 Strength through faith part two. Now when we last left Gideon in chapter seven here, we were at the very brink of the battle. Gideon is prepared for war. We are getting ready to rumble. This rather lengthy account of Gideon has been building up to this point now in chapter seven. And the Lord has been carefully working on and through the fledgling faith of Israel's soon to be hero here. Now think with me for a moment as we get into the text. Think with me about how the Lord graciously and patiently builds Gideon's faith. There's an ongoing process here, an ongoing work of God. You can be sure that God will complete that good work which he begins. And we see that happening here in the experience of Gideon. The Lord is working on his faith. Now the Lord first comes to Gideon when Gideon is faithless, entirely faithless. He cries out, the Lord has forsaken us, delivered us into the hands of the Midianites. I don't know how he got into this mess that we found ourselves in, but the Lord has abandoned us. And so the Lord assures him. He says, surely I will be with you and you shall defeat the Midianites as one man. It's just that Gideon doesn't trust the Lord, doesn't believe the Lord. So to build up his weak faith, the Lord endures Gideon's request for a sign, gives it to him in spectacular fashion. The Lord consumes Gideon's offering and Gideon has an encounter with the living God and Gideon's faith is built, right? Look at how the Lord graciously, patiently, mercifully builds Gideon's faith. Well, the next test of Gideon's faith came when the Lord commanded him to tear down the bale altar that his father had built and tear down the asherapole that was beside it. The Lord allows him to do that by night because Gideon was afraid, even brings out his father in defense of Gideon when the men, the Abiyah's rights of the city, rise up and want to kill Gideon. And Gideon even earns a new name, Jerobail, bale fighter, bale contender, becomes a walking living taunt against that false pagan idol and the Lord graciously and mercifully, progressively builds Gideon's faith. Well, next, the Lord clothed Gideon with the Spirit, probably more appropriate to say that the Spirit was clothed with Gideon, and Gideon blew the trumpet. He sent out messengers. He proclaimed the word, the victory of the Lord, and Gideon gathers together the army of Israel. But before Gideon would be commanded to go into battle, knowing that his faith was weak, the Lord patiently and graciously endured Gideon's twofold testing with the fleece. And God condescended. He stooped. He humbled himself, you could say. Once again, to build Gideon's weak and frail faith. Next, as we work through the account, the Lord tests Gideon's faith again as the army is encamped at the well of Herod. That word, Herod, literally means the spring of trembling. Trembling, and Gideon is likely, very likely, trembling at the well as the Lord begins to strip him and strip the people of any self-reliance. Gideon is told that he must send home all those who are fearful and faint-hearted and two-thirds of the army leave. The Lord then cuts the remaining 10,000 down to 300 lappers. And then the Lord explains that He does this, verse 2, lest Israel claim glory for itself against me, saying, my own hand has saved me. Once again, once again, we'll see at the beginning of verse 9, in tremendous grace, in tremendous patience, tremendous mercy, the Lord would care for the growing and maturing faith of His servant. This is the way the Lord works with us, right? This is the way the Lord cultivates faith, builds faith. He's extremely patient. There is, in the account of Gideon, a breaking down, isn't there, a breaking down of Gideon's self-reliance, a breaking down of Gideon's self-trust. There's a humbling that must take place. The Lord puts Gideon in a place where he must trust in the Lord, lest we rely on ourselves, lest we forget the Lord, lest we claim glory for ourselves against Him, saying, my hand has delivered me. The Lord puts us in a place where we have to trust in Him. It's a humbling place, but it's a place that requires breaking down of pride, breaking down of self-reliance. But in that place of humbling, in that place of reliance upon God, there is a building up, isn't there, that also takes place. The Lord graciously, in doing this, the Lord graciously, patiently, mercifully, builds up the weak faith of Gideon, teaching Him and teaching us that we cannot rely on ourselves, that we must trust in Him. The one who raises the dead, right? The one who is our strength. So, as we're working through the account of Gideon in chapter seven, we have a weak leader, the weakest man from the weakest clan. We have a weak army, 300 men against the Midianite horde of thousands that are arrayed like locusts in the Jezreel Valley. But we have the strength of God at work through faith, and there's nothing stronger than that, amen? Faith, John says, is the victory that has overcome the world. This is how God does it. This is how God works. He chooses the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty, so that we don't do what often comes so natural to us to do, which is to boast in our own strength, to rely upon our own selves, to rely upon our own wisdom, our own power, our own might. Say, our own hand has won this victory for us, or my own strength has gotten me this job, or gotten me this prosperity, or gotten me this comfort, or gotten me through this trial, and so that we learn, and often through adversity, that true strength comes through faith in the Lord. It's one of those lessons, isn't it, that is often taught us through difficulty, through adversity. It's one of the only ways