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Speaker 1: Behold, I will put a fleece of wool in the floor,

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Speaker 1: And if the dew be on the fleece only, and

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Speaker 1: it be dry upon all the earth beside, then I

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Speaker 1: shall know that thou wilt save Israel by mine hand,

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Speaker 1: as thou hast said Judges six thirty seven. Lord, to day,

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Speaker 1: I will be aware of the subtle signs of disobedience

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Speaker 1: that rob me of my peace and safety. No matter

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Speaker 1: how small the sin seems, I will remove it from

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Speaker 1: my life. My Gideon, I will work as the Lord's

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Speaker 1: servant and remove the idols from around me. I declare

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Speaker 1: that the spirit of God will rise up within me.

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Speaker 1: As I stand for what is right, I will not

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Speaker 1: be intimidated by those who move in deceit, for I

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Speaker 1: know that the commander of the Lord's army is with me.

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Speaker 1: Rise up, Lord, and surround me with men and women

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Speaker 1: who have the same drive and passion to win and

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Speaker 1: to take victory. For your namesake, I choose to thank

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Speaker 1: you in advance that you have already prepared your army

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Speaker 1: of kingdom minded influencers to move forward with boldness and

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Speaker 1: take back what is rightfully ours. I am a person

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Speaker 1: a valor. I am a warrior, and your hand of

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Speaker 1: protection will see me through to complete victory in Jesus name. Amen,

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Speaker 1: Thank you for praying with us today. Continue your time

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Speaker 1: with God by listening to today's Bible story brought to

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Speaker 1: you by Bible in a Year dot Com. Gideon the

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Speaker 1: Trivial Judge. In our last story, we learned how Jabin

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Speaker 1: and his general Cicerah oppressed his reel for over twenty years.

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Speaker 1: The Lord sent Deborah, a mighty and wise woman. He

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Speaker 1: also sent for roc the commander of Israel's armies. They

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Speaker 1: fought valiantly against Cesarah and his nine hundred chariots. S

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Speaker 1: Sarah fled and was in the tent of a woman

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Speaker 1: named Jail and killed in his sleep with a tent

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Speaker 1: peg through his skull. In this story, we learn about

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Speaker 1: the oppression of Nidian against Israel. God calls an unlikely judge, Gideon,

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Speaker 1: to gather an army as inspired by the Book of Judges. Hello,

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Speaker 1: I'm pastor Jack Graham with today's episode of the Bible

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Speaker 1: in a Year podcast. In our last episode, we heard

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Speaker 1: how God worked through the faith and wisdom of Deborah

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Speaker 1: the Deliverer and the courage of Barrack to free the

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Speaker 1: Israelites from Canaanite oppression. We also saw how God used

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Speaker 1: a foreign woman by the name of Jail to defeat

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Speaker 1: the Canaanite general Cessah. It's a story of how God

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Speaker 1: can work and does work through unlikely, unknown people to

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Speaker 1: bring about his will, and how even the most insurmountable

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Speaker 1: obstacles can be overcome when we trust in God for

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Speaker 1: the result. Today, we're going to hear about another judge

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Speaker 1: or deliverer that God raises up to free his people.

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Speaker 1: A man who wouldn't have made anyone's list of who's who.

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Speaker 1: He was not a great candidate to lead Israel into battle.

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Speaker 1: His name is Gideon, and through the story of Gideon

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Speaker 1: will once again see how God can use even the small,

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Speaker 1: the weak, and insignificant to accomplish great and mighty things.

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Speaker 1: So let's listen now to today's reading. Israel lived in peace.

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Speaker 1: They worked the fertile land, built new homes for their children,

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Speaker 1: and worship to God. However, compromise began to creep into

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Speaker 1: the House of Israel. A few idols were brought into

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Speaker 1: the temple, and slowly the people began to stray away

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Speaker 1: from God. It was not deliberate but gradual and unassuming.

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Speaker 1: Soon Israel found themselves caught in another cycle of total depravity.

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Speaker 1: They did only what they thought good for themselves, not

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Speaker 1: for one another. They became selfish and self pleasing, and

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Speaker 1: turned from God and his law. If history has informed anything,

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Speaker 1: it is that turning away from God is the first

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Speaker 1: step towards destruction. An evil was lurking in the caves

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Speaker 1: above Israel, like a dragon hidden in darkness. The Midian

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Speaker 1: Knights were dwelling secretly in dens carved in the mountains.

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Speaker 1: Evil laughs and battle cries echoed through the canyons, and

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Speaker 1: camp fires lit up the mountain range. The evil Horde

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Speaker 1: descended upon Israel like a swarm. Whenever Israel planted crops,

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Speaker 1: the Median Knights and the people of the East would

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Speaker 1: rise against them to devour everything in sight. Like pirates.

