Go With What You Have

Devotional

Day 1: Listening to God's Voice in the Midst of Chaos

In a world filled with distressing headlines and personal struggles, it is easy to feel overwhelmed and to question where God is. This sense of despair can cause our hearts to become hard and our ears to become deaf to the divine whisper. The first step toward breakthrough is a willing heart, one that is open and attentive to what the Lord is saying. It requires setting aside distractions and rationalizations to truly hear Him. This sacred moment of listening is where transformation begins. [52:22]

“Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion.” (Hebrews 3:15, ESV)

Reflection: What is one distraction you consistently allow to keep you from being fully present and attentive to God’s voice, and what is one practical step you can take this week to create a space of quiet to listen?

Day 2: Embracing Your True Identity in Christ

Feelings of inadequacy and weakness often cloud our perception of who God says we are. You may see yourself as the least and the smallest, but God calls you His mighty hero. Your identity is not found in your family background, your job, or your perceived capabilities. It is securely anchored in the victory Christ has already won. You are a conqueror, a champion, and a courageous one because He is with you. [01:04:35]

“No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.” (Romans 8:37, ESV)

Reflection: When you look at the challenges in your life or community, which of these names—conqueror, courageous one, champion—feels most difficult to believe God is speaking over you, and why?

Day 3: Responding to God with Authentic Worship

When God reveals Himself and speaks His promises, the only fitting response is worship. This is not merely about singing songs but about a posture of the heart that recognizes who God is and who we are in light of His holiness. Authentic worship involves surrender, repentance, and a profound acknowledgment of His peace. It is an act of faith that lays everything before Him, trusting in His character and His word. [01:09:21]

“Gideon built an altar there to the LORD and called it, The LORD Is Peace.” (Judges 6:24, ESV)

Reflection: In what area of your life do you most need to experience God as Yahweh Shalom—the Lord Is Peace—and what would it look like to offer that area to Him in worship this week?

Day 4: Beginning Change at Your Own Altar

Lasting change in the world around us must first begin in the private spaces of our own hearts and homes. It is there that idols—the things we prioritize over God—often reside. Before we can confront external challenges, we are called to courageously examine our own lives and remove whatever hinders our wholehearted devotion to God. This act of obedience, though it may be done in fear, is the foundation upon which God builds His work. [01:10:45]

“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.’” (Judges 6:25, ESV)

Reflection: What is one ‘altar’ in your own life—a habit, a possession, or a priority—that you know competes for your worship, and what is one step you can take to begin removing it?

Day 5: Stepping Out with What You Already Have

God does not call the equipped; He equips those He calls. His instruction is to start with the strength you already possess, however small it may seem. You are not asked to wait for more resources, more courage, or a different set of circumstances. The promise of His presence is the only asset required to move from a place of hiding to a place of profound impact. The victory is already secured; you are simply called to step into it. [01:19:15]

“And the LORD said to him, ‘But I will be with you, and you shall strike the Midianites as one man.’” (Judges 6:16, ESV)

Reflection: What is one situation where you have been saying, “Who am I to make a difference?” and what would it look like to take one small step of obedience this week, trusting that God is with you?

Sermon Summary

The community stands at a familiar breaking point: prosperity that breeds forgetfulness, oppression that exposes spiritual drift, and ordinary people who feel too small to act. Drawing on Judges 6, the account centers on a man hiding in a winepress while his nation endures seven years of Midianite marauding. Rather than flattering reassurance, the people receive a hard-word reminder of covenantal faithlessness — God’s past rescue, their present idolatry, and the predictable consequences of turning away. Into that grinding despair an unexpected voice appears: an angel who renames the fearful man “mighty hero” and commissions him to act with the very strength he already has.

The narrative reframes power: victory is not conjured by human pride or resources but discovered in a reorientation to God’s presence and identity. The hesitant man responds not with bravado but with a searching faith—he asks for a sign, prepares an offering, and falls into worship when heaven validates his obedience. That worship becomes the hinge for transformation: an altar of peace replaces an Asherah pole, and private repentance precedes public reform. Change does not begin with broad cultural campaigns but with the dismantling of idols at home, the deliberate renaming of self by God, and the willingness to act on the modest resources one already possesses.

