The Making of the Mighty

Text

Judges 6:11-16

Judges 6:11–16 ESV

Now the angel of the Lord came and sat under the terebinth at Ophrah, which belonged to Joash the Abiezrite, while his son Gideon was beating out wheat in the winepress to hide it from the Midianites. And the angel of the Lord appeared to him and said to him, “The Lord is with you, O mighty man of valor.” And Gideon said to him, “Please, my lord, if the Lord is with us, why then has all this happened to us? And where are all his wonderful deeds that our fathers recounted to us, saying, ‘Did not the Lord bring us up from Egypt?’ But now the Lord has forsaken us and given us into the hand of Midian.” And the Lord turned to him and said, “Go in this might of yours and save Israel from the hand of Midian; do not I send you?” And he said to him, “Please, Lord, how can I save Israel? Behold, my clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father’s house.” And the Lord said to him, “But I will be with you, and you shall strike the Midianites as one man.”

Introduction

Israel at this point

has been oppressed by the Midianites for 7 years —

crops destroyed,

livestock taken,

people living in caves and hiding places

They were outnumbered.

They didn’t have a leader.

They needed a hero.

They needed someone mighty.

Who is Gideon?

He’s a man that’s

not on a battlefield,

not leading an army —

In fact, he's hiding in a winepress,

threshing wheat in secret

Because he is afraid that if he does it out in the open

The Midianites will come and steal his wheat.

Imagine working all year to raise a crop

And a stronger group of people

Just show up at harvest time

and take everything you have.

The Midianites didn’t need to work for food all year.

They didn’t need to plow fields

They didn’t need to pull weeds

They didn’t need to dig irrigation trenches

They just needed to show up with their swords

And take all of Isreal’s hard-earned crop.

How would you feel if you worked all week

And someone else showed up to collect your paycheck

Someone that didn’t work for it

Someone who didn’t earn it.

This is what the enemy tried to do in our own lives.

He shows up just when we are about to see victory

Just when we are ready to reap a harvest

And Just when we think life is going to get better

and right at that moment

He comes in and steals our joy

He takes our peace

He takes our victory

And it just makes you want to give up all hope

Because you’ve worked all year for this harvest

You’ve put in the sweat, blood and tears for it

and now you have nothing to show for it

It is in that season…

When all hope seems to be lost

That God can take what looks like weakness

and call it Mighty.

Now, The last person you'd expect God to call "mighty"

is the one hiding from the enemy

Gideon is hiding from the Midianites

When God shows up in our text

and calls him O Might Man of Valor.

Look at this again… in verse 11 and 12.

Judges 6:11 ESV

Now the angel of the Lord came and sat under the terebinth at Ophrah, which belonged to Joash the Abiezrite, while his son Gideon was beating out wheat in the winepress to hide it from the Midianites.

Now picture this scene for a minute

The enemy has them surrounded

They have stolen everything you have every made

And left you starving and destitute

And you finally have a little bit of wheat

And you are so afraid the enemy is going to steal this last little thread of hope

That you go hide from the enemy

So that you can try to hold on to this little bit of hope that you have left

And God has told you that you would have a harvest so great

and a victory so big

and you’re over here with just hiding out with the little ole hope you have leftover from the enemy

Who’s got you surround

and planning to steal that from you too…

And That’s where Gideon is at.

Afraid

Hopeless

Weak

Worried

And Hiding from the enemy

And in that place

In that situation

God shows up

and calls Gideon something that he is not.

Judges 6:12 ESV

And the angel of the Lord appeared to him and said to him, “The Lord is with you, O mighty man of valor.”

Gideon is thinking to himself.

I’m anything but mighty.

I have everything but valor.

You must have the wrong guy.

He probably said…

Uh, excuse me Lord?

But are you talking to me?

(as he turns around and looks over his shoulder from some mighty looking man of valor)

Thesis:

And here is what I want to preach to you tonight…

God doesn't call the equipped

— He equips the called.

The making of the mighty begins not with strength,

but with full surrender to the One who is strong.

Point 1 — God Calls You What You Will Become, Not What You Currently See in Yourself

Key Verse: Judges 6:12 — "The Lord is with you, mighty man of valor

Gideon hadn't done anything mighty yet —

but God spoke to his destiny,

not to his current condition

God didn't say

mighty"you will be"

He said:

Mighty “you are"

It was in the present tense

not the future tense

This is the prophetic nature of God's voice —

He calls things that are not as though they are (

Romans 4:17 ESV

as it is written, “I have made you the father of many nations”—in the presence of the God in whom he believed, who gives life to the dead and calls into existence the things that do not exist.

In the KJV, it says,

He calls things that are not

as though they already are.

In that passage,

Paul is talking about when God called Abram

Abraham…

Abram means Father

And Abraham means Father of many nations.

And Abram was not yet a father

Let alone the father of multiple kingdoms and countries

But God called him Abraham

Long before he held a baby in his arms

Years before he would see that baby even walk

Or talk

Because God calls things are not as though they are.

