(uplifting music) Well, hello First Baptist Atlanta. We are so glad you're joining us today. We're honored to have you with us. So grab some coffee, sit down in your living room, wherever you might be. Join us as we worship the Lord, this morning. And if you know it, come on, sing along with us, all right. ♪ We've waited for this day ♪ ♪ We're gathered in Your name ♪ ♪ Calling out to You ♪ ♪ Your glory like a fire ♪ ♪ Awakening desire ♪ ♪ Will burn our hearts with truth ♪ ♪ You're the reason we're here ♪ ♪ You're the reason we're singin' ♪ ♪ Open up the heavens ♪ ♪ We want to see You ♪ ♪ Open up the floodgates ♪ ♪ A mighty river ♪ ♪ Flowing from Your heart ♪ ♪ Filling every part of our praise ♪ ♪ Your presence in this place ♪ ♪ Your glory on our face ♪ ♪ We're looking to the sky ♪ ♪ Descending like a cloud ♪ ♪ You're standing with us now ♪ ♪ Lord, unveil our eyes ♪ You are the reason! ♪ You're the reason we're here ♪ Oh yes. ♪ You're the reason we're singin' ♪ ♪ Open up the heavens ♪ ♪ Oh yes, We want to see You ♪ ♪ Open up the floodgates ♪ ♪ A mighty river ♪ ♪ Flowing from Your heart ♪ ♪ Filling every part of our praise ♪ ♪ Yes, open up the heavens ♪ ♪ We want to see You ♪ ♪ Open up the floodgates ♪ ♪ A mighty river ♪ ♪ Flowing from Your heart ♪ ♪ Filling every part of our praise ♪ Oh show us Your glory, Lord, that's our prayer today, come on. ♪ Show us, show us Your glory ♪ ♪ Show us, show us Your power ♪ ♪ Show us, show us Your glory, Lord ♪ Let's sing that again, show us Your glory, Lord. ♪ Show us, show us Your glory ♪ ♪ Show us, show us Your power ♪ ♪ Show us, show us Your glory, Lord ♪ ♪ Yes, open up the heavens ♪ ♪ We want to see You ♪ ♪ Open up the floodgates ♪ ♪ A mighty river ♪ ♪ Flowing from Your heart ♪ ♪ Filling every part of our praise ♪ ♪ Open up the heavens ♪ ♪ We want to see You ♪ ♪ Open up the floodgates ♪ ♪ A mighty river ♪ ♪ Flowing from Your heart ♪ ♪ Filling every part of our praise ♪ ♪ A mighty river ♪ ♪ Flowing from Your heart ♪ ♪ Filling every part of our praise ♪ You're a mighty river, Lord! ♪ A mighty river ♪ ♪ Flowing from Your heart ♪ ♪ Filling every part of our praise ♪ Yeah, a mighty river flowing from our heart to Yours, Lord. We worship you in spirit and in truth this morning. ♪ I was buried beneath my shame ♪ ♪ Who could carry that kind of weight? ♪ ♪ It was my tomb ♪ ♪ Till I met You ♪ ♪ I was breathing, but not alive ♪ Yes, Lord. ♪ All my failures I tried to hide ♪ ♪ It was my tomb ♪ ♪ Till I met You ♪ ♪ You called my name ♪ ♪ And I ran out of that grave ♪ ♪ Out of the darkness ♪ ♪ Into Your glorious day ♪ ♪ You called my name ♪ ♪ And I ran out of that grave ♪ ♪ Out of the darkness ♪ ♪ Into Your glorious day ♪ Thank You, Lord! Try the next verse with me. ♪ Now Your mercy has saved my soul ♪ ♪ And now Your freedom is all that I know ♪ ♪ Oh, the old made new ♪ ♪ Jesus, when I met You ♪ ♪ When you called my name ♪ ♪ And I ran out of that grave ♪ Yes, I did! ♪ Out of the darkness ♪ ♪ Into Your glorious day ♪ ♪ You called my name ♪ ♪ And I ran out of that grave ♪ ♪ Out of the darkness ♪ ♪ Into Your glorious day ♪ Yeah, praise You Lord! Oh, aren't you thankful He calls your name, rescued you out of darkness, gave you a hope that's forever. C'mon, sing this testimony. ♪ I needed rescue ♪ ♪ My sin was heavy ♪ ♪ But chains break at the weight of Your glory ♪ ♪ I needed shelter ♪ ♪ I was an orphan ♪ ♪ Now, You call me a citizen of Heaven ♪ ♪ When I was broken ♪ ♪ You were my healing ♪ ♪ Now Your love is the air that I'm breathing ♪ ♪ I have a future ♪ ♪ My eyes are open ♪ ♪ Until you called my name ♪ ♪ And I ran out of that grave ♪ Yes, I did! ♪ Out of the darkness ♪ ♪ Into Your glorious day ♪ ♪ You called my name ♪ ♪ And I ran out of that grave ♪ ♪ Oh yeah, oh out of the darkness ♪ ♪ Into Your glorious day ♪ ♪ Hey yes, ♪ ♪ thank You, Lord ♪ I hope that song gives you hope. I hope it reminds you that He calls your name and He knows your name. I know we all have some relatives that we love, because we have to, but we don't like 'em that much. Listen, we have a Savior who doesn't just love us, He likes us and He knows your name, and He knows my name. And today He's calling us out to worship Him, to serve Him, to live for Him and to live as though we have a hope that is within us, that's not just temporary. You know, this hope is eternal. This hope is what Paul referred to as a "living hope". If you don't have that kind of hope in your heart today, then keep watching. Pastor Anthony is going to bring us a message that will give you the hope that you need in Christ. ♪ How great the chasm ♪ ♪ That lay between us ♪ ♪ How high the mountain ♪ ♪ I could not climb ♪ ♪ In desperation ♪ ♪ I turned to heaven ♪ ♪ And spoke Your name into the night ♪ ♪ Then through the darkness ♪ ♪ Your loving-kindness ♪ ♪ Tore through the shadows of my soul ♪ ♪ The work is finished ♪ ♪ The end is written ♪ ♪ Jesus Christ my living hope ♪ ♪ Who could imagine ♪ ♪ So great a mercy ♪ ♪ What heart could fathom ♪ ♪ Such boundless grace ♪ ♪ The God of ages ♪ ♪ Stepped down from glory ♪ ♪ To wear my sin and bear my shame ♪ ♪ The cross has spoken ♪ ♪ I am forgiven ♪ ♪ The King of kings calls me His own ♪ ♪ Beautiful Savior ♪ ♪ Oh, I'm Yours forever ♪ ♪ Jesus Christ my living hope ♪ Oh, yes. ♪ Hallelujah ♪ ♪ Praise the One who set me free ♪ ♪ Hallelujah ♪ ♪ Death has lost its grip on me ♪ ♪ You have broken every chain ♪ ♪ There's salvation in Your name ♪ ♪ Jesus Christ my living hope ♪ Sing it again! ♪ Hallelujah ♪ ♪ Praise the One who set me free ♪ ♪ Hallelujah ♪ ♪ Death has lost its grip on me ♪ ♪ You have broken every chain ♪ ♪ There's salvation in Your name ♪ ♪ Jesus Christ my living hope ♪ ♪ Then came the morning ♪ ♪ That sealed the promise ♪ ♪ Your buried body ♪ ♪ Began to breathe ♪ ♪ Out of the silence ♪ ♪ The Roaring Lion ♪ ♪ Declared the grave ♪ ♪ Has no claim on me ♪ Come on, sing that again. ♪ Then came the morning ♪ ♪ That sealed the promise ♪ That's right. ♪ Your buried body ♪ ♪ Began to breathe ♪ ♪ Out of the silence ♪ ♪ The Roaring Lion ♪ ♪ Declared the grave ♪ ♪ Has no claim on me ♪ ♪ Oh, Jesus Yours is the victory ♪ ♪ Hallelujah ♪ ♪ Praise the One who set me free ♪ ♪ Hallelujah ♪ ♪ Death has lost its grip on me ♪ ♪ You have broken every chain ♪ ♪ There's salvation in Your name ♪ ♪ Jesus Christ my living hope ♪ ♪ Oh, Hallelujah ♪ ♪ Praise the One who set me free ♪ ♪ Hallelujah ♪ ♪ Death has lost its grip on me ♪ ♪ You have broken every chain ♪ ♪ There's salvation in Your name ♪ ♪ Jesus Christ my living hope ♪ ♪ Jesus Christ my living hope ♪ ♪ God, You are my living hope. ♪ Oh I just thank You that we have in Him. We need Him so badly. Lord, we give You praise, we give You honor, we give You the glory that is due Your name. And we're reminded when we sing a song like that of just how much in need of You we are. You remember that old hymn? ♪ I need Thee oh I need Thee ♪ ♪ Every hour I need Thee ♪ ♪ Oh bless me now my Savior ♪ ♪ I come to Thee ♪ Let's sing that again with me. ♪ I need Thee oh I need Thee ♪ ♪ Every hour I need Thee ♪ ♪ Oh bless me now my Savior ♪ ♪ I come to Thee ♪ And oh, how we need Him, every hour of every day. Welcome all of you to our FBA live stream this Sunday morning. Thank you for logging on and being part of our virtual worshiping family. We've been sidelined through this pandemic for far too many months, but we can see the light at the end of the tunnel when we're going to be regathering, and there are going to be people out here in these seats among which I'm standing right now just two weeks from today. I want to encourage you, if you have not already registered for our 21 in twenty-one emphasis on prayer and we've themed our entire year here at FBA to always pray. That's our theme. And when you come back on property, you'll see proof of that. We've got reminders, that'll be everywhere but to kick it off, we started a 21 day countdown to when we are back here in the worship center and we're calling it 21 in twenty-one, and I'm asking you to sign up if you have not already by going to our website and clicking on that number 21, and you can register to get a daily devotion in your email inbox or sent to you by text message every morning at six o'clock. And we already have our first week under our belt but it's not too late for you to sign on. And we want you to be part of this prayer journey. We've already heard from people all week about how much these devotions and prayer guides have meant in just the first seven days. So, I encourage you sign up for 21 in twenty-one. Also want to mention to you, we're excited that tomorrow morning our offices are reopening. And so if you have a need to come and shop in the bookstore or come and visit the church for any reason, then you are welcome. We're going to resume our normal pre-COVID business hours here at the FBA office. Now our staff has been working throughout this entire time, we have just had very restricted access into the building out of safety precautions but the doors are open tomorrow for our offices. However, a mask is required to enter the building. And you know, when we open the doors here to the church we have that same requirement. We've heard from so many people who say, you know I think that's a great idea, and then we've got a handful of people who don't like the mask requirement and we understand all perspectives on that, but we are going to err on the side of caution. So, if you want to come to the office just be ready to have a mask. We will also have some for you, if you don't have one. I want to express my gratitude to Charles Billingsley. What a great friend he's been, since we were in high school in the same student youth group together in Jacksonville, Florida. And he has met a need for us, not only today but the previous two Sundays. And we have one more Sunday to enjoy his leading us in worship. And we've heard some new songs that probably some of you haven't heard before. Many of you probably have heard these songs many times but I thank you Charles for leading us and also thank you for bringing some of the guest vocalists who are standing beside you singing. And we just feel so grateful, honored and blessed to have had Charles Billingsley with us for the month of January. Speaking of that, as many of you know and have been praying, we have been asking God to lead us in a search to find a new worship pastor for First Baptist Atlanta. That has been a tedious assignment, because we have a choir and orchestra and it was important to me to find someone committed to building a strong choir. I mean, we've got a foundation, a solid foundation. I mean, for years under John Glover and then others who came then of course, pastor Rodney Brooks. And so that foundation is rock solid. We need someone just to come in and build on it, starting with slow walking the choir back into the choir room and into the loft in the weeks and months to come and through a process that Charles Billingsley has actually helped me with, by surveying candidates all over the country, Charles came back to the first person that he's shared with me when I called him, on December 10 and said, "Help me please". He mentioned this man's name, and I said, "Well, I like that guy but let's take the time "to go through a search process." So six weeks later, and all roads lead back to a young man who used to serve here with us on staff as Pastor Rodney's assistant in worship ministry. And so I called him a few days ago and extended the invitation to come and be a part of our staff again, this time as our worship pastor. So just about 30 minutes ago, the announcement was shared in the church where he has served for the past five years, the First Baptist Church of Indian Trail North Carolina and their congregation now knows, so our congregation can know that Pastor Matthew Slemp will be joining us on February 7th, our first day back in the building as our new worship pastor. So I want to encourage all of you to begin praying for the Slemp family. And we'll send an email out to everyone in the church because many people probably aren't watching now. Any given Sunday, people are traveling or have other things that will keep them from seeing it. We want everyone to know pastor Matthew