WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:08.000 Now by way of sort of introduction, I want to just tell the tale of a well-known Scottish company 00:00:08.000 --> 00:00:13.000 that have come up over the last 10 years. You will have all heard of, well some of you will, 00:00:13.000 --> 00:00:19.000 have heard of Brew Dog. Now I don't know if beer is your thing to drink, but over the last 10 years, 00:00:19.000 --> 00:00:26.000 the UK has seen a boom, if you want to call it, in the beer industry, there's been lots of these trendy, 00:00:26.000 --> 00:00:34.000 new craft beers come up and at the forefront of this revolution is Brew Dog, Scotland's very own Brew Dog, 00:00:34.000 --> 00:00:42.000 but since 2007 they've now become a global company, they sell millions of tins of beer a week. 00:00:42.000 --> 00:00:50.000 They started in 2007 in Frisbee, just two guys, James Watt, Martin Dickett, and they started via, 00:00:50.000 --> 00:00:57.000 they did a crowdfunding campaign, they managed to raise over £2 million, they ended up moving to a bigger site in Ellen 00:00:57.000 --> 00:01:05.000 and slowly but surely after starting so small, so little, just two guys starting up on their own sort of brewery, 00:01:05.000 --> 00:01:13.000 they become this global company, they've got offices all over the world in Australia, you might say humble beginnings, 00:01:13.000 --> 00:01:21.000 but over the last 18 months, if you've kept an eye on the news, they've been coming under a bit of heat. 00:01:21.000 --> 00:01:28.000 In June of this year, the company came under investigation for false advertising, if you recall the story, 00:01:28.000 --> 00:01:36.000 they advertised that they were going to hide 15 cans around the world that were made of solid gold, 00:01:36.000 --> 00:01:42.000 only to find out that they were actually gold-plated and so they're getting done for false advertising. 00:01:42.000 --> 00:01:49.000 In the same month in June, there was an open letter signed by anonymous employees that published, 00:01:49.000 --> 00:01:58.000 it was published in the paper, criticizing the firm's business and they openly stated that the business wasn't being run right, 00:01:58.000 --> 00:02:06.000 that one of the guys, I think it was James Watt, he turned in a bit of a dictator, there's a culture of fear, 00:02:06.000 --> 00:02:12.000 it was built on this cult of personality and there was lots of people who worked for that, 00:02:12.000 --> 00:02:18.000 they were complicit in this sort of manipulative way of doing things. 00:02:18.000 --> 00:02:25.000 And this James Watt, he was singled out as the one who was the orchestrator of the bullying and the intimidation 00:02:25.000 --> 00:02:31.000 and as the top dog, pun intended, he's forgotten his humble beginnings 00:02:31.000 --> 00:02:36.000 and what he's done is let success go to his own head. 00:02:36.000 --> 00:02:44.000 Now, the example I've used there, I could have picked a whole number of examples where this has been the case over years 00:02:44.000 --> 00:02:52.000 where people have had success and they let the success go to their head and think they've become something. 00:02:52.000 --> 00:02:56.000 We understand when that happens, we understand why it happens 00:02:56.000 --> 00:03:02.000 because we want to be recognized for the achievement that we've done and we think that we've deserved it by the skill 00:03:02.000 --> 00:03:12.000 and we think that we, as the leader, we deserve that kind of respect. 00:03:12.000 --> 00:03:19.000 This is what we've seen in Gideon's life, it's what we saw a little bit of last week 00:03:19.000 --> 00:03:27.000 and all the way through we've drawn this sort of idea that Gideon had the humble beginnings of a nobody 00:03:27.000 --> 00:03:36.000 but on being tempted, enticed by his own desires, we saw last week he responded with fear, with pride and with bitterness 00:03:36.000 --> 00:03:41.000 how he used to think he was a nobody but now he thinks he's a somebody. 00:03:41.000 --> 00:03:44.000 He used to think he was a nobody but now he thinks he's a somebody. 00:03:44.000 --> 00:03:53.000 This is the root issue in his heart and we saw that how that was manifested last week with the way he treated his own people 00:03:53.000 --> 00:03:58.000 and how he used that to sort of elevate his position even further. 00:03:58.000 --> 00:04:03.000 But what we see this week is he takes it even a step further than what we could imagine. 00:04:03.000 --> 00:04:07.000 He takes it even a step further than what we could imagine. 00:04:07.000 --> 00:04:13.000 And so we're going to look at this sort of last stage in his life this week. 00:04:13.000 --> 00:04:20.000 Now just, I've done this every week, it's just to remind you, just in case you haven't been here as we've been looking at this in Judges 00:04:20.000 --> 00:04:26.000 just how Judges, just a quick reminder how Judges is structured, it's these repeated cycles of God's people. 00:04:26.000 --> 00:04:35.000 Firstly, they go against the Lord and then they, so the Lord sends a foreign power to conquer them. 00:04:35.000 --> 00:04:37.000 Third step, they cry out to the Lord. 00:04:37.000 --> 00:04:45.000 Fourth step, the Lord sends a deliverer, this is Gideon that we look at, he sends a deliverer to deliver them from this foreign power. 00:04:45.000 --> 00:04:51.000 And then the fifth step which we normally see is that the land has rest from the foreign power. 00:04:51.000 --> 00:04:55.000 They have peace once the foreign power is conquered by the deliverer. 