I don't know what it's like, but I know it's going to be fast, and it's going to be a 12-hour, 20-year, and 25-hour walk.
Okay, I'll get there as early as I can.
I'll pass out, but I've never been to this hour, so I'm super tired.
Okay, that's not good. I've been to a lot of full-time.
It's me, typically, with the breaks.
It's about 45 minutes up, 30 minutes down.
It's really fun.
If you want it, what you can do is you can go up the Echo time, down the Troya side,
back up the Troya side, down the Echo.
Whoa, whoa, whoa, man.
That'll take me like three hours.
Sometimes I do, like right now.
Okay, okay. I feel like you're pretty nice.
Yeah, when I was in, did you see the Greek documentary that I did?
Yeah, I've seen the Greek documentary.
Yeah, so when I was in Cyprus, I averaged nine miles a walk.
Oh my gosh, that's 20,000 steps.
I don't usually do that much, but on that particular trip, on that particular trip,
Yeah, of course, of course.
Learning from elders, I want to know what that looks like.
I mean, it's just, how many trips, three times a week?
Showing up at Sony, Pelican, talking to each other.
Iron, sharp, and fire.
Yeah.
I love it. I'm excited.
Yeah, so camelback.
If you really like it, you can try the Cholla side.
The Cholla side, just the Cholla side is like a Cholla part,
and so it's just something.
And then as far as this other,
it's easier, just like an easier way to ride a boat.
Half of a park here, there's a place called The Rock,
that's right here at Tempe.
There's some really strange formations.
It looks like giant blocks, I can't even stop.
Oh.
Is that your opinion?
That's mine.
So it's like half of a park, full of The Rock.
There's a, it's called Desert Botanical Garden.
It's pretty close to it.
It's all the wildlife.
Desert Botanical Garden.
It's all the wildlife these years.
I do the Phoenix Zoo.
That stuff's a little bit, that stuff,
we do that stuff in the summer,
and then do the, I do like the local stuff in the winter,
the Phoenix stuff, and then I do the,
that stuff's about an hour and a half, two hours,
because it's a blossom tree, natural bridge stable.
I don't know.
Dude, there's so much.
It's been your whole life, and you never know.
I go to a lot of, I go to a lot of like day trips,
nights and stuff, and I have been here for 50 years,
I haven't even scratched these lines,
and I've been to 100 places.
Literally?
Literally.
I've been to 100 places.
Well, because we do the Indian Reservation trips,
how do we do those?
And we always tie in a little recreation,
and then they come jumping, and then we have.
And then are there spots around here?
Oh.
This tree is one.
There's a place called Salter.
Both of those are about a 30 foot drop.
I've never really done anything above 30, 35 feet.
I just went to Oregon, and there was a spot in Oregon
here at Crater Lake that was like 60 or something.
I've never done anything above 30, 35 feet.
I have to be fun, but it's not too dangerous.
Now I got a couple kids on the way,
so I gotta be a little more careful.
Up to you, sir.
Do you guys have anything to add?
Honestly, you guys, they're not there.
I don't know what you mean.
We're out here.
Yeah.
You want to jump in?
All right.
I'll get her.
All right.
I'll see you tomorrow, brother Corbin.
I'm tied up with other stuff.
I'm not going to be here.
Hey, my wife loves all of your content.
I'm from Missouri.
I've watched a lot of your stuff.
She really appreciates it.
So thank you for all your time.
I gotta wolf this down real quick.
Hey.
Guys, I appreciate it.
Thank you so much.
If I could.
Actually, I don't know how to end this bit.
Good evening, everybody.
Welcome to our services tonight at Faith Forward Baptist Church.
If you would please take your seats and find the hymnal.
Please turn to hymn number 392.
Number 392, a sole winner for Jesus.
Number 392.
Singing on this first verse, I want to be a sole winner for Jesus every day.
Number 392.
Singing on this first verse, number 392.
I want to be a sole winner for Jesus every day.
He does so much for me.
I want to be the last to be the very thing.
And be the bondage ring.
A sole winner for Jesus.
So let me be each day.
A sole winner for Jesus.
He's done so much for me.
I want to be a sole winner and bring the loss to Christ.
That may his grace may know.
I want to live for Christ ever and new.
It's blessed to know because he loves me so.
A sole winner for Jesus.
So let me be each day.
A sole winner for Jesus.
He's done so much for me.
I want to be a sole winner till Jesus calls for me.
To lay my burdens down.
I want to hear him say, so could you,
May she receive a starry crown.
A sole winner for Jesus.
So let me be each day.
A sole winner for Jesus.
He's done so much for me.
Lord, thank you for this opportunity to be here tonight.
And I pray that you would fill Pastor Anderson with your Holy Spirit.
And please help this Bible study be edifying for all of us.
It's in Christ's name I pray. Amen.
Amen over to hymn number 259.
259, Jesus Saves.
259, we have heard the joyful sound Jesus saves.
259, sing it out on this verse.
We have heard the joyful sound Jesus saves.
Spread the tidings all around.
Jesus saves, Jesus saves.
Fair the hues to every land.
Climb the steeps and cross the waves.
Onward to the Lord's command.
Jesus saves, Jesus saves.
We will only die.
Jesus saves, Jesus saves.
Tilt in sinners, water and wine.
Jesus saves, Jesus saves.
Sink the islands of the sea.
And go back the ocean waves.
Earth shall keep her jubilee.
Jesus saves, Jesus saves.
Sing her love without a cry.
Jesus saves, Jesus saves.
By his death and endless life.
Jesus saves, Jesus saves.
Sing him softly through the gloom.
Blend the heart for mercy praise.
Sing in triumph for the tomb.
Jesus saves, Jesus saves.
Give the winds a mighty voice.
Jesus saves, Jesus saves.
Let the nations now rejoice.
Jesus saves, Jesus saves.
Shout salvation full and free.
By his bills and deepest gifts.
Is our song of victory.
Jesus saves, Jesus saves.
Thank you too.
Alright, this time we'll go through our announcements.
If you don't have a bulletin, please put up your hand nice and high.
We'll get to you with one.
On the inside we have our service time.
Sunday mornings at 1030 is our preaching service.
Sunday nights at 6.
Thursday nights at 7 is our Bible study.
Tonight we're in Judges chapter number 8.
We've got the soul winning times listed there below.
As well as salvations and baptisms.
Keep praying for Pastor Mejia over at First Works Baptist Church.
And he's doing well, his church is doing well, his family is doing well.
But obviously they're going through a lot of trials and tribulations right now.
And good night.
That stinking LA Times article.
What kind of a weirdo wrote that crazy article?
It was unbelievable.
But I guess I was just amazed that more of the media wasn't lying like that.
But just pray for them as they go through all this right now.
And be extra diligent with just washing your hands.
Fist bumps instead of handshakes.
Just want to be cautious so that we don't have a big outbreak of coronavirus or anything.
The weekly singing classes have resumed.
That's at 5 o'clock every Sunday.
Just an hour before the service.
On the back if you need a giving statement for 2020 just email the church.
And then keep praying for our expectant ladies.
That they would have a safe and healthy pregnancy and delivery.
The home school field trip to Meijia's farm later this month has been cancelled.
But the Out of Africa Wildlife Park trip on February 18th is still a go.
We've got the Spanish night coming up on February 11th.
It's always the second Thursday of every month.
And that is about it for announcements.
Let's go ahead and count up the soul winning from the past few days.
Going back to Monday. Anything from Monday?
All right. Anything from Tuesday?
Okay.
Anything else from Tuesday?
All right. And then what about today?
I know we had two for the church van today.
Anything outside of the van group today?
All right. Very good. Keep up the great work on soul winning.
And with that, let's go ahead and sing our next song. Come lead us.
