NEVER BE AFRAID AGAIN

Fear can be crippling. Being afraid is often the result of not what is happening, but what we fear might happen. Such fears make each of us vulnerable to withdraw, give-up, hide, or excuse ourselves from ever trying something new. The result of this happening is that we each become less than who God has created us to be and in the process we deny the world the benefit of what God can do through us. In the Bible there are many stories of many heroes who learned the secret of overcoming their fears by trusting God and learning how to ‘fear’ Him despite their circumstances or fearful expectations. We read of how Kings led their vastly outnumbered army to defeat immensely more powerful and ruthless enemy armies by fearing the Lord. We read how previously unsure, uncertain, unable people became fearless, decisive, and confident and able to solve previously insurmountable problems by simply fearing the Lord. We read how the arrogant were humbled and transformed into gentle and caring souls when they experienced the fear of the Lord. Then, in the early chapters of the Book of Acts when becoming a Christian could cost you your life, we read of the numbers of Christians exploding across the Empire because they also no longer had a reason to be afraid because they had learned what it meant to fear the Lord.

¶ So the church throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria had peace and was being built up.
And walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, it multiplied.
Acts 9:31

 

OUTNUMBERED, OUTGUNNED, OUTMANNED, YET NOT AFRAID!

¶ Jehoshaphat lived at Jerusalem. And he went out again among the people, from Beersheba to the hill country of Ephraim, and brought them back to the LORD, the God of their fathers. He appointed judges in the land in all the fortified cities of Judah, city by city, and said to the judges, “Consider what you do, for you judge not for man but for the LORD. He is with you in giving judgment. Now then, let the fear of the LORD be upon you. Be careful what you do, for there is no injustice with the LORD our God, or partiality or taking bribes.”
Second Chronicles 19:4-7

King Jehoshaphat led the nation of Judah into revival even though they faced enemy forces on nearly every part of the borders. The secret to his leadership success is revealed in the one thing he insisted from his leaders – that they learn to fear the Lord.

And he charged them: “Thus you shall do in the fear of the LORD, in faithfulness,
and with your whole heart”
Second Chronicles 19:9

The result of fearing the Lord was that his officials refused to take bribes, they refused to pervert the cause of justice, and they refused to be intimidated by enemies. When someone truly fears the Lord they trust God more than they are afraid of those who try to intimidate them. King Jehoshaphat took the commands of the Lord through Moses seriously –

¶ “And now, Israel, what does the LORD your God require of you,
but to fear the LORD your God, to walk in all His ways, to love Him,
to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul,
Deuteronomy 10:12

Jehoshaphat believed the words of the prophet Samuel who said that if Israel’s kings would fear the Lord they would trust God and therefore be faithful to Him by implication then, God would protect them from their enemies (1Sam. 12:24). 

¶ And the fear of the LORD fell upon all the kingdoms of the lands that
were around Judah, and they made no war against Jehoshaphat.
Second Chronicles 17:10

 

UNSURE, UNCERTAIN, UNABLE, BECAME FEARLESS, DECISIVE, & CONFIDENT

Someone has wondered how Lazarus viewed problems and threats after Jesus had raised him from the dead. When Jesus appeared at the tomb of Lazarus four days after Lazarus had died and been buried, He wept (John 11:35). F.W. Boreham suggested that Christ wept not because of what had happened to Lazarus, but because of what He was about to do to Lazarus in bringing him back from the dead.

¶ Then Jesus, deeply moved again, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone lay against it. Jesus said, “Take away the stone.” Martha, the sister of the dead man, said to Him, “Lord, by this time there will be an odour, for he has been dead four days.” Jesus said to her, “Did I not tell you that if you believed you would see the glory of God?” So they took away the stone. And Jesus lifted up his eyes and said, “Father, I thank you that you have heard Me. I knew that you always hear Me, but I said this on account of the people standing around, that they may believe that You sent Me.” When He had said these things, He cried out with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out.” The man who had died came out, his hands and feet bound with linen strips, and his face wrapped with a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Unbind him, and let him go.”
John 11:38-44

