Church at Wieuca

Dr. Kevin Head: What a wonderful worship service. Have you ever had that feeling that what you're about to do is completely anticlimactic to what has just been happening? I feel a little bit of that right now. What a wonderful morning. I'm so grateful for our children and how they've led us so powerfully in worship today, and for Angie and Rick and Vivi and all the other leaders and the musicians. What a wonderful time of worship. I'm so glad that you're here. Let's give them another round of applause.

We are so blessed and in such a wonderful privilege to worship today. A couple of weeks ago, we started a new sermon series. It's about important words. Important words in our faith, important words in scripture, important words that God wants us to know that mean something for us. And we're continuing that sermon series. For the last two weeks, we talked about heaven. This morning, on Palm Sunday, our word for today is fear.

I invite you to hear our scripture passage for today. It is 1 John, chapter 4, verses 13 through 18. Listen now to God's word. "We know that we live in him and he in us, because God has given us his spirit. And we have seen and testify that the father has sent his son to be the savior of the world. If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the son of God, God lives in him and he in God. And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love, lives in God, and God in them."

"In this way, love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment because in this world, we are like him. There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love." May God bless the reading and the hearing of this word this morning.

I heard about a little boy who was afraid of the dark. That's not uncommon. Many of us as children were afraid of the dark. As adults, maybe afraid of the dark. But this particular boy, one night his mother told him to go out on the back porch and to bring her the broom. He turned to his mother and he said, "Mom, I don't want to do that. It's dark out there, it's scary." And his mother said, "Well, listen, you don't need to be afraid of the dark, okay? God is with you. Jesus is out there and he's going to protect you."

He said, "Well, are you sure Jesus is out there?" And the mom said, "Of course he's out there. Jesus is everywhere and he's always ready to help you when you need him." So, the little boy went to the back door and he cracked it open just a little bit. He peered outside on the back porch and then he stuck his arm out the door and he said, "Jesus, if you're out there, Mama wants you to hand me the broom." It's silly, but we can all relate, right? There are scary things in life. What is it that frightens you? What are you afraid of?

I was driving behind a vehicle not too long ago, and it was one of those cars that the back was covered with stickers and magnets of all kinds. We were sitting at a light, so I was just kind of reading through all the different bumper stickers and magnets that were there. I think we're okay. I think everything's all right. Maybe that's a little bump in the night we were afraid of, I don't know. Appropriate for the sermon. But I was behind this car, and this car had all kinds of stickers and magnets on it, and one of them particularly caught my eye. It said, "Ain't Scared." Have you seen it? "Ain't Scared." It reminded me of the shirts and the other things that say, "No Fear."

Maybe that's true. Maybe there are some people that aren't afraid of things in this world, but I kind of think those statements are more wishes than they are reality. Maybe they connect a little more with image than with what is real. My guess is all of us know fear all too well. When things go bump in the night, or even bump in our sanctuary, right? We begin to feel like life crumbles. When we begin to feel life rage, it's natural, it's normal to be afraid. So, for you, what keeps you up at night? What makes you afraid even during the day? What is your greatest fear?

There seems to be a conflict between what scripture says and what our experience of life is. Verse 18 of our scripture passage for today says, "There is no fear in love. Perfect love drives out fear because fear has to do with punishment." It says, "The one who fears is not made perfect in love." We read those words and we think, okay, John is telling us we don't need to be afraid. John is saying to us, listen, in this life, in this world, there's nothing that we need to be afraid of. God's perfect love frees us from fear. There's no reason to be afraid.

Christians are to live without fear. But often, our experience of life is very different. We are often filled with fear. From time to time, we find ourselves afraid about this thing or another. But John tells us that perfect love drives out fear. What does that mean for us? I remember many years ago, in the first church I pastored, a small little church in rural Kentucky. I was a seminary student, and we still had Sunday night services at that church. It was just a small Bible study, about 12 or 15 people would come.

We met in the sanctuary, but they all sat on the very last two rows of the sanctuary, last two pews. So I just took a lectern and went to the back, and we had Bible study there at the back of the church. On this particular Sunday night, we were studying this passage, the one we read today, 1 John. I remember talking about how the scripture says we don't need to be afraid. There's nothing in this life that we need to be afraid of. Perfect love, God's perfect love, drives out fear.

