Kansas City, Missouri, United States - Reflecting God – Embrace Holy Living - “Worsipping Warriors” – Saturday, 27 September 2014 - Scripture: Judges 7:1-15

Kansas City, Missouri, United States - Reflecting God – Embrace Holy Living - “Worsipping Warriors” – Saturday, 27 September 2014 - Scripture: Judges 7:1 Jerub-Baal (Gideon) got up early the next morning, all his troops right there with him. They set up camp at Harod’s Spring. The camp of Midian was in the plain, north of them near the Hill of Moreh.
2-3 God said to Gideon, “You have too large an army with you. I can’t turn Midian over to them like this—they’ll take all the credit, saying, ‘I did it all myself,’ and forget about me. Make a public announcement: ‘Anyone afraid, anyone who has any qualms at all, may leave Mount Gilead now and go home.’” Twenty-two companies headed for home. Ten companies were left.
4-5 God said to Gideon: “There are still too many. Take them down to the stream and I’ll make a final cut. When I say, ‘This one goes with you,’ he’ll go. When I say, ‘This one doesn’t go,’ he won’t go.” So Gideon took the troops down to the stream.
5-6 God said to Gideon: “Everyone who laps with his tongue, the way a dog laps, set on one side. And everyone who kneels to drink, drinking with his face to the water, set to the other side.” Three hundred lapped with their tongues from their cupped hands. All the rest knelt to drink.
7 God said to Gideon: “I’ll use the three hundred men who lapped at the stream to save you and give Midian into your hands. All the rest may go home.”
8 After Gideon took all their provisions and trumpets, he sent all the Israelites home. He took up his position with the three hundred. The camp of Midian stretched out below him in the valley.
9-12 That night, God told Gideon: “Get up and go down to the camp. I’ve given it to you. If you have any doubts about going down, go down with Purah your armor bearer; when you hear what they’re saying, you’ll be bold and confident.” He and his armor bearer Purah went down near the place where sentries were posted. Midian and Amalek, all the easterners, were spread out on the plain like a swarm of locusts. And their camels! Past counting, like grains of sand on the seashore!
13 Gideon arrived just in time to hear a man tell his friend a dream. He said, “I had this dream: A loaf of barley bread tumbled into the Midianite camp. It came to the tent and hit it so hard it collapsed. The tent fell!”
14 His friend said, “This has to be the sword of Gideon son of Joash, the Israelite! God has turned Midian—the whole camp!—over to him.”
15 When Gideon heard the telling of the dream and its interpretation, he went to his knees before God in prayer. Then he went back to the Israelite camp and said, “Get up and get going! God has just given us the Midianite army!”
"Worshipping Warriors" by David Graves
One of the best ways to receive God’s guidance is through the Word of God, prayer, and sensitivity to the Spirit as we watch the circumstances of life. This was true for Gideon.
God had purposely reduced Gideon’s army to only 300 men. That night the Lord told him to go over to the enemy’s camp, where Gideon heard the dream of an enemy soldier. The soldier likened Gideon’s army to a loaf of barley bread, which was not a complimentary comparison at all! Barley had only half the value of wheat, and the bread made from it was considered inferior. In the same way, Israel’s tiny band of men was considered inferior to the vast forces of Midian and Amalek. However, Gideon did not mind being compared to a loaf of barley bread, for he knew that Israel would defeat their enemies and deliver the land from bondage.
Significantly, Gideon paused to worship the Lord before he did anything else (v. 15). He was so overwhelmed by the Lord’s goodness and mercy that he fell on his face in submission and gratitude. Before we can be successful warriors for the Lord, we must first become sincere worshipers of Him.

Hymn for Today:

"Holy God, We Praise Thy Name" by Ignaz Franz, translated by Clarence A. Walworth
1. Holy God, we praise your name;
Lord of all, we bow before you.
All on earth your scepter claim;
all in heaven above adore you.
Infinite your vast domain,
everlasting is your reign.
2. Hark! The glad celestial hymn
angel choirs above are raising;
cherubim and seraphim,
in unceasing chorus praising,
fill the heavens with sweet accord:
“Holy, holy, holy Lord!”
3. All apostles join the strain
as your sacred name they hallow;
prophets swell the glad refrain,
and the blessed martyrs follow,
and from morn to set of sun,
through the church the song goes on.
4. Holy Father, Holy Son,
Holy Spirit: three we name you,
while in essence only one;
undivided God we claim you,
and adoring, bend the knee
while we own the mystery.
Thought for Today:

“Faith in What We Don’t See
The fundamental fact of existence is that this trust in God, this faith, is the firm foundation under everything that makes life worth living. It’s our handle on what we can’t see. The act of faith is what distinguished our ancestors, set them above the crowd."(Hebrews 11:1-2)
Prayer Needs:
That many people in Guatemala will come to know Jesus the Christ, Yeshua the Messiah, and receive the fullness of the Holy Spirit.
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