So the Spirit of the Lord came upon Gideon: and he blew a trumpet, and the Abiezerites were called together to follow him.  Judges 6:33-35 There were 12 tribes (like families) in the Bible. In these times people become evil through SIN.  God used special people, HEREO's.  There was a small weak man who used a winepress and worked in secret with the wheat of the harvest.   His name was Gideon.  God sent an ANGEL to him. "Gideon", said the voice. He moved over his wheat and stood very still, "Who wants Gideon? Then the mighty voice sounded again.  "The Lord is with you, you mighty man of Valor!".  The angel ........     Have someone make some biscuits or purchase them and have them in a basket. This is part of my STS method of teaching.  The biscuit roll game, and the other activites follow on this day of the program. Register for the complete lesson program materials and outline.           Gideon had an army of just 300 and was going to face some 135,000. Gideon feared to attack such a large army, so the Lord sent him a sign in a dream. (Remember that in the Keyboards for Christ Music Program we use the number 3 as it is one of completion see number Three).  Gideon divided his men into 3 groups of 100 each. They had three weapons. Clay jars, torches, and trumpets.  They surrounded the camp of 135,000 men and smashed clay jars and the noise was like that of swords clanging on swords, exposing the tourches and the men blew their shofars, three hundred at the same time just imagine. In the darkness of the night in this camp, soldiers stabbed each other in confussion . Then  the camels of this large army broke loose and tramped through the camp causing confussion so in panic they fled. From the darkness of the night to the light in the darkness. (I recommend that you have a clay jar on display around the table. Like all things it is better to prepare for a program many months before not weeks)  2 Cor 4:5-10 For we do not preach ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake. For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ. But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body.  God has made His light shine in our hearts. It is the light of the presence of the Lord Jesus within our lives. But this ‘all-surpassing power’ God has placed within jars of clay… us! Fragile human beings – an earthenware vessel which contains the life of God! But how does this light shine forth? God’s light and power is seen in us as cracks appear in the outer jar. Just as Gideon and his army broke their jars to expose the light, so their must be times of weakness which cause a ‘cracking’ of our normal strength. Paul says it was times when he was…‘hard pressed’, ‘perplexed’, and ‘persecuted’. These times when through the power of weakness, ‘the life of Jesus may be revealed in our body’. So Gideon, with his limited followers, armed simply with a jar, a torch, and a trumpet, stormed the Midian camp from every side. 300 Israelites versus 135,000 Midianites! Would the light of God and the trumpet call bring victory? (Yep, the questions just keep getting tougher don’t they?) So God was with this man called Gideon that faced a foe so large, He commanded with force, with faith, and with absolute courage, and all Israel came to see that the Spirit of the Lord was upon him. We have seen how God delights in using weak vessels to display His strength and faithfulness. We have also seen that this can often come about in the times when Midian (strife and trouble), is around. Like Gideon, it is daunting and scary when faced with overwhelming odds. What are some important things that a HEREO should do? 1. Listen and wait    2. Build upon a solid foundation or substance (GOD)                               3. Have Faith to allow God to Work within                                                     Next page>  Daniel