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Guest (Female): Welcome to PowerPoint with Jack Graham.

Jack Graham: Really this message is about how to fight the good fight of faith, how to live a life of valiant faith each one of us. And we are all in spiritual battles. We are fighting spiritual battles. It is invisible but it is real.

Guest (Female): On today's PowerPoint, Dr. Graham brings a message about where God's plan meets your purpose. Now here's Dr. Graham with his message, Valiant Faith.

Jack Graham: Gideon's story is found in Judges which is a powerful story, the book of Judges of the deliverers that God sent to restore his people. The children of Israel were living perpetually in a cycle of defeat. There would be rebellion against God and they would go off worshipping the false gods and idols of the generation.

After rebellion would come retribution or judgment and God would send judgment and they would be captured and oppressed by the captors around them. Then after retribution would come repentance. The people would cry out to God in repentance and then there would be restoration as God would send a deliverer to deliver them. But this cycle kept repeating itself again and again and again.

And when we meet Gideon in the book of Judges chapter 6, it was one of these dark periods in Israel's history when they were living under the oppression of the Midianites. They were living in caves and hiding from the enemy. This was God's people who were to be victorious, God's people living in the land of promise, God's people that had been given so much, but now they are whoring after false gods and living in this oppression. They're living in fear. They're living in failure. And then they cry out to the Lord.

Judges chapter 6 and verse 1, it says the people of Israel did what was evil in the sight of the Lord and the Lord gave them into the hand of the Midianites for seven years. And then look down in verse 6 of Judges chapter 6. It says and so all was brought very low because of Midian and the people of Israel cried out for help to the Lord.

You say how could this keep happening? They would rebel, there would be retribution, there would be repentance, and then restoration, and then it would happen again and again. That's the dark story. In fact, in the book of Judges it says every man did what was right in his own eyes. There was no submission to the lordship of God in their lives. And so it just happened again and again.

Why? It's quite possible because the fathers and the mothers did not pass their faith on to the succeeding generation. Did you know we're just one generation removed from total paganism? If we, our generation of families and parents, do not give a genuine authentic faith to our children, then our children will chase other gods and will face a terrible future.

And it happens again and again. But God in his mercy and God in his grace raises up a deliverer, a reluctant warrior by the name of Gideon. Look in chapter 6 of Judges at verse 11. Now the angel of the Lord came and sat under the terebinth at Ophrah which belonged to Joash the Abiezrite while his son Gideon was beating out wheat in the winepress to hide it from the Midianites.

He's down in the bottom of a winepress. He's in a hole, eking out a living for his family, just beating on this wheat. And the angel of the Lord appeared to him and said to him, "The Lord is with you, O mighty man of valor." Gideon looks around and says, "Who, me?" Look down in verse 14. And the Lord turned to him and said, "Go in this might that is yours and save Israel from the hand of Midian. Do not I send you?"

And he said, "Please Lord, how can I save Israel? Behold, my clan is the weakest in Manasseh and I am the least in my father's house." This guy needs a real shot of self-esteem but he's really dealing with the reality of his life, isn't he? At this point of his life he is a loser. He's living in defeat. He's anything but a warrior, anything but valiant.

He's down, he's defeated, he's depressed and you know when you're down, you're defeated, you're depressed, you feel so worthless. And that's the way he felt. He's hiding, just holding on to life as best as he can. He is as low as you can go. He's lost faith. He's lost hope. And when the Lord showed up he said, "If the Lord is with us, why are all these things happening? If the Lord is with us, why have all these things happened?"

The enemy loves to keep you down, down in that hole you're in, in defeat, telling you you're not good enough, you're not strong enough, you're not educated enough, you're not talented enough. The devil wants to suppress you and many people have just given up and stay in that hole. You've given up on your future. You've given up on your marriage. You've given up on your kids. You've given up on church.

But God is calling you to something better. God is looking at you today and if you are in Christ, he's saying to you, "O mighty man or woman of valor." Get up out of that hole that you're in and in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ become who you are in Christ. For there Gideon meets the God of the impossible, the God who's about to do something so amazing that the whole world from generation to generation would hear about it.

Not for Gideon's sake but for God's sake. And let me remind you that we as believers are not just to survive like he was just surviving, but we are to thrive. We are to live in triumph in Christ. We really are. We're not just to succeed but we are to exceed the expectations of the world. God is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we can ask or think.

What some of you need to do today is to meet the God of the impossible who can take you right where you are, feeling the way that you feel, so down, so low, so defeated, your faith almost gone, and God is getting ready to do something with your life that will amaze the world. Gideon argues how can I save Israel?

