Sermon – “Receiving the Blessing”

Then the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the LORD. So the LORD delivered them into the hand of Midian for seven years, 2 and the hand of Midian prevailed against Israel. Because of the Midianites, the children of Israel made for themselves the dens, the caves, and the strongholds which are in the mountains. 3 So it was, whenever Israel had sown, Midianites would come up; also Amalekites and the people of the East would come up against them. 4 Then they would encamp against them and destroy the produce of the earth as far as Gaza, and leave no sustenance for Israel, neither sheep nor ox nor donkey. 5 For they would come up with their livestock and their tents, coming in as numerous as locusts; both they and their camels were without number; and they would enter the land to destroy it. 6 So Israel was greatly impoverished because of the Midianites, and the children of Israel cried out to the LORD. 7 And it came to pass, when the children of Israel cried out to the LORD because of the Midianites, 8 that the LORD sent a prophet to the children of Israel, who said to them, “Thus says the LORD God of Israel: ‘I brought you up from Egypt and brought you out of the house of bondage; 9 and I delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians and out of the hand of all who oppressed you, and drove them out before you and gave you their land. 10 Also I said to you, “I am the LORD your God; do not fear the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell.” But you have not obeyed My voice.’” 11 Now the Angel of the LORD came and sat under the terebinth tree which was in Ophrah, which belonged to Joash the Abiezrite, while his son Gideon threshed wheat in the winepress, in order to hide it from the Midianites. 12 And the Angel of the LORD appeared to him, and said to him, “The LORD is with you, you mighty man of valor!” 13 Gideon said to Him, “O my lord, if the LORD is with us, why then has all this happened to us? And where are all His miracles which our fathers told us about, saying, ‘Did not the LORD bring us up from Egypt?’ But now the LORD has forsaken us and delivered us into the hands of the Midianites.” 14 Then 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?” 15 So he said to Him, “O my Lord, how can I save Israel? Indeed my clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father’s house.” 16 And the LORD said to him, “Surely I will be with you, and you shall defeat the Midianites as one man.” 17 Then he said to Him, “If now I have found favor in Your sight, then show me a sign that it is You who talk with me. 18 Do not depart from here, I pray, until I come to You and bring out my offering and set it before You.” And He said, “I will wait until you come back.” 19 So Gideon went in and prepared a young goat, and unleavened bread from an ephah of flour. The meat he put in a basket, and he put the broth in a pot; and he brought them out to Him under the terebinth tree and presented them. 20 The Angel of God said to him, “Take the meat and the unleavened bread and lay them on this rock, and pour out the broth.” And he did so. 21 Then the Angel of the LORD put out the end of the staff that was in His hand, and touched the meat and the unleavened bread; and fire rose out of the rock and consumed the meat and the unleavened bread. And the Angel of the LORD departed out of his sight. 22 Now Gideon perceived that He was the Angel of the LORD. So Gideon said, “Alas, O Lord GOD! For I have seen the Angel of the LORD face to face.” 23 Then the LORD said to him, “Peace be with you; do not fear, you shall not die.” 24 So Gideon built an altar there to the LORD, and called it The-LORD-Is-Peace. To this day it is still in Ophrah of the Abiezrites. 25 Now it came to pass the same night that the LORD said to him, “Take your father’s young bull, the second bull of seven years old, and tear down the altar of Baal that your father has, and cut down the wooden image that is beside it; 26 and build an altar to the LORD your God on top of this rock in the proper arrangement, and take the second bull and offer a burnt sacrifice with the wood of the image which you shall cut down.” 27 So Gideon took ten men from among his servants and did as the LORD had said to him. But because he feared his father’s household and the men of the city too much to do it by day, he did it by night.

36 So Gideon said to God, “If You will save Israel by my hand as You have said— 37 look, I shall put a fleece of wool on the threshing floor; if there is dew on the fleece only, and it is dry on all the ground, then I shall know that You will save Israel by my hand, as You have said.” 38 And it was so. When he rose early the next morning and squeezed the fleece together, he wrung the dew out of the fleece, a bowlful of water. 39 Then Gideon said to God, “Do not be angry with me, but let me speak just once more: Let me test, I pray, just once more with the fleece; let it now be dry only on the fleece, but on all the ground let there be dew.” 40 And God did so that night. It was dry on the fleece only, but there was dew on all the ground.

