WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:07.000 If you haven't been here for the last few weeks, we're in the middle of a series where we're looking at Gideon's life. 00:00:07.000 --> 00:00:14.000 And I suppose just before, I'm going to read the passage that we're looking at in a minute, but I suppose I just wanted to front this wake up by saying, 00:00:14.000 --> 00:00:24.000 it's a really heavy passage that we're looking at. It's heavy in its content. I suppose you could say it's not pleasant. 00:00:24.000 --> 00:00:34.000 And I think it's also quite heavy in how it applies to our lives because it's how we're going to start to look at Gideon's downfall. 00:00:34.000 --> 00:00:44.000 His life is one that Ebsen flows really between the high point of his life, which is probably what we looked at last week, 00:00:44.000 --> 00:00:49.000 when the Lord gives him victory through Gideon's own great weakness. 00:00:49.000 --> 00:00:55.000 So I'm going to read it and then I'll pray for us and then we'll look at it together. 00:00:55.000 --> 00:01:00.000 So we're going to start just at the end of Gideon of Judges 7. 00:01:00.000 --> 00:01:05.000 There's a little bit of overlap that I'm reading from last week's reading. 00:01:05.000 --> 00:01:11.000 So we're starting at verse 23 and we're going all the way through to 821. 00:01:11.000 --> 00:01:20.000 So let me read it for us. So at verse 23, chapter 7, 00:01:20.000 --> 00:01:29.000 And the men of Israel were called out from Napthalai and from Asha and from all Manasseh, and they pursued after Midian. 00:01:29.000 --> 00:01:33.000 Gideon sent messengers throughout all the hill country of Ephraim saying, 00:01:33.000 --> 00:01:41.000 Come down against the Midianites and capture the waters against them as far as Beth Barra and also the Jordan. 00:01:41.000 --> 00:01:48.000 So all the men of Ephraim were called out and they captured the waters as far as Beth Barra and also the Jordan. 00:01:48.000 --> 00:01:51.000 And they captured the two princes of Midian, Oreb and Zeb. 00:01:51.000 --> 00:01:57.000 They killed Oreb at the Rock of Oreb and Zeb, they killed at the Wine Press of Zeb. 00:01:57.000 --> 00:02:03.000 And they pursued Midian and they brought the heads of Oreb and Zeb to Gideon across the Jordan. 00:02:03.000 --> 00:02:11.000 Then the men of Ephraim said to him, What is this that you have done to us, not to call us when you went to fight against Midian? 00:02:11.000 --> 00:02:17.000 And they accused him fiercely and he said to them, What have I done now in comparison with you? 00:02:17.000 --> 00:02:22.000 It's not the gleaning of the grapes of Ephraim better than the grape harvest of Abiza. 00:02:22.000 --> 00:02:27.000 God has given into your hands the princes of Midian, Oreb and Zeb. 00:02:27.000 --> 00:02:31.000 What have I been able to do now to do in comparison with you? 00:02:31.000 --> 00:02:37.000 Then their anger against him subsided when he said this. 00:02:37.000 --> 00:02:43.000 And Gideon came to the Jordan and crossed over he and the 300 men who were with him, exhausted yet pursuing. 00:02:43.000 --> 00:02:49.000 So he said to the men of Zuceth, Please give loaves of bread to the people who follow me, 00:02:49.000 --> 00:02:54.000 for they are exhausted and I am pursuing after Zebra and Zalmona the kings of Midian. 00:02:54.000 --> 00:03:03.000 And the officials of Zuceth said, Are the hands of Zebra and Zalmona already in your hand that we should give bread to your army? 00:03:03.000 --> 00:03:09.000 So Gideon said, Well then, when the Lord has given Zebra and Zalmona into my hand, 00:03:09.000 --> 00:03:14.000 I will flail your flesh with the thorns of the wilderness and with briars. 00:03:14.000 --> 00:03:19.000 And from there he went up to Penuel and spoke to them in the same way. 00:03:19.000 --> 00:03:22.000 And the men of Penuel answered him as the men of Zuceth had answered. 00:03:22.000 --> 00:03:31.000 And he said to the men of Penuel, When I come again in peace, I will break down this tower. 00:03:31.000 --> 00:03:36.000 Now Zebra and Zalmona were in Karko with their army, about 15,000 men, 00:03:36.000 --> 00:03:39.000 all who were left of all the army of the people of the east. 00:03:39.000 --> 00:03:44.000 For there had fallen 120,000 men who drew with the sword. 00:03:44.000 --> 00:03:48.000 And Gideon went up by the way of the tent dwellers east of Nobor and Djogbaha, 00:03:48.000 --> 00:03:52.000 and attacked the army, for the army felt secure. 00:03:52.000 --> 00:03:57.000 And Zebra and Zalmona fled and he pursued them and captured the two kings of Midian, Zebra and Zalmona. 00:03:57.000 --> 00:04:00.000 And he threw all the army into a panic. 00:04:00.000 --> 00:04:04.000 Then Gideon, the son of Joash, returned from the battle by the ascent of Heros. 00:04:04.000 --> 00:04:07.000 And he captured a young man of Zuceth and questioned him. 00:04:07.000 --> 00:04:11.000 And he wrote down for him the officials and elders of Zuceth, 77 men. 00:04:11.000 --> 00:04:13.000 And he came to the men of Zuceth and said, 00:04:13.000 --> 00:04:17.000 Behold Zebra and Zalmona, about whom you taunt in me, 00:04:17.000 --> 00:04:20.000 saying, Are the hands of Zebra and Zalmona already in your hand, 00:04:20.000 --> 00:04:24.000 that we should give bread to your men who are exhausted. 00:04:24.000 --> 00:04:26.000 And he took the elders of the city. 00:04:26.000 --> 00:04:30.000 And he took thorns of the wilderness and briars, and with them, 00:04:30.000 --> 00:04:33.000 taught the men of Zuceth a lesson. 