Sermon Tone Analysis

Jesus calls the disciples...

Follow me, AND I will make you.

It would take FAITH for the disciples to not only believe but to actually follow Jesus and leave everything behind.

It was not just Jesus that called his followers to go after him by faith.

Since the beginning in the OT, God always required FAITH to follow after his promises.

By faith

Hebrews 11:1-2

Seems to me that one of the most important things we will need to follow after God and what He promises is

FAITH

I NEED FAITH!

But if that was an easy thing to do, everyone would do it.

Your faith has enemies.

Over the next few weeks, we will look at some of the enemies of our faith.

And we will discover what God says about those enemies and how to fight those enemies.

Following God demands faith.

You can’t keep your faith without a fight.

You must fight!

Extinction—the fear of annihilation, of ceasing to exist.

This is a more fundamental way to express it than just calling it "fear of death."

The idea of no longer beingarouses a primary existential anxiety in all normal humans.

Consider that panicky feeling you get when you look over the edge of a high building.

Mutilation—the fear of losing any part of our precious bodily structure; the thought of having our body's boundaries invaded, or of losing the integrity of any organ, body part, or natural function.

Anxiety about animals, such as bugs, spiders, snakes, and other creepy things arises from fear of mutilation.

Loss of Autonomy—the fear of being immobilized, paralyzed, restricted, enveloped, overwhelmed, entrapped, imprisoned, smothered, or otherwise controlled by circumstances beyond our control.

In physical form, it's commonly known as claustrophobia, but it also extends to our social interactions and relationships.

Separation—the fear of abandonment, rejection, and loss of connectedness; of becoming a non-person—not wanted, respected, or valued by anyone else.

The "silent treatment," when imposed by a group, can have a devastating psychological effect on its target.

Ego-death—the fear of humiliation, shame, or any other mechanism of profound self-disapproval that threatens the loss of integrity of the Self; the fear of the shattering or disintegration of one's constructed sense of lovability, capability, and worthiness.

As you can see, the greatest fear is fear of dying.

Fear of extinction.

God knows this fear.

In fact, he told almost everyone he called to do something in faith to NOT FEAR.

To Abraham he told, DO NOT BE AFRAID.

To Moses, Joshua, Elijah, Elisha, Joseph, and the list goes on and on....

David said, even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I WILL FEAR NO EVIL because you are with me.

And then Jesus comes, and he is the Messiah, the savior, the one who would rescue God’s people.

You would think fear would vanish, he came to save his people.

Yet, Jesus tells his followers these words when he is preparing them to face what was to come.

By the way, what was coming didn’t look good, watch this.

This happened after Jesus had already told them not to fear on another occasion.

Matthew 8:23

Mark 35:

In Mark it says that the disciples were TERRIFIED.

That is, they were afraid of being afraid.

How could the disciples be afraid of dying, when Jesus is right there with them in the boat?

The reality is that some of us are still so attached to this life, that we are not willing to let God take full control of it because of fear.

So Jesus repeatedly tells his followers, DON’T BE AFRAID, DON’T BE AFRAID, DON’T BE AFRAID.

Then again, in Jesus is doing miracles.

He multiplies 5 pieces of bread and 2 fish.

Then this time He sends the disciples on the boat…

But when Jesus goes to the cross, all his disciples scattered except John.

Why?

They were afraid.

Yes, Jesus told them repeatedly, over and over again, DON’T BE AFRAID.

Yet, they were afraid.

I remember growing up me and a friend would ride our bikes around our neighborhood.

There was a street that had too many dogs, little dogs, medium sized dogs, and some dogs that were more our imagination than what they really were, HUGE DOGS.

Somehow I managed to not be afraid of riding my bike on that street.

EXPAND....

The reason I was not afraid is because I had done too manny times, and I knew those dogs would not bite.

Jesus knew that he would conquer death.

And he did it!

The reason Jesus tells us today, don’t be afraid, is because with Him on our side, there is nothing to be afraid, not even death.