08.10.2014 Pulpit Exchange - Facing Fear

8-10-2014 - Facing Fear - Michael Peters from Grace Summit on Vimeo.

Nomophobia – the fear of losing cell phone contact
Ornithophobia – fear of birds
Chionophobia – fear of snow – I don’t know what the word is for hating snow.
Genuphobia – the fear of knees
The fear of getting paper cuts in your eye.
Some fears are funny – some are quite real. Some are life and death. The fear of spiders – that is death for the spiders.
I’d like to talk about a fear that can’t be avoided – it has to do with life and death.
Lord, thank You for the opportunity to hear from You – remove any of me – but be glorified in this time –
Acts 22: 30 But on the next day, desiring to know the real reason why he was being accused by the Jews, he unbound him and commanded the chief priests and all the council to meet, and he brought Paul down and set him before them. 23 And looking intently at the council, Paul said, “Brothers, I have lived my life before God in all good conscience up to this day.” 2 And the high priest Ananias commanded those who stood by him to strike him on the mouth. 3 Then Paul said to him, “God is going to strike you, you whitewashed wall! Are you sitting to judge me according to the law, and yet contrary to the law you order me to be struck?” 4 Those who stood by said, “Would you revile God's high priest?” 5 And Paul said, “I did not know, brothers, that he was the high priest, for it is written, ‘You shall not speak evil of a ruler of your people.’” 6 Now when Paul perceived that one part were Sadducees and the other Pharisees, he cried out in the council, “Brothers, I am a Pharisee, a son of Pharisees. It is with respect to the hope and the resurrection of the dead that I am on trial.” 7 And when he had said this, a dissension arose between the Pharisees and the Sadducees, and the assembly was divided. 8 For the Sadducees say that there is no resurrection, nor angel, nor spirit, but the Pharisees acknowledge them all. 9 Then a great clamor arose, and some of the scribes of the Pharisees' party stood up and contended sharply, “We find nothing wrong in this man. What if a spirit or an angel spoke to him?” 10 And when the dissension became violent, the tribune, afraid that Paul would be torn to pieces by them, commanded the soldiers to go down and take him away from among them by force and bring him into the barracks.
11 The following night the Lord stood by him and said, “Take courage, for as you have testified to the facts about me in Jerusalem, so you must testify also in Rome.”
God’s word for God’s people.
Today’s passage takes place after Paul gets to Jerusalem – and people say that he is preaching against Judaism and pretty much start beating him to death – and then brought before the leaders and given a chance to speak his grace story – he is going to be beaten and then questioned. And Paul says – do you normally beat Roman citizens before questioning them?
The leaders say – we need to figure out what was going on – figure out the facts – probably hastily brought together. Paul is not a timid man in front of this council. Paul is bold – says – I have lived my life in good conscience up to this day –
And Ananias basically says – Punch him in the mouth.
He is calling Paul a liar.
Paul – like most us, does not take kindly to being punched in the mouth.
Paul says, you want to strike me, God will strike you, you whitewashed wall!
This was something that looked nice, but structure was crumbling. The outside doesn’t match the inside – you hit me and violate the law you are upholding!
You are speaking to the high priest!
Whoa! I didn’t realize that!
Paul hadn’t been to Jerusalem for a while – or in the midst of this group – his eyesight was poor – my favorite explanation is irony – that Ananias did not have a good reputation – like, I’m looking at you – and I know what a high priest looks like, but it doesn’t look like you! That’s my favorite explanation.
Paul is surveying the scene – he is not getting a fair trial – Paul sees the room as a room divided.
The Sadducees and Pharisees – the Pharisees believed in the resurrection, the Sadducees didn’t. If I can’t get a fair trial, I’ll let you two fight it out.
When you look deeper into it – Paul had one thing on his mind – the gospel. When he surveyed the crowd – he saw his people – Pharisees – like he had been – people he could relate to – and geared his comments to those who at least believed in the resurrection – because that is at least a base to build upon. Paul may have also had a heart for them. He is trying to appeal for the sake of the gospel to the Pharisees. He must have gotten through to at least one – because one interrupts and says – wait – what if he did see an angel? A near riot occurs – a riot of the religious leaders. Now the Romans have to come back and remove Paul by force to get him out of there. Paul is in the middle of there – I think the NIV says he is being torn limb from limb.
The Lord came to him the next night – and stands by Paul and says – Take courage!
