The Making of the Mighty (Part 3)
Notes
Transcript
Introduction
Introduction
Over the last two weeks
we have been walking through the story of Gideon
and we have been calling this series
The Making of the Mighty.
In Part 1,
we found Gideon hiding in a winepress —
afraid,
weak,
and surrounded by the enemy.
And that's exactly where God showed up
and called him a Mighty Man of Valor.
We learned that God doesn't call the equipped —
He equips the called.
He doesn't choose the prepared —
He prepares the chosen.
In Part 2,
we watched Gideon take his first steps of faith —
but not without asking God for confirmation along the way.
He asked for a sign,
and God sent fire from a rock.
He tore down the altar of Baal in his own backyard,
and God's Spirit wrapped around him like a coat.
And then he laid out a fleece —
twice —
and God answered him both times
without a single word of rebuke.
We learned that sometimes,
even your faith needs a fleece.
And that God is patient
with a heart that believes
but still needs confirmation.
Tonight we pick up in Judges chapter 7.
And the story is about to get strange.
Because just when Gideon finally has an army ready to fight,
God tells him he has too many men.
I have subtitled Part 3 simply this…
By His Spirit.
Text
Text
2 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.’
3 Now therefore proclaim in the ears of the people, saying, ‘Whoever is fearful and trembling, let him return home and hurry away from Mount Gilead.’ ” Then 22,000 of the people returned, and 10,000 remained.
4 And the Lord said to Gideon, “The people are still too many. Take them down to the water, and I will test them for you there, and anyone of whom I say to you, ‘This one shall go with you,’ shall go with you, and anyone of whom I say to you, ‘This one shall not go with you,’ shall not go.”
5 So he brought the people down to the water. And the Lord said to Gideon, “Every one who laps the water with his tongue, as a dog laps, you shall set by himself. Likewise, every one who kneels down to drink.”
6 And the number of those who lapped, putting their hands to their mouths, was 300 men, but all the rest of the people knelt down to drink water.
7 And the Lord said to Gideon, “With the 300 men who lapped I will save you and give the Midianites into your hand, and let all the others go every man to his home.”
You can be seated…
Now, in vs 2, it says something I want us to notice here.
2 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.
I want you to feel the weight of this moment.
Gideon started out
as the least man
in the weakest family
of the weakest half tribe
of the tribe of Manasseh.
He was hiding in a winepress
when God found him.
But look at him now.
In chapter 6
He has torn down the altars of Baal.
He has built an altar to the true God.
The Spirit of the Lord has wrapped itself around him
like a garment.
He blew the trumpet
and men from all over Israel
came running to join his army.
By the time we get to chapter 7,
Gideon has 32,000 men
ready to fight.
And the Midianites,
the Amalekites,
and all the armies of the east
are camped in the valley below them.
and they are 135,000 strong.
Now,
even with 32,000 men,
Gideon is still outnumbered
4 to 1.
By any military calculation,
this is already an uphill battle.
But Gideon has the Spirit of God wrapped around him.
He has seen the fire.
He has wrung out the fleece.
He knows God is with him.
And he has 32,000 men ready to march.
And that is exactly when God says…
hold on.
You have too many men.
Wait, what?
I thought you were making me mighty
And I thought you were going to do that
by convincing MORE men to follow me
Not less.
It would seem to the uninitiated
That by reducing the number of men
in Gideon’s army
That God would be Making him WEAKER
Not MIGHTY…
I thought We are talking about the Making of the Mighty here
Not the making of the weak even weaker…
Point 1 — Too Many Men
Point 1 — Too Many Men
2 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.’
Now I want you to read vs 2 carefully.
God does not say,
I need you to get MORE men.
God does not say,
let's find a better strategy.
God does not say,
you need a bigger, mightier army.
God says…
you got TOO MANY men.
And notice WHY he says it.
He doesn't say the army is too big
because they can't feed everybody.
He doesn't say it because
the battlefield is too small.
He says it for one reason
and one reason only.
If Israel wins this battle with 32,000 men,
they will take the credit.
They will look at each other and say,
we did that.
We were brave.
We were strong.
We were outnumbered 4 to 1
but by our might
and by our power…
WE saved Israel.
But God says,
I will not share my glory
with an army
That is a word right there
that somebody needs to hear tonight.
God is not interested in just giving you the victory.
He is interested in making sure
that when the victory comes,
everybody knows who did it.
Because if YOU can explain how it happened,
YOU will get the credit.
But if there is no earthly explanation for it,
then only God gets all the glory.
And God is very intentional about that.
He has been intentional about it
all through this story.
