Hello and welcome back to the Potter's House
Seminar Podcast. This is a special series from
our Prescott Conference that just recently occurred.
The theme of the conference was Into the Unknown
and the scripture for the theme was Romans 15,
20 -21. I have made it my aim to preach the gospel
to whom he was not announced. ...in this atmosphere
and we appreciate so very much all of you being
here. I feel like I'm a little bit out of the
will of God because I'm not preaching from Genesis
12. And I don't have the word unknown in my title.
Although I can change it. My sermon title is
Calming Your Fears. But I want to change it so
I can partially be in the will of God to overcoming
your fear of the unknown. I don't know if they
can do that or not. Anyway, turn in your Bibles
to the book of Judges chapter 7. The book of
Judges chapter 7. Don't try and tell me that
you don't have any. I'm talking about your fears,
not fear in general. I'm talking about your fears,
which you all have. I know you're a tough guy.
I know the words I'm afraid would never come
out of your mouth because you don't want to project
fear in any way. But despite your pride, we all
have fear. Fear can be the source of undermining
progress. It can be the source of unwillingness
to venture into the unknown. It can be debilitating.
It can undermine your progress in the will of
God. Some of you are stuck where you are. Maybe
you have some modicum of success, but you're
stuck where you are because of your fears that
you may not even acknowledge that is the case.
One of my all -time favorite books on World War
II is called The Victors by Stephen Ambrose.
He wrote another book called D -Day that is an
excellent book as well. The Victors covers a
little bit of the biography of General Dwight
Eisenhower and D -Day and the run -up to it.
And one of the quotes in the book says, they
were ready. But of course, going into combat
for the first time, is an ultimate experience
for which one can never be fully ready. It is
anticipated for years in advance. It is a test
that produces anxiety, eagerness, tension, fear
of failure, anticipation. There's a mystery about
the thing, heightened by the fact that those
who have done it cannot put into words what it's
like, how it feels, except that getting shot
at And shooting to kill produces extraordinary
emotional reactions. No matter how hard you train,
nor how realistic the training, no one can ever
be fully prepared for the intensity of the real
thing. This is precisely what Gideon is up against
in his 300 men. The challenge of achieving great
things in your life. brings with it fears. It
does. Whenever you're challenged to go beyond
where you are now, fear wants to take hold and
control. And that has to be overcome. Another
quote from the book, Eisenhower's greatest concern
about these young men whose average age was 22.
Soldiers, that was their average age on D -Day.
A large percentage of them, over half, had never
been in live combat before. His concern was,
would they overcome their fear and advance under
live fire? This is an image of one of the landing
craft. And I want you to take note of... The
image, there it is. Look at that young man right
in the middle. He looks like he's 15 or 16, probably
19. Imagine what they're feeling right now. They're
not going to be delivered from their fear. They
have to overcome their fear. In the book, The
Victors, The word fear and fearful is used by
Stephen Ambrose 43 times because it was so pervasive
among the troops and it had to be overcome. Everyone
had it. Everyone had to deal with it in their
own way. So let's read our text. It will help
to enlighten us about overcoming our fears so
that we can advance into the unknown. Notice
the word I just used. It puts me in the will
of God this morning. This is Judges chapter 7.
The army's already been reduced to the 300. They've
gotten rid of 22 ,000, then 10 ,000. And now
he's left with his 300. And on the eve of battle,
the Bible says it happened on the same night.
This is verse 9 of chapter 7. That the Lord said
to Gideon, Arise, go down against the camp, for
I have delivered it into your hands. Done. Finished.
Definitive statement by God. But if you are afraid.
Remember, this is God's mighty man of valor that
he's asking that question to. But if you are
afraid. 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 Gideon went
down with Purah his servant to the outpost of
the armed men who were in the camp. Now the Midianites
and the Amalekites, all the people of the east,
were lying in the valley as numerous as locusts.
And their camels were without number as the sand
by the seashore. In multitude. And when Gideon
had come. There was a man telling a dream to
his companion, and he said, I have had a dream.
