Let's be the Abnormal Ones
Notes
Transcript
Not Afraid Anymore
Not Afraid Anymore
When I was kid and the tornado sirens went off It would mess me up. I’d be terrified.
I would be so afraid that I would shake. The emotions affected me physically.
The news would always show pictures of the worst storms and their damage.
We’d turn on the TV or a radio and listen to the weather reports and wait until the last minute before we’d go into our basement. The waiting nearly killed me.
Then, there was The Wizard of Oz.
Wicked witches on bicycles and broomsticks.
Flying monkeys. Talking trees.
Then, as an adult they didn’t affect me the same. I don’t get that scared anymore. Adrenaline fires and I’d get busy, but it doesn’t mess w/ me like it used to.
The threats are still real. There is still the chance of serious damage and injuries. But my emotional response is different.
LR had some huge tornadoes while we were there. Major EF 4 storms that did lots of damage around us.
One, a smaller one, went right over our house before it came out of the clouds and did some damage several miles east of us.
Another time, the youth group would meet at our house and Sara and I would go out. There was a tornado warning, Sara and I sheltered at the restaurant. We didn’t worry about the kids. We knew they’d be okay. The youth pastor gathered them down in our basement and continued the discussion.
One year we lived in IN, the sate had more recorded tornadoes than any other state. Most bounced around harmlessly out in farmland.
That’s part of why it doesn’t scare me so much anymore. I’ve lived thru a lot of tornadoes. I’m better educated about them and my experience has taught me I don’t need t/b afraid.
When I was a kid they’d warn the whole county. But it was a big county. The funnel might not be anywhere near us but we’d still hear the sirens in our neighborhood.
That was when police and reporters would drive around looking for the funnels. That’s how we’d know.
Today, radar pinpoints the funnel w/ very little delay.
I even remember in LR, watching the weather channel as they tracked a storm in Wichita. I knew when my family was in the clear.
It was heading right for their neighborhood. But then turned slightly to the east and moved up the I-35 away from them.
I would expect storms like these in the springtime.
When cold fronts from the NW meet a warm wet front from the gulf things start rotating.
Typically, tornadoes move from SW to NE.
So, the safest place in a basement is in the SW corner.
So, why now as an adult am I not so afraid?
I think there are several reasons. I have several assurances.
I know what to do. I know where t/b to keep my family safe.
And, I know everything else can easily be replaced w/ good insurance.
With these assurances I don’t have to panic anymore. I know what to do and I know what to expect and I know that we can recover.
Around here one of the main threats is fire.
Sara’s family watched the Bighorn fire as it traveled from west to east along the Catalinas.
One of our fire fighters, Caleb, was out there working that fire on Mt. Lemon. He showed us a few pictures from his time out there.
If that were to happen around here for the same reasons we don’t have to panic.
We know what to do. We have a the Ready, Set, Go app on our phones and we have a plan to evacuate.
We know what to expect. It’s the season for lightening strikes and truck fires that cause forest fires.
And we know that we will recover.
These same assurances allow us to face every threat w/out panicking, but w/ calm and hope.
We are threatened physically, w/ a virus.
Emotionally, by the isolation and separation.
Financially by the economic and bsns shutdowns.
For most, it’s normal to be afraid. But, we don’t have t/b normal.
When we face threats that provoke fear in most normal people, we can be the abnormal ones that face these threats w/ calm and hope.
Peter wrote this to ppl who had been targeted by Nero. They had already lost a lot. And the potential for greater loss still hung over their head.
So, he gave them practical advice on how to live their life w/out being overcome by fear.
The Principle
The Principle
Who is going to harm you if you are eager to do good? But even if you should suffer for what is right, you are blessed. “Do not fear their threats; do not be frightened.”
The principle:
We can respond to threats w/out fear b/c of the privileged position we have w/ God.
We are blessed by God and put in a safe place where He is protecting us. So we can keep these threats in perspective.
In the c.1 the threat was from persecution. It was undeserved and unjust.
v.13 is a rhetorical Q: O there anyone who will harm those who are eager to do good? Implied is the threat was real, but rare. Not a normal expectation even among c.1 Christians.
Like most tornadoes harmlessly dance around empty farmland and don’t hit populated areas.
