WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.319 And then we had the question of, am I too much? 00:00:02.560 --> 00:00:05.599 As Gideon had to test God looking for assurance. 00:00:05.679 --> 00:00:09.599 And what we found is that our weak faith is not too much for God. 00:00:09.839 --> 00:00:11.839 Our weak faith is not too much for God. 00:00:12.000 --> 00:00:15.519 He loves to bring strength out of weak faith. 00:00:16.079 --> 00:00:18.879 And then week three was Am I enough? 00:00:19.199 --> 00:00:20.800 Do I have enough? 00:00:21.359 --> 00:00:23.440 It was a question of resources. 00:00:23.920 --> 00:00:25.920 And the answer is no, actually. 00:00:26.399 --> 00:00:28.559 God doesn't want you to be enough on your own. 00:00:28.879 --> 00:00:36.640 He wants to refine your self-reliant faith, refine it down into a wonderfully dependent faith. 00:00:36.960 --> 00:00:49.119 And so remember, Gideon, the story of the 300, that God would grow you just enough into the image of Christ to where your faith would be dependent and satisfied with God. 00:00:49.359 --> 00:00:56.240 And so not 301, not 299, that God would give you enough to be reliant on him. 00:00:56.960 --> 00:01:03.679 And so this morning, as we come to the end of the Gideon story, we have our fourth question of insecurity. 00:01:04.079 --> 00:01:07.040 And let's see if you can spot it as we go along. 00:01:07.280 --> 00:01:13.519 And so Judges chapter 8, we're going to be reading the entire chapter on page 245. 00:01:14.959 --> 00:01:17.760 So Judges 8, starting in verse 1. 00:01:18.640 --> 00:01:22.799 Then the men of Ephraim said to him, What is this that you have done to us? 00:01:23.040 --> 00:01:26.079 Not to call us when you were went to fight against Midian? 00:01:26.239 --> 00:01:28.319 And they accused him fiercely. 00:01:28.560 --> 00:01:32.879 And he said to them, What have I done now in comparison with you? 00:01:33.200 --> 00:01:38.159 Is not the gleaning of the grapes of Ephraim better than the grape harvest of Abezer? 00:01:38.719 --> 00:01:42.480 God has given into your hands the princes of Midian, Orib, and Zeb. 00:01:42.879 --> 00:01:45.599 What have I been able to do in comparison with you? 00:01:46.159 --> 00:01:49.680 Then their anger against him subdued when he said this. 00:01:50.640 --> 00:01:57.200 And Gideon came to the Jordan and crossed over, he and the three hundred men who were with him, exhausted, yet pursuing. 00:01:57.359 --> 00:02:06.879 So he said to the men of Succath, please give loaves of bread to the people who follow me, for they are exhausted, and I am pursuing after Ziba and Zalmuna, the kings of Midian. 00:02:07.120 --> 00:02:14.479 And the officials of Zuckas said, Are the hands of Ziba and Zalmuna already in your hand that we should give bread to your army? 00:02:14.719 --> 00:02:25.120 And so Gideon said, Well then, when the Lord has given Zeba and Zalmuna into my hand, I will flail your flesh with the thorns of the wilderness and with briars. 00:02:25.599 --> 00:02:28.879 From there he went up to Penuel and spoke to them in the same way. 00:02:29.039 --> 00:02:37.439 And the men of Penuel answered him as the men of Sucath had answered, and he said to the men of Penuel, When I come again in peace, I will break down this tower. 00:02:38.560 --> 00:02:50.879 Now Zeba and Zemuna were in Kalkarkor with their army, about fifteen thousand men, all who were left of the army of the people of the east, for there had fallen a hundred and twenty thousand men who drew the sword. 00:02:51.199 --> 00:02:58.560 And Gideon went up by the way of the tent dwellers east of Nobah and Jogbaha, and attacked the army, for the army felt secure. 00:02:58.800 --> 00:03:07.280 And Ziba and Zamuna fled, and he pursued them, and he captured the two kings of Midian, Ziba and Zamuna, and he threw all the army into panic. 00:03:08.000 --> 00:03:21.039 Then Gideon, the son of Joash, returned from the battle by the ascent of Herez, and he captured a young man of Succath, and he ate questioned him, and he wrote down for him the officials and the elders of Succath seventy-seven men. 00:03:21.360 --> 00:03:32.719 And he came to the men of Succath and said, Behold, Zeba and Zalmuna, about whom you taunted me, saying, Are the hands of Ziba and Zalmuna already in your hand that we should give bread to your men who are exhausted? 00:03:32.960 --> 00:03:39.759 And he took the elders of the city, and he took thorns of the wilderness and briars, and with them he taught the men of Succath a lesson. 00:03:39.919 --> 00:03:44.080 And he broke down the tower of Penuel and killed the men of the city. 00:03:44.719 --> 00:03:48.879 Then he said to Ziba and Zamuna, Where are the men whom you killed at Tabar? 