00:04:55.000 --> 00:04:59.000 So that's kind of the structure of it and where towards the very end of that cycle. 00:04:59.000 --> 00:05:03.000 Just to remind you, if you've not been here, that's kind of where we're at looking at Gideon. 00:05:03.000 --> 00:05:09.000 So we're going to look at three sort of headings, we're going to look at success is dangerous, 00:05:09.000 --> 00:05:16.000 we're going to look at be discerned of who you follow and then at the end we're just going to spend a little bit of time as we've come to the end of this. 00:05:16.000 --> 00:05:25.000 Just thinking about maybe Gideon's legacy, his legacy in the bad legacy that he leaves and the good legacy that he leaves as well. 00:05:25.000 --> 00:05:30.000 So firstly, we're going to think about success being dangerous. 00:05:30.000 --> 00:05:40.000 Success is a dangerous place for Gideon, it turns out, and actually not just for him but for the people of Israel as well. 00:05:40.000 --> 00:05:48.000 They look at what's been achieved and they think themselves that Gideon, he's a force to be reckoned with, right? 00:05:48.000 --> 00:05:58.000 This aggressive, brutal figure what Gideon's become, he's the kind of man they want, he's the kind of leader that they're after. 00:05:58.000 --> 00:06:03.000 Just look with how they respond to him again in verse 22. 00:06:03.000 --> 00:06:14.000 Then the men of Israel are said to Gideon, rule over us, you and your son and your grandson also, for you have saved us from the hand of Gideon. 00:06:14.000 --> 00:06:20.000 Rule over us, they say, and notice they don't just want Gideon, they don't just want Gideon to be king. 00:06:20.000 --> 00:06:28.000 Actually, they say, your son and your grandson also, they're asking for a dynasty here. 00:06:28.000 --> 00:06:32.000 They want a dynasty to be established, they want Gideon's family line to remain in power. 00:06:32.000 --> 00:06:36.000 And when somebody is asking for a dynasty, we know what that means, right? 00:06:36.000 --> 00:06:43.000 It means that what they're really saying to Gideon is, Gideon, we want you to lead us, we want you to be our king. 00:06:43.000 --> 00:06:46.000 That's what they're saying when they say that to Gideon. 00:06:46.000 --> 00:06:57.000 And the reason they want Gideon, you look back, the reason they want Gideon, rule over us for the reason why, for you have saved us. 00:06:57.000 --> 00:07:01.000 You, Gideon, have saved us. 00:07:01.000 --> 00:07:09.000 The Lord is not in the picture here, He's not in their minds, for you, Gideon, have saved us. 00:07:09.000 --> 00:07:12.000 Like we reminded of last week, the Lord was right, wasn't He? 00:07:12.000 --> 00:07:18.000 In chapter 7 verse 2, remember, lest Israel should boast, that's why He chose 300 men in the first place. 00:07:18.000 --> 00:07:24.000 But here, the glory due to the Lord, it's given to Gideon. 00:07:24.000 --> 00:07:27.000 You have saved us. 00:07:27.000 --> 00:07:32.000 And at first glance, when we read through that passage, when we read through what happens next, 00:07:32.000 --> 00:07:38.000 it seems like Gideon responds back to them in a sort of godly way. 00:07:38.000 --> 00:07:47.000 At verse 23, I will not rule over you, and my son will not rule over you, the Lord will rule over you. 00:07:47.000 --> 00:07:52.000 When we read that, we think, well, Gideon, he knows what's good, he knows the right way to respond. 00:07:52.000 --> 00:07:59.000 He knows that the Lord is in charge, he doesn't want the king, he doesn't want a dynasty, he knows the right way to respond. 00:07:59.000 --> 00:08:05.000 But what we see is that his actions betray what comes out of his mouth, his actions betray him. 00:08:05.000 --> 00:08:11.000 Everything that follows, that Gideon does, actually indicate that what he really wants is, 00:08:11.000 --> 00:08:16.000 he doesn't want to say he's the king, but he wants to be treated as one. 00:08:16.000 --> 00:08:22.000 He thinks he deserves it, because the success has gone to his head. 00:08:22.000 --> 00:08:29.000 Just look what he does, verse 24, he follows it by saying, I don't want you to rule over me, 00:08:29.000 --> 00:08:35.000 but almost like an instead, instead do this, verse 24, let me make a request of you. 00:08:35.000 --> 00:08:40.000 Every one of you give me the earrings from his spoil, for they had golden earrings because they were Ishmaelites, 00:08:40.000 --> 00:08:43.000 and they answered, we will willingly give them. 00:08:43.000 --> 00:08:46.000 And they spread a cloak, and every man threw in it the earrings of his spoil, 00:08:46.000 --> 00:08:51.000 and the weight of the golden earrings that he requested were 1700 shekels of gold, 00:08:51.000 --> 00:08:55.000 beside the crescent ornaments, and the pendants, and the purple garments worn by the kings of Midian, 00:08:55.000 --> 00:09:01.000 and besides the colors that were around the necks of their camels. 00:09:01.000 --> 00:09:08.000 When he asks for this amount of gold, what he receives, he's not asking for a favour, 00:09:08.000 --> 00:09:13.000 he's not asking him to do him a favour, or instead of making me king, can you just give me all this gold. 00:09:13.000 --> 00:09:19.000 This is an offering for the victor, 1700 shekels. 00:09:19.000 --> 00:09:24.000 That's a ridiculous amount of gold, in today's, if we're weighing it out today, that would be £42, 00:09:24.000 --> 00:09:31.000 in weight, and in today's money, that's around the region of £800,000 worth of gold. 00:09:31.000 --> 00:09:36.000 This is a treasure chest fit for a king, make no mistake about that, and that's not all. 00:09:36.000 --> 00:09:42.000 The crescent ornaments, the pendants, purple garments, they're all symbols of royalty. 