Lately, many of our heavenly family members have been returning to Zion, and God allows us to establish Zion everywhere in the world. The whole world is being filled with the message of the gospel as prophesied in the Bible (Hab 2:14; Mt 24:14).

At this present time, when the whole world is being filled with the word of God, let us think about how loud we are raising our voices to preach the gospel. We must not hesitate to preach the gospel; if we are hesitant, we will regret it forever. There is an element of risk in preaching with fear, which can cause us to lose God’s blessings, but preaching without fear brings forth great blessings. Let us confirm it through the words of the Bible.

Standard for selecting Gideon’s warriors

It is said that action is the most important factor in success. Those who just think and take no action cannot be successful. As for Thomas Edison, before he successfully invented the light bulb, he failed so many times, but he never gave up and kept trying over and over again. When people asked him why he was working so hard to make the light bulb despite numerous failures, he said that he had not failed, but just learned so many things that didn’t work.

For us, there is no failure, either. Everything is possible with God. When we depend on God and go forward without fear, we will end up being successful and victorious.

Jdg 7:1–3 . . . The LORD said to Gideon, “You have too many men for me to deliver Midian into their hands. In order that Israel may not boast against me that her own strength has saved her, announce now to the people, ‘Anyone who trembles with fear may turn back and leave Mount Gilead.’ ” So twenty-two thousand men left, while ten thousand remained.

When Israel was oppressed by Midian, Gideon made preparations to wage war against the Midianites to drive them out, following the will of God. The Midianite enemy had an allied force of 135,000 men, thousands of camels and many weapons as well (Jdg 7:12; 8:10). There were only 32,000 men in Gideon’s army. His army was greatly outnumbered by the Midianite army, but God sent home those who trembled with fear. As a result, 22,000 men went back home, and 10,000 were left.

Gideon’s army had to fight with a ratio of 13:1, but God said, “There are still too many men,” and demanded stronger faith from them.

Jdg 7:4–7 But the LORD said to Gideon, “There are still too many men. Take them down to the water, and I will sift them for you there . . .” So Gideon took the men down to the water. There the LORD told him, “Separate those who lap the water with their tongues like a dog from those who kneel down to drink.” Three hundred men lapped with their hands to their mouths. All the rest got down on their knees to drink. The LORD said to Gideon, “With the three hundred men that lapped I will save you and give the Midianites into your hands. Let all the other men go, each to his own place.”

Through a simple test, God separated those who would keep their faith till the end and win in the battle from those who were not competent to go to war. 300 men lapped water with their tongues, and the rest of the men knelt down to drink. God searches the heart and examines the mind. Just by looking at what position the men assumed to drink water, God read their minds. God sent home those who knelt down to drink water because they would kneel down before the enemy when the situation became tense, and selected only 300 men who would never kneel down.

Finally, it was 300 men who passed God’s final test. They were truly warriors without fear. Defeating 135,000 with 300 men—this is something that only God can do. God gave a great victory to the warriors who absolutely believed in God and went to war without any fear (Jdg 7:8–8:12).

Fearless gospel warriors’ victory in the spiritual warfare

Through the history of Israel, we should realize what God wants from us today. When we preach the gospel, we also need to be fearless. If we preach the gospel without any fear, we can accomplish the mission of world evangelization no matter how many people hinder the truth.

From a spiritual perspective, preaching is a “good fight” (2 Ti 4:7). We are spiritual soldiers, whose mission is to proclaim the glory of Jerusalem Heavenly Mother to the whole world in this age. We are spiritually in the same situation as Gideon’s 300 men who fought 135,000 Midianites. In Revelation, we can find a prophetic scene where the dragon reigns over innumerable people like the sand of the seashore to make war against the rest of the woman’s offspring (Rev 12:17). In this situation, what kind of people would God select as warriors of the truth?

If a man is afraid of his opponents in a battle or a competition, it is no different than a losing battle or competition. Hesitation, fear, trembling, worry and so on—these are the factors that hinder the gospel. God does not want or need those who tremble with fear. He said that those fearful people were not qualified to participate in His great work and told them to go home and rest. God is looking for people who are willing to preach the gospel with fearless faith.

