Judges 7, at verse 17, has our text, where we have these words. And He said unto them, Look on me, and do likewise. And behold, when I come to the outside of the camp, it shall be that, as I do, so shall ye do. And we want to look particularly at these words. Look on me, and do likewise." These are the words of faith from the great warrior Gideon. Look on me and do likewise. We seek the Lord's blessing as we want to meditate upon these words in context as we find them. And the title that I want to give that will sum up what I want to say in a very few words is trust and obey. This is really what Gideon is saying because this is what he was doing. Look on me and do likewise. He was doing what the Lord had told him to do. He was not there by his choice, as it were, It was not a path that he had chosen. He was chosen by the Lord for this work. He was prepared and tested by the Lord for this work. He received wonderful signs to give assurance to him. And therefore, he came to this point in his experience that he realized that what he had to do was simply trust and obey. As we look at this in context, we have just read chapter 7 of Judges, and initially, Gideon was assigned to go and fight with the Midianites to engage in battle with those persons who had subjected to the people of God, put them under subjection for seven years of hard bondage. And the people had cried out to the Lord, and ultimately, finally the Lord heard their cry and raised up Gideon as a judge and a deliverer. And Gideon had gathered some 32,000 people to go and to fight with the Midianites. Now, we must realize that this 32,000 people, this army was no match, no match for the Midianites who were joined together with the Amalekites and others from the East. Because the Scriptures tell us that their army totaled 135,000. So, Israel was at least 10 times smaller, or at least 100,000 smaller than the army they were fighting against. And of course, we know because they were so impoverished, they had no weapons, whereas this army of 135,000 was well-armed. Certainly, they had a disadvantage. The Midianites and the Amalekites and the Children of the East were not united as one. They were a different people, different peoples. And obviously, when they would come to battle and if things didn't go right, they wouldn't fight as one, as one nation would fight against an enemy. But that aside, their number was vastly superior to Israel's. But even that 32,000 had to be whittled down, because ultimately God was going to have the glory, and Israel was not going to bask in anything that they had done. The glory would only go to the Lord. And therefore, Gideon was asked to proclaim in the front of everyone, so that all might hear, that if any are afraid, then go back to your homes. And we know a sizable number went. We are told 22,000 returned. And before we are hard on them, remember the odds were stacked against them. And humanly speaking, there was no hope that Israel would defeat the Midianites. And so 22,000 acknowledged that they were fearful And they then returned. And that left 10,000. 10,000. And the Lord said, even this number is too large. And he devised a means whereby he would separate out those he wanted from those he did not want. I know some commentators will tell us that there is a difference between the 300 and the others that were rejected. They will try to tell us that the 300 were more spiritual, or they were better soldiers, or whatever. I'm not inclined to agree with that. I simply believe that the Lord wanted to whittle down the number so that ultimately he would receive the glory. He was not looking for valiant men as such. He was simply wanting to reduce the number. And this is what he did. When the people went to get water for themselves, if the people went, the men took the water as a dog would take the water, they were cast aside. And those who put their hand in the water first and took the water to their mouth via their hand, they were set aside. Now, I know some commentators will maintain that those who put their hand to the water and then used that to drink They were more watchful, they were more careful, they were looking out, whereas the other ones simply plunged into the water to satisfy their thirst and their desire. But I'm not inclined to accept that interpretation, because by this time, friends, the enemy was miles away. The enemy was nowhere near them. They were, in some sense, quite safe. And I simply believe here that this was a shifting process where God was able to select 300 men, not necessarily 300 of the most valiant, because we know that they did not even fight when they went into the battle. The Lord fought for them. The place was thrown into utter confusion. And the enemy began fighting amongst themselves, and they destroyed themselves because God had sowed confusion into that camp. So that's a broad outline of what happened here. And we want to be able to draw one or two lessons for ourselves from this incident and that we might take what Gideon said for ourselves. Look on me and do likewise. You see, Gideon, by various ways, was brought to this point in his life when he had to do what he had to do. The Lord had given him encouragements and signs the Lord had called him. The Lord had accepted an offering from him. The Lord had tested him. We might say that chapter 6 was Gideon fighting against Baal. That's what he did there when he tore down the altar that belonged to his father and the Ashtoreth Pole, and set up the altar to Jehovah. There we might say that Gideon was fighting against Baal. But here in Judges 