Practical application is urgent and pointed. Idols are redefined as anything that absorbs the heart more than God, and the test for readiness is simple: what would destroy one’s joy if removed? The claim that God will use the least and weakest becomes a theological lifeline rather than sentimental consolation. The call is to stop rationalizing disobedience, to listen actively when God speaks, to take up worship that costs something, and to begin reform where influence actually exists—within households and neighborhoods. The story closes with an invitation: abandon the Groundhog loop of discouragement and step into faithful, humble action shaped by identity, worship, and household witness.

Key Takeaways

1. Be willing to hear God Active listening is not passive attendance but a moral posture that refuses rationalization and excuses. When God’s voice carries correction it aims to reorient behavior, not shame; resisting that voice hardens the heart and repeats the cycle of decline. Hearing requires readiness to examine private life and to obey even when the instruction is inconvenient or exposing. [53:01]
2. Own your God-given identity God’s naming overturns inward narratives of weakness: being called “mighty hero” reframes incapacity as vocation. Identity in Christ changes the horizon of what one will attempt, shifting the measure from personal adequacy to God’s presence with the called. This is not self-flattery but a theological reorientation that grounds courage in divine promise. [64:20]
3. Worship that proves true faith Gideon’s costly offering and the consuming fire show worship as evidence of trust, not mere ritual. True worship risks exposure and costs; it becomes the practice through which fear is transformed into obedience and divine validation. Worship that is felt only as routine cannot fuel decisive action. [68:29]
4. Begin change inside your household Cultural renewal starts where authority and influence actually exist: one’s home, table, and relationships. Removing household idols and restoring right worship creates a kernel of faithful practice that can expand outward without hypocrisy. Reform pursued only at the public level will founder if private life still worships other gods. [70:21]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[16:40] - Facing a broken world
[41:27] - Groundhog Day analogy
[44:41] - Setting: Judges 6 context
[47:23] - Midianite oppression described
[49:11] - Prophet’s rebuke to Israel
[54:49] - Angel appears to Gideon
[57:48] - God’s commission and identity
[67:30] - Gideon’s offering and sign
[70:21] - Tear down idols at home
[75:23] - Practical application and charge
[80:16] - Closing prayer and benediction

Bible Study Guide

Bible reading
Judges 6:1–16, 25–27 (ESV)

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Observation questions

What was Gideon doing when the angel of the Lord first appeared to him, and why was he doing it there?
How did the angel address Gideon, and how did Gideon respond to this greeting?
What specific task did the Lord give Gideon to do at his father’s house before facing the Midianites?
What was the reaction of the townspeople when they discovered what Gideon had done?

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Interpretation questions

Why do you think God chose to call Gideon a "mighty hero" when Gideon himself felt weak and insignificant?
The prophet reminded Israel of God’s past faithfulness before pointing out their disobedience [49:11]. Why is remembering God’s history important before receiving correction?
Gideon asked for a sign before fully obeying [01:07:30]. Was this a lack of faith, or a step toward genuine trust?
How does replacing an altar to Baal with an altar to the Lord symbolize the kind of change God wants from his people?

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Application questions

God often uses those who feel inadequate or unseen [58:51]. Where in your life do you feel “too small” to make a difference, and how might God be renaming you in that area?
Idols are anything that absorbs our hearts more than God [01:15:48]. What quietly competes for your worship—comfort, control, approval, success? What would it look like to tear that down?
True worship involves risk and cost [01:08:29]. Is your worship routine and safe, or does it require something of you? How can you offer God something that truly costs you?
Change starts at home [01:10:21]. What is one area in your household—relationships, habits, priorities—that needs to align more closely with God’s ways?
It’s easy to focus on large cultural problems while ignoring private disobedience [01:10:45]. What’s one step of obedience you’ve been avoiding because it feels small or insignificant?
God says, “Go in the strength you have” [57:48]. What resources, gifts, or opportunities do you already have that you’ve been overlooking because they seem insufficient?
If you took God at his word today—believing he is with you and for you—what’s one thing you would do differently this week?

