We are going to concentrate today on the first part of Verse seven. “For God did not give you a spirit of fear.” As we have been talking about passion I want you to realize that fear is the enemy of passion. My favorite part of camp has always been the fire, it doesn't matter if we are just chilling out staring into the fire, singing around it, telling stories, or playing cards, the fire is hands down my favorite part of camping. When we teach our staff how to build fires we tell them there are three things necessary to have a fire: fuel (generally in our case wood), oxygen, and a chemical reaction. This is important for two reasons if you want to build a fire you need to think about how those three components work together, it is also important so that when you are trying to put out the fire you know all you have to do is eliminate one of those three elements. So we stop feeding the fire wood, and we dump water on most of the time to suffocate the fire, or “drown it out.” Some fire extinguishers actually function using the third method of stopping the chemical reaction from happening. That's kind of what fear does. If you remember last week we noted that Paul literally told Timothy to make the fire alive again in him concerning the Gift God had given to him. That fire is fueled with passion, reacting with the breath of the Spirit, and what fear does is it stops the reaction from taking place. You may have the passion there just wanting to burst into flame, and you maybe filled with the Spirit, but if you let it fear will prevent any reaction, any fire from ever happening.
When I was younger I struggled with verses like this one that talk about how God has not given us a Spirit of fear, because I needed in my own mind to be able to reconcile what this verse is saying with the idea that the Fear of God is the beginning of all wisdom. The difference between the fear of God and the fear mentioned here in Timothy is a subtle difference. The fear of God is a healthy realization that God is bigger than you and me. The fear of God spurs us into action, and obedience. The fear mentioned here in Timothy can also be translated as timidity, or cowardice. It is a fear that prevents action, a fear that disables you. Can any of you relate to a fear like that? Many people can,
There is a large amount of people who are afraid of being inadequate or unprepared. My theatre dream is a fear of being unprepared. In this fear you get paralyzed because you do not feel like you are good enough or you just aren't ready. I remember when I was first called into the ministry I had many arguments with God over this, I did not feel I read enough of my Bible at the time to be a minister. Ministers are suppose to know everything about the Bible backwards and forwards, to be honest I still don't know everything about the Bible backwards and forwards, and I don't think I ever will. I honestly have not met an individual who does, in fact the men I have met who seem to know the most are still reading and studying and still learning. Are you afraid that you are inadequate or unprepared for the things God has given you a passion for, for the things God has called you to do? You know you are in good company. Back in Exodus 3 when God called Moses, Moses had a slew of excuses why he was not adequate: “who am I”, “what shall I say”. “suppose they will not believe me”, “I am not eloquant”, “I am slow of speech”, “and slow of tongue”, “O my Lord, please send by the hand of whomever else You may send.” Moses had a fear of inadequacy.
The reality is that you are inadequate. I am inadequate. Just like Moses, just like Paul.
1 cor 1:27-29 “But God has
chosen the foolish things of the world to put
to shame the wise, and
God has chosen the weak things of the world to
put to shame the
things which are mighty; and the base things of the
world and the
things which are despised God has chosen, and the things
which are
not, to bring to nothing the things that are, that no flesh should
glory in His presence.”
for My strength is made perfect in weakness.' Therefore most
gladly I
will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of
Christ may rest upon
me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in
reproaches, in needs, in
persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s
sake. For when I am weak, then I
am strong.”
Think about this in Numbers 22 God uses a donkey to get through to Balem. If God can use a donkey don't you think He can use you? If you attempt to do whatever God has called you to do in your own strength you will surely fail. But God has not called you to do anything in your own strength, but calls us to allow our passion to be ignited with the breath of the Spirit and set on fire. Philippians 4:13 tells us “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” So we have no need to fear being inadequate. This does not mean that you should not study or work hard at getting better, becoming more prepared having a stronger faith, because we are called to grow. It just means that you should not allow the fear of being inadequate prevent you from doing what God has called you to do. There is an old saying that God does not call the qualified, but that he qualifies the called. So if God is calling you to it, do it.
Some people are stopped by the fear of failure. This is similar to the fear of inadequacy, but takes it a step further. Not only do I feel like I might not be good enough but I am afraid that I am going to failure. We live in a society where failure just not seem like an option. We constantly here of the sports that don't keep score so that no one loses, no one fails. The reality is that we teach kids that failing is not acceptable and we create this fear of failure. In case no one has ever told you it is ok to fail. You know what it means if you failed, it means that you are out there doing it. Thomas edison when attempting to create the light bulb had like 10,000 failed attempts, and his response was “I have not failed, I just found 10,000 ways that won't work.” The great Bob Dylan said “There is no success like failure.”
Sometimes we win more through failure than we do in success. Sometimes the perceived goal is not the actual goal. When Sara and I went to our first church, I thought we had gone there to revitalize a dying church. I was all excited about breathing new life into that church. In the end when God called us away from there it kind of felt like I had failed to some extent. The church had rejected the word God had given me to preach. They had rejected the Word and they had rejected me and all the ideas I had for the church. After we had left I had asked God why? Why did you send me there if they were just going to reject it, was it to give them one last chance to turn? Why? God said, “I didn't send you there to revitalize a dying church, I sent you there for her, and for him, for that family that came to the children's ministry you started there.” Sometimes what we think is the goal is just the means God has for us to reach the actual goal He has set.
