Welcome to Ashur Foundation Baptist Church, once in our service, turn your hymnal to song number 18, take the name of Jesus with you, song number 18.
The first, take the name of Jesus with you, child of sorrow and of woe, comfort give them wherever you go, just name how sweet, hope of earth, just name how sweet, have a shield from every temptation around you, God, just name how sweet, hope of earth, just name how sweet, just name of Jesus, our souls with joy, his loving arms receive his sounds, our tongues implore him,
Lord, precious name, oh how sweet, oh how precious name, let's bow straight at his feet. King, King, sing have we'll cry, his complete, precious name, how sweet, how precious name.
Let's open the service with a word of prayer. Thank you Lord for this wonderful night. I pray that you'll bless the singing and the preaching. Just help us have a great time of fellowship together. In the praise of Jesus name, Amen.
Alright, turn your song to song number 63. Song 63, What a day that will be.
Come, a day shall come, this God that hath ensured. What a day's day. Jesus, I shall see thy Lord his face. Who does it? He's great. When he takes the hand, leads me through this land. There's no pain, no more parting over there. I shall see thy Lord his face. He's great. When he takes me through this land.
I shall see thy Lord his face. He's great. When he takes the hand, leads me through this land. There's no pain, no more parting over there. I shall see thy Lord his face. He's great.
I shall see thy Lord his face. He's great. I shall see thy Lord his face. He's great. When he takes the hand, leads me through this land. There's no pain, no more parting over there. I shall see thy Lord his face. He's great.
I shall see thy Lord his face. He's great. When he takes the hand, leads me through this land. There's no pain, no more parting over there. I shall see thy Lord his face. He's great.
Christmas service on Sunday, December 21st. There will be a Christmas themed sermon during the morning service. There will be a Pollock right after the morning service, please invite family and friends. And then Christmas Eve service will be on Wednesday, December 24th. And then the New Year's Eve service will be the following week on December 31st.
So Sunday Marathon, December 6th is the Evansville scouting trip reaching the Marshall East. We'll meet at the address below Eastern Standard Time. We'll go out for one big session and see how it goes, see if we need to do an official Sunday trip next year.
And then we'll finish the year up with the Winter Wonderland on December 27th. We'll meet at the church building at 1pm, go Sunday morning for three and a half, four hours straight, and then we're going to meet for dinner together on December 27th.
And then Man's Preaching Night is taking place this Sunday afternoon during the afternoon service. So please let me know if you are planning on preaching, if you haven't done so.
And then on the back you can see the birthdays coming up in the month of November. So that's all the announcements.
Let's sing one more song and then we get to take up the offering. Go turn to song number 25.
Song 25, "Wounded for Me."
At this time we'll take up the offering. Usher, please come forward and Brother Mack, would you pray for the offering, please?
Judges chapter 7, if you don't have a Bible, please raise your hand and Usher will hand you one.
We're going to be in Judges chapter 7 tonight. Judges chapter 7 verse 1 reads,
"Then Jerubbabel, who is Gideon, and all the people that were with him, rose up early and pitched beside the well of Herod,
so that the hosts of the Midianites were on the north side of them by the hill of Moray in the valley.
And the Lord said unto Gideon, The people that are with thee are too many for Me to give the Midianites into their hands,
lest Israel vaunt themselves against Me, saying, Mine own hand hath saved Me.
Now therefore go to proclaim in the ears of the people, saying, Whosoever is fearful and afraid,
let him return and depart early from Mount Gilead. And there returned of the people twenty and two thousand,
and there remain ten thousand. And the Lord said unto Gideon, The people are yet too many,
bring them down unto the water, and I will try them for thee there.
And it shall be that of whom I say unto thee, this shall go with thee, and the same shall go with thee,
and of whomsoever I say unto thee, this shall not go with thee, the same shall not go.
So he brought down the people unto the water, and the Lord said unto Gideon,
Every one that lappeth of the water with his tongue as a dog lappeth, him shalt thou set by himself.
Likewise, every one that bowed down upon his knees to drink, and the number of them that lapped,
putting their hand to their mouth, were three hundred men.
But all the rest of the people bowed down upon their knees to drink water.
And the Lord said unto Gideon, By the three hundred men that lapped, will I save you,
and deliver the Midianites into thine hand, and let all the other people go every man unto his place.
So the people took victuals in their hand and their trumpets,
and he sent all the rest of Israel every man unto his tent, and retained those three hundred men.
And the host of Midian was beneath him in the valley.
And it came to pass the same night that the Lord said unto him, Arise,
get thee down unto the host, and I have delivered it into thine hand.
But if thou fear to go down, go thou with Purah, thy servant, down to the host.
And thou shalt hear what they say, and afterwards shall thine hands be strengthened to go down unto the host.
Then went he down with Purah, his servant, unto the outside of the armed men that were in the host.
And the Midianites and the Amalekites and all the children of the east lay along in the valley like grasshoppers for multitude.
And their camels were without number as the sand by the seaside for multitude.
And when Gideon was come, behold, there was a man that told a dream unto his fellow, and said,
Behold, I dreamed a dream, and lo, a cake of barley bread tumbled into the host of Midian, and came into a tent, and smote it that it fell, and overturned it that the tent lay along.
And this fellow answered and said, This is nothing else save the sword of Gideon, the son of Joash, a man of Israel.
For into his hand have God delivered Midian and all the hosts. And it was so when Gideon heard the telling of the dream and the interpretation thereof,
that he worshipped and returned into the host of Israel, and said, Arise, for the Lord hath delivered into your hand the host of Midian.
And he divided the three hundred men into three companies, and he put a trumpet in every man's hand with empty pictures and lamps within the pictures.
And he said unto them, Look on me, and do likewise; and, behold, when I come to the outside of the camp, it shall be that, as I do, so shall ye do.
When I blow with a trumpet, I and all that are with me, then blow ye the trumpets also on every side of all the camp, and say, The swore of the Lord, and of Gideon.
