WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 –> 00:00:07.160 Now, you’re listening to a sermon from Pastor Colin Smith of Open the Bible. 00:00:07.160 –> 00:00:15.080 To contact us call us at 1-877-OPEN-365, or visit our website OpenTheBible.org. 00:00:15.080 –> 00:00:17.420 Let’s get to the message. 00:00:17.420 –> 00:00:20.580 Here is Pastor Colin. 00:00:20.580 –> 00:00:26.020 I’m doing today something that we only rarely do and that is to change the message from 00:00:26.020 –> 00:00:28.480 what had been planned. 00:00:28.740 –> 00:00:32.080 If people are willing, we will look at the story of the wise men and the witness that 00:00:32.080 –> 00:00:35.660 they bore to Jesus Christ the King next week. 00:00:35.660 –> 00:00:42.639 But, today I want to bring a message that I hope will help us to respond to the atrocity 00:00:42.639 –> 00:00:50.040 in San Bernardino and to other events that press in on the minds and the hearts of all 00:00:50.040 –> 00:00:55.240 of us in these difficult and dangerous days. 00:00:55.240 –> 00:01:02.119 Mark Carne and I appreciate and try to see when we can the news analysis of Mark Shields 00:01:02.119 –> 00:01:07.360 and David Brooks on the PBS News Hour on Friday evening. 00:01:07.360 –> 00:01:14.940 They spoke this week of the real fear that is in the country following the events in 00:01:14.940 –> 00:01:19.639 Paris and then this week, in California. 00:01:19.940 –> 00:01:27.400 There are shootings, they said, of which they have been way too many, have produced sympathy, 00:01:27.400 –> 00:01:34.660 have produced waves of grief across the country, but this is different in addition to these 00:01:34.660 –> 00:01:41.919 emotions there is, they said, real fear. 00:01:41.919 –> 00:01:47.879 And I think that that analysis is exactly right, and in the hours that followed on Friday 00:01:47.879 –> 00:01:53.540 night while working still on the wise men, my mind just kept returning to the theme of 00:01:53.540 –> 00:01:56.980 how a Christian responds to fear. 00:01:56.980 –> 00:02:02.300 And so somewhere around midnight, I came to the conclusion that this is the area where 00:02:02.300 –> 00:02:07.559 we most need to seek the help of God as a congregation in the Scriptures today. 00:02:07.559 –> 00:02:12.899 And so it’s for that reason that I invite you to open your Bible at 1 Peter and chapter 00:02:13.500 –> 00:02:20.479 3, and particularly I want to focus your attention on verse 14, and the beginning of verse 15, 00:02:20.479 –> 00:02:23.119 and these words in particular, 00:02:23.119 –> 00:02:29.339 Have no fear of them, nor be troubled. 00:02:29.339 –> 00:02:33.300 And you say, How in the world are we to do that? 00:02:33.300 –> 00:02:35.539 Here’s the answer. 00:02:35.539 –> 00:02:41.820 But in your hearts honor Christ the Lord. 00:02:42.220 –> 00:02:47.380 That’s the scripture that’s before us today on Peter chapter 3 verses 14 and 15. 00:02:48.259 –> 00:02:54.740 Have no fear of them, nor be troubled. 00:02:54.740 –> 00:03:02.639 But in your hearts honor Christ the Lord. 00:03:02.639 –> 00:03:10.979 Now, Peter is writing to Christian believers who had many reasons to fear. 00:03:10.979 –> 00:03:15.899 They faced the prospect of imminent persecution. 00:03:15.899 –> 00:03:20.279 Many of them face the prospect of violent death. 00:03:20.279 –> 00:03:23.880 If you look across at chapter 4 and verse 17, you’ll see, he says, 00:03:23.880 –> 00:03:30.160 there, do not be surprised, beloved, at the fiery trial, when it comes, 00:03:30.160 –> 00:03:34.339 not if it comes when it comes. 00:03:34.339 –> 00:03:37.779 And so they are living in the, I mean, they’re living in the shadow of Nero, 00:03:37.779 –> 00:03:42.800 Spino’s about to come, and burning Christians. 00:03:42.800 –> 00:03:51.539 There’s every reason why these Christians would find themselves perplexed, anxious. 00:03:51.539 –> 00:03:57.759 And often, the fear of what lies ahead is actually harder than the reality when 00:03:57.759 –> 00:03:58.600 it comes. 00:03:58.600 –> 00:04:00.619 We know this from our own experience. 00:04:00.619 –> 00:04:03.740 You know, what will I do if? 00:04:03.740 –> 00:04:05.779 And that plays a way in your mind. 00:04:05.820 –> 00:04:10.059 How will I cope when? 00:04:10.059 –> 00:04:18.179 The Bible very significantly talks about the valley of the shadow of death. 00:04:18.179 –> 00:04:22.779 As if to say that the shadow itself can actually sometimes be worse 00:04:22.779 –> 00:04:25.299 than the reality. 00:04:25.299 –> 00:04:27.140 I don’t know how often a person has said to me, 00:04:27.140 –> 00:04:30.179 Pastor, it’s not dying that worries me. 00:04:30.179 –> 00:04:32.779 It’s all that goes into the wretched business of getting there. 00:04:32.779 –> 00:04:35.220 It’s the shadow of death. 00:04:35.299 –> 00:04:37.179 It’s the prospect of the whole thing. 