00:04:33.000 --> 00:04:38.000 And he broke down the tower of Penual and killed the men of the city. 00:04:38.000 --> 00:04:41.000 Then he said to Zebra and Zalmona, 00:04:41.000 --> 00:04:44.000 Where are the men whom you killed at Tobor? 00:04:44.000 --> 00:04:48.000 They answered, As you are, so were they. 00:04:48.000 --> 00:04:51.000 Every one of them resembled the son of a king. 00:04:51.000 --> 00:04:55.000 And he said, They were my brothers, the sons of my mother. 00:04:55.000 --> 00:05:00.000 As the Lord lives, if you would have saved them alive, I would not kill you. 00:05:00.000 --> 00:05:05.000 So he said to Jethra, his firstborn, Rise and kill them. 00:05:05.000 --> 00:05:08.000 But the young man did not draw his sword, for he was afraid, 00:05:08.000 --> 00:05:10.000 because he was still a young man. 00:05:10.000 --> 00:05:14.000 Then Zebra and Zalmona said, Rise yourself and fall upon us. 00:05:14.000 --> 00:05:18.000 For as the man is, so is his strength. 00:05:18.000 --> 00:05:22.000 And Gideon arose and killed Zebra and Zalmona. 00:05:22.000 --> 00:05:24.000 And he took the crescent ornaments, 00:05:24.000 --> 00:05:27.000 though on the necks of their camels. 00:05:27.000 --> 00:05:31.000 This is God's word. Let's pray. 00:05:33.000 --> 00:05:38.000 Almighty God, we thank you for your word, the Bible. 00:05:38.000 --> 00:05:44.000 And we praise you and thank you that this is the way that you've chosen to speak to us. 00:05:44.000 --> 00:05:49.000 We thank you that all your word is used, is breathed out by you, 00:05:49.000 --> 00:05:54.000 and is used for teaching, for correcting, for rebuking, 00:05:54.000 --> 00:05:58.000 and for training in righteousness to equip us for every good work. 00:05:58.000 --> 00:06:02.000 And so we pray, Lord God, that you would open our eyes and our hearts 00:06:02.000 --> 00:06:05.000 to see you, to know you. 00:06:05.000 --> 00:06:08.000 And we ask for the power of your Holy Spirit 00:06:08.000 --> 00:06:12.000 to help us to think about some of these things 00:06:12.000 --> 00:06:14.000 that we might leave here changed, 00:06:14.000 --> 00:06:19.000 that we might leave here more looking like Christ. 00:06:19.000 --> 00:06:21.000 And we know that we need your help. 00:06:21.000 --> 00:06:25.000 That's the work of your spirit in our hearts is down to you. 00:06:25.000 --> 00:06:29.000 And so we ask for that, Lord God, in Jesus' name. 00:06:29.000 --> 00:06:32.000 Amen. 00:06:32.000 --> 00:06:35.000 So last week, the big place where we landed, 00:06:35.000 --> 00:06:39.000 I've reminded you of it already, in the story of Gideon's life, 00:06:39.000 --> 00:06:43.000 it was how the Lord brought about a great victory 00:06:43.000 --> 00:06:47.000 and how he used Gideon's weakness to bring that about. 00:06:47.000 --> 00:06:49.000 And it's fair to say, I've just mentioned, 00:06:49.000 --> 00:06:52.000 I think this is the high point of his life. 00:06:52.000 --> 00:06:55.000 Everything goes downhill from here. 00:06:55.000 --> 00:06:59.000 And last week, we saw that the big feature was 00:06:59.000 --> 00:07:03.000 it was the Lord testing Gideon the whole way through. 00:07:03.000 --> 00:07:07.000 And in his fear, how Gideon didn't turn on the Lord, 00:07:07.000 --> 00:07:10.000 but he turned to him. 00:07:10.000 --> 00:07:15.000 In today's passage, we don't see him facing the Lord's testing, 00:07:15.000 --> 00:07:19.000 but he does face temptation. He does face temptation. 00:07:19.000 --> 00:07:24.000 And we know, don't we, that temptation doesn't come from the Lord. 00:07:24.000 --> 00:07:27.000 James 1 verse 13 says, 00:07:27.000 --> 00:07:31.000 Let no one say when he's tempted, I'm being tempted by God, 00:07:31.000 --> 00:07:36.000 for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one. 00:07:36.000 --> 00:07:42.000 But each person is tempted when he's lowered and enticed by his own desire. 00:07:42.000 --> 00:07:46.000 And we know that as well as our own desire, 00:07:46.000 --> 00:07:49.000 we know that Satan is called the tempter in the garden, 00:07:49.000 --> 00:07:52.000 he lies to Adam and Eve regarding God's word, 00:07:52.000 --> 00:07:57.000 and their own desires, he appeals to their own desires, 00:07:57.000 --> 00:08:01.000 and they're enticed, they seem more appealing than God's goodness. 00:08:01.000 --> 00:08:05.000 Gideon is tempted here, he's tempted. 00:08:05.000 --> 00:08:11.000 And the big question that seems to, that I think comes out as in this passage, 00:08:11.000 --> 00:08:16.000 is where will Gideon turn to when he's tempted? 00:08:16.000 --> 00:08:20.000 We saw where he turned when he was tested, 00:08:20.000 --> 00:08:23.000 where will he turn when he's tempted? 00:08:23.000 --> 00:08:29.000 Will he do what he did before and turn to the Lord for help, 00:08:29.000 --> 00:08:34.000 or will he be lowered and enticed by his own desire? 00:08:34.000 --> 00:08:40.000 In a way, that is the question that we should be asking when we're tempted. 00:08:40.000 --> 00:08:46.000 We're all tempted by Satan and by our own desires, 00:08:46.000 --> 00:08:48.000 they make them appealing. 00:08:48.000 --> 00:08:52.000 Where do we go? Where do we turn? 00:08:52.000 --> 00:08:57.000 That's the big question that I think we should be thinking about. 00:08:57.000 --> 00:09:00.000 Just a quick reminder, I've done this in the other two weeks, 00:09:00.000 --> 00:09:05.000 just to remind about the structure of what's going on in judges, 00:09:05.000 --> 00:09:08.000 that it's structured around these repeated cycles, 00:09:08.000 --> 00:09:12.000 and in each cycle, Israel's people gradually get worse and worse. 