1 00:00:02,300 --> 00:00:03,233 Well again, welcome. 2 00:00:03,233 --> 00:00:05,400 I appreciate you being here this morning. 3 00:00:05,400 --> 00:00:09,666 And if I had to pick my my favorite season would be winter. 4 00:00:09,666 --> 00:00:12,366 I wish we had one, 5 00:00:12,366 --> 00:00:14,800 but it is my favorite. 6 00:00:14,800 --> 00:00:17,800 Hey, in our series, through the book of judges, 7 00:00:18,366 --> 00:00:21,366 we're in judges chapter eight today. 8 00:00:22,033 --> 00:00:24,133 and we are looking at a 9 00:00:24,133 --> 00:00:27,133 at a man named Gideon. 10 00:00:27,200 --> 00:00:31,400 He's been a the main character for the past two weeks. 11 00:00:31,400 --> 00:00:34,133 And judges six and judges seven. 12 00:00:34,133 --> 00:00:36,600 And the totality of his story wraps up 13 00:00:36,600 --> 00:00:39,633 really today in judges chapter eight. 14 00:00:39,633 --> 00:00:43,533 So if you have a Bible and brought one with you and encourage you to go to judges 15 00:00:43,533 --> 00:00:47,300 chapter eight to believe the seventh book of the Bible, 16 00:00:47,300 --> 00:00:51,000 Genesis, Exodus of Alex, numbers, Deuteronomy, Joshua, judges. 17 00:00:51,900 --> 00:00:55,566 In my Bible, chapter eight comes right after chapter seven. 18 00:00:55,566 --> 00:00:56,966 I think it's the same in yours. 19 00:00:57,966 --> 00:00:58,800 and so if you can 20 00:00:58,800 --> 00:01:01,800 navigate there, it's also on our app. 21 00:01:01,833 --> 00:01:05,300 If you download that and, and follow along, it's a great resource to have. 22 00:01:05,300 --> 00:01:08,166 Let me just recap chapter seven. 23 00:01:08,166 --> 00:01:11,666 God's people are in the Promised Land. 24 00:01:12,600 --> 00:01:15,600 They've been given the Promised Land by faith. 25 00:01:16,033 --> 00:01:18,933 Everything we see in the physical world in the Old Testament 26 00:01:18,933 --> 00:01:21,933 has spiritual lessons and correlations for us 27 00:01:22,533 --> 00:01:25,866 in our, lives, in our time. 28 00:01:25,866 --> 00:01:28,866 And so the promise of God, 29 00:01:29,400 --> 00:01:32,000 the Promised Land, there, 30 00:01:32,000 --> 00:01:36,266 in essence eternal home, was given to them by faith acquired by faith. 31 00:01:37,066 --> 00:01:41,800 Similarly, salvation in our eternal 32 00:01:41,800 --> 00:01:45,966 life is gained not by our activity, but by faith, 33 00:01:46,866 --> 00:01:50,066 but for them to enjoy the benefits 34 00:01:50,066 --> 00:01:54,866 of the promise of God that is contingent upon their faithfulness. 35 00:01:54,866 --> 00:01:57,866 Though it's gained by faith, it's enjoyed by faithfulness. 36 00:01:58,433 --> 00:01:59,700 Similarly, with us, 37 00:02:00,666 --> 00:02:03,166 salvation is granted by faith, 38 00:02:03,166 --> 00:02:08,733 but the promise of God and living with God in relationship, 39 00:02:09,000 --> 00:02:12,766 the enjoyment of that is contingent upon our faithfulness. 40 00:02:13,833 --> 00:02:16,100 So salvation, the Bible says, 41 00:02:16,100 --> 00:02:19,100 is by faith alone. 42 00:02:19,266 --> 00:02:24,133 But the promises of God is contingent upon our faithfulness. 43 00:02:24,133 --> 00:02:26,666 And so the people, God's people, 44 00:02:26,666 --> 00:02:30,766 though they're in the Promised Land, are not enjoying the Promised Land 45 00:02:30,766 --> 00:02:34,066 as they were intended because they haven't been faithful 46 00:02:34,333 --> 00:02:37,800 to deal with the enemies of God that are still there. 47 00:02:38,000 --> 00:02:39,800 Similarly, 48 00:02:39,800 --> 00:02:44,333 if we're to enjoy a relationship with God that we've been given by faith, 49 00:02:44,733 --> 00:02:49,000 we have to deal seriously with the enemies that are still in our lives. 50 00:02:49,000 --> 00:02:53,866 I sin, you follow me so far, okay, so 51 00:02:55,733 --> 00:02:58,233 in Genesis six and seven 52 00:02:58,233 --> 00:03:01,400 the people have been under oppression by this group called them 53 00:03:01,400 --> 00:03:04,900 this clan called the Midianite six people group called the Midianites. 54 00:03:05,233 --> 00:03:08,233 And they were oppressing and harassing God's people. 55 00:03:08,600 --> 00:03:10,933 It got so bad that they finally rise up 56 00:03:10,933 --> 00:03:12,966 and say, God, you have to help or sorry for our sin. 57 00:03:12,966 --> 00:03:13,966 You have to help us. 58 00:03:13,966 --> 00:03:16,833 And so God sends this man Gideon. 59 00:03:16,833 --> 00:03:17,666 Gideon, 60 00:03:19,066 --> 00:03:19,900 has all kinds of 61 00:03:19,900 --> 00:03:22,900 reasons why he should not be the one, 62 00:03:24,000 --> 00:03:27,000 to work on God's behalf. 63 00:03:27,166 --> 00:03:30,033 And for every excuse Gideon gives God, 64 00:03:30,033 --> 00:03:34,400 God says your excuses are of no consequence to me. 65 00:03:35,966 --> 00:03:36,866 I've chosen you. 66 00:03:36,866 --> 00:03:39,866 I've called you. You just need to respond. 67 00:03:40,000 --> 00:03:44,366 And so God takes Gideon through this, this strange 68 00:03:45,133 --> 00:03:48,766 boot camp of sorts to get his military guys ready. 69 00:03:49,533 --> 00:03:52,200 The forces of the Midianites total 70 00:03:52,200 --> 00:03:55,800 135,000 men ready to fight 71 00:03:57,066 --> 00:03:58,633 Gideon's forces. 72 00:03:58,633 --> 00:04:01,133 He starts with 32,000. 73 00:04:01,133 --> 00:04:04,133 God gets rid of 22,000. 74 00:04:04,266 --> 00:04:06,000 Gideon's left with 10,000. 75 00:04:06,000 --> 00:04:08,866 And God gets rid of all but 300. 76 00:04:08,866 --> 00:04:09,833 And so get. 77 00:04:09,833 --> 00:04:13,333 He's got 300 guys going up against 32,000. 78 00:04:13,800 --> 00:04:17,000 And in an incredible work of God and God alone, 79 00:04:18,000 --> 00:04:21,433 God routes 120,000 of them. 80 00:04:21,533 --> 00:04:25,066 So there's still 15,000 Midianite soldiers left 81 00:04:25,533 --> 00:04:28,633 that Gideon has got to do away with. 82 00:04:29,166 --> 00:04:32,166 So as the people of God can be set free and enjoy 83 00:04:32,833 --> 00:04:35,100 God's faithfulness and promises once again. 84 00:04:35,100 --> 00:04:38,500 So we see in this guy Gideon, he's humble, 85 00:04:39,466 --> 00:04:41,066 he's faithful, 86 00:04:41,066 --> 00:04:45,100 he's a leader, but he is a man of great duplicity. 87 00:04:46,533 --> 00:04:49,266 It's like there's two Gideon's, 88 00:04:49,266 --> 00:04:52,966 there's two characters resonant within this one man. 89 00:04:52,966 --> 00:04:57,633 And we're going to see the conflict that is within him. 90 00:04:58,300 --> 00:05:01,066 And I think it'll be the same conflict 91 00:05:01,066 --> 00:05:04,066 we see in us, the same duplicity. 92 00:05:04,366 --> 00:05:06,933 What I love about, about judges. 93 00:05:06,933 --> 00:05:10,933 And in this case, Gideon is not the story of Gideon 94 00:05:10,933 --> 00:05:13,933 in these pages, but the story of God in these pages. 95 00:05:14,766 --> 00:05:16,033 And so let's jump into this. 96 00:05:16,033 --> 00:05:19,400 Let's see the story of God as God reveals himself 97 00:05:19,766 --> 00:05:22,833 through this man of duplicity named Gideon. 98 00:05:22,833 --> 00:05:26,200 That's what the Bible says in chapter eight, verse one. 99 00:05:27,500 --> 00:05:29,866 Now the Ephrem might ask Gideon, 100 00:05:29,866 --> 00:05:32,866 so this is after the the big battle. 101 00:05:33,800 --> 00:05:37,300 120,000 Midianite soldiers have been killed. 102 00:05:37,733 --> 00:05:39,466 The every a the Ephraim. 103 00:05:39,466 --> 00:05:41,800 I was one of the 12 tribes 104 00:05:41,800 --> 00:05:44,433 and they were kind of up in the northernmost area 105 00:05:44,433 --> 00:05:48,433 of the Promised Land, and they were the largest of the northern tribes. 106 00:05:48,433 --> 00:05:51,433 They were the greatest ones, the most military guys. The. 107 00:05:51,600 --> 00:05:54,200 And so they say to Gideon, who's Gideon 108 00:05:54,200 --> 00:05:58,733 was part of the smallest tribe as far as the fighting men were concerned. 109 00:05:58,900 --> 00:06:03,000 So the biggest tribe with all the fighting men talked to get in the leader of this 110 00:06:03,000 --> 00:06:06,866 300 men army who's part of the smallest tribe. 111 00:06:07,300 --> 00:06:10,200 Why did you treat us like this? 112 00:06:10,200 --> 00:06:13,600 Why didn't you call us when you went to fight Midian? 113 00:06:14,300 --> 00:06:17,166 And they criticized Gideon sharply. 