00:03:49.520 --> 00:03:52.479 They answered, As you are, so were they. 00:03:52.719 --> 00:03:55.280 Every one of them resembled the son of a king. 00:03:55.599 --> 00:03:59.039 And he said, They were my brothers, the sons of my mother. 00:03:59.360 --> 00:04:02.719 As the Lord lives, if you had saved them alive, I would not kill you. 00:04:02.960 --> 00:04:06.719 So he said to Jethur his firstborn, Rise and kill them. 00:04:06.960 --> 00:04:11.520 But the young man did not draw his sword, for he was afraid, because he was still a young man. 00:04:11.759 --> 00:04:18.160 Then Ziba and Zamuna said, Rise yourself and fall upon us, for as the man is, so is his strength. 00:04:18.319 --> 00:04:24.720 And Gideon arose and he killed Ziba and Zamuna, and he took the crescent ornaments that were on the necks of their camels. 00:04:25.839 --> 00:04:33.360 Then the men of Israel said to Gideon, Rule over us, you and your son and your grandson also, for you have saved us from the hand of Midian. 00:04:33.920 --> 00:04:39.920 Gideon said to them, I will not rule over you, and my son will not rule over you, the Lord will rule over you. 00:04:40.319 --> 00:04:43.519 And Gideon said to them, Let me make a request of you. 00:04:43.759 --> 00:04:49.199 Every one of you give me the earrings from his spoil, for they had golden earrings because they were Ishmaelites. 00:04:49.439 --> 00:04:51.519 And he answered, We willingly give them. 00:04:51.680 --> 00:05:08.480 And they spread a cloak, and every man threw it in the threw in the earnings of his spoil, and the weight of the golden earrings that he requested was seventeen hundred shekels of gold, beside the crescent ornaments and the pendants, and the purple garments worn by the kings of Midian, and besides the collars that were round the necks of their camels. 00:05:08.800 --> 00:05:17.839 And Gideon made an eff out of it, and put it in his city in Orpha, and all Israel hoored after it there, and it became a snare to Gideon and to his family. 00:05:18.160 --> 00:05:26.079 So Midian was subdued before the people of Israel, and they raised their heads no more, and the land had rest for forty years in the days of Gideon. 00:05:27.360 --> 00:05:30.959 Jerobal, the son of Joash, went and lived in his own house. 00:05:31.120 --> 00:05:40.160 Now Gideon had seventy sons, his own offspring, for he had many wives, and his concubine who was in Shechem also bore him a son, and he called his name Abimelech. 00:05:40.639 --> 00:05:48.480 And Gideon, the son of Joash, died in a good old age, and was buried in the tomb of Joash his father at Orprah of the Abazarites. 00:05:48.959 --> 00:05:55.759 As soon as Gideon died, the people of Israel turned again and hoard after the Baals and the and made Baal Bareth their God. 00:05:56.000 --> 00:06:01.519 And the people of Israel did not remember the Lord their God, who had delivered them from the hand of all their enemies on every side. 00:06:01.759 --> 00:06:09.839 And they did not show steadfast love to the family of Jerobal, that is Gideon, in return for all the good that he had done to Israel. 00:06:10.800 --> 00:06:12.720 This is the word of the Lord. 00:06:14.399 --> 00:06:17.839 Let's pray as we give our attention to God's word. 00:06:19.759 --> 00:06:34.800 Heavenly Father, we pray that you would help us as we give closer attention to this disappointing end to the story, that you would help us not be left in our disappointment, but instead lift our eyes to find the better answers you would give us. 00:06:35.120 --> 00:06:36.639 We ask this in Jesus' name. 00:06:36.879 --> 00:06:37.519 Amen. 00:06:39.439 --> 00:06:42.560 So tonight we have our fourth and final question. 00:06:43.680 --> 00:06:45.360 Who will be the hero? 00:06:46.240 --> 00:06:48.560 It's really the core question of idolatry. 00:06:48.720 --> 00:06:55.439 Remember, idolatry is uh the temptation to center our lives around anything and anyone else beyond God? 00:06:55.600 --> 00:06:59.920 It's the question of who will be the center of your life, who will call the shots? 00:07:01.360 --> 00:07:03.120 Who will be your hero? 00:07:04.399 --> 00:07:07.839 Maybe you remember that classic 80s song from Bonnie Tyler. 00:07:08.800 --> 00:07:10.639 Holding out for a hero. 00:07:10.959 --> 00:07:12.720 Where have all the good men gone? 00:07:12.879 --> 00:07:14.399 And where are all the gods? 00:07:14.639 --> 00:07:18.000 Where's the streetwise Hercules to fight the rising odds? 00:07:18.399 --> 00:07:20.879 Isn't there a white knight upon a fiery steed? 00:07:21.040 --> 00:07:24.160 Late at night I toss and turn and I dream of what I need. 00:07:24.399 --> 00:07:25.680 I need a hero. 00:07:26.000 --> 00:07:28.399 I'm holding out for a hero till the end of the night. 00:07:28.560 --> 00:07:32.800 He's gotta be strong and he's gotta be fast and he's gotta be fresh for the fight. 00:07:33.199 --> 00:07:34.560 I need a hero. 00:07:34.800 --> 00:07:37.199 I'm holding out for a hero till the morning light. 