Gideon

Transcript

well good morning everyone x i hope everyone enjoyed the uh beautiful x spring day yesterday that was x kind of getting us into the uh the mood x here and the birds chirping this morning x so what i'd like to do over the next x couple weeks is um x primarily today we're going to look at x the state of the nation x uh at the time of joshua's death x and then we're going to um x lead up to x deborah x and then ultimately we're going to have x a strong focus on gideon his family x and uh some of the tie-ins there with x the types of christ x and x look at the battle with gideon and how x that kind of ties in x with some similarities with christ and x armageddon x but primarily today we're going to focus x on the state of the nation x and kind of the build up to what things x were like when gideon came on the scene x and a little bit of the period of the x judges x and x just this verse here pardon me my lord x it's so you know gideon it's like whoa x you're talking to me x i how can i save israel my clan is the x weakest in manasseh and i am the least x in my family x and just the spirit of humility x that gideon had and x he's also by some commentary looked at x as a reluctant leader x he didn't want the job so to speak x and he didn't see himself as worthy or x capable x and i think there's a there's a good x excitation there for us i mean we i x think feel the same way that we don't x feel sometimes capable x in our walk in the truth we feel less x than sufficient x but we look at god's answer here and he x says the lord and said i will be with x you x and you will strike down all the x midianites leaving none alive and that x confidence x that gideon could put his x faith and trust x in god so it was x irrelevant to how gideon felt about x himself x it was going to be accomplished through x the power of god in god's glory x and x just a funny story i kind of this you x know x aspect of how gideon may have felt a x little bit you know x the weakest x i last weekend on saturday morning i x flew down to uh florida jen and megan x were down there so we flew down to try x to get a little bit of weekend time in x and i've flown a little bit x with kind of covert opening up and you x get to the airport nobody's there you x breeze through security no problem x so i got up at 4 30 at a 7 a.m flight x i get to the airport at six o'clock and x i kind of walk down walk in where the x terminals are and it is packed it's a x mob scene x and the pre-boarding on this flight x starts at 6 25. x and i'm looking at the security line x it's got to be 200 people deep it's x you know we've all seen the how long the x lines can be x so x i'm in this line i'm waiting i'm waiting x it's 6 20 x and i think x i'm going to have to start cutting x people or i'm going to miss my flight x like it's either it's either do that or x miss my flight so i have to turn into x that guy i feel like a total loser x i'm going underneath the security things x i'm saying you know x you know i'm so sorry i'm going to miss x my flight i'm so you know i i just feel x like you know about this big x uh because we all know that person we x look at them like yeah why didn't you x get here earlier x so i cut everybody i get up to the front x of the line x and go to the security guy he scans my x stuff and he says oh they jetblue has x your birthday wrong and on your ticket x in the system so i can't let you through x you have to go to the jetblue counter x so after having cut everybody i gotta x sloke out you know x go to the jetblue counter the line's a x mile long so i got to cut everybody in x that line you know now it's like 6 40. x they fix my date now i got to go back in x cut everybody all over again x yeah i know they're all like this guy x again x finally long story short i made my x flight but i'm thinking you know here's x gideon saying uh i don't really think x i'm up to the task and we've all we all x have that x um x you know those feelings in life where we x feel a little bit inadequate for the job x that's before us but we know x um x and we'll see x where gideon you know how his faith grew x as he went through x the process x but it's a good lesson for us that god x is in control of all things we're weak x and it's god that will uh carry us x through and certainly you know gideon's x response is a good one in terms of x you know he didn't say oh i'm so glad x the angel showed up i'm the smartest i'm x the strongest you know it's a good thing x you came for me because i'm gonna be x really the one you can you can count on x and there's x just some good scriptures here for us to x look at in relation to our own walk if x we look at first corinthians 3 x beginning in verse 5 here x and it says x what after all is apollos and what is x paul only servants through whom you came x to believe x as the lord has assigned to each his x task x i planted the seed apollo wanted it but x god has been making it grow so neither x the one who plants nor the one who x waters is anything x but only god who makes things grow x the one who plants and the one who x waters have one purpose and they will x each be rewarded according to their x labor for we are co-workers in god's x service x you are god's field x god's building x and x we all x work together and ultimately we have x jobs to do but it's god that is going to x strengthen these things he's going to x increase upon the work that he's asked x asked us to do x so as we come to um the death of joshua x he was probably 110 years old x uh at this time when he died x and we're told in joshua chapter 23 x after a long time had passed and the x lord had given israel rest from all x their enemies around them x joshua then a very old man summoned all x israel x their elders leaders judges and x officials and said to them i am very old x you yourselves have seen everything the x lord your god has done to all these x nations for your sake x it was the lord your god who fought for x you so x joshua makes a big deal about this x understandably he he knows as he says x i'm going to go the way of all the earth x and he he gathers all the leaders x together he pulls everyone together x to remind them x it is god who's done all these things x for you because there were still nations x there was still work to be done in the x land x and joshua wanted to make sure x that this work was going to be done and x it goes on in verse 4 to say remember x how i have allotted as an inheritance x your tribes all the land of the nations x that remain x the nations i conquered between the x jordan in the mediterranean sea in the x west x the lord your god himself will push them x out for your sake he will drive them out x before you x and you will take possession of their x land as the lord your god promised you x and x again we have this focus on x god and what he's promised x he can always be trusted x and this is what joshua was telling the x people he wanted them to think upon x these things and you'll be faithful but x if you forget these things you will turn x away from the truth and how important it x is in our own lives to be here today to x be reminded of these things and we have x this wonderful privilege we can go from x genesis to revelations and remind x ourselves at any time x what god has done not only for the x nation of israel but for this world and x providing salvation and each one of us x personally in our own lives x we can look at first john chapter 4 here x morning sandy x in verse x 13. x this is how we know that we live in him x and he and us he has given us of his x spirit and we have seen and testify that x the father has sent his son to be the x savior of the world if anyone x acknowledges that jesus is the son of x god god lives in them and they in god x and so we know x and rely on the love god has for us x god is love whoever lives in love x lives in god and god in them x and so x at the time of x joshua's death x this is what he asked the children of x israel to focus on everything that god x had done for them everything that they x had been through x in in the new testament we are told the x same thing focus on the love of god x focus on what he's done for you x recognize that you can rely on god x and x that he will pull you through whatever x circumstance of life x you're dealing with x and x joshua goes on to say in his farewell x in highlighting a lot of the major x events x um x that happened x to the children of israel to bring it to x their x their consciousness i think we can x appreciate this x if something's not in the news or x in the end of the year they go through x like the news stories the top stories x for the year and i know for myself i x look at you forget that something x happened even a major event like oh i x totally forgot about that x and we see even the news cycle today x yeah the war in ukraine was front and x center for um you know a couple weeks x but then people tire of the same old x thing and now they're on to to uh new x stories the the slap heard around the x world and whatever it might be x and x that's just the nate the human nature x and so joshua's making a point x so that their minds can be brought back x to x all of the wonderful things that that x god uh did so it says be very strong be x careful to obey so it's not a x uh x kind of a lazy attitude it's something x that needs to be x diligently adhered to to be careful x about it all that is written in the book x of the law of moses without turning x aside to the right or to the left do not x associate with these nations that remain x among you do not invoke the names of x their gods or swear by them x you must not serve them or bow down to x them but you are to hold fast to the x lord your god as you have until now and x so they were walking well as he says x keep doing what you're doing keep on x that same path x and you will be successful x the lord has driven out before you great x and powerful nations to this day x no one has been able to withstand you x one of you routes a thousand because the x lord your god fights for you just as he x promised and this is echoing to us to x the kingdom age when it says ten men x shall grab on to the skirt of a jew for x they'll know that the lord is with them x and the nations around them saw that x that god supported israel that he drove x them out x and x they saw that x one of you routes a thousand x so it says so be very careful to love x the lord your god and that's that's what x we try to do every day x we try to carefully love the lord our x god that's why we're here today x but then there's a warning a strong x warning that comes in but if you turn x away x and ally yourselves with the survivors x of these nations that remain among you x and if you intermarry with them and x associate with them x then you may be sure that the lord your x god will no longer drive out these x nations before you x instead they will become snares and x traps for you whips on your backs and x thorns in your eyes until you perish x from this good land which the lord your x god has given you x i just thought these analogies x that are given here x we would think these would be enough to x like yeah don't worry about it i'm not x going to go there i'm not going to do x that x we're certainly going to keep the lord x we're going to be very careful x you know this idea of a thorn in the eye x we know we've all had an irritant or a x scratch on the cornea you can't get rid x of that pain it's very x um it's such an irritant uh and he x brings out these thorn bushes or a snare x just imagine an animal and a snare x and x he says in joshua 24 x and he says but if serving the lord x seems undesirable or unacceptable or x have no desire or if it is bad in your x eyes and x it's almost as if he's putting such a x contrast to them i've driven out all of x these nations for you i've brought you x to a land flowing with milk and honey x but if somehow in your mind you've x decided it's unacceptable to serve me x you have no desire he says then choose x for yourselves this day x uh whom you will serve x and joshua lists through he says this is x what the lord the god of israel says x long ago your ancestors and he goes x through abraham he goes through the x promises he goes through jacob and esau x he goes through moses and aaron and how x they were delivered from egypt and he x says x the egyptians pursued you with horsemen x as far as the red sea x and you cried to the lord and he heard x you and he delivered you and destroyed x the egyptians x it says you crossed the jordan you came x to jericho x and god defeated the amorites the x perizzites the canaanites and all these x other nations around you x and x he gave you a land on which you did not x toil in cities that you did not build x and the children of israel showed up and x they had vineyards and groves and all of x these wonderful things x and he says in chapter x 24 and verse 14 now fear the lord and x serve him with all faithfulness x throw away the gods your ancestors x worship before the euphrates river end x in egypt and serve the lord x but if serving the lord seems x undesirable to you then choose for x yourselves this day whom you will serve x and we know joshua says but as for me x and my household we will serve the lord x it seems a very easy x choice to make but we know in our own x lives we we struggle as well x we x can be drawn away there's a lot of x distractions x in the world today x and we can start out very firm x i know in the day of my baptism i x remember driving to a um x you know like a week or two after going x to wednesday night class and i thought x to myself why would i have a sin i'm not x going to sin x and you just have that zeal but of x course we do we get tangled up in things x and the children of israel did here as x well they they allowed nations or they x didn't drive out the nations as they x were x commanded to x but it's also a lesson here that we can x recommit because we know as the judges x come along x there's always opportunity for change x there's always opportunity for us to say x you know what i'm going down this path i x need to change course i need to x make x you know look at my life and and start x doing things differently x uh brother jonathan bowen on wednesday x night gave a class on the russia x situation x and he closed out the class by saying x now you know we don't know when christ x is going to return but now is the time x if there's something in your life that x you know you needed to change for a long x time x change it x make that commitment so that you can you x can x get that area out of your life and x that's the wonderful thing about the god x we serve that x the past is the past with him he is a x god that truly forgives and puts our x sins x as far as the east is from the west x there they're gone x we change our walk and start uh making x those right decisions and we can look in x uh first peter five x it says cast all your well verse six x humble yourselves therefore x under god's mighty hand that he may lift x you up in due time x cast all your anxiety on him because he x cares for you x and x as we discussed in the in in the first x slide there with gideon god said don't x worry it doesn't matter that you're the x weakest it doesn't matter that your x family's not the the highest x it's going to be me who's ultimately x going to going to save you x we can look at isaiah x 45 as well verse 22 x says turn to me and be saved all you x ends of the earth for i am god and there x is no other x just this wonderful opportunity that we x have at any time in our walk just as the x children in israel had to change their x ways to seek god again x and there's a there's a couple of x wonderful psalms that touch us on this x as well x in psalm 119 verse 59 x says x psalm 119 verse 59 i have considered my x ways x and have turned my steps to your x statutes i will hasten and not delay x to obey x your commands and this this wonderful x encouragement x morning x this wonderful encouragement that god x gives us to x to evaluate our lives and that's why x we're here today for the memorial to to x remember christ to examine ourselves to x examine our walks and one last one on x this in psalms chapter 22 x verse 27 x and ultimately this is pointing for x forward to the kingdom all the ends of x the earth will remember x and turn to the lord and all the x families of the nations will doubt bow x down before him x for dominion belongs to the lord and he x rules over the nations and this is the x message that joshua was trying to get x through to the children of israel that x they had this wonderful opportunity in x mortality to serve god and ultimately x they could do it in immortality in in a x world that will be subdued from sin x in a wonderful kingdom period and life x ever everlasting and joshua was really x trying to x bring this x home and of course in the moment it's so x easy in the moment i know when i drive x home from meeting x a lot of the thoughts i might have x during the week that are temptations x that i have to kind of fight against x when i'm driving home from meeting it's x it's easy because it's like i'm x spiritually pumped up i'm ready to go i x want to do the