Warriors Not Worriers

faith is confidence in who God is and what God has spoken faith is not about having all the answers and then you feel comfortable faith is about whether or not you trust the one who has all the answers The God Who Made You The God Who Loves You faith is like taking that next step in the direction you know God said to go even though it's really really scary faith is going gosh this is hard but gosh God is good and his presence is enough faith is just knowing that even in this fear-filled world where a lot of times it doesn't feel like what I'm about to say is true it's still totally true God is with you for the next few weeks we're going to go through this one guy story almost verse by verse today we'll do the first 24 verses um it's really a story that that helps us kind of work through some questions I think we all have questions like what scares you what makes you like legit have low grade anxiety or highgrade anxiety um what makes you worry and what don't you what don't you love to be um to be Fearless wouldn't you love that most of us have like a natural bent towards fear and we don't even know it because it it kind of happens slowly over time kind of creeps into our soul Souls until it controls us it sinks its claws in we don't even know it's happening and it makes us forget here's the tragedy of it God's protection God's omniscience God's sovereignty it makes us forget God's goodness and there's plenty to worry about plenty to fear about in the world today is there not like if you don't believe me watch I don't I actually do not recommend you do what I'm about to tell you to do watch the news for three minutes and you'll have plenty to fear plenty to worry and freak out about right three minutes of the news here's what you'll get political unrest economic volatility moral ambiguity the list goes on and on you'll get um it's the economy it's this war it's that war there's a new disease every month you'll get terrorism shootings and and it's easy to quickly get overwhelmed by fear fear worry anxiety really easy for that to happen in our lives and as Christians it's also easy to forget the actual enemy the actual nature of the battle that we fight Ephesians 6:12 says that we don't actually fight against flesh and blood that our battle is against the powers and principalities of the kingdom of darkness so when you see the news and you see that there are terrorists and Li uh in Syria killing Christians that's happening right now by the way pray for our Brothers and Sisters in Christ in Syria um that that's happening you see that it's easy to go okay terrorist that's the enemy but actually the Bible says no it's not that person it's what's behind that person it's what it's what's pushing and and driving that person it's the Demonic forces in this world led by Satan who who comes to steal kill and destroy every good thing God wants to do in this world and in your life everything God wants to build and here's the deal we've got to understand like for us God has a plan to raise every one of us up as a warrior not a warrior a warrior not a worrier and we live in a fallen world yes yes I'm not saying ignore that but we also have to know God is with us in this Fallen World so I'm take you through this story a guy named Gideon tell your neighbor Gideon and we'll see how faith in God helps us overcome fear and walk in confidence and peace and purpose and remind us where our identity comes from where our strength comes from comes from God not from this world some quick context just in case you don't know a lot about the Book of Judges um coming up to this story God's people Israel they've had 40 Years of prosperity 40 Years of just amazing prosperity and because of that because they've thrived for so long in the promised land it's like they start to forget about God they get real complacent and they end up basically doing re really evil stuff which is the equivalent of like taking your faith and just punting it out the window right that's basically what they've done and they end up living in fear because of it let's start in verse one here's what it says says the people of Israel did what was evil in the sight of the Lord and the lord gave them into the hand of Midian for seven years now quick little thing like you read that and you're like I thought like God was on our side why is he giving them over to their enemies well it would actually be much worse for God to leave them alone because they'd go further and further and further into their sin they'd run further and further from God so yes God gives them into the hand of their enemies but this is actually a form of God's grace because ultimately them being in the hands of their enemies is what will bring them back to God so it says next 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 these are God's people they've been living in prosperity now they're living in caves now they're living in complete humiliation 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 stop right there not the same Gaza you're talking about in the news today just wanted you to know that okay this this Gaza basically means all of the land um from the Jordan to the Mediterranean that's basically what it means okay and they leave no sustenance in Israel and no sheep or ox or donkey for they would come up with their livestock and their tents look at this they would come like locusts and number both they and their camels if this was written in San Antonio it' say they would come like June bugs in number both they and their camels right so camels this is actually a pretty big deal um camels the fact that they rode in on camels meant Israel had no chance like modern day equivalent would be somebody rolls up with an army of tanks and you've got nothing you've got 22s they've got tanks okay so the the camels