Sermon Clips

So, dear conqueror, the battle is already won. Conqueror, do you believe that you're a conqueror? Not in all? No. In all these things, we are more than conquerors to him who loved us. It's not survival. This is victory language. You are a conqueror over sin. That sin no longer enslaves you. You've been set free. You've been released. [01:04:45] (26 seconds) #MoreThanConquerors

you ever looked at the state of the world and said, man, this just can't continue like this? Have you ever read a headline and you're going, oh, man, that is just horrible, and your heart is wrenched because you know that that is not right? Have you ever looked at yourself and said, who am I to be able to do anything about that? And and kind of lived with the discouragement, the despondency, and the despair, and just kinda hid away and did your own thing. If you have, welcome to Judges chapter six. [00:16:25] (37 seconds) #CourageInDarkTimes

And there was peace in the land for forty years. Forty years of peace and prosperity, and every season, the crops would be bumper. Every season, the sheep would have abundant amount of little kidlets and and every year, pretty soon, they forgot God. They started to get fat, they started to get healthy, they started to to really depend upon themselves and they started to worship other gods. And they stopped worshiping the creator who created them, who brought them into the land and they started worshiping other gods, Baal and Ashoreth to be sure. [00:44:50] (36 seconds) #GuardAgainstComplacency

Gideon, what is he doing? He's threshing wheat in the bottom of a winepress to hide it from the Midianites. He was made for more than taking a little bit of wheat and putting it in the basement of of a wine place where he could crush it and hide it. And he listen carefully. Is anybody coming? Crush. Crush. Crush. Anybody coming? He's scared. He's afraid. And why? He has every right to be because the Midianites are out there like a locust, ready to take what little he has, and he's made for so much more. [00:55:50] (31 seconds) #NotMadeToHide

Right? Today is a big game. Right? We don't know who's gonna win. But you know what? You already know who won. Jesus won. He conquered. You're already victorious. The battle is over with. The victory is his. Right? Thanks be to God. He gives us victory. Yes. He gives us victory over sin and death through our Lord Jesus Christ. Your victory is already secured. [01:05:42] (28 seconds) #VictoryAlreadyWon

Gideon could not go make cultural changes until he's got things right at home. He couldn't go out and say, all of these other things need to change everywhere else. And yet, his home life was filled with idol worship. His home life was filled with destruction. His home life was wrong. He had to take care of what was wrong in his life before he could address those issues out there. Some of us get so concerned about those issues that are out there, and we have abandoned the priority of taking care of our home. We must take care of our home. [01:10:40] (35 seconds) #StartAtHome

Christian. Let's pull forward for a minute. Christian. Jesus says that he conquered. He says, I conquered sin and death. I freed you from slavery of sin. I gave you my spirit. I filled you with my power. I instructed you on how to live with my word, Christian. But you have not listened to me. Wow. Imagine all that, the final words of that sentence the prophet says to the Israelites, the word of God says to us, but you have not listened to me. [00:51:06] (42 seconds) #ListenToTheLord

Lord, how can I rescue Israel? Don't you know? Don't you know who I am, Lord? Lord, look. This is who I am. I am from the clan of the weakest of the whole entire Manasseh. I'm I'm I'm from the weakest clan of that, and then I am the least of my entire family. Why am I down in the wine press grinding wheat? Because they said, oh, he's expendable. He's the youngest. He's the cheapest. If he if we lose him, it's okay. He's the weakest from the weakest from the weakest. Right? [00:58:13] (31 seconds) #GodUsesTheLeast

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Go With What You Have

Devotional

Day 1: Listening to God's Voice in the Midst of Chaos

Day 2: Embracing Your True Identity in Christ

Day 3: Responding to God with Authentic Worship

Day 4: Beginning Change at Your Own Altar

Day 5: Stepping Out with What You Already Have

Sermon Summary

Key Takeaways

Youtube Chapters

Bible Study Guide

Sermon Clips

Chatbot

Go With What You Have

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