House Calls

Fear

Three Angels Broadcasting Network

Program transcript

Participants: John Lomacang, John Stanton

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Series Code: HCL

Program Code: HCL110006


00:01 Hello, friends.
00:03 Grab your Bible and a friend and sit back
00:04 as we explore God's word together
00:05 on this edition of House Calls.
00:21 Welcome to another House Calls program.
00:23 Thank you so much for tuning in,
00:25 as we come into your heart
00:26 and your home to bring your God's word.
00:28 My name is John Lomacang
00:29 and to my right is John Stanton,
00:33 my partner in Bible studies.
00:36 We really enjoy studying the word of God together.
00:39 We thank you so much for tuning in to invite us
00:42 into your heart and into your home.
00:43 And as you know we always have a lot of things to cover,
00:46 so before we do anything we always like to have prayer,
00:50 so John, would you have prayer for us today?
00:51 Sure, would be happy to do that.
00:53 Our Father in heaven, we appeal to you again
00:56 as we do on this program each time.
00:59 That your presence will be with us
01:00 that Your Holy Spirit will attend us
01:02 as we walk and study Your word.
01:05 And may everything we say
01:07 and drew me the words that we share,
01:08 may the picture we paint of who you are be accurate,
01:13 be clear and maybe rightly dividing of that word of truth.
01:17 In Jesus name we pray, amen.
01:19 Amen! And we also want to thank you
01:22 for your Bible questions and comments.
01:25 They don't come as a surprise to us,
01:27 but sometimes you do challenge us
01:29 and whenever there is a question that comes up
01:32 either during the program or maybe before
01:35 or after we have an email
01:37 that you can send those questions too.
01:39 You can send them if they come to your mind
01:41 to housecalls@3abn.org, that's housecalls@3abn.org.
01:46 And that's where we go and download those questions.
01:49 If you would like to submit it in the letter form
01:51 that is through the mail,
01:52 send those to the regular 3ABN address
01:55 at PO Box 220 West Frankfort, IL 62896.
02:00 But this makes the first portion
02:02 of our program very interesting,
02:04 never knowing what you are going to ask?
02:06 So John, what do you have for us today?
02:08 Well, I got a question here from let's see here,
02:12 it looks like, M, well just gives the first initial
02:16 so I can't really tell you.
02:18 But, she says that it's very strong support here,
02:21 she is very kind in her words.
02:23 She says she started watching 3ABN a few months ago,
02:26 and our program was the greatest discovery
02:28 they had made her and her husband.
02:30 Wow! Praise the Lord.
02:31 That's very nice, thank you very much.
02:33 My questions are and it's twofold.
02:36 There are actually two different questions here.
02:37 How do you get three days and three nights
02:39 from Good Friday to Sunday morning?
02:41 Okay. Okay, and that's I think
02:44 from the reference of as Jonah was in the belly of the whale,
02:48 so will the son of God be in the heart of the earth,
02:52 and referring to his crucifixion as well.
02:55 The second one is why do you celebrate Christmas,
02:58 Easter when they are clearly pagan and idolatrous origins.
03:02 When you teach the truth as strongly as you do,
03:04 I must say I was disappointed.
03:07 Anyway so she is asking us to teach the whole truth
03:11 not just the portion of it.
03:12 And so these are some questions here
03:14 both of them will deal with here as quick as we can.
03:19 The first one, three days three nights.
03:22 If you look at scripture as it's telling
03:25 the gospel story of Christ in His crucifixion.
03:30 You find that the battle that He was going through
03:34 at the cross did not start on Friday.
03:38 The battle that Jesus went through
03:40 began in the garden of Gethsemane.
03:42 You'll see that the demons of hell assailed Him,
03:46 came against Him as He asked His disciples to pray there
03:50 with Him in the garden.
03:52 And he said, it says that He poured out His heart to God
03:55 and even sweated drops of... as if they were drops of blood,
03:59 that He was the barrel for determining
04:03 to carry out the fathers will,
04:04 and allowing Him to bear the cross
04:07 and be separated from His father
04:09 began in the garden of Gethsemane.
04:13 He was there that Jesus first began to experience
04:16 the real burden of the cross,
04:19 and what it was going to mean
04:21 to His relationship with His father
04:23 in the separation that wouldn't entail.
04:26 And so we turn to Matthew Chapter 26
04:30 and you will see to the depth of despair that
04:34 at least Satan was trying to levy upon Him in these words.
04:38 And it says here in verse 37 in Matthew 26,
04:42 And He took with Him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee,
04:46 and He began to be sorrowful and deeply distressed.
04:50 Then He said to them,
04:52 "My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even to what?
04:56 What's that word there? Even to death.
04:59 Stay here and watch with Me."
05:02 And then He goes out and He pours out His heart
05:04 in prayer to His father asking if it is possible
05:07 that the cup would pass from Him.
05:09 You read that, that cup is the cup of His indignation
05:11 that He was already beginning there to experience.
05:14 This word death is not a word that Jesus takes lightly.
05:19 No, not at all.
05:20 In fact, Jesus most of the time when He use the description
05:25 or use the term for describing someone dying,
05:28 he calls it a sleep.
05:30 So this death whenever you use this term death,
05:32 it's usually a reference to the second death.
05:35 Unless it needs to be in an explanatory sense
05:38 to the disciples where He says,
05:39 you know, they weren't getting it
05:41 and then He was sleeping and findings life versus dead.
05:44 For there benefit, but here Jesus is talking to His Father
05:46 and He saying, or He is talking to His friends
05:51 saying that this experience He is having is already
05:53 causing Him to sense death.
05:56 So receive there the experience of Christ
05:59 in the heart of the earth,
06:00 the belly of earth that was swallowing Him up
06:04 and the sin that was being heaped upon Him.
06:06 He began to feel the sense of that
06:07 at the garden of Gethsemane.
06:09 And that was Thursday night,
06:11 so if you are looking for three days and night nights,
06:13 you've got to begin there and that's Thursday night,
06:16 Friday night, Saturday night.
06:18 Then you have Friday, day of the crucifixion,
06:20 Saturday, Sunday the day of the resurrection.
06:23 So you have three days and three nights as well, okay.
06:27 So that's the best way to explain
06:29 or to understand the three days and three nights
06:31 that was reference there in the text with regard
06:35 to Jonah being in the belly of the whale.
06:38 But, now she adds the question here,
06:40 why do you celebrate Christmas?
06:41 Well, let me add something, before we go on.
06:44 Because there is also something that was contributed
06:46 to coming up with the three days and three nights is called
06:50 "inclusive reckoning", which meant
06:54 any part of the day meant the day.
06:59 Jesus didn't separate the day from the night.
07:02 You would find a reference in scripture
07:03 where Jesus talked about, I will you see the third day.
07:07 And if you look at the many references pertaining
07:12 to the resurrection of Christ.
