Gideon's unconventional victory over the Midianites illustrates the power of the gospel and the believer's spiritual warfare. Facing an overwhelming enemy, Gideon's 300 men, armed with trumpets, pitchers, and lamps, achieved a miraculous triumph. This mirrors the Christian's battle, where the "trumpet" of preaching Christ, the "light" of God's glory, and "earthly vessels" are the tools for victory. True effectiveness arises not from personal might but from God's power manifesting through brokenness and obedience, akin to Mary's anointing of Jesus.
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The word of the enemy must have thrilled, Gideon. For the enemy's reach means the enemy's already defeated. How thrilled Gideon to hear the voice of trembling amongst the enemy. You know, it's true with us, the world, even the religious world, senses defeat. The Midianites sense defeat. You mean to show you midnight, midnight, and you've got an army like Vaphoffers, camels without number? Three hundred are against you. And you're saying the phrase? You're defeated? You sense the feat? Ah, yes. You've got problems with those three hundred. Let me tell you, can this world sense the defeat?
Even the religious world senses the defeat. What they're object of coming together as one great party as we were speaking on this morning. They're trying to close their ranks. They have one great organization to try and back up the military months of the very occasions which they intend to head. They sense the heat. They're digging in. What are they afraid of? They're afraid of the old-fashioned gospel of the grace of God. That's what they're afraid of. Very sensitive heat. They know their day is coming. And as he said this morning, the devil knows he has with a short time. What about the political world?
Very sensitively, the Bible claims men's hearts failing them for fear because of those things that are coming upon them. The world knows something's hardly going to happen. They know judgment is coming. What an encouragement that is to get lifted. My, what an encouragement of Walter Gideon when he's heard these two soldiers talk sentencing this week. I rejoice when I hear the world talking like, well, you know, life doesn't satisfy. I've heard a lot of sinners say that. That encourages me, because I know he can satisfy Christ. And it only goes to prove to hear the poor sinner's thought that life is really empty.
It's only to tell. It doesn't have the kernel. And the poor sinner is trying day after day to cram all the pleasure and entertain the tangeless little life. He doesn't want serious thought lest they disturb his pleasure and his peace. And yes, they've got to admit it doesn't really satisfy. It doesn't really satisfy. When you hear the sinner talk about that, oh, if it's one good time, I don't know. I'm getting fed up. You read the newspaper, people committed suicide, fed up with life, disgusted with it, with all kinds of money, and everything the world had to offer. Yes, they had to admit, it's all down at the dedication stretch. What an encouragement, Mr. Christie.
The Christian knows where true satisfaction is found. It's found in the Lord Jesus. When I, dear military men, talking about the next world, it's going to be Armageddon, Why, that concerns me. When I hear politicians and military men speak of a day to Mr. Living, there's no way out. There's no answer to all the questions. There's no solvent to the problems. No nation can solve these things. No government on earth, no man can solve the world's problems. Regardless of what those problems are, economic, financial, or whatever other problem they have, they don't know what to do. When I hear people talk like that, they're really intelligent to me. Praise God, the word of God is being fulfilled in Jesus' coming.
The world senses that peace. It knows its end is near, and it's trying its best to stave off that end, or enjoy all they can until the end comes. That was two hundred days. In the middle of Gideon three hundred men were all armed alike. They all had trumpets. They all had pitchers. They all had light. No sword, nothing there. Three hundred soldiers. And they're going against that huge army in the middle. That's like grasshoppers. All kinds of camels and equipment. You know, it gave me to these huge, huge, huge stones there were.
Certain things to destroy life. Here are three hundred men. Here are a sword and a crown. No pistol, no gun, not like even a jackknife if they had been in those days. All they've got a trumpet, a pitcher, and a light in the pitcher. That's all they've got. And they're going against this very posterior. But they have got it. I'm going to ask you, you don't have to see, but I'll turn to you myself if you don't want to. A remarkable passage after you notice verse sixteen. Notice verse sixteen of this chapter. And he divided the three hundred men into three companies, and he put a trumpet with every man's hand, with earthy cookers, and lamps within the kitchen.
Well, I want you to turn over to Second Corinthians chapter four for a minute or two. Show you a little of the marvels of God's blessed book. Second Corinthians chapter four and two what we have here. What are we armed with today? You'll notice they had a trumpet. Notice Second Corinthians chapter four. And verse five. For we preach, not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord, and ourselves are servant for Jesus' sake. That word preach is the same word as trumpet. We trumpet for, not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord.