Slemp will be coming back to FBA and he's going to help us get things started, two weeks from today, worshiping together again as a church family. So we want to go to the Lord in prayer. There's still a powerful song called "Way Maker" that's going to draw you into God's presence. Then I've got a message from the Word of God to share today. Father, thank you for all the things that You are doing, in days that present us with many things we don't understand, we've got so much to be thankful for and so much for which to praise You, Almighty God, You are awesome. And we love You and we adore You. We thank You for the news of this announcement about Matthew Slemp coming back. We trust that You will bless him, and we thank You for a faithful choir, faithful orchestra and all who serve in our ministry here. So we will throw our arms open to welcome Matt, Chelsea and their three daughters back here to FBA. Father, I want to thank You that throughout this pandemic You have blessed us as a church. You've kept us together. And the enemy has tried in different ways to sow doubt into our hearts and minds, but our faith is unmoved. We stand on the solid ground because we know this church is Yours. Jesus, You are the head of this church and we thank you that we will rise triumphant to face our future, as we follow You. I pray today for everyone who is grieving a loss. In fact, we had the sad news of losing one of our media team members late last night and our team here as you know, Father, it has a heavy heart today and I pray that You will comfort his family, including his wife and his three daughters and his mom and dad, Bill and Carol and faithful choir members and faithful members of the church. So God, we pray for Your Spirit to draw all who grieve from the loss we've experienced today, draw them into Your sweet embrace. And so, we thank You for being faithful to answer prayers like this. And we know that You are working in people's lives in ways that we could never begin to understand but it's just how You work, and it's just how You are. We thank You for all these things in Jesus name, Amen. (gentle music) ♪ You are here ♪ ♪ Moving in our midst ♪ ♪ I worship You ♪ ♪ I worship You ♪ ♪ You are here ♪ ♪ Working in this place ♪ ♪ I worship You ♪ ♪ I worship You ♪ ♪ You are here ♪ ♪ Moving in our midst ♪ ♪ I worship You ♪ ♪ I worship You ♪ ♪ You are here ♪ ♪ Working in this place ♪ ♪ I worship You ♪ ♪ I worship You ♪ ♪ All because You are Way maker ♪ ♪ Miracle worker ♪ ♪ Promise keeper ♪ ♪ Light in the darkness ♪ ♪ My God, that is who You are ♪ ♪ That's who You are, you are ♪ ♪ Way maker, miracle worker ♪ ♪ Promise keeper, light in the darkness ♪ ♪ My God, that is who You are ♪ Yes you are, Jesus. ♪ You are here ♪ ♪ Touching every heart ♪ ♪ I worship you ♪ ♪ I worship you ♪ ♪ You are here ♪ ♪ Healing every life ♪ ♪ I worship You ♪ ♪ I worship You ♪ ♪ I know You're here ♪ ♪ You are here ♪ ♪ Mending every heart ♪ ♪ I worship you with all my heart ♪ ♪ I worship you ♪ ♪ You are here ♪ ♪ Meeting ever need ♪ ♪ I worship You ♪ ♪ I worship You ♪ ♪ Oh, because You are way maker ♪ ♪ Miracle worker ♪ ♪ Promise keeper, light in the darkness ♪ ♪ My God, that is who You are ♪ ♪ Way maker, miracle worker ♪ ♪ Promise keeper, light in the darkness ♪ ♪ My God, my God ♪ ♪ That is who You are ♪ ♪ Oh my God, You'll be a way maker ♪ ♪ Miracle worker ♪ ♪ Promise keeper, light in the darkness ♪ ♪ My God, that is who You are ♪ ♪ I worship You, ♪ ♪ You are the way maker ♪ ♪ Miracle worker ♪ ♪ Promise keeper, light in the darkness ♪ ♪ My God, that is who You are ♪ ♪ That is who You are ♪ ♪ You meet every need ♪ ♪ You make a way for Your children ♪ ♪ I know, I know my Jesus ♪ ♪ Even when I don't see it, You're workin' ♪ ♪ Even when I don't feel it, You're workin' ♪ ♪ You never stop, You never stop workin' ♪ ♪ You never stop, You never stop workin' ♪ ♪ Even when I don't see it, You're workin' ♪ ♪ Even when I don't feel it, You're workin' ♪ ♪ You never stop, You never stop workin' ♪ ♪ You never stop, You never stop workin' ♪ ♪ Even when I don't see it, You're workin' ♪ ♪ Even when I don't feel it, You're workin' ♪ ♪ I know You never stop, You never stop workin' ♪ ♪ You never stop, You never stop workin' ♪ ♪ Even when I don't see it, You're workin' ♪ ♪ Even when I don't feel it, You're workin' ♪ ♪ You never stop, You never stop workin' ♪ You won't stop! ♪ You never stop, You never stop workin' ♪ ♪ You are the way maker ♪ ♪ Miracle worker ♪ ♪ Promise keeper, light in the darkness ♪ ♪ My God, that is who You are ♪ ♪ You are the way maker ♪ ♪ Miracle worker ♪ ♪ Promise keeper, light in the darkness ♪ ♪ My God, that is who You are ♪ Hallelu, Jesus. ♪ You are here ♪ ♪ You're moving in our midst ♪ ♪ I worship You, I do ♪ ♪ I worship You, O Lord ♪ ♪ You are here ♪ ♪ You're working in this place ♪ ♪ I worship You ♪ ♪ I worship You ♪ ♪ In the middle of it all ♪ ♪ Oh you are the way maker ♪ ♪ Miracle worker ♪ ♪ Promise keeper, light in the darkness ♪ ♪ My God, that is who You are ♪ ♪ Way maker, miracle worker ♪ ♪ Promise keeper, light in the darkness ♪ ♪ My God, that is who You are ♪ ♪ Even when I don't see it, You're workin' ♪ ♪ Even when I don't feel it, You're workin' ♪ ♪ You never stop, You never stop workin' ♪ ♪ You never stop, You never stop workin' ♪ ♪ Even when I don't see it, You're workin' ♪ ♪ Even when I don't feel it, You're workin' ♪ ♪ You never stop, You never stop workin' ♪ ♪ You never stop, You never stop workin' ♪ ♪ Oh, hallelujah, oh yeah. ♪ Hallelujah, He never stops working. And maybe you feel like the Lord has turned His back on you. I promise you, He has not. And our job is simply to keep our eyes focused on Him, Keep our hearts open to Him, keep our ears open to hear His still small voice hah, and then live a life of surrender. And I promise you, if you do that, He will guide you every step of the way. Can we just sing this together? ♪ I surrender all ♪ ♪ Yeah, I surrender all ♪ All to Thee. ♪ All to Thee, my blessed Savior ♪ ♪ I surrender all ♪ (uplifting music) How many times have you been faced with a decision that you needed to make but you weren't sure which way to choose and you asked God, "Oh God, please give me a sign."