Are You Afraid?
Robert Marsh
Midland SDA Church
September 29, 2012
IN HIS BOOK, The Conquest of Fear, Basil King writes that during most of his lifetime he has been a prey of fear. And he believes that he is expressing the experience of most people. He says he can't remember a time when dread of one kind or another was not in the air. In his childhood he was afraid to go to bed in the dark. Later on he was afraid to go to school. Still later in life, when he would wake up in the morning, he was afraid of the amount of work that had to be done that day.
How about you?... have you had your share of being afraid?
I remember when I was about 4 years old we lived on a farm where my father raised turkeys for a living. We would get several thousand newly hatched turkeys and put them under heated brooder canopies that were about 12” above the floor of the coops. When the birds got a couple month old they were put out to range in a pasture field. At evening they would group together and huddle down for the night. At times Dad would have to deal with predators that would help themselves to a meal or two…sometimes it would be foxes, sometime stray dogs, sometimes hawks but the ones that were most eerie to me were the night owls. The dark night hooting sounds would break the silence and it brought fear to my thinking. One of my father’s approaches to deal with these threats to his birds was to set up a sleeping tent in the field near the huddling turkeys and in the moon light listen and keep watch for the owls. He said they would land on the ground near the turkeys and walk around and then snatch the young turkey on the neck to kill his prey. Dad would use a powerful flashlight to try to see and shoot predators. Another approach he used was to setup a high pole in the field providing an inviting landing place for the owls. On the top of the post he set an ordinary rat trap with the jaws open so when the owl landed he would get caught. This worked and I remember him bringing up the owls he had trapped…they were big in my eyes. One of the times when he was using the tent approach he asked me if I wanted to go with him to stay in the tent that night. I was excited at the idea and quickly agreed. So as the night came, Dad made our bed in the little pup tent and we lay down to sleep and wait to see what may happen. After awhile the owls started hooting in the woods near our field. Those eerie sounds made me hover under my covers. My Dad whispered to me “Robert do you hear that?” My fearful response was “yes but keep twiet”. In spite of my father’s presence right by my side I was afraid.
Most of you could probably recount sometimes in your youth when you were afraid of some thing or event you would laugh at now. I remember when I was older we had an outdoor toilet.
That idea sounds strange in our time now but whenever we needed such a facility at our country home we had to walk out the back of our home and go about 60 feet to the end of a big shed then go around the corner of the shed about another 40 feet to the little toilet coup totally out of sight of our house. That was not so bad in the day light but after dark we kids were fearful. Many times I would be on a dead run returning to the safety of the house thinking some black panther was almost biting my heels as I was escaping certain death.
We siblings would sometimes make exchange deals to reduce our fear…one would agree to go as far as the first corner and wait while the other went the rest of the way to use the john. Even then sometimes it would be a two-person race back to the safety of the house.
Fortunately as we experience more life we learn to drop off many of our earlier fears but we typically pick up others…
A mother is afraid for her children, a father is afraid for his business, and many workers are afraid of losing their job. Mr. King declares that there is not a home, an office, a school, or a church in which some apprehension is not eating at the hearts of the people who go in and out. …. We are not sick all the time, and we are not engaging in acts of outright sin all the time; but most of us, he says, are always afraid - afraid of something, afraid of somebody.
So I titled this talk “Are You Afraid ?”
Prayer
Should we be afraid? Should Christians be afraid of anything; or anybody? Really, no believer in the Lord Jesus has any reason to fear anything or anyone on earth - has he?
Psalm 56:3 says "What time I am afraid, I will trust in thee." When we are afraid we should go to God in prayer. There is no doubt about that. When we are afraid, we should trust in God and find in Him our comfort and peace. But D. L. Moody had said that this verse - "What time I am afraid, I will trust in thee" - is going to heaven by second class; but the verse, 'I will trust, and not be afraid" (Isaiah 12:2), is going to heaven by first class.
But while we are admonished to trust we are given reason to be alert to danger…1 Peter
5:8 says “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour”
The Bible commentary elaborates on this verse..That as a hungry lion roars to frighten and catch his prey…. the devil will use fear to frighten Christians into apostasy.” 7bc pg 587
We have a command of Jesus Himself against fear He said … "Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me." John 14:1.
If we really trust in God and trust in Jesus, we should not fear.
No matter how dark things become in your personal life, or in the world in general, remember the text: "I will trust, and not be afraid," Isaiah 12:2.
