Power, Love and a Sound Mind
Notes
Transcript
Halloween
Halloween
Last night was Halloween. This comes from the term All Hallows' Eve. All Hallow’s Eve. What does that mean? Well Hallowed means holy, so if we look at it all together it literally means, the eve of all that is, or in this case are holy. Why do I say all who are rather than is? Well because in case you didn’t already know, Halloween is followed by a lesser known holiday called Hallowman. What is Hollowman and when exactly is it? Well so glad you asked. Hollowman is celebrated on November 1st, so Happy Hallowman. You might have heard it referred to by its better known name, All Saints’ Day. Well, that’s today! Today is the day that the church traditionally celebrated all the saints.
There is an irony associated with Halloween. You see, the term is associated with holiness, yet we reject it in favor of "harvest" or some other such concept because everyone knows that it has to do with witches and ghosts and goblins and such right? So we don’t want to have anything to do with it, but Easter is just fine right? Even though it is a pagan holiday that celebrates Estre the fertility Goddess?
Why do we do things like that? Why do we split hairs on some things and yet totally excuse others? Why do we automatically assume that some things are evil and bad or worse, demonic and so we run the other way and yet other times swallow pagan rituals whole? The Bible says it this way:
“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faith. These you ought to have done, without leaving the others undone. Blind guides, who strain out a gnat and swallow a camel!
I would say that the reason we do this is sometimes out of ignorance, but mostly we do so out of fear.
I mean, let’s really look at the origins of both holidays.
The Origins of Halloween
The Origins of Halloween
The celebration of Halloween as it is celebrated in modern times is comes from a Celtic festival calls Samhain which means the end of summer celebration. To the Celtic people, it was the most important and yet at the same time, most sinister. It was believed that it was the time when the world of the gods was made visible to mankind, and as such it was fraught with danger and fear. Without the sacrifices and propitiation that were made on that night, the Celtics feared they would not be survive the activities of the deities.
Modern Halloween became strongly influenced by some of the pagan beliefs. In Scotland young people would assemble for games, and ascertain which ones of them would marry during the year. That seems to have caused some ruckus, because my research doesn't quite say how the trick or treating got started, except that those who weren't treated, were often the victims of tricks.
Either way. Halloween has totally lost it's meaning for the Christian. Today it is fraught with ghosts, and goblins. Just like in the times of Samhain. There are, however real fears on Halloween. We absolutely see a dramatic increase in occultic rituals. And as an EMS provider, we would always see an increase in the number of traumatic events right around this time of the year. It seems that the enemy feeds off of the fear, and all that is associated with this time of year, and that spells bad news for the Christian.
But what I want to say today may come as a bit of a shock and perhaps be a bit controversial, but we need to begin to Celebrate Halloween as Christians. I am not advocating that we go out and start dressing as demons or ghosts or witches, nor am I suggesting that we turn a blind eye on those who do. I am suggesting, that while the world celebrates a night of fear, we as Christians observe All Saints Eve.
Are we or are we not all Saints of God? Therefore, as Saints of God, our Halloween celebration should have to do with the opposite of what the World's celebration has to do.
Free From Bondage to Fear
God did not intend for us to live in bondage to fear.
Inasmuch then as the children have partaken of flesh and blood, He Himself likewise shared in the same, that through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, and release those who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.
God has given us a different spirit.
For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.
So what kind of spirit? A Spirit of Power. A Spirit of Love. A Sound Mind.
This is more than Christian platitude, today we will see that all three of these is necessary to combat fear in our lives. We will see what kind of fear God says in healthy and desirable fear, and understand that all other fear is to be avoided.
A Spirit of Power.
A Spirit of Power.
Remember back when the church was just getting started? Jesus, knew that the disciples were fearful and traumatized by the events they had just experienced, so He had them go to Jerusalem and wait to be endued with power from on high.
“Behold, I send the Promise of My Father upon you; but tarry in the city of Jerusalem until you are endued with power from on high.”
The Greek
δύναμις
{dynamis}
“Dynamite”
Thayer's Greek Lexicon: talks about it this way.
a) inherent power, power residing in a thing by virtue of its nature, or which a person or thing exerts and puts forth.
b) power for performing miracles
c) moral power and excellence of soul
d) the power and influence which belong to riches and wealth
e) power and resources arising from numbers
f) power consisting in or resting upon armies, forces, hosts
So this is what God has given us, this dynamis power to overcome fear. That kind of puts things in perspective doesn't it? Our Father in heaven is able to deliver us from whatever is making us nervous or fearful. Jesus said that he had given us authority over the enemy. .
The Greek here is
ἐξουσία
{exoozia}
"Right, Jurisdiction, Control or Liberty”
That’s a far cry from bondage isn’t it? I mean we’ve got a right, we’ve got jurisdiction and we have control over the enemy! Saints, that’s exciting!
Behold, I give you the authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you. Nevertheless do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rather rejoice because your names are written in heaven.”
But that’s not all He’s given us, He also gave us...
A Spirit of Love.
A Spirit of Love.
Our Greatest Weapon Against Fear
Our Greatest Weapon Against Fear
Probably our greatest weapon against fear is love.
There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love.
Do you remember what happened to Peter when Jesus was getting ready to be crucified? Peter feared the young servant girls so much that he denied Jesus three times! How did Jesus restore him? Did He give him the chance to do some grand act of bravery? Did he give him a pep talk? No, instead he asked him one two questions. “What do you mean pastor, I know that story, He only asks him one!” No, He asked him one question twice, and a second question the third time.
