SPEAKER_00: Amen.
SPEAKER_00: All right.
SPEAKER_00: Well, before I dive into it, let me just tell you a little bit about myself, right?
SPEAKER_00: For those who may not know me, again, my name is Nathan Rees, my wife and I, our son.
SPEAKER_00: We've been going here for what, about a year and a half, give or take, plus minus change or so.
SPEAKER_00: But we've been here because we know Holy Spirit's working in here.
SPEAKER_00: I mean, you don't have a church unless you've got Holy Spirit moving in the church, right?
SPEAKER_00: You just simply can't.
SPEAKER_00: And we were in a season in our lives where we were just hungry, we were ready for something more, we were ready for something deeper.
SPEAKER_00: We've been ministered by many great pastors and theologians, but we we were in a season where we were doing a lot of online church.
SPEAKER_00: But then uh one day, it's kind of amazing, my wife just kind of out of the blue said, I really wish we could find a church service at 1030.
SPEAKER_00: They're always at nine, they're always at 11.
SPEAKER_00: What 10:30?
SPEAKER_00: That's such a better one.
SPEAKER_00: And I gotta give her some credit here because she we were up on a Sunday morning, we were getting ready to maybe watch another another lesson, but she just started going through and she's like, I found a church.
SPEAKER_00: Let's go right now, like 30 minutes before the sermon started, before the before the service started.
SPEAKER_00: And we've been here ever since.
SPEAKER_00: So, with that being said, being up here really is a high honor.
SPEAKER_00: I thank you, Pastor David, for inviting me to come up here to do this.
SPEAKER_00: I'm I'm truly humbled by that.
SPEAKER_00: But as far as my day-to-day life goes, I'm a school teacher.
SPEAKER_00: Now, here's the real test.
SPEAKER_00: How many of you actually like history?
SPEAKER_00: Okay.
SPEAKER_00: All right.
SPEAKER_00: All right, be honest here.
SPEAKER_00: If you don't like history, you can put your hand up.
SPEAKER_00: Okay.
SPEAKER_00: Okay, that's okay.
SPEAKER_00: I know I get it.
SPEAKER_00: Sometimes history is not your cup of tea.
SPEAKER_00: That's fine.
SPEAKER_00: But I I chose to go into education because I really do have a heart for the next generation.
SPEAKER_00: And how many of us know that there's a calling on the next generation right now?
SPEAKER_00: Gen Z.
SPEAKER_00: Gen Z, I know there's a lot of things that have been spoken.
SPEAKER_00: We were, Catherine, you were singing some very powerful songs here because that's kind of the message that has been sent out there.
SPEAKER_00: There's been a lot of foul words spoken over against the youth.
SPEAKER_00: Now, this has happened before, but I think it's been a particularly hard on Gen Z.
SPEAKER_00: It's like y'all give them a break, they're they're entering into a season in this world that they haven't asked for.
SPEAKER_00: There's a lot of stuff going on right now.
SPEAKER_00: And yet there's so many of them that are just beating them down when instead they need to be preparing them for battle, right?
SPEAKER_00: Get this.
SPEAKER_00: Gen Z is starting to answer that call.
SPEAKER_00: Bible sales are going up, church attendance is going up, and Gen Z is the one that is beginning to answer that call.
SPEAKER_00: So let's respect them because they are the ones getting ready to stand up for battle, and many of them are starting from the very bottom.
SPEAKER_00: You could say that they've been enduring a day of infamy on their own.
SPEAKER_00: Speaking of that, as a history teacher, I gotta pop quiz y'all for a moment.
SPEAKER_00: I feel the anointing of God that I have to pop quiz you on at least one history fact today.
SPEAKER_00: All right.
SPEAKER_00: Can't even get to it.
SPEAKER_00: On this day, 1941, what happened?
SPEAKER_00: Pearl Harbor, yes.
SPEAKER_00: I am, if you ask me the question, what's your favorite history topic?
SPEAKER_00: That's really a bad question to ask me, but I try to narrow it down to military history.
SPEAKER_00: And so when David asked me, how about December 7th?
SPEAKER_00: I said, You're kidding.
SPEAKER_00: I had to, I had to say yes.
SPEAKER_00: Because I love teaching about military issues, but wouldn't you know throughout the Bible, God instructs through the military, right?
SPEAKER_00: How many battles did he lead people through?
SPEAKER_00: How many wars did he declare victorious?
SPEAKER_00: We may not be in a physical war in the sense, but we're already, we are always engaging in spiritual warfare.
SPEAKER_00: Okay?
SPEAKER_00: And like Pearl Harbor, oftentimes we just admit defeat when instead God has victory in mind, right?
SPEAKER_00: So a little recap for those who may not know a lot about Pearl Harbor, that was truly a day of infamy.
SPEAKER_00: Okay.
SPEAKER_00: The president came out after the attack where 2,000 roughly individuals were killed on a Sunday morning, no less.
SPEAKER_00: Many of them getting up.
SPEAKER_00: They were ready to go to church.