114 00:06:18,400 --> 00:06:19,600 These are Fremont's. 115 00:06:19,600 --> 00:06:21,366 You know, people just like this. 116 00:06:21,366 --> 00:06:24,566 They're arrogant, they're immature, 117 00:06:25,500 --> 00:06:29,066 and they are very ready to criticize what everybody else does. 118 00:06:29,066 --> 00:06:33,933 Yeah, but we see this over and over in, in, in these Ephraim, 119 00:06:33,933 --> 00:06:38,066 which they're going to do the same thing to another judge and judges. 120 00:06:38,066 --> 00:06:39,500 Chapter 12 named Jephthah. 121 00:06:39,500 --> 00:06:42,500 They're going to do the exact same thing, same complaint. 122 00:06:43,366 --> 00:06:45,100 They didn't want to fight. 123 00:06:45,100 --> 00:06:48,100 They just wanted the spoils of another person's fight. 124 00:06:49,366 --> 00:06:50,733 This is their problem. 125 00:06:50,733 --> 00:06:52,866 They don't want to go to war this month. 126 00:06:52,866 --> 00:06:55,000 The benefits of someone else's victory. 127 00:06:55,000 --> 00:06:56,166 Does that make sense? 128 00:06:56,166 --> 00:06:57,900 They don't want to do the work 129 00:06:57,900 --> 00:07:00,966 they just want someone to give them resources from someone else's work. 130 00:07:00,966 --> 00:07:03,000 Yeah, 131 00:07:03,000 --> 00:07:03,533 it's the offer. 132 00:07:03,533 --> 00:07:05,333 Might. 133 00:07:05,333 --> 00:07:08,633 And the Bible says that they criticized Gideon sharply. 134 00:07:09,200 --> 00:07:13,866 That Hebrew word criticize means they complained about him and to him. 135 00:07:13,866 --> 00:07:15,400 They chided him. 136 00:07:15,400 --> 00:07:18,500 They argued with him. They debated him. 137 00:07:19,600 --> 00:07:21,200 They were critics. 138 00:07:21,200 --> 00:07:24,233 Let me give you some advice about critics. 139 00:07:25,800 --> 00:07:27,366 A critic is one who thinks 140 00:07:27,366 --> 00:07:30,366 they know the way but can't drive the car. 141 00:07:30,500 --> 00:07:33,000 You understand? 142 00:07:33,000 --> 00:07:34,366 you know what these people are like. 143 00:07:34,366 --> 00:07:34,966 They always got. 144 00:07:34,966 --> 00:07:35,500 Some say 145 00:07:35,500 --> 00:07:36,966 they're not in charge of doing anything, 146 00:07:36,966 --> 00:07:39,733 but they will sure criticize those who are. 147 00:07:39,733 --> 00:07:42,733 And so here's the rule of thumb with critics 148 00:07:43,066 --> 00:07:46,500 don't accept criticism from one you would not go to for advice. 149 00:07:48,500 --> 00:07:51,500 You got it. 150 00:07:53,533 --> 00:07:56,366 As Joey from friends would say, it's a closed opinion. 151 00:07:56,366 --> 00:07:58,233 It's a moot point. 152 00:07:58,233 --> 00:08:01,233 That is doesn't matter. 153 00:08:02,500 --> 00:08:04,933 And so this is their complaint against Gideon. 154 00:08:04,933 --> 00:08:06,633 And now watch Gideon. 155 00:08:06,633 --> 00:08:10,033 He's such a masterful leader sometimes. 156 00:08:11,500 --> 00:08:12,466 Watch how he responds. 157 00:08:12,466 --> 00:08:15,633 And this is great on his part, but get to answer them. 158 00:08:16,800 --> 00:08:19,800 What have I accomplished compared to you? 159 00:08:21,766 --> 00:08:24,600 Authored Gleanings of Ephraim's Grapes 160 00:08:24,600 --> 00:08:27,800 better than the full grape harvest of abbeys or. 161 00:08:30,200 --> 00:08:30,866 God gave. 162 00:08:30,866 --> 00:08:34,800 Or of the Midianite leaders into your hands. 163 00:08:35,400 --> 00:08:38,400 What was I able to do compared to you? 164 00:08:38,866 --> 00:08:41,100 And this their resentment against him subsided? 165 00:08:41,100 --> 00:08:43,333 You see what he's doing? 166 00:08:43,333 --> 00:08:45,566 He's not explaining his decision. 167 00:08:45,566 --> 00:08:48,300 He's not trying to reason with them. 168 00:08:48,300 --> 00:08:51,266 He's just saying, oh, no, you guys, 169 00:08:51,266 --> 00:08:54,266 you're so good. 170 00:08:54,700 --> 00:08:56,600 What am I compared to you? 171 00:08:56,600 --> 00:08:59,133 The the leftovers from your table 172 00:08:59,133 --> 00:09:02,133 are better than our whole harvest. 173 00:09:02,633 --> 00:09:04,933 You. You took care of their princes. 174 00:09:04,933 --> 00:09:06,500 They were all. Yeah, we put them on the run. 175 00:09:06,500 --> 00:09:07,933 But you took care of their princes. 176 00:09:07,933 --> 00:09:10,933 You guys are awesome, 177 00:09:11,033 --> 00:09:12,033 right? 178 00:09:12,033 --> 00:09:14,200 Listen, 179 00:09:14,200 --> 00:09:17,200 he's a very diplomatic leader. 180 00:09:17,366 --> 00:09:21,200 He understands what will be written in Proverbs 15 one. 181 00:09:21,200 --> 00:09:23,200 A gentle answer turns away wrath. 182 00:09:24,733 --> 00:09:27,166 A harsh word stirs up anger. 183 00:09:27,166 --> 00:09:28,933 So they're upset. They're criticizing him. 184 00:09:28,933 --> 00:09:31,466 And he doesn't offer defense. He doesn't say, well, you know what? 185 00:09:31,466 --> 00:09:32,100 This is why. 186 00:09:32,100 --> 00:09:36,000 And but he says, oh, no, you guys are you're too important 187 00:09:36,000 --> 00:09:39,000 to do this menial stuff that we did. 188 00:09:39,100 --> 00:09:41,066 Sometimes 189 00:09:41,066 --> 00:09:44,066 immature, arrogant people 190 00:09:44,266 --> 00:09:47,266 just need to be puffed up a little bit, 191 00:09:48,233 --> 00:09:49,933 right? 192 00:09:49,933 --> 00:09:52,800 And once they feel good about themselves, 193 00:09:52,800 --> 00:09:55,800 they quit complaining. 194 00:09:56,200 --> 00:09:59,200 This would be a good lesson for many of us to learn, 195 00:09:59,900 --> 00:10:02,900 right? 196 00:10:02,933 --> 00:10:04,066 But we want to tell the truth. 197 00:10:04,066 --> 00:10:06,033 We also want to explain why we did not. 198 00:10:06,033 --> 00:10:09,033 Sometimes. 199 00:10:10,600 --> 00:10:13,600 Sometimes some people are so frail, 200 00:10:14,600 --> 00:10:15,533 right? 201 00:10:15,533 --> 00:10:18,533 So tender. 202 00:10:19,400 --> 00:10:20,766 And you know that you're dealing 203 00:10:20,766 --> 00:10:23,766 with a frail, tender person 204 00:10:23,800 --> 00:10:27,100 when after 1 or 2 compliments, they're gonna have problems in more. 205 00:10:29,300 --> 00:10:30,033 That was the after. 206 00:10:30,033 --> 00:10:32,966 Might. 207 00:10:32,966 --> 00:10:35,100 And so watch, watch how this goes down. 208 00:10:35,100 --> 00:10:38,866 There's still 15,000 Midianites that are, that are fleeing the Gideon's. 209 00:10:38,866 --> 00:10:42,533 Tell us to resume Gideon and his 300 men exhausted 210 00:10:43,633 --> 00:10:47,166 yet keeping up the pursuit, came to the Jordan and crossed it. 211 00:10:47,633 --> 00:10:48,500 He said to the men of. 212 00:10:48,500 --> 00:10:50,166 Suck off that little community. 213 00:10:50,166 --> 00:10:52,366 Give my troops some bread. 214 00:10:52,366 --> 00:10:57,533 They are worn out, and I am still pursuing Zeba and Zalman, the kings of Midian. 215 00:10:57,866 --> 00:11:00,566 He said, look, we're fight, we're still going. 216 00:11:00,566 --> 00:11:02,500 And from where they started the battle, 217 00:11:02,500 --> 00:11:05,500 to where they were at, suck off is 20 miles. 218 00:11:05,600 --> 00:11:08,300 So they've been chasing these kings for 20 miles. 219 00:11:08,300 --> 00:11:09,533 300 guys just running 220 00:11:09,533 --> 00:11:13,600 and huffing for 20 miles, and they're exhausted and they're tired 221 00:11:13,600 --> 00:11:18,100 and they're hungry and they're worn out, but they are keeping up the pursuit. 222 00:11:18,100 --> 00:11:21,600 Listen, we got to understand that sometimes, 223 00:11:21,600 --> 00:11:25,800 even though you're exhausted, you gotta keep up the pursuit. 224 00:11:26,966 --> 00:11:28,966 This is true in life. 225 00:11:28,966 --> 00:11:31,133 It's certainly true in faith. 226 00:11:31,133 --> 00:11:32,900 It's true in your marriage. 227 00:11:32,900 --> 00:11:35,633 It's true with your children, in your family. 228 00:11:35,633 --> 00:11:37,666 You will get exhausted. 229 00:11:37,666 --> 00:11:40,566 But you don't stop. 230 00:11:40,566 --> 00:11:45,400 And I want you to understand the context of what they were. 231 00:11:45,666 --> 00:11:50,100 They were tired in the work, but they weren't tired of the work. 232 00:11:50,100 --> 00:11:53,100 And it's an important distinction to make. 233 00:11:53,500 --> 00:11:56,600 We will get tired in the work. 234 00:11:57,166 --> 00:11:59,400 We'll get tired again. The work of faith. 235 00:11:59,400 --> 00:12:01,400 We'll get tired in the work of God. 236 00:12:01,400 --> 00:12:03,233 We'll get tired in the work in the kingdom. 