Summary: God calls Gideon to defeat the Midianites

A Trumpet, A Torch, and a Glass Jar

Judges 7:13-21

1) A Trumpet

• The trumpet was used to signal something of importance.

• It was used to signal attack or retreat for the army

• It was used as a call to worship

• It was used to announce the arrival of someone important.

What does the enemy do when he hears you coming?

Does he… shake in his boots?

Laugh?

Make fun?

Run with fear?

Does the sound of your name move him at all?

Does your current walk with Jesus, warrant any sort

of reaction from the forces of hell?

In other words are you making a difference in the world around you?

Matthew 28:19-20

Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, [20] and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."

Think about it for a moment what does the enemy do when he hears you coming?

How’s your spiritual life?

Are you praying like you should?

Are you reading the Bible like you should?

This is the stuff that makes us strong.

This builds us up in our faith.

When do it like we should the enemy runs for cover when he hears us coming.

2) A Torch

Matthew 5:14-16

"You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. [15] Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. [16] In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.

St. Fransis of Assisi…..preach the word at all times, use words if necessary.

In other words our life should be a living witness of what God has done for us. People around us should be able to tell that there is something different about us.

3) A Glass Jar

I want this to represent something for us as well

Junk that covering up our light.

It may not be sin.

It could discouragement.

It could be a loss of passion for our walk with God.

It could a sense of being alone

It could be that can’t seem to hear God anymore.

We need to break free of that stuff and let our light

shine.

The jar also reminds me of how fragile we can be at times, especially new Christians.

We dive into things head first when what we really need to doing is learning and being discipled. We leaders are bad about being too desperate for help that we throw somebody right into the fire without giving them the tools and training to be successful. Then we wonder why we lost them and why they left their faith.

How many of you workout. You work you body so that you can stay thin and good looking. You go to the microwave machine so you can be tan. Ladies you spend lots of time in preparation so that you look just right for the day.

We need to workout our spirits as well. We need to spend time preparation for the day. This will cause our spirits to grow and become strong. And as we do, we become less and less fragile.