When the Odds Are Against You - Part 1

Welcome to the Catholic child Stanley for Monday, December 12 in a situation where he's not like he just couldn't when you will be able to relate to the story of Gideon. Today's podcast helps you learn to thrive even when the odds are against you when you facing a very, very difficult situation. The alts are all stuck against.

How do you respond the respondent fear, anger, a real determination that somehow you gonna make your way through the wild learn something of the Scriptures and I keep on learning that is that when I found myself in one of those situations with my back to the wall. The wisest thing I can do is turn to the Old Testament and look to find somebody who was going through a similar situation and look at the principles that guided their life. What did God say to them, how did they respond that brought about success or what mistakes did they make that resulted in their failure.

One of those that I often turn to is a man named Gideon and today what I would like to do is to take this incident in his life and give you biblical truths that will guide you to victory when you're backs to the wall and the odds are against you and you not quite sure which way to turn.

So if you turn for just Obama to the book of Judges in the book of Judges, there is an event in the life of Gideon that none of us will go through exactly like this but oftentimes we will find ourselves in a similar one. So I'm going to give you the background of the sixth and seventh chapter, but I want us to read the seven chapter Judges beginning in verse one and read through the seventh verse and the Scripture says, then variable that is Gideon and all the people who were with him rose early in camp beside the spring of Penrod and the camp of Midian was on the north side of them by the hill of Moray in the Valley and the Lord said to Gideon, the people who with you are too many for me to get Midian into their hands, lest this role become boastful saying my own power has delivered me. Now, therefore, proclaim in the hearing of the people saying whoever's afraid and trembling, let him return and depart from Mount Gilead. So 22,000 people return but 10,000 remained. Then the Lord said to Gideon, the people are still too many bring them down to the water and I will test them for you. There, therefore it shall be that he of whom I say to you, this one should go with you, he shall go with you but every one of whom, I say to you, this one shall not go with you, he shall not go so he brought the people down to the water and the Lord said to Gideon, you shall separate everyone who lapse the water with his tongue as a dog lapse as well as everyone who kneels the drink. Now the mom of those who left putting their hand to their mouth was 300 million, but all the rest of the people kneels to drink water and the Lord said to Gideon, I will deliver you with the 300 man who left and will give the Midianites in your hands so at all the other people go each man to his house to his home.

So the 300 men took the people's provisions and their trumpets into their hands and Gideon sent all the other men of Israel, each to his tent, but retained the 300 men in the camp of Midian was below him in the valley. Now let me give you some background what's happening here. I want to keep your Bible open throughout this message if you will, and also want you to get a piece of paper and the pencil if you will respond in like fashion when you're backs to the wall and the odds are against you. You will come out a winner now look in the six chapter for a moment. What is the condition that brought about this particular situation. Chapter 6 verse one says the sons of Israel did what was evil in the side of the Lord and the Lord gave them into the hands of Midian seven years and if you notice in verse 10. I am the Lord your God.

You shall not fear the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you live but you have not obeyed me so the reason the Israelites of the condition therein is because they did evil in the side of the Lord. They disobeyed God and the Scripture says their condition.

Beginning in verse two of chapter 6 is like this that the Midianites came up seven years they had been coming up an absolute ravaging the nation of Israel. They were running into the Dan's, the caves and the strongholds.

Verse four says they were destroying the produce of their leaving no sustenance in Israel as well as no sheep, ox or donkey verse five they would come up with the livestock in the tents. They would come in like a locus for number. Both they and their camels were innumerable and they came in the land that devastated so Israel was brought very low because of Midian and the sons abyssal crowd to the Lord and the very last verse of this book gives the theme of the whole book. The last verses in those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes. The reason they got in the mess they were in. Is everybody decide to do his own thing and forget God and everyone else. And so what happens there is seven years now they've been defeated by the same enemy. Every year the crops come in here come the Midianites with all their camels and all their soldiers in the absolutely devastate the nation, visceral will this time something happens.

The Bible says if you stay in chapter 6 now than a one occasion angel the Lord came to a man by the name of Gideon and addresses him. In verse 12. The last part. The Lord is with you all valiant warrior and so when he does this.

Gideon says wait a minute.

