In this sermon, the speaker discusses the story of Gideon from the Bible. Gideon and his men were facing a formidable enemy, but God instructed them to use unconventional methods to defeat their foes. With only 300 men, Gideon followed God's instructions to blow trumpets, break pitchers, and shout, causing confusion and fear among their enemies. This unexpected strategy led to their victory, showing that it was God's power at work, not their own. The sermon emphasizes the importance of trusting in God and following His guidance in all circumstances.

Well, we're looking at one of those dramatic instances, you can pick out the Old Testament, where we can get a great understanding of the ways by which God operates by a human. And a human is God in action. And as a human moves out, as God in action, these miraculous things happen, which happen in their different forms. And this is a very dramatic and startling one, and it stands out by itself in just two or three chapters. That is, the main instance of the life of Gideon, who went on to be one of the judges of Israel for forty years, and therefore they had kings. It can be found in the sixth chapter of Judges onwards. The condition in which this happened, or the typical condition, is that God always said, what you sow you reap. And right away from Moses' time onward, he says to them, if you attach yourself to me, I'm the living God. You have a faith in a living God. I'm a God who does things, who works for you. That will put a quality in you, as you know I do things that work for you, like Israel today. And you put it through. But if you turn to me, you're really turning to your own self. Your false gods are mainly self-immediate, the kind of person you want to be, affectionate, self-gratifying, self-seeking person. You make a God like that. But there's no conviction. That's just yourself. You know in your heart, that there's no living God at all. You've got no strength in your faith, which gives you, puts muscles into your operations. And so you sink under them. And when the people you oppose, you adopt as their false gods, you've got no strength. They don't stand above their struggle. You reach up. It says, I warn you, if you exchange me for one of these heathen gods, now you go with them. They'll destroy you. And it'll be good you'll be destroyed. That's how you learn you've got evil on the way. There's always a history of Israel. It's really a history of all self. Unredeemed self, of course, it's a different form. But here it takes a national form. And this case, it has slipped into Baal worship. You think of this day, if you're watching Theobald, and all the corruption and horrors that set around Baal. Jezebel was the prophetess of Baal. And as a consequence, they lost their spiritual muscle, their faith to operate. And these surrounding people, the Midianites, hit them up. They were very populist people. They said, like grasshoppers of multitude. And they so oppressed Israel for seven years that they went hidden, dead in the caves. They ran out of their homes to hide. And then, or to make it worse, the Midianites would come at harvest time and burn all their harvests. So they starved them. And so they were terrified and hidden away. There wasn't a weapon among them. And they were in this condition. Now, they did know God. These were not sinners of the Gentiles, we say. They were God's people. So they knew how to cry to God. And so we read, after seven years, they were crying to God. Well, that's the first step. Now, turning back, that was their adultery. They hadn't cleaned up yet. But Mitzrahs all would say, God, where are you? Help us somewhere. So that was a condition for God to begin to move in among them. Now, there was one young man in whose heart, obviously, this was a real cry and a real argument. What's happened? Therefore, he had a basic faith. If God was the kind of God that took us out of Egypt, why didn't he work the day? Is he dead? You know, you begin to criticize God and say, God, judge God. This was his man, Gideon. There had also been, during this time, whichever they had, a prophet named Gideon, a prophet. We're not given his name. These are bold men. These are great men. They speak things out. Of course, very often, they were tortured and destroyed for doing so. They spoke the truth. And he came out and said, you've got what you deserve. He spoke to Israel. He came out and no one said a proper thing. He said, I got you out of Egypt. I told you. I got you out of Egypt. I told you. If you detach yourself from the living God and take on these false gods which are only mirages and you're really back on your own self-loving self, you'll collapse. But he didn't give them a remedy. He said, you've not obeyed my voice. Otherwise, he pinpointed the