He Called Me What I’m Not, Part 4of4, Evans Olang

Judges 6:11-40&7:1-25, “…The Lord is with you, you mighty man of valor”

Judges 6:33, “Then all the Medianites and Amelikites, the people of the East, gathered together; they crossed over and encamped in the Valley of Jezreal” you read of these people camping somewhere in readiness to attack Gideon and his people,

He Called Me What I’m Not, Part 3of4, Evans Olang

Judges 6:11-40&7:1-25, “…The Lord is with you, you mighty man of valor”

Judges 6:16, “And the Lord said to him, “Surely I will be with you, and you shall defeat the Midianites as one man”, Our God is full of promises that He keeps, David reports God’s faithfulness in keeping promises.

He Called Me What I’m Not, Part 2of4, Evans Olang

Judges 6:11-40&7:1-25, “…The Lord is with you, you mighty man of valor”

We looked Gideon’s response to the Angel of the Lord when He appeared to him and said, “The Lord is with you” . It did not make sense to him having suffered for a while. He did not see how the Lord could have possibly been with him, and I agreed with Gideon at one point until I looked deeper and realized the Lord was with him the whole time, otherwise worse things could have happened to him had it not been for God’s hands protecting him. We said, where we are going doubt, fear, un answered questions cannot come with us, they are a hindrances to God’s move.

He Called Me What I’m Not, Part 1of4, Evans Olang

Judges 6:11-40&7:1-25, "…The Lord is with you, you mighty man of valor"

We all love the presence of God, His Son, the Holy Ghost and God’s Angels. Any time we feel alone and the thought of no one cares, there is always a way God reaches out to us in ways no one else can.

I Am Persuaded, Part 2of3, Evans Olang

Romans 8:35&36, “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword, vs. 36 As it is written “For Your sake we are killed all day long; We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter”

In my continuous study of God’s word, I am utterly convinced (persuaded) that God is not in a hurry. To prove it, read about Moses, Elisha, David, Paul, Gideon, Samuel, Eli and many in the bible that encountered with God. We need to get saved because tomorrow is promised to no one, the walk after salvation requires patience. Patience is accompanied by endurance. Paul writes in Romans 12:2, “Run this race with patience looking unto Jesus the author and the finisher of our faith“. He was persuaded that God was not in a hurry to do things. God is such a Master craftsman working on what He has started step by step. If you watch a potter working on clay, you will notice that he is not in hurry to finish working on whatever he is working on until it looks perfect. Be patient with God, He is not in a hurry.

God’s Decrease, Your Increase (Sifting for Victory), Part 2of2, Pastor Phil Sessa

Judges 7: 9 – 11, “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. If you are afraid to attack, go down to the camp with your servant Purah 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.”

Gideon’s army was less than 1 percent of its original size after the shifting took place, when God cut the majority of troops from the team through the leadership of Gideon. Gideon is resting at night, and God interrupts his rest with urgent orders to respond to divinely urgent news. Gideon is commanded to get up because God was going to give him victory if he would attack immediately.

God’s Decrease, Your Increase (Sifting for Victory), Part 1of2, Pastor Phil Sessa

Judges 7:2, “The LORD said to Gideon, “You have too many men for me to deliver Midian into their hands. In order that Israel may not boast against me that her own strength has saved her,”

When you are facing a difficult battle ahead does it make sense to decrease your weapons? Gideon was the leader of Israel’s army, and God would decrease the size of Gideon’s army with a battle just on the horizon. The Lord’s instructions probably came as a complete shock to Gideon. I can imagine the he was confused upon hearing, “You have too many men for me to deliver Midian into their hands.” That doesn’t sound very sensible to me; decrease your army size, because there are too many men for battle. Gideon’s army was already outnumbered four to one.

How Big is Your God? Pastor Phil Sessa

Judges 6:16, “And the Lord said to him, “Surely I will be with you, and you shall defeat the Midianites as one man.”

I had a journal called Big Time Prayers for a Big time God. The title is so fitting for the character of God, yet it is not a character trait that most use to describe God, BIG. A little boy is told that the heater bars on a stove are hot and will burn his hand. He believes his parents cognitively. One day while mom is cooking, the little boy is enameled by the glowing colors of the stoves heater bars and reaches out to touch them, as something most little boys have done before. As soon as he touches the heater bars he no longer believes they are hot, HE now KNOWS they are hot. His experience brought him from the realm of cognitive belief, into experiential knowledge. With the pain of the burn, and the smell of his little burnt finger, this boy heard the echo of his parents loud and clear.

In The Valley Of Decision, Evans Olang

Hebrews 6:9-19, “15 And so, after he had patiently endured, he obtained the promise”

I have learnt that patience is not taught in a classroom, it is taught and mastered in the sea of life. A dangerous prayer one can pray, “God teach me patience”, it is a prayer for those who know the end result but do not know the process yet willing to stick it out. What happens when you are dealing with something that requires patience? for me many times I try to find alternatives. If driving on the road and there is traffic, I find it easy to try another road.