Archive for May, 2024
How to Face Fear Faithfully – Part Two
“Fear not, for I am with you; Be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, Yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.” Isaiah 41: 10
An estimated 10 million Americans failing to live in accordance with that text suffer from anxiety neurosis. There are so many phobias that there is even a phobophobia, a fear of fear.
Fear has been mankind’s nemesis ever since Adam hid himself.
Fear paralyzes reason. Bible knowledge is the antidote to fear.
Faith works against such obstacles as: 1) past failures, 2) present difficulties, 3) the silence of God.
Great honor belongs to all to whom God spoke these words. If you are one of His children, that means you. It is an honor because these words mean He knows about you and cares about you.
The expression “fear not” indicates God wants you to live in terms of personal intimacy with Him.
With the force of a bolt of lightning God instructs us not to be dismayed.
The word dismayed refers to a sudden complete loss of courage, to become utterly disheartened. When the text says, “Don’t be dismayed” it simply means, “Don’t give up and quit.” Does that sound like your current address? Are you living at the corner of “Give Up” and “Quit” streets?
John Bunyan, in his incomparable “Pilgrim’s Progress,” describes certain people graphically. I hope this description doesn’t fit you. Bunyan uses illustrative language to depict the conditions of people He spoke of being in a “Slough of Despond.” A slough is a kind of swamp. Despond is short for despondency. He says of certain people: “They need not fear the Slough of Despond for they carry a slough within their heart, they never get it out and they never get out of it.”
God says, “Don’t give up. Don’t quit. Don’t get bogged down in the Slough of Despond.” Faith is confidence in His character that keeps us out of the Slough of Despond..
Faith is consciousness that God is present even when our feelings tell us He isn’t. Faith acknowledges God has entered into an eternal covenant with us that cannot be broken which assures us He is obligated to finish the work He has begun in us. Faith knows our Refining God has a purpose in every degree He allows in our furnace.
Faith knows that when it is being applied, others are learning lessons from us they could not comprehend any other way.
How to Face Fear Faithfully – Part One
“Fear not, for I am with you; Be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, Yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.” Isaiah 41: 10
Jesus wants to calm the troubled soul. Eighty times in the Bible God says to His people, “Fear not.” To this day some seem not to have received the message. Or having received it, they appear to argue with it with such lines as, “But God, you don’t understand how bad things are.” Or, “God, things are worse than they have ever been!” We often inventory the difficulties for God.
It is the economy, my health, my job or lack of one, my family, the social condition, the world situation, etc.
Reality would snatch us up by the nape of the neck and remind us of a line from the 23rd Psalm most of us could quote from childhood: “I will fear no evil.” Look that one up and underscore in your mind, if not on the page, the little two letter word N O. I will fear N O evil.
Faith is merely confidence in God’s character. It is the ability to believe God means what He says and has the capacity to do what He promised. Faith and belief are one. The most commonly used word in the world is a Hebrew word. It is used in many languages. It is the word “amen.” It is the word for belief. By concluding our prayers with it, we are affirming, “Lord, I believe.”
The nation watched from here in Atlanta during the recent bowl season as East Carolina made one of the most remarkable comebacks of the year. The theme of the team was captured in many banners of the fans: “I believe.” It inspired confidence and improved capacity.
In an important game the Denver Broncos were down by one point with two minutes to go and 98 yards between them and the goal line, the thought quarterback John Elway said came to him was, “We got ‘em right where we want them.” That belief inspired a great victory.
We can live with the confidence, “Lord, you got me right where you want me.”
Faith grows in the face of obstacles. Faith isn’t related to doing spectacular things. It is simply obedience to a spectacular God.
Doubt is an attack on God’s character. Remember, “Without faith it is impossible to please God” (Heb. 11: 6). Today and every day put your faith in Him and thereby please Him. He’s got you right where He wants to evidence His love.
Dependability: Who Cares? Part Three
Luke 22: 25 – 30
Have you ever had anyone stand by you in your trials? Have you been willing to stand by anyone in their trials?
We must come out of our hot, tight little circle of friends and show others we care.
Jesus said, “I am among you as one that serves.” That kind of servant attitude could have come only out of a fountain of love.
When people care, they share. One of our members in a public place spoke to a lady in the same group in which he was waiting. Finding that she was new in the community he asked her if she had found a church home. She responded, “You folks around here really care about your churches. A lady just a minute ago asked me the same question.” She then said that she was a member of another denomination, but asked, “To what church do you go?” When He told her, in astonishment she replied, “So does that lady that just asked me to visit her church. If your church means so much to you folks, I will be there Sunday.”
People who care, share.
As a pastor I paused one Sunday to look through a window into one of our children’s areas. There I saw a friend, one of our State Representatives lovingly attending to the needs of the little children. The need of one of them was for a ride on his back with a choke-hold around his neck. He cared so much for little children that he shared love with them. Of all the people in the room, he seemed most happy. That is the way sharing works.
Jesus once said, “In as much as you did it to one of the least of these, you did it unto me.” An application of what He said would be, “You have served me, now go out there and imagine the person you find in need to be Me and help that one as though he or she were Me and you were helping Me.”