07:13 He didn't say He was gonna rise the fourth day,
07:17 but it says particularly when the king wanted
07:23 to keep Jesus from rising.
07:27 He said remember that this deceiver said
07:30 he would rise the third day.
07:33 The confusion came in when people try
07:35 to extrapolate from that 72 hours.
07:39 Now if we, if our requirement was Jesus be in the tomb
07:43 72 hours before He rise,
07:45 then we would have Him rising on the fourth day.
07:48 So be very careful as you play with that
07:51 because there are some denominations
07:52 that build an entire,
07:54 they build their entire denominational identity
07:56 around 72 hours being in the tomb,
08:00 then rising the fourth day.
08:02 That's not what the Bible says, He would rise the third day.
08:05 And not to mention too that Friday began
08:07 at sundown on Thursday night.
08:09 Right and they are different timing.
08:10 We call it Thursday night, but that's the beginning
08:13 of the new day is Thursday night,
08:15 it should be the new day or Friday.
08:17 Right and that's one of the other pictures,
08:19 so Thursday night in our reckoning
08:21 would actually be Friday night than Friday,
08:24 Saturday night than Saturday and Sunday night than Sunday.
08:28 And so what happens as you clearly see.
08:30 If you use that timeframe of reckoning time
08:34 called "inclusive reckoning"
08:35 then he was three days and three nights,
08:38 so that's the second possibility.
08:40 But the bottom line is and I remember
08:43 preaching the sermon about this,
08:45 saying the bottom line is he is not there now.
08:49 And so if you wanted really,
08:50 if you are battling over how long He was there,
08:53 then you would really forget,
08:55 the focal point of that was not 72 hours to the exact minute,
09:01 but that Jesus was going to rise the third day,
09:04 that's what He made very, very clear in scripture.
09:06 Yes, the second part of the question here,
09:09 why do you celebrate Christmas and Easter
09:11 when they are clearly pagan and idolatrous origins.
09:14 When you teach the truth is stronger
09:15 as you do I must say I was disappointed.
09:18 One of the things you have to distinguish here between
09:21 those who often many who celebrate Christmas and Easter
09:24 and the way that we "celebrate Easter" is that
09:28 we don't consider it a holy day.
09:31 Today is a simple I mean those days are simple holidays
09:34 and they are recognizing events within Christianity.
09:37 They are very important to us.
09:39 We cannot deny the importance of the birth of Christ.
09:41 We can't deny the importance of the resurrection.
09:44 Those are the two days that the Christian world
09:47 acknowledges those events
09:50 and so it would really be wise for us to utilize those events
09:55 to on those days recognize them in the context of showing that
10:00 we can unite or we can be there in tomb
10:03 with the Christian world in understanding
10:05 the importance of the events on those two days, that's it.
10:09 We do not consider them holy days.
10:11 Now one thing many don't realize John,
10:16 is that God is referred to in many ways
10:19 and he has many names, Jehovah
10:21 and then there is several many Jireh, Jehovah, Rapha, Rapha.
10:26 He has many descriptions and what many don't realize
10:29 John is that some of those names
10:32 He took from pagan God's from former nations in those areas.
10:37 Well, you know that's true, that's true.
10:39 What He is saying by that is, that God was no real God.
10:44 He said what God there is, but me.
10:46 But He says I'm the God that points
10:49 to I'm the true Jehovah, the one that protects,
10:53 the one that provides, the one that is gracious.
10:58 I'm the one that is like that,
11:00 not the God's that the nations had acknowledged.
11:03 And so Jesus or God from time and time again in the past
11:09 had taken and He didn't always do this.
11:11 But in certain occasions He would take the name
11:13 of a pagan God applied to Himself and say,
11:16 I'm the one that does that.
11:17 Right! So He doesn't have a problem doing that.
11:20 I don't think we should see
11:21 just because a day has a pagan tie,
11:25 we can't say that it has now today
11:27 a current Christian application.
11:29 We don't observe a pagan day, we observe a Christian day.
11:32 And so I do take exception to someone
11:35 strictly calling it pagan, because it is no longer pagan,
11:39 it has become a Christian holiday.
11:41 Right! Not a holy day some one would suppose,
11:43 but to me and to the Seventh-day Adventist Church
11:46 for the most part a holiday.
11:47 And to add to that John this is very important,
11:51 my anniversary, my wife, and I share a particular day
11:56 that is special to us.
11:59 But, what if in the Wicca calendar,
12:03 or the witch calendar our anniversary falls
12:07 on the same day that the witch has used
12:09 for some demonic activity.
12:11 Do I say to the to the courts of record,
12:16 well, you know, I need to change my anniversary
12:18 from May 22nd to another day
12:21 because the witches look at that day
12:24 as some high and holy day in their dark world.
12:29 In the same way many people say well December 25
12:33 was a day connected to Mithra, a pagan God.
12:38 And the pantheon was used in that observance
12:44 of this high day for Mithra, the pagan God.
12:47 Also many people will say, when you look at the churches
12:51 in Christendom in western,
12:56 the western portion of Christianity
12:59 during the time of the development
13:00 of many of these observances,
13:02 they will say, well an eastern,
13:04 in western portions of Christianity
13:06 there were different observances.
13:09 But they don't even see that in the evolution of what day
13:12 they believe Jesus was born,
13:14 some thought it was a six months earlier than December 23rd.
13:18 So, you began to see that this is not so much,
13:22 something that has to do with the per day in particular.
13:25 But this has to do with the recognition
13:27 that I'm so happy and so glad that Jesus was born,
13:31 but what advantage it gives to us.
13:34 I ask Christians is, when the world saying,
13:37 you know, joy to the world,
13:38 the Lord has come and we begin to sing
13:41 O little town of Bethlehem talking about
13:44 all these special significant observances
13:47 surrounding the birth of Jesus.
13:49 We are not saying I'm so glad for the pagan Gods.
13:52 I'm so glad for the demonic world.
13:54 We are saying we can all together
13:56 at least agree on one thing Jesus was born.
13:59 Where we disagree is we do not look at day
14:02 as a holy ordered by God observance.
14:06 Now here is what people trip,
14:08 the very people that have a stumbling
14:12 on that particular observance like Easter and Christmas.
14:16 In many cases those are the same individuals that say well,
14:19 we don't honor the Sabbath either.
14:22 So, the very thing that God has said to us to honor,
14:25 we want to encouraging you to honor.
14:27 But where there is no prohibition,
14:29 there is no violation of a godly principle.
14:32 That's right. Did you get that?
14:33 Yeah. If God says, don't observe my birthday
14:36 and we do, then we are violating a prohibition.
14:39 Well, in many cases you have in the past,
14:41 the patriarchs setting up alters and doing things
14:44 in honor of God, that God didn't ask them to do.
14:46 Right! It come from their own heart,
14:47 it was an acknowledgement
14:50 of the importance of God in their life.
