Flatten the Fear Curve
CCCAG May 31st, 2020
Riots- George Floyd Death, prayer
Onto our lesson today
Scripture- 1 John 4:13-18
Over the last few weeks, we saw a lot of interesting things.
People in self-made level 1 suits- plastic, garbage bags, sunglasses or lab googles, dishwashing gloves.
I don’t describe this to mock a person, but to show the effect fear can have on people.
You also see it in our discourse with one another-
Want to start a fight on social media and lose friends, give an opinion about wearing a mask in public.
Remember when they announced the shutdowns? How freaked out everyone got?
COVID Fears-
Be honest, did anyone stock up?
Anyone with 100 rolls of toilet paper? Extra nonperishables (if so consider the food pantry next month)? Ammo or guns? Cleaning supplies or sanitizer?
All of the drama, all of the non-sensible reactions, and all of the anger and hatred being spread all have a common source-
Fear.
All of these were fear-based reactions to the unknown.
If we were all honest, we probably all had these reactions to some level or another.
I remember going into a suspected COVID patient’s room for the first time. I have an industrial protective mast, faceshield, a gown, head covering, and two pairs of gloves on. I know once I enter this room, I can’t come back out without going through a decontamination station so I’m stuck.
Here is a pro-tip- Make sure you use the bathroom first!
Everyone has to bring you anything you might need, and you are in it for the duration.
It’s a little bit of a freaky feeling at first.
One of the things that has freaked us out the most is not knowing the full extent of this virus. We hear that it’s killing people or making them very ill. We heard the horror stories from NYC of refrigerated semi-trailers being used for morgues. We fully expected to know dozens of people who would die of this illness.
Now it seems to be on the downslope. Although we are getting a lot of positive test results, those people who are actually sick enough to be hospitalized is dropping rapidly, and even our hospital is relaxing some of the measures we put into place to keep the virus from spreading.
That’s all good news, but the news media keeps warning of a second wave that will be worst than the first.
If you get anything out of todays message- understand this-
No matter what network you watch- they are in the business of keeping your attention by keeping you afraid. The motto of the 24 hr news cycle is “If it bleeds, it leads” The more sensational the better. Anything to keep us glued to the TV, and afraid of everything.
I want to address that today. Many of us have been living in fear for months now, and on this Pentecost Sunday, I want to bring us back to where we should be as believers in Jesus, and I’m going to use the words of one of His best friends here on the earth.
The Apostle John wrote these words to a people who were under intense persecution. When this was written in 90 AD, Being a Christian in many cases was a death sentence. John wrote these words to remind the church of some critically important truths.
1 John 4:13-18
13 We know that we live in him (Jesus) and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit. 14 And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. 15 If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in him and he in God. 16 And so we know and rely on the love God has for us.
God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him. 17 In this way, love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment, because in this world we are like him. 18 There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.
Prayer
I. Fear Vs Faith
You have heard me say this in the past- Fear is an acronym
False Evidence Appearing Real
How many false things have we heard about the Coronavirus?
Death rate of 5%. If that were true, and we translated into the population of Whitehall, 80-100 people would die and county wide up to 1500 would die, state-wide almost 300,000, nationwide 16-20 million dead.
What did it turn out to be? Much less. Probably less than ½ of 1%. Government is saying we are over 100,000 deaths, but every single day we read news stories of improper counting and bad information. I think we will probably see that number decrease by about 40-50%, making COVID the same as a NORMAL to bad flu season.
And we all lost our collective minds over it.
Young people beat up old people for the last roll of toilet paper.
Moms ransacked stories to horde enough food for their families.
We delayed necessary surgeries to prepare for a tidal wave of patient’s that never came outside of a few high-density population areas. Many of these people have suffered further disability or died because the hospitals deemed their cases, “Elective”.
We allowed the greatest economy that has ever existed in this country or even the world to fall into a possible recession and allowed millions to become unemployed.
This is the danger of fear, the danger of False Evidence Appearing Real.
We can blame the media- for sure they had a huge part in this. The old media motto of “If it bleeds, it leads” certainly contributed to the public’s reaction to the virus, and couple that with a 24 hr news cycle of experts claiming massive death with this illness didn’t help.
We can blame the government, and they got some really bad advice and went with a worst case scenario for this illness and we see where we are today because of it.
We can blame the people on the internet for churning out a new conspiracy theory every day about how this was planned, and part of the New World Order takeover of the government. I actually lost friends because I called them out on this foolishness.
But ultimately, the blame belongs to every individual that allowed fear (False Evidence Appearing Real) to drive their emotions, their decisions, and their actions during this time.
Now I expect this from those outside of the church- they have no hope other than this life.
But what about those who call themselves Christians? Should we be allowing fear to guide our actions, our emotions, and our spiritual health?
Let’s talk about that for a moment.
Now, there is healthy fear- fear in its natural God-Given context is a reaction to danger.
For example- If your call stalls on railroad tracks, and a train is coming, you should allow fear to tell you to get out of the car and away from the collision that is about to happen. Don’t sit there in the driver’s seat thinking that “If I have enough faith, the train will miss me”
That’s not faith, that’s stupidity. God does not appreciate fools.
