Love Conquers Fear

 

There is none who understands, there is none who seeks for God - Romans 3:11

For the heart of this people has become dull - with their ears they scarcely hear and they have closed their eyes. Otherwise, they would see with their eyes, hear with their ears, and understand with their heart and return, and I would heal them’ - Matthew 13:15

Little Johnny was in the kitchen as his mother made supper. She asked him to go into the pantry and get her a can of tomato soup. But, Johnny didn't want to go. He stopped and looked straight into his mom’s eyes: "It's dark in there and I'm scared to go in there all alone," he said. She asked again, yet he still persisted that he not go in there alone. Finally she said, "It's okay, Johnny, Jesus will be in there with you."

Filled with a glimmer of courage Johnny walked hesitantly to the pantry door and slowly opened it. He peeked inside and saw it was dark. With his voice barely above a whisper, Johnny said: "Jesus, if you're in there, would you mind handing me a can of tomato soup?"

Fear. It’s not a laughing matter.

Fear is so prevalent nowadays we have had to develop new terminology to describe fear. Things like peladophobia: fear of baldness and bald people. Aerophobia: fear of drafts. Porphyrophobia: fear of the color purple. Chaetophobia: fear of hairy people. Levophobia: fear of objects on the left side of the body. Dextrophobia: fear of objects on the right side of the body. Auroraphobia: fear of the northern lights. Calyprophobia: fear of obscure meanings. Thalassophobia: fear of being seated. Stabisbasiphobia: fear of standing and walking. Odontophobia: fear of teeth. Graphophobia: fear of writing in public. Phobophobia: fear of being afraid.

And of course, sermonophobia - fear of a sermon going too long…ok, we made that up.

What are you fearful of? What causes you to freeze up? What gives you the heebie jeebies?

If you read the Psalms you find that time and time again David wrestled with fear. In the Gospel of Mark you read about a young man who ran away naked out of the Garden of Gethsemane. And, of course, in the book of Acts you read about the sons of Sceva who faced off against evil and were beaten up and ran away.

Yes, fear is found throughout the Bible.

But, at the same time, fear does not have the final say. In this life or the next.

The Word of God reminds us: 

    1.) “Greater is He that is in you than he that is in the world” - I John 4:4

    2.) “What shall we say in response to all of these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?” - Romans 8:31

    3.) “...because everyone who is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world: our faith” - I John 5:4
    4.) “...the battle belongs to the LORD…” - I Chronicles 5:22
    5.) “The LORD is on my side; I will not be afraid. What can a person do to me?” - Psalms 118:6.
    6.) “Do not fear, for I am with you; do not be afraid, for I am your God. I will strengthen you; I will surely help you; I will uphold you with My right hand of righteousness” - Isaiah 41:10
    7.) “So do not be afraid; you are worth more than the sparrows…” - Matthew 10:31

Now, the Bible is just a collection of books, thoughts, wisdom, history, songs, prophecy, and the sayings of a homeless, wandering Rabbi - unless you apply them to your life. If you place your faith (trust) in the Bible as the word of God then they become more than words. They give life. They become life.

Unfortunately, people do not read the Bible anymore, unless they are facing a crisis. They are afraid and they have nowhere else to turn. Then, they may crack open that book covered in dust. That leads to a life of fear.

We live in a culture that is based on fear. The news, social media, political parties, businesses - they all feed on people’s fears. Give people something to be scared about and then offer them the solution. That is how they control you. That is how the world operates.

God does not operate in fear. As a matter of fact, all of the teaching, preaching and shouting about hell and damnation - is nothing more than a ploy by people who want to “scare” people into heaven or control their behavior. 

Sure, there are words in the Holy Scriptures about judgment upon sin and those who refuse grace and mercy. Judgment on sin is coming.

That said, God’s love destroying our fear is much more prevalent and powerful in bringing people into God’s kingdom.

After all, it’s why we remember Jeremiah 31:3, “...I have loved you with an everlasting love.”

It’s why we repeat the words of our Savior: “For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son; so that whoever believes in him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world but that the world through him might be saved.”

It’s also why we close this week’s note out with these words:

“All who declare that Jesus is the Son of God have God living in them, and they live in God. We know how much God loves us, and we have put our trust in his love. God is love, and all who live in love live in God, and God lives in them. And as we live in God, our love grows more perfect. So we will not be afraid on the day of judgment, but we can face him with confidence because we live like Jesus here in this world. Such love has no fear, because perfect love expels all fear. If we are afraid, it is for fear of punishment, and this shows that we have not fully experienced his perfect love. We love each other because he loved us first,” - I John 4:15-19.

