Let Us Fear, Let Us Hope

Illustrations for Biblical Preaching Fear, Thief’s

A farmer looked out his window one day and saw several young fellows stealing watermelons from his field. He pulled out his gun and fired over their heads once or twice to scare the thieves off. Later, when the boys met, one said, “Did you hear those bullets.” Another replied, “I heard them twice, once when they passed me, and once when I passed them.”

Fear is a powerful motivator, by the power of fear we can “leap tall buildings” and run faster than “speeding bullets.” The Prairie Overcomer a publication of the Prairie Bible Institute of Canada had this to say about the motivating power of fear:

Encyclopedia of 7700 Illustrations 1640 Four Impelling Motives

There are four great impelling motives that move men to action: Fear, Hope, Faith, and Love—these four, but the greatest of these is Fear. Fear is first in order, first in force, first in fruit. Indeed, fear is “the beginning of wisdom.” Scripture summarizes the chief cause of sin and crime: “There is no fear of God before their eyes.”

As a preacher highly trained in the Greek rhetorical arts the author of Hebrews knew all about the motivating power of fear. As a preacher highly trained in the Rabbinic system, he also knew that the “fear of the Lord, was the beginning of wisdom.” It comes as no surprise then that he begins chapter four with an appeal to both fear and hope. Let us turn our attention to verses 1-3 of Hebrews 4:

Hebrews 4:1–3 ESV

Therefore, while the promise of entering his rest still stands, let us fear lest any of you should seem to have failed to reach it. For good news came to us just as to them, but the message they heard did not benefit them, because they were not united by faith with those who listened. For we who have believed enter that rest, as he has said, “As I swore in my wrath, ‘They shall not enter my rest,’ ” although his works were finished from the foundation of the world.

Notice the appeal to hope in verse one, “while the promise of entering his rest still stands” and the appeal to fear, “let us fear lest any of you should seem to have failed to reach it.” The author of Hebrews wrote this sermonic letter because some of the church of Rome had already abandoned the faith out of a fear of man. They did this because they placed their hope in the things of this world, when persecution came, their worldly hopes where endangered and as a consequence they denied Christ. The author of Hebrews is combating this by appealing to a greater hope—the hope of entering God’s rest and a greater fear—the fear of God.

By pointing us to the fear of God and the hope of eternal life, the author of Hebrews is reminding us how small the fear of man really is. As a well trained rabbi, he was familiar with the Old Testament teaching on fear. Surely he must have been thinking of passages like this:

Isaiah 51:12 ESV

“I, I am he who comforts you; who are you that you are afraid of man who dies, of the son of man who is made like grass,

Therefore...

Let Us Not Fear Man

There is no question that evil men can do great harm to us in this world. They can even take our lives. We see the bloody power of men today as we look to places such as Africa, the Middle East or North Korea, but what we must remember is that their power to do us harm is limited to this world and this life only.

In Matthew 10 we find Jesus preparing His disciples for persecution. He begins by saying...

Matthew 10:16–17 ESV

“Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves, so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves. Beware of men, for they will deliver you over to courts and flog you in their synagogues,

He then reminds them that this is the way people have been treating Him...

Matthew 10:24–25 ESV

“A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master. It is enough for the disciple to be like his teacher, and the servant like his master. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebul, how much more will they malign those of his household.

We all know how terribly people treated Jesus—He was not only maligned—he was beaten and crucified! Yet a few verses later, Jesus teaches us not to be afraid of man...

Matthew 10:28 ESV

And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell.

Man’s wrath is nothing compared to God’s, because God’s wrath extends into the next life and lasts forever! Therefore...

Let Us Fear God

Let us not forget as we begin chapter 4 that when the author of Hebrews is writing of God’s “rest” he is still quoting Psalm 95.

Hebrews 3:7–11 ESV

Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says, “Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion, on the day of testing in the wilderness, where your fathers put me to the test and saw my works for forty years. Therefore I was provoked with that generation, and said, ‘They always go astray in their heart; they have not known my ways.’ As I swore in my wrath, ‘They shall not enter my rest.’ ”

The clear implication is this: If you don’t enter into God’s rest, you enter into God’s wrath! Later on in his letter the author will write:

Hebrews 10:31 ESV

It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.

No wonder the Bible reminds us again and again, “The fear of God is the beginning of wisdom.” There is nothing more foolish than to rebel against the living God! It doesn’t matter how great someone”s intelligence is or how great their worldly wisdom is, if they are living in defiance to the living God they are a fool!

As the author of Hebrews will be reminding us again and again, this world is but a shadow pointing to a greater reality. Our lives in this world are but a flash in the pan, the real story of our lives begins in the next because the next life lasts forever. That is why it is so important that you...

Conclusion: Don’t Let Your Temporal Fear Rob You of Your Eternal Hope

Where you place your hope will determine where you place your fear. If your hope is in God’s eternal rest, then your fear will be in God. If your hope is in this world, then your fear will be in man.

In our Gospel lesson this morning the angel of the Lord told the shepherds, “Fear not.” Now let me assure you, if you saw an angel in all his glory you would be afraid! You would be so overwhelmed with fear that all of your strength would leave you and you would fall down as if you were dead! So on the surface, it is an odd thing for the angel to say, “Fear not.” However, it is not such an odd thing when you consider the reason the angel says not to be afraid.

Luke 2:10–11 ESV

And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.

You see, it is the hope of a Savior who will bring us into God’s rest that dispels the power of fear—even the power of the fear of seeing an angel! As Caesarius of Arles said years ago, “If you fear God, you will fear nothing else.” Therefore...

Let us Fear God.

Let us Hope in God’s rest.

Let us pray.

Lord add your blessing to this morning’s Scripture lessons and sermon, that we might fear you only and hope most strongly in your eternal promises found in Christ Jesus our Lord. In whose name we pray. Amen.