To my surprise, a loaf of barley bread tumbled
into the camp of Midian. It came to a tent, struck
it so that it fell and overturned, and the tent
collapsed. Then his companion answered and said,
This is nothing but the sword of Gideon, the
son of Joash, a man of Israel. Into his hand
God has delivered Midian and the whole camp.
And so it was when Gideon heard, the telling
of the dream and its interpretation. Then he
worshiped. He returned to the camp of Israel.
And now he's saying, arise for the Lord has delivered
the camp of Midian into your hand. Let's pray
this morning. Father, we thank you. For your
ministering power and presence, have liberty
to accomplish all that is your purpose. And we
thank you for it in Jesus' name. So I want to
talk first of all about the very real presence
of fear. Fear can have extreme consequences.
Your fears, first of all, have the ability to
paralyze you. We make excuses for it, but the
purpose and the strategy of Satan implementing
fear into your life is to paralyze you so that
you will not advance. Fear has the ability to
neutralize the testimony of past victories. It
has the ability to rob you of gifting and ability
and how it should be expressed in your life,
and it strips you of your potential. Getting
rid of the 31 ,700 that would have been a hindrance
has already been done. They're on the eve of
battle. Gideon has his 300. They've got their
trumpets, their torches. God has said, I've delivered
the camp into your hands. But Gideon is not quite
ready because of the presence of fear. Fear causes
paralysis. And fear then has to be dealt with.
It paralyzed the army of Israel in the face of
Goliath. David has to overcome what was paralyzing
everyone else. Don't tell me, I know David had
great faith and he went charging against the
giant. But don't tell me that he didn't have
to take fear and set it aside. Your faith has
to overcome your fear. Jesus was a man. and God,
and the Bible tells us in the Garden of Gethsemane
that he was distressed and greatly troubled and
exceedingly sorrowful, even to death, and if
it's going to be in him, how much more in us?
He's realizing, and it's... And it's hovering
over him that he's hours away from Roman crucifixion.
And he cowers in emotional turmoil as he is facing
this obstacle. Fear sows seeds of doubt. That's
what's happening in our text. God's promise of
deliverance is met with doubt. The Lord said
to Gideon, arise, go. For I've delivered the
camp into your hand. That's what God is saying,
but Gideon is not yet ready to say it because
of fear. Fear can silence God's voice. You're
not hearing God's voice. You're hearing the voice
of fear. So much is at stake. The children of
Israel need deliverance. Fear can prevent that
from happening. And I want you to think about
this morning, whether you're a man of God, a
seasoned pastor, a leader, a new believer, or
somewhere in between. I want you to consider
what fear may be preventing in your life right
now. What are you not doing or afraid to do because
your fears are holding you back? But maybe it's
pulling the plug on planning a church. Maybe
there's a couple here. You're in the throes of
God dealing with you about venturing into the
unknown, but you're unwilling to pull the plug
on that because of fear and uncertainties. Giving
an offering tonight. We pull back. We may not
have enough. The need may not be met. And so
I'm not going to give what God has spoken me
to give. And that occurs because of fear. Fear
leads to disobedience. So let's look at the three
occasions when fear is most likely to occur.
First of all, it's most likely to occur when
it's time to advance. It's time for leadership
to arise and lead. But fear has the potential
of intervening, interfering rather. Another quote
from the book, The Victors, the AEF, that's the
Allied Expeditionary Force, was set to go, living
on the edge of fearful anticipation. The mighty
host, in Eisenhower's words, was as tense as
a coiled spring, ready for the moment when its
energy should be released and it would vault
into the English Channel and onto the shores
of France. In our text, it's time to advance.
Got to get moving. Go, he said. I've delivered
the camp into your hands. But if you're afraid,
and notice here, God is making room for him to
help Gideon overcome his fear. He's not rebuking
Gideon for being fearful. But he has a plan to
help him and we'll get to that in a moment. Remember,
this has already occurred. Earlier in the chapter,
now therefore proclaim in the hearing of the
people saying, whoever is fearful and afraid,
get rid of them. And the Bible says 22 ,000 left.