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Speaker 1: They would pillage, rate, and burn Israel into dust. For

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Speaker 1: seven years, Israel desperately worked to provide their families with

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Speaker 1: safety and food, only to have them stripped away in

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Speaker 1: a storm of Midian night evil. They would hide their

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Speaker 1: live stock and food in their tents, but the Median

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Speaker 1: Knights were like locusts, eating up all of it. The

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Speaker 1: people of Israel cried out to the God they had

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Speaker 1: abandoned once again, out of desperation, not love. They called

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Speaker 1: upon the God that parted seas to save them. One morning,

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Speaker 1: an angel of the Lord sat under the shade of

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Speaker 1: a terebinth tree. A few yards away, Gideon was beating

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Speaker 1: out wheat and storing it in a wine press to

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Speaker 1: hide from the Midian knights. Gideon were smaller in frame, paranoid,

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Speaker 1: and constantly looking over his shoulder. He belonged to the

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Speaker 1: weakest tribe in Israel, and he was the weakest brother

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Speaker 1: of his family. The Lord watched Gideon work frantically, shaking

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Speaker 1: in fear and fumbling about his work. The Angel of

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Speaker 1: the Lord spoke to him from under the tree, saying,

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Speaker 1: God is with you, mighty man of valor. Gideon leapt

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Speaker 1: in the air out of fear, then saw it was

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Speaker 1: not an enemy. Gideon walked closer and said, if the

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Speaker 1: Lord is with us, then why are we living like this?

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Speaker 1: God has forsaken us and given us to Midian like

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Speaker 1: a treat to a dog. Gideon spoke boldly, for he

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Speaker 1: was skilled in the art of whining and complaining. The

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Speaker 1: Lord smiled and said to him, there is might in you,

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Speaker 1: and take it and save Israel from Midian. I am

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Speaker 1: sending you. Gideon laughed. How could I save Israel? He asked,

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Speaker 1: My clan is the weakest in this region, and I

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Speaker 1: am the rant of my father's house. You have the

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Speaker 1: wrong guy. Gideon continued to laugh and began walking away.

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Speaker 1: God said, I shall be with you, Gideon, and you

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Speaker 1: shall strike Mideon down as a single man. Gideon turned

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Speaker 1: back to him and said, if you truly are the Lord,

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Speaker 1: and I am truly called to be this hero of yours,

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Speaker 1: then show me a sign. Gideon asked the Lord to

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Speaker 1: stay while he went back into his house to prepare

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Speaker 1: an offering. He prepared meat and cakes. He put the

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Speaker 1: meat in baskets and it's broth in a pot, and

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Speaker 1: rushed it back to the Lord. Gideon placed the offering

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Speaker 1: on a rock next to him. Pour the broth over

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Speaker 1: the offering. God said, so Gideon made all of the

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Speaker 1: meat and cakes sopping wet, dripping completely with broth. Then

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Speaker 1: the Angel of the Lord reached out the tip of

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Speaker 1: his staff and lightly touched the offering. Immediately, like a

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Speaker 1: match to oil, the offering was consumed by flames, Gideon

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Speaker 1: started at the fire in amazement, then turned back to

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Speaker 1: the Lord, but he had vanished in an instant. At

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Speaker 1: that moment, Gideon had perceived that it really was an

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Speaker 1: angel of the Lord he was speaking to, and fear

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Speaker 1: came over him. That night, the Lord spoke to Gideon

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Speaker 1: in the quiet in your town, there are many idols.

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Speaker 1: You must remove them immediately, God whispered. Gideon, too frightened

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Speaker 1: of his father and older brothers to do it in

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Speaker 1: the daytime, snuck into the temple At night. Gideon was

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Speaker 1: beating with sweat and constantly looking over his shoulder. He

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Speaker 1: tied a rope around the altar of Veil. It was

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Speaker 1: a massive statue looming over Gideon in the darkness. His

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Speaker 1: torch illuminated the face of Bail staring down at him.

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Speaker 1: Gideon cringed and tied the other end of the rope

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Speaker 1: to his father's bull and slapped it. It ripped the

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Speaker 1: altar of Bail from its foundation and came crashing down,

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Speaker 1: shattering into a thousand pieces. Gideon also cut down other

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Speaker 1: idols that dwelled in the house. Then Gideon took another

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Speaker 1: one of his father's bulls and offered it to the Lord.

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Speaker 1: The men in town rose early in the morning and

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Speaker 1: saw that the altar was shattered. Who has done this?