00:07:37.360 --> 00:07:39.439 He's gotta be sure and he's gotta be soon. 00:07:39.600 --> 00:07:41.839 He's gotta be larger than life. 00:07:43.360 --> 00:07:47.680 Who will be our hero, larger than life in our life? 00:07:48.240 --> 00:07:54.160 You know, in many ways, I think the time of looking for a knight in shining armor, it might seem old-fashioned now. 00:07:54.560 --> 00:08:03.120 But the desire to find someone or maybe be someone who is large enough in resources or influence or strength is there. 00:08:03.279 --> 00:08:05.759 We want to be confident and safe. 00:08:06.560 --> 00:08:08.959 We want to know that it's gonna be okay. 00:08:09.519 --> 00:08:15.360 And so our aim this morning is to be reminded of the goodness of God in being our King. 00:08:15.600 --> 00:08:27.920 That even as we see the disappointing end to Gideon's story, we're meant to be invited to entrust ourselves to the one person whom God has set apart, who is indeed the good and capable hero. 00:08:28.800 --> 00:08:33.360 And so as we go along, we're gonna be answering the question mostly in the negative. 00:08:33.600 --> 00:08:34.879 Who is the hero? 00:08:35.200 --> 00:08:40.960 It's not you, it's not Gideon, it's only God and his promised king. 00:08:41.200 --> 00:08:43.440 And so, who is the hero? 00:08:44.000 --> 00:08:45.759 Well, first, it's not you. 00:08:46.480 --> 00:08:58.799 Actually, the greatest threat and idol in your life, the one thing that will most easily take over and kick God from the center of your life, is the one thing we haven't talked about yet in our mini-series. 00:08:59.120 --> 00:09:05.039 And as Taylor Swift says, it's me, hi, I'm the problem, it's me. 00:09:05.279 --> 00:09:06.559 Not me, but you. 00:09:06.960 --> 00:09:08.080 You yourself. 00:09:08.480 --> 00:09:13.519 Here's the bad news that you actually make a horrible king of your life. 00:09:13.840 --> 00:09:18.799 You, as the center, is actually one of the most dehumanizing things you can do. 00:09:19.039 --> 00:09:24.399 It's surprising that you at the center of your life is the most dehumanizing thing you can do. 00:09:24.559 --> 00:09:30.960 And so, if an idol is anything that takes over as a center force in your life, in that way it will define your hopes and your fears. 00:09:31.120 --> 00:09:37.120 It will make everyone and everything negotiate their meaning and their position in relation to the idol. 00:09:37.279 --> 00:09:40.080 And so, how does that work when the idol is you? 00:09:41.200 --> 00:09:44.879 Well, the most influential person in your life is yourself. 00:09:45.360 --> 00:09:49.200 You're always with yourself, you're always listening to yourself. 00:09:49.440 --> 00:09:52.720 You will always be tempted to give yourself whatever you want. 00:09:53.759 --> 00:09:55.679 And what are your worst fears? 00:09:56.639 --> 00:09:57.679 Yourself. 00:09:58.080 --> 00:10:00.879 Your failures, your limitations, your secrets. 00:10:01.600 --> 00:10:07.600 And what are the problems when these fears, if they rule your life, they're always with you? 00:10:08.879 --> 00:10:10.399 What about your dreams? 00:10:10.720 --> 00:10:14.639 Your daydreams or your nightmares, both with you at the center? 00:10:15.600 --> 00:10:23.039 What community do you have when you are the center of anything, minimal and less, because no one will relate to you just the way you want. 00:10:23.120 --> 00:10:27.360 Because most likely they are all wanting to be the center of their world as well. 00:10:28.639 --> 00:10:31.360 You see, why can't self be king? 00:10:31.919 --> 00:10:39.919 Because of these two central desires in the human heart, may define their fulfillment in God and never filled apart from him. 00:10:40.320 --> 00:10:42.399 Significance and safety. 00:10:43.279 --> 00:10:49.440 With you as the hero, you will always serve significance and safety, and those two can't thrive together. 00:10:49.679 --> 00:10:52.799 And so to be significant, you will have to risk. 00:10:53.039 --> 00:10:55.759 But to be safe, you will have to minimize risk. 00:10:55.840 --> 00:10:56.799 And so what will happen? 00:10:57.039 --> 00:11:01.200 You will be torn, almost at war, even with yourself. 00:11:02.799 --> 00:11:04.480 Remember that quote from Tim Keller. 00:11:04.639 --> 00:11:09.279 He says that to be loved but not known is comforting but superficial. 00:11:09.679 --> 00:11:10.799 Not significant. 00:11:11.440 --> 00:11:15.039 To be loved but not known is comforting but superficial. 00:11:15.120 --> 00:11:16.080 It's not significant. 00:11:16.240 --> 00:11:19.200 And yet to be known and not loved is our greatest fear. 00:11:19.519 --> 00:11:20.639 Not safe. 00:11:22.480 --> 00:11:26.799 So let me show you why I'm pulling these points out of this story in particular. 