meant they could come in they could move fast they could do a lot of damage they could steal a lot of things they could carry more says they could not be counted so that they laid waste the land as they came in and Israel here's here's the result seven years of this Israel was brought very low because of Midian okay so let's just stop you got the scene Israel's living in fear in caves living in desperation but why why are they living like this why are they living in constant Terror of enemy raids why are they in such a dark place what what got them to this kind of fear and consequence it was that they had no faith first thing you want to know from the story is that that fear flourishes in your life when there is no faith fear flourishes When Faith is is absent from your life when you live apart from God fear just takes over okay in this story Israel is like a neglected Garden have you ever had a beautiful garden and then you maybe you're out of town or you're just like a little distracted or a little busy for 3 weeks and then you go out to the garden and now the beautiful Garden's not beautiful now the beautiful garden has weeds all over the place choking out the fruit choking out the jalapenos right that's kind of Israel in this story the weeds of fear and doubt have not been tended to and it has just overrun the beauty of faith and peace and this happens over and over and over in Israel's story in fact the Book of Judges I'll tell you what the whole Book of Judges is it's recording this cyclical pattern this same thing happening over and over and over again and the pattern looks like this okay four steps Rebellion oppression repentance Deliverance that's the Book of Judges Israel Rebels Israel gets their butts whooped they're oppressed Israel repents Israel is delivered but then they go right back to Disobedience and the cycle just starts over and God every time raises up a new judge hence the name of the book judges you could also call it just the book of leaders because what he did was God God sent leaders to rescue his people but since every time God's people are like we're not going to follow the leader we're not going to listen to the Lord we're going to go right back to our Disobedience the cycle just repeated and that shows you and I today that that same cycle can repeat in our lives it shows us today that the great need we have for God for his authority it points to our need for a true and righteous King that can lead us in the ways of the kingdom of God that's the cyclical pattern in judges it reminds us man sin it distracts us it brings chaos into our lives our lives are like actually not that different than the Israelites right here in Judges chapter I mean you ain't got midianites on camels breaking into your home stealing food from your freezer that's not happening but you've got great uncertainty you've got many many reasons to fear you've got many things to worry about and you have a spiritual enemy just like they did who wants to steal kill and destroy he wants to take your peace he wants to take your hope he wants to take your trust in God and when we allow the enemy to dominate our thoughts with those tactics we become vulnerable to tossing our faith aside when faith is what we need because our faith is the antidote to the fear we all experience this is why Hebrews 11:1 says faith is the Assurance of things hoped for right the conviction of Things Not Seen faith is not wishful thinking that's not faith faith is not well I sure hope that that's not Faith that's not Faith at all faith is like taking that next step in the direction you know God said to go even though it's really really scary faith is going gosh this is hard but gosh God is good and his presence is enough faith is just knowing that even in this fear-filled world where a lot of times it doesn't feel like what I'm about to say is true it's still totally true God is with you God is with you so in their distress Israel look at what they do they finally cry out to God okay verse six part B it says the people of Israel cry out for help to the Lord think about that s years of humiliation and they finally think about crying out to God it could have been the first thing that they did but they chose for it to be the last thing that they did 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 I love it we never even get this guy's name y'all just Mr nameless Prophet here in Judges chapter 6 and remember back in the Old Testament God would speak to his people through prophets priests and Kings so when you see a prophet about to speak and he says thus says the Lord this is literally God speaking to his people here's what the prophet said thus says the Lord the god of Israel I led you up from Egypt and brought you out of the house of slavery remember that this what God's doing he's reminding them of his goodness 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 you're living in that land now the promised land remember that and I said to you I'm 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 so the nameless Prophet delivers this message hey Israel you want to play the blame game you want to blame Midian you think Midian is the problem midian's not the problem your disobedience is the problem midian's not the problem the problem is that you have disobeyed the Lord you want to blame everybody else you want to point at everybody else you don't even realize you're the problem and that teaches you and I God always hears our cries and don't you love that that God always hears your cry and God always responds to your cries and those things are true and you can know those things are true and you can settle those things in your heart that God will always hear your cry and God will always respond to your cry but let's finish the point sometimes God answered with a rebuke