Pastor Allan Kircher
Peace in a fearful time.
Acts 18:9-10
9 - One night the Lord spoke to Paul in a vision:"Do not be afraid; keep on speaking, do not be silent. 10 - For I am with you, and no one is going to attack and harm you, because I have many people in this city."
Martin Luther made this interesting observation in his Table Talk.
God and the devil take opposite tactics in regard to fear.
The Lord first allows us to become afraid, that he might relieve our fears and comfort us.
The devil, on the other hand,
First makes us feel secure in our pride and sins,
That we might later be overwhelmed with fear and despair.
We live in a world/people allow themselves/limited by their fears of hurt, disappointment or criticism.
PP Even long after Sept 11th, many people restrict their movements because they’re afraid of sudden disasters that will affect their physical safety, their emotional well being or their financial security.
David praised God and then experienced release from His fears.
Don’t wait until you feel afraid to practice preventative medicine by praising God in all situations
Praising God will keep you from slipping into valleys of fear, discouragement or a paralyzed state of inhibition.
The fact is fear is a part of the daily existence for ALL people.
Each of us knows what it's like to experience fear that threatens to overwhelm us because fear is a UNIVERSAL thing.
• It doesn't matter where you live/world-you will experience fearful times.
One dictionary defines fear as, "a sudden attack, anxiety, or agitation caused by the presence or nearness of danger, evil, or pain."
o It goes on to say that fear covers a wide range of emotions:
o Timidity, apprehension, terror, and dread.
The truth is we don't really need a dictionary to tell us what fear is because
As I said, personal experience has taught us all too well.
PP Let's do a quick survey to highlight this fact. Raise your hands if any of the following applies to you.
1. Has anyone here this morning ever had fears related to money?
2. Has anyone ever been afraid you/turned down for a job?
3. Ever had health-related fears about yourself or a loved one?
4. Since 9-11 have any of you feared a terrorist attack while flying?
6. Have any of you ever had fears about relationship-worries about the person you were dating-worries about your marriage?
7. Have you ever had fears about your children? Worried about the friends they were hanging around?
8. Have you ever been afraid of the day your kids would grow up and leave home....or afraid they would grow up and NEVER leave home?
10. One more-how many of you didn't raise your hands this morning because you have experienced fear but were AFRAID to admit it?
o Well, as you can see, there's no shortage of things that can grip our hearts with fear.
o Fear is indeed a universal thing. All of us struggle with it.
PP "All of us are born with a set of instinctive fears-of falling, of the dark, of snakes, of speaking in public, and of the words, 'some assembly required.'"
We all wrestle with fear.
We all know by personal experience how horrible fear can be.
We all know that fear can be so overwhelming that it steals sleep at night
Joy in the daytime-so intense that it immobilizes us.
PP Sermon
Well, fear CAN immobilize us like this can't it!
If we don't learn how to handle it fear will indeed STEAL the PEACE God intends for us to have.
Okay-that's the PROBLEM we all face.
Well, where do we turn when it comes to a solution?
How can we learn to have peace even amidst the inevitable fearful times of life?
I would suggest a good thing to do to help us find a solution to this problem would be to the book of Acts
The central figure/last few chapters is/the Apostle Paul
Paul was someone who endured countless anxiety-causing experiences first hand.
I mean, it would be an understatement to say that Paul was well-acquainted with fearful times.
Listen to his own description of his life/2 Corinthians11:23-28.
So Paul knew fear didn't he?!
Here in Acts 18-22 we see Paul enduring a particularly fearful time.
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Let’s take a look at these times:
PP Chapter 17 Athens
• Didn’t have exciting results “called him a babbler”
• Preached to the Areopagus “about Unknown God”
• Climaxed/famous sermon on Mars Hill.
In spite of the power of his message, most of his hearers wanted to hear nothing more from Paul.
And we never read or hear of a church being started in Athens due to his labors.
I'm sure Paul must have been discouraged when he arrived in Corinth.
PP Once he got settled there he tried to reason w/Jews.
o Closed the door in his face.
In fact, they attacked him in court-in essence suing him to stop his teaching.
When he moved on to Ephesus, those Jews followed suit and maligned Paul's missionary work.