LOVE CONQUERS FEAR

Look at What My Kid Did!

 

I will make known the LORD's loving devotion and His praiseworthy acts, because of all that the LORD has done for us--the many good things for the house of Israel according to His great compassion and loving devotion - Isaiah 63:7

For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that everyone who believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life - John 3:16

In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace - Ephesians 1:7

He saved us, not by the righteous deeds we had done, but according to His mercy, through the washing of new birth and renewal by the Holy Spirit - Titus 3:5

We wonder if you are like us. Do you have pictures on your refrigerator? By that, we mean drawings from children. You know the kind - a hand that looks like a turkey; a blob that is supposed to be dad; a hand that has seven fingers; or the loving stick figure family.

Whatever might be on your fridge - we bet it means something to you.

Speaking of children artists, Thane Hutcherson Ury, missiologist, professor, theologian, biblical scholar, pastor and premiere story-teller shares the following story that we can all understand:

There was an extremely wealthy man who was an avid collector of fine art. He gained some notoriety for accumulating an impressive collection. Sadly, his heir and only son died prematurely. The man loved him deeply, and had even placed one of his own son’s childhood drawings right between a Picasso and Rembrandt.

When the affluent man passed away, a public auction was held with all of his enviable art pieces. The invitation-only auction drew over a thousand bidders from across the world.

The auctioneer opened the occasion by first putting on the block the self-portrait that the man’s deceased son had drawn. Everyone could tell it was not a professional offering.

When the floor opened for bids, no signals came. After an embarrassing silence, a shabbily-dressed, diminutive figure walked down the aisle. The auctioneer recalled his face as one who had volunteered to load the moving trucks.

This was the servant of the wealthy man.

This servant had cared for the son for years, and wanted just one keepsake. Something to fondly remember the boy by. Feeling out of place, embarrassed, and with no sense of bidding protocol, he pulled some crumpled dollar bills from his vest pocket and asked, “Could I buy the child’s self-portrait?” Without a moment of hesitation, the auctioneer immediately slammed his gavel, saying, “Sold!”

The huge crowd shifted with excitement. Murmuring began erupting across the group. There was great anticipation that the “real” auction would now begin.

But shockingly and to the dismay of all, the auctioneer hit the gavel again and said, “The auction is done.”

Loud chatter, confusion, and anger ensued. The auctioneer finally got everyone’s attention and went on to explain. In the wealthy man’s will, he left crystal-clear instructions: his son’s self portrait was to be sold first. And then, with no other qualification, he clearly added that whoever offered to buy his son’s work would freely receive the rest of the art collection.

The master of the house had decided well in advance that whoever loved his son and accepted his work, should not only have his son’s work, but all the other works that belonged to the father.

In a very real sense, this is the same thing which happens to the person who places their faith and trust in Jesus Christ - the only Son of the Father. When we receive the work of Christ - the cross, death and resurrection - when we place our faith in him - when we freely receive his love - when we are showered in his mercy - when we are saved by his grace - we simultaneously receive the works and blessings of his Father who now becomes our Father.

As we read in John 6:32-40: Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, Moses didn’t give you bread from heaven. My Father did. And now he offers you the true bread from heaven. The true bread of God is the one who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” “Sir,” they said, “give us that bread every day.” Jesus replied, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry again. Whoever believes in me will never be thirsty. But you haven’t believed in me even though you have seen me. However, those the Father has given me will come to me, and I will never reject them. For I have come down from heaven to do the will of God who sent me, not to do my own will. And this is the will of God, that I should not lose even one of all those he has given me, but that I should raise them up at the last day. For it is my Father’s will that all who see his Son and believe in him should have eternal life. I will raise them up at the last day.”

We don’t know about you but have you ever stopped to consider the free gift of life which God has bought and paid for? When was the last time you took time to ponder the “amazing grace” you received when “Jesus paid it all?”

The great Christian thinker Thomas A Kempis once wrote: “A wise lover values not so much the gift of the lover as the love of the giver.” Never forget - God loves you. And, that, our friends, is more valuable than any gift we could ever receive. After all, look at what his Son did!