God equips everyone He calls to service. The only necessity for usefulness in His service is weakness, and that usefulness is always enabled by God’s grace.
Every believer is called to the work of ministry (Eph 4:11). Few are called and equipped for the church pulpit; but the world is every believer’s pulpit. Martin Luther wrote of the devilish deception that the best and most service to God takes place in a church setting. The whole world could abound with services to the Lord … not only in churches but also in the home, kitchen, workshop, field.
This equipping for ministry occurs largely by the expository Bible teaching ministry of the pastor (Eph 4:10), which the Spirit of God uses for spiritual growth.

I. The Call of God (Judg 6:15). Gideon was convinced his visitor had the wrong man for God’s service. He was unimportant and insignificant in his tribe and family. He believed God was powerless because he and his family were nothing. It’s the common error that the Creator depends upon His creature.
Salvation results in good works (Eph 2:10). Good works are not pleasant or helpful activities, but what He does through us in obedience and faith! These works are produced by the Spirit and flow from Christlike character (Gal 5:19-25). Works springing from our own abilities are useless to God. He always uses the weakest people so it’s clear He did the work and alone is worthy of the glory.

II. The Grace of God (Judg 6:16-21). The Angel of the Lord repeated His earlier promise to be with Gideon and defeat the Midianites (Judg 6:14). Deliverance depended on God and the only might Gideon needed was God with him (Mt 1:23).
God knew Gideon’s weaknesses and strengths, but didn’t call him by these but by grace. Grace is God’s favor toward those who don’t deserve it, never seek it, can’t work for it, and are unworthy of it. It’s hard to believe that God would work in us by grace alone; that’s why faith is a gift of God (Acts 3:16; Eph 2:8-9; Phil 1:29; 2 Pet 1:1). If faith was not given to us, none would believe in God’s unmerited favor.
The Law instructed Israelites to test the veracity of a prophet by the evidence of a sign (Deut 18:21-22), so Gideon wanted a miracle to prove the Lord’s repeated promise to be with him was true. Gideon didn’t have a Bible to discern or confirm the will of God. His only avenue to ask for a sign.
Gideon made a thank offering to God’s messenger. It took Gideon hours to kill and cook the goat soup, and bake the ephah of bread (an ephah is 84 cups or 20 liters, enough flour to bake 17 loaves of bread today)! He set the offering on a rock and poured the soup over it, similar to what Elijah did on Mt Carmel (1 Ki 18:33). Fire erupted from the rock, consuming everything, and the Angel of the Lord vanished. The best Gideon could offer was accepted by and consumed by God. He didn’t depend on Gideon or what Gideon had to give.
Rather than assuring him, the miracle terrified Gideon (Ex 33:20). Now he knew the visitor was more than a prophet; He was God in human form. We are used to thinking of Jesus in His humanity alone, and that breeds familiarity, and familiarity breeds contempt. Flippant attitudes today about seeing and hearing from God are proof they are untrue. Even the Apostle John fell as dead when he saw the glorified Christ (Rev 1:17)! God’s grace is amazingless without a clear sense of God’s glory and holiness.

III. The Peace of God (Judg 6:22-24). God spoke to Gideon and conveyed His peace. That peace came by the word of God, not the miracle of God. The memorial Gideon built expressed what he learned about God: He is the God of peace (shalom), which means an end to hostility which creates health, prosperity, and wellness.
By grace, Jesus promises the same peace to us He possessed before going to the cross (Jn 14:27). Looking unto Jesus, we experience that settled confidence in Him.