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Bibleline Bibleline, here God’s word on Bibleline, here God’s truth on Bibleline. Welcome to Bibleline with Dr. Ralph Yankee Arnold, pastor of Calvary Community Church in Tampa, Florida. Clearly declaring the gospel of Jesus Christ through the radio and the internet. Your regular prayers and monthly support make it possible for Bibleline to continue on the You can reach us toll free at 1-800-576-3771. Online donations may be made by clicking on the donations link on the BibleLineMinistries.org homepage. We pray that you will enjoy our commitment to the clear gospel of Jesus Christ and that today’s first part of this two-part message will be a blessing to you and your family.

I want to talk to you about a few things that we’ll kind of continue from last Sunday night. Sunday night we was talking a little bit about a guy named Gideon. Remember guy named Gideon? The sword of the Lord and of Gideon. Well the sword of the Lord is a pretty good magazine. I used to really love it when Dr. Curtis Hudson was the editor and then I kind of let it go but I still get it. But it doesn’t mean as much to me since I don’t know Shelton Smith as well as I do Dr.

Hudson but he’s doing fairly good job and trying to monitor the messages on there. But Dr. Hudson just had a special place in my heart. I really missed that man. I really do. But anyway, this is where that title comes from. The sword of the Lord, the sword of the Lord and of Gideon. But you know the other night we were talking a little bit about Gideon and the condition was terrible. The Israelites had rebelled against the Lord and so because they rebelled against the God they started worshiping false gods.

When they do that then God gets angry with them and leads them into captivity. When they go into captivity then they become in the servitude. They become like little slaves. Instead of Israel being the head they become the tale and And he told them about it. He warned them about that. He says, you can be the head, the other nation to be the tail. But whoa, when they become the head and you become the tail, and so things get reversed, all been out of shape.

But as time went on here, God got a hold of a young man. This man was humbling his own eyes. He had a problem with trusting God. He wasn’t just a a very optimistic type of a fella. He had looked at the situation and he didn’t like what was going on and he thought God has already deserted them. So what’s gonna be done? How can they get after them under these wicked people that were ruling over them? So the many nights in the Malachites and some other groups had gotten together and they formed a group and they came against them.

And they would wait until harvest time and then come in, swooping in there and eating up all the prophets, take all of the grain, take their cattle. And so Israel was impoverished. And the thing is, they didn’t think it had anything to do with the way they were doing. They just figured God has deserted us. God doesn’t love us anymore. And look what God’s doing to us. They don’t seem to understand you didn’t do what I told you to do.

God says, if you’ll serve me, God says, I’ll protect you. I’ll put none of the diseases of the Egyptians upon you. The land will provide you’ll be safe, happy, but nobody wants to do it God’s way. So they had a hard lesson to learn. So these people will come in there and says in verse 6, and Israel was greatly impoverished. in chapter 6 and in verse 6 of the book of Judges. So if you can take your Bible and turn to the book of Judges and we’ll just see how far we get tonight.

I’m not saying how far we’re gonna get but we only got three hours so we’ll just do the best we can. But it says in verse 6, and Israel was greatly impoverished because of the media nights. The children of Israel cried unto the Lord, belly-aken again because of the sore things that were going on in their life, how they had like been come out little slaves, they’re losing everything and they didn’t have a leader. They didn’t have a man that would stand up and say, hey, let’s stop this foolishness.

Let’s take our country back. So they were very weak, afraid, cowards. And so he says in verse 8 that the Lord sent a prophet. No, the only thing is though, the man didn’t know he was a prophet. God was going to use him. But of course, he didn’t know God was going to use him. You see, when we talk about how God chooses this man and chooses that person, and God makes a lot of choices. But they’re always for service, but God does not choose to save a person over somebody else.

