Love > Fear

 Hey gang, so last night we were able to meet in person again and it was nice to see everyone's faces! Even saw a few of you connect through Zoom, which was awesome! For those of you who missed it, we got a special treat for the message time - we went to the Sanctuary. I think the last time we had our message in there was March of 2020.

Before you go any further into this post, I'd like you to check out this 3 minute video clip on YouTube. It is a short clip from the animated show "Avatar: The Last Airbender" - if you've never seen it, sorry, but spoiler alert. For the record, this is my all-time favorite animated show so you should definitely check it out in its entirety the next time you get the chance! Click here to view the clip.

There is one line in there I particularly hope you paid attention to: "You miscalculated. I love Zuko more than I fear you." You see, there are two motivational forces at work in this clip - fear and love. Azula (the angry girl) strictly uses fear when trying to motivate others to do what she wants. She uses fear to control people - including her "friends" Mai and Ty Lee. However, as we saw in the clip, fear wasn't strong enough to stop them from protecting the people they loved (Mai protecting Zuko and Ty Lee protecting Mai). This demonstrates a really important fact for us, that love is more powerful than fear.

Last week I focused on Proverbs 1:7 - "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction." This verse was written in the Old Testament, before Jesus came to the earth and died on the cross. So at this point in history, the only way to get close to God and find atonement (forgiveness) for sin was through regular animal sacrifices. The people lived in fear of judgment from God whenever they strayed from His Law (which, if you read through Israel's history in the OT, they did quite often).

When we look forward to the New Testament, after Jesus came and died and rose again, Paul reminds us in Romans that literally everyone strays from God's Law. Everybody sins, which means everybody is in danger of judgment, and the judgment for sin is death (not just dying here on earth, but being forever separated from God and Heaven).

Now, while Jesus was around, He had a bunch of disciples - a group of guys who followed Him and learned from Him. These guys grew up the same way the Old Testament people did, in a deep fear of the Lord. To find atonement they had to make animal sacrifices, too. However, when Jesus died on the cross and paid the penalty for sin, these disciples also got to experience the love and grace and forgiveness of God through Jesus. Their fear of the Lord led them to Jesus, and so their fear led them to the love of the Lord. You may recall, I ended last week's message with a quote, which concluded: "Fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, but love from the Lord is its completion." Fear of God leads us to the love of God.

This week's verse is 1 John 4:18-19 - "There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love. We love because He first loved us." God's love, demonstrated through Jesus coming to the earth and dying on the cross for our sins, means that we do not have to live in fear of judgment. Jesus paid it all, and took our judgment on Himself. So, in Jesus, we become children of God and no longer need to be afraid of God and His power. But just as a child should respect and obey their father, so Christians should respect and obey God.

Fear compels us to do a lot - follow speed limits on the road (lest we get pulled over and ticketed), do our homework, obey our parents, etc. Fear is what Azula used to compel people to do what she wanted. God, however, chooses to use love as His motivational force. He first showed His love to us through Creation and later through Jesus Christ, setting an example of the kind of love He wants us to have - sacrificial love. This kind of love is what John was talking about in the verse above, because sacrificial love drives out fear. Mai's love for Zuko drove out her fear of Azula, and so she acted to save him even though she knew she could die for it (Azula is kind of mean like that). Ty Lee's love and care for her friend Mai drove out her fear of Azula, so that she acted to protect Mai, also knowing that there would be a cost. They sacrificed their own well-being for the sake of someone else - out of love. Sacrificial love means putting our needs and wants aside for the sake of others and for God.

The truth is, most of us come to faith in Jesus because we are afraid of judgment. We recognize that we have sinned before God and that the consequence for our sin is death, and we are afraid of that death. Our faith starts with a recognition of who God is, thus it is the beginning of knowledge - of knowing God. So, we come to Jesus. Fear of God's judgment brings us to the one person who can offer us salvation, Jesus Christ. And the reason Jesus can offer us salvation is because He chose to demonstrate His love for us by taking our place and paying the penalty for us. He put aside His life for the sake of our lives. So while fear is often where we start, we end up with love.

