(gentle music) Good morning First Baptist Atlanta and everybody else who's joining us online. We are so glad you've chosen to worship with us today. My name is Charles Billingsley, I'll be with you all day along with this great team and we are here to praise the Lord. I invite you wherever you are, join with us. Sing along with us. Praise the Lord with us. And let's lift our voices and our hearts, the only One who's worthy, come one. ♪ Who breaks the power of sin and darkness ♪ ♪ Whose love is mighty and so much stronger ♪ ♪ The King of glory, the King above all kings ♪ ♪ Who shakes the whole earth with holy thunder ♪ ♪ Who leaves us breathless in awe and wonder ♪ ♪ The King of glory, the King above all kings ♪ ♪ This is amazing grace ♪ ♪ This is unfailing love, thank you Lord ♪ ♪ That You would take my place ♪ ♪ That You would bear my cross ♪ ♪ You laid down Your life ♪ ♪ That I would be set free ♪ ♪ Oh, Jesus, I sing for ♪ ♪ All that You've done for me ♪ ♪ Whoa, whoa ♪ ♪ Sing the next verse with us ♪ ♪ Who brings our chaos back into order ♪ ♪ Who makes the orphans a son and daughter ♪ ♪ The King of glory, the King of glory ♪ ♪ Who rules the nations with truth and justice ♪ ♪ Shines like the sun in all of its brilliance ♪ ♪ The King of glory, the King above all kings ♪ ♪ This is amazing grace ♪ ♪ This is unfailing love, thank you Lord ♪ ♪ That You would take my place ♪ ♪ That You would bear my cross ♪ ♪ You laid down Your life, yes you did ♪ ♪ That I would be set free ♪ ♪ Oh, Jesus, I sing for ♪ ♪ All that You've done for me ♪ ♪ Worthy is the Lamb who was slain ♪ ♪ Worthy is the King who conquered the grave ♪ ♪ Worthy is the Lamb who was slain ♪ ♪ Worthy is the King who conquered the grave ♪ ♪ Worthy is the Lamb who was slain ♪ ♪ Worthy is the King who conquered the grave ♪ ♪ Worthy is the Lamb who was slain ♪ ♪ Worthy, worthy, worthy ♪ ♪ This is amazing grace, yes it is ♪ ♪ This is unfailing love ♪ ♪ That You would take my place ♪ ♪ That You would bear my cross ♪ ♪ You laid down Your life, yes you did ♪ ♪ That I would be set free ♪ ♪ Oh, Jesus, I sing for ♪ ♪ All that You've done for me ♪ ♪ Thank you Lord for your amazing grace ♪ Aren't you thankful for the amazing grace of the King of kings and the Lord of lords. What He did for you and me on the cross is worthy of our praise. Worthy is the Lamb who was slain. Worthy is the Lamb who conquered sin, death, hell and the grave. (gentle music) ♪ Alone in my sorrow and dead in my sin ♪ ♪ Lost without hope with no place to begin ♪ ♪ Your love made a way to let mercy come in ♪ ♪ When death was arrested and my life began ♪ ♪ Ash was redeemed only beauty remains ♪ ♪ My orphan heart was given a name ♪ ♪ My mourning grew quiet my feet rose to dance ♪ ♪ When death was arrested and my life began ♪ ♪ Oh, your grace so free ♪ ♪ Washes over me ♪ ♪ You have made me new now life begins with You ♪ ♪ It's your endless love ♪ ♪ Pouring down on us ♪ ♪ You have made us new ♪ ♪ Now life begins with You ♪ ♪ Released from my chains I'm a prisoner no more ♪ ♪ My shame was a ransom He faithfully bore ♪ ♪ He canceled my debt and He called me His friend ♪ ♪ When death was arrested and my life began ♪ ♪ Thank you, Lord ♪ ♪ Oh, Your grace so free ♪ ♪ Washes over me ♪ ♪ You have made me new ♪ ♪ Now life begins with You ♪ ♪ It's your endless love ♪ ♪ Pouring down on us ♪ ♪ You have made us new ♪ ♪ Now life begins with You ♪ ♪ Our savior displayed on a criminal's cross ♪ ♪ Darkness rejoiced as though heaven had lost ♪ ♪ But then Jesus arose with our freedom in hand ♪ ♪ That's when death was arrested and my life began ♪ ♪ Oh, Your grace so free ♪ ♪ Washes over me ♪ ♪ You have made me new ♪ ♪ Now life begins with You ♪ ♪ It's your endless love ♪ ♪ Pouring down on us ♪ ♪ You have made us new ♪ ♪ Now life begins with You ♪ ♪ Oh, we're free, free ♪ ♪ Forever we're free ♪ ♪ Come join the song of all the redeemed ♪ ♪ Yes, we're free free ♪ ♪ Forever amen ♪ ♪ When death was arrested and my life began ♪ ♪ Oh, we're free, free, forever we're free ♪ ♪ Come join the song of all the redeemed ♪ ♪ Yes, we're free free, forever amen ♪ ♪ When death was arrested and my life began ♪ ♪ When death was arrested and my life began ♪ ♪ When death was arrested and my life began ♪ Yes, I hope you have that freedom. You are free indeed and it's the song of the redeemed that we sing today. That song is a song of freedom, is a song of hope, it's a song of love, it's a song of forgiveness, it's a song of grace, the song of mercy that's only provided by the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords and He suffered and bled and died on a cross for you and me. For one reason, because He loves us. For God so loved the world, that's all of us, that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life. Oh, folks, we can be so thankful today for the love of a Heavenly Father. That loves us so much, He would send His only Son to suffer and bleed and die for you and for me. Now, that's a good Father, a very very good Father. Can we worship Him together this morning? (gentle music) ♪ Oh, I've heard a thousand stories ♪ ♪ Of what they think You're like ♪ ♪ But I've heard the tender whisper ♪ ♪ Of love in the dead of night ♪ ♪ And You tell me that You're pleased ♪ ♪ And that I'm never alone ♪ ♪ You're a good, good Father ♪ ♪ It's who You are ♪ ♪ It's who You are ♪ ♪ It's who You are ♪ ♪ And I'm loved by You ♪ ♪ It's who I am, it's who I am ♪ ♪ It's who I am ♪ ♪ Oh and I've seen many searching ♪ ♪ For answers far and wide ♪ ♪ But I know we're all searching ♪ ♪ For answers only You provide ♪ ♪ 'Cause You know just what we need ♪ ♪ Before we say a word ♪ ♪ You're a good, good Father ♪ ♪ It's who You are ♪ ♪ It's who You are ♪ ♪ It's who You are ♪ ♪ And I'm loved by You ♪ ♪ It's who I am ♪ ♪ It's who I am ♪ ♪ It's who I am ♪ ♪ Because You are perfect in all of Your ways ♪ ♪ You are perfect in all of Your ways ♪ ♪ You are perfect in all of Your ways to us ♪ ♪ Oh, You are perfect in all of Your ways ♪ ♪ You're perfect in all of Your ways ♪ ♪ You are perfect in all of Your ways to us ♪ ♪ Oh, this love so undeniable that I ♪ ♪ I can hardly speak ♪ ♪ Peace so unexplainable that I ♪ ♪ Oh, I can hardly think ♪ ♪ As You call me deeper still ♪ ♪ As You call me deeper still ♪ ♪ As You call me deeper still ♪ ♪ Into love, love, love ♪ ♪ You're a good, good Father ♪ ♪ It's who You are ♪ ♪ It's who You are ♪ ♪ It's who You are ♪ ♪ And I'm loved by You ♪ ♪ It's who I am ♪ ♪ It's who I am ♪ ♪ Oh, it's who I am ♪ ♪ You're a good, good Father ♪ ♪ It's who You are ♪ ♪ It's who You are ♪ ♪ It's who You are ♪ ♪ And I'm loved by You ♪ ♪ It's who I am ♪ ♪ It's who I am ♪ ♪ It's who I am ♪ ♪ You're a good, good Father ♪ ♪ It's who You are ♪ ♪ It's who You are ♪ ♪ It's who You are ♪ ♪ And I'm loved by You ♪ ♪ It's who I am ♪ ♪ It's who I am ♪ ♪ It's who I am ♪ One of the prevailing questions in our culture right now is simply who am I? What am I here for? What's my purpose? Why do I exist? What am I doing? You know. And so many of us, maybe so many of you watching here, even right now this morning, you just sort of in a state of lostness and you don't really know why you're even on this earth, let alone what to do or having any sense of purpose. But I want you to know, that there's a Heavenly Father who loves you so much, that He fashioned and formed you in the womb before you were born. And He has a plan and a purpose for your life and He loves you so much that He sent His only Son to suffer and bleed and die for you. So who you are, is loved by the King of Kings. And who you are, is potentially a child of the King, and who you are is someone who He seems and deems important enough to know even the very number of the hairs in your head, and knows every little detail of your life, where you go, what you think, how you spend your money, where you spend your time, what you do throughout the day, He knows and He cares enough to give His soul and His heart and His blood for you as His only Son of the King of kings. And because of that, it just seems like it might make a little sense for us this morning to turn back to Him and listen to what He has for us. In just a moment, Pastor Anthony is gonna give us a word from the Scriptures. And as he does, I would encourage you to open your ears and listen, because His Word is perfect, just as He is perfect. And He's worthy of our praise, because of who He is, but also because of what He did for us. So before we go there, I'd love to just have you sing that little part again, you're perfect in all your ways. If you don't know, we'll sing it through a couple of times just so you can get familiar with it. But as we sing this, just with your heart and your mind, consider the perfection and the beauty and the majesty and the power of God Almighty, the One who loves you enough to know every little detail of your life. And the One who loved you enough to go to a cross and die for you. Can we just sing that little part? Just sing that. ♪ You are perfect in all of Your ways ♪ ♪ You are perfect in all of Your ways ♪ ♪ You are perfect in all of Your ways to us ♪ ♪ Sing it again ♪ ♪ You are perfect in all of Your ways, oh yes You are ♪ ♪ You're perfect in all of Your ways ♪ ♪ You are perfect in all of Your ways to us ♪ ♪ You're a good Father ♪ ♪ You're a good, good Father ♪ ♪ It's who You are ♪ ♪ It's who You are ♪ ♪ It's who You are ♪ ♪ And I'm loved by You ♪ ♪ It's who I am ♪ ♪ It's who I am ♪ ♪ It's who I am ♪ ♪ You're a good, good Father ♪ ♪ It's who You are ♪ ♪ It's who You are ♪ ♪ It's who You are ♪ ♪ And I'm loved by You ♪ ♪ It's who I am ♪ ♪ It's who I am ♪ ♪ It's who I am ♪ What a good, good Father our God is. Thank you Charles Billingsley and our worship singers and band for leading us in this time of worship today. And thank you to those of you who are watching. Some of you are faithful viewers, but maybe we've got a few who are first time viewers, we're especially glad to have you watching our live stream from First Baptist Atlanta this morning. This is the Lord's Day, it's the day He has made, we'll rejoice and be glad in it. And as we see so many things going around, we need this reset moment. There's confusion, there's anger, there's so many unanswered questions that people have, not only in our country, but around the world. And we are here to proclaim that our God is still on His throne. And as long as we trust in Him, He promises, He will not allow the righteous to be moved. Well, many of you received the email announcement with the video that was included, telling you about our reopening plans for February the seventh. It's on the calendar, it's official, that there are only two more Sundays after today when this room will be empty. And I cannot wait to have people back in the room to worship together so we can see one another and we're gonna sing, we are going to sing and so we can study God's Word together in person and it's going to be so dynamic just to have people back in the room. So I'll be sharing more details about that later. But for now, please know that our theme for the year at First Baptist Atlanta is based on Luke 18:1 and it is simply "Always Pray." And as a part of "Always Pray," we're kicking off a 21 day campaign of prayer. And that started this morning and we had almost 2,000 people who've already signed up for this. But I want you to be sure and sign up today because the devotions will go out by email or text every morning, starting today through February, the sixth and the first ones went out at six o'clock today but if you have yet to sign up, if you'll sign up today, we'll send you this morning's devotion and then you'll be in the system and tomorrow morning, six o'clock, you'll get your devotion sent to your phone by text or to your email inbox. And you'll see how to register, it's real simple, you just go to the website, click on 21 in '21 and you can be part of this three week countdown to grand reopening day as we covenant together in prayer before our God and I know God is gonna hear us from Heaven. So let's go to the Lord in prayer because we've got some more music, some worship, and then we're gonna