All right. We're going to sing Psalm 128.
If you don't have a sheet, please raise your hand.
And we'll sing out Psalm 128.
Blessed is everyone that beareth the Lord, sing it out.
Blessed is everyone that beareth the Lord, that wanteth in his ways.
For thou shalt be the labor of thy hands, and he shall love thee, and it shall be with thee.
Thy wives shall be as approved for thine, by the sons of the Lord.
Thy children shall come in place, round about thy table.
We hope that thus strong a man we bless, that in the image of the Lord,
the Lord shall bless thee, our love's love, and thou shalt see,
the good of Jerusalem, all the days of thy life.
We bless you, children, children too, and peace upon Israel.
All right. And your hymnals now, number 248.
Now I belong to Jesus, number 248.
Sing it out on this first verse, number 248.
Jesus, my Lord, will love me forever.
Number 248. Sing it out on this verse.
Jesus, my Lord, will love me forever.
From him the power of evil can sever.
He gave his life to ransom my soul.
Now I belong to him.
Now I belong to Jesus.
Jesus belongs to me.
Not for the years of time alone, but for eternity.
Once I was lost in sin's degradation.
Jesus came down to bring me salvation.
Lifted me up from sorrow and shame.
Now I belong to him.
Now I belong to Jesus.
Jesus belongs to me.
Not for the years of time alone, but for eternity.
Joy floods my soul for Jesus has saved me.
Free me from sin that long had enslaved me.
His precious blood he gave to redeem.
Now I belong to him.
Now I belong to Jesus.
Jesus belongs to me.
Not for the years of time alone, but for eternity.
Now I belong to Jesus.
Now I belong to him.
Now I belong to Jesus.
Now I belong to him.
Ephraim said unto him, Why hast thou served us thus?
And thou calledest not, when thou wentest to fight with the Midianites?
And they did chide with him sharply.
And he said unto them, What have I done now in comparison of you?
Is not the gleaning of the grapes of Ephraim better than the vintage of Abiezer?
God hath delivered into your hands the princes of Midian, Oreb and Zeb.
And what was I able to do in comparison of you?
Then their anger was abated toward him when he had said that.
And Gideon came to Jordan and passed over, he and the three hundred men that were with him, faint, yet pursuing them.
And he said unto the men of Succoth, Give, I pray you, loaves of bread unto the people that follow me.
For they be faint, and I am pursuing after Zeba and Zalmunna, kings of Midian.
And the princes of Succoth said, Are the hands of Zeba and Zalmunna now in thine hand, that we should give bread unto thine army?
And Gideon said, Therefore, when the Lord hath delivered Zeba and Zalmunna into mine hand,
then I will tear your flesh with the thorns of the wilderness and with briars.
And he went up thence to Penuel, and spake unto them likewise.
And the men of Penuel answered him as the men of Succoth had answered him.
And he spake also unto the men of Penuel, saying, When I come again in peace, I will break down this tower.
Now Zeba and Zalmunna were in Carcor, and their hosts with them, about fifteen thousand men,
all that were left of all the hosts of the children of the east, for there fell an hundred and twenty thousand men that drew sword.
And Gideon went up by the way of them that dwelt in tents on the east of Noba and Jogbeha,
and smote the host, for the host was secure.
And when Zeba and Zalmunna fled, he pursued after them, and took the two kings of Midian, Zeba and Zalmunna,
and discomfited all the hosts.
And Gideon the son of Joash returned from battle before the sun was up,
and caught a young man of the men of Succoth, and inquired of him.
And he described unto him the princes of Succoth, and the elders thereof, even threescore and seventeen men.
And he came unto the men of Succoth, and said, Behold Zeba and Zalmunna, with whom ye did upbraid me,
saying, Are the hands of Zeba and Zalmunna now in thine hand, that we should give bread unto thy men that are weary?
And he took the elders of the city, and thorns of the wilderness, and briars, and with them he taught the men of Succoth.
And he beat down the tower of Penuel, and slew the men of the city.
Then said he unto Zeba and Zalmunna, What manner of men were they whom ye slew at Tabor?
And they answered, As thou art, so were they. Each one resembled the children of a king.
And he said, They were my brethren, even the sons of my mother.
As the Lord liveth, if ye had saved them alive, I would not slay you.
And he said unto Jethur his firstborn, Up, and slay them.
But the youth drew not his sword, for he feared, because he was yet a youth.
Then Zeba and Zalmunna said, Rise thou, and fall upon us, for as the man is, so is his strength.
And Gideon arose, and slew Zeba and Zalmunna, and took away the ornaments that were on their camel's necks.
And the men of Israel said unto Gideon, Rule thou over us, both thou and thy son, and thy son's son also.
For thou hast delivered us from the hand of Midian.
And Gideon said unto them, I will not rule over you, neither shall my son rule over you, the Lord shall rule over you.
And Gideon said unto them, I would desire a request of you, that ye would give me every man the earrings of his prey.
For they had golden earrings, because they were Ishmaelites.
And they answered, We will willingly give them.
And they spread a garment, and did cast therein every man the earrings of his prey.
And the weight of the golden earrings that he requested was a thousand and seven hundred shekels of gold,
beside ornaments and collars and purple raiment that was on the kings of Midian,
and beside the chains that were about their camel's necks.
And Gideon made an ephod thereof, and put it in his city, even in Ophrah.
And all Israel went thither, a whoring after it, which thing became a snare unto Gideon and to his house.
Thus was Midian subdued before the children of Israel, so they lifted up their heads no more.
And the country was in quietness forty years in the days of Gideon.
And Jerubel, the son of Joash, went and dwelt in his own house.
And Gideon had three score and ten sons of his body begotten, for he had many wives.
And his concubine that was in Shechem, she also bare him a son whose name he called Abimelech.
And Gideon, the son of Joash, died in a good old age, and was buried in the sepulchre of Joash his father in Ophrah of the Abiezrites.
And it came to pass, as soon as Gideon was dead, that the children of Israel turned again,
and went a whoring after Balaam, and made Baal-bereth their god.
And the children of Israel remembered not the Lord their God, who had delivered them out of the hands of all their enemies on every side.
Neither showed they kindness to the house of Jerubel, namely Gideon, according to all the goodness which he had showed unto Israel.
Dear Father in Heaven, please fill pastor with your spirit, and please bless us, and give us ears to hear the sermon.
In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.
Men, Judges chapter number 8, the Bible reads in verse 1,
And the men of Ephraim said unto him, Why hast thou served us thus, that thou callest us not, when thou wentest to fight with the Midianites, and they did chide with him sharply?
Let me bring you up to speed quickly in the story here.
If you remember, Gideon had gone against this innumerable multitude with only 300 men,
and they had the lamps and the pitchers, they blew the trumpets, they shattered the pitchers,
scared the enemy, God just miraculously worked this thing out that they would win this very unlikely victory.
And so when the enemy is on the run, then let's back up just a few verses to catch the end of chapter 7 so that chapter 8 will make sense.
Verse 24, And Gideon sent messengers throughout all Mount Ephraim, saying, Come down against the Midianites, and take before them the waters unto Beth, Barah, and Jordan.
Then all the men of Ephraim gathered themselves together, and took the waters unto Beth, Barah, and Jordan.
And they took two princes of the Midianites, Oreb and Zeb, and they slew Oreb upon the rock Oreb, and Zeb, they slew at the winepress of Zeb,
that's obviously where those places got their names,
and pursued Midian, and brought the heads of Oreb and Zeb to Gideon, on the other side, Jordan.
That flows directly into the thought in verse 1 here,
and the men of Ephraim said unto him.
So the men of Ephraim that are saying this are the ones we just read about in the last two verses.