00:09:42.000 --> 00:09:48.000 These are the things he wants to keep from the spoil, he wants to keep all the stuff that implies 00:09:48.000 --> 00:09:51.000 that he's actually, he wants to be a king. 00:09:51.000 --> 00:09:56.000 There's also other suggestions that come throughout the passage, we read in verse 30. 00:09:56.000 --> 00:10:04.000 There's this suggestion, the amount of sons, 70 sons, if we look in this Canaanite mythology, 00:10:04.000 --> 00:10:10.000 it's that the Canaanite god El and his goddess Asherah have 70 sons. 00:10:10.000 --> 00:10:16.000 And to cap it all off, and this one takes the biscuit, he calls one of his sons a bimilek. 00:10:16.000 --> 00:10:22.000 In Hebrew literally means my father is king. 00:10:22.000 --> 00:10:29.000 His actions betray him, he really, he wants to be treated as king. 00:10:29.000 --> 00:10:35.000 Now we're going to look at what he does with the gold in sort of the next point, 00:10:35.000 --> 00:10:41.000 but I just wanted to pause here for a moment and look at what's happened to Gideon. 00:10:41.000 --> 00:10:46.000 I keep mentioning that phrase, he's gone from a nobody to thinking he's a somebody, 00:10:46.000 --> 00:10:52.000 and his actions, he's ensured that the people think that about him as well. 00:10:52.000 --> 00:10:58.000 The high point of his life was 715 where he fell to his knees and worshipped the Lord. 00:10:58.000 --> 00:11:05.000 Now this is where he's at, he's asking them to offer something to him. 00:11:05.000 --> 00:11:10.000 A few weeks ago we looked at how the Lord tested Gideon, 00:11:10.000 --> 00:11:15.000 and in some ways you might say that the biggest test, 00:11:15.000 --> 00:11:19.000 it wasn't where do you go when you feel like a nobody, 00:11:19.000 --> 00:11:24.000 but where do you go after you've had success? 00:11:24.000 --> 00:11:27.000 That is a much bigger test. 00:11:27.000 --> 00:11:33.000 What happens when the Lord works through his people and brings success, brings victory? 00:11:33.000 --> 00:11:37.000 Well it's gone to Gideon and says he thinks he's made it. 00:11:37.000 --> 00:11:42.000 You just think back to the illustration of Broodog, 00:11:42.000 --> 00:11:47.000 the reason for all the issues, they've forgotten where they came from, 00:11:47.000 --> 00:11:51.000 that they actually came from a crowdfunded sort of pursuit 00:11:51.000 --> 00:11:57.000 where he needed to raise the money to get them off the ground, they needed people. 00:11:57.000 --> 00:12:03.000 Broodog forgot all that, success went to their head. 00:12:03.000 --> 00:12:10.000 Perhaps that's the time when we're actually in real spiritual danger, 00:12:10.000 --> 00:12:13.000 when we've had great success, 00:12:13.000 --> 00:12:19.000 and maybe for some of us we know to turn to the Lord when it's difficult, 00:12:19.000 --> 00:12:22.000 when we're needy, when the need's obvious, 00:12:22.000 --> 00:12:27.000 or maybe when things are going great in our life or in ministry, 00:12:27.000 --> 00:12:31.000 you think when you're successful in a job application 00:12:31.000 --> 00:12:34.000 or you've just bought a new car, a job promotion, 00:12:34.000 --> 00:12:37.000 or even you're away on holiday, 00:12:37.000 --> 00:12:40.000 and needs are not that obvious. 00:12:40.000 --> 00:12:44.000 And it's especially true when the Lord works through us to do great things, 00:12:44.000 --> 00:12:47.000 when we're serving God's people or you're witness to a friend, 00:12:47.000 --> 00:12:49.000 you've had a great time of prayer, 00:12:49.000 --> 00:12:53.000 you think, you know, oh I've made it, I've made it. 00:12:53.000 --> 00:13:00.000 Our guard is down and perhaps we feel a little bit puffed up, we're off our guard. 00:13:00.000 --> 00:13:04.000 I just want to be honest with you that church leaders 00:13:04.000 --> 00:13:07.000 we're not immune from this either. 00:13:07.000 --> 00:13:11.000 At the end of a Sunday perhaps, you know, church has gone well, 00:13:11.000 --> 00:13:13.000 there's been a few encouragements. 00:13:13.000 --> 00:13:16.000 This is the time when spiritually, 00:13:16.000 --> 00:13:18.000 leaders are a bit of a target, 00:13:18.000 --> 00:13:22.000 because our guards down you might start to get puffed up, 00:13:22.000 --> 00:13:28.000 think, oh look what the Lord did through me today. 00:13:28.000 --> 00:13:33.000 Just as an aside, it is a reason to just think, 00:13:33.000 --> 00:13:37.000 we must pray for our ministers and elders and each other actually, 00:13:37.000 --> 00:13:39.000 not just in apparent need, 00:13:39.000 --> 00:13:42.000 because maybe actually, like I've said, 00:13:42.000 --> 00:13:46.000 the real danger happens when we don't actually realise it. 00:13:46.000 --> 00:13:48.000 It looks like things are going well, 00:13:48.000 --> 00:13:56.000 but it's the success that is causing the sin to manifest. 00:13:56.000 --> 00:14:01.000 So yes, success goes to his head, 00:14:01.000 --> 00:14:03.000 and success can go to our head, 00:14:03.000 --> 00:14:07.000 we need to be watchful of when that happens. 00:14:07.000 --> 00:14:12.000 But what Gideon does next, 00:14:12.000 --> 00:14:17.000 I think you could say it's not really in the playbook of a deliverer, 00:14:17.000 --> 00:14:20.000 we're just going to look at our second point, 00:14:20.000 --> 00:14:24.000 be discerning of who you follow. 