WEBVTT 00:00:00.719 --> 00:00:02.879 This is this is a really good day. 00:00:03.120 --> 00:00:04.160 This is a really good day. 00:00:04.400 --> 00:00:05.759 I love what Beth said. 00:00:05.839 --> 00:00:08.000 I'm sure you caught it because it's pretty profound. 00:00:08.160 --> 00:00:09.679 I want to live every day living. 00:00:11.119 --> 00:00:17.280 I heard someone say years ago that God does not make bad things good. 00:00:18.160 --> 00:00:20.160 He makes dead things alive. 00:00:20.640 --> 00:00:21.519 That's what he does. 00:00:21.679 --> 00:00:22.879 And he brings us to life. 00:00:23.039 --> 00:00:25.600 And that's what we experience every single time we get in his presence. 00:00:25.679 --> 00:00:27.280 We experience real life. 00:00:27.359 --> 00:00:29.839 And I hope you have that this morning. 00:00:30.079 --> 00:00:34.159 I want to talk for just a few seconds about my normal morning experience. 00:00:34.479 --> 00:00:38.719 Anyone else hate the way your morning tends to go at all? 00:00:38.960 --> 00:00:47.840 Like you begin every day stressed out of your mind, and the first 20 minutes of your day just get you in this state that you have to come out of, you know? 00:00:48.479 --> 00:00:51.200 That's how my day begins every single day. 00:00:51.439 --> 00:00:52.560 It's just super stressful. 00:00:52.640 --> 00:00:53.520 And it's all my fault. 00:00:53.679 --> 00:00:55.280 See, I have a mission every single morning. 00:00:55.359 --> 00:01:05.680 My mission is to wake up, to get ready for work, but also to get my son Liam, our oldest up, to get him all ready for school and to get out the door without waking up Megan or Lily. 00:01:06.319 --> 00:01:07.840 See, at home, I've talked about this before. 00:01:08.000 --> 00:01:09.280 We have a code name for Megan and Lily. 00:01:09.599 --> 00:01:10.640 They're the bears. 00:01:10.959 --> 00:01:12.719 Because you don't wake the bears. 00:01:12.959 --> 00:01:15.599 Like you need to let bears wake up on their own. 00:01:15.680 --> 00:01:18.640 And so we've got to do all this stuff and get out the door without waking the bears. 00:01:18.719 --> 00:01:24.079 And that means we also can't make enough noise to wake up the baby to wake up Judah, because if Judah wakes up, it's going to wake up the bears. 00:01:24.239 --> 00:01:28.079 And so we've got a lot to get done in as much silence as possible. 00:01:28.480 --> 00:01:29.200 And it's hard. 00:01:29.280 --> 00:01:31.840 It's hard because, see, I don't really wake up until I'm in the shower. 00:01:31.920 --> 00:01:33.519 If that's TMI, I'm so sorry. 00:01:33.680 --> 00:01:37.439 But it's about halfway through a shower that I actually like come awake. 00:01:37.680 --> 00:01:45.120 And so what always happens for some reason is that my showers last way longer than they should because I'm really barely conscious for the first half of it. 00:01:45.280 --> 00:01:48.159 And I'll get in the shower, and it's like I'm in a time machine. 00:01:48.239 --> 00:01:54.079 When I get out of the shower, all refreshed and awake, I look at the clock and I'm like, how I've I wasn't out in the shower for 25 minutes. 00:01:54.239 --> 00:01:56.640 There's no way I was in the shower for that long, but it's true. 00:01:56.719 --> 00:01:58.799 And so then I'm in this panic, I'm in a rush. 00:01:58.959 --> 00:02:04.480 Because now I've got to go get Liam up and I've got to make his lunch and pack his backpack and gotta get him dressed, do all this kind of stuff, right? 00:02:04.560 --> 00:02:07.359 And and do it fast and not wake the bears. 00:02:07.439 --> 00:02:14.000 And so usually Liam's morning begins with me rushing into his room, whisper yelling at him, going, Liam, Liam, you've got to get up. 00:02:14.080 --> 00:02:14.960 You've got to wake up now. 00:02:15.039 --> 00:02:15.599 We're running late. 00:02:15.680 --> 00:02:16.639 You've got to, we gotta go. 00:02:16.719 --> 00:02:18.560 And Liam always yells at me in the morning. 00:02:18.719 --> 00:02:19.039 Always. 00:02:19.120 --> 00:02:21.520 And he's like, Dad, and I go, shh, shh, shh, shh. 00:02:21.840 --> 00:02:23.680 It's like this yelling, it's so intense. 00:02:23.840 --> 00:02:30.960 I feel so bad for him because the first part of his day has got to be like just awful, with his dad going shh, like really loud in his face. 00:02:31.039 --> 00:02:32.240 And I'm like, you've got a shower. 00:02:32.400 --> 00:02:33.599 Get in the shower, get in the shower. 00:02:33.680 --> 00:02:43.599 And so he goes and he gets in the shower, and then I go downstairs and I make his lunch and then I pack his backpack, I try to find his homework and all this other stuff, and I try to lay clothes out for him because you know he's six years old and God love him. 00:02:43.680 --> 00:02:45.840 If I just say, hey, go get dressed, who knows? 00:02:46.000 --> 00:02:46.879 Who knows, right? 00:02:47.039 --> 00:02:50.639 It'll be like a raincoat and shorts and you know, cowboy boots. 