Today we plan to fight for our faith! “Satan comes to steal, kill and destroy,” (Jn 10:10). That’s his manifesto. He is a thief. It’s who he is…it’s what he does!
And make no mistake … Satan has stolen something from you.
He walked in your home, evaluated your merchandise and ripped you off! And he did not take the old junk you didn’t want any more. No, no, no…he took your best stuff. You’re precious stuff … like your peace of mind, your children, your spouse, your vision, your passion and your faith! We believers must fight back!
While it is true Satan came to steal, it’s also true that Jesus came to give it all back! He came to equip us with the stuff we need to defend our faith. To deepen our faith. To enable us to win the battles we never thought we could win. That’s exactly what happened with Gideon.
Our text is at the tail end of an unbelievable war story. The Midianites were a ruthless bunch. Their army was stocked with seasoned and capable warriors. To rule the world, they ravaged neighboring countries through barbaric military advancements. These boys were the real deal. Tough. Chiseled. Competent.
Israel was to be their next victim … But God got involved! He recruited a wheat farmer named Gideon to be His General, and through the process of elimination whittled his army to 300. How many men were in the Midianite army? 100k. That’s right, 300 against 100,000 and the 300 won! It’s an unbelievable war story.
Israel, with the help of the Almighty, levied a beat-down against the Midianites. But they were not finished. The enemy was on the run and Israel went after them. Enter our text in Judges 8:4 …
“Gideon came to the Jordan and crossed over, he and the 300 men who were with him, EXHAUSTED YET PURSUING.” ESV
34.8
The word “Exhaust” means, “to tire extremely or completely.” The CEV translation says, “they were exhausted … but still giving chase”. I wonder if anybody here is extremely and completely tired … but you’re still giving chase!
- Your lungs are burning … but your still in the chase.
- Your feet are sore … but your still in the chase.
- Your arms are heavy … but your still in the chase.
And you’re talking to the enemy the entire time! “Don’t you turn around; cause I’m still pursuing. You thought I was weak. You thought I was a quitter. You thought I was afraid. Guess what, I’m still in the chase. I’m behind you, right on your heels!”
The enemy doesn’t know what to do with this type of resilience! / fortitude! The former warriors ran from their enemy … but not you … you run after your enemy! That’s a sign of confidence and spiritual moxie. Mature spiritual warriors do not run, they chase. And they finish the battle!
When “Gideon came to the Jordan and crossed over, he and the 300 men who were with him, exhausted yet pursuing.”
I really want to be on this team! I want to wear the Team Gideon jersey. Bona fide losers whom Vegas picked to end the season in last place dug deep! They step up with faith in God and one another and they just won the Superbowl. Jersey please!
If I’m being honest this morning, sometimes I feel like I can Break Every Chain and other days I doubt I can break a $3 knockoff necklace. It’s maddening, because I know who I serve, and I know He does the miraculous, but there are times I struggle to connect the dots between what I believe and what I experience.
Biblically, I’m not alone.
ELAH VS ZIKLAG
34.8. That’s the mileage between Elah and Ziklag. It’s the same distance between our church and Novi / Chelsea. A runner can achieve that distance in 4 hours. By horse, you can get there in one hour. The way some of you drive … 20 minutes!
As far as king David is concerned, it might as well be a million miles away. Because the difference between Elah and Ziklag is staggering … but not unfamiliar.
Elah
- The valley where David defeated the giant Goliath.
- He is dripping with confidence. Standing tall. Bold. Defiant. Brave. Faith filled.
- Fellow soldiers carry him off the field of battle on their shoulders.
- David captured the attention of a nation. Kings daughter. Wealth. Status.
- Elah is a place of victory. A conquerors playground. Great vibes. Champions.
Ziklag
- The stronghold where David and fellow warriors lost everything.
- He is seized with despair. Bowing low. Confused. Stressed. Faithless.
- Fellow soldiers start talking about killing him.
- David’s family was captured, along with all his wealth. Status is all time low.
- Ziklag is a place of defeat. A victim’s prison. Negative vibes. Losers.
I appreciate these alternate realities. This is the same man. Same God. Very different events. Some people live life from victory to victory, but that is not my story. I’m an Elah to Ziklag to Elah to Ziklag kind of guy. I like Elah. I want to live there … permanently. But I often find myself hanging out in Ziklag.
I’ve had my victories. I’ve tasted of the sweet fruit of Elah. I’ve conquered a giant or two in my day … spiritually speaking. I have my days when I’m on a spiritual high and I will boldly fight any challenger … but I also have my days when the pressures of life get the best of me and I feel weak and vulnerable. Low faith days.