He didn't go find the strongest man in Israel.
He went and found the weakest one.
He didn't find him on a battlefield.
He found him hiding in a winepress.
He didn't build the army up.
He started tearing it down.
Because God has never needed your strength.
He just needs your availability.
Point 2 — Send the Afraid Home
Point 2 — Send the Afraid Home
Ok. look at vs 3 with me…
3 Now therefore proclaim in the ears of the people, saying, ‘Whoever is fearful and trembling, let him return home and hurry away from Mount Gilead.’ ” Then 22,000 of the people returned, and 10,000 remained.
So God tells Gideon,
make an announcement.
Anyone who is afraid,
anyone who is trembling,
they can go home.
And I want you to imagine
what it must have felt like
to be Gideon in this moment.
He is already outnumbered 4 to 1.
And God is telling him
to send home anybody who is scared.
And so Gideon makes the announcement.
And 22,000 men turn around and walk away.
22,000 quitters.
He lost two thirds of his army
before the battle even started.
He went from 32,000 men
to 10,000 men.
And now he is outnumbered
not 4 to 1,
but 13 to 1.
And I want to point something out here
that I think is easy to miss.
Back in Part 1,
we talked about how fear doesn't disqualify YOU.
God met Gideon right there in his fear
and called him mighty anyways.
But here,
God tells the afraid to go home.
So which is it?
Does fear disqualify you or not?
Here is the difference.
Gideon was afraid,
but he was still available.
He was scared,
but he stayed.
He doubted,
but he kept coming back to God.
But The 22,000 that walked away
were afraid
and done.
They were not available.
Fear had the final word for them.
And God can work with a scared person
who stays in the room.
But God cannot work through someone
who has already walked out the door.
So the question is not,
are you afraid?
The question is,
are you still here?
Are you still showing up?
Are you still putting the fleece out?
Are you still trusting,
even when everything around you
says this is impossible?
If you are still here tonight,
Let me tell you the truth…
God can still use you.
Point 3 — Still Too Many
Point 3 — Still Too Many
4 And the Lord said to Gideon, “The people are still too many. Take them down to the water, and I will test them for you there, and anyone of whom I say to you, ‘This one shall go with you,’ shall go with you, and anyone of whom I say to you, ‘This one shall not go with you,’ shall not go.”
So now Gideon has 10,000 men.
And God says…
still too many.
I love this.
Because at this point,
any reasonable person would say,
God, I started with 32,000.
You sent 22,000 home.
I am down to 10,000
and I am facing 135,000.
Surely this is enough.
Surely we can work with this.
But God says no.
There are still too many.
Bring them down to the water
and I will test them there.
And so Gideon brings 10,000 men
down to the water.
And God tells Gideon
to watch how they drink.
5 So he brought the people down to the water. And the Lord said to Gideon, “Every one who laps the water with his tongue, as a dog laps, you shall set by himself. Likewise, every one who kneels down to drink.”
6 And the number of those who lapped, putting their hands to their mouths, was 300 men, but all the rest of the people knelt down to drink water.
Now there is a lot of debate
about what exactly this test means.
Some people say
the ones who lapped like a dog
were more alert,
more battle ready,
more aware of their surroundings.
Others say
God's choice was almost arbitrary,
and it was just a way to divide the group.
And honestly,
I don't think it matters which side you land on.
Because the point of the test
is not really about HOW they drank.
The point is what the result was.
Point 4 — By His Spirit
Point 4 — By His Spirit
7 And the Lord said to Gideon, “With the 300 men who lapped I will save you and give the Midianites into your hand, and let all the others go every man to his home.”
Now let's do the math together.
Gideon started with 32,000.
God whittled it down to 300.
And 300 men are about to face 135,000.
That is 450 to 1.
There is not a military general
in the history of the world
who would sign off on that battle plan.
There is no strategy,
no weapon,
no amount of bravery or courage
that makes 300 men enough
to defeat 135,000.
Out of 10,000 men,
only 300 lapped with their hands.
And 9,700 men got down on their knees
to drink…
And God says to Gideon…
send the 9,700 home.
You are going into battle
with just 300 men.
Right here is when most of us would start to question God
Wait Lord, how about we send the 300 home
and keep the 9700???
They are not afraid
They didn’t quit with the other 22,000
They are good men
We can use them...
We would all choose the 9700 men
Because we all know 9700 is better than 300
And there is nothing you can do with 300 men
to defeat 135,000 men
Nothing
You can’t train them enough
You can’t give them the best military equipment
The sharpest swords
Nothing
NOT one single thing can make 300 men
Mighty enough to defeat 135,000 men
Except one thing…
The Spirit of God…..