get into the Word of God in just a moment. Father, we thank you and praise you that you've called us to always be about prayer, to live in a relationship with you, but also to have specific times that we set apart for talking to you and also listening to you. And we pray that you will draw us into a closer walk with you, draw us into a deeper level of intimacy with you through these 21 days of prayer. And I trust that many people who've not signed up yet will do so. So Father, speak to people's hearts, lead them, prompt them, guide them to sign on today to be part of this awesome prayer journey. And we agree together, Dear God, for our nation, as we see a historic moment this week and there is so much security, not only in our nation's capital, but in the state capitals around the country. And Father as Christians, we are people of peace and we are praying for your protection and that you suppress any efforts to perpetrate violence in the population centers of our country because every person, whether we agree with them or not, is your creation and precious in your sight. So we pray for peace and unity somehow, some way, God in times that we don't even know how to pray, I'm so glad your Word says that your Spirit intercedes for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. So we pray that your will will be done. And now Father, I want to thank you for how faithful our members have been to give and here we are in the New Year and our people are still giving during this time of pandemic. I pray that you will bless each giver, multiply back to them, as Jesus said, good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over. We claim that, we believe it because you are a good, good Father and we pray this in Jesus name. Amen. Let justice roll on like a river. Let righteousness be like a mighty stream. May the dividing wall of injustice fall so we may all sit together at a common table. Maybe all powerful Word of God that never returns void accomplish His will of peace and equality so we may all sit together at a common table. May each one of us practice humility and remember God created all people the same. May we turn away from discord and hate so we may all sit together at a common table. May we stand hard against injustice, sow seeds of trust, service and hope, and above all, love God and our neighbor so we may all sit together at a common table. Lord, may every valley be exalted, and every hill and mountain be made low, may the uneven be made straight, the rough places made smooth so we may all sit together at a common table. Amen. (gentle piano music) ♪ You said you believe God works in ♪ ♪ All things for your good ♪ ♪ You've seen enough to always trust His heart ♪ ♪ But now life is hitting harder than ♪ ♪ You ever thought it could ♪ ♪ The light of Hope is threatening to go dark ♪ ♪ You pray you see the seasons change ♪ ♪ Asking for a brighter day ♪ ♪ Could it be God's best for you is in this very place ♪ ♪ What if blessings come from rocky roads ♪ ♪ The faithful have to climb ♪ ♪ What if growing faith looks like an old fight ♪ ♪ You're facing one more time ♪ ♪ What if God is working perfectly ♪ ♪ In ways you're soon to see ♪ ♪ Then maybe you're right where you're supposed to be ♪ ♪ Oh, I know you're growing weary ♪ ♪ And so tired of how things are ♪ ♪ Voice is saying, run don't be a fool ♪ ♪ 'Cause the hardest thing sometimes is waiting ♪ ♪ With a patient heart ♪ ♪ And not get ahead of what God plans to do ♪ ♪ There could be something good that waits in store ♪ ♪ The very thing you're praying for ♪ ♪ It may be time to just be still ♪ ♪ And know that He is Lord ♪ ♪ What if blessings come from rocky roads ♪ ♪ The faithful have to climb ♪ ♪ What is growing faith looks like an old fight ♪ ♪ You're facing one more time ♪ ♪ What if God is working perfectly ♪ ♪ In ways you're soon to see ♪ ♪ Then maybe you're right where you're supposed to be ♪ ♪ You're in the grip of His grace ♪ ♪ In the palm of His hand ♪ ♪ Maybe the eye of the storm ♪ ♪ Is the center of His plan ♪ ♪ What if blessings come from rocky roads ♪ ♪ The faithful have to climb ♪ ♪ What if growing faith looks like an old fight ♪ ♪ You're facing one more time ♪ ♪ What if God is working perfectly ♪ ♪ In ways you're soon to see ♪ ♪ Then maybe you're right where you're supposed to be ♪ ♪ Yes, maybe you're right where you're suppose to be ♪ ♪ Oh, maybe you're right where you're suppose to be ♪ (gentle piano music continues) (gentle music) Our history books are filled with the stories of men and women of influence who left their mark on the world. And then library shelves are filled with volumes called biographies, which recount the impact of individual men and women across the course of history. And then we pick up our Bibles and we see that so much of the content of the Bible, of course, God is the primary subject, but look at the people He chose to work through. And their individual lives are a perpetual testament to the power of their faith, even through all of their faults and foibles. And we see great men and women like Moses or Esther, like King David or like Ruth, and we see that though they had an individual walk with God, and they made their own personal mark for God, this is what you'll see whether it is the men and women in the Bible, or the men and women in history, is that you will always see around them a support team that God situated. A group of people, usually very small group of people, sometimes large, but usually a small group of people who were committed to help those people fulfill their assignment. And I want you to remember with me today that no matter what's going on around us, that every one of us who is a Christian has a divinely given assignment. And one of the most difficult things to do is to stay focused on what you know God has given you to do. There will always be distractions, there will always be discouraging factors that weigh in and there will always be people who are against what God has called you to do. But how good is it when God brings people around you and they realize