Gideon and the hundred men that were with him came unto the outside of the camp in the beginning of the middle watch, and they had but newly set the watch, and they blew the trumpets and broke the pitchers that were in their hands.
And the three companies blew the trumpets and broke the pitchers, and held the lamps in their left hands, and the trumpets in their right hands, to blow withal. And they cried, "The sword of the Lord and of Gideon!"
And they stood every man in his place round about the camp, and all the hosts ran, and cried, and fled. And three hundred blew the trumpets, and the Lord set every man's sword against his fellow, even throughout all the hosts.
And the hosts fled to Bethshedah and Zerorath, and to the border of Abel Mihola unto Tabith.
And the men of Israel gathered themselves together out of Naphtali, and out of Asher, and out of Nasi, and pursued after the Midianites.
And Gideon sent messengers throughout all Mount Ephraim, saying, "Come down against the Midianites, and take before them the waters unto Bethbarah and Jordan."
Then all the men of Ephraim gathered themselves together, and took the waters of Bethbarah and Jordan.
And they took two princes of the Midianites, Oreb and Zeb, and they slew Oreb upon the rock of Oreb.
And Zeb they slew at the winepress of Zeb, and pursued Midian, and brought the heads of Oreb and Zeb to Gideon on the other side, Jordan.
Brother Christian, could you please pray us into the service?
Amen. So on Wednesday night we're going through the book of Judges, one chapter a week.
Tonight we'll be in chapter number seven. And chapter six introduces probably one of the most famous judges, Gideon.
And chapter seven tonight is going to talk about this epic battle that God fought with the children of Israel.
So the title of the sermon tonight is called Winning When Outnumbered. Winning When Outnumbered.
So Winning When Outnumbered, now just as a disclaimer, I still dis-illiterated the outline from another preacher,
but obviously I re-write all the sermon, but I thought it's a really cool outline.
So Winning When Outnumbered, point number one, the Purge. Look at verse number one.
Then Jerubal, now if you were here in chapter number six last week, Jerubal is a nickname given to Gideon because Gideon has thrown down the altar of Baal.
Then Jerubal, who is Gideon, and all the people that were with him rose up early and pitched beside the well of Herod, so that the host of the Mennonites were on the north side of them by the hill of Morah in the valley.
Verse number two. And the Lord said unto Gideon, The people that are with thee are too many for me to give the Mennonites into their hands, lest Israel vaunt themselves against me, saying my own hand hath saved me.
Now, you know, now we have to understand that Gideon and his army, they were already extremely outnumbered.
And then in verse two, God told Gideon, Hey, the people, you know, there are too many people with you.
OK, so actually turn back to Judges chapter number six, look at verse number five, Judges chapter six, verse number five.
The Bible says for they came up with their cattle and their tents and they came as, notice this phrase, grasshoppers for multitude.
For both they and their camels were, notice this phrase, without number and they enter into the land to destroy it.
So they are dealing with an army. The Bible described as grasshoppers without number.
OK, now look at chapter number seven, verse number twelve, Judges chapter seven, verse number twelve.
The Bible says this, "And the Midianites and the Amalekites and all the children of the east lay along the valley like grasshoppers for multitude,
and their camels were without number as the sand by the seaside for multitude."
Again, the Bible describes their enemy as an enemy without number, like grasshoppers as the sand by the sea.
Let's go to chapter 8, verse number 10. Obviously I don't believe they are literally without number.
It's just a figurative speech to say it's a multitude, it's a big army.
In chapter 8, look at verse number 10, the Bible says, "Now Zeba and Zalmunna were in Karka, and their host with them about 15,000 men."
So basically chapter 8 was after the battle. They had 15,000 men left, all that were left of all the host of the children of the east,
about 120,000 men that Jews swore.
So if you do some math, again, if this host, the Bible does describe these are the host of the children of the east.
Obviously there are the Mennonites and also the Amalekites. So we're talking about at least 135,000 people.
At least, plus all the other armies as well, because there are 15,000 people left.
Plus, they failed. 120,000 people died. So we're talking about at least 135,000 people.
At least, potentially way more.
Now later we will see that Israel had an army of 32,000 people.
So we're talking about 32,000 versus 135,000. That's 4.5 to 1 ratio.
So they were already outnumbered.
Now said that, the people were too many.
I think that's pretty interesting because the battle with God is not won by mere numbers.
Go back to Judges, chapter 7.
And to apply it to our Christian life, we as Christians are also indeed outnumbered
because there are not many saved Christians compared to all the other groups.
The Bible says, "Enter ye in at the straight gate, for wide is the gate
and broad is the way that leadeth to destruction,
and many there be which go in their act."
The Bible says, "Fill there be that find it."
Very few people are actually really saved.
Notice the reason that God gave on why He thought Israel had too many people.
Look at verse number 2 again, chapter 7, verse number 2.
"And the Lord said unto Gideon, The people that are with thee are too many for me
to give the many nights into their hands."
There's a reason, "lest Israel vaunt themselves against me, saying mine own can have saved me."
Now the word "vaunt" means to boast, to make a vain display of one's own worth.
So God is basically saying that if 32,000 people beat 135,000 people,
then people can boast about their own power.
That's already pretty crazy, right?
God says if 32,000 beat 135,000, then people can boast about themselves.
That's why in the following verses, God started to purge them to reduce the number
from 32,000 down to eventually 300.
Because I think God wants the children of Israel to realize that without Him, they are nothing.
Because it doesn't matter if they only have one man, and if God is with that man, then there will be victory.
And that's true about salvation. Why is salvation all faith and no works?
Let any man should boast.
Because if we can do good things, if we can stop sinning and try to follow God all of our lives,
then we can boast about it. That's why salvation is not of works.
So keep your place in Judges chapter 7, go to 2 Timothy chapter 2.
I said already, point number one is the purge.
And in the Christian life, God will also purge His people.
Because the word purge means to cleanse or to purify.
The word purge is to get rid of the things that are impure.
And that's what sanctification is.
After we are saved, we need to live a holy life.
We should live the holy life.
