INTRO
Let me throw a question at you and get some responses from you as I get started. What are you afraid of?
I’m amazed at some of the things people are really afraid of.
There’s things that are more common like…
• Claustrophobia: fear of enclosed spaces.
• Coulrophobia: fear of clowns.
• Ophidiophobia: fear of snakes.
• Dentophobia: fear of dentists.
But there are also hundreds of lesser known phobias that actually affect some people:
• Peladophobia: fear of baldness and bald people.
• Chaetophobia: fear of hairy people.
• Globophobia: fear of balloons.
• Aerophobia: fear of drafts.
• Porphyrophobia: fear of the color purple.
• Levophobia: fear of objects on the left side of the body.
• Dextrophobia: fear of objects on the right side of the body.
• Phobophobia: fear of being afraid.
Today’s message is actually going to center on the subject of
• Atychiphobia: fear of failure.
Fear of failure is something that probably afflicts all of us at one time or another. We may have a dream to do something great – but we never act on that dream because we’re afraid of failing. We may have a great idea, but it never gets developed because we’re afraid to tell anyone about it.
Jesus told a story about the Kingdom of God in which he deals with this fear of failure and really gives us all a stark reminder of how God wants his servants to live (and NOT to live).
It’s found in the 25th chapter of Matthew, starting with verse 14. I’m going to paraphrase the story for you.
Let me tell you about the Kingdom of God. It’s like a business owner who was going to leave on an extended trip. So he called his employees together and gave them certain responsibilities to cover while he was away. Included in these responsibilities was the turning over of some capital for them to grow his business. He gave different amounts to different employees.
To one employee he gave $10,000, to another he gave $5000, and to another he gave $1000. Then he left on his trip.
Right away, the first employee took a chance and invested his $10,000 in the stock of an up and coming company. The second employee also immediately found a way to put her $5000 to work through a turnkey business she could purchase. The third employee took his $1000 and hid it under his mattress.
After a long time, the business owner came back, and was excited to learn what had happened with his business while he was away. The first employee came to him telling him about the startup business he had invested in , and how it had grown like crazy. He then presented the business owner with a report showing how the $10,000 had now become $20,000. The owner said, “Wow! Great job – I think I’ll make you a partner in this business!”
The second employee came up and told him about the turnkey business he had purchased with his $5000 and how it had created a great way to make more money for her boss. She showed how that original $5000 investment had no turned into $5000 of additional profit. Again the owner said, “Wow! Great job – I think I’ll make you a partner in this business!”
The business owner was eager to hear about the third employee’s work, but he noticed right away something was wrong. The man would hardly lift his eyes and started mumbling, “Well sir, you know how you’re so wise with your money. And I know you’re a hard businessman to please….and that you can be unpredictable at times….so I was afraid I might disappoint you and actually I kept your $1000 safe and sound under my mattress. Here it is – nice and flat, too.”
At this the business owner became furious. “What – you didn’t do ANYTHING with what I gave you? That’s a terrible way to live! If you really thought I was so hard to please, the least you could have done was put my money in the bank and get a little interest – but as it was you’ve lost the opportunity to work for me any more.” Then, to his assistant, “Take this guy’s $1000 and give it to the one who risked the most. Now, get rid of this “play it safe” employee who won’t go out on a limb. There’s no room for him here.”
What’s Jesus point? How does this unpredictable, tragic story teach us about the ways of the Kingdom?
Well, let’s take a look at the differences between the first two servants and the third one. What set them apart? (get some responses)
• First two willing to take risks. Third one paralyzed by fear of failure.
• First two focused on the generosity and joy of working hard for their boss. Third one focused on the perceived “hardness” of his boss.
• First two were industrious and creative in putting the boss’ assets to work. The third was lazy.
So what do we learn about how God wants his servants to live their lives?
God does not want his servants to be paralyzed by fear of making mistakes, but to use everything they have been given for His Kingdom.
We learn here that God would much rather have servants who are willing to take a risk, try something in His name, than who are so afraid of making a mistake that they never accomplish anything.
Witnessing –
You can choose to clam up, because you’re not sure you’ll be able to answer everything perfectly, OR you can speak freely about what Jesus has done for you.
Serving –
You can either be afraid you’ll mess something up or you can get out there and TRY something that is presented as an opportunity.
Living –
You can play it safe and live with the status quo or you can take a risk and try to accomplish something great.
