Rev. David Holwick Y Joshua 1:9 Series
First Baptist Church
Ledgewood, New Jersey
July 10, 2016
Joshua 1:9 & 1 Peter 3:14
WHAT'S TO BE AFRAID OF?
I. Fear can metastasize.
A. On Thursday I watched the video of a man shot by police.
1) The police had pulled them over for having a broken light.
2) Apparently the man was legally carrying a gun, told the
officer so, reached for his wallet, and shots rang out.
3) His girlfriend recorded the aftermath on her phone, while
the officer hovered outside with his gun still aimed.
a) The dying man was black.
B. On Friday I woke up to see "Breaking News" headlines.
1) Five police shot to death in Dallas and four wounded.
2) Ironically, it happened at a "Black Lives Matter" rally.
a) The police were there to protect the people.
C. It seems like everyone has a reason to be afraid.
1) No one knows all the details, but I imagine the cop in
Minnesota was afraid the black man was pulling a gun
on him, not a wallet.
2) Now minorities will be more fearful of cops, and cops will
be more fearful of minorities.
a) The cycle is so sad, and seemingly endless.
b) Yet Joshua 1:9 tells us, we don't have to be afraid.
II. If you can't reach the peak, avoid the pit.
A. In Joshua 1:9, positives are followed by negatives.
1) Favorite Hebrew poetic style: antithetical parallelism.
a) Say the same thing twice, but reverse it.
b) The negatives deepen the positives.
2) The first two terms are positive: be strong, be courageous.
a) That should push you higher, to the mountaintop.
3) The next two terms are negative: don't be afraid, don't be
discouraged.
a) Instead of thinking about getting higher, try to avoid
slipping deeper.
b) Successful people need to worry about both ends.
B. If you can't be courageous, at least don't be afraid.
1) Controlling fear is a big emphasis in the Bible.
2) One pastor says the expression "Fear not!" is used 366 times
in the Bible, one for each day of the year!
III. What are you afraid of?
A. Fear plays a big role in our politics.
1) In the 1950s and 1960s, Communist takeover or missile gap.
a) (The movie "Trumbo" portrays one man caught up in the
Hollywood Blacklist of the 1950s.)
2) In our generation, radical Islamic terrorism.
3) Social decay is a perennial fear of conservatives, while
liberals fear out-of-control authorities like cops.
B. People in the past feared bigger things.
1) For Joshua and men in ancient times, dying in battle was
a realistic fear.
2) People feared plagues, invasions, famines, exile.
a) They didn't see these things on TV, happening somewhere
else.
b) They experienced them personally on a regular basis.
1> If you live in Syria or Iraq, this is still true.
2> But most of us live in peace and safety these days.
3> Yet we still have a lot of fear.
IV. What modern people fear.
A. Money problems.
1) Nobody has enough.
The New Yorker magazine had a disturbing article about
a man named Gerald Foos.
Over a 30-year period Mr. Foos owned a motel outside Denver
and installed secret vents so he could peek in the rooms.
He saw himself as a researcher as much as a voyeur, and
kept meticulous notes.
One of the things this creepy man observed - in the privacy
of motel rooms people argue about money. A lot. [1]
2) Perhaps you are fearful of your finances.
a) Half of Americans wouldn't be able to handle an
emergency $500 car repair.
b) Are you falling deeper into debt all the time?
c) Do you have enough to make it through retirement?
1> Many people agonize over this.
B. Health problems.
1) Several of my friends are facing crisis in their health
right now.
2) Modern medicine is great, and discovering new things all
the time, but disease and infirmity don't go away.
C. Falling away from loved ones.
1) Many people depend on their relationships to give them
contentment, but modern life puts so much pressure on us.
2) People fear their love is cooling, their marriages are
coming apart, their kids are drifting away.
D. Being humiliated.
1) These days, the whole world can know your failings.
John Gibson was a Baptist preacher and seminary teacher.
Last year the adultery website "Ashley Madison" was hacked
and the names and addresses of users were publicized.
John's name was one of them.
He wrote a suicide note and took his life.
His son found the body.
Interviewed on CNN, his wife and kids tearfully said they
could have forgiven him, but he couldn't take the shame.
2) Losing your reputation can be a fearful thing.
E. Failure.
1) In our success-oriented culture, no one wants to be a
failure.
2) I have these fears myself.
a) Our attendance has been declining for a few years.
b) Recently someone told me they didn't feel fed, so they
were looking at other churches.
c) I am glad they are concerned for their spiritual health.
1> But I also wonder if I have what it takes to build
the church up again.
