Blessed be the
name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. He blessed us with an abundant
weekend of fellowship, worship, and service. One of our teams prepared and
served a meal for the needy this past Saturday. We met for worship Saturday
Evening and for worship services Sunday morning. We also gathered for a
wonderful meal after worship yesterday. It was a homemade lasagna banquet.
Praise the Lord for the way He satisfies us with good things from His own hands.
Our Lord is generous. He is merciful. He is mighty. Many of our people
participated in the Relay for Life this past weekend. Many of our young people
graduated from our local university and from surrounding colleges this past
weekend also. Indeed, it was a weekend of great celebration and
thanksgiving.
I was reflecting my
years in high School, college, and graduate schools. I graduated from high
school in 1964. I became a professional student since graduating from college in
1969, from graduate school in 1969, from another graduate school in 1974 and
from another graduate school in 1975 and from another graduate school in 1977.
After we got married, while I was still a student and becoming a father while
being a student, the Lord propelled me to enter the ministry. It has been a life
of great adventure and blessing. Making it through twelve years of high school,
college and graduate schools involves facing some very real challenges. As we
can all testify, making it through life will include continuous encounters with
challenges that we must meet head-on. But the wonderful thing about confronting
these numerous challenges is that we can face them with the victories the Lord
has already conferred on us.
II Timothy 1:7 The Bible is full of “fear-nots.” But I like this verse because it was written to a young man. Timothy was a young pastor at the church of Ephesus, and the Apostle Paul was his mentor. Paul encouraged Timothy in the first letter to not let others intimidate him because of his youth. Timothy was afraid of being inadequate as a young pastor. He lacked self-confidence. In this second letter to Timothy, Paul reminded Timothy that any cowardice in his life did not come from God’s Spirit. For God did not give us a spirit of fear but of power and love and self-control.
When we trusted Jesus as our Savior, the Holy Spirit of God took up residence in our lives, and provided the continuous comfort that we need to eliminate our fears. With Jesus Christ in control we can face our fears. He gives us the ability to do what life demands, to love when others hate, and to be under control when others throw restraint to the winds.
Max Lucado says, “Fear doesn’t want you to make the journey to the mountain. If he can rattle you enough, fear will persuade you to take your eyes off the peaks and settle for a dull existence in the flatlands.”
Our Lord has not given us a “spirit of fear.” It is His will to move us from fear to confidence. We are called to live courageously and to trust the enabling of God’s Spirit, even when young, inexperienced, and somewhat afraid, to work in and through His people who trust Him at all age levels and at all stages. God can and will use our lives, but we must be willing to face our fears. Saying “Yes” to Jesus Christ on a secular college campus is a courageous thing while facing the fear of being stereotyped. Saying, “Yes” to a godly lifestyle in a difficult job is a courageous thing while facing the fear of ridicule. Saying “No” to the drugs and the parties that we are invited to is a courageous thing and you face the fear of being alone. Staying in a marriage that has hit a dead-end is a courageous thing in facing the fear of life with unfulfilled expectations. in Philippians 3:12, Paul was in prison, chained to a Roman guard, under what were likely very poor conditions when he wrote...] "Not that I have already attained this—that is, I have not already been perfected [made like Christ in every way]—but I strive to lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus also laid hold of me." 3:13-14 "Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself to have attained this. Instead I am single-minded: Forgetting the things that are behind and reaching out for the things that are ahead, with this goal in mind, I strive toward the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Paul makes two implications in this statement. 1. He refuses to allow failures to become destructive in his life. 2. He refuses to allow failures to beset his journey to his goal.
Hebrews 12:1-3 "Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses we must get rid of every weight and the sin that clings so closely, and run with endurance the race set out for us, keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of our faith. For the joy set out for him he endured the cross, disregarding its shame, and has taken his seat at the right hand of the throne of God. Think of him who endured such opposition against himself by sinners, so that you may not grow weary in your souls and give up.
II Timothy 1:7 The Bible is full of “fear-nots.” But I like this verse because it was written to a young man. Timothy was a young pastor at the church of Ephesus, and the Apostle Paul was his mentor. Paul encouraged Timothy in the first letter to not let others intimidate him because of his youth. Timothy was afraid of being inadequate as a young pastor. He lacked self-confidence. In this second letter to Timothy, Paul reminded Timothy that any cowardice in his life did not come from God’s Spirit. For God did not give us a spirit of fear but of power and love and self-control.
When we trusted Jesus as our Savior, the Holy Spirit of God took up residence in our lives, and provided the continuous comfort that we need to eliminate our fears. With Jesus Christ in control we can face our fears. He gives us the ability to do what life demands, to love when others hate, and to be under control when others throw restraint to the winds.
Max Lucado says, “Fear doesn’t want you to make the journey to the mountain. If he can rattle you enough, fear will persuade you to take your eyes off the peaks and settle for a dull existence in the flatlands.”
Our Lord has not given us a “spirit of fear.” It is His will to move us from fear to confidence. We are called to live courageously and to trust the enabling of God’s Spirit, even when young, inexperienced, and somewhat afraid, to work in and through His people who trust Him at all age levels and at all stages. God can and will use our lives, but we must be willing to face our fears. Saying “Yes” to Jesus Christ on a secular college campus is a courageous thing while facing the fear of being stereotyped. Saying, “Yes” to a godly lifestyle in a difficult job is a courageous thing while facing the fear of ridicule. Saying “No” to the drugs and the parties that we are invited to is a courageous thing and you face the fear of being alone. Staying in a marriage that has hit a dead-end is a courageous thing in facing the fear of life with unfulfilled expectations. in Philippians 3:12, Paul was in prison, chained to a Roman guard, under what were likely very poor conditions when he wrote...] "Not that I have already attained this—that is, I have not already been perfected [made like Christ in every way]—but I strive to lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus also laid hold of me." 3:13-14 "Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself to have attained this. Instead I am single-minded: Forgetting the things that are behind and reaching out for the things that are ahead, with this goal in mind, I strive toward the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Paul makes two implications in this statement. 1. He refuses to allow failures to become destructive in his life. 2. He refuses to allow failures to beset his journey to his goal.
Hebrews 12:1-3 "Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses we must get rid of every weight and the sin that clings so closely, and run with endurance the race set out for us, keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of our faith. For the joy set out for him he endured the cross, disregarding its shame, and has taken his seat at the right hand of the throne of God. Think of him who endured such opposition against himself by sinners, so that you may not grow weary in your souls and give up.
May Jesus the
pioneer and the finisher of our faith grant us grace to finish it
well.
In
Christ,
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