Sis Melinda Song
INTRODUCTION
According to an ancient legend, a man
driving one day to Constantinople was stopped by an old woman who asked him for
a ride. He took her up beside him and, as they drove along, he looked at her
and become frightened and asked, "Who are you?" The old woman replied: "I am
Cholera"
Thereupon the peasant ordered the old woman to get down and walk; but she
persuaded him to take her along upon her promise that she would not kill more
than five people in Constantinople. As a pledge of the promise she handed him a
dagger, saying to him that it was the only weapon with which she could be
killed. Then she added: "I shall meet you in two days. If I break my
promise, you may stab me."
In Constantinople, 120 people died of the
cholera. The enraged man who had driven her to the city, and to whom she had
given the dagger as a pledge that she would not kill more than five, went out
to look for the old woman, and meeting her, raised his dagger to kill her. But
she stopped him, saying: "I have kept my agreement. I killed only five.
Fear killed the others."
This legend is a true parable of life. Where
disease kills its thousands, fear kills its tens of thousands. So what are you
afraid of? Here are top 10 phobias compiled by LiveScience Managing Editor,
Jeanna Bryner. See if you identify with any of them.
10
The Dentist
9
Dogs
8
Flying
7
Thunder and lightning
6
The dark
5
Heights
4
Other people
3
Scary places or situations - where
escape might be difficult such as elevators, sporting events, bridges, public
transportation or other crowded places
2
Creepy crawlies
1
Snakes
People can become afraid of the strangest
things, like Friday the 13th or walking under the ladder. But 365
times in Scripture, God tells us "Do not fear" or "Fear
not" or something similar. That is one time for every day of the
year.
Today we are going to look at a fear that
God wants us to have. It is commonly referred to as the fear of the Lord and I
would like to entitle this message as “The Fear To Overcome All Fears.” Let us
turn to Luke 12:1-12.
1 Meanwhile, when a crowd of many thousands
had gathered, so that they were trampling on one another, Jesus began to speak
first to his disciples, saying: “Be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees,
which is hypocrisy. 2 There is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed, or
hidden that will not be made known. 3 What you have said in the dark will be
heard in the daylight, and what you have whispered in the ear in the inner
rooms will be proclaimed from the roofs.
4 “I tell you, my friends, do not be
afraid of those who kill the body and after that can do no more. 5 But I
will show you whom you should fear: Fear him who, after your body has been
killed, has authority to throw you into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him. 6 Are not five sparrows sold
for two pennies? Yet not one of them is forgotten by God. 7Indeed, the very
hairs of your head are all numbered. Don’t be afraid; you are worth more
than many sparrows.
8 “I tell you, whoever publicly acknowledges
me before others, the Son of Man will also acknowledge before the angels of
God. 9 But whoever disowns me before others will be disowned before the angels
of God. 10 And everyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be
forgiven, but anyone who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will not be
forgiven.
11 “When you are brought before synagogues,
rulers and authorities, do not worry about how you will defend
yourselves or what you will say, 12 for the
Holy Spirit will teach you at that time what you should say.”
The main text of this message will be drawn
from verses 4 to 7.
Webster’s dictionary defines fear as “an
unpleasant often strong emotion caused by anticipation or awareness of danger.”
According to H.P. Lovecraft, an American author who achieved posthumous fame
through his influential works of horror fiction, “The oldest and strongest
emotion of mankind is fear.” Hence the popularity of horror movies and our
delight in scaring ourselves when we go on roller-coaster rides.
Several Greek words are used for fear in the
New Testament with various depth of meaning related to fear. Phobos, a general
term for fear or terror is the word used in this text and it is the same root
word from where we get our word ‘phobia.’
Among the lessons that we can learn from our
passage today is…
I. We
should not fear man
“I tell you, my friends, do not be afraid
of those who kill the body and after that can do no more” (v. 4)
Verses 1-3
link with the previous section on the Pharisees. Jesus warned his disciples to
guard against hypocrisy because the day will come when all things concealed or
hidden will all be revealed.
The original meaning of the Greek word ὑποκριταί
(hypokritai) means “stage actors.” They are just acting a role. But when no one
is looking (i.e. the audience is gone) they revert to their true self, which is
some one quite different. Jesus in his teaching here describes hypocrisy as the
sad state of a person who reduces himself to being an actor on a stage.
a. The fear of man
There are many people who live their life in
a desperate search for human approval and applause. They discern their dignity
and worth, not from God, (who is a stranger to them), but from what other human
beings think of them
Many young people, due to peer pressure,
will engage in dangerous and unhealthy practices to win approval. engage in
sexual activity before marriage, and do many risky things. One weekend I
visited my daughter in KL. The whole student house was empty because everyone
was out clubbing and they would only be back on Sunday. If she had sought the
approval of her friends she would have succumbed to being in the in crowd and
joined them as well.
Adults too will often compromise core
principles in order to fit in and be liked, gain promotions or earn access
to a certain group. Christians will hide their faith, and act differently when
they are in secular company in order to win approval.
