Tuesday September 22, 2015
Pastor Leo preached a very good message in the Spanish service this past Sunday about the events in the 7th Chapter of Judges regarding Gideon and the 300 men God chose to accompany him in battle against the enormous and powerful Midianite army. Verses 2 and 3 read: “The Lord said to Gideon, “You have too many men. I cannot deliver Midian into their hands, or Israel would boast against me, ‘My own strength has saved me.’ Now announce to the army, ‘Anyone who trembles with fear may turn back and leave Mount Gilead.” The original army of 32,000 was whittled down to 10,000 as soon as the Lord gave leave to those who were afraid, a reminder that the battles we face as God’s people are not for the weak hearted. We should also be able to see by these words that there are many people who boast of their accomplishments thinking they came by their own efforts, never giving God the glory. These folks fail to realize that anything we get or have in this life, comes because of God’s mercy. It is He who gives knowledge, intelligence, wisdom or anything else we need in order to be successful in life. If it were not because of Him, we would not even me able to get out of bed every morning.
The Lord told Gideon to observe his men when they came to the water to drink. From among the ten thousand that went down, only 300 of them lapped water from cupped hands. The rest of them all got down on their knees to drink. Brother Leo pointed out that the 300 were those who kept their eyes open to everything that was around them, ready to spring into action when the need arose, while the rest were unprepared and were satisfied in drinking the water and seeing their own reflections in it. His point was that, in church, there are those who, while drinking the water, (the Word of God) are always seeking who and how they can help, while the rest are content just at taking it in, seeing no one else but themselves in it.
In the end, the 300 that actually went into battle didn’t have to do much more than blow their trumpets and expose the torches that had been concealed inside their earthen jars while shouting “For the Lord and for Gideon.” God defeated the huge Midianite army in this way and that should serve as a reminder that our every day battles are really the Lord’s battles, as David announced to Goliath right before he slew him. (See I Samuel 17:47) The only thing He requires is that we be willing. As I mentioned before, the battles we face daily are not for the faint hearted, but then again, because of Christ, faintheartedness does not describe us.
Memory verse for the week: (Matthew 9:36) “When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.”
