WEBVTT 00:00:00.650 --> 00:00:05.089 I mentioned a few weeks ago that I sometimes, 00:00:05.269 --> 00:00:08.109 a lot of times, just don't really feel qualified 00:00:08.109 --> 00:00:14.009 to be a minister, to be the guy that preaches 00:00:14.009 --> 00:00:18.370 to people that are searching for answers or searching 00:00:18.370 --> 00:00:21.190 for wisdom and guidance. I don't really feel 00:00:21.190 --> 00:00:23.530 qualified to do that sometimes, a lot of times. 00:00:24.129 --> 00:00:27.609 But in that message, I tried to reassure you 00:00:27.609 --> 00:00:32.710 and myself. That even though we sometimes don't 00:00:32.710 --> 00:00:37.149 feel qualified, now God will qualify us to do 00:00:37.149 --> 00:00:40.409 what he chooses us or chooses for us to do or 00:00:40.409 --> 00:00:43.630 calls us to do. And today I really want to call 00:00:43.630 --> 00:00:46.509 out this idea that we tell ourselves sometimes 00:00:46.509 --> 00:00:50.009 that we're not strong enough or that we're not 00:00:50.009 --> 00:00:52.409 smart enough or we're not spiritual enough or 00:00:52.409 --> 00:00:54.969 I'm not old enough or I don't have the education 00:00:54.969 --> 00:00:58.479 or I don't have the experience. I want us to 00:00:58.479 --> 00:01:04.260 call that idea out because the truth is we aren't 00:01:04.260 --> 00:01:10.000 enough. We're not. I, Donovan Rillian, am not 00:01:10.000 --> 00:01:13.359 enough. I'm not strong enough. I'm not smart 00:01:13.359 --> 00:01:16.560 enough. I'm definitely not experienced enough 00:01:16.560 --> 00:01:20.879 to do everything that God has called me to do. 00:01:21.659 --> 00:01:27.200 But Christ is. What we talked about is how God 00:01:27.200 --> 00:01:29.760 equips us to do what he's called us to do. But 00:01:29.760 --> 00:01:33.200 sometimes it's not even something that we can 00:01:33.200 --> 00:01:36.739 be equipped to do. It's not an ability that God 00:01:36.739 --> 00:01:39.739 can give us or a talent that he can give us. 00:01:39.840 --> 00:01:43.000 It's not something that maybe we can learn or 00:01:43.000 --> 00:01:46.120 that we can train to do. Sometimes it has to 00:01:46.120 --> 00:01:51.450 be a complete work of God. And the way we look 00:01:51.450 --> 00:01:53.969 at it and we see the results, we can only say 00:01:53.969 --> 00:02:00.730 that was God working. And that's how we get to 00:02:00.730 --> 00:02:04.370 our passage today. Last week we looked at Moses 00:02:04.370 --> 00:02:07.310 and how he was up on the hill with his hand raised 00:02:07.310 --> 00:02:10.050 and he's holding the staff and his friends have 00:02:10.050 --> 00:02:13.150 to help him hold it. And that's how the Israelites 00:02:13.150 --> 00:02:18.319 have victory over the Amalekites. We know that 00:02:18.319 --> 00:02:22.120 it was not Moses who won that battle. It wasn't 00:02:22.120 --> 00:02:24.460 the Israelites and Joshua who won that battle. 00:02:24.500 --> 00:02:27.979 It was God who brought the victory. And today 00:02:27.979 --> 00:02:32.180 I want us to look at that idea of God being the 00:02:32.180 --> 00:02:35.560 only one who can bring the victory. And we find 00:02:35.560 --> 00:02:40.819 a story in Judges 6, verses 11 -16. And what 00:02:40.819 --> 00:02:44.259 we're going to see here is a man and an army. 00:02:44.719 --> 00:02:46.659 Because there's a lot of men and a lot of armies 00:02:46.659 --> 00:02:50.000 fighting in the Old Testament. And there's some 00:02:50.000 --> 00:02:52.599 really rich stories in there. So this morning 00:02:52.599 --> 00:02:55.639 we're going to read Judges 6, verses 11 -16. 00:02:55.919 --> 00:02:57.780 And we're going to talk a little bit about it. 00:02:58.400 --> 00:03:01.879 Now the angel of the Lord came and sat under 00:03:01.879 --> 00:03:06.400 Terebinth at Ophrah, which belonged to Joash 00:03:06.400 --> 00:03:09.659 the Abizrite, while his son Gideon was beating 00:03:09.659 --> 00:03:13.219 out wheat in the winepress to hide it from the 00:03:13.219 --> 00:03:15.759 Midianites. And the angel of the Lord appeared 00:03:15.759 --> 00:03:17.979 to him and said to him, The Lord is with you, 00:03:18.000 --> 00:03:20.780 O mighty man of valor. And Gideon said to him, 00:03:20.800 --> 00:03:24.280 Please, my Lord, if the Lord is with us, why 00:03:24.280 --> 00:03:27.740 then has all this happened to us? And where are 00:03:27.740 --> 00:03:31.139 all his wonderful deeds that our fathers recounted 00:03:31.139 --> 00:03:34.219 to us, saying, Did not the Lord bring us up from 00:03:34.219 --> 00:03:39.379 Egypt? But now the Lord has forsaken us and given 00:03:39.379 --> 00:03:43.389 us into the hand of Midian. And the Lord turned 00:03:43.389 --> 00:03:46.409 to him and said, Go in this might of yours and 00:03:46.409 --> 00:03:49.370 save Israel from the hand of Midian. Do not I 00:03:49.370 --> 00:03:52.490 send you? And he said to him, Please, Lord, how 00:03:52.490 --> 00:03:56.050 can I save Israel? Behold, my clan is the