Pitchers And Trumpets

TRUMPETS & PITCHERS

Judges 7:19-21, "So Gideon, and the hundred men that were with him, came unto the outside of the camp in the beginning of the middle watch; and they had but newly set the watch: and they blew the trumpets, and brake the pitchers that were in their hands. And the three companies blew the trumpets, and brake the pitchers, and held the lamps in their left hands, and the trumpets in their right hands to blow withal: and they cried, The sword of the LORD, and of Gideon. And they stood every man in his place round about the camp: and all the host ran, and cried, and fled."

The question I have for each of us is this, “what are we doing with our trumpet and our pitcher?” Every one of us has a “trumpet” and a “pitcher” that God has given to us to use in fighting our spiritual warfare against the enemy of our souls.

In the 6th chapter of Judges we find one of the greatest heroes of faith in the history of Israel. The story of Gideon is one of the most remarkable in the entirety of the Bible. The first glimpse we see of Gideon is when he is working in a threshing floor separating the wheat from the chaff in the act of “winnowing”. He is hiding what he is doing because the people of Israel had, once again, fallen in bondage to the Midianites because they had not listened to the voice of God.

Now had come time for the harvest and Israel was preparing to gather the grain and store it up for the coming year but the Midianites would not allow Israel to enjoy their harvest or to gain strength for their labor.

How many of you know that it’s easier to kick a man when he’s down than to let him up and then try to knock him back down?

In this story I want to draw you an analogy of the life that each of us lives through the events in the story of Gideon.

Let me begin by saying that if you love the Lord and you have surrendered your life to Him then God has a word for you this morning and here is the word – “The Lord is With You, You Mighty Man or Woman of Valor! God will be with you! God agrees with you! God approves of you! God looks upon you for what you will become! God knows that when He is with you, there is “nothing impossible to him that will believe and trust in God”

Matthew 17:20, "… If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you."

Luke 1:37, "For with God nothing shall be impossible."

I know that many of us cannot see ourselves as “mighty men and women of valor”. We don’t look at ourselves as heroes of the faith. Why, I’m just a common ordinary preacher, a lowly Sunday School Teacher, or any other position we may hold. Some of us may even say, “Look, I’m just a doormat in God’s House, and I’m just glad to be a part of the Kingdom. I don’t see myself as anyone or anything special.”

But again I say to you, “The Lord is with you mighty man or woman of valor!”

Do you begin to see the picture this morning? Can you see where God is taking Gideon? Can you see where God is taking you?

God wants us to lift up our heads, quit thinking like a chicken, and fly like an eagle for a change. God sees greatness in each of us! We may not see ourselves as anything more than a mechanic, a farmer, a secretary, a janitor, or ditch digger, but, even if we think of our selves as an educated and successful person, we are still thinking on the wrong plane.

God says, “Look up! Get your eyes off of your own abilities and set your gaze upon ME for I am the great “I AM” and nothing is impossible with ME!” God wants to lift us above our own thoughts and get us to see this morning that He has great plans for each of us if we will only listen to His voice.

We have a choice to make. We can listen to voice of God and obey His Word or we can find ourselves hiding from the enemy of our soul like Israel, scratching and clawing out our very spiritual survival because we failed to listen to God! I don’t know about you but I’m tired of being in a hiding place. I’m ready to come out into the light of God and get out of the shadows of sin. I’m ready to do some great and mighty things of valor with God!