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Showing posts with label Fear. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Fear. Show all posts

Monday, October 24, 2022

You Are Not Alone

Introduction
Kids are scary.  Once, when my daughter was maybe two years old, I was sleeping peacefully when I was startled from my sleep in the middle of the night.  There, in the dark, just inches from my face, I saw two big blue eyes staring at me!  After just a moment of shock, it registered that this was the face of my blonde-haired, blue eyed daughter.  She'd woken from a dream and was scared in the dark, so she silently wandered into her parents' room for comfort.  We welcomed her into our bed, where she immediately curled up and fell back asleep.

For some reason, we often don’t want to be alone when we’re afraid.  When we’re afraid as kids, we run to our parents or someone strong who can protect us.  When we’re afraid because we’re facing uncertainty, we want the company of those who have faced our situation before.  Sometimes, we just want someone to be with us so we’re not alone.  

Today, I want to reassure you:  you are not alone in your fear.

Hebrews 11:1
Faith shows the reality of what we hope for; it is the evidence of things we cannot see

It Starts with Faith
Faith is the key to so much in life because we can’t see what the future holds.  We don’t know what tomorrow may bring, let alone what will happen next week or next year.  We hope for something good and the Bible says God has good plans for us, but we can’t see the good that will come or the God who promises to give it to us.  

That’s where faith is the key.  Faith shows us the reality of what we hope for.  We hope that God is good, that God loves us, that God has the power to do good for us. That is our hope.  Faith shows us it is true.  Faith is the evidence.  

Through the lens of faith, we can see the love and power of God through all the events of life.  Where others who lack faith see nothing, we see the power and goodness of God.  Where others, who lack faith, see terror and tragedy and disappointment, we see God helping us, healing us, and even using bad things that He didn't want to happen for our good.  Faith in the lens that enables us to interpret events as the work of  good God.

The 11th chapter of Hebrews gives a long list of people whose faith helped them do amazing things.  Noah built the Ark and saved the animals and his family from the flood so the world could have a fresh start.  Abraham left his homeland and went to the Promised Land where God gave him so many descendants we can't even count them all.  His wife, Sarah, was able to have a child even though she was barren and too old.  By faith, Moses was saved from the Nile River and raised by Pharaoh's daughter.  Later, by faith, Moses delivered the Hebrews from slavery in Egypt.  By faith, Joshua led the Israelites to conquer Jericho and all of Canaan.  By faith, Rahab, who was a Canaanite, was saved from destruction and became one of God’s chosen people—and ancestor of King David and later Jesus the Christ.  By faith, all these people did amazing things because they trusted God and He helped them.

But there are others mentioned too—people whose life story did not have a happy ending—at least, not by the world’s standards and not in this life.  Some were scorned, some were abused, tortured, or even murdered because of their faith in God.  But by faith, they understood they were not defeated because God vindicated them in the afterlife.  These faithful martyrs from the past faced persecution and death willingly because their faith helped them see it was better to honor God than keep their life.  They believed in God’s goodness and trusted Him even to the point of death.  As Hebrews 11:35 says, “They placed their hope in a better life after the resurrection.”  And so, now they have it.  We need not feel sorry for them.  We can even envy their eternal reward because they where special crown in eternity that honors their faithful witness in death.

Through faith, we can see that God didn’t abandon the world, even though our sin was terrible.  “For," John 3:16 says, "God loved the world so much, He sent His one and only Son, so that whoever believes in Him will not perish but will have eternal life.”

Faith is the key to so much in life.

Have Faith in Yourself
You have to have faith in yourself.  You have to believe you can succeed.  Of course you have to put in the effort to train and prepare for success.  But even if you full prepare for success and don't believe in yourself, you will fail.  You have to prepare and have faith that you will succeed or you have already defeated yourself.  So you have to believe you can do it or you can't.

 

Have Faith in Others
The truth is we can't fully succeed in life on our own.  We need other people.  That's the life works.  You need to be able to have faith in other people.  You need others to succeed.  That's why it's so important that you surround yourself with people you can count on--people who will tell you the truth, people who will help and encourage you, people who will help you be your best.  Otherwise, if you can't have faith in the people around you, they will pull you down.  (It's also important to say you should be the kind of person others can have faith in too.  They need you to help them also.)

Have Faith is God
We also need to have faith in something bigger than ourselves.  If we only having faith in ourselves and others, we will be very limited in what we can accomplish.  We may accomplish some good things, but greatness will elude us because we will be limited by our human abilities.  God has big plans for you, bigger than what you can do on your own (or even with the help of others).  If David (from the Bible) only trusted in his ability (or even the ability of the army of Israel), he never would have stepped forward to fight the giant, Goliath.  He was just a skinny kid who couldn't even wear armor or pick up a sword.  David trusted God was able to give him the victory and he went to battle based on his faith in God.  When we trust God, He enables us to do great things--greater than we can do on our own.  So we must have faith in God.

