Fear Not

Summer Lectionary Sermons • Sermon • Submitted 3 years ago

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Introduction

Fear Not! In the Greek, mh fobh. It is a message that is spoken by both the angels and Jesus throughout the New Testament. There is nothing, no one, no thing that can separated us from the Love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. Nothing. That includes threats from those in power, the godlessness of the world, and the devil himself who can harm you. This is the message that we hear loud and clear today in all three of our texts.

Yet, the problem is, we are afraid. We see what goes on around our lives and in our lives. Uncertainty. Sickness. Financial problems. Stress from tyrants at work or in our families. We are afraid. Today, the Holy Spirit brings light upon our darkness, and dispels all of our fears, filling us with the hope that only Jesus can bring.

So, fear not.

Elijah is in Trouble.

In the Old Testament lesson, Elijah is afraid. Why? There is a man-hating, prophet killing queen, who has her sights set on him. In the past she has been very successful in killing prophets. She came after Obadiah- who narrowly escaped her murderous hatred. In 2 Kings 18:13 Obadiah tells Elijah how he had hidden 100 of Israel’s soldiers to keep her and her wicked husband, She’s now told him that she is going to hunt him down and kill him. Elijah is afraid. But God says, “Fear not!”

God sends an angel to sustain him. He ate and went 40 days on foot to Mount Horeb— the same location where the Lord had given Israel the Ten Commandments, sometimes called Mt Sinai. But that is not all that he did. The queen did not touch him.

In the verses that follow this God Himself appears to Elijah. Not in fire, not in wind, not in an earthquake, but in a still, small Voice. To Him it looked like the prohets of Baal had won the day. But God would take care of them. The corrupt government would fall. And Elijah would witness 7,000 in Israel who did not bend their knee or kiss the statue of Baal. Elijah doesn’t take out the bad guys; the Lord does. This frees Elijah to continue to be a prophet boldly speaking God’s word without fear.

We’re in Trouble.

Ephesians 4:17–24 ESV

Now this I say and testify in the Lord, that you must no longer walk as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their minds. They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to their hardness of heart. They have become callous and have given themselves up to sensuality, greedy to practice every kind of impurity. But that is not the way you learned Christ!— assuming that you have heard about him and were taught in him, as the truth is in Jesus, to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.

Gentiles, in this case, are unbelievers. God haters. Fear mongers. Christian persecutors. The world was falling apart then, just as it is today. The Church was scared.

The Holy Spirit, through Paul gives us the reasons that they are like they are. Actually, it’s a description of just about all unbelievers of his time, and maybe even today. Their minds are futile. Their understanding is darkened. They are far away and cut off from God. They are ignorant to the real truth. And their hearts are hardened. Their hardened hearts lead to horrific behavior: Sexual perversion. In it for the money. Committing acts of deception, treason, immorality, and evil that are all unspeakable. Sounds like our government today. It is enough to crush us emotionally and spiritually if we keep our eyes on it.

But to us God says, “Fear Not!”

With the power of the Holy Spirit, we choose not to live this way. We choose to forgive. We choose to let sin be our master. In Baptism we died to it, so we are truly free. We pray that we do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, because He has sealed us for the day of redemption in Baptism. We are his. The fruits of this are being “...kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.” Yes, the world is a scary place. We are surrounded by those who hate us. But God has made you His New Creation. And “He’s coming back to claim His own.” So, like Elijah, you are shielded.

God’s still small voice still speaks in His Word to us right here, right now. He doesn’t speak to those who are not His. So, Fear not!

God’s Promise

Finally we get to our Gospel. Jesus tells us that He is the Bread of Heaven who has come into the World. And He comes to claim us as His own the first time through the Gospel and forgiveness of sins. The only fear that we have is the fear of hell. But Jesus even suffered your punishment there already. So what does this mean? No Fear.

Listen to His Words, words that God speaks to us every time a loved one dies in Christ:

John 6:37–40 ESV

All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out. For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me. And this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day. For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.”