WEBVTT

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Music Music Music Music is We have been working

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through the story of Gideon, and we'll get there

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in a minute. So you know that Gideon was called

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to fight really what was one of the greatest

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battles of Israel of all time. He was called

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to fight a huge, massive army. Does anybody remember

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how many warriors, the Bible says, were in the

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Gideonite army with the Gideonites and all the

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Sotheby's? Yes, to reach the horizon. It doesn't

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give a number, right? Camels and camel riders

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and warriors to reach the horizon. As far as

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the eye could see. And Gideon was called to fight

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them and first called up men. There was 22 ,000

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men. That sounds like a lot of men, but it was

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probably nothing compared to enough to reach

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the horizon. In fact, we know they can't side

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of the valley, and so they did pretty good. And

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then... got rid of his army down to just 300

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to fight the most massive battle that Israel

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had ever placed. When I was about 20 or so, I

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went to the University of Toledo, and there I

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saw some guys doing foam weapon fighting. There's

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a group called the SCA, and I can't remember

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what their acronym stands for, but it's a reenactment

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society, and they reenact medieval battles. And

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I saw there a guy using what's considered to

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be a broadsword. It's like a hand and a half

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sword. You can kind of put your hand on here,

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but it doesn't feel real comfortable to put both

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of them on. It's not really a two -handed sword.

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And it was the first time I had ever seen anybody

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fighting with a weapon like that. And the broadsword

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technique, when you're on the advance, is you

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strike to the right. And then if the other person

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has a shield or a parry, right, then you straight

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back to the left. So you're advancing forward,

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left, right, left, right, and you keep going.

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Now, because the middle of the sword state is

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in front of you, you've kind of got a parry going

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on at the same time, blocking this middle area.

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But it's right, left, right, until their defense

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fails, until they no longer have a shield or

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whatever. But there is a parry as well. So to

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parry with a big weapon like this, you don't

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try to do this. Right? Because once you get it

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down, you're going to get it back up. You're

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pulling with your tricep and your back of your

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forearm. And you're going to try to pull this

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big heavy sword, which normally would be made

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of steel and weigh over 20 pounds. Pull this

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big heavy sword back up into place. You don't

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really do that. So to parry with a weapon like

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this, you go down with the palm. You go down

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like that. You've got to cross guard, protect

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your hand. Once it gets low enough, unless they're

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literally swinging at your shoes, right? Then

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once it gets low enough, your hand is protected

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and the blade protects you. And if you come up,

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then you can lift their blade up and strike.

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That's called a repose, where you block and parry,

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where you block, push their sword away, and then

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strike. So parry and strike. There we go. The

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repose is when you strike at one area, and then

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you don't strike hard, but they parry that area,

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and then you rapidly come around and strike on

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the other side. So there are a lot of tactics

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that one can use with a sword. So if I were Gideon

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and... his 300 men, I'd be thinking about how

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can I best use my sword? And I think we probably

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widowed the army down to a pretty good small

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number. They weren't being widowed down based

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on their skill or what maneuvers they knew or

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anything like that. They were widowed down based

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on how they drank from the water. That's a little

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weird. That doesn't necessarily mean that some

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of them probably never fought before, right?

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Maybe some of them didn't even own swords and

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they got swords when somebody was leaving or

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they didn't have a sword to go into battle with

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at the time. That's probably kind of very scary.

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The bottom line is you'd hope that those 300

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men would be pretty ready to do a lot of different

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things. Their sword, right? To face an army that

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reaches to the horizon. So they go into battle

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and Gideon equips them. And when he equips them,

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he equips them with not just one tool, but three.

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Three tools. The first was the ceramic pitcher.

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Now this one's pretty small. We don't actually

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know what size those were, but we know they probably

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weren't huge because this is a mobile force,

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right? So you go out to join the army, you don't

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take your big old Kool -Aid pitcher, right? So

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it's some kind of pitcher bigger than a flagon,

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probably, because it was a flagon. It might have

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been called something like that. And so they

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gave them a pitcher. Now I don't see this for,

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you know, I don't know what this is going to

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do against somebody with a weapon, a shield.

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Whenever you hit their shield, it's going to

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break. It was made of the same kind of material

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as this. So it's pretty fragile. It's going to

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break pretty easily. So I'm not sure. I mean,

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you could throw it at somebody. If I threw it

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at Dennis, he'd probably freak out right now

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before he did it or try to block it, period.

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Or maybe just hit the face like this. Like, why

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did he do that? Whatever. So I really just don't

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see it much for parrying strike, riposte, that

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back and forth smash thing, low parries. It's

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not going to work. Not a very useful tool for

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that. And then the second tool that he gave them

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was a torch. This is a toy torch, as you can

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see here. You push it and you can see how it

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lights up and makes cool cricket sounds, right?

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And then when they go to take it, as we read

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about it in a moment, and they go to take the

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bat, they put the torch in the pitcher, like

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that. So they can hold it all three items in

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one hand, or in hand at the same time. So they've

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got the pitcher, and it might have been like

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this probably, right? Because they're thinking,

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that pitcher, it's not going to be really useful

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for combat. So we're going to put the torch in

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there, like that. And then we're going to put

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our most important tool in the other hand. Right?

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Nope, now we're not going to do one of those.

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We're going to do this. Okay? So now this is

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our battle formation. 300 men with torches and

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pitchers and trumpets. Now this is a pretty fancy

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trumpet, but even this fairly fancy trumpet,

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which is probably more strong, right, than like

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a troubadour's trumpet, which is like a long

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straight tube with a bell on the end and a mouthpiece

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that's very similar to this one. And so as they

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get spread throughout, we'll see in the story,

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as they get spread all throughout this massive

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army that goes as far as, so some of these guys

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are probably a quarter mile, maybe as much as

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a mile. from each other. So this is like, this

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is not if somebody walked in this room and there's

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one person here and one over there, right in

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the corner, prepared to make noise or do whatever

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they're supposed to do, right? But rather, it'd

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be like if one person's standing here in this

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room, and then somebody's standing down on the

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corner of Sheldon, and then the next person's

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standing down on the corner of Starr and Sheldon,

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right? That's what it's like. 300 guys spread

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all throughout, and you could see each other

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sort of. With the torches in the dark dark camps

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pretty dark and burn torches when they were sleeping

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very much, right? And so you can kind of see

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each other but like If these guys come there's

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500 guys around you with nobody to fight alongside.

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No back -to -back No, nothing right and you have

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what a picture a torch and a truck and then the

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moment in time comes and Okay? And the trumpet

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sounds and the battle essentially begins. Grab

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your Bibles if you would. And go with me to Judges

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chapter 7. Thank you for those of you who are

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participating with me. If you missed the opportunity,

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let's do it now. Judges chapter 7. All right,

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very good. This is God's Word. It's not a very

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long text, and truthfully, it's not a very long

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sermon. I know people like not very long sermons,

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but it has some of the most powerful points for

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how to live as a Christian in a present age full

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of the mess that we see all around us in it.

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So I think it will be useful to us as a tool

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going forward. So Judges 7, beginning in verse

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16. Now, 15 we read last week, and it says, Then

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it came about when Gideon heard the account of

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the dream and its interpretation, that he bowed

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in worship. He returned to the camp of Israel

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and said, Arise, for the Lord has given the camp

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of Midian into your hands. And now we begin in

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16. And he divided the 300 men into three companies,

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and he put trumpets and empty pitchers into the

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hands of all of them, with torches inside the

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pitchers. There they are. Their hands are full.

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It doesn't say anything about swords. Some of

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them probably didn't even have swords. By the

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way, does anybody know, if you've not read ahead

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in the story, or even if you have, if you've

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read this story before, can someone tell me how

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many men these 300 men are about to kill? Without

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reading. Don't read it right now if you don't

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know. If you know, tell me. Anybody know? Want

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to take a stab at it? Okay, somebody said 3 ,000.

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Is that low or high, you think? Anybody else?

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Come on, Bible scholars, what? Okay, so that's

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our guess, tens of thousands. So the army stretches

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as far as the horizon. We know they're not going

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to wipe them out because you just can't get to

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them already. They're going to run away, and

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then they scare that, right? Thank you very much,

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Arden. Okay, so the answer will surprise you.

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Here we go. He divided the 300 men into three

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companies. And he put trumpets and empty pitchers

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into the hands of all of them with torches inside

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the pitchers. And he said to them, look at me

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and do likewise. And behold, when I come to the

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outskirts of the camp, do as I do. When I and

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all who are with me blow the trumpet, then you

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also blow the trumpets all around the camp and

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say, for the Lord and for Gideon, which is a

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great battle cry. 19, so Gideon. And the hundred

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men who were with him came to the outskirts of

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the camp at the beginning of the middle watch.

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And when they had just posted the watch and they

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blew the trumpets and smashed the pitchers that

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were in their hands. When the three companies

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blew the trumpets and broke the pitchers, they

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held the torches in their left hands and the

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trumpets in their right hands for blowing and

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cried, a sword for the Lord and for Gideon. And

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each stood in his place around the camp and all

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the army ran crying out as they fled. And when

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they blew 300 trumpets, the Lord set the sword

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of one against another, even throughout the whole

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army. And the army fled as far as Beth Shittah

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toward Zerah, as far as the edge of Abel Meholah

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by Tabath. And then the men of Israel were summoned

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from Naphtali and Asher and all Manasseh, and

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they pursued Midian. So I ask you now, how many

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men did those 300 men of Gideon kill to win this

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battle? None. Zero. Not 3 ,000, not tens of thousands.

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How many men does it take to make the enemy make

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a morale check? How many men does it take to

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make the enemy run away when the enemy already

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knows that his defeat is imminent? None. It takes

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none. Those two places named at the end there,

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Beth Shittah, the house of Acacia, and Ebel,

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Meholah, the house of the dance, are just not

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even famous places, but they began to run and

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scatter. And it was by about that time that the

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other Israelites who had been cast off from the

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army or had gone home and thought, well, I really

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wanted to be a part of that great victory or

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whatever they thought, I don't know, started

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to come out and they will systematically destroy

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the army of the Midianites. And of course, Gideon

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and his men will surely join in at that time.

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So the first thing I wanted you to see in the

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text today was the thing that caught me, frankly,

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a little bit by surprise, even though I've read

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this story I don't know how many times. And it

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is that they killed none. Zero. They killed none

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because the truth is their best effort was insufficient.

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If they had killed one each, that's 300 men,

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300 men died in their sleep or as they began

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to wake up and were scared, caught off guard

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when they killed 300 men, that's nothing. That

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army is so huge, reaches as far as the right,

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there's no way they're going to run under a loss

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of 300 men. If they each killed 10, which would

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take a couple minutes, at least a few, you've

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got to catch them off guard, hack them up a little

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bit, you know, kill guys who are running away,

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that kind of thing. After 10 minutes, if they

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had each killed 10, that'd be 3 ,000, and that's

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nothing. And if they had hacked somehow, I can't

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imagine how this would be. It would take like

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a blind army. We see that elsewhere in Scripture.

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But they have to be blind and surprised at the

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same time. And they had each hacked a hundred

00:13:32.960 --> 00:13:35.240
before any kind of a defense was mounted. That

00:13:35.240 --> 00:13:39.419
would be 30 ,000. That would be 30 ,000 men that

00:13:39.419 --> 00:13:41.679
they had killed. And that would not be enough

00:13:41.679 --> 00:13:45.000
to rout the enemy. See, the fact is they killed

00:13:45.000 --> 00:13:47.740
none not because they could kill none or not

00:13:47.740 --> 00:13:50.139
because they should kill none. but because their

00:13:50.139 --> 00:13:54.059
best effort was going to be insufficient. In

00:13:54.059 --> 00:13:56.480
the 1960s, the Congress of the United States

00:13:56.480 --> 00:14:00.379
of America posted on the wall in the Senate the

00:14:00.379 --> 00:14:03.720
words, in God we trust. They did that because

00:14:03.720 --> 00:14:07.590
that was a... strict alternative. It's true in

00:14:07.590 --> 00:14:09.110
the United States of America. It is a country

00:14:09.110 --> 00:14:11.330
founded on Christian values, even though as a

00:14:11.330 --> 00:14:13.169
democracy it might be a little bit broken at

00:14:13.169 --> 00:14:14.990
the moment because a lot of people are not coming

00:14:14.990 --> 00:14:17.049
to it with Christian values. But the bottom line

00:14:17.049 --> 00:14:19.490
is it was founded on Christian values. It is

00:14:19.490 --> 00:14:21.570
a democracy founded on Christian values. Democracy

00:14:21.570 --> 00:14:23.789
is not a Christian thing specifically, but it

00:14:23.789 --> 00:14:27.629
is a way to recognize that people have inalienable

00:14:27.629 --> 00:14:29.909
rights. People have rights as a human being.

