It's Not Me…It's You The Gideons

If only I had… If only I could… But I'm just not good at…

Our world: Change your words Speak empowerment Become something better

What if you really can't? What if you aren't good at it? What if you'll never be Good enough?

It's good to grow and become To develop our talents To see growth in our lives But…

Your inability and weakness Empower you When you trust and follow A Powerful God

The people of Israel did what was evil in the sight of the Lord,

What they did was evil In God's sight Not necessarily anyone else's But God is the only One Who matters

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. And the hand of Midian overpowered Israel…

…and because of Midian the people of Israel made for themselves the dens that are in the mountains and the caves and the strongholds

For whenever the Israelites planted crops, the Midianites and the Amalekites and the people of the East would come up against them

They would encamp against them and devour the produce of the land, as far as Gaza, and leave no sustenance in Israel and no sheep or ox or donkey

For they would come up with their livestock and their tents…

…they would come like locusts in number- both they and their camels could not be counted- so that they laid waste the land as they came in

And Israel was brought very low because of Midian. And the people of Israel cried out for help to the Lord

Dangerous times Famine and living in caves Completely outmatched The enemies rule Israel's land Until Israel calls on the Lord

You can lose what God has given When you stop trusting God And start trusting Someone or something else For what God says he'll provide

When the people of Israel cried out to the Lord on account of the Midianites, the Lord sent a prophet to the people of Israel First, He answers with a Prophet

The problem isn't the problem The problem is the symptom God must solve illness Or they won't get well

Your problem May not be the problem If you're not right with God Then it's just a symptom Pointing to something deeper

And he said to them, “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: I led you up from Egypt and brought you out of the house of slavery

And I delivered you from the hand of the Egyptians and from the hand of all who oppressed you, and drove them out before you and gave you their land And I delivered you from the hand of the Egyptians and from the hand of all who oppressed you, and drove them out before you and gave you their land

I did in you and through you What you couldn't do On your own

Your inability and weakness Empower you When you trust and follow A Powerful God

God reintroduces himself Because fear has caused His people to forget The power of their God

And I said to you, ‘I am the Lord your God; you shall not fear the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell’

But you have not obeyed my voice”

We're not enough We're weak, so… We'd better make offerings To their gods So that we're protected

They focused on their ability Instead of God's power And traded in their freedoms For safety offered by false gods And it led to caves and famine

Sin is seeking in other places What God alone provides And it never works out Long-term

Peace Joy Fulfillment and Purpose Finances and Relationships Safety

Sin is seeking in other places What God alone provides How has that worked out for you so far?

Now the angel of the Lord came and sat under the terebinth at Ophrah, which belonged to Joash the Abiezrite…

…while his son Gideon was beating out wheat in the winepress to hide it from the Midianites

Birthright as an Israelite Afraid of enemies that will come Take everything and end him Because the Israelites Aren't enough

And the angel of the Lord appeared to him and said to him, “The Lord is with you, O mighty man of valor” (Present tense)

What we see in Gideon And what God sees Is the difference between Who he is and What God will make him

Encourage on another… God calls you "saint"

And Gideon said to him, “Please, sir, if the Lord is with us, why then has all this happened to us?

And where are all his wonderful deeds that our fathers recounted to us, saying, ‘Did not the Lord bring us up from Egypt?’

But now the Lord has forsaken us and given us into the hand of Midian”

Blaming God rather than Repenting of his own sin And the sin of his people

And the Lord turned to him and said, “Go in this might of yours and save Israel from the hand of Midian; do not I send you?”

You're asking for an answer? Good- you're the answer Go!