weakest 00:03:56.050 --> 00:03:59.189 in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father's 00:03:59.189 --> 00:04:02.710 house. And the Lord said to him, But I will be 00:04:02.710 --> 00:04:05.490 with you, and you shall strike the Midianites 00:04:05.490 --> 00:04:13.949 as one man. Let's pray. Read of Gideon and his 00:04:13.949 --> 00:04:21.189 reliance on you for victory. As we see examples 00:04:21.189 --> 00:04:26.129 in Scripture of the need for your power and your 00:04:26.129 --> 00:04:30.189 might to accomplish the things you have called 00:04:30.189 --> 00:04:33.569 us to do, God, I pray that something in us would 00:04:33.569 --> 00:04:40.779 be shaken. That our confidence in ourselves Would 00:04:40.779 --> 00:04:44.860 decrease. But that our confidence in you would 00:04:44.860 --> 00:04:49.319 become supreme. God, I pray that we realize that 00:04:49.319 --> 00:04:51.420 it's nothing we can do. It's nothing we can be 00:04:51.420 --> 00:04:54.259 equipped for or nothing we can learn to do or 00:04:54.259 --> 00:04:58.180 be trained to do. But sometimes it is only you 00:04:58.180 --> 00:05:02.620 that can bring the victory and the battles we're 00:05:02.620 --> 00:05:05.800 called to. God, I pray that we rely on you and 00:05:05.800 --> 00:05:08.339 only you. And I pray that this morning you would 00:05:08.339 --> 00:05:11.310 speak. To our hearts. It's in Jesus' name we 00:05:11.310 --> 00:05:16.089 pray. Amen. In this passage, we find Gideon hiding. 00:05:16.790 --> 00:05:19.029 He's trying to hide from the Midianites. This 00:05:19.029 --> 00:05:24.370 is a man who's afraid. He's insecure. He is feeling 00:05:24.370 --> 00:05:30.310 very weak. This is a man that we can relate to. 00:05:30.920 --> 00:05:33.759 He doesn't have all the answers. He doesn't feel 00:05:33.759 --> 00:05:36.379 strong enough. He doesn't feel like they can 00:05:36.379 --> 00:05:39.100 go toe to toe with the Midianites. So he's hiding. 00:05:39.540 --> 00:05:42.120 And I want you to notice how when the angel of 00:05:42.120 --> 00:05:44.579 the Lord speaks to Gideon and the angel says 00:05:44.579 --> 00:05:47.860 the Lord is with you, Gideon responds with this 00:05:47.860 --> 00:05:51.079 question that we all ask or maybe have asked 00:05:51.079 --> 00:05:53.279 before. And if you haven't asked it, you may 00:05:53.279 --> 00:05:56.879 ask it one day. If the Lord is with us, why then 00:05:56.879 --> 00:06:01.689 has all of this happened to us? Or maybe in a 00:06:01.689 --> 00:06:05.029 modern translation, it's if God is so good, why 00:06:05.029 --> 00:06:08.769 is all of this happening to me? If God loves 00:06:08.769 --> 00:06:12.370 us, why do I have to deal with this? If God is 00:06:12.370 --> 00:06:15.290 this good God that wants to provide life for 00:06:15.290 --> 00:06:18.810 me, why do I feel like I'm dying? Or why am I 00:06:18.810 --> 00:06:21.329 dying? Or why are my loved ones experiencing 00:06:21.329 --> 00:06:27.029 this turmoil? If God is with us, why then has 00:06:27.029 --> 00:06:32.279 all of this happened to us? And when you're reading 00:06:32.279 --> 00:06:35.040 this, you may ask yourself, well, what happened 00:06:35.040 --> 00:06:38.160 to them that has Gideon doubting the God who 00:06:38.160 --> 00:06:40.439 has provided for the Israelites this whole time? 00:06:40.540 --> 00:06:44.019 What could possibly have gone wrong to make this 00:06:44.019 --> 00:06:47.910 man questioned the same God that provided victory 00:06:47.910 --> 00:06:51.069 for the Israelites against the Amalekites. The 00:06:51.069 --> 00:06:54.930 same God that brought them out of Egypt. The 00:06:54.930 --> 00:06:57.370 same God that has promised good things and has 00:06:57.370 --> 00:07:00.290 over and over and over and over again shown them 00:07:00.290 --> 00:07:03.149 how powerful and how good He is. What could have 00:07:03.149 --> 00:07:08.129 happened that has Him doubting? Well, there in 00:07:08.129 --> 00:07:11.209 the same verse, Gideon says this, the Lord has 00:07:11.209 --> 00:07:16.860 forsaken us. He's turned his back on us. He's 00:07:16.860 --> 00:07:19.899 forgotten about us. And he's given us into the 00:07:19.899 --> 00:07:25.079 hands of Midian. Maybe you have felt that way 00:07:25.079 --> 00:07:30.779 before. Where you just feel like God has separated 00:07:30.779 --> 00:07:34.079 himself from you. Where God has forgotten you. 00:07:35.639 --> 00:07:38.540 Maybe you felt like you don't quite understand 00:07:38.540 --> 00:07:42.339 what all the hype about this good God is. Well, 00:07:42.360 --> 00:07:46.040 everybody says God's so good, but I can't see 00:07:46.040 --> 00:07:48.920 it. It seems God has worked in their lives, but 00:07:48.920 --> 00:07:52.620 I don't know if He's worked in mine. Maybe you've 00:07:52.620 --> 00:07:55.480 asked the question, does God even care about 00:07:55.480 --> 00:08:01.459 me? Has He given up on me? You see, sometimes 00:08:01.459 --> 00:08:05.000 when