7, we have Gideon fighting against the Midianites. And he was brought to this experience by the Word of God, by providence, and by miraculous signs, Last week, we read it. We didn't focus upon it. We read about the fleece and how Gideon asked for a sign. And first of all, the fleece was wet, and then the next day, the fleece was dry. And this confirmed to Gideon that he had been called by the living God to go and deliver his people and that God was with him. And immediately we find here in chapter 7, he gathers together this army that was ultimately whittled down to three. And then we find a further sign and a further encouragement for Gideon as the Lord tells him to go into the host. And as he goes into this host, he hears about this dream and about this interpretation, and he realizes that the Lord is truly on his side, and he must go forth, and he must fight, and he will be absolutely victorious. And what we can see here, friends, is that God, the Lord, brought Gideon to this point hedged him in to some extent where he could not run away. He had to go and fight. He had to take up arms, and he had to be the leader and the judge at that particular time, and he was going to be used by the Lord. to bring a wonderful deliverance, and it was wonderful. Tremendous battle was won, and the people were delivered. It's mentioned in Isaiah, it's mentioned in the Psalms. Truly something wonderful happened here, and God brought him to that point by these things that we have mentioned earlier. so that he sided with the Lord. He cast his lot in, recognizing that, in some sense, God had hedged him in, and there was no escaping for him. He must go forward, and he must do what the Lord has commanded him. And he must face overwhelming odds and enemies. He must face them with his 300 Well, as I said, looking at this story and reminding ourselves of what Gideon did, we want to look at these words, look on me and do likewise. And it has a lesson for us. It has a lesson for the Christian life. It has a lesson for Christian discipleship. It has a lesson when we hear the gospel call, when we hear the Lord Jesus Christ in His Word calling us to faith in Him and to recognize Him as our Lord and as our Savior and to bow ourselves before Him and be assigned to Him and be reconciled to God through Him. What Gideon tells us here is vitally important for us if we are to be true-hearted disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ. If we are to be soldiers of Christ, if we are to endure hardness, as the Bible says, as soldiers of Christ, then we must have the same mentality that Gideon had. Look on me and do likewise. In other words, trust and obey. That's what Gideon was like. The Lord had dealt with him. There was no excuse. There was no way out. It was now simply to trust and obey, go and face this vast army, 300 of them against this vast army, overwhelming odds, and Gideon did not know what lay ahead, simply that God would be with him and God would give him the victory. And friends, once we have this in our hearts, and once this is known to us, The Christian life will be a revolution to us. We will not be afraid to take up the cross. Look on me. and do likewise. That's what Gideon did. That's what he said. And that's what the word of God says to us tonight, that we must trust and that we must obey. Now we know that Gideon had some 300 men with him. When we begin the Christian life, friend, And when we take seriously the call of Christ, and when we hear Him calling to us in the Word of God, we don't have 300 persons with us. We start off by ourselves. The Christian life can be a lonely pilgrimage. I don't want in any sense to sound pessimistic. But I do want to portray and paint a realistic picture of the Christian life. And this is what it's like, friends. The Lord Jesus Christ calls one and calls another. He calls individuals, and they're called out of the world, and they're called to follow the Lord Jesus Christ. And yes, we know, we meet together. And we have shared fellowship with like-minded individuals. And we strike up friendships with Christians. And we encourage each other. And the Bible says we are to provoke each other unto good works. This is what it should be like for the Christian. But first and foremost, we follow Jesus Christ alone. We don't have the luxury of 300 beside us. But, as I said, I certainly don't want to paint a pessimistic picture of the Christian life. But although we begin it by ourselves, and on many occasions, you will be with yourself, it will be between you and God. Yet, friends, this is what we must realize. We are never absolutely alone. Never. You remember the Apostle Paul? We do believe this would be his last letter he wrote, 2 Timothy, facing almost certain death. And he relates some of his experience. And he says in chapter 4, verse 16 and 17, at my first answer, that's the first time he was in court, No man stood with me, but all men forsook me. I pray God that it may not be laid to their charge. He was forsaken of all human comfort. He was forsaken of all discipleship, forsaken of all disciples. But he says, notwithstanding the Lord stood with me and strengthened me, that by me the preaching might be fully known. He was able even to preach the gospel in prison. Why? Because the Lord was with him. And that will be the experience, friends, of very many people. We begin it. the Christian life on our own, but the Lord never leaves us. He is always, always with us. Notwithstanding, the Lord stood with me. And this is what gives Gideon the victory. Yes, he had 300 persons to encourage