Putting The Word To Work For You - Outline

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Here is the teaching outline for SUNDAY NITE LIVE.  Join us at 6 PM EST.

2 Kings 2:13-14KJV

“He picked up the coat that had fallen from Elijah. He went back and stood on the bank of the Jordan River.

Then he struck the water with Elijah's coat. "Where is the power of the Lord?" he asked. "Where is the power of the God of Elijah?" When Elisha struck the water, it parted to the right and to the left. He went across the river.”

1.       Quit doing what you’ve been doing if it’s not working.

Judges 6:1 NIV

“Again the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord, and for seven years he gave them into the hands of the Midianites.”

Judges 6:2 NIV

“Because the power of Midian was so oppressive, the Israelites prepared shelters for themselves in mountain clefts, caves and strongholds.”

You’ve got to change. . .before anybody or anything else changes.

2.       Realize God sees you as you can be not as you are.

Judges  6:11-12 NIV

“And there came an angel of the Lord, and sat under an oak which was in Ophrah, that pertained unto Joash the Abiezrite: and his son Gideon threshed wheat by the winepress, to hide it from the Midianites.

 “And the angel of the Lord appeared unto him, and said unto him, The Lord is with thee, thou mighty man of valour.”

Philippians 4:13 KJV

“I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.”

Philippians 4:13 AMPC

“I have strength for all things in Christ Who empowers me [I am ready for anything and equal to anything through Him Who infuses inner strength into me; I am self-sufficient in Christ’s sufficiency].”

Now I encourage you to personalize the Amplified Bible translation.

“Laurel has strength for all things in Christ who empowers her.  Laurel is ready for anything and equal to anything through Him Who infuses inner strength into Laurel, who is self-sufficient in Christ’s sufficiency.”

1 Corinthians 1:27-29 MSG

“Take a good look, friends, at who you were when you got called into this life. I don't see many of "the brightest and the best" among you, not many influential, not many from high-society families. Isn't it obvious that God deliberately chose men and women that the culture overlooks and exploits and abuses, chose these "nobodies" to expose the hollow pretensions of the "somebodies"? That makes it quite clear that none of you can get by with blowing your own horn before God. Everything that we have—right thinking and right living, a clean slate and a fresh start—comes from God by way of Jesus Christ. That's why we have the saying, "If you're going to blow a horn, blow a trumpet for God."

3.       Your life begins to change when you start paying the price for that change.

Judges 6:16-18 AMPC

"The Lord said to him, Surely I will be with you, and you shall smite the Midianites as one man.  Gideon said to Him, If now I have found favor in Your sight, then show me a sign that it is You Who talks with me.  Do not leave here, I pray You, until I return to You and bring my offering and set it before You. And He said, I will wait until you return.”

Gideon begins putting the Word to work by saying the following three things.

First, he confirms that he has found favor in the angel’s sight.

Second, he wants a sign confirming who it is that’s talking with him.

Third, he’s taking him at his word by asking the angel to stay until he returns with an offering.

When you’re facing an enemy that seems overwhelming. . .your own Midianites. . .you need to put the Word into action as well.

First, confirm God’s promises to you by confessing them straight from the Word.

Second, pray for a peace and a knowing to come over you. . .which would also bring agreement with your spouse and/or prayer partner.

Third, like Gideon. . .give an offering when you’ve been spoken to through the Word.

4.       Decide for yourself. . .to put God’s Word to work.

There are seven words that represent seven questions you should ask yourself.

Where, Why, Which, How, Who, What and When?

Now here are the questions.

First, where do you want to go?

If you don’t know where you want to go. . .how will you know when you get there?

Second, why are you going there?

Third, which path are you taking to get there?

Proverbs 3:5-6 MSG

“Trust God from the bottom of your heart; don't try to figure out everything on your own. Listen for God's voice in everything you do, everywhere you go; he's the one who will keep you on track.” 

Fourth, how will you overcome any obstacles along the way?

Joshua 1:7 NLT

“Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the instructions Moses gave you. Do not deviate from them, turning either to the right or to the left. Then you will be successful in everything you do.”

Fifth, who do you need to help you along the way?

Jeremiah 33:2-3 AMPC

“Call to Me and I will answer you and show you great and mighty things, fenced in and hidden, which you do not know (do not distinguish and recognize, have knowledge of and understand).” 

Sixth, what do you want to do when you get there?

Corrie Ten Boom, author of The Hiding Place, said:

“Every experience God gives us, every person He puts in our lives, is the perfect preparation for the future that only He can see.”

Isaiah 48:17 msg

“I am God, your God, who teaches you how to live right and well. I show you what to do, where to go.”

Seventh, when do you expect to arrive there?

5.       Forget the odds or how bad things look. . .God is on your side.

Judges 7:2-3 KJV

“And the Lord said unto Gideon, The people that are with thee are too many for me to give the Midianites into their hands, lest Israel vaunt themselves against me, saying, Mine own hand hath saved me.

“Now therefore go to, proclaim in the ears of the people, saying, Whosoever is fearful and afraid, let him return and depart early from mount Gilead. And there returned of the people twenty and two thousand; and there remained ten thousand.”

Judges 7:7-8 NCV

“Then the Lord said to Gideon, ‘Using the three hundred men who lapped the water, I will save you and hand Midian over to you. Let all the others go home.’ So Gideon sent the rest of Israel to their homes. But he kept three hundred men and took the jars and the trumpets of those who left.”

Charles Lindbergh, the great aviator, once said:

“Success is not measured by what a man accomplishes, but by the opposition he encountered and the courage with which he has maintained the struggle against overwhelming odds.”

Or as Romans 8:31 says:  “. . . If God be for us, who can be against us?”

6.       At times, you must do the ridiculous. . .to experience the miraculous.

Judges 7:16 NIV

“Dividing the three hundred men into three companies, he placed trumpets and empty jars in the hands of all of them, with torches inside.”

When confronted with overwhelming odds. . .seemingly insurmountable problems with no apparent way of escape. . .your best choice is to standing unflinchingly on the Word.  Follow God’s instructions.

Judges 7:17 NIV

“Watch me,” he told them. “Follow my lead. When I get to the edge of the camp, do exactly as I do.”

First, watch me.  Don’t look at the problem . . .nor the circumstances. . .keep your eyes on me.

Second, do what I doDon’t do what your neighbor is doing or even your best friend.  Do what I do.

Judges 7:18-19 NIV

“When I and all who are with me blow our trumpets, then from all around the camp blow yours and shout, ‘For the Lord and for Gideon.’”

“Gideon and the hundred men with him reached the edge of the camp at the beginning of the middle watch, just after they had changed the guard. They blew their trumpets and broke the jars that were in their hands.”

7.       When you put God’s Word to work. . .God gives you revelation, directions and connections.

Isaiah 55:11 AMPC

“So shall My word be that goes forth out of My mouth: it shall not return to Me void [without producing any effect, useless], but it shall accomplish that which I please and purpose, and it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.”

When you stand the Word. . .you gotta know the words coming out of your mouth will not be lost, wasted, empty or without success.

Isaiah 55:11 MSG

“So will the words that come out of my mouth not come back empty-handed. They'll do the work I sent them to do, they'll complete the assignment I gave them.”

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