Rev. David Holwick Z
First Baptist Church
Ledgewood, New Jersey
August 4, 1996
Psalm 112:1-10
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I. Torn between security and freedom.
A. Dhahran Saudi Arabia, TWA #800 bombing, and Atlanta Olympics.
1) Can we ever be truly safe?
2) One nut with a bomb can paralyze a nation, ruin
it for the rest of us.
3) Even with a cop on every corner, could terrorism be
eliminated?
B. World's way to security.
1) Beef up police.
a) (Visiting White House in 1960's - fewer guards, no
metal detectors.)
b) Now plane flights will take much longer.
2) Limit freedoms.
a) New laws expands wiretaps, police powers.
3) Fear everyone.
a) Paranoia has a strong tradition in America.
b) But the more afraid we are, and the tighter we protect
ourselves, the less secure we are.
II. We live in a dangerous world.
A. Horrible people are all around us.
1) Christians don't believe everyone is basically nice.
a) Some are quite evil.
b) Even we have tendencies toward evil lurking inside us.
2) Love doesn't change everyone.
a) We are called to sacrificial love but there is no
guarantee our enemies will be converted.
b) We must accept the possibility of pain and suffering
throughout life.
B. Horrible things can happen.
1) In a fallen world, tragedy can occur at any time.
2) Psalm 112 is very optimistic about the situation of
the righteous, but even it mentions darkness. Ps 112:4
3) Only our souls are eternal - our bodies can be destroyed,
and easily. Luke 12:4-5
C. Fear is a rational attitude.
1) If we are honest, most of us would have to admit we
have fears of our own.
2) Some are crippled by it.
3) Others make money at it.
a) Home security:
Call this week from Westinghouse Security Systems,
"absolutely free."
b) Big-time security:
John Demeter runs "Spy Shops International" in Miami.
His store sells sniper scopes, telephone scramblers, and
a low-slung automobile he calls the "Supermobile."
The car has a jet propulsion boost, a night-vision
system, and a gadget that drops tacks on the road.
When the store is busy, customers take a number
attached to a hand-grenade pin.
John says he has two religions.
The first is personal defense.
The other is Christianity.
He was born-again in 1987.
Anytime he sells weapons or surveillance gear he also
throws in a tract called "Eternal Security."
He describes God as the ultimate bulletproof vest.
He preaches to his customers and prays for them, even
the ones he knows are drug runners.
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III. God's way to security.
A. Acknowledge that He is in charge.
1) "Greater is He in us than he in world." 1 Jn 4:4
a) We know who holds the future.
2) When God saves us, he keeps us forever.
a) No human can touch us.
b) Satan cannot touch us.
B. Can we trust in Him when we can't even see Him?
A burst of thunder sent a three-year-old flying into her
parent's bedroom.
"Mommy, I'm scared," she said.
The mother, half-awake and half-unconscious, replied,
"Go back to your room.
God will be there with you."
The small figure stood in the unlit doorway for a moment
and then said softly,
"Mommy, I'll sleep here with Daddy and you go in there
and sleep with God."
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1) Trusting God in times of difficulty shows your real faith.
C. We can know for sure.
1) Plane travelers can never be sure.
2) We have confidence, because based on God's promises.
a) Jesus - "No one can snatch you from my hand." John 10:28
b) He can keep us from falling.
c) "Once saved, always saved."
IV. Fear not.
A. Some Christians don't feel secure.
1) Lack of faith.
2) Worrying seems realistic.
3) But it ends up being a form of slavery.
B. Don't let your fears limit your witness.
1) Uptight Christians are not very convincing.
2) Be trusting, positive and forward-looking. Ps 112:7-8
V. Put your confidence in God, no matter what.
A. Central Tanzania, Africa. August 5, 1995.
Lined up on their knees were three Southern Baptist
missionaries and two of their children.
"Are we going to shoot them all together or one at a time?"
the kidnapper asked his two helpers.
He pointed an AK-47 assault rifle at them.
The gunman grabbed missionary Sandy Harrington from the
line and forced her to kneel five feet away.
She was absolutely terrified, and her fear had been
escalating throughout the whole ordeal.
But even then, there was a calmness in the midst of her
terror -- a sense of heaven-wardness.
"If they killed me, I'll be with God,' she thought to myself.
But she said to the gunman, "Please don't shoot me."
They all grabbed one another's hands and tensed up,
expecting the bullets to hit.
One of them prayed, "Lord, put your angels around us, but
if it's time for us to go, then it's time. Do your will."
He felt that everything was surrendered to God.
Sandy Harrington felt a similar peace.
She remembered the Bible verse in the book of Romans saying
nothing could separate them from the love of Christ --
not even death."
Her 10-year-old daughter said, "When I saw the gun, I felt
scared at first.
But I knew I would go to heaven if I was killed, and that
was better than being alive ... so, I didn't care."
Lined up, kneeling, their backs to the gunman, holding hands
and praying aloud, the five expected to die.
Then one of the abductors leaned down and asked one of the
men a question.
"Are you a pastor?"
"Yes, I'm a pastor, a Baptist missionary."
The kidnapper forced them all to take a drugged liquid.
When they woke up, their car was gone but they were alive.
After the ordeal was over, one of the missionaries said,
"We crossed a line, the five of us, that most people
don't cross.
I had peace because I knew Jesus Christ and knew that he
was my Lord and Savior.
I've been someplace in my life that most haven't been, and
I'm going to tell them about it.
Then I'm going to ask them if they can say the same thing
about Jesus that I can say".
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B. Can you say this?
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