Minister: Marv Vose

I was about 20 years old and about half way through my combat tour in Viet Nam. We were out on a big operation in the field and it was my turn to stand the first watch. Now we stood watch, because there were enemy troops in the area and we didn’t want them to sneak up on us during the night and kill us. It was really pretty simple. Everyone went to sleep in a hurry, because they were all tired from having walked all day long and it got quiet. Then, in this hedgerow about 30 feet away, I heard a sound. There shouldn’t have been a sound there. There shouldn’t have been anyone there. And so what was I going to do. There was a little opening in the hedgerow and I could have gone over to that to improve my view, but it was a natural place to put a booby trap, so I didn’t really want to do that. And I couldn’t see beyond the hedgerow. I couldn’t tell what was making the noise. And then it happened again! Another noise! Now I want you to know my fear factor had gone through the roof. I was scared. I was even too afraid the take the safety off my rifle, because everyone would hear that and then I would be the target! So I just sat there. I was so afraid, I couldn’t even breathe. I remember wondering how long I could live without breathing! It seemed like an eternity. But nothing happened. There was no more noise. No one came crashing through the brush with their rifle blasting. It just stayed quiet and eventually, I started to breath again. Nothing happened on my entire watch. The next morning one of the men in my fire team said, he had seen something that looked like a raccoon come out of the brush. That’s probably what made the noise. A raccoon!

I tell you that old war story, because our new series is going to be entitled “No Fear!” That story tells us the downside of fear. If it is bad enough, it can actually paralyze us. If it is bad enough, it can keep us from doing what we need to do. Even if the fear isn’t very bad, it can get in the way of our living and that is what Jesus was all about. We didn’t read it today, but it says it very clearly in I John 4:9? “This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him.” (Emphasis added) Anytime you see the word “live” or “life” in John, you know he is talking about more than just getting along. He is talking about that abundant life that Jesus has come to give us. It means really living! And fear can get in the way of that!

There are so many kinds of fears that can hobble us and interfere with our living. If any of you have ever had a teenager out driving after curfew, you know what fear is. Don’t you? Of course you do. You fear for their lives, because when they get home you are going to want to kill them! Isn’t that right? Or maybe a policeman comes to the door and you know something is really wrong.

Or maybe the bills are piling up and the economy is going bad and the job isn’t very secure.

Or you are sitting outside in a Doctor’s waiting room to hear about the results of tests.

Or maybe you just read the morning paper or listen to the news. We have all kinds of things that can spark our fears. We live in a world that kind of world! Sometimes it is the big, personal kinds of fear that camp right on your doorstep and stops you dead in your tracks. Other times it is the more general and generic and it is more low-key. We call that anxiety. Sometimes it has been there for so long, we don’t even notice it any more. That is just the way life is supposed to be. But it still gets in the way of really living.

Who was it who said, “Just because you are paranoid, doesn’t mean you are out of touch with reality.” There are times when you should be paranoid! There are all kinds of things to make us afraid. There are times when it is appropriate, but how do we live the life that Jesus has for us?

It is so easy to become crippled by fear. One of the things that I’ve noticed as I counsel people is that they can box themselves in with fear. They will say, “I can’t do this. And I can’t do that. That would just be unheard of. And I can’t do that.” Before long they have totally and completely boxed themselves in. That’s usually when they come to me! There are no good answers, so let’s talk to Marv! I was talking with a lady one time who was having some major marital problems and she was really boxed in. There were no good answers, so I was trying to get her to be creative and think outside the box, so I asked, “What would be something new and creative—something you haven’t thought of before?” You could almost hear the wheels turning. She was concentrating really hard and them she started to smile. And she said, “I could shoot the so and so!” That was a little more creative than I was expecting. That is the negative of fear. It can paralyze us. It can keep us from acting when we really must. It can interfere with that wonderful gift of life that Jesus has given to us. During this series, we’ll go through a whole series of things that can get in the way of living, but today, I want to focus on God. So let’s jump in. How many of you are afraid of God? Would you raise your hands? How many of you aren’t afraid of God? Please raise your hands? How many of you have seen too much presidential politicking and you’re not ready to commit yourself to anything? What if I told you that the Bible says, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge…?” Proverbs 1:7 Would that change your mind? Most of us aren’t afraid of God and that is a good thing. But our lack of fear is for the wrong reason. That’s a bad thing. Have I confused you totally? Let me say it again. It’s great that we are unafraid of God. But our lack of fear is for the wrong reason.