00:02:50.719 --> 00:02:51.199 You never know. 00:02:51.360 --> 00:02:55.599 So I've got to find clothes that just look like they kind of belong together, and I go bring those upstairs. 00:02:55.680 --> 00:02:57.039 But see, Liam, he's like me. 00:02:57.199 --> 00:02:59.120 He doesn't wake up until he's in the shower. 00:02:59.360 --> 00:03:02.400 And so I'll be downstairs doing all this stuff, and 20 minutes will go by. 00:03:02.479 --> 00:03:07.280 It's like time for us to walk out the door, and I'll go into the bathroom, and he's still in there, and it's like a sauna. 00:03:08.080 --> 00:03:11.840 And again, I'm whisper yelling, and I'm like, Liam, you gotta get out of the shower. 00:03:12.000 --> 00:03:19.280 And he'll yell back at me, and I'll yell shh at him again, and he'll say, Dad, I just give me a second, I just need to shampoo and soap off. 00:03:19.439 --> 00:03:21.520 And I'm like, That's all you have to do in the shower. 00:03:21.599 --> 00:03:22.240 That's all of it. 00:03:22.400 --> 00:03:24.960 That's the whole shower, that's the whole experience. 00:03:25.039 --> 00:03:25.919 Why haven't you done that yet? 00:03:26.000 --> 00:03:27.199 And he's like, Dad, just leave me alone. 00:03:27.280 --> 00:03:33.120 And so I leave and he gets dressed and I comb his hair and we go out the door, and that is how every day of my life begins. 00:03:33.599 --> 00:03:34.800 Very stressful. 00:03:35.039 --> 00:03:37.199 And it's all because I lose track of time. 00:03:37.439 --> 00:03:39.599 I just, I just I lose track of time in the mornings. 00:03:39.680 --> 00:03:40.960 I don't wake up till I'm in the shower. 00:03:41.039 --> 00:03:44.240 I have no idea how long it's taken me to do anything, and it makes everything stressful. 00:03:44.400 --> 00:03:51.919 I share that with you because today is the last day in our series on Gideon, and I just have to admit that I kind of lost track of time. 00:03:52.159 --> 00:03:53.280 I apologize. 00:03:53.520 --> 00:03:55.599 I I don't know if it's the weather or what. 00:03:55.840 --> 00:03:59.039 It hasn't felt like Christmas to me this year, it hasn't felt like December yet. 00:03:59.120 --> 00:04:04.719 You know, it was so warm for so long that my brain just does not accept the fact that Christmas is a few weeks away. 00:04:05.120 --> 00:04:10.000 Even Liam, this last week, said, Dad, Friday is my my last day at school, this this upcoming Friday. 00:04:10.080 --> 00:04:12.000 And I was like, No, son, you've got at least two more weeks. 00:04:12.080 --> 00:04:12.879 And he's like, uh-uh. 00:04:13.039 --> 00:04:19.839 And I swore he was wrong, and I looked it up on the calendar, and when I looked at the calendar, I'm like, oh my goodness, it's it's like almost mid-December. 00:04:20.639 --> 00:04:32.000 And then I looked at the calendar, and when the Gideon series is supposed to end, and then we gotta start talking about Christmas, and I'm like, oh no, I've got to wrap up the whole thing on Sunday, which means we've got a little bit of ground to cover, okay? 00:04:32.240 --> 00:04:34.560 I'm not gonna whisper yell at you though, I promise. 00:04:34.720 --> 00:04:35.040 Okay? 00:04:35.279 --> 00:04:37.920 So it's not gonna be that stressful, but we've we've just got some ground to cover. 00:04:38.079 --> 00:04:41.439 So, just in case you're you're just now joining us, let me get you caught up really quickly. 00:04:41.519 --> 00:04:43.519 This series has been called Gideon the Story of Gideon. 00:04:43.680 --> 00:04:49.199 It's based on the story of Gideon in the Bible, and it has no theme, there's no overarching theme that we're exploring. 00:04:49.279 --> 00:04:51.680 It's not, you know, faith or hope or anything like that. 00:04:51.839 --> 00:04:54.319 We're just reading the story and asking God to show us stuff. 00:04:54.480 --> 00:04:55.360 It's that simple. 00:04:55.439 --> 00:04:57.519 And we're doing that for a very specific reason. 00:04:57.680 --> 00:05:00.079 Because that's how we can all read the Bible. 00:05:00.319 --> 00:05:05.360 The Bible is so insanely practical, we do not have to dig deep to find something useful for our lives. 00:05:05.439 --> 00:05:06.639 It's the opposite. 00:05:06.879 --> 00:05:11.120 Every single time we we we open it and we read what God has done. 00:05:11.600 --> 00:05:20.480 And we ask God to open our hearts and our minds and to show us something we can apply to our lives if we go into it with that kind of heart, with those filters and in a translation that we can actually understand. 00:05:20.720 --> 00:05:22.720 As long as you do that, you're gonna get something. 00:05:22.879 --> 00:05:27.199 And so we've just been reading the story of Gideon saying, Hey, hey God, show us something. 00:05:27.439 --> 00:05:29.680 Show us something that we can use for our lives. 00:05:29.759 --> 00:05:31.360 And he's been faithful and he's done that. 00:05:31.519 --> 00:05:34.639 He's shown us things that can propel our lives forward. 00:05:34.879 --> 00:05:37.360 That's exactly what we're gonna do this morning. 