we're being called by God, we find these 00:08:05.000 --> 00:08:08.279 things to argue with Him about or to question 00:08:08.279 --> 00:08:12.740 Him on. And it's often our current or our past 00:08:12.740 --> 00:08:16.319 circumstances. Sometimes it's a fearful view 00:08:16.319 --> 00:08:19.980 of the future circumstances that cause us to 00:08:19.980 --> 00:08:25.579 question the good God that we serve. Here in 00:08:25.579 --> 00:08:28.019 this passage, we see an example of all three 00:08:28.019 --> 00:08:30.240 of those. The past circumstances, the current 00:08:30.240 --> 00:08:33.139 circumstances, and the future. See, Gideon mentions 00:08:33.139 --> 00:08:35.980 how in the past, God helped His people, and we 00:08:35.980 --> 00:08:38.539 just talked about that. God helped and gave victory 00:08:38.539 --> 00:08:41.840 to the Israelites in their battle against the 00:08:41.840 --> 00:08:44.600 Amalekites. And God led them out of Egypt, and 00:08:44.600 --> 00:08:46.799 He parted the Red Sea, and He provided food, 00:08:46.960 --> 00:08:51.759 He provided direction for them. But now, where 00:08:51.759 --> 00:08:56.500 is God? And now what we'll see in verse 15 is 00:08:56.500 --> 00:08:58.940 where Gideon is going to question God on the 00:08:58.940 --> 00:09:01.379 future circumstances. What he says in 14 and 00:09:01.379 --> 00:09:03.799 15 is, And the Lord turned to him and said, Go 00:09:03.799 --> 00:09:06.059 in the smite of yours and save Israel from the 00:09:06.059 --> 00:09:08.879 hand of Midian. Do not I send you? And this is 00:09:08.879 --> 00:09:13.559 his response to the angel of the Lord. Lord, 00:09:13.659 --> 00:09:18.080 how can I save Israel? Behold, my clan is the 00:09:18.080 --> 00:09:21.259 weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my 00:09:21.259 --> 00:09:26.129 father's house. Basically he says, we are already 00:09:26.129 --> 00:09:31.009 undersized. We're already at a disadvantage. 00:09:31.409 --> 00:09:34.470 And not only are we at a disadvantage, but I 00:09:34.470 --> 00:09:39.250 am the least of the disadvantaged. When I was 00:09:39.250 --> 00:09:43.029 in high school, I was on a really, really, I 00:09:43.029 --> 00:09:45.110 hope none of my old teammates or coaches listen 00:09:45.110 --> 00:09:47.250 to this, I was on a really bad football team. 00:09:47.509 --> 00:09:50.639 Like our football... Let me just simplify it 00:09:50.639 --> 00:09:52.679 like this. We won three games in the four years 00:09:52.679 --> 00:09:55.200 I played high school football. You didn't hear 00:09:55.200 --> 00:09:59.600 me wrong. I said in all four years. We were really 00:09:59.600 --> 00:10:02.220 bad. And we'd show up to some of these games, 00:10:02.320 --> 00:10:04.580 and I'm from South Mississippi, and you guys 00:10:04.580 --> 00:10:06.679 know this because we're still in the South. We 00:10:06.679 --> 00:10:08.139 would show up to some of these games against 00:10:08.139 --> 00:10:11.500 some corn -fed dudes. Y 'all know what I mean 00:10:11.500 --> 00:10:14.200 by corn -fed, right? Okay, so these are some 00:10:14.200 --> 00:10:17.860 big guys. And I think maybe I've said this to 00:10:17.860 --> 00:10:20.120 you before, if not, when I started high school, 00:10:20.259 --> 00:10:23.500 I was five foot nothing and I weighed 90 pounds. 00:10:24.679 --> 00:10:31.419 So I was on a really bad football team and I 00:10:31.419 --> 00:10:35.820 was the least on that really bad football team. 00:10:37.470 --> 00:10:39.809 That's kind of what Gideon's got going on here. 00:10:39.909 --> 00:10:43.190 Now, let me tell you what in my brain, if I'm 00:10:43.190 --> 00:10:46.250 Gideon, I think is going to happen. My first 00:10:46.250 --> 00:10:49.470 ever play of varsity football, I was a freshman, 00:10:49.629 --> 00:10:55.710 and I still am not very good at learning the 00:10:55.710 --> 00:10:59.730 playbook. And so coach had to just tell me what 00:10:59.730 --> 00:11:01.950 to do. So I get put in in the middle of the game, 00:11:02.009 --> 00:11:05.070 and coach says, hey, I need you to just blitz. 00:11:05.559 --> 00:11:08.980 Just go. Okay. Now I'm five. I think I gained 00:11:08.980 --> 00:11:11.279 like five pounds over the summer workout. So 00:11:11.279 --> 00:11:17.779 I was now 95 pounds. Okay. So, so he says blitz 00:11:17.779 --> 00:11:19.820 and I'm playing middle linebacker against one 00:11:19.820 --> 00:11:23.120 of the most corn fed teams we played. And so 00:11:23.120 --> 00:11:26.279 I go to blitz and I'm not kidding. The center 00:11:26.279 --> 00:11:30.379 grabs me by my shoulder pads and throws. I'm, 00:11:30.379 --> 00:11:32.120 I don't mean like, I'm not exaggerating. Like 00:11:32.120 --> 00:11:35.200 he didn't just push me. He threw me. In fact, 00:11:35.340 --> 00:11:38.259 let me clarify, I did go in and help on the tackle. 00:11:38.340 --> 00:11:40.220 It was an outside run, and I got up and I helped. 