SPEAKER_00: Get that?
SPEAKER_00: They were attacked on God's day for us to go and rest.
SPEAKER_00: And the enemy decides to strike them.
SPEAKER_00: Make matters worse.
SPEAKER_00: The U.S.
SPEAKER_00: was dealing with economic depression.
SPEAKER_00: Okay, stock market crash, 1929.
SPEAKER_00: Throughout the whole 1930s, there were breadlines, soup kitchens, relief efforts, because about a quarter of the U.S.
SPEAKER_00: population was unemployed.
SPEAKER_00: And how many of us are worried about economic fears, right?
SPEAKER_00: There's a lot that was going on in the United States.
SPEAKER_00: Meanwhile, you've got the Axis powers that were rising, Nazi Germany, Imperial Japan, steamrolling across Europe and the Pacific, and meanwhile, the United States is just trying to get itself back up on its feet.
SPEAKER_00: Then, wham, the attack happens.
SPEAKER_00: Needless to say, the U.S.
SPEAKER_00: was far from prepared for that war.
SPEAKER_00: Get this.
SPEAKER_00: Out of all the armies in the world, you want to know how the U.S.
SPEAKER_00: ranked amongst them?
SPEAKER_00: We weren't very high.
SPEAKER_00: We were 19th.
SPEAKER_00: We had one of the smallest militaries.
SPEAKER_00: I know it's kind of hard to imagine today because we think of the U.S.
SPEAKER_00: as having this global presence, right?
SPEAKER_00: We're the best trained, we're the best equipped.
SPEAKER_00: Well, that wasn't the case in 1941.
SPEAKER_00: Even when we knew that the Japanese and the Nazis were rising, we still were kind of just tugging along a little bit.
SPEAKER_00: But then that battle, that that that quick attack on December 7th, 1941, that changed the game.
SPEAKER_00: That forced the U.S.
SPEAKER_00: to get it in gear and gear up for war, but not just any kind of war.
SPEAKER_00: One that's going to be waged on two fronts.
SPEAKER_00: By all means, something impossible.
SPEAKER_00: Something that should not have been accomplished.
SPEAKER_00: Something that could not be done.
SPEAKER_00: And yet look what happened.
SPEAKER_00: I'm a fervent believer that all in the earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof.
SPEAKER_00: Has he not used this nation for his purpose?
SPEAKER_00: I believe that was a season when he did.
SPEAKER_00: And I believe right now God is ready to use this nation again.
SPEAKER_00: But we got to get it in gear.
SPEAKER_00: Amen.
SPEAKER_00: So before I get deep into the story, can we just pray real quick, Heavenly Father?
SPEAKER_00: I just pray that there's a life-given word in this message today.
SPEAKER_00: I pray that there is a word that is uplifting the hearts and minds of the people in here to get them ready for the warfare that you are assigning them to.
SPEAKER_00: Yes, Lord, that you assign them to in the mighty name of Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: Amen.
SPEAKER_00: Alright, let's get into it.
SPEAKER_00: So if you have your Bibles with you, you can go ahead and turn to the book of Judges.
SPEAKER_00: I'm going to be hopscotching around, or shall I say, island hopping for those who know that history.
SPEAKER_00: I'm going to be moving around chapters six and seven.
SPEAKER_00: We're going to be looking at the tale of Gideon, a mighty anointed man of God who was raised up to lead Israel in its darkest hour, its infamous moment.
SPEAKER_00: So I just gave you the whole introduction of Pearl Harbor, right?
SPEAKER_00: Not just because it's December 7th, but because there is a real biblical parallel here.
SPEAKER_00: Okay.
SPEAKER_00: Just as the U.S.
SPEAKER_00: was on its knees, down on the ground, reeling from this attack that should have kept us from fighting, Israel was experiencing a season of its own.
SPEAKER_00: Okay.
SPEAKER_00: In Judges chapter 6, the Bible describes this scene that Israel is at a low point.
SPEAKER_00: Okay?
SPEAKER_00: Israel's at a low low point.
SPEAKER_00: They are surrounded by a group known as the Midianites.
SPEAKER_00: This is one of the many Canaanite groups.
SPEAKER_00: For reference, Israel has already moved out of Egypt.
SPEAKER_00: They've already moved into the promised land with God.
SPEAKER_00: They've already settled.
SPEAKER_00: But there's a problem Israel frequently faces in judges, and that's they get comfortable with the people they're around.
SPEAKER_00: See, when God moves you into your promised land, he's expecting you to be separate.
SPEAKER_00: That's what being a holy, that's what being a holy follower of God is like.
SPEAKER_00: You have to be separate.
SPEAKER_00: You can't conform to the world.
SPEAKER_00: But unfortunately, Israel was doing just that.
SPEAKER_00: Before Pearl Harbor, in a way, the United States was doing that.
SPEAKER_00: Y'all familiar with the Roaring Twenties?
SPEAKER_00: Oh, there were some lifestyles that were being embraced during that time that were far less than holy.
