Prescott July Conference 2025 | 08 Paul Stephens

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 7 · chapter mention

Judges chapter 7. Don't try and tell me that

Judges 7 · chapter mention

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.

Judges 7 · chapter mention

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.

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