Be Not Afraid Of Their Faces

I want you to see something before I close. Our giving our lives to Christ was to be no different than Jesus giving His life to Father God. Whenever Jesus was questioned by the Jews pertaining to the things He was doing and the knowledge He had, He ALWAYS pointed them to the fact that He was only doing what His Father had told Him to do. For example, in John 5:19 the Jews wanted to kill Jesus for healing on the Sabbath but Jesus told them, “….Most assuredly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, but what He sees the Father do; for whatever He does, the Son also does in like manner.” And then in verse 30 He said, “I can of Myself do nothing. As I hear, I judge; and My judgment is righteous, because I do not seek My own will but the will of the Father who sent Me.” (John 5:30) Then when the Jews questioned Jesus’ knowledge in the seventh chapter of John, Jesus told them, He said, “….My doctrine is not Mine, but His who sent Me.” (John 7:16) Here is my point: when you see how Jesus was always being accused of something by the Jewish leaders, He always responded with truth. He never allowed their position in life to diminish that truth. Jesus NEVER looked at the faces of those attacking Him and changed what He was saying to them. No, in every situation He made it clear that there was nothing they could say or do to Him that would make Him change anything pertaining to Him fulfilling what His Father had ordained for Him to do! New Light, this is where we should be today.

If you recall after Jesus was crucified His disciples went into hiding because they were afraid. But after Jesus was resurrected and they were empowered by the Holy Spirit, they began to speak the truth. They were no longer afraid of the Jewish leaders. They no longer denied their relationship with Christ or the fact that Jesus was the Son of God. They were threatened, beaten and cast into jail, but their testimony remained the same. These “timid” men no longer feared any face! Acts 4:20 records Peter and John telling the council after they were arrested for preaching Jesus’ death and resurrection, “For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard.” (Acts 4:20) And then when the Apostles were arrested for preaching Jesus in Acts chapter five, they confessed “……We ought to obey God rather than men.” (Acts 5:29) Jesus’ disciples transitioned from men who were timid and full of fear to men who were no longer afraid! They lived the statement “Be not afraid of their faces.”

New Light, we must start speaking the truth. All of us know someone who is living a life contrary to what the Bible says. I am not talking about the strangers we might see on the street or the co-workers we barely talk to. I am talking about people we know and love. I am talking about people who might have been baptized but nothing else has changed in their life. I am talking about people who think it is okay to lie, steal, fornicate, cheat and do all of the other things the world approves of as long as no one gets hurt by their choices. New Light, when we accepted Jesus’ gift of salvation, our choice gave Him the right to make all future choices for us. It gave Him the right to declare that His will is now our will. Some in the Church still believe that they can still choose how they will serve Him. They are holding on to a life that is no longer theirs and, because of that, Jesus is not increasing in their lives. We must stop being afraid of their faces and tell them the truth. New Light, be not afraid of their faces! Be not afraid of their faces on your job. Be not afraid of their faces in your church. Be not afraid of their faces at the dinner table. Be not afraid of their faces at the football game; the gym; or everywhere you hang with those closest to you. As you begin to walk in everything God has for you, turn off the filter and be not afraid of their faces!!!