237 00:12:03,233 --> 00:12:05,700 We'll get tired in the work of our marriage. 238 00:12:05,700 --> 00:12:08,333 We'll get tired in the work of raising children. 239 00:12:08,333 --> 00:12:10,000 We'll get tired in the work. 240 00:12:10,000 --> 00:12:13,666 But we ought not let our hearts grow tired of the work 241 00:12:13,666 --> 00:12:15,266 to understand the difference. 242 00:12:15,266 --> 00:12:17,666 It's okay to be tired in. 243 00:12:17,666 --> 00:12:20,700 If you're doing the work you're going to get tired in. 244 00:12:20,700 --> 00:12:21,700 That's okay. 245 00:12:21,700 --> 00:12:25,100 Just don't confuse being tired in with tired up, 246 00:12:25,233 --> 00:12:29,366 because the moment you let your heart get tired of, you'll stop. 247 00:12:32,133 --> 00:12:34,100 Whether it's your faith, 248 00:12:34,100 --> 00:12:36,666 your obedience, your commitment, 249 00:12:36,666 --> 00:12:39,666 your marriage, your family, 250 00:12:40,766 --> 00:12:43,766 don't allow yourself to get tired. 251 00:12:43,766 --> 00:12:47,133 And some of you right now have confused yourself. 252 00:12:47,566 --> 00:12:50,566 You think you're tired of, 253 00:12:50,633 --> 00:12:53,600 but you're really just tired in. 254 00:12:53,600 --> 00:12:55,566 And you're supposed to be tired in. 255 00:12:55,566 --> 00:12:58,566 It's work. 256 00:12:58,766 --> 00:12:59,700 But the moment 257 00:12:59,700 --> 00:13:02,700 you let yourself slip into an hour, I'm tired of 258 00:13:03,900 --> 00:13:05,400 right. 259 00:13:05,400 --> 00:13:08,400 You understand? 260 00:13:10,166 --> 00:13:13,166 It's okay to get tired in 261 00:13:13,733 --> 00:13:14,700 Jesus. 262 00:13:14,700 --> 00:13:16,800 In John chapter four, 263 00:13:16,800 --> 00:13:20,100 it tells the account when Jesus was traveling with his disciples 264 00:13:20,100 --> 00:13:23,000 and they stopped at this little well in the heat of the day, 265 00:13:23,000 --> 00:13:24,300 and they were tired. 266 00:13:24,300 --> 00:13:28,900 The Bible says literally in John chapter four, they were tired in the journey, 267 00:13:30,400 --> 00:13:32,566 and they're exhausted. 268 00:13:32,566 --> 00:13:34,400 And the disciples say, Jesus, you stay here. 269 00:13:34,400 --> 00:13:36,300 We're going to go into the town and buy some food, 270 00:13:36,300 --> 00:13:39,266 and some refreshments will come back so we can be refreshed. 271 00:13:39,266 --> 00:13:42,966 And while they're gone, Jesus being tired in the journey, 272 00:13:43,300 --> 00:13:47,166 this woman comes up to him to draw water at the heat of the day. 273 00:13:47,566 --> 00:13:51,266 And Jesus gets into this conversation with her about living water 274 00:13:51,266 --> 00:13:57,033 and who he is and the Kingdom of God and a new life through him. 275 00:13:57,600 --> 00:14:00,600 And she leaves completely reborn. 276 00:14:00,633 --> 00:14:04,300 And when the disciples come back, he is refreshed and renewed, 277 00:14:04,400 --> 00:14:06,233 no longer tired. Why? 278 00:14:07,833 --> 00:14:09,866 Because the work of the kingdom. 279 00:14:09,866 --> 00:14:15,000 Though there are moments and seasons when we're tired in, when we stay in it, 280 00:14:15,600 --> 00:14:19,666 refreshment comes, but most people confuse. 281 00:14:19,833 --> 00:14:22,833 I am so tired right now in my walk. 282 00:14:22,833 --> 00:14:24,700 I'm so tired right now. 283 00:14:24,700 --> 00:14:26,566 In my it's is so it's. 284 00:14:26,566 --> 00:14:30,100 And I'm I just you don't stop. 285 00:14:33,600 --> 00:14:36,266 You hear me? 286 00:14:36,266 --> 00:14:37,766 You're going to get tired in. 287 00:14:37,766 --> 00:14:39,800 Just understand that's a part of life. 288 00:14:39,800 --> 00:14:40,833 It's a part of faith. 289 00:14:40,833 --> 00:14:43,833 It's a part. 290 00:14:44,066 --> 00:14:47,066 Don't allow yourself to get tired of. 291 00:14:48,366 --> 00:14:49,333 Being mindful 292 00:14:49,333 --> 00:14:52,400 of the biblical instruction to rest called a Sabbath. 293 00:14:53,100 --> 00:14:56,100 Be mindful of the biblical instruction of pace. 294 00:14:56,766 --> 00:14:59,766 Be mindful of the biblical instruction of boundaries, 295 00:15:00,400 --> 00:15:04,033 and be mindful of the biblical example of Christ himself. 296 00:15:04,400 --> 00:15:07,933 That even when you're tired in the work, you stay in it. 297 00:15:08,766 --> 00:15:11,433 Because times the Bible says of refreshing will come, 298 00:15:13,266 --> 00:15:14,633 you follow me. 299 00:15:14,633 --> 00:15:18,000 So they're tired in it, but they're not tired of it. 300 00:15:23,133 --> 00:15:25,766 You should always 301 00:15:25,766 --> 00:15:28,766 be tired in it. 302 00:15:28,900 --> 00:15:31,000 But never 303 00:15:31,000 --> 00:15:34,000 allow yourself to tire of it. 304 00:15:38,666 --> 00:15:40,600 So they come to this. 305 00:15:40,600 --> 00:15:42,566 This group of people in soccer often say, hey, give. 306 00:15:42,566 --> 00:15:44,266 Give my men some bread and some refreshments. 307 00:15:44,266 --> 00:15:46,100 We're tired, but the officials just talk. 308 00:15:46,100 --> 00:15:50,166 I said, do you already have the hands of Zeba and Zalman in your possession? 309 00:15:50,666 --> 00:15:52,833 Why should we give bread to your troops? 310 00:15:52,833 --> 00:15:54,300 Here's what they're saying. 311 00:15:54,300 --> 00:15:55,566 Have you already to feed them? 312 00:15:55,566 --> 00:15:58,666 Because if you haven't defeated them and they end up defeating 313 00:15:58,666 --> 00:16:01,666 you, they're going to come back on us. 314 00:16:01,700 --> 00:16:03,366 Do you see what he's saying? 315 00:16:03,366 --> 00:16:06,700 Like, we don't want to commit to this until we got a guarantee 316 00:16:06,700 --> 00:16:07,533 it's going to work out. 317 00:16:08,500 --> 00:16:11,500 They're cowards. 318 00:16:11,800 --> 00:16:15,066 But this is the way a lot of us approach. 319 00:16:15,066 --> 00:16:18,066 Certainly obedience. 320 00:16:18,500 --> 00:16:21,533 God, if you'll guarantee me that what you say is going to come true, 321 00:16:21,566 --> 00:16:24,566 then I will. 322 00:16:26,900 --> 00:16:28,700 There are some things that you say. 323 00:16:28,700 --> 00:16:29,100 You know what? 324 00:16:29,100 --> 00:16:31,900 This is the right thing and this is the verb. 325 00:16:31,900 --> 00:16:35,900 And I'm going to say yes to it on the front end, trusting 326 00:16:35,900 --> 00:16:38,900 that the back end is going to be all right. 327 00:16:40,700 --> 00:16:42,733 They're cowards, 328 00:16:42,733 --> 00:16:45,133 and cowards abound. 329 00:16:45,133 --> 00:16:48,133 Don't be one of them. 330 00:16:52,233 --> 00:16:55,233 Then Gideon replied, just for that. 331 00:16:55,266 --> 00:16:58,266 Now listen, this is a this is a man of duplicity. 332 00:16:58,500 --> 00:17:01,166 Such great diplomacy 333 00:17:01,166 --> 00:17:04,166 with the one issue, but not what she says. 334 00:17:04,666 --> 00:17:08,000 Just for that, when the Lord's given Z bends our money into my hand, 335 00:17:08,100 --> 00:17:12,133 I will tear your flesh with desert thorns and briers. 336 00:17:13,700 --> 00:17:16,700 Where is the gentle answer? 337 00:17:17,933 --> 00:17:22,066 See, he also knew what the second half of Proverbs 51 will say. 338 00:17:22,133 --> 00:17:25,133 But a harsh word stirs up anger. 339 00:17:26,366 --> 00:17:30,533 From there he went to Peniel and made the same request of the people in that area. 340 00:17:30,633 --> 00:17:32,800 But they. And as the minister God had. 341 00:17:32,800 --> 00:17:36,300 So he said to the many people, when I return in triumph, I'm 342 00:17:36,400 --> 00:17:39,333 to tear down this tower, and all of you are going to die. 343 00:17:39,333 --> 00:17:42,333 When I do. 344 00:17:43,066 --> 00:17:46,066 Do you see the shift in Gideon? 345 00:17:46,633 --> 00:17:49,633 Do you see this? 346 00:17:49,900 --> 00:17:51,866 I don't see anywhere in this. 347 00:17:51,866 --> 00:17:54,866 In this scenario where he stopped 348 00:17:55,733 --> 00:17:58,733 and talked to God about anything. 349 00:17:59,366 --> 00:18:02,233 He's responding from his own human emotion. 350 00:18:02,233 --> 00:18:02,933 I get it, 351 00:18:02,933 --> 00:18:06,633 he's tired, I get it, he's exhausted, I get it, he's frustrated and angry. 352 00:18:06,766 --> 00:18:08,366 I get it. 353 00:18:08,366 --> 00:18:13,500 But at no point in all that emotion does he stop and say, Lord, I am tired. 