300 Strong Judges 6, 7, and 8

Matthew 28:18-20 18Then Jesus came near and said to them, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. 19Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20teaching them to observe everything I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age."   Acts 1:8 8But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be My witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth."

1. There was a need to be met

Judges 6:11-16 11The Angel of the LORD came, and He sat under the oak that was in Ophrah, which belonged to Joash, the Abiezrite. His son Gideon was threshing wheat in the wine vat in order to hide it from the Midianites. 12Then the Angel of the LORD appeared to him and said: "The LORD is with you, mighty warrior.” 13Gideon said to Him, "Please Sir, if the LORD is with us, why has all this happened? And where are all His wonders that our fathers told us about? They said, ‘Hasn’t the LORD brought us out of Egypt?’ But now the LORD has abandoned us and handed us over to Midian.” 14The LORD turned to him and said, "Go in the strength you have and deliver Israel from the power of Midian. Am I not sending you?"

2. There was a stand to be taken Judges 6:25-26 25On that very night the LORD said to him, "Take your father’s young bull and a second bull seven years old. Then tear down the altar of Baal that belongs to your father and cut down the Asherah pole beside it. 26Build a well-constructed altar to the LORD your God on the top of this rock. Take the second bull and offer it as a burnt offering with the wood of the Asherah pole you cut down."

3. There was an assurance that was needed

 Judges 6:33-40 33All the Midianites, Amalekites, and Qedemites gathered together, crossed over ‹the Jordan›, and camped in the Valley of Jezreel. 34The Spirit of the LORD enveloped Gideon, and he blew the ram’s horn and the Abiezrites rallied behind him. 35He sent messengers throughout all of Manasseh, who rallied behind him. He also sent messengers throughout Asher, Zebulun, and Naphtali, who ‹also› came to meet him. 36Then Gideon said to God, "If You will deliver Israel by my hand, as You said,

37I will put a fleece of wool here on the threshing floor 37I will put a fleece of wool here on the threshing floor. If dew is only on the fleece, and all the ground is dry, I will know that You will deliver Israel by my strength, as You said." 38And that is what happened. When he got up early in the morning, he squeezed the fleece and wrung dew out of it, filling a bowl with water. 39Gideon then said to God, "Don’t be angry with me; let me speak one more time. Please allow me to make one more test with the fleece. Let it remain dry, and the dew be all over the ground." 40That night God did ‹as Gideon requested›: only the fleece was dry, and dew was all over the ground.

4. There was glory to be displayed Judges 7:1-8 6The number of those who lapped with their hands to their mouths was 300 men, and all the rest of the people knelt to drink water. 7The LORD said to Gideon, "I will deliver you with the 300 men who lapped and hand the Midianites over to you. But everyone else is to go home." 8So Gideon sent all the Israelites to their tents, but kept the 300 who took the people’s provisions and their trumpets. The camp of Midian was below him in the valley.

5. There was absolute confidence in God’s power

Judges 7:19-23 19Gideon and the 100 men who were with him went to the outpost of the camp at the beginning of the middle watch after the sentries had been stationed. They blew their trumpets and broke the pitchers that were in their hands. 20The three companies blew their trumpets and shattered their pitchers. They held their torches in their left hands, their trumpets in their right hands, and shouted, "The sword of the LORD and of Gideon!" 21Each Israelite took his position around the camp, and the entire ‹Midianite› army fled, and cried out as they ran. 22When Gideon’s men blew their 300 trumpets, the LORD set the swords of each man in the army against each other. They fled to Beth-sittah in the direction of Zererah as far as the border of Abel-meholah near Tabbath.

Judges 8:4-9 4Gideon and the 300 men came to the Jordan and crossed it. They were exhausted, but still in pursuit. 5He said to the men of Succoth, "Please give some loaves of bread to the people who are following me, because they are exhausted, for I am pursuing Zebah and Zalmunna, the kings of Midian.” 6But the princes of Succoth asked, "Are Zebah and Zalmunna now in your hands that we should give bread to your army?” 7Gideon replied, "Very well, when the LORD has handed Zebah and Zalmunna over to me, I will trample your flesh on thorns and briers from the wilderness!" 8He went from there to Penuel and asked the same thing from them. The men of Penuel answered just as the men of Succoth had answered. 9He also told the men of Penuel, "When I return in peace, I will tear down this tower!"

We’ve got to pray. We’ve got to share. We’ve got to invite.

Easter 2011 Project 82: 82 percent of unchurched people say they would attend church with a friend or family member if they were invited.