REMEMBER

INTRODUCTION

We we speak of hearing the voice of God in a given situation, we often want to attribute it to the moving of the Holy Spirit, a special anointing for a spiritual gift. Often all that is needed is the discipline to remember.

Thanksgiving, the poster testimonies.

Few things are as powerful as an attitude of gratitude.

Philippians 4:8 MSG

8 Summing it all up, friends, I’d say you’ll do best by filling your minds and meditating on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious—the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse.

Don’t rehearse a curse!

~ Pastor Mike Mile’

Let’s take a quick look at the prophet Jeremiah in chapter three of Lamentations for an excellent example of the power of remembering...

LESSONS FROM THE LIFE OF GIDEON

Judges 6:1–10 NASB95

1 Then the sons of Israel did what was evil in the sight of the Lord; and the Lord gave them into the hands of Midian seven years. 2 The power of Midian prevailed against Israel. Because of Midian the sons of Israel made for themselves the dens which were in the mountains and the caves and the strongholds. 3 For it was when Israel had sown, that the Midianites would come up with the Amalekites and the sons of the east and go against them. 4 So they would camp against them and destroy the produce of the earth as far as Gaza, and leave no sustenance in Israel as well as no sheep, ox, or donkey. 5 For they would come up with their livestock and their tents, they would come in like locusts for number, both they and their camels were innumerable; and they came into the land to devastate it. 6 So Israel was brought very low because of Midian, and the sons of Israel cried to the Lord. 7 Now it came about when the sons of Israel cried to the Lord on account of Midian, 8 that the Lord sent a prophet to the sons of Israel, and he said to them, “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, ‘It was I who brought you up from Egypt and brought you out from the house of slavery. 9 ‘I delivered you from the hands of the Egyptians and from the hands of all your oppressors, and dispossessed them before you and gave you their land, 10 and I said to you, “I am the Lord your God; you shall not fear the gods of the Amorites in whose land you live. But you have not obeyed Me.” ’ ”

God brings people into the promised land with a warning. “Don’t fear the God’s of the Amorites.” How do we know that they feared them? They worshipped them.

What you fear you will pervert or even subvert your worship.

Remember what we teach about fear?

1) Whatever you fear more than God will ultimately rob you of your destiny, your family, your life, and possibly even your soul.

2) Every situation in your life will be framed by either love or fear.

3) Fear binds us to a lie.

Fear tells us there is something we need to be afraid of, something that God can’t handle. God’s promises aren’t true. But, God is true, and fear is a liar. The Holy Spirit is diligent to point out and challenge fear in our lives for very good reason.

Remember what Jesus said about mammon?

Matthew 6:24 NLT

24 “No one can serve two masters. For you will hate one and love the other; you will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and be enslaved to money.

You will love one (Jesus), and despise anything that challenges that devotion, or you hold to something unworthy of love and live in a fear of loss and despise teachings on faith and giving.

If you go to www.hopealive.net/messages you can search several years of sermons by title or topic.

Judges 6:11–16 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!” 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.” 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!” 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!” 16 The Lord said to him, “I will be with you. And you will destroy the Midianites as if you were fighting against one man.”

God calls Gideon, not at Gideon sees Gideon, but as God sees Gideon. Gideon doesn’t really know God, but he does know Gideon. He immediately looks at all his lack and failings and the weakness and failings of Israel, and gives up before he starts.

Then is vs. 16, God says “I will be with you.”

God calls us to do impossible things, that way, He has to be with you to accomplish it. You need to know that. If you don’t, you will walk away from your calling, and if you do, you have no guarantees how that will end.

Gideon goes on to destroy the altar of Baal and generally alienate himself to the herd of average Walmart shoppers. You will have critics if you obey God; deal with it.

Gideon blows the trumpet and calls the people of God to battle… but he’s still afraid. So he then wastes some time asking God for multiple signs to help him overcome his fear. God is patient.

The finally, even Gideon is embarrassed to ask for more proof that God isn’t a liar, and accepts his calling.

He obeys God and gathers his 32,000 warriors, and God does this in chapter 7:2-6:

Judges 7:2–6 NLT

2 The Lord said to Gideon, “You have too many warriors with you. If I let all of you fight the Midianites, the Israelites will boast to me that they saved themselves by their own strength. 3 Therefore, tell the people, ‘Whoever is timid or afraid may leave this mountain and go home.’ ” So 22,000 of them went home, leaving only 10,000 who were willing to fight. 4 But the Lord told Gideon, “There are still too many! Bring them down to the spring, and I will test them to determine who will go with you and who will not.” 5 When Gideon took his warriors down to the water, the Lord told him, “Divide the men into two groups. In one group put all those who cup water in their hands and lap it up with their tongues like dogs. In the other group put all those who kneel down and drink with their mouths in the stream.” 6 Only 300 of the men drank from their hands. All the others got down on their knees and drank with their mouths in the stream.

