God called the entire Body of Israel into the battle with Gideon.

"And every man stood in his place all around the camp; and the whole army ran and cried out and fled. When the three hundred blew the trumpets, the LORD set every man's sword against his companion throughout the whole camp; and the army fled to Beth Acacia, toward Zererah, as far as the border of Abel Meholah, by Tabbath. And the men of Israel gathered together from Naphtali, Asher, and all Manasseh, and pursued the Midianites.

Then Gideon sent messengers throughout all the mountains of Ephraim, saying, "Come down against the Midianites, and seize from them the watering places as far as Beth Barah and the Jordan." Then all the men of Ephraim gathered together and seized the watering places as far as Beth Barah and the Jordan. And they captured two princes of the Midianites, Oreb and Zeeb. They killed Oreb at the rock of Oreb, and Zeeb they killed at the winepress of Zeeb. They pursued Midian and brought the heads of Oreb and Zeeb to Gideon on the other side of the Jordan.

Now the men of Ephraim said to him, "Why have you done this to us by not calling us when you went to fight with the Midianites?" And they reprimanded him sharply. So he said to them, "What have I done now in comparison with you? Is not the gleaning of the grapes of Ephraim better than the vintage of Abiezer? "God has delivered into your hands the princes of Midian, Oreb and Zeeb. And what was I able to do in comparison with you?" Then their anger toward him subsided when he said that" (Judges 7:21-8:3).

This portion of Gideon's story speaks about some very important Biblical truths.

Overcoming is more than just making life better for us! Overcoming brings on an anointing for bearing fruit for God's Kingdom. This takes it out of the realm of "Me, me," and brings real purpose to our lives.

Overcomers are not loners!

They are called to bring others into the battle. The Levites crossed the River Jordon first, but they made the way for the rest of Israel to pass over. We were called to act as the Body of Christ. It is a dishonor to God to attempt to work without others, without His church, His bride!

Overcomers are warriors!

As believers in Jesus Christ who live during the "last days" we are called to be in warfare mode not peace mode. Lives are important to God, eternal lives. The other things in our lives may be important to God, but their purpose is not so that we may live "happy peaceful lives." What is important to the Lord are people, people who are imprisoned by the enemy.

The warfare mode will put you in the mind of carrying about what God cares about, people. The peace mode will put you in the mind of carrying about money and other earthly treasures.

The following is quoted from the book, God's Plan and The Overcomers. (1)

"The Principle of Overcomers

The way God works, as illustrated in His Holy Scriptures, is to find a few as a nucleus in order to reach the many. This was true in the patriarchal age. At that time God chose people individually: those such as Abel, Enoch, Noah, and Abraham. Later on through Abraham (the few) God reaches the whole nation of Israel (the many)-that is to say, God reaches the dispensation of the law through the patriarchal age. Then from the dispensation of the law (the nation of Israel) God reaches to the dispensation of grace (the church out of all nations); and likewise from the dispensation of grace He will reach to the dispensation of the kingdom (the entire world), and from the dispensation of the kingdom to the new heaven and the new earth (the new creation), for the kingdom is the prologue to the new heaven and the new earth. So then, the principle of God's operation is from the few to the many. "..the Head, from whom all the body, being supplied and knit together through the joints and bands, increaseth with the increase of God" (Col. 2.19). The joints are for supplying, while the bands are for knitting. The Head holds the body together through these joints and bands. And these joints and bands are the overcomers.

Jerusalem typifies the whole church, whereas Zion -which is in Jerusalem-represents the overcomers in the church. Jerusalem is larger than Zion, yet Zion is the stronghold of Jerusalem. What answers to the heart of God is called Zion; that which speaks of the failure and sins of the Jews is called Jerusalem. God allows Jerusalem to be trodden down, but He usually keeps Zion intact. There will be a New Jerusalem, but there is no new Zion because Zion never grows old. Each time the relationship between Zion and Jerusalem is mentioned in the Old Testament we are shown that the characteristics, life, blessing and establishing of Jerusalem are invariably derived from Zion. The elders were in Jerusalem, the ark was to be in Zion (1 Kings 8.1).

God does good in His good pleasure to Zion, and He builds the walls of Jerusalem (Ps. 51.18). God's name is in Zion, while His praise is in Jerusalem (Ps. 102.21). God blesses out of Zion, and Jerusalem receives the good of it (Ps. 128.5). The Lord dwells in Jerusalem, yet He receives praises out of Zion (Ps. 135.21). God speaks first to Zion, and then the good tidings reach Jerusalem (Is. 41.27). He dwells in Zion and thus sanctifies Jerusalem (Joel 3.17). God today is seeking, among the defeated church, 144,000 (a representative figure, to be sure) to stand on mount. Zion (Rev. 14.1). Each and every time, He uses relatively few believers as channels to pour forth life into the church for her revival. As their Lord did, these few must pour forth blood in order to let life flow.

The overcomers are to stand on the ground of victory for the church and instead of the church. They are to endure sufferings and shames. Therefore, God's overcomers must forsake all self-complacencies, pay the cost, let the cross cut off all that comes out of the old creation, and stand against the gates of Hades {Matt. 16.18). Are you willing to hurt your own heart that you may gain God's heart? Are you ready to let yourself be defeated so that the Lord may triumph? When your obedience is made full, God will quickly avenge all the disobedience (2 Cor. 10.6).