354 00:18:13,633 --> 00:18:17,566 I'm exhausted, I am angry, I am frustrated, 355 00:18:17,666 --> 00:18:21,600 and all I want to do is leave all these people. 356 00:18:23,300 --> 00:18:26,300 But I want to make sure that I'm in step with you. 357 00:18:26,466 --> 00:18:27,833 What's my next play? 358 00:18:27,833 --> 00:18:30,133 He doesn't do that, right? 359 00:18:30,133 --> 00:18:30,966 He just for me. 360 00:18:30,966 --> 00:18:32,666 He responds in his own emotion. 361 00:18:32,666 --> 00:18:35,300 How many times 362 00:18:35,300 --> 00:18:38,800 have we been in those situations where we're tired and we're exhausted 363 00:18:38,800 --> 00:18:42,300 and we're frustrated and angry and want to burn the whole thing down 364 00:18:43,500 --> 00:18:46,300 right? 365 00:18:46,300 --> 00:18:49,300 Do you see what a conflicted man he is? 366 00:18:50,966 --> 00:18:53,966 Sometimes he is on the money, 367 00:18:54,300 --> 00:18:57,566 and other times he's just responding in his own flesh. 368 00:18:58,900 --> 00:19:01,900 Let me tell you this. 369 00:19:02,100 --> 00:19:04,433 Emotional, exhausted responses 370 00:19:04,433 --> 00:19:07,433 never amount to anything good. 371 00:19:09,100 --> 00:19:12,100 And some of us have had to reap the consequences 372 00:19:12,733 --> 00:19:15,733 of exhausted emotional responses 373 00:19:17,133 --> 00:19:20,133 to those we love the most. 374 00:19:21,600 --> 00:19:24,000 And so I'm not going to read to you verses ten through 17. 375 00:19:24,000 --> 00:19:24,866 I'll just tell you what happened. 376 00:19:24,866 --> 00:19:29,133 So Gideon moves on with his three and they pursue these two 377 00:19:29,133 --> 00:19:32,500 kings, Zeba and Zalman, and they capture him. 378 00:19:32,533 --> 00:19:34,266 They actually capture him, 379 00:19:34,266 --> 00:19:39,366 and they capture a young man from the community of Suck Off that Gideon 380 00:19:39,366 --> 00:19:43,633 first asked for resources and bread so his troops can be refreshed. 381 00:19:43,633 --> 00:19:47,033 He captures one of those young men and he asks this young man of God. 382 00:19:47,066 --> 00:19:50,800 He says, give me the names and the numbers of all the leaders in that city. 383 00:19:52,500 --> 00:19:55,033 Give me their handles, give me their contact info. 384 00:19:55,033 --> 00:19:56,133 I need to get in touch with them. 385 00:19:56,133 --> 00:19:58,266 I want to have a conversation with them. 386 00:19:58,266 --> 00:20:01,500 And so the guy gives them all the information about the leaders 387 00:20:01,500 --> 00:20:03,300 or suck off. 388 00:20:03,300 --> 00:20:05,933 And Gideon, with these two kings in tow, 389 00:20:05,933 --> 00:20:08,933 gathers all the men of suck off and of Peniel. 390 00:20:09,866 --> 00:20:13,666 And he says, look, I told you I was going to get these guys, and I got them, 391 00:20:14,200 --> 00:20:18,100 and I told you what I was going to do, and so now I'm going to do it. 392 00:20:18,100 --> 00:20:20,833 And the Bible says he 393 00:20:20,833 --> 00:20:23,366 tore the flesh 394 00:20:23,366 --> 00:20:26,966 of the leaders of suck off with thorns of the desert, 395 00:20:27,300 --> 00:20:30,933 and he tore down the Tower of Peniel and killed thousands of people. 396 00:20:30,933 --> 00:20:31,900 And he tore down that tower. 397 00:20:33,300 --> 00:20:36,300 He did what he said it was going to do. 398 00:20:37,033 --> 00:20:40,033 Was it the right call? 399 00:20:42,433 --> 00:20:43,333 I don't know, man. 400 00:20:43,333 --> 00:20:46,333 That seems pretty brutal, right? 401 00:20:47,266 --> 00:20:50,266 Do you see the conflict that's in him? 402 00:20:51,066 --> 00:20:55,700 Do you see how sometimes he is so in tune with God and his heart and his ear, 403 00:20:55,733 --> 00:20:58,833 and sometimes he's just so human. 404 00:21:05,666 --> 00:21:08,666 Do you see that in yourself? 405 00:21:09,000 --> 00:21:10,166 For there are times 406 00:21:10,166 --> 00:21:13,166 when we're just getting it right, 407 00:21:13,866 --> 00:21:16,866 and there are times when we are so 408 00:21:17,600 --> 00:21:19,900 destroyed 409 00:21:19,900 --> 00:21:23,133 by our own vile humanity. 410 00:21:25,233 --> 00:21:28,233 Yeah. 411 00:21:29,700 --> 00:21:32,700 And so he goes to these two kings, 412 00:21:33,033 --> 00:21:34,533 he said as he bends down. 413 00:21:34,533 --> 00:21:37,066 Where are the men whom you killed at Tabor? 414 00:21:37,066 --> 00:21:42,400 See, these guys had rolled into where his family and his and his is. 415 00:21:42,400 --> 00:21:46,100 His relatives lived, and they slaughtered a bunch of people 416 00:21:47,300 --> 00:21:50,033 and get he says, where are they? 417 00:21:50,033 --> 00:21:54,966 And they answered, as you are, so were they, every one of them. 418 00:21:54,966 --> 00:21:58,800 Well, look at the words resembled the son of a king. 419 00:21:59,066 --> 00:22:02,400 Now and get in. Ask them, where are the men? 420 00:22:02,400 --> 00:22:08,100 What he's literally saying is, what kind of men were those that you killed? 421 00:22:08,100 --> 00:22:11,000 That's what he's asking. What kind of men were they? 422 00:22:11,000 --> 00:22:16,166 And their response was, they're like, they resembled the son of a king. 423 00:22:16,766 --> 00:22:17,666 Now, like I said, 424 00:22:17,666 --> 00:22:21,266 everything we see in the physical world here, there's a spiritual correlation. 425 00:22:21,266 --> 00:22:22,033 So pay attention. 426 00:22:22,033 --> 00:22:25,033 Spiritually, I want to draw some connections. 427 00:22:26,566 --> 00:22:28,400 What kind of men were they? 428 00:22:28,400 --> 00:22:31,400 They looked like the king. 429 00:22:31,900 --> 00:22:34,900 They bore the image of a king. 430 00:22:36,066 --> 00:22:39,300 The question spiritually, you and I have got to ask is this 431 00:22:40,500 --> 00:22:43,500 what image do I bear? 432 00:22:43,833 --> 00:22:46,833 We have to ask, what image do you bear? 433 00:22:48,700 --> 00:22:51,100 Who do you look like? 434 00:22:51,100 --> 00:22:55,433 Do you bear right now before the world, the image of the culture? 435 00:22:55,433 --> 00:22:59,233 Or do you bear right now the image of the king? 436 00:23:01,100 --> 00:23:04,100 Who do you look like? 437 00:23:04,533 --> 00:23:07,533 These men looked like the image. 438 00:23:07,733 --> 00:23:10,733 The son of a king. 439 00:23:11,700 --> 00:23:13,800 Do we look like 440 00:23:13,800 --> 00:23:16,800 sons and daughters of the king? 441 00:23:17,733 --> 00:23:19,733 Or do we look like 442 00:23:19,733 --> 00:23:22,733 the product of our culture? 443 00:23:25,100 --> 00:23:26,033 Jesus addressed 444 00:23:26,033 --> 00:23:30,433 this very issue in Matthew 22, in a discussion about taxes of 445 00:23:31,300 --> 00:23:35,666 of all things the religious leader said, tell us then, what do you think? 446 00:23:35,900 --> 00:23:38,933 Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar or not? 447 00:23:39,166 --> 00:23:44,600 Jesus, aware of their malice, said, why put me to the test, you hypocrites? 448 00:23:44,600 --> 00:23:47,066 Show me the coin for the tax. 449 00:23:47,066 --> 00:23:48,933 And they brought him a denarius. 450 00:23:48,933 --> 00:23:53,000 And Jesus said to them, whose likeness and inscription is this? 451 00:23:53,000 --> 00:23:54,233 They said, Caesar's. 452 00:23:54,233 --> 00:23:57,166 Then Jesus said to them, therefore render to Caesar 453 00:23:57,166 --> 00:24:00,733 the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's. 454 00:24:01,866 --> 00:24:02,566 When they heard it, 455 00:24:02,566 --> 00:24:05,600 they marveled, and they left him and went away. 456 00:24:06,366 --> 00:24:09,566 Listen, Jesus was saying, look, you bear an image, 457 00:24:10,066 --> 00:24:14,300 and if you bear the image of the world, you belong to the world. 458 00:24:14,400 --> 00:24:18,100 But if you bear the image of God, you are God's. 459 00:24:19,033 --> 00:24:21,333 Whose image are you? Carrion? 460 00:24:21,333 --> 00:24:24,333 He's saying. 461 00:24:25,366 --> 00:24:28,366 Whose image do you bear? 462 00:24:29,366 --> 00:24:32,833 See, because Jesus knew what God had already recorded in 463 00:24:32,833 --> 00:24:37,933 Genesis one, so God created man in his own image in the image of God, 464 00:24:38,066 --> 00:24:41,466 he created him male and female. 465 00:24:41,733 --> 00:24:44,933 He created them male and female. 