As a young pastor, I was going on and on, and it was all sounding really good. Then, Ms. Edith Carwell raised her hand. Edith was a wonderful, faithful member of our church. She was at that time in her late 80s. She was our pianist on Sunday evening. She couldn't read a note of music, but she played any hymn by memory, any key you wanted to sing it in. Wonderful person. But she raised her hand that night, and she said, "But I am afraid. The scripture says we don't have to be afraid, but I am afraid."

She said, "When I'm at my house at night and I'm all by myself, I'm afraid. And I've prayed to God and asked God to take away my fear, but I'm still afraid. Is there something wrong with me because I'm afraid?" It all sounds good to live without fear, but I'm not sure being afraid is a matter of right or wrong. I think there are times in our lives when it's only natural that we are afraid. If it's in the middle of the night and you hear something crash in your kitchen, are you afraid? I think it's normal.

I think it's natural that in those moments of life, we find ourselves afraid. Some of the most faithful Christians who have ever lived experienced fear. In 1943, the German minister and theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer was arrested. He was thrown in prison for speaking out against Hitler. Ultimately, Bonhoeffer would become a martyr as he spoke against the Nazi regime in his own country. But in 1943, he found himself a prisoner of war in his own country. All alone in a prison cell, Bonhoeffer wrote a poem.

It was a poem that was in the form of a prayer to God. In part, here's what his poem said: "In me there is darkness. I am lonely. I am feeble in heart. In me there is bitterness," he wrote. "For I do not understand your ways, Lord." At that moment, Bonhoeffer's world was one of fear and anxiety. The darkness and fear described in Bonhoeffer's poem are no stranger to any of us. Today is Palm Sunday. As Jesus rides into Jerusalem, he knows what is happening.

He knows what he is facing. No one else realizes it, but Jesus knows what is coming. Many people around him felt like that day he was entering Jerusalem to begin his earthly rule. They thought Jesus then would lead a revolt over the Roman government, the Roman authorities. And they thought through Jesus, Israel would finally be free. But Jesus knows that's not true. He knows he's on a path to pain, torture, crucifixion, and ultimately death. In the midst of all the festivities of Palm Sunday, Jesus alone solemnly recognizes that this journey will end his earthly ministry.

He is about to die, and it will be a cruel, horrible, painful death. But as we see him that day, Jesus does not seem to be afraid. There is no sense in the scripture passages about Palm Sunday that Jesus fears what he is facing. In many ways, I believe Jesus was demonstrating to all of us what he taught to his disciples. In the Gospel of Luke, we are told that Jesus said to his disciples, "I tell you the truth," he said, "do not be afraid of those who kill the body and after that can do no more."

"But I will show you whom you should fear. Fear the one who after killing the body has the power to throw you into hell. Yes, I tell you," Jesus said, "fear God." Now, at first glance, this admonition, this encouragement, this challenge to fear God may sound somewhat strange. All through the scriptures, the very first thing most of the angels say to people when they come across them is "Fear not. Do not be afraid." It seems the constant message from God is, "Do not be afraid." But Jesus specifically here is telling us that we do need to fear God.

What does it mean to fear God? Well, I think first, it's easier to say what it does not mean than what it does mean. Fearing God does not mean that we choose to stay away from God. Fearing God does not mean that we feel uncomfortable in God's presence and don't want to be around God. Fearing God, similar to what our children said this morning, is about honor. It is about respect. It is about revering God. Fearing God means that we have the highest regard and respect for who God is.

It means that we recognize God's holiness, God's majesty, God's authority in our lives and in all of creation. Fearing God means that we stand in awe of God's presence. I think that's exactly what Paul wrote about in the New Testament. In one of his letters, his letter to the Christians in Philippi, Paul wrote these words. He says, "Work out your salvation in fear and trembling." What does that mean? I think Paul was saying, recognize the holiness and majesty of God.