00:09:12.000 --> 00:09:15.000 So there's sort of five elements to it. 00:09:15.000 --> 00:09:18.000 The first one, the people disobey the Lord. 00:09:18.000 --> 00:09:22.000 The second is God sends a foreign nation to conquer them, he sent them Midianites. 00:09:22.000 --> 00:09:25.000 The third, the people cry out to God for help. 00:09:25.000 --> 00:09:28.000 Fourthly, the Lord sends a deliverer, Gideon. 00:09:28.000 --> 00:09:33.000 And then the last step is that God uses this deliverer to defeat the foreign nation, 00:09:33.000 --> 00:09:38.000 and Israel has a time of peace in the land. 00:09:38.000 --> 00:09:44.000 And that's kind of where we are, we're towards the end of one of these cycles now. 00:09:44.000 --> 00:09:49.000 And as we've gone through it at each sort of stage in Gideon's story, 00:09:49.000 --> 00:09:55.000 we've seen sort of twists in the story, and as we look at this, this is no different. 00:09:55.000 --> 00:10:00.000 Let me just read verse 22, chapter 7, this is kind of from last week. 00:10:00.000 --> 00:10:07.000 It says, when they blew the 300 trumpets, the Lord set every man's sword against his comrade, 00:10:07.000 --> 00:10:09.000 and against all the army. 00:10:09.000 --> 00:10:14.000 That's the Midianite army, and the army fled as far as Bethsheta towards Zorara, 00:10:14.000 --> 00:10:18.000 as far as the border of Abel Mahola by Tabath. 00:10:18.000 --> 00:10:23.000 At that point in the story, you expect that to be the end of it. 00:10:23.000 --> 00:10:28.000 That they've defeated the army, surely that it's going to go to the fifth point of the cycle, 00:10:28.000 --> 00:10:31.000 that they're going to go to peace in the land, that the deliverers come, 00:10:31.000 --> 00:10:36.000 they've won the battle, now there's peace in the land, there's going to be peace in Israel. 00:10:36.000 --> 00:10:44.000 But at the very high point of his life, of Gideon's life, there's a twist in the story. 00:10:44.000 --> 00:10:49.000 You might remember how at the beginning of Gideon's life, during his call, 00:10:49.000 --> 00:10:55.000 we saw a few weeks ago how similar I said that call was to that of Moses. 00:10:55.000 --> 00:11:00.000 You might remember, like Moses, Gideon grew up with pagan idolatry surrounding him. 00:11:00.000 --> 00:11:03.000 Josh, his dad, led bar worship in his back garden. 00:11:03.000 --> 00:11:10.000 Pharaoh, he was sort of the leader, if you like, of pagan idolatry in Egypt. 00:11:10.000 --> 00:11:14.000 Like Moses, Gideon thinks he's not qualified to carry out God's plan. 00:11:14.000 --> 00:11:16.000 God's people are under oppression. 00:11:16.000 --> 00:11:20.000 The Egyptians with Moses under the Midianites with Gideon. 00:11:20.000 --> 00:11:26.000 And the link to Moses, I think, it's purposeful. 00:11:26.000 --> 00:11:36.000 At the high point of Gideon's life, the thought is, will Gideon lead God's people like Moses did? 00:11:36.000 --> 00:11:38.000 Is he going to do that? 00:11:38.000 --> 00:11:42.000 After they've been, after they were set free from Egyptian oppression, 00:11:42.000 --> 00:11:46.000 after Israel set free from Midianite oppression under Gideon, 00:11:46.000 --> 00:11:50.000 will he lead them in the same way? Perhaps he will. 00:11:50.000 --> 00:11:57.000 Will the law be restored? Will God's people flourish once again? 00:11:57.000 --> 00:12:01.000 And then we come to verse 23. 00:12:01.000 --> 00:12:06.000 And the men of Israel were called out from Napthalai and from Asher and from Oman Asae, 00:12:06.000 --> 00:12:09.000 and they pursued after Midian. 00:12:09.000 --> 00:12:13.000 This is the start of the downfall. 00:12:13.000 --> 00:12:16.000 Reminder, how many were called to fight? 00:12:16.000 --> 00:12:21.000 How many were called to win the battle? Just 300 men. 00:12:21.000 --> 00:12:29.000 Gideon at the end of the battle calls on the men who've been, some of them, who've been sent home. 00:12:29.000 --> 00:12:33.000 Forget operating by faith and guidance from the Lord. 00:12:33.000 --> 00:12:42.000 He chooses to rely on human brute strength in what can only be looked at as sort of a mopping up 00:12:42.000 --> 00:12:45.000 operation to finish the job. 00:12:45.000 --> 00:12:53.000 Just calls on as many men come and help me and will mop up the rest of the army. 00:12:53.000 --> 00:12:56.000 And there's two things to notice from here on in. 00:12:56.000 --> 00:13:01.000 The voice of the Lord is not heard again and neither is the spirit of the Lord. 00:13:01.000 --> 00:13:05.000 The voice of the Lord is not heard again and neither is the spirit of the Lord. 00:13:05.000 --> 00:13:10.000 This is not going to end well. 00:13:10.000 --> 00:13:15.000 In today's passage, there's three groups of people Gideon interacts with 00:13:15.000 --> 00:13:18.000 and he responds differently to all of them. 00:13:18.000 --> 00:13:22.000 He's tempted and instead of looking to the Lord, he looks to himself. 00:13:22.000 --> 00:13:29.000 And so we're going to, the way that it's going to be structured this evening is we're just going to look at how he interacts with these three groups. 00:13:29.000 --> 00:13:32.000 So we're going to look at it in three points. 00:13:32.000 --> 00:13:35.000 The first group, he flatters those he fears. 00:13:35.000 --> 00:13:38.000 The second, he tortures those he looks down on. 00:13:38.000 --> 00:13:41.000 And the third, he seeks revenge when he's bitter. 00:13:41.000 --> 00:13:43.000 He flatters those he fears. 