Fear No Fear

(All scripture from the World English Bible, ebible.org, all rights reserved)

The Lord said to Paul in the night by a vision, “Don’t be afraid, but speak and don’t be silent; for I am with you, and no one will attack you to harm you, for I have many people in this city.”
Acts 18:9-10 (emphasis added)

It’s a great feeling to be singled out. But when we are singled out by those who dislike us or want to do us harm, it’s not so great. When Paul had been in Corinth, it had not gone well. The Jews in the synagogue had opposed him. Paul stormed out and went next door to Justus’ house — he was a believer. So far the ruler of the synagogue, Crispus, had believed in Jesus. So had his household. Others also believed when they heard. Everyone who believed was baptised. There were a lot still set against him. But what was Paul thinking? These weren’t his first issues. He’d been beaten in Philippi and jailed. He’d been chased out of Antioch and almost been stoned in Iconium. Here he was again with Jews who opposed the teaching of the Good News. He must have been frustrated. That’s when Jesus showed up.

Paul had started preaching (Acts 18:5) because he was “compelled by the Spirit” to testify to the Jews that Jesus was the Anointed One, the Christ. He was opposed. Now he must have been considering ceasing his preaching because Jesus tells him not to. But Jesus also tells him that He (Jesus) is with him (Paul). Isn’t that a wonderful thing? So many times, Paul took it in faith that Jesus was there and walked in that faith. He praised God in prison. He boldly proclaimed the truth. Often with no direct evidence that Jesus was indeed beside him. But here, Jesus tells him. Directly. Face to face. “I am with you” (Acts 18:10). Right there, you know Paul is going to keep preaching and proclaiming the truth. Wouldn’t you? If Jesus told you He was with you, face to face, you’d believe Him, right?

Jesus never tells us to do anything alone. We never get instructions and then get sent off by ourselves. Holy Spirit is always with us, so the power of God to accomplish your calling is also always with us. Jesus travels in our hearts and spirits, because we have His spirit of righteousness (2 Corinthians 5:21). We abide in Him and He in us (John 15:4). He will never, ever, ever leave us or forsake us (Hebrews 13:5). In fact, it is impossible (Romans 8:31-39). Why is it that we forget that? I know I have. Haven’t you? Don’t we all sing songs and say prayers that feature the idea ‘God please be with me’? If you read and believe the promises of the Word, that attitude is ridiculous. It’s like turning to someone beside you and saying, ‘Boy, I really, really hope you’re beside me.’ They’d wonder about our sanity. I thank the Lord that our God has a sense of humour.

We should be reading the Word every day, praying every day, and fellowshipping with the Lord every day. In that state, how can we forget that He is beside us? Why is it that the minute a storm kicks up, we think maybe Jesus is busy elsewhere? It’s a lie. Total lie. Jesus is just as beside us ready to help us whether we are cooking breakfast, choosing pants, or confronting sickness. Jesus ALREADY accomplished everything He needs to in order to achieve your victory (John 19:30; Acts 2:4). The Spirit is as ready to teach, equip, and instruct us whether we are changing a diaper or raising the dead. It’s true. God is interested in all of our lives, not just the churchy side. He wants to be part of everything and for us to be part of everything with Him. “And whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men,” (Colossians 3:23). It’s only a matter of belief and faith. If you’ll choose to believe He’ll supply the faith by Grace. “for by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it [faith] is the gift of God” (Ephesians 2:8).

There is another weapon in the Lord’s arsenal of anti-fear. While the most powerful can seem to be His Spirit and Jesus beside and in us, it isn’t. From an ‘authority on this planet’ perspective, Yahweh’s presence isn’t a power-level weapon. What is more powerful than Almighty God? you ask. It isn’t a question of God’s power. It is a legal point of wielding that power. A gun can be a powerful weapon or a paperweight. The gun hasn’t changed. It is a question of whose hand it is in and what that hand is doing with it. He has given us authority to wield and we are to wield it. We. That’s the powerful weapon. Believers.

Not just believers spread across the globe in a million different communities — though do not get me wrong, a single righteous human following the will of God can do mighty things because it is the Father who does them through us (James 5:16, John 14:8-11). I’m not diminishing that. But authority is wielded most fiercely in agreement (Ecclesiastes 4:9). Jesus says “For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there I am in the middle of them.” That is significant because Jesus also said “Again, assuredly I tell you, that if two of you will agree on earth concerning anything that they will ask, it will be done for them by my Father who is in heaven” (Matthew 18:19-20).

People talk about whether it is important or not to go to church. They look at what people are doing and how people are acting. But there is a reason God highly recommends us to gather together (Hebrews 10:24-25). There is a joint fellowship aspect to being a follower of Jesus (Colossians 3:16). It is true you can attend church online. We can distance learn and distance relationship using modern tools, so yes, we can also distance worship. But we do miss an important quality: physical togetherness (Matthew 18:20). Church isn’t meant to be a negative thing (Psalm 122:1-9). Jesus went to church regularly (Luke 4:16). We are meant to be together, worship together, help each other, keep each other in check, and be a joint undertaking (1 Corinthians 12:12-22). God isn’t going to condemn you if you worship online. But you miss out on the benefits of face-to-face joint worship and agreement. We are all one body (Romans 12:5). We are meant to work in unison (Proverbs 27:17). Listening to Jesus and walking where He leads.

Jesus gives us the orders, He equips us to carry them out, He has other believers there to stand with us and beside us. We have the authority to achieve the orders Jesus has given us. The authority to work them as He leads. We can succeed according to the will of the Father because when we are with Him and aligned with His Word, He acts through us as His agents on this earth to perform mighty signs, wonders, and set free the captives of this world through the sharing of the Good News that Jesus did the work, dying for their sins and being raised again to life as their Saviour. That’s amazing. Take a moment to think about that. What can’t we accomplish when Jesus is leading us into the Father’s will and we obey? We are given so much Grace to succeed. Truly (as I have heard it said) when God says ‘jump’ we should ask ‘how high?’ when we’re in the air!

Daily Affirmation of God’s Love: Luke 22:24-31, 61-62

In our arrogance, in our weakness, Jesus is there. In fact, He is there before our weakness arrives. If we are abiding in Him, we will hear the warnings and be able to prepare ourselves. But if not, we know that Jesus is working as our mediator (1 Timothy 2:5) countering the devil’s machinations. Jesus does NOT want us to fail or fall. He is working every moment of every day against that. Jesus prays for us and talks us up to His Father, asking for Faith, Blessing, endurance, Grace, and Peace. And Love. All the Fruit of the Spirit. All the tools we need to achieve what we need to achieve. Healing balm for our wounds. Fellow believers to lift us up, encourage us, and firm up each other’s faith. The Lord God prepares so that we will not fail, but succeed (1 Corinthians 9:24-27). As a good parent, the Father saves and prepares for His children’s future (2 Corinthians 12:14). That’s love.

Your Daily Confession of God’s love to YOU:

Today God loves that I _______.