26-28 Meanwhile, the moment we get tired in the waiting, God’s Spirit is right alongside helping us along. If we don’t know how or what to pray, it doesn’t matter. He does our praying in and for us, making prayer out of our wordless sighs, our aching groans. He knows us far better than we know ourselves, knows our pregnant condition, and keeps us present before God. That’s why we can be so sure that every detail in our lives of love for God is worked into something good.

We’re going to look today in Judges Chapter six are we talking about Gideon everybody remember Gideon yeah they might not know who Gideon is. Anybody judges chapter six. Start with one. Then the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord so that the Lord delivered them into the hand of Midian for seven years and the hand of millions prevailed against Israel because of the Midianites the children of Israel made for themselves the dens the caves the strong hard old strongholds which are in the mountains so it was when ever Israel whatever Israel had soon many nights would come up also a millet kites and the people of the East would come up against them then they would camp against them and destroy the produce of the earth as far as Gaza and leave no sustenance for Israel neither she nor Ochsner Don’t be for they would come up with their livestock and their tents coming in as numerous as locusts both the and the they and their camels were without number and they would enter the land to destroy it so Israel was greatly impoverished because of the Midianites in the children of Israel cried out to the Lord so picture it your nation and you’ve been driven out of your land and you’ve had a car for yourself in the mountains caves to live in your behind ing anywhere you can find in the trees whatever you are starving people because all these other nations are coming against you anything you plant they come in and ravage their animals eat it they their laws livestock trample what they take anything that they can find there there are people that are there destitute they’re poor they’re hungry they’ve got children they’ve got babies that they’re trying to protect in the in a rock in a hole in a wall and you know what they don’t know where to go they don’t know what to do so what do they do they cry out to God. There’s some things we can learn from Gideon and we’re going to see some of these along the way the first thing is God uses tough times to get our attention because anybody noticed that. When is it that we mostly. Cry out to God when we cry out the hardest when is that in our lives is it when things are going great you know it’s when things are hard and that’s when we really get on our hands or our face and we cry out that God and and we literally cry out to God we don’t just say oh lord thank you so much we cry out to him with our whole heart. And I think that’s what the people of Israel had done they had come to the point where they could not depend on themselves they couldn’t do it on their own and they knew that they needed God and were the same way when we get to that point that we can’t do it on why are we realize that we need God so many times I think in our lives we wait think we can live this life on R.M. by ourselves that we can do it in and of ourselves but we really can’t can we we need gone every step of the way whether our lives are going good whether they’re bad we always need God with us. So the Israelites were at this point they’re on the run they’re hiding they’re there they’re living in the mountains in caves. And God answered them by way of a prophet look at judges seven ten through nine and it came to pass when the children of Israel cried out to the Lord because of the Midianites that the Lord sent a prophet to the children of Israel he said to them Thus says the Lord God of Israel I brought you up from Egypt and brought you out of the house of bondage and I delivered you out of the hands of the Egyptians and out of the hand of all who are precious you I drove them out before you and gave you their land also I said to you I am the LORD your God do not fear the gods of the Amorites in whose land you will dwell but you have not obeyed my voice. The second thing we can learn from Gideon God sees more than we do verses six and seven when we cry out to God He answers. So God answer and told answer them and he told them how he was he told them what he had already done he’s going back to when he brought the people out of the bondage of Egypt remember when. We parted the waters and the pillar of smoke by day in the fire by night remember all that he’s reminding them I did this for your people and you were supposed to live the way I told you but what did they do they fell away they were put up and stead of not bowing to. And giving in to them they’re putting up their idols they’re worshipping their idols so they didn’t draw them in and now a kites and all those out they just went in with them and started a war shipping the same way they did now it took many many years but they did they were putting up idols and worshipping the same idols that they were it’s no wonder they were oppressed they were doing what God told them to do God told them over and over again there were stiff necked people didn’t What’s that mean. They’re hard headed aren’t they now does anybody know anybody hardheaded. I’m probably I admit I am really hard headed I’m as hard headed as they get and I got a feeling my kids far behind me. Ever since I got what you’re talking about mom. But they’re hard headed but you know what. God love them anyway. And just as God loves us he loved him anyway. And he did what he always does he made a way to me. And so getting comes on the scene and judges six eleven through fifteen we read now the