00:13:43.000 --> 00:13:45.000 He tortures those he looks down on. 00:13:45.000 --> 00:13:48.000 He seeks revenge when he's bitter. 00:13:48.000 --> 00:13:52.000 So let's dive into it at the first point. 00:13:52.000 --> 00:13:55.000 So he flatters those he fears. 00:13:55.000 --> 00:14:00.000 The Ephraimites, they're well known as one of the strongest tribes in Israel. 00:14:00.000 --> 00:14:03.000 They've got lots of money and a big army. 00:14:03.000 --> 00:14:11.000 And what we see is that they're not happy being called to help so late in the battle. 00:14:11.000 --> 00:14:13.000 That's the big issue with them. 00:14:13.000 --> 00:14:17.000 Just look with me from the end of verse 24. 00:14:17.000 --> 00:14:24.000 So all the men of Ephraim were called out and they captured the waters as far as Beth Barat and also the Jordan. 00:14:24.000 --> 00:14:27.000 And they captured two princes, Amidian, Aureban Zeeb. 00:14:27.000 --> 00:14:29.000 They killed Aureban, the Rock of Aureban Zeeb. 00:14:29.000 --> 00:14:31.000 They killed the winepress of Zeeb. 00:14:31.000 --> 00:14:36.000 Then they pursued Amidian and they brought the heads of Aureban Zeeb to Gideon across the Jordan. 00:14:36.000 --> 00:14:39.000 That's the role they play, but they're livid. 00:14:39.000 --> 00:14:42.000 They're totally, they're so mad. 00:14:42.000 --> 00:14:46.000 Look what they say to, just the next verse on, chapter 8 verse 1. 00:14:46.000 --> 00:14:48.000 What is this that you've done to us? 00:14:48.000 --> 00:14:55.000 Not to call us when you went to fight against Amidian and they accused him fiercely. 00:14:55.000 --> 00:14:57.000 They feel slighted. 00:14:57.000 --> 00:14:59.000 Hard done by. 00:14:59.000 --> 00:15:02.000 They wanted some of the glory of the battle. 00:15:02.000 --> 00:15:06.000 Exactly what the Lord did not want to happen is happening. 00:15:06.000 --> 00:15:09.000 He was right to insist, wasn't he? 00:15:09.000 --> 00:15:10.000 The Lord knew what was going on. 00:15:10.000 --> 00:15:13.000 He was right to insist that Gideon only used 300 men. 00:15:13.000 --> 00:15:17.000 Remember, that's why he said chapter 7 verse 2. 00:15:17.000 --> 00:15:23.000 The reason he chose 300 men, lest Israel boast over me saying, my own hand has saved me. 00:15:23.000 --> 00:15:28.000 If Gideon had stuck with the 300 men in the first place, 00:15:28.000 --> 00:15:32.000 this episode with the men of Ephraim, it wouldn't have happened. 00:15:32.000 --> 00:15:37.000 Now what they've seen what's going on, he's called them to help and they're jealous. 00:15:37.000 --> 00:15:41.000 The men of Ephraim want the Lord's glory for themselves 00:15:41.000 --> 00:15:44.000 and they're demanding an answer from Gideon. 00:15:44.000 --> 00:15:46.000 Fiercely, we read. 00:15:49.000 --> 00:15:56.000 The reason we fear is when we think we've lost control of a situation 00:15:56.000 --> 00:16:03.000 and to rectify this perceived lack of control, we adjust our behaviour to compensate. 00:16:03.000 --> 00:16:06.000 That's what we do when we're afraid. 00:16:06.000 --> 00:16:11.000 The old fight or flight comes into play. 00:16:11.000 --> 00:16:16.000 And Gideon here, he chooses flight, he runs. 00:16:16.000 --> 00:16:21.000 He hides from what he should do and he flatters them. 00:16:21.000 --> 00:16:25.000 Do you see where the temptation is? 00:16:25.000 --> 00:16:30.000 Do you trust God's word that you only need 300 men? 00:16:30.000 --> 00:16:34.000 And now do you trust the Lord that if you give the glory to him, 00:16:34.000 --> 00:16:38.000 he'll still have the power to do it all in your weakness? 00:16:38.000 --> 00:16:42.000 Gideon doesn't believe that anymore and he's scared. 00:16:42.000 --> 00:16:46.000 He's back in that place, he's scared of them. 00:16:46.000 --> 00:16:50.000 And he could do one of two things at this particular juncture. 00:16:50.000 --> 00:16:54.000 He could tell them what happened and give the glory to the Lord. 00:16:54.000 --> 00:16:57.000 Pointing them to him. 00:16:57.000 --> 00:17:03.000 He could remember how unlikely it seemed that they were going to actually win in the first place, 00:17:03.000 --> 00:17:06.000 that the Lord's power came through his weakness. 00:17:06.000 --> 00:17:07.000 He could do that. 00:17:07.000 --> 00:17:13.000 He could point the Ephraimites to the Lord, but he doesn't. 00:17:13.000 --> 00:17:16.000 That would have been the right thing to do, but he flatters them. 00:17:16.000 --> 00:17:18.000 He appeases them. 00:17:18.000 --> 00:17:21.000 He gives them some of the glory that belong to the Lord. 00:17:21.000 --> 00:17:23.000 He praises them. 00:17:23.000 --> 00:17:28.000 What have I done now in comparison with you? 00:17:28.000 --> 00:17:32.000 God has given into your hands the princes of Midian. 00:17:32.000 --> 00:17:34.000 He's telling them what they want to hear. 00:17:34.000 --> 00:17:37.000 Ephraim, we couldn't have done it without you. 00:17:37.000 --> 00:17:42.000 The reason we won the final battle, it's because of you, men of Ephraim. 00:17:42.000 --> 00:17:43.000 You killed the princes. 00:17:43.000 --> 00:17:45.000 That's all down to you. 00:17:45.000 --> 00:17:48.000 He praises men to save his own neck. 00:17:48.000 --> 00:17:53.000 It's so different to before. 00:17:53.000 --> 00:17:55.000 It's so different to before. 00:17:55.000 --> 00:18:00.000 Before in his fear, he took it to the Lord, asked for a sign, the fleece. 00:18:00.000 --> 00:18:03.000 He asked for a sign for reassurance. 00:18:03.000 --> 00:18:04.000 Now he looks to himself. 