O Worship the LORD in the Beauty of Holiness

TESTING GOD

“And Gideon said unto God, If thou wilt save Israel by mine hand, as thou hast said, Behold, I will put a fleece of wool in the floor; and if the dew be on the fleece only, and it be dry upon all the earth beside, then shall I know that thou wilt save Israel by mine hand, as thou hast said. And it was so: for he rose up early on the morrow, and thrust the fleece together, and wringed the dew out of the fleece, a bowl full of water. And Gideon said unto God, Let not thine anger be hot against me, and I will speak but this once: let me prove, I pray thee, but this once with the fleece; let it now be dry only upon the fleece, and upon all the ground let there be dew. And God did so that night: for it was dry upon the fleece only, and there was dew on all the ground.” (Judges 6:36-40)

Christians who seek assurance from GOD might quote this story of Gideon as the way to be sure that GOD is with them, or that they are doing GOD’s will and the right thing. Sometimes, at the end of their “dew” and “no dew” experiment with the LORD, they might be even more confused or frustrated.

Such ways of using the Scripture to get assurance begs the questions, “Is Gideon’s way of testing GOD, our example for knowing GOD’s will?” Is testing GOD the way to be assured of GOD’s will? How do we understand this story, and what was GOD’s intention in telling the story? Is there a lesson here about knowing GOD’s will?

Gideon’s Assurance

Gideon’s story of assurance began at Judges 6:11-14. There we have the account of GOD sending His angel to tell Gideon that He had chosen Gideon to free His people from the oppression of the Midianites.

Gideon heard and understood the message. He also saw the messenger. He knew the meaning and dangerous implications of the message and he was afraid of what GOD had told him to do. Maybe that is what it is like for us once we know the Bible’s instructions and commands, and we seek for His assurance to obey Him.

Gideon understood the message and the great task of battling the powerful Midianites. He had every reason to be afraid of the Midianites and to have doubts about GOD being in their midst. He reasoned that if the LORD was with them, then all these Midianite attacks would not have happened.

We must appreciate Gideon’s situation and his need for assurance, and why he had trouble believing the promises that were already given him. GOD had promised him victory and called him a mighty man of valour. But none of these words of GOD mattered to Gideon because of his fear. He needed to be reassured of GOD’s presence and help.

When it comes to doing GOD’s will in the face of great difficulties, we rightly seek the LORD’s reassurance like Gideon.

Even as we look to GOD for His kindness and mercies toward us, we must also not forget His firm hand of assurance that is found in His Word, the Bible. It is of first importance that GOD closed this part of the story of Gideon with these word in verse 14, “have not I sent thee?”

This question would cause Gideon to pause and not be overcome by his fears and doubts.

GOD Accommodates Our weakness

GOD does accommodate our weakness. According to Judges 6:15-23, He allowed Gideon to continue to give his reasons for being fearful and why he was unwilling to take on the “job”.

GOD not only allowed him to speak his mind but accommodated his request. The LORD gave Gideon the sign of fire from a rock to consume his sacrifice. It was after this miracle that Gideon declared, “I have seen the angel of the LORD (YHWH) face to face.”

Gideon was further assured of the LORD’s care and protection with these words from His angel, “Peace be unto thee; fear not: thou shalt not die.” As Gideon’s faith was affirmed by these words of the LORD, he built an altar and called it Jehovah-shalom.

One of the lessons from what the Lord gave to Gideon - and that includes the “dew and no dew” miracle - is that the LORD is very kind and patient with us in our weakness. It is this character of the LORD that caused Him to love sinners like you and me.

Our LORD understands our fear and concerns, and yet He still reaches out to us like He did with Gideon. The way He continued to speak with Gideon is how He continues to speak with us - patiently, gently, and lovingly.

So, let us run to the LORD when we face challenges in obeying Him and we need His assurances. Let us do this especially when obeying Him is very challenging and difficult.

There Is a Time to Act

The LORD continued to speak to Gideon in Judges 6, but let us jump to the “dew and no dew” miracle part that the LORD did for Gideon’s sake.

Now, right after Gideon declared his faith in GOD in verse 24 and before the miracle of the fleece, the LORD instructed him that very night to cut down the altar of Baal and destroy the religious objects of his father’s idolatrous sins.

Despite his fear, Gideon obeyed the LORD. This decision carried with it the threat to his life. He acted immediately, but that incident was all the courage that he had for now. Gideon still needed more assurance before he could attack the Midianites.

This brings us back to Judges 6:36-40, which relates the miracle of the fleece and dew.

At the end of all assurance and reassurance, Gideon had to choose. He had to decide whether to continue to trust and obey in the presence of danger, or not to obey.

When we come before the LORD for assurance and reassurance to do His will, there is only one option left at the end of the “fleece and dew miracle”: Obedience.

Gideon knew what the LORD wanted him to do. He had reasons to be afraid and he had doubts. The LORD understood Gideon and accommodated his apprehension by allowing him to test Him. But the LORD remained true to His word that Gideon was His man of the hour to save His people from the Midianites, and that He will be with him.