I would have to describe that as a debilitating
fear that was not able to be dealt with in the
short term. Now we're advancing forward. Gideon
on the eve of battle with 300 men against 135
,000 Midianites has a little bit of a reservation
that God's going to have to help him with. But
God had confidence that he could help him. And
he has confidence that he can help you this morning.
Secondly, Fear appears when the odds are against
you. We're all vulnerable to visuals. And I like
how the text describes the enemy here. This is
quite a visual. Now the Midianites and the Amalekites,
all the people of the east, were lying in the
valley as numerous as locusts. That's what Gideon
is seeing. From one end of the horizon to the
other, 135 ,000 soldiers with equipment, with
camels, takes up a lot of territories. He's got
300 men against that. That's not a great visual.
If you're going to win, don't you need to stack
the odds in your favor? The odds are being reduced.
And this is a visual that Gideon is up against.
Remember when Gideon was called, he was threshing
wheat and then hiding it so the Midianites wouldn't
steal it. And then when God called him, his...
Response was, where are all the Lord's miracles?
The Lord has forsaken us. My clan is the weakest.
I am the lead. That's not exactly the disposition
of somebody who's going to go charging into battle
and be victorious. And then thirdly, fear emerges
when you are alone and you are isolated. The
devil seeks to isolate you. And that is when
he can be most successful in messing with your
head. Why do so many of our pastors allow themselves
to be isolated? They don't call home. They don't
work at cultivating close bonds of friendship.
When they're out in the field. They've got their
bros in the mother church. And maybe their bros
that they grew up in the Lord with. That are
scattered around the country. But in their local
area. And with their leadership. They don't maintain
close bonds of relationship. They're isolated.
And I can tell you from experience. That when
you isolate yourself. Like I allowed myself to
do when I was in London, England. Pioneering.
All kinds of wacky things go through your head.
And fear is one of them. Sometimes as a leader
and a pastor, you can feel very isolated. Gideon
has 300 men, but there's a dimension of isolation
that a leader can feel. He's responsible for
leading and making a decision. Another very good
book is called Five Ministry Killers. I recommend
every pastor read that. One of the quotes in
the book said, the number one problem pastors
face is isolation. In an inventory he developed
that elevates, that evaluates five areas in ministry.
1 ,086 pastors from 42 denominations. Reveal
the difficulty most pastors encounter in discussing
their needs and their weaknesses with others.
Most people in full -time ministry do not have
a close personal friendship and consequently
are alarmingly lonely and dangerously vulnerable.
Why is it? Here's Gideon. And I think one of
the most important features of this text is...
When God said, go down to the camp and take Purah,
your servant, with you. It's the only time he's
mentioned. Take Purah with you. Don't go alone.
Don't allow yourself to be isolated. Don't be
by yourself. And then the Bible says he went
down to the camp of the enemy with Purah, his
servant. And you may think this is a little bit
of a stretch, but the word Purah means foliage.
And I view that as kind of a covering. Your friendships
will cover you in fearful moments when you feel
all alone. A covering. And according to surveys,
most pastors and leaders, as I said, don't have
a close friend that they can confide in. that
they can call or go to their house and say, listen,
I'm going through this. Can you help me? Can
you pray with me? There's a metaphor that I heard
when I was in London called being alone on the
platform. And I was on a lot of platforms in
London, England. It's referring to a train platform
or a tube station. I mean, it's jam -packed with
people, but you're close to no one. You're alone
on the platform. There are people around you.
You don't talk. You don't interact. You have
nothing in common. They're not your friends.
They're not your relationships. And I suspect
there's a lot of pastors that even in a crowd
like this are alone on the platform. That's why
conference is such a great forum to connect,
to interact, to reacquaint yourself. To make
a commitment to someone. Let's stay in touch
over the next six months. Let's call each other
from time to time and make sure that we're connected.
Some of you are dangerously alone. And when crisis
strikes, you're going to be in trouble. Let's
talk secondly about God's antidote for fear.
From God's side of things in our text. Everything
is in place for victory to occur. 135 ,000 of
the enemy, no problem for God. I've got 300 men.