angel of the Lord came and sat under the terror by the tree which was in or Fatah which belonged to Joe Ashley Beza right and while his son Gideon threshed wheat in the wine press in order to hide hide it from the Midianites the angel of the Lord appeared to him and said to him The Lord is with you you mighty man of the hour. Gary’s laughing. Gideon said to him oh lord if the Lord is with us Why then has all this happened and where are all His miracles which our fathers told us about say did not the Lord bring us up out of Egypt but now the Lord has for saken us and the livered us unto the hand of the Midianites then the lower 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. And so he said to him Oh my lord how can I save Israel indeed my clan is the weakest in Minnesota and I am the least in my father’s house. So getting hands in a wine press threshing week so that the Midianites couldn’t saying he’s hiding is any now for any you people that are city slickers and don’t know it when you thresh wheat you’re generally not in a closed in area you’re out in the open air so that when you thrash it the chaff blows away in the wheat falls down so then you can collect the wheat it’s going to be really hard to do in a wine press where there’s nowhere right but Gideon’s hiding because you know he’s afraid to Midianites are going to come in and they were going to take what food they have because that’s what they tend to do. So anyway if he’s hiding he’s really not hiding very well because God sees us wherever we are running and an Angel finds him and begins a conversation with him and it cause him a mighty man of valor now I come to see Gideon looking around going where we’re just mighty mean about you know I’m not sure if it’s a god has a sense of humor or if he was being sarcastic or maybe it is just that he knew who Gideon was supposed to be. What do you think. I think it was time that God saw the earth that Gideon Saul what God Saul. How about you. Do you see in you. What God sees in you. Get in acts as if he doesn’t hear any of those words he says if the Lord is really with us then why must we suffer those things these things are otherwise oh woe is me we’re so destitute we have no hope at all God is a roar God Are you really with us I can just hear it Connor won in the long. But then he goes on the scripture changes a bit instead of referring to this person as an angel it says the Lord turned to him and told him go in this my view of yours and say this now I’m wondering if Gideon just had this. Epiphany moment where the light bulb went off and he realized that it was the Lord talking to him through the Angel and immediately Gideon begins to make excuses about how his tribe is the least in the NASA and he’s the least of his father’s house really. If you’re in a job interview are you going to bring up all your weaknesses. Are you going to flaunt them. Maybe but only if you really don’t want the job the Lord is telling him he is a mighty man of valor. That he is going to save the people and he’s making excuses I don’t know about you. But if the Lord was speaking audibly to me through an angel and told me I was mighty I think I might tend to believe it I kind of think my shoulders would go back and I just my spine would get straight my head would go up and I’d say yes I am more and I. Know You Know Me Lord you know me better not know myself. Gideon’s people are calling out that God save them and when God shows up he thinks he’s not tough enough and starts making excuses the Lord just told him he was strong that he was mighty. God knows more than we know about ourselves how. Often we pray for a situation when God gives us the answer we look instead for another one like oh well that you know that that’s not convenient. We want an easier way out we want to do something the easy way we’ve gotten to be a people that are dependent have a way we want things to be easy we don’t have to work for it we want God to part the waters we want God to send the play we want God to set out that pillar of fire we want miracles we don’t want to have to work for it we want everything given to us but that isn’t life is it as just not reality as second Thessalonians three ten we were Paul states that if someone wouldn’t work they wouldn’t need now you may think it harsh but that was a way to keep one person from sucking off of another person’s hard work you know you didn’t work you didn’t need it was just the way it was if you were if you were disabled or something that was a different story but you know what if you were able bodied you’re out workin to make a way to eat and it was everybody kind of helped everyone else. And I think God saying the same thing to get in here in a way it’s like you know what you want the miracles then you need to step up and do what it takes to get them I’m going to deliver you but you have to be the person that I’m going to use to do it you have to step into that role. Another thing we can learn from Gideon God knows who you are. He knows how you were formed and he knows what you were created to do we each one of a sitting here have a purpose to fulfill who believes that. We each one have a purpose to fulfill we each one have a talent that is given by God Maybe you know what it is and maybe you haven’t figured it out yet and that’s OK It doesn’t mean that you get to sit around all day waiting to find out the only way you’re going to find out what your gift in your town is is to do some. Things and see if that’s what works for you see if that’s where you fit in see if that’s what God has called you to do because if you don’t fail if you don’t make mistakes you’re never gonna learn to do anything right we all do things how did we learn to walk we fell down. How did we learn to crawl