Stepping Into The New by Pastor Jerry Eze: MP3 Download & Sermon Notes

Stepping Into the New

Judges 6:1-17 — because Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord, God delivered them into the hand of Midian for seven years. The Midianites destroyed every harvest, leaving nothing for Israel to survive on, until Israel cried out to the Lord. An angel of the Lord found Gideon threshing wheat inside a winepress — hiding it from the Midianites — and said to him, "The Lord is with thee, thou mighty man of valour." Gideon answered, "Oh my Lord, if the Lord be with us, why then is all this befallen us?"

They Went After the Results, Not Just the Refuge

For seven years, Israel adapted to survive under Midianite oppression — they built strongholds, dens, and caves to protect themselves. But the Midianites simply escalated: whatever Israel planted, they would come and destroy it too. If you think you can quietly cope with a negative pattern in your life, understand that the enemy is not interested merely in stealing your peace — he will come after your results next. It was only after Israel stopped merely coping and cried out that God finally showed up.

Two Thresholds Every Person Must Cross Before the New

Gideon had two problems before he could step into what God had for him: his perception of God, and his perception of himself. When the angel said, "The Lord is with thee, thou mighty man of valour," notice what that title implies — the Lord doesn't attach Himself to weakness, laziness, or anxiety. He attaches Himself to a man who has decided to rise. Nobody is ready for the new until both of these are fixed: what you believe about God, and what you believe about yourself.

What happened to you is not who you are. The fact that you don't currently have money in your pocket doesn't mean you aren't wealthy in what God has deposited in you. A new car or a new house key doesn't automatically mean you've stepped into the new — there are people with new cars still carrying old, defeated mindsets. True transformation comes by the renewing of the mind, not merely a change in circumstances.

Might That Isn't in Motion Is a Mockery of Destiny

Gideon asked, "Where be all his miracles which our fathers told us of?" — and God's answer wasn't to give him new strength, but to remind him of strength already there: "Go in this thy might." The reason Midian prevailed for seven years wasn't a shortage of strong men — it was that strong men had been convinced they were weak. The angel didn't come to give Gideon might; he came to remind Gideon he already had it, sitting dormant.

A Communion of New Ground

Just as God spoke creation into being and it obeyed — "let there be light," and there was light — Sarah judged God faithful, trusting that He who promised was able to perform. Whatever stronghold in your mind is currently shaping a distorted picture of God or of yourself, let it be broken, so that what you believe about Him becomes visible evidence in your life rather than remaining only a private conviction.