00:05:37.600 --> 00:05:41.199 Now, if you've had if you haven't heard any of the story so far, I can sum it up really, really fast. 00:05:41.360 --> 00:05:44.560 Gideon's story takes place 3,000 years ago in the nation of Israel. 00:05:44.720 --> 00:05:49.759 Israel, at this point in history, is actually being oppressed by a foreign power, the Midianites. 00:05:49.839 --> 00:05:53.360 And they're coming into Israel every year and they're raiding the nation of Israel. 00:05:53.439 --> 00:05:55.920 They're taking the livestock and the food and all the valuables. 00:05:56.079 --> 00:05:57.920 Israel's reduced to starvation. 00:05:58.240 --> 00:06:00.319 They're in a period of serious oppression. 00:06:00.399 --> 00:06:04.480 It's been happening for seven years, but God has a plan, because God always has a plan. 00:06:04.639 --> 00:06:10.879 And more often than not, God's plan is a person, and in this particular instance, God's plan is a person named Gideon. 00:06:11.040 --> 00:06:17.120 The problem, though, is that none of us in the room would ever, in our right mind, choose Gideon to lead anything. 00:06:17.439 --> 00:06:22.560 Gideon would not choose himself to lead anything, let alone lead Israel. 00:06:22.800 --> 00:06:26.879 He's not some war hero, he's not a warrior or a general or anything. 00:06:27.199 --> 00:06:32.560 He's just a guy, and to be honest, he's not this faith-filled guy, he's kind of a coward. 00:06:33.680 --> 00:06:41.920 When the angel of the Lord shows up to tell Gideon, you're God's pick, Gideon is hiding in a hole in the ground because he's afraid of the Midianites. 00:06:42.319 --> 00:06:44.480 Bible says he was hiding in a wine press. 00:06:44.720 --> 00:06:47.199 Wine presses were holes in the ground where they would store wine. 00:06:47.279 --> 00:06:49.439 Gideon's in there because he's afraid of the Midianites. 00:06:49.519 --> 00:06:52.480 It's the time of year when they come to Israel again, and he's fearful. 00:06:52.639 --> 00:06:57.519 This is the guy that God has picked, the guy hiding in the hole, hiding in the wine press. 00:06:58.000 --> 00:07:01.120 And so Gideon has a hard time believing that he's God's pick. 00:07:01.199 --> 00:07:12.240 And so there's this little bit of back and forth that goes on between Gideon and the angel, and then between Gideon and God, and finally, finally, Gideon accepts that maybe, just maybe, God's doing something, and so he says, All right, I'll do it, I'll lead the army. 00:07:12.399 --> 00:07:15.439 And Gideon assembles this army of 32,000 soldiers. 00:07:15.680 --> 00:07:25.600 Which might seem like a lot, but the Midianites have allied with another nation, the Amalekites and some other people, and they have an army of, at the very least, conservative count, 135,000. 00:07:25.839 --> 00:07:28.639 So it's 32,000 versus 135,000. 00:07:28.800 --> 00:07:31.680 I'm not that good at math, but those are not great odds. 00:07:32.079 --> 00:07:36.000 But God looks at Gideon and he says, hey, there's a big problem with your army. 00:07:36.240 --> 00:07:38.079 You have too many soldiers. 00:07:38.399 --> 00:07:43.360 And I don't want you guys going into battle and winning and then patting yourselves on the back and saying, look what we did. 00:07:43.519 --> 00:07:46.639 And it's not because God is hungry for glory. 00:07:46.879 --> 00:07:52.240 It's because God knows that the people need to remember that he's done this, that he's rescued them. 00:07:52.399 --> 00:07:55.920 Because there's going to be other points in their future where they're going to need him. 00:07:56.160 --> 00:07:58.240 And they're going to feel hopeless just like they feel right now. 00:07:58.319 --> 00:08:01.519 They need to be reminded that God rescues his people. 00:08:02.000 --> 00:08:06.319 So he says, I want you to tell as many soldiers as are afraid that they can go home. 00:08:06.480 --> 00:08:07.439 Give them an out. 00:08:07.519 --> 00:08:11.199 And 22,000 soldiers say, Yep, scared out of my mind, I'm going home. 00:08:11.439 --> 00:08:17.360 So Gideon's got 10,000 versus 135,000, but God still looks at him and says, Hey, too big. 00:08:17.600 --> 00:08:19.040 Army's still too big. 00:08:19.279 --> 00:08:21.920 And so God weeds it down to 300 men. 00:08:22.079 --> 00:08:26.879 And with 300 soldiers, if you can call that an army, God says, Yes. 00:08:27.279 --> 00:08:27.920 Perfect. 00:08:28.079 --> 00:08:29.759 All right, it's time to go to war. 00:08:30.079 --> 00:08:32.960 And that's where we're at when we get to the story today. 00:08:33.279 --> 00:08:36.159 Judges chapter 7, we're going to start in verse 8. 00:08:36.320 --> 00:08:39.840 The Midianite camp was in the valley just below Gideon. 00:08:40.240 --> 00:08:46.000 That night the Lord said, Get up, go down into the Midianite camp, for I have given you victory over them. 00:08:46.240 --> 00:08:50.080 But if you are afraid to attack, go down to the camp with your servant Pura. 00:08:50.559 --> 00:08:55.039 Listen to what the Midianites are saying, and you'll be greatly encouraged, then you'll be eager to attack. 