How Can I?

Again, the Israelites did what was evil in the Lord’s sight.

The Lord handed them over to the Midianites for 7 years.

They were so curel, the Israelites went into hiding.

At harvest time these marauding hordes, as thick as locusts, arrived on droves of camels too numerous to count. They stripped the land bare.

The Israelites were reduced to starvation and they cried out to the Lord for help.

God heard them and sent them a prophet.

Judg 6:8-10

I brought you up out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. 9 I snatched you from the power of Egypt and from the hand of all your oppressors. I drove them from before you and gave you their land. 10 I said to you, `I am the LORD your God; do not worship the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you live.’ But you have not listened to me."

The angel of the Lord appeared to Gideon at the wine press and said, “Mighty warior, The Lord is with you!”

God sees who we are even when we don’t. God knows our potential even though we don’t. God will call us to our mission in life even though we don’t have the confidence to do it ourselves.

This is important, listen to Gideon’s reply:

Judg 6:13

13 "But sir," Gideon replied, "if the LORD is with us, why has all this happened to us? Where are all the miracles our ancestors told us about? Didn’t they say, `The LORD brought us up out of Egypt?’ But now the LORD has abandoned us and put us into the hand of Midian."

Each new generation must encounter God for themselves.

3rd and 4th generation pentecostals are asking “Where are the miracles our ancestors told us about?”

It’s a good question – one that should be asked by every generation.

Gideon felt that God had abandoned his generation – but in reality, God had not abandoned them, he was disciplining them – there is a big difference.

Gideon is a good role model for “Generation X” and the “Millennials” (Slide)

He was living in a “dog eat dog” world. The prospects for a future life of happiness and fulfillment looked bleak. His whole life had been turned upside down. From the looks of things, his generation was not going to be as well off as the previous generation. He was doing everything he could just to get by. He was working hard to provide for his family and just survive. He felt like God had abandoned his family and frankly, he was to busy eking out a living to take time out to look for God. Yet, Gideon was spiritually hungry. He truly wanted to know why the miracles his ancestors enjoyed weren’t happening now, in his generation.

Listen, Generation X and the Millennials are hungry for God today, and they are asking the same question Gideon asked.

That’s why we need to be and remain Pentecostal church. Because, it is out of this group of Pentecostal people where these generations have an opportunity to encounter the miracle working God. Aman

Judg 6:14

14 The LORD turned to him and said, "Go in the strength you have and save Israel out of Midian’s hand. I am sending you?"

God will use us in spite of our limitations and failures.

Judg 6:15

15 "But Lord," Gideon asked, "how can I save Israel? My clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my family."

One of the things I like about Gideon is his honesty. He knows that he can’t possibly do the job God has now called him to do and he says so.

When I ask you to do a job in this church and you say, “I’m not equipped to do it” I would remind you to think about Gideon and what God said to him:

Judg 6:16

16 The LORD answered, "I will be with you, and you will strike down all the Midianites together."

When God is with you, you can do the job no matter how difficult it appears!

When God is with you, you can do the job no matter how difficult it appears!

Gideon asks for a sign (He must have been from MO) – prepares unleavened bread and a young goat for an offering – the offering is consumed by fire and the angel disappears.

Judg 6:22-23

22 When Gideon realized that it was the angel of the LORD, he exclaimed, "Ah, Sovereign LORD! I have seen the angel of the LORD face to face!"

23 But the LORD said to him, "Peace! Do not be afraid. You are not going to die."

This was Gideon’s conversion experience. Everyone needs a conversion experience. Everyone needs to come to a point in their lives where they encounter God and believe on Him. If you haven’t had a conversion experience today, then you need to come down to these altars at the end of service and have one.