Conquer What You Fear
Matthew 28:1-10
You understand the relationship of cause & effect. If that happened, then this results.
When you enter a dark room and flip a light switch you expect the room to brighten. If you flip that switch and the windows open, you’re pretty surprised because the two aren’t related.
When you get in your car and turn the key, you assume the engine will come to life. If instead, the tires fall off, that’s an odd coincidence. I had a car like that.
You can have a cause & effect response to your environment. Picture yourself on beautiful tropical beach, feeling the warm breeze, hearing the gentle surf and distant gulls. How do you feel? Does that feeling change if I tell you there’s lightning striking nearby, the wind is carrying away your beach umbrella and the driving rain stings your skin?
You may feel happy on a sunny, mild day. But feel blue if it’s dark and rainy. If you find yourself in total darkness, you may be fearful, like…
Susie was helping her grandma prepare dinner. Grandma asked her to go to the pantry and bring a can of tomatoes. It was a big walk-in pantry and the light bulb was burned out. Susie stood at the door, looking in but afraid to enter. When her grandma asked again for the tomatoes, she said, “But the light doesn’t work and it’s so dark in there.” Grandma said, “Don’t worry dear, Jesus is in there, now go on and get my tomatoes.” Susie wanted to but just couldn’t find courage to go in. So she leaned in and whispered, “Jesus, if you’re in there, please hand me a jar of tomatoes.”
Look at these verses in Paul’s great chapter about resurrection, 1 Corinthians 15:
Let me remind you, dear brothers and sisters, of the Good News I preached to you before. You welcomed it then and still do now, for your faith is built on this wonderful message. 2 And it is this Good News that saves you if you firmly believe it… [see the cause and effect? Believe the gospel, receive salvation.]
3 I passed on to you what was most important… that Christ died for our sins, just as the Scriptures said. 4 He was buried, and he was raised from the dead on the third day, as the Scriptures said. (1 Cor. 15:1-4, NLT)
Notice the centrality of Jesus’ death & resurrection to the gospel & our faith. They are symbolized by the cross & empty tomb. Here again, is cause and effect. The cross; effective for atonement, forgiveness. The empty tomb; effective for promise, hope, life.
Here’s what I want you to take home today:
Because Jesus lives you can have courage to conquer your fears.
We live with all kinds of fears:
- Will I have enough money to pay all the bills this month?
- Will I have enough to retire?
- Will I outlive my money?
- What will the doctor find in this test?
- Will I be okay after surgery?
- Will I be accepted into the college and program I want most?
- Can our relationship survive this crisis?
- How secure is my job?
Name your fear. Maybe you most fear being
…humiliated in front of others
... insignificant
… alone
… a failure
… rejected by someone important
… rejected by God himself.
Perhaps you live in fear of losing something or someone; of suffering pain; of dying.
What is it that you fear? Can you name it?
It’s likely that you have more than just one?
The phrase “don’t be afraid” is found in some form more than 350 times in the Bible. And it often appears with these words of encouragement, “for I am with you.”
Jesus’ disciples, who gave us Scriptures with so much encouragement to stand strong, to live with courage, to count on Christ, to live optimistically… these people knew our fears first-hand.
Let’s read Matthew 28:1-10
After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb. 2 There was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and, going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it. 3 His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow. 4 The guards were so afraid of him that they shook and became like dead men. 5 The angel said to the women, "Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. 6 He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. 7 Then go quickly and tell his disciples: ’He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him…’" 8 So the women hurried away from the tomb, afraid yet filled with joy, and ran to tell his disciples. 9 Suddenly Jesus met them. "Greetings," he said. They came to him, clasped his feet and worshiped him. 10 Then Jesus said to them, "Do not be afraid. Go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me."
Over that weekend, the lives of Jesus’ closest companions had changed radically.
Much earlier, they had given up everything to get in on the ground floor of this amazing opportunity. The enterprise may seem to have had a slow start. But it was moving well. And especially in recent weeks, with the raising of Lazarus, things were really taking off. Then there came that climactic start to this week with the great parade into Jerusalem. They had obviously hitched themselves to the right rising star.
Suddenly, it all collapsed around them. Jesus is dead. Now it’s all wrong. Besides genuine grief, they’re facing many fears:
- They’ll be humiliated before their friends and families. They’ve been fooled and wasted their time.
