Falling into sin again after 40 years of serving the Lord, God’s people are told by a prophet that it is their fear of the world that has caused them to disobey. That’s not how the people understand it though. When the angel first comes to Gideon, this son hiding his threshing from the Midianites believes that God has forsaken them (Judges 6). Continue reading “Go in This Might of Yours”
You Shall Not Fear
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. Continue reading “You Shall Not Fear”
Why Do the Nations Rage?
The answer to the question: because it works! The world is large and scary, and although we see ourselves as Christians as great warriors for the faith standing our ground, it is doing a great job of containing the gospel and our works of service to the walls of our church buildings. In the 21st century we fear the world more than we fear God (Psalm 2:1-12).
I. John 11:47-50. “Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain?” the psalmist asks. After all, don’t they know that it’s useless to fight against the God that created the universe and sustains us? It didn’t stop those in power from scheming to put Jesus to death and thus falling into God’s plan to bring about redemption for mankind. God’s wrath for them is expected (Romans 1:18-23). In the 1st century, Christians did not shrink back from the world’s attacks but were emboldened because they feared God (Acts 4:24-26).
II. Hebrews 1:2-8. It’s vain because God has set His Son on His holy hill in Zion, who will destroy His enemies with a rod of iron (Hebrews 10:26-31). The best that the world could muster to oppose the gospel in the 1st century fell woefully short (Acts 4:27-28) because God had planned beforehand how to bring about such a salvation (Acts 2:23-24). Since none can oppose His will, we should fear God and not the world.
III. Matthew 10:26-28. It is with fear and trembling that mankind should approach God. The world can only kill the body, not put body and soul in hell. Therefore, it is God we should fear. We should work out our salvation with fear and trembling (Philippians 2:12) and take refuge in God, not the false friendship of the world. When the world sought to intimidate early Christians, they prayed for boldness and it was given to them (Acts 4:29-31). We too must be of those who do not shrink back and are destroyed but of those who through faith preserve their souls (Hebrews 10:35-39).
Is the church (and not God) a refuge for you to escape the world or a gathering of warriors regrouping to battle the world?
In a Strait Betwixt Two
Struggling with the ghosts and monsters that glorify death at this time of year, many Christians focus on the delights of the Fall season instead. Rather, we have an opportunity with those who still fear death (or believe that’s the scariest thing in this life) to teach them that Jesus has conquered death (Philippians 1:19-24).
I. Hebrews 2:14-15. Though Paul was suffering in prison, he states that by his life or by his death, Christ would be glorified in his body. While we often place our comfort over our character, Paul had adopted God’s perspective on death, knowing, as the Hebrew writer says, that Jesus had destroyed the one who had the power of death and freed us from the slavery of the fear of death. Sadly, many love the world still (1 John 2:15-17) and live in their bondage to this fear.
II. Philippians 3:8-11. Paul knew that this temporary world could not offer what was ‘far better’ with Christ. Often, though, we assign eternal status to the temporary and work to live forever in this world that is passing away, becoming a friend to this world and an enemy to God (James 4:1-4). Looking to avoid the sufferings that Jesus endured while in this life, we exchange that which is ‘far better’ for worldly pleasures and so forfeit the resurrection.
III. 1 Corinthians 15:42-58. Unlike many today who have grown comfortable in this life, Christians should view, as Paul did, that our time here is for a purpose to have an impact on those around us. And, just as those who served others didn’t recognize that they were doing these things for Jesus when they did them for others (Matthew 25:37-40), we too must realize that time here is “necessary on [another’s] account” and abound in our work for the Lord.
So, how do you feel when someone dies in the Lord or think about your own eventual death? Do you fear death or are you joyful that you used the time that God has given you to live faithfully and play a role in getting others through the gates of heaven?
I Want to Be a Worker
From the shade with a cold drink in one hand and a fan in the other, many who were once workers for the Lord now watch the dwindling few still sweating in the harvest field. We come up with a variety of excuses as to why we’re on our extended break: we’re too … old, tired, busy, or sore! Or, the work is too difficult or dangerous … people just aren’t receptive enough anymore to the gospel … or the world doesn’t allow us to reach out like we did years ago.
I. Luke 10:1. To be a worker for the Lord, you must want to love and trust His holy Word, just as the song says:
I want to be a worker for the Lord; I want to love and trust His holy word; I want to sing and pray, and be busy ev’ry day, In the vineyard of the Lord.
Just before Jesus sends out 72 disciples ahead of Him, He tells several that following Him requires diligent and often difficult hard work (Luke 9:57-62). The well-known servant to the poor, Mother Teresa, died at 87 still working with her last strength. can we argue that love and trust for Jesus’ Word isn’t connected to faithful action (James 1:22) when His Word tells us that if we love Him, we will obey His commands (John 14:15)? Are we not told to serve one another through love (Galatians 5:13)? And to love and forgive one another as Jesus did (John 15:13; Colossians 3:13)?