00:11:27.039 --> 00:11:36.399 If you look back down in chapter 8, it begins with Gideon and his 300 men moving on from their great victory against the 130,000 Midianites. 00:11:36.559 --> 00:11:40.080 And you would expect them to be welcomed home as heroes. 00:11:40.799 --> 00:11:42.480 But look what happens. 00:11:42.799 --> 00:11:46.080 They are faced with threats of safety and significance. 00:11:46.559 --> 00:11:47.440 Verse 1. 00:11:47.679 --> 00:11:55.039 Then the men of Ephraim said to him, What is this you have done not to call us when you went to fight against Midian? 00:11:55.200 --> 00:11:57.279 And they accused him fiercely. 00:11:57.840 --> 00:12:01.600 Now to understand what's going on here, we need to know a little bit about the Ephraimites. 00:12:01.679 --> 00:12:03.840 They were one of the top tribes of sorts. 00:12:04.000 --> 00:12:12.720 And so remember, there were twelve tribes of Israel officially, but as the tribe of Levi got set apart to be the priests, they wouldn't have land. 00:12:13.120 --> 00:12:17.600 And so to kind of make up for that, Joseph had two sons who were especially dear to him. 00:12:17.759 --> 00:12:25.200 And so Joseph's two sons kind of became in part a replacement, one of them replacing Joseph and one of them replacing Levi. 00:12:25.679 --> 00:12:28.159 And Ephraim was the greatest. 00:12:28.320 --> 00:12:36.159 And so when Jacob, the grandfather, the patriarch of the family, when he goes to bless Joseph's sons, he slips the order. 00:12:36.320 --> 00:12:40.000 Ephraim the youngest is blessed as the greatest. 00:12:40.559 --> 00:12:42.559 Common theme in the Old Testament. 00:12:42.799 --> 00:12:47.200 And so as history went on, Ephraim became a powerful and dominant tribe. 00:12:47.279 --> 00:12:54.879 And so the story of Joshua, for instance, Joshua the great leader who conquered the land, he was an Ephraimite. 00:12:55.279 --> 00:12:58.480 And so the Ephraimites, they were somebody's. 00:12:58.799 --> 00:13:00.159 And you see what's happening here. 00:13:00.320 --> 00:13:03.120 They aren't celebrating the victory of God because why? 00:13:03.279 --> 00:13:07.360 Because they feel that their significance has been threatened. 00:13:08.399 --> 00:13:14.399 Right away from this great victory, Gideon runs into the danger of significance. 00:13:15.519 --> 00:13:18.960 And he pacifies them with some kind of ancient words of flattery. 00:13:19.039 --> 00:13:23.919 And so we don't need to get too much in the details, but basically, you guys have done so much better than I've done. 00:13:24.159 --> 00:13:25.200 And it works. 00:13:25.440 --> 00:13:28.559 But then he moves straight on into the next conflict. 00:13:28.879 --> 00:13:33.360 Verse 4, Gideon and his men, they're pursuing the last remnant of the Midianite army. 00:13:33.519 --> 00:13:39.440 And their exhaustion, in their exhaustion, they come upon kind of two towns that are on the eastern border of Israel. 00:13:39.519 --> 00:13:44.480 And so right on the border of Israel and the east, the border of Israel and Midian. 00:13:45.120 --> 00:13:49.279 And in verses 6 and 8, if you look down, these two towns, they turned Gideon away. 00:13:49.360 --> 00:13:52.399 And what we're meant to see is that it is basically out of fear. 00:13:52.559 --> 00:14:01.840 And so as towns along the border, on the east of the Jordan River, they were at the towns perhaps most at risk of a Midianite resurgence. 00:14:02.080 --> 00:14:05.360 And remember that they have seen this story year after year after year. 00:14:05.519 --> 00:14:10.080 Every fall, the people of the East would flow into the land, and they were the stomping grounds. 00:14:10.320 --> 00:14:15.759 And so even though they might want to support Gideon, they need to see it fully done first. 00:14:17.600 --> 00:14:20.480 They've seen every story fall so far. 00:14:21.200 --> 00:14:24.559 And they can't let their guard down, even just for Gideon. 00:14:25.039 --> 00:14:29.519 And so it's this interesting reality that they are actually still oppressed. 00:14:29.840 --> 00:14:32.559 Even though Midian has been defeated, they are still oppressed. 00:14:32.720 --> 00:14:35.120 They're still holed up in their fortress. 00:14:35.519 --> 00:14:42.480 You can think of it just as in chapter six, when the ripples of God's salvation flow in as their army gathers around Gideon. 00:14:42.799 --> 00:14:46.320 So now, after the battle, the ripples of victory are supposed to go out. 00:14:46.799 --> 00:14:50.480 And these towns, they seem just a bit too far away. 00:14:51.519 --> 00:14:57.840 They have no capacity to enjoy the enfolding victory of God because they're too concerned about playing it safe. 00:14:59.919 --> 00:15:06.799 You know, when we read the Bible, I think most of the times we find it most accessible to relate to the main characters in the Bible. 00:15:07.120 --> 00:15:12.080 Maybe even the heroes that we might dare to be ourselves, with God's help, of course. 