So when Gideon's got the enemy on the run, he sends messengers ahead that they would kind of cut them off at the pass, you know,
and that they would basically get to this river that they needed to cross, and be there to ambush them,
so that basically he's coming from behind, and then they can head him off at the pass, and then boom, we got him.
That's the idea here. And so this is a success. It works out great.
But then the men of Ephraim just have this stupid objection that makes no sense.
I mean they should all just be happy that they won.
We won the battle, the enemy's defeated, Zeb and Zalmana, or Oreb and Zeb rather, are taken care of,
but instead they whine about it and say, well why didn't you call us when you went to fight with the Midianites?
Like why did you just call us at the very end to do this? This makes no sense. Who cares?
You see, and what we can learn from this is that whatever God wants us to do, whatever job he has for us,
we should just be happy to be a part of the team serving God in whatever capacity we can serve,
not necessarily that we're in the vanguard all the time. You know, you've got the 300 guys that are the heroes of the story,
but you know what? Everyone had a role to play in the story. God had a plan. God had a plan for the 300 men,
but he also had a plan for the Ephraimites. And the Ephraimites were just as necessary.
They had maybe the less glamorous part of the job, but that's not the point.
And in the work of Christ, there's no place for ego. There's no place for pride.
It's all about being a part of the team, everybody doing the job that God has called them to do,
everybody in their place, and it doesn't matter whether your job is more or less glamorous.
In fact, the Bible says, you know, the parts of the body of Christ that are the less glamorous,
obviously I'm paraphrasing because the Bible doesn't use the word glamorous,
but those less glamorous parts of the body, the Bible says upon them we bestow more honor.
In 1 Corinthians, chapter number 12, when it talks about how the body is important
and it's not that the foot is more important than the hand or that the nose is more important than the ear,
because we can't just be all ear, there'd be no smelling, right? We can't be all nose, there's no hearing.
We've got to have all the parts of the body, so just be happy to do whatever work God has given you,
whatever calling you've been called to, and not have this attitude of, well, I've got to be number one,
I've got to be in the limelight, I've got to get accolades or whatever,
because I can't see a right motive for what they're saying here in verse one,
of saying, well, why didn't we get to go at the beginning?
Because God said no, because God specifically said it's only these 300 guys.
He didn't want 32,000 troops, he didn't want 22,000 troops, he didn't want 10,000 troops, he wanted 300 troops.
That was God's plan, and so don't be in the work of Christ or be in the battle for the wrong reasons,
looking for personal glory or fame or gain.
Rather, be in it for the right reason of wanting to win, wanting the work of Christ to go forward,
because if that's your motive, then it doesn't really matter who's doing it.
Let's say, for example, someone leaves our church and goes to another church that's also a Bible-believing, soul-winning church.
Is there any issue with that? Is there any problem with that? Would that make us sad in any way? Absolutely not.
If somebody says to me, hey, I'm moving and I'm going to go to this other church,
and if it's a righteous church, or even if they're going to drive across town to a righteous church, more power to them,
because it's not just about building our own little kingdom here or our little team or whatever,
like this tribal mentality of Ephraim versus Manasseh or whatever.
Is that really what God had in mind with the 12 tribes of Israel? No.
It's all about them being the people of God, and it doesn't matter what tribe you are.
They're supposed to all be on the same team. They're all for the Lord, against the Midianites, the Ishmaelites, the Philistines.
People are worshipping other gods, but rather, they're on the same team,
and so we shouldn't have this attitude of being really tribal or territorial or wanting fame or accolades for ourself.
And you know, it's childish, because think about this. If you have toddlers, you've experienced this,
I'll tell one of my little tiny kids, hey, would you throw this in the trash for me?
And another one will jump in. I'll throw it in the trash!
Grabs it, beats him to it, throws it in the trash, and then it goes like, eeeeeeee!
Like, I wanted to throw it in the trash. That doesn't really make sense, does it?
Or like, hey, would you grab me a cup of water? I'll do it! Boom!
And then they get it done, eeeeeeee!
Basically, that's what's going on here. Why didn't I get to do the job?
But when you mature, you just care that the water was brought and that the trash was thrown away,
and you don't care who did it. That's a mature attitude.
Well, that's the way we should look at the work of Christ.
Hey, we don't care who knocked the doors, we don't care who won the souls, just so long as it gets done!
You know, we don't care what church people go to, so long as they're in a good church.
Who cares if it's our church, their church, his church? Doesn't matter, does it?
As long as we're all serving Christ, that's what matters.
Like, I remember there was this bozo who basically, you know, he wanted to be a pastor someday,
and he had this city all picked out, and this guy was light years from ever being a pastor.
But in his mind, he's got the city all picked out.
Then he heard about someone else going there and starting a church there, and he's like, oh man, that's what I was...
It's like, you know what that shows? It's not that he cares about the people of that city,
or that he wants the work of Christ to happen in that geography, it's just that he wants to be a big shot.
And that's what we see in this passage.
So they chided with him sharply over no good reason, look at verse number two, and this is Gideon speaking.
And he said to them, what have I done now in comparison of you?
Is not the gleaning of the grapes of Ephraim better than the vintage of Abiezer?
God hath delivered into your hands the princes of Midian, or Ebenzib.
And what was I able to do in comparison of you?
Then their anger was abated toward him when he had said that.
And what we see here is that Gideon understands the concept that a sharp answer, or I'm sorry, a soft answer turns away wrath.
A soft answer turneth away wrath.
Even though they chode with him sharply, and even though they're one hundred percent wrong,
yet Gideon gives them a soft answer because sometimes it's just not worth fighting with people that are being stupid.
You don't have to fight with every single person, and argue with every single person,
even if you know for sure that you're right, and they're wrong, and they're coming at you mad.
You know, let's say you're out in public, and somebody gets mad about the way you drove, or whatever.
Just smile, sorry, and just let it go.
Because the soft answer turneth away wrath.
Especially this principle goes with your neighbors.
You do not want to get in a fight with your neighbors because you have to live with them.
Somebody was telling me, I think it was my dad, was telling me about some kind of a reality show or a documentary
about neighbors, like, getting so mad that they actually would just be violent or kill one another or something.
It was some kind of a, it was called like, what was it called?
No, I mean, we all know about the Hatfields and the McCoys, but it was, does anybody know what I'm talking about though?
It was some kind of a program, it's on the tip of my tongue.
It was something about like, beware of thy neighbor, or something, I don't know.
It was, it had a funny title.
But anyway, the point is, it was about these situations where people would get in some kind of an argument with their neighbors.
It would just keep escalating, like the Hatfields and the McCoys or whatever.
And it would just keep escalating.
And I'm telling you, it's easy for this to happen when people have a big ego, or people are prideful.
And they can start over something stupid, you know, the neighbor's making too much noise, and you tell them to quiet down.
It's like, well, how dare you tell me to quiet down, or, you know, this tree is growing over into my property, so I'm just like, grrr, you know, and just chop that part off.
Your dog did his business on my lawn, or whatever.
These are the type of dumb things that can escalate and get out of control and get out of hand.
And sometimes, or your kid punched my kid in the face, or vice versa, or whatever.
Yeah, but he told me to do it, or, you know, or we were play fighting, you know.
I just hit harder than him, you know, he hit me first.
You know, these kind of things can escalate and get out of control.
If you're smart, when these type of things happen, you want to de-escalate the situation, even if you're right.
Because it's not worth it to get into a feud with your neighbors, and then your neighbors are retaliating by, they call the city on you because your weeds got a little too high, or you did something without a permit or something, and, you know, they can find ways to retaliate, or it could get even more serious, like my dad was telling me about.
So, the point is that, you know, you want to de-escalate these things.
The Bible says, a soft answer turneth away wrath, but grievous words stir up anger.