There is mutual strength in sharing.
I visited California’s giant Sequoia Forest. I was amazed at one tree known as General Sherman. It is over 200 feet high and is 70 feet in circumference. I thought surely the roots of that big fellow must go at least 100 feet deep. I was fascinated when the guide said they were just beneath the surface. I thought that must be wrong. If they are so shallow, a wind would easily blow them over. The guide explained that Sequoia trees grow only in groves. Their roots intertwine. When the strong winds come, they each hold up the other.
Jesus intends for His followers to be Sequoia Christians.
There is a big blessing inherent in the doing of a good deed.
Have you anyone who has stuck by you in your trials? Have you thanked them? Have you thanked God for them?
Have you related to anyone who can say of you, “You stayed with me in my trials.”
There are many fringe blessings inherent in caring. Jesus spoke to His disciples of the heavenly reward. However, He has made provision for His followers in time. By continuing with Him He is also with us. He has said to those who follow Him, “Lo, I am with you always….”
Dependability: Who Cares? Part One
Luke 22: 25 – 30
Jesus is looking for people who care. Do you?
He is looking for people to represent Him. Will you?
There have always been people who followed Jesus. Those who have can be divided into two groups: STRAYERS AND STAYERS.
John 6:66 describes the first group. Jesus depicted the challenges and demands of following Him, and “From that time many of His disciples went back and walked with Him no more.” Then Jesus turned with a broken heart and addressed a question to those remaining: “Do you also want to go away?” (6:68).
They became His decals. They stuck. Near the end of His ministry in the upper room on the eve of His death He paid them one of the highest compliments He ever paid anyone. He said, “You are those who have continued with me in My trials.” In effect, “You,” He said, “stuck with me.”
They were not much to brag on and they probably knew it, but one quality they had and He stressed it. “You stayed when others strayed.” They stayed because they cared.
I have seen loved ones keep long vigils in hospitals because they cared. I have seen families go without food and get little sleep in order to keep a love vigil in an hour of crisis because they cared.
If you really care about Jesus, you will stay, not stray.
The philosopher, Friedreich Nietzsche, is not one of my favorite writers; but in his book, “Beyond Good and Evil” he made a worthy observation. He wrote: “The essential thing ‘in heaven and earth’ is… that there be a long obedience in the same direction; there thereby results, and has always resulted in the long run, something which has made life worth living.”
That is what results when one really cares about Christ and His cause. There is a long obedience in the same direction. There is no turning back.
If you care, you share. There is an old proverb which came from ancient Europe which states: “Shared joy is double joy; shared sorrow is half a sorrow.”
Clearly, the way of doubling a joy is by sharing it. When something good happens and you share it with a friend, the joy is doubled.
Likewise, when something sorrowful happens and you share it, the burden is lightened and the sorrow diminished.
That is the environment that the church must afford its members and the world.
Jesus complimented them saying they had been with Him in His “trials.” The Greek word is “peirasmos,” meaning dangers, afflictions, troubles, or tests intended to prove. Some Christians whine, “It’s not easy being a Christian.” It never was and never will be, BUT it is fulfilling, victorious, and joyful.
The Docket of Witnesses
Let’s review the resurrection and the aftermath.
Jesus had died a quivering corpse on a cruel cross.
The Centurion thrust his lance into His side piercing the flesh, slitting the pericardium, and puncturing the heart.
Calloused Roman soldiers who gambled at the cross cursed and swore – – – – “He is dead.”
Elders, whose deception lead to His death attentively listened to the report – – – – “He is dead.”
Sadducees who shunned the supernatural rejoiced to hear – – – – “He is dead.”
Caiaphas, intoxicated with envy, sighed in relief at the account – – – – “He is dead.”
His lifeless body was placed in the tomb. Death reached a new depth.
For three days death celebrated around the tomb.
Death’s cold hand stamped His life – – – – “Fiction.”
Death’s dirge drowned out life’s song.
There would be no appeal from His lifeless lips. Then God said – – – – SURPRISE!
Jesus had forced open the old door of death that had been locked since the death of the first person. The Easter story does not end with a funeral, but a festival.
Not a casket, but a celebration. The resurrection deserves not our applause, but our allegiance. Not our compliment, but our compliance with His will. The resurrection is heaven’s amen and earth’s hallelujah. The courts of earth had condemned Jesus to death.
The appellate court of heaven reversed death’s decision and pronounced Him as being alive.
A variety of people walked with, talked with Him, touched Him, and dined with Him. He was seen indoors, outdoors, on a sunny beach, and on a shadowy roadway.
Note these observances: “… He was seen by Cephas, then by the twelve. After that He was seen by over five hundred brethren at once, of whom the greater part remain to the present, but some have fallen asleep. After that He was seen by James, then all the apostles, Then last of all He was seen by me…” (I Cor. 15: 5 – 9a). He who was decidedly dead was obviously alive.
In light of these insights make certain you have asked His forgiveness of your sin and committed you life to Him for time and eternity so that you will hear from Him: “Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world” (Matthew 25: 34).