that whereas you have an assignment that God has given you, this is a blessing, don't miss this. God will bring you people who feel that their assignment from Him is to help you fulfill your assignment from Him. Thankful for the support teams that God places around us in our lives. And you know, you don't just need anybody around you to help you fulfill your assignment, to help you get through the rocky roads of life, you need warriors around you. And that's what I wanna talk to you about today is finding your warriors, finding the people, praying for the people, asking God to give you the people who will surround you, who will champion your assignment, who will equip and encourage you in fulfilling your assignment. And I want you to turn to that Old Testament book of Judges. It's not a book that we turn to very often, but it is filled with powerful stories that we need to revisit. And this morning, we're going to revisit one of them about a man named Gideon. Some of you may never have heard of him but many of you, if you grew up in church or Sunday School, you are familiar with the story of Gideon. And this book of Judges is all about the circles of depending on God and repenting of sin and being blessed and then lapsing into disobedience and sin and being judged by God. And then full circle, repenting, being broken, being blessed by God, but then lapsing into sinfulness and ungodliness. And so this story of Judges is about the highs and lows in the lives of the people of Israel. And God raised up different people to lead the children of Israel during this time because they didn't have a leader or a king. And Gideon was one such man. And Gideon was given the assignment to defeat a tribal people called the Midianites. And the Midianites were encamped on the mountains around where the Israelites were and they would wait until the Israelites had gotten their crop sown in the field, and then as the crop would grow, the Midianites would come and plunder the crop. And they would steal the livestock that belonged to the Israelites. And they would set things on fire. They were destructive and they were intent on making the Israelites miserable. And God put His hand on Gideon and said, I'm giving you the assignment to defeat the Midianites. And it was an overwhelming assignment. And I want us to pick up in verse 12, of the sixth chapter, there in the book of Judges where it says, "And the angel of the Lord appeared to him and said to him, "the Lord is with you, you mighty man of valor. "And Gideon said Him, O, Lord, if you're with us, "then why has all this happened to us? "And where are all the miracles that our fathers "told us about when they said, "Did not the Lord bring us up from Egypt?" Gideon says, "But now the Lord has forsaken us "and delivered us into the hands of the Midianites. "So the Lord turned to him and said, "go in this might of yours and you shall save Israel "from the hand of the Midianites. "Have I not sent you? "So he said to Him, O my Lord, how can I save Israel? "My family group, my clan is the weakest "in the tribe of Manasseh and I am the least "in my father's house," you should have picked somebody else. "And the Lord said him, surely I will be with you "and you shall defeat the Midianites as one man." Now, if you see parallels between Gideon and Moses, when God called Moses, Moses tried to talk God out of using him. He said "Lord, why did you pick me? "I am certainly not worthy and I am way under qualified." And that's the type of argument that Gideon was presenting to this angel of the Lord who represented Almighty God in this conversation. So instead of just listening to what God said, surely I will be with you and surely you will defeat the Midianites, Gideon started asking God for signs. He asked Him for one sign, he asked Him for another sign, he asked Him for another sign. Some of you remember the story about the dew falling on the sheepskin fleece and that being a confirming sign. And God in His goodness gave getting every possible sign that Gideon could have wanted to demonstrate, to confirm that God would give him victory. But God wanted him to put an army together, to lead this army who would help him to conquer this enemy group called the Midianites. So we look into chapter seven, and in verses two and three of chapter seven, where it says, "The Lord said to Gideon, this army that you've assembled, "they are too many for me to give the Midianites "into their hands, lest Israel claim glory for itself "against me saying, my own hand has saved me. "Now, therefore proclaim in the hearing of the people "saying, whoever is fearful and afraid, "let him turn and depart at once from Mount Gilead. "And 22,000 of the people returned and 10,000 remained." So what happened is he put out the notice, I'm enlisting men to fight for Israel and 32,000 men came and God said, whoa, that's way too many. Because God said, If you win with 32,000, then all 32,000 of those warriors are going to beat their chest, high five each other and say, look what we did. And you see what God was saying to Gideon is, he was saying, I don't want anybody taking credit for what I'm about to do. Therefore, we're gonna have to pair this army down so no human being can take the credit or get the glory for what God alone would do. And that leads me to what I wanna ask you to write down today if you're taking notes, not sure hope you are, when you consider the assignment that God has given you and hopefully you know what that is, you've prayed about it and discern what that is, but God wants your life to glorify Him. Simply put, God wants to use you, God wants to bless you, God wants to use me, God wants to bless me, but it is not so we can be glorified, or so we can parade our sense of talent, worth, importance, God wants to use your life so the glory will go to Him. God delights in glorifying Himself through us sinful human beings, and certainly we are. How do we glorify God? Well, we glorify Him when we obey His Word. We understand that when we follow the commandments of God, but