And the Bible also says, surely the churning of milk bringeth forth butter, and the ringing of the nose bringeth forth blood.
So the forcing of wrath bringeth forth strife.
Don't force wrath, don't fight every battle, die on every hill, it's not, just let things go.
And here Gideon is 100% right, they're totally wrong, and they have the wrong attitude, and they're speaking sharply to him, so he could have just turned around and been sharp back.
But you know what, it's just not worth it.
Because what's the reality here? The men of Ephraim just helped him out, didn't they?
Did they help him out?
I mean, they helped him out, they were a necessary part.
I'm serving God, you're serving God, I was in the battle, you were in the battle, we both accomplished something, we both did something for God, you have a stupid attitude about it, but you know what?
He just instead turns it around, and here's what he does, he compliments them.
Instead of saying, you know, you got a lot of nerve.
We already, you know, you guys showed up when I already had them on the run.
You know, you guys just came and did a little cleanup.
Instead, he turns around and basically says, well, you guys had the most important job.
You did the big thing by catching Oreb and Zeb, and what could I do in comparison to you?
And he also sort of plays on their geographical pride by saying, well, is not the gleaning of the grapes of Ephraim better than the vintage of Abiezer?
He's saying, you know, you guys, your wine country or your produce of grapes is actually of a higher quality than what we even have.
I mean, you guys are wealthy, you guys are doing great, we're nothing, you know what I mean?
Just, and you really, you guys really were the ones who shone out there on the battlefield today.
And then they're just like, oh, well, yeah, I guess, you know, yeah, I guess you're kind of right.
I see what you're saying.
And it says at the end of verse 3, then their anger was abated toward him when he had said that.
And what have we been saying about Gideon already over the last couple of weeks?
We've been saying that he's a humble guy.
And that's why he's able to do this.
That's why he's able to say something like this and compliment their geography.
It's just like today in the United States of America, you know, there's a little bit of a rivalry between states.
You know, certain states that just think they're so cool and better than everybody.
You know, I don't want to name any names, but, oh, Texas, excuse me.
You know what I mean?
And they're just like, oh, man, you know, we're so cool.
There are certain states that feel that way.
And then other states are like, no, we're the best, we're the coolest.
You know, there's this big argument who had the first rodeo, you know, is it Payson, Arizona, or is it Odessa, Texas, or whatever.
And that's some kind of a, and I don't even know if it's Odessa.
Because, what is it?
Well, it doesn't matter because we all know it's from Payson.
We all know Payson is the original rodeo, and there's no awards for second place.
Second place is the first loser.
No, I'm just kidding.
Anyway, no, but the point is, you're right, it is Pecos, Texas.
Yeah, it's Pecos versus Payson.
Amen?
But the point is, who cares?
But the point is, you know, people, they do get really proud of their geography, and they're really into being from wherever.
And they think it's the coolest place, whatever.
So he's kind of, you know, he's like, hey, you guys are from a really cool place.
See, he's humble enough to compliment other people, play up their achievement, play down his own achievement.
Why?
For peace.
Because, you know what's going to happen if this situation escalates?
People are going to die.
In fact, if you don't believe me, flip over to chapter 11.
I'm sorry, chapter 12.
Flip over to chapter 12 in the very same book, very same people, very similar situation.
Look at Judges chapter 12, verse 1.
And the men of Ephraim gathered themselves together and went northward and said unto Jephthah,
so this is a different group of people, way later, different generation, okay, decades later,
Wherefore passeth thou over to fight against the children of Ammon, and didst not call us to go with thee?
Sound familiar?
We will burn thine house upon thee with fire.
And Jephthah said unto them, I and my people were at great strife with the children of Ammon,
and when I called you, you delivered me not out of their hands.
And when I saw that you delivered me not, I put my life in my hands and passed over against the children of Ammon,
and the Lord delivered them into my hand.
Wherefore then are you come up unto me this day to fight against me?
You know, he's like, what is your problem?
I needed help.
You guys weren't there.
You failed to show up.
I had to do your job for you.
And then what happens?
Obviously this thing escalates, and then it ends up being a big battle.
And of course, Jephthah wins.
And the Ephraim, my people, I mean, they're the ones who suffer the casualties,
but isn't it just better if nobody dies and you can just resolve things?
Because both people are supposed to be on the Lord's side.
So if you can get along with people, that's better, especially when your brothers and sisters in Christ,
you know, that would be the symbolism here, because these are all the people of the Lord here.
You don't want to have that civil war between God's people within the nation of Israel.
So it's better, and the Bible says that we should strive to live peaceably with all men if it's at all possible.
And so I prefer Gideon's approach in chapter 8 to Jephthah's approach in chapter 12,
because in chapter 8 there's no bloodshed, because he just de-escalates with the soft answer, turning away wrath.
So back to chapter 8, but then we're going to get to some people that Gideon doesn't have any patience for.
So Gideon, you know, placates the big ego guys from Ephraim.
Soft answer turns away wrath, because you know what?
They were participating, and they just had a weird attitude.
But look at verse 4.
And Gideon came to Jordan and passed over.
He and the 300 men that were with him faint, yet pursuing them.
So I mean, look, these guys are working hard.
I mean, they're going by day, they're going by night, they're chasing after the enemy.
They're in a big hurry, and they're faint, right?
I mean, and if you've ever done any kind of a big hike or a long-distance run, you've got to eat.
You've got to have fuel in order to keep going, or you're just going to run out of steam.
And they're chasing after this enemy.
They've already fought this great victory, and they're doing this for everybody.
I mean, the whole nation of Israel is going to benefit from defeating these enemies of the Lord,
because if you remember, again, you know, going back a couple weeks,
the Midianites are taking all their food, trashing the land, destroying everything.
That's hurting everybody.
And Gideon's doing something about it.
He's being used by God.
He's doing the work of God.
He's faint, but he's still chasing after them.
And he said unto the men of Succoth, give, I pray, you loaves of bread unto the people that follow me.
For they be faint, and I am pursuing after Ziba and Zalmunna kings of Midian.
He's like, look, I'm going after the kings of Midian.
We've already defeated the princes, Oreb and Zib.
We're going after the kings of Midian.
And he's not even asking for himself.
He's saying, look, give the men that are following me bread.
These guys are doing God's work.
You've got to help us out.
And the princes of Succoth said, are the hands of Ziba and Zalmunna now in thine hand,
that we should give bread unto thine army?
And Gideon said, therefore, when the Lord had delivered Ziba and Zalmunna into mine head,
then I will tear your flesh with thorns of the wilderness and with briars.
So then he goes after them, you know.
What's going on here?
I think a spiritual application that we could make from this is,
number one, people that aren't participating in the work of the Lord whatsoever are part of the problem.
Like, if you're not part of the solution, you're part of the problem.
Because here's what Jesus Christ said.
He said, he that is not with me is against me, and he that gathereth not with me scattereth abroad.
He said, look, if you're not gathering toward Christ, you're scattering.
You know, if you're not, you say, well, you know, I never preach the gospel.
I never give the gospel or witness or go soul winning.
I don't do that, so I'm just kind of a neutral entity.
But the Bible says you're actually a negative on the kingdom of God.
He said, if you're not gathering with me, you're scattering.
So you're not at level zero if you do zero preaching of the gospel, zero witnessing, zero soul winning.
You're actually a negative.
You're in the hole.
You're going into the red spiritually, okay?
We need to be in the Lord's army.
We need to be serving God.
We need to stand up for Jesus.
And if we're not willing to participate in the work of the Lord, we're actually dead weight.
We're actually dragging down the work of God.
And look, I'm not the one who made up this concept.
Jesus said, he that is not with me is against me, and he that gathereth not with me scattereth abroad.
And what's the gathering?