00:14:24.000 --> 00:14:29.000 Gideon's success, it takes him here to a whole new level 00:14:29.000 --> 00:14:32.000 of what you expect from him. 00:14:32.000 --> 00:14:36.000 Last week, it was quite a heavy week last week, 00:14:36.000 --> 00:14:42.000 and we looked at the horrific acts you might say that Gideon did, 00:14:42.000 --> 00:14:47.000 we saw the way that he tortured his own people. 00:14:47.000 --> 00:14:50.000 And on the surface of things, those things, 00:14:50.000 --> 00:14:54.000 they can seem to us the things that are more shocking, 00:14:54.000 --> 00:14:57.000 the torture, the revenge. 00:14:57.000 --> 00:15:04.000 It turns the narrative from a 12-rate into maybe an 18 when we read that stuff. 00:15:04.000 --> 00:15:06.000 What happens next? 00:15:06.000 --> 00:15:10.000 Initially, it doesn't look as bad as those things, 00:15:10.000 --> 00:15:13.000 but I don't want us to be deceived by that 00:15:13.000 --> 00:15:18.000 because actually what he does is worse what Gideon does with the gold. 00:15:18.000 --> 00:15:22.000 Just look, verse 27, and Gideon made an ephod of it, 00:15:22.000 --> 00:15:25.000 that's the gold, he makes an ephod with the gold, 00:15:25.000 --> 00:15:28.000 and he put it in his city in Offra. 00:15:28.000 --> 00:15:34.000 Now, an ephod, if you're looking at the Bible, 00:15:34.000 --> 00:15:38.000 there's a few references, one from the Bible that I want us to think about, 00:15:38.000 --> 00:15:41.000 and one from other ancient literature that comes around, 00:15:41.000 --> 00:15:43.000 so it could be one of two options. 00:15:43.000 --> 00:15:45.000 We're not actually told in this passage. 00:15:45.000 --> 00:15:48.000 An ephod is a garment worn by Levitical priests 00:15:48.000 --> 00:15:51.000 when they were serving in the sacrificial system. 00:15:51.000 --> 00:15:58.000 Notice Gideon, I think there's a couple of reasons for saying that it's probably not that. 00:15:58.000 --> 00:16:03.000 One there's only one made, and it's made out of 42 pounds of gold, so it's pretty heavy. 00:16:03.000 --> 00:16:06.000 But also, in the ancient literature from around the time, 00:16:06.000 --> 00:16:13.000 an ephod was sometimes a garment that was draped over as clothing over a god. 00:16:13.000 --> 00:16:17.000 And in those cultures, if you had part of the regalia, 00:16:17.000 --> 00:16:20.000 then that sort of represented the whole thing. 00:16:20.000 --> 00:16:26.000 In other words, the ephod represented the god of which it would cover. 00:16:26.000 --> 00:16:30.000 Now, in our account, like I say, we're not told other details about this gold, 00:16:30.000 --> 00:16:33.000 so we have those two options. 00:16:33.000 --> 00:16:39.000 Either Gideon has moved sort of the priestly service away from where it should be 00:16:39.000 --> 00:16:43.000 to what he's destined as the new capital city, Offra, 00:16:43.000 --> 00:16:45.000 which in itself that would have been wrong, 00:16:45.000 --> 00:16:48.000 or I think more likely and perhaps worse, 00:16:48.000 --> 00:16:54.000 that this is Gideon reconstructing worship of a false god. 00:16:54.000 --> 00:16:58.000 Of a Baal. Baal just means Lord, so he's actually reconstructing. 00:16:58.000 --> 00:16:59.000 He's going back. 00:16:59.000 --> 00:17:04.000 You remember that was the problem with which we all started with back in chapter 6, 00:17:04.000 --> 00:17:08.000 that Josh's dad was doing Baal worship in his back garden. 00:17:08.000 --> 00:17:11.000 And I think even more so the way that this comes through, 00:17:11.000 --> 00:17:14.000 this sort of comes into our thinking is, 00:17:14.000 --> 00:17:18.000 think for the purposeful link of when the Lord clothed Gideon. 00:17:18.000 --> 00:17:21.000 Do you remember chapter 6 verse 34, it says, 00:17:21.000 --> 00:17:24.000 Gideon was clothed with the spirit of the Lord. 00:17:24.000 --> 00:17:26.000 Now Gideon creates his own image, 00:17:26.000 --> 00:17:31.000 clothed in something of his own making with Offra the capital. 00:17:31.000 --> 00:17:35.000 It ties in with the kingly sort of image that's going on. 00:17:35.000 --> 00:17:39.000 When the Lord was king, worship was done right in the right place. 00:17:39.000 --> 00:17:45.000 Now Gideon acts like king and worship is done wrong and in the wrong place. 00:17:45.000 --> 00:17:50.000 Not only is he acting as king, but a bad one. 00:17:50.000 --> 00:17:53.000 It's all gone wrong, hasn't it? 00:17:53.000 --> 00:17:55.000 It's all gone wrong. 00:17:55.000 --> 00:17:59.000 Idolatry is now state sponsored. 00:17:59.000 --> 00:18:02.000 Gideon's doing what is right in his own eyes. 00:18:02.000 --> 00:18:05.000 This is not the day of the Lord, but the day of Gideon. 00:18:05.000 --> 00:18:09.000 And of course it evokes memories of when the Lord was given 00:18:09.000 --> 00:18:11.000 at the bottom of Mount Sinai, 00:18:11.000 --> 00:18:14.000 rings of gold were given to Aaron to make a golden calf. 00:18:14.000 --> 00:18:18.000 Now we have rings of gold given towards making an ephod. 00:18:18.000 --> 00:18:20.000 Moses hated it and went ballistic. 00:18:20.000 --> 00:18:26.000 Gideon has proposed and done it. 00:18:26.000 --> 00:18:28.000 Verse 27, 00:18:28.000 --> 00:18:37.000 All Israel hored after it there and it became a snare to Gideon and to his family. 00:18:37.000 --> 00:18:41.000 The neuraties in a very different light, it is a snare. 