14:53 And I would say like for Christmas
14:55 I think what a great way that we can say Jesus
14:57 we thank you for coming as a child,
14:59 a messiah to save this world.
15:02 What a wonderful time to do that.
15:03 And yes it did take and replace a pagan day,
15:07 that's typically acknowledging another thing,
15:09 but it is no longer pagan,
15:10 it is acknowledged as a Christian day.
15:14 Again a holiday, not a holy day,
15:15 but yet nonetheless we can acknowledge
15:18 or at least give honor and glory to God
15:21 for sending His Son, the gift of His Son Jesus Christ
15:23 to this world to save us from our sins.
15:25 That's right. I'm sorry,
15:27 I just disagree with those,
15:28 everybody we got lots of questions on this each year,
15:31 especially this time of the year, we disagree.
15:35 That's right. Another one is when you think about
15:40 how important it is to the observance of...
15:44 to the issue of salvation, yes.
15:46 If this were an issue about salvation then surely
15:50 unequivocally we would avoid it like the plague,
15:53 but the Christmas holiday and Easter
15:58 the two times of the year,
15:59 which are solely dedicated to observing Christ,
16:02 doesn't even strike you that,
16:04 these are the very days that Satan has made
16:06 a fearful thought in our minds.
16:09 It's like, here comes Christmas,
16:11 let's become Muslim and I'm being very extreme here
16:14 in no offence to the Muslims at all.
16:17 But I know a guy and this is a true story,
16:19 I had a friend that I went to school within high school
16:21 in New York City and she said to me,
16:25 you know, anytime Christmas is coming around,
16:27 my dad becomes Jehovah's witness.
16:31 He wasn't really religious at all,
16:33 but he did that to avoid spending money
16:36 around the Christmas season.
16:37 And that's light hearted application to the idea
16:41 that to some they find ways and loopholes around
16:44 looking to Jesus as the author and finisher of their faith.
16:47 If you can reach a person who doesn't know Jesus
16:51 and he wouldn't talk or they wouldn't talk about
16:53 Jesus any time of the year.
16:55 It's a beautiful thing to walk into a store
16:57 and hear songs about Jesus.
16:59 Where other times of the air,
17:01 it will be just be rock songs or crazy songs of the world.
17:04 So let's take this as an opportunity
17:06 to let people know that we have a connection
17:09 with Jesus all year long,
17:11 not just on one day of the year, all right.
17:17 One of the commonly asked questions
17:18 that come up on the issue of the Sabbath?
17:24 Paul talked about this and I want to bring this up,
17:27 since Paul declares.
17:29 Let no one judge you regarding the Bible Sabbath.
17:32 Isn't Sabbath keeping unnecessary?
17:34 Let's go Colossians 2, I want people to see
17:37 this text Colossians 2 verse 16.
17:40 This is a verse that's often use,
17:46 as reference so that people can ignore
17:50 what the Bible says about the Sabbath, all right.
17:53 This is the question then that you had.
17:54 Yeah, okay, okay. Because I don't think
17:56 we've read your question there specifically.
17:58 Yeah I remember, so Colossians 2:16,
18:02 what does this text have to do with us observing
18:05 or not observing the Sabbath.
18:06 Colossians 2 verse 16 and verse 17.
18:13 The Bible reads, therefore let no one
18:17 judge you in food or in drink,
18:19 or regarding a festival or a new moon or Sabbaths,
18:24 which are a shadow of things to come,
18:26 but the substances of Christ.
18:29 Now one of the things people miss in this verse
18:31 is the word Sabbaths and also it's not only pluralized,
18:35 but it's not capitalized.
18:37 And it's also put in the context
18:39 and whenever you find in the Bible
18:41 the grouping of this together food and drinks
18:44 and festivals and new moons and Sabbaths.
18:47 It's talking clearly making reference
18:49 of the ceremonial observances.
18:51 This is by no means, that's why it says
18:53 which are a shadow of things to come,
18:55 but the substances of Christ.
18:58 There was ceremonial Sabbaths established,
19:00 and by the way while I'm saying this,
19:02 go with me to the Leviticus Chapter 23,
19:04 Leviticus Chapter 23,
19:06 you want to see these observances.
19:08 There were many Sabbaths talking about in the Bible.
19:11 But the seventh day Sabbath which is established
19:14 at the end of creation week
19:16 long before there were any observances
19:20 pertaining to pagan rituals or ceremonial observances.
19:27 The seventh-day Sabbath was established first.
19:31 But let me go ahead now, I'll mention some of those
19:34 that you may not think of a Sabbaths,
19:35 but they were very well were.
19:38 Leviticus Chapter 23, and I'm gonna read staring with verse 1
19:45 and it says, And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying,
19:48 "Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them,
19:51 'The feasts of the Lord, which you shall proclaim
19:55 to be holy convocations, these are My feasts.
20:00 Let me start with verse 3, Six days shall work be done,
20:04 but the seventh day is a Sabbath of solemn rest,
20:08 a holy convocation.
20:10 You shall do no work on it,
20:13 it is the Sabbath of the Lord in all your dwellings.
20:18 And then he goes, any outlines he goes from the Passover,
20:22 then he goes to the Feast of Unleavened Bread,
20:25 then he goes to the Feast of Firstfruits,
20:28 then he goes next to the Feast of Pentecost,
20:32 then he goes to the Feat of Trumpets
20:34 and the Day of Atonement and the Feast of Tabernacles.
20:38 And I want you to notice in verse 36
20:41 what he says, all right.
20:44 In verse 36 what he says.
20:47 He says besides the Sabbaths,
20:51 plural of the Lord, besides your gifts,
20:55 besides all your vows,
20:58 and besides all your freewill offerings
21:01 which you give to the Lord.
21:03 So what you see here with the verse 39.
21:05 Also on the fifteenth day of the seventh month,
21:09 when you have gathered in the fruit of the land,
21:13 you shall keep the feast of the Lord for seven days,
21:16 on the first day there shall be a Sabbath-rest,
21:21 and on the eighth day a Sabbath-rest.
21:24 So you find when you read in Colossians 2
21:28 Paul is saying there were many feast days
21:31 that were connected to Sabbaths pluralization,
21:36 that's what's the focus of that text...
21:37 It's the ceremonial Sabbath,
21:38 this is supposed to be law of God,
21:40 the fourth commandment Sabbath.
21:42 Which was established before sin entered the world.
21:45 So if sin never entered the world,
21:47 you only have one Sabbath.
21:49 But because of sin all these festivals
21:51 that were observed in commemoration
21:54 with all the observance as God had established
21:57 for the children of Israel, that really were a shadow,
22:00 everyone of them pointed to the coming Messiah.
22:02 So when Jesus came,
22:03 these shadows were no longer available,
22:05 and were no longer observable and were no longer necessary.