Bizarrely, after Lazarus had been raised from the dead, the Jewish religious leaders sought to put him to death (John 12:10). I can imagine that if Lazarus had discovered this plot to put him to death, he would have been somewhat bemused. Did these religious leaders really think that mere death threats could make Lazarus fearful? Perhaps through his pre-mortem illness (Jn. 11:1), which his sisters were hoping that Christ would come and heal him of (Jn. 11:3), the ailing Lazarus had become unsure, uncertain, and fearful. But after experiencing healing when his pain-ridden body was vacated for a pre-resurrected pain-free immaterial body, and he was ushered into glorious comfort that awaits the righteous, he could never be fearful of death or the trials of this life ever again! Lazarus’s fear of the Lord before he was raised from the dead would have been profoundly boosted after his death as a result of his experience in paradise where there was no sorrow or pain. After his being raised from the dead by Jesus, no more would the thought of dying ever cause him to be afraid. Lazarus had now discovered that the fear of the Lord was the fountain of true life (Prov. 14:27).   

 

ONCE AFRAID, ARROGANT, AND THEN HUMBLE & GENTLE

Discovering the magnificence of the fear of the Lord is a very humbling transformation. Saul of Tarsus was an arrogant, fearful, man. He was fearful that the growing number of Christ-followers would undermine his world and everything he believed in. As with most violent men, he too was afraid and responded to what he was afraid of with murderous violence (Acts 9:1). Then he experienced the fear of the Lord (Acts 9:5) and his newfound fear meant that he was no longer afraid (Acts 9:18, 20). From that moment, Saul became Paul and he lived with a constant awareness that Christ was not just with him he was always watching over him (Matt. 28:20). Living in the fear of the Lord transformed Paul from an angry, afraid, man into a gentle, humble, man (1Thess. 2:7). And this is what the fear of the Lord does to a person.

The ultimate example of what living in the fear of the Lord was declared in 750BC by the prophet Isaiah to be the coming messiah.

And the Spirit of the LORD shall rest upon Him,
the Spirit of wisdom and understanding,
the Spirit of counsel and might,
the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the LORD
And His delight shall be in the fear of the LORD.
He shall not judge by what His eyes see,
or decide disputes by what His ears hear,.
Isaiah 11:2

No one exemplified living in the fear of the Lord more than Jesus did. According Isaiah 11:3, Jesus delighted in the fear of the Lord. That is, Jesus delighted in the knowledge that everything He did was watched by His Father. Jesus described the fear of the Lord in terms that would bring comfort to every person who turns to Him in faith and obedience – but in terrifying terms for those who refuse to accept the love of God (Matt. 12:36-37).

 

NO LONGER AFRAID

Little wonder then, that when people encountered the Christ they experienced the fear of the Lord. Thus, in the early chapters of the Book of Acts, the apostolic preaching of the gospel resulted in new believers walking in the fear of the Lord –

¶ So the church throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria had peace and was being built up.
And walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, it multiplied.
Acts 9:31

Three things resulted from these members of the early church learning to walk in the fear of the Lord. Firstly, they experience the comfort of the Holy Spirit. Secondly the Church (and churches) grew exponentially. Thirdly, they were no longer afraid of death. Athanasius, writing about A.D. 280 described this change in attitude about death by the early believers as “the disciples of Christ [now] despise death”. By despise Athanasius was saying that the early Christians were no longer afraid of death.

All the disciples of Christ despise death; they take the offensive against it and, instead of fearing it, by the sign of the cross and by faith in Christ trample on it as on something dead. Before the divine sojourn of the Saviour, even the holiest of men were afraid of death, and mourned the dead as those who perish. But now that the Saviour has raised His body, death is no longer terrible, but all those who believe in Christ tread it underfoot as nothing, and prefer to die rather than to deny their faith in Christ, knowing full well that when they die they do not perish, but live indeed, and become incorruptible through the resurrection.
On The Incarnation, Athanasius, A.D. 280, Chapter V, The Resurrection (27)

 

ONCE YOU DELIGHT IN THE FEAR OF THE LORD,
YOU NEED NEVER BE AFRAID AGAIN!

