INTRODUCTION
During one of Napoleon’s battles, segments of his battle line were falling back in disorder and defeat. “Beat a retreat!” shouted Napoleon to a drummer boy. Saluting smartly, the heroic drummer boy said, “Sir, you never taught me to beat a retreat. I can only beat a charge!” The lad’s reply kindled new courage in Napoleon, who instantly gave the command, “Then beat a charge, drummer boy!” He did, and seeming defeat was turned into victory.
Are you a courageous person? How do you know? How is it measured, especially in the spiritual realm? Can it be said of you as a Christian that you are courageous for the cause of Christ?
Probably the best definition I have ever heard for courage is this: “Courage is fear that has said its prayers.”
BACKGROUND
Our unlikely hero for today is someone who thought himself a coward. His name is Gideon. We find his story in the middle of the era in Israel known as the time of the Judges. Israel had conquered the Promised Land but had failed to drive out all of its inhabitants as God had instructed. As a result, the remaining people groups became thorns in the side of the nation of Israel. They went through a continuous cycle during this time: Serenity, Sin, Servitude, Supplication, and Salvation. First, they would dwell in relative peace for some time. Then, they would sin against God again. After that, God allowed their enemies to overpower them and make them serve them. Next, they would cry out to God for help. Finally, God would send a Judge to deliver them and give them peace again.
During Gideon’s lifetime, the Midianites had become the dominant group. Because the people had sinned against God, God allowed the Midianites to invade them. The people of Israel feared them because they were vicious and unrelenting. They destroyed crops and stole animals from the Israelites. In fact, the Israelites went into hiding in mountains, caves, and strongholds.
This is now where we find our unlikely hero. He is hiding in a wine vat threshing wheat so that the Midianites might not find it. Gideon, like the rest of his people, was afraid. But, unbeknown to him, he possessed a quality that unlikely heroes often possess: Courage. He really did not believe himself to be a man of courage, but God proved him wrong!
Let’s read our text for today: Judges 6:11-16.
I find here some interesting issues concerning Gideon’s courage.
I. His Courage Was Unperceptively Dormant (vss. 12, 15)
As Gideon threshed the wheat, the “Angel of the Lord” appeared to him as a traveler. This seems to be a theophany, or special appearance of God in angel form. It may even be a Christophany, or the appearance of the second person of the Trinity in angel form. The writer of this book switches from calling Him “the Angel of the Lord” to “the Lord.” Either way, the being addressed Gideon in verse 12 with the words, “The Lord is with you, O mighty man of valor.” Valor means “great courage in the face of danger.” In other words, the Angel is pronouncing Gideon to be a courageous man.
Did Gideon believe himself to be a man of courage? Evidently not, since he is hiding! He even asks how it could be that God was with them if they were in subjection to the Midianites. He further suggests that God had abandoned them!
Gideon balked at the idea that he was a courageous one, and could lead the Israelites to victory, emphatically pointing out his own lineage as being the weakest link in the nation (vs. 15).
Christians often make excuses for why they cannot serve the Lord or share the gospel with others. They consider themselves either inept or ill-prepared for such tasks.
Many have Philippians 4:13 as their favorite or life verse, but never apply it to their life of obedience to Christ. Paul said, “I can do all things through him who strengthens me.”
The only thing God has called us to do is to be faithful and obedient. He takes care of our weaknesses. He knows us better than we know ourselves, and He knows what great things we can accomplish. Are we willing to be courageous, to step out in obedience for Him, and to allow Him to use us?
Famed World War II tank commander General George Patton said, “Courage is fear holding on a minute longer.”
Ralph Waldo Emerson reflected something similar: “A man is a hero, not because he is braver than anyone else, but because he is brave for ten minutes longer.”
Someone has anonymously stated, “Courage is being the only one who knows you’re afraid.”
It is time for God’s people to be courageous!
II. His Courage was Supernaturally Awakened (vss. 14, 16)
At this point, God speaks three things to Gideon to demonstrate that he was God-ordained. It says in verse 14, “And the LORD turned to him and said, “Go in this might of yours and save Israel from the hand of Midian”
First, while Gideon may not have perceived it, God was telling him that he had what was needed to do the job he was called to do. “Go in this might of yours” means God had equipped him with the tools necessary to accomplish the tasks before him.
Second, God says, “Do not I send you?” Gideon needed to understand that he was called by God Himself to lead and that the call was his sound to charge!
Third, in verse 16, God reminds him, “But I will be with you.” This was God’s encouragement that He was not alone. Though Gideon felt deserted by God, God had never abandoned His people, and would in fact be present to assist this called leader to defeat the enemy.
God was telling His servant that He was now giving him the strength he needed to deliver his people, that he only needed courage. He must just stand courageously in the strength of the Lord to see it through. He had been divinely called, and God was with Him.
Have we not ever comprehended the strength God provides for the tasks to which He has called us? God will never call us to tasks where His grace has not equipped us! Only a few verses removed from the previously quoted verse in Philippians is verse 19, where Paul states, “And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.” We often quote this as God daily meeting the needs of our body ad soul, but this is written in the context of ministry! God supplies what his children need in order to serve Him and minister for Him.