00:18:41.000 --> 00:18:44.000 It traps them. 00:18:44.000 --> 00:18:48.000 I just want to go back to the illustration of thinking about Brudo. 00:18:48.000 --> 00:18:54.000 When problems start to surface in a company or in an institution, 00:18:54.000 --> 00:18:57.000 there's often sort of three responses. 00:18:57.000 --> 00:19:01.000 Those who are complicit in the issue, in the manipulation, 00:19:01.000 --> 00:19:04.000 and in doing that they sort of encourage it. 00:19:04.000 --> 00:19:06.000 They don't think that there's a problem. 00:19:06.000 --> 00:19:09.000 There's those who see the problem but want to keep their head down 00:19:09.000 --> 00:19:12.000 because they don't want to put their head above the parapet. 00:19:12.000 --> 00:19:17.000 And there's those who do put their head above the parapet 00:19:17.000 --> 00:19:22.000 and they're going to sort of be a target. 00:19:22.000 --> 00:19:26.000 But with Israel, it just seems like 00:19:26.000 --> 00:19:29.000 they're not really that discerning. 00:19:29.000 --> 00:19:33.000 They're enraptured with Gideon. 00:19:33.000 --> 00:19:36.000 They're enraptured with him. 00:19:36.000 --> 00:19:38.000 And they follow his lead. 00:19:38.000 --> 00:19:42.000 What he does is worse 00:19:42.000 --> 00:19:49.000 because he's not leading them towards the Lord but away from Him. 00:19:49.000 --> 00:19:55.000 He's not leading them towards the Lord but away from Him. 00:19:55.000 --> 00:20:03.000 I just wonder how do we evaluate the people we follow in our own lives? 00:20:03.000 --> 00:20:06.000 How do we evaluate the people that we follow? 00:20:06.000 --> 00:20:15.000 Can we sometimes unknowingly allow ourselves to be led by the wrong type of people? 00:20:15.000 --> 00:20:19.000 Because you think Twitter, Instagram, that's what it's all about, isn't it? 00:20:19.000 --> 00:20:21.000 Following people. 00:20:21.000 --> 00:20:24.000 I don't want to be heavy handed about internet use and things like that. 00:20:24.000 --> 00:20:29.000 We know it's used for brilliant, lots of things, brilliant things. 00:20:29.000 --> 00:20:31.000 But the people that we follow on those platforms, 00:20:31.000 --> 00:20:35.000 we can't help be influenced by their views, by what they're trying to sell. 00:20:35.000 --> 00:20:40.000 And it is worth evaluating that, the influence they have in our daily lives. 00:20:40.000 --> 00:20:46.000 Are they leading you towards God or away from Him? 00:20:46.000 --> 00:20:51.000 But this is, it's not just for the world out there, is it? 00:20:51.000 --> 00:20:56.000 Because it's also relevant for the church leaders that we follow as well. 00:20:56.000 --> 00:21:00.000 Just like I said with these platforms, we live in an amazing time 00:21:00.000 --> 00:21:04.000 where you can listen to Bible teaching from all over the world. 00:21:04.000 --> 00:21:08.000 I regularly sort of listen to Alistair Begg and read different blogs there. 00:21:08.000 --> 00:21:12.000 And it's been a immense blessing to me and maybe we do that. 00:21:12.000 --> 00:21:15.000 But we do have to be careful, don't we? 00:21:15.000 --> 00:21:20.000 We do have to have a level of discernment. 00:21:20.000 --> 00:21:26.000 And I think there is some things that maybe a lamb bell should ring. 00:21:26.000 --> 00:21:30.000 I just think, this is not a universal rule, 00:21:30.000 --> 00:21:36.000 but I always, a lamb bell's ring when a ministry always calls themselves after the person. 00:21:36.000 --> 00:21:39.000 Now there's exceptions to that, but I think what's going on there? 00:21:39.000 --> 00:21:44.000 Or where a Bible is called after a person. 00:21:44.000 --> 00:21:50.000 It's almost to be, doesn't mean that it's not useful and helpful, 00:21:50.000 --> 00:21:55.000 but to be wary of things that are drawing things towards a personality 00:21:55.000 --> 00:21:59.000 rather than towards the living God. 00:21:59.000 --> 00:22:04.000 Who are they promoting? 00:22:04.000 --> 00:22:07.000 It doesn't end in a good place for Gideon. 00:22:07.000 --> 00:22:10.000 It doesn't end in a good place for Gideon. 00:22:10.000 --> 00:22:12.000 He started as a nobody. 00:22:12.000 --> 00:22:16.000 He's become a somebody and he's led people away from the Lord. 00:22:16.000 --> 00:22:21.000 If you look at the track of his life, the first thing that he, after being called by the Lord, 00:22:21.000 --> 00:22:26.000 the first thing the Lord called him to do was to lead his people away from idolatry. 00:22:26.000 --> 00:22:28.000 And he did that. 00:22:28.000 --> 00:22:32.000 And then he was used by the Lord to gain a great victory over oppression. 00:22:32.000 --> 00:22:37.000 And it seems like everything's just been turned on its head again. 00:22:37.000 --> 00:22:41.000 It doesn't end in a good place for Gideon. 00:22:41.000 --> 00:22:46.000 But I want to spend a few minutes just as we wrap up this series 00:22:46.000 --> 00:22:50.000 just looking at perhaps his legacy. 00:22:50.000 --> 00:22:56.000 His immediate legacy is about what happens after he dies and then his legacy to us. 00:22:56.000 --> 00:23:01.000 Whenever you think about things like this, there is a few things that you could touch upon 00:23:01.000 --> 00:23:04.000 thinking about that, definitely more than we've got time for. 00:23:04.000 --> 00:23:08.000 So I just want to think of two, one bad and one good. 00:23:08.000 --> 00:23:14.000 And so the bad legacy is the consequences of his sin. 00:23:14.000 --> 00:23:17.000 The consequences of his sin. 00:23:17.000 --> 00:23:24.000 And it's actually quite sort of striking that despite what he's done in leading Israel back to Baal, 00:23:24.000 --> 00:23:28.000 that they actually, the Lord sort of honors the promise, doesn't he, 00:23:28.000 --> 00:23:31.000 that they have peace in Israel for 40 years, 00:23:31.000 --> 00:23:37.000 and he has answered the cries that Israel had to him in chapter 6, verse 28. 