PP Chapter 19
On top of that, Demetrius, a local silversmith, organized a mob against Paul angered because the growing Christian movement was hurting his business of making and selling silver idols of the goddess Artemis.
The Jews there even plotted to attack Paul at sea-
planning to intercept his ship, kill him and throw his body overboard,
But he learned of their scheme and changed his travel plans accordingly.
When he arrived in Jerusalem (21)Paul was beaten severely.
PP In fact the violence of the mob was so great that the Roman soldiers had to carry Paul-
Lifting him above their heads keeping him out of range of the hands of the people who were literally trying to tear him apart.
So Paul had it rough!
I mean, if we could see a portrait of Paul done at this time of his life we would see
A man full of scars and bruises because he had endured several years full of rough times!
But, in spite of all this hardship, we don't find Paul cowering in a corner somewhere.
We don't see him immobilized with fear.
No, like the energizer bunny Paul just keeps on going.
Well, how did he do it?
How was Paul able to have peace in the midst of all he endured?
And, how can we do the same?
How can we have peace in fearful times?
I think if we were to ask Paul he would give us four pieces of advice.
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PP 1. First, he would say that to have peace in life we must learn to FEAR GOD.
Now, I think a better word to use here-the word, "AWE."
Paul would say we should live in AWE of God-
But we use that word "awe" so flippantly these days that I think we have forgotten its true meaning.
We use the word AWESOME to describe ice cream cones while at the same time we sing it over and over again in praise choruses with the attitude of cheer leaders in a pep rally.
You know, "Our God is an AWESOME GOD-GO GOD!"
Well, that misses the meaning by a mile!
this form of fear-AWE-literally means,
“An emotion in which dread, veneration, and wonder are variously mingled."
In other words to be in AWE of God-
is to honor and respect Him-
to behold His infinite power and wisdom and holiness
And all His attributes with a combination of amazement/fear.
Hebrews 12:28-29 tells us that "...our God is a consuming fire..." and cautions us to worship Him "with reverence and awe."
In Romans Paul has reminded us that our everyday lives are to be an offering of worship to God-
In other words we are to live every day in fearful awe of God
An awe that prompts us to obey His loving commands.
PP This is the principle he was conveying in Philippians 2:12 where he wrote,
"Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed-not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence-continue to work out your salvation with FEAR and trembling..."
the fact is, most of the fears we experience in life are a direct result of our disobeying God
Doing things He has told us not to do.
And Paul would advise us then, to heed the Proverb that says we must not be, "...wise in our own eyes;"
Instead, we must, "...fear the LORD and shun evil." For, "...the fear of the Lord is a life-giving fountain." (Proverbs 3:7; 14:27)
I mean, we set ourselves up for fear whenever we ignore God's laws and live the way we want to live-
Foolishly thinking we know more than God does or not caring what God thinks.
Remember this: There is no more terrifying place to be in life than outside of God's loving will.
And at this point I must say that it is very foolish to go through life afraid of nothing.
I mean, there is such a thing as GOOD fear-constructive fear.
For example it's good to be a little anxious about driving.
That fear might keep you out of a ditch.
It's good to fret a bit about a huge presentation you have to give at work because that fear can motivate you to do your best.
It's good to worry about how your kids will turn out because that fear will compel you to be a better parent.
So, we should embrace GOOD fear-
And Paul would remind us that the BEST fear to embrace is a healthy fear of God.
Do you remember the words of Jesus in Matthew 10:28? Our Lord said, "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."
Our Lord/saying/RIGHT to fear of God
Wrong to fear man as long as we are living for God.
I guess you could sum all this up to say that the irony is the one thing that will most stabilize and calm us in life is to FEAR THE RIGHT THING-
and the "rightist" thing to fear is the Lord's opinion,
The Lord's honor and the Lord's judgment.
All other fears must fall in line after that.
Paul understood this. He would say with the Psalmist,
"In God I trust. I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?" (Psalm 56:11)
God is all-powerful and all-wise and completely sovereign.
He is Lord-so we need not fear anything the world throws at us.
The only thing we should fear is disobeying God.
To have peace in life we must learn this lesson-
Someone has said, "Don't fear God and fear everything else.
Fear God and fear nothing else."
