DON’T PUT A QUESTION MARK WHERE GOD PUTS A PERIOD!
Judges 6:13
INTRODUCTION
A. HUMOR: BED FEARS
1. From childhood, a man had a terrible fear that someone was under his bed at night. Finally he went to a Psychiatrist, who told him he could solve his problems.
2. "Just put yourself in my hands for one year," said the psychiatrist. "Come talk to me three times a week and I’ll get rid of those fears."
3. "How much do you charge?" "$150 per visit," replied the doctor. "I’ll sleep on it and get back to you," he said.
4. Six months later the Psychiatrist met him on the street. "You haven’t been back about your fears. Why not?" he asked.
5. “$150 per visit, 3X a week for a year is $23,400. An Assemblies of God preacher cured me for $10! I was so happy to have saved all that money that I went and bought me a new pickup truck."
6. "Is that so?" said the psychiatrist. “How may I ask, did an Assemblies of God preacher cure you?” "I made a $10 donation in the offering and afterward asked the preacher what to do. He told me to cut the legs off of my bed – ain’t nobody under there now!"
B. TEXT & THESIS
6 Then the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord. So the Lord delivered them into the hand of Midian for seven years, 2 and the hand of Midian prevailed against Israel. 11 Now the Angel of the Lord came and sat under the terebinth tree which was in Ophrah, which belonged to Joash the Abiezrite, while his son Gideon threshed wheat in the winepress, in order to hide it from the Midianites. 12 And the Angel of the Lord appeared to him, and said to him, “The Lord is with you, you mighty man of valor!” 13 Gideon said to Him, “O my lord, if the Lord is with us, why then has all this happened to us? And where are all His miracles which our fathers told us about, saying, ‘Did not the Lord bring us up from Egypt?’ But now the Lord has forsaken us and delivered us into the hands of the Midianites.” 14 Then the Lord turned to him and said, “Go in this might of yours, and you shall save Israel from the hand of the Midianites. Have I not sent you?” Judges 6:1-2,11-14, NKJV.
C. THESIS
1. It had been a bunch of bad years for the Israelites. They’d been invaded, defeated, and oppressed by their enemies because of their sins.
2. Gideon's first response to God was, “But Sir, if the Lord is with us, why has all this happened to us?” (13).
3. When we have trials, the enemy always tries to make us question God’s goodness, or make us think that God’s abandoned us.
4. Gideon’s next question was to point out the lack of God’s intervening; "Where are all His miracles?"
5. DO YOU THINK IT WAS GOD’S WILL FOR THERE TO BE NO MIRACLES? NO! God hadn't changed! Then what was the problem? Their sins had separated them from their God and hindered His working!
6 Sometimes we, like Gideon, fall into the same trap of seeing our bad circumstances and feeling God doesn’t love us or has failed to keep His Word.
7. That’s why I want to speak to the subject; “Don’t Put A Question Mark Where God Puts A Period!”
I. MEN/WOMEN OF FAITH AND BAD CIRCS
A. DIRE SITUATIONS
Many times in Scripture, circumstances defied believer’s walks of faith with God. Like God had failed. Examples:
1. God promised Abram a son when he was seventy-five... but 24 years passed and no son was born to Sarah, and they both passed child-bearing range. ‘Hello, God?’
2. A widow and her son had prayed for food. Their food finally ran out. So they went out to collect a few sticks to cook their last meal before they died.
3. Lazarus became ill. His two sisters send for Jesus, but Jesus never comes. Lazarus finally dies and was put in the tomb. Jesus finally arrives four days late. ‘Oops!’
4. Moses felt called to deliver Israel (Acts 7:24-25). He struggled with an Egyptian and ended up killing him and becoming a fugitive from justice for 40 years. ‘What is that?’
5. Joseph was given dreams that he would become a ruler. Instead, his brothers sell him into slavery and he’s imprisoned for 13 years. ‘Ouch!’
6. Samson was supposed to defeat the Philistines, but because he messed up, he was blinded. So how could a blind man fulfill his calling? ‘Oops!’
7. A father brought his son to Jesus’ disciples. Instead of getting better, the boy grew worse and the disciples couldn’t do anything to help him. ‘Wow!’
B. SOME OF YOU HAVE FELT LIKE THAT:
1. “I just don’t see any hope for my situation.”
2. “God has forsaken me; doesn’t care about me.”
3. I can’t face these circumstances any more.
4. I feel like quitting.
C. IT MAY COMFORT YOU TO KNOW:
1. Many of the greatest Bible heroes became discouraged.
a. Moses - In Sinai desert
b. Elijah – when Jezebel sought his life
c. David – When Absalom rebelled against him.
2. The same feelings you feel they also experienced.
a. Paul – Acts 27:20; “We gave up all hope of being saved.”
b. Isa. 49:14; “Zion said, The Lord hath forsaken me”
c. Elijah – “O Lord, Take away my life, for I am no better than my Fathers” 1 Kgs. 19:4
3. WE NEED TO GET OUR SPIRITUAL VISION BACK!
II. THE GOD WHO IS BIGGER
A. KNOWS THE END FROM THE BEGINNING
1. “Remember the former things, those of long ago; I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like Me. I make known the end from the beginning, from ancient times, what is still to come. I say: My purpose will stand, and I will do all that I please” Isa. 46:9-10.
2. “Why do you say, O Jacob, and complain, O Israel, ‘My way is hidden from the LORD; my cause is disregarded by my God’? Do you not know? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom” Isa. 40:27-28.
“He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on
wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint” Isa. 40:29-31.
B. REASON FOR THE SAINTS’ SUCCESS?
1. Our life and accomplishments will never be greater than our vision of God.
2. If we’re not thoroughly convinced that God is good and loving, and that He is FAITHFUL TO KEEP HIS PROMISES TO US, then we will be offended, discouraged, we may feel like giving up.
