Glory of God SERIES
May 18, 2008
The Glory of God in His Power
I am told that 60% of Americans are afraid of death. Also that 80% of Americans are afraid of public speaking. That means that 20% of Americans would rather be the guy the box, than the guy giving the eulogy. Fear is an emotional response to a real or perceived danger in your life. Everyone has something they are afraid of. I want to know what you are afraid of. So, if someone would just shout out something they are afraid of. (Give a few people time to say something). We all have things we are afraid of. Some fear is rational, it might even be considered reasonable. Other fears not so much. The question is: what kind of fear do you have? Is your fear reasonable, or is it stupid? Fear comes from the knowledge or belief that the object of your fear has a certain power over you. You are afraid of something because you know that it has the ability to hurt or harm you in some way, or you believe that it has the ability to hurt or harm you in some way. In the end fear is a response to power. When you are afraid it is because something has power over you.
When I was little I was scared of monsters. I had an over active imagination and I just knew that there were monsters in the closet. The mean, nasty, freaky kind of monsters you know, the ones that are afraid of adults, and light and don’t come around if either of those things are present. Those scary monsters that are only capable of stealing away small children. After a while I am sure my dad got tired me of me calling him into the room to check the closet. So he gave me this patch with a tractor on it. He told me that as long as I had the patch monsters would leave me alone because monsters are afraid of tractors because tractors are bigger than they are. That made perfect sense to me so I kept the patch and whenever I had it, I was not afraid. That is an example of an irrational fear.
If you have your Bibles if you would open them up to Matthew Chapter 10. I need someone. Don’t be afraid. What I need is someone who will volunteer to read this text. First let me ask, how many of you have your Bibles? Ok, now be honest, how many of you have your Bibles and can read but do not want to volunteer because you do not want to read in public? Ok that is interesting. Do I have someone that will volunteer to come up here and read a part of Matthew 10 for me? Ok. If you would just come up here and have a seat in the first row before we get to the text we need to set the stage.
This week we are looking at the Glory of God in His power. The power of God is an awesome thing. It is an amazing thing. God is all powerful. He can do anything. He created with world by speaking. Everything that we know, everything we see, and beyond came out of the mouth of God. Can you imagine what He could do if He lifted His finger? God is a powerful God, His power is part of what makes Him God. Proverbs 1:7 tells us that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge. God is powerful He is mighty and that is something to be feared. We should be afraid of God because of the power that He has. God’s power is a dynamic visual of His greatness. God is all powerful. That is what makes Him great. He has the power to do anything. His glory is seen in His power. If He had no power He by definition could not be God. Yet we see the glory of God in His power. So if you would come up here and read for me Matthew 10 start in verse 26 and go through verse 28.
Mt 10:26 “So do not be afraid of them. There is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed, or hidden that will not be made known. Mt 10:27 What I tell you in the dark, speak in the daylight; what is whispered in your ear, proclaim from the roofs. Mt 10:28 Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell.
Do not be afraid of them. Jesus is talking with His disciples. As a part of their training Jesus is preparing to send out His disciples to preach the kingdom of God. He has given them authority to drive out evil spirits and to heal sickness as they preach. Before they go He gives them some final instructions. He tells them not to be afraid to preach the kingdom of God. When you think about it this is a very important thing to say. They are going out to preach a message that a lot of people are not going to like. What is more the disciples know that the religious leaders are not big fans of Jesus. Keep in mind that they have seen the carefully laid traps of the Pharisees and Sadducees. They have watched Jesus avoid the traps, but it is one thing to watch someone else get out of a sticky situation. To get out of it yourself is something else entirely. While He may have proven too much for them to handle in the past they may seize the opportunity to strike at Jesus through His disciples. Jesus is entrusting them with a lot. There would certainly be considerable cause for concern. He has just told them He is sending them out like sheep among the wolves. That combination never bodes well for the sheep. You can just imagine that these guys are nervous. They are worried. Jesus is sending them out. He is not going with them. He is giving them authority but they do not yet realize what that means. If you can remember the first time you left your parents house to live on your own, there was probably a little bit of excitement, mixed with a little bit of fear, anxiety, and concern. Certainly the disciples are feeling that to some degree. So Jesus tells them not be afraid.
Do not be afraid of the one who can kill the body but is powerless to kill the soul. Be afraid of the one who can destroy both body and soul. Be afraid. In Mark chapter 5 we see two stories that I want to talk about. We see the story of the Gerasenes demoniac. This is a man who had been possessed by man demons. The villagers had chained him up but the chains didn’t hold. Jesus heals this man. He casts the demons out. The text does not say that the villagers were not afraid of this man when he was possessed, I am sure they were. The text says when they saw him in his right mind, freed from his demons, literally they were afraid. But not of him, these villagers are not afraid of the demoniac here. They are afraid of Jesus. When they saw the power that Jesus had, they were afraid.
Then immediately following we see this woman. She has been subject to a very unpleasant illness. She has been bleeding for 12 years. I am not trying to be gross but this is like she cut her finger and her blood is clotting. She is having some very embarrassing problems…how can I say this nicely…that boys don’t have and she has been having them for 12 years. Now that would be pretty awful today. But in the first century its far worse. This woman could not go to church, or as they call it synagogue. She was not allowed to shop in the market. She could not be with her husband. She was unclean. Doctors cant help. Prayer hasn’t fixed her. But when she hears Jesus is coming through town she makes her way to him. She sneaks, pushes, and shoves her way through the crowd to get to where Jesus is and she reaches out and she touches him. When she does she is healed. Instantly and she knows it. Suddenly she is afraid. Now Jesus feels power leave Him. He stops and asks who touched me? Which is really a ridiculous question He is walking in crowd much like what you might picture at a rock concert with hardly enough space to stand and He is asking, who touched me? Now Jesus doesn’t need divine knowledge. He just has to look around and find the person who is doing this. This woman experienced the power of Jesus and was afraid. It was not her bleeding that scared her. It was Jesus. She was afraid of Jesus. In fact a lot of people were afraid of Jesus. That should tell us something. Many people who met Him who had encounters with Him were afraid.