00:11:40.299 --> 00:11:43.240 Okay, so victory Donovan. But you know what got 00:11:43.240 --> 00:11:48.879 showed in film over and over? Coach had the clicker, 00:11:48.879 --> 00:11:51.840 and he'd press play, and you'd just see little 00:11:51.840 --> 00:11:55.320 Donovan flying through the air. And he'd rewind 00:11:55.320 --> 00:11:56.879 it and press play. He's like, look it really 00:11:56.879 --> 00:11:58.759 on. And I'm like, coach, that's not very nice. 00:11:58.919 --> 00:12:01.379 That's not a good way to encourage your players. 00:12:01.519 --> 00:12:04.100 But that's what if I'm Gideon, I'm imagining 00:12:04.100 --> 00:12:06.879 is going to happen to me if I try to go toe to 00:12:06.879 --> 00:12:10.080 toe with the Midianites. We're a bad football 00:12:10.080 --> 00:12:12.759 team and I'm the worst one on the team and you 00:12:12.759 --> 00:12:17.379 want me to do what? This is some real poor pitiful 00:12:17.379 --> 00:12:21.580 me stuff from Gideon. But God doesn't give him 00:12:21.580 --> 00:12:24.649 a tissue and say, no, buddy. That's not true. 00:12:24.730 --> 00:12:28.549 You are so strong. You're so capable. You're 00:12:28.549 --> 00:12:32.309 so powerful. That's not what God does. God doesn't 00:12:32.309 --> 00:12:35.389 hype Gideon up so that Gideon can feel like he 00:12:35.389 --> 00:12:37.529 is strong enough to do what he's being called 00:12:37.529 --> 00:12:41.950 to do. What God does is he says, I will be with 00:12:41.950 --> 00:12:45.070 you and you shall strike the Midianites as one 00:12:45.070 --> 00:12:51.830 man. God says, you're not the one who's going 00:12:51.830 --> 00:12:57.409 to do this. I'm going to do it through you. God 00:12:57.409 --> 00:12:59.370 doesn't lie to Gideon and say, you're enough. 00:12:59.870 --> 00:13:05.490 He assures him that he is. That God is enough. 00:13:05.649 --> 00:13:09.210 And here's the truth. God is not in the business 00:13:09.210 --> 00:13:13.090 of boosting our self -confidence. That's not 00:13:13.090 --> 00:13:16.110 what he wants. He doesn't want you to feel like 00:13:16.110 --> 00:13:19.769 you're powerful and you're mighty and you're 00:13:19.769 --> 00:13:22.779 strong. That's not what God's here to do. What 00:13:22.779 --> 00:13:26.980 God does is He boosts our confidence in Him over 00:13:26.980 --> 00:13:29.600 and over and over again through Scripture. And 00:13:29.600 --> 00:13:31.419 if you look close enough, you'll see in your 00:13:31.419 --> 00:13:35.059 life where God proved to be strong in and through 00:13:35.059 --> 00:13:38.019 you. It wasn't anything you did. It wasn't anything 00:13:38.019 --> 00:13:41.960 they did. It was God working. And as God always 00:13:41.960 --> 00:13:44.480 does, He does what He says He's going to do. 00:13:46.740 --> 00:13:49.879 We don't read through it. Or we won't read through 00:13:49.879 --> 00:13:52.139 it for the sake of time. But in Judges chapter 00:13:52.139 --> 00:13:56.399 7, we see God actually decide to shrink Gideon's 00:13:56.399 --> 00:13:59.360 army. So Gideon, he says, we're the least. But 00:13:59.360 --> 00:14:03.779 Gideon had 32 ,000 people to fight in this battle. 00:14:04.179 --> 00:14:07.240 32 ,000 sounds like a lot. That is more than 00:14:07.240 --> 00:14:11.720 everybody in Union County put together. 32 ,000 00:14:11.720 --> 00:14:14.019 people. But God says, hey, I don't want you to 00:14:14.019 --> 00:14:16.460 take 32 ,000 people into this battle. I want 00:14:16.460 --> 00:14:22.679 you to take 300. As if the battle wasn't already 00:14:22.679 --> 00:14:28.679 scary enough. This would be like if I said, I 00:14:28.679 --> 00:14:34.500 want you to go by yourself to the Capitol building 00:14:34.500 --> 00:14:41.360 and you tell them what they need to change. And 00:14:41.360 --> 00:14:44.700 you're going to say, well, I'm just a cattle 00:14:44.700 --> 00:14:47.860 farmer in Union County, Georgia. Why would they 00:14:47.860 --> 00:14:52.519 listen to me? Why would all, however many people 00:14:52.519 --> 00:14:55.600 are in that building that are powerful and make 00:14:55.600 --> 00:14:58.000 decisions, why would they listen to me? This 00:14:58.000 --> 00:15:01.720 would be like, and I wanted to do this, but I 00:15:01.720 --> 00:15:03.759 didn't have a weight set. This would be like 00:15:03.759 --> 00:15:06.299 if I took my son Easton, who is four, and as 00:15:06.299 --> 00:15:09.259 strong as he thinks he is, if I put him up here 00:15:09.259 --> 00:15:13.279 and I had a bar and it had two 45 -pound plates 00:15:13.279 --> 00:15:16.820 on each side. Now, for reference, that's 225 00:15:16.820 --> 00:15:19.679 pounds, okay? This is a little bit more than 00:15:19.679 --> 00:15:22.659 I weigh. And I can tell you, Easton cannot pick 00:15:22.659 --> 00:15:25.019 me up. So if I took Easton and put him up here, 00:15:25.139 --> 00:15:26.980 put this bar in front of him and said, lift it 00:15:26.980 --> 00:15:29.940 onto your shoulders, he's not going to be able 00:15:29.940 --> 00:15:37.820 to do that. But if I said, hey, Titus, can you 00:15:37.820 --> 00:15:41.320 come help Easton lift this up? I don't know. 00:15:41.340 --> 00:15:43.100 I've never worked out with Titus. Titus is a 00:15:43.100 --> 00:15:46.919 pretty big dude. Something tells me Titus could 00:15:46.919 --> 00:15:52.440 lift it pretty easily. But Easton can't. And 00:15:52.440 --> 00:15:54.940 to put Easton in front of that bar and say, hey, 00:15:54.960 --> 00:15:59.450 Easton, lift that, sounds insane. So for God 00:15:59.450 --> 00:16:02.330 to look at Gideon and say, just take 300 people. 