466 00:24:44,966 --> 00:24:47,966 The image bearers of God. 467 00:24:50,000 --> 00:24:53,000 We have to consider 468 00:24:53,066 --> 00:24:56,066 whose image do we bear? 469 00:24:56,800 --> 00:24:58,900 Do we look most like the image 470 00:24:58,900 --> 00:25:02,466 of our creator, the King of Kings, the Lord of lords? 471 00:25:02,633 --> 00:25:05,366 Or do we look most like the image of the culture? 472 00:25:10,933 --> 00:25:13,933 And let me just press into this for a minute. 473 00:25:14,000 --> 00:25:16,033 God created man in his own image. 474 00:25:16,033 --> 00:25:19,833 In the image of God, he created him, male and female. 475 00:25:20,266 --> 00:25:23,266 He made them listen. 476 00:25:24,400 --> 00:25:26,433 Every created 477 00:25:26,433 --> 00:25:29,800 human is one of two genders. 478 00:25:32,700 --> 00:25:35,766 And this may fly in the face of the current culture, 479 00:25:35,766 --> 00:25:38,766 because the current culture is messed up. 480 00:25:41,500 --> 00:25:42,766 But every created 481 00:25:42,766 --> 00:25:48,033 human is one of two genders, the only created being 482 00:25:48,833 --> 00:25:51,933 that is non-binary are spirits, 483 00:25:52,500 --> 00:25:55,500 angels and demons. 484 00:25:56,800 --> 00:25:59,833 And the only spirit that would purport a way 485 00:25:59,833 --> 00:26:03,366 other than God's way is not the Spirit of God. 486 00:26:07,266 --> 00:26:10,266 You have to understand. 487 00:26:14,200 --> 00:26:15,766 And if it's not the Spirit of God, 488 00:26:15,766 --> 00:26:18,766 it's demonic and its nature. 489 00:26:21,433 --> 00:26:23,833 Because the Bible is true that we don't wrestle against flesh 490 00:26:23,833 --> 00:26:26,966 and blood, but against rulers, authorities of powers of this dark world. 491 00:26:29,066 --> 00:26:31,433 Whose goal is to drive humanity 492 00:26:31,433 --> 00:26:34,433 away from the image of its creator. 493 00:26:39,900 --> 00:26:42,900 I mean, give back to judges eight. 494 00:26:45,000 --> 00:26:47,133 And Gideon says to them, 495 00:26:47,133 --> 00:26:50,133 they were my brothers, the sons of my mother. 496 00:26:50,266 --> 00:26:51,866 As the Lord lives. 497 00:26:51,866 --> 00:26:55,666 If you had saved them alive, I would not kill you. 498 00:26:55,833 --> 00:26:59,466 So he said that you are his firstborn son, right? 499 00:26:59,466 --> 00:27:00,833 And kill them. 500 00:27:00,833 --> 00:27:02,100 But the young man 501 00:27:02,100 --> 00:27:05,966 did not draw his sword, for he was afraid, because he was still young. 502 00:27:06,100 --> 00:27:09,100 Let me tell you what's going on. 503 00:27:10,566 --> 00:27:13,200 It was disgraceful for a military 504 00:27:13,200 --> 00:27:16,500 man to be killed by someone who was not also a military man. 505 00:27:17,300 --> 00:27:20,966 So for a military man to be killed by a woman 506 00:27:22,266 --> 00:27:25,966 or as a youth was an absolute humiliation. 507 00:27:26,633 --> 00:27:28,566 So do you see what Gideon's doing? 508 00:27:28,566 --> 00:27:32,333 He wants his young son, who is not a military man, to kill these kings. Why? 509 00:27:33,000 --> 00:27:35,233 Because in his heart, all he wants to do. 510 00:27:35,233 --> 00:27:36,433 He does just want to destroy. 511 00:27:36,433 --> 00:27:38,233 He wants to humiliate them. 512 00:27:39,633 --> 00:27:42,633 Do you see the duplicity in him? 513 00:27:43,200 --> 00:27:45,333 Like he doesn't just want justice. 514 00:27:45,333 --> 00:27:48,333 He wants. 515 00:27:48,533 --> 00:27:51,533 He wants to humiliate them before he kills them 516 00:27:52,700 --> 00:27:54,000 and his sons like dad. 517 00:27:54,000 --> 00:27:56,300 I can't 518 00:27:56,300 --> 00:27:59,466 like there was either something about his character or about his. 519 00:28:00,300 --> 00:28:03,300 He just wasn't ready to take a life. 520 00:28:03,533 --> 00:28:06,533 I'm. Who can blame him? 521 00:28:07,200 --> 00:28:10,200 And he can't go through with it. 522 00:28:11,300 --> 00:28:14,300 And so they say in response, 523 00:28:14,866 --> 00:28:18,900 and Zeb and Zalman had said, rise your self, Gideon, and fall upon us. 524 00:28:18,900 --> 00:28:21,900 For as the man is, so is his strength. 525 00:28:22,866 --> 00:28:25,666 And Gideon arose and killed himself, 526 00:28:25,666 --> 00:28:29,000 and he took the crescent ornaments that were on the next of their canvas. 527 00:28:29,000 --> 00:28:32,133 Let me tell you what's going on when they say, as the man so is his strength. 528 00:28:32,133 --> 00:28:35,033 What they're saying is like father, like son, your son is a coward, and so are you. 529 00:28:36,000 --> 00:28:38,100 That's what they're saying. 530 00:28:38,100 --> 00:28:40,066 They're saying your son could kill us because he's a coward. 531 00:28:40,066 --> 00:28:43,600 So he has no backbone, and he's just like his daddy. 532 00:28:44,933 --> 00:28:47,933 So what is Gideon? Do? 533 00:28:49,200 --> 00:28:52,200 They share business, right? 534 00:28:53,866 --> 00:28:56,866 And then he says he took the ornaments, 535 00:28:57,333 --> 00:29:00,333 the crescent ornaments that are around the camel's necks 536 00:29:01,300 --> 00:29:03,766 that literally 537 00:29:03,766 --> 00:29:06,300 is the image of Islam. 538 00:29:06,300 --> 00:29:08,766 The crescent. 539 00:29:08,766 --> 00:29:11,333 And this is where 540 00:29:11,333 --> 00:29:14,166 the Islamic people in Islam 541 00:29:14,166 --> 00:29:17,166 in part originates. 542 00:29:17,233 --> 00:29:20,433 And Islam has always been at war with God 543 00:29:22,266 --> 00:29:25,266 to this day. 544 00:29:30,166 --> 00:29:30,600 And he was right. 545 00:29:30,600 --> 00:29:34,800 Said Gideon, will rule over us, you, your son, your grandson, 546 00:29:35,400 --> 00:29:38,100 because you saved us from the hand of Midian. 547 00:29:38,100 --> 00:29:40,366 And Gideon told them, I will not rule over you, 548 00:29:40,366 --> 00:29:43,266 nor will my son rule over the Lord to rule over you. 549 00:29:43,266 --> 00:29:45,066 I mean, getting his all over the map. 550 00:29:46,800 --> 00:29:47,500 The first 551 00:29:47,500 --> 00:29:51,000 issue great diplomacy, great godliness. 552 00:29:51,366 --> 00:29:53,566 The second one. I'm gonna tear your flesh up. 553 00:29:53,566 --> 00:29:54,833 I'm gonna tear down this thing. 554 00:29:54,833 --> 00:29:57,133 I'm going to humiliate you before I quit. 555 00:29:57,133 --> 00:30:00,266 And that was like, oh, it's not like God is the one you should be following. 556 00:30:00,266 --> 00:30:03,433 Not me. Can you see the dichotomy in it? 557 00:30:03,466 --> 00:30:06,466 Can you see the duplicity in this, in this character? 558 00:30:07,100 --> 00:30:10,100 Can you see it? 559 00:30:11,900 --> 00:30:13,133 Here's the question I have to ask myself. 560 00:30:13,133 --> 00:30:15,800 Do I see it in me? 561 00:30:15,800 --> 00:30:18,800 Do you see the same duplicity in you? 562 00:30:19,800 --> 00:30:22,800 For sometimes you're like, God, yeah, I get it. 563 00:30:23,400 --> 00:30:24,000 I'm yours. 564 00:30:24,000 --> 00:30:24,833 I'm doing it right. 565 00:30:24,833 --> 00:30:27,833 And other times. 566 00:30:28,400 --> 00:30:29,533 We just live in our own 567 00:30:29,533 --> 00:30:33,400 broken humanity, and we go back and forth and back and forth. 568 00:30:33,400 --> 00:30:34,800 It reminds me of what James says. 569 00:30:34,800 --> 00:30:37,800 A double minded man is unstable, and all he does, 570 00:30:38,400 --> 00:30:39,900 you never know what you're going to get 571 00:30:40,833 --> 00:30:43,833 right? 572 00:30:43,900 --> 00:30:46,900 It's so like us. 573 00:30:50,466 --> 00:30:52,800 He's why says I want to be your king. 574 00:30:52,800 --> 00:30:53,933 My son's not going to be a king. 575 00:30:53,933 --> 00:30:55,933 My grandson is going to be your king. 576 00:30:55,933 --> 00:30:57,766 He said, there's no there's no monarchy. 577 00:30:57,766 --> 00:31:01,700 There's no there's no lineage of, of leaders here. 578 00:31:03,033 --> 00:31:05,200 Here's here's what I know and here's what we have to understand. 579 00:31:05,200 --> 00:31:08,200 It's only the truly great 580 00:31:08,333 --> 00:31:11,333 that can choose to be humble. 581 00:31:11,733 --> 00:31:13,700 Everything else that is insecure 582 00:31:13,700 --> 00:31:16,700 and false will self-promote. 583 00:31:18,133 --> 00:31:19,866 And that's the danger 584 00:31:19,866 --> 00:31:22,866 of a social media society. 585 00:31:25,800 --> 00:31:29,400 Only the truly great will choose to be humble. 