And I've got a leader in Gideon. As far as God's
concerned, everything is in place for victory,
but for the possibility of debilitating the fear
getting in the way. God's aware of your fear.
Whether you want to admit it or not, whether
you can say, Pastor, I am afraid. God is aware
of your fear. He knows you're vulnerable, even
though you may be a mighty man of valor. God
makes provision for your fear to help you. He
doesn't rebuke Gideon. Get a grip. Come on, you
wimp. Get over yourself, you punk. Get out there
and fight. Quit whining and sniveling. It happened
on the same night that the Lord said to him,
Arise, go down against the camp, for I have delivered
it into your hand. But if you're afraid, and
God knew he was, that happens. But if you're
afraid, go down to the camp with Purah, your
servant. God has an antidote for your fears.
No matter how acute they may be, they may be
completely dominating the landscape of your life.
No matter how strongly and powerfully they may
be interfering. With your advance and your progress,
Pastor, you're not alone when it comes to dealing
with your fears. Sometimes it's the presence
of a companion that helps make the difference.
As I mentioned a moment ago, go with Pura, your
servant. Every one of us needs such an individual
or several individuals in our lives. Pura doesn't
say a word. He doesn't do anything. But I view
him as a significant part of this narrative.
He's there alongside of Gideon, and you need
to make sure you have a purer. Bible says, Gideon,
you go get him and take him with you. He wasn't
waiting for someone to come to him. You make
friends. You build relationships. You reach out.
You make sure you have a purer in your life.
Sometimes just knowing someone is with you and
for you, there's someone you can call. There's
someone present in your life that will carry
your burdens with you. And they know how to pray.
I love calling someone. I'm going through this.
And they know exactly how to pray for me because
we have relationship and they know me. Fear is
causing Gideon, at least in the beginning here,
to have a spiritual limp. Not quite ready for
battle. Why do you think it says in Ecclesiastes,
two are better than one? Because they have a
good reward for their labor. If one falls, the
other will lift him up. But woe to him who is
alone when he falls. I don't want you going alone.
Take Pyrrha. Woe to him who is alone when he
falls, for he has no one to help him. Dutch Schultz
was a war hero in World War II. He fought on
D -Day. He wrote an autobiography and this was
written about it. Dutch Schultz paid his officers
and NCOs a fine tribute. Men like Captain Anthony
Shefneck. Jack Tallarday, Lieutenants Gus Sanders,
Gerald Johnson, and Sergeants Herman Zeltner
and Sylvester Meeks and Elmo Bell, to name only
a few, they were largely responsible for my transformation
to a combat infantryman able to do his job. They
taught me to overcome my fears and my self -doubts.
He couldn't have done that by himself. God says,
Gideon, I want you to go down to the camp of
the enemy. These men are armed and ready for
war. He's going to creep along in the dark, getting
closer and closer and closer to the outpost.
And he got close enough to where he could hear
a conversation of two of the enemy talking with
each other. He needed a companion with him. God
can show you. Something at this altar this morning
that will blow your fears out of the water. That's
what occurred in our text. God provided a miracle
to assuage Gideon's fears. And that may be what
needs to occur in your life. You need a miracle
so you can advance. There are plenty of times
I've... Had a vision for where God wanted to
take my church. Or my ministry. And I make excuses.
Well I'm not so sure. What if this happens. That's
just the language of fear. That's all that is.
And do you realize. That the devil is more afraid
of you than you are of him. The devil fears.
righteous people of faith filled with the Holy
Ghost who are on the march to advance the kingdom
of God. The devil fears people who are poised
to venture into the unknown. He is afraid of
what's going to be announced Thursday night.
Oh yeah. He's afraid right now of what you might
do. Those of you who may be wavering right now.
uncertain, unsure, fearful. Your wife, your husband,
they're voicing the language of fear and you're
not sure if you should go and venture. The devil
is on the edge of his seat, fearful that you
might pull the plug and say, yes, let's go. Verse
13, and when Gideon had come, there was a man
telling a dream. To his companion, and he said,
I've had a dream to my surprise, a loaf of barley
bread. That's Gideon. Just a loaf of barley bread.
