Name: God's Great Plan for Failures
Price: 12 USD

This course will reveal to you significant truths about how God uses failures, bad theology and doubts to turn it all around to defeat obstacles in your life with a divine vision to live out God’s great plan.  

Introduction to Gideon

Gideon: God's Great Plan for Failures

CB introduces himself as a pastor with a past full of failures and disappointments.  Much like the Bible character in the Old Testament Gideon whose story is found in a few chapters in the book of Judges.

Judges 6:1-10
The people of Israel did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, and the Lord gave them into the hand of Midian seven years. 2 And the hand of Midian overpowered Israel, and because of Midian the people of Israel made for themselves the dens that are in the mountains and the caves and the strongholds. 3 For whenever the Israelites planted crops, the Midianites and the Amalekites and the people of the East would come up against them. 4 They would encamp against them and devour the produce of the land, as far as Gaza, and leave no sustenance in Israel and no sheep or ox or donkey. 5 For they would come up with their livestock and their tents; they would come like locusts in number—both they and their camels could not be counted—so that they laid waste the land as they came in. 6 And Israel was brought very low because of Midian. And the people of Israel cried out for help to the Lord.
7 When the people of Israel cried out to the Lord on account of the Midianites, 8 the Lord sent a prophet to the people of Israel. And he said to them, “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: I led you up from Egypt and brought you out of the house of slavery. 9 And I delivered you from the hand of the Egyptians and from the hand of all who oppressed you, and drove them out before you and gave you their land. 10 And I said to you, ‘I am the Lord your God; you shall not fear the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell.’ But you have not obeyed my voice.”

What Happens When We Turn Our Backs On God (VS.1)
* The people do evil (they again reject god and embrace sin)
* God takes his hand away from people who chose sin
		- God will not impose himself on you when you don’t want Him in your life.
* Blessing is directly tied to obedience

Living A Life That’s Not Worth Living (VS. 2-5)
* The Midianites (enemies) oppress the people of God
* The people of Israel have to hide who they are
		- Sin causes you hid and lie
* They suffer when they do what’s right
* The Midianites lay waste to the land (they end up losing more ground)

How To Break A Cycle of Broken Living (VS. 6-10)
* First step to break a cycle begins an act crying out 
		- Finally a time of desperation: but it’s regret not repentance:
		- The people of God are sad at what they have lost, but not sad that they’ve lost God
* God sends a prophet to tell them the truth 
		- You don’t need a song… you need a word: 
		- To call you to repentance and to show you why you REALLY need saving
* Remember what the Lord has done for you… and now remember how you have not listened 
* Are we sorry for what our sin has brought or sorry for the sin itself...?
* Now is the time to listen and obey… He’s worth every ounce of your heart

When It All Falls Down

God’s great big plan for failure.  There is a period when the people of God found themselves in a very dark place when they rejected God and embraced sin.  Because of their sinful actions, God removes His hand of favor and protection from their lives and one of their enemies - the Midianites invade and take them captive. At this moment we see the people of God suffering and physically hiding.  CB Barthlow instructs us on the first steps to break this type of cycle of broken living. In this chapter CB reveals a powerful truth that to break a negative cycle in your life that you have to move from simply being sad over what they have lost, to become sad and sorry for losing your connection with God.

Judges 6:11-16
11 Now the angel of the Lord came and sat under the terebinth at Ophrah, which belonged to Joash the Abiezrite, while his son Gideon was beating out wheat in the winepress to hide it from the Midianites. 12 And the angel of the Lord appeared to him and said to him, “The Lord is with you, O mighty man of valor.” 13 And Gideon said to him, “Please, my lord, if the Lord is with us, why then has all this happened to us? And where are all his wonderful deeds that our fathers recounted to us, saying, ‘Did not the Lord bring us up from Egypt?’ But now the Lord has forsaken us and given us into the hand of Midian.” 14 And the Lord turned to him and said, “Go in this might of yours and save Israel from the hand of Midian; do not I send you?” 15 And he said to him, “Please, Lord, how can I save Israel? Behold, my clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father's house.” 16 And the Lord said to him, “But I will be with you, and you shall strike the Midianites as one man.”