22:10 So that's why Paul said, don't let anyone judge you
22:13 about those things, because those were shadows.
22:15 But here is the one that was not a shadow,
22:17 the one that is a sign between us and our creator,
22:21 the one establish at the end of creation week
22:23 on the seventh day when God himself
22:26 sees from His labor, right.
22:29 Good, good! There is a question from how,
22:34 and he is asking here
22:39 in Daniel 9 verse 2,
22:43 it is Daniel referring to Jeremiah.
22:46 Jesus refers us to Daniel.
22:48 I'm just curious what part or prophecy in Jeremiah
22:52 is Daniel using for reference.
22:55 And so anyway so, you know,
22:57 most of the many of the prophecies spoken of
23:00 in the Bible go back to, or New Testament
23:03 go back to Old Testament prophets.
23:04 Right, that's right.
23:05 And Jesus often refers back to Daniel,
23:08 well Daniel also will refer to some
23:11 of his contemporary prophets as well.
23:14 And he referred to Jeremiah
23:16 and so let's look at Daniel 9 verse 2.
23:24 Okay, let's go to, if you have your Bible go with us
23:26 to Daniel 9 and verse 2 and follow along in this reference.
23:31 I will read verse 1 as well,
23:32 In the first year of Darius the son of Ahasuerus,
23:36 of the lineage of the Medes,
23:38 who was made king over the realm of the Chaldeans,
23:42 in the first year of his reign I, Daniel,
23:45 understood by the books the number of the years
23:48 specified by the word of the Lord
23:50 through Jeremiah the prophet,
23:52 that he would accomplish seventy years
23:54 in the desolations of Jerusalem.
23:58 So if you take a look at this word 70,
24:03 in fact you can do it easy word search.
24:05 I'm just doing it right now,
24:06 I'm popping into my computer and go to the book of Jeremiah.
24:10 You will find several references to a prophecy
24:13 that God made through him.
24:15 And there are three cases
24:17 where this prophecy of seventy years comes up,
24:19 Jeremiah 25:11, it says,
24:22 And this whole land shall be a desolation
24:25 and an astonishment, speaking of Israel
24:27 and these nations shall serve
24:29 the king of Babylon seventy years. That's right.
24:33 This is because they play the part of the Harlot,
24:35 they had waked away from their God
24:36 and God was going to allow them to experience captivity
24:40 in Babylon for seventy years.
24:44 Jeremiah 25:12, it's very next verse says,
24:48 'Then it will come to pass,
24:49 when seventy years are completed,
24:50 that I will punish the king of Babylon and that nation,
24:53 the land of the Chaldeans, for their iniquity,'
24:56 says the Lord, 'and I will make it a perpetual desolation.
25:00 So what happens after the seventy years
25:01 then it's not only does He punish Babylon,
25:04 but He also will restore Jerusalem,
25:07 the people back in the city of Jerusalem.
25:10 First is the rebuilding of temple,
25:12 then next you have the rebuilding
25:13 of the city and then its walls.
25:15 Those descriptions of how that happened
25:18 are found in Ezra and Nehemiah.
25:20 So you can go back to those books for that reference.
25:23 Jeremiah 29:10, it says, For thus says the Lord,
25:26 After seventy years are completed at Babylon,
25:29 I will visit you and perform My good word toward you,
25:32 and cause you to return to this place.
25:35 A reference to returning to the place of Jerusalem.
25:38 So John, Jeremiah does refer to the seventy years
25:40 several times in the context of captivity in Babylon.
25:44 But it doesn't leave them for ever,
25:45 He brings them back to the land of Jerusalem
25:49 to rebuild the temple and the city and its walls. Okay.
25:53 So that's the reference that Daniel is referring
25:57 or that he is using for Jeremiah.
25:59 All right, well I think what I'm gonna do is,
26:01 we are gonna stop our questions here because,
26:03 there is lot to cover in this program.
26:05 We are gonna be talking about the topic
26:07 that we have never covered before.
26:09 This is the first of it's kind, and we're gonna
26:12 try to cover as much as we could within the time
26:14 that we have remaining.
26:15 However if you have any questions and comments
26:17 you would like to send to us here at House Calls,
26:19 send those questions and comments
26:20 to housecalls@3abn.org that's housecalls@3abn.org.
26:25 And we will do our diligence to go ahead
26:28 and download those questions and respond to you
26:29 as quickly and as accurately as we possibly can.
26:33 Sometimes you will find that the answer
26:36 was not to your satisfaction,
26:37 resubmit that maybe in the form of an additional question.
26:40 So that we can make it very clear,
26:42 because our goal is to make sure that
26:44 when we finish the program,
26:46 you've heard from the Lord and heard from His word.
26:50 Now I want you to open with me to the book of Mark Chapter 4.
26:54 We are going to be talking about the topic of fear, fear!
26:59 John, I noticed that we are right now
27:01 in one of the more fearful environments of human history.
27:11 There are uprisings all over the world.
27:15 There are contentions in the Middle East.
27:18 There are protests in the Midwest.
27:21 There is fear when it comes to the budget of our country.
27:26 There is fear on the real estate market.
27:29 There is fear in the job market.
27:32 There is fear in the family.
27:34 There is fear between parents and children.
27:38 We are living in an atmosphere of fear.
27:42 And I thought that will be encouraging to begin this topic
27:46 with a very important, what I would refer to as
27:51 reiteration that when Jesus said, fear not,
27:56 or let not your hearts be troubled.
27:59 There is a particular reason, but,
28:02 what I want to begin with and I told you
28:03 to turn to the book of Mark,
28:04 but we are gonna go to a story
28:06 in which this encapsulates or sets up for us
28:09 a particular picture as to why the world is so fearful today.
28:14 But, I want you to first begin with the text
28:16 that uses the word fear a number of times.
28:19 And as a matter fact,
28:20 this is one of the only passages in the Bible
28:23 where the word fear shows up four times.
28:25 It's only one passage 1 John 4 verse 18
28:29 and I will have you read that for us John.
28:31 And when you get to the word fear,
28:33 put a little bit more emphasis on it,
28:36 because it's a very important passage.
28:38 First John 4 and verse 18, listen what John has to say.
28:42 There is no fear in love,
28:45 but perfect love casts out fear,
28:48 because fear involves torment.
28:51 But he who fears has not been made perfect in love.
28:54 Okay, notice that.
28:56 Fear in love, there is no fear in love,
29:00 perfect love casts out fear, getting rid of it.
29:03 Fear is something of torment,
29:05 because those who fear don't understand
29:07 what God's love is all about.
29:09 Very, very important, it brakes it down,
29:11 so if you love God, the beginning
29:13 and the end of the text says, if you love God,
29:15 then you don't have anything to fear about.
29:18 Because you know that text that we often repeat John
29:20 in Romans 8 verse 28 it says,
29:24 And we know that all things work together
29:27 for good to those who love God,
29:29 and to those who are the called according to His purpose.