2> Society is changing all the time.
3> Can I keep the gospel fresh and alive? Sometimes
I fear that I can't.
F. Death.
1) This is a fear that's been around a long time - like forever.
2) Hebrews 2:14-15 says it is the main reason Jesus came to
earth:
"...he... shared in their humanity so that by his death he
might destroy him who holds the power of death -- that
is, the devil--
and free those who all their lives were held in slavery
by their fear of death."
3) Death seems very final to us. We can be fearful facing our
end.
V. How can you NOT fear?
A. Improve your knowledge.
1) Christian motivational speaker Zig Ziglar says FEAR is
"False Evidence Appearing Real."
2) At one point we were all afraid of monsters under our bed.
a) Our parents educated us that they don't exist.
b) One boy's family took a more direct approach - they
sawed the legs off his bed.
3) Much of what we fear is out of balance.
a) We are fearful of an alligator eating our child, but
not of driving with our child on a busy highway.
b) The small things in life are more dangerous than the
big attention-getting ones.
4) Get an accurate handle on the dangers you face.
B. Seek God's answers to fear. Sermon #6983
1) Have Faith.
a) King David wrote in Psalm 56,
"When I am afraid, I will put my trust in you.
In God, whose word I praise,
I God I have put my trust;
I shall not be afraid.
What can mere mortals do to me?"
1> Is your faith in God stronger than the things
you are afraid of? -- Then you shouldn't be
afraid of anything.
2> Bad things will happen to all of us, but they
don't have to defeat us.
b) Psalm 91 is a great Bible passage for fearful people.
1> It lists ten things to be fearful of, including:
A> the treachery of enemies
B> deadly diseases
C> terrors in the night and day
D> accidents
E> snakes
F> lions
G> and trouble in general.
2> It also gives ten antidotes to fear, 5 from us and
5 from God.
From us:
A> Abide in God. (v. 1)
B> Trust God. (v. 2)
C> Love God. (v. 14)
D> Know God. (v. 14)
E> Pray to God. (v. 15)
From God:
A> He covers us.
B> He shields us.
C> He vindicates us.
D> He supernaturally protects us.
E> He saves us.
c) Bad things still happen to fearless people.
1> Pastor Saeed Abedini, imprisoned in Iran, was
finally released following worldwide pressure.
A> Then his wife, who had worked for his release,
left him.
2> Plenty of Christians die from cancer, lose their
jobs, or have children die at a young age.
A> Jesus promises that we will have plenty of
trouble in this world.
B> But fearless people don't let it defeat them.
C> Our God is always greater than our problems.
2) Have Hope.
a) One thing Christians should have is an eternal
perspective. This life isn't all there is.
b) Christians will die like everyone else, but we don't
have to fear death because Jesus has conquered it.
3) Have Love.
a) 1 John 4:18 says, "There is no fear in love. But
perfect love drives out fear."
b) The more you love God, the less you will fear.
c) If you are a fearful person, that says something tragic
about your faith in your Savior.
VI. Only one thing should make you afraid, very afraid.
A. Don't miss God in your life.
1) Jesus says this is the only thing to truly fear.
2) Not just a fear that you will miss believing in him, but
a continual fear of him throughout your life.
B. Two great results of fearing God:
1) Life is made meaningful.
a) To be a whole person we must encounter God.
1> To encounter God is fearsome, because we see how
unholy we are.
2> We also see how wonderful his love is, that he
would save us.
b) The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.
2) Morality is motivated.
a) An age-old question is, "Why should I be moral?"
1> Christians know that an awesome God will call us
to account someday.
b) There is a natural penalty for disobeying God.
1> Dr. William Eisenhower:
"In my discovery of the Savior who is also my Judge,
I discover several reasons to obey him.
Fear is one of these."
C. Peace is God's final word for you.
1) Jesus said in John 14:27 --
"Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you.
I do not give to you as the world gives.
Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid."
2) Do you have his peace?
a) If you don't, why not ask him for it now?
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SOURCES FOR ILLUSTRATIONS USED IN THIS SERMON:
Point “VI.” is modified from my sermon “Our God is an Awesome God”
preached on May 27, 1990 (Kerux Sermon #787).
1. “The Voyeur's Motel,” by Gay Talese, The New Yorker magazine,
April 4, 2016; <link>.
Sermon #6983 “How To Conquer Fear,” by Rev. Rowland Croucher,
John Mark Ministries, November 2000; <link>.
These and 35,000 others are part of the Kerux database that can be
downloaded, absolutely free, at http://www.holwick.com/database.html
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