JUDGES 6
6 Outlines
Judges 6:1-24
THE RECRUIT
GOD’S DECIMATION OF
GOD’S DIALOGUE WITH GIDEON – Vss. 11-18
GOD’S DISPLAY OF POWER – Vss. 19-21
GOD’S DISCLOSURE OF PEACE – Vss. 22-24
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Judges 6:1-23
GOD TO THE RESCUE
A Man of God's Choosing
- Vss. 11-12, 15
A Mandate to Go - Vss.
13-14, 16-17
A Miracle for
Encouragement - Vss. 18-21
A Message of Peace -
Vss. 22-23
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THE TENDERFOOT
Judges 6:1-32
A "tenderfoot"
is a rookie, an inexperienced person.
God can use a
"tenderfoot", as He shows by using Gideon.
Introduction:
GOD WILL CALL A
TENDERFOOT Vss. 11-14
GOD WILL CONVINCE A
TENDERFOOT Vss. 15-24
GOD WILL COMMAND A
TENDERFOOT Vss. 25-32
(Or, you can shorten point 3 to verse 27 and
add a fourth point -
GOD WILL CONTROL A TENDERFOOT'S CIRCUMSTANCES
28- 32)
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Judges 6:25-32
SECRET SERVICE
GOD’S SPECIFIC INSTRUCTIONS – Vss. 25-26
GIDEON’S SECRET OBEDIENCE – Vs. 27
A CITY’S SEETHING RESPONSE – Vss. 28-29
A FATHER’S SAGE ADVICE – Vss. 31-32
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Judges
CONCERNING GOD'S WILL
In this passage we find
some lessons which are important to us because they involve the will of God.
GOD IS PATIENT -
The enemy returned.
Gideon assembled an
army.
Gideon put out two
fleeces.
God had already called
Gideon, and Gideon should not have been questioning God's will, but God very
patiently honored his request for further guidance.
God is patient with us
when He calls us to service, but we should not try His patience, nor should we
be continually looking for "signs". When we know something is God's
will, we should do it.
GOD IS PARTICULAR -
7:1-8
He wants things done his
way.
GOD IS PROVIDENT -
7:9-14
God knew that Gideon
needed reassurance and He provided it.
He will reassure us as
we seek to do His will.
GOD IS POWERFUL -
There was a great
victory
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Judges 6-8
FROM BLUES TO BLESSING
It is very easy to start
"singing the blues", that is, to be depressed or discouraged.
Look at the state of the
economy and you can become discouraged.
Look at the state of
your own finances and you can become discouraged.
Look at world events,
especially in the
Look at the behavior of
most unbelievers and you will become discouraged.
Look at the behavior of
many believers and you can become discouraged.
Look at the sickness,
pain and suffering experienced by you, your family, and friends and you can
become discouraged.
Are you "singing
the blues"? Are you
discouraged? Learn a lesson from Gideon
and the Children of
6:1-6 - The Midianites were nomads who dwelled in the dessert. At the
time of Harvest, they would show up and steal what was in the land.
6:11-13 - In the midst
of this problem, an Angel of the Lord appears to Gideon.
Gideon is called a
"man of valor" by the Angel of the Lord and told him that the Lord
was with him. Gideon asked two questions
that showed his discouragement.
"Why us?"
"Where's God?"
We often ask the same
two questions.
In the case of Gideon,
God took him from being defeated to being victorious.
He took him from blues
to blessing!
In this story about
Gideon we can find some guidelines for handling discouragement.
1.
ACKNOWLEDGE THE REASONS
FOR DISCOURAGEMENT
There are reasons for
discouragement. It behooves us to analyze and ask, "What exactly
has me discouraged?" We can't look
at just surface reasons, but need to dig deep. There are many reasons for
discouragement. Allow me to share just four:
A.
An Unpleasant Condition
This is the most
obvious. Gideon and the children of
Life is full of
unpleasant conditions. (You can share your own list.)
B.
An Uncommitted Burden
If you are a Christian,
there is a procedure we need to follow when we start to feel overwhelmed and
discouraged.
We need to commit our
burdens to the Lord in prayer. All too often we try to handle our own problems
instead of giving them to the Lord. 1 Peter 5:7, Psalm 37:5, Psalm 81:10,
Philippians 4:6-7
C.
An Unconfessed/ Unforsaken Sin
Many times we will blame
other things or people for our discouragement, when in reality, the problem is
ourselves! It is very easy to say, "I'm discouraged by the sins of other
Christians" when in reality we are discouraged by our own sins. This was
D.
An Unchecked Physical
Problem
Sometimes folks are
discouraged or depressed simply because there is something physically wrong.
When a person can say, "It's not circumstances that has me discouraged.
It's not an uncommitted burden or a sin that has me discouraged" perhaps
it's time to see the doctor.
II. ADJUST YOUR VISION
All too often people are
looking in the wrong places for solutions to their problems.
Some look to
circumstances and wish for them to get better.
Some look to others and
depend on them to solve the problems.
Some look to themselves
as the solution to their problems.
Our vision needs to be
adjusted so that we look to God as the solution of our problems.
In Judges 6:6, the
Children of
When Gideon started
looking to the Lord there was victory.
Two interesting things
about the call of Gideon:
1.
God says "I have
sent thee" in verse 14. Problems are solved and there is peace in the soul
when we are following God's leading.
2.
There is peace in the
soul when God goes with us.
Let's get our vision
adjusted so that we look to God for the solution to our problems.
III. ALIGN YOURSELF
PUBLICLY WITH GOD
IV. ALLOW GOD TO WORK
THROUGH A REMNANT (YOU!)
You will lose your
discouragement, when you realize that usually God works through individuals and
small groups instead of large crowds. 1 Samuel 14:6
Notice Judges
God saw the potential
Gideon had and He sees our potential. All we have to do is allow God to work
through us.
God reduced Gideon's
initial fighting force to 300 in Judges 7.
God is only hindered by
numbers when we fail to let Him work through us.
V. ASCRIBE ALL GLORY TO
GOD
When God delivers you
give Him the credit. Psalm 98:1, Psalm 29:2
When God gives the
victory make sure that He is praised and thanked!
A sad aftermath to
Gideon's victory was the failure of