So what is your greatest fear? Maybe its clowns, heights, spiders, maybe your greatest fear is closed in spaces, or storms and severe weather. For a Jewish person fear is well captured in the stories of Mark 5 demons, blood, disease and if you look further into the text: death. So what is your greatest fear? Is it being single? Having your spouse leave you? Is it being rejected by your peers? Is it disease? Death? Is your greatest fear poverty? What is your greatest fear?
Now Jesus tells His disciples not to be afraid of the one who can kill the body. Basically do not be afraid to preach the gospel even in face of persecution. Be afraid of the one who can kill the soul. Now I had been taught and always believed that this was the devil. Jesus is telling His disciples not to fear man but to fear that crafty lion that is waiting to devour you. Don’t fear man but fear the devil because he has the power to destroy you. But that is not true. Jesus isn’t telling His disciples to fear the devil in fact He has just finished giving them authority over the devil’s minions. We should not fear the devil. He can do nothing without the permission of God. If you look at Revelation chapter 9 there are these creatures are coming out of the abyss, out of hell. They are going to torture the world but they are not allowed to touch those who have the seal of God. These creatures from hell do nothing without the Lord’s permission. It is not the devil we ought to fear, but God. God is the one who has the authority and the power to kill your soul. God is the one with the authority to send your soul to hell. God has all the power. Jesus is not telling the disciples to fear the devil, He is telling to fear God. Why?
Jesus has done so much to make Himself personal. He has made friends, built relationships. Jesus has done so much to overcome this terrible authority aspect of God and prove His relational characteristics. So why does He toss all that aside in telling His disciples to fear God? Why would He say something so impersonal? God is suppose to be loving, you do not fear someone who loves you. Are you sure? Let me tell you a story. When I was little I used to misbehave. On many occasions I would disobey my mother and drive her nuts. She would tell me not to run around in the house…I wouldn’t listen. One day she got fed up with me and told me to go to my room and wait until my father came home. I sat in my room waiting. Terrified. My father loves me. He always has. I know that now, I knew that then but that doesn’t mean I am not afraid of him. As a child my dad was powerful, and I was afraid of him.
When we experience the power of God or come into His presence we will be afraid. The reason that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom is that you cannot know God and not be afraid of Him. If you believe in God but are not afraid of God...well you are too stupid to know anything else. Seriously, anyone is not afraid of an all powerful being…is a first class idiot. God can not only end your life but also send you to eternal torment. God should be feared because He is all powerful, because He can send our souls to hell. And if you think you are not afraid of Jesus…it is because you don’t really know Him. When you know Jesus, then you know first hand that there is nothing in this world scarier than He is.
Now In the church we tend to focus on the grace aspect of God. That is great. Really if God wasn’t merciful and gracious we would all be in a whole lot of trouble. We should not be afraid of hell because God loves us. He knows us. He cares for us. At the same time God is not your buddy, though He is personal, and allows us to speak with Him in a less formal manner, God is still the king. He is still God and we need to respect Him as such. When you encounter the presence of God you will have only two reactions: the first is awe, the second is fear.
Do you see what these means? As Christians we have no place being afraid of ANYTHING! Our fear is reserved for God and God alone. Our fears of the things in this life keep us from serving the kingdom of God. When you are afraid of what others think of you that effects your actions. When you are afraid of how someone will respond to what you say it affects what you tell them. Sometimes we deny Christ with our words and with our lives because we are afraid of what someone else will say or do to us if we don’t. But if you deny Christ on earth for whatever reason, Christ will deny you in heaven. If you are afraid of death and someone tells you they will kill you if you are a Christian your fear might motivate you to make an improper choice. When you fear God, nothing that anyone will say or do to you will change what you say to them because you do not fear them. Even if it means torture, even if it means death you will never deny Christ because you recognize the power that He has. If death is your greatest fear than you will only serve Christ insomuch as it doesn’t lead to your death. If God is your greatest fear, then nothing will stop you from shooting His message from the rooftops. Sometimes fear is the motivator we need to do the things that we know that we should do.
I want to say one more thing to you in closing. The Glory of God is seen in His power. God’s power shows us something. God has all this power, and He doesn’t use it. With all these people in the world who sin, and reject Him, and even laugh at the name of His Son…God could just wipe them all out. God could strike down every person who is antagonistic towards His son…but He doesn’t. God has infinite power, and seeming more infinite self control. Understanding the power of God shows us the true power of the love of God.
If you get nothing else out of this week, get this: when you fear God-there isn’t room for fear of anything else. No matter what you are dealing with or what persecution faces you for the sake of the Gospel we should not fear men who hate us, we should fear God who loves us.
So what are you afraid of? Are you too afraid of what others think to stand up for Christ? Are you too afraid of learning another culture to devote your life to missions or ministry? Is your fear keeping you from following God’s direction for your life?
If you fear God you will realize there is no other valid fear. Nothing else is rational or reasonable. So what are you afraid of? Tornadoes, Jesus can stop those with a word. Demons? Demons cower at the feet of Christ. Disease? Jesus can cure it. Death? Jesus overcame it. What fear do you have? What fear exists in your life? Once you truly encounter the all mighty God you will be afraid. When you fear God you realize there is nothing else to be afraid of. The fear of the Lord brings us to His feet. When we recognize His power we make Him Lord of our lives and we serve Him.
Will your fear keep you from following Christ, or will it lead you to His feet?