You know that's the difficulty and the trouble the day you can face it. They're not preaching Christ's Jesus the law. They're preaching themselves. Our church, our denomination, our program, our setup. No wonder they're the people. Paul says we don't do that. We preach not our death. We preach Christ be the Lord. There you have the trumpet. Notice the next verse. Verse six. For God who commanded the light to shine out of darkness has shine in our hearts. to give the lights of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. There's a light. They had lamps.
Gideon lived. And what about the vessels? Verse seven. But we have this treasure. What treasure? This light he's been talking about. We have this treasure in earth and vessels that the exegete that power may be of God and not of us. So Gideon's three hundred men, they had a trumpet. That's verse five, we should have gone. They had a light. That's verse six. They had vessels ticking. That's verse seven. We have this treasure in earth and vessel. But you know, the vessels have got to be broken. Isn't that what they did over in Gideon's day? When they charged, and the word was given to charge against the Midianites, everyone smashed their vessel.
And when they smashed the vessel, the light appeared. And you can imagine three hundred lights. One hundred here and one hundred there and one hundred there. When they were in three groups, a hundred in each, all of a sudden, out of the darkness and these men shouting, three hundred lights appeared. And the cast of the vessel. No wonder the Midianites were scared of death. Those three hundred seemed like three thousand more. The vessel, Christian, has got to be broken, with the light within, which is Zion. You have a light in your heart. The light to the glory of God, the rock. But the vessel has got to be broken if that light is going to shine.
How is it broken? Let us notice now verse eight of this day in Matthew, twenty. Here is the vessel being broken. We are troubled on every side, yet not refreshed. We are perplexed, but not in despair. Persecuted, but not forsaken, passed down, but not restored. Always bearing about in our body, in the body that dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life For the light also of Jesus might be manifest in our body. For we which live are always delivered unto death for Jesus' sake. That the light also of Jesus might be made manifest, or the light might be made manifest in our walking flesh through our motion.
Amen. And so you have the three things that the Gideon's army had. The trumpet, the light, and the vessel. And you have it in second Corinthians four. But the vessel has to be broken for the light. Subject then tonight is light-blown churches. You know, life hardly begins with always or something of sadness over something that breaks or is broken. The little girl has her first doll and a trace. The little boy has his first little pain or often a deal and a trace. And her little heart breaks because they put that value upon those little toys or little places.
Then later on in life the promise letter made, promises upon which the young man and the young woman build their hope. And upon promises are broken. Young hearts are broken. Someone broke a promise. Where it meant them. Later on in life, something else, my great. We have a happy family, a happy home. Drink, no wonder. A third party, no wonder. And you explain the bitterness of a broken home. Hold a broken home in America today. Broken home. broken plans.
Yes, life is full of broken things. You hoped many things a few years ago, your hopes were high. Only to see those hopes back, not, broken hopes. Then other things may break. You had good health. Even so I'd wonder if you had. And your health breaks. And now you're sick. Sick days. Maybe three things get, broken heads. Maybe you've been broken financially, once worth ten days, now in poverty, broken financially. Here you have broken things, but there are many objects.
But the hardest thing to break is a broken world, with a will. Once it's like a broken heart, the world is full of it. The world is flowing with broken hearts. Very few people disclose what their passions do. Some of us, we try to minister spiritual needs, are called in, and we're confidently told stories. Life experiences. I would not dare repeat our hints from this platform. You know all it goes. of the broken dead, the broken heart, the broken hope, the broken home. Behind many an attentive smile, life is full of broken heart, broken dead.
Heart dripping with power, with the point, sun with it, broken dead. The hardest thing for God to break is our will. We all have strong will. Why do we suffer these other broken things? May be God's permitting them to grace our will. For seven, we will not bow to the word of God. We will not bow to his will. God may be permitting these other things, I've mentioned, but the greatest of the points where we'll say not my will, but thine be done. I have an experience About fifteen years ago, you've often heard me refer to a name as I had earlier once.
Prior to that, I knew no limits as to activity, energy. Just go, go, go. People talk to me about nerves and nervous breakdowns. I'd laugh. Three things happened at one time, but truly. I had a Bible in which I had spent eight years of studying that Bible. It was marked in Genesis or Revelation. It had five hundred sermon outlines in it, type, social, legally referenced by it. It represented, represented the cream of my life study. I've just gone through root books on Greek words in the New Testament.
It had all that in the margins. I wouldn't have taken five thousand dollars for that, either. I lost it like that. I just said goodbye to my parents in the coming south and put my Bible bag while I was checking my baggage in Pennsylvania Station in New York, put my Bible bag inside of a pillow at the checking window and put my suitcases up. In time I got my shirt, a girl of twelve years of age, she was seen afterwards and I didn't see the time, thought it was a lady's purse. She stole it and felt it wrong with it and that's the last thing I thought. When I discovered my loss, I was numb.
