Mighty Men of Valor
Prov 26:2
2 As the bird by wandering, as the swallow by flying, so the curse causeless shall not come. (KJV)
The New King James Version says it this way:
Prov 26:2
2 Like a flitting sparrow, like a flying swallow, so a curse without cause shall not alight. (NKJ)
In other words, a curse doesn¡¦t just happen.
I¡¦ve said many times in the course of my ministry ¡V our lives at any given point are the results of the decisions that we’ve made.
„« We live in a society where taking responsibility is a diminishing commodity ¡V everything that happens to us is always someone else fault.
„« But the reality is our lives, whether good or bad, are the results of the decisions that we make.
This scripture that we just read tells us that a curse doesn¡¦t just happen ¡V there are reasons behind it.
Now, don¡¦t get all theological when you read the word, ¡§curse¡¨
It¡¦s easy to conjure up some ideas of a witch casting a spell or a curse on you ¡V but that is not what this is saying¡K
In the Word of God we can read a lot about ¡§blessings¡¨ and ¡§cursing¡¨
Let me show you something that is very easy to understand about this.
In Deut. Chapter 28 there is a series of scriptures that talk about the ¡§blessings¡¨ that will come upon God¡¦s people if they listen to what He says.
Then after several scriptures of blessings the Lord says, but if you don¡¦t listen to Me He lists a whole bunch of ways a person will be cursed.
Let me contrast two of these real quickly:
Deut 28:3
3 Blessed shalt thou be in the city, and blessed shalt thou be in the field. (KJV)
Deut 28:16
16 Cursed shalt thou be in the city, and cursed shalt thou be in the field. (KJV)
What the Lord is saying is NOT if you¡¦re blessed when you walk through the field you will be floating around on some spiritual cloud where you won¡¦t feel the heat of the sun and as you enter the city you won¡¦t smell the fumes of the car and be oblivious to everything that is going on around you.
Nor is it saying that if you are cursed that you are going to stub your toe on every rock, coyotes are going to swarm around you, birds are going to attack you and when you get in the city cars are going to run over your toes, people are going to mug you.
What you will see in the Word of God if you study the areas where it talks about the ¡§blessings¡¨ of God and the ¡§curse¡¨ is this very simple definition:
Blessing: Empowered to Prosper
Cursing: Empowered to Fail
The things that you are doing ¡V planting a field, working in business are empowered to prosper or fail ¡V in other words, the natural side of life receives empowerment from the spiritual realm according to the Word of God.
We are the result of the decisions that we have make, because there are spiritual implications to the natural decisions that we make
And we are either empowering ourselves by the Spirit of God to prosper (don¡¦t confuse prosper with just money)
Or we are empowering ourselves to fail and bring hardship into our lives.
The empowerment of failure does not come without reason according to Proverbs 26:2.
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Looking back at Deut. 28, as I stated the Lord illustrates every aspect of our life in how the blessing and how the curse works, but it all stems from or is based upon one single issue:
Deut 28:1-2
1 "Now it shall come to pass, if you diligently obey the voice of the LORD your God, to observe carefully all His commandments which I command you today, that the LORD your God will set you high above all nations of the earth.
2 "And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, because you obey the voice of the LORD your God: (NKJ)
The empowerment to prosper comes from the decisions we make to obey what God has said.
Deut 28:14
14 "So you shall not turn aside from any of the words which I command you this day, to the right hand or to the left... (NKJ)
When we carefully keep ourselves in obedience to the Word of God we keep ourselves in a place of the Spirit (My Word is Spirit and life ¡V John 6:63) which empowers us to prosper.
Now notice:
Deut 28:15
15 "But it shall come to pass, if you do not obey the voice of the LORD your God, to observe carefully all His commandments and His statutes which I command you today, that all these curses will come upon you and overtake you: (NKJ)
When we are not obedient to what the Lord says then we empower ourselves to fail ¡V to struggle ¡V to have difficulty.
It all boils down, according to Deut. 28 to what?