But I want to remind you of this: when God called him, God's callings are God's equippings and God doesn't call the equipped, he equips the called. So when God calls you to do something for him, be it large or be it small, then he equips you to do it. God chooses and uses people who understand their own inadequacies and understand his sufficiencies, that we are not adequate in ourselves.

This is the principle: it's not who you are but whose you are. God doesn't choose us on the basis of our education or our ability, not scholarship but relationship. It's our relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ that equips us and enables us. 1 Corinthians 1:26 and 27, for consider your calling, brothers, not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many of you were powerful, not many of you were noble of noble birth.

But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise, God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong. God looks for the foolish, the weak, the simple, even the defeated and calls us, people like you and me, to do something great for him. And why does he call people like us? So that we don't get the glory when it happens. God gets the glory. God gets the glory.

1 Corinthians 1:31, let him who boasts boast in the Lord. If we boast, let us boast in what God has done. To God be the glory, great things he has done. 2 Corinthians 3:5, not that we are sufficient in ourselves to claim anything as coming from us, but our sufficiency is from God. Jesus said without me you can do nothing.

We say, "Oh, I can do something." No, Jesus said without me you can do nothing if you're talking about bearing lasting fruit for the Lord. I love in chapter 6 and verse 34, look at it, but the Spirit of the Lord clothed Gideon. The Spirit of the Lord clothed Gideon. The key to victory in our lives is his indwelling presence. This is the most important spiritual lesson a Christian can learn.

Are you listening to me? When I was a young Christian just starting out, even a young pastor, I didn't know much about the work and the ministry of the Holy Spirit. Thankfully our pastor had taught us of the ministry of the Holy Spirit, but I didn't know a lot about that until I began to read God's word about the work of the Holy Spirit in the believer's life and the presence of the indwelling presence, Christ in you the hope of glory.

I read a book called The Saving Life of Christ by a British preacher by the name of Ian Thomas, one of the most important books I've read because it speaks of Christ in us and living the life that we're not only saved by his death. We know so much about his cross and the bloody nails and his sacrifice and the forgiveness of sin, that we're saved by his death and it is true, we are saved by his death on the cross for us.

But we are also saved by his life, his risen life. For if it were not for the resurrection the cross would have been meaningless. So we are saved by his life as well as his death and that life is in us. Paul said to live is Christ and to die is gain. And so when it says here, when it says the Spirit of the Lord clothed Gideon, that meant from that moment forward God went about wearing Gideon like a suit.

What if you said, "Lord, just live in me. Live your life through me. May your Spirit wear me like a suit of clothes and yes, Lord, that I may wear and wore for you." We're saved by his life.

Guest (Female): You're listening to PowerPoint with Jack Graham and the message Valiant Faith. Be sure to sign up to receive Dr. Graham's daily video devotional on the seven words from the cross. This powerful study will remind you of the sacrifice Jesus made so that we can be forgiven of our sins and reconciled to God. Dr. Graham will share a short devotional about the final words that Jesus spoke from the cross and what they mean to us today. To sign up, text CROSS to 59789. It's absolutely free to join, so text CROSS to 59789.

Right now you have an incredible opportunity to help someone experience the hope and truth of Jesus Christ and thanks to an exciting $150,000 matching grant, your gifts this month will be doubled to help proclaim God's word even farther through PowerPoint Ministries. And as our way of saying thanks, we'd love to send you Dr. Graham's book, Help, a powerful resource showing you how Jesus meets you in your struggles with strength, comfort, and hope. Text MAR to 59789 to give today. Again, that's MAR to 59789. Now let's get back to today's message, Valiant Faith.

Jack Graham: So Gideon is now clothed with the Lord and he becomes a powerful man. So if you're going to be a valiant warrior, the first thing you have to do is to renew your faith. That's what happened to Gideon. It starts out, "If the Lord is with us." It starts out in defeat, in depression, discouragement, despondency, despair, all of those bad D-words. But it ends up God's wearing him now like a suit of clothes.

So if you want to be a valiant warrior and experience valiant faith, you need to start today by renewing your faith, renewing your faith in God. If your faith has been weak and small and if you have lost hope and lost confidence in God, you need to get before the Lord and stay there until your faith is renewed. Then secondly, you need to remove your fears.

God challenged Gideon to gather an army to go up against these Midianites. And so 32,000 warriors came to the battle, they thought. 32,000 Israelites are ready to go against this host of Midianites. He says gather the army, 32,000 show up and God says you have too many. What? There's a multitude against them and God says you got too many with 32,000.

