“Never Alone: When God Brings You Back”
Series Title: Never Alone
Pastor Jim Lowe III
Sunday Morning, 9:30am Stream 04/26/26 (4th Sunday Message)
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{All scriptures are NIV84 unless stated}
We are finishing our talk on the study of Gideon.
The bible tells us that Israel had done evil in the Lords eyes…
they mixed with other cultures and accepted their practices… they began to serve other gods…
this was evil in the Lord’s eyes.
and they were given to Midan for 7 years. yet around the end of that time…
when Israel cried out for help to the real God…
he responded.
He appeared to Gideon and told him that he would fight for them to restore everything…
Message Title:
“Never Alone: When God Brings You Back”
Gideon was still afraid of trying to fight this army… and it seemed to only be getting worse.
By this point the Midianites, Amalekites and other eastern people (the enemy) joined forces. What was one army (Midian) now was 3.
If you know the story…you know that Gideon also had developed a LARGE army. In Judges Chapter 7
Gideon builds an army of 32,000.
against this large army of an estimated 135,000.
The Lord told them they have too many people…and if they won…they could say it was them.
…not the Lord.
That’s wild…the ratio alone for Gideon’s 32k to beat the 135k… That was a ratio of 1 to 4.
That means EVERY person for Israel would have to kill 4 people. and NOT die.
But the Lord says those odds are in your favor…
So the Lord has Gideon trim his army of 32,000… all the way down to 300.
Then the Lord says “now you know you can’t win…
without me…”
300 against 135,000.
That’s a ratio of 1 to 450.
That means that EACH person for Israel would have to kill 450! and not die!
The Lord Didn’t Just Help Gideon Win - He Removed Every Reason Gideon Could Think He Won On His Own!
So what’s the next thing the Lord does?
Judges 7:9-11
9 During that night the LORD said to Gideon, “Get up, go down against the camp, because I am going to give it into your hands. 10 If you are afraid to attack, go down to the camp with your servant Purah 11 and listen to what they are saying. Afterward, you will be encouraged to attack the camp.” So he and Purah his servant went down to the outposts of the camp.
So we see again the Lord says he will fight for Gideon. the Lord is constantly reminding Gideon of that.
He tells him if he’s afraid to attack…
to go down and hear what they’re saying.
Now before we get to what they’re saying…we have to see that the Lord is doing. The Lord realized that faith isn’t always easy.
he knows that the odds are impossible under any other circumstance. he knows that can create stress and worry with Gideon.
Yet the Lord’s plan doesn’t just provide victory…. he already had an answer to combat it.
The Lord Doesn’t Ignore Your Fears - He Makes A Plan For Them!
This lets us know that the Lord TRULY knows us.
he has us on his minds…and the things we’re really concerned about.
So what happens when Gideon goes to the camp?
Judges 7:12
12 The Midianites, the Amalekites and all the other eastern peoples had settled in the valley, thick as locusts. Their camels could no more be counted than the sand on the seashore.
Again more with the numbers…thick as locusts. their camels couldn’t be counted…
we know the estimated number of people there….
THIS was how it looked to them… it LOOKED like impossible odds… and honestly it was.
Judges 7:13
13 Gideon arrived just as a man was telling a friend his dream. “I had a dream,” he was saying. “A round loaf of barley bread came tumbling into the Midianite camp. It struck the tent with such force that the tent overturned and collapsed.”
Gideon arrives and creeps up on a group of them…
one of them is telling his dream of bread that came into the camp. it destroyed everything.
Judges 7:14
14 His friend responded, “This can be nothing other than the sword of Gideon son of Joash, the Israelite. God has given the Midianites and the whole camp into his hands.”
Look at what’s happening here!
One man is telling of a dream…
a dream that they all will be defeated by something.
a DIFFERENT man finishes the sentence with not only who it is… but knowing they’re gonna lose!
Gideon has been afraid and terrified this entire time… but he had been stepping out on faith…
but even when he is in this unstable place… we see what the Lord is doing… which brings us to #5 on our list.
What You Have When The Lord Is With You:
Gideon has been afraid of them…
when even THEY know they can’t win!
But these random men in the camp knew Gideon’s name.
Gideon was NOT a celebrity…
he was a farmer with low self-esteem
he was in hiding (threshing wheat in a winepress) But the enemy knew his name.
not only did the enemy know his name… they knew he was a threat!