00:14:30.090 --> 00:14:32.570
People have the ability to do things, and they

00:14:32.570 --> 00:14:33.970
have the ability to make up their mind, and they

00:14:33.970 --> 00:14:37.320
should have a voice. In the 1960s, we were faced

00:14:37.320 --> 00:14:39.960
with socialism in one corner and communism in

00:14:39.960 --> 00:14:42.460
another, and the truth is our nation was at risk.

00:14:43.480 --> 00:14:45.500
Not that we're not at risk today or haven't been

00:14:45.500 --> 00:14:47.120
at risk at other times, but the Senate decided

00:14:47.120 --> 00:14:49.200
that it was the proper thing to do at that time

00:14:49.200 --> 00:14:52.879
to post on the wall a reminder of whom we have

00:14:52.879 --> 00:14:56.419
placed our trust in. Who is it? And it is God.

00:14:56.580 --> 00:14:59.039
And the truth is it is a statement that the Senate

00:14:59.039 --> 00:15:02.080
cannot make laws to create justice or righteousness.

00:15:02.860 --> 00:15:05.639
The government cannot give you your rights or

00:15:05.639 --> 00:15:09.299
take your rights away. The rights are inalienable

00:15:09.299 --> 00:15:12.200
to humans. Among that first, of course, is the

00:15:12.200 --> 00:15:14.240
right to choose to follow God or not follow God.

00:15:14.279 --> 00:15:16.279
And by the way, that is a right given to you

00:15:16.279 --> 00:15:20.460
at creation by, guess who? God. God is the one

00:15:20.460 --> 00:15:22.279
who gives you the right to follow him or not.

00:15:22.500 --> 00:15:24.500
Now that's what's ironic about those who don't

00:15:24.500 --> 00:15:25.919
believe in God. They choose not to believe in

00:15:25.919 --> 00:15:28.200
God. They choose to be, for example, an atheist

00:15:28.200 --> 00:15:31.519
and to despise God and usually with very limited

00:15:31.519 --> 00:15:33.720
understanding of who God is, think that God cannot

00:15:33.720 --> 00:15:36.539
possibly exist and they'll even go around hatefully

00:15:36.539 --> 00:15:38.419
behaving toward those who do believe in God.

00:15:39.559 --> 00:15:41.820
But the fact is their freedom to not believe

00:15:41.820 --> 00:15:45.730
in God is a gift to them from God. Now what's

00:15:45.730 --> 00:15:47.570
even sadder than that is that while they are

00:15:47.570 --> 00:15:49.789
exercising that free gift that they have been

00:15:49.789 --> 00:15:53.149
given to hate Christians, to despise God and

00:15:53.149 --> 00:15:54.649
have nothing to do with God, that free gift that

00:15:54.649 --> 00:15:56.409
they were given at their creation by God, while

00:15:56.409 --> 00:15:58.909
they are exercising that free gift, many people

00:15:58.909 --> 00:16:00.929
who claim to be Christians are failing to exercise

00:16:00.929 --> 00:16:05.169
the free gift that God has given them. Who's

00:16:05.169 --> 00:16:07.570
got it right? The atheist who doesn't believe

00:16:07.570 --> 00:16:09.629
in God and hates God and hates Christians because

00:16:09.629 --> 00:16:12.029
Christians are clearly brainwashed or ridiculous

00:16:12.029 --> 00:16:15.610
in their logic? And he's exercising his free

00:16:15.610 --> 00:16:18.149
right given to him by God to not choose God?

00:16:18.529 --> 00:16:21.029
Or the supposed Christian who says, I believe

00:16:21.029 --> 00:16:23.230
in the Lord, I follow the Lord, but then gets

00:16:23.230 --> 00:16:24.789
out of bed every morning and forgets to read

00:16:24.789 --> 00:16:26.330
his Bible, forgets to pray, forgets to enact

00:16:26.330 --> 00:16:28.129
any spiritual discipline, doesn't serve, give,

00:16:28.389 --> 00:16:31.789
or otherwise walk with Jesus. Who's got it right?

00:16:33.289 --> 00:16:35.470
I submit to you, the son that says, I will not

00:16:35.470 --> 00:16:37.490
serve and later serves is still a better son

00:16:37.490 --> 00:16:39.070
than the son that says, I will serve and then

00:16:39.070 --> 00:16:42.919
does not. There have been many atheists over

00:16:42.919 --> 00:16:44.460
the years who have later given their life to

00:16:44.460 --> 00:16:46.740
the Lord. Many people who think they had it all

00:16:46.740 --> 00:16:49.379
figured out, all lodged out, and then encountered

00:16:49.379 --> 00:16:51.480
God and actually came to a moment in time and

00:16:51.480 --> 00:16:55.179
went, wow, I had this all wrong. God is real.

00:16:55.240 --> 00:16:57.399
Creation is a must. It has to be that way. Nothing

00:16:57.399 --> 00:16:59.440
was ever created from nothing unless something

00:16:59.440 --> 00:17:02.600
did it. And something more powerful than anything

00:17:02.600 --> 00:17:05.839
we've ever seen, it's got to be God. And they

00:17:05.839 --> 00:17:08.980
conclude over time that man's best effort, there's

00:17:08.980 --> 00:17:10.960
an old kind of joke that I learned when I was

00:17:10.960 --> 00:17:15.920
a young preacher about men advanced so far, cloning

00:17:15.920 --> 00:17:17.660
life and doing stuff with DNA and everything

00:17:17.660 --> 00:17:19.220
that they think that they have truly reached

00:17:19.220 --> 00:17:21.480
the pinnacle. And the man says to God, we've

00:17:21.480 --> 00:17:23.440
finally reached the place where we do not need

00:17:23.440 --> 00:17:25.559
you. We can do everything that you do. And God

00:17:25.559 --> 00:17:28.400
says, well, propose a contest. And the man says,

00:17:28.500 --> 00:17:30.200
fine, whatever you can do, we can do. It's no

00:17:30.200 --> 00:17:31.619
problem. We'll get together, get our heads together.

00:17:31.660 --> 00:17:33.890
We'll get it solved. And God says, so the conscience,

00:17:33.970 --> 00:17:37.450
I say, we create a man, create men. And he's

00:17:37.450 --> 00:17:38.890
like, that's no problem. We've been doing that

00:17:38.890 --> 00:17:42.250
for decades. We can do that. No problem. And

00:17:42.250 --> 00:17:44.829
God says, ah, but we'll create a man the way

00:17:44.829 --> 00:17:47.869
I created a man. And the scientist thinking,

00:17:48.109 --> 00:17:49.730
what does he mean by that? Exactly. He's not

00:17:49.730 --> 00:17:52.750
read his Bible very well. And God says, we'll

00:17:52.750 --> 00:17:55.720
create a man out of dust. And the scientist says,

00:17:55.880 --> 00:17:58.039
it could be a challenge. Don't know what's in

00:17:58.039 --> 00:17:59.759
dust that's of any real value, but I think we

00:17:59.759 --> 00:18:01.319
can do it. And he reaches over to pick up some

00:18:01.319 --> 00:18:04.079
dust off the ground, and God says, get your own

00:18:04.079 --> 00:18:09.380
dust. God created everything. God is the one

00:18:09.380 --> 00:18:12.319
who reigns in your life. I understand you want

00:18:12.319 --> 00:18:15.000
to think that your best choice is whatever, and

00:18:15.000 --> 00:18:17.339
the reality is that you can control the outcome

00:18:17.339 --> 00:18:20.210
if you're super cautious, worried. all upset

00:18:20.210 --> 00:18:22.109
about the way things are going to go, that it'll

00:18:22.109 --> 00:18:24.190
go better for you. But that's just actually not

00:18:24.190 --> 00:18:26.289
true. It's going to go how it's going to go.

00:18:26.349 --> 00:18:28.069
You can put your effort in and you should, and

00:18:28.069 --> 00:18:29.849
you should follow God faithfully. In fact, it's

00:18:29.849 --> 00:18:32.109
the word in the Bible often uses diligently.

00:18:32.369 --> 00:18:34.490
That means hard work toward a purpose. And you

00:18:34.490 --> 00:18:37.130
should do that. But you should do it because

00:18:37.130 --> 00:18:38.569
you love God, not because you're going to get

00:18:38.569 --> 00:18:40.890
good things, right? You should do it because

00:18:40.890 --> 00:18:42.369
you've realized that God is real and that he

00:18:42.369 --> 00:18:44.599
is the one. Gideon doesn't go into battle with

00:18:44.599 --> 00:18:46.660
a sword and hope that God will make him the destroyer

00:18:46.660 --> 00:18:48.380
of 20 ,000 men. You know how long it would take

00:18:48.380 --> 00:18:52.700
to kill 20 ,000 men with a sword? Holy cow! They'd

00:18:52.700 --> 00:18:56.099
start that night, right after they walked up

00:18:56.099 --> 00:18:57.819
to the edge of the camp, and they'd still be

00:18:57.819 --> 00:19:01.059
hacking. Their muscles would break down. Their

00:19:01.059 --> 00:19:03.400
joints would give out. Their swords would break.

00:19:03.400 --> 00:19:05.890
They'd have to use other people's swords. all

00:19:05.890 --> 00:19:08.509
the food, nutrition, and water in their bodies

00:19:08.509 --> 00:19:11.049
would be consumed and used up, and they'd still

00:19:11.049 --> 00:19:13.470
be hacking, trying to get enough guys down to

00:19:13.470 --> 00:19:15.589
potentially have an impact on an army that size.

00:19:15.789 --> 00:19:18.289
And that's if God made them completely impenetrable

00:19:18.289 --> 00:19:21.569
in the time, and that is not how God wanted to

00:19:21.569 --> 00:19:24.109
do it. Rather, he wanted to do it through this

00:19:24.109 --> 00:19:28.910
simple statement, in God we trust. Marxism and

00:19:28.910 --> 00:19:31.309
socialism and government systems like that begin

00:19:31.309 --> 00:19:33.009
with the understanding that there is no God.

00:19:33.130 --> 00:19:35.220
They have to. Because they then take away the

00:19:35.220 --> 00:19:38.279
inalienable rights of human beings and say that

00:19:38.279 --> 00:19:40.920
people don't have inherent rights. But that's

00:19:40.920 --> 00:19:43.779
not true. They do. Beginning with the right to

00:19:43.779 --> 00:19:45.720
follow God and have a relationship with God through

00:19:45.720 --> 00:19:48.720
Jesus Christ, his son. Now, some think you can

00:19:48.720 --> 00:19:51.599
do it another way. But there isn't another way

00:19:51.599 --> 00:19:54.380
because God, the son, was also God. And so if

00:19:54.380 --> 00:19:56.400
you choose to try to get to God by some other

00:19:56.400 --> 00:19:58.579
means, the tenfold laws, restrictions, rules,

00:19:58.839 --> 00:20:01.059
something like that, you'll be doing nothing

00:20:01.059 --> 00:20:03.619
but saying, I don't want the one I actually want.

