What Are You Afraid Of?

John Ortberg in his book- “If You Want To Walk On Water You’’ve Got To Get Out Of The Boat” notes this about fear:

“The single command in Scripture that occurs more often than any other - God’s most frequently repeated instruction - is formulated in two words: Fear Not. Do not be afraid. Be strong and courageous. You can trust me. Fear not. Why does God command us not to fear? Fear does not seem like the most serious vice in the world. It never made the list of the Seven Deadly Sins. No one ever receives church discipline for being afraid. SO why does God tell human beings to stop being afraid more often than he tells them anything else? My hunch is that the reason God says ‘Fear Not’ so much is not that he wants us to be spared emotional discomfort. In fact, usually he says it to people to do something that is going to lead them into greater fear anyway. I think God says, ‘fear not’ so often because fear is the number one reason human beings are tempted to avoid doing what God asks them to do (117,118).

In the September 21, 2001 San Francisco Chronicle, the headline read, "Freedom and Fear Are at War." The truth is fear is at war with many aspects of life, not just with freedom. Fear wars against our health. Fear wars against making good decisions. Fear wars against obedience to God. Fear interferes with all of life.

Paul Harvey tells the story of a famous thief from the 1800s. His name stirred fear. He terrorized the Wells Fargo stage line for thirteen years, roaring like a tornado in and out of the Sierra Nevada’’s, spooking the most rugged frontiersmen. In journals from San Francisco to New York, his name became synonymous with the danger of the frontier.

During his reign of terror, he is credited with robbing twenty-nine different stagecoach crews. And he did it all without firing a shot. His weapon was his reputation. His ammunition was intimidation. A hood hid his face. No victim ever saw him. No artist ever sketched his features. No sheriff could ever track his trail. He never fired a shot or took a hostage. He didn’t have to. His presence was enough to paralyze.

Black Bart. A hooded bandit armed with a deadly weapon. What was his deadly weapon? One word, it was FEAR! Black Bart, as it turns out, wasn’t anything to be afraid of. When the hood came off, there was nothing to fear. When the authorities finally tracked down the thief, they didn’t find a bloodthirsty bandit from Death Valley. They found a mild-mannered druggist from Decatur, Illinois. The man the papers pictured storming through the mountains on horseback was, in reality, so afraid of horses he rode to and from his robberies in a buggy. He was Charles E. Boles –– the bandit who never once fired a shot, because he never once loaded his gun. — Paul Harvey’’s The Rest of the Story; (New York, NY: Bantam, 1977) Page 117

Just like Black Bart’s unloaded gun most fear has no real power only perceived power. Like the mother who decided she would put the fear of a speeding ticket in the speeding drivers going past a local elementary school. Every morning she would park her car in front of the elementary school and point her black hair dryer - shaped like a radar gun, out of the window at speeding cars. The effect was dramatic as drivers slowed down fearing they might receive a speeding ticket.

What are you afraid of? Afraid to take that step into a new career or business? Afraid to take the plunge and make the commitment to get married? Afraid to try something new? Afraid to commit to Jesus Christ because you are afraid you will fail at living a Christian life? What are you afraid?

Dr. E. Stanley Jones was an Evangelical Methodist missionary to India. He said, “I am inwardly fashioned for faith, not for fear. Fear is not my native land; faith is. I am so made that worry and anxiety are sand in the machinery of life; faith is the oil. I live better by faith and confidence than by fear, doubt and anxiety. In anxiety and worry, my being is gasping for breath--these are not my native air. But in faith and confidence, I breathe freely--these are my native air. A John Hopkins University doctor says, "We do not know why it is that worriers die sooner than the non-worriers, but that is a fact." But I, who am simple of mind, think I know; We are inwardly constructed in nerve and tissue, brain cell and soul, for faith and not for fear. God made us that way. To live by worry is to live against reality.”

There is only one fear I can find that we are told to possess. Proverbs 9:10 (NIV) "The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.”

Oh, by the way (or btw in today’s new language), if you are afraid to commit to Jesus Christ because you fear you can’t live the Christian life... stop worrying about it because you are right. You can’t live the Christian life, at least not alone. All Jesus asks is that we trust Him. He has promised to never leave us alone and then He gave us the church family. So go ahead and face that fear... TODAY!

Prayer: Lord Jesus, forgive me for allowing fear to drive my life. Today I commit my life to You and purpose to do Your will and take the opportunities that You bring to my life because I know that I am not alone... I have You as my friend and partner. AMEN.

Blessings!
Pastor Roger