Rejecting the Spirit of Fear

“The Spiritual Roots of Fear”
Message @ Jericho Ridge Community Church –Sunday, Jan 21, 2018
Text: Romans 8 // Series: Fear Not

Good morning, friends.  As we begin this morning, I want to tell you a short story that happened a few months ago in our home.  We were sitting downstairs in the basement watching TV when my wife Meg grabbed my arm and said “do you hear that?  I hear a kind of scurrying sound!”  I brushed it off saying “its probably the dog running around upstairs”.  It happened again.  Meg: Did you hear that? Me: It’s probably the dishwasher draining. Finally, she turned off the TV and waiting for the noise to happen again.  This time, there was no denying it.  There was something scurrying inside our vents!  This was completely mysterious to me because your furnace is supposed to be a closed system.  So I checked every vent opening, every possible place of egress and still nothing.  But the noises didn’t go away.  So eventually, I had to call in Ted the Terminator. Ted told me he had been in the business for 40+ years and he had seen it all.  So he poked around for 10 minutes and immediately found the source of our problem.  In between the foundation and the joists, at a point where a duct came through to go to the kitchen, there was a hole about this big that had not been fully sealed up.  It was cold and snowy last winter, so the little critter found somewhere warm and dry and then managed to make a nice home for themselves on top of our vents in the basement.  Until Ted the Terminator worked his magic and the mouse in my house went to sleep forever.      

Other than to scare you that there might be something living in your vents, why do I tell you this story?  Because this winter at Jericho, we are launching into 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?”  

One of the things that I am beginning to realize about fear is that it only takes a hole about this big for it to get inside.  Fear is like a mouse in your house.  It will find any tiny hole that you or I leave exposed in our lives and exploit it.  And once fear moves in and takes up residence, it has little fear babies and pretty soon, fear is scurrying all through your life.  OK, we need to leave this before we all get the heeby geebies and you go home and begin to think that every noise in your house is a rodent wanting to take up residence.  I’m sure you’ll be fine. I think.    

In preparation for this series, I began to dig into the Bible and study what God says about fear from Genesis to Revelation, I was reminded that one of the most repeated commands in the Bible is some variation of “fear not”.  

We’ve already seen in the first two weeks of our series two reasons why we don’t have to be afraid.  The first reason saw we can face life without fear is

• Because God is WITH US (Isaiah 41:10).  

Then last weekend, we heard our friends’ story about his experience coming to faith from a Muslim background but also the story of Jehosephat from 2 Chronicles 20 where God said to his people “do not be afraid, I will fight this battle for you. Stand still and watch me work”.  Such a good reminder that     

• Some of the things (or people) we are afraid of are not as scary as we sometimes imagine

But one thing things that we have to wrestle with is that even people of great faith can still struggle with fear.  So Why does Fear Still Find it’s way in? [photo of girl].  It finds the smallest little untended area in our lives and wiggles its way in.  Part of the reason for this is that the kind of fear we are taking about in our series is not simply a psychological issue, it is a spiritual one.  There’s a kind of fear that is not merely a product of challenging circumstances or natural neurological processes transpiring in our bodies.  Fear has a spiritual component to it.  A spiritual root to it.   What do I mean when I say this?  That fear has spiritual roots to it.  One of the things that I get concerned about pastorally is the sometimes we are willing to talk about a lot of the manifestations of fear but not always as readily about where it comes from.  

• Fear has a multiplicity of manifestations  (physical, emotional, relational) but one thing we seldom talk about are fear’s spiritual roots

When we only deal with what is on the surface and not what lies beneath, then we are only dealing with symptoms and not the root causes.  That’s like simply turning up the TV louder so you can’t hear the mouse living in your house, but the mouse is still there!      

• We need to deal with where fear comes from, not merely mask it when it shows up

The writers of the Bible use an intriguing phrase which I think for years I overlooked when it comes to describing fear and how it operates.  In his encouragement to be faithful in prayer and to nurture the gifts of the Spirit that he was given, Paul tells Timothy in 2 Timothy 1:7 that  

“For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline.”

