warrior hesitant warrior

Warriors

I’m sure we have all heard the saying he who hesitates is lost. check out this video. Hesitation can hurt you.

God created us as men to be warriors, not hesitant passive warriors.

What’s hard is we can be very aggressive and very powerful and faith-filled warriors in certain areas of your life, but there are other areas of your life that God is calling you to excel, and yet, you’ve become passive, and you’ve become hesitant.

The warrior in battle who hesitates is the most vulnerable warrior of all.

We’ll look at one in Judges 6

Judges 6:11–12 NIV

The angel of the Lord came and sat down under the oak in Ophrah that belonged to Joash the Abiezrite, where his son Gideon was threshing wheat in a winepress to keep it from the Midianites. When the angel of the Lord appeared to Gideon, he said, “The Lord is with you, mighty warrior.”

Now, let’s just bring some context to this.

Gideon was a warrior, but he wasn’t acting like a warrior. You see, the Midianites were an evil group of people, who were coming and taking advantage of the Israelites. They would scare them, hurt them, steal their food, and so Gideon, the warrior, became hesitant.

He was passive, and he looked at his people and he thought, “We don’t have what it takes to defeat these bad guys. So, he was hiding in a winepress, kind of guarding what he had, not protecting his people. In fact, he just surrendered to the idea that we are always going to be under the Midianites. In fact, he became passive. God spoke to him through an angel of the Lord in verse 12 that says this.

what did he call Gideon? Gideon didn’t look like it, but the Lord said, “You are a mighty warrior.” You see, when God looks at a man, He doesn’t just see the man as he is, but God sees him as he could become.

A man will often say, “Well, you know, here I am in life. This is, this is all I am ever going to do.”

But God doesn’t look at you and see what you do; but instead, He often sees what you can do.

He doesn’t see you just as you are, but as you could become. Jesus and Peter had a conversation like this. If there was ever a guy who was on again/off again, it was Peter.

He’d, he would nail something and get it right, and then thirty seconds later, he would totally blow it. Jesus looked at Peter and said, “Your name is no longer going to be Simon Peter. From this moment forward, I am going to call you the rock.” Now, was Peter a rock?

No, but Jesus saw something in him that others and Peter did not yet even see in himself, and years later, Peter grew into the name that Jesus called him, because Jesus saw something in him that he didn’t yet see in himself.

The Lord is with you, mighty warrior. Some people might look at you today and say, “But, you don’t look like a warrior in this area of your life,” and God would say, “I’m not just looking at what others see, but I’m looking at what I put inside of you.”

Gentlemen, you have the heart of a warrior. Exodus says this, “The Lord is a warrior. The Lord is his name.”

You are created in the image of God, and part of the characteristics that God would give you, gentlemen, is the heart of a warrior.

there is something in you that desires to fight for something that is righteous, to fight for that which is true, to stand up and fight for those who are innocent, to defend the honor of someone who’s in need.

And every warrior has this cause to fight for.

What was Gideon’s? Well, it was becoming very obvious, “You are to save Israel out of the hands of the Midianites. This is your cause.”

The challenge is because, gentlemen, we have this divine desire to fight. If we are not fighting for the right cause, we will end up fighting for the wrong cause, and that’s when we get stupid and fight the wrong battles

We end up rebelling against authority. Without the right cause to fight for, we end up fighting the wrong battle. And instead of being the spiritual warrior, we become a dangerous warrior. Every warrior has a cause to fight for. God will see something in you that you don’t yet even see in yourself.

Now, here’s the problem, though. If you are taking notes, I want you to write this down, and if you are like most men, including me, you don’t want to admit this, but in almost every case, it’s true. Foundational thought for the today is this: Every warrior, at least occasionally, fears failure.

EVERY WARRIOR FEARS FAILURE.

Since these lockdown started and we have had to do church online, every week I’m super nervous it is going to crash, we won’t have church. I’ll fail.

Every warrior, even the most courageous, bold-looking warrior at all, before battle, or in the middle of the battle starts to wonder, “Wait a minute. Do I still have what it takes?”

Sometimes, even the most confident appearing men, the ones you might say, “Well, they’re cocky”. They are the ones who are most insecure. They are often the ones that are putting up this false front, because deep down, they are wondering, “Do I really have what it takes?”

Every warrior fears failure. Look at Gideon. God says,

Judges 6:15 NIV

“Pardon me, my lord,” Gideon replied, “but how can I save Israel? My clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my family.”

Why is it that so many men are so afraid of failure? To us, failure is so personal.

We tend to internalize it. As men, we typically don’t say, “Well, I failed at something external”.

If we fail at something external, we tend to take it internally, and we think, “Well, I am a failure”.

You see, it feels very final to us. Failure, it feels, it’s not so, but it feels very absolute. I, I can’t lose at something. If I get second place, Ann’s like, “Oh, congratulations. You got second place.” Like, “You don’t understand. I lost!” Second is just the first loser.

As a warrior, if I can’t win, I don’t want to fight. Most guys are like that.