that we really fundamentally learn how to trust in Him. So, verse nine, let's get ready to rumble. It happened on the same night that the Lord said to Gideon, arise, go down against the camp, for I have delivered it into your hand. Now notice, verse nine. This is the same decisive, clear word of God that was given to Gideon before. The Lord had said this to Gideon before, Hatton Eve, chapter six, verse 14. Go in this might of yours, and you shall save Israel from the hand of the Midianites. The Lord's already told Gideon several times now that he would be with Gideon and help him in the battle, that he would deliver Midian into his hand. Gideon hesitates, wait, God, wait. If I have found favor in your sight, then show me a sign, right? Wait, God, not yet, wait, wait, wait, wait. If that's true, God, then let me test you these two times with my fleece. Surely Gideon's faith is strong by now, we would say. No, that's not the case. Consider again the patience and wisdom and compassion of God. Once again, as he stoops to build up Gideon's weak faith. Look at verse 10. But Gideon, if you are afraid to go down, go down to the camp with Pura, your servant. You shall hear what they say, and afterward your hands shall be strengthened to go down against the camp. And he went down with Pura, his servant, at the outpost of the armed men who were in the camp. Now the Midianites, just to remind us, right, the Midianites and the Malachites, all the people of the east were lying in the valley as numerous as locusts, and their camels were without number, as numerous as the sand by the seashore in multitude. Well, is Gideon afraid? Does the Lord know Gideon's heart? Of course he does. Is Gideon afraid? Of course he is. Of course he's afraid. He might have thought to himself that all this sounds completely crazy. This is insane. Dale Ralph Davis says this, here is not your conventional, crusty, immovable man of steel. Gideon is no fearless, all pro linebacker, no general patent, and John Wesley, or John Wayne rolled into one huge ball of grit. And so Gideon, afraid, went down. Even by every worldly standard, there is every reason here to be fearful, isn't there? By worldly standards, the Lord knows our frame. He knows that we are but dust. He knows our fears. He knows our weakness. And he has provided for Gideon again and again and again and again. And he provides for Gideon here once again. You know, consider again that illustration of the child on the edge of the pool, working up the courage to jump in to his, the open arms of his father standing in the water, right? That illustration that we've used before. A good father isn't harsh or severe with a child in the child's fear, right? The child is fearful, working up the courage to jump in to his father, arms open. So the good father reassures the child, I'm here to catch you, right? You can trust me. A good father doesn't punish the child or mock the child or ridicule the child for their fear. And our heavenly father is like that. He's patient with us. He pities us. He comes to our aid. He builds our trust in him. You notice it's different with rebellion, isn't it? Different with obstinacy or stiff-necked rejection of God's word. He's not patient with rebellion. He's not patient with obstinacy. That's different, right? But he is patient with our weakness. He's patient, long-suffering with our weakness. The Lord here knows that Gideon is afraid, so he sovereignly is provided for this opportunity again to build up Gideon's faith. If you are afraid to go down in battle, then go down to the camp with Pura, and I will strengthen your hands. And so Gideon goes. Now in verse 13, when Gideon had come, you can imagine he creeps down to the edge of the camp. There's two centuries there, outpost of the camp, guarding, keeping watch. And when Gideon had come, there was a man telling a dream to his companion. He said, I've had a dream. To my surprise, a loaf of barley bread tumbled into the camp of Midian. It came to a tent and struck it so that it fell and overturned, and the tent collapsed. Then his companion, the other century, answered and said, This is nothing else but the sword of Gideon, the son of Joash, a man of Israel. Into his hand, God has delivered Midian in the whole camp. And so it was, when Gideon heard the telling of the dream and its interpretation, that he worshiped. I imagine as he heard them speaking, a smile probably came across his face, right? As he heard the dream and heard the interpretation, and Gideon was just lifted up in worship to God who provides, God who is so gracious, so merciful, and shows himself to be so. So Gideon returned to the camp of Israel in verse 15 and said, Arise, for the Lord has delivered the camp of Midian into your hand. And Gideon's hands, the hands of all the people, were strengthened. Anyone reading this account certainly would have thought that it was strange at best. Just think about what's going on here, beginning in verse 13. A loaf of bread knocking over a tent and that means that the sword of Gideon is coming and death to the Midianites, right? How you put those things together. How is the loaf related to Gideon? How is the tent related to Midian? How does the loaf of bread turn over and collapse a tent? Where in the world did his buddy come up with that interpretation of that set of facts? But even the humor or the foolishness of the scene communicates something, doesn't it? And that's what the point is. It's meant to communicate something. Communicate something of necessity to Gideon here. Here's what it communicates. God is sovereign over those two Midianite centuries. God is sovereign over the content of that dream that he