00:08:55.279 --> 00:08:58.720 So Gideon took Pura and went down to the edge of the enemy camp. 00:08:58.879 --> 00:09:03.919 The armies of Midian and Amalek and the people of the east had settled in the valley like a swarm of locusts. 00:09:04.080 --> 00:09:07.759 Their camels were like grains of sand on the seashore, too many to count. 00:09:08.000 --> 00:09:12.000 Gideon crept up just as a man was telling his companion about a dream. 00:09:12.240 --> 00:09:18.320 The man said, I had this dream, and in my dream a loaf of barley bread came tumbling down into the Midianite camp. 00:09:18.480 --> 00:09:21.840 It hit a tent, turned it over, and knocked it flat. 00:09:22.159 --> 00:09:24.879 His companion answered, Your dream can mean only one thing. 00:09:25.120 --> 00:09:30.159 God has given Gideon, son of Joash, the Israelite, victory over Midian and its allies. 00:09:30.480 --> 00:09:34.480 When Gideon heard the dream and its interpretation, he bowed in worship before the Lord. 00:09:34.639 --> 00:09:38.720 So Gideon hears this dream, and it's not very flattering to Gideon, by the way. 00:09:38.799 --> 00:09:40.879 He's a loaf of barley bread in the dream. 00:09:41.039 --> 00:09:45.360 And just so you understand, barley bread was a very, very coarse, rough bread. 00:09:45.440 --> 00:09:48.240 It was not a delicacy, it was the bread of the poor. 00:09:48.480 --> 00:09:55.279 But he hears this dream, and in the dream, the loaf of barley bread knocks down a tent, and this other guy in the middle-night camp's like, dude, we're gonna lose. 00:09:55.440 --> 00:09:56.480 That's what that dream means. 00:09:56.639 --> 00:09:58.320 Gideon's gonna win, we're gonna lose. 00:09:58.399 --> 00:10:01.039 And that's what gives Gideon the faith to fight. 00:10:01.120 --> 00:10:04.720 That's what gives Gideon that final push where he goes, All right, I believe now. 00:10:04.960 --> 00:10:09.759 And you have to know that that frustrated God just a little bit, because God has been saying that all along. 00:10:10.000 --> 00:10:14.960 God said to Gideon, like time and time again, you're gonna win, you're gonna be victorious, I'm gonna be with you. 00:10:15.039 --> 00:10:18.240 He said, You're gonna defeat them as if you're fighting against one person. 00:10:18.799 --> 00:10:21.519 And every single time, Gideon's like, I don't know, God. 00:10:21.679 --> 00:10:23.759 I just don't know, I just need a sign, I need a sign. 00:10:23.840 --> 00:10:31.600 And now Gideon hears some dude, just some random guy that he's never met before, say what God has been saying all along, and he's like, All right, I believe. 00:10:32.240 --> 00:10:41.360 Those of us who have who've raised children, or many of us who have been children raised by parents, and we can put ourselves on the other side of this of this analogy, understand what it's like. 00:10:41.440 --> 00:10:59.919 When you give your kids advice, you tell them something over and over again, and it's just in one ear, out the other, and then some other person, some friend of theirs says the exact same thing you've been saying all along, and they listen to that person and they give that person the credit for the wisdom that you've been giving them the whole time, and you're like, I say the same thing all the time. 00:11:01.440 --> 00:11:01.919 Ha ha. 00:11:03.440 --> 00:11:05.039 That's awesome. 00:11:06.000 --> 00:11:09.039 See, it's good to know that God knows what it's like to be a parent. 00:11:09.440 --> 00:11:10.639 Let's continue. 00:11:11.679 --> 00:11:12.559 Verse 15. 00:11:12.799 --> 00:11:19.679 Then he returned to the Israelite camp and he shouted, Get up, for the Lord has given you victory over the Midianite hordes. 00:11:19.759 --> 00:11:25.759 He divided the 300 men into three groups, and he gave each man a ram's horn and a clay jar with a torch in it. 00:11:25.840 --> 00:11:27.679 Now let's pause there for just a second. 00:11:28.000 --> 00:11:28.320 Okay. 00:11:28.639 --> 00:11:33.679 They're going to war, they're going to battle, and so Gideon's like, Everybody get up. 00:11:33.919 --> 00:11:34.879 We're going to fight. 00:11:34.960 --> 00:11:35.679 This is the moment. 00:11:36.159 --> 00:11:38.720 Take a clay jar and a horn. 00:11:40.240 --> 00:11:41.200 Be off. 00:11:42.080 --> 00:11:43.679 Now here's what's crazy. 00:11:43.919 --> 00:11:53.679 We learned last week that when Gideon dismissed the final 10,000 soldiers that left him with 300, that he asked that all the provisions, all of the supplies that those 10,000 men had were left behind. 00:11:53.840 --> 00:11:59.120 So Gideon has the supplies of a 10,000-person army. 00:12:00.000 --> 00:12:04.080 That means every single one of his 300 men can go into battle like packing serious heat. 00:12:04.159 --> 00:12:09.360 They can have a sword, a backup sword, a sword on their back, a couple extra shields, like extra suits of armor. 