00:04:37.179 –> 00:04:40.799 It’s the fear. 00:04:40.799 –> 00:04:44.500 So, these Christians then, to whom Peter is writing, 00:04:44.500 –> 00:04:48.619 are in, I suggest to you, the most difficult position of all. 00:04:48.619 –> 00:04:55.940 They are not facing directly what is in their mind at a personal level, 00:04:55.940 –> 00:04:59.859 but they are dealing with the fear of it, the fear of violence, 00:04:59.859 –> 00:05:04.260 the prospect of persecution, the fear of loved ones being lost. 00:05:04.260 –> 00:05:08.019 That’s what’s in their mind, and Peter is their pastor, and he is their shepherd, 00:05:08.019 –> 00:05:13.519 and he’s under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, writing to them. 00:05:13.519 –> 00:05:18.459 So that these believers, these dearly loved believers will be able to face 00:05:18.459 –> 00:05:23.739 their fears and live in the world with all its reality as they found it. 00:05:23.739 –> 00:05:27.619 And therefore, as we find it, these words come to us today, 00:05:28.140 –> 00:05:41.859 By the way, before we go further, let me just remind you that this actually 00:05:41.859 –> 00:05:44.899 is at the heart of the Christmas message, isn’t it? 00:05:44.899 –> 00:05:48.500 This isn’t moving away from the Christmas message. 00:05:48.500 –> 00:05:52.239 What is the first thing that the angels say to the shepherds when they appear 00:05:52.239 –> 00:05:54.040 on Christmas night? 00:05:54.239 –> 00:05:55.619 Fear not. 00:05:55.619 –> 00:05:58.959 That’s at the very heart. 00:05:58.959 –> 00:06:01.579 Why is it that Jesus Christ came into the world? 00:06:01.579 –> 00:06:05.339 Many biblical answers to that question, but let’s focus in on this one today 00:06:05.339 –> 00:06:10.140 from Hebrews chapter 4, in verse 14 and 15, one of the marvellous statements 00:06:10.140 –> 00:06:12.299 in the New Testament about Christmas. 00:06:12.299 –> 00:06:14.559 Why Jesus Christ came into the world. 00:06:14.559 –> 00:06:15.519 Why did he do it? 00:06:15.519 –> 00:06:16.440 Listen to this. 00:06:16.519 –> 00:06:21.519 Since, therefore, the children share in flesh and blood – we’re flesh and blood – 00:06:21.700 –> 00:06:25.640 he himself, that’s the Son of God, partook of the same things. 00:06:25.640 –> 00:06:27.100 He became flesh and blood. 00:06:27.100 –> 00:06:29.299 That’s Christmas, that’s the Incarnation. 00:06:29.299 –> 00:06:31.660 Why did he do it? 00:06:31.660 –> 00:06:39.299 Verse 15 says, to deliver those who, through the fear of death, were subject 00:06:39.299 –> 00:06:41.600 to lifelong slavery. 00:06:41.600 –> 00:06:43.579 There’s the Son of God, do you see? 00:06:43.579 –> 00:06:48.619 And he looks at the world and here we are. 00:06:48.640 –> 00:06:55.220 And the fear of death brings a terrible, terrible slavery. 00:06:55.220 –> 00:06:58.359 And Jesus Christ comes into the world, he takes flesh and blood. 00:06:58.359 –> 00:06:59.980 Christmas, what’s it about? 00:06:59.980 –> 00:07:08.140 He comes into the world to set us free from that awful fear that enslaves. 00:07:08.140 –> 00:07:09.420 That’s what’s being said to us. 00:07:09.420 –> 00:07:10.880 This is what Christmas is. 00:07:10.880 –> 00:07:17.459 So if anybody ever suggests to you that Christmas is all about some kind of 00:07:17.500 –> 00:07:21.859 escapism from the reality of the world, some kind of sentimental sitting around 00:07:21.859 –> 00:07:25.380 a tree and all, you say, well not for a real Christian, let me tell you what 00:07:25.380 –> 00:07:26.380 Christmas is all about. 00:07:27.380 –> 00:07:30.720 This is the only thing in the world that’s going to enable a person to really 00:07:30.720 –> 00:07:36.820 face the fears that are right across the country in these difficult and dangerous 00:07:36.820 –> 00:07:40.459 days in which we live, slavery to fear. 00:07:40.459 –> 00:07:45.739 Well, you see according to Shields and Brooks, that is exactly the situation in 00:07:45.739 –> 00:07:51.799 America today and they’re right, surely there is a real fear in the country. 00:07:51.799 –> 00:07:54.619 What’s going to happen next? 00:07:54.619 –> 00:07:59.440 What if I get caught in a terrorist attack? 00:07:59.440 –> 00:08:06.839 My most vivid memory, folks, of the Sunday after 9-11 is of a woman who 00:08:06.839 –> 00:08:09.100 spoke to me after the service right here. 00:08:09.100 –> 00:08:15.019 I’d never seen her before and I’ve never seen her since but she was here on that 00:08:15.299 –> 00:08:16.140 I saw her and she said this. 00:08:16.239 –> 00:08:17.260 She was very concerned. 00:08:17.260 –> 00:08:24.399 She said, Tell me, how can I tell my children that they are safe? 00:08:24.399 –> 00:08:28.440 And I said to her, You can’t. 00:08:28.440 –> 00:08:31.299 You can’t. 00:08:31.299 –> 00:08:35.960 Our calling as parents is to equip our children to live in a dangerous world. 00:08:35.960 –> 00:08:40.179 And to do that they need an authentic faith in Jesus Christ. 00:08:40.179 –> 00:08:42.979 You see, no one’s kidding themselves. 00:08:43.000 –> 00:08:49.020 As if they want to live in the bubble illusion that somehow we can create some corner of 00:08:49.020 –> 00:08:52.260 the earth in which everything is going to be safe? 00:08:53.219 –> 00:08:58.179 And I’m saying to you today that Jesus Christ came into the world precisely for this reason 00:08:58.179 –> 00:09:01.000 that we should be delivered. 