00:20:04.039 --> 00:20:06.640
I want the thing I want, and I want the thing

00:20:06.640 --> 00:20:08.779
I want to lead me to the one I want, but a certain

00:20:08.779 --> 00:20:10.960
version of the one I want that is not at all

00:20:10.960 --> 00:20:13.819
the person I actually want. It doesn't make any

00:20:13.819 --> 00:20:16.539
sense. Will you get out of bed in the morning

00:20:16.539 --> 00:20:19.740
and say, in God I trust? If you will, then you

00:20:19.740 --> 00:20:21.640
will realize that it's not your place to kill

00:20:21.640 --> 00:20:24.539
any. It's not your place to do the things that

00:20:24.539 --> 00:20:27.460
God is doing. It is your place to join in doing

00:20:27.460 --> 00:20:29.299
the things that God is doing, and to do them

00:20:29.299 --> 00:20:32.160
the way he has showed us we must do them. Congress

00:20:32.160 --> 00:20:34.759
was saying, no, we as a nation and a body of

00:20:34.759 --> 00:20:37.819
lawmakers know better that God is real, that

00:20:37.819 --> 00:20:41.819
man has inalienable rights, and we will recognize

00:20:41.819 --> 00:20:44.680
that. They have said for all time, I'm not sure

00:20:44.680 --> 00:20:46.319
that all the laws that they have made necessarily

00:20:46.319 --> 00:20:48.400
say that, but that's what they said when they

00:20:48.400 --> 00:20:51.980
put it on the wall. They killed none. They killed

00:20:51.980 --> 00:20:54.539
none because their best effort would be insufficient

00:20:54.539 --> 00:20:58.319
and God's effort will always be sufficient. The

00:20:58.319 --> 00:21:00.019
second thing to see in here is the battle plan.

00:21:00.920 --> 00:21:03.940
This one and one more and a conclusion. The battle

00:21:03.940 --> 00:21:08.319
plan was surprise and disunity. Not good tactics

00:21:08.319 --> 00:21:10.440
or training or anything like that, right? People

00:21:10.440 --> 00:21:12.160
say, well, it was a great tactic to divide his

00:21:12.160 --> 00:21:15.000
army into three. See the size of that army? See

00:21:15.000 --> 00:21:16.420
the size of his army? It doesn't matter. You

00:21:16.420 --> 00:21:19.900
divide your army into 300 parts of, if everyone

00:21:19.900 --> 00:21:22.099
was a tank, it probably wouldn't be enough, right?

00:21:22.259 --> 00:21:25.119
And so the bottom line is the tactic was surprise

00:21:25.119 --> 00:21:28.500
and disunity. When the trumpet call comes, it

00:21:28.500 --> 00:21:31.710
comes unexpectedly. It comes from a direction

00:21:31.710 --> 00:21:34.109
at a time when they're not thinking it's going

00:21:34.109 --> 00:21:37.089
to come, as happened here in this room. And it

00:21:37.089 --> 00:21:39.029
was a little bit of a surprise, was it not, that

00:21:39.029 --> 00:21:40.809
the trumpet came not from the bell of the trumpet

00:21:40.809 --> 00:21:42.450
that I appeared to be about to blow, but from

00:21:42.450 --> 00:21:45.410
somewhere behind you? Now, you're not in any

00:21:45.410 --> 00:21:47.990
danger. There was no danger to that, but it was

00:21:47.990 --> 00:21:49.529
nonetheless a little bit of a surprise. If you

00:21:49.529 --> 00:21:52.029
amplify that about a thousand times, and then

00:21:52.029 --> 00:21:56.589
the volume by 300 times, that's a little something

00:21:56.589 --> 00:21:58.940
like what happened that night in the dark. While

00:21:58.940 --> 00:22:00.519
they were laying in their tents in their underwear

00:22:00.519 --> 00:22:03.220
next to their swords. And they jumped up and

00:22:03.220 --> 00:22:04.740
they ran out of their tents. Most of them in

00:22:04.740 --> 00:22:06.779
their underwear. And there came a guy charging

00:22:06.779 --> 00:22:09.279
at them with a sword. And he was hacking out

00:22:09.279 --> 00:22:11.519
of his way. Anybody that got in his way. And

00:22:11.519 --> 00:22:13.000
so they stepped in and got in his way. And they

00:22:13.000 --> 00:22:14.559
killed him. And then they went to hacking anybody

00:22:14.559 --> 00:22:17.779
that got in their way. There was disunity amongst

00:22:17.779 --> 00:22:20.059
them. They weren't brothers. They weren't family

00:22:20.059 --> 00:22:22.880
members. They weren't godly. They weren't good.

00:22:23.539 --> 00:22:27.019
They weren't kind. Right? The tactic was surprise

00:22:27.019 --> 00:22:30.220
and disunity. It was capitalizing on the imminent

00:22:30.220 --> 00:22:32.200
defeat. You remember that he went down, saw the

00:22:32.200 --> 00:22:34.420
dream, the bread rolled, the tent fell, and they

00:22:34.420 --> 00:22:36.460
were told that the upheaval of the Midian army

00:22:36.460 --> 00:22:39.660
was already in process, that God and Gideon was

00:22:39.660 --> 00:22:41.619
going to destroy. They already knew it. The ripples

00:22:41.619 --> 00:22:43.740
were flowing throughout the camp, that their

00:22:43.740 --> 00:22:48.599
imminent defeat was, well, imminent. Also, it

00:22:48.599 --> 00:22:51.200
was about a survival of the fittest or a dog

00:22:51.200 --> 00:22:53.910
-eat -dog instinct. Whoever the best swordsman,

00:22:53.950 --> 00:22:56.049
whoever the strongest guy is, that's the guy

00:22:56.049 --> 00:22:57.869
who would win in battle, and it's also the guy

00:22:57.869 --> 00:22:59.230
who's going to make it out of camp right now

00:22:59.230 --> 00:23:01.230
in the middle of this turmoil, right? I'm going

00:23:01.230 --> 00:23:02.430
to, I don't know if anybody else is going to

00:23:02.430 --> 00:23:04.109
get out of here, but I'm going to survive. I'm

00:23:04.109 --> 00:23:05.450
going to get out of here. Hack, hack, hack, hack.

00:23:06.450 --> 00:23:08.230
Stomp, stomp, stomp, stomp. Pounding guys' faces

00:23:08.230 --> 00:23:10.910
into the dirt. I'm going to be okay. Survival

00:23:10.910 --> 00:23:14.950
of the fittest. Dog eat dog instinct. Notice

00:23:14.950 --> 00:23:17.730
also it was about the courage of an enemy for

00:23:17.730 --> 00:23:20.109
Gideon and his men to rise up and let them know

00:23:20.109 --> 00:23:23.210
of their imminent defeat, show them their surprise

00:23:23.210 --> 00:23:25.869
and disunity, show them their survival of the

00:23:25.869 --> 00:23:27.710
fittest and their dog -eat -dog instinct. If

00:23:27.710 --> 00:23:29.549
Gideon had not gone, if the trumpets were not

00:23:29.549 --> 00:23:32.049
blown, if the torches were not lit, then it wouldn't

00:23:32.049 --> 00:23:34.170
have happened. That's true. And that was an act

00:23:34.170 --> 00:23:36.970
of faith responding to the God of heaven. Notice

00:23:36.970 --> 00:23:39.430
that there was light in darkness. Had there ever

00:23:39.430 --> 00:23:42.960
been two more? exactly opposite contrasting things

00:23:42.960 --> 00:23:45.059
than light and darkness. I mean, hot and cold

00:23:45.059 --> 00:23:49.700
are opposite, but how cold? How hot? Right? So

00:23:49.700 --> 00:23:52.920
the temperature of space, we think, it's really

00:23:52.920 --> 00:23:56.319
cold, right? And the sun is really hot. Those

00:23:56.319 --> 00:23:57.500
are pretty much the extremes, but you and I have

00:23:57.500 --> 00:24:00.109
never experienced those things. So when the furnace

00:24:00.109 --> 00:24:02.369
is set at 52, we're like, oh, it's cold in here.

00:24:02.430 --> 00:24:04.430
But is it cold? I mean, it won't freeze ice.

00:24:04.589 --> 00:24:06.930
The bread won't stay good that much longer, right?

00:24:07.029 --> 00:24:08.349
It's not like it's really cold. It's not like

00:24:08.349 --> 00:24:09.910
it's in your fridge. Your eggs would go bad.

00:24:10.109 --> 00:24:12.390
Is it really cold? 52 degrees, get a blanket,

00:24:12.490 --> 00:24:14.670
get a jacket. Is it really cold? What's cold?

00:24:14.750 --> 00:24:16.609
What's hot? But light and darkness, where there

00:24:16.609 --> 00:24:18.130
is light, there is no darkness. Where there is

00:24:18.130 --> 00:24:20.269
darkness, there is no light, right? Now there's

00:24:20.269 --> 00:24:22.369
dim, where there's some light and some darkness.

00:24:22.450 --> 00:24:23.890
But you would say, in truth, there is neither

00:24:23.890 --> 00:24:27.720
light nor darkness there. Right? But if you bring

00:24:27.720 --> 00:24:30.700
light to the dim, the dim goes away. So whatever

00:24:30.700 --> 00:24:32.460
darkness was there surely is not there anymore.

00:24:32.859 --> 00:24:35.200
Has there ever been two more exact opposites

00:24:35.200 --> 00:24:38.859
than light and darkness? Maybe. Hate and love.

00:24:40.000 --> 00:24:42.759
But hard to quantify. Hard to hold in your hand.

00:24:43.099 --> 00:24:45.599
They had a torch in the dark while men in their

00:24:45.599 --> 00:24:47.339
underwear lie next to their swords thinking,

00:24:47.400 --> 00:24:48.880
I'm going to have a great victory tomorrow or

00:24:48.880 --> 00:24:52.039
at least going to survive this. And then light

00:24:52.039 --> 00:24:55.859
came up. Light came to the darkness. Well, that's

00:24:55.859 --> 00:24:59.519
a little bit like what Jesus did, isn't it? It's

00:24:59.519 --> 00:25:00.880
a little bit like what we're supposed to do.

00:25:02.119 --> 00:25:04.299
Notice that there was noise in the silence. Oh

00:25:04.299 --> 00:25:06.319
boy, silence is easy to come by. We do that ourselves

00:25:06.319 --> 00:25:07.920
all the time. We're supposed to speak up. We're

00:25:07.920 --> 00:25:09.400
supposed to say something. We say nothing because

00:25:09.400 --> 00:25:10.839
we're afraid what someone will think or what

00:25:10.839 --> 00:25:13.460
will happen. We make ourselves silent. Listen,

00:25:13.539 --> 00:25:14.980
the last thing you were ever supposed to be was

00:25:14.980 --> 00:25:18.089
silent. Yes, I understand you have two ears and

00:25:18.089 --> 00:25:19.450
one mouth. Somebody else is speaking. Listen

00:25:19.450 --> 00:25:21.710
twice as much as you speak. I get that. That's

00:25:21.710 --> 00:25:24.289
so that you can be impacted and care and have

00:25:24.289 --> 00:25:26.210
courtesy for the other person, that kind of thing.

00:25:26.289 --> 00:25:28.769
But the bottom line is, you got a mouth so you

00:25:28.769 --> 00:25:30.809
can speak things into existence and when necessary,

00:25:30.869 --> 00:25:33.410
speak them out of existence. God spoke creation.

00:25:33.690 --> 00:25:35.390
Even though his mouth is not like our mouth,

00:25:35.430 --> 00:25:37.329
he's spirit, right? Jesus' mouth is very much

00:25:37.329 --> 00:25:38.930
like our mouth, but God the Father's mouth is

00:25:38.930 --> 00:25:41.250
not. He's spirit. And so even though his mouth

00:25:41.250 --> 00:25:43.829
is not like our mouth, he spoke into existence

00:25:43.829 --> 00:25:45.890
all creation. We're supposed to speak things.

00:25:46.029 --> 00:25:48.230
And if you're shutting up on an active basis,

00:25:48.390 --> 00:25:51.009
you're in disobedience to God. If you're holding

00:25:51.009 --> 00:25:52.369
your tongue at times you're supposed to speak,

00:25:52.430 --> 00:25:54.490
you're in some of the worst disobedience to God.

00:25:54.589 --> 00:25:56.670
Because what was the very first thing that God

00:25:56.670 --> 00:25:58.750
ever did, before ever he talked to Adam, before

00:25:58.750 --> 00:26:00.769
ever he brought the dust together, before ever

00:26:00.769 --> 00:26:02.869
he set the boundaries of the seas or made the

00:26:02.869 --> 00:26:05.250
stars, was the very first thing that God did.