00:12:09.759 --> 00:12:12.720 They have all the supplies they need, but they take none of that with them. 00:12:13.440 --> 00:12:19.840 They take jar, jars of clay and and horns into battle. 00:12:20.159 --> 00:12:27.120 And so just imagine what's going through their minds at this moment in time, as they're being sent off to slaughter. 00:12:28.000 --> 00:12:29.360 We continue in verse 17. 00:12:29.519 --> 00:12:31.600 Then he said to them, Keep your eyes on me. 00:12:31.840 --> 00:12:34.320 When I come to the edge of the camp, do just as I do. 00:12:34.399 --> 00:12:41.840 And as soon as I and those with me blow the ram's horns, blow your horns too, all around the entire camp, and shout for the Lord and for Gideon. 00:12:42.799 --> 00:12:44.799 For the Lord and for Gideon. 00:12:45.679 --> 00:12:54.960 It was just after midnight, after the changing of the guard, when Gideon and the one hundred men with him reached the edge of the Midianite camp, and suddenly they blew the ram's horns and broke their clay jars. 00:12:55.120 --> 00:12:57.919 And then all three groups blew their horns and broke their jars. 00:12:58.080 --> 00:13:03.919 They held the blazing torches in their left hands and the horns in their right hands, and they all shouted, A sword for the Lord and for Gideon. 00:13:04.080 --> 00:13:06.799 Now, Gideon didn't say to shout a sword. 00:13:07.279 --> 00:13:09.039 He just said, Shout for the Lord and for Gideon. 00:13:09.279 --> 00:13:13.120 But you know the soldiers were like, Well, we don't want them to think we don't have swords. 00:13:13.440 --> 00:13:14.480 That's just preposterous. 00:13:14.559 --> 00:13:17.919 So they were like yelling out, hey, we're carrying swords. 00:13:18.159 --> 00:13:21.200 We're not coming to a battle with jars and horns. 00:13:21.279 --> 00:13:22.559 We promise you that. 00:13:23.679 --> 00:13:32.159 It says each man stood at his position around the camp and watched as all the Midianites rushed around in a panic, shouting as they ran to escape. 00:13:32.399 --> 00:13:38.399 When the 300 Israelites blew their rams' horns, the Lord caused the warriors in the camp to fight against each other with their own swords. 00:13:38.639 --> 00:13:46.000 Those who were not killed fled to places as far away as Bethshetah near Zererah and to the border of Abel Mahola near Tabbath. 00:13:46.799 --> 00:13:51.120 Okay, so you're Gideon's army, and you're sitting there watching this happen. 00:13:51.519 --> 00:13:53.200 I mean, just imagine that. 00:13:53.519 --> 00:14:01.200 Here you are, you break a jar, you pick up a torch, and you blow a horn, and it's just chaos. 00:14:02.080 --> 00:14:05.679 And these guys are killing each other, and you're just going, what? 00:14:05.759 --> 00:14:08.559 This is this is a lot easier than I thought it would be. 00:14:08.799 --> 00:14:11.600 This is it's it's kind of anticlimactic. 00:14:11.759 --> 00:14:14.000 It's actually funny, as a kid, I remember learning this story. 00:14:14.080 --> 00:14:15.679 I grew up in church, and so I loved this story. 00:14:15.759 --> 00:14:17.840 And I always thought of it like an action story, right? 00:14:17.919 --> 00:14:19.919 Like there's this great battle, but there's not. 00:14:20.159 --> 00:14:22.000 This is not a great battle. 00:14:22.320 --> 00:14:25.360 It it's it's I mean, it's it's far from it. 00:14:25.840 --> 00:14:28.000 It reminds me of, you know, my son started playing basketball. 00:14:28.080 --> 00:14:28.559 I've shared that. 00:14:28.639 --> 00:14:31.519 He's in first grade, so he's on his first ever, you know, real basketball team. 00:14:31.600 --> 00:14:32.960 I'll give you guys updates from time to time. 00:14:33.039 --> 00:14:35.679 His team is sixes one by one in the Cherokee Youth League. 00:14:35.840 --> 00:14:39.279 They're two and oh, by the way, and I'm just saying, Liam hit the game-winning shot last week. 00:14:39.360 --> 00:14:40.399 Not that that's a big deal. 00:14:40.559 --> 00:14:43.679 But um his team was down by one, he had a shot, they won. 00:14:43.759 --> 00:14:44.480 I'm just saying. 00:14:44.720 --> 00:14:50.320 But like half the time that's spent during these games, because these kids are new to basketball, and basketball's not that hard. 00:14:50.399 --> 00:14:54.240 Even if you don't know the main rules, you understand that there's two goals. 00:14:54.480 --> 00:14:56.159 You're supposed to make it in one of them. 00:14:56.320 --> 00:14:57.679 Your team's supposed to make it in the other. 00:14:57.759 --> 00:14:59.679 It's kind of all sports are pretty much like that. 00:14:59.759 --> 00:15:02.240 But the kids just lose track of which goal is theirs. 00:15:02.480 --> 00:15:11.519 And so, every game so far, a kid will get the ball and start going to their own basket to score, and all the parents, even the parents on the other side, they don't want these kids to, you know, to be embarrassed. 