So when they had eaten breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of Jonah, do you love Me more than these?” He said to Him, “Yes, Lord; You know that I love You.” He said to him, “Feed My lambs.” He said to him again a second time, “Simon, son of Jonah, do you love Me?” He said to Him, “Yes, Lord; You know that I love You.” He said to him, “Tend My sheep.” He said to him the third time, “Simon, son of Jonah, do you love Me?” Peter was grieved because He said to him the third time, “Do you love Me?” And he said to Him, “Lord, You know all things; You know that I love You.” Jesus said to him, “Feed My sheep.
These are the questions Jesus asked Peter.
Simon, son of Jonah, do you agapao me more than these?
Peter answers, Jesus You know I phileo you! Was that the question Jesus asked? Where does that word phileo come from? Remember when we studied it a few weeks ago? It is the root of the word philadelphia, remember- brotherly love. But that’s not what Jesus asked of him is it? He asked Peter do you AGAPAO me, and the root of that is agape. It’s an entirely different kind of love! Remeber, it’s love for love’s sake. It is the highest form of love!.
A second time he asks Peter “Do you agapao me?” and a second time Peter says, Lord You know I phileo you.”
Finally Jesus asks Peter, “Do you at least phileo me?” By now, Peter seems to be a bit annoyed, but I think if anything a bit broken-hearted that he can’t answer Jesus with the strength and quality of love that He is asking from him and finally Jesus settles for a lesser form of love. Peter reaffirms that He in fact phileos Jesus.
But in spite of settling for the lesser form of love, look at what Jesus has just done. He has given Peter the opportunity to profess his love three times, once for each of the times Peter denied Jesus.
Why Love?
Why Love?
We have it only partially right when we say that we shouldn't have fear, because God loves us so much and He wouldn’t let anything happen to us. That's only partially true, the reality is that we lose our fearfulness when we love God so much that our own lives don't matter to us. Notice what Jesus didn’t do. Jesus didn't tell Peter how much He loved him, rather He asked Peter tell him how much he loved Him.
We see this concept in action in John’s vision in Revelation.
And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death.
I have an example of this from my life. Amanda’s mom was a total chicken when it came to bugs. Bugs of any kind would absolutely freak her out completely! Fear would grip her to point where she was almost in tears. Do you know what happened after Amanda was born? That woman became fearless when it came to bugs! She would devastate any spider or other crawling thing that went anywhere near her baby! Why? What happened to her fear did it go away? Well, not really, because it seemed to always come back if I was also home, and nearby. Once again, I became the designated bug slayer, so I was called upon to don my shining armor and save the day. It has to do with the fact that she loved her baby daughter more than she feared the creeping creatures. Finally we come to...
A sound mind.
A sound mind.
Where it Comes From
Where it Comes From
A sound mind comes from obtaining wisdom, which in turn gives us perspective. Wisdom gives us the ability to rightly perceive the facts and then to act on them in the correct manner. If we are wise, our perspective will be sound.
Wisdom-Where do you get it?
Wisdom-Where do you get it?
But then the question becomes where do we get wisdom. Well the Bible tells us where to start.
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; A good understanding have all those who do His commandments. His praise endures forever.
There is a key in this passage regarding wisdom that I don’t want us to miss. So let’s unpack it a bit so we can really grasp it, because this passage is like a linchpin in this whole thing. Here’s why, think about what this passage of scripture is saying. It’s saying that in order to overcome fear you need power love and a sound mind, and we get a sound mind from getting wisdom, and we get wisdom from what? FEAR! Wait, wait, wait! We combat fear with fear? How does that work?
Well let’s start out with determining what it means to "fear" the Lord. Does it mean we're scared of God? Does it mean he'll punish us for not doing things just right, so we're to walk around waiting for the other shoe to drop? Certainly Not!
To fear the Lord is to understand and respect who He is. Here is where we can talk about God loving us so much that we can hide behind Him ... so long as we fear him. Amanda when he was little and would get scared by something would run to me. She would ask for “uppy uppy”. Whereas you can all remember when Elisha was just a little guy running around the church and crossed a line, and would get that certain look from dad. Do you remember his shouts of “don’t spank!”
Perspective.
Perspective.
So then it’s a matter of perspective. It all comes down to this “Who is your God?” and then in the light of that “How insignificant are your problems or tormentors?” When Amanda was scared she was sure of one thing. Dad was big and strong and safe. Whereas when Elisha was up to his antics, he was sure of one thing. Dad was big and strong and scary!
And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.
So how does this come together? Well let’s go back to our psalm.
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; A good understanding have all those who do His commandments. His praise endures forever.
Look at the last half of that. “A good understanding have all those who do His commandments.” OK, now let’s look at our previous point, the one about Love. And think of it in this context.
“If you love Me, keep My commandments.
And how does all of this relate to a sound mind? Well it’s simple really. We have a sound mind because we fear God and keep His commandments. Because we do so we have the confidence that our names are written in the Lamb’s book of life. And that puts the power and authority that we yield in perspective as well.
And He said to them, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. Behold, I give you the authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you. Nevertheless do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rather rejoice because your names are written in heaven.”
So What Do We Make of it All?
The Bible speaks of a healthy fear. When we put it all into perspective, we don't go g around with all these worries about our lives. When we have a love so great that it overcomes our fear, we understand what perfect love is. Some people have a hard time receiving this freedom from their heavenly father. Perhaps they have been taught to fear God ( and were instructed that they were to be literally fear of Him.) Perhaps it's because they had a poor example as a father. Either way, the quicker we receive God's provision, we will be freed from the bondage of fear. And conversely, when we develop a healthy fear we receive liberty.