…
And that is exactly the point.
Zechariah 4.6 says…
6 Then he said to me, “This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel: Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the Lord of hosts.
God is not looking for a mighty army.
God is looking for an available one.
God doesn't need your strength.
He never did.
He needs your surrender.
Because here is what I've come to understand
about the way God works.
When you bring a lot of strength to the table,
you leave very little room for God.
When you have a big army,
you have a lot of options.
And when you have a lot of options,
you don't feel like you need God very much.
But when you have 300 men
and you are facing 135,000,
you don't have many options.
You have one option.
And that option is God.
That is exactly where God wants you.
Not because He wants you to suffer.
Not because He enjoys watching you struggle.
But because He knows
that the moment you run out of your own resources,
you will finally make room
for His.
And when His Spirit has room to move,
there is nothing
that can stand in the way.
Spartan 300
Spartan 300
Most of you have probably heard of the Spartan 300.
300 Spartan warriors
standing up against the Persian army in 480 BC.
And it is one of the most famous battles
in all of human history.
They made a Hollywood movie about it.
They wrote books about it.
People still talk about it today.
And the similarities to Gideon's 300
are almost impossible to ignore.
Both involved 300 men.
Both were outnumbered by a massive army.
Both have become symbols
of a small force standing up against overwhelming odds.
But here is the critical difference.
The Spartan 300 …
fought …
in their own strength.
They were the most elite warriors in the ancient world.
They were trained from childhood to be killing machines.
They were chosen because they were the strongest,
the fastest,
the most disciplined fighters alive.
And yet…
they all died.
All 300 of the mighties warriors…
died.
The Spartan 300 are remembered today
as a story of incredible human courage and sacrifice.
And that is exactly what it was.
Human strength.
Human sacrifice.
And human might and power was not enough.
To overcome the Persian army
Now look at Gideon's 300.
They were not chosen because they were elite warriors.
They were not chosen because they were the strongest.
The fastest
The bravest
the Mightiest
Or the most equipped
In fact,
we don't even know exactly why they were chosen.
God just pointed at them and said,
those are my guys.
They didn't have superior weapons.
They didn't have a superior strategy.
They had trumpets,
empty clay pots,
and torches.
That was their battle plan.
Make noise in the dark.
And yet…
they won the victory.
The difference in these two stories is not how mighty the men are…
The difference maker was not human might
or human power
The Spartans had that…
The difference was God’s Spirit was wrapped around Gideon
The Spartan 300 fought by might and by power.
And they lost.
Gideon's 300 fought by the Spirit of God.
And they won.
Not by might.
Not by power.
But by His Spirit.
The Pattern of God
The Pattern of God
Now I want you to see something
that runs all the way through this story.
Go back to the very beginning of this series with me.
God didn't go find the strongest man in Israel
when He needed a leader.
He went to the weakest tribe.
The weakest clan.
The weakest man in that clan.
And He found him hiding in a wine press.
Then when that man finally had an army,
God cut it from 32,000
down to 10,000.
And then from 10,000
down to 300.
Every single step of this story,
God has been removing human might
from the equation.
And I don't think that is an accident.
I think that is a pattern.
I think that is the way God always works.
Because the Bible says in
9 But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.
My power is made perfect in weakness.
God's power does not compete with your strength.
It replaces it.
And the more of your own strength you bring,
the less room there is
for His.
Think about every person God ever used in Scripture.
Moses had a speech problem.
David was the youngest and smallest brother.
Jeremiah said he was too young to speak.
Peter was impulsive and uneducated.
Paul called himself the chief of sinners.
Not one of them was the obvious choice.
Not one of them looked the part.
But every single one of them
had something in common.
They were available.
And They were empty enough
for God to fill.
And when God fills an empty vessel,
the vessel doesn't get the glory.
The one who fills the vessel
gets all the glory.
Conclusion
Conclusion
You may wonder why God walked up to a man
hiding in a winepress
and called him mighty.
When he was so obviously weak.
It doesn’t make much sense at first glance…
Because everything about Gideon screamed weakness.
His nation was weak.
His tribe was weak.
His family was weak.
And he was the weakest of them all.
But here is why God looked at him
in his weakness
and Called him mighty
Before he ever touched a sword.
God didn't call him mighty IN SPITE of his weakness.
God called him mighty BECAUSE of his weakness.
I hope you’re understanding what that means…
Because in God's economy,
the currency is different than ours.
We measure might by strength, by talent, by ability.
but God measures might by availability.
