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Supernatural Biblical Guidance 14
The
Extreme Danger of Fleeces as Guidance
by
Pastor John Hamel
“And Gideon said
unto God, If thou wilt save Israel by mine hand, as thou hast said, Behold,
I will put a fleece of wool in the floor; and if the dew be on the fleece
only, and it be dry upon all the earth beside, then shall I know that thou
wilt save Israel by mine hand, as thou hast said. And it was so: for
he rose up early on the morrow, and thrust the fleece together, and wringed
the dew out of the fleece, a bowl full of water.
"And Gideon said unto
God, Let not thine anger be hot against me, and I
will speak but this once: let me prove, I pray thee, but this once with the
fleece; let it now be dry only upon the fleece, and upon all the ground let
there be dew. And God did so that night: for it was dry upon the
fleece only, and there was dew on all the ground.”
(Judges 6:36-40)
It would be
beneficial to remind you again that we have studied the spirit nature of man, the inner witness of the Holy Spirit, the
inward still small voice of the
Holy Spirit, the actual, authoritative voice of the Holy Spirit, dreams, visions, prophecies, angelic guidance and Holy Spirit
inspired fasting.
In our last study
we saw how the Apostle Paul and other New Testament Believers fasted to
keep themselves sensitive to the Holy Spirit’s guidance. They also
fasted to increase their anointing over Satan and demon powers
during times of extreme danger and crisis.
I told you then that we
would be talking about the subject of “putting out fleeces.”
Fleecing is a very
popular, yet very unscriptural, form of guidance.
By studying the
life of Gideon today we will see clearly that putting out a fleece never
has been and never will be a God-ordained form of guidance.
Only one
time in all of Scripture do we find someone putting out a fleece. Jesus said we must have two or three
confirming verses of Scripture, in context, to build a Bible doctrine.
(Deuteronomy 17:6; Matthew 18:16; 2Corinthians 13:1)
People who put
out fleeces simply do not have two or three examples from the Bible
instructing them to do so. Gideon was the first and last person in
the Bible to put out such a fleece.
Let us describe
what it means to “put out a fleece.” Gideon put out a literal sheep’s
fleece (wool) to test God’s will. Others may not use an actual
sheepskin but they “fleece” in more contemporary ways.
Some people
pray a “fleecing” prayer like this. “Lord, I don’t know if I should
move to Maine or Idaho. I’m going
to go to the grocery store. When I get there, if they have Maine potatoes, I’m
going to move to Maine. If they
have Idaho potatoes, I’m
going to move to Idaho.” Others
pray a “fleecing” prayer this way. “Lord, if you want me to move to Maine, open the door for me there and close the door in Idaho.”
This is dangerous
because Satan is the god of this world and he can put the potatoes of his
choice in the grocery stores of his choice. He can
also open and close “doors of opportunity” in the natural. (2Corinthians
4:4) Potatoes, open and closed doors and
other forms of natural guidance are in the physical or sense realm.
God does not live in the physical or sense realm. God is a Spirit.
(John 4:24)
If you want to communicate with God or you want God to
communicate with you, it absolutely must be done through the spirit
realm. Insisting on any other way always leads to heartache and
deception.
Gideon
Put Out a Fleece in Ignorance
The Angel of the
Lord appeared to Gideon informing him that he was to be raised up as a
mighty man of valor who would deliver Israel out of the hands
of the Midianites. (Judges 6:11-21) Gideon
lived under the Old Covenant. He did not have the Holy Spirit’s
indwelling presence to bear witness of the truth of the Angel’s
message. He did not have the “Inner Umpire”
to guide him. Therefore, he began to seriously doubt the Angel’s
appearance and message. The very next day following the Angel’s
supernatural appearance and demonstration, Gideon put out a fleece just to
make sure he was not losing his grip on reality.