00:09:01.000 –> 00:09:02.340 We. 00:09:02.340 –> 00:09:11.099 Delivered from living our whole lives in the chronic fear of the latest danger to stalk 00:09:11.099 –> 00:09:12.359 our world. 00:09:12.500 –> 00:09:14.159 As that is the human condition. 00:09:14.159 –> 00:09:18.219 The real fear sweeping across the country. 00:09:18.219 –> 00:09:21.700 And Jesus Christ comes into the world in relation to this. 00:09:21.700 –> 00:09:28.640 Now, let me therefore suggest to you today that this should be an area of our most distinctive 00:09:28.640 –> 00:09:31.979 testimony. 00:09:31.979 –> 00:09:41.200 And where there is a real fear in the country, God says to us, do not fear what they fear. 00:09:41.280 –> 00:09:47.000 Isaiah chapter eight, and verse twelve, from which Peter is actually quoting right here. 00:09:47.000 –> 00:09:48.919 Do not fear what they fear. 00:09:48.919 –> 00:09:57.159 The early Christians were people of hope in a culture of fear. 00:09:57.159 –> 00:09:58.679 That was what made them so distinctive. 00:09:58.679 –> 00:10:04.159 And that’s why Peter goes on to say here, always be ready to give our reason to people 00:10:04.159 –> 00:10:07.000 who ask about the hope that is in you. 00:10:07.200 –> 00:10:09.260 You should be afraid. 00:10:09.260 –> 00:10:12.059 Why have you got so much hope? 00:10:12.059 –> 00:10:15.640 And you must be ready to explain that the reason is that the Son of God has come into 00:10:15.640 –> 00:10:20.559 the world to deliver us from fear, and I am living in the good of His coming. 00:10:20.559 –> 00:10:25.500 So this should be a distinctive area of Christian testimony. 00:10:25.500 –> 00:10:31.359 We live in a culture where many, many people have rejected our message. 00:10:31.359 –> 00:10:35.299 But these people who have rejected our message also are concerned for their children. 00:10:35.500 –> 00:10:37.799 They too wonder what the future holds. 00:10:37.799 –> 00:10:43.340 And if, around the country, there are communities of believers who are more marked by hope than 00:10:43.340 –> 00:10:51.659 by fear, then there may be many who are drawn to think again about why that would be. 00:10:51.659 –> 00:10:57.500 Give a reason as to the hope that is within you, as the hope that raises questions for 00:10:57.500 –> 00:11:00.460 those who have not yet believed. 00:11:01.140 –> 00:11:06.419 Now, here’s the problem, having said that. 00:11:06.419 –> 00:11:14.780 Sometimes it seems that there is as much fear in the Church as there is in the world. 00:11:14.780 –> 00:11:15.780 Right? 00:11:15.780 –> 00:11:17.900 That’s the problem. 00:11:17.900 –> 00:11:24.820 That sometimes it seems that there is as much fear in the Church as there is in the 00:11:24.820 –> 00:11:25.820 world. 00:11:26.559 –> 00:11:31.059 And so, I want to pause and try to answer from the Scriptures two questions today. 00:11:31.059 –> 00:11:36.679 The first is why are there so many fearful Christians, in the light of what we’re reading 00:11:36.679 –> 00:11:38.080 here. 00:11:38.080 –> 00:11:39.320 Why? 00:11:39.320 –> 00:11:44.239 Why are there so many fearful Christians? 00:11:44.239 –> 00:11:49.719 And the second question, how can Christians overcome our fears? 00:11:49.719 –> 00:11:52.020 We all know what it is to have to face fear. 00:11:52.020 –> 00:11:55.179 How, as Christians, can we overcome our fears? 00:11:55.659 –> 00:12:03.059 Many of us will look at this passage in the Bible this morning, have no fear of them. 00:12:03.059 –> 00:12:06.739 And you’ll say, honestly, yeah, it says that in the Bible, but I’m not there. 00:12:06.739 –> 00:12:10.119 Well, why are we not there? 00:12:10.119 –> 00:12:12.780 And how can we get there? 00:12:12.780 –> 00:12:17.659 How can we come to the place of living the kind of Christian lives that are described 00:12:17.659 –> 00:12:21.580 here that are marked more by hope than by fear? 00:12:21.599 –> 00:12:27.080 I can’t think of a greater question that would be before the people of God in these days. 00:12:27.080 –> 00:12:30.219 So these two questions today. 00:12:30.219 –> 00:12:37.479 Number one, then, why are there so many fearful Christians? 00:12:37.479 –> 00:12:39.659 I want to give you this answer. 00:12:39.659 –> 00:12:48.659 There are so many fearful Christians because the self-exalting spirit of the world has 00:12:48.659 –> 00:12:52.440 so widely permeated the church. 00:12:52.440 –> 00:12:56.619 Why are there so many fearful Christians? 00:12:56.619 –> 00:13:09.299 Because the self-exalting spirit of the world has so widely permeated the church. 00:13:09.419 –> 00:13:11.280 I want you to see today 00:13:11.280 –> 00:13:17.599 that this self-exalting spirit is actually at the heart 00:13:17.599 –> 00:13:23.719 both of the rapid movement away from Christian faith 00:13:23.719 –> 00:13:27.119 that we are seeing in our culture 00:13:27.119 –> 00:13:36.260 and in the rampant terrorism that is increasingly scarring our world. 00:13:36.260 –> 00:13:38.960 Think about it first in relation to our culture. 