#MATTHEW 10 SERIES #3/ CHRIST’S PERSPECTIVE ON FEAR
Introduction: Last week we spoke on the mixed messages that can bombard us, and I believe every one else can be receiving mixed messages. Mixed messages are a problem and in the life of the disciple it can be a scary world as Satan sends us mixed messages about fear.
Matt 10:27
27 What I tell you in darkness, that speak ye in light: and what ye hear in the ear, that preach ye upon the housetops.
There was a second part to this statement and that is where I want to preach form today.
Matt 10:28
28 And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.
We are a people who are always capable of displacing fear. We take it and put it where it should never be.
As we approach this Easter and we are just before coming to the Sunday we have titled Palm Sunday, the day that Jesus entered Jerusalem only to be crucified less than one week later.
How did Jesus do it? How did he expect His disciples to handle it?
Fear is not uncommon, it is not uncommon to any of us. Each of us finds ourselves in a fearful situation. It is an exciting time in the country and in the world and it is extremely scary. There are many uncertainties in life and in the life of the Disciples it was an uncertain time. People continue to make Christian’s out to be the bad guys. Right now there is an exciting time in the church, it can be scary.
Christian Clippings (Sept. 1993, pp. 14f) had this poignant example of a common human response:
"Sometime ago, newspapers carried the story of a young fellow named William, who was a fugitive from the police. The teenager had run away with his girlfriend because the parents had been trying to break them up. What William didn’t know was that an ailment he had been seeing the doctor about was diagnosed, just after his disappearance, as cancer.
"Now, here was William, doing his best to elude the police, lest he lose his love, while they were doing their best to find him, lest he lose his life. He thought they were after him to punish him; they were really after him to save him. William is representative of every man, whose guilt tells him God is after him to straightjacket him in this life and torture him forever."
Is fear good, should we be afraid, should we come to a place where fear can actually help us grow in the service and our relationship with God, well, Jesus wanted to ensure that the fear we did have was in the right context. So lets look at it.
I. The first thing that Christ did in this statement was to dispel needless fear
A. It was the fear of men.
1. The apostles were sent out as sheep among wolves
a. They were not looking to devour but the wolves were
2. The opposition of the authorities was gaining ground against Jesus.
a. eventually the opposition would effect them too
*As they promoted the ministry and the purpose of Jesus they were bound to meet the resistance also
The fear the Apostles were to experience under these conditions was a worldly fear.
3. It is a worldly fear that we experience too.
a. This fear isn’t of God it is a fear of man.
*This world is not afraid of what God will do, Sodom and Gomorrah weren’t afraid
*It is time to fear the wrath of God.
b. The world dishes out the fear we have.
4. There are things that this fear isn’t
a. We aren’t afraid of dying for our faith.
*We are in a realitivly safe time right now, tomorrow may be different
b. There are people who are afraid of dying for their faith.
5. There are thing’s that this fear is.
a. We don’t want to offend anybody
b. We don’t want any body to be mad at us.
c. We don’t want to be ridiculed
d. We don’t want to be despised by man
B. Why was this fear stimulated
1. There was a real danger to the Apostles
a. Men can kill the body.
*Jesus never denied the rough road on the contrary he told them exactly how it was going to be/ no sugar coating
b. Men are unable to give you eternal peace
Whether or not you like Jay Leno, Johnny Carson, or The Tonight Show, an interesting lesson can be found from NBC’s late night studio. When Leno became the new host of The Tonight Show, he took some real heat. Critics unfavorably compared him to his predecessor, Johnny Carson. From all of the criticism you would have thought he was in big trouble, but he never got too worried. In fact, he kept a stack of unpleasant reviews on his desk for inspiration. One critic said, "Too many soft questions." Another one read, "He’s being too nice." These unkind words didn’t bother Leno, though, because they were written in 1962 and were directed at Jack Paar’s replacement, "an awkward nobody named Johnny Carson." Few people succeed without criticism.
*The glory of men is nothing/ what are you looking for today
2. Jesus affirms what He brings/ V34
a. He brings a sword
*A sword is not for peace it is for war
b. worldly division
In 1969, the "Eagle" landed on the moon and set up Tranquility Base. It was an ironic name for such a daring and dangerous mission. Neil Armstrong landed the spacecraft on the moon with just eleven seconds of fuel left, and he did it with less computer power than is contained in a new car today. NASA seemed to be communicating a biblical principle: you can have peace in the midst of turmoil. The same can be said on earth as well. Oceanographers say the sea remains tranquil below twenty-five feet. No matter how bad the storm rages on top of the ocean, the waters are peaceful down deep. The Christian finds peace in the same place--down deep. Shallow faith leaves you anxious and fearful when the storms arise, but a deep and stable faith provides tranquility in the midst of severe and threatening storms.
* "The Innovating Man," Tony Evans, Innovative Church Growth Conference, 1994
C. There are ways it was discouraged/ There are numerous considerations concerning this fear of man to be an unworthy fear.
