Overcoming Fear.

One summer night during a severe thunderstorm a mother was tucking her small son into bed. She was about to turn the light off when he asked in a trembling voice, "Mommy, will you stay with me all night?" Smiling, the mother gave him a warm, reassuring hug and said tenderly, "I can't dear. I have to sleep in Daddy's room." A long silence followed. At last it was broken by a shaky voice saying, "The big sissy!"¹

Psa 111:10 KJV - "The fear of the LORD [is] the beginning of wisdom: a good understanding have all they that do [his commandments]: his praise endureth for ever."

Pro 14:26 KJV - "In the fear of the LORD [is] strong confidence: and his children shall have a place of refuge."

I am convinced that the reason so many Christians struggle with fear is because they don’t really know who God is. Because they don’t understand who God is, they don’t understand who they are. Because they don’t understand who they are, they live in varying degrees of fear of the world around them.

This morning, I believe the Lord has given us a word concerning fear. The capacity to fear is something that God has placed in each of us. When that capacity is in its proper place it is very healthy. When it is not in its proper place it will cripple you spiritually, and perhaps, even physically.

In the Bible I can find only four individuals that we are instructed to fear. You will not be surprised to find that the first and most important of those is to fear God. This is referenced in many places. In addition to God (or the “Lord”) I can find three other individuals we are instructed to fear.

Fear Mother and Father

Leviticus 19:3 tells us, "Ye shall fear every man his mother, and his father…”

Parental authority is derived from Divine authority. Every child needs to have a healthy fear of his or her parents. This does not mean they should run and hide in terror when their parent walks through the door, nor does it mean that a child should be abused. It does mean that a child recognizes that someone loves them enough to create reward and consequences for good and bad behavior. A child who is not disciplined will come to ruin.²

Fear the King

Proverbs 24:21 says, “My son, fear thou the Lord and the King…”

Governmental authority is also derived from Divine authority.³ If we go all the way back to Genesis we find the origin of human government established by God in these words to Noah spoken after the flood:

"Whoso sheddeth man's blood, by man shall his blood be shed: for in the image of God made he man." [Genesis 9:6 KJV]

Now make no mistake, governments may determine what is “legal” and “illegal” but only God determines what is “right” and “wrong”. When legal and illegal align with right and wrong you have good government. If those two do not align, we are obliged to follow that which is right, even if it is illegal.

"Fear not" vs. "Fear God".

If we take a look at a concordance we will see that throughout the book of Genesis as the Lord is addressing his chosen people he repeatedly tells them to “fear not”. These instruction are repeated to the people of God throughout scripture. When we move to Exodus and Leviticus we see a change of tone. The children of Israel are repeatedly told to “fear God.”⁴ So what is going on?

Throughout Genesis we see God talking to people (however imperfect) who already acknowledge his sovereignty and authority over their lives. In Exodus however, he is addressing a group of people who have just spent four generations immersed in Egyptian idolatry and superstitious fear.

In the plagues that he sent on Egypt and the miracle of the Red Sea crossing, God systematically showed his superiority over the gods of the Egyptians.⁵ In so doing he displayed his power to the children of Israel and realigned their sense of fear toward Himself.⁶ It is against the backdrop of his fearsome power that God defines sin in the form of the Ten Commandments.

Now let me throw a wrinkle in this. If the only thing you have is the Ten Commandments, you should be very, very afraid, because the Ten Commandments point out sin, but they do not give you the remedy for sin.⁷ Jesus Christ is the remedy for sin. The cross can only shine brightly when it is against the backdrop of God’s judgment.

The truth is, the only thing or person worthy of my fear is God.

The sooner we recognize this truth, the sooner we are ready to deal with our fears. Let’s go back to the Ten Commandments. I want to show you something.

- "I am the LORD thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage."

- "Thou shalt have no other gods before me."

- "Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth:"

- "Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me;"

- "And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments."

Exodus 20:2-6 KJV

Of all of the evil that we are capable of committing, why does idolatry top the list of God’s top ten? From a natural point of view, a neighbor who gets up every morning and burns incense in front of a statue of Buddha isn’t going to alarm me like a neighbor who gets up every morning to murder someone before breakfast. From my viewpoint, the order isn’t right, but God doesn’t look at it like I look at it.

Let’s rewind things all of the way back to Genesis.

In the book of Genesis God said, "… Let us make man in our image, after our likeness…"⁸ When God created man, he gave man characteristics that reflected the nature of God. For instance:

God can love, therefore man can love.

God can hate, therefore  man hates.