right thing x i want to and i and i think about okay x what can i do x uh x you know to help somebody or x it it's a lot easier we're in the moment x and pumped up and that's what the x children of israel do here then the x people answered far be it from us to x forsake the lord to serve other gods of x course not i'm not x they're saying we're not going to do x those things we have the blessings and x the curse right before us we're going to x we're going to go with the blessings x it was the lord our god himself who x brought us and our parents up out of x egypt x in x that land of slavery and performed those x great signs before our eyes he protected x us on our entire journey and among all x the nations through which we traveled x and the lord drove out before us all the x nations including the amorites who lived x in the land we too will serve the lord x because he is our god x and so they had this x incredible commitment x and x it it reminded me of as well back to x the day of baptism and i think we can x all um x hearken back to that day when we x made that commitment when we entered x those x entered the waters of baptism and just x that wonderful x feeling we had in in the x uh realization of the gospel and the x realization x of this wonderful plan and purpose that x that god has x and x it's a x a strong point to us today in the x commitments that we make one to another x it it's easy x or it can be easy with all the x distractions around to x lose hold of the commitment we've made x to the gospel it's a very challenging x time particularly for our young people x and x we have a special responsibility to x be true to our commitment because that x helps it helps one another when we do x that if x we are staying on that path people are x going to notice that and they're going x to be x strengthened in their own walk x and x it's a wonderful privilege and x obligation that we have to x help to be leaders to x be true to the commitments we've made x and this we can look at first kings 8 x verse 61. x and may your hearts be fully committed x to the lord our god to live by his x decrees x and obey his commands as at this time x and this was the zeal that the children x of israel had at this time x ii timothy 2 verse 15 speaks of this as x well x and i like how this is put in the niv it x says do your best x so x it's not asking for x for perfection it's do your best x and and x we have good days and we have bad days x but it says x do your best to present yourself to god x as one approved a worker who does not x need to be ashamed and who correctly x handles x the word of truth x and that's that's why we're here today x we're trying to do our best and we don't x want to be too hard on ourselves when x when we uh make a mistake or if we had a x bad if we have a bad day we want to be x there as supporters x and i think this was the message that x joshua was trying to deliver as well x do your best there's a lot on your plate x with these nations you're coming into a x new land there's there's a lot of x distractions here do your best x uh acts 2 verse 42 x talks about this as well x and it's titled here the fellowship of x the believers and it is wonderful that x we can see everybody's faces today and x that we can have fellowship one with x another it says they devoted themselves x to the apostles teaching into fellowship x in to the breaking of bread into prayers x and it says everyone was filled with awe x at the many wonders and signs performed x by the apostles and that's the blessing x we have we can read about all of these x things x and we have these wonderful scriptures x to encourage us and give us that example x of commitment in these last days x but it didn't take long um x as it there was non-observance they said x yeah we're gonna do all these things x and x then we read in in judges chapter one x but manasseh did not drive out the x people of bashian x nor did ephraim drive out the canaanites x but the canaanites continued to live x there among them neither did zebulun x drive out the canaanites neither did x asha x neither did nafta lie x and it says naftali too lived x among x the canaanite inhabitants of the land x so they failed to live up to the x commitment that they made x and it was a slow process it was like x lot you know he x moved his tent down to sodom he didn't x just move into the city and you know x started being a mover and shaker with x everybody and his family and the x thousand people that went down there x with them it was a slow process where x they began to adopt the ways of these x nations around them they formed x relationships x with them x in just some commentary x on this it says when the israelites x entered canaan they found a land of x farmers not shepherds x as they had been in the wilderness the x land was fertile beyond anything the x hebrews had ever seen x the canaanite attributed attributed this x fertility to their god baal x and that is where the israelites x problems began could the god who had led x them out of egypt x and through the wilderness also provide x fertile farms x in the promised land or would the x fertility god of canaan have to be x honored x maybe to be safe they should worship x both and so this could have been x something that the children of israel x were contemplating they're in the x wilderness they're being you know fed x manna they go into this fertile land and x the people that are there are x worshipping bale and asteroth and x they're saying no these are the gods x that make this land look like this x so you need to you need to worship these x gods as well x or would the fertility god of canaan x have to be honored as well maybe to be x safe they should worship both yahweh and x baal x an intense battle began for the minds x and hearts of god's people the book of x judges records the ongoing struggle x the israelites attraction to and worship x of the canaanite gods x god's disciplinary response the people's x repentance and god's merciful x forgiveness until the next time the x israelites reach for baal x instead of yahweh x and so it's a it's a good excitation x there for us that these things didn't x happen overnight it was a thought x process and we see it in this country x and around the world there's there's a x challenge that's going on between x fleshly ideas x and ultimately we know that god's word x will prevail but even even among x the world they fight over which which x fleshly idea should be more prominent uh x we see it every day on the news x and x this was a challenge that the children x of israel were face faced with they came x into the land x and the the tribes were established but x they didn't drive out the people as they x were commanded to and so they were x mingled among the canaanites throughout x the land and and ultimately they paid a x heavy price for that and x as as merciful and as long-suffering as x god was ultimately x he did tell them that they would have x discipline if they did not x forsake these other gods x and and he followed through on that x can pause here if anyone has any x thoughts comments questions x i thought you're going to have something x to say jack x all right x so x there was in in the x lead up to the judges there was this x monotonous cycle x and x uh x i think we know life can become x monotonous we can x be set in our ways we can have certain x habits that x are hard to break and it says in judges x chapter 2 x after that whole generation had been x gathered to their ancestors another x generation grew up who knew neither the x lord x nor what he had x done for israel and it's really a sad x commentary x because as as parents as grandparents as x aunts and uncles x the x biggest joy that we have is to provide x our children and those in the ecclesia x with the gospel message x for x this generation to grow up and not know x any of these things x it meant that the job hadn't been done x there was there was a falling away x and x those precepts of reading the word keep x them on your mind pray with your x children x all these things that were taught x they couldn't be bothered to do them x they were busy doing other things x and naturally what's the next thing that x happens if we pull ourselves away from x the ecclesia pull ourselves away from x the readings pull ourselves away from x being built up in the truth we we tend x to go down a path that's much less x spiritual x and it says the israelites did evil in x the eyes of the lord and served baals x they forsook the lord so not only did x they forsake god which was bad enough x they followed after detestable false x gods in their practices x and x it says they forsook the lord the god of x the ancestors who had brought them out x of egypt they followed and worshiped x various gods of the people around them x and this aroused the lord's anger x because they forsook him and served baal x and asteroths in his anger against x israel the lord gave them into the hands x of raiders who plundered them so israel x goes from this wonderful state that x they're in god's driving out all their x enemies he's asked them not to embrace x these these x these foreign gods one generation passes x and they start serving bale and asteroth x and now god's not x uh driving out the nations and raiders x are plundering them so you think they x would think you know maybe we gotta x change our ways x it says he sold them into the hands of x their enemies x all around whom they were no longer able x to resist so they're now in a a state of x weakness x whenever israel went out to fight the x hand of the lord was against them to x defeat them just as he had sworn to them x they were in great distress x back at this time it would have been x very easy to see what the gods were baal x astarosh you're bowing down they're x making sacrifices to these x um x gods x in x it's a very fluid process x of of x worshiping idols but we know in our own x lives an idol is anything x that takes our time away from god and i x don't mean x our day-to-day routines we have to have x jobs we have to x have certain x activities that we do that are x profitable for our lives and for those x around us x but if we're spending all our time x on x activity and it's causing us to not x have the time to come into x uh the meeting or uh x to miss our readings i'm always amazed x when we're when we're on vacation and we x have the most time it's always at ten x o'clock at night where we realize oh we x we didn't do a reading today x and it's x um x you know sometimes x having you know x too much free time x leads us to uh fill it with all these x things that really aren't uh helping us x so x it's it's a good exercise for us to x look at the activities in our lives x and x are there some things that we could cut x out and spend a little bit more time x on uh bible study or on uh phone calls x or x sending cards to our brothers and x sisters some some sort of profitable x activity x that will bring x uh glory and honor to god x we can look at uh hebrews 7 verse 25 x here x and when we look at this monotonous x cycle that the children of israel got x into they needed a deliverer x and x god had told them the means by which x they could x be delivered x and when we look in hebrews x we have that same uh x opportunity that same promise from god x of a deliverer x and in verse 25 speaking of christ it x says therefore he is able to save x completely those who come to god through x them because he always lives to x intercede x for them and so as much as god is x looking at his people here in this x monotonous cycle of sin x he x is going to intercede for them because x he's made promises he's going to x intercede on their behalf because x he loves his people x but we can also x consider how frustrated god must have x been x to to have done all these things x for his children x and x they say yeah we're actually going to go x uh x worship bail we're we're good right now x and x you know i have four children x and they're not all perfect x and x it's it can be a frustration sometimes x because x um x you you you give them all these things x you lay it out for them and x they become adults and they make their x own choices x and and that's a good thing um you want x them to be independent x but he is his god who's looking at you x know he's bringing him out of egypt you x know this long list of things and they x turn their back on him and x i think we could we could appreciate the x frustration x um x that that god may have felt here and um x when when evan was in high school he was x uh x he he went to a charter school that did x grades five through eight and his ninth x grade through twelfth was the first high x school year at the school x and they had a bunch of kids that played x soccer together x and they were soccer stars they played x together since kindergarten they and x they did great won all these tournaments x but when they started high school they x added sports so they added a basketball x team and these kids were like you know x clumsy out there they couldn't hit go x driving down and the ball would you know x come off the backboard they x they had no gel between them x and um yeah that was fine for the first x two years because they had him playing x like seventh and eighth graders so they x were matching the scores with them but x when they got to be juniors and seniors x they were getting crushed they played x scituate they were losing by like you x know 40 points and evan was a x competitive kid x and so it bothered him but we talked x about you know just try to work on your x skills try to make a move do something x and there was a game where they were x down it was two minutes left they were x down by 30 points there's no way they x could win the game and evan is still x going hard you know driving x and x we got in the car afterwards and i was x like you know being being a parent you x know worried about all these things i'm x like yeah i've settled down like x you know don't be so competitive at the x end of the game like you're going to x hurt yourself x and you know it went in one ear and out x the other x next game x same thing x 10 seconds left in the game he dives for x a ball out of bounds x nails his shoulder into the wall gets x hurt we get in the car x and i let a little time pass and i was x like didn't we talk about this last week x like now you got hurt x and he looks at me dead in the eyes and x says x dad x i know what you're saying is right x but i'm just going to do it the way i x want to do it x it's like all right well at least he's x being honest with me x and it's almost like that feeling here x like the children of israel they x they were going to do it x what they wanted to do no matter the x discipline no matter x what it was that came their way x we can look at one more scripture here x in psalm x 25 x verse 8. x i do think he was less aggressive though x the next games he really hey we're down x by 30. x in psalm 25 verse 8 it says good and x upright is the lord isn't isn't that a x wonderful saying good and upright is the x lord therefore he instructs sinners x in his ways he guides the humble in what x is right and teaches them x his way x all the ways are of the lord are loving x and faithful x toward those who keeps the demands of x his coven covenants x for the sake of your name lord forgive x my iniquity x though it be great x what a wonderful mindset x for this prayer to be offered there has x to be such a humility x recognizing that god is upright x and he does instruct us and we we do go x through certain things in our lives that x cause us to uh x to consider our ways x and so we might wonder you know why x why would they choose baal and asteroth x over x the wonderful blessings of god and and x we we see here multiple times x this wasn't the first incidence of false x worship x it says after the death of joshua the x worship of baal and asteroth became a x plague upon the israelites and was a x recurring problem x baal also known as the sun god or the x storm god is the name of the supreme x male deity worshiped by the ancient x phoenicians and canaanites x the ensuing generations forgot the god x who rescued them x from egypt x and we can we can turn that one up um x exodus here x 32 verse 7. x it happened so quickly after the x children of israel came out x of the land of egypt in verse 7 there x then the lord said to moses go down x because your people who you brought out x up out of egypt have become corrupt they x have been quick to turn away from what i x commanded them and have made themselves x an idol x cast in the shape of a calf they have x bowed down to it and sacrificed to it x and have said x these are your gods israel who brought x you up out of egypt i mean what a x terrible thing here god just brings them x out of egypt and now they're saying oh x this golden calf actually brought us out x um x you know this became a chronic problem x for israel and some commentary is that x it was due to x uh what they would call national peer x pressure and we'll go through this in x high school and different you know areas x of our life we want to be like the x people around us and we know israel is a x peculiar people even in the way that x they dress if if you uh see a jewish x person uh x in boston or just uh somewhere they x stand out there are peculiar people and x that's how god wants us to be a peculiar x people that stands out and not for the x way that we dress but for the way that x we act x and uh this idea of peer pressure israel x wanted to be like the other nations the x other nations worshiped baal and x astaroth and so many israelites felt the x pull to do the same x and ultimately because of this x israel was scattered in a.d 70. but we x know and we've seen in god's mercy that x they have been x re-gathered x on the mountains of israel god saw their x suffering x and through all this x monotonous cycle of sin x god will be faithful x to x to the promise for his name's sake and x we can x we're uh running out of time here for x this morning's class we can close with x um x scripture in isaiah x 65. x verse 23. x speaking of of uh ultimately israel x there's a there's a meaning for this x today but ultimately in the kingdom age x they will not labor in vain nor will x they be a children doomed to misfortune x for they will be a people blessed by the x lord x they in their descendants with them x before they call i will answer and we're x going to see god answer his children x as we move through these classes while x they are still speaking i will hear x the wolf and the lamb will feed together x and the lion will eat straw like the ox x and dust will be the serpent's food x they will neither harm nor destroy on x all my holy mountain x says the lord so ultimately this x cycle of sin x will will end once and for all um with x the return of christ and at the end of x of the thousand-year kingdom but god x does hear his people he hears us x and x it's just a wonderful thing he will hear x them while they're yet speaking and we x know that god knows our needs x before we even x ask him x so next week lord willing will get into x the need for the judges god raising up x the judges x and x continue on here through gideon

