Fear Not For I Am With You

“Fear Not For I Am With You”
 Message @ Jericho Ridge Community Church –Sunday, Jan 7, 2018
Text: Isaiah 41:10 // Series: Fear Not

1933 started off as a very, very difficult year for our friends south of the border.  1932 had been an election year and the two main political parties in the United States had squared off over different ideological approaches to solving the challenges that faced both their country and the global community.  Not only were there different ideas, but vastly different demeanours in play that year.  The outgoing President Edgar Hoover was widely seen as dour and unremittingly grim while the President Elect, Franklin D. Roosevelt was “congenial and exuded confidence” 

But all was not well in the good old US of A in 1933.  By Presidential Inauguration day, March 4, the financial crisis had forced most banks to close, industrial production was down to half of what it was a mere 4 years earlier.  Over 13 million people were unemployed and farmers were in desperate straits as commodity prices tumbled. 

And up to the microphone to give his inaugural address to the nation stepped FDR.  Roosevelt was a person familiar with adversity. He had run on the 1920 ticket as the Vice Presidential candidate and was soundly defeated.  Then in 1921, he was struck with polio and it was widely assumed his political career was over. But he persisted.  The country was now facing the precipice of the Great Depression and FDR stepped up to the mic and uttered what have now become famous if often misquoted words:

“First of all, let me assert my firm belief that the only thing we have to fear is fear itself. Nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror which paralyses needed efforts to convert retreat into advance. In every dark hour of our national life, a leadership of frankness and of vigor has met with that understanding and support of the people themselves which is essential to victory”

A masterful piece of oratory!  “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself”…. But it is true?  Is fear itself something to be feared?    

Psychologists tell us that there are various kinds of fear (this is by no means an exhaustive list).  At a very basic level, when we are afraid, our

• Autonomic nervous system response to danger – we begin to sweat, our pulse quickens… We are preparing to for a fight or for flight…
• “Fear of Fear”: inability to tolerate the short-term discomfort of being scared – often this leads to avoidance of any situation that stirs up fears

You Can’t Really be afraid of Fear…

The late existential psychologist Rollo May also points out that Fear doesn’t really exists as a feeling unto itself – it is always tethered to something or someone.  So in some ways, FDR was wrong. You can’t really be afraid of fear itself…   You have to ask “what am I afraid of? And why?”

Way back in the first century, the Roman Stoic philosopher Seneca had a much stronger piece of advice when it comes to our fears “Remember, however, before all else, to strip things of all that disturbs and confuses, and to see what each is at bottom; you will then comprehend that they contain nothing fearful except the actual fear.” 

On the surface, this sounds much the same as FDR’s instructions. But Roosevelt is saying that we need to be afraid of the general feeling of fear.  While Seneca is saying that those feelings of fear should not be feared, but rather examined and unearthed. Seneca understood fear’s power to disturb and confuse and to mask what is really going on in our lives. And his advice was simple:  If you want to face and overcome your fears, the first thing you need to do is Seek to understand what lies beneath them.

As we start into this new year, here at Jericho we are launching a teaching series called “Fear Not”.  And we’re going to explore together some of the things that might create fear in our hearts, in our world and in our communities and we’re going to look at them from as many angles as we can and ask ourselves “How should we feel about this?  “Should we be afraid of this or not?” 

Part of that process means that we need to dig deeper. In order to understand if we really should be afraid of something, we need to take Seneca’s advice and approach.  To poke at it a little bit more than we are sometimes willing to do.  We need to ask good questions and listen to alternative points of view or experiences from our own.  And we will go to the Scriptures as our guide and source for life to find out what God has to say about fear. 

Let me give you two quick examples of topics coming up in our times together.  Sometimes the news gives you the impression that you should be afraid of Muslims.  So next weekend we’re bringing in a special guest who is an author and a former para Olympic athlete.  He is a friend of Gary and Betty Stevenson and he will be sharing his story.  And there will be time for questions and responses at the end of our morning together.        

Another topic we’ll be exploring is First Nations spirituality.  Is that something scary? We need to understand more about it in order to know if it contains something that we can learn from and embrace or if it contains something fearful.  So we’ll have some friends of mine John and Jen Johnstone with us for an EPIC Sunday on Feb 11 the Family Day long weekend for an interactive intergenerational learning exercise. 

So that’s what this series is going to do.  And if you have suggestions about topics you would like to explore, you can e-mail me and we’ll see about putting them into the mix. 

As we dive in, we need to take a look at what the Bible says about FEAR. 

First thing we see is that the Bible uses the word in a two very different ways. 

• “Fear of the Lord”: Reverential awe & worship

This is the most common use of the word in the Bible.  It’s an invitation not to be afraid of or scarred of God,  but rather to rightly understand God’s holiness and majesty and splendor and to respond in appropriate reverential awe and humility and worship.  Psalm 112:1 says “How joyful are those who FEAR the Lord, who delight in obeying His commands: Psalm 112:1  Proverbs reminds us again and again that the fear of the Lord is how we acquire wisdom for living.  But this isn’t the kind of fear we are going to talk about in this series.   