2 Timothy chapter 2, look at verse number 20.
2 Timothy chapter 2, verse number 20.
The Bible says this, "But in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and of silver,
but also of wood and of earth, and some to honor and some to dishonor."
You can compare that to Christian life as well, right?
In God's household, there are some Christians, they live their life to honor.
They do all these good works to follow, to honor Christ.
But some people, some Christians, some saved people, they do very, very dishonorable things.
They commit adultery, they drink, they smoke, right?
They are a vessel unto dishonor.
Look at verse 21, "If a man therefore purges himself from this,
if a saved person lives in a holy life, he shall be a vessel unto honor,
sanctified and meet for the Master's use, and prepared unto every good work."
That proves in order to do good works after salvation, you have to purge yourself, right?
You have to make a decision to live a sanctified life.
So it can be a vessel unto honor.
Turn to 1 Corinthians chapter number 5.
Look at verse number 7, 1 Corinthians chapter number 5, verse number 7.
The Bible says this, "Purge out therefore the old leaven."
Now the leaven, the Bible pictures sin.
There may be a new lump as you are unleavened.
You are positionally unleavened because you are saved, right?
All of your sins are washed away.
For even Christ, our Passover, is sacrificed for us.
So the Bible says you may be saved, you may be positionally unleavened,
but you can still have leaven in your life, okay?
Just like you are positionally sinless because Christ has washed away your sin,
but we still sin, okay?
So 1 Corinthians 5:7 is saying that you may be saved,
but you can still do things, but you can still be purged from the local church,
because the whole chapter is about kicking people out for violating certain sins, right?
Purge out the old leaven, even just because you are saved,
does not make you exempt from being kicked out of the church, right?
Because the Christian life is a life of purging, is a life of sanctification, right?
We'll be purged in our Christian life.
Think about trials, think about difficult times, right?
Will you quit, or will you stay in the army of the Lord, okay?
Turn our book back to Judges, chapter number 7, Judges, chapter number 7.
Now let's get into the actual purge, Judges chapter 7, look at verse number 3.
Judges chapter 7, verse number 3.
The Bible says, "Now therefore go to proclaim in the ears of the people, saying,
'Whosoever is fearful and afraid, let him return and depart early from Mount Gilead,
and there return of the people 22,000, and there remain 10,000.'"
That's how we know there were 32,000 people initially, because 22,000 left, right?
20,000 people, they were afraid, and they left, and we have 10,000 people remaining, okay?
That's why we get 32,000 people at first.
So the first purchase, if you're afraid, go home. Why? Because fear can be pretty contagious.
Imagine fighting alongside with people, and they just turn back and run and flee away from their enemies.
It'll probably make you doubt too, right? If people around you just run from the enemies, okay?
So fear is extremely contagious. Keep replacing judges. Turn forward to Deuteronomy chapter number 20.
Deuteronomy chapter number 20, look at verse number one.
And what's interesting is God already gave them instruction on what to do when you are facing a big army.
Deuteronomy chapter 20, look at verse number one. The Bible says this,
"When thou goest out to battle against thine enemies, and seest horses and chariots,"
"and seest this and the people more than thou." Sounds like the Mennonites, right?
And then he says, "Be not afraid of them. Here is the reason, for the Lord thy guy is with thee,"
"which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt. And it shall be, when thou comest nigh unto the battle,"
"that the priest shall approach and speak unto the people, and shall say unto them,"
"Here, O Israel, ye approach this day unto battle against your enemies."
"Let not your hearts faint, fear not, and do not tremble, neither be you terrified because of them."
"For the loyal God is he that goes with you to fight for you against your enemies, to save you."
See earlier, God already gave them what to do when you see a people, you know, mightier than you,
and the instruction is do not be afraid of them because God is fighting with you, right?
Don't be faint-hearted, don't even shake, don't even tremble, don't be terrified because of them,
because God is going with you, okay?
But what do we see in the first phase of the Purge?
22,000 people, they were afraid, they left, okay?
That's the majority of the army.
That's 22,000 over 32,000, that's 68.75%.
That's the majority of the people.
They went back home because they were afraid.
And that's also true with the Christian life, because most Christians are afraid.
And only a small remnant of Christians actually stand on the Word of God.
Think about this. Most Christians, unfortunately, are cowards.
They are afraid of the looks of their family members and friends.
They compromise their standards to gain the popularity from the world.
And many even pastors and preachers compromise their message just to gain the crowd.
Some even apologize for the Word of God.
I believe those 20,000 pastors or preachers should just quit their job because fear is contagious.
Let the real man pass through the churches. Let the real courageous man preach behind the pulpit.
Let's go to Psalm 56.
I fully understand that sometimes things can get pretty rough.
People are threatening to kill you and bomb you and do terrible things to you and your family.
But we need to trust in the Lord because God is fighting with us.
For the Lord your God is he that goes with you to fight for you against your enemies to save you.
Psalm 56, look at verse number two.
Psalm 56, verse two.
The Bible says, "My enemies will dare swallow me up, for they be many that fight against me, all without most high."
So David was encountering a multitude of enemies as well, but look at verse number three.
"What time I am afraid, I will trust in thee."
Just like bitterness.
There's nothing wrong with bitter things happening to your life, as long as you're not allowing the root of bitterness spring up and defile many.
So there's also nothing wrong with having a fearful thing happening to you, though what matters is what you're going to do when you are afraid.
David had a right reaction. He trusted in God.
They did not have the spirit of fear, even though something fearful happened to him, but his reaction was not a spirit of fear, his reaction was trusting the Lord.
Look at verse number four. "In God I will praise his word. In God I have put my trust. I will not fear what flesh can do unto me."
That's a powerful verse because we all have some afflictions, some big trials, even terrifying things happen to us, but we need to trust in the Lord.
Turn back to Judges chapter 7. Judges chapter 7. Isaiah 48 verse 10 says this, "Behold, I have refined thee, but not with silver. I have chosen thee in the furnace of affliction."
God purged us and God refined us through what? Through tough times. Through the persecutions and through the afflictions.