00:15:12.559 --> 00:15:23.919 And we have been learning and relating from Gideon, but actually, often in the Bible, the characters we should relate to most is the everyday people, those people who Gideon represents. 00:15:24.240 --> 00:15:31.440 And what we're meant to see in the everyday people is that you notice they continue to struggle with the idolatry of self. 00:15:32.399 --> 00:15:37.679 That to be significant, the Ephraimites would risk it all, even standing against God's hero. 00:15:38.399 --> 00:15:45.919 And to be safe, the people of Penula and Succath would build fortresses, perhaps not even to let God in. 00:15:47.360 --> 00:15:50.480 This is what happens when self is the idol. 00:15:51.600 --> 00:15:56.240 You know, Madonna, a great pop star of decades-long influence and success. 00:15:56.399 --> 00:16:02.399 When she was first getting started, she gave this interview in Vogue in 1990, before some of you were born. 00:16:03.360 --> 00:16:05.519 And in Vogue in 1990, she says this. 00:16:05.600 --> 00:16:11.679 She says, I have an iron will, and all of my will has always been to conquer some horrible feeling of inadequacy. 00:16:11.919 --> 00:16:13.360 I'm always struggling with that fear. 00:16:13.440 --> 00:16:23.679 I push past one spell of it and discover myself as a special human being, and then I get to another stage and I think I'm mediocre and uninteresting, and I find a way to get myself out of that again and again. 00:16:23.919 --> 00:16:28.000 My drive in life is this horrible fear of being mediocre. 00:16:28.159 --> 00:16:30.399 That's always been pushing me, pushing me. 00:16:30.639 --> 00:16:34.080 Even though I become somebody, I still have to prove that I am somebody. 00:16:34.240 --> 00:16:37.200 My struggle has never ended and it probably never will. 00:16:38.399 --> 00:16:43.360 You notice the duel fields, insecurity and fear, significance and safety. 00:16:44.399 --> 00:16:57.519 And yet, 30 years later, here in an interview with The Guardian this time in 2019, the interviewer, they're kind of doing a reflection of her entire career, and they ask her about a moment in 1984 when she was first starting. 00:16:57.679 --> 00:17:00.879 So her first tour as a debut musician. 00:17:01.039 --> 00:17:05.359 She's interviewing with Dick Clark, and she says that her ambition is to rule the world. 00:17:05.680 --> 00:17:08.000 And so they ask about her 35 years later. 00:17:08.240 --> 00:17:11.759 He says, 35 years on, Madonna laughs when I mention it. 00:17:12.000 --> 00:17:12.960 Yes, she nods. 00:17:13.119 --> 00:17:14.400 Sorry for saying that. 00:17:14.640 --> 00:17:17.119 The thing is, she says she wasn't confident at all back then. 00:17:17.200 --> 00:17:18.240 It was all affront. 00:17:18.400 --> 00:17:22.400 I may have been insecure, I may have felt like a nobody, but I knew I had to do something. 00:17:22.559 --> 00:17:28.640 If I was going to make something of my life, I had to know, you know, hurl myself into the dark space to go down the road less traveled. 00:17:28.799 --> 00:17:30.640 Otherwise, why live? 00:17:31.279 --> 00:17:37.680 And as the interview goes on, they come back and they ask her whether, after all their success, whether she still has this same ambition. 00:17:38.400 --> 00:17:43.359 And she says, When I said I wanted to rule the world, I didn't say I want to be the most famous person in the world. 00:17:43.519 --> 00:17:45.680 I didn't say I want to be the richest person in the world. 00:17:45.839 --> 00:17:47.599 I said I wanted to rule the world. 00:17:47.839 --> 00:17:49.359 She thinks for a moment. 00:17:50.000 --> 00:17:52.400 What did I mean then in my very young mind? 00:17:52.720 --> 00:17:55.279 I think it just meant that I want to make a mark on the world. 00:17:55.359 --> 00:17:56.559 I want to be somebody. 00:17:56.720 --> 00:18:00.720 Because I grew up feeling like a nobody and I wanted to make a difference. 00:18:00.960 --> 00:18:02.400 I think that's what I meant. 00:18:03.599 --> 00:18:11.440 And the interview says that with a handshake, she's off, or rather, I'm off, politely ushered from the room while Madonna sits on the sofa. 00:18:12.559 --> 00:18:20.319 35 years later, still trying to strike the right balance between insecurity and fear and significance and safety. 00:18:22.400 --> 00:18:24.400 Talk to others, they'll tell you the same story. 00:18:24.640 --> 00:18:30.559 There's interviews with Tom Brady or Aaron Rogers, great athletes who have achieved the top. 00:18:31.039 --> 00:18:34.000 Stories of people with finance and careers who have done amazing things. 00:18:34.079 --> 00:18:45.920 It's almost always the same story that when identity roots on self, you are stuck between the battle, the war, between insecurity and fear, or significance and safety. 