00:13:38.960 –> 00:13:46.559 Think about the things in the bible that God does in relation to life. 00:13:46.559 –> 00:13:51.479 God brings about the beginning of life. 00:13:51.479 –> 00:13:55.559 God makes us male and female. 00:13:55.559 –> 00:13:58.479 God tells us what marriage is 00:13:58.479 –> 00:14:03.859 and God determines the time of our death. 00:14:03.859 –> 00:14:05.919 You think about the great social issues 00:14:06.099 –> 00:14:09.479 that are at the center of so much controversy in our time. 00:14:09.479 –> 00:14:15.640 One thing ties them together and this is always at the root. 00:14:15.640 –> 00:14:22.760 We have been assuming the right to do the things that belong to God. 00:14:22.760 –> 00:14:27.119 In other words we want to be the ones who determine the beginning of life 00:14:27.140 –> 00:14:28.900 what children should come to birth 00:14:28.900 –> 00:14:33.679 and which ones will not see the light of this world. 00:14:33.679 –> 00:14:35.559 We want to be the ones who will make 00:14:35.559 –> 00:14:39.039 gender a matter of personal choice. 00:14:39.039 –> 00:14:43.200 We want to be the ones who define what marriage is and who it is for 00:14:43.200 –> 00:14:46.400 and in that same frame of mind increasingly 00:14:46.400 –> 00:14:54.080 we want the right to determine the time and the circumstances of our own death. 00:14:54.080 –> 00:14:59.260 In other words everything that God does we say now we now do. 00:14:59.260 –> 00:15:02.580 The same impulse do you see is at work in each case. 00:15:02.580 –> 00:15:04.820 We are in each case putting ourselves 00:15:04.820 –> 00:15:06.159 in the place of God. 00:15:06.159 –> 00:15:08.500 We want to remove him from the throne 00:15:08.500 –> 00:15:14.520 and to occupy the place of supreme authority ourselves. 00:15:14.520 –> 00:15:16.179 We have welcomed and embraced 00:15:16.179 –> 00:15:21.299 increasingly in our culture the satanic proposal from the Garden of Eden 00:15:21.299 –> 00:15:25.059 you shall be as God. 00:15:25.059 –> 00:15:30.440 Now it will be useful in our conversations in these days 00:15:30.440 –> 00:15:35.000 for us to understand that precisely 00:15:35.000 –> 00:15:39.280 the same problem lies at the root of 00:15:39.280 –> 00:15:43.059 the violent terrorism that is causing 00:15:43.059 –> 00:15:46.159 such fear and consternation around the world today. 00:15:46.159 –> 00:15:48.280 We have thought about who God 00:15:48.280 –> 00:15:51.219 is in regards to the authorship of life. 00:15:51.219 –> 00:15:53.440 Think about who God is in regards to 00:15:53.440 –> 00:15:55.820 the ultimate and the eternal things. 00:15:55.820 –> 00:15:56.820 Who is he? 00:15:56.820 –> 00:15:59.719 He is the judge. 00:15:59.719 –> 00:16:03.400 He is the one who on the last 00:16:03.400 –> 00:16:05.739 day will bring the immortal 00:16:05.739 –> 00:16:09.659 and the unbelieving to judgement. 00:16:09.659 –> 00:16:14.320 But now we have terrorists who 00:16:14.320 –> 00:16:17.400 see it as their job to bring 00:16:17.400 –> 00:16:22.000 justice and judgement to the infidels. 00:16:22.000 –> 00:16:24.840 We have in the Jihadists, 00:16:24.840 –> 00:16:28.919 another example of precisely the same root things, 00:16:29.599 –> 00:16:32.020 this man always comes from the same root and what is he. 00:16:32.020 –> 00:16:35.460 It’s man putting himself in the place of God. 00:16:35.460 –> 00:16:40.320 Instead of submitting themselves to the judgement of God 00:16:40.320 –> 00:16:44.000 and casting themselves upon the mercy of God 00:16:44.000 –> 00:16:47.520 which is what any created human being needs to do. 00:16:47.520 –> 00:16:48.919 And then you have people who say no no, 00:16:48.919 –> 00:16:51.000 it is our place to exorcise and 00:16:51.000 –> 00:16:52.640 bring in the judgement of God, 00:16:52.640 –> 00:16:56.039 and we are going to do it around the world. 00:16:56.880 –> 00:17:00.280 Now what is the Christian response to a world 00:17:00.280 –> 00:17:02.799 in which men and women are increasingly 00:17:02.799 –> 00:17:05.199 putting themselves in the place of God? 00:17:07.199 –> 00:17:09.500 Well the first thing to say here is that 00:17:09.500 –> 00:17:12.579 the cultural Christianity that pervades our country 00:17:12.579 –> 00:17:14.920 can offer no response whatsoever. 00:17:16.699 –> 00:17:18.660 Many of us have been raised, 00:17:19.680 –> 00:17:21.540 raised with, shaped by, 00:17:22.319 –> 00:17:26.099 a diminished gospel that says something like this, 00:17:26.099 –> 00:17:27.640 God loves you and all you have to do is 00:17:27.640 –> 00:17:29.400 say yes to him and you’re going to 00:17:30.300 –> 00:17:31.140 be safe, secure, and blessed forever. 00:17:32.300 –> 00:17:34.780 And so thousands of people across the culture 00:17:34.780 –> 00:17:36.459 say yes to God and then spend the 00:17:36.459 –> 00:17:38.160 rest of their lives in some degree 00:17:38.160 –> 00:17:39.680 either of irritation at one end 00:17:39.680 –> 00:17:41.500 or resentment at the other. 