586 00:31:29,566 --> 00:31:32,866 Everything else that is insecure and false will self-promote, 587 00:31:34,000 --> 00:31:37,333 because they have to convince themselves and everybody else that they're real. 588 00:31:38,633 --> 00:31:42,766 And that, my friends, is that part of the danger of this social media society? 589 00:31:42,966 --> 00:31:44,533 It's all about self-promotion. 590 00:31:46,833 --> 00:31:48,766 Pay attention. 591 00:31:48,766 --> 00:31:51,766 Those who promote themselves the most 592 00:31:52,066 --> 00:31:55,066 are the most insecure, 593 00:31:55,400 --> 00:31:58,200 faulty, and false 594 00:31:58,200 --> 00:31:58,466 mean. 595 00:31:58,466 --> 00:32:01,833 Isn't that what advertisement is convincing the public 596 00:32:01,833 --> 00:32:04,833 that the product is valuable? 597 00:32:10,333 --> 00:32:12,066 I mean, the interesting thing in this passage is 598 00:32:12,066 --> 00:32:15,033 at least the people have all agreed this is our candidate. 599 00:32:15,033 --> 00:32:18,766 They want handed a candidate and said, I guess this is who we got this. 600 00:32:23,866 --> 00:32:25,133 So watch Gideon. 601 00:32:25,133 --> 00:32:26,133 I don't want to be your king. 602 00:32:26,133 --> 00:32:29,133 The Lord only should be your king. 603 00:32:30,266 --> 00:32:33,266 I do have one request, though. 604 00:32:34,200 --> 00:32:35,700 This guy 605 00:32:35,700 --> 00:32:38,700 that each of you give me an earring from your share of the plunder. 606 00:32:38,866 --> 00:32:41,866 It was the custom of the Israelites to wear gold earrings. 607 00:32:42,366 --> 00:32:45,366 The answer would be glad to give them to you. 608 00:32:45,366 --> 00:32:48,900 So they spread out a garment, and each of them 609 00:32:48,900 --> 00:32:51,400 threw a ring from the plunder onto it. 610 00:32:51,400 --> 00:32:56,733 The weight of the gold rings he asked for came to 7000 shekels, 611 00:32:56,733 --> 00:33:00,266 not counting the ornaments, the pendants, and the purple, 612 00:33:00,600 --> 00:33:04,566 garments worn by the kings of Mideon, or the chains that were on their camels. 613 00:33:04,566 --> 00:33:08,100 Next, Gideon made the gold into an effort 614 00:33:08,233 --> 00:33:11,100 which he placed in Ofra, his town. 615 00:33:11,100 --> 00:33:14,900 All Israel prostituted themselves by worshiping their, 616 00:33:15,000 --> 00:33:17,433 and it became a snare to get in his family. 617 00:33:17,433 --> 00:33:20,433 Let me show you what's going on here is I want to be your king. 618 00:33:20,600 --> 00:33:22,200 God, long as you're king. However, 619 00:33:23,700 --> 00:33:26,700 I do want to live like a king. 620 00:33:28,133 --> 00:33:29,166 I don't want to be your king. 621 00:33:29,166 --> 00:33:30,266 But I do want to live like one. 622 00:33:30,266 --> 00:33:33,266 So give me the gold. 623 00:33:33,433 --> 00:33:34,033 All of it. 624 00:33:34,033 --> 00:33:36,466 When it says 7000 shekels. 625 00:33:36,466 --> 00:33:40,100 If you were to equate that to gold ounce and the price of gold. 626 00:33:40,433 --> 00:33:43,433 He's asking for more than $2 million. 627 00:33:44,766 --> 00:33:46,800 I don't want to be the king. 628 00:33:46,800 --> 00:33:49,800 But boy, I sure do want to live like one. 629 00:33:52,133 --> 00:33:55,133 Such a conflicted man. 630 00:33:55,400 --> 00:33:57,166 He seems to have forgotten that if you want to live 631 00:33:57,166 --> 00:34:00,533 like a king God, obey what God says about living like a king. 632 00:34:00,633 --> 00:34:06,133 And there were three things in Deuteronomy 17 that God forbid a king to do. 633 00:34:06,466 --> 00:34:10,066 One was to amass horses so the king shall not amass horses, 634 00:34:10,166 --> 00:34:13,333 because that's like having a proliferation of their military. 635 00:34:13,333 --> 00:34:15,900 And they would trust in their own strength rather than in God. 636 00:34:15,900 --> 00:34:17,233 So don't get a lot of horses. 637 00:34:17,233 --> 00:34:18,200 The second thing was, 638 00:34:18,200 --> 00:34:21,333 if you're going to be a king and live like king, don't amass a lot of wives. 639 00:34:21,333 --> 00:34:23,933 Because honestly, you got a lot of wives. 640 00:34:23,933 --> 00:34:25,033 You gonna have a lot of mother in law. 641 00:34:25,033 --> 00:34:26,666 One is enough. I want to save you that pain. 642 00:34:26,666 --> 00:34:28,666 So just be smart about this. 643 00:34:28,666 --> 00:34:32,633 And the third thing is, don't amass a lot of money. 644 00:34:34,733 --> 00:34:36,200 Gideon, we don't have any 645 00:34:36,200 --> 00:34:40,200 indication of the amass a lot of horses, but you get down to verse 30 646 00:34:40,200 --> 00:34:43,200 and you realize he amassed a lot of ladies. 647 00:34:43,600 --> 00:34:46,466 And here he wants a lot of money. 648 00:34:46,466 --> 00:34:49,466 Do you see the conflict in his own soul? 649 00:34:51,900 --> 00:34:53,233 I want to be gods, 650 00:34:53,233 --> 00:34:56,233 but I want to live like the world. 651 00:34:56,300 --> 00:34:57,600 I want to do it right. 652 00:34:57,600 --> 00:35:00,600 But I also want my own way. 653 00:35:01,033 --> 00:35:02,666 And he took that gold 654 00:35:02,666 --> 00:35:05,766 and he made an effort out of it, like the breastplate of the priest. 655 00:35:06,366 --> 00:35:08,066 And they ended up worshiping. 656 00:35:08,066 --> 00:35:11,066 This created gold in the image. 657 00:35:14,366 --> 00:35:15,833 See what often happens 658 00:35:15,833 --> 00:35:18,866 when God chooses a man or a woman 659 00:35:19,600 --> 00:35:22,100 and gives them a ministry? 660 00:35:22,100 --> 00:35:25,833 If you're not careful and humble, that becomes a monument to the man, 661 00:35:27,366 --> 00:35:28,600 and sooner or later that 662 00:35:28,600 --> 00:35:31,600 monument turns into a mausoleum. 663 00:35:32,466 --> 00:35:35,466 And it's just all about death. 664 00:35:36,166 --> 00:35:37,166 Getting gets it right. 665 00:35:37,166 --> 00:35:40,733 Sometimes you just drop the ball just like us. 666 00:35:45,900 --> 00:35:48,266 Thus, median was subdued before the Israelites 667 00:35:48,266 --> 00:35:52,100 and did not raise its head again during his lifetime. 668 00:35:52,400 --> 00:35:55,333 The land had peace for 40 years. 669 00:35:55,333 --> 00:35:58,266 Gerald Bell that's the nickname for Gideon. 670 00:35:58,266 --> 00:36:02,100 And as you go through the next chapter in judges, whenever refers 671 00:36:02,100 --> 00:36:05,100 to get in refers to him as Jeru Bell. 672 00:36:05,166 --> 00:36:07,700 Because what they're doing there, they're telling us 673 00:36:07,700 --> 00:36:10,833 that the spiritual sensitivity of the nation is sliding. 674 00:36:10,833 --> 00:36:13,100 They don't even call him by. 675 00:36:13,100 --> 00:36:16,100 They call him by the name of the foreign God. 676 00:36:17,600 --> 00:36:20,000 The son of Josh went back home to live. 677 00:36:20,000 --> 00:36:23,633 He had 70 sons of his own, for he had many wives. 678 00:36:23,966 --> 00:36:28,166 His concubine, no wife, but his concubine who lived in them 679 00:36:28,766 --> 00:36:31,633 also bore him a son, whom he named Abimelech. 680 00:36:32,800 --> 00:36:34,600 He Gideon was one of these God. 681 00:36:34,600 --> 00:36:37,600 Was he a godly man? 682 00:36:38,800 --> 00:36:41,200 Sometimes 683 00:36:41,200 --> 00:36:44,200 was he a great godly leader? 684 00:36:45,866 --> 00:36:48,066 Sometimes 685 00:36:48,066 --> 00:36:51,066 did he walk in the ways of God? 686 00:36:52,800 --> 00:36:53,666 You know where we're going. 687 00:36:53,666 --> 00:36:56,666 This right sometimes. 688 00:36:56,966 --> 00:37:00,833 But he was also a man of great complexity and duplicity 689 00:37:01,066 --> 00:37:02,500 because we would say it like this. 690 00:37:02,500 --> 00:37:05,500 He was a man who had a woman in every port, 691 00:37:06,300 --> 00:37:08,833 everywhere he traveled. 692 00:37:08,833 --> 00:37:11,500 He got a lady waiting for him, 693 00:37:11,500 --> 00:37:14,500 70 wives. 694 00:37:19,200 --> 00:37:21,900 And he named his son Abimelech. 695 00:37:21,900 --> 00:37:23,266 You know why that's important? 696 00:37:23,266 --> 00:37:26,266 Abimelech means the son of a king. 697 00:37:27,733 --> 00:37:28,466 Gideon. 698 00:37:28,466 --> 00:37:31,900 How are you going to say you don't want to be a king? 699 00:37:32,266 --> 00:37:33,800 Yeah. You want to live like one? 700 00:37:33,800 --> 00:37:36,700 Are you going to name your son the son of one? 701 00:37:36,700 --> 00:37:38,866 Do you see the conflict in his own heart? 