1 August 2010
Psalm 93, 96; Judges 6:1-24; 2 Cor. 9:6-15; Mark 3:20-30

For seven years the Israelites have lived under the yoke of the Midianites who have consistently destroyed all their crops and caused famine and hardship. This was punishment for failing to keep faith with the Lord and for going after other gods. Now, the angel of the Lord finds Gideon, hiding what wheat he could grow or gather, beating it out to separate the wheat from the chaff in a wine press and greets him with the ironic words, “The Lord is with you, you mighty warrior.” Gideon picks up on the irony or sarcasm regarding the Lord being with them and ignores the fact that the one addressed as “mighty warrior” is hiding his harvest. He is told to “go in this might of yours to deliver Israel” and it is at this point that Gideon acknowledges that he is nothing and now is a man with whom the Lord can work His will. Just as Moses had done and the Lord gave the promise of presence, so now does Gideon. He asked for a sign and received one and knew that, just as Moses had done, he had been in the presence of the Lord and lived, an amazing thing.

There is a dispute about Jesus. From where could His power possibly come? His family has come and this is even more disconcerting. They are as normal as they can be and so where does this one come off doing the things he does and teaching with such authority? Those who had known Him best believed in Him least for they had every reason to wonder how He could possibly have suddenly burst forth as the one people were following and who was healing and speaking words of great wisdom. They have only two places to look, either He is from God or His power comes from elsewhere and, amazingly, they determine it comes from Beelzebub, literally the Lord of the flies. This, Jesus says, is an unforgiveable sin, ascribing God’s works to a demon. CS Lewis had it right, we can determine very few things about Jesus, He was who He claimed to be, He was a lunatic or liar, or He was straight from Hell, but we can’t have any nonsense about Him simply being a great teacher, and these folks knew it.

Do we believe God? That is what Paul says about generosity and sowing and reaping. Do we believe God’s promises to bless us abundantly? Giving is a way of showing faith in Him as the One who provides for us. Paul says stewardship and generosity are a measure of both faith and discipleship. If you want to get push-back in your ministry, talk just a bit about money and feel the difference in the room. At our church we have set the tithe as the standard, not because it is a New Testament standard but because it seems that was where giving always started in God’s economy. Jesus commends the Pharisees for their scrupulous tithing of even the spices in their houses but says that tithing isn’t the only measure of discipleship. If we begin to truly understand all things come from Him then the tithe seems like He is a generous God, not an onerous one.

O sing to the Lord a new song;
sing to the Lord, all the earth.
Sing to the Lord, bless his name;
tell of his salvation from day to day.
Declare his glory among the nations,
his marvellous works among all the peoples.
For great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised;
he is to be revered above all gods.