SIFTING FAITH

                                                  SIFTING FAITH    

    Most people believe in a God of some type, and many non Christians
are used by God to accomplish His purposes. Unsaved people play a
major role in God's creation as well. God selects the people He knows
can fulfill His plan. We may think we know how we can best serve God,
but He sifts people and assigns His tasks to those He selects. We can
not do the picking and choosing (sifting). That's a good thing, because
many people we select or appoint are really not able to accomplish His mission. One major thing we must understand is, our mission is never completed. If we post a sign that says "mission accomplished", Satan has a hearty laugh, because he knows the door is open to completely overturn what we have accomplished.

    To give you an idea of how God does some of His sifting, please turn to Judges, chapter 6. Before we begin, I want to stress again that God's displeasure can be seen here following yet another period that Israel fell away from God and brought about oppression. The people were laboring under the rule of the Midianites. God always rescues His people, and chooses the leader. Then He uses a sifting method to fill the ranks of His army. Don't forget God has the most powerful army in the universe. Refresh your memory and go to Joshua 5:13,14, where the commander in chief of God's army makes an appearance. God has no conscientious objectors.

    All of Israel feared the Midianites, and that included Gideon. God,
however, knew Gideon would be obedient if he replaced doubt with trust and belief. Mark this carefully: trust and belief. We throw that word "trust" around quite liberally, but somehow our belief in God frequently is lukewarm at best. Gideon couldn't believe he was  God's choice to lead the rescue. His doubt was not so much fear of the enemy, but rather that he wasn't equipped to handle the responsibility. Gideon was willing to take on the task, but he wanted reassurance that God had indeed selected him. Sometimes Satan selects individuals and assigns certain tasks. This has led to many serious problems in the church and Christianity. Satan knows many men allow personal desire and ego to lead them away.

    An angel of the Lord was sent to Gideon where Gideon was threshing
wheat in a winepress. He was using the winepress to hide the wheat
from the Midianites. Gideon asked why the Lord had not used a miracle
to overthrow the Midianites (Judges 6:13), and the angel told him they
 would be defeated "as one man." That seemed pretty far fetched to Gideon, and he asked the angel for a sign. Did he ever get a sign! The offering placed on a rock was consumed by fire from the rock! In verse 25 we see the recurring reason Israel was under oppression. They were serving Baal rather than God. Their priests (pastors) were no longer following God. This can be a subtle change over a period of time spanning an entire generation. It continues to happen.

    The verses 22 through 32 give us a lesson in the stupidity of people
who follow a false god. After Gideon and his servants destroyed the altar of Baal, the Midianities wanted to kill Gideon. His father challenged them to "plead" before Baal. In effect, he said if Baal was god, he should\ be able to defend himself. Look at 1 Samuel 5:1-8. Dagon, the god of the Philistines, could not stand before the Ark of the Covenant, and the Lord brought so much disaster to them they returned the Ark to Israel. The Midianites did decide to organize a sizable army and settle the  score with Israel for tearing down Baal.

    God does talk to mankind today, but so does Satan. Gideon now  needed to remove all doubt from his mind so he could completely trust God's directions. We are approaching the sifting process, but still have to see Gideon in total trust and belief. Gideon asks for a sign guaranteeing success, and God had patience and gave it to him. The sign was a fleece that did the opposite of the mornings' normal settlement of dew. See Judges 6:36-40. If the fleece was wet and the ground was dry, it was a sign. Gideon still had some doubt, so he asked that the fleece be dry and the ground damp. God showed great patience, and Gideon now had full trust to follow God's directions.

    God had put His man in place because He knew Gideon had faith. What Gideon had to demonstrate was trust. The fleece brought that about. Gideon had summoned many men for the confrontation about to take  place. This is when the sifting process began. God explained to Gideon the number of men to go forth for Israel had to be reduced. The reason: God did not want to give Israel the puffed up opportunity to take credit for His intervention. The victory was coming because of God's plan and preparation, not because of men and a nation who had fallen away were capable of doing this thing alone. This was to serve as a wake up call to worship God, who would deliver them from oppression. God decides when a mission is accomplished, not any man.

    We see here something God warns us about: pride. Too often we claim superiority in some way. We mistake confidence for pride. We should express confidence in work we do, but always remember we only have the gifts He gives us. To Him should go the glory. God used drinking water to sift the men. Of the 32,000 Israelites who responded to Gideon's call, 22,000 were dismissed because they had fear. That left 10,000, and that was still too many for God. God used water to sift the group even further. God separated the men by selecting only those who lapped water like a dog. That reduced the number to just 300 men.


    The military intelligence of the Lord's army and any army of mankind
He leads can accomplish anything. The normal way for an army to  overcome the enemy is by superior numbers and having unlimited 
firepower. God does not need to rely on man's methods. To bolster
Gideon's resolve, God sends Gideon and Purah down to the enemy
encampment to spy on them. They hear two Midianites talking about
a dream. For those Christians who don't believe in conversations with God, or in dreams, verses 7:13,14 should make you think seriously about it. Remember Hebrews 13:8, "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever." God does not change any more than His Son.

    God sent the Midianite a dream, and enabled Gideon to overhear the
two Midianites discussing its meaning. The dream (Judges 7:13,14) was
interpreted by the Midianites to mean Israel would defeat them. Although
the Midianites had a huge army and countless camels, the dream made
them fear "the sword of Gideon," (Judges 7:14) a well known biblical
reference. Understanding the fear the Midianites felt, Gideon was certain
God would give His people the victory. God's plan for the battle was
 based on fear. When Gideon's 300 men carried out the plan (Judges
7:16-22), confusion and fear so filled the Midianites, they fought each
other and fled. It was indeed God's victory.

    Men from the other tribes of Israel joined Gideon and his men, and
pursued the fleeing Midianites. The act of faith and trust in God enabled
Israel to overthrow the oppressors and regain their land. Once Gideon
fortified himself in faith and trust, he had the confidence of a man on
a mission for the Lord. God can turn things around with miracles, but
He chooses to sift and use people. When a leader realizes and honestly
knows God is in control, there is an aura of confidence that is contagious and enables great things to be accomplished. Man's usual problem is to conclude he has accomplished a great work and the mission is complete. Satan never quits, and it is at the time of victory that is frequently the most dangerous. Man tends to begin celebrating, but Satan is reforming his plan. Any celebration should be to the glory of God.

    Gideon was asked to rule over Israel, but told them God would be
the ruler. There was peace for 40 years, but the people again abandoned
worship of God and turned to idols. The lesson here is that when things
go well, we tend to forget why things are well. Our leaders and priests
don't want to rock the boat by following Christ's teaching in the gospels.
There are different kinds of captivity, and different kinds of idols. No 
nation can escape God when He passes judgment on idol worship.

Rev. Walbear