Learn From Gideon, 5

~ God Goes With His People Into Battle ~

The Biblical account of the life of Gideon provides for one of the most interesting character studies in all of Scripture.  In this series we will discover practical lessons for living the Christian life today.  

Scripture  ~  “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.  And the Angel of the Lord appeared to him, and said to him, ‘The Lord is with you, you mighty man of valor!’” (Judges 6:11-12).   

Learn From Gideon  ~  You and God are a majority! 

1. God accompanies His people on any mission He gives them.
2. God sees Gideon as he will be—not as he is.  Notice that He considers Gideon to be mighty and brave.
3. These first two principles are alive and well today.  Jesus told His disciples, “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.  Amen” (Matthew 28:19-20). 

concluding comment  ~  We learn about Gideon primarily from Judges 6-8, but also Isaiah 9:1-7, and Hebrews 11:1-3, 32-34.

~ Robert Lloyd Russell, ABUNDANT LIFE NOW

NOTES:

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3 Exhortations

~ 3 Lettuce Varieties! ~

Let Us Draw Near (faith’s exercise)  ~  “Therefore, brethren, having boldness to enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way which He consecrated for us, through the veil, that is, His flesh, and having a High Priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water” (Hebrews 10:19-22).  …

Let Us Hold Fast (hope’s grasp)  ~  … “Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful” (Hebrews 10:23). …  

Let Us Consider (love’s labor)  ~  … “And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching” (Hebrews 10:24-25). 

~ Robert Lloyd Russell, ABUNDANT LIFE NOW

NOTES:

(1)     The current TOP 10 ALN posts are listed at the very bottom of this home page.

(2)     There is an INDEX of all ALN posts accessed by scrolling down the left column.

(3)     You may LINK to any ALN posts on your own blog or website. 

(4)     You may COPY any ALN post, but please credit ALN as the source by prominently displaying the following statement:  Reprinted from “Abundant Life Now,” a free blog which offers inspiring moments, thought-provoking comments, and solid Biblical insight at http://RobertLloydRussell.blogspot.com/ .

Sin Exposed, 5of5

~ Sinfulness in Chapter 7 of the Book of Isaiah ~

Lack of Faith  ~  “Now it came to pass in the days of Ahaz the son of Jotham, the son of Uzziah, king of Judah, that Rezin king of Syria and Pekah the son of Remaliah, king of Israel, went up to Jerusalem to make war against it, but could not prevail against it.  And it was told to the house of David, saying, ‘Syria's forces are deployed in Ephraim.’  So his heart and the heart of his people were moved as the trees of the woods are moved with the wind.  Then the Lord said to Isaiah, ‘Go out now to meet Ahaz, you and Shear-Jashub your son, at the end of the aqueduct from the upper pool, on the highway to the Fuller’s Field, and say to him: “Take heed, and be quiet; do not fear or be fainthearted for these two stubs of smoking firebrands, for the fierce anger of Rezin and Syria, and the son of Remaliah.  Because Syria, Ephraim, and the son of Remaliah have plotted evil against you, saying, ‘Let us go up against Judah and trouble it, and let us make a gap in its wall for ourselves, and set a king over them, the son of Tabel’ — thus says the Lord God: ‘It shall not stand, nor shall it come to pass.  For the head of Syria is Damascus, and the head of Damascus is Rezin.  Within sixty-five years Ephraim will be broken, so that it will not be a people.  The head of Ephraim is Samaria, and the head of Samaria is Remaliah’s son.  If you will not believe, surely you shall not be established.’”’  

Moreover the Lord spoke again to Ahaz, saying, ‘Ask a sign for yourself from the Lord your God; ask it either in the depth or in the height above.’  But Ahaz said, ‘I will not ask, nor will I test the Lord!’  Then he said, ‘Hear now, O house of David!  Is it a small thing for you to weary men, but will you weary my God also?  Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign:  Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel.  Curds and honey He shall eat, that He may know to refuse the evil and choose the good.  For before the Child shall know to refuse the evil and choose the good, the land that you dread will be forsaken by both her kings.  The Lord will bring the king of Assyria upon you and your people and your father’s house — days that have not come since the day that Ephraim departed from Judah’” (Isaiah 7:1-17).  

Concluding Thought (for this series)  ~  “Whatever is not from faith is sin” (Romans 14:23b).

~ Robert Lloyd Russell, ABUNDANT LIFE NOW

NOTES:

(1)     The current TOP 10 ALN posts are listed at the very bottom of this home page.

(2)     There is an INDEX of all ALN posts accessed by scrolling down the left column.

(3)     You may LINK to any ALN posts on your own blog or website. 

(4)     You may COPY any ALN post, but please credit ALN as the source by prominently displaying the following statement:  Reprinted from “Abundant Life Now,” a free blog which offers inspiring moments, thought-provoking comments, and solid Biblical insight at http://RobertLloydRussell.blogspot.com/ .