Sermon Notes – August 16, 2015 The Most Important Things:

You Don’t Have to be Afraid Big Idea: ______________________________________________

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Discussion Questions • What are you most afraid of happening to you?

• Why do we love hearing, watching, or reading stories about heroes?

• Look at verse 7: If God has given us a spirit of power, love and self-control, why are we so often afraid?

• Knowing that we’re usually afraid of things we don’t have power over, how do we overcome our fears?

• How can we be reminded of God’s power daily?

Bible Reading Plan 2014-15 Chronological

2-Year Reading Plan: Week 85

Monday • Matthew 24 • Psalm 119:81-96

Tuesday • Matthew 25:1-26:13 • Psalm 119:97-112

Wednesday • Matthew 26:14-75 • Psalm 119:113-120

Thursday • Mark 14:1-31 • Psalm 119:121-136

Friday • Mark 14:32-72 • Psalm 119:137-144

Monday – Facing Fears “For God gave us a spirit not of fear…” 2 Timothy 1:7

What is your greatest fear? President Franklin Roosevelt proclaimed, "The only thing we have to fear is fear itself," and his quote was more than a rhetorical device in a political speech. I believe it tapped into a deeper truth. Our fears cause more damage and rob us of more joy than we think.

Psychologists identify five basic fears:

• Extinction – The fear of annihilation or ceasing to exist. This goes beyond the fear of physical death. It is the fear of no longer being.

• Mutilation – The possibility of damage to life or limb drives this fear. Our anxiety about things that creep and crawl stems from this.

• Loss of Autonomy – This is the fear of being restricted, imprisoned, trapped or dictated by forces or circumstances beyond one's control.

• Separation – This is the fear of being abandoned, rejected or disconnected. This also encompasses our fear of not being wanted or loved.

• Ego-Death – This is the fear of humiliation, shame or anything that damages the sense of our own capability, worthiness or capacity to be loved.

Seen in this light, claustrophobia is the fear of lost autonomy. Public speaking frightens us because of the inherent risk of ego-death. Spiders are detestable and should be wiped out because they carry flesh melting venom. (Sorry. Some personal fear of mutilation coming through there.)

In an article in Psychology Today Dr. Karl Albrecht defined fear as "an anxious feeling, caused by our anticipation of some imagined event or experience." The fear is not the actual experience, though it might be frightening. Fear precedes the experience and does not require that the imagined moment ever actually happens. Fear can keep us from walking into danger, but it can also freeze us in our tracks and prevent us from ever experiencing the joy and satisfaction that lies just on the other side of a faced fear.

In his second letter to Timothy, Paul reminded his dear friend, "God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control." (Read 2 Timothy 1) Our fears keep us from living in His power and sharing His love. Our fears keep us on the sideline robbing us of joy and denying God the glory He deserves. If we will trade our fear for faith, we can help a lost world face their greatest fear – the fear of eternal death.

Tuesday – Faith and Fear “Without faith it is impossible to please him.” Hebrews 11:6

Fear and faith are opposites. They cannot coexist. One drives out the other.

And yet, fear and faith are also closely linked. Hebrews 11 records God's great hall of faith. It tells the tales of people who believed God and followed His will in spite of their fears. However, we also see in its verses an interesting connection between fear and faith.

And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him. By faith Noah, being warned by God concerning events as yet unseen, in reverent fear constructed an ark for the saving of his household. By this he condemned the world and became an heir of the righteousness that comes by faith. (Hebrews 11:6-7)

Noah's fear was not an obstacle to his obedience. It was the very reason He obeyed. His reverent fear of God resulted in a faith that saved humankind.

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. The fear of the Lord is the well spring of faith. If He is not stronger than anything else that would cause us fear, He is not worthy of our faith, and we have every reason to fear.

