“good Morning Mighty Warrior”

“GOOD MORNING MIGHTY WARRIOR”

Judges 6:11-16,25-34; 7:2-3,7,19-21

INTRODUCTION

A. HUMOR: TOUGHENING UP

1. “My grandfather worked in a blacksmith shop when he was a boy, and he used to tell me, when I was a little boy myself, how he had toughened himself up so he could stand the rigors of blacksmithing.

2. One story was how he had developed his arm and shoulder muscles. He said he would stand outside behind the house and, with a 5 pound potato sack in each hand, extend his arms straight out to his sides and hold them there as long as he could.

3. After awhile he tried 10 pound potato sacks, then 50 pound potato sacks and finally he got to where he could lift a 100 pound potato sack in each hand and hold his arms straight out for more than a full minute!

4. Next, he started putting potatoes in the sacks.”

B. “THE MORE THE BETTER”

1. Here’s an expression I’ve heard many times in my life, and quite often it’s true.

2. If ladies can get two pairs of shoes for the price of one, that’s good; or if guys can buy more Duck Dynasty duck calls or more shotgun shells at a lesser price, that’s a good thing.

3. But there are times when more may not be better. Sacrificing quality to have more of a product isn’t good. 4. Having more people in church is good, unless it’s because the gospel’s watered down, or sin isn’t mentioned, or personal accountability is omitted -- then more isn’t good.

5. We also think that “more” is necessary to do the work of God: More money wins more souls; more people praying guarantees someone with cancer will be healed.

6. Such assumptions need to be rethought in the light of today’s Scripture, because it clearly teaches that in God’s work, less may be better.

C. TEXT Judges 6:11-16,25-34; 7:2-3,7,19-21

11 The angel of the Lord came…where…Gideon was threshing wheat in a winepress to keep it from the Midianites. 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.”

25 That same night the Lord said to him… “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….30 The people of the town demanded of Joash, “Bring out your son. He must die, because he has broken down Baal’s altar and cut down the Asherah pole beside it.” 31 But Joash replied to the hostile crowd around him, “Are you going to plead Baal’s cause? Are you trying to save him?...If Baal really is a god, he can defend himself when someone breaks down his altar.” 32 So…they gave him the name Jerub-Baal that day, saying, “Let Baal contend with him.” 34 Then the Spirit of the Lord came on Gideon, and he blew a trumpet, summoning the [Israelites] to follow him.

7: 2 The Lord said to Gideon, “You have too many men. I cannot deliver Midian into their hands, or Israel would boast against me, ‘My own strength has saved me.’ 3 Now announce to the army, ‘Anyone who trembles with fear may turn back and leave Mount Gilead.’” So twenty-two thousand men left, while ten thousand remained. 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 others go home.” 19 Gideon and the hundred men with him…20 blew the trumpets and

smashed the jars. Grasping the torches in their left hands and holding in their right hands the trumpets they were to blow, they shouted, “A sword for the Lord and for Gideon!” 21 While each man held his position around the camp, all the Midianites ran, crying out as they fled.

D. THESIS

1. This morning we’re looking at a man who’d lost sight of God and what he could do but rediscovered that God can do great things through the least things.