One of the great things God does for us is save us from our sin, through Christ, for eternal life.  Do you trust God?  Do you have faith in Him?  Will you let Christ be your Lord?

You Are Not Alone
In the Old Testament, God spoke to reassure His people in their time of distress in Isaiah 41:10, “Don’t be afraid, for I am with you. Don’t be discouraged, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you. I will hold you up with my victorious right hand.”

You are not alone!  In the New Testament, Jesus reassured His followers in Matthew 28:20, “Be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end

of the age.”  I'm sure the Twelve Disciples were afraid and overwhelmed by the prospect of going out into the whole world to make disciples for Jesus.  The "whole world" is a big, scary place!  So Jesus said they could be sure He was always with them.  And Jesus said He would be with His disciples to the end of the age.  "The Age" hasn't ended yet and we are Jesus' disciples if we call Him Lord.  So that means Jesus is with us too!  And it means we have a big job to do--to make disciples of all nations.

So we see that God is with us in the midst of everything we face in life.  Hebrews 12:1 gives even more encouragement to those who have faith.  You are not alone!  Hebrews 12:1 says, “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us.”

You are not alone in your fear or in any of life’s struggles or victories.  All the famous heroes of the Bible are cheering you own!  Abraham, Moses, David, the Twelve Disciples are cheering for you!  Not only that, your friends and love ones who trusted Jesus and have died and gone to be with Him, they are cheering you on too!  You can think of many of the names of your Christian loved ones who have gone to be with the Lord.  They are cheering for you!  You are surrounded by a great crowd of witnesses to the life of faith who are rooting for you!

So, DO NOT BE AFRAID!  God is with you!  His faithful people are with you too!

Closing Meditation
Imagine a great cloud of witnesses surrounding you.  Among them are Abraham, Moses, David, Elijah and the prophets, and the Twelve Disciples.  Among them are the many Christian martyrs who gave their lives for the faith over the last 2,000 years.  Among them also are so many of the people you've loved who have died and gone to be with Jesus in Heaven.  

They are so proud of you.  They are cheering for you, encouraging you, rooting for you to succeed.  They understand the difficulties you face, because they faced them too and they made it through.  The know you are scared or overwhelmed, but they know you can make it through.  They are rooting for you!

I also want you to know that God, in Jesus, is with you too. He is not angry.  He is not disappointed.  He loves you.  He loves you so much He died for you.  Imagine Jesus calling out to you.  He says, “Come to me, you who are weary and carrying a heavy burden. Give it to me. I offer rest for your weary soul.  I have something better for you.  It isn’t hard to carry.  And you don’t have to carry it alone.  I will walk with you and help you.  And all these saints around you will be there too, cheering you on.  And there will be many Christians in this world who will help you too.  For in my Church, we are family—brothers and sisters in Christ.  You are not alone.  Don’t be afraid.  I am with you."

Let the reality of this scene wash over you.  You cannot see it with your physical eyes.  See it with the eyes of faith and believe,  Amen.

Monday, October 17, 2022

Imagine A Future Beyond Your Fears

Introduction
Fear is a universal emotion felt by people throughout all times and in every part of the world.  Fear serves a valuable purpose—to help keep us safe when threats arise by motivating us to cope with potential danger.

A fear of heights can be a good thing because if you fall from a great height, you could be injured or killed.  The fear of heights warns you to take care in that potentially dangerous situation.  Other common fears triggers are:

  • Darkness or being unable to see your surroundings
  • Social interaction or rejection
  • Snakes, rodents, spiders and other animals
  • Death and dying

Anxiety is a form of persistent fear where people feel constantly worried without knowing why.  It can be an especially crippling form of fear because the anxious person doesn’t know why they’re afraid and can’t address the cause of their fear.

The Grand Canyon
Though unpleasant, fear is not necessarily a bad thing.  We are told many times in Scripture to “Fear the Lord.”  Fear in this sense counsels us to be careful with God, to respect and revere God, for He is holy and awesome.  We should approach God with care, as one might approach the edge of the Grand Canyon because it is beautiful and inspiring, but a careless misstep could be the end of you.  Fear is useful, but when it rules you, controls you, incapacitates you, fear has exceeded its purpose.

The Bible also tells people again and again, “Do not be afraid.”  And this indicates we are often fearful in the wrong circumstances.  It is when there is a guardrail protecting us from the edge of the Grand Canyon, but we still cannot approach.  It is when the snake is securely behind the glass of a terrarium, but we still cannot look and admire the beauty of a creature God made.  Our fear is out of control and keeping us from the blessings God wants us to have.  