What is our response to this? Our proper response should be to praise God and love Him in return! Jesus told His disciples "If you love me, obey my commands". If we love God, and I mean truly love God, then that love should motivate us to do what He says is right. Jesus also said that all of God's commands can be summed up in two: Love God and love others. If we love God, then we will love what He loves, and He loves all of us. Every. Single. Person. Which means that we should love every single person. Summed up, this means being kind to others, forgiving others (even if they're not sorry), providing for the needy, standing up for the oppressed or bullied, and ultimately sharing God's love with everyone around us. I know sharing God's love (the message about Jesus) can be scary, and we often fear what people will say or how they will react. But remember, the love of God drives out fear. When we fully embrace the love He has for us, we will not be able to stop ourselves from sharing it with others.

So, if you have embraced the love of God, how are you loving others right now?

If you haven't yet embraced God's love and come to Jesus but are living in fear, you don't need to live that way anymore. You can look to Jesus for forgiveness and be free from fear.

Wherever you are at, find the next step in getting closer to God and take it.

Peace.

1-800-FEAR GOD

 So as some of you know, we had to switch Summit to Zoom last night because The Favorite's roommate caught the 'Rona (so she had to quarantine) and I caught a cold (yes, common diseases still exist during a pandemic). Not wanting to take any chances, and especially since people look at you funny every time you even cough or sniff, we decided it was best not to meet in person. So we didn't! Funny how that works.

On Zoom, we learned that some of yall really struggle with drawing. Then again, can I blame you for not being good at it with a mouse? These things are so hard to draw with... Anyway, for those that know, there was a blue circle. =) Good times.

Moving on to our topic for today, I'd like you to think about what it means to be afraid. What even is fear, anyway? Before we get to that, let me share with you a few times when I have had fear grip me:

When I was about 3 years old (shortly after I started actually remembering things), I had a nightmare about dinosaurs. Now, these weren't just any dinos, they were life-size version of the plastic ones I liked to play with. I was trapped outside my house at night, and they were everywhere - the streets, on the house, in the fields, everywhere. I pounded on the door, but no one answered. I tried to run away, but ran into more of them. Then, just before I woke up in a sweat, I heard the distant roar of a T-Rex. Dinosaurs can be scary even now, but for a toddler? They were absolutely terrifying!

Growing up, my older brother was known as the pest in the family. However, I also liked to mess with my siblings from time to time, and especially my brother. The problem was, he was bigger than me. And stronger. And just a little bit meaner. So when I would annoy him for too long or do too much, he would jump up and chase me down and try to hit me. And let me tell you, as soon as he jumped up I was GONE. I was running for my life! Because I knew that if he managed to catch me there was going to be pain. You may ask, "Well, why did you mess with him then?" And the answer is, well, because I wasn't thinking about how he would react, only about the fact that I wanted to mess with him.

When I was much older, after my first year of college, I was driving back home with my dad. It was super late at night and I was a very inexperienced driver. What I did know was that my parents almost always drove in the left lane of the highway. Left lane = fast lane. That's what I knew. So that's what I did. I wanted to go fast, and even though there were no other cars on the road I was in cruising in that left lane. Queue me reaching for my Coffee Coolatta from Dunkin, queue me looking down for a second to find the holder to put it back, and queue the van swerving off the road sideways, sliding across the grassy median between the Northbound and Southbound lanes of the Garden State Parkway, skidding backwards across the opposing lane, smashing the driver side window on a reflector sign, demolishing the driver side wheel on a concrete ditch, and coming to stop in the trees on the far side of the highway from where I started. Through all of that I was frozen. I couldn't move, I couldn't think, I couldn't even touch the brakes - all I could do was grip the wheel and hope this wasn't the end. Everything was a blur of grass, glass, and road.