00:23:37.000 --> 00:23:42.000 So Midian was subdued before the people of Israel and they raised their heads no more 00:23:42.000 --> 00:23:46.000 and the land had rest for 40 years in the days of Gideon. 00:23:46.000 --> 00:23:53.000 Despite his actions, Gideon somehow prevents this complete spiritual demise. 00:23:53.000 --> 00:23:58.000 But following his death, it's a different story. 00:23:58.000 --> 00:24:03.000 Verse 33, as soon as Gideon died, the people of Israel turned again 00:24:03.000 --> 00:24:06.000 and horded after the Baals and made Baal berith their God. 00:24:06.000 --> 00:24:09.000 And the people of Israel did not remember the Lord their God, 00:24:09.000 --> 00:24:12.000 who had delivered them from the hand of all their enemies on every side. 00:24:12.000 --> 00:24:16.000 And they did not show steadfast love to the family of Jerobal, that is Gideon, 00:24:16.000 --> 00:24:19.000 in return for all the good that he'd done to Israel. 00:24:19.000 --> 00:24:22.000 It's complete spiritual decline. 00:24:22.000 --> 00:24:26.000 And notice now, it's not just Baal but Baal berith, as I mentioned, 00:24:26.000 --> 00:24:28.000 Baal means Lord or Master and berith means Covenant. 00:24:28.000 --> 00:24:32.000 This is Baal of the Covenant, not the Lord. 00:24:32.000 --> 00:24:34.000 It is a step worse. 00:24:34.000 --> 00:24:39.000 A step worse than when he was alive, worse than their previous harlotry. 00:24:39.000 --> 00:24:41.000 They're in a worse position. 00:24:41.000 --> 00:24:45.000 It's like a dog returning to its own vomit. 00:24:45.000 --> 00:24:47.000 They're in a worse place. 00:24:47.000 --> 00:24:50.000 And how have they ended up here? 00:24:50.000 --> 00:24:53.000 Why did the shackles come off after he dies? 00:24:53.000 --> 00:24:57.000 Now, I'm going to come to these verses in a little bit, 00:24:57.000 --> 00:25:01.000 and we know from Hebrews 11 that Gideon is in a chapter of the Bible, 00:25:01.000 --> 00:25:04.000 sort of the Hall of Fame or the Hall of Faith. 00:25:04.000 --> 00:25:07.000 And he's mentioned among the likes of Abraham and Moses. 00:25:07.000 --> 00:25:11.000 So it's right to assume that Gideon repented in his life 00:25:11.000 --> 00:25:15.000 and had faith in the Lord's promises for his own eternal future. 00:25:15.000 --> 00:25:19.000 We can be confident of that because of what the New Testament says about him, 00:25:19.000 --> 00:25:22.000 that he's a forgiven sinner. 00:25:22.000 --> 00:25:28.000 Yeah, if you think, if you throw a pebble into a pond 00:25:28.000 --> 00:25:32.000 and it falls to the bottom, you can reach into the pond and retrieve it, 00:25:32.000 --> 00:25:35.000 but you can't stop the ripples. 00:25:35.000 --> 00:25:38.000 If you throw a pebble into a pond, it falls to the bottom, 00:25:38.000 --> 00:25:42.000 you can reach into the pond and retrieve it, but you can't stop the ripples. 00:25:42.000 --> 00:25:49.000 You can be forgiven of your sin, but you can't stop the consequences. 00:25:49.000 --> 00:25:54.000 He's laid out the red carpet for what follows after his death. 00:25:54.000 --> 00:25:58.000 And I mean, just look at the example he set for his 70 sons. 00:25:58.000 --> 00:26:02.000 It's not really a surprise of what a bimilek turns out to be. 00:26:02.000 --> 00:26:06.000 The guy called my father his king, makes himself fit king 00:26:06.000 --> 00:26:11.000 and goes on a violent rampage, like father, like son. 00:26:11.000 --> 00:26:15.000 And it's a good point for us to remember that we're forgiven of our sins, 00:26:15.000 --> 00:26:20.000 but the consequences, the ripples, they don't go away. 00:26:20.000 --> 00:26:22.000 Israel goes from bad to worse. 00:26:22.000 --> 00:26:27.000 And you remember before I was talking about the structure of judges 00:26:27.000 --> 00:26:29.000 and step five was rest in the land. 00:26:29.000 --> 00:26:34.000 Well, this rest in the land this 40 years, it's the last time it happens. 00:26:34.000 --> 00:26:39.000 There's no more rest in the land for Israel. 00:26:39.000 --> 00:26:44.000 And I just hope in some ways, as I've met this sort of bad legacy, 00:26:44.000 --> 00:26:50.000 that comes after his death, I just hope that it serves as a deterrent in some ways. 00:26:50.000 --> 00:26:53.000 From sin. 00:26:53.000 --> 00:26:57.000 We have an amazing, gracious, compassionate Savior who forgives us, 00:26:57.000 --> 00:26:59.000 who wipes us late clean. 00:26:59.000 --> 00:27:01.000 Of course, that's the case. 00:27:01.000 --> 00:27:05.000 But if we take anger for an example, 00:27:05.000 --> 00:27:08.000 you think of when you give in to anger, you lose your rag, 00:27:08.000 --> 00:27:11.000 you say that thing that you regret. 00:27:11.000 --> 00:27:14.000 Once you've said it, you can't sort of un-say it. 00:27:14.000 --> 00:27:15.000 You can't take it back. 00:27:15.000 --> 00:27:17.000 Of course you're forgiven. 00:27:17.000 --> 00:27:23.000 But the relationship you have with that person, you can't, it still hurts. 00:27:23.000 --> 00:27:25.000 You can't take it back. 00:27:25.000 --> 00:27:30.000 It doesn't mean you can't erase the hurt with the person stood in front of you. 00:27:30.000 --> 00:27:32.000 It takes time. 00:27:32.000 --> 00:27:35.000 The ripples carry on. 00:27:35.000 --> 00:27:37.000 You can take, you can be forgiven. 