There is something wonderful waiting for you on the other side of your fears.  What is it?  Who will you be and what will your life be like if you overcome your fears?  On the other hand, who will you be and what will life be like if your fears conquer you?  The life God wanted to give Israel in the Promised Land was beautiful and prosperous, but they had to overcome their fears to enter it.  Listen to God’s Word to Israel as they were poised to enter the Promised Land.

Deuteronomy 6:10-13
10 “The Lord your God will soon bring you into the land he swore to give you when he made a vow to your ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. It is a land with large, prosperous cities that you did not build. 11 The houses will be richly stocked with goods you did not produce. You will draw water from cisterns you did not dig, and you will eat from vineyards and olive trees you did not plant. When you have eaten your fill in this land, 12 be careful not to forget the Lord, who rescued you from slavery in the land of Egypt. 13 You must fear the Lord your God and serve him. When you take an oath, you must use only his name”

Who Should Fear and Who Should Trust?
There are two groups of people to consider in this story.  The first group is pretty obvious, because it's who the passage directly addresses.  The Israelites, had nothing to fear because God was with them.  They are told the blessings they will receive because they trust God.

The other group in the passage is less obvious.  It is the Canaanites.  God is about to take their land away and give it to the Israelites.  The Canaanites had every reason to fear because they rejected God.  They lived in Canaan for over 2,000 years.  Unfortunately, they rejected the one true God and devolved into evil, sexually immoral people who even sacrificed children as part of their religious rituals.  Furthermore, these evils had been ongoing for at least 400 years.  Finally, God was about to punish the Canaanites and give their land to the Israelites.

So the Canaanites who rejected God had everything to fear.  Their day of reckoning was at hand.  A Canaanite woman named Rahab revealed their fear in Joshua 2:9.  “I know the Lord has given you this land,” she told them. “We are all afraid of you. Everyone in the land is living in terror.”  When you reject God, you have reason for real fear.  That’s a dangerous situation.

The Israelites had nothing to fear because God was with them.  They put their faith in God.  He described the blessings Israel would receive as they conquered Canaan.  They would take possession of prosperous cities, homes already stocked with everything a person could need.  There would be wells, city infrastructure, and farmland already cultivated and producing fruit.  The towns God would give them were built by others and developed over decades and centuries.  Everything was ready for the Israelites to live in the Land.  God was with the Israelites.  They simply had to trust God more than their fear and enter the Promised Land.  

In verse 13, God reminds the Israelites “You must fear the Lord your God and serve him.”  In other words, don’t be afraid of the Canaanites.  Don’t be afraid to enter their land and conquer it.  Don’t be afraid of the scary things of this world.  Fear the Lord and obey Him.  For then you will be on God side and God’s side is always the winning side.

God’s Great Plan For You
God has a great plan for you too.  He wants you to live a life of confidence and faith.  He wants you to know He is with you and see His mighty hand at work.  Just as Jesus called His disciples, He calls you, “Come follow me.”  It is an amazing journey for all who answer the call to follow.  We see God’s power at work.  We see lives changed.  We see fearful people find confidence.  We see sinners transformed into saints.  We see the hopeless find hope.  And God supplies all the needs of His people as they embrace the mission of Christ. 

Among the blessings of those who follow Christ is a peace that passed all understanding.  You have peace in your heart.  You are at one with your Creator and His creation.  You know you have nothing to fear, nothing to hide, nothing to lose.  You trust God, not only with your own life, but with the lives of those you care about most.  You know you belong to God’s special family, for God adopts you as His own child.  Regardless of your social status in this world, in God’s sight you are a royal priest—kings and queens in the eternal Kingdom of God.   

There are still storms and trials and troubles.  There may be resistance.  (Look what they did to Jesus; they crucified Him.)  However, Christ is with His followers throughout all the trials of life.  Hebrews 13:6, “So we can say with confidence, “The Lord is my helper, so I will have no fear. What can mere people do to me?””

Because Christ died on the cross and rose from the grave, those who follow Jesus also follow Him through death to ressurection and eternal life.  That means we no longer even need to fear death.  We are free to live with incredible faith and and boldness and confidence! 

Choose Today Who You Will Serve
There is something wonderful waiting for you on the other side of your fears.  What is it?  Who will you be and what will your life be like if you overcome your fears?  On the other hand, who will you be and what will life be like if your fears conquer you?

Whether you live in fear or live in faith all comes down to your choices.  Will you be like the Canaanites who continually rejected God and chose to live for themselves?  Or will you be like the Israelites, whom God chose and they chose to serve and obey God?

