TEXT: Matthew 1:18-25
TITLE: Growing Pain #3 - Growing through Fear
TOPIC: Spiritual Growth
SERIES: The Growing Church
OCCASION: Burnside Christian Church, April 20, 2008
PROP.: Fear can have a tight grip. Will we allow the grip of fear to keep us from growing in our trust of God?
INTRODUCTION: Good morning & welcome! Today we are continuing to become the GROWING CHURCH! That is what we are really about here at Burnside. This is our top priority! We trust that if we are faithful in training up Godly men and women, that God will faithfully entrust us with more! We want you to know is that YOUR SPIRITUAL MATURITY is something that we take serious here at Burnside!
We want you to mature and become a grown up Christian!
In regards to SPIRITUAL growth, everyone here falls into one of two categories:
1. I am Growing!
Hallelujah! Praise Jesus! God is good!
ORRRRRRR
2. I am NOT growing!
And maybe you aren’t growing because of these two things:
I am not growing because I don’t want to.
We all know we are supposed to continue growing spiritually! But how many of us are? I think sometimes we expect to stop growing spiritually. I’ve reached my limit. I can grow no more. I’m an adult Christian. Is THAT the message that Paul had? “I’ve all ready obtained perfection so I’m gonna stop pressing on toward the goal.” Philippians 3:14 NO! He continued to grow.
Or maybe this is you:
I want to grow, but I am not sure if I am.
How do you measure spiritual growth? There is no scale. There is no tape measure. Well I think it’s kind of like losing weight. You might be the last to notice if you lost weight because as you look at yourself in the mirror, you see that you have sooooo much more weight to lose. You focus on all there is left to do instead of seeing the improvement! I think the first people to notice if we grow spiritually are those we see day in and day out. Our growth can be understood by the way we respond. By our daily attitude. By the words you use. By the choices you make. By the activities you involve yourself in.
We are specifically looking at stretching through tough times that will allow us to grow! Even through the tough times in our life, growth can still take place! So far, we’ve realized that we can grow through our failures…we can grow while we wait on God to enter triumphantly in our lives…and today, I want to challenge you to:
GROW THROUGH FEAR
Whether your fear is a rational or irrational fear or phobia, I want to tell you that each fear you face, is an opportunity to mature spiritually…to grow up a little bit!
Our text is Matthew 1:18-25 so please be turning there.
In this familiar story, our main character is dealing with fear. This fear is so controlling that it could very well possibly stop him from doing what God has called him to do! And because he is faithful to God, he is going to obey even when it gets hard…
Let’s read our text:
Matthew 1:18-25
18This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit. 19Because Joseph her husband was a righteous man and did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly.
Why was Joseph going to divorce Mary? Because he was afraid!
T.S.: Contained in this passage of scripture, are the principles of HOW TO GROW THROUGH A FEAR!
The question is not are you afraid? The question is are you GROWING through the fear?
The first principle is:
I. Address the FEAR!
See, Joseph was scared. What was he afraid of? The baby inside her! He had it in his mind to divorce Mary! He didn’t know how it got there and rather than facing all the questions and doubts, he was going to take the coward’s way out. And it was during a dream that his fear was addressed!
A. Joseph’s fears And I have a feeling that whatever fear you are facing the route can be derived from one of these three sources:
Perhaps…
1. Afraid of the unknown
--Joseph’s fear: What will the future hold?
Raising a kid? What a responsibility!
--Would he be able to love this child that wasn’t his?
--Would he have the wisdom to raise this child?
--Your fear: Afraid of what this life has in store for you!
Money…service…
2. Afraid of embarrassment (or failure)
--Joseph’s fear: Afraid of what his friends and family would say. How would he explain to people that Mary was pregnant?
--Your fear: Afraid of failing or looking bad so it will keep you from experiencing new things!!
3. Afraid of pain
--Joseph’s fear: Being HURT by Mary. Did she give her love to someone else? What would keep her from doing it again?
--Your fear of pain: if you have a life threatening disease, you might be scared of the pain you will experience.
B. Your fears
What are YOU afraid of?
--Lead? You are afraid of the unknown…of failure!
--Serve? You are afraid of the pain that service often times require! (having to give up something else in your schedule!)
--Teach? You are afraid of the unknown? WHAT IF THEY ASK A QUESTION I CAN’T ANSWER????
--Follow?
I would dare suggest that the reason you are afraid of these things is because of the roots of: 1. Fear of the unknown 2. Fear of failing. 3. Fear of pain you’ll experience
Take a risk! Give God an opportunity to prove to you that He is with you!
Well if God is calling you to do something that you are afraid to do, then perhaps you’ll be encouraged by our text.
Let’s continue reading in our text: (vs. 20- 22)
20But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, "Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.
21She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus,[c] because he will save his people from their sins."
22All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: 23"The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel"[d]—which means, "God with us."
II. Listen to God
God wants your attention when you are scared!
When you find yourself in the midst of a fear…in the midst of an Anxiety attack…LISTEN TO GOD! God was telling Joseph: DO NOT BE AFRAID! Why? Because God is in control!
A. How to listen?
And maybe you’re saying, “that’s nice. I don’t have dreams…I don’t hear voices…I don’t see the literal body of Christ beckoning to me!”
--THROUGH OBEDIENCE
No, you have something even better! You have over 2000 years of God’s word to guide you to instruct you! God is speaking to you! Are you listening? Obedience is the strong mark of a mature Christian!