Further, did not Christ call us, and promise us that His presence is with us always? Matthew 28:18-20 reads, “And Jesus came and said to them, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.’”
What precious promises we have! God’s servants have always recognized God’s enabling grace and presence in their calling.
John Knox, a Scottish minister martyred for his faith, once remarked, “I have looked in the faces of many angry men, and yet have not been afraid above measure.”
Mary Slessor, as she began her remarkable missionary career in what is now Nigeria, stated, “Lord, the task is impossible for me but not for Thee. Lead the way and I will follow. Why should I fear? I am on a Royal Mission. I am in the service of the King of Kings.”
Our courage is not mustered up from ourselves and our own self-worth but is awakened within us by the Lord Himself!
III. His Courage was Brilliantly Displayed
This man Gideon would move on from his encounter with God to manifest his inner warrior. He became one of the most admired judges of this time period. Here we are still speaking of Him today!
The first great feat he accomplished was to tear down his father’s idols. He courageously tore down the idols and their associated worship objects, and built an altar, and sacrificed a bull to the Lord. But his fear of his own neighboring people forced him to do so under cover of darkness. Still, it was a bold step, and the townspeople were not happy!
Then God called him to go up against the army of the Midianites, numbering in the tens of thousands. Gideon was able to draft 30,000 of his countrymen, and must have been feeling fairly confident about his chances. Maybe, he and the others were too confident. At this point, God told him he had too many men and whittled the group to 300. God was afraid His people would believe they had done it in their strength, and He wanted them to know it was Him!
We discover that this frightened Gideon once again, and his courage fled. So, God instructed him in Judges 7:10-11, “‘But if you are afraid to go down, go down to the camp with Purah your servant. And you shall hear what they say, and afterward your hands shall be strengthened to go down against the camp.’ Then he went down with Purah his servant to the outposts of the armed men who were in the camp.” There he indeed heard of their fear and was encouraged yet again. His men attacked armed only with trumpets and torches covered with clay jars.
This ragtag army, under his leadership, blew their trumpets, smashed their jars, held high their brightly lit torches, and shouted. The noise sounded like a much larger army, and the Midianites fled before them. They pursued them and killed many, including the leaders. Following that great victory, the Israelites had peace for forty years!
Gideon proved himself to be a “mighty man of valor!” All he needed was the Lord’s knowledge of what he could be, the Lord’s reminder of the strength He would provide him, and the Lord’s encouragement to go and be obedient.
Perhaps we need the same confidence and expectation Paul had when he wrote to the believers in Philippi in Philippians 1:20, “… it is my eager expectation and hope that I will not be at all ashamed, but that with full courage now as always Christ will be honored in my body, whether by life or by death.”
Isn’t that really all any of us need to be God’s hero? As unlikely as any of us may seem to fill a hero’s position, all of us as God’s people have the courage we need to be God’s heroes in our world.
Often when we ask for a person’s signature, we will call it their “John Hancock.” This is because of the fifty-six signatures on the Declaration of Independence, one stands out above the rest. That signature belongs to John Hancock. He was the first to sign the declaration and he signed it in a large and legible script so that the King of England could read his name without using glasses.
Sign your name in large letters, Christian! Show your courage in the face of uneven odds! Let the Devil and the world know that you serve a mighty King, and you will serve Him with boldness and valor. Then go and accomplish great things for God!
CONCLUSION
Someone has written the following. It needs to be on a plaque in all of our homes as Christians.
“I’m part of the fellowship of the unashamed. I have stepped over the line. The decision has been made. I’m a disciple of Jesus Christ. I won’t look back, let up, slow down, back away or be still. My past is redeemed, my future is secure. I’m finished and done with low living, small planning, smooth knees, colorless dreams, tamed visions, mundane talking, cheap living and dwarfed goals.
“I no longer need preeminence, prosperity, position, promotions, plaudits or popularity. I don’t have to be right, first, tops, recognized, praised, regarded or rewarded. I now live by faith, lean on His presence, walk by patience, live by prayer and labor by His power.
“My face is set, my gait is fast, my goal is heaven, my road is narrow, my way rough, my companions few, my Guide reliable and my mission clear. I cannot be bought, deluded or delayed. I will not flinch in the face of sacrifice, hesitate in the presence of adversity, negotiate at the table of the enemy or meander in the maze of mediocrity.
“I won’t give up, shut up or let up until I have stayed up, stored up, prayed up, paid up and preached up for the cause of Christ. I am a disciple of Jesus. I must go ‘till He comes, give ‘till I drop, preach ‘till all know and work ‘till He stops me. And when He comes for His own, He will have no problem recognizing me.”
Do you have the courage it takes to be God’s unlikely hero in the face of insurmountable odds? Are you courageous enough to step out in obedience and accomplish God’s will for you? He supplies the call, the strength, and the encouragement. Yours is but to obey. Be someone’s unlikely hero today as you exhibit the great attribute of courage in your life.
