The Only Thing We Have To Fear
Thank you choir, thank you Jenny; take your Bibles,
turn to the book of 2 Timothy, chapter number one. To our kiddos who are heading back for their
lesson: thank you for being with us for our worship portion. I wanted to make an announcement that I just
got so we weren’t able to get this on the bulletin, but I think it’s a great
thing. This Tuesday at 9 am, a number of
ladies (I would assume this isn’t just confined to the ladies) will be meeting
at 9 am on Tuesday in our Family Life Center to bake cookies, cakes, and a
number of little expressions of love for our Police Department. They are going to take them over to them as a
show of support at a difficult time. So
if you would be interested in coming up at 9 am and bringing something already
baked or bringing the ingredients and baking with a group of folks. If you have any questions about that, Pat
Ritchie will be back in the foyer after church and you can get back there and
talk to her. I think it’s a beautiful thing
for some good folks to be able to show our support at this time.
My original intention this morning was to start a
series. I love to do this topic every
four years when we come around to the Olympics.
I think that is such a metaphor for running this Christian race, for
spiritual disciplines, for having a target in sight when it comes to living for
Jesus. God willing, we are going to get
to that. August 5th, the
Olympics start up with all the fanfare and that stuff, but frankly I just could
not preach that today. For these next
two weeks, God willing, I just want to settle into what the Lord’s put on my
heart for today.
I was wondering about y’all this last Thursday
night. Wondering how you were doing and
wondering how you were feeling. You
know, the most important question about us at any given moment isn’t really
“what do you think” it’s “how do you feel”?
If you want to burrow down to where you heart really is, the door
to an accurate barometer of your heart situation is normally your emotions. I know sitting there on Thursday night, when
I got word about the shootings and the turmoil and all that’s unfolded this
week with so much tension, pain, and foolish, foolish things said on polar
extremes of the case. I felt so many
different emotions. I definitely felt a
real measure of sadness for our country, the turmoil, tension; sad for those
officers and their family that lost their life.
Felt a fair measure of anger, but I tell you an emotion I imagine many
of you felt this week, and maybe even feel today, is fear.
I love that our congregation slowly, surely
is becoming a more diverse congregation.
I told our men back in our prayer meeting, I love the fact that we are
becoming more of a representation of heaven. Heaven won’t be all one race, one language, one type. It will be all God’s people that know Jesus
Christ; black, brown, white, and all of us together. No doubt, whatever your background or race,
wherever you’re at, it is easy at a moment like this to feel afraid.
David Jeremiah wrote a book that I think is very
appropriately titled “What in the Word is Going On” and this is a quote from
that book from some years ago, but I find it awfully pertinent this morning:
What in the world is going on? Never before in my lifetime have I read such jarring headlines, distressing news analyses, or dire predictions for America and the world. Things are getting so chaotic... The events unfolding in today’s world are ominously threating to unsettle institutions, reorder national political alignment (boy ain’t that the truth?), change the balance of world power, and destabilize the equitable distribution of resources. People everywhere are beginning to live in a state of fear and anxiety. Serious people are asking, “If these things are happening today, what will the future be like for my children and grandchildren?”
I think it’d be awfully easy to conclude in times
like these that “Hey man, fear is just an unavoidable human emotional
reaction.” When you look around and we
don’t know exactly what’s going to happen, and we send our kids off to school,
and we wonder about the future, and all these things seem imminent. Always wondering, what’s the next headline
going to be? What’s the next Orlando
going to be? What’s the next Dallas
going to be? What’s the next Middle East
going to be? What’s the next Iran going
to be? What’s the next North Korea going
to be? I think it’d be easy to settle
into “Hey man, there’s no way around just living in a state of fear. We can’t help it.” but our text says
differently today. THANK GOD! I’m
telling you, I found this so comforting this morning, that we can gather
together and sing “amazing grace, how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like
me” on days like this. That we can come. Our future is not up in the wind somewhere. Christian, there are certainties; there are
anchors for our soul that we get latch onto this morning. Praise Jesus! Second Timothy 1:7, this was written to an anxious,
scared Preacher, but I think it sure applies across the board and can apply to
us today.
2
Timothy 1:7 7 For God hath not given us the spirit of fear
[so what has he given us?]; but of power,
and of love, and of a sound [some translate that as self-controlled] mind.
