1. The Holy Spirit led Gideon to a point in his life where he was willing to make a public display of his commitment to the Lord. The Lord said to Gideon, ‘Peace! Do not be afraid. You are not going to die.’ So Gideon built an altar to the Lord there and called it The Lord is Peace." (Judges 6:23,24)
Application: Ask the Lord to give you the courage, insight and confidence to publicly demonstrate your commitment to the Lord.
2. The Holy Spirit led Gideon to put his relationship with God above that of his own family. We all come to eventually realize that no one can serve two masters. The Lord said to Gideon,
‘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. Then build a proper kind of altar to the Lord your God on the top of this height. So Gideon took ten of his servants and did as the Lord told him." (Judges 6:25,26)
Application: Ask the Lord to help you grow in your faith so that you are willing to love God so much that you are willing to even sacrifice your own family securities, relationships and cultural traditions.
3. The Holy Spirit used Gideon’s faith to inspire repentance, renewal and growth in his Father’s faith.
"In the morning when the men of the town got up, there was Baal’s altar, demolished, and they asked, ‘Who did this?’ When they carefully investigated, they were told, ‘Gideon, son of Joash did it.’ Then men 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. But Joash replied to the hostile crowd around him, ‘Are you going to plead Baal’s cause? If Baal really is a god, he can defend himself when someone breaks down the altar.’" (Judges 6:28-32)
Application: Ask the Lord to move in the hearts of your family members to cause them to repent or be renewed or be challenged by your own growth in leadership.
4. The Holy Spirit led Gideon to carefully select the number of men needed to defeat the Midianites. The Bible says, "The Lord said to Gideon, ‘You have too many men for me to deliver Midian into their hands. In order that Israel may not boast against me that her own strength has saved her, announce now to the people, ‘Anyone who trembles with fear may turn back and leave Mount Gilead.’ So twenty-two thousand men left, while ten thousand remained.... Then God said, "Separate those men who lap the water with their tongues like a dog from those who kneel down to drink. Three hundred men lapped with their hands to their mouths. All the rest got down on their knees to drink. The Lord said to Gideon, ‘With the three hundred men I will save you and give the Midianites into your hands." (Judges 7:2-7)
Application: Ask the Lord to give you the wisdom to selectively choose the best leaders who can help you wage spiritual warfare.
5. The Holy Spirit led Gideon to the right people who helped him get a vision of how God would give great victories, successes and accomplishments for His glory. "Gideon arrived just as a man was telling a friend his dream... His friend responded. ‘This can be nothing other than the sword of Gideon son of Joash, the Israelite. God has given the Midianites and the whole camp into his hands. When Gideon heard the dream and its interpretation, he worshiped God. He returned to the camp of Israel and called out, ‘Get up! The Lord has given the Midianite camp into your hands." (Judges 7:13-15)
Application: Ask the Lord to lead you to the right people who can help you plan, project and clarify God’s powerful ability to do great things thru you.
6. The Holy Spirit led Gideon to reject certain positions of leadership that he knew were not in the will of God. The Bible says, "The Israelities said to Gideon, ‘Rule over us - you, your son and your grandson - because you have saved us out of the hand of the Midianities.’ But Gideon told them, ‘I will not rule over you, nor will my son rule over you. The Lord will rule over you." (Judges 8:22,23)
Application: Ask the Lord to give you the wisdom, humility and sense of timing to know what responsibilities to reject.
7. The Holy Spirit led Gideon to teach his people a healthy fear and reverence of God. The Bible says, "No sooner had Gideon died than the Israelities again prostituted themselves to the Baals. They set up Baal-Berith as their god and did not remember the Lord their God, who had rescued them from the hands of all their enemies on every side. They also failed to show kindness to the family of Gideon for all the good things he had done for them." (Judges 8:33-35)
Application: Ask the Lord to help you lead your people to a healthy fear and reverence of God that endures during and after your time in leadership.
8. The Holy Spirit used Gideon’s mistakes as a warning of the errors to avoid in allowing power to go to the head of a leader. The Bible says, "Gideon made the gold into an ephod, which he placed in Ophrah, his town. All Israel prostituted themselves by worshiping it there, and it became a snare to Gideon and his family." (Judges 8:27)
Application: Ask the Lord to help you learn from the mistakes of other leaders instead of leaving a legacy of errors to avoid in your ministries and relationships. Trust the Lord to help you remain humble.
