Hebrews 10_26-31      A Dreadful Thing

Rev. David Holwick  ZC

First Baptist Church                    

Ledgewood, New Jersey 

September 12, 2004

Hebrews 10:26-31


A DREADFUL THING



I. Go for the thrill.

      A. White water rafting experience.


           Holwicks always try to work in a bit of adventure on

              vacations.

           This year we kicked it off with some white water rafting

              in West Virginia.

           The New River there is supposed to rival the Colorado River,

              at least for the East Coast.


           It is a big production - 9 people per raft, and 5 rafts in

              our cluster.

           The water was low but the rapids looked decent.

              We headed downriver.  (Except Celeste, the chicken)


           The first few rapids were easy.

           Then we clipped another raft and two people fell out.

              Kinda cool.

           Then another raft lost a person.


           Finally we came to a Level V rapid, the worst.

           Huge boulders filled the river, with water flowing over and

              even under them.

           We weren't very coordinated in paddling, so we hit the rapids

              sideways.

           You don't want to do that.

              The guy on my left was tossed from the boat.

           Then our side tipped into the water and all three of us

               Holwicks were ejected.


           The boys were hauled back in.

              I was not.

           I clung to the raft and was crunched against the first

              boulder.

           Then I let go and tumbled through the rapids.

              All I saw was waves and water.

           Another boat hauled me in and we completed the ride.


           These raft companies know their stuff.

           Half an hour after the ride was over, they had a DVD for sale.

              My crunching was the highlight.

              They even dubbed in Mozart's "Requiem."

           I was the star.

              I haven't been able to sleep on my side ever since.


           White water rafting has the aura of danger.

              That's what attracts people.


           But you never really expect to end up in the water.

              We want the image of danger but not the reality.

           I will admit that after my spill, I had a knot in my stomach

              at each rapid we encountered downriver.

           It wasn't hypothetical anymore.


      B. There are many things to be afraid of in life.

          1) We fear terrorism, especially in the shadow of 9-11.

          2) Floridians probably fear hurricanes by now.

              a) My dad down in Clearwater has missed both so far.

              b) Josiah wants to visit him with our video camera

                    anyway.


II. Many of our fears are blown out of proportion.

      A. We fear the bizarre.


           London's Goodfellows insurance company sells some unusual

              policies.

           Among the most popular is the Alien All Risks package,

              about $400 a year for $1.7 million coverage.

           It covers you for being abducted or impregnated by an

              alien.

           40,000 people have purchased the coverage.

                                                                  #20740


      B. Media hype.

          1) Dramatic events like terrorist attacks get a lot of

                media attention, so we think it will happen to us.

              a) Who here hasn't imagined yourself trapped in the World

                    Trade Center during the attack.

          2) But we don't imagine having a car accident.

              a) Which is more likely?  (Ask Mike Ammerman)

              b) Scientifically, your child is in more danger from

                    wearing dark clothing than living near a nuclear

                       power plant.


                 (Dark clothes make them less visible to cars at night)

                                                                   #22577


      C. We can be afraid of not fearing.


           Since it began its color alerts in March 2002, the Homeland

              Security department has never designated the U.S. to be

                 at less than a level Yellow.

           This means we are at "significant" risk for terrorist

              attacks.

           The two lower levels, green and blue, haven't been used.

           And even the safest level -- green -- warns that the risk

              is "low," not zero.

                                                                   #16235


III. The Bible says only one thing is worth fearing.

      A. The beginning of wisdom is to fear God.

          1) The concept makes us uncomfortable.

              a) Memories of fire and brimstone revival preachers.

              b) Makes God sound cruel and harsh.

                  1> Result of old-fashioned, Puritan view of God?

                  2> But it is deeply rooted in the Bible.

                      A> It is not something we would want to make up.

          2) Soften to awe or reverence?

              a) Sometimes appropriate.

                  1> But generally confuses the issue.

              b) Other words were available to express "awe".

          3) Literal fear demanded by many passages.

              a) Mount Sinai - they feared for their lives.   Exod 20:18f

                  1> They were in the presence of One bigger than them.