God hasn’t given us a spirit of fear. He didn’t say you won’t be afraid at
times. That is a normal human
reaction. God says, "I don’t want you to
live in the spirit of that. I don’t want
you to let that cloud hovering in your life and stay there." The word fear here in Greek is deilia it
means one who flees from the battle. God
hadn’t given us a spirit to run away from the battle at times like these. He’s given us a spirit of power and love, and
of a clear sound mind with self-control. Some 365 times in the Bible, that’s one for every single day of
the year, and I don’t find that a coincidence.
The Living God tells you and I “don’t be afraid, be not afraid, don’t be afraid, don’t fear” 365 times!
In Matthew,
chapter 14, verse 31, Peter’s walking on the water. You remember that? He’s going to Jesus, he’s
doing the supernatural, but he sees those waves coming. He get his focus off Jesus and onto the circumstances. Whenever you get your eyes off Jesus and onto the
circumstances, you're in for a fall. Peter
starts sinking, you remember the Bible says immediately Peter says Lord save
me and immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand and caught him and said unto him
“O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?” (Matthew 14:31b). Jesus
says listen when fear comes in, faith goes out. When faith goes out fear, comes
in.
Luke 8:24, the disciples are in a storm and Jesus is asleep in like the bow
of the ship on a pillow, and they're thinking “Jesus don't you care? Don't you see?
How could you let this go on if you’re sovereign? How could you let this go on
if you're really in control? How could you allow this to happen to us if
you're really...?” All the same stuff we asked at times today. They came to him and awoke him saying “Master,
master, we perish. Then he arose, and rebuked the wind and the raging of the
water: and they ceased, and there was a calm.” You know what, the moment Jesus
says stop, it all stops.
Jesus “said unto them, Where is your faith?” When
faith goes out, fear comes in; when fear comes in, faith goes out. Next week, God
willing, I want to talk more nationally, more what can we Christians do in this
country that is being so ravaged by hate, sin, problems, and pain. How do
we react? What do we do? But this morning I can't do it y'all. This is so much more personal than that. I want to talk to you. I want to talk to me.
What happens when we yield to fear? What happens when we let that cloud settle down
over our life and we wake up with it,go to bed with it, and we live in that
state of anxiety? What happens when yield to fear and how do we make the
journey from fear back to faith?
If that's where you're at today, “Preacher I'm
scared. I'm scared and I'm having reactions in my life and in my mind and in my
mouth and on my Facebook because I'm scared.” Then how can you make the journey
from fear back into faith?
FDR, back on March 4, 1933, gave a quote in one of
his speeches I believe is his inaugural address. He said “the only thing we
have to fear...” finish it for me “...is fear itself.” I kind of disagree with
him. There's a whole lot of stuff to be scared of, but the worst thing we have
to fear, the only one that can mess you up to the point you will live like a
lost person, the only one that can mess you up so bad you live like an
unbeliever, is fear.
I want to introduce you today to a hero of the faith
named Elijah, who got scared. Turn back
with me 1 Kings 16, if you can't find it, it’s right next to 2nd Kings. [Laughs] That one's gotten so much mileage through
the years. Let's just say this is as we begin: our story begins
in troubling times.
1
Kings 16:29- 29 And in the thirty and eighth year of Asa
king of Judah began Ahab the son of Omri to reign over Israel: and Ahab the son
of Omri reigned over Israel in Samaria twenty and two years. 30 And Ahab the son of Omri did evil in the
sight of the Lord above all that were before him. [If
you’ve read the Chronicles and the Kinds, you know that’s saying something if
this guy did more evil than anyone before him.] 31 And it came to pass, as if it had been a
light thing for him to walk in the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat [by
the way that's the guy who set up these golden idols and told Israel “hey y'all,
that's your God, don't worry about the temple, go worship there. If that was wouldn't
heavy enough...] that he took to wife
Jezebel the daughter of Ethbaal king of the Zidonians, and went and served
Baal, and worshipped him. [this Baal being spoken
of was... The word “baal” means “lord” and Baal Haddad (which is this
particular false god) means “storm God”. His weapons were thunder and lightning.
The fertility of the land depended on Baal Haddad sending rain. Ahab, his wife Jezebel pulls him over into that
religion where he is openly, plainly worshipping this false God, and saying if
we're going to have productivity if we're gonna have economic success, its not
going to come from Jehovah is going to come from Baal Haddad.] 32 And he reared up an altar for Baal in
the house of Baal, which he had built in Samaria. 33 And Ahab made a grove; and Ahab did more
to provoke the Lord God of Israel to anger than all the
kings of Israel that were before him.
