Available for God’s Extraordinary Purpose

Devotional

Day 1: Hiding in Wine Presses, Called to Courage

Gideon threshed wheat in a winepress, hiding from enemies while doubting his worth. God called him "mighty warrior" not because of his strength, but because of His presence. Ordinary people often feel trapped by fear or inadequacy, yet God sees potential where we see failure. He meets us in hidden places, not to condemn our weakness, but to commission our surrender. Victory begins when we trade excuses for obedience. [36:26]

Then 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. And the angel of the Lord appeared to him and said to him, “The Lord is with you, O mighty man of valor.” (Judges 6:11-12, ESV)

Reflection: Where is God calling you to step out of hiding today? What fear keeps you from believing His declaration over your life?

Day 2: Ordinary Rifles, Extraordinary Surrender

Alvin York faced machine guns with the same focus he used to hunt geese. His confidence came not from skill, but from knowing God ordained his purpose. Surrender turns mundane tools into divine instruments. God doesn’t need exceptional people—He makes ordinary people exceptional through yieldedness. What seems unremarkable in your hands becomes unstoppable in His. [33:53]

But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are. (1 Corinthians 1:27-28, ESV)

Reflection: What “ordinary rifle” do you underestimate in your life? How might God use it miraculously if surrendered completely?

Day 3: Shattering Inherited Idols, Building Holy Altars

Before fighting Midianites, Gideon tore down his father’s altar to Baal. Private obedience precedes public victory. We all inherit broken patterns—addictions, mindsets, or traditions—that war against God’s purposes. True strength comes not from ignoring these strongholds, but from demolishing them. Every act of surrender clears space for God’s fire. [45:02]

That night the Lord said to him, “Take your father’s bull, and the second bull seven years old, and pull down the altar of Baal that your father has, and cut down the Asherah that is beside it and build an altar to the Lord your God on the top of the stronghold here, with stones laid in due order.” (Judges 6:25-26, ESV)

Reflection: What generational “altar” have you tolerated that God is asking you to destroy? What first step will you take this week?

Day 4: Three Hundred Trumpets, One Unshakable God

God reduced Gideon’s army to 300 men holding trumpets and torches. Human logic screams for more resources, but God’s math glorifies His power through our lack. When we stop clinging to visible security, we make room for invisible might. The battle isn’t won by our capacity, but by our confidence in His. [47:56]

The Lord said to Gideon, “The people with you are too many for me to give the Midianites into their hand, lest Israel boast over me, saying, ‘My own hand has saved me.’” (Judges 7:2, ESV)

Reflection: Where are you relying on “numbers” instead of God’s presence? What might He ask you to release to magnify His power?

Day 5: Addiction’s Chains, Purpose’s Freedom

A drug-addicted teen cried out—and became a pastor. Surrender breaks what willpower cannot. Our darkest valleys often become launching pads for God’s redemptive work. He doesn’t wait for us to become “qualified,” but transforms us as we yield. Your past doesn’t disqualify you—it proves His power to rewrite stories. [56:26]

But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us. (2 Corinthians 4:7, ESV)

Reflection: What broken part of your story feels unusable to God? How might He repurpose it to display His strength?

Sermon Summary

God’s call to Gideon begins in the winepress, not at the head of an army. Gideon is hiding wheat from the Midianites, looking like an ordinary man trapped in fear and oppression, yet God calls him “mighty warrior.” Gideon sees weakness, a small family, and a nation that feels abandoned. God sees somebody He can use.

The contrast between Gideon’s view and God’s view exposes the real issue. God is not limited by what somebody is going through right now, by a lack of talent, money, education, confidence, or experience. God takes ordinary people who surrender their will to Him and does extraordinary things through them. Moses, Joshua, Jonah, Paul, and Gideon all stand as instruments in God’s hand, not as self-made heroes.

God’s call also requires a response. God’s sovereignty does not make obedience unnecessary. It gives obedience significance. Gideon had to say yes when God told him to go in the strength he had. God still looks for people who are willing to pray, serve, disciple, stand for Christ, and let Him develop them into what He intends them to be.

Gideon’s first battle was not against Midian. God first told him to tear down Baal’s altar in his father’s house. The altar had to come down before Gideon could lead an army. God deals with people privately before He uses them publicly. Family history, inherited sin, compromise, addictions, and old idols cannot be allowed to hinder what God wants to do. Faithfulness in the small things, in the home, in church, and in plain sight, prepares a life for greater usefulness.

God then cuts Gideon’s army from 32,000 to 300 so that Israel cannot claim the glory. The jars, torches, and trumpets make the point clear: human obedience meets divine power, and God brings the victory. People preach, witness, disciple, pray, and plant churches, but God saves, convicts, transforms, moves, and builds.

The question is not whether a person is impressive enough for God to use. The question is whether that person is available. Christ first calls sinners to forgiveness and new life, then gives surrendered lives purpose. God’s will makes decisions clearer, but that clarity begins where control is surrendered.

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Key Takeaways

1. God calls ordinary people personally. God called Gideon while he was hiding in a winepress, not while he was proving himself on a battlefield. Gideon’s present fear did not cancel God’s purpose for his future. God’s call sees beyond the moment and begins forming a person into what He intends. [39:36]
2. Obedience gives God’s call significance. God’s sovereignty did not remove Gideon’s need to respond. Gideon still had to go, serve, and trust the God who sent him. A surrendered response becomes the place where God’s purpose moves from possibility into action. [42:16]
3. Private idols must come down first. God commanded Gideon to tear down his father’s altar before confronting the Midianites. Inherited patterns and hidden compromises can keep a life from becoming useful in God’s hands. Faithfulness begins close to home, where nobody may be applauding. [44:17]
4. God gets the glory for victory. God reduced Gideon’s army so that Israel could not say, “My own hand has saved me.” Human effort matters, but it cannot produce conversion, conviction, transformation, or lasting fruit by itself. God uses available people so His power is seen for what it is. [47:19]
5. Availability matters more than impressiveness. God does not wait for a person to become naturally impressive before calling that person. Christ saves, forgives, breaks sin’s grip, and gives purpose to lives that surrender to Him. The real question is whether a life can be interrupted and directed by God.