“And Gideon said
unto God, If thou wilt save Israel by mine hand, as thou hast said, Behold,
I WILL PUT A FLEECE of wool in the floor; and if the dew be on the fleece
only, and it be dry upon all the earth beside, then shall I know that thou
wilt save Israel by mine hand, as thou hast said. And it was so: for
he rose up early on the morrow, and thrust the fleece together, and wringed
the dew out of the fleece, a bowl full of water.” (Judges 6:36-38)
This is where
misled Believers get the term and the unscriptural practice of “putting out
a fleece.” Gideon told God, in essence, “If what the Angel said is
true about saving Israel by my hand, I’m going to put a
fleece of wool on the floor. When I wake up in the morning, if it is
covered with dew but the ground is dry, then I’ll know that the Angel’s
message is true.” Because Gideon was not filled with
the Holy Spirit and was not in union with God in his spirit, God
accommodated him. He covered the fleece with dew that night keeping
the ground around it dry. But even that was not enough for this man
who did not yet qualify for the indwelling presence of the Inner Umpire.
“And Gideon said
unto God, Let not thine anger be
hot against me, and I will speak but this once: LET ME PROVE, I PRAY THEE,
BUT THIS ONCE WITH THE FLEECE; let it now be dry only upon the fleece, and
upon all the ground let there be dew. And God did so that night: for
it was dry upon the fleece only, and there was dew
on all the ground.” (Judges 6:39,40)
Gideon already knew
the will of God. The Angel appeared to him and told him what the will
of God was. By reading the chapter in context, you will discover that
Gideon set out an offering of flesh and unleavened cakes on a rock before
the Angel. The Angel touched the rock with his staff and fire burst out of the rock, consuming the
flesh and unleavened cakes. This was done as a sign to Gideon that
the message was indeed from God. Yet still Gideon wanted another
sign. So, he put out a fleece asking the Lord to cover it with dew
keeping the ground around it dry. The Lord accommodated Gideon.
Still not satisfied, Gideon said to the Lord, “God, I don’t mean to burn
You up about this but I’m going to ask You for another sign. Tonight
I’ll put the fleece back out on the ground. When I wake up in the
morning, if the fleece is dry and the ground all around it is wet, then I
will know that You have spoken to me.” God did exactly as Gideon
requested. Let us look more closely at why God accommodated
Gideon.
God
Was Accommodating an Unregenerate Man
Gideon was not a
Prophet, Priest, King, Judge or a special leader of any kind over the Nation
of Israel. Only these individuals qualified to have the Holy Spirit
come upon them at special times for special reasons. Gideon had
another slight problem as we have already discovered. He lived under
the Old Covenant and could not be Born Again by
the Blood of Jesus. Therefore, he did not qualify for the Holy Spirit
to live within him such as we do under the New Covenant. (John 7:37-39;
1Corinthians 6:19)
Gideon was just a
plain, ordinary, unregenerate, spiritually dead human being. He had
no help from the Holy Spirit upon or within. God was requiring him to
take on the entire Midian army with a handful of
other plain, ordinary, unregenerate, spiritually dead Israelites who also
had no help from the Holy Spirit upon or within when it came to
guidance. The Holy Spirit fully realized that Gideon needed a
supernatural point of reference to keep him focused and out of fear. Therefore, He sent an Angel who performed a
rather dynamic miracle in order to gain his confidence. He also
allowed Gideon to put out a fleece to maintain his confidence. He
then allowed him to put out another fleece in order to keep Gideon’s
unregenerate spirit trusting in what God was able to do in spite of his own
weakness.
It is vital that
New Testament Believers today keep in mind that all of these events
occurred under the Old Testament. We are not to go back to the Old
Testament, insisting on special guidance, when we have a better Covenant,
based upon better promises of guidance.
“But now hath he
[Jesus] obtained a more excellent ministry, by how much also HE IS THE
MEDIATOR OF A BETTER COVENANT, WHICH WAS ESTABLISHED UPON BETTER PROMISES.”
(Hebrews 8:6)
We have a much
better Covenant than Gideon had. That Covenant is established upon
some very specific forms of guidance. We studied each of these forms
of guidance very specifically in this series of lessons. Nowhere in
the New Covenant do we find even one verse of Scripture that says, “As many
as are led by the fleeces of man, they are the sons of God.”
However,
the New Covenant does say, “For as many as are led by the SPIRIT OF GOD,
they are the sons of God.” (Romans 8:14)
The New Covenant
does not say, “The Spirit Himself bears witness with man’s fleeces that
they are the children of God.” The New Covenant says, “The Spirit
Himself bears witness with OUR SPIRIT that we are the children of God.”
