Message by Chad Kelly
One stressed-out secretary told her boss:
“When this rush is over, I”™m going to have a nervous breakdown. I earned it, I deserve it, and nobody”™s going to take it from me!”
What”™s got you freaked out?
The dark? Losing your job? Not being able to put food on the table? Something bad/tragic happening to your kids, or to yourself? Terrorists attacking our nation again? An economic collapse? That bully at school? Disease? The assignment you just received at work or school that seems to require superhuman ability to accomplish? Death?
We are told that “ordinary children today are more fearful than psychiatric patients were in the 1950s” (Candis McLean).
Do you think it would be fair to say that we experience fear or dread or anxiety almost daily?
Lucado
When fear shapes our lives, safety [and control””my addition] becomes our god.
And then, our lives are severely limited to ourselves. We”™re not free to do the two things for which we were created””love God and love others””because we”™re self-absorbed in our fears!
The Gospels record 125 commands that Jesus gave.
Of those, the most predominant commands involve the issue of fear””“do not be afraid”, “do not fear”, “have courage”, “take heart”, “be of good cheer”.
Jesus doesn”™t want us to live in fear!
What we need more than anything in our battle against fear is to simply see Jesus as He IS””not as we”™ve imagined Him to be or as we foolishly want Him to be”¦but as He is! We ALL have boxes that we try to fit Jesus into, don”™t we?
If we can just squeeze Jesus into a given box at a given time, then we can maintain control and Jesus won”™t get out and try to do anything crazy in our supposedly well-managed lives!
We need exactly what Jesus gave His closest disciples”¦we need to know”¦
Jesus Unboxed
Matthew 17:1-8 and Parallel Passages
As our awe of Jesus grows, our fears in life shrink.
The disciples””and especially Peter””have been on a rollercoaster ride in the last few days before our passages. Peter has both made the good confession that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the Living God, as well as been called Satan by Jesus because Jesus”™ crucifixion wasn”™t part of his understanding of how the Messiah would do his thing for the world. And so we come to Matthew 17. I”™ve pulled in some verses from parallel passages in the other Gospels that fill in some information that Matthew doesn”™t mention, so that we have a good understanding of what all is going on here.
Matthew 17:1-2 (NLT)
1 Six days later Jesus took Peter and the two brothers, James and John, and led them up a high mountain to be alone. 2 As the men watched, Jesus”™ appearance was transformed so that his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as light.
Mark 9:3 (NLT)
3 and his clothes became dazzling white, far whiter than any earthly bleach could ever make them.
Matthew 17:3 (NLT)
3 Suddenly, Moses and Elijah appeared and began talking with Jesus.
Luke 9:31-32 (NLT)
31 They were glorious to see. And they were speaking about his exodus from this world, which was about to be fulfilled in Jerusalem. 32 Peter and the others had fallen asleep. When they woke up, they saw Jesus”™ glory and the two men standing with him.
Matthew 17:4-8 (NLT)
4 Peter exclaimed, “Lord, it”™s wonderful for us to be here! If you want, I”™ll make three shelters as memorials””one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.”
5 But even as he spoke, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my dearly loved Son, who brings me great joy. Listen to him.” 6 The disciples were terrified and fell face down on the ground.
7 Then Jesus came over and touched them. “Get up,” he said. “Don”™t be afraid.” 8 And when they looked up, Moses and Elijah were gone, and they saw only Jesus.
Mark 9:9-10 (NLT)
9 As they went back down the mountain, he told them not to tell anyone what they had seen until the Son of Man had risen from the dead. 10 So they kept it to themselves, but they often asked each other what he meant by “rising from the dead.”
Jesus wanted those closest to Him to see clearly just exactly Who He is! He knew they were confused about Who He really was. He knew all the uncertainties that they would face in the days ahead, especially concerning His betrayal and death on the Cross and the three days He would spend in the cemetery!
As our awe of Jesus grows, our fears in life shrink.
Jesus””your Savior and mine””is the Son of the Living God!
Listen to a few passages that describe just how awesome and powerful Jesus is!
Colossian 1:15, 19-20 (NLT)
15 Christ is the visible image of the invisible God.
19 For God in all his fullness
was pleased to live in Christ,
20 and through him God reconciled
everything to himself.
He made peace with everything in heaven and on earth
by means of Christ”™s blood on the cross.
Hebrews 1:3 (NLT)
3 The Son radiates God”™s own glory and expresses the very character of God, and he sustains everything by the mighty power of his command. When he had cleansed us from our sins, he sat down in the place of honor at the right hand of the majestic God in heaven.
Colossians 2:8-9 (NLT)
8 Don”™t let anyone capture you with empty philosophies and high-sounding nonsense that come from human thinking and from the spiritual powers of this world, rather than from Christ. 9 For in Christ lives all the fullness of God in a human body. 10 So you also are complete through your union with Christ, who is the head over every ruler and authority.
How big is Jesus to YOU? Are you awed by Who He is? By His power and control of ALL things? By His love and grace for you?
As our awe of Jesus grows, our fears in life shrink.
