People of Valor, Part 1

intro - Our theme is People of Valor

we don’t want it to be a wasted theme, we want to learn how to become people of valor

in your personal lives, and as members of WMBC

today we will learn that to be a person of Valor, that it’s about your position, your description, and your transition

background of judges 6

people of Israel rebelled against God, so God allowed the Midianites to subject them

it so bad that many people had to hide in the mountains, in the caves

every year the Midianites would come and destroy their crops and take their livestock

but the Israelites do begin to turn back to God, and call out to him for help

Judges 6:11 NASB95

11 Then the angel of the Lord came and sat under the oak that was in Ophrah, which belonged to Joash the Abiezrite as his son Gideon was beating out wheat in the wine press in order to save it from the Midianites.

Position

We want to be valiant people, mighty, heroes . . . but what makes a person a valiant warrior?

mighty? heroic?

Well, you must do something valiant, heroic, or mighty

and in order to do something valiant, heroic, mighty, you must be in position to do those things.

in a position that requires bravery

in a position of great risk

in a position of facing overwhelming odds

in a position that doesn’t feel good, comfortable, safe, or secure

firefighters, police officers, military people often achieve the title of valiant, heroic because they are often find themselves in positions that require bravery, or in a position of being at risk

This summarizes the position of Gideon, for when the angel appeared to him

hiding in the mountains, food being stolen every year, at the mercy of the Midianites

in this verse, Gideon is in the very act of trying to hide his wheat from the Midianites by beating/threshing it in the wine press

He is in a position of risk, against overwhelming odds, doesn’t feel good, comfortable, safe, or secure

The good news is that you are probably already in position, in some area of your life, through circumstances, calling, or both, you are already in a position that requires bravery

you are already in a position of great risk

you are already facing overwhelming odds

you are already in a position that doesn’t feel good, comfortable, safe, or secure

not only in your personal life, but as a church with all the changes that have occurred the past two years, we are already in position to be people of valor

and though you are in a position of risk, and facing overwhelming odds, the same position sets you up perfectly to be a person of valor

so most of us have the position part down . . . but I want us to acknowledge that our position is not just a problem, but also an opportunity . . . and opportunity to be a person of valor

Judges 6:12 NASB95

12 The angel of the Lord appeared to him and said to him, “The Lord is with you, O valiant warrior.”

Description

The angel says, “The Lord is with you”

the angel provides a description . . . Gideon you are a person, whom the Lord is with

The Lord is with you . . . . Five words that make all the difference

The Lord

That means that the God and creator of the universe is with you

the king of kings, and the Lords of Lords

the almighty one is with you

The one with all power is with you

the one with all knowledge is with you

never fails, always keep his word is with you, always on time . . . that God . . .

is with you

He is on your side and if God be for us, who can be against us

he won’t leave you, he’s a constant friend

he is going to help, aide, guide, protect, lead

he’s going to make things work out for your good

He’ll fight your battles

So you are in a position of risk, but the Lord is with you . . . that means that the risk can’t stop you

enemies can’t stop you

circumstances can’t stop you

situation can’t stop

What we often consider “The Lord is with you” as a small detail, is in reality the most important part of the description, it’s

The Lord is with us . . . is everything

if I say, “May God be with you” . . . I can say nothing better or stronger

“The Lord is with you”, is a description that tells me that I don’t have to worry about my position.

and I can just focus on my transition

The angel says, the Lord is with you, “O valiant warrior”

Transition

KJV says - mighty man of valor

NIV says - mighty warrior

NLT says - mighty hero

And though Gideon has not done anything valiant, mighty, or heroic, the angel calls him O valiant warrior

because the book of Romans reminds us that God can call those things that are not as though they were

God called Abraham a father, before Abraham had any children

God called David a king, when he was just a shepherd boy

God called a Mary a mother, when she was was virgin

because when the Lord is with you, you are whoever God says that you are

when the Lord is with you, you can do whatever the Lord says you can do

But you have to believe it first, and the angel is trying to get Gideon to transition from a fearful farmer to a valiant warrior

too often we first look for a transition of our situation, if the Lord would just do this or that . . . then everything will be alright

but the first transition must take place in you, if YOU transition, then everything will be alright

Because God will do his part, but can you be counted on to do your part?

There has to be a transition, the bible says be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind

And Gideon’s mind needs to be renewed, his thinking is all off

Judges 6:13 NASB95

13 Then Gideon said to him, “O my lord, if the Lord is with us, why then has all this happened to us? And where are all His miracles which our fathers told us about, saying, ‘Did not the Lord bring us up from Egypt?’ But now the Lord has abandoned us and given us into the hand of Midian.”

Gideon’s response to the description that Lord is with me, is that the Lord is not with me

and in a nutshell, that’s the battle of belief that we face, when trying to make the transition from fearful farmer to valiant warrior . . is really God with me?

when I look at the circumstances, it seems that God is not with me

please remember that circumstances can throw you off if you don’t know the word, or you’ve forgotten the word

Yes Gideon, God is with you . . . . and no, Gideon, God did not abandon you all, you all abandoned God

Gideon knew just a little of the Bible . . . God did some miracles to bring us out of Egypt a long time ago

ANNNNND God also gave you some laws to follow, and told you the exact consequences of not following those laws . . . YOU DON’T KNOW YOUR WORD

your thinking is so off that you are blaming God for your mistakes

same bad thinking/understanding of God in today’s world (social media)

so many complaints about God, when often the fault lies with us

people know just enough Bible to get it wrong . . . . just like Gideon

if you want to be a person of valor, there has to be a transition, a renewing of your mind

start with learning the word to get your spiritual mind right

but God ignores Gideon’s ignorance for now, He will get to it though . . . because God is trying to get Gideon to understand that basic description part.

Judges 6:14–16 NASB95

14 The Lord looked at him and said, “Go in this your strength and deliver Israel from the hand of Midian. Have I not sent you?” 15 He said to Him, “O Lord, how shall I deliver Israel? Behold, my family is the least in Manasseh, and I am the youngest in my father’s house.” 16 But the Lord said to him, “Surely I will be with you, and you shall defeat Midian as one man.”

God says, go deliver Israel!

Gideon bascially responds, I am a nobody, I am not a valiant warrior

So God returns to the description . . . I WILL BE WITH YOU

Gideon you need to believe that, understand that, base your actions on that fact

and that’s where we start in this 40th year . . . .

in your personal life, as a church . . . we must start with “God is with us!”

to be a person of valor, people of valor, we must get that fact down!

we see it in the history of our church

basically 2 adults and 2 kids - but God was with them

resulted in building, school, nursing home, books, music ministry, hundreds helped!

as a church, we are starting off with more . . . THe Lord is with you, O valiant Warrior!

Transistion from poor me to valiant warrior

Transition from “I’m just a . . . . to a valiant warrior

For the Lord is with you

You are in position, accept the description, and make the transition!