Obedience!
I want you to think about what obedience is for just a moment.
When we or someone else is NOT obedient what usually has been done?
„« You are in the workplace and the employer has stated I want this or that done ¡V or I don¡¦t want you doing this or that¡K
„« A child in the home and a parent says, ¡§Son, go do this¡K¡¨ or ¡§Daughter, don¡¦t do that¡K¡¨
But then disobedience occurs, in either situation, in any situation the disobedience is a decision toward self desires rising above the authority that has been placed in our life.
We decided that there was something we wanted more than being obedient.
This really is all sin is ¡V a decision to do something we want to do that is contrary to what the Lord has said to do.
An important part of this is that what the Lord has told us to do or not do is not because He doesn¡¦t like us or doesn¡¦t want us to enjoy life
But because He loves us and wants things to go well for us.
It¡¦s the same reason that a loving parent won¡¦t let their kids eat anything they want all day long
Because it is going to result in health problems
Take any ¡§sin¡¨ you want ¡V murder, adultery, theft whatever you want it is centered around something the person committing the act wanted.
Selfishness ¡V
When we make decisions that take us away from the heart of God ¡V we empower ourselves to fail in this life
But if you look at those decisions they are always based about it going well for me ¡V protecting me ¡V me, me, me, me
This is a real dilemma in the Christian life because as a born again believer a deposit has been placed in you.
That deposit how power, gifts, and abilities that the Lord will use to establish His kingdom the Church here on earth.
But if the enemy can get you to focus your life around you ¡V you will never allow those gifts to come out
„« Do you realize that we are not perfect people?
„« We have all missed from time to time?
„« According to Romans 3:23 we have all sinned and come short of the glory of God.
Perfection is not what God is after ¡V but obedience is.
I don¡¦t know if I could prove this according to the Bible as far as exact scripture and verse, but I believe I could make a good case for it based on the character of God and what we know about the Word.
The Lord would rather have someone step out in faith and miss Him than do nothing and miss Him
You can fix what someone messes up ¡V someone who tried and missed will listen and learn ¡V and next they will be on track.
But someone who just sits will more than likely just sit the next time also.
If you have your Bibles this morning turn to the book of Judges chapter 6:13 ¡V This is the story of the Lord calling forth the gift that was in Gideon¡K
Judg 6:13
13 And Gideon said unto him, Oh my Lord, if the LORD be with us, why then is all this befallen us? and where be all his miracles which our fathers told us of, saying, Did not the LORD bring us up from Egypt? but now the LORD hath forsaken us, and delivered us into the hands of the Midianites.
(KJV)
If I can summarize this using our N.T. covenant and modern language, Gideon is saying, ¡§Lord, if we are Christians why don¡¦t we see your miracles and why does the enemy have the power to steal everything that we do?
Do you realize that many Christian and many people who don¡¦t go church are saying the exact same thing?
"If there is a God then why is all of this bad going on?"
But the answer is given ¡V and this is the power of deception ¡V when we do not judge our own lives according to the Word of God it is very difficult to see where we have made decisions that do not line up with the Word of God.
„« Go back to verse one
Judg 6:1
1 And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the LORD: and the LORD delivered them into the hand of Midian seven years. (KJV)
„« Let me paraphrase this scripture also ¡V ¡§The children of Israel (which are those who had a covenant with God and were instructed to obey God) did evil (Hebrew word as a noun means ¡§bad¡¨) and they were empowered to fail.
As I said before, we are not perfect ¡V if we were perfect, according to the Word of God we would succeed in everything
„« Jesus was an example of this ¡V He was perfect and every weapon that was formed against Him could not defeat Him ¡V even death, hell and the grave He conquered.
You see being a Christian doesn¡¦t mean you are never going to face a difficult circumstance it means you have the power to be victorious in every difficult circumstance.
