Live Free with Josh Howerton - Only God Can Give You the Victory | Ep. 435 | Friday, October 4, 2024

Episode Date: October 4, 2024

How are the odds stacked against you right now? In the conclusion of the story of Gideon, we see God's remarkable power demonstrated by 300 men defeating a solid military force using unconventional methods. Through worship and trust in God, victory was achieved with rams' horns and clay pots, causing chaos among the enemy. The book of Judges highlights how divine intervention can lead to triumph even in challenging circumstances. No matter what your reality is today, God is with you! Cry out to God, and step out in faith by tearing down false gods in your life. For more information, visit lakepointe.church/dailydrive

Thanks for tuning in to today's Daily Drive with Lake Point Church, a daily dose of God's word for your morning drive. When the word, not the world, becomes the majority of your week, your life will start to change. For that reason, our prayer is that God will speak to you through today's devotional. For more digital content to feed your faith, visit lakepoint.comit. Church slash daily drive. And now let's dive in to today's devotional. Man, this week has flown by, and I can't believe it's already October, which, by the way, is my favorite month of the year. Love me some fog. At football, fire pits, cool nights.

You can wear a hoodie and a pair of shorts every day. Leaves are changing, man. I just love it. And as we wrap up this first week of October together, we're wrapping up an underdog story. The entire week, we've been binge watching the story about a guy named Gideon, who God called to deliver his people from their evil oppressors, the Midianites. Well, we left off yesterday with God reducing Gideon's rag-tag army from 33,000 men to 300. Takes away swords and spears and arms them with pots, torches, and horns. I mean, this is an against-all- odds kind of scenario.

Midian is the largest military force on the planet, and Gideon has 300 dudes. So here's how the final episode unfolds. The Midianite camp is in the valley just below Gideon, and God tells him, I have given you victory over them. But if you need some reassurance, just sneak down there and listen to what some of them are saying right now. So Gideon grabs another guy and they go down the edge of the valley, and there are so many people, and if their army wasn't big enough, soldiers from other evil alliances such as the Amalekites had now joined them. Scripture says they looked like a swarm of locust, too many to count.

And remember, Gideon's got 300 ill-equipped guys. He's got to be getting sick to a stomach taking all this in, thinking, oh, mine, oh, man, this is so much worse than I ever dreamed. But check this out, verse 13 of chapter 7. Gideon crept up just as a man was telling his companion about a dream. The man said, I had this dream. And in my dream, a loaf of barley bread came tumbling down into the Midianite camp. It hit a tent, turned it over, and knocked it flat.

His companion answered, Your dream can mean only one thing. God has given Gideon, son of Joash, the Israelite, victory over Midian and all of its allies. Verse 15. When Gideon heard the dream and its interpretation, he bowed and worshipped before the Lord. Then he returned to the Israelite camp and shouted,

Get up. For the Lord has given you very. over the Midianite hordes. It's on. So he devises 300 mighty men into three groups and gives each man a ramshorn, a clay jar with a torch in it. And he tells them, we're going to surround the camp, keep your eyes on me. And listen, just do what I do. When we get to the edge of the camp, we're going to create some chaos. As soon as the guys with me blow our rams horns, you guys blow your rams horns too, and shout for the Lord and Gideon. Let me just read the rest from Judges chapter 7, beginning in verse 19, is so cool. It was just after midnight. After the changing of the guard, when Gideon and the 100 men with him reached the edge of the Midianite camp, suddenly they blew the ram's horns and broke their clay jars. Then all three groups blew their horns and broke their jars.

They held the blazing torches in their left hands and the horns in their right hands, and they all shouted, a sword for the Lord and for Gideon. Each man stood at his position around the camp and watched as all the Midianites rushed around in a panic, shouting as they ran to escape. When the 300 Israelites blew their ram's horns, the Lord caused the warriors in the camp to fight against each other with their swords. Those who were not killed fled to places far away. Against all odds. 300 men, armed with horns, pots, and torches, take out the greatest army on the planet. Only God.

Amazing, God. But you know that really wasn't the finale? There's one more episode. It's the one where you join the cast of characters. Your story. What's reality for you right now? How are the odds stacked against you? mighty warrior.

Maybe relationally, it's a challenge for you right now. Maybe you have mounting financial pressure or you lost your job. Maybe you're getting bullied or disrespect at school. Or you're the parent of a prodigal kid that you don't know how to help. Or maybe it's an addiction that just makes you feel like you're living in the spin cycle of a washing machine. Or maybe you're battling some big-time health issues. I'm here to tell you that we have a god of horns, pots, and torches. He is the God who makes walls fall down, and armies run.

run, and axe heads float, and red seas part, and the sun to stand still, he turns water into wine, he walks on water, makes blinded ice seas, and dead men walk, and that same God is for you today. He's with you, mighty warrior, so don't be afraid, don't be discouraged, don't give up hope. Maybe he's just been waiting for you to cry out, to acknowledge that you are the weakest of your clan, that you are in need of supernostic. help. Maybe he's been waiting for you to tear down all those false gods you've been depending on, the ones you've been giving your devotion, your energy, your money, your passion,

your adoration to, and start cleaning house. Maybe he's calling you to step up and step out by faith and just walk with him. He will not only help you start walking freer than you've ever walked. He will also use you to accomplish amazing things, write you into a better story, one that will make people stand back and say, wow, only God. I'm praying for you today like I do every day. Hope you have a great weekend. I'll see you back here on Monday, Mighty Warrior. Thanks for tuning in today.

For more biblical teaching and worship, join us for our church online live weekend services on Saturdays and Sundays. For more information about all the digital ministries of Lake Point, visit lakepoint.comptarch slash daily drive. Also, if this podcast, podcast was helpful to you, would you be sure to rate, review, and share this podcast to help get the word out?