00:15:11.840 --> 00:15:15.360 We're all screaming, no, no, no, the other way, go the other way. 00:15:15.440 --> 00:15:17.360 And the kids are just all, it's just chaos. 00:15:17.519 --> 00:15:20.000 The kids are just running around in circles as we all scream and yell. 00:15:20.080 --> 00:15:22.559 And that's kind of like what Gideon in the army is doing. 00:15:22.639 --> 00:15:25.120 They're just watching this chaos unfold. 00:15:25.279 --> 00:15:27.440 And all these, they're all they're all dead. 00:15:27.679 --> 00:15:32.080 And there's a few guys left, and they go running, and Gideon's army's like, I guess we should probably chase them. 00:15:33.039 --> 00:15:34.879 This is this is nuts. 00:15:35.840 --> 00:15:37.919 It's crazy what happens. 00:15:38.399 --> 00:15:40.879 But it's it's also really, really powerful. 00:15:41.200 --> 00:15:43.200 And it's incredibly symbolic. 00:15:44.399 --> 00:15:52.720 It's so interesting that the victory that they experience here is initiated by the breaking of these clay jars that have this light inside of them. 00:15:53.600 --> 00:15:54.879 What's carrying these torches. 00:15:54.960 --> 00:15:58.879 Paul wrote a thousand years later in 2 Corinthians 4, 5 through 7. 00:15:59.200 --> 00:16:01.919 You see, we don't go around preaching about ourselves. 00:16:02.000 --> 00:16:04.080 We preach that Jesus Christ is Lord. 00:16:04.320 --> 00:16:07.120 And we ourselves are your servants for Jesus' sake. 00:16:07.200 --> 00:16:16.080 For God, who said, Let there be light in the darkness, has made this light shine in our hearts so we can know the glory of God that is seen in the face of Jesus Christ. 00:16:16.399 --> 00:16:23.759 We now have this light shining in our hearts, but we ourselves are like fragile clay jars containing this great treasure. 00:16:24.080 --> 00:16:28.639 This makes it clear that our great power is from God, not ourselves. 00:16:29.919 --> 00:16:39.919 So just like Gideon's army carries these fragile clay jars, these very unimpressive tools, something that's not fit for war. 00:16:41.360 --> 00:16:43.039 God says that that's us. 00:16:44.080 --> 00:16:50.559 That we are fragile clay jars carrying the light of God for the world around us. 00:16:51.440 --> 00:16:53.360 That's so that's so powerful. 00:16:53.440 --> 00:16:55.039 At first glance, it seems kind of discouraging. 00:16:55.120 --> 00:16:57.039 Like God's like, hey, you're a clay jar. 00:16:57.440 --> 00:16:58.000 Woo-hoo. 00:16:58.960 --> 00:17:00.480 God, you think so highly of me. 00:17:00.639 --> 00:17:01.360 Thank you. 00:17:01.759 --> 00:17:04.240 Like any if you are dating someone right now, just try this. 00:17:04.559 --> 00:17:05.279 I'd love to see what happens. 00:17:05.359 --> 00:17:07.200 Hey, you know what you really remind me of? 00:17:07.680 --> 00:17:09.279 Like a clay jar. 00:17:10.079 --> 00:17:14.240 Just as you know, so fragile and easily broken. 00:17:14.799 --> 00:17:15.519 Just see what happens. 00:17:15.759 --> 00:17:16.240 See what happens. 00:17:16.319 --> 00:17:17.519 See how Christmas goes. 00:17:17.759 --> 00:17:19.200 I'd love to know. 00:17:22.240 --> 00:17:30.079 At first glance, it doesn't seem very flattering, but uh but it's incredibly powerful for every single one of us to think about that, what that really means. 00:17:30.559 --> 00:17:35.599 Because see, we get so caught up working on the image. 00:17:37.039 --> 00:17:37.680 Right? 00:17:38.319 --> 00:17:43.279 And honestly, we live in a time when when you can you can work on your image better than ever before. 00:17:43.599 --> 00:17:53.680 I mean, literally, you can take you can take a picture of yourself on your own phone, apply a filter to it, right there on the spot, look at it and go, nah. 00:17:54.640 --> 00:17:59.279 Take another one, apply a different filter, go, oh, that looks pretty good, post that as your profile picture. 00:17:59.680 --> 00:18:06.559 And we all know this because we've all met people who who we're already maybe friends with on Facebook or something, and we're like, that's not you're not that person. 00:18:06.880 --> 00:18:08.000 That's not you. 00:18:08.400 --> 00:18:09.039 You know? 00:18:09.680 --> 00:18:15.680 And it's funny, you get on on much social media, and it's just we are all incredible experts at image management. 00:18:16.640 --> 00:18:26.319 And it's funny, we we we start to apply that to our relationship with God, and we start to believe this is what religion teaches us, by the way, that it's the way you look that really matters. 00:18:26.880 --> 00:18:28.480 That it's the outside. 00:18:30.240 --> 00:18:34.079 That if you really want to be useful to God, be impressive. 00:18:34.480 --> 00:18:36.640 Look impressive to the world around you. 00:18:37.039 --> 00:18:40.559 Be someone that the world looks at and goes, wow, they've got it all together. 00:18:41.119 --> 00:18:52.400 They're fit, they're wealthy, their kids are well behaved, they've got their house in order, they've got a plan. 00:18:52.799 --> 00:18:55.119 They have it together, they're like little life experts. 