A loaf of barley bread was poor man's food in
those days. It's nothing great. To my surprise,
a loaf of barley bread tumbled into the camp.
It came to a tent, struck it so that it collapsed.
And his companion then answered and said, how
does this guy speak revelation? I don't know.
But he did. This is nothing else but the sword
of Gideon. How did he even hear about Gideon?
What's there to fear? He's got 300 men. There's
nothing on the surface to be afraid of. This
is nothing but the sword of Gideon, the son of
Joash, a man of Israel. Into his hand God has
delivered Midian and the whole camp. God here
is powerfully at work to assuage. Gideon's fears.
God was working to sow seeds of fear into the
hearts of the adversary. I don't know how he'd
heard about Gideon. Why he drew that conclusion
other than God put those thoughts through the
agency of the Holy Spirit into his mind and he
spoke them to his companion. All we know is whatever
fear Gideon may have had, these guys have 10
times or 100 times that level of fear. That's
why the Bible says in James 2 .19, you believe
there is one God, you do well. Even the devils
believe and they tremble. They're trembling right
now. The word means to shudder or to be struck
with extreme fear or to be horrified. The devil
listens to announcements. He trembles at what
we're up to. You remember the narrative in the
book of Genesis when Jacob is just... traveling
through the country. The Bible says that the
entire region and all the occupants of the region
were terrified. Remember when the spies went
into Jericho and they went to the house of Rahab
and they identified themselves and she said,
yes, all of us are terrified. We've heard about
the Red Sea and about what God did for you in
Egypt and we know that you're making an approach
to our sin and we are all scared to death. We
are all terrified. That is the position that
God puts Satan in. He has the power to do that.
And Satan is in that position right now. And
it's about time you realize that. And so it was
when Gideon heard the telling of the dream that
he worshiped. And he returned to the camp of
Israel and said, Arise for the Lord has delivered
the camp of Midian into your end. Your fear has
to be subjugated. That's what's going to happen
at this altar this morning. That is the position
that God is taking. And he has a strategy to
help you as he had a strategy to help Gideon.
And the strategy worked and it will work for
you at this altar this morning. How much more
can God accomplish but for our fears? How much
advance is not occurring because fear is getting
in the way. Fear can be very subtle, but a very
profound and powerful force to undermine the
work of God. Sometimes because of fear, churches
aren't planted. Workers won't go. The unknown
will not be ventured into. Offerings aren't given
because of fear many times. Efforts aren't being
made. What if it doesn't work? I've tried and
it's failed before. I'm not sure about the individual
who wants to go to Timbuktu and pioneer. It's
the language of fear. So why don't you just say,
I'm afraid. Tough guy. Mighty man of valor. Leadership
plays a powerful role. That's why God dealt with
the fear of Gideon. It could be dealt with. And
then Gideon helped his 300 to overcome their
fears. Think about their position, a pitcher,
a trumpet. That's what we're going into battle
with against 135 ,000. One of the very best quotes
in the book, The Victors, by Stephen Ambrose,
Eisenhower also realized. that optimism and pessimism
are infectious, and they spread more rapidly
from the head downward than in any other direction.
He saw two additional advantages to a cheerful
and hopeful attitude by the commander. First,
the habit tends to minimize potentialities within
the individual troops themselves to become demoralized.
Second, It has the most extraordinary effect
upon all with whom he comes in contact. With
this clear realization, I firmly determined that
my mannerisms and speech in public would always
reflect the cheerful certainty of victory, that
any pessimism and discouragement I might ever
feel would be reserved for my pillow at night.
I adopted a policy of circulating throughout
the whole force to the full limit imposed by
physical considerations. I did my best to meet
everyone from general to private with a smile,
a pat on the back and a definite interest in
his problems. Eisenhower did his best from that
moment to the end of his life to conceal with
a big grin the ache in his bones and the exhaustion
in his mind. He was afraid. He was terrified
whether these 17, 18, 20 -year -olds would charge
into battle under live fire for the first time
in their lives. Would they overcome their fear?
