Welcome to a time of worship here from Buccaloo. Hopefully only one more week after this thought
of being online and then we're shifting. Hopefully everyone's heard 10.30 morning services, 5.30
evening services, both in the church building, both being live streamed. So that'll be nice
to get the study back into the church building. We've got two weeks to go in our study in the
life of Gideon as well, so we'll get there momentarily. But let me begin reading from
the letter of James chapter 1 and at verse 16, where we read,
Don't be deceived, my dear brothers and sisters. Every good and perfect gift is from above,
coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.
He chose to give us birth through the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits
of all he created. Let's pray together briefly as we begin. Lord our God, we want to stop and pause
and consider with thankfulness all your gifts to us this day. We thank you for the gift of life.
We know that you are the author and the sustainer of life. We thank you for our health and our strength,
for our families and our friends. For those of us who have opportunities to work, we thank you
for our work. We thank you for money that we have, the food that's in our cupboards and our fridges.
We thank you for the opportunities that we have being in this part of the world. We thank you for
the beauty of the summer months, for the sunshine that we have enjoyed, for hearing and seeing so much of life.
We thank you for the gift of education and healthcare.
And Lord we thank you for the gift of your word in our own language. We thank you for the gift of the church,
for your design of the church as a way to reveal the gospel, the good news,
the good news, for our love in our own language.
As your kingdom, an expression of your kingdom here on the earth.
Lord we thank you for the sending of your son Jesus,
to be that promised saviour who would take away the sin of his people
by dying in our place,
as that sacrifice that would turn away
the wrath that we deserve to face. As Jesus would take that on himself
so that we might be
able to enjoy peace with you and from you
to enjoy eternal life.
So Lord as we spend this time together
will you give us that sense of gratitude and thankfulness?
Especially as we think about
the danger of success and that complacency
that can come in, the forgetfulness of you that can come in.
May we be a people dependent on you.
And we pray that in Jesus' name. Amen.
So we're going to read together from the book of Judges
and Judges chapter 8.
And we're going to read the first 21 verses
of this section of the Gideon story.
Not such a familiar story perhaps.
The 6 and 7 tend to be well known.
This is in some ways the forgotten aspect of the Gideon story.
But there's important lessons for us in this.
So Judges chapter 8 verse 1.
Now the Ephraimites asked Gideon,
Why have you treated us like this?
Why didn't you call us when you went to fight Midian?
And they challenged him vigorously.
But he answered them,
What have I accomplished compared to you?
Aren't the gleanings of Ephraim's grapes
better than the full grape harvest of Abiezer?
God gave Oreb and Zeb, the Midianite leaders, into your hands.
What was I able to do compared to you?
At this, their resentment against him subsided.
Gideon and his 300 men, exhausted yet keeping up the pursuit,
came to the Jordan and crossed it.
He said to the men of Succoth,
Give my troops some bread.
They are worn out and I am still pursuing
Zeba and Zalmunna, the kings of Midian.
But the officials of Succoth said,
Do you already have the hands of Zeba and Zalmunna in your possession?
Why should we give bread to your troops?
Then Gideon replied,
Just for that, when the Lord has given Zeba and Zalmunna into my hand,
I will tear your flesh with desert thorns and briars.
From there he went up to Peniel and made the same request of them,
but they answered as the men of Succothad.
So he said to the men of Peniel,
When I return in triumph, I will tear down this tower.
Now Zeba and Zalmunna were in Karkor
with a force of about 15,000 men,
all that were left of the armies of the eastern peoples.
120,000 swordsmen had fallen.
And Gideon went up by the route of the Nomads
east of Nobat and Jogbah
and attacked the unsuspecting army.
Zeba and Zalmunna, the two kings of Midian, fled.
But he pursued them and captured them,
routing their entire army.
Gideon, son of Joash,
then returned from the battle by the pass of Heres.
He caught a young man of Succoth and questioned him.
And the young man wrote down for him
the names of the 77 officials of Succoth,
the elders of the town.
