Greg Laurie - A Lot with a Little (11/25/2017)
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Pastor Greg Laurie preaches "A Lot With A Little" from Judges 6 on how God uses humble, ordinary people like Gideon to accomplish great things. Despite Israel's sin and oppression by Midianites, God calls the least likely hero, reduces his army to 300, and brings victory—showing that God gets the glory when we are faithful in little things and depend on Him fully.
Opening Prayer and Cultural Observations
The title of the message is, "A Lot With A Little". And I want you to turn in your Bibles to Judges chapter 6. Judges chapter 6. Let's start with a word of prayer. Now, Father, as we open the word again, we believe it's true. We know it's authoritative. We know that it will speak to us where we are at right now. So, Lord, we want to hear what your word is saying to us tonight. I pray that this will be a message that will inspire people to want to serve you. I pray that it will encourage many who hear it to want to say, Lord, use me. So I pray that you'll bless this time as we look in your word, for we ask it in Jesus' name. Amen.
You know, I have to say that I think that our culture in the United States seems to be turned upside down right now. It seems like in the perception of many, that which was once considered good is now perceived as bad. That which was once perceived as bad is now thought of as good. I mean, it's funny how you see certain slang expressions over the years. You know, a long time ago there were expressions like gee whiz, or gee willikers, or holy smokes, or hunky dory. Now, not many people use those expressions anymore unless they are pretty old. You know, this is hunky dory. Well, gee willikers. You know, so that is kind of another generation.
Then my generation had expressions like, far out, man. Or, whoa, that is really heavy. Right? And then as we move forward we have expressions like, oh, totally tubular. Did anyone ever really say that? Or holy cow. But then it is funny how certain expressions have always stayed current. One word that was used in the fifties that is still used today is the word cool. Hey, that is cool. That is really cool. You know, a lot of people still use the word cool. But then another word that is popular is hot. That is so hot. That is really cool. And yet, something can be cool and hot at the same time. Right? Go figure that out.
When Good Becomes Bad and Bad Becomes Good
And then if something is really cool, or super hot, we say, that is bad. That is bad. Right? You know, if you have a fast car, how fast does that bad boy go? You don't say, how fast does that good boy go? Right? That is because good is bad. Now, and bad is good. And if it is really bad, or good, we might say, oh, that thing is wicked. And we mean that in a positive way, not in a negative way. Or we might even insert the word killer. Okay? And then if it is really great, killer, good, bad, we say, that thing is sick. It is just sick.
So this is all getting very confusing. Good is bad. Really good is killer, and or wicked. And really, really good is sick. Now in the old days, if someone was doing something immoral, we might say, that is bad. You know, if someone was living with a girl or a guy, I'd say, look, that is bad. And if you were married, oh, that is good. But nowadays, of course, that is all turned upside down. And if you think marriage is between a man and a woman, oh, that is bad. That is not right. That is narrow. You can't believe that.
And so everything is churned around. Well, I bring this up because God says this about that mentality. Isaiah 5:20. So God says, look, I'm telling you what good is, or bad, if you want to call it that. I'm going to define what good is. And if you say what I say is good is bad, then you're wrong.
The Upside-Down World of Judges
Okay, now, I bring that up because here in the book of Judges, everything was upside down then, much like it is now. In fact, Judges 17:6 is a verse that shows us how and why this happened. It said, in those days, Israel had no king, and the people did whatever seemed right in their own eyes. If we were to update it, everyone was kind of doing their own thing. Everybody had their own truth, if you will. And so one might say, hey, man, your truth is my truth, and I live by my value system, and you can live by your value system, unless, of course, it encroaches on my value system. Everyone did what was right in their own eyes.
So God raised up 13 judges to provide leadership for the people. Now, when we think of judges, we think of a judge as we would see in a courtroom today, or maybe a Supreme Court judge. But that's not the way judges were back in these days. These guys were like, you know, the officers of the law in the Wild West. They were like lawmen. Think of Wyatt Earp. That was what a judge was. Because a judge would be a warrior. A judge would enforce things, not just give ruling. So 13 judges that were raised up. 13 men and one woman.
From Conquest to Defeat: Joshua to Judges
Now, as we come to the beginning of the book of Judges, it's sort of sad. Because remember, prior to Judges is the book of Joshua, and as the book of Joshua begins, Moses has died, and Joshua is emerging as the leader. And he did a really great job. But now as the book of Judges begins, things have gone downhill. The book of Joshua is a book of conquest. The book of Judges is primarily about defeat. Joshua is a book of faith, while Judges is a book of unbelief and disobedience. Joshua is about people uniting around one man to lead them, who was Joshua. Judges is about everyone doing what was right in their own eyes.
So it's the year 1256 B.C. Approximately 200 years have passed since Joshua led the Israelites on their famous march around the walls of Jericho. By God's power, as you recall, Israel saw the walls fall, and they conquered many of the inhabitants of the land of Canaan, including the Amorites, the Hittites, the Ammonites, the Jebusites, the Parasites, all the sites. But they didn't finish the job. See, that was a problem. They did not finish the job. They did not drive all the Canaanites from the land, and they lived to regret it.
I bring this up because this can happen to us as Christians as well. You know, we commit our lives to Christ. We effectively give them the master key to every door in our life. Well, maybe not every door. We leave a few closets locked up because we have some skeletons in them. We have some areas we don't really turn over to the Lord. And then those little problems turn later into big problems.