we glorify Him when we discern what it is He wants us to be doing with our life and we get busy doing that. And I wonder how many people are either in their assignment, not knowing it's a God-given assignment, whereas if they knew it was from God, they might do it with more joy and a sense of fulfillment but how many Christians especially are out there who are living aimless lives, lacking purpose because they've never truly gleaned from God, pleaded with God to show them the specific assignment that God has for their lives? Wouldn't it be tragic for someone to live their whole life and look back and say, I'm not sure if I ever knew what my assignment was. In Gideon situation, God said, You've got too many soldiers and I'm gonna get the glory and I'm gonna get the glory alone. So God told him as we just read, you look at all 32,000 of those soldiers and you say, if any of you are scared, if any of you are afraid, go back home, go back home, I don't need you. And the Scriptures tell us 22,000 of them broke ranks and went back home. And then God even said that the 10,000 who were left, that was too many, and God eventually got it winnowed down to only 300 men, this little pitiful band of soldiers that would comprise Gideon's army. And this was 1.06% of what Gideon had started with. Now, I want you to think about that percentage, 1.06%. The rest were eliminated, moved off the scene and Gideon had just over 1% of the eligible warriors in Israel to be a part of his army. But God took Gideon's little band of 300 and He equipped them with clay pitchers or pots, and torches, and rams' horn trumpets. And just with those three things, clay pots, torches, and rams' horns, they sneaked up on the enemy and caught the enemy unsuspecting, all of those wretched Midianites. And verse 22 of chapter seven says this, "When the 300 Israelites blew their rams' horns, "the Lord calls those enemy warriors in the camp "out of fear to fight against each other with their swords. "And those who are not killed, fled to places " "as far away as Beth-shittah near Zererah "and to the border of Abel-meholah near Tabbath." Now, you don't have to know the names of all those places, all you need to know is, when the clay pitchers were broken and all the sound of shattering was coming in both surround sound fashion, and then the torches appeared from having been concealed by those pitchers, and then those trumpet sounded, all 300 people sounding those rams' horns, I'm telling you, it sent the enemy to flight. And Israel won the battle without firing a single shot. Now, what is the point of all of this? The point of all of this is for us to realize, God doesn't need a multitude to do what He wants to do. And sometimes we think that it's going to take lots of people for God to get His work done. And we are so outnumbered in the challenges that we face in doing God's work. And what God wants all of us to understand is, if God needed a big crowd, He would have let all 32,000 of the soldiers be part of the battle, but He didn't, God paired that group down to a little band of 300 and God did through Gideon and his 300 men what no army could have done, what no advanced weaponry could have done, what no group of skilled archers could have done with the ability to hit precisely every target in rain. Oh, no, God doesn't need all the things that we think are needed in order for a victory to be accomplished. God doesn't need multitudes, God doesn't need a bunch of resources, and sometimes we think that we need to have the best and the finest of this or that and sometimes we'll give all kinds of excuses about why we can't do something because I could do it if I had more of this or if I had something different. Or it could be money, it could be clothing, it could be a different job, we have all the things we think limit us and what God gives us this story to prove to us is that God doesn't need a multitude and God doesn't need a lot of resources because God owns it all anyway. The truth is, it's not just that God doesn't need a bunch of people, and God doesn't need a bunch of resources and money, the truth is, don't miss this, God doesn't need anything. Because He is God. And sometimes you'll hear people say, well, God just needs this or God just needs that. And I want to politely say, oh, wait a minute, God needs nothing. God doesn't need me. God doesn't need you. But He chooses to use us because in His grace, He makes us part of His plan and through using us, He brings pleasure to His own heart and glory to His Holy Name. Now, what I want you to realize about Gideon that set him apart is not just that he was some kind of gifted or skillful leader, he didn't think he was, he didn't want to lead, he tried to talk God out of using him. But there is one little phrase in the sixth chapter that would be so easy for us to overlook, but I don't want us to overlook it. It's chapter six and verse 34, where it says, "But the Spirit of the Lord came upon Gideon." Who can fully comprehend the difference that the Holy Spirit makes when he comes upon a man or woman who is surrendered to God. And what happened in Gideon's life, the Holy Spirit came upon him. And I don't care who you are watching today, how much you know about the Holy Spirit, how much you don't know about the Holy Spirit, this is what everyone must understand completely and fully and that is, that the Holy Spirit is the secret to the power of God being unleashed in our fulfilling the assignments that God has given us. There's a verse in Nehemiah that says, "Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit." And what we would say here is not by a big army, not by a lot of fancy weapons, and not buy lots of money, and not buy lots of influence, no, no, no. Judges 6:34 says, the Spirit of the Lord came upon Gideon, and it is that sweet Holy Spirit of power and anointing and fullness, that'll get the job done. And God's just waiting for us to say, Holy Spirit come upon my life, fill me, flow through me, be unleashed through what you've called me to do. So here's a