SPEAKER_00: We think about the things that we hear about today and that we see on TV and some of the things that are tolerated, not all that different back then.
SPEAKER_00: And guess what?
SPEAKER_00: When you choose to embrace that lifestyle, God's gonna allow the consequences follow.
SPEAKER_00: Actions have consequences.
SPEAKER_00: Next thing you know, when the enemy takes advantage of your weak point, you get overcome, you get consumed.
SPEAKER_00: Case in point, Israel endures seven years of torment.
SPEAKER_00: The Bible says that the Midianites tormented them, and the Israelites were impoverished for seven years.
SPEAKER_00: They were at a low point.
SPEAKER_00: They were at the bottom.
SPEAKER_00: But our God is a redeemer, right?
SPEAKER_00: He does not allow consequences to follow without an opportunity to redeem you and build you back up.
SPEAKER_00: Which is why the moment the Israelites realize I'm wrong, I'm sorry, and I turn back to you, God, God immediately sends a holy prophet to give a word.
SPEAKER_00: And as long as the Israelites follow the word of that prophet, they will be risen back up.
SPEAKER_00: And not only will they be redeemed from the sin that they have been committed, but God is also going to vanquish the enemies that were invited because of it.
SPEAKER_00: So it doesn't matter how far you've gotten, how low you've gotten, how much sin you've committed.
SPEAKER_00: There is not a sin that the blood of Jesus cannot redeem you.
SPEAKER_00: And we see that happening here.
SPEAKER_00: God is taking Israel where they're at, which is the lowest.
SPEAKER_00: Again, I love what you were singing earlier, Catherine.
SPEAKER_00: Perfection.
SPEAKER_00: I was expecting someone who wanted perfection.
SPEAKER_00: God does not care about perfection because nobody can be perfect in him.
SPEAKER_00: Only God is perfect.
SPEAKER_00: But he'll take you where you're at now and he'll fulfill his perfect plan through it.
SPEAKER_00: Amen.
SPEAKER_00: So Israel's at that low point.
SPEAKER_00: Midianite army.
SPEAKER_00: Got him gripped out.
SPEAKER_00: But a prophet of the Lord comes and says, I'm going to raise up a man.
SPEAKER_00: That man ends up being Gideon.
SPEAKER_00: Now, there's a reason why I'm focusing on Gideon because I just love his story.
SPEAKER_00: Okay?
SPEAKER_00: A lot of times when people think about mighty warriors being raised up by God, they often think of, you know, some guy with a real deep voice.
SPEAKER_00: He might be a little bit much.
SPEAKER_00: And a lot of times they think of someone who's the most scholared, right?
SPEAKER_00: I mean, they can whip out scripture like it's nothing, right?
SPEAKER_00: And we often we often get that vision, but Gideon, I'm gonna tell you, Gideon, he's far from that.
SPEAKER_00: Okay.
SPEAKER_00: In fact, Gideon doesn't even know what he's stepping into, but God is gonna raise him up to be the leader of an Israelite army to overthrow the Midianites.
SPEAKER_00: Okay?
SPEAKER_00: He's described as a mighty man of valor.
SPEAKER_00: But you tell me this.
SPEAKER_00: If you're living in a circumstance like this, would you feel mighty?
SPEAKER_00: This right here is a threshing floor.
SPEAKER_00: Okay?
SPEAKER_00: In biblical times and in some cultures today, people still harvest grain the old-fashioned way.
SPEAKER_00: Okay, so what they would do is they would take the wheat and they would bring it to the threshing floor, and then they would bash the stalks of grain on the ground.
SPEAKER_00: It was it was heavy labor.
SPEAKER_00: You can see there would be oxen there to help out as well.
SPEAKER_00: They would stomp on the grain so that way they could sift the nutritious grain from the stalks, what the Bible calls the chaff.
SPEAKER_00: So separating the wheat from the chaff, right?
SPEAKER_00: So Gideon's doing this day in and day out.
SPEAKER_00: And in Judges 6, it says he's doing this next to a wine press.
SPEAKER_00: Now, how many of y'all know that the Bible's got a lot of symbolic meaning behind things?
SPEAKER_00: I bet Gideon didn't know this.
SPEAKER_00: But there's a reason why those details are included in the scripture because to be raised up as a judge, you first have to learn to separate.
SPEAKER_00: And then you need to know how to enact judgment.
SPEAKER_00: Every day with Gideon separating the wheat from the chaff, he is learning how to separate those who are true believers versus those who are not going to be willing to follow.
SPEAKER_00: Jesus does the same thing.
SPEAKER_00: He describes this in the Gospels.
SPEAKER_00: I'm going to separate the wheat from the chaff.
SPEAKER_00: I'll gather the wheat in my barn.
SPEAKER_00: I'll gather those who said yes before the harvest, and then I'll take the chaff and I'll burn it in an everlasting fire.
SPEAKER_00: They will not participate.
SPEAKER_00: But he's doing this also by the wine press.
SPEAKER_00: In the book of Revelation, there's a there's a there's a scene where it talks about a wine press where this is God's wrath about to be poured out.