The second way the Bible uses the word fear is really what we are talking about here.  Something that causes us anxiety or distress or unease 

• Fear: An attitude of anxiety or distress, caused by concern over a threat to one’s present or future well-being.

Sometimes this can be an event that occurs in our lives or in the world that causes us to be afraid.  Sometimes it is tied to a person or situation – going back to school.  Starting a new venture that we are not sure if it is going to succeed. 

There are some many examples in the Bible of what fear can do to us.

• Paralyze us; keep us stuck (Joshua )
• Prevent us from experiencing rest (Lev. 26:6)
• Nurture frantic thinking & action (I Sam. 28:5)
• Grip us or make us feel trapped (Job 5:21)

You might have your own examples to add to that list of what fear does to you.  But here’s something else that I want us to look at with honest eyes: a list of

List of People in the Bible (just from the OT) who are told “Fear Not” or “Do Not Be Afraid”

• Adam & Eve
• Abram
• Hagar
• Isaac
• Jacob
• Moses
• People of Israel
• Joshua
• Gideon
• Samuel
• David
• Elijah
• Jehosephat
• Nehemiah
• Isaiah
• Jeremiah
• Ezekiel
• Daniel
• Joel
• Zephaniah
• Haggai

Zachariah

This is like a who’s who list of characters from the Old Testament!  It includes every prophet who God called to speak words of truth into their culture. It includes kings and leaders who faced difficult and complex decisions and situations and wondered if they were making the right call.  It includes men and women who at their best, learned to trust God and walk with Him, and in their weaker days or moments, took the path of least resistance and gave in to fear and their frailty.   

But here’s the thing that I find so encouraging. If we their stories recorded and God had to tell each of them not to be afraid, it means that the second thing we learn about facing and overcoming our fears is that

1. Seek to understand “what lies beneath”
2. Remember that we are in good company!

Experiencing fear is part of the human condition.  And that God in God’s grace and mercy understand this and comes to us and meets us where we are at. 

You see, sometimes I worry that we have developed a culture of leadership in today’s world that is rooted in bravado and certainty.  We like leaders who can stand up and make a rousing speech and say “don’t worry, follow me”.  And there is an element to that which is healthy and fine. But there is also a danger if a leader never allows herself or himself to be touched by fear. But you can be touched by something and not paralyzed by it. 

So how do we move to that place where we are not afraid?  Why would God say “Fear Not”?  One clear clue is that  

• No one tells someone “do not be afraid” if they are not afraid!

God knows every part of our lives.  Everything inside of us that causes us to fear that causes us to pull away from Him and from other people.  And yet He still says DO NOT be afraid.  Some of us are prone to living in places where we let our fears guide and govern us.  If that is you, then it’s important to hear this morning that the biblical instruction 

• “Fear Not” is not a nice suggestion or good idea; it’s a command, an instruction.

There is a kind of unhealthy fear that is painted as the opposite of faith.  As something that keeps or prevents us from loving God and others well and from moving into 2018 with a healthy sense of trust in God, in His provision for you, for our church.  Into those places of fear, God speaks the most common phrase in the Bible: I Am With You.  This is the reason why God says Fear Not.

“Don’t be afraid, for I am with you. Don’t be discouraged, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you. I will hold you up with my victorious right hand.”  Isaiah 41:10 (NLT) 

Two weeks ago at Christmas, we celebrated Emmanuel, God WITH US. The reason we are told not to be afraid is not that life is easy or that things are going to get magically better.  The reason is that we can live our lives free from the controlling grip of fear that God is with us.  God is not some distant, impersonal force off out there in the universe somewhere.  God very personally, very intimately know about and cares about you.  If there is one message that God wants you to hear this morning as an individual, it is “do not be afraid for I am with You, says the Lord”  Don’t be consumed by fear when you think about heading back into the classroom tomorrow.  When you think about your finances in 2018, don’t let fear be the guiding force in decision making.  When you look at the doctors appointment coming up on the calendar do not be afraid.  Why? Because God is present to strengthen and help you. To uphold you. To guide you. 

And yet so often fear causes us to do the very opposite.  To shrink back. To hide. To put on a mask and pretend that “things are fine” or to pretend to be someone that we are not because we are afraid if people knew the true us they would reject us.  But if we recognize and affirm that God is with us, then we also need to acknowledge that we need to be with God:  So the third element of facing and overcoming our fears 

3. Bring our whole selves into the presence of Almighty God

In Isaiah 41, God is declaring His desire to strength and help. To guide and shepherd and yet God’s chief complaint is that people are running away after everything else to try and deal with their problems and fears.  And the solution is exactly the opposite: When you are afraid, run toward God, not away from God! Bring your whole self into the presence of God and say “here I am. This is what I am afraid of.  This is how I feel about this situation in my life.  Here I am God, with all my faults, my concerns, my worries and fears. 