God Shows Up In Dysfunction (VS. 11-12)
* The angel of the Lord comes to find Gideon when he is afraid and hiding in the bottom of a wine press.
* Gideon is doing a normal thing of beating wheat inside of a winepress instead of normal outside activity
		- in an abnormal way to hide (he’s used to disfunction)
* The angel speaks an impossible blessing to the weakling

What You See Is What You’re Called To (VS. 13-14)
* Gideon complains about all the pain he sees
* The Lord (now) tells him to go in this thy might (what he hates, is his power)

CB asks you the question, “what do you see that needs changed… is that you’re calling?”

When I Am Weak Then He Is Strong (VS. 15-16)
* Gideon declares that he is weak and unqualified 
* The Lord says he will be with Gideon (he doesn’t need to be qualified) 
* He will reduce to the enemy into a manageable foe (one man not many)

CB also asks “what more do you need?”

From Zero to Hero

God can take our weak dysfunction and turn it into your strength.

Judges 6:17-24
17 And he said to him, “If now I have found favor in your eyes, then show me a sign that it is you who speak with me. 18 Please do not depart from here until I come to you and bring out my present and set it before you.” And he said, “I will stay till you return.”
19 So Gideon went into his house and prepared a young goat and unleavened cakes from an ephah of flour. The meat he put in a basket, and the broth he put in a pot, and brought them to him under the terebinth and presented them. 20 And the angel of God said to him, “Take the meat and the unleavened cakes, and put them on this rock, and pour the broth over them.” And he did so. 21 Then the angel of the Lord reached out the tip of the staff that was in his hand and touched the meat and the unleavened cakes. And fire sprang up from the rock and consumed the meat and the unleavened cakes. And the angel of the Lord vanished from his sight. 22 Then Gideon perceived that he was the angel of the Lord. And Gideon said, “Alas, O Lord God! For now I have seen the angel of the Lord face to face.” 23 But the Lord said to him, “Peace be to you. Do not fear; you shall not die.” 24 Then Gideon built an altar there to the Lord and called it, The Lord Is Peace. To this day it still stands at Ophrah, which belongs to the Abiezrites.

Sacrifices Over Signs (VS. 17-19)
* Sometimes, we’re so unfamiliar with the voice of God, we want more proof
* Instead of asking God for more of Him, try giving more of yourself to Him
* Give lavishly, give everything you have, even if its your last drop

Response Over Results (VS. 20-21)
* Our sacrifices give us more time with the Lord
* Communion with the Lord gives us a better revelation of Him

Here’s Your Sign (VS. 22-24)
* Once you’ve encountered God a new, you will want tell the world
* Commemorate your revelation of God

CB encourages you to lead the way for others, make your life the “signs of navigation” for others.

Here's Your Sign

It is normal for you to want a sign from God.  But what we really need is not more of God but instead giving more ourselves to Him.

Judges 6:25-35
25 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 26 and build an altar to the Lord your God on the top of the stronghold here, with stones laid in due order. Then take the second bull and offer it as a burnt offering with the wood of the Asherah that you shall cut down.” 27 So Gideon took ten men of his servants and did as the Lord had told him. But because he was too afraid of his family and the men of the town to do it by day, he did it by night.

28 When the men of the town rose early in the morning, behold, the altar of Baal was broken down, and the Asherah beside it was cut down, and the second bull was offered on the altar that had been built. 29 And they said to one another, “Who has done this thing?” And after they had searched and inquired, they said, “Gideon the son of Joash has done this thing.” 30 Then the men of the town said to Joash, “Bring out your son, that he may die, for he has broken down the altar of Baal and cut down the Asherah beside it.” 31 But Joash said to all who stood against him, “Will you contend for Baal? Or will you save him? Whoever contends for him shall be put to death by morning. If he is a god, let him contend for himself, because his altar has been broken down.” 32 Therefore on that day Gideon was called Jerubbaal, that is to say, “Let Baal contend against him,” because he broke down his altar.
33 Now all the Midianites and the Amalekites and the people of the East came together, and they crossed the Jordan and encamped in the Valley of Jezreel. 34 But the Spirit of the Lord clothed Gideon, and he sounded the trumpet, and the Abiezrites were called out to follow him. 35 And he sent messengers throughout all Manasseh, and they too were called out to follow him. And he sent messengers to Asher, Zebulun, and Naphtali, and they went up to meet them.