29:34 Romans 8 verse 28, that's the text that we often refer to,
29:37 but I want you to go back with me now.
29:39 And John, we want to pull out some of the text in the Bible,
29:42 Old Testament and New Testament alike
29:45 that show us what fear is all about it.
29:48 And it actually uses in those text itself,
29:51 the very word fear, or fearful, or fear not.
29:55 We are gonna look at those and you will be amazed
29:58 that they are so many in the Bible.
30:00 As a matter fact, let me just see
30:02 if I can get a glimpse of this...
30:04 I did a quick here, hope I did the same thing on another,
30:07 on the word fear, but I did a quick search on
30:11 do not be afraid, okay.
30:13 And those consecutive words 50 times in the Bible.
30:16 Wow! Admonishing us do not be afraid,
30:20 I'm with you peace be you, be with you.
30:23 I'm here, do not be afraid.
30:25 It's like continually saying to His people,
30:28 I know you have fear,
30:29 but I don't want you to have fear.
30:31 And that is something that's difficult
30:32 when you think about it now.
30:33 Let's go and emphasizes again the reason for
30:35 the motivation behind this program
30:39 came to over the fact that you look
30:41 at the statistics in the job market.
30:43 I mean hundreds of thousands of jobs
30:45 being lost every month.
30:46 And economy where major businesses
30:49 that have establish themselves for so long
30:51 are being sold or liquidating the inventory
30:55 or just closing their doors and we drive through
30:59 our local town here and stores that were once
31:01 open are just big and empty.
31:04 And you ask yourself the question,
31:06 what's happening to the goods and services here in America?
31:09 What's happening to the markets around the world?
31:11 Why is there fear in Egypt and now in Libya
31:15 and other nations that are really tormented
31:18 by things that have been developing
31:20 for many, many years?
31:21 Well the atmosphere that we invite now,
31:23 there is a lot of that focuses on the story
31:27 that I'm gonna read to you right now in Mark Chapter 4
31:30 and go there with me, I'm gonna begin with verse 35,
31:33 this a wonderful parallel.
31:36 To the fact that we don't really need to fear
31:41 if we knew that Jesus is with us.
31:43 I will read verse 35.
31:44 And remember this is the setting of,
31:47 this is Jesus had just finish another day
31:50 of establishing many, many parables
31:54 that were obviously signs that,
31:56 were obviously little object lessons
31:58 that we are not fully understood by the multitudes,
32:01 but He explained them clearly to His disciples,
32:04 so they should know that there is no reason for us to fear.
32:08 But He is now done, the day is winding down
32:11 and He invites His disciples to go to the other side
32:14 with him on the boat.
32:15 In verse 35 starts, On the same day,
32:17 when evening had come, He said to them,
32:20 "Let us cross over to the other side."
32:22 Now when they had left the multitude,
32:25 they took Him along in the boat as He was.
32:29 That's usually be the case,
32:30 we have to accept Jesus as He is, can't change Him.
32:34 And it says, And other little boats were also with Him.
32:38 And a great windstorm arose,
32:41 and the waves beat into the boat,
32:43 so that it was already filling.
32:45 But He was in the stern, asleep on a pillow.
32:49 And they awoke Him and said to Him,
32:50 "Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?"
32:54 And then verse 39, Then He arose and rebuked the wind,
32:59 and said to the sea, "Peace, be still!"
33:01 And the wind ceased and there was a great calm, great calm.
33:06 But He said to them, and here is the focal point of the story
33:09 "Why are you so fearful?
33:12 How is it that you have no faith?"
33:15 And this is what amazes me John.
33:17 And they feared exceedingly,
33:20 you know, what is amazing about this,
33:21 they are fearful of the storm, He calms the storm,
33:24 He says what you are afraid of.
33:25 And now they are even more fearful
33:26 than they were in the storm and here is the reason.
33:30 And they set to one and another,
33:31 "Who can this be, that even the wind
33:33 and the sea obey Him!"
33:35 Well, first of all I want to say,
33:36 I'm so glad that in times of fear,
33:39 Jesus can calm the winds, settle the storms in our lives.
33:44 And what will happen is it's not just a calm,
33:48 but a great calm followed the spoken word of Jesus.
33:54 He spoke to the wind, and in your life
33:56 he can speak to the wind.
33:57 In your life he can speak to the waves.
33:59 He can say peace be still.
34:01 But what's amazing about that whole story is this.
34:05 In the middle of the storm what was Jesus doing?
34:10 According to the scriptures the Bible says
34:11 He was asleep on a pillow in the stern of the ship
34:16 almost seeming as though He was complacent
34:19 not caring about what the outcome
34:20 was going to be for His disciples.
34:22 But the reality of it is, He knows that no matter
34:26 how fearful the climate,
34:29 He is still in control of the winds and waves
34:32 and the obstacles and the incidences in our lives.
34:36 And what do you want to register on that John,
34:39 because it's truly amazing story.
34:41 There is also a connection in the story to the winds
34:45 that are coming against or will come against God's people,
34:47 in the last days.
34:49 There is another reference to a story
34:51 where Jesus has just finished feeding the 5,000
34:54 and He sends them out in the boat,
34:56 but He doesn't come with them this time.
34:57 That's right. He stays on the land
34:58 and He prays that they might have faith
35:01 and they might have strength,
35:02 because it's almost like if you look at the story
35:05 it's a deliberant intentional sending of the disciples
35:09 out to experience the winds.
35:12 To experience the difficulties
35:15 and the trails that come upon the sea there
35:19 indicative of the trails that come up on us
35:22 at the end of time, God's last day church.
35:25 And so, Jesus here sends them out,
35:29 the winds it says begin the blow
35:32 and here He comes to them walking on the sea
35:35 and that's the occasion where Peter when He sees Him,
35:38 after they first of all afraid and think He is a ghost.
35:40 Peter says Lord let me come out
35:42 and he goes out thinking
35:43 he can stand in his own power,
35:45 he sinks into water and Jesus which is down and saves him.
35:49 But, the whole thing there is just wonderful
35:54 and Jesus is teaching us a lesson even while
35:56 we are experiencing fearful things
35:59 that we don't need to be fearful.
36:02 From the mere fact that Jesus is always with us.
36:06 And I think that's your point is that
36:08 when Jesus is with us in the boat,
36:11 or when He comes to us
36:13 or we feel in the boat by ourselves,
36:16 we don't have anything to fear.
36:18 And so that's one of the first thing
36:19 that Jesus says when He comes to them is,
36:21 don't be afraid why are you fearing.
36:25 And I have to ask myself John and you go through this too,
36:28 the first thing we are inclined to do,
36:30 when we are facing a challenge is fear.
36:31 That's right. That's the first thing
36:33 the devil tries to get us to do.
36:35 But fear when we get into that mode is opposite
36:38 of what God wants us to do.