The next move I received on my arrival in North Carolina was in a church that we had built. It was hard to establish. A man got in there like a wolf in sheep's clothing, and he tore at the pieces in one week. One week, forty-five Christians broke dead in the next week's tree. And he put a wound in that work, that lasted for years and there my years of labor went a little late night over that then the third blow a few days after my father died and the blow fell the blow fell and i passed under it reluctantly i went through that affair i had a very strong will And I would pray more or less.
I was quite hard in my preaching. With the Lord's talking me up. Before that I laughed at people who had nervous trouble. Since then I synthesized it. I used to laugh at people in difficulties. I don't do it anymore. Frog had to break the vessel. A little more light of his truth might shine up. You don't like the breaking software. with rock. God has this treasure in earth and destiny, and he wants that light out. He wants that treasure to be seen by others. Sometimes he has to lay his hand upon the body.
Dear, what was Paul going through? He read it in those verses. Paul thought as I gave in my body the mark of the Lord Jesus. I suffered only for Christ. I pass through all kinds of hardship, but he says it's for the benefit of God's people. I'm sure the vessels have to be broken and lift and go to our will. Parents try sometimes to break the will in a child. They see the child is stubborn, they're buried in bit of demon. They're the most difficult job parents have sometimes to break the will. Train of time, all the whippings some children have to get, as it is to be, the painful experiences, in order to have their way broken.
They break in coats, horses, they drop to be broken. And so it is with humans. You've got to be caught under control. Some horses, you can't control them. You can't ride them. They'll throw them. Until they get broken in. And they're taught this lesson. You're not master. Someone else is going to conquer you and ride you and hold you in check. Then the horse is taught that lesson. But he's got a master who rides his paddle and controls the reins. Then he'll obey. Our master is the Lord Jesus Christ. And he wants control of the reins.
He wants to control us. Sometimes it's painful to learn that lesson. Be not as a horse can as a mule, says God in Psalm thirty-two, I believe. These miles must be held in the ship and driver. The horse is the one that lunges ahead, and the mule is the one that draws back. Neither too impatient nor too tall. God says, I've got to use the lead. Now, pleasant. life-broken faith. Things we look upon as treasures, precious, humanly speaking we are, but spiritually speaking there are barriers to the greater faith.
God has treasures, treasures for his people, greater treasures than earth's treasures. But we don't want to give up earth's treasures. God says if you only would, you'd have mankind. You'd only turn your life over to me. I've got treasures abundant. Wretched in Christ, as yet he'd known nothing on. If only he would bend your words in my way, say, Lord, not my way, but I'm devout. How hard with us it is for us to learn these lessons. We allow earthly things to rob us of heavenly things, good things to rob us of the best things.
So we have the story here in the breaking of these vessels, the light might shine forth. Can't you know we've always broken things. God will. That's great. Something broken? Go away. God just knows. What did the psalmist say? For God says, Be the Son, To this man will I look, to his of an humble and contrite heart, and the tremble of my word. To this man will I look, this man, this woman will I use, to his of an humble and contrite or broken heart, and the tremble of my word.
God will use broken faith. Many demons have been broken under circumstance. I tell you the easy way to get broken is to bow to this book. You see, when you read it, obey it, then you won't have to be broken by such a strength. If you don't obey the word of God, then you read it and hear it. Then God wouldn't have to use of it. And use the message he does to break our word. If we settle everything we read in the Bible, Lord, that's your real idea. But we see things in the Bible and we back away them. We rebel against it.
God says, I say, do it. And if we don't, we will. And the time God gets to you, if you ever intend to be used as a servant, you've got to break the vessel. It's unlikely to win me time. It's solemn lessons to learn. Oftentimes the vessel that's used the most... He's likely a ghost anymore. He's a man whom God uses. He's likely had some very sobering experiences. The Apostle Paul says, I die daily. In other words, I die to myself. A desire wells up in my heart in the morning, I'm going to do this.
I want to do that. Paul, that's what you want. Is that what your master wants you to do? And Paul dines to his own will, his own will, his own desires, his own wrongs. You know, Lord, I want you. I'll dine of mine. I'll be a light of your will. That's dying will of God's will. That's what Paul says. That's the daily breaking of the vessel. The daily submission to the will of God's will. That is our day for life shine when others see it. Are they here? Because of the light that shines at us. Onger in, the heart is coming to visit.