So we need to embrace these trials and trust in God even more. So out of 32,000 people, 22,000 people left, leaving only 10,000 people.
So now we have 13.5 to 1 ratio. Now we are even way outnumbered than what they were initially.
Look at Judges 7, verse 4. The Bible says, "And the Lord said unto Gideon, 'The people are yet too many.'"
So God has a sense of humor here. "Bring them down unto the water, and I will try them."
Again, God will purge them again. "I will try them for thee there. And it shall be that of whom I say unto thee, they shall go with thee, the same shall go with thee.
And of whomsoever I say unto thee, they shall not go with thee, the same shall not go."
So he brought them the people unto the water, and the Lord said unto Gideon,
"Everyone that lappeth of the water with his tongue as a dog lappeth,
him shall thou set by himself, likewise everyone that boweth down upon his knees to drink."
So God will get into separate, to divide the people into two different groups with 22,000 people.
One group is people just drink water like a dog, just lap the water with his tongue.
And the other group is people who bow down to drink water.
Now people have different opinions on what those two groups of people represent.
I don't have a solid opinion on that. I don't think it matters that much.
But look at verse number 6, "And the number of them that laughed, putting their hand to their mouth, were three hundred men.
But all the rest of the people bowed down upon their knees to drink water,
and said unto Gideon, By the three hundred men that laughed, will I save you to deliver the midnight into my hand,
and let all the other people go and remain unto his house."
So apparently God only chose the group that laughed and put their hand to their mouth,
rather than the group that bowed down to drink the water.
So all the remaining 10,000 people, 9,700 people, they were just eliminated.
Only 300 people left.
By the way, verse number 7 is a verse to prove that the word "saved" does not always mean "saved from going to hell."
"By the 300 men that laugheth, will I save you."
Again, we have to read the Bible in its context. Look at verse number 8.
"So the people took victuals," the word "victual" means "food."
"So the people took victuals in their hand, and the trumpet, and he sent all the rest of Israel, every man, unto his tent,
and retained those 300 men, and the host of Midian was beneath them in the valley."
So we have 32,000 people, too many people. Now we have 10,000 people, still too many.
We have 300 people, that's like 450 to one ratio. They were already extremely outnumbered.
Now they are way outnumbered, not even close. One man fighting at least 450 people.
So point number one, we see the purge. Again, in our Christian life, God will try us, God will purge us.
Let's strive to be one of the few. Let's strive to be the remnant of the Christians
who actually stand true about what the Bible says.
And the other lesson is, God cares less about quantity because he cares more about quality.
The Bible says, "For there is no restraint to the Lord to say by many or by few."
Think about it in a church setting. I could water down the preaching and gain a crowd easily,
but I would be sacrificing the quality over quantity.
I could let those people who have done the sins found in 1 Corinthians 5 to stay,
but I would be sacrificing the quality over the quantity.
Because God can use the small group of people who are zealous for the Lord
than 10,000 people in a liberal mega-church.
Do you think all these big churches that are 10 times our size
have over 1,000 salvations this year?
Think about that, because God always uses a small remnant of people.
Nothing against big churches who are doing great works for God.
But in general, there are only a small amount of Christians
who are actually zealous, who are actually standing on what the Bible says.
So point number one, we see the purge.
Point number two, let's talk about the partnership.
Look at verse number nine, Judges chapter seven, verse nine.
The Bible says this, "And it came to pass the same night
that the Lord said unto him, Arise, get thee down into the host,
for I have delivered it into thine hand."
Now the phrase "I have delivered it" is a present perfect tense,
symbolizing talking about a past action.
So basically it's saying that God's promise is as good as it is down, right?
So basically God is giving Gideon the assurance
that God will deliver the Mennonites into his hand.
Look at verse number ten, here's the catch,
"But if thou fear to go down, if thou are afraid,
go down with furor thy servant down to the host."
Here's what I like about God, obviously I like a lot about God.
God never lies about human weakness, but God works with it.
Here's what I mean, even though Gideon is not supposed to be afraid
because God has reassured him multiple times, right?
But God is asking him to go down to the enemy camp by himself.
That's pretty scary, there's nothing wrong with that.
But then God said, "But if you are afraid, take Führer with you."
Look at verse 11, "And thou shalt hear what they say."
That's talking about the Mennonites.
"And afterwards shall their hands be strengthened to go down unto the host.
Then he went down," don't miss this, "with Führer,
his servant unto the outside of the old man that were in the host."
Do you know what verse 11 tells me?
That Gideon was afraid.
Because God told him, "If you are afraid, take Führer, your servant, with you."
But in verse 11, Gideon took Führer, his servant, with him.
Gideon may have some doubts, he may be afraid,
but he still went with Führer, his servant.
But even though nobody is going to help Gideon going down with him,
God is with him anyway, but we know that Gideon is afraid.
We saw last week that Gideon struggled with fear.
That's why we, as Christians, should be at church as many times as we can,
because we can have partnership, because the world is messed up.
We all need some refreshment. We all have struggles. That's why we need each other.
That's why in the very famous verse, Hebrews 10.25, the Bible says,
"Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is,
but exhorting one another." We are helping one another.
Hey, they might have some fearful thing happening to people's lives.
We need to be helping them. We need to be encouraging them.
That's why we should develop godly friendships.
Because when you are afraid, when you have doubts, you can talk to them and get help.
The Baptists have a midweek service, and I think that's great.
Because we need more church and not less church.
That's why people in the church should let me know if you guys have any spiritual questions or concerns.
Because I'm here to help. And if you don't let me know, I couldn't help you.
Because we all need a support group, we all need a fury in our life.
Because as humans, we can all be afraid from time to time.
We all need help from time to time. Don't be a hyper-spiritual loner.
But again, even if nobody is going to help you, God is always with you.
The Bible says in Hebrews 13 verse number 5, "Let your conversation, let your lifestyle,
let your conversation be without covetousness, and be content with such things as you have.
For He hath said, 'I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.'"
God will never leave with you, but if we need help, get help, so we can get the job done.
Look at verse number 12, Judges 7 verse number 12.
