What Must We Do for Victory?

Victory requires 4 things, according to Gideon in Judges chapter 7: good works, proclamation, God's power, and our action.  Charles Spurgeon shares a great devotional from this passage of Scripture that details Gideon's victory over the Midianites.  Gideon had his small band of 300 men approach the innumerably large foreign army with unusual weapons: trumpets and torches in clay jars.  All at once, they broke the clay jars and exposed the torches, blew the trumpets, and then shouted "A sword for the Lord, and for Gideon!"  With that, the Midianite army fled in terror.

These simultaneous actions bring victory for us today.  Matthew 5:16 teaches that we should let our light, as in our good works, shine before men.  Just as Gideon's army blew their trumpets, we should loudly proclaim the truth of the Gospel.  Finally, we should declare our reliance upon the Lord and the power that we have to act.

We cannot separate the light and the trumpets.  Many people, citing St. Francis' (alleged) saying to "preach the Gospel at all times, and when necessary use words," rely upon their lives to testify to God.  The truth is that Francis never said this, nor did he live it - he was an itinerant preacher.  There is no doubt that too many Christians talk the talk but don't walk the walk.  They give Christianity a bad name by their hypocrisy.  A whole lot of us, myself often included, are guilty of that.  However, far too many Christians walk the walk but don't talk the talk.  They seclude Christianity into a corner and don't spread the Gospel.  A whole lot of us, myself often included, are also guilty of that.  We cannot separate living a life that testifies from sharing the Gospel verbally.

We must also recognize the balance between the work of the Lord and the work of us humans.  It is far too easy to declare our reliance upon the Lord, and then promptly sit down to do absolutely nothing.  Furthermore, it is far too tempting to work hard and leave no room for faith.  Just the same as we can't separate words and actions, we can't separate reliance upon the Lord from hard work and action.  Undoubtedly, the battle belongs to the Lord.  After all, we are talking about 300 men against an enormous army.  Yet, Gideon did nonetheless lead them into battle.  Without trusting God, we are running the risk of disaster.  Without acting ourselves, we are running the risk of watching God move on to another servant more willing to do His work.

Today, at LINC NT, may we show our good deeds in the community while simultaneously proclaiming the good news!  May we trust God, and walk forward boldly!  We hope that you will join us!