God will often reduces of from our assumptions down to our true strengths. This is how he builds a firm foundation in our lives.

Judges 7:7–9 NLT

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.” 8 So Gideon collected the provisions and rams’ horns of the other warriors and sent them home. But he kept the 300 men with him. The Midianite camp was in the valley just below Gideon. 9 That night the Lord said, “Get up! Go down into the Midianite camp, for I have given you victory over them!

Ever get your kids up in the middle of the night to go somewhere?

Bad timing God. It’s night, it’s dark (hopeless), it’s cold, you’re tired, can we stop at Dunkin and get a jelly doughnut and a latte?

Judges 7:10–11 NLT

10 But if you are afraid to attack, go down to the camp with your servant Purah. 11 Listen to what the Midianites are saying, and you will be greatly encouraged. Then you will be eager to attack.” So Gideon took Purah and went down to the edge of the enemy camp.

Thee things we see is these short verses:

Take Purah, whose name means fruit. All these “trials and tribulations” have actually been preparations. There is fruit, abilities, in your life that you don’t even know about, but soon will when you step out of your comfort, out of your opinion, out of your ability, and into your place of service that is your calling.

I don’t have much hope for people who only want to work within their natural gifting or abilities. And even less for those that require a title to do anything.

2) God says if your afraid… go to the camp of your enemy.

The soldiers who were afraid were aloud to walk away from service; leaders must face their stuff.

3) Everyone else believes what God says about Gideon, accept Gideon.

And we know how it ends, they take torches in pitchers and attack the enemy. A picture of releasing the fire in the earthen vessels and saving a nation from oppression.

Judges 7:12–22 NLT

12 The armies of Midian, Amalek, and the people of the east had settled in the valley like a swarm of locusts. Their camels were like grains of sand on the seashore—too many to count! 13 Gideon crept up just as a man was telling his companion about a dream. The man said, “I had this dream, and in my dream a loaf of barley bread came tumbling down into the Midianite camp. It hit a tent, turned it over, and knocked it flat!” 14 His companion answered, “Your dream can mean only one thing—God has given Gideon son of Joash, the Israelite, victory over Midian and all its allies!” 15 When Gideon heard the dream and its interpretation, he bowed in worship before the Lord. Then he returned to the Israelite camp and shouted, “Get up! For the Lord has given you victory over the Midianite hordes!” 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. 17 Then he said to them, “Keep your eyes on me. When I come to the edge of the camp, do just as I do. 18 As soon as I and those with me blow the rams’ horns, blow your horns, too, all around the entire camp, and shout, ‘For the Lord and for Gideon!’ ” 19 It was just after midnight, after the changing of the guard, when Gideon and the 100 men with him reached the edge of the Midianite camp. Suddenly, they blew the rams’ horns and broke their clay jars. 20 Then all three groups blew their horns and broke their jars. They held the blazing torches in their left hands and the horns in their right hands, and they all shouted, “A sword for the Lord and for Gideon!” 21 Each man stood at his position around the camp and watched as all the Midianites rushed around in a panic, shouting as they ran to escape. 22 When the 300 Israelites blew their rams’ horns, the Lord caused the warriors in the camp to fight against each other with their swords. Those who were not killed fled to places as far away as Beth-shittah near Zererah and to the border of Abel-meholah near Tabbath.

THE FATE OF THE NEXT GENERATION

Psalm 78:1–4 NASB95

1 Listen, O my people, to my instruction; Incline your ears to the words of my mouth. 2 I will open my mouth in a parable; I will utter dark sayings of old, 3 Which we have heard and known, And our fathers have told us. 4 We will not conceal them from their children, But tell to the generation to come the praises of the Lord, And His strength and His wondrous works that He has done.

Psalm 78:5–8 NLT

5 For he issued his laws to Jacob; he gave his instructions to Israel. He commanded our ancestors to teach them to their children, 6 so the next generation might know them— even the children not yet born— and they in turn will teach their own children. 7 So each generation should set its hope anew on God, not forgetting his glorious miracles and obeying his commands. 8 Then they will not be like their ancestors— stubborn, rebellious, and unfaithful, refusing to give their hearts to God.

Psalm 78:9–11 NLT

9 The warriors of Ephraim, though armed with bows, turned their backs and fled on the day of battle. 10 They did not keep God’s covenant and refused to live by his instructions. 11 They forgot what he had done— the great wonders he had shown them,