December 20

God’s Call to Gideon 

Then the LORD’s angel came to the village of Ophrah and sat under the oak tree that belonged to Joash, a man of the clan of Abiezer.  His son Gideon was threshing some wheat secretly in a wine press, so that the Midianites would not see him.  The LORD’s angel appeared to Gideon there and said, “The LORD is with you, brave and mighty man!”  Then the LORD ordered him, “Go with all your great strength and rescue Israel from the Midianites.  I Myself am sending you.”  Gideon replied, “But Lord, how can I rescue Israel?  My clan is the weakest in the tribe of Manasseh, and I am the least important member of my family.”  The LORD answered, “You can do it because I will help you.  You will crush the Midianites as easily as if they were only one man.” 

God Instructs Gideon to Confront Idol Worship 

That night the Lord said to Gideon, “Take the second bull from your father’s herd, the one that is seven years old.  Pull down your father’s altar to Baal, and cut down the Asherah pole standing beside it.  Then build an altar to the Lord your God here on this hilltop sanctuary, laying the stones carefully.  Sacrifice the bull as a burnt offering on the altar, using as fuel the wood of the Asherah pole you cut down.”  So Gideon took ten of his servants and did as the Lord had commanded.  But he did it at night because he was afraid of the other members of his father’s household and the people of the town.  Early the next morning, as the people of the town began to stir, someone discovered that the altar of Baal had been broken down and that the Asherah pole beside it had been cut down.  In their place a new altar had been built, and on it were the remains of the bull that had been sacrificed.  The people said to each other, “Who did this?”  And after asking around and making a careful search, they learned that it was Gideon, the son of Joash.  “Bring out your son,” the men of the town demanded of Joash.  “He must die for destroying the altar of Baal and for cutting down the Asherah pole.”  But Joash shouted to the mob that confronted him, “Why are you defending Baal?  Will you argue his case?  Whoever pleads his case will be put to death by morning!  If Baal truly is a god, let him defend himself and destroy the one who broke down his altar!”  From then on Gideon was called Jerub-baal, which means “Let Baal defend himself,” because he broke down Baal’s altar.

Gideon Asks for a Sign 

Soon afterward the armies of Midian, Amalek, and the people of the east formed an alliance against Israel and crossed the Jordan, camping in the valley of Jezreel.  Then the Spirit of the Lord took possession of Gideon.  He blew a ram’s horn as a call to arms, and the men of the clan of Abiezer came to him.  He also sent messengers throughout Manasseh, Asher, Zebulun, and Naphtali, summoning their warriors, and all of them responded.  Then Gideon said to God, “If You are truly going to use me to rescue Israel as You promised, prove it to me in this way.  I will put a wool fleece on the threshing floor tonight.  If the fleece is wet with dew in the morning but the ground is dry, then I will know that You are going to help me rescue Israel as You promised.”  And that is just what happened!  When Gideon got up early the next morning, he squeezed the fleece and wrung out a whole bowlful of water!  Then Gideon said to God, “Please don’t be angry with me, but let me make one more request.  Let me use the fleece for one more test.  This time let the fleece remain dry while the ground around it is wet with dew.”  So that night God did as Gideon asked.  The fleece was dry in the morning, but the ground was covered with dew.

God’s Chosen Remnant: 1%

One day Gideon and the 32,000 men he had marshaled got up early and camped beside Harod Spring.  The Midianite camp was in the valley to the north of them by Moreh Hill.  The LORD said to Gideon, “The men you have are too many for Me to give them victory over the Midianites.  They might think that they had won by themselves, and so give Me no credit.  Announce to the people, ‘Anyone who is afraid should go back home, and we will stay here at Mount Gilead.’ ”  So twenty-two thousand went back, but ten thousand stayed.  Then the LORD said to Gideon, “You still have too many men.  Take them down to the water, and I will separate them for you there.  If I tell you a man should go with you, he will go.  If I tell you a man should not go with you, he will not go.”  Gideon took the men down to the water, and the LORD told him, “Separate everyone who laps up the water with his tongue like a dog, from everyone who gets down on his knees to drink.”  There were three hundred men who scooped up water in their hands and lapped it; all the others got down on their knees to drink.  The LORD said to Gideon, “I will rescue you and give you victory over the Midianites with the three hundred men who lapped the water.  Tell everyone else to go home.”  So Gideon sent all the Israelites home, except the three hundred, who kept all the supplies and trumpets.  The Midianite camp was below them in the valley.