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Speaker 1: They shouted? The men teemed with anger. Who did this?

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Speaker 1: They shouted again. The people began to gather around the

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Speaker 1: sight of the broken idol. They searched around and spoke

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Speaker 1: to every person except one, Gideon, he has done this.

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Speaker 1: They sat with their jaws clenched. The men knocked on

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Speaker 1: the door of Gideon's father, Joash. They burst through the

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Speaker 1: door and said, where is your son? He shall die

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Speaker 1: for what he has done. Joash panicked. He wanted to

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Speaker 1: protect his son, but did not want to invoke the

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Speaker 1: wrath of the city on himself. So do you fight

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Speaker 1: all of Bel's battles? Joash said, fumbling around his words.

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Speaker 1: If he is a god, wouldn't he want to deal

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Speaker 1: with Gideon himself? The men listened and stormed off. Meanwhile,

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Speaker 1: the Median night Horde crossed the Jordan River and camped

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Speaker 1: in a valley near by. The Amalekites, along with some

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Speaker 1: mysterious people from the east, joined forces with them and

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Speaker 1: camped there. Their presence was felt by the people of Israel.

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Speaker 1: Fear and hysteria ensued. Yet something happened to Gideon. A

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Speaker 1: small spark lit up within him. Something he had never

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Speaker 1: felt before flickered inside him. The spirit of God clothed

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Speaker 1: Gideon like a suit of armor. Gideon's once cowardly demeanor

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Speaker 1: shifted slightly, and a moment of bravery, Gideon called for

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Speaker 1: the armies of Israel, with the authority of a true

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Speaker 1: judge called by God. He sounded the trumpet of war,

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Speaker 1: and it echoed across the cities of Israel. Gideon sent

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Speaker 1: messengers throughout the land to gather an army. The spirit

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Speaker 1: of God flew like an eagle across the country, igniting

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Speaker 1: a fire of hope and the hearts of Israel. Men

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Speaker 1: of war gathered to Gideon. The tribes of Manassa, Asha, Zebulen,

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Speaker 1: and Naphtali picked up their swords and marched. Soon a

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Speaker 1: vast army of thirty two thousand men stood at attention

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Speaker 1: before Gideon, and he stood amazed by God. The battle

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Speaker 1: was near, and the men were ready to follow Gideon

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Speaker 1: to death and glory. Gideon retreated to a secret place

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Speaker 1: to speak with God alone. The same self doubt that

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Speaker 1: Moses once had crippled the heart of Gideon. How can

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Speaker 1: it be me, he whispered in prayer. Lord, if you

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Speaker 1: will truly save Israel by my hand, show me a sign.

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Speaker 1: So Gideon brought out a fleece of wool and set

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Speaker 1: it on the floor. Gideon said, I make this fleece

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Speaker 1: wet on the dry ground, I will know it is

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Speaker 1: you and you have sent me. God did not enjoy

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Speaker 1: being tested, but he wanted Gideon's heart to be comforted,

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Speaker 1: so he made the fleece wet and kept the ground dry.

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Speaker 1: Gideon spoke again, saying, do not be angry with me,

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Speaker 1: but could you now make the fleece dry and the

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Speaker 1: ground wet. So God did as Gideon asked. This was

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Speaker 1: a small reassurance that Gideon was supported by the God

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Speaker 1: of all creation. Gideon rose to his feet, pulled his

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Speaker 1: shoulders back, and marched towards his army. Forty years had

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Speaker 1: passed since God delivered his people from the Canaanites. Under

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Speaker 1: the leadership of Devereaux and Barry, life was good. There

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Speaker 1: was peace and prosperity, but eventually the people once again

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Speaker 1: turned to other gods and brought God's judgment upon themselves.

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Speaker 1: The peace that they had enjoyed for so long crumbled, Midianites, Amalachites,

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Speaker 1: and people from the east began to loot their crops

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Speaker 1: and livestock, leaving Israel in a desperate situation. These foreign

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Speaker 1: enemies had placed their own gods in the temple. They

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Speaker 1: had replaced Yahweh with idols. These, of course, were just

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Speaker 1: man made sculptures whose only power was to destroy the

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Speaker 1: people's relationship with the only true God. Israel worshiped false deities,

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Speaker 1: and these deities failed them. For seven years, the Midianites

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Speaker 1: pillaged and plundered, until God's children cried out to the

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Speaker 1: God that they had forgotten. God heard their cries and

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Speaker 1: sent a prophet to remind them of who he was,

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Speaker 1: what he had done, and how they had disobeyed him.

