Running with the Giants · Judges 6–8
Continuing the Running with the Giants series at Christian Life Church in Bensalem, PA, guest speaker Brian Campbell, missionary, founder of BJC Ministries, and Fire Bible ambassador, preaches on Gideon. Everyone is called, but moving from called to chosen takes courage, testing, and tenacity.
Key Highlights
What to Remember
Everyone is called. The chosen are the ones who respond.
Courage isn’t the absence of fear. It’s choosing to face it.
If you’ll do the difficult thing, God will do the supernatural thing.
Exhausted, yet pursuing. Don’t quit what God called you to do.
Matthew 22:14
Many Are Called, Few Are Chosen
“For many are invited, but few are chosen.”
Matthew 22:14
In the parable of the wedding banquet, everyone was invited, but few chose to respond. God loves everyone, and Jesus died for everyone, so everyone is called to salvation.
- God loves you: “For God so loved the world…” (John 3:16)
- We all need Him: “All have sinned and fall short” (Romans 3:23)
- He made a way: “While we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8)
- It’s a free gift: “The gift of God is eternal life” (Romans 6:23)
- Respond in faith: Confess Jesus as Lord and believe (Romans 10:9–10)
- He forgives: “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just” (1 John 1:9)
If the gospel is such good news, why does an estimated 40% of the world still lack an adequate presentation of it? Because we are not only called to salvation. We are called to share it. Jesus told us to go into all the world and make disciples of all nations (Matthew 28:19; Mark 16:15). That isn’t the great suggestion. Everyone who is called has the opportunity to play a significant part.
Judges 6
The Most Unlikely Hero
The book of Judges repeats a cycle again and again.
- God’s people turned away from Him
- An oppressing nation rose against them
- The people repented and cried out for help
- In His mercy, God sent a deliverer, a judge
Gideon is one of those judges, and one of the most relatable people in the Bible. When God called him, he was hiding in a winepress, afraid of the Midianites. God transformed that fearful man into the leader who delivered Israel. His story shows that God uses ordinary, even fearful, people to accomplish monumental things. God has already provided what we need. The question is whether we will make ourselves available.
Judges 7:2–3
Called to Chosen Requires Courage
“The people with you are too many for me to give the Midianites into their hand, lest Israel boast over me, saying, ‘My own hand has saved me.’ … ‘Whoever is fearful and trembling, let him return home.’”
Judges 7:2–3
- 32,000 men answered Gideon’s call
- 22,000 were unwilling to face their fear and went home
- 10,000 remained and were tested at the water
- 300 were chosen
The ones who left weren’t simply afraid. Everyone feels fear. They were unwilling to face it. Nelson Mandela put it this way: “I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it.”
As a young pastor, Brian traveled to South Africa to preach for ten days. When the plane landed, he felt an overwhelming spirit of fear, the kind of spiritual battle Ephesians 6:12 describes. On his last day, he was invited to a packed tent revival in a township torn by violent political unrest. Armed rivals sat on both sides of the platform, and fear whispered, “Today you’re going to die.”
Then the Holy Spirit asked him, “If you die today, do you want your last thought to be fear?”
Brian chose to worship with his hands raised. Revival broke out that day, and he has since served in 56 countries.
Whatever God is asking of you, whether it’s sharing Jesus with a neighbor, taking a stand at school or work, or saying, “Jesus, I’ll go anywhere You send me,” it will take courage.
Judges 7:4–7
Called to Chosen Requires Testing
God said the 10,000 were still too many and told Gideon to bring them to the water. Most knelt down to drink. Only 300 lapped the water, bringing it to their mouths with their hands. “With the 300 men who lapped I will save you” (Judges 7:7).
As Brian explained it, this was a test of readiness. With their heads down in the water, most took their eyes off the horizon. The 300 stayed alert and ready. Even in the center of God’s will, we will face times of testing. God doesn’t spare us from them.
While writing his book, Brian had set aside money for an editor when he broke a front tooth and had to use those funds for dental work. That Sunday, his church took a missions offering, and he sensed the Holy Spirit say:
“If you’ll do the difficult thing, I’ll do the supernatural thing.”
He gave $1,000 he didn’t feel he could spare. Days before the editor’s payment was due, a check for $3,000 arrived in the mail with a note of encouragement. Weeks later, another gift covered the rest. Faith never gets easier, and no matter how long we serve the Lord, He will test whether we will stay the course.
Judges 8:4
Called to Chosen Requires Tenacity
“And Gideon came to the Jordan and crossed over, he and the 300 men who were with him, exhausted yet pursuing.”
Judges 8:4
This may be the main reason the 300 were chosen: they didn’t quit. When the job wasn’t finished, they stayed the course, even when they were worn out.
“Let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.”
Galatians 6:9
Life isn’t always fair, and God’s ways aren’t our ways. Brian’s anchor is Romans 8:28, that God works all things together for good for those who love Him. “That’s the knot at the end of my rope. When I’m at the end of my rope, that’s what I’m holding on to.”
One family prayed for their father for 40 years. He was brilliant, busy, and had “no need” for God. In his 90s, just weeks before he died, his son led him to Jesus.
They never stopped praying. Keep praying for the people you love.
A ministry leader Brian serves with recently received a stage 4 cancer diagnosis. Instead of stepping aside, he heard God say, “If you will, I will,” and recommitted to finishing the work God gave him.
“Now finish the work, so that your eager willingness to do it may be matched by your completion of it.”
2 Corinthians 8:11
The Response
Don’t Quit
- Courage: If fear is paralyzing you, today can be your day to face it
- Testing: If you’re in a season of testing, stay ready and stay the course
- Tenacity: If you’re ready to throw in the towel, don’t
If God is for you, who can be against you? (Romans 8:31)
We all have a limited time on this earth. Whatever part God has given you in taking the gospel to the world, whether giving, going, praying, or serving, stick with it and finish the work.
Questions About This Message
Gideon’s Story Explained
What does “many are called, but few are chosen” mean?
In Matthew 22:14, Jesus told a parable in which everyone was invited to a wedding banquet, but few responded. Everyone is called to salvation and to share the gospel, but the chosen are those who respond to God’s invitation.
Why did God reduce Gideon’s army to 300 men?
God said the army was too large, so Israel might boast that their own strength had saved them (Judges 7:2). Reducing 32,000 men to 300 made it clear that the victory came from God.
What was the water test in Judges 7?
God had Gideon bring the men to the water. Most knelt down to drink, but 300 lapped the water from their hands. Many see this as a test of readiness: the 300 stayed alert and kept watch while they drank.
What does “exhausted yet pursuing” mean in Judges 8:4?
After the battle, Gideon and his 300 men were worn out but kept chasing the enemy until the job was finished. It is a picture of tenacity: refusing to quit what God has called you to do, even when you are weary.
What does it take to move from called to chosen?
Using Gideon’s story, Brian Campbell describes three requirements: courage to face fear instead of running from it, faithfulness through seasons of testing, and tenacity to keep going until God’s work is finished.
Courage.
Testing.
Tenacity.
Exhausted, yet pursuing.
Life Group Discussion
Reflect and Respond
Use these questions to continue the conversation, reflect honestly, and let the message move beyond information into transformation.
Many are called.
Choose to respond.