00:18:04.000 --> 00:18:07.000 He flatters because of fear. 00:18:07.000 --> 00:18:10.000 It's what we see in the school playground, isn't it? 00:18:10.000 --> 00:18:15.000 Kids side up to the bully because they're scared and don't want to be bullied. 00:18:15.000 --> 00:18:19.000 But in doing so, they become bullies. 00:18:19.000 --> 00:18:21.000 They control the bully. 00:18:21.000 --> 00:18:24.000 They say it's illusion that they're not in control. 00:18:24.000 --> 00:18:27.000 They're not in control or they're in control. 00:18:27.000 --> 00:18:32.000 So they try to gain some control over the bully. 00:18:32.000 --> 00:18:37.000 Being in control is an illusion. 00:18:37.000 --> 00:18:44.000 The lack of control we feel should just make us aware that we never actually were in the first place. 00:18:44.000 --> 00:18:48.000 We've never been in control. 00:18:48.000 --> 00:18:53.000 Gideon's never been in control. 00:18:53.000 --> 00:18:59.000 It's circumstances that make us aware we're not. 00:18:59.000 --> 00:19:06.000 And so the question does come back when things seem out of control, out of joint, 00:19:06.000 --> 00:19:13.000 when we're tempted to act in a way to try to regain control, 00:19:13.000 --> 00:19:18.000 well, we turn when we're tempted, turn on God or turn to Him. 00:19:18.000 --> 00:19:22.000 Believe in His Word or doubt it. 00:19:22.000 --> 00:19:29.000 Looking to sort things ourselves isn't the answer. 00:19:29.000 --> 00:19:33.000 When we're tempted, that's sometimes what we try to do. 00:19:33.000 --> 00:19:41.000 I understand this is, it's hard to grapple with because there are things that will happen 00:19:41.000 --> 00:19:44.000 when we will be genuinely afraid. 00:19:44.000 --> 00:19:46.000 I'm not saying those things will happen. 00:19:46.000 --> 00:19:50.000 Listen, there's times that we all get scared. 00:19:50.000 --> 00:19:54.000 I sometimes we get scared about small things, big things. 00:19:54.000 --> 00:20:00.000 I sometimes even get scared about the way school is going to get scared about, 00:20:00.000 --> 00:20:03.000 my kids going to school and some of the stuff they get taught. 00:20:03.000 --> 00:20:05.000 Now how do I react to that? 00:20:05.000 --> 00:20:07.000 I could be tempted to react in the wrong way. 00:20:07.000 --> 00:20:11.000 I could turn to God in my fears, in my temptation. 00:20:11.000 --> 00:20:14.000 You'll have things that you fear. 00:20:14.000 --> 00:20:20.000 Don't push your fears into the recesses of your mind 00:20:20.000 --> 00:20:27.000 because it will come out in some other way in how you relate to one another 00:20:27.000 --> 00:20:29.000 and actually to the Lord. 00:20:29.000 --> 00:20:32.000 Bring it to Him. 00:20:32.000 --> 00:20:36.000 It might even be, we have an amazing church community here. 00:20:36.000 --> 00:20:39.000 It might even mean tell someone about it. 00:20:39.000 --> 00:20:45.000 Even if it sounds, to ourselves, it might sound ridiculous. 00:20:45.000 --> 00:20:47.000 What will they think? 00:20:47.000 --> 00:20:55.000 We don't want fears to be a breeding ground for sin. 00:20:55.000 --> 00:21:04.000 Bring it to the Lord or bring it to someone else. 00:21:04.000 --> 00:21:08.000 Let's move on to the next group that He meets. 00:21:08.000 --> 00:21:12.000 He speaks and treats them completely differently. 00:21:12.000 --> 00:21:14.000 He doesn't flatter them. 00:21:14.000 --> 00:21:18.000 This is the men of Sukkoth and the men of Penuel. 00:21:18.000 --> 00:21:20.000 We're going to go to our second boy. 00:21:20.000 --> 00:21:24.000 He tortures those he looks down on. 00:21:24.000 --> 00:21:28.000 What we do know about these two groups is that they're a much smaller group 00:21:28.000 --> 00:21:30.000 than Ephraim and Gideon. 00:21:30.000 --> 00:21:33.000 It's quite obvious he doesn't fear them. 00:21:33.000 --> 00:21:38.000 The temptation he faces is to look at... 00:21:38.000 --> 00:21:43.000 He looks at what God has done through him, through these 300 men, 00:21:43.000 --> 00:21:48.000 and he compares it to what God has done through them. 00:21:48.000 --> 00:21:52.000 When he's done that, he's proud and looks down on them. 00:21:52.000 --> 00:21:58.000 He's not going to appease them, but actually he's still going to control them. 00:21:58.000 --> 00:22:04.000 And it's because he thinks they're not worth what he is. 00:22:04.000 --> 00:22:11.000 Do we see he's gone from being a nobody to thinking that he's a somebody? 00:22:11.000 --> 00:22:18.000 He's gone from being a nobody to thinking that he's a somebody that he's special. 00:22:18.000 --> 00:22:22.000 Despite the miraculous victory of the 300 men that was all down to the Lord, 00:22:22.000 --> 00:22:27.000 Gideon in a short space of time now sees it in a whole different light. 00:22:27.000 --> 00:22:29.000 And he wants some credit. 00:22:29.000 --> 00:22:34.000 He expects some admiration and honour for what the Lord has done through him, 00:22:34.000 --> 00:22:37.000 that he's special and his 300 men are special, 00:22:37.000 --> 00:22:41.000 that he's been chosen for such a special task. 00:22:41.000 --> 00:22:46.000 He's gone from a nobody to be to thinking he's a somebody. 00:22:46.000 --> 00:22:50.000 Look at what he expects them to do, verse 5. 00:22:50.000 --> 00:22:54.000 Please give loaves of bread to the people who follow me for they're exhausted 00:22:54.000 --> 00:22:57.000 and I'm pursuing after zebrans or one of the kings of Midian. 00:22:57.000 --> 00:23:01.000 Where the special 300, look at what we've done. 00:23:01.000 --> 00:23:04.000 You can see the cogs turning in his brain. 