? Or maybe you've been in some type of a dilemma where someone was advising you very strongly to go in a certain direction or to decide a certain outcome. And you were so torn because you couldn't tell if what you were being advised to do was the right thing to do. And you looked to God and you said, "Lord please give me a sign." And all of us have probably had times when we thought God was trying to tell us something and we wonder, "Lord, is this You talking to me? "Or is this the devil talking to me? "Or is this just my own mind feeding itself thoughts?" I've been there many times where I didn't know if it was me, God or the devil planting the thoughts about what I should do, and I've asked the Lord to please give me a sign to take away the uncertainty, to just make it clear who was speaking to me and what the right decision was to make. And that's what I want us to talk about this morning, the message is, "Lord, I need a Sign" and I want you to turn to the Old Testament book of Judges because all of us come to places in life, and perhaps someone is watching right now and you are in that very kind of predicament where you just don't know which way you should go. And you're asking God for a sign. And what I want us to do is to turn back to the book of Judges and look into the life of one of the leaders God raised up to lead the Israelites into victory against one of the enemy tribes that was tormenting them, a group called the Midianites. And, as some of you may remember, the story of Gideon was that God came and visited Gideon and told Gideon that He was going to be with Gideon. He was going to give Gideon His favor, to put together a team of warriors, and that with God's help they were going to defeat this enemy group to cause Israel to once again enjoy peace and blessing from God as this enemy would be vanquished. And Gideon had doubts, even though God told him that God would be with him. He was plagued with doubt. And what he, for God, is that if God tells you something, you can trust God to make good on it. I want you to look in verse 14 of Judges 6 where it says, "The Lord turned to Gideon and said, "'Go in this might of yours, and you shall save Israel "'from the hand of the Midianites.'" And then God says, "Have I not sent you?" So I want you to think about that. God said, "You shall save Israel. "And am I not the one, the Almighty God, "Maker of heaven and earth, Sustainer of all things, "the One before whom all enemies must bow? "Am I not the one who has sent you, who will go before you? "Who will be around you, who will be behind you? "Am I the Lord God, not the One who is sending you?" Now, that is a strong, confident pledge from God to Gideon that God would be with him. And yet, that was not enough for Gideon because when we look down in verse 17, Gideon said to the Lord, "Well, Lord, "if now I have found favor in Your sight, "then show me a sign that it is You who talk with me." Okay, so God's already told him what would happen, Gideon's saying, "Lord, how do I know this is You? "I need a sign." And you know, that's happened to me so many times, it's happened to many of you watching where you feel like God has spoken to you, you think you've gotten the right direction but you need some clarification. You need God to remove all doubt. And God certainly answered this prayer in verse 17 because what happened is, Gideon was told to prepare a sacrifice. So, he took a goat and he baked a cake of unleavened bread and he placed the goat and the unleavened bread on a rock. And this angel, through whom God was speaking to Gideon, this angel caused fire to leap up out of the rock and to consume the goat and the bread. Now, I don't know about you but that would be a sign wouldn't it? That would be convincing, that fire comes out of a rock and consumes this piece of meat and this cake of bread. So, from that sign then, Gideon was emboldened. And one of his first tasks was not a physical task with physical enemies, like the Midianites, it was actually a spiritual task. It was to go where there was an altar to the false God called Baal and tear down that altar and to replace it, an altar to the true God of Israel. So, he did that and he was met with great opposition, even from some of his fellow Israelites, but it was a great test for him because what it showed him is that no matter how much you do right, no matter what you do, that you know, God's told you to do, even when it comes to tearing down an altar to a false God and building an altar to the true God, you are going to be opposed, even by the people that you're trying to lead and help. And this should be a reminder to everyone that one of the greatest proofs that you're doing what you should be doing is that you are being opposed. Because, if nobody's against you, you ain't doing nothing. (laughs) You're not doing what you ought to be doing until people are fighting. And so this is what happened to Gideon. Well, so what happens? Like us, any one of us, you, myself, when you face opposition, you get discouraged and you need a little bit more affirmation from God. So Gideon grows insecure from the fact that not only were some of these Israelites and other people upset with him, they wanted to kill him for tearing down this altar to a false God. Now, I want you to remember, God has already promised Gideon that he would use Gideon to defeat the enemy. He's already promised Gideon that he would be with Gideon. He's shown him a sign by causing fire to come up from the rock, and now, because he met some opposition and they're calling for his life, he needs another sign. So, verse 36, let's read it. "Gideon said to God, 'If You're going to save Israel "'by my hand, as You've said, look "'I shall put a fleece of wool on the threshing floor. "'If there is dew on the fleece only in the morning "'and it is dry on all the ground, "'then I shall know that You will save Israel by my hand, "'as You have said,' and it was so. "when Gideon rose early the next morning, "he went to the fleece, he squeezed