FACTS – LESS IS MORE… (WHEN GOD IS INVOLVED)

FACTS – LESS IS MORE… (WHEN GOD IS INVOLVED)

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.”

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!”

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!”

¹⁶ The Lord said to him, “I will be with you. And you will destroy the Midianites as if you were fighting against one man.”

Judges 6:13-16

THE WORLD’S VIEW OF LESS: Having less is viewed as a , a and ulitimately a .

FACTS: God can than you can do with your more.

WHY DO WE SETTLE FOR LESS?

• We what we have to what others do.

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?

Judges 6:13

• We into .

…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.”

Judges 6:13

• We make excuses because of personal .

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!”

Judges 6:15

• We have an view of .

¹⁶ The Lord said to him, “I will be with you. And you will destroy the Midianites as if you were fighting against one man.”

Judges 6:16

² The Lord said to Gideon, “You have too many warriors with you. If I let all of you fight the Midianites, the Israelites will boast to me that they saved themselves by their own strength. 

Judges 7:2

HOW DOES LESS BECOME MORE WITH GOD (WHAT DO WE DO?)

1. in God.

¹² The angel of the Lord appeared to him and said, “Mighty hero, the Lord is with you!”

Judges 6:12

“Faith shows the reality of what we hope for; it is the evidence of things we cannot see. ³² How much more do I need to say? It would take too long to recount the stories of the faith of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel, and all the prophets. ³³ By faith these people overthrew kingdoms, ruled with justice, and received what God had promised them.”

Hebrews 11:1, 32-33

        2. Rely on God’s .

³⁴ Then the Spirit of the Lord clothed Gideon with power.”

Judges 6:34

        3. Follow God’s .

² The Lord said to Gideon, “You have too many warriors with you…³ Therefore, tell the people, ‘Whoever is timid or afraid may leave this mountain and go home.’” So 22,000 of them went home, leaving only 10,000 who were willing to fight.”

Judges 7:2-3

⁴ But the Lord told Gideon, “There are still too many! Bring them down to the spring, and I will test them to determine who will go with you and who will not.” ⁵ When Gideon took his warriors down to the water, the Lord told him, “Divide the men into two groups. In one group put all those who cup water in their hands and lap it up with their tongues like dogs. In the other group put all those who kneel down and drink with their mouths in the stream.” ⁶ Only 300 of the men drank from their hands. All the others got down on their knees and drank with their mouths in the stream.

⁷ The Lord told Gideon, “With these 300 men I will rescue you and give you victory over the Midianites. Send all the others home.” ⁸ So Gideon collected the provisions and rams’ horns of the other warriors and sent them home. But he kept the 300 men with him.

Judges 7:4-7

        4. God in .

“The Midianite camp was in the valley just below Gideon. ⁹ That night the Lord said, “Get up! Go down into the Midianite camp, for I have given you victory over them! ¹⁰ But if you are afraid to attack, go down to the camp with your servant Purah. ¹¹ Listen to what the Midianites are saying, and you will be greatly encouraged. Then you will be eager to attack.”

Judges 7:8-11

¹⁵ When Gideon heard the dream and its interpretation, he bowed in worship before the Lord.Then he returned to the Israelite camp and shouted, “Get up! For the Lord has given you victory over the Midianite hordes!

Judges 7:15

FINAL THOUGHT

• Your in God’s hands is

 ²² When the 300 Israelites blew their rams’ horns, the Lord caused the warriors in the camp to fight against each other with their swords. 

Judges 7:22