Faith is easy pickings while the enemy on the run and you are on the chase. BUT your enemy knows how to make a U-turn. He will come back at you! Faith is not as easy when someone has their heel in your throat. The pink slip arrives. The child rebels. The house forecloses.
Sometimes the distance between victory and defeat is miniscule. Hardly visible.
- Get a miracle today and have your car towed away tomorrow.
- Lead someone to Christ this morning and by evening your power gets cut.
- Rescued someone from a tragedy and then the phone rings.
In just 34.8 miles David went from emboldened to discouraged.
- Discouragement is what brings a mighty man to acting like a weak man.
- Discouraged means your courage ran before your fight was over.
- Discouraged means I had it, but I lost it.
- It means I’m tired of you collapsing on me and I need to collapse on you.
David, King David, anointed David, gifted David, powerful David was discouraged, and he’s balled up in a knot. So, David “encouraged himself in the Lord”. Sometimes your alone in the battle and nobody’s encouraging you. Not your neighbor, not your boss, not your spouse, not your daddy / momma. Sometimes you just have to encourage yourself!
So David’s praying and he says to God, “I don’t know if my life is over, I don’t know if I’m going come out of this or not,” he said, “I don’t even know whether I’ve got another fight in me, but God, I could use a Word right now!”
God responded back through the priest and ephod, and in essence He said two words: “FIGHT BACK”. Somebody shout: “FIGHT BACK”.
So, I’ve got a message for every man and women who wants to quit / For every person here who’s at your wit’s end / For everyone who’s tired in the middle of the battle, and for every one of you who’s wondering, “Do I have what it takes for this season in my life”? My message for you is bold yet simple … FIGHT BACK!
I looked at the first 6 verses of 1 Samuel 30. Here are the words I extracted from the Ziklag catastrophe…
Raided, attacked, burned, taken captive, carried off, destroyed by fire, wept aloud, no strength left, exhausted, captured, greatly distressed, talked of stoning David, bitter in spirit.
But … David found strength in the LORD his God. 1 Samuel 30:6b
What do you do when you’ve been raided, attacked, burned and your closest allies are talking about how to stone you? You encourage yourself in the Lord and you FIGHT BACK!
- When you get overwhelmed with a sense of discouragement, FIGHT BACK.
- When you go through hell on the job, & the enemy taunts you, FIGHT BACK.
- When you go home and everything’s breaking loose, FIGHT BACK.
- Slap somebody and tell them, ““I’m about to FIGHT BACK and I’m going to get it all back!”
You see, that’s the conclusion of the Ziklag calamity. After David prayed and encouraged himself in the Lord, he took a deep breath, wiped the tears from his eyes, threw back his shoulders, armored up and led his warriors in a chase of their own! They pursued the invaders and caught up to them. David got his fight back and then he fought back!
He looked the enemy square in the eyes and shouted, “I want it back”. Somebody here needs to get their fight back! The devil came in and took your stuff. Your precious stuff. Your hope. Your peace. Your joy. Your sanity. Your children. Your relationships. Your prayer. Your spiritual language. Your anointing. Your faith.
Tell your enemy … “I want it back. Give me my joy. Give me my peace. Give me my authority. Give me my anointing. Give me my sanity. Give me my faith. I’ve made up my mind. I’m not going to take this laying down. You might have knocked me down, but I’m about to get up and I intend fight back”.
Now watch this. I can be BOLD and audacious when I say this. I can be confident and speak with authority because the Bible says that David and his men fought back, from dusk until evening the next day … and they RECOVERED ALL!
Touch your neighbor and say, “I’m a recovery agent!” Yes, Ziklag was a tough pill to swallow. Ziklag was deflating. Embarrassing. Overwhelmingly difficult! But Ziklag does not own me! I’m done with the tears. I’m finished being pushed around. “Boy’s, you can drop those rocks now we have a battle to fight!”
Refresh yourself if needed and then get on your feet. I know you’re tired. I know you’re battle weary. I know Ziklag has been a real downer … but Elah is just down the street! I’ve been there, done that and bought the t-shirt! The same God that handed me the sword of the giant is the same God who will grant us victory today.
The fact is every battle we face has an eternal purpose.
Let’s rewind to Gideon. Remember him? The entire story unfolded in one 24-hour span: the gradual downsizing of the army, the intense preparation for warfare, the all-night battle against 100,000 warriors. He and his men were “exhausted yet pursuing”
When we follow Jesus, we can’t settle for a partial victory because we’re exhausted. God won’t allow it. His plan is always for our full deliverance — and sometimes that comes only in the last half hour, when we’re frustrated, tired and can’t go one more step.
God is speaking to you as he would to the 300: “I want you to set your heart and mind to battle an enemy ten times bigger than you. You can’t overcome this enemy on your own. But I’m going to give you something they don’t have.”
