Tearing Down What Holds You Back

INTRODUCTION

Good morning, mighty warriors!

Welcome back to Day 2!

Yesterday we met a young man named Gideon.

He was HIDING in a winepress because he was scared!

But God showed up and called him something CRAZY.

God called him a MIGHTY WARRIOR!

Even though Gideon felt small, God saw something BIG inside of him!

But here's the thing,

God wasn't finished with Gideon yet.

See, God had called Gideon to do something GREAT.

God had chosen Gideon to save Israel from their enemies!

But before Gideon could fight the enemy OUT THERE—

He had to deal with something IN HERE. (chest)

Before Gideon could go to WAR—

He had to do some CLEANING first!

And that's what God wants to talk to us about today.

Before God can use you FULLY, you must remove what's standing in the way!

ILLUSTRATION: THE MESSY LOCKER

Let me tell you a story.

There was a girl named Destiny.

Destiny was a good student.

She loved God,

she loved her family,

and she tried her best in school.

But Destiny had ONE big problem.

Her locker was a DISASTER!

I'm talking old papers from two months ago.

Snack wrappers from who knows when.

Books she didn't even need anymore.

Broken pencils,

dried-up markers,

and a jacket she forgot she had!

One day, Destiny's teacher gave her something special.

It was a brand-new study Bible with her name on it!

Destiny was SO excited!

She ran to her locker to put it somewhere safe.

But when she opened her locker...

There was NO ROOM!

The good stuff couldn't fit because the JUNK was in the way!

Destiny had a choice to make.

She could either leave the junk and lose the blessing—

Or she could CLEAN OUT the junk and make room for something better!

What do you think she did?

That's right

she started CLEANING!

She threw out the old papers.

She got rid of the trash.

She removed everything that didn't belong.

And when she was done, guess what?

Her new Bible fit PERFECTLY!

Boys & Girls

You can't receive what God has for you when you're holding onto junk!

If you have your Bibles to Judges chapter 6, starting at verse 25.

Because God is about to tell Gideon the same thing!

SCRIPTURE READING: JUDGES 6:25-32 (CSB)

Let's read together:

Judges 6:25–32 CSB

On that very night the Lord said to him, “Take your father’s young bull and a second bull seven years old. Then tear down the altar of Baal that belongs to your father and cut down the Asherah pole beside it. Build a well-constructed altar to the Lord your God on the top of this mound. Take the second bull and offer it as a burnt offering with the wood of the Asherah pole you cut down.” So Gideon took ten of his male servants and did as the Lord had told him. But because he was too afraid of his father’s family and the men of the city to do it in the daytime, he did it at night. When the men of the city got up in the morning, they found Baal’s altar torn down, the Asherah pole beside it cut down, and the second bull offered up on the altar that had been built. They said to each other, “Who did this?” After they made a thorough investigation, they said, “Gideon son of Joash did it.” Then the men of the city said to Joash, “Bring out your son. He must die, because he tore down Baal’s altar and cut down the Asherah pole beside it.” But Joash said to all who stood against him, “Would you plead Baal’s case for him? Would you save him? Whoever pleads his case will be put to death by morning! If he is a god, let him plead his own case because someone tore down his altar.” That day Gideon was called Jerubbaal, since Joash said, “Let Baal contend with him,” because he tore down his altar.

CONTEXT: WHAT WAS BAAL AND WHY DOES IT MATTER?

Now, let me break this down so everybody can understand.

Who was Baal?

Baal was a FALSE god.

A fake!

A phony!

A pretender!

The people who lived around Israel worshipped Baal.

They built altars to Baal and bowed down to statues.

They thought Baal could give them rain and good crops.

But here's the sad part—

God's own people, the Israelites, started worshipping Baal too!

Instead of trusting the TRUE God who brought them out of Egypt—

They started following the fake gods of their neighbors.

And guess what was sitting right in Gideon's own backyard?

An altar to Baal!

Built by his own FATHER!

So even though God had called Gideon to save Israel—

There was something in the WAY.

There was an idol that needed to come DOWN before Gideon could go UP!

God said, "Gideon, before I send you to fight the Midianites, you need to clean house FIRST!"

