Character Studies - ElectronicGospel

D. Deliverer Appointed1. when God saves man, it must always be to His glory and not the man’s2. God chooses Gideon, an unknown until now (Judges 6:11-16)3. God leads his new servant to take a stand and declare his loyalty (Judges 6:25-32)a. Gideon challenges Baal by tearing down its altarb. his father then challenges Baal to punish Gideon himself if he is really deity4. the new judge is still unconfident and so God proves Himself again to Gideon with the fleece(cf. Judges 6:33-40)5. finally, he is ready to battle the enemy, but his own army is deemed too large by Goda. his 32,000 were small compared to the swarm of locusts allied against him (cf. 7:12)b. but God was determined that the people know who won the battle for them and so heeliminated some of Gideon’s company1. first, the cowards were sent home (22,000 fled at the first invitation (Judges 7:3)2. with only 10,000 left, God deemed them still too numerous, so the careless wereexcused (Judges 7:4-6; these stopped watching long enough to look at the water (Judges 7:7)6. the 300, really the Lord, triumphed (Judges 7:19-25)E. Peace, Passage, Poverty1. with peace and prosperity restored, Israel served her ultimate deliverer, Jehovah2. time passes and Gideon and his generation grow old and die3. Israel turns back to Baal (Judges 8:29-35)4. the cycle has run its course and begins again as it did before Gideon and will afterIII. Escaping the Cycle TodayA. Man Without God is Impotent1. like unlearned children, time and again the children of Israel had to find a deliverer to rescuethem from the consequences of their sinsa. they were not stupid, but ignorant and undisciplined by cruel but instructive historyb. their fathers and mothers walked a path of destruction and the children ignored their fateand trod the same rebellious path2. those who do not know their history are doomed to repeat it (like a recurring nightmare, Israelcycled through doom again and againa. when man turns from God, he is as helpless as an invalidb. when man turns to God, he accepts God’s power and can be saved (Romans 7:24-8:2)B. Mixing Up Religions Leaves You Just Mixed Up1. the larger battle the judges fought but could not win for long was with the false religions of theworld that Israel was intent upon mixing into worship of Jehovaha. the idolatrous religions did not mind but Jehovah is a jealous God and would not share thehearts of his people with a dumb piece of gold or woodb. the Canaanite’s religion should have been eliminated when Joshua’s armies took thepromised land but they lacked the courage to do it; that failure would haunt Israel until the infectionwasted the whole body and God cast it off2. God is no less jealous today and demands his people renounce loyalties to their Baalsa. we must recognize that a little influence can rot our whole religion (First Corinthians 5:6-8)1. sin and falsehood and manmade doctrine are leavens that will rot the whole lump if wehave part with them2. God demands that we serve him with both sincerity and truth (cf. doesn’t matter howsincere you are if your are sincerely wrong; doesn’t matter how right you are if you really don’t care andare just playing a part)b. saints must be set apart (Second Corinthians 6:14-18)1. evil influence and affiliation with evil works will influence you eventually2. it will be gradual, perhaps unnoticeable, but deadly at last (First John 2:15-17)3. this includes the pomp of the Catholic church and the socialism of the ProtestantsC. Sanctification Breaks The Cycle of Apostasy1. when we are sanctified, we escape that deadly and hypocritical cycle of sin48! Jeff S. Smith