00:26:05.329 --> 00:26:07.250
When he hovered above the deep, he had a thought,

00:26:07.430 --> 00:26:10.809
a desire to make something greater than himself

00:26:10.809 --> 00:26:14.109
in the long run, which would be himself in community

00:26:14.109 --> 00:26:20.410
with... Living beings. And he spoke. The very

00:26:20.410 --> 00:26:23.170
first thing we see God doing is he spoke. Now

00:26:23.170 --> 00:26:24.849
he spoke things into existence and ultimately

00:26:24.849 --> 00:26:27.390
he made us the crowning achievement of creation

00:26:27.390 --> 00:26:30.970
that we too would be in his model. And I think

00:26:30.970 --> 00:26:33.750
that means we should speak. But there was noise

00:26:33.750 --> 00:26:35.410
in the silence while they were in their underwear

00:26:35.410 --> 00:26:36.930
and their tents next to their swords. And they

00:26:36.930 --> 00:26:40.849
thought, oh no, a noise. I wonder, is it like

00:26:40.849 --> 00:26:44.359
this in the world today? Is there light in the

00:26:44.359 --> 00:26:47.079
darkness? Is there a noise in the silence? Is

00:26:47.079 --> 00:26:49.579
there courage in the face of an enemy? Well,

00:26:49.640 --> 00:26:50.900
if there's going to be light in the darkness,

00:26:50.920 --> 00:26:53.039
noise in the silence, and courage in the face

00:26:53.039 --> 00:26:54.420
of an enemy, it's going to come from the church.

00:26:54.700 --> 00:26:56.500
The church is going to represent Jesus Christ,

00:26:56.559 --> 00:26:57.640
be the body of Christ, and we're going to take

00:26:57.640 --> 00:27:00.319
the word of God to wherever it needs to go. We're

00:27:00.319 --> 00:27:01.779
going to tell people what we have seen and heard.

00:27:01.819 --> 00:27:03.660
We're going to bring light in the darkness. We're

00:27:03.660 --> 00:27:05.480
going to courageously stand up against the enemy.

00:27:05.559 --> 00:27:07.400
We're going to bring noise in the silence, but

00:27:07.400 --> 00:27:09.940
not a worthless noise as some may think it, but

00:27:09.940 --> 00:27:12.579
a noise that presents salvation. Is it the same

00:27:12.579 --> 00:27:15.259
in the world today? The world is attacking anyone

00:27:15.259 --> 00:27:17.420
that doesn't seem to be for them individually.

00:27:17.599 --> 00:27:18.819
It doesn't matter whether you're a Christian

00:27:18.819 --> 00:27:20.480
or not. By the way, when you get attacked for

00:27:20.480 --> 00:27:21.920
being a Christian, you won't be the only person

00:27:21.920 --> 00:27:23.319
who ever got attacked for believing something.

00:27:24.220 --> 00:27:26.220
All over the world, there have been persecutions

00:27:26.220 --> 00:27:28.700
against other faiths. It's not just Christianity.

00:27:29.480 --> 00:27:31.519
Now, of course, Christianity has gotten the worst

00:27:31.519 --> 00:27:33.720
of it, and Christianity is a bit exclusive in

00:27:33.720 --> 00:27:35.740
that we know that we are the only way to get

00:27:35.740 --> 00:27:37.440
to heaven through Jesus Christ, who is Lord and

00:27:37.440 --> 00:27:39.259
Savior. It's the only way to get there. So it's

00:27:39.259 --> 00:27:41.279
a little bit exclusive. Jesus himself said, I

00:27:41.279 --> 00:27:42.819
believe it wholeheartedly that he is the way,

00:27:42.819 --> 00:27:44.400
the truth, and life. No man cometh unto the Father

00:27:44.400 --> 00:27:48.940
but by him. There's no other way. The funny thing

00:27:48.940 --> 00:27:52.319
is, a lot of other faiths actually recognize

00:27:52.319 --> 00:27:54.640
that. In the Quran, it says, if you want to know

00:27:54.640 --> 00:27:56.380
how to have a relationship with God, talk to

00:27:56.380 --> 00:27:59.519
the Christians. This is the reality. The world

00:27:59.519 --> 00:28:01.559
is attacking anyone that doesn't seem to be for

00:28:01.559 --> 00:28:04.019
them or agree with their mentality or their ideology

00:28:04.019 --> 00:28:06.579
or whatever. And Christians will get the worst

00:28:06.579 --> 00:28:08.880
of it if we are that courageous, standing up

00:28:08.880 --> 00:28:10.839
against the enemy, light in the darkness, noise

00:28:10.839 --> 00:28:14.599
in the silence, as we are supposed to be. Is

00:28:14.599 --> 00:28:16.660
there an imminent defeat in the world today?

00:28:17.220 --> 00:28:18.799
That's the question. There are a lot of people

00:28:18.799 --> 00:28:20.039
who are not Christians who think that Christians

00:28:20.039 --> 00:28:21.799
got it wrong, so they don't think that Christianity

00:28:21.799 --> 00:28:24.579
is going to win in the end. But they are wrong.

00:28:26.339 --> 00:28:29.640
But I wonder, Is it as many people as we actually

00:28:29.640 --> 00:28:33.380
think it is that think that Christianity is wrong?

00:28:34.180 --> 00:28:36.839
Or are there actually more people that think,

00:28:36.880 --> 00:28:39.839
I just don't really want to do that. I don't

00:28:39.839 --> 00:28:41.720
want to be holy or right. I don't want to give

00:28:41.720 --> 00:28:43.980
up lying to people. I don't want to get up sleeping

00:28:43.980 --> 00:28:47.140
around. I don't want to give up my parties, my

00:28:47.140 --> 00:28:48.839
drugs, my alcohol, my rock and roll, staying

00:28:48.839 --> 00:28:50.380
out late, spending my money on just whatever

00:28:50.380 --> 00:28:52.890
I want. Running up my credit cards or whatever

00:28:52.890 --> 00:28:54.650
it is that they're doing that they think that

00:28:54.650 --> 00:28:56.230
maybe they shouldn't be doing. Whatever has offended

00:28:56.230 --> 00:28:58.250
their conscience. Is it that they think that

00:28:58.250 --> 00:28:59.390
if they become a Christian, they would have to

00:28:59.390 --> 00:29:03.549
give up that thing? Some of the greatest scholars

00:29:03.549 --> 00:29:07.150
that existed that oftentimes caused great damage

00:29:07.150 --> 00:29:11.190
to mankind by talking against Christianity have

00:29:11.190 --> 00:29:14.809
later, listen to me, C .S. Lewis was a devout

00:29:14.809 --> 00:29:17.750
atheist. He believed it with absolute certainty

00:29:17.750 --> 00:29:20.779
that there was no God. And he taught students

00:29:20.779 --> 00:29:25.460
year after year after year that truth. He taught

00:29:25.460 --> 00:29:27.960
friends and family members and anyone who would

00:29:27.960 --> 00:29:30.339
listen that you were a fool for believing God.

00:29:30.700 --> 00:29:33.480
That absolutely you would be wasting your time

00:29:33.480 --> 00:29:35.279
and there is no purpose to be part of the church,

00:29:35.420 --> 00:29:36.980
to believe in the Bible or anything, or even

00:29:36.980 --> 00:29:41.440
that Jesus was anything. I don't know that he

00:29:41.440 --> 00:29:44.559
said Jesus never existed, but I know that he

00:29:44.559 --> 00:29:50.579
said Jesus never mattered. And then, And then

00:29:50.579 --> 00:29:54.319
he encountered God. Now, do you think C .S. Lewis

00:29:54.319 --> 00:29:57.500
went back and talked to every person he ever

00:29:57.500 --> 00:29:59.859
talked to? Now, he made a pretty good effort.

00:29:59.900 --> 00:30:01.839
He was on the radio during World War II talking

00:30:01.839 --> 00:30:03.960
about Christian things. He put out a number of

00:30:03.960 --> 00:30:05.819
very popular books still around now, including

00:30:05.819 --> 00:30:07.839
a children's series that presented the kind of

00:30:07.839 --> 00:30:13.400
doctrine in an artful way. He presented mere

00:30:13.400 --> 00:30:15.579
Christianity, which explains the basic teachings

00:30:15.579 --> 00:30:17.720
of Christianity, the screw tape letters. The

00:30:17.720 --> 00:30:20.259
Great Divorce. These are books that sold tons

00:30:20.259 --> 00:30:22.180
and tons and tons of copies. And so it's possible

00:30:22.180 --> 00:30:23.599
that his former students, oh, I'm going to read

00:30:23.599 --> 00:30:25.200
a book by C .S. Lewis. And they realize, oh,

00:30:25.279 --> 00:30:26.859
you know, he taught me there is no God. But here

00:30:26.859 --> 00:30:29.299
he is clearly explaining to me how there is a

00:30:29.299 --> 00:30:30.940
God. And they may have wound up getting saved.

00:30:31.000 --> 00:30:33.119
It's possible. But the fact is that C .S. Lewis

00:30:33.119 --> 00:30:35.779
and others like him, so many, in fact, that there

00:30:35.779 --> 00:30:39.839
are too many to name, Jode, Strobel, and the

00:30:39.839 --> 00:30:43.480
list goes on. People that have finally taken

00:30:43.480 --> 00:30:45.480
a look at Christianity, finally taken a look

00:30:45.480 --> 00:30:47.460
at what God alleges to be true, and they have

00:30:47.460 --> 00:30:50.660
retreated. They have given up their position

00:30:50.660 --> 00:30:54.460
of atheism or agnosticism or false religion and

00:30:54.460 --> 00:30:59.059
turned their lives over to the Lord. And so if

00:30:59.059 --> 00:31:01.200
that is happening, great scholars all over the

00:31:01.200 --> 00:31:03.119
world, one after another at different times,

00:31:03.319 --> 00:31:06.220
are turning their lives over. Then anybody that

00:31:06.220 --> 00:31:08.319
they influence that sees them realizes that defeat

00:31:08.319 --> 00:31:10.880
is imminent. Eventually, atheism will go away.

00:31:11.220 --> 00:31:13.579
You know that there will come a time where absolutely

00:31:13.579 --> 00:31:16.500
no one, absolutely no one can cling to the false

00:31:16.500 --> 00:31:19.759
hope that there is no God. No one. Because it

00:31:19.759 --> 00:31:22.400
says every knee shall bow and every tongue confess.

00:31:22.640 --> 00:31:24.440
So there will be people who bow and say, oh,

00:31:24.460 --> 00:31:26.380
thank God there is a God. I am so grateful. I

00:31:26.380 --> 00:31:27.700
accept Jesus Christ, Lord and Savior. I'm going

00:31:27.700 --> 00:31:29.700
to heaven. I'm so glad I did that. And there

00:31:29.700 --> 00:31:32.210
will be people that bow going, oh. God is real.

00:31:32.329 --> 00:31:35.269
I can't believe it. I lived my whole life teaching

00:31:35.269 --> 00:31:38.410
the opposite. I stood against everything that

00:31:38.410 --> 00:31:40.769
I am being forced to do right now. And they're

00:31:40.769 --> 00:31:42.369
going to go away gritting and grinding their

00:31:42.369 --> 00:31:44.029
teeth and hating every minute of it, but they're

00:31:44.029 --> 00:31:46.170
going to bow before God and recognize that he

00:31:46.170 --> 00:31:48.190
is real, that he exists. There will come a moment

00:31:48.190 --> 00:31:51.329
in time where nobody can deny it. I submit to

00:31:51.329 --> 00:31:53.589
you that maybe based on that truth alone, defeat

00:31:53.589 --> 00:31:58.120
is imminent. But also we see ordinary men. are

00:31:58.120 --> 00:32:00.259
recognizable as having been with Jesus. We won't

00:32:00.259 --> 00:32:01.539
go there and read it, but there's a story in

00:32:01.539 --> 00:32:04.200
Acts 4, Peter and John. It's kind of part of

00:32:04.200 --> 00:32:06.980
that where they heal the man at the beautiful

00:32:06.980 --> 00:32:09.819
gate, and then they get arrested, they get beaten

00:32:09.819 --> 00:32:11.799
for talking about Jesus, and they praise God

00:32:11.799 --> 00:32:13.000
that they were allowed to get beaten for talking

00:32:13.000 --> 00:32:14.680
about Jesus, which all of which is kind of foreign

00:32:14.680 --> 00:32:16.599
to us, right? It's hard for us to think we'd

00:32:16.599 --> 00:32:19.259
be praising God for being beaten. That's kind

00:32:19.259 --> 00:32:21.480
of foreign, but it is kind of understandable

00:32:21.480 --> 00:32:24.460
at the same time, according to the word. And

00:32:24.460 --> 00:32:26.250
they looked at them and they thought, These are

00:32:26.250 --> 00:32:29.470
ordinary men. They're untrained. They didn't

00:32:29.470 --> 00:32:31.109
go to Bible college. They haven't been to seminary.

