possibly more); Gideon now has just 300 men. This now means that the odds are stacked against Gideon by a margin of six-hundred and sixty-six to one! It s more impactful if you see it like this: 666:1 Again, this means that each one of Gideon s 300 men would have to kill 666 of the enemy. Imagine one man with a sword being surrounded by 666 men with swords. Who do you think will come out the winner? Let us pause for a moment and consider the rank and file of the 300 men. They are not robot or automatons, they are living, breathing, human beings! They have wives, children, and something to live for! They had an opportunity to go home just for being afraid; but they chose to stay, but that was back when there was 32,000 men. They had the opportunity to go home for not being on the watch when getting a drink; but they were alert, but that was back when there were 10,000 men. Now, here they stand, a fighting force of 300 hundred strong against a force of more than 200,000! The odds are against them 666:1. We cannot dismiss their faith! We already know the outcome, but these men had absolutely no idea what was about to befall them. They were being obedient to their commander, and trusting in the God of their people. They were no strangers to battle, they could count, and they knew the dire odds; yet they remained in place, ready for battle! But now things are about to get even more complicated. God continues to give Gideon specific instructions, and Gideon is obedient to what God directs him to do! He did not outfit his men with swords, spears, and shields; but instead, he equips them with trumpets, water pots, and torches! Judges 7: And he divided the three hundred men into three companies, and he put a trumpet in every man's hand, with empty pitchers, and lamps within the pitchers. 17 And he said unto them, Look on me, and do likewise: and, behold, when I come to the outside of the camp, it shall be that, as I do, so shall ye do. 18 When I blow with a trumpet, I and all that are with me, then blow ye the trumpets also on every side of all the camp, and say, The sword of the LORD, and of Gideon. Man see s things how they are, God see s things how they will be! He tells Gideon that he has delivered the enemies into their hands, even before the battle took place. Through their faith and obedience, they did not have to fire a shot; God intervened and most of the Midianites, the Amalekites, and the wild negroes people from the East killed themselves. The remnant that ran were caught against the river and killed. Gideon earned his place in God s Faith Hall of Fame, by leading an army with incredible odds against them, demonstrating his extraordinary faith in God! c:\aaa-fumbc\bible class\faith\faith - lesson docx 8