great prayer. Lord, please glorify Yourself in my life. But here's something else. Not only does God want to glorify Himself through your life, but God wants to give you the warriors that you need. The warriors that you need. And God got the group whittled down from 32,000 to 10,000 and this is such a great story in the Bible because God said, you know, the 10,000 are still too many. And he said, to get in, I want you to take these 10,000 down to this stream that is a spring fed stream and I have had the privilege of standing right there at this very site where this story happened there in Israel. And this is what God said, God said, here's what I want you to do, I want you to separate these men into two groups. And it is all based on how they drink water at the spring. Oh, that's right, how they drank the water. And God basically said this, for those warriors who lean down to the water and scoop up water in their hands and lap the water like a dog drinks water, that's what God told him, for those who scoop the water and lap it like a dog, separate them over here. But for those man who get on their knees and press their face all the way into the water, and just suck the water right out of the stream, He said, you put them over here. And so that is how God separated the two groups. And so what happened is, verse six of chapter seven says, "Only 300 of the men drank from their hands. "All the others got down on their knees "and drank with their mouths in the stream. "And the Lord told Gideon, with these 300 men, "I will rescue you and give you victory over the Midianites, "send the rest of them home." Send the rest of them home. Now that was a lot of men to send home. I mean, if I am doing my math right, that was 9,700 men who drank directly from the stream versus the 300. And it was those who lapped the water from their hands like a dog who constituted Gideon's army of 300. Now, what's the significance of why God did it this way? Well, a lot of people say it's just what God wanted to do and there's no rhyme or reason, it was just the criterion that God established whereby to eliminate 9,700 after already 22,000 have gone away. Well, I've also heard the explanation, some have suggested that a warrior is never going to be unaware of his surroundings, he's going to be circumspect and alert. And for those who brought the water up to their faces, they never lost sight of what was going on around them and therefore they were the most attuned to their surroundings, whereas those who just got on their knees and buried their faces in the water, it proved that they were careless and unaware of their surroundings and they would be easily overtaken by enemy forces if they were ever deployed into real battle. Well, on and on, there could be speculations. I don't know why it happened this way but this is what I know, is that the plan and the instructions came from God. And God gave Gideon the way in which he would know which men belonged on his team and which men did not. And that's how it was all set up in verse four. And I want us to read verse four, where it says, "The Lord said to Gideon, "the people are still too many, bring them down "to the water." But look what I've underlined there, God says, "I will test them for you there." I will test them for you there. So whether we understand why God chose this whole lapping like a dog out of your cupped hands or drinking directly from the, whether we understand all of that, this is the principle that we need to know is that God will test the people around you that He wants to have the privilege of involvement in your life. You say, well, that sounds mighty arrogant. I'm telling you, if God has an assignment on your life, I don't care who you are, how old you are, what color you are, where you're from, what language you speak, how much money you have, if God has an assignment for your life, access to you as you complete it is a privilege for anyone. And God will filter and test those who are given that privileged access to you when you're fulfilling your assignment. I love what verse four says, God says, "I will test them there for you." Well, that was just the first part of verse four. God not only says I'm going to test them, but God says, I'm going to single out those, I'm gonna separate the people who belong and don't belong around you. It says, "The Lord said to Gideon, the people are too many, "bring them down the water, I'm gonna test them there." This is what I want you to focus on, "Then it will be "that of whom I say to you, this one shall go with you, "then that person will go with you." And God says, "Of whomever I say to you, "this one shall not go with you, "the same shall not go with you." Now, do you see that God, even though He fulfilled this promise that I'm gonna show you who goes and I'm gonna show you who stays, God uses this whole water thing to do it. What I love about it is that God told Gideon, if you listen to me, oh, listen, I'm not saying this because I'm preaching this message, but this is good preaching right here. This is good preaching right here. God told Gideon, if you will listen to me, son, I will show you who belongs on your team and who does not belong on your team, if you will listen. God is always wanting to show us the people who come into our lives who are are part of His plan for us and those that we need to listen as God is saying, nope, not him, not her. So as we're praying, I want to tell you one of the ways to pray is Oh God, bring into my life those people You want to be in my life. Those people who are going to be part of Your plan for my life. I don't just want friends, I don't just want helpers I want warriors. That's what we're talking about today because these 300 men they weren't gonna go sit behind a computer somewhere, they were going into a field of battle. That's what we're talking about. And who are the warriors in your life? Who are the warriors in my life? Your warriors are those who are gonna bless you. Your warriors are those who are going to encourage you. Your warriors are