the fleece together and he wrung the dew out of the fleece "and it filled up a bowlful of water." Now this is one of my favorite stores in the Bible about how God can give His children signs. What is a fleece? A fleece is a sheepskin. So Gideon has this sheepskin fleece. He puts it down on the threshing floor and his prayer to God is, "God, I'm gonna leave this here all night. "And if it is true that You're going to be with me, "and what You've told me you would do, You will actually do, "when I come out here in the morning "I'm asking you to prove that I've heard You right "by letting the dew only be on the sheepskin "and the ground around it "be dry as a bone." And we just read it, he came out the next morning and the ground was dry, but the sheepskin was saturated with dew, and he even rung it out and there was so much water on that fleece that it filled up the bowl. Now, this would have been fun to watch, but oh, how I love the fact that God answered this prayer. But, before we celebrate the fact that God answered the prayer, I'm going to ask you to write something down because in spite of the goodness of God, Gideon was plagued with doubt and unbelief and what you and I need to do and to learn from this passage of Scripture is that we need to identify doubt as the pathway to our defeat. Doubt is the pathway, and it is a pathway that is enticing. It is a pathway that calls out to us. In fact, we are inclined in our human nature to doubt instead of to believe but we need to identify doubt for what it is. Now, a moment ago, we read verse 36 but I want us to examine it a little closer, because look at what Gideon said to God in verse 36, he says, "If You will save Israel by my hand," and then look, he says, "As You have said." Now, stop and think about how that sentence ends, "as you said," but how did the prayer start? "If You will save Israel, as You've said". Do you see the problem with that whole prayer? He's acknowledging in the prayer that he believes that God's already told him that God would use him to save Israel, but he starts it with "if" as though what God said may or may not happen. And that's where I want to share with you the danger of the word "if". "If" can be a very spiritually dangerous word. Many of our propositions begin with "if" in reference to God. I mean, how many times have I said something or have I heard someone say something like this, "If God is really in control, then why?" And then you can just fill in the blank. Why does He let bad things happen to people? Why does He let people be taken so prematurely? Why does He let there be suffering in the world? And then another statement is, "If God really loves me, then why?" And the question would be asked, "Well, if He loves you, why doesn't He answer your prayers "and give you the things that you're asking for "and bless your children like you want Him to?" "Why doesn't He heal the person you've been praying for or heal you? And we say, "If God is in control, "If God really loves me, then why?" I've heard people say, "If the Bible is true, then why? "If the Bible is true, then why aren't these promises "coming true in my life? "If the Bible is true, then how can this be happening? "I read the Bible, but I see this." Or, "If God is a good God, then why?" And you can just fill in the blank. "If He's a good God, then why does He "let certain things happen?" So, what I want to ask you a question is, when you say, "If God is in control, if God really loves me, "if God is a good God, if God, if His Word is true," why would you start the sentence with the word "if"? It's not a matter of if God is really in control, let me tell you something. It is, God is in control. You take the "if" out of it. It's not a matter of, if God really loves me, it is God really does love me. Well, if the Bible is true then, no, no, no. The Bible is true, take out the "if". If God is a good, no, no, take out the "if", God is a good God. So, many of the things that come after the "if" statement reveal our doubt and we see it right here in what Gideon said. Gideon said in verse 36, "If it is true "that You're going to save Israel through my hand, "as You have said then I need You to ... give me a sign." And I want us to think about the word "if". You know, I was reflecting on this last week and I was reminded that in the story of Jesus' temptation, you may remember after Jesus' baptism He was led out into the wilderness to be tempted. You remember that? And Satan tempted Him how many times? Not once, not twice, but three times. And we have those recorded but I want you to look on the screen because in Matthew 4:3, it says, when the tempter came to Jesus, he said "If You are the Son of God, "command that these stones become bread." Now, let me ask you a question. Is there any need to say, "If Jesus is the Son of God?" Did Jesus know He was the Son of God? Yes He did. Did Satan know that Jesus was the Son of God? Yes he did. So this whole setup of a temptation was, "If you are really the Son of God" which opens the door to the possibility He is not the Son of God, the "if" doesn't even belong there. So, Satan comes back after Jesus quotes Scripture to him, he comes back for the second temptation. And in Matthew 4:6, it says the devil said to Him, "If you are the Son of God," there it is again. "If you are the Son of God, throw Yourself down." Well, let me ask a question. Is there any doubt as to whether He's the Son of God? No, there is not. Satan was saying, "I want to plant doubt in your own mind "about who you are. "If you'll throw yourself down, "put God to the test and have God save you." But the doubt was built into the word "if" and the temptation of Satan to Jesus started with "if" in both of these instances. And even though the "if" falls later in the sentence in the third temptation, the Bible tells us that Satan took Jesus up on a high mountain and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world. And in verse nine, it says, "he said to Him, "'All these things, I will give You, if'", there's that word, "'if You will fall down and worship me.'" Well, may