00:17:41.500 –> 00:17:43.420 That this God to whom they have said yes 00:17:43.420 –> 00:17:45.819 has not made their lives as they want them to be. 00:17:45.819 –> 00:17:47.420 What is wrong with this picture? 00:17:48.180 –> 00:17:52.099 It actually has imbibed precisely the same 00:17:52.099 –> 00:17:57.099 root sin that we have just identified. 00:17:58.219 –> 00:18:00.459 The church in large measure has been 00:18:00.459 –> 00:18:05.459 permeated by the same self-exalting spirit 00:18:05.900 –> 00:18:08.199 that is at the root of the landslide 00:18:08.199 –> 00:18:09.920 in our culture, and the root of the 00:18:09.920 –> 00:18:11.819 terrorism that is causing so much 00:18:11.819 –> 00:18:12.699 fear in the world. 00:18:12.699 –> 00:18:14.780 That is that we see ourselves as the ones 00:18:14.780 –> 00:18:17.040 on the throne and God as the one 00:18:17.439 –> 00:18:19.060 who exists to serve us, and to make 00:18:19.060 –> 00:18:21.119 our lives as we want them to be. 00:18:21.119 –> 00:18:24.800 That’s at the very core of the 00:18:24.800 –> 00:18:27.439 cultural Christianity in our country, 00:18:27.439 –> 00:18:29.560 especially over the last 50 years. 00:18:29.560 –> 00:18:32.239 And that kind of cultural Christianity 00:18:32.239 –> 00:18:34.520 cannot really offer any response 00:18:34.520 –> 00:18:36.479 to what is around us because it is 00:18:36.479 –> 00:18:39.400 infected by precisely the same root 00:18:39.400 –> 00:18:43.160 problem that it seeks to address. 00:18:43.800 –> 00:18:48.520 And the self-exalting spirit 00:18:48.520 –> 00:18:51.760 always produces fear. 00:18:51.760 –> 00:18:54.140 It has to. 00:18:54.140 –> 00:18:58.380 Because if you’re the lord, 00:18:58.380 –> 00:19:00.199 if how you really see likely, 00:19:00.199 –> 00:19:02.040 is my life. 00:19:02.040 –> 00:19:06.780 My money, my family. 00:19:06.780 –> 00:19:08.000 If you’re the lord, 00:19:08.000 –> 00:19:10.780 you’re on the throne, 00:19:10.839 –> 00:19:13.520 then anything that you cannot control 00:19:13.520 –> 00:19:16.079 will cause you fear. 00:19:16.079 –> 00:19:17.359 What if I get cancer? 00:19:17.359 –> 00:19:19.900 I can’t control that. 00:19:19.900 –> 00:19:23.579 What if I get caught in a terrorist attack? 00:19:23.579 –> 00:19:27.520 What if my children choose the wrong path? 00:19:27.520 –> 00:19:29.979 If you put yourself in the position of lord, 00:19:29.979 –> 00:19:31.560 you will always live with fear. 00:19:31.560 –> 00:19:33.800 You have to. 00:19:33.800 –> 00:19:36.219 Because every time you come to a situation 00:19:36.219 –> 00:19:37.520 that you cannot control, 00:19:37.520 –> 00:19:39.459 you’re the lord, 00:19:39.540 –> 00:19:43.579 well, what in the world’s gonna happen? 00:19:43.579 –> 00:19:48.060 Why are there so many fearful Christians? 00:19:48.060 –> 00:19:52.420 Because the same self-exalting spirit of the world 00:19:52.420 –> 00:19:57.420 has so widely permeated the church. 00:19:57.660 –> 00:20:00.500 I run my life, 00:20:00.500 –> 00:20:03.520 and I believe in Jesus. 00:20:03.520 –> 00:20:06.939 And friends, that is not Christianity. 00:20:06.939 –> 00:20:09.319 Second question, and you’ll see where this goes, 00:20:09.500 –> 00:20:12.199 directly into what Peter says here. 00:20:12.199 –> 00:20:15.920 How, then, can Christians overcome their fears? 00:20:15.920 –> 00:20:17.400 Do you see what he says? 00:20:18.319 –> 00:20:21.020 Have no fear of them. 00:20:21.020 –> 00:20:22.479 We immediately say, how? 00:20:22.479 –> 00:20:23.359 I’m not there. 00:20:23.359 –> 00:20:24.239 How can I get there? 00:20:24.239 –> 00:20:25.479 Here’s how you get there. 00:20:25.479 –> 00:20:29.780 But in your hearts honor Christ the Lord. 00:20:30.760 –> 00:20:32.859 Is that Christ, apart as Lord. 00:20:34.119 –> 00:20:36.660 You get off the throne that you should never 00:20:36.660 –> 00:20:38.119 have been on in the first place, 00:20:38.180 –> 00:20:39.859 and you say there’s only one who belongs 00:20:39.859 –> 00:20:41.400 on the throne of this life, 00:20:41.400 –> 00:20:43.380 and it’s you Lord, you’re the only one 00:20:43.380 –> 00:20:47.560 who can handle all the unpredictable things 00:20:47.560 –> 00:20:49.719 that lie ahead in my unknown future. 00:20:50.800 –> 00:20:52.319 How do we become so fearful? 00:20:52.319 –> 00:20:54.280 Because we put ourselves on the throne. 00:20:55.579 –> 00:20:58.239 And how are we gonna overcome this fear? 00:20:58.239 –> 00:21:01.020 Getting ourselves off the throne in your heart. 00:21:01.020 –> 00:21:04.900 Honor Christ the Lord. 00:21:04.900 –> 00:21:06.420 Now here we’re getting to the heart 00:21:06.420 –> 00:21:07.839 of what a Christian really is. 00:21:08.540 –> 00:21:12.599 A Christian is a person who submits the whole of their life 00:21:12.599 –> 00:21:15.439 to the Lordship of Jesus Christ, 00:21:15.439 –> 00:21:17.839 and that of course is the polar opposite 00:21:17.839 –> 00:21:19.380 of everything that is going on 00:21:19.380 –> 00:21:21.560 in terms of the great drift of our culture 00:21:21.560 –> 00:21:26.540 and in terms of the great events of this age in our world. 