The God Who is Victorious

MBL: The Victory of the Lord is accomplished in the Way of the Lord.

Introduction

Is the Bible about you, or is it about God? Is this church about us? Or is it about God? The answer, is the latter. Yes we are included very much so in the matter of which God speaks to in his word, and this is gathered, in Jesus’ name.

For example, this worship service, actually isn’t for us. Its for God. and this gathering is an invitation in, to draw attention the focal point, which is Jesus. And because, we put our preferences aside, our distractions aside, and we fix our eyes on him.

And so the what we do, and the way live will point to something. And we can point ourselves, we can point to something, to someone else, but, it can also point to Christ.

In the same way, the Word points to Jesus, this church service points to Jesus, our lives can point to Jesus.

In the passage today, you are going to see Gideon prepare for battle. And the way in which he goes to battle matters deeply, because it will point to him, it will point to Israel, or it will point to God.

And you are see this big idea… The Victory of the Lord is accomplished in the Way of the Lord.

See, the Victory of the Lord is accomplished in the Way of the Lord.

There is indeed a way that the Lord is victorious through his workings in you. These are the ways in which you should live that magnify the victory of the Lord.

Three Ways to Magnify the Victory of the Lord :

Live Devotedly - Am I living for my own name and honor? Are you living for your glory or his?

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.

Explanation: The nation of Israel was going to boast in themselves if they won this battle because they had thousands of soliders to rally against the Midianites. It was a winning battle that they could easily accomplish on their own. So they’d boast in themselves.

Illustration: College athlete playing in a middle school game.

Application: Do everything unto the glory of God, not yourself.

A powerful question to ask yourself is a reflective…why am I doing this? Listen friends, you can do noble things with an unholy ambition. Isn’t that the issue of the Pharisees? They do all the right things, all the good things, yet their hearts are from the Lord?

Live Dependently - Am I doing things in my own strength?

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.

4 And the Lord said to Gideon, “The people are still too many.

Explanation: If the people of Israel would have won this battle in the current state, they would have attributed it to their own strength…saying MY OWN HAND HAS SAVED ME.

When the poeple of Israel would do things on their own strength, it was their way of saying, “Lord, I don’t need you anymore.”

Instead, we want to rely on the strength of God.

Illustration: Eating and drinking, how much more.

If i haven’t had enough water, I’m going to get start having a headache. If I haven’t eaten anything I’m going to feel sluggish. So I’ll stop everything and go do that.

But how often is it, that we are running on empty in our obedience to Christ and we don’t know we are supposed to stop and eat and drink from his word. See, if physical nourishment sustains our body, how much do we need prayer and the Word to sustain our souls? Yet, we don’t tend to think that way. And we find ourselves running for seasons of life, completely and utterly on our own.

Application: Do everything in the strength of God. Not on your own.

How can I gauge that? If your prayers were a measure of your dependence on God in all things…who would the weight fall upon? Is God the one who helps you in the desperate, needy times alone, or he is the one who helps you in all things?

Live Daringly - Am I doing things that require the Lord to intercede?

Now, I want to be careful with this word. Understand, I’m not saying recklesss, wild, or out of control. I don’t believe God is reckless, his love is reckless, or that he commands us to be reckless, because there is not a OUNCE of the Lord’s character that is reckless. Thats actual exact opposite of who he is. Sacrifical yes, but reckless no. If anyone is reckless, it is us.... but I’ll rant on that another day.

I’m suggesting daring. Let’s look see what I mean by that in verse four.

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.” 8 So the people took provisions in their hands, and their trumpets. And he sent all the rest of Israel every man to his tent, but retained the 300 men. And the camp of Midian was below him in the valley.

19 So Gideon and the hundred men who were with him came to the outskirts of the camp at the beginning of the middle watch, when they had just set the watch. And they blew the trumpets and smashed the jars that were in their hands. 20 Then the three companies blew the trumpets and broke the jars. They held in their left hands the torches, and in their right hands the trumpets to blow. And they cried out, “A sword for the Lord and for Gideon!” 21 Every man stood in his place around the camp, and all the army ran. They cried out and fled. 22 When they blew the 300 trumpets, the Lord set every man’s sword against his comrade and against all the army. And the army fled as far as Beth-shittah toward Zererah, as far as the border of Abel-meholah, by Tabbath. 23 And the men of Israel were called out from Naphtali and from Asher and from all Manasseh, and they pursued after Midian.

Explanation: God worked his own special way so that only he could receive the glory. He positioned Midian to do something that was impossible so that nothing could be credited to him. Whats the point? Are we doing things that require the Lord to intercede in a profound way or it won’t happen?

Elaborate on the nature of the victory.

God interceded and delivered in a profound way.

God worked his own special way so that only he could receive the glory. He positioned Midian to do something that was impossible so that nothing could be credited to him. Whats the point? Are we doing things that require the Lord to intercede in a profound way or it won’t happen? Are you daring, willing to risk failure in order that the scene would be set for God to move?

Illustration: Its like a trust-fall. That we are going to fall backwards, knowing that if we don’t get caught, we will fall. Someone’s gotta be there to catch us.

In our obedience, we are going to say yes to things, that if God doesn’t move, we will fail. Its a daring action.

Application:

THIS DOESN’T MEAN RECKLESS. IT MEANS RESPONDING IN FAITH TO WHAT GOD ASKS OF YOU. Its an accepting of the reality that God may ask you to do things you cannot do, so that you can say yes and he will display his miracously ways.

A whole generation of Christians will come and go that were never daring for the Lord.

Former pastor always said, “Faith apart from the Word is foolishness.”

Plumbline - If we can do it on our own is it worth doing?

“Faith does not operate in the realm of the possible. There is no glory for God in that which is humanly possible. Faith begins where man's power ends.” ― George Müller

Choose the impossible to see God move.