If you continue to choose your own way, you are in great danger—eternal danger.  A day of reckoning is coming for you, for we all must face God’s judgment one day.  Those who reject Christ will be rejected by God and cast out of the Good Land into the outer darkness where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

But if you repent of your selfish sin and chose to put your faith in Christ, God will save you.  There will be nothing to fear because Jesus has already paid the penalty for your sins.  Now you are free to live in God’s love and share His love with everyone around you.  You didn’t earn these blessings.  Christ earned them for you.  So live a life of grateful obedience.

Who will you choose to serve today?  Will you serve your fear and continue to miss out on the Promised Land God wants to give you?  Or will you choose to serve you own selfish ambitions and reap the wrath of God?  Or will you choose to serve the One True and Living God and be His chosen sons and daughters for eternity?  

As for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.

Take time to pray and chose who you will trust and follow and obey.  Be clear with God and yourself about your decision today.

Monday, October 10, 2022

Fear is and Opportunity

Introduction
Halloween is just around the corner.  It’s a holiday full of monsters and frightening characters.  Scary movies are shown on TV and in movies.  It's not meant to glorify or celebrate fear or evil.  Halloween is a chance to have a little fun with our fears.  Making light and laughing at our fear and the monsters who scare us is a way for people to cope with real fear. 

The scary monster jumps out on the movie screen, everyone screams, and popcorn flies through the air, but then we laugh.  “They got me!”  We’re relieved and endorphins flood through our body and we laugh, because it’s entertainment.  We know the monster isn’t real and, subconsciously, we’re happy that monsters aren’t real and we don’t really have to be afraid.

However, there are also real fear in life.  What are you afraid of?  When did you first notice your fear?  Was it triggered by something?  Does your fear keep you from doing something you want to of need to do?

Today, we will see that fear is an opportunity.  The Apostle James wrote in the New Testament to encourage a small group of Christians living in a scary, hostile world who faced ridicule, persecution, arrest, exile, and even death simply because they believed Jesus was the Son of God who rose from the dead.  Listen to what he said. 

James 1:2-4
Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing.

Fear is an Opportunity
Fear is an opportunity, because fear tests your faith.  When God asks you to do something, it is often scary because it challenges you to step out of our comfort zones and do something beyond our natural ability.   

God called me to preach and pastor, but it’s not natural to me (well, at least it wasn’t natural to me in beginning).  I’m shy.  I’m nervous around large crowds of people.  I don’t even like to go to Walmart if it’s particularly crowded.  Standing up in front of a group people to speak is not normal for me.  If you'd told me I was going to be a preacher when I was 18, I would have said you were crazy.  That's not me.  I even remember one time freezing up at a youth Sunday event trying to give the announcements when I was only 22.   

Still, God called me to preach when I was 23.  It was an “opportunity”.  I was afraid to do it.  When I finally got up the courage to say yes, I found out my wife was afraid  too.  At first, she said "no", point blank.  She said she was not cut out to be a preacher's wife.  She felt she didn't have the bubbly personality of the stereotypical preacher's wife.  However, God made my me and our wife the way He did for a reason and then He called us into the ministry.  He chose us for His own reasons. Eventually, our faith overcame our fear and we said yes to God's plan and we’ve ministered now for 21 fruitful years in 4 churches.  

God promised to give the Israelites the Promised Land—a land flowing with milk and honey.  But in order to realize the Promise, they had to trust God despite their fears.  Last week, we learned how their lack of faith (because there were giants and fortified cities in the Promised Land) led to their wandering in the wilderness for 40 years.  Finally, when a new and more faithful generation arose, God led the Israelites to finally enter the Promised Land.  But they still needed faith and courage.  The Lord appointed Joshua as the new leader of His people.  And he said:

Joshua 1:5-9
No one will be able to stand against you as long as you live. For I will be with you as I was with Moses. I will not fail you or abandon you.

“Be strong and courageous, for you are the one who will lead these people to possess all the land I swore to their ancestors I would give them. Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the instructions Moses gave you. Do not deviate from them, turning either to the right or to the left. Then you will be successful in everything you do. Study this Book of Instruction continually. Meditate on it day and night so you will be sure to obey everything written in it. Only then will you prosper and succeed in all you do. This is my command—be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid or discouraged. For the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”

Why Must We Face Fear?
Have you ever wondered why God didn’t just give the Israelites the Promised Land?  I mean, If He’s an all-powerful God, why didn’t God just hand the Land to the Israelites?  Why did they even need to be “strong and courageous” and fight to win the Promised Land?

