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HOPE Covenant Sermons

Gideon: A Reluctant Hero

June 14, 2015 Speaker: Series: Heroes

Topic: General Verse: Judges 6:1–6:35

HEROES
“Gideon: A Reluctant Hero”

Pastor Brandon Hovey | 06.14.2015

 

THE SITUATION IN ISRAEL

1 The Israelites did evil in the eyes of the LORD, and for seven years he gave them into the hands of the Midianites. 2 Because the power of Midian was so oppressive, the Israelites prepared shelters for themselves in mountain clefts, caves and strongholds. 3 Whenever the Israelites planted their crops, the Midianites, Amalekites and other eastern peoples invaded the country. 4 They camped on the land and ruined the crops all the way to Gaza and did not spare a living thing for Israel, neither sheep nor cattle nor donkeys. 5 They came up with their livestock and their tents like swarms of locusts. It was impossible to count them or their camels; they invaded the land to ravage it. 6 Midian so impoverished the Israelites that they cried out to the LORD for help. (Judges 6:1–6)

GIDEON THE COWARD

11 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. (Judges 6:11)

BIG IDEA: God wants to move us from cowardice to confidence.

Gideon moved from cowardice to confidence by going through three phases in his spiritual journey: WHOA, NO, & GO.

1. WHOA

12 When the angel of the Lord appeared to Gideon, he said, “The Lord is with you, mighty warrior.” 13 “Pardon me, my lord,” Gideon replied, “but if the Lord is with us, why has all this happened to us? Where are all his wonders that our ancestors told us about when they said, ‘Did not the Lord bring us up out of Egypt?’ But now the Lord has abandoned us and given us into the hand of Midian.” 14 The Lord turned to him and said, “Go in the strength you have and save Israel out of Midian’s hand. Am I not sending you?” 15 “Pardon me, my lord,” Gideon replied, “but how can I save Israel? My clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my family.” 16 The Lord answered, “I will be with you, and you will strike down all the Midianites, leaving none alive.” (Judges 6:12–16)

• Definition: We enter the “whoa” phase when we realize who we are and what God has chosen us to do.
• Questions: Who are you in Christ? What has he called you to do for him?

2. NO

22 When Gideon realized that it was the angel of the Lord, he exclaimed, “Alas, Sovereign Lord! I have seen the angel of the Lord face to face!” ….24 So Gideon built an altar to the Lord there and called it The Lord Is Peace. To this day it stands in Ophrah of the Abiezrites. 25 That same night the Lord said to him, “Take the second bull from your father’s herd, the one seven years old. Tear down your father’s altar to Baal and cut down the Asherah pole beside it. 26 Then build a proper kind of altar to the Lord your God on the top of this height. Using the wood of the Asherah pole that you cut down, offer the second bull as a burnt offering.” 27 So Gideon took ten of his servants and did as the Lord told him. But because he was afraid of his family and the townspeople, he did it at night rather than in the daytime. (Judges 6:22, 24–27)

• Definition: We enter the “no” phase when we say no to god-substitutes.
• Questions: What are the idols (things you love, trust, serve) that creep up your life?

3. GO

33 Now all the Midianites, Amalekites and other eastern peoples joined forces and crossed over the Jordan and camped in the Valley of Jezreel. 34 Then the Spirit of the Lord came on Gideon, and he blew a trumpet, summoning the Abiezrites to follow him. 35 He sent messengers throughout Manasseh, calling them to arms, and also into Asher, Zebulun and Naphtali, so that they too went up to meet them. (Judges 6:33–35)

• Definition: We enter the “go” phase when we do great things for God.
• Questions: Do you underestimate your potential to do great things for God? How can you publically follow God’s call on your life?

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July 26, 2015

Nehemiah: A Reforming Hero

July 19, 2015

Special Guests: Julio & Katie Isaza