36:40 Jesus wants us not to be afraid to put our trust in Him,
36:43 and so these are great stories today.
36:45 The subject is great today to remind people.
36:47 Stay with God, go back to Him.
36:49 Let Him know what your fears are,
36:51 He will take them away, He will give a peace.
36:52 That's right. And this is so important
36:56 because there are many of us
36:58 that are gonna go through things that are gonna shake
37:00 the very foundation that we're on.
37:02 Revelation 2:10, we have to look beyond
37:06 the present movement to down the road,
37:11 whether it's gonna be next week,
37:13 next month and in some cases, next year.
37:15 I think of when I first got injured,
37:18 my throat injury a couple of years ago.
37:21 And I was so fearful because it was such a severe injury,
37:24 that doctor said to me, you know,
37:26 had that happened, had this been quarter
37:29 or half an inch further from the spot that it's now,
37:32 you may never have been able to sing again.
37:36 And for person that sings, that was a fearful thing
37:39 and I was just humbled by the idea that God protected me
37:46 from something that was worst in its scope.
37:50 When I think about what could have happened
37:51 as compare to what it happened.
37:53 And then the doctor said to me John,
37:56 he says your healing process could be as much as 18 months.
38:01 Translated in my mind, you won't be able
38:03 to sing again till 18 months are gone.
38:06 And God in a beautiful way was able to allow me to sing,
38:10 more and more and more as the healing process continue.
38:12 So the second thing I would say in that is
38:15 when God is preparing for your deliverance.
38:17 Don't forget that God is also in the fire,
38:20 in the furnace with you.
38:21 Delivering the Hebrews from the fire,
38:23 God delivers us from the things that we will face.
38:25 And so Revelation 2:10, notice what the Lord says.
38:29 And He says this to His people,
38:31 Do not fear any of those things which you are about to suffer.
38:36 Indeed, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison,
38:39 that you may be tested,
38:41 and you will have tribulation ten days.
38:44 But be faithful unto death,
38:45 and I will give you the crown of life.
38:49 So when you think about that,
38:51 the things we face are not the sum total
38:56 of all the experiences of our lives,
38:58 but they are speed bumps that cause us to slow down
39:01 and take inventory of where we are now walk with God,
39:04 because it doesn't develop character in fearful times,
39:07 it reveals what kind of character we have.
39:09 So, it says if you are really fearful, groping and crying
39:13 and wondering where God is.
39:15 It could mean that you don't have
39:17 a connected relationship with Him,
39:19 outside of those trials and tribulations.
39:21 Now I can hear people in their response
39:25 to what we are saying here.
39:27 I can hear them saying,
39:29 but we're commanded to fear God and give glory to Him.
39:33 And so I think we need to recognize here
39:35 that there are several uses although the same word fear,
39:38 there are several uses of this word that are positive.
39:43 That's true. Are negative, and so in looking
39:47 at that text from Revelation 14 verse 7,
39:50 A cry from this angel the First Angel's Message it says,
39:54 ''Fear God and give glory to Him,
39:56 for the hour of His judgment has come."
39:57 You will find that often the positive sign,
40:01 the positive aspect of fear,
40:02 the one things God wants us
40:03 to have it's an issue of respect.
40:05 It's an issue of understanding that God is ultimately our judge
40:10 and that He will render a decision at the end of time
40:13 for the saints and against the wicked.
40:16 So this fear is... it's a motivating factor
40:20 in helping us to side with God,
40:22 to stay close to God and to respect Him
40:25 and to order our life in harmony with His ways
40:27 because of it is a fearful thing, one verse says,
40:31 to fall into the hands of living God.
40:32 That's true. So there is a healthy fear,
40:35 but they are shaking fearful aspect
40:38 of that is what God wants to take away from us,
40:40 when we are in a relationship with Him.
40:42 It's almost like, if you are not in a relationship with Jesus,
40:45 you have something to fear.
40:47 If you are in a relationship with Jesus,
40:48 you don't have anything to fear,
40:50 because you already are fearing Him,
40:52 in the way that He wants you to a helpful way.
40:54 That's right. So that make sense.
40:56 I understand what you are saying,
40:57 you are fearing Him.
40:58 In other words the word there fear,
41:00 is more amplified, you are giving honor,
41:02 you are giving recognition, you are leaning upon the Lord,
41:05 you are giving homage to Him.
41:06 So the fear is removed.
41:08 One of the examples I find in scriptures is Hebrews 11:27.
41:13 When God was leading the children of Israel out of Egypt,
41:16 Pharaoh was continually resisting any advancement
41:18 that they would make.
41:19 And there are many of you that are in circumstances
41:22 where your advancement is at a threat.
41:24 Somebody maybe blocking your job.
41:26 There maybe a lack of advancement
41:28 in your relationships.
41:30 But the reason why you don't push
41:31 to change your circumstances
41:34 because you fear what men can do to you.
41:36 And you want to remember that example in the Bible
41:39 first of all in Hebrews 11 verse 27.
41:44 It speaks about who we should fear
41:46 more than our circumstances.
41:49 And says by faith he forsook Egypt.
41:52 Not fearing the wrath of the King,
41:54 so when Moses left Egypt, he was not fearful about
41:58 what Pharaoh could do to him.
41:59 He knew that God had opened the door for him to go forward
42:01 and he feared less about what was gonna happen
42:04 when God opened the doors of opportunity.
42:06 So it says, not fearing the wrath of the king,
42:09 for he endured as seeing Him who is invisible.
42:12 He didn't see the end result and he didn't even see the one
42:16 who was offering him the protection that he needed.
42:18 But, I want to add one more verse
42:19 before I throw it back over to you John.
42:21 Hebrews 13 in verse 6, So we may boldly say,
42:25 "The Lord is my helper, I will not fear.
42:29 What can man do to me?"
42:30 I mean it's really the question,
42:32 what can man do to us?
42:33 Well, the most they could do us is threaten us,
42:37 or in the extreme sense take our lives,
42:41 but the Lord when we read that text
42:43 in Revelation 2 in verse 20
42:45 He says you will have tribulation,
42:47 but be faithful unto death
42:48 and I will give you the crown of life.
42:50 So the fear that man brings to us,
42:53 is nothing compared to the blessings that God brings to us.
42:59 That's right, you know, it says in Psalm 27:3,
43:02 Though an army may in camp against me,
43:05 my heart shall not fear,
43:08 though war may rise up against me,
43:10 in this I will be confident.
43:13 And who is he confident in? Confident in the Lord.
43:15 In his God. That's right.
43:17 His God will protect him and will watch over him.
43:21 And so over and over again we find that
43:23 we have confidence in Christ,
43:24 that as long as we are aligned with Him.
43:26 As long as we are fearing Him in a respectful way
43:28 and a relationship with Him is firmly established,
43:30 we have nothing to fear around us.