Little Sins Grow into Big Problems
It's not unlike having a tree that's overtaking your yard, so you decide it's time to remove it. So you cut it down. No, you can't just cut it down. You've got to pull out the stump, you see. Because it will grow back, and it might even grow back stronger next time and cause more trouble. In the same way, sin needs to be rooted out in your life. But if you compromise a little here, and you compromise a little there, little things turn into big things. We forget that.
It's sort of like at Easter. People go out and buy cute little bunnies. They are so adorable. But they forget that bunnies turn into rabbits. And they poop everywhere. Or you buy a little chick. Yeah, it's a nice little chick. And then they turn into a chicken. Who wants a chicken for a pet? So we take these little things that turn into big things. And that's how sin can work in our lives. And that's how it was working in their lives.
So 200 years later, the Canaanites regained strength and began to dominate the Israelites. So here is Israel, who has conquered this land, the land of Canaan, under the direction of Joshua. But 200 years have passed, and the tables are turned. Now their enemies are overtaking them. And as Judges chapter 6 opens, we see the Israelites living under the power of a group known as the Midianites. And this was a result of God disciplining them. Why? Because they had disobeyed Him. They did evil in the sight of the Lord. So we are told that God turned them over to the Midianites. So this was punishment for their sin.
God's Discipline and Unexpected Deliverance
Can God ever use a non-believing nation to overtake a believing nation as a form of punishment? The answer to that is yes. And that should stand as a warning to us in our country. If we continue to thumb our nose at God, and we continue to break His laws left and right, and we continue to go out of our way to remove Him in every way, we should never think that we could not be overtaken by another nation. A godless nation, if you will. We want to turn to the Lord. That's what Israel forgot to do.
Now here's an interesting little footnote about the Midianites. They were the first in history to domesticate the camel. This gave them a huge advantage militarily. I mean, have you ever checked out a camel? A good definition of a camel is, a camel is a horse designed by a committee. Get it? Sort of like how committees never can agree anyway. Camels are weird looking creatures. I haven't spent a lot of time with them. But when I've been over in Israel, you'll see them here and there, and get pictures on them. And you know, the camel stands up. But they're strange there. They'll spit at you. They're hard to figure out.
And so imagine what that would be like. Here you are, used to fighting in hand-to-hand combat, and all of a sudden your enemy comes over the hill, riding on camels. You know, it's like, yeah! And that's what the Israelites are dealing with. And then they would make a little progress, and they would be harvesting their crops. And the Midianites would come over the hill on their camels, and they would take everything that the Israelites had done. They would take their crops and take away their things that they owned and such. And so Israel was in despair at this point. And they're calling out to God. They're saying, Lord, help us. Deliver us.
And the Lord decides to answer their prayer to the most unexpected person possible. His name was Gideon. And as our story begins, we find Gideon trying to prepare the little weedy ad hiding behind the walls of a small wine press. Hardly a picture of heroism and courage. He was like the rest of Israel. He was hungry. He was hurting. He was humiliated. And he was afraid.
But in the story of Gideon, we're going to find the kind of qualities that God looks for, and the man or woman he will use. So let's read a few verses. Judges 6, verse 12. So here's Gideon. He's hiding out, right? So an angel of the Lord appears to him and says, The Lord is with you, mighty man of valor.
Gideon says, Oh my Lord, if the Lord is with us, then why has all of this happened to us? And where are all of his miracles, which our fathers told us about, saying, Did not let the Lord bring us from Egypt? And now the Lord has forsaken us and delivered us into the hands of the Midianites.
Then the Lord turned to him and said, Go in this might of yours, and shall you not save Israel from the hand of the Midianites? Have not I sent you?
Gideon's Doubt and God's Call
So right off the bat, here's an angel of the Lord, and Gideon's effectively arguing with him. Hey, wait a second. Why has all of this evil befallen us? Why have things turned out the way that they've turned out? And what about all those miracles I've heard of? They all seem to be in the past.
I heard the story about a mom who was reading Bible stories to her little girl, and she told her little daughter all about the great heroes of the Bible, like Moses, and Joshua, and Daniel, and Esther, and Deborah, and all the rest. And the little girl turned to her mom and said, You know what, Mom? God was a lot more exciting back then.
And sometimes we might feel that way. We'll hear of the way things were. We'll say, Man, it's not that way anymore. I wish it was like that again. That's what Gideon was saying. He'd heard of the good old days when God was ruling, and God was protecting, and God was providing. Well, where was God now?
Now God could have rebuked Gideon, because as I said earlier, the domination of the Midianites was a result of the disobedience of Israel. And many times in life things aren't going well because of bad decisions we've made. And then we have the audacity to blame God for the way things turn out.
You know, we disobey the Lord. I went off and married this non-believing guy. I'm not saying this personally, of course. Putting myself in the position of a girl speaking. I went off and married this non-believing guy, and now we've been married 10 years, and we have this lousy marriage, and I don't know why it turned out. Well, you made the decision, and now you reap the consequences of it, and you don't like it.
Or, Oh, you know what? I went out and did this other thing, and you reap the consequences of that. And that's effectively what was happening to Israel. They're saying, why have things turned out this way? Because they brought it on themselves.
But here's the good news. Even when we've made mistakes, God can intervene and bring redemption. Even when we've messed up, God doesn't say, that's your problem. You made your bed. Sleep in it. God can bring good despite the bad. And the Bible says, God can bring beauty out of ashes.