00:27:37.000 --> 00:27:39.000 That pebble can be taken out. 00:27:39.000 --> 00:27:41.000 But the ripples continue. 00:27:41.000 --> 00:27:44.000 So that's the bad side of the legacy. 00:27:44.000 --> 00:27:47.000 But what about the good? Well, I hinted at a moment ago 00:27:47.000 --> 00:27:49.000 that Gideon is part of God's people. 00:27:49.000 --> 00:27:54.000 And the reason we know that is because of the passage I mentioned, Hebrews 11. 00:27:54.000 --> 00:27:59.000 And it might come as a bit of a surprise after the way it finishes for him. 00:27:59.000 --> 00:28:02.000 Hebrews 11, the bit that I'm talking about, it says, 00:28:02.000 --> 00:28:05.000 And what more shall I say if a time will fail to tell 00:28:05.000 --> 00:28:09.000 of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David and Samuel and the prophets, 00:28:09.000 --> 00:28:13.000 who through faith conquered kingdoms and forced justice, 00:28:13.000 --> 00:28:17.000 obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the power of fire, 00:28:17.000 --> 00:28:20.000 escaped the edge of the sword, were made strong out of weakness, 00:28:20.000 --> 00:28:26.000 became mighty in war, but foreign armies to flight. 00:28:26.000 --> 00:28:29.000 It's through faith. 00:28:29.000 --> 00:28:32.000 The Lord uses people to do great things. 00:28:32.000 --> 00:28:38.000 And what we mustn't do is think that it's what Gideon achieved 00:28:38.000 --> 00:28:42.000 as making part of God's people. 00:28:42.000 --> 00:28:45.000 We can't say that about other people in the Bible. 00:28:45.000 --> 00:28:50.000 Remember, Judas did miracles and presumably people came to faith from his ministry, 00:28:50.000 --> 00:28:52.000 but it didn't end well for him. 00:28:52.000 --> 00:28:57.000 No, it's not about what Gideon did, but that whole chapter in Hebrews, 00:28:57.000 --> 00:28:59.000 it's about faith. 00:28:59.000 --> 00:29:03.000 It's about his faith. Through faith kingdoms were conquered. 00:29:03.000 --> 00:29:08.000 Gideon was a man of faith in the living God, in the Lord's victory. 00:29:08.000 --> 00:29:11.000 Ephesians 2, for by grace, you have been saved 00:29:11.000 --> 00:29:13.000 through faith. 00:29:13.000 --> 00:29:15.000 And this is not your own doing. 00:29:15.000 --> 00:29:19.000 It is the gift of God, not a result of works that no one may boast. 00:29:19.000 --> 00:29:22.000 His legacy to the church, to the body of Christ, 00:29:22.000 --> 00:29:27.000 is the demonstration of his faith that comes earlier in his life, 00:29:27.000 --> 00:29:33.000 his weak faith in the Lord's promise of victory. 00:29:33.000 --> 00:29:37.000 That is the promise to us that all our good works, 00:29:37.000 --> 00:29:40.000 God does prepare for us beforehand that we're going to walk in them, 00:29:40.000 --> 00:29:46.000 but the undeserved kindness of God is to save you through a gift, a free gift, 00:29:46.000 --> 00:29:50.000 the gift of faith. 00:29:50.000 --> 00:29:54.000 That gift of faith, it consists of the knowledge of what the promise is, 00:29:54.000 --> 00:29:57.000 the promise of eternal life granted through God giving his son, 00:29:57.000 --> 00:30:04.000 but faith is trusting in that promise for yourself. 00:30:04.000 --> 00:30:08.000 It's attributing that work on the cross as totally sufficient 00:30:08.000 --> 00:30:12.000 to grant you entry into the Kingdom of God 00:30:12.000 --> 00:30:18.000 so that when we stand before him, we'll know we're accepted. 00:30:18.000 --> 00:30:22.000 That any shame, the guilt, we've mentioned the things before, 00:30:22.000 --> 00:30:30.000 the fear, the pride, the bitterness, 00:30:30.000 --> 00:30:36.000 even perhaps leading people away from God 00:30:36.000 --> 00:30:42.000 is not too big a sin for you to be forgiven of. 00:30:42.000 --> 00:30:46.000 Do you remember what Jesus says to... 00:30:46.000 --> 00:30:48.000 I can't remember where it is just now, but he says, 00:30:48.000 --> 00:30:51.000 whoever leaves one of those children away, 00:30:51.000 --> 00:30:54.000 it'd be better that a millstone was going to be around his neck. 00:30:54.000 --> 00:31:05.000 Well, Jesus takes Gideon's millstone. 00:31:05.000 --> 00:31:08.000 Any shame or things that we've done in the past, 00:31:08.000 --> 00:31:10.000 I've forgotten, cast to the bottom of the sea. 00:31:10.000 --> 00:31:17.000 That is the promise of the Gospel, and it is received by faith. 00:31:17.000 --> 00:31:23.000 We trust that it is sufficient for us. 00:31:23.000 --> 00:31:25.000 And so as we come in for landing, 00:31:25.000 --> 00:31:27.000 we looked at what success does to Gideon. 00:31:27.000 --> 00:31:30.000 It puffs him up and nobody to us, somebody. 00:31:30.000 --> 00:31:34.000 He acts like a king. It's gone to his head. 00:31:34.000 --> 00:31:37.000 He leads his people back to idolatry, 00:31:37.000 --> 00:31:43.000 back to a worse place than where they started. 00:31:43.000 --> 00:31:48.000 I just want to finish with two further encouragements. 00:31:48.000 --> 00:31:50.000 It's a reminder, isn't it, to all of us, 00:31:50.000 --> 00:31:53.000 that as we look at Gideon, he's a flawed sinner. 00:31:53.000 --> 00:31:57.000 As I've said, he has faith, and God uses him. 00:31:57.000 --> 00:31:59.000 And that's what we are. 00:31:59.000 --> 00:32:02.000 We're flawed sinners, but we have faith in a big God. 00:32:02.000 --> 00:32:06.000 Despite our backgrounds, by anything we've done or will do, 00:32:06.000 --> 00:32:12.000 there is no sin too big for the Lord to forgive. 