those who are going to help you, serve you, your warriors are those who will fight for you. Your warriors are those who will be loyal to you. And you need warriors, I need warriors. What an appropriate prayer here in the first month of what is proving to be a year just as crazy as the previous. What a wonderful prayer for you to pray, Oh, God, with all the stuff that is going haywire in the world, I've still got an assignment to fulfill and I pray that You will bring into my life, or show me the people who are already in my life, show me, Oh, God, who my warriors are. It's a great way to pray on this January day. But here's the last thing I want you to write down. Not only that, are you following me today? God wants to glorify Himself through your life, God wants to bring the right warriors around you to help you complete your assignment, but God wants to remove the hindrances that you don't need. He wants to remove the hindrances. And what what we see here is, it started with 32,000, then it got down to 10,000, then it got down to 300. God is willing to remove the people who do not belong. And in this case, it was God's way of getting Gideon's army down to such as pitiful size that whatever they accomplished, being outnumbered, you know, hundreds of times to one, that only God could get the credit. I mean, this little group of 300, couldn't even probably tackled a Boy Scout troop. And therefore whatever they did, God would be glorified for it because people would look around and say, that little group of people couldn't have done anything. And and then they'd say, you're right, but God did it which is exactly what happened. And you know, we usually think about that second point, oh, God, bring into my life the people You know will be my warriors but listen, how about realizing that God is the God who can take people out of your life? He can take people away and that's exactly what He did. This story is more about the people God led away than the people that God kept and surrounded Gideon with. Why did God take all the people away and leave him starting with 32,000 and he's now down to 300? It's because they were not part of Gideon's assignment. It's because they were going to be in the way. It's because they had a different assignment. God loved them too, it's not to say God didn't love the people He sent away. But what it is to say is that they weren't part of God's plan in Gideon's life. This is hard for us to deal with, by the way. And I'm going to be honest with you. In anticipating what I had been told from the time I came to this church, back in 2012 and even in 2011, December, I had been told that there was a strong likelihood I would become the pastor and there was always this unstated fear that was underlying in my life that, you know, you just know there are people who respond well to one leader, one pastor, and people who don't respond well to the next guy. I mean, I left the church to come here and the guy who followed me had to establish his own identity there and he's a great guy. But it's just a reality that certain people are drawn to personality types and the gifting of other people. And I've always known there were people here at our church who were just hanging on as long as Dr. Stanley was pastoring and they tolerate me, but they really weren't much about thinking of me as their pastor one day and I fully get it and I've had to grapple with that moment came, I became the pastor and then we had people, during a pandemic, doors were shut, drifting away, saying we're going to other churches, we're not coming back and I understand all of that and the same thing happens on the staff. And what you have to do when you're in a situation like mine, and I'm sharing this as a testimony to you because this happens in friendships with you, sometimes it happens in your marriage, sometimes it happens where you work, all of us have to be secure enough in our lives that we are not broken, that we are not rattled when there are people who choose to walk away. I found this quote online last week that says this, "When someone walks away, don't see it as them moving on "to something better. "See it as them letting YOU move on to something better." And so when when you realize they're gonna people who walk away from your life, and I'm talking to some of you who've gone through the painful experience of when people have walked out of your life, when people have chosen no longer to be supportive of you or a part of your team. Now, I don't need anybody to follow up on this message because the overwhelming, you're 95% of people I hear from are supportive, loving, this is an awesome church family, we have an awesome staff, everything's good. I'm just sharing with you, based on this story, that I have had to allow my heart and my thoughts and all of my emotions to be settled in the Word of God to say, give people the freedom to walk away without personalizing it. That's hard to do and many of you know what I'm talking about. And you see, sometimes, listen, don't miss this. Sometimes, when people walk away, sometimes it is not that they're walking away it is that God has put a hook around them and has pulled them away. So to grieve it, to be upset about it, there are times when it is the work of God that people are removed. And we have to understand that God works in ways He chooses to work and we accept Him for it. Do you remember what Job said? Job said, the Lord gives but what was the next part? But He also takes away. And we usually think of that as money or as health or as blessings, prosperity, but I believe it has to do with people just as much. That the Lord will give you the warriors and supporters in your life that He knows you need. But He is faithful enough that He's the same God who gives will take away and remove people from your life, knowing that it's not part of their assignment. And I was reminded last night when I was thinking about this sermon of that Disney movie, "Frozen," that came out years ago and all the little children sing, let it go, let it go. Well, sometimes