God said tell everybody who's afraid to go home. The next thing Gideon knows he's wiping the dust off of himself because 22,000 people leave. They weren't fit for the fight because they were afraid. God is looking for courageous and valiant people and you have to get fear out of sight, out of mind. Fear will destroy you.

God has not given us a spirit of fear, but love, power, and a sound mind. Fear's contagious. You get fear in a group and it can destroy the vision and the valor and the victory that God wants to give. It happened to the Israelites before. Remember when they were coming up on the promised land, come out of Egypt, God had given them the victory through the Red Sea over Pharaoh's army.

They come right up to the promised land. I mean you think of the wandering in the wilderness like they were wandering for miles and miles and miles year after year. No, they were just going around in circles. You know why? Because they came right up to the land, God said go take the land, it's yours. And so Moses sent a surveillance group over there of ten spies to check it out and to come back and give a report.

And the spies, the majority of them, came back and said we can't do this. There are giants in this land and there's too much opposition and they were afraid. Only Joshua and Caleb came back and said, "Yes, there are giants, but this land is so great. It's flowing with milk and honey. The fruit is so luscious we had to carry it back on poles."

But the Israelites took the majority report. You know the majority is not always right. And as a result of their unbelief because of fear, they spent the next forty years on the world's longest funeral march and an entire generation except for Joshua and Caleb and his family who believed, an entire generation died in the wilderness, all because of fear.

You cannot be afraid against the enemies that oppose us. There are enemies, there's always opposition, but fear destroys faith. Did you know that? Fear destroys faith. The fear in the camp will destroy the desires and the dreams of people. So whatever you fear, remember this: if you can bow before God, you can stand before any human force. You can stand against the devil himself. There's nothing to fear.

So God said get rid of the fearful, get rid of the cowards, get rid of the people who don't really want to fight. And so now they're down to 10,000. And God said you still have too many. What? And he gave them a test. It was a secret test. He said take them down by the brook or down by the river and when they get down to drink their water, the ones who get down and put their weapons down and their swords down and lap the water like a dog, send all of them home.

But the ones who get down and keep their weapon ready and drink like this, that's your warrior. Those are your valiant soldiers. It was this secret test and when the test was done, there were only 300 left. 300 to go against this mighty Midianite army. What do we need to do? We need to reset our focus. Not only remove your fears, renew your faith, but reset your focus.

This second test was to make sure that all the soldiers were truly committed. When they go down to Gideon's Spring and drink, he's dealing with the carnal, he's dealing here with the careless and he's getting rid of the people who were just along for the ride, but really weren't committed, who really weren't engaged. The last thing is to recall God's faithfulness.

The army's ready. They're 300 strong now. 300 of them. The odds were 450 to one, but they're ready to roll and God gives them a strategy. Here's how the battle was won. God sent Gideon. He said if you're afraid, go down into the enemy's camp, take somebody with you and listen. And God gave him a word there because he overheard a couple of Midianites talking.

One guy woke up and he said, "You know, I had a terrible dream. It's the strangest dream I ever had." He said, "There was a big barley loaf that came rolling down the hill and into our camp, the Midianite, and was crushing our encampment. What do you think that was all about?" And with fear on his face the Midianite said, "I know what that is. That's Gideon and his army. God has given Gideon our encampment."

You see barley bread was the coarsest, cheapest, most worthless bread. They fed it to animals and to the very poor. And when that big old barley loaf came rolling down into the camp and destroyed the camp, that was just the sign that God was giving Gideon. He didn't do it for the enemies, he did it for Gideon. God had a word. God gave Gideon a word now. He knew the victory was sure.

And so God told Gideon to give them weapons and they were strange weapons indeed. He said give them a trumpet and give them a torch or a candle and give them a clay jar. Divide the company of 300 into three groups: 100 here, 100 here, and 100 there. And at the sound of the trumpets, break the jar, shine the light, and blow the trumpets.

Now that's a strange strategy, sort of like the children of Israel walking around Jericho's walls. Do you remember? God uses strange strategies to win great victories. Blow the trumpet, break the jar, shine the light. Blow the trumpet, shatter the jar, and shine the light. What a picture of that is of what an illustration of what we're to be doing in our generation.

