Aug 7, 2016 - The Midianites were descendents of Abraham (Ishmael). The word Midian means âstrife.â If the enemy can
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Gideon: Against All Odds
Gideon: Against All Odds
Brandon: I readjusted this layout to better fit the formatting needed when I print. If you will just keep all your text within the blue margin lines on this page, I shouldn’t have any more issues ☺. Thanks!
Dr. Brandon Park | August 7, 2016
We all admire heroes. We get inspired when we see the courage and bravery they display in the face of insurmountable obstacles. Scripture is full of “heroes” we can learn from – not because of who face of insurmountable obstacles. Scripture is full of “heroes” we can learn from – not because of who they were but because of Whose they were. They were men and women of great faith. It’s not a they were but because of Whose they were. They were men and women of great faith. It’s not a question of how ______________ your faith is, rather what is the _______________ of your faith. question of how ______________ your faith is, rather what is the _______________ of your faith. (Specifically, what are you placing your faith in?) It’s not great faith we need; it’s faith in a great God. (Specifically, what are you placing your faith in?) It’s not great faith we need; it’s faith in a great God. Webster’s Dictionary defines victory as “the overcoming of an enemy or an antagonist.” With just 300 men, Gideon experienced one of the most astonishing victories in all the Bible. 300 men, Gideon experienced one of the most astonishing victories in all the Bible. BACKGROUND to Judges 6-7. The Bible tells us the spiritual climate of Israel during this time. “In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes.” Chapter 6 opens those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes.” Chapter 6 opens with this indictment: “The people of Israel did what was evil in the sight of the LORD, and the LORD gave them into the hand of Midian seven years” (Judges 6:1). gave them into the hand of Midian seven years” (Judges 6:1). When a Christian or a country moves God away from its ____________ of _______________, God removes His hand of blessing. As a result, Israel found themselves engulfed by a swarm of Canaanite culture. For seven long years, the children of Israel were under the bondage of Midian. The story of Gideon teaches us at least seven principles that can build our faith:
1. Before we can experience God’s best, we must break the _________ of ___________.
Pain is possibly the best motivator you can have in life. The Bible teaches that God's children are supposed to be free. The Bible teaches that God's children are to be overcomers. Every church and every Christian is either living in the book of Joshua or living in the book of Judges. We are either _________________ or being _________________. We are either conquering or being conquered. But the children of Israel are now dwelling in caves as a result of their sin. God allowed His people to be turned over to the enemy because they did evil in His sight (Judges 6:1). Judges 6:3 tells us that at the time of harvest, when they had sown, the enemy came at the time of harvest. At the time when they were about to reap what they had sown, the Midianites would come and encamp around them (vs. 4). The devil always tries to destroy, discourage, and defeat you at the time of _______________. If you are under attack today, it may be because it's the time of harvest. God is preparing to do something new in your life. Satan knows when your harvest is coming. Although he can’t stop the harvest, he wants to stop you from being there when the harvest comes. The Midianites were descendents of Abraham (Ishmael). The word Midian means “strife.” If the enemy can’t stop you any other way, he will try to get you into discord, fighting, and arguing. But if you will get alone with God in the place of prayer, God will pour courage into your spirit to face what is in front of you, and you will overcome it with victory.
2. God sees us not for who we ________, but for who we can _____________.
When we first meet Gideon, he is a defeated and desperate man. He is hiding in a winepress threshing wheat. He is a man filled with fear and intimidation because of the Midianites around him. Judges 6:12, “And the angel of the LORD appeared to him and said to him, ‘The LORD is with you, O mighty man of valor.’” God sees you both as you are and as you shall be. The Lord takes us where we are and moves us to where we ought to be. It is not your weakness that matters; it is God's strength. Gideon’s reply is in Judges 6:13. “IF the Lord is with us, then why has all this happened to us? Where are all His wonderful deeds (miracles)? ... The Lord has forsaken us.” Don't let the _________________ of problems make you think there is an _______________ of God. The Lord just reassures Gideon with promise after promise, but Gideon feels too weak and insignificant. He uses the excuse that his family is the poorest in Manasseh and that he was the runt of the litter (see vs. 15). In vs. 16, God responds, “I will be with you.” The Lord is reminding Gideon: “It’s not who you are; it’s who I am.” It is not what you are that matters, it's what God can do with you that matters. It's not who you are; it's who God is.