However, if He is all-powerful and perfectly holy, there is every reason to fear Him. Jesus said, "Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell." Matthew 10:28 (ESV) The One who holds the universe in His hands and determines the eternity of every soul should bring us to our knees in crippling fear. Nevertheless, because of the hope we have in Jesus, our reverent fear can give rise to faith. Faith that can change us. Faith that can save us. Faith that can change the world.

Read the rest of Hebrews 11. Every one of the individuals in this chapter confronted frightful situations. Each one of them is included because they faced their fear of earthly things as a direct result of their reverent fear for God. They had no need to fear anything because their faith was in Someone who was stronger than everything.

How have your fears hindered your faith? What do your persistent earthly fears say about your level of reverent fear for God?

Wednesday – Fan the Flames “For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God…” 2 Timothy 1:6

When the Holy Spirit descended on the Day of Pentecost, the Church was launched and the world was never the same. While one hundred and twenty followers of Jesus were praying in the upper room "suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind… and divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them." (Acts 2:2-3)

This moment was completely the work of God. There was nothing magical about the prayers they prayed or deserving about the people who prayed them. The Lord ignited a fire in them, and 120 became 3,000 by the end of that amazing day. Throughout the book of Acts we see the Holy Spirit performing mighty works through Church leaders like the Apostle Paul. We see thousands upon thousands being saved, and churches being planted across the known world. Much of what we know about this period comes from the letters Paul wrote to the churches he founded and to the people who led them. In letter after letter he expounded on the power of grace and the insufficiency of works.

To those who believed they could earn their salvation, Paul said, "For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast." (Ephesians 2:8–9) And to those who felt it was up to them to finish what God had started he wrote, "I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ." (Philippians 1:6)

Given these statements, Paul's statement in 2 Timothy 1:6 is interesting. Clearly the flame of salvation was a gift of God, but Paul nevertheless told his spiritual son to "fan the flames." Other translations render this term "rekindle" or "keep ablaze." There is clearly a human effort component to the spiritual growth of a believer. God lit the fire. He will complete its refining work. But He commands us to fan the flame.

Read Philippians 2:12-13. With one breath Paul told the Church in Philippi to work out their own salvation; and with the next he said it was God who was at work in them. How could both be true?

In Paul's time, the Greek word translated as "work out" in verse 12 was used for working a mine – getting out all the valuable ore the mine had to offer. Likewise, our lives in Christ have tremendous potential, and much like a mine, the Lord wants us to work it out to its fullest potential.

We will get more from Him when He has more of us. Our working out is really working with. It is our heart being revealed through our efforts – not to change ourselves, but to honor Him with all we have to offer.

How can you fan the flames of your faith this week? How can you work out your salvation in order to honor all Jesus has done by working in you?

Thursday – The Casualties of Fear “There is no fear in love…” 1 John 4:18

The downward spiral of our culture has impacted us all, but none more so than today's youth. The foundations of society are so eroded that they are building their lives on shifting and shaky sand. The family ties that once provided a firm anchor through the stormy and tumultuous teenage years have crumbled and can no longer be counted on. Today's teens are left to largely fend for themselves, and crippling fear has become their new normal. The impact of these changes is seen in some sobering statistics:

• Twenty percent of children have some sort of mental, behavioral or emotional problem.

• One in eight adolescents suffers from depression.

• Of those children and teens who struggle with emotional and behavioral problems, only 30 percent of them will receive any sort of treatment or intervention.

• Seventeen percent of students have seriously considered attempting suicide

• Suicide is the second leading cause of death for ages 10-24.

• More teenagers and young adults die from suicide than from cancer, heart disease, AIDS, birth defects, stroke, pneumonia, influenza, and chronic lung disease, combined.

• Each day in our nation there are an average of over 5,400 attempts by young people grades 7-12.

Suicide and depression are not one-dimensional issues, particularly in teens. Both of them can be the product of mental health issues that might require treatment. However, it would be negligent of us to discount the spiritual component of these matters. Nothing creates hopelessness like fear, and there is nothing more fearful than living without the hope of Christ.