If God can do that,

Then you can too.

Because the Bible says that God is not a man that he can lie.

So, if God calls things that are not

as though they are already are

Then that is not lying

I tell people all the time to speak life

Speak positive

Turn your negative statement around

If you say, I can’t

Then stop it

and say I CAN.

My wife said, that feels like lying

I said it can’t be lying because God does it

and God doesn’t lie.

Was it a lie when God called Abram Abraham?

Was it lie when He called Gideon a Might Man?

No… God was speaking life into a lifeless situation

And if God can do it,

We can do it.

When the enemy tries to steal your Joy,

You outta quote the Scripture…

He’s given me Joy unspeakable

When the enemy is taking your peace…

Claim the Scripture…

He’s giving me peace that passes all understanding…

Speak LIFE

into a dead situation.

It reminds me of the dry bones in Ezekiel.

God was teaching the prophet

To do what he does

When you are looking at something dead…

Speak life into it.

The enemy wants you to say…

These bones are dead

They can’t live

There is no hope

I’m not able

I can’t

I won’t

But God says… look at them dry bones

And speak life into them

and watch what happens.

If you speak death over them

They will stay dead

But if you speak life over them

They will come to life

There is power in speaking life over your situation

And the enemy knows about this power

And that’s why he keeps us speaking negatively.

What has God spoken over your life

that you haven't seen yet?

Has he called you mighty

but you feel week?

Has he called you healed

but you feel sick?

Has he called you delivered

but you feel bound?

Has he called you a writer

but you haven’t written?

Has he called you a giver

but you have nothing to give?

Has he called you a disciple maker

but you’ve got no followers?

Did he give you a dream

but you’ve been living in a nightmare?

That’s where Gideon was at.

God was calling him Mighty

But he felt nothing but weakness.

That’s why you call an apple seed an apple seed.

Even though it doesn’t look like an apple at all

You know that one day it will be an apple

and not just one apple

but thousands of apples.

Point 2 — Fear Doesn't Disqualify You

Key Verse: Judges 6:11

Judges 6:11 ESV

Now the angel of the Lord came and sat under the terebinth at Ophrah, which belonged to Joash the Abiezrite, while his son Gideon was beating out wheat in the winepress to hide it from the Midianites.

Gideon was threshing wheat in a winepress to hide from the Midianites

A winepress was a pit —

small, cramped, hidden.

Gideon wasn't being strategic,

he was being scared

God didn't rebuke Gideon for hiding —

He met him right there in his fear

Fear is not a sign that God has left —

sometimes it's the very place He shows up

Psalm 34:18 ESV

The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit.

Isaiah 41:10 ESV

fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.

You don't have to have it all together for God to use you either.

He's not waiting on your courage —

He wants to be the source of it

Every major figure God used in Scripture

had a moment of fear —

Moses at the burning bush,

Jeremiah saying he couldn't speak,

Elijah under the juniper tree.

Saul hiding during his crowning ceremony.

Fear is ok, so long as you realize

That God can do through you

what you never thought you could do alone.

It is our fear

That helps us remember

When we do finally make it

That it was not me who made it…

I was just a scared weak man in a winepress

hiding from the enemy when God found me

So, when Gideon finally defeats the Midianites

He could look and and give God all the glory for it.

Point 3 — God's Presence Is the Answer to Inadequacy

Key Verses: Judges 6:15-16

Judges 6:15 ESV

And he said to him, “Please, Lord, how can I save Israel? Behold, my clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father’s house.”

"My clan is the weakest”

When God called him Mighty

He said I’m from a weak family.

The enemy put that thought in his head

I know it

He puts it in all our heads.

Well, my family has never overcome addiction

My family has always lived in poverty

My family has always struggled with anger

My family has always had trouble with the law

No one in my family was ever educated

My family always fails at business

These are thoughts the enemy feeds us

To keep us thinking

that we can never do what God has called us to do…

But it is a lie from the devil…

Look at any one who ever did anything in the Bible

Or in business today

You think Elon Musk’s parents were able to do what he has done?

If they were able

Why didn’t they?

You think Steve Job’s Dad could have invented the iPhone?

If so, why not?

I’ll tell you why…

because your family history

has exactly zero things to do with your future

Gideon goes on to say…

“I am the least in my family."

So, not only is my family weak

I’m the weakest one of the bunch.

If you want to know the voice of the enemy

Or the source of these negative thoughts

Here is a simple trick to follow

It works 100% of the time.

You ready for it?

If the thought is the opposite of God’s word

It came from Satan.

It’s that simple.

Jesus called him the father of lies

A murder from the beginning.

Why?

Becuase God said…

Don’t eat of that tree or you will certainly die

and what did satan tell Eve? You will not certainly die.

The exact opposite of God’s word.

Jesus said in Mark 16:16

If you believe AND are baptized

You will be saved.

And today there are people that preach.

You don’t need to be baptized to be saved.

The exact opposite of the words of Jesus.