Persecution didn’t happen very often. But but it happened often enough to make the threat real.
And when threatened Peter is saying they could respond w/out panicking.
They didn’t have to live in fear of what ppl might do to them.
More than 90% of what we worry about never actually happens. Calm down.
There is still the chance something might happen.And, it might hurt.
But, when it does, b/c of the position we have w/ God He is going to take care of us.
Let the reality of your favored position w/ God make you live your life in a state of calm and w/ hope.
Let your position w/ God influence your reaction.
There are those moments of fear, like when the sirens first went off when I was a kid.
Then, there is living in fear that someday the sirens might go off and we might experience a tornado.
Peter is saying, don’t do either.
Don’t panic when the sirens go off. And, don’t live your life in emotional turmoil worried that they might go off today.
He is referring to a personal episode he and the disciples had one night on the sea when Jesus wasn’t w/ them and a storm blew up.
They knew they were in trouble. The boat was going down and when it did they would all die.
When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. “It’s a ghost,” they said, and cried out in fear.
Experienced fishermen knew the threat and it was real.
They knew what to do and it wouldn’t be enough.
They knew what to expect, it didn’t look good.
They didn’t think they’d recover.
So, when they saw a figure walking above the water out to meet them.
Their first reaction rattled them to the core.They were already afraid. This sent them into emotional turmoil.
They thought it was the angel of death coming to usher them out of this life and into the next.
Turned out, it was just Jesus and their fear was unjustified.
The threat was real, but Jesus was there to take care of them.
So, Peter, drawing on his experience is instructing those reading his letter not to be afraid of what might happen b/c there’s more going on than they realize. If they just wait, God will show them that He’s taking care of them.
I talked to Al Hargrave last week. He and Jo-Nell have been up here quite a bit but are staying in b/c of their age and health.
He said, most of us don’t know anyone who has even been sick w/ COVID. Then, he calmly listed about 6 people he knows who have died w/ it.
That’s b/c of what he did for a career. He was a doctor on an Indian reservation and connected to similar mission org.s.
All his age, older; serving on a reservation, and we know how hard reservations have been hit, or serving in densely populated countries of very poor ppl.
The way Al described it was, “No big deal.” He talked to them when they were sick, or to others who did, they were all calm and hopeful, not stressing over what might happen. Then, it happened.
How? How is it that these ppl could be so calm and hopeful the face of such a threat. And, how could Al be describing this to me w/out being all torn up by it?
I could hear him smiling as he talked to me.
B/C he knew what Peter was writing about was real and it worked.
Al, and his friends all knew what to do and what to expect.
And, they knew they’d recover. Maybe not here. But whatever they were about to lose, God would replace w/ something better.
Their life-experience provided a history of calm hope in previous threats. So they knew they could be the same way in this new threat.
That’s where Peter goes next. How. How can we live calmly and hopefully w/out being paralyzed by fear when the threats are so real.
The Possibility
The Possibility
But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander. For it is better, if it is God’s will, to suffer for doing good than for doing evil.
This is how we can overcome the fear of threatened losses in our lives.
It requires strength, self-discipline, and the ability to love.
Good news!
For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline.
We have what we need to do it.
In your heart, deep inside you, revere Christ as Lord.
That means, set Jesus apart from everything else in your life. Value Him above all else. Make Him holy.
“This, then, is how you should pray:
“ ‘Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
What you are saying is nothing is more important to you than God. He is everything to you. And, if you lose everything but still have God then you still have everything.
There is nothing that you could lose that can hurt you as deeply Jesus can help you.
Christ is enough. We can lose everything and still be okay.
God is in control of all human events.
One of those big theological points. God is ultimately in control while still allowing people make choices. You, me, everybody. But, nobody can do anything that catches God by surprise or makes Him go, “What am I going to do now?”
We can maintain a deep-seated, inward confidence in Jesus to take care of us.
We have the assurance of good insurance so that if we lose something important, God will replace it w/ something better.
If you lose your house, you have a mansion waiting for you in heaven.
If you lose your life, you have a new body coming that will never get sick or injured, forever.
When we realize what we have in Jesus it affects us significantly, it changes us severely, and ppl will notice.
We will experience calmness when everyone around us isn’t.