we probably fell on our face a number of times how did we learn to eat did we miss our mouth a lot I’m sure we did you know we have to step in and do what we’re called to do and we may make mistakes along the way but that’s how we learn what we are. Get out get out and do your purpose let’s get back to getting and judges sixteen through twenty seven. And the Lord said to him surely I will be with you and you shall defeat the Midianites as one man and then he said to him if you know this is getting in talk with God Now if I have found favor in your sight then show me a sign that it is you who walk with me do not depart from here I pray and till you come until I come in to you and bring out my offerings and set it before you and the angel said I will wait until you come back. So Gideon went in a prepared a young goat and unleavened bread from the flour the meat he put in the basket and he put the broth in a pot and he brought them out to him under the terror been three and presented them the angel of God said to him take the meat and the unleavened bread and lay them on the strong and pour out the broth and he did so then the angel of the Lord put out the end of his staff that was in his hand and touched the meat in the end love and bread and the fire rose out of the rock and consume the meat and the unleavened bread and the angel of the Lord departed out of his sight. Now Gideon perceived that he was an angel of the Lord so Gideon said a lot also Lord for I have seen an angel of the Lord faced. Face so he’s afraid again then the Lord said to him peace be with you do not fear you shall not die so guilty Gideon build an altar there to the Lord and called it the Lord is peace to this day it is still in or fall of the at busier rites Now it came to pass the same night that the Lord said to him Take your father’s young bull the second boy of seven years old and tear down the altar of bale that your father has and cut down the wooden images that is beside it and build an altar to the Lord your God on top of this rock in the proper arrangement and take the second bowl and all for a burnt sacrifice with the wood of the image which you shall cut down. So good and took the ten men from among his servants and it is the board had said to him but because he feared his father because he feared his father’s household and the men of the city too much to do it by day he did it by night so Gideon was still a little bit afraid one thing he didn’t go out in the day time to do what he was supposed to do he thought was his Qantas sneak in at night maybe nobody will know what I did. Given the Gideon needed a personal encounter with God So God met him right where he was giving him a sense of peace and purpose by his promise and his presence finally Gideon gets it what did it take for God to get his attention he’s seen an inch of God He’s seen the fire go out and burn up the offering he’s seen that God has shown himself to be the powerful god whom his forefathers spoke of Gideon’s finally see and what they saw when he he’s finally seen something that he can lay hold of for the sake of time I’m not going to read the whole thing and get in because it gets rather long I’m going to shorten it and paraphrase that a bit to get the point across. But as Israel’s deliver Gideon did tear down those idols and false gods and he did risk his life to do so but somehow God must have gotten hold of Gideon’s father because when Gideon stad came out and saw this he defended Gideon to the neighbors. He kind of stood beside it so I kind of think well maybe Gideon it’s Dad must’ve kind a had a visitation too because all the sudden he’s changing a straight story. But getting called The People’s together to stand up and fight their enemies and they called together many many many men and it started out as thousands and ended up whittled down to three hundred men but you’re going to have to read all that to get the whole story because I’m going to concentrate on this one final part since God finally has Gideon’s attention. He’s going to do what he has to do here what God’s telling him to do but I wonder what’s it going to take to get your full with tension. And when he has your attention what are you going to do about it. How are you going to respond. Do we need to see something tangible like the fire on the wrong sometimes maybe we do have you ever felt like the man and Mark nine twenty nine who says Jesus I believe but help my unbelief Have you ever been to that point in your life where you’re just so worn out and so weak from the battle you say Jesus I believe but help my unbelief. Has anybody ever been there I have. I have it’s not that you doubt God Your faith is just you’re just so tired and you just use kind of used up all this faith in you like God I’m hoping more with a fingernail now just help me. Then Gideon said to God if you will save Israel bombed my hand as you have said Behold I am laying a fleece of wool when the flushing threshing floor if there is due on the feet fleece alone 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 he rose early the next morning and squeezed the fleece he rung enough due from the fleece to fill a bowl with water get in needed a little reassurance didn’t he need a little help with a little boost in his faith in verse thirty thirty nine to forty he goes and goes on say to God Let not your anger burn against me let me speak just once more place let me test just once more with the fleece let it be dried on the fleece only and on the ground all around let there be do and so God did so that night it was dry on the fleece only and on all the ground there was do do yes even when this doubting Thomas all the Old Testament reversed through the test in verse thirty nine a second time asking that