Transcript

so we'll start with a review today um x and sister gale made a really nice x comment last week x when we talked about x the monotonous cycle of sin that x israel was going through x and she said a paraphrase try to get it x right um x that you know forgiveness is such a x wonderful gift from god x but it's also really the best gift that x we can give ourselves x and forgiving ourselves and moving on x from mistakes in our life x is really x what we need to do to be successful in x the truth if we're going to carry all x this baggage or we're going to harbor x things it makes it very difficult x to x on our walk if we can lighten that load x and god wants to do it it's his good x pleasure to give us the kingdom it's his x pleasure to put our sins behind us as x the east is from the west and we see him x he works with israel through this even x through all of these x downward turns x god is still there even when the people x aren't deserving x so x i thought that was a really nice comment x and x something for us to keep in mind because x we we will stumble on our way x and we we but need to turn and seek x forgiveness and and move forward uh x supporting one another so we started x last week and looked at x um x joshua x and x the nation x and joshua says to them right before he x dies x you yourselves have seen everything the x lord your god has done to all these x nations for your sake it was the lord x your god x who fought for you reminding them of x where they had come x and but if you turn away and ally x yourselves with the survivors of these x nations that remain among you x and you into marry with them and x associate with them x then x god will no longer drive out these x nations x and the people of course said absolutely x we will um x we will follow god x and they ran into this chronic problem x of x of the cycle of sin x and idol worship and wanting to be like x the nations around them x and we can look at first samuel here x this was a problem that came in x uh with the children of israel from the x very beginning when they came out of x egypt x in x first samuel 8 x verse 5 x we read x and said unto him behold thou art old x and thy sons walk not in thy ways now x make us a king to judge us like all the x nations they wanted to be like the other x nations and it was no different here x and x later on in that chapter in verse 19 x even after pleading from samuel it says x nevertheless the people refused to obey x the voice of samuel and they said nay x but we'll we will have a king x over us and and of course they had a x king it was god but they they didn't x want that x that we also may be like all the nations x and that our king may judge us and go x out before us and fight our battles x and it was god who was fighting their x battles but they x they turned from this x um x but nevertheless god's mercy persisted x in all this and we see that x it says nevertheless the lord raised up x judges which delivered them out of the x hand of those that spoiled them x and yet they would not harken or listen x unto their judges but they went a x whoring after other gods and bowed x themselves unto them they turned quickly x out of the way which their fathers x walked in obeying x the commandments of the lord but they x did x not so x so even though god raised up judges x no they weren't interested we're going x to do our own thing x and when the lord raised them up judges x and the lord was with the judge and x delivered them out of the hand of their x enemies all the days of the judge x for it repented the lord because of x their groanings x and that when i read that verse it x reminded me of christ when lazarus x was was dead and he groaned in his x spirit because he loved loved lazarus x and it was the same sort of groaning a x low mournful sound uttered in pain or x grief x and so god heard their their moaning x and x by reason of them that oppress them and x vex them and he he heard x and x it really we see here a stubbornness x from the children of israel x and it this is not a passive x behavior x it's x showing determination not to change x one's attitude or position on something x especially in spite of good arguments or x reasons to do so it's an inflexibility x of someone who's difficult to handle x or to manage and perhaps we you know x work with somebody like this i know no x one in in uh know christadelphian would x ever be like this x um but you know we we all come across x difficult difficult x people x uh in the workplace that we see kind of x a stubbornness and we think you know why x are they doing this but you that you're x just not in a position to uh to change x it x so we we must be teachable and x we x also x realize here that god does hear our x prayers even though his children were x uh worshiping baal he was attentive to x their situation and if we look at x proverbs 9 verse 9 here x it says give instruction to a wise man x and he will be yet wiser x teach a just man and he will increase in x learning x the fear of the lord is the beginning of x wisdom and the knowledge of the holy is x understanding x and my dad richard and i she had a room x growing up my dad would come in and wake x us up and he'd say x rise and shine whether you shine or not x it's up to you you know we get so sick x of that x but x you know it was x it was this principle like you know how x your day turns out is really going to be x up to you you know you you can get up x and mope through the day or you can x shine x and x and do the right things um x let's see proverbs 4 verse 5. x get wisdom get understanding forget it x not neither decline x from the words of my mouth this idea of x of contact with the word seeking for x understanding and wisdom x so that we don't have to make decisions x in crisis we've already x um x put the information into our minds we've x all we've already understood what god x requires from us in a certain situation x so that we can x make those right choices proverbs x 13 verse 8. x the ransom of a man's life are his x riches but the poor heareth not re x rebuke the light of the righteous x rejoices but the lamp of the wicked x shall be put out so just this idea x of x hearing x hearing instruction x being teachable x and not being stubborn particularly x about x poor decisions in our life and the x children of israel found themselves in a x very difficult situation but yet they x still were not open x to x uh x to instruction x this idea of groanings as well it's x brought out in uh exodus chapter 2 verse x 23. x and the children of israel here um x in egypt and it came to pass in process x of time that the king of egypt died and x the children of israel sighed x by reason of the bondage and they cried x and their cry came up unto god by reason x of the bondage and god heard their x groaning and god remembered his covenant x with abraham with isaac and with jacob x and god looked upon the children of x israel and god had respect unto them x as we move forward and make our way to x gideon it's going to be this covenant x whether it's going to be a covenant with x baal or it's going to be the covenant x with abraham isaac and jacob that that x the children of israel x made a promise to follow those two x covenants are going to come into x opposition x and x we're going to see the midianites which x means quarrel x and we're going to see there's going to x be a quarrel between x between those covenants but i like this x idea of x uh x it really points to x god's mercy and that he hears our x prayers in in psalm 66 x and verse 16 x come and hear all ye that fear god and i x will declare what he hath done for my x soul x i cried unto him with my mouth and he x was extolled with my tongue x if i regard iniquity in my heart the x lord will not hear me x but verily god hath heard me he hath x attended to the voice of my prayer x blessed be god which hath not turned x away x my prayer x nor x his mercy from me just wonderful words x to give us hope uh to x to get through our day i like to start x if i you know have breakfast say a x prayer say a prayer when i get in my car x in the driveway and i found myself at x times like i'm rushing i'm a little bit x late but it's like if you can't x a minute just one minute if you're one x minute late who's gonna care you have x time for the creator of all things and x that's really what x our lives are about is making time for x each other x and making time x for x our creator to bring glory on it to his x name x we can look at first corinthians 13. x verse 4. x and and this is what god shows to us and x in turn he x expects that we will show it one unto x another charity suffereth long and is x kind x charity envieth not cherry charity x vaunteth not itself is not puffed up x does not behave itself unseemly x seeking not her own is not easily x provoked thinking no evil rejoices not x in iniquity but rejoices in the truth x beareth all things believeth all things x hopeth all things x endureth all things charity never x faileth x and x just wonderful words for us to consider x in relation to each other x sometimes on my way home from work on x xm radio i listen to this therapist dr x laura i don't know maybe you've heard of x her but she has a lot of insightful x information whether it's you know x raising teenagers or x marital advice and you'll have people x call in that say you know my marriage x isn't going so great and so her advice x to these people x um x is x well when you wake up in the morning x the first thing you need to do is think x about what you can do to make your x spouse happy x and if that's your mindset and you start x to do things for them they're going to x recognize that and then in turn they're x going to start doing the same to you x and you know people call in and say you x know hey i tried that and it worked x great i did this for my husband that he x asked for and uh you know his wife will x say you know cousin i did this for my x wife and it was amazing how quick the x the relationship changed x and it really x it really encompasses these verses in in x uh being charitable x uh one unto another galatians 5 verse x 22. i'm still waiting on jen though for x that you know you hear that honey x uh galatians 5 22 but the fruit of the x spirit is love joy peace long-suffering x gentleness goodness faith x meekness temperance against such x there is no law and they that are christ x have crucified the flesh with the x affections and lust and so such a x contrast to where the children of israel x are at this time and in in um x verse 22 there it says of 21 i also will x not henceforth drive out any from before x them of the nations which joshua left x when he died god got fed up he said x over and over and over again x judges and you repent and then you fall x away and i've tried to do all these x things i've heard your groanings x and x he says that through them i may prove x israel whether they will keep the way of x the lord to walk therein as their x fathers did keep it or not and so the x nations were there so that the x children of israel had a choice before x them x and we as well in our lives have trials x of faith and can be tested in our walk x james talks about this in james chapter x one x in uh verse two x my brethren counted all joy x when you fall into diverse temptations x and i i don't know about you but i don't x consider it joyful when i have a x temptation but i know sometimes it's x necessary for x uh growing and growing my my character x knowing this that the trying of your x faith worketh patience x but let patience have her perfect work x that ye may be perfect and entire x in wanting nothing x um x verse 12 as well x of that same chapter x blessed is the man that endureth x temptation for when he has tried he x shall receive the crown of life which x the lord has promised to them that love x him and certainly we all x would love to just have a life of of x ease and um x just you know breeze through and and x have no problems but it's these problems x that sometimes pop up in our lives x that cause us to think to reflect to to x grow x and to draw closer to god to draw closer x to one another because we need that x support x first peter x as well x jim said he liked my class because i x didn't move much so i'm trying to follow x through on that again today x first peter 1 x verse 6 and 7. x wherein ye greatly rejoice though now x for a season if need be ye are in x heaviness through manifold temptation x that the trial of your faith being much x more precious than of gold that x perisheth though it be tried with fire x might be found unto praise and honor and x glory at the appearing of jesus christ x whom having not seen ye love in whom x though now ye see him not yet believing x ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full x of glory receiving the end of your faith x even the salvation of your soul so this x idea that in life we will have trials x that we go through x and x during those trials we need to draw x closer to god we have to use those x opportunities to think about our walk x and x to rejoice recognizing that ultimately x it leads to the salvation of our souls x now it's interesting there are some x commentaries that have deborah x and x gideon x at uh x judging at the same time in different x areas and we know they did judge in x different areas x some people say there was 80 years of x peace or there's one 40-year period of x peace where x deborah had her battle at mount tabor x and gideon was at mount moire and they x all kind of happened in a similar time x and then there was um x then there was 40 years of peace this x did come from bible canada though so x we'll x you know we'll we'll have it with a uh x you know a little bit of um x trepidation but i thought it was x interesting because x one of the important things in living x the truth is providing strength one to x another x and if x whether x deborah and gideon were at the same time x or deborah was right before gideon would x have x garnered amazing strength from what x deborah did and if they were at the same x time and he was hearing these things x and it would have given gideon kind of x that extra x oomph to get out there and do the job x that he needed to do with 300 men so x it's it's um x it's a great lesson for us x that x support is so critical x uh in our day-to-day activities x now x so you can see uh on x the lower part of the screen where it x names the the judges at this time you x can see x where deborah was down closer to the x dead sea area and you can see where x barrack is x up near the sea of galilee which is x about a 95 mile x uh difference x and x this was the area that they were judging x and you can also see there where gideon x was x uh probably about 25 miles south x of x uh where barrack is and you on the uh x map that has the blue and red line and x so forth you can see the key drawn river x there you can see mount uh moray which x is where gideon would have had his x battle x with the midianites and just north of x that x is is where deborah and barrack and the x israelites would have had their battle x with uh sisera in in their troops x so deborah is is really a fascinating uh x