00:18:47.119 --> 00:18:49.119 Here's the point at the beginning. 00:18:49.359 --> 00:18:51.839 You make a horrible hero of your life. 00:18:52.160 --> 00:18:55.599 You at the center is a life that is never centered. 00:18:56.559 --> 00:18:59.440 You at the center is a life that is never centered. 00:19:00.319 --> 00:19:06.000 And yet, as this story goes on, someone like Gideon isn't enough either. 00:19:06.559 --> 00:19:08.079 And so who is the hero? 00:19:08.319 --> 00:19:11.119 It's not you, and it's not Gideon. 00:19:12.079 --> 00:19:17.279 You know, I hope we've grown to have some affection for Gideon, maybe some empathy or understanding. 00:19:17.519 --> 00:19:22.880 And yet, despite all that we've seen Gideon achieve and grow, he does come to a tough end. 00:19:23.359 --> 00:19:25.759 You know, it really is hard to end well. 00:19:26.160 --> 00:19:32.400 And so let's remember that the Bible says those godly older Christians among us are worthy of honor. 00:19:32.559 --> 00:19:35.039 It is hard to end life well. 00:19:35.839 --> 00:19:38.319 And so let's look in the middle of a passage. 00:19:38.720 --> 00:19:42.000 It's hard to gauge exactly what's going on with Gideon. 00:19:42.160 --> 00:19:44.799 It's hard to evaluate exactly what we're meant to take away. 00:19:45.039 --> 00:19:59.440 And so starting in verse 10, Gideon and his men, they mop up the victory, and so they they defeat the final remnant of the army of the Midianites, and then in verse 13, on his way back, he returns to these two towns to kind of mop up those issues as well. 00:19:59.680 --> 00:20:08.319 And at first, you know, verse 16 is a little bit humorous as Gideon, he gets the list of the 77 elders, and he gets the briars, and he does what he said he would do. 00:20:08.559 --> 00:20:12.640 I'm gonna come back, I'm gonna put you over my knee, and I'm gonna teach you a lesson. 00:20:13.119 --> 00:20:16.480 But then in verse 17, things get much more serious. 00:20:17.039 --> 00:20:21.680 You see, Gideon, he tears down the defenses of Penuel and he kills the men of the city. 00:20:22.240 --> 00:20:23.759 His own countrymen. 00:20:25.039 --> 00:20:27.759 And maybe he's just making hard decisions of leadership. 00:20:28.000 --> 00:20:31.279 Maybe he's just bearing the weight of the sword of justice. 00:20:31.599 --> 00:20:35.680 You know, it's like that tension from that uh great movie, A Few Good Men. 00:20:35.920 --> 00:20:37.839 You can't handle the truth. 00:20:38.319 --> 00:20:42.400 Maybe we can't handle the truth of the hard things that have to be done in war. 00:20:42.720 --> 00:20:46.799 But as the story develops, it definitely leaves us with a bitter taste in our mouth. 00:20:47.039 --> 00:20:48.799 Because look what happens next. 00:20:49.119 --> 00:20:50.480 Verse 22, look down. 00:20:50.559 --> 00:20:54.799 There's this groundswell of popular movement to make Gideon the king. 00:20:55.039 --> 00:21:04.799 And this is a repeated theme of the Old Testament about whether and when Israel would have a king and if it would be the king God provides versus the king the people would demand. 00:21:05.119 --> 00:21:08.319 And so this story gets repeated when Saul comes on the scene. 00:21:08.559 --> 00:21:12.400 And so Gideon's response in verse 23 is actually really good. 00:21:12.799 --> 00:21:13.839 Look at verse 23. 00:21:14.000 --> 00:21:18.000 Gideon said to them, I will not rule over you, and my son will not rule over you. 00:21:18.079 --> 00:21:18.559 Why? 00:21:18.799 --> 00:21:21.039 Because the Lord will rule over you. 00:21:21.519 --> 00:21:23.039 You see, he gets it. 00:21:23.359 --> 00:21:26.960 And in that moment of intense pressure, he comes through. 00:21:28.160 --> 00:21:31.519 But then as time goes on, life finds a way. 00:21:31.759 --> 00:21:34.720 And in this case, it's the life of selfishness. 00:21:35.680 --> 00:21:38.000 So look down verse 24 through 27. 00:21:38.240 --> 00:21:42.960 He says he won't be king, but he certainly starts acting like a king. 00:21:43.839 --> 00:21:45.599 And so he takes tribute. 00:21:46.480 --> 00:21:48.640 And he does it so that he can make an ephod. 00:21:48.880 --> 00:21:51.599 And so that's basically the garment of the high priest. 00:21:51.759 --> 00:21:55.279 And so it was an expression, a sign of divine access. 00:21:55.440 --> 00:21:59.759 And so I am the one who can go in to have access with God, and I am the one who can bring God's. 00:22:00.319 --> 00:22:01.599 Word out to you. 00:22:03.119 --> 00:22:09.839 And sure enough, Gideon claiming to have a false word and a false position from God, what happens? 00:22:10.079 --> 00:22:12.960 He causes false worship from God's people. 00:22:13.680 --> 00:22:20.319 Verse 27, Gideon made an ephod and he put it in his city in Orprah, and all of Israel whored after it. 00:22:20.480 --> 00:22:23.440 And it became a snare to Gideon and to his family. 