Glynlea Grace United Methodist Chruch

Scripture

Joshua 1:1-9

After the death of Moses the servant of the LORD, the LORD said to Joshua the son of Nun, Moses' minister, ² "Moses my servant is dead; now therefore arise, go over this Jordan, you and all this people, into the land which I am giving to them, to the people of Israel. ³ Every place that the sole of your foot will tread upon I have given to you, as I promised to Moses. ⁴ From the wilderness and this Lebanon as far as the great river, the river Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites to the Great Sea toward the going down of the sun shall be your territory. ⁵ No man shall be able to stand before you all the days of your life; as I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will not fail you or forsake you. ⁶ Be strong and of good courage; for you shall cause this people to inherit the land which I swore to their fathers to give them. ⁷ Only be strong and very courageous, being careful to do according to all the law which Moses my servant commanded you; turn not from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may have good success wherever you go. ⁸ This book of the law shall not depart out of your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it; for then you shall make your way prosperous, and then you shall have good success. ⁹ Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; be not frightened, neither be dismayed; for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go."

Romans 8:15-16

For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the spirit of sonship. When we cry, "Abba! Father!" ¹⁶ it is the Spirit himself bearing witness with our spirit that we are children of God,

Psalm 27:1-14

The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid? ² When evildoers assail me, uttering slanders against me, my adversaries and foes, they shall stumble and fall. ³ Though a host encamp against me, my heart shall not fear; though war arise against me, yet I will be confident. ⁴ One thing have I asked of the LORD, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the LORD, and to inquire in his temple. ⁵ For he will hide me in his shelter in the day of trouble; he will conceal me under the cover of his tent, he will set me high upon a rock. ⁶ And now my head shall be lifted up above my enemies round about me; and I will offer in his tent sacrifices with shouts of joy; I will sing and make melody to the LORD. ⁷ Hear, O LORD, when I cry aloud, be gracious to me and answer me! ⁸ Thou hast said, "Seek ye my face." My heart says to thee, "Thy face, LORD, do I seek." ⁹ Hide not thy face from me. Turn not thy servant away in anger, thou who hast been my help. Cast me not off, forsake me not, O God of my salvation! ¹⁰ For my father and my mother have forsaken me, but the LORD will take me up. ¹¹ Teach me thy way, O LORD; and lead me on a level path because of my enemies. ¹² Give me not up to the will of my adversaries; for false witnesses have risen against me, and they breathe out violence. ¹³ I believe that I shall see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living! ¹⁴ Wait for the LORD; be strong, and let your heart take courage; yea, wait for the LORD!

 Summary and Purpose

Summary: The number one impediment to Christian work is fear. When it comes to witnessing, many Christians fear that they will look stupid or be ridiculed. When it comes to service, many Christians fear they will be ripped off or hurt. When it comes to embarking on a new ministry, many Christians fear the inevitable risks.

Fear is also what keeps people in general from leaving a destructive yet familiar lifestyle. When the pursuit of drugs, sex, greed and/or wealth is all you ever known, it’s scary to venture into a life of selfless love. Out of fear, many people remain in a destructive lifestyle. We all must deal with the dreadful dragon of fear. 

When we know what we ought to do, that dreadful dragon of fear snarls into our ears all the reasons why we shouldn’t do it. Well, there’s good news!!! The good news is that Jesus is a dragon slayer. Often times the dreadful dragon of fear is too much for us. When that occurs, Jesus will slay the dreadful dragon of fear for us. 

Repent and trust Jesus as your Savior and Lord. Receive the courage to do what is right. Jesus will always be with you and will always take care of you. With this knowledge we can face an uncertain future with courage. 

Purpose: To help the congregation to look to Jesus for courage to do the right thing.

The Sermon

I. Introduction: Fear – The number 1 threat to a fulfilling life

• The stock market crash of 1929 created an uncertain future
• Fear of an uncertain future kept employers from hiring and consumers from buying. (sound familiar)
• The economy came to  screeching halt because of this fear.
• So, FDR said, “The only thing to fear is fear itself” Fear became the great enemy.

