Church, a multi-site church in Southwest Louisiana. Christ Church is a distinctly biblical, ever-multiplying, economically and ethnically diverse covenantal community calling Acadiana to follow all of Christ in all of life. To hear more from Christ Church, you can subscribe to our podcast in iTunes or visit us on the web at wearechristchurch.com. Let's open up our Bibles to Judges chapter 6. And this morning we're gonna start in verse 14. As you can see, I am under the weather this morning. I have quarantined myself, unclean in the balcony, and I've avoided all of you. So don't be mad at me. But when you get sick on Saturday, and you're preaching a sermon on the battle rages, You gotta get to it. But I'm still young and I love a challenge. But I would love your prayers, especially for my throat and all of this. Judges chapter six, verse 14. We have been looking over the last few Sundays at heroes of the faith. Gideon, Barak. We have seen that they have accomplished great deeds of faith with courage and boldness. We've learned that it is where the battle rages that the faithfulness and the loyalty of the soldier is put to the test. And we have been asked to examine our own hearts and to see what it is that God would call us to in 2018. We know that he calls us into action, amen. We have heard the call of Deborah up for this is the day and the trumpet blast of Gideon calling us to the battle. And we know that there are battles in our own hearts. against the ever-present enemy of sin. And we know that there are battles in our own homes against the course of this world and the way the world operates. And we know there are battles in society, there are battles in the church, and God calls us not to fear, amen? not to weariness and not to passivity, but rather he calls us to courage and to perseverance, amen, and to godly spirit-empowered initiative. But as I preach these messages over the last few weeks, it comes to my attention in my own life, and I'm sure in yours, that very often we struggle with fear. We know what the calling is, but we also know that the cost is very high. We know that the cost might, it might cost us the approval of our very closest family members. It might cost us the approval of those we think make life worth living. It may cost us time and money and effort. It might cost us our reputation. But we've learned that in those callings, just as Gideon and Barak, we are to go forward, enforce justice, conquer kingdoms, set armies to pace and to rout, and to shut the mouths of lion by the power of the Spirit, amen? Regardless of the fear, we move forward. We also know that those of us who are engaged, and that's some of us, some of us are engaged. We are centering our life on Christ in every area of life. We are centering our business life on Christ. We are centering our church life, our family life, our personal life, all of it on Christ. And we know that to follow Him is to bear a cross, and it is not easy, and yet we grow weary. Anyone? We wonder if our labor is not in vain. We wonder, will he ever relieve this yoke? We grow weary. And then there are others. There's no doubt that Christ is still in dindam to your life. He's still a Sunday morning attachment. He does not influence your daily lives. He does not influence your business life, your home life, your family life, your heart life, et cetera, et cetera. He is simply an addendum that floats out in the regions of your life. And occasionally you attend to His name. You sit by in passivity and idleness. And we want to address that as well this morning. Amen. Can y'all hear me okay? All right, God's blessing me thus far. Judges chapter six, verse 14. We're gonna begin with the threat of fear. And the Lord turned to Gideon and said, go in this might of yours and save Israel from the hand of Midian. Do not I send you? And he said to him, please, Lord, how can I save Israel? None of us here stand today with this unique calling. None of us here are called to slaughter the Midianite hordes, but we can appreciate his concern and his fear. Behold, my clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father's house. And the Lord said to him, here it is, the antidote to his fear, but Don't you like that? When the Lord responds to your prayers with but, but I will be with you. What is all this fear? What is all this commotion? What are all these excuses? But I will be with you. And you shall strike the Midianites as one man. Gideon has every reason to be afraid. Does he not? He comes from the weakest of tribes. How is it that his tribe could possibly conquer the Midianite hordes? How is it that he, even among his tribe, could ever rally any troops? Because he is a nobody. He's a know-nothing. He's afraid just like everyone else. And the Lord gives him the antidote to fear, and that is presence. If the Lord calls you, he will equip you, amen. If the Lord calls you, he will go before you. Has he not promised in the New Testament gospels that we are to go to the nations and lo, he is with us even to the end of the age. Has he not promised us his covenantal promises of never leaving us nor forsaking us. If he has said, open up the door, we go in knowing that he goes before us, amen. The antidote to fear is presence here. Now, I can think of a few examples and we can list examples all day long, but let me give you just a few. The young lady who is living with her boyfriend and is not following Christ's ethics, Christ's sexual ethics, is compromised