And where Christian make a big mistake is when things do not go their way ¡V when things look difficult and seem to not be turning out the way they think it should we reason
„« Well I guess it wasn¡¦t God¡¦s will
o Do you realize that it doesn¡¦t take a whole lot of insight to know what the will of God is?
o In virtually every home the will of God is sitting on the coffee table untouched.
And where we make the mistake is that we give up instead of looking at our own lives and seeing if we have empowered ourselves to fail.
Let¡¦s read this story about Gideon and see if we can learn something from His life:
Because they were empowered to fail because they didn¡¦t do what God had told them to do¡K
Judg 6:2-6
2 And the hand of Midian prevailed against Israel: and because of the Midianites the children of Israel made them the dens which are in the mountains, and caves, and strong holds.
3 And so it was, when Israel had sown(sowing and reaping), that the Midianites came up, and the Amalekites, and the children of the east, even they came up against them;
4 And they encamped against them, and destroyed the increase of the earth, till thou come unto Gaza, and left no sustenance for Israel, neither sheep, nor ox, nor ass.
5 For they came up with their cattle and their tents, and they came as grasshoppers (locust problem in Africa) for multitude; for both they and their camels were without number: and they entered into the land to destroy it.
6 And Israel was greatly impoverished because of the Midianites; and the children of Israel cried unto the LORD. (KJV)
„« Think you are facing difficulties ¡V they were facing difficulties.
Eph. 4:27 ¡V ¡§don¡¦t give place to the devil¡¨ in other words don¡¦t open the door for the enemy to come in and destroy (John 10:10)¡V stay obedient.
In verse 6 it says, ¡§¡Kthe children of Israel cried unto the Lord.¡¨
When they prayed or cried out the Lord heard them and sent a word to them ¡V this word is very interesting:
Judg 6:7-10
7 And it came to pass, when the children of Israel cried unto the LORD because of the Midianites,
8 That the LORD sent a prophet unto the children of Israel, which said unto them, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, I brought you up from Egypt, and brought you forth out of the house of bondage;
9 And I delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians, and out of the hand of all that oppressed you, and drave them out from before you, and gave you their land;
10 And I said unto you, I am the LORD your God; fear not the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but ye have not obeyed my voice. (KJV)
The evil we talked about in verse one was ¡V they did not listen to what God had said.
„« God¡¦s Word works
„« In the next few scriptures we see the prescription of how to get out of the power to fail that we may find ourselves in.
Judg 6:11-12
11 And there came an angel of the LORD, and sat under an oak which was in Ophrah, that pertained unto Joash the Abi-ezrite: and his son Gideon threshed wheat by the winepress, to hide it from the Midianites.
12 And the angel of the LORD appeared unto him, and said unto him, The LORD is with thee, thou mighty man of valour. (KJV)
„« Let me make a point here ¡V in the midst of failure ¡V in the midst of the enemy stealing everything that you have ¡V in the most difficult situation of your life
„« As a born again Christian ¡V the Lord sees a mighty man of valor in you.
„« When you have the Spirit of God in you ¡V you cannot honestly say, ¡§I can¡¦t¡¨, ¡§I don¡¦t have the ability¡¨ or anything else like that because you would be saying, "God can¡¦t"
o It is God that empowers us to prosper.
Deut 8:18
18 But thou shalt remember the LORD thy God: for it is he that giveth thee power to get wealth, that he may establish his covenant which he sware unto thy fathers, as it is this day. (KJV)
„« Gideon, the Lord is with you, you mighty man of valor.
„« (Call out names in the church), the Lord is with you, you mighty man of valor.
Look at what the Lord said in verse 14:
Judg 6:14
14 And the LORD looked upon him, and said, Go in this thy might, (what might?) and thou shalt save Israel from the hand of the Midianites: have not I sent thee? (KJV)
„« Do you realize the Lord is still trying to get people delivered by having other people who are willing to ¡§go¡¨ in this might?
There is a lot of ¡§going¡¨ that is talked about in the N.T. and if a person wants to get out of the power of failure then they need to make a decision to start going in the power of the spirit.
