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Ordinary Gideon: Reducing the Army for God's Glory 0:09 Good morning. Welcome to Stand on the Word. Today, our journey takes us to Judges chapter 7 and 8 verse 22 of chapter 7. When the 300 blew the trumpets, the Lord set every man's sword against0:21 his companion throughout the whole camp. Now Gideon is actually featured more than, almost all the other judges here in the book of Judges, and you ask the question why. Well, I can't say for certainty,0:33 but I think it's because Gideon was just an ordinary guy. He, he is not, as we know him, a trained or skilled warrior. He He's not super strong like Samson.0:45 He doesn't come from a powerful or politically connected family. He's just ordinary, Gideon who who sees extraordinary things happen because he yielded to0:57 god. My take is that Gideon is really just like you and me. Ordinary people who god can use to do extraordinary things if we trust him1:09 and we step out in obedience to him. Verse 2 chapter 7 and the lord said to Gideon, the people who are with you are too many for me to give the Midianites into your hand, lest Israel claim glory for itself1:21 against me, saying, my own hand has saved me. God says, you've got too many men. Now 1 of the principles of warfare is that you wanna have superior numbers and weapons, which1:32 provides an advantage and a higher probability of success. Gideon had mustered 3200 men, which, was just about 1 sixth of the Midianite army.1:45 And god said, that's too many. And he whittles it down all the way down to 300 by sending at first the fearful and then the less than alert men home. Verse 3, now therefore proclaim in the1:56 hearing of the people, say, whoever is fearful and afraid, let him turn and depart at once from Mount Gilead. And 22000 of the people returned and 10000 remained. More than2:08 2 thirds of the men were afraid. That should tell you something. And that's 1 of the reasons that we hear repeatedly in scripture, do not be afraid. Fear not. I've talked2:20 about this before. In fact, I wrote a book several years ago called entitled No Fear, and and the reason is our default position is fear. And God says, no. Do not fear.2:32 Fear not. And that's usually an indication that God's about to do something. Verse 4 chapter 7. But the Lord said to Gideon, the people are still too many. Bring them down to the water, and I will test them for you2:44 there. Then it will be that of whom I say to you, this 1 shall go with you, the same shall go with you. Of whom I say to you, this 1 shall not go with you, the same shall not go. So, he brought the people down to the2:55 water, and the lord said to Gideon, everyone who laps from the water with his tongue as a dog laps, you shall set up apart by himself. Likewise, everyone who gets down on his knees to3:07 drink. And the number of those who lapped, putting their hand to their mouth, was 300 men, but all the rest of the people got down on their knees to drink water. Then the lord said to Gideon, by the3:19 300 men who laughed, I will save you and deliver the Midianites into your hand that all the people, all that let all the other people go, every man to his place. Now3:31 this is not how you would normally confront an opposing army, but God does not operate normally. What was the reason for whittling down Gideon's army?3:43 So that it was clear who brought about the victory. God does not wanna share his glory with anyone. Verse 16. Then he divided the 300 men into 3 companies and put a trumpet into every man's300 Trumpets and Torches: Unconventional Victory 3:54 hand in, with empty pitch pitchers and torches inside the pitchers. And he said to them, look at me and do likewise. Watch and when I come to the edge of the camp, you shall do as I4:06 do. When I blow the trumpet, I and all who are with me, then you shall blow the trumpet on every side of the whole camp and say, the sword of the lord in Gideon. So, Gideon and the and the hundred men who were with4:18 him came to the outpost of the camp at the beginning of the middle watch just as they had posted the watch and they blew the trumpets and broke the pitchers that were in their hands. Then the 34:29 companies blew the trumpets and broke the pitchers. They held the they held the torches in their left hands and the trumpets in their right hands for blowing, and they cried, the sword of the Lord4:41 and Gideon. And I'll miss this. 300 troops with a torch and a trumpet. This is unconventional warfare. But look what happens. Verse 21, and4:53 every man stood in his place. It reminds me of Ephesians chapter 6. Stand therefore. Every man stood in his place all around the camp, and the whole army ran and cried out and5:05 fled. When the 300 blew the trumpets, the lord set every man's sword against his companion throughout the whole camp, and the army fled to Beth archaea toward Zera5:18 as far as the border of Abel Mahola by Tebeth. The Lord did exactly what he had promised. He fought the battles for them, and he fights5:30 for us as well. God wanted to make very clear they did not win this battle. The 300 men did not win this battle. The message was if they wanted victory and peace, they needed to5:42 stick close to God and obey him, and he would be their defender and their protector. As we see in the next chapter, they they just couldn't keep their end of the bargain. We see this again,The Remnant's Weapons: Truth and God's Living Word 5:53 this cycle over and over. But but I want you to see the relevance of this chapter and what it means to you and to me. The 300 troops represent a remnant. Alright? Just a remnant. Just a just a6:05 token. We would be hard pressed to find examples in scripture where god used a majority to advance his purposes and his kingdom. If you are6:17 following and serving the lord, don't expect, alright, hear me, don't expect to be in the majority. Don't expect everybody to be there with you. Expect to be outnumbered,6:29 but that's okay. If you're on god's side where he is the 1 fighting the spiritual battles that we are in, we're just taking orders from him and assuming our place is6:41 taking our stand as Paul talks about in Ephesians 6. Now, look at the unconventional aspect of this, a