The Lord could have rebuked Gideon. But instead, here's what God says in verse 14. Go in the smite of yours, and you'll save Israel from the hand of the Midianites. Have I not sent you? Hey, look, Gideon, we can talk about that some other time, okay? I have a job for you to do, and I want you to do it now. So it's not the time to question. This is the time to move.
You know, I'm a pretty practical guy. And I don't like to sit around and talk about things forever. You know, we can talk about this opportunity or this problem, and I'm really of the mind to come up with a solution, come up with a plan, and let's do something. And that's pretty much what God was saying to Gideon. Okay, it's nice to talk about it, but now it's time to act. It's nice to even pray about it, but then there is a time to take action. And I'm going to use you to deliver Israel.
Qualities God Looks For in Those He Uses
Well, Gideon's not getting this at all. Verse 15. Lord, how can I save Israel? Indeed, my clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I'm the least of my father's house. Loose paraphrase. Hey, Lord, I'm the runt of the litter. I'm the smallest of the small. I'm the least significant. How could I be the guy?
Oh, don't you get it, Gideon? That's why I chose you, because you don't think you're the guy. And that's the kind of guy and the kind of girl I'm looking for. The one that doesn't think they could ever do it unless I did something miraculous.
And that brings me to the first principle to look for in a man or woman that God will use. God uses people who are humble. God uses people who are humble. And if you're really humble, you'll say you're humble. You'll drop the age. I'm so humble. I'm just humble. I'm actually sounding a bit British as well. Or maybe I'm talking a bit like a beetle. I'm not really sure. You know, but oh, I'm so humble.
Now, if you're talking about how humble you are, you're not humble. Humble people don't say, I'm so humble. See, humility isn't being weak and mousy. Humility is strength under constraint. You want to know the perfect example of humility? Christ. Who is stronger than Jesus? No one. But yet Jesus would humble himself and get down on his hands and knees and wash his disciples' feet. Jesus would humble himself and put the needs of others before himself.
Gideon was humble. And this gives hope to all the people out there who are not extraordinary, but ordinary. They weren't the best students. They weren't the class president. They weren't on the homecoming team. They weren't the first chosen for the team, but usually the last. By the way, that's me. Whenever we picked teams for baseball, no one wanted me. Because I couldn't hit and I couldn't catch. Apart from that, it was really good. No, I mean, you know, pop fly. I'm in center field. Laurie always drops it. I get up to bat. I strike out. So when they were picking up teams, I would always be the last guy picked. And that is so humiliating. When everyone's been picked and you're just standing there. Can I, like, pick that dog? No. You have to pick people. Okay, we'll take Laurie. We want Laurie to be first base. You want me to play first base? No, we actually want you to be first base. We want to slide into you with our cleats, you know.
So, you know, that was... It's really hard. No. Now it's just a punchline. But then I wasn't so happy about it. This gives hope to the people who are not beautiful. Are not the most handsome. You were never featured on the cover of People magazine's Most Beautiful People. In fact, you were featured on that one-off issue they did, The Most Unattractive People on Earth, which is really hard, right?
You know, there's a lot of people, and I think this is sort of a trend in our culture, that think they're a lot better than they really are. If you don't believe me, watch the editions for The X Factor and American Idol. Who filled these people with so much self-esteem? You know, we're always saying, they need more self-esteem. Now, I think a lot of people need a whole lot less self-esteem. They need a reality check. Girl, you can't sing. You're not even on pitch. You're horrible. These people get out there, and then, you know, when the judge says, no, you're not going to make the cut. They curse or throw things, or, you know, and then the parent comes and says, oh, you were great. You were great. You'll be a star one day. And you're yelling at the screen, no, you won't be!
I actually read an interesting article on how narcissistic our culture has become. This article says, a new analysis of the American Freshman Survey, which has accumulated data for the past 47 years from 9 million young adults, reveals that college students are more likely than ever to call themselves gifted, even though their test scores are decreasing, and time spent studying is decreasing. One psychologist said that the tendency is toward narcissism in students, and it's up 30 percent in the last 30 years.
See, we all think we're like rock stars. Because, you know, we tweet stuff, and we have our followers, right? Or we have our Facebook page, and we only put the pictures that make us look the best up there. And we watch shows on MTV that show the lives of people that are weirder than we are. And they're stars. And we think, oh, I'm a star too. And, you know, we play video games, and we're the best sniper, or the best baseball player, or the best whatever. All this while living in our parents' basement. Reality check. You're not all that. You're not as good as you think you are. It's important you know that about yourself.
And that's what Gideon knew. He thought, man, I'm the least of my father's house. Why would you call me? That's not a bad thing. That's a good thing. And here's why. Here's why, as Bob Coy would say. God goes out of his way to pick unexpected people. But why? So he can get the glory. If he only uses the most beautiful, the most handsome, the most talented, the most intelligent, that doesn't give hope to a lot of us. But if he picks that ordinary person, or even picks that person we never thought would amount to anything, and then does something through them, we say, man, there's no way they could have done that. That has to be the Lord.
Remember when Jesus called Simon Peter and said, come and follow me, and you'll be a Fisher of men? Peter fell down and said, depart from me. I'm a sinful man. Effectively, Peter was saying, Jesus, listen, I'm really thankful you would even think of me, but I'm only going to disappoint you. I'm going to let you down. I'll never measure up. He knew what he was. He saw himself as he was.
