Faith Over Fear
Scripture References
Jonah 3:1-5,10
Jonah Goes to Nineveh
1 Then the word of the Lord came to Jonah the second time, saying, 2 “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and call out against it the message that I tell you.” 3 So Jonah arose and went to Nineveh, according to the word of the Lord. Now Nineveh was an exceedingly great city, three days’ journey in breadth. 4 Jonah began to go into the city, going a day’s journey. And he called out, “Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown!” 5 And the people of Nineveh believed God. They called for a fast and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them to the least of them.
10 When God saw what they did, how they turned from their evil way, God relented of the disaster that he had said he would do to them, and he did not do it.
1 Corinthians 7:29-35
The Unmarried and the Widowed
29 This is what I mean, brothers: the appointed time has grown very short. From now on, let those who have wives live as though they had none, 30 and those who mourn as though they were not mourning, and those who rejoice as though they were not rejoicing, and those who buy as though they had no goods, 31 and those who deal with the world as though they had no dealings with it. For the present form of this world is passing away. 32 I want you to be free from anxieties. The unmarried man is anxious about the things of the Lord, how to please the Lord. 33 But the married man is anxious about worldly things, how to please his wife, 34 and his interests are divided. And the unmarried or betrothed woman is anxious about the things of the Lord, how to be holy in body and spirit. But the married woman is anxious about worldly things, how to please her husband. 35 I say this for your own benefit, not to lay any restraint upon you, but to promote good order and to secure your undivided devotion to the Lord.
Mark 1:14-20
Jesus Begins His Ministry
14 Now after John was arrested, Jesus came into Galilee, proclaiming the gospel of God, 15 and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.” 16 Passing alongside the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and Andrew the brother of Simon casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen. 17 And Jesus said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you become fishers of men.” 18 And immediately they left their nets and followed him. 19 And going on a little farther, he saw James the son of Zebedee and John his brother, who were in their boat mending the nets. 20 And immediately he called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired servants and followed him.
Sermon Script
Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, my strength, and my redeemer. AMEN
Faith Over Fear
The sky is falling; the sky is falling; cried poor Chicken Little while running in circles after getting hit on the head by an acorn. Chicken little franticly told Henny Penny that the sky was falling. They ran to tell Turkey Lurkey, Ducky Lucky, and then off to tell Goosey Loosey again that the sky is falling. This story does not end well for these birds as they all run into Foxy Loxy’s den… and never come out again…. The perception of the sky falling created enough fear in these birds that it overshadowed the reality of what was really happening.
I have heard many people comment about end times in the last few months. The way politics are lining up combined with the pandemic. Maybe throw in a conspiracy theory here and there… Kind of sounds a lot like Chicken Little: they prophesy destruction and doom.
Both political parties point their finger at each other and affix blame for the sky falling… It’s ironic it all started with nuts falling out of a tree… The events this past week might or might not have changed our anxiety. These recent political campaigns that went on for months, combined with social unrest, reaction to the pandemic restrictions, gender confusion, the green new deal and on and on… it almost makes you want to run into Foxy Loxy’s den… All these events and many more make our anxiety level rise to the top.
I have to admit, I am worn out… with all this going on. I am tired of all this turmoil in my life and what all this is doing to society. I cringe when I turn on the news. And yes, I can add all this to my list of everyday fears.
I am not suggesting that we toss these fears aside or should not have strong opinions, or stand up for positive changes and good political outcomes… But in the heat of these moments, it is quite possible to lose sight of the larger and more important goal… Paul points his Corinthian readers and us to this important goal.
Faith over fear.
Don’t Loose Focus
During our precious time we have on earth, we are asked to “focus on eternal essentials.” This does not mean we should be detached from what is going on around us… Just guard against getting so absorbed, preoccupied, and engrossed in things that grow our anxieties… so we do not lose focus of our Eternal destination. We must keep our focus on the God who is always with us, protects us, forgives us.
With this assurance we, as Christians can encourage one another so that non-Christians may be drawn to belief, and children can be brought up in the faith… Whatever our situation in life, we must keep our focus on Christ. Paul points out that we should keep this focus no matter what our life circumstances are. Our situation demands placing our focus on God.
Jonah’s focus was blurred when God called him to serve… his anxieties led him away from God. God has a call for each one of His children. No one is excused or excluded from the instructions God freely offers. God could have chosen someone else as soon as Jonah ran the wrong way, but He pursued Jonah and did not give up on him for the specific purpose of Nineveh, even after Jonah jumped ship… God does not give up on us either.
Trust In God
In our Epistle lesson in 1 Corinthians 7, it would be easy to simplify this reading today by pointing out part of verse 32 where Paul tells us “I want you to be free from anxieties”. He does this by reminding them that they live in the last days. They dwell in the Lord’s presence and their salvation each day is nearer than when they first believed… Therefore, we should live by “faith and not fear” …, choosing to focus on God, and… knowing in our hearts that God is greater, yes… whether we are aware of it or not… God is greater, than anything we are going through.
Paul’s words to the Corinthian people were to free them from their own anxieties. He was addressing their concerns that were intended for their benefit, so that their devotion to the Lord would be united. This seems to be the real message of Paul’s words… The world is passing away, and he is trying to relieve their anxiety.
