The Making of a Mighty Warrior, Pt. 1
In the next couple of weeks, I’ll examine the life of Gideon. I want to look at how God called and prepared him to deliver the people of Israel from the oppression of the Midianites.
God not only encountered and called Gideon but also instructed him on how to tear down a stronghold that was affecting him and others. God also spoke to Gideon’s true identity to free him, empower him, and prepare him for God’s calling.
This message and article are about God’s faithfulness and our cooperation with God’s process. You see, God qualifies the called. None of us are perfect, only Jesus! However, as we surrender, trust, and obey the Lord, His purposes in and through us are accomplished.
Today, as in Gideon’s time, God looks for those who are yielded to Him so that He can show Himself strong through them:
“For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to Him.” 2 Chr. 16:9 NKJV
Throughout the Bible and history, God has proven that He will use, and even exalt, men and women to places of prominence and position.
Why? That His purposes on the earth will be accomplished, and His name will be exalted and made great.
Joseph was destined to be Egypt’s governor and preserve posterity for Israel:
God sent me before you to make sure you’d survive and to rescue your lives in this amazing way. Gen. 45:7 CEB
Deborah heard from God and convinced the leaders and people to extend themselves beyond their own vision to break the enemy’s hold on them.
“Now Deborah, a prophetess…was judging Israel at that time.” Judges 4:4 NKJV
David was a man after God’s own heart. Was he perfect? No, yet he fulfilled God’s purposes for his generation and generations to come.
“I took you from the sheepfold… and have made you a great name…” 2 Sam. 7:8-9 NKJV
God sees our lives from the end and the beginning—He is outside of time. He knows our calling and destiny prepared for us. But for most people, God must minister to our brokenness and wrong identity first before we can fulfill our God-assigned purpose. We must choose to cooperate with God as He prepares us—we see this with Gideon.
Boxing is a good analogy for leadership development because it is all about daily preparation. There is an old saying:
Champions don’t become champions in the ring – they are merely recognized there.
President Theodore Roosevelt said:
“… The credit belongs to the man… whose face is marred by dust, sweat, and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short again and again; who knows the great enthusiasm, the great devotions, and spends himself in a worthy cause.”
Spiritually speaking, to become the courageous people God intends us to be, we are going to suffer some hardship and take some punches. We will need to vigorously train and prepare. And when challenges become great, we must press through looking to Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith.
It’s easy to be an “armchair quarterback” on Sunday afternoon while we watch a football game. It’s another matter to be on the field of play and lead a team. Quick decisions must be made when you’re on the field!
I once heard this phrase in reference to Jacob, who wrestled with the angel and had his hip moved out of place. His name was changed to Israel, but he walked with a limp that day forward. “Never trust a person who doesn’t walk with a limp!” In other words, humility proceeds honor!
God raises Gideon as a deliverer
Because of the sin of the Israelites, everyone is suffering, including Gideon. But God has a plan, He will call and prepare Gideon to deliver the nation.
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!” Jud. 6:11-12 NKJV
Gideon’s name means “valiant warrior.” But Gideon doesn’t see himself as an overcomer, much less a valiant warrior. The sin of the nation, his family’s sin, and his own false identity prevent Gideon from seeing himself as God sees him.
When God calls and commissions us, He doesn’t remind us of our faults and weaknesses. Instead, He builds our faith by proclaiming something over us, like:
“You’re a mighty warrior,” or
“A father of many nations,” or
“You’re the one all of Israel is waiting on!” or
The angel says to Gideon, “The Lord is with you, you mighty man of valor!” (Jud. 6:12 NKJV)
Gideon was a young man who was destined to change the course of history.
Like many of us, his low self-esteem caused him to have a false humility that reduced his life to simply making a living. See your career or work as part of your calling, but foremost, see yourself as God’s ambassador with a role that is bigger than just “making a living.”
You’re calling may be in your job or career, but for many, their job is to support them, and their calling is discovered in God’s family—interrelated with others in the body of Christ.
One purpose of prophetic ministry is to discover and call out the potential that the Lord has placed within people. Prophecy, combined with the right Godly identity, empowers people to be who God created them to be.
God sends an angel to Gideon to pronounce his call and to remove his false identity. God knows that Israel’s deliverance rests on His ability to impact Gideon’s self-esteem and wrong identity.
Many of us, like Gideon, are fed up with the evil that surrounds us. But it hasn’t occurred to us that the miracle we are praying for already lies within us!
Remember, it’s “Christ in you, the hope of glory!” (Col. 1:27 NKJV) It’s according to His power working in and through us, above all that we could ask or imagine (Eph. 3:20).
The schemes of the enemy and the power of death can’t prevent the advance of God’s kingdom, stop His Church, or claim victory over us.
