Dark Horses- Gideon
MESSAGE TRANSCRIPTION:
Good Morning. My name is Brandon, and I am the. High school student, pastor, and facilities pastor here at Eastside. And we are so excited that you guys are joining us this morning as we continue in our. Sermon series called Dark Horses. And now, if you’ve missed the first two weeks of this sermon series, I want to encourage you right now, put it in your phone, put it in your reminders. I want you to go back, and I want you to go online and watch our first two sermons. All right? And I. Promise you, if you do, you’ll be completely blessed. But if this Is your first week with us, I want to bring you up to speed. In week one, Pastor Virgil shared with us essentially what a dark horse is. And a dark horse is someone that is unlikely. Or unexpected that you would not think. See, In other words, this is a person that you would not. Expect or think for God to choose or to use us to do an extraordinary thing in his kingdom. But what Pastor Virgil taught us is that God loves to take ordinary people like us. And to do extraordinary things for him. And see, the last week, Pastor Brooks shared with us through the story of Esther that God can use us in our. Inadequacies, but that we have to have. Courage. And that courage is actually a choice that we have to step into. And if we step into that, God is able to use us. Even though we may be unqualified for the thing that He has called us to do. Because we know and we say it all the time, God qualifies the called. And this. Morning, before I share, who are dark. Horse, I want to open up with this verse. And second, Timothy 1:7. says this.
“For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but one of power, love, and sound judgment.”
2 Timothy 1:7 (CSB)
God has not given us the spirit of fear. But yet so many of us. So many of us live paralyzed by fear. But what is fear? See, I want to give you the textbook definition of what fear is.
Fear: an unpleasant emotion caused by the belief that someone or something is dangerous, likely to cause pain, or a threat.
See, fear for many of us this morning comes in many different. Shapes And sizes. See, some of the fear that we carry with us is the fear of not measuring up. Some of us have the fear of being inadequate. Some of us have the fear of not being able to follow through on what we’ve been asked. Some of us have the fear that we’re not a good mom or a good dad. Some of us have the fear that we’re not a good husband or a good wife, a good boss, or a good employee. I mean, the list can go on forever and ever with all the fears that we carry with us every single day. And now I just want to start off this morning by just opening. It’s up and being honest with you guys. Fear is the most pressing issue that I deal with in my life. And now, whether you see it in me or not, fear. Is in the driver’s seat of my life the majority of the time. And now. This is not something that I am proud of, but it’s something. I am learning to overcome through the grace and the love of Jesus and trying to conquer every single day. And I believe that Jesus wants to do the same for you. And I know that because Christ is not giving us the spirit of fear, but He is. Given us the spirit of power and of love and of sound judgment.
And now, the reason I mention this to you today is that fear was the driving. Force of our dark horse today. And who is our dark horse? Well, his name is Gideon. And the reason we will see fear manifest itself in Gideon’s. Life is because God places a calling on Gideon’s life. And when God placed this call on Gideon’s life, all these fears started to rise up in Gideon. And so if you have your Bible or your Bible, what I want you to do is I want you to turn to judges chapter six, starting in verse three. But before we read this, I want to give you the backdrop on how we got to Gideon in the first place. See, God had helped Israel defeat this group of. People called the. Mennonites. And after Israel defeated this group of people called the Mennonites, Israel started to get cocky. And what do I mean? The Israelis started to get cocky. They started to believe. That they were able to defeat the Mennonites in their own power and that they didn’t. Need God. So after they were defeated. The many Mennonites. They told God. Hey, God, we’re good. We got it from here. We do not need you anymore. We’ve got it figured out. And I just want to take a moment for just to pause and just ask the question, does this sound familiar? Does it sound familiar that God has helped you get through what you’re going through? He’s helped you defeat and battle and conquer the thing that you’re going through. And once you get to the other side, you praise him for a moment. And then you tell him, I’ve got It from here.
See, this is what Israel did. They stopped trusting in God. And because they stopped trusting God. God removes his blessing from Israel. And they stop increasing in numbers. But now, on the other hand, the Mennonites were multiplying like crazy. They were everywhere. And for 200 years, the many nights they not only grew in number. But their sense of revenge, to get. Israel’s back grew as well. And so, for 200 years, they’re plotting this revenge when all of a sudden. There were so many of the Mennonites. They started to attack Israel. And they were not only attacking Israel to attack them, but they were attacking Israel to destroy them. And this is where we’re going to pick up, starting in verse three. It says this.
