Saturday, October 28, 2006
Three Church Member Types
Type 3: Faithful Few
“So Gideon sent the rest of the Israelites to their tents but kept the three hundred, who took over the provisions and trumpets of the others.” (Judges 7:8 NIV)
I struggled with coming up with a title for this last group. Of Gideon’s original army, less than 1% would go out to fight the Midianites. Therefore, I will call this group The Faithful Few. One must be careful in interpreting numbers in the Bible. I do not believe, and hope that I am right, that the faithful in our churches today is less than 1%. However, I do believe the number is small.
Several characteristics of the 300 soldiers care over to my church analogy pretty well.
1. As seen in the above verse, the 300 “took over the provisions … of the others.” Often, the truly faithful Christians are the ones who do most of the work at church and commonly hold several positions. They understand, respect, and honor the idea of fellowship and worship; therefore, they work hard to keep these functions successful.
2. “The LORD said to Gideon, ‘… If you are afraid to attack, go down to the camp … and listen to what the Midianites are saying.’ So he and Purah his servant went down to the outposts of the camp.” (Judges 7:10, 11)
One common misconception is that the Faithful Few are never afraid. We commonly refer to them as warriors or fighters. But the faithful do fear.
3. “They blew their trumpets and broke the jars that were in their hands.” (Judges 7:19)
A second misconception is that the faithful are all gifted and talented. But all these 300 soldiers did was blow, yell, and break jars. I believe we all could do that. The faithful do not need degrees or years of experience.
4. “Gideon and his three hundred men, exhausted yet keeping up the pursuit, came to the Jordan and crossed it.” (Judges 8:4)
Doing the work of the LORD may be exhausting. And you may get little support. Gideon and his men requested food from the officials of Succoth and later Peniel. Neither town was willing to give up their resources.
Next Post: Conclusion
“So Gideon sent the rest of the Israelites to their tents but kept the three hundred, who took over the provisions and trumpets of the others.” (Judges 7:8 NIV)
I struggled with coming up with a title for this last group. Of Gideon’s original army, less than 1% would go out to fight the Midianites. Therefore, I will call this group The Faithful Few. One must be careful in interpreting numbers in the Bible. I do not believe, and hope that I am right, that the faithful in our churches today is less than 1%. However, I do believe the number is small.
Several characteristics of the 300 soldiers care over to my church analogy pretty well.
1. As seen in the above verse, the 300 “took over the provisions … of the others.” Often, the truly faithful Christians are the ones who do most of the work at church and commonly hold several positions. They understand, respect, and honor the idea of fellowship and worship; therefore, they work hard to keep these functions successful.
2. “The LORD said to Gideon, ‘… If you are afraid to attack, go down to the camp … and listen to what the Midianites are saying.’ So he and Purah his servant went down to the outposts of the camp.” (Judges 7:10, 11)
One common misconception is that the Faithful Few are never afraid. We commonly refer to them as warriors or fighters. But the faithful do fear.
3. “They blew their trumpets and broke the jars that were in their hands.” (Judges 7:19)
A second misconception is that the faithful are all gifted and talented. But all these 300 soldiers did was blow, yell, and break jars. I believe we all could do that. The faithful do not need degrees or years of experience.
4. “Gideon and his three hundred men, exhausted yet keeping up the pursuit, came to the Jordan and crossed it.” (Judges 8:4)
Doing the work of the LORD may be exhausting. And you may get little support. Gideon and his men requested food from the officials of Succoth and later Peniel. Neither town was willing to give up their resources.
Next Post: Conclusion
# posted by Wesley Son of Cornelius @ 1:07 AM 