00:32:31.130 --> 00:32:35.789
They're not students of Gamaliel. But wow! They

00:32:35.789 --> 00:32:38.049
believe what they believe, and they can teach

00:32:38.049 --> 00:32:40.130
it. They can tell us what the truth is. They

00:32:40.130 --> 00:32:42.029
can talk about Jesus. They can talk about the

00:32:42.029 --> 00:32:44.970
truth of God. Clearly, they have been students

00:32:44.970 --> 00:32:47.630
of Jesus Christ. And I submit to you, that's

00:32:47.630 --> 00:32:49.650
everywhere. Standing before you today is one.

00:32:49.710 --> 00:32:52.660
I am one. Now, eventually, I did go to school.

00:32:52.700 --> 00:32:55.579
I went to Bible college and seminary. But most

00:32:55.579 --> 00:32:57.339
of those of us who've gone to Bible college and

00:32:57.339 --> 00:32:59.880
seminary would say that God equipped us to do

00:32:59.880 --> 00:33:01.779
what it was that God called us to do long before

00:33:01.779 --> 00:33:04.180
we ever did that. I used to have a pastor friend

00:33:04.180 --> 00:33:05.299
of mine who used to say, well, you've got to

00:33:05.299 --> 00:33:06.660
go to Bible college if you're going to be a pastor.

00:33:06.759 --> 00:33:08.279
I don't agree with that at all. That's not scriptural.

00:33:09.140 --> 00:33:11.220
But at the same time, I just think it's valuable.

00:33:12.039 --> 00:33:14.259
It's useful. And I was a pastor while I was in

00:33:14.259 --> 00:33:16.039
Bible college, sort of. I was a youth pastor.

00:33:16.119 --> 00:33:18.680
And then I was a pastor while I was in seminary.

00:33:18.970 --> 00:33:20.509
So it's not like I quit doing the thing I was

00:33:20.509 --> 00:33:22.150
called to. I maybe just kind of had my attention

00:33:22.150 --> 00:33:24.190
divided as I was being filled up and growing

00:33:24.190 --> 00:33:26.789
and still doing the things that God called me

00:33:26.789 --> 00:33:30.470
to do. The bottom line is, number one, great

00:33:30.470 --> 00:33:33.289
scholars once resisted, have accepted the truth,

00:33:33.390 --> 00:33:36.250
and then ordinary men are recognizable as having

00:33:36.250 --> 00:33:38.809
been with Jesus. It happens all the time. So

00:33:38.809 --> 00:33:41.869
many ordinary men have gone before, then become

00:33:41.869 --> 00:33:46.009
recognizable as being with Jesus, then died an

00:33:46.009 --> 00:33:48.619
incredible death. Like, wow, how did they have

00:33:48.619 --> 00:33:50.359
the presence of mind to be, while they were being

00:33:50.359 --> 00:33:51.960
burnt at the stake, to pray for those who were

00:33:51.960 --> 00:33:55.000
burning them alive, like Jesus did? Or stoned,

00:33:55.099 --> 00:33:56.920
while they were being stoned, and their last

00:33:56.920 --> 00:33:58.599
breaths were, Lord, forgive them, for they know

00:33:58.599 --> 00:34:01.440
not what they do, like Stephen did. How? And

00:34:01.440 --> 00:34:05.259
it's been like that for 2 ,000 years. And that's

00:34:05.259 --> 00:34:07.140
a testimony that there is an imminent defeat

00:34:07.140 --> 00:34:11.679
forthcoming. And then there have been those who

00:34:11.679 --> 00:34:13.360
did not believe they were atheists, and they

00:34:13.360 --> 00:34:15.519
die, and you see their quotes and statements

00:34:15.519 --> 00:34:18.690
on their deathbed. Like they're like, oh no,

00:34:18.789 --> 00:34:22.210
I was wrong. Oh, I now have to face God. Oh,

00:34:22.369 --> 00:34:25.170
the eternity. Oh, I shall be away from God for

00:34:25.170 --> 00:34:27.289
eternity. And statements like that. Intelligent,

00:34:27.289 --> 00:34:30.829
powerful, influential men in their lifetime going

00:34:30.829 --> 00:34:33.489
to die, and as they go to die, crying out things

00:34:33.489 --> 00:34:38.369
like, oh no, I'm in trouble. Right? The defeat

00:34:38.369 --> 00:34:44.750
is imminent. And then, for all are trying to

00:34:44.750 --> 00:34:49.170
ignore it, There's no making that into nothingness.

00:34:49.750 --> 00:34:52.130
All the people who have said, and I was 25 years

00:34:52.130 --> 00:34:53.730
this, thinking, well, I don't really have to

00:34:53.730 --> 00:34:55.070
do anything about God. I don't really have to

00:34:55.070 --> 00:34:58.949
come to him, that kind of thing. But in order

00:34:58.949 --> 00:35:00.949
for this to really play out, the same thing that

00:35:00.949 --> 00:35:02.389
happened with Gideon to really play out, there

00:35:02.389 --> 00:35:05.429
would also have to be a variety of these other

00:35:05.429 --> 00:35:08.329
things. So number one, surprise and disunity.

00:35:08.969 --> 00:35:11.590
When the world sees somebody do something for

00:35:11.590 --> 00:35:13.389
God, are they surprised? Well, yes. They go,

00:35:13.489 --> 00:35:15.650
wow, that's weird. That's something that I wouldn't

00:35:15.650 --> 00:35:17.730
expect. Are they in disunity? Well, you see that,

00:35:17.849 --> 00:35:19.550
right? They're attacking each other all the time,

00:35:19.570 --> 00:35:23.909
us and each other, right? Imminent defeat. And

00:35:23.909 --> 00:35:25.769
then the question is, is there survival of the

00:35:25.769 --> 00:35:27.690
fittest or dog -eat -dog? Is there anybody in

00:35:27.690 --> 00:35:29.309
the room that thinks that the world does not

00:35:29.309 --> 00:35:32.409
have a survival of the fittest mentality? Do

00:35:32.409 --> 00:35:33.929
we need to talk about that or do we just understand

00:35:33.929 --> 00:35:35.829
that out there the richest man gets what he wants,

00:35:35.889 --> 00:35:39.400
the strongest man? the best talker, the most

00:35:39.400 --> 00:35:41.659
physical, the guy with the golden belt in the

00:35:41.659 --> 00:35:45.079
MMA, those guys get what they want. So we understand

00:35:45.079 --> 00:35:47.280
that the world has a survival of the fittest,

00:35:47.280 --> 00:35:49.719
dog -eat -dog instinct. And sometimes it looks

00:35:49.719 --> 00:35:51.840
like a rely on yourself, stand up for yourself,

00:35:52.280 --> 00:35:55.559
do what makes you happy, beware watching powerful,

00:35:55.619 --> 00:35:58.619
ready, strength as a deterrent, even with much

00:35:58.619 --> 00:36:00.820
power comes much responsibility. That's a Marvel

00:36:00.820 --> 00:36:03.940
line, by the way, for Spider -Man. Anyway, Marvel

00:36:03.940 --> 00:36:08.820
reference. Incessant. Opinion is one of the surest

00:36:08.820 --> 00:36:12.559
testimonies of imminent defeat. They are sure

00:36:12.559 --> 00:36:15.000
that they will not be defeated while at the same

00:36:15.000 --> 00:36:19.139
time knowing the whole while it's coming. And

00:36:19.139 --> 00:36:22.059
we are sure that we will be victorious. And so

00:36:22.059 --> 00:36:23.820
as long as we do not walk away from Christ, as

00:36:23.820 --> 00:36:25.360
long as the church follows Christ, that is a

00:36:25.360 --> 00:36:27.239
sign to them that they will face imminent defeat.

00:36:27.400 --> 00:36:29.340
The fact is that this very same thing that was

00:36:29.340 --> 00:36:31.260
happening in Gideon's battle is taking place

00:36:31.260 --> 00:36:32.800
in the world today. And I submit to you that

00:36:32.800 --> 00:36:36.659
God has the same battle plan. Our part then is

00:36:36.659 --> 00:36:39.260
to trigger the surprise and disunity, to capitalize

00:36:39.260 --> 00:36:42.079
on the imminent defeat, to recognize that that

00:36:42.079 --> 00:36:44.340
survival of the fittest, that's not us, to show

00:36:44.340 --> 00:36:46.599
courage in the face of the enemy, to be a light

00:36:46.599 --> 00:36:49.000
in the darkness and a noise in the silence. It's

00:36:49.000 --> 00:36:51.679
in the world today. Our task is the same. That

00:36:51.679 --> 00:36:55.820
brings us to the third. Could we fall similarly?

00:36:56.739 --> 00:37:00.849
Not like Gideon. But instead of being like Gideon,

00:37:00.869 --> 00:37:02.489
and that's, I think, in this story who we should

00:37:02.489 --> 00:37:04.230
emulate, we should be like Gideon and his men,

00:37:04.329 --> 00:37:08.329
but could we be like the Midianites and the sons

00:37:08.329 --> 00:37:14.170
of the east? Could we be surprised and in disunity?

00:37:15.150 --> 00:37:16.969
RJ mentioned last week that there have been churches

00:37:16.969 --> 00:37:18.829
who divided over the color of the carpet, and

00:37:18.829 --> 00:37:23.090
that's a fact. Never hear, but that's a fact.

00:37:25.230 --> 00:37:26.849
There have been churches who have divided over

00:37:26.849 --> 00:37:29.000
all kinds of things. And once upon a time, there

00:37:29.000 --> 00:37:30.579
was an organization called the Church of Christ,

00:37:30.659 --> 00:37:32.460
and they believed largely the same things that

00:37:32.460 --> 00:37:34.280
we believe today. They have basically Baptist

00:37:34.280 --> 00:37:36.219
doctrine or pretty close to it. But they said,

00:37:36.219 --> 00:37:38.440
we'll never divide over anything that is not

00:37:38.440 --> 00:37:41.579
crucial to the gospel. Now, if you drive by a

00:37:41.579 --> 00:37:43.059
Church of Christ, you'll see a little cup on

00:37:43.059 --> 00:37:44.900
the sign. That means they drink one cup communion

00:37:44.900 --> 00:37:46.480
because they divide it. Some of them said, we

00:37:46.480 --> 00:37:47.920
all drink from the same cup. Some of them said,

00:37:47.960 --> 00:37:49.500
we get these little plastic cups like we do,

00:37:49.539 --> 00:37:52.119
right? And then they'll have another symbol there

00:37:52.119 --> 00:37:53.760
that represents they use an organ in worship

00:37:53.760 --> 00:37:55.559
because some people say the organ is of the devil

00:37:55.559 --> 00:37:57.260
and the church is divided and they couldn't affiliate

00:37:57.260 --> 00:37:58.900
with each other anymore because some people say

00:37:58.900 --> 00:38:00.179
you can have an organ and other people say you

00:38:00.179 --> 00:38:02.440
can't have an organ. So church is divided and

00:38:02.440 --> 00:38:05.559
church is divided from each other. Would it be

00:38:05.559 --> 00:38:10.320
possible for God's church to be scattered, surprised,

00:38:10.639 --> 00:38:15.179
and disunified? Well, The command of Christ,

00:38:15.360 --> 00:38:17.159
of course, is that we love one another, that

00:38:17.159 --> 00:38:19.340
we first and foremost love one another. That

00:38:19.340 --> 00:38:20.699
is the first thing we're supposed to do. And

00:38:20.699 --> 00:38:22.400
if that's happening, then we shouldn't be able

00:38:22.400 --> 00:38:25.300
to be caught off guard by any hardship that should

00:38:25.300 --> 00:38:28.980
come along, surprised and disunified. The strength

00:38:28.980 --> 00:38:31.039
of the enemy should be nothing to us because

00:38:31.039 --> 00:38:32.880
we know that he who is in us is greater than

00:38:32.880 --> 00:38:36.280
he that is in the world. But do we love one another?

