Message Through Word
Title: God Rewards Gideon's Faith
Bible Verse: Judges 7:15-25
15 When Gideon heard the dream and its interpretation, he bowed down and worshiped. He returned to the camp of Israel and called out, "Get up! The Lord has given the Midianite camp into your hands."
16 Dividing the three hundred men into three companies, he placed trumpets and empty jars in the hands of all of them, with torches inside.
17 "Watch me," he told them. "Follow my lead. When I get to the edge of the camp, do exactly as I do.
18 When I and all who are with me blow our trumpets, then from all around the camp blow yours and shout, 'For the Lord and for Gideon.'"
19 Gideon and the hundred men with him reached the edge of the camp at the beginning of the middle watch, just after they had changed the guard. They blew their trumpets and broke the jars that were in their hands.
20 The three companies blew the trumpets and smashed the jars. Grasping the torches in their left hands and holding in their right hands the trumpets they were to blow, they shouted, "A sword for the Lord and for Gideon!"
21 While each man held his position around the camp, all the Midianites ran, crying out as they fled.
22 When the three hundred trumpets sounded, the Lord caused the men throughout the camp to turn on each other with their swords. The army fled to Beth Shittah toward Zererah as far as the border of Abel Meholah near Tabbath.
23 Israelites from Naphtali, Asher and all Manasseh were called out, and they pursued the Midianites.
24 Gideon sent messengers throughout the hill country of Ephraim, saying, "Come down against the Midianites and seize the waters of the Jordan ahead of them as far as Beth Barah." So all the men of Ephraim were called out and they seized the waters of the Jordan as far as Beth Barah.
25 They also captured two of the Midianite leaders, Oreb and Zeeb. They killed Oreb at the rock of Oreb, and Zeeb at the winepress of Zeeb. They pursued the Midianites and brought the heads of Oreb and Zeeb to Gideon, who was by the Jordan.
Introduction:
"Faith is deliberate confidence in the character of God whose ways you may not understand at the time" (Oswald Chambers)
I. God Gave Him Wisdom to Prepare the Army (vv.15-18)
15 When Gideon heard the dream and its interpretation, he bowed down and worshiped. He returned to the camp of Israel and called out, "Get up! The Lord has given the Midianite camp into your hands."
16 Dividing the three hundred men into three companies, he placed trumpets and empty jars in the hands of all of them, with torches inside.
17 "Watch me," he told them. "Follow my lead. When I get to the edge of the camp, do exactly as I do.
18 When I and all who are with me blow our trumpets, then from all around the camp blow yours and shout, 'For the Lord and for Gideon.'"
Gideon's plan was simple but effective. He gave each of his men a trumpet to blow, a jar to break, and a torch to burn. "Watch me and follow my lead and do exactly as I do" (v.17)
No longer do we hear Gideon asking "if—why—where" (6:13-17); instead, he confidently gave orders to his men, knowing that the Lord would give them the victory.
God frequently trims our resources to get us to depend entirely on Him.
Where God Guides, He provides (Isaiah 58:11)
11 The Lord will guide you always;
he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land
and will strengthen your frame.
You will be like a well-watered garden,
like a spring whose waters never fail.
We were not meant to do life in our own strength but to soar through life by the power of the Holy Spirit (Isaiah 40:31)
31 but those who hope in the Lord
will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
they will run and not grow weary,
they will walk and not be faint.
God doesn't want us to rely on our own strength but to rely on His strength and power, which we receive by His grace (2 Corinthians 12:9)
9 But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me.
Relying on God's strength means trusting Him even when we don't understand how the good will come out of our circumstances (Proverbs 3:5-6)
5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart
and lean not on your own understanding;
6 in all your ways submit to him,
and he will make your paths straight.
Direction and open doors come as we trust God and rely on Him.
Our weaknesses make room for us to receive God's power and strength If we look to Him and ask Him. So remember, rely on God's strength.
II. God gave Him courage to lead the Army. (vv. 19-22)
Gideon's Faith was greatly strengthened when he heard the enemy soldier's dream (vv. 13-14)
He worshiped God and was ready to tell his troops that God has given them the victory (v. 15)
Do not allow God's gracious revelations in our lives to be a dead letter.
Act upon them, that our lives may be brought into subjection and harmony with His Will.
When we obey God in small things, He will increase our spiritual strength for the days ahead, and like Gideon's, our faith will increase and God will help us live victoriously for Him.
"The promises of God shine brightest in the furnace of affliction, and it is in claiming those promises that we gain the victory" (Charles Spurgeon)
III. God gave Him the opportunity to enlarge the army (vv. 23-25)
It was obvious that 300 men couldn't pursue thousands of enemy soldiers, so Gideon sent out a call for more volunteers.
The story of Gideon began with a man hiding In a winepress (6:11), but it ended with the enemy prince being slain at a winepress.
The day of Midian was a great day that Israel would never forget.
There are unique moments in our lives when God gives us an open door that can change everything, but if we let it slip by, we can find ourselves living with regret and dreaming of what could have happened.
Learn to recognize the God-given opportunities (2 Corinthians 2:12-13)
12 Now when I went to Troas to preach the gospel of Christ and found that the Lord had opened a door for me,
13 I still had no peace of mind, because I did not find my brother Titus there. So I said goodbye to them and went on to Macedonia.
Doors gives us access to new places and experiences, and they move us to new levels of faith and growth.
Conclusion:
Faith means more than simply trusting God, it also means seeking God and wanting to please Him. We don't trust God just to get Him to do things for us. We trust Him because it brings joy to His heart. When His children rely on Him, seek Him and please Him.