The next verse says if the Lord is with us while man has all this happened to where all the miracles which our fathers told us about. Did not the Lord bring us up from Egypt, but now the Lord has abandoned us and given us in the land of Midian and then the Lord challenges him to be the deliverer that is the contra, the commander of the forces of this room and his first responses will I'm not even sure whose talking to me so he asked the Lord for some kind of a sign in verse 17 and so he goes in and makes up repairs and offering brings it out lazily rock the Bible says the angel the Lord points as Ron relates his rod to the rock and far comes on the rock and consumes the offering and so this is rather convincing to our friend Gideon and so something begins to happen now in his life that God has called him. He faces the greatest challenge in his life and listen all the odds are against. I mean they are stacked heavily against when the odds are against you stacked heavily no matter what they may be, it may be in your business.

It may be, in some financial circumstance or whatever it might be there situations in which we oftentimes feel our backs to the wall and that we don't know which way to turn some want you to jot these down and remember what the situation is now down in the valley.

There hundred and 35,000 Midianites. The Bible says there like a locus as far as you can see their well armed and for seven years they've been victorious.

Why would anybody question the fact that they weren't going to be victorious.

The eight year when they're coming like they have the last seven years and what happens is the people of Israel living in the Dan's in the caves and fleeing for their lives. But something happens here in the process of what God does. He teaches us some very, very profound truths, very simple but profound when applied to ally down the first one I want you to jot down what will do is I'll give you each one of these and then let's look to see how it worked in the life of Gideon and then God will show you how to apply to your life. The first one is this God will use our difficulty to build our faith because you see one of God's goals for your life in my life is to be trusted and that is a process that's what we learn to do it doesn't take us very long early in life to begin to distrust when things don't work out. The suit does.

We question we doubt if you'll notice that in the very beginning how Gideon and God begin to deal with this whole matter. Bell when age of the Lord comes, then the first thing that Gideon says if you recall, in the six chapter is that getting says wait a minute hold you tell me all valiant warrior I will remind you of something. First of all, if God is with supply is Israel in the condition it is in and where all these miracles, our forefathers told us about the God performed for them, bringing us out of Egypt. Why is that happening now so first of all, he begins with a problem of doubt and God will take advantage of every opportunity to build our trust in him because God desires that you and I put out full trust in him and believe the testimony that he's given Thomas in the word about himself and so what is he do, he looks for every opportunity to demonstrate his faithfulness to his word and then if you recall, that getting says, well, all right.

If this is really the Lord speaking to me and let's see if it is, and so he goes in repairs. The offering and again God demonstrates that it is the Lord and consumes is often look in verse 36 he comes again even though he knows that God has spoken to him and that the Lord is given him the word now to defend Israel to leave them in the battle and to bring the victory and he is artists out the word in verse 34. The spirit of the Lord came upon them, he blew a trumpet, and the men gathered together 32,000 strong, gathered together to fight with Gideon but verse 36 says. Then Gideon said to God.

Now if you will deliver Israel through may not got an order told me was going to set them twice.

He says I'm going to do it unedited for you. He says that he will do that.

Behold, I will put a fleece of wall in the threshing floor if there is due on the fleece only and is drawn on all the ground that I will know that I will deliver Israel through me as you spoke in the says I'm not throughout a fleece and now you hear people say mama threat of fleece and see what God does imitate something that fleece throwing fleece throwing is not a principle of Scripture, whereby the found the will of God you not have the Holy Spirit, we have the word of God be a promise after promise, the word of God. Illustration of the illustration. The show was that God will hear and answer our prayer and give us clear direction when we wanted when we need. Of course Gideon didn't have all that you and I have and so the surety that doesn't work very well, God did exactly what he said so what happens he comes back, verse 39 then Gideon said to God, I don't get upset with me Lord, he says, but I like to try this one more time because I want to be real real sure given on that. So he comes back and he says this time.

Lord, let it now be dropped only on the fleas that there be doing all the ground. God did so, that night for it was dry only on the fleas and do was all on the ground that God took this man Gideon in his faithlessness in his doubting in his questioning in his fear and God's preparation for his ministry began with billing his faith. If you want to be used of God, you got to be willing to trust the Lord. And if you want your faith built, you've got to be willing for God to allow you to put you in situations and circumstances where you absolutely helpless and the only thing you can do is trust him and then allow him to demonstrate his faithfulness in order to learn to trust God. The only way you can learn to trust God is get into a hot place where the bottom drops out and there's no way out and then you have to trust God, then he teaches you. It will work for you if you just read in books and listen to sermons, you say well it'll work for him to work for her. But what about me. God says Artemis found out put you in a bad spot tub situation difficulties and the odds are against you, and all of a sudden what happens, God demonstrates his awesome power and we learn the trusting. That's the way one of the very important steps God uses in preparing to be used of him.