00:38:38.659 --> 00:38:40.960
The word says that we should be of one mind in

00:38:40.960 --> 00:38:43.239
multiple places. In specific, we should be of

00:38:43.239 --> 00:38:46.039
a mind like Jesus had, willing even to go unto

00:38:46.039 --> 00:38:50.599
death, even death on a cross. We should be of

00:38:50.599 --> 00:38:52.420
one mind. If we are all of a mind like Jesus,

00:38:52.500 --> 00:38:54.400
then we will naturally be of one mind. But the

00:38:54.400 --> 00:38:57.880
question is, are we of one mind? Or are we a

00:38:57.880 --> 00:39:02.139
little bit addicted to our rebellion? Do we think

00:39:02.139 --> 00:39:05.340
that our family at home in our house knows the

00:39:05.340 --> 00:39:09.340
best way? Is your last name synonymous with...

00:39:09.599 --> 00:39:11.860
Certain practices that you know are not practiced

00:39:11.860 --> 00:39:13.460
elsewhere, and they're not specifically sin,

00:39:13.539 --> 00:39:15.760
but you would readily say our practices are better

00:39:15.760 --> 00:39:20.219
than somebody else's. It's very dangerous. We

00:39:20.219 --> 00:39:23.340
are to be of one mind. Has the church come out

00:39:23.340 --> 00:39:26.940
of the darkness and walked in the light? Where

00:39:26.940 --> 00:39:29.800
light is no surprise and darkness cannot thrive?

00:39:30.859 --> 00:39:33.500
Or does the church come together Sunday by Sunday,

00:39:33.639 --> 00:39:35.960
Tuesday by Tuesday, Wednesday by Wednesday, sometimes

00:39:35.960 --> 00:39:38.139
it's Friday, sometimes it's Monday. We come together,

00:39:38.239 --> 00:39:40.039
and while we are together, we shine a little

00:39:40.039 --> 00:39:41.739
light in each other's lives, and then we go back

00:39:41.739 --> 00:39:43.460
out there in our houses, in our homes, in our

00:39:43.460 --> 00:39:45.579
jobs, in our schools, and we walk in the darkness.

00:39:45.800 --> 00:39:48.380
And then when light comes, it's a surprise. Sherry

00:39:48.380 --> 00:39:49.880
and I were talking about this just yesterday.

00:39:49.920 --> 00:39:52.199
We were kind of hashing what happened. She was

00:39:52.199 --> 00:39:54.380
out of town for almost three days, and she went

00:39:54.380 --> 00:39:57.920
to a conference in... during that time and really

00:39:57.920 --> 00:39:59.420
get poured into and it was really good. It was

00:39:59.420 --> 00:40:01.079
a God thing. God really did a cool thing. And

00:40:01.079 --> 00:40:02.840
she says, a lot of people in the room were openly

00:40:02.840 --> 00:40:05.440
admitting that they were Christian. Charlie,

00:40:05.480 --> 00:40:07.460
is that your experience at BG? Are there a lot

00:40:07.460 --> 00:40:08.820
of people in the room openly admitting that they're

00:40:08.820 --> 00:40:13.260
Christian? Not much. Okay. So I ask you, so if

00:40:13.260 --> 00:40:17.179
you were in a room with 10 other people and you're

00:40:17.179 --> 00:40:19.019
in an environment where it's kind of taboo to

00:40:19.019 --> 00:40:23.480
talk about Jesus, school, work, right? And you

00:40:23.480 --> 00:40:25.940
don't say anything about Jesus. How do you know

00:40:25.940 --> 00:40:28.239
how many of the nine other people are Christians?

00:40:29.880 --> 00:40:33.360
What if nine of them are? What if nine of the

00:40:33.360 --> 00:40:35.280
nine people in the room, and you're all doing

00:40:35.280 --> 00:40:37.539
the same thing? You're all taboo, not talking

00:40:37.539 --> 00:40:39.260
about Jesus, not bringing it up, because you

00:40:39.260 --> 00:40:41.179
know it's offensive to some, because some people

00:40:41.179 --> 00:40:42.840
really get upset about it, because you don't

00:40:42.840 --> 00:40:44.760
want to cause a rift and stop the education,

00:40:44.960 --> 00:40:48.679
whatever. Or what if it's five? What if five

00:40:48.679 --> 00:40:50.219
out of nine people in the room are Christians?

00:40:51.800 --> 00:40:54.480
Right? And four aren't. And what if the four

00:40:54.480 --> 00:40:56.579
that aren't are atheists and they hate Christians

00:40:56.579 --> 00:40:59.420
or they're some other kind of Christian hater,

00:40:59.579 --> 00:41:02.960
right? Whatever that might look like. But five

00:41:02.960 --> 00:41:04.559
people are sitting there in silence saying, oh,

00:41:04.599 --> 00:41:05.840
wait a minute, let's go back to the beginning,

00:41:05.960 --> 00:41:12.079
shall we? In God we trust. What was the first

00:41:12.079 --> 00:41:14.300
act of God as he floated above the waters of

00:41:14.300 --> 00:41:15.739
the nothingness and there was nothing was the

00:41:15.739 --> 00:41:17.920
first act of God was the very first thing he

00:41:17.920 --> 00:41:20.650
did that was discernible? that a human might

00:41:20.650 --> 00:41:23.190
potentially have participated in, it was he spoke.

00:41:24.849 --> 00:41:26.909
So all you have to do is become silent, and you

00:41:26.909 --> 00:41:29.309
bring no noise. And if you bring no noise into

00:41:29.309 --> 00:41:31.349
the darkness, and ideally you would bring a noise

00:41:31.349 --> 00:41:34.969
that makes some sense. Don't just moan or belch

00:41:34.969 --> 00:41:36.869
loudly or something, but say something that's

00:41:36.869 --> 00:41:39.630
godly, right? If you bring that noise into the

00:41:39.630 --> 00:41:42.050
silence, then you activate the possibility of

00:41:42.050 --> 00:41:43.809
surprise and disunity. You capitalize on the

00:41:43.809 --> 00:41:45.869
imminent defeat. You recognize that there is

00:41:45.869 --> 00:41:47.489
a survival of the fittest in the world, and I'm

00:41:47.489 --> 00:41:49.889
not going to play part in that game. You bring

00:41:49.889 --> 00:41:51.710
light to the darkness and show courage in the

00:41:51.710 --> 00:41:55.369
face of the enemy. Speak up. And when you speak

00:41:55.369 --> 00:41:56.869
up, and this is happening, by the way, did you

00:41:56.869 --> 00:41:58.590
know that you can go on Facebook right now and

00:41:58.590 --> 00:42:01.630
you can see, I think it's upwards of dozens now,

00:42:01.809 --> 00:42:04.829
of college football teams where three quarters

00:42:04.829 --> 00:42:06.909
or sometimes the whole college football team,

00:42:07.050 --> 00:42:09.449
without coach led, nobody sponsored, nobody's

00:42:09.449 --> 00:42:11.829
telling them what to do, kneels on the field

00:42:11.829 --> 00:42:14.590
to pray. Sometimes both teams kneel on the field

00:42:14.590 --> 00:42:17.670
to pray together, to pray to God before the game

00:42:17.670 --> 00:42:21.780
starts. And it was a player or a group of players

00:42:21.780 --> 00:42:25.460
who started it off. They said, you know what?

00:42:25.699 --> 00:42:28.739
I do believe in Jesus. I do believe in the Lord.

00:42:28.800 --> 00:42:31.440
I'm tired of being silent. You better get tired

00:42:31.440 --> 00:42:33.199
of being silent because you're not really following

00:42:33.199 --> 00:42:37.159
God until you stop being silent. You can't be

00:42:37.159 --> 00:42:39.300
silent about the things that must be said. That's

00:42:39.300 --> 00:42:40.840
why in that same passage of Scripture in Acts

00:42:40.840 --> 00:42:47.239
4, a little later, they said in verse 12, Will

00:42:47.239 --> 00:42:50.139
you tell us, is it better to listen to you, as

00:42:50.139 --> 00:42:51.579
you're telling us not to talk about Jesus anymore?

00:42:51.820 --> 00:42:54.340
Is it better to listen to you? Or should we listen

00:42:54.340 --> 00:42:58.059
to God? For we cannot but speak about the things

00:42:58.059 --> 00:43:04.420
that we have seen and heard. You see? Could we

00:43:04.420 --> 00:43:06.639
fall similarly? Well, yeah, the fact is we could.

00:43:06.760 --> 00:43:09.159
Because I debate whether or not the church at

00:43:09.159 --> 00:43:11.400
large, the church in the world, these... 2 ,000,

00:43:11.440 --> 00:43:14.340
5 ,000 man churches that supposedly follow Jesus,

00:43:14.440 --> 00:43:16.360
but it's really a giant theater building where

00:43:16.360 --> 00:43:18.619
nobody knows anybody? Do they love one another?

00:43:20.360 --> 00:43:23.500
Do we love one another? Well, we darn well had

00:43:23.500 --> 00:43:26.639
better. Now, I may be a little partial, but I

00:43:26.639 --> 00:43:28.360
think we do a pretty good job there. But could

00:43:28.360 --> 00:43:32.800
we do better? Yes. The first command after loving

00:43:32.800 --> 00:43:34.360
God with all your heart, mind, and soul is to

00:43:34.360 --> 00:43:40.469
love one another. Should we be of one mind? We

00:43:40.469 --> 00:43:43.309
should. We should agree. Somebody says, well,

00:43:43.329 --> 00:43:44.570
I don't agree, but I'm not going to say anything

00:43:44.570 --> 00:43:47.309
because I don't want to cause any trouble. It's

00:43:47.309 --> 00:43:50.989
just not good enough. Be of one mind. Let us

00:43:50.989 --> 00:43:53.489
be of one mind with Christ. If we're disagreeing

00:43:53.489 --> 00:43:56.829
over something and that thing agrees one way

00:43:56.829 --> 00:43:58.590
with Jesus and doesn't agree the other way with

00:43:58.590 --> 00:44:00.289
Jesus, agrees with the mindset of Jesus one way

00:44:00.289 --> 00:44:01.550
and doesn't the other, then the person who's

00:44:01.550 --> 00:44:05.070
disagreeing is a sinner, very possibly bound

00:44:05.070 --> 00:44:07.539
for hell. Because 1 Corinthians 2 says we have

00:44:07.539 --> 00:44:09.940
the mind of Christ. You don't get to divide over

00:44:09.940 --> 00:44:13.199
the things that the Bible says are factual. But

00:44:13.199 --> 00:44:15.019
let's say it's not that, and it's the color of

00:44:15.019 --> 00:44:17.179
the carpet. Then we shouldn't come in the room

00:44:17.179 --> 00:44:18.920
and go, I want blue carpet, I want green carpet,

00:44:18.940 --> 00:44:20.559
and we start to debate and argue. I don't think

00:44:20.559 --> 00:44:22.420
it would be better. I have a friend of mine on

00:44:22.420 --> 00:44:27.179
Facebook. His church in 1999 built a gymnasium.

00:44:27.340 --> 00:44:29.679
It was a carpeted gymnasium, but it was a gymnasium.

00:44:29.949 --> 00:44:31.949
They called it their Christian Sports and Education

00:44:31.949 --> 00:44:33.570
Building. And they were going to invite kids

00:44:33.570 --> 00:44:35.409
from the neighborhood, high school teams, whatever

00:44:35.409 --> 00:44:38.289
to come and practice in their gymnasium. And

00:44:38.289 --> 00:44:40.150
they went, they got it totally done. All they

00:44:40.150 --> 00:44:41.869
had left to do was put up the basketball hoops.

