Ken Foreman, Cathedral of Faith
Ken Foreman is the Senior Pastor of Cathedral of Faith, a mega-church in San Jose with membership over 7,000.
The Voyage: Sailing the High Seas at Christmas
Courage in the Face of Your Fears
This weekend we continue a series entitled, “The Voyage – Sailing the High Seas at Christmas.” The starting point for the series is the movie “Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader.” It is a movie based on a book by the same name that was written by one of the great spiritual leaders of all time, C. S. Lewis. I hope you get a chance to see the movie or to the read the book. It is a wonderful analogy about our spiritual growth as Christians. The movie is about a ship which sets sail on a voyage. While sailing the high seas there are many adventures that happen on this voyage. Some of the things that happen on their voyage are the kinds of things that happen on our voyage. So how about if we climb aboard, set sail on the high seas, and get ready for the ride of your life?
In the voyage that is found in the movie and in the book, one of key themes is that you can have “Courage in the Face of Your Fears.” Let me set the stage for this week’s message.
One of my favorite animals in the movie is a mouse named, Reepicheep. Normally, I am not a big mouse guy. But this mouse has a heart that is big and bold and courageous – ready to stare fear right in the face. For example, in the movie and in the book, our voyagers are on an island, where there is a table with some unusual things about it. The sun is starting to set, and the rest of the crew from the ship is nervous. They want to go back to the ship. But that is not the kind of thing for this bold, brave mouse. If they want to go back to the ship, it is fine with him.
Reepicheep is not going to let fear drive him back to the ship. He is going to stick around the mysterious table because he is looking for adventure, and out here at this table, he just might find it. Instead of going back to his bunk on board, he will stay right here on the edge of adventure. When he is asked why he will not come back to the ship for the night, he puts it this way, “this is a very great adventure, and no danger seems to me so great as that of knowing when I get back to Narnia that I left a mystery behind me through fear.” He would stare fear right in the face, and he would overcome that fear with courage. Are you a man or are you a mouse? Could a man like me be that kind of mouse?
I. Fears and More Fears
When you sail the high seas of Christmas, this is what you find people doing. You find them facing their fears and overcoming their fear with courage. In the birth of Christ narrative, the angel shows up and says to Mary, “Do not be afraid, you have found favor with God. You will be with child and give birth to a son and you are to give him the name Jesus,” (Luke 1:28-31). There were plenty of reasons for Mary to be fearful. What would other people say about her? Or, What would other people think about her? Who would ever believe in a virgin birth? And yet, what does she do? She faces her fear and overcomes her fear with courage. The angel shows up to Joseph and says to him, “Do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife,” (Matthew 1:20). There was plenty of reasons for him to be fearful. What would other people say about him? What would other people think of him? How could he really be sure that the virgin birth was true? And yet, what does he do? He faces his fear and overcomes his fear with courage.
Perhaps that is what we need to do this weekend. We are at a place in our voyage where we need to face our fears, and overcome our fear with courage. What would that look like for you – to face your fear – to overcome your fear with courage? In doing some research, I came across a list of almost six hundred different fears that people can have. There is fear of heights. There is the fear of gaining weight. There is the fear of getting wrinkles. There is even the fear of sermons, (not sure if that means the fear of giving one or the fear of having to sit through one). There are close to six hundred fears on that list which people can have. What would be the big one for you?
I heard about one little boy who was talking to his dad, and he asked his dad. “Are you scared of spiders? And the dad said, “No!” He asked his dad, “Are you afraid of thunder?” And his dad said, “No!” He asked his dad, “Are you afraid of ghosts?” And his dad said, “No!” He asked his dad, “Are you afraid of robbers?” His dad said, “No!” Finally, the little boy said, “Wow dad! It looks like the only thing that you are scared of is mommy.”
