Wednesday Service | FUTURE BLOCKERS: Getting The Stuff That’s Been In The Way Out Of Your Way | Part 3 – Small Minded Thinking | Jordan Brawner

Judges 6:1 (NIRV)
The Israelites did what was evil in the sight of the Lord. So for seven years he handed them over to the people of Midian.

Judges 21:25 (NLT)
In those days Israel had no king; all the people did whatever seemed right in their own eyes.

[1] Small mindedness doesn’t to God

Judges 6:5-8 (NIRV)
⁵ The Midianites came up with their livestock and tents. They came like huge numbers of locusts. It was impossible to count the men and their camels. They came into the land to destroy it. ⁶ The Midianites made the Israelites very poor. So they cried out to the Lord for help.
⁷ They cried out to the Lord because of what the Midianites had done. ⁸ So he sent a prophet to Israel… ¹⁰ I said to you, “I am the Lord your God. You are now living in the land of the Amorites. Do not worship their gods.” But you have not listened to me.’ ”

[2] God has no … is small thinking

Judges 6:12-13 (NIRV)
¹² The angel of the Lord appeared to Gideon. He said, “Mighty warrior, the Lord is with you.”
¹³ “Pardon me, sir,” Gideon replied, “you say the Lord is with us. Then why has all this happened to us? Where are all the wonderful things he has done? Our people of long ago told us about them. They said, ‘Didn’t the Lord bring us up out of Egypt?’ But now the Lord has deserted us. He has handed us over to Midian.”

[3] God can’t use … is small thinking

Judges 6:14-15 (NIRV)
¹⁴ The Lord turned to Gideon. He said to him, “You are strong. Go and save Israel from the power of Midian. I am sending you.”
¹⁵ “Pardon me, sir,” Gideon replied, “but how can I possibly save Israel? My family group is the weakest in the tribe of Manasseh. And I’m the least important member of my family.”

[4] We can only do big things for God if we build a relationship of with Him

Judges 6:16-18 (NIRV)
¹⁶ The Lord answered, “I will be with you. So you will strike down the Midianites. You will leave no one alive.” ¹⁷ Gideon replied, “If you are pleased with me, give me a special sign. Then I’ll know that it’s really you talking to me. ¹⁸ Please don’t go away until I come back. I’ll bring my offering and set it down in front of you.” The Lord said, “I will wait until you return.”

Judges 6:25-27 (NIRV)
²⁵ That same night the Lord spoke to Gideon. He said, “Get the second bull from your father’s herd. Get the one that is seven years old. Tear down the altar your father built to honor the god named Baal. Cut down the pole beside it. The pole is used to worship the female god named Asherah. ²⁶ Then build the right kind of altar. Build it to honor the Lord your God. Build it on top of this hill. Then use the wood from the Asherah pole you cut down. Sacrifice the second bull as a burnt offering.”
²⁷ So Gideon went and got ten of his servants. He did just as the Lord had told him. But he was afraid of his family. He was also afraid of the people in the town. So he did everything at night instead of during the day.

Judges 7:13-15 (NIRV)
¹³ Gideon arrived just as a man was telling a friend about his dream. “I had a dream,” he was saying. “A round loaf of barley bread came rolling into the camp of Midian. It hit a tent with great force. The tent turned over and fell down flat.”
¹⁴ His friend replied, “That can only be the sword of Gideon, the son of Joash. Gideon is from Israel. God has handed the Midianites over to him. He has given him the whole camp.”
¹⁵ Gideon heard the man explain what the dream meant. Then Gideon bowed down and worshiped. 

[5] You have to really trust God to attack your enemy with a and a

Judges 7:17-18, 22 (NIRV)
¹⁷ “Watch me,” he told them. “Do what I do. I’ll go to the edge of the enemy camp. Then do exactly as I do. ¹⁸ I and everyone with me will blow our trumpets. Then blow your trumpets from your positions all around the camp. And shout the battle cry, ‘For the Lord and for Gideon!’ ”
²² When the 300 trumpets were blown, the Lord caused all the men in the enemy camp to start fighting one another. They attacked one another with their swords.

[6] Small mindedness and small acts of faith are not the same thing

• Small but responsive faith moves big

Matthew 17:20-21 (NIRV)
^20-21 He replied, “Because your faith is much too small. What I’m about to tell you is true. If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, it is enough. You can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there.’ And it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.”

•  Small beginnings lead to big

Zechariah 4:10 (LB)
Do not despise this small beginning, for the eyes of the Lord rejoice to see the work begin…

• Small acts of faithfulness lead to big

Matthew 6:5-6 (NIV)
⁵ “And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. ⁶ But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.