FEARLESS FAITH (What do you fear?)

              Fear This        1.10.13  Matthew 10: 28-33                  “We have nothing to fear, but fear itself.”  
                                              Winston Churchill

   In Matthew 10, as Jesus sent out His disciples two-by-two.  He said persecution was coming upon them. (This was directed to the church.) His statements are applicable across the centuries and show although his disciples of  every  age will  be persecuted and suffer, 
we must take heart that  our  lives here are  temporal;  
We are looking for an eternal city, and  life with Him, where everything hidden will be revealed.

    There are many things men fear.  One of them is to be found to be afraid or intimidated. What should we, as children of  God fear, and what should we not fear.
Looking into God's Word, we find in Matthew 10: 28,
32-33;  we should not fear man since he is  our equal.
He can do no more  than take ones physical  life.  (At times  we  seem to  fear  ridicule or scorn as  much or more than physical danger.)  God's Word says we are not to fear man  but God; aware the Lord can destroy 
our bodies and souls in Hell.  We must fear this;
 "But whoever denies me before men, him will I deny before my Father who is in heaven." Matthew 10:33

    These two elements come together in verses 32-33 as we  see our confession of  the Lord before  men as 
directly related to our eternal relationship to God.

If we fear  men’s ridicule so  much we fail  to confess Christ  before  them,  then we  do not  fear  God,  nor understand  his great power over us or His great care for  us. (The hairs of our head are  numbered.) There 
is no  good  provision  for  one  who  does  not  freely 
confess Christ and identify with Him in His Suffering.

   In the book of Proverbs we read, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of  knowledge.”  Proverbs 1:7 
In 1 John 4: 18, “...the fearful,  unbelieving, abomi-nable,  murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, ido- laters,  and  all liars shall  have their part in the lake which  burns with fire and  brimstone,  which is  the second  death."  The fearful  and  cowardly are des- tined for the same end as some pretty vile characters.

    We must have a healthy reverence and 
    awe in the presence of our God, but His 
    perfect love casts out fear.  We fear 
    nothing.  The danger comes as  freedom  
    turns to  contempt, we lose reverence  in  
    His  presence, in which we  live  contin-
    ually,  and forget  His power  over,  and 
    care for us.

        He is still infinite and we, His creation,
        are flesh and blood; forever under his 
        sovereign protection and control.

     edited, 1.10.13, 10.27.16,  donporter, sr.