We look for the biggest army.
But God looks for the emptiest vessel.
Gideon didn't become mighty by getting stronger.
That’s not what the Making of the Mighty is about
If you haven’t figured it out yet
You don’t get Mighty by becoming Mightier
Gideon became mighty by getting smaller —
until there was so little of him left
that God's glory had nowhere to hide.
So, it seems like a paradox
but that’s how God operates
He doesn’t make us mighty
by increasing our own strength
He makes us mighty by decreasing our strength
to the point that we are empty enough
for HIS might to fill us.
That’s why He can look at the weakest man
in the weakest tribe
in the weakest hiding position
and call him mighty
Because to God,
The weakest man
is mightier than the mightest man
because the mighty man doesn’t have room
for God to step in.
That’s how David could defeat the giant
The champion of the enemies army
Their mightiest warrior
fell prey to the weakest shepherd boy
when God’s Spirit surrounded David
He didn’t win because he was mightier than Goliath
He won because he was anointed by the Spirit
and that anointing needs an empty vessel.
The Empty Vessels
The Empty Vessels
And that brings me to one more story
I want to connect this to before we close.
It is found in 2 Kings chapter 4.
And it is the story of the widow and the oil.
Here is the short version
in case you don't know it.
A widow comes to the prophet Elisha
in desperate need.
Her husband has died.
She is in debt.
And the creditors are coming
to take her two sons as slaves
to pay what she owes.
She has nothing left in her house
except one small jar of oil.
And Elisha tells her to do something
that probably seemed strange.
He tells her to go borrow empty vessels
from all her neighbors.
Not just a few.
As many as she can find.
And then go inside,
shut the door,
and start pouring.
So she does it.
She gathers every empty jar she can find.
And she starts pouring that one small jar of oil
She emptied that little bit of oil she had left
into vessel after vessel after vessel.
And the oil just keeps coming.
It doesn't run out.
It keeps flowing
as long as there are empty vessels to fill.
And then the Bible says
something that I want you to catch.
When there were no more empty vessels,
the oil stopped.
Not when the jar ran out.
Not when she got tired.
But The oil stopped
when the empty vessels ran out.
Do you see what God is showing us here?
The oil in this story represents the Spirit of God.
And the empty vessels represent us.
The Bible says that we are just Jars of Clay
Jars that are meant to be filled with the Spirit of God
The oil did not stop because God ran out of supply.
God never runs out.
His Spirit is limitless.
The oil stopped
because there was nothing left to fill.
The more empty vessels she had,
the more oil flowed.
And this is exactly what God was doing
with Gideon's army.
He was not cutting it down
because He needed fewer soldiers.
He was cutting it down
because He needed more empty vessels.
32,000 men full of their own strength
left very little room for God's Spirit to move.
But 300 men
carried 300 empty vessels into battle
300 men who had absolutely nothing
to offer in their own strength?
That is 300 empty vessels.
That is 300 places for God's oil to flow.
That is 300 opportunities
for God's Spirit to show up
and do what no human army ever could.
The Spartan 300 were full vessels.
Full of training.
Full of strategy.
Full of human strength and courage.
And when they ran out of what they had,
it was over.
Gideon's 300 men were carrying empty vessels.
And empty vessels
are exactly what God is looking for.
The mighty are weak
because they've left no room for God to work.
But the weak are mighty
because they have nothing left but God —
and it turns out,
that's all you ever needed.
Not by might.
Not by power.
But by His Spirit.
Altar
Altar
So let me ask you something tonight.
What are you trusting in
that is taking up space
that belongs to God?
What is your army of 32,000?
What have you been holding on to
that is actually getting in the way
of what God wants to do through you?
Maybe it is your own ability.
Maybe it is your own plan.
Maybe it is your reputation,
You relationships,
your education,
your connections,
Your wisdom,
your resources.
None of those things are inherently bad.
But if you are trusting in them
more than you are trusting in God,
Then that is YOUR Baal.
That is YOUR Asherah Poles
That’s YOUR army of 32,000.
And God may be asking you tonight
to send some of them home.
Because He doesn't need what you have.
He just needs you.
Empty.
Available.
Surrendered.
let’s all stand…
If you are tired of trying to win this battle in your own strength,
I want to invite you to come to this altar tonight.
Come and lay it down.
Come and tell God,
I'm done trying to do this by my might
and by my power.
I'm ready to do it by Your Spirit.
Let Him make you into a Mighty Man.
A Mighty Woman.
Not because of how strong you are,
but because of how strong He is
when He is working through your weakness
Would you come?
Would you empty yourself tonight?