“Whenever the Israelites planted crops, the Midianites, Amalekites, and the people of the east came and attacked them. They encamped against them and destroyed the produce of the land, even as far as Gaza. They left nothing for Israel to eat, as well as no sheep, ox, or donkey.For the Midianites came with their cattle and their tents like a great swarm of locusts. They and their camels were without number, and they entered the land to lay waste to it. So Israel became poverty-stricken because of Midian, and the Israelites cried out to the Lord.”
Judges 6: 3-6 (CSB)
So what is this passage trying to tell us? Well, it’s saying that the Mennonite’s goal was destruction, they were not only going to take over the land, but they were going to destroy Israel as well. And so we have Israel here. They’re stuck in poverty. They’re scared to death. And they’re hiding because the enemy was so great. And now we see this cycle that Israel gets stuck in. Time and time again, all. Throughout the book of Judges. For 200 years, Israel has been stuck in this cycle, and. I believe we often get stuck in the cycle. And what was that cycle is this is that God would deliver Israel, and then after God would deliver Israel, Israel would go off and say, We’re good God, we got it from here. We’re going to do what we want. And after they would do what they wanted, since they separated themselves from God, they stopped trusting God. They had to. Face the consequences. And once they faced those consequences, then they would cry out. To God again. See, I believe we get stuck in this cycle. Where God gets us through. What we’re going through, and then we strand off and say, We’re good from here. And then we have to deal with the consequences of walking away from God. But then we have to cry out to him again because we need him so badly. Now, even though I do not believe God wants us to be enslaved to this cycle. The beauty of who our God is is that God still hears our cries, and He comes to rescue us. See. God had heard the cry of Israel, and this is what happened. Start in verse 11, It says.
“The angel of the Lord came and sat down under the oak in Ophrah that belonged to Joash the Abiezrite, where his son Gideon was threshing wheat in a winepress to keep it from the Midianites. When the angel of the Lord appeared to Gideon, he said, ‘The Lord is with you, mighty warrior.'”
Judges 6: 11-12 (NIV)
See, what I love about this is Gideon is threshing wheat in a wine press. And this is not where you’re supposed to thresh wheat. And the reason he is there is because he is hiding and he is afraid. But then God approaches a fearful Gideon, and he tells them you are a mighty warrior. God saw something in Gideon that Gideon did not see in himself. And I would say the same is true for you and me this morning. God sees something in you. That you do not see in yourself. And so cut approaches. Gideon calls them a mighty warrior. And he saw something in him that he didn’t see himself. And I would say the reason God sees. Something in. You are because the Lord is with you. And the Lord is for you. And if the Lord is for you, what can stand against you? Absolutely nothing. And so the Lord approaches Gideon and says, You are a mighty warrior. And the reality is, as soon. As this happens, all the fears that Gideon has risen to the top. See, when God comes to you and says, I want to use you too. Make my name great. I want to use you for my plans and my purposes. All of our fears and all the reasons why we’re not the right person will rise to the top. And now, this morning, I know they’re probably all kinds of fears. We’re all dealing with it. But we see two very distinct fears that Gideon starts to deal with. I believe that we have probably dealt with this at some level. See, the first fear that Gideon was dealing with was when God called him.
1. Gideon was afraid that GOD wasn’t going to be FAITHFUL.
Gideon was afraid that God’s Word was not going to be true, that God wasn’t going to hold up his end. I mean, look what he says in verse 13 says.
“Gideon said to him, ‘Please, my lord, if the Lord is with us, why has all this happened? And where are all his wonders that our ancestors told us about? They said, ‘Hasn’t the Lord brought us out of Egypt?’ But now the Lord has abandoned us and handed us over to Midian.'”
Judges 6:13
See Gideon. He starts asking all the questions that we’ve probably asked. God, if you’re for me. If you’re with me. Then why is everything going south in my life? Why is everything going wrong? And I would say that many of us we’ve said the same thing. We’ve questioned God’s goodness. And his faithfulness because of our Circumstances. And I know when I’ve questioned God’s faithfulness and his character, it’s an indicator that I’ve forgotten who God is and what God has already done for me. See, there was a moment in my life where I did start to question who God was and His faithfulness for me. Because long ago, before I was here, God had called me into ministry, and I decided to finally say yes. I finally gave in. And once I did, all the things that I thought should happen weren’t happening. Things were not going my way in the way that I thought this should be happening. And so I was applying for churches, and I was getting rejected one after another. And I was like, God, if you’re for me, if you’re faithful, you’re telling me I’m supposed to do this? Why does this keep happening? See, I knew God had called me, but yet I was still questioning his faithfulness. And I would say I had forgotten about the divine facts that are true of me and that are true of God, regardless of my circumstances.
