Sermon given at Evans United Methodist Church
April 15, 2018
This sermon did not record due to technical difficulties.
Fear.
Is there any
more universal force or feeling in our world?
There are so many things going on in our world
today.
Wars, crime, terrorism
School shootings, identity theft, our finances.
We don’t know what the future might hold.
We are living in an age of fear and anxiety.
I’m sure you can think of a lot of others
things that make you anxious, or scared.
Because there is so much fear surrounding us,
for the next few weeks we are going to be looking at fear, what the Bible says about fear, and how to conquer it.
One really interesting thing about fear: many of the things that we are afraid of
aren’t as bad as we think they are.
Poverty levels are down.
Unemployment is low, and our economy is doing
well.
There have been fewer deaths in war in last 40
years than in any other 40-year period, going back hundreds of years.
Violent crime is down 50% since the 1990’s
But fear is still out there.
It takes a toll on us – it makes us tired,
weakens our relationships, and affects our health – we can really worry
ourselves to death.
This week I read a quote from writer Molly
Ball:
“Fear is in the air, and fear is surging. Americans are more afraid today than they
have been in a long time.”
From the
moment we are born, we learn to fear the world around us,
We are taught
to be afraid of strangers,
Sometimes we
even fear people who are closest to us.
Political
leaders have long recognized the power of fear:
“Vote for our
party because the other party is full of …”
fill in the
blank of some group that you are afraid of or just don’t like.
It is getting harder and harder to watch the
news on TV, whether it is national and world news, or local news.
Last week in Syria many innocent people were
killed during a nerve gas attack.
The pictures were hard to look at.
It’s hard enough to look at devastation from
natural disasters,
but when something like this is deliberately
caused by people
it is almost impossible to look at the images
and not feel our hearts ache.
Both men and women wrestle with insecurities,
one of fear’s many faces.
Most of us can put a smile on our faces, but
we still have those feelings of fear about what happens around us.
Everyone worries about something.
One of my biggest worries is money: how will we stretch our money to pay the
bills every month?
And this is nothing new – I have had that
thought in the back of my mind for years.
I know we aren’t the only people who struggle
with fear.
Most people will have times when anxiety and
fear are overwhelming.
Fear is a powerful emotion that shapes us in
many ways we don’t understand.
More and more people are depressed – depression
that comes from fear.
Addictions can come from fear.
If we look beneath prejudice, and hate, we will
often see fear.
Sometimes fear even leads us to bad decisions,
or keeps us from taking risks that might have led to more joy in our lives.
Sometimes we fear things that will never
happen.
But whether they are real or imagined, fear
can have power over us.
Sometimes fear can become serious, and it can
lead to panic attacks or anxiety disorders.
Other times fear is real – life-threatening
illnesses, the impending death of a loved one, legal conflicts, or financial
issues.
Fear isn’t just here in the United States.
It is truly universal – people all over the
world have fears.
No religion or philosophy relieves us
completely of fear.
Buddhists, Jews, Muslims, Christians, atheists
and agnostics all struggle with fear.
We can never fully eliminate it from our
lives,
But even if fear is a constant companion, we
don’t have to be controlled by it.
Instead we can learn to look at our fears, control them,
learn from them, and work our way through them.
In the Bible, there are approximately 400
verses that talk about fear.
One of the most repeated phrases is “Don’t be
afraid.”
God spoke those words to the Israelites in the
old Testament.
Jesus said it in the Gospels.
Fear is nothing new – it has been there all
throughout human existence.
And we have always had faith to help us
overcome fear and find peace in uncertain times.
Where does fear come from?
The
physical symptoms of fear and excitement are
identical.
If
you look at how someone is breathing, or their heart rate, or the release of
sugar into their blood,
you
wouldn’t be able to tell the difference between fear and excitement.
Yet
we experience a huge difference between these two states.
So
if there is no physical difference between fear and excitement,
that
means that our interpretation
of our condition makes all the difference.
Say
we’re meeting someone for the first time.
Our
palms are sweaty, and our heart is beating faster.
How
we interpret these signs as excitement or as fear can dramatically change how
we approach a situation.
We
all have a sympathetic nervous system that prepares us for “fight or flight”
responses to a threat.
In our brains, there are two small,
almond-shaped structures, one on each side of the brain, called amygdala.
They have been described as the center for
emotions, emotional behavior, and motivation.
Before our conscious mind has a chance to
figure out what we are hearing, or seeing, or smelling,
our amygdala has already made an initial
determination if it is sensing a threat or not.
