Powerhouse 08.03

Power House Message March 29, 2008

Mighty Warrior INTRODUCTION Say to the person next to you, “You are a MIGHTY WARRIOR!” Who are you in God’s plan? God has an ultimate plan for human history = building His Kingdom through His people. Your destiny is to be a mighty warrior and conquer this world…take it back! For a long time you have been living in lies, thinking, “Who am I?” Go to the word of God and find out what your Creator says about you and what you should do on this earth during your lifetime. Trust in the word of God. Do not trust in your experience or what people say about you or measure yourself through the things around you. Only the God who created you can define who you are. If you do not know who you are and what you are to do in the future, then you have no future! Proverbs 23:7 says that, “as a man thinks in his heart, so is he,” so what we think about ourselves is what we will become in the future. KEY TEXT Judges 6 Background: Israel at this time had no king. Israel was ruled by judges that God had appointed. The people were not faithful to God and sinned against Him. In this sin, God brought neighboring countries to invade Israel. During this time, the Midianites always came to Israel during the time of harvest. Gideon was an Israelite who was very afraid of the Midianites. He was such a coward (in the eyes of man and himself) that he hid himself in the wine press to hide from the Midianites. BODY In order to fulfill your calling as a mighty warrior… I.

See yourself through the eyes of God (Judges 6:12)

Although he was a coward according to man, in verse 12 “The angel of the LORD appeared to him and said, “Mighty hero [warrior], the LORD is with you!”

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Power House Message March 29, 2008

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Through the eyes of God you are mighty because the Lord is with you! God sees you as a mighty warrior because the Spirit of God is with you! Change your mindset! Otherwise you will be stuck in the worldly life, living for the day to day. You must see yourself as a mighty warrior so that you can fulfill your calling in this life!

What was Gideon’s response? Verse 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.” • • •

Even though you believe in Jesus Christ, you might not have ever experienced the Spirit of God in you. Because of a lack of faith, you will not experience the fullness of God. Through faith, walking with God, meeting with Him, you will see God’s presence. Therefore, those who are stuck in this world do not realize that they are under the control of the devil!

What did God say? Verse 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!” •

Gideon did not realize the power that could move through him because God’s power could move through Gideon!

What was Gideon’s response again? Verse 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!” • • • • • II.

Gideon was focusing upon his own weaknesses, his lack of strength, prestige, education, power, etc. The work of God is done through your own strength and power…it is done through the Holy Spirit! Fix your eyes upon Jesus! He is so real! Believing in Jesus is reality not an assumption. If you do not have a personal relationship with Jesus. Without Jesus you are doomed to destruction. By repenting and receiving Jesus as Lord and Savior you have Jesus’ power in you! We must know who we are…BECAUSE JESUS IS WITH US WE ARE A MIGHTY WARRIOR IN CHRIST! You must remove idols from your life!

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Power House Message March 29, 2008

Verse 25-26 – “That night the LORD said to Gideon, “Take the second bull from your father’s herd, the one that is seven years old. Pull down your father’s altar to Baal, and cut down the Asherah pole standing beside it. Then build an altar to the LORD your God here on this hilltop sanctuary, laying the stones carefully. Sacrifice the bull as a burnt offering on the altar, using as fuel the wood of the Asherah pole you cut down.” • • • • •

God is asking Gideon to cut down the idols in his house and rebuild his life for God alone! Even though you are a mighty warrior, you cannot exercise your power and authority in God if you have sin and idols in your life! Idols are the things you put before God in your life: hobbies, activities, people, riches, fame, career, etc. While Gideon was worshipping these idols, his life could not fulfill God’s purpose. All of Gideon’s neighbors were so mad because the whole town used those idols to worship  because of his obedience to God his life was threatened!

Verse 34 – “Then the Spirit of the LORD took possession of Gideon. He blew a ram’s horn as a call to arms, and the men of the clan of Abiezer came to him. 35 He also sent messengers throughout Manasseh, Asher, Zebulun, and Naphtali, summoning their warriors, and all of them responded.” • • • • •

When you obey God, people will begin to follow like the warriors responded to Gideon’s war cry! He will send you soldiers to fight this good fight with you to set people free and bring His kingdom upon this earth! In this 21st century (from Adam to 1985 and from 1985 to now…there are more people born in the latter range than in the first range) God is raising more people so that there can be a greater harvest! Whatever you are good at…be excellent at it because God will use anything to bring glory to Him and save souls. Be motivated to study! Why do teenagers today not care to study? Because they do not know who they are! o Example: Pastor Isaiah’s story about education in his life

Meet Jesus  find out who you are  power  do God’s work! Luke 10:21 – “At that same time Jesus was filled with the joy of the Holy Spirit, and he said, “O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, thank you for hiding these things from those who think themselves wise and clever, and for revealing them to the childlike. Yes, Father, it pleased you to do it this way.” You are never too young in the eyes of God! The wisdom of God is hidden from the wise and learned but it is revealed to little children. Why? Because you do not care about what other people think about you…when you hear from God…you move!

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Power House Message March 29, 2008

The last harvest is for you…the children of God! QUESTIONS 1. What do you say about yourself, what do others say about who you are, and who does the Bible say you are? ***There are three eyes through which you can see yourself: how you see yourself through your own eyes, how you see yourself through what other people say, and how you see yourself through what God says you are (important because God is the one who created us so He has the best perspective of who we are and who we are supposed to be) 2. Out of these three eyes, which one are you going to believe? Which one are you going to bet your life on? What are you going to do about it? 3. What do you think God is asking you to do? What is your mission in life?

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