the fleece on the be dry in the ground to cover with to God graciously confirmed his power to get in he didn’t get mad at him he didn’t fuss he just did what flick Gideon asked Bard Lord was the Velika divel I can’t talk today our Lord was developing this me and to a fully convinced servant matching each Dow with God’s con reassurance God will show you the same patience as well when you seek his face he will lie your fears and help you grow into the man or woman of God that you’re meant to be we all have times when we need to see God’s hand. So was getting in testing God or was giving in simply asking for confirmation. You know we may never know for certain which way that when I think you may have been doing a little bit of both I think he was he was kind to say and God are you really this powerful when and I think he kind of believe. But then he’s like him I really see in this this is just too much for me I’m overwhelmed you know I kind of think maybe giving was going both ways he was in fact asking for a miracle maybe not the best thing to do but remember giving and also didn’t see him self as a man of valor Gideon didn’t seem self as a soldier all this was new and strange to him he had life and death decisions to make he had thousands of men he was going to lead into a battle that could have resulted in their immediate death. He wanted to be sure he was hearing God correctly Have we ever been told thank you we hear God say and do stop and say Lord how really you am I hearing you right this can’t be what you’re telling me. You know there are hard things we’re called to do. And sometimes we just need a little reassurance from God. My point in all this is we’re all giddy ans we should all be in this life that we live this walk of faith to glorify God with our actions we should be willing to fight when we’re called to fight we should be willing to stand up and do the hard thing is that always going to be easy no of course not you know there are things that are might come easy to you that come hard to me are things that might come easy for me that are hard for you but sometimes we have to step in and we’re talking in the Sabbath school work Gary was saying you know he thought one time he was called to that he could exercise the means he said but I learned that really wasn’t my call you know but he had to try it to find out that no that’s not what I’m called to do you know we all have that calling in us but we have to figure out what it is. But if it’s worst worth accomplishing it’s worth trying to do. This god show himself today in the world does he show himself like he did to get Ian. Anybody thank you does doesn’t I think he does actually I know he does. You know this past year hadn’t been easy on our family and I’m not to look at Jennifer it’s been an eye opening experience for us and God has shown up in ways that we didn’t expect so John is this going to be about my life just a little bit. He made himself so this appeal to us in ways that I never could have expected. I’m convinced that each day we live prepares us for something that will happen later on in our lives just as what happened in our lives makes us who we are today are characters formed by the lessons we’ve learned throughout our lives hopefully hopefully you are letting God be your teacher because no one knows better what you will need than God does. God allows us to have hardships and burdens in our life to strengthen us each for the days we have yet to live everything has a purpose we don’t always like it but it’s true God has a purpose and a plan for every aspect of your life the good and the bad. Romans eight twenty six through twenty eight I want to read it to you out of the message Bible when I did have sense enough to market. The thing is with the message it’s really hard to see where their page numbers are. Meanwhile the moment we get tired in the waiting God Spirit is right alongside us helping us along if we don’t know how or what to pray it doesn’t matter he does our praying in and for us making prayer out of our wordless sighs our aching groans he knows us far better than we know ourselves knows our pregnant condition and keeps us present before God That’s why we can be so sure that every detail in our laws of love for God has worked into something good. You know I can remember. We were coming back from Jennifer’s first treatment. And we were in the car talking about how God had a plan. And a purpose for what was going on right now we didn’t know exactly what was going to happen we didn’t know what was going to play out we didn’t know what his plan was and we certainly didn’t know what the purpose was but we talked we were talking and I said you know God will bring something good up he will bring something good out of this. You know from the very first news when when she was diagnosed I had this gut feeling that it was all good be OK. And you know if first you know you just say oh it’s going to be OK but then later I thought God wanted to say that. It was because I realize that I didn’t just feel it here I felt it here. I felt that that whisper of God saying to me it’s going to be OK It’s going to be OK He didn’t tell me what was between the first and the OK I knew there might be a lot between there but he’s in the end it’s going to be OK. For a long time you know I’ve been trying to listen and learn to hear God’s voice to see what he’s telling me I’ve been learning to listen at our ladies Bible study week before last the question was asked are we doing all that God has a purpose for us to do in our ministry. And that’s a question I’m going to ask you are you doing all that God has purpose for you to do in your ministry whatever your ministry is are you doing what God is purpose for you to do. And my answer