Ephesians bible study bill winston2/4/2024 No matter what your father was, what your mother did, you are still a “mighty warrior” in the eyes of God…NOW it’s time that you see yourself the very same way. No matter your education, employment, ethnicity, or back ground. Gideon sees someone insignificant, unimportant, irrelevant, small even, yet God sees him as a “ Mighty Warrior”! Question: How do you see yourself? How do you speak to and about yourself? What do you see for yourself? Do you consider yourself “mighty”? Gifted? Smart? Beautiful? Well, in case you don’t, I’ve stopped by to inform you that you need to check your eyesight! Situations and circumstances should never distort how you see yourself, because they certainly do not distort how God sees you! No matter what your marital status is, how many children you have, you don’t have or that you’ve aborted or miscarried. I find it absolutely amazing that BEFORE Gideon does anything, God calls him a “ Mighty Warrior”, IN ADVANCE! Unlike us, God doesn’t get stuck in what we ARE, but His focus remains on what we CAN BE! And so God speaks contrary to Gideon. And that’s the very same place where many of us mess up and get stuck at! We get so consumed by where we ARE, and where we’re NOT who we ARE, and who we’re NOT what we CAN and what we CAN’T do…that we never consider a vision from God’s point of view. And God comes along and says, “ Mighty warrior!” Surely, you’re thinking just like I’m thinking, this is no mighty warrior! But God didn’t see what Gideon WAS. He saw what he COULD BE, what he WOULD BE and what He intended to MAKE HIM. He doesn’t look like a mighty warrior…at all. Have I not sent you?” But Gideon said to Him, “Please Lord, how am I to rescue Israel? Behold, my family is the LEAST in Manasseh, and I am the YOUNGEST (SMALLEST) in my father’s house.” The Lord answered him, “I will certainly be with you, and YOU will strike down the Midianites as ONE MAN.”” ( AMP). However, verses 14-16 declare, “ The Lord turned to him and said, “Go in this strength of yours and save Israel from the hand of Midian. When the angel of the Lord appeared to Gideon, he said, “The Lord is with you, MIGHTY WARRIOR.” ( NIV).Īnd what was Gideon’s response? Verse 13 reads, “Pardon me, my lord,” Gideon replied, “but if the Lord is with us, why has all this happened to us? Where are all his wonders that our ancestors told us about when they said, ‘Did not the Lord bring us up out of Egypt?’ But now the Lord has abandoned us and given us into the hand of Midian.” (NIV). And He speaks to Gideon in verses 11-12, “ The angel of the Lord came and sat down under the oak in Ophrah that belonged to Joash the Abiezrite, where his son Gideon was threshing wheat in a winepress to keep it from the Midianites. God is looking for a general for His troops, someone who will be a mighty commander and beat the Midianites who have intimidated and terrorized the Israelites for years. Well, that leads us straight to Judges 6. He actually saw something that others didn’t see. I believe that when the owner saw that wreck, he saw more than a wreck. It took months, maybe years for the owner to give patient attention to get this beautiful classic to where it stood now before them. And as you looked through the book, step by step you could see the car was slowly being Transformed. Let me tell you, it was trash when he started! The first pictures were of this rusted, wrecked, banged-up Mustang that no one in their right mind would claim as their property! Come to find out, it was the car he bought. But it was his car! And at the beginning of this photo album there were BEFORE pictures of the car. And it wasn’t the guy’s wife, children or grandchildren. However, there, sitting on the engine block, was a thick book of photos. It was a sleek, black ’66 Mustang that had a flawless exterior, a rich interior, and the hood was even open so you could look at the horsepower underneath. And as they continued looking, there was this one car that stood out amongst all the rest. They were really interested in seeing the ones that went back to the 50s and 60s. There was a sign that read Antique Auto Show, so Rob and his wife decided that they’d take fifteen minutes and stop at this car dealership and look at the antique autos. Judges 6:15-16, “But Gideon said to Him, “Please Lord, how am I to rescue Israel? Behold, my family is the least in Manasseh, and I am the youngest (smallest) in my father’s house.” The Lord answered him, “I will certainly be with you, and you will strike down the Midianites as one man.” (AMP)
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