Is there anyone who is worried when he or she gives other people jewels like gold and silver as a present, thinking, ‘How should I react if they refuse to receive this?’ or, ‘What should I do if they say it is fake?’ He or she will confidently hand it over to them, saying, “Do you know how much this costs?” We have the truth which is much more precious than jewels. So we should be confident when we preach the truth.

If we shine the light in the darkness for just a short time, those who see the light from a distance cannot come to it. Instead of hesitating to shine the light, we should all arise and shine the light of the glory of Jerusalem our Mother in Samaria and to the ends of the earth. Then people in the world will come to Jerusalem’s light, to the brightness of Her dawn (Isa 60:1–4).

This year, let us all preach the gospel without fear throughout the world. This is the truth of life. So, if we preach the truth with confidence, everyone who listens to it will be spiritually revived. God has promised to help us. Let us examine another historical event in the Bible that God gave victory to the person who stepped forward fearlessly.

Victory of David who went forward without fear

When there was a war between the Israelites and the Philistines, a Philistine giant named Goliath blasphemed God, and all the people of Israel trembled in fear before him. Even the veteran soldiers were overwhelmed by his size and strength and fell back in fear, but David who was a young boy boldly went out against him, being filled with righteous indignation.

1 Sa 17:32–40 David said to Saul, “Let no one lose heart on account of this Philistine; your servant will go and fight him.” Saul replied, “You are not able to go out against this Philistine and fight him; you are only a boy, and he has been a fighting man from his youth.” But David said to Saul, “Your servant has been keeping his fatherʼs sheep. When a lion or a bear came and carried off a sheep from the flock, I went after it, struck it and rescued the sheep from its mouth. When it turned on me, I seized it by its hair, struck it and killed it. Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear; this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, because he has defied the armies of the living God. The LORD who delivered me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine.” Saul said to David, “Go, and the LORD be with you.” Then Saul dressed David in his own tunic. He put a coat of armor on him and a bronze helmet on his head. David . . . “I cannot go in these,” he said to Saul, “because I am not used to them.” So he took them off. Then he took his staff in his hand, chose five smooth stones from the stream, put them in the pouch of his shepherd’s bag and, with his sling in his hand, approached the Philistine.

When David who was just a shepherd boy said that he would fight the giant Goliath, King Saul hesitated to accept David’s offer to fight him. Then David persuaded the king by recounting how he had killed a lion and a bear.

When a lion or a bear came and carried off a sheep from the flock, he was not afraid of it at all. Instead, he went after it, struck it and rescued the sheep from its mouth; when it turned on him, he seized it by its hair, struck it and killed it. How was David, who was just a young boy, able to fight and defeat the lion and the bear? David had already been anointed by God through Samuel. So, as the one anointed by God, he had great faith that God was always with him. Seeing his faith, God sent His angel to make the lion and the bear helpless before him. It seemed that David killed them, but it was possible because God helped him.

David had courage even though he went out against Goliath without wearing the armor and helmet. It was because he absolutely believed that God was with him.

1 Sa 17:42–51 He looked David over and saw that he was only a boy, ruddy and handsome, and he despised him. He said to David, “Am I a dog, that you come at me with sticks?” And the Philistine cursed David by his gods. “Come here,” he said, “and I’ll give your flesh to the birds of the air and the beasts of the field!” David said to the Philistine, “You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the LORD Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. This day the LORD will hand you over to me, and I’ll strike you down and cut off your head. Today I will give the carcasses of the Philistine army to the birds of the air and the beasts of the earth, and the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel. All those gathered here will know that it is not by sword or spear that the LORD saves; for the battle is the LORD’s, and he will give all of you into our hands.” As the Philistine moved closer to attack him, David ran quickly toward the battle line to meet him. Reaching into his bag and taking out a stone, he slung it and struck the Philistine on the forehead. The stone sank into his forehead, and he fell facedown on the ground . . . David ran and stood over him. He took hold of the Philistine’s sword and drew it from the scabbard. After he killed him, he cut off his head with the sword. When the Philistines saw that their hero was dead, they turned and ran.

