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Pastor Samuel Hargrave October 11, 2026
Proper worship changes the world. Proper worship changes the world. Our passage comes from Judges chapter 6. Let us pray. Holy Father, let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight.
Thank you for Christ, our rock and our Redeemer, the lamb who takes away the sin of the world. In the name of Jesus, we pray, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, age after age.
Amen. Anyone with half a brain can look out at our world and realize it is full of chaos. I don't have to convince you of this point. The world is chaotic. And everyone out there wants to fix it somehow.
And they debate over the best way to do it. Some trust in government regulations. Some trust in rugged individualism. Some trust in church programs and other outreach volunteer organizations. We read Psalm 20 and we understand what the psalmist says when he says, some trust in chariots and some in horses.
But we trust in the Lord, our God. That's the true question we have to answer. If we look out at the world and we see chaos, do we really trust in the Lord that he has given the means that he is working in the world to redeem, renew, and restore it?
The real question is, do we trust in the means that God has told us he has given the church to see the world transformed? Do we really believe that simple water, bread, wine, and the word proclaimed is enough to see the nations discipled and the peoples come to worship the one true God?
Do we trust in the Lord, our God? Because if we do, if the means God has given the church is the means that he will use to see the world transformed, it teaches us that proper worship is of the highest priority.
Worship according to what God has told us in his scriptures. Proper worship is of the highest priority. This morning, we're going to look at a story about how the Lord restores worship, about how proper worship saves his people.
We're going to look at the story of Gideon, how the Lord takes this pagan and uses him to save Israel. If you have your Bibles, please open them. We're going to be in Judges chapter 6. We're going to be looking at the story of Gideon and about proper worship.
We begin with Judges chapter 6. We'll start with the first six verses. And as we look at verses 1 through 6, we see the cycle that we are so used to. Israel sins. And so they are put under oppression.
But you'll notice if you look at Judges chapter 6, the story that we're so used to has two big changes. There's two big changes in Judges chapter 6. The first one we see is that Israel is told to be given away by the Lord.
They have been given away. In previous stories, they were sold into slavery. Now they have been given away. The Lord has given away his people. They're not even worth the price of being sold. They are just given away freely.
Israel has fallen into terrible sin. And the second major point to notice here is who they are given away to. They are given into the hands of the Midianites. Now many of you are probably saying I recognize the name Midianites, but who are they?
Why does that matter? Well, it matters because the Midianites are descendants from a man named Midian. Well, who is Midian? Midian was the son of Abraham. After Sarah dies, Abraham marries a second woman, and the name of one of the sons that he has is Midian.
So listen to this story. Israel has been given away, not sold, they've been given away into the hands of their own brothers. This is a very different kind of slavery than we're used to. And we're actually told why this takes place, why it's such a change.
Verse 25, we're skipping ahead just a little bit. We see Israel has began worshipping the false god Baal. Now Baal was a Canaanite god. He was a god of fertility, a god of rain and weather, and the worship of Baal was about as perverse as it gets.
Worshipping Baal would have included human sacrifice and different forms of fornication. And Israel has began worshipping this god. Israel hasn't just sinned. They have completely departed from Yahweh.
They've completely turned their backs on the god who has rescued him and began worshipping the gods of the people they're supposed to conquer. And for this, Israel is punished. They're driven into caves, their livestock is taken away.
It says that when the harvest will come, the Midianites will come and take all of the grain. This is the oppression that Israel is dealing with. And it's at this point that they cry out to Yahweh. But again, the story changes.
It's not what we're used to. If you look at Judges 6, 7 through 10, normally we're used to Israel crying out and the Lord instantly raises up a judge. That's not what happens here. What happens? A prophet is raised up.
A prophet is sent to Israel. And he's sent to Israel to give an oracle. He's sent to Israel to give this legal charge against Israel. And the Lord says, I was your God who rescued you. And I told you, don't worship these false gods.
But because you have done so, you've been handed in to slavery. Because you have done so, there's no instant savior. There's no judge instantly coming to rescue you. Instead, this prophet is raised up.
A prophet who says, Thus says the Lord. Israel, you have worshipped false gods. This is your punishment. But God is gracious and merciful. And we know that a judge will be risen up. There will come a judge.