43:32 Probably, John one of the most popular,
43:34 one of the most common talked about passages of the Bible
43:39 with regard to fear doesn't even have the word fear in it.
43:42 Okay, which one is it?
43:44 It's found in Matthew Chapter 6.
43:46 All right let's go there, Matthew 6 and what verse?
43:48 Matthew 6, it says in verse,
43:56 let's start with verse 26.
43:58 All right. No, it's even before that, 25.
44:02 All right verse 25. Therefore I say to you,
44:04 do not worry about your life,
44:06 what you will eat or what you will drink,
44:08 nor about your body, what you will put on.
44:10 Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing?
44:14 Look at the birds of the air,
44:15 for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns,
44:18 yet your heavenly Father feeds them.
44:20 Are you not of more value than they?
44:22 That's right. Which of you by worrying
44:24 can add one cubit to his stature?
44:27 So why do you worry about clothing?
44:29 Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow,
44:31 they neither toil nor spin, and yet I say to you
44:33 that even Solomon in all his glory
44:35 was not arrayed like one of these.
44:37 Now if God so clothes the grass of the field,
44:40 which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven,
44:43 will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?
44:46 Therefore do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?'
44:50 or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?'
44:52 For after all these things the Gentiles seek.
44:55 For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things.
44:58 But seek first the kingdom of God in His righteousness,
45:02 and all these things shall be added to you.
45:05 And then he ends, Therefore do not worry about tomorrow,
45:09 for tomorrow will worry about its own things.
45:12 Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.
45:16 Not once does it say fear, but we know worry is based on
45:20 fear of tomorrow, fear of things around us,
45:23 fear of circumstances.
45:24 God says clearly Jesus is saying don't fear,
45:27 don't worry about these things.
45:29 Sometimes fear can be removed by simply doing
45:33 what you know is necessary,
45:35 I know that in this fearful climate,
45:38 there are some individuals that had been
45:39 going through conventionary measures,
45:41 traditional measures to find a job,
45:44 to establish a business,
45:46 they go through conventional measures.
45:47 But there are those individuals that rise above so to speak
45:51 they think out of the box, and they say okay,
45:53 well since the conventional way is not working.
45:55 Let me be creative, let me think differently,
45:59 let that is in regards to gaining an income,
46:04 doing something different to really establish
46:07 and sustain themselves through difficult times.
46:10 But if you sit down and just say, oh what's gonna happen.
46:14 Nobody wants to hire me.
46:16 My house is going through foreclosure.
46:19 All the things that I have saved up,
46:21 I don't have any place to put my things
46:22 and I'm gonna be put out of my house
46:23 and about two hours or two weeks or two months.
46:26 And then this becomes an internalizing cancer
46:31 that eats the person up.
46:32 But when you go back to what you just read here John,
46:34 this is great food, God is saying
46:37 have you ever seen any birds
46:39 in front of your window protesting?
46:42 Well, they do protest in front of my window,
46:44 I must say that, because my wife and I love to feed them.
46:47 And whenever we forget to put their feed out there,
46:50 they dive into the windows and where they chirp
46:52 and chirp and the squirrel we feed them too.
46:54 And when we forget to do that,
46:56 they stand on the railing and they wag their tails.
46:59 But what that says to me, in the way that God provides
47:02 for their needs through nature, God provides for our need,
47:06 through His resources that will never be languished,
47:09 that will never be dried-up.
47:10 And so the fear factor so to speak,
47:14 is a good way of thinking about the sermon,
47:17 but I want to also point out
47:19 is something very, very important.
47:21 If you are going through fear
47:22 the question is where did it come from?
47:26 And more particularly if you are a Christian remember,
47:29 there is not also, there is not just the spirit of depression,
47:32 there is not the spirit of anxiety,
47:35 they are not just evil spirits,
47:36 but there is the spirit of fear.
47:40 There is the spirit of prophecy, but there is a spirit of fear.
47:44 Now this is not saying like a Holy Spirit of fear
47:47 or some inspired spirit of fear,
47:49 it simply saying there, there are those of us
47:52 who operate in the mode of fear
47:54 and we have the spirit about us,
47:56 but it didn't come from God.
47:58 Second Timothy 1 verse 7, For God has not given us
48:01 a spirit of fear, but of power and of love
48:05 and of a sound mind.
48:08 So when Noah heard that the flood was coming,
48:10 the Bible says he moved with godly fear.
48:15 He did something that seemed completely irrational
48:19 and to those who are the onlookers,
48:22 it's seemed as though what he was doing
48:24 had no warranted foundation of relevance.
48:28 But he moved with godly fear.
48:30 In other words, God has not given us
48:32 the spirit to cause us to be fearful.
48:34 But if we trust God and rely on Him more,
48:37 the things that we do are based on godly fear.
48:40 It's coming, God has warned me
48:41 there is something that I need to do.
48:45 Great, you know, there is...
48:49 Okay I can think of some of the passages where,
48:53 it's not just the command to fear God in a way
48:55 that we respect Him.
48:56 There is a command that
48:57 God should be feared in certain ways.
49:01 And the command seems to be centered on the wicked.
49:06 Oh, yes. Not the righteous,
49:08 the righteous do not have anything to be afraid off.
49:12 But, the wicked have something to be afraid off,
49:16 and what they fear is judgment
49:20 and I'm trying to find the text here.
49:23 While you are looking for that, I'm gonna read...
49:25 Okay, go ahead, you bring one up.
49:26 In Hosea, on the flip side of the blessings
49:32 not coming into our lives, sometimes it happens
49:35 because we do not fear the Lord.
49:38 The Bible says the fear of the Lord
49:40 is the beginning of wisdom.
49:42 It doesn't mean, like the three shaky characters
49:49 in the Wizard of Oz.
49:51 But, it means because we do not consider
49:55 that the wisdom that we get from a God
49:58 who thinks nothing but good for us.
50:00 If we don't consider that He is the way,
50:03 He is the director, He is the foundation,
50:05 He is the source of all of our blessings
50:07 and we choose not to fear Him.
50:09 Then what happens is then we end up living
50:12 in fear of the Lord.
50:14 You see, we choose the fear of the Lord.
50:18 We choose the way of the Lord.
50:20 But you'll find that all the reasons why
50:23 Israel often have difficulty in their walk with God
50:25 is they did not fear the Lord.
50:28 In Hosea 10 in verse 3 talks about that particular station
50:33 that Israel was in the near past.
50:34 Yeah, and they did have something to fear
50:37 when they were in that state.
50:39 You know, this issues of God is not to be feared,
50:45 that we should just be, oh, you know,
50:47 He is so gracious, He is so lovingly.
50:49 We don't anything to worry about.
50:50 Once we accept Jesus there is no accountability,
50:53 that's the word, there is accountability for our actions
50:56 from that point on.