Where do you think that idea came from? Easy… Satan.

And when God says… You are a mighty man of valor

and you respond with… I’m the weakest in my family…

The exact opposite of God’s word

Where do you think that idea came from?

Again… Satan.

It is so easy to figure out his voice.

And soon, you will learn to ignore it

And listen only to God’s voice

A voice that brings life

A voice that calls you what you are not

as though you already are.

I will be with you

Now, after Gideon tells God

I’m from weak family

and I’m the weakest in my family…

God says:

Judges 6:16 ESV

And the Lord said to him, “But I will be with you, and you shall strike the Midianites as one man.”

"But I will be with you"

Gideon gave God two reasons he couldn't do it —

his family

and his position within his family

God didn't argue with either one —

He didn't say "you're wrong about yourself"

He didn’t say, well actually you have a strong family

and you are the strongest in your family.

God's answer was simply: —

I will be with you

The issue was never with Gideon's own ability.

The issue was whose ability he was relying on.

He was hiding out

and doing all he could do himself

to have a little bit of food for himself

using his own power and ability

But… God was about to get Gideon to lean on him

And with God… All things are possible.

2 Corinthians 12:9 ESV

…“My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” …

Stop measuring your calling by your limited capacity.

Because God's presence

makes the unqualified … qualified

Look at verse 14 again…

Judges 6:14 ESV

And the Lord turned to him and said, “Go in this might of yours and save Israel from the hand of Midian; do not I send you?”

Notice, it doesn’t say… this might of mine.

It says this might of yours.

God is speaking to us today though this passage.

He is commanding us to GO

And when we go

We need to forget about all the reasons why we can’t GO

We need to lay down our excuses

We need to stop our negative thoughts

that were spoon fed to us by the enemy

We need to go in OUR might

And do what God is calling us to do

And if we do not think we can do it…

God reminds us…

I WILL BE WITH YOU.

Don’t forget that important point

because you may have tried before and failed

You may have tried many times before and failed

but this time is going to be different

because this time

God is saying… I WILL BE WITH YOU.

You say, why wasn’t God with me the last time?

Well Gideon asked that Question too…

Judges 6:13 ESV

And Gideon said to him, “Please, my lord, if the Lord is with us, why then has all this happened to us? And where are all his wonderful deeds that our fathers recounted to us, saying, ‘Did not the Lord bring us up from Egypt?’ But now the Lord has forsaken us and given us into the hand of Midian.”

If God is really with us…

Then why am I in this situation to begin with?

Gideon says, It looks like the Lord has forsaken us…

And God does not even respond to this charge.

God doesn’t say, you’re right

I did leave you

I did forsake you

He just simply turns and looks at Gideon and says…

Judges 6:14 ESV

And the Lord turned to him and said, “Go in this might of yours and save Israel from the hand of Midian; do not I send you?”

And here’s the key difference

All those other times you tried and failed

It wasn’t that God left you

It wasn’t that God forsook you…

He was there all along

But instead of you being called by HIM

IN stead of you being SENT by him

You were trying to go places without God.

And in this case God tells Gideon

You Go save isreal

… DO I NOT SEND YOU?

In other words,

This time will be different

Because this time you are not going alone

You are not doing this on your own

You are doing it because I have SENT you

I have called you

And when you go under my purpose

and under my direction

There is no mountain you cannot climb

There is no obstacle that can’t get in your way

God will move heaven and earth

to see you through to the victory.

And that is exactly what God does in the rest of this story

about the Mighty Man of Valor

That he found hiding in a winepress

surrounded by the enemy.

Conclusion

Gideon went from hiding in a winepress

to leading an army —

not because he changed,

but because he finally believed what God said about him

instead of what the enemy was saying about him.

The making of the mighty

isn't about becoming someone different —

it's about becoming

who God already said you are

What winepress are you hiding in today?

God is standing right there,

calling you mighty.

The question is —

will you believe Him this time?

Altar Call/Challenge:

My challenge to you today is this?

Will you GO?

Will you BE

what God is calling you to BE?

Will you take a step of faith

and learn to trust HIS Voice

Even when HIS words

Don’t match YOUR current surroundings?

Don’t look at your past for evidence

Don’t Look at your family’s track record for assurance

Don’t listen to the voice of the enemy

Who only knows how to lie

and says the exact opposite of God’s word…

Only listen to HIS voice

Trust Him

Obey Him

GO and be Mighty

Even when you don’t think that you are.

That’s the making of the mighty…

When someone weak

Trusts God’s voice

When he says that you are mighty.

And you GO

When God says to Go

Even when everything else around you

is telling you to stay put…

That’s what faith is.

It may look like I’m surrounded…

But I’m surround by HIM…

If you’re in this place today

And you feel like the enemy has you trapped

hiding in fear

Let me give you some hope today

You are a mighty man or woman

As long as God is with you

And as long as you obey His voice.

Would you do that today?

Would you tune out the enemy for just minute

and trust His voice right now?