The reality is if we do what God has called us to do we can not fail. Isa 55:11 “So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; It shall not return to Me void, But it shall accomplish what I please, And it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.” In fact the only way to fail is by not trying, and if you don't try you will fail 100% of the time. In Isa 41:13 God gives us a promise “For I, the Lord your God, will hold your right hand, Saying to you, ‘Fear not, I will help you.’” As we have already seen we can do all things through Christ Jesus. If God is calling you to it, God will see you through it.
Josh1:7-9 says “ Only be strong and very courageous, that you may
observe to do according to all the law which Moses My servant
commanded you; do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left,
that
you may prosper wherever you go. This Book of the Law shall not
depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night,
that
you may observe to do according to all that is written in it.
For then you
will make your way prosperous, and then you will have
good success.
Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good
courage; do not be
afraid, nor be dismayed, for the Lord your God is
with you wherever
you go.”
Some people aren't afraid of being inadequate, or of failure, but of the unknown. The unknown is scary because it could be anything. Many people are complacent where they are and don't want to try because at least the uncomfortableness they know might be better than the one they don't. SO they fear the unknown. This sometimes even includes being successful, which as a christian means being conformed to the image of Christ. 1 John 3:2 “Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.” I have often wondered what will I be like when there is no sin left in me and I have been completely conformed to the image of Christ. I think it was Eric Clapton who asked in a song “would you know my name if I saw you in heave?” I ask will I know me? I admit there is some trepidation there for me.
God often calls us out into the unknown. Could you imagine if Abraham allowed that to stop him when God called him to leave the land of his fathers? Genesis 12:1 “Now the Lord had said to Abram: 'Get out of your country, From your family And from your father’s house, To a land that I will show you.'” Abraham didn't mind stepping out into the unknown because he new and trusted the one calling him out. When Jesus first called the 12 most of the time all He said was “follow me.” They didn't need to know where they were going. God doesn't promise us that we will always know 20 steps ahead, but He does promise us that He will lead us. Josh 3:1-5
God also promises that He will be with us every step of the way
Isa 43:1-2 “But now, thus says the Lord, who created you, O Jacob, And
He who formed you, O Israel: 'Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have
called you by your name; You are Mine. When you pass through the
waters, I will be with you; And through the rivers, they shall not overflow
you. When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned, Nor shall
the flame scorch you.'"
We don't need to fear the unknown
because we know the one has called us to step out into it. All we
have to do is trust in Him, follow His lead, and walk with Him.
This fear is interesting, especially if your fear is hurting, or offending people and turning them off to the cause of Christ. We honestly do more harm than good when we allow this fear to stop us. We turn more people off to Christ by not living out the Christian life that we have been called to than we do by being open ,honest, and loving with our faith. We also do more harm to people by remaining silent than we do by speaking the truth. The key to speaking the truth is doing so in love, and remembering that a quiet answer turns away wrath. It's in how you say it more often than what you say. So we should not be afraid of hurting others or turning them off to the cause of Christ.
We need not fear persecution either. I think of passages like Heb 13:6 which quotes Psalms 118:6 ““The Lord is my helper; I will not fear. What can man do to me?” I also think of Matt 10:28 “And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.” As the disciples said after being thrown in jail for the night ““Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you more than to God, you judge.” Acts 4:19b If I have to choose between pleasing God and pleasing men, I am going to choose pleasing God.
Oh I wish that more people would be willing to become fools for Christ's sake and be willing to face the ridicule. In 2 Sam 6:12-23 we find the account where David wearing only a linen ephod was dancing and rejoicing as they brought The ark of the Lord into the city of Jerusalem. He was exited he was whirling and twirling and leaping just full of joy, and passion for God. When he got home Michal his wife says “How glorious was the king of Israel today, uncovering himself today in the eyes of the maids of his servants, as one of the base fellows shamelessly uncovers himself!” In other words “you shouldn't have done that”, “I don't approve”, “you acted like a stupid fool.” Look at Davids response in
2 Sam 6:21-22 “It was before the Lord, who chose me
instead of your
father and all his house, to appoint me ruler over
the people of the Lord,
over Israel. Therefore I will play music
before the Lord. And I will be
even more undignified than this, and
will be humble in my own sight. But
as for the maidservants of whom
you have spoken, by them I will be held
in honor.”
To paraphrase that he says “look
I dance and play music to honor God for what He has done for me. I
don't care what anyone else thinks as long as He is given the praise,
and those girls and all the people will respect me for that, in fact
they may even glorify God because of it.” You know you can have
the same attitude. If you are willing to be a fool for Jesus, sure
some people will hate on you, but others will respect you, and some
may even come to glorify God because you are a fool for Him.
Our enemy doesn't want that though. No Satan and his legions don't want God to receive the glory. So what do they do, they give us fear. I want to close with this thought. God did not give us a Spirit of fear. Well somebody did because so many people seem to be paralyzed in the cause of Christ because of one fear or another. If God did not give us a Spirit of fear I think it is safe to assume our adversary did. I recently read an article that said people who had conservative beliefs have a larger amygdala than those who have more liberal beliefs. Perhaps that is because the enemy is trying to use fear to stop us from having a reaction with our passion uniting with the Spirit and setting us on fire for God. You don't have to let fear stop you. You can trust in God and step out into the unknown, be ridiculed, be persecuted. As long as you follow God's leading and step out with His strength you can not fail. “For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.” Oh God make us a people on fire for you without fear.
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