Called to Courage
Jeffery Anselmi / General Adult
Fearless / Fear; Obedience / Judges 6:11–27
Don’t be afraid; you may be weak, but God is strong
OPENING SLIDE
INTRODUCTION
• “Fearless” is a three-week series that looks at the story of Gideon and what it means to have fearless faith.
• God wanted Gideon to be a man of valor—ruled by peace and marked by courage, rather than being ruled by fear and marked by cowardice.
• God wants the same for us.
• This series will demonstrate that Christian courage is not grounded in human power but in divine power.
• Let’s begin our series, Fearless, Unshakable Faith, by looking at Gideon being called to courage.
• If you read the Bible carefully, you will notice a pattern in the way God works.
• God has a tendency to call the weak.
• Not the obvious heroes.
• Not the most confident.
• Not the most impressive.
• Instead, God repeatedly calls people who feel unqualified and inadequate.
• Moses said, “I can’t speak.”
• Jeremiah said, “I’m too young.”
• And Gideon… Gideon was hiding in a winepress trying to thresh wheat in secret.
• These are not the people we would normally choose to accomplish great things.
• But they are exactly the people God chooses.
• Because when God uses the weak, His strength becomes unmistakable.
• That reveals something important about Christian courage.
• Christian courage does not come from our strength or heroics.
• It comes from the empowering presence of God.
• And that means as followers of Christ we are not called to live lives ruled by fear and cowardice.
• We are called to live with inner peace and courage because God is with us.
• That is the lesson we see in Judges 6:11–27, and that is still how God works today.
• Let’s begin our journey by looking at Judges 6, beginning with verses 11 and 12.
• Before Gideon ever acts with courage, before he ever leads an army, and before he ever defeats the Midianites, God comes to a fearful man named Gideon and calls him something that must have sounded almost unbelievable.
• God speaks identity over him.
Judges 6:11–12 NET 2nd ed.
11 The angel of the LORD came and sat down under the oak tree in Ophrah owned by Joash the Abiezrite. He arrived while Joash’s son Gideon was threshing wheat in a winepress so he could hide it from the Midianites.
12 The angel of the LORD appeared and said to him, “The LORD is with you, courageous warrior!”
MAIN POINT 1 SLIDE
I. God Calls Us Beyond What We See In Ourselves
• In Judges 6:1-11, we see one of the cycles in the book of Judges play out.
• The cycle in the book of Judges is as follows:
• The nation would fall into sin and forsake God.
• After numerous warnings from God to correct their behavior, which went unheeded, God would send another country to enslave and persecute the nation.
• Eventually, the nation would repent and cry out to God, who would send a judge to save them.
• Then, after a period of time, the cycle started again.
• This cycle happened 7 times in the book of Judges.
• At this point in Judges, the nation was crying out, and God was sending a judge.
• Guess who is getting the call.
• When the angel of the Lord appears to Gideon, the scene is pretty ironic.
• Gideon was hiding.
• He is threshing wheat in a winepress—a place that was never meant for threshing wheat.
• Normally wheat would be threshed in an open area where the wind could separate the grain from the chaff.
• But Gideon is doing it in secret because the Midianites were raiding Israel and stealing their crops.
• And it is in that moment—when Gideon is hiding in fear—that God shows up and says, "The LORD is with you, mighty warrior.”
• You can almost imagine Gideon looking around thinking, “Who is He talking to?”
• Gideon didn’t feel like a warrior.
• He felt weak, afraid, and uncertain.
• Nothing about Gideon’s circumstances—or Gideon’s self-perception—suggests he is a mighty warrior.
• But God was not calling Gideon based on what Gideon looked like in that moment.
• God was calling Gideon based on what Gideon would become through God’s power.
• And that is a pattern we see all throughout Scripture.
• God calls people beyond what they see in themselves.
• God called Abram, an old man without children, and told him he would be the father of nations.
• God called Moses, a reluctant shepherd, to confront Pharaoh and lead Israel out of Egypt.
• God called Peter, an impulsive fisherman, to become a leader of the early church.
