The Addition of Subtraction

WHAT IN YOUR LIFE DO YOU NEED TO SUBTRACT?

Strokes off your golf game? — That bad habit — Pounds off the scale — Maybe carbs? — Those are all good things — What about a bad attitude? — Maybe negativity?

GOD IS NOT JUST A GOD OF ADDITION HE ALSO IS A GOD OF SUBTRACTION

He not only gives he also takes away — Takes bad things from us but sometimes takes things away that we thought were good, and we don’t understand why. IE. JOB

WE HAVE BEEN IN THE OT — STORY OF GOD’S PEOPLE

TODAY WE ARE TALKING ABOUT GIDEON

This may be one of the greatest underdog stories EVER. — If you have ever faced a hard situation and felt like an underdog i promise you it’s nothing like what Gideon went through and what he faced. — GIDEON DID SOMETHING INCREDIBLE FOR GOD. ALLOWED GOD TO DO SOMETHING IN AND THROUGH HIM

A LOT OF PEOPLE SAY THEY WANT GOD TO DO SOMETHING THROUGH THEM

If we took a poll of the room — most would say they want God to do something through them. — BUT WHAT WE DON’T WANT IS A TRIAL — A HARD TIME — AN OBSTACLE — When we think of God doing something big through us we think easy — incredible — miraculous — But you cannot have a miracle without a need for one

The Israelites have come through a lot — Egypt — Joshua into the promised land — Bad people living there — God told them to push the people back. Drive them out. I’ll be with you.

THE ISRAELITES THEN SUBTRACTED GOD FROM THEIR LIVES — Started worshiping the idols of the people in that land instead of driving them out. — They entered this spin cycle of sin. — GOD WOULD SEND A JUDGE TO JUDGE THEM FOR WHAT THEY DID.— THE MIDIANITES end up taking over and pressuring the israelites — STEALING THEIR CROPS — ATTACKING ETC.

Judges 6:1 NLT

1 The Israelites did evil in the Lord’s sight. So the Lord handed them over to the Midianites for seven years.

GOD WILL ALLOW YOU THE FACE YOUR CONSEQUENCES — There is always forgiveness but it doesn’t always remove the consequences. — Im sure we all have a story like that — Peace of mind — loss of relationship — Loss of Job — Forgiveness — But also consequences.

GIDEON WAS JUST A NORMAL DUDE — Nothing special about him. — Backup quarterback — GIDEON was in hiding at the time God speaks to him — Threshing wheat in a wine vat — Weird...

WHEN PEOPLE ARE AFRAID THEY DO WEIRD THINGS

People did some weird things during COVID… — People do weird things when they are afraid.

THRESHING WHEAT IS DONE OUTDOORS CAUSE THE WIND TAKES AWAY THE CHAFF

Judges 6:11–12 NLT

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!”

WHAT ABOUT GIDEON IN THIS SITUATION IS MIGHTY?

GOD SEES IN YOU WHAT NO ONE ELSE DOES

God sees in you what you don’t even see in you — When you are afraid HE CALLS YOU COURAGEOUS — when you feel weak HE CALLS YOU STRONG — When you feel worthless HE REMINDS YOU HIS SON DIED FOR YOU — IN JESUS YOU ARE COURAGEOUS — THROUGH HIM YOU ARE ENOUGH — THROUGH HIS STRENGTH YOU ARE STRONG

GOD SAYS: GIDEON I’VE GOT THIS PLAN, IM GONNA DELIVER YALL FROM THE MIDIANITES — Yes God said yall — he would have loved the south — been a UGA fan like all good and faithful believers.

BUT YOU KNOW WHAT GIDEON SAID BACK? — JUST EXCUSES — Isn’t it funny how we can ask God a question, feel like we get an answer on what to do, and then have excuses on why we can’t do it?

I love a good excuse — I can come up with them quick too --

I HAVEN’T CAUGHT A SINGLE FISH THIS YEAR — Went yesterday — didn’t catch a single fish — give bait to Ben he catches two — I had all the excuses, it’s the weather — And then I got out the boat and fell on the dock and busted my butt

Judges 6:15 NLT

15 “But Lord,” Gideon replied, “how can I rescue Israel? My clan is the weakest in the whole tribe of Manasseh, and I am the least in my entire family!”

God starts to tell the plan — Your gonna defeat 135,000 Midianites

AND GIDEON TOWARDS THE END BECOMES THIS GREAT MAN OF COURAGE

Judges 7:16 NLT

16 He divided the 300 men into three groups and gave each man a ram’s horn and a clay jar with a torch in it.

Not seal team six — not some f-16’s — Not even chariots or something — A rams horn — a clay jar — and some fire… 300 men… to 135,000 midianites?

Thats 450 : 1

God had Gideon do some threshing… Some Subtracting — Take out whats not needed. I can do more with 300 on fire people than I can with a whole nation of apathetic people.

Gideon started with 32,000. And God had him thresh, subtract it down to 300 good men who were on fire instead of 32,000 going through the motions.

God can do more through one person who has been a believer for 10 days but is on fire than someone who has been a believer for 10 years but is apathetic —

THAT’S WHAT I LOVE ABOUT NEW PURPOSE CHURCH

WE HAVE A VISION TO SEE PEOPLE KNOW JESUS AND FIND PURPOSE AND WE ARE PASSIONATE ABOUT IT.

So many lose that passion because they lose God’s vision for their lives

Proverbs 29:18 KJV 1900

18 Where there is no vision, the people perish: But he that keepeth the law, happy is he.

Gideon had to have people that knew God was with them — So God lead him to subtract from 32,000 to 10,000 and eventually to 300

WHEN YOU STEP UP TO DO WHAT GOD WANTS YOU TO DO THERE WILL BE FALLOUT

Sometimes it’s people — sometimes it’s bad habits — sometimes it’s a sin issue — sometimes it’s a relationship — sometimes it’s a goal that you thought you had to achieve — Otherwise the thing God wants to do through you cannot happen — there has to be subtraction

RIDENOUR WAS GOD’S SUBTRACTION SO WE COULD MOVE FORWARD

Things were comfortable— easy — Kyler Strain

GIDEON SNEAKS INTO MIDIAN CAMP AT NIGHT

With what? A HORN, A JAR AND A TORCH. That’s some subtraction in the weapon department.

God how can I reach people like you want me to but i’m not extroverted? How can I beat this addiction when i’ve never beat anything? How can i have this tough conversation when Im not confrontational — How canI step out and take this risk when I like feeling safe and secure?

GIDEON AND HIS 300 GO IN AND THEY DEFEAT THEM — HOW? CONFIDENCE IN GOD — NOT IN WHAT I HAVE OR IN MY STRENGTH BUT IN HIS

WHAT IS THE CHAFF IN YOUR LIFE?

GOD CAN DO MORE WITH LESS. Bible says in your weakness His strength is made perfect. AND THAT GOES AGAINST EVERY FIBER OF OUR INSTINCT RIGHT?

We look at pastors — people on social and we compare — What they have, the qualities we feel like we don’t have —

LET GOD REMOVE THE CHAFF FROM YOUR LIFE AND ALL YOU NEED IS ALL YOU’LL HAVE

JAY YOU HAVE WHAT YOU NEED ILLUSTRATION