DSN Rick Pina

Transcription

1 Living By Faith (Lesson 12) Growing with Gideon Ricardo Rick Pina Victory Gospel Experience (VGE), Camp Victory, Iraq Wednesday Night, 5:30pm (April 8 th, 2009) Introduction: Judges 6 opens with the Israelites disobeying the Lord. Their disobedience caused the Lord to remove His protection from them and the nation of Midian controlled them for seven years. This was a terrible time for Israel. The Midianites were extremely cruel. They pillaged the Israelites for everything they had, taking their crops, their livestock, and most importantly, their courage. The Israelites hit rock-bottom and they finally repented and asked the Lord for help. It was at this point that the Lord sent His angel to a man named Gideon. Gideon was God s choice to lead the people out of bondage. So you would think that Gideon was some sort of warrior, military commander, or skilled tactician, right? Of course not. If it were that easy I probably would not be writing about him this morning. Gideon was a scared farmer who had a low self-esteem. When the angel showed up Gideon was in a shallow pit, under a tree, threshing grain. This was an unusual place to thresh grain; it was normally done on a wood floor or a hard surface, causing it to be a noisy process. Gideon did it under a tree because he was hiding from the Midianites. So the Lord picked an unknown farmer with a poor self-image who was hiding under a tree to lead a revolution. Gideon is a good candidate for us to learn from about overcoming fear. Mighty Warrior! (Judges 6:12 MSG) The angel of God appeared to him and said, "God is with you, O mighty warrior!" What s the first thing the Lord needed to deal with? No question, it was Gideon s mentality! God did not speak to Gideon s present condition; God spoke to His desired outcome! Gideon had problems digesting the angel s statement. The first thing that Gideon did was think about the state of the nation and start complaining. Gideon said, "But sir, if the LORD is with us, why has all this happened to us?... the LORD has abandoned us and put us into the hand of Midian. The Lord ignored the complaint and said, Go in the strength you have and save Israel out of Midian's hand. Am I not sending you? This was a direct promise from God for victory. Victory was IN him, but he did not know it! (Judges 6:15 MSG) Gideon said to him, "Me, my master? How and with what could I ever save Israel? Look at me. My clan's the weakest in Manasseh and I'm the runt of the litter." In other words, Gideon was saying, I am the weakest man from the weakest clan! 1. Fear leads to a low self-esteem (who you believe you are) and a poor self-image (what you believe you can do). 2. God declares the end from the beginning: The angel did not say, Gideon, you coward! Or, Gideon, you big chicken! No, God spoke a fearless general into a scared farmer. 3. To overcome fear you must agree with God s opinion of you. 1

2 Fear almost kept him from receiving God s best for his life. Fear is a powerful force, but thank God that fear is subject to faith. It takes Courage: It takes courage to look past your faults, flaws, and past failures to accept God s assignment. It takes courage to look past people and their negative opinions of you. It takes courage to dismiss the thoughts that you say you CAN T. Without courage you might disqualify yourself from what God has already qualified you for! Dare to Dream (Judges 6:15 MSG) Gideon said to him, "Me, my master? How and with what could I ever save Israel? Look at me. My clan's the weakest in Manasseh and I'm the runt of the litter." Fear will Keep you from Dreaming: We go back to verse 15, because it exposes a devastating reality. When I read it again and again the Lord said, Fear will keep you from dreaming. Gideon did not dream of great things. Gideon could not imagine at this point in the story anyway that he would be a great military commander. Gideon had no aspirations of grandeur. Why? Because he was afraid. Fear will stifle hope, lower expectations, and will all-but-kill dreams! ***Tell my story of Brooklyn and my mother s story of the going to the US. My friends laughed at me and my mother s friends laughed at her, because they were afraid to dream! Like Gideon, they were blinded by the harsh realities of their environment. It s hard to dream big dreams when you are surrounded by failure. God took Gideon through a series of experiences before he could use him. Soon he was ready to dream, ready to lead, ready to overcome fear, and ready to conquer! (Judges 6:24 CEV) Gideon built an altar for worshiping the LORD and called it "The LORD Calms Our Fears." It still stands there in Ophrah, a town in the territory of the Abiezer clan. After Gideon told God that he was the weakest man from the weakest clan God replied, Gideon, you can rescue Israel because I am going to help you! Defeating the Midianites will be as easy as beating up one man. You would think that a promise like this would do it for Gideon, but it was still not enough. Gideon said, It's hard to believe that I'm actually talking to the LORD. Please do something so I'll know that you really are the LORD. And wait here until I bring you an offering. Gideon went home and killed a young goat, boiled the meat, made broth and bread. He put the meat and bread in a basket and poured the broth into a clay cooking pot. He brought them all and placed them under the big tree as an offering to God. The angel told Gideon to place the offering on a rock and to pour the broth over it. 2