00:44:42.329 --> 00:44:44.389
They had them, purchased them, ready to put them

00:44:44.389 --> 00:44:46.309
up. And somebody in a membership business meeting,

00:44:46.349 --> 00:44:48.769
whatever they call it there, said, you know,

00:44:48.809 --> 00:44:51.150
we don't think we should put them up. The balls

00:44:51.150 --> 00:44:53.570
will scuff up the walls. The carpet will wear

00:44:53.570 --> 00:44:55.489
out too fast. Plus, we put them up there. People

00:44:55.489 --> 00:44:56.769
will always be using it, and we won't be able

00:44:56.769 --> 00:44:58.170
to put up tables and have fellowship in there

00:44:58.170 --> 00:45:00.510
and whatever. And they decided not to use the

00:45:00.510 --> 00:45:03.570
gymnasium as a gymnasium, but to use it as a

00:45:03.570 --> 00:45:07.030
cafeteria, a place for meetings, a place for

00:45:07.030 --> 00:45:09.590
tables and meals, which isn't a bad thing per

00:45:09.590 --> 00:45:11.829
se. But when they didn't put up the basketball

00:45:11.829 --> 00:45:14.739
hoops, it started a downward slide. And I submit

00:45:14.739 --> 00:45:16.039
to you, it was really in the heart because they

00:45:16.039 --> 00:45:17.280
didn't love one another because they weren't

00:45:17.280 --> 00:45:20.139
of one mind. And families with kids who looked

00:45:20.139 --> 00:45:21.719
and said, well, we can't play in there. We're

00:45:21.719 --> 00:45:24.400
not allowed to play in the gym. And teenagers

00:45:24.400 --> 00:45:27.199
who wanted to make shots could not. And the sports

00:45:27.199 --> 00:45:30.579
ministry went away. And now in 2025, they've

00:45:30.579 --> 00:45:34.059
got about a dozen people coming. And the day

00:45:34.059 --> 00:45:36.800
before yesterday, my friend hung up the basketball

00:45:36.800 --> 00:45:44.639
hoops. 26 years later. Could we? Do we love one

00:45:44.639 --> 00:45:47.460
another? Are we of one mind? Can we come out

00:45:47.460 --> 00:45:49.679
of the darkness and walk in the light all day

00:45:49.679 --> 00:45:51.880
long, every day, on your job, at your school,

00:45:51.960 --> 00:45:54.400
in your home, on your social media, wherever

00:45:54.400 --> 00:45:56.480
you are, during playing games, during playing

00:45:56.480 --> 00:45:59.880
sports, everywhere you are, will you walk in

00:45:59.880 --> 00:46:02.179
the light where light is no surprise and darkness

00:46:02.179 --> 00:46:06.440
cannot thrive? I submit to you, if we will not,

00:46:06.519 --> 00:46:10.579
we could fall similarly. And what would that

00:46:10.579 --> 00:46:12.059
look like? We'll begin to attack one another.

00:46:13.719 --> 00:46:16.300
We'll begin to badmouth one another. We'll begin

00:46:16.300 --> 00:46:20.000
to disagree in disgruntled nature. And it'll

00:46:20.000 --> 00:46:21.539
be the survival of the fittest who talks the

00:46:21.539 --> 00:46:23.460
loudest, talks the best, brings the most money.

00:46:23.500 --> 00:46:25.300
We'll get to decide in the next membership meeting

00:46:25.300 --> 00:46:28.099
what happens with whatever. But if we don't do

00:46:28.099 --> 00:46:31.219
that, I'm going to withdraw my tie. You say,

00:46:31.260 --> 00:46:33.039
well, you would never do that. And I would never

00:46:33.039 --> 00:46:36.420
do that. But you better believe it's been done

00:46:36.420 --> 00:46:39.280
tens of thousands of times all over the country,

00:46:39.400 --> 00:46:42.909
all over the world. Could we fall just as similar

00:46:42.909 --> 00:46:44.849
as the Midian army and the soldiers from the

00:46:44.849 --> 00:46:46.929
east? We could. If we do not love one another,

00:46:47.070 --> 00:46:48.809
if we are not of one mind, if we do not come

00:46:48.809 --> 00:46:50.250
out of the darkness and walk in the light, we

00:46:50.250 --> 00:46:53.150
bring us to our conclusion. For those we come

00:46:53.150 --> 00:46:56.289
upon in this life, I said in this story, ours

00:46:56.289 --> 00:47:01.269
to emulate is Gideon. We meet and greet. There

00:47:01.269 --> 00:47:04.969
is exactly no time left. This is the problem.

00:47:05.429 --> 00:47:07.769
We are acting light because Jesus has not come

00:47:07.769 --> 00:47:10.110
yet. that he's not going to come for a while,

00:47:10.190 --> 00:47:14.429
you realize that it is possible, however likely

00:47:14.429 --> 00:47:16.010
or unlikely that's in the Lord's hands, that

00:47:16.010 --> 00:47:17.550
he could come before I finish this paragraph.

00:47:18.849 --> 00:47:20.789
And if you're sitting here in these chairs right

00:47:20.789 --> 00:47:24.460
now, you have exactly no time left. The truth

00:47:24.460 --> 00:47:26.579
is, no one has any time at all. You ever said

00:47:26.579 --> 00:47:28.260
that? I don't have any time to do that. I don't

00:47:28.260 --> 00:47:30.000
have enough time to do that. You don't have any

00:47:30.000 --> 00:47:32.139
time at all. You literally only have the second

00:47:32.139 --> 00:47:33.460
that you are currently in, the breathing that

00:47:33.460 --> 00:47:34.780
you're doing right now, the choice you're making

00:47:34.780 --> 00:47:36.260
right now to be here, to listen, to study the

00:47:36.260 --> 00:47:38.340
word, to go through this story. That's all you

00:47:38.340 --> 00:47:40.159
have. You don't have later. You don't have lunch.

00:47:40.239 --> 00:47:41.539
You don't have bedtime. You don't have bedtime

00:47:41.539 --> 00:47:43.400
stories. You don't have tomorrow getting up.

00:47:43.440 --> 00:47:44.840
You don't have the rooster crowing or the clock

00:47:44.840 --> 00:47:47.000
going off. You don't have that. You will never

00:47:47.000 --> 00:47:49.300
have that. You cannot have that. Who has that?

00:47:49.400 --> 00:47:55.139
God has that. And in God we trust. And so everyone

00:47:55.139 --> 00:47:57.760
that we run into is in the place where they have

00:47:57.760 --> 00:48:00.079
exactly no time left. We had exactly no time

00:48:00.079 --> 00:48:02.840
left. We have exactly no time left. And they

00:48:02.840 --> 00:48:05.159
have exactly no time left. They ought to repent.

00:48:06.599 --> 00:48:09.679
And we ought to hope that they should because

00:48:09.679 --> 00:48:13.960
they were already defeated. Listen to the tense

00:48:13.960 --> 00:48:17.619
of the verbs. They were already defeated. We've

00:48:17.619 --> 00:48:19.239
been talking about an imminent defeat, but the

00:48:19.239 --> 00:48:23.500
reality was that Gideons were already... Gideon's

00:48:23.500 --> 00:48:25.639
men were already defeating the Midianites before

00:48:25.639 --> 00:48:30.239
they ever entered the camp. Gideon was afraid.

00:48:30.460 --> 00:48:32.219
God said, if you're afraid, take your servant,

00:48:32.300 --> 00:48:34.539
go down, let's see what they say. God has sent

00:48:34.539 --> 00:48:36.280
them a dream. The imminent defeat was already

00:48:36.280 --> 00:48:40.659
in place. So much so was the defeat, so secure,

00:48:40.780 --> 00:48:43.460
so definite was the defeat, that the weapons

00:48:43.460 --> 00:48:46.019
that they took were a pitcher, a torch, and a

00:48:46.019 --> 00:48:52.559
trumpet. It was already done. They ought to repent.

00:48:52.679 --> 00:48:54.840
We ought to hope that they should repent for

00:48:54.840 --> 00:48:57.539
they were already defeated. The Bible says it

00:48:57.539 --> 00:49:00.780
is not sin now that sends a man to hell. I understand

00:49:00.780 --> 00:49:02.639
the Bible says the wages of sin is death. Death

00:49:02.639 --> 00:49:04.800
is internal separation from God. And if you don't

00:49:04.800 --> 00:49:07.119
receive the free gift of salvation through Jesus

00:49:07.119 --> 00:49:08.579
Christ, you're eternally separated from God and

00:49:08.579 --> 00:49:10.280
you will go to hell. I understand that. But it

00:49:10.280 --> 00:49:13.039
is not then that you sinned that sends you to

00:49:13.039 --> 00:49:14.820
hell. People say that like, well, it was just

00:49:14.820 --> 00:49:16.619
the smallest lie and I still go to hell. No,

00:49:16.699 --> 00:49:20.099
it's not that. It is because they refused the

00:49:20.099 --> 00:49:23.800
Son of God. Pardon me. It says, Jesus did not

00:49:23.800 --> 00:49:25.940
come to condemn the world, but they are condemned

00:49:25.940 --> 00:49:28.400
already by what they have done with the Son of

00:49:28.400 --> 00:49:31.079
God. Not because they lied or stole or any of

00:49:31.079 --> 00:49:34.800
that, but because they refused Jesus. They are

00:49:34.800 --> 00:49:38.739
just as dead standing there in front of you as

00:49:38.739 --> 00:49:42.219
they ever will be for an eternity. Your heart

00:49:42.219 --> 00:49:44.780
beating, air in your lungs, your brain waves

00:49:44.780 --> 00:49:50.579
do not make you alive. No more than a good running

00:49:50.579 --> 00:49:55.940
car makes you alive. Or an airplane. In the hangar.

00:49:56.219 --> 00:49:59.079
Fueled and ready to go. Pre -checks done. Doesn't

00:49:59.079 --> 00:50:01.559
make you alive. Not even if you get in the plane.

00:50:02.250 --> 00:50:04.010
It doesn't make you alive. You get in the car

00:50:04.010 --> 00:50:06.030
and go. It doesn't make you alive. And your body

00:50:06.030 --> 00:50:08.010
is like that. Your heart beating, your brain

00:50:08.010 --> 00:50:10.610
waving does not make you alive. We were dead

00:50:10.610 --> 00:50:13.829
in our trespasses and sins. Alive is fellowship

00:50:13.829 --> 00:50:17.289
with Christ. Those who do not know God are dead

00:50:17.289 --> 00:50:27.349
already. They have exactly no time. There is

00:50:27.349 --> 00:50:30.650
an imminent defeat upon them. And so certain

00:50:30.650 --> 00:50:33.090
is it that it is as if they have already been

00:50:33.090 --> 00:50:36.570
defeated. We are not the workers of that defeat.

00:50:37.730 --> 00:50:40.429
The closest we ever get to that is when Malachi

00:50:40.429 --> 00:50:42.230
says that we will rush into the kingdom of God,

00:50:42.250 --> 00:50:43.949
into heaven for eternity, and we'll go over the

00:50:43.949 --> 00:50:46.929
dust that is the enemies of God and our enemies.

00:50:47.269 --> 00:50:49.409
You'll trample them under feet on the way in.

00:50:49.530 --> 00:50:50.909
That's the closest you ever get to that, but

00:50:50.909 --> 00:50:57.340
you're not their enemy. For any man or woman

00:50:57.340 --> 00:50:59.820
who refuses God's offer of salvation or who readily

00:50:59.820 --> 00:51:03.320
warps that offer to be a thing that authorizes

00:51:03.320 --> 00:51:06.460
their bad behavior, we ought to be cordial to

00:51:06.460 --> 00:51:09.239
pity them. Pity them, for they're on the way

00:51:09.239 --> 00:51:12.460
to hell. They are bound in chains, lost in darkness.

00:51:13.400 --> 00:51:15.840
Pity is the proper emotion. It's what the world

00:51:15.840 --> 00:51:19.429
would demand of us. But we offer something, have

00:51:19.429 --> 00:51:22.230
something so much more. We offer an opportunity

00:51:22.230 --> 00:51:25.130
to repent and a salvation already dearly purchased.