was absolutely I’m not I need to learn more I need to hear more I need to listen more closely to what God has for me and I need to do what he tells me to do we know we all hear God’s voice in a different way and while most of us will never see an angel face to face or we will never most of us will never hear God’s alterable voice we can hear him when he speaks to us often for me it’s something that resonates way down deep. It’s way down deep in the depths of my soul you know it’s not it’s not just a scattering thought it’s something that really is is deep from within sometimes I have a dream and in it’s what happens and I’ve learned to see them for what they are and it doesn’t happen often and when they do it’s cut when it does come like oh. You know the first time it happened I’m like oh my word what are you telling me but here it was a stupid little things about it was a dream about I saw a whirlwind coming across my back porch and it just took everything and later that day. A whirlwind car came across the back porch and took everything I didn’t hate at the first when I had the dream but later when it happened I’m like oh you were telling me this was going to happen. And he does all these little things I’ve never heard him say don’t lay that there it’s going to get lost don’t do this now you’re going to miss something don’t pass that car because there’s something going to happen Up ahead it’s the little things that prepare us for the big thing. You know he gave me that dream so that he would he was teaching me this is how I may communicate with you from time to time pick up on the little things he whispers these things because don’t put that there it’s going to get lost or broken because he wants you to learn to hear what his voice sounds like to you. Because when you get into the big situations you’re going to need to know what that voice sounds like to you. Amen. Satan wants you to think that he is in control but I’m going to tell you right now he isn’t God is in control he’s in control of your life and your life in your life and your life and my life and every life here. Yeah I can relate to get Ian I may not be a mighty man of valor but I’m going to tell you what I am a mighty woman of God and I will stand up and I will pray and I will fight through prayer for my kids and my grandkids and I have done that since I’ve become a Christian we are in a spiritual battle my friends it’s a battle of life and death this life isn’t easy and you better be on your knees praying for those you love you better be on your knees praying and protecting them from the spiritual battle that’s cool in one around us because it’s real. It’s real. We are mighty men and women of God and we are called to pray to protect our loved ones we are called to pray to protect God’s church we all have a power and it is in our Lord Jesus Christ yes we all are Gideon’s Sometimes I need God’s reassurance I don’t know about you but sometimes I do and when we were going through all this last summer I was out walking one night and I was feeling pretty bad and I said Lord I need your peace right now if you’re in this I just need your peace right now and most of you know we live on a farm and I was walking along between one block of corn and another and these blocks a corner pretty large. And. I heard all this noise and immediately I looked up and there were thousands hundreds of plain NOT thousand well maybe thousands hundreds and hundreds of birds in this cornfield but they weren’t ordinary birds I have we have these little hill birds down around the river and I only usually see one at a time I have never seen two together and we also get the like the golden finches the elephant has I don’t know what you call him but there were hundreds of these teal birds with the elephant just Twitter on one top of the cornfield just chatter and flippin and. I mean I looked up when I heard the noise and I’m like. Lord it took me a second I’m like Lord thank you. This is you showing me you’re in this. Because he knew I loved to see those two words. Hey knows what we need and immediately immediately I had peace. I had peace. So you know. I’m like Gideon I needed to know that I was here and God right. I needed to know it was OK You know what God is so patience and he blesses us in ways we may never think it’s OK to tell him if you need reassurance he knows it anyway he knows what you need. He just sometimes wants this to ask. What he wants us to step out and ask to put something out to put your faith out there to do something even if it’s Ask God please show me your reassurance but it’s need your reassurance. We need to accept his blessings and his help. It’s an action thing what I’m saying is we can’t just sit by and let God do it all we have to accept that we have to ask we have to receive. I know everybody situation in the saying we all have are our losses along this road of life but you know every time God has a plan we may never know the whys of it maybe we will. I know I can see a strength and not only Jennifer’s faith but mine I can see a change in a family that was already coast that is now closer I saw a community come together and support a girl that they did not know. Would work down at the farm on Sundays in the shed selling produce and people would come in every week Houser girl house or girl I don’t know these people Brian will tell you the same thing Houser girl how she how’s your girl doing this week how things go on and you know what. Now they’re doing it for another girl and another guy. That’s gotta work. That’s gotta work. I have so many things I could tell you about how God showed up but I don’t have time to do it now because it’s almost noon. That asked me I’m willing to share. I do know what God has for instance I