When the early Church walked in the fear of the Lord, their lives reflected a sincerity of authentic trust in the Lord. The fear of the Lord brought a fear to sin or compromise and it also led to these early believers no longer being afraid of death despite the threats that came from the Jewish leaders, then from Rome. This is why I am bewildered by the spate of high profile Christian celebrity preachers who have been exposed for compromised lifestyles which has brought great disgrace to the cause of Christ. It is my pastoral hope that we will learn—and delight in—the fear of the Lord so that we be quick to repent when we fall, eager to seek God’s will in our lives, and strive to make Christ known by how we live and by our preparedness to confidently share the gospel. And we can do this because through Christ we never have to be afraid again!

Your pastor,

Andrew

Let me know what you think below in the comment section and feel free to share this someone who might benefit from this Pastor’s Desk. 

THE FRUIT DIET WORTH MORE THAN MONEY

 

THE FRUIT DIET WORTH MORE THAN MONEY

 There was a time when people were desperate to find the right diet. There was the: Atkins diet; The Zone diet; Ketogenic diet; Vegetarian diet; Vegan diet; Weight Watchers diet; South Beach diet; and, the Raw food diet. People went on these diets to lose weight, to gain weight, to become healthier, to improve their mental alertness, to make them happy, to have an excuse to drink blended thick green “health shakes” and to be trendy. I tried a diet once. But after two days I hadn’t lost the kilos it promised so I stopped. There is, however a little known diet that easy enough start and not so hard to end and its effects are beneficial physically, emotionally, mentally, financially, relationally, and spiritually. I’m referring to the Holy Spirit Fruit Diet.
 How different would your life be if you were filled continually with the Holy Spirit? This seems to have been the experience of at least the first Christians. We know that Jesus told His disciples after His resurrection to “receive the Holy Spirit” (Jn. 20:22) which may have been the moment that they were “regenerated” which is a fancy way of saying that they were born again (Jn. 3:3). But then Jesus told His disciples to wait for the outpouring of the Spirit (Lk. 24:39; Acts 1:4) which was yet to come. The effect on the disciples when this happened was dramatic — especially in the Simon Peter (Acts 2:14). He went from being a cowering timid fearful backslider to being a bold courageous fearless leader of the Christ’s Church (Acts 2:15-39). Then some days later, as Peter was about to bear witness before the rulers of Judaism, he was filled afresh with the Holy Spirit (Acts 4:8). When Peter met again with the other believers to pray, all of them were filled with Holy Spirit again (Acts 4:31). Thus, being filled continually with the Holy Spirit seems to have been the usually experience of the early believers. As the Church grew and spread, the early Christians’ understanding of who the Holy Spirit was and what He wanted to do in each believer and church also grew. They discovered that the Spirit didn’t just fill them to be bold proclaiming witnesses, He also enabled them to bear witness to the power of Christ by how they lived. The apostle Paul called this, the fruit of the Spirit. 

 

THE SPIRIT DIET FOR CHURCHES

When the apostle Paul arrived in Corinth he found people who were very spiritual. They were very aware of the spiritual realm. They had often seen demonic activity (note 1Cor. 10:20-21). They were very aware of angels and other heavenly beings (note 1Cor. 4:9; 6:3; 11:10; 13:1; 2Cor. 11:14). Thus, when Christian leaders such as the apostle Peter and Apollos, and Paul had ministered in Corinth there was much spiritual activity, including “signs and wonders” (2Cor. 12:12), miracles and healings (1Cor. 12:9, 28-30). Paul wrote to the Corinthians about how the ministry of the gifts of the Spirit were given to bless the whole church (1Cor. 12:1-11) and should only be used to do so. But before he wrote to the Corinthians about the Holy Spirit’s gifts, he wrote to the Galatians about the Holy Spirit’s fruit.