God will save anybody if they trust Christ as their Savior, but we’re talking about service. God can use anything He wants and anybody He wants. And so He says here in verse 8, the Lord sent a prophet unto the children of Israel, which sent of them, thus saith the Lord God of Israel, I brought you up from Egypt and brought you forth out of the house of bondage. I delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians and out of a hand of all that oppress you, drape them out from before you and gave you this land.

And I said unto you, I am the Lord. L-O-R-D-Jahova, I am Jehovah, your L-O-Him. Fear not the gods of the Amorites in whose land ye dwelt, but ye have not obeyed my voice. You wouldn’t listen to me. In other words, what was happening, it didn’t have to be that bad. It didn’t have to be that way. And so then you have in verse 11, the call of Gideon. And this is a man who didn’t think much of himself. He didn’t think he was a very important individual.

But he was doing what he could. He was working. He was thrashing the wheat by the wine press because he was afraid that the many nights come and take everything you had. So he was kind of hiding. Any of the shame when God’s people have to hide, we have to hide. And so he says in verse 11, and there came an angel of the Lord and sat under an oat. Would you love to sing that on angel of the Lord?

Just stroll in casually by, go over there and sit under an oak tree and probably had some lemonade. And he goes over and has a seat. An angel of the Lord. Did you know there’s a possibility then? Not not. Now not all angels reveal themselves. Sometimes they are invisible and then sometimes they are seen. But you know there might be a possibility you have entertained angels unaware? You didn’t know it was an angel? So that’s scary. Yeah, I know.

I just hope if they are, if an angel is going to talk to me and you’re going to reveal himself, I hope he breaks it into me slowly. Well, that scared me to death. I mean, can you see somebody like Bob Gilbert Walker, and you said, by the way, I just thought I’ll let you know I’m an angel of the Lord. What? Well, that’s scary to death or Dan over here. Dan, that would really do you in, wouldn’t it?

But now he could be maybe one of the fallen angels, right? Maybe we better just move right along here. All right, but anyway, his name is Gideon and his threshing wheat in verse 11 there, and And then lo and behold, the angel of the Lord said something to him, appeared unto him and said unto him in verse 12, the Lord is with thee the mighty man of valor.” Now God sees things from the beginning, but he can always see to the end and he’ll say things as though it’s already happened and it hasn’t yet, but he really gives Gideon reason to hope.

But Gideon is a very doubtful man. He had problems. He had a few hang-ups. So he brought off the bat search questioning God. Now, I don’t know if he knows right off the bat that, hey, this is somebody special that you’re talking to. So he says there, the Almighty Man of Valor, and like I said the other night, he probably turned around ten times looking for the Almighty Man of Valor. He doesn’t see himself as a mighty man. He doesn’t see as a valiant man.

He’s not a military man. He’s just a farmer. He’s just out there, threshing weed. That’s all he is. And he didn’t look at himself as some great individual, but we know from the scripture that we read, God has chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the mighty. the wise and so on. If God got it done through this man, you know God had to do it because the man didn’t have any sense of pride. It doesn’t appear.

So he says in verse 13, And Gideon said unto him, Oh my Lord, if the Lord be with us, if the Lord is there a possibility that could be a question or a doubt. If the Lord be with us, well, what did the man up there say? The Lord is with thee, not going to be, he is with you, he’s with you. I guess I’d have to turn around here and look at this. Lord is with us, doesn’t look like it.

And so he says, if the Lord be with us, why then is all this befallen us? Where be all his miracles which our fathers told us of? saying, did not the Lord bring us up from Egypt? But now the Lord hath forsaken us and delivered us into the hands of the Midianites. Just think of all the years and the time of the judges is about between 300 to 350 years. That’s a long minute. This thing, America has been here a little over 225 years, 230 years.

And you’re talking about, look how long we’ve been here. And they were there almost twice that long. And nothing exciting going on. or between the Old Testament and the New Testament, where you have almost 400 years of silence. Thus, twice as long as America has been America and nothing. You think, man, nothing’s going on. This thing’s a dud. And then all of a sudden, out of the clear, blue sky, here comes a man named John the Baptist on the scene, after 400 years.