Why this message? Why did the Lord feel the need to come to Paul in this time. He could have sent others. But the Lord didn’t send anyone – He came Himself.
When I first read this – when you read through Acts, it is like a book of SuperChristians – who get beat practically to death and then get up and go back and tell them.
These Christians had no fear!
If I am fearing, am I sinning? I struggle with this! Take courage! Be of good cheer! Don’t let go of your courage! Jesus is addressing the fear Paul must have felt – first beat to death, practically – and then torn limb from limb, practically – and here he is battered and bruised – and Jesus came to be with him – came to stand by him – and that is all you need at that point – take courage – and just as you have done this in Jerusalem, you will do this in Rome.
Rome is the hotbed of culture – everyone fears Rome – for them, it is the center of the world.
Not only is he giving the next mission – but letting him know – you will get through this – this is not the end of the journey.
As we read on – spoiler alert – Paul does get to Rome – and God delivers Paul through all kinds of circumstances – God leads him to Rome. As we look at this account – fear is real – what do we do with this.
What are we afraid of? Not the phobias at the beginning of the message. Those fears are generally not life and death. Paul was called to share the gospel – and that is where he is called to be encouraged. We all have the call to share the gospel – and there is a fear associated with that. If we let it cripple us, it is truly life and death. Where we spend eternity depends on our belief.
Where does God want to use me? It might be overseas. It might be a remote village. For others, it might be that neighbor that we never speak to about Christ. It is our classmates in school as we discuss faith and truth. As we go and think through how God wants to use me – it might be serving in a ministry – making it easier for the gospel to be heard. If you don’t look at the call – you have a lot to fear.
But if you look at the call - you have no reason – in Matthew 28 –
18 And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. 19 [e]Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you [f]always, even to the end of the age.”
What is the Great Commission – who can do that? Go and make disciples of all the nations? That is not a generalized commission! That is my commission and your commission – how will we do that? We have a right to be afraid, intimidated and overwhelmed by that call! How can we do that? How do we know how to approach people in different ways? If we try to do it in ourselves, we should be fearful, because we are not capable of that call.
But the things about the Great Commission - It is not just the middle – it is the bookends that make this happen. I am all powerful! I have all authority! I run this! Because I have all power and authority – therefore – GO! And as you go, surely I am with you until the end of the age.
Go! I will always be with you! No matter if it is us here, just worried about what our neighbor might think – or Christians in Iraq who can’t go back to their homes because they are marked for death – and Jesus is always with us, as He promised.
When I look at Acts, I think they were SuperChristians, but they weren’t - they were regular people who trusted in God – knowing He was all powerful and that He wouldn’t leave when it got tough.
Paul’s life did not get easier. He doesn’t cakewalk into Rome – eventually he loses his life for the gospel. But because God is with him – he doesn’t need to be afraid. We have to be willing - to say, God, I trust You. It is worth the risk because I trust you. If I don’t do this, this person won’t spend eternity in heaven. It is not just after we die – but here and now.
We should make decisions based on how best to share the gospel in whatever area I happen to be in. We should share the gospel - how we live our lives - without the crippling fear, but trusting God.
We have to trust what He has said about Himself – and what He says about Himself in relation to us; Just as he stood next to Paul, He will stand with us.
Without Christ, there is no purpose. As virtuous as it is to feed the hungry or to give a home that is temporary – the effects are temporary unless there is Christ.
If you are outside of Christ and don’t have a relationship with Him – everything you have done ends when you breath your last. We were born sinners, destined for hell – because God is holy and pure, and because we are sinners, we can’t be in His presence. But He is also loving – and because He loves us, He sent His son. Not only did He live a perfect life, but took our sins – and the penalty of our sin upon Himself. Because He conquered death, we can trust that He has all authority.
If you have never put your faith in Christ – He is calling you now – calling you to turn around and repent; to put your trust in Him and to confess that you are a sinner. Putting your faith in Jesus sets our eternal address in heaven – but more than that - It gives us a life worth living now – and gives us a call to share what He has done. It means being able to face down fears, knowing that God, with all power and authority in His hands, has your back always.
Lord, as we have heard from You this morning, cause us to examine our own hearts – and to find out what fear keeps us from sharing. Help us to lay those fears at your feet and to trust you. I trust that You are all-powerful – and because of that trust, I will go wherever you call me to go. It is You who works in hearts and saves people .Use us in this manner – thank You for giving us a ringside seat to see how You work and what You do. We pray in Jesus’ Name.