God's First Response here wasn't all right Israel You're delivered his first response is let's talk about your Disobedience and some people's Theology of God is this see I knew it God's like the mean guy in the sky like when I'm bad God wants to zap me and when I'm good I get a get good parking spaces at HB and like for real that's like we laugh but that's some people's Theology and that's not what's happening here at all what's happening is God wants to bring real change to your life not just a temporary solution and so often times when you're like crying out to God God I need you God I need where are you God I've been crying out to you for months and you're like God's not there it's just that you're not getting the answer you want but God's actually there and he's bringing a rebuke he's bringing a correction like we're expecting an instantaneous fix cuz God can do it and we know he can do it and that's what we want him to do but so often God knows no no no if I do that the little snap my finger magic trick your problem solved you don't learn anything and nothing actually changes about your heart God doesn't just remove problems God deals with our hearts how many of you know that he loves us enough to deal with our hearts and so often the w wounds we have are self-inflicted wounds they're wounds inflicted upon ourselves because of sin because of Disobedience because of bad choices and don't you love that God responds to our cry not with rejection he could he's the god of the universe he could just say I rejection that's what you get but God doesn't respond with rejection he responds with correction to bring redirection to help us to get us going in the right direction on the right path Hebrews 12:6 the Lord disciplines the one he loves congratulations if there's a rebuke a correction if you feel like the Lord is disciplining you congrats he loves you and he chastises us it says God's correction is a sign of his love for you man if we could understand that he doesn't just remove every struggle he prefers to use every struggle to refine us to shape us into who he's called us to be because real Deliverance isn't about just changing your circumstances it's about changing your heart that's what's happening here with Gideon who's about to show up in our story verse 11 now the angel of the Lord came and said under the tabin that ofra not Oprah ofra which belonged to joash the abrite and while his son Gideon here he is was beating out wheat in the wine press to hide it from the midianites h let's stop right there I don't know if you caught what the scripture just said you were supposed to beat out the wheat on a Hilltop where there was a lot of wind so all the junk blew away and you were left with the good stuff you were supposed to work with wheat in the most public place anybody knew but Gideon's working with the wheat in a hole in the ground that's what a wine press was he's so paralyzed by fear he's literally hiding in a hole in the ground don't miss that little detail in the scripture and the angel of the Lord appeared to him and said the Lord is with you oh mighty man of Valor hiding in a hole he didn't say that part but right before it told us that part and Gideon said to him I picture getting being like please right please please my Lord if the Lord is with us if the Lord is with us look at the screens everybody or at your Bible look please my Lord lowercase if the Lord all uppercase you know what that tells us Gideon has no idea who he's talking to please my Lord if the Lord he he has he hasn't figured figured out what the heck's going on yet okay please my Lord if the Lord is with us why then has all of this happened to us okay so he's hiding in a hole supposed to be on the hilltop he's hiding in a hole cuz he's scared this is like your this is about to be your favorite Underdog movie y'all know what I'm talking about okay this is about to be wax on wax off Karate Kid Gideon is Daniel laruso who knows I'm talking about God is like Mr Miyagi with Gideon son you see what I'm okay all right and what you're going to see is the person that seems super ordinary and they feel super ordinary actually is destined for Extraordinary achievements and that's not just Gideon that's you come on if you love Jesus that's you God sees more in you than you see in yourself God sees so much more in you than you see in yourself if you could see what God sees in you it would blow your mind God sees so much more in you than you see in yourself so God saw more in Gideon than Gideon saw in Gideon so what does God do he doesn't speak to Gideon's fear he speaks to Gideon's purpose his Destiny his future God speaks to his plan for Gideon not Gideon's fear and in Christ you you might kind of feel like getting you might feel weak and you might be hiding in fear but in Christ God says no just like Gideon you're strong you're strong Romans 8 right we can do all things because of Christ we're more than conquerors dude Christ who loves us I think of David King David when we first meet King David he's not King David he's Shepherd boy David and and everybody's overlooking him literally ignoring him right but God's going nope that's my king that's the next king 1st Samuel 16 tells us that the Lord sees not as man sees man looks at outward appearance but the Lord looks at the the heart the heart and so no matter how normal you feel how inadequate you feel how fearful you are God sees something different he sees your true potential and he calls you to step into your purpose and there are so many stories in the Bible of people chosen by God precisely because of their humble beginnings precisely because of their willingness to just trust God and Trust God's plan in the middle of their fear uh the the the heroes are usually like the most unlikely candidates in the Bible have you noticed