GOD’S NOT DEAD: DON’T BE AFRAID! (2)
A. What are you AFRAID
1. If you have ever taken a Psychology course in high school or college, you studied a section on
a. There are all kinds. Some we’re very familiar
-CLAUSTROPHOBIA- “fear of enclosed places”
-AGORAPHOBIA- “fear of situations where you might feel trapped, helpless, or embarrassed”
-ECCLESIOPHOBIA- “fear of church”
b. We can’t even begin to LIST the thousands of PHOBIAS listed in the Psychology books.
2. Some FEARS are important, and they serve useful FUNCTIONS in our
a. Having a healthy FEAR of FIRE will deter one from playing with
b. Being AFRAID of POISON may keep a child from DRINKING it.
COMMENT:
So certain kinds of FEARS are ESSENTIAL, even if they don’t always come to FRUITION. A function of FEAR is to lead us away from possible HARM.
3. A HEALTHY FEAR of God serves to lead us away from EVIL and ultimately spiritual death.
a. Proverbs 14:26-27- “He who FEARS (reveres) the Lord has a secure fortress, and for his children it will be a refuge. The fear of the Lord is a fountain of life, turning a man from snares of death."
b. 1 Timothy 5:20- “Those who sin (referring to elders) are to be rebuked publicly, so that the
others may take warning.” (To be fearful of sinning.)
4. The Bible also teaches us not to FEAR.
a. 2 Timothy 1:7- “For God did not give us a spirit of timidity (fearfulness), but a spirit of power,
of love, and of self-discipline.”
b. Revelation 21:8- The “FEARFUL” along with others, “will have their part in the fiery lake of
burning sulfur; that is the second death.”
B. It’s this FEAR that I want to FOCUS on this morning.
1. FEAR instead of COURAGE . . . FEAR that WEAKENS our FAITH . . . FEAR that makes us INEFFECTIVE and UNPRODUCTIVE in the Kingdom of God is the FEAR that God CONDEMNS.
2. Paul told Timothy, “God does not give us FEAR, because FEAR makes us INEFFECTIVE.”
COMMENT:
FEAR is a tool of the DEVIL. If Satan can cause CHRISTIANS to be FEARFUL, then he knows they will accomplish very little for God. He wants to PARALYZE Christians with FEAR. WHY ARE WE NOT TO BE AFRAID?
MESSAGE:
I. FEAR PREVENTS A PERFECTED LOVE FOR GOD- 1 John 4:16-19 (READ)
A. Herein lies the difficulty many have in trying to reconcile both LOVE and FEAR for God.
1. We read passages that tell us to “FEAR God,” and here John makes it clear that FEAR inhibits a “perfected love for God."
a. Which is it? Are to FEAR God or LOVE God?
COMMENT:
The answer is both. However, a child of God should not have a CRINGING, TERRIFYING FEAR of God. LOVE leads to a HEALTHY REVERENCE for God, not a CRINGING FEAR. Our heavenly Father wants our REVERENCE, our RESPECT that prompts our OBEDIENCE. But He doesn't want us to be FRIGHTENED of Him.
ILLUSTRATION:
Some years ago a nine-year-old boy from Terrel, Oklahoma called the police and told them that he had shot and killed his father. When the police arrived they found the man’s body in a tool shed still holding an ax handle that he used to BEAT the boy and his six-year-old sister. When questioned why he killed his father the boy cried, “I was TIRED of being AFRAID!”
b. Undoubtedly there are many fathers who even their own children have difficulty LOVING.
COMMENT:
Fathers who are ABUSIVE, UNCARING, UNLOVING. Fathers who demand RESPECT and OBEDIENCE from their children by using SCARE TACTICS instead of showing LOVE.
2. The sad thing is, there are those who have difficulty LOVING God because they VIEW Him the same way.
a. To many, including Christians, God is nothing more than JUDGE, JURY, and EXECUTIONER. They think He delights in PUNISHING people.
b. I would have difficulty LOVING a God like that too.
B. God’s LOVE for us is not contingent upon our LOVING Him.
1. 1 John 4:10 (READ and COMMENT)
COMMENT:
In other words, God did not send Jesus to the CROSS because we LOVED Him, but because He LOVED us! Our GOODNESS had nothing to with it. It was God’s GOODNESS, His COMPASSION, His LOVE for people hopelessly lost in sin that prompted Him to send
Jesus.