00:23:04.000 --> 00:23:07.000 As you can see him almost thinking about these men, 00:23:07.000 --> 00:23:10.000 he didn't call you to do this, men of Sukatham, Penuel. 00:23:10.000 --> 00:23:14.000 He called us and therefore you should serve us. 00:23:14.000 --> 00:23:17.000 We've been specially chosen by the Lord for this appointed task. 00:23:17.000 --> 00:23:19.000 Give us some bread. 00:23:19.000 --> 00:23:25.000 Nobody's compared to us. 00:23:25.000 --> 00:23:29.000 And these two groups, men of Sukatham, men of Penuel, 00:23:29.000 --> 00:23:33.000 they basically answer Gideon the same way. 00:23:33.000 --> 00:23:38.000 They basically say, no, we're not going to serve you 00:23:38.000 --> 00:23:42.000 and we're not going to serve you until you've got these men in your hands. 00:23:42.000 --> 00:23:45.000 You've not got these men in your hands yet, you're still chasing them. 00:23:45.000 --> 00:23:49.000 You know, we're not going to serve you. Basically, they're edging their bets. 00:23:49.000 --> 00:23:52.000 If they're edding a bet Gideon and he loses, 00:23:52.000 --> 00:23:56.000 then what they expect is the kings, zebrans or money, 00:23:56.000 --> 00:24:01.000 they'll get themselves back together and come after them. 00:24:01.000 --> 00:24:07.000 So they don't want to be seen as edding an bet Gideon. 00:24:07.000 --> 00:24:13.000 Instead of Gideon being scared, it's now God's people that are scared. 00:24:13.000 --> 00:24:17.000 And Gideon has learned nothing. 00:24:17.000 --> 00:24:22.000 Remember how when Gideon was scared and he went to the Lord 00:24:22.000 --> 00:24:28.000 and the Lord stooped down in his fears to reassure him. 00:24:28.000 --> 00:24:33.000 They need Gideon to stoop down and reassure them in their fears 00:24:33.000 --> 00:24:36.000 as deliverer, as God's man. 00:24:36.000 --> 00:24:39.000 They need to be assured by God through his man. 00:24:39.000 --> 00:24:48.000 Will he stoop down and reassure them in their fears? 00:24:48.000 --> 00:24:53.000 The short answer is no. 00:24:53.000 --> 00:24:59.000 And it's pretty horrific. 00:24:59.000 --> 00:25:05.000 To the men of Sukath, I will flail you with the thorns of the wilderness and with briars. 00:25:05.000 --> 00:25:12.000 To the men of Penuel, when I come again in peace, I will break down this tower. 00:25:12.000 --> 00:25:14.000 That's exactly what he does. 00:25:14.000 --> 00:25:18.000 Verse 16, and he took the elders of the city and he took thorns of the wilderness and briars 00:25:18.000 --> 00:25:21.000 and with them taught the men of Sukath a lesson. 00:25:21.000 --> 00:25:26.000 And he broke down the tower of Penuel and killed the men of the city. 00:25:26.000 --> 00:25:31.000 It's the first time since Israel's been called a nation 00:25:31.000 --> 00:25:35.000 that is on Israelite violence. 00:25:35.000 --> 00:25:42.000 He looks down on people and he treats them as a commodity. 00:25:42.000 --> 00:25:45.000 A few weeks ago, our TV stopped working. 00:25:45.000 --> 00:25:47.000 We haven't had it fixed yet. 00:25:47.000 --> 00:25:49.000 It's on the to-do list. 00:25:49.000 --> 00:25:52.000 But once we've had a look at it to get it fixed, 00:25:52.000 --> 00:25:56.000 if it's completely bust, we'll have it thrown away. 00:25:56.000 --> 00:26:01.000 I guess I should probably say take it to get recycled. 00:26:01.000 --> 00:26:06.000 It's a commodity and if it doesn't serve its purpose, that's what we do, isn't it? 00:26:06.000 --> 00:26:09.000 We get rid. 00:26:09.000 --> 00:26:14.000 The men of Sukath and Penuel don't serve Gideon's agenda. 00:26:14.000 --> 00:26:17.000 They're a useless commodity. 00:26:17.000 --> 00:26:23.000 So he tortures and kills them, his own people. 00:26:23.000 --> 00:26:28.000 He tortures and kills God's people. 00:26:28.000 --> 00:26:33.000 And it's brought about by the one called to lead them. 00:26:33.000 --> 00:26:37.000 To get rid of oppression and oppression comes from within. 00:26:37.000 --> 00:26:39.000 Top down. 00:26:39.000 --> 00:26:43.000 They're not as treated as sheep to be shepherded and cared for, 00:26:43.000 --> 00:26:49.000 just discarded as a problem, slaughtered at Penuel. 00:26:49.000 --> 00:26:53.000 How God's people are treated matters. 00:26:53.000 --> 00:26:59.000 It really matters how they're led matters. 00:26:59.000 --> 00:27:01.000 They're not a problem to be discarded, 00:27:01.000 --> 00:27:05.000 not a commodity to be toyed with or disposed of. 00:27:05.000 --> 00:27:09.000 This leader, Gideon, is no more valuable in God's eyes 00:27:09.000 --> 00:27:11.000 than the rest of the people he's leading. 00:27:11.000 --> 00:27:15.000 He's there to serve the people. 00:27:15.000 --> 00:27:20.000 There are no little people in God's church that can be trampled on. 00:27:20.000 --> 00:27:23.000 Unfortunately, throughout the history of the church, 00:27:23.000 --> 00:27:27.000 even in recent times, there's been leaders who have chewed people up 00:27:27.000 --> 00:27:30.000 and spat them out because they didn't get on board 00:27:30.000 --> 00:27:33.000 with the leader's personal agenda. 00:27:33.000 --> 00:27:40.000 Now, for all of you, I don't know what your background in church is. 00:27:40.000 --> 00:27:43.000 I don't know whether you've had good leaders, bad leaders, 00:27:43.000 --> 00:27:48.000 but there might be some among us who have experienced 00:27:48.000 --> 00:27:54.000 that have been chewed up and spat out where the church has harmed you. 00:27:54.000 --> 00:27:58.000 I want to say, if that is any of us, 00:27:58.000 --> 00:28:02.000 I'm genuinely really sorry that that's happened and it is wrong 00:28:02.000 --> 00:28:07.000 because it is totally the opposite to the pattern that Jesus sets out 00:28:07.000 --> 00:28:13.000 for in his own leadership and what you should experience in the church. 