reason why they were in this appalling condition and they're trampled under by these Midianites, these hosts. That must have hit Gideon. And so the day came when God knows a conditioned heart. Any heart can be conditioned. And we are, in a lot of different ways, conditioned hearts when God begins to speak to us. And this came in the form of an angel appeared. Whether that was a presumably, probably a visionary one, we don't know. Or whether in some city he came in those days in actual physical form. It doesn't matter to us. And this man came and Gideon was in the final condition of terror. He tended to preserve a harvest. So he threshed his wheat in the winepress. Hidden away in the winepress. It wasn't wheat at all. He was preserving his daily bread, that means. He was hidden away in the winepress. And this angel was put to him and said the starching was too much for the tickle numbers. He just said to him, the Lord is with thee, thou mighty man of valor. That's what we are. But we have to walk to a place to recognize why we are mighty and we are mighty. We are mighty. This is what we've got to relearn. This is the person who found the secret of power and I am mighty. I can do all things. This was a little too much for Gideon at the moment but it startled him. Straight away. The Lord is with thee. That's the reason why you're mighty. You're mighty as a consequence. Well, Gideon reacted because he was an honest man. He couldn't say at the moment. He turned around. But he did show he was in the consequence of God power. He said, so why didn't you rescue us? He turned back on him. He said, if the Lord did all these miracles where would I be in the miracles today? He said, you say if the Lord is with us. He didn't say with me. He didn't go that far. He answered the angel, oh my Lord, if the Lord be with us, why is he before us? Where are the miracles? So he said, rightful controversy with God. Controversy with God is him. He turned around. But this day, he was a conditioned person. Alive. With this battle of argument going on between himself and his controversy with God. The angel never deals with reasons. He deals with faith. God doesn't deal with reasons. He bypassed it. God didn't attempt on something. He turned right back and said more this time. He said, go in this dying life and thou shalt save Israel from the hands of million nights. Of course. He said, the Lord is with you. You are a mighty man of valor. He bypassed that and turned to us and said, I can't take that on. Why has the Lord left us? And the angel disregarded the us and come back to you. Because that's all all we ever have is ourselves. God only operates you by you. Me by me. Maybe we can be cooperative. We never get through this thing except as we are the person that God uses. Each of us are the we. The I that God uses. We've got to get back there then it comes to us. It may cooperate with others but that's the main point. We get there and that's where that's where the God comes in effectively through humans. And so, what about that? All this reasoning and arguing and said this strong point is very interesting. In saying that, it says that the Lord looked upon him. Verse 14. As it go in this I might and thou shalt say this looked upon him. And I caught his eye. Now that meant the Lord is the angel of the Lord. We see later on the Lord talked inside Gideon. I presume this still came through the angel I suppose. I'm not sure. He caught his eye. I'm talking to you. And I'm saying to you. And I caught him. He was conditioned. He first tried to escape. Well, you do. But he didn't really escape. Because he'd been arguing with God. He was the one man who was bothered about this. And so he was conditioned. Because now I'm talking to you. That's what comes next. I have said something to you. And he said this to Gideon. And Gideon began to take it. He said I say to you. I look upon you. And I say to you. Go and dish your might. And you who must save Israel. And the Midianites. This one man hidden away in the mind-press. And the Midianites like grasshoppers are marching. Arms all brushed with. Have not I sent you? Now we get a little further on. A little further. And Gideon did take it. But then he began. Now how could it be? Just the same as Moses. When he turned up to Moses. Merlin Moses. He said come now. I send you. Oh, Moses said. OK, but how can I do it? They won't listen to me. They've already rejected me once. How can I prove it? You spoke to me. I haven't got any voice. And I'm poor speaker and stuff. All right. That's good. That's human argument. Negative. Positive. Settles the positive. You must have the negatives out. And then suddenly you get replaced by the positive. So Moses was like that. So Gideon said. Wait a minute. Wait a minute. He says. What