SPEAKER_00: When there is a separation, God's wrath shortly follows.
SPEAKER_00: But that wrath is not going to fall onto the believers.
SPEAKER_00: Oh no, that's going to fall on the enemies of the Lord.
SPEAKER_00: But how do you get there?
SPEAKER_00: Well, first it takes an anointed leader.
SPEAKER_00: It takes someone who is willing to say yes to God despite what their present circumstances are.
SPEAKER_00: Gideon, in this case, you know, he's he's in a humble position.
SPEAKER_00: In fact, he's fearing for his life right now.
SPEAKER_00: Remember, the Midianites are tormenting these people.
SPEAKER_00: He's hiding behind the wine press, hoping they don't see him, so that way he can sneak the grain.
SPEAKER_00: The Bible says the Israelites are hiding in the caves.
SPEAKER_00: I mean, they're they're at their they're at their wit's end.
SPEAKER_00: And Gideon has a hard time believing of the anointing God has on his life.
SPEAKER_00: An angel of the Lord came to him and had to convince him, Have I not walked with you, you mighty man of valor?
SPEAKER_00: You're being called mighty man of valor, and I'm having to work and labor beside barn animals and sift weed so I could hopefully eat for the next day.
SPEAKER_00: Tomorrow was not guaranteed.
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, God is calling him a mighty man of valor.
SPEAKER_00: See, how many of us are afraid to move forward because we can't take God's perception of us and begin applying it?
SPEAKER_00: So many of us are looking at us in our own position.
SPEAKER_00: We're looking at ourselves in our own present circumstances, weak, lowly, downtrodden, surrounded, about to be devoured.
SPEAKER_00: And yet God is looking at you, saying, I'm calling you up, I'm raising you up.
SPEAKER_00: How many of us is God calling on us?
SPEAKER_00: I bet every one of us in this room has a calling on their life.
SPEAKER_00: Yet there's something up here that's telling us otherwise.
SPEAKER_00: We have to learn to cast that thought down.
SPEAKER_00: We have to learn to move beyond what our present lowly circumstances and begin accepting what God has commanded on our life.
SPEAKER_00: He's got great things in store for you, amen.
SPEAKER_00: But you've got to accept God's word.
SPEAKER_00: Throughout the Bible, bread, which we know is made through the grain, that's often symbolic for word.
SPEAKER_00: Gideon is harvesting this grain, but while he's doing it, he's also having to ingest a new fresh word for himself.
SPEAKER_00: He's got to change his perception, and he's got to believe in the Lord to do this.
SPEAKER_00: Now, throughout chapter 6, there's this struggle.
SPEAKER_00: He's always constantly going back to God.
SPEAKER_00: He's saying, Lord, show me, show me.
SPEAKER_00: This is where, this is where uh fleecing God comes from because he's asking the Lord for a sign.
SPEAKER_00: And it's not so much because he's doubting, but it's more because he wants to draw in closer to God.
SPEAKER_00: There are times when God's going to put the anointing on our life and he's gonna raise us up, and it's gonna feel heavy, it's gonna feel hard, but the Lord wants to walk you through it.
SPEAKER_00: He wants to keep giving you the sign, he wants to let you know hey, this is what I've intended for you.
SPEAKER_00: Don't back out of it.
SPEAKER_00: I'm with you in this.
SPEAKER_00: Get ready to move.
SPEAKER_00: And he wants you to move.
SPEAKER_00: So he's taking these signs, and slowly but surely he ingests it, and he begins to accept his calling.
SPEAKER_00: And finally, the day comes when he does.
SPEAKER_00: Gideon's first assignment is not going to be the Midianites.
SPEAKER_00: Okay?
SPEAKER_00: They're gonna, they're gonna they're gonna show up eventually.
SPEAKER_00: But we have to remember Israel was in judgment.
SPEAKER_00: The Midianites were judgment over them.
SPEAKER_00: Okay?
SPEAKER_00: It was their sin, it was their rebelliousness, it was idol worship.
SPEAKER_00: It's not the first time they've done this, but the idol they've been worshiping was Baal.
SPEAKER_00: This is a Canaanite god.
SPEAKER_00: Remember how I said earlier they got comfortable with the people there around?
SPEAKER_00: That's why you got to stay away from bad company because eventually it can corrupt your good character.
SPEAKER_00: You've got to learn to separate from that.
SPEAKER_00: If you don't separate, you become what they are.
SPEAKER_00: And that's what the Israelites did.
SPEAKER_00: They started raising an idol on an altar.
SPEAKER_00: They created an altar of Baal, worshiping an idol, which we know is a big no-no when it comes to God's people and God's kingdom.
SPEAKER_00: We are not to conform but be transformed.
SPEAKER_00: Israel is conformed right now.
SPEAKER_00: So before Gideon can do anything about the Midianites, before he can go after the judgment over Israel, first, the thing that needs to be rid of is the very thing Israel embraced that got them there.
SPEAKER_00: He leads a team at night, busts in, and tears down the idol.