00:28:13.000 --> 00:28:18.000 It should be a place of love and care and compassion and kindness 00:28:18.000 --> 00:28:29.000 of feeling like it's a place of belonging where you're safe. 00:28:29.000 --> 00:28:34.000 Every person is made in the image of God, Christian or not. 00:28:34.000 --> 00:28:37.000 Your neighbor's made in the image of God. 00:28:37.000 --> 00:28:40.000 Look at Jesus, Matthew 9.36. 00:28:40.000 --> 00:28:41.000 Look at his attitudes. 00:28:41.000 --> 00:28:45.000 When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them 00:28:45.000 --> 00:28:51.000 because they were harassed and helpless like sheep without a shepherd. 00:28:51.000 --> 00:28:55.000 That word for compassion, it's that gut-wrenching compassion, 00:28:55.000 --> 00:29:01.000 so much compassion for the people that it hurt. 00:29:01.000 --> 00:29:07.000 When he looks at people who were lost, who were lesser than him, 00:29:07.000 --> 00:29:14.000 he saw that they were image bearers and had compassion on them. 00:29:14.000 --> 00:29:16.000 I am the good shepherd, says Jesus. 00:29:16.000 --> 00:29:18.000 That's how Jesus leads. 00:29:18.000 --> 00:29:20.000 I know them and they follow me. 00:29:20.000 --> 00:29:23.000 I give them eternal life and they'll never perish 00:29:23.000 --> 00:29:25.000 and no one will snatch them out of my hand. 00:29:25.000 --> 00:29:36.000 No little people in the kingdom of God. 00:29:36.000 --> 00:29:40.000 The last people who Gideon deals with is these two kings, 00:29:40.000 --> 00:29:43.000 Zeba and Zalmone. 00:29:43.000 --> 00:29:46.000 As we turn to our last point about Gideon, 00:29:46.000 --> 00:29:50.000 I'm just going to look at this one briefly. 00:29:50.000 --> 00:29:57.000 The third point, he seeks revenge when he's bitter. 00:29:57.000 --> 00:30:01.000 This is quite remarkable actually 00:30:01.000 --> 00:30:04.000 because we think he's chasing Zebra and Zalmone 00:30:04.000 --> 00:30:07.000 to get rid of the median out of oppression once and for all. 00:30:07.000 --> 00:30:10.000 That would seem pretty logical, 00:30:10.000 --> 00:30:13.000 but his questions to the king reveal something else 00:30:13.000 --> 00:30:16.000 that he's not actually bothered about the oppression anymore. 00:30:16.000 --> 00:30:18.000 That's not why he's chasing them. 00:30:18.000 --> 00:30:21.000 And then he's going to look at me in verse 18. 00:30:21.000 --> 00:30:24.000 Where are the men whom you killed at Teobor? 00:30:24.000 --> 00:30:27.000 And they answered, as you are, so were they. 00:30:27.000 --> 00:30:29.000 Every one of them resembled the son of a king. 00:30:29.000 --> 00:30:32.000 And he said, and he said, that's Gideon, 00:30:32.000 --> 00:30:35.000 they were my brothers, the sons of my mother. 00:30:35.000 --> 00:30:38.000 And then he ex... 00:30:38.000 --> 00:30:40.000 Look what he does. 00:30:40.000 --> 00:30:43.000 To sort of sanctify this personal vendetta, 00:30:43.000 --> 00:30:46.000 he exploits the Lord's own name. 00:30:46.000 --> 00:30:48.000 As the Lord lives, 00:30:48.000 --> 00:30:52.000 if you would save them alive, I would not kill you. 00:30:52.000 --> 00:30:54.000 This is just a personal vendetta. 00:30:54.000 --> 00:30:58.000 It's revenge driven by bitterness. 00:30:58.000 --> 00:31:00.000 He's not interested in the Lord's people anymore. 00:31:00.000 --> 00:31:04.000 We know that he's just killed quite a lot of them. 00:31:04.000 --> 00:31:06.000 And so he executes them. 00:31:06.000 --> 00:31:10.000 Gideon's name, if you didn't know, it literally means hacker. 00:31:10.000 --> 00:31:15.000 And he sure lived up to it. 00:31:15.000 --> 00:31:22.000 And so we've seen three things 00:31:22.000 --> 00:31:25.000 that we see in Gideon's life. 00:31:25.000 --> 00:31:31.000 Fear, pride, and then bitterness, or wanting to get even. 00:31:31.000 --> 00:31:36.000 Where do we go when we're tempted? 00:31:36.000 --> 00:31:39.000 Where did Gideon go when he was tempted? 00:31:39.000 --> 00:31:44.000 Turn on God, or turn to him. 00:31:44.000 --> 00:31:47.000 And it is shocking. 00:31:47.000 --> 00:31:50.000 It is really shocking. 00:31:50.000 --> 00:31:53.000 And I'm pretty sure that those three things, 00:31:53.000 --> 00:31:56.000 fear, pride, bitterness, at some point, 00:31:56.000 --> 00:31:58.000 will have been the receiving end of those 00:31:58.000 --> 00:32:01.000 and will have dished it out to others. 00:32:01.000 --> 00:32:03.000 Fear, pride, looking on down on others, 00:32:03.000 --> 00:32:07.000 and bitterness wanting to get even. 00:32:07.000 --> 00:32:13.000 Disobedience or responding to temptation in that way, in Gideon, 00:32:13.000 --> 00:32:16.000 leads to disaster. 00:32:16.000 --> 00:32:22.000 And if we see that in ourselves, and we will at some point, 00:32:22.000 --> 00:32:25.000 if we don't deal with it, it will lead to disaster. 00:32:25.000 --> 00:32:28.000 Flattery, people pleasing out of fear, 00:32:28.000 --> 00:32:30.000 looking down on others because of pride, 00:32:30.000 --> 00:32:35.000 wanting to get even, we're all susceptible to it. 00:32:35.000 --> 00:32:40.000 There's a temptation when we look at this passage to think, 00:32:40.000 --> 00:32:43.000 I hope this is not, I hope not even for a nanosecond, 00:32:43.000 --> 00:32:45.000 this is according to anyone's mind, 00:32:45.000 --> 00:32:47.000 that you look at it and think in, 00:32:47.000 --> 00:32:55.000 thank you God that I'm not like Gideon. 