And I want to encourage you this morning. If you’re asking these questions if you’re questioning God’s goodness and its faithfulness. Maybe you’ve forgotten about who God is. And what God has already. Done for you. See Gideon. He wasn’t the only one struggling with the fear of God’s faithfulness. He was also struggling with the fear of whether he was good. Enough or not.
2. Gideon was afraid that HE wasn’t: GOOD ENOUGH
He was struggling with the fear of whether he was good enough. And I would say that many of us, if not all of us, have already struggled with this fear. If we struggle with fear, are we enough for what God has called us? look at what it says in verse 15
“He said to him, “Please, Lord, how can I deliver Israel? Look, my family is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the youngest in my father’s family.’
Judges 6:15
See, Gideon is saying, God, you’ve got the wrong dude. In case you didn’t notice, I’m scared. I am insecure, and I do not feel like I’m good enough to do what. You have called me to do it. And maybe you can relate to this in your life. You feel like God has a calling on your life. And God has placed his calling, but you feel like I’m not good enough. God has the wrong person, and all of a sudden, you find yourself presenting this resume to God of why you’re not the right fit. I mean, you’re trying to explain to God how he missed all the reasons why you won’t work out. See, here are some of the common statements you’re putting on that resume when you present to God to let him know that he’s got the wrong person. You’re saying things like this. I’m inconsistent. I mean, I’m sometimes on it, but most of the time, I’m off. You’re saying things like, I don’t know that much about my Bible. I only know John 3:16 and Philippians 4:13, and that’s the best I got. Some of you were saying, well, I don’t have a great prayer life. Some of you are saying, well, I don’t have great leadership skills? Some of you are telling guys that don’t dare put me in front of people because if you were to put me In front of people, I would freeze up every time. So you’re saying I was at the top of my class, but I was the half who made the top possible? Are you saying I wasn’t voted most likely to do anything? You’re saying, God, I’m just not the best candidate for you to use. We’re giving God all these reasons why we aren’t it. That we’re not the ones he needs to use. But I believe there’s a difficult question that I think we really need to pray through because if we don’t answer this question, if it is left unanswered, we will remain in our fears. And every time that God sends a calling our way, we will present this resume of why it has the wrong person. And what is that question we got to pray through?
What has FEAR kept you from doing that God is calling you to do?
What fear. What ungodly fear is in you that has kept you from doing what God is calling you to do? See, I’ve prayed before this, and I’m praying this morning. I will continue to pray after that. God is going to stir something up inside you. That when fear rubs against your faith, I pray that your faith. Will conquer your fear. I pray that your faith will conquer your fear. And when in your life, when you are called, but yet. You hesitate because you’re fearful and afraid to take that step whenever that happens. What I want you to remember is that.
God wants to do the Gideon in YOU.
God wants to do the Gideon in you. I want you to look at your neighbor right now, and I want you to say God wants to do the Gideon in you. Look at your neighbor. Say God wants to do the Gideon in you. That’s right. And now you don’t even know what Gideon is yet. I haven’t even told you, but I want you to know that God wants to do the Gideon and you. And what is the Gideon?
The Gideon: God uses an UNSURE, INSECURE, and FEARFUL person to do the IMPOSSIBLE
And can I just tell you God doesn’t use any other type of people. He only uses unsure, insecure, and fearful. People to accomplish the impossible. And how do I know this is because there’s no other type of people that God can use. We have all fallen. We are all falling short of God’s glory. We are all fearful. We all have insecurities. We’re all unsure of what the future holds. So God can’t use anyone else. God only uses unsure, insecure, and fearful people. And see. I believe if you allow God to do the Gideon in your life. They’re going to be two realities that you start to face. Once God starts working to get into your heart and into your life. See, the first reality. What you’re going to encounter is this.
With God, His STRENGTH through your WEAKNESS is exactly enough.
Look at verse 14. It says this.
“The Lord turned to him and said, ‘Go in the strength you have and deliver Israel from the grasp of Midian. I am sending you!'”