II. Luke 10:2-3a. To be a worker for the Lord, you must want to lead the erring in the way, again as the song says:
I want to be a worker every day; I want to lead the erring in the way That leads to heav’n above, where all is peace and love, In the kingdom of the Lord.
Because we’ve used Luke 10:2 to promote the need for evangelism but disconnected it from our personal responsibility, we pray often that God will send workers to His harvest field. If He hasn’t and the attendance in our assemblies shrinks, we shrug because God is in charge of the increase after all (1 Corinthians 3:6). Peering into the brightness at the shady edge of the harvest field, we lament how few are laboring in the hot sun to fill the Master’s barn with sheaves. Yet, just as the 72 were sent, so are we (Matthew 28:18-20) and also to our erring, fellow workers (Galatians 6:1-2; Matthew 18:15-17).
III. Luke 10:3. To be a worker for the Lord, you must want to trust in Jesus’ power to save, as the song tells us:
I want to be a worker strong and brave; I want to trust in Jesus’ pow’r to save; All who will truly come shall find a happy home, In the kingdom of the Lord.
He sent them out like lambs among wolves! Why would Jesus do that? It’s because we partaking in our own adventure is that important to Him. God is wild at heart and wants those made in His image to step out of our comfort zones to do the work He’s prepared for us. Out of fear we make excuses and justify why we can’t do that work, placing our limitations on the God for whom nothing is impossible. But, obedience is required from faith (Romans 1:4-5; James 2:14-17), and God, who promises to be with us, lets us wield His divine power to demolish strongholds (2 Corinthians 10:3-5).
Wanting to be a worker for the Lord begins with obedience to the gospel. You’ve got to don our work clothes (Galatians 3:26-27) and then head out into the field. If the song has changed for you, a longtime resident of the shade, to “I want to sit in pews for the Lord …” then perhaps it’s time to step out onto the soil and become a worker once more. Do you want to be a worker for the Lord?
The Battle Belongs to the Lord
If we are not engaging our whole selves while we sing, then the impact of a song’s words can often escape us. In “The Battle Belongs to the Lord,” we sing that God will fight for us in our battle, but how much we believe those words and truly trust Him to do so may not be known until we are in the midst of a difficult struggle and choose to rely on Him or on our own limited resources for help.
I. Psalm 18:1-5. After witnessing God’s power in the 10 plagues that allowed them to leave Egypt, the Israelites left freed from slavery “equipped for battle” (Exodus 13:18), idealistically ready to walk straight up to the Promised Land. As they got to the Red Sea, however, they saw Pharaoh’s army marching after them, and “they feared greatly” and “cried to the Lord” Exodus 14:10. How like them we can be as Christians until we face adversity. The first verse of the song says it like this:
In heavenly armor we’ll enter the land, The battle belongs to the Lord. No weapon that’s fashioned against us will stand, The battle belongs to the Lord.
Though we call the Lord our strength, rock, fortress, deliverer, shield, horn of my salvation, and stronghold, it is easier to say the words than to apply them. The psalmist does have to apply them as he was encompassed, assailed, entangled, and confronted by struggles to the point of death. Would he choose to have faith or to rely on himself?
II. Psalm 18:6-19. After God had rescued them with such a mighty hand already, how could the Israelites not trust in God’s power to save? But they complain and believe that they will die (Exodus 14:11-13), the very opposite of trust. God would fight their battle, Moses told them, but their responsibility was different than the Lord’s; they had to “fear not,” “stand firm,” and “see” God’s salvation. In other words faith is a lot of work, harder work than fighting an impossible battle for ourselves and the choice not often made. Why? Probably because God can’t be made to do anything. We must submit to His will, not He to ours. The second verse says:
When the power of darkness comes in like a flood, The battle belongs to the Lord. He’s raised up a standard, the pow’r of His blood, The battle belongs to the Lord.
We have the cross and often don’t believe in Jesus’ power to save us. So, does God act on our behalf out of obligation or love? In the Psalm, the Lord literally overturns heaven and earth because He was angry at the people or circumstances distressing His child. Then we read that it is because He delights in him. Could He have the same love for us?
III. Psalm 18:20-30. How the Israelites took Moses’ words to “fear not,” “stand firm,” “see” God’s salvation, and to “be silent” is not clear (Exodus 14:13-14), but how do we wait in faith for the Lord to act in our lives when we are in distress? Repeating that God is our refuge and that we should not fear, Psalm 46:10 tells us to “be still and know that I am God.” While our backs are against the Red Sea and Pharaoh’s army bears down on us in life, choosing faith and letting God fight our battle is the harder but better decision. As the third stanza says:
When your enemy presses in hard, do not fear, The battle belongs to the Lord. Take courage, my friend, your redemption is near, The battle belongs to the Lord.