(Romans 8:16)
God accommodated
Gideon’s spiritual weakness with an Angelic visitation and demonstration as
well as allowing him to put out a couple of fleeces. God has
accommodated our spiritual weakness by filling us with the Holy
Spirit. God has accommodated our spiritual weakness by setting up a
whole new system of guidance under the New Testament which includes the
written Word of God, the inner witness of the Holy Spirit, the inner still
small voice of the Holy Spirit, the audible, authoritative voice of the
Holy Spirit, dreams, visions, prophecies and even angelic visitation if
necessary. Now, knowledge of God’s Word and spiritual maturity demand
that we allow ourselves to be led by the Holy Spirit within.
The Holy Spirit
will allow us to get away with a few things when it comes to guidance
during the babyhood stages of Christianity. Eventually though, He
always requires us to grow up and obey what is written in the New
Covenant. As a matter of fact, He will now hold you accountable for
any revelation of guidance principles you have received during these
studies. Those who insist on remaining spiritual babies by telling
God, “Do this for me and I’ll do that for You” or “Open this door and close
that door and I’ll know it’s You” ultimately end up getting fleeced
themselves. Satan can open and close doors and send counterfeit
miracles to mislead Believers. (Matthew 24:24; 2Thessalonians 2:9;
2Corinthians 11:14,15) He will
gladly respond to your fleeces if you insist on putting them out,
especially after what you have learned in these studies. You will not
like that when it happens. This is
why Jesus Himself forbad asking God for signs for any reason.
“Then certain of
the scribes and of the Pharisees answered, saying, Master, we would see a
sign from thee. But he answered and said unto them, AN EVIL AND
ADULTEROUS GENERATION SEEKETH AFTER A SIGN; and there shall no sign be
given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas: For as Jonas was
three days and three nights in the whale's belly; so shall the Son of man
be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.” (Matthew
12:38-40)
Jesus said people
who insist on signs and fleeces are evil and adulterous. That Greek
word “adulterous” actually means “unfaithful.” Jesus’ disciple Thomas
refused to believe that Jesus rose from the dead. He refused to
believe what the Prophets wrote concerning Jesus’ resurrection. He
ended up with an embarrassing rebuke coming directly from Jesus.
“Then saith he [Jesus] to Thomas, reach hither thy finger,
and behold my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side:
and be not faithless, but believing. And Thomas answered and said
unto him, My Lord and my God. Jesus saith
unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed
are they that have not seen, and yet have believed.” (John 20:27-29)
Jesus was saying to
Thomas, “Don’t put your confidence in what you can see and hear
alone. Don’t put your confidence in signs and fleeces. Signs
and fleeces can be faked and counterfeited. Mature Believers trust My
Word.”
You see, the Bible
never said that mature Believers were to follow signs. The Bible says
that signs will follow mature Believers. (Mark 16:15-20) Mature
Believers follow the written Word, the inner witness of the Holy Spirit,
the inward still small voice of the Holy Spirit, the audible, authoritative
voice of the Holy Spirit, dreams, visions, prophecies and angelic
visitation if the Holy Spirit decides the latter is necessary.
Gideon’s experience
was the exception, not the rule. If you insist on being led through
fleeces having studied this lesson, you are opening yourself up to a
thousand woes. When you pressure God, you motivate Satan.
Demanding signs and fleeces is a sign of ignorance, unbelief and
immaturity.
Learn to trust the Holy Spirit’s inner guidance system or
you will walk right through doors that Satan himself opened wide for
you. Until Adam’s hijacked lease expires, Satan
is still the god of this world. (2Corinthians 4:4) He loves to see a
Believer put out a good fleece. It actually gives him authority to
move in the realm of deception.
The Apostle Paul
said, “…be ye not unwise but understanding what the will of the Lord is.”
(Ephesians 5:17)
You now know the will of the Lord when it comes to
the principles of supernatural Biblical guidance.
The Holy Spirit
will not only hold you accountable for those principles but He will bless
you tremendously when you step out and appropriate them by faith. (Hebrews 11:6)
Be Blessed ... John and Barbara
Hamel
How
to Be Born Again (Receive Christ as Your Savior)
How
to Receive The Holy Spirit & Power
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