Beforehand: Be sure to check out Pastor Ben’s message online if you were not able to catch it on Sunday morning.

Below is the outline of Pastor Ben's message.

The Deep Six Study follows.

Epic - “Success”

1 – Succeed with Generosity and Humility – Judges 8:1-3

2 – Succeed and Declare God, King of My Life – Judges 8:22-26

3 – Stand Firm – Judges 8:27-28; 1 Peter 5:8-9

Deep Six Study

Introduction

This is the last week of Pastor Ben’s sermon series on Gideon and of course we are wrapping up the Deep Six Study on Gideon as well. God brought Gideon to an “Epic” moment in his life and Gideon went on to live out the rest of his life in “Epic” fashion. God rescued Gideon from a life of mediocrity and a life of being filled with the fear of his enemies. God used Gideon to deliver Israel both from idol worship and from being ruled over by the Midianites. God then used Gideon’s leadership to keep Israel in check in regard to serving Him and following His ways so that they experienced peace in the land for 40 years. By most people’s standards this would be called “Success.” However, there are several details brought out in the book of Judges as the story of Gideon is concluded that make Gideon’s success an “Epic Success” and might be absent from the criteria that many would use to judge success. This is the focus of this Week’s Deep Six Study.

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Part 1 - Corresponds to the first point of the message

Judges 8:1-3 – “Then the people of Ephraim asked Gideon, ‘Why have you treated us this way? Why didn’t you send for us when you first went out to fight the Midianites?’ And they argued heatedly with Gideon. But Gideon replied, ‘What have I accomplished compared to you? Aren’t even the leftover grapes of Ephraim’s harvest better than the entire crop of my little clan of Abiezer? God gave you victory over Oreb and Zeeb, the commanders of the Midianite army. What have I accomplished compared to that?’ When the men of Ephraim heard Gideon’s answer, their anger subsided.”

1 Timothy 6:18-19 – “Instruct them to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share, storing up for themselves the treasure of a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of that which is life indeed.”

1 Peter 5:5B – “…. And all of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, for God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”

Philippians 2:1-5 – “Therefore if there is any encouragement in Christ, if there is any consolation of love, if there is any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and compassion, make my joy complete by being of the same mind, maintaining the same love, united in spirit, intent on one purpose. Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves; do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others. Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus.”

Ephesians 4:1-3 – “Therefore I, the prisoner of the Lord, implore you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, showing tolerance for one another in love, being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.”

Comment – Handling defeat is never easy, but handling victory can be quite tricky. In dealing with the men from Ephraim, Gideon minimizes his own role in the victory and maximizes their role and he does it in such a way that they are satisfied and no longer angry with him. Maximizing their role demonstrates generosity and minimizing his role demonstrates humility. Gideon is not just placating them, he is exercising good leadership that flows from the qualities of humility and generosity that are a part of who Gideon is as a person. Gideon led Israel to victory over the Midianites and now he leads them to victory over dissension. Certainly, this demonstration of good leadership does not go unnoticed by the rest of the people and puts Israel on course for “Epic Success” as a nation through the wise and mature leadership of Gideon. We are God’s people and relating to one another with generosity and humility will maintain unity and peace as we strive together in the “Epic” task of reaching the world for Christ.

Question # 1 – Picture your self in Gideon’s place and then ask yourself how you would have responded if you had been dealing with those who were arguing with him?

Question # 2 – Can you describe some good ways someone might demonstrate the qualities of generosity and humility in their dealings with others?

* Judges 8:4-21 – This part of our text is not being covered. If you get a chance read it over and ask yourself, what are some of the places we can choose God’s team in our daily experience?

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Part 2 - Corresponds to the second point of the message

Judges 8:22-26 – “Then the Israelites said to Gideon, ‘Be our ruler! You and your son and your grandson will be our rulers, for you have rescued us from Midian.’ But Gideon replied, ‘I will not rule over you, nor will my son. The LORD will rule over you! However, I do have one request—that each of you give me an earring from the plunder you collected from your fallen enemies.’ (The enemies, being Ishmaelites, all wore gold earrings.) ‘Gladly!’ they replied. They spread out a cloak, and each one threw in a gold earring he had gathered from the plunder. The weight of the gold earrings was forty-three pounds, not including the royal ornaments and pendants, the purple clothing worn by the kings of Midian, or the chains around the necks of their camels. Gideon made a sacred ephod from the gold and put it in Ophrah, his hometown. But soon all the Israelites prostituted themselves by worshiping it, and it became a trap for Gideon and his family. That is the story of how the people of Israel defeated Midian, which never recovered. Throughout the rest of Gideon’s lifetime—about forty years—there was peace in the land.”

1 Samuel 8:4-7, 19-22 – “Then all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah; and they said to him, ‘Behold, you have grown old, and your sons do not walk in your ways. Now appoint a king for us to judge us like all the nations.’ But the thing was displeasing in the sight of Samuel when they said, ‘Give us a king to judge us.’ And Samuel prayed to the LORD. The LORD said to Samuel, ‘Listen to the voice of the people in regard to all that they say to you, for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected Me from being king over them.’ …. Nevertheless, the people refused to listen to the voice of Samuel, and they said, ‘No, but there shall be a king over us, that we also may be like all the nations, that our king may judge us and go out before us and fight our battles.’ Now after Samuel had heard all the words of the people, he repeated them in the LORD’S hearing. The LORD said to Samuel, ‘Listen to their voice and appoint them a king.’ So Samuel said to the men of Israel, ‘Go every man to his city.’”