According to the psalm, it is those who choose to have faith and trust in Him, being still in obedience that the Lord rescues. The one who is “haughty” by trying to fix it himself by his own resources finds God “tortuous.” It’s about the relationship the child has with his or her heavenly Father.
If God is truly your refuge, then you can truly sing the chorus when we are rescued:
And we sing glory, honor, Power and strength to the Lord. We sing glory, honor, Power and strength to the Lord.
There’s a Great Day Coming
At this time of year, the world puts forth all the things that it considers scary, but they all have to do with the first death, the separation of our souls from our bodies. No wonder that this experience and the unknown surrounding it are the ultimate in fear for those who have no hope. But what is the first death to a Christian? After all, every human being will experience this death. As one humorist quipped about life: none of us will get out of it alive! Paul said it best in Philippians 1:21, “For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.” Gain? How did he get to that point? By knowing what to fear.
I. Matthew 10:16-35. As Jesus sends His disciples out into the world, He admits that He sends them out like sheep among wolves. Not having the same power as God in the flesh, how was it that they were to combat the strength of the world? By rejoicing, persevering, and trusting in God (Philippians 4:4-7). Being anxious about circumstances of this temporary existence that could only lead to their first death would show that they feared the one who could only kill the body–and they are reassured that the Lord is at hand.
II. Ecclesiastes 12:12-13. Rather than fearing anything that might bring about the separation of our souls from our bodies, we should fear the one who can throw both body and soul into hell. This verse in the middle of the Matthew 10 passage is often used by itself to mean we should fear Satan, but God alone is our Judge. His judgment will part the saints and sinners right and left, the conquerors to eternal life and the cowardly to the second death, an eternal separation of their souls from God (Revelation 21:6-8). It is no wonder, then, that rather than being scared or worried about the things of this life, our whole duty here is to fear God and keep His commandments.
III. Matthew 25:1-13. Consequently, our time here is all about preparing for eternity. Judgment Day will come when all will have to give an account to God. Rather than any suspenseful music you might hear coming from a horror movie or costume party, the scariest song is “There’s a Great Day Coming” because it speaks of the second death (Matthew 7:21-23) and challenges us in our preparation now, especially the third stanza:
There’s a sad day coming, a sad coming,
There’s a sad day coming by and by,
When the sinner shall hear his doom, “Depart, I know ye not.”
Are you ready for that day to come?
In Days of Woe, in Hours of Fear
Our Heavenly Father, God of all,
Who saves us from our prideful Fall,
We give you thanks for life and limb,
For words to praise, for heart and hymn.
In days of woe, in hours of fear,
We seek you Lord, come and be near,
Descend upon our worried mind,
With peace and joy for all mankind.
As They Did To Me
As the anniversary of 9-11 came around this week, many still want vengeance for what happened to us. But, is that what we should be seeking? Both had the Spirit of the Lord, but isn’t it good that Jesus, while on the cross, sought forgiveness rather than vengeance for us like Samson would have done?
I. Judges 15:1-15. Back and forth Samson waged war with the Philistines, each seeking vengeance for what he or they perceived the other side had done to him or them. They literally fought fire with fire, and it all came from worldly thinking: “As they have done to me, so have I done to them.”
II. Romans 9:20-24. God’s sole right to vengeance is rooted in His sovereignty. Since He made everything, everything is His (Colossians 1:16). Since God has the sole right to reveal His wrath (Romans 12:19), He also has the sole right to bring mercy. His wrath will be wreaked against those against Him or who don’t know Him (Romans 1:18-21) and those in the church who deliberately sin or shrink back (Hebrews 10:26-31).
III. Romans 12:14-21. Since we’ve all sinned (Romans 3:23), we’ve all earned His wrath (Romans 6:23), but He has shown mercy to those in His Son by Jesus’ work on the cross (Romans 8:31-39). So, rather than waging war as Samson or the world does (2 Corinthians 10:3-5), we who have escaped God’s vengeance by obeying the gospel, persuade men instead and reconcile them to God’s mercy through the gospel (2 Corinthians 5:11-21).
Realizing that you have escaped God’s vengeance through the gospel, do you seek vengeance or mercy for others?
Deep fear of you
Awesome God, awaken in us that deep fear of you which recognizes your majestic Person, seeks the pure holiness of righteousness and love, and draws upon your unbroken promises to step firmly toward the future. Let reverence for your Oneness keep us from taking your love for granted. Your judgments are perfect, O Lord! Remind us that sin will be thrown into the lake of everlasting fire. We fear you as him who can destroy both body and soul. And we rejoice that true fear draws us near to you, rather than making us shrink back from your manifestation. Such is your purpose, and in it we glory.