And all of a sudden, right on schedule, here comes a man. But God says his eyes are always looking for a man. God’s looking for a man that he can show himself strong on his behalf. And this is what really blew my mind. God wants to make you look good. God wants to make you look good if you will help make him look good. See, God wants to look good, but he wants to make you look good at the same time.

So God will take a dedicated nobody and do some great things with him because he knows you’re going to praise him for it. Because you know, and you know, you couldn’t do it without him. So I love all of the Cius Scriptures that talks about Gideon. And I like what he says here. In verse 13, he says, Where be all of his miracles which our fathers told us of? But now the Lord had forsaken us, delivered us into the hands of the meeting name.

And they had been like slaves now for seven years. Seven years. Now they’re crying out to the Lord. Verse 14, and the Lord looked upon him and says, go in this thy mind. In other words, your strength is gonna be me. Cause I will be with you. As he says, if the Lord is with you, thou mighty man, you’ll be a mighty man because I’m gonna be with you. And Gideon says, you’re right. Okay. Sounds good. But all he wanted was a little proof.

He wanted some proof. Give me some evidence. Show me a sign. Have you ever heard people talk about, you know, well, I’m going to put out a fleece. I’m going to put out a fleece. Lord, if it’s your will, do this. Lord, if you want me to do that, you do this and then I don’t know. So we put out little fleeces. Well, this putting out fleeces is where it comes from is from the book of Judges talking about Gideon because why?

Gideon put out a fleece. And his was a very simple thing. He says, now, I’m gonna put this fleece out here. And if you’re really who you say you are and really gonna do what you say you’ll do, not that I’m doubting you anything like that. But he says, if you’ll just let all the ground be dry and the fleece be wet, then I don’t know. So God did it. So he wrung out about a bowl of water and said, now Lord, just one more thing.

I want the fleece to be dry and all the ground to be wet. So he did that. And did God do it that time? God did it again. He put out a fleece. Now should you and I put out little fleeces? Well, you can if you want to, but I wouldn’t put much stock in that. No light Lord, I see that person standing over there, but I don’t wanna do this in the energy of the flesh. I’ll know what you will if.

And then you put a continuous on it. If he’s there within the next half hour. And if he gets a McDonald hamburger, a strawberry shake, some French fries, and he sets down at that table, then I know you want me to talk to him. And you put out a fleece. Ah, he sat down at that table. So now I know it wasn’t God’s will for me to talk to him. That’s not good? Y’all wouldn’t buy that. See, you can put out little fleeces like that if you want to.

And sometimes it’s a little difficult for us because we have questions and doubts. Sometimes I don’t have a problem doing what God wants me to do. It’s just sometimes I don’t know what it is. You ever have that problem? I just don’t know what he wants me to do. me to do. So it’s not always bad versus good. It’s so sometimes both can be good. And so you’ll have a struggle in your life. But I love this as it goes through here.

But what I want you to see, look there in verse 15. He said unto him, Oh my Lord, where will shall I save Israel? Behold, my family is poor in the nastles. Do you don’t have any money. And I’m the least in my father’s house. I’m not anybody anybody knows. I mean who knows me? I’m a nobody. The Lord said unto him, surely you ought to underline that word surely. Surely I will be with thee and thou shalt smite the meaty nights as one man.

So God is telling them how this is going to go down. Surely I’m going to be with you. Isn’t that enough to ease your fears? You don’t have to worry. Now, you know that all these groups joined together were probably around 135, 140,000 people. Look over there in chapter 8, look in chapter 8, after they had already had a victory. They were still chasing the leftovers and the leftovers, these 300 people were chasing And he says in verse 10, now Ziba and Zalmunah, he says, where is Korokah?