You know, the metaphor there is about gathering the sheep.
You know, going out and finding the lost sheep and bringing them back to the fold.
That's a metaphor for soul winning in this case.
You know, going out and finding the lost and bringing them to Christ.
And he said, if you're not doing that, you're actually scattering.
You're actually harming.
You're actually a negative.
And so what I see here is that these people that refuse to have anything to do with the work of God.
He's not even asking them to be on the front lines or risk their lives.
He's just asking them to support the people who are risking their lives.
Support the people who are doing the work.
And they just won't pitch in.
They want to benefit spiritually, but they don't want to pitch in.
You know, it kind of reminds me of, for example, you know, obviously this is kind of on everybody's mind.
There was this Pastor Bruce Mejia situation where the Sodomites bombed his church building.
Literally bombed his church building.
And that's not the worst thing that they did.
The worst thing that they did was just parading their disgusting selves around his church and bullhorning while he was trying to preach.
And they're trying to disrupt his services and defile the minds of the children by screaming and yelling perverted things.
And dressing and looking in a perverted way.
And so he's in a battle.
You know, and obviously myself, Pastor Mejia, other pastors who preach the Word of God, you know, we're actually putting ourselves at risk.
Because, you know, Pastor Mejia is getting so many death threats right now.
And obviously there is real danger in a sense because they've already blown up his church building.
So obviously these people are willing to use violence on some level.
And so the point is that, you know, when you've got a guy like Pastor Mejia, he's putting himself out there.
He's standing up to an agenda that we all agree is wicked.
Any child of God is going to admit that this LGBT Sodomite agenda is a wicked agenda.
It's destroying America.
It's corrupting our youth.
It's destroying their minds.
It's brainwashing them with filth.
And it's just turning our country into a Sodom and Gomorrah.
I mean, everybody agrees.
Every Christian agrees with that.
And not even just independent Baptists.
I mean, just every Christian says, hey, this is really bad.
But then you've got a guy who's doing something about it.
He's actually confronting these people.
And he's, you know, just like the apostle Paul has brought before, like Felix and Agrippa and stuff.
You know, he's being brought before like the city supervisor and the mayor and the police chief.
And he's, you know, preaching unto these people.
And he's preaching in the media.
And he was on the Alex Jones show, which is a pretty big audience.
And he's preaching the gospel.
And so, you know, can people just at least back him up?
You know, at least help him out.
You know, encourage him.
Back him up.
But you've got the armchair quarterbacks kind of just sitting there and just kind of like, well, you know, I wouldn't have said it exactly like that.
But it's like, well, what are you doing to stop this, you know, Sodomite onslaught in our country?
What are you doing?
What are you really doing to actually teach people the truth on this?
Because, you know, when we get up and we preach these sermons about the truth on the Sodomites and they get, you know, 100,000 views on YouTube, 10,000 views.
Some things even get up to a million views on these subjects.
You know what we're doing?
We're actually changing people's minds.
A lot of, we're changing a lot of people's minds.
Why? Because the truth is powerful.
And the word of God is quick and powerful and sharper than any two-edged sword.
And the word of God is not going to return void.
It's going to accomplish the thing that it sent out to do.
God's word has power.
And that's why there's so much censorship right now of the word of God because God's word is powerful.
They don't want the truth to get in there and cut to the heart because, I'm telling you, it changes people's views on this.
It makes a difference.
It matters.
But you've got this attitude amongst the men of Sukkoth and basically their attitude is also one of,
number one, it's like, well, we don't want to get involved.
We don't want to pitch in.
Even though they're all going to benefit, they don't want to contribute anything.
They don't want to be a part of it.
But I think there's also an attitude of waiting to see how things turn out.
Because what is it that they actually say?
Well, are the heads of Zibun Zalmana now in thine hand?
Come back and talk to us if you win.
Because you wonder maybe are they thinking, well, we don't know which way this is going to go.
So we don't want to side with the man of God because what if the Midianites come back with a vengeance and they win.
We want to be like, oh, man, we didn't help out.
We didn't help Gideon out.
We weren't with Gideon at all.
They're kind of waiting to see how it's going to go.
Do you see what I'm saying?
And there are a lot of people like that too.
They won't support you.
They won't stand with you.
They won't encourage you or help you until they see whether you're going to win or not.
Well, spoiler alert, we're always winning.
And so Pastor Mehid is going to win.
But here's the thing.
I don't care if he wins or not.
I'm still on his side.
You know what I mean?
Like whatever that even means, whatever it means to win, to me, I'm not waiting to see how it's going to turn out.
I don't care how it turns out.
I'm going to side with the man of God that's preaching the truth and I'm not going to side with a bunch of perverts.
You know, this is simple for me.
I'm not going to wait and see, well, is it going to be the Midianites or is it going to be Gideon?
It's just Gideon.
We're just going to go with Gideon, okay?
We're just going to go with the Lord.
We're going to be on the Lord's side all the time.
These people are like, well, let's see how it turns out.
They're not involved.
They won't even give moral support.
In fact, that's discouraging.
I mean, how do you think Gideon feels for his troops to hear that message?
Oh, man, thank goodness.
These are our friends.
We can just get a quick bite to eat so we can just get some calories so that we can chase after the enemy.
And it's like, well, what did they say, Gideon?
Well, they said, you know, we don't even know if you guys are going to succeed.
Oh, well, thanks for the vote of no confidence.
Think about that.
So, you know, you've got idiots that will literally discourage preachers when they're in their time of need.
You know, and I remember going through this back in 2009 and again in 2014, just having people literally call me,
like people I hadn't talked to in years, just people from the past just calling me out of the blue just to tell me what an idiot I am.
You know, while I'm in the midst of taking the Sodomites to task, and I'm thinking to myself, you call yourself a Christian,
you call yourself a child of God, and you're going to just side with sexual perverts and pedophiles
and rapists against your brother in Christ who preached exactly what the Bible said.
You know, I mean, it's not like Brother Mejia and myself and everybody else don't have chapter and verse on these things all day long.
Because we've got Leviticus 2013 all day long, we've got Romans 1 all day long, we've got Jude, we've got 2 Peter chapter 2,
we've got clear scripture all day long, okay?
And yet, they want to side with freaks and weirdos and people that literally hate the Lord.
And you know what? Brother Mejia loves the Lord in his heart.
The Sodomites hate the Lord in their heart.
Who do you want to support?
Whose side are you on?
I mean, that should be a no-brainer.
And you know what? Gideon versus the Midianites should be a no-brainer.
It should just be, we're with Gideon.
Sword of the Lord and of Gideon.
Let's do it.
Here's a sandwich, Gideon.
Here's a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.
Get out there and continue chasing these guys.
That's the right answer.
And not to sit there and say, well, you know, I mean, I don't know how this is going to turn out.
And he said, okay, well, here's what I'm going to do.
I'm going to come back here and I'm going to knock down your stupid tower
and I'm going to give you guys a whipping.
He's going to actually whip them.
He's going to physically punish these guys.
You know, he's going to actually do something worse than that
because he's going to tear their flesh with thorns and briars.
He's going to throw them into the briar patch, amen?
So, but they're not like the tar baby or burr rabbit rather.
Does anybody even know what that is?
Who knows what I'm talking about?
Virtually no one.
Man, what's wrong with this generation?
Uncle Remus stories, come on.
So he went up thence to Penuel and spake unto them likewise.
And the men of Penuel answered him as the men of Succoth had answered him.
And he spake also unto the men of Penuel saying, when I come again in peace, I'll break down this tower.
So the men of Succoth, frankly their attitude kind of Succoth, you know.
And so he ends up having to go hungry.
Verse number 10.
