the new Jerusalem

Given Into Your Hands

• Subir Joshua Gorey • Season 3 • Episode 30

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We all find ourselves caught in overwhelming battles—whether it be health, work, our thoughts, and even personal struggles. What if the secret to victory isn’t having more resources, but simply trusting God?

If your ‘army’ feels small, your courage thin, or your assignment bigger than your capacity, this week’s message offers you the strength to move forward—one faithful step at a time.

Listen, reflect, and share it with someone who needs a nudge toward boldness. If this episode stirs something in you, subscribe and leave a review.

“Now the same night it came about that the Lord said to him, “Arise, go down against the camp, for I have given it into your hands.”

- Judges‬ ‭7‬:‭9‬ ‭NASB1995‬‬

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SPEAKER_00:

Praise God for today. The Bible says this is the day that He has made. Let us rejoice and be glad in it. Hallelujah. Today I want to start with a beautiful story from the Bible. And I want to tell you that it's a slightly earlier timeline. It's actually from the timeline just after Joshua. And I want to tell you that you all know that, or some of you don't, so I'll just reiterate that you know the Israelites were picked by God because they were crying out to God when they were in slavery. And God decides that he will deliver them through a man by the name of Moses. And they are flamboyantly delivered through the hand of Moses out of Egypt, out of slavery, they brought into the wilderness to get into a promised land. And after all that is done, the mantle is then passed on to Joshua, who takes them into the promised land. If he has to fight battles and all those kind of things. The promised land has been given to the Israelites as promised by God. And it's a time when now uh Moses has reached the end of his life. The Bible actually calls out this time as Moses being 110 years old, and all the battles are done, and there is a time when Moses goes in front of the whole of Israel and all the Israelites, and he makes them take an oath to serve the Lord with in sincerity and in fruit. And I want to tell you that the whole of Israel in front of Moses has agreed that they would. And I want to tell you that, as I said, the wars are all over, and God has already done miracles in front of Israel, and they're sold out because everything that he promised he has delivered. And as I said, the whole of Israel has now agreed that they will continue to serve God. So Joshua also knew his time was up. And he tells him very clearly that they should not forsake the Lord. Because he has brought them out of slavery, he has brought them out of bondage, and he has brought their fathers out of slavery and bondage from Egypt. And in front of their very eyes, he has performed great signs, miracles, and preserved them all the way through the wilderness and through their time into the promised land. Hallelujah. And then he goes on to tell the people that wants to remind them that God is a jealous God. So Joshua tells the people of Israel that God is a jealous God and he will not have anyone else served other than him. And if they wish to, they can take a call right now and leave. But Israel standing in front of Joshua, and of course he's the one who delivered them into the promised land. Just to let you know, Moses did not enter the promised land. Joshua took the people into the promised land on the other side of the Jordan. And they all stand up with Joshua as witness, and they say that they will serve the Lord. And Joshua then holds them as witnesses against themselves, saying that they have chosen God and they will serve him only and put away all foreign gods. And he holds Israel as witnesses against themselves, saying that you have made this promise, and I hold you only against yourself. Then Joshua writes these words down in the book of the law, and he takes a large stone and he sets it up under an oak. And then Joshua dismissed the people, the Israelites, into the lands that were inherited to them. So just to let you know, after they entered the promised land, each tribe of Israel was given a plot of land. So Joshua knows his time has come, and as I said, he makes the Israelites do this. And after he does this, he writes it down in the book of law and he sets it under an oak, the Bible says, and then dismisses the people back into their lands or the inherited, the inherited lands. And as I said, at this time he was 110 and Joshua dies. And the Bible says very clearly he is buried in the land that was part of his inheritance. So he very, as a very good servant of God, took the land that was promised to the Israelites and equally divided it as God told him to do it. And you can read it, it's in the Bible. And the Bible says, Israel served the Lord all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders who served who survived Joshua and had known all the deeds of the Lord which he had done for Israel. I'm reading it again. Israel served the Lord all the days of Joshua and all the days of the elders who survived Joshua and had known all the deeds of the Lord which he had done for Israel. Hallelujah. So basically, in other words, Joshua's generation served God. But