3. The question is, Do you have that kind of confidence in God, that no matter what happens, you know you can still trust Him?
C. THERE’S MORE THAN ONE ANSWER
1. God's delays are not God's denials. God has three answers to prayer: yes, no, and wait. We must give God the freedom to work out the timing.
2. TRYING TO WEAR GOD’S SHOES. I am reminded of how my grandson, Gage, frequently put on my shoes. He would walk around thinking how grown-up he looked, when actually he looked ridiculous. As I watched him, I’d think that must be how God sees us as we try to impersonate Him.
D. NOT SURFACE, BUT ETERNAL WORK OCCURING
When a surgeon operates, he messes up the exterior to get to the interior. God does the same thing. He messes up our temporary circumstances in order to remake our spiritual and soul-ish nature's to complement or be in conformity to our future heavenly environment.
III. PERSPECTIVE ON OUR PROBLEMS
A. OUR TROUBLES ARE ONLY TEMPORARY
1. “Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day. 17 For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory” 2 Cor. 4:16-17.
2. God only has to flip a switch in your spirit so that you look at things differently than you did before – your trials/ afflictions are temporary. And because you perceive it differently, it is to you.
3. Secondly, Your trials are “WORKING FOR YOU.” This means that there is some greater purpose in what God is doing.
B. GOD IS FAITHFUL
1. I’ve been to the edge of the cliff so many times…thus I can attest that “God is faithful”.
2. A guy’s car got wrecked; He said, “I took it to the body shop. The body man beat on it. He poked a long pick into the dint, punched a hole, and pulled it out. “Hey, don’t do that, you’re hurting my car!” He, like God, answers, “Son, I know what I’m doing”. (Us and God)
3. God doesn’t do something unless He has to. He won’t do any more than absolutely necessary.
C. MIRACLES WITH MESSES
1. Hell may have started this mess but God is going to finish it.
2. Remember the material that was a mess on the Potter’s wheel? It’s the same material God uses to make a miracle out of.
3. “But the pot he was shaping from the clay was marred in his hands; so the potter formed it into another pot, shaping it as seemed best to him. “Can I not do with you, Israel, as this potter does?” declares the Lord. “Like clay in the hand of the potter, so are you in my hand.” Jer. 18:4,6
God’s going to do wonderful things with your life. Have faith!
D. WHEN YOU FEEL OVERWHELMED BY LIFE’S CIRCUMSTANCES
“No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.” 1 Cor. 10:13
E. THE COMFORT OF PREDESTINATION
“And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.” Romans 8:28
IV. HOW TO RESPOND TO DIFFICULT SITUATIONS
“So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded. You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised.” Hebrews 10:35-36.
A. DON’T THROW AWAY YOUR CONFIDENCE IN GOD
1. How can you cast your confidence away? By...
a. Changing it for self-confidence.
b. By giving way to sin, worldly company.
c. By changing your aim in life.
d. By sinking into unbelief.
2. If you feel like throwing something, throw an ashtray or a beer bottle, but don't throw away your confidence, your faith in the God who loves you.
B. KEEP DOING THE WILL OF GOD
1. Part of the prescription for prosperity and success, even in the natural, is to keep working despite unfavorable circumstances. In the spiritual realm, this means to keep doing the will of God whether you see the results or not.
2. James explains it like the farmer, who keeps planting seed, because he knows the natural laws will cause at least some of the seed to produce a harvest. So it is in the spiritual; keep sowing and you will reap.
C. EXPECT A RICH REWARD
1. The struggle is worth the reward.
2. THE TRIALS ARE WHERE GOD SHOWS UP!
a. Moses at the Red Sea (trapped btw Sea & Egyptians)
b. Jonah thrown overboard – great fish
c. The 3 Hebrews protected in the fire
d. The widow & son provided for
e. Gideon saw a vast army defeat itself
f. Man’s extremities are God’s opportunities
CONCLUSION
A. ILLUSTRATION: DON'T TRUST FEELINGS.
1. A helicopter pilot who flew from an aircraft carrier in the Pacific told this story. He said,
2. "I was flying the helicopter back to the ship when a blinding fog rolled in. Flying at a low altitude, I knew that a single mistake would plunge my crew and me into the ocean.”
3. “Worse yet, I was experiencing a complete loss of balance -- which is common for pilots flying by instruments. It was so bad, that despite the instrument readings, I was certain I was flying the helicopter sideways.”
4. “For 15 minutes I flew the helicopter by its instruments, fighting the urge to turn it according to my feeling.
5. When we finally broke safely through the fog, I was deeply thankful I had been trained to rely upon my instruments rather than on my feelings."
6. That’s what people going through trials have to do – keep going in faith! Stick with the Bible!
B. LET’S TAKE POWER AWAY FROM HELL!
1. We take power away from hell when we believe that God’s in charge, He knows what He’s doing, & that God's Word will come to pass exactly as He prophesied it!
2. Are you sick and tired of being down and out and want to be up and at it? You’re ripe for a miracle!
3. Are you ready to put some devils to flight in your life? Are you ready to ransack the kingdom of darkness?
Are you ready to let some strongholds fall?
C. THE CALL: IT’S YOUR TIME
1. If you’ve been in battles lately, let me see your hands. How many others would acknowledge that you’ve had some serious trials this year?
2. I want all those who raised your hands to stand. Now I want you to step out and come to the front. It’s time for you
to get the victory over your trials. We’re going to pray and things are going to change, because prayer changes things!
3. LET’S PRAY!!! Look fear in the face and declare: It’s my time. Look failure in the face and declare: It’s my time.
4. “It’s not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit saith the Lord.” Today is a New Day! Victory! Freedom! PTL!!!