The Israelites had to test their faith in God by facing their fear and overcome trials and hardships through the conquest of the Promised Land.  Yes, God could have just given the Land to the Israelites (He had the right and power to do it), but it would have robbed the Israelites of an critical opportunity.

Looking back at James 1:2-4.  Simply giving the Land to the Israelites would have robbed them of the opportunity “for great joy.”  It would denied them the chance to grow their endurance and to be perfect and complete, needing nothing. 

When you face your own fears, it is an opportunity for great joy.  For when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow.  So let it grow!  For when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing.  When we face our fears, we grow stronger, learn more about ourselves, and draw closer to God.[i]  We learn to depend upon God and we find out God is bigger than any of our fears.  In Christ we see that even death itself cannot defeat God.  Therefore, death cannot defeat us because we belong to God in Christ. 

What is Your Promised Land?
What is your Promised Land?  For the Israelites who descended from slaves who lived in Egypt and then wandering nomads in the dessert, their Promised Land was a place to truly call their home—an abundant land where they could settle down and build homes and grow their own food and live at peace with their children and worship their God.  That was their Promised Land, but what’s yours?

You need a reason overcome your fear.  There are a lot of different fears that can plague a person’s life.  Some are scared of snakes or spiders or flying and maybe you don’t have to face all of your fears.  If your fear of snakes or spiders or flying doesn’t keep you from entering your “Promised Land”, then it may not really be a big deal.  In other words, if your fear of “whatever” doesn’t keep you from living a full life and doing the things God wants you to do, then maybe it doesn’t really matter.  If you're afraid of spiders, but your husband or wife will can kill them for you, then why do you need to overcome your fear.  (So, I’m saying you don’t necessarily have to face ALL your fears.) 

I want you to focus on those fears that are keeping you from being all and doing all that God wants you to do.  So if you’re afraid of flying, just don’t fly.  Simple.  But what if God is calling you to go visit your son who lives so far away that driving there isn’t a practical option.  Well see, now you’ve got to face your fear.  If your fear of standing up in front of people to preach is stopping you from saying “Yes” to God when He says, “I want you to be a preacher,” then you’ve got to face your fear. 

If you can’t live at peace with God and with each other because some “fear” stands between you and your “Promised Land”, then you’ve got to trust God to help you conquer your fear.  Otherwise, you will be stuck "wandering in the wilderness" the rest of your life. 

Is Jesus Your Lord
The biggest fear of all (something that I pray will keep you up at night until you finally make peace with it) is whether or not Jesus is truly Lord of your life.  The Truth is, Jesus is Lord of all.  “He existed in the beginning with God.  God created everything through him, and nothing was created except through him.” (John 1:2-3)

Unfortunately, not everyone accepts Jesus as Lord.  They may say Jesus is Lord with their lips, but they do not obey Jesus as Lord.  Their allegiance is not to Him above all else.  Some reject Christ all together.  Others pay lip services, claiming Jesus is Lord, but they try to control what parts of their life they give to Jesus and what parts they keep for themselves.  “But to all who believe in him and accepted him, he gives the right to become children of God.” (adapted from John 1:12) 

If Jesus is truly your Lord, you have nothing to fear.  Even when death comes (for it comes for us all), we still have nothing to fear because we have eternal life.  For those who reject Jesus as Lord, there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.  You won’t be able to excuse yourself by saying, “I never rejected the Lord!”  If you never intentionally gave your life to Jesus and chose to obey Him as Lord, you may hear Him say to you as He said in Matthew 7:23, “I never knew you. Get away from me, you who break God’s laws."  Or you may hear as in Matthew 25:30, “Throw this useless servant into outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

It doesn’t have to be that way.  You can face the biggest fear today.  Chose  to serve Jesus as Lord.  Chose to let Him be your only Lord and Lord of your whole life.  Don’t try to hold back different parts from Him.  Let Jesus be Lord of all.  Choose to obey Him, 100%.  Go where He leads you.  Do what He asks.  Let His mission be your mission—even if it scares you.  Trust Him to see you through—all the way into eternity.  Love the Lord with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength.  “Love has no fear, because perfect love expels all fear.” (1 John 4:18) 



[i] https://hebrews12endurance.com/face-your-fears/#How_to_Face_Your_Fears_Head-on

Monday, October 3, 2022

What Are You Afraid Of?

Introduction
Halloween is just around the corner. It's a day we make fun of our fears. Many dress up as monsters--not to celebrate monsters, but to make light of them. There's no such thing as actual vampires, werewolves, or zombies. These are figment of our imagination that serve to personify our fears.

Our fear is real. But until we understand our fear, fear morphs into the monsters of our imagination that paralyze us. We cannot move forward in God's mission for us because we fear the imaginary monsters that lurk around the next corner.