Close to six hundred different fears which people can have. What would be the big one for you? A while back I asked people to facebook me about some of their fears. They were pretty open and honest. One person wrote what they fear most is rejection. One person wrote what they fear most is their that kids will not succeed. One person wrote that what they fear most was losing their health. Another person wrote that what they fear most is not fulfilling their potential. One person wrote what they fear most is death. One person wrote that what they fear most is losing their home and being broke. One person wrote that what they fear most was to live their whole life and never know what it feels like to be truly loved. Close to six hundred fears on that list. What would be the big one for you? Maybe the best thing that could happen for you this season is to hear the words of the angel, “Do not be afraid.” “Face your fear.” “Overcome your fear with courage.”
It seems to me that a healthy dose of fear is not always bad. We were born with an instinct of fear which is good as long as it is tamed. This is why parents teach their kids not to run into a busy street. It’s why parents teach their kids not to put their hand into the fire. It’s also the reason why parents teach their kids not to drink from a bottle with a “Poison” label on it. It’s also why parents teach their kids to stay away from growling dogs. It’s why parents teach their kids not tobreak the law. Fear is not all bad. This instinct can be used in a positive way for a positive purpose. The Bible says that having a healthy sense of awe, a healthy sense of respect, a healthy sense of fear when it comes to God, is the starting point for being wise. “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom,” (Proverbs 9:10).
However, when that instinct is not tamed and you let it run wild, that is when you run into trouble. An example is when you have a dream in your heart. C.S. Lewis once said, “You are never too old to set another goal and to dream another dream.” There is a dream that you have in your heart. You may have a dream to write that book. You have a dream to go back to school. You may have a dream to get involved in ministry. You have a dream to share your faith. You may have a dream to apply for that new job. You to ask out that girl. She is like a parking ticket, she has “Fine!” written all over her, and you have a dream to ask her out. You are ready to take that step of faith when fear kicks in, and you get stuck. Instead of taking a step, you get stuck. Fear keeps you from going after your dream.
II. Fear and the God Factor
What if it is were possible to face your fear, and to overcome your fear with courage? I would like to suggest, it is possible. This is not just something which happens in the movies. This is something which can happen to you. It has happened to others and it can happen to you. There was a man in the Bible who talked about his struggle with fear, and this is what he said, “I sought the Lord and he answered me, he delivered me from all of my fears,” (Psalm 34:4). Maybe this weekend you are still checking things out, you are still seeking, you are still searching, we are so glad that you are here. We invite you to join us on the voyage. We are all on the voyage. We invite you to join us on the voyage, and for the moment, would you consider, what if this is true? What if you were made by God? What if you were made for God? What if you are loved by God? What if this was true?
The fears which you have, the deepest fears which you have, what if you gave God a chance to deliver you from your fears and it worked and you could really live a life with less fear? When it comes to our fear, He really does want to help us. Someone has said that around three hundred and sixty five times in one way or another the Bible tells us to “Fear not.” It is one thing to hear it, it is another thing to see it. (Print the words, “Fear Not,” 365 times in large font on continuous paper.) So we are going to stretch out this piece of paper all the way to the back of the building that is what three hundred and sixty five looks like. That is one for every day of the year, three hundred and sixty five times. The Bible says to have faith, to take heart, to fear not. Take hold of that piece of paper, and would you let that piece of paper take hold of you? (Could tear off one of the sheets with “Fear not” and hand out to different people.)
God really does want to help us. One mom told her little boy to go into the pantry and get her a can of soup. He said that it was dark inside the closet and he was afraid. His mom asked again, but he still resisted. Finally she told him that there is nothing to fear, Jesus will be in there with you. So the little boy walked to the door, opened it slowly, looked inside, saw it was dark, and started to leave. All at once an idea came, and he said, “Jesus if you are in there, would you hand me that can of soup?”