This is a picture of Eisenhower on the eve of
D -Day. He flew around all over where the troops
were being stationed and spoke to them personally
and encouraged them. And the next picture, look
at his grin. underneath that grin is serious
concern and fear and consideration. If you read
the book, you'll get a better picture of where
he was at at this moment in reality. That's Gideon
talking to the 300. And so it was when Gideon,
verse 15, heard the telling of the dream and
its interpretation that he worshipped. He returned
to the camp of Israel and said, arise for the
Lord has delivered the camp of Midian into your
hand. Now that fear has been subjugated, Gideon
is saying what God is saying. God told him that
before. I've delivered the camp of Midian into
your hand, but if you are afraid, go to the camp.
And then he heard the dream. He wasn't ready
to say what God was saying because fear was present.
And now it's Gideon's role to communicate what
God is saying to the 300 and assuage their fears
and sow seeds of courage in their lives. And
you remember the very dramatic outcome. He's
talking to his troops now after he's had the
dream and he says, when I blow the trumpet. I
and all who are with me, then you also blow your
trumpets on every side. Of the whole camp. And
say the sword of the Lord and of Gideon. So Gideon
and the 300 men. And the 100 men who were with
him. Came to the outpost of the camp. At the
beginning of the midnight watch. Just as they
had posted the watch. And it was then. Every
man stood. Verse 21. In his place all around
the camp. And the whole army ran. And cried out
and fled. That is the Midianites fleeing. When
the 300 are charging toward them. This is a powerful
testimony of what can happen when fear is taken
out of the way. You're able to advance. You're
able to deal with the odds that may be against
you. And you're able to say what God has been
saying. Three things as I close. First of all,
you need to acknowledge the presence of fear
in your life. Without Gideon saying, I'm afraid,
he acknowledges it because God said, but if you
are afraid, go down to the camp and he goes.
That's a tacit agreement with God that, yeah,
I'm afraid. I need some encouragement here. He
didn't say, who, me, afraid? Are you kidding?
I'm ready to fight. Let's go. Except he wasn't.
Secondly, for you to find the help that you need,
you need an altar. That's where Gideon is. You
know, altars aren't the same in every case. The
Garden of Gethsemane was an altar where Jesus
surrendered to the will of God. And that, in
fact, was where our redemption was secured when
he surrendered to the will of God to go to the
cross. The altar for Gideon was outside of that
tent, hearing these two. When he made a decision,
yeah, we can do this. Now I'm going to say what
God is saying. Make no mistake, this is a miracle
that took place in Gideon's life at an altar.
Fear is there hindering him, and then it isn't.
And so when Gideon heard the telling of the dream,
he worshiped and said to the camp, arise for
the Lord has delivered the camp of the Midian
into your hand. God already said that. Yeah,
but fear was in the way. God has an antidote
for your fear. Some people may not know God this
way. That may be living your whole life under
a very dark cloud and a dark shadow of your fears.
It's paralyzing you. You wake up in the morning,
the first thing that comes to mind are negative
thoughts, doubt, unbelief. You're not saying
what God is saying. Fear is deafening his voice.
Isaiah 41 .10, fear not for I am with you. Be
not dismayed for I am your God. I will strengthen
you. Yes, I will help you. I will uphold you
with my righteous right hand. Deuteronomy 31
.6, be strong and of good courage. Do not fear
nor be afraid. For the Lord your God, he is the
one who goes with you and he will not leave you
nor forsake you. In Psalms 23, 4, yea, though
I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil for you are with me. Your
rod and your staff, they comfort me. Now, I don't
have a dream to offer you where a barley loaf
collapses a tent to show you the victory that
God has for you. But I do know right in front
of you, there's an altar waiting for you to come
so God can meet with you individually and provide
you with the miracle you need to overcome your
fears so that we can all adventure into the unknown.
Let's give God praise. the PHSAA Potter's House
Salmon Arm podcast. Be sure to follow us on Instagram
at pottershouse underscore salmon arm to keep
up to date on what we are doing. Join the conversation
and discover how Jesus Christ can revolutionize
your life.