And they’re hosts with them about 15,000 men. All that were left of all the hosts of the children of the East, and there fell 120,000 men that drew the sword. 120,000 that had already been killed. And now here’s these 300 that are chasing 15,000. Now you think those 300 were bold, 300 chasing 15,000 that were still alive. And they were chasing them. And of course they got into a little bit of a problem because of some of their brethren didn’t want to give them any food to eat.

and they were famished. They were tired and hungry. They’d been up all night long and God had given a strategy that’s a strike of military genius because the Lord is the commander in chief. I wish we had a guy in chief that knew that, but anyway, we’re moving right along. But, Lewity says in verse 17 of chapter six, and he said unto him, if now I have found grace and thy side, Show me a sign that thou talk us with me.

I wanna sign, prove it to me. So he says in verse 18, depart not hands, I pray then, until I come unto thee and bring forth my present, said it before thee, and he says, I will carry until you’re coming in. So he went and got him some, you know, some meat and so forth like I did and made some broth. And the angel of the Lord says, put it on that rock over there. And the broth just kind of poured around me.

I went and made this broth and you want me to pour it on a rock. I got a choice piece of meat and you want me to just put it on that rock over there. And the angel of the Lord took his staff and with the point of it he touched it. What happened? Fire! Fire came from the tip of the thing. He said, I want to see a sign. Well, that’s pretty good. And it consumed it. And then he thought to himself, self, no normal man does this.

And he relied, he must be an angel of the Lord. So he says here in verse 20, and the angel of God said unto him, take the flesh and the unleavened cakes and lay them upon this rock and pour out the broth. And he did so. Unleavened cakes because it didn’t take time to put yeast in it so it would rise so it was unleavened. In verse 21 then the angel of the Lord put forth the end of the staff that was in his hand, touched the flesh and the unleavened cakes and there arose up fire out of the rock and consumed the flesh and the unleavened cakes then the angel of the Lord vanished out of his sight.

Well how is that? Pretty good first sign. I probably scared him half to death. So in verse 22, and when Gideon perceived that he was an angel of the Lord, Gideon says, Oh my goodness, I have seen an angel of the Lord face to face. Now he was satisfied, right? He was totally satisfied. He knew God had spoken. He didn’t need any more signs, right? No, he wasn’t done. God was now going to ask him to do something. Joe Ash’s father had kind of leaned toward the bail worship, and he had some high grows, and he had some altars and so forth to bail.

And the Lord told him, said, now, here’s what I want you to do. I want you to get a young bullet and a one seven years old, and I want you to tear down their altars, and I want you to sacrifice. And Gideon says, you want me to what? He says, this is what I want you to do. Now, Gideon was scared to death. He was scared of his daddy. He was scared of his dad’s servants and of the townspeople.

So he didn’t want to do that in the daytime. He says, I’ll do it at night. So he got 10 of his men together and they went in there and they tore down what his dad had put up, tore those down and built an altar and sacrificed. And God was pleased, but he had made a statement to him in verse 23. He says, “‘Peace be unto the fear not for thou shalt not die.'” And The first thing that they found out the next morning said, who did this?

They said, Joe, as the son Gideon did that. We’re going to kill him. But what did God already promise? Thou shall not die. And so he went and did this by night in verse 27, the last part of verse 27. But when the men of the city in verse 28 rose early in the morning, behold, the altar of Bea was cast down. The grove was cut down that was by it. And the second bullet was offered upon the altar that was built.

They said one to another, who did this? When they inquired and asked, they said, Gideon, the son of Joash, have done this thing. Then the men of the city said in the Joash, bring out thy son that he may die. But God had already told him before this. So does God know the future? So God gave him assurance. You know, God has a way of doing that. If God is in it and God gives you a peace of mind, then you just trust the Lord.