We will be hopeful, cheerful, when others are fearful.
Al Hargrave.
We know what to do. We know what to expect. We will recover b/c we know God will replace whatever we lose w/ something better.
That is the assurance of good insurance.
The way Peter describes this is we will have the opportunity to respond to the accusation.
We will be accused of being abnormal. B/C, it is not normal to be calm and hopeful under such circumstances.
Normal ppl don’t respond that way.
So, in that case let’s all be abnormal!
The movie, “Young Frankenstein”
I wouldn’t necessarily recommend it.
But Igor goes to a lab to steal a brain in a jar that Dr. Frankenstein will implant in his creature.
Igor grabs the first one that is from a genius, but drops it and the jar shatters ruining the specimen.
So, he grabs the other one.
Dr. Frankenstein recognizes something wrong w/ the brain and asks the name of the person that the brain came from that was written on the jar;
Igor says, “Abby.” Really, Abby who? Abby Normal.
So, let’s all be normal in our abnormality and be calm and hopeful when everyone else afraid.
We can be cheerful when everyone around us is fearful.
They are going to want to know how? why?
Peter says, be humble in your explanation. There is nothing more special about you that you deserve the position w/ God that gives you such hope that the person you are talking to does not.
Grace.
Sometimes we see on FB that a Christian may post something about not being afraid of COVID and it can come across as arrogant. Like they are better somehow than anyone who is afraid.
No one is any better. We’ve just had better opportunities to grow and learn what God does for us.
So, stay humble. And, don’t feel the pressure to persuade anyone to believe what you do.
Just tell your story. What do you know? What has been your experience?
Don’t feel like you’re not enough of an expert in the bible or can explain everything.
Everybody is an expert in their own experiences. And, that’s all we need to explain.
From there, it’s up to the HS to close the deal.
Part of our story is facing threats we don’t deserve. So, don’t do anything that deserves t/b punished.
Good behavior is the best defense against threats.
A clear conscience requires more than just good moral behavior. It’s not sinless perfection. But it’s the effort to maintain a close relationship w/ Jesus by not doing anything that reflects poorly on him or the rest of us.
PPL still may try to slander you. But their words shouldn’t gain any traction w/ anyone b/c everyone should know you by your reputation and the pattern of your life.
Peter is speaking from his own experience here. This is his story.
He denied knowing Jesus and being a disciple b/c he was afraid. He was afraid he’d lose his freedom, lose his good physical condition, and lose his life.
So, he lied and denied.
Jesus forgave him and restored him. Then, fast-forward a few years and Peter responded differently to the same threats.
In fact, he was imprisoned, he was beaten, and crucified like Jesus. But, he faced w/out fear, but calmness and hope.
So, as he wrote this he knew it was possible for us, too.
We have a real opportunity during this season to help ppl. PPL are afraid.
We know Who to tune into and where to get the info we need. Our experience has taught us to trust. And we know if we lose anything it will be replaced.
They need to see us respect the science, take reasonable precautions, and exhibit calm hope.
Jesus did it for us. We can do it for others, too.
Applications
Applications
Your story
Your story
You can help people just by telling your story. You don’t need t/b an expert on what the Bible says or Who God is.
Just be an expert on what your experiences w/ God have been.
Practice. Write down 2 or 3 short testimonials that you can use to encourage ppl.
Just tell your story and let the HS do the rest.
Look Deep
Look Deep
Look deep in your heart and make a conscious decision to value Jesus above everything else.
More than your health, your house, your family, your financial security, everything.
When you get scared you might lose something important to your, look deep into your heart again a remember that you value Jesus more than what you’re afraid of losing.
You can’t ever lose Jesus. When you have Jesus you have enough.
Occasionally, refocus on who is most important to you.
There’s more
There’s more
When you are afraid remember there is more to what is going on that you realize.
The disciples thought it was the angel of death coming to take them to heaven but it was Jesus.
Our first impression of what we are facing is not always accurate.
Don’t overreact to what you think you see at first. Let God reveal what else is going on and He will help you calm down.
When we face threats today that cause normal people to fear, we can be the abnormal ones.
We know who to tune into for good information.
We’ve been educated and experienced.
And, we have the assurance that we have good insurance. Everything we might lose will be replaced w/ something better.