Rev. David Holwick
First Baptist Church
West Lafayette, Ohio
June 22, 1986
Using Your Smarts
Judges 7, NIV
Everyone faces struggles and difficulties in life. It is how we decide to face them that makes all the difference. If you'll remember from last week, Israel's problem was the yearly invasion of Midianites. They swooped in on their camels and ripped off all the food. To deliver the Jews, God raised up Gideon. Gideon loved the Lord. He was a little on the timid side, but with God he knew he could do great things.
If you know anything at all about Gideon, you know about his battle. Against the huge force of the Midianites, Gideon gathered together 32,000 Israelites. That's a respectable number, not huge, but respectable. God was going to have nothing to do with it. In 7:2 it states: "The LORD said to Gideon, You have too many men for me to deliver Midian into their hands." God didn't want them to get an oversized ego.
So he gives Gideon some instructions in verse 3. "Announce now to the people, 'Anyone who trembles with fear may turn back and...." This is actually one of the laws in Deuteronomy. It says in Deuteronomy 20:8 - "Then the officers shall add, "Is any man afraid or fainthearted? Let him go home so that his brothers will not become disheartened too." This is sound military strategy. A handful of cowards can demoralize a whole army.
So Gideon makes the announcement. And what happens? Two-thirds of his men go home. Two-thirds. That must have been a real encouragement to Gideon and his army. The ones who were left must have turned to each other and said - "What do they know that we don't?" Just imagine me making an announcement in church - those who really don't want to be here, who'd rather be in bed, can go home - and the whole middle section gets up.
But Gideon didn't have time to get discouraged. In verse 4 God continues. "The LORD said to Gideon, There are still too many men. Take them down to the water...." Down at the river God divided the lappers from the kneelers. Most of the men got down on their knees and sucked it up. But a few, only 300, seem to have cupped the water in their hands and drank in an upright position
He divided his men into 3 small units, and positioned them at different points around the camp. According to verse 13, each man held 3 things - a trumpet, a torch, and a pot that fit over the torch. Some have wondered how they could hold 3 things with only 2 hands. Most probably the trumpet was a ram's horn that was hung around the neck till it was needed.
At the critical time in the middle of the night, they blew their horns, smashed the pots, waved the torches and screamed at the top of their lungs. The Midianites were so startled they slaughtered each other, then ran for home.
It was a brilliant strategy, and it worked. God gave Gideon the confidence and the intelligence to bring it off. As Christians, we are in the same situation Gideon found himself in. God has given us a task in life, but he lets us work out the details. We need to use our smarts to get it done.
We can begin with our own lives. In the little booklet called the 4 Spiritual Laws, the first one says: "God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life." Do you know what that plan is? In the broad outline, we know we are supposed to have godly habits and stop sinning. When our lives are over, God will receive us into heaven. As for his specific plan for us, most of us are not aware of it till it has happened.
I think God wants it this way. If he told us everything that was going to happen, we would hide in the closet. We would be like puppets.
God's will is for you to take charge of your life. Use the talents and gifts he has given you. Consider your relationship with God. What are you doing to make it deeper? Attending church is beneficial, but it is not enough.
Even for something like spirituality, we need to have a strategy. Jesus said his followers are the kind of people who build a house on top of rock instead of sand. Both houses stand up fine - until the storm comes. Spirituality requires looking ahead, and making preparation now.
When trouble comes, many Christians are caught off guard because they have not prepared themselves. God wants us to have habits of studying his word and praying. Spirituality also9 concerns how our personality is developed. Are you selfish? Hot-tempered? What are you doing about it?
We need to use strategy in our daily lives. A big concern of many people is money. We never seem to have enough. Usually it is because we are not disciplined. The Bible tells us to just look at ants. They work hard, and they store up for the winter. People need to do the same thing. Set a strategy for how you are going to provide for your family.
If you are searching for a job or a wife, use strategy. Pray, Prepare, and Proceed. When I first met Celeste, I had no idea she would turn out to be a great pastor's wife. I had asked the Lord for a good spouse, but at the time I would have settled for a girlfriend. In this area my tendency was to wait for God to drop her in my lap. For Celeste, I decided to use strategy. After a chance meeting, I made up my mind to call her up. This was no small problem, because I didn't have her number, and I couldn't even remember her name. After intense research, I found out the details, called her, and the rest is history. What if I had not gone to all that effort? God's will might have been for West Lafayette to have a celibate pastor.
Individuals are not the only ones who need to use strategy. So do churches. The last thing Jesus gave the apostles before ascended into heaven was a strategy for evangelism. He told them to start in their home base, Jerusalem, and then to spread into the outlying areas. Finally they would reach the ends of the earth.
What kind of strategy does our church have? None that I know of. We do what we've done before. But careful planning can make a difference. Why was VBS such a success this year? Was it a fluke? The reason we had a third more kids is that the leaders planned for it. Weeks before it began they went out door-to-door to invite children. They mentioned how the church van could pick them up. In the end it was making 3 round trips, full of kids.
Strategy can make a difference. God had given us the ability to make intelligent choices, and he expects us to use it. Jesus told us to be as harmless as doves - and as crafty as snakes.
Of course in every plan we make, we should leave room for God. Remember that he is always working behind the scenes, and he is going to call us to account.
Copyright © 2024 by Rev. David Holwick
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