“Why Are We Afraid?” Week 1 in series: ( Sermon: 1.10.10; Wellspring Church; Rev. J. Moschenrose ) Matthew 8:23-27 During the past couple of weeks, as 2009 ended and a new year began, I have heard many opinions and feelings about this ending and beginning. Numerous people mentioned relief that 2009 was over, and expressed hope that the difficulties experienced during that year will remain forever in the past. Optimism that the new year will be better than the last one is frequently heard during the first weeks of a new year, and this year has been no exception. We hope that we will experience better health, a better financial situation, and fewer traumas and losses. However, less than 2 days after expressing these hopes via email, a close colleague of mine was on his way to the airport for the conference Phillip and I attended this past week, hit black ice and totaled his dream car and sustained painful injuries. The same day, another friend who anticipated a healthy, growth-filled new year had her bags packed for the same conference when she got a call that her elderly mother fell and seriously injured herself, so she had to cancel her plans and be with her mother through surgery and recovery. As several of my colleagues discussed the absence of these and other good friends at the conference, someone said, “The longer I live the less I expect the new year to be any better than the last one. Who am I trying to fool? I’m getting older – why would I think my health would get better? My church is declining in membership – why would I expect us to do more with less? My grown children are living in an age of rampant unemployment – why would I anticipate them doing better financially than my generation? I fear for what 2010 will bring – I just hope I’ve gained strong enough sea-legs during other storms to survive the ones that hit me in the coming year.” We understand what this man is talking about, don’t we? Many of us fear what we might have to face in the coming year. Fear. That is an emotion we all know well. Fortunately fear is also a subject the Bible addresses directly and often. In fact, although I’ve talked time and again from this pulpit about the great importance the Bible puts on love – that we are to love God, one another and ourselves, actually Christ talked about fear much more often than he talked about love. In the book that we’re going to read in Wednesday Bible Study, Max Lucado notes the following: “The Gospels list some 125 Christ-issued imperatives. Of these, 21 urge us to “not be afraid” or “not fear” or “have courage” or “take heart” or “be of good cheer.” The second most common command, to love God and neighbor, appears on only eight occasions. If quantity is any indicator, Jesus takes our fears seriously. The one statement he made more often than any other was this: don’t be afraid.”1 Because fear is so prevalent in our lives, and the Bible has much to say about this subject, we will spend the next six weeks delving deeply into Christ’s teaching on fear. Imagine actually being able to live with faith as our default reaction to threats instead of fear as our default reaction to threats. The Bible promises that faith can actually replace fear in our lives. As God leads us, the day will come when you and I can trust more and fear less. God promises this, and I believe it. Today we begin the series with the question, “Why are we afraid?” Well, the short answer to that question from a human perspective is “because there are so many things that happen to us over which we have no control. There are so many storms in life that knock us off our feet and threaten our very lives, we’d have to be totally ignorant or out of touch with reality to NOT be fearful!” Right?! I mean, look what happened to my two friends who were surely doing the right thing by trying to get to a Christian conference that would deepen and nurture their Christian faith and relationship with God and God’s people: boom – an accident totals Joe’s dream car. And my friend Kathy - ‘slip and fall, mom, just as I’m leaving town.’ So much trauma and loss happens that is out of our control – no wonder we’re afraid. That’s the human perspective, anyway. The disciples acted out of this human perspective. For example, in the Gospel of Matthew chapter 8, verse 23, we read, “And when Jesus got into the boat, his disciples followed him.” Just like my ministry friends Joe and Kathy, the disciples were living in God’s will. And all of a sudden, “(vs 24) A windstorm arose on the sea, so great that the boat was being swamped by the waves;” We can’t tell from the English translation, but the original Greek word Matthew uses here is seismos. A more accurate translation of this verse is, “Suddenly a seismos arose on the sea.” A seismos is a quake, a trembling eruption of sea and sky. Matthew used this word only two other times – in chapter 27 at Jesus’ death at Calvary and in chapter 28 when Jesus arose from the dead and the graveyard tremored. The storm in today’s story is no minor or routine rainstorm. It is like a tsunami, or storm resulting from an earthquake. Who among us would not be terrified? Remember, however, that the disciples had followed Jesus into the boat. They were following Jesus, literally. So where was he during this time? Look at the end of verse 24 – “but he was asleep.” He was asleep??!! During the worst storm imaginable Jesus was asleep? Have you ever felt that way about Jesus? Have you ever felt like Jesus was off somewhere asleep when you were in the throes of the worst storm of your life? There you are, dying, and he’s off somewhere, totally oblivious to your distress! He might always be with us, but what good is that if He is sound asleep, instead of standing watch over you?! Well, the disciples called Jesus on his nonchalant attitude. Verse 25 says, “And they went and woke him up, saying, "Lord, save us! We are perishing!" For crying out loud, Lord, get busy – do what you do best – save us! Can’t you see that we’re dying here? As a parent, or guardian of another, if you are caught slacking on the job, don’t you feel awful and apologize? “Oh! I’m so sorry – I nodded off there for a minute! Forgive me!” But look at how Jesus responds – verse 26 “And [Jesus] said to them, "Why are you afraid, you of little faith?" He didn’t apologize or explain why he was sleeping. Instead, He cut to the core issue. He cut to the core issue of why the disciples were afraid, and why you and I are afraid. The disciples weren’t afraid because they had a great grasp on reality, or because they were wise and experienced men. That’s the reason many of us give for our fear. We justify and rationalize our fear as being valid. And sometimes fear is a valid emotion. When fear prevents us from acting in destructive ways, and when fear pulls us away from sin and back towards God, then fear is helpful. But when we are in alignment with God’s will – when we are doing what God would want us to do, there is no reason to fear. The disciples had followed Jesus into the boat, so they were walking in his ways. Therefore their fear exposed their lack of faith in their Lord. They did not yet have a deep trust in Jesus – they reacted to their circumstances with fear instead of faith. Their eyes were on the situation, not on their Lord. Jesus called his disciples on their behavior, and [26b] “Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the sea; and there was a dead calm.” Their response again shows their lack of deep-rooted faith. Verse 27 “They were amazed, saying, ‘What sort of man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey him?’ " This week, whenever you find yourself fearful or lacking courage, ask yourself this: “Am I acting in the will of God? Am I doing what God wants me to do?” If you’re not sure, pray for discernment about this. Talk to a mature Christian about your situation. If you have reason to believe that what you are doing is NOT bringing God glory – it is NOT in accordance with God’s will, then thank God for the warning sign of fear, and change your direction! However, if you are sure that you are acting in the will of God, remind yourself of what Jesus teaches about trusting Him, and pray for greater faith and trust. And then decide to trust Him even if it feels like he’s run off somewhere and fallen asleep. Focus yourself on God’s promises instead of the fearful situation. Begin to consciously choose faith over fear. We will talk together about our experience with this next week. So come prepared to briefly share what you learn. Let’s pray about these things. << Home Week 2 >> |