A judge who will see is the judge who restores proper worship. Here's the fascinating thing about the judge. This judge still needs to grow up some. We turn now to Judges 6, 11 through 24. And as we look at Judges 6, 11 through 24, what we instantly notice is that this passage starts with a joke.
It starts off being funny. Here's Gideon. Here is the man God will raise up. And what's he doing? He's threshing wheat in a wine press. Now, I don't know a lot about threshing wheat. But I do know it doesn't make sense to do it in a wine press.
Wine presses are below ground. To thresh wheat, you need to be able to divide the wheat and the chaff. And wine presses don't let you do that. It's not how you go about threshing wheat. So why is Gideon doing this thing that makes no sense?
It's because he's afraid of the Midianites. Gideon's threshing this wheat in a wine press because he's afraid. He's afraid the Midianites are going to come see him. And they're either going to kill him or put him into slavery or steal all of his food.
So he's hiding. You can imagine this, Gideon threshing the wheat. He's looking around, keeping an eye out for the enemy. And this is when the angel of the Lord appears to him. This is when the angel of the Lord appears.
Angel of the Lord who will be the one to reconcile Yahweh and Israel. And what does this angel of the Lord say to Gideon? The Lord is with you, you mighty man of valor. The Lord is with you, you mighty man of valor.
Yeah, you, the one hiding in the wine press. The Lord's with you. You're brave. You're courageous. You're a man of valor. No, he's not. It starts with a joke. Kids, you want a new thing to call your friends when they're acting like cowards?
You say, oh, you're a man of valor. I see you. That's the biblical thing to say to him. The Lord says, the Lord is with you, you mighty man of valor. And Gideon hears that and he instantly knows, no, that's not me.
My tribe is the weakest. We're the weakest people amongst the Israelites. I'm afraid I'm threshing wheat in a wine press. What do you mean, man of valor? But the Lord knows what he's going to do. The Lord knows that he will raise up Gideon to be a mighty man.
A man who rescues Israel. And we see the first picture of this in the typology of the story that's taking place. The fact that Gideon is first seen threshing wheat in a wine press gives us hints to the story that's about to be coming through.
First, we see that Gideon is threshing. Gideon's job here is he is dividing the wheat from the chaff. What does Gideon do in the next chapter? We all know the story of Gideon. He takes this army and he starts whittling it down smaller and smaller until there's only 300 men.
He separates the courageous who trust in the Lord from those who are scared. That's what Gideon does. He separates the wheat from the chaff. And we see that the first time we see Gideon. The second thing we see that's almost impossible to miss in the New Covenant is we see the appearance of wheat and grapes.
We see the appearance of bread and wine taking place here. But we see that it is disordered. The bread is being pushed and separated into the wine. That's not how proper worship is done. We know what proper worship looks like in the New Covenant.
We see that worship is disordered. But we see that worship is important. And that the Lord is going to be the one who raises up this mighty man of valor to restore proper worship. That's what all of chapter 6 is about.
This whole passage, this whole chapter of Scripture is about worship. It begins with the Israelites who have turned and worshipped Baal. And then it sees Gideon and we see these hints of the Eucharist.
And then what does Gideon do upon seeing the angel of the Lord? He offers a burnt offering. Offering that is cut and burned up and offered to the Lord. The beginning of peace between God and Israel begins with the peace between Gideon and God.
And it begins with worship. With a sacrifice. With Gideon restoring proper worship in his own life. This is a cue for us today in the world. When we look out the world and we see that the world is in chaos.
The answer to chaos is right and proper worship. What is the command that the Lord gave to his church in the Great Commission? Go therefore and make disciples, baptizing and discipling them. Raising them up.
We see the world in chaos and it begins fixing it. The way the Lord is turning this world into something beautiful as it begins with the church. Doing its Great Commission. Baptizing and discipling the nations.
It begins with the church being the temple from which the waters flow from. Bringing healing to the nations. Begins with the church trusting in the simple means that God has given us. Water, bread, wine and the word proclaimed.
We look at the world and we say it's a mess. There's nothing you can do but say of course it is. The church is a mess. The church hasn't done the duty God has given us. Protestants, we can't agree on anything.
And there's three great traditions that don't recognize each other. The world is a mess and it reflects because the church is a mess. What did Christ pray in his great priestly prayer? He prayed that the church may be one as God is one.
