Fear Vs. Faith

by Rev. Mr. Keith McKnight

A friend of mine tells a story about a small English church, and behind the pulpit, in this church is a sign, which reads, "We would see Jesus." When I think of this sign, I'm reminded of how much I love the movie "Ben Hur". When I was younger there was hardly a line, or a scene that I did not know. I've forgotten a lot of it now, but one scene remains fresh in my memory. Esther, the former slave stands at the opening of the leper colony preparing to take Miriam and her daughter out to freedom having suffered under Roman tyranny. They are now lepers. As Esther helps them to leave, they stop, paralyzed in fear. Esther sees their fear and says, "Do not be afraid. The world is more than we know. I've seen a man named Jesus". She knew and understood their fear. She, however, had been moved beyond fear into an incredible calm and a sense of certified peace.

Fear is a fact of life, so I want to talk to you about the subject "Fear vs. Faith." Is there anyone who is completely unafraid? From study of scripture, we know that the angel tells Mary not to fear. In the gospel, Joseph is also told not to be afraid. Fear doesn't respect gender and many psychiatrists tells us that the most common and subtle of diseases is fear. How many of us suffer from anxiety attacks and we can never name that fear or name what causes us to become so terrified? Where humanity can't find an answer, we will find fear. We fear the future, we fear danger, we fear nuclear war, we fear disease, poverty, death, and now because of 9/11 we fear terrorists, and airplanes that leave the ground. We are unnerved by disturbances that refuse to let us know lasting peace. Fear can grip us and twist our behavior. Fear is an emotional force that has an insidious power to make us do what we ought not do and leave undone what we ought to do.

Isaiah wrestled with the meaning of faith in the middle of crisis. For Isaiah, faith meant to be at rest during times of crisis. Not to be stoic, but to know that God is engaged in battle for us. Faith is a religious position in the midst of a holy war. Faith is not a crusade, but it's God fighting for us, God with us, Emmanuel in the time of battle. Faith is knowing that God will turn out to be the conqueror in the conflict. Faith is knowing that God will lead you through a red sea. Faith is knowing that the walls of Jericho will come tumbling down. Faith is knowing that God will put food on your table and that Jesus will lift you from your bed of affliction. Faith is knowing that He is a rock in a weary land and that whatever affliction you're suffering from, He has suffered too. Faith is knowing that He knows your pain and if you have lost a friend; He has lost one too. If you have been tempted by the devil, He has been tempted too. You have been hungry and thirsty and from the cross He cried, " I thirst." In your mid-night, when you were in the valley of despair you questioned God. On the cross He cried, "My God, my God, why have you abandoned me." But deep in his Heart He knew that his God would never leave him alone. He had faith. And for us to attain that kind of faith, we have to answer the ultimate question, who or what shall we trust?

A wise old African holy man once said that fear must be replaced, and the only known cure for fear and anxiety is faith. In World War II, when Germany was threatening England with invasion, there was a sign over a hotel entrance, which read "Fear knocked and faith answered, no one is here." The central mystery of Christianity is that God would take on our flesh and our mortality. This not what we would have expected, but Jesus came and exploded the term Messiah. He was far more than a king, far more than a rabbi, or an expected savior.

I'm reminded of a young mother telling about her daughter complaining that she was afraid to be alone in the dark, and the mother said, "Remember Jesus is always with you." The child replied "I know, but I want someone with some skin on them." In Emmanuel, God has taken on our skin. God has become skin of our skin and flesh of our flesh, and bone of our bones. God shares with us our trials, our pain, our temptations, our disappointments and our fears. Nails finally pierce that skin, and the God of creation would share with us even the taste of death. Think about the passage in the book of Genesis where God is looking for Adam and asking "where are you"? The incarnation is the finalization and the fulfillment of that question. God has sought us and in Jesus He has shown us His own face, so fear not. In doing this, God assures us that God's word will be the final word. He is the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. God's word is the conqueror of all fear.

We see in the gospel that Joseph knew this love of God for when he woke up from the dream he did as the angel had commanded. Even though He knew that this child was not his, he was a just man, so he put his faith in God. Even though according to the law he could have had Mary stoned to death, he trusted what the angel said and put his faith in God. He wasn't afraid, he had faith. Fear is the enemy of faith. So if we want to grow in faith we have to do away with fear. We've got to move forward. The people who went to work at the World Trade Center didn't go there thinking they wouldn't be going home that evening. The people, who lost their lives and their homes in the crash of flight # 587, didn't wake up thinking that this would be their last sunrise.

We've got to move forward, trusting in His holy Word. We've got to move forward leaning on his everlasting arms and knowing that faith is the key and prayer unlocks the door. We've got to leave fear behind, because fear is the enemy of faith. We can't live our lives hiding in closets, crawling under our beds, pulling blankets over our heads, and sleeping with the television blasting. We can't walk every street sliding against every wall, peeping around every corner and screaming every time a passerby puts his or her hand in their pocket.

You can't read the newspaper every morning waving spirits of ammonia under your nose. Something else must be the answer, and something else is the answer. You can't give your heart to fear and waste your lives. Remember Jesus said to the disciples, that they would never be left alone. He promised them a comforter, the prevailing and ever nearness of a loving and caring God, who has all power in his hands, and that PROMISE IS GOOD FOR ME AND YOU, SO FEAR NOT. For the Lord is my light and my salvation. Let not your Hearts be troubled, neither let it be afraid.

I know that the economy could get worse, and we know that the warmongers have something going with Osama and the terrorists, and I know the poor may riot in the streets; and I know that social security may run out before we get ours. Yes, the creek may rise, and grandma may fall down the steps, and the cows may not give any milk, but I can't keep my throat swollen, my knees knocking, and my breath short waiting for these things to happen. I've got to face each day with my chin up, my shoulders back, my chest out and my whole self--going about my father's business. We can't behave as if we have no Heavenly father. We can't lay down our religion like that. Like Joseph, we have to fear not, for faith will win out, because faith in God is sufficient for the poor, no matter how pathetic their poverty.

Faith in God is sufficient for the weak,
No matter how feeble their steps.

Faith in God is sufficient for the tired,
No matter how exhausted their body.

Faith in God is sufficient for the burdened,
No matter how Heavy the load.

Faith in God is sufficient for the lonely,
No matter how pitiful their situation.

Faith in God is sufficient for the wretched,
No matter how despairing the situation.

Faith is what makes heavy burdens bearable, high mountains climbable, deep valleys crossable, painful sufferings endurable, lonely nights livable, and daily pressures manageable. If it were not for faith, God's glory could not be seen by man. If it were not for faith, God's peace could never be enjoyed by man.

If it were not for faith, God's love could never be felt by man.
If it were not for faith, God's power could never be endured by man.
If it were not for faith, God's blessing, could never be felt by man.
If it were not for faith, God's will, could never be understood by man.

Yes, Fear is the enemy of faith, but faith will win out because God will have the last word. Judgment day is coming, so we must put our trust in the lord and wait patiently for Him because He is our joy in the midst of sorrows. He has our peace in the midst of conflicts; He has our strength in the midst of weakness. He has our assurance in the midst of agonies. He has our hope in the midst of heartaches. He has our trust in the times of trials. He has our help in the times of hardships. He has our contentment in the times of crisis, and He is our light and our salvation, whom should I fear. AMEN!