that and that's still true in our faith today and so look at Gideon's response further verse 14 the Lord turned to him and said go in this might of yours it's interesting he's like this is a different kind of Might and I don't know if you know 2 Corinthians 129 like we have a different kind of Might than what the world describes is might it's the might of the weak we're Mighty when we're humble we're Mighty when we're caring we're Mighty when we know God's Mighty we're Mighty when we have a teachable spirit and a malleable heart to the spirit of God go in this might of yours it's a different kind of Might and save Israel from the hand of Midian do I not send you and he said to him please Lord how can I save Israel behold my clan is the weakest in Manasseh and I'm the least of my father's house translation my family is the biggest wusses in the nation and I'm the biggest wuss in the family that's literally what he's saying and the Lord said to him but I will be with you and you will strike down Midian as one man Gideon's like I'm weak I can't and God says you can because I will be with you you can because I will be with you and we've got to know that that our Victory it comes ultimately from the presence of God in our lives our Victory comes from God's presence it doesn't come from your ability it doesn't come from how good you are at what you do it doesn't come from from anything other than your faith in the great Victor Jesus Christ and the fact that if you're in Christ he is with you okay verse 17 and he said to him if now I have found favor in your eyes then Show Me A Sign how many of you hands up would love for God to just always show you a sign a super clear sign wouldn't that be amazing G we're just like Gideon aren't we gon's like this is a this there's a lot happening right now show me a sign I would love that I would love for every giant life decision I'm stuck in traffic on I35 I glance up and there's a billboard with the answer on it that would be amazing but God doesn't usually speak like that show me a sign that it is you who speak with me please do not depart from here until I come to you and bring out my present and set it before you and he said I will stay till you return so Gideon's like I'm going to go get a present for you and then I want a sign and if we could just talk about signs a second okay just to help you have some good theology on this um as a Christian you should not need a sign from God on anything that's already confirmed in God's word so you should never need a sign that God really loves you we already know God really loves you you should not need a sign that Jesus Christ is the only way we already know that Jesus himself said it if you don't believe it then you're calling Jesus a liar marriage is one man one woman for light that like we don't need a sign that's clear in the Bible however there are some things in life big big things scary things crazy specific things where I think it's okay to ask God for a sign but then trust God because God gets to do what God wants to do and sometimes God will bring a sign and it' be clear and sometimes God won't or or maybe God always does I don't know and we just miss it because we're looking for the sign in the wrong places maybe that's even more accurate but I do know this typically confirmation will come from the church meaning a brother in Christ sister in Christ a spiritual Mentor a pastor a close Christian friend that's the church and a lot of times that's how God brings that sign we're always looking for or prayer time or how about this when it was the last time you had like an extended season of prayer and maybe even fasting because so often we're like God I need a sign but we won't pray we won't fast we won't do the basic spiritual disciplines God has given us that help us hear from God we're not in the word maybe if you're looking for a sign just start with those Basics and see what God does okay verse 19 and 20 you can read them later but I'll tell you what happens it's awesome Gideon goes to get his present you know what it is it's barbecued goat he makes beia tacos y'all San Antonio is in the Bible Cito assado he for real he puts it on a rock verse 21 the angel of the Lord reached out the tip of the staff that was in his hand touched the caprito a and the unleavened cakes and fire I'm not making it up you can go read it later fire sprang up from the rock consumed the meat and the unleavened cakes and the angel of the Lord vanished from his sight so he gets his sign that's a pretty good sign okay and then look at what happens then not until just now not until right here but right here then Gideon perceived that he was the angel of the Lord and I love that I told you earlier Gideon's got no idea who he's even talking to because what does that show us it shows us when the angel of the Lord appeared to Gideon he it wasn't like an angel floating in the sky you know it wasn't like light shining from apparently because Gideon didn't figure it out till just now apparently the angel of the Lord appears just in human form and I wonder how many times we've literally sat with the angel of the Lord and didn't even realize it and we're getting our sign cuz I believe with all my heart God still does things like that today so then he realized it was the angel of the Lord and Gideon said alas oh Lord God for now I have seen the angel of the Lord face to face I always tell you the Bible's funny it's hilar it's like no you actually talking to him face to face for a long time Gideon and the Lord said to him peace be to you look at this do not fear you shall not die then Gideon built an altar to the Lord and called it the Lord is peace and anytime you see in the Old Testament somebody built an altar to the Lord it means they worshiped God so Gideon is worshiping God Gideon is now