3. Before you can have ___________ in your heart, you have to meet God at the ____________ of sacrifice.
Gideon wanted a sign to make sure that this was really God’s angel speaking to him (vs. 17). He goes and prepares a meal and brings it to him. Perhaps Gideon thinks that if he eats it, it’s proof that he is really just a man and not an angel of the Lord. The angel tells him to put the meal on a rock and pour broth over it (vs. 20). The angel then took the tip of his staff and touched the rock and it burst into flame and he immediately vanished from his sight. Gideon is now fully convinced this was an angel of the Lord (vs. 22). God spoke to his heart and said, “Peace be to you. Do not fear; you shall not die.” Gideon then built an altar to the Lord there and called it Jehovah Shalom or “The Lord is Peace.”
4. Before God can use you, you must first remove the __________ _______ that are in your life.
Read Judges 6:25-26. Gideon wanted a sign from God, but now God wanted a sign from Gideon. He asked Gideon to remove his family’s altar to the false god Baal as well as to remove the Asherah poles (pornographic symbols) beside it. He wanted Gideon to deal with the sin that was in his household. God demonstrates in the life of Gideon what needs to happen in the lives of all of God’s people in the culture we live. Something has to happen on the _____________ before something can happen on the _________________. Canaanite culture had taken over the people of Israel. Do you have any “gods” you’ve been worshipping in the privacy of your home that need to be cut down? We cannot expect God to bless us or use us when there is unrepented sin still lingering in our life. Only when you deal with the ___________ on the inside, are you ready to deal with the ______________ on the outside. What happened when Gideon tore down those “false gods?” Verse 34: “The Spirit of the LORD clothed Gideon…” That means that the Spirit of the Lord was put on Gideon like a coat. It was not Gideon, but the Holy Spirit. Gideon was the instrument that God used.
5. Sometimes God has to cut down our ______________ in order for us to depend ______________ upon Him.
Gideon blows the trumpet and assembles the army and gets the people together. A crowd of 32,000 showed up. We learn in Judges 8:10 that there were 135,000 Midianites! So even with this vast army, their odds were still 4:1. Gideon was looking at this army thinking it was too few, but the Lord said that if there were any that were fearful, send them home, and 22,000 walked away (Judges 7:2-3). Even with the 10,000 that remained, the Lord knew it would be too many. God gave those men a test (vs. 4-7), which left only 300 men. What was God doing? He was bringing them down to the point where they felt absolutely helpless. Sometimes God cuts down our resources in order that we might be aware of the fact that we must depend totally and completely on the Lord. 300 plus God equals a majority under every situation. Humility is a _____________ for the Holy Spirit. Usually we resist or resent any limitation that we have on our life. We usually ask God to remove them. But if God shows himself strong in these limitations, then why should he take the limitation away? The fact is sometimes God works through our human weaknesses rather than eliminating them. Before God let Gideon go to battle against 135,000 Midianites, God whittled down the army to only 300 men. Which meant the odds were no 450 to 1. God wanted them to trust Him alone for the success.
6. During your battles, God is always at work ___________ the _____________.
Read Judges 7:9-15. This is the fourth time God has given him the promise that He is going to give him victory over the Midianites. Gideon’s heart was still full of fear. God told him to go down with his servant and eavesdrop on the conversations of the Midianites. These enemies were already filled with fear that Gideon and his vast army were going to destroy them. Judges 7:15 (Living Bible), “All Gideon could do was just stand there worshipping God.”
7. Your faith and worship are your _______________ of _________________.
The 300 lined up and Gideon gave them their battle gear. Everyone got a horn, a jar, and a torch. • The ram’s horn speaks of our _________________. 1 Thess. 1:8. • The clay jar speaks of our _____________________. 2 Corinthians 4:7. Before those jars could be a blessing, they had to be broken. God will never make a blessing out of us until we are broken. • The burning torch speaks of God’s ______________________. 2 Corinthians 4:6 When they saw the fire and heard their shouts, the enemy scattered and turned on one another.