gives to the Midianite. God is sovereign over the interpretation of that dream. He plants that interpretation in the mind of that Midianite. God is sovereign over everything, even what a Midianite thinks and does and dreams and says, right? And all of this comes rushing in upon the heart and mind of Gideon as the sovereignty of God and all of this done to strengthen the faith, strengthen the hands of Gideon, and it works. Gideon is strengthened. He has the Word of God, but it is the Word of two pagan Midianites confirming the Word of God. That communicates something also, doesn't it? Right? We should just trust in the Word of God. And I think Gideon learns that lesson through the testimony, you would say, of two pagan Midianites. Nevertheless, now, Gideon grows strong, not because of himself, not because of anything that Gideon has done. God entirely at this point has built up Gideon's faith, and he is about to become that mighty man of valor that he was said to be at the beginning, all at the hands of God. I think with me at this point in the account, what do we take from all this, right? I think with me about all that's happened at this point and all that the Lord has done to build up the faith of Gideon. And let's draw some observations. One, God's patience and God's mercy reaches into the heavens. God is abundantly merciful, abundantly patient with our weakness. He will bring to completion the work that he begins in us, right? God is so patient with us. We have our own weaknesses, truth be told. Many of our weaknesses far more glaring than Gideon's here. And God is so patient, so kind, so compassionate with us. We have every reason to trust in him as a good heavenly Father, right? God's patience. Two, faith is something that God produces in us. Faith is something that's cultivated, produced, built up in us by God himself. This is nothing that Gideon has done. The Lord has taken it upon himself to build Gideon's faith. It is rightly in scripture considered to be a gift of God, right Ephesians chapter two, verses eight and nine. We are saved by grace through faith and that, not of yourselves, it is the gift, the salvation by grace through faith is a gift of God, not of works as anyone should boast. It is rightly considered a gift of God. Faith is something that God produces in us and we are to exercise faith. We are to have faith in him. Thirdly, God produces faith in us through means, through the means of grace. Here he uses several means as he works Gideon through this account, building his faith. We have the means of grace. Faith comes by hearing, hearing by the word of God, right? Means, he also grows our faith through circumstances, through trials, through adversity as we learn to trust him in our circumstances and as we see him faithful to his promises which God always is. So many means are used to cultivate or build up in us faith. Lastly, fourth, fear or worry is entirely antithetical to faith. Absolutely no reason whatsoever why Gideon should be fearful. Fear and worry is faithlessness, fear and worry is simply unwarranted for the child of God. Philippians chapter four, verse seven, Paul says, be anxious for nothing but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God and the peace of God which surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. The victory comes not through self-confidence. Victory will not come through self-assurance. Victory is not going to come through self-reliance. Victory comes through faith in the one who is our strength. That's where our victory comes from. You think about it, faithlessness lies about God, doesn't it? Faithlessness lies about him. It says something of God that's not true, that he can't be trusted, that we shouldn't trust him or that he's not going to do what he promises to do or that he won't see us through or he won't help us or come to our aid. Faithlessness lies about God. So we should, with every fiber of our being, fight faithlessness. Gideon faced a physical foe, we face spiritual foes in our spiritual life, in our Christian life, don't we? No less real than the physical enemy that Gideon faced, but no less deadly either, no less deadly. Ephesians 6, turn there with me to Ephesians 6. Briefly, Ephesians 6, speaking of our spiritual warfare, Gideon faced a physical foe, we face a spiritual foe. Paul explains this in Ephesians 6, beginning in verse 10. Where he says, finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of your might. No, it's not what he says. We have no power of our own. We have no strength of our own. We are weak. Be strong in the Lord and in the power of his might. Well, how do you do that, Paul? Verse 11, put on the whole armor of God. It's God's armor, right? God's armor that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil, for we do not wrestle against flesh and blood and Midianites and Amalekites and the people of the east. But we wrestle against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. No less real of an enemy and no less deadly than Midianites, Amalekites, and the people of the east. More deadly, right? More deadly, we're talking about our soul here. These, by the way, notice those enemies that are listed here, principalities and powers. These are those enemies whom the Lord has already defeated. Colossians 2.15, he's already disarmed them. He's already put them to an open shame by triumphing over them. So we shouldn't fear these enemies. We should trust in the one who's already won the victory. Right? Verse 13, he says, therefore take up the whole armor of God. That's how we're gonna fight. That you may be able to withstand in the evil day and having done all to stand. And we don't fight