The Bible says this, "And the Mennonites, and the Amalekites, and all the children of the east lay along in the valley like grasshoppers for multitude.
And their camels were without member, as the sand by the seaside for multitude.
And when Gideon was come, behold, there was a man that told a dream unto his fellow, and said, 'Behold, I dream a dream.'
And lo, a cake of barley bread tumbled into the holes of Mideon, and came unto the tent, and smote it, that it fell, and overturned it, that the tent lay alone."
So here Gideon likely overheard a Mideonite telling a dream to his fellow, and the fellow gave the interpretation of the dream in verse number 14.
The Bible says, "And his fellow answered and said, 'This is nothing else save the sword of Gideon, the son of Joash, and man of Israel, for into his hand had God delivered Mideon and all the hosts.'"
So apparently some of the Mideonites heard about God of the Bible and his miracles.
Some of the Mideonites, some of the enemies, they were already afraid.
But I was thinking about this because God knew Gideon was still a little fearful.
So why did he ask him to go down onto the enemy hand, the enemy host?
Maybe God did that so that Gideon could overhear this conversation.
In fact, that's exactly what God told him to do, right?
Because the Bible says, I believe in verse number 11, "And thou shalt hear what they say."
So I believe God orchestrated this moment so Gideon would overhear the enemy who were already terrified of him.
Maybe God used this event to strengthen Gideon's faith, okay?
Here's more evidence. Look at verse number 15.
"And it was so when Gideon heard the telling of the dream and the interpretation thereof,
that he worshipped and returned into the halls of Israel and said,
'Arise, for the Lord hath delivered into your hand the halls of Midian.'"
So after he heard this conversation from the enemies, now he himself is certain that God has promised them victory.
Gideon was now confident. He was a little bit afraid, even though God had shown him miracles.
But Gideon was now confident, because like I said last week,
God can still use a fearful man and turn him into a fearless warrior.
And God is gracious enough to, you know, to confirm Gideon's call for a sign.
And he even performed two miracles to strengthen his faith last chapter, right?
Now God orchestrated this event to further boost Gideon's confidence, okay?
Because God is still gracious. Even though Gideon was fearful, God still used him.
So point number one, I talk about the purge. Point number two, I talk about the partnership.
We all need godly friends, godly partners in our life.
But point number three, I want you to take a look at the plan. Look at verse number 16.
The Bible says this, "And he divided the three hundred men into three companies,
and he put a trumpet into every man's hand with empty pitchers and lamps within the pitchers."
So Gideon divided the three hundred men into three groups of hundred, look at verse number 17.
"And he said unto them, Look on me, and do likewise, and, behold, when I come to the outside of the camp,
it shall be that as I do so shall ye do. When I blow with a trumpet, I and all that are with me,
then blow ye the trumpets also on every side of all the camp, and say the sword of the Lord and of Gideon."
Notice the plan here, three groups of one hundred holding a trumpet and lamp and empty pitchers.
So they were already way outnumbered, but now they were not carrying sword, no arrows, no shield.
So it doesn't make much sense to fight a battle with those items, trumpet, pitchers, lamp, right?
But this is the plan, this is the plan.
And the point I'm trying to make is God always gives us plans that do not make sense in our human mind.
Because in Isaiah 55 verse 8, the Bible says, "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways. My ways said the Lord."
So here's the attitude of living our Christian life.
Even if the plans don't make sense to you, follow them anyway.
If the Bible says it, just believe it.
Think about tithing. The world will say, "How can you have God's blessing if you are giving away your 10%?"
It doesn't feel logical, but then the Bible says, "Prove me therewith if I will not open the windows of heaven and pour you out a blessing."
If the Bible says so, then just believe it.
Think about spanking. The world will say, "If you spank your child, you'll hate them."
But the Bible says, "He that spirteth his rock hated his son."
If the Bible says it, just believe it, because God always gives us the plans that do not make sense in our human mind.
Think about heart preaching. The world will say, "You will not reach people."
People won't hear you if you preach what the Bible says, but the Bible says, "Preach the word."
Beings in season and also out of season.
Because God always gives us plans that do not make sense in our human mind.
Just like we have 300 people going against 135,000 and possibly way more.
And all they carry is trumpet and land and also pitchers.
No sword, no arrows, no shield, no missiles, none of that.
To the world, knocking on a stranger's door makes zero sense.
They will say, "Nobody wants that. It won't work. That's outdated."
But the Bible says, "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature."
The world will say, "Don't let anyone walk over you. Get even."
But the Bible says, "Forgive one another. Vengeance is mine."
The world will say that, "Why should I obey somebody over me?"
But God said, "Obey them that have the rule over you."
Children obey their parents.
The world will say that's oppressive, controlling, abusive.
The Bible says, "Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husband as unto the Lord."
The world will say, "Be tough, don't show love, don't sacrifice."
But the Bible says, "Husband, love your wives even as Christ also loved the church and gave himself for it."
The world will say, "You don't need church, that's too much."
But the Bible says, "Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together."
The world will say, "Why can't you watch that, listen to that, drink that, go there?"
But the Bible says, "Come out from among them and be separate."
The world will say, "Don't trust anything that you can't see."
But the Bible says, "We walk by faith and not by sight."
The world will say, "Promote yourself, make a name, be the greatest."
But God said, "Humble yourself and he shall lift you up."
The world will say, "Work for it, earn it, just be good enough."
But God said, "Not of works."
See, God always has plans that don't make sense in our human mind,
but we just need to submit ourselves to the word of God anyway.
Because when God fights for you, the weapons look foolish to men, but mighty to God.
Let me read to you 2 Corinthians chapter number 10, verse number 3.
"For though we walk in the flesh, we do not work after the flesh.
For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal," don't miss this,
"but mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds."
The weapons of our spiritual warfare, they are mighty because what's our weapon?
The Bible says, "Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit,"
which is the Word of God.
The Bible, the Word of God is our weapon, and prayer to God is also our weapon,
because we can ask God to fight for us.
So that's point number one, the purge.
Point number two, the partnership.