They are similar to smoke detectors.
A smoke detector can sense a fire long before
our brain knows there is a problem.
If it is a threat, our brain releases
adrenaline and cortisol, making us ready for fight or flight.
Cortisol is associated with stress and stress can lead to fear.
The release of these hormones creates changes
in our bodies, getting us ready to do something in case of danger.
Our brains can learn to associate different
sensations with past events, both good and bad.
Maybe when you were younger, you had a bad
experience with some type of food.
For example, maybe when you were 10 years old,
you got sick after eating too much chocolate.
From that point on, you avoid chocolate so you
don’t get sick like that ever again.
Of course, we know that is impossible, because
there is no such thing as too much chocolate.
Now that I know I have celiac disease, I
associate regular bread made with wheat flour with being sick.
I used to love bread, but now that I haven’t
eaten any bread made from regular flour for 3 months, I know it will make me
sick.
So the fear of what could happen to me if I
eat that kind of bread keeps me from eating any.
This is called conditioning.
You associate a sensory experience, like
eating bread, with good or bad results.
Healthy fears are a good thing.
We learn at a young age not to put a
screwdriver into an electrical socket.
Bad
things WILL happen!
We learn to buckle our seatbelts, so if we are
ever in an accident we will have some protection from serious injury.
We know not to get too close to the edge of a
cliff so we won’t fall off.
Real fear is a gift that has the power to save
our lives.
The problem is when we create our own
fears.
Worrying about things that will never happen,
things that are out of our control.
That is when fear or anxiety or worry can hurt
us.
Fear is intended to help us sense and avoid
danger.
But sometimes we misread signals from our
bodies, and worry about threats that are not real.
We become overwhelmed by false fears, anxiety,
or worrying about things that will never happen,
or things that are out of our control.
How we can change our fear-based conditioning?
Extinction is usually a negative term, used
with animals or plants that are no longer living on the earth.
But when it comes to fear and anxiety,
extinction, or unlearning bad habits, is good for us.
It enables us to move on, and find freedom in
our lives.
So now that I’ve numbed your brain with all of
this information, what does the Bible tell us?
The Bible is filled with stories of people
whose worries and fears got the best of them.
I have picked on the ancient Israelites
before.
Once again, they make a great example.
About 2 years after Moses led them out of
Egypt, they arrived at the edge of the Promised Land.
The land of Canaan.
Land of milk and honey.
Moses and the other leaders sent twelve spies
into Canaan to check out the situation.
The Bible says they were gone for 40 days,
long enough for them to take a good look around and get ideas on how it would
be to live there.
They return and report about what they
saw.
Reading from Numbers 13:
27
They told Moses, “We explored the land and found it to be rich and fertile; and
here is some of its fruit. But the
people who live there are powerful, and their cities are very large and well-fortified.
Even worse, we saw the descendants of the giants there. Amalekites live in the
southern part of the land; Hittites, Jebusites, and Amorites live in the hill
country; and Canaanites live by the Mediterranean Sea and along the Jordan
River.”
30
Caleb (one of the spies) silenced the people who were complaining against
Moses, and said, “We should attack now and take the land; we are strong enough
to conquer it.”
31
But the men who had gone with Caleb said, “No, we are not strong enough to
attack them; the people there are more powerful than we are.” So they spread a
false report among the Israelites about the land they had explored. They said,
“That land doesn't even produce enough to feed the people who live there.
Everyone we saw was very tall, and we even saw giants there, the descendants of
Anak. We felt as small as grasshoppers, and that is how we must have looked to
them.”
Caleb was so enthusiastic!
It’s all there – like God promised!
Let’s go!!
But the other spies gave a completely
different report.
So the Israelites complained about Moses, and
wanted to give up.
And they sat there.
Paralyzed with fear.
On the wrong side of the Jordan River, away
from the Promised Land.
They sat there for 38 years, until a whole
generation had passed away.
Then the new leaders were able to go into the Promised
Land.
God helped them win battles against the people
living there,
and the Israelites were able to cross the
Jordan and start their new life.
God would have helped the previous generation
win their battles, too,
but they were too
scared to do anything.
We do that, too.
Our fears can make obstacles and threats seem
much bigger and more dangerous than they really are.
Sometimes we just need to face the giants in
our lives.
To see if they really are as big and as
difficult as our brain tells us they are.
Sometimes, you just have to have faith.
The Old Testament tells us about King Saul and
King David.
When he was young, David was King Saul’s
assistant.
But Saul had some type of mental illness.