702 00:37:42,533 --> 00:37:43,700 So conflicted. 703 00:37:43,700 --> 00:37:47,400 And you would think someone who is this conflicted 704 00:37:48,366 --> 00:37:51,133 God would finally say, you know what? 705 00:37:51,133 --> 00:37:53,633 It was a great run we had, but I'm 706 00:37:53,633 --> 00:37:56,633 washing my hands, right? 707 00:37:56,833 --> 00:37:59,100 Right. 708 00:37:59,100 --> 00:38:03,133 But that's not who my God is for this Gideon. 709 00:38:03,133 --> 00:38:06,600 This man of duplicity makes it into the Hall of Fame of faith. 710 00:38:06,600 --> 00:38:08,933 Hebrews 11, talking about the great people of faith. 711 00:38:08,933 --> 00:38:10,200 And what more shall I say? 712 00:38:10,200 --> 00:38:13,200 The writer says, I don't have time to tell you about whom? 713 00:38:13,933 --> 00:38:15,933 Gideon and Barak 714 00:38:15,933 --> 00:38:18,933 and Samson and Jephthah, David, Samuel, the prophets. 715 00:38:19,200 --> 00:38:22,866 There's so many great people of God that God used. 716 00:38:22,900 --> 00:38:24,200 I wish I could tell you about him. 717 00:38:24,200 --> 00:38:27,200 And so he makes this film a hall of fame, a faith 718 00:38:28,300 --> 00:38:30,100 with as messed up as he is. 719 00:38:33,900 --> 00:38:36,333 I love the story of getting not because it's a story. 720 00:38:36,333 --> 00:38:36,766 Get him. 721 00:38:36,766 --> 00:38:39,766 Because it's the story of my God. 722 00:38:40,766 --> 00:38:42,666 And the Bible says Gideon, son of Josh, 723 00:38:42,666 --> 00:38:45,966 died at a good old age and was buried in the tomb of his father Joash. 724 00:38:45,966 --> 00:38:48,766 And oh, for the of the abyss right? 725 00:38:48,766 --> 00:38:49,166 He died. 726 00:38:49,166 --> 00:38:52,266 And the good old why he was so messed up. 727 00:38:54,933 --> 00:38:57,900 But the Bible reminds us, if we're faithless, God remains. 728 00:38:57,900 --> 00:39:00,900 What? Faithful? 729 00:39:01,366 --> 00:39:04,366 And so, my great duplicitous friend, 730 00:39:05,733 --> 00:39:08,533 when we dropped the ball. 731 00:39:08,533 --> 00:39:12,533 God has already leveled the condemnation against Jesus 732 00:39:12,833 --> 00:39:15,833 so he doesn't have to throw us out. 733 00:39:16,666 --> 00:39:20,433 When we are faced less, he remains faithful. 734 00:39:20,566 --> 00:39:24,333 Because if I am an image bearer of the King of Kings, 735 00:39:24,333 --> 00:39:27,333 he cannot deny himself. 736 00:39:28,500 --> 00:39:31,100 There may be consequences I deal with, 737 00:39:31,100 --> 00:39:34,133 and I pray God's mercy and grace over them. 738 00:39:34,900 --> 00:39:38,866 But even when I, and even when you are faithless, 739 00:39:38,866 --> 00:39:42,233 God remains faithful 740 00:39:43,000 --> 00:39:46,633 for a man like Gideon, to make it into the Hall of Fame of faith 741 00:39:46,800 --> 00:39:52,466 ought to give you and I great courage and expectation and joy and assurance. 742 00:39:59,966 --> 00:40:03,200 But no sooner had Gideon died, then the Israelites again 743 00:40:03,200 --> 00:40:06,266 prostituted themselves to the bills they set up 744 00:40:07,333 --> 00:40:09,933 as their God, and did not remember the Lord their God. 745 00:40:09,933 --> 00:40:11,700 That was our first problem. 746 00:40:11,700 --> 00:40:15,400 They didn't remember that he had rescued them from the hands of all their enemies 747 00:40:16,533 --> 00:40:17,800 on every side. 748 00:40:17,800 --> 00:40:18,433 They also. 749 00:40:18,433 --> 00:40:23,100 The second problem is that they failed to show any loyalty to the family of Jethro. 750 00:40:23,100 --> 00:40:24,433 Bill. That is Gideon. 751 00:40:24,433 --> 00:40:27,333 In spite of all the good things that he had done for them. 752 00:40:27,333 --> 00:40:29,666 They made two grave errors. 753 00:40:29,666 --> 00:40:32,766 The moment Gideon died, they went back to the cycle 754 00:40:33,033 --> 00:40:36,733 of disobedience, defeat, despair, and crying out for deliverance. 755 00:40:36,733 --> 00:40:38,233 Right back to it. 756 00:40:38,233 --> 00:40:40,733 The moment Gideon was in the ground, 757 00:40:40,733 --> 00:40:43,733 right back to disobedience, defeat, despair, deliverance. 758 00:40:44,066 --> 00:40:47,066 So many times in our lives, God does something fantastic 759 00:40:47,400 --> 00:40:51,133 and we celebrate it for a moment, only to get right back into disobedience, 760 00:40:51,133 --> 00:40:52,866 at least our defeat and our despair. 761 00:40:52,866 --> 00:40:54,266 And we cry out to God for help. 762 00:40:54,266 --> 00:40:56,633 And he is merciful because he cannot deny himself. 763 00:40:56,633 --> 00:40:59,000 And even when we are faithless, he remains faithful. 764 00:40:59,000 --> 00:41:01,033 And so he delivers. 765 00:41:01,033 --> 00:41:02,466 And we enjoy that deliverance for a little bit. 766 00:41:02,466 --> 00:41:05,000 And then we get very back into disobedience, defeat and despair. 767 00:41:05,000 --> 00:41:06,000 This is the cycle. 768 00:41:07,200 --> 00:41:07,900 But they made 769 00:41:07,900 --> 00:41:10,900 two grave errors, two great sins. 770 00:41:11,200 --> 00:41:14,733 Please understand this that it's easier to gain victory than to maintain victory. 771 00:41:15,866 --> 00:41:18,700 It's easier to enter into the victory of salvation. 772 00:41:18,700 --> 00:41:21,700 It's hard to maintain a righteous life. 773 00:41:22,800 --> 00:41:24,133 Confession of sin. 774 00:41:24,133 --> 00:41:28,300 Victory and salvation is much easier than maintaining a life of righteousness. 775 00:41:29,533 --> 00:41:32,533 And so they slip back into it. 776 00:41:33,700 --> 00:41:35,733 And these two great sins that they commit, one 777 00:41:35,733 --> 00:41:38,733 they don't remember to tell their kids and their grandkids about God 778 00:41:40,300 --> 00:41:40,800 didn't mind. 779 00:41:40,800 --> 00:41:44,666 Four nine only be careful and watch yourselves now closely, 780 00:41:44,666 --> 00:41:48,000 so that you do not forget the things your eyes have seen. 781 00:41:48,200 --> 00:41:51,466 And, nor let them slip from your heart as long as you live. 782 00:41:51,600 --> 00:41:57,300 Teach them to your children, and if you got grandkids, teach them to them, too. 783 00:41:57,366 --> 00:41:59,100 That was their first great sin. 784 00:42:00,300 --> 00:42:03,300 Parents, pay attention. 785 00:42:03,900 --> 00:42:06,366 Teach the things of God 786 00:42:06,366 --> 00:42:09,800 that you know and that you've seen to your children. 787 00:42:10,266 --> 00:42:13,400 Don't forget them and don't let your kids forget them. 788 00:42:13,600 --> 00:42:18,000 And if you got grandkids, it is your still ongoing goal 789 00:42:18,000 --> 00:42:21,000 and responsibility to teach to your grandchildren 790 00:42:21,900 --> 00:42:24,000 the things of God, 791 00:42:24,000 --> 00:42:26,433 what he has done and what you know. 792 00:42:26,433 --> 00:42:28,900 There's no time limit on this. 793 00:42:28,900 --> 00:42:33,300 If you're a parent and you got kids until you don't, you teach them. 794 00:42:33,500 --> 00:42:36,566 If you got grandkids until you don't, you teach them. 795 00:42:37,800 --> 00:42:38,966 That was their first sin. 796 00:42:38,966 --> 00:42:43,166 Their second thing is that they didn't honor Gideon nor his family. 797 00:42:44,433 --> 00:42:47,433 And Paul will tell Timothy, this is a great verse. 798 00:42:48,900 --> 00:42:50,566 The elders who direct the affairs 799 00:42:50,566 --> 00:42:53,166 of the church well are worthy of double honor. 800 00:42:53,166 --> 00:42:54,366 Especially. There's a great verse, 801 00:42:55,400 --> 00:42:57,433 especially those whose work is preaching and teaching. 802 00:42:57,433 --> 00:43:00,433 This is a fantastic passage. 803 00:43:03,166 --> 00:43:04,800 For the Scripture says, don't muzzle the ox 804 00:43:04,800 --> 00:43:08,400 while it's treading out the grain, and the worker deserves his wages. 805 00:43:09,133 --> 00:43:11,566 When he said, when Paul tells Timothy 806 00:43:11,566 --> 00:43:14,100 that that these people are worthy of double 807 00:43:14,100 --> 00:43:17,933 honor, he's just talked to them about two issues of honor, respect and finances. 808 00:43:17,933 --> 00:43:20,533 He says that they deserve it, 809 00:43:20,533 --> 00:43:23,533 and that's what they didn't do for Gideon. 810 00:43:24,366 --> 00:43:26,466 So they slip right back into that cycle 811 00:43:26,466 --> 00:43:29,133 of disobedience and defeat and despair. 