judge x and prophet and x i i do think there was a x an immense amount of support that gideon x got from looking at this battle x with x with cicero and it says in judges 5 7 x the pleasantry ceased in israel they x ceased until you arose x deborah arose as a mother x in israel and it was it's something that x my my mom always said to my girls and x and to jen was like you know we're we're x mothers in israel like we have a x responsibility x in the ecclesia to show the right x example to do the right things like this x is x this is really a wonderful privilege x that we have and this is what deborah x was she arose x as a mother in israel and it just x reminded me of what a difference one x person of faith can make one person who x stands up god can use just one person x to fulfill his purpose and if we think x about uh x about hebrews 11 you know all of these x individuals that are listed x you know in in singular fashion noah x abraham moses samson david x it's a good reminder that each of us has x an important role to play x we are all individually and collectively x a light stand for the gospel and it's we x don't need to do some big amazing thing x um x sometimes it feels like oh well i need x to do this and and then that's that's x going to really make a difference but x i think a lot of times it's just the x small things x of each day the care and concern x uh for one another our prayers to god x supporting those around us preaching the x gospel x as we can when we're out and about on x our on our daily activities x and the same x will be said of us x as was said at the end of hebrews in x verse 39 x all in these all having obtained a good x report through faith receive not the x promise x god having provided some better thing x for us that they without us should not x be made perfect x and this idea of deborah as a mother in x israel x we x all expect we're going to be x immortalized along with deborah and x samson and noah and all of these people x listed in x the uh faith chapter and so many more x and god says he's going to do it all x together they're not going to receive x immortality before us we're all going to x be collectively x uh in in this position x where x we've obtained a good report through x faith we've persevered x and we haven't received the promise yet x the promise of immortality x and we can look at zechariah 4 verse 10 x here x it says in in zechariah 4 verse 10 for x who hath despised the day of small x things for they shall rejoice and shall x see the plummet in the hand of x zerubbabel with those seven x they are the eyes of the lord which run x to and fro x through the whole earth so this idea not x only does god hear our prayers his eyes x run to and fro through the whole earth x to work out our salvation to x to assist us as he's provided angels for x us x uh galatians x 6 x verse 2 tells us carry each other's x burdens and so you will fulfill the law x of christ and this is what deborah did x she could have said i don't have time x for this i'm i'm busy way down here by x the dead sea i don't have time to go up x to barrack and and help out the children x of israel why don't they start doing the x right thing x but she x she was there x for her fellow brothers and sisters x hebrews 13 verse 16 x says x don't forget to do good x and to share what you have because god x is pleased x with these kind of sacrifices x in matthew 5 verse x 16 tells us in the same way let your x light shine before people so they can x see the good things you do and praise x your father who is in heaven and this is x what gideon would have seen from deborah x this is what the children of israel saw x and it motivated them to change their x walk and philippians tells us instead of x each person watching out for their own x good x watch out x for what is better for others and that's x a hard mindset for us to have because x naturally we're drawn x to x do what we want i mean jen wanted to x stay in florida another month x she said i want to be here i don't want x to be home with you x [Music] x i had to talk her into coming home but x um x it's this is the mindset that debra had x this is the mindset that that all of the x judges had they were in x a very difficult situation where they x had the nation around them x worshipping bail and they had to step in x and step up and be that person you know x brother spiritual who's like no you guys x are all wrong you need to start doing x this x and it's a very uncomfortable situation x to be in x but this is what deborah did she was x looking out for x what is better for others and and x certainly that's what our lord and x master x did in his entire life x and we can open it up if anybody have x any thoughts comments uh x anything x it was from a website in canada x that's all yeah it was just that it the x information came from canada is it a x christodolphine site or just no bible x study no yeah just a bible education x site okay x um all right so as we as we move on here x and look at the importance of of debra x we see that she was called upon by god x and it says barrack x as we know he wasn't going to go down x barrack said to her if you go with me i x will go but if you don't go with me i x won't go x and deborah of course said certainly i x will go with you but barack required x tangible support x in his walk in the truth and and so x often we do and we're going to see x gideon require the same type of support x when god asks him to act whether it be x in asking you know for a sign with the x fleece and his sacrifice x um x the casey and rachel flew down to x florida a few weeks ago the last week x they were there and x you probably remember there was a x weekend all the flights got x messed up x and x casey x calls me in a panic she got this email x that she was no longer on rachel's x flight like her flight was coming in x later x and she's like dad x you need to call the airlines and let x them know x i am not getting on a plane without x rachel x and i was like okay honey well let's uh x let's figure out what's going on here x i'm like go talk to mom x but you know this idea barrack needed x that support from deborah x for him to go up and she provided it and x we all have people like that in our x lives and that's what the athleisure is x all about it's there so we can support x one another so when i'm down and you're x up i can gain strength from you and vice x versa x so we see here the support that uh x deborah gave x um x but it also the the record indicates but x because of the course you were taking x the honor will not be yours for the lord x will deliver sisera x into the hands of a woman so deborah x went with barrick x there barrack summoned zebulun and x naftali and ten thousand men x went under his command deborah also x uh went went up with them and if we look x at um x judges 4 verse 18 here x we see that god is ultimately the one x who wins this battle and and the end x that cicero uh meets in verse 18 there x and jl went out to meet cicero and said x unto him turn in my lord turn into me x fear not and when he had turned in unto x her into the tent she coveted him with a x mantle x in verse 21 then jael heber's wife took x a nail of the tent and took a hammer in x her hand and went softly unto him and x smote the nail into his temple x and fastened it to the ground for he was x fast asleep x so he died x in x verse 23 so god subdued on that day x jabin the king of canaan before the x children of israel in the hand of the x children of israel prospered and x prevailed against jabin the king of x canaan until they had destroyed jabin x king of canaan and so all these armies x are being drawn together x but yet it's god who's in control and it x goes on in judges chapter four to say x when they had told cicero that barracks x son of a binom had gone up to mount x tabor cicero summoned from x hero heth x in hagayem to the kishon river all his x men in his 900 chariots filled with iron x and this would have been x petrifying to the children of israel x these chariots of iron they would drive x them into battle they would run over x uh the soldiers they had no mercy in x this this battle here uh x was x a kind of a milestone with the children x of israel it's it's recalled several x times x if we look in first samuel x 12. verse 9 x samuel mentions this x he says and when they forgot the lord x their god he sold them into the hand of x siser a captain of the x host of hazel and then to the hand of x the philistines and into the hand of the x king of moab and they fought against him x and they cried unto the lord and said we x have sinned because we have forsaken the x lord and have served balaam and x ashtaroth x and the lord sent jerubal and be dan and x jephthah and samuel and delivered you x out of the hand of your enemies x on every side and ye dwell x safely x uh in psalms as well psalms for um x psalms 83 verse 9 x says do unto them as unto the midianites x as to sisera as to jabin x at the brook of kishon which perished at x endor and this was all done for god's x glory god was the one in control here in x in the 18th verse of that same chapter x it says that men may know that thou x whose name alone is jehovah at the most x high over all the earth x in verse 14 there x then deborah said to barack go x this is the day the lord hath given x cicero into your hands x has not the lord gone ahead of you so x barrack went down x mount tabor with ten thousand men x following him at barracks advance the x lord routed cicero and all his chariots x an army by the sword and cicero got down x from his chariot x and fled on foot x if you look at the map there you can see x the x um x the kishon x uh river there which is going to play a x part in the children of israel winning x this battle and just a depiction x of these chariots that the israelites x certainly didn't have this but they had x the lord of hosts on their side x interesting to note that this same area x has become identified with the high x mountain apart into which christ and his x disciples peter james and john witness x the transfiguration so this same x mountain here mount tabor is where they x believe the transfiguration took place x this would have been the view out um x view of the jezreel valley from the top x of mount tabor so it would have been x quite expensive x where this battle would have taken place x and this is looking at uh you can see x mount tabo there in mount moray so these x battles took place x uh x very close together and it's also in x this same area x uh mount carmel where elijah was calling x for baal and you perhaps he's sleeping x so x this idea of this battle between baal x and the covenant with abraham isaac and x jacob it's a long-running theme x for the children of israel x and x all of this was related to baal worship x that that brought all of these events a x path to to pass x and god shows his power in each one of x these events it's it's him x that uses whether it's 300 men whether x it's a prophet deborah x and judge whether it's her faithfulness x it's always god's x power and glory that is manifest we x could look at isaiah chapter 40 there x in verse 27 x why sayest thou o jacob and speakest o x israel my way is hid from the lord and x my judgment is passed over from my god x hast thou not known hast thou not heard x that the everlasting god the lord the x creator of the ends of the earth x fainteth not x neither is weary there is no searching x of his understanding he giveth power to x the faint and to them that have no might x he increases strength x even the youths shall faint and be weary x and the young men shall utterly fail but x they that wait upon the lord shall renew x their strength they shall mount up with x wings as eagles they shall run and not x be weary and they shall walk and not x faint x and just a wonderful depiction of god's x character he he doesn't faint he doesn't x get weary he doesn't get weary of our x prayers there's no searching his x understanding he's able to give strength x to whoever he chooses and we know god x rules in the kingdoms of men he raises x up the basis of individuals to be rulers x so we go from a situation x in the nation of israel in these x different pockets x of despair where the children of israel x are worshiping false gods and putting x their trust in baal x and losing every time they go out to x fight because god stopped destroying x their enemies x the children of israel groan x and god hears them and raises up x faithful judges x to to deliver them and josephus comments x on this uh battle because x you have cicera in his ten thousand men x in these chariots x but the x the kidron river is cause it rains out x and it's it says uh in verse four here x when you lord went out from seer when x you marched from the land of edom the x earth shook the heavens poured the x clouds poured down water the mountains x quake before the lord the one of sinai x before the lord the god of israel and x these chariots were basically flooded x out they got caught in all of this um x in all of this water and they couldn't x move so the children of israel were able x to come down and and win the battle and x we often see this is what god uses he he x parts the red sea he uses uh nature and x he he helps his uh children win these x fights and this is this is why this x battle was uh mentioned in the psalms x and why samuel brought it up because it x would have been a another reminder to x the children of israel how they were x delivered x uh josephus says so the battle began and x when they were come to a close fight x there came down from heaven a great x storm with a vast quantity of rain and x hail and the wind blew the rain in the x face of the canaanites and so dark in x their eyes that their arrows and slings x were of no advantage to them nor would x the coldness of the ear permit the x soldiers to make use of their swords x while this storm did not so much x in accommodate the israelites because it x came in their backs x they also took such courage upon the x apprehension that god was exist x assisting them x that they fell upon the very mist of x their enemies and slew a great number of x them so that some of them fell by the x israelites some fell by their own horses x which were put into disorder and not a x few were killed by their own chariots at x last sisera as soon as he saw himself x beaten x fled x away x and just this idea that the children of x israel saw that this was a miraculous x event that was happening x that x they x were emboldened in their faith so that x they x went after the enemy full force because x of what was happening x so to close out this section on um x on deborah and to bring our class today x to a close as as next week we'll we'll x get into the meet of gideon i thought x this was a really nice commentary uh x from women of the bible x and it says in deborah's song of triumph x we see a word picture of the lives of x the people of israel under the x oppression of jabin x caribbean ceased to travel those who x moved about the country kept in the x byways the people of the villages moved x into towns for greater protection until x you arose deborah arose as a mother in x israel so things were in complete x disarray and then you had one person one x wonderful woman come along to x right the ship so to speak this faithful x woman became the spur of barracks faith x enabling him to overthrow israel's x oppresses with god's promise fulfilled x and the land had rest 40 years x although deborah's strength was the x support of barrack's weakness it is x barack's name that is included in the x list of faithful men and women in x hebrews 11. x and what more shall i say x i do not have time to tell about gideon x barrack samson and jephthah who through x faith conquered kingdoms administered x justice and gained what was promised x but what greater accolade could deborah x receive than to be known x for all time x as a mother in israel what a what a x wonderful commendation x uh x for for this woman x and perhaps um x one or two more scriptures here as we x close x ecclesiastes 4 x verse 9 x in relation to deborah and barrack two x are better than one because they have a x good reward for their labor for if they x fall the one will lift up his fellow but x woe to him that is alone when he falleth x for he hath not another x to help him up x we can x end our class there any any comments or x questions

Transcript