Most of us aren’t afraid of God, because we don’t think God does anything. That’s the reason. Just listen to the way most of us talk. If something good happens in our life we say, “Wow! I was really lucky!” We don’t say, “I was really blessed.” If something bad happens, we find a reason. We always look for the cause. And we usually find one. It was the weather or maybe the person was mentally disturbed or it’s just the way the stock market works. We find something. There is always a reason for things, but how often do we involve God in that? Not very often. But what if God really was active in our lives? What if God really were behind the scenes and the things we see and blame are simply instrumentalities of God? What would you feel like then? Would you be a little more concerned about God? Hannah Whitall Smith wrote a great Christian classic entitled “The Christian’s Secret of a Happy Life.” It is one of those rare religious books that have sold millions of copies. She reports going to a prayer meeting and seeing a woman she had never met before. The woman began to speak and her topic was exactly what we have been discussing. What comes from God? Anything? Or are secondary causes the real cause of life. The woman reported having asked God about this repeatedly and finally she had what she called a vision. Out of the darkness she saw a bright light coming toward her and it enveloped her. She knew it was the presence of God. And then she saw all of the “great and awful things in life…fighting armies, wicked men, raging beats, storms and pestilences, sin and suffering of every kind. She shrank back at first in terror; but she soon saw that the presence of God so surrounded and enveloped herself and each one of these things that not a lion could reach out its paw, nor a bullet fly through the air, except as the presence of God moved out of the way to permit it.” “Then all the small and annoying things of life passed before her; and equally she saw that there also she was so enveloped in his presence of God that not a cross look, nor a harsh word, nor petty trial of any kind could affect her, unless God’s encircling presence moved out of the way to let it.” (page 105)

What if she is right? What if God is the one who decides what is permitted in our lives? Does that change your attitude to God? What if the apostle Paul is right? In I Thessalonians 5:18, he says, “…give thanks in all circumstances;” And do you knot why? “…for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” In Romans 8:28 he says, “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” If they are right, does it change your attitude towards God? What is your view of God then? A little scared?

I mentioned earlier in the service that we have had to cut our ministry budget for next year and I talked about how painful that was. I must confess that I have done my fair share of complaining about that to God. I’ve never ever in my entire ministry had to do something like that. I don’t like doing it. Others don’t like doing it! I let God know about it. And you know what my sense of God’s response was? It was that God was in the midst of this. I don’t like that much.

I feel like St. Teresa. She was a wonderfully gifted nun and mystic who lived and ministered in the 1500’s. She was traveling and fell off her mule into the middle of a stream. She got up wet and sore and said to God, “If this is the way you treat your friends, I can see why you have so few of them!” That’s the way I feel these days. Let me suggest something that is going to surprise you. If you are going to know God and draw closer to God, you need to begin with fear. And then get over it! If you don’t start with that profound respect of God’s power, then you will end up relating to a hollow shell of who God really is!

That is the history of our faith. I told you what it says in Proverbs. Fear of God is the beginning of wisdom. The message is repeated over and over again. Remember when Jesus told his disciples that he wanted to go over to the other side of the sea of Galilee? They took out their boat and the storm came up. They were about to sink and Jesus was asleep in the back of the boat. They frantically woke him up and he calmed the storm and then he chastised them for little faith. And then they were really afraid! Why? Because they had seen the power of God wrapped up in a person and it was scary! Why do you think the angels at Christmas always had to start out, “Do not be afraid?” Because they were scaring everybody!

But here is the good news. All of that incredible power is tempered by an even greater love! That’s what gets us over our fear. It is the love of God made real in Jesus. That’s the good news.

I want to leave you with a story and an image. It is going to sound simple, and it is, but it is also very accurate and profound. Cindy was just 8 years old and it was her very first piano recital. She was nervous! She was scared! When she walked on the stage all of the people were staring at her and it just increased her anxiety. As she looked over the crowd, there was her dad. He was waving and her and smiling! Cindy said, “He was the only one doing that, but when I saw him, I wasn’t scared anymore. “God is watching and smiling! God, the Lord of the Universe, is watching and smiling. Hang on to the image in the midst of your fear. I think you will find that it does incredible things.