Training on Happens in Private (VS. 25-27)
* We can’t experience God publicly if we don’t seek Him privately
* The idols of life have to die before God can live in you
		- Common idols: comfort, glory, pleasure

Time To Make an Entrance (VS. 28-32)
* Your faith will become public, when it is genuine
* Gideon’s father, Joash, stands up for tearing down the idols to Baal.
* Not everyone will support you when you go public with your faith in the Lord
		- Your faith will convict others to repentance, it won’t be pretty 

Look Who’s In Your Corner (VS. 33-35)
* The private work and the ridicule are training for the battle ahead
* God envelopes his people with grace and power
* God is sending allies to follow you into the battle

The Contender

Everyone loves when the underdog prevails when nothing is handed to them. This chapter we learn how Gideon goes from being a loser into special training that challenges him to become obedient to the Lord. Goes from being the one who has been overlooked and discounted to suddenly going in front as a leader.

Judges 6:36-40
36 Then Gideon said to God, “If you will save Israel by my hand, as you have said, 37 behold, I am laying a fleece of wool on the threshing floor. If there is dew on the fleece alone, and it is dry on all the ground, then I shall know that you will save Israel by my hand, as you have said.” 38 And it was so. When he rose early next morning and squeezed the fleece, he wrung enough dew from the fleece to fill a bowl with water. 39 Then Gideon said to God, “Let not your anger burn against me; let me speak just once more. Please let me test just once more with the fleece. Please let it be dry on the fleece only, and on all the ground let there be dew.” 40 And God did so that night; and it was dry on the fleece only, and on all the ground there was dew.

Be Bold (36-37)
* Gideon is now openly conversing with God, outside in public before his enemies.
* He is no longer afraid but fully engaged

Ask Questions (37-38)
* Gideon asks something of God to learn more about God
		- He’s still asking the wrong questions but He’s asking the right one to answer
* He’s engaging with God the way he would engage with Ba’al by using the weather to determine his next move…
* Then Gideon tests God again… with a bigger challenge: God passes that test
* His testing is actually him seeking answers from God… about God

He’s Able (39 & 40)
* Wait, isn’t it bad to test God (Deuteronomy 6:16 say we should to, Matt. 4:7-10 Jesus quotes that)
* It is sinful to test God.. and Gideon demonstrates that he still thinks Baal (god of rain and dew) might be stronger… he has bad theology and he knows this is a sin… but he’s engaged with God honestly
* God passes the tests but old ways of thinking are no longer necessary when ok Jesus does a new thing
* And God’s grace is sufficient…
* I'm not saying test God or go on sinning but if you’re engaged with God earnestly in the midst of your struggle with him… he is gracious to meet you, provide, and demonstrate his power in you…

I Still Don't Get It

This is one of the most popular Bible passages for how Gideon put a fleece before the Lord.  CB reveals the cultural context for why Gideon used a fleece to inquire about the Lord’s will. It demonstrates how we can come boldly to God.

Judges 7:1-8
Then Jerubbaal (that is, Gideon) and all the people who were with him rose early and encamped beside the spring of Harod. And the camp of Midian was north of them, by the hill of Moreh, in the valley.
2 The Lord said to Gideon, “The people with you are too many for me to give the Midianites into their hand, lest Israel boast over me, saying, ‘My own hand has saved me.’ 3 Now therefore proclaim in the ears of the people, saying, ‘Whoever is fearful and trembling, let him return home and hurry away from Mount Gilead.’” Then 22,000 of the people returned, and 10,000 remained.
4 And the Lord said to Gideon, “The people are still too many. Take them down to the water, and I will test them for you there, and anyone of whom I say to you, ‘This one shall go with you,’ shall go with you, and anyone of whom I say to you, ‘This one shall not go with you,’ shall not go.” 5 So he brought the people down to the water. And the Lord said to Gideon, “Every one who laps the water with his tongue, as a dog laps, you shall set by himself. Likewise, every one who kneels down to drink.” 6 And the number of those who lapped, putting their hands to their mouths, was 300 men, but all the rest of the people knelt down to drink water. 7 And the Lord said to Gideon, “With the 300 men who lapped I will save you and give the Midianites into your hand, and let all the others go every man to his home.” 8 So the people took provisions in their hands, and their trumpets. And he sent all the rest of Israel every man to his tent, but retained the 300 men. And the camp of Midian was below him in the valley.