With clarion call we are to sound the trumpet of the gospel. We're to be obedient to him. We're to break the jar. The earthen jar is a symbol of our own brokenness. The light can't shine out of the jar until the jar is broken. But it was a kind of psychological warfare. It so frightened the camp of the Midianites because God was at work, sent fear into their hearts when all this shattering is going on and this trumpet blowing is going on.

Then the men shouted, "For the sword of the Lord and of Gideon!" And the Midianites became so afraid that they began turning on one another and fighting and killing each other and running for their lives. God's army of 300, a rag-tag army of 300, devoured the Midianites and Gideon was the great warrior. What's that all about? I tell you what it's all about: if God be for us who can be against us?

I tell you what it's all about: we are more than conquerors through Jesus who loves us. I tell you what it's all about: greater is he that is in you than he that is in the world. And God wants you to be a valiant warrior and Gideon worships in the camp of the enemy. And so are we to worship in this world our Lord Jesus Christ.

The enemy may be mighty but God is almighty. The enemy may be powerful but God is all-powerful. And the battle is won. God gave him a word and he lived on those promises of God. You get a word from God about your victory in Jesus Christ and you will overcome and not be overcome. You'll not be a victim in life's battles but you will be a victor in Jesus' name.

Guest (Female): You're listening to PowerPoint with Jack Graham and the message Valiant Faith. I want you to know that right now your support goes even further to help share the hope of Jesus with people around the world. Thanks to a generous $150,000 matching grant, every gift this month will be doubled to help proclaim God's word through PowerPoint Ministries. That means you'll help reach even more people who desperately need truth, encouragement, and the gospel.

And as a heartfelt thank you for your generous gift this month, we'll send you Dr. Graham's book, Help, to remind you that you are not alone, your pain is not unseen, and God's peace is real. Text MAR to 59789 to have your gift doubled and request your copy today. Again, text MAR, M-A-R, to 59789. Be sure to sign up to receive Dr. Graham's daily video devotional on the seven words from the cross.

This powerful study will remind you of the sacrifice Jesus made so that we can be forgiven of our sins and reconciled to God. Dr. Graham will share a short devotional about the final words that Jesus spoke from the cross and what they mean to us today. To sign up, just text CROSS to 59789. It's absolutely free to join, so text CROSS to 59789. Pastor, what is your PowerPoint for today?

Jack Graham: Well, I love all of these stories of faith that we find in Hebrews 11 and throughout the Old Testament because they are illustrations and examples for us that we may learn not just stories of history but that we may experience life and victory in our own struggles, in our own spiritual battles. Like Gideon and the children of Israel, we all face struggles. Everyone who follows Jesus is going to face opposition.

And that's what's happening when we meet Gideon. These people were called to live victoriously in the land of promise, but they were cowering, they were hiding from their enemy, they were living in a defeated condition. And yet in his mercy, God chose to raise up a deliverer from among them, a man by the name of Gideon. But Gideon was a reluctant warrior.

And when the angel of the Lord appeared to him and said, "The Lord is with you, O mighty man of valor," Gideon was so defeated, he couldn't even believe the angel was speaking to him. He was thinking, "Who, me?" But God saw Gideon's potential and he spoke to it. And God awakened Gideon to the possibilities of becoming a mighty man of valor. God overcame Gideon's objections and equipped him to be a warrior for him. Ultimately Gideon did as God instructed him and the enemy was overcome.

I want you to know today that God is still in the business of doing the impossible, of defeating the enemies in our lives, of winning victory after victory in his name through us. So maybe you feel down and defeated, maybe you're depressed and feel worthless like Gideon. That's what happens when you lose your faith and take your eyes off the Lord. You begin to lose faith and the next thing is you lose hope.

Nothing makes the devil happier than to keep you down, beaten, and defeated. He'll tell you you're not good enough, you're not strong enough, you're not educated enough, you're not equipped enough, whatever it is he can keep you down, keep you dejected. But God doesn't want you to quit on your life and quit on your future. God wants you to fight the good fight of faith and like Gideon, fight your spiritual battles with valiant faith.

So if you're a child of God and you find yourself hunkered down, losing hope, God is with you right now. He is speaking life into you, mighty man and woman of valor. Get out of that hole. And in the name of the Lord Jesus, be the warrior that God has called you to be for him.

Guest (Female): And that is today's PowerPoint. Remember, when you give a gift to PowerPoint, we'll send you Dr. Graham's book, Help. Just text MAR to 59789. And join us again next time as Dr. Graham brings a message about how you can experience the light of God's love every day. That's next time on PowerPoint with Jack Graham. PowerPoint with Jack Graham is sponsored by PowerPoint Ministries.