This is the first in a series about Conquering Your Fears. Today, I want you to consider: what are you afraid of?

God’s people have always had to face their fears.  God gives us the ability to overcome when we trust God more than our fears.  The Hebrew slaves who left Egypt had to conquer their fears before they could conquer the Promised Land.  Moses sent twelve scouts to check on the Promised Land and report bac their findings.  Listen to part of their story. 

Numbers 13:17-33
17 
Moses gave the men these instructions as he sent them out to explore the land: “Go north through the Negev into the hill country. 18 See what the land is like, and find out whether the people living there are strong or weak, few or many. 19 See what kind of land they live in. Is it good or bad? Do their towns have walls, or are they unprotected like open camps? 20 Is the soil fertile or poor? Are there many trees? Do your best to bring back samples of the crops you see.” (It happened to be the season for harvesting the first ripe grapes.)

21 So they went up and explored the land from the wilderness of Zin as far as Rehob, near Lebo-hamath. 22 Going north, they passed through the Negev and arrived at Hebron, where Ahiman, Sheshai, and Talmai—all descendants of Anak—lived. (The ancient town of Hebron was founded seven years before the Egyptian city of Zoan.) 23 When they came to the valley of Eshcol, they cut down a branch with a single cluster of grapes so large that it took two of them to carry it on a pole between them! They also brought back samples of the pomegranates and figs. 24 That place was called the valley of Eshcol (which means “cluster”), because of the cluster of grapes the Israelite men cut there.

25 After exploring the land for forty days, the men returned 26 to Moses, Aaron, and the whole community of Israel at Kadesh in the wilderness of Paran. They reported to the whole community what they had seen and showed them the fruit they had taken from the land. 27 This was their report to Moses: “We entered the land you sent us to explore, and it is indeed a bountiful country—a land flowing with milk and honey. Here is the kind of fruit it produces. 28 But the people living there are powerful, and their towns are large and fortified. We even saw giants there, the descendants of Anak! 29 The Amalekites live in the Negev, and the Hittites, Jebusites, and Amorites live in the hill country. The Canaanites live along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea and along the Jordan Valley.”

30 But Caleb tried to quiet the people as they stood before Moses. “Let’s go at once to take the land,” he said. “We can certainly conquer it!”

31 But the other men who had explored the land with him disagreed. “We can’t go up against them! They are stronger than we are!” 32 So they spread this bad report about the land among the Israelites: “The land we traveled through and explored will devour anyone who goes to live there. All the people we saw were huge. 33 We even saw giants there, the descendants of Anak. Next to them we felt like grasshoppers, and that’s what they thought, too!”

Naming Our Fears
The Israelite scouts reported the bounty of the land.  It was a good land, a great land!  However, the land was also full of strong people living in fortified cities and there were even giants living in the land!

Ten out of twelve of Hebrew scouts were too afraid to enter the Promised Land.  Their fear was greater than their faith in God.  Two of the scouts—Joshua and Caleb—new the Lord God who brought them out of slavery in Egypt was more than capable of conquering the land.  They trusted God.  But the other 10 scouts were afraid and they convinced the rest of the people to listen to their fear instead of trusting in God.  Their lack of faith caused them to wander in the wilderness for 40 years.  Their fear paralyzed them.

Our fear can paralyze us too.  We can’t move forward until we overcome our fears. 

What Do You Fear?
What do you fear?  The first step to conquering our fear is to identify exactly what we are afraid of. 
Once we can see the “monsters” we face, we can compare them to the greatness of God.  Make a list of your fears.  When did you first notice that fear? 
Was it triggered by something? What does that fear keep you from accomplishing?  Name your fear so you can start to face it.

Our fears are always scarier when they’re hiding in the dark.  In the shadows, our imaginations run wild and blow our fears up to supernatural proportions.
Once you shine some light on a fear, you may see isn’t as scary as you first thought.  It might still be scary, and still dangerous, but at least you can see it for what it really is.

Now that you can see your fear, you can compare it to God.  Is your fear bigger than God?  We don’t have to face our fears alone.  God promises to be with us.  God doesn’t want your fear to keep you from His promises, but you have to trust Him.

David Conquers Goliath
The Hebrews were afraid to enter the Promised Land because it was inhabit by Giants.  Do you remember another story about a young boy who had to face a giant?

David was just a young boy when a giant named Goliath challenged the Israelite army, spouting blasphemies against the God of Israel.  David was so small, he couldn’t even wear armor or swing a proper sword.  However, David had something special.  He trust God.  David knew God was with him and so David fought Goliath with only a sling and some stones and God defeated Goliath through David’s faith.

God can defeat all the giants and monsters in your life too, but you’ve got to trust Him.

