Glory Revealed Romans 8:18-27
On August 14, 1989, Time reported the sad story of a man from East Detroit who died of fear. He had taken a number of fur-trapping expeditions over the years and had been bitten by his share of ticks. Then he heard about Lyme disease, which is carried by deer ticks. He became obsessed with the fear that he had been bitten in the past by a tick with the disease and that he had passed the disease to his wife.
Doctors tested him and assured him he didn’t have Lyme disease and that, even if he did, the disease was virtually impossible to transmit to his wife. But the man didn’t believe the doctors. Paranoid, because of the disease, the man killed his wife and then himself.
The police found the man’s mailbox jammed with material describing Lyme disease and a slip confirming a doctor’s appointment for yet another Lyme-disease test.
Fear distorts a person’s sense of reality. Fear consumes a person’s energy and thoughts. Fear controls.
I. Glory Revealed vv. 18-21
In witnessing, the fear of man is probably the most difficult factor for the Christian to overcome. Will he listen to me? Will he slam the door in my face? Will he laugh at me? Will he be offended? And so on. This timely story is taken from the pages of American history.
Peter Cartwright, a nineteenth-century, circuit riding, Methodist preacher, was an uncompromising man. One Sunday morning when he was to preach, he was told that President Andrew Jackson was in the congregation, and was warned not to say anything out of line.
When Cartwright stood to preach, he said, “I understand that Andrew Jackson is here. I have been requested to be guarded in my remarks. Andrew Jackson will go to hell if he doesn’t repent.”
The congregation was shocked and wondered how the President would respond. After the service, President Jackson shook hands with Peter Cartwright and said, “Sir, if I had a regiment of men like you, I could whip the world.”
Are you more interested in guarding your remarks than you are in leading people to Christ?