Conclusion

The story of Gideon started with the LORD mentioning the sins of His people - how they left Him to worship other gods after He saved them from Egypt.

The story in Judges 6 shows how the LORD kept His covenant with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and their descendants. He had led them into the Promised Land. He was to be their LORD and GOD and they, His people. That was the plan and the LORD’s command.

So, ultimately, the story of Gideon was that the people of GOD were punished for choosing to disobey the LORD their GOD (Judges 6:1-10), but He was kind, merciful, gracious, and faithful to His people and to Gideon. We too have come to know Him likewise because we saw those same attributes of His in Christ.

So, the story of Gideon and his need for assurance is about the LORD being kind, merciful, gracious, and faithful. He is the personal faithful covenant-keeping GOD of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and of each one of us. He will accommodate us in our weakness, and we are to trust Him with acts of obedience, even in our fears and doubts.

– Joel Seah

Appointments for the Week

Monday, Apr 24

        7.30 pm     ERBL: OT Historical Books (Rev Charles Seet)

Tuesday, Apr 25

        8.00 pm     Prayer Meeting (Rev Quek Keng Khwang)

Thursday, Apr 27

      10.00 am     Ladies’ Prayer Group

        7.30 pm     ERBL: History of Presbyterian & B-P Churches (Rev Lee Hock Chin)

Saturday, Apr 29

        3.00 pm     GAF Dental Seminar (MPH)

        3.00 pm     YAF / MM AGM

Sunday, Apr 30

  8.00 am Gospel Sunday:When Death Gives Way to Life (1 Corinthians 15:20-28) Dn Lim Chien Chong

  8.00 am Choir Practice

  9.15 am Library (Sanctuary Balcony)

  9.40 am Sunday School

10.15 am Coffee Corner

11.00 am Gospel Sunday:When Death Gives Way to Life (1 Corinthians 15:20-28) Dn Lim Chien Chong

11.00 am Children’s Ministry

11.00 am Chinese Service

12.15 pm Library (Sanctuary Balcony)

  2.30 pm Thai Service (LMH)

  4.00 pm Indonesian Service (Rm 1-6)

Announcements

Annual Congregational Meeting cum Elections

23 April 2023 (Today) at 10.45 am

All members of Life B-P Church are reminded to attend this meeting.

Before the ACM commences, parents may wish to bring their children for video screening at:

• Life Meeting Hall (9 to 12 years old)
• 2nd FEK classroom (4 to 8 years old)

Gospel Sunday

30 April 2023, 8.00am & 11.00am

When Death gives way to Life 1 Corinthians 15:20-28

Traffic Wardens

Lifers are invited to serve our Lord as Traffic Wardens on Sunday. Kindly contact Dn Yeo  if you are available.

Vacation Bible School 2023

Theme: Mission Himpossible.

Calling all children aged 4-12 years old (N2-P6)! Registration for Vacation Bible School (31 May-

2 Jun) is now open!

Registration deadline: 30 April 2023

Lifers are still needed for the available areas of service: teaching, logistics, craft, games, F&B and photography. Registration deadline: TODAY

Register now @ lifebpc.com/vbs !

Church Camp 2023

13-16 June 2023

There are very limited rooms available. You can register by emailing to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., and allocation is on a first-come-first-serve basis. Passport details can be submitted via the same email address, or at the dropbox before entering the sanctuary. Love gift to defray the cost of the camp is welcomed.

Birth

Congratulations to Mr & Mrs J Lim on the birth of their second child, Paul Lim EL, on 13 April 2023.

GAF Tackling the common Dental Issues of the Adult Population

Date: 29 April 2023

Time: 3pm

Venue: Beulah MPH

Speakers: Prof Loh Fun Chee & Dr Nicholas Lim

Contact Lee CW, Sim SH, Ong BH

Mental Health Seminar

Date: 6 May 2023

Time: 3-6pm

Venue: Beulah MPH

Speakers: Rev Lee Hann Yang & Dr Daniel Kwek

Register at https://forms.gle/Dax8umTHXtXEY9go6

Deadline: 30^th Apr

Exploring Christianity

Exploring Christianity is a course that looks at how the Bible addresses these pertinent questions about life. It is a 5-part series and is suitable for (1) Non-Christians searching to know who God is (2) Christians who would like to understand the basics of what it means to be a Christian.

The seminar will be held on 1 May 2023, from 9am-12.30pm at Beulah Centre. Lunch will be provided. All Lifers are encouraged to bring their non-Christian friends and family members to this introductory course on the Christian faith.

To register, please visit: https://tinyurl.com/ExpChr2023 

Participating in upcoming Mission Trips in 2023

We would like to encourage Life B-P Church members to participate actively in missions both in support and involvement (short-term or otherwise), including medical and dental (MaD) missions, with the hope that some may be called to be full-time missionaries. If you are interested to participate in the upcoming mission trips being planned for 2023, please register your interest by filling in this form:  https://forms.gle/Cc4Q22b8csiFmqEY6

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