Judges 6:11-17            Who Are You?         April 11, 2010

      In the Bible, there is the story of a man named Gideon.  The nation was at war with an enemy that had overrun their land.  The army was trying to fight back but with no success.  And then one evening, an angel of the Lord appeared to this man named Gideon and said, “The Lord is with you, you mighty man of courage.” 

      Man, what a greeting.  Wouldn’t you like an angel to appear to you and say, “The Lord is with you because you are a mighty person filled with courage.”  That would be great.  The thing is that most of us do not feel like strong and mighty people.  Most of us are not that brave when the hard times come.  Most of us think to ourselves, “That would be great but that is just not me.  God would never send such a greeting my way.” 

      This morning, I am starting a new sermon series about how we see ourselves and how God sees us.  The big question is “Who am I?  Who are you?”  Most of us have some pretty messed up views about our selves and our lives.  We’ve suffered so many negative remarks and put downs through the years—we’ve been told so many times what we cannot do-- that we are left unsure exactly who we are really.  But I want us to see who we are in the eyes of God.  And in that, I hope we can see ourselves through new eyes.  Is this important?  Yes.  How you see yourself is most important because, listen, you will never rise above what you think of yourself.  You will never rise above the self image you have of yourself.  But if you can see yourself as God sees you, then you will have a whole new story.

     How about this guy Gideon?  The angel greeted him, “The Lord is with you, you mighty man of courage.”  Then he tells Gideon that he will lead the nation to victory.  How accurate was that greeting?  Well, Gideon did not think it was accurate at all.  You see, while the army was trying to push back the invaders, Gideon was, well, hiding out.  Vs 11 says he was down in the wine press --in other words, a hole in the rock--trying to sift out enough wheat to hide from the invaders so he could just feed his family.  In the midst of this battle, Gideon had no intention of getting involved.  And when the angel greeted him, Gideon just laughed.  He said, “What are you talking about?  I am from the poorest family in my whole area.   And I am the least one in my own family.”  Basically, Gideon said, “I am nobody.”  I think all of us feel that way once in a while.

     You see, Gideon saw his life as it was. He was a poor man trying to feed his family in hard times.  But God saw what Gideon’s life could be. Gideon saw his life based on outward events and circumstances.  God saw deep within Gideon to who he could become.   In this story, Gideon goes on to lead the army, defeat the enemy, and was even offered the kingship of Israel.  But before Gideon could ever move forward, he had to see himself the way God saw him.  He needed a new self image.  You too can change how you see yourself.  How?  You start by agreeing with what God sees in you. 

    How does God see us?  Genesis 1 says that we are each created in the image of God.  We are the children of God.  Psalm 8 says that he has made us just a little less than the angels.  God has said this.  You are made in God’s image to be a child of God.  But before you can ever move forward in your life, you need to see that fact.  Because you will never move beyond how you view yourself.

      Listen.  Your self image, self concept, self esteem, how you view yourself is much like the cruise control on your car.  Now if I get down on I-26 to Columbia and I set my cruise control at the speed limit of 70, then the car is set.  Now as I start up a hill, the car may slow a little.  When I start down a hill, the car may speed up a little.  But always, always, the car will return to where it is set at 70 mph.  The cruise control will always bring it back to the set speed.  Listen.  How you view yourself is your cruise control.  Oh, you may get ahead for a while in life.  You will sometimes fall behind in life.  But if you think about it, you always, always return to where you set your mind and thoughts.   What you believe about yourself is where you will live your life. 

     So what should you believe about your life?  You are a child of God created in God’s image.  Genesis says God made us, male and female, in the image of God.  That is who you are. 

     Now so many of us think, “Oh, but pastor, you do not know the things I’ve done in my past.  You do not know the things that have been done to me in my past.”   Listen.  God’s love for you is not based on what you have done or what has been done to you.  God’s love is based on who you are.  And you are a child of God.  Too many of us have our eyes focused on so many things in our past.   Thoughts of the past fill our minds and act like a chain holding us back.   Get your mind off your past failures and get your mind on God. 

     When Moses was leading the people of Israel into the Promised Land, he sent twelve spies to check out the situation.  Ten of them came back in fear.  “We cannot go forward.  The people there are powerful like giants.  We would be like grasshoppers and they would crush us.”  But there were two of the young men, Joshua and Caleb, who saw things another way.  “God is with us and we can go forward.”   While ten young men only saw themselves as grasshoppers, two young men saw God.  Be honest with yourself right now.  Do you tend to see the problems in your life or do you see God in your life?   Do you constantly dwell on what has happened in your past or do you look to a better tomorrow with God.  Remember, you will never rise above what you see of yourself. 

     Now it amazes me that Joshua and Caleb could say what they said.  I mean, they were surrounded by critics, naysayers, fearful comrades.  Ten of the twelve said, “No go.”  How could they have said with such confidence, “Yes?  God is with us.”   It is hard to go against the crowd.  Beware of surrounding yourself with negative people.  They will drag you down.  Beware of watching all the bad news on TV.  It will pull you under.  Beware of reading all the time about how ruined our nation is. Such ideas destroy our future.   It is very hard to go against what everyone else seems to be saying.  But Joshua and Caleb did.  They went against the grain. They did not allow the negative views around them to poison their minds. You know, so many of us allow just about anything and everything fill our minds.  And it can be poison.  If you want to move forward in your life, if you want to see the world in a fresh way, then you cannot allow all the junk to get into your mind.  You have to push the “grasshopper attitude” away and say, “God is with me.”  

    How about you today?  Do you think of yourself as a grasshopper being knocked around in this world?  Or do you know that you are a child of God?  Do you dwell on your past mistakes or do you know that God will be with you in your future?  We have to guard our minds, control our thoughts, and look to the Lord.  Eliminate every minus thought and strive for plus life. You to believe, have faith, that God is on your side. 

        I know some of you have some big obstacles to overcome. But our God is bigger.   There are giants in your life that cause you fear.  But our God specializes in knocking down giants.  Just ask a boy named David.  Over the next few weeks, we are going to look at how we can take on an attitude of faith in our lives to see ourselves as God sees us.  To see our lives and our future as God sees us.  If you can do that, you can let go of your past and live a great future.  God wants that great future for you.  Open your eyes and see it.   Amen.