Now go down 1 Kings 17:1 And
Elijah the Tishbite, who was of the inhabitants of Gilead, said unto Ahab, As
the Lord God of Israel liveth, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor
rain these years, but according to my word.
God had His Prophet. God sends His profit to the
king and Elijah says you worship Baal Haddad, you worship the storm God, let me
tell you what Jehovah just said; no rain. No economic prosperity. It’s all
stopping right this second. The Bible says that for three years Elijah leaves
that pronouncement, he goes into hiding. He lives by a brook, he's fed by ravens. When the brook dries up, God sends him to a widow; He allows them to be
nourished there. It's a hard sustenance, it's a hard existence, but God takes
care of him. All the while Elijah’s thinking:
and praying, “I know you're going to do something for our nation. I know you're
going to do something to rescue. This drought is killing everybody, but I know
you're bringing our country to a state of desperation. You're bringing it to
its knees so something good can happen.”
After all these years, after all this tension, after
all this thirst and hunger and problem God finally says “all right Elijah, today's
the day. Go see Ahab and set up a
contest. I won't belabor the details of the contest, most of you in this crowd
know the details of how Elijah says “gather the prophets of Baal. Have them build an altar. I'm going to build
an altar and whichever God can send down fire from heaven let him be God. Bring
all the people out bring all the people to watch the contest.” All the people
come and they say “yes which ever one can send down fire from heaven let him be
God.” So the prophets of Baal, when it
comes their turn, they start praying. They start dancing around the altar. They start doing occultic gyrations and
incantations, calling on their gods; the back of which were very real demons, but God had apparently stayed their hand to do anything because they’re dancing,
chanting, praying, and they begin to cut themselves in a way that they thought
would appease their god. Blood’s flowing
all over that ground and all over that altar but no word from Baal.
Elijah has them wet his altar again and again and
again with salt water; to where there's no chance that the sacrifice on that
altar can be consumed; everything is so saturated, a trench forms around it. He prays
to God and God sends down fire from heaven that licks up not only the sacrifice
but burns down all the stones. The people hit their face saying, “Jehovah’s God!” The prophets of Baal are
killed, God sends rain, and Elijah thinks it's over. Mission accomplished. National revival. We're back and they have
surely seen the error of these ways and I’m going to have an easier
time of this now.
1
Kings 18:45 45 And it came to pass in the mean while, that the heaven was
black with clouds and wind, and there was a great rain. And Ahab rode, and went
to Jezreel. 46 And the hand of
the Lord was on Elijah;
and he girded up his loins [that
means he got all those loose flowing robes and gathered them up in his hands so
he
could just move] , and ran before Ahab to the entrance of Jezreel.
1 Kings 19:1 And Ahab told
Jezebel all that Elijah had done, and withal how he had slain all the prophets
with the sword. 2 Then Jezebel sent
a messenger unto Elijah, saying, So let the gods do to me, and more also, if I
make not thy life as the life of one of them by tomorrow about this time.
You might have killed a
bunch of mine, but I bet I’ll kill you. By tomorrow this time, I will have your
head. Can you imagine the disappointment? By the way, in our class one time we
actually just dissected that word, disappointed, we put it up on a dry erase
board. I think it's kind of stark
to think that in that were disappointed is the word appointed. Appointed means to determine by authority; to
fix. Hebrews 9:27 “it's appointed unto men once to die but after this the
judgment”. When you think something's appointed, you just take it to the
bank. This is the way life works. This
is the way my marriage is going to turn out. This is the way my kids are going
to turn out. I'm gonna have enough money. My kids are going to be raised and
basically a safe society. I'm not gonna be threatened. The institutions are
going to hold solid. I mean that's just appointed. When what's appointed doesn't go like that
and you get rocked, you are DIS-appointed; to fail to fulfill the hope, desire,
or expectation of someone. Make no mistake, Elijah is disappointed! He's tired, he's hurt, and he is
scared.
There are three things that tend to happen when we
get scared. The first one is not included in our text but i guarantee you it's
the case. Number one: we stand still. Thursday night, you know what happened? A bunch of
us stood still. How could this be happening?
