Sermon Gideon 7-18-2010 Judges 7:1-8a ===
1 Early in the morning, Jerub-Baal (that is, Gideon) and all his men camped at the spring of Harod. The camp of Midian was north of them in the valley near the hill of Moreh. 2 The LORD said to Gideon, "You have too many men for me to deliver Midian into their hands. In order that Israel may not boast against me that her own strength has saved her, 3 announce now to the people, 'Anyone who trembles with fear may turn back and leave Mount Gilead.' " So twenty-two thousand men left, while ten thousand remained. 4 But the LORD said to Gideon, "There are still too many men. Take them down to the water, and I will sift them for you there. If I say, 'This one shall go with you,' he shall go; but if I say, 'This one shall not go with you,' he shall not go." 5 So Gideon took the men down to the water. There the LORD told him, "Separate those who lap the water with their tongues like a dog from those who kneel down to drink." 6 Three hundred men lapped with their hands to their mouths. All the rest got down on their knees to drink. 7 The LORD said to Gideon, "With the three hundred men that lapped I will save you and give the Midianites into your hands. Let all the other men go, each to his own place." 8 So Gideon sent the rest of the Israelites to their tents but kept the three hundred, who took over the provisions and trumpets of the others.
Pt 1-Gideon is a judge
The concept of judges- Ehud, Jeptha,othniel, Deborah, sampson
Prior to a king
Selected saul- good looking vs david, gods choice
Israel faithful, no problems
Israel unfaithful, worshipping Baal, then they are invaded
This time it was the midianites
pt 2- what happens in the story
Gideon is hiding in the wine press, threshing wheat
Confusion over whether this is the angel of the lord or if it is the lord
Fire on the altar of sacrifice
Double fleece- wet vs ground dry- 3 day discussion
32,000 down to 10,000 down to 300
Those who lap water by their hands
You can go down and hear what they are saying if you are having doubts
God allows Gideon to be human
300 trumpets, clay pots and torches
For the lord and for Gideon
The midianites, run in terror, falling upon each other
Gideon calls for other Israelites to come out against them.
Collects gold after the battle. Pursues them Kills the kings.
Pt 3- what do we do with this story?
Sermon Gideon 7-11-2010 Judges 7:1-8a ===
1 Early in the morning, Jerub-Baal (that is, Gideon) and all his men camped at the spring of Harod. The camp of Midian was north of them in the valley near the hill of Moreh. 2 The LORD said to Gideon, "You have too many men for me to deliver Midian into their hands. In order that Israel may not boast against me that her own strength has saved her, 3 announce now to the people, 'Anyone who trembles with fear may turn back and leave Mount Gilead.' " So twenty-two thousand men left, while ten thousand remained. 4 But the LORD said to Gideon, "There are still too many men. Take them down to the water, and I will sift them for you there. If I say, 'This one shall go with you,' he shall go; but if I say, 'This one shall not go with you,' he shall not go." 5 So Gideon took the men down to the water. There the LORD told him, "Separate those who lap the water with their tongues like a dog from those who kneel down to drink." 6 Three hundred men lapped with their hands to their mouths. All the rest got down on their knees to drink. 7 The LORD said to Gideon, "With the three hundred men that lapped I will save you and give the Midianites into your hands. Let all the other men go, each to his own place." 8 So Gideon sent the rest of the Israelites to their tents but kept the three hundred, who took over the provisions and trumpets of the others.
Pt 1-Gideon is a judge
The concept of judges- Ehud, Jeptha,othniel, Deborah, sampson
Prior to a king
Selected saul- good looking vs david, gods choice
Israel faithful, no problems
Israel unfaithful, worshipping Baal, then they are invaded
This time it was the midianites
pt 2- what happens in the story
Gideon is hiding in the wine press, threshing wheat
Confusion over whether this is the angel of the lord or if it is the lord
Fire on the altar of sacrifice
Double fleece- wet vs ground dry- 3 day discussion
32,000 down to 10,000 down to 300
Those who lap water by their hands
You can go down and hear what they are saying if you are having doubts
God allows Gideon to be human
300 trumpets, clay pots and torches
For the lord and for Gideon
The midianites, run in terror, falling upon each other
Gideon calls for other Israelites to come out against them.
Collects gold after the battle. Pursues them Kills the kings.
Pt 3- what do we do with this story?
Faith vs Presumption
Gideon lays a fleece – expecting God to speak
Someone finds a parking spot- it must be gods will- it is a sign
I found this on sale- it must have been a sign from god
God leads Gideon
Tells him exactly what to do
There are cases of this – Paul, and Ananias - Acts 9
Gideon also makes many of his own decisions
Calvinsim vs arminianism
God knows, God causes, God chooses
We have free will. We have responsibility
The balancing act tween Calvnism and arminism
Yes god breaks in
But you have free will
If you think God pushes the buttons, then you can get pretty upset
If you presume to control God or know how he works, then
13 "But sir," Gideon replied, "if the LORD is with us, why has all this happened to us? Where are all his wonders that our fathers told us about when they said, 'Did not the LORD bring us up out of Egypt?' But now the LORD has abandoned us and put us into the hand of Midian." Judges 6:13
What happens the first time that God doesn’t lead us
Or it doesn’t go the way we wanted?