00:18:55.200 --> 00:18:57.680 They're so, wow, that must be God. 00:18:58.000 --> 00:18:59.119 That must be God. 00:18:59.759 --> 00:19:01.839 That's what we we sometimes think. 00:19:02.480 --> 00:19:09.039 That the way that we show the world who God is is by making sure that our lives look as impressive as possible. 00:19:10.000 --> 00:19:11.119 And that kind of makes sense. 00:19:11.200 --> 00:19:12.799 I can see where we would think that. 00:19:12.960 --> 00:19:17.759 Isn't isn't a gold jar more fitting to carry the light of Jesus than a clay jar? 00:19:20.640 --> 00:19:24.240 But see, if you if your life is a gold jar, people just stop at the jar. 00:19:25.200 --> 00:19:27.519 They just they look at the jar, they don't get past anything else. 00:19:27.599 --> 00:19:30.240 They go, wow, that's that's beautiful, that's amazing, that's incredible. 00:19:32.240 --> 00:19:35.440 Because the value of a clay jar is not itself, it's what it's holding. 00:19:36.720 --> 00:19:39.920 And God looks at us and he says, Look, you don't have to have it all together. 00:19:40.640 --> 00:19:48.960 You don't you don't have to have it all figured out, you don't have to have your entire life in order, you don't have to be some problem-free life expert. 00:19:49.440 --> 00:19:56.160 You don't have to be some guru, you don't have to be some incredible success story to bring me glory. 00:19:57.759 --> 00:19:59.440 He says, I just want you to be who you are. 00:19:59.920 --> 00:20:04.960 Be a clay jar, fragile, maybe even broken in some places. 00:20:05.599 --> 00:20:09.279 And don't be ashamed of that because, see, if if there's cracks in the jar, guess what happens? 00:20:09.359 --> 00:20:10.960 The light shines through the cracks. 00:20:12.480 --> 00:20:18.400 The light that was in Gideon's jar did not show until he broke it. 00:20:20.400 --> 00:20:30.960 Paul would later write in 2 Corinthians chapter 12, talking about a time when he's praying to God and asking God to take away this issue, this struggle that he's having, and he just can't get past. 00:20:31.119 --> 00:20:36.319 He says, three different times I beg the Lord to take it away, and each time he said, My grace is all you need. 00:20:36.799 --> 00:20:39.519 My power works best in weakness. 00:20:40.000 --> 00:20:44.880 So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me. 00:20:45.039 --> 00:20:51.200 That's why I take pleasure in my weaknesses and in the insults, the hardships, the persecutions, and the troubles that I suffer for Christ. 00:20:51.279 --> 00:20:53.440 For when I am weak, then I am strong. 00:20:53.599 --> 00:20:57.200 This is God telling us, Look, be a clay jar. 00:20:58.160 --> 00:20:59.759 Be okay with that. 00:21:01.279 --> 00:21:07.920 You have cracks, you have you have areas of life that are broken, because it's not hard to break a clay jar. 00:21:08.799 --> 00:21:23.519 Instead of being so preoccupied with hiding that or covering that up, just allow my light to shine through that because people are gonna look at that and go, wow, that person that they shouldn't be happy, because they're definitely not a life expert. 00:21:24.079 --> 00:21:27.759 They shouldn't be full of joy because I can tell that they do not have it all together. 00:21:28.160 --> 00:21:45.599 They shouldn't have peace because it doesn't seem like everything's going well for them, but yet they do, and people are gonna see the light of Jesus shining through the cracks if you'll be willing to be vulnerable and open and honest and throw image management away. 00:21:46.880 --> 00:21:50.720 God's not asking for anyone to be a gold jar, he just wants clay jars. 00:21:53.279 --> 00:21:55.839 Think about that individually, but also think about it when it comes to church. 00:21:56.160 --> 00:22:00.880 It's really important that from time to time we talk about church culture because we're Church. 00:22:01.119 --> 00:22:02.880 And we want to affect culture. 00:22:03.759 --> 00:22:05.599 Not the other way around. 00:22:06.480 --> 00:22:10.720 And see, so often whole churches get obsessed with image management. 00:22:12.799 --> 00:22:13.920 The idea is simple. 00:22:14.079 --> 00:22:16.000 We got to impress people to Jesus. 00:22:16.240 --> 00:22:22.319 We need people to come and watch what we do and go, wow, wow, that was amazing. 00:22:23.920 --> 00:22:27.920 We've got to be like gold jars, and so it's branding and marketing. 00:22:28.400 --> 00:22:31.119 And everything is so so shiny and slick. 00:22:31.200 --> 00:22:32.079 It's all awesome. 00:22:32.240 --> 00:22:34.240 It looks incredible, it looks amazing. 00:22:34.480 --> 00:22:42.240 Everybody on stage looks like they're about to step into a modeling gig of some kind, and and and the leaders in the church are definitely life experts. 