00:32:12.000 --> 00:32:18.000 And in some ways, if we don't feel like we deserve a place 00:32:18.000 --> 00:32:21.000 in the Lord's kingdom, that's right. 00:32:21.000 --> 00:32:23.000 The truth is that none of us do. 00:32:23.000 --> 00:32:27.000 That's what grace is. 00:32:27.000 --> 00:32:31.000 Sinners in need of mercy and grace. 00:32:31.000 --> 00:32:37.000 God has that in an abundance for each of us. 00:32:37.000 --> 00:32:39.000 But the final encouragement, actually, 00:32:39.000 --> 00:32:43.000 comes from, goes back to the book of Hebrews. 00:32:43.000 --> 00:32:46.000 One of the big overarching themes in the book of Hebrews 00:32:46.000 --> 00:32:49.000 is that Jesus is better. Jesus is better. 00:32:49.000 --> 00:32:51.000 Chapters 1 and 2, we've got, 00:32:51.000 --> 00:32:52.000 He's better than the angels. 00:32:52.000 --> 00:32:54.000 Chapter 3, He's better than Moses. 00:32:54.000 --> 00:32:57.000 Chapters 4 through 10, He's better than the high priest. 00:32:57.000 --> 00:32:59.000 He's better than the sacrificial system. 00:32:59.000 --> 00:33:01.000 He's a better sacrifice. 00:33:01.000 --> 00:33:04.000 He's the guarantor of a new covenant. 00:33:04.000 --> 00:33:07.000 Then we get to this chapter, the Hall of Faith. 00:33:07.000 --> 00:33:10.000 The first words that come after in chapter 12, 00:33:10.000 --> 00:33:15.000 therefore, since we're surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, 00:33:15.000 --> 00:33:18.000 those witnesses are the guys, those in the Hall of Faith. 00:33:18.000 --> 00:33:20.000 Since we're surrounded by them, 00:33:20.000 --> 00:33:25.000 let us lay aside every weight and sin which clings so closely, 00:33:25.000 --> 00:33:29.000 and let us run with the endurance, the race that is set before us, 00:33:29.000 --> 00:33:33.000 looking to Jesus, 00:33:33.000 --> 00:33:35.000 the founder and perfecter of our faith, 00:33:35.000 --> 00:33:37.000 who for the joy that was set before Him, 00:33:37.000 --> 00:33:40.000 enjoyed the cross, despising the shame, 00:33:40.000 --> 00:33:44.000 and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. 00:33:44.000 --> 00:33:47.000 After all these guys, it points to Jesus. 00:33:47.000 --> 00:33:51.000 The point, Jesus, He's not just better than the angels, 00:33:51.000 --> 00:33:54.000 Moses, all the sacrificial system. 00:33:54.000 --> 00:33:58.000 He's better than all these heroes of the Old Testament as well. 00:33:58.000 --> 00:34:04.000 If God can accomplish these amazing things through flawed sinners, 00:34:04.000 --> 00:34:06.000 imagine what He can accomplish, 00:34:06.000 --> 00:34:11.000 imagine what God can accomplish through a genuine covenant keeper. 00:34:11.000 --> 00:34:13.000 No sin in His mouth. 00:34:13.000 --> 00:34:17.000 That's the leader we have. 00:34:17.000 --> 00:34:20.000 The true deliverer, the true judge, 00:34:20.000 --> 00:34:26.000 the good shepherd, the real king. 00:34:26.000 --> 00:34:29.000 Sat down at the right hand of God, 00:34:29.000 --> 00:34:34.000 where there is true peace in the land. 00:34:34.000 --> 00:34:38.000 Promise that will not just last for 40 years, 00:34:38.000 --> 00:34:41.000 but will last for eternity. 00:34:41.000 --> 00:34:43.000 And His legacy, a kingdom, 00:34:43.000 --> 00:34:45.000 and a people of a kingdom 00:34:45.000 --> 00:34:51.000 who will be like father, like son. 00:34:51.000 --> 00:34:54.000 Not like dogs returning to their vomit, 00:34:54.000 --> 00:35:00.000 but children, each of us that will inherit a kingdom. 00:35:00.000 --> 00:35:06.000 We are the legacy. 00:35:06.000 --> 00:35:13.000 Jesus' legacy is His church. 00:35:13.000 --> 00:35:22.000 Let me pray. 00:35:22.000 --> 00:35:27.000 Father, we once again thank you for your word, 00:35:27.000 --> 00:35:32.000 and we praise you for the way that you've spoken to us, 00:35:32.000 --> 00:35:35.000 and we praise you for the Lord Jesus, 00:35:35.000 --> 00:35:41.000 and we thank you that He is better by far, 00:35:41.000 --> 00:35:43.000 that we have a wonderful Savior, 00:35:43.000 --> 00:35:46.000 a wonderful leader, a wonderful king, 00:35:46.000 --> 00:35:51.000 a shepherd, a judge, a deliverer. 00:35:51.000 --> 00:35:57.000 You're the mighty one, and you reign and you rule. 00:35:57.000 --> 00:35:59.000 And your kingdom will never end 00:35:59.000 --> 00:36:02.000 or never perish or spoil or fade, 00:36:02.000 --> 00:36:06.000 or your promises will always remain. 00:36:06.000 --> 00:36:08.000 And so we thank you, Lord. 00:36:08.000 --> 00:36:10.000 We thank you that for the church, 00:36:10.000 --> 00:36:12.000 we thank you that we see, 00:36:12.000 --> 00:36:14.000 as we look around and see each one of us, 00:36:14.000 --> 00:36:18.000 that that is your great legacy, and we praise you. 00:36:18.000 --> 00:36:21.000 And we ask that you would help us, Lord, 00:36:21.000 --> 00:36:25.000 help us to follow you, help us to remain, 00:36:25.000 --> 00:36:29.000 to be faithful ourselves and to follow you, Lord, 00:36:29.000 --> 00:36:32.000 to know what it means to live as followers of Christ. 00:36:32.000 --> 00:36:34.000 We pray that you'd bless us with this word, 00:36:34.000 --> 00:36:36.000 and as we go out into the week 00:36:36.000 --> 00:36:39.000 that we'd live and work for your praise and glory, 00:36:39.000 --> 00:36:41.000 we ask for this in Jesus' name. 00:36:41.000 --> 00:37:10.000 Amen.