Who Told You That? 3 Lies of the Enemy
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Who Told You That?
You weren’t strong enough, smart enough, old enough, talented enough, good looking enough, wealthy enough, educated enough, lovable, etc…
The enemy would allow our doubts, wounds of the past, words from other people, etc. to keep us from moving in faith. To keep us from becoming all that God has created us to be and doing all that God has for us to do.
Lies of the Enemy (started in the Garden)
Genesis 3:1-7
Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the Lord God had made.
He said to the woman, “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?”
2 And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden,
3 but God said, ‘You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.’”
4 But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die.
5 For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”
6 So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate.
7 Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths.
Because of the lies of the serpent and the actions of Adam and Eve they found themselves naked, afraid, hiding and ultimately separated from God.
Genesis 3:9-13
9 But the Lord God called to the man and said to him, “Where are you?”
10 And he said, “I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked, and I hid myself.”
11 He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten of the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?”
12 The man said, “The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit of the tree, and I ate.”
13 Then the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this that you have done?” The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”
Let’s fully understand that the Enemy Hates you and is a Liar
John 8:44
You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father's desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies.
1 Peter 5:8
Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.
The Lies that Bind our Faith
We will look at a Biblical example in Gideon found in Judges 6-8.
Called by God to lead a nation through a very difficult and oppressed time in Israel’s history.
Gideon (Judges 6-8)
Give context to Gideon’s situation, Israel, and the Midianites
· Moses leads the Israelites out of Egypt.
· Joshua leads them into the Promise (Canaan).
· After Joshua it is the age of the Judges until Saul is named Israel’s first King.
Struggle with the Midianites: (Rob Fleenor, Lexham Bible Dictionary)
“Midianites (מִדְיָנִי, midyaniy). A people group in the southeast Levant, characterized in the Old Testament as descendants of Midian, Abraham’s son by his second wife, Keturah.
Genesis 25:6 records that Abraham sent his sons by Keturah “away from his son Isaac … to the east country” (ESV). The biblical area designated as Midian lay to the south of Canaanand encompassed the desert areas east of the Sinai Peninsula.”[1]
Midianites become adversaries of Israel and the Lord wants them to be destroyed. However due to Israel’s disobedience the Lord turns them over for the Midianites to oppress them.
12 Judges (13 if you count Samson) spanning over 400 years.
Gideon is a judge for 40 years
Before Gideon becomes a Judge, he is hiding out of fear and oppression like most of Israel under the great oppression from the Midianites.
Judges 6:1-6
The people of Israel did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, and the Lord gave them into the hand of Midian seven years. 2 And the hand of Midian overpowered Israel, and because of Midian the people of Israel made for themselves the dens that are in the mountains and the caves and the strongholds. 3 For whenever the Israelites planted crops, the Midianites and the Amalekites and the people of the East would come up against them. 4 They would encamp against them and devour the produce of the land, as far as Gaza, and leave no sustenance in Israel and no sheep or ox or donkey. 5 For they would come up with their livestock and their tents; they would come like locusts in number—both they and their camels could not be counted—so that they laid waste the land as they came in. 6 And Israel was brought very low because of Midian. And the people of Israel cried out for help to the Lord.
Lies that Bind Our Faith:
Lie #1: This Is Just the Way It’s Going to Be
Judges 6:11-12
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.
12 And the angel of the Lord appeared to him and said to him, “The Lord is with you, O mighty man of valor.”
Did you notice that the Lord calls him what Gideon CAN and WILL BECOME! Gideon is certainly not feeling very mighty as he is hiding and working a very humbling task.
God sees us mighty and victorious because Jesus has redeemed us and has made us righteous. He sees His Son in us!
Philippians 4:13
I can do all things through him who strengthens me.
Romans 8:37-39
37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.
38 For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers,
39 nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Gideon’s name is changed out of his obedience to do something incredibly brave and by faith that the Lord told him to do.
Judges 6:32
Therefore on that day Gideon was called Jerubbaal, that is to say, “Let Baal contend against him,” because he broke down his altar.
We may have allowed our past to define us…label us…name us.