00:22:24.480 --> 00:22:30.319 It's just a reminder that you need a hero who will speak God's word to you and nothing more and nothing less. 00:22:30.559 --> 00:22:37.359 It's one of the evaluations of a church or a ministry or a pastor is you need those who would speak God's word to you. 00:22:37.519 --> 00:22:40.640 Clearly, not more, not less. 00:22:42.480 --> 00:22:50.240 And as we get to the closing words of Gideon's life and story, we're closing the door of Gideon's heroics. 00:22:50.480 --> 00:22:51.599 Verse 28. 00:22:52.559 --> 00:22:54.000 Rest for the land. 00:22:56.400 --> 00:22:57.279 Rest for the land. 00:22:57.359 --> 00:22:58.559 It's the word shalom. 00:23:00.079 --> 00:23:02.559 That at least for a time the land was right. 00:23:04.079 --> 00:23:08.400 It's interesting that this is the last time in the book of Judges that there is rest for the land. 00:23:09.279 --> 00:23:10.160 This is it. 00:23:10.480 --> 00:23:11.759 The best shot. 00:23:12.319 --> 00:23:14.000 And this is how it goes. 00:23:14.400 --> 00:23:17.359 In verse 30, Gideon, he's collecting wives. 00:23:17.920 --> 00:23:19.920 Another thing the king does. 00:23:20.160 --> 00:23:22.640 And then the final nail is there in verse 31. 00:23:22.799 --> 00:23:25.119 Why are we told of only one of his sons? 00:23:25.359 --> 00:23:31.680 Well, look, verse 31, he named his son Abimelech, which means my father is king. 00:23:32.240 --> 00:23:37.759 You know, Gideon, he ultimately falls to the same idol that seems to get all of us, self. 00:23:38.160 --> 00:23:39.200 It's me. 00:23:39.839 --> 00:23:41.839 Hi, I'm the problem, it's me. 00:23:43.039 --> 00:23:47.839 And you see that his story, it ends the same way, all the stories of the judges end. 00:23:48.079 --> 00:23:55.359 And so judges is a story of an S cycle, a downward spiral of everyone does what is right in their own eyes, and there was no king. 00:23:55.599 --> 00:23:57.279 Israel turned away. 00:23:58.240 --> 00:24:03.119 They did not remember the Lord, and Israel was not steadfast in love. 00:24:03.839 --> 00:24:05.359 And so what do you do? 00:24:05.599 --> 00:24:07.519 What do you do when you read a story like this? 00:24:07.680 --> 00:24:16.240 This is often the case in the Old Testament that the good is just not quite good enough, and the bad is so repeatable, so predictable. 00:24:16.640 --> 00:24:18.400 What are we to take away? 00:24:19.279 --> 00:24:21.279 And so one point as we close. 00:24:21.519 --> 00:24:22.960 Who is the hero? 00:24:23.599 --> 00:24:26.079 Well, only God and his promised king. 00:24:26.880 --> 00:24:30.720 And in a way, this is kind of the expected result of any sermon. 00:24:30.799 --> 00:24:34.400 Hopefully, you know, you end up with God and you end up with Jesus. 00:24:34.559 --> 00:24:41.359 But I hope you'll begin to appreciate the dynamic reality of what God has planned to do in the Lord Jesus. 00:24:41.519 --> 00:24:50.079 That he is the only one who could center the world around himself and have a world centered on goodness, love, glory, and sacrifice. 00:24:50.319 --> 00:24:59.680 A world centered around you will never be centered, but a world centered around God will be centered around godliness, goodness and love and glory and sacrifice. 00:25:00.000 --> 00:25:03.839 He is the only person who could be the center and not be selfish. 00:25:04.160 --> 00:25:05.440 How do you know? 00:25:05.759 --> 00:25:07.119 Because he sent his son. 00:25:08.799 --> 00:25:14.799 So let me just show you some of the ways that we see the story of Gideon fulfilled in the life of Jesus. 00:25:15.039 --> 00:25:20.880 You know, God sent his son not to hide from the suffering of his people like Gideon down in the wine press. 00:25:21.119 --> 00:25:23.119 But Jesus came to enter in. 00:25:23.839 --> 00:25:31.200 God did not require a sacrifice from his son to be acceptable to God, but he gave a sacrifice so that we could be accepted. 00:25:31.759 --> 00:25:40.880 God's son did not test him to gain his assurance, and yet God tested his son in the wilderness so that we could gain assurance, that he was like us and yet without sin. 00:25:41.680 --> 00:25:44.480 God's son also went into battle against overwhelming odds. 00:25:44.559 --> 00:25:50.559 It wasn't three hundred against thousands, but it was one against the devil and the rulers and the principalities of this world. 00:25:51.119 --> 00:25:55.119 And having won that victory, God did not take vengeance on his enemies. 00:25:56.400 --> 00:26:00.400 But they says that while we were still sinners, he sent his son to die for them. 00:26:01.119 --> 00:26:06.240 You know, God's son, it didn't he did not need to fake it as a prophet or a priest or a king. 00:26:06.960 --> 00:26:11.279 Jesus says he's a prophet who would teach his people to worship in spirit and in truth. 