POINT 1: GOD DEALS WITH THE INSIDE BEFORE THE OUTSIDE

Here's something powerful, young people.

God could have sent Gideon straight to battle.

God could have said, "Go fight the Midianites right now!"

But God didn't do that.

God said, "First, tear down what's wrong in your own house."

Why?

Because God always deals with the INSIDE before He deals with the OUTSIDE!

You can't fight the enemy out there if you haven't dealt with the enemy in here!

You can't have victory in the battle if you have defeat in your heart!

You can't stand strong for God if you're still holding onto things that dishonor Him!

Before the breakthrough comes the cleanup!

Before the victory comes the surrender!

Before God can build something NEW, He has to tear down something OLD!

POINT 2: GIDEON OBEYED EVEN WHEN HE WAS AFRAID

Now watch this

the Bible says something interesting in verse 27.

It says Gideon obeyed God,

BUT—

He did it at NIGHT because he was AFRAID!

Gideon was scared of his family.

He was scared of the people in the city.

He knew they would be angry when they saw what he did.

But here's the key—

Gideon obeyed God ANYWAY!

He didn't let his fear STOP him.

He let his faith MOVE him!

Young people, listen to me.

Doing the right thing doesn't mean you won't be scared.

Obeying God doesn't mean you won't feel nervous.

Courage is not the absence of fear

courage is obeying God IN SPITE of fear!

Maybe you're scared to stop hanging out with the wrong friends.

Maybe you're scared to turn off the wrong music.

Maybe you're scared to be different.

But God is saying, "Do it anyway!"

Even if you're shaking,

start BREAKING down what needs to go!

POINT 3: WHEN YOU TEAR DOWN THE FALSE, YOU MAKE ROOM FOR THE TRUE

Now notice what God told Gideon to do.

God didn't just say, "Tear down the altar to Baal."

God also said, "BUILD an altar to ME!"

In verse 26, God says: "Build a well-constructed altar to the Lord your God."

See, it's not enough to just get rid of the bad stuff.

You have to REPLACE it with something good!

If you clean out your locker but leave it empty, it's going to get messy again!

If you stop listening to bad music but don't fill your mind with God's Word, something else will fill that space!

When you tear down the FALSE,

you make room for the TRUE!

When you remove the idol,

you make room for the ALMIGHTY!

When you get rid of the counterfeit,

you make room for the KING!

POINT 4: SOME PEOPLE WON'T LIKE IT WHEN YOU CHANGE

Now here's where it gets real.

The next morning, the people woke up and saw what Gideon had done.

And they were FURIOUS!

Verse 30 says: "Then the men of the city said to Joash, 'Bring out your son. He must die!'"

They wanted to KILL Gideon for tearing down the altar to Baal!

Let me tell you something, warriors.

When you start making changes, not everybody is going to clap for you.

Some people liked the OLD you.

Some people were comfortable with you staying the same.

Some people don't want to see you grow closer to God.

When you stop gossiping,

the gossipers won't like it.

When you stop being disrespectful,

some kids might call you "soft."

When you start reading your Bible and praying,

someone might make fun of you.

But listen to me—

You didn't come this far to turn back now!

You're not tearing down altars to please people

you're tearing them down to please GOD!

POINT 5: GOD WILL DEFEND THOSE WHO STAND FOR HIM

Now watch what happens next.

When the people came for Gideon, his father Joash stood up and said something powerful.

Verse 31: "Will you plead Baal's case? Will you save him? If he is a god, let him plead his own case!"

Joash was saying, "If Baal is so powerful, let him defend himself!"

And guess what?

Baal couldn't do ANYTHING!

Because Baal was FAKE!

Baal was a statue made of wood and stone!

Baal had no power!

When you stand for the TRUE God, the false gods will fall!

When you tear down the idols, you'll see they had no power all along!

The things you were afraid of can't do anything to you when God is on your side!

And because Gideon obeyed, he got a NEW NAME!

They called him JERUBBAAL, which means "Let Baal plead against him."

When you obey God, you get a new identity!

When you tear down what's wrong, you step into who you're supposed to be!

APPLICATION: WHAT ALTARS DO YOU NEED TO TEAR DOWN?