what I want to tell you that happens next is really sad. The Bible says that Israel starts to serve Baals, the Bible says. And they forsook the Lord who brought them out of slavery. And they forgot their promise they made to God in front of Joshua, and they began to follow other gods. And the Bible even says that because now they started sharing their lands with other people or with their neighbors who were close by, they start following their gods. It says very clearly they start following other gods from the gods of the people who lived around them and bowed themselves down to them. And I want to tell you, the Bible says, and the Lord was provoked to anger because they served Bal and the Ashtaroth. As I said, not a very good thing, and it's a very sad time, but I'm not getting into that. And then I want to tell you that God gave them into the hand of plunderers, just as He they inherited the land. I want to tell you that what happens after they decided to do this, after they made an oath in front of Joshua to God that they'll continue to serve God, and Joshua's gone, and the elders are gone, and their generation is gone. Now they begin to serve other gods. And the Bible says that God began to give them into the hand of plunderers, and they, the Israelites, and their lands began to get plundered. And the Bible says at the hands of the enemies they could no longer withstand. Very sad. I want to tell you for a race of people that God gave everything, He took them out of slavery, He brought them out of Egypt, He parted the Red Sea right in front of them. He destroyed the Egyptian army that followed them. He brought down plagues upon Egypt to free them. He fed. He fed them from the heavens every day while they were in the wilderness. When they wanted food, he gave it to them. When they wanted meat, he gave them a quail. And none amongst them was feeble when they left slavery. They were slaves. And they forsook God of their own choice. And I want to tell you that the Bible, um, this is after the book of Joshua, this is in the book of Judges, actually, and that's why it's called Judges. That um there are times when Israel cries out to God just as they did when they won slavery. And every time the Bible says that God raises a deliverer in them, and every time after they deliver, they go back to doing what they're not supposed to do. And then again, God gives them up into the hands of plunderers, and it's really sad, but as I said, it's as it is uh documented in the Bible. And there are times, as I said, when Israel cries out and he and he would bring up a deliverer for them, and they would get freed from the kings that were ruling them, and then yet again they would go back to dealing with other gods. And today that brings me to the story that I want to share with you. It comes from a time when God decides to deliver Israel yet again, through a man in particular, and his name is Gideon, and it's a time when the Israelites is ruled by the Midianites, the Bible says. And just to let you know, after Joshua dies, still this particular story, the Israelites are ruled by multiple kings and multiple smaller kingdoms, kingdoms that don't even matter, had taken over the Israelites. And the Bible starts with the uh the story of Gideon, as I said, I want to share with you today. It starts with an angel visiting Gideon, and it's uh from the book of Judges, the sixth chapter, the 12th verses, where I'm sharing with uh sharing it with you from. And the Bible says, it gives Gideon's lineage and his father and his family's name and stuff like that. And it goes on in the 12th verse. The angel of the Lord appeared to him and said to him, The Lord is with you, O valiant warrior. Hallelujah. The Lord is with you, O valiant warrior. And then Gideon, knowing that this is the angel of God, asked him, Why are all these things happening to Israel? And why are they being oppressed so badly? And where is the God? And where are the miracles that God had performed for their forefathers? In Judges 6:14, the Lord looked at him and said, Go in your strength and deliver Israel from the hand of Midian. Have I not sent you? He said to him. Behold, my family is the least in Manasseh, the place where they were staying. And I'm the youngest in my father's house. Hallelujah. So how am I supposed to do this? Gideon says, I am the least. My family is the least in the land that you have allotted to me. And I'm the youngest in my family's home. So how are you coming to me and asking me to do this? And then God says, Surely I will be with you. You shall defeat Midian as one man. Oh, hallelujah. Judges 6 16 says, But the Lord said to him, Surely I will be with you, and you shall defeat Midian as one man. Hallelujah. So you see, God sends a direct message to Gideon through an angel telling him that he has to go and deliver Israel out of the hand of Midian. King Midian, they were called the Midianites. And as most men would do, Gideon asked God, How is he supposed to do that? He's the least family in the whole of Israel. That means God picked the smallest family and he picked the youngest kid of the smallest family to deliver Israel. Don't ask me why. I'm not sure to answer that question. I don't know why. That's God. Just as he picked a shepherd boy to lead Israel, he picks Gideon to