Northside Church - Sydney
Dear God, If Only – Week 2: …my FEARS were smaller
You're listening to another great message from Northside Community Church. Well, we're talking about fear this morning, and if you have certain fears, it's a sensible thing to avoid situations where those fears come into sharp focus. I mean, if you're afraid of heights, you better keep away from the edge of the steep cliff. Or if you're trying to overcome your fear, then you've got to make sure you've got people and resources around you to guide you through that process. Probably the worst thing that can happen with fear is to be unexpectedly confronted with our fears, to be thrust into a situation where all of a sudden without warning, we're facing our fears. That's about the worst thing that can happen, isn't it? That's what happened to me in August 1983. In those days, I was an acute chronic, nervous flyer, thank God I've overcome that well and truly, but in those days, I was a chronic, nervous flyer, and my wife, Bev and I were about to fly to Los Angeles with continental airlines who used to fly in and out of Sydney in those days, and they used to fly DC-10s, and if you're old enough to remember, in the early 80s, DC-10s were literally dropping out of the sky. They'd had a number of very severe crashes, including a shocking one at O'Hare in a national airport in Chicago, and so my friends were saying to me, Graham, you're going to go on a DC-10? Are you crazy? In the weeks leading up, I was getting increasingly nervous about this flight. Fortunately, we made it to Los Angeles that was okay, but as we got off the plane, as we were moving through the terminal, we were confronted with a sight I'll never forget. There were literally dozens of people, men and women, all carrying placards. The placards have been professionally made, I can still see them, and they read like this. We are continental engineers. We are on strike, and in those five beautiful words, how safe is your plane? That is exact. Bev is here today. She can verify this. Bev's rolling her eyes. I said, "If this needs be." I said, "Bev, wow." I said, "We're getting off." I said, "Imagine, imagine if you're getting on." Bev being the beautiful realist that she is, she said, "Well, darling, we'll be here in a bit over three weeks' time." I said, "This is America." If we don't tolerate strikes over here like we do, well, if you know anything about American industrial relations history, you might know that that continental airlines' engineers strike went on for 26 months. Hundreds of people lost their jobs. The company was brought to its knees, so sure enough, when we got back there in just over three weeks' time, here were the say, even more people. Other signs, at least they look bigger than me, and like there was nobody at the continental registration at the check-in desk, like nobody was signing up to fly with them. It was just sort of suckers like us who had pre-book tickets, and on that flight home, which was the most terrifying fight of my life because you heard every sound, every bump on this DC-10, a guy had to come back from the flight deck at one point with a little stool, take a panel off the ceiling, and with a torch, look inside. Wondering if they could stop the flashing lights that the internal lights would not stop flashing during the whole flight, just on off, on off, on, and down the, ooh, so. Now look friends, if we were to run the microphone around the auditorium this morning and ask for your greatest fear, we'd probably be really surprised at some of the responses we'd get. Fear of heights, fear of dogs, fear of magpies in spring, fear of roller coasters, fear of heights, that's just my list. You know, one thing they have overcome is the fear of public speaking, praise God. That's one that I, you know, tick that one. The fact is we all have fears, which in many cases can be traced back to past experiences, things that have happened in our lives, things that have influenced our thinking. And then there are the fears that are sparked by those unexpected moments in life. And these are the worst fears of all, where even just certain words can spark incredible fear deep within our hearts. They come without warning, two words from your boss, we're downsizing, four words from your spouse, I'm sorry, it's over. Three words from your medical specialist, it looks serious, the power of words to evoke fear within us, it's incredible. I remember as a high school student in 1962, walking past a news agency and punch bowl and seeing a placard of the Sydney Morning Herald and it's simply read, Cuban crisis deepens. And I can recall as a teenager, the level of fear that that struck in my heart, that related to a conflict that was happening between Russia and the United States, which threatened to plunge the entire world into all-out nuclear warfare. And we missed it by just a matter of a couple of days with the courage of President Kennedy. I remember feeling the fear that that headline evoked. Now, friends, being a Christian won't necessarily take away some of these fears that we've mentioned, you know, heights, roller coasters, you might need a little bit of therapy as well to help with that. Now, there are a number of much bigger fears, which followers of Jesus Christ are meant to have victory over. Victory over these fears is part of our calling, it's actually part of our inheritance as disciples. Because see, victory is linked directly to certain promises that Jesus Christ has made. I'm talking about, for instance, the fear of abandonment. If you've ever been tempted to be afraid that the gobble in some way abandon you, Jesus Christ has said, "I will never leave you, never leave you," or forsake