Point number three, the plan.
Even though the plans may not make sense, if the Bible says it, just believe it.
Point number four, the pattern.
The pattern, look at verse number 17, Judges chapter number seven, verse number 17.
The Bible says, "And he," talking about Gideon, "and he said unto them," that's the soldiers,
"Look on me, and do likewise; and, behold, when I come to the outside of the camp,
it shall be that, as I do, so shall ye do."
So Gideon told the three hundred soldiers, you know, just follow me.
What I'm doing, you do likewise.
You know, that is the godly pattern, and some people don't like this,
but God gives us human leadership to follow.
Okay, turn the Bible to 1 Corinthians chapter number one.
Go to 1 Corinthians chapter number one.
I want to show you some verses on this,
because people have those hyper-spiritual attitudes.
They will say, "I don't follow any man, I only follow Christ."
But the Bible actually speaks against it, okay?
1 Corinthians chapter one, verse number eleven.
1 Corinthians one, verse number eleven.
The Bible says this, "For it hath been declared unto me of you, my brethren,
by them which are of the house of Chloe, that there are contentious among you,
not as I say, that every one of you says, I am of Paul."
You know, I only follow Paul, I'm of the denomination of Paul.
And I have Apollos, and I have Cephas, and I have Christ.
These are the people who say, you know, "I don't follow any man, I only follow Christ."
And then Paul said in verse number 13, "Is Christ divided?
Was Paul crucified for you, or were you baptized in the name of Paul?"
You know, so people have their own camp.
Some people, they follow a man to the bitter end.
Some people, they fight because they have their favorite preacher.
But some people who are, some people are hyper-spiritual, saying, you know,
"I only follow Christ. I don't follow any man."
All of that are false, okay?
Now go to chapter number four, 1 Corinthians chapter number four.
Look at verse number 15. 1 Corinthians chapter number four, verse number 15.
The Bible says this, "For though you have ten thousand instructors in Christ,
you have not many fathers. For in Christ Jesus I have begotten you through the gospel."
So here Paul was saying that you may have ten thousand people
who are teaching you what the Bible says,
but not many of them actually got you saved, right?
But that means that in verse number 16,
"Wherefore I beseech you, be ye followers of me."
So there's nothing wrong with asking you to be followers of me.
There's nothing wrong to ask if you follow human leadership.
Just like getting, "As I do, so shall ye do."
Because if people have invested in you spiritually,
you should be following his good, godly examples, okay?
Go to 1 Corinthians chapter number 11.
Look at verse number 1, chapter 11, verse 1.
The Bible says this, "Be ye followers of me,
even as I also am of Christ."
So the Bible does not teach, "Follow a man to the bitter end."
Follow a man as he is following Christ, right?
Search the scripture daily, okay?
Don't just blindly follow your favorite preacher to the bitter end.
Follow him as he is following Christ.
If he says something right, then follow that.
Take that, you know?
So, go over to Philippians chapter 3.
Philippians chapter 3.
Now, Philippians chapter 3 is a great passage about human leadership as well.
Philippians chapter 3, look at verse number 17.
Philippians chapter 3, verse number 17.
The Bible says this, "Brethren, be followers together of me,
and mark them which walk so as ye have asked for an example."
Now, here the word mark is not marking those bad people.
Because here in verse number 17, Paul was asking them to mark those people
who walk, who conduct their life just like us, just like them.
Because if we skip verse 18 and 19, which are parenthetical verses,
let's look at verse number 20.
Here the Bible says, "For our conversation," that's the lifestyle,
"For our conversation is in heaven from whence also we look for the Savior,
the Lord Jesus Christ."
So Paul was asking those people to mourn those people who walk,
who conduct their life, who live their life just like them as an example.
So do not be hyper-spiritual and never follow a man.
We should identify godly men and follow them.
Look at my lifestyle, follow me as I'm following Christ,
and maybe follow people who have the same lifestyle, who share the same beliefs.
Mark them that walk.
Walk based on the conversation of godly men.
Don't be hyper-spiritual and never follow a man
because the Bible clearly teaches the otherwise.
Go back to Judges 7.
By the way, if you are not a leader, that's fine as well
because you might not be a Gideon today,
but you can still be a Fuhrer to help your leader.
Because in this case, Gideon was a leader and Gideon was afraid
and sometimes leaders get afraid as well.
Leaders get discouraged as well.
You can be a Fuhrer even though you are not a leader.
People may not be pastors, evangelists, church leaders,
but you can still be someone who helps your pastor.
You can still be someone who helps your leader.
You may not be the boss at your job,
job they can be the best helper you can to help your boss succeed you may not be
the leader at your home they can be a good help need to help your husband
succeed okay so point number one I talk about the perch point number two the
partnership point number three the pattern the plan point number four the
pattern point number five the position look at verse number 19 judges have to
set verse 19 the Bible says this so get in and the hundred men that were with
him came on to the outside of the camp in the beginning of the middle watch so
I kind of look at that the middle watch is roughly between 10 p.m. to 2 a.m. so
they show up you know about like 10 p.m. and they have put and they have
but newly set the watch and they blew the trumpet and break the pitchers that
were that were in their hands and the three companies blew the trumpets and
break the pitchers and held the lamps in their left hands and the trumpets in
their right hands to blow it all and they cried the sword of the Lord and of
Gideon so what did they do they blew the trumpet break the pitchers and also held
the lamp okay I believe they probably sent a lot of confusions to the enemy
right they probably thought that they were being surrounded because all the
noises and and just things like that but the thing I want you but the thing I
want you to be aware is the position of of the children of Israel look at verse
number 21 the Bible says and they notice their position and they stood every man
in his place from about the camp and all the holes ran and cried and fled you
know I mean I like the word in this verse and don't miss it all they did is
standing and there was the Lord winning the battle literally they just stood
there they break you know they blew the trumpet break the pictures held the lamp
they just stood there and just all the enemies they ran and cried and fled
that's pretty amazing right only there is standing notice their position they
stood and they watched the Lord winning the battle turn the Bible to Exodus
chapter 14 Exodus chapter number 14 you know when you when you are reading the
Bible on your own don't miss those details Exodus chapter 14 let me show you some
similar patterns some similar positions Exodus 14 look at verse number 13
Exodus 14 verse number 13 the Bible says this and Moses said out said say unto
the people fear ye not don't miss this stand still and see just stood and
watched right stand still and see the salvation of the Lord which he will show
to you today for the Egyptians whom we have seen today you shall see them again
and no more forever, the Lord shall fight for you,
and you shall hold your peace."
