Sermon: Don't Stay Afraid

Sometimes I think it is hard to follow the flow of the bible. I mean we often take an hour a week to look at a small part of the bible in a bit more detail then we take another small bit the next week. So when you look at all you know about all these little things, its hard to remember that a lot happened in a very short time. Biblically speaking, not much has happened since Jesus' resurrection from last week to this week, and by not much I mean we are still on the same day. Just a few hours ago, Peter and John ran to the tomb and found Jesus was gone just as Mary had said.

From Bible.com

They have been hiding in a house for the whole day. They were afraid of the Jews, their own people. By now word had reached the Jewish Leaders that Jesus' body was gone. It would seem a natural thought that maybe his disciples had taken the body. But at this point, even the disciples didn't understand that Jesus was to die and be resurrected. If anyone in Israel understood the scriptures on the Messiah, and understood what the Resurrection would mean, it would be the Pharisees. It would also mean the loss of their power, so I can imagine they would not want people to be spreading this news. Silencing the disciples before they had a chance to say anything would be logical for the Pharisees. I can understand why the disciples were hiding out.

You probably know that my mother and I both have our black belts in Karate. A lot of people see getting your black belt as the ultimate goal of martial arts. At this point you know everything you need to know to defend yourself. But it simply isn't true. When you get your black belt, you will have finally learned enough for you to be able to learn. The black belt is not the goal, it is a new and fresh start into something much more.

We see a new and fresh start here too. Jesus finally came to his friends and surprised them by coming into a room that was locked. They were overjoyed to see their rabbi, whom they watched die on a cross two days before, alive and well. Twice Jesus had to calm them down. And this is where John tells us Jesus starts something new. Jesus tells his friends "As the Father has sent me, so I am sending you." Everything they have learned to this point has finally got them ready to begin the real journey. 

Jesus breathes on the disciples, mirroring God breathing life into Adam, so too do the disciples now have a new life in Jesus. This is also a great point from John, showcasing Jesus as the Son of God. Fear was keeping the disciples in the house, and with a simple shalom, and a command, Jesus was able to take away the fear in them and replace it with the Holy Spirit.

I'd like to take a moment to mention that this story of receiving the Holy Spirit is very different than in the other Gospels. It was probably two difference instances where the disciples received it. This one I think was a point of getting them ready, tuning them to begin God's work to the rest of the world. For example, my brother-in-law Paul, a few years ago, accepted Jesus as his savior while at a church service. He said he felt weird, something in his chest didn't feel right. Not a pain or anything else like that, but a discomfort and he wanted to cry. I think this was probably similar to what the disciples felt. Paul had not yet asked the Holy Spirit to into his heart, but still, his heart was feeling it and desiring it. The Holy Spirit coming down on them filling their heart for this, but not yet making a home there. I think the home was made later at Pentecost, or as I like to call it, the tongues of fire thing.

Fear is something that can really lead us into directions we might not want to and shouldn't go. Fear made the disciples stay indoors. Fear often keeps us within our walls away from a world that would hate us. But truth is, if we really have the Holy Spirit in our hearts, we should move forward without fear. If we choose to not move forward without fear, sometimes it can leave us with regret.

The last time I got to go to Scotland to visit my sister, there was a woman with a broken foot crying sitting across from us while we waited to board the last plane. I didn't know her, nor her story, but I knew she was hurting. Red eyes and pain spread all across her face, and it didn't look like it was from the foot. There was a deeper hurt in the tears. Maybe she had lost someone, or ended a relationship, I don't know, but like a fool, I looked at her, felt bad, and stayed silent. And looking back I know now  that it was fear that kept me from talking to her. I felt God asking me to go talk to this lady, but I didn't know her. I was afraid to walk up to a stranger and ask her if she was ok. Fear kept me in my seat when I should have been next to her telling her how much Jesus cares about her, and he too is feeling her pain as she mourned. Fear has left me with a regret I will always have. A regret that I may very well have to explain on judgement day.

Jesus told his disciples to go out there and make disciples of all nations, yet many of us aren't even willing to make disciples in our own communities. We wont invite people to church, we leave every morning, our neighbors still in bed and our minds don't even think twice on them. Though people may argue, I kinda think this is a bit of shame on our part, or at least some embarrassment and definitely fear.

I have never been the type of person that likes to get up in front of people, even if I know them, and talk. Every time I had to do that in school, I would get all jerky, mean, and sick feeling the days before hand. When it was over, I would melt, relieved that the stress was gone and zone out the rest of the class. I even would make sure my work was only ever average in class because some teachers liked to point out how some students did really well on the tests. I did not want to be seen. I wanted to pass on by unnoticed, so I never had to deal with anything.

But this is not what God has called us to do. I find myself compelled to write a blog, put myself out where people can actually see me (figuratively speaking). I don't put up the shell of protection as I do in real life, but this isn't the same as going out there. This is staying where I am safe and looking through a window leaving notes for people to find in hopes that maybe, just maybe, they might see God, feel his love, and join us in his endless praise. I also know that this isn't enough.

It's pretty hard to talk to strangers about Jesus, true. But many of us sit here with rarely speaking about Jesus to our co-workers and friends. This should be much much easier to do, but for me, for example, I begin to think about them thinking less of me because I believe in something they can't or don't want to. Even when I am not talking about Jesus, I am still the butt of many jokes about what I believe and if I try to tell them its so much more than that, how much more will  they make fun of me. I have tried to learn from my regret of that lady. But even now, when I feel God telling me to say something even when attacked, I have a hard time trying to remember I have the breathe of new life in me. I do not need to fear.

Sheep beget sheep. So we must get out there and get the sheep mill going. Be smart when you feel God telling you to talk to this person. Pray quickly, and let him guide your conversation. The Holy Spirit is ready to jump in at a moments notice. If God is for us, how can we ever be afraid of doing anything we do for him?

We will be hated, we will be scorned, spit upon, called names that will hurt us very much. We will be hurting emotionally, and physically, but we will never break, we will never die, when we have have God supporting our efforts. We need to get out of our comfort zone, and out there on the streets, praying for people, worshiping God and being a total nutter for Christ. How much the better will our lives be?

DC Talk have a song called Jesus Freak, old song, but still good, and I'm sure many of you have heard it, but it says 

"What will people think
When they hear that I'm a Jesus freak
What will people do when they find that it's true
I don't really care if they label me a Jesus freak
There ain't no disguising the truth."

We should never be ashamed of God, and who cares of we are labeled and put down? We have Christ. We have life. We will be with him forever. So we should have no fear in our lives. This is a war, so as any good warriors do, before we go down, we take as many as we can with us. Just this time, we take as many as we can to life with us. So I ask you, look into your life, do you feel that there maybe a little bit of shame and fear in there? Are you ready to just take a moment, pray and let go of the fear, breathe in the Holy Spirit and go out and share God with the world? God is ready to reformat the world, and it starts with you.