Of all the memorials in Westminster Abbey
there is not one that gives a nobler thought than that inscribed on the
monument to Lord Lawrence—simply his name, with the date of his death, and
these words: "He feared man so little, because he feared God so
much."—Sunday School Chronicle.
b. The fear of persecution
In verses 8-12, we find
that the disciples might be tempted to a different kind of pretence, that of
hiding their allegiance to Jesus out of fear. Dr.
Roland Leavell in his book, Evangelism:
Christ’s Imperative Commission, wrote that fear is the number one cause
that hinders Christians from witnessing.
Norman Cates shared the humorous story of a
guy who prayed this prayer every morning: "Lord, if you want me to witness
to someone today, please give me a sign to show me who it is." One day he
found himself on a bus when a big, burly man sat next to him. The bus was
nearly empty but this guy sat next to our praying friend. The timid Christian
anxiously waited for his stop so he could exit the bus. But before he could get
very nervous about the man next to him, the big guy burst into tears and began
to weep. He then cried out with a loud voice, "I need to be saved. I’m a
lost sinner and I need the Lord. Won’t somebody tell me how to be saved?"
He turned to the Christian and pleaded, "Can you show me how to be
saved?" The believer immediately bowed his head and prayed, "Lord, is
this a sign?" Are you looking for a "sign" to start witnessing?
Very often it is simply the
fear of rejection that is stopping us from witnessing. It is one thing to
suffer rejection, ridicule or even persecution at human hands, but it is far
worse to be hypocritical and then have to face the judgment of God, who can
throw people into hell. In fact Jesus
assures us that we do not have to worry about how we
will defend ourselves or what we will say, because the Holy Spirit will teach us
at that time what we should say (Lu. 12:11-12). Depending on whether we confess or deny Jesus, the Son of Man will be a
witness for or against us at the judgment seat of God (vv. 8–9).
Therefore we should not
fear man because…
II. Only God
is to be feared
“But I will show you whom you should fear: Fear him who, after your body has been killed, has authority to
throw you into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear
him (v. 5)
Jesus taught that we should
fear God because he has the power to punish sin and consign people to utter
destruction. Fear is mentioned for the first time in
Scriptures in Gen. 3:10. Adam said to God after the Fall, after He had
disobeyed God, “I heard you in the
garden, and I was afraid...” Fear
is quite naturally the logical consequence of sin. Before
Adam and Eve sinned there was no death; they were in perfect harmony with God,
each other and all of nature – there was nothing to fear.
But now we live in a fearful world. We wake
up fearing the way the economy is going, the lawlessness in our land, the
education system going down the drain, our future, etc. We all have to deal
with fear at some level. It is part of the human condition. An absence of fear
in a sin-contaminated world is impossible and foolish. The self-preservation
instinct teaches us to fear certain things. And there are certain things that
we need to fear in our lives such as electricity, water, etc. That kind of fear
is a respect.
Have you ever had a question in your mind
why our world does what it wants to do? Why does our secular society
condone sinful practices? Because the world does not have a proper
respect for God because of wickedness and therefore; because of the
greatness of sin, there is little fear.
A school teacher was retiring early. When
they asked her why, this is how she responded. "The problem is really
fear. The teachers are now afraid of the principals. The principals are afraid
of the superintendents. The superintendents are afraid of the school boards.
The boards are afraid of the parents and the parents are afraid of the
children. But the children? They are not afraid of anybody."
That phrase, "The fear of the
LORD" is used 25 times in the Bible. 14 times just in the book of
Proverbs, Prov. 1:7 "The fear
of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and
instruction." Prov. 9:10
"The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom…" The fear of the
Lord is an important theological concept in the Bible because it is the
foundation from which we interact and we have a relationship with God.
The fear of the Lord is vital for the
survival of a nation. It is vital for the stability of a marriage. It is even
vital for the salvation of an individual. The fear of God is the glue that
holds a society together. It is the safety net that keeps a nation from falling
into chaos, anarchy, and moral destruction. We have lost, for the most part,
the fear of God in this nation and we are losing it more everyday.
Ps.
36:1 An oracle is within my heart concerning the
sinfulness of the wicked. There is no fear of God.
Today God is reminding us
(his disciples) that we ought to fear or have a healthy respect for “the one
who has authority to throw you into hell.” The Jews would understand that as an
obvious reference to God, the judge, whose power the wise are respectfully to
“fear.”
Psalm
90:11-12 If only we knew the power of your anger! Your
wrath is as great as the fear that is your due. 12 Teach us to number our days,
that we may gain a heart of wisdom.
True fear of the Lord is born out of a
knowledge of how infinitely powerful, majestic and full of goodness God is.
Before one can grow in the Lord, he must first learn to fear Him. Many people,
including believers, have ceased to see Him for who He is – The Holy One and
Righteous Judge. We have forgotten that we have to “worship God acceptably with
reverence and awe, for our ‘God is a consuming fire’” (Heb. 12:29).
The fear of the Lord is a natural reaction
when we recognize that:
- He is the Creator and we are the creatures
- He is the Master and we are the servants
- He is the Father and we are the children
We are to have a deep reverence and respect
for the Lord. Literally, we are to be awed and humbled by His presence. The
result will be a respect for God, His word and a desire to obey Him.
