Sermon delivered by Rev. Dr. Lance Moore on Sunday, February 24, 2008
We continue in our Lenten sermon series from the gospel and epistles of John:
John 14:15-18 & 27-28 Jesus said, "If you love me, you will obey what I command. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever— the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you. I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.
And moving to verse 27:
“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid. You heard me say, 'I am going away and I am coming back to you.' If you loved me, you would be glad that I am going to the Father, for the Father is greater than I.”
1st John 4:17-18 “Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness on the day of judgment, because as he is, so are we in this world. There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear; for fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not reached perfection in love.”
This is the word of the Lord.
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Do you believe the words of 1st John? Do you believe that love can drive out fear? Years ago, I read a news story which illustrates this: a group of Jews moved into a northern town that had been largely White and Protestant. It is a Jewish tradition to mark one’s home with a Hebrew symbol, and one of these Jewish families hung on their window a picture of a menorah (men-NOR-uh), a seven-stemmed candelbraum, one of the most sacred objects in a Jewish temple. A neo-Nazi group, trying to intimidate those Jews, threw a concrete block through the window. Tragically, the block landed on, and killed, a small boy inside. The whole community was outraged, and very much afraid.
Then a wonderful thing happened. The Christians of that town all began to hang menorahs in their windows. Suddenly, the Nazis, instead of picking on a tiny few, found themselves surrounded by thousands of menorahs. One Christian lady told the news camera, “This is our faith and love in action.” The love of the Christians for their Jewish brethren drove out the fear of the Nazis. Perfect love can indeed drive out fear.
Occasionally, I like to incorporate some old-fashioned sermon methods to try to keep you engaged in listening. Today I’ll use that cheap trick of alliteration: all of my points will begin with the letter “P” as in Perfect love. So, Ponder the:
Pervasiveness, Power, Paralysis , and Price, of Fear, And Pray for its Panacea...the Promise of Perfect Love! Corny, I know, but perhaps it will help you focus.
Ponder the Pervasiveness of Fear. Fear is the most common of human emotions. Even those who have never known love have, unfortunately, experienced fear.
Charlie Brown sat down at Lucy’s doctor booth. “Doctor,” he confessed, “I have a problem with fear.” “Well,” Dr. Lucy replied, “perhaps you have a phobia. Do you have claustrophobia, fear of tight places?” “No,” Charlie answered. “Do you have acrophobia, fear of high places?” “No.” “Do you have agoraphobia, fear of crowds?” “No.” “Then maybe you have omniphobia, fear of everything.” “That’s it!” Charlie exclaimed.
The late Charles Schultz, creator of the Peanuts cartoon, said there is a little bit of Charlie Brown in all of us. I think it’s true. We all have fears. Advice-columnist Ann Landers gets over 10,000 letters a month from troubled readers, and she says the most pervasive human problem is FEAR. Fear is ubiquitous. Fear is part of the curse of the human condition.
Which reinforces the Power of Fear. Fear is one of our Adversary’s most powerful weapons. And though love is more powerful, many of us are still plagued by fear. Franklin Roosevelt said we have nothing to fear but fear itself. He knew that fear and panic could have been more powerfully destructive than Hitler himself. While we should not be afraid of fear, we should have an aversive respect for its power. We should take the advice of Jesus, and resist having a frightful heart. Fear can be a destructive and painful force in our lives.
But consider this: fear doesn’t exist outside of our heads. It has no power except the power we give it. And yet, ironically, that is why it IS so powerful, because the human imagination IS amazingly powerful. Imagination is a greater threat than reality! We can imagine the most awful things happening to us, though 90% of the time reality never turns out that bad. Most people suffer more from abstract fear than from real disaster. Like the day I took one of our cats to the vet for their shots. There was a little skinny dog sitting next to us in the waiting room, shaking like a leaf. More correctly, he looked like a paint can in one of those electric shakers at the hardware store. The anxiety and dread going through that dog’s mind was far more painful than the little prick of a needle.
We humans are like that. Our anxiety is worse than the actual thing we dread. Like going to the dentist. The worst part of going to the dentist is sitting out in the waiting room, hearing that high-pitched drill going zzzz-zzzzz. To me, fear is more hurtful than physical pain itself.
Now Ponder the Paralysis of Fear. Fear debilitates and paralyzes. You’ve heard the expression “frozen with fear.” When I was a small boy, I rounded the corner of our house and came face to face with a rather large black snake, coiled and extending its forked tongue at me. I was literally unable to move—paralyzed by fear. Luckily, it was not a poisonous snake, and it soon backed off and slithered away. But I will never forget that horrible feeling of being frozen with fear, unable to take action.
