God is for the Underdog (Judges 6:11-16)
Underdog- a person who is expected to lose. We've all felt like underdogs at some point in time; overwhelmed, out numbered, like the situation is out of control, like you can't make a comeback. People under-estimate what and Who you have inside you. But this can be a positive situation. The Bible says that a righteous man may fall seven times, but gets back up; Darkness cannot put your light out. You can extinguish what is trying to put you out. We Americans spend $8 billion on makeup each year. We care about our appearance. And, we should. But we can appear ok on the outside, but the inside is not ok. People under estimate the value of who you are. Vs. 1 tells us that for 7 years, the Middionites have the Israelites live in dens, caves, and strongholds after God had already delivered them- put them back in bondage, robbed them of what they had sown. How often do we see our efforts no turn out like we want them to? When we see that happen, we begin to withdraw and hide ourselves. But you're still in the game, in the war whether you want to be or not. We may take ourselves out, but God never takes us out. The enemy never leaves us alone! Israel and the Middionites have a history. It's not their first encounter. The Middionites now want revenge. The enemy is not happy when we defeat him. Don't think it strange the fiery darts that come against you. We, too, have a history with the enemy. The Israelites cried to the Lord because of trouble, because of the enemy. There's nothing like trouble to get you to pray. They cried out to God and He sent a prophet. They had a history with God, also. He said, "I'm the one that brought you up and out". We have a history with God, too. Because of their history with God, He sent an angel. Be careful how we treat strangers. They may be angels unaware. Gideon was doing something in hiding that he should have been doing in the open (threshing wheat) because of fear of the past. Fear can fuel us or intimidate and paralyze us. How many of us have become inhibited because of past battles. He was supposed to be threshing wheat in the open on a hill so that the wind could separate the wheat from the chaff. But he was next to a wind press, a hole in the ground where wine was made. How often do we expose the things that we should hide and do openly and vice versa. We shouldn't hide our joy and peace, our faith, our victories.
You cannot do anything without wind, the Holy Spirit. Quit trying to control everything in our life. Let the sails up in your life and let the wind guide you. If you let the Spirit of God control your life, He'll blow things that have been there for years. The wind will separate. The angel of God said to Gideon, "The Lord is with you, you mighty (strong, champion) man of valor (power, efficiency, wealth) while Gideon was still hiding, before he showed these traits. This is because God sees us as we are in Him, as a victor. Gideon says, "If the Lord is with us, why is this happening?" But, some things we will only know in part. Our situation causes us to not feel God. We can question God. He let's us get it all out, our whining and questioning, then still says "Go" without addressing our questions. Then He says, " I sent you". He'll never send us anywhere to lose. Ask yourself, " How do I see myself? A winner, victorious, intimidated? Israel couldn't see themselves the way God saw them. Ask yourself "What if"? and fill in the blank. Martin Luther King had a dream, not a plan. Think about it. It all has to begin with what's in you. Gideon says "I can't do it. I'm weak (needy)". (Needy people will drain you). God called Gideon. He had no gear, but he had game. He felt insignificant, but that's not how God saw him. We need to have dreams. Bishop used the example of Maurice Alexander, who was kicked off the college team because of a mistake he made. He said that he got a job working at the stadium where the team played, and a job cleaning the stadium, cleaning toilets. He didn't let this defeat him. He worked hard, didn't let his failures
and mistakes paralyze him. He went back to college, played football, and was drafted for the NFL. He's now on the St. Louis team, not in a janitor uniform, but in a football uniform! 2nd Corinthians
says we have treasure in earthen vessels, cracked vessels, imperfect vessels. Our present
situation does not define who we are. He also used another example of a footage of Autistic Jason (J Mack) on that played on CNN. We're still in the game in God's eyes, even when everyone else
counts us out.
and mistakes paralyze him. He went back to college, played football, and was drafted for the NFL. He's now on the St. Louis team, not in a janitor uniform, but in a football uniform! 2nd Corinthians
says we have treasure in earthen vessels, cracked vessels, imperfect vessels. Our present
situation does not define who we are. He also used another example of a footage of Autistic Jason (J Mack) on that played on CNN. We're still in the game in God's eyes, even when everyone else
counts us out.