Fast forward a little more to another year in college. My friend Leroy Jenkins and I would sometimes take midnight walks through the campus' extensive woods. On one of these walks, we heard a splashing noise through the trees. Didn't think too much of it and kept walking. But, then, we heard it again. And this time, it was closer than before. We kept walking, trying to move away from the lake where the splashing was coming from, but whatever it was kept following us. Now, you need to be aware that this is during the peak of my irrational fear of zombies, and in my mind this splashing wasn't just anything, it was a zombie coming up out of the water and shambling after us. I was freaking out. I was pushing Leroy to walk faster so we could get away, and the THING KEPT FOLLOWING. When we finally reached the edge of the woods and came across a road, I chose to walk all the way around the woods on the well-lit road rather than trek back through the forest. To this day I have no idea what was following us, but I was certain at the time that our lives were at stake that night.

So what is common in all of these situations? Well, in each case the thing (or person) I was afraid of was something I thought could hurt me or something that would have power over me. I recognized that he or it was stronger than me and I could get hurt.

Think now about some healthy fears that we have: heights, spiders, fire, bees, the dark... We fear these things because we recognize they can hurt us. We could fall from heights and get seriously hurt. If a spider is venomous and bites us and we could get sick or die. Fire can be really destructive if it gets out of control, and could burn us (remember what happened in California not so long ago?). Especially for someone who is allergic, bee stings can be dangerous, and at the very least they hurt a lot. And who knows what could be lurking in the dark, or what we could stumble across.

See, these fears actually help to protect us - they cause us to respect things and people who are stronger than we are, or at the very least, are dangerous. Well, fear should cause us to respect these things, though we sometimes forget that they're dangerous anyway (like my big bro). When I go rock climbing, I recognize that falling from a great height could hurt or kill me, so I always use a belay system. When we had our bonfires at the church for Summit back in the Fall, I would always bring out a bucket of water to make sure the fire didn't get out of control, because I recognized that would be dangerous. Our fear of the dark causes us to bring flashlights (or some kind of light) instead of just stumbling around, because we know we could get hurt walking blindly.

Proverbs 1:7 is a fairly popular verse which says "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction." So let me ask, what is the fear of the Lord?

"Fear" is the belief that something or someone is dangerous and it is the anticipation of danger. It means recognizing something or someone as dangerous and responding as though you are expecting danger. So then, the fear of the Lord is the belief that God is dangerous. But, why should we think that God is dangerous?

1. He spoke the earth (as well as the rest of the universe) into being. Read through Genesis 1. You'll notice that everything God made, He made by just uttering words. He said "Let there be light", and it was so. Light appeared because He said so. Now THAT is power.

2. Since God created everything, He can also destroy everything. Matthew 10:28 has a warning from Jesus to His disciples: "Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell." Jesus is pointing out that anything we face in this world can only hurt us so much. At best (or worst?), they can end our lives. But this world has no power over our souls, our spirits. Only God has power over that. And Jesus is warning His disciples to make sure they recognize that God is way more dangerous and powerful than anything else they could possibly be afraid of.

So God really is dangerous. He could hurt us, far more than anything else. But remember what the verse in Proverbs said. It didn't say "The fear of the Lord is debilitating," or "God is super scary so be afraid, be very afraid". No, it said "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge..." Unlike my fear on the road, this fear leads to something more. When we have a true fear of God, it puts everything else into perspective, so that we can better understand the world in which we live - the world God created. In order to truly understand our world, ourselves, and God, we first have to recognize how great and powerful and mighty our God is. We have to start there. We have to recognize that God is not some far away, mystical force, but an active and powerful God who stands in judgment over the whole world.

When we do this, when we see God's power and fear Him (because He is dangerous), it puts everything else into perspective for us. Our everyday fears don't seem as big or scary - not compared to God. It also causes us to respect Him way more, because it forces us to see that He is not some vending machine in the sky (we put our prayers in and He gives us what we want), but a holy and powerful God, one who created all things simply by speaking. This then gives us more respect for the Bible, which we often call the "Word of God". It isn't just some book, but a collection of God's power written out on paper for us to read and be transformed by. When you approach the Bible this way, it can really impact you in a new and profound way.

