The problem is that we don’t trust ourselves.

“I can endure the what if I knew the why.”

How Job Responds:

1. He maintains his faith, trust, and commitment in God, believing that there is something he can’t see.

2. His response ushers in a cosmic victory of good over evil.

Somehow, Job’s response mattered!

Before my ears had heard of you but now my eyes see you.

-Job 42:5

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.

-Romans 8:28

Work Together: Sunergeo [Greek]: Synergism: Working together of various elements to produce an effect greater than, and often completely different from, the sum of each element acting separately.

And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.

-2 Corinthians 3:18

Employees realized they need not be controlled by eternal forces but instead could shape unfortunate events into individual and cooperate wins by altering their response and perspective.

-Stephen Covey

What if we realized that we don’t have to be controlled by external forces and could in fact reshape unfortunate events into significant spiritual wins?

He simply chooses to transform Gideon into something extraordinary.

And that is always God’s intention.

  

Resolution Number 1: I will see the unfortunate events of my life as faith builders leading to the greatest accomplishments of my life.

  

God deliberately causes, allows, even sovereignly ordains situations in your life that force you to trust Him.

Whatever the unfortunate event, God allows it to come your way, delivers you, and as a result, your faith that God will come through begins to grow to the point that—you are unshakable.

Resolution 2: I will affirm that God will often require me to do something that seems unreasonable.

  

Early in the morning, Jerub-Baal (that is, Gideon) and all his men camped at the spring of Harod. The camp of Midian was north of them in the valley near the hill of Moreh. The Lord said to Gideon, ‘You have too many men. I cannot deliver Midian into their hands, or Israel would boast against me, ‘My own strength has saved me.’

-Judges 7:1-2

Having built Gideon’s faith through various supernatural demonstrations, Gideon is now ready to advance to the next phase of his spiritual boot camp.

’You have too many men for me to deliver Midian into their hands…’

-Judges 7:2a

If that’s not bad enough, the Midianties are experienced warriors and we are a bunch of farmers with picks and shovels.

  

God’s knowledge and understanding far exceed our own.

  

Our knowledge is limited.

What may seem irrational and illogical to you, because of your limited knowledge, becomes the key to victory.

   

The First Test:

Now announce to the army, ‘Anyone who trembles with fear may turn back and leave Mount Gilead.’

-Judges 7:3a

When you go to war against your enemies and see horses and chariots and an army greater than yours, do not be afraid of them, because the Lord your God, who brought you up out of Egypt, will be with you. When you are about to go into battle, the priest shall come forward and address the army. He shall say: ‘Hear, Israel: Today you are going into battle against your enemies. Do not be fainthearted or afraid; do not panic or be terrified by them. For the Lord your God is the one who goes with you to fight for you against your enemies to give you victory.’

-Deuteronomy 20:1-4

If He says you will be victorious, you will be victorious.

Life’s Greatest Adventures:

• Living in the Spirit.
• Walking in the spirit.

   

The Second Test:

So twenty-two thousand men left, while ten thousand remained. But the Lord said to Gideon, ‘There are still too many men. Take them down to the water, and I will thin them out for you there. If I say, ‘This one shall go with you,’ he shall go; but if I say, ‘This one shall not go with you,’ he shall not go.’ So Gideon took the men down to the water. There the Lord told him, ‘Separate those who lap the water with their tongues as would a dog from those who kneel down to drink.’ Three hundred of them drank from cupped hands, lapping like dogs. All the rest got down on their knees to drink. The Lord said to Gideon, ‘With the three hundred men that lapped I will save you and give the Midianites into your hands. Let all the others go home.’

-Judges 7:3b-7

Early in the morning, Jerub-Baal (that is, Gideon) and all his men camped at the spring of Harod. The camp of Midian was north of them in the valley near the hill of Moreh.

-Judges 7:1

The Midianites would have seen 22,000 Israelites depart after the fear test.

  

Our response to the seemingly insignificant tests we face each day often becomes the determining factor of what God will accomplish in our lives.

  

There once was a man who said, ‘God must think it exceedingly odd if He finds that this tree continues to be when there’s no one about in the quad.’ ‘Dear Sir, your astonishment's odd: I am always about in the quad. And that’s why the tree will continue to be, since observed by Yours faithfully, God.’

-Ronald Knox

  

God is always watching!!

  

Forgiveness comes through the cross.

Greatness comes through obedience.

If you want to get the most out of your life, if you want to be used by God for extraordinary things, if you want to escape this life of mediocrity into the land of extraordinary adventure, you must develop the crucial habit of obeying God even when it seems unreasonable to you. Your willingness to follow His instruction determines His willingness to pour out His divine energy into your life. Following Jesus unconditionally leads to adventures and victories beyond what you could hope or imagine.

The one who experienced extraordinary, miraculous adventures also encountered numerous unfortunate predicaments.

The sad truth is that many Christ-followers never make it out of the faith-building phase.

Such attitudes restrict God's ability to use you for grand purposes and design.

The more we live outside His parameters the longer we stay stuck in our mediocre lives.

  

Our response to seemingly insignificant tests will often be the determining factor of what God will or will not do in our lives.

 

Your best life is always on the other side of obedience.

I would like to suggest that God is unreasonable not because of what He asks of us is just too difficult but because we can’t reason Him fully.

-Diana Symons

When it comes to understanding what God is doing in the world and, more specifically, in our lives, we are like ants on a Rembrandt. We crawl across the dark brown and think that all of life is dark brown. Then we hit green and think, ‘Oh, this is much better. Now all of life is green.’ But soon comes the dark blue and then the splash of yellow, a streak of red, and then another patch of brown. On we journey from one color to another, never realizing that God is actually painting a masterpiece in our lives using all of the colors of the palette. One day we will discover that every color had its place, had a reason, nothing was wasted or out of sync. Just as there is a time and season for everything, there is also a color for every stage of life’s journey. When the painting is finished, we will discover that we were part of His masterpiece from the very beginning.

-Diana Symons

This is a good time to ask God to reveal that thing in your life where you have disobeyed, fallaciously believing that your disobedience would not impact the quality of your life.

  

Commit to chase hard after Resolution 2:

I will affirm that God will often require me to do something that seems unreasonable.…knowing that my obedience leads to the greatest adventures and victories of my life.

  

The more reasonable thing to do would have been to blow the trumpet and call the Ephraimite to assist them in the battle and at least get this thing even!

God sees every event of your life.

I should have been nervous around this guy but for some strange reason, I was not. Then he (Henry) spoke to me, ‘God instructed me to speak to you young man.’

-Chris Pratt

Yet, I obeyed and God keeps speaking to me again and again. No matter how difficult the word, I just keep obeying.

-Chris Pratt

  

“Gain the world, lose your soul.”

  

What if Henry would have ignored the hard word? What if Chris Pratt would have ignored the hard word?

  

What hard word do you need to obey?

Until you do, you are stuck! And God will keep pulling the rug out from under you.

  

Who obeyed the hardest word? Unreasonable Word?

Jesus did the hard thing for you and now sits at the right hand of the Father.

“Not my will but yours be done.”

-Luke 22:42

He trusted the Father and now reigns forever with Him.

  

  

  

  

What are your main takeaways from this sermon?

Make a Decision