So God tells Gideon he's going to do the work through him. And Gideon in verse 15 says, who am I? God's response is, it's not about who you are. It's about who I am. It's not about you. It's about me. And I've chosen you, and I will work through you. The calling of God is the enabling of God. If God calls you, he'll give you the strength to do what he wants you to do.
I mean, I love how Gideon was addressed. The Lord is with you, you mighty man of valor. Verse 12. I love this. Mighty hero, the Lord is with you. It could almost sound like mockery. In fact, in the book of Joshua, that expression refers to brave soldiers marching in to the heat of battle. But Gideon wasn't marching into the heat of battle. He was hiding, sort of hiding behind the wall. I hope the Midianites don't come and steal my little crop here. And the Lord says, you mighty man of valor. What are you, joking? That would be like going to some scrawny little guy and say, hey, buffed out bodybuilder. Or going to an F student and saying, hey, Einstein. What, are you kidding?
No, he actually wasn't kidding. Because God saw him for what he could become. He wasn't really a hero. He was really more of a zero. But you know what? God was going to let him live up to that title. And you know what? When God looks at you, He sees potential. We see a lump of Clay. God sees a beautiful sculpture. We see a blank canvas. God sees a Van Gogh. We see a lump of coal. God sees a sparkling diamond. We see failure. God sees potential. We see a vacillating, unsure Simon. God sees a rock-like Simon Peter. We see a persecuting Saul of Tarsus. God sees a mighty Apostle Paul. We see a Gideon. God sees a mighty man of valor.
See, but I'm not that... Well, you aren't now, but you will be one day. So God saw his potential. And now it's time to get started. But first it would be a test. And that test would begin in his own home.
Faithful in Little Things: The Test at Home
Here's what the Lord wanted Gideon to do. He wanted him to go home and take a stand. Here was the problem. Gideon's father, Joash, was engaged in full-tilt idolatry. So the Lord told him to take the second best bowl from his father's herd, barbecue it on the remains of the altar. In other words, you go make a stand in your home.
And that brings us to the second principle for the person that God uses. God uses people who are faithful in little things. God uses people who are faithful in little things. Jesus said in Luke 16:10, Again, unless you're faithful in small matters, you won't be faithful in large ones. If you cheat even a little, you won't be honest with greater responsibilities.
So God told Gideon to tear down the altar his father had built to a false god. Now Gideon loved his dad. And not only that, but this was really pushing the envelope. You know, when you were the father, the patriarchal figure of a tribe in Israel over the family, you were the law. You could give the word and have someone executed. So to mess with your father was a pretty big deal here. And he effectively risked his life.
Now, it's worth pointing out that Gideon did this at night, not in broad daylight. Some commentators have criticized him for this, but I still think it's admirable that he did it. Yeah, he did it at night, so no one would see him. But at least he did it. You know, there's a lot of people that will critique those that go out and do things. We don't like the way you do that. We don't agree with this. We don't agree with that. Well, what are you doing besides critiquing? You know, what is your plan? And there's a lot of people that are armchair quarterbacks and professional critics that do little to nothing. Then there are others that go out and get the job done. Some people are setting the world on fire while others are still looking for a match.
I like people that go out and take risks. Even if they don't always do it perfectly. Even if they make a mistake here and there. I'd rather try and fail than never do anything. Okay? So Gideon took a big risk here. And he took a stand. And he tore this altar down. Yeah, he did it at night. But at least he did it.
It reminds us of Nicodemus. Remember him? The great religious leader in John chapter 3. And what do we know about Nicodemus? He came to Jesus by night. Or at night. That's mentioned more than once in Scripture. So obviously it's something important. Nicodemus came to Christ at night. Nick at night. Right? Why did Nicodemus come to Jesus at night? Because Nicodemus was famous. Everyone knew him. If he was around today, they have paparazzi chasing him around. You know, he was a celebrity. He was a religious leader. He was the guy who was supposed to have all the answers. That's why Christ said, are you the teacher in Israel? And you don't know these things?
But hey, it's true he came by night. But at least he came. And you know what? When Jesus was crucified, it was Nicodemus that came forward publicly along with Joseph of Arimathea and took his body and laid it in a tomb. You know, some people start off weak, but they end up strong. Better to start weak and end strong than to start strong and end weak. Better yet to start and end strong. Okay? But he finished well.
Coming back to Gideon. Yeah, he did it at night, but he did it. So everyone wakes up the next morning, and here is the altar built by Joash, the father of Gideon, lying in ruins. People are angry. In fact, they said, whoever has done this needs to be put to death. But yet instead of wanting to discipline his son or even execute his son, Joash actually defends him. Judges 6:31, Would you plead for Baal? Would you save him? Let the one who would plead for him be put to death by morning. If he is a god, let him plead for himself because his altar has been torn down.
In other words, what are you guys all worried about Baal for? Baal can take care of himself if he even exists. So he kind of respected the stand his son took in the home. It almost prompted Joash to move in the right direction.
And this is a good reminder that, number one, the hardest people to reach are people in your home. And number two, you will never reach them by compromising. Here is the thing you need to know. When people become Christians, and their family is not a believing family, you need to live it. I know we are tempted to give everyone a sermon. You want to preach a sermon every day to your unsafe husband, or unsafe wife, or unsafe parents, or whatever. But you know, there comes a point when you preach enough sermons. Now you need to live the sermon. Now you need to be a good example.
