Fear!

[The following formed the basis of the sermon delivered at Christ Community Church, Monroe, NC, on Sunday, January 24, 2010.]

Psalm 23 (King James Version)
1 The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.
2 He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.
3 He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake.
4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.
5 Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.
6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever.

Psalm 56 (New International Version)
1 Be merciful to me, O God, for men hotly pursue me; all day long they press their attack.
2 My slanderers pursue me all day long; many are attacking me in their pride.
3 When I am afraid, I will trust in you.
4 In God, whose word I praise, in God I trust; I will not be afraid. What can mortal man do to me?
5 All day long they twist my words; they are always plotting to harm me.
6 They conspire, they lurk, they watch my steps, eager to take my life.
7 On no account let them escape; in your anger, O God, bring down the nations.
8 Record my lament; list my tears on your scroll — are they not in your record?
9 Then my enemies will turn back when I call for help. By this I will know that God is for me.
10 In God, whose word I praise, in the LORD, whose word I praise-
11 in God I trust; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?
12 I am under vows to you, O God; I will present my thank offerings to you.
13 For you have delivered me from death and my feet from stumbling, that I may walk before God in the light of life.

Ephesians 6:10-18 (New International Version)
10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13 Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 14 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15 and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16 In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. 18 And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.

Fear! Who doesn't face fear at some point? Many people live in fear almost constantly. My father, the last few years of his life on earth, worried constantly about the least little thing. Worry is a form of fear, a fear that eats away at you from the inside and shows itself physically in sleepless nights, shaking hands, tear filled eyes. Even the Bible seems preoccupied with fear, its authors using that word, along with others like terror, panic, and being afraid, enough times to almost make us ... well, afraid. But there are even more times when the simple words “no” or “not” are included. Phrases like “Be not afraid”, “Fear not” and “Have no fear” abound in wonderfully encouraging frequency.

Why can we take comfort and assurance in those words? The prophet Elisha may have put it best. When faced with a vast army of men, horses, and chariots, Elisha remarked, “Do not fear, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them.” -- 2 Kings 6:16 (NKJV) And who is always with us? Who is always on our side? God, of course. And God is definitely more than any number that could be arrayed against us. How do we know this? The Apostle Paul told us so, in his letter to the church in Rome, chapter 8, verse 31: “If God be for us, who can be against us?” (Romans 8:31b KJV)

Music has always played (pun fully intended) a huge role in my life. So I can personally take solace and delight that many songs address this issue of fear, and how to handle it. Are you familiar with the hymn "Spirit of the Living God"? The third verse goes like this:

Holy presence, love divine, cast out my fear.
Holy presence, love divine, cast out my fear.
Shield me, free me, call me, lead me.
Holy presence, love divine, cast out my fear.

And how about the contemporary Christian song by the Newsboys, with the chorus:

God is watching over you, as always;
You are loved whatever you go though;
He's right beside you.

Even some of our more contemporary leaders have addressed being afraid, although usually taking a more secular approach. In 1933, during the depths of our country's depression, Franklin D. Roosevelt wanted to reassure a worried, fearful nation. In his first inaugural address, he spoke the words that now most are so familiar with: “the only thing we have to fear is fear itself”.

Have you enjoyed all the college football bowl games, and the pros in their play-offs? Are you really looking forward to the Super Bowl? How many of you play or have played football? Football is a great sport. I know it's probably a “guy thing”, but where else can you go and beat up on someone for a couple hours, and not end up in jail? It doesn't matter that you are on one team facing another team, when it gets right down to crunch time, it is just you going up against one other person that is determined to stop you from what you are trying to do. Offense or defense, it is one man battling another. If you manage to get past the one, there will be another, usually, to take his place in the fight. If you are really good at what you do, seemingly unstoppable, they may throw two or three or more against you at a time. You get tired, bruised, maybe even bloodied, but still you keep pushing, you keep driving, you keep fighting. For in the end, if you are stronger and better than your opponent, you will win. But the second you begin to feel a little fear of your adversary, he has you where he wants you and you are defeated, you've lost.

Isn't that a great analogy of our mortal life? We constantly battle a horrific foe, a terrible opponent, one who is every bit as determined to stop us as we are to escape his clutches. Satan is our adversary and his minions form the team against us. Our family and close friends, our brothers and sisters in the church, all form our team, and a formidable team it is. But no matter how many we may have standing with us, Satan just always seems to have more coming against us. Still we keep driving, we keep fighting. But we MUST NOT show fear. And we should not fear, for we have a secret weapon on our side, we have a player Satan himself once tried to recruit but failed. We have Jesus Christ, the Son of God, against Whom no one and no thing can stand! We have the best coach imaginable, the Holy Spirit within us. And our owner is none other than God Himself. This, my friends, is an unbeatable team! There is absolutely no reason to fear Satan and his followers because they can never defeat us as long as we play on the same team as our star player Jesus, as long as we listen to our Coach, as long as we heed the words of our Owner. “Fear not, for I am with you!” (Genesis 26:24c ESV)

Some pastors try to motivate us by instilling “the fear of the Lord” in us, by preaching about all the pain and suffering we will receive if we are doomed to hell because we are such horrible sinners or don't believe in Christ. But that isn't really what Jesus told us, is it? Didn't He talk about love all the time? When asked by a Pharisee what is the greatest commandment, our Savior replied, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself. All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” (Matthew 22:37-40 NIV) So you see, God doesn't necessarily want you to fear Him, He wants you to love Him. He wants you to love Him so much that you want to be with Him, and He with you, forever and ever, through all eternity. This is heaven: to be embraced within the love of God for eternity. So hell must be the opposite: the complete and utter absence of God's love forever.

John, the beloved of Christ, writes in his first letter: “And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him. In this way, love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment, because in this world we are like him. There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love. We love because he first loved us.” (1 John 4:16-19 NIV)

Why fear, when you are loved? Why fear, when you can love? In 2 Timothy 1:7, Paul assures us, “For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.” (NKJV) And we are reminded by God Himself in Joshua 1:9, “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”

Other scripture that deal with fear and the strength and love of God abound.

From Proverbs, the instructions manual for humans: “Fear of man will prove to be a snare, but whoever trusts in the Lord is kept safe.” -- Proverbs 29:25 (NIV)

In the 34th Psalm, verses 19 and 22 (NIV), David assures us: “19 A righteous man may have many troubles, but the Lord delivers him from them all. 22 The Lord redeems his servants; no one will be condemned who takes refuge in him.” -- Psalm 34:19, 22 (NIV)

Peter, the strong, fiery fisherman, exhorts us: “6 Humble yourselves, therefore, under God's mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. 7 Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.

8 Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. 9 Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings.

10 And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast. 11 To him be the power for ever and ever. Amen.” -- 1 Peter 5:6-11 (NIV)

Amen.