00:16:02.450 --> 00:16:06.110 Let me give you some reference as to what those 00:16:06.110 --> 00:16:08.230 300 people were going to go up against. It was 00:16:08.230 --> 00:16:14.009 135 ,000 men. And not just men, but skilled, 00:16:14.049 --> 00:16:20.269 trained soldiers. I'm not good at math, so I 00:16:20.269 --> 00:16:23.309 did this ahead of time. With only 300 people, 00:16:23.590 --> 00:16:28.960 each man would have to kill roughly... 450 opponents. 00:16:31.159 --> 00:16:36.940 That's a lot, okay? So you may be asking, why 00:16:36.940 --> 00:16:40.840 would God do this? Why would He put Gideon in 00:16:40.840 --> 00:16:43.360 this situation? This is what He says in Judges 00:16:43.360 --> 00:16:47.039 7, verse 2. The Lord said to Gideon, the people 00:16:47.039 --> 00:16:50.990 with you are too many. It's too many for me to 00:16:50.990 --> 00:16:54.289 give the Midianites into their hand, lest Israel 00:16:54.289 --> 00:16:59.070 boast over me, saying, my own hand has saved 00:16:59.070 --> 00:17:03.889 me. See, with 32 ,000 people, the Israelites 00:17:03.889 --> 00:17:06.609 might have been able to say, we were just really 00:17:06.609 --> 00:17:10.809 playing our best ball. And we did everything 00:17:10.809 --> 00:17:15.130 right. We were strategic. We went in for the 00:17:15.130 --> 00:17:18.470 kills that we needed to, and we chose our opponents 00:17:18.470 --> 00:17:21.700 wisely. This would give them a chance to say, 00:17:21.799 --> 00:17:26.119 we had a part in this. Now, if I'm being honest, 00:17:26.180 --> 00:17:28.380 it really wouldn't because 135 is still a lot 00:17:28.380 --> 00:17:32.299 more than 32 ,000. But let's just pretend like 00:17:32.299 --> 00:17:35.619 they could make a claim for themselves. And so 00:17:35.619 --> 00:17:39.259 God is like, he's kind of, this is like Steph 00:17:39.259 --> 00:17:41.339 Curry shooting from the half court line. Like, 00:17:41.339 --> 00:17:43.700 you know, he can make it. He knows he can make 00:17:43.700 --> 00:17:46.900 it, but he wants to just do it to show you. To 00:17:46.900 --> 00:17:48.859 make sure you know He can make it? That's kind 00:17:48.859 --> 00:17:51.880 of what God's doing here. He says, let's back 00:17:51.880 --> 00:17:54.920 this up. Let's back it up. Let's bring it down 00:17:54.920 --> 00:17:59.359 to 300 people. And let's see if you can do this. 00:17:59.599 --> 00:18:02.380 See, God wants to use this as a way to ensure 00:18:02.380 --> 00:18:06.500 that the army can't boast about even having the 00:18:06.500 --> 00:18:12.269 opportunity or the ability. But he wants them 00:18:12.269 --> 00:18:15.769 to know that it was only by his power and might 00:18:15.769 --> 00:18:20.130 that victory would happen. Because the truth 00:18:20.130 --> 00:18:24.829 is, is God shines in the impossible. When it 00:18:24.829 --> 00:18:28.049 seems like there is no hope, when it seems like 00:18:28.049 --> 00:18:31.430 there is no shot of victory, that's where God 00:18:31.430 --> 00:18:36.109 does some of his greatest work. That's where 00:18:36.109 --> 00:18:40.410 he shines. I want you to picture this for a second. 00:18:41.589 --> 00:18:44.549 Imagine you're hiking deep in the mountains and 00:18:44.549 --> 00:18:49.890 you come across or you come to a gorge. A deep 00:18:49.890 --> 00:18:55.589 ravine with jagged rocks below. And the only 00:18:55.589 --> 00:19:02.049 way across is this old rickety rope bridge. You 00:19:02.049 --> 00:19:04.789 know those ones that sway when the wind's blowing 00:19:04.789 --> 00:19:09.170 and with every step it rocks a little bit. You 00:19:09.170 --> 00:19:14.799 know, those. kinds of rope bridges. You stand 00:19:14.799 --> 00:19:18.680 there, you look at this bridge, and you think 00:19:18.680 --> 00:19:21.319 to yourself, there is absolutely no way that 00:19:21.319 --> 00:19:24.920 this thing is strong enough to hold me up, much 00:19:24.920 --> 00:19:28.920 less for me to walk across it. And the truth 00:19:28.920 --> 00:19:33.380 is, you're probably right, by itself the bridge 00:19:33.380 --> 00:19:38.240 would never hold you. But what keeps you safe 00:19:38.619 --> 00:19:40.839 It's not the old wooden planks. It's not the 00:19:40.839 --> 00:19:45.039 rope. It's not the bridge itself, but it's the 00:19:45.039 --> 00:19:49.019 massive cables anchored deep into the rocks on 00:19:49.019 --> 00:19:52.740 both sides. And maybe you've seen a bridge get 00:19:52.740 --> 00:19:55.920 built, but they take these cables and they've 00:19:55.920 --> 00:20:00.579 got them deep in there so that there is no shot 00:20:00.579 --> 00:20:05.960 that that thing is coming out. The bridge by 00:20:05.960 --> 00:20:10.869 itself is pretty weak. But it is held up by something 00:20:10.869 --> 00:20:15.589 way stronger and way more secure than itself. 