[0:00] We will find the subject of our meditation tonight in chapter 8 of the book of Judges chapter 8 and words in verse 4.
[0:19] Judges chapter 8, words in verse 4. Perhaps we could have a light set down for what we could do.
[0:32] Judges chapter 8, verse 4. And Gideon came to Jordan and passed over, he and the three hundred men that were with him, faint, yet pursuing.
[0:53] These words, faint, yet pursuing. These words describe to us the condition of Gideon and his little band after they had pursued the Midianites.
[1:18] Now Gideon was a man who had been called and raised up by God to be the deliverer of his country in a very special time of meeting.
[1:33] He knew that the Lord had sent him. For God had brought a miracle to convince him and he, trusting in the divine call, gathered a vast army of 32,000 men.
[1:57] But what do we find? The Lord was not pleased with the army that Gideon had collected. For at the very beginning of chapter 7, we read at verse 2.
[2:15] And the Lord said to Gideon, The people that are with me, the people that are with me are too many for me to give the Midianites into their hands. Lest Israel want themselves against me, saying, Mine own hand hath saved me.
[2:32] Now that they go to proclaim the ears of the people, saying, Whosoever is fearful and afraid, let him return and depart early from Mount Gilead.
[2:44] And they returned of the people twenty and two thousand, and there remained ten thousand. Now though Gideon had obeyed the Lord in doing this, Gideon had a further trial for Gideon and for his men.
[3:10] Because we go on to verse 4 and we read, And the Lord said unto Gideon, The people are yet too many. Bring them down to the water, And I will try them for thee there.
[3:26] And it shall be that of whom I say unto thee, This shall go with me, the same shall go with thee. And of whomsoever I say unto thee, This shall not go with thee, the same shall not go with thee.
[3:41] And so Gideon obeyed the Lord. And he took his men down to the water side, Following the directions of God.
[3:58] And there he was told to watch which of them would rush forward with eager haste, And bend down on their knees to drink.
[4:12] And which of them would have patience and self-control, And only drink a little at a time from the water.
[4:23] And so we read in verse 7 that the number of them who thus put their hands to their mouths, And other words, who exercise patience were only three hundred men.
[4:39] And so God said to Gideon, Thine is three hundred men, Will thou go forward and meet the Midianites.
[4:54] And so Gideon went with his small army, Against the huge army of the Midianites and the Amalekites.
[5:07] And this was an exercise which was a great strain upon these men. It was a long drawn out warfare, Which lasted for a very long time.
[5:26] But in the end, Gideon and his small army were victorious. Now my friend, we read here in verse 4, That Gideon and his men were fainting as it were, Yet they pursued.
[5:53] Now have we not heard just what every Christian ought to do?
[6:08] We are here to endure from Gideon and these men, The qualities which we must have, The disposition of heart that we must have, And the mind which we must exercise, As we go forward to fight and to engage in the battle of the God.
[6:39] So as to enable us to fight the good fight, And to be whole upon eternal life. Do not these words bring comfort, As well as instruction to every Christian.
[7:00] The state of Gideon and his band is often our state. We sometimes are faint and weary and distressed and disappointed and disillusioned.
[7:18] But let us be like them. Let us pursue. Now when or in what sort of situation are we often faint, weary, disappointed, discouraged?
[7:44] The Christian I believe is apt to faith in the time of temptation. When the sin assails and trouble comes.
[7:59] Now which of us has been as faithful as we ought to have been to God?
[8:10] Which of us has watched and prayed always, As we are exhausted to do in God's will?
[8:22] Who is there among us who does not often feel the power and the presence of sin within and without?
[8:35] Was it not to Christians that the apostle Paul said, The flesh lusteth against the spirit and the spirit against the flesh? And these two are contrary one to the other, So that he cannot do the things that he would.
[8:55] Have we not have had this experience of wanting to do what is good? But we have this warfare of lust.
[9:08] The warfare of flesh against the spirit. Even my friends, those who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ.
[9:19] And try to do the will of God. Have a struggle within. Between grace and nature. Between good and evil.
[9:32] Between the old life and the new life in Christ Jesus. And when grace and nature. Reason and passion.
[9:45] Are a terrible war. They shake the whole state. when one and then another is about to prevail.
[10:01] We become weary. We become exhausted. We sometimes are at our good's end.
[10:14] We do not know what to do. We feel failure. We are ready to give way. When such experiences come to us.
[10:28] Let us think of Gideon and his men. Let the words of our text come to our minds. And be as the Lord's battle cry to our ears.
[10:43] Let these words round our faith in God. Let these words give us courage. Let these words enable us to endure unto the end.
[10:57] Though we faint yet let us pursue. For to hold on a certain victory. Remember that is his wit.
[11:10] Blessed is the man that endureth temptation. To him that overcometh. Shall receive the crown of life.
[11:24] Therefore. When temptation comes our way.
[11:36] Let us fly at once to prayer. As a drowning man clings to the plank. Thrown to him.
[11:47] In the tumultuous waters. Yes we are up my friends to face. In the time of temptation.
[11:58] Now we are up to all of us. For the faith and the endurance that we need. To be more than a conqueror. Through him that loves us.
[12:10] And then we are up to faith. In the time of affliction. How easy it is for us.
[12:21] To flatter ourselves that we love God. we love God and are submissive to the will of God when all goes well, when all goes smooth with us in life. But when God troubles us, when sudden sorrow comes upon us, when our earthly happiness is shaken, when my friends some bitterness is poured into our cup.
[13:04] How long and time this trouble may be. Bring weakness to us. Weakness not only of body but of mind and of spirit.
[13:29] There are times also when the world looks dark, empty, desolate. Then my friends and time of trial for us.
[13:48] To see whether our trust is in the God, that we are staying ourselves upon Jehovah.