don’t know what God has in store for us in the future no one can know that but I like Gideon will keep watching for work I will trust the One True God I will praise him for what he has done I told him in the beginning I’ve no matter what I’m going to praise your name. No matter what I’m going to give you the glory and sometimes feel that’s all here Service just hold on hold on you know there were days that I could do was pray God you were so good. I couldn’t even get another prayer oh god you are so good God you are so good. And it was enough. Are we just read that God hears us even in our moaning sinner painful sighs. God you are so good it’s enough. Don’t think you always have to pray with flowery words you don’t God knows what’s in here but giving something. Giving something. Now when I pray to God I don’t ask God to heal Jennifer you know why because he’s already said he’s going to do it we’ve already ask it we’re stepping out in faith we’ve received it and now it is said GOD continue the work you’ve begun and her. Continue that work you’ve begun in her continue that work you’ve begun in someone else I’m going to stand on faith that he’s doing what he says his word will do his word what he said what His word says he will do on stand in the way. I’m trying to do something I’m being active are you getting what I’m saying. Our faith needs to be active. I’m Greta. Passage from you from the book of mysteries I don’t know if any of you have ever read Jonathan Karl on. Jonathan Kohn is a. He’s a Christian from Jewish descent and he has a big church up around New York somewhere I think. But he has some really good passages in this book this one is called The Secret of the blessed life. What is a blessed life he asked the teacher and how do you live it. Or what who is a blessing what is a blessing life asked the teacher and how do you live it I bless of life as a life of his and that has been endowed with God’s favor and blessing if God blesses Why then are some blessed and others not why do some of his children live lives that are specially blessed and others do not the teacher led me to the well in the middle of the open square where the students would often gather when the well circular stone Ritchie placed two cups one upside down and the other right side up. Can everyone see the cups. Then he lifted up the bucket of water from the well and held it over the two Cup Now I’m not the pour the water he left in held it over the two cups the blessing he said has been poured out. Over the two cups and he lifted the upside down cup and turned it then he lifted the upside down cup and turned it right side up. It was of course empty the blessing was poured out on both cups he said but only the one filled but only the one is filled with the blessing the other is and both were blessed yet only one is blessed you see there are two parts of being blessed and living a Bless of life and we began walking away from the well as he continued walking talking I think was preparing to give a blessing to his first born son but it was his other son Jake up who ended up receiving the blessing he received the blessing because more than his brother he set his heart on. Receiving it but Jacob went about their own way I said he did said the teacher but his desire was to receive the blessing and his willingness to go to any length to receive it was not wrong you see it is not just giving of the blessing that was crucial but the receiving and so there are two parts to a blessedly life most people focus only on the one they want the blessing to be given to them but they missed the other part you see the blessing has already been given it’s here it’s pouring out from the wells of salvation the wells of Messiah is redemption but who is the one who is blessed the one who receives the blessing and who is the one whose life is especially blessed the one who especially receives the blessing the one who values it so much that they go to any length to receive it so if you want to live an especially blessed life then make it your NG to become especially great at receiving the blessings of God and doing whatever you have to receive it doing whatever you have to do to receive it for a blessed life is not simply a life that has been blessed but the life that has received it. So which Cup Are you. God’s pouring out his blessing upon each of us which Cup Are you. Are you the cup just waiting for the blessing Are you the receiving Cup It’s something to think about in we all think God or saddest blessings on each one of us and we automatically should be blessed. But we’re not going to be blessed if we don’t we see we have to receive what God has for us it could be a blessing of healing a blessing of love a blessing of grace a blessing of salvation we have to receive each one. God can pour out anything but if we are not receiving. We are not going to get it it’s kind of like I guess if you plug in your computer to the wrong thing if you plug in your receiver to your television set or whatever that you draws in the say you know if you don’t have it plugged in and you’re not going to receive the signal we’ve got to be plugged in we’ve got to be willing to receive that signal from God we’ve got to be really willing to receive the blessing that he has for each of us so I ask you to day to think about the things that we’ve talked about today what you’re calling are you receiving your blessing God knows who you are do you know who you are think about all these things as we go through our lives. And ask God those questions God am I am I doing the things I need to do in my receiving your blessing if i’m not show me how I need to do things or how I need to be different because he has a plan and something good always going to come of those plans.