Did you catch that?  I underlined it for you if you didn’t.  Fear has a spiritual root.  A spiritual component to it.  There are gifts that are spiritual that God desires to give – spiritual power, love and self-control. And then there are two “anti-gifts” which are also spiritual which are to be rejected because they do not come from the Holy Spirit.  A spirit of fear and a spirit of timidity.  If your Bible has little notes or cross references at the bottom of the page that tell you where this phrase or word shows up in other places, yours might take you to Romans 8:15.  

“You have not received a spirit that makes you fearful slaves. Instead, you received God’s Spirit when He adopted you as his own children. Now we call him, “Abba, Father.”.”

Again, fear is given spiritual attributes and contrasted starkly with the presence of God the Holy Spirit.  What I want us to do this morning is to turn with me in your Bibles or on your phones to Romans chapter 8 and we’re going to trace the flow of thought that precedes this statement so that we can learn to recognize and root out fear from our lives.  There are three things to pay attention to in this chapter.  I’m going to start reading in verse 1 of Romans chapter 8. [read 8:1-2]    

Let’s pause here for a moment because right away we see the first point of entry that fear tries to gain into our lives.

• Often begins with condemnation (Rom. 8:1)

Accusation. Voices inside your head telling you things like “um, you do not have your act together enough to darken the doors of a church like Jericho!  I mean, one of their core values in authentic community and if people really knew you, they would reject you!”  Or “oh, you think you should serve, do you? How cute. Who are you kidding!  You’re not spiritually mature enough to be on the worship in song teams or to become a member or to go on that trip to Guatemala!  You are a fraud.  Your spiritual life isn’t anywhere near where other people are at!”  

Two weeks ago, when I stood up to preach, the voices in my head started up again.  Standing right here.  “Oh, preaching on fear are we? Who are you to stand up and say things like “do not be afraid’?  You are not a naturally fearful person by personality – you have no authority to say anything about this. No one will believe anything you say.  Just sit down and go home.”  Friends, condemnation happens - even in the pulpit.  

And there’s the tricky part about fear’s rootedness in condemnation…

• There is often a measure of truth to these accusations but their source is not unclear

One of the names for Satan in the Bible is the Accuser.  We see it in the book of Job, in Zechariah, in Revelation 12:10 where it says that Satan’s most delightful task is to remind God of all of your faults and deficiencies.  He stands day and night accusing and condemning you and I.  And he’s got some great ammunition to do it with.  Because none of us is perfect! So he takes those areas in our lives where there is exposure and he exploits them.  And pretty soon, it begins to feel like a Condemnation Can Feel Like a Dark Cloud [photo of trees and cloud] has settled into our lives.  “You’re right, I’m no good that. I will never beat that addiction or that habit.  I’ll never be able to control my tongue.  What’s the use?  

But this is the whole reason that Romans 8 contrasts the Spirit of life in Christ with the spirit of fear.  I love how Eugene Peterson puts Romans 8:1 in his translation the Message:  Romans 8:1
“Those who enter into Christ’s being-here-for-us no longer have to live under a continuous, low-lying black cloud. A new power is in operation. The Spirit of life in Christ, like a strong wind, has magnificently cleared the air, freeing you from a fated lifetime of brutal tyranny at the hands of sin and death.”

Oh, I want that kind of freedom!  I want that kind of freedom for you.  The good news is that you don’t have to live under that dark cloud of condemnation.  But how do we get there from here?  How do we kill the mouse that’s gotten into our house? Like a good exterminator, Paul goes on in Romans 8 to conduct a kind of site assessment.  To figure out how much fear has taken up residence in your soul.  And there are a few clear Signs a Spirit of Fear is Gaining Ground.  I’m going to begin reading in 8:5-6 [read]

• What do I spend time thinking about? (8:6).