you. I'm talking about the fear of insignificance. Does God really know I exist? Do I really matter? Jesus said even the hairs of your head are numbered. Every sparrow that falls to the ground is noticed by the divine. You are worth much more than many sparrows, that kind of thing. I'm talking about the fear of inadequacy. Do I have what it takes to be a faithful disciple? Jesus said, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you," and the power of God will grip you. And that was a promise to the early disciples, it's a promise to us today. And I'm certainly talking about the fear of death. That's one thing we can cross way off the list if we're a disciple of Christ, because Jesus said, "I am the resurrection and the life." Those who believe in me, though they be dead, yet shall they live. And so there are certain promises which are designed to help us overcome some of the deep seated fears that can plague other people. Victory over these sources of fear is designed to build us and shape us into the kind of people God wants us to be, people of conviction, people of resolve, people of strength, people of power. But friends, the sad reality is, and it is a sad reality, the sad reality is that many of us fail to experience these spiritual qualities, choosing rather to settle for a nominal form of Christianity, characterized by various fears and feelings of inadequacy. I deal with this in my pastoral work all the time. Now, friends, that's not the way it's meant to be. That is not the way it is meant to be for you and for me. First John 4, 18, says, "Perfect love casts out fear, and followers of the living Christ serve one whose love is supposed to be made perfect in us." What about 2 Timothy, chapter 1, verse 7? Very powerful word from the apostle Paul, "For the spirit that God has given us does not make us afraid," instead, "His Spirit fills us, fills us with power, with love, with self-control." When I think about passages in the Bible that illustrate in a simple, very simple, but very effective way, the spiritual principles involved in being victorious over fear, I think of this passage read to us by Anne this morning, the calming of the storm by Jesus, Jesus calms the storm. It provides us with irrefutable evidence of how God, through Jesus, enables us to conquer fear at the deepest level and how we can walk with dignity and with purpose free from some of the fears that might otherwise hold us back. We know this passage well that the disciples and Jesus are crossing the lake Galilee and a storm hits. That area is prone to storms because of the high mountains around and they sweep in over the mountains and it can be a very stormy area even to this day. And the disciples, many of them experienced fishermen are absolutely convinced they are about to die. So it must be a pretty severe storm. In fact, they wake up Jesus and they express their anger and their disappointment, "Lord, don't you care. We're about to die. You don't even seem to care or worry about us." Now, that's a heavy accusation. That's a heavy accusation to place on Jesus, but he's up for it. In fact, he has a question of his own and the question comes in verse 40, "Why are you so afraid?" Why are you so afraid? That's significant. I'm going to come back to that. It's an intriguing question under the circumstances. A bit like someone coming up to me in 1983 and saying, "Why are you so afraid of flying?" And you know it's a valid question, but you can't think of any other answer but the obvious one, "Well, because I am, that's just the way it is." I can't explain it, but that's just the way it is. In the time we have, just join me on a little bit of a discovery here as we discover teaching about fear. And in fact, it's a place for fear in growing us into the kind of people God intends us to be in Jesus. Here's the first thing. Even with Jesus on board, the storm still hit. Is that significant? I believe it is. Clearly it negates the mistaken belief that if you have Jesus in the boat, if you have Jesus in your life, then it'll be smooth sailing. It clearly negates that particular thought. I guess one of the things that never ceases to amaze me, and it's puzzled me and it's intrigued me over the years of my ministry, is the prevalence of the theological position based largely on text taken out of context, but the theological position that says that if you have enough faith and enough belief, you can exempt yourself from the problems of life, the storms of life, because Jesus will save you. Friends look, such a position is not reflected in the Scriptures, and it's certainly not reflected in real life. That's just not the way it is. There's got to be more to it than that sort of simple explanation. Here's another point to consider from this passage. This is apparent slumber, Jesus sleeping, is no reason to panic and lose faith. It's clear from this passage Jesus was the kind of guy who could sleep anywhere, you know? Anybody like that? I'm like that. You can sleep anywhere, you know? Bang, go on. And up on the deck, here's the disciples, they're battling the elements, they're holding on for grim death, but in a tiny storied section that was part of the ancient fishing boats of the first century, in a tiny storage section at the back, Jesus is fast asleep. And it's like a scene from our own lives, isn't it? It's kind of like a scene from our lives, you know? We find ourselves in the midst of life's storms, and the waves of fatigue and disappointment and heartache and loss and pain are pounding us with relentless ferocity, and prayers seem to go unanswered, and we find ourselves crying out, "Jesus, where are you? You sleep? Do you care? Look what's happening to me." It's like a