• Again and again, God chooses people who feel inadequate.
• Why?
• Because when weak people accomplish great things, everyone knows the power came from God.
• God’s calling is not based on our résumé, our strength, or our confidence.
• God’s calling is based on His purpose and His presence, and that truth matters for us today.
• Many Christians hesitate to step forward when God calls because they feel like Gideon.
• We think:
• I’m not ready.
• I’m not gifted enough.
• I don’t know enough.
• Surely God could use someone better than me.
• This sermon hit me because I thought all the above when God called me to ministry!
• But God is not looking for perfect people.
• God is looking for available people.
• Because when God calls us, He also empowers us.
• The courage we need does not come from believing we are strong.
• It comes from believing God is with us.
• If you doubt God's ability to use you, I have a question that will address your doubts and bring you peace.
• ARE YOU PERFECT?
• If you are, then you are off the hook.
• There was only one perfect person, and that was Jesus!
• God sees in us what we will never see.
• When God calls, your job is to answer and say, "YES, LORD!"
• Let’s look at verses 13-24
Judges 6:13–24 NET 2nd ed.
13 Gideon said to him, “Pardon me, but if the LORD is with us, why has such disaster overtaken us? Where are all his miraculous deeds our ancestors told us about? They said, ‘Did the LORD not bring us up from Egypt?’ But now the LORD has abandoned us and handed us over to Midian.”
14 Then the LORD himself turned to him and said, “You have the strength. Deliver Israel from the power of the Midianites! Have I not sent you?”
15 Gideon said to him, “But Lord, how can I deliver Israel? Just look! My clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the youngest in my family.”
16 The LORD said to him, “Ah, but I will be with you! You will strike down the whole Midianite army.”
17 Gideon said to him, “If you really are pleased with me, then give me a sign as proof that it is really you speaking with me.
18 Do not leave this place until I come back with a gift and present it to you.” The LORD said, “I will stay here until you come back.”
19 Gideon went and prepared a young goat, along with unleavened bread made from an ephah of flour. He put the meat in a basket and the broth in a pot. He brought the food to him under the oak tree and presented it to him.
20 God’s angel said to him, “Put the meat and unleavened bread on this rock, and pour out the broth.” Gideon did as instructed.
21 The angel of the LORD touched the meat and the unleavened bread with the tip of his staff. Fire flared up from the rock and consumed the meat and unleavened bread. The angel of the LORD then disappeared.
22 When Gideon realized that it was the angel of the LORD, he said, “Oh no! Sovereign, LORD! I have seen the angel of the LORD face-to-face!”
23 The LORD said to him, “You are safe! Do not be afraid. You are not going to die!”
24 Gideon built an altar for the LORD there, and named it “The LORD is on friendly terms with me.” To this day it is still there in Ophrah (OFF RAH) of the Abiezrites (AM ER EASE RIGHTS).
• So God calls Gideon something he cannot yet see in himself: “Mighty warrior.”
• But Gideon isn’t ready to run into battle yet.
• In fact, Gideon’s response reveals what many of us would probably feel in that moment.
• Instead of immediate confidence, Gideon responds with questions.
MAIN POINT 2 SLIDE
II. God Strengthens Us When We Bring Him Our Doubts
• Gideon seems to come off as angry and confused when he responds to the angel.
• Gideon comes off confused, yet respectful.
• Gideon has some honest questions to ask.
• You can hear the confusion in his voice.
• Gideon essentially says:
• If God is with us, why are we suffering?
• Where are all the miracles our fathers told us about?
• Why does it feel like God has abandoned us?
• These are not the words of a rebellious man.
• These are the words of a discouraged man.
• Gideon has grown up hearing stories about God’s power—the Exodus, the miracles, and the victories of the past.
• But his present reality looks very different.
• Israel is oppressed.
• The Midianites are stealing their crops.
• People are hiding in caves.
• So Gideon asks the question many of us have asked at one time or another: “God, where are You?”
• Here is something remarkable about this passage.
• God does not rebuke Gideon for asking the question.