with the spirit of this age and bows the knee to the gods of the sexual revolution. Moreover, her government, in line with the course of this world, facilitates this, endorses it, condones it, and makes it easier. She knows that Christ calls her to be distinctly biblical. She knows that Christ calls her to action, up for today is the battle. Hear the trumpet call of Gideon. And yet, if she moves forward, she will lose. What will she lose? She will lose money. She will lose security. There will be days when she doesn't feel so saved. And yet Christ calls into action. She perhaps will lose the approval of that young man. Perhaps the whispering of Satan in her own ear is that you will forever be alone. It's not an easy place to be in. Amen. Can you empathize with that? No doubt. What a terrible, horrible, fearful place to be. But I will go with you, says the Lord. If I have called you, I will equip you. And if I have called you, I will go before you. Amen. I think of the elder who was called to teach distinctive biblical truths which do not align with the world. And he is accused and harassed and harangued on every side. He knows that this will cost him his reputation. He knows that if he continues in this practice, he will not be looked upon positively by others in his community. And yet he goes before. He goes forward knowing that the Lord goes before him, amen. Think of the husband who was called to biblical masculinity, who was called to biblical headship. who was called to Ephesians chapter 6 verse 4 that says, Fathers, bring up your children. Fathers, do what? Bring them up. Bring them up from infancy all the way up. This endorses a hands-on approach, an active approach, one with much initiative, amen? One that needs the strength of the Lord. Fathers, bring them up. in the instruction and the discipline of the Lord. Not in your own instruction, not in your own discipline, but in the instruction and the discipline of the Lord. Fathers, bring them up from infancy all the way up into adulthood in the instruction and discipline of the Lord, teaching them all that he has commanded, whatsoever he has commanded, and enforcing those things in your own household as an agent of the Lord. Amen. Oh, yet he has spent years as an armchair captain. He has lost his authority. He has lost his credibility. He has been barking and bellowing for years, and so now his every move is suspicious. The whole course of this world preaches against anything that he would ever try, yet he must know the promise of presence. He must go before like Joshua saying, ask for me in my house, we will serve the Lord. And I have much to confess, and I have much restitution to make. And I know this is going to embarrass us in front of the rest of our friends, but we must move forward as a godly family. I as a spiritual head, amen. We can think of examples forever, but there are no doubt battles that the Lord has called you to. And I could go on giving example after example until I've stepped on everyone's toes, but we will just call it quits at that point. If you would, turn over to chapter seven, verse one. Gideon is afraid. He has every reason to be afraid. Jesus has not called us to float to heaven on a bed of roses. Amen. He has not called us and saved us in order that we might play it safe. He has saved us in order that we might be sent, amen? But in chapter seven, verse one, we see that Gideon gets a little encouragement, if you will. Look at verse one, I'll read it for us. Then Jerubbabel, that's Gideon's hero name. We learned about that a couple of weeks ago. Then Jerubbabel, that is Gideon, and all the people, Oh, you remember what he was saying? Remember his excuses? My tribe's nothing. We have a little tribe and I'm a nobody amongst my tribe. But then we have Gideon with his new hero name, Drubbable. And all the people who were with him rose early and encamped beside the spring of Herod. And the camp of Midian was north of them, by the hill of Moreh in the valley. Here they are pitched for battle, all the men, all the warriors, all the fighters, all the chariots, all the swords and the shields. My estimates say about 33,000 men. Quite an army. So for Gideon, he was deathly afraid, and he had every reason to be afraid, but now he has every reason to take heart and to be encouraged. Isn't that where we would like to be, right? Oh, I'd like to have plenty of money in the bank account, right? I'd like to have plenty of health and plenty of success, and I'd love to have all the approval of everyone, and I'd like to be able to gather 33,000 troops if we're gonna face this Midianite horde. But the Lord says something to him. Look in verse two. The Lord said to Gideon, the people with you are too many. Now I need you to stop for a moment there and ponder the oddity of these words. The Lord said to Gideon, the people with you are too many for me to give the Midianites into their hand. lest Israel boast over me, saying, my own hand has saved me." 33,000 men, just as Gideon was feeling confident, feeling secure. They were all trained up. They had their shields and their swords and their chariots. And the Lord says, no, no, no, too many, too many. You know, haven't you checked with the back office? Right? There's at least 50,000 Midianites, and we're not even close to having enough numbers. And now you're gonna say we have too many? Perhaps you need to check the spreadsheets. Perhaps you need to get with middle management because your