God is “jealous”⁹ and therefore man experiences jealousy.

God is self-aware, and man is self-aware

God reasons¹⁰  , and invites man to reason with him.

God is creative and man is also creative.

God is eternal¹¹ and has created man with an eternal soul.

Now obviously our finite mind and being will never approach the greatness of the infinite God. By virtue of the fact that He is Creator and I am creation, I will always exist as very limited reflection of my Creator, but his impression exists on every person. Man was purposefully created separately from the rest of creation, because he was created to have authority over that creation. You are not just a hairless monkey.

There is one thing, however, we have that God does not have. That thing is a sense of fear. So why is it, if we are created in God’s image, that we have this sense of fear, when God isn't afraid of anyone or anything?

Because...

Fear, in its proper place, is a recognition of authority.

God is over man.

God, because he is God, answers to no one.¹² You and I will answer to God.¹³ That knowledge should create a fear in every person.

2Co 5:10 KJV - "For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things [done] in [his] body, according to that he hath done, whether [it be] good or bad."

2Co 5:11 KJV - "Knowing therefore the terror of the Lord, we persuade men; but we are made manifest unto God; and I trust also are made manifest in your consciences."

God placed man over creation.¹⁴

Idolatry reverses this Divine order, making man the servant of things created.

I can experience a healthy godly fear because:

1. I know the character of God.

1. Holy
2. Righteous
3. Just
4. Merciful
5. Gracious

2. I know the power of God:

1. By observing creation,

"After these things the word of the LORD came unto Abram in a vision, saying, ‘Fear not, Abram: I [am] thy shield, [and] thy exceeding great reward.’ ... And he brought him forth abroad, and said, ‘Look now toward heaven, and tell the stars, if thou be able to number them: and he said unto him, So shall thy seed be.’" [Genesis 15:1, 5 KJV]

2. By reading his Word.

3. In my own past experience¹⁵, such as when God pointed back to deliverance from Egypt when talking to the Children of Israel.

3. I know the love of God. The love of God is manifested in the person of Jesus Christ the Son, sent to this earth by God, for the express purpose of being the final and complete sacrifice, capable of satisfying the judgment of God against sin. So, when I know Jesus as my Savior, my relationship with God changes. To the sinner God is Judge. To the redeemed, God has become Father. Jesus told us to approach him as “Father”.¹⁶

The knowledge that I can love him because he first loved me changes the whole dynamic.

1Jo 4:17 KJV - "Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world."

1Jo 4:18 KJV - "There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love."

1Jo 4:19 KJV - "We love him, because he first loved us."

If I, as a Christian, am following the Lord with my whole heart, I need to realize the following:

• I am the prized child of the Creator, and the creation has no power over me without his permission.
• My body is subject to death, but the promise of the resurrection trumps death.
• I don’t have to live in fear of anything, because he trumps everything, and I am his.
• I am his child and I can ask for good things.

God did not place a sense of fear in us so that we would be perpetually scared. He placed it is us so that we would recognize his authority over us and our authority in him. When we recognize our place in him, through Jesus Christ, our fear of other things will abate.

"And I say unto you, Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you. For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened. If a son shall ask bread of any of you that is a father, will he give him a stone? or if [he ask] a fish, will he for a fish give him a serpent? Or if he shall ask an egg, will he offer him a scorpion? If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall [your] heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?" - Luk 11:9-13 KJV


To continue to the next lesson, click HERE.

End notes:

1 http://www.sermonillustrations.com/a-z/f/fear.htm

2 Proverbs 3:12 ,19:18, 22:15, 23:13-14, 29:15, 17, Hebrews 12:7-8 KJV

3 Romans 13:3-4

4 Leviticus 19:14, 25:17,36,43; Deuteronomy 6:13,24; 8:6; 10:12,20; 13:4; et.al.

5 www.knowingthebible.net/yahweh-versus-the-gods-of-egypt

6 Exodus 20:19

7 Galatians 3:21-24

8 Genesis 1:26

9 Exodus 20:5

10 Isaiah 1:18

11 Deuteronomy 33:27

12 Hebrews 6:13

13 Hebrews 9:27, 2 Corinthians 5:10-11.

14 Genesis 1:28, 9:2; Romans 1:25

15 Revelation 12:11

16 Matthew 6:9, Luke 11:2

Shine: A Study in Christian Witness

The Light of the World:

A Study in Christian Witness

Tony Thomas

"You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven." [Matthew 5:14-16 ESV]

Jesus did not ask us to shine for him.