The Work of the Overcomers

In examining the principle of the overcomers we must notice two things: (1) that whenever the whole body fails, God will choose relatively few to stand for the whole body; and (2) that God calls these few to carry out His command so that through them He may later reach the many. When God chose the children of Israel He called them all to be a kingdom of priests among the nations (Ex. 19.5,6). But at Mount Sinai they worshipped the golden calf and failed terribly. Because of this, God selected the Levites-who kept His command to be His overcomers. They were given the priesthood in lieu of all the rest of the children of Israel (Ex. 32.1529).

When God works He first works in a few, and then through them He works to the many. In order to save the children of Israel He first saved Moses. He delivered Moses out of Egypt before He delivered the children of Israel out of Egypt. He dealt with David first, and after He had laid hold of David He liberated the children of Israel from the hand of the Philistines so that they became a great nation. Spiritual end must be reached by spiritual means. God dealt with both Moses and David to such a degree that they would not at all use the flesh to help God in accomplishing His purpose.

God first gained 12 persons, then 12O-and so the church was born. The principle of the overcomers is God's calling a few to do the work for the blessing of the many. A few are called so that many might receive life- God plants the cross in the hearts of the few causing them to accept the principle of the cross in environments as well as in their homes-thus enabling them to pour forth life to other people. God needs channels of life by which to pour out life to others.

Standing in Death That Others Might Live

God put the priests in the place of death so that the children of Israel might have a way to life. The priests were the first to step into the water and the last to come out of it. They were God's overcomers. Today God is seeking a company of people who like the priests of old will step into the water, enter into death, accept the dealing of the cross, and stand on the ground of death first, so as then to open for the church a living way. God puts us first in death for the sake of giving life to others. God's overcomers are God's pioneers. Not that the priests were capable of accomplishing anything, but because they bore the ark. They must bear the ark and descend to the riverbed. How we should let Christ (typified by the ark) be the center.

How we should be clothed with Christ and enter the water.

The feet of the priests stood on the riverbed; their shoulders bore the ark. Standing in death, they as it were uplifted Christ. The riverbed is the place of death. Nothing at all comfortable, nothing at all appealing. Not restful, not sitting, not lying, but standing. If I live according to my ill-temper, Christ cannot live in others. But if I stand at the bottom of the river, other people will cross the Jordan to victory. Death works in me, but life works in others. In my obedience to death, life will operate in others for their own obedience to God. The death of Christ quickens His life in us. Without death there can be no life. It was most agonizing to bear the ark at the bottom of the river, for it required great diligence. A slight carelessness and the holy God would destroy them. They stood there, watching the children of Israel pass by one by one. And so they were left to the last. Consequently the apostle declared this: "For, I think, God hath set forth us the apostles last of all . . . as the filth of the world, the off scouring of all things" (1 Cor. 4.9-13). He would that others believe on the gospel, yet without his chains (Acts 26.29). Oh, let each of us ask ourselves: Do I work for fame, for prosperity, for sympathy from others? Or do I seek for life in the church of God? May we be able to pray thus: 0 Lord, let me die that others may live. God says explicitly that this would not be easy; nonetheless, this is the only way towards the realization of God's eternal plan.

Remaining at the bottom of the river till all the children of God had passed over speaks of how we too cannot come out of death until the kingdom finally arrives. Fortunately Joshua (a type of Christ) at last gave the command, Come up out of Jordan. Our victorious Joshua will also call us up out of the water of death. And such will mark the beginning of the kingdom. Many people are not disobedient, they are just not fully obedient; with many people it is not a not paying any cost, it is rather a paying insufficiently; with many it is not a spending of no money or of sending no soldiers, but it is a committing of less than all (see Luke 14.25-35).

Gethsemane is reached by way of the cross. Without the dealing of the cross none can say, "But as thou wilt" (Matt. 26.39). Many are those who aspire to the calling of Abraham but abhor the consecration on Mount Moriah. Do I fret over my neighbor's easy life? God places me at the bottom of the river to be His overcomer. He allows me to be chained that others may hear the glad tidings. Death works in me, but life in others. This is the only channel of life. The dying of Jesus fills me first with life and then lets this life flow out to others (2 Cor. 4.10-12).

What does God's overcomer do? He stands in the death of Christ that others may receive life. The word of the Bible must be experienced by us first before we are able to preach it. The light of the truth needs first to be transformed into life in us before it can be transmitted as light to others.

God causes His overcomers to see a truth and to prove it in their lives first so that they in turn may bring many to the obedience of this truth. Truth must be organized in us and become a part of our being. Before we can ever tell others about faith, prayer, and consecration, we ourselves must first have the experience of faith, prayer, and consecration. Otherwise, these will merely be terminologies with no substance. God leads us through death so that other people may have life. We are required to go through sufferings and pain before there can be life in others. For the sake of learning the truth of God, we need first to stand at the bottom of the river. The church is unable to cross over to the mainland for victory because there is a lack of priests standing at the bottom of the river Jordan. All who stand at the bottom of Jordan are capable of creating a seeking heart in others. If a truth has been deeply organized in me, that will draw others to seek the same. Many of the truths of God are waiting to be organized within men. As we let truth be worked into and organized in us, we allow the stature of Christ to grow an inch in us. The overcomers receive life from above to supply the body."

(1) Nee, Watchman. God's Plan and The Overcomers. New York, NY: Christian Fellowship Publishers, Inc.