 

THE FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT DIET FOR A BELIEVER

What does a ‘spiritual’ person look like? After Paul and his team had evangelised Galatia, reports soon came to him that Judaizers (Jewish Christians who believed that salvation was the result of faith in Christ plus keeping the laws of Moses which included circumcision for men) had come to these Galatian converts and told them that they weren’t really saved unless they also became Jewish. (A Gentile could become a proselyte to Judaism if they did the religious works required in the laws of Moses.) Paul was dismayed. He wrote a letter to them explaining that what these Judaizers had told them was wrong. He grounded his reasoning in the work of the Holy Spirit among them and especially within each of them. This work of the Holy Spirit, Paul reasoned, was proof of God having given them the gift of salvation and did not require their own religious efforts (“works of the law” or the efforts of “the flesh”).

Let me ask you only this: Did you receive the Spirit by works of the law or by hearing with faith? Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh?
Galatians 3:2-3

Paul reminded the Galatians that their new life in Christ was the result of the Holy Spirit giving them the gift of faith (Gal. 2:20) and then a spiritual diet that produced “fruit” (Gal. 5:22-24).

¶ If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit.
          Galatians 5:25

Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control, are the fruits of the Holy Spirit. This is what the Holy Spirit produces in each believer. This is why, when a church of these Spirit-transformed Christ-followers assembles, it just might be more similar to a ‘bowl of fruit salad’ than we had realised! While the health benefits of the previously mentioned fad diets might be questionable (and expensive!) there is no other diet that can compare with the body-mind-soul health benefits of the Holy Spirit’s fruit diet. You can start this free diet at anytime with just one prayer and a yielded heart. It really is a diet that is worth more than money!

Your pastor,

Andrew

Let me know what you think below in the comment section and feel free to share this someone who might benefit from this Pastor’s Desk.

HOW TO MAKE SENSE OF IT ALL

 

YOU ONLY HAVE TWO OPTIONS FOR MAKING SENSE OF THE WORLD

How do we answer the deep questions of life? This is a challenge at the best of times, but it is particularly a challenge when the world — or at least your world — is in turmoil. The deep questions of lie can be summed up into four words: Origins, Morality, Meaning, and Destiny. You really only have two options when it comes to being able to coherently answer these four deep questions of life. Either, there are no answers to these deep questions about life which means life has no order, meaning or purpose; or, there are answers to these deep questions and the world is ordered, purposeful, and has a Cause. I am going to appeal to reason and intuition to substantiate my claim that the second option is actually the only rational explanation for our world and our lives – and is especially necessary to grasp when it is difficult to make sense of it all when the world seems to be going mad.

Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.”
John 14:6

OPTION #1, NIHILISM 

The idea that life’s deep questions have no answer and therefore life has no cause, source, purpose, or destiny, is known as nihilism. In Dr. Vishal Mangalwadi’s book, The Book That Made Your World, he opens with the story of Kurt Cobain [pictured right], the former lead singer of the world’s highest selling rock band, Nirvana. “On April 8, 1994, an electrician accidentally discovered a dead body in Seattle, Washing ton. A shotgun had blown the victim’s head into unrecognizable bits. The police investigation concluded that the victim of this ghastly tragedy was the rock legend Kurt Cobain (b. 1967) and that he had committed suicide a few days earlier” (Mangalwadi 2011, 3). Mangalwadi goes on to describe how Cobain had increasingly accepted nihilism. His song lyrics included lines like I want to die and other more obscene expressions of despair. Since nihilism is the belief that life has no purpose, meaning or destiny, and therefore there is no right or wrong conduct (morality), there can be no true justice in this life. This can only lead to the type of despair that Cobain experienced. I think Option #1 is not a positive way of looking at the world and its effect on those who embrace it is nearly always destructive. 

There is a way that seems right to a man,
but its end is the way to death.
Proverbs 14:12

It is very difficult to be a nihilist because it does not correspond to reality or what we all know intuitively. It’s like being in the deep end of a swimming pool and trying to push a large inflated beach ball under the surface of the water. No matter how hard we push, it just keeps forcing its way back to the surface. That’s similar to how it is for the nihilist. Reality and intuition just keeping pushing the truth back to the surface.

