Fear No Fear

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

The jailer reported these words to Paul, saying, “The magistrates have sent to let you go; now therefore come out and go in peace.”
Acts 16:36 (emphasis added)

Paul and Silas were in prison. Paul had been instrumental in God casting out a spirit of divination from a girl in the city. When her masters figured out she didn’t have the spirit anymore and they couldn’t earn money from her fortune telling, they stirred up a multitude against Paul and Silas. They grabbed the two of them, got them arrested by the magistrates of the town, had them beaten with rods, and tossed into prison.

You may have heard the story before. In prison they began to praise the Lord, feeling privileged that they were suffering for the gospel of Jesus. There was an earthquake which made all the chains of the prisoners fall off and the doors open. The jailer assumed they all ran away and was ready to kill himself – jailers were responsible for their prisoners and could be put to death if they lost them and it would not have been a pretty death either. But Paul intervened. Not only had he and Silas not left, no one else had left either. The jailer got saved, he took them home and took care of them. Washed them. Fed them. Paul preached some more and the jailer’s whole family got saved.

Thing was, in the morning, the magistrates figured they’d made their point. They had shown the multitudes that they took these things seriously. That they weren’t going to stand for any weird, new-fangled religions coming in and disrupting commerce. They sent orders to release Paul and Silas quietly – probably so the multitudes wouldn’t get all riled up again. Problem solved. Those Christians would slink off out of town and everything would go back to normal.

The jailer brought the news to Paul, but he wasn’t having any. You see, Paul and Silas were both Roman citizens. By Roman law, they couldn’t be beaten without a trial. Because the magistrates hadn’t done that, the magistrates themselves were in violation of the law and could be put to death. Paul was a hothead at times, but he wasn’t vindictive – not since getting saved anyway. He wasn’t motivated by making the magistrates pay. This is inference, but it is logical. Paul could have said ‘Hey we’re Romans’ at any time. They took a beating without a word. They were locked up without a word. They were taken care of, preached, baptised a family, and got some rest without a word. Neither of them was motivated by a personal sense of wrongdoing. They were happy to be persecuted for the sake of Jesus – something Jesus said was a possibility for all who followed Him. Paul wasn’t going to hold it over their heads.

But when the jailer brought the news that they could go free, Paul said no. He said that they were NOT going to slink away. They weren’t going to cause a huge stink, but they were NOT going to head out of town as if they had done something wrong. He hadn’t been seized in fear. He hadn’t sat in jail being fearful. He wasn’t going to walk away in fear, like a dog with its tail between its legs. Paul said, “They have beaten us publicly without a trial, men who are Romans, and have cast us into prison! Do they now release us secretly? No, most certainly, but let them come themselves and bring us out!” (vs 37). If Paul wasn’t vindictive, why was he being so adamant about this?

I heard an old message about this, and the point the preacher made was that Paul was thinking of who he was leaving behind. In Acts chapter 16, a woman named Lydia and her whole household were saved. The jailer and his family were saved. They had been preaching for several days before they delivered the girl. The girl had been delivered. Their fellow prisoners had heard them and seen the miracle of chains falling and doors opening. There is the potential for a fair group of believers being left behind when Paul and Silas moved on. How would that church be able to operate with the magistrates having the attitude that they could do anything to anyone just because they were Christians? Paul took a stand on this so that the magistrates would not feel free to abuse their power in the future. To make sure the governing body would be thinking about their actions and the possible repercussions of them. Paul made the magistrates come in person – an opportunity they took to beg Paul to not have them killed. They brought Paul and Silas out and formally released them in public and asked them politely to leave. Paul did not press the issue and showed the magistrates that they were not troublemakers, not there to disrupt the city in any way, and that they were full of mercy. Then they went to Lydia’s house and encouraged all the new believers before leaving town and moving on as originally planned.

One lesson here is not to walk in fear. We’re Christians. We are going to be persecuted for the sake of Jesus and His gospel. “Blessed are you when people reproach you, persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely, for my sake. Rejoice, and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven. For that is how they persecuted the prophets who were before you” (Matthew 5:11-12). “You will be hated by all men for my name’s sake, but he who endures to the end will be saved” (Matthew 10:22). We aren’t to be fearful, however. “A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his lord. It is enough for the disciple that he be like his teacher, and the servant like his lord. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebul, how much more those of his household! Therefore don’t be afraid of them, for there is nothing covered that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known. What I tell you in the darkness, speak in the light; and what you hear whispered in the ear, proclaim on the housetops. Don’t be afraid of those who kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul. Rather, fear him who is able to destroy both soul and body in Gehenna” (Matthew 10:24-28). And the early church didn’t fear them. They didn’t cringe and whine and try to avoid persecution. “They therefore departed from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer dishonor for Jesus’ name. Every day, in the temple and at home, they never stopped teaching and preaching Jesus, the Christ” (Acts 5:41-42).

What has happened to the church? Yes, there are those who are still bold and putting themselves out there. There are those willing to stand up and be shot at by the world. But on the whole, don’t we kind of coast under the radar? Think about it. Do you proclaim the Lord in your workplace? That doesn’t necessarily mean standing up in the lunchroom and preaching up a storm. But do you live like Jesus is the Lord of your life? Can they see the difference in you? Do you bring Him up and witness on a one-on-one level? Do we talk to our friends? Show them by our life choices how important Jesus is to us? How we are servants of the Lord? At the grocery store? In restaurants? What about your neighbours? When we hear these things we start to cringe. We don’t like hearing about it. We don’t like thinking about it. We’re happy to worship in church and read our bibles in our homes. We are willing to listen to praise music in our vehicles. But start to talk about whether or not we share Jesus every day with everyone every chance we get, and people start to squirm in their seats.

