Live Free with Josh Howerton - Step Up, Mighty Warrior! | Ep. 432 | Tuesday, October 1, 2024

Episode Date: October 1, 2024

We commonly cling to lies and negative labels spoken over our lives, accepting them as truths. However, when God reveals our true identities, we often doubt and find excuses to reject the positive affirmations He lovingly gives to us. God sees greatness within you and envisions using you as an instrument for driving change and making a positive impact on those around you. So today, ask yourself, how is God calling me to step up today? For more information, visit lakepointe.church/dailydrive

Thanks for tuning in to today's Daily Drive with Lake Point Church, a daily dose of God's word for your morning drive. When the word, not the world, becomes the majority of your week, your life will start to change. For that reason, our prayer is that God will speak to you through today's devotional. For more digital content to feed your faith, visit lakepoint.comit.com slash daily drive. And now let's dive in to today's devotional. Hey, what is up, everybody? Thanks for joining us on the Daily Drive. My name is Bro.

And yesterday, we started to dive into a story about an underdog, the kind of riveting story where the odds are completely stacked against somebody. The story is found in the Old Testament Book of Judges. And the context is this. The nation of Israel has been rebellious against God for a long, long time. And as a result of their free will choices, they had been captured and oppressed by the powerful nation of Midian. After seven years of this, they finally cry out to God for help.

And even though, even though they have rebelled against him and had multiple affairs with phony gods, his love is unfailing. And God responds. And that's where episode two of our story begins. Let's pick it up where we are introduced to the main character, a guy called Gideon, beginning of verse 11 of Judges chapter 6. The angel of the Lord came and sat down under the oak in Oprah.

Oprah. Man, that girl is everywhere. Sorry. The oak belonged to Joash, the Azizirite, where his son, Gideon, there's our boy, was threshing wheat in a wine press to keep it from the Midianites. When the angel of the Lord appeared to Gideon, he said, The Lord is with you, mighty warrior. And so Gideon starts looking around.

He says to the visitor, Mighty warrior. You talking to me? Oh, you get the wrong guy. Can't you see, I'm a simple farmer. I'm a grain thresher. In fact, I'm hiding out threshing grain. Mighty warrior?

I believe you must have me confused with somebody else. You know, we all hear other voices telling us about who we are, don't we? Voices from the past, voices that we live around, work with, go to school with, telling us that we are worthless, stupid, ugly, inadequate, flawed. And you know what? We tend to believe them. And then when God tells us who we really are, we say, you're talking to me?

Oh, no, you get the wrong guy. You get the wrong girl. You must have me confused with somebody else. You see, because I'm unlovable. I'm unstable, man. I'm an addict. I'm too fat. I'm too slow.

Excuse me? Did you call me loved? Did you call me priceless? treasured? Did you say I'm worthy? Did you... Excuse me, did you say I'm enough? Did you call me mighty? A hero? A warrior? Sorry, sorry, God, but you got the wrong guy. You got the wrong girl. Try two doors down. But gang, that's the way God sees you as a hero, as a mighty warrior. Yeah, and I'm talking to you. He doesn't want you to walk through life wearing all the labels that other people have attached to you.

He wants you to move through your days with a humble confidence in who he says you are. I'm sure many of you have seen or heard this, but I have to pull it up occasionally just to remind myself of who God says I am. This is what God says about me throughout Scripture. I am God's child. I am Christ's friend. I have been justified. I'm united with the Lord and I'm one in spirit with him.

I've been bought with a price. I belong to God. I'm a member of Christ's body. I've been adopted as God's child. I have direct access to God through the Holy Spirit. I've been redeemed and forgiven of all my sin. I'm complete in Christ. I'm free forever from condemnation.

I'm assured that God works all things together for good for me. I cannot be separated from the love of God. I've been established anointed and sealed by God. I'm confident that God will finish the good work he started in me. I'm a citizen of heaven. I'm hidden with Christ. I've not been given a spirit of fear but a power, love, and self-discipline. I can find mercy and grace to help me in a time of need.

I'm born of God and the evil one cannot touch me. I am the salt of the earth and the light of the world. I'm a branch of the true vine Jesus, a channel of his life. I've been chosen to bear fruit. I'm a personal spirit and power witness of Christ. I'm a temple of God. I'm a minister of reconciliation for God. I am God's co-worker.

I'm seated with Christ in the heavenly realms. I am God's workmanship created for good works. I may approach God with freedom and confidence, and I can do all things through Christ who gives me so. strength. He's talking to you, mighty warrior. That's who you are. And you just might be the one to step up and end the cycle of dysfunction in your family, to heroically end the years of alcoholism or the years of abuse or the ugliness of racism or angry grudges and feuds. You may be the one. God uses to change your workplace, to change your school. Who knows? You may be the one

who God uses to bring the crime rate down in your city, to deliver compassion to thousands that need help and hope. God may be saying to you, yes you, hey mighty warrior, the Lord is with you. Step up. Well, Gideon, he hears that, comes back with the classic question. Verse 13, sir, if the Lord is with us, why has all this happened to us? And where are all the miracles our ancestors told us about. Didn't they say the Lord brought us up out of Egypt? But now the Lord has abandoned us and handed us over to the Midianites. Now, Gideon's not thinking about how Israel had abandoned God,

only feeling like God had abandoned them. And we get like that too, don't we? It's much easier to assign blame. Point fingers get mad at God for the mess that we actually create it. Again, there's no ownership for their situation, just, if God loves us, then how did it get to this? Where is he now? Well, God kind of sweeps aside the question, doesn't go into a long defense or a debate,

doesn't say, let me tell you something about personal responsibility. He just simply says, well, I'm right here right now. Verse 14, and the Lord turned to him and said, Go with the strength you have and rescue Israel from the Midianites. I am sending you. step up mighty warrior I have heard the cries and I'm about to move and I'm going to move

through you you know it kind of reminds me that encounter that Moses had with God at a birding bush when Moses says me you're talking to me he starts to backtrack and say how am I going to lead the people out and God says it's not about you

leading him out I the great I am is going to do that I am about the move and like Moses Gideon starts to offer excuses verse 15 but Lord, how can I rescue Israel? My clan is the weakest in the whole tribal Manassah, and I am the least in my entire family. Come on, there are so many stronger, smarter, better, more qualified than me. Why me? Are you serious? And God responds the same way that he did with Moses. He says, I will be with you, and you will destroy the Midianites as if you were fighting against one man.

So Gideon says, Okay. But I'm going to need a sign. You ever do that? He says, I'll be right back. And he rushes away and prepares this offering to the Lord and gives it to this angel under the tree. And the angel touches it and fire flames up and consumes it all.

And then he disappears. Well, Gideon is left stunned. He's freaking out. He says, I'm doomed. I have seen the angel of the Lord face to face. I'm going to die. And that's how episode two, Let me ask you, what's God calling you to do?

How is he asking you to step up? I pray that you will walk in the humble confidence of who he says you are today and see how God starts to move in your life. Then come on back tomorrow for episode three. Hope you have a great day. Thanks for tuning in today. For more biblical teaching and worship, join us for our church online live weekend services on Saturdays and Sundays.

more information about all the digital ministries of Lake Point, visit lakepoint. compto-church slash daily drive. Also, if this podcast was helpful to you, would you be sure to rate, review, and share this podcast to help get the word out.