No fear --

Look at the Disciples!  What has happened to our knights in shining armour?  A few days before this night they were willing to die for Jesus. Listen to Peter, “Even if I have to die for you, I will never disown you.” And all the others said the same.  (Mark 14: 31).  But now they are hiding behind closed doors out of fear of the Jews.  They had a very good reason to be afraid.  They were known to be followers of Jesus and the Jews had taken Jesus and had Him put to death.  They thought they were next.  Can you imagine the gut wrenching fear they must have had? I know that if I was there I wouldn’t have come outside those doors either.

The disciples are not the only ones who hide behind closed doors out of fear of being labelled a follower of Jesus.  In spite of the fears of disciples, Jesus comes to them and sends them out into the world with His forgiveness.”

There is a problem today.  Not too many Christians want to go into the world with the forgiveness of Jesus Christ.  How many of us here share Jesus with others. When is the last time you talked to your three closest friends about Jesus?  Or took the opportunity to share the forgiveness you have in Christ with your neighbour or a co-worker?  How many of us share our faith with each other.  When is the last time you said God forgives you to your Brother or Sister in Christ?  Or talk about how special Jesus is. Christians who profess their faith and stand up for their beliefs are a rare breed. Maybe we are more like those early disciples than we are willing to admit.

How do we justify our actions?  Yes!  We do have our reasons and some of them are very valid.  No different than the early disciples.  Who would have blamed them for hiding behind closed doors?  They thought that they were next to be crucified.  Maybe we don’t have the same things to fear as the early disciples, but we do have our fears.  The thought of going onto the lives of people with the forgiveness of Christ is frightening.  Who likes the idea of telling someone about Jesus, only to be laughed at and ridiculed for theirreligious beliefs? Who enjoys being called a religious nut or a bible thumper or an oddball?  Who wants to share Christ’s forgiveness, only to be rejected? It would be easier to wrap ourselves with the comfortable blanket of our doctrine and put our feet up in front of the cosey fire and never share our faith.

What does Jesus do? Does he accept the excuses of the early disciples as they huddled together in fear? He stood among them and said, “As the Father has sent me I am sending you?  I imagine that they must have protested against the idea of going out into a world filled with hatred, injustice, violence and prejudice.  But God’s mission is more important than the physical well being of his disciples.  If everyone hid their faith out of fear, you and I would not be here today?.  If someone had not dared to come out from behind closed doors, you would not know the forgiveness and the hope you have in Christ.  Because of someone’s courage you were plucked from the fires of hell and brought into a living growing relationship with Jesus Christ.  God’s love is not only for us who have found a comfortable pew.  Jesus died for everyone.  He died for our relatives, our friends, our neighbours, and yes for our enemies.  Somehow we have to overcome our fears for the sake of lost souls.

Guess what there is a way!  It does not come from us but it comes from God.  It is the very power of God.  A power that is so strong that it changes weak-kneed disciples into courageous believers for Jesus Christ.  Look once again at the early disciples.  Not only did Jesus send them on His mission, but he gave them a power to fulfill it. He promised them His Holy Spirit.  He said, “I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in Jerusalem until you are clothed with power on high.” And they were clothed. On the day of Pentecost the Holy Spirit came upon them and changed their lives.  No longer did the hid behind closed doors, instead they stood in front of the Jews they feared and shared Christ’s forgiveness.  Could you imagine preaching Christ to your worst enemy?  The Holy Spirit makes all the difference in the world.

We have been clothed with this same power.  On the day you came to faith in Christ you were given the Holy Spirit. Listen to what John says, “You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one (the Holy Spirit) who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.  We have nothing to fear because it does not depend on us, but on Holy Spirit.  I know that I would not be standing before you today if it was not for the Holy Spirit.  Sure I would like to think that I am a macho guy who can stand up to anything.  But the truth is, I am one of those weak-kneed disciples.  The Holy Spirit is the one who gives me the courage today.

The Holy Spirit has the power to overcome our failures.  Can you imagine for a moment how the early disciples must have felt that night? Not only fear, but guilt.  They had failed Jesus. They said, “Jesus I will die for you” and when the opportunity came they ran.  Peter said, “I will stand up for you Jesus,” but instead he denied Him three times.  You would think that Jesus would have scolded them for their failure.  But He didn’t.  He came to them and said, “Peace be with you.” This same Jesus comes to us in the midst of our failures and says, “Peace be with you.” If you have denied your Lord –He says, Peace be with you I have died for you.  If you have run from the opportunity to share your faith and you know you were wrong–Jesus says, “Peace be with you, I shed my blood for you.” If you have found a comfortable pew and know you have failed–He says, “Peace be with you, I suffered for you.” Forgiveness does not begin with the other person, it begins with you.

Once a fine young sergeant failed in the face of the enemy.  He was court-martialed and punished.  His captain said to his lieuten­ant, "We must show the lad that we continue to trust him or he will go to pieces." The two soldiers stuck by the sergeant, never allud­ing to the unhappy event but always treating him with the old re­spect and friendliness.  A few weeks later when the company was in a tight situation, the captain put the sergeant in charge of the same group he had been with when he failed.  In a few days of grim fighting the lad won honour after honour and a promotion for gallantry in the field.  "What else could I do," he said to the lieutenant.  "I had failed him: he trusted me, he encouraged me.  I could not fail him again." We have failed Christ; often, wretchedly, without excuse.  Re­peatedly we are as defeated and dejected as the young lad.  But, even then Christ gives us peace and power.

Do we have anything to fear as we go into the world with the forgiveness of Jesus Christ? No because  “the one that lives in you is greater than the one in the world.” amen.