2. 1 John 4:19- “We love (God) because He first loved us.” It’s not the other way around!
a. Those who SERVE and OBEY God strictly out of a CRINGING FEAR of Him will experience true JOY and PEACE that God so desperately wants us to have through His Son.
b. LOVE, not FEAR, is the greatest MOTIVATION that one can have.
COMMENT:
Why do we LOVE God? Because He first LOVED us. Why do we REPENT of our SINS? Because He first LOVED us. Why do we endeavor to SERVE God and OBEY Him? Because He first LOVED us.
3. We SERVE God out of LOVE not out of FEAR.
C. What about the FEAR that comes during times of HARDSHIP, SUFFERING and DEATH? God still LOVE us? Do we still LOVE Him?
1. Romans 8:35-39 (READ)
2. Whatever TROUBLE that is THRUST upon us on this EARTH, does not DIMINISH the IMMEASURABLE LOVE that God has for us—and hopefully, the LOVE we have for Him.
ILLUSTRATION:
In July 2010 Ethan Hallmark of Midlothian, Texas was a typical 9 year-old who loved to play BASEBALL and do whatever 9 year old do when he was diagnosed with stage 4 high risk NEUROBLASTOMA, a rare type of childhood bone CANCER. The CANCER showed up as a huge TUMOR in Ethan’s ABDOMEN.
After a long series of treatment that included CHEMO, RADIATION a BONE-MARROW TRANSPLANT, and countless other procedures, Ethan went into REMISSION. He was doing extremely well getting his strength back and resuming many of his ACTIVITIES, including BASEBALL. His parents, Matt and Rachel Hallmark, were PRAISING God for their son’s miraculous REMISSION, which was virtually unheard of with this type of CANCER. But then two years later the CANCER returned with a VENGEANCE.
Two weeks ago on September 26th, Ethan lost his battle with CANCER at 13 years of age. Was he AFRAID during his ORDEAL? I’m sure he was—wouldn’t you? But do you know what his greatest FEAR was?
Knowing that his time was short on this earth, Ethan said these words: “My biggest fear isn't dying. My biggest fear is that others will blame God for my death and not believe in Him. I don't want people angry at God or even blaming Him. I mean, there is so much more than just this life. Just because He didn't heal me on earth doesn't mean He won't heal me in Heaven.”
II. FEAR SUPPRESSES OUR WITNESS FOR GOD- Ephesians 6:19-20 (READ & COMMENT)
A. When asked what holds you back from sharing your faith with others, many Christians will tell you that they’re AFRAID.
1. They are AFRAID of being REJECTED or RIDICULED . . . AFRAID of not knowing what to SAY. . . AFRAID of UPSETTING someone or LOSING a FRIEND.
a. Even the apostle Paul is praying that he will be “FEARLESS” as he continues to SHARE the GOSPEL with those he comes in CONTACT while in PRISON.
b. In fact, it was his FEARLESSNESS in trying to convince the JEWS that Jesus was the MESSIAH—the Christ that came to SAVE the WORLD—that wound him in PRISON and on DEATH ROLL in the first place.
COMMENT:
If Paul was willing to put his FREEDOM and LIFE on the LINE to tell UNBELIEVING Jews that Jesus was the Christ, then you and I should be able to talk to a FAMILY MEMBER about Jesus? Surely we can INVITE a NEIGHBOR to come to WORSHIP with us?
We can tell a FRIEND what Christ has done for us, can’t we? Don’t you think we can at least SPEAK UP for God when we hear a CO-WORKER use His name in VAIN?
2. Right before urging us “to be PREPARED to give an answer” that we talked about last week, the apostle Peter reminds his readers that there are those who are not going to like what we Christians have to say about our RELATIONSHIP with Jesus and even about our choice to live like Christ.
a. Even so Peter writes, “Do not fear what they fear; do not be frightened”- 1 Peter 3:14b.
b. Peter is urging us to TAKE A STAND for God even when it’s not POPULAR.
c. More than that, he is urging Christians to TAKE A STAND and SHARE their FAITH even when they are THREATENED.
COMMENT:
I personally have never been THREATENED for my FAITH. I’ve been CHALLENGED and RIDICULED, but not THREATENED or PHYSICALLY HARMED. But the truth is, Christians are being MURDERED every single day for their FAITH, especially in the MIDDLE EAST and many ASIAN COUNTIES.
