Jenny and I were listening to public radio in the car recently and the guest being interviewed was Steven King. Does everyone know who he is? I have never read his books but he has written about 49 and has a new one that is just out about the assassination of Kennedy entitled 11/22/63. His forte’ is horror and he has thousands of fans who buy up everything he publishes. Why do so many people enjoy being terrified? It was an interesting interview partly because of one statement that stood out to me. He said of his writing skills, “When God gives you a gift you should do it the best you can.” I thought that was amazing, Steven Kings sees his writing skills as a gift from God. His stories are just imaginary, creating fear with fiction.
The Bible teaches us to point our fear toward a more worthy, real object.
What scares you?
Last week I ended the lesson from Philippians one talking a bit about fears. Paul mentions fear twice in the first chapter; both cases are about overcoming fear. In verse 14 and 28 we see these.
My lesson today is about overcoming opposition. One of the first things we can do to overcome opposition is to refuse to fear it. How? We’ll see what God says about this. I’m convinced that as Christians we need to learn this lesson today and practice it more than ever.
Fear is powerful. It motivates us and controls how we live. Fear can paralyze you or energize you, it can make you run away from God or run to Him. We are designed by God to have this emotion within our makeup and it comes with some unpleasant side effects sometimes. Fear can be like a storm within your heart driving you to take cover and find safety. When misdirected fear can overwhelm good judgment and push you to make choices that damage and destroy the good things in your life. Fear needs to be a tool of the Spirit, rather than of the flesh. Whichever one you feed the most will take over.
As I said last week, nothing silences the Christian witness more than fear… that is, fear of the wrong things!
What are you afraid of?
There’s a little song that my grand-daughter Brisa always wants me to sing called the crayon song.
When I was a little boy no higher than your knee, my mother bought a box of crayons just for me.
I picked them up, I opened them up, I looked way down inside, and the colors there reminded me of Jesus when He died.
O red is the color of the blood that he shed, brown is the crown of thorns that laid upon his head.
O blue is for royalty which in him does dwell, and yellow is the Christian who’s afraid to tell.
The Bible talks about fear and our relationship with God from cover to cover. Jesus said to the disciples, “Don’t be afraid!” When they saw him walking on the water and thought he was a ghost. When they were in the boat about to be swamped by a storm, to Jairus when he got the news his little girl had died, to his disciples after he washed their feet and began to prepare them for his departure. “Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid…” Jesus knew that fear was a dangerous distraction to the work he called his disciples to. In Matthew 10, as Jesus is preparing them for a limited mission, he says some pretty scary things, but then he tells them: do not be afraid of them! Listen to his words in verses 17-31.
Jesus’ final words in the gospel of Matthew are words of comfort and assurance for us as we take the gospel to others: Surely, I will be with you always, to the very end of the age.
What does God want you to fear? Him.
What does God want you not to fear? Just about everything else.
How can you overcome your fears? Philippians gives us two tools to overcome misplaced fear.
1. First is 1:14 Following a good example of a mature Christian under persecution handling it with God’s peace and joy and spreading the gospel under difficult circumstances.
Who do you know that walks fearlessly in their faith and confesses their faith? Follow them! We worry way too much about what others will think of us and how we will look or be treated by friends or coworkers. A few years ago I challenged you to carry your Bible around with you and see how something as simple as that draws attention and opens up conversation about God. Some of you did it. Some of you got irritated at me. That’s ok. I’m not afraid of what you think of me. I just don’t want you to be afraid of what others think of you in ways that make you disobey God and hide your faith. It is ok to talk about Jesus to others. In fact, that’s what we are told to do by Jesus himself. If carrying a Bible helps you to have conversations about Jesus with others, go for it. If not, then just do whatever Jesus would have you do, but don’t let fear silence your Christian confession of faith. Satan would love it if we would simply stop confessing our faith in Christ. It would accomplish two things: we would be disobedient and endanger our own souls, as Jesus says, we would be like salt that has lost its flavor and is good for nothing but to be thrown out and trodden under foot by men. Second, others would not hear the gospel from you and perhaps be lost because you failed to confess to them your faith in Jesus Christ. Romans 10 is plain about this: Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of Christ. How shall they believe in him who they have not heard and how shall they hear without a preacher and how shall they preach unless they are sent. If you are a Christian, you are sent! So go tell. Don’t be afraid of questions you can’t answer. Just tell the answers you know from the scriptures.
