Fear - August 7, 2016

Introduction

I thought we’d start today with a slide-show of things that might cause fear…

(cliff jumping) 

(a spider)

(a microphone on a stage)

(a cockroach)

(wedding rings)

(a snake)

…many of you are ready for me to quit at this point

(swimming in the ocean)

(needles/shot)

(a mirror)

(airplane)

(a storm)

(Hillary & the Donald)

Show the CLIP à Well that was the most uncomfortable start to a sermon… EVER!

I think this is one of the areas that the Disney movie gets things wrong… FEAR as an emotion isn’t natural.

Now, while I do really believe that FEAR isn’t a natural emotion… I, also, really believe that FEAR can tell us a whole lot about our world view… it can definitely point out areas in which the Father wants us to grow… WHY? Because fear isn’t natural… it isn’t part of God’s good plan for your life… in fact, I would describe it as a “counterfeit emotion.”

   Pray…

You were not created to fear… in fact nothing was originally. Look at this from Genesis 9:2 …

This is an interesting passage. As God blesses Noah and his family after the flood, he reiterates dominion over all life on the earth. He reinstitutes their ability to RULE over all creation… and how would they know it… the animals would fear them.

You see, whatever we FEAR we’ve given power over us to “rule” us. So, we need to begin to understand this “counterfeit” emotion so that nothing can rule over us, but Father who loves us.

**To clarify… INSTINCT – to jump out the way of a moving car – is NOT fear.

Fear is irrational behavior (friend afraid of sharks). How do I know it’s irrational?!

   ·      Mostly because I realize that bravery is not fears opposite… Love is

   ·      Fear is twisted love

   ·      Satan can’t create fruits of the Spirit… he can only lie so our thinking gets corrupted.

   ·      Then, we can get obsessed with our fears. (sharks)

   ·      But not just the silly things, but our future, our commitments, our finances can drown out our thought patterns.

   ·      Perfect love expels, casts out, destroys any presence of… fear.

   ·      Imagine if we became consumed with love in the ways that we get obsessed with our fears… dreaming up ways to love people, not dreaming up ways our fears could become reality… we’d change the world around us!

The Word

PSALM 27:1-14à Read from your BIBLE (and/or screen).

David begins to show us what living in perfect love looks like. He tells us that the presence of the Lord is where it is found. He shows us that bravery isn’t an emotion or something that you work up, but rather NO FEAR comes from the stillness of a loving Father covering us in His goodness.

John the apostle puts it this way in 1 John 4:18 Read from BIBLE (ESV)

or look at it through a different lens (NLT) ¹⁸ Such love has no fear, because perfect love expels all fear. If we are afraid, it is for fear of punishment, and this shows that we have not fully experienced his perfect love. ¹⁹ We love each other because he loved us first.

John wants us to realize that GOD IS LOVE… God is not bravery… God is the perfect expression of the most perfect emotion that we can ever experience… and when that revelation takes root in us… everything else will fade away… even your greatest FEAR…. Whatever that thing is that is gnawing at you… forget about it in the presence of a loving Father… that kind of love will wipe it out 100%.

When we focus on our fears instead of God’s love, we will get LOST all over again…

   ·      Yoda – fear, anger, hate, suffering

   ·      Fear is the root of anxiety, worry, depression, and angst.

Love – missed emotion in Inside Out

Love – first fruit produced of a changed heart by the Holy Spirit – root of all the others

Fear Not – 100+ times in the Bible

   ·      Dreams

   ·      Armies

   ·      Angels/Demons

   ·      The sickness of loved ones

   ·      Corrupt governments (Egypt)

   ·      Snakes… yes the serpents in the desert

   ·      Marriage

   ·      Money problems

   ·      Preaching the gospel

   ·      Enemies

   ·      The angel of death

   ·      Judgment

This series is about “healthy emotions” – unexplainable and irrational fears, worries and depressions are the result love not being the center of our emotions, of God (who is LOVE) not being our emotional rock, for perfect love chases out ALL fear.

Hebrews 13:6

So we can confidently say, “The Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me?”

But what about “fear of the Lord”? That sounds honoring and biblical and supported by some texts like

BUT, every time the Lord shows up via angel, Spirit or Himself… his first words are “FEAR NOT!”   …why? Because He wanted to reassure them that LOVE was coming and not judgement.

1 John 4:18 – read again

and now we live with this promise from Hebrews 4 (4:14-16)

Have you every noticed in movies that the hero in the end makes the sacrifice, takes a leap of faith, or does something amazing to save their friends and/or romantic interest because of LOVE? Why is that theme so powerful? It’s powerful because it has its root in the idea that only love can motivate heroism… not psyching oneself up or special “training” but love releases the perfect “No Fear” slogan… not a Mt Dew commercial J

Wrapping it up…

So what does this mean for those of us who follow Jesus?