So if you are a husband with a non-believing wife, be a really good husband. If you are a non-believing wife, or excuse me, a believing wife with a non-believing husband. Be a godly woman. And win him without a word by the way that you live, verse Peter 3 tells us. If you are kids that have non-believing parents, you know, be responsible. Do the things your parents ask you to do. Apply yourself. That will say volumes to them.
It is hard to reach your own family. Even Jesus had a hard time reaching his siblings. And who was a better example than Jesus? He was God. Can you imagine what it would have been like back in those days to be one of Jesus' siblings? You know, Mary would say to one of the brothers or sisters, and Jesus had brothers and sisters, you know, why can't you be more like Jesus? He's so responsible. He's so hardworking. He's so respectful. Mom, he's like, perfect. Okay, what do you want? Yeah, but you should be more like your brother. Oh, fine. I have a little bracelet I've made for you. What would Jesus do? I want you to wear the... No, no, no. But he was perfect. But yet the Bible tells us that prior to his crucifixion and resurrection, his own family did not believe in him. In fact, they thought he was crazy. And they lived in the presence of a perfect, flawless example. And they thought he was nuts until they saw him die and rise again from the dead.
So listen, if Jesus had a challenge reaching his family, you're going to have a challenge too. I spent my whole life, it seems like, praying for my mom, who did not raise me in a Christian home, was an alcoholic and married and divorced seven times. And, you know, right after my conversion, I, oh, I preached bold sermons to her, you know, and I gave her both barrels of my gospel gun. And, you know, she didn't believe. And, you know, honestly, it wasn't until probably 25 years later, when she was only a month away from dying, and she didn't know it, and I didn't know it, that she finally really made that commitment to Christ. And so it took a long time to reach her. And maybe you're in a situation like that.
Well, he took a stand. And this is the thing. No one is reached through compromise. In the book of Genesis, we read about the story of Lot, who wanted to fit in. He never wanted to offend anyone. He wanted to be everyone's friend. And so when the Lord told him that judgment was coming on Sodom and Gomorrah, Lot told his own sons-in-law, guys, we've got to get out of town. Judgment is coming. The Bible says he sounded to them like one who was joking. You've got to be kidding. Why would we listen to you? And even as he left, his own wife didn't want to leave. Remember, she looked back. Jesus said, remember Lot's wife. Even Lot didn't want to leave. The angels had to drag him out. He loved Sodom. He's like singing, I love my heart. And Sodom and Gomorrah. I don't know. What was wrong with this guy? He was so compromised, he reached no one. God couldn't find ten righteous people in the city of Sodom. So he judged it. You would think one guy could reach ten people. He couldn't even reach his own family. You know why? He compromised.
Well, Gideon didn't compromise. He took a stand. So now he's passed the first test. And now Gideon puts some tests in front of the Lord, wanting confirmation. The Lord condescends and helps him to understand and believe these things.
Gideon's Army Reduced: God's Way of Getting Glory
So finally, Gideon says, all right, I'm going to put an army together. He sends out the word. I need an army to fight the Midianites. And he was able to rally 32,000 men. Greatly outnumbered, but at least it was a start.
So let's go over to Judges 7, verse 2. See what happened. So here's Gideon. He's got us 32,000 men against hundreds of thousands of Moabites. And the Lord said to Gideon, The people who are with you are too many for me to give the Midianites into their hands, lest Israel claim glory for itself against me, saying, My own hand has sent me. They'll therefore proclaim in the hearing of the people, saying, If you're fearful and afraid, let them turn and depart at once from Mount Gilead.
All right. So say to the people, if you're afraid, go now. And 22,000 of the people return. Uh, what? He has 32,000 men. Hey guys, if you're afraid, you're not really into this, you don't want to fight, go home. 22,000 guys say, See you, bud. Now he only has 10,000 left.
This was crazy because the Midianite army was huge. Judges 7:12 tells us the armies of Midian, Amalek, and the people of the east had settled in the valley like swarms of blocus. Their camels were like the grains of sand on the seashore. There were too many to count. And now he has 22,000 men leave. Two-thirds of his army is gone.
Why does God do stuff like this? He already said why. He wants to get the glory. Sometimes you will find yourself in circumstances in life where the only way out is God. And if God doesn't come through, you are dead meat. You say, that's horrible. No, it's actually not so horrible. It's kind of glorious. And I'll tell you why. God always comes through. And then when he comes through, you say, that was the Lord. I exhausted all my resources. I tried everything I could try. There's no other way this could have happened but the Lord. It was the Lord.
That's what God wants to hear. There's going to be insurmountable obstacles in your life. Obstacles like the Red Sea that won't seem passable. There will be the towering walls of Jericho that He wants us to fell by the frightening giant Goliaths He wants us to defeat. So what are you going to do? Well, there's God's part and there's your part. God always will give us a plan. Yeah, the Red Sea parted but God told them they had to cross through it. The walls of Jericho fell but God told them they had to march around it. Yeah, the giant Goliath fell but David had to attack him.
Do you feel like you're overwhelmed by your odds right now? It's okay. Call on God. I love the story of Jehoshaphat. When facing huge odds as his enemy approached, he prayed this in 2 Chronicles 20:12. Oh God, won't you stop them? We are powerless against this mighty army that's about to attack us. We don't know what to do but our eyes are upon you. For a better translation, we're looking to you for help.
