31, October 2004
Dakota Community Church
The Fear Factor
Unmasking the Reality of Evil
Introduction:
Well it’s Halloween so I thought I would take a break from our women series to talk about the topic on the minds of so many Christians at this time of year.
In order to receive what I believe the Lord would have me share tonight you will need to agree to a few things:
- The Bible is the final authority, not traditions, not experiences, not pet doctrinal ideologies.
- Truth is freeing even if it is different than what we formerly thought was true.
- Growth and change do not happen independently of each other.
1. The spiritual realm cannot be ignored.
1Peter 5: 7-9
7Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.
8Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. 9Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings.
Revelation 12: 7-9
7And there was war in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought back. 8But he was not strong enough, and they lost their place in heaven. 9The great dragon was hurled down--that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him.
Deuteronomy 18: 9-13
9 When you enter the land the LORD your God is giving you, do not learn to imitate the detestable ways of the nations there. 10 Let no one be found among you who sacrifices his son or daughter in the fire, who practices divination or sorcery, interprets omens, engages in witchcraft, 11 or casts spells, or who is a medium or spiritist or who consults the dead. 12 Anyone who does these things is detestable to the LORD, and because of these detestable practices the LORD your God will drive out those nations before you. 13 You must be blameless before the LORD your God.
1Samuel 15: 22-23
"Does the LORD delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the voice of the LORD? To obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams. 23 For rebellion is like the sin of divination, and arrogance like the evil of idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the LORD, he has rejected you as king."
- You cannot ignore the devil or his schemes and hope they will not affect you.
- You cannot ignore the roots of Halloween.
- You cannot ignore the spirits behind horoscopes, Ouija boards, and palm readers.
- You cannot ignore sickness and disease.
- You cannot ignore the final enemy – death.
You must not fear them or hide from them either!
1Corinthians 15: 21-26
21For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. 22For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive. 23But each in his own turn: Christ, the first fruits; then, when he comes, those who belong to him. 24Then the end will come, when he hands over the kingdom to God the Father after he has destroyed all dominion, authority and power. 25For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. 26The last enemy to be destroyed is death.
2. It is a mistake to fear the dark side.
Whenever the forces of darkness raise an issue the Church usually is reactive rather than proactive.
The response is almost always fear based and offensive to non-believers.
This is not the way Jesus dealt with darkness.
Psalm 27: 1-3
1 The LORD is my light and my salvation- whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life- of whom shall I be afraid? 2 When evil men advance against me to devour my flesh, when my enemies and my foes attack me, they will stumble and fall. 3 Though an army besiege me, my heart will not fear; though war break out against me, even then will I be confident.
Job 3: 24-26
24For my sighing comes before I eat, and my groanings pour out like water. 25For the thing I greatly feared has come upon me and what I dreaded has happened to me. 26I am not at ease, nor am I quiet; I have no rest, for trouble comes."
Faith and fear are like to sides of a coin. They are the force which activates supernatural events.
Fear is negative faith. It is the confidence that something bad is going to happen.
Fear gives the thing we fear the power to harm us.
What is an example of empowering the dark side through fear?
Horoscopes – they are ridiculous and should be treated as such. They are only dangerous if you are seeking spiritual guidance from them. Who would use a horoscope to look for spiritual guidance? Someone who’s mom freaked out and went on and on about the devil’s power when they were caught reading one.
My non-believing parents were smart enough to ridicule them, so they never held interest for me.
Freaking out in fear gives them credibility.
- The heart of the individual is the important factor.
What is happening in the heart when you look at the Christmas tree?
What is going on in the heart when you eat an Easter bunny?
What is going on in the heart when you go trick or treating?
What is going on in the heart when you get your palm read?
What is going on in the heart when you smoke dope?
What is going on in the heart when you go to a health spa or karate class?
- On a case by case basis the one on the receiving end determines what happens.
- You cannot be hexed if you don’t fear it.
Proverbs 26: 2
2 Like a fluttering sparrow or a darting swallow, an undeserved curse does not come to rest.
Genesis 12: 1-3
1 The LORD had said to Abram, "Leave your country, your people and your father’s household and go to the land I will show you. 2 "I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. 3 I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you."
Numbers 23: 7-12
7 Then Balaam uttered his oracle: "Balak brought me from Aram, the king of Moab from the eastern mountains.’Come,’ he said, ’curse Jacob for me; come, denounce Israel.’ 8 How can I curse those whom God has not cursed? How can I denounce those whom the LORD has not denounced? 9 From the rocky peaks I see them; from the heights I view them. I see a people who live apart and do not consider themselves one of the nations. 10 Who can count the dust of Jacob or number the fourth part of Israel? Let me die the death of the righteous, and may my end be like theirs!"
11 Balak said to Balaam, "What have you done to me? I brought you to curse my enemies, but you have done nothing but bless them!"
12 He answered, "Must I not speak what the LORD puts in my mouth?"
Are we not all afraid of death? Is it the fierce enemy we imagine it to be?
Quote:
War threatens us with death and pain. No man – and especially no Christian who remembers Gethsemane – need try to attain a stoic indifference about these things, but we can guard against the illusions of the imagination. We think of the streets of Warsaw and contrast the deaths there suffered with an abstraction called Life. But there is no question of death or life for any of us, only a question of this death or of that – of a machine gun bullet now or a cancer forty years later. What does war do to death? It certainly does not make it more frequent; 100 percent of us die, and the percentage cannot be increased. It puts several deaths earlier, but I hardly suppose that that is what we fear. Certainly when the moment comes, it will make little difference how many years we have behind us. Does it increase our chances of a painful death? I doubt it. As far as I can find out, what we call natural death is usually preceded by suffering, and a battlefield is one of the very few places where one has a reasonable prospect of dying with no pain at all. Does it decrease our chances of dying at peace with God? I cannot believe it. If active service does not persuade a man to prepare for death, what conceivable concatenation of circumstances would? Yet war does do something to death. It forces us to remember it. The only reason why the cancer at sixty or the paralysis at seventy-five do not bother us is that we forget them.
• from “Learning in War-Time” by C. S. Lewis
1Corinthians 15: 54-57
54So when this corruptible has put on incorruption, and this mortal has put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written: "Death is swallowed up in victory."
55"O Death, where is your sting? O Hades, where is your victory?"
56The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law. 57But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
If we are not to fear the dark side and we are not to ignore it how do we deal with it?
- We expose it to the light.
- We take authority over it.
3. Light always overcomes darkness.
James 4: 7-8
7Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 8Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.
Isaiah 41: 10-13
10 So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. 11 "All who rage against you will surely be ashamed and disgraced; those who oppose you will be as nothing and perish. 12 Though you search for your enemies, you will not find them. Those who wage war against you will be as nothing at all. 13 For I am the LORD, your God, who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, do not fear; I will help you.
Tonight the entire community will be coming to your door - What will they recieve?
A note saying you don’t believe in halloween?
Darkness?
I encourage you to do what Jesus would do.
Greet them with open arms - give out the best treats on the street and find a way to include the Good News.
We give out full size chocolate bars and I tape a small business card sized gospel encouragement to each one.
The Mennonite Bretheren Pastor across the street from me does up a huge Hot Chocolate and stands at the end of his driveway doling it out to the cold parents, doesn’t that sound like Jesus?
PowerPoint available on request - dcormie@mts.net