How does that relate to today? Most of the Chicken Little’s out there are trying to raise our anxiety level, and Paul wants to bring it back down. The point in this is placing all our trust in God…
Then “keep our house in order” …With undivided devotion to our Lord. These things are impossible when we have our life tied up in knots with worldly worries… However, we do not serve fear… we serve a God who is mightier than any negative news cycle. God is not surprised by today’s evilness and he is not threatened by all the conflicts. No matter what this world throws at us… God is in control and is always by our side.
Changing The Game
Our life journey can be compared to a football game. We know what the beginning will be like… and we know “in this game” who will win… but all the events during the game we do not know. Sure, we are going to get tackled, bruised up, and have a few penalties. We will get knocked down and face obstacles bigger than us… and fear can set in. But God is our offensive and defensive coordinator… God calls out to us daily to… Finish the game… He is there waiting for us to run off the field when the final seconds click down, to give us the high five of eternal salvation…
Everything we do impacts this journey, and by placing all our trust in God… we can overcome these anxieties in our lives.
Just like a ball game, our life is not predictable. There are ups and downs along the way. We want to trust God… and when times are good it is easier to do that… But when times feel difficult, that is when it is even more important to trust God. God’s unchanging character can give us a firm foundation when things feel unsteady and uncertain.
Rest assured, God handles these uncertainties in stride. His Word and Spirit encourage us to look beyond our natural fearful instincts and turn to the foundation that cannot be shaken…
Prayer
God provides us unending Grace… While circumstances and routines get flipped upside down, our eternal Savior is there to calm us. He reaches towards our outstretched hands, removes all the panic and chaos, and replaces it with an everlasting love and peace that passes all understanding. He reminds us that we find strength in community and in the Church… and that coming together as a body of Christ… God’s steadfast love will keep us focused when the acorns start falling from the tree and we accept God’s plan for our new normal.
It is normal to ask ourselves these questions… “How can I be devoted to God with all this going on? How can I be holy in body and soul”? When we find ourselves again running in circles, filled with fear.
Where do we start?… Prayer… Praying for anxiety to leave. Praying we can understand His miraculous protection better so we can push out our fears. Praying to be delivered from this thorn just like Paul did… But something even better will happen to us other than being healed from anxiety… we will develop a deeper understanding of God and a richer relationship with Him…
Instead of just praying for peace, we will find ourselves drawing closer to the Prince of Peace. When we begin to worry about our future, we must be reminded that God is the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last. He will be with us to the end.
Keep Your House In Order
Paul urges us not to be anxious about these things. Whatever it may be that makes us anxious… it will pass. The laws of this nation and every nation will pass away. The nation itself will pass away. The virus will pass away…
These anxieties are all secondary to this larger question… Is your house in order? We must set aside what is fueling our fears…. Is it the news channel… or social media…? Put your house in order by focusing on God’s eternal Word … His eternal promise of everlasting life…. The comfort of his presence…. These will never pass away. These will relieve our anxious soul…. Jesus… who left His earthly home to die on the cross for you and for me… is coming again… and these worldly obstacles will pass away. We must place our undivided attention to who can put our house in order…. The God who gave his only son…. The “son of man” who gave his life on the cross for our sins… Jesus Christ…. Who give us grace and the promise of eternal life in our baptism… giving us comfort to place our faith over our fear.
Then in our life journey we will see many opportunities to bear witness to Christ, to be holy in body and soul, to be devoted to God in all situations… I can love people with a mask on. I can still support pro-life groups, I can mentor youth, I can support many Godly causes with my time and donations to further Gods kingdom… I can devote myself to holiness and purity even when the laws of the land permit all sorts of sinful behavior… Just do not fear that all your life’s “penalties”, will change the end of the game.
The Apostle Paul tells us in Romans 12:2, “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” We must separate these worldly anxieties from our focus and tune into the promise our Lord and Savior gives us, that by believing and following him we will have everlasting life.
Tomorrows Gone, Do It Today
While we may not know what tomorrow holds, we know who holds tomorrow… and we do know that choosing faith over fear is part of the answer. We also know that leaning into our “trials of various kinds” will lead to steadfastness and faithfulness… that lends itself to us being “lacking in nothing” in our relationship with God…
When the acorns start falling again, remember the game plan and tell yourself, “I Will survive this…. I will allow these circumstances to push me to become a better friend, a better family member, a better student… and a better friend of Christ” We cannot control our circumstances… but we can control how we play the game.
We must learn to live in the present and approach each day with a renewed sense of God’s love for us and His deep care for the storms we walk through in this life.
Let me share with you part of a meditation from Max Lucado’s book, “Anxious For Nothing,” which I highly recommend.
I can’t change tomorrow until tomorrow.
Today, I will live today.
I will face today’s challenges with today’s strength.
I will dance today’s waltz with today’s music.
I will celebrate today’s opportunities with today’s hope.
Brothers and Sisters in Christ… overcome today’s challenges with your strength through Jesus Christ…. Holding fast to today’s hope which is eternal salvation… forever rejoicing with our Lord and Savior… we rejoice in Paul’s words…
“Rejoice in the Lord always; again, I will say, rejoice. 5 Let your gentleness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; 6 do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”
Amen