OPENING STATEMENT:

• A cycle is a series of events that are regularly repeated in the same order.
• Sometimes a crisis can become that old cycle that should be broken.

OPENING SCRIPTURE:

It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery. (Galatians 5:1 NIV)

• Jesus came so that we can be free from that old cycle, and He is that Cycle-Breaker.
• Today, we will add one more layer to our series: God does waste not a crisis.
• A crisis is defined as a condition of instability or danger; but it can also be a decisive moment or a turning point that can bring hope!

The Israelites did evil in the Lord’s sight. So the Lord handed them over to the Midianites for seven years. The Midianites were so cruel that the Israelites made hiding places for themselves in the mountains, caves, and strongholds. Whenever the Israelites planted their crops, marauders from Midian, Amalek, and the people of the east would attack Israel, camping in the land and destroying crops as far away as Gaza. They left the Israelites with nothing to eat, taking all the sheep, goats, cattle, and donkeys. 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. So Israel was reduced to starvation by the Midianites. (Judges 6:1-7 NLT)

• This crisis was on repeat mode for 7 years.
• But here’s the good news: God does not waste a crisis!
• God will use it for His glory, His divine purpose, and your benefit! GOD DOES NOT WASTE A CRISIS!

And we know that in ALL THINGS God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. (Romans 8:28 NIV)

• All things include a crisis

Then the angel of the Lord came and sat beneath the great tree at Ophrah, which belonged to Joash of the clan of Abiezer. GIDEON SON OF JOASH WAS THRESHING WHEAT AT THE BOTTOM OF A WINEPRESS TO HIDE THE GRAIN FROM THE MIDIANITES. The angel of the Lord appeared to him and said, “MIGHTY HERO, THE LORD IS WITH YOU!” (Judges 6:11-12 NLT)

#1. A PLACE OF CRISIS IS NOT ALWAYS A WRONG PLACE

• Sometimes it’s in a place of crisis that God prepares you!
• What’s the difference- a threshing floor is located high up on a hill where the wind will blow away the chaff. A winepress is located like in a low place, in a pit.
• Gideon was there in that pit, hiding from everyone, hiding from our circumstances.

No pit is low enough to put out of God’s reach

“Listen! The Lord’s arm is not too weak to save you, nor is his ear too deaf to hear you call.” (Isaiah 59:1)

• If God can hear you and He can certainly reach you!

#2. A PLACE OF CRISIS REQUIRES YOUR FAITHFULNESS TO GOD

• Your crisis has also the potential to set you up for a promotion.
• Your Faithfulness matters! Would you remain faithful to God, right where you are?
• God finds Gideon faithfully doing his job- threshing wheat in a winepress

Consistency and faithfulness in doing the mundane are key to promotion

Faithfulness turns your heart to God.

Work WILLINGLY (HEARTILY) at whatever you do, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people. (Colossians 3:23 NLT)

#3. A PLACE OF CRISIS CAN BE THE PLACE WHERE GOD CALLS YOU

The angel of the Lord appeared to him and said, “MIGHTY HERO, THE LORD IS WITH YOU!” (Verse 12)

• There’s no record of Gideon ever involved in a battle, or even being a soldier. Yet God calls him a “Mighty hero or a Mighty Man of Valor”
• God was calling Gideon by his destiny name: Mighty Man of Valor

God can use your crisis to call you out by your destiny name!

CONCLUSION

What is The Holy Spirit saying to you through this message?