We human beings are meaning makers, we’re always processing. We're always
thinking through. We're always trying to say two plus two equals four. We're
always trying to “fortune cookie” every event in our life; crack that thing open,
pull that tag out, and say “oh ok that's why that happened”. Elijah, looking at this “God I thought you
were with me, and you made me wait, and now there's a revival, but there's not
a revival? Now you're with me, but now
you're not with me? Now you you've crushed them on one hand but you're going to
lift this woman up on the other? God you'd let this happen?” He's making
meaning and make no mistake there is an enemy talking in his ear the entire
time. God doesn't love you! He's not for
you! You’ve been imagining a whole lot
of this! When we're scared, the first step of it is we stand still in our mind.
We're making meaning, judgment calls, trying to figure it out.
Here's the second thing that happens when we get
scared: we strike out.
1
Kings 19:3 3 And when
he saw that [What?
Jezebel's going to kill him or he thinks she will], he arose, and went [and ran] for his life, and came to Beersheba, which belongeth to Judah, and
left his servant there.
Interesting. He thinks, “where I'm going, I'm not
coming back. I'm gonna leave him there.”
Elijah runs for his life. Does he know where he's going exactly? No, not yet. He's
just running. He strikes out. He's hurt, he's scared, he is angry. After the offense has had time to sink in, after
the shock has been ingested, our fear often gives way to anger. Here's the
thing, fear is a helpless feeling. We human beings love to be in control, don't
we? We love to feel like, “I got a grip on this okay? My life basically runs
like this. The country basically functions like this. I get my paycheck here. I
go to work...” We basically like to control things and when we're scared, we
feel out of control. Anger gives us the illusion of regaining control. “I'm
going to manipulate the situation. I'm going to intimidate you in this
situation. I'm going to take the situation back in hand.”
This anger might express itself in some violent
outward display such as verbal confrontation, physical aggression, or revenge. That's what happened with the gunman; but
among Christians I think it's far more common that anger expresses itself inwardly. It turns to malice, hatred, bitterness, racism,
resentment. We fight, run, medicate, or
we write stupid things on Facebook. Never before in history has every single human being
been able to publicly voice the deal in a format like that. On either side of the issue some foolish, foolish,
hurtful things. You know what happens? When
we’re scared and we're angry, we make blanket judgments. We make blanket
statements. Here's the thing, whenever you say “all black people or this”, ‘all
white people are that”, “all police are this”...
My friend you're off.
The truth is there are differences, there is every shade!
There are good preachers and there are terrible preachers. There are amazing
policeman and there are bad policeman. There are good white people in there are
bad white people. There are good black
people, there are bad black people. It runs the gamut and listen, in emotion
and anger when you throw out blanket coverages; you're going to get it wrong!
Let me just say something, the institution of
government, the institution of police departments, is ordained by Almighty God.
He gives derivative authority. That means God literally vested in human
government a measure of His authority. He vested in police departments a
measure of divine authority. That's why the Bible says pray for the police,
support your leaders. Does it mean you agree with them on everything? No! Does
it mean they're not challenged in right proper ways when there is corruption or
wrong doing? No!
We Americans have got a God-given right to peacefully
protest, but the bottom line is God ordained authority. To kill authority is a
sin. Let me tell you something else, you
can't believe this book from cover to cover, you cannot read about the life of
Jesus Christ and what He did and what He said and still be a racist. You run
polar opposite to the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ who spread out His hands on
the cross when you do that.
When we get
scared, and when we need to get a measure of control back, we strike out. Here
is the third thing; we step back. Elijah leaves his servant. He launches out. He's upset,
angry, scared...
1
Kings 19:4 4 But he
himself went a day's journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a
juniper tree: and he requested for himself that he might die; and said, It is
enough; now, O Lord, take
away my life; for I am not better than my fathers. [“I'm done, I'm done. If this is the way it is, way
it works: God... humanity... I'm done.” When you reach that step, and once
bitten twice shy becomes your life motto you cautiously remove yourself
from the presence of any perceived thing that can hurt you.
Chuck Swindoll said
this:
Disillusionment is a dangerous, slippery slope. First we become disillusioned about our fellow man. Then we move on to cynicism. Before long, we trust no one, not even God. We’ve been burned. We’ve been taken advantage of; we’ve been mistreated. I have never met an individual...” Swindoll writes, “...who was truly disillusioned with mankind who has not also become disillusioned with God. The two go together. Cynicism is spawned in such a context.