God’s Assurance to Gideon of Victory

That night the Lord said, “Get up!  Go down into the Midianite camp, for I have given you victory over them!  But if you are afraid to attack, go down to the camp with your servant Purah.  Listen to what the Midianites are saying, and you will be greatly encouraged.  Then you will be eager to attack.”  So Gideon took Purah and went down to the edge of the enemy camp.  The armies of Midian, Amalek, and the people of the east had settled in the valley like a swarm of locusts.  Their camels were like grains of sand on the seashore…too many to count!  Gideon crept up just as a man was telling his companion about a dream.  The man said, “I had this dream, and in my dream a loaf of barley bread came tumbling down into the Midianite camp.  It hit a tent, turned it over, and knocked it flat!”  His companion answered, “Your dream can mean only one thing…God has given Gideon son of Joash, the Israelite, victory over Midian and all its allies!”  When Gideon heard the dream and its interpretation, he bowed in worship before the Lord.  Then he returned to the Israelite camp and shouted, “Get up!  For the Lord has given you victory over the Midianite hordes!”  He divided the 300 men into three groups and gave each man a ram’s horn and a clay jar with a torch in it.  Then he said to them, “Keep your eyes on me.  When I come to the edge of the camp, do just as I do.  As soon as I and those with me blow the rams’ horns, blow your horns, too, all around the entire camp, and shout, ‘For the Lord and for Gideon!'”

God Gives Gideon Overwhelming Victory

Gideon and the hundred men with him reached the edge of the Midianite camp at the beginning of the middle watch, just after they had changed the guard.  They blew their trumpets and broke the jars that were in their hands.  Then all three companies blew the trumpets and smashed their jars.  Grasping their blazing torches in their left hands and holding in their right hands the trumpets they were to blow, they all shouted, “A sword for the LORD and for Gideon!”  While each man held his position around the camp, they just stood and watched as the whole vast Midianite army ran in panic, crying out as they fled.  When Gideon’s men blew the 300 trumpets, the Lord caused the enemy troops to become confused and to begin fighting and killing each other from one end of the camp to the other.  Those who were not killed fled to places as far away as Beth-shittah near Zererah and to the border of Abel-meholah near Tabbath. [Judg 6:11-16, 25-40; 7:1-22]

Just as God raised up a remnant of just 1% of all the men Gideon had marshalled to fight against the Midianites, even so there is a holy remnant whom God is raising up for Himself in these Last Days…a Godly remnant of the 1% of His children who will not bow down, who will not shrink back, who will not compromise, who will remain steadfast and immovable in their commitment to follow the Lamb whithersoever He goes.  Sadly, we have very few Christian leaders and pastors throughout our Nation who would even qualify by these standards.  The few that have done so stand alone and unsupported by their fellow pastors and leaders; they are cowards…afraid to speak out and stand steadfast and immovable with Christ…fearing societies harsh criticism and persecution.  Bonhoeffer…renowned Pastor, theologian, and martyr in Nazi Germany… proclaimed that “Silence in the face of evil is itself evil; God will not hold us guiltless.  Not to speak is to speak.  Not to act is to act.”  Christ Jesus our Lord said quite clearly, “If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated Me first.  If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own.  As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world.  That is why the world hates you.  Remember the words I spoke to you: ‘No servant is greater than his master.’  If they persecuted Me, they will persecute you also.  If they obeyed My teaching, they will obey yours also.  They will treat you this way because of My Name, for they do not know the One Who sent Me. [John 15:18-21]

Even so, in the places that are most corrupt, and in the ages that are most degenerate, there is a remnant which God reserves to Himself, and which still hold fast their integrity and stand fair for the honour of delivering the land, as the innocent are said to do.  Christians across our Nation are called to stand steadfast and immovable with Christ.  We are called to pledge our allegiance to the Lamb…to be faithful and true no matter the cost.  Jesus said, “When the Son of Man returns, will He find any with unwavering faith on the Earth?” [Luke 18:8]  Let it be that we are among those counted part of the remnant that Jesus will turn to and say, “Yes…there is faith.”  I especially sense the need as a watchman to warn the people of God to prepare NOW for the severe persecution that will come upon each one of us…to count the cost, and be willing to pay the price, of standing steadfast and immovable with Christ.  We must not bow down to the tyrant’s golden image: Our God is able to deliver us from your fiery furnace, O king; but even if He chooses not to…even so, we will not serve your gods or bow down to the golden image you have set before us. [Dan 3:18]  We must not shrink back: My righteous one will live by faith.  And if he shrinks back, My soul shall have no pleasure in him. [Heb 10:38]  We must not compromise: Choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve.  But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord. [Josh 24:15]

God will use His holy remnant to seek and to save the lost.  There will be many unsaved people who, as a result of the severity of God’s judgments currently upon the Earth, will turn their hearts to God in repentance and be born again.  God’s judgments are an act of mercy…there will be many who will be saved because of the judgments who otherwise never would have turned to God.  When God’s judgments are upon the Earth, the people of the world learn righteousness. [Isa 26:9]

Brothers and sisters in Christ…

This is where I stand.  I don’t know why God has been exhorting me to continually warn the brethren to be prepared with a supply of food and necessities…but I am not giving up my own provisions at this point in time.  I am holding on, and I will wait and see what takes place.  And so I continue to encourage you…Make provision for the physical sustenance of your family and yourself [refer to https://preservechristianfamily.org/2017/02/26/brace-yourself-prepare/].  A prudent man sees danger and takes refuge, but the simple keep on going, and suffer for it. [Proverbs 22:3]
The Lord always warns His holy remnant beforehand, so that they will always be prepared and never taken by surprise like the unbelievers and the lukewarm.  Make provision for yourself and your family materially, spiritually, and emotionally NOW for what the Lord is warning will take place so as to not be overwhelmed by a severe scarcity of goods, and thereby spiral into debilitating emotional depression!
You need to be prepared and available as a minister of the Lord to a dying world: Do everything without complaining or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe as you hold out the Word of life. [Phil 2:14-16]  We have been raised up by the Lord for such a time as this! 