SPEAKER_00: Now, when people realize what happened, they chase after him, they almost get him killed.
SPEAKER_00: But enough soon realize this was the Lord's will.
SPEAKER_00: The stronghold over Israel's life had to be tear down.
SPEAKER_00: What strongholds might we be dealing with?
SPEAKER_00: You allow God to change your perception of you just like Gideon, he will raise you up to tear down the stronghold.
SPEAKER_00: We're a church that believes in deliverance here, and there's a good reason because the calling God has on your life, he wants to raise you up, but he also needs to tear down the stronghold that's in your life.
SPEAKER_00: You gotta let him change you, change you from within.
SPEAKER_00: Because the moment you do, then the mighty things can be done.
SPEAKER_00: And even then, God's gonna work in a miraculous way to do it.
SPEAKER_00: So it doesn't, so I want to make this very clear to every one of us in here.
SPEAKER_00: It doesn't matter where we've been, where we've gone, what we've done, how much we've done it, and how bad it was.
SPEAKER_00: Whatever that was, God is ready to raise you up and ready to tear down that stronghold in your life so that way greater evil around you can be subdued.
SPEAKER_00: Amen.
SPEAKER_00: That's what he wants.
SPEAKER_00: That's the kingdom of God, that's spiritual warfare.
SPEAKER_00: Allow me to deviate just for a little bit, okay?
SPEAKER_00: I'm relatively young, okay?
SPEAKER_00: I'm 32, I'm a millennial.
SPEAKER_00: And since I was young, I've I've been somewhat observant, okay?
SPEAKER_00: But as I've gotten older, I've become and I've become very well aware that unfortunately too many churches have gotten comfortable.
SPEAKER_00: Okay?
SPEAKER_00: I don't want to get too hard here, but it has it has to it has to be made clear.
SPEAKER_00: If you want to know why some of the lawlessness is being embraced today, it's because there weren't enough within the church to stand up and say no.
SPEAKER_00: Now we're in a season right now that I firmly believe God is raising up some mighty men and women of God.
SPEAKER_00: Where God is raising them up to get ready to lead and tear down strongholds.
SPEAKER_00: We need to let that play out, ladies and gentlemen.
SPEAKER_00: Because it is time, it is necessary.
SPEAKER_00: And we can't be surprised if some of these people aren't necessarily the most ideal.
SPEAKER_00: How many years did they go to Bible college?
SPEAKER_00: How many years have they been in church?
SPEAKER_00: You know, there's a lot of churches out there where you can have thousands, tens of thousands of members, but many of them may not be spiritually growing.
SPEAKER_00: That's changing.
SPEAKER_00: And God's going to use whomever he sees fit.
SPEAKER_00: Why?
SPEAKER_00: Because he's looking for people who have a heart towards him.
SPEAKER_00: 1 Corinthians 1 28.
SPEAKER_00: And the base things of the world and the things which are despised, God has chosen, and the things which are not, to bring to nothing the things that are.
SPEAKER_00: We need to take what Pastor David has been saying the past few weeks, and we need to be discerning the hearts of people.
SPEAKER_00: We need to be discerning those who truly have a reverent fear of God versus those who don't.
SPEAKER_00: And I can guarantee you, it's going to come from surprising places.
SPEAKER_00: They may not be the most biblically educated, but they've got a heart on fire.
SPEAKER_00: They may not have had years of experience, but they are dedicated to the Lord.
SPEAKER_00: Those are the people that are going to be raised up for this war.
SPEAKER_00: Because God can do something with that.
SPEAKER_00: Sometimes it's the status quo and repeat that makes us weak and makes us stale.
SPEAKER_00: We shouldn't be surprised then that we have a younger generation that is ignited and on fire.
SPEAKER_00: And they're not going to do things the same way previous generations have done.
SPEAKER_00: That's because God is wanting to do something new.
SPEAKER_00: He's always about doing something new.
SPEAKER_00: And Gideon is a case example of that.
SPEAKER_00: If you read in the scriptures, he says, But I'm the least of my household.
SPEAKER_00: I'm the least of the tribes of Israel.
SPEAKER_00: God is there like, did I stutter?
SPEAKER_00: Mighty man of valor.
SPEAKER_00: Take the word God has spoken to you.
SPEAKER_00: Over on you and begin chewing on that.
SPEAKER_00: Because that's what matters most.
SPEAKER_00: That's what's more important.
SPEAKER_00: Let God raise you up like a Gideon to tear down the strongholds that's causing ailment in your life, and He can do it.
SPEAKER_00: The power of God is real, folks.
SPEAKER_00: Holy Spirit is real.
SPEAKER_00: There's plenty of people I've heard in this church alone with testimonies overcoming all kinds of problems: alcoholism, drug addictions, addiction to pornography.
SPEAKER_00: They've torn down those altars and they've begun living transformed lives.
SPEAKER_00: If you're in a moment in your life right now where that is a time you need, it can happen right now.
SPEAKER_00: You just got to believe what God says about you.