if people are just an insignificant family in Manasseh. At the top of Manasseh. No insignificant. Yes. I'm the least significant in my father's house. I'm the least of a father's house. Which had to be. Because you look on either my family or me. Which means you could say. I could say it is laughable. From the hands of the Midianites. And. Then still he stuck to the one man. You've got to get it. No. Oh, Gideon. Not thinking about that. I gave no answer on this family being too poor or being insignificant. Back he came to himself. He reasoned the faith. And said. Surely I will be with thee. And thou shalt smite me as one man. A vast host. No. It's you and they. They're going to be one man. I'm going to do it by you. I don't know how you do it. I'm going to reduce that host to one man as it were. And you're going to do something which blocks the whole host out in one block. One block. One blow. That's something. You're the man. It's going to happen by you. And something's going to happen by you which will put the whole Midianite army out of action. That's something. We're catching more and more and we have to do it. I'm the one. God said. It's got to come through me. Others may be in and out of it. But that's for myself. Each of us. And when we see it. Have it our own. That's through me. And so he kept nailing down. It's you Gideon. You're the man. Because the Lord's with you. Because the Lord said. But you're the man. Finally got him. He got him. And so now Gideon turns around and says. Well I better have a sign on that. Angel. Lord. I better have a sign. This is ridiculous. But he began to get it. There's something here. I'm to be your man. Well I can't do it unless you make me short of it. You better give me a sign. And so he made. Built up his sign. He said. Look here. I don't know what you intend to do with it. He said. I've got to make a meal. A sacrifice I suppose. And he says. Will you wait here. I'll go and bring forth my present. He called it. My present. And the angel said. Oh I'll wait. And he went in. And he made it. I suppose. Roasted a kid. And got some iron leaven. Took a little time I suppose. Flesh and salt. Brought it in a basket. Put it under the oak. Where this angel was there. And. Oh the angel said to him. Take it now. Put it on this rock. And pour out the broth. As a kind of sacrifice. I suppose. And then what happened. This was a miracle. Because we thought that we. Take a. Say that. A fire came out. Burned. Burned. Burned it up. That's all right. I mean. God has his own ways. Of confirming to us. We just say. That's the way it happened then. We also can have confirmations. And then the angel disappeared. And that. Confirmed to. To. To. Gideon. It had been God spoken to him. But now he got. Gideon had to. Play. Move into a place of familiarity with God. See. He only had to. All the flesh. Always said. God's awful. His judgment. His wrath. And. Dangerous. I'm afraid of him. If I meet him face to face. I die. All that sort of. Flesh idea of God. It came through law. Without grace. There's no grace. You've got to pass the law to grace. And so. Gideon's reaction. Oh. He says. I shall die. I've seen God face to face. And this is the first time. It says. That God spoke to. Not the angel of God now. It disappeared. This was the Lord in him. Now we begin the life. Our life. Where the Lord in Gideon. Saying this to him. And it says. The Lord said to him. Peace be unto thee. You will not die. And this meant. To Gideon. His acceptance. Because he then produced a new name. Which is used today. Shalom. This came in here. And God did. Gideon built an altar. And he called it. Jehovah Shalom. Which is. Peace. Peace. Peace. Peace. Peace. Peace. Peace. Peace. Peace. Peace. Peace. Peace. Peace. Peace. Peace. Peace. Peace. Peace. Peace. Peace. Peace. Peace. Peace. Peace. Peace. Peace. Peace. Peace. Peace. Peace. Peace. Peace. Peace. Peace. Peace. Peace. Peace. Peace. Peace. Peace. Peace. Peace. Peace. Peace. Peace. Peace. Peace. Peace. Peace. Peace. Peace. Peace. Peace. Peace. Peace. Peace. Peace. Peace. Peace. Peace. Peace. Peace. Peace. Peace. Peace. Peace. Peace. Peace. Peace. Peace. Peace. Peace. Peace. Peace. Peace. Peace. Peace. Peace. Peace. Peace. Peace. Peace. Peace. Peace. Peace. Peace. Peace. Peace. Peace. Peace. Peace. Peace. Peace. Peace. Peace. Peace. Peace. Peace. Peace. Peace. Peace. Peace. Peace. Peace. Peace. Peace. Peace. Peace. Peace. Peace. Peace. Peace. Peace. Peace. Peace. Peace. Peace. Peace. Peace. Peace. Peace. Peace. Peace. Peace. Peace. Peace. Peace. Peace. Peace. Peace. Peace. Peace. Peace. Peace. Peace. Peace. Peace. Peace. Peace. Peace. Peace. Peace. Peace. Peace. Peace. Peace. Peace. Peace. Peace. Peace. Peace. Peace. Peace. Peace. Peace. Peace. Peace. Peace. Peace. Peace. Peace.