Now Zeban and Zalmana were in Carcor and their hosts with them, about 15,000 men,
all that were left of all the hosts of the children of the east,
for there fell 120,000 men that drew sword.
And Gideon went up by the way of them that dwelt in tents on the east of Nobah and Jogbeha.
And smote the hosts, for the host was secure.
And when Zeban and Zalmana fled, he pursued after them and took the two kings of Midian,
Zeba and Zalmana, and discomfited all the hosts.
You know, this is almost more amazing than what we saw in chapter 7.
Because, you know, that was the whole, you know, break the pitchers, shine the light, blow the trumpet.
Everybody's scared.
Everybody turns on each other, gets confused, runs away.
Men of Ephraim had them off at the pass.
The pincher attacked.
Boom.
You know, this is pretty amazing.
I mean, it's 300 guys.
It's the same 300 guys.
They're tired.
They're still going.
No food because the idiot Israelites that won't support them.
And then they still go in and just defeat an army that the Bible describes as being secure.
I mean, they're secure, but that didn't stop Gideon from going in there with 300 guys and whipping them.
And so it's amazing.
He discomfited all the hosts, meaning that he put them to confusion.
It's a rout.
They're discombobulated and running every which way.
He defeats them.
Verse 13.
And Gideon, the son of Joash, returned from battle before the sun was up and caught a young man of the men of, of those men that sucketh.
No, I'm just kidding.
Of the men of sucketh and inquired of him.
And he described unto him the princes of sucketh and the elders thereof, even threescore and seventeen men.
So basically he's saying, look, I want to know who actually made this decision because he, you know, the men of sucketh told him this, but he probably got it through like a courier or something through a messenger.
So basically he says, describe for me basically the people who make this decision, the, the, the legislators or the, the body of elders or, you know, their little Senate or whatever they have.
And so, you know, he describes unto them, hey, this is who you're looking for.
And it's these guys that number threescore and seventeen men, seventy-seven guys.
And, and he came unto the men of sucketh and said, behold, Zebunzalmunna, with whom you did abrade me, saying, are the hands of Zebunzalmunna now in thine hand that we should give bread unto thy men that are weary?
And he took the elders of the city and thorns of the wilderness and briars and with them he taught the men of sucketh.
So school is in session for these guys.
So, you know, whatever that means to teach them with the thorns, if he's whipping them with it or just, I don't know, I guess, I guess this reminds me of the Sunday school song.
If the devil doesn't like it, you can sit on a tack.
You know, it's sort of that idea.
It's somehow these guys are getting their flesh tore up with thorns.
He's, he's not killing them.
He's just punishing them.
He's just teaching them.
He's, he's a, he was, his spiritual gift was teaching.
So he teaches them with the thorns and the briars and then he also beat down the tower of Pennywell and slew the men of the city.
So those guys actually end up dying.
Then said he unto Zebunzalmunna, what manner of men were they whom you slew at Tabor?
And they answered, as thou art, so were they.
Yeah, wrong answer.
Yeah, they actually looked a lot like you, Gideon.
Well, that's because they're my relatives.
They're my brethren, right?
He said, you know, as thou art, so were they.
Each one resembled the children of a king.
And he said, they are my brethren, even the sons of my mother.
As the Lord liveth, if he had saved them alive, I would not slay you.
And he said unto Jethur, his firstborn, up and slay them.
But the youth drew not his sword for he feared because he was yet a youth.
Then Zebunzalmunna said, rise thou and fall upon us, for as the man is, so is his strength.
And Gideon arose and slew Zebunzalmunna and took away the ornaments that were on their camels' necks.
So Gideon has a young son.
And the Bible tells us this is his firstborn son.
Because other sons of Gideon are going to come into play, especially over the next chapter.
But here we see he has this son, Jethur, and he's still a youth.
He's young and it's his oldest son.
Because this is many, many years before the events in chapter 9 that we're going to get to.
And so he says to Jethur in verse 20, up and slay them.
So he's basically telling his son, he's like, hey son, kill these guys, right?
Because, you know, they've chased after these guys.
These are the kings of Midian, Zebunzalmunna.
And they've got him, they're captured, and somebody needs to execute these guys.
And so he tells his son to do it.
But his son is afraid to do it.
He feared to do it.
And the Bible says he feared because he was yet a youth.
You know, he's young, he's scared, he doesn't do it.
So then Zebunzalmunna say to Gideon, hey, why don't you just do it yourself?
And Gideon says, okay.
And he does it himself.
And Gideon ends up killing him.
Now, here's the significance of this.
Right after this, look what it says right after this in verse 22.
Then the men of Israel said unto Gideon, rule thou over us, both thou and thy son.
And thy son's son also, for thou has delivered us from the hand of Midian.
Now, has Jethur, his son, shown himself to be the kind of leader that they need?
He's a youth.
He is feared to draw the sword.
He's certainly not any kind of a warrior because he's not even willing to just execute these guys,
let alone actually go out and fight where people are fighting back.
Okay.
And this just goes to show you how wrong it is to have this type of hereditary thing
where basically regardless of merits, regardless of achievements, regardless of character,
the son just automatically takes over.
You know, rule over us and your son.
It's like, well, did you just see my son five minutes ago
because he didn't really seem like he's ready to take you into battle
and defeat the Midianites and do great exploits for you.
And here's what you have to understand.
If you think about in history events like the French Revolution, okay,
why did the French Revolution happen?
Why is everybody so mad?
Because you have this noble class, you have the nobility, and they own everything,
and they have all kinds of money and land, and they're the bosses.
And then you have everybody else.
And this system is known as feudalism.
But here's the thing about feudalism.
Feudalism, when it fell in the French Revolution and at other times and other places,
had degenerated into something that it didn't really start out as
because it's not really as bad as how it got before the French Revolution.
Because here's what you have in the French Revolution.
A bunch of just lazy fat cat landlords abusing the serfs
who do all the hard manual labor, and they don't have rights,
and they don't get to live the high life like the nobles, and they're just born into it.
You know, you're either born a noble or you're born a commoner.
But that's not where that system comes from.
Here's where the system actually came from.
Where the system actually came from is that men would go out and do great exploits in battle.
They'd be sort of like David's mighty men.
You know, he had his 30 mighty men.
Guys would go out and do great exploits in battle.
And for their exploits in battle, the king would give them weapons,
and he would give them armor, and he would give them land and these different privileges
because of the fact that they're his retainers.
And when things go bad, when the country needs to be defended,
these are the guys that we're going to turn to, these mighty warriors.
And they're going to show up, and they've got the gear, and they've got the servants,
and they've got the armor, and they've got the swords, and they know how to fight.
And they had a purpose in society.
They're not just these fat cat landlords.
That's not what was the intent of giving these people titles.
Look, they weren't giving Elton John the title of nobility.
Sir Paul McCartney.
Back then, the people who got these titles of nobility,
it's because they're out there risking their lives.
They're great warriors that are defending the nation, and they're earning respect.
They're earning titles.
They're earning status and financial reward for these works that they're doing.
But then what happens is, then their son just grows up with a silver spoon in his mouth,
doesn't do any of the fighting, but he's just Duke so-and-so or Count so-and-so or whatever
because he's the son of that guy.
And then pretty soon, it's just generations go by of peace,
and you just have a bunch of kids who just hereditary title is given unto them
that they didn't earn, that they didn't do anything for.
And so that's what you see.
I hope that helps you to understand a little bit of that history.
But biblically, what do we need to understand?
Just because you have a good king doesn't mean his son's going to be a good king.
Just because you have a good prophet doesn't mean his son's going to be a good prophet.
Just because you have a good judge doesn't mean his son's going to be a good judge.
And so you're supposed to pick leadership based on the quality of that individual,
based on their achievements, based on their merits, based on their character.