David did not lose heart even when he heard the terribly loud voice of Goliath. “You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the LORD Almighty.” Saying that, David fought against the giant without any fear, although he approached him with his towering statue and intimidating appearance. Goliath was a veteran warrior, who could easily avoid a stone thrown at him. However, the stone from David’s slingshot was not actually thrown by David, but by God who was with him. So, Goliath was not able to avoid the stone; it sunk right into his forehead, and he fell immediately to the ground. This happened because of David’s fearless courage. Since he absolutely believed in God and never shrank back in fear, God was moved by his boldness and helped him. As Goliath, who had made the Israelites tremble in fear, was killed, all the Philistines ran away. It was David’s victory, the victory of absolute faith in God.

Faith of those who are spiritually anointed

Everything that happened in the past gives us a lesson and serves as a guidepost for our life of faith. We, too, should have such great courage when we preach Jerusalem our Heavenly Mother to the whole world. ‘What would people say when I preach Mother to them? Wouldn’t they say I am strange?’ This kind of fear can become a factor that makes us hesitate to carry out the most sacred and greatest mission which we must do.

Those who fear can do nothing. If our hearts melt in fear because of the situation surrounding us, forgetting that God is with us, and we hesitate to preach, we will not bring forth good fruit even though we scarcely open our mouths and preach the gospel.

David did not fear the lion or the bear, and he was not even afraid of the giant Goliath. We have been spiritually anointed to be God’s children through baptism. So, we must not fear or worry because of unimportant problems. Both Saul and David were anointed by God, but King Saul shrank back in fear. David was different from him. He said to himself, ‘God has anointed me, and He is always with me. No matter how big and strong they are, how can they dare to stand against me?’ It was not really a reckless courage or bravado. That was the courage of faith given by God.

We are now making efforts to evangelize and save the world in the same situation as the boy David and Gideon’s 300 warriors. We are surrounded by people who are spiritually like Goliath and 135,000 Midianite soldiers. How did David recue Israel from the hand of the Philistines, and how did Gideon’s warriors rescue Israel from the Midianites? Didn’t they win the victory over their enemies and recue the people of Israel from oppression with fearless faith?

If we had hesitated to preach the gospel in fear, our church that started as a house church would have been established only in some cities in Korea. However, since we have carried out the gospel work with absolute faith in God, the gospel has now been preached to 175 counties in the world, according to the prophecies of the Bible.

Let us all be bold. Do not hesitate to proclaim the glory of Jerusalem Mother to the whole world. When we preach fearlessly, without any hesitation in our hearts, it brings forth the fruit of the gospel.

Mother has proclaimed 2014 as the year of Jubilee and said, “This year the gospel will be more successful than ever before.” For us, it is very important that Mother has declared 2014 as the Jubilee year. Those who rely on what Mother has said and those who neglect it, thinking it is just the word of blessing that She always gives—there is a clear difference between them.

See what Peter did according to Jesus’ words. One day Peter, a fisherman, was letting down the nets in the areas where there were likely to be fish, but he caught nothing even though he worked hard all night. When he was about to finish his work, being so tired, Jesus came and told him to put out into the deep water and let down the nets for a catch. Although Peter was a very hot-tempered man, he obeyed Jesus like a gentle lamb and let down the nets according to Jesus’ words. Then every fish in the lake was swarming, trying to get into the nets. As Peter and his companions from the other boat pulled the nets in, the two boats were so full of fish that they almost sank (Lk 5:1–7).

Why is this event written in the Bible? It is written to serve as a living lesson that we, too, can obtain such results if we rely on God’s word. Since Mother has said that the gospel will be more successful in this year of Jubilee, let us rely on the words of Mother and preach the gospel diligently, with boldness in our hearts. If we do so, we will experience unexpected miracles in the work of salvation, as Gideon and David did.

We are also anointed by God. Who will dare to stop our way? Our Heavenly Mother is with us. If some of us fear or hesitate to preach Mother, God will tell us to leave the frontline of the gospel and go back home. Let us boldly preach the gospel with the same faith that Gideon’s warriors and David had, so that we can defeat all the forces of evil and can confidently stand as the rest of the woman’s offspring. Brothers and sisters in Zion! I want you all to boast about Heavenly Father and Mother, our Elohim, by preaching the gospel powerfully, without fear.