Gideon the Coward

Sermon Note

[Judges 6:11-12] 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!"

God sees POTENTIAL when all we see are PROBLEMS.

[Judges 6:13-14] "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." [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!"

God doesn’t wait for us to be PERFECT to call us.

[Judges 6:27] So Gideon took ten of his servants and did as the LORD had commanded. But he did it at night because he was afraid of the other members of his father's household and the people of the town.

Courage isn’t the absence of FEAR but the willingness to ACT despite it.

[Judges 7:7] The LORD told Gideon, "With these 300 men I will rescue you and give you victory over the Midianites. Send all the others home."

God’s strategies often DEFY human logic.

Our LIMITATIONS are opportunities for God to show His strength.

[Judges 8:27] Gideon made a sacred ephod from the gold and put it in Ophrah, his hometown. But soon all the Israelites prostituted themselves by worshiping it, and it became a trap for Gideon and his family.

[Hebrews 13:21] may he equip you with all you need for doing his will. May he produce in you, through the power of Jesus Christ, every good thing that is pleasing to him. All glory to him forever and ever! Amen.

God specializes in BEATING the ODDS.