trumpet and a torch. What kind of military weapons are these?6:53 Well, let me, let me answer this with the words of the apostle Paul and if in when he was writing to the Corinthians in second Corinthians chapter 10, for the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty in God7:05 for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments, and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ.7:17 The trumpets represent the bold proclamation of the truth, declaring truth. The light, the the the the light that that they held under the picture, that's the word of7:29 God. Like the 300, we must boldly proclaim the truth and the light of god's word. That's our responsibility, and then god uses that to route7:41 the spiritual army and fight the battle for us. You know, why do you think there's so much opposition to the word of God? And why is it that so many Christians are not in the word of God?7:53 They're kept from the word of God because it is the source of our strength and our power. God says my word will not return unto me void. And and for those of you who have been on the this journey8:05 through the word of god, especially those who have been on the journey before and have completed it, you can testify to the power of the word of god. It is the power of sanctification. Remember, we we shared this,8:17 I don't know, couple of days ago from John chapter 17 where Jesus was praying for us and said sanctify them. How? By your word. Your word is truth and and8:29 so it's by the word of god that we're sanctified. Meaning that our our nature is changed. Our our our fallen nature is changed. Alright. Where was8:41 I? Alright. As the writer of Hebrews writes in Hebrews 4 12, for the word of God is living and powerful and sharper than any 2 edged sword, piercing even to the division8:53 of the soul and spirit and of the joints and marrow and is a discerner of the thoughts and the intents of the heart. The word of god, we gotta be in it and we have to use it. In chapter 8, after the tremendous victory,Post-Victory Pitfalls and the Call to Obey 9:05 the, the people want Gideon to be their king, but like George Washington, he rightfully says no. Now a few observations from chapter 8. First, Gideon shows tremendous humility and wisdom9:17 in responding to the men of Ephraim that, got upset because they were not a part of this battle. Verse 1. Now the men of Ephraim said to him, why have you done this to us by not calling9:28 us when you went to fight with the Midianites? And they reprimanded him sharply. God has God has delivered into your hands the princes of Midian, Orb, and Zib, and9:40 what was I able to do in comparison to you? That's what Gideon said to them in response, and then their anger toward him subsided when he said that. Now it's not all good.9:52 Alright. It's not all good. Gideon shows very poor judgment in creating essentially an idol. Verse 24. Then Gideon said to them, I would like to make a request of you that each of you would give me the10:04 earrings from his plunder, for they had golden earrings because they were Ishmaelites. So they answered, we will gladly give them, and they spread out a garment, and each man threw into it the earrings from his plunder.10:16 Now the weight of the gold earrings that he requested was 1700 shekels of gold besides the crescent ornaments, pendants, and purple robes which were on the kings of Midian, and besides the chains10:28 that were around their camel's neck. Next, then Gideon made it into an ephod and set it up in the city Ophrah, and all the Israel played the10:40 harlot with it there. It became a snare to Gideon and to his house. You know, we need we need to be very careful not to worship victory or its fruits. We must worship god and10:51 worship him alone. As the chapter closes, we again see this unfortunate cycle, verse 33. So it was as soon as Gideon was dead that the children of Israel11:03 again played the harlot with the Baals and made Baal Beareth their God. Thus, the children of Israel did not remember the Lord their God, who had delivered them from the hands of11:15 all their enemies on every side, nor did they show kindness to the house of Gideon in accordance with the good he had done for Israel. So how is that prevented? How do we keep that11:27 cycle? You know, we must teach our children about who god is, what he has done for us, and what he expects from us so that we might know him11:39 and experience his power from generation to generation. Father, we thank you for your word. So grateful for your word, lord, because it is our strength. It is it is the11:51 light. It is what we can proclaim, the boldness of your word. So, lord, I pray you would give us courage. Number 1, as as as going back to the book of, Joshua,12:03 where you told him to be strong and courageous, that courage and strength was needed to keep your word. And so, father, I pray we would, number 1, be in your word. We would abide in it, and then, lord, we would live it.12:14 We would obey it. We would yield to it. And, lord, I pray that you would fight our spiritual battles for us as you have promised. Lord, your word is true, and I pray that we would see it in our lives. I pray for those12:26 this morning that are joining us that are in battles. It could be in the family. It could be in the workplace. Lord, spiritual battles that are raging around them. Lord, may we stand and proclaim your truth, your word.12:37 And, lord, I pray that you would fight those battles for us. For we pray and ask this in Jesus' name. Amen. Alright. Thanks for joining me this morning. Have a great weekend. And, until next time, keep standing on the12:48 word.12:51 Today's study comes from the Stand on the Word Bible Reading Plan available for free at frc dot org slash bible. By following along in just a few minutes a day, you13:03 can read through the entire Bible in just 2 years. Learn more and request the free reading guide at frc dot org slash bible.In this video 0:00 Ordinary Gideon: Reducing the Army for God's Glory3:53 300 Trumpets and Torches: Unconventional Victory5:52 The Remnant's Weapons: Truth and God's Living Word8:59 Post-Victory Pitfalls and the Call to Obey
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