What to Do When the Odds Are Against You

Notes: What to Do When the Odds Are Against You
Greg Laurie
World Changers
Sunday, March 19, 2017
Judges 6
Music: Harvest Worship Band

What do you see when you look in the mirror?

God sees you differently then you see yourself. You see the past, God sees your future. 

Gideon is a good representative of all the ordinary people out there.

God goes out of His way to take ordinary people to do extraordinary things.

Judges 17:6 NLT
[6] In those days Israel had no king; all the people did whatever seemed right in their own eyes.

It was a lot like today, people living by their own truth.

God raised up 13 judges to guide His people through difficult times.

God raises up World Changers for every generation.

If God is not Lord of all then He is not your Lord at all.

Judges 6:1 NLT
[1] The Israelites did evil in the LORD's sight. So the LORD handed them over to the Midianites for seven years.

God let the Midianites rule over them.

If your in crisis, call on God.

Jeremiah 33:3 NLT
[3] Ask me and I will tell you remarkable secrets you do not know about things to come.

There is no shame in calling out for God in a time of crisis.

Judges 6:12-14 NLT
[12] The angel of the LORD appeared to him and said, "Mighty hero, the LORD is with you!" [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." [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!"

We hear what God used to do, what is God doing now?

God is using us to do His work.

Judges 6:15 NLT
[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!"

Principle 1: God uses people who are humble.

Humble people see themselves as they are. They see their flaws and their short comings.

Judges 6:12 NLT
[12] The angel of the LORD appeared to him and said, "Mighty hero, the LORD is with you!"

Gideon didn't see himself as a mighty hero.

Gideon was instructed to tear down the altar that his father had built to worship Baal.

Principle 2: World Changers are faithful in the little things.

If you can't do the small things then why could God trust you to do the greater things.

Luke 16:10 NLT
[10] "If you are faithful in little things, you will be faithful in large ones. But if you are dishonest in little things, you won't be honest with greater responsibilities.

Judges 6:27 NLT
[27] So Gideon took ten of his servants and did as the LORD had commanded. But he did it at night because he was afraid of the other members of his father's household and the people of the town.

Gideon was defended by his father. 

The hardest people to reach is your whole family.

There is a point where you preach sermons and there is a point where you live sermons.

Even Jesus' siblings did not believe in Him until His death and resurrection.

Judges 7:2-3 NLT
[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. [3] Therefore, tell the people, 'Whoever is timid or afraid may leave this mountain and go home.'" So 22,000 of them went home, leaving only 10,000 who were willing to fight.

The Midianites had over 100,000 soldiers to fight them.

Why did the Lord want the fearful ones to leave? Because fear is contagious.

Hell should scare you more than anything.

Judges 7:4-8 NLT
[4] But the LORD told Gideon, "There are still too many! Bring them down to the spring, and I will test them to determine who will go with you and who will not." [5] When Gideon took his warriors down to the water, the LORD told him, "Divide the men into two groups. In one group put all those who cup water in their hands and lap it up with their tongues like dogs. In the other group put all those who kneel down and drink with their mouths in the stream." [6] Only 300 of the men drank from their hands. All the others got down on their knees and drank with their mouths in the stream. [7] The LORD told Gideon, "With these 300 men I will rescue you and give you victory over the Midianites. Send all the others home." [8] So Gideon collected the provisions and rams' horns of the other warriors and sent them home. But he kept the 300 men with him. The Midianite camp was in the valley just below Gideon.

Judges 7:19-23 NLT
[19] It was just after midnight, after the changing of the guard, when Gideon and the 100 men with him reached the edge of the Midianite camp. Suddenly, they blew the rams' horns and broke their clay jars. [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!" [21] Each man stood at his position around the camp and watched as all the Midianites rushed around in a panic, shouting as they ran to escape. [22] When the 300 Israelites blew their rams' horns, the LORD caused the warriors in the camp to fight against each other with their swords. Those who were not killed fled to places as far away as Beth-shittah near Zererah and to the border of Abel-meholah near Tabbath. [23] Then Gideon sent for the warriors of Naphtali, Asher, and Manasseh, who joined in chasing the army of Midian.

It's like putting a pop warner team against the Super Bowl champs.

Ephesians 6:12 NLT
[12] For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.

Sometimes we try to battle a spiritual world with physical weapons.

Sometimes our most powerful weapon is with prayer.

The answer is not isolation, but infiltration... and permeation.

God is looking for people to share the gospel.

Give me 100 men who love God with all of their hearts and fear nothing but sin, and I will change the world. - John Wesley