   1)   We need to come to grips with the fact that our fears are unnatural.

   2)   We need to learn from those fears… learn that they are windows into what God’s love has yet to perfect in us.

   3)   We need to yield our fears to the transforming power of God’s Spirit within us and let Him produce the fruit of love… instead of our fears producing our anxieties and insecurities within us.

   4)   We need to begin to live a life of LOVE… this isn’t about facing our fears OR charging ahead full steam like a football team after your coach’s inspirational speech… this is about yielding to LOVE… being motivated by it… being consumed by it.

Too long have many Christians been lost in the chasm of their irrational anxieties and debilitating thought processes… imagine the time we’ve wasted on our fears:

   ·      provision of resources

   ·      perception of what others will say/do when they know I believe

   ·      perfectionism of having it all together, I’m not good enough, OR I don’t know enough.

Jesus has empowered us to go on this rescue mission with Him.

   ·      He’s released us to do the “same and greater works” than He did…

   ·      He promised us answers when we were questioned about our faith…

   ·      He promised He would provide if we just seek His kingdom & righteousness…

   ·      He promised that even if we had trouble in the world, HE overcame the world already…

   ·      He promised his authority and power…

   ·      He promised that HE loved us.

God is LOVE… and His Spirit lives in those of us who believe… so there isn’t room in the heart of the believer for both love and fear. Let’s close with this 2Timothy 1:6-7.

Corrie's Message on Joy - July 31, 2016

So proud of my wife's second sermon at the BN Vineyard! We even have video for those interested ;)

Intro

Good Morning and welcome to the Bloomington-Normal Campus of the Vineyard Church.  My name is Corrie Waters and I am one of the campus pastors here along with my husband Adam.  I have the privilege of sharing with you this morning.

We are in the middle of a message series where we are discovering healthy emotions and today I will be continuing the series with message entitled: Joy more than a feeling! How can we experience joy in our everyday life?

Pray

ME

I am pretty joyful person and in my life I have experienced joy numerous times and in numerous ways…the night my college volleyball team won the National Championship, the day Adam asked me to marry him, our wedding day, our first puppy as a married couple, our first home purchase, the day our children were born, watching my kids experiencing their “firsts” (you know crawling, walking, talking, and using the potty)…you get the idea.

What does your life look like, can you find joy? What is bringing you joy and what circumstances are you having to ask “where is my joy”?

Joy can be defined by the Webster’s dictionary as “a feeling of great pleasure and happiness”.  I am sure that all of us can look back into our past and think of something, someone or a specific situation that brought us joy. But have you ever looked back at those joys and remembered the journey of how we actually came to experience this emotion?  Sometimes there is sorrow or disappointments that might have been attached to them and then you have to ask the HS to help you CHOOSE JOY?  I know this seems like an odd question, but think about it?  For example, when your child is learning to crawl or walk, you experience the pain they might feel when they fall and hurt themselves, but at the same time it is so exciting watching them grow in their new found venture.

Let’s take a look at this clip from the movie and see how these two emotions are linked…

**Play movie clip** (1:20-1:23.45)

Over the last year and 2 months I have looked back into my life and there have been many times, days and moments that I have lost sight of joy amongst my circumstances. This is a hard thing to admit! In those moments I have had to ask the HS to help me chose joy and not just the feeling of joy. Because the truth is Joy is actually never gone from us…

As many of you know my mother passed away last May.  The journey of dealing with her death has been tough and very painful at times, but it has caused me to be active in asking the HS to help me choose joy on a daily basis. There have been days when I wake up in a bad mood because of the grief of losing my mom suddenly with no closure is so strong. There are days that I just want to have one more conversation with her, but instead I have to chose joy and remember all the times that I was able to have with her.  On the other side of this, there are days that I wake up, look at my daughter Eleora and see my mom looking back at me with the same soulful eyes she always did and I know that in those moments the HS is releasing Joy back into my spirit.  Psalms 30:5 says. “Weeping may last through the night, but joy comes with the morning.”

You see—Joy is a settled assurance that God is in control of all details in our lives, the quiet confidence that ultimately everything is going to be alright, and the determined choice to praise God in every situation.

WE

So how do we let joy be more than a fleeting feeling…

A couple of weeks ago Putty opened up our sermon series talking about how our emotions a lot of times are based off on our world views and those world views can affect our beliefs, which then in turn affect our behaviors.

So I ask, do you have a world view that is affecting you producing the gift of Joy in your life?

The joy that the world offers is a poor example of the true joy that God can give us.  The joy that people find in the world is temporary…and it comes and goes depending on the situation that the person is in.  “If things are going well, there is joy…if things are difficult, there is no joy”. 