SPEAKER_00: Believe He's called you, mighty man or woman of valor.
SPEAKER_00: This is the challenge that Israel's dealing with internal issues.
SPEAKER_00: And so God had to raise up a leader to tear down that altar.
SPEAKER_00: But remember, the Israelites are pleading that the Ahmidianites are eventually broken off their back.
SPEAKER_00: God's going to answer that, but the altar had to come down first.
SPEAKER_00: But now that the altar is gone, it's time to start facing the enemy.
SPEAKER_00: Real quick, I'm going to kind of get ahead of myself.
SPEAKER_00: Don't be surprised when God makes you do unconventional things to tear down enemies and strongholds in your life, physical or otherwise.
SPEAKER_00: Let's talk about Gideon's army.
SPEAKER_00: Now, again, I'm a military history buff.
SPEAKER_00: So pardon me if I throw out a little bit of terminology.
SPEAKER_00: I'll kind of explain as I go.
SPEAKER_00: But this is Gideon's army, okay?
SPEAKER_00: According to the Bible, his army numbered at about 32,000 individuals.
SPEAKER_00: In military terms, that's about the size of a division, give or take, right, Pastor Pete?
SPEAKER_00: Division size?
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, maybe a slightly larger one.
SPEAKER_00: Divisions can range from 10,000 and kind of just depends on which army you're looking at.
SPEAKER_00: Doesn't sound bad, right?
SPEAKER_00: But compare that to the Midianite army, 135.
SPEAKER_00: That's the size of a corps or even a field army, depending on which army you're looking at.
SPEAKER_00: Needless to say, the odds were not in their favor.
SPEAKER_00: That's how God likes to do things.
SPEAKER_00: He likes to lead you in things where he knows the odds are not in your favor because he's going to use that to show off his might and glory.
SPEAKER_00: In fact, that's what he tells Gideon, that 32,000 man army that you have, Gideon, yeah, that's too much.
SPEAKER_00: He says, I don't want y'all going into battle with that many men, lest you think you get the glory.
SPEAKER_00: No, I want you to know this is my doing.
SPEAKER_00: And so he tasks Gideon.
SPEAKER_00: He tells him, You need to go and you need to thin that herd down.
SPEAKER_00: You need to wither that army down.
SPEAKER_00: It's amazing how he does this.
SPEAKER_00: Okay.
SPEAKER_00: Here's how he does this, okay?
SPEAKER_00: So in chapter 7, verse 3, he says, Now therefore proclaim in the hearing of the people, saying, Whoever is fearful and afraid, let him turn and depart at once from Mount Gilead.
SPEAKER_00: Now Gilead is where they assembled.
SPEAKER_00: And 22,000 of the people returned, 10,000 remained.
SPEAKER_00: You see, this is what I was talking about earlier.
SPEAKER_00: Okay.
SPEAKER_00: You can have the largest congregations in the world.
SPEAKER_00: You can have the largest church.
SPEAKER_00: But are your congregants really growing spiritually?
SPEAKER_00: I think we're coming to an awakening on this.
SPEAKER_00: Quantity does not equate quality.
SPEAKER_00: Right now, what God is wanting is quality.
SPEAKER_00: You know, in the Marine Corps, they say a few good men, right?
SPEAKER_00: Anybody anybody who served in the Marine Corps here?
SPEAKER_00: Anyone in here?
SPEAKER_00: Thank you for your service, sir.
SPEAKER_00: Amen.
SPEAKER_00: Give them a route, give them a route.
SPEAKER_00: Give them a route.
SPEAKER_00: In case you don't know, I have a heart for the veterans.
SPEAKER_00: I actually invite them to come and speak to my class every now and then when I can.
SPEAKER_00: I love hearing their stories.
SPEAKER_00: But where the Marine Corps says, I need a few good men, God is up there saying, I need a faithful few.
SPEAKER_00: Those 22,000 men that left, they were they were told up front, hey, this is gonna be a hard task.
SPEAKER_00: You know it's gonna be a hard task.
SPEAKER_00: 135 men, can't guarantee that y'all are gonna make it back home.
SPEAKER_00: 22 said, Well, actually, I am gonna go back home.
SPEAKER_00: And so they left.
SPEAKER_00: No hard feelings, right?
SPEAKER_00: 10,000 men are left.
SPEAKER_00: 10,000 men remaining.
SPEAKER_00: You think, okay, lost some numbers here.
SPEAKER_00: I still got 10,000.
SPEAKER_00: I can do some damage with that.
SPEAKER_00: God said, That's still too much.
SPEAKER_00: You see, whenever whenever there's a time where God raises up leadership in the church, you better expect there's going to be a sifting to take place.
SPEAKER_00: When God raises up anointed men and women of God, there's gonna be a sifting season.
SPEAKER_00: Why?
SPEAKER_00: Because God wants to wither down the force to a dedicated, faithful few.
SPEAKER_00: This is the second test God is doing in this instance.
SPEAKER_00: And so he tells Gideon, You need to go sift them too.