3 Gideon did as he was told. The angel was holding a walking stick and he touched the meat and the bread with the end of the stick. Flames jumped from the rock and burned up the meat and the bread. When Gideon looked, the angel was gone. This is when the reality set in He asked for a sign and he got one. He should have been happy, right? Of course not. Not Gideon. Gideon cried out, Oh! Now I'm going to die!" Why would he say such a thing? Because of fear. Why was he questioning what God said in the first place? Because of fear. Why was he not happy that God had provided him the sign he asked for? Because of fear! Calm down! There's nothing to be afraid of. You're not going to die. Finally, Gideon was able to receive this Word from God and be at peace. Once the peace of God had been settled in his heart Gideon decided to build an altar to commemorate the experience. The Bible tells us that Gideon named that altar. The King James Version (KJV) of the Bible says that Gideon named the altar Jehovah-Shalom, which means, The Lord God our Peace. The CEV says, The LORD Calms Our Fears. Both are correct because one definition for peace is the absence of fear. The Point is that God spoke a Word to Gideon that was able to calm his fears and settle his doubts. This is the way that God intends for us to live; free from fear, doubt, and unbelief. 4. God will take the time to allow you to build up our capacity to believe. 5. Jehovah is a God that can calm our fears! Receive Him as your Jehovah-Shalom today! Shalom was put to the Test The Midianites, Amalekites, and other eastern nations got together and crossed the Jordan River. The enemy coalition force invaded the Israelites, took whatever they wanted, and then left to setup camp in the Jezreel Valley. This was the proverbial last straw for Gideon. Either he was going to do something about this or remain a coward. The Lord s Spirit came upon him and Gideon garnered the courage to blow a trumpet to signal the gathering of forces. 32,000 men answered the call. The man that was a scared farmer a few days earlier was now a military commander in charge of a force the size of two US Army Divisions. That would make Gideon a Corps Commander, in today s terms. Going from a nobody with a low self-esteem and a poor self-image to a Corps Commander in a few days is a big transition. Jesus said, All things are possible to him that believes (Mark 9:23). I Need Proof (Judges 6:36-40 CEV) Gideon prayed to God, " I know that you promised to help me rescue Israel, but I need proof. Tonight I'll put some wool on the stone floor of that threshing-place over there. If you really will help me rescue Israel, then tomorrow morning 3

4 let there be dew on the wool, but let the stone floor be dry." And that's just what happened. Early the next morning, Gideon got up and checked the wool. He squeezed out enough water to fill a bowl. But Gideon prayed to God again. " Don't be angry at me," Gideon said. " Let me try this just one more time, so I'll really be sure you'll help me. Only this time, let the wool be dry and the stone floor be wet with dew." That night, God made the stone floor wet with dew, but he kept the wool dry. It was all happening too fast. Gideon was done with questioning God (for now). (Judges 7:1 CEV) Early the next morning, Gideon and his army got up and moved their camp to Fear Spring. The Midianite camp was to the north, in the valley at the foot of Moreh Hill. He got up the next morning and he moved his army close to the Midianite camp. I like how the Bible says, His army. Gideon s experiences with God were transforming him from a coward to a champion, from a wimp to a warrior. 6. God will allow you to experience whatever is required to expand your capacity to believe. 7. If you don t deal with doubt it will lead to fear and fear will lead to failure. 8. God can do more with you once you get started. Once Gideon blew the trumpet, the ball started rolling. Before that, it was all just talk. So decide to get started today! If God can transform a scared farmer into a Corps Commander in just a few days, then what can He do with you? Are you ready to allow God to do great things through you? 300 (Judges 7:2-7 CEV) The LORD said, " Gideon, your army is too big. I can't let you win with this many soldiers. The Israelites would think that they had won the battle all by themselves and that I didn't have anything to do with it. So call your troops together and tell them that anyone who is really afraid can leave Mount Gilead and go home." Twentytwo thousand men returned home, leaving Gideon with only ten thousand soldiers. " Gideon," the LORD said, " you still have too many soldiers. Take them down to the spring and I'll test them. I'll tell you which ones can go along with you and which ones must go back home." When Gideon led his army down to the spring, the LORD told him, " Watch how each man gets a drink of water. Then divide them into two groups--those who lap the water like a dog and those who kneel down to drink." Three hundred men scooped up water in their hands and lapped it, and the rest knelt to get a drink. The LORD said, " Gideon, your army will be made up of everyone who lapped the water from their hands. Send the others home. I'm going to rescue Israel by helping you and your army of three hundred defeat the Midianites." 22,000 on the first cut! 9,700 on the second cut! That s over 99%. Gideon sent them home without flinching, doubting, or second-guessing God. Wow! The same guy that was a scared farmer a few days before was now acting like a confident General! 4

5 9. God wants maximum glory from every situation. 10. It doesn t take long for God to transform you from a coward to a champion. 11. Doing great thing for God will take exceptional courage. That is why you must overcome fear. 12. God wants to get you to the point where you will do what He tells you to do without flinching! (Judges 7:9-15 CEV) That night, the LORD said to Gideon. " Get up! Attack the Midianite camp. I am going to let you defeat them, but if you're still afraid, you and your servant Purah should sneak down to their camp. When you hear what the Midianites are saying, you'll be brave enough to attack." Gideon and Purah worked their way to the edge of the enemy camp, where soldiers were on guard duty. The camp was huge. The Midianites, Amalekites, and other eastern nations covered the valley like a swarm of locusts. And it would be easier to count the grains of sand on a beach than to count their camels. Gideon overheard one enemy guard telling another, " I had a dream about a flat [e] loaf of barley bread that came tumbling into our camp. It hit the headquarters tent, [f] and the tent flipped over and fell down." The other soldier answered, " Your dream must have been about Gideon, the Israelite commander. It means God will let him and his army defeat the Midianite army and everyone else in our camp." As soon as Gideon heard about the dream and what it meant, he bowed down to praise God. Then he went back to the Israelite camp and shouted, "Let's go! The LORD is going to let us defeat the Midianite army." Your faith will enable you to overcome overwhelming odds. Closing Confession: Father, I am a believer and not a doubter. I operate in courage and fearless confidence. I will not allow fear to keep me from Your assignment for my life. There is nothing too big for me, because You are in me, on me, with me, and for me. You chose me when I would not choose myself, but I now see why. I am not a weakling, I am a warrior in the Kingdom! I don t judge my future by my past. I have the courage to dream big dreams. Your dreams in me help me overcome my past failures and even my current flaws. I look forward, not backward. Forward ever, backward never! I move forward by faith, as a champion, not a coward, and I refuse to fear! In Jesus Name. Amen! 5