Gideon: An Unsuspecting Hero
Posted on June 25, 2008Preached by Chris Adams, June 22, 2008
Communion Message by Wayne Ouellette; “The Suffering and Surrender of Families Facing Autism”
Gideon: An Unsuspecting HeroPosted on June 25, 2008Preached by Chris Adams, June 22, 2008
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We’ve been set free from slavery to sin to be slaves to righteousness! |
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God chose Gideon to do great things, but Gideon had to fight through his own insecurities to ascend the spiritual heights where God had planned to take Israel through him. In Judges 6
, Gideon did much more than stand up to his father’s worldly reliance on false gods–he stood up to his own fears: to his fear of failure and to his fear of men’s reactions and non-reactions . . . and ultimately to his fear of God not being there with him in the MIDDLE of the battle.
When we’re honest with ourselves, we see how weak and dependent on ourselves we really can be! It’s there amidst the wrestling prayers, in the loud cries and tears that we find our perfect heavenly Father who doesn’t find fault with us when we ask him for wisdom! (James 1) Gideon fought through to a victorious mind-set by praying to God and working out his fear issues, until he could trust Him and build that altar called “The Lord of Peace.” The fact that Gideon still struggled with his fears after that victorious, faithful experience with God can encourage us to keep fighting to be righteous each and every day. Remember how he demolished the altar of Baal and cut down the Asherah pole–but he did it at night?! (Judges 6:26-28) We need to imitate Gideon and let God turn our weakness into strengths, realizing that if GIDEON could make it into the Hall of Faith in Hebrews 11, then so can we!
Listen to this passage that paints the most beautiful picture of a God who will meet us where we are at and strengthen us:
Psalm 85:9-11
Surely his salvation is near those who fear him,
that his glory may dwell in our land.Love and faithfulness meet together;
righteousness and peace kiss each other.Faithfulness springs forth from the earth,
and righteousness looks down from heaven.
If we allow God to inspire us to be men and women of righteousness and peace, then we will spur one another on to heroic action–to find the men and women of peace whom God is seeking throughout this world! And we will see God bear fruit–the likes of which none of us would have ever suspected!
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Preached by Chris Adams, June 15, 2008
Communion Message by Mike O’Donnell, June 15, 2008
Farewell words from Andrew & Patrique Smellie, June 15, 2008
At any point in our journey through this life, we have the amazing ability to stop, to think and to thank God for all the gifts that come from Him! The gift of salvation towers like a mountain over the plains of our lives, but from this ultimate gift, so many other gifts flow into our hearts. If God’s gift of salvation is the first-fruit, then our relationships with our family and friends are the fruits of the next generation that bring peace and mercy and compassion. So on this Father’s Day, we need to realize that God gives us these gifts to equip us for something great! He has always planned for us to be the light of the world . . . children of light (Matthew 5; Ephesians 5)
Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. He chose to give us birth through the word of truth, that we might be a kind of first-fruits of all he created.
When we realize that is only from His goodness that anything good can flow from our lives, we will be motivated to live radiantly and fruitfully for our Father of the heavenly lights!!
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Preached by Chris Adams, June 8, 2008
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In Acts 1:8 Luke records Jesus’ encouragement to those faithful few disciples that they will be his witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. His dream was God’s dream: that every man would turn and be healed of their sin and have an amazing relationship with his heavenly Father!
Jesus passes this dream on to his apostles and the book of Acts records how God carries them along by his Holy Spirit to live out this dream. Paul has a direct time of fellowship with Jesus and then you see him accepting God’s dream as his own. However, none of these men would see God’s dream become their destiny WITHOUT faith! Living faithfully amidst the testing and refining trials of persecution and suffering, allowed their hearts to be strengthened by God’s grace, not by their own strength or thoughts or spirit.
This is the strengthening we need: like Paul in Acts 27:21-26. He needed strengthening in that boat as he struggled to figure out why God would allow him literally to sink or swim! Verse 25 perhaps has the key to what we need in our faith: “for I have faith in God that it will happen just as he told me.” When you believe that what God’s Word says will happen, will actually happen . . . you obey!
We lack faith because we lack obedience. It is so encouraging to be reminded by Paul’s life that the story didn’t end in Acts 27 by storm or ship-wreck. God moved and Paul obeyed to see his destiny fulfilled by making it to Rome, the most influential city in that part of the world, to preach the gospel. And as he wrote the “prison epistle” to the Colossians from his Roman house-arrest, Paul was able to proclaim God’s victory, the result of his and many other’s ministry, to encourage the faith of his dear brothers and sisters, who were in the battle with him.
Colossians 1:21-23
Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior. But now he has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation—if you continue in your faith, established and firm, not moved from the hope held out in the gospel. This is the gospel that you heard and that has been proclaimed to every creature under heaven, and of which I, Paul, have become a servant.
God has allowed for there to be a building project (called DestinyUSA) proclaimed from our very own Syracuse, New York that few would have ever dared to imagine, much less communicate publicly. Why would anyone attempt to build a 4.5 million square foot, 20 billion dollar complex with 1300 hotel rooms, an indoor aquarium, a water park, three golf courses and a 100 acre glass-enclosed indoor park with a 20 acre artificial lake in Syracuse?! They simply have the vision that millions of people will come!
What many fail to realize is that Syracuse can be an incredibly influential and powerful leading city in this region of the world. Syracuse is located within an 8-hour drive of 50% of the population of Canada and 40% of the population of the United States. Would you want to try to build this project in the Bronx? On Long Island?! Syracuse is the perfect centrally-located spot!
Ultimately, I believe God has a plan to use the disciples here in Syracuse to have an impact on the entire world. God said they will listen (Acts 28:28) and they will come; therefore we will preach and watch God reveal His spiritual Destiny in our lives . . . His Kingdom!
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