Did you know that when you study the commands of Jesus, He talked about fear the most? Over twenty times He tells us to have faith, to take heart, to fear not-does that surprise you? He tells us to “fear not” more than any other command. More than the command to love. More than the command to pray. His commands to love and to pray are very important commands, but the command He repeats most often is the command, “Fear not!” Fear is at the top of the list, He really wants to help us. He knows that fear is a struggle for us, and He knows how fear can paralyze us. Fear can keep us from doing all that we are meant to do, and being all that we are meant to be. The commands of Jesus were meant to bring life. His commands give life. His commands are not given to restrict life, instead, His commands are given to enrich life. When He commands us to have faith and to take heart, and to fear not, this is so we can have that kind of life. At the end of the day, who wants to look back and wonder what kind of life we could have had? What kind of dreams could have come true? What kind of goals could have been achieved? What kind of adventure could have been ours if only we could have faced our fears and overcome our fears?
III. Overcoming Your Fear With Faith
What if this was your day to face your fear and overcome your fear with courage? Every time you face your fear you can take a step of faith. That is why the decisions you make every day are important. The little decisions which you make every day are important. Every day we are faced with decisions to act in fear, or to act in faith. Some of them are small decisions, some of them are big decisions. Every day we face decisions. And every time we act in fear, we are becoming a person of fear. Every time we act in faith, we are becoming a person of faith. Every decision takes our life in a certain direction. When you wake up make a decision, that for this one day, you are going to act in faith. You are not going to act in fear. You are going to act in faith. At the end of the day, you may look a little bit more like a mouse.
Do not wait for your fear to pass before you act in faith. If you wait for your fear to pass, you will be waiting, and waiting, and waiting. One expert in her book, Feel the Fear and Do It Anyway, writes, “The only way to get rid of the fear of doing something is to go out and do it.” If you wait for your fear to pass so that you can act in faith, then you will be waiting and waiting and waiting. The fear is never going to pass, and you are going to be stuck in your fear. The key is to ask for the help of the great lion, and move past your fear. Move against your fear. Feel the fear, but do it anyway. Take that step of faith. Every time you take that step of faith, you just may look a little bit more like a mouse.
What does that look like in real life? A friend of mine was telling me about how she was paralyzed when it came to the thought of giving blood. I am not sure any one is crazy about the idea of giving blood. But the idea of giving blood paralyzed her. She did not like the fact that fear was ruling her life. Who wants fear to rule their life? And, yet, it was ruling her life. She ran into a situation with her health in which she was going to have take some tests. The tests required that she had to give blood every hour for six straight hours. The thought of this terrified her. It did not just scare her, it terrified her. She did not know how she was going to make it through the day. When the day came for the tests, she prayed for help to overcome her fear. When it was time to take the test she pictured Jesus sitting next to her in the lab. That is a good thing to do – to know that the great lion is with you and is for you. She pictured Jesus sitting next to her in the lab and it made all the difference. At the end of the day, she says that she was free from her fear. She writes “I was completely free from my fear. Today I am a regular donor with the blood center.” On a side note her blood type is perfect for helping premature babies and because she was able to overcome her fear, she is able to help others. That is the kind of thing God did for her, and that is the kind of thing God can do for you.
You can see this time and time again with his disciples. One time the disciples were on a boat with Jesus, and they were in the middle of a huge storm. The disciples are scared out of their minds, but Jesus is sleeping. They wake Jesus up and He says to them, “Why are you afraid?” The answer to the question seems pretty obvious. “Look at the storm, that is why we are afraid.” If Jesus were to look you in the eye and ask you the question. “Why are you afraid?” You may be able to mention a specific thing, or situation which is causing fear. But hear the question one more time. This time here it from the mouth of Jesus. It is one thing to hear it from me, but hear it from the mouth of Jesus, “Why are you afraid?” The Bible says that “Jesus got up and rebuked the winds and the waves, and it was completely calm. The men were amazed and asked, “‘What kind of man is this?’” (Matthew 8:26-27). Do you know who is in the boat with you? If Jesus is in the boat with you, then the size of the storm does not matter. Have faith! Take heart! Fear not! Jesus wants to meet us at our point of need and help us overcome our fear.
Every day that you decide to act in courage, . . . every day you decide to act in faith, . . . at the end of the day, you just may look more like a mouse.