A sudden realization of potential danger or a plan to avoid danger is one of the ways God warns us to be prudent and avoid dangerous situations. “The prudent sees danger and hides himself, but the simple go on and suffer for it.” Proverbs 22:3 ESV Many times in scripture we see people of God avoiding danger when they could do so and still continue the ministry or mission God had given them. Paul, for example, escaped those who sought to kill him by being let down from the city walls in a large basket. Acts 9:23-25
Jesus Himself knew that He was perfectly safe in the protection of God until “His hour was come” that God had before ordained should occur, but He, too, avoided danger and didn’t deliberately incite unnecessary hostility. Early in His ministry in Judea “the Jews sought the more to kill him,” John 5:18 so Jesus went to Galilee to minister for the next year and a half. He returned to Jerusalem during the three festivals where His attendance was required by the Mosaic Law. But notice how He even avoided undue attention. John 7:1-2 “After these things Jesus walked in Galilee; for He did not want to walk in Judea, because the Jews sought to kill Him. Now the Jews' Feast of Tabernacles was at hand.” So Jesus needed to go to Jerusalem but read the opening verses of John 7: He told His brethren to go without Him and later in the week He went up alone or with a few of His disciples.
But He had important lessons to teach the people so He quietly went to the Temple area and taught. Jesus never avoided danger when the Father had a mission for Him to accomplish (including the cleansing of the Temple at the beginning of His ministry and again towards the end). It was not fear that motivated Him, but prudence and wisdom. Towards the end of His ministry, Jesus told His disciples that “the hour has come” and went to Jerusalem knowing full well that the Jewish leaders intended to kill Him. So He never shrank back from the mission He had come to do, offering Himself as the atonement for sin by His death on the cross.
Fear and self-control: Courage in the midst of danger. So we prudently seek to avoid danger, but when we must face it, we look to the Lord for courage to meet the test. Sometimes in life danger cannot be avoided. And then God gives the courage to face that danger. A sudden emotion of fear when you realize you are in a dangerous or potentially dangerous situation awakens an alertness and is a gift from God to help
protect us. But you immediately control that fear and it subsides as you look to the Lord for courage–and He gives it to you. In fact He has given us a promise to do just that in Psalm 27:14 “Wait on the Lord: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the Lord.” So you look to the Lord for protection, wisdom, and strength, and use the courage He has already given you. Then He promises to “strengthen your heart” as you continue to wait or depend on Him.
“Be not afraid of sudden fear. . . . For the Lord shall be thy confidence, and shall keep thy foot from being taken.” Proverbs 3:25-26 “For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.” 2 Timothy 1:7 This is a wonderful verse, but an important part of it is often missed in translation. The Greek word translated “a sound mind” is sophronismos (Strong’s 4995) which means “discipline or self- control” in English. ESV translates it “self-control.” NAS, “discipline,” and NIV, “self-discipline.” The contrast is to “the spirit of fear.” Instead of being fearful, we can control ourselves in the power of the Holy Spirit and not panic, even when the danger is considerable. Courage instead of panic or fear. You control yourself and your emotions even though you might have a sudden urge to panic. Self-control or selfdiscipline is one of the most important parts of the fruit of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faith, gentleness, self-control. Galatians 5:22-23
Self-control “signifies entire command of the passions and desires; a self-control which holds the rein over these.” Vincent The New Testament takes a common Greek virtue, that of self-control, and “transformed it into a condition yet higher still, in which a man does not command himself, which is well, but, which is better still, is commanded by God.” Trench So it is God who is strengthening your heart and gave you the promise that He would “not allow” you to be tested beyond your ability in His strength to endure.
1 Cor. 10:13
And Jesus gave you the authority to tell your heart, “Let not your heart be . . . afraid.” John 14:27
Fear is bondage and there are all sorts of fears. Are you afraid of sickness and pain? Are you afraid that you will lose your job or that God will not provide? Are you afraid of bodily harm? Are you afraid of failure or persecution or tribulation? Are you afraid of what the future might bring? Jesus can deliver us from all those fears. He can “deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.” Hebrews
2:15 ”If the Son shall make you free, you shall be free indeed.” “If you continue in my word, then are you my disciples indeed; And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” John 8:36,31-32
Sin deceives and enslaves. “They promise them freedom, while they themselves are slaves of depravity–for a man is a slave to whatever has mastered him.” 2 Peter 2:19 NIV So submit to God and be free from slavery to sin, self, Satan–and fear.
Anxiety and Fear. Worry or anxiety takes away your joy and your peace. So God has given us
abundant reason to choose His joy and His peace instead of our fears and worries and anxieties. Worry accomplishes absolutely nothing except to destroy your joy and peace. Scripture is so clear on this: “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds
through Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:6-7 NAS
Jesus put both worry and fear together and contrasted it with His peace when He told the disciples, “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.” John 14:27 And in the Sermon on the Mount He talked about the futility of worry. Instead we should concentrate on today and see how the Lord provides each day. Look at the
birds of the air and the flowers of the field, how God cares for them. So “fear not, Little Flock,” He said in another place; you are of more value than many birds and flowers.
What are we then to do with our fears and worries if we don’t want to be burdened with them? Give them to the Lord for safekeeping and He will handle them. “Roll your burdens on the Lord.” “Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and he shall sustain thee.” Psalm 55:22 “Cast all your care (or worry) on Him for He cares for you.” 1 Peter 5:7
Freedom from Fear does not mean Freedom from Suffering and Sorrow “The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? the Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid? When the wicked, even mine enemies and my foes, came upon me . . ., they stumbled and fell.” Psalm 27:1-2 So we have no reason to fear. But as fallen, sinful people we share in the sufferings of this present sin-cursed world. And that’s a very large subject in itself, but “I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. . . . The creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but
by the will of the One who subjected it, in hope [or, expectation] that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God.” Romans 8:18-25 NIV
So let’s take the eternal perspective and anticipate with joy the future. “Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and
momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.” 2 Corinthians 4:16-18 NIV
–Pastor Burnside
No comments:
Post a Comment