Isaiah 43:15 – “I am the LORD, your Holy One, the Creator of Israel, your King.”

1 Timothy 6:11-16 – “But flee from these things, you man of God, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, perseverance and gentleness. Fight the good fight of faith; take hold of the eternal life to which you were called, and you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses. I charge you in the presence of God, who gives life to all things, and of Christ Jesus, who testified the good confession before Pontius Pilate, that you keep the commandment without stain or reproach until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ, which He will bring about at the proper time—He who is the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone possesses immortality and dwells in unapproachable light, whom no man has seen or can see. To Him be honor and eternal dominion! Amen.”

Comment – The men of Israel’s request for Gideon to rule over them might seem reasonable on the surface, but as we see in the 1 Samuel passage above, God says that Israel’s desire to have a man rule over them is a rejection on their part of God ruling over them. Israel wanted Gideon, but not God. Gideon grasped this and said he would not rule over them but rather God would rule over them. Gideon saying that he would not rule over them did not mean that he would not lead them. He went on to lead Israel for 40 years during which time Gideon helped them live under the rule of God. Gideon would not have wanted to nor could he have properly handled Israel’s request for him to rule if he had not himself come under God’s rule in his life whereby God alone was his king. Achieving success on our own is a possibility, but achieving “Epic Success” requires that God be at the center where He is allowed to rule and accomplish His purposes. You see, only what God does in and through us is truly “Epic” because only what God does lasts forever. Now that’s “Epic Success” and we all need to want that big time.

Question # 3 – In Christian churches today what our some specific things that happen when leadership seek to rule in God’s place?

Question # 4 – What are some ways that Christians today relate to Christian leaders that exalt those leaders in a manner that runs contrary to God’s rule?

Part 3 – Corresponds to the third point of the message

Judges 8:27-28 – “Gideon made a sacred ephod from the gold and put it in Ophrah, his hometown. But soon all the Israelites prostituted themselves by worshiping it, and it became a trap for Gideon and his family. That is the story of how the people of Israel defeated Midian, which never recovered. Throughout the rest of Gideon’s lifetime—about forty years—there was peace in the land.”

Judges 8:33-35 – “Then it came about, as soon as Gideon was dead, that the sons of Israel again played the harlot with the Baals, and made Baal-berith their god. Thus the sons of Israel did not remember the LORD their God, who had delivered them from the hands of all their enemies on every side; nor did they show kindness to the household of Jerubbaal (that is, Gideon) in accord with all the good that he had done to Israel.”

Ephesians 4:20-24 – “But you did not learn Christ in this way, if indeed you have heard Him and have been taught in Him, just as truth is in Jesus, that, in reference to your former manner of life, you lay aside the old self, which is being corrupted in accordance with the lusts of deceit, and that you be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and put on the new self, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth.”

1 Corinthians 15:58 – “Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your toil is not in vain in the Lord.”

2 Corinthians 1:21-24 – “Now He who establishes us with you in Christ and anointed us is God, who also sealed us and gave us the Spirit in our hearts as a pledge. But I call God as witness to my soul, that to spare you I did not come again to Corinth. Not that we lord it over your faith, but are workers with you for your joy; for in your faith you are standing firm.”

Comment – 40 years is a long time and Gideon’s longevity in leadership is the final detail from the story that speaks to the epic nature of his success. You may recall that God allowed the Midianites to oppress Israel because Israel did what was evil in the sight of the Lord. While under this oppression Israel cried out to the Lord and God answered their prayer by raising up Gideon. We are told that the land was undisturbed for forty years in the days of Gideon. We can be confident that this means that Gideon was successful in keeping Israel from doing evil in the sight of the Lord throughout these 40 years because otherwise God would have caused them to be oppressed again and they were not. We know from the epilogue of the story that this period of revival in Israel’s history unraveled after Gideon was gone. This would seem to call into question the epic quality of Gideon’s success. But we need to remember that if Gideon was gone then many of his generation were gone as well. These were the ones who experienced revival. Someone has said that God has no grandchildren. The generation that follows them does not remember the Lord nor Gideon and the great deliverance that their parents experienced. “Epic Success” is all about standing firm and being faithful. A faithful generation would like the next generation to follow in their steps, but no matter how perfectly we walk before them, their choice is not guaranteed and they may very well choose not to follow in our “faithful” footsteps. Still we must stand firm. Results that count for eternity were achieved for Gideon’s generation because Gideon stood firm for 40 years. And we too must stand firm, being faithful in whatever God calls us to do for the long haul and eternal benefits will be realized.

Question # 5 – What are some things you have learned that help you stand firm in your walk with God over the long haul?

Question # 6 –What are some things you have learned that help you get back on track when you have gotten off track in your walk with God?

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Conclusion

James 4:7-8A says, “Submit therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.” Our “success” is all about walking with God and letting Him use us to touch the world around us for Christ. Our battles in life are all about achieving victory over that which would thwart us from walking with God and living fully for him. When the Lord is truly our King and is allowed to rule over us, our walk with Him will be such that a free flow of His Spirit will bring the qualities of humility and generosity needed to bless others. When we stick with it for the long haul, standing firm in our faith, we will experience “Epic Success” with results that last forever.

Under “comments” in the Deep Six section of the church website post your thoughts, applications, and questions on anything from this week’s Deep Six Study.