• Instead, God meets Gideon in his doubt and begins strengthening his faith.
• Notice how God does this.
First notice in verses 14, 18, and 23 something has changed.
• Verse 11 says an angel of the Lord appeared.
• Verses 14 and 18 now say, THE LORD SAID!
• Now God Himself is addressing Gideon through the angel!
• Back to God and Gideon.
God Gives Gideon a Commission
• God responds in verse 14, “You have the strength. Deliver Israel from the power of the Midianites! Have I not sent you?”
• God doesn’t give Gideon a long explanation.
• He gives him a mission.
• Sometimes faith grows not through having every question answered, but through stepping forward in obedience.
• The God does something amazing.
God Gives Gideon a Promise
• Gideon still feels inadequate and says, "But Lord, how can I deliver Israel? Just look! My clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the youngest in my family.”
• God simply replies, "Ah, but I will be with you! You will strike down the whole Midianite army.”
• That is the foundation of biblical courage.
• Courage does not come from believing we can handle the situation.
• Courage comes from believing God is present in the situation.
God Gives Gideon Peace
• Later in the passage, Gideon realizes he has encountered the Lord and fears he will die.
• But God reassures him: “You are safe! Do not be afraid. You are not going to die!”
• Gideon responds by building an altar and naming it "The LORD is Peace.” (v.24)
• This is an important moment.
• Before Gideon ever fights a battle on the outside, God gives him peace on the inside. because courage grows out of peace with God.
• When we know God is with us, fear begins to lose its grip.
• This leads us to the next part of the story—because God doesn’t just call Gideon and reassure Gideon, God now gives Gideon his first act of obedience.
Judges 6:25–27 NET 2nd ed.
25 That night the LORD said to him, “Take the bull from your father’s herd, as well as a second bull, one that is seven years old. Pull down your father’s Baal altar and cut down the nearby Asherah pole.
26 Then build an altar for the LORD your God on the top of this stronghold according to the proper pattern. Take the second bull and offer it as a burnt sacrifice on the wood from the Asherah pole that you cut down.”
27 So Gideon took ten of his servants and did just as the LORD had told him. He was too afraid of his father’s family and the men of the city to do it in broad daylight, so he waited until nighttime.
MAIN POINT 3 SLIDE
III. Courage Means Obeying Even When Fear Remains
• After God calls Gideon and reassures him, the Lord gives him his first assignment.
• But notice something important: God doesn’t immediately send Gideon to fight the Midianites.
• Instead, God tells Gideon to tear down the altar of Baal that belongs to his own family and replace it with an altar to the Lord.
• Before Gideon can lead Israel in victory over their enemies, false worship at home must be confronted first.
• That is convicting.
• Sometimes we want God to change the big problems around us while ignoring the spiritual problems close to us.
• But revival always begins with repentance.
• Gideon obeys—but the text tells us he does it at night because he is afraid.
• Now some might criticize Gideon for that.
• But the important thing is this: He obeyed.
• His courage was not perfect, but it was real.
• This teaches us an important truth: courage is not the absence of fear.
• Courage is choosing obedience even when fear is still present.
• Many of us are waiting until they feel confident before obeying God.
• But that moment may never come.
• Faith grows when we take the step before the fear disappears.
• When we do, we begin to discover what Gideon learned: God does not call courageous people.
• God calls people—and then gives them the courage they need.
CONCLUSION
CLOSING SLIDE
• When God found Gideon, he was hiding, afraid, and unsure of himself, yet God called him “mighty warrior.”
• Not because Gideon was strong, but because God was with him.
• The same is true for us.
• God still calls ordinary people—people who feel weak, uncertain, and even afraid—to step forward in faith.
• Christian courage is not about our strength or heroics.
• It comes from the empowering presence of God.
• So the question for each of us today is simple:
• Where is God calling you to courage?
• What step of obedience have you been putting off because of fear?
• Remember the truth Gideon learned: If God is with you, you don’t have to live in fear.
• You can live with peace in your heart and courage in your life.
