I believe dead men's bones will live again. I believe that the same Spirit who kept the promises of God for generations in the past is waiting for us to enter into the Holy of Holies for our time and our generation! There is only one path for you to take if you have received and believed the message of this book: You need to be possessed. (Don't close your mind and the pages of this book—this is a Bible concept!) God wants you to be possessed with His Spirit in the same way Gideon was! The Amplified Bible says:
But the Spirit of the Lord clothed Gideon with Himself and took possession of him, and he blew a trumpet, and [the clan of] Abiezer was gathered to him (Judges 6:34 AMP).
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ETP
OSSESSED!
God is waiting for a people to get possessed. He wants a people who will literally be clothed with God Himself, and will blow the trumpet with holy boldness as watchmen on the wall. Are you willing to be possessed? Are you ready for a radical change of clothes?
I have always liked Gideon because I can really identify with him. He was minding his own business and working in his own field when somebody (an angel of the Lord) tapped him on the shoulder and said, "Hey you, mighty man of courage, God wants to use you."
I can imagine Gideon looking around and saying, "Who in the world are you talking to, buddy?" (See Judges 6:11-17.) As it was with Gideon, God's analysis of our potential is vastly different from our own. God is looking for a people who understand how small they are and how great He is. Then, He just loves to turn the tables on all the naysayers and contenders by possessing us and taking residence within us.
Gideon's father was not a righteous man because he had built up the high places in honor of idols and false gods. Everyone nearby came to the site to conduct their devilish rites of idolatry. In the same way, our nation can no longer be called a "Christian nation" because we've turned aside to the idols of self, personal pleasure, and rebellion. Nevertheless, the Spirit of the Lord gave Gideon the task of tearing down the very high
places that his father had built! Gideon decided to obey the angel's command, but he was wondering, I'm not quite so sure because you're talking about dividing my own household here. He was so afraid of his father's reaction to the destruction of the high places that he did it at night.
Gideon's clumsy attempt to hide his deed didn't work, evidently because one of the ten men who helped him decided to tell all (see Judg. 6:29). When the angry idol worshipers confronted Gideon's father, Joash, he said prophetically, "If he [Baal] is a god, let him contend for himself because someone has torn down his altar" (Judg. 6:31b). Although Joash intended for this statement to be a curse on the guilty man, it set up a test of truth similar to the confrontation of Elijah with the priests of Baal when God's fire consumed all of the priests of Baal as well as Elijah's water-soaked altar and sacrifice. In the ancient traditions of that day, it was understood that anyone who dared to break the curse would themselves receive a penalty in their own lives.
Gideon faced some serious problems that day. You may be facing some obstacles in your life that make commitment to the Lord's call seem impossible or even suicidal. The Lord is looking tirelessly for a people who will overcome small mentalities, insecurities, and fears to allow Him to take control. When you allow God to clothe you with Himself, when you "put on Christ," you will have a totally different perspective of the obstacles challenging you today. Too many Christians are afraid to step out of their own comfort zones and venture into places that the world (and many Christians) call "too radical."
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OD'
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EWARDS
YSTEMGod has a reward for people who dare to step out on the limb of faith and just keep on going. There was a reward for Gideon. He counted the cost of obeying God's command. He had to face his paralyzing fear of reprisal if he dared to come against his own father's household. Gideon counted the cost and stepped over the line into obedience to God anyway. He was still "human" enough to do the deed in the dark of night, but the point is that he obeyed. Once he stepped out, the Bible says he "waxed strong." He became stronger!
Look what happens to the man who steps forward for "more" of God in his life. The Bible says, "So the Spirit of the Lord came upon Gideon; and he blew a trumpet, and the Abiezrites were called together to follow him" (Judg. 6:34).
I was in a prayer conference in Canada several years ago after I had spent three solid months seeking God. Many of those days were spent praying in tongues for four to six hours a day. This trip to Canada was my "first time out" after three months of prayer. I went into a place of intercession there in Canada, and the Holy Spirit illuminated this verse in Judges chapter 6. He put on my heart to read the passage from the Amplified Version.
As usual when I go into intercession and travail, I was sitting on the floor of the room. When I turned to Judges 6:34 in my wife's Amplified Bible, I read these words with
astonishment: "But the Spirit of the Lord clothed Gideon with Himself and took possession
of him, and he blew a trumpet, and [the clan of] Abiezer was gathered to him (Judg. 6:34 AMP). I've got a word from the Lord for you: Be possessed. We hear a lot of talk about people being possessed by the devil, but I have something shocking to tell you: God is looking for a people that He can possess. He wants to do more than legally own us because He purchased us with His blood. He also wants to experientially have us. I don't know about you, but I want to be possessed by and with God. I want literally to be clothed with Him. I urge you to let God come upon you, to be possessed of God.