Then Gideon came and said to the men of Succoth,
Here are Zeba and Zalmunna,
about whom you taunted me by saying,
Do you already have the hands of Zeba and Zalmunna
in your possession?
Why should we give bread to your exhausted men?
He took the elders of the town
and taught the men of Succoth a lesson
by punishing them with desert thorns and briars.
He also pulled down the tower of Peniel
and killed the men of the town.
Then he asked Zeba and Zalmunna,
What kind of men did you kill at Tabor?
Men like you, they answered,
each one with the bearing of a prince.
Gideon replied,
These were my brothers,
the sons of my own mother.
As sure as the Lord lives,
if you had spared their lives,
I would not kill you.
Turning to Jether, his eldest son,
he said, Kill them.
But Jether did not draw his sword
because he was only a boy
and was afraid.
Zeba and Zalmunna said,
Come, do it yourself.
As is the man, so is his strength.
So Gideon stepped forward and killed them
and took the ornaments off their camels' necks.
Amen.
This is God's word.
So we're thinking today about the danger of success.
I guess if we grew up in church,
in Sunday school,
we would have loved the Gideon of chapters 6 and 7,
the humble hero and his remarkable victory from God.
Chapter 8, however,
it doesn't often feature in our thinking,
doesn't often make its way to our Sunday school lessons.
But there is an important lesson from Gideon
and it's a reminder of the danger of success.
Because what happens in Gideon's life?
There is a gradual,
well, in many ways,
a quick slide into forgetfulness
of God's grace,
that it was God who had won this remarkable victory.
There is a movement,
a swift movement towards self-importance,
where he's putting himself centre stage,
trust me,
trust my strength,
not trust God.
And the impact
is that his dealings with his enemies
and with his friends,
with the people of God,
become ugly.
Because Gideon and not God
is central.
We've probably seen,
we've probably read stories
where someone is a victim of their own success,
as it's often called.
Maybe the young footballer
who quickly becomes the global star
but can't handle the pressure
and his career never takes off
and perhaps personal life spirals.
The business professional
who enjoys quick promotions,
rapid rise,
a rising star in their industry.
They start believing their own hype
and they become a terrible boss.
Well, our focus today
isn't so much on that,
it's on the danger of spiritual success,
where perhaps we enjoy
some kind of success
as a gift from God
but we're taking glory to ourselves,
where we're taking God for granted,
where we're basing our identity
not on the reality
that we're saved by God's grace
but we're basing our identity
on our success.
And so to help us
to see the danger of success,
we're going to look at the good,
the bad and the ugly
in Gideon's dealings with others.
So let's begin with the good
in the way that he deals with Ephraim,
the people of Ephraim
in the first three verses.
Now one backdrop we begin to see
in the story of Gideon
is that God's people
are slipping into old and bad ways.
The book of Judges
has got this cycle
that God raises up a judge
and the people sort of
turn back to God
but as soon as that judge is gone
they turn back,
they start worshipping false gods,
they turn to evil
and God sends oppressors
and then the people cry out
and God sends another judge
in his grace.
Well, we see God's people
even here slipping
into old bad ways.
We see disunity,
we see a lack of trust
that Ephraim here has
towards Gideon.
Here there is tension
after the battle.
So Gideon and his 300
remarkably,
that is God who wins the battle,
are dominating Midian.
Midian's on the run.
Ephraim are called out
and they capture these two leaders,
important leaders,
Oreb and Zeb.
But there's tension
straight after the battle
because Ephraim's saying
why didn't you call us out first?
The implication is
we are the elite, Gideon.
There is pride going on
in the hearts of this people group
and what we see,
and we see it so often,
don't we,
pride is ugly
and pride tends to damage
and sometimes even
to destroy relationships.
Now we see relations strained
because of Ephraim's pride
but Gideon's response
is one of grace.
This is where he makes
a good response.
Proverbs chapter 15
says a gentle answer
turns away.
Rah.
That's what Gideon's answer
is like, isn't it?
What have I accomplished
compared to you?
Aren't the gleanings
of Ephraim's grapes
better than the full
grape harvest of Abiezer?