So the first thing when you notice here is that God will use our difficulties in order to build our faith in him number two God will oftentimes require us to do those things that seem very very unreasonable and that's where sometimes we choose our own defeat because it's not reasonable because it doesn't sound logical.

We sing the Lord that couldn't be from you because that doesn't sound reasonable at all. So God says to him comes in. The Bible says in the seventh chapter and says Gideon you got 32,000 men that's too many know what it meant.

Lord, I must not be listening right because the we already outnumbered 4 to 1. God says no.

He says you've got two minutes.

I want to give you a test and I want you to give all of your soldiers. This test is a twofold test.

One of them is a fear test and the other one is a fervency test and so will what's the fear test these is the fear test is simply this, you get all human together and you tell you asking this question how many of you are afraid to go in the battle when the odds affordable on raise your hand. God knew how contagious. Fear was and he knew had negative fear was and he knew that one coward breeds another calendar and that fear could run through an army and absolutely devastated's enthusiasm. So God's first test was the test, the fear, how many of you are afraid to go to battle when the odds of 41 please raise your hand and so 22,000 of them raise their hand and so he said pack up your duds and head for home 22,000 men leave. If you have been one of those 10,000 remaining.

You know what you have been doing the same thing out of and doing what a minute. What are the odds. Now the odds now better than 13. The one and so things getting Dolores and so God says to get in getting you still have too many know what a minute to be sure I get this right God's will for one now that 13 the wanted you telling me that I have too many God says we've only had one test, the second test is the fervency test is what I want you to do is is I want you to send the ball down the spring.

Now the spring was close by the enemy camp and probably surrounded by hedges of bushes or trees and so forth and so they were going to be more than likely, almost inside, if not inside of the enemy and so they were to go down there with the drink 10,000 of them now and God said now want you to watch the way they drink, here's the test. He said some of them are going to get on their knees and the cabal that has the water and they got put their heads down and drink out of the creek are out of the spring. Aces take note of those some of them are going to get on one knee and they gonna reach down and they gonna take a handful of water and slurp it up. That's the way they gonna drink is now want you to watch these two groups so that all went down had themselves a big drink then God said to Gideon I Gideon I want you to send all of those who got on their knees and bow their head to drink out of the spring about youth, pack their bags and go home 10,000 were left and then now we are down to 300 that must be some misunderstanding the natural, normal, reasonable thing to do would have been to count my 32,000 against the hundred and 35,000 blow the trumpet again to the Ephraimites who were ready to go to battle, and who got little bit upset later on in a way because Gideon didn't call them call all of them and let's get listen we can get this thing at least equal God said no, for one, the odds are too much in your favor to put you in my favor. 13. The one they're still too much in your favor. Now that down to 300 you know what the odds are if there were exactly 300 men and exactly hundred 35,000. The odds are exactly 402 21 now get excited that you say will know what a God given that test in which you listen very carefully. You know that oftentimes God chooses people to use that he will use to serve him on the basis of things that you and I would never think about.

We look at people would set board. God's going to use that man and he never does when they went down the drink. They got down the drink in one group got all that needs now on their face and they got down to the water and drank what did they do they were concerned primarily with the getting there need that of quenching their first they took their eye off the enemy laid their sword down to the side got on all fours and the only thing it consume them was being down there with the water and consuming that first those men only 300 of them who knelt down and reached down the water and slurp the water had there on the enemy. Those men were committed to winning this battle. The other 9700 men were committed in those moments to getting their own need met of quenching their first listen carefully. Sometimes it is a simple little test that seems insignificant to you and to me, and God allows us to get into and we think it's insignificant, but our response in that given situation sometimes be the determining factor with what God will do an airline. Thank you for listening to when the odds are against you if you like to know more about Charles Stanley were in touch ministries that my enhanced data lagging is not For the presentation in touch ministries Atlanta, Georgia