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Speaker 1: God could have stopped right there and just sent judgment

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Speaker 1: as the price of their disobedience. But God and his grace,

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Speaker 1: God and his great mercy came once again to rescue

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Speaker 1: his children, and he sent an angel to a man

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Speaker 1: by the name of Gideon. Gideon's first response was to

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Speaker 1: question the angel and to ask why God had abandoned

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Speaker 1: his people. His words are reminiscent of Moses words to

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Speaker 1: God in the desert, Why did you bring us all

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Speaker 1: this way and leave us here to die. But God

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Speaker 1: pressed the issue. He tells Gideon that there is greatness

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Speaker 1: in him. Even though Gideon was the least of the

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Speaker 1: least of his own tribe, God said that he had

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Speaker 1: chosen him to save Israel. Gideon knew that he was

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Speaker 1: not a man of physical significance or strength, and at

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Speaker 1: first he refuses to do the job. But God tells

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Speaker 1: Gideon he is his man and that God will deliver

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Speaker 1: Israel through him. Gideon is not convinced, and so he

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Speaker 1: asked for a sign. He prepared an offering for God,

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Speaker 1: placing meat and bread in a basket and drenching it

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Speaker 1: in broth. When the angel touched the offering with his staff,

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Speaker 1: flames erupted and consume the offering. So Gideon's doubt is

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Speaker 1: now burned away with the flames, and now he has

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Speaker 1: a genuine fear. The fear of God is now burning

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Speaker 1: in his heart. He realizes that God is speaking to

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Speaker 1: him and he's terrified, but God reassures him, tells him

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Speaker 1: not to fear, and then he commands him to tear

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Speaker 1: down his father's idols. God knew that if he was

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Speaker 1: going to give Israel victory and deliver them from their enemies,

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Speaker 1: that he must clean house. These false gods could no

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Speaker 1: longer stand, Israel could no longer be tempted to trust

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Speaker 1: in idols. In the same way, God wants to tear

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Speaker 1: down the idols of our own hearts, the strongholds in

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Speaker 1: our lives that keep us from living in obedience to Him.

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Speaker 1: Our own disobedience become idols of the heart. There can

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Speaker 1: be no half measures or half hearted devotions. God wants

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Speaker 1: all of you. He wants you to be all in.

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Speaker 1: Let there be no other gods before our God. Gideon

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Speaker 1: obeys and tears the idols down. The people become angry

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Speaker 1: with him when they discover what he's done and want

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Speaker 1: to kill him. Gideon's father challenges the people to let

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Speaker 1: their gods take care of Gideon if they were real. Now, Gideon,

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Speaker 1: who's full of courage, sounds the call to war, and

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Speaker 1: when he sees that God has indeed called him and

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Speaker 1: prepared him, he is now surrounded by an army of

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Speaker 1: thirty two thousand, But doubt creeps in once more, and

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Speaker 1: Gideon tests God with a fleece. God patiently answers Gideon's

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Speaker 1: call for reassurance and twice proves himself to Gideon. The

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Speaker 1: time for testing is over. Now is the time for battle,

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Speaker 1: and that's what we're going to hear about the next time.

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Speaker 1: It's one of the greatest stories in the Bible. Dear Lord,

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Speaker 1: thank you for today's word and how it shows us

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Speaker 1: that you can use us even when we are small

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Speaker 1: and weak, that you do great things when we surrender

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Speaker 1: our lives to you. Thank you for this reminder that

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Speaker 1: you want nothing less than our full devotion to you.

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Speaker 1: Help us tore down the other things, the idols that

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Speaker 1: keep our eyes off you, the gods of this world

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Speaker 1: that cannot help us at all. We pray in the

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Speaker 1: powerful and mighty name of Jesus, the God who can

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Speaker 1: do the impossible. In Jesus Name, Amen. Thank you for

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Speaker 1: listening today to the Bible in a Year podcast. I'm

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Speaker 1: Jack Graham from Dallas, Texas, pastor of Prestonwood Baptist Church.

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Speaker 1: Download the Prey dot Com app and make prayer a

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Speaker 1: priority in your life. And if you enjoy this podcast,

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Speaker 1: share it with others people that you love and care about,

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Speaker 1: people who want to know the Bible. Help them understand

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Speaker 1: the Bible as well. This podcast can make a huge

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Speaker 1: difference in someone's life. If you want more resources on

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Speaker 1: how to tap into the power of Jesus Christ in

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Speaker 1: your life, then be sure to visit Jack Graham dot org.

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Speaker 1: This episode is sponsored by Medicine, an innovative healthcare solution

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Speaker 1: for Christians to save money without sacrificing quality