Isaiah 41:10 says, "Don’t be afraid, for I am with you.  Don’t be discouraged, for I am your God.  I will strengthen you and help you. I will hold you up with my victorious right hand."

Don't you know that if you are a Christian, God is with you?  He will never leave you.  And if you are actively following Jesus and and doing His work, He will strengthen and help you.  He will hold you up with His victorious right hand!

I challenge you this week to to make a list of your fears and also write down when you first notice that fear?  Was it triggered by something?  What does that fear keep you from accomplishing?

Whenever Christians celebrate the sacrament of Holy Communion, we remember the last meal Jesus shares with His disciples.  I'm sure the Disciples were afraid as they sat around the table.  They could sense that Jesus was in danger and they were in danger because they were His disciples.  Maybe they were afraid they'd put their trust in the wrong person—that despite his many miracles, Jesus was not as powerful as the Roman government or their religious leaders in Israel.  Maybe they were afraid of the trials, persecution, and death they faced because they’d chosen Jesus as Lord.  Maybe they were afraid of what might happen to Jesus, who they loved, simply because He spoke the truth in a time when truth was not appreciate and was dangerous.   

Jesus knew their fear.  He knew the reality of the danger they faced.  Jesus knew the "cup of suffering" He was about to drink, but Jesus also knew the power of God that wins the ultimate victory and so Jesus shared one last meal with His disciples before He was crucified.  It was a meal that revealed the real suffering and death He was about to endure for our sake, but also a meal to give His followers strength, and help us to remember what He did for us.  I invite you to find a church where you can share Holy Communion regularly with other Christians, because it is a special way Jesus has given you to remember who He is and what He did for you and to find God's grace to strengthen and encourage you to face your fears, knowing that God is even more powerful than death.  He raised Jesus back to life on the third day and God will resurrect all Christians to eternal life after death.

Sunday, October 20, 2019

Jesus' Questions for You


My hope for this message series was to answer your questions about God and Christianity. 
But so far, I’ve only received on question (and I answered that one a couple weeks ago.
So even though I’ve offered you a chance to write your questions on the tear off in the bulletin and announced it from the pulpit each Sunday (and I’ve also sent out numerous emails and solicited questions on Facebook), I haven’t received any other questions.

But as I prayer about your lack of questions, Jesus laid something else on my heart.  Jesus said, “If they don’t have any questions for you, I’d like to ask them a few questions."  So that’s what I’m gonna do today for the sermon.  Since you haven’t asked any questions, Jesus has some questions for you.  The first question comes from Mark 8:27-29.

Mark 8:27-29
27 Jesus and his disciples left Galilee and went up to the villages near Caesarea Philippi. As they were walking along, he asked them, “Who do people say I am?”
28 “Well,” they replied, “some say John the Baptist, some say Elijah, and others say you are one of the other prophets.”
29 Then he asked them, “But who do you say I am?”
Peter replied, “You are the Messiah.”

Who Do You Say I Am?
Jesus actually asks his disciples two questions in this passage: “Who do people say I am?”  And “Who do you say I am?”  Jesus asks you the same questions this morning.  Who do people say that I am and who do you say that I am?  These are critical questions.  Your answers will influence everything you do in this life and even eternity.


Almost everyone has some opinion about Jesus.  In America, you would have to live under a rock to have never heard something about Jesus. So, who do people say that Jesus is?  A prophet?  A revolutionary?  A truly gifted religious leader? A fictional character people made up?

Most people, unfortunately, have a very inaccurate idea of Jesus.  Their notion of Jesus is just what they've picked up from popular opinion or myth.  Perhaps they have some vague ideas that he is loving and nurturing or merciful and forgiving, but they aren't necessarily clear of what all this entails.  Unless people read and understand the Bible—both the Old and the New Testaments—they probably only know of the popular image of Jesus, an image that is woefully inadequate.

CS Lewis once wrote that Jesus is either a liar, a lunatic, or Lord.  Lewis argued that when people claim Jesus was just a good man, they disregard what he said about himself.  Lewis claims we must listen to what Jesus said about himself in the Gospels.  Jesus claimed to be the Son of God who was going to die on the cross and rise from the dead to save humanity from sin and grant eternal life.  Now if Jesus was just a good man, he was lying when he claimed to be the Son of God, Lord, and Savior.  Furthermore, thousands of people in his day (including his closest friends) died because they believed him.  Therefore, if Jesus was lying, he was anything but a good man.  He was actually evil if he was lying.  Or another option was that he believed his own lies; which means he was a deluded lunatic, not a good man.  The other option left to us is that Jesus was really telling the truth and he is indeed Lord.