Is it because we don’t like to be uncomfortable? Is it because we are afraid of retaliation? Is it because we’re worried about how we’ll be treated the next time we see that person? Yes, things might change. We might not be as welcome in some places. We might be avoided. It might not be pleasant. But what did Paul say about it in 2 Corinthians 1:3-7? “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, through the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. For as the sufferings of Christ abound to us, even so our comfort also abounds through Christ. But if we are afflicted, it is for your comfort and salvation. If we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which produces in you the patient enduring of the same sufferings which we also suffer. Our hope for you is steadfast, knowing that, since you are partakers of the sufferings, so you are also of the comfort.” We might suffer for Jesus, but that will also qualify us for being comforted by Jesus. James tells us in James 5:10 that we should take the prophets as an example of being patient as we suffer because we’re speaking in the name of the Lord. Peter talked about it in many places, but in 1 Peter 3:14-16 he says “But even if you should suffer for righteousness’ sake, you are blessed. “Don’t fear what they fear, neither be troubled.” But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts. Always be ready to give an answer to everyone who asks you a reason concerning the hope that is in you, with humility and fear, having a good conscience. Thus, while you are spoken against as evildoers, they may be disappointed who curse your good way of life in Christ.”

Paul and Silas were called evildoers. Disrupters of the peace. But in the end the magistrates were disappointed. So were the men who lost their demonic bread basket. Because Paul and Silas were able to model godly patience. Mercy. Love. This happens again and again in the book of Acts. The religious leaders, the worldly leaders, everyone who came against the disciples and apostles of the church got disappointed. Nothing happened the way they meant it to. Not even when they killed one of the believers. They martyred Stephen and it set in motion the events that led to Paul’s conversion.

Who will be saved by you speaking about Jesus? Who will be encouraged and helped by you standing up for what you believe in? The more the world doubles down on feelings being facts, the more our light is going to shine when it is based on the Word and in Jesus. Thing is this. Have you ever woken up in a dark room and either suddenly opened your curtains or turned on a light? Hurts, don’t it? That is the response of the world. They curse. They squinch up their spiritual eyes. They throw pillows across the room. They hide under the covers groaning in pain. But if we keep talking Jesus, if we keep shining, sooner or later they’ll get used to the light. They might even get drawn to it. And our stance will help other believers. They will be bold in what they can do. Those who came against us will know that they can’t run roughshod over us just because we believe. Not because of what we do, but because the Lord protects His children.

I refuse to walk in fear, but I admit in the flesh I would rather keep my head down. I don’t like peopling that much. Not face to face. I feel awkward. I feel foolish from time to time. I could stand in front of hundreds or thousands of people and talk. I can share media online all day long. But talk to a neighbour? Talk to someone in a store? This is not a comfort zone for me and I need to rely on the Holy Spirit heavily to overcome the habits of my flesh. But every time I do, I am helping other believers. My words might not be the ones that snag the family next door. But I am helping the Spirit lay the groundwork for someone else. I am helping to crack the door open so that the Holy Spirit can go in and show them what the Lord can do. We don’t know the end result of anything we do. Only the Lord knows that. Our part is to be bold, not fear, and to walk in the peace of knowing that the Holy Spirit can use anything and everything that we say and do for His glory – which is the point of it all.

If you’re teased for being a christian, take heart and rejoice. If people come against you, don’t worry about it. Rejoice in the Lord, praise Him, and keep talking Jesus to everyone who gives you the opportunity. Don’t be annoying, be anointed. We say what the Lord gives us to say, when He tells us to say it, speaking in the manner He directs us to (John 5:19, 12:49). With boldness we speak gently. With conviction we stand in peace. Lights to this world of darkness and examples to other believers everywhere. Praise in an earthquake today and see the Lord remove chains and open doors everywhere you go. Jesus did it. The early church did it. We can do it too. By Jesus, in Jesus, for Jesus, and through Jesus we can believe it. Receive it. And walk in it.

Daily Affirmation of God’s Love: 1 Peter 3:17-22

The Lord says that when the world again gets like it was in the days of Noah, He is coming back. What are we to do in the meantime? How can we help? Do what is right. Peter tells us that we have a better way to walk. To put away the filth of the flesh. To put away the feelings that are desperately wanting you to believe in them. My children have come to me again and again being things. My favourite was my eldest. He was about two years old and was a cat for about a week. He didn’t speak, he meowed. I understood the gist of what he wanted. We communicated pretty well – to the great amusement of my mate. But I didn’t treat him as a cat. Litter boxes didn’t show up. Cat food wasn’t fed to him. He felt like a cat, identified as a cat, and crawled everywhere he went. But he wasn’t a cat. We are surrounded by sinners, which we were once ourselves. Sinners feel that they are normal. They identify as being right. That what they feel is the thing they are supposed to feel. But they are blind, lost, naked, and alone. They don’t know any better. We need to be a light to them. A witness to them in more than the words that we say. In attitude, action, and heart. To do what is right, but to do it at the direction of the Holy Spirit. Jesus is at the right hand of God, everything having been made subject to Him. He came to us and showed us His way. Now it is our turn to show others. To show them that while what they are doing is not right, they are loved. We are all corrected by the Lord. We all have the chance to improve, change, and alter what we do. Don’t judge those around you. Be a witness to them. Do what is right, because Jesus did it for you.

Your Daily Confession of God’s love to YOU:

Today God loves that I _______.