He would fly into rages at anybody and
everybody, for little or no reason.
Saul got the idea that David was out to get
him.
When Saul got that way, David would have to
leave Jerusalem.
He would go to the area around the Dead Sea,
and hide in caves to keep from being killed by Saul’s army.
While he was stuck there, waiting for time to
pass, David would write Psalms – poetry, prayers.
Some are happy, praising God
Some are terrified – where is God?
Psalm 56 was written by David, fleeing from
King Saul, living among the Philistines, who are enemies of the Israelites, so he could hide from Saul’s army.
1
Be merciful to me, O God, because I am under attack;
my
enemies persecute me all the time.
2
All day long my opponents attack me.
There
are so many who fight against me.
3
When I am afraid, O Lord Almighty, I put my trust in you.
4
I trust in God and am not afraid; I praise him for what he has promised.
What
can a mere human being do to me?
5
My enemies make trouble for me all day long;
they
are always thinking up some way to hurt me!
6
They gather in hiding places and watch everything I do, hoping to kill me.
7
Punish them, O God, for their evil; defeat those people in your anger!
8
You know how troubled I am; you have kept a record of my tears.
Aren't
they listed in your book?
9
The day I call to you, my enemies will be turned back.
I
know this: God is on my side—
10
the Lord, whose promises I praise.
11
In him I trust, and I will not be afraid.
What
can a mere human being do to me?
12
O God, I will offer you what I have promised;
I
will give you my offering of thanksgiving,
13
because you have rescued me from death and kept me from defeat.
And
so I walk in the presence of God, in the light that shines on the living.
You can hear David’s deep faith in God.
He is praising God,
but at the same
time David is sad because of his situation.
David also knows God will take care of him,
and he gives thanks to God.
Sometimes, fear can be
False
Events that
Appear
Real
But when we confront our fears, and remember
God is with us, we can turn fear into:
Face your fears with faith.
Examine your assumptions in light of the
facts.
Attack your anxieties with action.
Release your cares to God.
Sure, that’s easy enough to say.
But trying to put it into practice?
Confronting your fears isn’t always the right
way to address them.
You don’t want to cure your fear of water by
walking into the ocean until you’re under water.
But sometimes facing your fears is liberating.
Fear, and finding peace in the face of fear,
is one of the major themes in the Bible.
The words fear or afraid appear over 400 times
in the Bible.
They had a lot to be afraid of!
Wild animals, enemies, bandits, famine, disease.
Whether they were being attacked, or in the
middle of a famine due to drought, or in a storm, God is there.
“Do not be afraid, for I am with you.”
If the Israelites, there by the Jordan River,
had remembered that God was with them,
and trusted God
to take care of them, they could have taken on the Canaanites right
then and there. Instead, a generation lived and died on the
other side of the Jordan River.
Waiting.
Waiting
to die.
Stories like that happen throughout the Bible.
Since Adam and Eve, there has been fear.
There were no therapists or medications then.
So people turned to God.
They opened the Bible, and read God’s word.
In Isaiah 41, we read
10
Do not be afraid—I am with you!
I
am your God—let nothing terrify you!
I
will make you strong and help you;
I
will protect you and save you.
Paul wrote to the Philippians:
“The Lord is
coming soon. Don't worry about anything, but in all your
prayers ask God for what you need, always asking him with a thankful heart.
And God's peace, which is far beyond human
understanding, will keep your hearts and minds safe in union with Christ
Jesus.”
The next time you find yourself afraid of
something,
Instead of imagining bad things,
Imagine God by your side, holding you, not
letting you go.
Focus on hope.
Focus on God, through prayer, or singing
hymns, or talking with friends.
God will get you through whatever is
happening.
My favorite Psalm is Psalm 27:
1
The Lord is my light and my salvation—
whom
shall I fear?
The
Lord is the stronghold of my life—
of
whom shall I be afraid?
2
When evildoers assail me, uttering slanders against me,
My
adversaries and foes, they shall stumble and fall.
3
Though a host encamp against me, my heart shall not fear;
though
war arise against me, yet I will be confident.
4
One thing I have asked from the Lord, that I will seek after;
that
I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life,
to
behold the beauty of the Lord and to inquire in his temple.
5
for he will hide me in his shelter in the day of trouble;
he
will conceal me under the cover of his tent
he
will set me high upon a rock.
13
I believe that I shall see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living!
14
Wait for the Lord;
be
strong, and let your heart take courage;
yea,
wait for the Lord!
Amen.