I ask you a question, is there any doubt as to whether or not Jesus Christ was going to bow down and worship Satan? He didn't need that "if" you will bow down and worship me because He already knew that His Father in Heaven had promised Him all the nations and kingdoms of the world when He would return to the earth one day. So, I'm going to great lengths just to compound, you know, expand upon this compounding doubt that Satan builds into our heart and our spirit with the word "if" in relation to God. Gideon was plagued by it in verse 36 of our passage that we're studying. So, I want you to be careful, because here's what I've noticed. I don't mean this to be critical, I really don't. But I've noticed in listening to people around me, not close people but just through the years I've been a Christian. People will contaminate your faith with their doubts. "If God, this, if God loves us, then why? "If God really has your back, then why did He let you hurt?" Like, if, if, if, if and the language of doubt will pollute your faith. So, what you need to do is, you need to tune out people who speak words of doubt with "if" and you need to listen to your own language. Are you one who is conversant in the language of doubt? If so, stop saying, "if" in reference to God. God is who He is, His Word will accomplish what He promises. There is no room for "if" in the life of a child of God. Let me share something else with you. It should never take a sign for us to believe the Word of God. It should never take a sign for us to believe the Word of God. In Gideon's case, he was asking for these signs even though God had made it clear to him what He would do. Now, in Gideon's defense, there are others in this Book, many others who heard God tell 'em something, and they said, "Lord, I need a sign." For instance, one with which you'll probably be familiar is God's servant, Moses. You remember, when God caught the bush on fire that was not consumed, and Moses took his sandals off and had a conversation with God and Moses did everything he could do to talk God out of using him, out of calling him. "Lord, you've called the wrong person. "Lord, you got the wrong guy. "Lord, I have a speech impediment. "Lord, Lord, Lord, Lord, Lord, Lord, Lord." I mean, he did everything he could to get God to go pick somebody else. And finally, God in His grace and mercy, was willing to walk Moses through all of his doubts, and we read about this in Exodus chapter four. And what happened is, Moses' biggest question was that, "I'm a little nobody, and so what if I stand up "in front of the Israelites and tell them "that I'm leading them out of Egypt? "And they want some signs, I'm going to need a sign "to prove to them that I really heard from God." So God told Moses, you remember this, God told Moses, "What's that in your hand son?" he said, "It's a rod." He said, "Throw it on the ground." He threw it on the ground and it turned into a snake. God said, "Pick that snake up by the tail." When Moses touched the tail of the snake the snake turned back into his rod. And then, you may remember, that the next sign was, God told Moses, "Put your hand to your bosom "and draw it back." When he drew it back, his hand was covered in leprosy. He said, "Okay, now put your hand back to your bosom "and draw it back." And his hand was completely restored. So there was the rod that became a serpent, there was the leper's hand that was restored. And then God even went on to say, "And if they still don't believe you, "go get some water out of the river, "pour it onto the ground, "and when you pour it onto the ground, "it will become blood." Why am I sharing these stories with you? I'm sharing this to say that Gideon's not the only guy or lady in the Bible who asked God for a sign. Speaking of signs, God gave Moses another sign later on in his life. He went up on a mountain and I would call this a sign, when God says, "Hold these tablets of stone, "you better stand pretty still "because I'm going to be etching some writing on there "with a bolt of lightning." And we call those the Ten Commandments. And those were a sign of God's covenant with His people, Israel. And I want you to think about those commandments. You remember what some of them are, when you get down into the moral section, the ethical section: don't commit murder, don't commit adultery, don't steal, don't lie. And you know, what I'm what I'm saying to you about this is, Gideon heard God speak to him and he's asking God to give him a sign to validate what he had heard. You and I may not hear the same way that Gideon heard God but we have this Book before us. And so when you're reading the commandments of God, and for instance, "Thou shalt not lie," do you need to ask God to give you a sign as to whether or not you should obey that commandment? No, you do not. (laughs) Do you need to ask God for a sign to prove that "Thou shalt not steal," is really what God said? No, you don't need a sign because what God has put in His Word, you don't need a sign to confirm. The fact that it's in the Bible makes it true. So, you don't need a sign to confirm what Scripture plainly and clearly says, but you and I know there are times when it's just not that cut and dry. There are times when it's not just a matter of, you know the Ten Commandments and obeying or disobeying. Sometimes, we've got a Scripture that we've been reading and we believe that it applies to our situation, although our name is not written beside the verse. So I believe you can ask God for a sign, a confirming validating experience in your life, as to whether or not that Scripture can apply to your situation. Maybe it's a specific verse God has placed on your heart, and you're trying to discern, "God is this verse "trying to tell me to make a certain decision in my life, "to have to have a certain course of action "You want me to take?" You can ask God to confirm that. And sometimes, as you and I know, God speaks to us through an internal prompting because the Holy Spirit lives inside of us and we'll think, "God is this You speaking to me?" We'll have a thought