00:51:25.269 --> 00:51:28.829
A forgiveness found in no other religion or relationship

00:51:28.829 --> 00:51:32.130
and a new life born again out of the world into

00:51:32.130 --> 00:51:34.929
a kingdom that will last for eternity to be called

00:51:34.929 --> 00:51:39.230
a child of God. But don't kid yourself if you

00:51:39.230 --> 00:51:41.510
don't participate, if you don't go and tell them,

00:51:41.550 --> 00:51:43.389
if you don't go and entreat them, if you don't

00:51:43.389 --> 00:51:45.789
go and share the gospel, their defeat is still

00:51:45.789 --> 00:51:50.829
imminent. And perhaps so is yours. For how will

00:51:50.829 --> 00:51:52.929
you feel when you arrive before the Lord and

00:51:52.929 --> 00:51:55.349
answer for all the opportunities you had to deliver

00:51:55.349 --> 00:51:57.469
the light into the darkness, to become the noise

00:51:57.469 --> 00:51:59.949
and the silence, to stand courageously against

00:51:59.949 --> 00:52:02.789
the enemy, to love one another, to be of one

00:52:02.789 --> 00:52:09.630
mind? And God says, why did you not? And what

00:52:09.630 --> 00:52:13.230
will you say? All the excuses we make now for

00:52:13.230 --> 00:52:14.550
not doing the things that we're supposed to do

00:52:14.550 --> 00:52:17.110
aren't going to hold up. Because he's God. And

00:52:17.110 --> 00:52:18.690
he's going to say, but the instant, the moment

00:52:18.690 --> 00:52:20.929
that you decided to do what I told you to do,

00:52:21.070 --> 00:52:26.590
I had it all under control. The only thing stopping

00:52:26.590 --> 00:52:28.750
you from seeing the blessings that I was sending

00:52:28.750 --> 00:52:33.929
you was your unwillingness to receive them. In

00:52:33.929 --> 00:52:36.030
Mark 11, 24, it says this. It says, therefore,

00:52:36.110 --> 00:52:39.289
I say to you, all things for which you pray and

00:52:39.289 --> 00:52:41.809
ask, listen to this very closely. Listen to the

00:52:41.809 --> 00:52:46.340
tense of the verbs. that you have received them,

00:52:46.519 --> 00:52:50.699
not that you will receive them, believe that

00:52:50.699 --> 00:52:52.900
you have received them and they will be granted

00:52:52.900 --> 00:52:56.780
to you. And in Matthew 16, 18, where he hands

00:52:56.780 --> 00:52:59.059
the keys of the kingdoms, metaphorically speaking

00:52:59.059 --> 00:53:01.719
to Peter, he says, and all things that you shall

00:53:01.719 --> 00:53:04.920
loose on the earth will have what? Already been

00:53:04.920 --> 00:53:07.239
loosed in heaven. And all things you shall bind

00:53:07.239 --> 00:53:09.420
in the earth will have already been bound in

00:53:09.420 --> 00:53:13.920
heaven. At best. We are conduits. We trust in

00:53:13.920 --> 00:53:16.840
the Lord, and when we step out with the tools

00:53:16.840 --> 00:53:18.519
that God has given us, it may look at me like,

00:53:18.659 --> 00:53:20.099
well, I could never wield a sword, and you're

00:53:20.099 --> 00:53:23.119
asking me to go somewhere dangerous. I don't

00:53:23.119 --> 00:53:25.219
have a firearm or any martial arts skills whatsoever,

00:53:25.280 --> 00:53:26.599
and you're asking me to go somewhere dangerous.

00:53:26.679 --> 00:53:28.480
God is asking you to take the gospel and your

00:53:28.480 --> 00:53:30.559
spiritual gifts and your love in your heart and

00:53:30.559 --> 00:53:34.579
the word that can save souls and to go. And you

00:53:34.579 --> 00:53:38.800
go. We will kill none. The truth is, when it

00:53:38.800 --> 00:53:41.710
comes to saving people, we will win none. You

00:53:41.710 --> 00:53:43.489
don't save souls. You're just here as an agent

00:53:43.489 --> 00:53:46.969
of God to speak, pronounce the truth, ask for

00:53:46.969 --> 00:53:51.070
a decision, and declare forgiveness. And for

00:53:51.070 --> 00:53:52.730
those who will not accept it, they will not have

00:53:52.730 --> 00:53:55.130
it, and their defeat is imminent. Oh, won't they

00:53:55.130 --> 00:53:58.269
be surprised when the trump sounds and Jesus

00:53:58.269 --> 00:54:02.289
shows up again. In disunity, they will claw,

00:54:02.690 --> 00:54:06.639
struggle. And try to be set free and say, but

00:54:06.639 --> 00:54:09.760
my sister, my brother, my uncle, he abused me.

00:54:09.800 --> 00:54:12.239
He did this. He lied to me. She stole from me.

00:54:12.760 --> 00:54:15.940
They betrayed me. That pastor didn't say. That

00:54:15.940 --> 00:54:18.679
pastor did say. That church didn't do. That church

00:54:18.679 --> 00:54:22.179
did do. I never had enough money. I never had

00:54:22.179 --> 00:54:24.440
enough time. I've been sick. I've been hurting.

00:54:24.480 --> 00:54:28.139
My body this. My body that. Malnutrition. And

00:54:28.139 --> 00:54:31.400
on and on and on it goes. And God will say simply

00:54:31.400 --> 00:54:36.130
this. The victory. The victory was always in

00:54:36.130 --> 00:54:41.690
your hands. And for however long you had opportunity,

00:54:41.989 --> 00:54:48.289
day in and day out, you refused it. And if we

00:54:48.289 --> 00:54:51.690
continue to do so, we will fall similarly to

00:54:51.690 --> 00:54:54.389
the army of the Midianites. And those who will

00:54:54.389 --> 00:54:57.190
fall like that, fall into disunity, attacking

00:54:57.190 --> 00:54:59.550
one another, and ultimately land in complete

00:54:59.550 --> 00:55:03.380
defeat and annihilation, those like that, Well,

00:55:03.400 --> 00:55:04.699
now they're enough that they would cover the

00:55:04.699 --> 00:55:08.099
whole earth. But there are still amongst us some

00:55:08.099 --> 00:55:10.639
who would emulate Gideon. And I pray that our

00:55:10.639 --> 00:55:13.760
church will be that. And that we will take that

00:55:13.760 --> 00:55:16.239
noise into the silence. We will take that light

00:55:16.239 --> 00:55:19.739
into the darkness. That we will stand with that

00:55:19.739 --> 00:55:22.300
courage against the enemy. That we will love

00:55:22.300 --> 00:55:26.920
one another, be of one mind, and never fall into

00:55:26.920 --> 00:55:36.300
disunity. And surprise. It starts with you saying,

00:55:36.420 --> 00:55:38.639
Jesus Christ, be my Lord. That means you tell

00:55:38.639 --> 00:55:42.099
me what to do and I'll do it. And my Savior,

00:55:42.179 --> 00:55:43.760
that means I recognize that he died on the cross

00:55:43.760 --> 00:55:45.619
for my sins and rose again on the third day.

00:55:46.659 --> 00:55:51.420
And I can be saved. Sometimes I feel dumb. I

00:55:51.420 --> 00:55:54.239
can be saved. Sometimes I feel too smart to buy

00:55:54.239 --> 00:55:57.300
into something of faith. I have my reasons. You

00:55:57.300 --> 00:56:00.869
can be saved. I put it off forever. You can be

00:56:00.869 --> 00:56:07.150
saved. I have refused to let people know that

00:56:07.150 --> 00:56:08.989
I'm really not saved because they started thinking

00:56:08.989 --> 00:56:10.929
I was. I had a woman tell me once, everybody

00:56:10.929 --> 00:56:12.769
just assumed I was saved and so I just went with

00:56:12.769 --> 00:56:15.670
it. She told me that the day she was getting

00:56:15.670 --> 00:56:20.210
saved. There is no time. Not there is no time

00:56:20.210 --> 00:56:22.510
like the present. There just is no other time

00:56:22.510 --> 00:56:25.969
than the present. You accept Jesus Christ as

00:56:25.969 --> 00:56:27.710
your Lord and Savior in earnest and to begin

00:56:27.710 --> 00:56:31.340
to live for him today. later, not very long at

00:56:31.340 --> 00:56:33.559
all, we're going to see some baptisms and people

00:56:33.559 --> 00:56:35.500
who are living testimony. They're saying, whatever

00:56:35.500 --> 00:56:39.119
may come, whoever God is making me to be, I am

00:56:39.119 --> 00:56:43.000
living for Jesus Christ now. And that can be

00:56:43.000 --> 00:56:47.639
you. And then people say, we band together as

00:56:47.639 --> 00:56:49.280
a church and love one another and become of one

00:56:49.280 --> 00:56:53.300
mind and serve. We ache when we ache and we rejoice

00:56:53.300 --> 00:56:56.400
when we rejoice because that's what God made

00:56:56.400 --> 00:57:01.780
us. That's a little bit like Gideon. And a lot

00:57:01.780 --> 00:57:06.380
not like the Midianites. Let me say this last

00:57:06.380 --> 00:57:08.139
line, and some of you will recognize it. It's

00:57:08.139 --> 00:57:14.099
from Star Trek. Resistance is futile. I ask the

00:57:14.099 --> 00:57:17.420
praise team to come forward then and lead us

00:57:17.420 --> 00:57:19.539
in a closing hymn. But if you're here today and

00:57:19.539 --> 00:57:21.239
you're accepting Jesus Christ as your Lord and

00:57:21.239 --> 00:57:22.659
Savior, then you respond. You come to me and

00:57:22.659 --> 00:57:25.320
say, this is me. I am accepting Jesus. I am becoming

00:57:25.320 --> 00:57:27.260
a Christian today. I will follow him to the best

00:57:27.260 --> 00:57:29.119
of my ability from now on. And you can come up

00:57:29.119 --> 00:57:31.599
here and say that. Or if you're making some other

00:57:31.599 --> 00:57:35.539
kind of decision. Whatever it might be. I know

00:57:35.539 --> 00:57:37.280
I have to do this ministry. Or I know I need

00:57:37.280 --> 00:57:39.139
to join this church. Or I know I need to be baptized.

00:57:39.420 --> 00:57:41.079
Or I know I need to tell my friend about Jesus.

00:57:42.059 --> 00:57:45.179
I know I need to stop being silent. Not to be

00:57:45.179 --> 00:57:48.360
rude, but to be a noise in the silence with the

00:57:48.360 --> 00:57:52.260
right information. You can walk in a room with

00:57:52.260 --> 00:57:53.239
plenty of people, you don't know if anybody's

00:57:53.239 --> 00:57:55.659
saying, like, is anybody here not pushing it?

00:57:55.739 --> 00:57:57.300
Is anybody here that wants to talk about Jesus?

00:57:57.960 --> 00:58:00.119
I'm willing. I'm not saying you have to, I'm

00:58:00.119 --> 00:58:02.000
not pushing it on you, but if you want to, I'm

00:58:02.000 --> 00:58:03.719
willing. That would be a starting spot, wouldn't

00:58:03.719 --> 00:58:07.559
it? What are you afraid of? You're in the darkness

00:58:07.559 --> 00:58:09.300
and you're afraid. You're more like a Midianite

00:58:09.300 --> 00:58:11.739
or a Sodomite than you are a Christian. Turn

00:58:11.739 --> 00:58:14.380
your life over to the Lord and stand for Him.

00:58:14.960 --> 00:58:16.539
We'll sing this song together, but if you're

00:58:16.539 --> 00:58:18.340
responding in some way, you come forward. Everybody

00:58:18.340 --> 00:58:22.690
stand up. Break out your voices, but if you're

00:58:22.690 --> 00:58:24.690
a responder coming forward, then you don't need

00:58:24.690 --> 00:58:26.110
to sing. You can just come right now and tell

00:58:26.110 --> 00:58:37.469
me what's on your heart today. Just as I am without

00:58:37.469 --> 00:58:48.349
one thing, look at the blood pushing for me.

00:59:21.199 --> 00:59:21.480
Okay.