So here's the deal, fear gets the best of him. Fear
starts to control him. Fear comes in, faith goes out. Here’s this guy he's just
done, he can't take another step. I want to tell you if you're scared, afraid this
morning, if your dwelling on the news, culture, politics, and the crime, I want
to encourage you friend God loves you! He has something more for you than fear. Here's what he has for Elijah. He's going to use three things to bring him
back from fear into faith. First of all simplicity...
1st
Kings 19:5 5 And as he lay and slept
under a juniper tree, behold, then an angel touched him, and said unto him,
Arise and eat.
6 And he looked, and, behold, there was a cake
baken on the coals, and a cruse of water at his head. And he did eat and drink,
and laid him down again.
7 And the angel of the Lord came
again the second time, and touched him, and said, Arise and eat; because the
journey is too great for thee.
Man that's tender isn’t it? I mean, the way I think
of God sometimes, I'm terribly sorry to have to tell you this, is God coming
along and kind of giving me a kick in the ribs. “What are you laying down there
for? I told you this would go like this.
Are you my servant or what? Get up!” That's not God. He comes and says “I
know you're scared and I know you’re beat. I know you're exhausted. When you're tired everything is magnified.
Drink a little water, have a little angel food...” I don't think it was angel
food cake, I think I think it's better than that, had a little more fat in it
than that. I think the point is this,
Psalm 46 “be still and know that I am God”. “I'm still God. You're so worked up, you’ve
forgotten that I’m still on the throne. That hasn't changed.”
I was talking to
a preacher friend of mine. We called
each other on Friday and we're both just sad.
He said “you know what Brian; desperation is the fertile soil in which
the gospel thrives.” You know what? In
our country the truth is we're just not really desperate. I don't really need
to pray. I don't really need to witness. My life is about activities and
finances and homes and cars with a little bit of Jesus sprinkled in on the side.
Things like what we saw on Thursday begin to drive us out of that to “oh god, I'm
missing something here.” It starts unsettling us and I'm telling you as bad as
it is on the surface it is creating the fertile soil in this country, and in
the city, by which we may see multitudes won to Jesus!
“Be still and know that I am God” I would encourage
you, if you've been fearful this week, you may have to take a little stretch
where you turn off the news. Where you
turn off the cell phone and the Facebook and the like; (I rag on Facebook a lot,
i think it's a fine tool, but it can be destructive tool) where we get quiet
for a season.
Silence is the second thing: (1) simplicity, (2) silence.
1st
Kings 19:8 8 And he
arose, and did eat and drink, and went in the strength of that meat forty days
and forty nights unto Horeb the mount of God. [Interesting that he goes to Horeb. I believe God led
him to Horeb and I believe the fact is Elijah and another guy are constantly
linked in Scripture: Elijah and Moses. In Matthew 17, the Transfiguration of
Jesus, when Jesus puts on his glorified form and shows Himself to the disciples
Moses and Elijah appear there speaking with Jesus. In Exodus 33, remember that
section where Moses stood on Mount Sinai, in the cleft of the rock and said “Oh
God show me your glory. Please show me who you really are. Your weight, majesty,
and wonder. I want to follow you more. I know if I just see your glory, I'll
follow you more.” God says “All right. I can't show you me face to face it’ll kill
you. Here's what I'm going to do. I'm going to pass by you with my glory. I’m
going to proclaim my name. you're going to see the back of me.” He covers them
there in the cleft of the rock and Moses sees the glory of God to the point
that he's like “oh god, I'm yours! Whatever you want to do with me I’m yours!”
Horeb is Sinai. I believe the picture is God is telling Elijah “meet me up on
the mountain I got something to show you.” He wanted answers. He needed to see the glory
of God. You know what? A lot of us when we're scared when were hurt we want
answers. You know what we really need? To see the glory of God.
The last thing (1) simplicity, (2) silence [we're
going from fear back to faith], (3) sovereignty. That means God's absolute power and rule over
his creation.]
1st
Kings 19:9 And he came thither unto a
cave, and lodged there; and, behold, the word of the Lord came to him, and he said unto him, What
doest thou here, Elijah?
10 And he said, I have been very jealous for the Lord God of hosts: for the children of Israel have
forsaken thy covenant, thrown down thine altars, and slain thy prophets with
the sword; and I, even I only, am left; and they seek my life, to take it away.
11 And he said, Go forth, and stand upon the
mount before the Lord. And, behold,
the Lord passed by, and a
great and strong wind rent the mountains, and brake in pieces the rocks before
the Lord; but the Lord was
not in the wind: and after the wind an earthquake; but the Lord was
not in the earthquake:
12 And after the earthquake a fire; but the Lord was
not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice.