And look, it might not even be that his son is a bad guy.
I'm not saying that Jethur's a bad guy.
For all I know, Jethur was a great kid, a wonderful kid who loved the Lord,
loved his parents, and had a lot of great qualities.
I'm not saying anything about him, but he's not cut out to be the next Gideon.
Gideon is surprised that he won't draw the sword and do what he needs to do.
And here's the thing.
In order to be a leader of God's people, you have to have that killer instinct.
And let me tell you what I mean by that is that there are some people who are just too nice
so they never want to fight any battles.
Now look, people that are too nice, you know, they're nice people.
And so, you know, you like having them around.
You like to hang around with them.
But you can't put somebody who's a total bleeding heart, nice guy, all the time,
unwilling to ever fight, unwilling to ever draw the sword.
You know, you might want to have that guy around,
but it doesn't necessarily mean that you want to put that guy in charge.
Because if you have a leader like that who's not willing to stand, not willing to fight,
doesn't have the ability to execute judgment,
wicked people are going to run over him roughshod.
He's not going to be able to withstand the tide of evil.
Because there's a constant pressure on leaders to compromise the word of God,
to change, to be liberal, to back down, to change the doctrine, to change the church.
And you got to have a leader that's willing to say no.
And when I say killer instinct, you know, you think about the image that people have of justice,
where justice is often pictured as a woman who is blindfolded
with balances in one hand and a sword in the other hand.
And the idea there is that the scales represent the punishment matching the crime.
The blindfold represents the fact that you're not going to respect persons in judgment.
But you're not going to go by the outward appearance, but you're going to judge righteous judgment.
And you're not going to prefer one above another, but you're going to be impartial in judgment.
And the sword represents the fact that if someone's guilty,
you will punish them.
And here's what the Bible says over and over again in the Old Testament when he talks about the death penalty
for kidnappers, murderers, rapists, et cetera.
You know what he often says?
Thine eye shall not pity.
Thine eye shall not pity him.
Because he knows that there's a tendency to say, oh, come on, man, you know, do we really have to do this?
He says, look, there's certain situations where people have done something where the death penalty has got to be carried out.
And, I mean, look, there are people today who are totally against the death penalty even for someone like John Wayne Gacy.
Even for someone like Charles Manson.
Even for someone like Jeffrey Dahmer.
There are people who tell you no death penalty for him.
Who here thinks that it's right to give Jeffrey Dahmer the death penalty?
Yeah, I mean, so we're like all day long.
But there are some people out there who are just like, well, no, you know, and they would even back off from someone who does that.
I'm not even going to say what he did.
But you know what he did.
Horrific things.
If anybody deserved the death penalty, it's someone like that.
But there are people out there who say, no, it's cruel.
Do you want those people to be in charge?
You want those people running society?
Do you want those kind of people running a home, running a church?
I mean, you've got, look, you've got to have the ability to judge.
Now, obviously the death penalty is extreme.
But that's what we're dealing with here.
We're dealing with two men that are being put to death for what they've done.
You know, and in many cases, there are situations where people deserve to be put to death, OK?
But typically, we, you know, as a pastor of a church, as a father in the home, as a manager in your company, you're not going to be putting people to death, obviously.
But what you will be doing, though, is sometimes having to mete out punishments.
You know, some parents won't even spank their children.
It's just like, well, I love them too much.
I can't spank my children.
It's like, whoa, buddy, he that spareth his rod hateth his son.
He that loveth them chasteth them betimes.
Or what about management at the company that just lets the employees do whatever they want and never comes down on them, never writes anybody up, never docks anybody's pay or enforces any rules?
I mean, what eventually happens?
The company is going to go downhill fast.
You've got to have some discipline in a company.
You've got to have discipline in the military.
You've got to have discipline in the home when you have, especially like my house.
You know, we have 13 people under one roof.
You think everybody can just kind of do whatever they want?
Obviously, you've got to have some structure.
You've got to have some rules.
And so the point that I'm making here is that someone is not automatically qualified to lead because they're the son of someone.
And this is often referred to as nepotism.
It comes from the Latin word nepos, which means nephew.
And it has to do with the idea of, you know, the nephew getting hired.
Even though he doesn't have the skills, he just gets hired because he's the boss's nephew or whatever.
Okay.
So we don't want to have nepotism in the local church.
Okay.
And this is why none of my sons will ever preach in Faithful Word Baptist Church or pastor the church or be on staff here.
Now look, if any of my children want to go into the ministry, great.
I don't encourage them to do that or push them to do that because I don't want them to feel like, oh, well, I'm Pastor Anderson's kid, so maybe I should be a pastor.
You know, because that's based on the individual.
You know, if one of my sons is a pastor, fine.
But you know what?
It should be because he meets the qualifications because he desires the office of a bishop.
Because God is working in his heart, not just because he's mama called and papa sent.
And the thing is, he needs to be ordained and evaluated somewhere else.
This is why I say, like, I'm not going to put him behind the pulpit.
I'm not going to ordain him.
He's not going to pastor this church because, you know what, I'm not going to be an impartial judge of my sons, am I?
They need to go to some other church where they're not the pastor's son, where they have to prove themselves to another boss and to other people and be evaluated by other people that are impartial.
You know, and look, there are some good pastors who have been ordained by their dad, but I could give you a lot of bad examples.
You know what I mean?
And so I don't want you to go out of here and condemn, oh, you know, your dad is the one who ordained you.
That's nepotism.
You're a phony.
That's not what I'm saying.
I'm just saying a lot of times it goes bad.
A lot.
I've personally been in churches that were destroyed because the pastor's kid, as soon as he turns 18, he's on staff.
Next kid turns 18, he's on staff.
And they're making more money than anybody else on staff.
They're not qualified.
They're not cut out for the ministry, but they're just automatically put on staff, automatically paid, automatically given respect, automatically put behind the pulpit preaching to hundreds of people.
When they didn't earn that, they didn't get there the right way.
But it was handed unto them.
So this thing of, oh, rule over us and your son and your son's son.
I don't even have, Gideon's like, I don't even have a grandson.
And you already want him to rule over you?
And you don't even know what he's like.
He could be the biggest idiot ever.
How do you know?
Does everybody see what I'm saying?
And so this thing of just a hereditary leader, this is not good.
And you say, well, you know, there were some hereditary leaders in the Bible.
Okay, so we've got King Saul, who was obviously, you know, not hereditary.
He, you know, was chosen by God and he had the achievements and he fought the battles and got there himself.
Okay, but then he's replaced by David, who's not the hereditary leader.
But when it comes to David, God handpicked one of his sons to be the leader.
Notice that it didn't just go to the oldest son.
You know, Adonijah was the older brother and he thought he should be in charge.
Adonijah was the wrong guy to put in charge.
God handpicked, so even that wasn't just an automatic, you know.
Like in England, they have some chart, some complicated chart to tell you who's going to be king next.
Right?
Who's in line, Juja?
Help me out.
What?
Are you acting that way because I should know that?
Because I'm supposed to care?
Because guess what?
I don't!
What?
Yeah, but I haven't been alive that long, so I'm only responsible for 39 of those years.
Okay.
She's like, well, he's been in line for, you know, 70 years or something.
It's like, well, you can only count 39 of that as me supposedly having, supposed to know about that.
But I don't care.
But anyway, you know, so Charles, right?
So what if Charles dies?
Who's next?
His oldest son?
Yeah, but here's the thing.
You could probably, like, you could probably chart this thing out and it's like, then it goes to this guy, then it goes to this guy.
Who's somebody that's like low on the list?
Who?
Yeah?
So Charles' sister's kids and grandkids, like, they would be on their side.
But there's a, I mean, it's laid out.
Yeah, it goes down the list and then it goes down another list.