That's a good prayer to pray. Lord, there's no way out of this. The doctor just gave me this news. That my cancer is incurable. Lord, I just was fired. Lord, my marriage just is done. Lord, this other thing, there's no way. But Lord, I'm looking to you right now for help. That's great. Call on the Lord. That's what Jehoshaphat did. That's what Gideon did.
The Final Test at the Water
So the cowards go home. Why did God want to purge Gideon's ranks of cowards? Because fear is contagious. Hey, if you're a little baby and you want to go home to mommy, get out of here. We don't want you in the army. We don't want you in this fighting force. We need courageous people to fight.
Now there's one final test. This was going to be a secret test. You know, my granddaughters, I like to always tell them we're going to do something secret. We'll walk into a restaurant and I'll say, now we can go in the regular way, the front entrance, like everybody else. Or we can go the secret way. Who wants to go the secret way? They're like, I do, Papa. I do, Papa. And I just take them in a side door. It's really no big deal. But they're excited. We're in this, shh. We're going the secret way. And they're sort of tiptoeing. You know, we're just, it's just a side door. That's all it is. But make it a little bit fun.
Sometimes God tests us in an open way. Sometimes there are secret tests. Now Judges 7 verse 4, and I'm reading from the New Living Translation. The Lord told Gideon, there are still too many. Bring them down to the spring and I'll sort out who will go with you and who will not. When Gideon took his warriors to the water, the Lord told him, divide the men into two groups. And one group put all of those who cup water in their hands and lap it up with their tongues like dogs. And the other group put all of those who kneel down and drink with their mouths in the stream.
Only 300 of the men drank from their hands. All the others got down on their knees and drank with their mouths in the stream. The Lord told Gideon, with 300 men, I will rescue you and give you victory over the Midianites. Send all the others home.
So Gideon comes down now with this 10,000 men. Okay, guys, we're going to take a break. Go ahead and just get yourself some water. So they come down to this little brook. One group only thought about getting some water. We'll call them the Lappers. They forgot about the Midianites. They dissatisfied their thirst. They just buried their face in the water. If there had been an enemy ambush, they would have been killed immediately.
Then when there were those that cupped the water to their mouth, they kneeled, bringing the water to their lips while still watching. They were cautious. They were alert, not letting down their guard. And there were only 300 of them. And God said, that's how I'm going to save you.
Now we've all heard the story of the 300 Spartans, right? Who faced off with Persia. Well, these are the original 300. And these are the ones that God chose. He's down to 3% of the original 10,000. This is the cream of the crop. This is the Delta Force. These are the Navy Seals. These are the Green Berets. These are the elite.
The Battle Plan and Miraculous Victory
Now here comes the battle plan. God says, divide your 300 into three groups. Here's what you're supposed to do, Gideon. I want you to take fire torches and put Clay jars around them in one hand. And then in the other hand, you take a trumpet. I don't want you to take swords or knives or Spears or anything like that. No weapons, just your little Clay pots around your torch and you need a little trumpet. And then you run down the hill and you smash your jar so they can see the torch and blow your trumpet and yell this for the Lord and Gideon.
Yeah, that's a great idea. Against so many Midianites, we can't even count them. And we're going to yell and play little trumpets. This is going to work out perfectly. Well, at this point, Gideon's been assured the Lord is with them. So he says, let's go for it. You know, we've come this far. Let's go.
And they run down the hill and they smash their Clay pots and the torches appear and they blow their trumpets. Meanwhile, down among the Midianites, they hear this. They think it's some kind of an ambush and they freak out and they start killing each other. So the Israelites came down and they are like, Oh, whoa, check this out. They are like, Okay, this is working out pretty well. We will just let you guys carry on and when you are all dead, let us know.
I mean, this is amazing. Of all the upsets celebrated by military historians or sports fans, you have never seen anything like this. Basically, Gideon was outnumbered 450 to 1. Yet they won a crushing victory over the Midianites. This would be like a Pop Warner team going up against the San Francisco 49ers. Or a Little League team playing the Angels and winning. Maybe that's not too far-fetched. I don't know. But you get the idea. I'm just kidding. Just kidding.
But what does a story like this say to us today? Well, we too are in a spiritual battle. Ephesians 6 says, We are not fighting against people made of flesh and blood, but against the evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against those mighty powers of darkness that rule this world, against wicked spirits in the heavenly realm.
This battle, this spiritual warfare that we are engaged in, is not going to be won by clever strategies or plans. There is no way we can impact our culture with the gospel without his help. There is no way we are going to win that non-believing family member to Christ in our own ability. There is no way that failing marriage can be saved with our own resources. We need to look to God and do God's work in God's way.
God's Power in Our Weakness
Sometimes the Lord will allow things to happen in our life to keep us humble. Paul talked about his Thorn in the flesh. And we don't really know what that was, by the way. Some commentators think it was a physical infirmity, which I would lean toward. Don't forget, Paul was beaten and shipwrecked and stoned. And so, obviously, he bore those marks in his body. And he made a reference to the believers in Galatians, chapter 4, verse 15 of the book of Galatians, talking about his eyesight, saying, if it were possible, you would have given your very eyes to me. So some believe that maybe Paul was referring to failing eyesight or some kind of impairment with this vision.