I love the way that the Psalms give voice to this.  That’s why we include a daily reading from the Psalms in our Project 345 Bible reading plan in the Jericho Ridge app.  And in Psalm 34, I love the language that is used:     

“I prayed to the Lord, and he answered me. He freed me from all my fears. Those who look to him for help will be radiant with joy; no shadow of shame will darken their faces.”  Psalm 34:4

Prayer is one of the primary ways we bring ourselves into the presence of God and ask Him to help us with our fears.  This is a picture of our dog, Poppy, is afraid of fireworks.  So times like New Year’s Eve, Halloween, Canada Day – they get a bit tricky.  But the worst is if she is alone.  So the solution is not to tell Poppy to suck it up.  But the solution is to allow Poppy to put her nose and her whole body up alongside your leg as if to say “I will protect you from those things you are afraid of”.  In some ways, for me, that’s a perfect picture of what prayer is.  I keep a journal, and when I get up in the morning and I spend time alone with God, I often open up that Journal and it’s like I’m coming to God and saying “God, there’s a lot in the world, in the lives of people here at Jericho, in my heart that could cause me to freeze with fear.  But I’m coming to you in prayer and I am asking for You to remind me again that you are bigger than my fears.  I am asking you for help.  I am asking You to free me from shame.”  I’m going to challenge you to find a few moments in a few days this week to do the same.  To make prayer a priority in 2018 for you.  This is one way you can beat back fear. 

Brining your whole self to God in a time of prayer is not just a defensive posture to prevent fear.  It also gives you and I a sense of boldness and courage to live out a better story. In Psalm 112, the writer says

“Light shines in the darkness for the godly. They are generous, compassionate, and righteous.  Good comes to those who lend money generously and conduct their business fairly.  Such people will not be overcome by evil… They do not fear bad news; they confidently trust the Lord to care for them. They are confident and fearless.”            Psalm 112:4-8

When we live in such a way that reflects the character and the goodness of God to the world, there is a confidence and boldness that comes along with that.  We can live in the world in such a way that we embrace a better story.  Where we are the people who are generous and fair and who can face bad news not glibly or disingenuously but because we remember that God is right there with us.  Therefore we will not be afraid. 

As you enter into 2018, explore what are not only the hopes and dreams that you carry with you, but also the fears.  What are the things that you need to bring into the presence of Almighty God and say “I’m leaving this here with you”  I’m not going to fear fear itself.  I am going to stay right here close to You and that is why I don’t’ need to be afraid.  The reason you and I do not have to be afraid is not that we are so great, but that we serve and love and are in a relationship with a God who is great and powerful and who loves and cares for you.  He loved you so much that He sent Jesus to demonstrate that love.  And He did that by giving up His life.  By shedding His blood to free us from the penalty of sin – the wrong things that each of us has done that keep us from relationship with a holy God. 

We are going to move into a time of communion – this is for those who are part of God’s family – who have said yes to Jesus as their forgiver and leader.  If that is you, we welcome you to the table.  At Jericho, we have the elements here at the front the worship team is coming, as they lead us in songs of response and reflection, when you are ready you come and take the break, represents Christ’s body broken for you.  Broken so you can experience freedom from the control of fear and shame and guilt.  And so take and eat it with gratitude and faith.

And the cup represents the blood of Christ, poured out for you and for me.  Poured out that we can experience healing, forgiveness and so that we can live with confidence and free from fear.  Take each element and you can take them back to your seat, partake as you are ready.  Our prayer team is available at the sides and back.  Maybe you have a specific area of your life that you want to bring to God in prayer.  And you want someone to bear witness and stand with you in agreement and faith – that is what these folks are privileged to do – Katy, Mike, James and Constance.  Let’s stand together as we remind ourselves that Jesus has overcome and that we live not in our own strength, but in the victory and authority that He has won for us on the cross.  Let’s pray…

Benediction:

“Say to those who have an anxious heart,

‘Be strong; fear not!’” Isaiah 35:4

Fear, we renounce you!

I refuse to call you “spirit” for you are not of God.

You work to oppose the creative forces of the Lord in life and resurrection.

Your efforts will not last.

And you know this.

Delusion of fear, I renounce you!

You may talk loudly, boastfully.

You may bring your buddies, death and destruction, as backup to your threats.

You know your days are numbered.

There is no fear in the life to come.

Fear, I renounce you!

Your work of dividing, fomenting, pain-causing…

We will overcome. With God on our side,

You cannot stand.

Perfect Love, the kind that comes from Christ, casts out fear.

Revenant of fear, we renounce you!

Shrivel and die, you impotent thing!

You may plant, but you will not reap.

You may build, but you will not inhabit.

There is no home for you, no toe hold, no place of belonging.

In the name of Christ, we go from this place so that we can say to those we meet this week :”Do Not Be Afraid, The Lord is With You”.  Amen