If we can’t come out on top, we don’t want to play, and so, that’s why if a man struggles in his career, he doesn’t just say, “Well, I’m having a tough time finding out about what I want to do”. He thinks, “I’m a failure”.

If his family is struggling, he doesn’t go, “Oh, yeah. This is just like a bad porter in my family.” What he says is, “I’m a failure as a dad.” He internalizes it because, we believe, wrongly so, but we believe that our worth is based on our accomplishments.

If we are accomplishing, we feel good about ourselves, but if we don’t we feel incredibly, incredibly insecure.

We have bad thoughts about ourselves, because every one of us, we fear failure. It’s so, so deeply entwined in our hearts, which leads to this thought, if you are taking notes.

And here’s where it gets really, really important. This is for those of you who are spiritual warriors. This is for the men of God. This is for those who are spirit-filled warriors of God. Write this down. When, these warriors, when their fear of failure exceeds their faith in God, this is when they become hesitant.

WHEN THE WARRIOR’S FEAR OF FAILURE EXCEEDS HIS FAITH IN GOD—HE BECOMES HESITANT.

When a warrior’s internal fear of failure exceeds his faith in God, that’s when he becomes hesitant, and the hesitant warrior is always vulnerable.

I’ll give you an example. In the New Testament, one time Peter was in a boat with eleven other disciples, and he saw Jesus walking up. And, Jesus was on water and Peter’s like, “Dude, that’s cool. That’s cool. Can I do that? Jesus, can I come out to You?” and Jesus basically said, “You want to try? Try.” and so Peter jumps out of the boat, and the guy is walking on water. Amazing! Looking at Jesus, he is on water, then what happened? He looked away, and when he looked away, scripture says, “He saw the wind and the waves, and when he took his eyes off Jesus and he looked away, that’s when he started to sink, because his fear of failure exceeded his faith in Jesus, and that’s when he started to sink.

Gentlemen, may I say to some of you very respectfully, that in some area of your life, you’ve taken your eye off Christ.

And you’re looking at your own abilities and you’re saying, “I may not have what it takes,” and the truth is, without Him, you don’t. And so, your insecurities and your fear of failure is exceeding your faith in Christ, and you become hesitant. And that’s why in some area of your life, perhaps, you’re sinking. I don’t know how it plays out.

I know a lot of you, I know a lot of great young guys that want to be married one day, but you’re hesitant.

You want to be married, but you don’t ask anybody out, because you’re scared to death she’s going to reject you. You’ve become hesitant, and your fear of failure is blocking your progress. You saw someone else divorce, and you’re wondering, “Do I have what it takes?” And so, and so you, you just hesitate, hesitate, hesitate, hesitate. You’re a hesitant passive warrior.

I know a lot of guys, they’re Christian men. They, they love Jesus, but your family has almost no evidence of being spiritual at all. I mean, we go to church, let someone else do it, but there’s no evidence of Christ during the week and so you think, “I’d like to lead spiritually. I really, really would, but if I try, I may not be very good at it, and she may see that she really knows more than I do. And I can’t afford a false start,” so you, hesitate, and your fear of failure exceeds your faith in God, and you don’t draw the sword of the Spirit.

I know a lot of guys God has given you a vision for a business. And, and deep down you’d love to try, but you hesitate because you think, “If I try and it doesn’t work out, well then, I’m going to be a failure.

Or There is a ministry I need to be involved in in the church. I’d like to do this, but what if I don’t know enough. What if I’m not good enough?” So, instead of doing what you were created to do, fighting for the divine cause, so many Godly men, they hesitate, and instead of leading courageously, they become passive, hesitant warriors.

Deep down, we are insecure. Every warrior fears failure. Write this down. Gentlemen, I want you, I want you to internalize this. I want you to embrace this and internalize it. Here is your main thought.

DEFEATING THE FEAR OF FAILURE

THE WARRIOR HAS WHAT IT TAKES.

The warrior empowered by God, the warrior you, you have what it takes.

God has given you what it takes to do what He would call you to do.

Gideon’s freaked out. God speaks to him. Verse 14, and says this,

Judges 6:14 NIV

The Lord turned to him and said, “Go in the strength you have and save Israel out of Midian’s hand. Am I not sending you?”

God says, “Am I not sending you?” Same message to you, gentlemen. Is God sending you? Is He speaking to you? Is He leading you? Is He stirring you?

If He is, draw your sword and go, baby! Go! You’ve got what it takes.

Don’t listen to every other voice. When you take your eyes off of Him, the voices say, “But you’re not good enough. You’re not smart enough. You’re not sharp enough. You’re not fast enough. You’re not a good enough leader.”

You need to Say, “No, shut up. I’m not listening to those, those thoughts of doubt. I am listening to what He says about me, and He just told me to go in the strength that I have.” Gentlemen, you have what it takes. If He calls you, believe it. Embrace it. Step into it.

You have the intellect. You have the desire. You have the willpower. You have the self-discipline. You have the strength. You have the courage. You have the stamina. You have the resources, and guess what, guys

Wherever you don’t, wherever you are weak, oh, that’s the beauty.