good morning everyone x i wanted to start this morning last um x sunday the close of our class sister x kathy had asked x you know what makes a mother in israel x or she had inquired about hearing four x mothers of israel and x there's there is commentary on this um x it says in one thing so the narratives x of genesis 12 50 one thing so the x patriarchs of abraham of isaac and of x jacob and of their special role as x bearers of god's promise to the chosen x people x but what of the matriarch sarah rebecca x rachel and leah what place do they have x in these x dramatic sagas of israel's origins and x so this is um x historically x the israelites do look at x four mothers of israel and if we look at x genesis 17 there x and god said unto abraham as for sarah i x thy wife thou shalt not call her name x sariai but sarah or noblewoman or x princess shall her name be x and i will bless her and give thee a son x also of her yea i will bless her and she x shall be a mother of nations kings of x people shall x be of her and certainly the promises um x sarah as a mother of the nation of x israel and we we touched on x deborah also arose a mother in israel a x mother protector x and also the point that x all x faithful x sisters in christ are mothers in israel x they are we we all have that opportunity x uh to work together to help the ecclesia x to help the household of faith x uh in these last days and and there's a x nice scripture in isaiah x uh 66 verse 13. x was starting verse 12 for thus saith the x lord behold i will extend peace to her x speaking of the nation of israel uh x in the days of the kingdom i will extend x peace to her like a river in the glory x of the gentiles like a flowing stream x then shall yisaki shall be born upon her x sides and be dandeled upon her knees as x one whom his mother comforteth x so will i comfort you x and ye shall be comforted x in jerusalem and this idea of of god x being a mother comforting his nation x comforting um x all of us in this in this age to come x and even as we work work toward x salvation now proverbs 31 as well verse x 26 x speaking of of a mother in israel x strength and honor are her clothing and x she shall rejoice in time to come x she openeth her mouth with wisdom and in x her tongue x is the law of kindness x she looketh well to the ways of her x household and eateth not the bread of x idleness and x i think about x all the all the work that mothers put in x really um x it's it's incredible i know for x for jen just the the amount of uh effort x and energy getting four kids up and off x to school and guiding them doing the x readings every day all of these things x that uh mothers take such uh pride in x and are such an important x uh part x of of um of raising a family and this is x what x is being talked about here with the with x these four mothers in israel x it is interesting that out of this x kind of um historically looking at the x four mothers of israel there was a x movement that was born out of this in x israel back in the 80s x jewish mothers were having to send their x sons to war in um x in lebanon and so they started a x movement called the four mothers of x israel movement there's also x a movie that was done on this x i watched the trailer for it it looked x interesting x so they they did kind of carry this x through and ultimately they changed the x history of israel x in x working with the israeli government and x having the the israeli nation withdraw x from lebanon so just kind of an x interesting tie-in to the influence that x each of us can have particularly uh x mothers and sisters uh for for positive x uh change for positive uh impacts on the x lives of of those around us x so just a a x quick review from last week we talked x about the nation of israel was in a x tough strait x but god raised up judges x and yet they would not hearken the x children of israel was stubborn x but god still heard their groanings he x was merciful x [Music] x and we talked about how god hears our x prayers he heard the children of israel x groaning he hears when we x speak unto him when we x put our petitions before him and so we x should never despair but turn to god in x faith and prayer x we talked about how they had traded the x covenant of abraham isaac and jacob x for a covenant with baal x uh and we looked at some principles x about how we must be teachable we x need to x be putting the water of the word in our x minds each day and be motivated by those x positive principles and we talked about x proverbs 9 verse x 9 give instruction to a wise man and he x will be yet wiser teach a just man and x he will increase in learning x so we should aim to become wise in the x things of god we see the children of x israel got got off that path x and we talked about x how god left the nations ultimately x to try the people to see if they would x follow him or if they would follow baal x and we talked about our trials of faith x and how we will be tested on our walk in x the truth x uh james 1 verse 12 said blessed is the x man that endureth temptation for when he x has tried he shall receive the crown of x life which the lord has promised to them x that love him x and we talked about the difference that x deborah made one individual who stood up x for x righteousness one individual who was a x strength to the people around her she x motivated a nation x to make the right uh choices and we have x we can have that same impact x uh in in our lives and how god can use x just one person x to fulfill his purpose x we also talked about how it's the small x things x of x living the truth we don't have to do x some big x uh x event x but it's just the small daily x interactions that we can have with those x around us where we can preach the gospel x through our actions x and just i'll tell a story about jim and x katie since they're downstairs x when we first uh came and realized there x was a community of believers x uh jim boyco and katie would um x they'd they'd come around to our x athleisure to our wednesday night class x and we had no idea of all these bible x schools we didn't know about uh x manitoulin study none of these things x were x they were all foreign to us even though x we were uh x christadelphineoclesia x and we got to know jim and katie and of x course we all know how jim's a little x bit of a psycho about manitoulin x and x he'll drive up there for a weekend which x is you know 30 hours of driving but he x invited our girls to go with him up to x manitoulin and i'm tying this in with x deborah x motivating barrack to do the right thing x and jen and i were nervous about it but x we sent x rachel and casey up to me in a tool and x with with jim and katie and of course it x was an incredibly uh motivating x experience for them and and they loved x it and they went back several times x and x you know the the benefit that our family x got from that is still being seen x because we we're actually going up this x summer lord willing x with megan and we have camper rented and x i think jen might be the most excited x about it out of all of us because it is x camping but x um those are the sorts of things that x change people's lives that x we can do to help one another live the x truth i will say when my girls got home x they didn't really want to see jim for a x while katie they were fine with but they x would x you spend you spend that much time in a x car with jim x so we looked at in relation to that uh x we looked at ecclesias ecclesiastes four x verse nine uh two are better than one x because they have a good reward for x their labor for if they fall one will x lift up his fellow but woe to him that x is alone when he falleth for he hath not x another to help him x uh so we go from a situation in the x nation of israel uh of despair x um x and we to the children of israel find x themselves crying to god he hears them x and once again he drives out x uh their enemies x and so moving along in the story after x uh deborah and and uh barrack we have a x time where the canaanites had been x subdued in the defeat of sisera x and perhaps israel thought you know they x had nothing to fear this battle had x taken place x and they got a little bit x lacks and we're told the children of x israel did evil in the sight of the lord x and the lord delivered them into the x hand of midian seven years x in the hand of midian and it's x interesting to note that midian x was a child of abraham x uh abraham had more sons than just isaac x by sarah in ishmael by hagar he had six x sons by katura his wife after the death x of sarah we we read this account in x genesis 25 x verses 1 and 2. x it says then again abram took a wife and x her name was katura and she beat him x zimran and josh x shan and median in midian x in ishbaq and shua x and x the sons of midian ifa and efer and x hanek and abaya and so forth all these x were the children of katura so here you x have the midianites now in this in the x same x part of the land x and they're going to come down x and they're essentially making life very x miserable for the children of israel it x says they prevailed against israel and x because of the midianites the children x of israel x made x them the dens which were in the x mountains and caves and strongholds so x you have x a x unfaithful uh x people the midianites who god's using x who are also a children a child of x abraham uh but not part of the covenant x coming down into the land to essentially x um motivate the israelites to turn back x to the covenant that they made x uh it's interesting that israel had gone x after bell beareth or the god of the x covenants x that baal presided over as we're told x here um x [Music] x and they had thrown away the covenant x made to abraham isaac and jacob and so x it says when israel had sown so israel's x planting their fields the midianites x came up the amalekites which were x children of esau so still in that same x part of the land and we'll look at a map x next and the children of the east when x they came up against them and they x encamped against them and destroyed the x increase of the earth so you have the x amalekites you have the midianites right x after israel sown their their their x crops and everything's ready to be x harvest the midianites come down the x amalekites come down they take x everything uh including the animals they x took the sheep so there was in some x respects a famine going on in the land x they came for their cattle x and they were as grasshoppers x uh x for number and so x god sent down a covenant child in midian x they came as grasshoppers for mult for x multitude and we it's interesting that x this same uh x phrase x or same indication is used in genesis x 22. x genesis 22 verse 17 x speaking of the covenant made to abraham x that in blessing i will bless thee and x in multiplying i will multiply thy seed x as the stars of heaven and as the sand x which is upon the seashore and thy seed x shall possess the gates of thine enemies x and in thy seed shall all the nations of x the earth be blessed x because thou hast obeyed my voice and so x we have the children of israel not x obeying the voice of god and he sends a x multitude x down x on them in x the name midian means quarrel so we have x the quarrel here of two covenants the x covenant of baal x in the covenant that god made x with the nation of israel and leviticus x brings this out in leviticus 26. x it says and if you will not be reformed x by me by these things but walk x let's back up one verse there it says i x will x and destroy your cattle and make you few x in number and your highway shall be x desolate and if you will not be reformed x by me by these things but will walk x contrary unto me then will i also walk x contrary unto you and we'll punish you x seven times for your sins x and we see that there this is going on x for seven years so god is following x through on the punishments they're in x caves their highways are desolate their x cattle have been destroyed x then will i also walk contrary to you x and will punish you yet seven times and x will bring a sword upon you that will x avenge the quarrel x of my covenant and when ye are gathered x together within your cities i will send x the pestilence among you x ye shall be delivered into the hand of x your enemy x and when i have broken the staff of your x bread so x this is hearkening right back to uh x leviticus when god laid out x if you're going to walk contrary to me x these things are going to happen x and it and here we're watching it play x out x to the nation of israel here x but again israel cries unto god x and x he hears them x and so terrible were the conditions x in the land x that at last in the in the miserable x conditions they were in x they finally x remembered yahweh their protector x and x um x the fact it kind of reminded me of x hebrews here where it says they were in x dens and caves because you had certainly x had faithful x brethren and sisters at this time and in x hebrews 11 verse 38 it says of whom the x world was not worthy they wanded in x deserts in caves of the earth x and x those faithful israelites that although x they were in the land and they were x suffering through this were still x calling unto the god of israel x it reminds me too often times in in our x lives when things are going well x you know maybe those are the times that x we pray more where we're more positive x in the truth where we're um x just feel better about life in general x and and certainly that's it's reasonable x to be that way x but i think it's also important that x when we fall on hard times x when we're x um in a situation x here the children of israel were praying x because they were in a tough position x but it's always important to remember to x pray at all times we're told whatever x condition that we're in x and it's going to be very helpful for x our walk in the truth if we do that x so we can see in the map here the you x know gideon's going to be north of this x and i forgot the x cat thing again to x do the pointer but you can see that x where the midianites are down there in x the in the um south of israel and the x amalekites in that area x and x up near uh where the negev is a little x bit north of that is where gideon is x gonna be and so this is they would come x into the land they would uh spoil them x and just made it absolutely miserable uh x for the for the israelites x from verse seven of of uh judges 6 it x says and it came to pass when the x children of israel cried unto the lord x because of the midianites that the lord x sent a prophet x it's interesting that this prophet is x not named this is someone different than x gideon and we're going to see tie-ins x here uh gideon as a type of christ x it's interesting that a forerunner is x sent x a voice x and that brings us x to thinking about john the baptist x coming before christ if we can look here x in isaiah 40 x um verse 1 come for e comfort ye my x people saith your god speak ye x comfortably to jerusalem and cry unto x her that her warfare is accomplished x that her iniquity is pardoned for she x hath received of the lord's hand double x for all her sins x the voice and that's what we have here x that the lord sent the prophet not name x but it was a voice x unto them x the voice of him that crieth in the x wilderness prepare ye the way of the x lord make straight in the desert a x highway x for our god x and john chapter 1 brings this out as x well x john 1 verse 19. x and this is the record of john when the x jews sent priests and levites from x jerusalem to ask him who art thou when x he confessed and denied x not but confessed i am not the christ x they asked him what then art thou elias x and he said i am not i thou that prophet x and he said no x then said they unto him who art thou x that we may give an answer to them that x sent us what say is thou of thyself he x said i am the voice of one crying in the x wilderness make straight the way of the x lord x as x said the prophet isaiah so the same x thing is going on here that the lord x sent the prophet not named unto the x children of israel which said unto them x there was a voice that went out to tell x them to make straight x pass for your feet thus saith the lord x god of israel i brought you up from x egypt and brought you forth out of the x house of bondage x and i delivered you out of the hand x of x the egyptians and out of the hand of all x that oppressed you and drave them out x from before you and gave you their land x and i said unto you i am the lord your x god fear not x the gods of the amorites and whose land x ye dwell x but ye have not obeyed my voice so you x have the voice of god the children of x israel are not listening to that he x sends a voice x and x we look um x in x deuteronomy 28 verse 1 x god speaking to the children of israel x it shall come to pass that if he shall x hearken diligently x unto the voice of the lord thy god to x observe and to do all his commandments x which i command thee this day x that the lord x thy god will set thee on high x above all nations of the earth and all x these blessings shall x come on thee and overtake thee x if thou shalt hearken unto the voice of x the lord thy god we have the same x opportunity to hear the voice of those x around us encouraging us the voice of x the scriptures that we can read x as much as we want x it also reminded me in isaiah there in x chapter 40 where it said that word x comforted it it kind of brought me back x to mothers in israel i my mother in in x mothers are always they're so good at x comforting uh their children no matter x what age they are their mothers always x seem to know the right thing to say to x make a situation better and uh i'm 49 x not 50 yet still in my 40s here x and x i still call my mother when i when i x need something or when i need to have x that kind x patient x encouraging uh voice x and it's just a wonderful example that's x how god is going to comfort his people x that's x john was