So, here is what I want you to do. As you go through this next week (and hopefully the rest of your lives), I want you to start thinking about what or who you fear. Make a list. Is God on that list? If He is, good, you're on the right path. If He is not - if you are not afraid of God - then that means you do not have an accurate picture of who God is or what He can do. My mom used to say "I brought you into this world, and I can take you out." Well, God created all things, and He can take it all out - with a word. That's scary.

Now, not wanting to leave you curled up on the floor in the fetal position in fear, let me add that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, not the end. Fear of God means we have recognized His power and now show Him the respect He deserves. It gets us started. But the Bible also reveals that this same God and loves and cares about us. We fear Him, because He is powerful. Yet we can also have a relationship with Him, because He is loving. In closing, let me share this quote:

"Unfortunately, many of us presume that the world is the ultimate threat and that God's function is to offset it. How different this is from the biblical position that God is far scarier than the world... When we assume that the world is the ultimate threat, we give it unwarranted power, for in truth, the world's threats are temporary. When we expect God to balance the stress of the world, we reduce him to the world's equal... As I walk with the Lord, I discover that God poses an ominous threat to my ego, but not to me. He rescues me from my delusions, so he may reveal the truth that sets me free. He casts me down, only to lift me up again. He sits in judgment of my sin, but forgives me nonetheless. Fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, but love from the Lord is its completion."

May the love of the Lord wash over you today and tomorrow and all future days as you walk with Him, in full recognition of His almighty power and in complete acceptance of His forgiveness and grace.

Need a Leash?

Last night was our first Summit of 2021 and we had a great crew of people come out to join us. We tried to set up a Zoom call for those who couldn't join us in-person, but lets just say technical difficulties were had. We played some old youth group classics as far as games go: 4 Square and Kickball. Both were pretty fun, though I was reminded yet again that I am SO out of shape. Seriously, I need to start jogging daily or doing something involving moving around. Tbh, I've been sitting in my office staring at a computer screen for the past 3 hours straight... that CAN'T be good.

Anyway, it has been almost a whole year since our last visit to Rock Mountain Bible Camp, and my, what a year it has been. It took me until now to realize just how timely our theme was for that retreat - Call of Duty: Spirit Ops. DW came as out speaker and shared about the reality of spiritual warfare and our need for protection, unpacking some of the pieces of spiritual armor mentioned in Ephesians 6. Seriously though, this entire year has been one long spiritual battle, and we really needed that armor. Between Covid-19, quarantine, and civil unrest, there has been so much anger, hate, fear and panic saturating our country and filling our lives. These were the reasons why God gave us His armor in Ephesians 6, because He knew we would be fighting for our lives this year.

After meeting with many of you over the past several months, I have learned that we have all had some struggles in our relationship with God in 2020. Many have strayed pretty far from God, others have panicked and given in to fear, and still others are even a little apathetic towards God right now. Last night I shared something that my cousin had posted to Facebook regarding spiritual warfare. Here is that post:

“New year... same me coming at you with long posts. I just want to come on here and say that this post is more for me to come back and look at later.

Let me be honest. My brain is literally broken. While I was in the shower today I got more excited about something than I have gotten in a while. 

Today, I was able to make a dog training analogy that reminded me of Jesus, and God, and it made my heart happy. Mainly because it combined two of my favorite things in the whole wide world. 

Years back, I was in a dog training program, and for the last few weeks I was to bring in my dog for group training sessions. During this time, I witnessed my dog Scruffy panic a lot. We would do well with the start of training sessions. When it was just me and Scruffy in a quiet area he did so well. He was settled, and he was calm. As soon as I would bring Scruffy out and interact with other dogs, he would panic. I tried every training trick in the book to settle him. I tried redirecting his focus back to me through shuffling my feet, making funny noises, whispering his name, and treats. Nothing worked. He would still panic until everyone else backed away, or until we went back to our own separate spot. 

Finally, after try and try again, I was taught a new technique. When Scruffy panicked, I was taught to let the leash go as far as it could go. Still keeping my hand on it, but letting the leash go as far as it could go. Then, I was told to just stand there. Let Scruffy go nuts and panic. Let him bark it out, and let him, basically go crazy on the other side of the leash. The second... literally second, that Scruffy even glances in my direction, praise that. Throw a treat to him if I can. Basically, this cycle, letting him go nuts, and praising him when he looks at me, would continue for maybe 5 minutes. If I felt I had his attention long enough, then I could ask him to do simple commands for me. Sit, down, or, if he was capable, even a sit stay. It is a long process, but eventually, I knew he would look back at me and listen. 