00:22:42.319 --> 00:22:54.240 You know that because they've written books about how to be a life expert like them, and they have these beautiful smiles, and there's no way that teeth are naturally that white, but whatever, and and you know, and it's just and the outside is so shining and so good. 00:22:54.559 --> 00:22:56.400 And I get it, it's not for ill intent. 00:22:56.559 --> 00:23:06.319 The idea is, hey, if we look this good, if we look this together, if if everything's this well produced, the world's gonna look at us and go, wow, that must be God, but that's not what happens. 00:23:07.680 --> 00:23:11.200 What ends up happening is the world stops at the vessel. 00:23:13.519 --> 00:23:17.519 And we never want our community to stop at church. 00:23:19.359 --> 00:23:22.799 We never want our community to stop short of Jesus. 00:23:23.359 --> 00:23:25.119 Because he's what we need. 00:23:27.119 --> 00:23:31.440 Church exists to be the vessel that brings the light of Jesus to the world around us. 00:23:31.680 --> 00:23:34.480 We're not trying to bring people to us, we're trying to bring people to Jesus. 00:23:34.559 --> 00:23:36.640 And so, as a church, we need to be vulnerable. 00:23:36.720 --> 00:23:41.920 We need to be open, we need to be honest, we need to be able to say we are we're clay jars. 00:23:43.599 --> 00:23:44.960 And we don't have it all figured out. 00:23:45.119 --> 00:23:46.559 We don't know what we're doing. 00:23:47.119 --> 00:23:50.319 I do not know what I'm doing right now. 00:23:54.559 --> 00:23:57.039 And I'm I'm just being honest, I don't. 00:23:57.359 --> 00:23:59.359 And half the days I come into work. 00:23:59.599 --> 00:24:09.599 I work here, by the way, if you didn't know, and I uh and if if I'm serious, I I'm sitting there every day just going, God, you gotta figure this out. 00:24:09.839 --> 00:24:11.519 Because I don't know what I'm doing. 00:24:12.240 --> 00:24:15.440 But that's just the way God tends to do things, if we let Him. 00:24:17.519 --> 00:24:19.759 And this is meant to encourage you. 00:24:19.920 --> 00:24:21.359 You don't have to have it all figured out. 00:24:21.440 --> 00:24:25.119 The world does not need to see a bunch of people that are all shiny and polished. 00:24:26.319 --> 00:24:27.519 That doesn't that doesn't do anything. 00:24:27.599 --> 00:24:29.200 In fact, I've just learned this from experience. 00:24:29.279 --> 00:24:37.440 The harder anyone, any person or any organization, the harder anyone works on on the outside, the less they want you to see what's on the inside. 00:24:38.640 --> 00:24:39.440 That's just the truth. 00:24:41.039 --> 00:24:47.200 And so you don't have to be an expert, a success story in the world's eyes. 00:24:47.440 --> 00:24:58.640 You don't have to have some amazing story, you don't have to have some incredible resume or a lot of money in the bank or an impressive title to be useful to God. 00:24:59.839 --> 00:25:04.400 Because what he really wants is vulnerability and honesty. 00:25:05.039 --> 00:25:12.400 Clay jars who are willing to be clay jars and are proud not of the vessel, but of the light that's inside them. 00:25:12.880 --> 00:25:18.720 And if we would be that as individuals, if we'd be that as the church, then we would see this community change like you couldn't believe. 00:25:20.319 --> 00:25:22.720 People who are proud to say, I am broken. 00:25:23.519 --> 00:25:24.559 I'm messed up. 00:25:25.359 --> 00:25:26.960 I do not have it all together. 00:25:27.119 --> 00:25:28.079 I don't know what I'm doing. 00:25:28.319 --> 00:25:29.680 Want to come to church with me? 00:25:30.319 --> 00:25:31.440 Maybe people will say no. 00:25:31.519 --> 00:25:33.119 Maybe that's a terrible idea. 00:25:33.519 --> 00:25:36.799 But I'm willing to see what happens because I don't think that's ever been done before. 00:25:37.039 --> 00:25:38.079 Alright, let's keep going. 00:25:38.160 --> 00:25:39.119 Let's keep going. 00:25:39.359 --> 00:25:40.640 Let's wrap this sucker up. 00:25:40.720 --> 00:25:42.000 Judges 7, 23. 00:25:42.079 --> 00:25:47.920 Then Gideon sent for the warriors of Naphtali, Asher, and Manasseh, who joined in chasing the army of Midian. 00:25:48.000 --> 00:25:53.200 Gideon also sent messengers throughout the hill country of Ephraim, saying, Come down to attack the Midianites. 00:25:53.440 --> 00:25:56.880 Cut them off at the shallow crossings of the Jordan River at Beth Barah. 00:25:57.119 --> 00:25:58.960 So all the men of Ephraim did as they were told. 00:25:59.039 --> 00:26:06.160 They captured Oreb and Zeb, the two Midianite commanders, killing Oreb at the rock of Oreb and Zeb at the winepress of Zeb. 00:26:06.319 --> 00:26:07.839 They should not have named their stuff after them. 00:26:08.000 --> 00:26:09.519 People knew where to find them. 00:26:12.240 --> 00:26:14.720 And they continued to chase the Midianites. 00:26:14.960 --> 00:26:20.480 Afterward, the Israelites brought the heads of Oreb and Zeb to Gideon, who was by the Jordan River. 00:26:21.759 --> 00:26:26.319 This is a perfect, perfect end to the story. 00:26:26.480 --> 00:26:28.000 Not the beheading part. 00:26:28.880 --> 00:26:31.279