B. The movie, GOD’S NOT DEAD, presents a Chinese student named Martin Yip (YEA) who is being challenged by Josh Wheaten’s lecture on the EXISTENCE of God.
1. There are several scenes where Martin calls his atheist FATHER, who expresses anger about the DISCUSSION of God in his son’s philosophy class.
COMMENT:
Each time Martin speaks with his father about the topic of God, you can hear the TREPIDATION in his voice. Yet, Martin is beginning to question his own ATHEISTIC VIEWS. He even questions Josh’s reasoning for CHALLENGING the PROFESSOR and putting his GRADE and potentially his CAREER on the LINE.
Toward the end of the movie Marin Yea is the first in his class to move beyond his FEAR and STAND UP to the professor with the pronouncement, “GOD IS NOT DEAD!”
2. Martin Yea’s character is INSPIRED by Dr. Ming Wang, a leading PHYSICIAN in SIGHT RESTORATION, although Dr. Wang grew up in a POOR FAMILY and Martin’s character in a WEALTHY FAMILY.
ILLUSTRATION:
In 1982, Ming Wang came to the US with nothing more than $50.00 in his pocket and a Chinese/English Dictionary. He was later accepted at Harvard Medical School. Ming Wang fit right in with the LIBERAL and ATHEISTIC PHILOSOPHIES espoused by MANY of his
PROFESSORS. He, too, was an ATHEIST from a strong ATHEIST FAMILY.
But then he took a class on PEDIATRICS from a PROFESSOR who was a BELIEVER. Wang at first wanted to CHANGE classes, but soon realized that this PROFESSOR was in the top of his FIELD and LEARNED so much from him.
As the professor began to develop a RELATIONSHIP with Wang, he shared his FAITH and REASONED with him from SCIENCE. Wang, although he RESPECTED the PROFESSOR, resisted at first, but then the ARGUMENTS began to make SENSE. Despite the stern OBJECTION from his father, Wang became a BELIEVER.
Since that time, Dr. Ming Wang founded the Wang Foundation for Christian Outreach to China and also the Wang Foundation for Sight Restoration. He has helped people not only with PHYSICAL BLINDNESS but, more importantly, with SPIRITUAL BLINDNESS, as many former ATHEISTS with whom he has come in CONTACT are now FOLLOWERS of Christ.
CONCLUSION:
A. Franklin D. Roosevelt said in his first Inaugural Address: “The only thing we have to FEAR is FEAR itself.”
1. FEAR is the greatest and most effective WEAPON that Satan uses against Christians.
a. Much of our FEARS are UNREAL and UNWARRANTED.
b. But whether they are REAL or UNREAL, if the DEVIL can bring FEAR into the lives of God’s people he knows that our LOVE and WITNESS for God will be THWARTED.
ILLUSTRATION: (MAX LUCADO ILLUSTRATES)
He was a PROFESSIONAL THIEF. His name stirred FEAR in the hearts of the people. He TERRORIZED the Wells Fargo Stage Line for 13 years. He spooked even the most RUGGED FRONTIERSMAN. During his reign of TERROR between 1875 and 1883, he is credited with STEALING the bags away from 29 different STAGECOACH CREWS. And he did it all without FIRING a shot.
His WEAPON was His REPUTATION. His AMMUNITION was FEAR and INTIMIDATION. A HOOD hid his face. No VICTIM ever saw him. No artist ever SKETCHED his features. No SHERIFF could ever track his trail. BLACK BART was his NAME and FEAR was his GAME.
But the interesting thing about BLACK BART, when the HOOD finally came off, there was nothing to FEAR. The DIME NOVELS of the day which wrote about the ESCAPADES of OUTLAWS and DESPERADOES depicted BLACK BART to look like a lot like this. After the authorities finally tracked him down, they didn’t find a BLOODTHIRSTY BANDIT—they found a mild-mannered DRUGGIST from Decatur, Illinois.
The man the newspapers and dime novels pictured storming through the mountains on HORSEBACK was, in reality, so AFRAID of horses he rode to and from his ROBBERIES in a BUGGY. His name was Charles E. Boles—the BANDIT who never once fired a SHOT, because he never once LOADED his gun.
2. How many times have we allowed the BLACK BARTS in our LIVES to DISCOURAGE us in SHARING our FAITH with OTHERS, including the very ones that we LOVE?