sent as a forerunner to christ x to comfort the people that there was a x better day coming that the kingdom uh x would be established x and there's an excitation there for us x as well to hear the voice of scriptures x uh that we also x are attentive to it and that word um x it it gives the indication of uh be x diligent about it certainly be attentive x obey the voice of the lord your god to x observe or to keep to watch to guard it x we should have these things of the truth x on our minds meditating upon them x and preaching these things x to our children and to those around us x when we can x show the wonderful x gospel news x uh we can look at john chapter 10 and x verse 27 x in christ speaking here my sheep hear my x voice and i know them and they follow me x and i will give unto them eternal life x and they shall never perish neither x shall any man x pluck them x out of my hand x my father which gave x me them me is greater than all and no x man is able to pluck them out of my x father's hand x i and my father are one so this idea of x this voice x we hear christ's voice by x um being here today by uh looking x forward to the memorial and remembering x our savior and continuing a walk x in the truth and proverbs 19 x tells us cease to hear instruction my x son x and you will stray from the words of x knowledge and unfortunately that x is the position that the children of x israel x found themselves in x at this point in their history but x nevertheless god x heard their x cry x and he sent a voice to remind them of x their responsibilities x and then he sent x gideon and as the account x continues it says and there came an x angel of the lord and sat under an oak x tree which was an opera that pertained x unto joash the x ibiza right and his son gideon threshed x wheat by x or in the translation should really be x in the wine press to hide it from the x midianites because you know the x midianites are coming down into land x they're taking uh as much of their crops x and animals as they can get so gideon's x kind of doing this x in in a way to be slight so that the x midianites don't see him x it's interesting here we have this angel x we know angels uh have appeared uh yet x to zacharias to connellius x and here gideon x has an angel that appears to him x under an oak tree and that's telling us x something there x with this oak tree oak is a symbol of x strength x and stability and let's look at isaiah x chapter 61 here in relation to this x in verse x 3 x to appoint unto them that mourn and zion x to give unto them beauty for ashes the x oil of joy for mourning the garment of x praise for the spirit of heaviness x that they might be called trees of x righteousness the planting of the lord x that he might be glorified and we see x over and over again that oak trees x uh x a lot of times they're near water which x is symbolic of of x soaking up the nutrients x and roots that grow deeper and deeper x in the truth and certainly as we x the more time we spend around the word x the deeper our roots will get x in the things of god psalms x 55 x we can we can look at a passage here x psalm 55 22. x cast thy burden upon the lord and he x shall sustain thee x he shall never suffer the righteous to x be moved x see x so this idea of of x stability in an oak tree the righteous x shall not be moved x and this is where the angel comes to x speak to gideon now x it says gideon was was hiding here x threshing wheat x and the angel of the lord appeared unto x him and said unto him the lord is with x thee thou mighty man of valor x or the idea of great courage in the face x of danger especially in battle x it points out here that gideon is hiding x and if we just go forward a couple x chapters in judges here x there's good reason why gideon is is x feeling this way is there's a history x here x with his family x in the midianites x if we look at x judges x 8 verse 18 x and we talked last week about the battle x uh that took place x uh at mount tabor x with uh deborah and and barrack and if x we look here in judges x 8 verse 18 x it says x speaking of gideon then said he unto x zeba and zalmuna what manner of men were x they whom he slew at tabor so at this x battle with sisera and they answered as x thou art x so were they each one resembled the x children of a king and he said x they were my brethren even the sons of x my mother x as the lord liveth if he had saved them x alive i would i would not slay you so x gideon had family members that were x wiped out in that battle x with cicera and all joe ash sons except x one it seems had been slain at the x battle of tabor x and x yeah we note that here gideon he gets up x in the morning he the food is scarce and x he's discreet about getting some little x a little bit of food for his family x so the angel calls gideon man of valor x because he knew his character he was he x was a humble man gideon wasn't looking x at himself as hey i can go out here and x save the nation of israel no he felt hey x how how can i do this and god saw that x character trait uh within him x um x and we we know gideon's response my clan x is the weakest in manasseh and i am the x least in my family x he had no confidence in himself and x certainly pointing forward the wonderful x uh x character and tie-in of christ x who also humbled himself and placed his x complete reliance on god christ never x said of himself that he was going to x accomplish this so i'm going to do this x thing i'm going to be x uh x no he always looked to his father we can x look at uh luke 9 verse 58 x and christ says of himself um x you know his x in and jesus said unto him foxes have x holes and birds of the ears have nests x but the son of man x hath not where to lay his head and he x said unto another follow me x so here's christ the savior of the world x he couldn't be any more of an important x individual but he had no home probably x had one pair of sandals one outfit he x didn't know where he was going to be x laying his head x and x yet he was the savior of the world he x wasn't a proud man he wasn't you know x going home to his big house every night x or you know looking at you know what x kind of you know horse can i get myself x here and we we live in a materialistic x society there's nothing wrong with with x the blessings that god has given us x uh but he here christ x is he's not relying on materialism he's x putting all his hope and trust x in his father and gideon did the same x thing that's why he said how am i going x to do this x uh hebrews x 5 verse 7 x speaking of christ who in the days of x his flesh when he had offered up prayers x and supplications with strong crying and x tears x unto him that was able to save him from x death and was heard in that he feared x though he were a son yet learned he x obedience by the things which he x suffered x in being made perfect he became the x author of eternal salvation unto all x them that obey him called of god and x high priest after the order of x melchizedek's melchizedek so we have x this wonderful benefit x not only of the character that christ x showed us in his humility but also this x wonderful benefit of salvation because x that's what christ decided to do he x didn't go off on his own x uh x path he was mourning by morning he was x influenced by the word of his father x isaiah 50 as well x speaking of of christ the lord god hath x opened my ear and i was not rebellious x neither turned thee back x i gave my back to the smiters you know x the the the misery that christ suffered x at the hand of unrighteous people in my x cheeks to them that plucked off my hair x they would rip the hair of christ's x beard out x i hid not my face from shame and x spitting x for the lord god will help me therefore x shall i not be confounded therefore have x i set my face like a flint x and i know that i shall not x be ashamed this was the humility that x christ showed even x to his own physical harm x in just a few chapters forward in x isaiah 53 x verse 7. x he was oppressed and he was afflicted x yet he opened not his mouth he is x brought as a lamb to the slaughter and x as a sheep before her shearers is dumb x so he opened not x his mouth x he was x the epitome of humility in the face x of being treated so wrong and it's our x natural desire as it was christ as well x he had the holy spirit without measure x he could have flattened all these people x but he didn't because x that wasn't his father's will x and one more scripture in relation to x this in philippians chapter 2. x philippians 2 verse 8 x and being found in fashion as a man he x humbled himself x and became obedient unto death x even the death x of the cross x now it's interesting here gideon x he has he he questions you know when the x angel comes and x and says hey you're you're a mighty x warrior gideon says x oh my lord if the lord be with us why x then is all this befallen us x and where be all his miracles which our x fathers told us x of saying did not the lord bring us up x from egypt but now the lord hath x forsaken us and delivered us into the x hands of the midianites x and the angel doesn't answer this x this question specifically x but gideon knew why x the children of israel were in x a straight here if we look at judges 6 x 25 x judges 6 x 25 x and it came to pass the same night that x the lord said unto him and we'll we're x going to spend more time on this x take thy father's young bullock even the x second bullock and throw down the altar x of baal that thy father hath and cut x down the grove that was by it so x gideon knew why israel was not x in a good spot the center of bail x worship in this district was right in x gideon's family his family was the x problem they were when you wanted to get x up and worship bale you came right down x to gideon's house right down to x his family's uh property and this is x where the the x bail worship was done this is where the x groves were x and though gideon did not worship the x pagan god he was threshing wheat right x here in the headquarters of of uh baal x worship so he knew why x uh god was not happy with the children x of israel x but we are told as that account x continues and the lord looked upon him x and said x go x in this thy might and thou shalt save x israel from the hand of the midianites x have not i sent thee x and so gideon here he's he's not x trusting in his own strength he's x trusting in the power of god x all right so he he is the account x continues as he said unto him oh my lord x wherewith shall i save israel behold my x family is poor in manasseh and the lord x said unto him i will be with thee and x thou shalt smite the midians as one man x so you have x the midianites which are as the sand of x the seashore without number and gideon x is told god is going to work through him x to save israel x um x and there's there's an illusion here as x well x in x salvation provided by god in in humility x we think about the birth of christ x you x think you know what where could the king x of the earth be born like there's no x place more noble x and if we look at luke x chapter 2 verse 6 x we're told and so it was that while they x were there the days were accomplished x that she should be delivered and she x brought forth her firstborn son and x wrapped him in swaddling clothes and x laid him in a manger because there was x no room in the end so the son of god the x savior of the world there was no place x glorious enough for him and so christ x is some interesting uh commentary here x it says so why was the savior the king x born in a place where animals were kept x and why was he then laid in the animal's x food trowel surely god's son deserved a x high profile birth in the most elegant x of surroundings x but instead god's own son made his x appearance on earth x in the lowly lowliest of circumstances x this humble birth conveys an amazing x message to creation x instead of coming to earth as a pampered x privileged ruler x jesus x was born in meekness x as one of us x he is approachable x accessible available x no palace gates by the way to him x no ring of gods x prevents our approach x the king of kings came x humbly x in his first bed x was a manger i think that's pretty x astounding when we think about the x savior that we have and how he x understands us and how he was brought in x and he humbled himself even though he is x the savior of the world x this idea here as well it says x the lord said unto him i'll be with you x and thou shalt smite the midians as one x man. x now we know gideon went up x with x 300 men and so there were 301 x but x this idea of one man x is an allusion to x the return of christ with the saints x it's speaking of x one in purpose and plan being on the x same page philippians 2 verse 2 brings x us out x fulfill ye my joy that ye be like-minded x having the same love being of one accord x of one mind x and so gideon here it says you're gonna x smite as one man all of these people x were in unison x and so it will be at the judgment er at x the return of christ when the gogian x host is destroyed it will be as if x one purpose one plan x is is being fulfilled and that's why the x angel says you're going to smite them as x one man even though there was x 301 x in x judges 6 verse 17 x after x gideon speaks with the angel x he's still not quite sure x uh if it actually is an angel x and so in verse 17 of that sixth uh x sixth chapter x we're told x uh and gideon says and he said unto him x if now i have found grace in thy sight x then show me a sign that thou talkest x with me depart not fence i pray thee x until i come unto thee and bring forth x my present and set it before thee and he x said i will tarry until thou come so x gideon's looking for a sign that this x really is an angel of god x uh and so gideon even during a famine it x says and the angel of god said unto him x uh take the flesh and the unleavened x cakes and lay them upon this rock and x pour out the broth and he did so so x gideon puts together quite a um x an offering x that was given during a time x uh of famine x and there's a there's a few interesting x points here x um x on on this rock he lays x the x sacrifice upon a rock x and if we look at first corinthians x 10 verse 1. x it says moreover brethren i would not x that you should be ignorant how that all x our fathers were under the cloud and all x passed through the sea x and were all baptized unto moses in the x cloud and in the sea so as the children x of israel left uh egypt they were x symbolically baptized on their way out x through the red sea and did all eat the x same spiritual meat and did all drink x the same spiritual rock for they drank x of that spiritual rock that followed x them and that rock was christ x so here this sacrifice is laid on a rock x and we have our companion passage of x this in exodus 17 x verse 6. x it says behold i will stand before thee x there upon the rock and horeb and thou x shalt smite the rock and there shall x come x water out of it that the people may x drink and we know moses here on this x occasion he struck the rock once x symbolic of christ x one sacrifice for all time but in x numbers chapter 20 x verse 10 x we are told and moses and aaron gathered x the congregation together before the x rock and he said unto them hear now ye x rebels must we fetch you water out of x the rock and moses lifted up his hand x with his rod he smote the rock twice and x the water came out and it says god was x displead moses didn't follow what he was x told to do and he was not allowed to x enter the land x so it says here then the angel x of the lord put forth the end of the x staff that was in his hand and touched x the flesh in the unleavened cakes and x there rose up fire x out of the rock and consume the flesh in x the unleavened cakes then the angel of x the lord departed x out of his sight so you have this x offering put on the rock the angel x hits it with the staff x and x it's indicating to us x symbolically the sacrifice of christ x christ was x an offering x and x he has ascended up into heaven as this x fire would have ascended up to heaven as x well and so fire it says ran up the x channel of the wine press so it would x have been on this lower channel it would x have gone up through where they uh x crushed the grapes x and this only happened when something x had passed from a lower crush state x christ in his uh state of mortality into x an elevated state representing uh the x work of christ x a high priest and um x we can pick up there uh next week x there's a few uh scriptures that we can x look at in relation to this but we're x we're uh running out of time here so x uh we'll i'll open it up for any any x thoughts or comments

Transcript