The implication is God
was in the Whisper. So often we just want Him to swoop down
and fix it all. “Come burn it up man. God
just do something big for us.” God’s like “No, you come aside and let me show
you my glory. When I do a work in you, you'll do a work in this broken world. Maybe
that's what I wanted all along.” Y'all maybe it's not God's intention to
bandage up our broken American prosperity. Maybe it's his intention in our
brokenness for the gospel in Jesus to shine through people that see God. Now on the sovereignty, verse 13 ...
13 And it was so, when Elijah heard it [the still small voice],
that he wrapped his face in his mantle, and went out, and stood in the entering
in of the cave. And, behold, there came a voice unto him, and said, What doest
thou here, Elijah?
14 And he said, I have been very jealous for the Lord God of hosts: because the children of Israel
have forsaken thy covenant, thrown down thine altars, and slain thy prophets
with the sword; and I, even I only, am left; and they seek my life, to take it
away. [I’m not real interested in seeing Your glory right now, Lord, but I'd
really like You to fix things. By the
way we always quote, “if my people which are called by my name shall pray and
seek my face I'll heal their land”. That
is scripture, that is beautiful, that is true that is marvelous, but heal their
land may mean in the middle of pain, adversity, and persecution see multitudes
come to Jesus.]
15 And the Lord said
unto him, Go, return on thy way to the wilderness of Damascus: and when thou
comest, anoint Hazael to be king over Syria:
16 And Jehu the son of Nimshi shalt thou anoint
to be king over Israel: and Elisha the son of Shaphat of Abelmeholah shalt thou
anoint to be prophet in thy room.
17 And it shall come to pass, that him that
escapeth the sword of Hazael shall Jehu slay: and him that escapeth from the
sword of Jehu shall Elisha slay. [In other
words, all this stuff you're so worried about I got it well in
hand. I know exactly what I'm doing. All the people in authority, they're under My authority. God is in control of who is in control. Can I say that again? God is in control of
who's in control. I'm gonna take care of that, you don't worry about that. I'll
take care of that. Then look He says:
18 Yet I have left me seven thousand in
Israel, all the knees which have not bowed unto Baal, and every mouth which
hath not kissed him. [Elijah, you think you're the only
one. You're not. I got 7,000 like you.]
I don't want in any way be trite about the
fact that we're living in troubling times. What I do want to say, before you put your feet on the floor tomorrow morning, before
you pillow your head in bed tonight, what a thing to look up to the heavens, to
look up to your ceiling and say “God I believe that You are in control. That
nothing escapes you. That you're working beauty even through the ashes. That
you're working good even through the evil. That we are working blessing even
through the pain. God if you sent your Son to buy me back from my sins, I can
trust you with my one little life.”
Habakkuk in the Old Testament came to the
point where he saw such unrighteousness, evil, and terrible stuff in his nation
he started questioning God. He got discouraged, “I just don't get it. I don't
understand. What are you doing?” God leads him to the temple one day and Habakkuk
gets his answer. Here's what he comes to
the conclusion of:
Habakkuk
3:17 17 Although the fig tree shall not blossom,
neither shall fruit be in the vines; the labour of the olive shall fail, and
the fields shall yield no meat; the flock shall be cut off from the fold, and
there shall be no herd in the stalls: although the fig tree shall not
blossom neither so fruit being the vines the labor of the oil so fail and the
field shall yield no meet the flock shall be cut off from the fold and there shall
be no heard in the stalls [if there's a total visual meltdown of our
society God]
You know you can only live there, if
you're not too attached down here. For a lot of us, and I got to confess in in
some real sense it’s me, the threat we
feel is to our lifestyle, possessions, plans,
future. It's in moments like these that Jesus will remind you this is
not our home. Real life hadn't even started yet. This life down here is for one
thing and one thing only - to shine the light of the gospel of Jesus to as many
lost and broken people as we possibly can! Let me suggest you friend listen if
you're not sharing Jesus with the people around you, could it be you've gotten
too comfortable down here?
Thank you Lord, that there is something
good and lasting and true and better waiting for us that we can live for now.
"The Only Thing We Have To Fear" Brian Loveless Sermon on July 10, 2016 at Calvary Baptist Church, Grand Prairie, Texas.