     1. First meaning

• As used in Acts9:31 “So the church throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria had peace and was built up; and walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit it was multiplied.”
• Denotes an extreme reverence, respect & honor
• This is not the type of fear we are talking about here

     2. Second meaning

• As used in John 20:19 “On the evening of that day, the first day of the week, the doors being shut where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, "Peace be with you."
• Denotes dread at some malignant threat.
• A small amount of this type fear can motivate people to work harder and be more alert. This can be a good thing.
• Too much of this fear, however, can cause incapacitation. This is when it becomes the ‘dreadful dragon of fear’. The ‘dreadful dragon of fear’ is that fear which prevents us from doing the right thing.

III. We’ve all experienced the ‘The dreadful dragon of fear’

• It could be a travel, business or educational opportunity. The potential rewards could be unimaginable but…
• The ‘dreadful dragon of fear’ snarls in your ears all the things that could go wrong so you let the opportunity go by

     2.    You witness an injustice.

• You know you should do something about it but…
• The ‘dreadful dragon of fear’ raises its ugly head and hisses in your ear. He tells you that people will shun you if you stand against the injustice. You will become a pariah like the person you are defending.
• This happened to me when I was a junior in High School. Almost everyday, in the cafeteria, I witnessed a nice brainy kid endure relentless verbal abuse and threats from a crowed of jocks. I could have sat with the brainy kid and stood against the jocks but, instead, I listened to the ‘dreadful dragon of fear’ and did nothing while the abuse went on and on.

     3. Maybe the worst scenario, you have an opportunity to share the gospel

• You feel the nudge from the Holy Spirit but…..
• The ‘dreadful dragon of fear’ convinces you that you will appear foolish and you won’t know what to say. So you let the person go by without being told that God loves him.

• He lived in a small dilapidated, roach infested shack.
• Every month, he used his social security check to buy nothing but beer. Each day he collected aluminum cans alongside the road to raise money for beer. His entire life revolved around the acquisition and consumption of beer. Long ago he lost his son & wife. His brother barely acknowledged him. He was alone with his beer.
• This guy was a master mechanic. He could have had an entirely different life that consisted of family, friends and genuine relationships.
• Why did he choose this life? He listened to the ‘dreadful dragon of fear’. He became comfortable with having beer as his only companion. Doing anything else with his life became unfamiliar and that was scary. The ‘dreadful dragon of fear’ kept him ensnared in a life that was totally centered around beer.

IV. Jesus the Dragon Slayer

• Joshua had the responsibility of leading the entire nation of Israel into the promise land where they would fight hundreds of thousands of determined and hardened warriors. I’m sure the ‘dreadful dragon of fear’ had plenty to say to him.
• God, however, told Joshua, “Be strong and of good courage; be not frightened, neither be dismayed; for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go." (Joshua 1:9)
• God’s presence vanquished the ‘dreadful dragon of fear’ and Joshua led the Israelites to victory against a powerful enemy.

• Romans 8:15-19 – “For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the spirit of sonship. When we cry, "Abba! Father!" it is the Spirit himself bearing witness with our spirit that we are children of God…”
• God will not leave or forsake His children.

     4. Now, when the ‘dreadful dragon of fear’ raises its ugly head, we can say….

• I know there are risks associated with this opportunity but Jesus is with me and He’ll take care of me. I’m going for it!!
• I know I might receive ridicule if I defend  this person but Jesus is with me and He’ll take care of me. I will not stand for this injustice!!!
• I know people might think I’m a fool but I don’t care. Jesus is with me. So, I will share the gospel with this person.
• I don’t know what it’s going to be like leaving my sinful yet familiar lifestyle but Jesus is with me. I don’t know the future but I know the one who does hold the future!!!

V. Conclusion