Facing Fear
Matthew 10:1-31
We continue this morning with our annual church theme, Living a Holy and Wholesome Life, taken from 1 Thessalonians 5:23: May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Our second quarter emphasis is on emotional health. And we are looking at the emotion of fear this morning. The goal is not to become people without fear. We need to respond correctly to legitimate fears. Someone has said, “Show me a person who has no fear, and he’ll be the person who is beaten up a lot.”
John Haggai’s class book, Winning Over Fear, pointed out, “No human being is immune to this most basic emotion. In fact, it is an emotion we share with many members of the animal kingdom. But unlike animals – who seem to fear only definite and immediate threats – we can fear threats that have never been made, even threats that will never come into existence.”
I believe fear is a God-given emotion for our survival. Here’s what else. Fear is a God-given emotion for our restraint. The fear of imprisonment deters many from wrongdoing. So not all fears should be removed.
Some young people are afraid of not finding a spouse. Middle-age could be fearful of losing their job. And the older we get, the more fear we have about health concerns. We need to reduce these fears from our lives. Not to remove them. These fears can motivate us to take positive actions to mitigate undesirable outcomes.
Our text is Matthew 10:1-31. I'll read the passage, and we'll look together at what Jesus says and does about the fears faced by his disciples. (READ)
Jesus sent His disciples to proclaim and demonstrate God’s favor. And Jesus knew that His disciples would face a variety of fears. Many missionaries who share the love of God and the good news of Jesus with others could identify.
And like a wise parent who alleviates a child’s fear, we see Jesus took steps to alleviate His disciples’ fears. We can apply these steps to help someone alleviate their fears or to help alleviate our own fears. Let's look together.
First, Jesus framed their fears. We see this in verses 1, 7-8.
The disciples were about to engage in what would cause them fear. As a wise leader, Jesus began by introducing the fearful activities with the purpose. He tells his disciples the purpose was to demonstrate God’s help and healing. This was the purpose for going to another town and expecting confrontations.
Some of you might be familiar with Dr. Laura Schlessinger. I don’t know if she is still on talk radio. People would call to ask her what is the right thing to do in a particular situation, and how to have the courage to do the right thing.
Sometime ago, Dr. Laura’s son was a deployed paratrooper in Iraq. Some of the callers were family members of deployed military personnel. They asked her how to cope with the fear for their deployed family member.
Dr. Laura’s answer went something like this: “Everyone will die. Some will die of a car accident. Others will die of a heart attack. There is no nobility in their death. If our military men die in order to protect others, they die for a noble purpose.” Dr. Laura framed their fear; she gave purpose to what caused fear.
We all need to do things we fear. It helps for the purpose to be clear. A strong enough purpose can give us motivation and even courage to do what we fear.
How many of us would run into a burning house? What if the purpose was to rescue one of your children? How many of us would give a 30-minute presentation each week in front of 50 to 200 people? What if the purpose was to put food on the table? If the purpose is strong, you'll receive motivation and even courage to do what you fear.
Second, Jesus named their fears. We see this in verses 9-26.
Jesus identified the fears: The fear of insufficient provision, the fear of rejection, the fear of persecution, and the fear of inadequacy. Unless we name our fears, we cannot face our fears.
People who procrastinate have a better chance of taking positive action if they name their fear. Is it the fear of insufficient time? The sooner you start, the less reason to fear. Is it the fear of insufficient knowledge? The sooner you research, the less reason to fear.
Naming our fear reduces the power fear has over us. Naming our fears also helps us overcome our fears to do the right thing. But naming our fear is not that easy.
Children sometimes lie because of a fear of spanking. Adults sometimes lie because of a fear of embarrassment. To identify the fear of inadequacy requires humility.
Naming our fears takes reflection, analysis, prayer and honesty. When we name our fear, we can take the next step: Tame our fear.
Third, Jesus tamed their fears. We see this in verses 9-27.
Jesus mitigated their fears. He gave reasons not to fear. For the fear of insufficient provision, he pointed out: the worker is worth his keep (vs. 10). In other words, “Your work brings value to people, who will compensate you.”