Perhaps not surprisingly, those who have allowed fear to get in and have little fear babies all over the place, have a thought process that is dominated, controlled by fear.  One way of testing this is to ask yourself “what do I spend time thinking about”.  How many of you, if I asked you right now “where did you see God at work this week?” could come up with a response.  Some of you it might take a long time to answer. Now, flip it around and if I asked you “talk to me about 1 thing you were afraid of this week” – many of you could think of that more quickly than you could think of where God was at work.  So we need to ask ourselves: what do I spend my time thinking about.  And not just generally, but also specifically: How is this decision being influenced by fear?

Paul goes in Romans 8:9 [read].  Another litmus test of how much fear is taking root in my life is to ask yourself  

How responsive am I to God’s Spirit? (8:9). This questions helps identify

• What is the “controlling influence” in my life?

Do you remember the Disney Pixar Movie “Inside Out”.  It was a fictional story about 5 characters that live inside of human brains that work together on decision making functions – Disgust, fear, joy, sadness and anger.  And when fear kicks others out and gets control, you need to watch out!  You do not want to have FEAR be the controlling or governing influence in your decision making.  

But here’s the incredibly good news: You don’t have to!  Look with me at 8:12-14

Romans 8:12-14
Therefore…you have no obligation to do what your sinful nature urges you to do. 13 For if you live by its dictates, you will die. But if through the power of the Spirit you put to death the deeds of your sinful nature, you will live. 14 For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God.”

Friends, this is the second key truth in recognizing and rooting out fear…
2.  You are under NO obligation to give in to fear (Romans 8:12)

Our sinful nature, that part of all human beings that urges us towards choices that are not God’s best for us, is not an irresistible force.  You are under no obligation to do what your sinful nature urges you to do.  My sinful nature, aided by the Accuser, has all kind of wonderful plans for my life.  And yours does do.  But here we bump up against the clear teaching of Scripture that our urges, our desires do not all require us to acquis to them.  “Oh, I’m just naturally an angry person – that’s in my cultural DNA or my upbringing.  I can’t control my temper. You are under no obligation to do what your sinful nature is urging you to do.  

You see we all have urges and opportunities – be they biological or social or personal or circumstantial – that we feel like doing.  You might feel drawn toward having a sexual relationship with a person who is not our spouse. You might feel like it is easier to shade the truth and impress others with a good story. You might feel like giving in to peer pressure and making a bad decision. You might feel greedy and have a desire to make as much money as you can no matter the cost or means.  But in case you have not yet figured this out, it is not healthy to do everything that you FEEL like doing!  If you live by the dictates or the directives that do not originate with the Spirit of God, you will reap the consequences of following you urges down dark and destructive pathways. Don’t do it.  You are under no obligation to do what your sinful nature urgers you to do.  

That is why “Fear Not” is not a nice suggestion or a good idea: it is a command (empowered instruction).  Because even if you are a person who is naturally anxious, or who worries a lot or who has trouble trusting God, through the power of the Spirit, being led in increasing ways by the Spirit of God, you can walk away from fear being the controlling influencer in your life.  God would not say “fear not” if God did not also grant us the empowering presence of the Spirit to make possible obedience to His instruction.  

Now, don’t’ hear what I am not saying.  This does not mean that children of God never experience fear.   What it does mean is that God is going to assist and strengthen you to do more than simply deal with fear as a medical, social, psychological or circumstantial issue.  It is helpful to address some of the manifestations of fear and next weekend Pastor Wally is going to share part of his story next weekend about what panic and anxiety looked like at points in his life.  But one of the things that I see in his story as well as the teaching of the Bible on how to deal with spiritual realities is that that because you have to deal with them spiritually.  And because fear has a spiritual component, if you think about it like a tree, you can’t simply deal with the branches and the limbs and the trunk. You need to get right back to the root. The spiritual root of the spirit of fear.

We need to begin to ask ourselves again: What Have I Allowed to take Root in my Life? [photo of tree root]. What kind of soil conditions have allowed fear to grow from a seedling into a sapling into a massive fear tree that is sucking all of the nutrients & life out of me?  Friend, all of us wrestle with fear to some extent.  Even the ones that look the most brave.  And in a few minutes, as we do each weekend here at Jericho, we are going to open it up for a time of prayer ministry.  And what I want you to do is to get ready to go up to one of our prayer team – this morning that is myself, Meg, Wally and Sylvia – and say “I need God’s help to dig up some of these root systems in my life”.  We would love to pray with you.  