I still hold to the Spirit’s words of warning: “Brace yourself, and tell others that I have warned them to brace themselves, for they are about to see even more shocking things.  Ready or not, Nation, here it comes!  Brace yourself on My Word and on My promises, and do not rely on your own strength.  Do not stop bracing yourselves, and don’t look back; the storm will not pass until I, the Lord, stop the storm!  Those who refuse to get ready will be wanting in the end.” 

But if the watchman sees the danger coming and does not blow the trumpet to warn the people, and the sword comes and takes the life of even one of them, that one will be taken away because of his sin, but I will hold the watchman accountable for his blood. [Ezek 33:6] 
Lord God Almighty, as Your watchman I have been solemnly fulfilling the responsibility You have given me in sounding the alarm to warn Your people; there will be no blood on my hands.

Revelation 19:1-10

After this I heard what sounded like the roar of a great multitude in Heaven shouting with inexpressible adoration and joy:
“HALLELUJAH!
Salvation and Glory and Power belong to our God,
for true and just are His judgments!
He has condemned the great prostitute
who corrupted the Earth by her adulteries!
He has avenged on her the blood of His servants!”

And again they shouted:
“HALLELUJAH!
The smoke from her goes up for ever and ever!” 

 The twenty-four elders and the four living creatures fell down in profoundest adoration and worshiped God, who was seated on the Throne.  And they cried:
“AMEN, HALLELUJAH!” 

Then a voice of authority and admonition came from the Throne, saying:
“Praise our God, all you His servants, you who fear Him, 
both small and great!”

Then I heard what sounded like a great multitude, like the roar of rushing waters and like loud peals of thunder, celebrating the Lord Jesus Christ’s physical assumption of His role, and the inauguration of His Personal reign on Earth, as King of kings and Lord of lords over its daily administrations of government, and shouting:
“HALLELUJAH!  For our Lord God Almighty now reigns as the true and only Sovereign Ruler over all the Earth! 
Let us rejoice and be glad and give Him glory! 
For the time for the wedding of the Lamb, the glorified Lord Jesus Christ…the glorious Bridegroom…has come, when He will formally take unto Himself as co-partners of His Throne, dominion, and glory, in a sacred and eternal union of love, relationship, and status, all those faithful ones who have been faithful to their betrothal, thenceforward to be with Him, reign with Him, and share with Him in all His grand inheritance forever!  And His Bride… those people of pre-eminent saintship and watchful preparedness who were “taken” in the initial rapture while others were “left”…has made herself ready.  Fine linen, bright and clean, was given her to wear, so that she may be found in Him, not having a righteousness of her own that comes from the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ…the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith.”  (Fine linen also stands for the righteous acts of the saints, for as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.  You see that a person is justified by what he does and not by “faith” alone; “faith” by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.)

Then the angel said to me, “Write: ‘Blessed, also, are those who are part of the Bridal company as guests and as her sublime and glorious train, invited to partake of the glorious Heavenly banquet that follows in celebration and in their honor…the wedding supper of the Lamb!'”  And he added the indelible mark of Divine Truth and Authenticity, “These are the true words of God.”
At this I fell at his feet to worship him.  But he said to me, “Do not do it!  I am a fellow servant with you and with your brothers who hold to the testimony of Jesus.  Worship God!  For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.”

Friends, brothers and sisters…

There is one absolutely necessary preparation for every living soul on the face of this Earth, for the soon coming and imminent return of Jesus Christ…the one preparation that will irrevocably determine in which neighborhood you will spend all eternity, whether in Heaven or in Hell.  You must be a born-again child of God.  I tell you the truth, unless you are born again, you cannot be in God’s Kingdom.  I tell you the truth, no one can ever enter the Kingdom of God unless you are born of water and the Spirit.  Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit.  You should not be surprised at My saying you must be born again. [Jesus…John 3:3-7]

 If you have never been born again,
or you are not sure whether you have been born again,
or you have been living your life as a lukewarm Christian and would now like to recommit your life and enter into a deep and intimate relationship with Christ Jesus in preparation for the soon coming marriage supper of the Lamb…
then I counsel you to get alone with God, read the solemn marriage vows you must make to become the bride of Christ and thereby be born-again, [https://preservechristianfamily.org/2019/01/21/bride-of-christ/], and with sincerity of heart from within the depths of your being, acknowledge before God, “I DO.”

Holy:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xcx2O9WXvn8&feature=youtu.be