You Don’t Need A Crowd (VS. 1-4) (God de-invites)
* Gideon assembles all the people with him to ready for the attack
* But there are too many and God knows they’ll take credit for their victory
* God wants you to win but He wants you to give Him the glory in victory
* Not everyone is called to fight because not everyone can handle the win
* God starts to thin the herd… much of what you have now you won’t need later

You Don’t Need An Entourage (VS. 5-6) (God tests)
* Then God decides to thin the herd again
* God has a way of testing things for us… to see if we need them
* God gives us clear instructions on who and what belongs in our life
		- It's vital to our journey to listen and obey…
* Let go of what we don’t need and walking with what we do

You Just Need One Body (VS. 7-8) (God promises)
* The people who scoop and lap are eyes up people, God can use them
* The kneelers are satiated by whatever meets their immediate desires 
* God is looking for those people who are aware, not driven by their immediate and primal needs
* Only 300 people are left and Gideon now has all he needs to win
* They are one body but you only really need one body.
		- God calls us to one body of believers: all in one accord
		- The body of Jesus… is all that you need to be saved

Conclusion
* If you have only the Lord… that’s all YOU need
* Let God do the shrinking so that He can get the glory

Less Is More

The provision that the Lord gives Gideon is pared down to far less than he thinks he needs. 

Judges 7:9-18
9 That same night the Lord said to him, “Arise, go down against the camp, for I have given it into your hand. 10 But if you are afraid to go down, go down to the camp with Purah your servant. 11 And you shall hear what they say, and afterward your hands shall be strengthened to go down against the camp.” Then he went down with Purah his servant to the outposts of the armed men who were in the camp. 12 And the Midianites and the Amalekites and all the people of the East lay along the valley like locusts in abundance, and their camels were without number, as the sand that is on the seashore in abundance. 13 When Gideon came, behold, a man was telling a dream to his comrade. And he said, “Behold, I dreamed a dream, and behold, a cake of barley bread tumbled into the camp of Midian and came to the tent and struck it so that it fell and turned it upside down, so that the tent lay flat.” 14 And his comrade answered, “This is no other than the sword of Gideon the son of Joash, a man of Israel; God has given into his hand Midian and all the camp.”
15 As soon as Gideon heard the telling of the dream and its interpretation, he worshiped. And he returned to the camp of Israel and said, “Arise, for the Lord has given the host of Midian into your hand.” 16 And he divided the 300 men into three companies and put trumpets into the hands of all of them and empty jars, with torches inside the jars. 17 And he said to them, “Look at me, and do likewise. When I come to the outskirts of the camp, do as I do. 18 When I blow the trumpet, I and all who are with me, then blow the trumpets also on every side of all the camp and shout, ‘For the Lord and for Gideon.’”

Intro
* Most people allow life to dictate how they’re living
* When they’re winning, they celebrate
* When their losing, they commiserate
* But the life of a believer is never dictated by our circumstances
* Our life is dictated by our heaven stance
* 
You’ve Got a Friend In Me (VS. 9-11)
* God commands Gideon to start spying out his victory field 
* God always gives us a glimpse of the enemy, the battle, the victory
* We’re never in the dark, we just close our eyes a lot
* God gives us companions to overcome fear.  Gideon’s servant, Purah goes with him into the enemy’s camp.
* Don’t go it alone

The Enemy Has a Secret (VS. 12-14)
* They come down to the enemy's camp and there are many people
* You have to come close to your affliction: you have to address it and see it completely
* Don’t be afraid of what you see: we live by faith and not by sight
* The Bible tells us that “faith comes by hearing” and they hear something amazing
* In the dream Gideon is identified as a barley cake.
		- The same Gideon who threshed wheat for his people and made a cake for the Lord
* The Lord speaks to us and he also speaks to the enemy… the enemy knows all about you
* The enemy knows you will win! He just doesn’t want you to know it!

Praise is The Best Preparation (VS. 15-18)
* Gideon has been encouraged by the Lord: that’s God’s way
* Gideon worships even though he has not yet won
* He worships because he knows he will win
* Gideon divides the camp and gives them supplies
* Worship is where we get our instructions & courage from the lord
* They head to battle… worship is where we get our courage from the Lord

Worship Before the Win

CB teaches a concept of worship as an effective tool to win life’s battles.  God gives Gideon, who was a baker, a dream how a cake of barley bread will roll down and crush his enemy. 