Your leftovers
are better than my feast,
Gideon is saying.
He's humble
and he's gracious
and the outcome
is that the temperature
in the room is cooled.
He keeps God's people
together for now.
This is a case of
so far so good.
But then there's a turn,
verse 4,
all the way to verse 17
we can see the bad
as Gideon deals with
Succoth and with Peniel.
And again,
as we see sort of issues
within the people of God,
what we see from them
is fear
and also a lack of faith.
But Gideon comes
with his troops
in verse 4.
Gideon and his 300
they're exhausted,
they're pursuing the enemy,
they came to the Jordan,
they crossed over the Jordan
and Gideon said to the men,
he said,
give my troops some bread,
they're worn out
and I'm still pursuing.
And then he goes
and he says the same
to the people in Peniel.
My troops,
they're tired,
they're hungry,
can you give us some food?
Can you refresh us?
And remember,
Gideon and those 300,
they're fighting
the Lord's battle
and remember,
Succoth and Peniel
are in the promised land.
So these are friends,
not enemies.
They are border towns,
they're close by each other,
they're on the outer edges
of the promised land.
But these are among
God's people.
But there is fear.
Fear that comes out
in a sense in disrespect.
Verse 6,
the officials of Succoth
said,
do you already
at the hands of Ziba
and Zalmunna
in your possession?
Why should we give bread
to your troops?
And then Peniel answers
in the same way.
And there's the fear.
Gideon,
we're not sure
that you're going to win.
And if Gideon doesn't win,
then these border towns
are directly
in Midian's firing lane.
And so what they choose to do,
they choose to sit on the fence.
We'll help you.
Come back for bread
once you have won
that victory.
So again,
it's not a great sign
spiritually,
is it?
Here is Gideon
clearly
filled with the Spirit,
appointed by God
to be the people's leader
and judge,
but they don't choose
to follow.
They don't choose
to give aid
in this battle
that God has established
against his enemies.
Now,
how does Gideon respond?
And this is where
we begin to get evidence
of what we're calling
the danger of success.
Verse 7,
because you don't
give me bread,
I'm going to tear
your flesh
with desert thorns
and briars.
Now,
is that a right response?
Is that a gracious response?
No.
And just as important,
is that a command
from God?
No.
Verse 9,
when the people
of Peniel say,
when I return in triumph,
I'll tear down this tower.
Now,
is that an appropriate
response?
Is that an appropriate
measure?
You don't give me bread,
so I'm going to smash
down your city tower.
The problem
that we're beginning
to see is that
when Gideon knew
his weakness,
chapter 6,
chapter 7,
when Gideon knew
his dependence on God,
we see him
as a man
who worships.
And we see him
as a man
of prayer.
We see him
as a man
who entrusts
himself
at every point
dependent on God.
He's been
dependent on God's
strength.
But now that he's
got a sense
of his strength,
that reliance
on God
is gone.
And it's replaced
by a need
to be recognised,
a need for his
strength
to be seen.
He's become,
in that sense,
too tied
to his success.
He's claiming it
as his own.
So now he's
furious
when these
two towns
don't recognise
his power
and the certainty
of the success.
The outcome
is a bad one.
The outcome
is a terrible one.
Verse 13 to 16,
first thing he does
is he captures
a young man
of Succoth.
He interrogates him,
gets this list
of the 77
town leaders
and he gives them
that lashing
that he promised.
And then in verse 17
it gets worse.
He goes to Peniel
and just as he said
he pulls down the tower
but he doesn't
stop there.
In his rage
he engages in murder.
Now it's so important
for us
to recognise
that not every action
in the Bible
is an action
that God approves of.
Not every action
in the Bible
is an action
that comes from God.
At times evil
and folly
are highlighted
and here we see
wickedness
and folly
from Gideon.
What Gideon
discovered
and dealt with
so badly
is the reality
that sometimes
God's people,
people in God's church
will disappoint us.
Sometimes they will
turn on us
and be hostile
to us
if we are
in leadership
perhaps as elders.
people will not
listen
to us
perhaps
but
we must be careful
not to lash out.