And he said to him, “Please, Lord, how can I save Israel? Behold, my clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father's house”

He's looking at this strength And knows he can't God calls him mighty warrior Because God can

If I'm looking at how I'm not looking at Who And without eyes of faith I'll never do anything of Significance for the Kingdom

Your inability and weakness Empower you When you trust and follow A Powerful God

God chooses Gideon Over men who are ready: Strong, capable men Because it's not about the men It's about God's glory

"I'll never be enough" Great…you're in perfect position To see God do awesome things Through your life

And the Lord said to him, “But I will be with you, and you shall strike the Midianites as one man”

Antidote to Fear? Who God is Where God is

And he said to him, "If now I have found favor in your eyes, then show me a sign that it is you who speak with me" Food consumed by a rock

Not strength, but weakness Not faith, but sight Looking for confirmation Of what's he already been told

We don't put out a fleece Gideon already knows And is looking for a way out When we seek wisdom We need to trust without seeing

That night the Lord said to him, “Take your father's bull, and the second bull seven years old, and pull down the altar of Baal that your father has…

…and cut down the Asherah that is beside it and build an altar to the Lord your God on the top of the stronghold here, with stones laid in due order

Then take the second bull and offer it as a burnt offering with the wood of the Asherah that you shall cut down”

People are generally OK With someone jacking with their Religion and their worship… Right?

So Gideon took ten men of his servants and did as the Lord had told him. But because he was too afraid of his family and the men of the town to do it by day, he did it by night

Your inability and weakness Empower you When you trust and follow A Powerful God

Vs. 30… Then the men of the town said to Joash, “Bring out your son, that he may die…

…for he has broken down the altar of Baal and cut down the Asherah beside it”

Were his fears legit? Should he have done it?

Were his fears legit? Should he have done it? Did God tell him to do it?

But Joash said to all who stood against him, “Will you contend for Baal? Or will you save him?

Whoever contends for him shall be put to death by morning. If he is a god, let him contend for himself, because his altar has been broken down”

Therefore on that day Gideon was called Jerubbaal, that is to say, “Let Baal contend against him,” because he broke down his altar

His very name In use as he lives Is proof that Baal Is nothing more than a Paper tiger

War is coming... The enemy combines to come against Israel Trumpet...Abiezrites, Asher, Zubulun, Naphtali

The men head out toward war Scared to death, but obedient

God is gracious And can use people Who will obey Not because they have no fear But even in the midst of it

Anything that causes me to Rely on God Is a blessing…because I become Strong in him through my weaknesses

Your inability and weakness Empower you When you trust and follow A Powerful God

Gideon has 32,000 men Willing to fight Which is cool, except…

Gideon has 32,000 men Willing to fight Which is cool, except… 135,000 Warriors Outnumbered 4-1

The Lord said to Gideon, “The people with you are too many for me to give the Midianites into their hand, lest Israel boast over me, saying, ‘My own hand has saved me’ The Lord said to Gideon, “The people with you are too many for me to give the Midianites into their hand, lest Israel boast over me, saying, ‘My own hand has saved me’

Now therefore proclaim in the ears of the people, saying, ‘Whoever is fearful and trembling, let him return home and hurry away from Mount Gilead’”

Then 22,000 of the people returned, and 10,000 remained 13-1

And the Lord said to Gideon, “The people are still too many. Take them down to the water, and I will test them for you there…

…and anyone of whom I say to you, ‘This one shall go with you,’ shall go with you, and anyone of whom I say to you, ‘This one shall not go with you,’ shall not go”

And the Lord said to Gideon, “With the 300 men who lapped I will save you and give the Midianites into your hand, and let all the others go every man to his home”

450-1

That same night the Lord said to him, “Arise, go down against the camp, for I have given it into your hand That same night the Lord said to him, “Arise, go down against the camp, for I have given it into your hand

Your inability and weakness Empower you When you trust and follow A Powerful God

But if you are afraid to go down, go down to the camp with Purah your servant

Like locusts… Dream… Gideon is gonna murk us We're dead men!

300 men…against 135,000 It's not fair…for the Midianites Because God is with the 300

Surround the camp Blow trumpets and break jars The Midianites flee Israel is free and they don't lose Even 1 of the 300 men

Your inability and weakness Empower you When you trust and follow A Powerful God

Sin is seeking in other places What God alone provides You are forgiven in Christ of sin You are not free from the Consequences of your choices

Do I believe that what I need Is found in Jesus and following What he says is right for me?

Where am I weak? Has it caused me to trust God more? Will I now?

As a church The areas of weakness Are opportunities to see Jesus Do what only Jesus can do

Questions, Comments Disagreements

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