00:26:11.599 --> 00:26:14.960 He was a priest who would enter into the temple of God to take the final word. 00:26:15.279 --> 00:26:21.759 He was a king who was openly and publicly acknowledged before his father at his ascension and given the name above every name. 00:26:22.400 --> 00:26:28.480 His king did not collect wives like trophies, but he took one as his bride, the church. 00:26:28.799 --> 00:26:35.519 He is a king who did not demand tribute from his people, but he poured down his gifts of intimacy upon them and his steadfast love. 00:26:35.759 --> 00:26:38.799 And when God had a son, he gave him a better name. 00:26:39.200 --> 00:26:41.759 Jesus, he will save his people from their sin. 00:26:42.319 --> 00:26:47.839 And as we read in our New Testament reading, when God had a son, he gave rest for his people. 00:26:48.400 --> 00:26:51.920 Jesus said, Anyone who would come to me, I will give you rest. 00:26:53.519 --> 00:26:55.440 And so who is enough? 00:26:55.920 --> 00:26:58.799 Who is good enough to be the hero at the center of your life? 00:26:58.960 --> 00:27:02.960 I hope the story of Gideon drives us to the only answer. 00:27:03.279 --> 00:27:11.440 If you put your trust, if you center yourself around God and his chosen king, let me remind you of the heroic life that God will have for you. 00:27:11.680 --> 00:27:18.160 This is the passage from Hebrews 11, what God says about Gideon's life despite this end. 00:27:18.880 --> 00:27:22.000 Hebrews 11, starting in verse 32, he says, What more shall I say? 00:27:22.079 --> 00:27:43.920 I don't have time to tell about Gideon and Barak and Samson and Jephthah, about David and Samuel and the prophets, who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, gained what was promised, who shut the mouths of lions, they quenched the fury of the flames, escaped the edge of the sword, whose weakness was turned to strength, and who became powerful in battle and routed foreign enemies. 00:27:44.160 --> 00:27:46.960 Women received back their dead, raised to life again. 00:27:47.200 --> 00:27:52.319 There were others who were tortured, refusing to be released, so they might gain an even better resurrection. 00:27:52.640 --> 00:27:56.240 Some faced jeers and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. 00:27:56.400 --> 00:28:06.960 They were put to death by stoning, they were sawed in two, they were killed by the sword, they went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted, and mistreated, and the world was not worthy of them. 00:28:07.839 --> 00:28:12.160 They wandered in deserts and mountains, living in caves and in holes in the ground. 00:28:12.400 --> 00:28:14.880 These were all commended for their faith. 00:28:15.039 --> 00:28:23.279 Yet none of them received what had been promised, since God had planned something better for us, so that only together with us would they be made perfect. 00:28:23.519 --> 00:28:35.759 You know, when God looks back at Gideon through his son Jesus, even though his life ended with a battle with the greatest idol of all, self, in his grace through the Lord Jesus, God said, commended. 00:28:38.799 --> 00:28:45.519 And what God said about Gideon, he also said about all these other unnamed heroes of faith from Hebrews 11. 00:28:45.759 --> 00:28:50.240 And amazingly, amazingly, you are not the hero of your life. 00:28:50.319 --> 00:28:54.240 And yet, this is what God would say about you well as well. 00:28:55.119 --> 00:29:04.240 If in your faith, if you join together with all those who have waited together until all is made perfect, he would say, This world would not be worthy. 00:29:04.319 --> 00:29:07.599 And so he would make a world that would be even better. 00:29:08.880 --> 00:29:14.799 Let's pray that we can walk forward in the life of faith, centering around our hero, the Lord Jesus. 00:29:14.960 --> 00:29:16.480 Let's pray together. 00:29:16.880 --> 00:29:25.839 Heavenly Father, we thank you for your great creativity, not only in the stories you have told us, but even in the way that you have providentially brought history together. 00:29:26.400 --> 00:29:35.599 That we can learn in such interactive ways that we find ourselves in Gideon, we find ourselves in the people. 00:29:36.240 --> 00:29:44.880 And ultimately we need to and want to find ourselves in the Lord Jesus, who is greater and better, and fully the hero we would need. 00:29:44.960 --> 00:29:46.240 And so would you remind us of this? 00:29:46.400 --> 00:29:57.359 Invite us into the life you have purchased for us, so that all we who would confess the name of Jesus would confess a life of greatness planned together for the perfect world you would create. 00:29:57.599 --> 00:29:59.920 Be with us as we struggle on in faith until then. 00:30:00.000 --> 00:30:01.119 We ask in Jesus' name. 00:30:01.279 --> 00:30:01.839 Amen.