We must be careful
not to forget
God's grace
and to pass
that grace
forward.
God's grace
and on the flip
side
we must strive
personally
not to be
the cause
of disunity
not to sap
energy
away from
God's work
because we're
either in pride
or a lack of faith
we're just causing
problems.
So that's the bad.
Things are going to get
even worse.
Let's think
about the ugly
as he deals
with Ziba
and Zalmunna.
Now we know
this
and we don't have
to go
too far
in history
we can see it
I think
in some of the
stories playing out
in different nations
even today.
Tragic stories
where a leader
or a group of leaders
come to power
and prominence
and they use
that status
use that role
to then
take personal
revenge.
on opponents
to continue
a vendetta
where there's no
concern for
national interest
but just a concern
for settling
personal scores
a level of injustice
see it
and we have seen it
through history
and in our world
but what happens
with Gideon
and these two Zs
Ziba and Zalmunna
he interrogates them
and it becomes clear
is that he's focusing
on one specific
thing
when he asks them
what kind of men
did you kill
at Tabor
Gideon replied
in verse 19
these were my
brothers
the sons of
my own mother
surely as the Lord
lived if you'd
spared their lives
I would not kill you
you killed my brother
so I'm going to
kill you
this has become
a family thing
and we see
that it's become
a family thing
and it's become
a personal thing
because of what
happens with poor
Jether
I'm not sure
how to say his name
but Gideon's eldest son
Gideon wants to
as it were
to blood him
to get him
used to
this kind of activity
turning to Jether
he said
kill them
but Jether
did not draw his
sword
because he was
only a boy
and was afraid
and as we read
this
I think the
author wants us
to have sympathy
for Jether
against his
furious dad
Gideon
who's engaged
in this
personal vendetta
but Gideon
concludes this
campaign of
personal revenge
and what we see
is that he's set
in a sense
a sad pattern
that will then
repeat in the life
of Samson
Samson another one
of those famous
judges
but so often
where Samson
is using his
God-given strength
it's to settle
personal scores
it's about his
own self-interest
rather than
the national interest
and we begin
to see that
in the story
of Gideon
and it's ugly
isn't it
the story of
God's victory
against his
enemies who are
oppressing God's
people is now
tainted
by Gideon's
scores settling
in brutal revenge
and so the
danger of success
I hope becomes
clear to us
in the life of Gideon
he lost his
appreciation of
God's grace
so quickly
with the result
that he's claiming
glory for himself
and what we don't
see him do
is we don't see
him pray
we don't see
him seek
God's wisdom
or direction
in this whole
thing
he's going
his own
way
pursuing
his own
course
and so chapter
eight stands
for us
as an object
lesson
both individually
and as a
church
to be on
guard
when things
are going
well for us
so let's just
move it to the
level of personal
just for a few
moments
to examine
our own
lives
how do we
how do you
and I
how do we
handle
success
perhaps
perhaps you
want to put
yourself in
the workplace
setting
in your
career
or in your
field of
study
perhaps you
want to put
it in a
family setting
to think
about
the success
of children
or grandchildren
perhaps
maybe you
want to think
about projects
and plans
that you
have put
in place
and they
have
prospered
when they
go well
when they
have gone
well
do we
see some
of Gideon
in us
where we
can easily
forget
that every
good gift
comes from
God
we forget
his gift
we forget
his grace
towards us
have we
become puffed
up in
pride
where we're
boasting
to others
where we're
lording over
others
because of
our success
where we
use it
as a
springboard
to claim
authority
over others
it's the
danger of
success
that can so
easily creep
into our
own lives
what's the
better way
as Christians
what's the
better way
well it's to
remember what
we read