real comment on our lives, and that's exactly, of course, what the disciples ask. And they finally wake Jesus up, "Teach it, don't you care that we're about to die?" Verse 38. Now, friends, in this message, I don't have time to fully unpack the very important topic of when God appears to be silent, we have touched that in other occasions. Then I've time to unpack that today, except to say, except to remind us, never to assume that what may appear to be God's inattention is not necessarily his inactivity. Just a little reminder, don't assume because of God's inattention that that necessarily means that he is being inactive. Jesus knew something, he knew something that the disciples didn't know. In ways that we might find hard to understand, God does some of his best work in those periods of silence. Our role is just to keep praying, to keep being faithful, to keep believing. As Paul says, we walk by faith, not by sight, if we could see it all, if we could feel it all, if we could get clear answers, then like it wouldn't be the faith. We could be, don't be overly anxious in what appears to be God's periods of silence. Whilst Jesus, in his humanity, needed sleep, what's of it by the book of things, in his humanity, he needed sleep, we are reminded in the scriptures that God, our heavenly Father, never sleeps. Some of you I know are familiar with that beautiful verse from the Psalm, Psalm 121 verses 3-5, "God will not let you fall," says the Psalmist, "your protector is always awake. The protector of Israel never doses or sleeps," says the good news. The Lord will guard you, he is by your side, to protect you. God's at work always, though we may have our moments of fear and anxiety, and that provides a perfect segue to the next point. It wasn't the disciples' fear that prompted a rebuke from Jesus, it was the intensity of their fear, and there's a difference. It wasn't the disciples' fear that prompted the rebuke from Jesus. Jesus' question wasn't, "Why are you afraid?" That would have been a very insensitive, stupid question, really, under the circumstances. Of course, you're going to be afraid in a wild storm that's even got the experience. A little bit anxious. The question was not, "Why are you afraid?" The question was, "Why are you so afraid?" And I suggest this morning, friends, there is a slight but very important difference because Jesus is asking, "Why are you about to give up? Why are you abandoning the beliefs that have got you through up until now? Why are you abandoning what you've seen me do in my ministry? The powers I have over these kinds of things? Why are you by your words and actions conveniently forgetting that I am still on board? I'm still on the ship. Why are you so afraid?" It's natural, even as a Christian, to experience fear in all kinds of situations. But isn't it sad when people take their eyes off Jesus in such times and allow their fears and their doubts to erode their faith? That's a really sad thing. It happens a lot. Why are you so afraid? That was the question. And what was it that Jesus knew that the disciples didn't know or had apparently forgotten? What was it? Well, here it is. Last point. Even the fiercest storm eventually passes, and we had to calm our waters. That's what Jesus knew. And that's what the disciples had forgotten. Some of you listening to me now have been through storms from which you didn't expect to emerge. Am I right? Storms involving grief, storms involving loss in its many forms, disappointment, despair. And there were times when you wondered if you would make it, but you're here today. You're praising God. You're listening to the Word. You're sharing in communion. You're wiser. You're stronger. You're more resilient. Your faith is stronger. Why? Because you've grown as a person. You've grown as a disciple of Jesus Christ. You're not the same person you were before you entered that storm. Even the most severe storms eventually pass or we're given the ability to manage them more effectively. Others of you are going through your storm right now, and there are a variety of issues people are facing in our church right now. And you need to be reminded that calmer waters are ahead. And if they're not ahead in the short term, you will be given the strength to more effectively manage the storm that's now raging within your life, possibly within your family. Dear God, if only our fear is going to happen. Fear is what's smaller and they can be reduced. And friends, they need to be reduced. You see, a fear-gripped person cannot fully love because love's risky. And we need people in the world and in the church who are prepared to love without restraint and without inhibition in the name of Jesus. That's why it's important that we reduce the fears in our lives. People gripped by fear cannot give because generosity has no promise of return. And that's a little bit scary. But in our world and in our church, we need people who will give of themselves and give of their resources for kingdom objectives. And people feel with fear can't dream because a dream runs a risk of failure. And that's a very scary proposition. But in the church and in the world, we need dreamers. We need visionaries. We need people who can be willing to show God how he is wanting to achieve so much more than we can ever ask for or even imagine. Dreams are inevitable. You found that. But fear is optional. Why are you so afraid? That was the question. I'm on board. I'm still on board. I won't ever leave you or forsake you. We will move into calmer waters or waters which we can manage more effectively. Why are you so afraid? That's God's word to me as we enter into tonight at 2012. God's word for you too. Let's be impressed, shall we?