The simple confession that I believe Jesus Christ is Lord speaks volumes. You may think: everyone already knows that. They either believe it or they don’t. They don’t need to hear me say it. Oh? Really? You and I don’t know how powerful that confession is. We don’t realize how simply stating that we believe Jesus Christ is Lord has spiritual impact beyond what our eyes can see. Jesus said, “If you confess me before men, I will confess you before my Father in heaven, but if you deny me before men, I will deny you before my Father in heaven.” Do you really believe that? Jesus is trying to get your fears heading in the right direction. Fear God and keep his commandments, this is the whole duty of man.
I’m convinced that you can’t love God until you fear Him. If the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, then let us learn wisdom. Jesus said, “If you love me you will keep my commandments.” But that starts with fear and respect for his authority.
2. The Second tool to overcome fear that we find in Philippians one is verses 15-19. Focus on the Joy of the Lord, the ultimate reward, and the power of Christ through prayer.
The last beatitude in Matthew 5 is the only one Jesus comments on. Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Jesus follows that one up and makes it personal. Blessed are you, when men revile you, and persecute you, and say all manner of evil against you falsely for my sake. (How does Jesus tell us to handle this?) Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you!
James one tells us the same message. Rejoice when you face trials of many kinds, knowing that the testing of your faith produces perseverance, and perseverance must finish its work so that you may be complete not lacking in anything.
Peter says, “When you suffer as a Christian do not be ashamed, but praise God that you bear that name.” If you are insulted because of the name of Christ, you are blessed, for the spirit of glory and of God rests on you!’ 1 Peter 4: 14,16.
When the early disciples were beaten for proclaiming Jesus Christ, raised from the dead, they rejoiced that they were counted worthy to suffer for his Name.
When Paul was in Philippi at the beginning of the church there in Acts 16, and he and Silas were beaten and thrown into prison for casting out the spirit of divination from the slave girl. What were they doing at midnight with their feet in stocks? Singing and praising God.
Now… question: Is this an instruction from God’s word that we need to hear and practice today, or have times changed so that we no longer need to suffer for Christ?
How then do we overcome our fears that prevent us from entering that suffering? Believe in Jesus Christ and focus on the reward of glory and the blessing and honor of wearing the name even if others mock or abuse us for doing so... and pray and praise Him with faith!
3. Finally, the third tool in Philippians 1 for overcoming fear and opposition: verses 28-30.
Standing together. It is truly amazing how the company of one other Christian can strengthen you. We see this all through the gospels and Acts. Jesus always sent them in company, never alone. Paul wouldn’t think of going on a mission trip alone. The New Testament has hundreds of "one another" statements in it, pointing out the power and necessity of Christian fellowship for strength, encouragement, and correction.
I remember when I was a teenager in school how I didn’t believe it was possible to be a Christian. I prayed and prayed for help to be strong, only to falter over and over under the pressure of peers. Then God did a great work for my life. I found a faithful brother in Christ to stand together with. God used the power of fellowship to launch my Christian faith into action and overcome fears.
The early church believed in this. Hebrews 3:13 tells us to encourage one another daily so that we do not become hardened by sins deceitfulness. The descriptions of the church in the New Testament focus on the connected nature we share. We are a body with many members, we are a building built with living stones, we are a family of God a household of faith, we are an army of God serving together as we fight the good fight of faith, we are a kingdom of Christ, citizens with one Lord, and on and on.
Paul tells the Philippians- stand firm in one spirit, contending as one man for the faith of the gospel without being frightened in any way by those who oppose you.
We need one another if we are to be faithful to Christ.
Parents, see that your children have at least one friend in Christ that they can stand with when they face the pressures of the enemy. One bad friend can undo years of good parenting, and one good friend in Christ can supply courage and strength that protects and gives victory over the opposition.
Well, there you are.
Overcome fear through:
1. Following the examples of others who are fearlessly faithful,
2. Through focusing on the blessings and rewards God holds out for you as you constantly pray and praise Him,
3. And through standing together with brothers and sisters in Christ.
Our great God gives us victory and strength and calls us to fear Him and him alone. And because He cares for us with unsurpassing love and grace, Jesus tells us: do not be afraid.
Hebrews 13: 5-6
God has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you. So we say with confidence, “The Lord is my helper, I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?”