Others don't know you're a Christian. Your light's not shining. God, they have to pray. That light must shine. Are they free? They belong to God. If it's hiding your light under a bush, that's possible. Or hiding your light under a bed, The New Testament says, the bed speaks of laziness. The bushel speaks of business. The member of Christian is hiding his life in laziness. He won't let it shine. Others losing his life. This light is beside him because of business.
He must resorting in business. God may have to be something to make that light shine like this. That's what we've got to give. That's what we've got to give. face breaks the vessel that the excellency of the power may be of God and not of us. I thought of something as least. You know, difficulty holds the tree to a discovery. We'll always be in front of you with difficulty. What do we do back away from it? No, if we conquer that difficulty, we'll discover something. Difficulty always opens up a discovery. And so does it something in that difficulty that you say to the Christian, if you let God handle it, and you take it, it will take to be a blessing in it.
When you start to think of something in the Bible that is broken, married. Ah, yes, Mary had a box of ointment, very precious, cross three hundred tenths, quite significant, three hundred names, Gideon, three hundred. This box of ointment, cross three hundred tenths. It was Mary. It was her treasure. She was saving it for her wedding day. That's what they, the Hebrew girl's gift. It cost three hundred tenths a whole year's wage because the wage in that day was a penny a day. And by the treasure. Three hundred working days in a year. Three hundred days of the whole year's wage.
We have to debauch the strength of writing that Mary was saving for her earthly lover. and at the wedding day. If you met a man, more lovely man, more handsome man, more beautiful man, the man tied to you and who broke the box of the ointment and recorded upon his feet, the result was that the aroma of that ointment killed her hair, killed the Jews of a cow that ointment, she had anointed him with the ointment. And after that, wherever Mary went, he smelt a caver of that ointment that he broke at his feet.
The house was filled with the odor of the ointment. Others in the house also enjoyed the aroma of that ointment. The Lord Jesus Christ got the greater portion, which are the eventually upon him. When we break things for history, he gets the greater blessing. Then others get the blessing and we get a blessing because we broke the Anabaptist box. That's if we held precious. We held it for someone on earth. If we had first place, we come to see me and that someone. We get first place and I'll give it to you.
Broken place. You know in the seventh chapter of Romans, the Apostle Paul uses these words, me, my, and I, forty times. In Romans chapter seven, it's a very dark chapter. Paul is talking about it in his chapter. Me, my, I. And when we get to it, it's very monotonous, that chapter. Soon we get to the next chapter, chapter eight. What does he say? Eighteen times he repose to the Spirit of God. and the stuff was all of glory. He stepped out of that cup with a darkness where he's occupied with himself.
It's me, it's mine, it's I. Everything centered around me. Now he gets into chapter eight. And it's all right. And as the spirit of God dwelling in me, he's shining forth in his greatness, manifesting Jesus Christ, and it's all light and loving him. With that word, that's written. With these three hundred men, Gideon, defeated the enemy, and not a casualty among the three hundred. Oh, it's true. They were saints yet for sure. The Bible tells of that. They were weary saints yet for sure, but they won the battle that they conquered.
You know, there's no need blowing our trumpet unless the light is shining. You know what I mean? Don't talk to people about salvation, let their life back with us. Don't be glaring your thumb up your horn and let your life and your life is done. Is it possible you talk to a person about his or her soul? After you walk away, that person turns to another and says, hey, that's what you're talking to me about my soul. Look at where he lives. Look at Peter. That's the thing. I'd like to chime in and said to a missionary one time, and the missionary tried to speak to him about his soul.
When he heard to another person who professed to be a Christian, he said, Oh, talkie talkie, no walkie, walkie. It's all talk and no walk. That's why today's testimony don't have any power within or any authority. It's all tough and little war, during the trumpet, no light shining because the vessel is not broken. So in this case, there needs to be the broken vessel, the light shining, the vessel clean, empty meat for the master's week. and your affection is only of value in a measure of the light that's shining behind us of godly light you know each man had but one picture yet one one vessel one vessel for man and if he lost that one or if he dropped it he wouldn't have another thank him for listening to this only one life will soon be passed and only what's done for christ will last You have only one to live.
You have only one urgent decade. That's the one you've got. You're not going to have another life. If you lose this one, if you mar this life this decade, not another one is going to be given to you. You just live in this life once. Only what's done for Christ is going to last. Are you willing to let God have your heart, your hope, your length turning over to him if you want real happiness that's exactly what you do you'll notice in this case they all obeyed the leader in verses seven to even eighteen whatever gideon did they did and he said unto them in verse seven he look on me and do likewise and behold when i come to the outside of the camp it shall be that as i do so shall you do when i blow the trumpet i and all that are with me then blow ye the trumpet also on every side of all the camp and say the sword of the lord and of gideon They kept their eye upon their leader and they did as he did.