Romans 8:31-39 (NLT)
31 What shall we say about such wonderful things as these? If God is for us, who can ever be against us? 32 Since he did not spare even his own Son but gave him up for us all, won”™t he also give us everything else? 33 Who dares accuse us whom God has chosen for his own? No one””for God himself has given us right standing with himself. 34 Who then will condemn us? No one””for Christ Jesus died for us and was raised to life for us, and he is sitting in the place of honor at God”™s right hand, pleading for us.
35 Can anything ever separate us from Christ”™s love? Does it mean he no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity, or are persecuted, or hungry, or destitute, or in danger, or threatened with death? 36 (As the Scriptures say, “For your sake we are killed every day; we are being slaughtered like sheep.”) 37 No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us.
38 And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God”™s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow””not even the powers of hell can separate us from God”™s love. 39 No power in the sky above or in the earth below””indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.
When we are truly embracing the love of God in Jesus, we are invincible!
1 John 4:18 (NIV)
There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.
As our awe of Jesus grows, our fears in life shrink.
The more we fill our hearts with the truth of God”™s love in Jesus, the less fear will find a spot in our hearts!
2 Timothy 1:7
For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline.
Ronnie McBrayer
The spirit God gives us ”“ that is, what furnishes us with breath and life ”“ is not the racing heartbeat of panic. No, we are not enslaved to dread. The spirit given to us, and within us, is one of power, love, and self-discipline. We have been given the power to face each uncertain day; the love to overcome the hatred and bitterness that surround us; and self-discipline when everything else seems so out of control.
As our awe of Jesus grows, our fears in life shrink.
Let”™s get real practical.
HOW can we get from knowing this to enjoying this?
HOW can we move from believing that we don”™t have to fear and that Jesus is enough to actually experiencing it?
Psalm 46 (NLT)
1 God is our refuge and strength,
always ready to help in times of trouble.
2 So we will not fear when earthquakes come
and the mountains crumble into the sea.
3 Let the oceans roar and foam.
Let the mountains tremble as the waters surge! Interlude
8 Come, see the glorious works of the Lord:
See how he brings destruction upon the world.
9 He causes wars to end throughout the earth.
He breaks the bow and snaps the spear;
he burns the shields with fire.
If you”™re listening close, you”™re thinking, “BUT David STILL hasn”™t told us HOW!”
Here comes the practical, how-to part:
10 “Be still, and know that I am God!
I will be honored by every nation.
I will be honored throughout the world.”
“BE STILL”
Literally, “let it go, drop it””¦don”™t do anything else to fix the source of fear in your heart and life”¦drop it.
Now, when you”™re in captivity to the activity trying to carry the burden of the busyness, that”™s tough!
And yet, if we want to be fear-free, then the starting place is to let it all go and be still and quiet.
And then”¦
“KNOW THAT I AM GOD”
It”™s not enough to just be still”¦there”™s a goal in the quiet””to take hold of God and His love.
You cannot embrace God”™s love without being still. You can know all that we”™ve talked about today in your head”¦but”¦if you don”™t get still inside and focus your heart on Jesus, you”™ll still experience fear and anxiety and dread!
Practically, do you know what this looks like? It looks like even a few minutes of time where you get alone with God and listen to Him through His Word that reminds you of His love and power.
That”™s what David was doing in this psalm”¦
1 God is our refuge and strength,
always ready to help in times of trouble.
2 So we will not fear when earthquakes come
and the mountains crumble into the sea.
We”™ll find ourselves responding to what He says to us in prayers back to Him”¦and suddenly”¦we”™ll experience our fears fading””maybe not all at once, never for good this side of heaven””but little by little, day by day as we still ourselves and really think on the truth that He is GOD and loves us infinitely and eternally!
Philippians 4:6-7 (NIV)
6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Hudson Taylor
It doesn”™t matter how great the pressure is. What really matters is where the pressure lies””whether it comes between me and God, or whether it presses me nearer to His heart.
And”¦don”™t miss this”¦as we live closer to the heart of God without fear, our lives will become increasingly productive and free!
We”™ll have wind in our sails and the busyness won”™t be such a burden, even though our schedules may not slow down a whole lot.
As our awe of Jesus grows, our fears in life shrink.
Do you make time day by day to be still and enjoy Who God is and how much He loves you in Jesus?
Conclusion
Lucado
We”™ll sooner capture the Caribbean in a butterfly net than we”™ll capture Christ in a box”¦.When Christ is great, our fears are not”¦A big God translates into big courage. (Fearless, 171, 169)
As our awe of Jesus grows, our fears in life shrink.
In C.S. Lewis”™ book, Prince Caspian, Lucy sees Aslan, the lion, for the first time in many years. He has changed since their last encounter. His size surprises her, and she tells him as much.
“Aslan,” said Lucy, “you”™re bigger.” “That is because you are older, little one,” answered he. “Not because you are?” “I am not. But every year you grow, you will find me bigger.”
Will I choose to stop and remember?
Will I choose to let it all go and embrace all that matters?
If we will”¦our awe of Jesus will grow and our fears in life will shrink.