Title: God's Call
Judges (14) God's call (Judges 6:1-16)
"God's Call"
Gideon's family was an idolatrous family (verse 25). God called Gideon, who had such a bad family environment. Therefore, the thought of “I am suffering so much because my family environment is bad” should not be futile. But that didn't mean Gideon was a great person. When God called Gideon, Gideon did not pray for three years, he did not fast for 40 days, and he threshed wheat in a winepress (verse 11). The reason was to keep it from being known to the Midianites.
At that time, the Midianites were oppressing Israel with overwhelming military power. Especially as nomadic people, they had camels, so they were very mobile. So, he usually pretended not to know, but when it was harvest time, he knew like a ghost and invaded and stole grain and livestock. The years of suffering with no easy days like that had continued for seven years.
At that time, winepresses were made by making pits in the rock, so that wheat could be threshed in secret. So Gideon hid in a winepress and threshed wheat so that the news of his harvest would not be known in Midian. Looking at that scene, we can see that Gideon was originally a timid, fearful, and dreamless citizen, living day to day. As he was threshing wheat in hiding because of the fear of the Midianites, an angel of God appeared to him and said, “Great warrior! How absurd is it when you say, “God is with you” (verse 12)?
It was so absurd, he said. “What do you mean God is with you?” Then God said. “I sent you to save you from that Midianite hand!” (verse 14) Hearing this, Gideon was even more puzzled. “What power do I have to save Israel? Our family is also weak, and I am the least of our family (verse 15).” This answer from Gideon shows that he was possessed by defeatism and inferiority complex. How comforting is it to see God call and use such a timid person?
In fact, it seems that we are nothing to see ourselves. He doesn't have a good family, he doesn't have the legacy he inherited from his parents, he doesn't look good, and he doesn't have much right now. I wonder how I can achieve such a big thing. But dream big. If God is with us, we can surely accomplish great things. God has never called a strong man. God is a God who calls the weak and uses them to be strong.
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Do not be discouraged by the current state of affairs, and listen to God's voice at this time, saying, “Great warrior!” Then don't say "I'm not!" God does not make fun of us. You just have to not fall into Satan's defeatism. No matter how weak we may seem, if God is with us, we can become the greatest warriors than anyone else. Don't make it your goal in life to live your life and live a normal life as a petty citizen until the day you die.
I still pray that prayer every morning. "God! I want to do missionary work more than anyone. I want to produce more missionaries than anyone else. When missionaries come to Korea for a while, I want to treat them better than anyone else and make them feel comfortable, and when they return, I want to give them more gifts than anyone else and bring them back to the mission field with a rich heart. God! Help me to become a holy big hand that can do missionary work well!” I hope that you too can have that same vision.
Missionary Lim Byung-cheol from Mongolia has visited Korea for a short time. There are many Korean missionaries in Mongolia, over hundreds, but most (about 95%) of them work in Ulaanbaatar, the capital city. Missionary Byung-Chul Lim works in Irtin, a 6-hour drive from Ulaanbaatar. Most of the 14 existing churches planted by Missionary Lim in the 1st and 2nd periods are located in rural areas. There are 7 newly planted churches in the 3rd phase of ministry that started last year, and most of them are located in rural areas. It is a complete front-line frontier pioneering missionary work.
Last winter, Irtin experienced an unimaginable cold of minus 50-60 degrees Celsius. Because of the cold, 5 of the members of the churches that missionary Lim planted died from the cold and fire. Pray for the missionaries in such a difficult area and have the vision of a rear missionary to provide for the needs.
When you go to Myeong-dong, people who play money with huge amounts of money are called ‘big hands’. Be the great grandchildren of missions like that. When raising children, say, “God! May our children become holy grandchildren!” Pray and raise them. Each and every one of you may receive great blessings and become holy grandchildren who can lead the political, economic, social and cultural worlds among you. Don't give up ahead of time saying "I can't!" If you rely on the God who called and used the timid Gideon and do your best, God will surely make your holy dream come true.