math isn't adding up, Lord. But he would dare not do anything that Israel would steal the credit for. I was thinking this Saturday, and this is kind of silly, but I was thinking, Lord, how am I to deliver this message when I feel so terrible? He's like, I need you to feel terrible. You've been too healthy the last few weeks, right? And then I was like, okay, okay, well, I know that if I get a good night's sleep tonight, took some NyQuil, went to bed and I ate, and he's like, no, no, no, I want you sick and tired. And so all night long, I just walked around the house like a zombie, never going to sleep. He said, now I have you right where I need you, right? sick and tired, and that means to me that perhaps He wants to save some of you. Perhaps He wants to accomplish some victory in some of your lives. Perhaps there's the Midianites of sin in your life that He wants to overcome, and He wants you to make sure that you don't give any credit to anyone but Him. It is not by might nor by power, but by the Spirit of the Lord. Amen? Now, of course, we prepare the horse for battle, but victory belongs to the Lord. He's the ultimate cause. He is the reason for our success. Amen? We plant and We water, but he's the one that gives the growth. And he wants Israel to understand this. So he limits them down to 10,000. Okay, 10,000, that's not bad. We're gonna need to get our act together. We really need to do some training. We really need to get our systems intact. And we really need to make sure we have all the chariots, all the armor and everything. And God says, still too many. This is getting insane. Still too many. Gideon, what I want you to do is I want you to go down to the riverside. And I want you to let everybody drink, okay? And every one of them that gets down on all fours and drinks water like a dog. Now, I have no idea what the significance of this is. Nobody really does. But we know one thing, only 300 of them drink water like a dog, right? Now, you can imagine Gideon there looking at all the armies and all of them drinking. He's like, come on, guys. Like, why do you have to kneel and bring the water? Like, we need more than 300, but only 300 drink the water like a dog. Right? I can think, just as an example, I can remember about seven years ago, seven or eight years ago, the Lord called the elders of this church to establish a Christian school, a church school, Christ Church Academy. And of course, we had none of the requisite numbers. We didn't have anything. It made no sense when you looked at external circumstances whatsoever, but there was a call. And in fact, it's not just a call unique to us. In fact, in my opinion, every pastor is called to consider the disciple-making of the next generation. If you want the gospel to go forward in your community, you've got to consider the next generation, and the next, and the next, and the next. That's just wise leadership. So, when we were considering this, and looking at the spreadsheets, and talking to middle management, and finding out that it was absolutely impossible, I received a letter. And this is kind of funny, actually. I remember this letter as like the back of my hand. It started out like this, Pastor Brandon, I want to chronicle for you All of the many reasons why this school will fail. Okay, I'm glad you felt the need to communicate this with me, but I read the entire letter and every single one of the points was true and right. I didn't disagree with any of them. Those were all the reasons why it would fail, but the calling remained, amen? But the calling remained. Callings aren't comfortable. Callings aren't easy. The Lord would never have you to think that by your might and your power, anything was ever accomplished. Amen? And so we move forward. And we still face the same things today. Outward circumstances, when evaluated, when measured, when put on paper, it makes no sense, but the calling still remains. We move forward. Amen? Amen. All right. Now, if you would, I have a few applications for us. Listen to this. 2018. Reformation. as was experienced by Israel under the call of Deborah, under the trumpet of Gideon, reformation in a home, in a heart, in a society, can and most often comes out of left field when you least expect it from a place where you do not expect it. God can enforce justice, he can stop the mouths of lions, and he can put armies to flight in a night using whatever means he desires. Amen. He can change your heart. He can change your home. He can change your destiny. He can change the destiny of your generations for a thousand of them. And then he can do it in a night. He can do in one day what all of our machinations and all of our endeavors and efforts could do in a hundred thousand years. He could do in one day, in one night when you least expect it. And therefore we must in 2018 watch with anticipation, with expectation, No need to be glum. No need to be negative. Find your calling. What is it that he calls you to? And go forward without fear, with expectation and anticipation. We should have expectancy and hope. Our faith must be strong. Amen? Not because it is established firmly on what we can see and what we can figure. Our faith must be strong because the Lord has called us. If we take stock of merely our own hands and our own strength and our own ability, if we simply look at the spreadsheets, if we simply look at the ability or the hands of your husband or your wife or your society or community, if you look at the externals or at the situation on the ground, you will grow afraid, you will become distressed. If like Peter, you look at the waves, you will sink in fear. But if we take the antidote, the presence of the Lord, receiving the promises, what is it that these faithful heroes did as we read last week and the week before? They stopped the mouths of lions. They enforced justice. They conquered kingdoms. They put armies to flight and they received the promises of God. And many of them died trying, amen. If you would, turn over to chapter eight, verse four. Now you might be saying here this morning, 300 men. That's not too shabby. Anybody know of the Battle of Thermopylae where 300 Spartans saved entire Western civilization from the Persians? 