00:20:16.930 --> 00:20:20.329 That's you. And that's me. And in this story, 00:20:20.390 --> 00:20:23.609 that's Gideon. And we're going to read, and it 00:20:23.609 --> 00:20:26.369 was our scripture reading, something in the New 00:20:26.369 --> 00:20:28.470 Testament that helps us to kind of understand 00:20:28.470 --> 00:20:31.089 all of this. And it's one of the most famous 00:20:31.089 --> 00:20:35.829 verses in the world. Often used out of context, 00:20:35.890 --> 00:20:37.529 and we're not going to use it out of context 00:20:37.529 --> 00:20:39.450 today because we would never do that from the 00:20:39.450 --> 00:20:42.769 pulpit, would we? No. We're going to look at 00:20:42.769 --> 00:20:45.369 Philippians 4 .13 and we're going to talk about 00:20:45.369 --> 00:20:48.190 this context where Paul says, I can do all things 00:20:48.190 --> 00:20:52.420 through Christ who strengthens me. And this is 00:20:52.420 --> 00:20:55.500 not about my ability to lift heavy weights. It's 00:20:55.500 --> 00:20:58.059 not about your ability to hit a baseball 450 00:20:58.059 --> 00:21:00.960 feet. It's not about your ability to make the 00:21:00.960 --> 00:21:03.579 basket, to score the points, to pass the test, 00:21:03.640 --> 00:21:06.160 to get the job. That's not what this is about. 00:21:06.480 --> 00:21:10.660 What this is about is something far greater. 00:21:12.380 --> 00:21:15.680 The context here is Paul, the apostle, being 00:21:15.680 --> 00:21:20.769 in prison. He knows that the Philippian church 00:21:20.769 --> 00:21:23.029 is worried about him. Because if you have a friend 00:21:23.029 --> 00:21:25.490 that you feel like is being wrongfully imprisoned, 00:21:25.769 --> 00:21:28.549 you may be worried about them. We talked about 00:21:28.549 --> 00:21:33.750 some conflict in Africa. And we worry about our 00:21:33.750 --> 00:21:35.910 brothers and sisters, and so we pray for them. 00:21:38.150 --> 00:21:43.930 But what Paul tells them is, I know you're worried. 00:21:48.260 --> 00:21:54.000 Don't be. Because I have God on my side. And 00:21:54.000 --> 00:22:00.420 that is all I need to make it through. See, again, 00:22:00.640 --> 00:22:04.019 by ourselves we're weak. And by ourselves, being 00:22:04.019 --> 00:22:06.079 imprisoned, especially wrongfully imprisoned, 00:22:06.339 --> 00:22:11.500 might be enough to cause us to crumble. Being 00:22:11.500 --> 00:22:13.700 persecuted, even the slightest bit of persecution, 00:22:13.819 --> 00:22:16.819 might be enough to make us walk away. In fact, 00:22:16.900 --> 00:22:19.799 somebody right now is choosing to walk away from 00:22:19.799 --> 00:22:22.460 God because of some slight inconvenience in their 00:22:22.460 --> 00:22:24.839 life. And let me not make light of it, somebody's 00:22:24.839 --> 00:22:26.819 going to walk away from God because of a major 00:22:26.819 --> 00:22:29.299 inconvenience in their life. Their loved one 00:22:29.299 --> 00:22:32.660 passes away. Maybe family member after family 00:22:32.660 --> 00:22:35.259 member after family member is just getting sick, 00:22:35.400 --> 00:22:38.220 they're getting hurt, they're facing these trials, 00:22:38.380 --> 00:22:41.619 and they're thinking, I don't think this is what 00:22:41.619 --> 00:22:44.660 a good God would let me go through. Or even worse, 00:22:44.700 --> 00:22:46.980 theology, this is what a good God would put me 00:22:46.980 --> 00:22:49.339 through. They're going to choose to walk away 00:22:49.339 --> 00:22:53.220 because of that. But what Paul says is, I understand 00:22:53.220 --> 00:22:56.599 that my God shines in the impossible. I understand 00:22:56.599 --> 00:23:00.480 that when I'm facing my darkest battles, my toughest 00:23:00.480 --> 00:23:03.940 journeys, my hardest persecutions, that's where 00:23:03.940 --> 00:23:07.000 God does some of His greatest, most magnificent 00:23:07.000 --> 00:23:14.920 work. Paul says, don't worry about me. I can 00:23:14.920 --> 00:23:17.690 make it through this imprisonment. I can make 00:23:17.690 --> 00:23:19.809 it through the persecution. I can make it through 00:23:19.809 --> 00:23:23.349 the beatings. And I can keep doing the good work 00:23:23.349 --> 00:23:27.329 in this world that God has called me to do. God 00:23:27.329 --> 00:23:30.869 called Paul to bring the message, to plant churches, 00:23:31.089 --> 00:23:33.890 to spread the gospel. And Paul says, I'm going 00:23:33.890 --> 00:23:39.710 to do it no matter what comes. And I love this 00:23:39.710 --> 00:23:43.089 song by Wren Collective called Whatever Comes. 