That’s when His strength is made perfect in your weakness. If He calls you, you step out. You draw the sword, and you say, “By His power we will win.” you Don’t hesitate. Nothing worst than a hesitant, passive warrior. When God calls you, you go

You go. In the strength that you have, God is going to give you everything you need to do what He calls you to do.

Now, sometimes the guys look and go, “Ah! The war is too big! How can I ever win this war?” Quit looking at the big war.

Look at the battle that is in front of you, gentlemen. You have what it takes to win the battle in front of you. Don’t be overwhelmed by the war. Understand God has given you what it takes to win the battle.

You are addicted to something. “I can never overcome it.” When that thing comes in front of you, you push it away today. You just won that battle.

Maybe you need to lose weight need to lose forty pounds, and may I say respectively, some of you, for the sake of your family, get in better shape.

You say, “I can never lose forty pounds. I could never do that.” Well, win the battle. Push the Twinkie away. Walk away. walk away from the midnight snacks.

whatever it is, win the battle today. Win the battle. You may have a, there may be a war for the purity of your mind, because for years and years, you’ve programmed your mind on lustful, sinful images. And you think, “Could I ever be pure right here?” What are you going to do? Win the battle.

Something riskay comes up on the show you are watching, and normally you just watch it, hoping no one sees you. You’re not going to do that. What you are going to do instead is, you are going to fast forward, or skip this show and you are going to win that battle.

When you are feeling tempted to look at porn you are going to shut off the computer, walk away and fight that battle. You are going to call someone and get the help that you need.

If your family doesn’t resemble anything that’s Christian … you call yourself a Christian, but there’s no evidence of Christ, you are going to say to your wife, “Tonight, we are going to pray.” And your prayer may just be, “God, help us to be more Christian,” and that may be it. You just won a battle.

You may say, “You know what? We are going to check out that marriage workshop this weekend,” and gentlemen You go to the website. You set it up you sign up and then you enter to win one of the 5 $100 gift cards. You say this is the day. You lead, and you just won a battle.

If Your kid’s going the wrong way, and you haven’t stepped in, and you are just sitting back watching as your 14-year-old daughter’s making bad decisions. You be the man. You step in and you say, “Sweetheart, I love you too much to let you go this way.” You win the battle. You win the battle.

If your son is being distant and pulling back you are going to get involved, jump in there continue to build that relationship. and win the battle.

Gentlemen, you have what it takes. Look at what scripture says. Don’t believe me. Look at what scripture …

2 Peter 1:3 NIV

His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness.

God’s power has given you everything you need to do to accomplish what God puts before you. Believe it. Go in the strength you have. And some of you, you’re still sitting back, going, “Buuuuuu-uuh-uuuuuhhhh-uuuuh, I don’t know. Oh, I don’t know.”

Gideon, he had 32,000 men. That’s not enough. “God, that’s not enough.” What did God do? God took a bunch of them away.

Then he only had 10,000 men. “Oh, that’s surely not enough.”

Then, what did God do? He took it down to 300 men. “Totally impossible, God. That’ll never, ever, ever, ever, ever work. That’s not enough.”

God said, “No, that’s exactly enough,” and that’s maybe where some of you are right now. You may feel like you are going backwards, and God’s going to say, “You know what? I’m going to take you down so low that all you’ve got left is Me, and I’m enough. I’m, I’m all you need.” Let me explain it this way.

Write this down. MOST WARRIORS’ GREATEST FEAR IS FAILURE.

Failure. But the problem is, this fear, it leaves us something far worse, and that’s the warrior’s greatest pain.

What’s the warrior’s greatest pain? That’s regret. The warrior’s greatest pain is regret.

Some of you, you are going to wake up one day, and your greatest fear is going to lead to something much worse, and that’s your greatest pain. And you are going to look back and go, “How did I miss it? How did I blow it? It’s so big. It was right there in front of me, and I was too big of a wus to even try. My fear of failure exceeded my faith in God, and I became hesitant,” and you are going to hurt for years because you didn’t give it a shot, whatever it is.

It’s time to face our fears.

Gentlemen, God has created you with the heart of a warrior. There is a cause for you to fight for. When you hesitate, you become vulnerable. Understand this. God has given you everything you need to accomplish what He put before you. You have what it takes. Go in the strength you have, gentlemen, and act like the spiritual warrior that God created you to be.

Don’t live in past failures, move forward take a step. Our failures don’t have to be final.

Philippians 3:13–14 NIV

Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.

Pray for closing and go to groups.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

1) Describe a time when your fear of failure became greater than your faith in God? What did you do?

2) Sometimes the “war” seems too big to win. (Losing 40 lbs might seem overwhelming. Becoming a true spiritual leader might feel intimidating.) How can you win the war one battle at a time? What can you do today that will bring you a step closer to the larger vision?

3) A great fear is failure. A greater pain is regret. What would you regret for the rest of your life if you didn’t attempt it?