to give someone some money. We'll have a thought to pick up the phone and make a call to encourage. We'll have a thought to take a trip to go somewhere. We'll have a thought, on, on and on you and I could go with our experiences. And sometimes when we're trying to say, "Oh is this the Holy Spirit?" I think it's okay to ask for a sign, but Gideon is pushing the limit here because he's already had the sign of the fire coming out of the rock and consuming the sacrifice of the goat and consuming the unleavened bread. Then he's got the sign of the dew falling on the fleece but not on the ground around it, but he, let's look in verse 39, it says, Gideon said to God, "God, please don't get upset with me. "Please, don't be angry with me, Lord, "but let me speak just one more time, God, "let me test, I pray, just once more with the fleece. "Just one more time, Lord, I've got my fleece here. "I'm going to put it down on the same ground "and Lord let it now be dry only "on the fleece in the morning, but on all the ground "let there be dew." "And God did so that night, it was dry on the fleece only "but there was dew on all the ground," and isn't that an amazing story. Now, I love the way Gideon starts this. "Oh Lord, please don't strike me dead. "Oh God, please don't consume me in Your anger "because I'm asking You for one more sign, "just one more sign." And how many times have you and I prayed prayers like that and God could have just wiped us out, God could consume us. God could just say, "I'm sick of dealing with you." God is so loving, so gracious, so kind. And the Bible says, He answered Gideon's prayer. Whereas the first go round with the fleece, the dew was only on the fleece, the gry was drowned. In this instance, Gideon said, "Please let the fleece be dry in the morning, "and the ground be covered with dew," and he got up the next morning and sure enough that fleece was dry as a bone and the ground was covered with dew and our good God gave Gideon his sign. And this is what I want you to write down: God can give us signs if our hearts are sincere. He's not obligated to give us signs. In Gideon's case, God didn't have to give him the first sign with the fire coming out of the rock, He didn't have to give him the second sign with the dew on the fleece, but not on the ground, and He sure didn't have to give him the sign the third time with the dew on the ground, but not on the fleece, but He chose to bless Gideon that way because He knew Gideon's heart. And the fact that Gideon was saying, "Oh God, I know that I'm doubtful, I know that I'm weak. "That's why I'm asking You "not to get upset with me, oh Father." That demonstrated the sincerity of Gideon's heart. Now, you know, I've heard pastors preach about how signs are wrong, you should never ask for signs. And it is true that many times signs are an excuse for an insincere heart. For instance, in Matthew 16:1, it says, "The Pharisees and Sadducees came, and testing Him," they were testing Jesus. They asked Him that He would show them a sign from heaven. Do you see, by putting Jesus to the test, that revealed their hearts were insincere. They were trying to trip up Jesus. They were trying to expose Jesus for the farce that they thought He was, and Jesus knew what was in their hearts. They were asking for a sign, but it wasn't out of sincerity, it was out of wickedness. And that's why He said, verse four, Jesus' response to them was, "'A wicked and adulterous generation seeks after a sign "'and no sign shall be given to it "'except the sign of the prophet Jonah.' "And he left them and departed." And what I want you to understand is, that in the same way, Jesus knew their hearts, He knows every heart. He knows my heart, He knows your heart. And Jesus knows if you're seeking Him with your whole heart. God knows if your desire is to be pleasing to Him. God knows when you are sincere and pure because you just desperately want the confirmation of what His will is in your life. He knows your heart better than you know your own heart. And aren't you encouraged today to know that even when others around you may doubt your sincerity, may doubt the purity of your desire to press into God, to hear from God, to follow God because He's revealed His will, aren't you thankful that even when others around you doubt your heart, God knows your heart. God knows that you're true. God knows that you're the real deal, when you are earnestly, desperately seeking Him. And I love what the writer said in Psalm 103:13, "The Lord is like a father to his children, "tender and compassionate to those who fear Him. "For He knows how weak we are; "He remembers that we are only dust." And these two verses right there, that God knows how weak we are, to me this is what encourages me that I can pray like Gideon prayed, that you can pray like Gideon prayed, that we can pray like Moses prayed and others in the Scriptures who asked God to confirm His will in their life. Lord, make sure I've got this right, because He knows that if our heart is pure and we want to know with all of our hearts that we're choosing to obey because we've understood correctly, when God knows that's your heart, I don't believe God is offended when we ask Him for confirmation. I mean, if it's clear in the Bible, there's no sign needed, but when there is ambiguity or uncertainty about how something in Scripture applies to a situation, whether something you've heard from the Holy Spirit is really from God or not, I believe God is pleased when we hunger and thirst for Him to make it clear to us, and that's how God uses signs. You can start in this book of Genesis and read all the way through the last book of the Bible, and God uses signs to speak to people. You know, one of our favorite signs is the rainbow. Do you know that the rainbow is the sign from God that was sent to the world after the flood in Noah's day, and it was the sign that would forever commemorate God's pledge never to destroy the world again by a flood. The rainbow was a sign that God still uses today to take us back to that story in Genesis, God uses signs. And then, you