812 00:43:29,133 --> 00:43:30,666 But God is faithful. He'll raise up more. 813 00:43:30,666 --> 00:43:32,100 We'll read about those in the weeks to come. 814 00:43:32,100 --> 00:43:34,733 Let me wrap up with this 815 00:43:34,733 --> 00:43:35,700 and this next chapter. 816 00:43:35,700 --> 00:43:38,700 You're going to read about Abimelech, that son. 817 00:43:39,600 --> 00:43:41,100 And what we'll see 818 00:43:41,100 --> 00:43:44,466 is he is a broken son of a conflicted man. 819 00:43:46,600 --> 00:43:47,600 Daddy's. 820 00:43:47,600 --> 00:43:50,400 Pay attention. 821 00:43:50,400 --> 00:43:52,666 Conflicted men 822 00:43:52,666 --> 00:43:55,666 raise broken kids. 823 00:44:02,400 --> 00:44:05,400 Men, we've got to get this right. 824 00:44:06,300 --> 00:44:08,033 Guys, it's not about being perfect. 825 00:44:08,033 --> 00:44:10,266 It's not about not making mistakes. 826 00:44:10,266 --> 00:44:13,266 Gideon was imperfectly obedient. 827 00:44:14,333 --> 00:44:17,966 And most of us live in perfectly obedient strife 828 00:44:18,266 --> 00:44:21,266 and perfectly obedient lives. 829 00:44:22,166 --> 00:44:23,966 And guys like us still make it 830 00:44:23,966 --> 00:44:26,966 into the Hall of Fame of faith. 831 00:44:27,866 --> 00:44:29,733 But we're going to read about this son 832 00:44:29,733 --> 00:44:32,733 who washed his daddy, a conflicted man, 833 00:44:34,200 --> 00:44:37,200 and he was a broken son. 834 00:44:37,600 --> 00:44:38,466 Let that be a warning. 835 00:44:38,466 --> 00:44:41,466 Let me wrap this here. Parents, 836 00:44:41,933 --> 00:44:44,933 moms and dads. 837 00:44:46,666 --> 00:44:47,533 It's easier 838 00:44:47,533 --> 00:44:51,433 to build a boy into a godly man than to repair a broken one. 839 00:44:53,400 --> 00:44:56,400 Same thing with daughters. 840 00:44:56,600 --> 00:44:57,800 It's a lot of work. 841 00:44:57,800 --> 00:44:59,833 It's difficult. It's exhausting. 842 00:44:59,833 --> 00:45:00,833 It's trying. 843 00:45:00,833 --> 00:45:03,300 You're fighting against a very strong current, 844 00:45:03,300 --> 00:45:07,533 but it is easier, as difficult as that is to build a boy 845 00:45:07,533 --> 00:45:11,566 or a daughter into a godly man or a woman, than it is to repair a broken one. 846 00:45:11,566 --> 00:45:12,900 Please understand me at that. 847 00:45:14,100 --> 00:45:15,300 You will get tired. 848 00:45:15,300 --> 00:45:18,300 And don't you ever get tired of. 849 00:45:24,233 --> 00:45:27,233 You understand? 850 00:45:28,433 --> 00:45:31,433 And if you're a young woman, pay attention. 851 00:45:31,766 --> 00:45:35,500 It's easier to grow as a godly youth than to repair your brokenness 852 00:45:35,500 --> 00:45:38,500 in adulthood. 853 00:45:39,900 --> 00:45:41,433 There are scores of adults 854 00:45:41,433 --> 00:45:44,433 in this room who would attest to that very fact. 855 00:45:44,900 --> 00:45:49,600 As difficult as it might be for young people to stand on the truths 856 00:45:49,600 --> 00:45:53,966 of God's Word in spite of a culture that is pushing them the other way, 857 00:45:54,700 --> 00:45:58,800 to stand on truth, in spite of a culture that continue, lies 858 00:45:58,800 --> 00:46:01,800 where lies become norm. 859 00:46:03,600 --> 00:46:06,966 It is easier to grow as a godly 860 00:46:06,966 --> 00:46:10,466 young person than it will be to repair your brokenness in adulthood. 861 00:46:11,033 --> 00:46:14,033 Please, you gotta get this. 862 00:46:15,333 --> 00:46:18,333 You gotta get it. 863 00:46:19,300 --> 00:46:21,766 And the key to all of this is the Bible 864 00:46:23,133 --> 00:46:25,433 and is community. 865 00:46:25,433 --> 00:46:28,433 These huddles. 866 00:46:28,766 --> 00:46:31,133 And personal obedience 867 00:46:31,133 --> 00:46:34,133 that starts with repentance. 868 00:46:34,800 --> 00:46:37,800 In our duplicity, 869 00:46:38,100 --> 00:46:40,333 repent, 870 00:46:40,333 --> 00:46:44,366 God, I realize the duplicity of my own nature. 871 00:46:46,166 --> 00:46:51,866 I realize that there are things in my life that are not according to your word. 872 00:46:51,866 --> 00:46:54,866 And I get it. I agree you're right. 873 00:46:54,900 --> 00:46:57,900 I'm broken and I repent. 874 00:46:59,200 --> 00:47:02,200 I'll do what I can do to walk the other way. 875 00:47:09,300 --> 00:47:12,300 Let's pray. 876 00:47:14,600 --> 00:47:17,100 Father, I thank you for your word, 877 00:47:17,100 --> 00:47:20,566 and I thank you that you've given us so much insight 878 00:47:20,566 --> 00:47:23,766 into you and your heart through people like Gideon. 879 00:47:25,700 --> 00:47:28,700 In him we see us, 880 00:47:29,700 --> 00:47:34,033 and I thank you that you are the same God to us as you were to him. 881 00:47:34,233 --> 00:47:37,233 Even in duplicity and brokenness, 882 00:47:37,766 --> 00:47:40,766 you remain faithful. 883 00:47:43,566 --> 00:47:44,266 I thank you 884 00:47:44,266 --> 00:47:49,033 that as we bury your image through your son. 885 00:47:51,233 --> 00:47:54,233 That you remain faithful. 886 00:47:54,833 --> 00:47:57,833 Father, there are some of us in this place 887 00:47:58,700 --> 00:48:01,700 who have known for far too long, 888 00:48:02,333 --> 00:48:04,800 who are realizing again 889 00:48:04,800 --> 00:48:07,800 with pointed precision, 890 00:48:08,266 --> 00:48:11,266 the duplicity of our own hearts, 891 00:48:11,933 --> 00:48:14,933 the conflict we feel, 892 00:48:15,666 --> 00:48:18,366 though we say we are yours. 893 00:48:18,366 --> 00:48:21,433 Oftentimes we bear the image of a culture 894 00:48:21,433 --> 00:48:24,433 that is not yours. 895 00:48:25,800 --> 00:48:26,433 So for 896 00:48:26,433 --> 00:48:30,500 those of us who will choose to admit that and agree 897 00:48:30,500 --> 00:48:34,700 with you about our own duplicity, we ask your forgiveness. 898 00:48:35,400 --> 00:48:38,400 We repent. 899 00:48:39,700 --> 00:48:42,700 Guys, this is your turn right now. 900 00:48:43,166 --> 00:48:45,433 If that's your realization and that's your desire, 901 00:48:45,433 --> 00:48:48,466 I encourage you in the name of Jesus just to simply 902 00:48:48,466 --> 00:48:51,466 say God, I agree. 903 00:48:51,866 --> 00:48:54,866 I am double minded, often. 904 00:48:56,500 --> 00:48:58,200 And there's a lot of my life that looks 905 00:48:58,200 --> 00:49:01,300 just like the culture I'm living in, 906 00:49:03,233 --> 00:49:06,033 and I repent. 907 00:49:06,033 --> 00:49:09,033 I choose to turn the other way. 908 00:49:10,966 --> 00:49:13,100 Tell him, say God in my repentance. 909 00:49:13,100 --> 00:49:16,100 Give me all that your grace will allow. 910 00:49:20,433 --> 00:49:22,533 Father, I thank you 911 00:49:22,533 --> 00:49:23,700 for who you are. 912 00:49:23,700 --> 00:49:26,733 I thank you for what you do, and I thank you that you have called 913 00:49:27,766 --> 00:49:32,033 imperfect, duplicitous, conflicted people like me 914 00:49:33,266 --> 00:49:35,633 and like us 915 00:49:35,633 --> 00:49:37,533 into your kingdom, 916 00:49:37,533 --> 00:49:40,533 into relationship with you. 917 00:49:40,833 --> 00:49:43,266 And dare we dream into the pages 918 00:49:43,266 --> 00:49:46,266 of the Hall of Fame, of Faith 919 00:49:46,533 --> 00:49:49,533 because we've said yes. 920 00:49:50,733 --> 00:49:53,066 We pray this things Jesus in your name. 921 00:49:53,066 --> 00:49:54,900 Amen. 922 00:49:54,900 --> 00:49:57,300 I said, I love you 923 00:49:57,300 --> 00:49:59,766 and going through Bible is good for us. 924 00:49:59,766 --> 00:50:01,300 Yeah, 925 00:50:01,300 --> 00:50:05,200 the Bible tells us of itself that it is sharper than any two edged sword 926 00:50:05,666 --> 00:50:09,366 and is profitable for correction and discipline and rebuking, 927 00:50:09,366 --> 00:50:13,366 so that the man and woman of God will be able to live according to the call 928 00:50:13,366 --> 00:50:15,300 that we receive. It's good for us. 929 00:50:16,800 --> 00:50:18,000 And so today, I want you to think 930 00:50:18,000 --> 00:50:21,000 this week, and I want you to go through and read for yourselves again. 931 00:50:21,100 --> 00:50:24,266 Judges six, seven and eight, the totality 932 00:50:24,266 --> 00:50:27,500 of of of Gideon's life, and kind of let God put it all together for you 933 00:50:27,633 --> 00:50:28,300 as we get ready. 934 00:50:28,300 --> 00:50:29,933 Keep going through judges. 935 00:50:29,933 --> 00:50:32,266 Yeah, yeah, yeah. 936 00:50:32,266 --> 00:50:33,200 All right, listen.