Long Shots: When the Least Likely Lead the Way

Introduction

The speaker acknowledges the lack of snacks and promises more in the future.
Welcomes first-time guests and Bethany family (Bethany campus closing for a couple of months, relaunching in fall).
Recognizes Alec Barvel for his work on the blockbuster series.
Introduces the new series: Long Shots when the least likely lead the way.
States that there are many stories in the Bible of long shots where God got involved.

Modern Day Example: Rich Strike

Shares a modern-day long shot story about Rich Strike, a horse in the 2022 Kentucky Derby.
Rich Strike wasn't initially supposed to be in the Derby (number 21, only 20 horses run).
Got the call the day before the race because a horse scratched.
Was the weakest horse in the lineup with 80 to 1 odds.

Long Shot

This series is for anyone who feels like a long shot.
Wonders if God could use someone like you.
Maybe God has been preparing you all along.
Even if you felt overlooked, God was working in the background.
God prepares people in quiet moments before calling them to the front.
God needs people willing to run, trusting that He has already done the work.

Gideon: An Unlikely Hero

The speaker introduces Gideon from the book of Judges as an example of a long shot.
Judges is the seventh book in the Bible, after Joshua but before the kings of Israel.
Judges were warrior types who rescued Israel when they drifted from God.
The Midianites were tormenting the Israelites for seven years, taking their crops and livestock.
The Israelites were exhausted and hiding in caves, crying out to God for help.
God didn't send an army or fire; He called one man: Gideon.
Gideon was an ordinary man with fear and questions, much like us.

Gideon's Context

Judges 6:11 describes Gideon threshing wheat in a wine press to hide it from the Midianites.
Normally, wheat would be threshed on a hilltop where wind could blow away the chaff.
Gideon was in a pit, meant for crushing grapes, which was the worst possible condition to thresh wheat because he was hiding and scared.
It was in this moment that God showed up.

God's Perspective

Judges 6:12: The angel of the Lord appears to Gideon and says, "Mighty hero, the Lord is with you."
God calls Gideon a mighty hero, even though Gideon doesn't see himself that way.

First Truth

God sees more in you than you see in yourself.
God created you and has a plan and purpose for your life, but we often take ourselves out of the game.
Gideon feels like a coward, but God knows what he can become.
Some may feel God could not use them, but God sees something in them that they don't believe about themselves.
Examples: David (forgotten shepherd boy, but God saw a king), Rahab (prostitute, but God saw a rescuer), Peter (loudmouth, but God said he was the rock on which the church would be built).

Personal Anecdote

The speaker recalls his first sermon at age 22, when he wanted to impress the church.
He wrote eight pages of content but delivered the entire sermon in 10.5 minutes.
He paced back and forth and spoke so fast that no one could keep up.
He felt he had failed, but the lead pastor told him not to give up, seeing a gift in him.

Question

Who has spoken into your life, or who hasn't but should have?
Some may carry a low-grade inadequacy, shaped by negative words from others.
The enemy replays old lies until you believe them.
Proverbs 18:21: The tongue can bring death or life; those who love to talk will reap the consequences.
Some are living with words of death echoing in their minds, blocking them from believing what God can do.

Reasons for Feeling Inadequate

Unrealistic Criticism
- People in your life have unfairly criticized you (coach, teacher, parent).
- You carry their words like a backpack full of bricks, remembering the details of the event.
- The enemy doesn't invent new lies; he replays the old ones until you believe them.
Unrealistic Compliments
- We live in a culture where everyone gets a trophy for participating.
- Too much fluff without substance creates pressure.
- When always told you're the best, you begin to believe it.
- In the real world, you may not receive the same praise and become unwilling to try new things for fear of failure.
- Romans 12:3: Don't think you are better than you really are. Be honest in your evaluation of yourself, measuring yourself by the faith God has given us.
- Don't build your life on flattery but on the truth of God.
Unrealistic Comparison
- Social media has sped this up to light speed.
- You see everyone's highlight reel (perfect family, vacations, home, etc.).
- Andy Stanley calls it living in the land of "Er" (everyone else seems to be better, richer, thinner, smarter, prettier, faster, funnier).
- You feel like you don't measure up, and the comparison trap steals your contentment.
- It silences your calling.
- Galatians 6:4: Pay careful attention to your own work, for then you will get the satisfaction of a job well done, and you won't need to compare yourself to anyone else.
- It's about the satisfaction of doing what God called you to do.
- Satan doesn't need to make you fall into a big sin; he just needs to surround you with enough noise and pressure that you constantly feel like you're not enough.
- Comparison is a sin if it keeps you from trusting how God made you and what He called you to do.
- Be confident in who you are, and more importantly, in whose you are.
- If you're too busy wishing for someone else's calling, you'll miss your own.

Reflection Questions

Which of these do you often find yourself believing: the sting of criticism, the ache of comparison, the pressure of empty praise?