What I’m talking about is dwelling on potential dangers. That causes anxiety, which then causes fear to dig in it’s claws and hold on tight to your spirit.
But that is not supposed to be the way that we as believers think or exists.
John tells us in the scriptures we have read that
II. We are to be filled with the Holy Spirit.
16b Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him. 17 In this way, love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment, because in this world we are like him.
How many people have ever seen the cartoon or seen this example in a movie of the good Angel on one shoulder and the devil on the other shoulder both whispering in our ears to try to sway us one way or the other?
There is some truth to that illustration. The Bible says that we wrestle not against flesh and blood but against powers and principalities of evil in heavenly realms. The whisper of the enemy is always trying to get our attention because he knows that he if he gets access to our minds, then he has our hearts.
That is why it's so critical for us as Christians do not allow him to feed his negative view and lies into our thoughts.
A really good way to look at this is to imagine there are two dogs in a fight. A crowd gathers and people began to place wagers on which dog was going to win this fight. One of the dogs was a 120 lb Pitbull rottweiler mix and looked vicious and strong.
The other dog- an 80 pound Labrador Retriever.
No just from the outset you're probably going to put your money on the Pitbull rottweiler mix because they are known to be great fighting dogs and very vicious when provoked.
Labrador retrievers on the other hand are known to be very friendly, nice, and generally not easily provoked.
Everyone was throwing money down on the Rottweiler Pitbull mix to win the fight but one older gentleman in the neighborhood picked the Labrador to win. The crowd laughed at him and called him crazy and that they were just going to take his money.
Well the dogs started to fight. There was barking and growling and biting and clawing until finally the Labrador latched onto the rottweilers/pit bulls throat. It’s owner yelled stop, and the lab let go. The neighborhood broke up the fight at that point and were amazed that the Labrador had any chance in this fight.
They asked the old man how did you know the Labrador would win?
The old man replied, “I know the owners of these dogs and I know that the owner of the pit bull doesn't feed him very often while the owner of the Labrador feeds and loves him constantly.”
How does this apply here?
When you're in a fight for your life , how much you are fed and more importantly, WHAT YOU ARE FED makes a big difference when it comes to survival.
The same thing is true when it comes to fear.
If you constantly dwell on the negative, the danger, or the unknown then fear will rule in our heart and mind.
If you put garbage in, then you will get garbage out.
However, if you feed yourself with the presence of God, feast on the word and allow it to guide your thinking and spend time in His presence- then fear cannot dwell in your heart.
You might ask, “But what if I've been diagnosed with a mental health issue like anxiety or depression”
It means you have a tougher road, but victory is still possible.
One of the things I learned during my advanced anatomy and physiology courses for nursing school is how neural pathways in your brain are laid down. Neural Pathways are literally the wiring inside of your brain the governs how you think and react to the world around you.
Repeated stimulus followed by repeated action hardens these pathways to become your new normal.
An example that should be familiar to all of us- PTSD in a soldier. A loud noise produces the learned response of sudden violence or protective actions.
My Grandfather was in World War Two and 30 years later upon hearing a sudden gunshot or explosion would automatically dive behind something and start to tremble from the adrenaline rush. This was a learned and repeated pathway that he had from being in combat.
That’s what happens to all of us in lesser degrees.
This is how we are allowing our brains to be changed and wired if we allow fear-based stimulus to provoke a response that is not of God.
That is why all throughout the Old and New Testament God is begging his people to feast upon his word, to dwell within his presence, to lay down their fears their anxieties and their worries through prayer so that we can know and understand the height and depth and width of His love and care for you.
Today is Pentecost Sunday. Today is the day that the Holy Spirit was initially poured upon the believers in the book of Acts.
That’s how we are going to finish today- by looking at the reason that the Spirit of God was given to us.
Let me give you a hint-
It wasn’t so we can speak in tongues.
It wasn’t to give us an ability to do miracles
It wasn’t to give us goosebumps during worship
It wasn’t to make us feel better.
It was to remove fear from our lives, so that the fulness of God could live within us.
THEN all of that other stuff can be made manifest in our lives- but not if we area allowing fear to take hold of us.
That’s why I want to finish with this subject-
III. Flatten the Fear curve
2 Tim 1:7
For God did not give us a spirit of fear, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline.
NIV
Let me ask you a question
Whose spirit lives inside you if you are a Christian?
God’s
What does God fear? Anyone? Anything?
Then if His spirit is living within you what do you have to fear?
If fear is a dominant part of your life, Ask yourself this question- whose spirit is in control of your heart and your mind?
The Spirit of this World, or the Spirit of God?
I don’t say this to make you feel bad. I don’t want to heap condemnation upon you.
This isn't me judging you.
I want you to live in the freedom and victory that Jesus gave us on the cross.
And it’s not just me-This is God’s desire for you.
He wants you to be able to put aside the fear that is crippling your walk with him and not only your walk with him but every relationship in your life.
Conclusion
Altar Call