300 men can do quite some damage. Shields and swords and training and discipline. Yeah, but these 300 men, this is what was very interesting about the story. When they camped outside of the Midianite camp, God gave them their inventory list. And he told them to carry with them two things. One was a trumpet. Okay, Lord, we'll have our trumpeteers. No, no, no, I want everyone holding a trumpet. Okay, right hand, trumpet. And I want you to have torches. Okay, Lord, we'll have the people with the torches so everyone can see. No, no, no, I want everyone holding a torch in their left hand. Okay, now, the Lord created us in his own image and he knows how many hands we have. You have a right hand for the trumpet, that's a band instrument, all right? And you have a left hand for a flashlight, right? But there's no hand left for a sword. No hand left for a shield. There's no hand left for holding the reins of a chariot. And they rush into the camp, and they toot their little band instruments, and they shine their little mag lights, and God routes the entire enemy. The trumpet call of the kingdom of God. and the light of his kingdom. That's all he ever wanted us to participate with. That's all he ever needs us to bring to the table. Some faith and some trust. You toot your horns, you do some marching, and you shine the light, and I'll take care of it. Listen, if you are a new Christian, if you are new to this whole Christianity thing, this whole stained glass thing, and all these words, you don't know what in the world. All right, let me just tell you this. You've got some things in your life that you think are frankly impossible to overcome. Just toot the horn, just shine the light, just speak the word to yourself. Get into the word, read the word, hear the word, get into a community that is distinctly biblical so that you're perpetually saturated in the word. God will take care of everything. He'll build his church even at the side of the gates of Hades. It doesn't matter where you came from. It doesn't matter what you've dealt with. I can assure you, as bad as you think you are, there's someone else in this room that would be considered worse. But the grace of God has carried all of that away. He has redeemed all of that past. Not with striving, not with power, not with might, but just by trusting in his presence. Over in chapter eight, they continue to pursue the Midianites. They're running, they're in retreat, and they're gonna finish them off. But in chapter eight, verse four, we have a passage that I think many of you will be able to identify with. Look at verse four. And Gideon came to the Jordan and crossed over. He's pursuing, he's hot on their heels. He and the 300 men who were with him. What's that next word right there? Exhausted. yet pursuing. I love that. Many of us here today have engaged in the battle. We are centering our lives around Christ. We are learning to obey him in every area of our life. We are pursuing his vision of the home and of the heart and of society and of the church. And yet we grow weary, we're exhausted. You know that when Gideon went forward and was starving and exhausted, he cried out to his friends on the right and on the left, and none of them would bring him bread. None of them would bring him bread. No one else would contribute or participate. They remained selfless, sitting by on the sides. In fact, many of the other tribes, the Bible says in chapter eight, accused him fiercely. He was damned if he didn't, damned if he didn't. He was harassed and harangued by his own people. Just like Christ, he was numbered with the transgressors. They refused to pitch in, they refused to participate. And all they did was malign his every effort. And yet he says this, what a man of faith. He says in Judges 8, verse seven, verse seven, so Gideon said, well then, when the Lord has given Ziba, and Zalmuna into my hand. I'll let you read the rest of that. But notice it does not say if, what does it say? When. This is a man of faith, accomplishing great deeds of faith. And if you have routed the enemy with a trumpet and a flashlight, you don't need bread either, right? Right? You don't need bread and you don't need affirmation. You continue with the calling, persevering to the very end. It is those who overcome who receive the crown of life in the end. It is those who persevere to the very end and do not waver for the right or to the left. Remember Daniel? What did Daniel say when he was carried off into Babylon? Purposed in his heart. that he would not be defiled. Going into Babylon, into the den of sin, he purposed in his heart, great resolve of heart. What did Jesus say? He sent his face to Jerusalem like a flint. Even when his own disciples told him, no, no, no, this is not the plan of God, get behind me, Peter. He said his face like a flint. Listen to what Hebrews tells us in regards to weariness. Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility. Jesus was and is, always has been numbered with the transgressors. He has always been maligned and accused. He was nailed on a cross between two thieves and today the world, the media, the university, the academy, et cetera, et cetera, the entire course of this world continues to nail him between two thieves. accusing him of all sorts of atrocities. Consider him who endured from sinners and continues to endure from sinners such hostility against himself. Consider him, reflect on him, feast your mind on that so that you may not grow weary or faint-hearted, amen. Finally, if you would, chapter five, we're gonna go back a little bit. Chapter five, verse 15. Some of us are afraid to engage in battle. We know the costs are too high. We're afraid. The Lord says, I will be with you. Many of us are engaged in battle and yet we grow weary. We need some reinforcements. We need some encouragement, some affirmation. We need some help. Yet the Lord will be with us. But there are some in every number who do not hear the call of Deborah. and who do not hear the blast of the trumpet of Gideon. They do not rush into the battle, but they are not faithful soldiers. They are passive and idle, sitting by on the sidelines. Judges chapter five, verse 15 is a little song about these types of individuals. Let me read it for you. Among the clans of Reuben, there were great searchings of heart. Wow. Why did you sit still among the sheepfolds to hear the whistling for the flocks? Were you sitting around waiting to hear and enjoy the fluting and the flouting of the shepherds? Among the clans of Reuben, there were great searchings of heart. Gilead stayed beyond the Jordan. And Dan, why did he stay with the ships? Asher sat still at the coast of the sea, staying by his landings. But Zebulun, and may we be a people like Zebulun, is a people who risked their lives. My friends, when you risk your life for the cause of Christ, When you pull that talent out of the ground and you send it off to the money changers in order that you might present to your king a profit, you will be accused of all sorts of bad behavior. You will be accused of stretching yourself too thin, of being hasty, et cetera, et cetera. And very well, you might be, but you do not go to your grave as a Christian without taking risks for the Lord. We are to take calculated risks. Spirit-filled, spirit-empowered risks in order that we might experience the fulfillment of some of the promises or die trying. Zebulun is a people who risk their lives, risk their reputations, risk their names, risk their families, risk their futures, risk their finances, their health, et cetera, et cetera, risk it all to the death. Jesus says, you cannot be my disciple unless you bear your cross. Amen, but he goes before us. There's a great danger in the church today and in our church as well. And that is the danger of audience members sipping on sermons, sermon sippers. I'm not a big wine guy, but you know how they do it. You got to let the air get out, something like that. Drink, ooh, got to release the tannins. swish it around in your mouth a little bit, and then you spit it out. Our country is filled with audience members who think they're walking in the ways of Christ. Why do you sit among the sheeps listening to the whistling of the flocks? Why are you still over there on the other side of the Jordan? Why are you over there with the ships? Why are you praying about it? Up for this is the day. Why are you still examining your heart? It is patently obvious and clear from the word of God that he calls you to it. Up, for this is the day, hear the trumpet of Gideon. But yet many, many are unmoved by the word of God, passive, idle, sermon sippers, connoisseurs of rhetoric. Oh, I like the way he put that. Oh, I like that. I'll download this. I'll download that. I'll read this. I'll read that. Yet we must never fall into the trap of becoming hearers of the word and not doers, lest we deceive our own selves. Amen. Amen. Daniel didn't only hear the law of God, he purposed in his heart, with great resolve of heart, he purposed in his heart not to be defiled. He didn't just hear sermons about holiness. He left that church that morning, went out the doors, and purposed in his heart in 2018 not to be defiled, to be holy and to be pure, just like the Lord had called him. Jesus was called to die on the cross to pay the penalty of our sins, and it was not an easy calling. Yet for the joy said before him, for the love of us, he set his face to Jerusalem. Amen. He didn't just hear the words of God, he acted upon them. Let's all stand as we close. I'm very thankful for the Lord preserving my voice. Very thankful. Judges chapter eight, verse 28. So Midian was subdued before the people of Israel. And they raised their heads no more. And the land had rest 40 years in the days of Gideon. In 2018, fathers, mothers, friends, church men, church women, members of society, Christians in 2018, listen for the call of your Lord. Discover what he calls you to and move forward without fear. Amen. with perseverance and with great spirit empowered initiative. Amen, church. Thanks for listening to this sermon from Christ Church. To hear more, subscribe to our podcast in iTunes or visit our website at wearechristchurch.com.