What Jesus really cares about is not what other people say about him.  What he really wants to know is: “Who do you say he is?”  That’s what really matters.  You can’t control what other people think and do.  But you can make up your own mind—and you must decide about Jesus.  Who is Jesus to you? 

I’ll tell you who Jesus is to me.  Jesus is Lord, the Son of God, the Messiah, my Savior!

The second question Jesus asks you today comes from Mark 4:35-40

Mark 4:35-40
35 As evening came, Jesus said to his disciples, “Let’s cross to the other side of the lake.” 36 So they took Jesus in the boat and started out, leaving the crowds behind (although other boats followed). 37 But soon a fierce storm came up. High waves were breaking into the boat, and it began to fill with water.
38 Jesus was sleeping at the back of the boat with his head on a cushion. The disciples woke him up, shouting, “Teacher, don’t you care that we’re going to drown?”
39 When Jesus woke up, he rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Silence! Be still!” Suddenly the wind stopped, and there was a great calm. 40 Then he asked them, “Why are you afraid? Do you still have no faith?”

Why are you afraid?  Do you still have no faith?
Again, Jesus ask two questions; but this time the two questions are really the same thing asked two different ways.  Why are you afraid?  Do you still have no faith?

Maybe we should cut the disciples a little slack.  We have the benefit of looking back on the story already knowing a lot more about Jesus than the disciples had figured out by the 4th chapter of Mark.  They were still getting to know Jesus.  We’ve already heard the end of the story.  We’ve heard about all his other miracles—healing the sick, driving out demons, giving sight to the blind and hearing to the deaf, raising the dead, and (most important) rising from the grave himself.  Also understand this: if you’ve been a Christians for more than three years, you’ve been walking with Jesus a lot longer than the disciples did.  Jesus was only on earth with His disciples for three years.  If you’ve been a Christian longer than that, you’ve already got more experience with Jesus than they did. 

And that’s why Jesus wants to ask you the same questions today. 
Why are you so afraid?  Do you still have no faith?
Storms come in all our lives.  They may not include wind and rain.  They may include: health problems, financial troubles, losing your job, grief over the death of a loved one.  Sometimes our fears aren’t even brought on by actual events.  More often, we worry about things that haven’t even happened yet, things that might never even happen.  What if my son/daughter gets hurt?  What if I get sick?  What if I never find someone to marry?  What if my marriage doesn’t work out?  What if I lose my job and can’t pay my bills? 

We worry because of sin.  It goes all the way back to the Garden of Eden.  Genesis 3:19, “By the sweat of your brow will you have food to eat until you return to the ground from which you were made.  For you were made from dust, and to dust you will return.”  I always thought the reference to "sweat of your brow" was talking about how hard work will be.  But a study of ancient middle eastern phrases shows that when they used the phrase "the sweat of your brow" they were almost always talking about worry and anxiety.  Think about how Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane was praying that God would take the cup of suffering from him if it was possible and he was sweating like drops of blood from his brow.  Because of Adam's sin in the Garden of Eden, ancient farmers would always worry that their crops would fail because of drought, or pestilence, or failure to thrive and so they and the people they loved would starve to death.  It was a a very real possibility in an agricultural society.  And though today, in America, few will starve to death because of a crop failure, we still worry that we will lose our jobs or something else terrible will happen.

Worry and anxiety was a curse humanity received because of Adam's sin in the garden.  Praise be to God, Jesus came to set us free from the curse.  That’s why the angels who announced Jesus birth said, “Do not fear!  I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people.  The Savior—yes, the Messiah, the Lord—has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David!” (Luke 2:10-11)  That’s why Jesus could say, “So don’t worry about these things, saying, ‘What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear?’ These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs. Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.”  (Matthew 6:31-33)

Just a few minutes ago, Jesus asked each of you, “Who do you say I am?”  And many of you affirmed with me, “Jesus is Lord, the Son of God, the Messiah, my Savior!”  If Jesus is your Lord, the Son of God, the Messiah, your Savior, then:
Why are you afraid?  Do you still have no faith?
If Jesus can calm a storm on the sea of Galilee, if He can rise from the grave, don't you trust Him to take care of you and your problems?

Jesus’ Questions
What has been bothering you lately?
Is Jesus asking you to do something?  (Forgive someone?  Answer a call to do something for Him?  Serve in some way?)
Are you worrying about something that might happen (but probably won’t)?  
Are you struggling with worry and anxiety?
Are you going though a very real and difficult storm in your life?

I want you to set aside your worries and concerns for just a moment and answer Jesus’ questions for you this morning. 
Answer His questions first and then pray about what’s bothering you.

Jesus’ questions for you this morning are:
Who do you say I am?
Why are you afraid? 
Do you still have no faith?