00:21:27.760 –> 00:21:30.140 Do you see this, that when Jesus Christ 00:21:30.140 –> 00:21:31.619 is the Lord of your life, 00:21:31.619 –> 00:21:34.119 you have reason for confidence. 00:21:34.119 –> 00:21:34.939 Why? 00:21:34.939 –> 00:21:36.800 Because He is Lord, 00:21:37.699 –> 00:21:41.099 and there are no things that are beyond His control. 00:21:41.099 –> 00:21:43.540 And when it comes to you, think about this, 00:21:43.540 –> 00:21:47.739 honour in your heart Christ, the Lord. 00:21:47.739 –> 00:21:50.140 He is sovereign over your birth, 00:21:50.140 –> 00:21:51.880 He was sovereign over your birth, 00:21:51.880 –> 00:21:54.500 He is sovereign over your life, 00:21:54.500 –> 00:21:59.180 and He is going to be sovereign over your death. 00:21:59.180 –> 00:22:01.280 Think about this, 00:22:01.280 –> 00:22:03.439 sovereign over your birth 00:22:04.400 –> 00:22:09.079 means that of all the millions of people 00:22:09.079 –> 00:22:11.180 who potentially could have come into existence 00:22:11.180 –> 00:22:13.040 through the union of your father and your mother, 00:22:13.040 –> 00:22:15.339 God chose to bring into existence you. 00:22:15.339 –> 00:22:18.699 He created you, He made you, He wanted you to be. 00:22:18.699 –> 00:22:20.180 Isn’t that glorious? 00:22:21.020 –> 00:22:23.319 God wanted you to be, He made you. 00:22:24.540 –> 00:22:26.239 And sovereign over your life, 00:22:26.239 –> 00:22:28.140 Lord over your life means this, 00:22:28.140 –> 00:22:29.719 that all that has happened to you, 00:22:29.719 –> 00:22:31.880 the good that you’ve enjoyed, 00:22:31.880 –> 00:22:33.260 the evil that you have suffered, 00:22:33.819 –> 00:22:35.900 it was all known to God from before the beginning of time. 00:22:35.900 –> 00:22:37.560 Life has been full of surprises 00:22:37.560 –> 00:22:39.699 and unexpected twists and turns for you, 00:22:39.699 –> 00:22:42.079 but nothing has ever come as a surprise to Him 00:22:42.079 –> 00:22:43.900 before a word is on my tongue. 00:22:43.900 –> 00:22:45.719 O Lord, you know it completely. 00:22:47.540 –> 00:22:50.880 And God works through all that has happened in your past 00:22:51.739 –> 00:22:54.959 and whatever will happen in your future. 00:22:56.199 –> 00:23:00.099 He works in and through it all to advance His great purpose, 00:23:00.099 –> 00:23:02.739 the purpose for which He has brought you into being, 00:23:02.739 –> 00:23:07.199 which is that a reflection of His dearly loved Son 00:23:07.199 –> 00:23:12.219 will radiate from you forever for His glory 00:23:12.219 –> 00:23:13.920 and for your great joy, 00:23:13.920 –> 00:23:16.020 and God will work through everything 00:23:16.020 –> 00:23:18.680 that happens in your life, the best and the worst, 00:23:20.060 –> 00:23:23.180 in order to advance that great God-glorifying 00:23:23.180 –> 00:23:26.859 and joy-giving purpose in you. 00:23:29.160 –> 00:23:29.900 He’s Lord. 00:23:29.900 –> 00:23:31.739 That means He’s sovereign over your birth. 00:23:31.739 –> 00:23:33.459 That means He’s sovereign over your life, 00:23:33.459 –> 00:23:37.380 and it means this, He is sovereign over your death. 00:23:37.380 –> 00:23:41.520 God knows exactly how and when I will die. 00:23:42.719 –> 00:23:44.680 That’s a great comfort to me. 00:23:45.880 –> 00:23:50.119 Jesus Christ is in complete control of the timing 00:23:50.119 –> 00:23:54.560 and the circumstances and the outcome of your death, 00:23:54.560 –> 00:23:55.900 which, for a Christian believer, 00:23:55.900 –> 00:23:57.819 will be an immediate translation 00:23:57.819 –> 00:24:00.400 into the glorious presence of the Lord. 00:24:00.560 –> 00:24:04.199 Psalm 139, in your book were written 00:24:04.199 –> 00:24:06.339 the days that were formed for Me. 00:24:06.339 –> 00:24:07.560 You’ve numbered all My days. 00:24:07.560 –> 00:24:10.560 I need, therefore, to learn to number Mine. 00:24:11.959 –> 00:24:14.280 George Whitefield has a wonderful phrase 00:24:14.280 –> 00:24:16.119 that I’ve often found helpful, 00:24:17.439 –> 00:24:18.880 and I hope that you will too. 00:24:20.560 –> 00:24:22.839 Whitefield said this, 00:24:22.839 –> 00:24:25.420 we are immortal 00:24:26.439 –> 00:24:30.260 until our life’s work is done. 00:24:30.300 –> 00:24:31.119 I love that. 00:24:32.599 –> 00:24:36.780 By the way, don’t use that as an excuse 00:24:36.780 –> 00:24:38.300 for irresponsible behavior. 00:24:38.300 –> 00:24:39.660 If you’re driving at 90 miles an hour 00:24:39.660 –> 00:24:40.699 down the wrong side of the road, 00:24:40.699 –> 00:24:44.959 you are not to use this as a justification. 00:24:45.900 –> 00:24:48.060 Remember, Satan tried that one. 00:24:48.060 –> 00:24:50.300 Oh Jesus, jump from the pinnacle of the temple. 00:24:50.300 –> 00:24:51.619 Nothing bad will happen to you. 00:24:51.619 –> 00:24:53.180 No, no. 00:24:53.180 –> 00:24:55.619 But here’s how you can use that marvelous truth, 00:24:55.619 –> 00:24:57.219 and it is a great truth. 00:24:57.219 –> 00:24:59.939 You use this truth when you are struggling with fear. 00:25:01.060 –> 00:25:02.579 So, here’s someone who’s really afraid 00:25:02.579 –> 00:25:03.619 to get on an aeroplane, 00:25:03.619 –> 00:25:05.459 and you’ve gotta get on an airplane. 