PP 2. A second thing Paul would advise us to do when we face fearful times is to TELL God.
o Let your AWE of God, your respect of God,
o Remind you/He is in charge/universe so bring Him your worries.
Remember, the Bible tells us that our AWESOME God loves you!
Do you recall the guidance Paul gave the church at Philippi?
He wrote in Phillipians 4:4-7….Rejoice in the Lord always…..
o Paul would say-
o when you face the kind of fear that overwhelms you
o Immobilizes you and steals your joy and peace
o Then we must go to God and honestly tell Him.
Think about it.
When you have shared a deep fear with a trusted friend, and it was received lovingly, how did you feel afterwards?
• Didn't it help? Didn't it deepen the intimacy between you?
• Sure it did!
• Well, one way we get the kind of fearless faith that Paul had is by refusing to pretend-
• By admitting to God that we are terrified and that we aren't sure we have the faith necessary for the battle.
In times like this we must go to God and say, "I can't handle this on my own! Help me Father!"
o We must realize that God isn't mad at us for being scared-far from it!
o In fact, not only can He handle our fears.
o He also encourages us to bring them to Him.
Do you remember what Jesus said, "How often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were unwilling.” (Matthew 23:37)
o I've had times in my life when I was so afraid that I didn't know what to do-
o And in those times I prayed-I told God of my fear.
o I poured my heart out to Him and asked for His help.
o And do you know what God did?
He came Himself. In the form of His Holy Spirit, He came along side of me and helped me.
My Heavenly Father surrounded me with His loving presence and calmed my fears.
I could almost hear His voice saying,
"Do not fear"
Illustration: Whenever you feel afraid/pause to pray and praise God for the fact that He was still on the throne of heaven ruling all things.
just close your eyes and thank God that he is still on the throne reigning over everything and take comfort in His control over all the affairs of your life.
And we can have peace if we bring our fears to God.
Do you remember what King David discovered in his own fearful experiences?
He wrote, "I sought the Lord, and He answered me; He delivered me from all my fears." (Psalm 34)
• So, when you are afraid of something in this fallen world of ours, TELL GOD!
PP 3. And then a third thing Paul would tell us when we face fear is to TRUST God.
In his second letter to the Corinthians Paul writes,
"Indeed, in our hearts we felt the sentence of death. But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, Who raises the dead. He has delivered us from such a deadly peril, and He will deliver us. On Him we have set our hope that He will continue to deliver us." (2 Corinthians 1:9-10)
Did you catch the progression here?
Paul says, "God HAS delivered us; God IS delivering us;
God WILL deliver us." Get the picture?
o In spite of impending death, Paul trusted God-
o the God Who had delivered him in the past
o the God who promises to deliver him in the future
In other words Paul constantly focused on God's ability to handle any circumstance in his life from start to finish.
o No matter how scary things looked in life Paul trusted our all-wise, completely-faithful, fully-sovereign God-
o and this trust-this conviction-this mind set-
o Is the foundation that enabled him to face fearful times with peace and even joy.
I mean, in this fallen world of ours, things may LOOK like they're going down the drain but the Bible tells us to trust-
• that in spite of appearances God is still on His throne
• Still sovereignty working out His purposes.
PP We see/example/principle/Acts 19
• Paul faced a mob that threatened to attack him.
Dr. Luke tells us that God used an unnamed town clerk who went to the leaders of the mob/warned them not to do anything rash,
• Advising them/calm down and instead of rioting, bring charges against Paul in court.
• Miraculously, they saw the wisdom of his words and obeyed,
• dispersing and returning to their homes
• This lowly clerk told them to do so.
Now, the great part of this is the clerk didn’t even know Paul.
• and Paul didn't know him-
• Yet God used this un-known clerk to quiet the multitude.
• Well, we must remember that no matter how things look,
• God is still moving "clerks" around His board like pawns.
o We don't see the chessboard.
o We don't know the right moves because we're not God.
But God does. He knows the right moves and He is constantly doing them.
So don't always trust appearances.
God is always at work.
Remember, fear ALWAYS makes things look worse than they really are.