So if we want to see the world transformed through the power of the gospel. We have to get our own houses in order first. We have to restore proper worship in our own lives. In our family's lives. In our community.
In our homes. In the world. And it will flow out from that. Gideon is the example of this. This is what Gideon does. He prepares a sacrifice unto the Lord. Don't miss this piece. Gideon prepares this sacrifice.
And we find out later in the chapter, Gideon's father has an altar to Baal in his home. Gideon was a pagan. Gideon was catechized worshiping Baal. He was raised in a house where his father offers sacrifices to Baal.
And the Lord converts this pagan man. And he's the one who will rescue Israel. That's why they say the greatest pagan tradition is converting to Christianity. It's what Gideon does. He prepares a sacrifice and he offers it.
And it says that the Lord is pleased with this offering. Fire comes down and consumes the offering. The same thing that happened when Aaron and the priest offered up their offerings unto the Lord. The Lord is pleased with this offering from Gideon.
And look at the name of the altar. The Lord is peace. God is pleased with this sacrifice. There's now peace between God and Gideon. This man who was once worshiping Baal, now there's peace. And we realize the Lord is pleased with Gideon.
The Lord isn't demanding perfection from Gideon. He's not demanding perfection from this new convert. He's not demanding systematic knowledge or a perfect liturgy or the perfect worship. Gideon will grow in these things.
He has to. What the Lord has demanded of Gideon is that you turn from worshiping Baal and you begin worshiping Yahweh. That you turn from your sin and you come to God. That you turn from your pride, from your anger, from your selfishness, from whatever depravity exists.
And you come to Christ. Because God doesn't turn away those who come to him. God welcomes them. God says, come to me. If you haven't come to Christ, come to Christ. He welcomes you with open arms. He says, come and worship the one true God.
Just like Gideon. He'll mature you. He'll sanctify you. He won't let you stay where you are. But he says, come as you are. God welcomes all those who come. Gideon comes to the Lord. And then the Lord puts him to work.
The Lord takes this pagan convert. Accepts his sacrifice. There's now peace. And now God says, Gideon, I have a job for you. Judges chapter 6 verses 25 through 32. It's our next passage. We'll look at this new convert.
He's given a task. He's given a terrifying task. Gideon, go and destroy your father's God. Tear down the altar. We hear that. We see Gideon goes and does it at night. And we may think that Gideon was afraid.
And we say, of course, he was afraid. Of course, Gideon was afraid. This is his father's house. This is the altar that has existed at his home. Until earlier that day, Gideon was one of the men who would go and worship at this altar.
And now he's told to go and destroy it. Of course, Gideon was terrified. He does this in the daylight. He's going to get murdered. He's going to get killed right away. But this is what the Lord tells him to do.
Go and destroy the altar. Praise be to God that Gideon has the courage to do this. Praise be to God. They doesn't require Gideon to be the most mature believer to go and do this great task. What is the Lord requiring of Gideon?
He's requiring that Gideon be faithful. What does the Lord require of us? He requires faithfulness. He requires trust in the midst of fear. Of course, Gideon was afraid. And Gideon was still faithful and did what the Lord told him to do.
And that's what the Lord calls us to do as well. To trust the Lord in his faithfulness. The Lord will call you to things that are scary, that are hard. There will be times that you have fear in your life to do what the Lord has called you to do.
And the answer is to look at fear and say, you can be here, but go sit at the kids table. The adults are talking. We're going to follow the Lord. God doesn't require perfection. He requires faithfulness.
And Gideon is faithful. He takes 10 men to go and destroy the altar. And notice how they do it. It's very important. The Lord gives him very specific instructions. He's to take the second bull. And this bull is to be used to destroy the altar.
And then the same bull is to be used to be offered unto God. How are they going to destroy the altar of Baal? They're going to destroy it with the bull that will become the sacrifice. Proper worship is how the Lord is transforming Israel.
This bull will be used to destroy the wicked altar to Baal and then be offered up to Yahweh. The bull is a picture of Christ, if you don't see it. Christ is the one who destroys sin, death and Satan on the cross and then is the pleasing offering to the Father.
This bull points us to that reality, that proper worship transforms the world. That's what this entire story is pointing us to. How right worship is how God transforms the world. The pagan idolatry is cast away and it is replaced with worship of the one true God, Yahweh.