Don't take that gift for granted because God didn't have to give you that gift. God has provided you the means of abundant and eternal life. This is a gift from God to be cherished, and it is from a God who is to be respected and revered. You know, if I'm honest, I'm not sure we as Christians today fear God in the same way, perhaps, that Christians in the past did. Why would I say that? Well, in part, because decades ago, preachers constantly preached on hell, fire, gnashing of teeth, eternal damnation.

Earlier Christians in church most Sundays often heard much about the tortures of hell more than about the blessings of heaven. There was a constant reminder in that kind of preaching of the power and authority and awesomeness of God. It was a constant reminder that God was to be feared. Today, the pendulum has swung in the other direction. Sometimes it seems that maybe we have completely abandoned those messages of fire and brimstone, the preaching of yesteryear.

Look, I don't believe that God's intentions are to always scare people into faith. But I do think that sometimes it's dangerous for us to lose our focus on how powerful God is, how majestic God is, how incredibly marvelous God is. When we focus solely on God's love and grace, have we forgotten what it means to fear God? Jesus says, fear the one who has the power to cast you into hell. Fear God. The truth is, we cannot live a healthy spiritual life without a strong sense of a healthy fear and reverence of God.

But you know, that's not the end of the story. While that is true, it is definitely not the end of the story. Here is the good news. The same God who has the power and the authority to cast us into hell for all eternity loves us so much that God will do whatever it takes to keep that eternal separation from happening, even allowing God's own son to die for us. That is perfect love. That is exactly what 1 John is talking about.

And my friends, that is exactly what Palm Sunday is about: God loving us so much that he would willingly allow Jesus to ride into his own death for us because God loves us that much. The fear of God that Jesus describes is not the fear of a child shaking before a parent expecting punishment. It is not the fear that drives us to hide from God, to stay separated from God. The fear of God drives us to seek God's presence, bringing us ever closer to God, knowing that without God's presence, we cannot face life at all.

We do not have the kind of fear of someone who expects to be punished. No, we have the kind of fear of recognizing God's holiness and majesty, the very one we dare to worship. But we know that this holy, majestic God is a God of love, and our fear is swallowed up in that perfect love. So we approach God in healthy respect and honor and glory, and God returns our fear with blessed assurance. It's like Bonhoeffer's prayer that I read earlier. Actually, when I read that prayer, I left out a few phrases.

I only read part of the prayer for you. For in the hurt of that experience, Bonhoeffer not only confessed his fear, but he also affirmed his faith in a loving and caring God. Yes, he prayed, "In me there is darkness." He prayed that. But he followed that line with these words: "But with you, Lord, there is light." Listen to the rest of his prayer: "I am lonely and afraid," Bonhoeffer prayed. "But you, God, do not leave me alone. I am feeble in heart, but with you, there is help."

"I am restless," he prayed. "But with you, Lord, there is peace. In me there is bitterness," Bonhoeffer prayed. "But with you, Lord, there is patience. I do not understand your ways, Lord, but Lord, you know the way for me." Here's the truth. In this life, there will be times when all of us are afraid. Sometimes life comes after us with gnashing teeth. Sometimes life comes after us like thunderous roars of a hidden, frightening monster bursting forth from our closet.

But Jesus says in those times when you are afraid, remember this. The only thing you have to fear is God. And God, who has the power and authority to cast you into hell, wants nothing more than for you to live forever in God's love and in God's care. Today is Palm Sunday. Today is the beginning of Holy Week. It is a sacred, most holy time for Christians. And it reminds us that God's perfect love, God's perfect love is real, and it is powerful.

And God's perfect love casts out all our fear. Let us pray. Good and gracious God, on this day, we are so grateful for your promises. Lord, we recognize our humanity and know that there are times in life that we are afraid. But Lord, you remind us of your love and your goodness and your care for us. Help us this week as we journey through the dark and difficult days of Maundy Thursday and even Good Friday, to trust you, to know that you are with us, and that once again, Easter Sunday is just on the horizon.

Lead us, guide us, and bless us, for we pray in the precious and holy name of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior. Amen. Our song of commitment today is continuing the love of God. I invite you to stand as we sing together this song of commitment.