Judges 7:19-25
19 So Gideon and the hundred men who were with him came to the outskirts of the camp at the beginning of the middle watch, when they had just set the watch. And they blew the trumpets and smashed the jars that were in their hands. 20 Then the three companies blew the trumpets and broke the jars. They held in their left hands the torches, and in their right hands the trumpets to blow. And they cried out, “A sword for the Lord and for Gideon!” 21 Every man stood in his place around the camp, and all the army ran. They cried out and fled. 22 When they blew the 300 trumpets, the Lord set every man's sword against his comrade and against all the army. And the army fled as far as Beth-shittah toward Zererah, as far as the border of Abel-meholah, by Tabbath. 23 And the men of Israel were called out from Naphtali and from Asher and from all Manasseh, and they pursued after Midian.
24 Gideon sent messengers throughout all the hill country of Ephraim, saying, “Come down against the Midianites and capture the waters against them, as far as Beth-barah, and also the Jordan.” So all the men of Ephraim were called out, and they captured the waters as far as Beth-barah, and also the Jordan. 25 And they captured the two princes of Midian, Oreb and Zeeb. They killed Oreb at the rock of Oreb, and Zeeb they killed at the winepress of Zeeb. Then they pursued Midian, and they brought the heads of Oreb and Zeeb to Gideon across the Jordan.

Intro
* Lewis Puller, the most decorated US Marine in American History, when surrounded by Nicaraguan rebels, said this to his men: “They are in front of us, behind us, and we are flanked on both sides by an enemy that outnumbers us 29:1. They can’t get away from us now!” “Because now we can shoot at them from every direction.” 

Show Up (VS. 19)
* Gideon leading one of the three divisions
		- Never follow a leader who doesn’t also work
		- 1 Corinthians 3:9 “we are God's fellow workers.”
		- It’s good to fight alongside your fellow believers, and good to have a strategy
* No matter the number, when we’re together, we’re well equipped
* They arrive at the battlefield at midnight, your fight is a new season in your life

Stand Your Ground (VS. 20-21)
* The jars (you) conceal the torches so they can get close without being seen
* The torches (the Holy Spirit) when revealed frighten the enemy and ensure victory
* The trumpets (your worship) they blow to scare the midianites
* They stand in place… and release their treasure in jars of clay with a shout
		- 2 Cor. 4:7 “But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us.”

The Battle Belongs To the Lord (VS. 22-25)
* Israel doesn’t even fight the Midianites, they kill one another and run in fear
* The enemy is divided and once Gideon and his 300 people are in unity, they can’t lose
* You must be willing to shatter yourself and let the Holy Spirit lead the fight
* When you die to self, the Holy Spirit is an all consuming fire that disperses the enemy and saves you

Conclusion
* This battle of yours, will cost you, but not like you think
* You lose part of yourself in the fight but not in the way that you think
		- Every new battle brings a new revelation of God in you
		- And shatters your reliance of self and your own understanding
* Victory means losing your old self, are you ready to let the Lord do the fighting?

This is How I Fight My Battles

In this final class, CB reveals to us how God fights our battles for us in ways you would not expect.

Gideon’s example of God’s great big plan for using our failures.  How to trust the Lord.  Better understanding how God uses unlikely people and to share this good news with others to encourage others who might discount themselves and think less of themselves and remind them that they can be mighty in the Lord.

Conclusion to Gideon

CB recaps this course on how the Bible character of Gideon is turned about from his failures into a life that believed in God’s strategy for winning a battle with the minimum of resources. 

God's Great Plan for Failures

CBBarthlow_GodsPlanForFailures_CoverArt_v1.jpg

<p>Most people I know have gone through at least one season in life where they haven’t felt like a winner. It’s totally normal for humans to go through seasons where we frankly just feel like we’re losing in at least some area of life. CB vulnerably shares failures as a former drug addict and someone who’s lost a marriage, his children, his career and his friends, he admits that he knows what it’s like to feel a total failure. For those who feel like they have been living in a losing season marked more by failure than success, there is good news: God loves people who make mistakes and He’s got a great big plan for people who sometimes feel like failures. In this course, we’ll take a close look at the life of Gideon, a small man from a small tribe, amongst people in a bad season, and we’ll examine how the Lord uses Gideon, an unlikely hero, to change the course of an entire nation.</p>


CB Barthlow

Pastor

<p>In this Bible character study of the ultimate underdog in the life of Gideon you will learn how to turn past failures into God’s greater purpose for your life. CB Barthlow reveals hidden truths found only in the Biblical story of Gideon who becomes an unlikely hero who God uses to change the course of an entire nation. Understand how to operate from a vision that you are passionate about.</p>


Your guide, CB Barthlow