in the James
chapter 1
that every
good and
perfect gift
is from
God
therefore
should we
receive a
thankfulness
1st
Corinthians
4
Paul writes
to them
with their
tendency
towards pride
what do you
have that you
did not
receive
he says
and why
are you
boasting
since everything
you have
comes as a
gift from
God
so the
right response
is the
response of
humility
of thankfulness
to God
and even
directing
others
away from
praising
us
to see
God's
hand
not in a
pious way
but in a
real way
recognising all
we have comes
from God
and that we
would be
prayerful
because if Gideon
teaches us
anything
he teaches
us that we
need to be
on guard
against pride
because Gideon
seems to change
so quickly
after the
battle
so we need
to be on
guard against
pride
and against
self-reliance
when things
go well
so easy
to work on
the basis
of our own
skill set
on the basis
of our own
personality
or temperament
or record
of success
rather than
being thankful
for those
but constantly
entrusting
ourselves
day by day
situation by
situation
to God
and asking
for his
help
but what
about in
our church
if you're
involved in
a ministry
or a service
how does it
play out then
do we find
that we are
quick to
claim glory
or to look
for the praise
of others
or do we
want to honour
others
and to honour
God most of
all
will we face
opposition of
whatever kind
are we gracious
in dealing
with that
or do we
find ourselves
asserting our
credentials
to say
listen to
me
and follow
my way
will we
gladly
highlight
our
weakness
our
failures
our
absolute
dependence
on God
in order
to celebrate
that God's
grace is
sufficient for
us
and that
his strength
is made
perfect
in our
weakness
let me
read
from
Ephesians
chapter 2
and at
verse 8
where we
read
for it's
by grace
you have
been saved
through faith
and this not
from yourselves
it's the
gift of God
not by works
so that no one
can boast
so God
saves
by grace
and all
room for
boasting
is removed
and then
verse 10
for we are
God's
handiwork
created in
Christ Jesus
to do
good works
which God
prepared in
advance for
us to do
God
strengthens us
with his
grace
and we
work by
grace
as we
are in
Christ
Jesus
that we
do that
for God's
glory
and not
our own
that we
remain
servants
we don't
think of
ourselves
as kings
and queens
but we
are servants
of our
God
so that
success
wouldn't
change us
and pull
us away
from our
God
and then
as we
close
let's
consider
Jesus
the one
who is
the greater
than Gideon
Gideon's
problem as
we've seen
is that he
lost sight
of God's
grace
and he
began to
pursue his
own
campaign
and his
own
agenda
and the
result was
that his
leadership
was tainted
he is a
flawed
leader
what we
see is the
people of
God being
torn apart
rather than
brought together
and it
becomes evident
that Gideon
is not
the kind of
leader that
God's people
need
but Jesus
Jesus is so
different isn't
he
Jesus always
pursued his
father's will
and his
father's glory
now he would
say to the
crowd
I say
and do
nothing
except what
my father
gives me
to say
and do
and that
ultimately
would lead
him gladly
to die
on the
cross
for proud
self-reliant
sinners
like us
and how
does Jesus
deal with
his people's
weak faith
when he
finds it
remember
Jesus'
heart
Jesus said
I am
gentle
and lowly
you'll find
rest for
your souls
Jesus
Jesus is
the one
who will
not
crush
the
bruised
reed
and so
we see
it with
his disciples
he graciously
restores them
beyond their
failures
beyond running
away
beyond their
misunderstanding
he prays for
them
in their
weakness
and he
shows them
more
and more
of his
love
and his
grace
he draws
them
graciously
to
himself
so we
can take
heart
for Christians
Jesus is not
going to be
the leader
who's going
to whip
us into
shape
who's going
to smash
us
for our
weakness
rather
he will
extend to
us that
gentle
loving
correction
he will
seek to
point us
back to
him
and to
trust
in him
so that
we would
come to
celebrate
more and
more
God's
grace
to us
in Christ