Now, warriors, I need to get personal with you for a minute.

We don't have statues of Baal in our houses.

Now I know we don't bow down to wooden idols,

But let me ask you—

What's standing in the way of God using you fully?

An altar is anything you give your worship to instead of God.

An altar is anything that takes FIRST PLACE in your heart.

Let me give you some examples that might be in YOUR life:

Maybe your altar is a BAD ATTITUDE.

You're always angry,

always complaining,

always rolling your eyes.

That attitude has to come DOWN!

Maybe your altar is WRONG FRIENDSHIPS.

You're hanging around people who pull you AWAY from God instead of toward Him.

Those friendships have to come DOWN!

Maybe your altar is DISTRACTION.

You spend hours on video games,

TikTok,

or YouTube,

but you can't spend five minutes with God.

That distraction has to come DOWN!

Maybe your altar is FEAR.

You're so scared of what people think that you won't stand up for what's right.

That fear has to come DOWN!

Maybe your altar is UNFORGIVENESS.

Somebody hurt you,

and you're holding onto that anger like it's treasure.

That unforgiveness has to come DOWN!

God is saying to you today what He said to Gideon:

"Before I can use you in the battle, you need to clean your house!"

THE GREAT CONTROVERSY AND CHOOSING SIDES

Here's something important for us as Adventists to understand.

We are living in the middle of a Great Controversy.

A battle between good and evil.

A war between Christ and Satan.

And every day, by what we do and what we hold onto, we are choosing sides.

When we hold onto idols,

things that take God's place,

we are giving ground to the enemy.

But when we tear down those idols and build altars to the TRUE God

we are declaring whose side we're on!

United in Christ means we can't be united with the world's idols!

Armed and Ready means we've cleared out everything that weakens our armor!

God is calling this generation to be DIFFERENT.

To be SET APART.

To be HOLY.

And holiness starts when we clean house!

CHALLENGE: CLEAN HOUSE BEFORE THE BATTLE

So here's my challenge for you today, Warriors.

Before you leave this room,

I want you to think about ONE thing.

ONE altar that needs to come down in your life.

Maybe it's something you need to stop doing.

Maybe it's something you need to stop watching.

Maybe it's something you need to stop saying.

Maybe it's a friendship you need to let go of.

Maybe it's an attitude you need to change.

God is NOT asking you to be perfect.

But God IS asking you to be WILLING.

Willing to obey.

Willing to tear down what's wrong.

Willing to make room for what's right.

You can't go to war carrying dead weight!

You can't fight the enemy while holding hands with idols!

Clean house BEFORE the battle, and watch God give you the victory!

Closing

As I close this thing down

Somebody's ready to make a change today!

Somebody's ready to stop playing around!

Somebody's ready to tear down what's been holding them back!

God is looking for young people who will say—

"I'm done with the junk!"

"I'm done with the distractions!"

"I'm done with the bad attitudes!"

"I'm done with the fear!"

"I'm ready to build an altar to the TRUE God!"

You are called for such a time as THIS!

You are chosen for such a moment as THIS!

But you've got to clean house!

You've got to clear the way!

You've got to make room for God to MOVE!

Tear it down so God can build you UP!

Remove the idol so you can receive the ANOINTING!

Clean the locker so you can carry the BLESSING!

This week you're going to walk in POWER!

This week you're going to walk in PURPOSE!

This week you're going to be UNITED in Christ!

This week you're going to be ARMED and READY!

But it starts right HERE.

It starts right NOW.

It starts with YOU saying,

"God, whatever has to go—LET IT GO!"

Let us pray...

Father God, we thank You for speaking to our hearts today.

Thank You for loving us enough to show us what needs to change.

Give every young person in this room the courage to tear down the altars in their lives.

Help them to remove the distractions,

the bad attitudes,

the wrong friendships, and the fear.

And as they make room for You, fill them with Your Spirit, Your power, and Your presence.

Prepare them for the battle ahead. In Jesus' mighty name, AMEN!

Tomorrow is Day 3

we'll see how God starts shrinking Gideon's army and teaches us that it's not about how MANY,

but about WHO is with you!

See you tomorrow, warriors!