ILLUSTRATION: Garmin leading us astray when we should have listened to dad.
As many of you know, I went last week to a Bulls game. The game was on a Friday night. My parents live in Highland / Hammond Indiana area. There is a train that leaves from Hammond and will take you to downtown Chicago. It’s a 30 minute train ride and only costs $4.75 each way. Very relaxing way to travel to Chicago. So, that was our plan. We stopped by my parent’s house to say hello and chat with them for a bit. The train we needed to catch left at 1:45 pm and so we were doing good on time. So we were getting ready to leave my parent’s house and my dad said, “Do you know how to get to the train station?” I said, yeah..and pulled out Garmin who had the directions in it’s memory. I read the directions off to my dad and this was his exact response: “Well that’s just stupid. It’s taking you wayyyyyy out of your way. Just go down here to Indianapolis and turn right…” at this point my head was nodding but I had stopped listening because I had Garmin. So we hopped in the car and proceeded to our train station. Long story short, the idiot operator punched in the wrong address and so garmin took us to Gary train station. If you know nothing about Gary, it’s anything BUT safe. I didn’t feel comfortable at 2:30 in the afternoon let alone at midnight when our train was due to be back. Lesson: listen to your dad. His words will guide you to where you need to go!
Some have chosen to ignore the word of God. They know what God tells them to do, but instead do what they WANT to do or what they FEEL is best.
B. Others listened!
--Daniel in the Lion’s Den - God’s word: Pray to me!
--Shadrach and the others - God’s word: Worship me!
--Peter on the water - God’s word: Come to me!
Be encouraged by knowing that others listened!!
C. God is with you!
If you are facing a fear…something that God is asking you to do that you feel is bigger than you can accomplish…
Take Heart! God is with you! How ironic. Isaiah says “They shall call him Immanuel, which means: God with us!” God was with Joseph! God was present in his home in the form of a baby, infant, toddler, teenager, etc. etc.
We too have the promise that GOD IS WITH US in the midst of our fear!
Listen to God in the midst of your fear…hey, it could be worse, God could be asking you to walk on water!!!! J
Let’s FINISH our text this morning: (vs. 24,25)
24When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. 25But he had no union with her until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus.
The third principle and most difficult thing to do when facing a fear: is to:
III. Do what’s right! (what needs to be done!) (vs. 24)
Easier said that done, yes? But when you do what is right in the midst of your fear, you will grow!
A. Joseph’s righteousness!
Did you catch what the scripture tells us about Joseph? It was a word that was hidden in verse 19. More than anything, when I’m gone, I would love it to be said of me what was said of Joseph:
He was righteous!
Joseph was a man of integrity! He did what was honorable. He did what was right. God knew he could be trusted! THIS IS THE DESCRIPTION I WANT FOR ME! THIS IS WHAT I WANT GOD TO BE ABLE TO DO WITH ME. Mark will do what’s right! Mark will do what needs to be done!
B. The great opposition!
--the FLESH vs. the SPIRIT!
The trouble with doing what’s right is that we have this horrible, terrible disease called: LIVING BY THE FLESH. When our flesh gets tempted, we want to do what will make our flesh happy! What makes our flesh feel good! You see, doing what is right and living according the to flesh are exact opposites!
Jesus warns of this: “The SPIRIT is willing, but the FLESH is weak!” Matthew 26:41
ILLUSTRATION: Men, if I asked you to preach some Sunday…would you? If you did, it would an opportunity to grow in your walk with Christ!
APPLICATION:
GOD WORKS THROUGH FEAR!
1. If you give into fear:
a. You will miss out!
b. Think of what Joseph would have missed had
his he allowed his fear to rule!
2. It’s ok to be afraid…but don’t let fear control you.
3. REMEMBER: God is bigger than my fear!
(God is bigger than the boogie man!)
EXTRA…DO NOT READ…
(1. UNDERSTAND THAT GOD WORKS THROUGH FEAR:
If you give into fear:
1. You will miss out!
2. You won’t understand where God is working!
3. Think of what Joseph would have missed had his he allowed his fear to rule!
2. It’s ok to be afraid…but don’t let fear control you.
How do I know if I’m being controlled by fear?
If I say NO to something that God wants me to do…Don’t let FEAR paralyze you! (don’t let fear stop you from doing!)
3. REMEMBER: God is bigger than my fear!
God is bigger than the boogie man!)
CONCLUSION: PSALM 46
I want to conclude this message on fear with an encouraging psalm. As I read it…please close your eyes…and listen to God’s word. And I want to encourage your faith to GROW through times of fear: Please listen.
“1 God is our refuge and strength,
an ever-present help in trouble.
2 Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way
and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea,
3 though its waters roar and foam
and the mountains quake with their surging.
Selah
4 There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,
the holy place where the Most High dwells.
5 God is within her, she will not fall;
God will help her at break of day.
6 Nations are in uproar, kingdoms fall;
he lifts his voice, the earth melts.
7 The LORD Almighty is with us;
the God of Jacob is our fortress.
Selah
8 Come and see the works of the LORD,
the desolations he has brought on the earth.
9 He makes wars cease to the ends of the earth;
he breaks the bow and shatters the spear,
he burns the shields [b] with fire.
10 "Be still, and know that I am God;
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth."
11 The LORD Almighty is with us;
the God of Jacob is our fortress.
Selah”