So, I find there are 26 times in the KJV Bible where it says "Be not afraid” And 63 times where it says “Fear not” as to Abraham God said “Fear not I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward." Genesis 15: 1
"Fear not," Joseph said to his brethren. (Exodus 50:19) "Fear not," Moses said to the people. (Exodus 20:20.) "Fear not," God said to Joshua, to Israel, and to the judges time
and again
When the whole nation of Israel was trembling like the leaves of the forest before a mighty invading army, Jahaziel, the prophet, said under the inspiration of the Lord: "Thus saith the Lord unto you, Be not afraid nor dismayed by reason of this great multitude; for the battle is not yours, but God's." 2: Chronicles 20:15. A message like that would be good for us today, and every day.
Our heavenly Father knows us well He created us and knows our nature, He knows how prone we are to fear. Psalms 103: 4 says "He knoweth our frame; he remembereth that we are dust." .
But what about our standing with God in the conduct of our life now? Are we without question or perhaps some fear? … even as seniors like myself, knowing yourself as you look closely in the mirror of God’s law and become so aware of your flaws ?
And when you read counsel like this…does it challenge you…
“If you would be a saint in heaven, you must first be a saint on earth. The traits of character you cherish in life will not be changed by death or by the resurrection. You will come up from the grave with the same disposition you manifested in your home and in society.--Lt 18b, 1891. (AH 16.) {2MCP 620.2}”
Or in another place you read ”It is only the blessed and holy who will be ready for the first resurrection; for when Christ comes, he will not change the character. The change that will take place will be that change spoken of by Paul when he says: "We shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump; for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality." The word of God declares that we must be found blameless, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing. Now we are to learn obedience, submission to the divine will, that God may work in us to will and to do of his good-pleasure, and that we may work out our own salvation with fear and trembling.
{ST, February 9, 1891 par. 1} (2 Peter 3:13)
Do assertions like these bring challenges to your mind? … “without spot or wrinkle or any such thing.”
And then we find some comfort when we also read…
“A person may not be able to tell the exact time or place, or trace all the chain of circumstances in the process of conversion; but this does not prove him to be unconverted. Christ said to Nicodemus, "The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is everyone that is born of the Spirit." John 3:8. Like the wind, which is invisible, yet the effects of which are plainly seen and felt, is the Spirit of God in its work upon the human heart. That regenerating power, which no human eye can see, begets a new life in the soul; it creates a new being in the image of God. While the work of the Spirit is silent and imperceptible, its effects are manifest. If the heart has been renewed by the Spirit of God, the life will bear witness to the fact. While we cannot do anything to change our hearts or to bring ourselves into harmony with God; while we must not trust at all to ourselves or our good works, our lives will reveal whether the grace of God is dwelling within us. A change will be seen in the character, the habits, the pursuits. The contrast will be clear and decided between what they have been and what they are. The character is revealed, not by occasional good deeds and occasional misdeeds, but by the tendency of the habitual words and acts. {SC 57.2}
In another place we also read…
…. But we shall not boast of our holiness. As we have clearer views of Christ's spotless and infinite purity, we shall feel as did Daniel, when he beheld the glory of the Lord, and said, "My comeliness was turned in me into corruption." We cannot say, "I am sinless," till this vile body is changed and fashioned like unto His glorious body. But if we constantly seek to follow Jesus, the blessed hope is ours of standing before the throne of God without spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; complete in Christ, robed in his righteousness and perfection. {ST, March 23, 1888 par. 13}
So we must keep our eyes on Jesus and his promises to work in us…it was when the apostle Peter took his eyes off the Lord Jesus on the stormy sea that he began to sink in the waters.
So how can we yet reconcile our ongoing realization of our short comings? …knowing now that our ways are not pure and yet hope that we will be among those resurrected to eternal life ?
HMS Richards says in his 2003 devotional pg 78…”It has been said that there are 13 different theories of the atonement, but the truth in all of them is not enough to express fully the wonder and glory of our salvation through the precious blood of our Redeemer. We can never fully understand it , and it will be the subject of our study through the endless ages of eternity.”
Paul gives us some assurances in Phil 1:6 “And I am sure that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ. RSV
There are some things God will bring to completion…Paul says that He who began a good work will bring it to completion. We do not understand how this will happen so we are left to trust His promises…this is faith.
He also talks about “Grace” in Romans 5:21 That as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord.
“Grace” What do the Bible writers mean by this term?
In most OT usages it simply means “favor” without any special theological implications.
In the NT the concept of “grace” is referring to God’s saving love toward sinners.
In the OT the counterpart concept is frequently translated “loving kindness” in the KJV and “steadfast love” in the RSV. This was manifested in the OT by the way God worked with people like Adam & Eve , Abraham, Noah, Moses and Israel.
