Summary: It was C.S. Lewis who said, “Courage is one of the least talked about Christian virtues, but courage is essential to all the others.” During this half-hour, we’ll discover how God took a man like Gideon and prepared him for leadership. And when God transforms our generation, he’ll use ordinary men and women like Gideon who are willing step up and take the lead. God doesn’t reward courage in people. God gives courage to people. It’s a relief to know that our fears are normal and God will infuse bravery into anyone who’s willing to follow him. True courage comes from the presence and the promises of God, and those are given to us irrevocably in the gospel. When Jesus sent out his disciples in the Great Commission, he said this, “And I am with you always, to the ends of the age. Go therefore, and make disciples of all nations.” The Great Commission begins with the Great Announcement, and the power to go far and do much in the Great Commission comes from confidence in the Great Announcement. That’s what God says to you: “Go mighty man or woman of valor: I am with you.” We don’t work up courage, it doesn’t come from our personality; it comes from embracing our identity in Christ. It is received as a gift, not worked out. Virtues like courage (all Christian virtues) don’t lead us to salvation; they flow from our salvation. So don’t look to your courage to give you an identity in Christ; look to your identity in Christ to give you courage.