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Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[31:36] - Gideon and the Ordinary Person
[33:15] - Alvin York’s Confidence in God
[35:22] - God Finds Gideon in the Winepress
[36:26] - The Lord Is With You, Mighty Warrior
[39:07] - God Uses People Who Surrender
[42:16] - Obedience Gives the Call Significance
[44:17] - Tear Down the Altars
[46:54] - Faithful in the Small Things
[47:19] - Gideon’s Army Reduced to 300
[48:53] - Human Obedience and Divine Power
[51:20] - Can God Use You?
[53:30] - Purpose Through Surrender
[55:37] - Forgiveness and New Life in Christ
[58:51] - Seeking God’s Will at the Altar
[61:55] - Surrender Brings Clarity

Bible Study Guide

Bible Reading

Judges 6:11-16
“Then the angel of the Lord came and sat under the oak in Ophrah, which belonged to Joash the Abiezrite, while his son Gideon was beating out wheat in the winepress to hide it from the Midianites. And the angel of the Lord appeared to him and said to him, 'The Lord is with you, O mighty man of valor.' 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.' 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?' 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.' And the Lord said to him, 'But I will be with you, and you shall strike the Midianites as one man.” [31:31]

Judges 6:25-26
“That night the Lord said to him, 'Take your father's bull, and the second bull seven years old, and pull down the altar of Baal that your father has, and cut down the Asherah that is beside it and build an altar to the Lord your God on the top of the stronghold here, with stones laid in due order. Then take the second bull and offer it as a burnt offering with the wood of the Asherah that you shall cut down.” [44:17]

Judges 7:2-3
“The Lord said to Gideon, 'The people with you are too many for me to give the Midianites into their hand, lest Israel boast over me, saying, "My own hand has saved me." Now therefore proclaim in the ears of the people, saying, "Whoever is fearful and trembling, let him return home and hurry away from Mount Gilead." Then 22,000 of the people returned, and 10,000 remained.” [47:19]

Observation questions

Where is Gideon when the angel of the Lord finds him, and what is he doing there? [36:26]
What reasons does Gideon give for believing he is not the right person to save Israel? [37:07]
What private assignment does God give Gideon before Gideon ever confronts the Midianite army? [44:22]
Why does God say Gideon’s army must be reduced before Israel fights Midian? [47:29]

Interpretation questions

God calls Gideon a “mighty warrior” while Gideon is hiding and afraid. What does this reveal about the difference between how God sees a person and how that person may see himself or herself? [40:15]
God promises to be with Gideon, yet still tells him to go in the strength he has. How do God’s power and a believer’s obedience work together in this calling? [42:36]
Why would tearing down the altar in Gideon’s father’s household need to happen before Gideon led Israel publicly? What does that suggest about hidden compromise and public usefulness for God? [44:45]
God reduces the army so Israel will not claim the victory as its own. How should this shape the way believers think about fruitful ministry, changed lives, and church growth? [49:48]

Application questions

Gideon focused on his weakness, his family background, and his limitations. What is one reason you tend to disqualify yourself from serving God, and how does God’s call to Gideon challenge that excuse? [41:11]
Where might God be asking you to respond in simple obedience right now—through prayer, serving, sharing your faith, discipleship, or making a needed change? What would a clear “yes” look like this week? [42:44]
Gideon’s first battle was close to home. Is there an old pattern, private compromise, relationship, habit, or “altar” that needs to come down so it does not hinder your walk with God? What is a wise first step toward dealing with it? [45:34]
What small areas of faithfulness need attention in your home, church, work, school, or private life? How could being faithful in those ordinary places prepare you for greater responsibility? [46:39]
When you see spiritual fruit or success, are you more likely to trust your own effort or give God the glory? What would it look like to work faithfully while depending on God for what only He can do? [49:38]
Is your life currently available for God to interrupt and direct? What area of control would be hardest for you to surrender, and how could you begin bringing it before God honestly? [51:51]

Sermon Clips

50s

#GodsWill

“What a privilege to be able to walk in God's will. But are you walking in God's will? Are you standing outside of God's will looking at the people marching past and wondering what they're doing? Are you wrapped in your own sin, not able to see what God's life... What God's will is for your life? Are you wrapped in your own failures, your own weaknesses that you can't see what God wants to do through you and with you? The question is not are we impressive enough for God to use us? The question is are we available for God to use us?”

36s

#SurrenderToGod

“See, the issue is not that we are not enough. The issue is that we don't surrender to God. We often disqualify ourselves because we think we're lacking what God is looking for. We think we need more talent. We think we need to be more educated. We need more experience. No. We need more money. We need to have a greater confidence in what God can do for us instead of simply understanding that God is calling us at the time he is calling us because he wants to develop us to who he's going to make us.”

47s

#GodGetsTheGlory

“See, we preach the gospel, but only God saves people's lives. We witness, but only God brings conviction. We disciple, but only God brings a transformation. We can pray, but only God moves. We plant churches, and yet God is the only one who's going to build those churches. Listen, I am simply just standing here as the head of the church at the moment. This is God's church. God is going to build this church. That requires people who are sold out to God, whose obedience is nothing but, God, I am here. God, I am willing. God, I need you to use me for your purposes solely so that your glory can be amplified in this world.”

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The Potter's House of Virginia Beach This sermon · AI assistant

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