I thought you loved me?????????????
We have our own ideas of better
We want god to do it our way, on our terms
Burger king- have it your way
Joy is not from more or better stuff
Joy is from the relation ships
We ask God - God how long until you deliver?
Son daughter, how long until you see the bigger picture?
If we have free will then we have Choices
The god who expects you to listen and follow
The god who expects you to take responsibility and he celebrates with you.
The responsibility that we have to decide if and how and to what extent we will live the Christian life.
Gideon wanted it easy
All spelled out
No work- no trust, no faith
But we all have to make choices
God could create a perfect bubble of a world
But would that world be satisfying to us
Would our choices even matter in a world like that?
What kind of a world would you like to have your children live in?
making choices – taking responsibility - Questions from a friend
1. my time, my money, my family, my abilities - What am I giving my resources to?
2. What are the things that are invading my ability to use these resources most effectively in the short time that I have here in this life?
3. Where does my mind go when there is nothing else “to do?” What is our default? This tells us a lot about who we are.
4. How can I speak into the lives of my children while I still have their attention?
5. How can I launch my wife/spouse into a place where she is discovering the desires that God has placed in her heart?
6. Who are the people that I need to encourage today?
7. Am I acting out of selfishness in this decision?
8. If I knew I had 10 days, 1 month, 1 year on this earth, would I do the things that I am doing now? If my answer is yes, then my question is . . . .would my approach be the same?
9. How are people going to be affected by the decision that I make.
10. What am I truly bothered by in my life?
11. Is there a conviction that I am not following through on?
12. Am I connected to the holy spirit when I am making decisions?
So where do we go from here?
There is a role for you to play in your life
Don’t ask god to feed the hungry if it is in your power to do so
Are you trusting God to follow him or is somehow your trusting him all about how you want your life to go?
The end of the story is that we have to stop treating god like a magic fairy
And come to understand that he takes joy in celebrating and witnessing our decisions for right
Using your faith- fascinating reduction from 32k to 300
Which life story do you think was more valuable to Gideon
Catching the kings with the 10,000s or routing the midianites with 300
What are you doing in your life that requires faith?
Gideon lays a fleece – expecting God to speak
Someone finds a parking spot- it must be gods will- it is a sign
I found this on sale- it must have been a sign from god
God leads Gideon
Tells him exactly what to do
There are cases of this – Paul, and Ananias - Acts 9
Gideon also makes many of his own decisions
Calvinsim vs arminianism
God knows, God causes, God chooses
We have free will. We have responsibility
The balancing act tween Calvnism and arminism
Yes god breaks in
But you have free will
If you think God pushes the buttons, then you can get pretty upset
If you presume to control God or know how he works, then
13 "But sir," Gideon replied, "if the LORD is with us, why has all this happened to us? Where are all his wonders that our fathers told us about when they said, 'Did not the LORD bring us up out of Egypt?' But now the LORD has abandoned us and put us into the hand of Midian." Judges 6:13
What happens the first time that God doesn’t lead us
Or it doesn’t go the way we wanted?
I thought you loved me?????????????
We have our own ideas of better
We want god to do it our way, on our terms
Burger king- have it your way
Joy is not from more or better stuff
Joy is from the relation ships
We ask God - God how long until you deliver?
Son daughter, how long until you see the bigger picture?
If we have free will then we have Choices
The god who expects you to listen and follow
The god who expects you to take responsibility and he celebrates with you.
The responsibility that we have to decide if and how and to what extent we will live the Christian life.
Gideon wanted it easy
All spelled out
No work- no trust, no faith
But we all have to make choices
God could create a perfect bubble of a world
But would that world be satisfying to us
Would our choices even matter in a world like that?
What kind of a world would you like to have your children live in?
making choices – taking responsibility - Questions from a friend
1. my time, my money, my family, my abilities - What am I giving my resources to?
2. What are the things that are invading my ability to use these resources most effectively in the short time that I have here in this life?
3. Where does my mind go when there is nothing else “to do?” What is our default? This tells us a lot about who we are.
4. How can I speak into the lives of my children while I still have their attention?
5. How can I launch my wife/spouse into a place where she is discovering the desires that God has placed in her heart?
6. Who are the people that I need to encourage today?
7. Am I acting out of selfishness in this decision?
8. If I knew I had 10 days, 1 month, 1 year on this earth, would I do the things that I am doing now? If my answer is yes, then my question is . . . .would my approach be the same?
9. How are people going to be affected by the decision that I make.
10. What am I truly bothered by in my life?
11. Is there a conviction that I am not following through on?
12. Am I connected to the holy spirit when I am making decisions?
So where do we go from here?
There is a role for you to play in your life
Don’t ask god to feed the hungry if it is in your power to do so
Are you trusting God to follow him or is somehow your trusting him all about how you want your life to go?
The end of the story is that we have to stop treating god like a magic fairy
And come to understand that he takes joy in celebrating and witnessing our decisions for right
Using your faith- fascinating reduction from 32k to 300
Which life story do you think was more valuable to Gideon
Catching the kings with the 10,000s or routing the midianites with 300
What are you doing in your life that requires faith?
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