The Bible was written over the course of a few thousand years by roughly 40 authors in multiple nations. It contains 66 books: 39 in the Old Testament and 27 in the New Testament.
But if you were to pull out every single command, the one that is repeated the most is “fear not” and the reason is because fear always gets in the way of our relationship with the father. We see this from the beginning of the story of God. After Adam and Eve had eaten of the apple they hid from God because they were afraid of their nakedness. Everybody fears something.
Thankfully we have a medical field that helps us identify, validate and put a name to most of the fears that we have. Because you know that if you name it . . . then you can claim it. Here are just a few.
- Aracna phobia; the fear of spiders.
- Ophidio phobia; the fear of snakes which is a very common and smart fear to have. In fact, it’s rumored that some of the smartest people in the world are afraid of snakes.
- Myso phobia; the fear of germs.
- Coulro phobia, a fear of clowns. It’s actually a diagnosis.
- Maybe you have a fear of peanut butter sticking to the roof of your mouth. If so then you have Arachibutyro phobia.
- Do teenagers freak you out; then you probably have Ephebi phobia and in that case I don’t recommend that you get involved in youth ministry.
- Or perhaps you have a fear of German people; if so, then you have Germano phobia . . . which is a real bummer if you have that and you’re German.
- Or how about this one, Homilo phobia, which is a fear of sermons. Some of you say, “That’s it. I have a fear of sermons. No wonder I’m always squirming during the sermon.”
- Now some of you might not think that’s funny at all. You’re not laughing. It may be because you have gelio phobia, which is a fear of laughter.
- And if that’s you, hopefully you don’t also have Scopo phobia which is the fear of people looking at you because right now everyone is looking at you and they’re laughing. And so you’re really probably really freaking out right now.
We have a lot of fears . . . some of them seem very irrational but others are very rational; you fear losing your spouse or your children, or not being able to care for your family, or not being the kind of parent your children need, you fear dying in a horrible accident, or simply getting old, and in this economy you fear losing your job or your house . . . this list could go on.
Whether your fears are rational or irrational . . . they’re always very rational to those who have them.
And what happens when we’re afraid is that it manifests itself as anxiety . . . you’re stressed, your heart rate increases, you blood pressures goes up and you get this nervous eye twitch.
People are taking less vacations than ever, bringing their phones and laptops along in order to be connected to all of their responsibilities because they’re so afraid of not having control that they can’t even take a break and get the much needed rest that our bodies, minds, and souls so desperately need.
And out of response our bodies are manifesting this anxiety as sickness. It’s actually God’s design for our bodies to communicate to our brain that we need to slow down, take a break and chill out.
And so you go to the doctor to try to get some help with all of your physical symptoms. It’s interesting that doctor’s report that 90% of the people they care for are dealing with anxiety and stress related disorders that are manifesting themselves as sickness.
And what’s happening is that we are setting into motion a culture of anxiety and stress which is leading to sickness and pre-mature death . . . And Jesus says, “Fear not”.
Now this command isn’t coming from some religious guy with a cushy, comfy life, sitting in a big office with a secretary who answers all his emails . . . giving us principals that he himself has no need of.
At this point he’s broke and homeless, heading toward the cross. He knows how difficult this life can be. He knows what it means to have fear creeping at your door, wanting to take over your life . . .
And so out of love and understanding he says, “Fear Not . . . But he goes in a direction that I would never have expected.
Every book I’ve ever read about overcoming anxiety and stress says that I need to pay attention to myself. Get to know myself, love myself, and take care of myself and if I do that than everything else will fall into line.
But what Jesus does is redirect all of the focus away from us and he goes right to our stuff. And you might be thinking, “What does my stuff have to do with my stress? Is this just another sermon where you take my stuff? This is all just a big set up, isn’t it?
But Jesus is saying, “I’m not trying to take your stuff. I’m trying to take your stress. And a lot of your stress is connected to your stuff.”
He begins with food. He says, “Don’t worry about what you eat”
Now how many of you, food is a big deal and you kind of like food . . . after all, you need it to survive and some of you are really good cooks. But Jesus isn’t saying “don’t eat” or “don’t make great meals and invite your pastor and his family over to enjoy it with you”. That’s definitely not what he’s saying.
He’s saying “Don’t worry about what you eat because food can become all consuming.”
- In this time the Jesus is teaching, people only had food for the day so theirs was a concern of starvation; where am I going to get my next meal?
- Ours is having too much to eat; which restaurants are we going to eat at today? It’s so hard to decide between all the choices we have.
- And if you have a group that wants to share a meal together, it’s nearly impossible to find consensus.
And sometimes our stomachs become our Gods. When we’re happy, we reward ourselves with food. When we’re stressed, we comfort ourselves with food. We have a relationship with food that is more like a relationship we should have with God. We’re expecting from food what you can only get from Jesus.
And Jesus says, “Life is more than food, and the body more than clothing?”
Now this sounds like hippie talk, right? I mean, we have to eat food and we need to wear clothes and I’m thankful that all of you are doing that this morning.
But the problem is that we can get consumed by looking good and clothes are only in style for a few months because they keep changing what’s in and what’s not. And you want to be up with the times and the trends. So out of worry, we go buy the “right” clothes but then we have debt . . . and debt adds to our stress. So we’re stressed about looking good and then we’re stressed about paying to look good.
Jesus is saying, “Don’t worry when chick-fil-a isn’t open on Sundays and don’t go into a panic when you can’t afford that outfit that you really want because you can’t add a single day to your life by worrying about those things . . . in fact, the stress is literally kill you.”