00:23:45.069 --> 00:23:48.170 And in the song, the singer says, Lord, whatever 00:23:48.170 --> 00:23:56.109 comes, be my bravery. Be my courage. A cedar 00:23:56.109 --> 00:24:04.849 planted firm. Be the thing I need to keep going. 00:24:05.589 --> 00:24:12.670 To keep preaching your goodness. You see, what 00:24:12.670 --> 00:24:16.509 Paul knows... is this truth that it's only by 00:24:16.509 --> 00:24:19.710 the power of God that he would have the strength, 00:24:19.930 --> 00:24:22.869 that he would have the ability to continue on 00:24:22.869 --> 00:24:26.230 and fulfill his calling. Because he knows the 00:24:26.230 --> 00:24:29.549 same God that called Gideon to trust in his power 00:24:29.549 --> 00:24:33.069 to have victory, despite Gideon's army's lack 00:24:33.069 --> 00:24:36.730 of power, their lack of size, that same God is 00:24:36.730 --> 00:24:40.829 the same God that is calling us to trust in his 00:24:40.829 --> 00:24:47.079 power and not our own. And to me, that is such 00:24:47.079 --> 00:24:51.339 a comforting thought because I do often feel 00:24:51.339 --> 00:24:56.759 inadequate. I do sometimes feel incapable. And 00:24:56.759 --> 00:25:00.450 for whatever reason... I can rest assured knowing 00:25:00.450 --> 00:25:03.569 that I don't have to have it all together before 00:25:03.569 --> 00:25:06.450 I can go. I don't have to know all the answers 00:25:06.450 --> 00:25:09.069 before I can share the gospel. I don't have to 00:25:09.069 --> 00:25:12.529 be strong enough before I can do the act of service 00:25:12.529 --> 00:25:15.750 that God's calling me to do. My inability does 00:25:15.750 --> 00:25:20.170 not matter. It never has. My availability does. 00:25:22.769 --> 00:25:26.490 My ability to be available to God is what matters. 00:25:28.009 --> 00:25:30.849 I use sports references a lot because that's 00:25:30.849 --> 00:25:34.670 what I know. I don't know much else. I've heard 00:25:34.670 --> 00:25:38.549 coaches say it a million times. And you may have 00:25:38.549 --> 00:25:41.710 heard it too. Your best ability is availability. 00:25:42.890 --> 00:25:45.950 You know, there's a player on LSU's football 00:25:45.950 --> 00:25:50.009 team that was rated one of the top five receivers 00:25:50.009 --> 00:25:52.849 in his recruiting class. In fact, in the same 00:25:52.849 --> 00:25:55.750 class, he was rated higher than two guys that 00:25:55.750 --> 00:25:57.769 were both first -round draft picks and had the 00:25:57.769 --> 00:26:00.230 best rookie seasons you could imagine last year 00:26:00.230 --> 00:26:04.690 in the NFL. He was rated higher than them. But 00:26:04.690 --> 00:26:07.250 he has less yards in his four years of college 00:26:07.250 --> 00:26:10.089 football receiving than they had in one season 00:26:10.089 --> 00:26:16.900 each. He was better than them, talent -wise. 00:26:17.680 --> 00:26:21.460 But you know what has hurt him? He's always hurt. 00:26:22.619 --> 00:26:25.279 He lets a little stubbed toe keep him off the 00:26:25.279 --> 00:26:29.240 field. He's always hurt, so he's never available. 00:26:30.319 --> 00:26:32.740 It doesn't matter how good you are. If you're 00:26:32.740 --> 00:26:35.769 not available for God to use you... you can't 00:26:35.769 --> 00:26:38.650 be used. It doesn't matter how talented you are, 00:26:38.690 --> 00:26:41.529 how strong you are, how smart you are. If you 00:26:41.529 --> 00:26:44.950 won't let God work through you, it doesn't matter. 00:26:46.950 --> 00:26:49.009 Likewise, it doesn't matter how weak you are. 00:26:49.849 --> 00:26:53.150 It doesn't matter how illiterate you are. It 00:26:53.150 --> 00:26:55.849 doesn't matter how little you know or how little 00:26:55.849 --> 00:26:58.910 experience you have. If you'll be available for 00:26:58.910 --> 00:27:04.839 God to use, He will use you. You've seen it before. 00:27:05.900 --> 00:27:10.660 Maybe you've seen the movie Rudy. Rudy was not 00:27:10.660 --> 00:27:13.920 that good at football. But he showed up over 00:27:13.920 --> 00:27:15.960 and over and over again. He kept trying when 00:27:15.960 --> 00:27:18.460 they said no. He kept trying when they said you're 00:27:18.460 --> 00:27:20.859 never going to play, give it up. And he gets 00:27:20.859 --> 00:27:25.059 in and he's this hero. Because he was ready when 00:27:25.059 --> 00:27:30.880 he was called. My inability does not matter. 