It doesn’t matter how many people are against something. It doesn’t matter if anybody else says. God already said, gmaxwell you will not die. If God says he won’t die, then guess what? He won’t die. So God protected him. But they changed his name to Zorobo. And it says, because Biola, he says, if you want him to die, why don’t you just let the God of Baal, Baal God, why don’t you let him kill him? Why should we have to do anything?

He did that to Baal. If Baal is man, let Baal kill him. So at least his daddy did speak up for his son, Help him a little bit there. But now it says in verse 34, The spirit of the Lord came upon Gideon. God had a work for him to do. The Lord was going to work on this man. And the Old Testament, the Holy Spirit came upon these men to do a job and then would leave. And that’s why David would even pray, Lord, take not thy Holy Spirit from me.

In the New Testament, the Holy Spirit will come and indwell us and never leave us. Totally different. So he says it in verse 36, and Gideon said unto God, If thou will save Israel by my hand, as thou have said, You know, you said so, you said you would, but if you’re going to do this, Behold, I will put a fleece of wool in the floor. And if thou do be on the fleece only, and it be dry upon all the earth beside, then shall I know that thou won’t save Israel by my hand, as thou have said.

All he wanted was a little proof.” Well, I wonder what happened. Verse 38, and it was so for he rose up early in the morning. Trust the fleas together and ring the dew out of the fleas a bowl full of water. And Gideon said unto God, let not thine anger be hot against me. In other words, I’m not trying to make you mad. I’m not making you mad, am I? I don’t want to make you mad. But he says, I will speak but this once.

Let me prove I pray thee, but this once with the fleas, let it now be the God only upon the fleas. and upon on let there be due and God did so that night for it was dry upon the fleece only and there was due on all the ground just like he wanted why do you think God did that for him God knows we need encouragement God knows that we are filled with questions and doubts and fears but you know this whole thing was initiated by God.

God wanted to do something. The children of Israel were crying unto God, so God moves. God does things, but God delights in doing little miracles. Things that you can’t figure out what you’re going to do. How are you going to do it? If God did that then, is there a possibility God can do those things in our own lives? Think about it. God will let you get into a jam. But he knew about it ahead of time. You stop and think whenever Moses went down into Egypt, did God already know all the times that Pharaoh would say no?

Did you think God already knew that? And look how many times he had to perform these miracles and all these plagues and so on, God already knew that. I think God gets a kick out of doing something that they don’t think he can do just to show them. And doing that, God has to make Moses look good. But in doing this, Moses made God look good. God is looking for a man that will make God look good. And so among the people of the world and where we live, God will allow things to happen to you because he wants you to demonstrate that you know him and you love him and you’ll walk with him regardless, and God wants to do things on your behalf because of your faith.

So God has little ways in which to work in our lives to teach us how to be obedient, how to trust Him. You see, just like with parents, you have to learn how to trust, learn how to trust them. And if they’re trustworthy, you trust them more. Have you ever seen teenagers want parents to trust them? And and the parents is not on your life. Yeah, give me the keys to the muzzarati. Yeah, yeah, right, huh? But that I need a hundred dollars for gas tonight.

You have to earn the right to be trusted. But you have to have a little things that you let them do in order to prove whether they’re faithful or not. So little here, a little there, a little here, a little there, and you grow. And God is able to use you in a great mighty way. You’ve been listening to another great message from Dr. Arnold, and we hope that Bibleline is a blessing to you. In appreciation for your support of this ministry, we’d like to send to you a gift.

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Our mailing address is 4811 George Road, Tampa, Florida, 33634. And don’t forget to include your mailing address as well. God bless you and thank you for again for supporting Bibleline. Thanks for joining us on Bibleline. If you are in the area, we welcome you to visit us. The address for Calvary Community Church is 4811 George Road, Tampa, Florida, 33634. And now, a closing thought from Pastor Arnold. Friend, one day it will happen. The trumpet will sound, and we will be changed.

Caught up to meet the Lord in the air. So live today and every day. Believing that the Lord is coming soon, just keep looking up.