But whatever it was, he had this physical problem that he described as a Thorn in the flesh. And he spoke about it in 2 Corinthians 12. And he says, I've received wonderful revelations from the Lord. But, so I wouldn't get puffed up, I was given a Thorn in the flesh. Now listen to this. A messenger from Satan to torment me from getting proud. Three times I asked the Lord to take it away. And God said, my grace is sufficient for you. Or my gracious favor is all that you need. My power, God says, works best in your weakness.
Yes. So Paul responds. Now I'm glad to boast about my weaknesses, so the power of Christ may work through me, since I know it's all for Christ's good. Listen to this. Paul says, I'm content with my weaknesses, with the insults, with the hardships, with the persecutions, with the calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
Gideon could have written that. Maybe you could have written that too. You have this person that irritates you. You have this physical infirmity. You have this problem that continues to bother you year after year. God, take it away. God says, I've allowed it for a reason. I've allowed it to keep you humble. And I've allowed it to keep you dependent on me. Because I don't want you to be so inflated with pride, I can't use you anymore.
And you know, the Lord has a way of doing that in all of our lives. I'll tell you. I know he's done it in my life. And there are things that have happened to me that keep me grounded. And they keep me dependent on God. And realizing that I need his strength to get through each and every day and week and month, etc. And I'm sure there's something like that in your life as well.
And so God does some of his greatest work to the most unexpected people. Listen to this statement by the Apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians 1, 26-31. I'm reading from a paraphrase now. So just listen. Take a good look, friend, at who you were when you got called into this life. I don't see many of the brightest and best among you. Not many influential. Not many from high society families. Isn't it obvious that God deliberately chose men and women the culture overlooks? God chose these nobodies to expose the hollow pretensions of the somebodies. That makes it quite clear that none of you can get by by blowing your own horn before God. Everything you have has come to you from God. So if you're going to blow a horn, blow a trumpet for God.
I love that translation. That's what Gideon did. He blew a trumpet for God. And God is looking today for men and women that He can use. Men and women that will make a stand. That will make a stand first of all at home. Have you made that stand? Does your family know that you're a Christian? Have you told them all? Of course, your brothers, your sisters, your cousins, your grandparents, your grandchildren, depending on what your age is. Do they all know that you believe?
Make a stand in your marriage. What right do we have to tell the world to believe in Jesus if we can't keep our marriages together? One of the things that concerns me is I see Christian marriages breaking up for unbiblical reasons. In other words, they say, well, we just couldn't work it out. We had irreconcilable differences. Shut up. That's not in the Bible. Every marriage has irreconcilable differences. I've been married for 39 years and I've had 39 years of irreconcilable differences with my wife. There is just, we see things differently.
My wife has never even thought once of divorcing me. Murdering me, yes. Divorcing me, no. No, but you can work through these things. What right do I have to say to a non-believing world, you should believe in Jesus if I can't love my wife?
Did you know that the marriage is one of the very few things God chose to be a visible representation of his love for the world? What does God say to a husband? Love your wife as Christ loves the church. So here's what God is saying. Hey, non-believing world, check this out. See this Christian husband? You see this Christian wife? You see how this guy loves this girl? That's how much I love you. Go, I see it. Yeah, it's there. Yeah, see, that's a symbol. Check it out.
Hey, world, check this out. You see that Christian wife? See how she loves her husband and submits to his loving servant leadership? That's how my church submits to me. What a perfect picture. And what a lousy witness it is when our marriages fall apart. God help us to make that stand in our own home and make that stand in our culture today.
The Call to Full Commitment
This is what it comes down to. If you're going to do this, do this. If we're going to be Christians, let's be Christians, real Christians. If you don't want to be a committed Christian, go party, do whatever you want, and go to hell. Really? I'm dead serious. Your pastor told me to go to hell. No. I'm just saying, do what you're going to do and face the consequences. Or be a follower of Jesus and glorify God with your life. And don't compromise and seek to bring as many with you as you can.
But this in-between stuff, this kind of a little of this and a little of that, this gets you nowhere. And this will give you a miserable life. You'll have too much of God and too much of Jesus to be happy in the world, but too much of the world to be happy in Jesus. You're in that miserable no man's land of compromise. And I think far too many people are in this category today.
You know, Jesus also thinned out the ranks. Gideon wasn't the only one that did it. You know, Jesus was very popular early on in his ministry, especially after he performed his most popular miracle today. You know what that was? The raising of Lazarus from the dead? No. The raising of Jairus daughter from the dead? No. The restoring lepers? No. It's when he gave him a free lunch. When he fed the 5,000 plus women and children. And they said, no, we're talking. Now, we like this. A guy that gives us lunch? This is awesome. And the crowd swelled. Huge multitudes.
And what happened? Jesus turned to them and challenged them. And the result was many of them turned away. Why? Because they weren't following him for the right reason. And people will say, well, I'm a Christian. But then a little hardship comes in their life. And they say, oh, well, I don't believe anymore. Why? I lost my faith, man. Really? And your faith was worthless. The faith that cannot be tested is the faith that cannot be trusted.
And if you tell me you lost your faith because hardship hit you, or difficulty came your way, even a tragedy, then I say, I'm glad you lost that faith. Because that isn't real faith. If you have real faith in God, it won't be weakened by calamity. It will be strengthened by it. If you have real faith, it will grow through hardship. That's what the Bible teaches.
