The Fear Factor

September 26, 2021

Randy Hageman

Jesus: … ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ —Matthew 22:37-39 (ESV)

The issue is that we may overlook the most basic and simplest execution of Jesus’ commandment – to love our

neighbors, the folks who live right around us.

One issue that makes it hard for many to love our neighbors is

.

Fear can be external, like in our perceptions of our world and neighbors, but they can also be internal, as in how we see

.

EXTERNAL FEARS

We live in a world saturated with news, and it’s usually

news.

The world we live in concentrates and hypes so much news and information, that we tend to turn our homes into

to keep the outside world away from us.

It’s easy for us to lose

, but that’s not God’s desire for those who follow Christ.

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. —1 Peter 1:3-5 (ESV)

Those who put our faith in Jesus Christ have a living hope, a promise of

with Christ, no matter what happens here on this earth.

The LORD your God: So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. —Isaiah 41:10 (NIV)

times God tells us in Scripture to not fear.

Since God assures Christians that nothing can ultimately hurt us and take our hope away from us, we are

to step beyond fear and love our neighbors.

INTERNAL FEARS

Our own

can lead us to fear what others will think of us.

The real issue here isn’t others but me – my

and how I see myself.

Jesus: ‘For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.’ —John 3:16-17 (ESV)

Jesus says God

us, so that in Christ and God’s

Reveal Answer

we can find our true identity.

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. —2 Corinthians 5:17 (ESV)

The text doesn’t say “the new” is coming but, “in Christ,” it “

” – we already possess it, if we will just claim it.

As we claim our true identity in Christ, it can help us begin to see ourselves as God

.

For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline. —2 Timothy 1:7 (NLT)

This identity in Christ gives us a whole different way to approach our neighbors – not from fear but

and

Reveal Answer

.

When God says we are a new creation, it changes our

and role in life.

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. —2 Corinthians 5:17-20 (ESV)

By making us new creations, by transforming our identities, Christ has opened the door for us to be his “

,” representing him and the Kingdom of God, wherever we are, including right in our own neighborhoods.

Next Week – The Art of Receiving