50:57 It's just mistaken and I'm reading now
50:59 from Hebrews Chapter 10 verses 26 and 27.
51:02 Okay, let's go there.
51:03 Let's think how an appropriate fear kind of comes into it,
51:05 because the writer of Hebrews very clear here on that
51:09 fear does have a part to play in making us accountable to God.
51:13 Verse 26, "For if we sin willfully
51:17 after we have received the knowledge of the truth,
51:20 there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins.
51:23 In other words once we come into the truth,
51:24 we accept Jesus as our Savior.
51:26 But then we continue to practice the old way of life,
51:29 to practice the sins that we, that He has delivered us from.
51:33 Then it says there is no longer remains
51:35 the sacrifice for those sins.
51:37 In other words Christ death on the cross
51:40 does not benefit us any longer.
51:42 That's right. Now look at verse 27.
51:44 "But what happens, a certain fearful expectation of judgment,
51:49 and fiery indignation which will devour the adversaries."
51:53 So this is what remains in front of us
51:56 and this judgment becomes fearful only
51:59 when you are not living in harmony with God's ways.
52:05 And so when someone says, do I,
52:06 should I fear the judgment?
52:07 Yes if you are the wicked.
52:09 No, if you are trusting in Christ,
52:11 because Jesus by His own merits, by His own life,
52:15 who He has given to you as He exchange them for your sins,
52:19 stands before the judgment seat in perfection.
52:22 Your sins are not coming up for judgment,
52:25 that is a good thing.
52:27 That's what in Christ we should not fear the judgment.
52:31 But notice here what Jesus says about the same event,
52:36 the certain fiery indignation that we should fear
52:39 if there we are not walking in God's ways.
52:42 Matthew 10:28 says do not fear those who kill the body,
52:46 but cannot kill the soul.
52:49 In another words they can take your life,
52:52 they can end it, but when it comes to your soul.
52:55 When Jesus comes back in the resurrection to raise you up,
52:58 you will live forever with Him.
53:00 That's right. Your soul is preserved, right.
53:02 Okay, this isn't a separate soul from the body,
53:03 this is just the essence of who you are.
53:05 Thank you. And then go on it says,
53:08 But rather fear Him,
53:10 speaking of His Father who is able to destroy
53:14 both soul and body in hell.
53:16 Oh, good text.
53:18 So, this is something we should fear,
53:20 and the only one that can destroy soul and body,
53:23 in other words there is no more at all.
53:26 There is no more coming back.
53:27 There is no more coming back beyond that, is God Himself.
53:32 So when we talk about, we shouldn't fear.
53:35 Let's put this in proper context.
53:37 Those who are following Christ have no reason to fear,
53:40 but those who are not God is wooing them
53:43 and drawing them to hear to Him.
53:45 But as long as they resist Him and the closer
53:47 they get to the end of time,
53:50 they do have something to fear by rejecting His extension,
53:54 His offer for salvation.
53:56 That's right, and so this passage
53:58 and I want to reiterate what you just read a moment ago.
54:02 We should fear the one who was able to destroy
54:04 both body and soul, completely wipe us out of existence.
54:09 But I want to continue with verse 29,
54:11 because this is a very wonderful passage
54:13 in Matthew Chapter 10, because you find this
54:15 very theme continuing.
54:17 You find this very theme continuing
54:19 in the sense of provision now.
54:21 It says, Are not two sparrows sold for a copper coin?
54:25 And not one of them falls to the ground apart
54:29 from the Father's will.
54:31 But the very hairs of your head are all numbered.
54:35 That's great. Do not fear...Do not fear.
54:39 Do not fear, yeah, therefore, good emphasis
54:43 you are more valuable than many sparrows.
54:48 Isn't that wonderful?
54:49 And He is talking to His children,
54:50 He is talking to His brothers and sisters but God's children,
54:53 right, do not fear.
54:54 So what you are fearful off.
54:56 There is not a sparrow that falls to the aground
54:58 that the Father doesn't notice.
54:59 And, you know, what, I know what that's like,
55:01 John in the backyard, it's really funny.
55:04 People come to my house and they say,
55:06 why do have blue tape on your widows?
55:08 Well, there is a reflection that comes off our lake
55:11 in the backyard, and it reflects on the window
55:14 and it brightens up and the sparrows
55:15 and the bird's think that it's another outside
55:19 they see the window and they think that
55:20 by flying into the window they are sill outside
55:23 and I went outside a number of occasions
55:25 and found birds I heard the bang
55:27 and I saw them laying on the ground
55:29 struggling for their lives.
55:31 A number of cases ended tragically
55:34 but on the other side of that when they felt to the ground,
55:37 I noticed it and I went out one day
55:39 I picked up a little small gray and black sparrow
55:41 and picked him up he was upside down,
55:43 his wings were both out and he had blood
55:44 coming out of side of his mouth.
55:46 I don't want to be gruesome, this has a very good ending.
55:48 And I picked him up and I put a red towel
55:50 on the table in my backyard,
55:52 I got a small little saucer of water,
55:54 small enough for him to put his face in,
55:56 and I just started just touching his mouth,
55:58 so he can sense there was water nearby
56:00 and he began to drink it.
56:01 And I close my eyes, my wife said, what are you doing?
56:03 And I said I'm praying, I'm praying.
56:05 She said, what are you praying for?
56:06 And I said I'm praying God don't let this one die,
56:10 because I had seen sometimes I miss them
56:12 and I've saw them, seen the birds die.
56:14 And then I put a little bit, put little handful of bird seeds
56:19 and put it in my hand and I had my hand around him.
56:22 In most cases they get fearful.
56:25 But, I had my hand to warm him up,
56:27 and as I close my eyes and pray,
56:30 then I put him down on the cloth
56:31 and at that point he stood up I turn my back
56:34 and as I turn back to look and see what happen,
56:36 he flew away.
56:38 And I said, oh thank you Lord,
56:40 this sparrow got your notice when he fell to the ground,
56:44 you got my notice and together,
56:47 this sparrow flow away.
56:48 And friends that's what God is like,
56:50 He doesn't look at us and stay apart from us
56:53 in a time of fear, He provides our needs.
56:56 That is wonderful.
56:57 What a great analogy of what God actually does for us.
57:00 That's right. He sees that we've run into a wall.
57:02 We have fallen, but He has picked us up
57:05 and He said I will not let this one die.
57:08 And He has died in our place, so that we might have life.
57:11 That's right, you know, the Lord says to all of us
57:13 in these fearful time, fear not for I'm with you,
57:16 be not dismay, I'll uphold you,
57:19 I'll up hold you with my righteous right arm.
57:21 Whatever the case maybe, don't settle for fear.
57:26 Choose God instead and you will find that
57:28 as He has done in the past,
57:30 He will do for you in the future.
57:31 God bless you until we see you again
57:33 and have a great day in Christ.


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Revised 2014-12-17