Reminder

God sees past all of this because He created you for something more.
He doesn't want you believing these lies; He's created you for something far greater.
He called Gideon a mighty warrior because He saw something in Gideon that Gideon didn't see in himself.
Once Gideon started trusting God, God knew He could use him in a mighty way.

Second Truth

God has already given you more than you think.
Judges 6:14: Then the Lord turned to him and said, "Go with the strength that you have and rescue Israel from the Midianites. I am sending you!"
The word "turned" (Pana) means an intentional shift in attention.
God doesn't argue with Gideon's excuses or list off his talents; He simply turns and says, "Go with the strength that you have."
God doesn't say go when you feel stronger; He says He has already given you what you need.
Gideon is in a hole, hiding from the enemy, and God says he has enough strength to lead the nation on a rescue mission.
God speaks strength into you while you're still scared.
We assume God can only use us after we've matured, know more about the Bible, are healed, or have cleaned up our mess.
God doesn't say, "Go when it makes sense"; He says, "Go in the strength that I already have."
As you go, He will give you more clarity, confidence, time, faith, money, and spiritual maturity.
God has already given you something, and you need to start there.
2 Peter 1:3: By his divine power, God has given us everything we need for living a godly life.

Gideon Asks for a Sign

Gideon asks for a sign to prove God will use him to rescue Israel.
Gideon proposes a test with a fleece: if the fleece is wet with dew but the ground is dry, he will know God will help him.
God does it, but Gideon still isn't sure.
Gideon asks for another test: this time, let the fleece remain dry while the ground around it is wet with dew.
Gideon isn't stalling out of laziness; he doesn't want to make the wrong call.
He's trying to figure it out, and God meets him in that fear with kindness and confirmation.
The fleece is not a formula, but a picture of the graciousness of God and how He handles His people.
You may be in a fleece moment, hesitating because you want to know for sure.
Faith is not the absence of fear; it's the obedience in the presence of it.

Important Message

God working through you depends less on you than you think.

Example

Gideon finally says yes and has 32,000 men show up.
God tells him he has too many warriors and sends home anyone who is afraid. "If I let all of you fight the Midianites, the Israelites will boast to me that they have saved themselves by their own strength."
22,000 men leave, leaving Gideon with 10,000 men.
God says it's still too many and gives him a weird test: go to the lake and observe how the men drink water.
-Those that kneel down with their faces in the stream will not be chosen.
-The warriors who scooped with their hands while paying attention were chosen.
Gideon is left with 300 men (a 99% reduction in strength).
The Midianite army has 135,000 warriors.
God is trying to teach Gideon and Israel that it's not about your ability but about your dependency on God.
No swords, chariots, or spears; they go to war with trumpets, torches, and jars.
They surround the Midianite camp, light the torches, cover them with jars, blow the trumpets, and bust the jars.
The Midianites wake up confused, grab their weapons, and start killing each other.
Gideon's 300 men never swing a weapon.

Key Point

Gideon didn't win because he was powerful; he won because he was obedient.

Analysis

We often think, "If I was just more confident or had more experience or was more spiritual, then God could use me."
But that's not how the kingdom of God works.
1 Corinthians 1:27-29: Instead, God chose the things of the world that the world considers foolish in order to shame those who think they are wise, and he chose things that are powerless to shame those who are powerful. God chose things despised by the world. Things counted as nothing at all, and he used them to bring to nothing what the world considers important. As a result, no one can ever boast in the presence of God.
It's not about us but about what God does in us and through us.
God doesn't need your credentials; He just needs your yes.
Some may feel their influence is shrinking, but God may be increasing their dependency on Him.
That job that didn't come through, that relationship that ended—maybe it's God preparing you for something greater.
God is positioning you in a place where only He gets the credit and you get to experience something amazing.
What He's calling you to do isn't going to be accomplished by your strength but by His power through your surrender.
Gideon's weakness didn't disqualify him; it positioned him.

Conclusion

God may be calling you to something that doesn't make sense on paper.
You don't feel ready, strong, smart, or spiritual enough.
God doesn't need your strength; He wants your surrender.
The only thing that disqualifies you is saying no when God calls you.
You may feel like a long shot, overlooked, underprepared, or not ready.
God is nudging you because He wants to use you in a mighty and powerful way, and you keep telling Him no.
God has you typically where He calls you.

Final Questions

Will you stay in the wine press, or will you step into your calling?
What step are you not taking because you feel inadequate?

Examples

Leading a group.
Sharing what God's doing in your life.
Reaching out to a neighbor.
Serving in a new ministry.
Reconciling a relationship.
Saying yes to something that God has been stirring in you.

Encouragement

Say yes and go in the strength that you have.
The Lord will be with you, you mighty hero.
He's already speaking something into your life that you don't yet see.
What step will you take?