The Angel of the Lord (Jesus' appearance in the Old Testament) comes to Gideon and gives him an assignment. He says, "The Lord is with YOU..." Gideon replies, "If the Lord is with US, why then has all this happened to us?" It's never a good idea to start out with, "If the Lord is..."
Gideon has such a low opinion of himself that he puts fleeces out. Even when God answered him, he wasn't convinced. We're never told to put out fleeces. Gideon was acting in total unbelief.
He's also come to wrong conclusions. While God gives us good things, the enemy will try to steal them away from us.
Gideon's fear of the Midianites has him cowering indoors winnowing his crop. He finally agrees to obey God, but does so at night. It's not that he doesn't want anyone to know what he's doing because he takes 10 people with him. He's afraid of a confrontation with their enemies. It is best not to fear, but it is second best to fear and still do it.
In Judges 7:1-25 - He calls for the Israelites to join him in defeating the enemy. Even though they are vastly outnumbered, God tells Gideon he has too many people and instructs him to send all those who are afraid back home. Eventually, his group is whittled down to 300 men.
How does the battle go and how can we win our battles? For the full message, please visit our website and click on the Listen tab. You can listen online, download it to your MP3 player, or podcast.
If you're visiting in the area or looking for a church home, we hope you'll visit our Sunday Morning Service at 10:00 AM. We look forward to meeting you and sharing God's Word.
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