SPEAKER_00: Gideon says, Okay, fine, I'll go do it.
SPEAKER_00: Okay?
SPEAKER_00: So here's how Gideon does it.
SPEAKER_00: Verse 5, chapter 7.
SPEAKER_00: So he brought the people down to the water.
SPEAKER_00: And the Lord said to Gideon, Everyone who laps from the water with his tongue, as a dog laps, you shall set apart by himself.
SPEAKER_00: Likewise, everyone who gets down on his knees to drink.
SPEAKER_00: A little scene to kind of show you what's happening here.
SPEAKER_00: Okay.
SPEAKER_00: Except here's the thing when they went down to get water, most of those men, most of those men, 9,700, as soon as they got down to the water, they took all their weapons, they took all their armor armor, and they started doing what these guys did, especially those two over there on the left.
SPEAKER_00: They just started dunking their faces in the water.
SPEAKER_00: Now, militarily speaking, that's not a good thing.
SPEAKER_00: Even if you're in a position of rest, even if you are, even if you are not engaged with the enemy, there is a doctrine to remain vigilant.
SPEAKER_00: You cannot let your guard down.
SPEAKER_00: Yes, I get it.
SPEAKER_00: You're hungry, you're thirsty, and how you're going through something, you're going through a hard time, but God is looking for the dedicated few.
SPEAKER_00: These men are going down, they're drinking from the water, gulping gallons.
SPEAKER_00: Meanwhile, their heads are completely submerged in water, they can't hear anything, they can't see nothing.
SPEAKER_00: So, what if the Midianites decide to attack in that moment?
SPEAKER_00: Despite the numbers, there's not much they can do.
SPEAKER_00: They've left their guard down.
SPEAKER_00: They're not discerning, they're not remaining vigilant.
SPEAKER_00: Except 300.
SPEAKER_00: See, the 300 that that were not doing this, they followed, they were doing the instructions that God showed Gideon.
SPEAKER_00: Remember, he gave Gideon the hindsight.
SPEAKER_00: Look for the men who get down on their knees, and instead of dunking their heads in the water, they bring the water up to them.
SPEAKER_00: Notice the difference.
SPEAKER_00: I've got visual.
SPEAKER_00: I've got I've got my visual.
SPEAKER_00: I can still hear.
SPEAKER_00: I'm still vigilant.
SPEAKER_00: Sure.
SPEAKER_00: I'm not quenching my thirst as fast as I can.
SPEAKER_00: But it don't do you no good to drink if you get slain.
SPEAKER_00: They're embracing it.
SPEAKER_00: They're embracing the hardship.
SPEAKER_00: And they're getting just what they need.
SPEAKER_00: Those are the 300 men that Gideon says, I need you to stay.
SPEAKER_00: Those are the faithful few.
SPEAKER_00: Those 300 men.
SPEAKER_00: So brief recap.
SPEAKER_00: We started with an army of 32,000, which was already outnumbered.
SPEAKER_00: That number gets weathered down to 10,000.
SPEAKER_00: Now we're down to 300.
SPEAKER_00: Thank you, Lord.
SPEAKER_00: But remember, God made this very clear.
SPEAKER_00: It was not going to be about the numbers.
SPEAKER_00: It was going to be about God's hand moving through Gideon and this army of 300.
SPEAKER_00: Behold, there was a dream that was interpreted throughout this whole scene.
SPEAKER_00: Judges chapter 7, verse 14.
SPEAKER_00: The dream was a loaf of bread that went into the Midianite camp.
SPEAKER_00: And as soon as this loaf of bread entered into the camp, the camp immediately faded away.
SPEAKER_00: Here was the interpretation.
SPEAKER_00: And his fellow answered and said, This is nothing else save the sword of Gideon, the son of Joash, a man of Israel.
SPEAKER_00: For into his hand hath God delivered Midian and all the host.
SPEAKER_00: What do we know about the word of God?
SPEAKER_00: Well, we know hearing of it gives us faith, right?
SPEAKER_00: Ladies and gentlemen, your faith is a weapon.
SPEAKER_00: And your faith is all you need.
SPEAKER_00: When God sends you into battle, he's already got the work prepared.
SPEAKER_00: He just needs your faith.
SPEAKER_00: Said it several times over a faithful feud.
SPEAKER_00: That's all he needs.
SPEAKER_00: When God raises up the leadership, that's going to take care of the issues within.
SPEAKER_00: But when it comes time to assault the enemy, it's time to operate in faith.
SPEAKER_00: Our faith is a weapon.
SPEAKER_00: For the word of God is living and powerful and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.
SPEAKER_00: Did God not discern the hearts of the children of Israel?
SPEAKER_00: Did he not discern who was in it to win it?
SPEAKER_00: Did he not discern who was there to be ready and do battle despite the odds that were against them?
SPEAKER_00: He got his faithful few, and it's by that faithful few that the Midianites are going to crumble.
SPEAKER_00: You get into chapter 8.
SPEAKER_00: I'd go there, but I don't have to but I don't have enough time, but that's okay.