34 Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us. 35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? … Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. Rom. 8:34-35, 37 NKJV
The Midianites were Israel’s enemies, but the real bondage was within Gideon.
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.” Jud. 6:13 NKJV
The darkness surrounding Gideon has caused him to doubt God’s promises and miracle power. Gideon is filled with doubt and unbelief. He doubts God can change the situation, and it has caused him to doubt himself.
Often, we fall into the same wrong thinking. We look at our world or the anti-Christian worldview that is so prevalent, and we feel hopeless. Yet the Bible and Church history record time and time again when the Lord breaks in to deliver, save, and change the course of history.
But the Lord turns to him and says,
“…Go in this might of yours (Go in this your strength NASB), and you shall save Israel from the hand of Midianites. Have I not sent you?” Jud. 6:14 NKJV
Where did his strength come from? Answer: his faint remembrance of God’s past promises, God’s past miracles, and knowing God is with him! Weak faith for sure, but God can work with it!
“So he said to Him, “O my Lord, how can I save Israel? Indeed, my clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father’s house.” Jud. 6:15 NKJV
Gideon responds from his human perspective and a wrong identity: “Is not my family the least in Manasseh and am I not the youngest?”
The problem isn’t that the enemy is so big; rather, he feels so small, insignificant, and powerless!
The Lord answers, “Surely I will be with you, and you shall defeat the Midianites as one man.” Jud. 6:16 NKJV
When God called Gideon a valiant warrior, he was able to step into an identity that allowed him to bring about the justice he yearned for. Because Gideon rose to be the leader God destined him to be, the people were loyal both to God and Gideon. “The sword of the Lord & Gideon”
New Identity Frees Us from the Past and Propels Us into the Future
Our true family lineage and identity is found in Jesus, we are no longer “the least in Manasseh” or just the “youngest” in the family!
Paul writes to the Romans:
14 All who are led by God’s Spirit are God’s sons and daughters. 15 You didn’t receive a spirit of slavery to lead you back again into fear, but you received a Spirit that shows you are adopted as his children. With this Spirit, we cry, “Abba, Father.” 16 The same Spirit agrees with our spirit, that we are God’s children. 17 But if we are children, we are also heirs. We are God’s heirs and fellow heirs with Christ, if we really suffer with him so that we can also be glorified with him. Rom. 8:14-17 CEB
When we give our lives to Christ, there is a “divine exchange.” He takes our old nature, nails it to the cross, and “recreates” us into His image.
Your worth is measured by the cross! He died so we could be restored to our original purpose, to share God’s glory and bring Him glory by serving others.
Paul would also write the Ephesians about the importance of renewing our minds:
“…be renewed in the spirit of your mind…” Eph. 4:23 NKJV
Our minds must be renewed to who we are in Jesus. Our new life and identity are found in Christ, far above all power and principality!
The renewed mind agrees with God’s reality. God’s realm knows no limits and does not lack creativity. A renewed mind enables God to release His ideas, His creativity, and His power to us and through us to our world.
Paul rejoiced in his sufferings because he loved Jesus more than life. What if Paul had stopped short or had given up? God didn’t give up on Gideon, Paul, or any other hero of the faith; and He won’t give up on you and me!
“And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns.” Phil. 1:6 NLT
God, who began a good work in you, will be faithful to complete it. He has been at work in you before you were born and will not leave you half-finished. He will complete the work that He has set out to do in and through you.
Don’t stop short of God’s promises to you. Don’t stop short of your destiny.
You were destined to do great things in and through Him. “Greater is He that is in you than he that is in the world!” 1 John 4:4NKJV
He wants us to be ready, full of Jesus and His hope and glory, to reveal to a lost and hopeless world. If you are empty, He will fill you.
When we aim to serve others, His glory is revealed, and His greatness shines through us. We are not smart enough, strong enough, prepared enough, or spiritual enough to do the work God wants us to do. But He is! God will finish His work through us; don’t stop short of His glory.
What has God spoken over your life, what is the identity that He has given you? Do you see yourself as small and insignificant, or do you agree with God’s identity in your life?
Final Thoughts…
Have you ever felt “small,” overwhelmed by the enemies you face? Maybe it’s a job or business situation, perhaps something God is calling you to. Remember, it’s Christ in you!
God has destined you to overcome, not just survive in life!
The greater one lives within you, and He takes delight in you. He wants to bless and prosper you, give you everything you need to succeed in this life and accomplish what He created you for.
The Church is called to be a Glorious Bride, a great Church subduing the kingdoms of darkness for Christ.
Church, are you ready to embrace greatness and not settle for just “existing?” It’s time for the saints of God to arise to their destiny—for revival, worldwide harvest, and nations saved!
I’ll continue next week with Gideon, how the Lord empowered him by the Spirit to become the deliverer of his people that God intended.
