OPENING SCRIPTURE:

¹¹ 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. ¹² The angel of the Lord appeared to him and said, “Mighty hero the Lord is with you!” (Judges 6:11 NLT)

• Why would God call Him a man of Valor? He is hiding in fear!

 ¹³ “Sir,” Gideon replied, “if the Lord is with us, why has all this happened to us? And 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 handed us over to the Midianites.” (Judges 6:13 NLT)

¹⁴ Then the Lord turned to him and said, “GO WITH THE STRENGTH YOU HAVE, and rescue Israel from the Midianites. I AM SENDING YOU!” (Judges 6:14 NLT)

•  Why did the Lord say to Gideon: “Go with the strength you have?” – God was always with him. God’s strength was always in him.
• Gideon has forgotten that he has been called and chosen by God as a prophet.

 How many times do we have to be reminded that God is with us?

 God instructs him to go and rescue Israel: “I am sending you”

• Sent with His strength and authority.
• You have been sent with His Strength and Authority.

“ALL AUTHORITY in heaven and on earth has been given to ME. ¹⁹ GO THEREFORE and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰ teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:18-20 ESV)

• This authority was not just for the disciples but also for the church today!

ONCE you were dead because of your disobedience and your many sins. ² You used to live in sin, just like the rest of the world, obeying the devil—the commander of the powers in the unseen world. He is the spirit at work in the hearts of those who refuse to obey God. (Ephesians 2:1-2 NLT)

³ All of us used to live that way, following the passionate desires and inclinations of our sinful nature. By our very nature we were subject to God’s anger, just like everyone else. (Ephesians 2:3 NLT)

⁴ BUT God is so rich in mercy, and he loved us so much, ⁵ that even though we were dead because of our sins, he gave us LIFE when he raised Christ from the dead. (It is only by God’s grace that you have been saved!) (Ephesians 2:4-5 NLT)

• Life – Eternal Life that is based on His authority.
• He also put us in a position of authority!

⁶ For he RAISED US from the dead along with Christ and SEATED US with HIM in the heavenly realms because we are UNITED WITH CHRIST JESUS. (Ephesians 2:6 NLT)

• Seated with Him and United with Him – Authority
• God is calling the church to occupy that seat of authority.

Gideon and his army got up early and went as far as the spring of HAROD. The armies of Midian were camped north of them in the valley near the hill of MOREH (Judges 7:1 NLT)

• HAROD in Hebrew means FEAR.
• MOREH in Hebrew means TEACHER.

In the middle of fear, here’s what God taught Gideon: Trust Him

The Lord said to Gideon, “You have too many warriors with you. (Judges 7:2 NLT)

• Not everyone called would be chosen!

“Many are CALLED but only few are CHOSEN” (Matthew 22:14)

• You have been chosen for such a time as this.
• You have been CHOSEN TO WORSHIP HIM.

“They held the TORCHES IN THEIR LEFT HANDS and THE TRUMPETS IN THEIR RIGHT HANDS for blowing—and they cried, “The sword of the Lord and of Gideon!” (Judges 7:20)

• Worship become His weapon.
• Go with the strength you have, I am sending you!

CONCLUSION:

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