I wouldn't pick me, either

When you were a kid and teams were being picked, were you ever the kid who was picked last?  Nobody wants to be in that position.  If you’re picked last, you’re essentially being told that if you weren’t there, you wouldn’t have been missed.  And if you’ve ever been picked last more than once…you start to expect it. 

When you are repeatedly at the bottom, you even begin to embrace it as “your lot in life”.  You see yourself as unworthy or even useless.  In retaliation to these feelings, you may even take on the mentality once stated by Groucho Marx: “I don’t want to belong to any club that would accept me as one of its members.”  So when someone actually chooses you…you reflexively don’t believe them, because bottom-level people don’t get picked for important jobs.

This is where Gideon’s story begins in Judges 6.  The nation of Israel was being kicked around by the neighboring land of Midian.  The Midianites stole Israel’s crops, destroyed the land, and took all the livestock.  This happened year after year, for seven long years, to the point that Israel was completely poverty-stricken.  Finally, the people of Israel called out to the Lord.

Judges 6:11-14
The angel of the Lord came, and he sat under the oak that was in Ophrah, which belonged to Joash, the Abiezrite.  His son Gideon was threshing wheat in the winepress in order to hide it from the Midianites.  Then the angel of the Lord appeared to him and said: “The Lord is with you, valiant warrior.”

Gideon said to him, “Please, my lord, if the Lord is with us, why has all this happened?  And where are all His wonders that our fathers told us about?  They said, ‘Hasn’t the Lord brought us out of Egypt?’ But now the Lord has abandoned us and handed us over to Midian.”

The Lord turned to him and said, “Go in the strength you have and deliver Israel from the grasp of Midian.  I am sending you!”

While God doesn’t choose individuals for salvation, He does choose people, places, and things for specific service.  That’s what we’re seeing here.  At this point in the account, we might expect Gideon to get excited and finally feel validated to be chosen by God to do a great service – to be the one who rescues His people.  Instead, we see Gideon doing the opposite:

Judges 6:15
He said to Him, “Please, Lord, how can I deliver Israel?  Look, my family is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the youngest in my father’s family.”

From a society standpoint, Gideon had nothing going for him.  He didn’t have the proper linage.  The oldest son in a family was the default, next-generation leader – and Gideon was on the opposite side of that spectrum.  So when God said “Go in the strength you have and deliver Israel”, you can be certain that Gideon believed that he didn’t have enough strength to deliver anyone, let alone the entire nation!  After all, God approached Gideon while he was hiding out in order to secretly prepare food.  What “valiant warrior” sneaks around just to get his next meal?

The Lord’s answer to Gideon’s protests is the key to understanding the events that happened next. 

Judges 6:16
“But I will be with you,” the Lord said to him.  “You will strike Midian down as if it were one man.”

God reassured Gideon that he can do this work, because God will be with him.  Gideon wasn’t being sent off alone to figure it out along the way.  God would be there as well – to reassure and strengthen Gideon, as well as to fight against the Midianite army.  Like the Israelite’s stories of old, Gideon even saw several wonders (five of them, by my count), where God demonstrated that He was there and on Israel’s side.

God also promises to be with us believers in the church age.  Here are just two examples:

Matthew 28:20
And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.

1 Corinthians 6:19-20
Don’t you know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God?  You are not your own, for you were bought at a price.  So glorify God with your body.

There is another famous verse along these lines.  While it’s famously misquoted, when it is read in context, we realize that Paul’s all things is referring to all things God has called me to do for Him:

Philippians 4:13
I am able to do all things through Him who strengthens me.

Whatever task or responsibility God has given each of us, we can be certain that He did not abandon us after handing out the assignment.  Even if we wouldn’t have chosen ourselves for this work…we are able to succeed because the Holy Spirit is in us, while Jesus promises to be with us and strengthen us.

Keep Pressing,
Ken

Addressing needs in the church family

There were deacons in the church I grew up in, but honestly, I had no idea what that title meant for them.  Many Christian denominations have deacons on staff or as specially chosen volunteers.

What does a deacon do?  How are they different from the overseers?

The Greek word for deacon (diakonos) translates into humble servant.  While all Christians are called to serve others like Christ did, the early church found themselves in a situation where they needed officially identified servants to address specific needs in the church family.  Here’s how the apostles in Jerusalem established this office:

Acts 6:3-4
Therefore, brothers, select from among you seven men of good reputation, full of the Spirit and wisdom, whom we can appoint to this duty.  But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the preaching ministry.

This division of labor makes a whole lot of sense.  We can’t expect our church’s pastors and overseers to handle every single ministry need of the congregation.  Notice that these first deacons were to be highly regarded men from within the church family – but their role as an official church servant was to then be appointed by the church leadership.