00:27:30.940 --> 00:27:34.059 My availability... When I'm available for God 00:27:34.059 --> 00:27:36.460 to use me, when I'm available for him to work 00:27:36.460 --> 00:27:39.900 through me, I put myself in great position to 00:27:39.900 --> 00:27:46.619 be a vessel for God's great works. So going forward, 00:27:46.680 --> 00:27:49.980 I want us to stop throwing the pity party of 00:27:49.980 --> 00:27:55.059 I'm not smart enough. I don't know enough. I'm 00:27:55.059 --> 00:28:00.170 not strong enough or I'm not gifted enough. Maybe 00:28:00.170 --> 00:28:03.309 even as a church, we're not big enough. We're 00:28:03.309 --> 00:28:05.490 not cool enough. We're not young enough. Whatever 00:28:05.490 --> 00:28:09.069 the excuses are individually and congregationally, 00:28:09.130 --> 00:28:15.269 let them go. Instead, let's open ourselves up 00:28:15.269 --> 00:28:19.849 for God to work in and through us, and then let's 00:28:19.849 --> 00:28:24.109 pay attention to what, where, and who God may 00:28:24.109 --> 00:28:30.009 be calling us to. I can do all things through 00:28:30.009 --> 00:28:35.029 Him who strengthens me. Gideon and his 300 men 00:28:35.029 --> 00:28:38.869 ended up defeating a trained army of 145 ,000 00:28:38.869 --> 00:28:43.490 men. I want you to imagine what the Blairsville 00:28:43.490 --> 00:28:48.109 Church of Christ, what the church in general 00:28:48.109 --> 00:28:51.990 could do if we collectively made ourselves available 00:28:51.990 --> 00:28:57.599 to God. If we all decided to just let his power 00:28:57.599 --> 00:29:00.920 shine through us despite our brokenness, despite 00:29:00.920 --> 00:29:03.740 our differences, despite our disagreements or 00:29:03.740 --> 00:29:06.200 our inadequacies, our incapabilities, whatever 00:29:06.200 --> 00:29:08.920 it is, if we just let those things go and said, 00:29:08.980 --> 00:29:11.480 God, we're going to let you shine through us. 00:29:15.299 --> 00:29:18.650 There's an illustration I saw one time. And I 00:29:18.650 --> 00:29:21.369 did not, and this is lazy preacher of me, I did 00:29:21.369 --> 00:29:25.009 not want to take the time to break a clay jar 00:29:25.009 --> 00:29:29.369 and then glue it back together. But there's this 00:29:29.369 --> 00:29:32.650 illustration where you take a clay jar and you 00:29:32.650 --> 00:29:35.430 crack it and then you put it back together and 00:29:35.430 --> 00:29:37.769 it still has some cracks and holes and there's 00:29:37.769 --> 00:29:40.369 still some see -throughs. And you put a candle 00:29:40.369 --> 00:29:43.349 in it and it represents how we're all broken. 00:29:44.589 --> 00:29:50.920 We're all cracked. individually, congregationally, 00:29:50.960 --> 00:29:54.579 maybe our families. We've got our things, our 00:29:54.579 --> 00:30:04.220 issues. But when God is working in us, the light 00:30:04.220 --> 00:30:08.299 shines through. In fact, it shines through better 00:30:08.299 --> 00:30:12.359 if I've got some holes in me than it does if 00:30:12.359 --> 00:30:20.619 I'm all sealed up. Isn't it crazy how big God's 00:30:20.619 --> 00:30:23.160 light shines in this world when broken people, 00:30:23.480 --> 00:30:27.900 when inadequate people, will let Him work through 00:30:27.900 --> 00:30:32.759 them? We're being called to change the world. 00:30:33.359 --> 00:30:36.640 We're being called to prepare this world and 00:30:36.640 --> 00:30:40.980 the people here for the return of Christ. And 00:30:40.980 --> 00:30:43.650 it may seem like a daunting task. There's less 00:30:43.650 --> 00:30:46.230 than 100 people in this room, maybe 100. And 00:30:46.230 --> 00:30:50.990 it may sound like a crazy task for us to change 00:30:50.990 --> 00:30:54.940 this county, for us to change this world. And 00:30:54.940 --> 00:30:57.359 the truth is, it is kind of crazy. We will never 00:30:57.359 --> 00:30:59.359 be enough. We'll never be strong enough. We'll 00:30:59.359 --> 00:31:01.920 never be capable enough. We'll never be definitely 00:31:01.920 --> 00:31:06.240 me. We'll never be cool enough. But we can change 00:31:06.240 --> 00:31:09.799 this world and get it ready for Jesus to come 00:31:09.799 --> 00:31:14.079 back if we will let God work in and through us. 00:31:14.140 --> 00:31:19.579 I genuinely believe that. We simply need to trust 00:31:19.579 --> 00:31:25.769 and believe that when we're not, When we're not 00:31:25.769 --> 00:31:28.710 strong enough, when we're not capable enough, 00:31:28.890 --> 00:31:36.289 our God is. We have to believe that. And if you've 00:31:36.289 --> 00:31:39.950 been doubting that, or if you've never fully 00:31:39.950 --> 00:31:43.809 taken hold of that truth, if you'd like to accept 00:31:43.809 --> 00:31:48.109 the call to let God work in and through you, 00:31:48.150 --> 00:31:50.390 to let Him change your life so that you can change 00:31:50.390 --> 00:31:52.369 someone else's life, so that they can change 00:31:52.369 --> 00:31:56.829 someone else's life, if you just need prayers 00:31:56.829 --> 00:32:00.289 because you do feel broken and you want that 00:32:00.289 --> 00:32:06.269 light in you, we offer you this invitation. And 00:32:06.269 --> 00:32:08.789 I invite you to remember and hold on to this 00:32:08.789 --> 00:32:11.970 truth as you go through this week. If you'd like 00:32:11.970 --> 00:32:14.430 to respond in a way that allows us to pray for 00:32:14.430 --> 00:32:16.490 you and support you and love you this morning, 00:32:16.650 --> 00:32:19.390 we give you this invitation now as we stand and 00:32:19.390 --> 00:32:20.250 as we sing.