How to beat "our" Midianite?
When the angel
of the Lord appeared to Gideon, he said:
“The Lord is with you, mighty warrior”. (Judges
6:12)
Introduction
In the book of Judges
we have the record of the worst moment in the life of the people of Israel. It
was a moment of chaos established on the life of the people. The people of
Israel did what was evil in the eyes of the Lord. Read Judges 1:1. There was no
order in the lives of the people. There was no true worship of the Lord. There
was no political life, there was no peace in Israel. It was a real mess and to
make worse the LORD delivered them for seven years in the hands of the
Midianites.
Our disobedience will
bring hard times in our lives. The Bible says: that the wages of sin is
death ... (Romans 6:23) Some Midianites in our lives can be fruit of
our rebellion. By nature we are rebellious and we want to walk according to our
own will. However, things could change before the siege of Midian.
The love of God can heal us and bring
news to our lives. You do not have to die at the hands of the Midianites. God
has good things for your life. Let's see how we can overcome this situation.
1 Go back to God and cry out
for Him
Chapter 1: 6 says that the
children of Israel cried unto the Lord.
Claim is to acknowledge that the Lord
alone can rescue us. The Midianites want to see us die. He does not want us to
cry out to the Lord. Do you know why? Because he knows that the Lord will
answer the cry of the poor and needy. "In my distress I called upon
the LORD, and cried unto my God: from his temple he heard my voice, your ears
to my cry came before them”. (Ps 18:6)
God does not reject a heart that cries
out for Him If you have any "Midianites" wanting to destroy you, open
your mouth today and cry unto the Lord. You can even say: “ Preacher, you do
not know my life and what I have spent. Now I have no strength to cry because
of the struggles, the pain ... It is true! But the Lord is the One who
heals you. Do not be silent.... start to claim those things that will change
your life. God wants to hear your cry for help. Do not stand there waiting to
be defeat. No! Cry out to the Lord right
now. Claim is: return to God and to do
His will. You may not live to please the
world. You have to live to please God. Living in the world of
"Midian" is living away from God's will. Say no to the world and
hurry back to the Father..... It does not matter what you've done, God's love
will heal you. Jesus said: "Come to
me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. (Mt 11:28) There are many people who
need to go back soon. The world wants to destroy you. The sin of the land of
Midian will kill you day after day. Hey! Do not die! Go back to Jesus at this
moment, just where you are. God is near waiting for you with open arms. He
wants to hug you again. A great American singer BJ Thomas, made a beautiful
song in the year 1979 that says:
He's the hand on my shoulder
When I need to know someone cares
He's the hand on my shoulder
Assuring me that He's always there…
If you return to his love, He will heal
and deliver you. Our cry will make all the difference in the face of life's
struggles. The miracle will happen in the life of the one who recognizes his
mistakes and urging the Lord. If you cry out to the Lord, He will give victory over the "Midian".
2 Do not think that
everything is finished
Sometimes our inner conflicts are so
strong that we start to think that nothing will happen in our lives. This was
the feeling of Gideon. The oppositions and persecution, slaves ours thoughts.
We no longer have the strength to react and we feel like we want to give up and
just surrender to the "Midianite". Until we speak up nothing will
happen in our lives, in our families,
churches, workplaces, neighborhoods and etc… Nothing! Seems like it’s over! It’s
the end, we’ll going to die! This is
not true! Do not be scared of what has
happened or is happening or will happen to you. I also have been through hard time in my life and I have seeing God’s
hands working in my life, with his provision and protection. We are not super
heroes. We are flesh and blood and it
only happens with humans. The "Midianite" wants to see us destroyed
and fallen to the ground. He will speak lies in your mind saying that it's all
over and you have no hope for change in
Your life. The enemy does not want you to live in God's way and believe in His
promisses. The Bible says: I shall not die, but live, and declare the
works of the LORD. (Psalms 118:17) Tell your problem to The Lord: say,
I'm going to live!! Jesus Christ said: And whosoever liveth and believeth
in me shall never die. Do you believe this? (John 11:26)
3 Believe that God has chosen you for
a great work...
People can look at us
and see nothing in us. They may say: You're weak! You are not able to
perform this service. God did not choose you! Do not listen to these words.
Believe that God is with you and you're with him. I want to ask you today, what
did God see in Gideon to choose him? What did God see in me to choose me? What
does God see in you to choose you for a great mission? The size of your fear does not matter. If God
decided to choose you, nobody can change
his plans.