all right we can start with a review x here um x we talked last week about the quarrel of x the covenants the covenant that god and x the children of israel had made and the x covenant that israel made with baal and x leviticus tells us in chapter 26 i will x remember my covenant with jacob and my x covenant with isaac in my covenant with x abraham and god was determined x to fulfill his promises to the fathers x um and we also spoke about how when we x cry to god he hears us just as the x children of israel found themselves in a x difficult situation and they cried unto x god he was moved uh by israel's request x and so god will be moved by our requests x as well uh if we're x seeking him we're making positive x changes in our lives x and we spoke as well about the tie-in to x john the baptist here that there was a x voice that came before christ and there x was a voice here that came before gideon x and just the symbology here of gideon as x a type of christ x in the idea of hearing the voice we want x to make sure that we're hearing that x voice and we touched on the humility x of gideon as well that he was called a x great warrior not because he was had his x chest puffed out but because he actually x didn't trust in his own abilities he x trusted in the power of god to x deliver israel x we saw that there was an angel that sat x under the oak and we talked about the x symbol of x strength security and stability x that that represented in x how this is what we have with one x another in in the ecclesia the gospel x message in these promises that god has x made that we know we can uh x trust in them x we covered the fact that gideon had a x history here because his x brothers that appears were all killed x at the battle of mount tabor where x deborah and barak were x and gideon also asked the question x why are we in such a predicament but he x knew why uh the problem was in his own x family in the x bale worship you would go to gideon's x house to his father's house where they x had the grove set up where they had an x image x set up to bale and x we mentioned uh gideon prepared a x sacrifice x when the angel came x and the angel touched the flesh offering x and fire consumed it and the fire ran x from the lower chamber of the wine press x up to the upper chamber and then the x smoke ascended unto x into heaven and we talked about that x flesh offering christ his offering and x how x he went from a lower crush state in uh x humility and humanity to ascending up x into heaven x immortalized and now at the right hand x of god to provide x mediation for each one of us x so with that said um x we're also told in that same night that x the lord said unto gideon take thy x father's young bullock even the second x bullock of seven years old and throw x down the altar of baal that thy father x hath and cut down the grove x that is by it so gideon x he got up that morning and all he had on x his mind when he woke up was threshing x some wheat worrying about the midianites x fine finding him and now he's told to x destroy the altar of baal x uh and build build an altar unto the x lord thy god and god told gideon you x know do it tonight x so gideon having dedicated himself uh to x god he was ready for the task before him x and x uh it's a wonderful example for us we're x we're here this morning we're dedicating x ourselves to our walk in the truth x dedicating ourselves to one another x and it's so much easier to be walking on x the the right path x when we've dedicated ourselves to god x when we're uh when our prayer life is is x in a good place x so gideon sets out but he doesn't do it x himself he takes 10 x men with him as it says then gideon took x 10 men of his servants x and did as the lord had said unto him x and a wonderful example for us x we can't do it alone we need each other x we need our families we need the x community we need our brothers and x sisters and gideon knew that he he was a x humble man he wasn't x uh x you know rushing out there i'm going to x do this all myself x and colossians has a nice scripture on x this colossians 3 verse 23 x says and whatsoever ye do do it heartily x as to the lord and not unto men x knowing that of the lord ye shall x receive the reward of the inheritance x for ye serve the lord christ and this is x what gideon was doing with with ten of x of these servants x most likely they were uh servants of his x fathers not even his servants x but it says because he feared his x father's household x he did it x at night and it just kind of shows us x the challenge even when we do that when x we do the right thing sometimes it's x hard to stand up x for what's right especially in a crowd x that x maybe may not be receptive x to x what we're saying but um you know we can x find ourselves doing x being a little bit fearful maybe of of x living the truth in a certain way and x and this is where gideon was at x so gideon was told to tear down the x altar and build an altar unto the lord x and x um x if we look at exodus chapter 20. x in verse 24. x god gives the prescription on how an x altar should be made this altar to bale x would have been made probably with x bricks that they would have made in an x oven and it would have been man-made x whereas god says an altar of earth thou x shalt make unto me and shall sacrifice x thereon thy burnt offerings and thy x peace offerings thy sheep and then oxen x in all places where i record my name i x will come unto thee and i will bless x thee and if thou wilt make me an altar x of stone thou shalt not build it of hume x stones for if thou lift up thy tool upon x it x thou hast polluted it so this offering x to baal was of man's making whereas god x has an altar that he wants that he's x been the construction of and it points x forward to christ man could not provide x salvation god x provided salvation and our sacrifices x our service our interaction x and our involvement with god is not x something that we construct it's a x blessing and a gift of god that he's x provided x to us so it's x it's x and we know we're called lively stones x that god is is chiseling away at us um x during our days of mortality to refine x us so that we're ready x to be placed as a x stone in that new building that new x creation when the kingdom comes x now it mentions here these groves and x traditionally they would build groves x which were shrubs trees and other x plantings x in this word grove is mentioned 41 times x in scripture x in 40 times it's associated with x negative behavior x and evil practices but in genesis 2 x uh genesis 21 verse 33 x which is the first occurrence of the x word we are told and abram planted a x grove in bersheba and called on the name x of the lord the everlasting god so this x was the only positive reference x to the word grove and and here it gideon x tears down the altar to bale then he x uses all their groves to offer a x sacrifice to god just showing x um the power of god and that god was was x was x i'm going to destroy baal and we're x actually going to burn this offering on x what they are saying of the groves of x baal x there's um in the epistle of john x uh chapter 1 verse 11. x this is a good scripture there x actually the third uh x episode here x because there is no verse 11 in chapter x one x yeah x i got that one wrong x uh x in verse 11 behold follow not that which x is evil but that which is good he that x do with good is of god and he that do x with evil hath not seen god x and just this reference baal was was uh x thrown down ephesians 5 x verse 11. x and have no fellowship with the x unfruitful works of darkness but rather x reprove them and the children of israel x were getting a strong lesson uh on this x principle and just one more scripture on x this in first corinthians 15 x and verse 33. x be not deceived evil communications x corrupt good manners awake to x righteousness and sin not x and just this idea of our relationships x our communications x and where we spend our time x the israelites were so tied up in in x bail worship that this was we're going x to see that this is going to be a shock x to the system x um x when x the people wake up the next morning and x find out x that uh oh gideon tore down the bale x covenant and the groves were consumed on x the new altar the altar of holiness to x god x we're told the men of the city rose x early in the morning behold the altar of x baal was cast down so these x individuals got up early to go worship x bail and it's x there's a good lesson there for us x you know what am i rising up early to do x what am i willing to spend my time in x early in the morning to get up x is it something that's profitable x or x are are they things that are just a x waste of time and certainly i know in my x own life there's plenty of opportunity x to get up early and do more bible study x and and doing these classes has forced x me to do that and it's been a good thing x for me because i've had to get up early x i've had to spend my time on this and it x it's put me in a better frame of mind to x live the truth x so the men of the city rose early to go x worship uh baal x and um x yeah we see the mindset of the psalmist x uh what what did the psalmist do early x in the morning in in uh chapter x uh 118. x psalm 118 x verse 24. x this is the day which the lord hath made x we will rejoice and be glad in it what a x wonderful way to start out the day that x we have this wonderful gift of health x and strength and we can serve god we x have we have the opportunity to do that x to do good x uh x and then there's a warning to us in x micah chapter two x uh in verse uh one it says woe to them x that devise x uh iniquity and work evil upon their x beds these are individuals that are x thinking about x doing wrong things and they're planning x it out for the next day it says when the x morning is light they practice it x because it is in the power of their hand x and we know in our own lives we have to x be we have a lot of distractions we have x a lot of things that can pull at our uh x time x and this is what christ did so well when x he had a thought of something to do x wrong he crushed it right away he never x allowed it to manifest x into something that could turn x into sin x and we we have a wonderful example of x christ how he spent uh his time how he x would keep his mind focused on the x father in mark chapter one x in verse 35. x speaking of christ and in the morning x rising up a great while before day he x went out and departed into a solitary x place x and there prayed and simon and they that x were with him followed after him and x when they had found him they said unto x him x all men seek for thee so this was x christ's habit he would get up early so x there were no distractions no x disruptions and he would pray and get x his mind right for the day x and it's just today we have we get in x the car you get the radio you get phone x the phone's ringing you're rushing off x somewhere you get traffic get all these x things that x uh can potentially distract us x from x starting our morning off with a prayer x and if we x give that maybe extra time get up a few x minutes earlier so we can do that x it's going to be profitable for us x it says here that and they said one to x another who had done this thing and when x they inquired and asked they said gideon x the son of joash has done this thing x so gideon must have had a reputation x because they they didn't x take much time x to think about who may have done it and x just this idea of a reputation we know x that having in the proverbs tells us in x chapter 22 a good name is more desirable x than wealth timothy 3 verse 2 says x and this is important for our service in x the ecclesia so an elder must be a man x whose life is above reproach he must be x faithful to his wife he must exercise x self-control x live wisely and have a good reputation x he must enjoy having guests in his home x and he must be able to teach he must not x be a heavy drinker or be violent he must x be gentle not quarrelsome and not love x money x also people outside the ecclesia must x speak well of him and gideon had this x sort of reputation he wasn't worshiping x baal he was known among the people to be x somebody who was probably annoyed by the x habits of the israelites x and x matthew 5 16 tells us let your light so x shine before men that they may see your x good works and glorify your father which x is in heaven now they saw this good work x that gideon did but x and it did bring glory to god but the x people didn't see that way because it x says x they went to joash's house and said x bring out thy son x that he may die x because he has cast down the altar of x baal and because he has cut down the x grove x that was by it x and i just love how you know dad's x always there for the rescue we know we x we know our fathers bail us out of uh x bill us out of trouble um x there was x i was i had a motorcycle in high school x and um x it wasn't registered and wasn't insured x and my father told me don't x don't take it out and i was like what x does dad know x so i took it out went up to the high x school showing off a little bit x and when i left the high school i popped x the wheelie you know the whole length of x the high school well turns out the uh x the x coach for the girls softball team was a x state trooper and he saw me do it x so next thing i know i got blue lights x behind me of course you know x i i think i can get away from this guy x 16 and a half you know so i start going x down the middle of the road and of x course everybody's pulling over for this x guy and finally you realize i'm not x getting away x so i pull over x guy comes out turns my motorcycle off x throws the keys next thing this four or x five town cops show up x next thing i know dad's driving up in x his car this is not a good scene x fortunately my dad went to high school x with the state trooper x so the the x guy was like i'm going to leave this in x your hands mr dean i i feel like you're x going to do the right thing x and uh yeah i sold the motorcycle after x that x but you know we x we have our relationships and you know x fathers are so important in the family x unit and for the direction they provide x uh to their kids and x um you know gideon's father here it says x um you know he was there he had his sons x back even though it was a difficult time x all the people there they want to kill x his son it says but joe ash replied to x the hostile crowd crowd around him are x you going to plead bale's cause x are you going to try to save him x so in other words he's saying the same x thing that elijah said when they when x they had the altars there you know x perhaps your god is sleeping or he's on x a far journey or you know x you know cry louder and he'll hear you x he's saying why do you guys need to x handle this x gideon just knocked down this powerful x god's x altar let him deal with it x um x if if bale really is a god he can defend x himself x when someone breaks down his altar so x because gideon broke down bale's altar x they gave him the name jerebale let bale x contend that day saying let bale contend x with him let let bill fix the problem we x also saw this um x in acts with gamaliel they they x um we can turn this one up quick it's uh x acts 5 verse 36. x they they were x um it says uh ye men of israel take heed x to yourselves what you intend to do as x touching these men they were they were x annoyed with um x uh x with the apostles here for before these x days rose up that is boasting himself to x be somebody to whom a number of men x about 400 join themselves who were slain x they came to naught x and another one rose up in galilee and x now i say unto you refrain from these x men and let them alone for if this x council or this work be of men it will x come to not but if it be of god you x cannot overthrow it less happily ye be x found even to fight against god and this x was the reasoning that um x joe ash was using x and x the people x they they were satisfied with that okay x let's see what bale does and we have the x same thing in our day we have the signs x of the times and we've we've all had x conversations with people around us x particularly with with the events taking x place in x russia and people ask what do you think x is this going to settle down is this x going to what's going to happen here and x we know we can confidently say we don't x know the time frame but no it's not x going to settle down and x it's interesting this people are well x why do you think why do you feel so x confident in that x and because if it's if it's of man it's x not going to happen but if it's of god x and we know it is we know there's a x kingdom to come we know there is x a time of refreshing for this earth in a x wonderful time of blessing we can rest x confident in that because it's it's of x god x uh it says then all the midianites and x the amalekites so they kind of heard of x this gathering here they they x they they knew the altar was uh torn x down and it says they gathered together x and went over and pitched in the valley x of jezreel but the spirit of the lord x came upon gideon and he blew a trumpet x and abieser was gathered after him now x it's interesting here we we know we're x waiting for a trumpet to sound uh when x christ comes and we we have this x symbology here of gideon as a type of x christ this uh trumpet x uh is blown x and then we have these nations come x together and he sent messengers x throughout all manasseh who was also x gathered unto him and he sent messages x unto asher and then to zebulun and to x naftali and they came up to meet him so x you have this trumpet blown x and you have x the nation of