Paul wanted to keep this balance of structure within the churches outside of Jerusalem as well.  After explaining to Timothy the qualifications necessary to be an overseer, Paul then turns his attention to the qualifications necessary to be a humble servant for the congregation:

1 Timothy 3:8-13
Deacons, likewise, should be worthy of respect, not hypocritical, not drinking a lot of wine, not greedy for money, holding the mystery of the faith with a clear conscience.  And they must also be tested first; if they prove blameless, then they can serve as deacons. 

Wives, too, must be worthy of respect, not slanderers, self-controlled, faithful in everything.  Deacons must be husbands of one wife, managing their children and their own households competently.  For those who have served well as deacons acquire a good standing for themselves, and great boldness in the faith that is in Christ Jesus.

Paul’s directions to Timothy do not list what places a deacon is to serve; rather, Paul is more concerned that Timothy understands the type of person who would be allowed to represent the church’s ministry to others by their serving. 

It should be noted, too, that the Greek word for wives is often translated as “wife” or simply “women”, depending on the context of the word.  Commentators have made reasonable arguments for either interpretation here – that Paul is referring to qualifications for the wife of a deacon, or that Paul is allowing for women to also hold the deacon-servant role within the church.  Supporters for the latter interpretation often refer to Paul’s comments at the end of his letter to the Roman believers:

Romans 16:1
I commend to you our sister Phoebe, who is a servant (diakonos) of the church in Cenchreae.

Additionally, with the deacon role’s subordination and support function for the activities of the church’s overseers, having both men and women official serve the church would fit nicely into the leadership model Paul describe just a few verses prior (see 1 Timothy 2:1-15).

Paul then closes out his discussion about deacons by reminding Timothy of the two-fold reward available to those who serve well in this capacity.  First, that by their quality service, a good standing and reputation would be enjoyed by both them personally and the church corporately.  Secondly, a quality deacon would imitate Jesus’ servanthood so well that they would acquire a great boldness in the faith.  The Apostle John also believed that obtaining this boldness was worth working toward:

1 John 2:28
So now, little children, remain in Him, so that when He appears we may have boldness and not be ashamed before Him at His coming.

A deacon’s actions are a great help to the pastors and overseers, allowing them to focus on spiritual needs of the congregation through teaching and prayer.  Serving and ministering the physical needs of the church congregation is an important and rewarding labor, which is why Paul wanted Timothy to carefully select those who would serve in this manner.

Keep Pressing,
Ken
 

Called, by God's will

Colossians 1:1-2
Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by God’s will, and Timothy our brother:
To the saints and faithful brothers in Christ in Colossae.

Paul is an apostle…by God’s will.  He didn’t choose this for himself.  God appointed him to specific service.  An apostle is a delegate or messenger.  Someone who is an apostle has a specific function – that person is chosen by Christ to be His ambassador. 

Notice also that Paul doesn’t identify himself as a believer by God’s will.  Trusting Christ for eternal life is something that Paul chose to do; however, the work we do in God’s family is something that God chooses for us.

There are many examples of God choosing both groups of people and individuals for specific service to Him.  Moses told the Israelites:

Deuteronomy 7:6
For you are a holy people belonging to the Lord your God.  The Lord you God has chosen you to be His own possession out of all the peoples on the face of the earth.

Even then, from among the Israelites, God chose the Levites to serve as His priests.  God also chose individuals who would be the leaders, judges, prophets, and kings for the nation.  Some served faithfully (Joshua, David) but others struggled in their appointed positions (Samson, Jonah).  Even though none of them were perfect, each person God chose had a specific responsibility toward the people.  They were to aid the people in fulfilling God’s desired purpose for the nation of Israel:

Exodus 19:5-6
Now if you will listen to Me and carefully keep My covenant, you will be My own possession out of all the peoples, although all the earth is Mine, and you will be My kingdom of priests and My holy nation.

When the nation of Israel was in right relationship with God, they became a shining example to the rest of the world.  The groups and individuals which God chose for specific service were to help guide the nation toward this end.

Paul sees his apostleship in the same light.  He also sees that Jesus calls others in the church family to specific kinds of service:

Ephesians 4:11-12
And He personally gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers, for the training of the saints in the work of ministry, to build up the body of Christ, until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of God’s Son

We all have our roles, and Paul is doing his part.  As an apostle, he has specific insight from God to share with those in Colossae – which we can also benefit from as we read his letter.

Whether you find your calling in the list above, or you are one of the saints being trained in the work of ministry, God has work for us to do.  By God’s will, some of us work to build up the body and some of us work to minister to those outside of the body.  Either way, we have the opportunity to partner with the Creator of Everything in His most important mission.

Do you know what service you are called to?  If not, ask God to show you.  His answer might surprise you…but you can trust that He knows where you belong.

Keep Pressing,
Ken