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The next verse ¡V verse 15 is probably the most profound scripture of why people never experience the power of God in their lives.
When the Lord spoke to Gideon everything the Lord was talking to Him was about what was in him.
„« God is with you
„« There is a might within you
„« I have sent you (called, ordained, sanctified)
It all dealt with the power of the Spirit yet Gideon¡¦s response was:
Judg 6:15
15 And he said unto him, Oh my Lord, wherewith shall I save Israel? behold, my family is poor in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father’s house. (KJV)
His current condition to him was more of a reality than the power of the Spirit that he was told to go in.
„« When you allow your education level ¡V your ability to speak ¡V the status of your family ¡V your financial condition to dictate whether or not you are going to obey the Word of God you will empower yourself to fail every time.
„« It is amazing to me how one can talk about the power of the Spirit ¡V the awesomeness of God ¡V but when it comes down to our lives our levels of success and our abilities to control circumstances are more real to us than the power of God.
In the bulletin I placed a quote that I came across this week that says, ¡§Facts are neither truth or lies they are simply temporary conditions¡¨
2 Cor 4:18
18 While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal. (KJV)
Back to our story:
Judg 6:16
16 And the LORD said unto him, Surely I will be with thee, and thou shalt smite the Midianites as one man. (KJV)
Gideon has a visitation ¡V he is told he is a mighty man ¡V there is a might in him ¡V that he has been sent ¡V and then what verse 16 just told us:
But then Gideon says:
Judg 6:17-21
17 And he said unto him, If now I have found grace in thy sight, then shew me a sign that thou talkest with me.
18 Depart not hence, I pray thee, until I come unto thee, and bring forth my present, and set it before thee. And he said, I will tarry until thou come again.
19 And Gideon went in, and made ready a kid, and unleavened cakes of an ephah of flour: the flesh he put in a basket, and he put the broth in a pot, and brought it out unto him under the oak, and presented it.
20 And the angel of God said unto him, Take the flesh and the unleavened cakes, and lay them upon this rock, and pour out the broth. And he did so.
21 Then the angel of the LORD put forth the end of the staff that was in his hand, and touched the flesh and the unleavened cakes; and there rose up fire out of the rock, and consumed the flesh and the unleavened cakes. Then the angel of the LORD departed out of his sight. (KJV)
„« Visualize verse 21 - expound upon touching with a stick(staff) - fire coming out of a rock - then vanishing
Judg 6:22
22 And when Gideon perceived (duh? What perception!) that he was an angel of the LORD¡K (KJV)
Then:
Judg 6:23
23 And the LORD said unto him, Peace be unto thee; fear not: thou shalt not die. (KJV)
„« Was would keep Gideon from experience the power of God? Fear!
Heb 2:14-15
14 Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself [Jesus] likewise took part of the same [flesh]; that through death he might destroy him [the devil] that had the power of death, that is, the devil;
15 And deliver [from the devil who had the power of death] them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage. (KJV)
„« Fear of what will happen to you brings you into bondage and we have been delivered from bondage.
Judg 6:34-37
34 But the Spirit of the LORD came upon Gideon, and he blew a trumpet; and Abi-ezer was gathered after him.
36 And Gideon said unto God, If thou wilt save Israel by mine hand, as thou hast said,
37 Behold, I will put a fleece of wool in the floor¡K
„« How many times do we have to hear the Word of God before we will believe the Word of God?
People have used the teaching of putting a fleece before the Lord to find out the will of God.
This is the only instance in the Word of God where we find it and it was done in fear!
„« The will of God was known but there was fear to step out
„« To compound and further illustrate ¡V when he got answer and the fleece was the only thing wet he then said in verse 39 ¡V don¡¦t get mad at me God, but I want you to confirm it one more time.
Gideon finally stepped out and did exactly what the Word of God came to him said he could do
But it only happened when he started ¡§going¡¨
As Christians we have to come to a place where we can take the Word of God and have confidence that God will not leave us hanging.