As adults, if we let our anxieties prevent us from taking necessary action, we will find our problems get worse, not better. A similar cliche` is we “make mountains out of mole hills.” Fear can turn a small problem into an unsolvable obstacle. Instead of being proactive in dealing with a small challenge, fear locks us into inaction and paralysis. Left unaddressed, our small problems tend to grow into big ones.
Fear can hold us back from doing the right thing. Timidity keeps us from moving forward in our relationships. In any relationship, a spirit of love and trust will drive out fear and heal relationships. Perfect love drives out fear. But on the other hand, the presence of fear can drive out love. Secret fear and subconscious insecurities can subvert our longing for love.
Finally: Ponder the Price of Fear, the consequences of it. Doctors now realize that fear, anxiety and stress are serious threats to our health. A British study showed that one third of all medical problems are caused by worry. Fear is a real, physical threat to our bodies and minds... and souls. Fear can feed depression. Anxiety can rob us of joy even in the good times. Fear of tomorrow steals today’s pleasure. This is why Jesus said “do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself.” (Matthew 6) If we fail to heed Jesus’ advice, we will pay a price in bad health and medical bills... but there is an even greater price we pay for fear: fear could cost us eternity. Some people actually run from God because they fear the unkown, or they fear God’s wrath, or they are afraid to invite God into their lives.
In the Creation story, after Adam and Eve sinned, they went and hid. When the Lord asked why they were hiding, Adam said “I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid...” (Genesis 3:10).
Adam was afraid of God because he knew he had violated God’s law. The Old Testament teaches that we should fear God because all are guilty and deserving of God’s wrath. But the Bible also teaches us we must not linger in that state of fear, we must quickly move past it into a trusting relationship with God. When the Bible states that “fear of God is the beginning of wisdom,” please note that it is NOT saying that fear of God is the completion of wisdom, or the end goal. The larger message of Scripture is that God wants to bring us out of a state of apprehension and into a place of trust and confidence in God.
The Psalms are a wonderful source of reassurance and courage if we find ourselves in the grip of fear. Psalm 3:3-6 states, “...you are a shield around me, O LORD; you bestow glory on me and lift up my head. To the LORD I cry aloud, and he answers me from his holy hill. I lie down and sleep; I wake again, because the LORD sustains me. I will not fear the tens of thousands drawn up against me on every side.” Psalm 46:1-2 assures us, “God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea...” And who could forget the famous Shepherd’s Psalm (23:4), “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff...comfort me.”
Then, with the coming of Christ, we have victory over the fear of death and hell, victory over the powerful, punishing, pernicious, perverted partner of perdition...fear! With the New Covenant, our fear of God can be transformed into something more positive, a respect, trust and gratefulness to God. In the New Testament, Jesus calls us “friends” (John 15:15). It is hard to be afraid of a friend!
So finally, consider the cure, Ponder the Panacea for Fear! A panacea is a “cure-all.” Usually we hear that word used in the negative sense, such as “money is not a panacea for all of life’s problems.” So it is very bold to announce that we do have a panacea—but we do: grace and love. Because of the love of Jesus Christ, we have forgiveness for our sins, and in turn, an antidote to fear. As it says in I John, because of the love of Christ, we have “confidence on the day of judgment.” Because of Jesus, we have a better understanding of God’s love and fear is transformed into respect and admiration.
So when those angels announced the coming of Jesus by saying “Fear not, I bring you good news of great joy,” they were speaking a great truth. In a way, they were bringing a new commandment: Fear not! The perfect love of God, exemplified in Jesus, has come to drive out fear and bring us joy. Love is the perfect panacea for fear.
Hear again today’s Scripture from John’s epistle: “Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness on the day of judgment, because as he is, so are we in this world. There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear; for fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not reached perfection in love.”
And so, Ponder theses Promises most of all: the Scripture declares “there is no fear in love.” The purpose of the Christian journey, and the Lenten journey, is to reach perfection and completion in love. That means there is no room for fear in God’s ultimate plan. From the first few chapters of Matthew, where the angels proclaim “Fear not,” to the last book, Revelation, where Jesus says “Do not be afraid,” the message of the New Testament is a cure-all for fear. So hear again this Promise from Jesus:
“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid.”
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Foley, Alabama