But we are defined by God!
Lie #2: God Doesn’t See You or Care
Judges 6:13
13 And Gideon said to him, “Please, my lord, if the Lord is with us, why then has all this happened to us? And where are all his wonderful deeds that our fathers recounted to us, saying, ‘Did not the Lord bring us up from Egypt?’ But now the Lord has forsaken us and given us into the hand of Midian.”
Gideon is doubting whether or not actually cares for his people.
He does what we do if we are not careful, go into the “why” mode.
The enemy would love for us to feel as though God has forgotten us and has left us.
Remember the words of Moses to Joshua:
Deuteronomy 31:6
Be strong and courageous. Do not fear or be in dread of them, for it is the Lord your God who goes with you. He will not leave you or forsake you.
God sees you!
Psalm 33:18-22
Behold, the eye of the Lord is on those who fear him, on those who hope in his steadfast love, 19 that he may deliver their soul from death and keep them alive in famine.
20 Our soul waits for the Lord; he is our help and our shield. 21 For our heart is glad in him, because we trust in his holy name. 22 Let your steadfast love, O Lord, be upon us, even as we hope in you.
Lie #3: God Can’t Use Someone Like You
Judges 6:14-18
14 And the Lord turned to him and said, “Go in this might of yours and save Israel from the hand of Midian; do not I send you?”
15 And he said to him, “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.”
16 And the Lord said to him, “But I will be with you, and you shall strike the Midianites as one man.”
17 And he said to him, “If now I have found favor in your eyes, then show me a sign that it is you who speak with me.
18 Please do not depart from here until I come to you and bring out my present and set it before you.” And he said, “I will stay till you return.”
God can and will use everyone and anyone who is available.
“God doesn’t call the qualified, He qualifies the called!” (Mark Batterson is credited with this quote)
The following is from an article, “A New Beginning” by Greg Laurie:
Reminding us that God can do extraordinary things through ordinary people. God may not have called you to be a pastor or a teacher or a missionary, per se. But it is clear that He is looking for a person to show Himself “strong on behalf of.
Think of all the ordinary people He has used to turn the world upside down. But also consider how utterly unqualified so many of them were.
· Noah got DRUNK.
· Abraham was too OLD.
· Jacob was a LIAR.
· [Leah wasn’t PRETTY enough] (AG added)
· Gideon was AFRAID.
· Rahab was A PROSTITUTE.
· Jeremiah and Timothy were considered TOO YOUNG.
· David had an AFFAIR.
· Moses was a MURDERER & Couldn’t TALK.
· Elijah was SUICIDAL at one point.
· Jonah RAN FROM GOD.
· [Naomi was a WIDOW] (AG added)
· Peter DENIED CHRIST.
· The Disciples FELL ASLEEP while PRAYING.
· [Martha WORRIED] (AG added)
· The Samaritan Woman WAS DIVORCED five times.
· [Zacchaeus was too SMALL] (AG added)
· [Paul was a MURDERER] (AG added)
· Timothy had AN ULCER.
· John the Baptist ATE BUGS.
· And Lazarus WAS DEAD!
If you feel unqualified…GOOD…that a perfect set up for God to do something INCREDIBLE in you and through you!
Closing:
Listen & Trust the Right Voice
Judges 6:22-24
Then Gideon perceived that he was the angel of the Lord. And Gideon said, “Alas, O Lord God! For now I have seen the angel of the Lord face to face.”
23 But the Lord said to him, “Peace be to you. Do not fear; you shall not die.”
24 Then Gideon built an altar there to the Lord and called it, The Lord Is Peace. To this day it still stands at Ophrah, which belongs to the Abiezrites.
Listening to God’s Voice brings PEACE
Listening to the Enemy’s Voice brings DOUBT & DISCOURAGEMENT
God will Get the Glory!
· Judges 7 (highlights)
· Army went from 32,000 to 10,000.
· Army went from 10,000 to 300.
· There is no question who gets the Glory!
[1] Rob Fleenor, “Midianites,” ed. John D. Barry et al., The Lexham Bible Dictionary (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2016).