know, I think about all of the things God did for the people of Israel where He used the 10 plagues and He got them out of Egypt. And, when they were in the wilderness, He fed them with manna and He led them with a pillar of fire by night and a cloud by day. And all of these things were signs, and you may remember when Joshua led the people of Israel into the promised land, he said, "Choose you this day, whom you will serve. "You're going to serve these other gods? "Go serve 'em, but as for me and my house, "we're gonna serve the Lord." And I love how the people responded to Joshua, in chapter 24 and verse 17, they said, "For the Lord our God "is He who brought us and our fathers up "out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage." And God did those "great signs in our sight," do you see that? They acknowledged that God had used signs to reveal Himself to His people. And then in the life of king David, when many people many people were turning against him and some were even seeking his life. He had so many days spent crying and in pain and torment looking up to God for help. He prayed this prayer in Psalm 86, he said "Send me a sign of your favor: "Then those who hate me will be put to shame, "for you, O Lord, help and comfort me." You know what, he was saying, "Lord I need You "to give me a sign that You haven't abandoned me. "Would You please give me a sign "I'm going to get through this?" And he was praying, "Lord, I not only want the sign for me "but when You give me this sign, I want those around me "who hate me to see Your blessing on my life. "Let it be a sign to them that You are with me." Oh, you talk about a powerful prayer in Psalm 86:17, "give me a sign of Your favor." And then do you remember the events surrounding the birth of Jesus? Remember the shepherds who were keeping watch over their flocks by night, and the angel of the Lord told them to go to Bethlehem. And in Luke 2:12 the angel told the shepherds, "And this will be the what, the sign to you. "You're going to find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, "lying in a manger." And according to the gospel of John, all of the things Jesus said and did, all of them were signs, chapter 2 and verse 23, John says, when Jesus was "in Jerusalem at the Passover, "during the feast, many believed in His name "when they saw the signs which He did." Now, signs aren't always reliable. Signs can even be used by Satan. Jesus warned, false prophets will have the ability to perform the signs. At the end of the Sermon on the Mount, He said, "Many are gonna come to me and say, 'Lord, Lord, "'have we not done signs in Your name?' "And I'm going to say, "Depart from me." Book of Revelation, we're studying that right now. The Antichrist is going to have the ability to do supernatural signs. Signs are not foolproof, but I believe with all of my heart that when we are anchored to the Scriptures and we're not just floating out in the cloud somewhere, taking every little circumstantial indicator as a sign, when we are anchored in the Word of God and we're in tune with the Holy Spirit, God can give you a convincing sign, confirming what His will is for your life. You know, when I prayed about coming to Atlanta, starting in December of 2011, I spent nine weeks praying about this decision to come to First Baptist Atlanta. And did I ask God to give me signs? You better believe I asked God to give me signs. And I've heard people say, "You should never ask God to do that." Well, you know what? When I read the Bible and I see that other people ask God to give them a sign, why can't I do the same thing? And you know what God did through those nine weeks? Are you ready, are you ready? He gave me sign after sign, after sign. You know, one day I'd just like to preach a sermon, to give just a testimony on all of the times in my life's journey, when God has given me a sign to confirm a message that He wanted me to have. And sometimes that sign was through the lips, through the message of someone I would never have expected God to use. Sometimes that sign would be something as simple as passing a billboard on the highway and the message on the billboard being exactly what I was praying about. Again, this isn't foolproof, but I really believe this, that the Holy Spirit of God, if He's the one giving you the sign, He will bear witness in your spirit, the Spirit of God with your spirit, that what you've seen or what you've heard is truly from God. So what are you praying for, hmm? What are you asking God to confirm in your life? If you already know what it is He wants you to do, if it's a clearly defined command in the Bible, you need to stop asking for a sign. Forget the sign and just be obedient to God. But there's some of you watching today for whom it's just not that cut and dry. And if you would be so bold as to ask a Father who understands our weakness, our frailty, but also can see through the facade of all human countenance and expression, and He knows the purity and sincerity of your heart. If you will ask that loving Father to speak to you in a different kind of way, I believe with all of my heart that He will. And you know something, the reason I believe this, is because of the story of Gideon. I serve and know the God who put the dew on Gideon's fleece. And today, before I pray, it may be time for you to put your fleece out on the ground and ask God for that confirming indicator, that sign that will remove all doubt, that gives you what you need to take the next step He's calling you to take. Father, I thank you that You are the faithful and loving God You are. I thank You that, even though we are doubtful and sometimes we need multiple reassurances from You, in Your love and kindness, You faithfully provide us with those things. And, as we study this story about Gideon, not needing one sign, not just needing two but asking for three signs back to back, You patiently and generously granted his request. And I pray You will do the same thing for many who are watching today. Show us, reveal to us, confirm to us with dew on the fleece, in Jesus' name, amen.