It's what Gideon is called to do. This is what Gideon does. And we see it begins changing the world. Gideon destroys this altar and the people say, who did this thing? Let's kill him. He should die for this.
And it's his father who comes to his defense. The man who owned the altar of Baal, he's the one who says, let Baal contend for himself. This man realizes Baal cannot stand against Yahweh. His son's actions have showed the truth.
They lead to the father turning away from Baal. The father renames him Jeroboam. Let Baal contend. Gideon's new name means let Baal stand against Yahweh because we will not. If Baal is so great and powerful, then let him be the one who fights.
And we see that Baal loses. Yahweh is victorious. The reinstitution of proper worship is how the Lord restores Israel. Gideon is the judge who the Lord raises up, who he matures to be the one who will lead Israel into victory in battle.
Note the timeline. It's a whirlwind. After he destroys the altar, we see that there is war on the horizon. Judges chapter 6, 33 through 40. The oppressors are gathering together. War is at the doorstep.
They are coming to loot Israel. Verse 3 tells us they would come and they would take all of the harvest of Israel. That's what time it is. And now Gideon, he just destroyed the altar. He's got to call an army to fight.
So he blows the horn to gather the people. He begins preparing for war, but not on his own. The spirit of the Lord anoints him. It empowers him for this battle. God is with Gideon now. The spirit of the Lord comes upon him.
He begins gathering for battle. But before he goes to battle, he asks for a sign. Yes, God, would you please give me a sign? Would you please show me that you're actually on my side? So he takes this wool and he puts it on the ground.
And he asked God, would you please make it so I wake up in the morning and the wool is covered with the dew of the morning and the grass is dry. And God is gracious and merciful and grants this request.
The wool is soaked. He wrings it out. It fills up a cup full or a bowl full. And then you can kind of see the gears in Gideon's head start thinking. He says, wait a minute. I took this wool, an absorbent thing, and put it on the grass.
Maybe it just soaked up all the dew. So he goes to the Lord and says, Lord, please be merciful. I ask for one more sign. Let the wool be dry and all the grass around it be wet. Let something that doesn't naturally happen take place.
Show me that you are God of all creation, that you control the weather, the dew, the grass, the wool. Let something happen that wouldn't naturally happen. And God is gracious and grants the sign to Gideon.
And don't miss what this sign is. The sign is a sign against Baal. Baal is the god of weather. He's the god of rain. He's the god of the dew of the morning. And Yahweh comes and says, no, I control the dew.
Let Baal contend because God is in control. And see how merciful, how gracious, how loving God is to Gideon at this time. Some people want to paint Gideon as some kind of coward. And this is him sinning or or falling away for something.
And it's just not true. This is a Baal worshiper. This is an immature believer. He's been raised to worship a false god. Now he's worshiping Yahweh. The point of this story isn't about Gideon. That's what we have to understand.
The point of the story isn't that Gideon needs a sign. The point is that God is so gracious, so loving, so merciful, that he will raise up men and that he will mature them and he will give them signs so that they may follow him.
If you walk away thinking that the story of the fleece is somehow an indictment against Gideon, then you've actually missed that it is showing us the mercy of God, showing us how God works in the world, his love for his people.
This story is about God. This story is about worshiping the one true God and how worship of the one true God, as he has told us, transforms the world. Worship is of utmost importance. As one famous theologian said, Christian worship is the most momentous, the most urgent, the most glorious action that can take place in human life.
We see this in the story of Gideon. The peace between Israel and the Lord begins with the sacrifice Gideon makes to God. Worship changes everything. It was the beginning step of seeing Israel reconciled with the Lord.
Worship shapes and changes and molds the world. It did for Gideon. And it's how God still acts in our world today. So the question we have to ask ourselves this morning as we read this passage, where are the altars of Baal that need cast down in our world?
How can we go about restoring proper worship in the world? And don't be deceived. There are altars to false gods in our land. There's altars to government safety. There's altars to trusting the science.
There's altars to individualism. There's altars to sexual identity. There's altars to abortion. There's altars to LGBTQ plus propaganda. And all of them need cast down. All of them need to be replaced with worship of the one true God.
Worship of the triune God. They need to be replaced with the church gathering together to praise, to confess our sins, to see baptisms performed, to feast, and then to be sent into the world. As individuals are transformed, so are families, so are churches, so is the world.
Worship changes the world. In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen. Let us pray.