They knew the name of the person who was going to defeat them. Gideon needed to hear this!
And so do we!
Your Enemy Already Knows Your Name - Not Because Of You, But Because Of The One You’re Walking With!
The thing is the Lord has already gone ahead of you to prepare the way for you.
This is a battle you are going to win…
not because of anything you’re doing…
but the Lord who is walking with you!
Exodus 23:20
20 “See, I am sending an angel ahead of you to guard you along the way and to bring you to the place I have prepared.
The Lord sends angels ahead of us… they will keep us…
they will bring us to the place the Lord has prepared… and that leads somewhere else.
Judges 7:14
14 His friend responded, “This can be nothing other than the sword of Gideon son of Joash, the Israelite. God has given the Midianites and the whole camp into his hands.”
They said that “God has given the Midianites and the whole camp into his hands…” Who?? “God?” Which God!?
They serve all kinda stuff…
Which God could they be referring to?
Oh they know…
and THAT God had a message for them.
How do they know?
This is how the Lord operates!
But what will he do to our enemies? they are finished…
just like in Gideon:
Exodus 23:27
27 “I will send my terror ahead of you and throw into confusion every nation you encounter. I will make all your enemies turn their backs and run.
(NCV) I will make your enemies afraid of me…
You are dealing with a God who prepares the way by not only giving you courage… but sending his terror to those who rise against you.
The Lord Doesn’t Just Meet Us In The Fight, He Terrifies Your Enemies Before You Arrive!
Your God is powerful!
No matter who your enemies serve..
James 2:19
19 You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder.
This means that no matter who is being the god over these people…
there is ONE God that they ALL have to bow down to.
Philippians 2:10-11
10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
This is telling us that there is a name above every name… and no matter who is against you…
there is a name they havre to bow down to…
The Lord Shows Us These Things So We Can Walk With Confidence, Not Fear!
In Joshua 6 it talks about Jericho…
Joshua 6:1
Now Jericho was tightly shut up because of the Israelites. No one went out and no one came in.
This lets us know about the city… the Lord doesn’t care…
Joshua 6:2
2 Then the LORD said to Joshua, “See, I have delivered Jericho into your hands, along with its king and its fighting men.
The Lord is saying Jericho has already been delivered… before the walk around the city…
before the 7 days and 7th times…
before the yelling and shouting to bring the walls down… The Lord says it’s delivered…
but what’s the first word?
“See”
The Lord Is Telling Us To “See” What He Has Already Done For Us!
Your future has already been planned.
The Lord not only fights for you, but the battle is already won! This is what those in the MIdian camp are realizing about Gideon.
You Aren’t Walking Into Uncertainty - You Are Walking Into Something That Was Already Prepared For You!
Psalm 23:5
5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies.
They have to sit around and watch what the Lord does for you… because they can’t touch you…
because they’re afraid of him!
It’s done!
So let’s get to the fight to see how the Lord can handle it!
After Gideon heard the fear in the enemies eyes… and they KNEW they were going to lose… he went and got his troops.
All 300 of them…against 135,000
remember each person is going to have to kill 450 each. he separated them into 3 groups…
he gave them trumpets and jars with torches inside.
Judges 7:19-21
19 Gideon and the hundred men with him reached the edge of the camp at the beginning of the middle watch, just after they had changed the guard. They blew their trumpets and broke the jars that were in their hands. 20 The three companies blew the trumpets and smashed the jars. Grasping the torches in their left hands and holding in their right hands the trumpets they were to blow, they shouted, “A sword for the LORD and for Gideon!” 21 While each man held his position around the camp, all the Midianites ran, crying out as they fled.
They attacked the enemy in the middle of the night.
All three groups blew their trumpets and smashed their jars revealing their torches.
When each person held their position around the camp…Midian began to panic.
Look at how the Lord fought for them…
Judges 7:20(b)
Grasping the torches in their left hands and holding in their right hands the trumpets they were to blow, they shouted, “A sword for the LORD and for Gideon!”
The torches were in their left hands… the trumpets in the right hands…
a sword for Gideon! where were the weapons??
They had a weapon you couldn’t see.
Judges 7:22(a)
22 When the three hundred trumpets sounded, the LORD caused the men throughout the camp to turn on each other with their swords.
This is why you have assurance before the outcome. The Lord told Gideon he would be with him…
That’s all that needed to happen!