The fear of the Lord protects us from
carelessness or being sacrilegious. Fearing the Lord is the key to successful
living. This healthy reverence enables us to know God, praise Him, enjoy His
many benefits and blessings and to rest in His peace and security. Martin
Luther said, "Being afraid of
God is different from fearing God. The fear of God is a fruit of love, but
being afraid of Him is the seed of hatred. Therefore we should not be afraid of
God but should fear Him, so that we do not hate Him Whom we should love."
Thus there are two sides of the fear of the
Lord. The one God wants for us produces reverence and obedience. The
other fear of the Lord is a result of not knowing Him and causes us
to cower in dread and terror in anticipation of His wrath and judgment.
According to Oswald Chambers, "The
remarkable thing about fearing God is that, when you fear God, you fear nothing
else; whereas, if you do not fear God, you fear everything else" because…
III. The
fear of the Lord will overcome all fears WHEN we know THAT God values and cares for us
“Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies?
Yet not one of them is forgotten by God. 7 Indeed, the very hairs of your head
are all numbered. Don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows”
(v. 6-7)
Fear has a constructive
role to play in enabling men to realize both the degenerate state of their
souls and their need of divine forgiveness. In
the Bible, no-Jewish believers are often referred to as God-fearers, not
God-lovers. Why? Because there is a legitimate reason to be fearful. “It is a
dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God” (Heb. 10:31).
Unless there is personal
awareness of the awesome and majestic sovereignty of God, it is impossible to
have a meaningful faith existing in one’s heart (Ps. 5:7; 89:7). Though
Christians are to be liberated from the fear of men (Heb 13:6), death (2:15),
and life in general (2 Tm 1:6–7), they must never lose their sense of the
awesomeness of God.
This concept of fearing God was very real to
John Newton. When he wrote his song "Amazing Grace" he included this
verse:
"T’was grace that taught my heart to
fear, and grace my fears relieved
How precious did that grace appear, the hour
I first believed."
All fears disappear when we walk in faith
and in the fear of the Lord.
Psalm
27:1 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?
Psalm
31:19 How abundant are the good things that you
have stored up for those who fear you, that you bestow in the sight of all, on
those who take refuge in you. 20 In the shelter of your presence you hide them from
all human intrigues; you keep them safe in your dwelling
from accusing tongues.
Psalm
34:6-9 The angel of the Lord encamps
around those who fear him, and he delivers them. 8 Taste and see that
the Lord is good; blessed is the one who takes refuge in him. 9 Fear
the Lord, you his holy people, for those who fear him lack nothing.
Psalm
147:11 the Lord delights in those who fear him, who
put their hope in his unfailing love.
Fearing God demands a response. God
created us. When we fell into sin He sought us. When we had no hope
He came and bought us. When our sins were unpayable He offered Himself as
payment. When we were guilty He was a substitutionary sacrifice for our
sin. All that truth leads us to respond. First in saving faith and then in
surrendered life.
Do you want freedom from fear? Accept the
Father’s love and salvation. Claim His promises and cling to Him, knowing that
you are safe in the arms of the Father.
During World War II when the Holocaust took
the lives of millions of people, Solomon Rosenberg, his wife, their two sons,
and his mother and father were arrested and placed in a Nazi concentration
camp. It was a labour camp, and the rules were simple. "As long as you can
do your work, you are permitted to live. When you become too weak to do your
work, then you are exterminated." Solomon Rosenberg watched his mother and
father marched off to their deaths. He knew that next would be his youngest
son, David, because David had always been a frail child. Every evening Solomon
Rosenberg came back into the barracks after his hours of labour and searched
for the faces of his family. When he found them they would huddle together,
embrace one another, and thank God for another day of life. One day he came
back and didn’t see those familiar faces. He finally discovered his oldest son,
Joshua, in a corner, huddled, weeping, and praying. He said, "Josh, tell
me it’s not true." Joshua turned and said, "It is true, Poppa. Today
David was not strong enough to do his work. So they came for him."
"But where is your mother?" asked Mr. Rosenberg. "Oh
Poppa," he said, "When they came for David, he was afraid and he
cried. Momma said, `There is nothing to be afraid of, David,’ and she took his
hand and went with him."
Even with our last and worst enemy, even in
death, there is no reason for fear. You can place your hand in the hand of the
Father and let Him walk you through the valley of the Shadow.
MAKING A DECISION ON THE FEAR OF THE LORD
Walking in the fear of the Lord is going to
have to be your individual decision. No one can do it for you. The decision to
live a life that is ordered around a holy, reverential respect for God is a
decision that you must make for yourself. If you have not accepted the free
gift of salvation you can do it today.
Dear believer. If you fear Him, then you
will want to honour him in everything. He will come first and His will will be
paramount in your life. The Lord's way becomes the only way. His approval the
only approval you seek dispelling any fear that will lead us to compromise our
faith or cause us to deny our Lord.
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| Keith and Mary Russell testified about God's goodness in their lives and how TOP is so much like their home church. |
