Pursue until you possess- part 1
Judges 8:12 Zebah and Zalmunna, the two kings of Midian, fled, but he pursued them and captured them, routing their entire army.
Don’t quit half way through in your life, keep the heat on until you see victory! Are you listening? Don’t give up what you started, I came today to tell you that. Remember, in the first place, it is not your strength that is going to accomplish the work, it is God with you and in you who will be with you until you hear the victory sound. Amen. Gideon was introduced not as a warrior but a man filled with anxiety, doubts, worries, trepidations and apprehensions; nevertheless, God did the pep-talk with Gideon and encouraged him through demos and presentations (God is good at it, He will do whatever it takes to convince you) and finally charged him to lead the war.
Wonderfully, Gideon and his team they destroyed the Midianite army but two wicked hard-hearted kings were left - Zebah and Zalmunna. By now Gideon and his three hundred men, were exhausted and hungry; yet, they kept pursuing to kill the two kings. That’s the spirit! Tired, hungry and exhausted; yet, they did not give up! Do you want to know the strength of the army with Zebah and Zalmunna? verse 10 says Now Zebah and Zalmunna were in Karkor with a force of about fifteen thousand men! Just imagine! But greater is He that is in us that he that is in the world.(1 John 4:4) Clap hands for God, will you? What are you intimidated and afraid of today? Is it a HR report, doctor report, whatever….they are nothing as long as you have God with you.
On the way Gideon requested food from the men of Sukkoth and Peniel but they refused and answered very rudely. Not rejected or intimidated by such harsh treatment, Gideon continued with his God-given project to kill the last two kings Zebah and Zalmunna. Eventually he captured them, when his son refused to kill them, Gideon himself killed the two wicked kings. Glory! The lesson that we learn today, life is not going to be easy or hunky-dory, you may have to encounter exhaustion, hunger, rude behaviour, lack of help, mockery, criticism and pain; nevertheless, you need to muster up your strength and trust God until the end to bring victory.
When we were conducting 3 days fire camp titled ‘Making Soldiers for God’ up to 2019, that is up to the time COVID invaded the world, I would be preaching on all 3 days very vigorously. Besides the preaching there were lot of other challenges to face as well. I sometimes felt, ‘even if my very close friends or relatives do not want to attend the meetings but they can come to help me.’ Such was the pressure on our family! We handled them though it was extremely tough and now those experiences are helping us handle the pressure of Abide School and various other projects. The armour of faith was given to you by God not to wear it as a show-piece but it is for you to boldly go and claim victory!
Part 2
Zebah and Zalmunna
Judges 8:21 Zebah and Zalmunna said, “Come, do it yourself. ‘As is the man, so is his strength.’” So Gideon stepped forward and killed them, and took the ornaments off their camels’ necks.
In part 1 of this sermon, I talked about the victory of Gideon over the Midianites and the grand finale of capturing Zebah and Zalmunna.
After capturing Zebah and Zalmunna, Gideon did not immediately finish them, he paraded them from town to town where he was earlier mocked, taunted and jeered. Though tired, depleted and hungry, something on the inside of Gideon kept him pursuing his goals and his aggressiveness and vigour just caught up with the team of 300 men as well. When the Leader is charged and bouncing, the energy spreads over to the team as well!
Ellon Musk is famously known to have slept in his workplaces. He said in November 2022 that he wanted to inspire Tesla workers to give "their all" at work by demonstrating that their leader is not "drinking Mai Tais on a tropical island." Musk said "I was living in the factory in Fremont and the one in Nevada for three years straight," Musk said in November. "Those were my primary residences." Such brutal commitment and stamina are a must to deal with great tasks and achievements. The enormity of success is directly proportional to the enormity of the sacrifices one makes!
Gideon brought Zebah and Zalmunna back to the cities Sukkoth and Peniel that had refused to help him, to show the city leaders that God had indeed granted Israel the victory. In front of the 2 wicked kings, Gideon did some amazing feat: He took the elders of the town and taught the men of Sukkoth a lesson by punishing them with desert thorns and briers. 17 He also pulled down the tower of Peniel and killed the men of the town. The two kings looked at everything with opened jaws and wondered how can a man do SUCH things with just 300 men! Did not God tell Gideon ‘300 is enough?’ God not only talks but demonstrates it too! Despite all this the two kings did not repent or turn to the true Living God but they had the audacity to say ‘come kill us yourself’. Don’t we see such Zebah and Zalmunnas’ in multitudes today?
When I went to share the Gospel and pray for an elderly man who drinks the whole day, he said,’ I prefer to go to hell, I don’t need prayers’. Sadly, he is no more now and also the family has been scattered and battered now. When the leader of the house is not with God then the entire family suffers. If any of your family member is hard-hearted, pray hard for them, not just shallow prayers, they need desperate fasting prayer. Ephesians 4:18 “They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to their hardness of heart.”
We run a free school for the poor children in Hyderabad, called Abide School, the cleaner is an elderly woman who has 2 married daughters and she had lost her grown up adult son for a disease few years back. Her daughter is not healthy too, one is bed ridden and the other is divorced with a mentally challenged child. This woman's husband does not work, she works and takes care of the family. Just look at the utter chaos of her life, yet she refuses to come to church or give up all her poojas, very meticulously she takes leave during hindu festivals to do hindu rituals. Hardhearted people who refuse to turn to God, we should not dismiss them but pray for them with burden.
Stay blessed!