You see, tragedy or hardship or trials don't produce faith as much as they reveal it. What are you really made of? And I think if your faith is really in Jesus, you'll get through the storms of life. And if you're telling me you turned on God, or turned away from God, because this or that happened, or your life didn't go the way that you wanted it to go, well then, you know, do you even have faith? And maybe it's time to get some.
Yeah, God shrunk the group down. Jesus thinned out the ranks. Gideon did the same. Why? God can do more with 300 committed people than he can with 10,000 half-hearted people. And he's still looking for real committed people.
British evangelist John Wesley once said this, and I quote, Give me a hundred men who love God with all of their hearts and fear nothing but sin, and I will change the world. Can we find a hundred people like that here today, tonight? There's more than a hundred here. A hundred men and women who would love God and fear nothing but sin. We could go and change Orange County. We could change Southern California. We could change so much.
But it starts with making a stand in our own house. I love the description of Paul and Silas in the book of Acts when it was said of them, not as a compliment, but as a criticism. They've turned the rest of the world upside down. Now they're here disturbing our city. Amen. We need more disturbances like this today.
G. Campbell Morgan said, quote, Organized Christianity that fails to make a disturbance is dead. Let's make a disturbance. Let's take a stand. Let's blow our trumpet. Let's take steps of faith. Let's see what God will do. Let's do what God has set before us. Let's not be half-hearted. Let's not be compromised. Let's be fully committed to Jesus.
Why? Because God can do a lot with a little. Say, I don't have much to offer God. That's okay. How about that little boy who was going home probably with his lunch? Probably had some stale bread, a few sardines, big multitudes gathering. There's no food. Jesus says, Hey, where are we going to find food to feed all these people? Oh, there's that. We don't know, Lord. We don't know. And then the little kid comes walking up. I don't know if it was a little sack or something, a little Star Wars lunchbox. I don't know. You know, the kid's walking by. Well, there's this kid here. He has some stale crackers and some sardines. But what is that among so many? Jesus said, Bring it to me. You watch what I can do. Took that little boy's fish and his bread, and he blessed it and multiplied it. And there was so much food that everybody ate and was full, and there were leftovers. How do you like that? See, God can take what you offer him, and he can multiply it. He can expand it. He can use it.
So you just say, Lord, here I am. Use me. Here I am, Lord. Send me. But before any of that can happen, you have to believe in Jesus. And I wonder if there are not some here who have always thought they were a Christian because they were raised in the church, or because they went to a Christian school, or they've seen all of the veggie tales. They know all about Bob the tomato and Larry the cucumber. Or, you know, they've seen this or heard that, and they say, Yeah, yeah, I know all about it. Just because you know about Jesus doesn't mean you know Jesus. Just because your parents are Christians doesn't mean you're necessarily a Christian. There has to be the moment when you follow Jesus, and you make a commitment to Him.
He died on that cross for you 2,000 years ago, and took all of your sin upon Himself, and then He Rose again from the dead. And if you will turn from your sin, and believe in Him tonight, He will forgive you, and you can have a fresh start in life. And then God can start working through you. But you have to come to Him first.
And if you haven't done that yet, do it now. We are going to close right now in prayer. Let's all bow our heads.
Father, thank You for Your Word to us. And now I pray for any here that may not know You. Maybe they've always thought they knew You because they went to church occasionally. But the reality is, there's been no change in their life. Lord, would You help them to come to You now and believe, and be forgiven of their sins.
Well, our heads are bowed, and our eyes are closed, and we're praying together. How many of you would say tonight, Greg, pray for me. I want my sin forgiven. I want to know that when I die, I will go to heaven. I'm ready to say yes to Jesus Christ right now. Pray for me. I want Jesus to come into my life. If that's your desire, wherever you're sitting, would you lift your hand up and let me pray for you?
If you want Christ to come into your life, you want your sin forgiven tonight, you want to know that you'll go to heaven when you die, just lift up your hand wherever you're sitting. I'll pray for you. God bless you. God bless you. Lift your hand up where I can see it. God bless you in the aisle. Down here at the front, God bless you in the aisle. Anybody else? Raise your hand up high, please, where I can see it. God bless you. Just lift it up. There in the back. God bless you as well.
While our heads are still bowed, maybe some of you would say, you know what? I've been living this compromised life. I know what you're talking about. And I'm in this no man's land where I don't have a real commitment, but I'm ready to make a total commitment to Christ tonight. Pray for me. If that's your desire, why don't you raise your hand up right now and let me pray for you. God bless you. God bless you too. And you as well. Anybody else? Raise your hand up. God bless you. God bless each one of you.
Now I'm going to ask all of you that have raised your hand, if you would, please, just stand to your feet and I'm going to lead you in a prayer. Just stand up right now wherever you are and I'm going to lead you in a prayer. That's right. Just stand up. Others are standing. You won't be the only one. Many others are standing. So you stand too if you want to. Even if you did not raise your Do I repeat what you said? Alright, all of you that are standing... I want you to pray this prayer out loud right where you stand. Again, as I pray, pray this out loud after me, okay? Pray this after me now.
Lord Jesus, I know I'm a sinner, but you died on the cross and shed your blood for every sin I have ever committed. I'm sorry for my sin. I turn from it now. I choose to follow you from this moment forward. Be my Savior. Be my Lord. Be my God. Be my friend. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
God bless all of you that pray that prayer. Amen.