Judges 6:14
See if God is calling you. Don’t you think he will equip you? I mean, if God is calling you, don’t you think he’s going to give you the resources to get it done if God’s name is on the line? Don’t you think he will deliver you from the situation that you’re in? See, God was saying, Go, Gideon, I’ve called you, and I have told you you’re the one. You’re the one that I chose. And I see it in you. You are a mighty warrior. You’re a mighty warrior. My strength through your weakness is exactly enough. And this statement has been true for all of history. Even Paul reminds us of this truth in the New Testament. He writes to this church that he’s ministering to. In second Corinthians 12:10, he says this.
“So I take pleasure in weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and in difficulties, for the sake of Christ. For when 1 am weak, then I am strong.”
2 Corinthians 12:10
So what is Paul trying to tell us? He’s saying even though it may sound crazy, it probably is. You need to take pleasure in your weaknesses. You need to take pleasure in your hardships. You need to take pleasure in your difficulties. Because when you are dealing with these things, you are in a perfect position for God to give you. His strength is his strength through your weakness. That is exactly enough. And see as God is starting to do the Gideon in your life. The things that you feel are the weakest. And I want to remind you. God is making room for his strength to help you accomplish the impossible. In verse 16, it says this.
“‘But I will be with you,’ the Lord said to him. ‘You will strike Midian down as if it were one man.'”
Judges 6:16
See, when you believe that God is with you, the deal is done. You no longer have to worry or be afraid or stay up all night, anxious and distressed. You can believe that it’s all good because God is with you. See, when God is with you, you can rest in it, and you can have peace. And when God is with you, he will help you get it done. So here Gideon is In his weakness, but he decides to move forward with what God called him to do. So Gideon puts together this army of 32,000 men. And for many of us, we’re like, Wow. 32,000. That’s so many people. They’re absolutely going to crush it. But Gideon was thinking to himself, well, 32,000, that is not nearly enough. It’s a good start, but not nearly enough. And how do we know this? This is because history would tell us that Gideon would have to face an army of 200,000 men or more. So, Gideon, that is what you’re saying. Man, this is a good start. But it’s not nearly enough. And so. Then after this, God speaks up to Gideon. And even though. Gideon is in a position he doesn’t think he has enough. God speaks up and says this to him, and verse two says this.
“The Lord said to Gideon, “You have too many troops for me to hand the Midianites over to them, or else Israel might elevate themselves over me?”
Judges 7:2
And so here Gideon is believing and saying that I don’t have nearly enough, but God says you have way too many. And the reason you have way too many is that if you go into battle, Israel will say again, they delivered themselves. And so getting had to be like, Are you kidding me? Are you kidding me? 32,000, it gets 200,000. It’s not even possible. And this brings us to the second reality that you’re going to have to embrace. God starts doing the Gideon in, and you see with God.
The way FORWARD is often BACKWARDS.
The way forward is often backward. And some of you are praying this prayer this morning. You’re saying, God, please help me move forward In my life. Please help me move forward in my life. God, I want your help in my marriage because it’s falling apart. It’s moving backward. Please, Lord, help me move forward in my marriage. You’re saying, God, financially, I want to make some forward progress. My bank account is low, and something just broke again. God, please help me move forward. Some of you guys are saying my relationship with my kids is falling apart. And I’m losing them. It’s going backward, Lord. Please give me some forward progress. Some of you. This is your only prayer. But you have to realize that sometimes with God, the way forward is backward. See continuing on in verse two. It says this.
“I saved myself.’ Now announce to the troops, ‘Whoever is fearful and trembling may turn back and leave Mount Gilead.’ So twenty-two thousand of the troops turned back, but ten thousand remained.”
Judges 7:2b-3
And so 22,000 men walk away. God tells Gideon to tell these men, Hey, out of your 32,000, I want you to announce to them, whoever is fearful, whoever is worried, whoever is trembling at the thought of the 200,000 plus army that they were going to have to face, send them home. And so 22,000 Men leave, and 22,000-32,000 has to. Equal is not enough. And so here. Gideon is with only 10,000 men. And I’m sure Gideon was saying, but, God, I thought we. We were moving forward. And God is saying we are. But you still have too many men. So, Gideon, this is what I want you to do. I want you to take you. 10,000 men over to this little pond. And I want you to have them to take a drink. And the ones that get down on their knees and drink like a dog and take their eyes off the watch. Those men are not ready to go into battle. But the ones who kneel down and keep their eyes up and open and scoop the water into their mouth. These men are your warriors. These men are ready for battle. And so Gideon does what God has told him to do. I went to this pond. And guess what? Only 300 remain. Only 300 remain. Only 300. Drink the way the Gods said that they would. That would be ready for battle. And I’m sure Gideon was in a position again where he was saying. But, God, I thought we were moving forward. And God’s saying we are. These are your warriors; these are the ones that are ready. And so Gideon goes on with what God has told him to do. And God tells Gideon to go gather his weapons. And so Gideon goes off, and God tells them to gather trumpets, jars, and candles. And now, this sounds ridiculous, right? This does not sound like something you would go into battle with, but getting in is still listening. He’s still president. And so he gets the trumpets. And he gets the candles, and he gets the. Jars. And God tells him to go to the top of the hill. And on my signal, you’re going to blow your trumpet, you’re going to throw down your jars. And smash them against the ground. You’re going to light your torches. And so Gideon did exactly what God told him to do. And this is what happened.
