In the 1939 classic, “The Wizard of Oz,” Dorothy, the Scarecrow, and the Tinman enter the Haunted Forest while famously chanting, “Lions, and tigers, and bears–oh my!” to push through their fear. Like God’s people in the time of Judges who had disobeyed God because they feared the world (Judges 6:7-10), God’s people today must not keep the gospel within the walls of our church buildings because we fear the hostile culture around us.
I. Judges 6:1-13. Falling into sin again, God’s people blamed God, rather than their own sins, for His absence. Really, this is the age-old question of why God allows suffering in the world. God called out Job for heading down a similar path of thinking (Job 40:6-8) as we would rather be right and God a liar (Romans 3:4).
II. Acts 4:12-21. We are to fear God and not the world (Matthew 10:28, Ecclesiastes 12:13-14), and yet because we seek to please men rather than God, even believers will not obey Him fully (John 12:42-43). When Christians fear God, though, the world notices our boldness and their threats are meaningless.
III. Matthew 16:24-26. Though Peter and John handled this through trusting in God, the Lord’s church today often shrinks back (Hebrews 10:39) because of fear of what others may think or perhaps they regard their own lives as more important than their message (Philippians 1:20-24). We must not be cowardly (Revelation 21:8).
Heading out into the hostile world with the gospel message, Christians, because we do not fear the world any longer, ought to change our chant to “lions, and tigers, and bears–so what!”