to see
that Jesus
is the one
we need to
trust in
the one
we need
to
look to
so we
are to
beware
the danger
of success
of attributing
it to
ourselves
and losing
sight of
our God
but we
are also
to be
encouraged
be encouraged
by the
success
of Jesus
be encouraged
by the
success
of God's
salvation
plan
that Jesus
has
died
to take
away the
sin of
his people
he has
died
to bring
us to
God
he has
risen
to give
us
eternal
life
he has
sent the
spirit
as he
promised
he will
not leave
us
he will
not
abandon
us
he will
not fail
to save
his
so while
we watch
out for
the danger
of success
and what
that can
do to
our
hearts
we
never
want to
lose
sight
of the
glorious
success
of Jesus
in the
gospel
let's pray
together
briefly
Lord we
recognise
in our
own
hearts
our
tendency
for
success
to be a
difficult
thing to
handle
for the
times that
we become
complacent
or we
become
cocky
for when
we take
glory to
ourselves
and we
forget to
be thankful
for the
way that it
makes us
rely on
ourselves
and think
that we
figured things
out rather
than trusting
you
Lord please
help us to
learn humility
and thankfulness
and prayerful
dependence
help us to
learn from
Gideon
but more
than that
help us to
be looking
to Jesus
thank you
that he
succeeds
where we
fail
thank you
for his
complete
success
of his
rescue
mission
and the
good news
that that
brings
for us
and thank
you that
when we
fail
that Jesus
doesn't crush
us and
condemn us
the way
Gideon
did to
sucketh
and penneil
thank you
that he
is willing
to gently
and humbly
correct
and restore
so please
help us
in this
coming week
to be
looking to
him
we pray
in Jesus
name
amen
well let's
conclude
the time
that we
have together
singing
first of all
yet not I
but through
Christ in
me
a great
reminder
of that
humility
and ongoing
dependence
and then
we'll also
sing
Psalm 63
the first
eight verses
what gift
of grace
is Jesus
my redeemer
there is no more
for heaven
now to give
he is my joy
my righteousness
and freedom
my steadfast love
my deep and
boundless peace
to this
I hold
my hope
is only
Jesus
for my
life
is wholly
bound
to
his
oh how
strange
and divine
I can
sing
all is
mine
yet not
I
but through
Christ
in
me
the night
is dark
but I
am not
forsaken
for by
my side
the Savior
he will
stay
I
labor
on
in
weakness
and rejoicing
for in
my need
his
power
is
displayed
to
this
I
hold
my
shepherd
will
defend
me
through
the
deepest
valley
he
will
lead
all the
night
has been
won
and I
shall
overcome
yet not
I
but through
Christ
in
me
the
no
fate I
dread
I know
I am
forgiven
the future
sure
the price
it has
been
paid
for
Jesus
bled
and
suffered
for my
pardon
and he
was
raised
to
overthrow
the
grave
to
this
I
hold
my
sin
has
been
defeated
Jesus
now
and ever
is my
plea
oh
the
chains
are
released
I
can
sing
I
am
free
yet
not I
but
through
Christ
in
me
with
every
breath
I
long
to
follow
Jesus
for
he
has
said
that
he
will
bring
me
home
and
day
by
day
I
know
he
will
renew
me
until
I
stand
with
joy
before
the
throne
to
this
I
hold
my
hope
is
only
Jesus
all
the
glory
ever
more
to
him
when
the
race
is
complete
still
my
lips
shall
repeat
yet
not
I
but
through
Christ
in
me
when
the
race
is
complete
still
my
lips
shall
repeat
yet
not
I
but
through
Christ
in
me
O
God
you
are
my
God
alone
I
seek
your
face
with
eagerness
my
soul
and
body
thirst
for
you
in
this
dry
weary
wilderness
I've
seen
you're
in
your
holy
place
your
power
and
glory
held
my
gaze
far
better
is
your
love
than
life
and
so
my
lips
will
sing
your
praise
my
soul
in
your
love
and
my
love
throughout
my
life
and
raise
my
hands
to
you
in
prayer
my
joyful
lips
will
sing
your
praise
my
soul
is
fed
with
richest
fear
upon
my
bed
I
lie
awake
and
in
my
thoughts
remember
you
I
meditate
throughout
the night
and
keep
your
constant
love
in
view
because
you
are
my
help
alone
in
shadow
of
your
wings
I'll
sing
you
hold
me
up
with
your
right
hand
to
you
oh
God
my
soul
will
cling
the
oh
I
love
you
and
can
you