Then he continues by saying, “Consider the ravens.” I have to be honest, I don’t typically consider the ravens because ravens are nasty birds. They’re scavengers. They steal stuff. I really don’t care for ravens. But Jesus says, consider the ravens. Why? Because although they are unclean, nasty and vile . . . God provides for them and he gives them what they need to survive.
And if God’s going to feed that nasty bird, he’s going to feed us.
And then Jesus says, “Consider the Lilly” . . . again this isn’t something that I would typically do. I can’t imagine that any of us get up in the morning to meditate on the lily in hopes of find some deep spiritual truth from the Lily.
But Jesus says consider the lilies . . . they don’t have malls to get the trendy clothes but they look awesome. And they don’t look in the mirror and say, “does this pedal make my butt look big?” No, they don’t but Jesus says that even Solomon, this rich, wise man that had everything he ever wanted was not as arrayed as these.
And if God can make the fields look so amazing, fields that will be beautiful one day and the next day be thrown in the fire . . . how much more will he clothe you?
Do not be afraid . . . don’t let these things produce fear and anxiety because your father, the one who created you in his image, knows that you have needs and he will take care of you.
So, instead, seek his kingdom
Generally speaking, when the bible says, “Fear not” it then tells you who God is.
- He’s saying, “You have a father that loves you and he happens to be a king.”
- And he rules a kingdom that never ends and it’s filled with blessings and benefits and it’s a kingdom that gives God pleasure to give to you.
- So instead of being afraid of things that you really can’t control . . . seek his kingdom.
So you say, “OK, I totally believe this.”
- I believe that God is a loving father that loves me so much that he sent his son into this really scary world to die on my behalf.
- I believe that my heavenly father is a king, that he has a perfect kingdom, that he’s a generous giver, and he want to take good care of me. I believe that!”
- Now let’s wrap this up so we can beat the lunch crowd at Chick-fil-a . . . oh yeah, that’s right they’re closed on Sundays . . . what am I gonna do now?”
Well, Jesus isn’t done with us yet . . . And for those of you with the fear of long sermons . . . sorry about that . . . but Jesus has something really important to say but again he is absolutely going to stun us with something unexpected.
He says, “If you really believe what I’m saying . . . then sell your stuff and give to the poor because where your treasure is, there will your heart be also”
You see, your life follows your money. Odds are your money goes to your fears.
- You want security, so it goes to a home.
- You want comfort, so it goes to entertainment
- You want status, so it goes to your possessions.
- You want approval, so it goes to clothes
- You want friends, so it goes to gifts.
- You want control, so it goes to laptops and cell phones
He got us. He got us all . . . didn’t he? He got us because he loves us. If you really believe that the father is a generous king, if you really trust in his generosity . . . then give.
Some of you might be thinking, “I kind of like what Jesus is saying because I’ve got some old junk that’s just taking up space in my house and this will give me some inspiration to have a garage sale”
But Jesus is saying, “Don’t give junk to the needy . . . give good things as your father gives you good things.” The father who loves us so much that he sent his only son into this world to die for us and that we might inherit the kingdom of God.
Take something you love, something you’ve worked really hard for and give it away. Take something that’s incredibly significant to you and give it away. Take something that actually pains you to lose, and give it away.
You see what happens in life is that we often times look at people that we perceive to be better off than us and then we become fearful that we won’t get what they have. We don’t tend to look at people who are needier than us and think, “I’ve got it pretty good, and thanks God for you provisions . . . now, I need to be generous to others as you are generous to me.”
So don’t give garbage . . . give good things. Don’t give your leftovers give your first fruits.
And as we give our best, God isn’t taking our stuff. He’s taking our stress. And when we give it starts to reorient our hearts and our minds and our lives and eyes away from ourselves. It allows us to get to know the father and rely on his generosity . . . and it allows us to love others.
So don’t make this another psychological principle for health, cleansing, and transformation. Make it a financial principal for generous giving.
Some of you are now saying, “I knew it. I knew that this was all about trying to get my money and my stuff . . . I knew it. But I say to you . . . “Fear not” . . . God doesn’t want to take your stuff. He doesn’t need your stuff.
He wants to take your stress and so much of your stress is connected to your stuff. And as you give, you’ve giving your stress to him, and you’re giving your stuff to others.
- You combat fear by knowing the father and Your father is a rich and generous king.
- In your father’s kingdom, there’s nothing to fear. There’s no lack, no thieves, and no decay.
- Your father has proven faithful. He feeds the nasty birds and clothes little flowers. He’ll take care of you.
- And your father asks you to be generous as an act of faith. Why? Because one of the ways that the father feeds and clothes others is through his sons and daughter . . . through you and me.
Some of you may say, “I don’t have any money and I’m over my head in debt”. Well you’ve got stuff . . . Give some stuff away. Sell some of the stuff and pay off your debt that’s causing so much stress in your life and then . . . Be generous.
Find someone who is in need, not just nameless, faceless poor. Somebody you know; somebody struggling to pay their bills and pay off a couple of bills for them. Or somebody who desperately needs a vacation but can’t afford it. Put them up in a nice hotel on the beach and tell them to leave their laptop and cell phone behind and just receive the much needed rest.
Find an organization like BEMM that’s trying save the lives of mama’s in small villages in East Africa by purchasing an ambulance to get those mama’s to the hospital before they die of pregnancy related problems.
Logos Dei Church, as small as we are, just matched a $3,500 donation and now they only need a little over $5,000 to get it done. Sell some stuff and let’s get it done!
This world is teed up for an opportunity for the sons and daughters of God to just give.
So take a risk . . . Be generous and see what happens in your heart. See what happens with your fears. See what happens with your anxieties. See what happens with your relationship with the Father.
And through our generous giving . . . may people see Jesus, the greatest treasure of all.