But the fullness of divine grace is reflected by John 1:14 And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, … full of grace and truth.
1:15 John bare witness of him, and cried, saying, This was he of whom I spake, He that cometh after me is preferred before me: for he was before me.
1:16 And of his fullness have all we received, and grace for grace.
1:17 For the law was given by Moses, [but] grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.
It even repeats the word “grace for grace” the pulpit Bible commentary interprets this to mean that “every grace received is a capacity for higher grace”
And in Eph 2:5 Paul says “Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ… 2:8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: [it is] the gift of God: 2:9 Not of works, lest any man should boast.
“Grace is the hand of God reaching earthward. Faith is the hand of man reaching up to take hold of God’s hand.” 8BC pg 439
It is the operation of divine grace that influences men to respond to God’s call”. God’s grace leads people to repent and imparts faith, consolation and hope.
Another thought comes to my mind… the Genesis account of earth’s creation tells how God made everything…plants, fish, birds, creeping things, all the animals without further comment but it was only with man that the record shows He talked to him…he created humans to have an intelligent relationship with Him !
He talked to Adam and Eve and taught them what was for their own good…what to eat…what not to eat. What to do…be fruitful, subdue the earth. He told of mankind’s dominion over the animals and even what food was intended for the animals.
Then sin had its evil effects and many of the animals became vicious beasts to each other and to humans too. And humans too became like beasts… to each other as well as the animals.
Then recall Isaiah’s words that describe eternal bliss where the wolf and lamb are feeding together, and the lion shall eat straw…. leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; Isa 65:25 Isa 11:6-7
Folks these are the animals God created…including the brute beasts. If God does this for the brutes doesn’t it open up your mind to what miraculous things he is willing to do for humans!
So I will include in my closing my favorite counsel because it gives me so much hope as I am living in my senior years… fearful at times because of my flaws...
“No man can of himself understand his errors. "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; who can know it?" Jer. 17:9. The lips may express a poverty of soul that the heart does not acknowledge. While speaking to God of poverty of spirit, the heart may be swelling with the conceit of its own superior humility and exalted righteousness. In one way only can a true knowledge of self be obtained. We must behold Christ. It is ignorance of Him that makes men so uplifted in their own righteousness. When we contemplate His purity and excellence, we shall see our own weakness and poverty and defects as they really are. We shall see ourselves lost and hopeless, clad in garments of self-righteousness, like every other sinner. We shall see that if we are ever saved, it will not be through our own goodness, but through God's infinite grace. {COL 159.1}
…. No outward observances can take the place of simple faith and entire renunciation of self. But no man can empty himself of self. We can only consent for Christ to accomplish the work. Then the language of the soul will be, Lord, take my heart; for I cannot give it. It is Thy property. Keep it pure, for I cannot keep it for Thee. Save me in spite of myself, my weak, unchristlike self. Mold me, fashion me, raise me into a pure and holy atmosphere, where the rich current of Thy love can flow through my soul. {COL 159.3}
It is not only at the beginning of the Christian life that this renunciation of self is to be made. At every advance step heavenward it is to be renewed. All our good works are dependent on a power outside of ourselves. Therefore there needs to be a continual reaching out of the heart after God, a continual, earnest, heartbreaking confession of sin and humbling of the soul before Him. Only by constant renunciation of self and dependence on Christ can we walk safely. {COL 159.4}
I find hope in this counsel, hope that counteracts my fears and gives me opportunity to not be afraid.
None of the apostles or prophets ever claimed to be without sin. Men who have lived nearest to God, men who would sacrifice life itself rather than knowingly commit a wrong act, men whom God had honored with divine light and power, have confessed the sinfulness of their own nature. They have put no confidence in the flesh, have claimed no righteousness of their own, but have trusted wholly in the righteousness of Christ. So will it be with all who behold Christ. {COL 160.2}
When the settlers in British Columbia abandoned Fort Alcan and were permitted to strip it of lumber, electrical equipment, and plumbing, they made an amazing discovery. In dismantling the jail they found that strong locks were attached to the heavy doors, and two-inch steel bars covered the windows; but the walls of the prison were made of only patented wallboard, clay, and paper, painted to resemble iron. A good heave against them by a strong man would have burst them out. Nobody had ever tried it, because nobody thought it possible.
Many Christians are prisoners of their own fears - fears which prove to be nothing when pushed against with the hand of faith. May we “Trust and not be afraid”.
Closing song #511 “I know whom I have believed” #507 “moment By Moment”
#290 Turn Your Eyes upon Jesus”
Scripture 1 John 4:17-19 4:17 Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world.
4:18 There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love.
4:19 We love him, because he first loved us.