APPLICATION:
We know that every one of us who has devoted our lives to Christ have been given some incredible assets that our Master instructs us to invest while we wait for His return.
You’ve been given a certain S.H.A.P.E. that is in accordance with who you are.
S – Spiritual gifts. (What the Holy Spirit enables you to do and bear fruit for the Kingdom.)
H – Heart. (What you are passionate about, what you dream about.)
A – Abilities. (What you are good at.)
P – Personality. (Your “default” mode of interacting with others.)
E - Experience. (All the positive and negative experiences of your life.)
If the parable can be taken so far, each one us is given a different amount of “money” in each of these categories. But all of us are given some. Our job is to use this “cash” to try and build the Kingdom. The worst thing we could do with our life is to let a fear of failure keep us from stepping out in faith.
I’ve wondered this week what would happen if there was a 4th servant in the story Jesus told. This one was given $5000 and invested in a failed venture and had nothing to show for it. How would the boss treat such an employee?
I think he might have actually taken the $1000 from the fearful employee and given it to the one who had tried but failed. I think, if the boss in this story truly represents God, that he would encourage that employee for at least trying something instead of just fearfully holding on to what he had been given.
This is an important point for each of us to consider when we have tried to do something for God and failed. Maybe you tried to witness to someone but you fumbled on your words. Maybe you tried a new job once that you thought would really “fit” you and enable you to do ministry more effectively, but it didn’t pan out. Maybe you took a chance on pursuing a dream you felt God gave you, but for some reason the dream never became a reality.
Let me encourage you – don’t give up. Don’t let the negative experiences of the past paralyze you with fear of taking steps of faith in the future. In the Kingdom, God wants you to keep trying, to keep serving, to keep taking risks in order to see his ways take hold in the lives of people on this planet.
Personal application:
The work of finding a pastor for Coupeville. I’ve been commissioned to do it. But there is a level of fear. We’ve had some pretty painful happenings there. The stakes are high. One response is to simply do nothing. But that won’t do. What is needed is the courage to step out in faith and believe that God will bring wisdom to our team. God has great plans for Coupeville CTK and the people there. But they won’t happen if I “bury my responsibility”. I’ve got to keep working and keep demonstrating faith in God that he will reward those steps of faith and HE will lead us.
CONLCUSION:
So let me ask you a question. What are you doing with the capital God has given you?
There will always be fears. There will always be detractors. And yes, there will always be some failures. But the Kingdom is to be filled with people who are willing invest their lives in things that matter – who will take what God has given them and use it to build his Kingdom of Love until He returns.
The Impala is an amazing animal. It can jump to a height of over 10 feet and cover a distance of greater than 30 feet. Yet these amazing creatures can be kept in an enclosure in any zoo with a 3-foot wall. Why? The animals will not jump if they can’t see where their feet will land.
I don’t want to live my life like an impala. And I hope you don’t want to either.
This week I challenge you to take a risk for the Kingdom. Get out of your comfort zone. Say no to your fears. And say YES to Kingdom living.
Matthew 25:14-30 (The Message)
14-18"It’s also like a man going off on an extended trip. He called his servants together and delegated responsibilities. To one he gave five thousand dollars, to another two thousand, to a third one thousand, depending on their abilities. Then he left. Right off, the first servant went to work and doubled his master’s investment. The second did the same. But the man with the single thousand dug a hole and carefully buried his master’s money.
19-21"After a long absence, the master of those three servants came back and settled up with them. The one given five thousand dollars showed him how he had doubled his investment. His master commended him: ’Good work! You did your job well. From now on be my partner.’
22-23"The servant with the two thousand showed how he also had doubled his master’s investment. His master commended him: ’Good work! You did your job well. From now on be my partner.’
24-25"The servant given one thousand said, ’Master, I know you have high standards and hate careless ways, that you demand the best and make no allowances for error. I was afraid I might disappoint you, so I found a good hiding place and secured your money. Here it is, safe and sound down to the last cent.’
26-27"The master was furious. ’That’s a terrible way to live! It’s criminal to live cautiously like that! If you knew I was after the best, why did you do less than the least? The least you could have done would have been to invest the sum with the bankers, where at least I would have gotten a little interest.
28-30"’Take the thousand and give it to the one who risked the most. And get rid of this "play-it-safe" who won’t go out on a limb. Throw him out into utter darkness.’