00:25:06.400 –> 00:25:10.420 And you sit down, and you put on the buckle, 00:25:10.420 –> 00:25:13.319 and they’re going through the preflight routine, 00:25:14.160 –> 00:25:17.060 and you’re anxious, and you say to yourself, 00:25:17.060 –> 00:25:21.060 I am immortal until my life’s work is done. 00:25:22.739 –> 00:25:24.920 You’re going in for a screening for cancer, 00:25:25.900 –> 00:25:27.359 or a treatment for cancer, 00:25:28.280 –> 00:25:30.400 and you’re anxious about your own condition 00:25:30.400 –> 00:25:32.479 and what’s gonna happen, and you say to yourself, 00:25:32.479 –> 00:25:34.500 here’s how you comfort yourself with this great truth 00:25:34.500 –> 00:25:36.400 that Jesus Christ is in control, 00:25:36.400 –> 00:25:38.719 not only of my birth, my life, but also of my death, 00:25:38.719 –> 00:25:41.079 you said to yourself, I am immortal 00:25:42.479 –> 00:25:44.500 until my life’s work is done, 00:25:44.500 –> 00:25:48.239 and on the day that the purposes 00:25:48.239 –> 00:25:51.800 that he has for me on this earth are finished, 00:25:51.800 –> 00:25:54.119 I don’t want to be here one day longer. 00:25:54.119 –> 00:25:55.380 I wanna be here every day 00:25:55.380 –> 00:25:56.839 until I’ve completed the work 00:25:56.839 –> 00:25:59.260 that he’s given me to do just as Jesus completed 00:25:59.260 –> 00:26:00.819 the work the Father gave him to do, 00:26:00.819 –> 00:26:02.859 and then I wanna be in his nearer presence, 00:26:02.859 –> 00:26:05.939 and that’s exactly what he has made me for. 00:26:05.939 –> 00:26:08.140 That’s a Christian approach to these things. 00:26:10.020 –> 00:26:11.439 And it’s wonderfully freeing. 00:26:12.859 –> 00:26:16.959 The freedom from fear that a believer enjoys 00:26:16.959 –> 00:26:18.280 is beautifully expressed, 00:26:18.280 –> 00:26:19.939 and I know some of you were brought up with this, 00:26:19.939 –> 00:26:23.459 and it’s very rich in the Heidelberg Catechism, 00:26:23.459 –> 00:26:26.380 a great, great document that through questions 00:26:26.500 –> 00:26:28.859 and answers teaches the Christian faith, 00:26:28.859 –> 00:26:31.439 and the very first question is this, 00:26:31.439 –> 00:26:35.140 what is your only comfort in life and in death? 00:26:35.140 –> 00:26:37.119 What’s your comfort in life and in death? 00:26:37.119 –> 00:26:38.660 And indeed, what’s your only comfort? 00:26:38.660 –> 00:26:40.800 Because ultimately, this is the only thing 00:26:40.800 –> 00:26:41.739 on which you can rely. 00:26:41.739 –> 00:26:43.739 This is the ultimate answer to fear. 00:26:45.400 –> 00:26:47.920 And the answer is this, that I am not my own, 00:26:49.280 –> 00:26:54.140 but I belong body and soul in life and in death 00:26:54.180 –> 00:26:57.819 to my faithful Savior, Jesus Christ. 00:26:57.819 –> 00:27:01.140 Isn’t it marvelous that you would be able to say that? 00:27:01.140 –> 00:27:02.699 What’s my great comfort in life? 00:27:02.699 –> 00:27:03.699 Whatever happens to me? 00:27:03.699 –> 00:27:07.260 What’s my great comfort in death whenever it comes to me? 00:27:07.260 –> 00:27:10.339 Here’s what it is, that I am not my own, 00:27:10.339 –> 00:27:11.900 you see, I’ve got off the throne. 00:27:11.900 –> 00:27:14.239 I’m not the Lord of this little life. 00:27:15.979 –> 00:27:18.619 Trying to steer it on these waters of the world. 00:27:18.640 –> 00:27:23.640 No, I belong body and soul, in life and in death, 00:27:24.540 –> 00:27:28.339 to my faithful Savior, Jesus Christ. 00:27:28.339 –> 00:27:30.219 And it goes on to speak of how He’s bought me 00:27:30.219 –> 00:27:31.500 and then this beautiful line, 00:27:31.500 –> 00:27:34.819 He also watches over me in such a way 00:27:34.819 –> 00:27:37.819 that not a hair can fall from my head 00:27:37.819 –> 00:27:40.359 without the will of my Father in heaven. 00:27:42.199 –> 00:27:47.199 He’s in exact control of the of my birth, 00:27:48.180 –> 00:27:52.199 of my life, of the timing, the circumstances, 00:27:52.199 –> 00:27:53.400 the outcome of my death. 00:27:53.400 –> 00:27:54.599 I trust Him as my Lord. 00:27:57.239 –> 00:28:01.380 And friends, there are so many implications 00:28:01.380 –> 00:28:04.239 as we seek to work out these things in our lives. 00:28:05.359 –> 00:28:07.479 Let me just give you one and then we’re through today. 00:28:07.479 –> 00:28:12.479 One is that we learn to use the word my tentatively, 00:28:17.680 –> 00:28:22.280 as if it were always in parenthesis. 00:28:22.280 –> 00:28:24.239 I’m trying to teach myself to do this. 00:28:25.400 –> 00:28:30.400 To use the word my as if it were always in parenthesis 00:28:32.800 –> 00:28:34.599 and therefore to use it tentatively. 