against flesh and blood. We fight against principalities and powers. So although in our Christian lives, as we follow the Lord, as disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ, although we walk in the flesh just as Gideon did, we don't war in the flesh, like we see in Judges chapter seven. Our warfare is not according to the flesh. Our weapons are not carnal weapons. Our weapons are though mighty in God or pulling down strongholds. But we have spiritual weapons. We are to wield spiritual weapons. It's interesting that Gideon and the Israelites, the 300 Lappers, don't go into battle with conventional weapons, do they? They're not sent into battle with swords and shields, chariots. They're sent into battle with trumpets and clay pots and torches. Not your conventional weapons list to go into battle with. Our weapons aren't conventional weapons, but they are mighty in God. They're not carnal, but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds. We've got to trust the Lord with the weapons he gives us, believe in the Lord God with the weapons that he says are mighty for defeating our spiritual enemies, these principalities and powers. We've got to fight with the weapons the Lord gives us that he says are mighty for victory here. He says in verse 14, stand therefore, having already girded your waist with truth, having already put on the breastplate of righteousness, in other words, having been justified, having your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace, above all, take up the shield of faith, believe in God. Take up the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. Take up the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God and an offensive weapon, by the way. We tend to not think about these weapons of our warfare in this way. We tend to forget how many times, right? How many times you find yourself absolutely embattled and you're sitting there like, I'm absolutely embattled. You ask yourself, why am I absolutely embattled? Then you remember, it's like, oh, I've not been really faithful in reading the word of God lately or praying or using the means of grace. The word of God is the sword of the Spirit. It's an offensive weapon. Use that weapon. Praying always, verse 18. How often is always? It's always, always. Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance. If brothers and sisters, if you're like me, you are often convicted and beaten about the head and shoulders because we don't persevere as we should and we forget. Like, you find yourself weak and you think to yourself, oh, you know, just not persevering as I should. I'm not being as watchful as I should. We tend to let our guard down. Paul says, praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance. You can't give up the fight and supplication for all the saints. And although our enemies are greater than we are, and although they are stronger than we are and more numerous than the Locust Midianites and their camels all across the Jezreel Valley, although our enemies are more menacing and more fierce, the end of that enemy will be the same as the end of the Midianites at the end of chapter seven, right? The end of that enemy will be as the end of that uncircumcised Philistine that challenged the armies of Israel. And it won't be self-confidence that wins that battle. It's not gonna be self-will, and grinning and gritting and bearing it. It's not gonna be, you know, white knuckle gripping of the sword that wins that battle. It's gonna be God's strength through faith. God's strength through faith. God's strength through faith. Sounds pretty simple, doesn't it? God's strength through faith. Consider with me for a moment the words of Isaiah chapter 41, verse 10. Listen to this. Isaiah chapter 41, verse 10. Fear not, for I am with you. Be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you. Yes, I will help you. I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. I want to say it one more time. This is a promise of God. A blessed text for us to apply to ourselves. Fear not, for I am with you. Be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you. Yes, I will help you. I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. Two commands in Isaiah 41, verse 10. One is fear not. The other is be not dismayed. Fear not, don't be dismayed. Five reasons, five reasons in Isaiah chapter 41, verse 10, to fear not and be not dismayed. Five reasons. God is with me. He is my God. God will strengthen me. God will help me. God will uphold me. Five reasons. Two commands, five reasons. The key to overcoming fear and dismay is meditating on, resting in, and claiming by faith those five reasons. Let not your heart be troubled. Believe in God, believe also in me. The Lord Jesus Christ says, fear not, be dismayed, why? Because God is with me. He is my God. God will strengthen me. God will help me. God will uphold me. Courage in the face of battle. Courage is a fruit of faith. We're told to be courageous. Courage is a fruit of faith. Courage comes in many forms and courage is derivative of faith in the sense that courage is based on where your faith is, right? Courage just depends on what that faith is in but courage is a fruit of faith. Let's say you're a small kid in school and you're bullied by a bigger kid. Well, if you bring an even bigger friend to the fight, you're feeling pretty courageous. You're feeling pretty strong because you're standing next to this even bigger kid, right? In other words, your faith is in that bigger kid. You're feeling pretty courageous but where's your faith? He's in the bigger kid. But if that one brings a bigger kid with him, right? It depends on what your faith is