All it did was standing, and they
were simply seeing the Lord fighting the battle for them.
Again, it's a similar pattern here.
Go to Joshua, chapter number three.
Joshua, chapter number three.
See, how do we win when we are outnumbered?
And we are outnumbered.
We need to be sanctified.
We need to take the perch, right?
We also need to have the right partner.
We also have to follow the right plan,
follow what the Bible says.
We also need to follow the right pattern,
follow Godly leaders.
But we also need to have the right position.
We need to stand, OK?
Joshua chapter 3, look at verse number 7.
Joshua 3, verse 7.
The Bible says this, "And the Lord said unto Joshua,
this day will I begin to magnify the inside of all Israel,
that they may know that as I was with Moses,
so I will be with thee, and I shall command the priests
that bear the ark of the covenant, saying,
when ye are come to the brink of the water of Jordan,
ye shall," don't miss this, "stand
still in Jordan," look at verse number 13.
"And it shall come to pass, as soon
as the souls of the feet of the priests
that bear the ark of the Lord, the Lord of all the earth
shall rest.
The moment the souls of the priests they rest,
they stood in the waters of Jordan,"
don't miss this, "that the waters of Jordan
shall be cut off from the waters that come down from above,
and they shall stand upon a heap."
So here's the point I'm trying to make.
The right position for us to win when we are being outnumbered
is standing, is to rest.
What do I mean by that?
We are not changing because we are standing on the solid rock.
We will never change our stance of the King James Bible.
We will not change the stance on what
we believe about every single major Bible doctrines.
We are not changing because we are standing.
We have the right position.
We are standing on the solid rock.
Go back to Judges chapter 7.
Proverbs 23 verse 10 says this, "Remove not the old landmark,
and enter not into the fields of the fatherless."
Judges chapter 7.
Look at verse 22.
Here's the result of their standing, of their position.
Look at verse 22.
The Bible says, "And the children and the 300
blew the trumpet, and the Lord set every man's sword
against his fellow, even throughout all the host."
That's the host of the enemy.
"And the host fled to Bethshedah in Zerirath
and to the border of Abel, Abel, Mahola, on to Tabath."
So the enemies, they were so confused.
They probably thought that they were being surrounded
by a multitude of the soldiers.
They were terrified.
They probably couldn't tell where the Israelites were,
because of the shouting and maybe the fire from the land,
because they ended up killing each other
because of the confusion.
That's really cool, right?
They were standing.
Israel was standing.
And they were just watching the enemies killing each other.
Notice, Gideon's men never swing a single sword.
They don't even have a sword.
God did the fighting.
Let me show you a similar story.
Go to 2 Chronicles chapter 20.
2 Chronicles chapter 20.
Look at verse number 15.
2 Chronicles 20, verse number 15.
The Bible says, and he said--
here he is talking about Jehazil the Levite.
"Hark ye, ye all Judah, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem,
and thou King Jehoshaphat.
Thus saith the Lord unto you, be not afraid, nor dismayed
by reason of this great multitude."
Sounds pretty familiar wording.
"For the battle is not yours, but God's.
Tomorrow go ye down against them.
Behold, they come up by the cliff of Ziz.
And ye shall find them at the end of the brook before the wilderness of Jeru."
Don't miss verse 17.
"Ye shall not need to fight in this battle."
Similar right?
"Set yourselves, stand ye still, and see the salvation of the Lord with you.
O Judah and Jerusalem, fear not, nor be dismayed.
Tomorrow go out against them, for the Lord will be with you."
Similar pattern.
Similar position.
Hey, don't be afraid when you see this multitude.
Just because the battle is not yours to fight, it's the Lord's battle.
You don't even have to fight.
Just set yourself in the right place, stand on a solid rock and watch and see the victory.
Look at verse number 20.
"And they rose early in the morning and went forth into the wilderness of Tekoa.
And as they went forth, Jehoshaphat, don't miss this, he stood and said, 'Hear me, O
Judah, and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem, believe in the Lord your God, so shall ye be established.
Believe his prophets, so shall ye prosper.
And when he had consulted with the people, he appointed singers unto the Lord, and they
should praise the beauty of holiness as they went out before the army, and to say, 'Praise
the Lord for his mercy and good for ever.'
And when they began to sing and praise," notice they don't even fight, "when they began
to sing and to praise, the Lord sent ambushments against the children of Ammon, Moab, and Mount
Seir, which were come against Judah, and they were smitten."
Don't miss verse number 23, "For the children of Ammon and Moab stood up against the inhabitants
of Mount Seir."
The enemies were fighting against each other.
Don't miss this.
"Utterly to slay and destroy them, and when they had made an end of the inhabitants of
Seir, everyone helped to destroy another."
They didn't do anything.
They stood and they sang praise, you know, they were having a pie and pray service, and
then they were seeing the enemies fighting against each other.
The exact same pattern.
So what's the application?
You know, turn the Bible to Ephesians chapter number six.
So what's the application?
All we need to do to have victories in our Christian life is to stand tall on the Bible.
Believe it wholeheartedly, pray boldly to God, praising the Lord, and just watch God fight
in the battle for you.
Because Gideon and his men did not fight physically.
Just like in the New Testament, we are now wrestling against flesh and blood, right?
What are we doing?
We are fighting with the Word of God.
We are fighting alongside with God spiritually.
If you read chapter 6, look at verse number 10, a very famous passage, the Bible says
this, "Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of his might.
Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to, don't miss this, stand against
the walls of the devil, for we rest not against flesh and blood."
