Sunday Sermons
Fear Not
Fear Not
I am impressed with how often God sends the encouraging message to His people, "fear not":
- "Do not fear, Abram, I am a shield to you; your reward shall be very great" (Genesis 15:1).
- "I am the God of your father Abraham; do not fear, for I am with you" (Genesis 26:24).
- "Do not fear, for I am with you; do not anxiously look about you; for I am your God. I will strengthen you, surely I will help you" (Isaiah 41:10).
- "So do not fear; you are more valuable than many sparrows" (Matthew 10:31).
- "And do not fear their intimidation, and do not be troubled" (1 Peter 3:14).
It is so clear and refreshing that God does not want us living in fear of what might happen or the circumstances that surround us.
The Benefit of a Trial
"In the years leading up to the Second World War, the British government was worried. If, in the event of war, the German Air Force launched a major air offensive against London, the British military command believed that there was nothing they could do to stop it" (David and Goliath, Malcolm Gladwell, p. 128). As a result the government worried that the people in London would panic, stop working, flee into the surrounding countryside and that all industrial production would grind to a halt, and they would lose the war as a result. They contemplated building a massive network of underground shelters, set up several mental hospitals outside the city to handle a flood of mental cases once the bombing started. Actually the Germans held to the same theory. They believed that in bombing London they would destroy the morale of the British people. The Bombing did arrive and it was horrific, over a million buildings were destroyed, yet the widespread panic never happened, and the mental hospitals never saw a wave of patients and were eventually repurposed for other uses.
What Was Learned
The bombing produced three groups of people. First the dead, then the near misses who were often traumatized by the event, then the remote misses, who at times came out of the experience with a sense of triumph and a sense of pure happiness. "We are also prone to be afraid of being afraid, and the conquering of fear produced exhilaration. In the midst of the Blitz, a middle-aged laborer in a button-factory was asked if he wanted to be evacuated to the countryside. He had been bombed out of his house twice. But each time he and his wife had been fine. He refused. 'What, and miss all this?' he exclaimed. 'Not for all the gold in China!' There's never been nothing like it! Never! And never will be again." (Gladwell, p. 133).
The Example of David
When David encountered Goliath he was a young man with a past of near misses. "Your servant was tending his father's sheep. When a lion or a bear came and took a lamb from the flock. I went out after him and attacked him, and rescued it from his mouth; and when he rose up against me, I seized him by his beard and struck him and killed him. Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear" (1 Samuel 17:35-36). As a result David was not traumatized, but rather he was confident, "Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear; and this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them" (17:36). "Courage is not something that you already have that makes you brave when the tough times come. Courage is what you earn when you've been through tough times" (Gladwell, p. 149).
Confident or Crushed?
The challenge that we all face is refusing to allow "near misses" to make us even more apprehensive and fearful. One example of this in our current culture is that there are many young people who saw and experienced first- hand the divorce of their parents and are now fearful of marriage. A number of those who went through the Great Depression lived in fear of losing it all again. It is so easy to let something that happened in our past to result in us becoming very fearful of the future. So how do we handle such near misses? Because for every individual who comes out of a trial with courage and confidence there are many more who exit fearful, broken or forever wounded.
It is In Our Control
The good news is that we make the final decision whether we will be fearful or confident, whether we exit trial stronger or weaker, strengthened or shattered.
- "And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing" (James 1:4).
- "Therefore, do not throw away your confidence" (Hebrews 10:35).
I find this last statement very interesting, because so often we talk about people losing their confidence, as if confidence is something that can just disappear, walk off on its own and leave us. Yet this verse is encouraging because it says that our confidence cannot leave without our consent and permission. Remember, when we face any trial, do not fear losing your confidence, rather concentrate on what you are gaining (Romans 5:3-5).
What is My Ultimate Goal?
If staying physically alive as long as possible is my overall goal, then this will undermine my courage and confidence. Paul was a very courageous man, and I see his courage tied to the fact that he was not afraid to die, because he realized that death would result in him being with the Lord (Philippians 1:21-23). So if we just want to be with the Lord, then dangerous things of this life will suddenly lose their intimidation factor.
Stay Close to God
"He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say to the Lord, 'My refuge and my fortress, My God, in whom I trust!' For it is He who delivers you from the snare of the trapper and from the deadly pestilence. He will cover you with His pinions, and under His wings you may seek refuge; His faithfulness is a shield and bulwark. You will not be afraid of the terror by night, or of the arrow that flies by day; of the pestilence that stalks in darkness, or of the destruction that lays waste at noon. A thousand may fall at your side and ten thousand at your right hand, but if shall not approach you… For I have made the Lord, my refuge" (Psalm 91:1-9).
The idea in these verses is not that one will be immune from trials (this is how the Devil misinterpreted verse 11 in Matthew 4:6-70. Rather, it means that nothing can really hurt who we are on the inside. Nothing can touch our soul, nothing can touch our relationship with God (Luke 11:4). It is the realization, that with God nothing can truly harm the real us.
I Already Died With Christ
"For the love of Christ controls us, having concluded this, that one died for all, therefore all died; and He died for all, so that they who live might no longer live for themselves, but for Him who died and rose again on their behalf" (2 Corinthians 5:14-15). The idea here is that due to my sins I truly deserve to have died and been condemned long ago. Yet Jesus mercifully died for me, and I was given the opportunity to hear the gospel, believe, repent, confess and submit to baptism. Therefore, whatever life I have left on earth is not to be lived for me, rather it is to be lived for Him. That I am living on borrowed time, time that I have because of grace. So whatever good things that come my way, it is all undeserved. And whatever trials and hardships come my way, it is far better than being dead and lost and suffering in torment. What really is there to fear about the future, because the future may be challenging, but it is equally a future that is absent of eternal torment, a future that includes the glorious hope of being with God and all the saved in heaven forever. "The Lord is with me; I will not fear; what can man do to me" (Psalm 118:6).
Mark Dunagan | mdunagan@frontier.net
Beaverton Church of Christ | 503-644-9017
www.beavertonchurchofchrist.net