He gave resources to overcome the fear. For the fear of inadequacy, he pointed out: “But when they arrest you, do not worry about what to say or how to say it. At that time you will be given what to say, for it will not be you speaking, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you (vs. 19-20).”
I remember asking my daughter why she was stressing over her presentation. She replied, "What if I mess up?" I asked in return, "What if you do great?" Taming our fears might involve changing our self-talk.
Some parents fear for their kids' safety at school. It's not just bullying you're worried about. You're afraid of shooting rampages. How do you tame that fear?
First, do what is within your control. Educate your child with age-appropriate information. I had my older daughter read Staying Safe at School. This is within our control.
Second, pray about what is outside of your control. Often, not every day, when I give thanks for my lunch, I pray for my kids' safety at school. What is outside of our control is not outside of God's control.
Fourth, Jesus aimed their fears. We see this in verses 28-31.
Jesus says to his much-afraid disciples in verse 28, “Fear what God can do to you more than what man can do to you.” That’s not very comforting to me. Until we read verses 29-31, which gives the context.
The context is that God is your Father in Heaven. While God can destroy both body and soul in hell, He loves you more than all of creation. So the more I think about what Jesus said, the more I realize He was really saying, “You need to prioritize your fears.” Let me share a brief article with you:
“AT 9:02 a.m., April 19, 1995, Oklahoma City got a wake-up call – and courage went to work. For seventy-two hours, people from all over the world gathered to rescue those trapped from the terrorist bombing of the city’s Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building.
“Story after story began to surface of rescuers burrowing into the dangerous darkness and precarious pockets of debris – hoping for a pulse and praying for a miracle. Such a miracle occurred late that first evening when the weak cries of Diana Bradley, 21, were heard.
“For ten hours she had been pinned beneath the rubble. Choked by dust and numbed by shock, she waited for someone to hear her. Finally relief came, but at a high price. Her leg was caught under steel and concrete. Knowing she would die before rescuers could extract her, doctors came in to amputate. No anesthesia. No attending nurses. No high-speed instruments – only a doctor with a sharp scalpel.
“Three months later to the day Diana, wearing a prosthesis, held a news conference in Oklahoma City. She praised the courage of those who saved her life.”
Diana Bradley prioritized her fears. And it saved her life. The fear of death took a higher priority than the fear of pain and amputation.
Jesus understood that only one fear can control us at a time. I believe that’s what Jesus was reminding His disciple. “You’ve got two fears: The fear of man and the fear of God. Prioritize accurately. If not, you’ll disobey God, and you’ll live a fearful life, wasting your God-given purpose.”
I remember asking one of my mentors to receive my Internet monitoring report. This report shows what I’ve Googled and all the webpages I’ve viewed. This accountability helps me not wander into porn sites and not waste time surfing the net.
I asked my mentor if he needed that kind of accountability. He said, “No, Dana. I am so afraid that God would remove His blessing from my ministry if I should misuse my computer that I don’t misuse it.”
And that got me to think, “Why aren’t I afraid of God that way?” And, “How can I restore a biblical fear of God in my life?”
To restore a biblical fear of God, we need to understand God’s power is couched in patience. Just because God doesn’t call us out today, doesn’t mean He won’t hold us accountable eventually. Paul wrote, 2 Corinthians 5:10, “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive what is due him for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad.”
If we want to become people who respond to all fear in a healthy way, we must restore a biblical fear of God. When we have a healthy fear of God, here’s what can happens. We can have the power to handle legitimate fears. We can have the perspective to reduce exaggerated fears. And we can have the peace to overcome irrational fears.
We will be serving from the Lord's Table in a moment. On the Lord's table are two elements. The bread represents Christ's body broken for us. The cup represents Christ's blood shed for us.
The Christian Good News is this: God came in the person of Jesus Christ to die on the cross as payment for the penalty for our sins. The Lord's Table reminds us of the justice of God - God meting out the punishment for sin - death. And the Lord's Table reminds us of the love of God - God meting out the payment for sin - Christ's death on the cross.
All of us have sinned. We deserve God's punishment but we are offered God's payment. This is the Good News of Jesus Christ. Let us pray.