- They have a crisis of faith. If this man wasn’t Messiah, could there really be one? Are God’s promises just a myth? What do we do with everything Jesus taught us? Are we still supposed to believe it… to do it?
- They must fear for their sustainability: How can we face life without Him here to guide us?
- And there is the obvious fear for their safety: Jesus enemies are out to really clean house. Our lives are in danger.
That weekend, they endured a crisis of incredible fear.
But it’s valuable to note the change in mood of disciples after Jesus’ death & resurrection. First they were nowhere to be found, hiding out for fear. Suddenly, they were everywhere, boldly telling any who’d listen about Jesus, even willing to be arrested for it.
What happened? The short answer is Jesus happened.
There’s a story in Acts 4 where the Jewish leaders were angry to find Peter and John preaching of Jesus as Messiah. The seized them and questioned them. Then this interesting note appears, “When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus.” (Acts 4:13, NIV)
What these leaders didn’t understand is that these were not only men who had been with Jesus, but Jesus was with them. Earlier (in vs. 8) it says that Peter was filled with the Holy Spirit when spoke.
The leaders released them with a strong warning to stop their preaching. Peter and John went to the others to tell what happened. And it says, “After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly.” (Acts 4:31, NIV)
The courage to go forward despite fear came from the presence of Christ in them, in the person of His Holy Spirit – the same Spirit that dwells in each one of you who have received Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.
Jesus’ disciples are like David coming against Goliath. We are not alone. We are like Joshua facing the powerful armies inhabiting the promised land. We hear the Lord, “Be strong and courageous for I am with you.”
When my children were young, they enjoyed watching “The Lion King.” (I’m sure I enjoyed it as much as they did). I seem to recall a scene in which the evil hyenas were challenging or threatening Simba, the young lion. He stood his ground and they laughed at his pathetic attempt to roar. But when he roared a second time, they trembled and turned tail to run – not for fear of Simba himself, but his father, Mufasa who stood behind him.
Picture it another way:
Bobby is a small 4th grader who somehow caught the unwanted attention of a bully in the 6th grade. One day, the bully said, “After school I’m gonna beat you to a pulp.” With no apparent fear, Bobby simply said, “Ok,” and went on his way. What the bully didn’t know is that Bobby’s 11th grade brother picks him up every day after school. Bobby wasn’t scared because he knew who’d be with him when the big bully came to find him.
I’m not asking you to approve of big brothers beating on bullies. I’m simply making the point…
When the great spiritual bully – the devil – threatens us and hunts us down, we have courage – like Bobby – because we know who’s with us: God, who promised never to leave us or forsake us.
The disciples thought He had done just that on Friday, Saturday & Sunday morning. But resurrection day brought an incredible surprise and wonderful relief.
Their fears rooted in some inaccurate beliefs:
Jesus is gone.
We were wrong about Him.
We have no hope.
We have no one to help us.
But that is all wrong:
Jesus is not gone.
They were absolutely right about Him, right to trust in Him.
Their hope is not only intact, it is now more real than ever.
They now have the help and support of the One who holds ultimate power, not only to give sight to the blind, to heal the lame, to raise dead, but who Himself overcame death.
Now, because He is alive, what do they fear that can really harm them?
Because He is alive, what do you fear that can really do any harm?
Jesus’ friends found that even if the worst happens – if they suffer pain & die – which they will, they are victors. What should they fear?
What should you fear?
You have God’s grace to forgive your sins.
You have the assurance of God’s acceptance and love and you belong in His family forever.
Your failures are not forever.
You have power to endure whatever challenge comes.
You have wisdom to get you through any uncertainty.
You have the assurance of life to overcome death.
God has promised all these to each of us who believe in Jesus Christ.
What it boils down to is this: can you trust Him?
…do you believe Him?
I want you to hear the encouragement to God’s people from Isaiah 41:
I have chosen you and have not rejected you. 10 So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. 11 "All who rage against you will surely be ashamed and disgraced… 13 For I am the LORD, your God, who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, Do not fear; I will help you... 14 declares the LORD, your Redeemer… 16 And the joy of the LORD will fill you to overflowing. (Isa. 41:9-16, NIV and NLT)
Cause: the resurrected and living Christ
Effect: no fear – you need never be overcome with fear.
Finish with an invitation to receive Christ.