1. The example of Christ.
a. If Christ was treated poorly then why should His Disciples be any different.
b. We shouldn’t complain if our lives are a little put out for the same reason
*There is not one of us sitting here that has had there faith truly tested by persecution
2. The dark things of death will be brought to light.
a. The hidden things will be made clear and in the open
1 Cor 13:12
12 For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.
b. There are things we don’t know today but there are things we do and we need to take comfort in them
3. There is the limit of man’s power
a. He can kill the body but he cannot touch the soul.
*Is this the most important thing in a Christian’s life
b. We may get robed of our brief bodily life but not of eternal heavenly life.
John 5:24
24 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life
4. There is no need to fear when we see the mercy and care of God
a. He sees every sparrow that falls to the ground
*There is nothing that goes unnoticed by God
b. He counts every hair on our heads.
*He is extremely interested in our lives
c. We know that the life on earth ends in spite of God’s watchful eye, but Christ assures us that God sees us and is ready to receive us unto him
2 Cor 5:8
8 We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord.
II. The second thing that Christ did was to cultivate of legitimate fear
A. There should be an object of legitimate fear
1. Fist we must look at foolish fear.
a. There is a childish fear of Satan and his power
*Satan is not some superstition or bad karma
*He is real
That is a pretty unusual title for an article that is designed to uphold the Christian faith. Why would we ever want to know the devil? Because we will never overcome him unless we know something of his sinister purposes, his devious tactics and his universal influence.
George C. Scott portrayed George Patton in the film biography of the World War II general’s career. There is a scene in which Scott as Patton reflects on the defeat of the German field Marshall, Erwin Rommel. He said something like, "Rommel, I read your book."
We have to read the book on our enemy, the devil. Among the things we need to know about him are the following:
1. He controls people. He has even been able to control people who walked in the physical presence of Jesus. Near the end of our Lord’s earthly ministry, he predicted His own death. Peter resisted the thought that such a thing could happen. Even with the passing of nearly 20 centuries, Jesus’ reaction to Peter is a shock. "Out of my sight, Satan! You are a stumbling block to Me; you do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men" (Matt. 16:23).
2. He lies. He is the father of lies (John 8:44) and he "masquerades as an angel of light" (2 Cor. 11:14). He can start with a premise or a practice that is clearly the opposite of what God wants and put a spin on it that makes it sound like you have God’s backing for the most evil deeds imaginable.
3. He has universal influence. In Job 1, God asked Satan where he had been. In arrogance Satan shot back, "Ranging over the earth from end to end" (NEB). You cannot go anywhere on this planet where Satan does not go.
This is not said to make you paranoid about Satan, but so that you might be better prepared to resist the devil and force him to flee from you.
2. We need to understand that the great enemy is the very spirit of evil
a. We believe evil is only relevant to a situation or a time.
b. We are in a battle for our very souls.
c. We must resist Satan/ Our great enemy is the very spirit of evil
*He attacks us when we are tempted and Jesus wants us to have a horror of doing wrong
1 Peter 5:6-9
6 Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time:
7 Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.
8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:
9 Whom resist stedfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world.
B. What are the grounds for this fear
1. There is soul destruction
a. Man is only capable of killing the body, yet sin kills the soul.
*if sin only brought momenty sin it would just be a spanking
b. Sin destroys the soul
Rom 6:23
23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Few college football coaches have made a point against drugs as effectively as Erk Russell of Georgia Southern College. He arranged for a couple of good ol’ country boys to burst into a routine team meeting and throw a writhing, hissing, six-foot-long rattlesnake onto a table in front of the squad. "Everyone screamed and scattered," Russell recalls. "I told them, ’When cocaine comes into a roon, you’re not nearly as apt to leave as when that rattlesnake comes in. But they’ll both kill you!"
c. The broad way leads to death
In 1991 a Gallup poll showed that 78 percent of Americans expect to go to heaven when they die. However, many of them hardly ever pray, read the Bible, or attend church. They admit that they live to please themselves instead of God. I wonder why these people would want to go to heaven.
In an article title, "Are We Ready for Heaven?" Maurice R. Irwin points out that only 34 percent of the American people who call themselves Christians attend church at least once a week. He says, "We sing, ’When all my labors and trials are o’er, and I am safe on that beautiful shore, just to be near the dear Lord I adore will through the ages be glory for me.’ However, unless our attitudes toward the Lord and our appreciation of Him change greatly, heaven may be more of a shock than a glory."
d. Evil does great things to the spiritual man
*it paralyzes or grater self, it saps our higher calling energy, it robs us of our Godly faculties, blinds us, and it crushes and deadens the wonderful life within us
2. There is the ultimate future.
a. The power of men, you and I, are confined to earth.
*We are only able to do earthly things and gain earthly wealth.
*What is it we want.
There is an old legend of a swan and a crane. A beautiful swan alighted by the banks of the water in which a crane was wading about seeking snails. For a few moments the crane viewed the swan in stupid wonder and then inquired:
"Where do you come from?"