The Lord Will Take The Fight Out Of Your Hands To Prove It Was Never Yours!
Too many times we try to take weapons to fights that aren’t ours… Moses told the Israelites that the Lord would fight for them…
just get out of the way.
sometimes we just need to stay in our lane.
If The Lord Is With You, You Don’t Need To Win The Fight. You Just Need To Stay Out Of His Way!
How did we get here?
Israel did evil in the Lord’s eyes.
for 7 years he gave them over to Midian.
yet when Israel cried out to the Lord for help… he went to Gideon.
Which takes us to our last thing we get from the presence of the Lord.
What You Have When The Lord Is With You:
This is about the Lord’s love.
His LOVE is the reason he’s fighting for you in the first place. and it shows how he will welcome you back.
We see it in another story…
Jesus tells a story about the Father’s love…
Luke 15:11-13
11 Jesus continued: “There was a man who had two sons. 12 The younger one said to his father, ‘Father, give me my share of the estate.’ So he divided his property between them. 13 “Not long after that, the younger son got together all he had, set off for a distant country and there squandered his wealth in wild living.
a young man has asked his father for his share of the estate so he can leave… basically his inheritance.
his father divides it up and gives it to him.
the son leaves and spends it all on wild living…doing what he wanted…
Luke 15:14-16
14 After he had spent everything, there was a severe famine in that whole country, and he began to be in need. 15 So he went and hired himself out to a citizen of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed pigs. 16 He longed to fill his stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything.
after he had nothing left…that’s when bad things happened… so he lowered himself to serve others.
he longed to fill his stomach with the pods pigs were eating… “Pods” came from a tree that were used as animal feed.
they were not meant for people.
We see here how far he had fallen.
He went from his father’s house to feeding pigs (which were unclean for jewish people). then he went from feeding these unclean animals to wanting THEIR food.
and no one would help him. he was at the bottom.
He was beneath what he was created for.
he had his wealth and potential…but squandered it on wild living. but it took him getting low enough…
to realize where he belonged.
Luke 15:17-20(a)
17 “When he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired men have food to spare, and here I am starving to death! 18 I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. 19 I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired men.’ 20 So he got up and went to his father.
He figured he could at least go work for his father…
even as a servant he’d be better than where he is now.
Luke 15:20(b)
“But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him.
while he was still a long way off…his father saw him coming back his father had compassions for him.
the FATHER didn’t wait for the son to make it back.
he ran to him…threw his arm around him and kissed him.
Luke 15:21-24
21 “The son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ 22 “But the father said to his servants, ‘Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. 23 Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let’s have a feast and celebrate.
24 For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ So they began to celebrate.
The father didn’t care about what happened before… he restored him like he never left…
with the best of what he had. the best robe…
placed a ring on his finger
and sandals on his feet.
This man TOOK his inheritance…
spent it on everything he shouldn’t have… but the father doesn’t care what you did…
he only cares that he come back.
For all the time that Israel went their own way…
all it took was for them to “come to their senses…” cry out to the Lord…and he brought them back.
The Father Doesn’t Care What You’ve Done, Only That You Come To Your Senses And Come Back!
So here are 6 things you get from having the Presence of the Lord with you:
What You Have When The Lord Is With You:
-
He Will Fight For You!
-
You Have Victory Because The Fight Is Fixed!
-
You Gain Peace And Clarity!
-
He Gives Direction That Corrects What’s Out Of Place
-
You Have Assurance Before The Outcome!
-
You Have Restoration Waiting With Open Arms!
Now that we’re finishing this…
We see Gideon - a man broken from his own circumstances and life… but he had an encounter with the Lord…
and learned what it meant to not only be in his presence but to watch him work.
So what is our take away from this?
How do we further increase his presence in our lives?
How do we stop trying to thresh wheat in our winepresses? how do we stop trying to do it on our own?
how do we come to our senses?
So what’s our job?
How To Further His Presence In Us:
-
Return To Him And Be Fully Restored (6)
-
Let Him Change You Before He Uses You (3,4)
-
Trust The Lord Is Already Working For You (1,2,5)
Remember in the year of the comeback… while he is with us…
we have to return to him to get what’s ours.
we have to return to him to have him fight for us.
You don’t start with victory… you start with surrender.
And when you come back to God—
He’ll change you, and then show you He’s already been working.
Deuteronomy 31:6(b)
6 “Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.”
