Gideon - An Unlikely Hero, An Unlikely Vicotry Series

Gideon – An Unlikely Hero, An Unlikely Victory

#heroes

OKAY - I want to begin with several passages of Scripture to both set up and to lay a foundation for our conversation this morning….

All Scripture is God breathed and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right. 17 God uses it to prepare and equip his people to do every good work. – 2 Timothy 3:16,17

For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through the endurance taught in the Scriptures and the encouragement they provide we might have hope.

– Romans 15:4

These things happened to them as examples for us. They were written down to warn us who live at the end of the age.

– 1 Corinthians 10:11

Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.

This is what the ancients were commended for.

– Hebrews 11:1,2

Prayer

OKAY – this morning we are continuing in our Summer of 2016 series, ‘Heroes, Amazing Stories Of Faith.’

SO FAR – in this series we have talked about…

Noah – a dad who saved His family

Moses – a guy who like us, was called to be a deliverer

Daniel – a guy who remained faithful to God for 70+ years despite living in an ungodly culture. A man whose faith impact and influenced 2 pagan empires (Babylon, Persia) and literally shut the mouths of lions…

Ruth – a hero who though did not build an ark (Noah), part any seas (Moses), or shut the mouths of lions (Daniel), her faithfulness and her story have echoed just as loud throughout the centuries.

MGCC

REMEMBER TO HOLD TIGHTLY TO RUTH'S TAKEAWAYS…

• Your tragedy can lead to triumph

• Your character matters and is refined in the fire

• Your sacrifice may be your salvation

• Your happy endings are never just for you

• Your story is to be one of redemption (yes our world is dark and messed up, but if we make our salt salty again and pray for one, we will change the world one life at a time)!

And never forget that… 'there is always a road back from where you are, to the place God intends for you to be.'

NOW – the biblical Hero we are going to talk about today is a guy named Gideon and I am calling the conversation this morning… Gideon – An Unlikely Hero, An Unlikely Victory…

AND LISTEN – once you hear this guy’s story that title will really make a lot of sense.

OKAY – let’s do this. THERE – are 3 main points in your outline…

The Backstory

UNDERSTAND GIDEON – like Ruth, the Hero we looked at last week (Ruth) lived during the period of time in the Old Testament that is referred to as the period of Judges…

AND - like we said last week the period of Judges began after God’s people had entered, conquered and settled in the promise land, and after Joshua their great leader had died. It lasted 330 years and was a period dominated by violence, sexual immorality, greed, pride, fear, sin and idolatry…

AND IT WAS A TIME - where God’s people were stuck in a very vicious cycle..

NO – there were not many clips of people and events that made the highlight reel during those 300 years…

I MEAN – just listen to the final words God breathed in this book.

In those days Israel had no king and everyone did what was right in his own eyes… - Judges 21:25

NOW – as Judges chapter 6 opens up, God people are coming to the end of a 7 years of suffering oppression at the hands of the Midianites.

AND LISTEN - the Midianites were so cruel that many of the Israelites were forced to fell their homes and now were living in caves just to escape persecution.

And each year at harvest the Midianites, along with their allies would sweep in from the desert, cross the Jordan River and take all the grain they could carry with them and then burn the rest…

We read in Judges 6 beginning at verse 4…

They left the Israelites with nothing to eat, taking all the sheep, goats, cattle, and donkeys. 5 These enemy hordes, coming with their livestock and tents, were as thick as locusts; they arrived on droves of camels too numerous to count. And they stayed until the land was stripped bare.

6 So Israel was reduced to starvation by the Midianites. Then the Israelites cried out to the Lord for help. – Judges 6:4-6