instead of saying let it go, we need to sing, let him go, let her go, let them go. It means that you release people who choose to walk out of your life, who choose to say I'm not part of fulfilling your assignment, let them go, God is still God. He will still supply and provide. So when you're serious about your assignment, it's not just prayers of addition you need to be praying, but you need to pray prayers have subtraction. And I wanna pray something before you because this is something that I have prayed for years and years long before I moved to Atlanta, Georgia. Is not just Lord bring to me, cause my life to intersect with the people with whom I need to partner, the people whom I can trust, the people that I know I can let my guard down and I won't be undermined or stabbed in the back, show me those people. But I have also prayed Lord, help me to see and just you do it, Lord. Because listen, when God does it, He makes much less of a mess. God take away the people who will not contribute. Take away the people who will not be part of fulfilling the assignment. So I'm gonna close today with just a simple prayer with three little bullet points, and it's very bold but I believe it's the proper way to pray and that is; Lord removed from around me number one, those who do not value my assignment. Lord remove from around me those who don't do not value my assignment because listen, if they do not value your assignment, what you take seriously is what God has called you to do, if they do not value your assignment, they're not gonna value you. They're not gonna respect you. Their respect for you is shown by how they respect what God's called you to do and the assignment that God has given you to do. Not only that, but Lord remove from around me those who will hinder my assignment. Those who will hinder. And hinder just means those who will obstruct or because they don't understand or because they are apathetic or because they are indifferent or maybe because their motives are very self-serving. They're gonna be a hindrance to your assignment. Do you believe what I'm telling you is right to do, Lord, remove from around me those who don't value and respect my assignment and remove from around me anyone who's going to hinder me. Because when God's given you an assignment, you don't need to have to deal with little brush fires and little people who are being critical, little people who want a meeting with you. I've got to discuss something with you, blah, blah, you don't need all that stuff encumbering you. When you have an assignment, you need to be free to race into the destiny that God has through the assignment that He has given you and there will be people who hinder that, who don't even realize they're hindering it. And you can pray without even lifting a finger, remove from around me anyone who will hinder what you want to do. And the last prayer is this, Lord remove from around me those who will oppose my assignment, those who will oppose. See, it's one thing when someone doesn't respect your assignment, it's another thing when someone is going to hinder your assignment, but oh, we're at a different level when there are people who willfully and deliberately come against your assignment. Because when they come against your assignment, which is what God has given you to do, those people are very dangerous people. And for some of you, you've seen family members undermine your assignment and oppose you. Some of you've been betrayed by close friends in whom you trusted because they opposed what was God's will in your life. They fought against you walking in the plan God has for you. Do you understand what I'm saying? It's one thing if they don't respect what you believe your assignment is, or if they're in the way or they're not fully supportive, it is another thing when they are fighting against you. And here's the danger; what I've come to appreciate is people who just come out and tell you they're fighting against you. It's the people who are fighting against you that don't let you know, they're the ones who are lurking in the shadows. So here's a prayer; Lord remove. I remember, I have sat on this front row years now as the associate pastor and I love hearing Dr. Stanley tell his war stories about when he first came to First Baptist Atlanta, and he had a lot of them. And you know, because of Dr. Stanley graciously calling me here and the transition being what it was, I didn't face so many of those horrible stories I've heard him and Andy Stanley and Louie Giglio talk about because they were kids and Dr. Stanley was fighting this as the new pastor. But I remember Dr. Stanley talking about making a list of people he had on his list that he was praying out. Now, I'd be lying if I didn't tell you through the years of my ministry, I don't know if I've ever written the names down and I don't have anybody on that list. But I was inspired by that man of God saying that and I've heard that story many times and what I want you to know is, there may be people around you right now they don't belong and God is wanting to show you that you've got to let them go and sometimes, sometimes, you've got to tell them to go. So what God wants is to put our warriors around us who will champion our calls, who will help us fight the battle. And could it be that the battle is simply that of breaking some pottery, lifting a torch, sounding a trumpet and watching the enemy run in every direction. May God be glorified with our team of warriors around us. Father, thank you for this very practical message from the book of Judges, this obscure passage about how men drink water from a stream. But how vivid it is in reminding us that we're like Gideon and we need a circle of support around each of us because all of us have important assignments that you've given us. So we pray that you will not only bring to us the warriors we need, but help us to appreciate the warriors we have and remove from around us any person, any force that would hinder what it is you've called us to do. In Jesus name, amen.