You know, it's just, it's all set.
It's not like, well, let's look at all of the queen's descendants or all of the king's descendants and let's figure out which one, you know, didn't go to Epstein's Island, you know, and figure out, you know, let's figure out which one isn't a complete freak and a weirdo.
And, you know, that's not what it is at all.
It's just, you're just in line.
It just goes to the next in line.
That's not how it was with David's son because, you know, Solomon's handpicked.
But then, okay, who's after Solomon?
Adonijah.
I'm not Adonijah.
That's the guy that tried to supplant him.
But Rehoboam is next.
Okay, but how'd that work out?
You know, and you go down that list of guys and, yeah, you have some good guys in there, but you have a lot of bad guys in there too, don't you?
Did you really? Show me where you just have a whole bunch of good kings right in a row in Judah.
It's a back and forth, usually bad, sometimes good, sometimes it's kind of like, eh, they were okay.
So hereditary is not the way to go.
And I've just been so bothered by this in my life and in my formative years.
I had bad experiences with this where I watched churches be ripped apart by this that I've just said, you know what?
I'm not going to put my kids in that position.
I'm not going to put that kind of pressure on them.
And I'm not going to also elevate them to a status that they haven't earned.
And if they want to earn it, they're going to have to earn it somewhere else so that they can actually do it based on achievements, not just because they're the pastor's sons.
You know, and honestly, I, you know, I don't, I think chances are none of them will go into the ministry because of the fact that, you know, there aren't really that many pastors in the church.
Am I right? I mean, think about it.
Look, you know, it was hundreds of people in the church.
How many of them, you know, go into the ministry full time?
Only a very small percentage.
So statistically, the chances are slim.
But that's okay.
So what?
Because like we said earlier, it doesn't matter whether you're the ear or the nose or the hand or the foot.
Hey, I just want my children to grow up and just be godly members of the church.
Just godly soul-winning members, laymen.
That's great.
And like I said, if one of them goes into the ministry, I'm fine with that.
But it's not like a foregone conclusion at all.
Okay.
And in fact, I would even be more cautious with them and say, hey, are you sure that this is something that you actually want to do?
Because of the fact that, you know, you don't want to just, like you're just trying to just duplicate what I do or something.
You know, you got to live your own life.
Am I right?
And I mean, sure, we follow our parents and we learn things from our parents.
We're going to mimic things from our parents.
We're going to, you know, lots of things about my life.
I can see analogies of that in my mom and in my dad.
And obviously, I'm like them.
They raised me.
And my kids are going to have attributes of myself and my wife.
But they're also going to be their own person that does their own thing.
And so I'm spending a lot of time on this, but I just I think it just kind of jumps off the page at you.
Everything in the Bible is there for a reason.
Jethur won't draw the sword.
He's fearful.
He's a youth.
Two verses later, let's put him in charge.
You know, I don't think that's a coincidence that the Bible lays it out that way.
I think he's showing us a mentality that's out there that's a wrong mentality.
Okay.
And we're going to find out what Gideon's kids are like, by the way.
And it's not a pretty picture.
And it gets ugly in the next chapter real fast.
Okay.
So I got to hurry because I'm out of time.
I just want to just touch on this briefly.
And some of it I'm just going to save for next week and kind of roll into Chapter 9 because it kind of goes with the Chapter 9 story.
But just quickly, you know, Gideon, he says, hey, I'm not going to rule over you.
The Lord's going to rule over you.
I don't want to be a king because God didn't establish them as a monarchy.
He established them actually as sort of like a representative republic, you know, where they're supposed to choose leaders and they're under the system of the judges.
And so he said, no, the Lord rules over you.
I'm not going to rule over you.
I'm not going to be the king, is what he's saying.
He's going to lead spiritually and he's going to judge them, but he's not going to be a king.
When they ask for a king later, God says they're wrong to ask for that, by the way.
So he says, here's what I want you to do.
I just want you to give me the golden earrings from your prey, P-R-E-Y, which is basically he's saying that the guys that they killed, the Midianites, the troops that they defeated, you know, you strip the slain.
After the battle, then you take the spoils, whatever money's on them, you know, you take their wallet out of their pocket and take their jewelry, knock out their gold teeth, whatever.
And so he just says, here's what I want.
He said, basically, this is my cut that I want.
I just want this is going to be my cut is I just want the earrings.
Like, you guys take all the other stuff, give me the golden earrings.
And he takes all the golden earrings and he melts them down and he creates this molten image of an ephod, which is not necessarily even a sinful image because, you know, the Bible tells not to make molten images of animals and humans and things like that, you know, because he doesn't want people worshipping false gods.
And false gods throughout history have been pictured as what?
Either humans or animals or some kind of a hybrid human animal.
So this is a molten image of an ephod, which is not an animal or a human.
It's an article of clothing.
It's like a priestly garment.
It's like what a man of God would wear in the Old Testament.
So it's a weird idea.
I don't know what he's thinking with the stupid modern art idea that he has of just like, you know, he's gonna make this golden ephod sculpture.
I think that his heart's probably in the right place because he's trying to do something spiritual like he wants to make some kind of a memorial about how the Lord helped them or something.
So he's doing this golden ephod because the ephod is a symbol of worshipping the Lord.
But the whole thing's misguided because the Bible says that guess what the children of Israel do?
They start worshipping the golden ephod.
Because these people will pretty much just worship anything you put in front of them, the idiots.
So anyway, you know, the children of Israel go whoring after this ephod.
It's just like, what in the world?
And it became a snare unto Gideon into his house.
So it was just a dumb idea.
It made no sense.
It's just kind of a footnote here.
And I'd preach about, you know, possible ramifications of that.
But there's really no time.
And then we'll get into next week about what happens with his sons.
Let's bow our heads and have a word of prayer.
Father, we thank you so much for this great chapter, Lord.
Help us to take these lessons to heart and learn from Gideon, Lord, that a soft answer turneth away wrath, grievous words stir up anger.
Help us not to pick fights with people that are actually on our team, that are on our side.
Help us not to pick needless fights.
But if there's any way we can avoid a fight and be at peace and avoid violence and bloodshed, Lord, help us to do that.
Help us to try to get along with people as much as we can.
And Lord, help us not to be like those men of Penuel and the men who basically said, hey, we'll see how it goes and we don't want to get involved.
Lord, help us to always side with your people, side with the man of God, side with the word of God, and help us to get involved in the work of God so that we're not dead weight unto the kingdom of God.
And Lord, help us all to live our own life and to do our own works and to stand on our own two feet before you and not to just rely on the faith of our parents.
But to have our own personal walk with you and to do our own works and be our own member of the local church. And in Jesus' name we pray, amen.
Amen, let's take our hymnals and turn to hymn number 29.
Hymn number 29 at the cross. Let's sing it on that first verse. Number 29, alas and did my Savior bleed. Number 29. Let's sing it on this first verse together now.
For such a world as I, at the cross, at the cross, where I first saw the light, when the burden of my heart pulled away, it was there by faith I received my sight and now I am happy all the day.
Was it for Christ that I had loved, he growled upon the tree, amazing with the grace of God and love beyond decree.
At the cross, at the cross, where I first saw the light, when the burden of my heart pulled away, it was there by faith I received my sight and now I am happy all the day.
But I'll find the Son in God's sight and shed his glory today. When Christ the mighty baker died, o'er can the creatures sing.
At the cross, at the cross, where I first saw the light, when the burden of my heart pulled away, it was there by faith I received my sight and now I am happy all the day.
But just a brief and merry day, the dead of love I owe. Here, Lord, I give myself away, it's all that I can do.
At the cross, at the cross, where I first saw the light, when the burden of my heart pulled away, it was there by faith I received my sight and now I am happy all the day.
.