July 23, 2010

Judges 6

Do you ever think of the Lord as having a sense of humor? I do. I think it is part of His glory. Do my dogs laugh? I am not sure. Sometimes I think they understand humor. Sometimes I wonder. Is having the ability to laugh and tell jokes part of the Divine image reflected in us? I certainly think that the Lord is having a good time of teasing with Gideon here. I mean think about it! This is a horrible situation in which the Children of Israel and Gideon find themselves. Gideon is threshing his wheat crop by hiding it in a wine press so that no one will know that he has harvested his crop. How does the Lord address him? “The Lord is with you, you mighty man of valor!” The irony is lost on Gideon. Sometimes when things are really bad, we need a little humor in the situation to lighten things up. Sometimes when we are really down, we don’t get the humor. Gideon sees only the problem. He ignores the mighty-man-of-valor part; although, He is ready for an argument about the part of God being with him.

Have you ever been there? I have. He has been reduced to hiding in a wine press in order thresh his wheat. Wheat is normally threshed at a place where the wind blows, like a hilltop. As the grain was tossed into the air, the wind would carry away the lighter, unwanted parts of the wheat plant. This would make it easier to separate the grain kernel from the rest. Hence, an open space was more desirable, but open spaces, especially hill tops are easily seen and observed from a distance. Winepresses on the other hand would be protected from the wind so as not to blow impurities into the freshly squeezed grape juice. A wine press would be a perfect place to hide while threshing wheat. Been there? Your circumstances reduce you to hiding. God is with me? I don’t think so.

Gideon still senses that there is something divine about his visitor. So, he prepares a sacrifice. The sacrifice is miraculously consumed in fire. Gideon now has a greater problem. He complained openly in the face of God. He knows how the Lord responded to his ancestors when they complained. He knew that he was in trouble. How does God respond? “Peace be with you; do not fear, you shall not die.” That is the glory of our Lord; even when we deserve death, He gives us opportunity to live. The Lord, lovingly, humorously and patiently brought Gideon to Himself. He does the same with us. Indeed we serve a glorious King. Speak His glory to someone today!

--Pastor john


Acts 24

Felix’s wife, Drusilla, was a Jewess. Through her, Felix must have had some kind of awareness of the standard of the Law of God. He was also a Gentile—the kind of person to whom the Lord had sent Paul. He was also the governor, a man exerting great influence in Israel. He was also crooked—looking for money from Paul to release him when he knew full well that there was not enough evidence to convict Paul. So, of what did Paul speak when he had his conversations with Felix? I think he spoke of the glory of Christ. “Wait a minute!” you say, “The Bible says they spoke of righteousness, self-control and the judgment to come.”

Do you remember what Jesus said about the Holy Spirit? He said, “When He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He . . . shall glorify Me; for He shall take of Mine, and shall disclose it to you.” (John 16:14) And a little earlier He said, “And He, when He comes, will convict the world concerning sin, and righteousness, and judgment. Concerning sin, because they do not believe in Me and concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father, and you no longer behold Me; and concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world has been judged.” (John 16:8-11)

What was Paul discussing with Felix?

1. Righteousness—How do we know what righteousness is? Well certainly with a Jewish wife Felix had opportunity to explore the Jewish law. But since she had married a Gentile, it is clear that there was at least one aspect of the Law to which she did not hold—marrying a Gentile. Perhaps her Jewishness was only a cultural exterior and the righteousness of the Law was not all that important to her. How was he to know what righteousness was? There was Jewish Law, there was Roman law, there were a multitude of gods, religions, philosophies to study. The Greeks are famous for their various philosophies and gods. I am convinced that Paul spoke not only out of the Jewish Law but also of the person of Jesus Christ. The standard of righteousness that Jesus presents in the Sermon on the Mount is unattainable. It was Paul who wrote of Jesus to the Corinthians, while in Ephesus, probably not more than a year before this imprisonment, “He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” The way we know righteousness is that the Holy Spirit convicts us of the righteousness of Christ.

2. Sin—No one likes to be convicted of sin. That is why we run from God. Sin is an indication of a lack of self-control. Everyone of us lacks self-control in at least one area of our life—some more than others. The good news of Jesus is that self-control can be obtained, when we believe, trust, in Him. Felix knew he lacked self-control and he did not want to trust in a dead man he had never met even if He was living again.

3. Judgment—Part of Felix’s job as a governor was serving as a judge. That is why he had met Paul. Paul spoke of judgment. I believe he spoke of the judgment of Christ. Jesus is the righteous judge in contrast to Felix who was looking for a bribe. Jesus is able to change lives so that self control is a possibility. Jesus has already judged Satan, the ruler of this world. All those who refuse to come under the protection of Jesus will fall under the judgment of Satan.

No wonder Felix became frightened! Paul had expounded the glories of Jesus’ righteousness, sin and judgment. Felix did not want to trust in Jesus. The clear implication was that unless he repented, he would fall under the judgment of the ruler of this world, Satan. Indeed we serve a glorious King! Speak His glory to someone today!

--Pastor john