Fear Doesn’t Disqualify You

INTRODUCTION

Have you ever known the right thing to do and still been afraid to do it?

Students, you know what this feels like

You see something happen at school

You know it’s wrong

You know somebody needs to say something

But you also know what happens if you do

Snitch

And suddenly the question isn’t just, what’s the right thing to do?

Now the question is, what’s going to happen to me if I do the right thing?

That’s fear

We are in a series called Fear Not

We are walking through the Bible and looking at places where God addresses Fear

Fear is a Universal feeling

Adults

Have you ever felt compelled to do something

But then you were met with a feeling that told you

You cant do that

You’re not qualified

Or maybe you’ve heard someone talk about fostering a child

You hear the stories

You see the need

Something inside of you is moved by it

FACT: On any given day, about 10,000 kids in Georgia are in foster care

And I wonder how many of us hear that number and immediately think, I could never do that

I’d get too attached

What if they leave

What would it do to my own kids

What if I’m not equipped for everything that child has been through

And before we ever ask God what He might want us to do, fear has already answered for us

TENSION

Maybe yours is different.

I could never lead a small group

I could never share my faith

I could never forgive them

I could never have that conversation

I could never give that much away

I could never step into that role

And here’s what I want us to wrestle with today:

How many things have we decided we “could never do” simply because we’re afraid to do them?

For many of us… somewhere along the way of life, we started believing that being afraid means we aren’t qualified.

When the fog of fear settles in, our mind begins to tell us

If I were the right person, I wouldn’t be this scared

If God really wanted me to do it, surely I’d feel more confident

TRUTH

But then you meet a man named Gideon

And when we first meet Gideon, he isn't standing on a battlefield with a sword in his hand

He's hiding

He's threshing wheat in a winepress because he's terrified

Why is he afraid?

Judges 6:1–4 “The Israelites did evil in the Lord’s sight. So the Lord handed them over to the Midianites for seven years. The Midianites were so cruel that the Israelites made hiding places for themselves in the mountains, caves, and strongholds. Whenever the Israelites planted their crops, marauders from Midian, Amalek, and the people of the east would attack Israel, camping in the land and destroying crops as far away as Gaza. They left the Israelites with nothing to eat, taking all the sheep, goats, cattle, and donkeys.”

Judges 6:12 “The angel of the Lord appeared to him and said, “Mighty hero, the Lord is with you!”

Mighty hero

The Hebrew phrase is gibbôr heḥāyil (גִּבּוֹר הֶחָיִל).

The idea is a strong, capable, valiant man, someone possessing strength, courage, or military ability. Warrior

I almost wonder if Gideon looked around.

Who are you talking to?

Because nothing about the scene looks like a mighty warrior

He's not standing on a battlefield

He's hiding in a winepress

Don’t forget this

Gideon sees himself through his fear. God sees who Gideon can become through faith.

He's speaking to an identity that Gideon hasn't learned to live from yet

It’s there, just not seen

God sees who you're becoming while you're still afraid

Gideon immediately gives God his excuses

First, he questions God:

Judges 6:13 “if the Lord is with us, why has all this happened to us? And where are all the miracles our ancestors told us about? Didn’t they say, ‘The Lord brought us up out of Egypt’? But now the Lord has abandoned us and handed us over to the Midianites.”

Then God tells him

Judges 6:14 “Then the Lord turned to him and said, “Go with the strength you have, and rescue Israel from the Midianites. I am sending you!”

Have you ever known how to solve all the problems, but then someone tells you to fix it…

You are like, I can’t do it… but someone should

And Gideon basically responds:

Me?

Judges 6:15 “But Lord,” Gideon replied, “how can I rescue Israel? My clan is the weakest in the whole tribe of Manasseh, and I am the least in my entire family!”

Lets play out this conversation as if it were today

God: Mighty Hero. Gideon: Who me? That’s not who I am.

God: Go. Gideon: Have you seen me or my people?

God: I'll use you. Gideon: Let me explain why you can’t.

For many of us we are very similar to Gideon

But don’t miss this:

Our greatest source of fear isn’t what’s in front of us.

It’s what we believe about ourselves

Gideon isn't just afraid of Midianites

He's afraid that he isn't enough

And God's answer is so important

God doesn't respond:

Gideon, stop talking like that. You're amazing. Believe in yourself!

Instead, God says Judges 6:16 “I will be with you. And you will destroy the Midianites as if you were fighting against one man.”

I will be with you

Thats exactly what God said to Joshua (last week)

God doesn’t try to boost up Gideons confidence

The answer to fear isn't greater confidence in yourself. It's greater confidence in God's presence.

When we are confident of God’s presence we have courage to face our fear

APPLICATION

We sometimes imagine courage like this:

Fear → fear disappears → obedience

But Gideon's story looks more like:

Fear → obedience → courage grows

You don't have to wait until you're no longer afraid to obey God

Maybe you've been waiting to feel courageous before you:

Have the conversation

Apologize

Lead your family

Step into ministry

Give generously

Share your faith

Set the boundary

Ask for help

Do what you know God has asked you to do

And you’ve been thinking… Ill do it once I overcome my fear

Maybe God is saying… do it afraid!

Because fear doesn't disqualify you

Gideon was afraid

Moses was insecure

Joshua needed repeated reminders to be courageous

David faced something bigger than himself

Peter sank

And God still worked through them

Stepping into fear is how we learn to overcome it

Who gets to make your next decision? Your fear or your faith?

CALL THE BAND