Gideon did not wrestle against flesh and blood, you know, I believe he pictured this spiritual
fight, "but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness
of this world, against spiritual weakness in high places, wherefore take unto you the
whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done
all domestics to stand."
Verse 14, "Stand therefore, having your loins gird about with truth, and having on a breastplate
of righteousness, and your feet shot with the preparation of the gospel of peace."
So the Bible is consistent, just stand upon the solid rock, stand upon the promise of
God, praising God, pray boldly to God, believe the word of God, have the right position,
and just see the salvation of the Lord.
That's where we get the hymn, "Standing on the promises of God, my King, through eternal
ages let his praises reign, glory in the highest I will shout and sing, standing on the promises
of God, standing on the promises that cannot fail, when the howling storms of doubt and
fear assail, by the living word of God I shall prevail standing on the promises of God, standing
on the promises I now can see perfect, present, cleansing in the blood for me, standing in
the liberty where Christ makes free, standing on the promises of God."
Did you see how he had the praising and the purging and the owing that hymn, you know?
"Standing on the promises of Christ, the Lord bound to him eternally by love's strong
cord, overcoming daily with a spirit's sword, standing on the promises of God.
Standing on the promises, I cannot fall, listening every moment to the Spirit's call, resting
in my Savior as my all-in-all, standing on the promises of God."
See, for us to have spiritual victory, we need to be in the right position and as founded
upon the Word of God.
Go back to Judges, chapter 7, Judges, chapter 7.
So how do we win when we are being outnumbered?
Number 1, the Purge, number 2, the Partnership, number 3, the Plan, number 4, the Pattern,
number 5, the Position, lastly, number 6, the Pursuit.
Look at verse 23, Judges, chapter 7, verse 23, the Bible says this, "And the men of
Israel gathered themselves together out of Naphtali, and out of Asher, and out of Menasseh,
and pursued after the Mennonites."
Now we'll talk more about this pursuit next week, but notice that the men of Israel did
not just stop because the enemies fled and they killed each other, they ran after them
in order to extinguish them, they pursued after them.
So in the same way, we should also extinguish sins in our life and not just co-exist with
them.
Listen to my summary on chapter 1 for more details on this, but I also wanted to notice
that just like fear is contagious, courage is also contagious.
Look at verse 24, "And Gideon sent messengers throughout all Mount Ephraim, saying, 'Calm
down against the Mennonites, and take before them the waters unto Bath-Berah and Jordan.'
Then all the men of Ephraim gathered themselves together and took the waters of Bath-Berah
and Jordan, and they, that's the men of Ephraim, they took two princes of the Mennonites, Oreb
and Zeb, and they slew Oreb upon the rock, Oreb and Zeb, they slew at the winepress of
Zeb, and pursued Midian, and brought the heads of Oreb and Zeb to Gideon on the other side
of Jordan.
So after 300 men obeyed and stood on God's promises, the rest of Israel, you know, at
least the men of Ephraim, they gained courage and they also joined the fight.
Right?
They answered the call.
That's why we will never change our stance of the Bible.
Because Lord willing, the lukewarm Christians, which are the majority, they will one day
come to our side, right?
Because we've already seen people questioning Israel, we've already seen people changing
their stance about the rapture, we've already seen people, you know, feel disgusted about
the sodomites more and more, you know, may the world and just other Christians who are
like fearful, see our courage and join us to fight the grief, fight the faith.
We just need to stand upon the right position, just stand and see the victory, okay?
Go to Psalm chapter 20, Psalm chapter 20, that will be the last verse that we turn to.
So how do we win when we are being severely outnumbered?
The purge, be sanctified because God will try you in your Christian life.
Number two, the partnership, we all need help.
We can all be afraid, we can all be fearful, sometimes we need the right partner.
Number three, the plan, God's plans do not always make sense, but follow it anyway.
Number four, the pattern, follow Godly man as I do so shall ye do.
Number five, the position, stand tall upon what the Bible says and just watch God wins
the battle for you.
Number six, the pursuit, don't faint, keep pressing on.
So what's the conclusion?
God did not need 32,000 soldiers.
God needed 300 men that trusted in him.
Gideon started out as a fearful man in chapter six, but in chapter seven, during the battle,
he became a faithful leader.
He finally fully trusted in God.
So the message for you today is, God can still use a few courageous Christians, more than
a multitude of passive ones.
And weak people, weak Christians, become strong when they obey God.
I mean, it's really that simple, right?
And victory is not about what you hold in your hand, victory about who is holding you.
Because all we have to do is, again, it's the right position that we have.
The Bible says in 2 Corinthians 12, verse number 9, "My grace is sufficient for thee,
for my strength is made perfect in weakness.
Most gladly, therefore, will I run the glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ
may rest upon me."
You know, in Psalm 20, look at verse number 7.
I think this verse fully sums up this battle.
Psalm 20, verse number 7, "Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we will remember
the name of the Lord our God."
Hey, our weapons are not carnal.
Obviously we have to defend ourselves.
That's a different story.
But in our general, daily Christian life, just stand tall upon what the Bible says.
Don't trust in all these external things.
Don't trust in chariots and horses.
Just trust the Bible.
Trust the sword.
Trust the best weapon we have, and stand still and see the salvation of the Lord.
Let's close in here with a prayer.
Thank you, Lord, for this powerful chapter, and thank you for this powerful message of
how we can win when we are being outnumbered.
Well, I pray that we will all take on the good fight of faith that will stand tall upon
the word of God, that will follow God, amen, that will allow ourselves to be purged, so
that we can be a vessel unto honor and meet for the Master's use.
And I pray this in Jesus' name.
Amen.
Amen, not so much a Thanksgiving sermon, but they were having a pie and pray service as
they were conquering the enemy.
So let's sing one last song, go to song number 134, song 134, "My Anchor Holds."
The air resurgis throw, how my tempest driven soul, I am peace for foe I know, wildly though
the winds may blow, I've an air safe and sure, I can hang in my hand, oh your once more prayer,
by his grace I shall now fail, for my anti-tousler see.