Part of the reason why fear is so dangerous and why we need to learn to recognize it and root it out is that

3.  The spirit of fear’s primary objective is to SEPARATE you from the Perfect Love of God  

Look at how the flow of thought continues in Romans 8:35,37
“Can anything ever separate us from Christ’s love? Does it mean God no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity, or are persecuted, or hungry, or destitute, or in danger, or threatened with death?... No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us.”

Romans 8:38
“And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. 39 No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

One of the primary reasons that fear is dangerous is that it attempts to make you feel like you are distant from God.  That God doesn’t really love you.  Friends, as we prepare to move into a time of responding to God, I want to read Romans 8:15 again, this time with a different segment underlined.

“You have not received a spirit that makes you fearful slaves. Instead, you received God’s Spirit when He adopted you as His own children. Now we call him, “Abba, Father.”.”

The reason that the image of adoption is so powerful is that the process of adoption doesn’t begin with the child, it begins with the parent.  It begins with someone saying “I want you to be part of my family”.  The same thing is true with God.  God loves you so much that He said “I want you to be part of my family.  I want to initiate the process whereby you can become my son or my daughter.  I want you to call me Papa, which is what that word “Abba” means.  It’s a term of intimacy.  And friend, if you are here today and you have never said yes to that invitation, you will live your life feeling like a slave to fear. A person who always lives under the black cloud of condemnation thinking that no one wants or loves you.  But that simply isn’t true.  The rest of Romans 8 makes is so clear that God’s radical love for you is so big that He sent Jesus into the world to live as our perfect example, to die as our prefect sacrifice, to be raised to life by the power of the Spirit and to ascend into heaven where Christ sits right now countering the lies that the Accuser is trying to whisper.  But you have to give Jesus permission to be your advocate. To be your saviour – your forgiver and leader.  You can do that by praying and saying “God, I am done with living as a slave to fear.  I want to be a child of yours.  I want to be adopted into your family.”  Don’t wait. Don’t miss out.  If you haven’t done that, today is your day.  Respond in obedience.     

Friends, if you have already said yes to Jesus you and I are still going to struggle on this side of eternity with Recognizing & Rooting Out Fear. But there are a few simple things you can do.   

• Break the cycle of condemnation with truth – We are going to model this for you in a few minutes as Jared and the team comes now and prepares to lead us in songs of response.  During the song “Here’s My Heart” there a line that says “speak what is true” and we’re going to have people speak out the truth of the Scriptures over you and over us as a way of loosening and breaking that cycle of fear that begins with condemnation.  This is also why being in God’s Word is so powerful and why we have a reading plan built right into the Jericho Ridge app and why we have small groups to help you get into God’s Word.  This week, make a commitment to let the voice of Truth speak louder than lies of shame & condemnation.    

• Break the cycle of sinful deeds by repentance – Remember, you have no obligation to do what your sinful nature urges you to do.  But sometimes you and I still do it.  When we do, it is important to confess it to God and to others, and to invite the healing grace of Jesus to flow into your life.  Repentance is simply agreeing with God that you want to make a different choice.  You might want to take some time in our worship time to talk to God in prayer and confess your sins to God and experience healing.  

Break the cycle of distance and separation by practicing placing yourself in God’s presence – If fear’s primary tactic is to separate and to whisper that the reason you are experiencing fear or trouble or hardship or anxiety is that you must have done something that has created a rift between you and God.  But if you have practiced repentance, take some time right now and set aside some intentional time this week to place yourself in the presence of God.  Maybe its turning the radio off on your drive and saying say “God, I’m here.  I am listening.  Speak to me by your Holy Spirit.  Take away the spirit of fear and remind me again that I am a child of yours.”  I’m going to invite you to stand as you are able and as Jared and the team lead us in songs of response and as Wally, Sylvia and Meg make their way to the sides and back for prayer, let me pray for you.