Have you ever found yourself in this place? I know I have…when things are going well I am happy…when things are going poorly I am upset and everyone knows it.

Most of us know that JOY is one of the Fruits of the Spirit (Galatians 5) and that we are to suppose to exhibit it in ever increasing measures, but how do we do that in a world where there are new things we are presented with on a daily basis that can decrease our joy?

The truth of the matter is that as a Christian this means that even when we are in the midst of a situation that legitimately brings sorrow or troubles, our inner joy can never taken away. (1 Cor. 6:10 Our hearts ache, but we always have joy. We are poor, but we give spiritual riches to others. We own nothing, and yet we have everything.)

Everyday of your life, good things happen and those things bring happiness and contentment to you, but yet at the exact same time painful things happen to you or those you love that disappoint you, hurt you or fill you with sorrow.  Both joy and sorrow run parallel to each other every single moment of your life, but the good news is…Our identity in Jesus does not change just because of the circumstances around us change. The very core of who we are in Christ can still rejoice in the fact that we are forgiven, much loved children of the King and we can still enjoy an intimate relationship with the creator of the universe.  That is why when you are in the midst of an amazing experience, you have this realization that its not always perfect. And while you are walking through something painful, there’s this great realization that there is still beauty and hope to be found on the other side because Jesus in the midst of it all. Psalms 16:11. “You will show me the way of life, granting me the joy of your presence and the pleasures of living with you forever.”

So what does the Bible say about this Fruit of the Spirit?

BIBLE

The word “joy” appears 245 time throughout the scriptures in both the Old and New Testament.  In addition, the word “rejoice” appears 154 times. The Father is trying to communicate his heart to us here… I believe that the supernatural gift of joy should be an outflow into our everyday natural lives, which allows people to see that something is different in us.  The Father wants joy to be more than a feeling (feelings are sometimes fleeting), but a fruit that produces a lifestyle of thanksgiving and peace.  Let’s look at how David responded after crying out to the Father in the midst of his struggle…

Psalm 28: 6-8 –

Praise the Lord!

    For he has heard my cry for mercy.

7 

The Lord is my strength and shield.

    I trust him with all my heart.

He helps me, and my heart is filled with joy.

    I burst out in songs of thanksgiving.

8 

The Lord gives his people strength.

    He is a safe fortress for his anointed king.

Praying through our struggles allows God to release joy in the end. This truth was evident in the life of King David. So many times throughout the Psalms he cried out to the Father in the midst of his troubles, begging for mercy and wisdom and as he did this the HS released the gift of joy back into David’s life. David time and time again approached God with a spirit of humbleness in order to experience victory on the other side. David let his world view of who the Father was affect his behavior, which then in turn affected the outcome of David’s response, which was praise and thanksgiving.  As we cry out to God in the midst of tough situations, it allows Him the chance to speak joy back into our spirit and to release freedom in places we didn’t know we needed freedom.

1 Thes., 5:16-17 –

16 Always be joyful. 17 Never stop praying. 18 Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.

What does it mean to “always be joyful’? Does this mean I always have to be happy? What you want me to “never stop praying” and to “always be thankful”?

Yes! Joy, prayer and thanksgiving should characterize the life of a Christian. However, “always be joyful” does not mean that we are to put on a happy face all time no matter what is going on in our lives or in the lives of our family and friends.  It means that we are to remain steadfast in our knowledge that God is our strength and peace, not matter what the circumstances. Our identity lies in who we are as sons and daughters of the King, not in the reality of what is happening around us. We have this saying in our house: Don’t let the reality of your situation determine how you respond. If we remain in this truth, we will want to be in constant communication with Him because we have seen the outcome when we live a life of thanksgiving. 

ACTION

REMEMBER inner joy can’t be taken away

When you remain in your identity of who Christ has created you to be, the truth that your joy cannot be taken away in the midst of trying circumstances begins to take root.

John 15:4, Remain in me, and I will remain in you. For a branch cannot produce fruit if it is severed from the vine, and you cannot be fruitful unless you remain in me.

You cannot produce fruit if you don’t remain in him.

RECOGNIZE the need to pray through your struggles

In the midst of trials we are NOT to retreat we are to advance. Satan wants us to retreat and run away, the Father wants us to ask and move forward.  We need to ask the Holy Spirit to bring strength and to release his joy over our lives so that we can come into the full potential in who he created us to be.

James 1:2-4, Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing.

RETURN to thanksgiving as often as possible.

The very core of our being can still rejoice and give thanks in the fact that we are forgiven children of the Father who can still enjoy an intimate relationship with him no matter what the circumstances are in our life.

Pslams 100:4, Enter his gates with thanksgiving; go into his courts with praise. Give thanks to him and praise his name.