SPEAKER_00: I'll give you the short run.
SPEAKER_00: The Midianites are still in their camp.
SPEAKER_00: And then Gideon is given instructions.
SPEAKER_00: He's told that every one of those men need to be equipped with trumpets and torches.
SPEAKER_00: It's getting kind of like Jericho here.
SPEAKER_00: Because that's exactly what's going to happen.
SPEAKER_00: Just like how the walls of Jericho fell because of shouting and praising.
SPEAKER_00: The children of Israel are going to be divided up into three companies, roughly a hundred men.
SPEAKER_00: And each of those companies is going to approach the camp from a different side.
SPEAKER_00: When they do, they are waving their torches and they're blowing those shofars loud and proud with the faith that they have carried with them the moment God was mustering that army.
SPEAKER_00: You walk into the battlefield with your faith, the enemy's going to come crumbling down, but God's going to do the work.
SPEAKER_00: Is that not what we need in this time and in this season and in this church?
SPEAKER_00: Where the faith of a few can tear down the mighty strongholds, the mighty.
SPEAKER_00: Let God's word speak.
SPEAKER_00: Let his word speak in your life.
SPEAKER_00: Let him show you who you are.
SPEAKER_00: And let him give you the boldness and confidence you need to win the battle today.
SPEAKER_00: That's how God takes infamy to victory.
SPEAKER_00: That's how God achieves his win.
SPEAKER_00: It's not by might, it's not by power, but by the Spirit of God.
SPEAKER_00: You got to let him fill you up.
SPEAKER_00: You got to feast on his word.
SPEAKER_00: You let him feast on your word.
SPEAKER_00: You've already been equipped.
SPEAKER_00: Now go and do the work in obedience.
SPEAKER_00: Amen?
SPEAKER_00: Now I get it.
SPEAKER_00: We hear these uplifting words and we get excited.
SPEAKER_00: But then the reality might set in.
SPEAKER_00: And I wonder how many of us may be struggling with that.
SPEAKER_00: How many of us are struggling, receiving the word that God has spoken, which is faithful and true?
SPEAKER_00: Pastor, I think it's the time that we want to do the altar call.
SPEAKER_00: Let's do it.
SPEAKER_00: Let's go ahead and uh turn some music up if we can.
SPEAKER_00: I know there's some of us right now that are hearing this word and it's uplifting your spirit.
SPEAKER_00: I'm being uplifted up here as I'm speaking it because I know what this challenge is like.
SPEAKER_00: I know what it feels like being stuck in a rut, and I know the hardship it is.
SPEAKER_00: But after a while, it takes time for you to say yes to the Lord.
SPEAKER_00: He's not asking you to do anything specific.
SPEAKER_00: He's just asking you to say yes.
SPEAKER_00: Just like these Israelites, they finally turned and they cried out to God and they asked for deliverance, and I'm guaranteeing you, God can do that now.
SPEAKER_00: But maybe you're looking at your predicament, your current circumstance.
SPEAKER_00: Nathan, I've done too much.
SPEAKER_00: You don't know what I've done, you don't know how often I've done it.
SPEAKER_00: I don't, but God doesn't care.
SPEAKER_00: He's ready to redeem you from it.
SPEAKER_00: You might think, well, I'm nothing special.
SPEAKER_00: I just work a regular day job.
SPEAKER_00: I'm simple, basic.
SPEAKER_00: Did God not take ordinary and make it extraordinary?
SPEAKER_00: Count nothing insignificant.
SPEAKER_00: That mundane ordinary thing that you do regularly, day in and day out, just realize God may be using that to equip you for something even bigger and greater.
SPEAKER_00: Amen.
SPEAKER_00: When you finally accept that, do not fear, but be ready.
SPEAKER_00: As God is raising up bold men and women of God, I encourage you to get under their wing, get under their leadership.
SPEAKER_00: I'm thankful to be a part of a church where I know we've got strong Holy Spirit-inspired leaders.
SPEAKER_00: We happily follow those orders.
SPEAKER_00: Sure, times may be tough, times may be difficult, it might be intimidating.
SPEAKER_00: It's real easy to fear.
SPEAKER_00: But your faith overcomes that.
SPEAKER_00: Faith is enough.
SPEAKER_00: I know I've heard David preach on this before in the past.
SPEAKER_00: Having faith doesn't mean you have no fear, it means you're getting over it.
SPEAKER_00: It means you're choosing to move past it, you're moving beyond it.
SPEAKER_00: You're allowing the Word of God to operate in you.
SPEAKER_00: You're allowing Him to give you better vision where you can hear and discern.
SPEAKER_00: How many of us would like to do that?
SPEAKER_00: That's the opportunity that is being provided right here by God, whatever situation or circumstance that you're in.
SPEAKER_00: I encourage you to come on.
SPEAKER_00: Begin laying down that which is hindering you from saying yes to God's calling on your life and what he wants done through you.
SPEAKER_00: It starts with a yes.
SPEAKER_00: You can stay in the chair.