He's our leader, the Lord Jesus Christ. Looking off onto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, let us run with patience, the race that is set before us. Keep our eye on him and see if he tells, do as he did. How wonderful is the victory here? And you know this, the United All these were united, and God's people were united. First of all, and I mentioned this, and it started in these studies, every man was doing that with his right in his own eyes. But now you find them all united, and all doing the same thing. For when these three shot the enemy on the run, the other side came along, and the nation was united.
Isn't that wonderful? Isn't that a grand thing to see God's people united? Paul doing the same thing as Paul writes to the Corinthians, that we all seek the same thing, Elisha. There's unity. That's what God wants, and the brethren dwell together in unity. There the Lord commanded the blessing, even like Lord Evermore. Is any wonder there was a victory on this occasion? Wonderful victory. If you had time to get into it, you'll find the enemy in the valley. You'll read about the valley five or six times in this chapter, after the enemy was in the valley. Where were Gideon's three hundred? A hundred up on this hilltop, a hundred on that, and a hundred on that, and the enemy is in the valley.
God's people are on the hilltop. In fellowship of the Lord, the enemy is in the valley. What a valley it is. In a day to come, the world's armies are going to be assembled in the valley of Magedo. That's the valley ready for the battle of Armageddon. The Valley of Echelon, running two hundred miles in palisades, sixty miles wide, and Manifoldian said the greatest battlefield of the world. And that's where the armies of this world are going to clad in the Son of God in that day, are given up in Revelation, nineteen, and ride this white horse, followed by his faithful.
The enemy will be routed in that day. It will be a valley of death. This army met its death in the valley as God's people descended upon them, led by Gideon. Our Lord Jesus is coming down from the heights. He's going to meet the armies of this earth in the valley of Magdalene. I read in my Bible about multitudes, multitudes in the valley of the season. I believe there are some here tonight in the valley of the season. And that day they'll have no choice. It'll be late. Today you've got it there.
That choice with Christ or the world. Heaven or hell, God has taken you to this. Are you going on with an unbroken world? Or are you going to bend your will tonight to the appeal of the cross and the gospel of God's grace and be saved? Not only have your soul saved, but saved what left in your life by turning it over to sin. You will never reject. Never will you reject. Why reject giving up what I had so many years ago, years of nineteen when God came to know it.
I wish I had my life to live over again and I give up more. So I have failed lives and bodies without everybody. He's the best master I've ever had. And what a boss would put up with me. I'd been tired long ago. But he told me, He's the best of masters. He wants to be yours. The devils are hard masters. Who do you wish for whom you will serve? You're Christ your God. I trust you say yes. I will accept him tonight and believe that he died for my sins upon the cross. I want to be in his honor. I want him to be my captain.
I will be his loyal soldier. And I trust that he will be. That is it. Our Father in heaven, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, we come to be. We tremble in my presence. As I grieve, thou hast been putted up to this solemn thing. I will remediate unto thee. How will we give account to thee concerning these things in a day of time? Holy Father, I seek your light for me first. Our happiness during the days ahead will become lively on our response, our reaction to these things. We want to be happy. Then may we accept these things, if I will, with these what we guide you.
Remember any dear unsaved ones in your audience. They know not, Christ. God is our heart, and God is still there, people. And God is still very carnivorous. There's a new foundation to the Lord Jesus. May they step into night. We ask that our Savior's name. Amen. That is thing number two hundred and thirty-nine. It's not a very familiar one, yet the king is known I think the most, but it's a lovely thing. He used to sing in the church, I used to sing the way up in Canada. I never forgot. He was just a boy. He was one of my favorite things.
Had the only reason for being just to be a boy, your lady. As you've often asked, could listen sooner, really let alone, that's a private question of nothing. It's a straightforward question. It's a question that you must answer, either by opening your heart's door and letting in, or a trusted door, or a people's path. Sinner will be let him in. Glory to God be the singer's glory. Peace from now in his greater belly. Sing the heart square widely open. Build a mentor as well as you know. You'll understand if you've found Christ and you haven't confessed him yet, you'll do it.
Or if you'd like to be saved, how he made your desires, Lord. Amen. as to the Lord of the Lord of the Lord I want to leave the second verse for a church.
Room for pleasure. Room for business. What was right for crucified? Not a place that he demanded. Do not ask for what he done. Is that true in your faith? Anyone the question asked in verse three, let us know. Will we come? That is the words of the last verse before we sing.
Room and time now give to Jesus. Room will pass God's grace. Bring my heart, let go, thank you. In my favor, please do. Oh you