See, God saw something in Gideon that no one else saw in him. God sees something in you that no one else sees in you that you may not even see yourself. God is saying you are a mighty warrior, and God wants to do the Gideon in your life. He wants to take your life and work through you to do the impossible. You know, whether you see it In yourself or not. Whether you think you’re good enough or not, whether you think you’re strong enough. Or not. Whether you think your fears are too big. God wants to do the Gideon in you and all. What you have to do to step into the Gideon is simple. Just say yes. All you have to do is say yes, and God will start the work inside of you. And see what I know about Gideon. All throughout the story. I’m sure those fears that he. Started with did not leave him. Though I don’t want us to believe this morning that our fears will always go away. But Gideon decided to lean into the truth. God had said you are a mighty warrior versus saying reserved and in his fears. And this morning, you have the choice. You have the choice, whether you’re whatever your fears may be. Whatever you may be struggling with. You have the choice to step into what God is calling you to do and allow him to do the Gideon in your life. And all of you. Have to do is say yes. And this morning, I want to teach you how to simply say yes with this acronym. So starting with Y, first, if we’re going to.
Y- Yield.
We have to yield to what God is calling us to do. When God approaches us, we cannot run off. We cannot get scared. We cannot start asking a bunch of questions. But we need to be patient. We need to be patient and yield to what God is. Calling us to do and. Trust that God will be. Looking out for us and watching over us. Not only do we need to yield, but we need to expect.
E- Expect
We need to expect that God is going to do something great through you, and you need to expect that you’re going to face some hardships and some difficulties. But the great thing is. Your weakness is the perfect position for God’s strength. And his strength is sufficient. And you also need to remember we need to expect that often with God. The way forward is often backward. So we need to yield to what God has called you to do. You need to expect that God is going to do something great. Through you in need to surrender.
S-Surrender
You need to surrender to the plans that God has for you, just like Gideon. Gideon had to surrender and give up his plans to God. And now he did not fully understand at all how. This would play out. He did not know that God was going to ask him to get down to 300 men. He did not know that he was God to carry trumpets and jars and candles as his weapons. Gideon had not a. Clue what the future held. Gideon only knew that he could surrender his plans and trust that God was going to take care of them. And so this morning, if you want God to do the Gideon in your life. All you have to do is simply say yes. Because we know that God only uses unsure. Insecure and fearful people like us to do the impossible. And so this morning, I want to take a moment. I just want to. Pray over you. And what I want to praise is that you would simply say yes to whatever calling that God has over your life this week.
Father, we just come to you right now. And our prayer is simple. The God. You’ve been nudging it in our hearts that God we’ve been dealing with. Maybe at night every morning, you’re just you’re calling that you’ve put over us. And God, we’ve been wrestling with it for A long time because of all the fears that we have. God, I just. Pray right now. This week, whatever that calling may be, the calling that you’ve put on our life. That God, we would say yes. That God, we would yield to your calling. And to God, we would be patient and trust you. God. We would expect that you’re going to do something great through us because, God, we can trust you. And we know that you are faithful. And a God that we can fully surrender all of our plans to you, even though we do not know What the future May hold. Jesus, we pray this. In your name. Aman.
Now, this morning, I’m reminded that because of our freedom, we have the. Privilege and the opportunity to say yes to God without a lot of restrictions or boundaries. And that’s because of those who said yes to fighting in our spot and fighting for our country. And so this morning, I just. Want to take a moment if you guys would join me. To take a moment. And honor all those who have fallen in a moment of silence.
Now, on a day like today, I don’t know how we can’t stop and also take a moment and pause and remember. How Jesus paid the ultimate price for us and our sins. And so this morning, I want you guys to take out your elements. And I’ve invited Drew and John to come up this morning as they’re going to lead us in the taking of elements.