free Israel. And then the story goes on to say that you know Gideon asked God for a clear sign from God that he's truly the one who's picked to deliver Israel. And then he asked God, he asked the angel actually to remain there while he comes back with an offering. And the Bible clearly says Gideon prepared an offering of a young goat, unleavened bread and broth, and he comes back and he gives it to the angel. And the angel asked him to place it on the rock. And the angel takes his staff and touches it, and the rock springs up with fire and it consumes the offering, and the angel of God vanishes. Hallelujah. So you see, now he's left with this angel who's come and told him he's going to deliver the whole of Israel. He's a no-one. In fact, he's at this point of time while he's there, the Bible very clearly says that he is threshing wheat from that particular field that he may save it from the Midianites who are coming to plunder. So you see, they're very much clearly living in fear. And it's that time when an angel comes and visits him out of nowhere and tells him, You are going to deliver Israel. Hallelujah. And then it goes on to say in the 23rd and 24th, the Lord said to him, Peace be to you, do not fear, you shall not die. And then Gideon built an altar there, and he named it the Lord is Peace. To this day, it is still in the Ophra of the Ebrisites. It's in the Bible. So this place still is there. It's a place that was built by Gideon. It's an altar and it's still there on this planet today. This Bible was written so many years ago, and it's written at that time that till this day it will be there, and it's there, by the way. You can check it. And at that night, you know, God comes to Gideon and he tells him, and this is just to let you know, Gideon's father himself is serving other gods. So after he's had this visitation, God comes to him and tells him, Take two of your father's bulls. With one, you will tear down the altar of Baal and the ashera. Uh, just to let you know, the ashera used to be a stick that they used to plant it on the ground for some other uh deity. And that was the thing they used to use to give it its importance, and I'll give it none this morning. So, anyway, he tells him to take the bull and pull down the altar of Baal and the asherah, which is a stick that comes out from the ground just for your info, and to build an altar there on top of it in the name of the Lord. Hallelujah. And he's supposed to take the second bull and make an offering there from the wood that he cuts down from the ashera that he destroys. And Gideon does it, but he's scared just as any other human being is. So he goes in the night, he doesn't do it in the day because he's afraid of his own father, he's afraid of his own household, and he's afraid of the entire city. So he does it at night. And he goes there and he destroys the temple, he cuts down the ashera, and he uses the asherah as a burnt offering, and he takes the second bull and he puts it there as an offering. And of course, without doubt, everyone finds out it was Gideon who did it, and they come after him. And at the same time, look at the way the events flow. You'll get to know why I'm sharing the story with you at the end. And just as all these events are flowing, that are the armies of the Midianites that have assembled right there at that same place, and it says the Midianites, the Amalekites, and the sons of the East have camped there. All of this is happening at the same time, and the Spirit of the Lord comes to Gideon and says, The tribesmen have camped opposite, and there's a large army there. And again, Gibeon asks uh Gideon and asked for a proof from God, and I'm not going to get into that story this morning, but he asked for a proof from God that prove to me for sure that you have picked me to save Israel because to me I am a no-one. And he asked for a, you know, there's a fleece which is basically made of wool, and he tells him, he tells God, you make the fleece wet, and the ground outside it has to be dry, and I'll believe it's you. So God did that the first night. Then he says, Okay, wait, now you make the ground wet and you make the fleece dry. So God did that too, and then there's nothing after that. But then the Lord said to Gideon, Take people with you and go down opposite the camp. And I want to tell you that Gideon takes, he calls the people together, and he takes 22,000 people there, opposite the camps of the Midianites, the Amalekites, and the kings of the East, as the Bible calls it. And listen to this God comes to him and he says, There are too many. You've taken 22,000 people, there are too many. The exact words of God to Gideon, the people you are with are too many for me to deliver the medians into your hands. So he tells Gideon, tell the people, those of them who are afraid are to leave. And Gideon just follows God and he asks the people, those of you who are afraid, just leave. And 22,000 comes down to 10,000. And then God tells Gideon, There are yet too many. So you take these people to that to the water, whereas, I mean, there must have been a river there for people to drink. And he he has this beautiful way of segregating them. And he says, You take them there, and from the way they will drink water, I will tell you who you are to take. So he takes