To a generation saturated with fear, we can offer the hope of God's unconditional love. Read 1 John 4:7-21. Every generation but especially the next generation needs to know the hope of the Gospel. They need to experience God's love that drives out fear.

However, how will they ever experience God's love if they don't encounter His people? If God's love abides in us, we are compelled to share His love with the world. Given the desperate stakes, how would the Lord have you share His love with the next generation?

Family Friday – Confronting Childhood Fears By Colleen Shemeley, Focus on the Family

Just as your children grow and change, so do their fears. Monsters under the bed, thunderstorms or loud noises probably no longer cause your child to need your reassuring words and hugs. Fourth and fifth graders' most common anxieties are being kidnapped, parents divorcing, someone dying, fires, burglars, school failure and being a social outcast.

Psychologists have discovered that distinguishing between fear and anxiety is often difficult in children. Fear is a response to a situation (a neighbor's dog), while anxiety is being worried about something that hasn't happened yet (a shot at the doctor's office). Once parents realize this difference, they can better help their child cope.

• The first and most important thing is to believe your child's fear. Talking about and affirming the existence of her fear will help your child. But be careful not to overtalk the fear or express your own fears. If your child doesn't want to discuss it, encourage her to write a fictional story about another person with the same fears or draw a picture of what could happen.

• Fears can often be removed or reasoned through to a logical conclusion after evaluating reality. Make a plan of action if a mean dog comes too close. Practice on dolls the day before a visit to the dentist. Memorize certain Bible verses that fit your child's fear (check out Psalm 27:1, Psalm 31:24 and John 14:27). The more independent your child feels, the smaller the fear can become.

• Try to recognize your child's signs of anxiety in order to quickly help. Some children may become introverted. Others will misbehave, and still others will have sleeping problems, headaches or stomachaches.

• Know the fine line between being a protective parent and being overprotective. Your child should feel safe but shouldn't be so insecure as to never want to be alone. Shielding unpleasant situations is part of a parent's responsibility, but children also must have the freedom to learn from their experiences and their mistakes.

If your child's anxiety repeatedly interrupts her daily life, consider consulting a counselor, pediatrician or pastor for advice on minimizing these heart-pounding fears.

Weekend – Pretenders “Avoid such people.” 2 Timothy 3:2

Are we living in the last days? We can't know for certain. Jesus said no one knows except the Father (Mark 13:32), but consider the way Paul described "the last days:"

…in the last days there will come times of difficulty. For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. (2 Timothy 3:1–5)

Does this sound anything like the days in which we live? I would be hard pressed to look at our culture and not check off every single item. However, these verses are not meant to describe the condition of the lost world in the last days. These verses are a painful portrait of the state of the churches in the closing days of the age. According to Paul, those who claim to follow Christ will look nothing like Jesus. The churches will be full of pretenders. Paul's advice to the faithful is clear: "Avoid such people."

As we continue The Most Important Things series, read 2 Timothy 3:1-9 and prayerfully consider how you can guard your heart and our church against being a pretender.

Pray for the World: Kenya The Republic of Kenya lies on the eastern coast of Africa. Much of the country is covered by desert and only nine percent of the land can be cultivated. Most of its 41 million people live on the fertile plateaus of the south and west, and almost half of the population are evangelical Christians. Foreign missions have seen great fruit in Kenya, but their role is changing. Since Kenyans are clearly capable of leading national ministries, expats focus more on partnering with nationals in pioneer outreach, Bible teaching and service ministries. Many agencies have supportive, global or regional ministries in Kenya – hence the large missionary population. Pray for the end of government corruption that continues to broaden the gap between rich and poor. Pray for foreign agencies and missionaries to transition from leadership to consulting for growing national organizations. Pray for the Holy Spirit to move among the majority, though nominal, Christian population. (Taken from operationworld.org)

Prepare for Worship As you prepare your heart for worship on Sunday morning read Psalm 71 and give thanks for the refuge the Lord provides.