¶ Why are you cast down, O my soul,
and why are you in turmoil within me?
Hope in God; for I shall again praise him,
my salvation
Psalm 42:5

HOW THE ANCIENTS THOUGHT ABOUT THESE GREAT QUESTIONS

The ancients looked at our world marked by natural disasters, human despotism marked by wars and violence, as being directed by some intelligent power. The Greeks called this power, Logos “the reason.” The New Testament writers, particularly the apostle John, picked up on this term coined by the Greek philosophers, and used it to refer to Jesus in John 1:1, 14 —

In the beginning was the Word [the Logos],
and the Word [the Logos] was with God,
and the Word [the Logos] was God.
John 1:1

¶ And the Word [the Logos] became flesh and dwelt among us,
and we have seen His glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father,
full of grace and truth.
John 1:14

To the New Testament writers, Jesus provided the most coherent answers to mankind’s four greatest questions – origins (where did we come from and why are we here), morality (what are the rules of life that will enable me to live my best life), meaning (what is my purpose, potential and place in this life) and destiny (after this life is over what is my eternal destiny). The ancients knew there were answers to these universal questions and that the quest to coherently answer them was mankind’s deepest longing. 

To them God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles [non-Jews]
are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.
Colossians 1:27

 

OPTION #2 – JESUS CHRIST 

Jesus stated that all of mankind’s deepest longings could only be satisfied in coming to know Him! He was either a deranged lunatic with false visions of aggrandisement; or, He may have been telling the truth and thereby been true! There really is no third option.

And this is eternal life, that they know You, the only true God,
and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.
John 17:3

Jesus claimed to be the eternal One and thereby the Cause of all things (Col. 1:16-20). Jesus also claimed to be the highest moral authority and thereby the source of the Law of God for all mankind (Matt. 5:21-22; John 5:22, 27; 8:16). He summed up the ten commandments that He gave to Moses with just two commands that if a person lives by them “they would live forever” (Matt. 22:37-40; John 6:51). Jesus stated that the meaning of life was not a task – but a relationship. This was to be a loving relationship of the highest order and commitment involving devotion to, and worship of, the Source of all Love and Truth (Jn. 17:3; 1John 4:7). He also claimed to be the sole Judge with His Father of the eternal destinies of each person who has or will ever live (John 5:22). Consider Christ’s claims to deity in this unmistakable declaration of His supremacy over your destiny based on your acceptance or rejection of His Lordship-  

For as the Father has life in Himself, so He has granted the Son also to have life in Himself. And He has given Him authority to execute judgment, because He is the Son of Man. Do not marvel at this, for an hour is coming when all who are in the tombs will hear His voice and come out, those who have done good to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil to the resurrection of judgment.
John 5:26-29

 

MAKING SENSE OF A SENSELESS WORLD

But how do these claims of Lordship by Christ help us to make sense of a world at a time when a powerful nation instigates a brutal invasion of its neighbour and wreaks massive loss of innocent life? The Word of God affirms God’s control over nations and history — despite despotic national leaders and dictators — with the assurance that all injustices will be brought to account.

The nations rage, the kingdoms totter;He utters His voice, the earth melts.
“Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth!”
Psalm 46:6, 10

¶ God reigns over the nations;
God sits on His holy throne.
Psalm 47:8
 

Making sense of this world, especially at a time like this, still requires answering the four deepest perpetual questions of mankind. But it also requires understanding our Creator’s unfolding story of redemption. This story has often been summarised as: Creation; Fall; Redemption; and, Restoration. It was the fall of the original mankind from innocence into rebellion that introduced evil into our world. It was at this moment that God the Creator was revealed as God the Redeemer because His plan of redemption was instigated with the announcement that the Redeemer would be sent into the world as a human to be born in the usual way (Gen. 3:15) but later declared by the prophet that He would be born from a virgin mother (Isa. 7:14; Mtt. 1:21-23). After Jesus fulfilled His role in His Father’s plan of redemption and was raised from the dead and then ascended back into the heavenly dimension of eternity, He had set in train the ultimate destruction of evil and its devilish promoter.

Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil,
for the devil has been sinning from the beginning.
The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil.
First John 3:8

But if Jesus Christ is the Logos, the One who enables us to understand our world’s origin, meaning, morality and destiny, who is the Central Character in the Story of Redemption, has conquered evil and the devil, then why is there still evil and devilishness in the world? Two things are important to understand in answering this question. Firstly, no matter what evil schemes and acts of wickedness any devilish dictator has wrought, history reveals that despite this — and despite the tragic losses of life — God has redeemed subsequent events toward the eventual culmination of His yet-to-be-concluded-plan-of-redemption. Secondly, God has decreed that an ultimate day of Judgment will come, but not yet! It is on this basis that I can say with some testable confidence that the present circumstances in eastern Europe will be redeemed by God, and that those not brought to justice in this life will face the full consequences of their actions on the last day (Jn. 12:48). To fully make sense of all this – and every other future act of devilish evil – we need to understand the most important truth of all: God is good and can only do good.

 

THE SOURCE AND STANDARD OF GOOD

The ancient Greeks raised a different  problem. Was God actually ‘good’? This was referred to as the Euthyphro Dilemma. Was something ‘good’ just because it was what commanded by God? or, Was something commanded by God because it was good? This dilemma is resolved by discovering the God is the Source and Standard of all that is good. Therefore, God only ever commands that which is good (it doesn’t become good because God commands it). 

One of the emotional/intellectual problems that people who accept that there must be a God that resembles closely or exactly the God described in the Bible have had over the years is the problem ow Why would an all good and all powerful God allow suffering, evil, and tragedy in His world? Either He is not really all good and doesn’t care — or He is not really all powerful and is unable to do anything about it. Theologians refer to this problem as Theodicy (the problem of evil). This problem is resolved by asking a greater question: Does God ever ordain or allow what we perceive to be “wrong” because He has a morally good reason for doing so? This greater question is answered when we reflect on Christ’s passion and crucifixion. By working through these questions we may be able to understand why God might allow or ordain natural evil (floods, fires, disastrous weather events) and committed evil (such as wars, violence, crimes against people, brutal oppression of others). Especially when we view the world from the perspective of there being an eternal Judge who redeems those who turn to Him, and holds to account those who don’t. This is why answering the question of mankind’s destiny is so important to making sense of life and the world we live in. And it is only in discovering that the questions relating to our (and our world’s) origins is found in the Logos of the Father who became one of us to show us the way back to His Father.

 

THEREFORE, THE FOUR ANSWERS

ORIGINS – of our world and our lives can only be explained by the existence of an uncreated eternal Creator who is the cause of this world and our lives.

MORALITY – we live in a world of rules and laws that govern physics, chemistry, biology, and astronomy. This is why we observe order in the cosmos from gigantic galaxies to the structure of the small cell. It is also why we intuitively know right from wrong which enabled us to conduct the Nuremberg Trials after World War Two. It is why we know that certain wrong conduct is wrong even when a government or court says that it is not (as happened in 1930s and 40s Germany).

MEANING – we are created to worship, to express thankfulness, and give due adoration to our Creator. We do this by praise, prayer, working, creating, playing, loving, helping, teaching, building, judging, nurturing, protecting, and being restored into the True Image of God (2Cor. 4:4-6) we were created to be. The meaning and purpose of life is not happiness, but holiness.

DESTINY – life does not stop at the grave. C.S. Lewis stated in Mere Christianity, “There is no such thing as a mere mortal. No person is a mere mortal because every person that God has created in His image has been created as an Immortal. We will all live forever. Our eternal destiny is determined by whether we yield to Christ as our Saviour from our sins and accept His lordship and live by the power of the Holy Spirit whom He has sent.

By seeing the world this way we will be able to make sense of it all.

Your pastor,

Andrew

Let me know what you think below in the comment section and feel free to share this someone who might benefit from this Pastor’s Desk.