00:28:35.880 –> 00:28:40.880 In other words, my home, my home, I love my home. 00:28:41.880 –> 00:28:43.280 Hope you love your home. 00:28:43.280 –> 00:28:48.280 My home means the house that God has entrusted to me 00:28:48.680 –> 00:28:51.219 for a time, for a time. 00:28:54.400 –> 00:28:59.400 My children, my family, 00:29:01.479 –> 00:29:03.599 loved ones who belong to God 00:29:05.199 –> 00:29:08.020 who have been lent for a little time to me. 00:29:08.260 –> 00:29:13.260 My home means my home, my work, my role, my position, 00:29:17.239 –> 00:29:22.239 a calling to service that has been given to me for a time. 00:29:24.040 –> 00:29:27.219 My money, my friends, you can work this out. 00:29:28.280 –> 00:29:33.280 My life, my life, what is my life? 00:29:33.479 –> 00:29:36.219 Oh, all the things that you wanted to say about your life, 00:29:36.219 –> 00:29:41.219 my life, the opportunity that he has given 00:29:42.400 –> 00:29:46.119 to me to serve at his pleasure in this world 00:29:46.119 –> 00:29:48.859 until he calls me home, that’s all that it is. 00:29:50.359 –> 00:29:52.040 And you know friends, we will do much better 00:29:52.040 –> 00:29:53.719 when it comes to dealing with loss, 00:29:53.719 –> 00:29:55.959 whether that be the loss of people that we love, 00:29:55.959 –> 00:29:57.479 whether it be the loss of position, 00:29:57.479 –> 00:29:59.300 whether it be the loss of property. 00:29:59.300 –> 00:30:02.459 If we believe and remember that what we have 00:30:02.500 –> 00:30:07.500 belongs to God and is loaned to us for a time. 00:30:10.040 –> 00:30:12.660 Spurgeon says this, a man does not cry 00:30:12.660 –> 00:30:17.660 when he has to return a tool which he has borrowed. 00:30:18.719 –> 00:30:23.719 He knew that he borrowed it, he never called it his own, 00:30:24.040 –> 00:30:27.040 and when he hands it back, he is thankful 00:30:27.040 –> 00:30:30.520 that he had it for such a long time. 00:30:32.739 –> 00:30:36.459 You know friends, the last time Moses spoke to God’s people, 00:30:39.000 –> 00:30:41.859 before he died, he said to them, 00:30:41.859 –> 00:30:45.479 look, I’m putting before you two ways of life. 00:30:46.800 –> 00:30:48.719 There is a way in which you will be blessed 00:30:48.719 –> 00:30:51.079 and there is a way that is always cursed. 00:30:52.140 –> 00:30:53.540 A way that leads to life 00:30:53.540 –> 00:30:55.300 and there is a way that leads to death. 00:30:55.300 –> 00:30:57.739 Now I really feel a little like that 00:30:57.739 –> 00:30:59.459 at the end of this message today. 00:31:00.319 –> 00:31:05.160 We live at a time when the great movement of our culture 00:31:05.160 –> 00:31:08.579 is to crown self as Lord. 00:31:10.520 –> 00:31:13.760 Go down that path and you will always be haunted with fear. 00:31:15.599 –> 00:31:16.939 Always hunted with fear. 00:31:18.560 –> 00:31:20.239 There can be no greater curse 00:31:20.239 –> 00:31:22.339 than the curse that is found on that path 00:31:22.339 –> 00:31:25.699 and no greater misery than what is found at its end. 00:31:26.400 –> 00:31:30.199 And so I want to say with Moses, 00:31:30.199 –> 00:31:32.319 choose the path that leads to life. 00:31:32.319 –> 00:31:33.140 And what is that? 00:31:33.140 –> 00:31:35.939 It’s the path on which you get off the throne. 00:31:35.939 –> 00:31:39.319 It’s a path on which you crown Jesus Christ 00:31:39.319 –> 00:31:41.300 as the Lord that he is. 00:31:42.380 –> 00:31:45.079 Bow before him as the sovereign over your life. 00:31:45.079 –> 00:31:46.760 Think of this. 00:31:46.760 –> 00:31:49.239 When you are able to say, 00:31:49.239 –> 00:31:52.280 for me to live is Christ, 00:31:52.760 –> 00:31:55.739 then you will also be able to say, 00:31:55.739 –> 00:31:58.839 and for me to die is gain. 00:31:59.859 –> 00:32:02.040 You’ll be able to say with the apostle Paul, 00:32:02.040 –> 00:32:04.979 if we live, we live to the Lord. 00:32:04.979 –> 00:32:07.579 And if we die, we die to the Lord. 00:32:07.579 –> 00:32:11.439 So whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord. 00:32:11.439 –> 00:32:13.760 So you see he’s applying the central doctrine. 00:32:13.760 –> 00:32:18.119 This is where this great victory over fear is found, 00:32:18.119 –> 00:32:21.520 when the Savior is the sovereign Lord 00:32:21.520 –> 00:32:26.520 over your life and over your death and over your eternity 00:32:27.939 –> 00:32:31.459 and you know it and your His and He’s yours. 00:32:32.640 –> 00:32:36.339 What in the world do you have to fear? 00:32:37.520 –> 00:32:42.119 Father, we bow before you 00:32:44.699 –> 00:32:46.359 in a moment of time 00:32:46.359 –> 00:32:50.920 where the nation that we love 00:32:51.780 –> 00:32:54.540 is experiencing new levels of fear 00:32:57.280 –> 00:33:00.280 and we ask that as the people who have come to know you, 00:33:00.280 –> 00:33:03.979 you will make us people of hope in a culture of fear 00:33:05.800 –> 00:33:10.439 because we are not simply a religious version of the culture 00:33:11.180 –> 00:33:14.599 but we really have got off the throne 00:33:14.699 –> 00:33:19.719 and crowned your son Jesus Christ as the Lord. 00:33:21.439 –> 00:33:24.920 So here are our prayers, in Jesus’ Name. 00:33:27.359 –> 00:33:31.180 You’ve been listening to a sermon with Pastor Colin Smith, of Open the Bible. 00:33:31.180 –> 00:33:36.459 To contact us, call us at 1-877-OPEN-365 00:33:36.459 –> 00:33:40.459 or visit our website, www.Openthebible.org
