A Few Good Men ... and Women

02/18/2019 A Few Good Men ... and Women

Series: The Story Of The Bible 

https://vimeo.com/314412430

What Does The Bible Say?

Judges

12 The angel of the Lord appeared to him and said, “Mighty hero, the Lord is with you!”  (Judges 6:12 NLT)

Have you ever asked why questions about life and received an answer you were not expecting?

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.” (Judges 6:13 NLT)

“So write down the words of this song, and teach it to the people of Israel. Help them learn it, so it may serve as a witness for me against them. 20 For I will bring them into the land I swore to give their ancestors—a land flowing with milk and honey. There they will become prosperous, eat all the food they want, and become fat. But they will begin to worship other gods; they will despise me and break my covenant. 21 And when great disasters come down on them, this song will stand as evidence against them, for it will never be forgotten by their descendants. I know the intentions of these people, even now before they have entered the land I swore to give them.” (Deuteronomy 31:19-21 NLT)

Israel’s two mistakes after conquering the land.

10 After that generation died, another generation grew up who did not acknowledge the Lord or remember the mighty things he had done for Israel. (Judges 2:10 NLT)

We need to pass the baton of faith to the next generation.

When the Israelites grew stronger, they forced the Canaanites to work as slaves, but they never did drive them completely out of the land. (Judges 1:28 NLT) 

They abandoned the Lord, the God of their ancestors, who had brought them out of Egypt. They went after other gods, worshiping the gods of the people around them. And they angered the Lord. (Judges 2:12 NLT)

We need to guard our environment.

The Book of Judges reports six cyclical patterns:

Sin 

Oppressed

Cry Out

Repent

A judge would deliver them

God raised up judges.

Othniel delivers them from the Mesopotamians; 

Ehud delivers them from the Moabites; 

Deborah delivers them from the Canaanites; 

Gideon delivers them from the Midianites; 

Jephthah delivers them from the Amorites; 

Samson delivers them from the Philistines.

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!” (Judges 6:14–15 NLT)

God always uses flawed people.

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. (Judges 7:2 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.

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!”  (Judges 7:16; 20 NLT)

The Midianites thought there was NO Way the Israelites could beat them.

The Israelites responded with Yaweh!

How Can You Obey:

Follow God completely.

Question 1 of 5

Contrast how God saw Gideon with how Gideon saw himself (Judges 6:11-16). How does this give us hope when we feel God could never do great things through us?

Question 2 of 5

In the continual cycle that occurs in the time of the Judges. God’s people embracing the sins, religion, and behaviors of those who lived in the land before they conquered it. In what ways do Christians today embrace the sin, practices, and culture of our day and end up sinning and feeling distant from God?

Question 3 of 5

There are consequences when we refuse to follow God’s way. Why do you think we continue to repeat the same sin patterns even though we know the outcome will not be good?

Question 4 of 5

How did God strengthen Gideon and help him press through his fears as he faced the mighty armies of Midian? How does God do the same thing when we feel inadequate and fearful?

Question 5 of 5 

How can we identify the temptation to be conformed to the world’s sinful ways and avoid the pitfalls?