them to the water body, and God asked Gideon to make people drink. And the Bible says that some people bend down on their knees and they drink directly from the water, and some people take the water in their hand and they drink from it. And God says, The ones who have picked it up in the hand and drunk from select them. And they were 300 in number. And listen to this, listen to this. God tells Gideon, I will deliver you with 300 men. Hallelujah. He came with 22,000 men, 10,000 are cut down, cut down to 10,000 by people who are who are in fear, which is 12,000 are gone. And out of that 10,000, he cuts them down to 300 men who pick up water in the hand and they drink. Don't ask me the reasoning behind it. This is God, and this is how God works. And he tells Gideon, I will deliver you with 300 men. Hallelujah. And the same night it came about that the Lord said to him, Arise, go down against the camp, for I have given it to you. Amen. Arise, go down against the camp, for I have given it into your hands. Another version says, Hallelujah. And let me tell you, the Bible says that he goes down to see the army. And the army is so many. And I'm reading it to you from the word of God from the book of Judges, the seventh chapter, the twelfth verse. Now the Midianites, the Amalekites, and the sons of the East were lying in the valley as numerous as locusts, and the camels were without number, as numerous as sand on the seashore. Wow. That's the army that Gideon had to go against. And by the way, God has cut down 22,000 men to now 300. Some of you know that movie 300. It comes from here. And God even tells Gideon, you know what? Go down there. If you are afraid, I've anyway given it to you. I already told you what God's word to him was, I will deliver you with 300 men. I've given it into your hands. But yet, Gideon, if you are afraid, take your servant and go down there. And you know what? Gideon was afraid. So he took his servant. The servant's name is Pura, by the way. He took his servant and he went down. He said, I will give you a confirmation when you go there. I will prove to you that I have already given it to you. So Gideon goes down with his servant, and the Midianites are there, as I said, as much as the seashore. And I'm reading to you from the 13th and the 14th verse, which says, When Gideon came, behold, a man was relating a dream to his friend. So now he's he's in the enemy camp and he can hear the enemy camp talking. And somebody's relating a dream to his friend, and he said, Behold, I had a dream, a loaf of barley is stumbling into the camp of Midian, and it came to the tent and struck it so that it fell, it turned upside down, and all lay flat. His friend replied, This is nothing less than the sword of Gideon, the son of Joash, a man of Israel. God has given Midian and all the camp into his hands. Hallelujah. So just because God, I mean, the Bible says, I know you from the womb. God knew Gideon, and I'm sure he knew he was afraid. So he told him, I know if you are afraid, Gideon, I've anyway given it to you. But if you are afraid, you take your servant and go down there. So he takes his servant and he goes down there, and the enemy camp is talking about how Gideon is going to destroy them. Hallelujah. When Gideon heard this, listen to this, he bowed down and worshiped. Hallelujah. The army is already talking about Gideon and God being with Gideon, and that he's going to crush the camp. Hallelujah. So Gideon takes his 300 men, he divides them into three companies. He tells them, take a picture, put a torch inside it, and take a trumpet. And all of you, he spreads them across the camp, and he makes them at one time go, sound the trumpet and shout out for the Lord and for Gideon. And the army does exactly how they're told. And as the story goes, the army follows, they blow their trumpets, they smash their pictures together with their torches in their hand. And the Midian army, uh I'm sorry, and the army, the 300 men goes on screaming for the Lord and for Gideon. And let me tell you what happens: the Midian army gets confused, and they start to put each other under the sword. Hallelujah. And they start to flee the land. So there's confusion now because God already told Gideon that he's given them into his hands, and he's cut them down 300 people, and he tells Gideon to do exactly this. And Gideon follows God's instructions to the T. Take a picture, put your lamps inside it, take a trumpet, spread across the army, sound your trumpet and scream out, shout out for the Lord and for Gideon. Can you imagine that? And this confusion and Midian, the Midians start putting each other to the sword. And the ones who are remaining start fleeing. And then the other cities have gotten to know that there's something happening there, and they start joining in. But Gideon was like, What can I say? God wanted me to use 300 people, and they routed the armies till the Jordan and they destroyed them all. And the Bible says, after that, the Midians were nowhere to be found. Amen. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. And just to get into the next verse for you and to understand how God works. Of course, you know, after all this, the Midians are nowhere to be seen, and the whole of Israel comes to him and says, You be our king. And you have to listen to what Gideon says in the eighth chapter of the 23rd verse. But Gideon said to them, I will not rule over you, nor shall my son rule over you. The Lord shall rule over you. Hallelujah. Amen. I want to tell you the Bible says that Gideon died at a ripe old age. He had 70 sons as direct descendants. They don't even talk about the daughters, they're only talking about the sons. 70 sons as direct descendants. By the way, one of his sons was Abimelech. If you don't know that, that's a different story. Or maybe I'll share it with you some other time. And the land had peace for 40 years. I want to leave you with this today. For some of you, I want to tell you that God has picked you, and some of you know it. For some of you, God is about to pick you, maybe to change your family situations, maybe to change your workplaces. For some of you, I can see that He's making you the head of certain things. For some of you, you have some very serious job of saving some of your own family members. All the best to you for that because it's on you. God picked Gideon. Gideon didn't pick God or his situation. So if you have been picked for it, go do it, is my advice for you. Because you might think that he will make the situation better for you. That he will give you an army of 700,000 people. He won't. He will just give you what he gives you, and you have to go and do what you have to do. So this beautiful morning, I want to tell you the battle does not belong to you. Amen. Hallelujah. Arise, go down there. For I have given it into your hands. So arise and stand up in front of your situation. And I want to tell you, the Bible says nothing is impossible with God. And the only reason why I have been asked to share the story of Gideon with you is Gideon was no one. He was no one. He was just another guy from one of the smallest families of Israel, the tribes of Israel. And he was picked. And he just followed instructions and he asked for the little bit of a confirmation from God. And God gave him the confirmation twice over. And just as any other human being would be, he was scared too. And no matter which zone he was in, let me call it that, God kept giving him confirmations and reassurances because God had picked him. Because God knew his heart. And God knew no matter what happens tomorrow, he's gonna stand up and he's gonna say, I don't want to rule this land. God will rule the land. So for some of you, this beautiful morning, as I said, he's already picked you. For some of you, you know it. Some of you have already acted on it. Take a step of faith. For some of you, as I said, have an easy task. Change things at your workplace, change things within your family. For some of you, it's a serious, daunting task where you will be a support to many others. For some of you, in particular, maybe you need to go and tell somebody about God today. Them know that he is the one true king and master, and because if any aspects of their life are being plundered, it's because God is not in control of it, and it's your job to do that. And as I said this beautiful morning, you might think many things are needed of you. No, there's nothing needed of you, and just as he did for Gideon, he will take you to whatever you have, and whatever situation you're in, and he will make miracles happen through you and for you. Hallelujah. Praise God for his beautiful word. I'd like to pray. Dear Lord, I thank you for this beautiful day. I thank you for this beautiful word. I thank you, Lord, for this double-edged sword. For your double-edged sword does not go back until it has achieved what it has been set out for, Lord. I thank you for handpicking us, Lord. I thank you that you have us engraved on the palms of your hand. I thank you that you've known us from the womb. I thank you, Lord, that you have set our task before us. And nothing is impossible with you, Lord. And I thank you. I thank you this beautiful morning that you have hand-picked us by our name. And this battle does not belong to us, Lord. Whatever the situation might be, it does not belong to us. The battle belongs to you. And aligned to the story of Gideon, Lord, you have already given us this battle. It is laid out right in front of us for us to claim in your name, the name that's above all names, where every knee will bow, on the earth, above the earth, and below the earth. Thank you for this beautiful day. Thank you for this banquet that you've prepared for us. Thank you for your banner over us that's love. Thank you, Lord, for always being faithful, though we might be faithless. I thank you, Lord, for some who know the task that lie ahead of them. I thank you, Lord, for some who know what they have to do already, and you've already given them, you've changed their hearts. We leave that task, Lord, at your feet because we know fully well. Everything is yet and amen through you. And this battle does not belong to us, whatever it might be. We leave all these things at your hand, or the mountain does not exist. And in faith, we leave it at your feet, and we ask that you move it from here away from our path into the depths of the sea, Lord. Thank you, Lord, for this beautiful day. Thank you for this beautiful time. Thank you, Lord, for ever being faithful to us. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.