This reminds me of a true story I came across a few months ago about a woman in Arkansas who was sitting in her car in a grocery store parking lot last summer when she heard a loud bang and then felt a sharp pain in the back of her head. She grabbed the back of her head and felt warm soft tissue of some sort oozing between her fingers. The poor woman began screaming and when someone ran up to help she said, "I've been shot in the head and I'm holding my brains in."
The bystander investigated and discovered it wasn't her brains.
PP It was biscuit dough. You see, a Pillsbury biscuit canister in her grocery bag had exploded in the back seat, apparently from the heat, making a loud explosion and shooting dough into the back of this terrified woman's head.
• Most of the time our fears are just as unjustified as those of this woman
• Fear has a way of making bad look far bigger than it really is.
PP As someone said, "Worry always makes a big shadow out of little things."
Many times we give into fear because it looks like evil is winning and we wonder where God has gone-
• The fact is God hasn’t gone anywhere.
• He is still working behind the scenes just as He did for Paul in Ephesus,
• God is always accomplishing His eternal purposes-
• Purposes that are for our good and His glory.
We must remember not to always trust appearances because no matter how bad it may look, our present circumstances is not all there is to reality.
This fallen world does not have the last word.
God does!
And it is a word of hope, peace, and victory to those who love Him and who are walking in His will.
So Paul would say, don't always trust appearances
ALWAYS trust God!
PP 4. One final thing Paul would advise us in fearful times is this: OBEY God.
No matter how afraid it makes you to do so-obey God.
Whatever tells you to do-DO IT!
Here's a little "Biblical fear trivia."
Do you know what is the single most common command in the Bible?
• It's not a command to guard sexual purity
• or to walk with integrity
• Or to embrace humility as important as those qualities are.
• No, the single most common command in the Bible is "fear not."
And the reason it's given so often is because many times the thing that people like you and me fear most is doing the things God tells us to do.
God issues a challenge.
We experience fear-and come to a decision point.
I have to decide: am I going to obey or not.
It's scary to obey because God has a way of asking us to do things that are beyond our ability.
So God has said these words over and over again for thousands of years
• Not just so we won't be afraid but to encourage us to obey Him.
• And when we OBEY God, in spite of our fear, we see Him do amazing things through us.
• We experience unbelievable adventure and joy!
In Acts 18:9 God tells Paul what? "DO NOT BE AFRAID!" Keep obeying Me! Keep speaking, do not be silent!"
And Paul was mature enough to do just that.
In spite of his discouragement and fear, he obeyed God.
And listen what happened!
Look at Acts 19:11ff,"God did extraordinary miracles through Paul so that even handkerchiefs and aprons that had touched him were taken to the sick and their illnesses were cured and the evil spirits came out of them."
Later God used Paul's teaching to convict people involved in the occult to repent and follow Jesus.
They even brought their books of sorcery and burned them.
Luke tells us their value was such that today it would be equivalent to five million dollars.
Then verse 20 sums it all up by saying, "In this way, [because Paul ignored his fear and obeyed God] the Word of the Lord spread widely and grew in power."
As most of you know, we’ve begun a soup kitchen.
It’s a little scary to reach out boldly like this….
But it’s a lot easier to play it safe and not do anything.
And if this is God’s calling, and we obey, God will make it fruitful.
And it ALMOST scares me enough to say-let's play it safe and not obey.
Let's just keep things as they are.
But you know-I believe God has commanded us to do these things-
And I also believe He will enable us to do them.
And furthermore, I believe that to say no...is to miss out on miracles-
The same kind of amazing things God did through Paul because of his obedience.
So, I'm taking Paul's advice. I will not FEAR obeying God in these areas. I don't want to miss out on miracles!
PP Invitation
Well, let me ask you. Are you afraid of obeying God in some way?
Has our Lord called you to do something that scares you?
Perhaps it has to do with sharing your faith with a co-worker, or helping someone with a problem that is beyond you, or tithing, or joining this church.
Well, God says the same thing to you and me as He did to Joshua when he faced the terrifying prospect of leading the Hebrew nation,
"Have I not commanded you?
Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go."
So, don't be afraid-obey God!
Do you have a personal relationship with God through Jesus Christ
If not, then confess your BELIEF in Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior.
You know the most fearful place in the church is its aisles.
And if walking down one today to share a decision causes you anxiety, don't let it. As we stand and sing, come as God leads.
