I’m posting this again because, although it showed up on our Congregation web site after I uploaded it, it wasn’t emailed to those on our mailing list — at least not as of yet. I posted it Wednesday.

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Two Kinds Of Fear

Proverbs 9:10 - The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the holy is understanding.

Proverbs 29:25 - The fear of man bringeth a snare: but whoso putteth his trust in the Lord shall be safe.

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(Verses relating to fear.)

Luke 21

7 And they asked him, saying, Master, but when shall these things be? and what sign will there be when these things shall come to pass?

8 And he said, Take heed that ye be not deceived: for many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and the time draweth near: go ye not therefore after them.

9 But when ye shall hear of wars and commotions, be not terrified: for these things must first come to pass; but the end is not by and by.

10 Then said he unto them, Nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom:

11 And great earthquakes shall be in divers places, and famines, and pestilences; and fearful sights and great signs shall there be from heaven.

12 But before all these, they shall lay their hands on you, and persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues, and into prisons, being brought before kings and rulers for my name's sake.

13 And it shall turn to you for a testimony.

14 Settle it therefore in your hearts, not to meditate before what ye shall answer:

15 For I will give you a mouth and wisdom, which all your adversaries shall not be able to gainsay nor resist.

16 And ye shall be betrayed both by parents, and brethren, and kinsfolks, and friends; and some of you shall they cause to be put to death.

17 And ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake.

18 But there shall not an hair of your head perish.

19 In your patience possess ye your souls.

20 And when ye shall see Jerusalem compassed with armies, then know that the desolation thereof is nigh.

21 Then let them which are in Judaea flee to the mountains; and let them which are in the midst of it depart out; and let not them that are in the countries enter thereinto.

22 For these be the days of vengeance, that all things which are written may be fulfilled.

23 But woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck, in those days! for there shall be great distress in the land, and wrath upon this people.

24 And they shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be led away captive into all nations: and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled.

25 And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring;

26 Men's hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken.

2 Timothy 1:7 - For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.

Hebrews 4:1 - Let us therefore fear, lest, a promise being left us of entering into his rest, any of you should seem to come short of it.

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I came across this explanation of fear while watching Plandemic 2 some time back. I thought it was very good.

“Fear shuts down the part of our brain designed to solve problems. Without that ability, we look for others to guide us and save us.”

That being the case, it makes great sense to assume that our chief adversary, Satan, would use fear to accomplish his goals with us personally and with all of mankind.

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I’ve just finished reading Pilgrim’s Progress by John Bunyan. This is my third time. It was a wonderful experience and great blessing. I think, in part, it was due to the notes by Warren Wiersbe. If you haven’t read Pilgrim’s Progress, or if it has been a long time since you have, you might like to pick it up and read it.

Here’s just a brief note from Wikipedia:

“The Pilgrim's Progress from This World, to That Which Is to Come is a 1678 Christian allegory written by John Bunyan. It is regarded as one of the most significant works of religious, theological fiction in English literature. It has been translated into more than 200 languages, and has never been out of print.

“Bunyan began his work while in the Bedfordshire county prison for violations of the Conventicle Act of 1664, which prohibited the holding of religious services outside the auspices of the established Church of England. Early Bunyan scholars such as John Brown believed The Pilgrim's Progress was begun in Bunyan's second, shorter imprisonment for six months in 1675, but more recent scholars such as Roger Sharrock believe that it was begun during Bunyan's initial, more lengthy imprisonment from 1660 to 1672 right after he had written his spiritual autobiography Grace Abounding to the Chief of Sinners.”

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One of the greatest things I took away from this last reading is that we, who know Christ, are still very much human. We still, even though saved in Christ, struggle with sin and weakness during our Pilgrim Journey toward the Celestial City. Bunyan makes this very clear in the book. He also makes clear the fact that our weaknesses (fear being one of them) are not reasons for discouragement. Rather, we are to see these things as allowed by God and used by Him for His purposes in our lives.

It was very interesting to me that, right at the very end when Pilgrim is crossing the river just before entering the City, he still struggled with his own inability to make it to the City, though he knows he’s saved. Thankfully, Hopeful encourages Pilgrim and they both cross the river together.

It was also interesting to see how Bunyan emphasized the need to have someone alongside to help during the journey. At times Pilgrim helped those he traveled with and at times they helped him. And yet, Bunyan wrote much of this while imprisoned. He knew God was alongside him to help even when confined.

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My personal thoughts:

*We have to accept that, at times, we will be afraid. That’s OK and that’s normal. Also we have to accept that fear affects everyone in different ways and at different times. Otherwise, the instructions encouraging us to not fear wouldn’t be so prevalent throughout Scripture.

*I believe that we are approaching the end of the end, prophetically. I don’t say that lightly. I’ve ALWAYS shied away for prophecy speculations. But, truthfully, I don’t see anyway around the fact that what is written in the book of Revelation is beginning to begin — the worldwide manipulation and takeover by one powerful person empowered by the powers of darkness. It has to happen. It will happen. It is happening.

*Right now our nation, and much of the world, is gripped with fear. It’s needless fear, but yet it’s being used to corral us into a herd mentality. And I “fear” Christians are becoming swallowed up into the herd — willingly and out of fear.

*We need to be honest with ourselves. We’re still trying to hold onto the hope that things will get back to normal. And … while we believe the end will come at some point, we’re hoping-against-hope that we will dodge the bullet one more time. And … too bad for those poor folks coming after us that will be the ones for whom the bell tolls. To allow ourselves to think like that will leave us unprepared, and vulnerable, to our fears when our hopes don’t pan out.

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There are two kinds of fear. Which one characterizes you most?

Fear of man

or

Fear of God

I hope it is the fear of God because … otherwise you will lack wisdom and be ensnared when called upon to stand strong for your faith and for your Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ.

We all need the wisdom of God to overcome.

“The fear of the Lord IS the beginning of wisdom.”