in. If you, all your faith is in your money, all your faith is in your bank account, all your faith is in job security, all your faith is in the economy, all your faith is in your health or is your faith in God? With faith in God, we can have unflinching courage in the face of all our foes. Unflinching, unwavering courage. Faith in God. Courage is a derivative of that faith. It's a fruit of that faith. So the Lord here has been graciously, mercifully, patiently building up the faith of Gideon. Gideon now is ready for war and he has been given complete confidence not in his little band of lappers, not in the strength of his own arm, but confidence in the Lord God himself who goes before him into the battle. So look then with me at verse 16. So Gideon then divided the 300 men into three companies. He put a trumpet into every man's hand with empty pitchers and torches inside the pitchers, not your conventional weapons. They said to them, look at me and do likewise. Watch, when I come to the edge of the camp, you shall do as I do. When I blow the trumpet, I and all who are with me, then you also blow the trumpets on every side of the whole camp and say, the sword of the Lord and of Gideon. Trumpets and shields, no. Trumpets are swords and shields. Trumpets, pots, and torches is what they get. Weak weapons in and of themselves but full of God's saving and delivering purpose. Full of purpose. God even turns their own weapons against them, their own swords against them. We have weak leadership, weak army, weak weapons, but the strength of God supplied through faith-filled obedience to his word and that is all the strength that is necessary. So verse 19, Gideon and the 100 men who were with him came to the outpost of the camp at the beginning of the middle watch just as they had posted the watch and they blew the trumpets, broke the pitchers that were in their hands. If you can imagine from around the camp, the three companies, the pitchers were being broken, the trumpets being blown would have sounded like a massive army. The Lord would have caused a great confusion to take place. They cried, they broke the pitchers, held the torches in their left hand, the trumpets in their right hand for blowing and they cried. The sword of the Lord and of Gideon such that in verse 21, every man stood in his place. There was no encroachment on the camp here. They weren't marching into battle. They simply stood there. Right, they simply stood in their place all around the camp and the whole army of the Midianites, the Amalekites, the people of the east, that army ran, cried out and fled. When the 300 blew the trumpets, the Lord set every man's sword against his companion. That was the work of God. Throughout the whole camp, the army fled to Bethakisha towards Zerera as far as the border of Av el-Mahola by Tavat. And the men of Israel gathered together from Naftali, Ashrin, Al-Manasse and pursued the Midianites. Remarkable victory, remarkable victory. They blow the trumpets, they broke the pitchers, they yelled the sword of the Lord and of Gideon and no one said, no one could say, my own hand has saved me. There's no one, no one, not one of the 300 could have boasted against the Lord about anything. They would have just stood there and marveled at the grace and mercy and victory, the strength and power of God. So verse 24, Gideon sent messengers throughout all the mountains of Ephraim, come down against the Midianites, seize from them the watering places, as far as from Bet Barah and the Jordan and all the men of Ephraim gather together, seize the watering places, he's bringing in the rest of the tribes now, as far as Bet Barah and the Jordan. And here they captured in verse 25 the two princes of the Midianites, their leaders, the two heads of the Midianites, Aureb and Zeb. They killed Aureb at his own rock. They killed Zeb at his own wine press. Then they pursued Midian and brought the heads of Aureb and Zeb to Gideon on the other side of the Jordan. Here is just a foretaste, a foreshadowing that the seed of the woman has once again crushed the head of the serpent. In this case, the seed of the woman has taken the head of the serpent off his shoulders and Gideon, Gideon, all by the gracious and merciful and patient work of God himself, Gideon finally becomes a mighty man of valor. What a patient and gracious God we serve, amen? And remember, he's patient with us too. Let's trust him by faith in our own difficulties in our own warfare. Let's pray. Father in heaven, would we worship you and praise you, we acknowledge you as our great God and deliverer, our great God and savior. We thank you, Lord, that you are mighty to save. That your power is all the power we need. That you're the one who is strong. We ourselves, Lord, we are woefully weak and often in our ignorance, Lord, we don't acknowledge that, we don't recognize that. Thank you, Lord, for how you build up our faith. Thank you, Lord, for how you patiently, mercifully teach us time and time again to trust in you and follow your commands to obey your word, to do as you say, Lord, and how you teach us to rely upon you and all of the struggles that we face and all the circumstances that we find ourselves in. And thank you, Lord, that you are always, always faithful to your word. We love you, we trust you, Lord, please build our faith, cultivate faith within us. God, do that work that you began that you will certainly complete, that you've promised to complete and make us by your spirit, through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, make us mighty men, mighty women of valor for your glory. We pray these things in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.