00:32:55.000 --> 00:32:58.000 What an absolute moron. 00:32:58.000 --> 00:33:02.000 Don't entertain that for even a nanosecond. 00:33:02.000 --> 00:33:05.000 Rather, if it can happen to Gideon, 00:33:05.000 --> 00:33:08.000 it can just as happen to easy to any one of us. 00:33:08.000 --> 00:33:11.000 That's the humble response. 00:33:11.000 --> 00:33:13.000 If it can happen to Gideon, 00:33:13.000 --> 00:33:15.000 clothed in the Spirit of the Lord, speaking with the Lord, 00:33:15.000 --> 00:33:19.000 with the angel of the Lord, it can happen to any one of us. 00:33:19.000 --> 00:33:24.000 I don't say that so that we feel down on ourselves, 00:33:24.000 --> 00:33:25.000 quite the opposite. 00:33:25.000 --> 00:33:29.000 I'm saying it so that we feel needy for the Lord 00:33:29.000 --> 00:33:34.000 to keep us on that narrow path. 00:33:34.000 --> 00:33:37.000 Gideon's fall is there to warn us, 00:33:37.000 --> 00:33:41.000 I feel like Gideon. 00:33:41.000 --> 00:33:46.000 I know it's been a bit heavy sermon, 00:33:46.000 --> 00:33:49.000 and believe me in preparation for this, 00:33:49.000 --> 00:33:51.000 it's felt weighty on my own soul, 00:33:51.000 --> 00:33:58.000 and I'm grieved myself by how I've fallen short in these areas, 00:33:58.000 --> 00:34:01.000 and that we do actually need a better leader, don't we, 00:34:01.000 --> 00:34:05.000 than a human, just merely a human leader. 00:34:05.000 --> 00:34:07.000 We need Jesus. 00:34:07.000 --> 00:34:11.000 How different and magnificent is Jesus compared to this? 00:34:11.000 --> 00:34:14.000 He's magnificent. 00:34:14.000 --> 00:34:17.000 He's absolutely magnificent. 00:34:17.000 --> 00:34:23.000 Just think about his crucifixion, how he's totally the opposite. 00:34:23.000 --> 00:34:28.000 He knows his Father is in charge, in control. 00:34:28.000 --> 00:34:34.000 Gethsemane, yet not my will, but your will be done. 00:34:34.000 --> 00:34:37.000 I said that last week, he's afraid in Gethsemane, 00:34:37.000 --> 00:34:43.000 he's terrified, but he knows his Father's in control. 00:34:43.000 --> 00:34:49.000 He goes to Calvary, he goes and walks that lonely road. 00:34:49.000 --> 00:34:51.000 He doesn't look down on anyone, 00:34:51.000 --> 00:34:54.000 nor he's the most humble man who ever lived, 00:34:54.000 --> 00:34:58.000 values others above himself to the point of death and a cross. 00:34:58.000 --> 00:35:00.000 Is he bitter? 00:35:00.000 --> 00:35:04.000 You might even say that you might even think, 00:35:04.000 --> 00:35:08.000 well, he has every right to be against those who nailed him. 00:35:08.000 --> 00:35:10.000 What does he say on the cross? 00:35:10.000 --> 00:35:15.000 Father, forgive them, for they don't know what they do. 00:35:15.000 --> 00:35:20.000 And do you know death by crucifixion, it's actually by asphyxiation. 00:35:20.000 --> 00:35:25.000 You suffocate as you're hanging, as you're weighing down, 00:35:25.000 --> 00:35:30.000 the way it crushes your lungs, and the only way to speak, 00:35:30.000 --> 00:35:33.000 for Jesus to speak when he was on the cross, 00:35:33.000 --> 00:35:38.000 is to push his hands on the nails and push his feet on the nails, 00:35:38.000 --> 00:35:43.000 pushing up his thorax so that he could take enough breath in 00:35:43.000 --> 00:35:48.000 to then exhale and speak. 00:35:48.000 --> 00:35:52.000 And he does all that, pushes down on his hands, 00:35:52.000 --> 00:35:56.000 pushes down on his feet to take a breath in to say, 00:35:56.000 --> 00:36:04.000 Father, forgive them. 00:36:04.000 --> 00:36:08.000 All of this so that all the fears, the pride, 00:36:08.000 --> 00:36:13.000 the bitters in our hearts, where temptation has got the better of us, 00:36:13.000 --> 00:36:18.000 could be washed away, made clean, white as snow. 00:36:18.000 --> 00:36:24.000 We have a magnificent Savior. 00:36:24.000 --> 00:36:27.000 A Savior who is not fearful, proud or bitter, 00:36:27.000 --> 00:36:36.000 but courageous, humble and full of forgiveness. 00:36:36.000 --> 00:36:51.000 Let me pray. 00:36:51.000 --> 00:36:57.000 Lord Jesus, we just thank you for what a Savior you are, 00:36:57.000 --> 00:37:01.000 what a leader you are, 00:37:01.000 --> 00:37:03.000 and we just see how beautiful you are, 00:37:03.000 --> 00:37:07.000 and we just see the way that you lived your life, 00:37:07.000 --> 00:37:11.000 and we praise you. 00:37:11.000 --> 00:37:17.000 And we recognize that at times we have done things, said things, 00:37:17.000 --> 00:37:21.000 and we've acted in fear, we've acted proud, 00:37:21.000 --> 00:37:24.000 and we've been bitter, 00:37:24.000 --> 00:37:27.000 but we thank you that you're not like any of these. 00:37:27.000 --> 00:37:31.000 These qualities are nothing like you. 00:37:31.000 --> 00:37:36.000 You had all the courage, the humility and the forgiveness. 00:37:36.000 --> 00:37:43.000 It was on your heart to go to the cross to die in our place, 00:37:43.000 --> 00:37:49.000 so that we could have life in you. 00:37:49.000 --> 00:37:51.000 And so we thank you and we praise you, 00:37:51.000 --> 00:37:54.000 and we pray that you'd lift our own hearts. 00:37:54.000 --> 00:38:00.000 I pray that this word that we've read tonight would remain with us, 00:38:00.000 --> 00:38:02.000 and that you'd remind us of it all week, 00:38:02.000 --> 00:38:07.000 just to help us to live and work for your praise and glory. 00:38:07.000 --> 00:38:11.000 And so we ask for your blessing upon us now in Christ's name. 00:38:11.000 --> 00:38:31.000 Amen.