[13:59] Then we need the Apostle Paul's exhortation. My son, despise not the cheating of the bond, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him.
[14:14] But rather pursue when such situations arise. Therefore, let us think of Gideon. Let his words be our watchword.
[14:36] Let it lift up our hands that hand down. Let it strengthen our feeble knees. Let us call faith to our aid.
[14:51] Let us trust in God's power and God's goodness. Let us trust in God's power and God's goodness. In God's love. Friends, we very often have need of patience. That after we have done the will of God, we may remember that the promises of God are found.
[15:18] That the will of God is not the only one who has been to the Lord. But he will not allow us to suffer above that which we are able to bear. That the will of God is not the only one who has been to the Lord.
[15:32] Tainty, yet breathable. Feeling weak through affliction, through trouble of any kind. Yet continuing on. Because the word is our help. The Lord is our refuge. The word is our strength.
[15:57] We should consider that our right afflictions are but for a moment. And but for us are exceedingly.
[16:12] Weight of those. So that is the second thing. We are out to faint when we are tempted. We are out to faint when trouble comes our way.
[16:34] And also we are out to faint when we are out to do good. And also we are at to faint in our endeavours to do good. We are out to faint and warm and warm. And earnestly desiring and seeking the conversion of others.
[16:51] A wife or a husband. A parent or a child. A brother or a sister. A friend or a neighbour.
[17:10] And do we sometimes feel that our grounds are in vain? That all our advice, all our int intelligence are apparently to get all tumble.
[17:31] Are we ready to give a utensil all to give? and to say of such a prohibition, they have passed recovery. I can do no more.
[17:47] We've come finished. But what is the advice for us? Keep on desiring, keep on praying, keep on seeking the good you desire for that individual.
[18:12] Then again, it may be that we have shown kindness only to receive gratitude, only to receive evil in return.
[18:27] Are we tempted to say, such wickedness I can't do no more about.
[18:39] I will shut my heart from what off. I will give it up. For the goodness that I desire to do I will impart.
[18:52] Is not a thing. All is a day. Then my friends, when we feel like that, is the time to remember that Christ our God bids us to do good to the evil and to the unsanxful.
[19:21] Though we may faint in heart yet still pursue in our work and our labour of love for the Lord Jesus Christ and for our fellow men.
[19:36] we may not overcome but overcome of evil. But can't overcome evil with good.
[19:52] Then lastly, we are up to think in prayer. whether we are praying for ourselves or praying for others.
[20:09] And here lies a great danger. It is prayer, my friends, that keeps us safe. If we neglect prayer.
[20:23] We are like a soldier without his arms unable to defend himself open to the enemies of souls.
[20:35] Therefore our Lord himself has given to us a paragraph which teaches us that men ought always to pray and not to think.
[20:55] Always to keep on praying. Whether for ourselves or for others knowing that we have a God not only who hears but a God who answers prayer.
[21:10] Do we feel unable to pray? Or perhaps we feel too sinful to pray? Does Satan try to persuade us that our prayers are not there? Have we sought God awful for the conversion of someone else?
[21:23] And does that other person still go on in their wickedness? Sin? Faint though we may be yet still pasted we we we we we we we we we we we we we we we we we we we we we we we we we we we the final victory.
[22:27] Gideon came to John and passed over, he and the three hundred men that were with him, failed, yet pursued.
[22:42] I know that there is much to discourage him, much to weary him, much to weaken us, much to make us feel faithful.
[22:57] I will just do our Christian life. So let us not give up. Let us not give in. Let us know that on our side there is a lift.
[23:13] Let us know on our side there is a friend that sticketh closer than the blood. Let us take a look at them.
[23:25] Let us lean upon his every last one. Let us know that he will never hear us.
[23:37] And the God whom we pray will hear until we ask. The God who sends temptation to us will give us strength to bear up and to overcome.
[23:51] And the God who sends a temptation to trouble too, will not allow that trouble to be more than we can bear. My friends, we have much to be thankful for.
[24:05] We have much for which to pray for God. If we are on the road to silence. If we are the children of God.
[24:17] If we are the followers of the Lord Jesus Christ. And we have much witness to bear in this world. In our homes, in our work, or wherever we need it.
[24:30] For let us be assured that we are not alone. But there is by our side the unchanging God.
[24:41] Of the unchanging state. Who says, I will never believe. I will never forsake.
[24:53] Oh my dear friends, let us know. Time will come, we have a feeling.
[25:04] Time will feel free. For let us rest upon the unchanging God.
[25:15] And pursue, go on, in history. Trust ye meldar Jehovah.
[25:29] For meldar Jehovah. Is upon wacht and strength. Faith. Yet more.
[25:41] Persuive. Let us pray. All our Lord we thank thee.
[25:55] For the word of thy truth. For the encouragement given to us in thy birth. For the word of thy birth. For the word of thy birth. And grant, oh Lord God, that we are found in this place tonight.
[26:08] Without thee as our Savior and our Lord. God. If we in this night are building upon the sand which shifts.
[26:20] And not upon the imperishable rock. Help us to realize in God that we cannot go on and be successful in this life.
[26:36] We cannot go on and live a life which will be pleasing to thee. And when trouble and temptation comes.
[26:49] We have no one and we have nothing to lean upon. We have no one and we have no one and we have no one and we have no one and we have no one. To grant unto us all who are burned.
[27:00] To become soldiers in the army of the dark. As a band of men and women. Though oft times faked.
[27:13] Yet pursuing. Until the final victory. Bless our coming together here in Christ's name. Follow us with thy blessing wherever we may be.
[27:28] And in whatever circumstances thy problems replace us. May our eye be ever unto thee, our God and our Savior.
[27:42] We ask it in the precious name of Jesus. And for his sake. Amen.