Surely I Will Be With You

Have I Not Sent You?

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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.
And the Angel of the LORD appeared to him, and said to him, “The LORD is with you, you mighty man of valour!”
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?
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.”
And the LORD said to him, “Surely I will be with you, and you shall defeat the Midianites as one man.”
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.”
[Judges 6:11-12,14-16,22 - NKJV]

We listened to Teresa Conlon of Times Square Church in New York yesterday. It was a short 20 minute talk based on Judges chapter 6 (some verses of which are shown above).

She identified that Gideon was very unconvinced that he was this ‘mighty man of valour’ of which the Angel of the Lord’ spoke. In modern terms, the conversation went like this:

“The Lord is with you,” said the Angel.
“I’m not sure I believe you,” replied Gideon. “Look at all the disasters we have suffered. Why would I think The Lord is with me?”
“Have I not sent you?” is the Lord’s response, to which Gideon says he is not up to the task ahead.
The Angel of The Lord then says, “Then surely I will be with you.”

The Lord is with you - Have I not sent you? - Then surely I will be with you. Gideon never questions whether the Lord sent him or not; he only doubted if the Lord was with him.

Gideon then asks The Angel to prove Himself by performing two miracles. Only when these miracles show it is The Lord who speaks does Gideon move.

This story reveals two points to consider. Firstly, that we often doubt that it is God speaking and that He seems to respond to our doubts in a tautological way; as when asked who He was by Moses, God responds with “I am who I am.” God does not have to justify Himself, but - and this is the second point - He expects us to test Him. He knows who He is and wants us to know who He is. John says this “ Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world.” [1John 4:1 NKJV]


Test the Spirits; there are many out there and the Lord wants us all to reject all but Him and know that He is with us; He has sent us; so He is with us.

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“If The Lord Is With Us”
(Bit of a strange one this, but see what you think)

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OSWALD CHAMBERS - RUN TODAY’S RACE
Friday 29th May 2020
One man or woman called of God is worth a hundred who have elected to work for God

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