Maybe I am wrong, but I feel the same thing can be said for Christians. Maybe I am wrong, but is it possible that Jesus is the one holding our proverbial leashes? There are times when we go astray from Jesus. There are times when we panic and so desperately want to run away. But is it possible, that Jesus is just waiting for us to calm down on the other side of the leash? Is it possible that He is just waiting for us to even just glance at Him? Is it possible that He just wants to praise us for just looking at Him? Oy. Is it possible, that the leash He holds will never break? Never?

Something else I want to say, is if you are struggling spiritually, with your relationship with Jesus... you are NOT too far gone. You really aren't. If you are struggling, speak out. Please do not be afraid. The worst thing you can do is keep your mouth shut. If you are noticing something is off in your journey with Jesus, SPEAK. It might sound like you are crazy, people might be annoyed with you, people might turn you away, but for real... speak up. Do not stay silent. Ask others to pray for you, and with you. Ask your pastors if you can talk with them. Ask your family for help, extra prayer, and to read Scripture with you. Please. Don't fight things on your own. It doesn't work well anyway. I can speak from experience. If you fight spiritual battles with Christian music, use Christian music. If you fight spiritual battles by talking to people, talk to people. However you fight, use it. Fight for the truth. 

Lean into Jesus, and don't fight it alone. To use an analogy that I love, when you are struggling with evil, ask your Husband, Jesus, to help you. Or, ask your Father, Jesus, to protect your Holy Spirit. Ask Him not to let you keep going astray. Be like a child, and ask the Father to protect you from the evil coming at you. Hide behind Him. The Holy Spirit is the most important, precious gift the Father and Jesus ever gave you. Protect it. The judgement of the world, is NOTHING compared to the judgement of the Lord. If you feel crazy while defending your faith, just know, you're in good company. Just read the Scriptures, and you'll find a whole bunch of "crazy people" who also defended their faith, and came out on top. 

All I can say, is I'm pretty sure, Jesus doesn't let go of the leash, but make sure you stop panicking enough to look at Jesus, or even glance at Him. And celebrate when you do. 

If you read all this... thank you for coming to my first TED talk of the year. Pretty sure there is more to come. Just saying.”

As Christians, there are going to be times when we have doubts, or when we wander away from God, or when we give in to fear and panic. God knows this. He knows that at times we are going to be like Scruffy, screaming and trying our best to run away. And just like my cousin said, He is always there, waiting for us to turn back to Him, to just look at Him for a moment, so He can affirm us and draw us back to His loving arms.

I firmly believe in the "once saved, always saved" idea, meaning that when you give your life to Jesus Christ, you are sealed in Him. You are tethered to Jesus, similar to a leash, and that tether is unbreakable. We don't have to worry that one day we will wander too far, or that He will let go of the leash. We can take comfort in knowing that He is and always will be there for us.

So, if you are struggling in your faith, remember that it is a spiritual battle. You are in a fight against the dark forces of this world which are trying to pull you away from God. As my cousin shared, "Lean into Jesus, and don't fight it alone". Speak up and ask for help, that's what spiritual community is all about - helping each other in our walk with God.

And if you see someone else struggling with their faith, speak up. Do what you can to help them. Talk to them, encourage them, share a Bible verse with them, and pray with them. That is what Jesus has called us to do as Christians. To walk with each other on this journey we call life.

Our Enemy will use whatever he can to distract us from God and pull us away. He will use friends, hobbies, school, teachers, family, work, and yes, global pandemics. Even situations like what is happening in the Capitol right now are efforts by our Enemy to distract us from God. Don't let him win. Don't let him pull you away. Instead, turn to God in times like this and pray, read the Bible, serve others. Only then will you find comfort, joy, and hope in an ever darkening world.