Friday, May 8, 2009

Gideon & Weapons of Warfare

1. Worship See Gideon judges 6&7 He encountered the "Lord of Peace" and made an acceptable sacrifice to him. That was his inspiration for the battle ahead.

2. Know your enemy. Judges 7&8 Listen to battle intelligence. Be what the enemy fears....
faith that has knelt at the altar of sacrifice can stand firm against the wiles of the devil.
"Do not be overcome by evil but overcome evil with good" Romans 12:21

3. Strategies that surprise are more effective than a show of power or physical strength. Gideon used light and broken vessels! (torches and pieces of pottery)

4. Deals with the side battles within the camp, the "sour grapes" of others not invited to the
fight, and combats the "strongholds" of conceit and provoking to envy.

5. Have a healthy disregard for popularity and the opinion of the crowd. "Don't believe what you hear, and half of what you see" as Frodo from Lord of the Rings would say. Consider this.... Gideon's oldest son was afraid to kill the captured enemy because he was so young, yet the people wanted Gideon's family this young son and his son - not yet born, to rule over them! It seems absurd, but there again, when we look at the treatment of Jesus, the crowd
calls for a crown for Jesus one minute but by the end of the week crying for his cruxification.

6. Imitate the hallmark of Christ. His Humility. We see the end result of conceit at the end of the Story of Gideon. Conceit is an interesting word meaning in this context exaggerated sense of self-importance. While Gideon refused to rule over the Isrealites, he did nevertheless, want to make a lasting name for himself. Isn't it interesting that Gideon's ephod became a snare for his family?
Philippians 2:2-4 :2-4 then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.

Gal 5: 26
Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other.

1 Timothy 3:5-7 (If anyone does not know how to manage his own family, how can he take care of God's church?) He must not be a recent convert,
or he may become conceited and fall under the same judgment as the devil. He must also have a good reputation with outsiders, so that he will not fall into disgrace and into the devil's trap.
2 Tim2:25-26Those who oppose him he must gently instruct, in the hope that God will grant them repentance leading them to a knowledge of the truth, and that they will come to their senses and escape from the trap of the devil, who has taken them captive to do his will.

Worship begins our warfare, humility in battle wins the war.

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