God chose the boy David to fight and win
the fearsome Goliath. God chose Moses to deliver the people of Israel from
Egypt, and from the power of Pharaoh. God out of His Throne of Glory looked and
saw Gideon hiding in fear of the Midianites and said: You're mine! I have
chosen you Gideon and I will give you victory over your fear. My brother, my
sister, God also has chosen you to do great things. He knows you have many
doubts and fear in your heart. He's talking to you right now: I have chosen
you! I have chosen you! You will get out of this cave, this place of sorrow
and will do great work. Gideon was having many difficult days in his life, but
the Lord looked at him and chose him. What are your problems dear brothers and
sisters? The Lord whom you worship is
greater than any problem you may have. Come out of the cave now!! You're not Batman
that lives in a cave. You are a worshiper of the Lord Jesus Christ!
The Lord always
chooses those who are regarded as rejected. God calls and gradually will
empower the individual for the great work. You are in God's school. He is
teaching you in this time of difficulty and you will be approved. Do not give
up! He doesn't care if you are rich or poor. He just wants you to
realize the work that only you can do. It is you! Not your father, not your
mother, not your boss, not your neighbor. It's you! Lift up your head, looks up
to say: He called my name. He chose me!
I will preach His Holy Word; I will teach
in Sunday school, I will be a great deacon in my church. I'll be a good father,
a good mother, a good son, a good pastor. I will not be defeated by this
Midianite. No! I'm going to get up, get out of this "cave" and live
to serve the Lord.
Jesus said:
"You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you
might go and bear fruit ..."(John 15:16) Do what God told you to
do. Do not stand in fear of life, of people, the lack of resources. God will
give you all the conditions for you to win your fights. Believe that he has
chosen you!
4° Believe that God is with you ...
Gideon thought
he was living alone surrounded by the Midianites. He was not alone! You also
are not alone in this moment of anguish. The fight is sometimes so great that
we even have this kind of feeling. We think that all went away and left us
alone. Gideon had that feeling. However, God was looking for this man and
visited. God told Gideon: You are strong! You're a lion! You still have
forces within you. I'm on your side to make you win! That is strong words
coming from God! This is how God is with us. God always has a good word for our
lives. On this day, in this holy place, God is speaking to you.
During our day, we turn on the TV and we
have bad news. Read newspapers and more sad news. People talk of things that
are sad and hopeless, but God will come visit us and bring us a good word. The
angel said to Gideon, "The LORD is with you, mighty warrior."
(Judges 6:12) These words were to heal the sick soul of Gideon. He was
"stuck" in the past when everything was beautiful and wonderful. Now,
there was reason to celebrate. There were no longer grapes being trodden in the
winepress. The grapes of the past spoke of wine that was produced for the
celebrations in the life of Israel. Now the party gave way to utter destruction
and fear. Gideon with his sick soul, stuck in yesterday, the past. There are
many good people in the church who is sick because the soul does not want to
leave the past behind them. They are remembering what happened many years ago
and cannot live for today. In my country we are living in a very delicate
moment. Brazil is in deep crisis in all areas and it seems that things will not
change immediately. As a servant of God I must believe, and think through the
power of faith that something new will happen in Brazil. We need to look
forward and leave the past in the past. That's what God was teaching Gideon.
Paul tells us:
“…But one thing I do: Forgetting
what is behind and straining toward what is ahead,
I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus”.(Philippians 3:13-14)
I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus”.(Philippians 3:13-14)
I think Paul was saying to himself, : God
is with me and new things will happen in my life, in my ministry, my church
life. It will happen! You will win the "Midianites" If you believe
with all your heart that the Lord is with you. You and I have a beautiful
promise of our Lord who said:
And surely I am with you always, to the very end
of the age”. (Mt 28:20)
Now I want to tell you a great truth: We
will not win the "Midian" alone. We need the presence of the Lord
Jesus Christ in our lives. We must confess our sins to Him and surrender our
lives forever unto His hands. Jesus Christ came to give us eternal life and
salvation. He wants to see us living a victorious life. If today you invite
Jesus Christ to become your Lord and Savior, you will walk in victory in your
home, in your workplace, in your neighborhood and in all areas of your life.
You will come out of the cave of life and will live dreams of God. Believe in
those words and be a winner in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen!
July 08-2013 …