israel gathered the tribes x gathered together as we expect when we x hear that trumpet we're going to be x gathered together x to judgment x um x let's see here x so we have this aspect of needing to be x ready for that trumpet we don't know the x day of the hour when christ will return x um x and we can look at uh yeah first x corinthians 15. x it says in a moment in the twinkling of x an eye at the last trump for the trump x shall sound and the dead shall be raised x incorruptible and we shall all be x changed for this corruption must put on x incorruption and this mortality must put x on x this mortal must put on immortality we x know there'll be the resurrection and so x many wonderful things will happen uh for x the household of faith and for this x earth x when that trumpet is is blown x so gideon is now in the firing line you x have all these nations uh being gathered x together where you have the amalekites x in the x midianites and the children of the east x gathered together and they're pitching x in the valley of jezreel gideon now is x uh you know x this is where rubber hits the road you x know he's been told he's a a mighty man x of valor he's going to x be able to defeat x these people through x the power of god and we can only imagine x that gideon probably is quite nervous x and it says but the spirit of the lord x came upon gideon x i just think that's wonderful because x god knows exactly what we need and x gideon needed the spirit of god right x now because of the situation that was x before him x and it's the same in our lives god is x going to provide for us exactly what we x need it may not be what we think we need x but he's well aware of our circumstances x and philippians x 4 19 talks about this x but my god shall supply all your need x according to his riches in glory in x christ jesus x now unto god and our father be glory x forever and ever amen this is exactly x what um god did here for gideon x and one more here in second corinthians x 9. x verse 8 and god is able to make all x grace abound towards you and ye always x having all sufficiency in all things x may abound to every good work and gideon x recognize this he now you know god's x spirit was upon him and he was x emboldened to x fulfill x uh the mission that god had put out x before him x and this is where we see just how human x gideon is just like we are so all of x these things have happened he's seen an x angel x uh he's had this miraculous fire that x ascends and x takes the flesh offering god spoke to x him and gideon says uh x if you're gonna really save israel yes x and the spirit of god is upon him and he x says if you're really going to do it x could i just have one more sign here i x just need a little bit more and x you know we have the same thing in our x lives we have uh prophecy we have the x signs of the times we have all these x things and sometimes we we might if we x could just have a little bit more proof x and that's that's what gideon is x is thinking here and so he says x if i put the fleece on the floor and the x do be on the fleece only and let it be x dry in the earth x and it was so the next morning and he x ringed the dew out of the fleece x a bowl full of water and x so x if we look at what x dew is represented of it it's x represented of a blessing from heaven x and it's most likely the offering that x gideon made on the new altar that he x built when he cast down bail this is the x fleece or the skin from that offering x that he put on the threshing floor so if x we look at genesis 27 verse 28 x it says therefore god will give thee of x the dew of heaven x in the fatness of earth x in the plenty of corn and wine so the x dew of heaven is it's a blessing that x comes down x uh from heaven from god and this one in x psalms is really great because it x indicates that kind of what's going on x here it's talking about resurrection x it's talking about immortality x psalms 110 verse 3. x thy people shall be willing x in the day of thy power in the beauties x of holiness from the womb x of the mourning x thou hast the dew x of thy youth so this idea of x resurrection x immortality and being x having all of the the strength and vigor x that we had in our youth x uh the energy of immortality isaiah also x in chapter 35. x speaking of of this time it says say to x them that are of a fearful heart be x strong fear not behold your god will x come with a vengeance even god with a x recompense he will come and save you x then the eyes of the blind shall be open x and the ears of the death shall be x unstopped then shall the lame man leap x is in heart and the x tongue of the dumb sing for in the x wilderness shall waters break out in x streams in the desert x in the parched ground shall be a pool in x the thirsty land springs of water x so this idea of a time of refreshing x zechariah tells us for the seed shall be x prosperous the vine shall give her fruit x and the x ground shall give her increase x in the heavens shall give the dew x and i will cause the remnant of the x people to possess all these things x so it's interesting the fleece x representing christ x has the dew on it but the ground has no x do on it and so it's it's indicating to x us that this is related to christ x receiving immortality x uh we it talks in john chapter 1 verse x 29 x of christ being the firstfruits john 1 x verse 29. x because this word fleece is used uh x this particular word is used seven times x and it's only in judges but there's a x related word that's used here in john x and it's x the lamb x and it says the next day john seeth x jesus coming unto him and saith x behold the lamb of god related to this x word fleece x which taketh away the sin x of the world um x and x in first corinthians 20 x verse 23. x see x again there is no first corinthians 20. x let's try it no that's not going to work x the verse is um x christ was the firstfruits and then aft x then those after him x and so christ was the first one of this x creation to receive immortality what's x the second thing that gideon asked for x he says let the fleece be dry christ is x immortal he's our high priest but the x dew on the ground we know that we're x told we're the we're the dust of the x unto dust thou art and to dust shalt x thou return well now this dew x is on the ground it's on us it's this x blessing on the second night x that we are now immortalized so we have x this trumpet we have uh this process x going on here and as it says and god did x so that night x for it was dry upon the fleece only x christ is our immortal mediator and x there was dew on the ground resurrection x and immortality of the saints this is x the blessing of heaven this dew x that's uh going to to x come down upon us x and these are just very unusual things x for gideon to ask for so uh it just x this made sense to me just digging into x it x as the account continues in judges it x says then jeremial contends with baal x who was gideon and all the people with x him rose up early and pitched beside the x wall of herod which means the well of x tremble trembling and the lord said unto x gideon the people that are with thee are x too many for me to give the midianites x into their hand lest israel vaunt or x brag themselves against me saying my own x hand to save me so here's poor gideon x he's got 32 000 men and now it's like x that's too many it's already three to x one the the other people are 132 000. x uh it says now therefore go to proclaim x in the ears of the people saying whoever x is fearful and afraid let him return and x depart x and x twenty and two thousand people you know x walked away and so here you i mean that x would have been so disappointing to the x soldiers that were left x uh and and x they would have been very disheartened x by that i'm sure x but there was a spirit of pride within x some of these people that they thought x hey if we win this battle it's going to x be on us it's not going to be on god x and there were also some that were x fearful we know in deuteronomy chapter x 20 x it says uh you know those that are x fearful don't go out to battle because x they're gonna make the person next to x them afraid or if you're newly married x uh you stay home for a year to cheer up x your wife so there was a principle here x that god was enacting x um x he wanted a certain type of heart a x certain type of mindset x that would have was there that trusted x in him and not in themselves x in revelations x 21 it tells us in verse 7 he that x overcometh shall inherit all things and x i will be his god and he shall be my son x but the fearful and unbelieving in the x abominable will not enter the kingdom x and and so these people you know uh x representing here typical of the x judgment seat these people were fearful x they didn't x actually believe that god could perform x what he said he was going to do x and just a few scriptures x for x helping us to trust in god's ability to x live us and deliver us in psalms 56 x it says be merciful unto me starting in x verse 1 be merciful unto me o god x for man would swallow me up he fighting x daily oppresses me mine enemies would x daily swallow me up for they be many x that fight against me o thou most high x what time i am afraid i will trust in me x in god i will praise his word in god i x have put my trust i will not fear what x flesh can do unto me and this is the x mindset that these individuals who x walked away they didn't they didn't have x it x psalms 34 as well x verse 4. x i sought the lord and he heard me and x delivered me x from all my fears x and so as much as these individuals were x discouraged that stayed they were ready x to trust in god uh we have the same uh x principle brought out to us in hebrews x chapter 12 verses 1 and 2. x it says we're foreseeing we are also x uh compassed about with so great a cloud x of witnesses x let us lay aside every weight and the x sin which doth so easily x beset us and let us run with patience x the race that is set before us looking x unto jesus x the author and finisher of our faith who x for the joy that was set before him x endured the cross despising the shame x and is set down at the right hand of the x throne of god x we need to strengthen the things that x remain in these last days supporting one x another and recognizing we have a x wonderful high priest we have a god that x will deliver us ultimately from uh x mortality and from a world that is in x darkness x but it wasn't they hadn't whittled x things down enough uh it says x that x god is going to try i will try them for x thee x and x they're now outnumbered 13 to 1 and god x puts together a process by which he x tells gideon to judge who will go with x him and who will not uh in this word try x here it's the same x word as purify x the word x in in this idea of how we live our lives x we want to live pure lives before god we x want to x allow the word to dictate x uh x the choices that we make x now you would think you know who cares x how a soldier drinks is water i just x want the biggest the toughest the x strongest you know the best weapons but x that's not the principle that god put x together here and there's some some x interesting things here it says so he x brought down the people unto the water x and the lord said unto gideon x everyone that lappeth of the water with x his tongue as a dog lapith him shalt x thou set by himself likewise everyone x that bowed down upon his knees to drink x and you know there with there were 300 x men x that x took water and they put it to their x mouth they didn't they didn't bend their x knee they they had an upright stance x and so the symbology here for us you x can't really get a lot of water x from your hand yeah you're gonna have to x be doing that a lot to get x um x enough water to satisfy your thirst so x the principles here are a slow and x steady intake of god's word every day we x know water is representative of god's x word x in the action of the hand bringing the x word to the mouth it causes us to x produce works x meet for repentance and the idea of x lapping it it's x it's contemplation it's pondering the x word x and it's helping us to be wise in the x things of god and these individuals x probably waded into the water x and they were cognizant of the enemy x they were cognizant of the way they x needed to live their life and they were x looking around while they were bringing x the water up x uh x we look if we look at psalms 119 verse x 97 x oh how love i thy law it is my x meditation all the day x thou through thy commandments has made x me wiser than my enemies for they are x ever with me x so x david meditating upon god's law x he was able to overcome x evil thoughts he was able to overcome x enemies because x these precepts were were ever with him x and that's the idea of this constant x steady intake x uh x of the word this persistent application x in an upright stance eyes that are x watchful and engaged and alert to living x the truth x now we have this other group of people x that bow down upon their knees to take x water and so this idea of bowing down x is they took their eyes off the enemy x they weren't focused on the task that x was set before him x in this idea of bowing down to the x things of the flesh uh they were x insensitive and possibly had a reckless x attitude to the word of god yes they x were drinking but it was it was just in x a very haphazard way x uh and it did not reflect in them a x patent of life x that x attempted to control x uh fleshly nature uh they they were kind x of reckless about their walk x uh this principles principle's x brought out in philippians 2 verse 13. x considering putting god's word into our x minds for it is god which worketh in you x both to will x and to do of his good pleasure and as we x study these things as we put the word of x god into our minds god's going to be x working with us to to create in us x uh a character and a personality that is x that is pleasing to him now you know it x says by 300 men it's just a x representative x number so to speak of those that is are x saved there's not a specific number for x those that are uh accepted x um x but we determine if we're going to be x part of that that multitude by our daily x lives it's it's up to our choices each x day uh and we know the principle in luke x 12 in verse 32 it tells us x fear not little flock x for it is your father's good pleasure x to give you the kingdom this is what god x wants for each of us what he wants x um x in for all of our lives x and so we can we can wrap uh this x morning's class up x uh and we'll we'll we're going to skip x ahead a little bit here to you have x gideon x with the 300 men they're up on the x mountain range looking down into the x valley where the midianites and the x amalekites are x and this is really a parallel x to the battle of armageddon uh and x the x uh 300 men they have a pitcher of clay x in one hand and inside that is a light x and what do they do they smash x the clay and we know there's reference x in scripture that our bodies we're we're x clay we're mortal we're we're failing x and when they smash that clay it breaks x open and what's the a beautiful bright x light immortality the glory of the x saints that wonderful gift that's going x to be bestowed uh upon us so the lamps x are now shining and the glory of god x is revealed in us in second corinthians x 4 verse 7 it says x but we have this treasure in earth and x vessels we have this wonderful treasure x of the gospel message it's in a it's in x a body of mortality x that the excellency of the power may x be of god and not of us x in ezekiel 38 um x we see here that x the x enemy got confused it was every man's x sword against himself and we have that x same reference in x in ezekiel 38 and i will call for a x sword against him through all my x mountains speaking of the time when um x we have the nations come against israel x saith the lord god every man's sword x shall be against his brother which is x exactly what happens in this account so x as we consider the state of the nation x as we consider deborah in her wonderful x example as we consider that gideon won x man it was one then it was 10 and then x it was grew bigger and bigger to the x extent that it was the entire nation x here now chasing after the midianites x god has the power to work within all of x us and he does and he will and let us x never forget that it's god's good x pleasure to give us the kingdom x any uh thoughts or comments before we x close x thank you x thanks x yeah x some good points jason how uh x you know god was uh he was patient with x gideon right he let him test him a x couple of times instead of just saying x just do what i'm telling you to do right x right and then he lets him overhear x the conversation of the it was the x amalekites right the guy has this dream x the soldiers yeah right and he says geez x you know when he gets the victory right x he lets him hear that yeah to give him x that courage and encouragement to x go forward with the attack with no x weapons right x right a lantern yeah x they've got weapons but you just you x guys just go forward with this so he was x always encouraging him and that's that's x great right yeah