operating in faith not fear and it's faith that transforms fear into worship and peace because he literally names the place he worshiped peace that's what faith does it transforms our fear in to worship and peace see God gives peace to those he calls if you're a Christ follower God has called you and we're going to finish Gideon's Story the next few weeks so come back and bring your Bible and I want you to just know Gideon's story is so remarkable because what it does is it shows us God's criteria for courage and Leadership is radically different than what the world says the world says the criteria it's all about power Prestige Kiss the Ring like that's the world's idea right and God says actually I value a humble heart and a willing spirit and without too many spoilers what you're going to see the next couple of weeks is that Gideon transforms from a hesitant man hiding a coward in a wine press to a mighty deliverer and I hope it challenges you to rethink what spiritual courage and strength look like and how important those things are Gideon actually becomes probably the greatest judge of all the judges of Israel and he leads the people to 40 Years of peace and prosperity again just like when Gideon First shows up on the scene and today I don't know if you ever looked but in almost any hotel room in America you open up the little drawer what's in there a Bible you go to the front page what's it say placed by The Gideons a great Mission organization that has given away Millions upon millions of Bibles for decades and decades and decades named after Gideon why because they realize this guy delivered the word of the Lord and delivering the word of the Lord can change everything receiving the word of the Lord can change everything and I just want to show you one really really special thing that connects to your life because if you could just when you read the Old Testament if you could just kind of have in the back of your mind where's Jesus where's Jesus Jus where's Jesus where's Jesus where's Jesus where's Jesus where's he's in every single story in the Old Testament it all connects back to Jesus so I don't know if you caught it but about 10 times it said the Lord or the angel of the Lord this is what's called a theophany in the Bible and what it means is that the angel of the Lord is the pre-incarnate [Music] Christ okay the Incarnation we celebrate celebr Christmas the in fleshing if you can't remember that remember Chile con carne okay that's how that's how I remember it lots of Mexican food in the sermon today okay the Incarnation God in flesh okay so this is Jesus in the Bible before the Incarnation okay so what I'm telling you is Gideon is interacting with Jesus how cool is that that not a different Jesus than we have the same Lord of lords the same King of Kings the same Jesus you and I are worshiping today the same Jesus that wants to take us from worry to Warrior the same Jesus that wants to take us from anxiety and fear to a place of Faith the same Jesus that rescued us the same Jesus that started Gideon and the whole nation of Israel's rescue Jesus was with Gideon and if you've trusted Christ man Jesus is with you and if you have Jesus you have peace just like Gideon did John 14 Jesus said I'm leaving you with a gift peace of mind and heart the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give if you have Jesus you have peace and if you have Jesus you have this ability to never be alone cuz he's with you it says in Hebrews 13:6 we can confidently say the Lord is is my helper I will not fear if you have Jesus you have peace if you have Jesus you're never alone if you have Jesus you have strength Philippians 4:13 I can do all things through Christ Jesus who gives me strength if you have Jesus you have peace if you have Jesus you're never alone if you have Jesus you have strength if you have Jesus last what did Jesus tell Gideon you will never die church if you have Jesus you have eternal life you will never die like the biggest thing we fear you have zero reason to fear that thing at all you will never die Jesus said Jesus said in John 11 let's Close Our Eyes Jesus said this listen to these words of Jesus and then we'll pray I'm the resurrection and the life everyone who believes in me will live even after they die everyone who lives in me and Believes In Me will never ever die the difference between between a life of fear and a life of purpose it's not found in your strength it's found in Jesus Christ he is the game Cher he's the Difference Maker and if you have Jesus you have peace if you have Jesus you're never alone if you have Jes Jesus you have you have strength if you have Jesus you have eternal life but but what if you do not have Jesus if you do not have Jesus in your life you have none of these great gifts [Music] if you don't have Jesus in your life can I just ask you why not why not turn to Jesus today what are you waiting for it's time [Music] to trade fear for Faith and worry for worship it's time to trade uncertainty for peace and to say yes to Jesus Christ if that's you just tell tell them you're ready that's all it is that's what salvation is it's saying yes to Jesus Jesus Jesus Christ is Lord he's savior he's leader I I trust in his resurrection I declare him as Lord with my mouth that's the starting point of faith if you're ready to say yes to him today pray like this make this the prayer of your heart and know you're received into the kingdom let's all pray together heavenly father I surrender to Jesus Christ the Lord of lords the King of Kings my leader My Savior thank you for his cross his blood his forgiveness his grace and his resurrection I Repent from my sin and I trust Jesus thank you God teach me and change me use Me For Your Glory God in Jesus name amen come on isn't Jesus good thank you Jesus [Applause]