                  2> Fear is tied to God's majesty 300 times.

              b) New Testament parallel of same event:


                   "The sight was so terrifying that Moses said,

                       'I am trembling with fear.'"             Heb 12:21


      B. Jesus also taught the fear of God.

                                           

             "Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot

                 kill the soul.

              Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul

                 and body in hell."                            Matt 10:28


IV. Why we should fear God.

      A. We should fear God because He is bigger than we are.

          1) When we lose this perspective, fears will multiply.


             Comment by Charles Colson:


             There's an important reason for our increased anxiety:

             It is a loss of faith in the biblical God, in the doctrine

                of providence.


             For nearly 2,000 years, belief in the biblical God helped

                Western society make sense of the world.

             People believed that someone was in charge and that He was

                directing events in accordance with some good purpose.


             Even when bad things happened, the world wasn't considered

                to be senseless.

             As Thomas Cahill wrote in THE GIFTS OF THE JEWS, it was

                biblical religion, with its belief in one, all-powerful

                   God, that gave the West its understanding of history

                      and progress.

             Not only that, it provided the sense of hope.        #7269


          2) God is a living being, not a vague concept or principle.

              a) You don't want to get on his bad side.

              b) Our version of God is way too trite.

                  1> Example from television.


              At the end of our vacation we spent a week at the Triehy

                 [my inlaws] cabin in Maine.

              Their TV gets only two channels, three if you go outside

                 and twist the antenna with your hand.


              But "Everybody Loves Raymond" came through loud and clear.

                 We all watched the hamster episode.

              The poor little thing nibbled on some Popsicles, ended up

                 in the freezer, and froze to death.

              How could he explain this tragedy to his daughter?


              The grandparents turned to theology.

                 Grandma assured her the hamster was in People Heaven.

              Grandpa disagreed - hamsters only go to Pet Heaven.

                 Bad ones don't even go there.

              In the end, grandma won.


              For many Americans, this represents the essence of their

                 faith.


              You believe in God so you can go to People Heaven when

                 you die.

              Morality doesn't really matter.

              What you believe is immaterial.

                 There is no fear, but no substance either.


      B. We should fear God because he will call us to account.

          1) Hebrews 12 emphasizes God's judgment.

              a) Our actions will have consequences.

          2) Disrespect Jesus and his commands, and he will "dis" you.

              a) The plague of "cheap grace."

                  1> God forgives everything, so why bother to be good?

              b) The corruption in our society, even in the church,

                    should put us to shame.


  V. God threatens our egos, not us.

      A. Choose wisely.


         Bill Hybels writes:


         Every single day we make choices that show whether we are

            courageous or cowardly.

         We choose between the right thing and the convenient thing.

         We stick to our convictions, or cave in for the sake of

            comfort, greed or approval.

         We choose either to take a carefully thought-out risk or to

            crawl into a shrinking shell of safety, security and

               inactivity.

         We choose either to believe in God and trust him, even when

            we do not always understand his ways, or

         to second-guess him and cower in the corners of doubt and

            fear.

                                                                   #28198


      B. It is a wonderful thing to fall into the grace of the

            living God.



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SOURCES FOR ILLUSTRATIONS USED IN THIS SERMON:


# 7269  "Fear of Living - Being Scared in a Post-Christian Age," Charles

           Colson's BreakPoint Commentary, May 8, 2003.


#16235  "Why Are Americans So Scared?" Jane Spencer and Cynthia Crossen,

           Wall Street Journal, April 26, 2003.


#20740  "Alien All Risks Insurance," Chuck Shepherd, News Of The Weird

           internet newsletter, October 28, 2001.


#22577  "Why We Fear Nuclear Power, Not Peanut Butter," Hannah Holmes,

           http://www.discovery.com/area/skinnyon/skinnyon970212/skinny1.html,


#28198  "The Choices We Make," Rev. Bill Hybels, SermonCentral.com internet

           newsletter, August 3, 2004.


These and 25,000 others are part of a database that can be downloaded,

absolutely free, at http://www.holwick.com/database.html

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