"I come from heaven!" replied the swan.
"And where is heaven?" asked the crane.
"Heaven!" said the swan, "Heaven! have you never heard of heaven?" And the beautiful bird went on to describe the grandeur of the Eternal City. She told of streets of gold, and the gates and walls made of precious stones; of the river of life, pure as crystal, upon whose banks is the tree whose leaves shall be for the healing of the nations. In eloquent terms the swan sought to describe the hosts who live in the other world, but without arousing the slightest interest on the part of the crane.
Finally the crane asked: "Are there any snails there?"
"Snails!" repeated the swan; "no! Of course there are not."
"Then," said the crane, as it continued its search along the
slimy banks of the pool, "you can have your heaven. I want snails!"
This fable has a deep truth underlying it. How many a young person to whom God has granted the advantages of a Christian home, has turned his back upon it and searched for snails! How many a man will sacrifice his wife, his family, his all, for the snails of sin! How many a girl has deliberately turned from the love of parents and home to learn too late that heaven has been forfeited for snails!
b. The results of sin will be seen after death.
*You cannot escape judgment
*Without Jesus you cannot escape Hell
A flood of false doctrine has lately broken in upon us. Men are beginning to tell us "that God is too merciful to punish souls for ever...that all mankind, however wicked and ungodly...will sooner or later be saved." We are to embrace what is called "kinder theology," and treat hell as a pagan fable...This question lies at the very foundation of the whole Gospel. The moral attributes of God, His justice, His holiness, His purity, are all involved in it. The Scripture has spoken plainly and fully on the subject of hell... If words mean anything, there is such a place as hell. If texts are to be interpreted fairly, there are those who will be cast into it...
The same Bible which teaches that God in mercy and compassion sent Christ to die for sinners, does also teach that God hates sin, and must from His very nature punish all who cleave to sin or refuse the salvation He has provided. God knows that I never speak of hell without pain and sorrow. I would gladly offer the salvation of the Gospel to the very chief of sinners. I would willingly say to the vilest and most profligate of mankind on his deathbed, "Repent, and believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be save." But God\ forbid that I should ever keep back from mortal man that scripture reveals a hell as well as heaven...that men may be lost as well as saved.
Anglican Bishop J.D. Ryle, about 100 years ago, quoted in The Berean Call, April, 1993.
The New testament always conceives of this eternal punishment as consisting of an agonizing knowledge of one’s own ill desert, of God’s displeasure, of the good that one has lost, and of the irrevocable fixed state in which one now finds oneself. The doctrine of eternal punishment was taught in the synagogue even before our Lord took it up and enforced it in the Gospels. All the language that strikes terror into our hearts -- weeping and gnashing of teeth, outer darkness, the worm, the fire, gehenna, the great gulf fixed -- is all directly taken from our Lord’s teaching. It is from Jesus Christ that we learn the doctrine of eternal punishment.
Study the following Bible passages and any other relevant ones on this topic, and reach your own conclusions, prayerfully: Luke 16:26; John 3:18-19, 36; 5:29; 12:32; Acts 3:21,23; Rom. 1:16, 5:18-21; 1 Cor. 15:25-28; 2 Cor. 5:10, 19; 6:2; Gal. 1:4; Eph. 5:25; Phil. 2:9-11; 1 Tim. 2:4; Titus 2:11; Heb. 2:9; 9:27; 1 Pet. 3:19; 2 Pet 3:9; 1 John 1:5; 2:2; 4:8.
James Packer, Your Father Loves You, Harold Shaw Publishers, 1986
Conclusion: There is a time to realize how fear effects us.
Fear will grip each of us at one point in our lives, are you sitting hear today and something has you griped in fear, is it school, is it your job, is it some friend down the road, is it what you have to do, is it death, is it a greater commitment to the church?
A man once said remember that everyone you meet is afraid of something, loves something, and has lost something.
All I can say today is what Paul said and I will read it from the Living Bible Traslation,
1 Cor 4:2-5
2 Now the most important thing about a servant is that he does just what his master tells him to. 3 What about me? Have I been a good servant? Well, I don’t worry over what you think about this or what anyone else thinks. I don’t even trust my own judgment on this point. 4 My conscience is clear, but even that isn’t final proof. It is the Lord himself who must examine me and decide.
I do want to say this today, There is a healthy fear, a fear that must be looked and evaluated, it is the wholesome dread of displeasing God and Paul mentioned that.
5 So be careful not to jump to conclusions before the Lord returns as to whether someone is a good servant or not. When the Lord comes, he will turn on the light so that everyone can see exactly what each one of us is really like, deep down in our hearts. Then everyone will know why we have been doing the Lord’s work. At that time God will give to each one whatever praise is coming to him.
You can hid your life from all of us and even from yourself, but you can’t hide from God.
Whatever it is, I want you to know one thing, Jesus want you to know that if he can be concerned over the sparrow you don’t have anything to
