Men and Their Fear

Men and their Fear: Gideon 1

I am going to say a word, you say the 1^st word that comes to mind – FEAR?

Some men will have more fear – significant past pain, hi data, low risk, hi control

• Me – not hi fear, til 1 season (constant flooded mind ????? & no way to plan
• Felt like avalanche w/o shovel 

Every man has fear. 

What are you worried/concerned/nervous about? 

What keeps you up at night?

What is the first thing on your mind in the morning? 

What causes you to be irritable & moody?

?Vocational (fired, demoted) ?Financial       ?Physical (illness/weakness)? 

Who do you fear?

Prov 29:25 [NLT] Fearing people is a dangerous trap, but trusting the Lord means safety.

What are you self medicating for?

Fear in the mind leads to anxiety in the body 

1. Spinning mind
2. Racing heart
3. Churning gut 

2 Kinds of Men 

1. Some men give in to their fear
2. Some men get through their fear 

Jesus in Garden Gethsemane (up all night, alone, sweating blood, crying out) 

Jesus got thru His fear. Jesus will walk you thru your fear (did for Gideon) 

Judges 6 The people of Israel did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, and the Lord gave them into the hand of Midian seven years…the people…made for themselves the dens that are in the mountains and the caves and the strongholds. For whenever the Israelites planted crops, the Midianites and the Amalekites and the people of the East…would…devour the produce of the land…and leave no sustenance in Israel and no sheep or ox or donkey….And Israel was brought very low…And the people of Israel cried out for help to the Lord….Now the angel of the LORD came and sat under the terebinth at Ophrah, which belonged to Joash the Abiezrite, while his son Gideon was beating out wheat in the winepress to hide it from the Midianites. And the angel of the LORD appeared to him and said to him, “The LORD is with you, O mighty man of valor.” And Gideon said to him, “Please, my lord, if the LORD is with us, why then has all this happened to us? And where are all his wonderful deeds that our fathers recounted to us, saying, ‘Did not the LORD bring us up from Egypt?’ But now the LORD has forsaken us…”And the LORD turned to him and said, “Go in this might of yours and save Israel from the hand of Midian; do not I send you?” And he said to him, “Please, Lord, how can I save Israel? Behold, my clan is the weakest…and I am the least in my father’s house.” And the LORD said to him, “But I will be with you, and you shall strike the Midianites as one man.” And he said to him, “If now I have found favor in your eyes, then show me a sign…That night the LORD said to him, “…pull down the altar of Baal that your father has, and cut down the Asherah that is beside it and build an altar to the LORD your God on the top of the stronghold here, with stones laid in due order. Then take the second bull and offer it as a burnt offering with the wood of the Asherah that you shall cut down.” So Gideon took ten men of his servants and did as the LORD had told him. But because he was too afraid of his family and the men of the town to do it by day, he did it by night.”

1. Some suffering is personal. Some suffering is corporate. 
2. Hardship that drags on with no end in sight becomes an oppression 
3. Have you surrendered to a brutal life? 

Fear is about = 1. The future 2. The unknown 

1. Fear turns us into false prophets 
2. Fear is vision without hope 
3. Fear is planning for a godless life 
4. Fear of tomorrow robs you of today 
5. Fear over time invites demonic oppression 

Gideon was fearful 

1. Gideon feared the world, so he withdrew. 
2. Gideon feared his enemies, so he hid.
3. Gideon feared the future, so he questioned God’s goodness. 
4. Gideon feared his calling, so he questioned Jesus’ assignment.
5. Gideon feared God’s Word, so he asked for signs.
6. Gideon feared his family, so he tore down their altar at night. 
7. Gideon feared being defeated, so he lived defeated.

God was faithful

1. Our Fathers hears and answers prayer.

-prayer went up, Jesus came down 

2. Our Father finds His sons, even when they aren’t looking for Him. 
3. Our Father speaks destiny over His sons.
4. Our Father builds up courage when we are cowardly. 
5. Our Father walks us through our fears to build our faith.
6. Our Father makes His sons into men through adversity.  
7. Our Father makes His sons into fathers. 

Jesus said to Gideon ““The LORD is with you, O mighty man of valor.”

            #1 command in Bible 

Scotland story?

Group Discussion Questions:

1. What in the talk did the Holy Spirit highlight for you?
2. When have you been, or are you currently, in a place like Gideon (withdrawn, overwhelmed, discouraged, stuck, frustrated, oppressed)?
3. How can we pray for you?