him. Yes, there were 300 with him. But ultimately, friends, this is what it was. The Lord had said in the previous chapter, I will be with you. And although you will face a vast host, yet the Lord will deliver Midian into your hands. The Bible tells us, the Lord Jesus Christ tells us, at a time when He was very popular, at a time when multitudes were following Him, the Lord Jesus Christ tells them, those who would be His would-be followers, go home and count the cost of discipleship. Soberly consider what it is to follow Me. You must Think and contemplate what it will cost, the things you must give up in order to follow the Lord Jesus Christ. He would have us fully aware of what it is to be a Christian. He would not be someone who would promote easy believicism. He would invite multitudes to come to Him, certainly, but come to Him on His terms. and to recognize there is a price. Not a price for your salvation, no, because that price has been fully paid and met in the life and death of the Lord Jesus Christ. But there is a price of discipleship. There is a price of being associated with Christ. There is the reproach that we must bear because we belong unto Him. Did not the world hate the Lord Jesus Christ? Do you think the world's going to love His disciples if the world hates the Master? Do you think they're going to love the disciples? Recognizing these things, that to be a Christian is a glorious experience. To be in the family of God. to have one's sins forgiven. To know the love of God being shed abroad in your heart is a wonderful experience. It's life-changing. It is life from the dead. It gives you a new perspective on life. It opens up your eyes to wonderful and glorious things. But there is a cost, and there is a fight. How are we going to get through it? How can we do it? Because when you take up the cross, when you associate with the Lord Jesus Christ, there is a battle to fight. There is a war. How are we going to do it? The words of our text will tell us, look on me and do likewise. Gideon trusted and obeyed. You see, friends, modern Christianity doesn't like to dwell upon these things. It likes to paint Christianity as a solution for all problems. Follow Christ. and somehow all your problems will be over. That's not authentic Christianity. Truly follow Christ and your sins will be forgiven, and you will receive the gift of eternal life. That is true. You will be reconciled to God. That is true. You will know new life in Christ. That is true. But all your problems will not necessarily be met with. There is a fight, and there is a battle. And before we enter into the heavenly Jerusalem, before we enter into heaven itself, and before we experience the full salvation, our full and complete redemption, there is a battle to fight. And how are we going to get through it? Trust and obey. Look on me and do likewise." Gideon was trusting upon the Lord and upon what he had said in his word, and that's the way for the Christian. You see, some of the enemies we will encounter are stronger than us. I know that people today will laugh about the — to think that there's such a thing as a personal devil. There is this malignant spirit who's abroad, who is the god of this world, and they think this is absolute, utter nonsense. Well, friends, we must take all our teaching, all our doctrine from the Word of God. And we know for a fact there is a devil. And we know he is a mighty foe. And we know that he even tried to tempt the Lord Jesus Christ on more than one occasion. He's not afraid. And we must realize that there is malevolent spirit out there, and he has a host of minions, and he seeks our downfall. You know that well-known text, for we wrestle not against flesh and blood, no, but against principalities against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Do you notice or do you hear, do you reflect and think about how often the word against is used in that verse? Against, against, against, against. The Christian is against these things. And if the Christian is against these things, these things, these powers, these spirits are against the Christian. This is what the Bible says. This is the warfare. It's pictured for us. Yes, friends, there is another world just round about us. And we need to have spiritual eyes to see, and the only way we can have those eyes is by subjecting ourselves to the teaching that we find in the Word of God. You, Christian, if you're truly a Christian, you will know something of this battle, of this struggle with Satan. He will seek to bring you down. You find sometimes, friends, you're reading something, and thoughts come into your mind, where did they come from? You were never thinking about that, and these terrible thoughts come into your mind. Where did it come from? The evil one. could well be the evil one. And all kinds of things that happen to the Christian, you can be sure that the evil one is behind it. We must be aware We must recognize that as we go through, we must trust and obey, and we must look to the Lord Jesus Christ to bring us through, to deliver us from evil, and to keep us from temptation, because we have an evil enemy. The Bible even portrays him as an angel of light. He can sometimes come in the form of religion, and there is a cloak of decency about him. We must test everything by the Word of God, and we must not rely upon what people say. but test everyone and everything by the word of God. Paul says, and no marvel, for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. He is deceptive. He is wise. He knows how to attack. He knows your weak points. He