Like it or not, as believers in Jesus Christ we are on display in this world. If we are going to follow Jesus, we have no choice in the matter. Jesus did not ask us to “please shine for me”. He declared without qualification that we are the “light of the world” and that we will shine. By its nature the church cannot be hidden. Period.

There is only one source of light.¹

Just as Jesus declared “let there be light” in the first chapter of Genesis, he has declared that we are the “light of the world” in the spiritual sense. Just as his word is fulfilled in the natural declaration, it is also filled in the spiritual.

The light of the church is directly derived from the light of it head, Jesus Christ. How is it possible for Jesus to be the “light of the world” in one place and his church to be that light in another? Let’s explain it this way. I can refer to the source of illumination (bulb, candle, etc.) as a “light”, and simultaneously refer to the illumination itself as “light”. He is the source light, and we are sent out by him to carry that light to all the world.

It is important to remember that Jesus is the only source of hope for humanity.² Apart from the gospel, everything else is just more darkness. Philosophy, social experimentation, and even charity are just motions in the dark.

The individual light of the believer is like a lit candle.

The illustration of righteousness as light is one of Jesus' favorite illustrations. It appears in the gospels and other places in scripture.³ As individuals we bear witness to the world about the truth of the gospel. The world does not judge us on our intentions or inclination. We are judged by our behavior. Good behavior brings glory to God⁴, and bad behavior brings a reproach.

The corporate light of the Church is like a city on a hill.

The light of every city is simply a concentration of individual lights. If you get enough of the individual lights together they can be seen from hundreds of miles away. While it is possible to extinguish an individual light, it is not possible to extinguish the corporate light of the church.⁵

The relationship of light to those who dwell in darkness.

In the darkness of this world there are two types of people; those who enjoy the darkness, and those who live in it in desperation. There will always be those who are drawn to the light. Even in the natural setting, bugs, snakes and frogs are all drawn to an open flame. The same is true in the spiritual. Desperate people will be drawn to the gospel.⁶ Not everyone who lives in the darkness, however, is desperate to get out.⁷ For this reason, those who bear the light of the gospel are often unwelcome in this world. The gospel exposes the evils of sin and is therefore unwelcome in many place.

Through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, Paul expands on the concept of light verses darkness in Ephesians 5. Let's take a look.

General Admonition: Walk in Love

1 Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. 2 And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.

3 But sexual immorality and all impurity or covetousness must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints. 4 Let there be no filthiness nor foolish talk nor crude joking, which are out of place, but instead let there be thanksgiving. 5 For you may be sure of this, that everyone who is sexually immoral or impure, or who is covetous (that is, an idolater), has no inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. 6 Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. 7 Therefore do not become partners with them; 8 for at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light 9 (for the fruit of light is found in all that is good and right and true), 10 and try to discern what is pleasing to the Lord. 11 Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them.12 For it is shameful even to speak of the things that they do in secret. 13 But when anything is exposed by the light, it becomes visible, 14 for anything that becomes visible is light. Therefore it says,

“Awake, O sleeper,

and arise from the dead,

and Christ will shine on you.”

15 Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, 16 making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. 17 Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. 18 And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit, 19 addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart, 20 giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, 21 submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ.

Familial Admonition: Wives and Husbands

22 Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. 23 For the husband is the head of the wife even as Christ is the head of the church, his body, and is himself its Savior. 24 Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit in everything to their husbands.

25 Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her,26 that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word,27 so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish. 28 In the same way husbands should love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. 29 For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ does the church, 30 because we are members of his body. 31 “Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.” 32 This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church.33 However, let each one of you love his wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband.

Conclusion

There is no good reason to attempt to hide our relationship with Jesus Christ. If we love him we will be a light for him in this world. We cannot be, nor should we attempt to be secret Christians.⁸

To continue to the next lesson, click HERE.

Footnotes:

1 Genesis 1:3, John 1:1-5

2 For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all, which is the testimony given at the proper time. [1Ti 2:5-6 ESV] Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. [Jhn 14:6 ESV]

3 Prov. 4:18, John 12:36, Ephesians 5:8-14, Mark 4:21, Luke 8:16; 11:33, Exodus 25:37, Numbers 8:2.

4 Matthew 5:16

5... on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. [Mat 16:18 ESV]

6 And as Jesus reclined at table in the house, behold, many tax collectors and sinners came and were reclining with Jesus and his disciples. [Mat 9:10 ESV]

7 And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. [Jhn 3:19 ESV]

8 For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him will the Son of Man also be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels." [Mar 8:38 ESV]