knows your circumstances. He's not omniscient. He doesn't know everything, of course not. But He is a mighty warrior, and we are to be aware of Him and realize that if we're truly Christians, we will in some sense fight against this evil one. Didn't Peter say to the poor Christians, the persecuted Christians, Be sober, be vigilant, because your adversary, the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour." Here, the devil is portrayed as a roaring lion. If anyone of you saw a lion, and he saw that lion roaring, you would do whatever you could to get away from him. The lion would tear you apart. And we're told that this is the stance of the evil one. He's like a roaring lion, and he's walking about. And you can be sure he's walking about the people of God. We will do battle with him, but we are grateful. As we said, we're not our own. Greater is He that is in you than he that is in the world. But we must be in Christ, and we must be in union with Christ, and we must be walking closely with Christ. We must be doing what the title of our sermon says, trusting and obeying. That's the only way. This is what it was for Gideon. Look on me and do likewise. He was trusting. He was obeying. 300 against 135,000? Look at the enemies that were there. But Gideon tested and loved the Word of God. Well, the Christian will fight, and he's in a fight, and he's in a fight to the end, and he fights against Satan, and he fights against the world. Christian, have you realized that when you were effectually called, when the Word of God came to you with power, and you were effectually called, you were effectually called out of the world? You were called into another world. You were translated into another kingdom. You became a citizen of the kingdom of God. You have a new ruler. You have one who rules over you, who is none other than the Lord Jesus Christ. And you have been called effectively out of the world, and you've been told to leave the world and all that the world stands for behind you. Now, the world is a subtle and a most powerful enemy. The world wants you to conform to the world's standards. And the world will say to you, I see you've taken up Christianity. I see you've taken up going to church, and you've taken up reading the Word of God, and you've taken up prayer. Are you not going a wee bit over the top? A little bit of religion's all right. The world sees nothing wrong with that. And oh, if you want to be zealous, if you want to be out and out and to serve the Lord, the world indeed will shun you, and the world will persecute you. If you really want to serve the Lord Jesus and nail your colors to the mast, you will be no friend of the world. The world would love you to have one foot in its camp and one foot in the world, one foot in the church as it were, but we have an enemy in the world. And all around us, the world would seek us to conform to its pattern. What does it say in Romans 12? Be not transformed or be transformed. Be not conformed to this world, but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God." That's what's required of the Christian. And he has to forsake this lost world. He has to forsake this cursed world. He has to forsake this temporary world. He's heading to an eternal world. He's going to a much better place. And he must fight against it. But as Gideon had 135,000 enemies, the Christian has more. not just Satan, not just the world, but possibly more dangerous and more difficult to handle. The Christian's got to fight against himself. He has the old sinful nature. He has that nature which in some sense has been dealt with, but it's still got power, it's still got vitality. And the Christian has a new nature. It has been implanted in him at the time of regeneration. And as he grows, that new nature begins to flourish. it begins to be dominant. But the old nature will rise up against the new nature, and there will be this conflict. That's what the apostle Paul is talking about in Romans chapter 7. He's talking about this conflict. This internal conflict that every true-hearted Christian knows to some extent. This battle with sin, with indwelling sin, where he does the things that he does not want to do. Well, friends, this is it. It's a fight. And it's a fight to the end. And how possibly can we manage? How can we overcome? It's only by doing what Gideon did. Look on me and do likewise." And what was he doing? He was trusting in the Lord, and he was obeying the Lord, and he was letting the Lord fight the battle. And ultimately, the Lord brought victory to Israel, and the Lord was glorified in it all. How then will we be brought home? How then will we be victorious? Christian, the matter is clear. It's only by looking unto Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith. only in Him, only by trusting upon Him, and only by fighting our enemies with the strength that He supplies to us daily, will we be brought to glory. And as Gideon said to those who followed him, look on me and do likewise. and they brought or won a wonderful victory that day because they followed the leader. Friends, we must do exactly the same and follow Jesus Christ. Fight our enemies in His strength and in His power, and all the glory must go to Him. unto him alone. And this is what he says to us tonight, look on me and do likewise. And believer, this is what you must do. You must look unto the Lord Jesus Christ. What does it say? Look unto me and be ye saved. All the ends of the earth For I am God, and there is none else. Amen. And may God be pleased to bless to us his word. Let us pray together.